Chapter 105: Through Ash (Patreon)

“Alright then, it’s time to move out.”

If you can give me a good reason not to eat poison, I’d be surprised. 

Sure, it hurt a bit. But after having lost an arm, little compared to that experience. The mind had a very difficult time recalling pain, but that memory was so present on the forefront of my mind that all challenges seemed to pale in comparison to it. 

Considering that the Archduchy’s healing ability was one that increased metabolism, the poison took effect faster than it normally would have, and passed quicker than it ordinarily should have. If I’m to describe it, it’s as though my bones were trying to burst free from my skin. A bit uncomfortable, to say the least. Still, I knew that I wouldn’t die or receive any lasting damage. I wouldn’t have done it had I any doubts. 

Time had definitely passed faster, too. It hadn’t taken long before Ruel had gotten his call, and then shorter still until I learned what we were to do.

The star above was already hidden by the quickly-rotating planet, but it wouldn’t be very long before it returned. Despite its departure, I could still feel the heat of the sand through my boots as we marched. Ruel came to the top of a black sand dune, and looked out across the land. 

“According to the locals, they’re living in an abandoned and decrepit ship. There’s around eighty of them, and that’s really the only reason they won against the people in the outpost. It’ll be a good warm-up, and besides, you all need the practical experience. I’ll probably kill a few myself. To make it easier, you see,” Ruel said, justifying himself unnecessarily. 

“The ship can’t fly, right?” Vast, the closest behind Ruel, asked as he crested the top of the dune. 

“They said it was crashed and broken, but who can know?”

“I can move so easily,” mumbled Zinuetet. 

I turned my head back at her. She was kicking her leg in the air as though testing it out. Her ability allows her to move faster in the heat… maybe it’s best if we wait until the sun rises again? Ah, I doubt it. She’s one amongst twenty, and the others likely don’t have the same movement ability she does. 

“Savor it while you can, sis.” 

Ruel had a monocular in his hand, and his head turned to and fro as he examined the surroundings. “Oh. Yeah, that’s definitely an abandoned ship.” He watched for a while. As much as I wanted to ask to see the monocular, it wouldn’t be proper, considering he was technically in charge of the squad.

“Get back, get back.” Ruel waved us away. “Don’t let them see you. They’re just now starting to come out. I think they carry out their raids during the night. Hah. Perfect timing.” 

#####

It was astounding how difficult it was to see other members of the party in the dead of the night. If we stood still amidst the black sand, the only thing that was visible was our dark purple stars on the uniform’s chest. Easily fixed by facing downwards. 

But just because I realized that didn’t make it any better to be standing mere feet away from someone brandishing swords. We had been waiting in between two dunes for the bandits to pass by, hidden by the cover of night. They had small lights, but none of them were big enough to reveal our figures. We were waiting for the signal to begin the massacre. 

A lone flame drifted daintily in the sky, emitting a bright and intense light. There’s Gray’s signal. I waited for a few seconds, not particularly desiring to be the first to begin a massacre. Then I conjured a blue blade of Primordial Energy, and stepped out of the darkness.

Our opponents were uniformly one race. They had blue skin and fur, as well as long snouts that could not be likened to any animal that I knew. They all wore saggy clothing. Some of it was obviously scavenged from dead members of the Archduchy. It was apparent from only a glance that they were malnourished. There was no mistake from their clothing, and their weapons—they were the bandits we sought.

I swung my blade down with all of my might. The first was not fast enough to raise his blade to block. It took him in the shoulder, and nearly cleaved his body in two. I didn’t have time to reflect on the action. Rather than wrenching my blade out, I conjured a new one, and swung it at my next opponent. Though he blocked, and I felt the impact, he was weak—pathetically so. His blade split in half, and he soon joined it. 

They numbered perhaps twelve. The battle lasted no more than a second. There were no screams because there was no time to scream. I had always disliked the phrase ‘wheat to a scythe.’ But there was no better term for what that was.

My uniform was covered in blood, and the sand had become mud-like beneath my feet from the red, viscous liquid soaking into the ground. I stepped away on impulse. I heard Ruel’s voice. 

“Disappointing. Now it’s more of a chore than a vacation. Let’s go deal with the rest.”

#####

We entered the abandoned ship quietly under the cover of night. The strong winds battering against the ship hid the sound of our footsteps, and we entered unperturbed. The bandits, all of them the same blue-furred race as those we had already slaughtered, were enjoying a large and boisterous dinner, their voices echoing throughout the ship. 

“…and I keep telling him, if he keeps leaving his fucking boots by my bed, I’ll throw ‘em outside when it’s day until they burn up!”

“Don’t be such a bitch,” a woman scolded. “If you’ve got a problem with him, take it out on him. Don’t do that passive aggressive bullshit.”

Ruel stopped. They were all in a large central chamber, using what must’ve been the ship’s flight system once as a table. The ship was filled with holes, so it was possible to see much of it. The ship wasn’t from the Archduchy, so most things within it were foreign to me. There were several different doors leading to the central chamber, though. I stopped Ruel with my hand.

I whispered to him. “Have everyone circle around. Then, we all enter at once. Use the same signal as last time.”

Ruel sighed quietly. “Fine.”

#####

Once everyone was in position, the signal was sent out, and we stormed in mercilessly. We slaughtered them like the trained killers that we were. It reminded me of what happened when a police unit opened fire on civilians. There was no battle. We had been training for a year with the intent to kill. I didn’t care how many I killed. I had a strange detachment from it all. It was probably what kept me sane. 

When the room grew quiet, Ruel entered. “Disperse. Check the rest of the ship. Kill any survivors.”

The order was simple and cold. I wouldn’t have any problems obeying it, though. But…

I rushed after Zinuetet when I caught sight of her leaving. Once I’d caught up, I said cautiously, “Zinuetet. You okay?”

She stopped and turned. She was crying, her purple eyes stained with red. “I’m fine, Casimir.”

I paused and took a deep breath, uncertain of how to proceed. “If it helps, imagine how many people that these people have killed.”

“I said I’m fine,” she insisted. “Let’s go.”

Her uncharacteristically stern demeanor told me that she was not, in fact, fine.  But I followed behind her as we checked each and every of the many rooms in the ship for people. We heard a shout, and then the noises of a child crying, and after a brief glance at each other, rushed away to find the source. 

We came to a room that was fairly small in the grand scheme of things. There was a smashed sleeping pod, but most in the ship were similarly destroyed or unusable, so it wasn’t so perplexing. One of the blur-furred aliens was dead off to the side, his chest torn open by claws. Day, with blood dripping from his claws, stood above a child. 

When he heard us come in, he turned around. “I won’t do it. No. Not a fucking chance. No kids.” He watched us defensively, his nervous mannerisms ceased entirely. 

“Day…” I said slowly. “Calm down.”

“I lived in a shithole like this. If you want to kill the kid, you’ll be killing me, too. No exceptions. No deals. He lives.”