Raynauld’s mind raced with each swing of his glaive. Sirius was here, right here in this town. Kashire shot an arrow into a nearby man, calling out to the group.

“More are coming, we need to get out of the open.”

Maria parried an attack and quickly eviscerated her opponent in silence. Raynauld quickly scanned the area as he ignited a man in front of him. Felicia stood behind him, dodging and blocking attacks but not riposting. Raynauld thrust his glaive into the man, piercing his chest. Felicia watched the body fall, holding her sword downwards. He put his hand on her shoulder, causing her to startle.

“Are you alright?”

“Y-Yeah.”

She looked at her blade and then up to Raynauld.

“Ray, just now, that was-?”

“Yes, it was Sirius.”

Felicia shook her head and looked towards the ground, her hands gripping onto her sword.

“Do you… do we have to…”

Raynauld nodded at her and returned his attention to the skirmish happening before him. Maria and Kashire were holding their own, but another group was coming.

“Come on, we should help Aldrich and Floyd.”

Raynauld moved forwards, signalling for Felicia to stick close by. Aldrich and Floyd were still fighting Haureulman, running back and away from his strikes. It was amazing how well they could stand against him when considering his power and skill. Even so, both of them were barely holding up, remaining on the defensive the whole time. Raynauld ignited his spear again, feeling the thorns of pain climb up his arms even more. He grimaced, this was only going to be necessary for a bit longer, anyways, he could endure more than this.

Haureulman broke off from Aldrich, stepping his foot back and into the ground, basing himself. He took a look around him, and let out a low growl. He turned his attention back to Aldrich and lowered his poleaxe.

“I’m going to kill you eventually. When I do, you will suffer.”

He looked over at Raynauld, who stood with his glaive ablaze.

“You’ve killed those people, are you happy?”

Raynauld snorted in disgust.

“You’ll pay for this, all of this.”

“This was your fault.”

Raynauld felt anger rising within him.

“You’ve killed hundreds.”

Haureulman slammed his poleaxe into the ground, responding with a snarl.

“You’ve let thousands die, each and every day.”

Raynauld paused for a moment, unsure of how to respond. Haureulman continued, his voice rising.

“How many people outside of the city have been saved by the soldiers? How many have all of you looked away from as they suffered?”

He pointed at Maria.

“You, you’ve seen it all yet you still stay with them. Was it all a lie? Did you ever actually care about them? About everyone?”

Maria didn’t respond nor did she move. Raynauld narrowed his eyes at Haureulman.

“How are the people you’ve killed here today any better?”

“They’re a necessary sacrifice.”

“For what? What’s the point of all of this?”

Haureulman yanked his poleaxe from the ground, speaking in a terrifyingly calm voice.

“You choose to ignore what the city is doing because you’re safe behind those walls. You choose to let these people die to the monsters so you don’t have to be the ones to satiate their hunger.”

He looked up, the lights underneath his helm piercing Raynauld.

“I’m going to put a stop to it, all of it.”

Raynauld shook his head, the flames on the blade of his glaze flaring.

“These people were innocent.”

“You call slavers and criminals innocent? This whole town was built upon the trades going on down below, but you don’t even know about that, do you?”

He took a step backwards, waving his hand outwards, gesturing to the destroyed church.

“You don’t even care about what goes on in this town as long as they remain loyal. You never cared about anything except the city you live in.”

Raynauld grit his teeth.

“You’re in no position to say anything.”

“Of course, nobody is allowed to speak ill of the city, are they?”

He slammed his hand into a stone pillar next to him.

“I would know, the last people who tried were executed, just a town over.”

Raynuald racked his brain, remembering there were reports of an insurgency in a nearby town. He tightened the grip on his glaive.

“Is that where you got these bandits from?”

“Innocents or bandits, which one is it?”

Raynauld shook his head; he was arguing with a psychopath.

“We’re done here.”

Haureulman let out a low and grating chuckled.

“Yes, we are.”

Maria grabbed onto Raynauld’s shoulder, speaking in a low voice.

“Run.”

Haureulman’s hand glowed a purple and blue light and a concussive blast shot out of his arm. The pillar broke in two and the shockwave continued through the line of pillars beside it. Raynauld cursed and took Felicia’s hand as they started to run from the collapsing building. From the corner of his eye he saw Haureulman watching them as he calmly moved to a broken window behind him. Raynauld pulled Felicia close to him as he dove out the church, barely dodging a large rock coming down from above.

Raynauld hit the ground with a grunt, landing on his side. He took a quick scan around before taking his hand off of Felicia’s shoulder.

“Everyone okay?”

Kashire had his hand to his temple while Maria sat back against a rock. Raynauld’s eyes darted around, trying to find Aldrich and Floyd. A grunt came from the building as the rocks were moved out of the way. Aldrich heaved the giant stones out of the way as Floyd hurried out. Raynauld breathed a sigh of relief, seeing they were safe. Felicia quickly got off of Raynauld, dusting off her clothing. Kashire scanned around the area.

“He’s already moving away, and there’s still a lot of hostiles nearby.”

