Pent tried to let the words pass by harmlessly. But it could not last forever, and his brain forced him to acknowledge them. “What!?” Pent demanded, leaping to his feet.
He had always known that his sister was being carted off most likely to die. It was why he had been fighting to rescue her. But why was Formetis helping when it would end in her death? None of it made any sense. Formetis smiled, and Pent noticed she was crying again.
“I believe in the world the Master wants to build. Where no one hates people because of their race and the Demons can live freely. So I will fight for that future, even if I don't get to live in it. I healed your wounds, a last gift from me. It will all end tomorrow. So please, live your life the best you can, Pent Telim. Goodbye.”
And because Pent had been so disoriented, he had forgotten who this girl was. And so with a simple gesture of her hand, a purple tear opened up in the air and she stepped through it before he could reach her. It flickered, and was gone and he simply ran through nothing, his fingers grasping air. Magic, the greatest perpetrator of misery in the entire world.
Pent fell to his knees and slammed his fists helplessly on the ground. He could not save his sister. His enemy was hopelessly more powerful than him. Formetis was his enemy, but she was also someone he cared about. And he could do nothing to help her.
Pent was suddenly well aware that since leaving Keta and Max, he had never felt so alone. And that frightened him. What was happening to him? Was he...crying? Susanoo had made her way to his side and embraced him. For the first time in a long time, he was at a loss.
What do I do?
16
Keta and Max had travelled during the night, intending to return to Aurora to warn Erisda and his army of what was coming. Instead, they found that they were denied entry to the city. When asked why, the soldier had explained that the army had already moved out.
“What do you mean? It has only been a few days since they defeated the Xegin army at Imperial Plains. Why would they sortie so soon?” Keta understood the basics of war, his masters had made sure he studied them so he knew of fundamental tactics. This wasn’t a smart move.
The soldier’s eyes narrowed. “You seem to know a lot about our military for outsiders. I think you’d best accompany me to headquarters to answer a few questions.” The soldier stepped forward, his rifle in hand.
Keta sighed. These Humans were on high alert after that recent fight. He couldn’t blame them either. A giant battle had occurred just outside their largest city, with a doomsday weapon looming over them.
Still, Keta couldn’t allow himself be dissuaded. He didn’t have time to play games with the local authorities. Before he could speak he was shoved aside by Max, who stepped up to the soldier.
Max’s bulky frame towered in front of the Human. “Look, we don’t have time to stay here and play nice with you. If you don’t want us in the city, that’s fine, we’ll leave. If you are trying to detain us, then we will have a problem. We don’t want a problem, do we?”
The soldier was trying to be brave, but Keta could see fear in his eyes. Keta quickly scanned the area, and saw that a few more soldiers had begun to make their way towards their location.
This is getting ridiculous. What is happening? Everyone is so full of fear that they are overreacting to everything, Keta thought to himself. What was his play here? Did he play nice and go in for questioning? Or did he pursue the army and stop them from engaging the Xegin?
“What’s the plan, Keta? You’re better at doing this kind of thing. I’ll follow your lead,” Max said, tilting his head to Keta and giving him a nod.
Keta didn’t get the chance to do or say anything, for a man came rushing towards them. “Stand down, you idiots. What are you doing? Those two were the ones that fought for us alongside the general. Are you seriously going to fight our allies now?”
Keta let out a sigh of relief. The soldier gestured with his hands for the others to move away and saluted the two of them. Keta felt a little odd at this show of respect. The man was clearly their elder, a neatly trimmed beard on his grizzled face. Max merely nodded at the newcomer, enjoying the deference.
“Dunno where you guys ran off to, but it’s a damn shame. Administrator Mcpherson has ordered the army to rout the Xegin army before they return to Zelrega. We could really use your help with that,” the man explained.
Keta raised an eyebrow. Did this man think he was some sort of mercenary? He glanced around at the surrounding soldiers. After their commanding officer had educated them, they had begun to look at him and Max differently. Fear? Reverence? Either way, he didn’t like it.
He couldn’t fault them for it though, not entirely. They were saved from certain annihilation by these strangers. But he did not want to be known as some kind of warmonger. Delta’s death already weighed heavily on his mind.
Keta and his comrades had intervened in the last battle because the Xegin had instigated the fight with the intention of wiping out the Humans. Now, the Humans were instigating battle against the Xegin, who were weakened in no small part due to his efforts. He had to right this wrong.
Keta turned to this man, who was looking at him expectedly. “Which way will take me to the battle quickest?” He would join the battle, but with the same objective as always. To take down the enemy leaders and bring an end to the fighting. But of course, there was no need to tell this soldier that.
The bearded soldier grinned. “Well, it’s a bit of poetic justice, really. You see, the Xegin had retreated to the Imperial Gate, or what’s left of it to recoup and care for their injured. Our orders were to leave them alone at first and let them return to Zelrega, having defeated them in the plains. But new orders came early this morning. We’re to take them out and reclaim the plains.”
Reclaim the plains? What the...what nonsense was this? The Humans had up until now been fighting to defend themselves. What was with these new orders? Had this been what Erisda had been warning him about? If this was true, then the fight was pretty close at hand, if not already underway.
