“Sorry, but it looks like this is as far as I go.”
He smiled lightly as he took an arrow to the shoulder. He couldn’t even remember how many arrows he’d been hit by at this point.
“You know, normally, the second-in-command would be giving you some words of encouragement like, ‘Make sure you kill god for me!’ or something, but...honestly, if it seems impossible, I’d rather you just run.”
Another arrow sliced through his thigh, and Badd slumped back, leaning against the sacred tree.
“If you were here, you’d probably say something like, ‘It’s too late for that, idiot!’, wouldn’t you? Ha ha, sorry. But don’t feel like you have to fight Ehit for us or anything, all right? We all chose to be here...and we knew the risks of making that choice.”
Badd failed to parry a wind blade, so it sliced into his neck, causing a fountain of blood to spurt out.
“Sorry I was such a pathetic adult. If possible, I’d like at least you to live.”
He could feel his consciousness slipping.
“Lyu, are you listening to this too?”
Another two arrows hit Badd in the chest, but he ignored them and continued shooting off non-lethal mana shock waves at everyone.
“The truth is, I’ve been in love with you this whole time. You know how I told you I come from a clan that worships the spirits of Ur lake? Well, when I first met you, I thought you were one of those spirits. I fell for you at first sight.”
Laughing, Badd crushed the legs of ten soldiers that tried to charge at him. But in return, one of them managed to cut deep into his left arm, so it went limp.
“But you know, I don’t think I could ever be your husband. After all, I couldn’t bring myself to insult you or step on you.”
Everything around him started to go silent, but even as he was on death’s door, he felt a surge of strength and swung his trusty scythe one more time. The shock wave he unleashed was his biggest yet, and it knocked a hundred soldiers unconscious at once. Even trapped by whatever fanatical brainwashing Ehit had done to them, the remaining soldiers still stared at Badd in awe.
“Ha ha, surprised I knew about your secret fetish? I’ve actually known for a while,” Badd said, grinning mischievously as he imagined Lyutillis’s shocked face.
“Haaah... Haaah... Am I forgetting anything? Oh, yeah. If Egxess hasn’t been stolen, and you can’t find a suitable wielder for it, dump it into the bottom of Ur lake. It’s not the kind of thing that should be left lying around.”
Egxess’s terrifying black aura began to fade as its owner’s life finally came to a close.
“Oh, and...hmm, actually, I guess that’s everything. I’ve got nothing else to say.”
A huge fireball came at him and Badd used the last of his strength to slice it in half and absorb its mana. However, Egxess’s aura didn’t get any stronger. The light in Badd’s eyes slowly dimmed, but he didn’t fall. Up until the very end, the Liberators’ second-in-command remained standing, defiant.
“Now then, it’s time to show you all just how much of a sore loser I am!”
Smiling fearlessly, Badd stood against the oncoming horde of soldiers until his body had been completely destroyed.
A day before the world went insane, at the southern coast of the Astlan kingdom, where The Melusine was anchored...
“Tonight sure feels ominous...” Salus muttered as he looked worriedly through the bridge’s window.
“I haven’t seen a moon this red in ages,” Mikaela replied. Despite her blindness, she could see the moon clearly with her Soul Sight.
The guards on watch squirmed uneasily, and Salus mentally berated himself for adding to their fears.
“Any word on what those shooting stars were?” he asked the person manning the Skynet in an attempt to change the subject.
“Not yet, sir. We have no information on the new pope either.”
Salus frowned and let out a sigh. A few days ago, he’d gotten reports from numerous branches that they’d seen silver shooting stars in the sky. There was, of course, one thing that first came to mind upon the mention of the word silver. The Liberators had been on high alert, looking for any sign of an apostle anywhere.
Salus had even sent a spy unit consisting of Jinx’s crew as well as Sui into the theocracy’s capital when the new pope had been anointed, so he’d been hoping for some news. However, none of them had reported back to him yet. Of course, he knew that the theocracy would be on high alert, so his spies would have a hard time getting out to contact him, but he couldn’t help but worry.
“I need to snap out of it. I keep on envisioning the worst-case scenario.”
No matter how hard he tried though, Salus couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen. Miledi and the others had found a lead on how to defeat Ehit, the world was turning its back on the church, and people were finally beginning to think for themselves. Everything seemed to be going the Liberators’ way. And yet, Salus’s instincts, which had been honed from decades of navigating stormy seas, told him that they needed to hurry or everything would be lost.
Suddenly, the person manning the Skynet delivered some good news.
“Captain, we’re picking up a transmission from our spies!”
“Patch it through!”
Salus had been waiting for news for ages. More than anything though, he was just glad everyone was okay. Though, as soon as the image popped up on the Skynet, he realized he’d celebrated too soon.
“Sui! Are...you okay?!”
Sui was covered from head to toe in wounds. She was leaning against the wall and breathing heavily. Blood trickled down her face, one of her rabbit ears was missing, and her shoulder and side were heavily lacerated as well.
Sui ignored Salus’s question, as she had very little time and said, “You have to warn everyone not to get close to any towns or cities! Evacuate all of our supporters within the cities as well! Get as many of them to the Pale Forest as you can and call Her Majesty back immediately!”
“Wait, Sui! What happened?! Where are Jinx and the others?!”
“Everyone else is dead,” Sui stated in a flat voice. However, it was clear from her expression that she was just holding her grief in. The situation was so urgent that she couldn’t even afford to take the time to cry.
“Did you get everything I said? Listen up. Those church bastards are using the apostles to—”
Before Sui could explain the details, a massive explosion rocked the ship. Salus tumbled to the ground, while Mikaela shrieked in surprise.
“Wh-What happened?!”
“I don’t know. That explosion came from...inside?! I’ll switch comms over to the ship!”
Tim’s panicked voice echoed throughout the ship.
“U-Urgent report. The Skynet has been damaged! Shit, why are they—?”
Looking back at the Skynet’s screen, all Salus could see was Sui desperately trying to say something. Her voice was no longer coming through, and there was static on the screen.
“Tim, who are ‘they’?! Are there intruders on the ship?!”
The only reply Salus got was a series of screams as a second explosion rocked the ship. Mikaela then used her Soul Sight to see what was going on directly.
“No way...”
“Mikaela, what do you see?!”
In a shocked voice, Mikaela said, “The dragonmen. The dragonmen who were assigned to guard us are attacking the ship!”
Salus’s eyes widened in shock and goosebumps rose on his arms.
“Send a distress signal! Can we reach Rigan?! I need to know what’s happening in the Dragon Kingdom!”
“It’s no good! Our calls aren’t getting through!”
Sui’s image was on the verge of disappearing too, so the Skynet was clearly too damaged to be usable. It seemed she was under attack as well, as she was desperately trying to hold the door closed while she shouted at Salus. The most he could pick out were the words “church,” “brainwashing,” and “world.”
“You’ve done enough, Sui! Just get out of there! Return to the forest!”
Sui smiled sadly as she read Salus’s lips. Then, just before the image cut out completely, she opened her mouth and said, “Sorry, but there’s somewhere I need to go first.”