On a grey day on the battlefield, the sky hangs heavy with thick clouds, casting a dreary pall over the desolate landscape. The air is thick with the metallic scent of blood mingled with the stench of vomit. In the muddy wasteland, littered with debris and the bodies of fallen soldiers, the distant echoes of artillery fire reverberate through the air, punctuated by the anguished screams of the wounded and the laughter of the insane. Amidst the chaos, a pervasive sense of despair and hopelessness lingers, as each passing moment brings only further suffering and loss.
...
Inside some military tent in the middle of some battlefield.
"What are we going to do, Captain? The situation doesn't look good, and the rest of the squad is restless. It's very dangerous." Lucas said.
The captain looked at him for some time and opened his mouth as if to speak but remained silent.
...
Outside the tent
"Hahahahaha, ahahahahaha, ahhhhhh sob hahaha," someone started laughing and crying simultaneously.
"What's wrong with that idiot? Why is he laughing and crying at the same time? How's he even able to do that? Actually... forget what I just said. That's impressive, he's talented!" Charles said out loud, giving a thumbs-up to the crazy guy.
"Leave the guy alone, Charles. He's the new guy, remember? He isn't even 19, and now he has to die. Life's already hard enough on him." Diana scolded him.
"Well, we're going to die too, if not from the enemy, then from the Empire. And if not that, those lunatics will eventually get us killed. It's just a matter of time." said Jin, who wasn't fond of these so-called comrades.
"Well said, Jin. We're basically the only sane people left here. All 50 or so members have gone insane, just like that crazy one over there." Juan added sarcastically, trying to annoy Jin, but failed.
"Yeah? I don't want to be in a group with you guys either. I'd rather be at home with a woman or two, not stuck in this damn place reeking of blood, vomit, and feces." Charles replied, disgusted by his own words.
"Aww, that's so romantic, Charles. I love you too." Diana teased, almost managing to embarrass him.
"Shut up, bitch. Anyway, what's the captain going to do? He and Lucas have been in there too long. I'm starting to get a little nerv..." Charles cut himself off mid-sentence as he saw Lucas emerge from the tent.
"So?" Juan asked, hoping for good news. Lucas ignored the question, closed his eyes as if remembering the captain's words, or perhaps something precious he'd left behind to come to this doomed place. They didn't really know. Charles, growing increasingly anxious, watched Lucas stand silently for nearly two minutes.
Then, in a burst of panic, he shouted with what Jin believed was the loudest voice he had ever heard "What did that crazy motherfucker decide to do?!!"
Lucas, ignoring him shouting at his superior, still calm and composed, answered "He has decided to die."
...
Almost 8 minutes earlier, inside the tent
"Captain! Captain!! Captain!!!" Lucas nearly lost his temper, raising his voice in an effort to get a response.
The captain finally looked at him again and asked. "Do you have someone?"
Lucas was startled, but quickly understood. "They told me not to come here."
The captain laughed. "You should have listened to them."
Lucas looked down briefly, as if remembering those voices. Then he said, "Captain, this isn't the time for small talk. Please decide what to do."
"What is there to decide?" the captain replied. "The Empire gave its orders: 'The remaining 100 squads must hold the frontline to buy our holy knights time to prepare the rear and home front for the enemy's full assault. Any deserters will be punished after the war. May God be with you, brave soldiers.' That includes us, Squad 57. As loyal soldiers, we obey." His tone was nearly sarcastic.
"You know that's bullshit. They just want us to die to buy time for the nobles to escape with their money."
The captain considered scolding Lucas for his words, something he usually did, but instead shrugged and said, "You think I don't know that?"
Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Then why don't you want to flee, like the other 34 squads that did?"
"Almost all of them had to kill their captains to escape." the captain said with a laugh.
"Are you saying we have to kill you first? Because those lunatics outside were planning to." Lucas said, sounding almost regretful.
"Yes, yes. Thank you, I'm alive thanks to you. But you're alive thanks to me too."
Lucas tried to acknowledge that, but the captain interrupted him.
"I'm not talking about battlefield heroics. That's my duty. But think: why would the Empire mention holy knights in the orders? They don't prepare logistics or defend the home front. Their job is to kill, with their fancy enchanted gear and magic scrolls."
