It has been two weeks since Mercedes and Kiara talked to one another about the problematic middle school. During such times, Mercedes would always be with Kiara, escorting her from morning to afternoon.
Because of Mercedes's untimely appearance and cold mannerisms, the troublesome situation of Kiara had slightly subsided. Although, that wasn't what Mercedes wanted. She wanted it to disappear from the face of the world.
To do that, she must learn how to fight.
Mercedes understood that bullies don't use words or diplomacy as a means of conversation. She learned it in the hardest way possible during her old days. She understood that the only way to handle them was by stomping them on the ground.
Anyhow, Mercedes's attributes were enough to stomp them six-feet underground. However, her little sister warned her of their connections with newly-arrived gangs. Gangs from other districts have been invading since the announcement of the development plan.
Since there were gangs in the equation, there will soon by the time when her attributes wouldn't be enough. So with this in mind, Mercedes wanted to learn the ways of fatal combat. She didn't want a self-defense martial art but a fatal one.
Obviously, it would be hard for Mercedes to find someone who could help her in combat techniques. She searched the internet for techniques that were fatal, though there were no clubs regarding such techniques in the district.
As it was hard to find the fatal combat techniques she needed, Mercedes relied on her precious friend, Spade. She thought that Spade wouldn't agree to use the Virtual-Augmented Reality to learn techniques from warriors of the former world.
But unexpectedly, Spade welcomed it and swiftly activated the VAR.
Mercedes was thrown back into the former world. According to Spade, it was 5-years in the future. And well... Half a decade brought about a change she would have never thought possible.
"That beautiful world turn into this in merely five years?" Mercedes softly questioned as she was a bit distressed by what she was seeing. She understood that the crimson moon brought an end to the former world. But she didn't know the duration of how the world fell.
[𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝟑-𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥.]
"Wait, wouldn't that be worse?" Mercedes jolted since Spade had just dropped a bombshell out of nowhere. How strong would the crimson moon be if the gorgeous world turned into this hellhole in merely three years? Mercedes didn't dare to continue the thought.
[𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐮𝐦.]
"Oh, I see... You should have told me that!" Mercedes yelled in annoyance. She was despairing about how the former world got destroyed in a short amount of time. Luckily, the area she was seeing was nothing more than the frontlines of the Imperium.
"*Sigh...* I guess it still isn't much of an apocalypse as I thought." Mercedes sighed in relief before glancing upward to the skies. It was covered in ashen smoke, making her remember what this world's future was.
[𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐩𝐬𝐞.]
[𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲, 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥.]
Spade continued to correct Mercedes with a monotone voice. It was as if Spade was messing with her Host, which wasn't a far possibility. Spade was as eccentric as Astarte in terms of personality.
"I don't even care anymore. So what am I doing here?"
"I thought that you would bring me to the interiors of the Imperium to be trained."
Mercedes asked, wondering what Spade had planned for her. She thought that she was about to be thrown in the middle of the knights' headquarters. They seemed to be people who were good in combat.
[𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐲𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐝𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬.]
"Huh? You threw me in danger so that I could fight directly? Why would you do that? I want to train myself, not fight against criminals or monsters." Mercedes was in disagreement with Spade's decision to throw her in the middle of the battlefield.
'I don't want to kill anyone or anything. Besides, I might puke if I see someone's guts.' Mercedes thought, imagining it was already enough to make her sick.
[𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬.]
[𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭?]
[𝐀𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞, 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭.]
[𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭, 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝?]
"Are you saying that there will be a time when I'll have to personally face the dangers that threaten my family?" Mercedes questioned with a cold tone before shaking her head and apologizing to Spade. "Sorry, I understand what you're trying to say."
"This isn't the time to be a coward. If I can't properly dispose of my enemies, then I dread to see what happens next" Whether it be revenge or hatred, Mercedes understood the implications of mercy and cowardice.
She wanted to stray from such a path and do what should have been supposedly done.
After all, she wasn't a hero of some sort. Mercedes didn't plan on becoming one.
