Retreat to Manilia

Leila slowly turned her dilated eyes to him, her voice quivering as she replied, "Ce-Cerus… there's too many of them."

Those words sent an icy chill down Ivan's spine. Seeing the sheer terror on Leila's face, he realized just how dire the situation was. If just one Cerus had nearly overwhelmed them, the thought of facing many more was almost unimaginable. Without hesitation, Ivan sprang to his feet.

His brow furrowed in determination. "Both of you, hurry! Get on the tank, we're leaving now!"

Leonard understood the urgency and nodded. "Sister, we have to move!" But Leila, drained of strength and still in shock, could barely stand. Without wasting another second, Leonard decided to carry her.

Ivan was already on top of the tank, extending his hand down to Leonard to help lift Leila up.

Leonard carefully handed his sister to Ivan.

Ivan took Leila into his arms, surprised by how light and frail she felt. As he lifted her, he noticed how cold her hands were, like ice. He gently placed her on top of the tank.

Their eyes met, and Ivan could see the fear still etched deeply in Leila's expression. Trying to reassure her, he said softly, "You two are going to be alright, I promise."

Through her teary, blurred vision, Leila saw the unwavering determination in Ivan's eyes. She gave a small, shaky nod.

Leonard climbed onto the tank, joining his sister. "Thank you, sir. But what are we going to do now?"

Ivan, his voice firm and focused, replied, "Your job now is to hold on tight. We're heading to Manilia at full speed. I need you to be my lookout—let me know if anything starts following us."

"I can do that," Leonard affirmed.

"Good. Hold on to your sister as well—we're moving out now."

Ivan quickly moved to the driver's hatch, engaging the tank's drive mode with a swift, practiced motion. He spun the tank around, pointing it toward the path to Manilia. "Hold on tight!" he yelled over the deafening roar of the jet engine as he twisted the throttle. The tank surged forward, its engine roaring through the forest as they began their high-speed escape.

The headlights cut through the darkness, revealing the rugged terrain ahead. Ivan gripped the controls tightly, maneuvering carefully to avoid any obstacles that could slow them down. His eyes flicked to the trailer attached to the tank, making sure it stayed secure—it was carrying valuable weapons and supplies that they couldn't afford to lose.

"How far to Manilia?!" Ivan shouted, straining to be heard over the high-pitched whine of the engine.

"About 5 kilometers!" Leonard called back, his voice just as loud.

"Not too far, then. Thank God. How's your sister holding up?!"

Leonard glanced at Leila, who took a deep breath before answering for herself. "I'm alright now… I'm sorry for earlier, I lost control for a moment."

"As long as you're okay now," Ivan replied, though concern still tinged his voice. He hesitated before asking the question that had been nagging at him. "How many did you detect?"

Leila's voice wavered slightly as she answered, "Ten… no, twenty of them. And they're accompanied by an army of demons, less than a hundred."

Ivan's mind reeled. "How can you be sure of the numbers?" he asked, still grappling with the reality of magic.

"Their mana is overwhelming," Leila explained, shouting to be heard over the engine. "Even basic mana detection can pick them up. Right now, I'm sensing an unimaginable amount, but I can distinguish them individually. That's the count."

Ivan's grip tightened on the controls. "So you're saying there are twenty of those things heading our way?"

"No," Leonard corrected. "There are variants of Cerus. The one you killed earlier was a Chthonic Cerus."

Ivan's heart sank as a headache started to throb behind his eyes. More variants? What next, a Godzilla-sized monster? "What are the similarities among those variants then?"

"They're all powerful," Leila said simply.

Ivan clicked his tongue in frustration. "That's exactly what I didn't want to hear. Have you pinpointed their positions? Are they all in Bataen?"

A heavy silence fell over the group, broken only by the grinding of the tank's tracks against the dirt. Ivan's pulse quickened as he noticed the sudden lack of response.

Finally, Leila spoke, her voice barely audible over the engine's roar. "No… they're everywhere."

At the same time, Jusis and the children finally reached the outskirts of Manilia, the first thing that caught their eyes was the massive wall, standing ten meters tall, bathed in the flickering glow of countless torches and oil lamps. Guardsmen scurried along the top, their silhouettes stark against the night sky as they hurried to reinforce the defenses. Mangonels were being readied, harpoons lined the walls, and a palpable tension hung in the air. "This is odd", Jusis thought, his stomach knotting with unease.

Clutching the twins close, Jusis sprinted toward the gate, only to be met with a scene of utter chaos. The village was in disarray—people frantically prepared carriages, hastily packing whatever they could grab. But amidst the frenzy, some villagers had collapsed to the ground, their faces pale with terror as they whispered desperate prayers. Children's cries filled the air, their small voices trembling with fear.

Jusis felt a flicker of relief that they hadn't been left behind, but the atmosphere was thick with dread. Something was terribly wrong. They pushed forward into the village, struggling to move through the throng of panicked people. Bodies jostled them from all sides, like waves in a stormy sea. "Stay close, hold on to me," Jusis urged the twins, trying to keep his voice steady. "We're going to be alright."

"Everyone! Stay calm! Only take what you need! Don't overload yourselves! Squad One, get those mangonels set up on the northern wall! All able men, arm yourselves with whatever you can find!"

Amid the chaos, Jusis spotted a familiar figure—a towering man, cloaked and armed with a massive sword at his side. It was the Captain of the Manilia patrol, the same one Jusis had met earlier, now barking orders with a commanding presence.

