ã€ŠEpiphany of the Weakã€‹


 ? 1 ? Tragedy

    There was only smoke.

    Gray, billowing smoke as far as my eyes could comprehend.

    I closed my eyes. The sound of gunshots snapped at my ears. It continued to echo throughout the area, and after a few moments, dreadful silence took me in its embrace. It was cold, and since I didn''t have my scarf, I couldn''t help but shiver every now and then.

    I cast a glance at my left leg.

    "It hurts. . . "I muttered.

    The pain didn''t shot up like before. It had dissipated into a mere lingering sensation. My tattered dress was completely soaked in blood and I grimaced.

    All of a sudden, the smoke brushed over my face and a strong gale cleared a path for me. I shook my head as my mind tried to comprehend the new scenery.

    My heart stopped for a moment.

    The area was filled with rubble, where bodies were lying around, dead. A few of them even had missing limbs.

    I felt nervous. No, it was something else. It couldn''t be fear nor anger. However, the urge to cry welled up inside me.

    I started to sob when an image of my parents popped up inside my head.

    "Don''t leave¡­ me," I muttered absently. "Daddy¡­ Mommy... Where did you go?"

    I started to look around me with no goal in mind. ''What am I doing?'' I thought at some point. So far, everything was blurry in my mind, and I couldn''t really recall what happened before, and how I ended up in that street all alone.

    After some time, my eyes caught sight of a dark-haired woman under large jagged rubble.

    I gasped.

    She was the woman who always came to my house to give some sort of payment to Mommy and Daddy. She was kind to us, always visiting on weekends. Aside from her, everyone else seemed to look at my family in a strange manner. Most people looked at us in contempt, but she didn''t. She was a very kind person.

    And so, with a wrenched heart, I walked over to her slowly.

    Her lower body was completely crushed under the rubble and I found myself having difficulty to breathe.

    It was like invisible clumps had formed in my throat, threatening to suffocate me. My hands clutched onto my neck desperately trying to claw away at that foreign sensation.

    "There''s someone there!"

    An angry shout shocked me. I turned around, and a few men in black military uniforms were pointing their weapons in my direction.

    "Don''t move! Put your hands in the air!" yelled one of them.

    At that moment, I couldn''t restrain my emotions anymore. I started to cry on the spot. I cried and cried as those people approached me.

    "I said, put your hands in the air," he repeated.

    Despite what the man said, I helplessly cried.

    I didn''t know what to do. My mind was unable to think back then. I cried without having any control over it.

    "Hey, should we? She''s just a kid. I could say she''s the same age as my daughter," said the man on my left to the one in the middle.

    "Orders are orders, Derrick. Wipe out everyone in the area. If anyone surrenders, especially the civilians, we take them to our base," the one in the middle replied.

    "Well then, we should take her with us. I don''t think she understands what you said to her, I think. I mean she is still a kid. I feel bad." The man called Derrick looked at me with a frown, adjusting the aim of his rifle.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    "She can''t hurt us," he continued.

    "If she does not resist, I don''t mind. You take care of her?" said the man in the middle.

    As for the one on my right, he had an angry look on me. He nudged my shoulder gently with his rifle and said some words under his breath before casting a glance at his teammates.

    "She can''t stop crying. It''s getting annoying. We kill her here right now and move on to the next checkpoint." The cold end of his rifle stayed on my head.

    "Wait, Sam! I''ll take her." Derrick lowered his rifle and crouched to meet me at the same eye level.

    "It''s okay. I''m here for you. Just . . . Let it all out. Here." He proceeded to offer me a hug and somehow, I threw myself at him.

    I let my tears fell as my cry echoed throughout the area. He patted me in the back as my cry subsided.

    "What''s wrong? You can tell me. It''s gonna be alright," he said

    Slowly, I rubbed my eyes and looked at him. "M-Mommy . . . Daddy."

    He smiled. "Ah . . . you got separated from them?"

    I nodded.

    "I''ll take you to where they are," he said.

    "R-Really?"

    "Of course! It''s gonna be alright." His gloved fingers pulled the few strands of my dark hair away from my face. "You have the three of us. There''s nothing for you to worry about."

    He cast a quick glance at Sam.

    "Man, what a daddy you are. Can you hug me too? Pretty please?" said Sam with a soft voice.

    "You don''t have a heart," Derrick retorted.

    He looked at my left leg and winced. "We better get her to the base quick. Her leg looks awful. Damn."

    The man in the middle who seemed to lead them waved a gesture. With that, they walked back to where they came from, with me in tow.

    I held my tears in as they brought me with them. There was nothing I could do or wanted to do. Perhaps it was for the better. After all, he promised that he would take me to Mommy and Daddy. I didn''t know why, but that man called Derrick had a soothing aura about him, so I felt a little less scared than before.

    He patted my head a few times as my small hands brought myself closer to him.

    "Mommy... Daddy."

    "You will meet them soon enough. Don''t worry," assured Derrick.

    The leader of his group said something absently about having to cancel the meeting with their other friends at a checkpoint to both Derrick and Sam. Instead, they had to take me with them to the base.

    "I want some hot coffee when we get back," Sam said to himself.

    As he said that, he glared at me.

    I tried not to look at him after that.

    "Hey, don''t look at her like that," remarked Derrick. "She''s scared you know."

    Sam rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright. Papa Derrick is mad at me."

    Then, they seemed to get caught in a conversation that I wouldn''t want to know. Adult talks were hard to understand. So, I had my eyes subtly looking at my surroundings as the four of us walked. I rubbed my wet cheeks with my sleeves.

    I noticed that around us, there were no people.

    It was quiet.

    Crumbled buildings were everywhere within my sight.

    ''I wonder what happened to everyone else,'' I thought.

    We arrived at the base they were talking about not long after, but it was so massive my jaw dropped.

    The buildings had a cube-like design with smaller rooms that resembled boxes branched out neatly alongside. There were a lot of soldiers walking here and there. I shuddered for some reason but Derrick assured me again that everything was gonna be alright.

    Immediately, his team introduced themselves to the people stationed outside, and we were rushed in hastily by a group of soldiers.

    ''How come they build something like this near the town without anyone knowing?'' I thought.

    My heart pounded so hard that my focus was hazy on everything around me. In the blink of an eye, we arrived at what supposed to be their boss''s room according to Derrick. I had a little knowledge about soldiers in general but they all made subtle nods and gestures with their hands to their boss, which I interpreted as giving respect to them.

    I knew it a bit because I read a lot of books that I could get my hands on in the past.

    "General," the team''s leader, Campbell called with a serious tone.

    "We found this child alone on our way to the checkpoint. She said she was ten. After some consideration, we figured it was imperative to bring her here. She is in need of a medical checkup, Sir." He pointed at me and gestured to come to stand in front of him.

    The stern face of the general was scary enough for my body to shiver on its own.

    I was afraid. There was no one I knew in that room. They all stared at me blankly and I tried to avoid eye contact with them. My breath became heavier as the silence went on.

    The general looked at me up and down before settling on my legs. "She seems to have been treated, Sergeant."

    "We cleaned her wounds and covered her leg in bandages on our way here, Sir," Campbell stated.

    "I see. Further inspection and treatment of her wound are necessary given how bad her leg is. I''m surprised she can even move it. Does she not feel any pain, at all?"

    "It appears to be that way, Sir. Perhaps the sensory receptors around that left leg of hers do not function anymore," Campbell said.

    "I see." The general heaved a sigh. "Robert."

    A few gunshots were heard and I fell down hard onto the floor. My vision went blurry in an instant. I heard voices, though all I heard was mumbles, traces of words.

    "She--could---a spy--as--taken--necessary--danger."

    At that moment, I realized. If my parents were dead, then I didn''t wish to be alone there. I wanted to be with them.

    ''They must be dead'', I thought.

    My head was wet, and a strong stench of copper filled my nose. I felt sleepy somehow, so I had to close my eyes.

    ''This nightmare... I have to wake up from it''

 ? 2 ? Ava ?1?

    "Lunch''s ready," a woman''s voice echoed.

    I turned my gaze from the book that I was reading to the foods served on the table.

    There were potatoes. Hot, charred potatoes sat on the small wooden table as if they were proud to be the only delicacy our family had at that moment. I gulped and immediately put away my book.

    "Sorry honey, you must be tired of eating potatoes every day. I promise you next week we''ll have some fresh bread," the woman tried to cheer me up.

    I shook my head. "No, Mommy. I like it. We only have these much anyway. I don''t mind."

    Mommy smiled upon hearing my words. "My, my. My little daughter always looks so mature."

    She playfully pulled at my cheek and I giggled from it. Deep within me, I knew Mommy didn''t believe when I said I didn''t mind having potatoes every day. It was true though. Having grown accustomed of our family''s daily routine, I slathered my portion of potatoes with sauce and took a huge bite.

    "Ava dear, it''s hot."

    "Nggh. It''s not. It''s not that hot, Mommy."

    Mommy put up a thin smile when I swallowed the potato chunk. Having convinced the potatoes were not that hot as she had expected, Mommy took one from the bowl and bit at it.

    "...Hot."

    "No, it isn''t!"

    "Ava, you don''t have to act tough. Here, have some water."

    I grumbled and took the glass of water Mommy had poured for me. Petulantly, I gulped down the water and Mommy sighed from it. We ate the potatoes served while chatting once a while, waiting for Daddy to come back.

    "...He''s late. Did something happen?" said Mommy under her breath.

    "Maybe Daddy is working overtime, like that day," I said.

    "......."

    The front door creaked and a tall man approached both of us.

    "Daddy!" I went and hugged his leg, but his attention was on the window overlooking the street.

    He looked grim.

    "Dear, what''s wrong?" Mommy said to him in a nervous tone.

    He bit his lip before answering. "There''s something wrong. Johnny told me he saw... tanks, jets... Black military jets."

    "It''s them," said Mommy sharply, her serious countenance made me shrunk myself behind Daddy.

    "There were commotions... It seems like it has begun." He paused. "While I don''t think it''s the right time for us... we need to make a run for it. At least until we can get into there."

    "I agree. But where do we go?"

    "At father''s place. We should be okay for a while there."

    "......."

    My mind came up with a few questions. What are they talking about? Why are both of them whispering to each other? Is there something I should not know?

    Finally, Daddy came to me and said softly, "Ava, we''re gonna be alright. We''ll go to your grandfather''s house and stay there for a while. Okay?"

    I was perplexed. Daddy''s and Mommy''s prodding managed to assuage my nervousness and in the end, I couldn''t help but nod in agreement as well.

    It''s gonna be alright. Stay close to us. There''s nothing for you to worry about.

    Their incessant words of encouragement never failed to escape their lips as we exited our house. We were on our way to grandpa''s house when the townspeople ran out of their houses as well, screaming. I stumbled upon a young boy who I''d known for two years by then.

    "Dale, where are you going?"

    "Ava!"

    Dale didn''t answer my question and followed his parents as they ran in the other direction.

    "...Why is everyone running? What is happening, Daddy, Mommy...?"

    Before any of my parents could reply, the ground vibrated and I dropped to my knee. Fires broke out in the buildings ahead of us while the tremor grew stronger than before. I screamed and screamed, not wanting to let go of Daddy. Once it stopped, Mommy and Daddy looked at me and then they breath a sigh of relief.

    That was when my eyes caught sight of people pouring out in endless streams from the road to our left.

    "What the..." Daddy picked me up and carried me in his arms, like I was a princess to him. I felt happy for a moment, but quickly returned to reality when more people hollered their lungs out from every direction. The townspeople poured from all sides and some bumped into Daddy.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    "D-Daddy!" I screamed.

    "It''s gonna be alright!"

    However, the ground quivered once again and Daddy fell on both knees when he was running at full speed. He didn''t let go of me, but...

    "...I sprained my leg," Daddy said.

    "Dear!"

    "Take Ava to father''s place. Now! I''ll be fine!"

    "B-But Daddy!"

    Mommy took hold of me and pulled my hand, as she trudged through the endless wave of townspeople. Unknowingly, my body was carried along with the streams of frightened people and Mommy''s hold of me broke. My hand slipped away from her, and I was forced to head back from where we came following the violent rush.

    The people pushed me and some even hit my shoulder as they ran.

    That was when a whistle sound hovered over me and I looked up.

    A flash of light blinded my sight and I closed my eyes instinctively.

    Everything after that was a blur. There were explosions one after another and screeching, rebarbative screams of the townspeople. My dainty body moved like I was bouncing on a trampoline back at my friend''s house and I bounced and bounced before I fell flat. Then there was this sharp pain that I was feeling. Something just brushed over my leg, grinding against it mercilessly, and when the pain heightened, I let out a piercing scream of my own.

    Before I knew it, the darkness embraced me and put my body to sleep.

    <hr><hr>

    I thought I had a nightmare.

    "Sir! She''s just a kid!"

    "She''s just a kid, huh. Private Derrick Jones, we have orders to kill everyone in this area. An order from the higher-ups is not something you can go against."

    "...But I brought her to this nearest base so that she could recover. To find her parents. Perhaps they are among the civilians we held captive in the hangar back at the temporary HQ. She... Ava is just a kid."

    "Even if she''s a kid. Remember your priorities, soldier. We have dirtied our hands enough by the higher-ups. The life of a single child means nothing to us anymore. Our utmost and crucial order is the extermination of this group living in the area. This place is the only ones left standing amidst the other places that we have come into contact with, so when this is over, you can go back to your family."

    "...Did you do this to other kids too? Without us privates and other low-rank infantries knowing, you sullied your hands more in the blood of children?"

    "Private Derrick Jones. Another stupid question from you and I''ll demote you to second class. Do you understand?

    "...I understand, Sir. I apologize for my rudeness."

    "Good. Head back to your station."

    Someone was carrying me when I heard the conversation. He or she started to move after receiving some form of order. The person was silent.

    I could not open my eyes. They were too heavy and I could still hear the clicking of boots surrounding me. Suddenly, this person stopped.

    I heard a door creaked open, perhaps a wooden door. In the next moment, I was thrown into somewhere deep before I landed hard on a pile of bags. That was what came first into my mind, but they were not bags. I tried opening my eyes again. This time, wondering why it was easier than the last time, I succeeded.

    That was when the sight of piles of bodies enveloped me.

    "Erk!"

    I jerked up. There were bodies lying around everywhere, as far as my eyes could see.

    "No, no, no, no, no, no." I shook my head vigorously and covered my face. It was horrid. I didn''t want to see it.

    I found myself gasping for air, but as I took in more of it, I coughed. My nose felt like it was burning and I rubbed it hastily. I felt sick. It was hard to get rid of that strong smell in the air and before I could restrain myself, I vomited all the contents in my stomach. It was excruciatingly awful. The air smelled like meat but it was stronger, with a mix of cheese and a disturbingly sweet stench.

    I tried to cover my nose with my white dress but it didn''t help much. I noticed that my left leg didn''t hurt anymore. Curious, I struggled to open the bandages and found nothing.

    No wounds whatsoever left on my leg.

    There was only cold, dried blood on my skin.

    I blinked. "What is happening...?"

    I stood there for quite some time, having all kinds of thoughts about how and why it was the way it had been. But then, the awful smell brought me back to reality.

    "Mommy.... Daddy... Where are you? Why did you leave me here?"

    I cried, but my eyes refused to shed tears. My chest hurt so much. I dropped to my knees and slowly, I hugged myself.

    Finally, it hit me that I was truly alone in that place. No one was there to help me. There were no Mommy or Daddy or Grandpa and my friends were not there either. I didn''t understand anything that happened so far. Those soldiers came out of nowhere, and after that, everyone started to disappear bit by bit. They left me.

    I sobbed. "Maybe they will come to me if I wait..."

    At that time, these words I spat were like a lumiere in the darkness, and I took solace from it. I waited and waited for who knew how long.

    "I suggest you start moving," said a faint, monotone voice.

    I got up quickly and turned around, but there was no sign of another person talking.

    The place was a bit dark, and the only area that was visible to me were those bodies.

    I scratched my head and found out that it was wet.

    "Eeek!" It was a dried patch of blood. But I remembered being attacked somewhat by those soldiers. When that happened back then, I fell down to the floor from something.

    "This..."

    Carefully, I poked at the spot where it felt painful before, and sure enough, there was no wound. Confusion struck me.

    "What is happening?" I said between my sobs.

    A moment later, images of my parents slapped me into focus.

    "...Start moving," that voice repeated itself in my mind. Along with it came a foreign sense of courage as Mommy and Daddy''s images flickered in my vision.

    "I have to find them," I finally said to myself. Their happy faces helped me to calm myself down. However, I still gagged at the smell.

    "It hurts. I don''t like this. But.... They might be looking for me¡ª"

    Start moving.

    Those two words plastered itself at the forefront of my mind.

    Start moving.

    I trotted over the bodies trying to look for my parents with the help of a single bulb hung loose at the ceiling as my light source. Though, each of the faces of the dead and their smell made it hard to think. Anguish, grief, sadness, were welling up inside me.

    "Mommy..." Again, my eyes refused to shed tears despite the emotions overwhelming me..

    "Mommy?"

    A strange light flowing from a rectangle line at the end of the room caught my attention. ''It must be a door'', I thought.

    S¡ªtart mov¡ªing.

    I walked to it, carefully moving my legs over the bodies as I crossed them.

    "It''s locked. Mommy must be out there!"

    Just imagining her face waiting for me behind the door was enough to quell my fears. After all, she was just there. The knob on the door refused to budge. I pushed harder and even slammed my fists onto the door as hard as I could, but it was to no avail.

    "Wait, someone''s on the door," a voice on the other side stopped my heart for a second.

    There were people behind that door, but it was a man''s voice.

    I was pulled forward when the door opened abruptly.

    "What the hell? There''s a kid here," said a tall, muscular man in a black jacket. There was another guy behind him.

    All of a sudden, I hugged the tall man at his waist and cried. I didn''t know why I did that, but it was something I had to do. The atmospheric disparity from the dark room to that new bright, white corridor left me with a little trace of happiness inside. There was no Mommy or Daddy, but even so, I was grateful.

    I then realized both of them didn''t look like they were one of those "soldiers". Their clothes were casual, namely T-shirts and jeans.

    "Damn. What do we about her, Nick? We need to get this to the boss," said the muscular man. He pulled out a disk and showed it to the other man, Nick.

    "We gotta do what we gotta do, George. We need to get that info to the group. She''ll just slow us down," replied Nick.

    "Yeah, I suppose so." George looked at me sympathetically. "Sorry kid." He pushed my body away from him gently and turned forward to the corridor when suddenly, he jumped backward. His figure crashed into a pile of dead bodies in that previous room.

    "Put your hands in the air!" shouted someone.

    And yet, I saw no one else other than Nick, and it was not his voice. I shook my head and opened my eyes again. It was still the same.

    "They''re here already!?" muttered Nick in surprise. He tried to make a run for it but his body shook violently before he too crashed to the ground. Blood poured out from his chest and I screamed.

    "Kill the kid too," a voice echoed throughout the corridor.

    Knowing what would happen, I shielded my face. Afraid of the pain that would strike me, my eyes shed tears as I muttered incessant, incoherent mumbles to no one but myself.

    Ah, my time has come at last.

    Following the unknown, rough voice in my mind was a red object. It sprouted out of nowhere and a moment later, the corridor was painted in red blood. Three to four soldiers were caught in that mess, where objects that looked like large, red, jutting spikes had pierced their bodies.

    The soldiers who were not in the corridor before had suddenly appeared, and in the next moment, they were pierced to death with this object.

    The spikes appeared to be connected to my back.

    It didn''t make any sense.

    However, I knew instantly what would happen.

    From that day, it was apparent that I was stuck in a nightmare.

    And waking up from it was never an option.

 ? 3 ? Ava ?2?

    "What the¡ª"

    "What just happened...?"

    "HQ, we suffered heavy casualties after dispatching the tango. It''s a... kid."

    Three more soldiers in silver gear revealed themselves to me, unveiling the cloak which hidden them from my vision. These soldiers stepped out from nothingness, previously camouflaged, into the blood-painted corridor and pointed their assault rifles in my direction. They observed me from under their goggles carefully.

    "..."

    Rasped breath escaped my mouth as the jutted red spikes pulled itself away from the soldiers it had pierced. Alive and moving, these incongruous objects that connected to my back pointed itself at the soldiers¡ªthe new threat.

    I didn''t have a word to say. No, it was more like I didn''t have the courage nor the wherewithal to say anything. Having watched people dying right in front of me, all I could muster was empty stares at the dead bodies littered within my sight. The soldiers aiming their weapon at me became blurred, and in the next moment, a great sadness struck me.

    "...Aaa... Aa... Hic."

    Even then, only sobs came out of my mouth. I hunkered down and held my knees close to my face.

    "HQ, requesting immediate backup. It looks like we can''t handle this... kid on our own," said a soldier, "How do we dispatch of her?"

    "Hold up! Don''t engage her yet. We don''t have any information about her nor do we know anything about that weapon she uses."

    These soldiers, once convinced they couldn''t take another step towards me, started to retreat slowly to the other end of the then-red hallway.

    "...Huh? What do you mean you can''t send anyone? It''s¡ªHuh!?"

    "What''s wrong?" asked a soldier next to the one who was talking to his mic.

    "It looks like some kind of armed forces are attacking this base right now," he said grimly.

    "Then we have to¡ª"

    "And leave her here?"

    They were referring to me, their weapons still aimed in my direction.

    "...Ah, it looks like HQ is sending her here. Fine, leave this kid to that officer and we''ll provide support to the ones outside."

    The three soldiers retreated ever so slowly from me and once they had reached the end of the hallway, their silhouettes disappeared into a glass double door.

    "...Why are they leaving me alone here?" I said to myself.

    Hugging my knees tight, I sobbed and sobbed, the coppery stench of blood filled my nose. Despite this, I no longer had any strength to move forward. My legs had given up on me and all I could do was stare at the only thing in front of me. The dead bodies and the red blood that were splashed all over the white corridor.

    My only companions were the red spikes jutting out from my back. They moved and poked over and over at the dead bodies as if trying to confirm whether they were actually dead or not.

    "..."

    My mind was completely blank as I stared at it.

    "...What are you?"

    "...What am I?"

    The spikes halted their movement and pointed at me.

    "...Eh?"

    A low rumbling sound echoed throughout the corridor. As time passed, I could tell it came from above. Ten seconds, twenty seconds, thirty seconds passed¡ªand then it happened.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    The red spikes acted as if they knew what was coming. They punctured the floor with one motion and then pushed me back to the room filled with dead bodies, when a blinding light flashed just before the corridor collapsed.

    "Ugh..."

    I crashed into a pile of bodies and then stared at the then-closed exit.

    "..."

    Despite the endless stream of questions flitting into my mind, I couldn''t come up with something to say or ask to myself. My head hurt, and my vision was anything but clear. Tears didn''t cease to streak down my cheeks as I looked blankly in front of me.

    Clink!

    Screech!

    These series of sounds environing me didn''t matter at that time.

    "...Why am I here again?"

    Crash!

    The ceiling exploded and huge debris fell downward, and yet, I only stared at it. Despite having resigned myself to fate, the spikes jutting out protected me from the debris as they coiled around me. Once the spikes parted, the collapsed ceiling revealed a blue sky.

    A figure dropped into the then bright corpse-filled room, sending dusts everywhere and cracked its fists.

    "Oh...? So you''re the one the soldiers were afraid of engaging?" a woman''s voice said sardonically.

    She stepped away from the shadow and revealed herself. A tall woman with a slender body equipped with what appeared to be metal pauldrons on both shoulders. A fit jumpsuit wrapped around her body, where the pauldrons were connected with a metal box behind the woman''s back.

    "Eh... you massacred those soldiers. And that red crystal-like thing protecting you... I see now. It made sense. But still, why is one of you here, hm?"

    The dark-haired woman raised her arm upward and whistled through two fingers. In the next moment, a line of soldiers entered my sight from out of nowhere.

    "Teria soldiers. Invisible to the naked eye. A military asset only used by us from the Great Corporate United," explained the woman.

    "These people are under my direct order, and... hmm? You don''t seem to have any life in you, little girl. Are you perhaps broken or something?"

    The woman stepped closer to me, her feet kicked at the small debris underneath. She halted about a dozen meters away from me, completely aware of the spikes.

    "This small base is under my direct control. We have another base set up from this one at the other end of the island, but... oh well... this kid already looks dead to me. She doesn''t respond to anything I say. Hahaha."

    Her laugh withered when the spikes pointed at her.

    "...I''ve never met your kind before, but I''d heard rumors. Fast regeneration... a brutal living weapon that kills anything within sight... yes..." The woman said this while slowly raising a hand towards me. "But if I can kill you, the user in one hit, then surely I don''t have to engage with that weapon of yours, eh?"

    Immediately, the woman patted at the box behind her back and her soldiers readied their assault rifles. The metal box split about halfway in the middle when two round, gleaming silver objects catapulted into the air.

    "Bye, bye, kid. Don''t take this too personally, alright?"

    Clouds of smoke gushed out from the objects and concealed everything within my sight. Like a veil twisted into a blindfold, it pulled me into a small space only I could be in, alone.

    I cast my eyes left and right, trying to ascertain where I should go.

    Should I even go anywhere?

    "Hm!"

    A metal blade cut through the air in an arc, but then one of my spikes parried it almost immediately.

    "Oh...? Quite a fast reaction you have there, kid. Using your weapon with such proficiency... I must say, I''m impressed."

    The woman''s silhouette disappeared into the smoke, and what followed was a series of assault rifles clinked in almost perfect harmony.

    "...They''re about to shoot at me again..."

    I didn''t try to dodge or anything but merely hunkered down on both knees as if trying to embrace death.

    Gunshots sounded and I closed my eyes.

    But...

    "...Eh?"

    I didn''t get shot. When I opened my eyes, the cloud of smoke was beginning to disappear, and then a sight of spikes piercing six soldiers in their hearts enveloped me.The red spikes, yet again, had killed the ones who tried to harm me, even though I didn''t want or ever asked it to.

    "....What the! That shouldn''t be possible! They were invisible, and yet you could tell where they come from, kid!?"

    I looked over my shoulders and a blade flashed.

    "Ugh!"

    Before the blade could connect to my neck, the red spikes skewered the woman. Her pupils dilated, she tried to pull the spikes out but the very thing pushed back obstinately, and in the end, it went through her body completely.

    "G-Gakhh!"

    Not wanting to lose yet, she gritted her teeth and reached out for the metal box behind her back. The box gleamed for a moment, and four thin blades like katanas popped out. As the spikes hung her body high up in the air, she gripped two of the katanas and slashed.

    Ching!

    The katanas bounced back the moment they hit the spikes, and then the blades'' ridges broke in half. Stunned, the woman didn''t move as she tried to comprehend what just happened.

    "...My titanium blades had no effect...?"

    The red spikes let out a screeching sound and I clasped my ears. One by one, the spikes pulled itself out of the woman''s torso until only one was left stuck. Knowing what would happen to her, my red eyes glinted and my mouth let out a keening scream.

    The spikes stabbed at the woman''s left arm until it tore it apart from her body, and then did the same to her right arm. She screamed her lungs out before all the seven spikes pierced her heart in one flitting motion.

    "...C-Curse you, kid!" she said through blood pouring out from her mouth, and then the spikes tore her body asunder.

 ? 4 ? Ava ?3?

    "......"

    "............................................."

    "...Why?"

    My voice came out hoarse. I stared at the red spikes retracting back to my side, and stare at it I did. For a few long moments, I wondered why did this kind of thing was inside me.

    Why.

    Why.

    Why!?

    "When will you move, Ava?"

    The red spikes dissolved into thin air and I found myself trying to look behind me. Try as I could, the red spikes¡ªthe very weapon I used to kill people¡ªhad disappeared. But at that time, what raised cognizance more than the crystal spikes was the strange, inhuman voice inside my head. This voice talked to me and it mentioned my name.

    "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

    My dirty hands grabbed at my scalp and in the next moment, I pulled my dark hair as hard as I could. Bits and strands of hair I took care of so much before dropped to the ground. Pulling at it mercilessly over and over and over again, a memory slipped into my mind.

    It was about six months ago, that Mommy commented on my long hair. She had said that it looked unkempt but I thought otherwise. She tried to cut my hair for me and I obstinately refused.

    "Ava! Your hair is too long! At least let Mommy cut it a bit."

    "No! I don''t want to!"

    "Ah, look at the mirror! Can''t you see it has reached your waist?"

    "I can take care of my long hair! After all, Daddy said he loves my hair!"

    "A-Ava, wait! Come back here!"

    I bolted out of my room and found Daddy in the hallway. He wanted to check out what the altercation upstairs was about, and I immediately went to his side. Daddy had short, slick dark hair and right then he was wearing a blue T-shirt and jeans.

