Finally, I can Retire, Or so I Thought

Once Dion and Aria finished hauling all the scrap metal into the bunker and sorting out what could be used as-is versus what needed to be recycled, they headed back up to the surface. Stepping out of the elevator, they spotted Mei and Sheila, who had apparently wrapped up training the villagers and were now overseeing the wall’s construction.

”Sheila, Mei, you guys all done?” Dion asked, stepping outside with Aria right behind him.

Sheila and Mei turned around, smiling as they walked over to greet Dion and Aria.

”All done for today,” Sheila said. ”They’re practicing on their own now. I appointed three of them as squad commanders and trainers since they’re former adventurers who were enslaved before we freed them.”

”Hmm... I see. Nice work,” Dion gave a quick thumbs-up with a smile.

”Construction’s moving along fast,” Mei murmured. ”Your golems really are impressive—they work so fast.”

”Yep... of course,” Dion said with a touch of pride. ”They’re totally efficient and don’t waste time.”

”We’re still short on golem labor if we want to encircle the entire territory with this wall, though,” Aria added. ”Dion and I are going to make a bunch more tomorrow.”

”Awesome... love to hear it,” Sheila gave a thumbs-up of her own.

”Why wait until tomorrow?” Mei asked, puzzled.

”Because my skill has a specific cooldown... I already explained this before, remember?” Dion replied.

”Ah, right... sorry, forgot,” Mei trailed off lazily.

Suddenly,

”Kyuuu!”

Gina landed softly on Dion’s head from behind, making him turn around to see Cleo and Luna approaching. Without skipping a beat, Cleo sidled up to Dion and rested her elbow on his shoulder. Her smile was playful and her eyes narrowed as she looked at him.

”So, how was it sleeping with your gorgeous big sister last night? Pretty nice, huh?” Cleo teased.

”Hmm... let’s see,” Dion murmured, pretending to think.

”Why are you thinking about it?!” Cleo shot back playfully. ”Wait, you didn’t touch me, did you? I will bury you alive if you touched me!”

”Ha! Touch you? I couldn’t even move! You were holding on so tight you nearly crushed my ribs, you know,” Dion countered.

”W-What?! Are you saying... I’m built like her?!” Cleo stammered, pointing a finger right at Sheila.

”Hey... what’s that supposed to mean?” Sheila asked, swatting Cleo’s finger away from her face.

”Look... my skin is soft, fair, and gorgeous... your big sister lacks absolutely nothing,” Cleo declared proudly.

”Oh... okay, glad to hear it,” Dion said, clearly viewing Cleo in a slightly different light.

”Hey... that’s all you have to say?!” Cleo pouted, visibly annoyed.

”Drop it, Cleo,” Aria chimed in, pointing a thumb at Dion. ”I was down in the underground bunker with him earlier, sweaty and looking hot, and he didn’t even bat an eye.”

”Hehehe... that’s just how Dion is,” Luna chuckled softly.

Aria, Sheila, Mei, and Luna all broke into laughter, and even Cleo offered a small smile, though she refrained from laughing out loud. Dion let out a quiet sigh of relief while Gina clung to his head, acting as if she had missed him terribly.

Suddenly,

Blam!

The watchtower fired a heavy round, followed by the muffled thud of an explosion hitting the earth outside.

Instantly, the playful atmosphere vanished. Dion, Luna, Cleo, Sheila, Mei, and Aria all grew dead serious, turning their gaze toward the outer edge of the village, which was fully encased in Cleo’s magic barrier. Dion tracked the angle of the watchtower’s barrel, following its line of sight. Beyond the translucent sheen of the barrier, a host of barbarian troops stood assembled a short distance from the main gate. On the ground between them lay a smoking crater left by the warning shot.

Without hesitation, Dion dashed toward the village entrance—a wooden bridge crossing the river, still shielded behind the barrier. Behind him, Luna, Sheila, Mei, Cleo, and Aria followed close on his heels, fully prepared for a confrontation. A few villagers who had just finished training scrambled toward the gate as well, weapons still in hand.

Sheila stepped up beside Dion.

”Northgard royal guards,” Sheila muttered, pulling her massive battleaxe. ”Just as I thought. If Eredor made it this far, Northgard wasn’t going to be far behind.”

”Stay calm, nobody do anything reckless,” Dion said, trying to keep control of the situation. ”Let me go out and talk to them.”

”No... you can’t go out there,” Luna interjected, grabbing Dion’s arm from behind.

”She’s right, you need to stay in here,” Aria added, grabbing his other arm.

”We stay right where we are,” Cleo stated firmly, keeping her staff at the ready. ”With my barrier up, they can’t breach this place without taking heavy casualties, and they know it.”

”Agreed. Let’s see what they actually want first,” Mei chimed in, resting her hands on the hilt of her twin swords.

A tense silence fell over the gate. Then, adding to the pressure, a contingent of mounted knights rode up to the front, pulling up beside the barbarian line. Dion watched as the two force commanders exchanged words, the barbarian captain appeared to be briefing the newly arrived knight commander on the situation.

”Thetor Kingdom troops... my father sent his forces too, it seems...” Aria noted, her grip tightening on her warhammer. ”And if royal knights were sent... then the commander must be...”

