"Knight Accel: Going Back I"

Rat Calendar, Year 2026

14th Day of February - 28th Day of February

World of Tranquilis, Unified Continental Base Camp

After two weeks of relentless battles, the 1st to 10th Field Armies successfully reclaimed most northern territories. Under orders received from beyond the world of Tranquilis, Empress Genevieve Isolde Solaris issued a new decree to the commanding officers of the Western Continent: no prisoners were to be taken. Instead, the remaining northerners were to be eliminated. The ten generals of the 1st to 10th Field Armies conveyed the order, ensuring their subordinates understood their task's gravity.

The final stronghold of the northerners remained—the last obstacle before the complete subjugation of the region. However, as the decisive battle approached, Accel made a choice. He decided to leave the expedition. His growing reputation, his accumulating merits, and his newly granted noble status as Knight Accel Winchester had made him a figure of increasing attention. He had gained command over a 150-member squad, but the weight of expectation and the inevitable political entanglements that would follow the end of the campaign made his continued presence a potential burden. He knew that once the war concluded, his fame would only grow, and the responsibilities attached to his newfound knighthood would restrict his freedom.

With this in mind, Accel seized an opportunity. While the majority of high-ranking officers and soldiers gathered for a general meeting to finalize the northern campaign's conclusion, he quietly left. He avoided the risk of formally announcing his departure, knowing that such an act would raise suspicions or even resistance. Instead, he left behind his armor and a farewell letter in his tent, ensuring that his squad would discover them once they returned.

Under the cover of strategic timing, Accel rushed toward the entrance of the dimensional gate, remaining unnoticed. Most of the security personnel and soldiers from the Western Continent were attending the meeting, leaving the gate's surveillance at its lowest point. His departure was smooth, undetected by the forces that would have otherwise questioned his motives.

A few hours passed before his absence was noticed. Commanding officers from the County System—Prime Counts, Grand Counts, and Counts, who were considered equivalent to commanders from the Central Continent's military perspective—began to question why Accel had not been present at the general meeting. His comrades were puzzled. Margrave Alistair Durnhelm Vaelmont, the general of the 5th Field Army, had intended to assign Accel as the vanguard for the final assault on the northerners' last stronghold. His absence was concerning.

When they arrived at Accel's tent, they were met with an unexpected sight—his full set of armor neatly arranged, and beside it, a letter. One of his squad members picked it up and read it aloud:

To my comrades,

It's been an unforgettable experience fighting alongside you all. But I've reached my limit. I came here as a volunteer, to challenge myself, to test my limits—and I have learned more than I could have imagined. However, this expedition is no longer where I belong. I have no interest in getting entangled in the complications of noble status or political warfare. I am leaving, not out of cowardice, but because my path lies elsewhere. You all are more than capable of securing victory without me. Fight well, and may fortune favor you.

Knight Accel Winchester

The casual tone of the letter only fueled the growing panic among those who read it. The realization that Accel had left the expedition sent ripples of shock through the ranks. For a Western Continent citizen, abandoning the expedition would have been considered treason—desertion in the face of duty. However, Accel was a Central Continent citizen, a foreigner, and a volunteer. His departure was within his rights.

Still, his absence presented a major dilemma. His combat prowess and leadership had positioned him as a key figure in the upcoming battle. The strategic plan relied on his ability to spearhead the vanguard. With him gone, adjustments had to be made immediately.

As rumors spread through the 5th Field Army, soldiers and officers alike speculated about his reasons for leaving. Some believed he had grown tired of war. Others suspected deeper motives—perhaps he had foreseen a greater conflict on the horizon or sensed an unseen danger lurking beyond the battlefield.

Margrave Vaelmont took the news with a calm exterior, but internally, he was deeply concerned. Accel's departure left a void in their forces, forcing him to reconsider his strategies. The final battle against the northerners had been planned with Accel at the forefront. Now, with one of their strongest assets missing, the margin for error had shrunk drastically.

As he sat in his command tent, Vaelmont stared at Accel's letter once more. A part of him had always known that Accel was an enigma—an individual who refused to be bound by convention. But even he had not expected such a sudden departure. What had truly driven Accel to leave? Was it just a desire to escape the burdens of his knighthood, or was there something more?

No matter the reason, the reality remained: Accel Winchester was gone. The expedition would move forward without him, but the legend of Knight Accel was far from over.

Little did they know, the reason for his volunteering on this expedition was to experience a different world, not that nightmare world that he doesn't want to remember and talk about and the cause of his unannounced departure would make the high-ranking nobles start getting interested on him when the news will arrive after the eliminating all northerners and the northerners region being reclaimed together will all the continents.

However, something occurred when they tried to find Accel's identity when they found out there was no data about Accel the Swordsman System, they didn't know or were not aware that Accel hid his system because the real system he has is the Archivist System.