4. CRIMSON EYES “Ugh…,” Rain groaned as he opened his eyes. The prickling pain had kept his slumber light. It honestly felt like he hadn’t gotten any rest at all. “Air…?” He immediately noticed something was wrong. He was still in the grotto, but Air was nowhere to be found. Where’d she go? Rain sat up while holding his aching wound. Then he looked around for the silver-haired girl. Unfortunately, he found nothing. “You’re finally up,” a clear voice spoke to him. “Ah…” “Don’t be alarmed. I won’t hurt you. And honestly, I couldn’t even if I wanted to.” The voice lacked any intensity, but its tone left a lingering impression in Rain’s mind. It came from the western soldier with reddish-brown hair, Deadrim’s partner. “Sad to say, but driving an Exelia’s my specialty. I’ve got no real talent as a mage, and I’m only on the battlefield thanks to Deadrim’s skills. Plus, I don’t even have a gun anymore,” he said with a chuckle. I think his name was… “You’re Isuna, right?” “That’s right. Isuna Cole.” He was the man who’d attacked the train alongside Deadrim. Isuna had damaged his leg when the car tumbled down the cliff, and while he’d gotten some form of first aid, he was still severely injured. He surely felt a great deal of pain, but his expression didn’t so much as twitch. “My rank is second lieutenant. I never attended an officer’s academy, though. I simply worked my way up over the last ten years.” “Ten years…” Like Rain thought, he was a generation older. Given his maturity and leadership of the raid, though, he seemed even older than that. However, even though he was a mage, Isuna had gotten promoted through regular channels. Why is he…? “Oh, I’m only here because Deadrim strung me along,” Isuna said after sensing Rain’s suspicious gaze. “I’m all right with an Exelia, but that about sums up my skills. I’ve got no other special abilities.” The way he talks about her… His tone was friendly and warm when he talked about Deadrim. He didn’t seem the slightest bit concerned, either. “…You can tell me more later,” Rain said. “Sorry to change the subject, but the silver-haired girl who was with me and your partner are gone. Do you know where they went?” “Yes, I do. The two of them went outside around five minutes ago.” “They?” They’d left the safety of the grotto and gone into the snow. “You know, to the mountains. They saw some lights and decided to investigate. We’re cooperating for the time being, so they left me here to keep an eye on you.” Isuna proposed they wait for the girls to return. However, sitting still and doing nothing made Rain feel like deadweight, which he hated. “Sorry, but no,” Rain said as he wobbled up to his feet. The wound made all his actions sluggish. “I’m going after them. If they saw a light, that means there are soldiers around here.” “Are you sure? I personally don’t recommend it, but I won’t stop you, either. Except…” Isuna paused at that point and lowered his voice to a whisper. “…If you chase after them, I think you may wish you hadn’t after you see what’s out there.” The snowfall started to ease up a little. Which way did they go…? Rain walked through the terrain dotted with conifer trees. His vision was limited, but he could just barely hear the sound of gunfire in the distance. Isuna had told him Air and Deadrim saw strange lights outside and went to investigate, which meant they didn’t know who they were up against. They had no clue if they were reinforcements from either of their respective armies, so they hadn’t started fighting right then and there. However, everything would change once they got an answer to that question… Neither Air nor Deadrim were the kind of person to give up without a fight, but they also only operated on sound logic. Upon realizing they were outnumbered, they would have avoided choices that spelled certain doom. The second-generation Exelia was still a prototype that needed years to properly develop. It wasn’t worth staking one’s life over when the war was approaching its endgame. But if that was true, why had Rain heard gunfire? Who was fighting whom? “I think you’ll wish you hadn’t after you see what’s out there.” Isuna’s warning echoed in Rain’s mind once more. What did he mean by that? Rain walked through the forest by using the intermittent gunshots as his guide. And after a few minutes of searching, he ran into someone. No…not someone. He found himself face-to-face with the limbless corpse of a man. This is… It rested atop the snow. Blood flowed out of the cross sections of its wounds, showing that the person had died mere minutes ago. And the bloodstained snow melted. Worse yet, the person clearly hadn’t been killed on that spot. His limbs were scattered all around, away from his torso. In other words— Someone moved him? The bloodstains on the snow formed a path that led to his right arm. His left arm was a few feet ahead of that…and both legs were nearby