Before Aria could finish her sentence, a female knight on horseback rode out from the ranks. She removed her helmet, letting her wavy blonde hair cascade over her shoulders.

”Just as I suspected... my older sister, Evelyn,” Aria said softly.

Evelyn rode up to the edge of the crater left by the watchtower’s warning shot, raised her hand, and dismounted. She looked up toward the watchtower.

”Please lower the barrier!” Evelyn called out. ”We came only to inspect the seal! We mean no harm!”

”Ha! No harm?!” Aria shouted back from behind the barrier. ”Don’t pretend to be innocent, dear sister!”

Silence fell over the field once more. Evelyn lowered her hand, leaning forward as her eyes narrowed, trying to peer through the translucent barrier.

”You only came here because of the barrier, because there’s a village here, and because there are people living in it, right?!” Aria shouted.

”Aria?! Is that you, Aria?! Are you inside?!” Evelyn called back, trying to see through the sheen without stepping closer.

”Ha! Finally recognized my voice, huh?!” Aria retorted.

”Lower the barrier, Aria!” Evelyn called out, her tone tinged with frustration. ”You know our kingdom’s primary duty! Don’t stand in the way of a mandate that’s been passed down in our family for generations!”

”There’s no need to lower anything!” Aria replied firmly. ”We’re right here, the seal is completely fine! Go home, and tell Father not to bother coming back!”

”Hey!”

A boisterous shout rang out from the barbarian ranks. Two mounted men rode forward, halting beside Evelyn before dismounting. Recognizing the newcomers, Sheila’s jaw tightened as she took a step forward.

”Go home, Gred!” Sheila yelled.

”Huh?! Sheila?! You’re in there?!” Gred called out, stunned to hear his foster sister’s voice.

”Yeah! So go back, and don’t even think about forcing your way in, or your head’s gonna roll!” Sheila shouted back.

”Hoho... this is turning out to be quite the party,” Cleo called out suddenly. ”So you’re running with them now, Rene?”

”Ha... Cleo! I should have known this barrier was your doing!” Rene shouted in response.

”Huh... Rene?!” Dion blurted out.

”And now you’ve aligned yourself with traitors? That makes you a traitor too!” Rene yelled. ”I will report this directly to the King of Lutherias!”

”Ha! Who’s the traitor here?!” Luna shouted back. ”Go ahead and report it if you want! Besides, why are you even still alive?!”

Hearing Luna’s voice, Rene’s face transformed completely. In the span of five seconds, his expression shifted from sorrow to betrayal, and finally to sheer rage. His jaw clenched, and his eyes turned blood-red.

”Luna... so you betrayed me and ran off with Dion!” Rene screamed.

”Betrayed you?!” Luna retorted from behind the barrier. ”Were my last words to you back then not clear enough?! Do I need to repeat them?!”

”Hey, Rene! Let’s talk this out calmly!” Dion shouted over the barrier. ”Why are you here with representatives from the Thetor and Northgard kingdoms?!”

”None of your business, you weakling!” Rene shrieked. ”I’m going to kill you today!”

Hearing Rene’s outburst, Gred and Evelyn, standing on either side of him, turned to look at Rene with a look like, ”What is he even talking about?” A sudden hush fell over the field. But Rene was completely past the point of reason. He drew his sword, holding it vertically in front of his face.

”Cross Slash!”

His blade flared with brilliant aura as he delivered a lightning-fast horizontal slash, followed immediately by a vertical one. A cross-shaped crescent wave of energy launched from his blade, hurtling straight toward the barrier.

Blam!

A massive detonation echoed as the attack slammed into the magical barrier. The recoil blew Rene backward, sending him tumbling to the ground. But he scrambled back to his feet immediately.

”Yaaah!”

He charged straight for the bridge, thrusting his sword directly into the barrier in a desperate bid to force his way through.

Crack... crack...

Rene poured every ounce of his aura into the tip of his blade, slowly forcing the steel deeper as black sparks of lightning crackled around the point of impact.

”Grrrrgh!”

His face flushed bright red as he strained with everything he had. Evelyn and Gred rushed forward to pull him back, but the violent discharge of lightning emanating from the barrier forced them both to step back.

”Hey! Stop it, Rene!” Gred yelled.

”Rene... I order you to stand down! Stop this!” Evelyn commanded.

”Hiyaaaaaah!”

Ignoring them completely, Rene let out a feral scream, channeling his full strength to tear the barrier open. But suddenly,

Clang!

A massive black greatsword thrust outward through the barrier, striking Rene’s blade and repelling his attack.

”Agh!”

The sheer force threw Rene backward, sending him skidding through the dirt before landing right in front of Gred and Evelyn, who quickly helped him to his feet. Rene stared straight ahead.

Thud... thud...

Heavy, metallic footsteps echoed as a figure stepped fully out from beyond the barrier. When his form came into clear view, Rene’s face went pale for a split second before his jaw clenched tight and his eyes burned red once more.

”Dion!” Rene hissed through gritted teeth.

Standing right outside the barrier at the edge of the village bridge was Dion, clad in full black armor and resting a massive black greatsword against his shoulder. A dark crimson aura swirled around his body, and his eyes glowed entirely red with flickers of black lightning dancing around him.

The sight made both Gred and Evelyn take a step back from Rene, their faces betraying immediate regret over coming to this place.