The little boy did a few circles around the entrance back to Heritage Basestation, a measure that Senator Alexandre had asked of him a few days ago. It was to keep an eye out for trouble, although Gaius half-suspected that him doing so would have been publicised amongst the Harvesters. After all, everyone was armed to the teeth by their sponsors. Any loss here would be a great one…and the little lecturer had been tasked to retrieve any corpses, especially their equipment. It sounded callous, since the equipment had been given a higher priority, and was also dangerous work, given that snowpyres were apparently created from the bodies of those who fell here.

But it was also proof that the Congress was growing more and more pragmatic by the day. Gaius himself wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not, but whatever beastfolk remaining here would be less vulnerable to whatever schemes and ploys the humans were prone to cooking up.

“Over there,” said Nexus. “Someone’s body.”

His eyes dilated as the fallen figure of a Harvester came into view, and the little boy swooped down immediately. The unfortunate person had died at a mountain pass. Behind him, the snow falling from the skies had not covered it up enough to reveal three sets of footprints, and a pair of lines leading away. Nine snowpyres lay dead on the ground, the closer of the two corpses having two knives embedded into the sides of its head.

Touching down on the ground with a light puff, Gaius moved over to the dead Harvester cautiously. The lecturer — Senator Alexandre during Advanced Combat, if he remembered correctly — had said that snowpyres were created from the dead, but he didn’t say how or under what circumstances did they appear. Extending his right foot, Gaius flipped the Harvester over.

A faint smile sat on the teenage boy’s lifeless face, and yet his eyes were still open. Gaius sighed. He could somewhat visualise what had happened here now. A group had been travelling, when one of them had been incapacitated by a sneak attack or had already been badly injured. This boy…this man here decided to stay behind at a particularly narrow area to buy time for the rest. Perhaps, in his last moments, he’d ignited his full potential, and coupled with the high-end equipment his sponsor gave him, he’d managed to kill every snowpyre out there.

His eyes were open, not because of rage or regret, but because he wanted to make sure that none of the snowpyres were still alive. It was probably painful for him — his tunic had been drenched red, and entire chunks of flesh were missing from his legs. Gaius reached out his right hand and tried to close his eyes.

“It’s alright. They’re all dead.” He glanced at the retreating tracks, confirming that none of the snowpyres had somehow gotten up to chase after them. “So relax. I’m going to bring you home now.”

Gaius swept his hand across the Harvester’s face, brushing off whatever frozen flecks of blood that the man had coughed up in his final moments. When he removed them, the Harvester now looked like a content person sleeping and dreaming a pleasant dream.

He lifted the corpse, bearing it on his little frame, and took to the skies once more. The guards manning the entrance to the Intersection didn’t stop Gaius as he approached them, letting him and the corpse through, while the Harvesters who had been lounging around the area lapsed into silence.

Unlike the last time, when Gaius had brought back a heavily-injured person from Heritage, there was no uproar from the sponsors who were watching the entrance to the Wooden Pavilion carefully. His presence was very much like that of the Gatekeeper’s in that moment — one that compelled silence.

After a few seconds, a portly man left the spectating crowd and walked over to Gaius, who had laid the body onto a slightly elevated patch of snow.

“I’m Dainn, Liam’s sponsor.” He stared at the Harvester’s limp, lifeless form and turned away from Gaius. “How did he die?”

“I’m not sure, but he most likely died guarding the mountain pass to let his friends escape,” replied Gaius. “He killed all his attackers, nine snowpyres in total, and then finally allowed himself to die.”

Dainn quivered, his body restless as he stared at Liam’s corpse again. Before he could say anything, the Wooden Pavilion glowed lightly, to reveal three injured people. A fourth person, his face deathly pale from a bad wound in his torso, was being supported by the trio messily.

The camp burst into motion, with medics rushing over to support the staggering trio. Behind them, the Wooden Pavilion shone with light once more, as more Harvesters from the other side came over.

“This group looks like the ones that Liam died to protect,” murmured Gaius.

“Help! Please, help!” A girl who was a head taller than Gaius screamed, having ignored the medic who was trying to examine her. “Liam stayed behind to stop the snowpyres! He’s not too far away! Please, someone, go and help him!”

Gaius felt his heart twist. He could see why she thought that Liam was still alive — after all, they had managed to make it back safely, which implied that the Harvester was still holding off the monsters even until now. Of course, what really happened was that the Harvester Liam had killed all the snowpyres, before succumbing to his own injuries.

He exhaled slowly and flew over to the distraught girl, whose eyes lit up. “Lecturer! If it’s you—! Please, help him! He’s a few hundred metres from here! If you go now—”

Shaking his head, Gaius said, “It’s no use. He’s dead.”

“Why won’t you go! Lecturer, please, go and save him! Please!”

“It’s not that I’m unwilling. Rather…” The little lecturer shook his head, and sighed. Waving a hand behind him, he said, “I’ve already retrieved his body. It’s over there.”

Her head swivelled over to the direction that Gaius had indicated, and the small crowd blocking her view dispersed immediately. She trembled, before sprinting over to the body laid out there. “Liam! Liam! You liar! You said you’d come back! Get up! Get up!”

Her mournful wails filled the sky. She wasn’t alone, either. Her group members had all shaken off the medics, with the exception of the badly wounded Harvester, to make their way over to the patch of snow where their saviour laid. The two of them could only stare at his content face, tears flowing down their cheeks as they burned the sight of their fallen friend into memory.

“Lecturer Gaius,” said Dainn. “Thank you for bringing him back home.”

The little boy looked at the portly man, and nodded. “Please, take care of them.”

Liam’s sponsor, still shaken, nodded solemnly.

Gaius gazed at the crying group, before turning away decisively. Death was the end. But for Harvester Liam, he’d chosen a good one, as far as choices go. In a time of peril, he’d overcome his fear and stayed behind, knowing that what awaited him was death. He had died, as a result of his choices, and yet would remain alive for all time in the hearts of those he’d saved.

As the little lecturer flew towards his tent, there was only one question in his heart. What would I have chosen?