The doors of the military armored vehicle opened almost simultaneously. Black combat boots hit the dirt ground as four figures stepped out, each armed with a rifle and dressed in camouflage uniforms. The morning sun cast their shadows smaller than their actual size behind them.
I instinctively knew what was going through Katarina's mind, who was standing right beside me. As soon as the last pair of feet touched solid ground, I sensed her movement. She was going to attack them.
However, one of the last things I wanted — or that would even be necessary — was to confront the military. Perhaps I could even ask for their help to return to Earth's territory.
So I quickly reached out and grabbed her arm to stop her from acting. Katarina frowned and turned her face toward me.
At that same moment, I heard a loud sound, a deep bang, followed by another. Gunshots, I recognized immediately.
Before I could even turn my attention back to the military personnel, I activated my Stroke of Luck skill. Almost instantly, Ruskus placed his broadsword in front of me. The moment Ruskus's sword blocked my vision, I heard another sound — metallic, much closer. Right in front of my face.
Startled, my hand released Katarina's arm, and she sprang into action immediately, advancing toward the soldiers.
Ruskus moved right after, advancing alongside Katarina to provide her support. However, even as he advanced, I noticed he took care to position himself between the soldiers and me, in a protective way.
Everything was happening so fast that I barely had time to process anything. Ruskus had just saved my life by putting his sword in front of me, hadn't he? One of the shots fired had been aimed directly at my face.
Although Ruskus's body blocked any possible bullet's path to me, it didn't completely block my vision. That's how I managed to discern one of the figures before us. My eyes widened with recognition. At the same instant, his eyes also landed on me, his expression making it clear he had recognized me too.
"Lilia?" he spoke, surprised, in a loud, clear voice that I could hear perfectly despite the distance between us and the movement around us.
A bitter taste filled my mouth, and unpleasant memories threatened to resurface, but I managed to bury them as deeply as possible in the farthest part of my mind at that moment.
Katarina had finally reached one of the soldiers, who had missed at least one shot due to the elaborate way she moved, dodging possible fire as she advanced. I watched the exact instant she cut the soldier's throat. He barely had time to bring one hand to his neck before falling to his knees, eyes wide, mouth open, blood spurting from the wound and staining his uniform.
But Katarina was already gone, having advanced toward the next person, who was just recovering from the shock of seeing me. His slightly widened eyes tore away from me, turning toward the red-haired threat approaching him.
"Wait! Don't kill!" I shouted, unsure exactly who I was trying to stop from killing whom.
At the same time, Ruskus, who had already reached the rightmost soldier, swung his broadsword forcefully through the man's neck, decapitating him. Two thuds were heard, one right after the other, as the soldier's head and then his body fell to the ground.
Upon hearing my shout, not only Ruskus and Katarina hesitated, but especially the two remaining soldiers. The one closest to Ruskus even diverted his attention from the imminent threat and turned his eyes to me, his mouth opening slightly. That cost him, as Ruskus seized the opportunity to hit his head with the hilt of his sword, using considerable force. Then the soldier fell to the ground, inert, a trail of blood running down the side of his face.
Katarina, who was already behind the other soldier, first pressed the blade of one of her daggers against his throat, then disarmed him, throwing the rifle a considerable distance in the direction we had come from — the opposite direction from where the soldiers had arrived.
Katarina finally rested her eyes on me, the blade pressing against the soldier's neck just enough to make a thin trickle of blood run down. But there was something strange in her expression, as if there were an implicit accusation there. An accusation directed at me.
The soldier's gaze was also fixed on me, most likely because he couldn't see the person actually threatening him, and also because I was a familiar face. I could see sweat accumulating in the wrinkles on his forehead, and I could bet he was also sweating under his nose and above his mouth, although I couldn't see that since a brown mustache covered that specific area of his face.
He was a middle-aged man, actually around the same age as my father. His name was Everson, and on his army tag you could read his callsign, which was also his surname: Oliveira.
A face I thought I'd never see again: the father of my former best friend, my childhood friend Juliana.
Ruskus, who had gathered the fallen soldiers' rifles and stored them in his magical inventory, which was somewhat similar to how my Infinite Inventory Bag worked, was now holding his right arm with his left hand. Along his arm, I could see blood. It wasn't blood from the Shrakils we had hunted earlier, nor from the soldiers he had confronted.
He had been wounded by a gunshot — probably the second shot that had been fired in our direction before he and Katarina attacked.
All of this couldn't have taken more than twenty seconds to happen.
I cleared my throat, which felt dry. At that moment, I wished I could drink two liters of water before continuing, but I didn't dare reach for the bottle on my back.
"We should interrogate him" I indicated the man Katarina still held.
"You know how to speak their language." she stated.
I nodded.
"I have a skill that makes it easier to learn other languages. Do you have anything you specifically want me to ask?"
