“Mmm… he's going to be really upset.” I heard Calëb say as my mind floated in a state between being asleep and fully awake.

“Don’t worry. Just slip that on and let’s get moving.” Yna said and I could almost tell she was grinning.

“Where are we going anyway?” Calëb asked.

“E5-N1. I heard that our men are being harassed by a never ending horde of enemies.” Yna as she led Calëb out of the war room.

I frowned internally before allowing my mind to slip into the dark realm.

.

..

I floated away from my sleeping body and noticed the Black Knife member hiding behind the tent.

I rolled my non existent eyes before floating out of the tent.

I then spotted Yna and Calëb entering the forest in the distance.

I floated towards them and followed them into the forest.

The two walked for quite some time in silence before eventually reaching a group of soldiers.

The spot they were in was filled with the sounds of battle.

“Evening ma’am! Is there anything I can help you with?” One of the soldiers asked but Yna shook her head.

“Don’t worry. We’re just here to help out a little. Where is the enemy?” Yna asked although I’m pretty sure she already knew.

“They are just ahead being held back by a force of three squads and two troops.”

Yna nodded before leading Calëb further north.

“Do we kill them all?” Calëb asked while checking if her armor was on properly.

“No. We’re just gonna cull their numbers and allow the soldiers to handle the rest.”

“I see.” Calëb said, but she came to a stop soon after.

“W-Why won’t you and lord Katsíki kill or subdue them all? Surely that would be far less stressful and costly than letting the battle go on as it is.”

Yna turned around faced the distressed Calëb.

“Katsíki’s passivism aside, this will only serve to strengthen the newfound unity of the Rendaro. Their new bonds would have been forged in the fires of battle and these bonds will hopefully keep you lot united long after the fires fade and the battles are over.”

Calëb nodded weakly before following Yna deeper into the forest.

The two eventually reached a patch of forest that was damaged beyond recognition.

Countless trees had been uprooted by an unseen force and the forest floor itself had been upturned.

Yna and Calëb walked past the many hidden Rendaro before finally arriving at the battlefield.

They saw about fifty Rendaro fighting and holding back a force of about a thousand humans.

Using the forest terrain and sheer determination, they managed to prevent the enemy from progressing.

A few space magicians erected tall stone walls that funneled the enemy towards a certain spot and although a few enemy magicians tried destroying the walls, they were simply rebuilt again.

Yna walked up to an exhausted Rendaro and the poor guy almost jumped out of his armor after seeing her.

“Ma’am!” The Rendaro cried while standing as upright as he could. His armor was covered in mud and blood, although a some of the blood near his abdomen looked fresher than the rest.

“At ease. Tell you men to pull back. Calëb and I are gonna help reduce their numbers.”

The soldier frantically nodded before rushing towards the others.

I looked down and saw that Yna was looked up straight at me.

She then mouthed the words “let go” and without hesitating, I released my hold on her sword and like that the forest was bathed in golden light.

The Rendaro ran back to where Yna and Calëb where and in the time it took to blink, she teleported in front of the enemy and with a single swing, she tore apart ten men.

Calëb dashed to her side before swinging one of her daggers horizontally.

The blade took with it several heads and all the respective bodies dropped shortly after, much to the awe of the Rendaro and the dread of the humans.

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Some of them tried running away, but Yna stabbed one in the back before driving her sword into another.

She then raised her sword, cutting the two soldiers open and showering their comrades in their blood.

Calëb on the other hand focused on trying to deal with one soldier at a time and so she kicked a nearby soldier in the chest, crushing it and sending his body flying backwards.

She then chopped off the heads of any who dared approach her.

Some of them held spears, but they were ineffective against her dark amour and so she maneuvered towards the spear users and cleaved off their arms before assisting Yna with the hand full of soldiers who managed to survive her attacks.

Yna rushed to Calëb’s side and kicked a nearby soldier so hard that he flew into his comrades allowing Calëb to kill anyone who wasn’t injured.

“I can handle these ones!” Calëb yelled while stabbing one of the soldiers Yna had injured.

“I know!” Yna said with a giggle.

The enemy soldiers all tried running away, but Yna teleported into the center of their ranks and unfortunately for one of the soldiers, she materialized in between him and so everyone watched in horror as tore his body apart.

Yna then swung her sword once more, cleaving apart every unfortunate soul who was close.

Yna took slow and deep breaths before catching a glimpse of Calëb who hunted and killed anyone who tried running away.

She was like a lightning bolt.

Fast and deadly.

All she needed was one hit and her enemies would fall.

One soldier held in his hands a rather large wooden shield, but she simply kicked it so hard that several bones in the soldiers arm broke, allowing her to stab him in the neck.

Yna scoffed at this before turning her attention to the rest of the human forces.

Most of them were frantically trying to run north in an attempt to escape while others raised their hands and begged for mercy.

“I surrender!”

“We give up!”

Various soldiers said but Yna swung her sword horizontally, cutting through some kneeling soldiers as though they were butter.

