Kaede stood frozen for a moment, every instinct screamed at her to act—to charge into the fray and bring this chaos to an end.
"Dammit!" Britta's voice cut through the roar of flames and the cries of battle. The adventurer was crouched low, her blade angled defensively as two bandits closed in on her. "I am so drinking myself under tonight." The bandits laughed, knowing that she was just trying to deny the inevitable.
Kaede's jaw clenched. Her eyes flickered to the soldiers behind her, pinned down by volleys of poison-tipped arrows and crude explosives. Another wave of flame surged, momentarily illuminating the swamp in hellish orange. The soldiers were faltering—her side was losing.
She stepped forward, only for another explosion to rock the clearing, sending her flinching back. Mud and water sprayed across her face and armour forcing her to spit out. Her heart kept beating fast, if she used any of her skills, the fight would be over in an instant, but, she would reveal that she was stronger than she had let on. She would have to leave falmuth then.
Did she want to leave? Yes, without a doubt. She didn't fancy the Idea of being a prisoner in all but name and then used as a weapon. With her power, it would be very easy for her to escape falmuth.
But. Kirara. Shogo. Kyoya. Kids who, just like her, were stolen from their lives. Each of them were younger than she was, and she couldn't but feel responsible for them. As long as the <
Artificia needed time, time to analyse and then devour the <
Another explosion, tore through the chaos, and Kaede grit her teeth. 'But, people in front of me are dying. I couldn't look Risa in the eyes again.'
She tightened her fist, her fingers digging into her palm, she would have bled had it not been for her high defense. "Artificia!" She tensed her legs.
"EVERYONE STOP!" A voice, calm and yet carrying a strange intensity, cut through the chaos.
Everything stopped.
Kaede looked around in shock. Everyone that had been fighting, from the soldiers, to the adventurers, to the bandits, all stopped moving as if their strings had been cut.
"What the hell." Kaede murmured. 'This is freaking me out.' Kaede's sharp inhale was the only sound that broke the sudden silence. Even the ambient noises of the swamp—the incessant croak of frogs, the rustling of unseen creatures—seemed to vanish. Her gaze snapped toward the source of the voice, her body trembling with a mix of unease and awe.
Kirara stood in the heart of the battlefield, her small frame silhouetted by the residual glow of smoldering fires. Her lips were slightly parted, as if still resonating with the echoes of her command. The air around her seemed to hum faintly, a vibration Kaede could feel in her bones, like the aftermath of an earthquake.
The bandits, who moments ago were jeering and lunging forward with weapons raised, now stood slack-jawed and still, their weapons hanging loosely in their grips. The soldiers, too, had paused mid-motion, their arrows half-drawn or swords halted mid-swing. Even Britta, with her usual bravado, had stopped, her defensive stance faltering as she blinked, confused.
"Kirara…" Kaede's voice was barely above a whisper, but her words didn't seem to reach the girl.
Kirara's eyes glinted faintly in the firelight, an unnatural sheen to them that made Kaede's stomach churn. It wasn't malice or hatred in her expression—it was something far colder.
"So like, I'm bored with all the fighting, and I have places to be. So," Kirara said, her voice resonating in the head of everyone in the swamp. "If you're not a soldier... Kill yourself."
Kaede felt her spine go cold. "What?"
One by one, weapons were slowly raised. The bandits' machetes, the adventurer's swords, even Britta's blade. The movement was almost rhythmic, a horrifying sight for anyone witnessing such a thing.
Kaede swallowed hard, her mind racing. "Kirara, stop it!!"
However, Kaede wasn't listening, Britta's blade slowly, nicked into her neck, a tiny trail of blood forming. Her movements were calm, but her eyes, her eyes revealed her to absolutely horrified.
"Loving Sacrifice!" Kaede yelled and a golden ring of light, expanded outwards from her , covering the whole swamp. The golden light pulsed outward, washing over the battlefield like a rising sun piercing through the choking fog of death. The bandits and adventurers alike froze mid-motion, their weapons poised to strike themselves, yet unable to move an inch further. The eerie stillness was shattered as every wound and injury began glowing faintly, the golden light knitting together broken flesh and halting the slow trickle of blood.
Pain. White searing pain bubbled under her skin. Kaede staggered under the weight of her skill. Her body convulsed as every injury was absorbed into her own flesh—scratches blossoming into gashes, bruises spreading across her arms and legs like splashes of ink. She gritted her teeth, her breath coming in ragged gasps as she forced herself to stand tall, defiant against the pain.
<
<
"Kaede!!" She heard Kirara's concerned voice through the ringing in her head, she looked up through blood covered eyes, as Kirara ran towards her. At that moment, for a split second, Kaede felt fear, as the sixteen year old ran towards her, she wanted to run away. 'S-stay away.'
The vigorous shaking of her shoulders, made her realise that Kirara was hugging her. "What the hell Kaede! Why?... did you do that?!"
"Wha..." Kaede's body trembled as she struggled to stay upright, every nerve in her body screaming from the backlash of her skill. Her vision swam, the golden glow of the healing light still present on the battlefield. She stared at Kirara, confused by the girl's reaction.
