Warning: This chapter contains graphic violence and body horror.
The sun remained motionless above the plains.
No shadow remained across the Southern Front.
The earth had disappeared beneath a mixture of mud, blood, and shattered steel.
Bodies lay scattered everywhere.
Some soldiers carried away the wounded.
Others merely watched.
Without the strength to raise their weapons again.
Farther ahead...
Three colossal bodies remained sprawled among craters opened by the impacts.
Motionless.
Blood slowly ran across the scarred earth.
A few meters from the fallen creatures...
León rested his sword against the ground.
His breathing was heavy.
His breastplate was marked by deep cuts.
Blood slowly ran down the side of his face before dripping onto the ground.
His left arm trembled almost imperceptibly.
Not from fear.
From strain.
At his side...
Sèsinmè remained silent.
Her spear rested low beside her body.
Her white robes were no longer completely white.
Stains of blood and earth covered part of the fabric.
A few strands of hair clung to her face with sweat.
Even so...
Her eyes remained as serene as they had been at the beginning of the battle.
Then she spoke.
"Your body has already reached its own limits, Lord León."
A brief pause.
"Only your determination is still holding it together."
Her eyes remained on the creatures.
"Every strike coated in anima consumes the strength of your own soul."
"To continue at this pace..."
Another brief pause.
"...means drawing closer to your own exhaustion."
León let out a faint, weary smile.
"I'll stop..."
His eyes remained fixed on the creatures.
"...when they stop."
The wind slowly stirred Sèsinmè's hair.
No reaction appeared on her face.
"I imagined you would answer that way."
CRACK.
A small snap broke the silence.
CRACK.
Another snap answered.
The three ogres rose almost at the same time.
None of them roared.
None of them charged immediately.
They simply watched.
León lifted his sword from the ground.
The white-silver glow slowly enveloped the blade once more.
Sèsinmè raised her spear.
The tip of the weapon traced a small arc before her body.
A single breath.
BOOOOOOM!!
León closed the distance first.
In two explosive steps, his body had already crossed the space between the ogres.
The first strike came diagonally.
Straight for the creature's neck.
The ogre anticipated the movement.
It twisted its body before the impact.
The blade did not find the neck.
It sliced only through part of the trapezius.
The strike lost its depth.
León had already realized it.
He immediately changed the second movement.
He spun around his own axis.
The sword sought the back of the knee.
The giant pulled its leg back.
Not completely.
Just enough.
The blade opened a long cut.
But it did not destroy the joint.
The creature answered at once.
Its fist came down like a hammer.
León abandoned the attack.
His body slid through the mud before the impact crushed the place where he had been.
The earth exploded.
At the side...
Sèsinmè had already reached another ogre.
Her spear thrust straight ahead.
The tip sought the center of its throat.
The giant tilted its chin aside.
The blade pierced only its shoulder.
Without interrupting the movement...
She twisted the shaft.
The opposite end struck the creature's elbow.
Its arm lost alignment for an instant.
It was the opening she always used.
Sèsinmè advanced.
The third strike should have pierced its chest.
But the ogre stepped back a single pace.
The distance vanished.
The spear's tip found only air.
Sèsinmè's eyes narrowed.
It had anticipated the sequence.
Before she could reposition her weapon...
The third ogre was already appearing from the flank.
León reacted immediately, stepping between the ogre and Sèsinmè.
The sword traced an ascending arc.
The ogre was forced to interrupt its charge to protect its own arm.
The four of them separated once more.
For a brief instant...
No one attacked.
The three ogres remained motionless.
Watching.
León kept his sword raised.
His breathing grew heavier.
"They're no longer—"
BOOOOOOM!!
The ogre in the center disappeared.
There was no strike being prepared.
There was no wide movement.
The creature simply shattered the distance.
Sèsinmè moved her spear to intercept.
Too late.
The ogre's elbow struck the shaft before she could complete the defense.
CRAAACK!!
The reinforced wood bent violently.
The impact knocked the spear off its line.
