Chapter 194 …

When Ethan had almost finished stitching up his side, Hannah called out to him in a nasal voice.

“Ethan.”

“What.”

“We’re in serious trouble, right?”

“What nonsense are you talking about now?”

“My communications aren’t working… I’ve been trying since earlier.”

She fidgeted with a handkerchief stained bright red.

“Something must’ve gone wrong just now. Is that why my nosebleed won’t stop? What do we do now? We can’t even request support…”

“What do you mean, what do we do? Hey, when did I ever say I needed support?”

Ethan snorted and replied calmly.

“I can get us out of here somehow, so if you’ve got time to worry about useless things, plug your nose properly.”

It was bravado.

Even Hannah could see that he had already reached his limit.

Unlike earlier, when he had reattached his right arm in one go, stitching his side had taken a long time, and the stitches themselves were extremely rough.

He’s covered in cold sweat… even his lips are turning blue…

Hannah didn’t say it out loud. She realized Ethan was pretending to be fine for her sake.

At this rate, this is really bad. He’s going to die.

How long could they hide here? Ethan’s face had darkened earlier when he looked outside.

She felt like crying. Hannah sniffled as if swallowing her nosebleed and forced back her tears.

Please, please connect. Anyone, please!

Someone please help. Please…

Curling up, she desperately spread her Ode.

The communication kept breaking before reaching Olivia or Isaiah, so she scattered it in every direction as far as she could extend it—like a drowning person flailing their arms wildly in the water.

And then someone grabbed that arm firmly.

[Hannah? Are you okay?]

It was Lilietta.

Hannah burst into the tears she had been holding back.

“Milady…!”

While running toward the Grapevine Estate, Rita received the final aerial view through the blue bird controlled by Is.

She confirmed the scene the sparrow had witnessed just before it was pierced by a spear thrown by a Card Soldier and vanished.

The suddenly mutated demonic beasts.

Their eerily coordinated movements.

The moment she saw it, she reached the same conclusion Ethan had.

There’s no explanation other than the Commander.

Codename: Commander.

The reason that creature had a name meaning “commander” was simple—its ability was to dominate and command other demonic beasts.

The Commander itself was not particularly strong.

However, because it could unilaterally bring countless beasts under its command, forming a legion and waging war, it was considered the most dangerous kind of monster.

During the Age of Ashes, whenever a Commander appeared, the Last Defense Line fought what was, in many ways, a real war.

A war that looked like something fought between humans—trenches, air raids, maneuvers, and diversionary operations everywhere.

During the war against the Commander, the Beacon squad members each gained nicknames.

Those nicknames stuck so firmly that they became as familiar as their real names—eventually becoming their individual codenames.

It meant the war had lasted that long.

The seasons had changed several times during it.

That was how exhausting and difficult an opponent the Commander was.

And now, as if the giant Red Queen wasn’t enough, that thing had appeared too?

…It doesn’t seem like it’s nearby. The Commander doesn’t have stealth abilities, but it does have remote command capability… so it must be hiding somewhere far away and safe.

The Commander was a monster capable of using strategy, so it could even do something resembling a “deal” with humans.

If Pascal had made some sort of deal with the Commander, then it would be possible to gather the Red Queen’s subordinates—who should normally roam freely—into a specific location.

Like the current situation at the Grapevine Estate.

If it’s really the Commander, there’s no way it would command only this many beasts. It would definitely form a legion. I have to find it immediately.

Just imagining the Commander’s monster legion marching through the streets of Ramcard City sent chills down her spine.

While running, Lilietta grabbed the summoned creature and shook it repeatedly to catch Isaiah’s attention. Then she mouthed the word Commander over and over.

If it was Is, he would see her through the bird’s vision and understand.

By the time the Grapevine Estate came into view, the summon flew in a circle.

A signal that Isaiah had understood.

First, Ethan.

The last thing the sparrow had seen looked somewhat dangerous, but Lilietta trusted Ethan.

He would somehow survive and hold on.

I’m more worried about Hannah.

Just as she thought that and climbed up the estate wall—

[Please help… please…]

Lilietta was startled and immediately caught the transmission.

