Sean Dorvin
He had won. The soldiers practically collapsed as soon as they touched their quarters. That was a problem; so many had died that now there were enough rooms for everyone.
However, I myself was forced to rest alongside Jane and Ashley. Jane could have gone to her room, but she made an excuse and stayed in the room. I think the entire town slept for a full day.
When we got up and confirmed it, we had truly been beaten. We had lost 260,000 men. I made a grave with magic, and Jane and I cleaned up the enemy corpses; our men were laid out in the ground for their funeral service.
However, for the veterans, it was a victory worth celebrating; after all, they weren't the first friends to die in all these years. Thanks to fewer troops to feed, food was plentiful, and the starving soldiers were able to feast.
Frost had been wounded, but she was already celebrating with her men and Clank. They were having a great party, Lombardi laughing loudly and waving at us as we passed through the mess hall.
Mason had fallen asleep. Doc explained that, although his injuries were serious, this wasn't the first time he'd sustained them. Normally, he would sleep a lot, and after a few days, he would burn his open wounds shut so he could continue fighting. This was confirmed by the stupidly large number of wounds on Mason's body.
Ashley, on the other hand, was experiencing faster regeneration, thanks to her magic, and her wounds were beginning to heal. She could now walk and had enough strength to navigate.
We were going to see Azumi in the infirmary. She, who hadn't fought because she couldn't, had stayed behind to take care of the civilians and later helped out full-time in the infirmary.
As soon as we entered, I could see several Archadian soldiers asleep on the floor around a bed. It was Meridia, who had one eye bandaged and was in even worse condition than Mason. Azumi approached.
"She's still sleeping. She won't lose her eye, but she was badly injured. The Angels of Death found her. She fell off the wall. Lombardi confirmed it. Due to his failure on the wall, Lombardi struggled to hold the western side, resulting in heavy casualties for the House of Frost. Most of the wounded aren't seriously injured and left this morning. I think it's because they're so happy about winning, which led them to recover quickly. Overall, we're in a very good position. The problem is Meridia," Azumi explained.
"Did she fall off the wall? How is she alive?" Ashley asked.
"Look at his hands, specifically his fingers," Doc replied.
It was true that her fingers were completely broken and bloody, she must have clung to the wall as she fell.
"I saw her, but I saw her struggling with her fingers, like that, but I only saw her for a few seconds. I didn't know she had fallen off the wall," Rango replied.
"Frost herself didn't see her. Meridia was trapped with some duelist squads. She tried to do damage but seems to have ended up surrounded. It's a miracle she's alive," Azumi replied.
But at that moment Meridia opened her eyes, tried to get up but gave up.
"I'm not alive, thank goodness. One of the duelists threw himself on top of me to shield me from the bullets. They left me for dead; however, there wasn't much I could do." Meridia's gaze was lowered.
Jane was going to calm her down but I stopped her, she quickly understood why I did it by reading my thoughts.
—Meridia looks up. Yes, many soldiers died under your command, but you're alive to learn from your mistakes. It's now, if you keep fighting, that their deaths will be worth more than defense. I'll wait for you to assault the capital.
Meridia's eyes brightened again. She nodded, and Azumi and I left. For obvious reasons, Doc stayed in the infirmary.
Once we entered the office and sat down, everyone except Jane looked at me.
"What's next?" Grayson asked me with a smile.
I'll take this time to train a little while we gather our strength again, but in the next attack, we'll soon win these wars, boys.
After my words the boys began to cry with joy.
A week later, mercenary soldier Albert.
"It's sick, they killed millions of soldiers, murdered their leaders, and on top of that, they did it while singing," said my best friend Bill.
—If I'm honest, I don't want to be here, let alone using people as human shields… —I whispered to him.
The god of fire had forced us to hang the civilians by tying them to poles so that the enemy could not finish us off with their artillery.
Even for someone like me who has done my fair share of naughty things on Santa's list, doing this felt disgusting.
Suddenly, a huge sound began to resonate throughout the city, a sound we'd never heard before. We all took our positions. It was obvious it was them. But where were they coming from? The answer was simple: from the fucking sky.
Giant beasts soared through the skies, and thousands of soldiers poured out. What was going on? Whatever it was, I couldn't figure out.
Mason
My house was the vanguard of the attack, charged with the leap toward the wall, Ashley guided the main force that was to break into the city, but we had to weaken the wall's defenses and open its gates.
Like predators, we launched ourselves from the great steel beasts Sean had named airplanes. Equipped with parachutes Tech had made following Sean's instructions, we launched ourselves into the attack.
Our only support was sniper fire, which we lost once we entered the labyrinth within the walls. Unlike the rest of the empire's walls, the capital's wall was regularly excavated to allow for defense from within.
