The Weight of Duty

“Sister Lu Wei… she’s currently being pursued by a monster.” It was then that Ilivy approached, with Anto standing nearby. Their team had been halved by the recent battle, making it difficult to imagine the sheer intensity of the fighting they had endured.

Throughout this period, Lu Wei had tirelessly provided support for the team, administering emergency treatment to many. Anto had noticed this, for while Lu Wei’s Holy Light talent wasn’t particularly outstanding, she had received the most professional battlefield medical training.

“She truly… is amazing,” O’Rourke, the team leader, recalled. “The Sister continuously maintained our rear formation during the retreat, and even during brief rests, she was busy with emergency care.

“Moreover, when we faced surprise attackers, she stepped forward to use her staff-mace to defend us. Truly, without her, we wouldn’t have made it here to see you all.”

“Captain, if it’s over there, should we still pursue?” a soldier asked. “The forest in that direction doesn’t seem safe right now.”

“…Have the numbers here been accounted for?” Captain Vincent asked, turning to the side. “What’s the situation?”

Tian Wa reported the statistics: “Captain O’Rourke’s team suffered twenty-three dead and eight severely wounded. The remaining thirteen have various minor injuries. Fewer than ten are combat-ready. It’s dire, Captain O’Rourke; you’ll need an escort to return.”

“…There’s no need. We can manage the rest of the way back,” O’Rourke replied. “But these bodies… we cannot abandon our comrades’ corpses to the enemy.”

Captain Vincent nodded. “Leave them a can of kerosene. They must be dealt with quickly. You wouldn’t want to see them… rise again.”

“Understood.” After O’Rourke spoke, Captain Vincent looked at him. “When you return, tell the General that we are going to rescue the Sister. If we don’t come back before nightfall, seal the gates.”

“…That will be difficult. That monster is not something an ordinary person can face. A black monstrosity with twisted limbs and terrifying power… if it ambushes a team, it could easily be scattered.” O’Rourke warned. “I’ll go with you. My men can take the wounded back. You need someone who has faced that thing before. It’s the truth; without someone who’s fought it, you’ll be at a severe disadvantage.”

“…Thank you.”

“For what…” O’Rourke walked closer. “I have to avenge my comrades. Several of them were greenhorns, facing this for the first time. I swore I’d protect them… I…” He gritted his teeth, and the Captain, observing him, reached into his pocket.

“Want a smoke?”

“A cigarette? You still have some?”

“Just found them.” Captain Vincent extended his hand. O’Rourke took the cigarette, naturally accepted a light, then responded, “Thanks.”

The man bit down on the cigarette, his taut nerves gradually calming with each breath. It was then, looking at the bodies of his fallen comrades behind him, that O’Rourke asked, “How’s your squad doing?”

“No casualties, fortunately.”

“Fortunate indeed…” O’Rourke exhaled a smoke ring, gazing at the sky, a vacant look in his eyes as if lost in thought. Yet, his gaze soon hardened with resentment and fury.

“What a mess this is. How could we run into something like this right after leaving?” For combat squads, venturing out to search for survivors and supplies inherently carried the risk of unexpected encounters.

Some teams might go problem-free a dozen times, while others would hit the jackpot right from the start. For O’Rourke, it seemed a long time would pass before he undertook such a mission again.

“Don’t blame yourself. This is our duty,” Captain Vincent said, having finished inventorying the supplies. “After this cigarette, we move out.”

“Captain, the wounded here have been tended to. Next, I…” Anto began to approach, but the Captain looked at her.

“Sister, you have exceeded your limits far too much today. You’ve provided aid over thirty times. I must consider your mental state. You need to return with the wounded.”

“But you all…”

“We will attempt a rescue,” Captain Vincent stated. “We’ll only go a few hundred meters deep, at most. The forest conditions are not promising. One Sister is already in peril; I cannot allow another to fall into it. There are still many severely wounded here, and I cannot guarantee they will survive the journey back. So, Sister, return with this team. That is an order.”

“But…”

“No ‘buts’,” Captain Vincent declared decisively. “I’ve already said it: you are a member of my team, and you must obey my arrangements. You cannot act as an angel of mercy who can endure until the very last moment, because you, too, will eventually break.

“Don’t habitually push beyond your limits; prepare for when you can no longer manage. Your mental state already showed signs of strain during your recent aid efforts. You need to rest.”

“But Sister Lu Wei is my… she’s my sister,” Anto said, gritting her teeth. “Moreover, the forest situation is complex; you need me even more!”

“…Sister, leave that Sister to us,” a soldier said. “We aren’t just spoiled soldiers who fight from behind cover. When there’s no aid, we often engage in skirmishes in the forest. It’ll be fine; there’s no need to worry.”

“Exactly, little Anto. Just go back and rest easy. We probably won’t be delayed here for too long and will be back soon.”

“That’s right, that’s right. There’s no need for you to worry about us big, strong men.” The team was re-equipping, and though Anto wanted to follow, Ilivy held her back.

“…”

“The Captain is right,” Ilivy said then. “You need to rest, Sister Anto.”

“Let go,” Anto snapped, her teeth clenched. This was her first time acting as a field medic nun providing aid to the army. Such high-intensity individual aid and incessant control over Holy Light indeed consumed far more stamina than typical large-scale group blessings.

Even with Holy Light Flame, it couldn’t be displayed freely, and while the power of Holy Light might be endless, her spiritual energy was not. Prolonged exertion had indeed left her exhausted.

However, this did not mean she couldn’t continue fighting.

“There’s still so much I can do,” Anto insisted, biting her lip. “This is when I’m needed most. I can’t…”

“I can’t just abandon Lu Wei like this…” she pleaded, a rare look of entreaty in her eyes that Ilivy seldom saw. Yet, the Captain remained unmoved.

“…Send the Sister back. We will notify other accompanying nuns from nearby teams to provide us with aid,” Captain Vincent responded. “That is an order.”