I was in the middle of everyone once again, but this time everything was different, and it was noticeable not only in our looks, but also in our physiques, which had grown noticeably and had generated even more confidence in the ranks.
"Guys, I hope you've had enough rest these past few months!" I shouted, and my audience's reaction was one of utter confusion.
Screaming at the top of my lungs, I raised my fist in the air
—This is just beginning, the real fight begins now! You, at this moment, are worthy of being called soldiers! Remember why we began this journey, remember those who fell! Light the fires of war! —He expressed a Machiavellian face, with a wide smile and wide eyes— Let us build the legend of those who murdered God!
The crowd erupted with shouts and cheers, everyone ran, got ready, and said goodbye to those who were staying behind to farm.
He had chosen this specific day after Mason said the enemy was preparing to enter the forest.
Silently, we took up positions to ambush the enemy. Each soldier had a number, and we ordered the enemy by number from left to right. This was so that during the first attack, there was one soldier firing on each target, not several at a single target.
The caravan didn't take long to appear, making its way through the forest. There were three thousand men; each of us had to eliminate, on average, ten soldiers. The caravan had no vehicles; they marched like medieval crusaders.
They had weapons similar to the M16, we had AKs, the enemy was confident, you could see it on their faces, they probably thought the camp was already in ruins and this was simply an extermination mission.
Ashley would fire the first shot on my signal. Ella Rango and I had Dragunov sniper rifles. We were hiding in the branches of a tree.
When the enemy was completely surrounded, I gave the signal and the drums of the guns sang in unison starting the battle, they were rapid and single shots, the enemies simply fell dead to the ground.
I took charge of putting a shot between the eyes of the battalion leader. Some soldiers threw themselves to the ground, others returned futile fire, unable to see. In less than two minutes, we had reduced the entire battalion, one bullet per target.
They didn't even have time to notice they'd been attacked. We emerged from our hiding places with arrogant smiles on our faces.
—Let's launch the assault on the trenches.
Mason's group and I crept across the scorched wasteland as the sun set, toward the trenches, which, though filled with soldiers, weren't even paying attention; we were a small group, making hardly any noise.
As soon as we reached the edge of the trench, the machine gun fire from the boys in the woods alerted the soldiers. They peeked out and frantically went to their positions. We jumped into the trench; the soldiers who saw us had no time to react. Before we even touched the floor of the trench, they were already dead.
The noise of the machine guns was a cloak that hid our presence while we dismantled the trench from within, the soldiers were too busy firing blindly to really see the danger and many of them were even killed by sniper nests, deep in the forest.
The team had split into two: Mason Ashley and I on the right, Rango Doc and Grayson on the left. We ran down the trench, taking them out. They couldn't trigger the alarm. By the time they saw us, it was too late, and the trench, being single-line, had become a cage. They came out and died at the hands of the snipers; they stayed and died at our hands.
Some soldiers hid around the bend in the trench. Mason and I ran around the outside of the trench on opposite sides. When the enemy noticed us running toward them and trained their weapons on us, Ashley quickly slipped around the bend and, with a single bullet from his DVN (Dragunov) sniper rifle, killed the eight soldiers hiding in the bend. By the final stretch, they were completely at Ashley's mercy, as shot by shot he whittled away at their ranks with overwhelming speed.
The last soldiers didn't have time to abandon their weapons and beg for their lives. I made a gesture with my hands and the entire army came out of the forest, laughing grimly, while telling jokes and competing to see who had killed the most.
"I took about four hundred casualties," Ashley told us with a challenging smile.
—I'm exactly three hundred and ninety-six, I'm already good at counting —I replied.
"I'm wearing..." Mason saw a poor man crawling, his face torn from cheek to cheek, bleeding out. Mason walked over and crushed his chest with his foot, cracking his ribs.
—Three hundred and ninety-eight, Mason smiled at me.
I looked around for the same thing, I saw a man looking up at the sky, waiting for his death, he had a gunshot wound to his lung, I aimed my pistol and shot him in the head.
