A few minutes later, Alice's squad realised that the leaves were all completely burnt and that a smoke screen was disappearing. Fearing the worst, they all made preparations to leave everything and run for their lives.
However, a silhouette suddenly became visible through the smoke, which made all the squad members even more on alert, preparing to run the second they confirmed it was not their leader.
However, they all led their guards down as they saw the familiar black scarf on the soldier's face. It was squad captain!
Following her, more and more silhouettes became visible and they were also recognised as more Leon soldiers numbering around 40.
Alice reached the group and signalled them to move as well, following behind the group of 40 Leon soldiers, while trying their best to cover up the footsteps, and add extra footsteps in all directions to throw the enemy off their target. This was also part of Alice's plan to allow he rescued soldiers to escape.
They did not stop till they were around a kilometre away. Once they reached this point, everyone took a break while Alice and her squad quickly distributed the antidote to the poison. The had to wait till now because the people who took the antidote had to rest for at least 10 minutes before they can move again, or else the antidote will collect at the muscles, and although it would cure the effects of the poison, it would remain within the muscles, causing severe long-term effects.
20 minutes, later, everyone had taken the antidote and were ready to depart.
Alice walked up to the group of 4 soldiers who were technically above her in rank, but were still listening to her orders. Naturally, she did not want to take command since it might lead her into a difficult position later on when the crisis was completely over.
"Hey guys. Listen, I just want to say that I don't intend to take advantage of this situation to take control over the soldiers. Just thought that it would be better to inform you. Just a little bit longer. We should be arriving at a village in a few hours' time, and from there you guys can take charge. We also need to treat the wounded, so we will have to do as much as we can at the village. Just informing you that although my and my squad tried our best, we will not be able to throw off those Rolandians for too long, so we cannot stay at the village for long. Maybe an hour or so. Then we have to keep moving north until we reach the Leon Forward command."
Alice gave out her whole plan and even made some lines on the ground with a stick to show exactly what the plan was, before looking up at the superior officers.
However, contrary to her expectations of fuming superiors, she received a few nods, and a few looks of admiration. Among them, was the lieutenant who had given Alice her squad, who was smiling with a satisfied grin as though saying, 'I knew it. I caught a diamond in the rough.'
Seeing this familiar face, Alice suddenly remembered about Jon and William, the squad captains of the 23rd and 27th squads.
Standing up suddenly, she quickly scanned the 40 survivors from the camp, who were shaven down to that number by a few surprise attacks from the enemies while escaping.
However, she could not see their faces, not anyone from their squads. A feeling of loss pervaded her mind and body as aura began to leak from her body. This was a feeling of loss Alice was far to familiar with. A feeling of loss which stemmed from losing someone that had meaning in our life. A feeling of losing the few things which held together her world.
She had already been through this before, when she was told that her mother, and her unborn little sister, died during childbirth. She had felt it again when she received the news that her brother and father, the last remaining members of her family had died in battle. And her it was again.
Why was it following her? What had she done wrong? Why were all the people close to her dying off one by one? She wasn't even that close with Jon and William, and yet they were gone. Just like that. Why was only her life so miserable?
The aura that was being released by her was pitch black in colour, and was casing immense fear within the people present, including the 4 lieutenants. The aura she was releasing was the aura she had gained through the system. However, it was not being activated using the system, but through pure emotion alone. Her body was reacting to her state of mind and releasing her aura without her conscious effort, and this black aura was slowly spreading.
Being an easily visible force compared to mana, the soldiers around her immediately saw the black aura and retreated, including the lieutenants, all afraid of Alice losing control and attacking them wantonly.
However, at this very moment, blue radiance fell from the sky onto Alice. Only visible to the 2 lieutenants of considerable level compared to the other lieutenants and soldiers, a hand descended wrapped within the light.
The hand moved at a seemingly slow speed, however, it was moving so fast that time itself on the Prime Plane was slowing down, as the hand moved closer and closer to Alice. The pale blue hand with blue sparks and divinity within fell upon Alice, but did not smash into her from above, but slowed down and landed softly on her head, before sliding down to her chin, and raising it into the sky.
The black eyes slowly cleared as the black aura also vanished, her eyes returning from the eyes of a ruthless killer to the eyes of a little girls who had everything taken away from her.
[Those two are dead, and you cannot change reality. Stop trying to fight the world. Instead, make the world work for you.]
With those words, the divine radiance vanished, along with the divine hand and voice, leaving a crying mess of Alice on the ground, curled up into a ball.
Up in the void above the prime plane, Jack sighed. Although he could have told her about her brother, he needed her to become mentally stronger before something like that.
He knew that becoming physically stronger is only half the journey. Only with a strong mentality can one truly become powerful.