It was a horrible sight. Elpida Town, the once peaceful settlement that Kyros intended to protect, was up in flames. The tragedy that befell the town all happened so fast. Buildings and structures as far as the eye could see burned down, along with those unfortunate enough to be nearby. Cries of excruciating pain and anguish resonated in his head.
Eventually, the cries and screams died out. All sounds around Kyros vanished. There was nothing but silence.
He was demoralized.
Once again he failed to save those that he'd sworn to protect. He knew ahead of time that the town would get attacked. He made preparations and everything. But, it was all for not. He underestimated the scale of the assault.
Kyros was returned to the cruel fate of reality when he heard the cold, taunting voice of the woman that so callously spread the chaos and destruction throughout the town.
"What will you do now, blind followers of Shura? The town that you seem adamant about protecting is burning down before you." The woman reveled in the situation around her. As a future Goddess of Destruction, this much calamity was expected of her.
"What are we going to do now?" Kyros quietly repeated her words and looked down to his feet, where some pieces of the destroyed Ikaros rested.
His whole body quaked at the sight of the devastation that lied before him. Something inside of him snapped. Unyielding rage consumed him. Without a moment's hesitation, he charged the woman.
At that moment, Kyros was no longer a trained soldier dedicated to protecting the people of the kingdom. He was a man hell-bent on bringing down the enemy in front of him by any means necessary. Despite all the attacks, he threw at her; they were all blocked and evaded-- as if she had seen through all of his movements.
But, that didn't matter to Kyros. Even when none of his hits landed, he continued to fight. All the people that the woman killed, all the mayhem she caused to the country; he swore to make her pay for all of it.
The woman evaded another attack thrown by Kyros. She found an opening and kicked him away from her. While Kyros sprawled across the ground, Runa stepped in and crossed blades with the wicked woman.
The two of them shared a dance of many clashes and parries, neither of them managed to gain the upper hand. Kyros joined his way back into the fight, deciding to strike the woman from behind. But, she jumped into the air at the last second.
Runa activated the Fulgur Vitalis in her spear. Sparks of electricity coated the blade before it got launched toward the airborne woman. The woman twisted her body and evaded the bolt of lightning.
"Your determination is admirable," The woman landed on the ground and pointed her blade at Kyros and Runa. "However, you two are beginning to become a nuisance. Playtime's over."
With that said, an ominous etheric emanation surrounded the woman's body. Kyros and Runa immediately figured out that it was her praus. However, what shocked them was the color of it.
Black.
In all of history recorded by humanity, never before had anyone mentioned anyone's praus having that color.
Before they could come back to their senses, the woman moved fast and raised her sword, aiming to strike the team down when she got behind them. Suddenly, something whished toward her at an incredible speed. The woman swiped her sword at the object. The collision between her sword and the object knocked her back.
A hand soon came out from behind Kyros and Runa, catching the object before it could hit the ground. It was a hammer. One they immediately recognized as Aion's. They slowly turned their heads and found the older man standing behind them.
"So, this is what's been holding you two up?" Aion rested his hammer on the ground and stared at the woman up ahead. His eyes narrowed.
"Aion? What are you doing here?" Kyros asked, startled to see his instructor.
"Where's Sarra? Did you leave her back at the shop?" Runa angrily snapped at Aion. She looked ready to attack him if he answered incorrectly.
"Of course, I didn't. What do I look like, an idiot?" Aion nudged his head and pointed behind him with his thumb. Kyros and Runa looked in the direction he pointed, and both of their jaws dropped at the sight of Sarra hiding around the corner of a nearby building. "I couldn't just leave a defenseless girl like that inside of my shop. So, I decided to bring her with me."
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Runa snapped. "How could you bring her outside like this?!"
"You two were taking too long to come back. The little girl grew restless," Aion explained himself as he looked over at the woman. "Besides, it looks like the battle's almost over. Melanie over there looks exhausted."
"Exhausted?" Dumbfounded by his words, Kyros and Runa returned their attention to the woman called Melanie. The woman's expression turned grim. Her body slightly trembled, and beads of sweat ran down her face.