Raynauld nodded and stood up straight, picking up his glaive.

“We should clear out the ones coming for us, we’ll have another chance at Haureulman.”

He grimaced, his mind racing.

“Did anybody spot Tylocke through any of that?”

Nobody responded, Floyd’s eyebrows furrowing. Maria sat on her knees, her head leaned forwards. Raynauld hesitantly reached out for her.

“Maria?”

She didn’t respond, her hands limply leaning over her legs. Her sword lay on the ground, dust from the slowly settling rubble falling on the blade. Raynauld slowly placed his hand on her shoulder. She bolted upright, her hands quickly moving onto her blade. Raynauld could see a hint of her eyes from underneath her hood, they were wide open, darting around quickly. She paused for a moment and retracted her hands.

“My apologies, what were you asking?”

“It’s nothing, nevermind.”

She nodded and leaned back against the wall. Raynauld could hear her breath from under her mask. He didn’t expect her to be spaced out here of all places, but it was good to know her instincts were still intact. Even so, Raynauld was a bit troubled by her state. He turned away, looking over the burnt and decimated buildings surrounding him. Distant shouts and footsteps approached them.

Raynauld signalled to Aldrich who lifted his greatsword up and stood in the middle of the street, his helm lowered. Floyd walked up next to him, drawing his sword out and readying the mechanism on his arm. A pop and a hiss sounded out as Floyd lifted his arm up, his hands slowly grasping onto the switch near his hand. A small group of men rounded the corner brandishing weapons. They had little to no armour and ordinary clothes.

A ping rang out as Floyd flicked the switch in his hand. An explosion of flames burst from his arm, jetting forwards and into the crowd. A wave of heat washed over Raynauld as the flames stuck to and burned away at the men. Their screams filled the air as Raynauld walked forwards, checking back on Felicia. She stared at the fight before them, her eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. Maria readied her sword, her face expressionless as she ran forwards. The men who survived the flames didn’t stand a chance. The ones who tried to run were shot down by Kashire’s arrows as he guided them with incredibly precise manipulated winds.

The skirmish lasted less than a minute before it was quiet again. Raynauld pulled his glaive from an attacker’s chest, feeling the bone from their rib cage grate against the blade. If the buildings weren’t burnt before, they were now. Floyd shook his arm out from the ether use, grunting as he did so.

“Anybody get burnt? No? Good.”

He twisted a part of the mechanism, causing a muffled clicking to ring out. It was an interesting design, a multi staged tube with different compartments. Floyd wasn’t able to fully control his ether, so he built up the flames within the tube and used it to funnel them outwards. Raynauld had never seen him use all the ether he could; Floyd said it was too dangerous for practical application.

Maria stabbed her sword into a still burning man, ending his suffering. Raynauld heard Felicia’s quiet footsteps as she hid behind him. She wasn’t fighting much, if at all. That didn’t matter though, she was still safe. Felicia’s gaze drifted amongst the bodies strewn along the floor. Raynauld watched her as she slowly reached out her hands for his arm but retracted them halfway. He understood, she had never seen something like this before, but this was necessary to witness if she were to become a soldier. Better to happen now when he was around to protect her; men were an entirely different beast from the monsters.

Aldrich remained silent and scanned the now empty streets. His armour clinked together as he moved, the chainmail underneath the plated steel shifting slightly. Raynauld watched him move, his movements slow and methodical. The helmet he wore was of a unique design, it had long vertical metal grates along the face and a top which had a crown of sorts on it. The practicality of the helmet was questionable, but it seemed to work. Many had come to fear that helm, and many had died with it being the last thing they saw.

Raynauld hadn’t seen Aldrich when he was assigned for annihilation orders, but the stories of him sounded like myth. Maria was renowned for her skills as a duelist, Floyd was recognized for his craftsmanship, but Aldrich was known for the bodies he left behind. Of course the stories had to be exaggerated, but Floyd always refused to shed clarity on them. Raynauld knew one thing for sure: Aldrich never failed to complete the mission. The fact that he was here on this assignment said something, especially when considering his past with Haureulman.

Haureulman had been with Floyd, Aldrich, and Maria before he deserted. They were all in the same battalion and won countless battles together. Since Aldrich didn’t speak, Raynauld had to go to Floyd and Maria for information about anything concerning their past. However, Maria didn’t seem to have much to say, and always shied away from the topic if it ever came up. Floyd was a bit more open, but still didn’t disclose much. From what Raynauld knew, Aldrich and Haureulman didn’t have the best relationship. What surprised him more was that Aldrich talked back then. Kashire tapped Raynauld on his shoulder, nodding his head towards the end of the street.

“I suggest we should move now. The main market is still swarming with hostiles, and we’re losing our trail.”

Raynauld nodded and signalled for everyone to head out. He spotted Floyd giving Maria a nudge from the corner of his eye. What was on her mind? Maybe it was one of the two traitors, or both. She would be over it soon enough though, right? He could always count on her to think straight. Raynauld looked over to Kashire as he pulled an arrow from a corpse.

“Do you still sense him?”