"No, go ahead" she replied, her suspicious eyes seemingly throwing knives at me.
I almost sighed. Before approaching where Katarina and the militar were, however, I moved toward Ruskus. I pretended to rummage through my backpack and discreetly took a healing potion from my Infinite Inventory Bag, then handed it to him. He momentarily paused tending his wounded arm to take the potion vial with one hand dirty with his own blood.
"You should get that out before taking the potion" I instructed, indicating his wounded arm, referring to the bullet lodged there.
Then I turned to where Katarina was with the man I used to call "Uncle Everson" as a child, but who now stood before us as Colonel Oliveira of the Brazilian Armed Forces. Ignoring the fallen body of the soldier Katarina had cut the throat of, I approached.
I was feigning a confidence and calmness that definitely didn't belong to me. It was the first time I had seen people die — be murdered — in such a way. At that moment, there was no doubt that my Mental Fortitude skill was helping me.
"What were you doing here?" I asked the Colonel.
As if to emphasize that he should answer my question, Katarina pressed her dagger harder against Everson's throat.
"On a reconnaissance mission" he replied.
"If it's a simple reconnaissance mission, why did you approach us and open fire?"
"It was an accident. I imagine soldiers Braga and Sousa got nervous with a sudden movement from you, especially after seeing the bladed weapons you were carrying."
I looked at the dead soldiers, following the Colonel's subtle gaze. Their tags displayed exactly those names. Was it just a coincidence, or had it been a deliberate move from Katarina and Ruskus to kill exactly the ones who had shot toward us?
"Have you encountered people from the other world?"
He didn't take even a millisecond to respond.
"No."
I had my See Beyond skill activated. Not that it was actually a lie detector, but it was very good at identifying patterns, even behavioral ones and movements, which helped a little. Everything pointed to the Colonel telling the truth. However, a man like him could have learned to lie well enough in a way that my skill couldn't be able to identify it.
"How is the situation in the country?" I asked.
"We've been under a state of public calamity since the fusion was confirmed."
This information surprised me a little, but it made sense, considering the nations of Mundus were being hostile toward Earth's nations.
"What's the situation with the borders?"
"All borders have been closed... although we have some territories that were absorbed by the other world."
Finally, I gathered the courage to ask about what I was most curious about at the moment.
"Do you know anything about my sister, Liliana, or my nephews?"
I could see a glimpse of recognition in his eyes, probably remembering her existence, having seen her around, even in his own house.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I don't know anything about your sister nor about your nephews."
What the Colonel was telling me was actually good news. Bad things became news and common knowledge. If he knew nothing about Liliana, Vincent, and Octavio, then it was a good thing.
I then looked at Katarina once before returning my gaze to the Colonel.
"The best thing is for you to disappear from here; things aren't very friendly toward outsiders" I warned him. "If you don't want trouble, you should... gather your things and leave as quickly as possible. Don't try to explore further." My gaze fell upon the fallen soldiers.
After what had happened, I had abandoned any illusion about asking them to help me return to Earth's territory. I would have to find my own way back. My only goal now was to make them leave as fast as possible, as I feared what might happen if they reached High Mine. Would they open fire on civilians too?
"Your friends not only murdered two soldiers, but now you're also threatening us, the Brazilian Army?" the Colonel spoke, his eyes intensely fixed on me.
"It's not a threat, it's a warning that you'd be smart to follow". I replied, turning my eyes back to him. His look wasn't one of fear, but of irritation.
'Is he feeling humiliated?' I wondered.
"And you opened fire immediately upon seeing us! You were the ones who acted with hostility, my friends acted in self-defense." I continued. I was irritated too. If it weren't for Ruskus and the Stroke of Luck skill, I would be dead now, and all because I had made an abrupt movement to stop Katarina from attacking the soldiers.
From the expression on the Colonel's face, I knew I wouldn't get any new information. So, I spoke one last time.
"Remember that two of you were spared." Maybe I was crossing some line here. If he was already feeling humiliated, this statement would only make things worse. But at the moment, I was irritated. Saying I didn't have much sympathy for Colonel Oliveira was an understatement, and right now he wasn't making it any easier.
My gaze fell upon the other soldier who was still alive — the one Ruskus had knocked out. He seemed to be the youngest of the group. I used my See Beyond to confirm.
He was just a twenty-year-old kid who happened to be a player. That information surprised me a bit. Regardless, he was someone with a whole life ahead of him, with a family waiting for him on Earth. Not someone I wanted to die today.
I then nodded to Katarina, indicating that the interrogation was over, but still made sure to let her know I didn't want them dead.
"Please, don't kill them" I asked.
Katarina knocked the Colonel out, and then her full attention turned to me. The look in her eyes wasn't the best, which made me go on guard. I touched my silver daggers, preparing for what was to come.