Spiritbound [Spirit Magic, Military, Progression] (Book 1 Complete)

"You're really one hell of a guy, you know that, right?" Luka brushed his cloak to the side and stood beside Tucker. They gazed at the Empire's forces amassing from afar. His hand held the rain-soaked battlement. "I never imagined you would be such a pain in the ass to keep alive."

"Heh, you've been doing a pretty good job so far," Tucker said.

"Yep, and when we get back, I expect five fresh bottles of wine."

"Five?" Tucker chuckled. "You're gonna get the cheapest bottles I can find."

"Ah, you bastard! Don't you have any shame? It's said that when showing appreciation, you gotta use the most expensive thing you can get."

"Really? Says who?"

Luka grinned, pointing to himself. "Me."

Tucker smirked, ignoring his friend's grand gesture. "Which group are you a part of?"

"Would you believe me if I said the last one?"

He scoffed. "Bullshit, we both know your luck's not that bad."

Luka only shrugged before leaning forward. "You're right. It's not. That's why I used my rank."

His words caused Tucker to raise a brow. "Your rank? There's not much a vice-captain can do."

"True," Luka admitted, his grin widening into a devilish smile. "There isn't much a vice-captain can do. But! Who said I'm a vice-captain? Since you got promoted to commander and I happened to be your vice-captain at the time…" He spread his arms out while turning to his friend. "That makes me the vice-commander of the bastion."

"That… isn't how it works."

"Perhaps, but no one has objected so far."

Tucker shook his head in disbelief. "It's a miracle you aren't a criminal."

"Well, maybe I would have turned into one if I hadn't met you and John." Luka's voice softened. "You guys were always too nice for your own good."

He released a deep sigh while watching the Empire's movements. Their enemies had blocked off the central plaza, stopping their forces from seeing the ruined golem. Some would find it unbelievable that the Empire's strongest creation would be battered and broken. But soon word would spread throughout the kingdom.

Tucker crossed his arms while observing the enemy army. They had ladders and battering rams drawing closer from all sides. The decision to give up the castle walls was a difficult one. However, there was no other choice. Their forces were severely outnumbered, and the ground they had to cover was far too great.

"Are the explosives set?" Tucker asked.

Luka nodded. "They are… but are you sure about this? There are other ways to buy time."

Tucker gazed at the crumbling city with a lingering sadness. The once-proud arches had long collapsed beneath the roaring cannon fire, and the gothic towers barely stood as their spires fractured against the colorless sky. Their former glory had become nothing more than a whisper carried away by the wind, and the silence that filled the streets made it clear.

Their city was dying.

The forges had gone cold, their flames smothered by the rain. No souls remained in the facilities, leaving only shadows and dust. Everywhere he looked left a bitterness within his chest. Memories of the beautiful landscape had shattered long ago, yet to see years of work vanish in the blink of an eye was still heartbreaking.

"I'm certain." Tucker watched as Gale descended onto the merlons of the walls. He brushed the brown feathers on its back with his fingertips. "The city's already lost. I would rather have it burned to the ground than for the Empire to control it."

Luka held out his hand as the rain softly pattered against it. He watched as the droplets fell through his fingers before clenching his fist to steel his resolve. "I'll let the volunteers know then."

Tucker listened as his friend marched down the stone staircase. The sound of footsteps against the wet stone entered his ears. Looking back, he couldn't believe that he thought Stafford would be one of the safest locations within the Kingdom, only for it to turn into a living hell. His heart ached, and with each passing moment, he wondered if there was something he could have done better. If he could have saved more of his men's lives.

Maybe if he had defied their orders to hold the outer perimeter, Nemo would still be alive, and the situation would have been different.

"There's no point in dwelling on what's already happened."

The voice drew Tucker's gaze towards the short man, who stood beside him without making a sound. He curled his bushy white mustache with one hand and held his great hammer with another. It was Benjamin, the Knight Slayer of their Order and the very man who had constantly performed despite his fading memory.

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"Knight Slayer, I don't suppose you listened and drew lots as well," said Tucker.

"I would be lying if I said I did." Benjamin gently massaged his shoulder.

"You should do that before you forget; it's a fair chance for survival."

Tucker glanced at Benjamin. The old man was patting his pockets as if he had lost something, halting for a second while struggling to remember something. Yet in his emerald eyes there were still flickers of warmth. A faint smile and a sudden spark in their gaze, as if a memory had been pulled back to the surface.

"I… even I know how severe my condition is. Every memory I cling to slips away sooner or later, and sometimes I wonder if I'm still contributing to the Order—" Benjamin released a soft chuckle. "Or… if I've become nothing more than a burden."

"You aren't." Tucker's eyes stayed fixed on his senior. "I say this with sincerity: you have never once been a burden to our platoon, and I'm confident everyone in the Thirty-First would say the same."

"You flatter me, sir, but even I know my age has caught up with me."

"Then in that case, why didn't you retire?"

