Laguna - North-center - evening
It’s nearing midnight in this dead city, with not a bandit in sight. That makes things easier for us. Traveling with 13 people, we need to keep a low profile. I’m used to quiet places, but this city creeps me out. Cade leads, Jed walks beside him while Wedge and I follow right behind him. Everyone else can’t stand to be next to him, keeping a few feet from him.
The dangerous aura coming from still disturbs us. Sinking further and further into my skin like a knife tearing it apart. It’s enough to make my heart skip beats, no telling what everyone else feels. Jed doesn’t seem to be bothered though, like he’s having the time of his life.
“Ah, a bandit,” Jed literally points out.
We’re supposed to be scouting, but the way Cade’s been carrying his blades is scary, not to mention his staid face.
“Cade, we should move out of the way. Getting spotted out here is–”
He shushes me, keeping his gaze on the bandit. The grip around his blades tightens, worrying me even further.
“Cade, we are hiding,” Wedge orders, pressing his hand into his shoulder blade. He leads him to a wrecked building. We all follow suit.
The bandit’s footsteps slowly echo throughout the desolate city, coming down the street.
A beastly yawn, loud enough to wake up the whole city, reaches my ears. “This is so boring! Sitting around here, waiting for people to come to us, this sucks…! The Sooner we get this over with, the quicker we get back to business as usual. Still got some business to settle with that village. Little shit spat on my pants. I’ll burn his damn home down, that aughta teach him.”
Disgusting. A piece of shit like this doesn’t deserve to breathe for another second. From the corner of my eyes, Cade stands, looming over us with a dire look, gritting his teeth. He drops the blades in his hand, drawing another from a holster around his waist. A jagged silver blade, embellished with fur wrapped around the hilt. He’s had that blade for as long as I could remember, but he never used it; said that it felt disgusting to use.
“Go,” Jed whispers.
Immediately, Cade bolts out of the building, racing down the street towards the bandit, moving like the wind. Cade pounces at the bandit, stabbing him with the blade. The bandit’s voice dies down with another stab from the blade…
A wet, chunky sound reaches my ears, tensing me up each time he hits him with his knife. Then, it stops. Cade, standing over the body in the distance, is the only thing that remains.
“Guys,” he yells, sounding exhausted. “We’re going to kill them all! Each and every one of them! Let’s go!”
Everyone, save for me, Wedge, and Jed, replies to his declaration by unleashing a unionized war cry, running out of the building to join him.
Wedge suddenly grabs Jed “What did you do!?”
“I have the foggiest idea of what you mean?”
“Don’t lie to me, Jed.”
“Would you strike me? Will you knock me down for lying?”
“No, I would never hurt an ally, even if I dislike you.”
“Oh, my. How thoughtful of you. But no, I have done nothing to Cade.”
He doesn’t just believe that, right? He and I heard him tell Cade to attack the bandit. No matter how you look at it, he wanted him to do it.
“Fine, I’ll believe you.”
Wedge releases him, allowing Jed to stand up. “Thank you, Wedge.”
You have to be kidding me!? Why is he letting him go?
“You are our ally, so I must put faith in you.”
“I appreciate the thought.”
Just when Jed was about to walk off, Wedge grabs his hand. “...But if I figure out you’re feeding into his negative impulses… I’ll stop you.”
“Stop me? Do you not mean kill?” Wedge doesn’t budge, keeping his stern expression. “Ah, I see.” A wicked smile creeps onto Jed’s face. “You don’t wish to kill, is that right?” Wedge looks surprised by that comment. “I see, I see! Such irony, ironic indeed.”
“Hey, you–”
“He turns his head to me. “Be quiet.” For the first time, in the short while we’ve met, the smile that occupied his face turned sour. “It is truly ironic and disgustingly hypocritical!” His surprising new behavior is keeping us dumbfounded. “You do not wish to spill blood, yet you aid Cade’s quest for vengeance? You truly cannot tell me this is the truth.”
“You–” Wedge puts his hand in front of me. “Wedge, you aren’t going to take this, right!?” He hangs his head. “Wedge!”
Jed scoffs, returning to his usual mood. “Whatever. You disgust me, so I think it be best to stay out of my way, trash.”
Without sparing us another glance, he walks out of the building.
“Wedge, are you okay?”
“I’m…I’m fine.”
He still has his head down, looking away from me, trying to sound as strong as he usually does. He was always bad at lying, and he’s no better now.
“You didn’t have to listen to him. He doesn’t know anything about us, or what we had to go through, so–”
“He is not wrong.”