“Barely, he’s underground, but there’s something else as well.”

“What do you mean?”

Kashire paused for a moment, focusing.

“... I don’t know.”

Raynauld nodded and moved through the streets. They needed to find a way underground, maybe through the entrance they took to find Maria and Felicia. Although, maybe that wasn’t the best idea to return there. It seemed like Kashire thought so as well, because he was heading in the opposite direction. Raynauld breathed a long sigh and scratched his head. This wasn’t going according to plan, and he didn’t like to improvise. One thing at a time, they would get through it.

~

Felicia tried to keep her gaze upwards as she walked along the street, gingerly stepping over the corpses on the floor. This was… A lot. The taste of bile still lingered in her mouth and the woozy feeling of sickness stayed in her stomach. How many people had died in the past few minutes? She shook her head, realizing it would be best to not think about it. The image of the room underground flashed in her head as she caught sight of the bodies at her feet. This was what they were here to stop, right? How many would they need to kill before everyone else would be safe?

The thoughts ran through her mind as she dragged behind Ray. So much had happened so quickly, she hadn’t even had the chance to process the fact Sirius was here. Oh god Sirius, they would have to kill Sirius. Felicia stumbled forwards, barely catching herself from falling over. Her head was light, and her legs felt heavy. She felt a hand support her arm and gently pull her up.

“Are you alright?”

Maria spoke in a quiet voice as she helped Felicia. Her face was mostly obscured by her hood and mask, but Felicia caught a glimpse of her eyes; they were blank, tired and dull.

“I’m okay, thank you.”

Maria nodded and kept walking forwards. Felicia walked by her side, uncomfortably shifting.

“Um, Maria?”

“Yes?”

“I… Nothing, nevermind.”

Felicia shrank back, awkwardly sitting in the silence. Maria didn’t seem to notice as she followed the group. It was like watching a ghost, her cloak drifting behind her as she silently waded through the rubble. She acted like this sometimes in the city and Felicia always gave her space when she did. Maria remained distant most of the time, and it was obviously for a reason., but exactly what that reason was Felicia didn’t know, and she suspected Maria didn’t want her to know either.

They continued through the streets, the smell of fire filled the air, and smoke stung Felicia’s eyes. Around the corner, she caught sight of a large building completely engulfed in fire. The flames burned brightly as screams echoed from within it. Maria rushed past Felicia as she watched the wood burn.

“Floyd.”

He stuttered for a moment.

“Wait- dammit, I don’t have a choice, do I?”

Maria slammed into the still burning door as Floyd rushed in behind her. Felicia tried to go after them, her words stuck in her throat. A sword blocked her path, quickly putting her to a halt. She looked up at Aldrich as he gave a single shake of his head.

His armour reflected the flames, the light bouncing off and extenuating the shadows on his visor. Felicia tried to see what his face was like underneath the grates, but only saw darkness as he took his sword out of her path and returned his attention to the building which Maria and Floyd were still in. Felicia shifted nervously as the seconds went by and Ray and Kashire stood ready for an attack. Flames burst from the top windows, sending a jet of heat their way. Ray cursed and looked around.

“If they don’t come out soon-”

“I trust they didn’t kill themselves, give it a moment.”

Kashire took a look at the building, his mask reflecting the light. The wood broke and fell as Maria burst back out of the building, her cloak on fire. Floyd quickly started to pat her out, his fire resistant clothes remaining unsigned. Maria held tightly onto a small figure under her arms as the fire slowly was smothered. Her blue cloak had dark patches of black on it, and it’s edges were completely singed. She got up and released the child which she had in her arms, but they held onto her. Maria coughed violently, lurching over as Floyd rested a hand on her back.

“There’s no point in telling you that was stupid, is there?”

Maria didn’t respond and let out a couple of more coughs. The child below her cried as they held on. They had burns on their arms and legs, and their clothing was layered in soot. Maria’s breathing came out in rasps as she took off her mask. She slowly pushed the child away as her hood fell off. She didn’t speak and just looked downwards, parts of her hair drifting in the slight wind. Felicia watched Maria as her hands shook and her eyes saddened.

“...I’m sorry.”

The child looked up at her and sniffled. Maria shook her head and blinked slowly, slowly getting to her feet and pulling her hood over her head again. Kashire walked forwards, letting out a long sigh.

“It’s great and all that you saved them, but we need to go now.”

Felicia quickly looked back and forth from the scarred child to Kashire.

“Wait, we can’t just-”

“No, he’s right.”

Felicia stopped in her tracks as Maria walked away and put her mask back on.

“We can’t do anything else for them now.”

Felicia opened her mouth to speak again but stopped as Maria approached, the blank stare back on her face. She walked past her without a sound, her burnt cloak slowly floating behind her as she moved, with Floyd taking one last look and quietly shaking his head before returning as well. Ray nodded and motioned for the group to leave. Felicia swallowed down her protests and followed, they were right, what could they do for that child? She took another look back as they knelt on the ground, shaking in terror. A pang went through her head as she turned her gaze to Ray’s back as he walked away. This was right, it had to be.