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(TPD) Chapter 7: First Blood
🕑 Added 2024-10-20 11:54:54 +0000 UTCChapter 7: First Blood
Zeoticus stood with Venelana in one of the tents, a conflicted expression on his face accompanied by sweat building up on his moist palms as he looked down on the map that had been laid in front of him.
He clenched the sides of the sheet of paper, gritting his teeth as he deliberated the decision he was about to make.
“We have to go forward with the evacuation,” the words finally left his mouth. “I won’t have their blood on my hands just because I was too afraid to act.”
Venelana approached him, putting her hand on his shoulder. “Once you do, the Underworld will consider it as a confirmation of oncoming war.”
“I know, but those villages are dangerously close to the roads leading to the Bael Clan. If that’s where all the Fallen Angel activity is occuring, then they’re the ones who’ll be in immediate danger should the conflict escalate, and let’s be honest, it’s definitely about to escalate.”
Like in the Human World, there were both urban and rural areas in the Underworld, and there was a great majority of residential settlements located in rural areas near the transport lines where the carriages were running through.
With the presence of Fallen Angels already having been confirmed in that region, letting the villagers that lived there remain in that area was far too great a risk to their wellbeing. They needed to be brought somewhere safe, lest it become too late for them to be evacuated later on.
“I see, If that’s your decision, then I’ll support you.” Venelana reassured him. “You do what you can to keep the evacuation as quiet as possible, I’ll handle organizing the soldiers already stationed in the area and start getting reinforcements prepared just in case.”
“Thank you, but with the distance between here and the settlements I doubt we’ll be able to transport enough reinforcements in time. We’ll have to make do with the already existing garrisons.”
Venelana frowned. “I already checked with Lith, the garrisons over there are fairly weak in the numbers department, and the equipment upgrades you ordered haven’t gotten there yet. If they end up being ambushed, they’ll stand no chance.”
“Then we’ll just have to hope the evacuation happens faster than the Fallen Angels can plan a potential attack.”
The population of Devils living in the area was about 40,000 to 50,000. However, the number of soldiers present was only about 3,000 to 4,000. Meaning they’d have at least thirteen villagers per every soldier, slowing down the evacuation process by a considerable amount.
“How far is it?” They heard a voice say from behind them.
“How long have you been there?” Venelana asked, shocked to see Avalon standing there with a smirk on his face.
“Would you believe me if I said I just got here?” Neither of his parents seemed to be very impressed. “I just thought I’d make myself useful.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re having trouble evacuating right? Let me help, I’ll go over there and provide the soldiers with coordination and recon to increase their odds of success. If I can tell them when and where the Fallen Angels are coming from should they decide to attack, it'd be easier for them to fight back wouldn’t it?”
“You’ll do no such thing.”
“Firmly rejected.”
Venelana and Zeoticus were both swift to deny the notion.
“Then are you really going to leave the survival of our people up to sheer luck?” Avalon’s expression darkened a little. “I’m not saying that my presence alone will suddenly ensure that everything goes swimmingly, but sending me over there would be a lot more productive than just having me sit around. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“You have no experience commanding a battlefield, or any military experience at all for that matter. Putting aside the fact that I have no interest in sending my son to such a potentially dangerous area, you don’t have the skill-set necessary to take charge of that many soldiers.”
Avalon sighed. “Who said anything about taking charge? I’m just going to be providing them with information, that’s all. The more well-informed they are, the more prepared the commanders over there will be to handle the evacuation.”
Venelana and Zeoticus both glanced at one another, unsure why Avalon was so insistent on going.
“It doesn’t matter,” Zeoticus said. “Even if we agreed to send you, which we’re not going to do. That region is 30 kilometers away from this encampment, you won’t be able to cover that distance in time.”
“I can,” he replied without hesitation. “I’ll do it in less than 10 minutes.”
An elite runner had a small chance of getting it done in 90 minutes, and that was just going in a straight line. Not weaving through the mountainous and rocky terrain that made up the border region.
“Nonsense, I know you’re talented, but that kind of speed-”
“No, he’s not lying.” Venelana interrupted, Zeoticus shocked to see the level of certainty on her face. “I’ve seen him train with Souji, he can pull it off.”
“And if he runs into a group of Fallen Angels? What then?”
