“Incredible... You disappear into the wilderness for two whole nights and then come wandering back with just a scratch?” Rylo stared across the table at Reima in amazement.

It was the morning after Reima had returned to Gederah, and the recruits were seated around their usual table in the dining hall for breakfast. It was the first time Reima had ever felt grateful for the flavorless gray slop that the soldiers were fed almost every day, and she scarfed the gruel down with so much enthusiasm that her stomach had trouble keeping up with her pace. Gulping down a huge bite of her food, Reima gave Rylo a smug grin.

“Yeah, guess I’m kind of a rock star now, huh?” she chuckled.

“I suppose that’s one way of putting it,” said Nova from further down the table. “Survival stories like this are quite rare. One can’t ignore the parallels from this incident to the story of Patriarch Ambrose Gederah.”

Reima chuckled awkwardly. “I think that might be pushing it a bit,” she said.

“So does this mean that Reima could be the next ruler of Gederah?” Izo joked.

“Patriarch Reima!” Rylo cheered.

“That’s Matriarch Reima, you dildo!” Jinnai scoffed, flinging a spoonful of gruel at Rylo’s face as she spoke. Laughter erupted from around the table as the slop hit him directly in the forehead with an audible splat.

Normally Reima would have found the exchange to be hilarious, but today she struggled to force out a laugh as she glanced toward the end of the table where Bacheo sat by himself along with three empty chairs surrounding him. He stared blankly at the empty seat across from him, eyes dull and unexpressive. According to Mel, Bacheo hadn’t spoken a word to anyone since the squad had returned to Gederah.

“Just leave him,” Elias said bitterly upon noticing Reima’s hesitance. “If he wants to let his own guilt eat him alive, so be it. Serves him right for abandoning his comrade.”

Reima turned to face Elias with a serious expression. “Mel told me about what happened after the explosion,” she said. “I’m not going to hold Bacheo’s actions against him. He made the right call.”

“You think you could say those words while looking Anthony’s mother in the eyes?”

Reima was taken aback by the question. “What the hell, Elias? Anthony’s death wasn’t his fault!” she said angrily. “You know, you’re being a real asshole today. The hell is your deal?”

“My ‘deal’ is that your story doesn’t add up,” Elias said. “You expect me to believe that you climbed back out of that hole with no help?” he asked.

“Why is that so hard for you to believe?” she asked. “It took me a whole day to find a solution, but yeah, I figured it out eventually.”

“Bullshit.”

“Why?” Reima was getting aggravated. She hated lying to her comrades, especially Elias, but she had sworn secrecy to Kaito. She owed him that much.

“I circled around that damn ditch for almost an hour trying to find a way to get to you. There was nothing you could have possibly used to climb back out of there. Besides…” He grabbed hold of Reima’s arm and rolled back the sleeve of her jacket to reveal the bandage Kaito had applied to the ghoul bite. “Where the hell did you find a perfectly intact bandage lying underground?” he asked. “Mel was in charge of the medical supplies, and that was all lost when his horse went down.”

Reima jerked her arm away angrily. “You’re saying you’re mad because I didn’t come back with an infected wound?” she shot back.

“I’m saying your explanation doesn’t make any sense,” he said. “What have you been doing these past three days?”

Reima sighed and looked her friend in the eyes. “Listen, Elias…”

SLAM!!!

The door to the dining hall slammed open and everyone in the room turned to see Loca standing in the doorway looking furious.

“I’M SO FRUSTRATED!!!” she shouted, not bothering to close the door as she stomped inside and took a seat next to Rylo with a dissatisfied huff.

“You’re back early,” he greeted absentmindedly while still wiping the gruel off his face. “How’d the mission go?”

“Mission?” Reima echoed, turning to Jinnai with a raised brow.

“An advanced team led by Commander Bardo went out to track down Xyozara yesterday,” Jinnai explained. “Loca went with them, but I guess things didn’t go well.”

“The commander is such a jerk!” Loca whined. “He’s out in the courtyard taking all the credit for my catch! It’s so unfair!”

“You caught Xyozara?” Reima asked in surprise.

