Chapter 18: Haemostasis
“Hah… hah… hah…”
My breath came in ragged bursts, each inhale scraping painfully through my chest as my vision blurred at the edges, the world dimming and swaying as though I stood on unstable ground.
“That’s why I told you again and again—this is reckless! You keep forcing yourself to run with wounds like these…!”
Three bullets in my abdomen.
One in my right leg.
Four shots in total had pierced my body.
“The bleeding from your abdomen is severe…! Even if you force your body to move with magic, there are limits!”
Non-attribute magic encompassed a wide range of abilities.
Among them were spells capable of regenerating lost blood, replenishing it almost as quickly as it spilled. By exploiting those techniques, even someone riddled with bullets could continue fighting—for a time.
After all, magic activated within the body itself could not be blocked by anti-magic barriers.
“There’s still enough blood left, isn’t there?”
“Not for much longer! And replenishing blood with magic is not something to be taken lightly! Blood created through magic is only an imitation—it isn’t perfect. At best, it’s a temporary emergency measure… and yet you’ve pushed it this far, repeatedly…! The fact that you’re even alive is a miracle!”
“Colonel Kernel. You’re a fire-attribute mage, aren’t you?”
“I am, but that’s irrelevant right now! Please, just stay still. I’ll stop the bleeding with bandages—”
“No need for bandages. Burn the wounds instead.”
“…What!?”
“That will stop the bleeding.”
“What are you saying!?”
“Have the anti-magic barrier disabled for a moment.”
Three hours had passed since I arrived at the front lines.
After being forced into retreat by the enemy’s counteroffensive, the Lunoa Kingdom army—thanks in part to my actions—had turned the tide and struck back.
We had successfully reclaimed the trenches that had once fallen into enemy hands.
“A-Are you out of your mind!?”
“Completely sane.”
There were still supplies left within the trenches.
About a quarter had been seized by the enemy—but even so, a quarter remained. Considering how poorly equipped we had been to begin with, it was more than enough to replenish us.
“We still need to move. All we’ve done is take back our position.”
It was enough—more than enough—to launch another offensive.
“Their trenches are undermanned right now. They lost troops during their push. We can do to them exactly what they tried to do to us. This is our chance.”
“That’s madness…! We should be praising the fact that we prevented a collapse of the front line! The men are exhausted!”
“But that won’t win us the war!”
I snapped, my voice rising despite myself.
“There isn’t time before the Rosha Empire mobilizes. We have to crush the Friez Kingdom before that happens!”
In this world, the Lunoa Kingdom had never held a coronation ceremony in the Friez royal palace.
The Friez harbored no deep-seated desire for revenge against Lunoa.
Forcing an early surrender was realistic. We might not even need to reach their capital.
“…If this drags on, we lose. That’s why we end it quickly. That’s what this offensive is for. It has to be now.”
That’s right.
War had to end.
If it ended quickly… I could go back sooner.
Shia wouldn’t have to feel lonely any longer…
Now.
It had to be now.
Yes—this was the right choice. It had to be.
“…!”
I pushed myself to my feet and stepped out of the command tent.
If Colonel Kernel wouldn’t move—then I would.
“Hey.”
I stopped one of the soldiers rushing through the trench, his face tense with urgency.
“Sir!”
“Have them confirm the supplies immediately. We move out for another offensive at once.”
“…Sir? Another… offensive?”
“Yes. And shut down the anti-magic barrier temporarily. I need my wounds cauterized. Also, find someone who can use fire magic—”
“Noah-sama!?”
Colonel Kernel burst out of the tent, calling my name in alarm as I calmly issued orders.
“You—carry out exactly what Noah-sama has commanded. This is a decision from high command. All of you, listen well! I relay this to every man here—we return to our original objective! We will destroy the Friez Kingdom! Prepare yourselves for that!”
“““Yes, sir!”””
…
His words carried far more weight than mine.
Of course they did. He had been their superior on this front far longer than I had.
“Come, Noah-sama. Back to the tent… we’ll stop the bleeding there.”
“…Even that time is a luxury.”
The name of House Willard had once fallen into disgrace.
Troops had been pulled from this front to compensate for the early collapse of the Willard forces elsewhere—and that weakness had allowed the enemy’s counterattack to succeed.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say many of the soldiers here resented my house.
Yes, I had restored some of that honor—by charging ahead of everyone else, by fighting at the very front.
But it wasn’t enough.
Not enough to earn absolute trust.
Not enough to solidify their resolve for the next offensive.
So I had to show them.
Show them that I was fighting.
Show them my resolve.
“Come on… It’s better if they see someone of rank making sacrifices too, isn’t it?”
I lowered myself to the ground and lifted my uniform.
“““…!?”””
Gasps rippled through the soldiers around me.
Beneath the torn fabric—
My wounds were exposed in their full, gruesome reality.
“Do it.”
“…Understood.”
Colonel Kernel nodded grimly and held his hand over my wounds.
“Steel yourself…”
“I already have.”
The anti-magic barrier had been temporarily lifted.
Flames flickered to life.
“…Ghh—AAAAAAAHHHH!?”
I tried—just for a moment—to hold back the scream.
But it burst free from my throat, uncontrollable.
My vision plunged into darkness. Sweat poured down my body.
The sickening stench of burning flesh filled my nose.
“Hah—! Hah—! Hah—!”
“N-Noah-sama… two more wounds—”
“Just do it—now!”
My vision barely returned, flickering.
I glared at Colonel Kernel, who hesitated—shaken—and urged him to continue.
“AAAAAAAHHHHH!?”
My screams echoed through the trench, loud enough to make nearby soldiers stop in their tracks.
“…!”
After the second wound was cauterized, I shoved Colonel Kernel aside and forced my voice out to those around me.
“Men! Do not stop! For the Lunoa Kingdom! We will win! We will claim victory with our own hands! We will become heroes! Now move—move!”
My consciousness was slipping.
Fading.
And yet—
Even so—
I had to win.
Win… and end this war.