Author's Note: The first day chapter 3 was out my previous visitor and view records for my story for broken, and I also hit 100 visitors in a day for the first time, so thank you all very much for that! If this chapter is shorter than the last few (within the 3500 word minimum) I apologize, I wanted to get out a little more before a big spout of tests and assignments come my way. I'm also apologizing in advance if April is particularly dead, that's final's month. Also, recent comments brought to light that the intimacy between two characters had little foundation, and looking back it did seem a little rushed. I guess I'm letting my desire to get as much of this story out as possible before exams get the better of the quality I'm putting into it. After this one, chapters are going to take a little longer to come out. I want to take the time to develop believable characters and relationships. I have also noticed grammatical errors in my past chapters. I'm going to make more time for editing, and not post chapters at 1-3 in the morning. So I'm going to try and come at the story with a little more effort in this chapter, and see how well things go from there.
I took a knee on the main floor and pulled the boxes of ammunition out of my sling bag. It was starting to get serious for me, and I had no intention of getting caught with my pants around my ankles. Fiddling with the boxes, I began by pulling the magazine out of the rifle and replacing the missing two rounds. I followed by filling the empty magazine from before, digging twelve rounds into my reserves in total. I learned from Pyotr to tap the rear of the magazine against my palm to ensure the rounds were seated properly. With the shotgun full, I placed shells back into the elastic loops, the ten round deficit not seeming too terrible with sixty-five more to go.
I got a feeling in the back of my throat, the nauseated feeling when your poor decisions start to catch up to you. I've just been in a purely action orientated state of mind, but at the end of the day could I really justify every round that has left my weapons, or was I no better than a murderer trying to amass the highest body count? I found my eyes staring at the wall across from me, my unblinking vision becoming blurry. I shook my head and took a breath in, slowly releasing the built up air. It wasn't the time to reflect on the moral ambiguity of my actions, and I told myself that as long as nobody innocent got hurt by my weapons, I could come away from today feeling, at the very least, neutral about my actions.
I stuffed the boxes back in my bag and made my way out of the building and into the town square where I got a closer look at my handiwork. One could have argued that movies and video games would have prepared me for the visual and auditory elements, but the smell of rape, torture, and blood was vile, and I covered my nose with the front collar of my jacket. The only animate being still present in the area was the ogre who had continued to cover his wound while writhing in pain. I examined the trigger guard of the rifle and saw that the safety was off. Approaching the beast I put the stock against my shoulder and just pointed the rifle in the direction of his head. This thing wanted to cry out in pain after having taken pleasure in causing others harm. I decided there that him and everything of the like didn't deserve to live.
"Go fuck yourself, you sick bast-" His deep primitive growl of a voice was cut short with a bang. The round having less trouble with penetration at point blank range. I gave him a quick death in his suffering, which was the least I could do.
I turned around to see three girls approaching me. The blonde, the girl with long brown hair, and lastly Kaguya. The brown haired girl's green eyes shifted from the dead ogre to mine, her hands pushing forward with something in each. In her left was my marker from before, something I put in my pocket immediately. I didn't want to have to explain to Pyotr that I lost something in the middle of another universe, that would have had me institutionalized for certain. She also held out a bronze medallion with a green gem in the middle in her right hand, something I examined before I decided to reach for it.
It was simple looking, but I wasn't one to ask for incredibly refined or precious items. In fact, I tended to stay away from such things most of the time, my generally accident prone nature being the main reason.
"That's what I was telling you about before, the amulet that will let you communicate with everyone else around you. You don't need to put it on, just keep it on your person." Kaguya explained, pointing to the metal.
I picked it out of the girl's hand and wrapped the bronze chain around the medallion, slipping it into my right pocket.
"So what are you going to do now?" The blonde one asks, her blue eyes giving me a determined stare.
"Well, I know the amulet works now… I saw an old friend of Kaguya's and mine a little ways away from this building. He just sent a bunch of soldiers after me, so I'm assuming I'm going to have to deal with them on the way to repay him for the cut in my side." I explained while looking at where I could exit the centre of town.
"Azzov the Hound-Wielder, he's the lord of the Thorn Kingdom and a very skilled canine summoner." The brown haired girl chimed in. She pointed to a large, sand coloured narrow tower to the rear of the building we had just left. "That's his office."
I nodded to her while keeping my gaze on the building. "Then that's where I'm off to."
I spared no time in running off, taking a road that led to the left and then made an immediate right past the shrine maiden's building.
"I wish you good luck." the girl called to me.