“Huh?” Loca looked confused for a moment. “Oh, no… We never even found the horse. Some roamer accidentally walked into one of my traps and Bardo brought him back as a prisoner.” Her eyes softened for a moment as she recalled the events of the previous night. “I don’t understand why, though. I don’t understand a lot of things… but I don’t think that man was dangerous at all,” she said. “He looked really scared, and when I found him he’d messed his leg up real bad. I was gonna let him go, but Bardo… I don’t know what happened.”

They brought a roamer into Gederah? Reima wondered, feeling just as confused as Loca looked.

There was a reason outsiders were denied entrance to Gederah. Not only did the territory shield against the ghouls with a physical barrier, but it was also believed that those born within its perimeters possessed a natural antibody that protected them from the plague itself. Not once had a person who died inside those walls bounced back to peel off their own skin. Not once had they reverted to a state of madness that consumed who they were.

The same could not be said for those born on the outside. Reports from the Vanguard as well as the surrounding Guilds verified that those who died outside of Gederah could never rest in peace. Nine out of ten times, the plague consumed their bodies and converted them into the very beasts they dedicated their lives to defeating.

It was for this reason a squad had been sent after Xyozara. Up until now, the antibody theory had applied to all living beings born on the inside, be it human, equine, whatever. Not only did a ghoul of her size frighten the Vanguard, the recruit squad’s claim that the horse had reanimated into a ghoul had also contradicted what little information humanity thought they had against their enemy. It needed to be investigated, and until an explanation could be proposed, Reima imagined the Vanguard would be stricter than ever about who entered its gates. Bringing a roamer – a person without any affiliation whatsoever to Gederah or even to any of its Guilds – inside the walls seemed like the last thing anyone should be doing at the moment.

“Right, so just so we’re all on the same page here…” Rylo began. “A random guy steps in your trap, Commander Butthead takes the credit, and he doesn’t even bother to explain why the dude is so important in the first place?” he asked.

“Well…” Loca thought for a moment. “He did mention something about this guy being wanted by the Patriarch, but I’ve never heard of anything like that before. He also referred to him by a funny name… Like one of those nicknames they give to elite soldiers. Flying Pillow, maybe? I don’t remember…”

“Flaming Arrow.”

Everyone at the table turned their heads toward Nova, whose sharp gaze was fixated on Loca with interest. “That is the one, isn’t it, Loca?” she asked.

“Oh yeah!” Loca beamed back at her from across the table. “That’s definitely the one!” she confirmed.

“You know something we don’t?” Rylo challenged.

“Who is Flaming Arrow?” Reima asked.

Nova leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, bringing her hand to her chin thoughtfully. “I didn’t think he was a real person,” she said. “Merely a myth created by the senior soldiers to entertain themselves. But its as the old saying goes, ‘there is always a grain of truth in every fairytale.’”

“Well that’s all nice and poetic, but in no way does that answer our question,” Rylo growled and Nova shot him an irritated look before continuing.

“Rumor has it that the Flaming Arrow is a traitorous member of the Vanguard Elite who singlehandedly slaughtered an entire platoon consisting of over fifty soldiers. They say he is the younger brother of Gederah’s Night Beast,” Nova explained.

“That would explain the crazy strength,” Rylo interrupted. “Night Beast is regarded as the strongest soldier in Gederah… Maybe even the whole world!”

“I’ve never heard anything about Night Beast having a brother,” Jinnai added. “If that were true, why hasn’t anyone else here ever heard of him?”

“That’s why I thought it was just a story,” Nova told her. “You’d think that someone like that would harbor an incredible amount of fame, but no one ever said anything about it during basic training. Apparently this all happened before Night Beast had achieved his current status, and the government did everything they could to cover the whole thing up.”

“Why?” Reima asked.

“The Vanguard has always been the subject of controversy. Imagine the chaos that would ensue if the general public found out that a member of the Elite turned against it. The people would lose trust in the Patriarch who oversees our every move and society would destroy itself from the inside.”

“So why’d he do it?”

“That much I don’t know,” Nova admitted. “What I do know is that an attack on the Vanguard is considered an attack on the Patriarch and therefore an act of terrorism against humanity as a whole, and that is a crime punishable by death. Flaming Arrow paid the ultimate price for his actions and was thrown to the ghouls, but there are some who believe he survived the execution. They say he’s still out there somewhere, evading capture from the Night Beast himself and waiting for a chance to strike again.”

