MDHO 11

MDHO

Posted by Ali, Released on October 21, 2025

Chapter 11

* * *

He was always watching.

He was always observing everything, and he remembered everything he saw.

Aquila had always been the kind of person who was easily misunderstood.

From birth, his eerie crimson eyes, sharp gaze, expressionless face, lack of emotion, and quiet nature all made people believe he was indifferent and dull.

In truth, he was highly observant and sensitive—but he never felt the need to explain himself.

As a child, he didn’t realize what it meant for people to misunderstand him, and he grew used to being seen as an ominous child.

But as he grew older and his crimson eyes grew even more vivid—

“Dear, I think… our child inherited the blood of the other race too strongly.”
“What do you mean? You said you were half-blooded.”
“…Maybe you’re not a full Imperial either—perhaps you had a trace of other blood mixed in…”

When his extraordinary physical abilities surpassed even most of the other races—

“I think… the contract magic will probably activate for our child.”
“Then… that means he’ll have to enlist in the Border Defense Army?”

His parents, watching Aquila grow, suspected that the day his contract magic manifested, he’d be conscripted into the army.

They loved each other more than anything, but before losing their child could hurt them—before they became too attached—they decided to abandon him.

“Still… we believe you’ll be able to live well on your own.”

Fearing the pain of being separated once their son was taken away, they abandoned young Aquila before the contract bound him.

Even in that moment, Aquila stared at them with those crimson eyes. His parents never realized what was in his heart.

“You think I’ll live well…?”

That moment, he felt a tearing pain in his chest. He was frozen, panicking, unable to move or speak.

His parents, misunderstanding his stillness, left in tears.

That was how he ended up in an orphanage despite having parents—
and why he eventually gave up caring about being misunderstood.

When he turned seventeen and the contract mark appeared on his wrist, he left the orphanage without hesitation and volunteered for enlistment.

He was assigned to the Cledor Mountain Battalion, 18th Company, Alpha Squad and adapted surprisingly well.

He had an affinity for fire-type aura and remarkable physical abilities.

While other recruits dropped out, he stood out—so much that his peers found him intimidating.

Rinia, Karl, Saluvia, Magne, Johan, Billy, Hippie.

He remembered all of their names.

Even so, perhaps because of his reserved demeanor, they still thought he was detached. But he didn’t care. As always, he simply stayed quiet and accepted his surroundings.

But when he faced his comrades’ deaths before his eyes—

He couldn’t move.

Just like when his parents left him, he froze in place, unable to do anything.

No…

He tried to close his eyes, but even his eyelids refused to obey.

He thought, once again, that he had lost everything.

“Hey! Why isn’t he coming out yet?!”
“Torches! Everyone grab a torch and get over here!”

Then, finally—his legs moved.

He didn’t have time to think. He leapt straight into the river, managing to grasp a flailing hand beneath the surface.

They plunged down the waterfall together—and when he saw the face of the only surviving comrade—

“Don’t die. Don’t you dare die, please…”

He muttered like a madman, pressing on her chest over and over.

And when their eyes finally met, his heart stopped.

On her pale, blood-drained face, her golden eyes—glowing with faint life—were fixed on his.

She was looking straight into him, reading everything beyond his gaze.

“I—I never wanted… anyone to die.”

He had never wished harm on anyone. He hadn’t wanted to be distant from them.

For some reason, with her, he felt he had to explain himself. Trembling, he tried to speak.

“Hh—cough! I know.”

She said it.

“I know what you’re thinking.”

It wasn’t a misunderstanding. Their thoughts were perfectly synchronized.

For the first time, he felt the electric sensation of being truly connected to someone.

Saluvia.

Her name pulsed on his tongue.

The only thing he could do was vow—no matter what—to protect Saluvia for the rest of his life.

That first true bond made him want to devote everything he had to her.

“Hold me.”

Her unfocused eyes trembled as she spoke.

When he wrapped his arms around her shivering body, he found himself wishing he could make her warmth the same as his own forever.

…This is bad.

He knew exactly what he was feeling toward Saluvia—and that it was inappropriate in their situation.

But he couldn’t stop it.

He simply couldn’t imagine not loving her.

We began climbing back up the mountain, trying to return to where we had fallen.

