I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 750

The Glory Knights were no longer capable of fighting as combatants.

However, as Hecate volunteered to act as bait, she thought,

‘The others are hurting just as much.’

All the retired soldiers staying here were in the same condition, unable to move properly or fight effectively.

But there was one crucial difference between the other soldiers and the Glory Knights.

‘We have nowhere to return to.’

No hometown, no family, nothing remained. Even the last threads of connection they had were deliberately severed.

The Glory Knights were a knight order solely dedicated to serving the Emperor and dying for him.

If Ash hadn’t forcibly held them back, they would have eventually faded into the shadows of the world, disappearing without a trace.

‘But the others are different from us.’

Chain is a prime example.

As a mage, his lifespan was over, he had lost all his comrades, and he lingered here, claiming he had nowhere to return to… but in reality, he had a wife and daughter back home. And he even had a grandchild born recently.

They were different from them. They had people and places to return to.

If someone had to die, it was right for them, the ghosts of the Empire who had nothing, to die instead.

So, the Glory Knights volunteered to lure the monstrous creatures that had poured into the barracks. After forcibly pushing those who protested into the second-floor rooms, they carefully descended to the first floor of the barracks.

《Ah, ah? Ah, ah, ah…》

《Ah, ah, ah, ah! Ah, ah, ah, ah!》

《Ah. Ah, ah. Ah, ah, ah. Ah. Ah.》

The monsters, their teeth chattering, were staggering and pouring into the barracks.

The Glory Knights exchanged glances. Having worked together for so long, they quickly understood each other’s intentions.

‘We need to lure as many of the monsters as possible out of the barracks.’

To leave as few monsters as possible inside the barracks.

To allow the retired soldiers gathered in one place to hold out as long as possible.

The World Protection Front never abandons its comrades… Commander Ash would surely send a rescue team this time as well.

So, until then, to allow the other retired soldiers to hold out, the Glory Knights would draw as much attention as possible.

“Now!”

Hecate, signaling, was the first to dash out, followed by the other Glory Knights, who scattered in all directions.

Although they had lost their ability to fight properly as combatants after the curse had been removed.

Still, they were the Glory Knights, called the elite of the elite, the knights among knights.

《Ah? Ah, ah, ah?》

《Ah, ah, ah, ah-!》

Luring the dim-witted monsters was an easy task.

The five Glory Knights swept through the interior of the barracks and then scattered, running in different directions, with the monstrous creatures following behind them, making bizarre cries.

‘Good, we’ve pulled most of the ones that had penetrated the barracks out…’

If they kept running while leading them, they could buy enough time.

That was what Hecate was thinking when it happened.

《Ah, ah… Ah, ah, ah!》

A monster some distance away trembled, then,

Whirr!

It instantly extended a tentacle from the center of its body.

It was a completely unexpected attack, and because they had lost all ability to react to such ambushes…

“Kuh?!!”

Hecate was helplessly ensnared by the tentacle around her neck.

As Hecate gasped for breath and struggled, other monsters that had closed the distance also shot out their tentacles, binding Hecate’s hands and feet.

“Kuh…! What is this…!”

It wasn’t just Hecate.

All of the Glory Knights, who had been trying to escape in different directions, were struggling, bound by the tentacles that the monsters had suddenly launched.

The monsters slowly closed in on Hecate, who was bound by dozens of tentacles.

“Huu…!”

In her blurred vision, unable to breathe properly, Hecate sensed her end.

She had no particular attachment to life. Except for one thing.

– After this battle is over, would you like to go on a date with me for a while?

The face of Lucas, who had made that suggestion, suddenly came to mind.

‘It was the first time that guy had asked me out on a date.’

She hadn’t even had a chance to see what he was thinking, and now she was going to die like this.

A fleeting, vain hope that he might come to save her like a prince in a fairy tale crossed her mind.

– If it weren’t wartime, I would, of course, drop everything and rush to save you. But right now, I am the Lord’s escort and the adjutant to the front-line commander. I have a position to protect.

His stern voice echoed in her ears at the same time.

Hecate smiled bitterly and slowly closed her eyes.

‘I guess I’m just unlucky with men, even at the end…’

The approaching monsters opened their chattering teeth wide and lunged at Hecate.

And then.

It was then.

Flash-!

A dazzling flash of light erupted in the sky.

Immediately after, a beam of light struck the ground, and the monstrous creatures that had been wrapped around Hecate with tentacles were hit by the beam, screaming and falling backward.

The tentacles were released. Hecate, barely catching her breath, looked up at the sky with blurred vision.

‘Who…?’

Could it be that Lucas had noticed her crisis and actually come to her rescue?

But what appeared was not a prince from a fairy tale.

“Get down-!”

With a blinding flash of lightning-

Jupiter Junior fell from the sky.

***

Crack! Crackle, crackle!

The residual lightning that had fried all the monsters bounced off the ground.

“Hoo!”

Junior, taking a breath, straightened his knees and stood up, looking around.

Not only Hecate but all the other Glory Knights who had been captured were safe. It was the result of Junior focusing his mind to the limit and unleashing a precise magical bombardment on the area.

“…”

Hecate, still sitting down, stared at Junior with a blank face. Junior snorted.

“What? Are you disappointed that it’s not Lord Lucas?”

“Ah, no…”

“Lord Lucas couldn’t come because he has other important duties. Instead, I came like this.”

Junior smiled playfully and joked.

“You can say thank you, you know?”

But Hecate didn’t answer, still looking tense, and quickly glanced at the alleyway outside the barracks.

《Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah!》

《Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah!》

As if reacting to the heat of the magic, more monsters began to gather.

