Long after a great war, the land lies ravaged. Iron is precious, and decent weapons come only from traveling merchants or ancient battlefields. Each settlement keeps a few self-defense warriors, scraping by.
Orvan, a silent warrior, saves his comrade Puyis from a superior monster by deflecting its attack with his weapon. The weapon shatters, but Puyis survives.
Thus it begins. Each deflection costs him something. The more he protects, the more vanishes from his hands. Orvan seeks things to def
Parry of the Void - That is your way of fighting — to the very end, with what is in your hands —
The watchtower stood at the edge of the settlement of Ordith. The pre-dawn sky was still dark. The eastern edge was just beginning to pale.
Orvan opened his eyes while still sitting on the ground behind the self-defense corps' station. His soot-stained black hair was damp with night dew. His bangs clung to his forehead. His gray eyes moved slowly in the darkness.
He looked at the bandage on his right wrist. He had rewrapped it himself last night, after repelling the surprise attack. His fingertips were slightly numb. He moved his thumb and index finger. They moved. His ring finger and pinky wouldn't bend the way he wanted.
(Still have some.)
With his left hand, he touched the weapons hanging from his waist belt one by one. Three pieces of wood. Two stone fragments. The hilt of a dagger he'd bought from a junk dealer, the blade long gone. And two fragments of a shattered blade.
Eight in total.
(How far will these take me?)
Orvan stood up.
That was when it happened.
From the north side of the settlement, from the direction of the Ash-Iron Plains, he saw a small figure running toward them.
The footsteps were terribly uneven.
Orvan narrowed his eyes.
The one running was Puisu. His flaxen, springy hair was plastered down with sweat. His blue-gray eyes were wide open. His left arm was in a sling made of cloth. The cloth was stained black.
"Orvan-san!"
Puisu stopped in front of Orvan, dropping to one knee. He was gasping for breath. The sweat on his forehead had carved muddy streaks through the dust.
"They're coming. From the north. The main body."
Orvan silently looked down at Puisu.
"The numbers... I can't say exactly, but twenty or more. No, maybe more than that. The footsteps shook the ground itself. On foot, straight toward us from the center of the Ash-Iron Plains."
Puisu pressed a hand against the cloth on his left arm. Blood was seeping between his fingers.
"Half a day until they arrive... no, maybe sooner. They don't rest. They just keep walking at the same pace."
Orvan looked at Puisu's left arm.
"That arm."
Puisu was at a loss for words for a moment.
"...On the way, a shadow wolf. I couldn't shake one of them. But it's nothing serious. Nothing's broken."
Puisu tried to smile. But his mouth only twitched.
Orvan placed his left hand on Puisu's shoulder.
"Good job coming back."
Puisu looked up.
"This is scout work. If you hadn't warned us, we'd have been asleep."
Puisu's blue-gray eyes grew moist.
"...Was I useful?"
"Yeah."
Orvan answered briefly.
Puisu bit his lip. Then he nodded again and again.
"Fall back. Wash your wound. Then go notify the station. Wake everyone."
"...Understood."
Puisu stood up. He grimaced from the pain in his left arm. But his feet were planted firmly on the ground.
"Orvan-san, I'm going to go check on the situation once more."
Orvan looked at Puisu.
"...Don't push yourself."
"It's not pushing it. It's scout work."
With that, Puisu turned and ran off.
Orvan watched his back until he disappeared from sight.
(That kid won't run anymore.)
Orvan gripped the bandage on his right wrist with his left hand.
The alarm bell rang through the settlement. Clang, clang, clang—the dry metallic sound cut through the pre-dawn air.
---
In front of the self-defense corps' station. Thirty warriors had already gathered in the square.
All of them wore faces mixed with sleepiness and tension. The weapons in their hands were rusted swords, wooden spears, stone axes. Those with iron weapons could be counted on one hand.
Azumariya stood in the center of the square. Short-cropped black hair. Sun-bronzed skin. On her back, an iron sword—rare for this settlement. Her sharp eyes swept over the gathered warriors.
