The Soldier Shouted Save

Chapter 3

It was a sight that was hard to bear.

Croa’s clothes were torn in several places, and her wrists were bruised with deep marks. Her body was covered in wounds inflicted by sharp objects.

And then, the dagger.

Even in death, my younger sister hadn’t released her grip on the handle of the dagger that was embedded in her stomach.

‘Why…’

I bit my lip so hard that blood trickled down.

The truth was, the moment I saw her body, I already knew the answer.

Croa had taken her own life.

She had resisted someone who was trying to violate her.

I knelt down beside her and gently touched her face.

Her face was streaked with blood and tears.

Even though she was gone, I could still imagine how much pain and anguish she had endured in her final moments.

With trembling hands, I began to unclasp her fingers from the dagger, one by one, carefully pulling it out of her lifeless grip.

Although her blood had stained the dagger, the blade and handle were remarkably clean, as if it were brand new.

This dagger didn’t belong to our village.

Near the handle, a decorative metal string dangled loosely. It wasn’t a weapon crafted for battle, but it also didn’t seem like the kind of elaborate decoration a noble would carry.

I tucked the dagger into my coat.

There was still a purpose for the dagger that had carried my sister’s final will.

Next to Croa’s body was a source of light.

It wasn’t her body that was glowing, but something beside her.

I shifted my gaze to the source: a flame rooted in the ground, a divine fire.

The flame wasn’t natural.

It was said to be a blessing left by the goddess in the world. No matter how hard it rained or how much snow fell, this flame would never extinguish.

That’s why villages often built themselves around such flames.

This was the blacksmith’s forge.

Although it was called a blacksmith’s forge, in this small village, there wasn’t even a blacksmith. No one visited this place except me.

Drip, drip.

Tears I didn’t know I still had fell from my eyes, soaking the ground.

I thought my tears had dried up long ago, but here they were again, clouding my vision.

Even without them, I knew this sight was something I didn’t want to see.

It was unbearable.

She was my last remaining family.

But I didn’t look away.

I had to force myself to take in everything.

Her body, the village, the situation—all of it, without missing a single detail.

“…Wait here.”

I whispered, though I knew she wouldn’t answer. Leaving her behind, I ventured out to explore the rest of the village.

Everywhere I looked, household items were scattered across the ground.

Bloodstains were frequent, visible here and there.

Weapons, daggers, swords, and even bows lay abandoned on the ground.

These weren’t weapons from our village.

If the weapons didn’t belong to the villagers, it was clear that someone had attacked.

That much, at least, was easy to deduce.

But…

‘There are no bodies.’

Where had the villagers gone?

Had they successfully fled the attackers?

No matter how I tried to piece it together, it didn’t make sense.

There were no bodies, yet there were bloodstains and discarded weapons.

But one thing had become clear.

Something had gone terribly wrong in this village.

Could this be the reason why Rian hadn’t returned last time?

No. He likely never made it to the village.

The man with the crossbow who guarded the path between the village and the outpost… he must have tracked Rian down and killed him.

…Alright, let’s summarize the situation.

The goblins heading for the village.

The crossbowman hiding in the bushes.

The disappearance of the villagers without a trace.

And Croa, the only one left behind, dead.

That’s what I knew so far.

I didn’t yet understand what it all meant, but I needed to remember these details.

I gripped the dagger that had been embedded in my sister’s stomach.

The dagger that had pierced her body in defiance of the person trying to violate her.

It was time for me to show my resolve as well.

I reversed my grip on the dagger and plunged it into my own stomach.

Pain shot through me.

The blade twisted through my organs, sending waves of agonizing pain throughout my body.

If I had aimed for my heart, it would have been a quicker death.

But that wasn’t the point.

I needed to feel the pain.

My consciousness began to blur.

I couldn’t let it go.

I clung to the pain, holding onto my consciousness as tightly as I could.

I needed to remember this agony.

So that even if I returned, I would never let Croa endure such suffering again.

*A strange sound echoed in my ears.*

The chill spread over my body.

Was this what dying felt like?

I faded away into the pain.