My throat runs dry, my brain also halts for a moment. What?”
“The fact of the matter is that I am scared of death, and afraid of killing.”
“I…I know that, but that doesn’t give him the right to say that stuff!”
“I can’t agree. He’s right, it’s all a joke.” He casts his eyes onto me. “Puck, whenever you fire that weapon, do you feel good?”
“I… That’s…”
Of course, I don’t. The weight, the recoil, the smell it leaves behind after being fired, the sound the bullets make after piercing someone. I hate it all. Everything about this thing is disgusting, and I’m even worse for making this thing… But it’s useful to Cade, to everyone else, so I…I…
“Sometimes, I think back to when Proxy struck me.”
“You mean the one punch?”
“Yeah… Sometimes, I keep thinking about what we did to his allies, and I wonder what he thought of us… Maybe we’re no better than the bandits who burned our homes?” That’s… “...Puck, let’s go.”
“Huh?”
“We need to join up with everyone else. I think we wasted enough time here.”
“Um, yeah…”
Wedge walks ahead of me.
“Wait,” I speak up, forcing out the word. “Wedge… I think you’re a strong person, and I’ve always been jealous of that! How you’re able to walk side by side with Cade, and I can do is see your backs…”
Silence rules over us, allowing my aired-out feelings to build. I’ve always been jealous of him, even when we were kids. I always wanted to be like him, smiling in the worst of times, and even lifting everyone’s spirits with one. Cade and him just seemed to capture the heart of anyone they met, unlike me.
However, that all lowered the moment Wedge turned to me, sporting a bright smile. “You can be strong, too. Even if it isn’t physical, you can be strong. All you need is the will to stand with your own two feet.”
He goes on ahead of me, leaving me with those uplifting words… Standing with my two feet? Sounds strange, but, coming from him, there’s nothing strange about it; they’re a glimmering hope in a world brimming with malice and violence.
I don’t have time to be sitting here. Wedge is doing his best to keep up with Cade, so I have to do the same! Maybe that isn’t even it. How he really feels, what he thinks of all this, I can’t tell, but when he brought up Proxy, I got the feeling that he wanted to agree with his actions, and I don’t think I can blame him. Even I wonder if we were in the wrong…
Laguna - north-center - evening
In the dead of night, we traverse across the streets, between buildings, and through them, all to avoid detection. Without my master presence, the amount of Source I can use is minimal, but I still have my innate superhuman strength, so my performance, if a fight were to occur, would be more than adequate.
Currently, we are en route to scout the north point of the city to assess our next course of action. We will probably meet enemy forces ahead, but engaging in battle is not our objective. With only Zeal, Marie, and I, our small group should suffice for a reconnaissance mission. However, the members in question are dubious. Zeal’s lack of anger management is concerning when considering the sensitivity of this mission. Then, there is Marie, who is not armed in any useful manner. She follows us from behind, standing 4 feet from us.
No other members could be spared for this mission. With our sudden decrease in units, we must exert the least amount of our resources possible. However, that is not enough to cast away my doubts about Marie accompanying us.
“Marie, I still harbor doubts about your presence here.”
“H-huh!?” Her attention redirects to me, wearing a lively expression. “Oh… Don’t worry, I won’t slow you guys down, I swear.”
“That is not my quarry. Will your mental state be an issue?”
“Nunnalé, I’m fine, really. I know I’ve been…out of it, but I’m good now. Besides, I can’t just sit around and do nothing.”
Hmm, so it appears she has made a full recovery. Perhaps I underestimated her mental capabilities? Reassessment is needed.
“She’s lying,” Zeal whispers under his breath, sneering.
“Lying?” I repeat, trying to understand his statement.
“What? You heard that?”
“Yes. Despite how low it was, your voice is still boisterous.”
He clicks his teeth, showing irritation on his face. “Shut up, I’m quiet!”
“I disagree, but that is beside the point. What did you mean?”
“What do you think? She’s lying out the skin of her teeth.”
“Out of the skin of her teeth?”
“Yeah, you know, like she’s barely lying her ass off!”
Zeal’s terminology shares similarities with Proxy’s, which is troublesome.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“But why would she tell such a lie?”
“Who knows? Ask her yourself.”
“Very well.”
“Huh!?”
“Marie, I–”
Zeal shields my mouth, preventing me from continuing my question. She does not take notice of my call, occupied with the surrounding buildings.
“Idiot! I didn’t actually mean it!”
“Then why tell me to do so?”
