The Beginning After The End novel Chapter 245

Chapter 245

Chapter 245: Walking Catastrophe

“She really is a princess,” the balding bear of a man named Herrick muttered in a deep voice as he studied me intently.

“You’re making her uncomfortable you big oaf,” the girl called Nyphia berated.

“Sorry... I’ve just never seen a real princess before,” Herrick mumbled.

I held back a smile as I watched the two bicker before my eyes shifted to Madam Astera. She was talking to a thinner man—not much older than me—huddled over, hugging his knees as his entire body trembled. Jast had been here since we arrived, and judging by the condition he was in, I knew why; the guy was a mess.

Jast hadn’t said a word since we arrived, only muttering a string of incoherent words as he rocked back and forth.

“He had it the worst,” Nyphia commented, her steeled expression softening as she watched him. “He watched his entire unit slaughter each other in front of him.”

“Slaughter...each other?” I echoed, horrified.

Nyphia leaned close and whispered, “Yup. Even the girl we all knew he was ‘secretly’ dating.”

“Nyphia,” Madam Astera said, her voice sharp.

At the mention of her name, Nyphia’s body stiffened. “My apologies, Madam Astera.”

I watched as Nyphia scooted back over to where she was normally sitting. I found myself staring at her and Herrick, their bodies barely visible over the dim light artifact between us. While not as blatantly obvious as Jast’s state of mind, both Herrick and Nyphia were riddled with injuries.

Most notably, Herrick was missing his left hand, and by the blood spreading even over the thick bandages wrapped around his wrist, I could tell that the wound was fairly recent. Nyphia didn’t seem to have any injuries aside from the bloody gash running down the side of her face, but every time she moved her body, she would wince ever so slightly.

I felt a knot in my chest looking at them. On one hand, I pitied the state they were in, but on the other hand, I admired the fact that they were still able to smile despite their situation.

After Jast had fallen asleep with his head buried in his knees, Madam Astera walked over to the back of the cave where we were sitting around a dim light artifact.

She sat across from me, her gaze boring holes into my very soul. Both Nyphia and Herrick had stopped talking and it seemed like minutes until Madam Astera spoke again, and when she did, it wasn’t what I had expected her to say.

“F*ck!” she cursed, pounding the hard ground with her fist.

Nyphia, Herrick, and I were all taken aback by her sudden outburst. Combing back her bangs with her fingers, she stared at me and let out a sigh. “It doesn’t bode well to see you out here, Princess.”

That’s when I realized the reason for her outburst. I wasn’t hurt, but I was running away in disguise. My very presence all the way out here meant that something was very wrong, and she couldn’t have been more right.

I nodded. “You’re right, it doesn’t. But before I explain the situation out there, can you tell me what happened? To my knowledge, we were winning the battle at the Etistin bay shore.”

“We were and we weren’t,” she said cryptically. “My knowledge is filled with gaps since my unit was positioned towards the outskirts of the battle, but I’ll explain to the best of my abilities.”

And so, she told me what had happened while the rest of us silently listened.

The Bloodfrost Battle is what the soldiers had dubbed the massacre that occurred at the Etistin bay shore. During the time General Varay and Arthur were there, the battle was one-sided—Alacrya didn’t seem to have a chance. But as the battle progressed, it became more and more obvious that something was off.

The enemy soldiers threw themselves into battle without formation, fled or even begged for their lives, and sometimes, they’d even see soldiers sacrifice their comrades to save themselves.

Despite all of this, the higher ups continued the order to push forward. They wanted to take over the Alacryan ships docked at the other end of the ice field.

It was on the third day that the situation flipped. Madam Astera couldn’t tell me exactly how it had started, but it was when the new vanguard line that was supposed to relieve the current frontline’s position didn’t arrive that the soldiers knew something was wrong.

Then, Alacryan soldiers—actual soldiers in formation and tight teams that clearly knew what they were doing—came from behind. The majority of the Dicathen forces that were on the field were now suddenly pincered, and everyone could see the battle occurring above us in the sky.

General Varay was fighting an enemy capable of holding his own against the strongest lance. The Dicathen forces held strong though, and the reserves that had been fighting against the real Alacryan soldiers were slowly regaining their footing after their initial surprise.

Despite the major setback, once Lance Mica joined the battle, the Dicathians were hopeful to come out of this battle victorious... that was, until that man arrived.

Madam Astera’s expression darkened as she continued speaking, both Nyphia and Herrick trembling just at the mention of that person.

With the arrival of this new figure, the already-bloody battle had turned into a scene of hell. Scores of obsidian spikes shot out from the ground, skewering allies and enemies alike. Clouds of murky gray mist slowly spread, rendering affected troops into deranged monsters that attacked our own. But the worst were the black flames enveloping entire units of soldiers and growing larger despite the entire ground made of ice. In its wake laid only blood and soot.

It was just one man, but it was more accurate to call him a walking catastrophe. It only took several hours for the battle to be rendered into a graveyard.

“H-How did you guys survive that?” I asked, my voice coming out hoarse and shaken.

“Because the black fires, spikes, and smoke weren’t aimed but just spread randomly, Dicathians and Alacryans alike were affected. Those that hadn’t died from that deadly magic were able to escape since even the Alacryans were in a state of chaos,” Madam Astera explained, her gaze falling on where Herrick and Nyphia were. “There are definitely other survivors hiding out here if they hadn’t already gotten caught and captured, which is why we’ve been going on these runs—we’ve been trying to find more allies.”

“We found Jast as he was getting attacked and saved him yesterday,” she continued, taking a quick glance back at the sleeping teen curled into a ball before turning to us. “These two are what’s left of my unit, but there are a few more out there who were there when we first found you. We’ve worked out a system where one group comes back while the other circles around just in case we’re followed.”

I nodded, unable to come up with any sort of reply appropriate for this situation.

“How are your supplies looking?” I asked after a long pause.

“We can split the rations for four more days at the maximum between us five and the other three that’ll be here soon,” she said. “Besides sustenance, however, we have nothing. The emergency medical kit I was carrying in my dimension ring was used to patch up Herrick’s injury.”

At the reminder of his wound, the large soldier dipped his head, looking at the stump where his left hand used to be.

“Now, Princess. Tell us the situation out there. Is the war over? Have we lost?” Madam Astera asked, her large piercing eyes focused on me.

I shifted my gaze to Herrick and Nyphia; the two of them were staring back intently, hopeful—desperate.

I sat up and kept my expression stern and confident. “We lost this war, but it isn’t over.”

“Please elaborate,” Madam Astera insisted, leaning in closer.

And so, I showed them the medallion and told them about the refuge shelter that not even the Alacryans would be able to find, let alone break into. I told them that Commander Virion and General Bairon were both there, along with General Arthur, a powerful diviner, and even an emitter. I told them about how the diviner had prepared supplies in advance and that all the necessary components are there to sustain hundreds, if not thousands, of people.