Chapter 60 - Understanding

Arago couldn't move even the slightest bit. Each time it tried, the scaled Aberration's hold tightened. Arago realized that Kei and Annie couldn't kill East without its help, but there was nothing it could do in that situation. The scaled Aberration was too strong, too heavy. Arago squeezed its eyes shut, cursing its own weakness. Squad B's leader had been defeated so easily... Those two needed to get out of there immediately. That wasn't a battle Annie and Kei would be able to win anymore. But Arago had no way to tell them that.

"The fight's not over yet, is it?" East asked reluctantly.

Annie wrinkled her nose. The Superior wanted them to continue trying. That was why it hadn't killed them yet. They were only alive because East was still longing for that honorable battle it had spoken of. However, she doubted the Superior would just let them set Arago free. Hurting either East or the scaled Aberration holding Arago down was beyond their capabilities. So what could they do?

"Those damned piercing weapons... If only Karabell was here," she muttered bitterly.

But he wasn't. The Captain had entrusted them with that mission. Annie clicked her tongue. Kei was just a child, yet she'd come up with a plan. So why couldn't she, a soldier, think of anything? Well, panicking wasn't going to solve anything. Suddenly, the woman's eyebrows rose in surprise, her mouth dropping open slightly.

"Very well... We'll give you what you want," Annie said, smiling mischievously. "Fighting honorably has never been a strong suit of mine, though."

Out of nowhere, a feathered Aberration tackled the scaled one pinning Arago down. Annie had contemplated calling for reinforcements, but she'd figured that East would've simply done the same thing. However, that feathered Aberration had acted of its own accord. Or perhaps Arago had summoned it. Either way, its unexpected attack had completely taken the Superior by surprise. Well, it'd taken everyone by surprise, but that was beside the point. So what if East could use the scaled Aberration's eyes to see? Then all they had to do was take that one out first.

Arago rose sluggishly to its feet as it heaved for breath. Mero had gotten there just in time. Arago furrowed its brow, taking a few steps towards its old friend. The feathered Gargling was wrestling the scaled beast, struggling to keep it from getting up. Out of a sudden, the enemy's fangs sunk deep into Mero's forearm, and a pained screech left the Gargling's mouth. It hadn't expected a regular Aberration to be that relentless. The feathered Gargling gritted its teeth and begun punching the other creature. Those punches, however, were doing little to no damage. Mero glared at its opponent. Because of those annoying scales covering the other Aberration's body, trying to bite or slash it was completely useless. But Mero wasn't alone.

The Gargling clenched its fist, punching the creature one more time before setting it free. Mero raised to its feet and stepped away from the Aberration. Arago dashed past the Gargling, immediately attacking the scaled creature. As long as Arago managed to get rid of a few of those scales, Kei or Annie would just stab the creature and put an end to its life. Plus, they'd already gotten rid of the Superior's eyes. Arago grabbed the Aberration's shoulders and headbutted it ruthlessly. Twice. The Squad Leader grasped the foe's arms before forcefully turning the Aberration around. In a flash, Mero swiped at the creature's chest. After a brief assault of wild hits, the troublesome scales moved aside at last. Luckily, Annie was quick on the uptake. The Superior had lost its newly acquired eyesight, meaning that it would have a hard time attacking them. Mero and Arago had immobilized the scaled Aberration, too. They could take both of them out at the same time. That was their chance.

"Go, Annie," Kei said calmly. "Kill that one first. East won't give up so easily, so don't let your guard down. Mero and Arago will take care of the other creature. Now, go!"

Annie nodded as she started toward the creature. The fact that Kei was hesitating was a little unsettling. But if she'd learnt anything from that little girl, it was that worrying about their problems wouldn't solve them. They just needed to keep walking forward, one step at a time.

"You're wise, Kei," East whispered, clenching its teeth. "A shame..."

The scaled Aberration fell to the ground, lifeless. Yet another blood stain appeared both on Annie's sword and on her heart. She didn't exactly feel sorry for the creatures, so why wouldn't that sense of guilt go away? Agonizing over it was a waste of time, though. She'd finished off one of the creatures, but they still needed to take care of East. They needed to defeat all those Aberrations...

"Are you ready, East?" Kei asked tensely.

"Of course. Though I would have liked it better if I could actually see," East replied coldly with a shrug.

Kei signaled Arago and Mero to sttrike. The two Aberrations moved slowly, watching the Superior's movements carefully. East could still hear and smell them, so they weren't exactly out of harm's way. Arago hated the fact that it'd dragged Mero into that mess, but they all had to work together if they wanted to kill that stubborn creature.

Completely disregarding Kei's advice, Annie ran right past the two Aberrations before anyone had a chance to stop her. The Superior was getting tired, and they'd blinded it. East was surely weaker than before. She just had to distract it again. The other three could defeat it.

