One by one, the few soldiers who had not joined the fight dropped their weapons. Trembling, they backed away from the girl one step at a time, eyes wide and faces drawn tight with fear. They looked like they’d seen Death itself. Not one had a shred of fighting spirit left. The girl, drenched entirely in scarlet, beamed at them with all the brightness of the sun.
“A-Aaah! A monster! It’s a monster!”
“Th-This isn’t happening! I can’t die here!”
“M-Mommy! Mommy, help me!!!”
The soldiers wailed piteously as they scrambled to get away. Some wriggled on the ground like worms. Others shook so hard Samuel could hear their teeth rattling. Others still even let out strange peals of laughter. There really were all sorts. It wasn’t conduct befitting soldiers of the glorious empire. But Samuel wasn’t about to blame them. He could hardly tell them to hold their ground with the aftermath of this massacre in front of them.
The girl didn’t seem interested in pursuing the fleeing soldiers, and stared after them in silence. She’d probably given them a pass because they hadn’t turned their weapons on her. At least, that was Samuel’s guess.
“Um... Captain, right?” said the girl, seeming to suddenly remember Samuel and turning back to him. “You can run too. So long as you let me go, I don’t have any reason to kill you.” She was giving him permission to flee. The hint of a smile played around her bloodstained, seductive lips.
“I get it. You’re no ordinary girl. Now that that’s clear, may I ask you a question?” said Samuel.
“Sure, whatever.”
“Where’d you learn to swing a sword and move like that? That’s no small feat for a kid like you—and a girl, no less.”
“I mean, I don’t know what to tell you. It’s just what Z taught me.”
“...Z?”
“Yeah, Z. Do you know where it is?” asked the girl with a guileless smile. Her face still held a childlike innocence. It was impossible to believe this was the same girl who had slaughtered his soldiers minutes earlier.
Well, it would have been if she hadn’t been drenched from head to toe in their blood.
“Sorry, can’t say I’ve heard of them.”
“You’re sure?”
“Pretty sure, yeah. But if they’re anyone who’s anyone, I’d know them.”
“Hmph. Anyway, are you really not going to run away? I won’t chase you or anything.”
Samuel wasn’t so obliging a man as to just turn tail and flee when he was told to. He shook his head at the girl, who was waving her hand to shoo him off.
“Huh? You’re not going to run?”
“Heh heh heh. I still don’t see why I should. I’m not half bad with a sword myself.”
“Really? You don’t look like much.”
A moment of silence hung in the air after this cutting remark. Then, Samuel roared with laughter.
“Bah hah hah! No one’s ever mouthed off to me like that before! Oh, this is fun. Chances to meet a monster are few and far between when you’re fighting a war, you know.”
“By ‘monster,’ do you mean me? My name is Olivia,” said Olivia, putting her hands on her hips.
“Is it now? I’ll try to remember that. If nothing else, this’ll be my first time raising a hand against a civilian girl. Or maybe the rule doesn’t apply when it’s a monster. No, I don’t think it does.”
Having answered his own question, Samuel slowly drew the great sword on his back. It was a double-edged blade, strong and supple, with the edges tapering off until they became razor thin. It was his most prized possession, and it had seen him through countless battles without breaking.
He flicked his tongue along the edge of the blade and breathed in deeply, bringing the sword level. Before him stood the smiling girl. He lowered his body slightly, let out a silent breath, and charged at Olivia. He moved with a swiftness unthinkable for his large frame, and the deadly thrust of his sword carried his full weight behind it.
With this, his awe-inspiring Raging Bull, Samuel had cut down many a famed soldier. This time would be no different. Whether man or monster, he needed to simply cut down the enemy in front of him.
There’s only one target—the heart!
The blade seemed to cut the air itself as it rushed towards Olivia’s heart.
“It’s miiine!” cried Samuel triumphantly, sure he had won. But he quickly realized that the scene before him was not what he had expected. He did not see Olivia, stabbed through the heart and coughing up blood as she crumpled to the ground. No, instead, he was looking straight up at his own body. How very odd.
As his consciousness rapidly faded, he thought he heard the girl’s confused voice say, “What is?”