as well. That meant the man had moved as his limbs were hacked off one by one. He’d tried to run as he was slowly but surely dismembered… …… And upon realizing that, Rain felt something cold slither down his spine. The state of the corpse made it clear that the perpetrator was extremely brutal. Rain was a soldier, so he’d grown accustomed to situations where he had to gun people down. However, in those cases, he always aimed at their head or chest. Hitting vitals was more efficient, and it kept the target from suffering any more than necessary. Unfortunately, the killer who had done this clearly didn’t share his views. They were toying with him… Whoever did this had treated their victim like a plaything. They hadn’t aimed for the head or somewhere central. Instead, they’d cut off his limbs one by one to ensure they wouldn’t die immediately. If the killer could sever an arm or a leg so cleanly, they could have just as easily beheaded him. But they took their time, intentionally missed their victim’s vitals, and chased him around. They only granted him the relief of death after tearing him apart and filling him with despair. Bloodstains surrounded the corpse, which proved that he’d thrashed and struggled up to his last moments. Why do this?! Rain swallowed the nausea that clawed at his throat and advanced deeper into the woods. The snow had gradually obscured the many sets of footprints. Whose corpse had he just found? Rain didn’t know. He wore a nonspecific uniform, so there was no way to tell his true affiliation. Still, they clearly weren’t alone. Farther ahead, there were over twenty others who wore the exact same clothes. Another one… Rain found a second corpse. It still had its legs, but both of its arms and eyes were missing. After that, he found a third. Its head was split through the middle, and it had been stabbed dozens of times. And when Rain advanced six hundred feet ahead, he found thirty corpses covered in varying stab wounds and lacerations. These corpses… There were thirty of them. How much blood had that many corpses left in the snow? None of them had been granted an instant death. He could tell someone had tortured them before they died. Those disrespectful acts resembled an innocent child ripping the wings off an insect. And then… “Rain, I think it was…?” …Rain reached his destination at last. “Should you be moving in your condition?” He recognized the very same serene voice he’d heard in the grotto earlier. In other words, nothing that had happened had fazed her at all. The girl in black simply spoke to him as if she’d met him on the street. However, her entire body was dyed red. Her sword gleamed crimson, and her fresh, alluring skin was drenched in blood. “We should run, Rain. There are more enemies out there,” Deadrim, the girl who’d just murdered thirty people, warned him. “They managed to contact their allies through a wireless transceiver, so there are probably reinforcements inbound. Ha-ha…” She laughed as she wiped the blood off her face. She looked at it as if it were some prize she’d won in a fight, not the blood of over thirty dead people. Blood covered her from head to toe, but she didn’t seem to care. Instead, she stared off into the distance with hollow eyes. And unlike earlier, they were black and red…wasp-hued. “A Ghost…,” Rain muttered without thinking. “…Ghost?” Deadrim asked as she cocked her head quizzically. It honestly sounded like she’d never even heard the word before. Doesn’t she know? Rain had already encountered several Ghosts, but they were all aware of their mysterious existence. Deadrim seemed different, though, despite her eyes giving her away. The girl of ebony, Deadrim. Her pupils sparkled like rubies, while the whites of her eyes became the color of pitch. Wasp-hued eyes were unique to Ghosts, indicating they’d just used magic. And Deadrim turned hers toward him as she spoke. “Do you mean me, Rain? Did you just call me a Ghost?” “…Yeah.” “So a Ghost…means a person who’s died before, yes?” Deadrim nodded to herself as she said that, confirming her own suspicions. Then she touched her eyes and returned them to their natural color. “I’ve spent the last few months living while not really knowing what I am, but I see now. I did die back then… Strange. How have I returned to life?” Rain had met a Ghost. The Ghost Deadrim. She’s… Rain wanted to walk up to her, but the transceiver in his chest pocket crackled to life, informing him of an incoming transmission. And so, Rain pressed the switch. “Wait, Rain.” Air’s voice flowed through the device. “Where are you?” “In front of Deadrim.” “Then repeat what I’m about to tell you. There are more enemies around. We’re surrounded. We need an Exelia’s mobility to shake them, so get back to the grotto, stat.” The enemy… Rain still didn’t know their identity, but he chose to return to the grotto with Deadrim. By the time they got