Fire came roaring across the battlefield. Black smoke came clouding the whole area that was filled with soldiers alike. Debris scattered across the field. A horror that never ends.
A day has passed since the talk regarding their applications to the academy. On the battlefield, Rez is leading a unit of Paladins, with the combination of fire, wind, and water energy. As the Commanding Edifier, he is in charge of both attack strategies and the defenses throughout Liberadity. They are all divided into three teams, which each includes all three elements with Rez being in the centre of it all."Commander, the other teams have successfully reached their destination, we are now waiting for your order." One of the Paladins said as he placed his left palm on the sword grip."Alright, well done," Rez replied with a soft tone."I'm sorry if I'm going out of line sir, but shouldn't you be getting yourself to safety first?" The Paladin from earlier steps towards him but keeps a distance between them as a show of respect. As an Edifier, other than being a strategist, they are to always focus on their safety first than the Paladins. This is because Edifiers are the head commands in any war they go, meaning other than winning the war, their survival is also a top priority. Paladins are often given instructions on how to act and given the strategy for them to use that was prepared. They're also sometimes used as pawns and sacrifices just for the Edifier's safety. That's how bad it is the relationship between the two ranks. However, indeed, Edifiers are mostly filled with arrogant and self-centered people, it's a different case for Rez. Unlike any other, he will use himself as a shield to protect the Paladins. Since Paladins, are mostly teenagers, and the youngest to join them are around five to six years old. He doesn't want any innocent people to die for such arrogant people, hence why he offered to accept as many Paladins as he can to his unit. Hearing his suggestion, Rez cracked a smile. He pats the Paladin's shoulder softly. The young man flinched for a few seconds, wondering why he was treating a person like him with such respect."Isn't it supposed to be my job as the leader to be on the front lines?" He said with a chuckle. The boy's eyes widened. He's shocked by the statement. He couldn't help but smile, a sense of relief was flowing through his mind. Out of the blue, the walkie-talkie that was hung around his waist statics."C… Commander! This is South Unit, we're taking heavy… fire by the Tarviants, and…"Rez walked closer toward the young Paladin. Carefully he takes the device from his waist and clicks the response button.
"… They brought the mimic with them! AGH-" The connection from the walkie-talkie was cut off. Hearing from the corner, his face became pale. Without saying a word, Rez moves his hands, forming a gesture to the Paladins telling them to get ready for an enemy attack. Immediately, he calls three men to accompany him heading south, where the South Unit was attacked. The three men came towards Rez, with weapons and ammo for them to use to give aid to South Unit. The young Paladin gets closer to the Commanding Edifier, bringing his sword with him. Noticing the boy, Rez gave him a sincere look."If you're scared, you know you don't have to come.""If so, then I've failed as a Paladin sir!" Surprised with his reply, the man smiled. Slowly he ruffles his hair, while the young Paladin faces down, embarrassed. A tap was felt on his shoulder, he looked behind him. It was the three Paladins earlier; they were calling them both to let them know that the jeep was ready for them to use. Rez nods. He then walked towards the vehicle, followed by the young Paladin. As soon as they stepped in, one of the three Paladins earlier gave the Commanding Edifier a tablet, filled with information regarding the recent attack on South Unit. The man flinched for a second. The screen shows a video recorded by one of his men before the attack. In the video, Paladins were trying their best to defend the fort they just built as a temporary base for their unit. Positioning in a defensive stand, they continue to fend off the enemy. However, it was too overwhelming. The unit includes fire, wind, and water energy users. Consists of around ten members, six of them are Deviants, while the others are humans. Of course, they are those with exceptional sword skills and were personally chosen by Rez to join this mission. Even with using the elemental energy from their weapons, it was not enough to fend them off. One by one, each member of the South Unit was killed by the Tarviant race. Specifically, killed by an Atrax. A type of mutated Tarviant that was experimented on by a mad scientist to enhance the survival rate of every living being centuries