* * *

― You have died by your own attack. [Confirm]

― Reloading from the last save point. [Confirm]

The same letters greeted me as soon as I opened my eyes.

And then—

“Sei… Save? Brother, what did you just say?”

Rian’s voice echoed in my ears, and I felt a wave of relief.

There was some uncertainty in my mind.

I still didn’t fully understand the magic the hero had taught me.

Die and return to the past.

That was all I had experienced so far.

“Idiot…”

But seeing Rian’s bewildered expression in front of me was all the reassurance I needed.

I really had returned to the past.

I ruffled his hair messily and pulled him into a hug.

“Hey, stop that! What’s gotten into you?”

It wasn’t time to celebrate yet.

Though I had returned, the situation hadn’t changed.

Now, I had to do what needed to be done.

Still hugging Rian, I whispered to him.

“Listen carefully, Rian. There’s an enemy behind us.”

He tried to turn his head, but I stopped him with a firm hand.

“Don’t look back. Trust me, and when I give you the signal, run toward the village. Can you do that?”

I released him from my embrace.

We exchanged a look, and though his face was filled with anxiety, Rian nodded resolutely.

He grabbed the torch.

I had a general idea of where the crossbowman was hiding.

He had stood in the same spot before, and there were only so many bushes thick enough to conceal a person.

“Rian.”

My voice, low and steady, made him tense up.

“Run!!”

At my signal, Rian sprinted toward the village.

Rustle, rustle.

The bushes rustled in panic as I had expected.

‘I’ve got you!’

I hurled the torch toward the bushes.

Fwoosh.

The flames quickly caught, illuminating the area.

From the burning bushes, the crossbowman in the black robe stumbled out.

“Damn it! Was I spotted?!”

He hurriedly aimed his crossbow.

Whoosh.

The arrow thudded into the ground.

I charged past it, sword in hand, swinging at the man.

Whoosh.

He barely dodged by leaning back, but I didn’t stop. I slammed my shoulder into him, knocking him down.

“Ugh!”

The man tried to draw a dagger from his coat.

Thwack!

But I was faster. I plunged my sword into his neck.

Blood sprayed from his throat, and his body convulsed.

Shlick.

I stabbed him once more in the chest to finish him off.

The man’s body collapsed limply to the ground.

I turned my gaze.

The crossbowman wasn’t my concern anymore. My priority was reaching the village as quickly as possible.

In my previous life, I had seen weapons scattered throughout the village. Weapons that did not belong to us.

This confirmed that the village had been attacked by an armed group.

I began to sprint toward the village, pushing off the ground with every step to gain speed.

My body was in perfect condition. There were no bruises, no thorns embedded in my back, no bloodshed.

The last time, it had taken me 10 minutes to cover this distance—just 1 kilometer.

But now, after only about 4 minutes, I had reached the village.

In the previous life, the village had been eerily quiet and desolate.

But now, it was different.

I had arrived just a few minutes earlier, yet the village was in chaos, filled with noise and commotion.

‘Bandits…?’

I saw armed men amidst the screams of the villagers.

But I had never heard of bandits operating in this area.

What could they possibly hope to gain from attacking a poor, rural village?

The number of bandits didn’t seem that large—around 20, maybe.

On the other hand, our village had about 50 adult men.

We had the numbers, but this was a simple village with no real weapons.

The villagers would be slaughtered by the bandits before they could even defend themselves.

I gripped my sword tighter.

I was about to charge into the village when—

Rustle, rustle.

I caught sight of a figure hiding in the bushes.

I rushed toward it, pulling back the branches.

“Ah, ah, ah… B-brother?”

There, curled up and trembling, was Rian, the 17-year-old with blonde hair.

Rian’s face lit up when he saw that it was me and not a bandit.

But his expression quickly darkened.

“Brother! The village!!”

He tried to stand, but I pressed his head back down, keeping him hidden in the bushes.

“Listen to me carefully, Rian. When I bring Croa here, the two of you need to run.”

“W-where to?”

“To the village of Tallin, where the lord’s castle is. You know the way, right?”

