Dimensional Eclipse — Chapter 11
Northern Border
Miss EIWA stepping forward, voice tight with restrained urgency what happened at this place?"
Miss EIWA had come to inspect the site of the incident at the northern border that had occurred three days earlier. When she and the team reached the location, they found dried blood everywhere. The ground had been utterly devastated; the whole area lay in ruin. Numerous villages near the northern border had been attacked by monsters. In this assault, a total of 150 civilians had been killed and 60 soldiers lost their lives.
Miss EIWA demanding, controlled "Tell me exactly what happened here. Give me a full, clear report."
Lieutenant Evan reporting, voice steady but strained "According to the surviving soldiers who were on patrol in this sector, they suddenly heard cries for help coming from the area they were petroling When they rushed to help, they found a girl wearing purple clothing. At the same moment a massive wave of monsters began moving toward the northern barrier. The monsters' grades ranged between D and B, but their numbers were enormous — overwhelming for ordinary troops. Although we deployed our A- and S-ranked elite forces and brought the situation under control, seventy regular soldiers still fell in the fighting."
Miss EIWA leaning forward, expression hardening "And the girl in the purple dress—what about her?"
Lieutenant Evan eyes downcast, voice quiet "We could find no trace of her. It's as if she vanished."
Miss EIWA's face flickered with a strange mix of anger and suspicion.
Miss EIWA cold, clipped smile "Alright. I'll report this to the higher-ups. For now, assign more forces here and expedite the repair of the barrier. If anything unusual happens, report to me immediately."
Lieutenant Evan saluting "Understood, Commander."
Suddenly, someone approached from behind.
Narration: An old man stepped forward — white hair and a long white beard, wearing regal robes. There was a scar near his eye and his body remained robust and well-built despite his years. He laughed, a broad, amused sound.
Marcos laughing lightly "Ahahaha — this scene looks terribly dreadful."
Lieutenant Evan surprised, whispering "That's Sir Marcos!"
Lieutenant Evan thought to himself: Verolt Marcos — head of the Authoritarian Union. One of the most powerful political forces within the continent both politically and financially. Even the four major factions — the continent's pillars — avoided entangling themselves with him. Verolt Marcos himself was a powerhouse. He had fought in countless wars; and his role in one of history's greatest conflicts — the war between the Cairo and Kronos — was legendary. He was one of the continent's best-known figures.Why has a figure as strong as him come to the Northern region?"
Miss EIWA cold smile, eyes narrowing "What brings the chairman of the Authoritarian Union here?"
Marcos modest shrug, casual "Nothing special. I had gone to visit my granddaughter at her academy — you must know it, Stellar Academy. Then I heard about the attack on the northern border and thought I'd come take a look. But I didn't expect this much devastation. What's the reason behind it?"
Miss EIWA frustrated "We don't have a solid explanation yet. Suddenly a wave of monsters struck. There were no warning symptoms, no odd aura readings. We didn't detect anything. We have no clue how this could occur."
Marcos frowning, thinking deeply"Hmmm. This is strange. How could something like this happen without warning? There's no rift nearby, no runes — there shouldn't even be monsters in this area. So how did they suddenly attack from somewhere?"
Miss EIWA bitter, determined "We think the incident is exactly like the Loston incident."
Marcos nodding "You mean the state that was destroyed by the monster wave 4 years ago."
Miss EIWA recalling
"It happened exactly like this back then as well. Suddenly, the outer layer of the barrier was destroyed, and immediately after, the barrier itself was broken on one side. By the time we could take any action regarding this, the monsters had already advanced into the Northern region, and their first target became the last city of the Northern region, Loston. We had absolutely no understanding of how all this happened. The reports were completely clear, aura readings were perfectly normal, and the radar gave no signals. It was as if the monsters had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, because even outside the Northern border, within a radius of 500 kilometers, there were no rifts or runes. So it was absolutely impossible for such a massive wave of monsters to arrive. All the monsters were graded between B and A, and as soon as they arrived, they completely destroyed Loston. That city, which had a population of nearly one million, was completely annihilated within just a few hours. After destroying Loston, the monsters attacked several other cities and were even heading toward the capital. Although that wave of monsters was stopped before reaching the capital, by that time, the Cairo had already lost a large number of soldiers and civilians. For the Cairo that day was nothing less than a nightmare."
