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–––Freya’s viewpoint

After the female demon leading the army was killed, the rest of the troops fell apart and we were able to win. It was still a harsh fight though, and a large part of the enemy managed to escape, so it was more appropriate to say we had just driven them away. On top of that we had more casualties than I anticipated. We started with five thousand holy knights, two thousand had died, and everyone else was injured. If the demon’s leader had not been killed they would have continued fighting and all of us would have died.

(That was way too close for comfort. I don’t know if we can fend off another attack like that…)

There was no telling that the demons would stop there. They could easily have a second and third army standing by. Our priority was to rebuild the country and be prepared for whatever came.

“Urgh…why did he have to die…”
“Dammit..! It should’ve been me…”

I could hear the holy knights lamenting the dead all around me, and no decent leader would blame them for that. It was an awful sight, holy knights so out of mana that they could not even heal themselves anymore, while their injuries impeded them from collecting the remains of their fallen brethren. On top of that the country was still in turmoil with the revolution. I did not like the idea, but we would need to leave the battlefield that way and head back as soon as we could.

(It almost looks like we’re the ones who lost…)

This was not how a winning army usually looked and I could not help but sigh watching them. But when we reached the capital, crumbling and burned to ruins, we felt true despair.

“Wh-what… happened here…”

No one was left to answer my question. Everyone was lost for words seeing that. I had seen the rebels reaching the capital when I left, and I had expected to find them restrained and subdued when I came back. But I could only see corpses strewn everywhere, both civilians and knights, all mixed up. Some of the bodies were so mangled I could not even tell from what side they came. I tried to think just what could have caused this in confusion, until I finally found what had caused this.

They were inside the city, the army responsible for this. All wearing black armor which gave off an ominous appearance.

“Are they… from Leble?”

There was no mistaking it, their flags were those of Leble, I had seen it when I went there for that meeting of heroes. Had they been waiting for the rebellion to get more fierce, and then invaded while I was protecting the border from the demons..?

“D-damn you..!”
“What have you done to our Holy City!”
“You won’t get out of here alive!”

I heard multiple angry yells behind me, and I found a frenzied crowd behind me. Their eyes looked too maddened to be called holy knights, expressing all their anger and frustration with tears of blood. They had just lost their city, their friends, families, everything. Unsheathing their swords, they charged at Leble’s army.

“W-wait!”

They rushed past me without waiting, their emotions too powerful to be stopped. Earlier they all looked crestfallen like a defeated army, but there was no semblance of that left now. Emotions only granted a momentary boost though, so I knew they would not last very long. The correct choice would be to retreat and find a better way to reclaim our country.

“Please stop!”
“You should give that up, Lady Freya.”

Only a handful of knights remained around me. One of them was an elderly knight I knew for a long time, and was on good terms with. He stopped me, smiling kindly as he told me to turn a blind eye to everything.

“Lady Freya, please run away.”
“Wh-what?! Are you suggesting I only save myself?”
“Yes.”

I was completely baffled by that.

“The Holy City has been taken, the countryside has revolted, the holy knights have fallen, even the city guard is no more. Our country is done for.”
“Then at least let me fight until the end-”
“You can’t!”

His voice was so powerful I was startled and froze in place. I could feel a stark sadness and fury in his voice. He also wanted to join the other knights in fighting Leble’s army, but he suppressed those feelings to persuade me.

“You’re the symbol of our country, if you survive, Lumielle might be rebuilt one day. You need to be the face of the army taking revenge on the empire. Live on, only you can accomplish that.”
“But…”

That sounded like a cruel future and duty. I could die without having to suffer again if I fought now. But only me and the knights would be at ease that way. All the surviving citizens would be treated horribly under the new rule, leading hopeless lives.

I could hear my teeth gritting against each other. How did the rest of the city look, what about the pope? Had he died in the attack too? Would he be executed in public if he was still alive? At least I wanted to check in on him, but not even that would be allowed.

The knight was fully aware of my thoughts, and calmly rebuked my ideas.

“Just assume that… the pope was killed. Even if he’s still alive, I don’t think he’d want to be the only one to be rescued.”
“That’s… true.”

Knowing him, he would refuse to let me take him to safety, or at least would get incredibly angry. He would ask why I saved an elderly man like him, and tell me I should have rescued a child in his stead.

Just thinking of his selfless nature made me smile ever so slightly.

“Lady Freya, please go gather allies. The empire has shown its true colors, they can’t deny their intentions any longer. Go to other countries, find help, and resist the empire and the demons. If you truly pity all the lives lost here, then swallow your tears and keep living. Please, I beg you.”

Saying that, he lowered his head and bowed deeply. The few knights that remained did the same.

“…Alright. I’ll take this as your last will then.”
“Thank you very much. Lady Freya, please take care of yourself.”

The elderly knight smiled satisfied, and then unsheathed his sword and ran toward the city. The few knights that remained followed suit, and only I stayed behind.

“…Farewell. I swear I’ll avenge every last one of you. Please watch me fight for you from above.”

I turned around and headed away from the battle, moving south, to the only country that had a chance of opposing the empire, Bordaule. I was sure Lapis and her friends would prove to be valuable allies.