"That boy…" Hitomi started her sentence, her short blonde hair swaying a little. "... do you think he-"
"We'll have to wait and see." Kaguya interrupted.
"Hmmm." Aya nodded along, a stern look in her expression as she watched the newcomer run off towards the tower. "Do you trust him?"
"Not entirely. Although, given the previous night's events he may believe differently." Her solemn eyes took to surveying the ground with a mix of conflicting feelings there were no good words to explain. "Importantly, I believe he trusts us right now. Remember, it is important we do not close our minds to change, and that time will reveal what we wish to know about our potential ally." The Head Priestess lifted her head. "Come." She placed her arms around the two. "Let's go back inside. The others will have some questions for us, and will want answers."
The two nodded in affirmation and the three walked back inside of the shrine maidens' sleeping quarters.
"Over there!" one of the soldiers yelled. His armor clinged and clanked as his feet carried him towards me.
He was in a thick, shiny metallic armor, polished and kept in immaculate condition. On the outer edges of his helmet and armor, as well as over the nose cover were decorative gold bands. I stopped in the middle of the road and pulled my rifle up. I took a quick shot that only grazed the soldier's shoulder, doing little to stop his advance. As he began to get dangerously close I sprinted towards an alleyway after seeing more coming from around the corner. I moved in and out of turns and straight paths, hoping to put a little distance between my enemies and myself. I was followed quite closely being, my pursuer being quite agile in the narrow alleys despite the armor. I only saw one at that moment, but I decided to engage in the fatal funnel. The rifle beat into my shoulder as two rounds went off, putting the large man to the ground without another sound out of him.
"They most definitely heard that, so I'll need to relocate." I looked to my rear and saw the street again.
As I continued out of the alleyway, I heard footsteps through my hearing protection, but it was too late to recognize their origin. A blunt force rocketed towards my face, sending me sliding back in the dirt. I couldn't see the man's entire face, but his shit-eating grin was enough.
"Got you, you little shit." His deep voice spoke triumphantly.
I held my nose, glad to find it wasn't bleeding. I saw that my rifle had slipped out of my hands and was now halfway in the middle of the street. He started to approach me slowly as I rolled onto my back.
"What's the problem? You frightened?" His smile looked at me the same way I would imagine a cat's looked to a mouse.
Of course I was, but my sense of fear was so dissolved in a random cocktail of emotions that I was conflicted on whether I was just good at hiding it, or I was so submerged in what I was doing and what was happening that I just didn't know how to show it. I couldn't let my enemy know that, so I spat out the first thing that came to mind.
"No, I'm just not used to my target practice fighting back." I retorted.
Boy, did that wipe the smirk of his face. He began to lift up his sword and shout loudly, bringing the weapon rocketing down towards me. I stared, terrified of the death that came hurtling my way.
"Hyyyaa!" A female voice rang out as a clash of metal echoed out in front of me.
"Go!" The voice shouted back to me.
It was one of the female soldiers from before, her dark purple drill hair bouncing as she held off the man's sword with her own. I scrambled towards my gun lying in the street, practically diving to pick it up. The man forced his foot against the girl's stomach and sent her to the ground, now coming towards me. I hastily picked up the gun as he began shouting once more with a raised sword. I had to rely on my point shooting technique, but it was enough at that distance. I sent a round through his knee, forcing him to fall to a crouch. As his enraged gaze lifted to meet mine, I saw I speedy swipe of metal, the girl now at his backside and pure fire in her stare. It took a moment, but blood began to pour out of his neck as he fell over, the last of the air in his lungs escaping from his throat. The girl's brown eyes looked me over, her head giving me a nod as she ran off.
This time around I was able to hear the running from farther away. I picked myself off the ground and began doing the same, seeing I was getting closer to the tower. I slipped into another alley on my left to throw my pursuers off, finding a straight path that led me towards the tower. As I approached I saw no entrances. The narrow tower was surrounded by wooden buildings with triangular dome roofs, but I saw no way of getting up to the very top.
"How the hell does he get up there, are people teleporting now or some shit?" I complained towards the buildings in front of me, something catching my eye on the other side. I ran around the right side of the infrastructure and found myself at the back. The shorter buildings split down the middle, and I got a better view of a set of wooden stairs that extended from the ground to a simple oak door near the top of the tower.
"There you are, you simple minded bastard." I spoke to myself, having successfully solved my problem.
I started to climb the wooden stairs, coming up to a similar coloured patio with rails at the very top. I could hear clear voices inside, one stern, but not overly loud, the other frantic and livid.
"What do you mean he's not coming back! That good for nothing scout was hired to protect me!" The voice of the Azzov was obviously shouting at the other person in the room.
