Blacksmith vs. the System

Interlude: Leona Asterion

The scent of scorched mana hung thick in the air as Leona Asterion stood atop the highest spire of the little outpost that carried her family name, one that the locals referred to as a city. An overestimation that, at any other time, would have put a smile on her face, but right now, she only felt a helpless kind of fury.

The source of it was the letter that she was holding in her hand. An order from the family elders, ordering her to cease her foolishness and return home, going on and on again how a peripheral planet wasn't worth any more effort.

She knew that she wasn't the only one that received the order. Every single-high ranking commander that came with her received the same. And, all of them had already returned, leaving her in command.

For all it was worth. It was a hopeless last stand.

Yet, she stayed. How could she leave, when it meant abandoning her search for her precious brothers. She felt her hate toward the elders of her family. They were the ones that drove her brothers in that reckless direction.

Helpless, she looked down, examining the fractured land that unraveled below her. Anything outside the city had long turned into ashes, while flames had already spread into two districts, the soldiers working desperately to extinguish it, once great white walls of the outpost had long cracked under the constant attacks, unable to prevent incursions.

Yet, it wasn't the biggest problem with the defense. The ley line under the city had long overdrawn, the wards flickering as they tried to recover … a mission that could never succeed under the constant bombardment of attacks coming from dungeon monsters.

Ones that had been sabotaged by the Void Cultists, their cursed arts overwhelming them. That alone was a difficult problem, but hardly unmanageable. But, a perfectly-timed attack from Drakka turned it into a disaster.

That was a crime that would see the destruction of their family … but only if Leona could prove it. Unfortunately, that was impossible. All she had was the suspicious timing of an attack, eliminating several elite teams she sent to quell the crisis in the dungeons. No actual evidence, at least none the Great Council would accept.

She clenched her gauntleted hand into a fist, breath misting in the chill as she watched the protective wards around the city flicker. Too many attacks, too few soldiers to counter it, some of the best already damaged by the corruption, damaging their very soul in the process, their recovery needing weeks.

Maybe months, as most of them had their souls overdrawn by the Ascension in the first place.

The others … just disappeared, leaving Leona wondering whether they had been assassinated, or they had betrayed their vows.

She turned the other way, looking at the crystalline gate at the center of the tower, surrounded by layers of enchanted metal to repel the corruption of the void, protecting the path back home. All she needed was to walk toward there, and leave Earth behind.

Therefore abandoned not only her brothers, but everyone who swore their loyalty to the name of Asterion. A name that was supposed to represent loyalty and bravery, with roots going as far as the Great Covenant.

"When did we fall this low," she said to herself. "When did we start abandoning our blood just because they had the misfortune of a poor class. When did we start sacrificing people who took vows to our name…"

Lost in her thoughts, she flinched when she heard the footsteps on the stairs. "Marshall Cyrus," she greeted.

"Marshall?" he responded, a bitter smile on his lips. "Did everyone else already leave, my lord?"

"You can call me my lady, Marshall. We don't have to play that ridiculous game now that the rest of my family is gone?"

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"And, when will you depart, milady?" he asked, his voice bitter.

"I haven't decided yet," she replied. "What's our status?"

"We're holding," he said. But, the state of his armor showed that it was not an easy situation. "But the cost is rising. The corrupted beasts are pressing through the third district, targeting our weaknesses. I've ordered the seventh division to seal the path, but their ascended warriors are near their limit."

"Casualties?"

He hesitated. "Four hundred and twenty, confirmed. We can still hold, milady. You should leave before the nightfall."

"And, what about the unconfirmed losses," she asked.

"It won't be professional," he replied. Meaning, they were even worse than Leona was imagining. She said nothing, her gaze drifted westward, toward the jagged horizon, taint already adding a dark tint to the sky. "I'll go and see the walls, milady," he said. "You shouldn't delay too much. With the leyline overdrawn, the path might shatter soon."

"And, what would happen here if I leave."

"The exact same thing if you stay, milady," he replied, stoic. "You should leave. You're the one that cares about us. Maybe you can convince your family to send reinforcements."

"Maybe," Leona said, knowing that there was no such hope. "You should check the walls, Marshall. You have the command."

He saluted and left, leaving Leona to her thoughts once more. Her thoughts drifted between her brothers, who had been forced to escape to Earth due to the ploys of one pathetic elder who determined to weaken Leona's branch. Leona searched for them, but tracing them through the initial chaos of a System Integration was impossible.

Everything was falling apart, and she had a choice to make. Leaving was one option. But, not the only option, she thought as she pulled a small box from inside her armor, one that had been carefully hidden behind a clever mechanism. Inside, it held a glowing ethereal crystal, one that represented the other option.

Ascension.

The very word carried weight—finality. If she underwent it, the connection between her and the origin would snap permanently. She would become bound to Earth, become a prisoner of the land. One that was destined to death, as the statistics were merciless.

Only a fraction of the planets that were inducted with the System could resist the corruption of the void for more than a decade, and most of those planets would require careful nurturing from a dedicated family. Earth was not that.

If she ascended, she would be able to deal with the current crisis. Unlike the soldiers who were barely able to handle the strain of the ascension of basic classes, she had been nurtured carefully since her childhood, her soul empowered to handle the strain.

She would handle the next one, and the one after … but eventually, the void would dominate the planet, destroying her in the process. Her life, which was supposed to last for a millennium, would be reduced to mere years. A decade if she was lucky.

Her teeth clenched.

She had always sworn to uphold duty and honor. But the duty to whom? Asterion family, who would want her to return. She knew that, if they had believed she had a divine crystal with her, they would have dragged her away forcefully.

Or, was her duty for the people below, who believed the promises of her family, and fought for them, only to be abandoned.

Or, was it to her brothers, her flesh and blood, one older brother suffering under a curse, and a younger one dismissed due to misfortune of receiving a mere Farmer class, both lost in a foreign world, might not be alive anymore, making her sacrifice a pointless gesture for them?

Her hand tightened around the crystal, tight enough to leave a mark. All she needed was to grab it a little tighter, and bleed on it —

"What a serious expression you have, sister?" a voice called from behind. A familiar voice, one that sent a flash of shock through her. She turned and saw her older brother. Alone. "Don't worry, Raima is downstairs, resting after the tough journey," he added.

"R-really?" she stammered, her relief immeasurable as she examined the face of her older brother, Soennat the Brave. She wanted to cry. She wanted to laugh. Yet, she ignored both. "You should get him and go through the path. It might shut down any moment."

Seeing his smile was beautiful. Too bad it was the last time she would see it. As, the moment she saw him, she knew that she would stay and fight for the outpost. And, maybe for the planet itself, granting the others the same relief she was feeling.

"How about you, my dear sister," he said, his smirk.

"I will …" she started, wanting to say to him that she couldn't follow him. But, she lost her courage. Instead, she lied. "I will follow after I make sure the defenses are in place."

"You have always been a poor liar, my dear sister," he responded. She froze, afraid that he would drag him away. "It's a good thing that we have been planning to stay as well."

"W-what? Why?" she gasped.

He smiled. A kind, soft smile, one that she hadn't seen for a long time, since he had first received that damnable curse, cutting his path. "It's a long story, sister, but I suspect our reasons are pretty much the same. But, there's one thing."

"What?"

"I don't go by Soennat anymore. I picked a more fitting local name."

"And, what's that?" she asked.

"Soren."