Chapter 30: Reality
"Captain! Please focus! You can't lose hope yet!"
A young man with messy, blood-soaked crimson hair and striking emerald eyes yelled loudly over the sounds of gunfire and maniacal laughter that filled the air.
The old Renegade captain the young man was desperately calling out to slowly turned his dazed gaze toward him.
"....Ah!"
"Your arm..."
The captain muttered, his face contorting in pity as he saw the terrible state of his fellow Renegade.
The young man looked completely ragged, with dirt-soaked clothes from crawling around while trying his best to stay hidden.
His blood flowed freely from the bullet hole in his left shoulder.
While his right hand... had almost been completely severed from the elbow downward.
Seeing the captain's shocked expression, the young man, Arbus, realized his mistake and quickly hid his mangled arm behind him.
It was an injury he'd received earlier when he saved another Renegade from a flying blade.
It had cleanly sliced into his elbow and down to his hand, stripping it of muscle and skin.
The wrecked remains of his bloody hand hung loosely from his exposed and protruding bone.
"It's alright, Captain! The injury doesn't bother me. I'm alright, see!" Arbus said with a small smile as he did his best to calm the Mornan on the brink of despair.
"H-how are you able to handle an injury like that!? You're... just a knight."
"..."
"Damn it!"
"Look at me, a captain acting so weak!"
"I'm... so sorry."
"You're right, we can't give up hope just yet!"
"We can still stop her, somehow! We have to!" The captain declared as he clenched his fist tightly around his sword.
"That's great to hear, sir."
Arbus responded with a nod.
He was currently in an indescribable world of pain despite his casual demeanor.
But he knew he couldn't let it show.
Thankfully, he had already gotten somewhat used to it, thanks to everything he'd put himself through to maximize his ability's potential.
Even if he didn't have it currently, he was still capable of handling this much without it.
The blood loss, however, would soon become a problem he couldn't ignore.
"Damn it all! What's the point of struggling like this!"
"She's already suppressing the backup unit with ease, despite the firepower they brought!"
"We're just no match for her! No match at all!"
A blue Mornan Renegade resting against the same ship debris as Arbus and the captain bellowed through trembling lips.
It was obvious that he'd already given up all hope of surviving.
The same went for the last blue Mornan with them, who stared blankly at the sky with a hollow gaze.
Arbus looked over at the assembled Renegades with an unreadable expression.
Then, he gritted his teeth in rage.
He could understand them well. After all, this scenario seemed just as hopeless as the previous ones.
Eventually, he straightened as he looked out from behind the debris at the source of the maniacal laughter that echoed loudly despite the endless gunfire and screams.
A young human girl floated high in the air with weapons of all kinds hovering alongside her.
Below her, a graveyard of machinery and Mornan bodies was strewn about.
They had all been shot, sliced apart, or torn to shreds by their own weapons.
That was due to the human girl's soul ability.
Arsenal: An ability that granted her the power to control every single type of weapon, as long as it was designated as one.
It didn't matter if it was basic steel or Aurnex made blasters. Everything the Renegades depended on had ultimately turned against them.
Her arrival had marked the beginning of a one-sided massacre.
Very few soldiers belonging to the destroyed outpost still remained from her initial onslaught.
Backup had arrived a few minutes earlier, but even they didn't stand a chance.
They were currently being slaughtered by their own weapons.
It was truly a hopeless situation.
Arbus's mind raced as he frantically thought of a way to win this nightmare of a battle.
'There's no way to kill her with a weapon. Even when she's off guard, it doesn't matter!'
He had noticed that in a previous attempt.
'What can I do differently this time! How can I save everyone left!' Arbus's eyes darted around as he desperately tried to come up with a plan he hadn't already tried before.
Then, his eyes landed on his mangled arm for a moment.
Memories he'd buried deep down came flooding back as he studied his injury.
"..."
"..."
'That... could work,' he thought with an incredulous expression.
He turned his gaze to the three Renegades beside him as a plan began forming in his mind.
From the looks of it, it was truly the only thing he could do at the moment.
It seemed he wouldn't be able to save anyone this time, as well.
His fists clenched slightly.
"Guys! I... have a plan."
The faces of the Renegades around him lit up slightly as they turned to him with a glimmer of hope in their gazes, despite their doubts.
The Renegade captain who had been planning to try another surprise attack on the human spoke first.
"What is it!?"
"Tell us quickly! We have to get back in there, the reinforcements won't last much longer!"
He was right. Most of the Renegades sent as reinforcements already seemed to be scattering like flies, understanding that it was pointless to keep attacking.
Naturally, the human didn't let them leave just like that.
Arrows, spears, swords, and guns chased after them wildly under her control.
Arbus remained silent for several moments.
Then, he spoke somberly.
"It's a plan that i guarantee will take down the Reincarnator."
"How can you be sure about that!? We've already tried everything against her! Whatever you're planning is almost certainly pointless!"
The scared blue Renegade shouted to Arbus, his lips still trembling.
"No, this will work. I'm sure of it."