"Hicks said Vault called him back to the Black Citadel, he had no say in the matter. Besides, his job here was to make sure you fulfilled your contract to Vault." The other male voice became impatient with the old man.
"How can I perform my craft, my ART! With that, that murderer on the loose, fucking everything up!?" Something in the room was knocked over, it sounded like a stack of papers.
"Don't direct your anger at me, I am but a messenger!" The man responded defensively.
I placed my hand on the rope handle, and started to slowly open the door, which didn't creak, to my surprise and relief. Both of them were looking the opposite way. Azzov out the empty cut in the wall, which acted as a watchtower window looking over most of the town, and the messenger at him. The old man huffed, staring out to the town below.
"I was supposed to be in the capital with that bitch by now, my capital. She is a subject of the Sex Kingdom, and as such she belongs to the highest bidder. Now that bastard is running around my own section of this country, and I have no damn clue where he is!" His hands slammed against the sill of the empty space.
Was it this "Sex Kingdom" that was the cause of the scene earlier on? More importantly, were things like that happening all over the country? There was no time for introducing myself, I had quite a bit of questions I wanted to ask, and I planned on using my guns as leverage to achieve that goal. I held my weapon close to my chest, ready to bring it up at a moments notice. I saw his hand move to his side and studied what it was against his hip. Something metallic glinted in the light of the sun. I wasn't about to take another chance with this man's blades. As I zipped over to the outside wall the same metallic object from before whizzed by my head and out the door of the tower. I leaned back in and only saw the messenger, who's full attention I had at the moment. A loud thud could be heard from the other side of the tower, and I didn't need to look to know he had made the jump. I also wanted answers, so a quick shot to the back was out of the question.
I knew running around all the way would prove useless in catching him, but the other buildings' rooftops caught my eye. I ran down a couple of the stairs and hopped onto a rooftop to my right. As I landed the angle caught my feet and sent me in the same direction as the incline. My shoulder slammed against the roof and my landing on the ground was no better. I braced for the impact with my hands in front of me and got a wave of pain right up my wrists and arms.
"Ahhh, God… Just like the movies, eh?" I shook my head and looked at my hands.
I didn't have the time to dwell too much on how much the fall hurt, I grabbed at the ground and took ahold of my .308 Vepr, heading forwards into the street. Sprinting around the corner to see the familiar cloak wishing around the next block. I ran after it, but the decrepit figure that hid under his navy blue cloak was more swift than I would have thought.
Opting for the alleyways, I thought I could cut him off in the next street. Unfortunately, the alleys zigzagged back and forth like the last ones, with no clear way to pursue the old man. The sounds of metal clashing in the streets told me there were fights going on, and they were getting more intense the closer I got back to the town square. Wherever that was exactly.
After a bit of getting frustratingly lost within the alleys I made my way back onto the main roads. I had to orient myself with the distance and angle I was from the tower once more, and began running and taking turns to make it back. The sounds of fighting slowly started to come into view, and I was relieved I wasn't wandering the town lost anymore. I came upon the square once more and watched from a distance.
Despite their smaller heights and thinner sizes, the former royal guard were evenly matched with their appropriately armored behemoths of opponents. Once again there was a scene to behold in the centre of town, but this time the shoe was on the other foot. The girls read their opponents well, that coupled with their quick movements and vicious, precise blows, let them make quick work of their enemies. Three of the female knights of varying heights had cornered Azzov. The tallest one out of the three I had seen just a few moments ago, her violet drill hair letting her standout amongst the other two, who had raven black hair to her mid-back and and short auburn hair in respective descending size.
"You dare disobey my orders!? Whores, all of you!" Azzov shouted with desperation in his voice. "Fine! Have it your way!"
Red aura flung from finger to bony finger as he lifted his hand over his head. The magic started to collect in his palm, a lead string of aura moving around and around a growing red ball.
"Yah!" He tossed the magic at the girls, who dodged it without breaking a sweat.
The girls looked behind them to the failed attack, then back to the old man. They then looked at each other, collectively spitting out a giggle as their tormentor pathetically failed to defend himself. I let out a little as well, hiding my involuntary smile in the collar of my coat before regaining myself. My attention was on the red splash that stained the dirt ground. The old man's aura started to move, creating a circle on the ground. The girls were too distracted to notice, approaching Azzov with their swords drawn.
Creatures started to manifest from the circle, ones that resembled feral wolves. They had sections of regular grey coats over their bodies that were interrupted by glowing patterns of an orange display of light that resembled fire. The last to emerge was similar, but this one was noticeably bigger and his flames took on a light blue.
