[Unit "Maeve" Skill Awakened: Wild Hunt]
"No way! Finally, some good news. We might have hope of turning the tides of this battle!"
Moments later another notification appeared.
[Warning: Core Party Unit "Maeve" HP is critically low.]
"W-What happened?"
"Come on... she’ll make it out, right?"
My heart thumped loudly, and I couldn’t take my eyes off the notification. Somewhere deep inside, I still believed Maeve could pull through and make it out of this.
[Warning: Core Party Unit "Maeve" has suffered fatal damage.]
. . .
"No. That’s not right."
"She couldn’t have—"
The battlefield around me suddenly felt distant.
The sounds of steel clashing and soldiers shouting seemed to collapse into an eerie muffled noise. My vision narrowed until there was nothing left but the notification floating in front of me.
This is your fault.
You were the one who assigned them to the battlements.
You sent them there without support.
You knew the goblins were overwhelming that position.
"Comma—"
"No..." My breathing grew heavier.
And when that monster shattered the gates, all hell let loose.
You lost all control of the battlefield.
Just like last time.
You sent them to their death.
"Commander!" Giles grabbed my shoulders, shaking me wildly. "Are you alright?"
I blinked; everything seemed so clear.
"Giles. Kiran. Regroup with the others."
Giles stared at me. "Commander, what about you?"
"I’m going back to get Iron."
Kiran immediately stepped forward.
"No. You’re not."
"Commander, with all due respect, you are in no shape to fight, and the Goblin Lord is still roaming around in there. If you go alone, you’re going to get yourself killed."
"I’m going."
"Commander—" Giles held me back.
"That’s an order."
For a moment, neither of them moved. I didn’t know what they saw in my eyes, but their expressions slowly changed.
Giles lowered his hands. "U-Understood, Commander."
Logan disappeared into the ruined streets, leaving Giles and Kiran to watch the path he had taken in uneasy silence.
Althea regained her consciousness shortly after.
"Huf... W-What happened? Where’s Commander? Where’s Captain Iron?"
Kiran remained silent for a moment before sighing.
"Captain Iron told us to leave while he held back that monster." He hesitated momentarily.
"Commander is going after the Goblin Lord alone."
"Are you guys crazy? Why would you let Commander go by himself?"
Giles frowned, almost afraid to meet Althea’s eyes. "I don’t know."
Kiran’s expression tightened. "Because of his eyes."
Giles immediately followed up. "They were scary."
"What do you mean, scary?"
Kiran stared down the street where Logan had disappeared.
"It was like staring at an endless void. If we tried to stop him, we’d just get swallowed up."
For a moment, the three of them remained silent.
Althea slowly turned her gaze toward the ruined street.
"Do you think he’s actually strong enough to fight the Goblin Lord?"
Giles hesitated. "Have you ever seen him fight?"
Kiran shook his head. "Not once."
"Neither have I."
They had seen Logan command armies, read battlefields, and turn the tides of battle, but never once had either of them seen him pick up a sword and fight.
"Then what are we waiting for? We should go back and get him now before it’s too late." Althea urges, already waddling back towards the ruined street.
Kiran looked thoughtful for a moment before shrugging.
"No. We’ll listen to his orders."
"It’s hard to say, but I’m sure he has some cards up his sleeves."
For a moment, none of them spoke.
"He’ll find a way," Giles muttered.
Logan opened the map and immediately began scanning the city, tracing the safest route toward Iron’s last known position while accounting for the movement of the remaining goblins.
He avoided the main streets and chose a smaller, more obscured path through the damaged districts, where the ruined buildings and scattered debris provided enough cover to keep him out of sight.
As he moved, Logan began turning the surrounding environments into weapons, shifting loose rubble, cutting ropes, and positioning anything he could use to slow or redirect the Goblin Lord if they crossed paths.
His route gradually became a battlefield of his own making, with every collapsed building, narrow alley, and piece of debris serving a purpose as he continued toward Iron.
"This is where we last saw him..." Logan scanned the battlefield; broken stones and debris filled the ground. Searching around the collapse building, Logan saw the trace of Captain Iron lay motionless among the rubble, his armor battered and stained with blood.
"Iron!"
There was no response.
Logan hurried over and crouched beside him, checking for any sign of consciousness. When Iron finally stirred, Logan grabbed his arm and pulled him upright, supporting most of his weight as he struggled to get back on his feet.
"Come on. Stay with me."
Iron’s eyes slowly opened, and his lips moved as he tried to speak.
"Commander...?"
"Save your breath."
Logan tightened his grip around Iron’s shoulder and steadied him.
"I’ll get you out of here."
Logan retraced the same route he had taken to reach Iron, carefully supporting the injured Captain as they made their way through the ruined streets. He kept to the same obscured paths and avoided the main roads, using the cover of the damaged buildings to keep Iron out of sight while they moved toward the safer part of the city.
A group of goblins suddenly appeared at the end of the street.
Logan stopped.
There were six of them, armed with battered swords and crude axes.
"Stay here."
Logan carefully lowered Iron against the remains of a stone wall before drawing his sword.
"Let’s see if a month of training actually paid off." Logan took a deep breath.
The first goblin swung its axe at him.
Logan stepped aside, letting the blade crash into the stone behind him before driving his weapon into the creature’s exposed side. He immediately pulled it free and ducked beneath another swing, using the goblin’s momentum to shove it into the path of its own allies.
Everything seems much slower now.
Two more rushed him from opposite sides.
Logan backed toward the narrow alley, forcing them to approach one at a time instead of allowing them to surround him. He caught the first attack on his weapon, twisted his body, and drove his elbow into the goblin’s face before finishing it with a quick strike to the throat.
The second goblin barely had time to react before Logan kicked a loose piece of rubble beneath its feet. As it stumbled, he stepped forward and struck it across the jaw, sending it crashing into the wall.
He closed the distance before they could regroup, striking the nearest one across the wrist and disarming it before driving his shoulder into its chest. The final two tried to retreat, but Logan pursued them through the alley and finished the fight moments later.
The street fell silent.
Logan stood among the bodies, breathing heavily as he wiped the blood from his weapon.
I haven’t felt this in years.
A heavy footstep echoed from the other end of the street.
Logan slowly raised his head.
The Goblin Lord stepped out from the shadows, its eyes locking onto him.
"Found you."