Chapter 118 - Through the Night (3)
"Huff! Huff! Huff!"
"Spread out! Spread out!"
As soon as the 2nd Company entered the forest, they dispersed on Yurgen's command.
Thankfully, their training paid off—despite the tense situation, the soldiers followed orders, maintaining proper distances as they spread apart.
Ernest wanted to go around, physically pulling, pushing, and positioning the soldiers himself to get them where they ought to be, but there simply wasn't time for that.
"Paul. Paul!"
Yurgen set Paul down and, grabbing him by the collar, spoke urgently.
"Balt Psychokinesis, Balt Wind, I don't care—just push forward! Now!"
"Company Commander, but that's…"
Isaac, flustered by Yurgen's command, started to say something, but Yurgen raised a hand, cutting him off.
"Paul, listen to me. Do something. Anything. I don't care what it is—just prove you're useful, whatever it takes."
Yurgen pushed Paul again, but this time his tone was a bit gentler than before.
Paul, still trembling, finally raised his head and met Yurgen's eyes.
"Huuhhh…"
Paul burst into tears.
But, by some miracle, he managed to stand up on his own.
Isaac, watching this pitiful sight, glanced at Yurgen, clenched his teeth, grabbed Paul by the collar, and shoved him forward.
Then, he struck Paul's arm hard with the stock of his gun.
Thud!
"Argh!"
"Isaac!"
"Paul Fiders!"
Ignoring Yurgen's startled shouts, Isaac pressed the muzzle of his gun against Paul's head and barked harshly.
"Do you want to go through Mental Fortitude Training again?"
At the blow to his arm, the muzzle to his head, and the mention of Mental Fortitude Training, Paul's trembling stopped as if someone had flipped a switch.
"Get a grip and get moving! Useless bastard!"
"Hic! Hic!"
Driven by Isaac's scolding, Paul started to stumble forward, hiccupping as he went.
After taking two steps forward, a burst of Balt Wind erupted from Paul's body and swept through the rain-soaked forest.
"Advance slowly! Krieger, take the lead!"
"Yes!"
Seeing this, Yurgen immediately ordered the company to move out.
He put the 1st Platoon at the front, trusting the at times overly dependable Ernest in situations like this.
"I'm sorry."
Isaac lowered his gun and spoke to Yurgen.
Fiders who'd survived the harsh training at the Military Academy responded far better to being beaten and screamed at with a muzzle pointed at them than to gentle words.
Isaac knew this better than anyone else in the world, so he had no choice but to do what he did to get Paul moving.
"No, it's fine. Damn it. Sorry. I know you did the right thing, but I can't bring myself to praise you for it."
"…Yes."
Yurgen didn't scold Isaac, but he also couldn't praise him.
Isaac felt a little relieved, realizing how Yurgen was a fundamentally warm but extremely rational person.
"For now, keep an eye on Paul And if things go wrong…"
"Yes, understood."
When Yurgen spoke with a pained expression and signaled toward Paul with his eyes, Isaac genuinely admired Yurgen.
Ernest had been right.
Just doing what Yurgen ordered would be enough.
He was truly a reliable company commander.
Shhhhhh!
The rain had let up a lot, so visibility was much better than before.
Still, when facing the blue Balt Wind head-on, it was hard to even keep your eyes open.
"Fall back! Fall back!"
"It's the enemy!"
"The enemy is retreating!"
Thanks to all his hard work studying the Belliang language, Ernest could clearly make out the retreat order being called from the other side of the forest.
When he reported this to Yurgen, Yurgen clenched his teeth tightly.
"You, go to the 1st Company and tell them to slow their advance. You, go to the 3rd Company. Our 2nd Company will coordinate things in the center." "Yes!"
"Krieger. Stop!"
"Yes! 1st Platoon, halt!"
Yurgen thought, judged, and made decisions with great caution.
The newly appointed 1st Battalion Commander, Levin, was a strict and meticulous man.
But at the same time, he was also far more flexible in his thinking than expected.
Levin set the tactical goal for the 1st Battalion and, after many meetings, established specific intermediate objectives.
He pored over the painstakingly detailed maps the Rangers had drawn while maintaining the front line in the forest, carefully reviewing every small detail.
Then, Levin instructed each company commander to exercise their own discretion to achieve these tactical objectives.
