Book 8: Chapter 95: Battle for the Heart |
There comes a point when exhaustion turns into something else. When you stop feeling the heaviness of your limbs, the beating of your heart, and the rasp of your breath. At that point, everything simply turns to numbness.
For Layla, that point had come half a day ago. She did not even know what had kept her going since then, but it certainly was not the strength of her flesh. That had given out a long time ago.
She saw rather than felt herself stumble, her face hitting the ground and turning her momentum into a long slide through the mud. Once again, one of her legs had given out, pushed far beyond what it was ever meant to bear. She did not even feel it. The pain had become so constant that there was barely any difference anymore.
For a single moment, she remained motionless, her limbs sprawled beneath her as she focused only on breathing. It was pure bliss. And not for the first time, she contemplated not getting up. If she simply stayed like this, it would all be over. Her suffering would finally come to an end.
But then the last remnants of her exhausted mind stirred again, reminding her of the consequences of such a choice.
Death.
Her limbs twitched, and her body began to move. Not to rise, but in a grotesque amalgamation of shifting muscles and tendons as her flesh began to change. Her form, once that of a proud wolf, became that of a mountain goat. Though not as familiar as the wolf, it was better suited to the current terrain, and more importantly, it allowed her to use a different set of muscles, granting her utterly exhausted body a brief moment of relief.
It was not the first time she had gone through this cycle, but it would likely be the last. At this point, there was not a single strand of muscle left in her body that had not been pushed far beyond the breaking point.
She craned her long neck, peering at the moving figures around her. To the untrained eye, it might have looked like a migrating herd. Goats, dogs, wolves, horses, predators and prey all mixed into one. However, that was not the case. They were all prey.
What was this? The fourth? The fifth? She could not even tell anymore. All she knew was that another formation of troops was behind them now. And they seemed fresh, too. They must have been rotated in fairly recently.
Layla turned her head back to the front and tested her legs with a single step. Good. They still held. Her eyes quickly locked onto the figure at the very front. It was a monstrous shape, a turtle the size of a house, with easily two dozen wheezing human figures on its back.
The captain was as impressive as ever. It was only thanks to him that they had been able to keep going this long without leaving anyone behind. But there was a limit, and Layla knew they were approaching it quickly. Even she was no longer sure how much longer she could hold out, and if she was beginning to reach that point, then the others were certainly not in any better shape.
That would be the end. They all knew it.
The captain could not carry the entire squad, but neither would he allow himself to leave so many behind. The moment they could no longer keep going would be the moment their entire squad faced death.
That was exactly why she had been pushing herself this hard, far beyond the point where she feared death. For it was not only her own death that she would cause, but the death of her entire squad.
Layla mustered whatever strength she had left to catch up to the front. Her hooved feet carried her past the turtle’s bulk to its comparatively tiny head.
The captain’s eyes were heavy with exhaustion, yet there was a determination within them. A fanatical fire she could not understand. Where was he getting that strength from? His gaze remained fixed on the horizon, as if he could see salvation just beyond the next bend.
“...Captain... Cairnwyc...” Her words came out awkwardly, not only because of her state, but also because her animalistic throat was not meant to produce them at all.
The turtle still heard her, and its large eye shifted toward her.
“Layla?” Its voice was far smoother, even sounding like her captain’s own.
Layla bobbed her head in a nod instead of answering verbally.
“Do you need rest? There should still be a spot on my back...” the captain asked, his one eye still fixed on her.
Layla hesitated. She had not come for that reason, but now that she had heard the offer, it took every shred of willpower she had not to agree immediately. Even so, she eventually managed to shake her head. “It’s not that, Captain. I... I was wondering if it wasn’t about time we tried something else?”
“...Something like what?” the turtle asked.
“We could split up,” Layla suggested. She had thought about this a great deal ever since they had begun their escape three days ago. “That way, at least some of us might get away...”
It was a lie. The moment Layla was on her own, she would immediately lie down. But at least then, she would not be the one dragging everyone else down with her.
