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Invasion

It wasn't fear what he felt – definitely not fear. He knew fear very well, like every good soldier should, and he's one of the best soldiers in all of Elibe. Was it excitement? No. The fact that the enemy had reach Bern soil wasn't cause to warrant an emotion like excitement. It was a tragedy that despite his best efforts, he couldn't spare his homeland from the horrors of war he had brought to all corners of the continent. It was very sorrowful indeed that it had come to this, but he couldn't help himself from feeling this-this...

Anticipation!

Yes. That's what he felt. General Murdock of Bern felt anticipation as he sat on the luxurious throne of the Shrine of Seals.

General Murdock's duty was to protect Bern and its king. Having allowed the enemy to defeat them continuously - and eventually reach Bern – meant he had failed; even if that incompetent Narshen was mostly to blame for the enemy's tremendous advance. But Murdock did feel a small amount of joy because of the enemy's presence. After all, he is a warrior, and these are worthy opponents. The situation was quite bittersweet for the mighty general.

The battle outside the Shrine of Seals has lasted for hours. That wasn't a good sign. The strategy Murdock had for this battle consisted of luring the enemy deeper into their territory, where they would be ambushed by Bern's greatest assets, wyvern riders. Those dragons King Zephiel had recruited were a great boon, but they could hardly be compared to a wing of Bern's wyvern riders. Not only are they strong, reliable, and accurate; they were also a unique unit of Bern's military.

Murdock smiled at the memory of how his wyvern riders had decimated Ilia's pegasus knights on his conquer of that frozen wasteland.

Bern's strongest general knew that this army couldn't be compared to the unorganized mercenary armies he defeated, or the poorly-trained nomads of the Sacean tribes Brunya had put in their place. This army could be compared to the two things King Zephiel did not want to confront on this war: the Etrurian Army, or a unified Lycia.

Murdock shook his head. He realized that this army – lead by Lord Roy – is something completely different. It is the entire continent that opposed his master. If his information was accurate, Lord Roy leads an army filled with warriors from the entire continent... even a dragon from the Nabata desert is amongst their ranks.

His Majesty, King Zephiel, had worked so hard to prevent this very predicament from happening. But His Majesty was a clever man. Despite their many losses at the hand of Lord Roy, King Zephiel made sure that Bern's strongest soldiers stayed guarding their homeland.

Surely Lord Roy will not be victorious this day. Today he faces the real Bern Army, and warfare is what they are best at, more than anybody else.

Another hour passed. The day was getting cooler, the sun had dropped slightly, but the battle outside was still as alive as it had been an hour ago.

Murdock was getting impatient, very impatient. No one had showed up to report their victory, or to inform him of the progress they have made. Couldn't they spare a single rider or footman? Under normal circumstances, Murdock would've assumed that the enemy was retreating, and his men were chasing them. But the sound of clashing steel was getting louder by the minute. Could they be losing? No. It's not possible for them to be losing. Murdock's plan was flawless.

Only one man in Elibe had the ability to turn such a disadvantageous position to his favour, yet he had disappeared. King Zephiel had worked tirelessly to find this man, and recruit him – forcefully, if the situation called for it.

General Murdock heard the cries of multiple wyverns at a distance. Judging by their shrieks, he figured the enemy was advancing.

Nonsense! Murdock thought. We have every possible advantage we could ask for: terrain, numbers, skills, morale, superior leadership, and experience.

Murdock knew that only one man – and only he – had the ability to do this. That man was gone. He left, and left no... trace...

Murdock suddenly felt slightly nervous as he remembered something. The man he and his liege feared so much for his tactical brilliance, didn't he have a connection to the Lycian lords? Yes. Murdock knew that there was a connection between that man and Marquess Pherae and Ostia.

Did that man passed on his skills and knowledge to Lord Roy? They both had something in common, they seem to be able to do the impossible.

The Dragon General shook away those thoughts. They didn't matter at the moment. All that mattered was that the enemies of His Majesty – therefore, they were his enemies as well – were here. How they got here was no longer relevant, but the fact that their march stops here is. General Murdock resolve came back to him once he remembered that His Majesty is counting on him. He had never failed him, even when everyone else had.

He stood up from the throne. He could no longer remain on the comfortable throne, since his anticipation had been replaced by a mild anxiety.

He picked up his golden axe that rested next to the throne. With his iron will, and his decades of experience, he would take on the entire world if he needed.

Another hour passed. The clatter of armours and swords clashing had grown to a tremendous roar. Finally, they were near the Shrine of Seals.

His heart became heavy when he saw the enemy just a dozen feet away from him. Galle must've fallen. Murdock closed his eyes. When I'm done here, Galle, I'll make sure you are remembered as the hero you were.

The knowledge that his best soldier had fallen brought him great sadness. But he wasn't going to go on a murderous rampage to avenge his subordinate – nay, comrade!

