A War Hero With No Regrets

1 – Last Memory

“Alas… how much longer, how much longer must I endure this!! Alas!! How much longer!!!”

The cries of despair echoed throughout the room.

The thirtieth round.

When ‘Hopeful Spirit’ finally reached the location where the terrible curse was lifted, I believed that we could finally escape.

The journey’s end, standing up from the countless deaths repeated in each round.

Even the loss of our allies was insignificant compared to any round so far.

It’s the first time we’ve reached Titan’s enclave without suffering such losses.

Even up until then, I thought that Luterus, leading Graveyard’s forces, was the correct path.

Surrounding the front lines and launching slaughter from all sides.

Assembling small strike teams and deploying them.

Unleashing bombs powerful enough to engulf the entire Titan in an avalanche of destruction.

Unlike the previous rounds that failed, Luterus could finally hold out hope.

“Commander! Trust in us!”

“Unfortunate, Commander? I won’t let the salvation of humanity be monopolized by myself!”

“Don’t worry. We won’t die no matter what happens.”

We were well-stocked and full of morale.

We’ve perfected countless battle strategies after several failures.

Even down to ‘Captain – the highest commander’, the rank I held last round, and poured all of humanity’s military capabilities into it.

Why does it have to be like this…?

Luterus turned his head, his eyes empty.

The guards, pierced by thorns on the wall, were still there.

Even the jokester squad leader who never lost his humor.

The assault leader who enjoyed exercising together with his comrades after work.

They showed no signs of life.

Promising not to die, and saying it was okay.

Luterus turned his head again. The corpses of those who were supposed to be safe were completely gone.

The light of annihilation.

Guards hit directly by a laser beam screamed without a chance to speak, their bodies becoming a pile of flesh.

Again.

Again, we’ve lost.

It was a defeat.

What I thought was the correct path, turned out to be a trap.

They waited until a large force entered, and without any fear, they ruthlessly devoured the invaders who had put their foot inside the lair.

One comrade tried to save another who was wounded, and ended up dying together.

Another comrade, trying to prevent an attack on the commander, was wrapped in a full body and died.

Dudududu…

From not too far away, the footsteps of the Titan echoed faintly in Luterus’s ears, who lay prostrate.

“Command… Officer…”

The woman in heels licks her lips nervously.

Argen Orka Junior Captain.

From the first retreat to the thirty-ninth, she has always been by Luterus’ side, and the lover who accompanied him at every retreat.

Luterus rushed towards her and grabbed her hand.

“Argen…”

Her body trembles as if it’s freezing.

When she turns her head, a hole torn in her side comes into view.

Luterus quickly took out a treatment from his bag.

It was a treatment that immediately regenerated tissue in localized areas, a magical treatment.

This was also a treatment that Luterus had obtained after going through several retreats.

As always, she could be saved this time too.

No.

She had to be saved.

She couldn’t lose her again here.

She had managed to push her away and managed to save her, but she couldn’t let her die like this again.

“No, no… Wake up, understand? There’s nothing that can’t be done with willpower, right…?!!

Luterus sprinkled the treatment on the wound.

White powder that clots blood and aids in skin regeneration filled the wound, but the bleeding didn’t stop.

Instead, it only oozed blood with a hiccup.

“…Addiction… No hope…

“Don’t talk nonsense!! If it’s addiction, then here, there’s an antidote…!!

The hand trembling as it searched through the bag was stopped by Argen.

The shaking fingers clung tightly to Luterus’ palm.

“Lea… Lea is…?”

Luterus couldn’t answer.

Lea Gilardi Lieutenant.

She too had been caught by the light of annihilation, and her body, which couldn’t even be found, had disappeared.

“She went first…? hehehe, with this… I’ve won it for sure… Don’t you think that going before oneself means that rank is meaningless…?”

“Please, don’t talk.”

“The other… kids…?”

He couldn’t answer that either.

Anyone could see that Argen was the last survivor of this operation.

“Failed…? I thought I was going to succeed this time…?”

The stifled sigh of pain.

Cruel and pitiful, it was enough to break Luterus’ last will.

“Will be alright… We’ll have the next time…?”

“…”

“As always, we meet through Akasha… Do you understand? One more time… One more time… We’re going to challenge…?”