“Bold of you to assume they’d be able to notice me,” Avalon scoffed. “I managed to sneak by you two undetected didn’t I? Unless you’re implying that the average Fallen Angel is more perceptive than the both of you combined? If that’s the case then the battle is already lost.”
Even if he were to somehow be spotted, the chance of a normal Fallen Angel, or even a group of them beating him in combat was slim.
The conflict dwelling within Zeoticus and Venelana heightened.
From a logical standpoint, there was no reason not to send Avalon to help in the evacuation effort. He had the speed, stealth, and intelligence necessary to carry out the task.
Alright, maybe the intelligence part was debatable.
From a sentimental one, there was every reason not to send him. Avalon was their child, no good parent would willingly send their own child to a battlefield.
However, the battlefield was no place for sentiment.
Avalon was not a normal child, he was a Super Devil, even if incomplete. That was something Zeoticus and Venelana had to accept.
“Avalon, tell me one thing.” Zeoticus’s voice grew somber. “Why do you want to go so badly? Is it because your older brother also fought when he was young?”
He shook his head. “No, I just share the same opinion as you. I don’t want my inaction to result in avoidable bloodshed.” His voice was firm, and his demeanor steadfast.
“I see,” Zeoticus exhaled. He reached into one of the drawers of his desk, pulling out what looked to be an earbud. “You’ll need this to communicate with the Captain in charge of the area once you arrive, his name is Nox.”
Avalon nodded affirmatively as he put on the earbud.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back in a flash.” He shot a reassuring smile their way. “I’ll also be taking this just for good measure,” he grabbed the map that had been placed on the desk, folding and stuffing it into his pocket.
Zeoticus and Venelana were about to barrage him with an onslaught of warnings, but made the fatal mistake of blinking, allowing him to exit the tent before they could do so.
“Going somewhere are we?” Adaloth approached him upon catching sight of Avalon starting to leave the encampment.
“Mhm.”
“Where?”
“The settlements near the border, I’m going to help in the evacuation effort.”
“They actually allowed you to go?” She said with doubt in her voice.
“What can I say? I’m good at being persuasive.” He adjusted his blindfold, stretching his legs in advance. “I’ll just be there to act as an extra set of eyes, it shouldn’t be too much trouble.”
“I’ll come with.”
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible, it’s a time-sensitive thing.” The difference in speed between them was just as drastic as the difference in output. “Maybe you should find a way to make your mutation useful as well while you’re here,” he shrugged, disappearing in an instant once again.
Adaloth sighed following his departure. “You really are troublesome, you should know better than to go anywhere I can’t keep watch over you.” She started to head towards the tent that had been assigned to them. “Actions have consequences, so you can’t blame me for getting a little rough.”
---
(First Person - Avalon)
I’m not sure how long it took me to get here since I don’t have a stopwatch on hand, but going off feeling alone I can pretty confidently say it was less than 10 minutes.
I’ve found a solid tree branch to sit on, with a good line of sight on the roads connecting the rural settlements to the urban ones.
Since the efficiency of the evacuation effort has been greatly impeded by the lack of manpower, they’ve started by transporting the women and children first, but even that is taking longer than I’d find comfortable.
“Hurry it up! If I see even one woman or child still in need of evacuation by the time the sun’s set, I’ll have you carry each of them on your backs!”
I can only presume that the man shouting is Captain Nox, despite the lackluster resources he’s been given to work with, he seems to be doing a pretty good job of keeping everything together. Kudos to him.
After a few minutes had passed, I felt a static run through my earbud, a concerned voice reaching me through it.
“Avalon? Are you there?” Zeoticus asked me.
“Yeah, I’ve arrived. It’s not looking good, at their current rate I doubt they’ll be able to make it before nightfall.”
They’re barely able to allocate any soldiers to stand guard while the rest of them help people evacuate, they’ve been left completely vulnerable.
“I see, have you spotted Captain Nox?”
“If he’s the big guy wearing a silver mask, then I think have.”
I’m not sure how he’s able to stand wearing that in this heat.
“That’s him, how about his soldiers? How are they looking?”
“Exhausted and overworked, but I doubt that’s much of a surprise considering the current situation.”
As time goes on, the evacuation will continue to get slower and slower with their depleting stamina. It’s good that he’s given priority to women and children, but I doubt that’s going to make much of a difference in the long run.