ago. Upon reaching its failure, the failed project then scattered around the world, making not only Tarviants but other species of the failed experiment become a threat to the world.Atrax-A mutated Tarviant from a failed experiment centuries ago. They started to increase rapidly a few years after The Battle of Anthropoid. The body is quite hardened, making it hard to kill. Killing it by either using fine material, or sheer will would do the trick. It is also made to represent a spider, with its eight legs, it'll be easier for them to jump, crawl, and kill in an instant. Seeing one of his men getting pierced through the chest by the Atrax using its sharp legs, Rez's eyes became narrow. He felt pity for them. He puts the tablet down, accompanied by a low sigh."Be sure to write the report later. When we arrive there, don't forget to acquire their pins. We'll return them to their families after we finish this mission." Rez said as he faced the window."Yes sir." The Paladin replied as he started typing the report on the tablet. First time being in the same unit as Rez, the young Paladin was surprised with his reply. All this time he thought that Rez, the Commanding Edifier, was more gruesome, emotionless, and arrogant. It seems his first impression of him was wrong. His expression after losing his men wasn't dull, but full of emotion, even though he doesn't express them to act professionally. After almost thirty minutes, they finally arrived at the designated destination. The door handle was turned, opening the door slowly. Rez steps out of the vehicle, and he froze. The sight of dead bodies everywhere, blood splattered around the battlefield, broken blades and guns scattered across the ground. He even had to cover his nose due to the smell of the dead bodies that were laying around. Visuals weren't clear either, due to the intense battle earlier that resulted in the thick fog. Carefully reaching outside, the young Paladin with three other of his men stepped out of the jeep. They all flinched. The overwhelming aura that was suddenly surrounding the area was so great, their legs were about to go numb. After taking a deep breath, he calmed down. Rez faces his four men with a sharp gaze. They felt a bit intimidated by him, so they started to take a few steps back. The Commanding Edifier however, slowly walked towards them. His speed is slowly increasing. Wondering what he's doing, the young Paladin unsheathes his sword with the intention to protect himself. The man's speed suddenly increased drastically, before hitting four of his men, he unsheathed his sword, and yelled."DUCK!" Surprised, they all ducked instantly while covering their heads. Rez leaped above them and moves his sword as if he was slashing something. A loud screech was heard coming from where Rez was. The four turned back, their eyes widened. Turns out, while they were talking earlier, an Atrax was swiftly running towards them. Thanks to their superb agility, the footsteps wasn't even heard, even Rez had trouble identifying them in the beginning. The Commanding Officer, trying to protect his men, ran towards them and jumped right before hitting them straight on, and immediately slices the Atrax that was right behind them. With a shocking expression, one of the Paladin spoke."S- Sir… you were running earlier because…""Your correct, it was about to slice all of you to pieces. I'm glad I noticed it in time." Rez sighed with a relief feeling.
The young Paladin pats his chest. Slowly, his heart rate starts to beat normally again. Three of the Paladins then rounds the area once again for any nearby enemies. Rez on the other hand, head towards the middle of the battlefield, where his men's bodies were laying around. Some of the bodies were destroyed fully, making it hard to identify the person. Half of those bodies were recognizable, and some of them are those that he's close with. Standing there, with the look of sympathy, he stiffs his body. Both of his arms bound to his body, with his leg doing the same thing. Slowly, he bows. A sign of respect that he learned from his days venturing in Japan. The bow stays for a while, giving respect, condolences and thanks to the fallen. You all fought bravely, please take your rest. You all deserve it. He thought to himself. As soon as he's done, the Commanding Officer went back and meet up with the others. He took the walkie-talkie from a nearby bag, turning it on before speaking."This is Commander Rez, North, West, how is everything there?" Statics were taking over the speaker. None of his comrade's voices are heard. This made him a bit anxious. A tap was felt on his shoulder. He looked back. It was the young Paladin, with a worried look. Immediately, he shows something on the tablet that was used earlier to locate