Marcos grim "Yes, and this caused significant damage to the empire. It took the empire a full two years to recover from this destruction."
Miss EIWA resolute "We cannot ignore this. We must find out why this is happening."
— Scene shift —
At another location, the mood was different. Ray had a relaxed air — but today, he was supposed to be on duty.
Ray half-joking "Man, I was planning to take the day off today."
Taku stern "Sir, please take this seriously. We're on duty now. You need to focus on your work."
Narration: Ray and Taku were officers affiliated with the Rankers Association Ray a senior officer, Taku an officer.
Officer Ray looking at the dimensional wall, reflective "Hmm... it's been a long time since I've seen a dimensional wall incident like this."
Teacher SIWO urgent "Do something — our students are inside that wall. We must do everything to get them out alive."
Officer Ray calm, practical "Breaking a dimensional wall from the outside is almost impossible. Even you must know that. Unless the runes are cleared, the wall won't break."
Teacher BEKIYON panicked "So you mean we just let our students die? How can you say that?!"
Officer Ray firm "No — I'm not saying that. Wait a bit. It will take time to break. This process can't be rushed."
Teacher BEKIYON desperate "But what about the students? Survival inside is almost impossible even for a moment. Why are you not understanding my point?"
Taku reasoning ll.""Calm down. They're all warriors. Whether now or later, some of them will die — it's the nature of our duty. Risking life is part of what they were trained for. Moreover, runes and rifts operate on a different time flow inside. I can detect the energy of this dimensional wall and tell you: time inside flows slowly relative to outside. Externally, it's been almost three days since they were trapped, but inside it may only have been a day or even less. So don't despair — they might still be alive."
Teacher BEKIYON panicked) "That means what? They are all inexperienced first-year students!"
Officer Ray coldly serious "Listen to me carefully. They are all warriors. When they decided to become warriors, they must have realized even back then that their death could come in the future. They accepted their own deaths at that very moment, and that is the truth.
As far as I can tell, you are not new teachers. You must have seen many of your students die before, and this is natural. I can understand why you are so emotional, because these students are completely inexperienced, so somewhere you might feel it's your fault. But look, this is something you all should understand. In the future, there will be exams where many of these students might die, or be injured so badly that they cannot continue.
What I mean is clear: if they don't survive this incident, it simply means they were not capable of serving the empire. Their duty is to fight for the empire, and for that, they have to prove themselves. So don't panic so much.
Besides, you already know that time inside a rift or Runes time passes differently from the outside world. In the rift you are currently in, you have been here for two days, but outside, three days have passed. And After examining the energy of this dimension wall, it seems to me that the time on the other side of dimension wall is also moving slower compared to outside. I think perhaps only one day has passed there. That's why I believe your students should at least be capable enough to survive at last one or two days in this forbidden Runes
Do not worry about them. They might still be alive. And Soon, we will take some action, but first, we need to do something about this dimension wall
Teacher SIWO worried, muttering "Shit. We have no other method to get inside."
Miss LERRY anxious "Do you think the students inside will be okay?"
SIWO uncertain "I don't know. But as the officer said, if time inside is that slow, their chances of survival are somewhat higher."
— Scene shift —
Narration: The group of students and rankers had to decide what to do. The trapped students' condition weighed heavily on everyone.
SHIROU blunt, practical "So what's your plan now? What are you going to do?"
Fernando frustrated "We haven't thought of anything yet."
SHIROU impatient "What do you mean — are you just going to stay here?"