“Any signs of Fallen Angel activity?”
“None so far,” I’m keeping my attention focused on the treeline behind them, if I were going to do an ambush, that’s where I’d launch it from.
“Alright, keep me updated if there are any changes, and stay safe.”
“I know.”
Their equipment doesn’t look all that good either, if I do manage to alert them of an ambush in advance I’m not sure it’ll make much of a difference. I don’t see any way of them coming out on top if they’re assaulted with Light Magic.
Maybe if I use myself as a distraction, I can give them more time to prepare? Or at least help them get as many civilians out of the line of fire as possible.
I could also try fighting the potential ambushers myself, but I’ll have to get lucky with the number and strength of the Fallen Angels attacking for that to actually work.
Being a one-man-army is more Adaloth’s thing.
I’ve also only been training for five months, sparring is one thing, live combat is another.
But I’ll do whatever I can, I don’t want to be encased in fear like I was in my past life.
I will simply act on what I believe is right, and follow through with that until the end. Even if it results in this life being cut short, that’s fine with me. As long as it was lived better than the last.
I continued to wait in silence for about half an hour, carefully examining the terrain for any subtle movements or changes.
Wait, what’s that?
My eyes narrowed towards the treeline I had been observing earlier, a foreboding premonition surging within my gut.
“Shit,” I muttered aloud.
Like blips on a radar, I felt a few presences start to approach the treeline, the same Light Magic I had felt on the carriages present within their bodies.
There’s no doubt about it, those are Fallen Angels!
They were all wearing black cloaks, sneakily getting closer and closer to the edge of the hill they were standing on.
Not good, they seem to have brought a surprisingly plentiful force for this assault. Their numbers have to at least be in the hundreds!
It might not seem like a lot in comparison to Captain Nox’s 3,000 man force. However, those numbers are exhausted, preoccupied, and underequipped.
Taking their approach into account, I can only assume they’re going to start barraging them from afar with their Light Magic.
It’ll be a one-sided massacre.
I put a finger on my earbud, having already changed the frequency in advance just in case I did spot something.
“Captain.”
“Who is this-”
“I’m afraid there isn’t enough time for introductions, I’m a scout sent by the Duke to watch over the evacuation. You have at minimum a few hundred Fallen Angels approaching south of your position, I’d give you about seven minutes maximum before they arrive at the treeline.”
“Fallen Angels?! Hold on, what do you mean a few hundred-”
“Sorry, there’s no time for questions either. Like I said, seven minutes. Handle your people to the best of your abilities, I’ll do what I can to distract them for as long as I can to buy you some more time.”
Seven minutes definitely isn’t enough for him to reroute that many soldiers and civilians, especially in their current condition.
I’ll have to stall them, but trying to do so at close quarters would be a guaranteed death sentence.
I suppose I have no other choice but to poke the hornet’s nest.
I took a deep breath, creating a bullet of Demonic Power from my fingertips as I took my aim.
I’ve never killed before, but I think I’ve got a pretty good strategy to help me out here.
I’m just not going to think about it now.
I’ll kill them, then probably have a manic episode as I ball my eyes out later, but right now they’re nothing but targets.
That’s right, they’re just targets that are trying to kill the people I’m supposed to protect.
Don’t hesitate Avalon.
Hesitation is defeat.
---
(Third Person)
A small detachment of Fallen Angels had been sent ahead of the main group to scout out the area before they began their assault.
“Is that it?” One of them asked, peering over the foliage to try to get a better look at the soldiers and evacuating civilians a few hundred feet in front of them.
“I think so,” another replied, pulling out a pair of binoculars to get a clearer line of sight. “Wait, something’s wrong.”
“What is it?”
The Fallen Angel holding the binoculars inhaled sharply, his eyes soon confirming his suspicions as he observed the sight below.
“Not good! They’re already starting to reposition!”
It didn’t make sense, they were all equipped with cloaks from Grigori that served to mask their presences. There was no way a low-level Devil like Nox should be capable of sensing them.
Something had clearly gone horribly wrong.
The soldiers below had started to form a shield wall around the rear of the evacuating villagers, Nox having decided to take a defensive position since his men were in no condition to go for an offensive one.