Rian nodded silently.

Leaving the trembling Rian behind, I headed back toward the village.

But my steps weren’t aimed at the bandits.

There was something I needed to do first.

I headed toward the brightest place in the village, which was easy to spot even in the darkness of the night.

The remnants of the goddess’s fire—where Croa was.

I moved quickly, hiding between the buildings and avoiding the bandits’ line of sight as I made my way to the blacksmith’s forge.

As I got closer, I heard voices that made my blood boil.

“P-please… don’t…”

“You begging like that just makes this more exciting.”

Croa was on the ground, crawling backward in terror as the man loomed over her, licking his lips and twirling a dagger in his hand.

Step, step.

“What the hell?!”

The man turned at the sound of my footsteps.

Shunk!

Without hesitation, I drove my sword into his chest.

“Ah…”

Croa looked up at me with wide, shocked eyes.

I stared back at her.

The pain I had felt when I stabbed myself in the stomach—it flooded back to me now.

I hadn’t forgotten.

I had inflicted that pain on myself to remember this moment, to remind myself of what I had to protect.

And I had succeeded.

I had saved her.

But it wasn’t time to celebrate yet.

The village was still in danger.

I extended my hand to Croa.

“Let’s go.”

It was a cold, emotionless statement.

The hand I offered her was covered in the blood of the bandit I had just killed.

Croa hesitated, trembling as she looked at my hand.

“Ah…”

I grabbed her hand and pulled her up, forcing her to stand.

Then we ran.

“Haa… haa… haa…”

Her breathing grew ragged as she struggled to keep up with my pace, but I ignored it.

The village was being attacked, and she had nearly been assaulted by that disgusting man.

I knew she must have been filled with fear and uncertainty, but I had no comforting words to offer.

That was the distance between us now.

Fortunately, we didn’t run into any bandits on our way back to the edge of the village.

More accurately, the bandits were too busy plundering the village to notice us.

“Rian!”

Rustle, rustle.

At the sound of my call, Rian emerged from the bushes, looking relieved.

I gently pushed Croa toward him.

“Take care of her, Rian.”

“Y-yes! Come on, Croa!”

Rian took her hand, but Croa didn’t move.

“W-what about you, brother?”

Hearing her call me “brother,” I couldn’t help but let a bitter smile creep across my face.

“I have to save the village.”

But even if I killed every bandit in the village, would I really be able to say I had saved it?

So many villagers were already dead, and the scars left on this place would never fully heal.

But I had no choice.

I wasn’t a hero.

I could only save what I could.

Step, step.

I walked back toward the village, Croa’s voice calling out behind me.

But I ignored it.

If I wasted any more time, I wouldn’t be able to save what still remained.

Her voice eventually faded, and I stopped to glance back.

I saw Rian leading Croa as they ran off into the distance.

My worries had now vanished.

I dashed toward the village.

But as soon as I arrived, I was forced to stop.

“Ahhh! Stay away!!!”

Screams filled the air, the same ones I had heard when I first approached the village.

But now, the people screaming were the bandits.

The bandits who had been attacking the village were now fleeing in terror.

I couldn’t make sense of it.

What were they running from?

I glanced behind them.

No one was pursuing them.

But there was a heavy darkness hanging behind them, darker than anything I’d ever seen before.

“B-brother!!!”

One of the bandits at the back of the group screamed, and then he vanished.

One by one, the bandits were swallowed by the darkness.

I didn’t understand what was happening.

But my instincts were screaming at me to run.

My legs felt stiff, but I forced them to move.

I didn’t have the luxury of looking back.

“Huff… huff… huff…”

I just ran.

But behind me, everything had gone silent.

The screams for mercy, the footsteps, even the sound of breathing—all of it had disappeared.

Rumble.

A strange sound echoed behind me.

A cold chill ran down my spine.

I felt uneasy.

I was terrified.

But I couldn’t help myself.

I had to look.

I needed to be free from this fear.

‘There’s nothing there… nothing there…’

I kept reassuring myself as I slowly turned my head.

And then, my vision was swallowed by darkness.