Chapter 2 — The Five-Minute Ultimatum

A blue-haired boy opened his eyes.

...My heart hurts.

Pressing a hand against his chest with a calm expression, Yuma sat up on the edge of his bed.

“...”

He looked out the window. His red eyes shimmered with a golden light.

“...How long are they planning to keep it a secret?”

Yuma let out a quiet sigh and looked toward the door.

“Bell.”

“Yes, Your Highness?”

“Come in.”

—Knock, knock.

“Excuse me.”

A man with a boyish face entered. He lowered his head respectfully.

“Is there something you want to say?”

“Uh...”

“How long are you planning to keep it a secret?”

“Uh...”

Bell put on an awkward expression, trying to hold his breath.

...Should I tell him that the Young Archduke—no, wait, the captain of the archers—was the one who asked me to keep this attack a secret from the Commander?

It’s not my fault...

He glanced at Yuma’s calm face.

No pressure, yet somehow full of pressure.

Such a contradiction...

Bell grimaced.

“It has been two days since the attack.”

“That...”

“What is the report?”

Bell took a breath and delivered the report he had heard from the soldiers.

“Reporting, Your Highness.”

“Call me Commander while I’m on duty.”

“Reporting, Commander.”

“Hmm.”

“The attack occurred on Tuesday at four in the morning. From what I heard, at first, only Districts 5 and 7 were attacked. There were three Shadows in total. But five hours later, every district began coming under attack simultaneously. The number of Shadows has now reached approximately three hundred.”

Yuma raised an eyebrow.

“Three hundred?”

Bell nodded, then shook his head.

“It was four hundred at first. But after their numbers decreased, Death Gods appeared, and the number returned to three hundred.”

“The summoner?”

“That is what the Captains concluded. Killing the summoner would be the easiest way to win, but...”

“Too many Shadows?”

“...Yes.”

Yuma closed his eyes.

Blue light flickered around him, continuously circling his body.

“There are two Death Gods each in Districts 1 through 11. Their ranks are only B. In the Main District, there are five, with the lowest rank being B.”

Yuma fell silent for a moment before opening his eyes.

“You intend to handle this yourselves?”

“...Y-yes... Well... At first, we were capable of handling it, but the more Shadows appeared, the more requests for assistance we received. Once we thought things were getting worse, the Main District was attacked as well...”

Yuma rubbed his forehead tiredly.

One of the drawbacks of the Imperial soldiers was that they always tried to keep him unemployed.

He had not expected that even after two days, and while facing a situation this difficult, they would still be stubbornly trying to handle everything themselves.

“Return to your post.”

“Outside the door?”

“The battlefield.”

“But no one will guard you...”

“Do you want a punishment?”

“If I go back, the Archers’ Captain will hit me...”

As he looked at Yuma’s calm face, Bell’s voice gradually faded.

Dejected, he ran back toward District 6. He had originally been helping there before being pulled away to guard His Highness when the Main District came under attack and they began running short on manpower.

Sad...

Run again…

Without knowing what was going through Bell’s mind, Yuma tapped the ornament in his hair.

“Arfy.”

—“C-Commander.”

“How are things?”

—“Everything is fine.”

“...”

—“...”

“Arfy.”

—“...We’re a mess.”

“Haaaaah...”

Arfy trembled. The most frightening Commander of all, someone who could even make the captain of the sword squad bend the knee, now had him on the verge of tears.

“I’ll give you five minutes.”

—“Huh?”

“You can handle the Death Gods. I’ll take care of the Shadows and the summoner.”

—“No! You’ll get tired. Let us—”

“After two days, the soldiers from the other districts should be starting to tire. The Imperial soldiers can’t keep sending reinforcements forever. There’s a limit to how much we can handle, too.”

—“But—”

“Obey.”

—”...”

“Tell the others to get ready within five minutes.”

—”...Yes.”

Yuma put on his uniform and headed toward the highest tower of the palace.

Meanwhile.

“Why won’t they ever stop coming AAAAA.”

—Tsing!

A green-haired man with brown eyes shouted absurdly as he swung his sword.

Suddenly, a Shadow appeared to his left—

—Zeb!

An arrow pierced it straight through the head.

“Focus.”

A dark-blue-haired man with narrow, bright golden eyes continued firing arrows at the Shadows surrounding the sword-wielding soldiers.

There were about seventeen archers attacking continuously.

[A7, fall back. B4, cover his rear. B5 and B3, rest for three minutes when A2 comes in. Healers, move in.]

[Healer here. We have A7. A7 is receiving treatment and a sedative.]

[B3 here. I can’t stop. A3 is now engaged with a Death God.]

[Scout here. Two Death Gods are moving toward A15.]

[A15 here. Requesting assistance. The Shadows here are going berserk.]

“Ah, damn it. Rue.”

“I know. Just run straight to A15. I’ll guide you. Dean, Daniel.”