    "Ava?"

    "Daddy, Daddy! Mommy said she doesn''t love Daddy anymore!"

    "E-Ehh?"

    "Ava!"

    Mommy dashed out into the hallway as well, with a pair of scissors in her right hand. She had put on a violet cardigan and blue jeans.

    "Dear, her hair is too long," said Mommy.

    I hugged Daddy''s leg and his eyes opened wide at a sudden realization. He sighed and then managed to calm Mommy down with his words.

    "If she doesn''t want to have her hair cut, then let her be, Alicia," said Daddy.

    "...Her willingness aside, the school teacher might not like it if she keeps her hair that long. I''m afraid the teacher might scold her if she doesn''t cut it sooner or later."

    "Ah... Then leave it to me. After all, I got her hair cut before at the barbershop, and she didn''t make a fuss about it."

    "Yay! Daddy will cut my hair!"

    Mommy sighed and put the scissors away. "Wasting money on getting her hair cut at a barbershop. It''s not cheap nowadays. We need to save whenever we can for next month."Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    "I know," said Daddy.

    Mommy went to the kitchen downstairs and Daddy smiled wryly in her direction.

    "Ava, Mommy will feel lonely if you don''t spend time with her."

    "But Mommy is scary... Not like Daddy. I love Daddy!"

    I hugged him and he raised me high up in the air.

    "Daddy, do you like girls with long hair?" I asked.

    "Haha. I like girls who have short hair. A straight bob cut like your mother. It looks clean and neat, isn''t it?"

    "T-Then I also want a bob cut like Mommy!"

    "Then it shall be done. But if your hair grows long again, don''t be afraid to have your mother cut it for you, okay?"

    I nodded at Daddy with an exultant smile. He returned my smile and I hugged him tightly, not wanting to let go of the person I loved very much. As I closed my eyes, a piercing sound shrilled through the hallway and my head instinctively turned to look behind me.

    There was only pitch black darkness.

    When I turned back to Daddy holding me, someone I didn''t recognize was there instead of him. A tall man fully dressed in black, with goggles and a mask covering his face.

    "...Daddy?"

    Red paint poured out from the goggles and I screamed. The man let go of me and I dropped to the wooden floor, or I should be, but my body didn''t stop falling and I was sucked into a dark hole. As time passed, darkness shrouded everything within sight, and the tall man in black dissolved into thin air, leaving me alone by myself.

    <hr><hr>

    "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

    By the time I realized it, strands of dark hair had tangled around my dainty fingers. Still, this didn''t matter. With the events transpiring before and the knowledge of me doing something so horrible, my mind couldn''t handle it anymore.

    "¡ªare you broken or something?" echoed the woman''s voice I had just killed.

    As I screamed and hollered to no one, my eyes bled. I thought I was seeing things but after everything I''ve experienced and felt, I was sure it was real.

    Red curved blades sprouted from my back, tearing through my dirty, white dress, and more blades desperately burst out from its tips, creating a red visage from my nightmares. These turbulent emotions that blinded me had taken its form, and with it came the fact that I could no longer see my parents anymore. They would look at the monster I was in contempt and throw me away.

    "...Someone."

    As the growing red blades clanged against each other, it destroyed the very room I was in. The red crystals swung and sliced, leveling through the metal walls and pillars that obstructed its path with no care at all.

    "...Someone save me," I said through tears of blood.

    <hr><hr>

    Outside of the cemented building used to store dead bodies for cremation, a group of armed individuals fought their way through the lines of soldiers in black. The soldiers were slowly being overwhelmed and had taken cover behind the tall, white walls that sandwiched the broken metal entrance double gates. The armed forces hiding behind three black military trucks owned by the Great Corporate United fired at the soldiers, well aware of their rifles'' magazines depleting.

    "Ugh! This small outpost is so tough to break through!" shouted a man belonging to the group trying to breach the outpost.

    "We sent Nick and George inside to get the layout, but¡ª"

    "We don''t have time to wait for them! They hadn''t come back for a good forty-five minutes. This means they''re dead!" said a tall woman equipped with a bulletproof vest and dark military pants from waist down.

    "How can you be so sure, Beatrice?"

    This time, an old man with short, grizzled hair was talking to this Beatrice through her mic in her right ear, from his end. He was someplace else, observing the outpost from a drone high up.

    Beatrice, shoulder-length hair dyed green and blue eyes, a height of 162cm, was taking cover behind the foremost truck out of the three her group was using to take cover. At the other end of her truck was a man with his hair styled into a rainbow Mohawk. He was also wearing the same gear as Beatrice to protect himself. While returning fire from the soldiers guarding the outpost''s entrance, he talked with Beatrice.

    "It doesn''t matter, right? We''re going to crash this outpost anyway sooner or later!"

    "We''re on the defensive for too long, Jeremy!" said Beatrice as she fired her assault rifle at a soldier behind the outpost''s tall cemented wall. Her shots hit the soldier in the head and he fell to the ground.

    "Beatrice, Jeremy! We''re breaking through! Inghild, give them the 50-mm underbarrel grenade launchers already!" shouted the old man from his mic.

    "Roger, Sir! Will do, Sir!"

    A tall, bald man dashed out from behind a truck and threw two cuboid-like dark objects toward Jeremy. He caught it and then tossed one at Beatrice. After they had pushed the detachable grenade launchers onto their assault rifles, they moved out of their cover.

    "Grenade!"

    Each launcher shot out a cylindrical grenade into the air and it plummeted towards the line of soldiers taking cover behind the walls.

    Boom!

    "Aaah!"

    "Ughh!"

    Chunks of meat splattered as the soldiers succumbed to the grenades repeatedly launched towards them. When the line of soldiers had been taken down, Beatrice spoke to her mic.

    "Charging in now, Sir!"

    As she said that, a blonde boy flitted from one of the trucks and went through the outpost''s entrance while carrying an assault rifle.

    "Hope!" called Jeremy and then he shook his head, displeased at the boy''s action.

    Followed by Jeremy, the twenty members of this armed group charged in into the outpost with the goal to take it from the Great Corporate United''s clutches.

 ? 5 ? Fateful Encounter

    Charging headfirst into the enemy outpost, the blonde boy slung his bullpup-design assault rifle around his arm and immediately took cover behind a black military truck. He huffed and puffed as his back was against the cold metal.

    "Huff... Huff..."

    Equipped with a black shirt and military pants, the boy cast his blue eyes at his surroundings.

    "Huff... A circular cement wall as the outpost''s exterior, and an empty space right in the center with only military vehicles parked. Huff... And that tall building with an architectural design mimicking a stone tower up at the front must be where the leader is at. But I still don''t know what''s the purpose of that small building to the left is. It looks modern and hard to breach judging from the metal wall. Some kind of prison? But no matter, this should be a quick wrap."

    "Yes... I can do this. If I take out the enemy leader, then the boss will recognize me, and then¡ª"

    "Hope!" shouted an old man through the boy''s mic, "What in the world are you doing!? Charging into the base alone like that!"

    "I''ll cover him," sounded a young woman through her mic.

    "Beatrice will keep him in check. That kid..." said another member of the group.

    A green-haired woman slammed her back against the same truck Hope was using to take cover and caught her breath. She looked in Hope''s direction with an admonishing gaze.

    "What kind of stunt are you trying to pull now..." she said in a low tone.

    "U-Um, the enemy line has been breached, and..."

    "You think because we''ve broken through their defense, no one will wait for us inside?"

    "Uh..."

    "Do you have a death wish, kid?"

    "L-Look! I''m not a kid! I''m twelve now, okay!"

    "So you''re a kid. Got it."

    "Ugh..."

    Beatrice put a finger on her mic and voiced a question.

    "Sir, everyone has taken cover behind the enemy''s vehicles, but there''s no sign of enemy infantries coming after us. What''s happening?"

    "Yeah, I''m confused too," said Jeremy through his mic. He was hiding behind a jeep with a few other members.

    "Shouldn''t the Teria soldiers, or whatever that unit is called, attack us by now?" asked Beatrice.

    "Do you think that''s the last of them...?" asked Inghild.

    "Wait. My drone is picking up something on the left-wing. That small white building. Hmm? The roof had collapsed or something. Huh?"

    "What is it, Boss?" asked Beatrice.

    An old man speaking from his side coughed and then spoke again to his members.

    "Don''t be surprised by this, but it look like, swords? Red scimitars or something of sort poking out from the building''s roof. When I got my drone to fly lower, it seems the... blades are slashing at the building''s interior and destroying it, for some reason."

    "...I already said to drop the booze, Sir," said Inghild.

    "..."

    "Whatever that thing is, can we ignore it? Or is the enemy planning something with this... weapon that Boss said," asked Beatrice.

    "A new invention wreaking havoc? Now I''m interested," whispered Hope.

    "Hey, don''t you dare run off to that building." Beatrice hit Hope''s arm as she said this.

    "O-Ow! The entrance is a glass double door, right? And¡ª"

    Boom!

    Following the explosion, smoke floated and wafted up into the sky from the white building the old man was referring to, and everyone''s attention was pulled towards it.

    "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

    "W-What in the world!?" said Jeremy, alerted by the scream, "That sounds like a girl. It came from that building?

    "She must be among the civilians trapped inside there by the enemy. I-I''ll go check it out."Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    "Huh, what for? N-No, wait, Hope!"

    Beatrice''s hand caught nothing as Hope moved out from the safety of the military truck. Due to his small stature, Hope''s feet took him to his location three hundred meters away only in a minute.

    "This EX U 552 rifle should be versatile enough in case an enemy pops out," muttered Hope to himself before he went inside the building.

    He cast his eyes onto the assault rifle he was holding onto, and various information escaped his lips.

    "I brought enough magazines... And should any enemy appear from the corner, I can switch my barrel to semi-auto... yes... I have it with me at my belt... And if a Teria soldier suddenly pops up in front of my face, my already equipped short-distance barrel and NATO standard ammunition should be more than enough to take down one immediately... Ah, but if I have the light machine gun magazine with me, I can switch it with my standard magazine just in case multiple enemies show up at once, and I could switch it out with this pistol, but it''s too late to regret it now..."

    "Ah wait... the recoil from full auto-fire will just make my aim unstable. I guess pulling the trigger halfway for a single shot burst, in most situations, is more balanced for someone like me."

    "Hope! Come back here!!" yelled Beatrice through Hope''s mic.

    "U-Um, don''t worry, I''m just¡ª"

    The corridor Hope was in trembled and soon after, he caught a glint of what seemed to be the standard military-issued black EX U 550 assault rifle. As Hope ran across the white corridor, he came across ugly streaks of red blood splattered across the walls and then encountered five dead soldiers in black at the other end.

    From the huge holes on their front and back, something went through them? What kind of weapon does this?

    Hope questioned himself as he halted at a dead end, rubble blocking his path. He reached out for his mic hastily, and then the fluorescent light illuminating the grim corridor went out.

    "E-Ehh?"

    "Hope¡ªIs¡ªThere¡ªIng¡ªAnsw¡ªHop¡ªCom¡ªWhat is goi¡ª"

    Garbled voice escaped his mic and he shook his head.

    "N-No luck with comms."

    As he thought of going back outside, a brief quake struck the building followed by a few shockwave aftereffects that made him stumble to the floor.

    "W-What''s happening? An earthquake all of a sudden?" said Hope in panic.

    Crash!

    A gigantic, red curved blade poked out from the rubble blocking the blonde boy''s path and he yelped.

    "W-What in the world!?"

    He took a few steps away from it and ran back where he came from. Just when the poor blonde boy thought the blade couldn''t harm him if he distanced himself, the corridor collapsed completely.

    "Aaaaaaah!"

    <hr><hr>

    "..."

    "Ugh..."

    "...What''s this?"

    Lying down, Hope opened his eyes slowly and put a hand over his head. Blood painted his right palm deep red.

    "...It hurts. Ah, where am I?"

    Rubble environing him aside, the first thing the boy''s eyes were drawn to was the sun above his head and the clear blue sky.

    "...I''m outside?"

    "Hope!"

    Beatrice''s voice pulled Hope''s attention, and what he saw when he turned around was a multitude of what appeared to be metal blades dyed red, slashing and stabbing at the members of his group.

    "W-W-What is that!?"

    Hope stood up and then remembered the events happening before he went unconscious¡ªhis purpose for being there fighting in the frontline despite being a twelve-year-old kid.

    "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

    A little girl''s keening sent shivers down Hope''s spine and his heart stopped for a moment.

    About a hundred meters in front of him was a dark-haired girl, countless blades jutting out awkwardly from her back. These ominous blades itself were a hundred meter long easily¡ªand at that time, the monster was fighting Beatrice and Jeremy.

    "What are we looking at here!?" said Jeremy through his mic after he dodged a long, crimson blade that poked at him.

    "..."

    The other end of the mic was silent.

    "Boss, are you there!? There''s this kid that appeared from inside the building, and these... things poking out her back. Nikola opened fire and it attacked us!" spoke Beatrice as she fired her assault rifle at the little girl.

    The moment her bullets cut through the air, the blades shrieked inhumanly in response and coiled around the little girl hunkered down at the cemented floor. In the next moment, the bullets bounced off them.

    "...The blades are protecting her?" whispered Hope.

    It was a diminutive detail to those who were fighting, scared of the blades that had hurt their friends, but Hope caught onto it. He cast a quick gaze around him and discovered that six out of nineteen people he knew had their limbs chopped off clean, blood pouring out incessantly from them.

    "Huff... Huff..."

    Flashbacks after flashbacks flitted into the boy''s mind, and he grabbed his head with two hands, eyes bulging out.

    "I did not do it, I did not do it. It''s not me. It''s not me. It''s not me. It''s not me. H-He did it... He''s the one responsible, not me. It was... It was him!!"

    The blades coiling around the little girl parted and it pointed at Hope.

    "Hic... It''s not me."

    "Hope, what the hell are you doing!?" shouted Beatrice.

    Hope had grabbed his lightweight assault rifle and dashed towards the little girl, his blue eyes only had her within sight. His sympathetic nervous system kicked in, causing the young boy''s acuity to shoot up and his reflexes heightened. His blood flow rose, leaving him in a state of fight and flight.

    "Hope, all this mess is your fault..." An image of a man in his twenties saying this to him entered his mind. And that was the trigger for the fetters chaining his untrammeled negative emotions in place to shatter.

    "Aaaaaaargh!"

    Hope halted and aimed his assault rifle at the little girl.

    Before he could pull the trigger, a blurry afterimage of one of the red blades floundered him for the shortest moment, before a member of his group was stabbed dead in the heart.

    "Nikola!" shouted Inghild.

    "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

    The little girl''s piercing cry shook Hope once more and his body trembled.

    Hope had experienced this, the pervasive fear and confusion slowly engulfing everyone in the area. After all, he was also like her once, crying and flailing his arms, denying the very truth everyone had foisted on his shoulders for him to bear. It was something he could never forget for the rest of his life nor change, no matter how much he rued the outcome¡ªthe very person he''d turned into.

    Unknowingly, Hope had walked up close towards the little girl, tears streaked his cheeks. By the time he''d realized this, he accidentally dropped his assault rifle and it hit his boot.

    "E¡ªOw, ow, ow, ow, ow!" He jumped around in a circle comically while holding onto his foot, not knowing that the little girl had been watching him all along.

    The blades didn''t give Hope any attention and had only pointed its sharp tips at the other members who were pointing their weapons in the girl''s direction.

    "U-Ugh.. That hurts..." Hope shook his head and locked eyes with the dark-haired little girl.

    "...You had stopped crying," the words escaped his lips.

    "..."

    The girl didn''t respond, but she tilted her head at him ever so slightly, her red eyes gleamed under the sun.

 ? 6 ? His Promises to the Little Girl

    "...Boss, your order?" asked Inghild through his mic.

    Jeremy, Beatrice, and the other ten members of their group still had their aim on the numerous crimson blades. It didn''t move either as if waiting for someone to fire.

    Meanwhile, three other members were treating the wounded, bandaging them with clean clothes as sweat beaded their foreheads profusely. They dithered every dozen seconds, unsure of whether they should help fight the little girl and her blades or keep protecting their incapacitated comrade-in-arms¡ªand as the clock ticked, they realized there wasn''t any time left.

    "Boss, hey, why are you being quiet? We need your orders. Do we keep firing at that thing or wha¡ª"

    "The Boss is somewhat... speechless," explained a rough, female voice at the other end of Beatrice''s mic.

    "Oh, Jessica? But we need his orders. Are our mics still connected to him? Damn that Nikola for stirring that monster into action."

    "S-She''s not a monster," refuted Hope.

    When Beatrice narrowed her eyes at him, he cast his gaze downward and then lowered his head.

    "I was referring to the swords sticking out of her back, Hope. Doesn''t look like the girl has any control of it..."

    "But you did fire your rifle at her just a few minutes ago. That means you see her as a threat too, isn''t it?" said Jeremy.

    "That was..."

    Beatrice bit her lip. She wanted to explain herself, but the sight of gleaming red swords dangling in front of her desisted her thoughts before she was able to voice it out.

    "The Boss''s back," said Jessica.

    The members of this armed group focused on their mics, anticipating what their Boss''s order would be.

    "...I should have expected it. That she would make it happen sooner or later, but how would I know that this is what she''s capable of...? But more importantly, how do I explain this to Bart?" whispered an old man at the other end of Beatrice''s mic.

    "...Expected what, Boss?" prompted Beatrice.

    "Beatrice, cease fire at once. Tsk, I should have done this sooner," said the old man.

    "B-Boss?"

    "Everyone, ceasefire!" the old man raised his voice.

    "Huh?"

    "O-Okay." Without putting much thought into the Boss''s order, the soldiers acquiesced.

    "Move out and assist the Second Squad in taking down the remaining enemies secluding themselves in that tower. There should be about less than ten left, so that''s why we don''t see them out here in the open. Gawain, Arisa, Aerin, stay put and keep treating the injured. Medics are on their way."

    "Then... how about the girl?" asked Jeremy.

    "What did I just said, Jeremy? A ceasefire, isn''t it? That means don''t engage her by all means. Put down your weapon and follow the Second Squad. Now!"

    "...Yes, Sir."

    "The Boss''s pissed," whispered another member of the group, standing beside Jeremy. "Anyhow, Nikola died because of the kid. What are you gonna do about it, Boss?"

    "..."

    "Hope, stay with Ava. Inghild, you stay too," said the old man.

    "M-Me?" said Hope as he pointed at himself.

    "The rest will assist the Second Squad. They''re advancing into the tower. Move. Now!"

    "Y-Yes, Boss!"

    One by one, those who were still standing jogged away from the scene with their assault rifles, leaving Hope, the nonplussed Inghild, and those who were treating the injured at the scene.

    "W-What''s happening..."

    Hope shook his head and stared at the little girl once more.

    Her blades had stopped moving, somewhat in sync with how the ones that pose a threat to its host were retreating. As if assured of the girl''s safety, her penances¡ªthe red blades¡ªdissolved into thin air gradually.

    "...What are you?" asked Hope, sweat trickled down his forehead as he kept a distance away from the little girl.

    "Hic..." Tears filled the girl''s eyes and Hope jerked his head.

    "Eeek! Ah, she''s about to cry again."

    Hope took a few steps back and flailed his hands before an order came from his mic.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    "Speaking to Hope and Inghild... From now on, until you two get Ava back to the base, don''t raise your firearms at her and don''t do anything that will make her run away. I repeat, don''t raise your firearms at her and don''t do anything that will make her run away."

    "I-I understand, Boss," said Hope.

    "...Ava? Take her to the base? What is... Do you know something that we don''t, Boss?" asked Inghild through his mic.

    "Set the mic to speaker mode and put it near her. Tsk, the moment I saw her, I should have done this rather than floundering so stupidly," ordered the old man.

    "Shouldn''t we get an explanation first?" demanded Inghild.

    "Put the mic near her and then, I will explain."

    "...Understood."

    Inghild complied obediently and placed his mic on the ground, much to Ava''s dubiety of his action.

    "Ava," spoke the old man through Inghild''s mic.

    "...Grandpa?"

    Ava''s red eyes glinted and in the next moment, she crawled towards the mic. Hope and Inghild took a few steps back as they watched her.

    "I am very sorry for what had happened to you, Ava. I was late, and now that it has come to this... let''s head back home."

    "...Home?"

    "At my place. But not that house far up the hill. Inghild, Hope, bring her to the truck and take good care of her. Please."

    "Understood, Sir," replied Inghild and Hope.

    "Ava, these two are Grandpa''s friends. They will take you to my safe place. Come with them," said the old man.

    "..."

    "There''s a truck out there. Don''t worry, they are... good people."

    Hope and Inghild nodded and smiled at Ava, but she didn''t move. Flashes of dead soldiers entered her mind and the girl shook her head with teary eyes, her teeth trembled.

    Inghild reached a hand towards Ava. Before he could get near her, she distanced herself from him. Her dainty hands pulled at a huge chunk of cemented wall and wrapped her arms around it, her body shivered as she stared at Inghild.

    "...I''m not going to hurt you," said Inghild softly.

    He tried to reach for Ava''s arm. The little girl shook her head apace and when his right hand was just in front of her face, she opened her mouth and bit.

    "Tc¡ªOw!"

    Inghild pulled his hand away and glowered at Ava. She shuddered and huddled up close to the chunk of cement.

    "F-Forgive me for saying this, Inghild, but you''re making this harder," said Hope.

    "You do it then!"

    Hope trembled when Inghild raised his voice at him, but even so, with a shaky will, he approached Ava and kneeled on one knee. His eyes met hers, and they both stared at each other.

    Ava still was putting up her guard, afraid of those standing in front of her and more so towards the fact that she had hurt and killed people. Her young mind was unstable.

    "...I see," mumbled Hope.

    Hope was like her before, so looking at Ava reminded him of the former shell of himself ruefully.

    As such, memories from a year ago slipped into his mind.

    In a common, bustling city, Hope was attending classes like a normal kid his age would. He had kind and caring parents, a twin brother, and friends who never abstained from talking and helping him out. Hope had a perfectly normal life and he wished it didn''t change, ever.

    Until one day, Hope was consigned into a grim scenario.

    "Ugh..." He carefully slid his classroom''s door open while carrying a few textbooks with one hand.

    "Hope, you''re still at school? Everyone has left already."

    A bespectacled teacher in a blue long-sleeved shirt and a dark formal vest stated this as Hope entered the class.

    Lying down on the floor a few meters in front of the teacher was a little girl¡ªsomeone Hope knew from the science class the same male teacher was assigned to teach.

    The little girl had her eyes opened wide, the black lace of her white blouse dropped down from the teacher''s gloved hand as Hope stared at the scene dyed in sunset orange. Deep red slit in the girl''s neck caught Hope''s attention, and his textbooks dropped to the floor.

    "Sir Brodwig...?" mumbled Hope.

    Brodwig had a small knife in his gloved hand, blood dripping to the floor from its metal edge.

    "...Ah, on another note, your timing is great, Hope. Yes, yes. I think I can make do with you being here."

    Brodwig walked up to Hope and grabbed his head with one hand. In the next moment, he slammed it against a wooden table and forced a tube in his mouth. As the teacher repeatedly pressed an inflatable cuff at the other end of the tube, Hope''s vision gradually darkened.

    By the time he woke up, Hope was lying down with the bloodied knife in his right hand and the little girl beside him, a deep red horizontal slit still on her neck. It didn''t take even ten seconds for another student to stumble upon the horrible sight since the classroom''s door was opened wide.

    That was the day Hope''s life changed for the worse.

    Even after a year, the boy still harbored unbridled hatred towards the teacher.

    <hr><hr>

    "...Ava, isn''t it?" said Hope.

    As he stared at the frightened little girl in front of him, Hope clenched his fists.

    "It''s gonna be alright."

    Hope reached out towards Ava and pulled her into an embrace. She cried, pushed him and kicked, but even so, Hope held on, not wanting to let go.

    "D-Don''t worry, I''m on your side. Y-You can trust me," said Hope as Ava slammed her fists onto his head.

    "Hey, Hope... You better step back before that thing comes out of her again," advised Inghild behind him.

    "It''s fine! She''s just scared. Like I was back then. She needs someone to trust and believe in her."

    Inghild scratched his head and sighed. He dropped to one knee and spoke to Ava.

    "Listen, we will protect you no matter what. Believe me. Nothing bad will happen to you again."

    "You are safe now. A-As long as I''m here, I will make sure the bad guys will not harm you ever again. So... So you can let it all out. Cry all you want, release your pent-up anger. Don''t be afraid," said Hope.

    Ava opened her mouth and bit at Hope''s left shoulder, and he yelped. Despite this, he kept holding onto her.

    "That hurt¡ªAh, no, what I''m trying to say is you need to believe in us, Ava. We will not harm you!" Hope never ceased to be as couthy and amicable as he could to the little girl.

    "You want to see your Grandpa, right?" said Inghild. "We''ll take you to him."

    Inghild''s offer was not the least bit tempting to Ava. She bit into Hope''s shoulder as hard as she could and Hope gritted his teeth. The poor boy was about at his limit in enduring the pain, but in the end, he put all he had into the last resort to calm Ava down.

    "A-Ava! Nothing bad will ever happen to you again as long as we''re here! If there''s something bothering you, we will listen. Are you hungry? Thirsty? Our place has all sorts of food and drinks and you can choose which one you want. A-And... don''t you want to see your parents? Your Daddy, your Mommy? They must be waiting for you out there, right?"

    Ava''s pupils dilated and slowly, she pulled her teeth away from Hope''s shoulder. The boy hissed at the throbbing pain, but then he shook his head and continued to encourage Ava.

    "...Daddy?" Ava looked at Hope in the eyes. An image of her dad replaced Hope, and her eyes opened wide.

    "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" muttered Ava incessantly as she hugged Hope tightly.

    "Huuh?"

    Hope''s jaw dropped and he looked at Inghild.

    "This should be good enough. Bring her inside the truck before that thing from before comes out of her again," said Inghild.

    "H-How!?" shouted Hope.

    "Just carry her in your arms, kid!"

    Hope blinked a few times before he looked back at Ava. She had closed her eyes, her body heaved and dropped ever so slightly as she rested her head against Hope.

    "...She fell asleep?"

    Hope and Inghild nodded at each other, and very slowly, albeit too carefully, the blonde boy carried Ava in his arms.

    "Ugh... Heavy."

 ? 7 ? Guardian

    While Hope and Inghild were carrying Ava to a black military truck parked outside, their confr¨¨res along with members from the Second Squad pushed on into the outpost''s main building, an inordinate stone tower.

    The leader of the Second Squad¡ªVlad Finnerty¡ªa burly man with scruffy grey beard and mustache. His unkempt hair was tied in a ponytail, paired with a black bulletproof vest and military pants. He had an austere and callous air about him. When combined with his penchant to give sharp glares at strangers, he was not someone that people could warm up with easily.

    "I''ll be our vanguard. The rest follow my lead," he said to those under him, the members of the Second Squad.

    Two soldiers in black with military-issued assault rifles turned their heads around when Vlad popped out from a spiral staircase. These soldiers aimed their weapons at him immediately. While their response was quick, Vlad had positioned his assault rifle with his left eye looking through its Picatinny rail aluminum red dot sight. The moment he emerged from the metal staircase and into the dark hallway, Vlad had already prepared to shoot down his enemies.

    He pulled the trigger until his right index finger touched his tactical-gloved hand, discharging bullets in full auto-fire.

    "Urkh!"

    "Gaah!"

    The two soldiers fell down and stopped moving. Their bodies were riddled with bullets.

    "The First Squad is joining us, Sir!" said a friendly soldier from behind.

    "That old man is finally getting it together. Hm. Tell those weaklings to flank the hallway from the staircase on the right. Let them break through the commander''s office first."

    "Oh. So, they''re a decoy?"

    "...Those people are equipped with rifle launchers, yes?"

    "Er, yes."

    "Then they can destroy the office''s door with it. No surprise will be left unturned if the office is wide open, isn''t it? Tell them this quick."

    "U-Understood."

    Beatrice and Jeremy who were at the forefront of the First Squad stopped and motioned for the members behind them to halt. They heard the Second Squad''s proposal and agreed.

    "I see... Then the First Squad will flank the commander," said Beatrice with a hand over her mic.

    "Break inside the office and capture the commander. Don''t open fire unless you have to," said the leader of the First Squad through their mics.

    "Understood."

    With that objective in mind, Jeremy charged into a marble-floored hallway upstairs and aimed his rifle left and right without any wasted movement. Two soldiers on his right side had their backs facing him. Acknowledging this, he put up a peace sign at his comrades climbing the staircase and motioned for an ambush.

    "Go, Jeremy," whispered Beatrice through her mic.

