From Rock Bottom to Hero-Chapter 26 - The Battle Plan

I slowly pull away from Faris.

Faris studies me with a serious expression. "You have talent. If you unlock your potential, we will win."

I clench my fists. "Then tell me what I should do."

Faris smiles slightly. "I will train you. How many Singular Magics do you have?"

I answer. "Three."

Faris is shocked. "THREE?!" He laughs nervously. "Then it should be possible to awaken another Singular Magic."

I blink in surprise. "Do you think so?"

Faris nods slowly. "Definitely."

I take a deep breath and nod determinedly. "I'm in. But what do we do now?"

Faris smiles. "Don't worry. I'll come up with a plan. But you should go home now."

A smile spreads across my face. "Alright. Thanks for everything!"

Faris laughs nervously. "You're welcome. Just never forget, you're not alone."

I turn around and head back home. Faris goes in the opposite direction. Slowly, I sneak across the property and climb through the window into my room.

So I'm not the only one from another world. Should I really trust Faris just because he's also a Reborn? I should be cautious for now.

No! I can trust Faris. If it weren't for him, I would have made a fatal mistake.

I lie down in my bed and cover myself. The exhaustion overtakes me, and it doesn't take long before I fall into a deep sleep.

The morning starts abruptly.

"Get up, Sota."

A deep voice startles me. Still half asleep, I sit up and see my father standing in front of me.

"What?" I mumble sleepily.

"Gareth has called a meeting. It's important. Hurry up."

I struggle out of bed and quickly get dressed. "What's it about?"

Father shakes his head. "You'll find out there."

Without further questions, I follow him out of the house, and we head toward Eldorath.

I definitely didn't get enough sleep. If I could, I'd lie down in the grass and take a nap.

After what feels like an eternity, we reach the city. We pass through the streets and eventually reach the Guild. We knock on the door, and it doesn't take long before Gareth lets us in. "Glad you could make it. Unfortunately, the meeting has to be this early. Later, there's too much going on, and we'd delay too many adventurers."

My father raises his hand. "No need to apologize. We're in an exceptional situation, so this is completely understandable."

Gareth smiles. "Well then, come on in!"

The Guild is empty. Gareth has closed it off to everyone else until the meeting is over.

As we enter, several figures are already sitting at a large table. A burly man with a massive shield on his back, his muscular arms crossed, sits on the left side of the table. Next to him sits a stocky warrior with a battle axe.

Gareth sits across from them, and Father sits next to him. I naturally sit next to my father.

"Good to see you." Gareth begins. "First, I'd like to introduce you to Diago's son, Sota. The demons are after him. Sota, these two men, along with Diago, are the most capable adventurers in this Guild."

The man with the shield introduces himself in a serious voice. "Pleased to meet you, I'm Baldric." He points to the man with the battle axe. "And this is Rowan."

"Alright, let's get to the point." Says Gareth.

I feel the atmosphere tense.

"We have six days left." Gareth continues. "Then the demons will come. And if we do nothing, this village will fall."

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The adventurers nod.

"We need to come up with a clear defense strategy." Begins Gareth, crossing his arms. "The demons have given us a deadline, so we don't have much time."

"First, we should figure out where to shelter the citizens." Baldric suggests, leaning forward with a serious expression. "We can't just leave them in their homes if a fight breaks out."

"The question is, where do we put them?" Rowan frowns. "The city walls offer limited protection, but if the demons attack, they'll be trapped there."

"Then evacuation is the only option." Father replies thoughtfully. "But where to? We need a place that's safe enough and close enough to quickly bring them back after the battle."

Gareth scans the group. "The nearest settlement is a day's march away. Too far, in case something unexpected happens."

Baldric scratches his beard. "We could hide them in the old mines. The tunnels are deep and stable. If it comes to a worst-case scenario, we could even barricade the entrances."

"Mines?" Rowan shakes his head. "What if they collapse due to the battle's tremors? We risk burying them alive."