"I'll report the situation. The main body is approaching from the north, from the Ash-Iron Plains side. Numbers are twenty or more. It won't take half a day for them to arrive."
A stir ran through the warriors.
"Quiet. We're establishing a defensive line now. Centered on the northern stone wall, we'll split forces east and west. Everyone, check your weapons. Those with iron weapons, step to the front."
Azumariya's voice echoed across the square.
"Also, Orvan."
Orvan stood silently at the edge of the square.
Azumariya's eyes caught him.
"You take the vanguard."
Another stir spread among the warriors.
"Vanguard, follow Orvan. His deflection will be the cornerstone of our defensive line."
Orvan looked at Azumariya.
Azumariya said nothing more. She only glanced at Orvan's right wrist for a moment.
(Does she know what's under that bandage?)
Orvan said nothing and nodded.
---
Orvan made his rounds through the settlement.
First, he headed to the junk dealer Miranda's shop.
Rusted swords and broken spears leaned carelessly against the front of the shop. All of them relics recovered from old battlefields.
As Orvan approached, a small elderly woman appeared from the back of the shop. Miranda. Her white hair was tied back, and she walked with a stoop. But her eyes were sharp, belying her age.
"...You've come. The main body is closing in, I hear."
"I want to borrow weapons."
Miranda looked at Orvan's right wrist. The blood-stained bandage. And she noticed that his hand was trembling slightly.
"Take whatever you like. Pay me later."
Orvan looked at the weapons lined up in front of the shop.
One stone axe. One crude dagger processed with iron refining. And a broken spearhead. A wooden stick. A stone.
"...And take this too."
Miranda brought out a single stone axe from the back of the shop.
"I'm entrusting it to you. You can break it. It was never going to sell anyway."
Orvan accepted the stone axe.
"I'll borrow it."
Miranda said nothing, just looked at Orvan's face.
"...You fought yesterday too, didn't you. With that hand."
Orvan didn't answer.
"Don't push yourself. If you fall, this settlement is finished."
Orvan turned his back to Miranda.
"...Fall back."
Miranda watched his back as he left.
---
Next, he headed to the self-defense corps' station.
Inside the station, warriors were inspecting their weapons. Azumariya was gathering spare spears and broken swords in front of the armory.
As Orvan approached, Azumariya silently opened the armory door.
"Take what's usable. But the numbers are limited. One per person."
Orvan looked inside the armory.
Five wooden spears. Three broken swords. Two stone axes. And one rusted iron dagger.
Orvan picked up one of the broken swords. Half the blade was missing. But the hilt was solid.
"This, and one more."
Orvan also picked up a wooden spear.
"Do as you like. But leave enough for everyone."
"I know."
Orvan tied the weapons to his waist belt.
As he was about to leave the station, one of the warriors stood in front of him.
"...Please, use this."
It was a young warrior. He held a wooden spear in his hands.
"Mine's still usable. But your deflection will surely be more useful."
Orvan looked at the young warrior.
"Don't need it."
"But—"
"You use it. To protect your own life."
The young warrior was left speechless.
Orvan left the station.
---
In front of the stone wall.
Orvan laid out the weapons he'd borrowed on the ground.
Two stone axes. One broken sword. One wooden spear. One crude iron-refined dagger. And the wood pieces and stone fragments that had been hanging from his waist belt.
Twelve in total.
(How far will these take me?)
Orvan tightened the bandage on his right wrist with his left hand.
Beneath the bandage, an old wound pulsed quietly.
(Weapons are worth the same as life.)
(In this world, that's how it is.)
(And yet, I'm gathering them to break them.)
Orvan looked at the weapons laid out on the ground, one by one.
(It's contradictory.)
(I know.)
(But this is how I fight.)
Orvan raised his head.
Beyond the northern Ash-Iron Plains, a cloud of dust was rising.
---
The first assault came before the sun had fully risen.
