What…the hell? What happened…? It's all destroyed. Who…could've done this?
".
"MAMAAAAAAA!!!"
A young girl's cry echoed from beyond the castle. That voice sounded familiar, but who's was it?
"Hey, over there!"
Ray pointed over to a woman who was lying down on her side with all the rubble from the destruction. Her dress was blood red, the same as her hair.
"KIRINO," I gasped as I rushed over to her, uncovering my wings to get to her faster.
Her hands were burned, skin was peeling off and exposing flesh. Her eyes were bloodshot. Fortunately, that seemed to be the worst of it.
"What happened?! Are you ok?!"
"No…I'm not ok," Kirino whimpered. "They're dead…they're all dead…"
"What…? No, that can't be right. What about the plan?"
"It's Micheal. He was the one who locked Kuro out. And he took him and Hiro away."
"No…they got Hiro?"
"I'm so sorry Dusk. I'm…not sure where they are anymore…"
Kirino looked like she had been crying for a long time. However, she didn't even look like she wanted to stand anymore, as if the will in her spirit had just evaporated completely.
"Did they attack just this floor, or did they…?"
"Just this floor. Don't worry, your family is safe."
"Dusk!"
I turned to see Ray with three others. One was a child, one was unconscious, and one was struggling to stand.
"Oh my god…what happened?" I asked, holding the urge to cry.
"We were attacked by one of those Shrieker things," Leonna said. "I think I got him though."
"Is she…ok?"
"I…I don't know… She's not moving. I can't even tell…if she's breathing. …I…urk!"
Leonna grabbed at her side, the exposed part of her was turning an ugly shade of black.
"Apparently these things aren't something you want to get scratched by. Heh, kinda reminds me of the monster blood from my world. What an odd time that was."
"Come on, let's set you down somewhere,"
Ray said, helping her through the rubble. "If we can act fast, I'm sure we can save most of you."
"What about Xylvia?" Leonna asked.
"She'll be in a coma, but using what the angels taught me I should be able to fire her as well. However…"
Ray paused. Leonna and Shana both shivered whenever he opened his mouth again.
"I…can't promise anything for her. I don't know how long she's been out, but let's hope that I got here early enough."
We all sat in a small circle as we watched Ray scrap up a medicinal liquid for both Leonna and Xylvia.
"Just rub them onto where you got scratched," Ray said. "It'll sting a lot, but it'll nullify the poison."
"AAK!! Heh, no mercy on the whole sting part." Leonna grimaced.
Ray then dashed the liquid onto Xylvia's open wound as well, stitching up her injuries while also accelerating her blood flow as well to help speed the recovery a little.
"Luckily her heart is still beating," Ray said. "However, the poison reached her brain. Best case scenario, she end up either partially or completely blind. Worst case, she'll be in a coma for a while with some memory loss."
"They both sound terrible." Shana frowned, hugging Xylvia's head on her lap.
"What do we do now," Kirino asked, completely unmotivated. "They'll surely come back here to kill me."
"We need to evacuate everyone out of this realm," I said. "Spread them out with their families into other worlds. And then we'll go into hiding as well."
"Is this really what it's all come down to? Is hiding in the shadows from the ones we're trying to beat?"
"Right now, we don't have much choice. You guys got out-powered and out numbered whether you like it or not. You've never fought before and Kuro can't access his powers. I highly doubt we can get back up there now since they'll likely be doubling down on security. I'm sorry Kirino, but it's our only option."
"I know. It's just…I was supposed to lead these people to a brighter future. This wasn't what I wanted to happen. All this destruction. All this…needless violence. All because of some old vendetta with that kid. And he doesn't even know what he's got himself into. None of you guys deserved to get involved in this. You guys should've lived a better life than this."
"Hey, is getting involved was our choice. Fate or not, we chose to keep going. Don't think it's your fault whenever you have no control over what happens."
"But still…"
I'd be lying if I said I could understand Kirino's frustration. I don't know what it's like being a high power individual, but I won't let that stop me from trying to help.
"Don't kick yourself harder than you should," I said to her. "None of this was caused by you, so keep being a leader and lead your people. And if you still blame yourself, then carry their deaths as you fight. Let them be a reminder to keep fighting."
It sounded cliche, but it was the best I had. Either way, Kirino picked herself back up on her feet and breathed a few times slowly and deeply.
"Ok, let's do it," she said. We'll evacuate everyone and then ourselves. We'll start tomorrow."