    Jeremy''s rifle clinked as he aimed through its metal scope, and in the next second, gunshots echoed throughout the hallway. Instinctively, he swung around, pivoting on his heel.

    Another fusillade of bullets rang out and an enemy soldier at the end of the hallway collapsed. Jeremy switched out his empty magazine to a new one as he nodded at Beatrice jogging past him.

    "I''ll take the lead," said Beatrice, climbing the staircase at the hallway''s right.

    When she reached the top floor, three enemy soldiers had their rifles pointed at her and opened fire. She flitted to a corner just before sparks streaked across the marble floor. After a few seconds behind cover, the girl narrowed her eyes and popped her head out.

    "Get out of there, scum!"

    The soldiers fired again and she shrunk further into the corner.

    "...Three just in front of the commander''s office," Beatrice whispered to herself.

    "Jeremy, blast the door open! I''ll take on those who survived," she ordered through her mic.

    "I got you."

    With a 50mm rifle launcher equipped to his assault rifle, Jeremy, who had been hiding at the staircase, leaped out of hiding and into the hallway, aimed, and fired his launcher.

    Boom!

    "Argggh!"

    Clouds of grey smoke repleted the entire space after Jeremy bombarded the commander''s office a few times. Beatrice waited for the smoke to clear just enough for her to see an enemy, wandering about with his assault rifle, and then the girl rushed forward bare-handed.

    The lone soldier caught Beatrice''s silhouette within the smoke and immediately angled his weapon to shoot. And an instant later, a roundhouse kick from his left dashed the soldier''s head against the wall.

    "Graggh!"

    He didn''t fell down. The soldier swung his right arm at Beatrice and before it could connect, Beatrice sent a quick jab to his face, halting his movement. He countered with a left vertical swing and Beatrice leaned her body backward to avoid it, at the same time, gathering momentum for another move.

    The girl planted her right foot further in front and then her left arm moved. A straight punch in the gut.

    "Gukh!"

    The soldier''s body arched forward due to the force before he hastily swung again with his arm. The counter missed Beatrice and she took a quick step back, jumped, and twisted her body to land a hard kick at the soldier''s head, sending him flying before he crashed against the wall, unconscious.

    Her eyes closed, Beatrice sighed softly. Her right hand brushed away strands of hair obstructing her vision.

    "Good work," said Jeremy as he led the rest of the First Squad past the blasted office''s door.

    "Eeek!"

    Two soldiers in black raised their arms above their head and kneeled down. The First Squad pointed their assault rifles at them, voiced out a "The office''s secured" command and then waited for their leader''s order.

    "...Who''s in charge here?" asked Jeremy with his rifle aimed at one of the soldiers.

    "O-Officer Senosha Vreneall."

    "A woman? Where is she?"

    "..."This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    "I said, where is she?"

    The two soldiers looked at each other briefly before they both answered.

    "S-She was killed. By someone from your side."

    "...Huh?" Jeremy raised an eyebrow and swept a gaze at his fellow comrades. They shook their heads, denying any involvement with this Officer Senosha Vreneall.

    "Is it someone from the Second Squad?" asked one of them.

    "I don''t think so. We were here before them..."

    "A stray member must have fought her en route here. As he or she climbed the staircase. I think that''s the only explanation," said Beatrice as she approached Jeremy, "Isn''t that right?"

    The enemies lowered their heads when Beatrice cast a glare at them.

    "That''s not it... If the Second Squad did meet this Vreneall, then what''s the purpose of Vlad, their leader, asking us to breach the office? It doesn''t make sense to me. They must''ve not met her," said Jeremy.

    "...Then who did kill this Senosha Vreneall?" asked Beatrice.

    Their heads turned to the enemies kneeling on the floor. After a few moments, one of the soldiers gave Beatrice and Jeremy the answer.

    "...It was a kid. We lost contact with Officer Vreneall after she decided to head over to where this kid was supposed to be. The others kept saying that this kid, somehow, killed a few of us, s-so..."

    "That little girl, huh."

    Beatrice bit her nail and squinted, somewhat focused. She was beginning to imagine what Ava could''ve done to kill a high-rank soldier like Senosha Vreneall. More precisely, she was thinking of what form of torture Ava''s ''blades'' did to the enemy.

    "Hey, what about your General? We received intel that he was here," said Jeremy as he continued pulling out questions.

    "..."

    "Hmm." Their silence proved what Jeremy had in mind.

    He put a finger at his mic and spoke out a question, and his Boss responded.

    "I see. Since he''s not here, this General must be at the other base then. I guess our mission ends here," said Jeremy after ceasing contact with the person on the other end of his mic.

    "That girl... Boss is bringing her in, huh?" asked Beatrice.

    "From the looks of it, anyway. I mean, Hope and Inghild are on their way back to the base with her in tow as we speak. Still, it''s the Boss, so he must have something up his sleeve. Let''s not worry about that and wrap things up on our end here quick."

    "Yeah."

    Looking at the boy not that much older than the little girl¡ªHope¡ªhis forehead bandaged, Ava could tell he was nervous. Perhaps he did not like sitting next to her in that black truck, presumably. The dense forest concealed the vehicle quite well, and Ava found herself looking out the window every now and then.

    In front, at the driver''s seat driving the truck along a dirt road was a tall, bald man called Inghild. Dark-skinned, with a thin vertical scar across the left side of his lips, and a prominent muscular physique. His intimidating presence made Ava shrink at her seat.

    "...We''ve arrived," said Inghild, his voice came out hoarse.

    "F-Finally."

    Hope sighed and glanced at Ava. He had not said a word since she woke up. Inghild was the one who informed her of their destination, which was Ava''s Grandpa''s base.

    Located deep inside the forest, a large dome-like building overarched the little group''s small truck as they drove through a dark tunnel. The building appeared to be made of medallion-colored metal in its entirety, with the exception of dark windows built sturdy.

    Their truck parked next to a large van inside the building. It looked like a moving van from the first glance, but the metal, rugged, oversized bumper proved to Ava it was a vehicle meant for something else.

    "Hope, take the kid to her room. I''ll go report to Boss in the control room if he''s there," said Inghild after the three of them exited their truck.

    "Her room...?"

    "Yes, her room. The Boss just mentioned this before. Were you not listening?"

    "A-Ah, her room! I remember now."

    "...What are you looking so nervous about? Go on. Take the kid''s hand and bring her to her room."

    Hope, as he bit his lip, reached a hand towards Ava. She took a step back and brought her hands to her chest.

    "Let''s go, Ava," said Hope, "I''m sure your Grandpa is waiting for you."

    "..."

    Ava remembered seeing her Daddy before she fell asleep. Was it just a dream?

    Inghild went inside first through a metal, sliding door hewn out at a wall at her right side. Sweeping her eyes across the place, rows of vehicles had lined up the left side of this hemispheric space, lit only by fluorescent lights.

    "Ava?" Hope''s hand floated in the air as the little girl distanced herself from him.

    "...Um, follow behind me, okay?"

    Hope smiled at her and sauntered towards the sliding door. When his figure disappeared into a medallion-colored corridor, Ava, afraid of being left alone, hastily followed the blonde boy.

    "The Boss said Ava will be using that empty room... Hmm, I think it''s just around this corner."

    Hope turned to his left and he was met with three metal doors. Each one was at the left, front, and right walls environing him. Ava glanced at each, and then followed Hope after he entered the room at their right.

    "Ava, you''re here."

    Aside from Ava''s Grandpa, there were two other people in that room. A man and a woman flanking his right and left side respectively greeted her and Hope.

    The old man smiled at his granddaughter, but she only stood still, not taking even a step towards him.

    "Richarde, so that''s her, huh?" asked a man wearing a lab coat next to Ava''s Grandpa.

    His white lab coat covered most of his deep red collared shirt and dark slack pants.

    "I told you to call me Sir, or Boss like the others... How many times do I have to tell you, Ludwig?" said Richarde.

    "Haha." Ludwig ruffled his curly dark hair and smiled. The man then focused his green eyes on Ava through his round glasses, and she looked away.

    Richarde crouched and motioned for Ava to come to him, but she didn''t budge. Instead, tears started to fill her eyes.

    "Ava, I''m really sorry about everything... It must''ve been too much for you. As long as you''re here, you''re safe. Grandpa will protect you from those evil guys, alright? Come here."

    Again, Ava didn''t move. She shook her head a few times from her spot. Seeing this, Richarde drew his eyebrows together and then stood up. His hand tried to reach her but she shied away with a veritable frightened look.

    "Ava, you need to take a bath. Grandpa will take you to the bathroom, okay?" said Richarde softly.

    "N-No!"

    Ava stepped back and shrunk behind Hope when her grandfather approached her. Clearly, she didn''t want to be near him. Hope who was watching from the side decided to encourage Ava to walk towards her grandfather, but she lowered her head as she shook her head, drops of tears fell to the floor.

    "Ludwig and I can take care of her, Za''im," said Ayesha, a dark-skinned girl about 16 years old, with an ivory hand-woven shawl over her head.

    "...I''ll entrust you and Ludwig to take very good care of her while she''s here. I''ll come again later."

    "Her sojourn here will not be anything other than pleasant, my Za''im," said Ayesha as she bowed slightly.

    "She might prefer someone around her age to talk with. Hope, I want you to be her guardian for the time being. She seems to have taken a liking to you..."

    "O-Okay, Boss!"

    "It''s going to get busier from now on and I''m afraid I don''t have much free time in my hand to visit her," continued Richarde.

    The sliding door opened and Richarde walked out. Just before the door closed, he took a look at his granddaughter, whose stare did not leave the floor.

    "A-Ava, um, Ayesha will take you to the bathroom, okay? You really need a new set of clothes... and a bath," said Hope as he crouched to her eye level.

    "..."

    Ava merely looked at him, no response whatsoever.

    "Then, I''ll go prepare the bath. I think I have some old clothes for our?¨¡nisahere," said Ayesha before she walked out of the room.

    With only Ludwig and Hope left, they discussed Ava, tried to talk to her, cajoled her to sit down, but whatever those two tried yielded nothing in return. Ava hadn''t moved from her spot as she stared at them with teary eyes.

    "A-Ava, don''t cry... Here''s your bed. You can sleep whenever you want. It''s quite comfy. A-And there''s a table for you to read, and look at this rainbow chair! Colorful, isn''t it?"

    Hope pointed at a framed picture of a grey kitten hung at the medallion-colored wall, and then at a small mirror screwed onto a cute pink tripod stand propped up on a table. Though try as he might, nothing fazed Ava as tears continued to streak her cheeks.

    "Ava, it''s not good for you to cry," Ludwig said this and kneeled on one knee in front of Ava. He then wiped her tears with a clean tissue. "Hope, stay here with the little miss."

    "Eh? W-Where are you going, Gray!?"

    Ludwig left the room post-haste. With only Hope to assuage Ava''s emotions, he tried to come up with more ideas. The blonde boy had thought that Ava was devastated when her ''blades'' had hurt and killed people, however, he did not know what he should be doing to calm her down. How could he understand her?

    They lived in two different worlds and experienced different things until that point in their lives, and Hope knew this all too well. Even so, he did not have any intention to give up. The boy wanted to understand the little girl and helped her however he could.

    If the Boss entrusted the role of Ava''s guardian to him, then he should do his best to meet his expectations. Hope held onto this statement and breathed a sigh.

    "I promised that nothing bad will ever come to you after this, so... to make that happen, I''ll be your guardian, Ava. This is something I''ve decided. But, there is still this fact that I don''t understand you, no matter how much I thought about it. Not now at least. So..."

    "...I''m sorry," these were the two words that moved Ava, prompting her to move towards him.

    Hope patted Ava on the head, and then gently, he hugged her. His right hand stroked down along the girl''s long dark hair and then he closed his eyes.

    "It''s going to be alright... You are safe here."

    To Hope''s surprise, Ava didn''t resist nor struggle. Her small hands tugged at his arms, and she cried.

    "It''s going to be alright. You are safe now..."

    Hope kept repeating these two sentences for a while until soft sobs were the only sound that floated in the air. For the boy, this was good enough right then.

 ? 8 ? Dark Acuity

    [Seven hours since the Great Corporate United attacked]

    <hr>

    Ava''s Grandpa¡ªRicharde Andersson¡ªwalked along a hallway with three members of his First Squad following from behind.

    Wearing a long-sleeved red shirt and black military pants, the old man with grizzled hair sauntered as he passed a few other people inside the base. He went up a metal staircase, his boots thudded against the steps and its sound echoed irrhythmically.

    The first floor of this dome-shaped "secret base" housed the control room, a few armories, stores for basic supplies, and one room with restricted access. Only Richarde could enter this room, for the key to get inside was his iris¡ªfor the iris scanner locking the solid two-inch-thick metal door.

    As an aside, the ground floor below had dozens of private rooms occupying most of the southern portion of the base, with a concatenation of hallways intersecting each other across every few meters. At the rear, aside from rooms intended for residency, was a parking area. A hemispheric space large enough to fit eight T-28 Super Heavy Tanks at most, albeit just barely.

    "...Jessica?"

    Richarde walked into the control room still with a few of his subordinates following obstinately behind him. He swept a gaze across the large lapis lazuli-colored room. It was repleted with a large curved monitor at the front and three sets of high-tech computers and its peripherals propped up at every side.

    After some time, the old man''s gaze fell on a blonde woman in a lab coat doing some paperwork at her computer desk.

    "Jessica," repeated Richarde.

    The blonde woman''s head jerked and turned to look at the person calling her name. She hastily bowed in respect and went over to Richarde''s side.

    "I-Inghild reported to me just now, Sir," said Jessica.

    Richarde nodded slightly. He then looked at the other members occupied with their work at their respective seats.

    "Um... the little girl is your granddaughter, isn''t she, Sir?" asked Jessica as her right thumb and index finger brushed against each other furtively.

    "Yes. I''m planning to let her stay here for a while. Until we drive off the Great Corporate United from this island," said Richarde, his eyes were looking at a member behind him, "And that is our first and foremost objective for now. We can''t complete our mission with this hurdle in our way."

    "...But to complete the mission, we must..."

    Jessica bit her lip when Richarde looked in her direction.

    "The First, Second, and Third Squads were handed this mission by Her Majesty. It''s only appropriate we carry it out to the best of our ability."

    "But she''s your granddaughter, Sir."

    "...And?"

    Richarde''s stare halted Jessica''s train of thoughts. She took a step back and held her right hand to her chest. The tall woman looked down for a few moments before she responded.

    "Thethingresiding inside her. We don''t know what it is until now, right, Sir? Even after what the girl did to the C.U soldiers back then, we can''t really say that''s the... peak of her capabilities. With this fact in mind, shouldn''t we think first about our next move, especially anything involving her?"

    "Hmm."

    Richarde put a hand at his chin and narrowed his eyes.

    "Ava''s power is an x-factor no doubt. However, once we find her parents, we should be able to avoid any unknown risks. Isn''t that right, Jessica?"

    "Y-Yes."

    "They should know more than we do. For the longest time, Ava''s secret is stuck with them."Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    "Yeah. That''s why you said you knew about thething''sexistence, but, any information regarding it is pretty much a secret only known to the girl''s parents."

    "..."

    Richarde drew his eyebrows together and turned around.

    "Everything considered, our mission must be fulfilled," he said in a sharp tone.

    "I-I know, Sir."

    "Jessica," called Richarde.

    "Yes?"

    "...I need you to round up the citizens we rescued for me. I know they must have questions."

    "Right away, Sir!"

    <hr><hr>

    In the parking area, a small group of the island''s citizens was rounded up by Richarde''s subordinates.

    A group of fifteen with differing ages. Some of them who were older came up and flounced towards Richarde once he arrived.

    "Richarde! What''s the meaning of all this!? Why is this island being attacked all of a sudden!?"

    "What''s happening!? Since when you have this base?"

    "...M-My daughter. Please find my daughter, Richarde!"

    "Where''s the island''s governor at a time like this? Who are those soldiers attacking us anyway!?"

    Richarde looked at each people spouting incessant complaints and requests and then he coughed. They fell silent once Richarde raised an arm in the air.

    "...This base that''s protecting us right now. It is always here, hidden far in the forest. The governor knows about this and it was due to his understanding that I could maintain this place as it is for the longest time."

    The citizens listened intently as Richarde explained himself.

    "We''re on an active effort in finding more people out there and rescuing them. But the enemy''s numbers are greater than ours, so the search is going a bit slower than expected. There''s only so much we could do right now, so please, be patient."

    "You said that this base has been here for a long time, but how can you build this thing anyway? You need a lot of funds to manage all this. I''m not talking a few thousand. This must have cost a fortune," spoke a woman.

    "It''s a secret... but with these circumstances, I guess it is not that of a secret anymore. As you can see, and maybe a few of you have figured this out¡ªthat I''m affiliated with a certain military company out there. I''ve been working as one of them for quite some time, and now, I have my own Squad."

    "A-A military company?"

    "Why did you hid this from us, Richarde!?"

    A woman came up to Richarde and was about to grab onto his shirt''s collar when a blonde man in his twenties stepped between the two of them.

    "It''s alright, Gawain," said Richarde.

    Gawain stepped out of the way, and the woman glared at him. In the next moment, she stepped forward and stuck her head close to Richarde''s.

    "...It was a secret, Madam Martinsson. One I''d sworn secrecy to. If I revealed this base to everyone, to the island''s citizens a while ago, then I would''ve lost my head. There was also a chance for our very safe haven here to be bombarded by missiles had I leaked it. And why is that? Because there''s always a probability for someone on our side to spill the beans to the enemy. My choice to keep everything a secret up until now is the reason why we can even be talking like this, away from the bloodshed happening elsewhere," said Richarde in a casual tone.

    "T-That''s..."

    The woman distanced herself from Richarde and the old man continued his explanation.

    "Now, I''m sure all of you are anxious to know where did my subordinates came from. First of all, three Squads were sent to intercept the Great Corporate United by our military company. My First Squad is under me, while the Second and Third Squads have their own respective leaders. The Second and Third Squads are on a rescue mission right now while searching for the governor."

    "...They''re trying to save as many people as they can, right?" asked one of the civilians.

    "Of course. Still, until we drive our enemy away from this island, we can''t communicate with the outside. But that will not stop us from thwarting the enemy''s plan nonetheless."

    "They''re interfering with our signals, isn''t it?"

    "That is without saying," interjected Gawain.

    After Richarde had relayed what he had in mind and placated the civilians, they exited the parking area, whispering among each other. They went to their respective rooms, leaving Richarde along with a few of his subordinates. Little did those people knew that Gawain was watching them from behind until they disappeared through a sliding door.

    Gawain, a member of Richarde''s First Squad that served as one of his medics. His background and past forced him into his position right then. The man didn''t have much to say to this. Rather, he found it interesting he had ended up the way he was.

    "It''s already evening. Gawain, go over to Ayesha''s. She might need someone to take care of the kids while she''s sprucing Ava."

    "..."

    Gawain nodded ever so slightly. His long blonde hair tied into a modest ponytail swayed when he walked towards the sliding door. Just as he was about to step through, Jessica popped out hurriedly. She bumped into Gawain and then took a few steps away from him tremulously, muttering silent apologies.

    "..." Gawain merely stared at her before he continued making his way into the hallway, walking past Jessica.

    "Gawain..." Jessica held up both hands to her chest as she looked at him with a sad countenance. She bit her lip, ignoring the fluttering heartbeat knocking against her chest, and then turned around to face Richarde.

    "Sir!" she called.

    "Hmm?"

    Richarde looked behind him and tilted his head at Jessica. "What is it?"

    "The Great Corporate United''s forces... I''d just received a report that they''d occupied the northern part of the island. At this pace, they will be taking over in just a few days!"

    "Hmm... Then have the Second and Third Squads send a few of their members to scout. I''m sure our enemy will have to resupply at some point before they continue their invasion. With how they bombarded the city in the northern parts, I''m sure they would stop their attack for a day after this."

    "I''ll request them to do so right away, Sir," said Jessica.

    "I''m counting on you."

    "Yes!"

 ? 9 ? Ephialtes in a Dreams Clothing

    It was a dream.

    I knew it was.

    But at the same time, I did not want to get out¡ªto wake up from this false reality. Any wherewithal I had previously to resurface back was thrown away almost immediately when I saw those two in front of me.

    "Daddy...? Mommy...?"

    It was at broad daylight and we were in our beloved kitchen. Trudging and traipsing, Mommy and Daddy were cleaning the house as best as they could.

    Daddy pushed the kitchen table back to its place after Mommy had swept the floor underneath. She then flitted to sweep any dust settled in at a small niche hewn out at the white wall. Daddy wiped away the sweat beading down his forehead before he looked at me¡ªstanding still amid all the cleaning. After a few moments, he put up a warm smile.

    "Ava, can you get the dustpan for me?" said Mommy who already moved to clean the living room.

    "Okay!"

    My feet took off and I jogged away to our house''s backdoor.

    "Urghh..."

    For some reason, the wooden door was a tad bit too high for me to reach. Strange.

    I jumped a few times¡ªup and down¡ªup and down¡ªbut not a finger brushed against the doorknob. Frustrated, my round cheeks pouted. I then cast a sweeping glance at the small space I was in and my eyes fell on a worn-out wooden chair.

    "Ugggh... Ughhh..."

    My dainty arms pulled the chair as hard as it could, and slowly, albeit it only moved half a meter from every few pulls, I managed to drag the chair where I wanted it to. Once I had positioned the chair in front of the door, my hands went over the seat and then I dragged myself up. My feet dangled wildly as I pushed my upper body upward and forward.

    "I... can do this on my own... without anyone''s help... Huff..."

    I took a few deep breaths as my body sprawled over the seat. It took a minute, but I finally got back up and stood on the chair. The whole thing was barely standing, so being impetuous would only lead to me falling. Carefully, I steadied myself as the chair creaked.

    "Okay. I just need to jump."

    I lowered my body with both hands above my head.

    "One, two..."

    My right foot shifted slightly forward.

    "Three!"

    I leaped upward and in the next moment, my hands grabbed onto the doorknob just before my body hit the door. Then, I heard a heart-stopping crash behind me and turned to look over my shoulders.

    "...Oh no."

    The wooden chair had fallen down, its top rail cracked. While ignoring the sight, I twisted the doorknob open as my hands hung onto it, and the door creaked open slowly.

    I dropped down to the floor and hurriedly got out to the backyard. My eyes swept a look across the withered grasses and the shabby wooden fence, and finally, a delightful squeal escaped my mouth when I saw a red dustpan near the old shed.

    "I knew you''re here. But... hmmmmm. Now, how do I explain the broken chair to Mommy...?" I said with the dustpan in my hands.

    "Ava! Where''s the dustpan?" shouted Mommy from inside.

    "R-Right here!"

    I rushed back inside the house carrying the dustpan, almost a hurtle. When I turned around a corner, my foot tripped over something and I fell down face first.

    "Ow...... Hic..."

    With my knees bent in a W sitting position, I started to sob as my hands rubbed at the tears streaking down my cheeks.

    "Ava!"

    Daddy went over to my side and crouched, his large hand pulled me into a gentle hug.

    "Are you okay? What happened? I heard a crash just now so I thought I''ll go check, and here you''re on the floor," asked Daddy as he patted my head, trying to assuage my emotions.

    "I-I fell..."

    Daddy looked behind me and stretched his hand to pick up a glass bottle on the floor.

    "What is this doing here?"

    Daddy put away the bottle and carried me in his arms.

    "Daddy... I broke that chair at the back," I said.

    "Ah, so that''s what I heard... Well, don''t let it bother you, okay? I''ve been meaning to throw that old chair anyway."

    He tried to put me down on the sofa but I kept my arms wrapped around his neck, not wanting to let go.

    "Daddy... Carry me! Like how you used to back then," I said.

    He chuckled at my request before Mommy came in from the front door and saw both of us. She sighed at the sight.

    "Dear, she''s not a five-year-old anymore," she said.

    "She fell, Alicia," said Daddy, tilting his chin at the glass bottle he had picked up before, "That bottle was lying on the floor and she fell because of that."

    Seeing that, Mommy''s pupils dilated and she scratched her head. I could tell she was upset. When Mommy rubbed her arm or scratched her head like so, it meant that she was troubled with something. It had become a recent habit of her aside from drinking a certain beverage she bought every weekend.

    "Is that a sod¡ª"

    "No! It''s not what you''re thinking," interjected Mommy, "It''s some soda I bought when it went on sale on the market. I-I didn''t know I have one around left."

    "...I was trying to say soda, actually. Just put it away upstairs, Alicia. You don''t have to hide things like this from me. I won''t get mad. I mean, when you were not around, I, um, secretly bought a steak..."

    "...A steak just for you?"

    "Y-Yes. I-I mean, last month, we have a bit of cash to spend so I thought it won''t hurt to indulge myself in... eh-hem... a bit of luxury. Haha... But hey! I met John that one night after work and he kept prodding me about it and I can''t help myself. So... yeah..."

    Mommy giggled from Daddy''s excuse and poked at him, as Daddy tried his best to hide his embarrassment.

    "...Ah, Ava. You fell because of that bottle, huh?"

    Mommy lowered her head and kissed my cheek.

    "M-Mommy! The dustpan is in the kitchen..."

    "Alright. Thank you."

    Her slender fingers brushed over her dark short bob. She went over to the kitchen, grabbed the dustpan, and started to sweep the dust and litters into its small trapezium-shaped pail.

    "They''re outside already?" asked Daddy to Mommy.

    "Yeah. I''m sure they would love to meet Ava."

    "...Me?"

    Having heard this, Daddy proceeded towards the front door with me in his arms.

    "Ava, there''s someone I want you to meet. Though, you had met it already," said Daddy with an exultant smile.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    "One of Daddy''s friends?" I said, my head tilted slightly to my right.

    "Haha. I''m sure you know this one."

    Daddy put me down and then pulled the door open. Blinding sunlight pinpricked through the gap before it spilled over once the door was opened fully. I covered my face with one arm until the sunlight abated to the point where my green eyes caught the sight of a dark, tall silhouette approaching me.

    "Ava, do you remember it?" asked Daddy as he looked at the silhouette.

    "Who...? Who''s that, Daddy?" I said, tugging at Daddy''s shirt.

    "It''s your nightmare."

    A red tendril sprouted from the black silhouette and pierced my stomach.

    "Gakhh!"

    The next second, a myriad of tendrils appeared from the silhouette''s back and it circled me, slowly repleting my vision with darkness with its numbers.

    "Daddy! Daddy!!" I cried as my hands clawed at the tendrils trapping me away from my beloved Daddy.

    "I''m sorry, Ava, for everything. I''m so... so sorry," were the words I heard Daddy said as tears fell from his eyes¡ªbefore everything was engulfed in black mud.

    <hr><hr>

    "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

    I jerked up and flailed my hands as I screamed my lungs out.

    "Daddy! Daddy!! Don''t leave me!"

    My mouth gaped as I took in deep breaths. Once I calmed down after a few minutes, I found out that I was in a rose-red queen size bed. I realized afterward, instead of Daddy, a medallion-colored wall greeted me at my right.

    "..."

    The tattered white dress I wore before was replaced with a loosely flowing dark floral maxi dress. It was a long-sleeved maxi dress, though, I did not find the sleeves a hindrance to my movement. They were quite loose and seemed to be cut from high-quality textiles.

    "...I never thought I would wear one for the life of me," my thought came out.

    Gently, I touched my dark hair styled into a woven ponytail.

    "..."

    The girl with the black shawl over her head. She dressed me and styled my hair like this before I went to sleep. Ayesha was her name¡ªif I was not mistaken¡ªshe pulled two thick strands each from the left and right side of my hair and tied it into a small ponytail.

    I looked around as my hands pulled at the comfy blanket.

    Aside from a study table, a rainbow chair, and a framed picture of a kitten nailed onto the wall, nothing much popped out to me.

    "...Ava?"

    Ayesha walked into the room with a harrowed look and then hastened to my side.

    "I heard a scream. What happened to ?¨¡nisa?" asked Ayesha.

    The amethyst veil covering her hair draped over her shoulders neatly and flowed downwards until her hips. Ayesha''s floor-length sable black dress wrinkled slightly as she wiped the sweat on my forehead.

    When Ayesha tried to grab some food for me, I insisted on not wanting any.

    "You haven''t had dinner, Ava," said Ayesha softly, "Are you sure you aren''t hungry?"

    To make a point that I did not want to eat, I shook my head a few times and shrunk myself into the corner of my bed. Seeing me like this, Ayesha put a finger at her chin, perhaps thinking of an appropriate approach to cajole me into eating dinner.

    "If you excuse me," she said.

    Ayesha walked out of the room, and not more than five minutes later, she came back with two trays of food. I looked at her as she placed one of them on the study table.