“Calm down, I don’t know how they found us out but there should still be time. He has to reform 3,000 of them, as long as he doesn’t get his full number defending their position we should still be able to go through with the assault.” The Fallen Angel pulled out some sort of communication device. “I’ll signal for them to speed up, as long we get in formation before they do we’ll be fine.”
With the Fallen Angels being in mint condition, and the Devils having pretty much all their stamina depleted. There was no feasible way they could outspeed them.
But right before he could press the button on the device, he felt something hit his chest.
“What was-” His body had already hit the floor before he even had the chance to get the words out of his throat.
His comrades went still, blinking repeatedly as if they were unable to process what they had just witnessed.
And as they were stuck in their trance, another one of their comrades were hit square in the forehead. Dropping down just like the one before them without even being given the chance to see who had attacked him.
“THE SIGNAL!” One of them yelled at a Fallen Angel closer to the communication device that had been dropped on the ground.
“R-RIGHT!” They made an effort to sprint towards the device, but their efforts proved to be in vain. Their legs were unable to carry them across the ground faster than the projectile could speed through the air.
More of them made an attempt to reach for the device, while others decided to just turn tail and flee. But none of their decisions ended up bringing them any success.
One perfectly aimed bullet of Demonic Power each, hitting them right in either the chest or head so they couldn’t try to use their Light Magic to create a more rudimentary signal in their last moments.
Only one of the Fallen Angels were able to catch a glimpse of their alleged assailant as their vision began to fade, shocked to see them appear out of what felt like thin air.
A child wearing a blindfold.
“Ridiculous…” They muttered before their vision turned to black for good.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Avalon replied, looking down at his shaking hands. “I really couldn’t agree more,” he took a deep breath, tightening his fists as he forced down the urge to regurgitate.
He tapped his earbud, opening his communication line with Captain Nox once more.
“I’ve managed to buy you a few more minutes by delaying their attack signal, but it’s only a matter of time before they notice something is off and hurry their advance.”
“Sorry whoever you are, but that’s not going to be enough. I’m having to split my forces between defending and escorting the villagers, is there any way you can delay them a little longer?”
Avalon deliberated, his mind trying its best to come up with a plan of sorts.
“How many archers do you have?”
“About 300.”
“I see, how long do you think it’ll take to get them in formation?”
“Wait, you aren’t planning to have them attack the Fallen Angels inside the treeline are you? There’s no way they’ll be able to hit anything!”
“They won’t need to worry about aiming, I’ll do it for them. I’m going to send a signal into the sky, tell them to shoot at it.”
In order to pull off what he was trying to do, he needed to calculate the distance between the Fallen Angels and Devils, the effect the wind will have on the trajectory of their projectiles, and the arrow drop.
Most of which he wasn’t capable of doing.
Moreover, even if he somehow got the positioning spot on, the canopy above the Fallen Angels would more likely than not shield them from most of the arrows.
“I don’t really have any other options at the moment so I’ll do as you say, I’m going to need roughly 3 minutes to get everyone in position.”
“3 minutes it is.”
Avalon focused his hearing, listening to the Fallen Angels slowly beginning to notice that something wasn’t right, making it clear that they would soon resume their advance.
Their main weakness was numbers, a result of them taking significantly more casualties than the other races during the Great War. Even mustering up just 200 or so Fallen Angels like they had now was probably something they couldn’t just gloss over. If one were to look at the current battle, they had about 1 Fallen Angel for every 15 Devils.
However, their Light Magic and level of technological advancement was a serious problem.
The fact that they had managed to equip each of the attacking Fallen Angels with presence-masking cloaks was something worth fearing, not to mention all sorts of other gadgets that had yet to be used in the field of battle that they probably had in their arsenal.
But with powerhouses like Ajuka and Sirzechs still around, it didn’t make sense for them to desire war while they were this vulnerable.
Not that it was avoidable anymore.
They had crossed the border between the two races, which was already a direct violation of the ceasefire agreement between them.
They had ransacked carriages on the Bael Clan’s transport roads. The highest-ranking Noble Clan in the Underworld.
And now they were attempting to assault a civilian settlement.
With enough influence, it was somewhat possible to sweep the first two under the rug, but the same couldn’t be said for the third.
Avalon felt the shaking in his hands continue to grow stronger, forcing him to dig his nails into his palm to keep them stable. Not daring to look at the corpses he had created around him.