"I told you not to let your guard down!" Kei's voice cracked. Her heart begun racing as she looked at the soldier go.

Arago and Mero darted, but. they knew they wouldn't make it in time. The feathered Gargling let out a deafening screech, tilting its head back. Annie hesitated, but didn't stop. East lifted its arm unhurriedly. It was moving too slow. She was sure she could dodge the creature's attack. Except she couldn't. East brought its claws down with incredible speed and slashed Annie across the face. The Superior growled, before using its other arm to send her flying.

Kei was getting nauseous. It was her fault. They'd gone after the Superior thinking that they could kill it just like that. They'd been too careless. No... The plan she'd come up with on the spot had many flaws, she knew that already. But East was much faster and stronger than she'd expected. She'd told them not to underestimate the creature, yet she'd ended up doing that herself.

"Now, Mero!" the girl yelled. "Knock East to the ground. Arago, help Mero immobilize that thing!"

Kei had refrained from giving them any direct orders. The last thing she'd wanted was for the Superior to know what their next move would be. However, Arago and Mero had gotten close enough. East wouldn't be able to dodge. Mero jumped on the Superior's back. It wrapped its arms around East's neck, trying to strangle the creature. Before the Superior could do anything, Arago punched its chest as hard as it could. East didn't budge. The beast didn't seem hurt, but it wasn't moving. Mero winced as the Superior's arms fell limp at its sides. Was it running out of air? No, that didn't seem to be the case either.

"Arago. Open its mouth," Kei told the furred Aberration coldly.

"I know I'll die," East claimed in a toneless voice. Beneath that tonelessness, however, Kei thought she heard a deep sadness. "I'm sure I'll come back eventually... But I don't mind. I lost this fight when I chose to attack you and that furred Aberration. No, perhaps I'd already lost at that point. It was a splendid fight, and you are an outstanding warrior."

"It wasn't honorable at all, though," Kei joked, slowly approaching the Superior.

"I'll say it again. It was a splendid fight. And the winner of this battle deserves a prize. It doesn't amount to much, but I'll let you in on my little secret," East's voice fell to a whisper. "I can't kill Aberrations. Even if they're my enemies, even if they want to kill me... I just can't bring myself to murder them. My body refuses to obey my commands when it comes to fighting my kin. I don't care if you believe me or not. But let me tell you something. This was an honorable battle. You wanted to kill me, and I wanted to kill you, Kei. If you were an Aberration, I would've most likely held back. Tell me, would a fight like that have been honorable? I sincerely doubt it."

"Maybe you're right. But you know I can't forgive you. Who knows how many people you've killed already? Not to mention what you did to Annie. You're..." Kei wavered.

"I wasn't asking you to forgive me. I just wanted to say that maybe humans and Aberrations aren't that different. I'm sure you'd hesitate to kill another human. Or maybe you wouldn't. Who knows? But what I do know is that I'm tired of fighting too." East paused, glancing at the other Aberrations. "Will this bloodshed ever come to an end? If killing me will help you end this war, I'll gladly die. You know, I get the feeling that, in another life, we could've been friends, Kei."

"Maybe. You know, I don't hate you. That's why I hope you won't come to hate me either. Even so... Farewell, East," Kei said, and her voice trembled.

Arago didn't need to do anything. East willingly opened its mouth, leaning towards Kei. The girl lifted the heavy sword before shoving it down the Superior's throat. East died almost instantly, a peaceful expression plastered across its face. Arago gestured Kei to go to Annie as it slowly put the Superior down. The Aberration recovered the girl's knives and the short sword, analyzing the creature's corps. East wasn't gone for good. Its body would regenerate eventually. So they couldn't just leave it there. They had to take East back to wagon.

After getting her weapons back from Arago, Kei reluctantly ran towards Annie. She didn't want to see her. She didn't want to know. The medic hadn't moved at all. Kei kneeled beside her. The girl's chin quivered as she turned Annie around.

"She's breathing." Kei promptly claimed. "She's still alive," the girl added, hugging her tightly.

The woman's face was covered in blood. There were large claw marks across the right side of her face. It looked like East had managed to get her right eye, too. Annie was badly wounded, but she was alive. Suddenly, the girl heard a strange noise ring out behind her. Mero and Arago were just standing there, smirking. Carrying East on its back, the Gargling gave her a thumbs up. Arago moved closer and lifted Annie off the ground gently

"Thank you," Kei said as she stiffled a sob.

East's words were still fresh in her memory. They'd taken out the Superior, but the others were still fighting. But that didn't matter. Kei didn't care. Getting Annie to the wagon and tending to her wounds took priority.

"I wonder what Karabell and Alice are doing... I sure hope they had better lack than us," she mumbled pensively.