The Sabbatian government forces launched an invasion on Josegrad.
Although the battle conditions were unfavorable, the government forces succeeded in recapturing part of Josegrad thanks to the efforts of Sylph Nova and Gorski Platoon.
Then, they gradually occupied more of the city by engaging in urban warfare.
However, the government forces were not welcomed by the civilians.
Since they had not brought enough food supplies, they repeatedly looted resources from the people.
If they resisted, they were threatened with guns, and in some cases even killed. In such a situation, the citizens deeply hated the government forces.
"Stay away from us! Get out of Josegrad!"
"Shut up! Don't resist or we'll shoot!"
Still, the government suppressed the backlash from the citizens with force.
Soldiers shot civilians daily, leaving bodies lying in the streets.
"Die!"
"They actually shot at us!"
The soldiers themselves were in a situation where even a moment's carelessness could get them killed by civilians.
They likely became unnecessarily aggressive in order to protect their own lives.
"Are you okay?"
"It hurts… Papa. It really hurts."
Moreover, firing live ammunition sometimes meant stray bullets accidentally took someone's life.
"Hey! Why did you shoot my daughter?! She didn't do anything!"
"Shut up! It's your fault for standing there!"
"Just hurry up and treat her already! My daughter will die at this rate!"
The Battle of Josegrad was said to be hell on earth.
Because of the staggering number of casualties, the city itself later came to be called a graveyard.
"Are you kidding?! We can't even keep up with treating our own soldiers. How can you expect us to treat her?"
"Hey, stop fucking around! My daughter, she—"
"We are risking our lives fighting to liberate Josegrad from the rebels! You're the ones who need to cooperate!"
The soldiers acted arrogantly and oppressed the citizens.
Though this was partly to protect their own lives, such brutality undeniably led to the government army's decline.
***
"…She's passed on."
"Uwaa, ahhh!!!"
The girl who was hit by a stray bullet died the same night.
Without even being given painkillers because the medical supplies had been taken, she suffered terribly before passing.
"I'll kill them! I'll never forgive this!"
Her father swore to get revenge for his daughter who died a meaningless death. He'd strike back at the government forces even if it cost him his life.
"A single bottle is good enough for a weapon."
Everything had been confiscated; the only thing left in his house was an empty bottle.
Grasping it tightly, he put on his coat and stepped outside.
"…Damn, it's freezing."
The man must have gone insane.
His mind was consumed by hatred towards the government forces. All he could think of was killing his enemies.
The temperature was below freezing. Nearly an inch of snow had piled up on the road.
"Hah, hahah! I'll kill them, I'll kill them all…"
The man had buried himself in a pile of snow that had been pushed aside on the side of the road.
Even an adult man would freeze to death within a few hours if covered in snow.
Clutching his daughter's hair, he hid beneath a white sheet while trembling from the cold.
Heavy snowfall covered the sheet with snow, effectively concealing the man's figure.
"I'll smash their skulls with this bottle."
Peeking through a hole in the sheet, he waited for government soldiers to pass by.
The man didn't care if he died. Getting revenge on the government troops was enough.
He planned to ambush and kill them, aiming for soldiers who traveled in small groups and looked weak.
He wanted to make them feel at least a fraction of the suffering his daughter had gone through.
***
"…"
The man waited quietly in the snow.
Even as ice hardened his blood vessels and his fingertips began to rot, he silently endured.
Finally, he made his move when a small soldier passed before him.
"Die! Just die!"
"Huh?"
With frostbitten hands, the man grasped the bottle and swung it down toward the soldier with all his remaining strength.
He glared at the small soldier with eyes consumed by madness. The man thought he had caught him in an ambush that couldn't be avoided.
The hatred-filled swing the man risked his life for should have hit the soldier's skull head-on.
"…Whoa, that was close."
"Are you okay, Aust-chan?"
However, the small soldier was quick. By instantly pivoting on his heel, he deflected the bottle with his arm.
The man's blow missed, and the force of it sent him tumbling onto the snow.
"Don't dodge it!"
His surprise attack failed. He couldn't kill the bastards that killed his daughter.
Frustrated and enraged, the man rose and charged at the soldier.
"I'll kill you! I swear I will!"
He reached to grab the soldier's neck with heavy breaths.
The man didn't want to die a meaningless death. At the very least, he wanted to take this one down with him.
"Eh?"
It was at that moment that the man realized something.
The one he was trying to kill was a girl about the same age as his daughter. Her face showed a faint trace of fear.
Of course the girl felt fear after suddenly being ambushed and almost killed.
The man's body stiffened. He was thrown into confusion by the fact that the target of his attack was a girl the same age as his daughter.
"Get away from Aust-chan, you damn old man!"
Soon after, comrades of the soldier fired their guns. Several bullets tore into the man's limbs.
Crimson stains spread across the snow as smoke quietly rose from their rifles.
"Phew… Are you okay, Aust-chan?"
"Th-Thank you."
The man had been shot through the thigh.
While the shots avoided vital organs, it was still a fatal wound in this situation.
"This guy was hiding in the snow all this time? So damn persistent."
After an hour of hiding, his body temperature was already drained and he was on the verge of freezing to death.
Once his legs were shot and he could no longer move, freezing to death would soon follow.
"Do you guys really want to kill us that badly? You don't even know what we're going through!"
The man felt regret when he heard the soldier's angry scream.
Why had he hesitated? Why hadn't he followed through, even if it was a girl?
Now, he hadn't avenged his daughter's death. All he'd done was die a meaningless death.
"[Heal]…"
Tears of frustration ran down his cheeks and froze into droplets on his face.
"Aust-chan?"
Seconds later, warm magical power healed the man's body.
"I've stopped the bleeding… Now, please get inside somewhere warm and rest."
"You're treating a guy like that?"
"We're all the same. Him and us."
Looking up, the girl's face was filled with sorrow. She grasped the man's hand as if repenting.
"I'm sure he was originally a kind person… but war took away what was precious to him. It has caused him to become twisted by hatred and now on the brink of death."
"Aust-chan…"
"You can resent us all you want, but please don't throw your own life away."
After saying this, the girl wrapped bandages around the man's gunshot wounds, then bowed silently and left without a single word of complaint.
***
Soon after, the man returned home.
The hatred smoldering deep in his chest mixed with the memory of the girl made him feel sick.
Would he really have felt better if he had killed the girl then and there?
Probably. If he hadn't known her nature, he would have rejoiced and thought, "Serves her right."
But was that really the right thing to do?
"Oh, you're back! I'm so glad!"
His wife tightly hugged him in tears when he returned home.
"I was so worried about what I'd do if I had lost you too! I'm glad you came back to your senses."
She said this while holding his cold body, tears streaming down her face.
"Ah…"
Why had he even fought?
Why had he tried to die?
"Just what was I really trying to do?"
When the man calmed down, he realized he had no answer to that question.