He couldn’t afford to be distracted, not until the battle was over.
“We’re ready,” the Captain’s voice came through the transceiver.
“Alright, I’m going to give the signal now.”
He took a deep breath, pulling up his blindfold and revealing his bright-amethyst eyes. Each teeming with Demonic Power to the point where they appeared almost radiant in nature.
Avalon aimed his finger towards the sky, waiting a few seconds before shooting a pellet of Demonic Power upwards like a flare.
And in a matter of seconds, he could hear the sound of arrows piercing through the air as they came overhead.
However, they were completely off-target. The most their current trajectory would result in is a few lucky hits, and a bit of panic amongst the approaching Fallen Angels.
“I’m barely going to have any stamina left after this, so let’s hope this works.”
He made a claw with his right hand, pointed in the direction of all 300 soaring arrows, coating every last one of them in Demonic Power as red luminescent trails followed behind them.
With them now under his control, he was able to accurately redirect them towards where the Fallen Angels were.
But it wouldn’t be enough, he needed more firepower if he wanted foolproof annihilation of the enemy.
A small trail of blood leaked out of his nose, a result of him infusing each of the arrows in his Power of Destruction while making sure not to actually destroy the projectiles themselves.
“Success,” he said with a weak smile, falling down on his behind as he felt overwhelming weakness invade his body.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Like artillery shells, explosions rang through the treeline as multiple craters were etched into the soil, obliterating all the foliage, vegetation, and most importantly, flesh that the arrows came into contact with.
The soldiers below were left speechless as they witnessed the creation of a massive clearing within the treeline, littered with the corpses of the Fallen Angels unfortunate enough to have been sent to attack the settlement.
Avalon grabbed onto one of the nearby trees, using them as support to wearily haul himself to his feet in order to observe the sight he had created.
“Sorry, but I can only bring myself to pity you a little at most. You did try to massacre thousands of civilians after all.” He inhaled sharply, finding himself unable to look away from the massacre he had committed. “I’ll probably have to do stuff like this again if, no, once we’re at war.” He turned around, looking at the unharmed settlements behind him. “However, I don’t regret it.”
He heard a static as his transceiver activated. “Are you really just a scout?” Nox asked him.
“Pretty much.”
“I see,” Nox paused for a moment. “Regardless of who you are, you have both me and my men’s heartfelt gratitude. You saved us.”
Avalon chuckled dryly. “So did you, I wasn’t expecting you to react as fast as you did. The gratitude is mutual, Captain.”
Nox returned some laughter of his own. “Would it be possible for me to express my gratitude in person? It’s fine if the Duke wants to keep your identity hidden, I would do the same after seeing what you just pulled off.”
“No, I’ll come down there. I’m hoping you wouldn’t mind sparing some refreshments for me?” He asked while readjusting his blindfold.
“All you have to do is ask.”
---
(First Person - Avalon)
Captain Nox stared at me dumbfounded, rubbing his eyes as if to convince himself what he was seeing before him was a dream.
I guess I should’ve expected this much.
“You’re the scout?”
“That’s me,” I replied followed by some nervous laughter. “I’m going to go out on a limb and assume I’m younger than you expected?”
“That’s putting it lightly,” he exhaled. “I didn’t know the Duke was hiring child soldiers, I’m definitely going to have a talk with him about that.”
“No, I volunteered.”
“Even so, he shouldn’t be sending children to battlefields.” He said with evident disappointment.
“I was helpful though, wasn't I? I think that should buy him some leniency from you.” I’m pretty sure this guy could crush my father’s head like a watermelon with his bare hands if he wanted to.
“You just let me worry about that,” he gave me a look that told me my father’s lifespan had just taken a considerable hit. “Honestly I thought you just had a high-pitched voice, I wasn’t actually expecting you to be a child. Not to sound demeaning.”
“It’s fine, I’d be surprised as well if I were in your position.”
Nox hummed, getting a closer look at my face. “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s with the blindfold?” I suppose seeing a blind scout would also be pretty confusing.
“I have a medical condition of sorts, but I’m able to scout just fine regardless.”
“That goes without saying,” he chuckled.
Unlike Adaloth, I don’t have my father’s hair, and brown hair isn’t striking enough for him to figure out who I am. So I shouldn’t have to worry about being found out. At least for the time being.