—Three hundred and ninety-nine —I returned the same smile.
I would have once been horrified by the carnage at my feet, but by this point in my story, I had become quite numb. After all, while soldiers don't always fight for their own beliefs, they do fight for the interests of others, whether by choice or not, they were given the strength to carry out these atrocities.
Although it may be out of fear, I have seen the enemy many times raise the white flag, even before fighting, simply because they had been drafted and did not want to fight.
I had long considered the problem of executing the enemy. After all, you don't know if they really wanted to fight, and although the answer is complex, I responded at the time: in war, you don't have time to wonder if you're being too cruel; on the battlefield, the enemy is the enemy. Although executing the enemy was indeed a war crime, I myself erred in not separating the soldier from what he represents, at least on the battlefield.
Ashley brought me out of my thoughts by kicking me in the leg. Coming back to myself, I realized the soldiers were waiting for orders.
—Come and rest, boys, you earned it!
We sat down to eat some cubes of food powder, which we had compacted with magic. They weren't tasty and weren't even easy to swallow, but we didn't have any more. Besides, it was the only way we had energy. The faces of the boys, even of the white-haired girl who had previously caught my attention, were downcast. I laughed.
—Were you expecting a feast? May I remind you that this war has only just begun, and this feeling of misery is the feeling of your lives. Never forget this feeling. And when the time comes, we will return the hatred we have accumulated!
Their gazes turned to hatred. That night, they couldn't make jokes or show off their combat performance because their throats were so dry after consuming those damned cubes.
A radio started playing.
"This is Alpha Assault Battalion. The rebel base at the volcano is still holding out. Have you received confirmation from Beta Battalion?" It was heard over the same wire.
"Mason, do you know what he's talking about?" I asked.
—There was a base on a volcano forty-eight kilometers away, there was a base there.
—There are still people left, change of plans, we will run to help them expel the enemy, we need all the strength we can get to take the first city.
I gave the signal, and we started running toward the volcano. Mason led the way; Ashley was struggling to keep up after an hour of running, but she didn't complain. I used my newly acquired magical powers. Azumi had moved to our side, since she doesn't know how to use firearms. She wasn't very useful, since if she killed her enemy with magic, they would revive, and that wasn't good.
By the time the volcano was visible, Azumi commented, "The fire god is there... I can feel him. I can feel his overwhelming power."
I nodded.
We arrived and quickly swept away the soldiers as we came from the rear, but there was one man who was unaffected by the bullets. At that moment, even I felt it. He was the god of fire. He was dressed in a red and gold suit, as if he were a king. His face was a picture of truth, as if he had stepped in dog droppings.
"Cockroaches are really hard to get rid of," the god said.
"The only cockroach is you," said a dark-skinned man wearing a green beret just like mine. The man was robust and somewhat overweight; he was wounded, but he was still standing to fight with his brave soldiers, who were fighting from the top of the volcano.
—You... You will be the first to die —The god pointed at that man.
"Are you sure?" I asked, launching my first attack alongside Azumi from behind.
—You must be the one who got in when my son was playing with the foxes in the forest.
Azumi lost control upon hearing those words and lunged at him. But the fire god, even without drawing a weapon, dodged the attack.
"What's wrong? Does the toy feel bad? That's something toys don't have the right to feel." He burst out laughing.
I snapped my fingers, spears appeared around me and this time it was me who tried to hit the god.
This time I forced him to draw his katana, but my spears melted, a blanket of fire covering the god. I had decided to use spears because they seemed more effective for that technique, but it wasn't enough.
—You are very arrogant to want to measure yourself against a god hahaha, let me show you the difference between you and me —He mocked me.
The fire god began to attack, I could barely see the attacks, which thanks to a developed instinct I could prevent and cover myself, but each clash of swords resonated to my bones, I tried not only to keep up with the pace of the fight but also tried to launch attacks and although from the outside it seemed like an even fight, it was not even close.
Azumi helped, we synchronized our attacks and almost managed to cut him.