    "Forgive me, ?¨¡nisa. I''ll eat my dinner here," she said.

    She dragged a small ankle-height table, put her own food tray on it, sat down on the floor, and ate.

    There were three plates arranged¡ªone with a fried chicken breast, another with presumably a sardine sandwich, and the third plate was filled with green beans. From the smell wafted over in my direction, the glass of warm drink she had was undeniably a hot chocolate.

    I never ate a chicken before, so seeing the chicken breast up close enticed me.

    A small drool trickled down my mouth when Ayesha picked up the chicken breast and took a modest bite. Sizzling, hot juice poured out of the white meat when she took a second bite and I could not help but gulp as I watched her.

    She glanced at me for a moment. But, I managed to look away in time before she caught me staring.

    "The chicken will get cold if you don''t eat it now," said Ayesha before she continued eating.

    "...Ughh... Umm... Er..."

    Every furtive glance I gave at Ayesha, she looked back at me, and I looked away immediately. She did not remind me of my food tray again. Because of this, I kept looking at the study table where my mind naturally began to picture a scene where I actually ate the chicken, savoring its taste, and drank the hot chocolate.

    "..."

    Ayesha smiled at me when my stomach grumbled, and I lowered my head shyly. She stood up and brought my food tray to me.

    "...T-Thank you," I said to her, almost a whisper.

    She dragged the rainbow chair along with the study table towards me and I thanked her again. We ate together this time, with Ayesha trying to open up a conversation every now and then. I did not reply when she asked nor did I followed up on any statement she made. To put it simply, her soft voice was the only sound I heard in the room.

    "Here, it''s alright. I''ll take this."

    Once we were done eating, Ayesha picked up our trays and went to the door before someone entered.

    "Ah, Ludwig. Take care of ?¨¡nisa while I put this away," said Ayesha to the bespectacled man wearing a lab coat.

    After Ayesha left, he waved a hand at me and put up an amicable smile. The half-empty glass of hot chocolate in my hands shook when he took a few steps towards me.

    For some reason, I did not like him.

    Unlike Ayesha, who I could feel her genuine sincerity when she took care of me, this man had a rebarbative presence about him. I could not pinpoint why since I barely knew this person, but, his countenance and the way he carried himself narked me.

    "Gray Ludwig, miss Ava. That''s my name. I hadn''t got the chance to introduce myself properly to you before, didn''t I?" he said.

    Ludwig was here with Ayesha after Grandpa left. He watched from the side when Ayesha put me to sleep if I remembered correctly. I could not tell if he was merely gazing at me or observing, trying to pick up any diminutive detail deemed important to him.

    "Hm? Are you afraid of me, miss?" said Ludwig as he took a seat at the rainbow chair in front of my bed, "Hmm. Normally, I would convince you I''m nothing like you perceived, but then again, it''s my fault for giving the little miss a bad first impression. You have the right to think of me however you want."

    "..."

    "Ah, wait. I think I have some chocolate."

    "C-Chocolate?"

    Ludwig fished in his lab coat''s pockets and produced two round chocolate sweets in glittering golden wrapper. He held one hand with the said sweets towards me.

    "You can have both, little miss," said Ludwig with a smile.

    "..."

    I hesitated for a moment before I took the sweets from him.

    "I-It''s good..."

    After I popped one of the sweets into my mouth, I ate the second one. The chocolate''s essence melted and perfused into my tongue, and then I savored the lingering sweet aftertaste.

    "Oh, what''s this?" said Ludwig with his right hand slipped into his lab coat, as if searching for something.

    Ludwig then pulled out a golden slim, cuboid object and waved it high in the air.

    "A chocolate bar!" I said.

    "Here, you can have this as well."

    I happily nibbled the tip of the chocolate bar as my feet dangled at the edge of the bed. Every now and then, my eyes caught Ludwig watching, but it did not bother me much as I continued to eat the chocolate bar. Like Ayesha, he tried to open up a conversation with me whenever he could. And like how it went with Ayesha, I did not respond to his queries and any topic he thought would interest me was instantly brushed off.

    When I was halfway done munching off the dark chocolate bar, Ayesha popped in with two bottles of drinking water.

    "You''re back, Ayesha. That took you a while," said Ludwig.

    "Jessica needed me for something. The usual. Hmm...? Where did you get that, Ludwig?"

    Ayesha placed one of the mineral bottles in her hand on the study table as she asked this.

    "Haha. I always have some prepared when my patients are little kids, you see," replied Ludwig, "Have you tried talking to her? I can''t seem to make her talk."

    "It might take a while. Our ¨¡nisa has only been here for half a day after all."

    "True. What about the children in the nursery? Do they need me to babysit them anytime soon?"

    Hearing this, Ayesha tried to stifle her giggle with one hand.

    "I don''t think they''ll miss you. Gawain and Arisa are taking good care of them even without us around."

    "That so? Then, the Boss must have something for me, yes? Like, an upcoming recon mission or something. I''d heard from Arisa we''re sending some scouts to check on the enemy''s holds."

    If I was not mistaken, they called Grandpa, "Sir", or "Boss". When Ludwig mentioned him, I could not help but perked my ears to listen further into their conversation.

    "Ludwig, you''re a doctor," said Ayesha with a hand at her hip, "There''s no need to involve yourself with recon missions. Unlike last time, we have the Second and Third Squads to assist us, so Za''im can just request them to do most of the reconnaissance."

    "Hmm. If we''re sending that many scouts, that means the enemy is holding off their attack," said Ludwig.

    "Jessica said they''re resupplying."

    "We could strike them now."

    "And get ourselves in the heart of the enemy''s headquarters?" said Ayesha with a frown.

    "Ah... That might take a turn for the worse. But if we''re fully prepared, we could do it."

    "I don''t know... Unless we cull enough of them, no one will make out of their headquarters alive. And so far, their number just keeps increasing."

    Both Ludwig and Ayesha sighed.

    "I guess I''m spending the rest of my days here with Ava," said Ludwig.

    "You don''t like it?"

    "That''s not what I meant..."

    "Za''im had entrusted us to take care of her until our mission is accomplished. We''ll get back to our home soon enough."

    Ludwig glanced at me and he smiled, and that rebarbative presence came back surrounding him. Instinctively, I tried to not meet his eyes.

    "Come to think of it, have you seen the footage?" said Ludwig to Ayesha.

    "...I did. What of it?"

    "Say, what will happen if Ava''s Aegis cut loose right here and now? From what we saw, she doesn''t have any control over it."

    "H-Hey, what are you saying in front of ?¨¡nisa!?" said Ayesha with a nervous tone.

    Both Ayesha and Ludwig turned to look at me, and I tilted my head. I did not understand the complicated topics they brought up a minute ago, but the mention of my name and Aegis made me thinking.

    "...Ava''s Aegis?" I said.

    "Ludwig, you!"

    Ayesha punched him in the arm and then she talked me into dismissing what I''d heard. But of course, I did not want to. They knew about the red crystals inside me and yet they kept it a secret.

    "...Please, tell me more," I said to both Ludwig and Ayesha.

    They looked at each other and after a few moments, they finally nodded. Ayesha suggested for Ludwig to ask Grandpa before he began explaining, but he refused, pointing out that the time was already midnight. Since I wanted them to explain right then and there, it seemed they did not have a choice but to spill the beans on what they knew.

    "Back then, ¨¡nisa was using Aegis... The thing that morphs into swords. You used it to fight and protect yourself. From what we observed, this Aegis is not one you can control since it seemed to do its own thing regardless of what''s happening around you."

    I nodded at Ayesha, agreeing with her.

    "But that''s all we know," continued Ludwig.

    "...Eh?"

    "Your Grandpa explained this to everyone after you were brought in. You can ask anybody around here and they will say the same," said Ludwig.

    That meant, Grandpa knew about this Aegis and chose to not tell me. Ludwig and Ayesha denied knowing anything else about my condition but Grandpa might have withheld some information from them. With luck, perhaps I could find out more from him directly.

    Though this could wait until tomorrow. Ayesha put me to sleep after Ludwig left the room, and the night passed without me having a dream.

 ? 10 ? Lady Secret and Her Friends

    Morning arrived after a good night''s sleep.

    Unusual, fairly strange. Mixed feelings swirled inside me as I changed to a frilly white dress Ayesha had folded and placed on the study table.

    I had expected bad things to happen at some point before, disturbing my sleep. Fortunately, nothing happened. However, thoughts of soldiers in black suddenly popping out to shoot at me filled my mind the moment I woke up. Nervous? Yes, I knew this feeling all too well. Scared? Veritably so. Was I sad? Guilty of something?

    People died in front of me and some were killed by the ''weapon'' hiding inside my body.

    As I dressed, Ayesha gently weaved my hair into a braid with a warm smile on her face. Little did she knew that an eclectic mix of thoughts was blinding me right then. Scenes of what happened the day before rushed into my mind without me wanting to. I did not want to see those awful sights again, and yet...

    "Here. It''s done. Look at how beautiful you are."

    Ayesha brought a mirror close to my face. She picked up a few loose strands covering my eyes and tucked it to the side.

    "Now, let''s go eat breakfast, shall we?" said Ayesha.

    I looked on as the sliding door opened for her. She turned around and her warm smile withered when I did not follow. The girl tilted her head at me, her right index finger touched her bottom lip.

    "Is something the matter, ?¨¡nisa?"

    "...N-No. It''s nothing," I said while looking away, "It''s just... That boy keeps his promise after all."

    Ayesha smiled again upon hearing this. She seemed to know who I was referring to.

    "You mean, Hope Domitius? What did he promise?"

    "...He said back then, as long as I''m here, nothing bad will happen to me."

    "Ah..."

    Ayesha went to my side and patted my head.

    "This place is safe, for you, and me. And the others as well. Your grandfather protects ?¨¡nisa all the time, you see."

    Hearing those words, I could not help but smile in return. Ayesha was the only one I had dared to talk to like this. Her aura was like a soothing blanket, calming my emotions the longer I stayed by her side. Having woken up to endless unamiable thoughts, Ayesha''s presence was something I never knew I needed until then.

    We exited the room and went to the hallway to our right. A cafeteria was our destination according to Ayesha. To think they had one there felt strange in a sense, but then again, this place was massive to a point where fitting a cafeteria could work without much difficulty. I wondered if there were even any problems for Grandpa or the architect when they made the place.

    Ayesha and I found a staircase leading down and I raised an eyebrow at it.

    "The cafeteria is underground. Yes," said Ayesha, answering the question in my mind.

    Upon arrival, we met with the doctor, Gray Ludwig, sitting at a long, wooden table along with two others whom I was certain I had not met before. Instinctively, I avoided meeting their eyes when they looked in my direction.

    "Oi!"

    A woman carrying her food tray bumped into Ayesha and she narrowed her eyes at the girl.

    "Don''t stand in the middle of the road please, Ayesha?" said the woman before she walked away.

    "My apologies," whispered Ayesha as she bowed her head.

    "That woman..." commented Ludwig, "You two, come sit here with me."

    We accepted his offer gladly.

    Looking around, the cafeteria was filled with people going up and about trying to get their hands on their breakfast. About twenty people were in the cafeteria give or take. I suspected more would come down if I waited a little longer, and with how Ayesha seemed to prod me into eating in the cafeteria, perhaps Grandpa would come down after some time.

    "This is for ?¨¡nisa."

    Ayesha placed my food tray on the table before she placed hers. We sat next to each other, with Ludwig to Ayesha''s left.

    "The little miss seems fine. She talked to you, hadn''t she?" said Ludwig to Ayesha.

    "A bit."

    "That''s improvement still. So, what did you talk about?"

    Ludwig dug his spoon into his mashed potato and put it into his mouth. He motioned for his two friends to start eating too but they merely looked at each other. One of the two¡ªa dark-haired woman with a jagged horizontal scar across her angular nose¡ªglared at me.

    "Isn''t she the one? The monster?" the woman said.

    "Hey..."

    "Ludwig, I know the Boss made you do this. The same goes for Ayesha. Everyone has been saying it was a good choice. Though if it was me who''d been given this babysitting task, then the little girl will..."

    "Stop. I know what you''re trying to say," said Ludwig.

    "...It was not her fault," Ayesha spoke out.

    "Oh? You''re siding with her, is that it? You two have seen what she''s capable of. You never know when she will¡ª"

    "She won''t," said Ayesha, her eyes squinted at the dark-haired woman.

    "Normally, I would side with Aerin, but eh... No one knows what will happen in the near future, right? To be honest, I feel the same way ever since I saw Ava and the Aegis inside her," said Ludwig.

    "Then?"

    "It would be immature for us adults to accuse her of something she hadn''t done yet, to us, is it? With that being said... don''t be so harsh on her, alright?"

    "...I get you."

    "That''s good¡ª"

    "But I''ll eat somewhere else. Come on," said Aerin, tilting her chin at her male friend next to her.

    Ludwig scratched his head as he watched Aerin walked away to a table far from us. He breathed a sigh afterward and tore his gaze away from the dark-haired woman.

    "Perhaps next time, we should just bring breakfast to her in her room. I''m sure the little miss doesn''t like it when everyone keeps staring at her," said Ludwig.

    He said the truth about me. The whole time they were talking, I fidgeted at my white dress with eyes looking elsewhere. After all, that woman named Aerin had a clear animosity towards me that I could not help but shrunk myself to Ayesha''s side, in the hope that her stare would not bother me like so. It worked for a moment until my diffidence resurfaced back up. When my eyes fell on the others who were inside the cafeteria, they, too, wore the same menacing eyes as Aerin.

    "...I''m sorry, I''m so sorry," I said to no one.

    "It''s not your fault, ?¨¡nisa," said Ayesha.

    "Let''s get her back to her room."

    Ayesha agreed with Ludwig and they took me away from the cafeteria. I stayed close to Ayesha''s side while avoiding the stares everyone gave me when we walked past them.

    "Should we get Hope here?" said Ludwig as he watched me eating my cereal at my study table.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    "A friend close to her age was what Za''im said his role is supposed to be."

    "The little girl''s guardian if I remembered correctly. From the looks of things, he''s been busy."

    "He always is. Like Za''im, he''s occupied with a lot of things. It''s admirable really if you consider how young he is."

    Ludwig shrugged and sat on the floor.

    "Well, we''ve been chosen by Her Majesty after all. Though... her putting my stupid self in here floundered me greatly when it happened. Me being chosen, who would''ve thought? Huh. After what I''d done back in the days, you would suspect someone like me to just rot, but... that''s what she really is, Her Majesty that is."

    "..."

    From what I''d heard, it appeared they were grouped together by this individual called ''Her Majesty'' some time ago. Perhaps Grandpa was also brought in by that person, which would explain why he was with them¡ªthe group responsible for fighting the bad guys out there.

    "Hmm? Who are you?"

    Ludwig said this when a group of four walked into my room. The man accompanying them was one of Grandpa''s friends perhaps. For the other three, I immediately recognized them. These people, yes, they were...

    "...Dale?" I said.

    "Ava!" waved Dale, a young dark-haired boy about my age, "When they said you''re here, I couldn''t help but worry and ask them if they could take us to you. And... huh? You look weird. What''s with the frilly dress?"

    "I-It''s not weird!"

    Dale''s parents laughed as Dale and I exchanged words with each other. Their escort left after the Huerter family expressed their wish to stay with me for a while. I did not mind, but to me, having Dale around with his parents made me nervous. Dale alone would be fine. But with his parents who were much older than me, I could not act the way I wanted to with them looking.

    Thankfully, Ayesha and Ludwig were by my side as they conversed with Mr. and Mrs. Huerter, while Dale''s attention was focused solely on me.

    "Ava, they''re a lot of people being brought in by them. You see, I thought I would be a goner when our city starts exploding, but phew... It must be Lady Luck helping us that whole time. We wouldn''t have made it without her."

    "..."

    "Those nice people fight the bad guys with their guns. Bang, bang! They took them down when we were being escorted from our hideout. You know, the bookstore on the outskirts? We were hiding there before they came to help us."

    "..."

    Dale''s hands gesticulated when he told me about his experience. He refused to sit down and stood there explaining, his blue eyes sparkled ever so often when I responded. With me sitting on my bed, it was like watching a storyteller.

    Although Daddy was the greatest storyteller of all time.

    "I just realized. Where are your Mommy and Daddy?" asked Dale.

    "...Um."

    "What''s wrong?"

    "...They''re... not here."

    I had asked the same question to Ayesha. She did not know where they were, and she elaborated that if my parents were already in this safe place, then she would know.

    "No one knows where they are," I said, trying not to cry as their faces appeared in my mind.

    "Oh... I''m sorry."

    "It''s okay, Dale."

    "Hey, little Dale," called Ludwig, "You should visit Ava more often from now on."

    Ludwig''s advice seemed to put a smile on Dale''s face. I would be glad if he came here again.

    <hr><hr>

    "Where are we going, Ludwig?" asked Ayesha as the three of us walked down the hallway.

    "Well, since the little miss has started to be more open to us... um, I mean to Ayesha, I thought it would be a good idea to take her to some places. Places where she could express herself more."

    "...But won''t they¡ª"

    "Now, now, I know what you''re thinking. Let''s treat this as a lesson for her in case she needs to go here when we''re not around. Even if that''s not the case, I''m sure she would love to visit these places when she have time."

    "Oh, is this..."

    We halted in front of the cafeteria''s counter. Ludwig motioned for us to go behind to get to the kitchen and we followed him.

    "I can''t help but think how Za''im was able to get these kitchen staff to work here. It took less than a day for him to bring them after Le Morte was dispatched to this island, isn''t it?"

    "Dispatched?" I said.

    "To be frank, yes. But the ingredients they use were already prepared by the Boss. Remember, this base has been here and maintained for a long time. That means quite a few had been working here before us."

    "...I see," said Ayesha.

    "The funds given by Her Majesty to the Boss must''ve been a lot when you think about it. It makes me wonder if I could have a pay raise after this."

    "That... would take Her Majesty''s permission."

    "Then I''ll get it from her. Haha."

    We stepped into the kitchen and a few of the kitchen staff spared a sidelong glance at us. The others kept working nonetheless, seemingly ignoring our presence.

    "Here. When you feel hungry, miss Ava, and we''re not around at that time, feel free to come straight here and ask for a meal prepared for you."

    "I can do that?"

    "A special permission by the Boss. Your Grandpa. It just came in this morning."

    "Ah, that must mean I can meet Grandpa now, right?"

    "Well, you can try to come to the control room upstairs. He''s always there."

    "Ludwig!" said Ayesha.

    "What?"

    "...Can you come with me?" I said while pulling at Ayesha''s floor-length dress.

    "Oops. I forgot one thing. The Boss had said to us personally that little miss Ava shouldn''t go meet him yet," said Ludwig.

    "Why?"

    "Because he''ll come to your room after he''s done with his work. Some stuff he needs to sort out first perhaps. I don''t know."

    "Is it something to do with the frontline? Jessica has been mentioning it lately," asked Ayesha.

    "While we are launching preemptive attacks on some other outposts, the enemy is also making a move, going deeper south with their invasion. The control room needs him there at all times," replied Ludwig.

    I looked down at the floor, disappointed that the questions I had in mind would have to wait a while longer before it could be answered.

    Afterward, Ludwig then took us to the ''workshop''. He referred to it as one even though it looked distinctively different when I looked inside. If I had to describe the environs, it was most likely a messy storeroom with a huge table propped up at a corner. A table lamp cast its light onto a long, slim dark blade¡ªa half-sheath lined up alongside it with diminutive metal parts environing the two objects.

    I recognized the blade. It was only for a moment when the female soldier used it to attack me back at the place filled with corpses, but I knew it was one and the same.

    Why was it there?

    "Hyah!"

    A loud ''shiing'' sound shook the air when a green-haired woman swung the blade in her hands.

    She did not seem to notice us as the blade sliced and hacked at nothingness. Soft light reflected off the blade''s obsidian black surface. In the next few seconds, the woman''s right foot moved ever so slightly before the blade swung down and rippled the air. She twisted her body and sliced upward, her hair flew along with her swift movement.

    "Beautiful..." I muttered.

    "...Eh?"

    Her eyes fell on the three of us at the door. She was still in her fighting stance, one she seemed to had accustomed to.

    "Yo, Beatrice," said Ludwig with a smile, "Nice moves, I must say."

    "Pretty. You seem to have a good grasp of what you''re doing with the sword," said Ayesha, "But isn''t that one of the swords Gawain brought in from that outpost?"

    "E-E-EH-EHH!?"

    Beatrice''s eyes opened wide and she sidled up to a corner in the next moment, her arms holding onto the sharp blade.

    "Wh-What are you doing here!?" she shouted.

    "Just visiting. I figured the little miss would want to see you tinkering with some weapons. But... We''d gotten more than what I''d expected¡ª"

    The blade in Beatrice''s hands went flying in Ludwig''s direction and he dodged to the side in time.

    "What the¡ªHave you lost your mind!? said Ludwig, switching glance between the blade and Beatrice.

    "That was uncalled for, Beatrice... What if it hit him?" said Ayesha.

    "Hmph!"

    "Still, I never knew you''re good with swords. You should tell Za''im to let you use it in the future," proposed Ayesha.

    "I-I want to keep this a secret. And I don''t want to use a blade on the frontline if I can... It''s a promise I made back in the days," said Beatrice as she picked up the blade on the floor, "A promise with someone I hold dear."

    "Then we''ll keep it a secret, don''t worry," said Ayesha.

    "Thanks. I knew I can count on you, Ayesha."

    "H-Hey, apologize to me, woman!"

    Beatrice ignored Ludwig''s request and looked at me. She tried to put up a smile, but it lasted for a mere moment before she went to her tinkering table.

    <hr><hr>

    "That Beatrice. I swear I''ll tell those guys who have a crush on her about this oh-so-secret of hers."

    Ayesha only looked at Ludwig with an awkward smile as he complained to us.

    "It''s rare to see you worked up like this, Ludwig. You''re always calm and composed in front of everyone, but now..."

    "Ughh. I just can''t stand prideful women. Brash, needlessly assertive. Blargh."

    "...Did something happened in the past?"

    "Sort of," sighed Ludwig, "Anyway, let''s head to the nursery. I''m sure seeing the little kids would placate me."

    "Hehe. You''re like a father. One that can''t wait to get off work and head back home to see his children," said Ayesha with a giggle.

    A nursery.

    My red eyes saw boisterous kids running around and incoherent shouts from some of them rattled at my ears. Among them, a tall woman with long, dark bangs called a few names and some kids responded. Her bangs covered her eyes as she moved around, and I found myself wondering if it bothered her in the least.

    "Big Bro Hope, play with me!"

    "No, he''ll play with me!"

    Three kids¡ªtwo girls and one boy¡ªwere pulling at Hope''s white shirt as they shouted at each other. Hope''s bandaged forehead stood out to me first before I saw a patch of red marking the left part of his unkempt blonde hair. It must be blood, I thought.

    "Seems noisy as always, isn''t it, Arisa?" commented Ludwig.

    "With the few new civilians brought in today, we have taken in some kids as well," said Arisa as she approached us.

    "Orphans?" asked Ayesha.

    "...They were without their guardians. Though a few said they got separated from each other."

    "I see. Your work here is always appreciated, Arisa," said Ayesha.

    Arisa blushed at her comment and dismissed it, saying she was only doing her job as their babysitters.

    "H-Hello. Nice to see you again, Ava," said Hope.

    He tried to speak to us while the kids bogged him down. They were quite insistent on wanting Hope to play with them.

    "We''ll leave you to your work, then. Busy as usual aren''t you, Hope?" said Ludwig.

    "N-No, wait! I... Waah!"

    Hope fell to the floor as the kids surrounded him. By the time I exited the nursery, Hope''s figure was covered by those little kids to the point where Arisa had to pull them away from him one by one.

    "Hope is popular, isn''t he?" said Ludwig in the hallway.

    "I wanted to speak to him..." I whispered.

    "Hmm?"

    "I-It''s nothing."

    Ludwig smiled at that and tore his gaze away from me. Looking at him, I was certain he almost always had a smile on his face. Was he being ostentatious? Unlikely so. It could be a way for him to appear cordial to people. Mommy said once before that those who always smile would have more friends than those who did not.

    However, in Ludwig''s case, it felt...

    "...Why are you putting up a facade of a smile?" I asked.

    Ludwig and Ayesha stopped moving once they heard my question. It was intended solely for Ludwig, and when Ayesha realized this, she cast a furtive glance at him.

    "...I don''t know what you''re talking about, little miss," said Ludwig before he smiled again, one who I also reckoned to be fake.

 ? 11 ? Brunhilde and Sigurd

    In the mobile HQ of the invading Great Corporate United, a small tumult broke out among the soldiers.

    The HQ was by any means large considering it was, in reality, a mobile contrivance brought by the Great Corporate United to establish themselves on the island. This marvel landed far on the island''s north, commencing the mass extermination.

    At first glance, two hangars sandwiched the main building and parking lot at the center. With a giant ramp connecting the flat ground and the base, military vehicles could be mobilized at a moment''s notice without hindrance.

    "We''ve lost an outpost...?"

    The Great Corporate United''s General, a stoic man with an ostentatious deep blue military uniform emblazoned with gold stars and stripes said this with narrowed eyes.

    "Um, from what the resource team reported, this mysterious armed forces appeared from nowhere and took down the stationed troops. There''d also been multiple sightings of them at the other outposts, and... they''re winning."

    The General intertwined his fingers together as he considered the news delivered. Besides these two, five soldiers each lined up along the left and right dark walls decorated with glistening pale blue lines from ceiling to floor. Hanging on the wall behind the General was a Canadian flag, conspicuously reminding the soldiers of which country they were devoting their service to.

    "Private Derrick Jones, what do you think of this?" called the General, his military hat shadowed his expression.

    "Yes, Sir!" Derrick took a few steps forward from the line of soldiers on the General''s right. He saluted at the General as a gesture of respect before the subordinate answered.

    "If I may be so blunt, Sir, I think that the resistance group is made up of capable soldiers who''d seen the horrors on the frontline. The ones General had assigned to take over and guard that outpost were outstanding in every regard, and yet..."

    "Capable soldiers, you say...? If they''re merely a group hastily formed by the islanders to fight us, then this feat shouldn''t be possible. More so with how quick they''d done it."

    "Sir," said Sergeant Campbell from the line of soldiers on the General''s left. "May I speak?"

    "Go on. Your suggestions are always welcome, Sergeant."

    "Thank you, General," said Campbell.

    He straightened his posture and stared into the General''s eyes.

    "So, we know this island is isolated, far to the east from Newfoundland and Labrador, the easternmost province in Canada. And yet, the armed forces are equipped with heavy firearms and obviously, they have experience using them. How are they in possession of such weapons? It doesn''t make sense, correct? The islanders couldn''t have formed such a group so quickly in retaliation to our movement."

    "Oh...? Are you saying that they''re not the islanders, Sergeant?"

    "I''m afraid not. At least from my perspective. This island can be compared with a few small islands in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Some major islands near the mainland that had undergone infrastructure development don''t have military bases nor firearm suppliers, but they do have small cities sparsely placed throughout their land."

    "...I remember how the monarch proposed for our Canada to start developing these islands. Including this one we''re attacking, the Sea-Maiden Island. The islands'' development was meant for trade purposes and tourism. That was in 2011, wasn''t it?"

    "Exactly a decade ago, General," confirmed Sergeant Campbell, "Continuing my inference, Sir, I think those people resisting us came from somewhere else. And with them were the weapons they used against us. They must have placed a spy within our ranks beforehand, which would explain how our soldiers could be intercepted so quickly."

    "Wait. You don''t mean they''re involved with a certain country out there, right?" said the General with a sharp tone, "Interesting. Which country dares to challenge us?"

    "That... I don''t know, Sir. My apologies. But whichever country this group originated from, they''re not afraid to send their soldiers over here to fight us."

    "They can also be mercenaries."

    "That is true, Sir."

    "...What do you think we should do?"

    "I think you know the answer to it yourself."

    The General''s mouth curved into a smile at Campbell''s reply, as if this subordinate of his knew him very well. Such a situation was not uncommon for him. Campbell''s achievements when he was only a cadet had reached the General a few years back, and one too many times, he never ceased to be fascinated by his straightforward demeanor.

    "Pay no heed to this group fighting us. As for the spy, I''ll know what to do. We''re only here for one purpose and that is to exterminate everyone on the Sea-Maiden Island. It was a task handed to us, the Great Corporate United, by none other than the Minister. So continue forward, soldiers. Non-stop. Crush anyone that dares to stand in our way."

    "Yes, Sir!!"

    <hr><hr>

    The information exchange lasted for fifteen minutes. Dismissed by the General, the soldiers previously gathered in that room took their leave one after another except for one.