"Aion? What are you doing here?" Melanie managed to force the question out of her mouth.
"Shouldn't I be the one asking the questions here? Where have you been all this time? Why'd you suddenly come back to attack the town?" Aion asked.
No answer.
Melanie broke eye contact with the senior man and dropped her gaze to the ground. A fierce scowl crossed her face before she sheathed her sword.
"I can't say it's been a pleasure seeing you again. But, I'm through." Melanie looked up at Aion.
"Through? What do you mean by that?" Kyros asked.
Melanie turned her back to the group and started to walk away. A bolt of lightning fired from Runa's spear and struck the ground inches away from her. Melanie stopped.
"Running away? I don't think so!" Runa shook her head.
"I'm not letting you get away either, Melanie. You still got some questions of mine to answer," Aion raised his hammer and moved toward her. "If you wanna get out of here, you'll have to go through us."
"That won't be a problem," Melanie's voice exuded confidently. She reached into her cloak and pulled out many dark orbs. With a mighty toss, the spheres shattered on the ground and plumes of smoke concealed her. Once the smoke cleared, only Varvara stood in her place.
"Impressive trick." Aion scowled at the sight of the Lycan's. The wolf-like creatures snarled at the group before they lunged and attacked.
The old man swung his hammer and knocked several of them into the stratosphere. A few managed to slip past him, but Kyros and Runa saw to their destruction.
Once they cleared the area, they looked around and found that Melanie had long disappeared.
"Damn it! She got away!" Kyros cursed.
"Thank you, Captain Obvious! I know she got away!" Runa lodged her spear into the ground and groaned in frustration.
"Well, this ain't good. If Melanie's back in Soteria, then that can only mean..." Aion trailed off once the sound of approaching footsteps reached his ears. The group's attention moved to the squad of War Dogs.
It was Captain Alec, followed by his subordinates. The man looked around and scowled at the sight of decapitated corpses strewn all over the town square.
"What in goddess name happened here?" He exclaimed. His men spread out and surrounded the group, aiming their weapons at them.
"Are you fucking kidding me right now?" Runa kept her guard up. She didn't anticipate having to fight against the soldiers. But, wouldn't hesitate if the situation escalated to that point.
"Put your weapons down," Aion commanded. "Now isn't the time for this shit. Don't you idiots see that the town is on fire?"
The War Dogs exchanged glances of confusion mixed with their frustration. The situation they found themselves in due to the attack of the Varvara far exceeded their expectations. The number of lives lost and destruction of public property soiled their esteemed reputation as the dominant military faction.
Reluctantly, they followed Aion's orders and lowered their weapons. Calming the situation took precedence over their pride. On Alec's command, everyone split up and sought to douse the flames and search for survivors.
Hours passed.
Kyros and his group found themselves back in Aion's weapon shop, where Aion, Kyros, and Sarra were down on their knees with their heads lowered. Runa's blade dragged across the wooden floor as she paced back and forth in front of the three.
"So, let's start with the supposed "hero" of Soteria," Runa's ice-cold gaze settled on Aion. "What made you think it was a good idea to bring a little girl outside in a town riddled with Varvara? Answer carefully now."
"I already told you that the little girl grew restless. She wanted to make sure that you were okay," Aion explained himself. "So, I took her out there and showed her that everything was fine. Sure, we came across some Varvara along the way. But, she's still alive."
Sarra nodded and came to the defense of Aion. "He had good intentions, Runa. He's powerful too. The moment you two left the shop, he grabbed his hammer and took out dozens of Varvara left and right."
A sudden realization crossed the girl's face. She quickly covered her mouth with her hands and looked away from the infuriated Huntress.
"Is that, right?!" Runa's expression grew fiercer. "You left the weapon shop the second we ran off?!"
"Hey, I'm not the bad guy here! There were dozens of people getting attacked, and I refused to sit back and do nothing! Thanks to me, a lot of people are alive!" Aion proudly boasted.
Runa heaved a heavy sigh and ran her hand through her hair. "I appreciate your effort; I do. But, did you even take into consideration that you could've gotten Sarra killed? Our enemy was an Exousia that could control the dead."
