The first round had ended in a hard-fought victory for the Empire, but the war was far from over.
After securing that victory, Frey wandered among the remaining imperial ships.
Lord Starlight .. despite carrying the entire battle on his own shoulders .. had not wavered, not even once.
With steady steps, he walked like a king among what was left of the imperial forces.
This was the worst phase of the war: the aftermath.
After they had won... after the fire that had kept their bodies standing burned out...
The soldiers of the Empire collapsed, one after another, unable to go on.
Some broke down from the pain and sheer exhaustion.
Others wept bitterly for the souls they’d lost .. loved ones who would never return.
They had paid a terrible price.
Even though they had won, they could not rejoice in their victory.
All that could be heard across the waters of the Shizclar Bay... was the sound of sobbing, of silent mourning... and the caws of crows descending from the sky, as they always did, ready to feast on the banquet mankind had prepared for them.
Above it all, the giant birds that had once appeared from nowhere were now circling silently overhead, their eyes ..galactic orbs .. gazing down at the blood-soaked land of men.
The Chaos Eaters seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the sight.
The eyes of the imperial soldiers looked lifeless... void of all spark.
They resembled hollow souls .. mere bodies that had nothing left to move them forward.
At the frontlines stood the special squad, still trying to process what had happened.
Snow Lionheart and the Saintesses, Eurasha and Uriel, went from ship to ship, healing soldier after soldier with the sacred power granted to them by the Lord of Light.
That blessed power saved many from the brink of death. Yet, even though their wounds were treated...
The soldiers showed no reaction to Snow or the others.
They didn’t even look at them. Their hollow eyes simply stared into the void.
Snow Lionheart hadn’t said much since the start of the battle.
He had fought relentlessly, cutting down both Nightmare Beasts and Ultras alike.
It was his first true war .. and the impact it left on him was undeniable.
He had never seen so much death and blood gathered in one place before.
So many had died... and so many more would die in the future.
He had known that... and still, he couldn’t help but curse under his breath.
"We would’ve been annihilated out there..."
Aegon Valerion’s plan had put them in this impossible situation.
The first round was bound to end in disaster for the Empire .. the enemy had outnumbered them three to one, not to mention the nightmare creatures they had unleashed during the battle.
No matter how he looked at it, it had been a one-sided fight.
Even if they gave it everything they had, they would’ve been surrounded and killed—helpless to do anything.
That’s what would’ve happened... if not for one person.
In that moment, Snow turned his head and looked at the man who had changed the tide of history.
The man was moving from ship to ship, checking on each and every soldier.
The warriors of the Empire had endured far too much... so much that the light had vanished from their eyes.
But the moment they saw him ..
The moment they laid eyes on him approaching ..
Snow witnessed something strange.
The wounded knights, the Wave Controllers, the seasoned veterans .. even the lowly assistants whose names no one remembered.
They all rose .. men and women, young and old ..
They all rose again, gathering around him from every direction.
Their lifeless eyes lit up as if by magic, and tears poured from them uncontrollably.
An old warrior .. an aged veteran of the Empire .. shuffled toward Frey with hesitation.
The man was in terrible condition: one of his arms had been severed, and his body was covered in serious wounds.
He reached out to Frey... only to remember his bloodied, filthy hand. Ashamed, he quickly pulled it back.
But an unseen force made him freeze.
Frey grasped the hand with both of his own .. firmly, without hesitation.
He had seen it all... understood everything they’d been through.
If only I were stronger than I am now...
Perhaps it wouldn’t have ended this way."
Perhaps... they wouldn’t have suffered .
Perhaps... they wouldn’t have lost their loved ones and comrades to war.
Frey apologized ..genuinely.
He didn’t blame them for being weak.
He didn’t scorn their helplessness.
He didn’t seek glory or recognition.
He blamed only himself.
And that hit them harder than anything else.
The soldiers all heard it clearly.
And all of them thought the same thing:
’What is this man saying...?’
His apology brought them no comfort.
It did something else entirely...
A deep, overwhelming feeling of guilt and helplessness filled the hearts of the soldiers.
The man standing before them had fought the war alone.
This was not the Empire vs the Ultras.
It was the Ultras vs Frey Starlight.
He had taken full responsibility for the war upon himself, dragging them out of a deadly siege .. a siege that would have killed them all within mere hours.
Frey was the one who prevented that.
He was the one who bore it all .. and he did so flawlessly.
Out of the 3,000 nightmare creatures, he had slain 1,250 with his own hands.
Out of 35,000 Ultras soldiers, he had wiped out 25,000 of them by himself.
He gave everything he had .. no, far more than anyone could have imagined.
The man before them was a miracle on the same level as Abraham Starlight.
The one who should be apologizing wasn’t him...
"Raise your head, hero," said the old man with tears in his eyes and a trembling smile.
"There is nothing to apologize for."
"It was an honor to fight by your side, Lord Starlight. I followed your back through this war, and I’ll continue to follow you until the day I die... I don’t think I could ask for a better end."
Even if the world seemed to collapse before them...
Even if their enemies were a hundred .. no, a thousand times stronger than them...
As long as Frey Starlight was the one leading them .. they would follow him to the very end.
"We’ll fight by your side, Lord Starlight!"
"We’ll follow you to the end, Lord Starlight!"
"We’ll die for you, Lord Starlight!"
Suddenly .. even though exhaustion had long since consumed them .. the soldiers began to shout once more, shaking the entire Bay of Shezclar with their cries .