A recruitment offer from the Blue Line.
Victor bringing this up was no surprise. I already expected it, so giving an answer wasn't hard.
"I'm not planning on it. Not yet."
"Tut. That's a shame."
Victor, clearly not expecting me to agree so easily, let it go faster than I thought.
"But not yet means you might someday, doesn't it?"
"Yeah. Someday."
It wasn't an empty promise. Someday, I would have to head to the Blue Line.
Just as I always had—to stop this wretched wave.
"Hmph, now that's a tempting thought. I don't care if you're rude—talent like yours is welcome."
"If I'm welcome, I'll look forward to the day."
"Still so slick with words for such a rude bastard."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"It was one."
Victor laughed heartily.
Genuinely pleased, it seemed.
"Well, I should get going. Busy man, you know. See you next time, you rude Carl Marcus."
"Yeah."
"Oh, and about our deal—I'll send word through Arden later."
"Got it."
"Still rude as ever… but oddly satisfying. I'm off."
With that, Victor left with Möbius.
The Ark was still under heavy wave assault. As the Blue Line's defense commander, he couldn't be gone for long.
'Not that I can be either.'
Even though the Ark had used tactical nukes to respond, if the frontlines were left alone for much longer, the damage would escalate.
I needed to rejoin the front at Orange Line.
'I've been gone a while… but I'll trust the others.'
The ones who joined me on this journey had grown far stronger than before.
I could trust them to hold the line.
'And Kalakin is still there.'
Though Kalakin didn't come with me on this trip, it wasn't due to incompetence—it was because of a separate mission.
And through that, Kalakin surely had grown tremendously.
'Then…'
I started walking.
Toward the Orange Line frontline.
* * *
"Haa… haa…"
How long had it been?
Hildegard leaned against a shattered column, panting, keeping her Insight Eye activated.
[....]
[....]
[....]
Information streamed in endlessly through her Insight Eye. Her eyes and brain felt like they were burning.
But Hildegard stubbornly endured it all.
"A-Are you okay?"
Belle approached, offering her a canteen.
Hildegard took it with trembling hands and drank deeply.
"…Thanks."
"No need. We saved a lot of soldiers thanks to you."
"We did it together."
Hildegard and Belle had moved in tandem, saving soldiers throughout the frontline.
Thanks to them, the Orange Line regained stability. And with it, the nearby Red and Yellow Lines also began to stabilize.
What they accomplished was no small feat for just two people.
"Whew…"
Even so, the battle still raged on at the Orange Line.
But the reason they weren't moving wasn't because it was over—it was simply that their strength had given out.
"Um… there's something I've been wondering."
Belle's voice reached her, and Hildegard responded.
"What is it?"
"…We're probably going to get disciplined, right?"
Seeing Belle make such a pitiful expression, Hildegard couldn't help but laugh.
From the beginning, something about this timid girl made her want to tease her.
"Maybe. Or maybe we'll get rewarded."
"Rewarded?"
"We did pretty well, didn't we?"
Hildegard smiled brightly.
Belle stared at her for a moment, mouth half open, then shook her head.
"…We should get moving."
"Think you can?"
"Yes. We can't just rest like this."
Hildegard was a little surprised by her resolve but stood up with effort.
"Alright. Let's go."
Then, while watching Belle walk ahead, something clicked.
"Oh… right. I never asked you that."
"Asked me what?"
"What batch are you from?"
Hildegard had been wondering this for a while.
Belle's rank was Private, same as hers.
She'd treated her casually thinking she was a junior.
But if she was actually a senior, it was time to fix that.
'I don't remember anyone like her in my batch… she's probably a junior.'
While she waited for her reply, Belle answered.
"Batch 153."
"…What?"
Hildegard fell silent.
153 meant… one batch ahead of hers.
This timid-looking man was her senior.
"Why? Something wrong?"
"…No, nothing."
Her mind replayed every time she'd bossed her around.
If Belle held a grudge, it could be considered insubordination.
Disobeying orders, leaving post… and now this?
She could be royally screwed.
"What's wrong?"
"I said it's nothing!"
As Belle pressed her, Hildegard snapped.
Inside, she screamed.
"S-Sorry!"
"N-No, I should be the one apologizing for yelling…"
At this point, Hildegard wanted to cry.
She looked so fragile… she just assumed she was her junior.
And now? A senior?
'Act like nothing happened. And never see her again.'