South Unit. The three Paladins came closer, wanting to see the screen. They're in shock. On the screen, currently displays the location they're in. A radar simply speaking. Other than the five dots, which represent them, there were around twenty Atrax that was coming in others, which are most likely the Atraxes that are coming for them. One of the dots, however, is quite large than the other, it seems like the dot represents a whole unit. Rez, without saying a word, unsheathes his sword."I have nothing but respect to all of you. Deciding to attend this suicide mission must've been difficult. For that, I thank you personally." The Commanding Officer said as he gets ready with a fighting stance. Seeing their commander, not flinching even once to protect them, the four follows him by unsheathing their sword. The young Paladin places the tablet down, near their supply bag. Slowly, they walked towards him, standing side by side with their Commanding Edifier. Even with them suffocating in fear, they still stand next to Rez, standing next to the person who believed and protects them. One of the four Paladins channels his flame energy towards the sword he's holding. The steel blade was covered with a flame like pattern, making the blade looks like a light red colour. Heat comes surrounding the Paladin's body, meaning that he has successfully channeled his element to his weapon. Seeing his comrade has started to channel his element, the two other Paladin does the same, with them possessing the water and wind element. On the other hand, the young Paladin, who is a human, only gets ready with a fighting stance that was taught by his mentor. Rez then narrows his eye, looking for something in the distance. He then stands tall, with his sword placed on his right shoulder."They're here." With that one sentence, the four of them gets ready with their weapons. With a stiff and trembling body, they stand their ground. Out of the blue, an Atrax comes jumping towards them. Thanks to the young Paladin's reaction, he barely managed to block the attack with his sword. However, thanks to the impact he was sent flying a few feet back from his current position. Not wasting anytime, the fire user Paladin went straight in to charge the Atrax. He swings his sword, while the blade was burning in flames with an enormous amount of heat covering it. In an instant, the Atrax was slain, leaving only a corpse laying around. Just as he was about to take a breather, two other Atrax came in for a surprise attack. Barely able to dodge the attack, the water element user, channels the flow of his energy to his weapon, which was a two set of karambit. The blade part of the two karambit turned blue, meaning that the channelling was a success. Ignoring his safety, he charges towards the Atrax with a grin face. Both of his arms are crossing one another, with the karambit at the end of his hands. As soon as he was about to slice the legs, the Atrax dodges swiftly. His eyes widened. Immediately he leaps back, avoiding the Atrax's attack range. The Paladin crane both of his arms on the knees, so that he'll be able to regain his stamina. Without a single noise, the Atrax disappeared into thin air, making him dumbfounded as to where it went. Suddenly, feeling a presence behind him, in an instant he swings both of his karambit to the back. The weapon was felt piercing through its chest. As it became numb, the Atrax's life force slowly fades away, leaving only its body with no life. The water user went back to his friend, patting his shoulder, telling him they're done here, and must head towards the young Paladin and the wind user.⚔ Constantly dodging its attacks, his stamina is slowly decreasing. As the wind user was about to channel his element, he was hit by the Atrax's leg, leaving him an internal injury. Seeing his comrade pinned to the ground, quickly he sprints towards him and slices the Atrax's head. A thud was heard, it was from the sound of the sliced head falling to the ground. He was a bit stunned, but he slapped both of his cheeks to bring himself back to reality. The young Paladin turned back and offered his hand to the wind user."Are you alright?""Thanks, I owe you one kid." The wind user grabs the hand that was offered by his junior. As they got back on their feet, the sounds of stomping are rapidly running towards them. Picking up his sword, he channels the wind element through his weapon, creating a wind current surrounding its blade. Noticing the windy aura, the young Paladin took a few steps back. The wind user grins."You pieces of trash are all deserve to be wiped out. Now, please die for me." He said as he aims the blade upwards and simultaneously swinging the sword in circles, making the wind current bigger as if he's holding a tornado.