“Because I didn’t think you would…!” He sighs, showing exhaustion towards me. “...You have to be more careful around her, or else… Well, you know?”
“I am…unaware of what you mean?”
“Come on, no one’s that dense, right? Do you have any siblings?”
“No, I do not have familial ties.”
A Doll of Servitude does not have a tie such as “family” It would serve as a bias, and would get in the way of defending our masters. Besides, such a thing is not of use to me.
“Then you wouldn’t get it…”
“I wouldn’t get it”. What is the basis of this? How would he know if I am unable to comprehend his reasoning…? Truly irritating.
“Nunnalé, can you get us to the rooftops?” Marie suggests, directing my attention to a building ahead of us.
“I am capable.”
“Then get us up there.”
“Understood.”
Reaching the front of the building, I analyze the height of the building from the inside. 5 stories high, and each ceiling has an opening, 4 meters wide, big enough to ascend through. Even without Source, I should be able to carry Zeal and Marie.
“Marie, please climb onto my back.”
“Okay…”
The weight of her body presses against my body, and her arms wrap around my neck with her legs around my stomach.
“Zeal, please allow me to carry you, too.”
“Screw that! You ain’t carrying me,” Zeal vehemently answers, flailing his hands on my approach.
“She instructed me to take us all to higher ground.”
“And I said–” His sentence comes to an abrupt end as I pick him up, carrying him in a fashion that Proxy refers to as “bridal style”. “...Wha…?”
“We are going airborne. Please brace yourselves.”
Using my physical strength, I take to the air. Since I am unable to use Source, reaching the top in a single bound is impossible. But, with the aid of the destroyed infrastructure, reaching the roof within a short amount of time. Soaring through the hole, I land on top of the roof, careful with my footing.
“We have arrived.”
Zeal rolls out of my grasp, putting distance between Marie and I. “D-don’t do that ever again, you hear me!?”
“I do not understand your request. Can you be concise?”
“Dumbass! I said don’t–”
“Be quiet,” Marie demands while gesturing us to the end of the roof.
Bandits surround an enormous area akin to a plaza. Guarding a bridge that would take us to the other end of the city with that gigantic tree.
Controlling the plaza allows them to guard those who may or may not gain passage. And with a force of 70+, they hold a powerful grip over this section of the city, and I do not doubt the same can be said for the other end.
“This isn’t looking so promising,” Marie assesses, resting her chin on her hand. “...If we take them on with a frontal assault, we’ll be wiped out.”
“I concur. Rushing into the fray of battle would prove to be an illogical move.”
“What do we do then? Just sit around on our asses?”
“No… I just think we shouldn’t be rushing like a pack of idiots. We should–”
A sudden scream halts Marie’s train of thought, drawing our attention to the plaza. Several Fire Wraith bandits zone in on the sound coming from the west-end. Several more agonizing screams resonate throughout the pitch-dark sky. With what little Source I can draw on, I enhance my hearing, but by a small margin… A familiar sound… A sound that I have associated with pain being inflicted on another. I believe determining this third party is important.
“Marie, do I have permission to investigate?”
“No, let’s just…”
She trails off, watching human bodies fly across the plaza. They roll around the floor on impact. Blood splattered on the floor behind them. Someone breaks through the hordes of Fire Wraith bandits, eliminating them one by one, not pausing in their movement. Each second, another enemy dies and the assailant moves on another. Then, another appears from where they came from, killing multiple of them with one swing of their weapon. The bandit forces see a decrease in men, losing over 30 units in a single minute. The ones that remain flee, most likely realizing their odds of survival
“Marie, may we take a closer look?”
“I… No, we should…” She freezes for a moment, shaking her head a second later. “...Let’s go, but we’re coming with you.”
“Are you certain? The suggestion concerns me.”
“I’m certain. Plus, it’s already too late for me to run away, so let’s go.”
With her consent, I have no other choice but to take her with me. However, what Zeal stated before still irritates me. But feeling irritation is vexing in itself. I am meant to feel no strong emotions towards subjects that do not relate to my master… No, I must reclaim my focus! A subject such as this is of little significance.
“Let us depart, Marie.”
“Got you.”
“Wait a–”
Carrying my allies, I descend through the way we came. I maneuver to the back of the dilapidated building. Zeal squirms about in my grasp, yelling obscenities all the while. In the plaza, a skirmish has begun. Fire Wraith forces fend off what would appear to be younger opposition. A duo cleaves a bloody path through, leaving no enemy in their wake. The crowd begins to thin out from the rapid loss of men.
