Novels2Search
The Justice of the Fallen
Chapter 3: Left Behind

Chapter 3: Left Behind

Aldo chuckled. “How selfless. Well, I don’t really care who stays behind.” He looked over at the others. “Is everyone okay with this solution?”

Max looked conflicted, giving Nil a sidelong glance, but he didn’t speak up. Nova, on the other hand, grabbed them by the shoulders.

“What are you saying?” she yelled. “This guy left us behind to save himself. He’s the one who should stay!”

Nil gently pushed her hand aside, shaking their head. They glanced at the wolves that were nearly upon the group. “I’m afraid this is how it has to be. We don’t stand a chance.” Insight was telling them as much. Even if they had fought, like they initially intended to, they would have lost. Perhaps this really was the best solution.

Nova scoffed at them. “Fine, if you want to die so badly, I won’t stop you.” She turned away.

Nil looked down and stepped off the platform after leaving Ray with the others, making them promise they would make sure he got medical attention as soon as possible if the teleportation didn’t heal him.

The symbol started glowing again, and Aldo waved goodbye with a grin on his face. Max was frowning, and Nova still seemed angry at them.

Seconds later, they vanished in a beam of light, and Nil was alone.

They turned around and grabbed their sword, preparing themself for an unwinnable fight. They counted at least a dozen wolves.

The narrow staircase would help minimize the chances of being surrounded, but their prospects didn’t look good. It was time to find out how powerful Insight really was.

The wave of enemies arrived, and Nil dodged the first few lunges just fine, landing a few superficial slashes as well. They dispatched the first wolf with a clean blow to the head, but they kept coming at a faster rate than Nil could beat them.

Before long, the wolves were climbing over each other to get to them. One took them by surprise and bit their leg, so they tried kicking it away, but the force of its jaws was insane. Nil saved themself by piercing its neck and stepped back, injured.

Another one came, taking advantage of the opening. Due to the torn leg, Nil couldn’t evade properly and raised their sword to block the attack, but the wolf yanked it out of their hands and threw it to the side, leaving them defenseless.

Yet another wolf pushed them to the ground, and they just barely avoided death by rolling to the side before its jaws closed around their neck.

They pushed themself back, desperate, somehow not feeling a bit of pain or exhaustion. Nil’s mind felt clearer than ever, and it was telling them the terrible truth: They weren’t going to win this fight.

They grappled with the wolves ferociously, and their body ended up covered in bite marks and scratches. They backed away gradually, but the wolves didn’t let them have even a moment of rest.

They felt a smooth material beneath their hand, and realized they had been pushed on top of the magic platform. The symbol started glowing in vain, but Nil knew nothing would happen if only one person got on it.

Suddenly, a shockwave shot from the floor and the wolves were blown away, while Nil stayed in place. Nil watched as one of them tried to lunge back at them and was stopped by a translucent dome-shaped barrier which had formed around the platform.

Nil got up shakily, barely minding their wounded leg, and stared with shock at the sight.

A message abruptly popped up.

[Reach the Altar to the north.]

The phase’s objective?

Then, while the window was still open, the text started being erased, and something else was written on it, as if someone was typing it out.

[How pathetic. You couldn’t even complete the Tutorial without almost dying. This is supposed to be the easy part.]

“What?” Was the system talking to them?

[I don’t have much time until they notice me.]

[I’ll help you out just this once. For old times’ sake.]

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Nil cocked their head at the message. What were they going to do?

A bright light covered Nil, making it impossible to see the world around them.

[Your abilities seem to be sealed. That exclusive skill of yours is already pretty useful, but…]

[Well, the issue should fix itself as you level up.]

[I hate going back on my word, but… Maybe you need some encouragement.]

Nil grabbed their head as it was assaulted by images of death and suffering. A war-torn battlefield, strewn with corpses. Anguished cries of pain coming from men, women and children. The smell of burnt and rotten flesh lingered in the air. Winged figures looked down at the field they had turned into a wasteland.

