Chapter 4: Song of Light
The sky was draped over Ashveil Castle like a gray shroud.
The rain did not lessen its intensity for a single moment, as if it wanted to break the morale of the demons.
The Crossbreed tilted the rusty sword in his hand to the side.
The thick, uncoagulated demon blood on the metal mixed with the raindrops and dripped into the muddy puddles on the ground.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Every drop was proof of a life that had just ended, proof that the once feared Commander Korvak was now nothing.
The Crossbreed slowly raised his head. His soaking wet black hair clung to his forehead, and the bloody bandage over his right eye had turned pink from the rainwater.
However, his exposed left eye... That pitch black, bottomless well pierced right through the souls of the hundreds of demons, orcs, and goblins gathered in the courtyard.
The silence was more deafening than the thunder.
Those eyes that had mocked and humiliated him just minutes ago, calling him a half blood, a freak, and a brat, were now trembling with indescribable terror.
The hierarchy had been violently rewritten. In the world of demons, power was absolute law, and this scrawny boy had proven that he was the law itself.
The Crossbreed slowly exhaled the cold air filling his lungs and spoke.
He was not shouting, but the tone of his voice was so cold that it cut through the howling wind and reached the ears of even the soldier furthest in the back.
"What are you waiting for?"
The crowd flinched. Some goblins stumbled backward in fear.
"To worship his corpse?" the Crossbreed continued, pointing at the headless body on the ground with the tip of his sword.
His voice was devoid of emotion, flat like a machine. "Get ready. The enemy army will arrive soon. We are going to resist them."
A ripple went through the soldiers.
Some demons reached for their weapons, a momentary flash of rebellion appearing in their eyes.
A humiliated demon officer gritted his teeth and wanted to lunge forward. He wanted to shout out his defiance and put this half blood in his place.
But then his eyes caught Korvak's severed arms lying on the ground and the perfectly smooth cuts.
In that moment, a collective wave of acceptance spread. This kid was not normal. He was death in human form. And right now, that death was on their side.
The Crossbreed did not even wait for an answer. He plunged into the crowd and started walking.
No one blocked his path, no one dared to touch him.
The demons parted to both sides and made way for him as if they had seen the plague.
The squelching sounds his boots made in the mud were the only rhythm in the courtyard.
He headed toward the ruined stone stairs next to the main building of the castle.
As he climbed the ramparts, he ignored the weight of the hundreds of gazes he felt on his back.
Those gazes no longer carried hatred, but a desperate obedience.
When he reached the highest bastion of the castle, the wind was wilder and more ruthless up here.
The drops hitting his face stung like needles. The Crossbreed approached the edge of the walls and looked down toward the horizon.
Visibility was limited due to the fog, but the valley ahead stretched out like a dark gorge.
The dry, cracked earth had turned to mud from the acid rains.
There was not yet a trace of the glorious, gold armored army of the Holy Auralis Empire, the Army of Light.
Banners could not be seen, snare drums could not be heard.
But they would come. This was a truth as certain as the sunrise.
Taking a deep breath, the Crossbreed leaned his back against the cold stone wall and sat down.
His legs were shaking. The effect of the Curse of Equality had passed, but its price was still being paid.
"It is time," he whispered.
He closed his eyes and summoned the panel in his mind.
[ SYSTEM INTERFACE ]
The reward for killing Korvak and the points from the quest had been added to his balance.
Current Stats:
Rank: F
Element: Ice ❄️
Eclipse Points: 14 (Current) + 3 (Dropped from Korvak) = 17 Points
Remaining Lifespan: 17 Years
Possessed Memories: 2 Years
He stared at his points for a while.
17 Points.
It looked like a treasure, but considering the threat facing him, it was merely a drop in the ocean. Still, that drop could be enough to keep him from drowning.
His strategy was simple. His Agility and Intelligence were in a better state compared to his other stats.
He swiped his finger across the virtual panel.
He made his decision and started to distribute the points.
[ Confirming Process... ]
Strength: 4 (F) to 0/20 (E)
Endurance: 3 (F) to 0/20 (E)
Mana: 17/100 (F) to 21/100 (F)
Remaining Points: 0
The moment the points were distributed, a strange, tingling warmth spread through his body.
It felt as if thousands of invisible ants were marching beneath his skin, reweaving his muscle fibers and hardening his bones with calcium.
The Crossbreed opened and closed his hand.
The skin on his palm had grown a bit thicker, and the tendons in his wrist had become more prominent.
When he lifted his sword from the ground, he felt its weight decrease. He no longer had to drag that rusty iron around.
"Better," he muttered. "But not enough."
The bitter truth hit his face like the rain. His strength had gone up from the F level to the E level.
This meant he was slightly stronger than an ordinary human.
But the army coming from below... They were elites. And the man leading them was a Saint.
A being blessed by the gods.
With his current strength, even if he used the Curse of Equality and sacrificed his entire remaining 17 years of life, he could not be a match for Saint Evarion.
