At that time, I dismissed those dreams as nothing more than harmless imagination. Still, those visions traumatized me to the point that I never wanted to be anywhere near my home, especially as the date grew close to when the disaster happened.
‘Rather than superstition, it was more of a PTSD.’
I managed to convince my family to have a vacation in the South before that time came. After the time was up, we returned to our home only to find the whole area sealed off.
‘We were not told as to why the place was closed off. But when I asked whether it was the miasma, the guard’s face turned sour, thus confirming my suspicions.’
The crisis was averted, but the area was sealed off permanently. The climate was unrecognizable as it had shifted from temperate to tundra.
The initial announcement was stated as
‘Sudden environmental changes leading to large-scale mutated monster outbreak’.
However, the contents of later reports into the incident were eerily similar to what I had seen. The incident was officially known as…
‘Northumbria Miasma Outbreak’
The first apocalypse event to occur in the nation of Briton of all the apocalypses to come.
Though it began as an abnormally large number of monsters, the cave systems in the area released miasma and contaminated the surrounding areas.
Civilians in the area became the victims of mind corruption, turning them into mindless puppets. The beautiful grassland grew into a thick, lush forest, albeit with hostile, demonic flora.
As the corrupted mana and entities started to spread into other regions, the highest-ranking magicians and mystics masters sacrificed their lives to cast containment spells.
Their sorcery will miracles into existence using their life forces as a fuel. That scene which symbolizes salvation for both the living and the dead was a once-in-a-century spectacle, even if witnessed from faraway.
The power, which served to stop the apocalypse, also served as an inspiration for the next generation.
The magician expended their entire lifespans to conjure a sorcery so grand that etched into the mind of their juniors and successors alike.
The mystics master burned their own spirit to oblivion for a successful creation of these spells. Just the scale of the casting circle was enough to spark a light forward in the development of mystic arts.
Using combinations of various types of spells with various attributes that would be called the pinnacle of their fields, they created a long lasting legacy for themselves but the things they all have in common is that the casters of the spells traded their lives for them.
As the temperature rises from one spell, the coldness rises from another. As the wind bends all standing on its way, the water blends all elements together. Influence of cooperative experts who determine to achieve their goals put all mana particles, miasmic particles and atoms in the area under their control. Before their lives were fully spent in their actions, they used their last moments to seal the entire area away by freezing.
The rampage of miasma was stopped at the cost of those brave magicians and mystics masters.
In the end, the outbreak was sealed, but at a great cost.
The once-thriving region was now frozen beyond repair, its mana inert, lifeless, and unusable, unresponsive to any command. The cold reached near-theoretical limits. The land was uninhabitable and inaccessible. Northumbria was dead.
As a result, millions, including me, lost their homes, and the country split in half. Casualties were in the thousands, and economic loss crippled whatever was left.
“Determination to stop his nightmare once and for all”
That was the resolve I got. That was the goal I set for myself.
“To not repeat the same mistake.”
So that no one has to endure the same pain I did.
The pain of losing something precious
The pain of knowing you could have helped
And so begins my journey…
One that I, Baston, cannot afford to fail…
* The very last moment of 120th attempt of 'The Capitol Fall' *
* Location : ruined capital of Briton, Londinium *
'2 skeleton knights at 6 o'clock, 1 at 10 o'clock. 2 skeleton archers at far 2 o'clock.'
I spun myself very swiftly to create enough momentum for my sword to block 2 incoming swings by 2 skeleton knights at my back at once.
*Clang* *Clang*
'So, How did we get here?'
Let's rewind a bit to about 10 minutes ago...
As the demon god ordered the demonic creatures to attack our group wave by wave, we quickly got tired and our numbers quickly dwindled. At last, I was the last one standing, but not because I was strong.
The strongest and most heroic ones like the king and the commander were killed first on the battlefield.
Common people who don't know much about combat died next.
Following them were whose professions were related to combat such as the knights, the soldiers, the mages, the mystic masters.
Lastly, the general public who knew moderate amount of combat techniques were left to fend for themselves.
'The reason I am the only survivor left is because the adults sacrifice themselves for me, the only kid left in the group.'
*Swoosh*
My battle instinct quickly shut down the brief flashback I just had.
I tilted my head slightly to dodge an arrow aiming for a headshot.
While only 5 skeletons were currently engaging in battle with me, in reality, a couple hundreds more were already making a bone barricade, waiting for their masters command to enter the battlefield.
As my tilted body carrying the leftover momentum I used to deflect the knights, I performed a small leap and do a spin midair to evade an arrow coming from above and a horizontal slash from a skeleton knight from my back.
During the fall, the lone skeleton knight whose attack just missed overextended, leaving the gap in its armor at the back of their neck exposed. And obviously, I stabbed it with all my falling weight.
In the same way the skeleton left itself wide open during its attack, I was like a sitting duck for them during my fall.
The two skeleton knights rushed in and do forward lunging attacks simultaneously.
*Fshhh*
An attack aiming for my head failed to hit its target. It passed right by my ear by a paper thin margin instead.