Nil gasped as the visions stopped, grabbing their chest. They felt their heart pounding with intensity inside.

[That was only a taste.]

[If you want to stop it from happening, listen to me. Get stronger. Gather allies.]

[There’s nothing else I can do for you from now on.]

The message window disappeared, and Nil felt a sudden wave of exhaustion hit them. Before their knees hit the ground, they had already fallen unconscious.

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When Nil opened their eyes, they were flying above the battlefield from those awful visions. Their body moved on its own, their mind feeling hazy.

They landed near a pile of burnt corpses. Actually, looking closer, a few of them were still wriggling. They were alive, although on the brink of death. Nil brought down their sword on them, killing them for good one by one.

A pitiful cry sounded from behind them. Looking back, one lone human was brandishing a blade against them, yelling about revenge and justice or whatnot. Nil waved their arm in the man’s general direction, and a sea of flames engulfed him. His words turned into incoherent screams. Nil grabbed his corpse and threw it casually onto the pile.

Just as they thought they were done, a blade sunk into their back. They spun around at the speed of sound to grab the culprit, but the weapon had already vanished from their flesh, and the woman holding it was standing with a smile outside their range.

They grazed the wound with one hand, and it closed immediately, leaving only blood behind to signal it had ever existed.

“So you can bleed,” the woman said.

“A simple blunder,” Nil responded. “It will not happen again.”

They dashed toward their foe, swinging their sword, but the woman moved like a gale, avoiding it entirely. Ripples followed her wherever she stepped, the earth contorting along her path, and her eyes held the intensity of a burning flame.

“How can a mere human have bent the elements to her will?” they said, following her rapid movements with no difficulty.

The woman laughed. “The only language you understand is power and dominion. I don’t control the elements. I listen to them.”

Nil blinked, and the woman was gone. They felt a disturbance behind them and jumped out of the way to see that she had been about to stab them in the back. They frowned, spreading their wings, and ascended into the air.

The woman jumped, using gusts of wind to reach their height, closing the distance at a vertiginous pace. The movements caught Nil by surprise, and they were stabbed in the shoulder before they were able to react.

This time they responded soon enough, however, and they grabbed the woman’s arm, crushing the bones inside into paste. They listened to her howls of pain as they extracted the weapon from their wound and tossed it aside.

Then they punched the woman in the stomach, sending her crashing to the ground. They healed the cut as they descended, taking slow steps toward their foe.

The woman grabbed her chest and vomited blood. It was impressive that she was still alive.

“You are strong,” they said. “It is a pity that I was your opponent.”

The woman punched the ground, puking out even more of her insides. A hoarse, broken voice came out of her mouth.

“You… come… destroy… slaughter…”

She was barely understandable, but the fact she was able to speak at all was a monument to her strength.

She started crying, letting out ugly sobs and hitting the ground until her fists lost all the vigor they had left.

“What… why? Why?”

Nil looked at her without emotion in their face.

“Because it is what is meant to happen. I am naught but a pawn of fate.”

The woman kept weeping.

“Why? Why? Why?”

The scene continued for a long time, until she succumbed to her injuries.

One of Nil’s compatriots noticed them from above and flew down to the ground. They saw Nil staring at the corpse silently.

“Is there any issue? Did that human give you trouble?” Their tone implied that it would be ridiculous for that to actually be the case.

Nil’s eyes lingered on the woman as they shook their head, but they quickly turned to their kinsman.

“She surprised me a bit, but she never stood a chance.”

Their compatriot chuckled, amused by the admission. “She must have been impressive, then,” they said. “Or has the Morning Star lost its shine?”

Nil didn’t laugh or retort, making their kinsman uncomfortable.

Nil looked down at their bloody hands, and took another glance at the body.

It was the first time a human had managed to wound them more than once. For that reason, the woman’s tears had stuck with them.

In a different time and place, Nil woke up, crying.