We had to get in quickly to prevent them from organizing inside the walls, which is why my team had been chosen.
Clank
Frost and I are on a mission to secure the city and cut off supplies to the wall. Mason and his entire household have also been parachuted into this madness.
Their mission was different from ours; theirs was to directly damage the immense wall of the capital.
Once we landed, we encountered resistance and had to quickly take over buildings to entrench ourselves, but it wasn't anything like Archadia; in fact, it felt extremely easy.
It wasn't long before we had taken the wall and the main army was using tanks to make a single march. Little by little, we rescued people.
That was the only thing holding us back. We were afraid of making a mistake and killing innocent people, but perfect shots were falling from the wall, helping us. Even without the artillery, this was actually going very smoothly. Even taking the main square was easy. I could see Sean and Jane climbing the stairs toward the fire god's palace.
But my mission was different. We had to take the last enemy military base, an underground base whose only entrance was located in this very square.
Frost
We were on the verge of winning, he spat out orders as we made our way through the plaza. We'd destroyed them, we were going to win the fight. They're entrenched at the gate, so we approach to blast it down with magic.
A fatal mistake, the doors opened and soldiers with armor and heavy machine guns poured out, my entire platoon was killed in a matter of seconds.
Bullets were flying in and out of my body. I crawled for cover as best I could. It hurt, and I couldn't breathe, my vision was blurring... Am I going to die?
I could see, out of the corner of my eye, the man I loved, the person I wanted to share my dream with, filled with rage with two pistols in his hand, efficiently finishing off each of the armored soldiers as if he had no fear of death, perfect shots into the soldiers' gaps.
I stopped seeing but I felt Clank's hands around my body, I could never forget his smell, his warmth.
I couldn't hear him, but I know he could hear me. Was it raining? No, it was my own tears.
—I'm sorry... Please forgive me for not being able to live with you... For not being able to fulfill our dream of living together. I know you fought hard for me, I know it. I love you. I will treasure every moment we had.
I was struggling to breathe even more… It's not fair, we were going to win… I was sure of it, I had fought from start to finish… So why can't I enjoy my victory?
—It's not fair… It's not fair… It's not fair…
I could feel the warmth of Clank's breath, but I couldn't hear it; I could no longer even hear the voice of the man I love.
Sean Dorvin.
I felt the magic of the fire god more powerful than ever as I entered the palace with Jane, a horrifying palace with a golden and glamorous appearance, but made of death.
Once I met him, he stood up from his twisted throne, a large glass window behind him. He walked slowly toward me. I'd never felt such power from him before, and he had a twisted look in his eyes.
"You're not the same man I once knew. No, you've become someone even worse." I spat at him; immediately afterward, he lunged at me.
Jane and I fused together, stopping him in his tracks, our blades striking with such force that the crash could be heard even outside the palace.
Our magic collided with each other like two opposing hurricanes of wind colliding.
—And you're no longer the little fool who threatens the gods, you've become one yourself!
He started laughing, giving me an expression worthy of a psychopath.
"Do you understand? Don't you? If you want anything in this world, you must be a god!" the fire lord exclaimed loudly.
We had a brief exchange of blows, in which we both ended up pushing each other away.
—Power certainly gives you freedom, but that doesn't make you a god.
We rushed at him with impressive force, our energy turned purple, his flames were blue, they were much more dangerous, but our bodies were so reinforced that the heat alone would not be enough to hurt us, it had to be an attack.
However, the god of fire displayed his full repertoire of attacks, destroying his own palace in the process. He dodged and counterattacked little by little, causing damage, but the palace, consumed by flames, began to fall piece by piece. We had to continue fighting while dodging the heavy fragments of the palace, traversing the entire throne room at astonishing speed, even fighting on falling pieces.
During one of our exchanges, I punched him and threw him against the stained-glass window, which shattered. I jumped out of the palace and made my way to the gardens, where I continued the encounter.
"My mother had a perfectly curable illness; however, we had neither money nor power. The only person I ever loved died, all because I couldn't achieve enough power." His eyes were filled with anger. "No matter what you say, you don't know the true nature of this world. If you don't have power, no one will help you!"
"Is that why you decided to eat your own dragon?" I asked angrily.
—She betrayed me just like her unworthy son, didn't she? Then why are you here?
Anger took over my body.
—A man who builds his own greed with blood, aren't you even capable of understanding a father's love?
My spears went straight for his body, but the flames were so strong they melted them before reaching him. My energy attacks slowly chipped away at his sword, so much so that it was about to break.
However, because of the blue flames, we had to be careful as we charged at the fire god, but I managed to wound his hand perfectly. I had used so much magic in the attack that I left traces on his body after the impact; his magic began to falter, and the blow couldn't be dealt.