Gareth clenches his fist. "Then we'll have to reinforce the defense here and move the civilians into the Guild's underground storage if necessary. It's small, but better than nothing."

Father sighs heavily. "Whatever we decide, we need a solution fast."

"I know of a place." The unexpected voice makes everyone jump. Chairs scrape back, hands go to weapons. A figure steps out from the dark corner of the Guild.

I immediately recognize the voice.

"Faris!" I call out, jumping to my feet.

Faris steps into the light with a slight smile. "Don't worry. I'm not here to harm you."

Father gets ready for a fight. "Sota, who is this?"

"Wait! You can trust him. He's not an enemy!" I stand protectively in front of Faris. But the others remain suspicious.

"We're just supposed to believe he's not a spy?" Rowan growls.

Gareth asks angrily. "How did you get in here?"

Faris grins slightly. "With my Singular Magic."

"And that would be?" Gareth asks suspiciously.

Faris raises an eyebrow. "Teleportation."

The others look at him in disbelief.

Faris remains calm and looks Father directly in the eye. "You can trust me. Besides, I'm the one who understands Sota the best."

Father's eyes narrow. "What does that mean?"

"Father... Last night, I snuck out secretly. I was going to face the demons." Father freezes in shock. "Faris stopped me. Without him, I wouldn't be here. You can trust him."

Father puts his sword back in its sheath. "If that's the case, I trust Faris too."

Faris sighs. "Even if I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn't get far." Faris pulls his cloak aside. Where his right arm should be, there is only emptiness.

"I fought a fallen angel." He says calmly. "And this is the result."

The room falls silent, but their posture relaxes somewhat. The other adventurers also sheathe their weapons and sit back down.

"Alright then." Gareth finally says. "You can stay for now."

Faris nods gratefully. "I have a plan. A plan for how we can defend this city."

Gareth crosses his arms and looks at Faris. "Go ahead. What do you have in mind?"

Faris nods and begins. "First, we need to get the civilians to safety. They can't stay here if there's an attack."

Rowan crosses his arms. "And where are you going to take them? The city is surrounded by forest, and open land would be too dangerous."

"There's an old fort in the mountains." Faris says calmly. "Not many know about it, but it's easy to defend and off the beaten path."

Baldric furrows his brow. "What if the demons have already found it?"

"I was there recently." Faris replies. "It's abandoned. Perfect for a retreat."

Father thinks aloud. "That would mean we need wagons for transportation. Food, blankets, and who's going to protect them?"

"A part of the city guards must go with them." Gareth says. "We can't leave the civilians defenseless."

Rowan taps his finger on the table. "But we also need to prepare for the defense of the city. What about the wounded? Even with a good plan, there will be injuries."

"How many healers do we have?" Faris asks.

Gareth thinks for a moment. "Not enough. Two or three are registered with the Guild."

"Then we'll need supplies." Faris says. "Bandages, herbs, anything we can get."

Baldric sighs. "And where do we put the wounded?"

"Here." Gareth says curtly. "The Guild will serve as an emergency station."

Baldric shakes his head. "In the end, it all depends on whether the mayor agrees. And that will be difficult. Without his approval, we can't escort the civilians, and we won't have the city guards available for the fight."

Gareth sighs. "He still believes we should hand over Sota."

Father clenches his fists. "Then we'll have to convince him. If we plan on the city guards and later don't have his approval, we'll have wasted time."

A silence falls over the group. Everyone knows there's no alternative. If the mayor refuses, the plan fails before it even begins.

Faris looks at me. His expression is serious, but there's a hint of sympathy in his eyes.

"And what if we can't convince him?" I finally ask, my voice trembling with fear.

Father responds ominously. "I won't let that happen."

Suddenly, there's a knock at the door.

Everyone's eyes snap to the door. Gareth furrows his brow and slowly walks toward it.

"Who's there?" He asks sharply.

"The city guards! We've been ordered to bring Sota to the mayor immediately. If he doesn't come willingly, we will arrest him."

I feel a knot form in my stomach.

There's no way out.