Junior’s face also paled as he saw the monsters filling the alleyway.

“Why are there so many…!! Haaah!”

Bang! Thump, thump, thump!

Junior continuously summoned lightning and wind to blow away the monsters, but the monsters that had poured into the city center were endless.

Monsters broke through the magic that Junior had unleashed and began to push into the barracks one by one.

Junior kept unleashing magic to push them back, but the monsters’ infiltration was gradually increasing.

‘At this rate…!’

Next to Junior, who was gnashing his teeth, Hecate barely managed to stand up, using her sword as a cane.

“I’ll go out and draw their attention.”

“What?”

“Junior, please take the rest of the retired soldiers and retreat.”

Where should she run to draw the attention of the most monsters?

Hecate, having assessed the surrounding terrain, staggered and walked out.

At that moment, Junior, who was shooting magic in all directions and had a very angry face, yelled.

“No, why are you so eager to die, really! I came all this way to save you!”

“Then are you going to sacrifice your precious life as a mage here? Just to save a few broken retired soldiers who won’t be able to fight anymore? What kind of foolish calculation is that?”

“I didn’t come to save broken retired soldiers, but to save my comrades who have fought alongside me!”

“You can’t save the world with such weak-mindedness.”

Hecate coldly retorted, and Junior shook his head slightly.

“I know. It’s far from the ironclad logic of fighting efficiently. But that’s the banner of Prince Ash… of this front line.”

“…”

“Everyone here has been fighting to protect this weak and flawed belief. And that’s why we’ve remained human until now.”

Hecate continued to walk forward. Junior desperately shouted.

“Hecate! Do you really have no regrets in this world?”

“…”

“Is there really nothing you want to do while you’re alive?”

Hecate’s feet, which had been walking towards the swarming monsters, stopped.

“…Hoo.”

Hecate, gritting her teeth and taking a breath, spat out in a suppressed voice.

“Yes, I don’t.”

“…!”

“The curse, swordsmanship, position… pride, mission, revenge…! I’ve lost everything. My whole life is gone.”

A retired soldier, whose life had been denied by the times, who could never wield the sword she had trained her whole life with again, and who had been forced to abandon the desire for revenge she had built up over a lifetime, shouted roughly.

“Answer me, Junior. Then what value do I have to live for?”

“…”

“I, who have lost my sword and my revenge… I don’t even know what I am anymore…”

No.

In fact, Hecate knew the answer.

She, who had lost everything, was nothing.

Because she was nothing, her best use was as a discardable piece.

So, Hecate was about to take another step without waiting for Junior’s answer.

Then.

“Once you’ve lost everything.”

Junior answered.

“You just… become you.”

“…What?”

Hecate turned around with a bewildered look. Junior slowly nodded.

“Not the one who carries the curse, not the avenger of the old war, not the knight of the Empire. Just you, a twenty-four-year-old.”

“…”

“What defines who you are isn’t your job or career, the curse you inherited, or the person you serve.”

Junior repeated the story that Ash had once told him.

“Who you are is determined by what you do from now on.”

“…”

“So, answer me, Hecate. Is there really nothing you want to do? Even something trivial or insignificant is fine. Do you really have no dreams at all?”

“I, well…”

Hecate hesitated, and Junior grinned.

“For the record, my dream is to build a luxurious villa with a swimming pool in the south and spend a fantastic retirement there.”

Hecate, dumbfounded, let out a breath.

“No, why is someone younger than me already dreaming of retiring?”

“What’s wrong with that? It’s a great dream, isn’t it?”

Junior suddenly recalled the faces of the two people who had passed this dream on to him.

The mother who wasn’t a mother.

The teacher who wasn’t a teacher.

That ridiculous dream that the two of them had shared and ultimately failed to achieve…

It had been passed on to him.

“Later, when I buy a villa after I retire, you have to come visit. I’ll give you free accommodation.”

“…”

“Okay, I’ve told you my dream, now it’s your turn to tell me, Hecate! Hurry!”

Hecate, staggering and stopping in place, shook her head slightly.

“…I’ve never thought about anything I want to do.”

“Then let’s find it from now on.”

“Now?”

Hecate gestured towards the monsters that had filled the alley right in front of them and asked.

“When the end of the world is right in front of us?”

“That’s why, from now on.”

Junior nodded vigorously.

“We’re still young, and even if it’s right in front of us… the end of the world hasn’t reached us yet.”

“…”

“From now until the end of the world, let’s find it together.”

“…”

“Whatever ridiculous and absurd thing it is, I’ll do it with you.”

Hecate’s shoulders relaxed.

“Haaa…”

Hecate, letting out a long sigh, turned towards Junior.

“I hate you, Junior.”

“Yes. You hate me.”

“And I will never forgive the Kingdom of Camilla, which killed my parents, forever.”

“Yes. Don’t forgive them.”

Junior also.

He would never forgive the Empire that had burned his hometown and scarred half of his body.

“Don’t forget and remember it. The grudge between the Kingdom of Camilla and the Empire… and between us.”

“…”

“And with that, let’s live together.”

Junior slowly reached out his hand.

Across the unfillable valley, to the far side of the cliff that was still too far to reach…

As if asking for a handshake.

“For the record, I like you.”

“…”

“From the beginning until now. And forever. I want to be friends with you.”

Hecate shook her head slightly and sighed again.

“Really. It’s absurd.”

Following that, Hecate slowly raised her hand and reached out towards Junior.

And just as their hands were about to touch-

Thud-!

“…!”

Junior’s eyes widened.

Right behind Hecate, all sorts of monsters that had brutally broken through Junior’s magic barrier were pouring down.