4 years earlier - after Leo's last battle
"Now it's raining buckets as well, there' s no way we can take a break. In a few hours we should be at the border. Get ready for a possible battle, it could be far worse than what you've experienced so far."
"We've made it through everything so far, our teamwork will lead us to victory this time as well."
"Our victory would be already if they survived. I am afraid we will arrive after the reinforcements...I hate to say it but in the worst case scenario we would have to fight our own forces. If there's one thing I know, it's that the king only sends his special forces when something needs to be wiped out completely, and by that I mean everything. Even Leo's tactics and strategies are no match for their strength, especially since they don't even expect an ambush."
"It won't be like that, this time he will also survive. This time we get to finally see him again. So put aside the negative mood and hurry up, time is running against us."
Of course, it was Marah who was the most panicked inside.She has not seen him for a long time was also very worried this time. Although she didn't even know him that long, she felt connected to him, the other three noticed that too. It was true that they hadn't seen each other for a very long time but the new memories and impressions didn't leave them as worried as Marah. Leo was a friend, or more like a companion. They hardly knew him, his interests, his quirks and his humor. But they all came into this world together, were united a certain way by the pressures and seriousness. While they were blessed by magic he was cursed, was it affection or pity how they dealt with him? He was completely different from them, could they really still call him friend after all this time?
When they saw Grae's face, they saw a worried, serious look, but his thoughts wandered in another direction. He knew the mages and especially the archmages, he knew of their nature and ways. Their mission was not simply to help, their mission was to eliminate the enemy. This was not only about barbarians and monsters but also about the thorn in eye of the king, who hated Leo from the beginning. Moreover, the order to take a wagon with them on the journey was just about right. He never got rid of this thought, the closer they came the more sure he was. Their traces were covered by the rain, but the commander knew the way to the border.
It was a rainy noon when they arrived. The wind whistled through their ears, the rain pattered on their clothes as they could see the battlefield from afar. There was no sound of screams, no sound of weapons, only the smell of blood mixed with the rain. They immediately moved closer and took a better look at everything. Scattered everywhere were large blood-red stains on the ground, and in addition there remained small holes in the ground where a black mark could be seen. Although it was raining, the drops barely washed away the blood. There was no pattern among the holes and the large stains. When Grae touched the blood he noticed that it was crusted and darker than normal. It was obvious to him that fire and lightning magic was at work.
("Damn, I knew it. Those scumbag bastards, I' m going to make them pay somehow.")
A bit further back, a small mist had formed, out of which yellow eyes appeared all of a sudden. Immediately everyone was on guard, it was a giant mutant like they had never seen before. However, they quickly realized that the eyes were not moving but simply looking straight forward. When they took a closer look, they saw that the head had been severed, almost torn to shreds. Pieces of the body lay all around the cadarver, as if it had been blown up. At first, Grae thought that Leo had used fire arrows to defeat the monster. But this would make no sense, as the explosion was much too close to the soldiers. Leo would never risk such a thing. And if there really had been an explosion, why were there so many impact holes and not just one?
"Guys, listen to me. If the information is correct, the number of bloodstains is almost equal to the number of Leo's soldiers, only one is missing.
Everyone listened carefully to his words and once again searched with full attention how many stains there were. But they still counted the same number until Marah examined the monster more closely. Between the pieces of the body, something caught her eye that made her hold her breath. It was not a piece of the giant monster she had spotted, it was a human arm. However, even from a distance she saw that it had a black mark that the rain could not erase. She slowly walked towards the remains with her legs completely wobbly and sank to her knees in front of it. The size matched, the shape of the mark matched, everything was indicating: it was Leo's arm. It had quite a few scars on it and looked slightly mangled. After not responding to Grae's call, the group came to her. Seeing her on her knees and what she was holding they all knew who this was about.
No one said a word, they all just looked at Marah while the rain pelted down their armor.
("Why did it have to happen this way? They' re going to pay for this.")
Grae clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, his face filled with hatred.
In front of them, they heard their comrade whimpering.
"No, no, no...this can't be...no. Why? WHY? Who did this, WHO? It's his arm nothing more, he's alive. He's alive isn't he?"
No one could give her a hundred percent answer plus lying to her would only make things worse. Marah stared at them completely confused and scared.
Blade knew there was nothing more to be done here. He walked up to Marah to make this clear to her.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!"
As he touched her shoulder, a black aura suddenly poured out of her body. Blade quickly pulled his hand away. Marah was completely lost in grief and anger, he was unable to break her out of her trance. After another minute had passed Luke walked up to her and calmed her down.
"Marah, he might still be alive. It's his arm, many people can survive even a wound like that. We have no other trace of him, as long as we don't find his body in this area, he really could still be alive. But we have to go back soon, who knows what will happen in our absence? You know very well that there are dangers lurking everywhere. Don't worry, we won't take him away from you, but you have to promise to go back with us now."
