The rain continued to fall with varying intensity throughout the night.
Maxi lay awake in her crib, her pounding heart preventing her from sleeping, even though she knew she needed to rest for work the next day.
Tormented by anxiety, she stared into space with tired eyes for who knows how long, when she heard sobbing.
She sat up abruptly.
Initially, she wondered if she had heard the wind wrong.
However, the faint sound that resonated through the rain gradually became clearer.
Throwing on her robe, Maxi ran out of the tent.
“Did something happen?”
The squires had set up a tarpaulin over the entrance to keep the rain out.
Ulyseon lifted his head from the small brazier.
“The noise must have woken you, my lady.”
The squire looked at the white mist that had descended over the camp with an expression of apprehension.
The rain was now a light drizzle, like dew, and the sky had the faint bluish tint of dawn.
The chilling, harrowing wail echoed across the haunting landscape.
Maxi looked around, trying to locate its source.
"Who the hell is crying?
Did something happen to the clerics?"
"It's not the clerics, my lady.
It's banshees in the mountains."
“Banshees?”
Ulyseon approached the dripping edge of the tarp.
He pointed to a black cliff that surrounded the walls like a shield.
Maxi's eyes widened.
On a large rock that rose like a serpent's head, bodies shaped like people in black robes stood in the dim light.
Maxi's heart sank at their dark presence.
“A-Are they… monsters?”
"They're spirits, to be exact.
They won't cause us any harm directly, so you shouldn't worry, my lady.
These creatures just...", Ulyseon trailed off before continuing cautiously, "...
lament.
They will leave as soon as they cry their hearts out."
His voice was barely audible over the hysterical wailing.
Maxi shrugged his shoulders as he looked at the dark figures standing tall in the smoky haze.
Although they were too far away to be sure, she thought she could make out six of them in total.
The figures tore their clothes as they howled.
“B-But banshees…”
Unable to finish the sentence, Maxi pressed her lips together.
Banshees were the spirits of death that came to those whose ends were near.
People even believed that banshees' wails always resulted in mass death.
As if sensing her anxiety, Ulyseon said in an exaggeratedly excited voice, "I know it's difficult, but try to ignore the noise, my lady.
The clerics are preparing a ritual to banish you as we speak."
Maxi forced a smile on his lips.
The wailing continued for hours.
Although the clerics used divine magic and banished the banshees to prevent morale from deteriorating, the relief was brief.
The spirits quickly returned and continued their lament.
Maxi was already sick with worry even before these creatures appeared; now she was close to losing her mind completely.
After half a day of tending to the injured while trying to ignore the noise, she was at her limit.
So she went to see Ruth.
“Ruth… c-can’t we send the spirits away with magic?”
They were in the small sorcerer's tent next to the White Dragons' quarters.
Ruth looked up from the parchment she was writing on.
He had clearly been working on the rune for Hebaron's wound, as his desk was littered with scrolls filled with complex runes.
Ruth wearily pushed the parchment aside, rubbing her eyes.
"Are you referring to banshees?
We could, but we'd be stirring a hornet's nest.
We'd have to deal with much more dangerous things than just their wailing if we angered them.
If divine magic wasn't enough to drive them away, it's best to leave them alone."
"B-But...
they're making everyone anxious.
Even the patients are getting restless."
"They'll be gone in a day at most.
They'll be gone as soon as they cry their hearts out.
Since you're here, my lady, would you mind helping me with this?"
He handed over something that looked like a flat tray.
Maxi accepted the item before knowing what he was doing.
"What is that?"
"It's a magical device for the walls.
It should be easier now that you have experience making one."Turning the polished monster bone over, Ruth pointed to the intricate engraving.
“You just need to engrave this rune at this point here.”
“B-But I don’t know how… I only copied runes onto parchment last time.”
"It's not much different than drawing on parchment.
You just need to squeeze the rune into this empty space.
I'd like to do it myself, but I already have my hands full trying to break Sir Hebaron's curse."
Ruth looked tired as he rubbed his neck.
Seeing that his fatigue was much greater than hers, Maxi pulled out the chair in front of him and sat down without saying another word.
She thought having something to do might help calm her nerves.
The white disc was probably made from wyvern bones.
She began to carefully draw the rune at the bottom.
Contrary to his hopes, his worries about Riftan and the wailing of the banshees made it difficult to concentrate.
After running his trembling fingers over the smooth surface of the magical device, Maxi grabbed his forehead.
"I can't.
M-My head is empty..."
Ruth sighed.
“Worrying about it won’t change anything, my lady.”
"You know...
it's not something I can control.
I'm not as centered as you are, Ruth.
I'm sick with worry that something bad might happen.
I-I can't stop thinking...
that banshees are a bad omen..."
Maxi looked at Ruth with teary eyes and bit her lip.
"Riftan said...
that he's going to start an all-out war.
What if we lose?
W-What will happen then?"
"My lady, the White Dragons have overcome greater adversities than this.
You must trust Sir Riftan.
So far, we still have the upper hand, and..." Ruth trailed off, and her expression became skeptical.
"I'm not sure Sir Riftan can successfully turn this into a full-scale war.
The trolls know very well that it is in their interest to prolong this war.
They will not be easily provoked."
“B-But… isn’t there a battle going on right now?”
"Just one of many skirmishes launched by the monsters to reduce our numbers.