The Paladin then runs towards the horde of Atraxes, with the blade on his right side at the back, followed by the young Paladin. Around ten Atraxes were charging towards both of them. Not having any second thoughts, the wind user leaps just right above the horde. His hand then swings the blade through the middle of the stampede, creating a large tornado, sucking everything around it. Thankfully, knowing this was bound to happen, he immediately shoves his sword to the ground and holds the young Paladin with him so he won't get blown away with the rest of the Atraxes. Surprised with the sudden changes of the wind current, Rez stopped."That must be them. You two, get ready for an attack. There might be some of them that managed to escape. Make sure to check the areas around us." The Commanding Edifier said as he places back his sword in the scabbard."Yes sir!" The two replies simultaneously. Upon reaching where his two men are, Rez released a soft sigh, relieved that the two are alright. Seeing their commander and comrades, they rushed towards them, ignoring the corpses of Atraxes laying around the area."Commander!" Both Paladins shouted at the same time. Rez nods, he immediately hugs the two lightly. This is due to their wound from the battler earlier. The fire and water element users both cracked a smile, glad their comrades are safe and sound, especially the young Paladin. Just as they thought the battle is over, sounds of loud rumbling starts to imerge from the opposite direction they're in. The four continue to pick up their sword, preparing for another battle."Get ready, these are most likely the horde in the radar- " His words were cut off. The four Paladins turn to Rez. Wondering, why he's suddenly quiet. The face he's making was pale, surprised, giving a sorrow and guilt look. Trying to understand what he is feeling, the four of them turn to their front again. All of their eyes widened, as if they've seen a ghost. It was the Mimic. Not just one, but a horde of them. However, in this case, they are the "Deceased Paladins" from the North and West Unit.Mimic-A type of Tarviant that can easily mimic a human or Deviant they devour. To do so, they are required to absorb their hearts. However, if the heart is even slightly damaged, it won't work. It must be a fresh and healthy heart as they'll be needing it to mimic the heart owner's face, body and voices. They were in disbelief. Not only did the North and West Unit were unable to reach, not due to them busy fighting, but its because they have been taken over by the Mimics. With a restless feeling, the Commanding Edifier unsheathes his sword from the scabbard. He held his sword up to the level of his nose."I have failed as an Edifier of this Unit, for that I deeply apologize. My carelessness resulted in your lives taken without my presence to give you all aid. I will personally claim you all from this prison, and let you all fly free once again." Hearing their commander saying what he said, they we're astonished. Speechless. Immediately, the four of them unsheathes their weapon, getting ready for battle. Right before he sprint towards the Mimics, Rez released a soft sigh. His eyes straight up lock to one of the creatures. The body that it used was a human like body, decent height for a man, brown hair with black eyes. It was none other than the captain for the West Unit. Next to him, was another captain, wearing a cloak that only reaches his elbow, with light grey hair and blue eyes, accompanied with a scar on his cheek. It was the captain for the North Unit. Those two were an astounding Paladins, constantly sacrificing themselves for the sake of peace and for the people under them. Always making sure the young Paladins are protected, well fed and well treated by older recruits."Sir, we'll do our best." Said the young Paladin.Noticing that the young lad was trying to cheer him up, the man grins.
