THAT DAY I BECAME A STAR

WILLIAM KOERSOMBRE POV: 

As soon as I land, I bounce off using my shoulder then run back to them. But the intensity of the fight is already on a level that I can't get close. The dust that is raised by them as they move and strike and the pressure resulting from it is too much for me. 

"Sir!!" 

"Focus on what's ahead!!" 

"Kriekk!!" 

The Longinus pounces on the soldiers before me who are holding their shields. I run to Rebecca in the meantime, she got swept by the fight and moved away as well. 

There are soldiers around her already but it is my job to protect her. I should be around her at all times, especially now.

"Farner, move!!" 

Right as I reach Rebecca, miss Excia's voice makes me look at their fight once more. As miss Farner moves to the side, arrows hit the Longinus right in the chest without a possibility to evade them. A thunderstorm follows and the Longinus disappears in it. This must have been a heavy hit.

"Don't drop your guard!! Shield of faith!!" 

Rebecca's voice comes from behind me then her mighty shield appears before miss Farner, only to be destroyed by a spear appearing from the storm. Thankfully, miss Farner managed to block it but she is pushed back by the impact.

"Good. Good. But you are a nuisance. Hey!! Aren't you going to do your part? OR do I have to do everything myself?" 

The Longinus Clears out the dust with a swing of its sword then looks behind. There is a man standing there, wearing a brown helmet with a white mask. His armor looks a bit familiar but I don't remember where I have seen it before. The man walks among the Longinus like nothing then unsheathes his one-hand sword and raises it in the air. 

"N-no way." That stance, that way of moving, that simplicity…I would recognize it at first glance every time I see it.

"Crimson fury." 

***

How? Why? What? I can't find the words to say it. The high-commander has always been our idol, our messiah. He is the perfect example of what strength should be, of what strength is. How many people, how many times did he save us? That's impossible to count. He is our high commander. So why?

"Why?" 

In a single attack from the high commander, a dozen soldiers fell instantly, dead. They got sliced off by his myriad of slashes that shone red as they were cutting through the air. But why?

Thanks to Rebecca's shield, a lot of soldiers weren't hit by the attack but it was still a very destructive one.

"Kriekk!" 

Once again, as if they don't care about what is happening, the Longinus restart attacking, knocking themselves onto the shield that Rebecca created. 

"Fight!!" 

"Fire!! Dammi!! Fire the arrows already!! Where are the mortars?!!" 

I can hear the commander singing behind me but it is no use. They have trapped us here which means that the mortars are outside the new dome. We can only fight and win, as we always have. 

"Will you be okay, Rebecca?" I grab her hand and help her stand up. 

"I will but who is this new enemy?" 

"I hope I am wrong because if he is whoever I think he is, then we are screwed." 

"It would seem so, indeed." 

"Don't worry. I will die before something happens to you or the heroes." 

"Just focus ahead." 

The man walks past the corpses of the guys he just killed and reaches the Longinus who has been watching until now with an amused face. Now that I take a good look at it. It doesn't look like it got damaged by the heroes' attacks. Its armor still looks brand new and there are no signs that it lost strength at all. Where did they create such an enemy? Is that still Demether Floras's plot? 

As the man stands beside the Longinus, he starts looking at me and I can see his red glowing and cold eyes behind his mask. Is he not the high-commander then? Was I mistaken? But that sword's strike…That stance…

"Don't forget that we need the woman alive." The Longinus seems to be planning on capturing Rebecca. You want to take her away from me? You want to take my family away from me again?!! Never!!!

"I know already. Shut up." 

"Go-"

"You will take the Saintess only over my dead body!!" 

They both look at me when I say that, ignoring even the heroes in front of them then smile. 

"That's the plan, yes." 

Then the man disappears and only a screeching sound of the wind being cut apart warns me as he strikes. I block his attack but it is so heavy that I am brought to my knees. 

"Uargh!!" Damn, my wrists almost broke with a single strike from him?! How strong is he?! "You fucking bastard!!" I try to push him away in order to regain my balance but he doesn't budge at all. 

"All these years and that's all you amount to? Pitiful." I knew it!!

"High commander Dilt, why?!!! Why are you doing this?!!" 

"What?!!" 

"What?!!" 

Everyone around us reacts with surprise after I screamed but then reality strikes us back.

"Hey, don't look away from me." 

The Longinus speaks and then explosions like sounds restart, animating the battlefield. 

I am thrown away by a succession of shockwaves and as I use my sword to create a foothold and stand back up, I see a sword right in front of my eyes. But the next moment, a shield appears and I am saved. The sword bounces on it and the high-commander jumps back. He even stands between soldiers who don't lift a finger.

"High commander Dilt. Is that truly you?!" Rebecca screams at him but he doesn't answer. He looks at her then at me. His eyes are really cold and determined. Those are the eyes of someone ready to do anything. I would like to say then so be it. But this is the high-commander we are talking about. Our chances of winning are slim, very slim.