He would rather have them rely on their judgment and act on the spot than risk missing the right timing by sending couriers to Battalion Headquarters for reports and waiting for new orders.
Unless it was an issue that required the direct responsibility of Levin himself, he told them simply to handle it as best as they could.
If there was something Levin needed to take responsibility for, it had to be reported.
And Lieutenant Colonel Levin Ort was not a man who was afraid of taking responsibility.
"Damn it. In the end, everything that happens on the field is on me."
Yurgen grumbled to himself.
Ferdinand, the 1st Company Commander, was just a seventeen-year-old rookie, and the 3rd Company Commander, though experienced, had come from a different battalion and had never fought in this area before.
Since Yurgen had been fighting at this place ever since being deployed right after the outbreak of war, his judgment would take priority—and therefore, the responsibility would fall on him.
It was enough to drive him mad.
"1st Company is already at a halt. They said they'll move in step with us if we start moving."
"3rd Company has also agreed to slow down and advance more carefully."
The courier was back in no time.
Yurgen let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Even though they were all company commanders, they could have easily refused to follow Yurgen's instructions or felt some resentment about being bossed around.
Fortunately, everyone was cooperating without any problems.
He thought he might even offer a prayer of thanks to God for the fact that Lieutenant Hartmann, the Brigadier General's eldest grandson and Lieutenant Colonel Hartmann's eldest son, wasn't some arrogant brat.
Although Ernest had told him that Ferdinand was a careful, capable, and dependable commander, you could never really know for sure until you saw it for yourself.
"Krieger! Slow down!"
"Yes, sir!"
The order to advance came again.
Ernest began leading the 1st Platoon forward with caution.
'They're trying to avoid an engagement. Things must be even more dire for them than I thought.'
Ernest noticed that the Belliang Army was pulling back without fighting.
The Belliang Army, who should have been desperate to drive the Imperial Army out of the forest, was only retreating, not putting up a fight at all.
That must mean they were so cornered that they couldn't even afford a small skirmish like this.
'Have they ran low on Balt Batteries?'
The biggest problem must be the supply of the Balt Batteries.
No matter what, it would be impossible for the Empire to smuggle out the Balt Batteries since the war began.
During the rain, they used it freely and recklessly, and now there's probably fierce fighting happening in the northern part of Bertagne Forest, so the Belliang command must be reluctant to pour resources into the front lines against the weakened 5th Division.
On the other hand, the Imperial Army could fight without shortage, thanks to the sudden surge in Balt Battery supplies.
'It still doesn't add up.'
Ernest frowned as he recalled the increased supply.
Still, there was no point in dwelling on this right now.
He carefully felt his way forward, staying alert to their surroundings.
"Sergeant Sven."
"Yes, sir."
"Do you see that rock on the right?"
Ernest pointed at a rock that wasn't very large.
"Yes, I see it."
"Check around the rock, and if it's safe, wait behind it."
"Yes, sir."
Sven quietly led the 3rd Squad out of the formation.
Crouching low, they quickly moved toward the rock.
"..."
At Sven's signal, three soldiers crept forward, muzzles aimed, sneaking past the rock.
"Let the Company Commander know that we might engage the enemy just up ahead."
"Yes, sir."
Ernest sent a courier to report to Yurgen.
"Scatter the 2nd and 3rd Platoons to the flanks."
Upon hearing Ernest's report, Yurgen immediately adjusted the formation.
Previously, the 1st Platoon was at the front, followed by the 2nd and 3rd Platoons, but now the 2nd and 3rd Platoons spread wide on either side to form a battle line.
The 1st Company and 3rd Company also caught on quickly and changed their formations at once to prepare for combat.
"Sergeant Ralf, take position at the front."
"Yes, sir."
"Sergeant Kol, take cover on the left and wait. Don't show your head."
"Yes, sir."
Everyone moved quickly and efficiently. Ernest watched as Sven's 3rd Squad carefully checked the area around the rock, ensured it was secure, and then took up covered positions behind it.
Once he confirmed their safety, he signaled to Gustav.
Stooping low, Gustav ran briskly over to Sven's 3rd Squad and joined them, then looked back at Ernest.
"Haah… haah…"
Ernest could hear Paul's ragged breathing behind him as he leaned against a tree and looked straight ahead, toward the west.
The Balt Wind crashed into the trees, then swirled onward. Thanks to that, if you focused between the trunks, you could see a bit farther into the forest beyond.