They used the same tactic to capture several of our castles.
The trolls have unlimited regeneration.
They can heal from any wound in a day, while humans cannot.
They know that fighting more battles will give them the advantage, so they will probably avoid getting into an all-out confrontation.
And with the coalition army in such disarray… I doubt they can lure the monsters out."
Maxi's face hardened at Ruth's explanation.
Even after hearing that an all-out war was unlikely, his heart only grew heavier.
He felt like a child desperately trying to escape an impending punishment.
Even if the men managed to overcome the current crisis, it would only postpone the inevitable and bloody conclusion.
It would be better for them to end this war while the odds were still in their favor.
Regaining himself, Maxi picked up his quill again.
If Riftan was successful, they could return to Anatol at the end of this battle.
For the first time, Maxi prayed that Ruth was wrong.
She wanted this torturous period to end as quickly as possible.
Biting her lip, she tried once again to focus her attention on outlining the rune.
When the rain clouds withdrew and the sun shone in the sky, the banshees disappeared along with the mist.
Still, the apprehension brought by his visit hung over the castle.
The soldiers' faces were taut with a new tension, while the female clerics spoke less and less each day.
Maxi busied herself desperately in an attempt to stop the heavy air from crushing her.
Trying to push the useless thoughts out of her head, she diligently took care of the twenty-odd men remaining in the infirmary during the day.
At night, she helped Ruth look for a way to break the curse of Hebaron or worked on the magical device for the walls.
True to Ruth's predictions, a full-scale battle did not occur.
Reports indicated that the monsters retreated as the scale of the battle began to grow.
The coalition army pursued them, but unfavorable terrain forced them to retreat mid-pursuit.
In the end, they suffered forty-six casualties, and the war reverted to a series of inconsequential skirmishes.
Maxi sighed.
The infirmary, which had managed to empty two-thirds of its beds, was again filled with wounded.The accuracy of Ruth's prediction gave him goosebumps.
While it would undoubtedly take half a day for the trolls to fully recover, it would take at least a week for the women to treat all the injured.
The coalition army was destined to dwindle the longer the war dragged on.
Maxi was sure Riftan knew this too.
Even while she was busy in the infirmary, she couldn't stop worrying that he might fight a reckless battle out of impatience.
His greatest fear was that Riftan would be struck by an incurable curse similar to that of Hebaron.
From what Ruth had discovered so far, the most efficient way to break the curse was to kill its source.
However, locating the responsible creature among the army of monsters was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Even if they won the war, they would have no way of tracking the creature if it managed to survive.
Hebaron would likely suffer a slow, agonizing death.
The thought that Riftan could suffer the same fate left her paralyzed with fear.
Maxi rubbed her pale face irritably.
The lack of sleep over the past few days had given her a headache, and she constantly felt dizzy.
She tried to clear her mind as she stirred a pot of herbs on a brazier.
At this moment, Idsilla entered the lush tent.
"Lady Calypse!
I just saw Elba!"
Maxi looked surprised.
The girl held Maxi's hand, sobbing.
"The royal knights of Livadon just returned to regroup, and Elba was with them!
He had a new scar on his face..." Pressing her lips together, Idsilla wiped the tears that were streaming down her cheeks on her sleeve.
“But he seemed fine.”
“T-That’s… wonderful news.”
Knowing how worried Idsilla was about her brother, Maxi felt relieved at the news.
The girl smiled brightly and nodded.
"I heard the soldiers talking, and it seems like they're going to head back to the battlefront with the remaining men as soon as they finish regrouping.
I think they're aiming for a decisive battle this time."
Maxi's face fell.
The coalition army had ultimately decided to take the risk and try to end the war.
It was an inevitable decision.
After all, even Maxi had realized that a prolonged war was unfavorable for the Allied forces.
Maxi swallowed hard and asked, “A-Are you really… not going to find your brother before he goes into battle again?”
Idsilla shook her head firmly.
"I'll see him when this war is over.
He'll come back alive.
I know it."
There was so much conviction in the girl's voice that Maxi's heart calmed.
Emotions welled up inside her as she looked at Idsilla's fearless face.
Shaking the girl's hand, Maxi said a heartfelt prayer for the coalition army's victory.
After spending the night at Eth Lene Castle, the knights of Livadon made preparations to leave the next day.
Soldiers loaded weapons and provisions onto carts, and clergywomen supplied them with an ample supply of emergency bandages.
It was a busy night.
With the Temple Knights and the remaining mercenaries and soldiers leaving, only three clerics, five mages, thirty-five knights, and around four hundred soldiers remained in the castle.
Those left behind kept a vigilant vigil at the city gates, and a squadron visited the battlefield every two days to transport the wounded.
Maxi and the clerics tended to the wounded men all day.
Even the wizards helped heal the men in the infirmary, as maintaining the army's numbers was the most urgent priority.
They also didn't skimp on their mana usage.
Men who arrived seriously injured were able to return to the battlefield after just three or four days.
Still, no one considered it lucky.
Maxi felt the tearing process in his bones.
Whenever she thought about the soldiers who had to return to battle after being on the verge of death, she felt the weight of a stone stuck in her stomach.
The hardest part was burying the young soldiers who returned as cold bodies.
His only consolation was in knowing that the coalition army's relentless pursuit was gradually pushing the monsters back.