Their hearts weighed heavily as if wandering through the murky dusk where even the slightest future was unclear. Their own fragile hearts, sharpened to the point where they wanted to flee immediately, diminished their resistance to the unknown external threat. Even before the battle began, only the future of defeat loomed before them, and the faint hope sank to the depths of the dark sea.
Nevertheless, they still held onto the only hope that could be called resistance. The Hero, a Human but vastly exceeding the level of Humans, stood as the sole and final means to counter the formidable force known as the Erlkönig. Indeed, the remarkable feat of temporarily driving back the Erlkönig during the Rainzard conflict was fresh in their memories.