He gazed calmly at the forest with deep black eyes, picturing in his mind the same scene he'd glimpsed last battle as he'd fled in a panic.
Ernest could see everything as clearly as if he were walking through the landscape himself, scanning the terrain with his own eyes.
Because of this, he was able to spot things hidden within the blue-swaying scenery caught in the Balt Wind—things that should have been impossible to find.
"Tell them we've spotted enemies lying in ambush."
"Yes, sir."
The courier quickly rushed over to Yurgen.
"Ralf, do you see the bushes growing between the three trees up ahead?"
"Yes, sir."
"Take aim and wait. Tell Kol… to aim just beyond that shallow hill you can see in front."
Ernest didn't just communicate the terrain visible from his own vantage point; he also described the landscape exactly as Kol would see it from the left flank, and relayed instructions through the courier.
He didn't bother to issue orders to Gustav and Sven—there was no need.
"He says to fire when ready."
The courier returned from Yurgen and relayed the message.
"Ralf!"
"Fire!"
Bang bang bang!
Their side had already formed ranks when they detected the enemy's ambush first.
With the attack order given, there was no reason to wait.
The moment Ernest called out to Ralf, Ralf immediately gave the order to fire, and the 1st Squad unleashed a volley toward the bushes between the three trees, just as Ernest had instructed.
"Aaagh!"
"We've been spotted…"
Thunk.
Some of the Belliang soldiers were killed or wounded by the 1st Squad's volley.
One soldier, startled and jumping up to flee, was shot square in the chest by Ernest's careful aim and died instantly.
"Attack!"
"Uwaaaa!"
Bang bang bang!
Bang bang!
The order to attack rang out from the Belliang side.
Ernest fired calmly, taking cover behind a tree.
Kol's 2nd Squad was firing on the enemy trying to charge in from behind the shallow hill Ernest had pointed out, pinning them down.
Sven's 3rd Squad, sheltering behind rocks, was scanning the surroundings and sending bullets evenly into the ranks of the advancing enemies.
Clang!
"Ugh!"
"Damn it!"
"I-I'm okay! I'm not dead!"
"Ha! What the—!"
A soldier from the 1st Squad took a bullet to the head and collapsed.
Another soldier, who had tried to retrieve the Balt Battery and bullets from the corpse, nearly fainted in shock when the supposedly dead man suddenly grabbed his hand and spoke.
"We've got the Balt Wind! Unless it hits your face, most of the time it won't kill you!"
Ralf shouted loudly, slapping the bewildered soldiers on the shoulders to snap them out of it.
Paul's Balt Wind was raging fiercely.
Enemy bullets tried to push through the wind, but lost force on the way and ricocheted off the helmets instead of piercing them.
The Power of the Baltracher dominated the battlefield. Still, it was hardly a pleasant situation.
"Haah! Haa… Hngh…"
He was using such powerful Balt Wind, and over such a wide area.
Ever since they'd entered the forest.
Paul had hit his limit the moment the fighting began, and was on the verge of collapse.
"Isaac. Keep your eyes wide open and watch everything."
"Yes."
Yurgen, realizing Paul was at his limit, spoke to Isaac.
Isaac answered quietly, then lowered his posture, almost crawling as he carefully made his way over to settle near Paul.
Bang!
Ping!
"Haha! You morons! Did you really think that would work?"
A sharp gunshot rang out, different from the Balt Gun, followed by a puff of smoke.
Ralf burst out laughing, hurling insults.
The rain had let up a lot. If you handled it carefully, even a Powder Gun could be used now. But not only was it weaker than a Balt Gun, it also took over 20 seconds to reload, and you had to wrap a raincoat over the gun to keep the powder and the weapon itself dry—so, in this kind of situation, a Powder Gun was hardly any use.
Whoosh... Thud thud.
"Damn it. This is a mess."
If Powder Guns weren't enough, now arrows were flying in too.
Wooden bows lose their elasticity and become useless when wet.
Even composite bows would often fall apart as the glue melted.
Unless you made the entire body of the bow from solid steel, shooting arrows in the rain was basically insane.
And if you make that out of steel, once it gets wet in the rain it'll just rust.
There's no way a long arrow, flying in an arc, could cut straight through the Balt Wind and hit the Imperial Army head-on.