    "Sergeant, I need to speak with you," said the General just as Campbell was about to walk out through the door.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    "Yes, Sir."

    Private Derrick Jones cast a sidelong glance at the General before he disappeared into the outside corridor. When everyone had left, Sergeant Campbell closed the door and walked up to the General.

    "What did the resource team say?" asked the General to Campbell.

    "Aside from the mysterious group? There''s this report saying that... a kid had killed our comrades. Specifically, the ones stationed at the outpost recently captured by us."

    "...Anyone else knows about this?"

    "I''m afraid only Sergeant Lumiere, and us, have this information, Sir."

    "This is highly confidential. Just to be sure, I''d made certain that the resource team withholds any information regarding the islanders'' kids from everyone else but us," said the General.

    He then breathed a sigh. "Having them knowing about a kid murdering our men would cause chaos. I''m not doubting anything, but a kid killing armed soldiers is a horror story in itself, a grim folktale... Anyway, I''m sure you''re aware of this mission''s primary objective, correct?"

    "Yes. Any child we find during this mission must be captured, and promptly killed afterward. If any of them is still alive after the execution, then he or she shall be escorted to him. When you think about it, this objective is quite detailed as if the higher-ups know something we don''t."

    "Indeed..."

    The General drew his eyebrows together as his right index finger tapped at his table''s smooth surface.

    "To be perfectly certain, did any of the soldiers caught wind of this?"

    "So far, no. But I did notice Private Derrick Jones''s disapproval of how the Great Corporate United does things. What do you make of this, General?"

    "Let him be. He''s a greenhorn¡ªa pawn I can easily eliminate if he even so much as to lift a finger against the Great Corporate United."

    "I see... Regarding the kid that killed your soldiers¡ª"

    "They''re also your soldiers," interjected the General with a grin.

    "My apologies. What I''m trying to say is the kid responsible for our loss seems to have some strange... abilities. I don''t know how she killed the Teria soldiers since our drone arrived there a little too late, but... could it be that this kid is the one the higher-ups are looking for?"

    "What do you mean?"

    "I''d seen the footage myself, Sir. And... I don''t know how to describe this exactly."

    "Just tell me," insisted the General.

    "...There were swords, of some sort, that sprouted from the kid''s back. From what it looked like, she used it to protect herself and I suspect she also used it against our comrades."

    "..."

    The General was not one to entertain jokes, much less when it was brought up in a serious conversation. So, when he heard Campbell explained, he took every word he uttered as facts in its entirety.

    "A living weapon. One powerful enough to oppose the Great Corporate United," said the General after Campbell''s explanation.

    "I can see why the higher-ups are hiding this. The kid is a threat to all of us," commented Campbell.

    "...It doesn''t matter. We''re only here to carry out our mission handed to us. Nothing more, nothing less."

    "Very true, Sir."

    <hr><hr>

    "Hey, Jones."

    A fellow Private slung his arm over Derrick while the man was sitting on a chair, an EX 550 assault rifle in both hands.

    These two were in one of the maintenance rooms along with a few other comrade-in-arms. While most of them there were Privates maintaining their issued rifles¡ªa Corporal in the room stood out from everyone else. His gloved hands ran over his own standard EX 550 rifle as he scrubbed its naked barrel with a brush. Slowly, he made his way to the midnight black handguard connected to the barrel and then scrubbed at the rifle''s optic mount.

    "Hehe......." A smile flitted across the Corporal''s face as he cleaned the dust buildup on his rifle.

    "...Corporal, you''d dismantled your rifle, correct? And you''d cleaned its components too if I''m not mistaken. So, why are you cleaning the outside? You just need to make sure the barrel''s inside is empty of carbon buildup and you''re good to go," said one private who''d been observing the Corporal.

    Hearing this, the superior cast a withering glare in the poor soul''s direction and he flinched in response.

    "Just the barrel? Cleaning only its inside components? Private, your ignorance will cost you your life if you don''t change that attitude. Maintaining a rifle is not just about its barrel. True, if the barrel''s compromised, then your gun''s accuracy is next to zero. But that''s not all there is to rifle maintenance."

    "Y-Yes, Sir..."

    "You''re taking this lightly. Remember your training when you were a cadet. Hang onto it, the knowledge and experience, and you''ll not die a stupid death. Probably."

    "Yes, Sir!"

    Derrick and his friend watched on as the Corporal''s lecture echoed throughout the small room.

    "So, have you cleaned the ejector?" asked Derrick''s friend with a grin.

    "I did."

    Derrick placed his assault rifle on a sleek white table and turned to his friend.

    "So, what''re you doing here? You don''t bring your rifle with you," said Derrick.

    "Come with me for a sec."

    "Huh...?"

    Derrick followed his friend to a secluded corner outside of the maintenance room. He figured it could be an important matter, and his guess was not far off when the other Private started the conversation with a whisper.

    "Our orders. So far, what do you think of them?"

    "...You want my opinion?" asked Derrick.

    "Of course. The others have been saying that this mission is... It doesn''t sit right with me. From the moment we got ourselves here, the first order that the General gave us was to eliminate everyone in the area. What''s up with that? This island is a part of Canada too so why are we killing our own people? The civilians here are innocent... aren''t they?"

    "..."

    "Except for some who the General wants alive, we... ugh... I saw kids getting killed in front of my eyes, Jones!"

    "I know..."

    "Shouldn''t we say something to the higher-ups? Ask them why we''re killing these islanders? They don''t give us much context anyway so I''m sure they''ll tell us what we want to know."

    "I don''t think that would work. We''re Privates, Evan. We don''t have the right to go against their orders."

    "Then what do you think we''re supposed to do!? Just sit back and watch as innocents die!?"

    Derrick caressed his temples and looked up at the ceiling. The image of his 10-year-old daughter back home came to mind. "What you''re trying to suggest will affect me and my family, in a negative way."

    "Then you should¡ª"

    "Should what?" said a stern voice behind the two Privates.

    Derrick and Evan turned their head to look at a tall military officer standing behind them, his arms behind his back.

    "...Sergeant Campbell," said Derrick under his breath.

    "What''s wrong? Continue," provoked Campbell, his feet took a step back to encourage them.

    "...Sir," said Private Evan Hunter, "What you heard was just¡ª"

    "To remind you two, we have no right to question the orders we''d received. We''re former soldiers. We don''t have the privilege of those in the military who serve the country in public. Not anymore."

    "...Yes, Sir," said both Derrick and Evan.

    "We''re ghosts of our former selves. Forced to enlist in the Canadian penal military unit, Brunhilde."

    "Then why are we working with those people, Sir? Those... from the private military company. They''re not a part of our unit and yet..."

    "They''re separate from us, Private Evan Hunter. But that''s what makes the Great Corporate United what it is for everyone in the military. It''s our nature. The Great Corporate United in its current state is an organization composed of us from Brunhilde, soldiers cast away, punished by our own country¡ªand Sigurd, a private military company that for all we know possess hi-tech military weapons. Our purpose now is only to obey those in the upper echelons. And obey them we shall do. Is that clear?"

    "Y-Yes, Sir!"

 ? 12 ? Fate of the Weakéˆ¥æ“³hough Youre no Longer Who I Once Knew

    Brunhilde

    QUIET!"

    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    weak then she wouldn''t have suffered like so, right? So that''s why until now, I believe this world is a haven for the strong... but perdition for the weak."

    Brunhilde

    ramifications

    <hr><hr>

    Her Majesty is involved."

    is

 ? 13 ? She Took the Lead and so She Shall Take the First Move

    "I got this covered," said Derrick to a fellow soldier.

    "Are you sure?"

    "There''s only three of them. You do something else. Ain''t the General calling for you too?"

    "...You''re right."

    "If I need someone, I''ll get the engineers up there at the yard to come here. I''ll be fine."

    "If you say so."

    Derrick glanced at his comrade before he continued burying the dead family from before. His shovel dug into a mound of dug up soil, and then slowly, he lifted a chunk and threw the soft mass into a hole.

    Ten times. Thirty.

    Derrick''s forearms ached after repeating the same action countless times but he sucked in air through his teeth and let out a long breath, ignoring it. His priority was to bury the family in the hole he and other soldiers had dug up outside the HQ. There was a small hill seven hundred meters away from it, and dotting the soil around the hill were trees like paper birch.

    "Derrick."

    The man who had his name called turned to look at Sergeant Campbell standing a few feet away from him.

    "Sir. It''s done," said Derrick, "I apologize if my request to bury the family came off as selfish, but this... I really want them to be buried, and not cremated like the others."

    "...The General is calling for you. Come to his office now."

    "I don''t suppose I''m the last one left, is it?"

    Derrick went to Campbell''s side and they walked back to the military HQ, gentle wind brushed against them.

    <hr><hr>

    "General."

    Campbell saluted at the General followed by Derrick after they entered his office. Their eyes then fell on the Canadian flag hung onto the wall behind the highest-ranking soldier, a sight too common for those who often came here.

    Fifteen soldiers had gathered before the General and with the addition of Sergeant Regent Campbell and First Class Private Derrick Jones, the meeting could finally start.

    "Just now, I''d received intel from the troops on the frontline. They''re pushing hard through the island as it is, but those armed forces prove to be quite... how to say this... quite... annoying, per se. Because of them, our mission''s progress is slower than expected. I don''t like this. You can tell, can you? These people are very much an obstacle to us¡ªpests¡ªand they''re not going away any time soon."

    "How about our tanks, General? They''re on the frontline right now, isn''t it? Did they¡ª" proposed a soldier.

    "We''ve lost three light tanks as of today. Two, actually, managed to return back to this HQ, but in no way repairable. They''re junk. Their main cannons can''t be fixed."

    The soldiers whispered among each other when the General further elaborated on their loss in the three days of their attack. Truly, this enemy the Great Corporate United fought against evinced what they thought impossible for mere islanders to do, which was pushing back the invaders themselves.

    "W-Who are these people anyway?" said a soldier.

    "A question of which no one has an answer to, currently," said the General.

    "Sir." Campbell stepped forward towards the General. "With how things are proceeding, you don''t think they have a base or something on the island, do they?"

    "I had the same idea."

    "It''s only a thought I''ve in mind, but... The amount of resistance we''d received is largely contributed by how they''re being supplied with all these firearms and whatnot, correct? If this is true, then these armed forces must''ve been getting them from somewhere. A place where they can resupply their depleted stocks and get back to the frontline with ease."

    "To and fro the battlefield and their resting area," muttered Derrick.

    The General nodded in agreement. As much as he relied on the Sergeant''s suggestion from time to time, he too had thought the same. For the armed forces to continue giving pressure to his troops, a continuous flow of supply was much needed.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    And their numbers were not small as far as he could tell. The expertise on the rebels'' side worried him more at least. Perhaps they had people from various fields and backgrounds to work with them, which would explain their efficiency in eliminating his troops at an alarming rate.

    "I''d sent scouts all over the island. In due time, we will find their hideout and crush them all at once."

    "The fifth and sixth troops you''d sent to the city called Cleectin should be done with the extermination right about now. Should we send them?" said Campbell.

    "The city on the island''s center? There''s not much of importance going on there. No government officials whatsoever caught. I could send them, yes, but... there are people on our side that''s better suited for destroying the rebels, isn''t it?"

    "The Sigurd?" asked another soldier.

    The General stood up from his seat and turned around to face the Canadian flag. He lowered his head, running his gaze on the flag from bottom to top slowly.

    "I''ll ask the Sigurd commander to assemble her Officers. She''ll launch an attack at the base, and hopefully, that''ll be the end of these annoying pests."

    "You don''t have to seek the Sigrdrifa, General," said a hushed woman''s voice.

    "What the¡ª"

    "When did you...!?"

    A steel dagger with a curved tip touched Derrick Jones''s throat. He tried to look over his shoulders when a woman in black clasped his mouth from behind.

    "Your men are weak, General," said the woman, "I don''t even have to use any Iliads to sneak behind them. This guy, in particular, would''ve lost his life if this is a real fight."

    This woman in her twenties¡ªshort dark hair with her fringe clipped to the side¡ªignored the handguns aimed at her. She cast momentary sidelong glances at a few before she walked up to the General''s office table.

    "Officer Milloula Friegeaux..."

    "That''s me, General. Thank you for remembering my name," said Milloula with a wide grin. Her pupils shrunk as she stared at the standing General.

    "Everyone, stand down. There''s no need to be alarmed. Friegeaux, I would''ve preferred if you''d left Private Jones alone in your seemingly harmless prank."

    "Seemingly harmless prank? Hahahaha. I was just teasing him."

    "Right..."

    Friegeaux gazed at Derrick when she referred to him, his gun was already sheathed.

    Milloula Friegeaux wore the standard ''battle outfit'' like the rest of her fellow Officers. A tight black one-piece made up completely from highly durable synthetic materials. Two silver straps ran down from each clavicle before it connected through an ''X'' patterned chain below her chest. The two metal pauldrons fitted to her shoulders were lightweight¡ªincongruously light if compared to old-fashioned ones. Though, unlike Officer Senosha Vreneall, Milloula did not have an Iliad that took the form of a metal box.

    Instead, she had titanium bracers wrapping her forearms and dark, flowy ankle-length skirt with an intricate design in silver embroidered along the hemline. Looking at her belt, the teal swirl-like pattern on it moved along the black surface as if it was an LED screen, shimmering ever so often once it caught the fluorescent light.

    "You don''t have to seek the Sigrdrifa if you just want a few Officers to crash the rebels'' base. I can get them for you, in exchange that I''m also participating in this raid," said Milloula.

    "Hm. Will that work? I''m sure your commander needs to know what you''re doing."

    "Hey, she''s not here, okay? Besides, she''s a busy woman. Don''t bother her with this small stuff alright? Sigurd also has other things to do besides joining you lot in this sudden attack."

    "I can see that," nodded the General.

    "I''m just a rank below the second-highest, so you can count on me if you want someone to order the Officers. And...!"

    Milloula sauntered towards Derrick with a leer and pressed her index finger onto the soldier''s chest.

    "I might need some of your men to come with me. They could be of some use in the raid. But don''t count on it."

    "Sure. If you can get approval from the higher-ups, then I''ll lend my men to you, how many you need."

    "Great."

    Milloula''s mouth curved into a grin when Derrick scowled at her. She did not feel intimidated by him, so instead of backing off, she brought her face close to his, her eyes focused on the soldier''s somewhat captivating eyes.

    "Just so you know, General, I''m sure the A.U would allow it anyway. They''re above those higher-ups of yours, so if I can get in touch with one of them, I''ll get what I want easily."

    The Officer then distanced herself from Derrick and faced the General, who''d watched her with a stern expression. Toying with his men as the woman pleased had seemed to stir the General''s emotions. Campbell lowered his head when he realized this fact, and so did a few others.

    "We from Brunhilde serve only to follow orders. Everything they asked of us, we will do it unconditionally," said the General.

    Even if it meant taking the lives of those we were supposed to save? Derrick had this thought when he heard the General¡ªhis superior¡ªuttered those words smoothly.

    He, like how everyone was, had been enlisted as a soldier belonging to Brunhilde, a part of a mysterious Canadian organization called Great Corporate United. Brunhilde acted as a place for military convicts punished by law. But in Derrick''s case, he knew, agonized over the fact that he was forced into Brunhilde due to a false accusation. Simply put, he was framed.

    A former Second Class Private from the Canadian military force consigned to carry out inhumane duties¡ªwas his story, like many others in Brunhilde. While this did not strike anyone strange, for the framed individual, it changed his life forever.

    The man''s wife and daughter left behind back at Nunavut, Canada supported him when the case was brought up in court. However, their testimony was never enough to save him.

    Framed. Dishonored. Brought down from grace. Derrick had no choice but to serve the Great Corporate United, for that was the only way for him to keep his family safe.

    "...I''ll clear my name someday. And then, I''ll get back to my family," whispered Derrick to none but himself.

 ? 14 ? Dont Be Afraid... Your Mother Is Always With You

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    <hr><hr>

    She''s not a monster!!" retorted Alicia.

    Aegis

    Aegis.

    Aegis

    Aegis

    <hr><hr>

    Aegis

    Aegis

 ? 15 ? Happy Times Flew By

    According to Ludwig, it was the fourth day the bad guys had attacked our island. Grandpa and his friends fought them day after day with little to no rest, and deep in my heart, I wished they would succeed in driving the bad guys away.

    "...I forgot where the nursery is," I whispered as I poked my head out of a corner in one of the base''s medallion-colored corridors. When I woke up in the morning, Ludwig and Ayesha had to tend to the injured coming back from their mission.

    "Hey, isn''t that the kid?" said a man from behind.

    "...The one who killed Nikola and dismembered the others," commented a woman.

    "Um..." Hastily, I apologized to them and ran off to a hallway at my left. I should have expected people saying such a thing about me, especially since I was alone with neither Ayesha or Ludwig by my side. However, I forgot about it and memories of the incident they brought up started to plaster itself at the forefront of my mind.

    "I-I''m sorry," I said to myself.

    "Oh, is that Ava? The kid everyone talked about last night?"

    "Yeah, she''s the one."

    "My, what a cute kid we have here. It''s a pity actually since..."

    "Ignore her. We have things to do."

    The few people I stumbled into cast furtive glances in my direction and they too uttered their opinions of me with some even made upsetting remarks. I turned to another hallway and bumped into a tall man in casual clothing.

    "Watch where you''re going!"

    "So-Sorry! I''m so sorry!"

    Tears welled up in my eyes by the time I reached a familiar metal sliding door. A wooden frame with the word ''workshop'' engraved on it sat next to the sliding door''s jamb.

    "...Isn''t this where Beatrice..."

    "Oh, this laptop is a gem," said Beatrice inside the workshop, "Ohh! It''s a shame the owner threw away such a nice IPS screen like this. Ah... They only use Philips head screws for the bottom cover. Good. Just what I''d expected from a recognized brand. They know that customers want to customize their laptop so they make it relatively easy to access the inner components."

    "...Dale had a laptop too."

    "Oh, what kind of laptop does he... have...? ...Huh?"

    Beatrice jerked her head back when she saw me standing next to her.

    "A-Ava?" She quickly swept a gaze around her workshop. "You''re alone?"

    "...Ayesha and Ludwig said they need to treat the injured."

    "Oh... That''s right. I heard how the Third Squad had themselves beaten in Vlogow."

    "Vlogow...? The city just before Cleectin?" I asked, tilting my head.

    "Yeah. Anyway... since you''re here, how about you accompany me for the time being?"

    "I-I can do that?"

    "Well, you came all the way here to see what I''m doing with all these guns, blades and uh, some laptops I found, right? I don''t mind. It''d leave a bad taste in my mouth if I ask you to get out."

    "Um, if I''m bothering you, then I can go somewhere¡ª"

    "No, no, it''s fine!" Beatrice held her palms towards me. "You''re not a bother... Honest."

    "O-Okay. Then I''ll leave myself in your care," I said, lowering my head.

    A thin smile formed on Beatrice''s face upon hearing my words. I heeded her advice as she went about in opening the laptop''s bottom cover with a Philips screwdriver. It took no time at all for her to unscrew the six head screws and pulled the cover away to reveal the laptop''s inner components.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    "Ah-ha. As expected. A one terabyte hard drive at the bottom left and a 256 gigabyte M.2 NVMe SSD to the right... The Wi-fi card is decent. But the non-removable battery leaves much to be desired. Only 40 watts. Meh. Hmm, at least this laptop has... what seems like two RAM slots with dual channels. Always good to have that. I thought it would be a single module before I open it up."

    "...Um, I don''t understand," I said.

    My hands ran over the wooden tinkering table''s glossy surface as I tried to comprehend the incessant advanced words Beatrice uttered. Which caused my head to spin at some point during her ardent commentary.

    "But the fans on both sides have independent heat pipes. It''s quite small tho. The graphics card is on the budget-ish side. It can still deliver some good performance in renders, but not high-resolution gaming that''s for sure. Ugh, if I can charge the laptop, I''ll be able to check the color accuracy on this screen. And... Ava? Hey, are you okay? What''s wrong? Hey!"

    <hr><hr>

    "I can''t believe I fell asleep..."

    My hand covered my mouth as I yawned during my stroll in the hallway. I decided in the end that my presence in the workshop perturbed Beatrice, and asked her about the way to the nursery. Honestly, I wanted to see her swing a sword again after seeing her used it the day before.

    Perhaps I could ask her some other time.

    "...Dale must be in the nursery. I need to apologize to him," I said to myself, turning into another corner.

    I was fairly certain I hurt Dale''s feelings. It didn''t occur to me I had done so at first because of what happened the day before. I just wanted to draw on my sketchbook without any distractions. But, after waking up the next morning, the memory slipped into my mind and I felt a tug at my chest thinking about it.

    Daddy said a few times back when I was still eight-years-old that, apologizing to those we knew we had wronged meant we acknowledged the mistakes we made. Not many people could do this and for those who could, especially at a young age, they would grow up to be empathetic to those around him or her.

    I held onto this belief ever since then. Somewhere in my heart, I knew I wanted to be a kind person when I grew up. It became a goal I set for myself.

    "Oh, Ava. You''re going to the nursery?" said a boy''s voice behind me.

    "Hope...!"

    Hope Domitius. A twelve-year-old boy with a slightly disheveled blonde hair I met a few days before. Out of all the people I encountered, I could say he was one of the few who had unique traits to him.

    Right then, Hope was carrying a large(about 9 inch) round chocolate cake in his hands. The cake had tortilla brown fondant and whipped cream frosting of the same color dotting the round edge. Chocolate sprinkles repleted the space inside the frosting along with seemingly ground hazelnuts.

    My mouth watered instantly at the sight of such a cake in front of me.

    "Um, this is for the kids in the nursery," explained Hope with a smile, "Haha. Your face tells everything, Ava. Want to join us?"

    "E-Eh?"

    "Come. I think your friend is there as well."

    When I stepped inside the nursery, the sight of a dozen kids crowding the entrance greeted me. They shouted at Hope as their hands tried to reach the chocolate cake in his hands.

    "Wait, wait! The cake will fall if you all surround him like that," said a familiar woman''s voice.

    Ayesha appeared from the corner of my vision and quickly got in between Hope and the kids. Another woman whom I recognized as Arisa was entreated by a few kids in the back. They expressed how they wanted to eat the cake right then and there to the girl, and she went into a different room afterward.

    All of us sat down on the matted floor with a slice of the cake on our plate. My spoon hung in the air as I bit the bottom of my lip, dubious whether I should eat it or not. I contemplated on this choice for a few minutes until Ayesha and Dale came to my side.

    "Ava! Come on. Do you want to eat it or not?" asked Dale.

    "I-I will eat it!"

    "You don''t have to force yourself. My stomach can make do with one more slice."

    Ayesha giggled at our exchange while Hope who sat next to me smiled. She brought her plate towards Dale, offering her own slice of cake to him, and he indulged himself in it without delay.

    "I thought you have something to do, but... you''re here," I said to Ayesha.

    "Ah, I forgot. My apologies for not telling you sooner, ¨¡nisa. Gawain, Ludwig, and others have everything under control so Za''im asked me to help Hope and Arisa here."

    "O-Oh, I see. I was wandering the hallways before to look for this place here. And I kind of wished you were with me..."

    A warm smile formed on Ayesha''s face and she brushed a hand along my hair. "I''m happy that I manage to make you feel that way, ¨¡nisa. When we met a few days ago, you refused to talk to me and hid behind Hope all the time. So, this change in you enraptures me greatly."

    "You''re very nice," I said, returning her smile.

    "So that means Hope is the one you''re most comfortable with here, right?" said Ayesha to Hope himself.

    Hope paused from eating his slice of cake and looked at Ayesha with wide eyes. He shifted his stare between me and Ayesha a couple of times.

    "He''s a good person, I like being with him," I confessed.

    Ayesha''s smile reached her cheeks and she prodded Hope in the arm without stopping.

    "Stop... Wha¡ªI''m eating here!" said Hope before he distanced himself from Ayesha''s spot.

    "Do you know that Hope was the one who baked the cake?" said Ayesha.

    "R-Really!?"

    "I-I only helped the kitchen staff a little bit. I whisked the ingredients, poured the cake batter into a pan, and ground the hazelnuts to put as a topping. I didn''t do much," explained Hope.

    "That''s excellent still," convinced Ayesha.

    "I didn''t know you can bake. Can you teach Mommy to bake a cake? We have an oven, but Mommy rarely used it. So if she knows how to bake, then I can eat cake every day!"

    Hope chuckled at me before he answered, "I would be glad to."

    "Then, it''s a promise, Hope."

    "Yeah. I promise you I''ll teach your Mommy how to bake a cake after everything is over."

 ? 16 ? Beginning of the Raid

    Daddy strode across the sidewalk to reach me and then crouched down to my eye level. My eyes met his, and he raised an eyebrow at me.

    "A snail?" he said.

    I adjusted my black skirt as I crouched to look at a brown snail on the concrete. It retracted itself completely into its shell when I picked it up, my hand angling the animal overhead with its shell facing the bright morning sun.

    "That''s a garden snail," said Daddy, "They live almost everywhere... Deserts, swamps, on top of a mountain, and even in sea trenches. They''re very diverse and quite resilient too. Though, if you remove its shell, the snail is no different than any slug you find."

    "Can I remove the shell, Daddy?" I said, looking at Daddy with a huge smile on my face.

    "Um, the snail grows with its shell, so it makes up a part of the animal. You will hurt it if you try to separate it from its shell. Besides, the reason snails even have shells is that it doesn''t want children like Ava to peek inside."

    "Eh? B-But I want to see what''s inside..."

    Daddy raised an eyebrow. "We can try to find a picture book about snails."

    "Yay!"

    We did go to the bookstore and even asked the cashier about it, but they didn''t have much choice when it came to picture books. So instead, Daddy bought me a middle-grade fiction novel.

    At night, as Mommy tucked me into bed, she pulled out the novel Daddy bought in the morning and read a few paragraphs of it. Mommy wasn''t reading it to me but rather, she wanted to find out what kind of novel I was reading.

    "So this novel is about a boy who goes on an adventure with his... talking book," said Mommy after she closed the novel.

    "Um, I didn''t know what kind of voice his book has, so I imagined Mommy''s voice when I read it."

    "My voice?"

    "Y-Yes. Because the book always accompanies the boy at night until he sleeps. The book is like Mommy. A protector!"

    "Hehe." Mommy put away the novel and then kissed my forehead. "Then, how about your Daddy? Did you imagined his voice when you read about the boy?"

    "Yup! It would be strange if I imagined someone else''s voice for the boy. I mean, Mommy and Daddy love each other very much. Daddy never stops saying that he loves Mommy."

    "Haha. I see. Do you love Mommy, Ava?"

    I nodded repeatedly. "Of course! Um, Mommy can be scary at times, but everything Mommy does is for my sake. It''s because of Mommy that I know when to stop playing and go study, and restrict myself from, um... sleeping all day. I have hobbies because Mommy encouraged me to have some and that''s why... that''s why I love Mommy."

    Mommy giggled and wrapped her arms around me and I returned the gesture as well. I could feel her warmth as she patted my back gently.

    "Mommy loves you too. I always forgot how mature you''ve become... And here I am wanting you to be my little girl and never grow up."

    "But I want to become an adult! Then I can work and we can have more money."

    "Ava..." Mommy stared at me with her eyebrows drew together. In the next moment, her nose touched my forehead and she tickled my sides. A peal of untrammeled laughter followed afterward, my hands tried its best to push her away. She stopped after a while and ran her fingers through my hair.

    "There are some things that can be achieved if you put in the effort. Even if you fail, don''t stop and keep trying. You will get there. And... Ava, there will be times when you have to make difficult decisions all by yourself, and Mommy and Daddy won''t be there for you."

    "Why...?" I asked.

    "..."

    As I looked at Mommy, tears welled up in her eyes before it streaked down her cheeks. A teardrop fell to the floor, and I could not help but asked Mommy if I said anything that hurt her.

    "...Remember, Ava. Even if the whole world is against you, we''ll always be by your side and support you however we can. Mommy and Daddy love you very, very much, and that will never change."

    <hr><hr>

    I opened my eyes and caught the sight of a ceiling fan up above rotating ever so slow. My hands put away the blanket covering me and I stood up from my bed, trying to remember the dream I had.

    "Oh, it''s five o''clock already," I said while looking at a cuboid-shaped digital table clock on my study table.

    I was feeling sleepy after lunch so I decided to take a nap, but the fact that I''d slept for four hours miffed me. Normally, when I didn''t have anything in particular to do, I would try to draw on my sketchbook or read some books I hadn''t read yet. When the thought came to mind, I searched for my sketchbook in the room.

    "Uh, ¨¡nisa. What are you searching for?"

    Ayesha walked into the room with clothes hung on their hangers in one hand and a mug of hot chocolate in the other.