The principle of equality was fair, but it was not absolute. Could an ant topple an elephant even if it sacrificed its life?
"I have to take the risk," he said to himself. His eyes shifted to the veins on his pale wrist.
His memories... The only thing he possessed, the remnants of his identity that let him know who he was...
"Will there be any point in living after I lose everything?" he murmured.
Shaking off his thoughts, the Crossbreed looked down at the inner courtyard and the front of the walls.
The sight he saw resembled a chaotic anthill.
The soldiers had not fled. Fear had forced them into discipline.
A Dark Elf, whose left arm was torn off at the elbow and whose face was half covered in burn scars, had taken command.
Although his appearance resembled someone in his early twenties, it was quite difficult to guess his age since he was an elf.
His name was Sylas. He had lost his arm in the battle days ago; he was an ordinary soldier like the crossbreed, but he had somehow managed to take charge.
Sylas stood in the middle of the courtyard, barking orders and giving signals with his one good hand.
His voice was loud and authoritative.
"Archers! Load the poison tips into the loopholes in the east tower!"
"Mages!"
"Line up the mana crystals in front of the gate, right now!"
"Place mana crystals into the storm bell, do not let its power run out for even a second!!"
The castle's defense system was old, but it was still functional.
Ashveil Castle was protected by a second class magic barrier capable of blocking S Rank attacks.
In the air, there was a translucent, purplish dome that faintly glowed whenever raindrops hit it.
However, the Crossbreed knew the weapons the Holy Auralis army possessed. And considering Saint Evarion, this barrier would not hold for long.
"Half an hour at most," the Crossbreed calculated. The barrier would hold them for half an hour, and then...
Down below, a group of goblins had gone outside the castle and were digging into the muddy earth.
They were placing explosive runes inside the pits and covering them with a thin layer of soil. This was the trap of desperation.
As the Crossbreed continued to observe his surroundings, the Dark Elf Sylas raised his head.
Across the rain and the distance, he locked eyes with the Crossbreed at the top of the walls.
Two wounded souls. One physically crippled, the other existentially cursed.
There was no pure fear in Sylas's eyes like in the other demons.
There, a professional respect and a bitter acceptance resided.
Sylas averted his gaze, turned back to the soldiers, and shouted. "Speed it up! The enemy will be here soon!!"
The hours passed heavily. The rain did not stop for a moment. The fog had swallowed the world around the castle, turning them into an island floating in the middle of nothingness.
The Crossbreed was tired of waiting. His body had grown cold, and hunger had begun to gnaw at his stomach.
He untied the small, worn leather pouch attached to his belt. He opened it with his pale fingers.
Inside, there were a few pieces of dried meat wrapped in a scrap of cloth.
It was unclear what animal this meat belonged to; it was tough, salty, and smelled slightly of mold.
Under normal circumstances, it was food that even a dog would turn its nose up at.
But the Crossbreed held the meat like a jewel.
He tore off a small piece and tossed it into his mouth.
It was hard to chew, his jaw ached, but the taste... The salt burning his tongue, the intense aroma of the dried meat...
He closed his eyes and let the rain hit his face.
"Delicious," he thought.
With every chew, he felt how simple and how precious life was.
Perhaps this was the last bite that would ever enter his stomach.
Perhaps he would never feel hunger again.
He took another bite.
This time, a bigger one. He ate the meat, softened by the rainwater, with a great appetite.
In defiance of the cold, the approaching death, and his loneliness, he savored this meal.
This was his small rebellion.
Before dying, he wanted to feel that he existed, just one last time.
The second he swallowed the last piece and cleaned the lingering salty taste in his mouth with his tongue... The world changed.
First, the ground shook. A very slight, faint vibration.
A tremor spreading from the stone wall where the Crossbreed sat, down to his fingertips.
Then came the sound.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A deep, thick horn sound that vibrated the lungs.
It was coming from within the fog, from beyond the darkness.
This was no ordinary war horn. This sound vibrated the bones and awakened a primal urge to flee in their souls.
This was the famous Song of Holiness Horn of the Holy Auralis Empire. Wherever it was blown, not a single stone would be left standing on another.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
When it blew for the second time, the curtain of fog was torn open.
On the horizon, thousands of tiny lights appeared in the darkness. These were not torches.
These were the holy aura radiating from the magical armors and weapons of the Imperial army.
A flood of blinding white light piercing through the darkness.
The Crossbreed stood up.
He brought his hand to the hilt of his sword. His heart was beating as if trying to break his ribcage, but his face was expressionless.
Chaos had begun below the walls.
Soldiers were screaming, clashing their weapons together, and rushing to their positions in panic. Sylas's orders were drowned out beneath the sound of the horn.
The Crossbreed looked at the approaching flood of light, at the white death.
"So it is time..." he whispered as his voice faded in the wind.
His single eye narrowed, and the system panel began to blink like a red warning light at the edge of his field of vision.