The turtle’s eye moved away from her and fixed itself on the front once more. There, a steep cliff was drawing closer and closer. Already, Layla dreaded scaling it. She did not think she could, even if she wanted to. But it seemed the captain was aiming exactly for that spot. Did he think the Legion would not be able to follow them up there? No. That could not be. Their Earth Mages would turn that unscalable cliff into a convenient stairwell with a flick of their wrist. If anything, this kind of terrain would favor them even more.
After staring at the cliff for a short while, the turtle finally responded.
“There is no need. We are almost there...”
Those words left Layla even more confused than before. They were there? Where? Did they have a destination in mind that she did not know about? Was this not merely an escape?
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But she did not ask. Whether the captain had some sort of plan or not, it did not matter anymore. Once they reached that cliff, her flight would be over, one way or another.
Minutes passed in silence, and soon the distant cliff loomed large before her. Their captain, who had led the way for three days without missing a single beat, came to an abrupt halt in front of it. Everyone else stopped with him.
Then the turtle’s bulk began to shift. The massive beast vanished, skin and flesh folding in on itself until, eventually, the form of a human man was revealed. Meanwhile, the people he had been carrying landed on the ground around him.
Following his example, the rest of the squad resumed their human forms one by one. Despite their exhaustion, nobody sat or lay down. All eyes remained fixed on their captain, waiting for his next words as though in a trance.
“We are here,” Cairnwyc said. “Finally... we are here.”
Layla, standing next to him, could not hold herself back any longer. “Do you have a plan?”
The captain smiled. Despite his exhaustion, the expression carried a sense of triumph. However, that seemed to be the only answer he was willing to give. Ever since the incident where one of their own had turned out to be a spy, he had been unusually tight-lipped.
With no other choice, Layla simply followed his gaze. It was directed toward the way they had come. Already, she could hear the rhythmic pounding of boots. Soon after, the Legion formation came into view. However, unlike what she had expected, they did not attack immediately, but stopped a fair distance away. Their expressions were not wary, but filled with eager anticipation.
What they were waiting for became clear soon after. A second, third, fourth, and fifth regiment crested the ridge in quick succession. By now, the entire mountainside was crowded with black-clad soldiers. Thousands of Legion troops cut off every possible route of retreat.
There was no doubt in Layla’s mind: resistance would be utterly futile.
But this was far from the end. Behind the mass of Legion soldiers, their special battalions arrived. The Flamecallers, with the air above their formation distorted by sheer heat. Beside them walked the Stoneshapers. The very ground beneath their feet turned into pavement as they walked
One, two, three, four, five regiments. Layla’s jaw nearly hit the floor. And that was before she even noticed the figure walking at the front of each formation. Proud. Tall. Utterly domineering. Each regiment was led by one such figure.
Archmages. There was no doubt about it.
Her gaze turned toward her captain, who watched the display alongside her. He was the only Archmage on their side. It was not hard to guess how he would fare in a five-against-one fight.
But all such thoughts vanished from her mind at what she saw next. A shadow fell across the battlefield. Then a second and a third, followed by dozens of smaller ones. Layla looked up, and her breath hitched. Six massive airships had appeared overhead, hovering just behind the enemy formation. Alongside them, hundreds of Wind Mages floated in the sky. Their combined presence managed to overshadow even the army on the ground.
Layla closed her eyes. Despite everything, a slight smile appeared on her face. This was good. It would have been far harder to accept if the battle had seemed even remotely winnable. But this situation was not. There was no doubt left in her. Not a single reason to struggle. This was how she was going to die.
“Captain,” she called quietly. “I really wish you had been kinder to me...”
The captain glanced at her, a twinkle in his eyes. “Noted. But if you want me to be nicer in the future, you’ll have to stop acting silly.”
Layla frowned. In the future? What future could there be for them? Was he referring to the next few minutes before they died? Was that not a bit unreasonable?
“...Won’t you cut me some slack, even in death?”
“Death?” the captain asked, glancing at the massive army before them. “Do you think we are going to die?”