"Why…?" Kaede managed to rasp, her voice barely audible. Blood dripped from her lips, her regeneration unable to keep up with the accumulated damage. "I had to… stop them…"
<
Kirara's grip tightened on Kaede's shoulders, her expression a storm of emotions. Her wide, shimmering eyes weren't the cold, calculating gaze from earlier—they were raw and filled with pain. "What are you talking about?! I could've stopped it all! I… Now you got hurt!"
Kaede tried to answer, but her knees buckled, and she sank into the mud. Kirara dropped with her, cradling Kaede's battered form as though she could shield her from the world. "You idiot…" Kirara whispered, her voice cracking. "You big, stupid idiot…"
The battlefield remained silent. The adventurers, bandits, and soldiers were still under the effects of Kirara's skill, with the bandits and adventurers stabbing themselves to no avail.
Kaede coughed weakly, forcing her eyes to meet Kirara's. "The adventurers... You… were making them kill themselves," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "I couldn't let that happen…"
Kirara froze, her arms tightening protectively around Kaede. Her expression shifted, guilt flashing across her face. "I wasn't going to kill the adventurers" she muttered, averting her gaze.
"Didn't… look that way…" Kaede managed, each word a struggle as her vision blurred. Her body was screaming for rest, but she refused to give in yet. "Kirara… your power… you have to be careful…"
Kirara bit her lip, her hands trembling as they gripped Kaede's shoulders. "I didn't mean to…" Her voice was small, fragile, the arrogance from before completely gone. "Kaede, I—"
"Save it," Kaede interrupted, her head drooping. "Just… make the bandits tie themselves up, and then release the skill." As Kaede's consciousness slipped away, Kirara sat there in silence, her hands clenched into fists. The faint glow of the swamp fires reflected in her eyes, but their light couldn't dispel the shadows that seemed to cling to her. For the first time, she realized the weight of her power—and the cost of using it so recklessly.
---
Kaede's head throbbed as consciousness slowly returned, the dim haze of pain receding just enough for her to register the muffled sounds of movement around her. Her body ached with every breath, every movement sending ripples of discomfort through her battered frame. She blinked slowly, her eyes adjusting to the dim light filtering through the smoke-choked air of the swamp.
The first thing she noticed was the silence. Gone were the cries of battle, the clash of weapons, the screams of desperation. The battlefield was eerily still, save for the rustling of those who were left to clean up the aftermath. She could hear the soft splashes of footsteps moving through the wet mud, the occasional clinking of armor, and the distant murmur of voices—fragments of the chaos that had just consumed the land.
Kaede groaned again, her chest tightening as she tried to push herself upright. The world tilted for a moment, her head spinning as she fought against the dizziness. She could feel the phantom bruises and gashes beneath her skin, a reminder of the price she had paid to stop the madness.
"Kaede, you're awake?" Kirara's voice, soft and filled with concern, cut through the haze. The girl's presence was a small comfort, but it did little to ease the strange heaviness that weighed on Kaede's chest.
She forced her gaze upward, finding Kirara kneeling beside her, a look of deep exhaustion on her face. The cold sheen in her eyes was gone, replaced by a weariness Kaede could relate to all too well.
"Yeah, I'm awake..." Kaede's voice was hoarse, her throat raw from the force of her earlier shout. She ran a shaky hand through her matted hair, the blood still sticking to her skin. "What... happened?"
Kirara sighed, her fingers hovering just above Kaede's body, as if unsure whether to help her up or not. "The bandits, they're all tied up and ready to be moved. As for the adventurers—you... you saved them all."
Kaede's gaze swept across the clearing. The swamp was littered with bodies, but there was no longer any fighting. The adventurers had regained their senses, some standing awkwardly in the muck, others tending to the wounded. The soldiers were working in groups, binding the remaining bandits and clearing the area. But it was the silence that unsettled her most—there was no victory cheer, no sense of relief. Just a hollow, empty stillness that seemed to hang over everything.
"Is it over?" Kaede asked, her voice quiet, almost unsure.
"Yeah..." Kirara's voice faltered, and she bit her lip, her gaze shifting to the far side of the battlefield where the remaining soldiers were gathering up the injured and the dead. "It's over."
"But it's not the way I wanted," Kaede cut her off, the weight of the decision sinking in. "I just thought... Damnit, I'm in over my head here."
"I know," Kirara whispered, her eyes dropping to the ground. "I didn't mean to…"
Kaede shifted slightly, pushing herself into a sitting position, though her muscles screamed in protest. She winced as a wave of dizziness threatened to overtake her, but she managed to steady herself. She had to see this through.
"I'll be fine," Kaede said, though it was more a reassurance to herself than Kirara. "Just give me a few minutes."
"Alright." Kirara's gaze softened, but she didn't push further, allowing Kaede the space she needed to regain herself.
Kaede looked out across the battlefield, her eyes scanning the fallen adventurers, the soldiers working tirelessly to restore some semblance of order to the chaos. The weight of what had just happened, of the things she had done, or in this case, not done, pressed down on her chest like a heavy stone. There had been no glory in this victory, no clean ending.
She just hoped that when the time came, the choices they'd made would be enough to set things right.