    "Oh, there it is¡ªI was looking for my sketchbook."This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    She handed me the mug and then flipped through the sketchbook in my hand, stopping at a few drawings which caught her interest. I changed into the cotton plaid one-piece dress she brought with her before she tied my hair.

    Ayesha gathered my hair at the crown and split it into three different sections. She crossed the right section over the middle section and repeated it with the left section as well. Still holding the sections with both hands, she pulled more hair from the sides to add to the right and left sections before making the crossover once again. Patiently, she repeated these motions until her fingers reached the portion below the scalp, and twisted the rest into a braid.

    "This is... a french braid?" I said.

    "Jessica and I talked about what kind of hairstyle would suit ¨¡nisa the best and came up with this. But I made a slight variation to it."

    Ayesha pulled at the strands of my french braid outwards until she was satisfied with how I looked in the mirror.

    "The braid looks fuller this way. Do you like it?" asked Ayesha.

    "This... Oh..." I found myself staring at the mirror for a good few minutes, enraptured by the intricate yet beautiful hairstyle.

    "Are you hungry, ¨¡nisa?"

    I nodded at her in response. We walked out into the corridor and were on our way to the kitchen when a blonde man approached us. He had blue eyes, his hair tied into a short ponytail. After we held each other''s gaze for a few moments, he adjusted his hickory-brown jacket and shifted to look at Ayesha.

    "Gawain," said Ayesha, "How are they?"

    The man''s mouth parted, and closed after a few moments. He then cast a quick glance in my direction.

    "We''d done everything we could. For now, they''re stable and we have an adequate supply of clean clothes and water for them, so it should be fine for the rest of our days here on this island."

    "Oh, that''s good to hear. I wish I could help more but..."

    Gawain dismissed Ayesha''s statement with a wave of his hand. "We have it under control... More importantly, Ayesha, the Boss is at the entrance right now with the others. It seems like they''re taking in more civilians the Second and Third Squad rescued."

    "I''ll check with Za''im if there''s anyone I need to tend to among them. Anyway, are you heading off somewhere?" asked Ayesha with a frown.

    "It''s Jessica. She wants me in the control room."

    Ayesha smiled at this and then giggled with one hand over her mouth. I tilted my head, repeating what Gawain had said in my mind.

    "Yesterday, she spilled her coffee and it ruined the battle reports on her desk," said Ayesha, "So I helped her salvaged what we could from the pile of paper and printed out the ones we couldn''t save. And, it happened the day before that too, when she segregated some reports wrong and got it mixed."

    "...Has she been a bother to you?" asked Gawain, his head lowered slightly.

    "No. Not even once. Jessica is always this kind of person who''s awkward when doing her job, but she''s very passionate. Don''t you think so too?"

    "I suppose she''s just clumsy... Oh right, I need to get going."

    Gawain walked past us and I watched his back just before our eyes met again. Did he want to say something to me? This question popped up in my head but Gawain tore his gaze away at the last minute, leaving me and Ayesha in the hallway.

    <hr><hr>

    "Richarde, are we really going to win against them?"

    "It just seems impossible. Your men are very few compared to those soldiers."

    "Are we not getting any signal yet? Where''s the Canadian Armed Forces when we need them? The Royal Canadian Navy? Their coastal defense vessels must''ve found out about our situation already! We''ve been left out from the outside world for four days now, so the Army must be coming, right!? Where are they!?"

    The few dozen citizens at the base''s parking lot argued with Grandpa and his friends when Ayesha and I arrived.

    "Richarde! Why are they doing this to us!?" said a woman carrying a baby in her arms, "How can the government not know? Have they not heard? Those people are unbelievable. We''re being attacked by terrorists right now!!"

    The civilians circled Grandpa and his few friends and hollered their questions at them, wanting to know why they languished under this situation in the first place. The baby in the woman''s arms started to fidget and sobbed, and shortly after, the baby cried as a man pushed forward and clasped Grandpa''s shirt. Seeing that, Ayesha strode to Grandpa''s side, her eyes glared at the man threatening Grandpa.

    I''d never seen Ayesha like this before. She had a veritable scowl on her face and her fists clenched to a point where her fingers turned red.

    "Stop this!" said Jeremy as he pushed the man trying to get in Grandpa''s face with considerable force. Both him and Inghild, along with a few others, kept holding down those hostile civilians from getting near Grandpa.

    Once Ayesha reached Grandpa, she glared daggers at a woman who got near him, and the said woman took a few steps back in response.

    "Everyone!" said Grandpa, his voice raised.

    The civilians and Grandpa''s friends halted and turned to look at Grandpa.

    "I understand your fears and concerns about what is happening right now. Our beloved Sea-Maiden Island is being attacked and no communication whatsoever can be made to the outside world. Even after three days, there''s still no sign of the government doing anything to help us. But don''t lose hope! We can drive them off with our own strength, and after that, we can finally get help from the mainland. This is a promise I make to all of you."

    Grandpa''s speech managed to placate the civilians a fair bit, and they were willing to follow Jeremy and Inghild inside the base afterward. Ayesha stayed by Grandpa''s side and conversed with him for a few minutes before I walked up to him.

    "...Ava," he said, pausing his conversation with Ayesha.

    "Grandpa, Mommy and Daddy are with them, right?" I said, looking in the direction where the rescued civilians had gone to. "Where are they? They must''ve arrived earlier and I missed them."

    Ayesha bit her lip and lowered her head upon hearing my question. Grandpa, however, sighed and crouched to my eye level with one hand on my shoulder.

    "Alicia and Bart aren''t with them. We haven''t found them yet."

    "..."

    "Ava, its... Everything that''s happening up until now is complicated. Let me be frank with you, our drones as of right now haven''t picked up any sight of them anywhere. My friends went out day after day to rescue the civilians trapped in their homes, and... um, even they haven''t seen your parents."

    "..."

    "I tried, Ava. Grandpa tried his best but..."

    "...But, you said you''ll find them. Grandpa''s a liar... You said you''ll find them! !You said you''ll find Mommy and Daddy!"

    Ayesha and Grandpa had a harrowed look on their face as tears streamed down my cheeks. They promised, they''d promised! Why would you make a promise if you could not keep it!?

    "Ava, I tried¡ª"

    "Go away!!"

    I pried Grandpa''s hand away from my shoulder¡ªwhen a pair of deep red claws with jagged surface sprouted out from the back of my hands. Grandpa hastily distanced himself away from me along with Ayesha. But I didn''t care. I just wanted to see Mommy and Daddy again, and at that time with the overflowing emotions welling up inside, this was all which mattered to me.

    "Go away! Liar! You''re all a liar!!" I hollered.

    The claws let out a deafening shriek as if it understood my sadness. My feet sidled to the sliding door leading to the corridors inside, and I turned my back against those two. The claws dissolved into thin air the moment I reached my room, and just then, an announcement blared through the ceiling speakers.

    "Attention all members of Le Morte D''Angharad in the base! Soldiers belonging to the Great Corporate United have been sighted about five-hundred meters away. Go to the control room and prepare to fight! I repeat..."

    Hearing the announcement, I stopped my tracks and looked up at the ceiling, my eyes opened wide.

    "...They''re here."

 ? 17 ? Sigurds Raid ?1?

    In the control room, eight individuals relayed information from members of the First, Second, and Third Squads to members from the other Squad or their respective leaders, and vice versa. The current situation on the battlefield, casualties, updates on the enemy''s movement, strategies¡ªthese individuals played an important role in employing the necessary stratagem required to accomplish Le Morte''s mission on the island.

    As for the base itself enclosing the control room, six hovering high-tech drones covered all sides of the forest. The drones'' visual line of sight had a range of about half a kilometer at the very least. Aside from these drones, volunteers from the three Squads patrolled the woodland, reducing any chance for an ambush.

    "Hey, it''s six o''clock. Let''s head back and switch with the others," said a brunette with an assault rifle in her hands to a dark-haired man.

    "The one I''m switching with made a deal to come at seven though," said the man, "You go first."

    "Um, okay. Have you told Commander Finnerty?"

    "Yup. Don''t worry, it''s not like there''s a bear around here. Even if there is one or two, I have a gun. So just go."

    The man shooed his patrol partner and she pouted before leaving. After she traipsed through a few deciduous shrubs, scattered yellow foliage on the ground flew upward and got blown away by a sudden strong wind. The woman looked up at dozens of white birch trees in front of her and then at the orange sky.

    "Suddenly windy, huh," she muttered.

    The woman resumed her walk back to the base and when another wind blew at her face, she closed her eyes.

    "Ack! Leaves all over the place!"

    She shook her head and started to jog. A glint from a metal object caught her attention, and when she turned her head towards it, the object stabbed through her throat just as quickly.

    "Gakh! Aacck..."

    The woman dropped down to the ground after her assailant yanked the bloodied knife out. He wore black gears from neck to feet, goggles covered his eyes.

    With a tap at an earpiece fitted to the man''s ear, he spoke out, "Four tangos eliminated. We''ll move to their hideout right now."

    <hr><hr>

    "J-Jessica, the drones are being destroyed one after another," said a woman whose desk was next to Jessica''s.

    Red tabs popped up on the screens Jessica and eight other members of Le Morte were using to monitor the situation outside. They responded by relaying the displayed information to respective leaders of the First, Second, and Third Squads. Swiftly, Jessica entered a few commands through her keyboard and her screen flashed¡ªblue tabs replaced the alarming red tabs popping up before and illuminated the lapis lazuli walls of the control room with contrasting light.

    The single, large curved monitor at the forefront of the room displayed what the security drones were recording through their camera. Ten split-screen¡ªtwo rows of five¡ªfour of them filled with ominous black.

    This meant four drones had been taken out by the advancing enemy. Seeing this, Jessica bit her nail as an image of soldiers in black entered her mind.

    "Boss, enemies are approaching from both the southwest and northeast. ETA six minutes before they reach the base," said Jessica through her mic.

    "I see. I''m on my way to the control room. Have others intercept them along the way," instructed Richarde at the other end, "Send Beatrice to the southwest and Vlad to the northeast. They''ll become the focal point of our offense."

    "Understood, Sir!"

    Jessica relayed the message to the two mentioned individuals. They complied immediately and moved to the checkpoint where they would meet the few members of their respective Squads.

    Beatrice, the one assigned to lead the First Squad''s assault team stepped into the white birch-filled forest and halted when she saw her comrades.

    "Eight of us. Is this enough?" said Beatrice to Jeremy.

    "It will. We have to make do with this for now. There''s a smaller chance of being exposed to the enemy if we move in a smaller number," replied Jeremy.

    "Good point. Here''s hoping that the Teria soldiers aren''t too many. We don''t want them to run past us straight to the base."

    Beatrice''s team split into two smaller groups and moved further from the base with their assault rifles. They had put on bulletproof vests and military pants before tackling the task at hand.

    Jeremy''s right eye peered through his rifle''s optic mount as he inched through the area.

    "Jeremy, we can use this wind to our advantage. What do you think?" said a man twenty-five degrees to Jeremy''s left.

    "Good idea. I''ll tell the other group."

    The deep orange sky cast pitch-black shadows onto the forest. Jeremy slowed his movement ever so often to check his surroundings. He pointed his assault rifle left and right.

    "We can''t hear incoming enemy''s footsteps with this wind. We''ll just have to rely on our night vision goggles," said Jeremy through his earpiece.

    "B-But it''s still during the day."

    "The area is as dark as it can get for us right now. It''s good enough."

    "You''re right¡ª"

    Bullets pierced through the man''s torso and he fell down, followed by another teammate at the easternmost position in the group.

    "Tsk!" Jeremy flitted behind a white birch tree shadowed by the sun on the horizon. He clasped his rifle''s handguard and pistol grip. Looking through its optical scope, he shifted his aim from the left side hastily to the right.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Jeremy pulled the night vision goggle resting on his forehead and a slightly high-pitched ''iiink'' sound filled his ears. Purple soil and dark trees entered his vision just as quickly; but no sign of enemy soldiers whatsoever in the vicinity. He considered his options, and once he was certain that they''d taken cover as well, Jeremy took the time to reveal his situation to Beatrice''s group.

    "I''m ahead of you. Give us a minute or two. Don''t get yourself killed!" said Beatrice through his mic.

    "I won''t, Beatrice. It''s not my time yet."

    Jeremy had his back against the tree bark as his rifle swerved back and forth between his two exposed sides. His eyes kept track of the leaves'' movement, and when a few halted in mid-air as if it was obstructed by something, Jeremy''s eyes opened wide.

    His goggles picked up a purple fluorescent outline in the shape of a man, reddish-orange color filled the space inside the outline. The man had his rifle aimed directly at Jeremy.

    "You''ve gotta be¡ª" Jeremy spun his body to the left and stepped into the other side of the tree before bullets whizzed past his head.

    "That''s one! Where''s the rest of them?"

    Gunshots rang out as the Teria soldier aiming his weapon at Jeremy inched closer. Jeremy, on the other hand, knew he''d to kill the Teria soldier before the rest of them came out of hiding.

    Holding onto this thought, Jeremy crouched to one knee and after expelling a breath, he quickly let himself fell to the ground and out of cover. His eyes spotted glowing orange heat through his goggles before pulling his rifle''s scope into his line of sight.

    He fired his rifle, and the enemy''s body shook violently and collapsed.

    "Get up, get up, get up! Take cover!" Jeremy said to himself as he ran to the safety of another large tree. But this time, after a dozen seconds, he found himself facing three Teria soldiers who revealed themselves out of hiding.

    He lifted his own gun in response when suddenly, his enemies fell one after another. Gunshots rang out and two of the Teria soldiers descended down to Earth. The last enemy was nonplussed when his teammates died in a mere two seconds.

    "No way!" The Teria soldier took three to four instinctive step-backs when Beatrice emerged from a tree seven meters away. He pulled the trigger as his mouth screamed through the black mask in a vain hope to kill the young woman. Beatrice lowered her body and slid across the ground in the next moment¡ªavoiding the hasty shots fired.

    When Beatrice had slid to the Teria soldier''s side, she pulled out a single-action revolver from its holster and shot overhead. The bullet cut through the air and shattered the man''s jaw before it went through his skull.

    "Phew... You''re lucky we were near! You could''ve been dead a few seconds ago," said Beatrice as she opened her revolver''s cartridge.

    "No kidding..." Jeremy breathed a sigh and lowered his weapon. "You brought a revolver with you? That''s a first. You usually would, um, bring a Glock or ones who can fit 9mm Luger cartridge during missions. Smaller, less recoil..."

    "I wanted to test this out. Ever since I saw the blades Gawain brought in, I have this itch of wanting to get myself into close combat. Anyway, don''t let your guard down. There must be more of them nearby."

    <hr><hr>

    In the northeast of the birch-populated forest, a battle arose between the eleven members of the Second Squad and about a dozen Teria soldiers.

    With darkness slowly engulfing the forest, night goggles helped immensely in the Squad''s retaliation. Though even with it equipped, their fewer number couldn''t hope to match the enemy, as the Teria soldiers went to their flank and started to dwindle down their number even more.

    "G-Get back! Get behind the trees!" hollered a man, "What are you doing!? Get¡ª"

    The man waved his hand towards his teammates at the rear and bullet went into his head in the next second. Before his body collapsed, a fusillade of bullets tore through his arm and pulverized his torso almost immediately.

    Those eight people at the rear quickly retreated further back. They took cover behind the trees, panting and sweating after five minutes fighting the Teria soldiers. One dared to poke her head out to locate the enemy and a bullet pierced through her left eye and she fell.

    "H-How are we going to get that sniper!?" said a man with chestnut-brown hair whose eyes were on the woman''s corpse. He held his rifle close to his chest, his back pressed against the tree bark.

    "Sir is onto it! Let him handle the sniper and we... er, the Teria soldiers up ahead!" said his friend taking cover five meters to his right, a brown-skinned man with thick curly hair, "Tell the others to regroup and cover the flank. We''ll get those Teria soldiers one by one!"

    Close to five-hundred meters far from the battlefield sat a Teria soldier who''d crouched on one knee. He cracked his neck, satisfied the coal-black sniper rifle in his hands killed a few of the resistance. After a few moments determining the wind''s direction, he lied down on his chest and stretched open the rifle''s arrowhead-shaped muzzle brake. This type of muzzle brake comprised of two tubings firmly attached at right angles below the rifle''s long barrel.

    The Teria soldier rested the muzzle brake back on the ground, but this time, he shifted his rifle''s position somewhat to the left. His prey had taken safety behind a white birch''s tree bark, but this didn''t concern the man at all.

    He could wait for the unsuspecting woman he caught within his sight to poke her head out, and then, it would be her demise.

    "...I got you now," he said with a wide grin on his face.

    Suddenly, a finger pulled a gun''s trigger repeatedly and a loud cry echoed throughout the yellow forest.

    "Aaagkhh... Urkkh... Since when... How can you find me here¡ªAaagkh!"

    The sniper held onto his bloodied arm as he dragged his body away from a burly man with a scruffy grey beard and mustache. His grey hair tied into a ponytail. This man, Vlad Finnerty pointed his handgun in the sniper''s direction and narrowed his eyes. Even though he had the upper hand, Vlad didn''t finish off the Teria soldier.

    "...Y-You could''ve shot me in the head, but why... ugh... Why did you shot my arm instead!? Are you toying with me, huh!?" said the Teria soldier, the blood flowing from his arm had slathered the yellow leaves underneath.

    "One bullet for one of my men you killed. I shot three just now, so that arm of yours is as good as useless," said Vlad, his voice came out hoarse.

    "H-Huh!?"

    "Just one more. Stay still."

    Vlad fired his handgun once and the bullet went straight into the Teria soldier''s skull.

    "Perhaps next time, you should take into account that as a sniper, camping at the same spot for a long while¡ªeven if you''re invisible¡ªwill reveal yourself to your enemy. There can only be so many places for a sniper to shoot at us and on a windy day like this, you need to move to a higher place, like this small hill."

    <hr><hr>

    The six remaining Teria soldiers pressuring the Second Squad had moved forward, closer to the base. One of them sneaked behind using her invisibility and stabbed through a man''s chest. The man''s eyes bulged and not more than two seconds later, his body dropped to the ground. Another Teria soldier managed to get to the Second Squad''s rear and lifted her rifle at one of the seven that had their backs facing her.

    "I got you¡ª" were the last words she uttered before a barrage of bullets shredded her flesh and she fell, defeated. A brown-skinned man with thick curly hair had shot her from her blindspot at point-blank.

    He swiftly took cover behind a tree just as bullets passed him.

    "How many more!?" he shouted at his mic, "We kinda need Sir to join the fray right now. Where is he!?"

    A woman responded on the other side, tilting her head as a finger pressed onto her own mic, "He''s on his way¡ªAh, no, Sir is right there!"

    The man holding onto his assault rifle crouched and then poked his head out after hearing several garbled shouts.

    Vlad Finnerty knocked one Teria soldier to the floor with his arm. In the next critical moment, surrounded by five Teria soldiers who had turned to face him, he charged at the closest one while carrying his assault rifle. He dashed her in the head and choked another with one arm¡ªholding him captive.

    The remaining three Teria soldiers floundered for a few moments. They dithered, glancing at the trees where the Second Squad was hiding anticipating a surprise attack from them. However...

    Three drones emerged from the deep orange sky which pulled the Teria soldiers'' attention to it. By doing so, they left a window of opportunity.

    "Graakh!"

    "Urkhhh!"

    "Oohgg!"

    Vlad let go of his assault rifle and slit the soldier''s throat in his captive. He quickly picked up his gun on the ground and shot down one of the three distracted Teria soldiers.

    His actions heralded a salvo of gunshots coming from the members of the Second Squad which killed off the remnant enemy soldiers.

    "They must be more of them out there! Find them! Cull their number as many as you can!" shouted Vlad Finnerty as his men moved out of their cover.

 ? 18 ? Sigurds Raid ?2?

    "Huff, huff... huff.. ahh... huff... huff..."

    A Teria soldier uncloaked herself from invisibility after she had escaped to the forest''s outskirts. Trees cast shadows on the woman''s back as she fell on both knees, panting.

    "Huff.. huff... Those guys..."

    "What happened to the team?" A figure approached her from the front, and she raised her head up to look at the person. Her eyes bulged after finding out who it was and she immediately avoided eye contact, fear seeped into her entire body. However, the figure crouched and pulled the soldier''s chin so their eyes would meet.

    "...O-Officer Milloula," said the Teria soldier, "Those people are stronger than what they seem to be. We eliminated some of them, but still, it wasn''t enough to make a dent in their defense. W-We can''t get inside their base like this."

    "You did fine! As decoys, you all did a very good job getting the enemy to come out here. We divided their fighting strength, and that''s all that matters..." said Milloula with a wide grin on her face. "So, what were they like?"

    "...Um, two soldiers, presumably their strongest assets are out there fighting. From the looks of it, each one leads their own group, Officer Milloula. These two people wiped out our comrades like it was nothing."

    "Hmm." Milloula frowned. "That''s pretty bold of them. So, they''d sent their most valuable chess pieces already to counter us. Not bad, I guess. But stupid. Yeah. If I straight up just kill these guys right now, then they won''t have anyone to protect their base. Anyone notably fun to play with, I mean."

    "E-Exactly, Officer Milloula."

    "..."

    Milloula stood up and cracked her neck, the metal bracers wrapping her forearms glittered in pale blue. "I''ll get the rest cowering in their hideout. It seems like this will be a quick one for us, and for them."

    The Teria soldier kneeling before Milloula Friegeaux haltingly nodded. Even though the defeated soldier was apart of Sigurd for a long while, she''d never seen a group of powerful Officers gathered in one place herself. These individuals made an appearance to eliminate the so-called rebels, out of whim.

    From what she''d heard, those who witnessed the rare occasions of Officers fighting, they described the battlefield in one word.

    Bloodbath.

    Soldiers, mercenaries, whoever stood in their way stood no chance against a group of Officers. But this raid could be different? They didn''t have any info on their enemies, and so far, the Sigurd languished under the tactics employed by them.

    "...You think that we''ll lose this one?" said Milloula to the kneeling Teria soldier.

    "U-Um, no... Officer Milloula. It''s¡ª"

    "Let me tell you this. When I was deployed along with a few other Officers, our group had never failed any missions we were given by the Sigrdrifa. No failure. That should tell you what will happen at the end of all this, right?"

    Milloula''s sardonic grin sent chills down the Teria soldier''s back. The soldier nodded repeatedly, the reprieve from not being punished by Milloula was a warm balm, although Milloula herself didn''t give much of a thought about the Teria soldier.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Petulantly, Milloula swept her eyes at her surroundings and cast a callous gaze at the Teria soldier.

    "Eldrorrn will be in the front, just in case if those rebels have anything up their sleeve, and I''ll swipe anyone I can. Pretty much everyone that gets in my way," said Milloula sharply.

    <hr><hr>

    Leader of the First Squad, Richarde Andersson was entreated by three of his subordinates after he walked inside the control room.

    "Sir!" said Jessica, "The two groups we''d sent to fight the Teria soldiers had won. A few escaped, but the Second Squad is going after them. But.. should we ask those people and the First Squad to come back anyway?"

    "Order them to come back. We need to reinforce our defenses right now. Aside from that, we have to evacuate the civilians. Take them to the cafeteria underground and have some of us around protect those people. Is that clear?" said Richarde.

    The three individuals in front of him nodded in agreement and went back to their seats. Jessica''s fingers flitted across her keyboard, tapping at its keys just when a man walked into the control room. She took a glance to see who it was, and the woman found herself gazing at the blonde man before Richarde. Her heart throbbed at the sight, her mouth gaped.

    "Ah, Gawain. Good timing. I need your help in ushering the civilians to the cafeteria. They''ll be safe there, I''m sure," said Richarde, his hand patted Gawain''s shoulder, "Also, while you''re on the way there... take Ava too. We can''t have anything happen to her."

    Gawain held a fist over his chest and closed his eyes. "I''ll get it done. So this means I need to go over to her place first, right? What about Ludwig and Ayesha that are with her? Should they go with the civilians as well?"

    "Ludwig is with Ava if I''m not mistaken. I''ll have both you and him escort her underground. As for Ayesha, I''m certain she''s already ushering some of the civilians on her own."

    "Understood, Sir. I''ll¡ª"

    "Gawain..."

    Jessica approached him, her dismal expression pulled Gawain and Richard''s attention.

    "You need me for something...?" asked Gawain.

    Jessica shook her head. "Are you keeping it under control? If you have trouble doing that, perhaps I can be of use. In some way."

    "I''m fine. Don''t worry about me... Anyway, Boss, I''ll go right now."

    "Alright," said Richarde.

    Jessica watched Gawain leaving the control room, and when his figure disappeared into the corridor outside, her chest tightened. The blonde woman had tried to ignore the emotions building up, however, the fact that she could hear her heart pounding against her chest rapidly was proof enough¡ªthe feelings inside her hadn''t changed.

    <hr><hr>

    As he watched the civilians ushered underground, Hope''s gloved hands fidgeted, fingers brushed against the pistol grip and handguard of his bullpup assault rifle. The boy had his forehead bandaged prior to an incident back at an enemy''s outpost, but he wasn''t bothered by it.

    "Oi, Hope. You''re done there?" said a burly man Hope knew as Inghild, who walked up to him from behind, "The Boss is calling for those still outside to come back. We don''t have patrols and the drones have become scarce after the ambush."

    "I-I see. Um, reinforcing our defense is the highest priority and Boss knows this. We don''t know when the enemy will attack us again anyway," said Hope, "Wait, aren''t you suppose to guard the entrance?"

    "There''s an order from Boss for you, kid. You are to protect the civilians and remain on standby until further instructions."

    "Huh!? Then, I''m not going out there?" asked Hope, his eyebrows drew together.

    "Seems like it. The Boss needs you here more. Besides, what can you do if the Boss does send you outside? Against the Teria soldiers, you''ll not last even five seconds."

    Inghild shrugged and walked away from the hallway leading down to the cafeteria, leaving Hope there thinking about the statements he''d just heard. They were not wrong in the slightest. In fact, Hope rued over the possibility which he could still be a valuable addition to the fighting force. The blonde boy breathed a sigh, accepting the order he''d received.

    Hope stared at the stairs leading underground. There were two options presented in front of him, where he could stay there in the hallway to guard or be with the civilians downstairs.

    "...Wait, what about Ava?" Realizing Ava wasn''t among the civilians he helped to usher, Hope shook his head and gritted his teeth.

    "Ludwig is with her, so she must be on her way here." He uttered these words as an effort to deaden the fear gripping his heart. "I promised that nothing bad will happen to Ava again, but I''m here instead of protecting her. I just hope they''re safe..."

 ? 19 ? Sigurds Raid ?3?

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 ? 20 ? Sigurds Raid ?4?

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 ? 21 ? Sigurds Raid ?5?

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 ? 22 ? I Cared About Them

    The dome-like building Le Morte used as their hideout was bombarded with anti-armor guided missiles from the ground. It launched from behind the white birch trees, sending ripples of shockwave after shockwave to those protected by the large base.

    In the hallway leading to the underground cafeteria, Hope Domitius bit his lip as he held onto his assault rifle.

    The blonde boy tapped at his mic and listened intently despite the racket.

    "With how things are, it''s dangerous to approach her," said Ludwig on the other end of the mic. "Ava''s Aegis has lost control and she''s wandering inside the base by herself."

    How could this happen? Hope shook his head after Ludwig repeated the emergency to all members of Le Morte taking shelter inside the base.

    "...He said Ava hurt Gawain? No... No, no, no. What have you done? Ah, wait, what am I saying!? Of course she wouldn''t hurt him! Her Aegis acted on its own..."

    "Hope!"

    The blonde boy turned to look behind him when Beatrice pulled him into a tight hug. "Are you okay!? You''re not hurt anywhere, are you?"

    "Akh!" Hope pushed her, tearing himself away from her sudden embrace. "What are you doing!? I''m not a kid, okay! This is not the time for your nonsense¡ª"

    Hope trailed off when he saw Inghild standing next to Beatrice. Both of them wore a crestfallen expression as their eyes met.

    Realizing he had raised his voice against Beatrice, Hope quickly apologized and then clarified that Ava''s situation had miffed him.

    "Don''t sweat yourself over it," said Inghild as he stepped closer to Hope, "That aside, Hope, we got orders. Boss asked us to find Ava."

    Hope''s eyes widened when he heard this. "Then, who''ll guard the civilians?"

    "Someone else will switch with you, so don''t worry about that. First things first, we need to find Ava. We''re the first ones to made contact with her at the outpost, right? It made sense for Boss to ask us. Ludwig and Ayesha are out of the question judging from where they are right now."