"And she could summon Varvara and control them," Kyros added as he thought back to his fight against Melanie.
"That should be impossible. I've never heard of anyone controlling Varvara before." Aion stroked his beard and contemplated how Melanie could've achieved such an impossible feat. He had theories. But, all of them seemed far too outrageous.
"Her praus was black as well," added Kyros. "That woman's full of mysteries."
"You got a good look at those orbs she used to summon them, right? They looked like Vitalis." Runa noted.
Kyros shook his head. "They couldn't be. Vitalis only control the elements."
"Okay, well, if they're not Vitalis, then what the hell are they?"
"Only way to know for sure is to get our hands on that Melanie woman." Kyros moved his attention over to Aion. "Aion, you seemed to know who that woman was. Can you tell us who she is?"
Aion's expression turned strained as he turned his head away from the group. "Melanie is one of my half-sisters."
"Half-sisters?" Kyros, Runa, and Sarra repeated.
"As I told you before, I'm the child of the Last King. My father was truly a scoundrel. He had as many children as he did with affairs."
"So, why's your sister trying to destroy this country?" Runa inquired.
"It's complicated."
Unsatisfied with his answer, Runa approached him and roughly grabbed the scruff of his shirt. "Don't screw with me, old man! We almost died because of that woman! If you know something that could help put a stop to her, then you need to tell us!"
"I know that!" Aion shoved Runa off of him. He took a few breaths and gathered himself. "Melanie and I are siblings, despite our huge age difference. Unlike many other siblings and me, she loved our father. She was completely unaware of his horrendous crimes since she was cooped up in the castle for many years. One day, we rebelled against my dad's tyrannical rule; she was devastated when she learned that I had killed him." He looked on in the distance as if recalling that fateful day. "Her mind was shattered on that very day. She was left in a comatose state for weeks until she final awoken, but she was wearily different. Her childish nature had disappeared, and it got replaced with...something else..."
"That's horrible," Sarra commented.
"No one could blame her honestly. Losing a father at such a young age would mentally damage anyone. Anyway, time passed, and Melanie did something truly drastic, which would put the country in another state of panic."
"What did she do?" Kyros asked. He tried to search through his memories of Soteria's history. But, he couldn't think of anything that Melanie could've done.
"One night she snuck into Tartarus and released one of our uncles from captivity. The two of them escaped through the underground tunnels and hadn't been seen or heard from since."
Kyros jumped to his feet—startled. The information given to him had to be false. There was no way he was going to believe that a little girl snuck into their maximum-security prison and released one of the most dangerous criminals in the kingdom's history.
"You must be joking! You expect us to believe that a little girl snuck her way into Tartarus, released a prisoner, and then escaped?" Kyros glared at Aion.
"It's true, Kyros. I wouldn't lie about something like this."
"Okay, say I choose to believe your story. How did this happen?"
"It's a long story. But Melanie and another prisoner managed to trick the warden of Tartarus at the time. While he was chained up, they released the old warden, which was one of my uncles, and they managed to escape."
"How come that incident was never released to the public?"
"It was a judgment call. After the council members had been selected to govern the kingdom, they decided that revealing such information would do more harm than good. We couldn't afford for the people to live in fear and despair again. You know what that attracts, don't you?"
Kyros was hesitant to answer. He could understand why the council would want to keep the information a secret from the people. After eighty years of living in constant fear and depression, news like that would make the situation even worse. It was most likely the best solution to their problems. However, just because it may have been the best option, it didn't mean that it was the right solution.
"Fuck that," Runa swore. "A dangerous criminal escapes from your prison decades ago to goddess knows where and you don't tell anyone?! People outside of your country deserve to know! He could be out there living in some peaceful village, and no one would be any the wiser!"
"I know you're angry--"
"I'm fucking pissed!" Runa slammed her spear into the floor.
"Look, the council didn't want to involve themselves in a scandal like that on their first day on the job," Aion informed her. He knew that it wouldn't appease the Huntress. However, he wasn't looking for that.