The arrows simply rained down in front of Ralf's 1st Squad.
"Shouldn't we just charge in and wipe them out?!"
Ralf turned around and asked Ernest.
In this situation, they could probably just use the power of the Balt Guns to sweep away the enemy and push past the forest center.
"It could be a trap! Hold your position!"
"Yes, sir!"
Snapping back to his senses at Ernest's words, Ralf ducked back down and stuck to firing.
In battle, in command, in training—Ralf was a solid Squad Leader, good at everything he did.
But his impatient, aggressive nature meant he was prone to making mistakes in moments like this.
Fortunately, Ernest and Gustav managed to keep Ralf's personality in check, so since Ernest's arrival, Ralf hadn't actually slipped up.
The front had come to a complete standstill, unmoving.
Both sides were now hunkered down, neither budging an inch, and the fighting stalled out awkwardly.
Ernest felt relieved once he realized the 3rd Company hadn't switched to an offensive.
The 1st Company was under Ferdinand's command, so he never expected them to take such a reckless risk. Ferdinand was a far more cautious commander than he appeared.
"Charge!"
"Charge! Chaaaarge!"
"Uwaaaaah!"
And before they could even grow accustomed to the silence, the Belliang Army began their charge.
It was the kind of reckless decision you could only make if you'd taken leave of your senses, but the 2nd Company remained absolutely alert, even in the face of such a bewildering assault.
After all, they'd already experienced once before how the enemy could exploit the brief lull when a battle seemed to die down, stabbing sharply at any opening with a perfectly timed charge.
"Gustav!"
"Find the Baltracher! Quickly!"
Ernest immediately called out to Gustav, and Gustav in turn ordered the 3rd Squad—who were taking cover behind a boulder—to locate the enemy Baltracher.
"There! She's coming!"
"The enemy Baltracher! The enemy Baltracher is approaching!"
The soldiers behind the boulder were able to survey the area from their slightly elevated position, and thanks to that, they managed to spot the enemy Baltracher in time.
"Paul! Make a barrier!"
"Huff…!"
Paul, who had been so exhausted from summoning the Balt Wind that he'd collapsed to the ground, snapped back to his senses at Yurgen's shout and, desperate to protect himself, conjured up a barrier.
He had thought he'd already reached his limit, but the will to survive was strong enough that a powerful Balt Shield sprang up around him.
"Fire!"
Bababa-bang!
Bullets tore through the air, flying towards the blue light dashing between the tree branches.
However, the enemy Baltracher twisted her path with an eerily fluid motion, weaving effortlessly between the tree branches, and only a handful of bullets actually struck her barrier.
"What a monster!"
Watching her movements, Gustav cried out in shock.
He'd seen the Belliang Baltrachers move quickly and strangely before, but nothing as fluid and uncanny as this.
"..."
Ernest kept his muzzle trained on the enemy Baltracher as she slipped through the gaps between tree branches and trunks, carefully reading her every move.
It looked as though she was coming at them with unpredictable shifts, but Ernest managed to discern a certain pattern.
It wasn't that her movements themselves followed a rule.
She was calculating the terrain, the Imperial Army's deployment, and every possible shooting angle, always choosing the fastest and safest route through everything.
Ernest felt as if a hole had suddenly opened up inside his head—a hollow sensation.
And before he could fully grasp it, he found himself reading the logic behind the enemy Baltracher's actions, able to predict her next moves in their entirety.
Bang! Thud!
A bullet fired by Ernest struck the Balt Shield right in front of the Baltracher's head.
The bullet didn't even ricochet; instead, it flattened, shattered, and broke into fragments—such was the precision of his aim in reading her trajectory.
"...."
"..."
Even as he rapidly reloaded, Ernest never took his eyes off the Baltracher—and he saw her turn those emotionless green eyes directly on him.
The two exchanged emotionless gazes.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ernest reloaded at a blistering speed, unleashing a barrage of bullets at her.
But after that first shot, every round missed its mark.
Bang! Thud!
The fifth shot found its target again, striking the barrier right in front of the Baltracher's head. The moment the Baltracher realized Ernest was reading her movements, she immediately switched to a different tactic. And within three more shots, Ernest had already figured out the new pattern.
Having been hit square in the head twice, the Baltracher abruptly changed direction and charged straight at Paul.
This time, she flattened herself to the ground, slithering over the earth like a snake.