“Hannah? Are you okay?”

[Milady…!]

A voice bursting into tears came back. Lilietta focused on Hannah’s rambling explanation and quickly grasped the situation.

[So… sniff… that’s why…]

“It’s okay now. I understand the situation completely.”

While listening to the communication, she climbed down from the wall and quietly took position.

Instead of entering the estate, she headed outside it.

She fired a grappling round onto the roof of the temple bell tower a short distance from the Grapevine Estate, climbed up, and lay prone.

Even if it’s farther away, higher ground is better.

Activating the sniper mode of her magic rifle, she continued.

“Hannah, can you pass a message to Ethan? Tell him: December 7th, Southern Block 15 Defense Battle.”

[Huh? O-Okay…]

Hannah answered in confusion, then shortly sent another message.

[H-He says he can’t move like he did back then.]

“Tell him I’ll cover him gently—like escorting a civilian—so don’t worry.”

[Uh… okay… he says he understands…]

“Good. Then, Hannah.”

Ideally, like in the Mimic battle with Lindsey, Hannah would connect the communication directly between her and Ethan.

But in Hannah’s current condition, that technique was impossible.

Hearing her disoriented voice, Lilietta guessed her state and gave concise instructions.

“Tell Ethan the signals. If you tap his right shoulder while he’s carrying you, he turns right. Tap his left shoulder, he turns left. Touch the back of his neck for forward. Pull his clothes for stop.”

[O-Okay…]

“Got it? From now on, when I say forward, stop, left, or right, you use those signals to tell Ethan. Can you do it?”

[I-I think I can.]

“Good. Then get ready.”

They were hiding in a storage shed in the garden, so she couldn’t just unleash Twilight.

But if she tried to draw attention to let them escape, it would become extremely dangerous for her without a vanguard protecting the front.

So in the current situation, the best option was—

Sniper cover.

When she sniped Crawlers, she had needed a vision-enhancement spell, but the modified magic rifle’s sniper mode had a built-in scope.

[Notification: Activating night vision.]

[Notification: Activating range measurement.]

[Notification: Activating blind-spot vision.]

The intelligent artificial spirit automatically activated the necessary functions.

Lilietta rested the rifle on the bipod and fixed her body against the ground, pressing her eye to the scope.

Small butterflies summoned by Grace fluttered into the air, supplementing vision in areas blocked by obstacles.

The scope, blind-spot vision, her own eyesight, and her sensing range combined to create a three-dimensional map in her mind.

In the magnified view, a Card Soldier approaching the garden shed came into sight.

Rita placed the creature’s head in the center of the crosshair and held her breath.

A silenced bullet fired soundlessly.

It passed over rooftops, over the estate wall, through branches of garden trees—and embedded itself precisely in the monster’s forehead.

As the creature collapsed backward, Rita whispered:

“Come out of the shed. Forward.”

The shed door quietly opened, and Ethan stepped out carrying Hannah on his back.

He didn’t even react to the monster corpse lying on the ground. Without hesitation, he simply walked forward.

His pace was slow because of his severe injuries.

Rita moved the barrel again.

Another Card Soldier approaching from the direction Ethan was heading entered the center of the crosshair.

Pshh.

With a faint hiss like escaping air, the monster’s head burst apart through the scope.

“Keep moving forward.”

At the same time she shifted the barrel, she extended one hand and rapidly processed several more silent rounds so she could reload instantly even if the magazine emptied during rapid fire.

“Stop.”

Hannah tugged Ethan’s clothes, and he halted.

Lilietta fired five shots in quick succession, then grabbed the prepared silent rounds beside her and reloaded with one hand.

The cylinder spun.

Immediately she fired again.

Of the nine monsters gathered near the fountain, four that had survived were examining the corpses of the other five—

Their heads exploded one after another.

Without watching the result, she reloaded again and whispered:

“Forward.”

A Joker appeared in the scope.

After the nine at the fountain died all at once, it seemed to be heading over under the Commander’s orders to check the situation.

That one can’t be handled with silent rounds.