—Hahaha, you guys make me laugh, but you're boring me now. —A burst of flame shot out from the fire god.
I tried to cover myself with a sand wall, and Azumi tried to dodge it, but it wasn't possible. My wall was destroyed, and we both took the full brunt of the attack. Azumi hit her head hard on a rock. We were both badly burned; she was knocked unconscious by the blow. I walked, wielding my weapon, toward God to attack him again.
"Why are you coming closer? Do you really think you can beat me?" He mocked me.
"If I don't come closer? How am I going to cut your fucking head off?" I gave him a Machiavellian smile.
My hands trembled from the pain of the burns. We lunged at each other and clashed swords, this time with much more force. Once again, I felt like I was slashing against a mountain during the attack. I felt my bones crack, causing pain, but I had already prepared for this moment. With my own magic, I moved my arms, even though it might have brought me to my knees from the power.
"Those who try to oppose the will of a god deserve more than death," said the fire god.
—Those who use others as toys are worse than scum... —I duplicated another katana, because mine was going to break.
We both launched attacks at an impressive speed, but every time we crossed blades, my entire body trembled in pain.
"We gods are perfect beings! You don't know what's right and wrong! I'm the one who draws that line! And I'll kill you right here!" the god spat at me.
—Oh yeah, and how are you going to do it?
I smiled as I attacked again with more spears, trying to find an opening; even the fire from his cloak burned me.
"We are those blessed with the power to rule the heavens," the fire god said as our blades clashed and our gazes met.
"If that's so, I am the one who will split the heavens and destroy them." He threw me backward with his strength and tried to cut me, taking advantage of his speed.
I used one of my spears to stop the attack, managing to make a very shallow cut in the god's skin; my katana had melted.
The victory didn't last long. He kicked me in the chin, and I fell backward. The fire god imbued his katana with a blanket of fire. I quickly got up and countered his attack, clashing katanas with incredible force. The sound of both blades echoed across the mountain. The fire burned me, but that wasn't enough to defeat me.
We both backed away from each other and lunged to deliver our killing blows, but it was no use; he was very skilled with the sword, and we always ended up in the same position.
I crouched, angling my body and adopting Azumi's stance, attacking like a beast from the bottom up, moving nimbly around her. If I couldn't beat her in strength, I would beat her in speed.
I used magic to jump harder and increase my speed while constantly snapping my fingers to create spears that surrounded the fire god. I attacked him once more, and our katanas clashed, echoing loudly even in the recesses of my heart. He smiled, and a burst of flame erupted out of nowhere, burning me and melting the spears that attacked him.
The fire burned my hands, they were completely black, I had lost all feeling in them, my arms were covered in blisters and my muscles were spasming...
I concentrated on hitting harder and harder with magic, but it wasn't enough.
"Do you see the big difference between you and me?" the Fire God asked with a cocky smile on his face.
"We're just... getting started..." I panted from exhaustion; I couldn't even stand up straight. The pain I could still feel was hounding me to stop.
"You're on the verge of death. You can probably feel it running down your spine already," he mocked me with a grin from ear to ear.
—Feel... Death?... I still feel pain... It means I'm still alive and as long as I am, you'll die. —I gave him a grim smile.
"I'm the only one who decides!" He sheathed his sword and punched the air in my direction, creating a fireball the size of my body.
I raised my sword and concentrated all my magic and strength, while I tried to draw strength from where I no longer had any left, I wanted to attract the air along with my sword, to separate the ball, I managed to do it but the ball exploded as soon as I cut it, burning everything that was next to me.
I let the cold breath out of my lungs and gritted my teeth.
"Just like I told that cowardly son of yours! If you're the one who decides, I'll be the one who kills them! I'm the godkiller!" My eyelids drooped as I spoke, so I sliced them open with my katana, giving the fire god my most sadistic smile as I lunged again.
We collided again and launched numerous attacks at each other.
"I'm getting tired of you!" said the fire god as we touched our katanas together so hard that sparks flew from our weapons.