Lucas was confused. Before he could ask, the captain continued.
"'You peasants must die for our sake. You lowly scum must die because we ordered it. You insects with no mana must die, but at least you'll finally be useful. And if any of you try to retreat, our sons and daughters, the holy knights of the Empire, will slaughter you. So stay put, or die early.' Does that translation help?"
Lucas was stunned. He had never heard the captain speak of the nobles like that. He heard hatred, but also fear. The fear every soldier and peasant felt. Not fear of death, but of proving the nobles right, that they were just insects meant to obey.
He stood in silence, unsure what to say. He knew nobles and knights viewed them as lesser beings, tools even, but he didn't believe they'd outright kill them for trying to survive. He was wrong.
"Fuck..." he finally muttered.
The captain laughed. "Yes, yes, fuck. Well said, soldier."
'This insane bastard. What the hell is he laughing at...?' Lucas thought, until the captain's voice cut in.
"...You should have listened to them...I...should have listened to them..." His voice was a mix of defeat and apology.
"...Yes, we should have..." Lucas replied as he exited the tent.
...
Outside the tent
The atmosphere was nearly silent, aside from the wounded's screams, mad laughter, and artillery fire. The stench of gunpowder, blood, and vomit filled the air, making it nearly unbearable.
The squad stood frozen. Eventually, Juan broke the silence. "What do you mean by that?"
As if returning to himself, Charles shouted again, "I told you we should've killed that bastard!"
"Shut up and let him explain, you idiots." Diana said. "Go on, explain..." Even though she sounded calm, her thoughts betrayed her at the end as she trailed off.
"Yeah.." Jin added, as if he already knew the answer.
Lucas told them what the captain had said. Before they could react, sudden shouts erupted,
"Enemy attack!"
"All soldiers to the front!"
"For the empire! For glory!"
"Long live the emperor!"
"Kill them all!"
"Attack!"
The captain finally stepped out of the tent. "Are you ready to die?" he asked. No one answered. Some began crying.
"Blame yourselves for not being born with mana," he said with a laugh, walking toward the frontline.
"Let's go. There's nothing left to wait for." Lucas added. Some followed. Others, mostly those who had lost their minds, stayed behind.
...
Somewhere on the battlefield
"How many hours have passed since Charles died? I can't even recognize his corpse among all these bodies. He'd be so mad at me right now for thinking of usle..."
Diana's thought was cut short as her body exploded on the spot. She didn't even hear the shout, "magicians!!"
Jin wanted to run, but he knew it would only delay the inevitable. Instead, he stood still and watched as Juan and around a hundred others charged forward to fight the enemy's foot soldiers. The magicians, however, targeted the ones who tried to escape. Hunting down survivors after the battle would be a headache, especially if they hid among the corpses and ambushed when their guards were lowered. Low-level magic couldn't distinguish between the dead and the ones feigning.
'Idiots,' Jin thought, watching the deserters. 'there's nowhere safe. And the magicians, idiots too, the deserters aren't smart enough nor brave enough to hide among the corpses. Those fools think they're being clever, but they're just meat trying to delay their death.'
He continued dodging, weaving through the chaos. His enemy thought he had him cornered, his sword aimed at Jin's neck. But Jin ducked, then with all the strength he could muster, thrust the tip of his rusty dagger upward into the man's throat.
'Shi...' He didn't even finish the thought before the dagger was buried to the hilt.
'Piece of shit.' he thought, scanning for any sign of his captain, or what was left of the squad.
When he heard Lucas's voice scream, "behind you!"
Jin turned instinctively toward the corpse he'd just killed. No one else was there. 'Ah, fuck... damn magici...'
But it was already too late. The corpse, animated by magic, finished what it had failed to do in life, beheading Jin on the spot.
Lucas shuddered at the sight of the corpse moving, but the captain's voice brought him back to reality. "Focus, and let's enjoy the last moments of our lives."
They fought until dusk, though, under the cloudy, and filthy sky, no one could tell the time. Eventually, they were separated. It didn't matter. Death was coming either way. By chance, or perhaps fate, they both ended up in the same trench, though they didn't know it. Nearly all the surviving soldiers had gathered there, the last bastion.