One of the smaller orange wolves barked at the girls, but by the time the shortest one turned around to address the socurce, the dogs had pounced, sinking their teeth into the royal guards' arms, legs, bodies, or whatever they could get ahold of. The three weren't the only ones to suffer that fate as there were enough spawned to overwhelm the rest.
On their backs or all fours, the dogs began to mount the girls and strip them of their armor. Those that tried to push the wolves away or fight back had sharp teeth snapped near their throats, a threat they would be constantly reminded of as a persistent growling was held near their heads. Blood trickled from the bite wounds, and the hounds were no gentler in removing what little clothing the girls had, leaving seeping scratches on the girls.
I kept my watch from around the corner, but my comfort in concealment soon ended as he spoke to his hound in a voice that was too soft for me to hear, but the next thing I knew, the blue wolf was headed right for me. I didn't get much time to react, and before I could think of anything a tearing pressure caught onto my left arm and started to drag me from behind the building and into the centre of the town square. I dropped my rifle, unable to hold on.
"Fantastic work, Sema!" The crazy old bastard cheered his beast.
I kept myself held up by my arms when the creature finally let go, and I got a better eyeful of the man's horrid face than I was able to before. My initial reaction was to fight the hound and push it away, but I was met with the same threat as the girls, flinching as its teeth snapped neared my throat. Azzov started to pace back and forth on the spot when the fighting had finally died down, and his dogs had everyone pinned. The amulet from before fell out of my pocket, something hie eyes studied for a good moment. He cleared his nasty throat and spoke. I took the amulet and sloppily shoved it back into my pocket.
"A foreigner? This changes quite a lot!" He stated, thinking with his hand on his face. "I have a little explaining to do then. Let me tell you about a vision..." Even his regular voice was crooked and displeasing. "...One that I assume is not uncommon between the two of us. You are a man after all, yes?" His tone was now caught up in his own triumph.
"Imagine, for a moment if you will, a world where every girl you've had your eye on, every girl you've wanted, every girl that ever told you no even, would get on their knees at your command. You would be able to have any girl of your choosing, because their only purpose is serve your desire. You could make any girl your bitch, for the right amount of course, you could make them do anything you wanted, and they'd do it with a smile on their face. That is the dream that I do my daily part to fulfill" It was apparent that he was caught up in his own power fantasy, a nauseating smile across his face.
"I'll admit, my initial reaction to your presence was rash. I feel I've created an unnecessary feeling of hostility to someone who could be an essential ally to this vision. For that, I will take this moment to apologize and start over. Now, I ask you to join us, and believe me, you will not start out small. I offer you the prestigious position as my personal guard as I watch over the Thorn section of this sex kingdom. What do you say?"
I remained in the same position on the ground as before, my hands lifting my upper body while my blood gently rolled from my left arm and into the dirt. I looked to my left and to my right, seeing different faces of pain, defiance, and hopelessness, some eyes on me, some on their attackers.
"Anything I want with a smile, you say? I'm looking around, but I don't see anyone smiling." I had noticed multiple dark pink fleshy extensions coming from the hounds' lower hips, staying idle by the girls' lower halves.
"They just need to be put in their place. Broken in, if you will…. Now, please, enjoy the show." He clapped his hands and the hounds began to shift their hips forwards. "My faithful companions, I implore you to teach these slaves how we treat rebels." To the terrified expressions of the girls, the phallic extensions began to move forwards, working their way in and out, violating the girls under order.
I held myself up and watched as some of the girls were filled with fury and ire, and the not so lucky ones lost the colour in their faces, either on the edge of nausea or the verge of tears. The hounds growled and kept their exposed teeth near their necks, giving them the ultimatum of being raped, or dying violently. One in particular clenched her fists and teeth, her tears rolling to the ground beneath her while the snarling hound leaked its saliva onto her hair. Another one couldn't hold on anymore, her hands and body trembling as her stomach pushed up her last meal, the hound snapping at her as she moved slightly out of position. Another one of the girls tried to push the dog away, the wolf making an angry high pitched noise as it buried its teeth into her shoulder. Her screams of pain were cut off here and there with the gasps of air that accompanied her tears. The hound clamped down and whipped its head back and forth, letting go only when the girl stopped resisting. Her upper body lay on the ground, her eyes shut tightly. I didn't want to watch any more, but my own assigned guard dog snapped again as I tried to look down and close my eyes. These girls were being made examples of, and I was forced to watch.
