Chapter 61: Unwavering Conviction

—Agony.

The pain from his injuries was so intense that it nearly drove him to the brink of losing his sanity, almost knocking him unconscious.

But more than the pain, he was concerned about his comrades fighting alongside him and whether the civilians had managed to evacuate successfully.

Through sheer willpower, the soldier struggled to open his eyes, using his remaining hand to wipe the blood from the visor slit, allowing him to see the battlefield once more.

There, standing before the monsters, was a purple-haired girl, light as a butterfly.

She held a scythe nearly as tall as herself, standing defiantly in front of the monsters, the red ribbon tied around her arm fluttering in the wind.

Like a flickering flame...

He didn’t know if he was hallucinating in his dying moments or if a savior had truly appeared, but neither possibility could deter his resolve to fight and die alongside his comrades!

As the soldier gritted his teeth against the pain and struggled to stand, a cold voice interrupted his efforts.

"If I were you, I wouldn’t choose to get up and get in the way right now."

The purple-haired girl slightly turned her head, maintaining her stance against the monsters as she spoke.

"If you don’t want to die by your own hand, you’d better stay down and not move."

"...Who... who are you?"

"What a foolish question. Is this really the time to ask about someone’s background?"

Her tone was mocking, almost complaining, but the soldier saw no impatience on her spirited face.

She simply readjusted her attacking stance and then said softly, "But since you asked, remember this well—we are Wildfire."

—We?

Wasn’t she alone?

Could there be other reinforcements?

As he teetered on the edge of unconsciousness, these three questions flashed through the soldier’s mind. Before he could say anything, he caught a glimpse of her charging back into the horde of monsters, and then he blacked out.

The other Silvermane Guards, upon seeing their captain fall, desperately pushed the frontline forward until they reached him. After confirming he was still alive, they breathed a sigh of relief.

However, breaking into the encirclement was easier than breaking out. Now, they were essentially trapped, with the only silver lining being that they had successfully stalled the Fragmentum monsters, buying precious time for the civilians to evacuate.

From here on out, even if they died in battle, they would have no regrets...

Though they thought this way, some among them, unwilling to die just yet, fixed their gazes on the "reckless" girl who had charged alone into the monster horde.

The way she wielded her weapon felt strangely familiar to them.

A scythe was an extremely difficult weapon to master, and few would choose it as their primary weapon. It was easy to accidentally harm allies and was ill-suited for team coordination.

However, the Silvermane Guards’ weapon training did include some basic instruction on scythe usage.

Of course, that was merely theoretical. To truly master it required extensive training and guidance from a teacher.

The girl’s combat style, though unique, was like a raging storm, effortlessly leaving dense slashes on her enemies.

It was entirely different from the techniques they had learned, yet there was an occasional familiarity in her movements that resonated with their training.

For now, they dismissed it as an illusion, but that didn’t stop them from seeing her as their best hope for survival.

Thus, a group of Silvermane Guards broke away from the main force to reinforce her.

At this moment, Seele had just finished recharging her weapon. When she noticed the guards rushing to her aid, she showed neither joy nor annoyance.

She could handle these monsters alone. Unlike the previous encounter with the Stormbringer, she had already gauged the strength of this "Frostfat" during their brief exchange—it was far inferior to her.

She flipped her scythe, its shimmering surface untainted by even a speck of ice.

The monster had no resistance to her attacks; in fact, it was vulnerable to Quantum energy.

Though she didn’t fully understand the relationship between these forces, she could roughly tell which monsters were easier to cut down and which were like tough shells. But that was enough for her.

After a brief pause, the girl tapped her toes against the ground and burst into a speed that ordinary humans could hardly follow.

The Frigid Prowler, which she had heavily injured earlier, had already gotten back up. It grabbed the crushed Eternal Winter Shades and absorbed them into its twisted abdomen, devouring the Fragmentum energy that powered them.

Then came a roar that everyone on the battlefield could hear—!

A blast of frost erupted from its abdomen, rapidly covering the street ahead. The low temperatures caused the ground to freeze into a slippery ice surface, accompanied by a chilling effect.

Even the Silvermane Guards’ armor was coated in a layer of frost, their limbs stiffening, making their movements sluggish.

Seele frowned as she glanced at her clothes. The all-encompassing frost had also hit her, but it caused little damage. The physical discomfort and unfavorable environment weren’t enough to hinder her.

But the guards who had come to her aid were now surrounded—

Sighing inwardly at the trouble, Seele once again vanished into the Quantum Realm. After a ripple in space, her figure disappeared completely.

The Frigid Prowler instinctively raised its defenses. The human had used this method to attack it repeatedly before, and it couldn’t keep up with her speed.

Though it wasn’t slow by comparison...

Crushing weaklings was easy, but against a fast and formidable opponent, its large size made it a bigger target, often putting it at a disadvantage.

Despite not being supposed to possess such logical thinking, the Fragmentum energy repairing its mechanical components had recreated some of its original capabilities.

However, the expected attack didn’t come. When she reappeared, it was beside the surrounded Silvermane Guards.

In a few swift moves, she cut down the Eternal Winter Shades besieging them.

But even as she cleared the area, as long as the Frigid Prowler remained alive, it could continuously summon more Eternal Winter Shades using itself as an anchor.

Realizing this opportunity, it quickly devoured more Eternal Winter Shades. The icy structures on its thick armor extended and fused, eventually forming a triangular shield-like structure.

This was the optimal solution its intelligence had devised.

As long as it could withstand her attacks, it could slowly wear down the human female.