'Where the fuck did the captain go? That bastard probably wants to die alone.' Lucas thought. 'Can't blame him. I want that too.'
Oddly, Lucas felt at peace. He knew he was about to die, and accepted it.
'I'm so tired... so weak. If it were a holy knight in my position... well, they'd never even be here in the first place.' The captain's thoughts trailed off, until he saw something in the sky.
'Is that... a human?'
Around 200 soldiers looked up together. A man hovered in the air.
Then he spoke, voice low, yet echoing clearly in every soldier's ears, "Haha... so the mighty Empire's last defense is this? Peasants in a trench? Pathetic. You dream of escape? Hahaha! Fools. Our lord, the Supreme Mage, is here. No one escapes him." He puased for a moment before continuing.
"Now... die."
Few understood what he meant by "upreme Mage" or "our lord." But Lucas did. He had heard some rumors, though he didn't remember where nor when.
'Supreme Mage? Does he mean that legen...'
He never finished the thought. The mage released his spell, unleashing death upon the trench.
Within 50 meters, every living thing he could see died instantly. Lucas was among them. If he had lived a few seconds longer, he might've cursed the mage for not letting him finish his last thought.
The mage descended into the trench and grumbled to himself, "Ten thousand soldiers and 500 magicians... for this? Our lord overestimated the Empire."
"They abandoned their peasants to buy time... how pathetic." He paused before a pile of corpses, as if something had caught his attention. Then silence.
Suddenly, a figure burst from the mound, swift, deadly, yet silent.
The captain of Squad 57 emerged and, with a single blur, fast swing of his blade, decapitated the mage. Not out of pride for his Empire, he didn't feel that anymore, but simply because that's who he was. Or... who he had been.
The moment the mage's head fell, a spell triggered, violent and overwhelming. The explosion vaporized everything within five meters, including the captain.
His final thoughts raced,
'Why wasn't I killed like the others?
This dumbass... couldn't even sense me behind him?
Did he have to see me for his spell to work?
Doesn't matter. He killed my squad, I have to try.
I can't believe I actually killed a mage, oh my god!'
'Fuck! That's why didn't have defensive spell, he had a "If I die, you die with me" spell? Petty motherfucker...'
And then, silence.
He thought he would finally rest, after a life of fighting, laughing, and almost, but not quite, crying. He thought his story had ended, right there on the border between the Empire of Karo and...
'whatever the hell the other kingdom was. I don't even remember its name.'
'Did they even tell us? Fucking assholes.'
'Who were we even fighting? Supreme mage? Who the fuck...'
'...'
"what is going on???"
"Why the fuck am I still alive?"
"Where is my body? Why am I flying? Where even am I?"
"s this a dream? Wait... is this the afterlife?"
The captain found himself in an all-white space, drifting like a ghost. Was he a soul? A spirit? A mage? He didn't know.
"Helloooo?! Is Anyone there? Someone answer me!" He screamed over and over, but no one answered him for a long time.
Then a voice echoed around, and inside his head. "Welcome, esteemed traveler. It is a pleasure to meet you."
He hesitated. Then asked, "Where am I? What are you?"
"I am your assistant, esteemed traveler. This is a point between your world... and another."
The captain frowned. "What do you mean 'between worlds'? You mean I can just go to another world?"
"Precisely. Unfortunately, you have died in your original world. You cannot return. It is a one-way passage, forward only." The voice said as if the captain would want to go back to his world.
He paused. Not even surprised there were other worlds, he didn't have the time to, what surprised him was his own indifference.
'Why the fuck would I want to go back to that shit-hole anyway?'
"that is wonderful, esteemed traveller." the voice said, as if it knew what he was thinking.
"Would you like to go to this new world? full of new and exciting opportunities."
The captain flinched. "Did you just read my mind?"
"Yes, esteemed traveler." It answered honestly.
"Can you stop saying that?" He cringed.
"Yes, of course. Now, what will you do, sir?"
He sighed, but eventually said, "Fuck it. I already died once. What's the worst that can happen? Do it!"
"Initiating transmigration. Please hold, sir. You'll arrive in your wonderful new world in no time." The voice said it with just the faintest hint of sarcasm.