My only solution was patience, and I hated it. I hated that I couldn't just walk over to the old man and put a bullet in him, I hated that I couldn't just reach down the throat of the hound at my side and grab onto something, anything before pulling back, and I hated that I had to wait for all of this to be over, maybe even longer. I stood up on my knees and lifted my head, an action that pleased the old man.
"Good, good! Now you're getting it! Take it in and think of the glorious life you could live under the Sex Kingdom! Anyone of these girls could be your slave, and since I'm Vault's head of the Thorn region you may have first pick. Once my hounds have indulged their fill, of course" His expression spoke of pleasure, and his tone of voice was there to match it.
Unkown Year
March 25, 8:42:12 AM
Town on outskirts of Thorn Kingdom, Eostia
The scouting party had arrived into the town where an incident took place the previous day. The squad of ten men had followed the report put in by the Hound-Wielder.
"Alright, Vault wants us back in a week. So let's get this shit out of the way." Hicks instructed his men. "On our way back we might even find a home or two with women who have not yet heard of their new role in this kingdom." The proposition was met with laughter and enthusiasm.
"Hey Hicks." One of the men piped up from the back.
"Yeah, Kesdan?" Hicks responded to the back.
"I heard the attacker hit the shrine maiden's bathhouse, that true?" His voice was thrown over the heads of those in front of him.
"That's what the old jackass said." The leader of the scouting party pointed over to a wooden building "This is it here."
"It'd be a damn shame if he was telling' the truth, that place is one of my favourites. I'd like a chance to rough up the asshole that goes messin' with my favorite spots." He lightly mimicked swinging motions.
"If it's true, I'm more than sure you'll get your chance." Hicks assured the man.
Crouching down by the entrance, Hicks shuffles some shards of broken glass on the outside. Getting quiet, his former expressions of doubt begin to wear off, eyes scanning the around. He reaches into the empty area that used to have a window, pulling the short drapes back. Multiple holes peppered the fabric, some of them having minute burn marks around the edges. Peering his head further inside the sight of dried blood running from the stage and pooling around the bottom portion of the semicircle it formed was the most eye-catching. Making his way inside he sees the two bodies lying on the ground, the trail of blood leading back to them. One of the dead men was already on his back, and Hicks rolled the other one over to match.
"Did you know them?" A member of the party asked, standing over the corpses.
Hicks shook his head. "Can't say I did, but by the looks of them, they weren't physically weak. It seems like a projectile weapon of some sort was used….. Kesdan?" Hicks called out to his comrade.
"Yes sir?" Kesdan came inside the building, his eyes getting locked on the bodies.
"Would you do me a favour and list off all the projectile weapons you know about?" He asked, looking up to Kesdan.
"Bows and arrows, crossbows, and maybe some experimental stuff we see back at base every now and again, but all that shit ends up breaking anyways…. That's about it really. Does that help?"
"No, not really unfortunately…." Hicks trailed off, caught up in his own thoughts.
"Hey boss! Check this out." A soldier approached Hicks with small pieces of metal in his hands. "I ain't seen shit like this before, says three six six, then some other symbols I ain't seen before." He hands them to the scouting leader.
Hicks takes them and examines them. He puts the hollow side of the grey metal cylinder against the holes in the bodies beside him. "...Maybe…" Hicks mentally compared the sizes of the holes, something that was promising, but inconclusive. "Men, I want you to find as many of these as you can, this might get interesting." Hicks stands up, looking over the casings.
"Hey, over here. There's a trail of blood leading into the bathhouse." Kesdan waved his boss over.
Hicks approached the bloody wall and followed a trail of blood droplets into the bathhouse, this guided him from one end to the other, into the changing rooms and out into the alley where the backside of a building and the ground below had red stains as well. Hicks paused, looking back and forth along the alleyway.
"The bleeding stops here… " Hicks noted to himself. "Who did the old man say he was trying to buy again?"
"The head priestess, sir." Another member of the scouting party
"Kaguya, eh? He must've been healed here." Hicks started to make his way back, his squad following him. "It seems our killer is in possession of a very important piece of royal property. Vault will want to hear about this."
"We headin' back?" Kesdan asked.
"Yeah, for now let's just hope Azzov is a little more responsible with the other one already in his possession."
"Sema, come here boy!" He called to the hound, who left my side at Azzov's order.
The man started to pet his dog, his hands seemingly unaffected by the flames, which fell back and sprang up like normal fur under his touch. I felt a burst of adrenaline rush throughout my chest. It was the kind of feeling you got when you only had one chance, one moment to make the difference. I reached behind me and undid the QD swivel on the pistol grip of my MP-153. I was slow and methodical about it, as I knew any quick moves would have been caught in someone's peripheral vision. I held the sling with my other hand, slowly letting the gun's stock drop to the ground while the rest of its body leaned against me. I reached my right hand for the pistol grip and watched as Azzov took his hands off his wolf and pointed towards me.