"So, at the cost of risking their necks, they were willing to disregard and endanger the lives of those outside of their walls? What a delightful group of people this kingdom is run by," The sarcasm and disdain in Runa's voice carried significant weight.
Kyros and Aion shared the woman's grievances. Nothing about the situation was the most ideal. If they had a chance to take it all back, they would've.
"You think I'm thrilled about their decision? Believe me, as the years flew by I began to hate the methods the council used to maintain their delusional description of peace." Aion revealed. "I eventually left and searched for Melanie and my uncle myself. As you can see, I never found them."
"Until now," Kyros spoke up. "She's back, and she wants this country destroyed."
"All 'cause Mr. Aion killed their father?" Sarra asked, trying to make sense of the entire situation.
"No, I think there's more to this," Runa assumed as she thought back to her encounter with Melanie. "She mentioned that she did this 'cause she's a future Goddess of Destruction in the making."
"Future Goddess of Destruction? The hell?" Aion tried to rack his brain around the absurdity of the statement. Although he never believed those words would come out the mouth of his half-sister, he found it strangely acceptable.
"This may be a stretch, but I think I know who we're dealing with here," Runa announced. All eyes moved to the Huntress as she continued, "You've heard of the Jaya Acolytes, right?"
How could they not have heard of them? Out of any organization in the entire world of Salome, the Jaya Acolytes were the most feared. They were worshippers of the Goddess of Destruction, Jaya, who was believed to be the Mother of Varvara. They were a radical religious group that toppled small countries and civilizations for as long as humans could remember--all in the name of their Mother.
One believed to be associated with the group would find themselves on death row and face immediate execution.
"Yeah, we've heard of them," Aion answered. "I didn't believe they existed. Always figured they were nothing more than tall tales parents would tell their kids to make them behave."
"This doesn't make sense. She's destroying this country over someone that doesn't exist?!" Kyros exclaimed.
He didn't want to admit it, but deep down, he knew that the Goddess of Destruction existed. If Shura existed, then, who was to say that Jaya didn't?
"Believe it or not, that's what's happening. It's my first time encountering an Acolyte. I've seen and heard the damage they've done out in other countries." Runa said.
"If Melanie's in Soteria, could that mean that her uncle is here too?" Sarra wondered.
Silence overwhelmed the room. It was a difficult question to answer. After thinking back to the recent attacks across the kingdom, it was a possibility that Melanie was not alone. No one could perform frequent assaults in quick succession by themselves.
Aion and Melanie's uncles were fearsome people that helped the last king assassinate the previous ruler of the country. Like the former king, they possessed incredible power that could quickly bring down small nations. If either one of them were with Melanie, then the group would have no other choice than to request the assistance of the Generals.
They were the only ones believed to be powerful enough to stop them.
The group's attention shifted to the door when someone came through the entrance. It was Captain Alec. The man stood before the group with his arms crossed; his eyes settled on the Huntresses.
"What?" Runa demanded.
"Do you want to explain what happened in the town square? Dismembered body parts were all over the place. You four were caught standing in the middle of it all." Alec said.
"C'mon, you think we were behind that?" Runa exclaimed. It was just one frustration after another. She couldn't go a single day in Soteria without someone finding a way to piss her off.
"You're covered in blood." Alec pointed out. "If you were only fighting Varvara, you shouldn't have anything on you. So, care to explain where the blood came from?"
Runa clicked her tongue. She knew she'd have to come clean about what she did to the people in the town square. She didn't regret what she did. They were nothing more than corpses being controlled by the enemy. If anything, she felt like she did everyone a favor.
"Runa didn't kill those people, Alec," Kyros quickly came to Runa's defense. "Yes, she was the one that cut them into pieces. She only did that because our opponent was an Exousia that could control the dead. She killed all those people in the town square and outnumbered us."
"I reduced her numbers, plain and simple." Runa held her spear out in front of her.
"That stunt of yours caused us many problems. It took us forever to collect the respective body parts of the victims." Alec complained.
"You here to arrest me or something?" Runa asked.