The last blue Mornan's eyes glinted at the possibility of Arbus having a way to stop this.
"Is that... really true!?"
"What is it? your plan?"
Arbus quickly told the three of them his idea, causing all of them to stare wide-eyed at him in shock.
"You... truly are something else, Knight Arbus." The captain muttered in a proud tone.
"That... could work! Tell us, what we can do to help!" The second Renegade asked excitedly.
Arbus remained silent as he looked toward the Reincarnator once again.
The Renegade captain studied his gaze, and somehow seemed to understand what he was thinking without being told.
"I see... You need us to distract her."
The other two looked at the commander in shock.
It was obvious what distracting a Reincarnator in this situation meant.
Arbus glanced back at him as well, then nodded.
"Yes, I do."
"I need enough time and opportunity to attack without being immediately bombarded."
"..and I can't come up with a way to do it on my own."
"...."
All three Renegades took deep breaths.
Arbus was essentially asking them to sacrifice their lives for a plan he wasn't even sure would work. He was asking them to die for his gamble.
A few more seconds passed before the captain spoke up.
"...Alright, Arbus! If you truly believe this will work, then I trust you. It's better to die like that than to sit here patiently and wait till she's done with the others."
The other two remained quiet for a bit longer, then spoke up as well.
"He's right. If your plan can truly work... Then we have to try. That's our duty as Renegades."
"Y-yeah."
Arbus gritted his teeth in frustration. He already knew they would say something like that.
After all, they were all supposed to trust him to some extent in here.
The commander noticed his expression then gave a small smile, similar to the one Arbus had given him earlier.
"It's alright, we're all going to die anyway. If we can stop a Reincarnator like this, then all our lives are a good enough trade."
Those words didn't ease the guilt Arbus felt in the slightest, but he simply nodded anyway.
Then the captain stood up as he thought of the best way of drawing attention from Arbus.
He looked out from behind the debris and spotted a tank on the opposite side of their location.
He gave Arbus a final thankful look.
"Alright then... Let's head out!" The captain shouted as he snuck out from behind the debris.
The third Renegade followed behind him closely.
The second Renegade gave Arbus one last look.
It was clear he didn't want to do this.
"Just make sure it does, okay? I won't forgive you if you make me sacrifice my life for nothing." He stammered through clenched teeth as he followed the others.
Arbus crouched down as he prepared himself.
_____________
High up in the sky, the Reincarnator had long grown bored. The Mornans that had arrived moments ago were far quicker to give up than those from the destroyed base.
They didn't care about fighting anymore, they just wanted to run. It was boring. She was a being of carnage. She wanted resistance. She wanted them to struggle as much as possible.
But it seemed that period had come to an end.
SCREECH!
Suddenly, a blast launched from a tank below, stopping just as it was about to reach her from her left.
Her head whirled as she immediately spotted the origin of the attack.
She saw a Renegade operating the damaged machine while two other Renegades stood at it's side firing pulses relentlessly.
A wide smile spread across her face.
These Renegades didn't seem scared at all.
No, they seemed strangely resolute, as if their attempts would accomplish something.
She immediately shot toward them as swords flew at their forms in droves.
The two Renegades beside the tank did their best to dodge but died in just a few moments.
The captain in the tank, however, was able to deflect the blades with his own with much difficulty.
The human's smile became almost predatory as she got closer.
And then, she controlled the captain's own trusted blade to stab into his heart before he could take another swing.
Her hand was around his throat moments later.
"Hahaha!" Her deranged laughter echoed across the battlefield.
"Good try! Good try! You did amazing! But sadly, it seems you're too weak to play anymore." She said in disappointment.
The captain said nothing to her in return.
Just then, she noticed his gaze wasn't even directed at her.
No, he was looking behind her with a content smile on his lips as the light in his eyes faded slowly.
The Reincarnator immediately realized something was wrong as she tossed away the captain and whirled back.
That was when she saw Arbus nearly upon her, his hand drawn back, as if holding a blade.
She snickered as she did nothing to evade.
She wanted to see the look of despair in this new Renegades eyes when he failed.
SPLOSH!
"..!!!!"
But then, a second later, blood gushed from her neck as she stared at Arbus in shock.
She couldn't believe it.
A weapon had damaged her!
Her eyes fell to Arbus's arm as she finally noticed.
There was no weapon.
His carved bone had been stabbed into her throat, instead!
Arbus had torn off what remained of his mangled hand earlier, making sure he wouldn't miss the small window the others had given him.
He clung onto her tightly as they both collapsed to the ground – the Reincarnator no longer capable of properly using her abilities.
All the floating weapons fell moments later.
He stared down at the Reincarnator's dying figure, his eyes burning with anger and hatred.
Then suddenly, her face seemed to morph into that of someone else's in Arbus's mind, for a moment.
"I'm sorry... for living."
A young girl with short brown hair and dark orange eyes muttered, with a sad expression on her dying face.
Arbus's eyes widened just as the mental simulation ended.
SIMULATION COMPLETE!
MISSION SUCCESSFUL!
CALCULATING TOTAL SCORE...