Haaa… so we are trapped in our own city, huh? I thought. I was just coming back after meeting Asfi, who gave me the information I needed. There is little to no hope of reinforcement arriving from other nations or cities anytime soon. The people can not escape to the port either. And Evilius is raining bombs.
The city was in rubble, dead bodies still buried under the debris. Wounded numbering thousands. Shortage of resources, and who knows what else.
The only good thing is I got my sword from that Tsubaki and Hephaestus were working on. They even gave me a knife, saying they had the extra material left. I thought as I glanced at the sword hanging on my left. It was black in colour, much like the knife Bell had. It sure looks pretty, you know, the beauty in simplicity type of pretty.
But it is expensive as hell. Now I am in debt of 480 million valis, way to go, me.
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I was walking around the city looking out for any foes. I just took a turn and was welcomed by a disgusting sight.
Some townspeople are hurling stones at Ryuu and the other girls.
A human woman shambled forward, like a zombie.
"My child is dead because of you!!"
Her ash-coated face contorted in rage as she charged Alize and tried to strike her across the cheek. Before she could succeed, I grabbed her hand, stopping her, and then released her, as a man pulled her back.
I do not have it in me to say anything to a mother who lost her child, but the rest? They disgusted me.
"That's enough!" I roared, my voice echoing off the ruined buildings. The crowd fell silent, stones still clutched in their trembling hands.
"You want someone to blame? Look around you. Look at this city—our city—reduced to ash and rubble. Look at these women who've been fighting tooth and nail while you hid in whatever hole you could crawl into."
I gestured toward Ryuu and the others, their faces bearing fresh cuts from the stones.
"Where were your brave words when the bombs started falling? Where was your righteous anger when your neighbors were screaming for help? You were nowhere to be found. But now—now that the immediate danger has passed—you emerge like rats from the sewers to attack the very people who kept you breathing."
The crowd began to murmur, some looking ashamed, others still defiant. But I do not give a damm.
"If you have so much energy to throw stones and shout accusations, then use it for something worthwhile. Help dig survivors from the rubble. Tend to the wounded. Do something other than tearing down the people who've already sacrificed everything for you."
I turned my back on them, disgust clear in my voice."Because right now, you're no better than the enemy that brought this hell upon us."
I could see Alise, whose face was red from the blood. I took out a health potion and emptied it on her head, like Naaza had done to Armid. Her wound started to close up.
"Easy for you to say!" A voice shouted from the crowd—a middle-aged man with soot-stained clothes and wild eyes. "You adventurers think you're so high and mighty! But where were you when my shop was burning? When my wife was crushed under our home? You were probably off somewhere safe while we—"
"While you what?" I cut him off, spinning around to face him. My hand instinctively moved toward my sword hilt. The whole crowd fliched. But before I could show him his own colour, I felt a hand smaller than my own but stronger than my own, grabbing my cloak.
"It's fine, Arin," Alise said. "They are just upset."
"So am I," I told her.
The crowd of mobs began to disperse. One by one, they shuffled away, leaving only scattered stones and the bitter taste of human nature at its worst.
I watched them go, feeling older than my years. In times like these, you really see what people are made of. And sometimes, what you see makes you wish you hadn't looked at all.
"Are you girls okay?" I asked them. Ryuu looked particularly shaken.
"Criticism. Mockery. Slander. Sacrifice. These are all part of the mantle of justice. We can't escape them." Kaguya said, cleaning her clothes.
"But it sure an't pretty experiencing it. "Nice work shutting them up, though. For a second there, I thought you were gonna draw that shiny new sword of yours!" Lyra spoke next.
"What do you mean, shining it's black…"
"Leah… that small child…" I could see Ryuu rooted in her spot, staring in the distance at a destroyed building, no, rather staring at the doll that lay among the debris. Now I recognize the woman; she was the mother of that little girl…
I took a long, deep breath to calm down the bubbling feeling and walked up to the debris, picked the doll up, and gave it to Ryuu, who seemed hesitant to take it.
"Next time you see that woman, give it to her. For better or worse, it is still a memento her child left for her."
Ryuu finally looked up, staring at me. "Me….?"
"Yeah, pretty sure she would not want to see my face now." Ryuu, with trembling hands, took the doll from me.
Kaguya snorted softly. "Just don't expect her to thank you for it. People like that woman prefer their anger to their grief."
Lyra stretched and yawned. "Ugh, can we please go beat up some actual bad guys now? All this emotional stuff is giving me a headache. Plus, I'm getting hungry."
"Always thinking with your stomach," Kaguya muttered.
"Hey! Fighting on an empty stomach is dangerous!" Lyra protested with a grin.
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I was walking towards one of the warehouses, where we had hidden our rations for a check-up. As I got near the warehouse, I could hear the sound of battle happening.
I sprinted forward and could see Lydia fighting a group of evilus members while protecting some of the workers.
