[Side Story – Friction [3]]
[11]
Royal Guard, Cobus.
Cobus was originally a black ops agent affiliated with the Royal Special Task Force.
Not long before the Demonic Realm Expedition began, his assignment changed, but he had hardly settled in when he witnessed the fall of the Imperial Capital.
Cobus arrived in Lucern, suppressing the sporadic surges of hatred and rage that welled up in his chest without warning.
Earl Alian welcomed Cobus.
“If there are any necessary supplies, we will provide them for you.”
Earl Alian’s face beamed with a bright smile.
Alian, who despised bowing his head to the rootless massacres and traitors responsible for this calamity, had no intention of doing so.
Moreover, Lucern was a region where the Sacred Country could more easily exert its influence compared to the central Empire.
Thus, public opinion in Lucern, led by Earl Alian, leaned far more favorably toward the Sacred Country.
After exchanging pleasantries with Earl Alian, Cobus confirmed the positions of the forces set to gather in Lucern.
The plan was proceeding smoothly without significant hitches.
Currently, the biggest variable for Cobus was the movement of the Elves.
While it was unlikely they would interfere in human conflicts, given the timing, there was still a chance they might make an unexpected move.
Of course, even if the Elves were to get involved in this matter, Cobus had no intention of backing down.
Whether human or Elf, Cobus intended to punish all who stood in his way with certainty.
“…”
Sensing the fervor in Cobus’s eyes, Earl Alian felt inwardly satisfied.
It wouldn’t be long now before Cobus captured Johanna’s group. Given the clear disparity in strength, capturing them should not prove difficult.
Though there were no concrete plans yet on how to use the captured members of Johanna’s group, simply having them in custody would already provide numerous advantages.
“Then…”
Earl Alian rose from his seat to guide Cobus to the building where the representatives of the Sacred Country who had arrived earlier were staying.
However, a Mage accompanying Cobus stopped him, turning his gaze toward the city center.
“Wait…!”
The Mage frowned.
A faint mana fluctuation characteristic of space magic was emanating from the direction of the city center.
Though minuscule, the Mage detected it accurately. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time to identify the anomaly and take appropriate action.
Before the Mage could issue a warning,
A flash erupted in the middle of the city.
*
“…”
The Artefact had activated.
Luna confirmed that the Artefact functioned correctly and closed her eyes briefly.
“…”
Originally considered nearly useless, Luna personally remodeled the twin Artefacts.
She modified the twin Artefacts, which resonated to pinpoint coordinates necessary for spatial magic, using Valerius’s Core.
From the start, these twin Artefacts were being retrofitted as timed bombs.
Assuming they would only be used once, she added strenuous functions despite the immense strain.
“…”
Hayden followed Luna’s instructions, installing one of the twin Artefacts in Lucern and setting it to activate after a certain period.
And as time passed, the Artefact activated.
Ordinarily, the twin Artefacts required a Warp Gate to function properly.
However, thanks to the modification incorporating Valerius’s Core, the twin Artefacts managed to create a channel capable of transporting even a single crumb without needing a Warp Gate—albeit just once.
Once the Artefact operated normally, Luna channeled the mana from the Mana Vein beneath the Imperial Capital to construct a stasis field, temporarily stabilizing the antimatter.
Then she warped it to the opposite side.
“…”
Under normal circumstances, the stasis field would have collapsed before the warp completed, causing the antimatter to contact regular matter and initiate annihilation. This would not only endanger Luna’s location but also destabilize the warp channel, reducing the expected firepower by more than half.
To prevent such a situation, Luna applied the “Blink” technique made possible by Valerius’s Core, enabling a dual warp process.
“…”
The Artefact operated exactly as designed.
Due to the excessive modifications, however, both the twin Artefacts in Luna’s possession and the one installed in Lucern were completely destroyed and vaporized.
Valerius’s Core, which had been used in the modifications, had also reached a state of collapse, almost entirely losing its latent power.
The material losses were far greater than what appeared on the surface.
Since these items weren’t mass-producible, even Luna herself couldn’t guarantee whether she could replicate an Artefact with identical functionality.
“…”
Though her glowing eyes were covered by her eyelids, Luna’s expression remained emotionless.
This attack wasn’t aimed at targeting high-ranking enemy forces.
Nor was it intended to strike key strongholds of the opposing faction.
This was a mass slaughter designed to instill fear and hesitation into the enemy.
“Until fanaticism outweighs fear…”
It would buy time.
Currently, no one knew exactly how Luna had struck Lucern.
Even Hayden and Jimy, who executed the operation, didn’t fully understand the method Luna used to hit Lucern.
Without knowing the means of the attack, those opposing Luna would be plagued with anxiety, unsure when or where a massive flash might descend upon their heads.