Benjamin's lips slowly curved up into a warm smile. "I did."

"You… did?" Tucker blinked in disbelief.

"That's right; that's why my companion isn't here," Benjamin said, reminiscing about his younger days as a watchman. The distant warmth in his tone caused Tucker to clench his fists. "My partner was a thunder tortoise, but it has been decades since I've returned to the field. Before I left, I freed my partner from its contract."

"But… you can still use your spirit essence."

"Yes, and it's because the essence that has been stored doesn't simply vanish. It lives in quiet harmony with your soul."

"That means you haven't drawn it out in decades?"

"There's never been a need to. A civilian's life should be one of peace after all."

Tucker couldn't believe what he was hearing. This meant that Benjamin had been fighting with only his reserves for the past several days—a feat that shouldn't be possible, yet his senior here was living proof of it. The burden on the old man's shoulders must have been immense, but every time they relied on him, he delivered results. The number of knights he had killed in this siege alone was staggering, and Tucker couldn't help but be in admiration of it.

"Wait, but if you were retired… then why did you come back?" Tucker asked. "You could've lived out the rest of your days in peace."

"I could have," Benjamin admitted with a faint smile. "But this war… it should have ended with my generation. We never would've imagined that the grudges were so deep that they would bleed into the next era."

"That's not something you could control."

"It's not, but I still felt like it was part of my responsibility to return." Benjamin rested his hand against the broken stone wall while gazing at the Empire's forces. Their war horns blew in the distance, releasing a low mournful blast that drifted throughout the broken city. "When we won the war, I lost many close friends, and looking back, we were just young lads without guidance. This time, I was hoping that… even though I've grown old. I might help the future generation even if it was just for a little while."

"You don't have to worry about that, Knight Slayer," Tucker said in a firm voice. "You've already helped us plenty."

"That's great to hear, but I fear my job isn't over." Benjamin turned to Tucker. "Captain, would you grant me the honor of fighting by your side?"

Tucker met Benjamin's gaze with a troubled expression. He would be a great addition to the final line of defense to buy time for the other soldiers to retreat, but odds are, those in the last group wouldn't make it out. Their fate was already predetermined, and the only reason he didn't argue with Luka to leave was because he knew his friend very well. And that stubborn fool wouldn't leave no matter what he did.

"You're aware of what that means, right?" Tucker asked.

Benjamin gave a firm nod. "And I wouldn't have it any other way than fighting alongside my fellow comrades from the Order."

Tucker forced a smile. He could see the determination lingering in the depths of Benjamin's eyes. There was a reason why Luka held him in such high regard despite his ailing memories, and this was it. Even if his memories were nothing more than fragments, Knight Slayer's character radiated beyond his flaws.

"Very well." Tucker took one final glance at the Empire's forces that were marching towards them. Gale hopped onto his shoulders as he gestured for Benjamin to follow. "We'll be at the forefront of the assault, but I trust you'll be able to hold your own."

"Indeed, sir," Benjamin grinned while raising his great hammer over his shoulder.

Seeing this, Tucker felt like the weight crushing his spirit had finally been lifted off his shoulders. It was reassuring to know that two of his comrades had volunteered to stay back, even if it was against his wishes. But as they stepped back into the castle halls once more, his eyes widened in disbelief.

Before him should have been the last line of soldiers meant to stall the enemy's advance so the defenders could retreat. Yet what he saw were familiar faces. Faces of soldiers he had fought beside throughout the entire siege. Wilfred and the men of the Twenty-Eighth, Captain Morgan and Maystone with their Order of knights, and even the master blacksmith Thomas were there. All of them were calmly waiting at the side, expecting his arrival.

"You fools don't seriously expect me to believe that you all drew the short end of the stick," Tucker said.

Brian let out a wholehearted laugh. "Of course not. But you never ordered us to follow your instructions, only those who were last of their line."

Tucker sighed while meeting the grins of Brian and the other Hearthfire knights. They stood in perfect ranks with their hands resting on the hilts of their weapons. Their azure tabards with their order's sigil were covered in blood and mud, but they didn't care. His eyes then drifted to Max, whose armor plates softly scraped against each other as he crossed his arms.

"I follow the sword master's oath before anything else," Max said firmly.

"And you, Thomas?" Tucker asked.

"Aye, don't give me that look," Thomas said with a smirk. "Unlike them, I've got a proper reason."

"And that is…?"

"Well, someone has to manage the teleportation device, and who else but me?" Thomas thumped his chest twice with his fist. "You need someone reliable, and someone with my expertise will only make the process faster."

The shadow from his hat hid the smile tugging at Tucker's lips. He couldn't find the words to argue with them, nor the time. But to say he was thankful to them paled to the emotions he was feeling right now. When he was first sent to the bastion, he thought it was nothing more than a punishment. That he had been abandoned by the Order and had lost his purpose.

But now, after everything they had been through. He couldn't help but shake the feeling that this was never an exile, and instead, his final calling.