"Kill her! She is the Captain of Hermes Familia!" One shouted. "If she died the–AHHH!" Before he could complete the sentence, his whole body was enveloped in my magical blue flames.
"Oye! Lydia, are you stupid!" I yelled at her, as I killed another Evilius, "Why are you fighting alone?!" She was severely injured, her ashen blonde hair mired in blood red.
I am surprised she is still fighting.
We were severely outnumbered; simply eliminating them is not a problem, but fighting while protecting Lydia and others put me in a tough spot.
"Arin!"
"Arin-san!"
Came two voices of Ryuu and Ais. I looked up to see them jumping off the roof of a nearby building as they entered the battle.
"Ais! Ryuu! Hold them for 1 minute." I said and approached the fallen Lydia.
"Leave me, Arin… tell Asfi I… loved her." She said weakly, but I could tell that her injuries were severe but not life-threatening.
"If you can joke like that, then pretty sure you are not dying." I sat near her, cradling her up and emptying a healing potion on her face.
"Buuuah!" she made a weird noise as some potion got into her nose. "Cough, cough, are you trying to kill me, Arin. You must be jealous that Asfi loves me more than you. Humph!"
"Haa.. do not make me regret saving you…" I said, and look at the Ryuu and Ais, their matching blonde hair fluttering in the wind as they took out one enemy after another. Their speed, strength, and battle talent matched equally.
If Ryuu's ears were not visible, you could mistake them for being sisters.
Before long, the battle was over. As the two girls run up to me.
"Are you okay, Arin?"
"Are you okay, Arin-san?"
They both said at the same time and looked at each other.
"Hehehe," Lydia giggled, seeing their reaction. I spoke up before she could say something unnecessary.
"Yeah, I am okay. The workers seem fine, too." I said, looking over them.
"By the way, Ais. I am pretty sure Riveria was with you. Where is she?"
"Ah… hearing the sound of battle, I run ahead of her." She said, her expression pale.
"Haa…" I lost count of how many sighs I have taken today. "I will explain it to her now. Go back and find her first; she is still recovering."
Ais gave a nod and turned towards Ryuu. "You are strong." She said.
"Ryuu met Ais' gaze and said. "You as well."
I could see a small smile forming on both their faces before Ais turned and ran towards the west.
So precious.
I watched her go and looked towards Lydia, "Oye, Lydia, you are awfully quiet today," and found her unconscious.
"Great…" I stopped myself from sighing once more, since I can't fault her for fainting; she lost too much blood.
"Ryuu, can you help me take her to HQ? I will communicate with Finn to send someone over to safeguard the place."
"Of course, Arin-san." She said as she took Lydia one arm over her shoulder, and we made our way back.
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"Arin-san?" Ryuu asked as we both dragged Lydia through the broken street. "Do you get some information on that level 7 woman?"
I recalled the information that Asfi told me.
"Yes, other than the obvious part that she is a Level 7, is super strong, and is from Hera familia, she can use both Fire and Ice magic through short chants, and has enough physical strength to overpower old man Gareth's attacks."
"What! Enough strength to overpower Elgram?!"
I smiled at Ryuu's surprised face because that was my reaction as well.
"Yup, I don't know how Finn is going to defeat her. He must be bending over backwards thinking of different plans." Just imagining that feels funny.
"You are really strong, Arin-san, still having the strength to laugh at dark times like these."
"I mean, just try to imagine that Braver bending backwards. Is that not funny?"
Ryuu must have imagined that, as I can see a wide smile forming on her lips.
It was a stark contrast to the Ryuu, who was losing hope in front of the crowd.
"Keep smiling like that, Ryuu…" Even though I said it quietly, it seems we were too close for her to miss that, as her beautiful face turned a shade of red up to her ears.
"A-Arin-san!" Ryuu stammered, her face growing even redder as she nearly stumbled while carrying Lydia. "You shouldn't say such things so suddenly!"
I couldn't help but chuckle at her flustered reaction. "Sorry, sorry. I just meant that your smile suits you better than that worried expression from earlier."
Ryuu looked down at the ground, her pointed ears twitching slightly. "I... thank you," she said quietly, her voice barely audible over the sound of our footsteps on the debris-strewn street.
"Almost there," I said, nodding toward the building ahead, where I could see Finn and others. "Think you can handle explaining to Asfi why her Lydia is unconscious.
Ryuu's lips quirked upward slightly. "I believe that responsibility falls to you, Arin-san, since you were the one who poured the healing potion directly into her nose."
"Fair point," I admitted with a grin. "Though in my defense, she was being dramatic about dying."
"She was unconscious from blood loss."
"Details."
As we reached the entrance to our headquarters, I couldn't help but feel a small spark of hope despite everything. We were still alive, still fighting, and somehow still finding reasons to smile even in the darkest of times.
Maybe that was enough for now.