Murdock observed the enemy from afar. It seems they wanted to deal with him after they had felled everyone else. They were routing everyone... and making a damn good job of it. He wanted to leave the shrine to join his soldiers, but His Majesty's orders were clear. Protecting the shrine was more important.

Light footsteps could be heard from the stairs that lead to the entrance.

His guards readied their laces. Without a second thought they moved forward to block the entrance.

I hope Peres is finishing up his task. I might need some extra help.

His guards were defeated disgracefully by two swordsmen. One of them was a petite man with long brown hair, and clad in a red tunic. The other man had a much stronger build with green hair; he had a nasty-looking scar on the right side of his face, and was only wearing brown trousers with matching boots. There is no one else at the entrance, just these two men... perfect! Murdock knew he could handle a couple of grunts like these by himself.

Without hesitation, the two swordsmen advance, their swords drawn and aiming to claim the life of Dragon General Murdock. The brown-haired man wielded a black and red curved blade, while his green-haired companion was holding a large sword. Murdock could see the stain of blood that didn't belong to a human on that large sword.

The brown-haired man is the first to reach Murdock. He wasted no time in trying to take down his foe. In a matter of seconds, the swordsman unleashes a dozen strikes. He moved gracefully and quickly, but with a killing intent in his eyes. Murdock blocked most of his attacks with his golden axe swiftly, and without any trouble; the ones that he couldn't block simply bounced off his armour as if they were little more than attacks made with a wooden sword. The military officer had a chance to attack the swordsman, but he opted for taking another defensive stance, knowing that the other man was but a breath away.

"Tag!" shouted the other man.

The brown-haired man leapt out of the way, allowing his partner to have a clear shot at Murdock. This man was slower than his partner, but his attacks were much stronger. The fact that he's wielded a fierce-looking blade didn't put Murdock's mind at ease. Even though slow, every blow came with a huge strength behind them. Bern's general parried every attack this man kept making with relative ease.

Murdock took a deep breath. He went on the offensive. The Dragon General grabbed his golden axe with both hands. At that moment the green-haired man attacked again, trying to find a spot where to land a hit on the General. He was quick; Murdock could then understand why most of the soldiers could have fallen to this group. Murdock parried the next attack while still standing in the same place. He pushed the green-haired swordsman back with his weapon, putting so little effort on the move. The green-haired swordsman was forced back a few feet by away by the force of the blow.

He didn't waste a single moment.

Murdock charged towards the larger man with a speed that seemed impossible for a man wearing so much armour.

The other man moved to intercept Murdock. If the petite swordsman truly thought that he could take a giant, he had been proven wrong. The brown-haired man blocked the strike that was meant for his partner, yet the sheer force behind the purple-armoured man's attack sent him flying right to the walls of the shrine. The back of his head collided with wall. The hit was so tremendous that the wall cracked behind the swordsman. That plus the force blow that his body took made him gasp without any air. He lost consciousness due to the immense head trauma.

Bern's General turned around. The other man moved back to have more distance between himself and Murdock. Perhaps he tried to buy time; after all, he faced a dragon of Bern all by himself.

The purple-armoured general knew that he'd be wasting energy if he started to chase after him. Because of that, Murdock threw his axe. Noticing the fast throw, a moment not too soon, the green-haired man dodges the axe nimbly. With an unarmed Murdock, the swordsman quickly regained his step and goes back on the offensive by moving forward. Murdock smirked; his opponent fell right into his trap. Right before Murdock's opponent had a chance to swing his mighty sword, Murdock's golden axe returned like a boomerang. The axe left a nasty cut on side of the man's stomach on its return.

The swordsman drops to his knees to the floor – clutching his side in great pain – as Murdock catches his axe with ease, not taking his eyes off the swordsman. Years of experience allowed him to catch his throwing axes without the worry of cutting off his hand. It was as if they were another part of him, an extension of his arms.

"Hm... you made it this far. I congratulate you," Murdock said to his wounded enemy with a serious tone. "But can you defeat me?"

The wounded man looks up to meet Murdock's eyes without any fear of him nor death. His defiant gaze spoke the word his mouth did not.

Yes!

Murdock raised his axe with both hands and brought down his weapon down to the spot between the swordsman's neck and shoulder. The swordsman had died before he hit the ground. The blood of Murdock's enemy stained the floor of the Bern's most sacred place. For two seconds the General looked at his dead enemy; two seconds that felt like an eternity. It had been a while since a man looked at him without fear of death in battle.

He moved to the spot where the swordsman clad in red laid unconscious. He grabbed the other man's neck, and lifted him up.

"May... Bern... burn..." the swordsman said as his eyes started to open.

Murdock snapped the man's thin neck with his bare hand, robbing him of any chance of fighting back.

He threw the lifeless body out of the shrine in disgust. The nerve of that man! Wishing ill-will for the entire country! Murdock inhaled a deep breath to calm himself. It was very unlike him to kill someone in anger. When he finally regained a sense of calmness, he realized he still had plenty of energy to keep on fighting... even though that last pair took a lot out of him, more than he would expect of two stray soldiers.