Then, the sound of chains rattling alerted all of my senses. My body takes off into the air without a moment to spare. A chain whips across the plaza, tearing through any of the bandits in a 10-yard radius. Crimson liquid paints over the gray stone ground and corpses litter the ground.
“What was that!?”
“That attack…! Marie, we must retreat!”
Touching down on the ground, I ready myself to leave. However, the rattling chain raises my awareness. It shoots for my back. I easily dodge it, but it leads me into another attack. An older boy wielding a silver dagger swings his blade. However, combining swift assessment and movement, I vault above the second adversary. Unlike usual, I nearly collapse from the landing. With how little time I had, and from holding onto Marie and Zeal. Furthermore, this sudden ghastly presence caught me off guard somewhat, delaying my ability to keep my balance.
Our attackers bear familiarity, both being past enemies. Cade, and that boy from earlier today. They seem to be able to work in conjunction with the other, so I will assume they are working aligned with the other.
Already, the threat is rising, and carrying my allies will only hinder my ability to fight. Engaging the enemy is not our priority. Escaping is the optimal strategy, although, with a chain that could cover a wide range in the least amount of time, I doubt I would be able to clear the area in time… However, what truly concerns me is Cade. He never displayed signs of being able to use Source. Yet, he is able to manipulate it to radiate dreadful energy like this!?
“Zeal, we must combat the enemy.”
“Then let me go then, you moron!”
As requested, I let go.
He lands on his side, groaning slightly. “You… Whatever.”
He stands, sliding his foot forward with his hands in front of him. My sword materializes. The weight added to my hand affirms the difference in my strength. I can lift it, but the weight is noticeable without enhancing my body. Considering our opposition, I doubt the conclusion to this battle will come easy. In fact, I’m unsure if I can ensure Marie’s safety while in combat.
“Zeal, retreat with Marie!”
“...Yeah right! I ain’t being called a coward for leaving a woman behind.”
“We have no time for your inane reasoning! Take her!”
He flinches, forwarding his attention to Marie, who edges away from us, hugging herself and quivering.
“Marie?”
She keeps moving, putting minimal distance between us.
“Jed, those girls are mine. You can have the other one.”
“Oh, my. Such confidence, hopefully, it is not just for show.”
His Source expands ever so slightly. A small amount is exuding from his person, outlining his figure. That would imply he has not found his trigger. So there is a limit on his abilities and knowledge of Source. Then why does he know how to manipulate it like this?
When I encountered him, I already knew of his Source. Since he showed no signs of awareness of it, it was not worth mentioning to my master or anyone else. That clearly was an oversight, founded on arrogance… A fatal flaw, but one I will correct.
“Zeal, can you combat the one with the lance?”
He cracks his knuckles; he advances toward the enemy. “Sure, why not? Just make sure you don’t get yourself killed… And keep her out of danger.”
He and the young man from earlier today charge at each other, commencing their battle without any dialogue.
“You.” Cade, venting immense anger, points to me. “...That woman behind you, hand her to me.”
His Source continues to increase in volume. Its flow becomes less of an outline of his body, growing more erratic as he approaches. The blade in his hand remains unaffected by his Source. Oxygen density rises, causing the airflow inside my throat to halt for a moment, proceeding after a heavy gulp.
“...Give her to me…”
Speaking in a calm, blunt, yet horrifying tone, he demands me to release her to him. Based on his previous motives for capturing Marie, he wishes to kill her. If I were to hand her to him, then he would have no reason to engage us in battle. The logical and optimal route to avoid conflict… It is…
“No.” I hold my sword, ready to fend him off. “...I shall not abide by your command!”
A logical course of action. However, my master would show great disdain for my actions. And I… I do not wish to abandon Marie!
“Give her to me, now!”
His sudden dive forward catches me off guard. Suffering a slight lag in my movement, he eluded my blade, slipping under my blade. My arms reach for his back, pulling at his cloak before he can strike Marie. I launch him away from her, throwing him across the plaza grounds. Cade’s body soars above the stone ground for a moment before crashing into the ground, rolling about.
“Marie! What is your condition!?”
Those words fall on deft ears. She hunches down, shaking as she mutters to herself.
“No, I…I didn’t mean to… I didn’t!”
Her mental state has degraded again? But did she not get better? “She’s lying”. The comment made by Zeal surfaces from the depths of my mind. Puzzling as it is, those words were then, I think I am beginning to understand.
