"Thanks. You really don't have to do this, you know?" Shono's voice was monotone, barely above a whisper. His vision blurred for a moment, and he felt like he might faint. "Tend to the children's wounds first. I'm unimportant."
"Would you shut up for a second?" Lyra roared, tightening the bandage. "Let's hope the bleeding stops soon. I'm no doctor, so I wouldn't know. Honestly, if only Annie hadn't gotten knocked out cold." Her voice shook as she fought back tears. "Have you seen Kei?" she asked, trying to distract herself.
"She and Arago are looking for other survivors. I tried to convince her not to, but she refused to listen. Still, I've got to hand it to her. She got out of that ridiculous battle unscathed. It wouldn't surprise me if she killed more Aberrations by herself than all of us combined," the man said with a faint giggle. He couldn't feel pain anymore. In fact, he was too tired to feel anything.
"Now's not the time to be praising her! Seriously, is that what you should be thinking about? Kei's just a child. They all are. By no means should she be fighting Aberrations at her age. Why can't any of you see that? Am I the weird one?" Lyra argued, and her tears overflowed. Her hands were covered in blood. They'd lost too many people. The thought of Kei putting herself in danger again was too much to bear. That battle had taught them something. Things hadn't changed a bit. In the end, humans were no match for the Aberrations. Lyra stared at the blood-soaked bandages covering Shono's right shoulder. That man had lost his arm and was completely worn out, but he didn't seem bothered by it. No, Shono was definitely the weird one. Lyra hastily wiped her hands on a piece of cloth. Just how much blood had he lost?
"You're not that old yourself, are you? I'm sorry, I didn't mean that as an insult. But Captain is only nineteen. He did sleep for two thousand years, but I don't think that counts. Alice is one year younger than him, and Een isn't much older, either. They finished their training a few months ago, but they're already amazing soldiers. They're all much stronger than I'll ever be. In more ways than one." Out of a sudden, Shono paused, and a wide smile split his face. "Speaking of which..."
Lyra followed his gaze to see three seemingly large shapes coming their way. The roll of bandages fell out of her hand. She instinctively reached for a nearby dagger. Shono noticed her sudden movement and lifted his left hand, signaling her to stop. They weren't in danger. Something about the way those shapes moved told her that he was probably right. Lyra calmed down somewhat, but kept a firm grasp on the weapon. Those things definitely weren't Aberrations. But then, what were they? Lyra squinted as hard as she could. Those movements...
"Horses?" she almost shouted, and amazement colored her voice. Shono couldn't help but smirk. The events of the past hours had clearly taken their toll on them. They were so happy just seeing three horses run their way... But those guys were finally coming back. They'd won.
*
Karabell surveyed the scene in front of him and drove his heels into the mount's flanks. A rapid wind blew over his skin. As they got closer, he grew more and more concerned. The smell of blood filled his nostrils once again. Things weren't looking good. Shono and Lyra seemed to have taken refuge in the shadow of a large boulder. But there were so many inert bodies lying in the grass, and just as many weapons anchored in the ground. Most of the corpses were those of Aberrations. A pained grimace crossed Karabell's face. Some of the apprentices were kneeling down next to their fallen comrades, hopelessly trying to bring them back to life. A few Aberrations were still wandering around aimlessly. He wasn't sure, but he thought that he recognized some of them. Out of a sudden, the Captain noticed a small figure sprint towards them. Alice dismounted at once and opened her arms. Startled by her reaction, Karabell pulled on the reins as well. He smiled, overcome with relief. So she was alive... The little girl jumped into Alice's arms, beaming.
"Are you alright, Kei?" Alice asked, inspecting the girl carefully. Her uniform was completely covered in blood, but she seemed unharmed.
"I'm fine. The others... not so much," she explained, gesturing with her thumb.
"What happened? No, that can wait. Where's the wagon? Where's everyone else?" Karabell inquired nervously as he glanced at the corpses. Shono, Lyra and Kei were still alive. But what had happened to the rest? They couldn't have all died, could they? "First of all, we should check on Shono and Lyra," he added quickly, telling them to follow him.
Kei shook her head and said, "I'm going to keep looking for survivors. I can't let Arago do all the work. And don't worry, the wagon is safe. Ono moved it out of harm's way earlier. He and Mero are making sure the horses don't freak out. Ask Lyra to take you to them."
She darted before Karabell had a chance to object. The Captain and Alice let out a long sigh almost simultaneously and started towards their friends. Their steps couldn't have felt heavier. Karabell bit his lip, struggling not to look at the desolate scenery surrounding them. He saw a couple of tears roll down Lyra's face as they approached them. Shono smiled gently and pushed himself up.
"Welcome back, Captain."
"Yeah," Karabell managed, forcing himself to return his bright smile. The Captain's jaw tightened. Shono's arm was gone, along with his watch. No matter he hadn't picked up Alice's calls. He scratched his nose, struggling not to let his concern show.
"I take it you managed to defeat the Aberration's leader? Though I can't help but wonder where the other three are."
"Don't worry. They're on their way. Well, two of them are," the Captain replied as he shot Lyra a guilty look. Telling her that Frederick had taken his own life wasn't going to be pleasant. But that was not the time to be worrying about that. "The Ringleader is dead. I'm sure you've already figured that out, but that didn't cause the other Aberrations to disappear. They simply lost their boss. Their existence isn't dependent on its life in any way... I'll explain everything in detail later, but it can definitely wait. What in the world happened here? How... How many died?" he asked through clenched teeth.
"Too many." Shono gestured towards a large formation of boulders a fair distance away. "The wagon is over there. But, aside from a few bandaged soldiers and some medical supplies, there's not much to look at. Excuse me, but I really don't feel that well," he said as he sunk back to the ground. "I'm a little light-headed."
Judging by Lyra's expression and the amount of blood he seemed to have lost, dizziness was the least of Shono's problems. Karabell asked Alice to look after him for a few minutes. He needed Lyra to explain the situation to him. It looked like the battle had just ended, so why weren't there any hostile Aberrations nearby? Could the enemy have fled?