"Now, go watch him till this is over." He patted the wolf's head.
The wolf came towards me, growling upon seeing my hand behind my back. Catching his attention, Azzov looked towards me. I looked to him, then his wolf who began to circle around my right side.
"Sema see's something he doesn't like. What do you think you're doing?" The old man asked, leaning his body over to try and catch a glimpse.
Without another word I forced myself backwards and pushed myself back along the dirt with my legs. The hound was already on top of me, but I had a solid grip on the shotgun. With my hand on the upper barrel, I forced it into the dog's snout. It reacted to the pain, but set it's enraged eyes on me once more. I shouted erratically as I pressed my finger against the trigger over and over again. When the gun finally clicked what was left of the hound's head and body fell off of me, the flame on its back having died out.
"You reprehensible cretin!" He shouted, turning behind himself and trying to take off.
I quickly picked myself up as Azzov tried to take off again. Seeing him run, I did the first thing that came to mind and threw my shotgun at him. It caught him off guard on the side of a building that was facing the inside of the town square. Azzov fell down, and quickly started to pick himself up. The feeling of needing to act came again, letting me ignore the sharp bite in my left arm. I sprinted over to him and grabbed onto his robes. I threw his head against the wall with all the force I could muster and tossed him to the ground. His eyes looked up to me. He had a look of anger on his face, one that screamed of rationalizations for his actions, one where I was still the bad guy in his story. I slammed my foot into his head. Then I did it again, and again, and again. My hands grabbed on to the edges of a flower box attached to the wall that was just outside of a window and just right of the front entrance. Azzov's other hounds kept the orders given to them; they were too loyal for their own good. I stomped over and over, every bit of resistance given by his skull pushing me even further until I ran out of energy, unsure if I felt better or worse. My clothes were soaked in sweat and blood, and my breathing was quick and erratic. His head was a bloody mess on the ground. The hounds were no longer present, and everything related to their existence also disappeared. I didn't care about asking him my questions anymore. I had them answered anyway.
I felt something touch my left shoulder from behind and shot my head over, moving back to face whatever adversary came next. Kaguya retracted her hand and brought both of them under her chest. I was legitimately concerned that I might've scared her off, so I spoke the first thing that came to mind.
"Too much?" I asked, looking at the tenderized head of the dead summoner as I tried to catch my breath.
Kaguya looked back to the girls who were too weak or traumatized to pick themselves off the ground, the ones that managed to stand up still having enough fight to try and console their sisters in arms. Looking back to me, she shook her head minimally from side to side. I agreed, I could assume he had something like that coming for a while. She took another step towards me and I brought my hand up, only my index finger sticking up as to tell her "give me a minute". I thought about how quick I was to brutalize someone without a second thought, and as justified as it might have been, the bodies, the smells, the girls, and my kills caught up to me and mixed in a dizzying and nauseating cocktail. I went around the side of the building and crouched down, gagging once, twice, and with watery eyes I threw up the little that was in my stomach. I wiped my mouth with my sleeve and stood back up. If these kinds of things were happening all over the country, then it was no dream, it was a fucking nightmare!
The inside of my head spun as I came back around the corner, and Kaguya became a little more adamant about taking my hand, a more stern look on her face as she extended her own. I extended my left, the stinging pain reminding me to look at my blood soaked glove and sleeve. I hesitated for a moment, but she closed the gap, pushing my sleeve down and revealing my discoloured and bruised forearm with bleeding breaks in the skin. Kaguya brought her hand along the length of my forearm, her healing magic mending the wounds and pain. She took my hand and led me along towards the building. The other shrine maidens were beginning exit and tend to the female soldiers' wounds in the same way Kaguya did to mine. I had eyes on me while I was led back inside, but I payed the stares no mind.
"I really stick out here, don't I?" I asked Kaguya, starting to feel a little insecure about my position in this new world.
"Very much so. While I lack the knowledge to Azzov's mind, it's quite obvious to the maidens and soldiers that you are out of place in this world. Your clothes, your weapons, your demeanor towards what you've seen happening to the girls, and your subsequent rejection of the Sex Kingdom. I would be remiss if I didn't tell you that you may not be trusted by everyone right away, but because you saved the girls of the royal guard twice, and killed Azzov, your presence is not entirely unwelcome." Kaguya tried to reassure me. She brought me back into the room where we slept the previous night. Peering out into the lobby area she moved her head back and forth before closing the door behind the both of us. Placing her arms under mine and around my back, Kaguya pulled herself into me.