Without giving Sèsinmè time to recover her guard...
The giant raised its other arm.
Its fist came down directly at her.
León moved without thinking.
He shoved Sèsinmè out of its path.
It was exactly what the creature had been waiting for.
The instant he stepped into its line...
The strike shifted toward him.
BOOOOOOM!!
The colossal fist slammed into his sword.
The steel absorbed part of the impact.
The rest surged through his arms.
León was hurled backward.
His feet carved a long trench through the mud before he managed to recover his balance.
The arm holding the sword trembled.
A thin line of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
Without giving him the slightest chance to recover his stance...
BOOOOOOM!!
The three ogres charged him at the same time.
León exhaled slowly.
His body moved on instinct.
The first fist passed only inches from his face.
A short step.
A twist of the hips.
The sword deflected the second ogre's forearm just enough to open a path.
The third closed it with a descending strike.
León hurled himself to the left.
Trying to escape before the fist struck the ground.
Too late.
The first had already reappeared in that direction.
The three of them were no longer chasing his attacks.
They were chasing his escape routes.
The encirclement was closing.
Then—
BOOOOOOOM!!
A hole the size of a man's head appeared in one of the ogres' chest.
The impact pierced completely through its torso.
The creature collapsed.
The other two immediately broke off their assault and fell back.
Tristan pulled on his mount's reins until it stopped beside León.
His eyes quickly swept across the scarred armor.
The blood.
The heavy breathing.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Master..."
A brief pause.
"I'll admit I expected to find you in slightly better shape."
León kept his sword raised.
"What are you doing on the Southern Front?"
Tristan rested his spear across his shoulder.
"Zion considered too many possibilities."
"In the end..."
"...he concluded I'd be more useful here."
León glanced at Tristan for a brief instant.
"You crossed this entire battlefield alone?"
Tristan smiled faintly.
"Not entirely."
A brief pause.
"Along the way we found survivors..."
"...men who could no longer even walk."
He gave a slight shrug.
"The hundred knights who left with me stayed behind to lead them somewhere safe."
"So I made the rest of the journey alone."
Tristan's eyes quickly swept across the Southern reserve.
The Knights of the Order remained organized around Ryou.
A small smile returned to his face.
"Curious..."
"It seems Lord Roven wasn't the only one who decided to spare the Order today."
León followed his gaze for a brief moment.
"We're still going to need them."
CRACK.
The ogre's flesh slowly rebuilt the enormous wound.
Muscles pulsed.
Bones cracked as they returned to their places.
Tristan watched the scene in silence for a moment.
Then he let out a short sigh.
"I'm starting to wonder whether these things can actually die."
Sèsinmè took only a single step forward.
"These creatures were bound together by profane magic."
"They do not share life alone."
"They share death itself."
Her voice remained as calm as ever.
"As long as one of them remains alive..."
"...the others will always find their way back."
"Only when all of them are slain at the same time..."
"...will that bond cease to sustain them."
Tristan looked at the creatures once more.
Then he raised his eyes toward the vastness of the plains.
"Then it's impossible."
"They're scattered across the five fronts."
"There's no way to coordinate something like that."
A raven crossed the sky.
CRAAAH.
The sound of its wings broke the silence of the plain.
Sèsinmè followed its flight for a brief moment.
"No..."
"It isn't impossible."
Her eyes remained turned toward the horizon.
"Every path demands a presence."
"This one has already received the blood that was owed to it."
The wind slowly crossed the plain.
No one answered.
Only the distant beating of the raven's wings continued echoing across the heavens.
Far beyond there, to the east of the plains...
silence ruled the battlefront.
The North's ivory-white banners still fluttered beneath the wind.
Beneath them...
eight thousand two hundred soldiers stood motionless.
The cavalry held their reins firmly.
The archers kept their bows lowered.
Shields remained aligned.
Spears pointed toward the sky.
No orders were given.
Thousands of eyes remained fixed on a single point across the plain.
Beyond the Northern formation...