    Hope could not disagree with his statement. If Ava could not control her power, then the more time they took dawdling around, the higher the risk for someone else to get hurt. Hope pinned this at the forefront of his mind and quickly ran through the various routes Ava could take from Ludwig''s and Gawain''s location.

    There were not many, but if they wanted to intercept her quick, splitting up would be the most efficient option.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    "Everyone! W-We got a problem!" said Jessica through the trio''s mic on their ear, "The Second Squad is fighting a... giant robot of some sort at the front gate. It''s a Hybelle! Those who are available right now, please go assist the Second Squad!"

    "A robot?" said Beatrice. "Tsk. Those guys are really annoying. I''ll go help Vlad''s Squad."

    Hope and Inghild nodded, of which they then watched the green-haired woman dashed into a corridor to their left with an assault rifle in her hands. The duo looked at each other.

    "Let''s go find Ava," said Hope solemnly.

    <hr><hr>

    In the control room, a rather small tumult broke out among the members inside there. Richarde explained and ordered Jessica and others to relay his command, that those beside Hope and Inghild were to fight the giant eight-legged mechanical robot bombarding the base.

    With the absence of the Third Squad and its leader, the means to take down such an enemy would require at least the fighting strength of the First and Second Squad combined.

    Taking into account the dozen injured people, their chance was quite slim. Jessica pointed this out to the few who were sitting next to her and they nodded in agreement.

    The blonde woman lowered her head and sighed. Not more than three minutes later, Ludwig''s voice rang out through her mic and upon hearing his words, the girl''s heart sunk.

    "We need medics right now! Gawain is in critical condition. I''m not sure how much longer I can stop the bleeding," said Ludwig.

    The girls next to Jessica looked at each other before they cast furtive glances at her.

    "...What did you say?" said Jessica, her eyes opened wide as her body froze, "Gawain... Gawain was stabbed in the chest?"

    Seeing how Jessica did not speak to the medics on standby, the two girls did it instead. However, Jessica raised her voice at them when they did so.

    "NO! Don''t call for the medics!" said Jessica, her body trembling.

    "Huh? B-But..."

    They had already called for them regardless, so Jessica was nonplussed for a few moments. No, Ludwig would find out about it anyway, so calling for medics wouldn''t change a thing, Jessica thought to herself.

    She needed to go over to check on Gawain. The blonde was overwhelmed with this thought and she stood up from her seat. She had to be there for him!

    "Jessica?"

    Richarde Andersson called for her but there was no response whatsoever. The woman merely stood up with her head lowered, the curly blonde hair she had covered a part of her expression.

    The old man put a hand on her shoulder and called for her again. Jessica snapped back to reality and turned to look over her shoulders. Tears welled up in her eyes.

    "...Boss," she said, "Gawain... He... They will find out about Gawain''s..."

    "I know. Ludwig must have noticed by now. He''ll keep Gawain''s secret to himself so don''t worry. I''ll ask the medics to be on standby near the entrance so that they can help those fighting the robot outside. Gawain as he is will be fine even if the medics don''t tend to him. And, they won''t meet Gawain if I send them away, right?"

    "...Boss. Thank you."

    Richarde nodded and put up a smile. "Gawain is a member of the First Squad, and naturally he''s a part of Le Morte as well. Despite our past, Her Majesty accepted those willing to change their ways and that includes him. So, we need to return the favor however we can. Right?"

    Jessica bit her lip and made the slightest gesture of a nod. She recalled their mission''s main objective and what it meant to have Ava near them. It made sense for Richarde to split their fighting strength to get Ava back.

    "That''s why we need to complete this mission," said Jessica softly, "by bringing Ava Andersson to Her Majesty. That''s our goal from the very beginning. So... we can''t let the enemy have her."

    "That''s right," agreed Richarde. "Ava must be brought to Her Majesty at all cost in accordance with Her Decree."

 ? 23 ? Second Squad vs. Hybelle

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 ? 24 ? Beyond Iliad

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    Sigurd

 ? 25 ? As My Awakened Heart Betrays Yesterdays Justice

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    Sigurd

    really?" said the blue-haired girl. "Don''t worry, I''m not going to reprimand you for killing those Teria soldiers. Lenora is somewhere nearby I think, but for now, me capturing you would be the number one priority."

    Hm!

 ? 26 ? This Sad Fate Screams out Loud, "Tear Me Apart, My Loved Ones."

    "Close that wound up. As for that kid... I''ll have to incapacitate her first. We need to stop her from using her Aegis if we want to capture her."

    Lenora spun her guisarme and threw it into the air. She stretched her arm upward, and at the same time, the guisarme let out a momentary sound similar to a bee rapidly beating her wings.

    Glittering light of gold orbited the weapon.

    With a few gestures from Lenora, the light disappeared and the guisarme dived towards me in an arc. It veered away when the crimson wolf''s head bit, to avoid my Aegis. While the speed alone could catch me off guard, it wasn''t enough.

    The crimson wolf''s head growled and it shifted form into a large shield¡ªjust in time to protect me from the guisarme''s head-on thrust. The guisarme bounced off the shield and spun in the air, before it returned to Lenora.

    "...She clearly knows how to use her Aegis, with how she''s deflecting every single strike. But at the same time, it doesn''t seem she''s controlling it herself? Quite different from what the Sigrdrifa said about them," said Lenora softly, as if she was testing her hypothesis through her weapon.

    "That kid''s strange. Her Aegis is not exactly like what Sigrdrifa had described," said Yarilya as she bandaged her severed arm with a white cloth. "Is she a new one?"

    "Who knows? it''s not like I''d ever met any of those monsters anyway. Once we take her to the Sigrdrifa, she''ll bring the kid to the A.U themselves for them to identify."

    Lenora lowered her body and took a defensive stance¡ªher guisarme pointing at me.

    "Hmph!" After a forward thrust, the guisarme left her hands, followed by a blinding flash from the hooked tip. While I covered my eyes from the flash, I heard scratching sounds presumably from the guisarme clashing against my shield.

    I opened my eyes, and immediately let out a yelp when the teenage girl Lenora was in front of me. She palmed straight for my neck and once it connected, I could feel the air sucked out of my chest.

    My esophagus broke from the attack. Unable to breathe, darkness enveloped me and I fell unconscious.

    <hr><hr>

    "......Ugh."

    My vision returned slowly as I stood up. Squelching and scratching noise grew louder and rattled at my ears¡ªconspicuously raucous.

    "Huh?" Taking in the scene unfolding before me, Lenora was fighting for her life against my Aegis, dodging and countering the five elongating crimson axes with her guisarme. Lenora jumped and twisted her body to avoid one, and parried another trying to pierce her shoulder.

    Sparks flew each time the girl thrust and swung her guisarme, and not once had she managed to harm me through it. She gritted her teeth and hollered when she had to distance herself, cornered.

    "Yarilya! Are you ready yet!?" yelled Lenora.

    "Yeah..." Yarilya walked to her comrade''s side with a strut. Her eyes cast a quick glance at her bandaged arm¡ªwhat was left of it. "I''ll put her down. You know what to do next."

    "Don''t mind if I go first. I''m itching to cut that kid. Looking at her miffed me, Yarilya, and I very much hate it."

    Lenora set her feet far apart. She brought her right leg pointing at me a few inches forward and leaned her body backward¡ªtaking the form of someone about to throw a javelin.

    "Stay still!" A flick, thrust, and finally a tight clench, Yarilya motioned her hand to uncover the gold sphere in her hollow eye socket, and just as quickly, my axes paused in mid-air.

    "S-Stop..." I said, "This wouldn''t¡ª"

    Lenora threw her guisarme into the night sky and dashed towards me as well, following Yarilya. With both of the girls ten meters apart from me, I shook my head and just accepted what came after.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    "Two-hundred percent output¡ª"

    A large crimson machete cut through Yarilya''s other arm clean, and she cried out in pain. When Lenora''s guisarme plummeted and came nearly five meters overhead, my axes liquefied, combined to form a larger version of itself and swung down.

    "Gaaaaaaakhh!"

    The ax broke the guisarme in half and not more a second later, it cleaved Lenora in half, from her left shoulder until her left thigh.

    My Aegis did not stop there. Following up its previous attack, the ax beheaded Lenora as soon as her body fell down, to which Yarilya screamed from seeing such a sight.

    "I-I''m..."

    "I''ll kill you, kid! I swear I''ll cut you into pieces!" said Yarilya as her right arm bled profusely.

    "Hic..."

    I sidled to a corner before my feet took off running. I cried and cried nonstop and stumbled as I ran to nowhere. My wail echoed throughout the empty hallway. I just wanted to get away from everyone, everything.

    My mouth muttered incessant apologies, and when time passed by for who knows how long, I could feel a part of myself slowly began to regress.

    ''Ah, where is this?'' I wondered.

    The scenery had changed at some point without me realizing it. This time, I was inside my house, alone. It was somewhere from midnight to early morning judging from the dreadful silence.

    "...Daddy?"

    A soft giggle echoed throughout the silent living room, and I found myself shivering.

    I blinked, and when I allowed myself to embrace the darkness, the living room seemed to change. The sofa our family had for the longest time shifted its position around the room every moment I closed and opened my eyes.

    At one point, the fluorescent light above flickered, and dead bodies filled the living room.

    I hunkered down immediately and let out a scream, then, it changed again. The scene twisted and reformed, but this time, it was a memory. The time was night, still, however, I was drawing on my sketchbook alone on the sofa when the lights went out. I screamed when that happened as I was terribly afraid of the dark.

    More so when I was all by myself.

    I didn''t move one inch and just screamed. My cry pulled Mommy''s attention because she walked in through the front door after hearing me, and quickly went to my side.

    "Ava, honey, the lights will return soon, alright? Mommy''s here. There''s nothing for you to worry about." Mommy brushed her hand through my hair as she hugged me. "When you''re afraid of something... remember... Mommy is always watching you. Nothing will happen to my sweet little daughter."

    I smiled and closed my eyes. Her warmth soothed me. But it was not for long before she vanished along with the house itself. I was pulled into another different memory, and when I opened my eyes, my mind immediately registered which memory it was.

    This... One of the memories I was fond of.

    "Hey, why do you have red eyes?" asked a boy when the last class for the day ended.

    He was my classmate during my third grade, and in that school, third-graders were kids like us eight-year-olds. To answer his question, I replied I woke up one day looking like this, and then quickly trotted to Daddy waiting outside the school.

    "Look, it''s the weird kid," said a girl who I recognized as someone in the sixth grade.

    She and her friends blocked my path just before I could walk out of the hallway. They smirked and began to ask questions I had heard a multitude of times.

    "You know you''re not allowed to wear colored lenses, right?" said a dark-haired boy next to the girl.

    "...I-I''m not wearing any lenses."

    "Haha. You''re lying," said a girl. "Weirdo."

    She pushed me and I stumbled right into Dale who was watching from the side. He pulled me back up, but the sixth-graders didn''t stop their teasing and I got Dale involved.

    They pulled at my schoolbag and unzipped it. One of them pulled out my coloring book, skimmed over the pages, and threw it. I gasped, glared at them and grabbed the book before they pushed me to the floor.

    "Ava!" Dale tried to help me but the sixth-grader boys threatened him, saying that he should stay back if he didn''t want to get punched.

    "...Hic."

    Tears welled up in my eyes and slowly, it trickled down my cheeks. They bullied me again because of my eye color.

    We never met each other much less talked, but when my eyes turned the way it did, they started to come to me and teased incessantly. What was wrong with my eye color? What was wrong with being different than others?

    "Get up," said one of the boys. "If you don''t, I''ll¡ª"

    A tall figure shadowed me and quickly, he lifted my body with both hands and carried me on one arm.

    "You kids better scram before I get you one by one. Now!" said Daddy.

    The bully sixth-graders scrambled away from the scene. But my eyes were not nearly focused on them as they were on Daddy. I cried in the hallway and he patted my back, trying to deaden my sadness. The next day, he confronted the bullies'' respective parents with how their kids had bothered me.

    The day after that, I never saw them again. They disappeared from sight and I did my school routine happily with no one bullying me in the slightest. And every time school ended, I rushed to Daddy''s side and hugged him tightly.

    "Daddy, I love you so, so much!!"

    "I love you too, Ava."

    Daddy returned my hug and kissed my forehead. Deep inside, a part of me never wanted to grow up because if I got older, Daddy wouldn''t kiss me in the forehead anymore. I would get too big for him to carry me in his arms.

    Slowly, I wrapped my arms around him, and after some time, Daddy asked me to let go because everyone was staring. But I didn''t care about it and ceased to let go.

    "Daddy... I love you so much."

 ? 27 ? Im Simply Reaching out My Hand to You From the Other Side of the Door

    Mommy greeted us when Daddy and I returned home. She had an exultant smile on her face. While Mommy''s attention was indeed on me initially, it shifted to Daddy at the front door, and she walked to his side.

    At that instant, I knew what was gonna happen.

    "No! Daddy doesn''t want Mommy to kiss him! He''s tired!"

    I held my hands towards Mommy after I got in between them, and they chuckled. Daddy mentioned that he wanted to take a quick shower before heading back to work.

    Mommy, on the other hand, went to the kitchen and I followed her. She had already peeled some potatoes earlier so she proceeded to cut it into smaller portions. I threw the potato chunks into a small pan with olive oil, and let Mommy fried it.

    "Daddy... do you have to leave?" I asked as my hands pulled at Daddy''s shirt. "You''re not going to have dinner with us again?"

    "I''m sorry, Ava. It''s... I have to help a coworker who''s sick today. I''m taking his shift." He kissed me on the forehead. "I promise I''ll eat with Mommy and you tomorrow."

    My cheeks flushed when Daddy patted my head. "When I grow up, I want to be Daddy''s princess."

    "Hoh?" Mommy heard this and poked at Daddy''s arm. "If Ava becomes your princess, then what will I be?"

    "You''re my queen of course!"

    "B-But I want to be Daddy''s queen! If Mommy wants to be your queen, then I want to be one as well!"

    They laughed at my words and I pouted at them. Afterward, the scene shifted, and I was put into another memory I was quite fond of.

    I found myself staring through the window looking at the heavy downpour outside with Dale and his two friends. He jogged to another window in the living room and peered through it.

    I remembered this memory vividly. Dale and his friends came to visit my house one day to invite me to play with them at a nearby park. I would love to if the day was moderately allowing, but, I came to accept the reality with a sigh.

    It began to rain as soon as the trio arrived. Before we knew it, the rain turned into a downpour.

    "...How about we play tag inside?" I suggested to Dale.

    "Tag? Boring," said one of his friends. "Wrestling! That''s more fun, isn''t it?"

    "...That''ll be painful. Besides, Mommy said to never copy the shows we saw on TV!" I pointed out. "They''re not good for us."

    "Eh... tag it is then!"

    Not more than five minutes later, I was chasing those three on the first floor. They ran into my bedroom and then I ran after them in circles before they went out into the corridor. Dale pulled his hand just in time as I was about to grab him, and he laughed at me.

    "I''ll get you three!" This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    With Dale within sight, I sprinted after him and managed to pull his shirt. He stumbled towards me and I patted his shoulder. "Yay! Dale''s out!"

    The others looked over their shoulders when my fingers pinched at their collars to stop them from running.

    "I got you two!" I said, somewhat enraptured by me winning the game. However, Dale and his friends cast a wry smile at me.

    "You''re quite rough for a girl," said Dale as he tucked his shirt. "Again!"

    "Alright!"

    In the second round, I chased them until we encountered Mommy in the kitchen. Past her, we went into the living room, and I tumbled a flower vase to the floor.

    It shattered and soft soil scattered all over the floor. The four of us held our hands to our chest, shaking. However, the fact that the vase broke elicited an angry yell from Mommy, as she flounced towards us with squinted eyes.

    "Who broke it?" were the first words that came out of Mommy''s mouth.

    "Um... Me."

    Mommy narrowed her eyes at me and I lowered my head. I remembered how she admonished me for five straight minutes. My eyes shut tight, I froze at my spot, taking in every word Mommy said.

    "Do you have to play tag in the house!? What is this, a playground!? Why don''t you clean your room for once and help to do house chores? Dale always follows her mother to the market and help her carry stuff. But you? Sitting on the bed and waste your time drawing. I''d never seen you doing anything productive."

    "I-I''m sorry, Mommy."

    "Rather than invite your friends to come here and play, why don''t you get the potatoes from Mrs. Kennard''s house and¡ª"

    "Um, Mrs. Andersson, it''s our fault actually," interjected Dale. "So, er... we''ll accept the punishment as well. I don''t want Ava to take the blame all by herself."

    "Clean that up right now!" ordered Mommy as she pointed at the broken vase.

    "Y-Yes!"

    Mommy left for the kitchen as us four swept the vase''s shattered pieces. However, when Daddy arrived with his raincoat on, he saw us and squinted. The four of us previously doing what we were asked of then blanched to a corner¡ªas if expecting Daddy to disparage us as Mommy did.

    He quickly put away his raincoat and went over to our side, concern evident in his eyes.

    "...Bart, you should take a shower," said Mommy after she stepped into the living room with a harrowed look.

    "Alicia, I''ll clean this up for them. Kids, you can go to Ava''s room and play there, alright? The rain looks like it won''t be gone for quite a while anyway."

    Daddy, even though he''d just gone back from work, helped us clean the mess I''d made. After sweeping the floor, Daddy mopped the spot despite Mommy''s conspicuous qualms of having him do it.

    After everything was said and done, I ambled out of my room and peeked at Mommy and Daddy from the stairs. Talking among themselves, I tried to eavesdrop on their conversation.

    Perhaps Daddy was defending me? The thought of it quickened my heartbeat. I heard soft voices from my spot, and slowly, I inched closer to the couple in the living room, step by step while holding my breath.

    "...I''m sorry," said Mommy as she shook her head. "I didn''t think when I said those words to her. It''s..."

    "I know. It happens. I''m just glad that nothing happened to her when the vase dropped. I mean, we''ve managed to keep her secret after all these years. Imagine if her friends saw her injury and it suddenly..."

    "Her power is dormant, Bart. But still, we must keep it from her at all cost," said Mommy.

    "But for how long...? Eventually, she... Yeah, I know. It''s better if we keep it until she''s a bit older, a bit more mature. Our daughter is strong and I''m certain she''ll be able to accept it."

    "...Bart, I don''t want anything to happen to our sweet little Ava. I kept dreaming that one day we''ll never see her again... But we won''t be apart from her! She''s our child."

    Mommy leaned her head on Daddy''s shoulder and Daddy wrapped his arms around her, attempting his best to assuage his wife''s emotions.

    As I looked at both of them, my mind repeated the words they''d said. It did not occur to me this conversation they had, somewhat related to a life-changing event I experienced later on without them nearby.

    I was shot and felt certain I came back from the dead¡ªliving proof of a revenant among the islanders. Albeit their greatest effort to take me to safety, I suffered alone trying to find them.

    But I did not intend to give up. Mommy and Daddy were out there somewhere looking for me. For once, if I could have any wish granted, I wanted to meet them again and ensconced in their warmth and couthy smiles.

 ? 28 ? A Step Forward

''Find them''Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    Find them, AvaStaying here won''t change anything

    But you''ll just hurt them by staying, Ava

    Ah, that boy who helped me back at the outpost.

    Don''t come near me!

 ? 29 ? Milloulas Entrance

<hr>

    already

    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

 ? 30 ? Triumph Over Death

    Bang! Bang!

    "Um, Beatrice... To be honest, I''m kinda jealous. I can never beat you, can I?"

    "You''re strong, Beatrice. Perhaps the strongest girl I know. With how you fight, you''ll mow down those who try to do harm to you! So..."

    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    clunk

 ? 31 ? Turn Back the Pendulum

    Milloula Friegeaux spun the military knife in her hand and gripped the hilt with the blade facing Inghild. She was certain her target wouldn''t be able to dodge, so she slowly lifted the knife high overhead.

    "Inghild!!" Beatrice wobbled once she stood up and eventually fell again, her eyes strained on her near-death comrade. He''d die in front of her. That seemingly ostentatious knowledge wrapped the girl''s heart, giving her the strength to try to save him. The only thing holding her down was the drowsiness she had from being slammed into a wall.

    Ignoring the blaring warnings in her brain, Beatrice ran totteringly, pushing herself past her limit.

    As for the man evidently teetering between life and death, Inghild''s eyes never left the knife about to descend onto him. He blinked, just as Milloula''s blade disappeared. His stare shifted to the ceiling, memories of his life flashed through Inghild''s mind.

    I was prepared to die when I accepted Her request, but still...

    <hr><hr>

    Nearly a decade ago, Inghild was thrown into prison for leaking confidential military documents to certain countries. Pictures of his face taken and once deemed guilty, the judge decided he would spend a lifetime in a prison in London, United Kingdom.

    As an aside, the Sovereign of the British Monarchy¡ªQueen of a constitutional monarchy¡ªheld matters which involved trust and the reputation and safety of her royal family in high regard. Which meant those who''d chosen to disobey would be met with severe punishment regardless of status and age.

    Queen Fortune Sybyll Barnwell.

    The Sovereign and therefore Head of State of Canada and many other countries, of which the ability to make and pass legislation rested with the Parliament. That being said, Prime Minister was still the most powerful individual with the power to command the military and regulate the laws of respective countries.

    However, special authoritative orders and powers specific to the ruling Crown still existed, and she also claimed much-needed respect from every part of the world and was revered by the British society. Simply put, if Her Majesty decided against or wanted something, most likely, the Crown''s position bestowed upon her would allow half of the wishes she had.

    When Inghild was thrown in a solitary cell, two officers watched over him for a month. During that time, no one else talked to him, much less visited him in prison. Any news regarding the outside world didn''t reach Inghild and so, he spent his days indulging in an ostensibly mundane routine.

    Until one day, a certain powerful individual visited him in his cell at noon. The thick metal door to his cell opened wide and four silver-masked people in white coat approximately six-feet-tall entered. They fell to one knee and lowered their head as if making a path for an old lady in her seventies to step in.

    "Y-Your Majesty!?"

    Trembling in fear, Inghild sat on both knees and bowed, sweat trickled down his chin before it dropped onto the musty floor.

    "...Inghild Emmanuel Russell," said the Queen softly.

    "Y-Yes!" Inghild raised his head once he heard his name called.

    The Queen''s turquoise floor-length dress was unblemished, and she had only a simple necklace around her neck. Jet-black hair tied into a bun paired with the silver-chalice crown, the Queen exuded veneration from anyone nearby.

    She straightened her posture and tapped her wooden cane onto the floor twice.

    "Sentenced to live in prison for the remainder of your life, isolated from even the inmates, does it not make you regret what you''d done?" muttered Queen Fortune Sybyll Barnwell smoothly.

    "...In all honesty, I''d reflected on my wrongdoings, the crimes, all that which caused me to be brought here. Your Majesty, forgive my bluntness, but regret is an understatement to what I''m feeling right now."

    Inghild spoke the truth. He was inveigled by his acquaintances to steal military secrets and sold them. After all, such information could earn him a huge sum of money in a flash. Tempted to get out of his homeless status, he took his brother''s hand without looking back.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    "...If given the chance to turn back time and undo your mistakes, will you do it, Inghild?"

    "Absolutely, Your Majesty. My life as it is has no meaning. To turn back and become a different person entirely... Get hired to work an honest job and help my fellow friends living on the streets. I-I''ll take the chance."

    Queen Fortune narrowed her eyes at the man seeking redemption. She considered every word that came out of his mouth, trying to discern the veracity of his words. "If I offer you redemption, what can you give me in return?"

    Inghild''s eyes opened wide. "I-I was in the military for a few years before I got kicked out. Your Majesty, I-I can offer you my skills, my talent. Anything you ask of me, I''ll do it without question!"

    The Queen smiled upon hearing his words. She nodded in acknowledgment and sat on both knees after her subordinate held her cane for her.

    "Your Majesty!"

    "I will give you a choice, Inghild. You can join a secret paramilitary company called Le Morte D''Angharad, which is naturally, under my direct control. It''s a company I founded to take in those who wish to get a second chance in their life¡ªgetting involved in missions for the sake of my citizens, my people. Or... you can remain here," said Queen Fortune.

    Inghild bit his lip and shook his head. The choice was obvious. "I''ll help Your Majesty however I can, for the citizens under your rule."

    The Queen''s smile reached her cheeks. "Welcome to Le Morte, Inghild Emmanuel Russell."

    <hr><hr>

    "Inghild!!"

    Beatrice''s cry echoed throughout the room the moment Milloula''s knife pierced Inghild''s throat. Milloula stared down at the man she''d killed as he dropped to the floor, blood spluttered out from his neck.

    "Graaaaaaaah!" Furious, unbridled hatred coursing through her veins, Beatrice swung her arm at Milloula. The Officer countered with a chop to Beatrice''s neck, and the swing missed its target.

    Milloula''s knife was still in her hand, but it could only handle a few more stabs into flesh with the abused, dented edge. With bloodshot eyes, Milloula held the knife close to her chest, the blade facing Beatrice. Milloula knew Beatrice had almost no protection against a stab at point-blank, so she waited for the right moment.

    When Beatrice planted her foot to gain her bearing, Milloula smiled. Death had come. The knife cut through the little distance between the two and it dug deep into Beatrice''s flesh.

    "Gghhh!"

    "...What a mad lad you are."

    Beatrice protected herself with her free right arm, the knife''s bloodied tip jutted out the other side. The young girl kicked Milloula, and slowly, she gruntingly pulled the 7-inch knife and threw it. Despite her experience on the frontline, she could barely stand on two feet after taking such an injury. The searing pain and blood loss got to her and she fell on both knees.

    After everything that she''d done, and how much sacrifices it''d taken to wear down Milloula, the battle was still one-sided no matter how anyone looked at it. The worst part was that Milloula did not suffer from any significant injury, which miffed Beatrice.

    The situation couldn''t get any worse than it was for Beatrice, as she glared at Milloula about to finish her off with a smile.

    Beatrice relied on her senses and jujutsu martial art in close combat, so with her unable to lift an arm, her fighting strength plummeted rock-bottom. Her kicks were far less effective given how she had almost no strength left.

    Back when she used to still wield a katana, she was arguably unbeatable in a one-on-one fight.

    But she promised to not use it again because she''d done unforgivable atrocities with it. Even so, parting with the very weapon she was trained to use since elementary filled her chest with longing¡ªfor the blade¡ªand for the boy who she met during the days training with it.

    "You''re strong, but not good enough yet," said Milloula, her raised fist overhead trembling.

    Ah... I''m about to die here, huh. Without ever meeting him again? Without telling him what I wanted to tell after we parted ways?

    The thought hurt her more than she would''ve wanted. Tears filled her eyes as she stared at Milloula.

    That was when Beatrice heard a familiar voice echoed throughout the bloodied room.

    "Beatrice!!" yelled Hope Domitius.

    After the blonde boy stepped into the room, he threw a slim blade about half his height up in the air. It spun three times and cut through Milloula''s shoulder who was caught off guard. The blade spun once again behind Milloula, and Beatrice caught the hilt with her left hand, a smile flitted across her face.

    "You¡ª"

    The titanium katana slashed vertically across Milloula''s torso, splitting her abdomen and severing her tendons in one swift motion. Milloula didn''t finish her sentence as blood poured out of her mouth.

    Beatrice used all her remaining strength to stand up, flipped the katana in hand with the blade facing down, and stabbed through Milloula''s neck.

    "Grraaaakh..."

    The fearsome foe fell down, blood gushed out from her neck as she stared at the ceiling.

    "I can''t even keep this promise to you, huh..." After Beatrice said these words, she collapsed just a few moments before a group of medics rushed inside the room, applying emergency treatment onto her. Aside from Beatrice, only the ash-blonde girl was alive amidst the horrible massacre and gore surrounding them.

    "G-Good thing I went to the workshop," said Hope as he breathed heavily and sat down at the entrance.

    "...Hope, you shouldn''t be moving. I know I just treated your injury, but the bandage can only cover and stop the bleeding for so long."

    "Ayesha."

    Among the medics arrived, Ayesha was the only one reprimanding Hope for his actions. While he did save Beatrice, a chance for his wound to open again could skyrocket at any moment. Stressing the muscles around his shoulder, where the wound was at, had made Ayesha worry.

 ? 32 ? Turn Back the Pendulum ?2?

    "I''m alright, don''t worry too much about me¡ª"

    Hope put a hand on his left shoulder and gritted his teeth.

    The searing pain from being stabbed by Milloula resurfaced, and he whizzed at it. Hope had known just how powerful Milloula was, after their initial encounter, and he''d known Beatrice couldn''t beat her alone.

    It wasn''t as if Hope felt he could help fight alongside Beatrice or anything of the sort. But by giving Beatrice an upper hand even by just bringing her the titanium blade, he could be at ease, knowing that he''d spared an effort to turn the battle''s tide.

