“[After almost 17 years, the military regime has ended. The Army General has decided to hand over power of the country to a new government after guaranteeing the nation’s security. With the terrorist cell attacking the country now eradicated, the army has finally granted Chileans the ability to live in harmony under the government we all elected just…]”

“…?”

While I was watching the TV during my dinner, I decided to suddenly turn it off when I heard screaming-like sounds coming from the house next door. After several seconds of listening intently, I could hear the echoes of suffering that interrupted the silence of the night.

Getting up from my seat, I decided to leave my house and see what was happening at the neighboring house. After closing the gate of my home, I walked the few meters that separated me from the house next door to check the situation. Scanning the area, I noticed a military vehicle parked on the street.

What's going on? The terrorists are supposed to have already been eliminated.

As I thought that, I turned my attention to the neighboring house, but I could only focus my eyes on the entrance for a scant second before a soldier quickly approached me as he exited the house, leaving behind a flash of red light and a faint explosive buzz.

“What…!?” A cry of surprise escaped my mouth as the soldier kneeled me to the ground with abnormal speed.

Feeling a weight on my right shoulder, I turned my gaze to my right, but stopped when I heard a whisper from the soldier right in my right ear.

“Calm down. Don’t move,” the soldier said, his demonic voice strangling my ear. I looked down at the ground in surprise at hearing him so close.

Next to me, I could see the soldier with his left knee on the ground. I knew he was crouching behind me, but when I tried to look back, my gaze was quickly drawn to my left, towards the house, by the sudden cry of a baby and the screams of his mother.

“Please, I beg you, don’t do anything to him!” my neighbor screamed, crying. Two other soldiers grabbed her arms while she was on her knees and restrained her.

“Kill her,” said a soldier in front of her, holding her baby. He directed his words to the other two soldiers as he headed to the exit.

“Huh…?” my neighbor exclaimed.

As soon as I heard what the man said, I looked at the soldiers who were restraining the woman. Seeing that they were holding pistols in their free hands, my shout interrupted the exclamation of my neighbor, who had not yet finished processing the soldier's words.

“What!? No, hey…!” A shot that actually sounded like a snap drowned out the words escaping my mouth.

Hearing me, the soldier holding the baby tried to say something to the soldier behind me. However, he could only open his mouth slightly before the calm expression on his face turned into a frown.

The soldier, who seemed to be the commander of these men, was a tall man, about 30 years old. His hair, cut in a military style, was white as snow, something unthinkable for such a young man. His eyes were two pairs of sapphires so clear that they looked like glacial spheres. His facial features were so well defined, that his face seemed to have been created by an artist. Even though his physical appearance was clean and tidy, his neatness was nullified by the violent presence exuded by his black military uniform, along with the intimidating aura emitted by his sharp expression. As the man stared at me silently with an expression so hostile that it pierced my soul, the baby in his arms who let out a loud cry, perhaps sensing the change of mood of the soldier holding him, stole his attention.

“You have no idea of the trouble you’ve caused me, and yet you challenge my patience with your ignorance.” Taking the baby away from his chest, the soldier spoke coldly as he held him in the air.

My body began to tremble with fear. Because when I looked back inside my neighbor's house, I could see her dead body as her two executioners approached the exit.

“Take him to the vehicle,” said the man holding the baby as he handed the newborn to one of the soldiers who approached. The other soldier nodded and walked to the vehicle with the baby, just as he had been ordered.

“…!”

It was then that I could see the faces of the two new soldiers clearly. But when I saw them, I wished with all my being that I had never seen them. A terror that even eclipsed the fear I felt when I saw the corpse of my neighbor, made me think that this was all a macabre nightmare.

The faces of the two soldiers were… metal skulls.

The skin on their faces was only a light silvery coating that clung to their exposed skulls. It was as if their bare skulls had been smeared in liquid osmium. They wore dark glasses and a military uniform that I had never seen before. Instead of metal helmets, they wore helmets lined with some sort of cloth or leather, as well as a device attached to the front of them. Another garment that looked solid across the entire torso area covered the uniforms, which should be one piece. The design of the uniform was also different from the military I had seen so far. Maybe they were foreigners.

“What is your name?” After looking at me for a few moments with an expression that bordered on calculating hatred, the only soldier whose face was not a skull asked me my name.

“… Maria Reyes,” I said in a shaky whisper.

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“Why are you following us?” he continued.

“Huh?... No, I'm not following you, I live right next door.” Somehow, I was able to answer with less fear when I saw that the soldier wanted to talk.

“You live next door?” The man repeated my answer, clearly incredulous.

I nodded.

“Well, Maria, I regret to inform you…” he pulled out a pistol. “… That we have already located Alan Leigh. He’s next.”

“What?... What are you talking about?” I answered without taking my eyes off the pistol he held in his right hand, with a slight feeling of alert running through my body.

“Don’t you know what I’m talking about?” He repeated my answer again as he tilted his head slightly and then looked at the other soldier standing next to him. The other soldier nodded silently when he received his gaze and the man looked back at me while narrowing his eyes. “Hmm…” He looked at me for a few seconds. “Okay, tell me who you really are,” he asked, approaching me and crouching down to look me straight in the eyes, less than a meter away.