"Relax, I won't be long in killing you." I focused my magic on my katana, and it began to glow. Even though I felt extremely tired, I gave him a smile.
"You can't even stand!" He gripped his katana even tighter, flames shooting out in all directions, my muscles trembling and failing, trying to give way.
"I don't even need to stand to finish you off." I dropped the katana, quickly created another, ducked, and then swung hard to the side, dodging the attack and slicing into his thigh.
He turned around facing me, filled with anger, his blood soaking my katana.
"Weren't you going to kill me?" By this point, I was using my body like a puppet, moving it with my magic, but even that was a difficult task at this point.
"Enough." The god, at a speed beyond my understanding, stood in front of me and spat at me with a blast of flame.
I tried to dodge but missed. It hit me full on. Fire spread throughout my body, causing pain. Even the air entering my lungs was hot. I was finished. The burning gave way to cold, and darkness embraced me with its deadly kiss, but I still had work to do. While my body groaned and begged me to breathe and stay on the ground, my legs trembled, but I stood up once more, raising what remained of my katana.
I was staggering, I couldn't feel anything and my vision was completely gone.
"Do you see the difference between you and me? I'll finish this whenever I want." The smile returned to his face.
"So... why... am I... still... alive?" I hit my chest where the medallion was, breaking it with my own hand.
The glass pierced my skin, but by this point I couldn't even feel it. That indicated my body had suffered more than fatal damage. I had no right to give up, no right to rest. These boys gave me their unconditional trust; my brothers gave their lives for me, she did.
I'm not living my life, and now I'm trying to save an entire empire because they pitied me. Putting the second chance I was given at risk again, I simply don't have the right to die. That's why, even though my body no longer responds and breathing is impossible, I have to keep going. Simply falling wasn't an option, it never was. I smiled back.
"This ends when I kill you... Don't you understand? I'm going to kill you!" I tore at my own voice.
I lunged at him again with the strength I no longer had. My muscles weren't responding and only by using magic could I move my legs, at this point I couldn't even keep my balance, I felt extremely tired, the air was no longer reaching my lungs well, I tried hard to use my magic with more force, but no more came out, this couldn't be the end, I refused to let this be the end for me, I pushed my body far beyond its limits, searching for strength, my chest began to hurt a lot, forcing me to concentrate so as not to lose what remained of my magic and for a moment I felt something strange coming out of my chest, but that didn't stop me, I lunged at the fire god, as long as I was conscious I was still going to fight.
From Ashley's eyes
His condition was horrible; his skin was burned, but he was still standing. Suddenly, a light covered him. Gusts of wind hit us all. I looked around, and everyone except Mason and me was struggling to breathe.
A giant dragon appeared above Sean, a cursed dragon with red scales, shiny like metal; it was so heavy that it cracked the ground beneath his feet.
The dragon roared loudly, preparing to attack alongside Sean, even the flames on its snout could be seen.
The fire god looked into the dragon's eyes in horror, dodging the dragon's and Sean's attacks; the god was afraid.
"Who are you? Why are you here?" the frightened god asked.
"Run away before I finish you off, you damn worm." The dragon's voice echoed throughout the battlefield; the atmosphere felt extremely tense, and something about the dragon was making it difficult for everyone else to breathe properly. That wasn't enough to make them look away from what was happening.
"I am a god!" exclaimed the fire god, gathering what little confidence he had left.
"And what do you think I am?" After that question, the dragon roared at him so loudly that my eardrums rang.
The fire god, using a kind of fiery wings, began to fly. The dragon simply stared at him. I felt helpless watching him flee, but I was more worried about Sean's condition, who was still in the same attack stance; he had fallen unconscious on his feet.
The dragon began to glow and its form changed to that of a woman. When it stopped glowing, I could see her features. The woman had shoulder-length red hair, her eyes were indeed also red. She was slender and beautiful. She wore a robe that obscured her clothing and held a red-sheathed katana in her hand. I checked around again and everyone seemed to be breathing perfectly again. We didn't worry about this because we had to check on him.