However, in the very next moment after the Frigid Prowler’s confidence—

The purple-haired girl launched another assault, but this time, it was different from all her previous attacks. Just as they were about to collide, she vanished into the Quantum Realm, her form dissipating like butterflies before the shield.

The Frigid Prowler, if it could feel fear, would have sensed the Quantum fluctuations behind it.

The sharp scythe severed its legs in the next instant. The freezing torrent expelled from the vents on its back was easily dodged, and as she retreated, she took two of its mechanical arms with her.

With its core issuing constant warnings, it gambled on absorbing the surrounding Eternal Winter Shades.

But its body suddenly froze. Only then did it realize there were no more Eternal Winter Shades standing nearby. Its earlier unrestrained devouring had inadvertently helped the humans break the encirclement.

Now, it was the one being surrounded.

At the same time, without the energy from its devouring, its body suffered a backlash, and the icy structures on its surface rapidly brittled.

To make matters worse, the repeated Quantum attacks had left a butterfly-like mark on its mechanical body. Its physical form was dragged into the Quantum Realm, where it was instantly overwhelmed by the omnipresent Quantum energy, rendering it paralyzed.

Seele reappeared at this moment—

Like a skilled butcher, she followed the gaps in its remaining mechanical body, unleashing a flurry of scythe strikes that intertwined like threads. As she completely dismantled it, the tip of her scythe hooked its head, and with brute force, she tore it off and raised it high.

Only then did the Frigid Prowler’s body seem to realize death, slowly disintegrating...

The surviving Silvermane Guards erupted into a deafening cheer!

...

Frontline Restricted Zone

Bronya’s knuckles turned white as she clenched the letter in her hand, her heart burning with rage.

The contents of the letter could be summed up in one sentence—

Abandon all Silvermane Guards on the frontline, using them as a human wall to buy time for her retreat.

How could Mother issue such an order!

To her, what were the lives of the frontline soldiers? Were the warriors who came here with the conviction of Preservation meant to die for the sake of such a command?!

Moreover, this was all under the pretext of protecting her retreat and preserving their forces...

They were no different from her. Though many of them might not stand out or possess exceptional talents, they had chosen to protect others and were willing to give everything for Belobog.

They should never be defined as disposable "assets" by the very person they swore to serve, left to die in ignorance.

Bronya clenched her teeth, her silver eyes filled with grief and indignation.

She couldn’t understand how her once gentle mother had become so unrecognizable.

No matter how dire the situation, how could the Guardians be the first to surrender to despair?

Moreover, at such a time, to appoint themselves as arbiters, deciding the fate of the people in place of the gods—such arrogance and hubris were utterly unacceptable to her!

Bronya had seen the shattering of the Preservation barrier—

But, though it was hard to accept at first that the barrier that had protected humanity for seven hundred years had been destroyed, still...!

At that moment, all the Silvermane Guards present, including herself—

Had all their efforts truly lost meaning?

Were the convictions of Preservation supposed to crumble along with the barrier, leaving them to bow their necks to the monsters?

Think about it... Did the first Supreme Guardian, who held out against the Antimatter Legion for over thirty years, rely on the Aeon’s meticulous care?

Perhaps, in the face of such overwhelming forces, human strength was small, fragile, and humble—something that couldn’t achieve victory without sacrificing their lives.

But even humble beings had their way of survival, their own battles to fight!

In the past, when people took the Aeon’s blessings for granted, had they ever imagined such a day would come?

Bronya didn’t know, but the thoughts surging in her heart weren’t of complaints or despair, but of a burning sense of mission.

She was the acting commander of the Silvermane Guards, and she had sworn to defend the people, to live and die alongside her comrades.

These weren’t just words spoken around a campfire, but vows of Preservation made under Qlipoth’s witness!

She would never, could never, betray her mission—

Thus, as she suppressed her rage, she carefully stored the letter.

Bronya stood up, her expression cold. She wouldn’t return—not only would she not return, but she would also hold the line against the Fragmentum monsters stirred up by recent events.

At the same time, she secretly sent a letter to Serval Landau, who should still be on the Edge Passageway.

The letter detailed the current situation and the strategies needed to address it. Additionally—

She wrote:

"—Loyalty is not an innate virtue. Those who are served must also be worthy of it. I hope you make a choice worthy of the Landau name."

This letter was taken by her most trusted confidant, who had fought and survived alongside her. It was delivered that very night to Serval, who had been ordered to stand by.

Under the moonlight, Serval frowned as she read the contents of the letter, her disappointment palpable.

It was directed at the Supreme Guardian, but also at herself...

She even recalled her conversation with her brother that day.

"Serval, if—just if—" Her expression was awkward. "If one day, the Supreme Guardian ordered you to abandon Belobog’s people for her own goals... what would you do?"

"She would never do that. She is the Supreme Guardian."

He had answered with such certainty back then.

"I’m saying if."

Serval had insisted on her hypothetical.

"I don’t know why you’re asking this, but I’ve made a vow of Preservation to Qlipoth. I will defend Belobog and her people, no matter the cost—even my life."

Back then, he hadn’t understood the true meaning behind her words, thinking it was just her venting about some injustice. But he had answered from the heart.

"If one day, protecting the people means defying the Supreme Guardian’s orders, and no matter what I choose, I’ll be in danger, I will still choose the former. Because that’s what I must do."

The conversation had ended with Serval’s laughter.

But at that time, her eyes had been filled with pride and satisfaction.

Serval remained silent for a moment before hiding the letter in her shield case, her expression as calm as ever.

However, no one could have guessed that on this night, two of the Supreme Guardian’s staunchest supporters had both chosen the people over the witch who had sat on the throne for too long, forgetting the soil from which she had grown.