Yet he had the will to die fighting. He answered me with everything he had, our blades clashing and screaming throughout the capital. Our attacks grew faster and faster, as he and I forced ourselves to continue and reach even further in power to finish each other off. It was a no-holds-barred clash where neither he nor I retreated an inch; he no longer had the strength to hurt me.
We have to kill him. After everything he's done, we have to put an end to him, to undo the damage he's caused for decades, damage he even committed against his family. Someone like that can't live.
"You don't deserve to live!" I yelled at him.
He just limited himself to smiling.
"That's the way to talk, you're already a god!" he replied.
We mustered an attack with all our might, a slash so powerful, its energy so strong that it eventually pierced through the fire god's katana, cutting it in half, but it didn't end there, the slash split the palace completely, tearing down what little remained.
His body was covered in flames again, and he gave me a look worthy of a beast before lunging at me with his bare hands. Pillars of fire erupted from the ground, and he focused everything he had left on that attack. The red blade of my katana glowed purple. We were faster than I was. I stabbed into his chest. But still, Hermes clung to life.
—Mom? Is that you? I'll be home soon, Mom... Hold on a little longer. —That beast, whom she no longer considered human, showed a last glimpse of humanity she still possessed—it was probably the only one she had.
I didn't let him finish. We cut off his head. I cleaned our katana and unsheathed it, and right there we lost hope. I saw all the guys coming at the perfect moment.
Ashley, Mason, Grayson, Doc, Tech, Rango, Azumi, Meridia, and someone I didn't know, but Jane did. Tick Tock, oh wait, that was the name Jane called Kain when she was little.
Jane made a face when she saw Kain, but Mason came up to us and knelt down.
"Thank you... Thanks to you, I was able to avenge my sister. I appreciate it so much. From now on, my life belongs to you." Mason struggled to say those words, choking on his own tears.
I picked him up by force and hugged him, giving him a little punch in the chest.
"We'll do our best to ensure that what happened to you never happens to anyone in this empire again. Come on, friend!" I encouraged him.
"You avenged me too," Azumi smiled as she approached. "I know I can't be with you. You already have Ashley, but I still want to do it just once. Allow me this selfish wish." The cat girl stole a kiss from me.
I could see Ashley nod and laugh to herself.
—Well… I don't want a kiss or to give you my life, okay? —Grayson mocked.
We all burst out laughing.
—Gentlemen… Even if the reason you're here is dead, I've come… Sean, Ashley, I'm ready to send you back. —Kain said.
"Actually, we'll go, but I'll be back quickly. Is that possible?" I asked.
I had already talked about this with Ashley, we were going to abuse my god power and take all those who were loyal to me.
"I'd have to come through to you, but I can do you a favor, yes," Kain replied.
Jane approached him slowly, began to cry, and hugged him.
—I don't hate you, I can't, man.
Kain also cried and separated from his own fusion; strangely, he didn't change at all in appearance. I saw Jane's aunt hug her as well, a beautiful and familiar moment.
—Oh, Sean, you must have questions. I'll answer the most obvious ones first. You're a god, because during the war, a certain god fled to your dimension, so you're not actually from that dimension. However, because of the crossbreeding, your biology is more similar to theirs than to ours. Still, you retained the god gene. That's the entire reason. Your accomplishments are still yours. In fact, it was really for them that I made the decision to bring Ashley here, if she's entirely from that dimension.
He answered me and opened the portal, it was the same thing I had seen when I was pulled into this world… or rather, this dimension.
—You're right, we must move quickly to rebuild quickly.
I took Ashley's hand, and just as I was about to leave, she pulled me in and hugged me. Our lips met, and I savored the moment.
I heard a gunshot, I didn't think much of it, but suddenly I felt Ashley's weight, her green hair stained with blood, her empty eyes... What?
I forced Jane to merge, snapped my fingers, and thousands of spears appeared. I hunted down the one who killed her in a matter of seconds, but Rango had beaten me to it. He shot a child, a mercenary child, in the head.
I knelt before Ashley's body. I had to be able to do something. I looked at Kain, but he shook his head. I looked up, lost in thought, my face burning and struggling to breathe. The fusion dissolved. At that moment, I saw Clank holding Frost.
"You're a god, aren't you?! You must be able to do something!" Clank shouted as he left Frost's lifeless body on the ground.
I tried, I injected magic, I tried to heal wounds, I tried to revive them with electric attacks. When did I learn to use electricity? With each shock, everyone looked at me with pity. Why are you staring like that? Why aren't you doing anything?
"Why aren't you doing anything?" My body kept shaking.
Jane hugs me. "She's dead and you know it," I finally broke down. I cried my lungs out. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't get any air into my lungs. I'd lost him again! The people I love had died again! What happened? Hadn't we won? How did that one get in? Damn kid!