"Unfortunately, no, if your story holds up, then you'll be fine. I came here to give a status report since you all participated in defense of the town," Alec pulled out his Milo and read through the list of damages and casualties suffered throughout the attack. "We've confirmed the deaths of one hundred and thirty people. Eighty of them were townspeople."
"Eighty of the townspeople died? Are you fucking kidding me?!" Aion forced a laugh. "What were you War Dogs doing the entire time? Sitting around on your asses?!"
"The moment the Varvara attacked, we set up a perimeter and evacuated as many townspeople as we could! The situation could've been a lot worse if not for us!" Alec immediately stated. It was one thing to acknowledge his failure to protect the town. However, he wouldn't accept criticism from a man that abandoned the military decades ago. To him, Aion's words were nothing more than ravings of an old, battered dog.
Aion arched an eyebrow and spat at the man in disgust. "So, you're telling me that eighty townspeople dying is an acceptable loss?"
"That's not what I'm saying. Any casualty in battle is unacceptable, but it's unavoidable," Alec stated. "We did our best to keep the town safe. Even with Kyros' forewarning, we just weren't prepared for an attack of this scale."
"I'll say. I heard you idiots called reinforcements in an aircraft. What good that did, acting as a target for the terrorist."
"That's not fair, Aion. Alec did the right thing in calling for reinforcements." Kyros suddenly came to the War Dog's defense, much to his surprise and dismay. He never thought he'd see the day when he'd defend a War Dog. It wasn't out of obligation. "Runa and I were the ones that failed to stop her from destroying the Ikaros."
"Her?" Alec's eyes narrowed.
Kyros sighed, knowing that explaining everything would be a hassle. But, everyone would find out sooner or later. So, the man spared no details in telling Alec everything he knew about Melanie and her relation to the attack on the town.
The War Dog Captain stood motionless for a moment as he struggled to absorb all the information given to him. Insanity. That's the word he wanted to use for everything he heard from Kyros. However, he couldn't make sense of why the Night Owl would bother to lie to him in the first place.
Alec walked to the nearest wall and slumped down to the floor. He carried his head in his hands and sighed. "I guess the others weren't crazy after all."
"Others?" Runa asked.
"Earlier, I received word from other military captains around the kingdom. It turns out that this town wasn't the only one targeted. Two other towns were attacked simultaneously by dark robbed individuals that also had the power to summon the Varvara."
And with that, their suspicions were confirmed. Melanie wasn't alone in the attacks. As far as the group was concerned, three people in total possessed the uncanny ability to summon and control Varvara.
Kyros felt reluctant to ask. But, he forced the question out. "How's the condition of the other towns?"
"They're still standing. Others saved both towns with exceptional fighting capabilities," Alec assured them.
"How many people died? I'm sure you know." Aion bluntly said.
"In total, over three hundred."
"Over three hundred," Aion nodded. He walked over to Alec and forced the man to his feet with one hand. "you dogs in the military make me fucking sick. Have you grown so incompetent that you can't save anyone without Huntresses having to do your jobs for you?!"
The man's words struck Alec and Kyros deep. Both were soldiers, and yet they failed to protect the town.
Alec expressed immediate anger and freed himself from Aion's grasp. "The military's doing everything it can to protect the people! The moment we're informed of a threat; we're mobilized immediately to neutralize it!"
Aion smirked and clapped his hands. "And what a good job you did to mobilize that Ikaros here. Sure helped the terrorist in leveling the town."
"You think I mobilized it knowing that it would get destroyed?! We all make mistakes!"
"If you're going to take on an occupation that requires you to protect and serve the people of this kingdom, you had better not make such foolish mistakes." Aion stared the War Dog down. "Innocent lives are being wasted. The military needs to step up, or else this country will fall into despair again. Or even worse—ruin."
"These terrorists won't defeat us. I don't care what powers they have at their disposal. We've fought against fiercer foes." Alec turned his back to the group. "I'm not going to stand here and listen to your complaints, old man. There's more work to be done. Once again, it turns out that your family can't help but bring more chaos to Soteria."
With those final words of spite, Alec left the weapon shop. The group exchanged glances and decided to call it a night. As Alec said, there was more work to be done.