Chapter 8: Solar Eclipse (2)

“Close your mouth, mister. You’re going to get blood in it.”

Ian Darkest’s sarcasm snapped Kaelen back to his senses.

Was my mouth open?

Kaelen quickly shut it, but his eyes remained locked on Ian in disbelief.

He cut down a goblin? Ian… Ian Darkest?

Was it just a fluke? Or… was there something he didn’t know? Kaelen was confused. Just a few minutes ago, Ian’s swordsmanship had been terrible—his stance weak, barely holding together.

He was the very definition of a rookie, his lack of real combat experience painfully obvious. But that movement just now…

His judgment and reaction—the way he slit the goblin’s throat without hesitation, even after taking a hit himself—weren’t those of a beginner at all. And above all—his eyes.

Calm and unwavering, like those of a seasoned soldier. A normal person would be shaken by the thick scent of blood and the screams filling the air, but Ian’s mind was perfectly steady.

Is this really… that illegitimate son, Ian?

Even a passing dog would laugh. Kaelen had met Ian before at the main house, and he had always been timid—intimidated. A servile illegitimate son who constantly watched the family head’s moods, trembling at his brothers’ bullying. But now?

Instead of fear or submission, there was a strange coldness—a detachment, like someone watching the battlefield from a distance. And the composure to take in the situation and fight.

What on earth… happened?

While Kaelen’s mind raced, new enemies emerged from the darkness.

“Whoa!”
“Gee-ek!”

There were far more of them than before.

“Damn it! It’s the second wave! Everyone, prepare to defend!”

Kaelen forced himself to shake off his thoughts, adjusted his grip on his sword, and shouted orders. Now was not the time to wonder about the sudden change in an illegitimate son. The battle was about to get even fiercer.

The orcs’ brutish charge shook the soldiers’ shield formation, while swift magical beasts exploited the gaps, threatening the soldier’s lives.

“Traps! I’ve set traps to the west!” Ian shouted. The soldiers followed Ian’s instructions reflexively, as if hearing the command of their lord.

The sight of them ignoring and looking down on Ian was gone.

“Uh-huh!”

A few orcs at the forefront plunged into a pit with sharpened wooden spikes.
While the ones following behind hesitated for a moment,

“Now! Attack!”

Ian shouted and led the charge. It was a crude trap. Its effectiveness wouldn’t last long.

— Shunk

The sensation of a sword piercing flesh. It was disgusting, but I had to get used to it. But wait a minute.

“Why won’t this come out.”

Whether it was the orc’s brutish muscles or rigor mortis setting in— The sword, stuck deep in its body, refused to budge. As I was struggling to pull out the sword, a wolf-like monster, not missing the opportunity, approached me.

“Karrrrr!”

Seeing the saliva dripping from its gaping mouth, a curse naturally came out.

“Damn it!”

With every step the creature took, my mouth grew drier and drier.

Come out, just come out.

──────────
▶ A fragment of memory has been absorbed: An unexpected variable.

—【Combat Sense】Opening Rate: 51%
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Screw it, I don’t know! I kicked the orc with the sword embedded in it and pulled out the sword.
And with that same rebound, I pulled out the sword and turned to parry the claws of the charging magical beast with my sword.

Clang!

My arm rang with pain, but it was bearable. No, honestly, it hurt like hell. So this is what it feels like to have your vision spin. But the one who was more flustered was the opposing magical beast.

“Gruk?”

Taking advantage of the moment when it lost its balance, I swung my sword upwards from below. Its skin was torn apart and dark red blood spurted out.

“Th-That bastard…!”

Kaelen’s and the soldiers’ eyes widened. Their eyes were filled with astonishment.

Ian Darkest.

Not only had his movements changed noticeably in just a few minutes, but the traps and defensive facilities they had laughed at as crazy were actually proving effective. In their eyes, Ian was the very image of a hero.

“Were you hiding your swordsmanship skills!”
“We bought time thanks to the lord’s crazy preparations!”

Such words erupted from among the soldiers. Although there was still a mix of contempt, a different kind of emotion was mixed in. And more importantly, ‘lord’.

It was probably a slip of the tongue, but that’s what made it meaningful. The battle continued. Soldiers died, but the remaining ones fought desperately.

Everything Ian had prepared for the past year was now proving its worth. The sharp wooden fences slowed the charging enemies, while adhesive magic bullets and various cheap magical engineering tools hurled from atop the earthen walls still managed to take down monsters.

How much time had passed? The number of monsters that had seemed endless was finally dwindling. As the last few orcs, scattered and resisting, fell one by one, a brief silence settled over the battlefield.

“…Huh… is it… over?”

A surviving soldier asked with a trembling voice. His armor was dented, soaked in blood.

“Did we kill them all?”
“W-We’re alive… We did it!”

Cheers broke out from different corners, mingling with exhausted sighs of relief. The surviving villagers embraced one another in joy. Under the flickering torchlight, the entrance to Seorigol was in ruins—but they had survived.