Reinhardt stood motionless, surrounded by three ogres.
None of them advanced.
The scars across his face were speckled with the blood of battle.
His white hair was covered in blood.
His light gray armor bore stains of dried blood scattered across the steel.
The long, slightly curved saber rested low beside his body.
His pale gray eyes remained fixed on three more ogres standing motionless several meters ahead.
A long sigh escaped his lips.
"Sixty-seven years..."
A brief pause.
"And they still expect an old man to solve this kind of problem."
Silence settled over the small circle once again.
None of the three ogres around him moved.
Reinhardt slowly raised his gaze.
The scars upon his face remained unmoved.
"Come."
His voice came out low.
Weary.
"Show me what you've learned."
It was enough.
BOOOOOOM!!
The ogre to the left hurled its body forward.
Its colossal fist tore through the air straight toward Reinhardt.
Less than a hand's breadth from his face...
CRAAAAACK!!
The creature's arm bent at an impossible angle.
As though an invisible force had returned the entire impact back upon it.
Bones shattered.
Muscle tore apart.
At that very instant...
The colossal body was violently hurled backward.
CRAAAAAASH!!
The creature plowed through the mud, carving a deep trench before crashing into the ground.
The second ogre was already emerging from the flank.
Without moving his feet...
Reinhardt merely tilted his head.
The claws passed within inches of his face.
SHIIIIING...
The saber rose slowly.
A single movement.
The creature's arm separated from its shoulder.
"GRAAAAAAAAH!!"
The roar echoed across the plain.
Within the same strike...
the blade continued its path.
SHRIIIIING!
The ogre's head separated from its neck.
Its blood was still exploding through the air...
when the third ogre seized that instant.
It leaped.
Both fists came crashing down at the same time.
BOOOOOOOOM!!
The instant the impact reached Reinhardt...
The air exploded around him.
A shockwave swept across the plain.
The creature's colossal body was violently hurled backward.
CRAAAASH!!
The ogre slid across the earth before collapsing among the craters.
As the dust slowly began to settle...
Reinhardt remained exactly where he had been.
Motionless.
As though the blow had never existed.
The three ogres ahead remained still.
None of them advanced.
They merely watched.
Reinhardt's pale gray eyes slowly swept across the three creatures.
Another long sigh escaped his lips.
"Still watching..."
A brief pause.
"After all this time..."
"I thought you would have learned enough by now."
None of the creatures reacted.
Reinhardt closed his eyes for a brief moment.
"Very well..."
His voice remained calm.
Almost weary.
"If you do not intend to come..."
His eyes opened once more.
"...this old man will come to you."
Reinhardt took a single step.
It was enough.
FWHOOOSH!
Reinhardt's figure vanished.
Only the gleam of the saber crossed the plain.
The three ogres reacted almost simultaneously.
Searching for Reinhardt.
Too late.
SHRIIIIIIIIING!
A single cut.
Clean.
Silent.
Then...
The three heads slowly slid from their necks.
THUD.
THUD.
THUD.
The bodies remained motionless for a brief instant...
before collapsing almost at the same time.
BOOOOOOM!!
The earth trembled beneath the weight of the creatures.
Reinhardt remained with his back to them.
Without so much as glancing over his shoulder.
The saber rested beside his body once again.
"AAAAAAH!!"
"They're coming!!"
"Stop them!!"
The cries swept across the plain.
Reinhardt's eyes immediately shifted toward the rear.
Far beyond the fallen bodies...
three ogres were charging at full speed toward the Northern lines.
"I see..."
His eyes followed the creatures.
"While three hold my attention..."
"...the others search for an easier target."
Reinhardt lightly tapped the tip of his boot against the ground.
Toc.
Small stone fragments broke free from the earth.
Before they could fall again...
Reinhardt's hand was already waiting for them.
Three fragments.
Irregular.
Almost insignificant.
His fingers slowly closed around them.
In the distance...
the three ogres continued charging.
Each step made the earth tremble.
The distance to the Northern lines shrank rapidly.