Even if they were in the same Line, duty stations were often far apart.
If she avoided him, she could probably avoid another encounter.
She told herself that.
And swore—today would be the last time they ever met.
'What a waste of talent… but there's nothing I can do.'
Hildegard had performed admirably today while working alongside Belle.
They had made a tangible impact on stabilizing the Orange Line's frontline.
Caught between the safety of the Ark and the threat of disciplinary action, Hildegard couldn't help but seriously consider the consequences.
'Then again… worrying about punishment now is laughable.'
The die was already cast.
She had made that choice herself.
"Excuse me."
"Y-Yes?"
"Never mind. Let's go."
Hildegard moved forward.
Toward the front.
* * *
When I arrived at the Orange Line's front, I scanned the battlefield.
'They're holding better than I expected.'
Even with the Ark deploying tactical nukes, the state of the frontline was surprisingly clean, considering it had endured a triple wave.
Almost as if someone had intervened.
'I don't know who it was… but it works in my favor.'
I wasn't fond of surprises—but I wouldn't complain about this kind.
From here, my task was simple.
Find the weakest point in the Orange Line and reinforce it.
'Then…'
Click—
I grabbed my Ark-34 Automatic Conversion Rifle and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Bang!
The fired A-985 explosive round detonated, blasting apart the head of a Grade-7 beast-type charging toward the Ark's walls.
But I wasn't done.
One trigger pull after another—I made sure every incoming rogue got a lesson in pain.
Boom!
KABOOM!
Amid the chain of detonations, I could feel the soldiers around me turning their eyes toward me.
"Is that…?"
"…Incredible."
"Who is that? Since when did the Orange Line have someone like that?"
"That's Carl Marcus! Carl Marcus is here!"
"Carl Marcus? The mercenary?"
It wasn't surprising.
Even on the front-heavy Orange Line, it wasn't common to see someone spraying A-985 rounds like this.
'Time to move again.'
Lingering in one spot for too long risked raising questions about my infinite ammo.
Not to mention, being stared at like that was getting uncomfortable.
I shifted position and opened fire once again at the incoming beasts.
Boom!
KRA-KOOM!
The A-985 rounds detonated nonstop, shrouding the area in thick smoke.
[You have slain: Grade-8 beast-type, Starved Sabretooth.]
[Damage dealt to Starved Sabretooth increases by 0.05%.]
[You have slain: Grade-8 beast-type, Longfang Sabretooth.]
[Damage dealt to Longfang Sabretooth increases by 0.05%.]
[You have slain: Grade-8 beast-type, Starved Sabretooth.]
[Damage dealt to Starved Sabretooth increases by 0.05%.]
.
.
.
[You have slain: Grade-7 beast-type, Alpha Sabretooth.]
[Damage dealt to Alpha Sabretooth increases by 0.05%.]
They didn't even have time to scream.
Grade-7 or 8 beast-types were just overgrown cats in front of A-985 rounds.
'But now comes the real problem.'
I looked down at the primate-types prepping long-range attacks beneath the Orange Line's wall.
The so-called Boulder Brigade.
Even a rock throw, if hurled by a Grade-7 primate-type, hit like an artillery shell.
I needed to wipe them out—make them regret ever throwing anything again.
So, I took out the weapons with the highest burst damage and widest area coverage in my arsenal.
The BLT-47 Plasma Launcher and ICE-54 Plasma Cooler.
'If only they lasted longer… they'd be perfect.'
BZZZ——
A red flash and blue chill roared down from the wall of the Orange Line.
KRA-KRA-KRA-KRA-KROOM!
The scarlet and azure beams shot from my fingertips like divine wrath, incinerating and freezing the beasts below.
["That's it!"]
Esther, too, held her own, scattering Ether and batting away the airborne monsters headed my way.
["Begone!"]
The Ether storm she conjured stirred fierce winds.
KRA-KRA-KRA-KRA-KROOM!
Though not as powerful as Isabel's storm, it was more than enough to scatter the wings of flight-types.
The battle went on.
My mouth filled with the metallic taste of exhaustion. Blood seeped from the hand gripping my weapon.
Still, I kept fighting.
[KRAAAH! KRAAAH!]
["What the hell are you saying?! DIE already!"]
Maybe it was because of that effort—
But the once endless swarm of beasts and monsters that stretched across the horizon was finally thinning out.
'…Finally.'
The meaning was clear.
The dreaded triple wave was finally coming to an end.