What she wanted was to be with her precious family, nothing more, nothing less. Anything that dares to become an obstacle will be destroyed. It doesn't matter who they were or what they were. She must understand to protect things that were precious to her.
"Spade, what should I do next," Mercedes asked before feeling a hand landing on her shoulders. Her body jolted as she immediately hopped away from her position. With a random fighting stance, Mercedes was prepared to fight against the stranger who was behind her.
Unfortunately for Spade, the stranger was already behind her. When Mercedes glances at the stranger, she feels a finger bopping her cheeks. She softly backed away while the stranger chuckled.
"Hahahaha, It's good to see an energetic young one." It was an old voice which Mercedes swiftly realized. The stranger was an old man who was wearing a dark cloak. He had a scar on his face though he had a proud smile plastered on it.
'This scene seems familiar for some reason.' Mercedes couldn't help but remember the one time that someone put their hands on her shoulder.
"But I'm curious about what a noble's kid is doing in an active warzone."
"You should understand that this isn't a playground in the interior." The old man sternly questioned. It wasn't normal to see a noble in the front. Even their children would be a rare sight to see. How someone like her got into this place made him curious.
"I-I, I don't have anything left in this world," Mercedes uttered with a saddened expression on her face. There was no way that she would tell the old man about her circumstances of being an outsider. Since the old man already got his suspicions, it would be better for her to use it.
"I lost everything, and I can't even fight for myself. Knights, soldiers, escorts, subordinates... They left me behind after the fall. But that is understandable as they have families of their own." Mercedes expressed and walked away from the old man.
There was no need to continue talking to that old man. She needed to find a way to fight, and this backstory might be a good one for her to use. Although, before Mercedes could take ten steps. She heard the voice of the old man behind her.
"
Kid, you're heading to the cryptid's territory."
Mercedes stopped after hearing the old man's words. She glanced back at him and responded with a confident tone. "I'm going back to my homeland. If I die, then I'll die beside my family's graves."
She continued on and walked through the wasteland. However, inside her head, things were different. Mercedes was embarrassed to be heading in the wrong direction. At the very least, she knew where danger was.
"Then aren't you just undermining your family's sacrifice? Just because you're alone in this world doesn't mean that you'll have to give up, Kid. You need to continue walking even if there's no one beside you. Since that is life." The old man uttered, which made Mercedes's muscles freeze.
"Old man, what are you giving me advice for?" Mercedes bluntly asked as the old man seemed to be bothering her. The old man smirked and answered. "It's annoying to see a weak kid like you die in this wasteland. You aren't even good at fighting."
"How sheltered are these nobles."
"*Tsk!* For some reason, you remind me of some annoying one. Come back here." The old man ordered, while Mercedes denied it. "Why should I?" The old man shook his head and asked. "Do you want to learn how to fight?"
"The basics of survival require you to create a shelter, get supplies, and protect yourself from danger. You can't do any of those without even a single knowledge of combat."
Hearing the words of the old man, Mercedes finally realized what the situation was. Her current circumstances were the same as when she met Astarte for the first time. The moment when Astarte became her teacher.
With such a realization, the corners of Mercedes's smile rose as a sly expression was plastered on her face. She glances at the old man. "Heh, you sure do have a lot of time, old man."
"I have a lot of time, and I'm wasting it by training a piece of shit like you!" The old man cried out in anger which made Mercedes snicker. She walked towards the old man and brought out her pale hand. "I'm Mercedes Reed. Nice to meet you, Old man."
"Caesar, it's not nice to meet you, kid."
The old man and Mercedes started shaking hands. The two of them began to walk in the same direction, which was, according to Caesar, a direction pointed at the nearest city.
"How a spoiled brat like you managed to survive up until this point is a mystery."
"Maybe I'm lucky?"
"Then, you must have the gods on your side." The old man mocked while Mercedes kept chuckling. Tears couldn't help but leave her eyes as she couldn't help but think to herself.
'Well, you're not wrong.'