Fernando defensive "There's no other path. Besides, the rest of the students aren't even in any condition to move."
SHIROU cold "Then leave them."
Fernando shocked "What are you saying?!"
SHIROU firm "I'm telling you to leave them here."
KAEDE protesting "SHIROU, we can't do that. None of them are in a state where they can protect themselves alone."
SHIROU logic-driven "Then why are you protecting them? We are warriors. Our duty is to fight. Hiding here won't help. Those who can go must find a way out. We should head toward where we came from."
SHRU angry "You idiot—what are you trying to say? Can't you see how wounded they are? They cannot fight in this state. They'll all die."
SHIROU dismissive "Then let them die. When they joined the academy they accepted the reality that they might die in the future. Why be afraid now? Whoever can go should find a way out. We must return the way we came."
KAEDE pleading"We cannot go that way. That route is completely blocked by boulders, and at the time we didn't have enough time to move them because the monsters were right behind us."
SHIROU resolute "No matter. Let's move the rocks now. Whatever monsters come, we'll fight them."
Fernando angry "Shut up. Don't talking nonsense None of us are in any condition to fight right now."
SHIROU snide "Am I talk nonsense? "Wow, look here someone is trying to act like a leader, a leader who couldn't even protect his own subordinates and now is standing in support of them."
Jessica voice trembling, pleading "Please, don't fight, SHIROU. Why are you acting like you don't care about anyone?"
SHIROU flat "Of course I don't care."
Jessica hurt "Then why did you save me earlier?"
SHIROU thinking a moment, then coldly "Look, my intention was never to save you. My target was the monster, and you were in my way. That's why I moved you to the other side so that you wouldn't be in my path. And since you're so foolish, you thought that I saved you."
SHIROU's words struck Jessica like a blow. She fell silent, her eyes dropping; her face looked as if she might cry. Fernando noticed.
Fernando furious "Enough! If you say one more thing like that, I'll break your mouth
SHRU disgusted "For a moment I thought maybe you weren't so bad, but you're really so disgusting
KAEDE warning "Calm down. We can't afford to fight among ourselves right now."
Noxy blunt "SHIROU don't you think you've said too much?"
SHIROU dismissive "I haven't said too much. You're all just cowards. Fear is not wrong, but being stupid because of fear makes me laugh. Look at this area it's surrounded by forest. Monsters can come at any time. Putting your life in danger to protect others when you could retreat is the biggest stupidity."
NOXY angry, accusing "Are you really that selfish?"
SHIROU cold eyes fixed on Noxy "Don't you dare lecture me. Don't act like you don't know anything, after all you also know why all this is happening.
NOXY snapping "Shut up, you bastard!"
SHIROU's words triggered Noxy's guilt and anger. Noxy began to lose composure; anger rose as a shield against what he felt inside.
SHRU fuming "I'm so angry at this guy right now."
Fernando decisive "I think we should teach him a lesson."
Noxy narrowing eyes "Yeah — we need to shut him up."
Narration: Noxy, SHRU, and Fernando stepped up and faced SHIROU.
KAEDE alarmed "No — the situation is getting worse. Why are people so affected by SHIROU's words? They aren't that foolish to not understand the situation. Something is making them act this way. That negative energy — what is its source? Why is it stirring people against SHIROU?"
SHIROU taunting "Oh, so you guys want to fight?"
NOXY thinking internally "Why is his talk making me this furious? Anyway—given the current situation, if anyone finds out I'm involved in those incidents, it would be bad. I should steer this into a fight now so their coordination breaks."
Noxy threatening "If you don't shut up, we'll have to do this."
Fernando agreeing "Yes, we've had enough of your trash talk. Even if you helped us before, that doesn't give you the right to insult us."
SHRU eager "I'll break his mouth
SHIROU smirking "Fine. Let's see if you three can break my mouth or not."
Tension surged as the group prepared to come to blows — the chapter ends on the knife-edge of that confrontation.
— Chapter 11 End —