“Again, both my soldiers and these villagers owe you their lives. I’ll make sure the Duke knows that when I report back.”
Yeah, he might have something to say about that once you do.
“I’ll do the same,” if he had hesitated to act on my report there probably would’ve been a few, if not a lot of casualties instead of none.
I don’t know him really well, but I can tell he’s a good Captain.
“While we’re on the subject, is there a specific name I could give the Duke?” Sorry, I think I’m going to let the farce play out a little longer.
“He calls me Blindfold, so let’s just go with that.”
I actually was planning on making up some super cool codename, but I just remembered that I have absolutely no naming sense whatsoever.
Eh, I’ll take Blindfold over Little Beelzebub anyday.
“Blindfold it is then,” he shrugged, proceeding to look downwards for some reason. “Was that your first time killing?” He asked me out of the blue.
I looked down as well, noticing that my hands were still shaking from earlier.
“That happens to everyone, the fact that you’re shaking after your first kill just means you have a conscience.” He put his hand on my shoulder reassuringly. “So don’t worry about it too much, only a monster wouldn’t react to such a thing.”
I think I have an idea of someone who’d fit into that category.
“Here,” he reached into his military coat, pulling out a metal flask and handing it towards me. “It’ll help ease your nerves.”
“Alcohol? I think I might be a little underaged for that.” Even in my past life I wasn’t a big fan of the stuff, women loved using it to try to get me vulnerable.
“This stuff’s super light, I don’t drink heavy while on duty.” I guess this is just the difference between the Underworld and Human World’s standards on drinking age.
“If you insist,” I took a sip before handing it back to him.
“Atta’ boy. You also wanted some refreshments right? Follow me.”
He led me over to a campsite with a few soldiers gathered around a fire, the difference in their armor signifying that they were higher ranked than the others.
“Captain? Who’s that?”
“I didn’t know you had a child.”
“Maybe he had an affair with one of the villagers?”
“Could you all shut up for a second and listen?” Nox replied irritably, causing their postures to immediately stiffen.
He started to explain what had happened to everyone, their expressions igniting with bewilderment as I started to feel like an exotic animal in a zoo.
“Seriously?”
“Since when did they start making scouts this young?”
“Those explosions came from this little guy?”
“You can save your questions for another time, for now go make yourselves useful and help out with the evacuation efforts instead of hogging all the grub.” They all groaned, getting up from their seats as Nox motioned for me to sit down next to him. “Here you go,” he handed me a bowl of what seemed to be a stew of sorts.
Which lasted me about 0.2 seconds.
“Looks like your efforts worked you up quite the appetite,” he smiled, scooping up another bowl for me. “Have as many as you want, you’ve earned it.”
“Thanks,” I’m too embarrassed to admit that I could fit another hundred of these in my stomach no problem. “Captain, do you mind if I ask you something?”
“Not at all.”
“We’re going to be at war very soon aren’t we?”
His facial expression turned somber. “Yes, after what just transpired today there’s no doubt about it. That wasn’t just some rag-tag group of rogue Fallen Angels, that was a planned ambush.”
“I see.”
“Fortunately, you’ve ensured that at least the civilians in this region will be brought to safety before both sides have mobilized their forces. I’m not sure how the regions managed by the other Noble Clans are doing, but I hope everything went well.”
The Sitri and Phenex Clan also share a border according to Adaloth, the Sitri’s should be fine since their territory is far too difficult to navigate, making it a very unlikely target for an ambush. However, the Phenex Clan’s area is also a potential target.
Oh well, Ruval’s there, so they should be fine.
One territory is impossible to navigate, and the other is filled with immortal firebirds. So I think I can understand why they went after us.
“Honestly, I wasn’t expecting the Fallen Angels to be intent on war taking their current state into account. I doubt this’ll be a very long war.”
“Maybe, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be any less brutal.” Every day is another opportunity for disaster, I just hope the disasters happen on their side instead of ours.
“True,” he agreed. “This is going to be the last war between Devils and Fallen Angels, and whoever ends up the victor will inherit the rest of the Underworld. Haha, though it’s not like we’re going to lose with people like you on our side.” He ruffled my hair as I plastered a faint smile on my face. “You have the potential to save a great many lives Blindfold, I’m still not sure about how I feel having a child participate in war. However, if you continue to do so I’m confident you’ll go on to become someone great.”