“Ha? I just told you that my name is…”

“No! I'm telling you not to lie to me! Tell me what your purpose is here!”

Almost letting out an ironic laugh at his meaningless question, I tried to tell him my name again, but the man interrupted me by raising his voice.

“That's... As I told you, I live right next door. I was having dinner when I heard some screams and I came to see what was going on.” Scaring me due to the sudden change in the volume of his voice, I answered slightly irritated.

“… No, this isn’t normal, it’s not normal that I’m seeing you again right now.” He looked at me for a few seconds before murmuring those words, ignoring my confusion.

“Hmm…?” His actions continued to confuse me.

After another couple of seconds of staring at me intently, he turned his head over his shoulder and looked at the soldier standing behind him. The other skull-faced soldier nodded again. When the man looked at me again for a few more seconds, he stood up.

“Haaah…,” he sighed. “Okay, Maria, don't take it the wrong way, but…” He prepared his gun and slowly pointed it at me.

“What…!?”

“Sir! (Hargh!)”

Realizing what he was trying to do, I tried to scream, but the soldier holding me from behind spoke as he let out a pained whisper. I got scared and looked at the soldier behind me, but my eyes drifted to the ground in fear as I saw his face. It was also a silver skull.

“Hmm?” The man in front of me tilted his head as he listened to the soldier behind me.

“I don't recommend you do that. (Haargh)”

“Really…?”

The voice of the soldier behind me was a deep, metallic-sounding baritone. His mouth didn’t move to say the words, but instead opened slightly to emit whispers of pain whenever his distorted words came from some unknown place. It was terrifying. However, the man pointing me with his gun in front of me seemed unfazed as he listened to him, always maintaining a calm demeanor.

It was the first time I felt so cornered, unable to do anything while my life was threatened by a higher entity. I could only await the verdict of fate during the trial that had subjected my life to the dangers of a certain death.

“Why do you think that?” the man said slowly as he lowered his gun.

The soldier holding me responded without missing a beat.

“As you know, this country has faced a transition of power a few weeks ago. (Haargh) Only three months ago, the annihilation of the terrorist forces that threatened the security of this country was announced, so its security alerts remain at their highest level. (Hargh) Our presence here endangers our mission. (Raagh) Remember, Centurion Sullivan, that currently, in this age, it is not normal for civilians to carry firearms. (Haagh) If we leave another corpse in our path, the Chilean military forces will suspect our warlike nature. (Hargh) If they find us, the forces of the rest of the world will soon point their weapons at us. (Haagh)”

It was unsettling. Every word I heard from the soldier was accompanied by whispers of pain escaping from his mouth. Just by listening to his monstrous inhuman voice, I could feel the unpleasant sensation of insects drilling into my brain.

The man in front of me, Centurion Sullivan, as the soldier who was suppressing me called him, was silent for a long moment, deep in thought, before he spoke.

“Hmph. It's interesting to see how you manage to talk for so long despite the pain… But your suggestion is correct. Skulls Paladins!”

When Sullivan finished speaking, three men got out of the vehicle parked nearby. The faces of the three soldiers were metal skulls.

The fear I felt from knowing that I could be killed at any moment made me observe the whole situation in silence, hoping not to be noticed.

I felt my existential perception moving away from the world, a defensive system that was deployed by my brain when my body was overwhelmed by the threat of these specters of the abyss, messengers of death who brought with their visit an invitation to the underworld.

“As you know, you all have the ability to analyze the danger variables surrounding our mission. If you encounter a danger, you can advise me on methods to evade it.” Sullivan slowly approached the soldier holding me. “But know this. The Extinction Protocol is still under my control.” He crouched down and positioned himself at such a close distance from him that it seemed to invade his personal space. “I am capable of annihilating each one of you at any time and I will not hesitate to end your lives if I see even the slightest possibility that you try to betray me. Understood!?”

It seemed that Sullivan was directing his speech to all the soldiers, but I think the weight of his words actually fell entirely on the soldier behind me.

“Yes, sir! (Haargh!)”

“Yes, sir. (Hagh)”

“Yes, sir. (Haah)”

“Yes, sir. (Hargh)”

“Yes, sir. (Hagh)”

The first to respond with a scream was the soldier restraining me. The other soldiers responded one by one in a lower voice. They all had similar voices. Monstrously deep and accompanied by whispers of pain. With all these screams, I wondered if my other neighbors were aware of the presence of these soldiers. But that question was quickly answered. Even if they were witnesses to all this, they would not be able to confront armed men. Only I was unfortunate enough to be caught up in this nightmare.

Sullivan looked at the soldier holding me for a moment and then stood up.

“Okay, Zero, let her go. Maria, you can go back home.”

With that, the soldier called Zero let go of me and distanced himself from me. I slowly stood up and walked away.

I didn't say anything.

I didn't ask anything.

I didn't even look at my neighbor's corpse for the last time.

I just slowly walked back to my house, avoiding eye contact with the soldiers.

I didn’t want the faint flash of salvation to turn off.

Feeling the explosive torrent of blood that was violently hitting my brain, latent inside me due to fear, I opened the gate of my house while I clung to the thin thread of my life, which threatened to break at any moment.