"I'm counting on you guys.""YES, SIR!" The four of them shouted simultaneously.⚔ Kazuya swings his knife, damaging the wooden dummy with a slice. He's currently training on his backyard, where a few wooden dummies were placed so he can train on his own whenever Rez is on a mission. The boy released a sigh. He sat down to one of the nearest trees, to cover himself from scorching sun. Kazuya leans to the tree log, and cocks his head upwards, admiring the blue sky. He places his knife to his right. The boy slowly places his arm above his eyes, covering the view."You know their true identity, don't you Kazuya?" Remembering those exact words that came out from Rez's mouth yesterday, he was lost in thoughts. Ann's and Arashi's true identity huh… He thought to himself. Ann Shiro, daughter of the current duke. She is currently the successor to the throne for Liberadity's new Queen. As mentioned before, the water element runs through her entire family. However, only some of them were able to use it to their full potential. As the successor, Ann has been attending formal meetings, afternoon tea with some royal family, high officers and even the current King. Not only etiquette, she was taught swordsmanship by Luke. The flaw, however, makes it hard for other kids to approach her. For years, Ann has been doing everything alone, without any friends to play or talk with. That was until she met both Arashi and Kazuya, in a nearby park, where she just recently finished her afternoon tea. If it wasn't for Arashi, who approached her to hand a few apples, they wouldn't be friends like today. As for Arashi's identity… His eyes open as he removes his arm. A ruffle was heard from a bush that was not too near or far from him. He heard some steps approaching him. Immediately, he got up, grabbing the knife he used earlier. Kazuya aims it towards where the steps were heard. He was shocked to see who it is. It was Arashi. He came while bringing his own wooden sword to practice. Realizing it was his friend, Kazuya left a sigh while patting his chest as a sign of relief. Slowly, he walks to Arashi."You know, you should stop approaching people like that. You and your silent footsteps.""Hey, I can't do anything about it, you know that. Anyways, I'm here for practice. Mind if I join you?""… Sure, why not. Grab my wooden sword for me. It should be in the shack over there to the left." Arashi nods. He continues to walk towards the shack to grab Kazuya's wooden sword. Upon reaching, the boy opens the door. The room was filled with old rusty weapons, armor and clothing. The wooden sword, however, was laying on the ground. Surprisingly, it was still in good shape even after it was used many times in training. Its condition was far way better than the clothing and armor in the shack. He came out with the wooden sword and immediately headed towards Kazuya."Took you long enough.""I don't have the agility as you do Kazu." The two chuckled. After the preparation for training was set up, both Arashi and Kazuya went to the right side of the training area to choose their armor for the session. Of course, the armors were the ones in the shack earlier, all worn out and damaged. There were two options, the one placed to their right was leather armor. On the chest area, it's quite thin than the areas on the shoulder and the back, most likely due to constant beating to the chest. To their left, it was a rusty metal armor, full of holes all across the chest plate and shoulders. Not to mention, it's still quite heavy despite it being so damaged. Carefully, Arashi decides on which armor to choose. In an instant, Kazuya took the leather armor."I'll be taking the leather armor. Though, it won't be able to protect me much, but it's lighter and it fits well with my agility, don't you think?" He chuckled."… Yeah, you're always with your agility huh?" Arashi scoffs as he takes the metal armor. Minutes passed, they are now getting ready for their first training session. Kazuya stated the rules, which is the match will end when either surrendered or when one can't stand up anymore. Agreeing with the rules, they will flip a coin to decide who'll be giving the first strike. Kazuya flips the coin up high. The two were already on a strike stance, waiting for the coin to reach the ground. Kazuya spoke, followed by Arashi."One.""Two."TAP The coin reached the ground, it was tails. Meaning it was Arashi's strike."THREE!" Arashi yells as he immediately charges towards Kazuya. In an instant, the boy managed to block the slice by his opponent. Not only was he not struggling, he even gave Arashi a smirk look. This made him a bit frustrated, seeing Kazuya's face like that. Failing to land a huge blow on him, Arashi leaps back to where he started. He took a deep breath, he went back on his fighting stance.Noticing went back straight to the ready stance, Kazuya switches his wooden sword to his left hand. He faces his body sideways, and points his sword towards Arashi. He grins.