back, Air and Isuna were already sitting inside the second-generation Exelia. And as soon as Rain and Deadrim got in, the unit moved. “We have to get out of here.” The Exelia rumbled as it began moving. Its four sturdy legs supported the frame as they stabbed into the snow. They weren’t taking the path they’d originally planned to use. Instead of escaping the mountain through the quickest route, they chose to cut through the forest. Air forced them down a path that helped them avoid detection. However, within a minute, massive shock waves crashed into them from behind. “Ngh, aaah!” When he looked around, Rain saw that a large crater had formed with them at the center. Also, three Exelias trailed close behind them. Ugh… Why are they attacking us? No, wait, who are they? “These people aren’t from the East or the West,” Air answered Rain’s unspoken questions. As she operated the Exelia, she told him what had happened while he was out cold. Ten minutes earlier, she and Deadrim had left the grotto to investigate the source of the flickering lights. And they’d found a platoon of thirty soldiers. Upon realizing they were outnumbered, they’d tried to escape. Unfortunately, enemy scouts had spotted them, so a battle broke out. Deadrim slaughtered the lot of them, but not before they’d managed to send a transmission about the girls’ presence. That explained the Exelias hot on their tails. “I inspected the soldiers Deadrim killed but didn’t find anything,” Air said. She had prioritized gathering intel, so she’d studied the dead bodies while Deadrim went on a killing spree. “They didn’t have equipment or ID affiliated with any particular faction. There’s no way an entire platoon of thirty soldiers is simply missing ID, so it has to be systemic. Plus, their reinforcements arrived far too fast.” “This whole situation smells fishy,” Deadrim said. “How is it possible that some army not related to the East or West arrived here first? I mean, this is a high-level assault force organized for combat. Something like that doesn’t just pop out of thin air.” They’d fallen off the train by accident. The probability of them happening upon some enemy unit who’d infiltrated the East’s territory wasn’t zero, but it wasn’t likely, either. Also, none of the thirty soldiers had carried anything that identified them as members of a particular army. It had all worked out too perfectly, as if they’d anticipated coming into contact with hostile forces. Based on Deadrim’s tone, there was no chance of them being from Harborant. And yet, these unaffiliated newcomers had appeared with perfect gear for the situation. …… Rain pored over the course of events one more time. Something… Something felt terribly off. The second-generation Exelia. Deadrim, who’d raided the train with said Exelia on it. And now, an unknown army that didn’t belong to either of their countries. What if the entire scenario wasn’t just a random flurry of events? What if someone had planned the whole thing from the beginning? …… Rain shivered. It felt as though he’d just caught a glimpse of something massive but indiscernible to the naked eye. No, not now… He shook his head and tried to banish the terror welling up in him. He had to focus on handling the enemy before their eyes. Rain turned around, lifted the rifle he had, and fired Bullet Magic at the units chasing them. The recoil sent a jolt of pain through his wound, but he couldn’t allow them to look like a passive, helpless target when their objective was to escape. The three enemy Exelias remained close behind them. Air was a far better driver and would have easily shaken them off if there had been only one enemy unit. Unfortunately, she had to avoid three enemies at once, so she lost speed every time she had to dodge an attack. They slowly closed the distance between them, as if gradually tightening a noose around their neck. Dammit… What can we do? Numbers granted an overwhelming advantage in Exelia combat. Even Air’s transcendent skills weren’t enough to compensate for a numerical disadvantage. Rain looked around, trying to think of a way to break out of the deadlock, but the snowy trees didn’t offer any solutions. Eventually, they exited the woods and reached a clear field that offered good visibility. They’d found a large snowscape without a single tree in sight. This is… It took Rain a moment to realize where they were. “A frozen lake,” Air whispered from in front of him. “The water’s frozen over, and it’s solid enough that we can drive on the surface.” “So right now, we’re…” Rain trailed off upon realizing that they stood on solid ice. “Why don’t we use Bullet Magic to break the ice?” “Hmm?” “If we make a hole under the enemies, they’ll sink into the water. All three of them are behind us, so we just have to smash open an area we’ve already crossed.” It was a simple enough trap. And his idea made perfect sense, since Exelias