“Thanks for the help,” Keta said, and he started to walk away. Max hesitated, looking at the soldiers for a moment longer before following him. He had to stop the fighting if everything Kataro was saying was true.
“Yeah, go kill those Xegin!”
Keta heard the voice come from one of the soldiers, which was met by cheers. Keta whirled around furiously, rage overwhelming him. He strode over to the soldier who had said the words and he stopped in front of the man, who was suddenly looking frightened by Keta’s golden gaze.
Max stood by, unmoving. He was waiting to see what would happen. Keta simply sighed. “You cry for blood, when it was you who were being slaughtered mere days ago. How can you ever have peace, if you continue this endless cycle of death and destruction?”
The silence hung in the air as nobody dared speak after that. Keta turned on his heel and returned to Max and the two of them retreated from the city. Keta had killed Delta, he would have to live with that. He could only try and make sure nobody else made the same mistakes he did.
“Let’s go, Max. We’ve got a job to do.”
***
Sometimes, Erisda really didn’t understand anything. War. Politics. Parenting (he had been attempting that one as best he could). But this current situation was beyond him. The Xegin had been routed, with two of their Imperial Generals killed. There was chaos amongst their ranks.
Erisda had received a message from the Xegin, sent by the acting commander General Beta. He had expressed their desire to return to Zelrega, but they needed to care for their wounded. He had asked for a reprieve so they could do so at Imperial Gate.
Erisda had thought this would be the perfect chance to open up dialogue. He would finally be able to put this whole war to rest. But the Administrator had vetoed that idea. He, and the rest of the officers, had agreed that they would pursue the Xegin army and end them once and for all.
“I know what you are going to say, old friend
,” Raphael said, when Erisda had burst into his office. He had been furious. The Xegin were his enemy, and yet they had been friends once upon a time. They had been beaten. That should have been the end of all this.
“If you know what I’m going to say, then why did you give the order, knowing full well my thoughts on the matter?” Erisda said with a frown.
Raphael sighed and he stood up. He walked around his desk to put a hand on Erisda’s shoulder. “Erisda, sometimes I forget how little you know of the world. But I would expect you to know a little more about military strategy.”
Erisda bit back a retort to this. Instead, he stayed calm and thought his next words through. “Why are we engaging the Xegin? They’ve been defeated. They are no threat to us any longer.”
Raphael sniffed. “And how exactly are you going to defeat them when Keta Night and his friends aren’t here to save us next time?”
Erisda grew angry at this insinuation before he realized that it wasn’t too far off the mark. The Xegin had outplayed him, hiring that Demon mercenary to keep him at bay. The Imperial Generals were enough to win the battle alone. If those three boys had not been there, everyone would be dead.
“Well, we can’t afford to make any more mistakes. They outmaneuvered us. We have to win here. We will force their surrender. And we will earn our freedom.” Raphael had opened his mouth to say more, but faltered.
“Speak, old friend. You’ve made your stance clear enough. What else do you have to dampen my soul with?” Erisda muttered, irritably.
“I need you at your best. Not the front you always put up for the others. I know you are capable of great things. Impossible things. What I’m saying is, don’t let any more of my people die. Finish this so we can know peace once more.”
Erisda’s thoughts returned to reality. And it was a damn good thing too, because he very narrowly avoided being hit by a stray shot from a Xegin soldier. As usual, he was leading the charge, though a few of his braver and more loyal soldiers had moved ahead with him.
They ducked behind their metal shields, moving from cover to cover. Erisda hated using shields, but to attack such a large fortification without defense would be the height of folly. And he had been finding them quite useful against the Xegin as of late.
“What’s the plan here, general?” Ivaldi asked, appearing at his side. Bakuya was with him. When Erisda met the boy’s gaze, he lowered his eyes. He must have still been embarrassed by his actions from earlier. He was highly skilled, but he was still green.
“Cover me, I’m going to try and breach their line and ask them for a surrender. If we can end this without any more fighting, it would be for the best,” Erisda concluded.
“I don’t like it. I think that might get you isolated. They’ll be looking for any opportunity to even the odds and take out one of our generals after that last battle,” Bakuya said.
“While this is true, it also means that they are at a disadvantage. It is in their best interest to limit their casualties. For the first time this whole war, we have the upper hand against the Xegin. We’d best press this edge.”
Ivaldi nodded. “My forces will cover you then. Good luck.”
Erisda yelled out an order to push, and they moved in unison. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ivaldi making a move as well with Bakuya at his side. He felt a pang of sadness. It had not been long since he and Bakuya had parted ways. He was different now, the way he moved and talked.
A hail of weapon-fire from the Xegin snapped him out of his reminiscing. He couldn’t afford to keep this up. He ran up to the gate and lowered his shield. “General Beta! I need to speak with you! We can end this right here and now!”
It was a show of faith, a soldier appearing before the army and asking to speak with an enemy general. To attack one while speaking to another was one of the greatest war crimes any could commit. He just hoped this man was not as much of a tyrant as General Delta.
