{JUN'S POV}
I can't move. My mouth hangs open in a silent shout. My ears begin to buzz until I can't hear anything else.

In my peripheral vision, I register that General Ito has knocked down the third ladder, but the first one is already getting propped back up.

Since the sand is impeding the movement of the battering ram, this is their best chance of breaking through. They show no signs of slowing down or ceasing the siege peacefully.

It's only after I'm physically yanked away from the edge that I snap out of shock.

I take a deep, steadying breath.

This is war. People die. Now, I have a job to do so that more people won't die.

I gratefully take a bow and half full quiver from a man who was hit by shrapnel and needs to go to the medical tent. I empty the quiver into the enemy army and hand the bow off to someone whose string snapped. Then I run along the top of the gate towards the first of the three ladders.

I begin to help push. The ladder shifts slowly. The heavily armored person climbing the ladder is within earshot. They cling to it.

"Please!" He takes off his helmet, revealing a man not much older than me. "I-I don't want to die!"

I see the same fear in his eyes that was in the burly knight's before he fell. His panicked voice reminds me of the lady knight who was accidentally dragged to her death too. The images of their broken bodies lying at the bottom of the wall flash before my eyes.

For just a second, he's not just an enemy; I see him as the human he is. I hesitate.

Then he throws his helmet, clobbering me in the chest with enough force to knock the wind out of me. I wheeze, staggering backward.

The enemy jumps onto the top of the gate. He sighs. We've been breached... and it's all my fault.

The surrounding knights call for reinforcements, but General Ito has already noticed. He's making his way over, his sword raised high. A contingent of the most healthy knights follows his lead. They'll be here soon.

A pocket is forming around the enemy. Everyone seems hesitant to engage him in battle. He's clearly well-rested and strong, while they're all sick and exhausted by comparison.

"I am a proud colonel of Cojaca!" He announces loudly. "Prepare to be overrun!"

He's about to jump down from the parapet. I must right my wrong. I charge forward, knocking both of us back over the edge. We're airborne.

I grab the ladder as pass it, using my momentum to tilt it away from the gate. I can't allow anyone else to get onto the top of the gate. The people who were pushing notice this move. They shove against the ladder one last time. It moves with me.

The ladder falls. The colonel falls.

And I fall.

"JUN!" I hear General Ito's shout. I look back at his horrified expression as he reaches out for me.

I smile contently.

Oh man. Ren's gonna be so pissed when he gets back. Hikari-sama will be devastated when she hears the news of my death.

I'm still clinging onto the young colonel as we get closer to the ground. Somehow, I thought the fall would be longer. It looks so high up, but we've only been falling for a few seconds.

He hits the ground an instant before I do. I don't even have time to process the squishy yet crunchy sound before I'm engulfed by darkness.

{THIRD PERSON POV}
The colonel was not the only man to make it to the top of the gate. Half a dozen men were surrounded by an upset General Ito and his pissed off knights. They made quick work of the intruders, stabbing some with swords and throwing the rest off of the wall.

The siege wasn't over yet.

Cojaca was throwing everything they had at the gate. They wouldn't surrender. It wouldn't be over until every single one was dead or incapacitated.

It felt like days, but the sun was barely setting by the time most of the enemy was slaughtered. Those who remained had two options: fight till the bitter end or give up and die easily.

Many chose the latter, slitting their own throats to spare themselves from long, drawn out suffering. Not a single man surrendered.

The battlefield was bitterly quiet. It was surreal. Not a single living person remained standing.

"We'll send out search parties!" General Ito commanded. "Search for survivors, or allies whom we can put to rest!"

Allies like Jun. He didn't say it aloud, but he wanted to find Jun's body. At the very least, so his parents could have closure and a proper funeral.

In the meantime, a gopher was sent to give Hikari and the citizens a report.