"I never properly thanked you for saving us." She said, lying the side of her head into my chest.
"Y-yeah… it's really no problem." As much as I liked the affection, I was still uncomfortable admitting it.
She let go and stepped back a bit.
"As thankful as I am for what you've done, you still have to earn your place here. As head priestess I have to treat everyone equally. Besides, you've been exerting yourself quite a bit today and you need the rest." Her gentle smile faced the ground just short of me, her eyes wandering back and forth. "Hitomi is waiting for you in the kitchen."
Being told to rest and do chores seemed a little contradictory, but I simply nodded. We both left the room and Kaguya led me along to the other end of the lobby. The bodies on the stairs had been moved, but I didn't have any idea where, not that I wanted to know. I opened the door and saw a kitchen inside, the other shrine maidens working on the food in a sort of assembly line. As I was about to enter, I was stopped by Kaguya.
"What's the matter?" I asked looking to where she was.
My gloves were still on, and at this point were still stained with blood.
"Right..." I said taking the things off.
Kaguya motioned her hand for more. I removed my coat, bag, battle belt, and hearing protection, laying them piled up in her hands. She took off and blonde girl from earlier waved me over to her. I carefully weaved my way through the people, tables, and counters to meet her.
"You're Hitomi, right?" I asked the girl who currently had her hands in a bucket of herb water.
"Mmhmm" She took her hands out of the water and wiped them on them on a towel beside the bucket. "Wash your hands and we can get started."
"In the bucket here?" I pointed at the water.
"Yes." She said moving over. "The water's been blessed through a daily ritual, so feel free to clean them off completely."
I placed my hands in the lukewarm water and rubbed them against one another to push off any undesirable materials. I pulled them out and wiped them off on the white towel to my right.
"Have you prepared food before." Hitomi asked with a knife in hand
"I have in my own home before, but not to this scale." I responded, looking at how one item of food was passed from one end of the kitchen to the other.
"Don't worry, it just requires more time than any sort of mastery of skills." She reassured me, pointing over to a station where vegetables and fruits were being picked out of sacks. "I'll start you off on something easy."
She put me at a table with other shrine maidens at my left and right, handing me a tomato. "Our job at this station is to remove the stems, cores, roots, skins, and any other items on the food that normally don't belong in a meal, understand?"
I gave her a thumbs up «Понял ».
She nodded her head and began to peel a potato in her hands while I started to cut a small circle around the top of the tomato, pulling out the core and discarding it in a sack on the ground where the others were placing their scraps.
"So, Hitomi, why did you want to become a shrine maiden?" I passed the fruit down the line where it would continue to get chopped up and put into a boiling pot.
"Hmmm, that's not a too difficult question. When I was really young they came to the village where I was born in, on missionary work. My father had recently been killed in the war, which left my mother looking for a sense of closure. Before I knew it I was being raised under the religion, and I have little to no memory about my life outside of it. That's the short version, anyway" She explained her story nonchalantly while working on the food.
I couldn't have imagined living my entire life following the community of a religion, sharing property, housing, bathrooms, and food. I liked living alone, free to do things on my own, so this was a good opportunity to ask someone who has lived that life style.
"So…. have you ever wondered what life was like outside of the c-... religion." I paused after almost giving myself a heart attack. I looked around quickly after almost saying the word 'cult' in the presence of devotees. I was either lucky, or they had heard it all before, as I saw nobody looking at me angrily.
She shook her head, her eyes on the potatoes she was peeling. "I can't say I have. I'm provided with shelter, food, clothes, and a sense of purpose. I can't really ask for more than that."
"I guess I can't argue with that." I started to think about the alternatives, but if this world was like the medieval times in my own, she did have a valid point.
"By the way, I see there are accommodations for males, but I haven't seen any around here, why is that?" I took another look around the room, just on the off chance I'd run into the old 'Oh we do, he's over there.' cliche, but nothing.
"You're right about that. We did at one point in our history, but males don't typically wish to live a life of purity, and the ones that did join were eventually called off to fight in the war on the Thorn Kingdom's behalf, and after that the ones that weren't killed joined the Black Dogs, the men you were fighting earlier today." She trailed off after the last one, her eyes looking sadly at the food she passed down.