We could’ve climbed the cliff beside the waterfall, but we were far too exhausted—physically and mentally. It was a miracle we’d even survived the fall.

We said nothing as we climbed, but both of us were thinking of our dead comrades.

Now, there were truly only the two of us left.

“Want me to carry you?”
“Yeah.”

Because of the burns on my leg, I was slowing down. Aquila turned his back to me, and I climbed onto it.

“Cold?”
“Yeah.”

Both of us were drenched, but his body heat seemed to slowly dry my clothes.

So fire aura makes the body hot, huh.

Pressed close to his back, my trembling eased, and my pale fingers regained color.

“Aren’t you cold?”
“No.”
“Aren’t you tired?”
“If you tried walking by yourself, that’d be more tiring.”

It might have sounded dry and curt, but that was enough.

Sometimes, you don’t need words to understand someone.

Love, friendship, camaraderie, even maternal instinct—there are feelings that can’t be defined by any of them.

When all your comrades die and only the two of you remain—what you feel then is something entirely different.

“Saluvia.”
“You know, that’s the first time you’ve said my name.”
“Should I say it more?”
“Just for today?”
“No.”
“Then that’s fine.”

To outsiders, the exchange might’ve sounded strange—but we were utterly devoted to each other. We hadn’t even really spoken properly in a month.

As he carried me, his breathing grew rougher from the climb, but I didn’t ask him to put me down.

“Are we going the right way?”
“The direction’s right.”
“What if no one’s there when we arrive?”
“Then we’ll just have to find our way back to the unit.”

After that, silence fell—not uncomfortable silence, but peaceful.

“Aquila, can I ask you something?”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
“Can I bother you from now on?”
“As much as you want.”
“Can I whine in front of you?”
“Go ahead.”
“What do you want, then?”

I already knew his answer, but I asked anyway—wanting to hear it from him.

“Don’t die, Saluvia.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t you ever die. Don’t ever leave me.”
“I won’t.”
“Keep showing me you’re alive. Keep clinging to me.”
“I promise.”

Then, we heard voices in the distance.

“They must be around here somewhere.”
“Yeah, sounds like it.”
“Put me down.”
“Okay.”

He gently lowered me to the ground.

He looked into my face quietly.

“Your lips are blue.”
“Guess I haven’t warmed up yet.”

Aquila lifted his hand and softly brushed my lips.

“Your hand’s warm.”
“Want me to keep going?”
“Yeah.”

To an onlooker, it might’ve looked strange—but I was just cold, and he just didn’t want to lose me.

“Feeling better now?”
“Yeah.”
“Then let’s go back.”
“Okay.”

After walking a bit farther, we began to sense the presence of the other soldiers. Relief washed over me—they hadn’t left yet.

But that relief vanished when we heard the company commander’s voice addressing the squad leaders.

“The commander is disappointed in you.”

…A bad feeling settled in my stomach.

“You couldn’t even keep the new recruits alive. None of you did your job.”

He truly sounded disappointed.

“You’re all getting lax. It’s been too long since our last company drill. We’ll start again immediately.”

As soon as he finished, the platoon leader’s voice followed.

“Looks like we’ve been too lenient with the officers. We excused you from training for real combat, and this is how you perform?”

Wait—seriously?

We were in trouble.

Even the senior sergeants were getting chewed out…

After the officers’ voices faded, we heard the remaining seniors speaking among themselves.

“What the hell were you thinking? You should’ve stopped that last recruit from jumping in!”
“Understood, sir.”
“What the hell have you guys even been doing? You lost recruits in the waterfall, didn’t even look for them, and let another one jump in after them?!”

It was Chris, the highest-ranking corporal, scolding the senior soldiers.

Aquila and I froze, staring at each other.

“Are we screwed?”
“Looks like it.”

Great. They were already getting chewed out because of us—and when we showed up alive, we’d get our own share of it too.

“…Haah. I just don’t understand you guys.”

Now it was April’s voice—the top corporal.

“Sure, maybe you didn’t expect a dragon to appear. Dying because of that can’t be helped.”

Hearing April’s normally bright and gentle voice sound so calm made it even more terrifying. No one who hadn’t heard her angry could understand that kind of fear.