She slowly walked towards one of the soldiers who held his empty hands high before placing her sword into the ground with its hilt embedded in the soil.

She then grabbed the soldier and raised him as high as she could.

“Wait! Please don’t-“

Yna impaled the soldier with so much force that his insides shot out of his chest, covering more of her face in blood.

“AAAHHHH!”

One of the soldiers screamed as he tried running away but Yna grabbed him as well and just like with the first, she impaled him and for some reason, she let out a grunt as the blood of her victims dripped from her armor.

Yna then turned her golden eyes towards one of the last survivors.

She reached out to grab the man but someone called out to her, freezing her in place.

“That’s enough, lady Yna!” Calëb yelled.

“Mmm?” Yna sounded as she looked Calëb, who cautiously approached her.

Yna pulled her sword out from the pile of corpses and walked up to the Arcusus.

“I was inclined to believe that you wanted them exterminated.”

Calëb took a deep breath before looking into Yna’s glowing eyes.

“I do, but we must remember that is battle isn’t an excuse for us to live out our personal desires.”

“Oh? And what desire do you want to stop me from… living out, as you called it?” Yna asked as her eyes dimmed scarily.

Calëb opened her mouth to speak, but she lowered her head and remained silent shortly after.

“Aww, don’t worry. Speak your mind.” Yna said while gently placing her blood covered hand on Calëb’s shoulder.

“I… I don’t want you to regress into that woman.”

Yna’s eyes widened.

Her face then twisted into a gentle smile.

“Don’t worry. That woman… is as good as dead. Anyway, Katsíki is probably awake. Let’s go wash up and think of a proper excuse!” Yna said loudly as she gently nudged Calëb past the many corpses that littered the forest floor.

The soldiers they’d helped subdued the handful of humans that had managed to survive the massacre.

Yna instructed the captains to continue holding the line before accompanying Calëb back to Coh.

Once there, they made their way into Central Coh where they entered Calëb’s personal residence. A house opposite Yna’s cabin.

They entered the house before entering the bathroom where they promptly removed their armor and clothes.

“I… I wasn’t losing control or anything back there.” Yna said while kicking off her boots.

Calëb remained silent as she sat on a stool which was in front of a large tub of water.

“I have complete control over my mind and body.” Yna said while plopping down on the stool next to Calëb, who half-heartedly washed her bloody hands.

“Say something.” Yna pleaded with a pained expression.

“There is a saying the Nannies recite to remind us of how horrible the Great War was. Would you like to hear it?” Calëb asked, but Yna didn’t respond.

“Heed well, my child, this remembrance. One covered in ash. It echoes out through the ages and speaks of a war… one where the skies blackened and the rivers ran with blood…” Calëb said with trembling lips.

She then looked at Yna, who stared at her with widened eyes.

“I see now, as clear as day, that the part about the rivers of blood was speaking about you.” Calëb said, but Yna slowly shook her head.

“No, no, no. Don’t worry. Think of the Yna from back then and the Yna of today and two different people.” She said with a weak smile but Calëb dropped her hands in the cool water.

“I don’t think I can do that. Especially… when you are covered in blood.”

Yna’s eyes widened as she touched her cheek to find that it was indeed bloody.

“Fuck.” She said before lowering her head.

“Does that mean you completely hate me?” Yna asked.

“I… do I hate you? Yes, but not completely.”

“Oh? Does that mean I can no run my fingers through your beautiful hair?” Yna asked as she gently ran her hands through Caleb’s short curly hair.

“Your skin… your-“

“Let’s finish up. Lord Katsíki is probably awake now.” Calëb said before washing her hands in earnest.

Yna nodded before washing the blood off of her face and hands.

The two eventually got dressed again and I took this as a signal to wake up.

.

..

I lightly stretched my small arms and yawned as I sat in the dimness of the war room.

Yna and Calëb eventually entered and it was clear that they weren’t feeling very chatty, so I silently stared at the maps.

A deep awkward silence followed.

Yna blankly stared at nothing, while Calëb read over various reports.

I would have said something but not only would that inform Calëb that I had secretly been watching them, I also had nothing to say about anything they spoke about.

It was true that Yna was a monster but it’s also true that we’d all be dead without her and so I took a deep breath and thought about what would happen if I were to eradicate the enemy forces like Calëb wished.

I was the host of darkness and if I wanted to, I could drop a mount Everest sized block of darkness on the enemy but not only was I sickened by the idea of murdering so many people at once, doing that would create more problems in the future.

As it stood, the armies of Lanceberg thought they were fighting a group of rebellious Rendaro who just happened to have a golden knight for an ally.

I’m pretty sure Caligo was the only one who knew Kenos was a Host and even then, their meeting took place way in the past.

All that being said, I was prepared to make the decision if it came up.

I raised my hand and created a dagger which I tightly squeezed.

If anyone laid a single hand on my heart, they would pay with the hand they used to touch it.