The day has finally come. The day has come when mankind is going to attack the twilight in earnest. Up until now, all of these operations have ended in failure, but this time the level of commitment is the best in the history of mankind. More than anything else, the forces in this operation are overwhelmingly different. Even in the past, the number of second grade anti-magicians and above is the highest. On top of that, the special grade opponents also had a considerable amount of strength.


　What's even more notable is the presence of four of them. Me, Shelly, Eira-senpai, and even Princess Liane. Three of them, including me, have taken in the blood of the demon race, and Princess Liane has awakened as a saint, which is rare among the royal family.


　We were urged to fight in the twilight, as if the situation told us to do so.



''Julia, good morning.''
Morning. Did Sherry sleep well?
'Well I haven't actually slept much. I'm so nervous...
Me too.
But you seem to be in good spirits.
I'm so uptight...?
Why the questioning?
Hmm. I have to admit that I don't really understand it. I think the nervousness and excitement is blowing away my sleepiness.
''But yes....this battle will determine the fate of humanity from now on...''
It's depressing just to think about whether this strategy will be remembered as a success or a failure for future generations, but we have to do it. Besides, we're already special-grade anti-magicians and representatives of humanity. I don't think we should show our friends that we're worried...
''As expected of Yulia, your spirit is different. Come to think of it, as I recall, Yulia will also be speaking on the stage this time, right?
"...um, yeah. I'm going to come out and talk to you after the Commander-in-Chief.
Ugh ... the thought of me doing this makes me want to throw up ... oh.
No, stop!　I'm nervous too!


　As the two of us are fussing over each other, a familiar figure comes up behind us.


"You guys........are in good spirits even on a day like this.
'No, it's not that, sir!　Because Shelly is going to scare me!
Hey!　Are you trying to say it's my fault!
"Quiet, both of you. It's almost time for the pre-service speech. Besides, the city people will be there this time.
"Yes I'm sorry.


　We deeply reflect on the situation with both of us, and then we gather at the meeting place. After a while, a huge number of opponents will be gathered there. All of them are second class demons or higher, and are the people who will be participating in this mission. I genuinely respect them. It may sound irreverent, but the probability of a special-grade counter-magician dying is low. On the other hand, first- and second-class counter-magicians have a higher chance of dying compared to us.


　Rather, no one is optimistic enough to think that there won't be a single casualty in this operation. They are all here knowing that they are going to die. Of course, I feel the same way. In order to reach that blue sky, we must be prepared to die and still go on....


　This is because we are living in such a world.


　And we special class antimagicians line up in the front row. The new special class anti-magicians lined up beside us. We must show that we are the hope of humanity. We can't afford to expose our clumsy appearance.



"Gentlemen, I thank you all for being here.


　The speech began. Speaking on the stage in front of me was the Commander-in-Chief. He was the supreme commander in this operation. Although he is not as strong as a high-level anti-magician, he is a great man who has saved humanity many times with his ability to read the big picture.


150 years have already passed since the twilight took over this world. In that time, humanity has shed much blood in this region. Many of us here will have experienced the deaths of family and friends. And we have overcome those deaths to stand here. Counter-Magicians. I'm proud of you. Now, you are headed to the twilight. It is the twilight that mankind has yet to find a clue to capture. You have already seen the threat first hand. Some of you have loved ones, families, and would like to escape. But it is because of people like you that we are alive today. The sacrifices we have made have been many. All those sacrifices have become the foundation, and we will inherit them. The will to liberate humanity from the twilight will be handed down to us even in death. I will say this once again, gentlemen. I am proud of you all. And let me tell you once and for all that the time has come to liberate us from this dusk!　Humanity must stand up to them now!　To seize a solid tomorrow!


　A moment later, the voices of the counter-magicians spring up. All of them raise their voices and then vow. We will definitely, without fail, destroy the twilight that rules the world....


''Now then, let me ask you to speak on behalf of the antimagicians here. I'm Julia Curtis, ranking zero in the hierarchy of special class anti-magicians. Here.
Yes, sir.


　He speaks in a dignified voice. I've already made up my mind what I'm going to say. The only thing left to do is to spin it into an emotion. I take the stage slowly, and as I take the stage, I speak my thoughts. My hands are trembling with nervousness, but I suppressed it well and looked straight at everyone and spun my words.


''I have been appointed to the rank of zero in the order of special class anti-magician. My name is Julia Curtis. Now, as most of you know, I've been in the Twilight for two years. I was once in a danger zone level 10. From that experience, I can tell you that the twilight world is, as you all know, a world of the weak and the strong. The strong ones survive and the weak ones die. That's all. That's the only simple rule this world is made up of. In this operation, we plan to progress to level 5 of the twilight danger zone, which is unheard of. Of course, we, the special class anti-magicians, will be ahead of you... but to be honest, I don't know what will happen there. It could work, but it could also fail. This is because in the past, there have been instances of encounters with demons at level 4. Still, we need to move on, even in such harsh conditions. As it is now, the status quo was the same as the old status quo, and nothing was going to change. But for us, having been able to stabilize the Boundary City, we were able to turn our attention to the outside world, little by little. Humans have a definite power. They have the power to oppose the demon race as well. And........after overcoming the deaths of hundreds of millions of people so far, we will reach the blue sky at the end of this twilight. Once again, let us swear as a rank zero in the Order of Special Grade Anti-Magician. No matter how much hell awaits us in the future, I will continue to fight on the front lines as the hope for humanity, and I will surely bring the blue sky to humanity.


　I don't remember what I said after that. I told you what I had been thinking about, but it wasn't enough. I've been going through these thoughts, thinking about what I could do to free humanity from the twilight.


　A few years ago, I was just a little boy. That's how I came to this point. I have reached the highest position in the hope of humanity. Of course, I didn't reach it through my efforts alone. I know long ago that much of it is inborn, etc. I already know that this existence was born out of malice. But even so, what will I accomplish in the future? It's up to me now to decide. The footprints to the future will be decided by us now.


　Even if this mission fails, humanity will stand up again and again. It has been like that for a long time now. Then I will be the light that cuts through this twilight. I will be the best light to illuminate humanity.





Go for it!
I'm counting on you!
You take care of humanity and the world from here on out!


　And then the operation began. We began our march. At the front of the march were the special class anti-magicians. And on both sides of the road were many people. Although people from other bounded cities may not all be here as well, this amount of people must be coming from outside the first bounded city.


　We responded to their voices while raising our hands. Everyone is hoping. We wish to be freed from the twilight and live freely in this world. Let's put an end to the days of living in fear in this place. That role belongs to us mages. Then let's do our duty.


　It's a good idea to have a solid tomorrow in your hands.



Julia, you're very popular.
"Senior, don't make fun of me.
I liked your speech.
Well that would be good.
Hey, Julia.
What is it?
When this mission is over, I need to talk to you about something important. Will you listen to me?
''........Senpai, please don't say that. That's........a dangerous one.
It's okay. Because Julia will protect you, won't she?
''Well yes. I will protect you. I won't let a single life overflow from my hands.
That's the spirit. Let's go.
Yes, sir.


　We move forward. We move forward with a definite will and heart. We are made up of hundreds of millions of corpses. And then, looking at that reality, we step on the corpses and go forward.


　This is how the battle for the fate of humanity has begun.