"[Shield]"
'And there goes the last bit of my mana. I need to stall for time to recover my mana.'
*Clunk*
The other attack aiming for my leg was blocked by my shield spell I conjured.
Using this opportunity, I pulled out my sword from the skeleton corpse as fast as possible and swung it to the left.
*Thack*
The arrow broke as it got hit during its flight by a swinging sword.
'So they won't attack me unless these three dies.'
I dashed directly towards the two archers who was practically unguarded.
They attempted to shoot me once again but... their reloading was not fast enough.
The archers were already in my attacking range.
*Swing*
I swung my sword as hard as possible, aiming at the armor gap on the neck of the right skeleton archer.
*Thack* *Crack*
The skeleton attempted to deflect using its war bow but to no avail.
My sword cut the bow in half before propelling into its neck.
*Thuck*
"Ahhh!" I screamed.
The right archer's arrow shot my left shoulder from point blank, yet I didn't really feel too much pain.
My long coat, long dirtied from prolonged combat, was just dyed more red as the blood from my fresh wound seeped into the clothes.
The rushing adrenaline was keeping me going, preventing me from fainting.
*Swing* *Crack*
In the same ways I broke its friends's neck, I killed the last skeleton archer.
"Haa... Haa...", I took a short break to catch my breath.
The two clunky skeleton knights was gradually advancing in my direction.
With my left side practically unusable, I put it behind my back like how an instructor sparred with a newbie.
In this case, it would not be to give them advantage, but to prevent my hanging left arm from being a free target.
To avoid being put in a disadvantageous defensive position, I charged towards the skeleton on the right.
*Swing*
*Clang*
My diagonal slashing was blocked by its defensive stance, but that was my intention anyway.
I let the momentum of my sword guided me forward and slipped myself to the back of the defending knight.
But it was slightly too late.
*Crack*
To absolutely no one surprise, the other knight did not let me who leave his back undefended get away that easily.
It stabbed from my back with all its might, however, what it hit was not my body.
Instead, it shattered my already tattered left arm's bone.
Because of my survival, the knight got flustered for a moment but that was more than enough.
*Crash*
The attacking knight who got careless in the verge of victory and messed up crashed directly into the other skeleton.
Both knights tumbled over and crashed into the ground.
*Crack* *Crack*
I took full advantage of the moment and pierced the back of their necks instantly.
"Haap.. Haap..", I panted as all the pain and the effect of blood loss started to kick in.
From the moment I rushed in to sacrificing my left arms for a chance at victory, I planned everything right there and then.
'It could have been better if things go as planned and I didn't lose an arm, but who am I to say no to victory at the brink of defeat.'
*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*
The wall of skeletal bodies parted and a grotesque black-skinned demon, presumably necromancer in control of all these skeletons, walked in.
"What a tenacious human, you survived 2 waves of demonic creatures alone when all of your comrades together didn't even last a wave. When others got injured, they flinched and made mistakes, but you... You threw your arm away and didn't even batted an eye."
The air around that demon was so unusually thick that I instinctively took a combat stance without even thinking.
"Human body is surprisingly durable... *cough* *cough* As long as you protect all the vital organs... *cough* then it's all good", I responded while coughing up blood, unable to finish the sentence.
'Why else do you think I always aimed at the skeleton's bone joint instead of attempting to crush its bones'
"And a good sense of humor too, I suppose... Who would believe this is just a 10-year-old... I saw potential in you. Join us."
"Whaaat? *cough* *cough* Can you say... it again...?", I acted like my hearing was impaired from bleeding profusely.
Shake the leg slightly to make it seemed like I was attempting to act strong.
Blinking slightly with my eyes losing focus to make him thought I was losing consciousness.
The demon, fallen for the trick, walked closer with confidence that I could do nothing.
At around 2 meters from me, I launched an attack, hoping to take him by surprise.
Using all my recovered mana, I casted what would probably be my last spell...
"[Fireball]"
*Boooom*
The fireball exploded directly on his body, yet all the damage it got was a slightly burnt skin and some scratches.
"You... You dare... Human you dare!" The demon was now overtaken by anger.
He summoned a giant skeleton arm from the ground and catched me by the collar.
"I will make you regret not taking my hand!"
The demon conjured up a long blade made out of magic and whipped the blade through the air.
Even when hanging midair by the collar, I attempted to block with my worn out sword.
*Tchakk*
But even the sword was at its limit and broke.
With nothing left to stop the blade, my neck fell off.
* Location : Baston's room in City of York, Briton *
* Time : 2 Years before 'The Capital Fall' *
"Haaaaaap... Haaaaaaap...", I panicked.
My mother, who saw me jumped out of bed as always, said "These nightmares must be very scary."
"Yeah... haha... hahaha...", I answered while laughing dryly.
'I wondered what would my mother say if I said I died every day.'
![[Prologue #0] Vow of the Prophet](https://us-a.tapas.io/sa/83/ecbd0573-ba24-4b11-99c5-2fb046e89dc3.jpg)
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