"Come one now, don't be such a baby and come at me.""Heh, then I'll give you just that." Arashi sprints again, this time the blade of his sword is at the back, making it easier for him to approach Kazuya. Before he was able to reach him, Kazuya immediately ducked, to avoid getting hit by Arashi's slice. However, it was as he expected. In a flash, he swung his sword to a different reaction, which is on the right, aiming just below his body. Kazuya's eyes widened. As soon as he was about to get hit, he swiftly turned his body to the opposite side, avoiding Arashi's swing. The turn made his body roll around the ground. Dust surrounds his body as he kneels to the ground. His left hand wipes off the sweat that was hanging on his forehead. Using his sword as a crane to help himself up, he moves his mouth."Wow, Arashi. You actually remembered what Sir Rez taught you. Here I thought you were only focusing on Ann the whole time." Kazuya said with a smug face. All his confidence immediately disappeared as soon as Ann's name was mentioned. His cheeks became red as the face felt hot. Successfully baiting him to lose his focus, Kazuya immediately charges towards his opponent. This time however, he sprints to left and right, forming a zig zag type of running, using his agility to his advantage. Realizing it was Kazuya's plan to make him distracted, immediately he holds his sword in front of him to block his opponent's strike. However, the strike wasn't aimed at his sword, instead, it was aimed towards his legs. Not able to react fast enough, Arashi fell to the ground after getting hit by the swing.TAP"Ow… UGH-" His voice was cut off."Do you yield?" Kazuya said as he aims his sword to Arashi's face, with the tip right below his chin and in front of his neck. The area was silent for a few minutes, with only the sound of breathing by the two boys. Slowly, both of his hands were raised upwards towards the sky."I yield." Arashi surrendered as he chuckled. Kazuya nods. He drops his wooden sword to the ground, and offers the same hand that was holding the sword to Arashi. With a smile on his face, Arashi accepts the offer, and is pulled up by Kazuya. The two stood right next to each other. Sweat drops from both of their faces. Both Kazuya and Arashi's faces were showing an exhausting expression. The two laughed. Enjoying the moment. It has been a while since they had a friendly match."Let's do this again. With Ann this time." Kazuya said as he raised both of his eyebrows."Ugh… Well you got a point, it was kind of lonely…" Arashi said with a blush face, while facing the ground."Lonely, huh?" He replied as he pats Arashi's back.⚔ The corpses from the mutated Tarviants are spread all across the battlefield. Including the body of the Edifiers, whose lives were taken by the Atraxes and Mimics. Casualties were inevitable, Rez knows that. However, even he didn't expect the casualties would be this huge. The Commanding Edifier walks towards a huge rock, near the place he's standing on. He sits down, and places his sword next to his right."Sir." One of the Paladins came towards him."What is it?" Rez replied with a tight face. He was silent. Not knowing how to express his words. Confused, Rez stood up and walked towards the Paladin, leaving his sword behind. Knowing that the commander will follow him, the Paladin turns around and walks to the directions he's facing. Rez follows his comrade's steps from behind. He's wondering, what is it that he wants to show? Did they find a new nest by these mutated Tarviants or something? The Commanding Edifier thought to himself. They reached the designated area. In front of them, were the bodies of the fallen Paladins that were under Rez's command. This made him grit his teeth. However, the Paladin didn't stop there. He continues to walk towards the left, with a single body, covered with a white blanket. The sheets were covered with blood, due to its wound. He stands right next to the corpse, and tells Rez to come closer. Rez did just that, and kneels down next to corpses right. The Paladin then lifts the blanket. Rez's eyes widened. The body he was seeing right in front of him, was the young Paladin who has been by his side since the beginning of the mission. The shirt he was wearing was torn to half after a tough battle with the Atraxes and Mimics. His right arm was chopped off. A hole was seen piercing through his chest, answering the pool of blood that was covering the whole blanket."… How old was he?" Rez asked while his face was still looking towards the young Paladin's body."… He was twelve, sir." The Paladin replied. Immediately he turns his face towards the Paladin. A shocking expression was made by the man. The sense of guilt flows through his entire body. The guilt of letting such a young man die all alone in the battlefield."So young, yet so brave… A person to be admired by generations to come." Rez said as he stood up, and walked towards a slightly tall cliff.BOOM In an instant, he punches the cliff, slicing it in half. The rumble was so loud, it even reached the area where two other Paladins were sent to search for survivors. The Paladin that was with the body was shocked. He trembles in fear, after noticing the deadly aura that was surrounding his superior. Rez cocks upwards, facing the sky. He clenches his fists tightly."What was his name?" He asked."His name was Alan, sir." The Paladin replied. The man went silent for a few minutes."I will make sure…" Rez slowly walks back towards the Paladin. The wind blows, giving a strong breeze to where they are. The blankets that were covering the dead bodies of his comrades were almost blown away by the wind. The Paladin holds down the blanket that was covering the young Paladin's body from the strong breeze."… That I won't let the same thing happen again, and this matter won't be ignored by those corrupted politicians." The man continued his words with a serious expression.