Chapter 49

A hooded figure arrived at the side of a non-distinct structure with a large suitcase in hand. The figure searched around, and ensured that no uninvited guest had followed before approaching the sturdy metallic door.

Knock-knock. Knock-knock-knock. Knock. Knock-knock-knock-knock.

After a short moment, a slit on the opened and out appeared a pair of eyes.

“What fates one in the darkest of shadows?” A woman’s voice questioned from beyond the door.

“A gamble for the brightest of lights.” The figure pulled off her hood, revealing her long black hair.

“Paladin, welcome back.” The slit closed and a series of clicks followed before the door finally opened. “I apologize for the short notice but we were told that this was urgent.”

“It’s fine, Lia.” Upon entering, Emma noticed that the outpost seemed messier. Piles of rolled up paper cluttered the area near the table. The women positioned her suitcase against the leg of the table as to not block the pathway. “Where is everyone else?”

“They’re currently out on a reconnaissance mission.” After shutting the door, Lia carefully checked every lock and ensured that light could not escape. “And we figured that the Henrik may not be the first thing you want to see. Great timing actually, they didn’t leave too long ago so he won’t be back for a while.”

“I appreciate it, but it wasn’t necessary.” Emma glanced around, weapon parts and munitions were scattered around the floor. “Where is the communications equipment?”

“Oh, it’s in the other room. Prepped and ready for you, Paladin.”

“Anything of note while I was gone?”

“Well…” The woman said while she scratched her head. “we were not able to find any Cultist activity in our mission area but… ”

“But…?” Emma questioned.

“Since the incident with the cultic encampment, crawler activity has increased drastically.”

“Crawler activity? What do you mean by that?”

“Well,” Lia approached the central table and unrolled one of the many maps that littered the area. “We’ve marked every location we’ve encountered a crawler pack to see if we could find a pattern… To locate their 'home.'”

“The entire map…” Emma muttered, stunned by what she saw.

“Yes… they mostly refrain from areas with patrols, but in general, they are everywhere… we’ve actually stopped keeping track a while ago… Although they do not outright attack large groups, they still linger nearby.”

“Any engagements with these… packs?”

“...” Lia hesitated, a solemn gaze was all that was needed to answer the question.

“Who were the casualties…?”

“Victor and Adam… two separate missions… both presumed to be dead.”

“Presumed to be dead?”

“Yes… both were witnessed to be pierced by some sort of tendril before being dragged away.” Lia traced her index finger across the map, stopping at key locations. “Victor was lost here. One of the creatures hid amongst the debris. Before his partner could respond, Victor was taken.” Her finger shifted to another location farther away from the outpost. “Adam was lost here, but they managed to take one of the creature’s down afterward. The creature was… different than what we’ve witnessed before. But unfortunately, we couldn’t track down Adam, so we burned the creature’s body and retreated.” She then retrieved a folder from under the desk and presented the documents. “Here is a detailed report of those events. We’re not sure what caused it, but up until recently, the creatures weren’t a big threat unless you were isolated. But now, they seemed to focus on living targets. As far as we know, if you seem remotely vulnerable, the creatures will strike.”

“...” Emma stood silent in thought.

“Is there… something on your mind, Paladin…?”

“These creatures… you said they were different. Did they wield bladed extremities on their arms?”

“Have you encountered them?!” Lia exclaimed as her eyes opened wide. “We have not seen those variants, most of our encounters were with the crawlers with the twin tails!”

“Those creatures surrounded us, but didn’t attack.”

“Hmm…” Lia furrowed her brow. “That’s strange… they’ve been known to attack any group if given the chance. Maybe they saw you as too much of a threat. These creatures are strangely perceptive to danger. Since we took one down, our direct encounters with them have been minimal.”

“Maybe…” Though that was how Emma responded, she did not believe that the creatures feared her. The creatures had her group completely surrounded, completely outnumbered, and they made their bloodlust known.

“Have you witnessed infighting amongst the crawlers?” Emma asked.

“I’ve heard of them fighting over corpses a while back, but these seem like completely different creatures than before. We’ve never witnessed any infighting with the current breeds.”

“So they don’t attack one of their own…” Emma mumbled.

“...Paladin…?” Voiced Lia perplexingly. “Do you think… they may have mistaken you as one of their own…?”

“Huh-? No… it was… it was just an observation.”

“Right… sorry. I was hoping that you have some sort of trick we could use against them. We’ve had to increase our squad size as a precaution, so we’re currently having issues covering ground.”

“You’re doing fine, ensuring the safety of your men remains the top priority. Continue to document these creature’s behavior.”

Lia straightened her stance and pounded her chest.

“Yes, Paladin!”

After the quick briefing, Emma removed her cloak, revealing the damaged armor underneath and her weapon on her side. She placed her cloak on a nearby rack before she moved to an adjacent room, shutting the door behind her. The small chamber was messy, bulky machines lined one side of the room as electrical wires covered the floor. Although the squad did their best to soundproof the outpost, the low hums of the generator still seeped through the walls.