The thunderous shrieks of a couple of wyverns ripped through the air. For a moment, he felt relief at the thought of reinforcements arriving. His relief was quickly replaced with dread when he saw that out of the hundreds of wyvern riders on Elibe, the two that entered the shrine were the only ones not fighting for Bern. One of the riders was Miledy, Princess Guinvenre's bodyguard; the other one was her younger brother, Zeiss. Behind Zeiss sat a young woman wearing the white robes of Bern's clergywomen. Murdock thought he had seen that woman somewhere, although, he didn't dwell on that for very long.

The loud flaps of the wyvern's wings were lifting dust.

"La luce dal cielo, purificare queste anime peccatrici e malvagie con il tuo giudizio accecante!" chanted the clergywoman.

A thin ray of orange light came from the ceiling. The ray found its way to Murdock's chest. He wondered what sort of spell this was, all it did was cast a little harmless light on him. Are they mocking me? he wondered.

That tiny ray proved to be one of the most painful things Murdock had ever experienced, because a second later, waves of light energy flooded the shrine everywhere, hitting Murdock. No matter how well Murdock had encased his body in near impenetrable armour, magic always bypassed those physical defenses he had. The pain he felt was so great, he had stopped breathing for the duration of the spell. Despite his pain, he would not scream, he was a soldier, he was a general. He endured the pain silently, but he didn't give them the satisfaction of hearing him cry in pain.

After the spell had ended, Murdock was still alive and well. When he tried to focus on the enemy, he couldn't see a thing. The intense light from the previous spell had left him blind.

The military officer panicked inwardly, thoughts about death and failing King Zephiel plagued his mind. But on the outside, Murdock had remained collected. Despite his lack of vision, he took a defensive stance, even if it was pointless. Even in darkness, I will fulfill my duty, he thought.

Moments passed, yet nothing occurred. Murdock could still hear the wings of the wyverns flapping loudly, but they never attacked.

Do they intend to capture me alive? I will not become a hostage! If they intend to win, they'll have to kill me.

He heard light footsteps.

As if on cue, his eyesight came back to him. He could see again, even if things looked somewhat blurry. Murdock saw to whom those light footsteps belonged to. They belonged to a couple of children, a red-haired boy with a rapier dressed in an elegant blue and white outfit, and a blue-haired girl dressed in a red dress holding a red tome. They were nothing more than children. He recognized one of them, how could he not?

"So! You are General Roy! I have been looking forward to matching blades with you!" Murdock challenged the red-haired boy. He was standing straight giving a feeling of confidence. In Murdock's mind, he wasn't a boy; little boys don't accomplish what he has.

Roy raised his weapon at the same time Murdock raised his own.

"General Murdock!" Miledy cried. "This is pointless, can't you see that you're throwing your life away."

Murdock ignored her. His gaze was locked with the young enemy General.

"His Majesty has committed heinous crimes. All this talk about 'liberating the world.' Do you even know what it means?"

This time, he replied. "Yes! It means that you'll never understand. I do not follow His Majesty out of blind obedience, but I have no need to explain my reasons." Finally looking at her he said, "Miledy… I don't want to fight you, but you stand here before me. It seems we have no choice. Come!"

Murdock went for Roy first. Killing him first would end everything.

Roy wasn't the skill fighter Murdock expected… especially since Murdock back-handed him on the chest, and knocked him off his feet.

This is General Roy!

Miledy and Zeiss attacked the surprised Murdock. Miledy stabbed Murdock's left shoulder with a mighty lance of Ilian design. Her brother swung an armourslayer at Murdock right arm, the sword cut through his armour like butter. It all happened very fast. Zeiss managed to cut the tendons in Murdock's right arm, rendering it useless. Since he was holding his axe with his now unmovable arm, he dropped it.

Despite the excruciating pain, Murdock did not scream. Instead, he pulled her out of her wyvern and threw here on the floor. Then Murdock yanked Miledy's lance out of his shoulder with his left hand and raised it. Right that moment he could see the fear of death in the woman's eyes.

Murdock was about to use Miledy's weapon against her, but before he could, cold, yet hot air passed through him; a feeling he many times wondered how it will come, how it would feel. How would death come to greet him on his path. The great Dragon General of Bern received the blow that would end his life. The blue-haired girl had casted a fire spell that brought on the purest flames of this world. Those pure flames consumed him, but not Miledy. Murdock saw chaotic lights all around, and for a moment… for a brief moment he thought things were going to be all right. He had given his everything. Memories of his life flowed quickly through his dying eyes.

I'm not ashamed of the life I had.

Zephiel... My king... I cannot protect you...any further... Forgive me...!

And the pain stopped forever.

For every man there is a cause which he would proudly die for
Defend the right to have a place for which he can belong to
And if we go and fight, we face their hearts in desperation
and shed his blood to stem the flood of an impending invasion.

Invasion, by Shiro Sagisu