This was different from a Meteor attack. Many already understood that Luna couldn’t wield Meteors recklessly.
However, whatever “something” destroyed Lucern today did not bring about excessive backlash like a Meteor, nor did it give any prior warning.
Therefore, anyone intending to oppose Luna from now on would have to bear a tremendous psychological burden.
“…”
There would be few who would view Luna’s massacre positively.
But at this point, it was impossible for Luna to gain popularity by prioritizing righteousness.
All that remained for Luna as a means of control were power and fear—things that couldn’t simply be changed even if she wanted to.
“For a while…”
She muttered softly, then reopened her eyes.
Less killing would suffice.
That was Luna’s policy.
*
The tremors from Lucern reached as far as Grania.
Though not harmful to humans, no one took comfort in that fact.
It wasn’t hard to predict what had happened beyond the horizon. There must have been many casualties.
And Johanna’s group had to fight, turning their backs against the spreading flashes from Lucern.
Crack!!!
Johanna’s group clashed with part of the Sacred Country’s troops stationed near the desert hub city.
Most of the Sacred Country’s personnel were likely preoccupied with assessing and dealing with the situation in Lucern, caught in confusion.
Thus, it was absolutely impossible for the Sacred Country to launch any meaningful offensive against Johanna’s group within the next few days, and the troops stationed in the hub city didn’t need to attack Johanna’s group recklessly.
Nevertheless, some of them initiated an attack, and Johanna swung her sword at the forefront.
Whether this reckless attack was due to the commander’s misjudgment or out of anger towards the mass murderer, Johanna didn’t bother to find out.
The battle ended quickly.
After the battle, as Jimy wiped blood off his sword, Delun grabbed his wrist.
“Jimy, is that Lucern over there?”
“…”
“Did we do that…?”
“…”
“Did we really do that…?”
“…”
“Jimy!!”
Jimy remained silent, and Delun’s voice rasped from the coarse sandstorm.
“It’s a place where people live! It was just an ordinary city! Right??”
“…Yeah.”
“But what exactly did we do…? Burnt down a city? A city where people lived… That’s just… Massacre…!”
That was wrong.
That was wrong, Delun had been taught.
Because he admired Ray and learned from him, Delun clearly recognized that this was a wrongful act.
“Jimy…!! We…!!”
“Stop whining already!!”
Delun’s words were cut off by Johanna.
Johanna nervously brushed off the blood on her armor and glared at Delun.
“What’s the problem?! They’re the enemy! They want to kill us! So isn’t it fine? What exactly is the problem?!”
“But sis…!!!”
After wiping his face several times and repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fists, Delun finally voiced his inner turmoil by pounding his chest.
“This is… disgusting…”
This wasn’t what Delun had dreamed of.
What Delun had envisioned was a noble hero.
He knew pure nobility was nothing more than a delusion, yet he still aspired to pursue it.
But the reality Delun stood in now was simply… repulsive.
What’s wrong with struggling for survival?
But sometimes, Ray had taught him, there are values as important to respect as one’s own safety.
“…”
Johanna approached Delun briskly.
Delun expected her to snap at him to stop crying.
Instead, Johanna grabbed his collar, moistening her dry eyes and distorting her expression.
“I feel disgusted too…! I’m sick to my stomach…! But does that mean we’re going to stop?”
“…”
“Are you willing to die? All of us together? No. I’m going to save Ray. I… am going to protect the people I love. Even if it’s disgusting and makes me sick…!”
“…”
“So stop whining in front of me.”
Johanna released Delun’s collar irritably and turned her back.
Her retreating figure seemed to wipe away tears, and Delun couldn’t say anything more.
*
“…My goodness.”
Upon hearing that Lucern had been obliterated, Speira feigned surprise.
Initially, she had planned to subtly push a few people and deepen the conflict moderately.
Speira hadn’t intended to escalate things this time.
But Luna responded to Speira’s provocation by spectacularly blowing Lucern sky-high.
“Fearful indeed.”
Given how thoroughly Luna concealed the method of attacking Lucern, her intent was clear.
As Speira twirled the handle of the Sacred Sword and nodded her head,
“Anyway, we need time too…”
Maintaining a stalemate for now wouldn’t be bad.
Although the Sacred Country’s influence would inevitably shrink, there were hardly any allies left who would actively provoke the Empire at this moment.
Thus, humanity began its struggle for survival amidst the newly established power dynamics.
Many died, and new lives were born.
Under the red skies, some accepted reality, while others concealed daggers in their smiles, refusing to forget their hatred.
Under the red skies, some clung to meaningless hopes and swung their swords, while others, unable to let go of the past, fell helplessly to the ground.
And as time flowed on…
An innocent child who once knew nothing of death came face-to-face with it.