“I aim to please.”
“You’ll be fine,” he patted me on the back before standing up. “I ought to go report to the Duke now, help yourself to whatever you need. Now that we’re able to safely get the civilians to where they need to go, we have rations to spare.”
Looks like the jig is up.
---
(Third Person)
Zeoticus, Venelana, and Adaloth were all huddled together in one of the tents, watching as Zeoticus’s expression conveyed a wide range of emotions while he was receiving Captain Nox’s report from his earbud.
“I see. Understood. Thank you for your report Captain, continue with the evacuation as planned. Reach out to me once that’s been completed.” He took his hand off the transceiver, drumming his fingers across the table with a slightly nervous expression.
“What happened?” Venelana asked.
“Avalon’s hunch was right, there was an attack.”
Both Venelana and Adaloth’s eyes widened, the latter balling her hand into a fist as the corners of her lips curled downwards into a faint frown.
“Is-”
“He’s fine, he’s currently resting at the Captain’s garrison.”
They heaved a sigh of relief, but soon noticed that something was wrong.
If Avalon was alright, then what was the reason behind Zeoticus’s evident concern?
“According to him, or more accurately according to Avalon’s scouting, there was an attempted ambush executed by around 200 Fallen Angels.”
“Attempted?” Adaloth tilted her head.
“Avalon spotted them in advance, and ensured that the Captain was able to rally his men before they were actually able to launch it. The specifics are a bit foggy to me, but from what I’ve heard it seems Avalon somehow managed to kill them all before they could even begin. There were no civilian or military casualties to report.”
Venelana’s emotions became conflicted upon hearing that.
On the one hand, her child had just saved more than 40,000 people, something she couldn’t be more proud of him for.
On the other hand, her five year old child had killed people, and not a small number of them by any stretch of the imagination. She knew just as well as Zeoticus how someone’s first kill affected their mental state, but that moment for them had come when they were significantly older than Avalon.
Not to mention that they hadn’t killed nearly as many on their first run.
“Did the Captain mention how he was feeling?” It was pretty obvious that she wasn’t referring to his physical state.
“He’s getting through it, but we’re definitely going to have a talk with him ourselves once he’s back.” Venelana met his words with a firm nod. “Avalon’s decided to stay there until the evacuation is completed just in case they try for revenge, or have a back up plan prepared in case of failure.”
Seeing as how slim the chances of the ambush failing were, the latter was highly improbable.
Adaloth wasn’t all that bothered anymore, though that wasn’t apparent to her parents.
On the contrary, her signature robotic smile had returned.
“I knew it,” she muttered under breath, too quiet for either Venelana or Zeoticus to hear.
“So this is where you lot were,” a figure’s head poked through the entrance of the tent they were in. “Where’s my disobedient student?” It was none other than Souji.
“Souji? What are you doing here?” Venelana asked.
“We’re at war now aren’t we? I think it’d be stranger if I wasn’t here,” the way he spoke almost made it sound like he was excited. “Where’s Avalon? I don’t know where he found the audacity to skip one of my lessons, but if he thinks he’s going to get away with it he’s got another thing coming.”
“He’s at the eastern garrison run by Captain Nox.”
“I see, then I guess that’s where I’m headed.”
“It’s 30 kilometers from here,” Zeoticus felt the need to state.
“So what? That’s just a five minute jog.” The only person that could surpass Avalon’s speed was his teacher, the strongest Knight in the Underworld.
“Wait,” Adaloth stepped forward. “I’ll come with.”
Souji shook his head. “Sorry, but Mathers is also here and wants you to go meet him, I’d rather not get on his bad side.”
“Oh? Scared are we?” Adaloth tried to goad him.
“Of course I’m scared, he’s creepy as can be.” Souji replied with hesitation, as if he were stating the obvious. “Anyhow, I’m off to go beat the living daylights out of your brother. Have fun.” Just like with Avalon, their blinking was more than enough of a window for him to disappear.
“He’s his teacher alright,” Venelana said with a dry smile.
“I almost forgot,” Souji reappeared out of nowhere. “Lord Bael is here, and he’s looking for you Lord Zeoticus.” This time he left for real.
“I think I know what he wants,” Zeoticus groaned. “I guess it’s time to face the music.”