“Yes,” Layla responded without a moment of hesitation. Death was the only conclusion. She did not have even the slightest doubt that this would be their fate.
The captain snorted. “Just shut up and wait.”
Layla’s mind was thrown into turmoil. Could it be? Did the captain really have a way out of this? Could she... survive? No. No. No. No-no-no-no. Don’t do this. Don’t do this to me, Captain. Didn’t he know how cruel it was to give her hope? To give her, who had finally given up on everything, something to believe in?
However, despite her unwillingness, the sight of her captain’s calm expression awakened doubts in her. Could it really be true?
But all such thoughts were quickly driven from her mind when she heard the sounds coming from above. It was the sound of straining rope and bending wood. All at once, she saw the hundreds of bows on the decks of the airships, alongside the dozens of ballistae preparing to fire.
She quickly glanced at her captain, but his expression was just as calm as before.
There was a moment of stillness as everyone collectively held their breath. If those projectiles descended, at least half their number would die on the spot, and likely only the captain would remain uninjured.
Then, as if guided by an invisible hand, the Legion fired all at once. It was a display of precision Layla had never seen in her life. Hundreds of arrows and dozens of ballista bolts were loosed as one, darkening the entire sky.
Layla closed her eyes.
And waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Had she already died, completely painlessly?
Tentatively, she opened one eye and glanced at the scene before her.
What... what was this?
The projectiles were still there, blocking out the sun as they continued to fly toward her. But... why were they moving so slowly? They were crawling forward at the speed of a snail. Until, finally, they seemed to come to a complete halt in the air before them.
Then, after a moment of utter motionlessness, they fell to the ground as if all their energy had been spent.
Layla blinked, finally daring to open her eyes fully.
“Captain Cairnwyc,” a female voice called from nearby. “A pleasure to see you again. And even in one piece.”
Layla whipped her head around. She was certain there had been nobody standing next to her a moment ago. Where had that voice come from?
There she found a woman standing casually with her arms crossed over her chest. Layla recognized her immediately. She was one of the other faction leaders she had seen at the meeting.
Stella Eventide. That mysterious woman commanding an elite squad of Space Mages.
Now that Layla looked more closely, she noticed that Stella had not come alone. With her, perhaps fifty figures had appeared, standing among Cairnwyc’s exhausted men.
“Eventide,” Cairnwyc grunted. “Sure took your time. But thanks for coming, I guess.”
Stella shrugged. “The boy said we could make it.”
Cairnwyc nodded slowly. “I guess I owe him my thanks, then. It’s not only you, is it?”
Stella smiled. “Do I look that noble? Of course, it’s all of us.”
As if summoned by her words, a shrill cry split the sky. And with it, dozens of new figures appeared in the air above them. There were no airships, but dozens of winged creatures, each carrying a few humans on their backs.
At the very center of the formation was a beast that looked like a winged lion, its size several times greater than that of the others. On its back stood a single man. Layla recognized him as well. He was Karas Skarn, leader of the summoners.
This brought their combined number of Archmages to three. It was a good start, but it definitely would not be enough to face—
An echoing wail split the air just as the thought occurred to her. The sound reverberated through her bones, stealing the breath from Layla’s lungs. At the same time, a giant shape, larger than all the Legion airships put together, revealed itself in the sky above, looming over the entire gathering like a king over his subjects.
Everyone, even her captain and Lady Eventide, stared at the monstrous fortress with serious expressions. They had all heard rumors about the Hohenheim airship, but this was the first time any of them had actually seen it. The rumors did not do it justice. This behemoth was unlike anything she had ever seen.
After the fortress horns fell silent, a moment of stillness descended upon the battlefield as everyone realized what the current situation meant.
Both sides had come in full force. The Legion, as well as the infiltrators, had wagered everything on this decisive battle. Whichever side emerged victorious here would likely be the one to dominate the inner regions going forward.
This was no longer solely about saving a trapped ally. This was a battle for the heart of Rukia.