were effectively heavy scrap metal when dropped underwater. “It won’t work,” Air said as she shook her head after analyzing the situation properly. “From what I can see, this ice is at least six feet thick. Your Bullet Magic’s shock waves won’t burst through it. We can’t launch a surprise attack and break through the ice with one shot. But sure, go ahead. Try it. It’s not like we’ve got any better ideas.” Rain held up his rifle and fired powerful Bullet Magic. But just like Air said, the section he hit didn’t break, nor did the shock waves transmit to the rest of the ice. The solid surface remained whole, so the three units kept pursuing them. Rain thought they were maintaining the status quo, but— “Keep going and get us off the lake,” the ebony girl who’d remained silent thus far said. “Keep going? The moment we get off the lake, they’ll catch us.” “Just do it,” Deadrim insisted. “Listen, Air, keep them off us for another minute… No, even less. I’ll handle the rest…with my Bullet Magic.” Deadrim’s Bullet Magic…? Rain recalled that Deadrim was a Ghost, a supernatural existence equipped with a unique divinity that granted Bullet Magic beyond the realm of normal mages. The Devil’s Bullet Air and Rain possessed used the divinity of the Belial race. And since Deadrim was a Ghost, she must have had a power that equaled it in standing. “…I can’t say I trust you all that much, but we’ll have to get off the lake at some point.” “Right. That’s fine.” “What are you planning? Maybe we can help.” “Lend me a pistol, then. Even a small one will do.” “……” Air silently threw a pistol in her direction. “Anything else?” “Anything…? Heh, well, you don’t have to brace yourself,” Deadrim said with a smirk. “I’ll be done in a jiffy.” Their Exelia got off the frozen lake, and a few seconds later, the ones following them reached land as well. With that, the option of cracking the ice under them disappeared. The enemy units picked up speed, darting toward them. Deadrim lifted her pistol to meet their challenge. It was the first time they’d seen her use a gun instead of a sword. What is she doing…? Rain watched her like a hawk, trying to piece together the nature of the ability she was about to use. He wanted to know more about her unique Bullet Magic. He’d seen her launch all sorts of baffling attacks thus far, but he still couldn’t fathom how she’d done it. Her abilities defied all common sense and logic. How had she attacked the train? How had she stabbed Rain? How had she killed those thirty soldiers? Rain couldn’t answer any of those questions. And that was why… Deadrim…! …he strained his eyes, trying to discern her actions. Thanks to that, he saw it. Deadrim pulled out a single bullet. A blue bullet. …Blue? She loaded that bullet with an unusual, unfamiliar color into the gun. And then… “Activate.” …she fired it. The blue bullet, which looked entirely unlike anything Rain had ever seen, flew through the air. Deadrim turned around and fired toward the enemy, but her shot didn’t connect with any of their Exelias. It zoomed between them, cutting through empty air before lodging itself into the frozen lake they’d passed mere moments ago. The bullet only made the slightest sound as it crashed into the ice. No deafening explosion resounded. It simply gouged into the ice. She missed? However, just as that thought crossed Rain’s mind… …something suddenly crushed the three enemy units, and they exploded under to the immense pressure. What the hell is that?! An intense rumbling shook Rain’s eardrums. His whole body trembled as a shock wave rolled out, powerful enough to blind him to everything around him. It filled him with the terror of death, though it only lasted for a moment. Rain feared that the enemy might have fired some Bullet Magic at them. But that wasn’t it. Something different had just happened. Rain felt the aftershocks of what took place. This is… Ice. A massive block of ice, six feet thick, was all he could see. It covered the trail they had taken, completely desecrating the pristine wooded landscape. The gargantuan mass sat there with the three enemy Exelias beneath it, crushed beyond all recognition. Even an Exelia’s sturdy frame was cardboard beneath tens of thousands of tons. What just happened?! Rain didn’t immediately understand. However, upon looking around, he realized something that made every hair on his body stand on end. The ice over the lake had disappeared. Ah…! Two and a half acres of the frozen water’s surface had vanished, leaving only surging water in its wake. The block of ice that formed the surface, a mass of staggering weight, had moved somewhere else in the blink of an eye. “The bullet I possess is the blue bullet,” Deadrim said as she inspected the destruction she’d caused. Her eyes had taken on the familiar wasp-hued color of a Ghost. “It shifts the position of anything it shoots.”
Chapter 27
18 min read