Elite Conquest has finally come to an end... I repeat, Elite Conquest has finally come to an end...
... cleaning procedure, zero percent.
The announcement sent shivers down Block-16's members' spines as they rushed towards the doors to the entrance of the Humanoid-section. A few minutes had passed but to the group, it felt like they had outlived an eternity. As the group fidgeted while glancing outside, they couldn't help but think Blond and Red met with trouble on their search for Scar.
The most important thing to keep in mind was that Scar had fought with hundreds if not thousands of Outclass humanoids. Who knows if he was alive or not?
With the same thought process going through their minds, the group regretted allowing Red and Blond to go look for Scar. The group finally got back to their senses and started discussing amongst themselves the best course of action. Adding to their list of topics was the drastic change that surfaced from Blond and Red.
Not only did they start calling each other by different names, but they also began calling Scar a different nickname, which left the group befuddled. There were simply no words befitting how confused the group was as a whole.
"Did you find anything wrong with Blond or Red before we headed over here? Like some sort of ailment, perhaps?" Curl wanted to make sure so she decided to ask Freckles the second time.
"No, aside from their bruises and burns all over their bodies, they're mentally sane, if that's what you're asking about." Freckles was getting tired of the same question being confirmed again and again. She wanted to stop everyone to stop interrogating her about Red and Scar's mental well-being but they just wouldn't keep quiet about it.
"That means... it could only mean one thing. No matter how much we want to avoid it, there's no escaping it." Gadge finally concluded as he fiddled with an Outclass humanoid's leg. Until now, he still had the nerve to tinker with the humanoids and somehow, it made the rest of the group relax a little bit amidst the constant destruction and 'clean-up' that occurred outside.
"So they already remembered the majority of their past. No wonder they were acting like that." Freckles lay on his back, staring at the ceiling of the space they were in.
"What makes me wonder is not that... how did Red and Scar know each other? Were they friends? When and how did they meet?" Curl laid out the questions in front of them.
"Is everyone forgetting the fact that Red called Blond 'Julius Ventio'?" Freckles asked. "If I remember correctly, Jarxen's friend had almost the same name... Julia Ventio, right?"
"There's that as well. The resemblance between them is so uncanny. We can safely assume that they're related. They're probably a mother and a son." Curl responded with another theory. Well, it's more like an unproven fact by how realistic it was.
"Let's not jump too far. If she was really his relative, then why didn't she give us a heads up in the first place?" Gadge asked.
As the group discussed the recent happenings, they only dug even deeper into the tunnel of mysteries. One question led to many questions and before they knew it, they had no idea what they were supposed to believe in. Adding to that, the fact that they couldn't remember anything from their past frustrated them even more.
For all they know, they could be related to each other or knew each other from the past but they had no way to confirm it. All they could do was wrack their brains and arrive at baseless assumptions that could never be proven...
... unless Blond and Red confirm it.
"There's no use discussing all these, it's just taking a toll on my mind." Gadge finally gave up.
"Yeah, let's wait for Blond and Red." Freckles threw in the towel as well. "Just tell me when they arrive, I'm taking a nap."
Curl agreed and lay beside Freckles. Although they only had tiled floors to lie down on, that didn't stop them from hitting the sack. Gadge had no choice but to watch over them while he anxiously waited for the trio's much-anticipated return. As the seconds ticked by, he also dozed off in his sleep.
The reason they fell asleep quickly was that the entire Humanoid-section was air-conditioned to the optimum temperature for humans. Since humanoids were sent here after being developed in the Asterisk, the temperature was purposely colder so the humanoids won't overheat when huddled so close to each other.
Fortunately, all the humanoids were released from the Humanoid-section, making it the safe haven for Block-16 to stay in.
.....
The slight artificial sunrays that peeked between the rustling leaves was the only view Scar could see as he lay half-conscious against a fallen tree. The leverage of the tree provided him with enough air to breathe. If his position was angled down a little bit lower, he knew he would cough up blood.
Even with his strong stature, Scar could only do so much against a thousand humanoids that came stampeding at him. In the end, he gave up on his body as he kept pushing the nearest Outclass humanoid out of the way, making it fall and tripping those humanoids running behind it. He did for a whole minute until his muscles ached and his legs and calves screamed in pain as they cramped. Barely even standing, Scar gave one final push to a tree that was almost falling down. He was able to bring down a handful of Outclass humanoids in the process but after using up all his energy, he was stepped on and knocked out by the humanoids that rushed at them.
After a few minutes of constantly being stepped on, he only had an ounce of strength to prop himself against the tree that he pushed to block the Outclass humanoids' path. His insides were roughed up and a few metal shrapnel pierced her on his obliques.
"If I had known I'd end up like this, I would have thought twice before acting on it." Scar helplessly sighed as he looked at the blackish red blood that steadily flowed from his side. He tried applying pressure on it a moment ago but he didn't have the strength to do so, that's why he admittedly resigned to not doing anything.
Scar became light-headed bit by bit as he lost more blood. He could feel himself slipping into unconsciousness but he still had enough strength to keep his eyelids open. He feared the time when he wouldn't have the energy to keep himself awake and then slowly succumb to a deathly slumber.
"I know they'll come back for me. I cannot die here... not yet." Scar gritted his teeth as blood escaped his mouth. Holding on to that last strand of hope, he kept himself awake.
"Still, I'm glad I get to be of help... I just hope everyone made it out alive." Scar said to himself, remembering the time when he volunteered to be the meat-shield for everyone.
I fulfilled my promise. That much I should be proud of.
As the last cough of blood escaped Scar's pale lips, his life flashed all at once in his eyes, starting from the recent time when he blocked the Outclass humanoid horde from everyone and then going backward until he reached the time when he woke up with the rest of the group and met Jarxen for the first time.
But his flashbacks didn't stop there.
After going there, he began remembering the time when he was sedated and brought into a cryogenic chamber along with the rest of the group, then he started remembering the faint memory of fighting alongside Red and Blond, as well as with everyone in Block-16. He was always at the frontlines, taking the brunt of all the humanoids' attacks before as Blond and Red figure out a way to efficiently defeat it. He couldn't recognize the place where they were fighting but one thing flashed on Scar's mind brighter than the rest of his memories.
It was a single word: Berserker.
As for whether his flashbacks were real or not, Scar could only wonder. He safely assumed that all those memories were just his imagination running wild so he didn't believe a single thing about it.
"I'm dying anyway, even if those were real or not, it won't keep me alive." Scar said to himself as he inwardly chuckled. "Still... Berserker? What a funny nickname."
As Scar's vision darkened, he mustered all his strength to put his hand towards his eyes, blocking off the artificial sunlight that almost blinded him. After a few seconds, he lost his sight, amplifying the sounds he was hearing. Aside from the steady beat of his heart, and rapid breathing, he could faintly hear the rustling of the leaves, mixed with a steady 'crackle' from a nearby fire and the continuous metallic sounds produced by the humanoids running all over the place. Although those sounds were chaotic, Scar found solace in them since he couldn't see anything anymore.
As if to mourn for Scar, another tree fell from a distance. At the same time, the hand that Scar used to shield the sunrays from his eyes fell onto the ground.
The rustling of leaves, the steady crackling of fire, and the clanking of metal... those were the only rhythm that resonated all around the Forest-section while the beating heart and rapid breathing diminished until it could no longer be heard.