    Ever since he''d first been treated by Ayesha and her fellow medics, his resolve to help fight the invading Sigurd bubbled, filling him with confidence.

    "Hope, let me see your wound," said Ayesha as she sat on two knees, while Hope put away his shirt.

    "...The wound opened a bit. Here, I''ll stitch it back."

    "Again? Uh, maybe later¡ªOuch!"

    Ayesha stitched the stab wound in a few seconds and breathed a sigh. After covering it with a new bandage, she squinted her eyes at Hope.

    "I know what you''re thinking. You want to find ?¨¡nisa, isn''t it?"

    "She''s still out there by herself, Ayesha. There''s no way I can leave her like that," replied Hope. "You want to search for her too, right? Then, let''s go together. We don''t have time to lose."

    Ayesha shook her head and bit her lip. She settled into a comfortable sitting position as she adjusted her floor-length dress. It appeared, at least how Hope saw her, that Ayesha didn''t want to help him search for Ava.

    Which wasn''t the case at all. To Ayesha, she felt a great need to look for the little girl even right then, however...

    "Za''im had sent a few others to find ?¨¡nisa. So... there''s no need for us... for you, exactly, to strain yourself searching for her."

    "Boss... He said that?"

    Hope narrowed his eyes at Ayesha, and she looked away. Was this the same fifteen-years-old girl that cared for Ava?

    He knew how disciplined and strict she was on herself when Richarde was involved. Any order their Boss gave to her, she would obey without any reservation, to the point where, she would disregard her own feelings.

    Hope hung onto the fact that Ayesha abstained her desire because of Richarde.

    "A message for you, Hope," continued Ayesha. "Za''im said you should prioritize yourself first and foremost. Think about your circumstances first before anybody else. They''re plenty of people who can search for Ava quicker, than the you who''s injured and battered."

    "Isn''t that the truth?" added Ayesha as she held Hope''s gaze firmly.

    "..."

    Aside from his promise to protect Ava, Hope felt a sense of responsibility for her as her ''guardian'', which drove him into thinking he should be there for the little girl. He''d let his emotions took over.

    Hope wasn''t someone who would rely on feelings when given a choice, but sometimes, he too made mistakes.

    In the end, Hope Domitius was only human, bound to carry out irrational actions in certain situations.

    . . .

    . . .

    Looking back at how he was a year before, there was little to no disparity in his growth. Back then after the authorities charged him for murdering a female classmate in cold blood, he was taken to prison and lived there for a few days before being put into trial.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    "Hope Domitius, your family''s here," said a dark-haired man in a formal white uniform.

    A prison guard visited Hope in his jail cell, and the boy with matted blonde hair stood up upon being called. Hope''s hands were handcuffed after he stepped out from his cell, and briskly, the guard pulled him into the visiting room.

    Hope swept his gaze around the narrow, forty-feet in length, chalky white room. The place was furnished with about twenty simple metal seats each lined up along two sides paired with adjacent white wooden tables across.

    When Hope took a seat, he was faced with a clear, reinforced window and a corded handset placed next to it.

    The guard motioned for him to take the telephone handset, and he grabbed it after a few moments of hesitation.

    "...Hello?" whispered Hope, his eyes locked onto a blonde woman on the other side of the window.

    "Honey, how''re you doing?" The woman, namely his mother, Mrs. Domitius said these words before she put up a thin smile, "You... How have you been?"

    "I-It''s awful," confessed Hope. "Mom, when can I get out of here?"

    Mrs. Domitius bit her lip. Her presence there wasn''t related, in any way, to getting Hope out of prison, but rather, it was more towards her wanting to deliver a piece of news.

    "...You''re charged with murder at such a young age, and they''d sentenced you to live here for a lifetime¡ª"

    "I didn''t kill her!!"

    Hope stood up and gritted his teeth. "I didn''t do it! It wasn''t me! S-Sir Brodwig, h-he did it!"

    "Honey..."

    "Mom, why won''t you believe me!? I''d explained to you and Dad, and you know that it wasn''t me! I was accused of committing a crime I didn''t do!"

    "We''re going to the Philippines," said Mrs. Domitius.

    "...Huh?"

    "Your Dad, you see, his boss had just recently assigned him to work at a company branch in the Philippines. He got posted there."

    "...What are you saying? You''re here just to tell me that... you''re going to leave me?"

    Tears filled Hope''s eyes as he stared at his own mother''s distrusting countenance. The face she made in front of her son was bereft of trust and kindness. Deep inside, Hope realized his mother didn''t even care to disprove the crime he didn''t do.

    His family¡ªwhen Hope last saw them¡ªthey all wore pretend smile and fake couthy expression.

    Simply put, any trust they had in Hope was lost, and their opinion on him changed to that of a ''depraved child''.

    Even if they had the wherewithal to open the case again for him, they wouldn''t do it. The evidence was veritably stacked against Hope from the very beginning.

    And so, Hope continued to live sixty days of his life in prison. He didn''t have any so-called ''acquaintance'', and trepidation took hold of him when it came into conversing with boorish inmates.

    Lunchtime was a veritable hell, with the rebarbative prisoners unabashedly hollering and getting into fights, causing tumult whenever they were together.

    After a few months languishing under these situations, an unexpected individual visited Hope in his cell. Six people wearing black metal masks with an intricate pattern engraved on its surface appeared before him and fell on one knee, forming a pathway for the Queen of the United Kingdom.

    "Q-Queen Fortune Sybyll Barnwell!? Ah, I mean, Your Majesty!"

    Hope bowed in fear of the ruling monarch after he sat on both knees. Why was Her Majesty here, in front of him!?

    Hope shook his head a few times and pinched himself, and true enough, the Queen standing with her cane a few feet before him was the genuine article.

    Queen Fortune smiled as she looked at him. "I have a granddaughter about your age, Hope Domitius. Princess Aya Barnwell. Do you know her?"

    Hope nodded repeatedly. "O-Of course, Your Majesty! Princess Aya is the daughter of Princess Sophea, Your Majesty''s eldest daughter. I''d seen both of them on TV before with you."

    The Queen seemed perturbed by something, her warm gaze still on Hope. However, the blonde boy himself didn''t notice this and his incoherent remarks continued for a while.

    "...I am well aware of the crime you''d committed, Hope," said Queen Fortune softly.

    "I-I didn''t do it, Your Majesty! I''m¡ª"

    "Regardless whether you did it or not, it still stands true that at such a young age, you''re thrown in prison, sentenced to life imprisonment."

    "..." The Queen''s words repeated itself in his mind. While putting a hand over his chest, Hope took a deep breath and gazed at the Queen. "I never wanted any of this, Your Majesty."

    "So did many others who were in your position, and those who still are. At eleven-years-old, you have yet to experience life, Hope. You have a long journey ahead. So, I''m giving you a choice."

    "A choice?"

    "Do you want to remain here in this prison, or join Le Morte D''Angharad? It''s a paramilitary company under my command, Hope, and so far, it''d helped a lot of people especially those under my rule from being exploited and abused by their respective countries'' corrupt parliament."

    "Will you help me as well, Hope Domitius? For the sake of our people. For the sake of my granddaughter''s future," added Queen Fortune.

    Hope''s mouth gaped upon being asked to help none other than Queen Fortune Sybyll Barnwell herself. He quickly recollected himself and asked, "But how can I be of use to you, Your Majesty? I-I''m not good at anything. At school, I''m not the brightest student either."

    A smile flitted across Queen Fortune''s face. "My intuition brought me here."

    "...Your intuition?"

    "Yes. And my intuition hasn''t failed me yet. So, I''m certain that you''ll be able to help me achieve my goal. Le Morte''s goal. So, I ask you again. Will you help me, Hope Domitius?" said Queen Fortune as she extended her hand.

    "...I will help you, Your Majesty. If someone like me can be of use to you, then I''ll be glad to put myself in your care."

    Hope took the Queen''s hand, and she laughed. "Perhaps one day, I''ll arrange for a time where you can meet Aya."

    "I-It would be my honor to meet the princess, Your Majesty."

 ? 33 ? Honor and Pride?

    "...Ayesha, Her Majesty once told me that I''d yet to experience life and that''s true, but the same goes for Ava as well," said Hope as he stared at Ayesha while they were sitting down on the floor.

    The ones who were severely injured were taken away by the other medics, leaving Hope and Ayesha alone. This was the perfect opportunity for Hope to prod Ayesha into letting him go find Ava.

    Thinking back, these two came from different backgrounds, and Queen Fortune recognized their potential to aid Le Morte d''Angharad organization. So far, they''d done an outstanding job.

    No matter what tasks they were given, Hope and Ayesha carried them out obediently. However, the times when they disagreed on certain matters, did exist, and this was one such a time. Their desires bubbled, their loyalties tested.

    After Ayesha finished bandaging his wound again, Hope stood up, his eyes stared out into the corridor. "I''m going to look for Ava."

    "...You can''t go, Hope." Ayesha pulled the blonde boy''s shirt, and he looked over his shoulders. As a medic, and someone responsible for her patient''s wellbeing, she insisted on Hope not joining the search group. Straining himself like so would lead to an unstable mental state. She did acknowledge Hope''s resolve, his determination to fulfill his promise. But, what would come out of it if he hurt himself?

    "I don''t understand why you''re willing to risk opening your wound when Za''im had others looking for her in your stead," said Ayesha as she stood up, glaring at Hope. "Za''im had ordered you to standby. So you must remain here."

    "...Ayesha, I understand your concerns, really. But... it just doesn''t sit well with me when I know I can be out there and help, even in the scantest way possible. I want to be useful."

    "...Hope."

    "For the longest time, I did nothing much for the organization. I don''t have your careful and thorough method in treating the injured, and I''m pretty much inept when it comes to fighting."

    Hope turned his back and went out into the corridor just before Ayesha stepped in front of him. She put both hands on her hips and glared daggers at the blonde boy.

    "Look, I''m not your mother, Hope. I can''t always be there looking out for you!"

    "I don''t want you to look out¡ª" Hope bit his lip before he finished his sentence. "...Sorry. But I must go, Ayesha. I promise I''ll come back as quickly as possible with her."

    "...Why do people that I..." Ayesha''s voice trailed off for a moment, "...always try to get themselves hurt. I just want to do good deeds, for them."

    Suddenly, two Teria soldiers¡ªblood covering their body¡ªappeared from behind Ayesha with knives in hand. Hope''s eyes opened wide, and he grabbed Ayesha by the shoulder and threw her to the side. One knife within sight plummeted towards him, and Hope gritted his teeth, bracing for what was to come.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    However...

    "Graakh!"

    Ayesha swiftly broke the soldier''s thrusting arm with two steps¡ªa palm thrust to his shoulder before she pushed his forearm at an awkward angle. He fell afterward and his comrade shifted his attention to Ayesha.

    "You!" He thrust his knife towards Ayesha, and she quickly stepped out of reach. Furious, the soldier slashed and Ayesha ducked ever so smoothly, her hand snatched the knife of his fallen comrade. Without any wasted movement, Ayesha stabbed the knife into the soldier''s leg, and he screamed in pain.

    The soldier unconsciously lowered his body as he gritted his teeth. Ayesha''s eyes locked onto his knife, grabbed it, and jammed the blade into the man''s throat.

    "Grrkhhaakhh!"

    Ayesha heaved a sigh and stared at the soldier groaning from a broken arm. "I suppose he won''t move for a while."

    "...Ayesha. That''s... incredible."

    Hope could feel his muscles tightening up. He was the one who''d thrown his life to save Ayesha. And yet, the same fifteen-years-old girl saved him instead, and he blushed in embarrassment. Ayesha stared at him with a crestfallen expression.

    "...You''ve fought in the past?" prompted Hope.

    "...I''d done some things, unforgivable atrocities to those who tried to harm me, and also to those who were very much corrupted, in a sense."

    Hope shook his head, his hands shaking. Most people who joined Le Morte hid their background and past especially to those who they didn''t trust. But in Hope''s case, he revealed what happened to him to the first person he''d worked with other than Richarde.

    Ayesha.

    Due to his inability to fight effectively, he was sent to the group of medics assigned under the First Squad. Countless times he tried to learn how to apply bandages to injuries, and how to stitch wounds, and the same number of failures slapped him in the face. Only after Hope stumbled into a few kids did he found a role to play for the First Squad.

    He knew nothing of Ayesha''s past and background. To him, she was a kind-hearted girl who wasn''t afraid to be forthright if it meant she could help people.

    "I-I never knew that you can fight like that, Ayesha."

    As much as Hope was surprised by it, Ayesha found her skills to be a curse from the past.

    With a raised voice, Ayesha said, "Isn''t that why we''re all here? We have sinned so much that, we''re forced to languish under these circumstances. I want to do good deeds, more than the sins I''ve committed."

    "Go, go find her," said Ayesha finally, before she bit her lip.

    "...I owe you for this. Thank you."

    Hope tore his gaze from Ayesha and started running. He figured since so much time had passed, that Ava must be outside right then. Expeditiously, applying his acuity to the task at hand, Hope ran through the possible spots in the base that Ava could''ve gone to. The first possibility was the entrance through the parking lot. After some thought, Hope brushed it off since the distance to get there from Ludwig''s spot¡ªwhere Ava was last seen¡ªproved quite far.

    There were hallways that Ava could destroy to go outside. And if the multiple explosions and shockwaves from before came from such an attempt, then the choice was obvious. The die had been cast.

    Hope searched ceaselessly, risking his wound opening up from every slump and founder. The searing pain kicked in again, and he grimaced.

    "......Ava?"

    Hope stepped into pools of blood as he called the little girl standing before a destroyed wall. Darkness had enveloped her, and when she turned around, Hope floundered and his mouth gaped. He stared at Ava incredulously.

    The dark-haired little girl was covered in blood from head to toe, her crimson eyes shone bright amidst the horror environing her.

 ? 34 ? A Faint Hope I Will Cling To

    "Ava!" called a blonde boy.

    I turned around, my Aegis dissolved into thin air. A thick coppery scent tickled my nose as blood dribbled down my long jet-black hair. Cold, wet, I stared at my hand.

    Ah, I did kill those people. The realization didn''t perturb me as much. My mind accepted it readily and I for one were grateful for it. The chilling hollow sensation in my chest had replaced what emotions I felt before. Strange, yet, welcomed. The bloody horror surrounding me elicited not much of a reaction from me.

    Oh, right, the boy. His name was...? I couldn''t remember much and my hazy mind and mental state exacerbated the awkward situation I was in. The only memory of him I could remember right then was when he saved me at the outpost. My savior, yes. His gaze held no hatred nor malice. Even someone as emotionless as I was right then could tell he was looking at me sympathetically.

    Still, his gaze was like a warm balm, so I held it, not wanting to break away.

    From first glance, the blonde boy''s bandaged forehead and a patch of blood that painted half of his hair stood out to me. White cloth wrapped his left shoulder, and right then, I could tell the boy was in immense pain.

    He narrowed his eyes and shook his head. Why was he here? For what purpose did the boy come, away from the veritably congenial space further inside? I didn''t understand. The look he had in his eyes changed to something more akin to desperation, mixed with a hint of pessimism. Did he worry about me? Why...?

    Questions after questions entered my mind. I wanted to ask him everything I wanted to know. The boy called my name again. He traipsed over a few mutilated bodies to get to me, his shoes soaked in thick blood.

    "Ava. Where... are you going?" the blonde boy said with a strained voice. Ah, he was in too much pain. Normally, looking at someone like this would make me feel sad, but...

    I couldn''t feel anything.

    "...Why are you here?" I asked, my voice came out as if I wanted to cry.

    No, who decided that? I didn''t feel sad at all, not in the slightest.

    "I could say the same to you, Ava," the boy said with a thin smile. "I... I don''t know how to say this, but, you''ve changed."

    "Changed? I... I don''t remember you. I want to find my parents."

    "By yourself?"

    This sentence somewhat miffed me. So what if I wanted to find my parents by myself. He wouldn''t care, would he? No one cared to protect me. I suffered, clinging to the faint hope that someday, I could meet my parents once again.

    Staying here wouldn''t change anything.

    Nothing would happen if I stay here¡ª

    "I''m sorry."

    The blonde boy patted my back as he crouched to my eye level. Without hesitation, he ripped a long piece of his shirt''s sleeve and soaked the blood sousing my head. I opened my mouth to ask him¡ª

    "I''m sorry. I know it''s not enough. I know... you must be mad at everyone right now. We failed to protect you. So... if you take a step outside, no one would reprimand your action."

    "...Eh?" I stared blankly at him. A strange emotion welled up inside.

    "I''ll follow you if that''s your decision. You want to find your parents, right? Then, I''ll help you."

    "Why...?"

    Suddenly, tears started to well in my eyes, and I couldn''t help but clench my fists, various emotions swirled in my chest.

    "Why are you doing this? You don''t gain anything by helping me."If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    The blonde boy laughed a dry laugh. He smiled, and momentarily, I could see him wincing in pain. Strange. This boy ignored his own safety and injuries, for me? For my sake?

    "Do I need to gain anything every time I do something? You''re hurt, and I wouldn''t forgive myself if I didn''t try to find you. Perhaps there''s more to it, but... right now, this is what I truly feel."

    "I don''t understand," I muttered with a trembling voice. "You''re hurt too. What are you? How can you be... so selfless?"

    The strange emotion welling up inside gripped my heart, and it felt like it would burst at any moment. What was this? Stop, I didn''t like what was happening to me.

    "Ava, can you wait a bit longer? I know you want to find your parents as soon as possible, but, you''re not prepared yet. At least clean yourself and pack some stuff before you go. Ah, wait, I''ll help with that."

    Tears streaked my cheeks and before I knew it, I wrapped my arms around him and cried. I cried and cried, unwanting to let go of him. His warmth thawed my heart and I welcomed it.

    "...This is another promise I make to you," the blonde boy said in the end, almost a whisper.

    ¨T¨T¨T¨j¨T¨T¨T

    ¨T¨T¨T¨j¨T¨T¨T

    Despite everything that had happened to the base, it still stood strong. Grandpa''s group¡ªthose who were able¡ªcleared the area and tended to the civilians taking cover in the cafeteria.

    They all appeared quite busy, so I merely watched from the side for a few minutes. The hallway had fewer people after some time, so I jogged to my room.

    "Hope!"

    I said his name out loud and he yelped from surprise. In his hands were two seemingly heavy backpacks, packed with essentials and supplies adequate for a few days. We had informed Grandpa about our plan, and he wasn''t pleased with it.

    Grandpa refused to let us go, but that wouldn''t stop us, wouldn''t it? I had enough. From here on out, I would make my own choices.

    Oh, for the record, I''d bathed and changed to a new, plain blue collared shirt and a baggy shorts. My hair tied into a ponytail.

    "Hope, Hope! Ayesha said she wants to meet us."

    "Hm?" Hope thought for a moment. "We have to go right now though. If we wait any longer, Boss would send someone after us. It''s now or never."

    "Oh, if you say so!"

    Hope had changed his clothing and bandages too. After checking our backpacks for the second time, he slung them over his shoulder and moved out of the room. I followed, trotting to his side as we planned our escape.

    Normally, I would feel quite nervous about doing something like this. Going against Grandpa wasn''t something I''d intended nor wished to do. But I had made my choice. If push came to shove, I had my Aegis.

    "...Where are you two going?"

    We were at the base''s parking lot when the girl''s voice caught my attention. Standing a few meters behind us was Ayesha, looking at us with a disparaging gaze.

    Seeing her like this made me shiver. Ayesha was not one to wear such an expression, at least, not when we were together before.

    "No, I''ll answer that. You want to help her find her parents," added Ayesha. "And what exactly can you two do on your own?"

    "...But staying here won''t help me find them," I spoke up.

    Ayesha''s gaze softened at my words. It was true, she knew this.

    "...Please, don''t go," Ayesha muttered in the end.

    Her soft voice managed to elicit a pang of guilt to well inside me. She didn''t want us to go, so much so that she waited for us here by herself. For all I knew, Ayesha was strict to herself when it came to rules and orders laid out by Grandpa.

    In a sense, her stopping us was something I''d not expected. An interlude to her duties, albeit an unwarranted one.

    "I have to," I replied. "Mommy and Daddy are waiting for me out there. Grandpa won''t find them, so it''s up to me. Are you coming too, Ayesha?"

    She bit her lip. As much as she wanted to help, I was afraid she''d to discard her wish. Ayesha reached for her sling bag and pulled out two scarfs¡ªred and blue.

    "I can''t come with you, even if I want to. But here, it''s cold outside especially during a night like this."

    Ayesha handed the red scarf to me and the blue scarf to Hope. An honest act of kindness. She couldn''t do more for us, but even so, I felt grateful. Ayesha was a kind girl and if I wanted to have a sister, I would like her to be someone like Ayesha.

    "And... I have a wireless earpiece for you, Hope. I''ll inform you about the organization''s movement from time to time."

    Hope took the pair of round black earphones and fitted it to his ears.

    "...Leaving your post like this is not minor misconduct, Hope. There''s a chance that you''ll not be accepted back into Le Morte," warned Ayesha with a stiff gaze.

    "...I know. I''ll think about it when that time comes," said Hope, attempting to shrug off the warning with a smile.

    "Princess Aya. She can''t meet you again if you''re not here."

    Princess Aya? I looked at Hope, and he winced upon hearing the girl''s name. Who was Princess Aya?

    "We''re friends. I''m sure she''ll understand why I''m doing this," said Hope after a few moments of silence.

    "Friends... I''m not sure if she sees you as mere friends only," Ayesha muttered under her breath.

    Hope didn''t hear this as he snugly adjusted his wireless earphones. Ayesha noticed this, and with a palm over her forehead, heaved a heavy sigh.

    "Who''s Princess Aya?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

    "Ah... she''s the granddaughter of Her Majesty, Queen Fortune Sybyll Barnwell. Hence, a princess."

    "A princess!"

    I''d only read about princesses in storybooks. They did exist after all! Did Princess Aya had castles? Did she dance with a prince at a ball? All sorts of questions flitted into my mind.

    And so, we bid goodbye to Ayesha who stared back at us with teary eyes. Her lips parted and promptly closed afterward as if she wanted to stop us from going one final time.

 ? 35 ? The AUs Decision

    "..."

    "..."

    "Why!? You''re supposed to be with Ava at all times, Ludwig, Ayesha!"

    Richard Andersson caressed his forehead with his gaze lowered. Even though he''d assigned two people to watch over his granddaughter, she still managed to slip away without anyone noticing.

    The few people gathered there in the control room were restless. Ludwig scratched his head with his lips curved downward. He didn''t know what to say to his superior concerning Ava''s situation. After all, he was treating the injured the entire night, when Richard called him at one point.

    Ludwig stared at the veiled girl standing next to him. Wasn''t she supposed to be with Ava three hours ago?

    "...Yes?"

    Ayesha held the doctor''s gaze firmly.

    "...I''m guessing you know exactly what happened to the little miss," Ludwig said as quietly as possible. "And I heard Hope''s missing too. Is he..."

    "Your suspicion is understandable," Ayesha muttered, matching the man''s low voice. "I assure you... those two will be fine. I''m planning to help them as we go about our business."

    "...? That''s a weird choice of word, but okay. I guess. I can see where this is going for you and me. It won''t be good."

    "Ludwig, Ayesha!"

    Richard yelled at them. The two male and female duo braced for the long-hour lecture with an expressionless face.

    ¨T¨T¨T¨j¨T¨T¨T

    ¨T¨T¨T¨j¨T¨T¨T

    "Ava''s missing. She''s our utmost priority, but we let her escape."

    Beatrice listened to Jessica''s report-like comments with her fringe covering her face. Watching those two silently as he leaned against the wall was Gawain.

    He hadn''t said a word since he''d entered Beatrice''s room. There wasn''t a need for him to say anything. Gawain had been this type of person who, if possible, would let his partner do the talking without him getting involved.

    "...Hope is missing as well, and I could care less for that little girl right now. What will happen to him?"

    Beatrice''s sharp tone made for an uncomfortable atmosphere for a conversation. At least, Jessica thought so. She''d run her mouth without thinking, so it was her fault entirely.

    "..."

    "Hope will get kicked out from the group," Beatrice answered her question herself.

    "Beatrice..."

    "We come here to find the girl and take her back to our HQ back in the UK. The first part of our mission was easy enough. But then that girl went off on her own and ran away. What''s with that? She should be thanking us! She should be in this base right now!"If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    "And she wants to find her parents, right? I''m sure she''ll see her parents if we kill her¡ª"

    "Beatrice."

    Gawain''s voice cut Beatrice''s incoherent line of thought. The green-haired girl shifted her attention to the blonde man.

    "Don''t burden yourself with these negative thoughts. Get some rest. I''m sure we''ll see Ava again."

    "..."

    "You look childish when you let your emotions take over like that," added Gawain.

    Beatrice bit her lip, buried her face in her pillow, and covered her entire body with a white blanket.

    "What a brat."

    "Gawain!"

    Jessica stood up and pointed her finger at the blonde man. Usually, Gawain wouldn''t say a word unless he had to, but there were times when he would utter sharp remarks as he had just now without warning.

    "I was merely saying that she needs to grow up."

    Of course, Gawain''s reason didn''t sit right with Jessica, and she dragged him to the hallway quite forcefully.

    "I have taught you that you need to watch what you''re saying," Jessica muttered as low as possible for Gawain to hear.

    "...Sorry."

    "Anyway, is your ''power'' under control?"

    "...? You should know better than anyone that I have it under control. As always."

    "Not always."

    Gawain noticed that his ''benefactor'' was upset over his actions, more so than he''d thought. He could only think of bowing to get her to forgive him, and bow he did.

    "G-Gawain?"

    " I''m sorry for upsetting you. It will not happen again."

    "L-Look, I get it, so stop bowing!"

    Gawain abided the woman''s request immediately and later followed her to her room. He realized that she was fidgeting for some reason, and he frowned.

    (...Is she still upset?)

    "S-See you later, Gawain," Jessica muttered, almost a whisper.

    "Yeah. See you later. I have to check on the civilians, so I''ll probably get my sleep a bit late."

    However, when Gawain turned around, Jessica slammed her hand on his shoulder. Gawain was confused. What did she want from him?

    For as long as he could remember, he could never really understand Jessica. While she had saved him, and therefore, he was indebted to her for life, her behavior had become strange after some time.

    "...Why didn''t you say that you wanted to go inside my room?"

    Surely, Jessica''s face was flushed, and her cheeks turned a pink hue.

    "Huh?"

    What did Jessica want? It was hard to say. After all, Gawain only sees her as someone he looked up, his benefactor for some time in the past. But Jessica loves him, to put it bluntly. She would shoot adoring looks at him from time to time, but even then, he shrugged it off.

    There was no way Jessica sees him in that way, he thought.

    Not understanding the woman''s intention, Gawain walked away from her. He didn''t notice Jessica''s gentle gaze as he disappered into the hallway.

    ¨T¨T¨T¨j¨T¨T¨T

    ¨T¨T¨T¨j¨T¨T¨T

    [At the Great Corporate United''s Mobile HQ]

    "An embarrassing failure for a simple mission. What''s the reason for this?"

    The Brunhilde''s General stared at the Teria soldier standing before him, his fingers intertwined. Standing next to the General was a man in his military uniform.

    An eyepatch covered this mysterious man''s left eye. He appeared rather young for a soldier, but still, the intimidating aura he exuded left quite an impression on him. The Teria soldier bowing to his two superiors had sweat trickling down his forehead.

    "Now, now. I''m sure it must be something ''interesting'' that made him and the others ran away. Am I correct?"

    The mysterious man''s casual manner of speech was strange. It had caused the Teria soldier to respond a bit later.

    "Yes! We were attacked by this young girl that had tendrils and whatnot coming out of her back!"

    "What are you talking about?" asked the General, clearly irritated by this joke of a response.

    "Now, now, that does sounds interesting, isn''t it?"

    The mysterious man walked over to the Teria soldier with a wide smile.

    "A little girl took out thirty Teria soldiers on her own. That does sound like a laughable joke."

    "But..."

    "Now, now, I didn''t say I don''t believe you. I know exactly who this girl is."

    "Huh?"

    The General and Teria soldier looked at the man with wide eyes. They repeated what he had said in their mind.

    "Ava Andersson, is it? A stolen subject from our lab. It was quite a nuisance, but we finally find her after all this time."

    The mysterious man turned to face the General. "General, I offer my assistance this time, and only this time. I will catch the girl by myself. Don''t let anyone interfere."

    "..."

    The way this person had used words such as ''stolen'' and ''catch'' was strange. To him, it was as if Ava is an object and not a human.

    "Understood, my AU," responded the General.