Luke actually managed to calm her down and after another short break they started to walk back. Seeing Marah in this state, Grae decided not to share his suspicions with the others. Rather than create vengeful monsters, he wanted to keep the redemption as inconspicuous as possible. It was unnecessary to prepare a scheme now in this period of grief and sorrow. That is why he thought about it on his own, but quickly realized that Blade and Adrian had the same path in mind. All the way back, hardly anyone spoke a word, no monsters approached them and they barely stopped to take a break.
When they got to the city gate, they were informed of the events of the past few days. They immediately went to hear the king's speech.
"Today is a sad day for our kingdom. A group of soldiers that has been protecting the villages and towns for months has now given their lives in battle. It is probably the most famous squad of soldiers that has ever existed. We are talking about our Yakura squad, who fought and worked with passion, determination and dedication. Not even our best elite support arrived in time and could only recover their corpses. To honor the dead and their departure from this world, we will now hold a ceremony worthy of such a unit."
When the group saw that the graves were being dug, they noticed how Grae knew that they had been prepared beforehand, their death was predetermined from the beginning. It was hard for him to keep it together, but when he looked into the sorrowful faces of the relatives, his desire for revenge left him for that moment. He was not familiar with this kind of event, almost all the people as well as other soldiers attended the funeral out of full respect. It was a sad day for the entire city, on a gray cloudy afternoon, the Yakura troop was declared dead.
The group suddenly heard words they never thought possible.
"May they all rest in peace. No one knows exactly how their deaths occurred except for their commander. As you can see, there was no trace of him on the final battlefield. That is why we have to assume that he abandoned his soldiers in order to save his own life. Of course, this is hard to believe, since he was traveling with them all these months, but we can't completely disregard this possibility."
"Never would he have abandoned us. It was only because of him that we have come this far, only because of him that we have survived for so long and won our battles. So don't say he just abandoned us."
Actually, there was one of the squad who had survived. The messenger who gave them the location of the squad was Freo.
" Well then even if it was like that, there is no trace of his body. Perhaps he was eaten by monsters, but for that to happen there should at least be signs of his remains. Unless there is a trace of him, he is probably a traitor who sacrificed his soldiers. Should his body be found at some point, we will have clarity on this situation. But should he turn up alive, the charges against him will be confirmed. Unless he can then explain himself honestly, he will receive the death penalty for treason."
Those words made sense to some extent, and the people also agreed with that sentiment. Thus Leo was once again doomed to failure. Indeed, there was no way back for him, only death would await here. Taking a deep breath and swallowing slightly, the young Chosen One girl stepped forward and showed everyone what she had found.
"Here is the proof of his innocence, he never abandoned his squad until the very end. Soldier Freo, you have been traveling with him for months, can you assign his identity to this arm."
When Freo saw the arm, tears ran down his face and, sobbing, he confirmed to Marah that it was Leo's arm. Thus they had changed the minds of the people. Yet both Marah and her friends knew that this was not enough. The king was annoyed but knew just what to do.
" Even if it is his arm, there is still no sign of the rest of his body. In history, there are quite a few soldiers who survived and continued to fight even without a second arm. Therefore, I find it hard to believe that this explains his death and innocence, especially since he was the only one who survived in such a brutal battle. Should any clue of him be found, we shall find more clarity, but until that time, we cannot pay tribute and respect to him for his deeds. If there are any objections to this, the person can personally come forward and persuade everyone."
This was perfectly plotted by the king. Neither the group nor Freo had a chance to change the people's opinion about Leo. Naturally, even the soldiers who knew him well found it hard to believe the king's accusations, but no one had any proof of his actions. It was a game that the king himself created, where he alone was the winner. Regardless of what Leo would do, he was haunted by damnation.
Grae knew it was perfectly calculated. At this point, they had no chance to stand up for Leo, let alone get back at the magicians. Whatever they would do, they were going to turn against the kingdom which is the last thing any of them wanted to do. Marah didn't want to bury the arm in the graveyard so they held their own little ceremony at the edge of the forest to honor him and hope for his survival.
It took some time for the sadness to subside and the dark times to disappear until eventually joy and life were brought back to the marketplace. It took the group a while longer, but they couldn't and didn't want to grieve forever, especially since it wasn't clear if he was really dead. Nevertheless, Marah found it very difficult to maintain this belief with each passing day. Everyone discussed it together and came to the conclusion that Leo was smart enough to know what his situation would be when he returned. Yet this gave little assurance, for he would still be on his own without magic as well as badly injured. Time passed and there was still no sign of life, no rumor and no word from Leo.
Before long, something occurred to the chosen ones of the kingdom. As usual, they went on missions and traveled around the country. Fighting against barbarians, bandits and mercenaries to the monsters of the forest, the mountains and the rivers. Threats became less and less and soon there was a peace that hasn't existed for a long time. The group had a lot of time to themselves, experiencing the wonders and beautiful things of this world. Only one thing made this possible: no more portals appeared. In the next years there was no trace, no cry for help, no battles against these mutants and monstrous creatures. But no one could answer the question, "Why?" There was another answer for another question that was more important than anyone had thought:
"Since when did these dangerous red portals cease to exist?" Exactly the day after Leo's disappearance.
So was it all a big coincidence or did the young man from another world play a part in this?