Five humanoid monsters from the north.
Do-do-do-do-do—the earth tremor drew closer.
"They're coming! Brace yourselves!"
Azumariya's voice rang across the defensive line.
Orvan stood at the very front. In his hand, a stone axe.
The horde of monsters pressed toward the stone wall. Ash-brown skin. Elongated arms. Their claws were sharp, reflecting the morning light dully. Their eyes glowed red, glaring.
"Charge!!"
The warriors roared and charged.
Orvan didn't run.
One of the monsters leaped at Orvan. Its claws tore through the air.
Orvan inserted the stone axe into the trajectory of those claws.
Clang!!
Sparks scattered.
The monster's arm was deflected. But in that instant, the stone axe in Orvan's hand shattered into two pieces.
Stone fragments scattered across the ground.
Orvan didn't let the pain shooting through his right wrist show on his face.
(Next.)
Orvan grabbed the second stone axe from the weapons laid out on the ground.
The monster swung its claws down again.
Clang!!
The second stone axe shattered too.
Blood was beginning to seep from Orvan's right wrist.
(Next.)
Orvan grabbed the broken sword.
The monster's claws swung down, aiming for Orvan's shoulder.
Orvan inserted the broken sword into the trajectory of those claws.
Claaang!!
The sword shattered from the base.
The monster's arm was deflected wide. In that opening, Orvan slammed the broken hilt into the monster's gut.
The monster staggered.
The self-defense warriors piled on with spears and stone axes.
The monster let out a death cry and collapsed to the ground.
"...Amazing."
Someone muttered.
Orvan gripped his right wrist with his left hand.
(Still have some.)
---
The second assault came before noon.
This time, seven humanoid monsters from the east.
"East! They've flanked us!"
The warriors ran to the eastern defensive line.
Orvan ran too.
The pain in his right wrist had spread to his elbow.
(Still moving.)
The eastern defensive line was set up at the shallows of a dried-up river.
The horde of monsters crossed the river. Water splashed up.
Orvan readied the wooden spear.
One of the monsters charged at Orvan.
Orvan aligned the spearhead with the monster's claws.
Crack!!
The spear snapped in two.
The monster's claws grazed Orvan's left arm. Blood flew.
Orvan slammed the broken spear shaft into the monster's face.
The monster flinched.
"Now! Get them!"
The self-defense warriors unleashed a barrage of attacks on the staggering monster.
Orvan picked up a stone that had fallen on the ground.
(Next.)
One of the monsters was about to swing its claws down on a fallen warrior.
Orvan threw the stone at the trajectory of those claws.
Thwack!!
The stone hit the monster's wrist.
The monster's claws veered off course.
In that opening, Orvan dragged the fallen warrior back.
"Fall back."
The warrior nodded, trembling.
Orvan returned to the front line.
The bandage on his right wrist was soaked bright red with blood.
---
The third assault came in the afternoon.
Four humanoid monsters from the west.
"West! Everyone, don't leave your posts!"
Orvan ran to the western defensive line.
The pain in his right wrist had spread to his shoulder.
His fingers wouldn't move the way he wanted.
(Still can do this.)
The western defensive line was a narrow path near the entrance to the Forest of Lamentation.
The horde of monsters emerged from between the trees.
Orvan gripped the crude iron-refined dagger.
One of the monsters swung its claws down at Orvan.
Orvan parried those claws with the dagger.
Clang!!
The dagger shattered.
Iron fragments grazed Orvan's cheek. Blood seeped out.
Orvan grabbed a piece of wood hanging from his waist belt.
The monster's claws swung down again.
Orvan parried those claws with the wood.
Crack!!
The wood shattered into pieces.
Orvan grabbed the next piece of wood.
Crack!!
It shattered too.
Orvan grabbed a stone fragment.
Thwack!!
The stone shattered.
Orvan grabbed the last stone fragment.
The monster's claws swung down, aiming for Orvan's head.
Orvan
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