[B2 here. Ready.]

[A3 will clear the way.]

[A11 and A16, clear a path around yourselves. B4, help cover them.]

[Yes. / Got it. / Okay.]

Lavis cleaved through the Shadow in front of him with a single swing.

His soul power sharpened his sword, allowing him to cut down the Shadows blocking his path.

A claw swiped toward his face.

—Zelb!

An arrow struck the hand with perfect accuracy. A second and third arrow followed, striking the black creature until it collapsed.

Lavis kept running and cutting through the Shadows, not even having time to wipe the blood from his face.

Arrows and swords alternated, carving a path forward for him.

But—

“Ugh.”

Hearing the sound, Lavis stopped abruptly and turned.

Bracing himself on his right foot, he pivoted to the left and leaped.

His target was the Shadow clutching the leg of Diana, one of his subordinates.

—Slash!

“Captain.”

“Condition?”

“Fatigued. Minor injuries. Low contamination.”

[P8 is on the way with G4. Estimated arrival: one minute.]

[B14 can cover temporarily.]

A blood-covered man appeared.

“A14 here. You can keep going, Captain.”

Lavis nodded and immediately continued forward without hesitation.

With Rue continuing to guide him, he reached his target quickly.

“Ouch.”

The moment he arrived, before he even had time to catch his breath, Lavis moved.

He hurriedly drove his sword into the ground, then used it as a foothold to launch himself into the air.

If he were even one second too late, his head would be severed.

—Trang!

—Klang!

Lavis kicked away the spinning scythe coming toward him, then twisted in midair to avoid another.

The scythe he had kicked was struck by an arrow.

Another arrow followed, striking the wandering Shadow as A15 resumed chasing the Death God that had escaped him.

—Tang!

—Trang!

—Zeb!

—Sreet!

A15 and the Death God exchanged blows, each parrying the other’s attacks. An arrow pierced the Death God’s leg, giving A15 an opening to drive his sword straight into its chest.

Meanwhile, still in the air, Lavis created a sword from his own soul power.

The white blade rang as he struggled to maintain its form.

“I’m still a long way from Yuyu.”

The small murmur was swallowed as Lavis slammed his foot into the ground and charged toward the Death God.

—Tang!!

—Seeeehhhh.

Sword clashed against scythe.

Sparks flew as Lavis released his sword.

—Boom!

An explosion erupted as the sword’s form broke apart. The concentrated soul power exploded, wiping out the Shadows in the surrounding area.

Through the opening, Lavis retrieved his sword and spun behind the Death God.

The cloud of dust did not hinder him. He had already memorized the creature’s position.

—Zeb.

Blood flowed as his sword pierced straight through the Death God’s heart.

But Lavis did not stop. He immediately pulled out his sword and attacked another Shadow that had appeared again.

“Damn it... Where’s the summoner? I’ll kill that bastard.”

[Don’t let your emotions get the better of you.]

“What about the others?”

[Dead.]

“Then we’re next. We’ll die from exhaustion.”

[Then die.]

“Whoa, you’re tired? Why are you getting angry? Hm? You should see a Soother if you’ve reached your limit. Don’t let your soul become contaminated.”

[I’m not tired. If you can still spout nonsense, then you can still move your hands. Kill more.]

“Look at my trembling hands and all this black smoke around me. How much faster do you want me to move?”

[Camelia cuts down more.]

“...Don’t compare me to that battle-crazed girl.”

[Heh.]

Lavis fell silent, stunned by the contemptuous tone.

No... Even if I’m battle-crazy, I can’t possibly be compared to a girl who makes even the men in the squad run with their tails between their legs, can I??

The thought nearly sent him face-first into the ground when three Shadows suddenly attacked from behind.

“Where’s the support!!!??? Bah, sand!”

[Heh.]

“?$%(^()(&%#”

Before Lavis could lose his temper, unleash all his power, and run over to Rue to start an argument—

—Knock Knock Knock Knock Knock

Five knocks rang out.

The signal for an emergency of the highest priority.

The entire force immediately strained their ears.

[This is the captain of the Reconnaissance Corps. The Commander is giving us five minutes.]

[Countdown begins.]

Those words made the entire force tense.

[P5 here. A1 and B1, head west and handle the Rank A Death God. A4, A5, B7, and B9, assist them. A2 and B2, watch the Rank B Death God to the northeast.]

[P2 here. A Rank A Death God has been detected thirty meters from the Rank B Death God in the northeast. A3, A6, A11, and A12, move there with B11, B12, and B15.]

[P7 has detected a Death God ranked somewhere between B and A. A9, A8, B3, B4, B16, and B9, move slowly toward the southeast. Coordinates 26,38.]

[P3 here. The remaining forces are retreating slowly.]

[Healer Team ready.]

[Soother Team ready.]

[Guardian ready with protection.]

[2 minutes 2 seconds]