"Get out of the way!"
"Aaah!"
Shhhk!
The 3rd Squad, firing from behind cover, were so startled they threw themselves aside as the Baltracher vaulted over the rocks and sped past them.
In the blink of an eye, three soldiers who didn't manage to move in time crashed into her, sent flying before slamming into trees or crashing down onto the forest floor.
One of them ended up snagged on a tree branch—his stomach split wide open, intestines spilling out and trailing down.
Blood poured down like rain.
"Platoon Leader!"
Gustav called out to Ernest.
By the time the enemy Baltracher landed on the ground, Ernest was already spinning around and running away.
"Gasp!"
Ernest hurled himself with all his might, diving behind Paul's Balt Shield.
But he didn't stop there—he kept scrambling backward across the ground, putting even more distance between himself and the enemy.
Crash!
A deafening boom exploded behind Ernest.
The enemy Baltracher had rammed into the cowering Paul and his Balt Shield with all her strength.
Rip!
Just as before, the Belliang Baltracher shaped the front of her shield into a sharp point and easily pierced through Paul's barrier.
With a tremendous blow, the Balt Shield shattered, and a wave of unbearable agony hit Paul—like his mind itself was breaking apart.
He screamed out.
"Mother…!"
Wham!
And then, propelled by overwhelming psychokinetic force, the Belliang Baltracher's pointed barrier drove straight through the small body of Paul.
Even that wasn't enough: the Balt surged out in a strange, violent burst, tearing Paul's body to pieces and scattering chunks of flesh everywhere.
Bang!
"Damn it!"
Through the spray of blood, the Belliang Baltracher grasped Paul's Balt Battery—only to be struck and flung back by Isaac's attack.
Isaac's curse echoed hollowly across the battlefield.
Isaac, tense and alert, had been bracing for the enemy Baltracher's attack on Paul.
But he was too late.
It wasn't because Isaac panicked in his first battle and made a mistake. The problem was simply the opponent.
He couldn't believe there was a Baltracher who could move like that.
No matter how strong the power of Balt was, the human body's limits were clear.
Even if you could use Balt Psychokinesis to move quickly, it was nearly impossible to coordinate such complex movements while reading the entire situation around you with such precision.
After hearing reports about the Belliang Baltracher, even the Imperial Army's Baltrachers had undergone brief training to mimic that fighting style.
Isaac, using traditional techniques, had always been an above-average Baltracher, but he was never any good with these kinds of rapid maneuvers or forms of combat that relied on individual brute force and direct attack.
Even so, Isaac had seen enough Baltrachers in combat to know that what he just witnessed was nonsense.
This couldn't be explained away as just someone with a knack for using Balt.
"Krieger!"
Yurgen called Ernest's name in a voice strained and hoarse.
Instead of retreating to let Isaac protect him, Ernest threw himself forward, darting through the spray of Paul's blood and torn flesh.
Splatter!
With a surge of focus even he didn't know he possessed, Ernest tracked Paul's pouch as it flew off his waist.
He dove and snatched it off the blood-spattered ground as it tumbled and rolled.
Boom!
"Gah!"
A Balt Shield formed above Ernest, and the next moment, the Belliang Baltracher came crashing down, threatening to shatter it.
Isaac groaned under the tremendous impact but maintained the Balt Shield.
Swoosh!
As Ernest threw himself backward, gun raised in one hand, something like a gust of wind brushed past him.
A right hand, having slipped through Isaac's barrier, swung from its tip—blue Balt Light slashing fiercely around the barrel of his gun, slicing it cleanly.
For a split second, their eyes met.
The Green-Eyed Baltracher looked at Ernest with an expressionless face, and Ernest similarly stared nonchalantly back at her pale face and jewel-like eyes.
Bang!
The barrel, cut short, fired—the truncated Balt Gun shooting off a bullet.
The Baltracher blocked it with her right hand.
The bullet fragmented in midair, turning to powder and scattering away.
Tch.
But in the end, a fragment of the bullet managed to pierce through that strange Balt, striking her white hand.
A splash of blood burst forth, and where it touched the Balt, it turned into a red mist and dispersed.
The wound was small.
Barely enough to be worth noticing.
"Krieger."
She whispered the name she'd just heard, looking at Ernest.
Then, in the blink of an eye, she dashed away like the wind and disappeared
"You crazy bastard!"