Reima felt a chill crawl down her spine. As horrifying as this story was, she found herself itching to know more. Was it really possible that the person captured was the infamous Flaming Arrow?

“Flaming Arrow, huh?” she mused. “I want to see him for myself.”

“Yeah, well… wish granted!” Loca growled. “Bardo plans to make a huge statement about how he finally brought this criminal to justice. As a matter of fact, I think that’s him yelling now.”

The rest of the dining hall had already cleared out, and there was a huge commotion coming from outside the building. The recruits stood and exited through the door, leaving Bacheo alone in the empty cafeteria. He didn’t even flinch when the door slammed behind them.

Out in the courtyard, a large crowd had gathered around the gallows used to weigh sacks of animal feed and minerals brought in from outside the walls. Bardo stood at the top of the platform and as the recruits approached to investigate, Reima wondered if today the tall wooden structure would serve a much more sinister purpose.

“Attention soldiers of the Vanguard!” Bardo bellowed over the heads of the crowd. “It is with great honor that I stand to inform you that the Hotblood that’s been terrorizing our perimeter for the last eight years has finally been captured! We have him subdued, but keep your distance! He is an extremely dangerous and unpredictable criminal, and our lives will remain in jeopardy until I have disposed of him!”

Bardo waved two soldiers up onto the platform with him. In their custody was a figure whose arms and legs were bound in heavy chains and whose face was hidden beneath a black bag placed over his head. They forced the person to their knees and Bardo turned his attention back toward the crowd.

“I understand that some of you are familiar with the name Flaming Arrow, and of the rumors surrounding his crimes against humanity. I am here to confirm these rumors as tales of truth! Rumion, your beloved ‘Night Beast’ was tasked with ridding the world of this merciless killer almost a decade ago! The elite soldier you call Gederah’s strongest is nothing more than a fraud that couldn’t even bring down a single outlaw! Your trusted Elite has failed you! If nothing else, I hope this turn of events has opened your eyes to the flaws that reside in our military’s system. The Hotbloods in the Elite are chosen based on the Patriarch’s personal preference rather than genuine strength and ability!”

“The commander sure is running his mouth a lot,” Reima heard one of the nearby soldiers mutter.

“He’s been envious of the Night Beast’s success for years. He’s going to milk this for everything its worth,” replied another.

“And now for the moment of truth!” Bardo continued. “Behold the face of the monster who turned his back on mankind!”

In one swift motion, Bardo ripped away the bag covering the Flaming Arrow’s face and Reima felt her heart drop into her stomach.

Kaito???

The face of the man on the gallows was bloodied and badly bruised, but there was no mistaking those fiery blue eyes. The delicate black flames that surrounded his eyes had been roughly smeared across his face and his hair was roughly tousled and fell into his furious icy gaze.

What the hell is this? Why is Kaito here? What in the literal living fuck is going on?

It was then that Reima remembered the flames that had engulfed Kaito’s hand when they first met and everything began to fall into place. She hadn’t imagined it. Kaito and Flaming Arrow were one and the same; His animosity towards the military suddenly made sense; The title of Flaming Arrow was a reference to whatever ability he possessed… and most puzzling of all, the Vanguard was completely aware of everything.

Why…?

Reima couldn’t understand it. For each answer she received, another question flooded in its wake. She felt a light tug on her sleeve and saw Loca staring up at the gallows with fear in her eyes. Reima followed her gaze and saw Bardo pull a dagger from his belt.

No…

“I don’t need to know the reasoning behind your actions, Arrow. Whether you have abandoned humanity or humanity has abandoned you is irrelevant. The fact of the matter is that you have rejected that which separates us from other beings and makes us who we are. You feel the need to go against our natural behavior and take advantage of those who fight for a better tomorrow. Hell, even the ghouls have a respect for social order, but you? People like you have no place within a society...” Bardo pointed the tip of his blade at the center of Kaito’s chest and leaned down to whisper in his ear. “And you don’t have a place anywhere.”