I woke up with the feeling that I hadn't slept.
My body was heavy, as if every muscle had been pushed beyond its limit the day before. I sat up slowly, resting my arms on my knees for a few seconds before standing. The morning silence felt denser than usual.
Elara was already awake, organizing some small vials inside her bag.
"Did you sleep?" I asked.
"A little," she replied. "Enough."
Liriel sat further away, staring intently at her own hands, as if evaluating her mana. Vespera calmly adjusted the straps of her gloves. Rai'kanna stretched her shoulders. Lyannis checked the remaining arrows.
No one looked refreshed.
We seemed merely functional.
We left before the sun had fully risen. The road was empty, but the marks on the ground told a different story. Monster footprints, broken branches, signs of recent passage.
We didn't speak much. Fatigue changed the way we communicated. Fewer words, more glances.
After nearly an hour of walking, we began to hear noise in the distance. It wasn't shouting. It was something heavier. Wood being forced, structures giving way.
We quickened our pace.
When the village appeared ahead, the first thing I noticed was that no one was running.
The houses were being destroyed, but the villagers had already fled.
"We arrived late," Vespera said.
"But there are still monsters," Rai'kanna replied.
They were spread out, tearing down doors, breaking walls, advancing without a clear objective.
"Clear the area," I said.
I moved directly toward the first one. The impact of the sword was firm, but I felt my arm heavier than usual. It wasn't a lack of strength. It was accumulated wear.
Elara followed me, casting magic whenever two approached at the same time. Liriel kept the street illuminated, preventing approaches from the sides. Vespera moved along the corners, finishing off those trying to escape.
Rai'kanna and Lyannis held the other side of the village.
The fight wasn't harder than the previous ones.
It was longer.
Every movement required more effort than it should have.
After several minutes, the area was clear.
We stood in the middle of the street in silence, just breathing.
"This is starting to take a toll," Elara said.
No one disagreed.
We moved forward without resting much. We couldn't stop, knowing other villages might be in the same situation.
Along the way, we encountered a group of villagers walking along the road. Dirty faces, torn clothes, carrying whatever they managed to save.
They looked at us with tired hope.
"Is it over?" one man asked.
"In your village, yes," I replied.
He nodded but didn't smile. No one there looked relieved. Only exhausted.
We kept walking.
The sun was already high when we heard noise in the distance again. Another village. Another attack.
We arrived and repeated the process.
And then another.
And another.
The battles weren't long. They were many consecutive fights.
By the time the day began to fade, I could barely distinguish which village was which. Everything started blending in memory. Broken houses, empty streets, scattered monsters.
At one point, I realized I had stood still for a few seconds, staring at nothing.
Lyannis touched my arm. "Takumi."
I refocused.
"I'm fine," I said.
But I knew I wasn't whole.
We continued until nightfall. When we finally stopped, no one sat down immediately. We stood for a few seconds, as if our bodies had forgotten how to rest.
Elara was the first to sit. Liriel soon after. Vespera leaned her back against a tree. Rai'kanna carefully set her weapon on the ground. Lyannis sat next to her.
I remained standing for a few more moments, looking at the dark road ahead.
The exhaustion wasn't just physical.
It was mental.
It was repetition.
It was the feeling that no matter how many villages we saved, another one would always appear.
I finally sat down.
"The worst isn't the monsters," Vespera said.
"What is, then?" Rai'kanna asked.
"The pace," she replied.
Liriel nodded. "He doesn't want to defeat us now."
Elara added, "He wants us to reach the final fight already worn out."
I looked at all of them.
That was exactly it.
The Fifth General wasn't pressuring us with force.
He was pressuring us with time.
With consistency.
With attrition.
We stayed there in silence for a few minutes.
The wind passed through the trees, bringing a light chill from the night.
"We need to sleep," Lyannis said.
"Even if just a little," Rai'kanna added.
I lay on the hard ground, using my backpack as support. I closed my eyes, but my body still felt in motion. As if I were fighting even while still.
Before falling asleep, one last thought crossed my mind.
He wasn't just testing our strength.
He was testing our limit.
And I was beginning to feel that we were approaching it.