Chapter 23: Awareness (5)
Chapter 23: Awareness (5)
Jin moved effortlessly through the mountainous terrain, slaying giants as easily as if he were swatting insects. His face remained expressionless, but the air around him was thick with menace.
In contrast, his golden eyes, which swept across the battlefield, were devoid of color and empty, like a void. His voice, uttering meaningless incantations to cast spells, was as cold and sharp as a finely honed blade.
Jin moved with a detached, almost vacant air that made it hard to believe he was engaged in battle. Yet, it was a reckless feat only possible for someone like him, someone forged by innate talent, honed instincts, and countless battles. He paid no real attention to the fight, yet his movements were precise, leaving no openings.
Bang! Bang!
Each time the muzzle of his gun flared, the giants he aimed at fell, their eyes pierced through. The gunshots sent the remaining giants into a frenzy, their howls rising in intensity.
As if anticipating this, Jin drew his sword. Enveloping himself in magical energy, he deftly evaded the sluggish attacks of the giants and leaped high into the air.
In a single bound, he landed atop a giant’s head and, with a ruthless lack of emotion, drove his massive sword into its eye. Both eyes collapsed inward. With the sound of shattering, the red glow in the giant’s gaze faded, and its massive body crumbled.
From atop the falling corpse, Jin launched himself again, dodging incoming attacks and landing on another giant, repeating the process.
Attacks came from behind, unseen, but they never reached him. His strikes were not limited to the direction of his gaze. Any giant that attempted to approach from behind was obliterated the moment they entered a certain range, struck down by lightning that rained upon them like divine punishment.
It was nothing short of a one-sided massacre. Within minutes, the ground around him was littered with giant corpses, and their blue blood pooled into a sea.
Having completely annihilated the giants in the area, Jin let out a faint sigh. Above him, dark clouds slowly gathered in the sky.
* * *
By the time the Rem Mountain Range giant extermination was complete and the army returned to their base, the sun was setting. It should have been growing darker, yet the clearing sky and dissipating clouds made it even brighter than midday.
Inside a temporary rest tent built for brief recuperation, three members of Ariel’s squad sat together, drinking and discussing the day’s battle.
The oldest among them, Lombard, the youngest, Xenon, and Joshua.
“Man, I didn’t expect there to be so many of them. It was like fighting off a swarm of insects. Seriously, it was filthy how many there were.”
Xenon was the first to speak. He rotated his right shoulder, the one not holding a drink, trying to loosen up his muscles. Crack. Crack. With each movement, the sound of joints popping echoed through the tent.
Lombard glanced at him before taking a sip of his drink, responding indifferently.
“They didn’t seem much different from insects to me aside from being bigger and more dangerous.”
“Where the hell do they all come from?”
“Who knows? Their reproduction rate is fast, sure, but considering how vast the mountain range is, wiping out every last one of them is impossible.”
Joshua joined the conversation. Since his role in battle was limited to casting protective barriers, he was in much better shape than the others.
“Still, our team alone must’ve taken down over a hundred. If you count what the other squads did, it must be in the hundreds. And yet, in a month, we’ll have to come back and clean up again. This is exhausting.”
“You don’t look exhausted, though.”
“Really?”
At Joshua’s words, Xenon ran a hand over his own face. Just as Joshua had pointed out, his expression was completely relaxed, his lips even slightly curved into a smile. Feeling sheepish, Xenon scratched his cheek and laughed.
“You’re right… I guess it’s because the tension’s gone. It wasn’t as bad as I expected.”
“How could it be? We barely had time to think during the fight.”
“….”
All three fell silent at once. They were all thinking about the same person.
“We’re the only team without a single injury. And we all know why.”
“Oh, yeah, right…”
“Haha…”
At the peak where they had arranged to regroup after the battle, there was a well-maintained clearing large enough for an airship to land.
There, amid the dark scorch marks and scattered traces of blue blood, Jin Kreutz and three small military aircraft awaited them.
Two of the aircraft were headed straight for the temple and medical facilities rather than the base. Any soldier, no matter how minor their injuries, was required to board those ships. Yet, astonishingly, not a single soldier from Ariel’s squad boarded. That meant there wasn’t even a single minor injury among them.
If one were to ask who had contributed the most to such an achievement, everyone, without exception, would name the same person.
“It was like watching a demon possessed. I swear, it was kill after kill, like one per second.”
“I started wondering if my protective magic was even necessary…”
“She was… something else.”
Some called her the petite, platinum-haired witch who wielded books. Others called her Phema. Those who knew her personally called her Ariel Elias.
“But the real issue is what comes next.”