The woman pulled a chair from under the desk and sat down, withdrawing a piece of paper from her pocket. She matched the numbers with the labeled switches and flicked them in an order predetermined by the paper. Since there was a limit to the range of their radio signals, a series of broadcast towers were secretly built in between various zones of operation and the Order’s headquarters. As a measure of ensuring security, each tower has built-in signal encryption and decryption. So as the message travels from one tower to another, it becomes more and more distorted. Unless the user knows the right sequence of broadcasts, the message would be unintelligible.

“This is Paladin Emma, reporting in from outpost 2-3-1-4. Identification number P-8-I-5-9-2-3-1-6-2. Requesting Commlink.”

A moment of statics followed before a man’s voice answered from the other side.

“...Confirmation received… Hope you are well, Paladin. Patching you through to Elder Gabriel. Stand by.”

Further static followed until the familiar voice spoke from the intercom.

“...Ah, Emma, there you are. I hope you have enjoyed your little vacation.”

“I would hardly call it that.”

“Did you not like your booking…? Thought you might have enjoyed a little… Decadence.”

“Ha. Ha. Very funny.” Emma replied sarcastically. “Did you actually need something or did you ‘urgently’ needed to tout your waste of resources?”

“Well…” Gabriel’s voice shifted tones and all trace of lightheartedness disappeared. “Straight to the point, are we? You are needed back at headquarters.”

“So that’s the end of my ‘vacation’.”

“It’s more than that, we need all hands ready for our next operation.”

“Operation…? Another assault on a Cultist facility?”

“No… not exactly…” The man paused, taking a deep breath. “It’s an all-out attack on their city of Ember-Ridge.”

Stunned, Emma sat unmoving, contemplating what she had just heard.

“An assault on their city…? Are you mad?!”

“Our scouts have indicated that the cultists have been abandoning their outposts en mass, and our sources from the inside informed us of military movement toward the heart of their territory. We believe it may be a civil war. This provides us with a perfect opportunity to gain a foothold in the East.”

“Are we sure of this?”

“Multiple agents reported the same movements.”

“About the civil war as well?”

“... No… We don’t know why they are heading east but we may not get an opportunity like this in the future.”

“What if this is a trap…?”

“The Council has already considered it… If this is a trap then they are leaving themselves way overexposed. It’s a risk worth taking.”

“You’re kidding…” the woman scoffed in disbelief. “We are talking about casualties in the thousands! Entire lineages will be wiped out! And we’re risking all this for a possible trap?!”

“This is a chance to bring us closer to the end of this war. The Council has already decided on this, further arguments would be meaningless.”

“This is ridiculous!” Emma shouted in discontent, her voice echoing into the adjacent room. “Many will die before the city falls… if it falls.”

“Countless have died already, countless more will continue to die unless this menace is put to rest. We are ready to do whatever it takes. These men understood the risks when they enlisted.”

A moment of silence ensued as Emma calmed herself and gathered her thoughts.

“What about the populace…? What will happen to them?”

“...” There was no reply.

“Answer my question! What will happen to the noncombatants once the city has been taken?!”

“You should know our policy.”

“...”

“...Gabriel…” she muttered. “Do you understand what we’re about to do…?”

“What must be done. The course has already been set, Emma. You swore the oath, now fulfill your part.”

“...”

“Emma…?” he called.

“Understood… I will head out immediately...”

A sigh could be heard from the radio. The woman remained tense, pressing her hand against her forehead.

“I understand how you feel regarding this matter, so if there’s anything I can do for you right now… please ask.”

“No, I’m fine...”

“Alright then… Our forces have already been deployed and are en route. Rendezvous with them as soon as you can. May the Ancients grant you their blessings-”

“Wait,” the woman suddenly interrupted. “There is something you can do for me.”

“What is it…?”

“I need you to provide identifications and citizenship papers.”

“What? What for?” after a short moment, the man continued. “For an… Outsider…?”

“Yes, a child. I plan to have her stay with me once this is over.”

“Why not just sponsor her to go through the standard process? Like I did with you?”

“She won’t pass the physical examination, there’s… a deformity.”

“Deformity? How severe is it? The Order isn’t a shelter for the unable, if she can’t pull her own weight then-”

“It’s minor, but I can’t risk a denial.” Emma purposely refrained from giving details, for she knew that if anyone else knew of the girl’s potential link to the creatures, approval would be impossible. They would only see the child as a threat, a danger to mankind.

“You do realize that this could be seen as an abuse of my power, correct?” The man sighed again. “Who is this child anyway? I don’t imagine you’re just adopting random orphans now.”

“She’s… I believe she is my daughter…”

“...” for a brief moment, only the static of the radio could be heard. “Have your memories…”

“Only small bits and pieces.”

“Then how are you sure?”

“You’ll understand once you see her.”

“You’re kidding, just based on looks-”

“I just know! It’s a feeling… I can’t explain it… but I’m sure of it.”

“... I’ll see what I can do.”

Hearing this, Emma relaxed her posture and rested her head against her arm.

“Thank you…” She replied.

“Anything else?”

“No, that is all. Emma out.” She flipped the switch, severing the communications link before she reset the position of all the dials.

The women had known that her time within Luminus was limited, eventually, she would be recalled to the Order. She needed to bring the child along, as not much was left of her past, so everything she could find was precious. Especially, as far as she knew, this was her only child. Although this issue resolved in her favor, a heavy weight still tugged at her heart. Soon, a battle will rage, and countless graves would be filled.