Sensing the urgency, Jusis made his way over. "Excuse me," he called out, his voice slightly hoarse.

The Captain turned, his face hardening before recognition flickered in his eyes. "You're the one from earlier," he said, his tone softened slightly.

"Yes, it's me."

The Captain's eyes narrowed with concern. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, but more importantly…" Jusis stepped aside, revealing the twins. The Captain's expression shifted to one of shock. "Another survivor!"

"They're both injured—they need help immediately!" Jusis urged.

The Captain didn't hesitate. "You there!" he barked at a nearby warrior. The man hurried over, his face serious. "Take these children to the chapel. They need treatment now."

"Yes, sir!" the patrolman responded, offering his arms to carry Reona, who is still barely conscious.

Jusis crouched down to Alisa's level, his voice gentle but firm. "Can you walk, Alisa?"

Alisa nodded weakly. "Yes…thank you."

Jusis could see the fear and exhaustion in her eyes. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Everything's going to be okay. Stay with your sister. The man who helped us earlier, he's strong—he's out there fighting for all of us. You're safe here. I'll come find you soon, alright?"

Alisa nodded again, more assured this time. "Good girl," Jusis said softly, then looked up at the patrolman. "Please, take care of them."

"Rest assured," the patrolman replied with a firm nod before leading the twins away.

The Captain placed a weathered hand on Jusis' shoulder, his grip strong but heavy with the weight of years in battle. "It's a relief you made it here and brought a survivor. You're a lifesaver," he said, his voice a deep rumble tinged with fatigue.

Jusis shook his head, dismissing the praise. "I didn't save them. I just got them here. But… what's going on? Why isn't anyone evacuating?"

The Captain's face grew grim, the lines around his eyes deepening with the burden of the truth. "We can't flee. Cerus have been sighted on the roads. Our scouts encountered them... only one made it back."

Jusis felt the ground drop from under him as the reality set in—they were trapped. "So, we're stuck here?"

The Captain nodded slowly, his expression dark. "For now. But the Empire's Iron Cavalry is on the way. Our orders are to hold out until they arrive."

Relief and dread warred within Jusis. Reinforcements were coming, but from the Empire—a power whose help was never without a price. 

Bataen and Manilia were precariously positioned as border towns between the Empire and the Republic—two great powers locked in a tense, uneasy truce after years of conflict. Ten years ago, they had agreed to a ceasefire, leaving these towns in a state of limbo, caught between two nations vying for control. The Empire's Iron Cavalry was the only force capable of standing against the Cerus, but their aid came with strings attached. Both towns knew that once the Empire's forces arrived, they wouldn't just be fighting the Cerus—they would be asserting their dominance over the region once again.

Jusis understood the gravity of this. The Empire's arrival would mean survival, but it could also spell the end of Manilia's fragile autonomy. And for them, Civilians, the worst is yet to come. He could see the same realization in the Captain's eyes, the knowledge that their salvation could come at a steep price.

And they had to survive until then, an almost impossible task. "How long can we hold them off?" Jusis asked, his voice tight.

"We're nothing but a meat shield right now. But even so, we'll take down as many of them as we can. We can at least thin out the demon army."

"And the Cerus? They'll crush us like insects."

The Captain's eyes hardened, a flicker of defiance in them. "They're not invincible. I've seen them fall before. We can fight back, and we will."

Jusis was reminded of Ivan's words, his quiet confidence in the face of the monstrous threat. "How did you find those kids?" the Captain asked, snapping Jusis back to the present. "You said someone saved them. Where is he?"

"He stayed behind," Jusis replied, hesitating. "He said he'd fight the Cerus with some adventurers. By now… they might already be facing them. I'm not sure if they made it."

The Captain's brow furrowed in concern. "Why would they stay? It's suicide."

"I don't know… but I believe they can fight."

"How can you be sure?"

Jusis thought of Ivan's strange attire and even stranger weapons. "He's different. His weapons… I've never seen anything like them. He took down an entire goblin horde on his own we saw earlier"

The Captain's skepticism is evident, but there was a glimmer of curiosity in his eyes. "Alone? That's hard to believe. But if that's really the case, it's still not enough to defeat a Cerus."

Jusis pulled out the Glock-18, holding it out for the Captain to see. "He called this a 'pistol.'"

The Captain's eyes widened in shock, recognition flashing in them. "I-impossible… where did he get this?"

Jusis was taken aback by the Captain's reaction. "You know what this is?"

The Captain's hands tightened on Jusis' shoulders, his voice urgent. "THE MAN WHO GAVE YOU THAT, WHERE IS HE?!"

Jusis, startled by the Captain's sudden intensity, stammered, "H-he's still out there, fighting the Cerus. He said he has powerful weapons capable of killing them."

The Captain's weary face softened, a rare smile breaking through the hardened lines. His yellow eyes, surrounded by dark circles, brightened with a spark of hope. "Then there's still a chance for us. We might just survive this.

"So what 'he' said is true. Finally… I can finally return there…" Captain's voice is low as if he is talking to someone far away. 

"What do you mean by that?" Jusis is still puzzled. 

 The Captain only gave Jusis a mysterious smile.

Jusis saw the solid determined eyes from the Veteran he's talking to right now. "The Second Great Counter Attack will start tonight!"