“I’ll never forgive you, never…” Cade struggles to stand, his footing unstable. “Our friends, our moms, our dads! You bandit scum took all of them away from us... We never did anything to you, not a thing! But you killed them anyway, and you bastards enjoy it!” On his feet, blood seeps from his forehead, spilling past his eye. “...My mother, my father, their voices, screaming, whispering, pleading, demanding me to kill you all! His Source, despite it being sealed, rapidly spirals out of control, losing its outline. “...I’ll do it, I’ll kill them all!
Once again, he dashes off, showing off an increase in his speed. The cloak leaves a black blur behind, helping me see his trajectory. Steel clashing against steel resonating throughout the night air. Each strike he makes leads to another. He keeps moving positions, not lingering in one spot for more than a moment. With my strength, it should be enough to disarm him, as well as inflict injury. However, his blade remained intact, and his handle did not let up.
“Out of my way!”
Cade’s leg strikes the side of my torso, pushing against my ribcage. It threw me out of his way. I dig my foot into the ground, tearing apart the neatly lined stone tiles. My backward force comes to an immediate stop, allowing me to move. Cade’s in proximity to Marie. In a few mere moments, he will be close enough to kill her… The vivid image of the blade running vertically through her neck sparks my body into moving on its own. Faster, I must go faster!
Using whatever Source I can, I enhance my left leg, insignificant as it may be. Tearing through the distance. I reach them. Cade’s blade motions for her back. I will not be able to make it with another step, and even if I do, I will be struck. There is no time to think!
I leap at Marie, pushing our bodies away from Cade, whose blade whiffs past us. My back meets with the ground, causing me to react in pain.
Hm? That is peculiar. My head feels lighter. Stroking my head, my hair’s length has decreased, and not only that, but large strands of my hair are lying on the ground.
“N-N-Nunnalé!?” Marie’s hands comb through my hair, wearing a worried expression. “Why did you…? You could’ve…”
“I will not allow you to come to harm. I cannot allow it!”
Cade's footsteps return my attention to him, but it was too late. He has already closed the distance, putting us in striking range of him.
“Stop protecting her! Give her here, or I’ll ki–”
“Please…” Marie’s voice interrupts Cade. “Please…stop… I’m sorry. I’m…I’m really sorry… I didn’t want to hurt anyone, I really didn’t… I hate myself for it!”
She gets down on all fours, placing her head on the floor, begging for forgiveness.
However, our enemy is confused and wide-eyed. Free of expression, glares down at her, wearing a blank face. “Sorry…? You’re…sorry…?” He gnashes his teeth. His Source grows dense, becoming murky, dyed in a dirty red. “...Don’t give me that crap! You’re sorry, you’re sorry!? Don’t do that! You don’t have the right to be sorry! None of you do!”
Stirring the wind, Cade’s Source loses its flow, storming around his body without rhythm or reason, growing in volume and intensity. This alarming increase in Source is horrific. At this rate, he may find his trigger!
“You all killed my mother and my father! I’ll never forgive you, none of you…! I’ll slaughter all of you, each and every one of you like the animals you are!”
His resentment, mixed with indignation, bleeds into his Source, morphing into a grotesque figure that shrouds Cade in its visage.
“Just die!”
The silver blade that gleams in the moonlight falls, trained for Marie. At this distance, taking evasive action is useless! Blocking is the only optimal option, however, even that suggestion is questionable. Still, I go through with it, waiting for the inevitable impact to come.
Then, during that brief instance of life and death, an unknown object crashes into the ground with explosive force, repelling Cade’s attack.
“Geez, looks like I got some pretty bad luck!” This unknown interference voices himself, annoyed. “I just told that kid that I wouldn’t interfere, but you pretty much forced my hand.”
Standing on top of a building yards away from us, an unknown variant stands on the edge with a sword in hand. Their scabbard lodged in the ground, sea-blue Source flowing about the scabbard.
“Who are you!? You another bandit!?” Cade spat, unable to hide his rage.
“Nah! I’m just a swordsman who hates seeing beautiful girls getting slashed down in front of him, that’s all.”
“What nonsense!”
“Maybe…”
He leaps from the edge of the building, crushing the ground below him. A large amount of Source flows around his body, rising in volume on his approach. In comparison to Cade’s, it lacks intensity. Instead, emitting a soothing presence, contesting with Cade’s.
“Who are you!?”
Arching his sword to the back of his head, he points to Cade, wearing a cocky expression. “The name’s Gray Ocean, and I’m about to take you to school, kid.”