“Argen, I… I…”

Lutherus couldn’t finish his sentence.

Argen’s arm, which had been holding Lutherus, suddenly relaxed.

Dum dum dum dum dum dum dum!!

The sound of the bullets was getting closer and closer.

At least 200, or maybe even more.

Lutherus silently looked at Argen, then picked up the revolver that was lying on the floor. No more tears were coming out.

He finally understood.

Lutherus Edan, you are indeed the one who should bear all these responsibilities on your back.

You should not yearn for someone else’s relationship.

That stubbornness that we could all overcome, did not result in a pitiful ending, did it?

“I’m sorry, Argen. And everyone.”

Lutherus opened his mouth and put the gun barrel into it. The angle that would pierce the brain exactly.

Dum dum dum dum dum dum dum!!

‘Recovery of memory through Akasha is no longer.’

Perhaps this is also a revelation.

‘To catch the monster, I also have to become a monster. No one should be allowed to be near me, and view people as mere goods.’

The final essence for victory in the ninth return of the thirtieth.

It was a cruel burden for human Lutherus Edan.

He was the commander of Graveyard, the guardian of the empire, and the lion of defense.

And as the fiance of the women he loves, it is a burden that should be endured as a matter of course.

Lutherus pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Tan.

With the last gunshot, his mind flew off to an unknown distance.

Lutherus finally met his ninth death.

Holding, along with the heart of humanity.

—-

Lutherus opened his eyes naturally.

The quiet morning without the ringing alarm was still hard to adapt to.

The silence of the dawn was as alien as the sounds of gunshots and attack sirens.

He got up from the bed, stood right in front of the mirror.

“…Your appearance is not fitting. It’s time to tidy up.”

If someone else saw it, they might misunderstand as a homeless person.

The disheveled beard and messy hair, even the muscular body and the scars scattered here and there.

However, if you just look at it, it gives an image closer to a mercenary or a combat soldier than a vagrant.

But he was neither a mercenary nor a combat soldier.

He was an officer of the empire who could only be honored by the elite, and a high-ranking commander holding the authority of the front defense base.

Captain Lutherus Edan.

He is the commander of the ‘Graveyard’ fortress, which is tactically important and borders the area of bullets.

He is a co-commander of the war that led humanity to victory in the war, and a war hero.

However, Lutherus Edan had never received the title with pleasure.

Of course.

It’s a matter that had to be endured.

Whether it was someone else, if he had possessed this cursed ability, he could have done the things he had done. It’s embarrassing to put on a show of doing such things with abilities he didn’t possess himself.

During the sixtieth death, many people sacrificed themselves in front of his eyes.

Lutherus shuddered every time he closed his eyes, remembering these vivid memories.

That’s why he had to take a strong sleeping pill every time he was on leave.

Perhaps if someone else had this ability, humanity could have been saved much faster.

For example, the supreme commander ‘Arthur Phillias’.

‘…’

Lutherus sighed deeply.

Anyway, thinking about it now wouldn’t be useful.

In the end, humanity won, not a single person died at the Gryead Fortress, and they didn’t get involved with him.

The ultra-high quantum computer ‘Akasha’.

Until now, Lutherus had shown the pre-amnesia memories of the Gryead Fortress personnel to Akasha.

Until last time, he thought he could win with it, but the truth is that it was not the answer to bring back memories with Akasha.

Now they should be able to liberate themselves from themselves and live their own lives.

That was a good thing.

They shouldn’t have had to die just because they were involved with him.

They deserved to be happy.

“I decided not to regret.”

Lutherus muttered, pulling on the suit he had thrown in a corner.

Of course, it was his own choice.

The tie was forgotten long ago, and the pants were spread out, while the blazer hanging on the shirt was not even worn.

Anyway, those who would not be able to see today.

He was planning to leave this place as ordered by the discharge command.

Honestly, it’s annoying.

The building made of several layers of gray concrete and the surrounding fort facilities.

It wasn’t just called the Graveyard of Gryead.

It was truly like a tomb, but it was satisfying to not be called a graveyard or a viewing platform.

…I think I was once mocked with such a mocking name.

It doesn’t matter now.

I’m serious.