Kaelen, panting heavily, shook the blood off his sword and scanned the faces of his remaining subordinates.

More than half were dead or gravely injured.

A painful loss.

But still—better than annihilation.

“Everyone, you’ve worked hard.”

As he spoke, his gaze landed on Ian. Ian Darkest—his body battered, his wounds severe. And yet, unbelievably, he was still standing. Kaelen frowned slightly without realizing it. He’s changed.

The Ian Darkest he had once known—the timid, weak-willed illegitimate son who collapsed from even trivial training—was nowhere to be seen. Instead, on this battlefield, Ian stood taller than anyone else.

Wow. I’m dying.

Am I really going to die like this?

To be honest, my body was wrecked after enduring my first real battle soaked in blood. I wanted to collapse onto the ground right then and there, but even moving my joints felt impossible. It felt like I could hear my bones creaking from the strain.

“Heok, heok…”

With every breath, a sharp metallic taste filled my mouth. Was it my own blood—

Or the monster’s?

I wasn’t even sure anymore.

But one thing was certain.

I blocked it all.

The damage was greater than expected, but I had blocked it nonetheless.
Considering Seorigol’s low fief level, this was likely the extent of this eclipse.
Even in the game, a Level 1 fief had a wave of this size as its limit.

It was tough… but this much… was more manageable than I thought.

No.
Can I say it was manageable?

Half of the soldiers dispatched from the family were dead.
The villagers seemed to be fine thanks to being quickly evacuated to the basement, but everyone had major or minor injuries.

‘…But we’re alive.’

Yes.
We survived.

That’s what’s most important.
The only reward that exists in a dark fantasy.
It’s only life.

‘Protecting this tiny fief is also a big deal.’

There is no peace to be found, but rather it is filled with blood. But I can use that blood as nutrients to develop the fief. The price of those monster corpses, and the value of the crystals that will be found there, will by no means be small.

‘That’s enough to develop the fief.’

Initial capital. If I have that, I have enough confidence to grow the fief.

No matter what anyone says, I was a veteran of TeLe.
…My memory isn’t perfect, but anyway.

The moment I was vaguely drawing a happy future like that.

“…Huh?”

A chill that made all the hair on my body stand on end. The sense of relief from just a moment ago instantly disappeared, and instead, an unknown sense of unease tightened around my heart.

The surrounding air was rapidly growing cold again. No, rather than cold… it felt like it was sinking heavily. And… it was too quiet. An unnatural silence, as if even the groans of the injured from just a moment ago had stopped.

“What’s wrong, my lord?”

Even the soldiers who were dazed nearby asked, but their voices didn’t reach me. The ground rumbled. No—it would be more accurate to say that space was rumbling. Something immense was approaching.

“…No way. This is—”

Seorigol was a low-grade fief, barely worth one star. This had to end here. The monster wave had to stop.

“You must have been very surprised. Lay him down quickly.”
“Please rest. We—the villagers—will handle the rest.”

The soldiers approached, but my gaze remained fixed on the darkness that had descended.

“……It’s not over yet.”

Kaelen, sighing in relief, turned to look at me, puzzled. I had no mind to answer. I had to think.
Work, damn head.

I stared at the abyss where the monsters had vanished. Every nerve screamed at me. The aura was different. Ominous. Overwhelming. A presence leagues beyond anything before.

The opponent’s grade? Unknown.
Type? Since no one else seemed to notice, it was likely mental.
Purpose? …Annihilation.
Pattern—what’s its pattern? If it was mind control, it would definitely start with words.
An Anomaly. They always spoke.

“…Everyone, cover your ears.”

“What?”

The moment my words left my lips, the air plunged into unnatural cold. This wasn’t just a drop in temperature. It was the chill of death. As if even the soul could freeze. And then—

The whispering began.

— “I know your sins…”
— “You will all die…”

A voice from everywhere and nowhere. Not mere sound. A malevolent echo that burrowed directly into the brain—digging up fears and anxieties long buried.

“Ugh… Aaaargh!”

The first to collapse were the regular soldiers, clutching their ears, writhing in agony. One slashed wildly at an invisible enemy. Another fell to his knees, sobbing for his mother.

“Y-You! Traitor!”

A soldier suddenly turned his sword on a comrade, his gaze alight with madness.

“Keuk… Save me… Please…”

Another discarded his weapon entirely, curling up and crying like a lost child. The discipline forged through training crumbled in an instant.

“Get a grip, you bastards!”

Kaelen barked, but his voice trembled just as violently. Sweat dripped down his temples. His pupils—unfocused, erratic.

An Anomaly? A real Anomaly?

But wasn’t that only supposed to appear in 8-star fiefs? The commoners writhed on the ground, foaming at the mouth. A curse slipped from my lips.

“This is Seorigol—not even one star, you f*ckers.”

…No way.

Was Seorigol more valuable than I thought?

— “This land has a delicious smell.”

Its voice echoed in my head.