Unlike Xenon and Joshua, who admired her strength, Lombard saw things differently.
It was because of what Ariel had done afterward.
She had pushed herself far beyond her limits, grinding her body down to its very last reserves. Even though there had been no need for such extremes. As a result, the moment she boarded the airship, she collapsed into a near-unconscious sleep. She didn’t wake upon arrival and had to be carried back to her quarters by a fellow soldier.
Magic didn’t just drain external energy; it also consumed the caster’s stamina. The stronger the spell, the greater the toll. Even frequent use of smaller spells had its costs. There were always limits to how much magic one could wield.
Ariel had seemed entirely composed in battle, but in reality, she was anything but. If anything, she was the opposite.
Lombard, with his wealth of battle experience, knew one truth: unless death was imminent, reason never pushed a person to such extremes. She had been driven solely by emotion – by rage, vengeance, and an unrelenting will to fight.
With a displeased expression, he continued.
“Fighting well is fine, but unless it’s truly life or death, she needs to learn to pace herself. If she collapses in the middle of battle, our formation crumbles. And you both know how dangerous that would be.”
Lombard grimaced, as if the mere thought was unbearable.
“When a formation falls apart, even an easy mission turns deadly. As her teammates, we need to make sure she understands this.”
“Yikes, I hadn’t thought about that…”
“Yeah, that could be a problem…”
Xenon and Joshua exchanged uneasy glances. Lombard shook his head.
* * *
At that same moment, a soldier guarding the western entrance of the base was sprinting toward Michelle’s tent, breathless with urgency. Something about an important guest had sent the camp into an uproar, so Michelle had hurried out.
And there, she was met with an unexpected visitor.
“Pleasure to meet you, Commander Frey.”
At the entrance stood a tall, slender beauty, clad in a modified military uniform paired with a trench coat that she had altered to her own liking. Her strikingly vivid red hair blazed like fire, leaving a lasting impression.
Michelle recognized her immediately.
The greatest witch in Dantella. The representative of witches among the Five Elders. And the highest-ranking authority in the military unit near the western Elbin mountain range.
“Are you Dame Karma Fereshte?”
“Yes.”
Karma swept aside her long red hair, which had been covering her right chest, shifting it to the opposite side. Beneath it, a name tag was revealed, with her name clearly inscribed.
Michelle saluted sharply. Karma returned the gesture with a warm smile. Despite her gentle, almost puppy-like expression, she exuded an overwhelming presence – an aura of power that only the truly strong possessed. Michelle felt her body tense instinctively.
“What brings you all the way out here?”
“Oh, it’s nothing serious. I just came to visit someone. An acquaintance of mine is stationed here.”
“A visit? Have you submitted a request?”
“Nope. I was thinking of abusing my position a little. I’d like to ask for your help, Captain.”
“…”
With a face so innocent, a smile so clear, and a tone so utterly confident, she spoke of abusing her authority as if it were the most natural thing in the world. The sheer brazenness of Karma’s words momentarily left Michelle speechless.
A brief silence fell between them. Michelle stared at Karma, and Karma met her gaze unwaveringly, as if urging her to respond.
After a moment, Michelle let out a slow breath and gave a reluctant nod.
“Well… I suppose a simple visit wouldn’t hurt. Let’s head to the visitation room.”
“Thank you.”
“Follow me.”
Michelle took the lead, and Karma followed closely behind.
“So, who is it that you traveled all this way to see?”
“Ariel Elias. I heard she’s quite famous as a Phema. Do you know her, Captain?”
“Oh. Her.”
Of course, she did. How could she not? Ariel was so renowned that even Michelle had once gone to meet her out of sheer curiosity.
She had been a hot topic long before she even joined the unit, a rarity among rarities. And after enlisting, her fame only skyrocketed when even the legendary Jin Kreutz took an interest in her. The moment she set foot in the military, she became an instant name among officers.
And now, after her stunning performance in today’s first subjugation mission, her name was spreading like wildfire among the rank and file.
At this point, the only people in the unit who might not know Ariel Elias were the recruits who hadn’t arrived yet.
“Of course, I know her. Did you come all this way because you were curious about her as well, Dame Karma?”
“No. I don’t have the time to travel all the way to the northern frontier just to satisfy my curiosity. She’s my closest friend.”
“…Your friend?”
The country’s greatest witch and Ariel Elias – best friends. Another surprising revelation. Michelle couldn’t quite hide her reaction.
“…I see.”
But upon reflection, it wasn’t all that shocking. They were both Phema, both from the capital. It made sense that their paths would have crossed.
Still, knowing that someone with such incredible connections and abilities was serving under her command left Michelle with a strange, indescribable feeling.