Reinhardt calmly raised his hand.
One of the stones rested against the tip of his thumb.
The other two remained held between his fingers.
"Hm..."
His gaze held no trace of urgency.
"I have no intention of letting you get that far."
TIK!
His thumb launched the first stone.
TIK!
The second followed immediately after.
TIK!
The third followed the same motion.
The three fragments vanished from sight.
For a brief instant...
nothing happened.
Then—
BOOOM!!
The first ogre's left leg exploded at the knee.
The creature lost all support.
Its colossal body pitched forward.
BOOOM!!
The second had its right leg pierced through.
Fragments of bone and flesh scattered across the plain.
The giant crashed violently into the ground.
BOOOM!!
The third stone pierced the last ogre's knee.
Its leg gave way instantly.
The three creatures collapsed almost at the same time.
The earth trembled beneath their bodies, opening deep furrows across the plain.
Even after falling...
they continued sliding through the mud toward the Northern lines.
The soldiers in the front rank locked their shields by instinct.
The three small stones continued on their course.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
The fragments struck several shields along the front line.
The steel dented beneath the impact.
Several soldiers staggered back half a step, absorbing the vibration that traveled through their arms.
They quickly realized...
they had been struck by nothing more than ordinary fragments of stone.
"THEY'RE STILL COMING!!"
"ARCHERS!"
"SPEARS!"
"DON'T LET THEM GET ANY CLOSER!"
The shout shattered the formation.
The soldiers reacted immediately.
SHHHHHHK!!
Hundreds of arrows cut across the sky.
FWHOOOSH!!
Right behind them—
dozens of spears were hurled.
CRAAACK!!
THUD!!
The arrows pierced arms.
Necks.
Chests.
The spears buried themselves in the creatures' bodies, slowing their advance even further.
Even pierced through...
their flesh had already begun rebuilding itself.
Bones cracked.
Tendons knit themselves back together.
"MORE ARROWS!!"
"DON'T LET THE REGENERATION FINISH!"
"KEEP FIRING!!"
SHHHHHHK!!
Another rain of arrows covered the sky.
The creatures were pierced once more.
Even so...
they continued advancing.
Reinhardt's eyes slowly shifted toward the three creatures that had lost their heads.
Their flesh was already knitting itself back together.
Muscles rebuilt themselves before his eyes.
Veins reappeared.
The first movements returned to the decapitated bodies.
Reinhardt's eyes narrowed.
"What an inconvenience..."
SHIIIIING.
The saber made only a single movement.
Small.
Silent.
Almost lazy.
The next instant...
Reinhardt vanished.
FWHOOOSH!
When he was seen again...
he was already standing before the Northern formation.
The soldiers shuddered.
Some instinctively tightened their grip on their spears.
Others had not even managed to follow his movement.
One of the veterans' eyes widened.
"L-Lord Reinhardt...?"
No answer came.
Reinhardt merely slowly turned his face back toward the plain.
The six bodies still lay scattered across the battlefield.
He calmly rested the tip of his saber against the earth.
Both hands settled upon the weapon's hilt.
"Vector Guillotine."
His voice echoed across the plain.
For a brief instant, nothing happened.
Then...
CRRRRSH!!
Blood erupted from all six ogres at once.
Hundreds of cuts appeared simultaneously.
Arms.
Legs.
Torsos.
Necks.
Every segment separated from the next.
Within a single second...
the six ogres had been reduced to dozens of pieces scattered across the plain.
No part remained connected to another.
Not a single soldier celebrated.
Not one shouted in victory.
They merely stood there, watching.
Without looking away...
Reinhardt spoke calmly.
"Last time..."
A brief pause.
"It took them eighteen minutes."
His eyes remained on the countless pieces scattered across the plain.
"I wonder..."
"...how long they'll take to return this time."
The wind began blowing across the Eastern Front once again.
Small fragments of flesh scattered across the plain drifted together with the dust.
CRAAAH.
A lone raven slowly crossed the sky.