Published: January 15, 2026
Just as Panamera said, there hadn’t been any significant attacks until we got close to Centena. That said, it wasn’t like they were attacking to prevent reinforcements from approaching; rather, it might be more accurate to say that black orbs dropped somewhat randomly from the wyverns were flying toward us as well.
Explosions erupted in two or three places at a distance, and vibrations trembled beneath our feet. Everyone should have known the threat of black orbs, but actually witnessing the explosions right before our eyes was truly terrifying.
Even within Panamera’s knight order, some were marching with ashen faces. Perhaps it was impressive that they weren’t panicking.
With those thoughts, we arrived at Fortress Centena.
The walls trembled with every explosion sound, and seeing rubble of various sizes fall made it clear the fortress was on the verge of collapse.
“...Honestly, I don’t want to go inside a building in this condition. If rubble falls on us, we’ll die. And I’m young, you know.”
I muttered to myself, and Arte nodded seriously.
“At times like this, my pair of silver knights—the Aventador—would be perfect...”
Her voice was soft, but her words were strong and confident. Panamera blinked at that, and I couldn’t help but smile at the contrast before looking up at the gate. There was surely no room left to station people on the Kingdom of Scuderia’s side.
“...Excuse me.”
With that greeting, I reached for the small side door attached to the gate. This door was nothing but a structural piece. Now, let me, Van-kun, make it a new door for you. Thinking that, I began to use magic.
“All right, it’s open.”
In just over ten seconds, the door had been remade into a simple double door with no locks. I put strength into both hands and it opened immediately.
“Come on, let’s go in.”
I said that and turned around, only to be met with a suspicious look from Panamera.
“...Boy, could it be that you haven’t gotten involved in any crimes or anything?”
“I’m not doing anything like that!”
Apparently, I had given a weird impression. I hurriedly denied it. After a while of her glaring at me, another explosion of a black orb echoed somewhere, and Panamera sighed, turning back to her knight order.
“It’s a somewhat questionable method, but the path is open. Infantry, raise your shields and move forward. Since this place is on the brink of falling, enemy soldiers might still be inside. Keep that in mind and act accordingly.”
“Yes! Horsemen, dismount! Infantry, move forward!”
The knight commander immediately followed Panamera’s orders and passed them on.
“What do you mean by ‘questionable method’? I’m not using it for bad things.”
“No, the problem is that such uses exist. If you’re precocious, you might use it to sneak into someone’s room at night, right?”
“I won’t!”
Panamera’s outrageous words made me shout in anger. Because that’s sexual harassment.
Watching Panamera’s knight order advance ahead, the Seato knight order also entered the fortress. Cracks appeared here and there in the walls, and parts of the roof had collapsed. The deeper we went, the worse the destruction, and it was almost like a ruin.
“...Seems like almost no one is here.”
“Could it be that everyone’s gathered on the roof shooting arrows or casting magic...?”
“No way. The commander should be safe somewhere, devising defense strategies.”
We exchanged such thoughts as we continued deeper into the fortress. Eventually, we reached the courtyard, which was a terrible sight.
The ground was scorched in places, a large tower had collapsed and lay fallen, and corpses or body-like shapes were scattered around. At that hellish scene, I heard Arte and Til gasp behind us. Meanwhile, Kamushin and Row stood in front of me, swords drawn to protect me.
“Lord Van, please be careful.”
Kamushin said that while checking the surrounding rubble. I smiled wryly and expressed my thanks.
“Thank you. But I think these are people who probably died from cannon fire or black orbs. Now, it’s dangerous for us to stay here—let’s move quickly. The standing knight order of Centena is probably gathered on the Shelvia Confederation’s side of the walls.”