Yurgen ran over, grabbed Ernest, and dragged him behind Isaac.
Ernest, panting, tossed Isaac the pouch that was now covered in blood and bits of flesh.
"Insane…!"
It wasn't just Yurgen; Isaac was also utterly shocked.
What Ernest had done was, in fact, exactly the right move.
But at that moment, the idea of sticking his head into the jaws of a beast that seemed impossible to overcome, even with the combined strength of two Baltrachers, and carrying it out without hesitation—no one could see Ernest as normal after that.
The Green-Eyed Baltracher had snatched Paul's Balt Battery, but it was already empty, completely drained of Balt.
That's why she had gone for Paul's pouch a second time, and when she was stopped, she had retreated without fuss.
The pouch Ernest had grabbed contained a Baltracher Balt Battery.
If she'd taken that, Isaac would have been killed in an instant, and the entire 2nd Company would have been wiped out.
No, more than that—even the whole 1st Battalion might have been massacred by a single Baltracher if things had gone wrong.
Not even two Imperial Army Baltrachers working together could be certain of winning.
That's how unnatural and powerful this Baltracher was.
The only reason she withdrew was simply because she was out of Balt.
"She looked like a noble, and she didn't seem very old. Her output was incredible, but it seems like her overall efficiency isn't very good."
Ernest struggled to his feet, describing the Green-Eyed Baltracher.
Her hair was hidden by a scarf, but her pale and delicate face, with those jewel-like green eyes, was unmistakably that of a Noble.
As Ernest spoke calmly, Yurgen suddenly grabbed him roughly by the collar.
"You're still just a kid!"
"..."
Ernest was startled by Yurgen's anguished shout.
Yurgen's face looked like it was about to explode.
Beneath his trembling eyelids, his bloodshot eyes seemed ready to burst.
"The enemy's falling back!"
"The enemy is retreating!"
"Waaah!"
After that Baltracher retreated, the Belliang Army, who had been making a reckless charge, also began to pull back in a frantic hurry.
It seemed their commander had ordered the charge hoping the Belliang Baltracher would kill the Imperial Army's Baltracher, secure more Balt Batteries, and then throw the Imperial lines into chaos, turning the tide of battle.
But since she killed only Paul and was stopped right there, they had no choice but to retreat.
"Don't pursue, hold your positions! Damn it! I said hold your positions!"
After shoving Ernest aside with all his strength, Yurgen screamed the order to hold as if he were howling in agony.
Even though everyone was keeping quiet and staying in place as ordered, Yurgen kept shouting at the top of his lungs for quite some time.
"..."
In the silenced forest, Yurgen stared blankly at the mass of flesh, not even resembling a human anymore.
The rain washed away the blood, leaving behind only scraps of flesh, bits of organs, and shredded pieces of clothing.
Lieutenant Colonel Levin Ort is a meticulous man.
Even a Baltracher so terrified he could barely walk could still be used as bait to lure out the Belliang Baltracher—Levin knew this well.
Even if Levin had directly ordered Paul to be used like that, the one who actually put Paul in front as bait and told Isaac to wait in ambush to attack the incoming enemy Baltracher was Yurgen Vendermere.
The responsibility for what happened out there rests on Yurgen's shoulders, even if no one blames him for it.
"…We'll… we'll advance again. We need to push forward a bit more."
Breaking the silence, Yurgen spoke in a raspy voice.
They had to move a little further ahead, set up a position, and form a new line.
That was the 1st Battalion's objective.
"Recover Paul's body as best you can and bring… bring it with us. Ask them to send a new Baltracher. Also, since we've taken more casualties, have them send the Evacuation Team."
"…Yes, Company Commander."
Though Yurgen looked a bit dazed, he gave his orders calmly.
There was a standing order that a Baltracher's body must always be retrieved.
They hadn't been able to do that when Hertz died, but this time, recovering Paul's remains would be possible.
Yurgen left some of the troops behind and moved the company forward again.
He didn't look back.
"..."
Ernest, however, did look back.
He saw the soldiers, fighting down nausea as they tried to scrape together the shattered remains of Paul's body.
And he saw himself—someone who, even after witnessing a person torn apart and killed right before his eyes, coldly looked past it all and focused on the task ahead.
Ernest realized he was losing his mind.
Not just him—everyone here was going mad in the same way.