The fighting ceased, and all eyes turned to him. There was silence. A few moments later, the imposing figure of General Beta stepped out, flanked by several of his elite guard.
The large Xegin stopped at a distance from him. He reached up and removed his helmet, meeting Erisda with eyes fueled by rage. “General Walker. You have quite the gall to stand before me, after you broke our promise. We asked to retreat in good faith and this is what you do? I could shoot you where you stand and the gods of war would not find me in contempt.”
The soldier was entitled to his anger. “As I said, we have the ability to end this here. Surrender now and there need be no more fighting.” Erisda explained, though there was no way that Beta would be persuaded.
“You would say that to us after you’ve slaughtered us all! The Imperial Generals are almost extinct. And now you demand that we surrender to you, we who brought you this peace? This is what I think of your offer of peace!” And with that, the Xegin made an obscene gesture. Beta was always the most vulgar of the Imperial Generals. “I challenge you to single combat, you traitor. As one general to another. I’ll have vengeance for my fallen comrades!”
Erisda knew all about Beta’s combat capabilities. And because of this, he also knew that the Xegin soldier stood no chance against him. Not many knew of his training with the Demons of the Brotherhood of Shadows, so it was understandable. “I wish you wouldn’t,” Erisda said, regardless. He was still remembering the time that Alpha did the same thing, and it did not end in her favor at all.
But the large man would not be not be swayed. He held up his sword and tapped it to his chestplate, in the sign of a challenge.
Sighing, Erisda lifted his blade in the air in response. Beta roared and began to charge at him, sword in hand. He could not sulley the man’s honor. Perhaps his best chance was to defeat the man and force their surrender. If he could do that, there would be no longer be a need to continue this senseless fighting.
But before the two could engage, something came running at high speed. It looked like some sort of blur...a silver blur! It came to a halt between Beta and Erisda. Keta Night straightened up, and looked from one to the other.
“You need to stop! This pointless fighting is just going to get everyone killed. We need to focus on what is really going on,” Keta said with a stoic face.
The reaction from the Xegin was immediate. “Murderer!” Beta screamed, and he rushed at Keta. The Kitaan turned his attention to the soldier and he danced around a powerful cut of the Xegin’s sword. With a graceful gesture, he slammed his hand into Beta’s armored torso and an explosion of light sent the Xegin careening.
Keta straightened up. “I already told you, this fighting is meaningless. The Brotherhood of Shadows has been manipulating you all. Everyone calm down and we can work this out.”
This kid is insane, Erisda thought to himself, keeping an eye on the young man. Why did he keep putting himself in the way of the war? Did he really have such an ego?
Beta had risen to his feet after being knocked down, shoving away the soldiers that had come to help him. “You claim to have come to ask for peace? But did you think that we would just forget that you fought against us alongside the Humans in the last battle? Or that you killed one of the Imperial Generals?”
Keta stepped back, the accusation hitting home by the look of his face. “I did not fight for the Humans. My goal was to cease the fighting between both sides. It was never my intention to kill General Delta.”
“Never your intention? Are you saying that one of our comrades died because of a mistake? If so, that makes you a fool,” Beta growled, though he did not advance. It seemed that even he was wary of Keta after that first exchange.
Erisda felt his patience wearing thin. He was wasting time and he was through hiding his true abilities. If the Xegin would not listen to reason, he would crush them. And as for Keta…
The young Kitaan was not prepared when Erisda took a running start and lunged at him.
***
Keta had flung himself into the fray hoping to put an end to
all the fighting. He had not expected that Erisda would attack him so readily. The two of them began their deadly dance of blades, each giving the other no quarter. There was no time to even talk.
There was a time when he would have backed down from Erisda, but today he needed to stop the two armies from destroying one another. Kataro’s knowledge of the ritual that the Brotherhood was initiating was enough. They intended to summon the goddess back to this realm.
If Master Inferno managed to ensnare a goddess, Keta did not want to think of the calamity that would follow.
“Listen to me, Erisda. You have to end this now. Just take your army and leave,” Keta grunted, holding his sword in deadlock with the Human general. He needed to use the time to try and hold a dialogue with the man.
“Shut up, Keta. I am sick and tired of hearing you talk about peace when there is nothing but chaos.” Erisda shoved Keta backwards. He gestured with his hand to the battlefield. “Look around you, you are surrounded by fighting. This ends only one way. When one side wins.”
Keta heard steps behind him and barely managed to sidestep an attack from behind. He had no time to gather his bearings, for the Xegin continued the assault on him. As Keta fended off furious slashes, he saw that his opponent was a Xegin woman.
“Keta Night! I will have vengeance for General Delta!” The woman shouted and she stabbed at him, silver sword gleaming. Keta moved aside, letting his own weapon deflect the blade, and he spun the weapon to disarm the girl.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Erisda leap at him, sword raised, and he had to abandon his attack. “You’ll not be rid of me so easily, Night.” He shouted as Keta pushed the woman aside and blocked the attack with Reikon.
“I do not need your help, General Walker. This one is mine. He killed my ally. I am honorbound to avenge his death!”
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