"Speaking of purity, you might see Kaguya looking a little distracted or unfocused from time to time. It's best not to press her for details, but that's not what she's normally like. Ever since we've been subject to the sex kingdom she's been trying to care for as many of us as possible. She's also been trying to get as many of us to go through spiritually cleansing ritual, but lacks some of the ingredients to do so. Even though our bodies are being used against our will, we can still fight off the corruption and maintain spiritual purity. So, please, be patient with her and don't be careless, her disposition is to worry about everyone under her roof."
I nodded my head, almost finished with the bag of tomatoes. "For sure, thank you for telling me, Hitomi."
She smiled softly and looked over to me. "Of course."
The pot was eventually taken off the heat by a few of the shrine maidens and they carried it into a door near the end of the room I was on, while another killed the fire. I questioned what the ingredients were for a ritual of spiritual revitalization, and wondered where I might get such things. I thought that maybe I could help Kaguya and relieve a stressor.
"Are you coming?" Hitomi asked, already at the door.
"Oh, yeah." I looked around me to see nobody was still preparing the food and got up to join the others.
Through the door was a long room with a with a lengthy wooden table running almost end to end, each side had chairs running along them and each end had the same. Kaguya was already in the dining room, sitting at the far end as one would expect for the head of the household. The other girls and I took our seats at the table. Chatter filled the room until there was a light tapping of metal against glass from the end. Kaguya stood up from her seat and looked to those sitting on either side of her.
"Before we open with a prayer I'd like everyone to look around and acknowledge the new faces at this table." As she spoke I looked around myself, seeing familiar faces from the royal guard also present. "I'd like to personally thank you all for fighting as hard as you did this morning. With the Hound-Wielder vanquished, the sun shines a little brighter on the Thorn Kingdom, and all of Eostia." She sits back down, taking hold of the girls' hands to her immediate left and right. Along the table the shrine maidens and guards began to take hold of the hands of those to the left and right of them. Not wanting to seem rude, I did the same, everyone bowing their heads shortly after. Kaguya led in a prayer, but my mind didn't focus on the words. I was too distracted by the idea that the girls here still might need my help, regardless if I was asked for it or not. By the time I was submerged in my own thoughts, the girls had already started eating. I stared at my food, and while I was starving, I was too preoccupied with previous thoughts to focus on eating.
"You there, sir." A voice from the opposite side called.
Normally I wouldn't pay attention to any calls, especially not formal one, as I wasn't normally used to anybody wanting anything from me, but being the only male at the table made it obvious the call was towards me.
"Yeah?" I responded.
"I would like to thank you for saving my girls today." Her deep womanly voice rang through the room. She raised her cup, her long light red hair in a pony tail swaying as she did so. "They call me Eirene, and I wish to know your name."
"Of course. My name is Vasily. I assume you're the commander then?" I awkwardly raised my own cup.
She laughed and took a drink "Not exactly, but I've led this group since my father left it to me, taught me everything I know. How about yourself?
I took a drink of my own, getting a the taste of wine in my mouth which I swallowed quickly to get rid of it. "Nah, the only thing I learned from working with my dad was how to hold shit and get yelled at."
A bit of laughter erupted from all sides of the table as the commander rested back in her chair, and I smiled a bit too.
'If it's not your father who trains you, then who?" She began to scoop soup into her spoon and eat her meal.
Most of what I know is from YouTube, books, and…. Of course. "I met my teacher through work. He used to be part of something called Alpha Group, which is a counter-terror special forces detachment of the FSB."
"Hmmmm, you speak of many unfamiliar things. I shall inquire further later in the day if you are not bothered to answer more questions." She raised her glass once more. Her cheerfulness was a nice surprise.
"Speaking of… we've collected your weapons from outside, by the way. Do you mind giving us an explanation as to their nature?" Kaguya's quiet voice contrasted the soldier's.
There was a lot I could say about the weapons I had brought to this world with me. All of them so far have been civilian weapons, two of which that have been based on the almost one hundred year old Kalashnikov platform, and one that was a modified semi-automatic hunting shotgun. There was too much I wanted to say, all of it probably confusing as hell for someone who had never seen a gun before.
"I guess the best way to explain them is by saying they are weapons of varying mechanics that use a burnable powder to create an explosive expansion of gas that launches projectiles out the front end. The projectiles themselves come in various sizes and types within said sizes." I tried not to ramble on, but I still felt there was too much to be able to be concise.
"Interesting…" Kaguya remarked, continuing to eat her meal along with everyone else.
When the shrine maidens were finished eating the empty bowls were piled up inside of one another and were then carried off by a few. I followed Hitomi back into the kitchen and gently tapped her on the shoulder.
She set down the bowls and looked back to me. "What do you need?"
"You mentioned that Kaguya was missing ingredients for a ritual, what are they?" As I asked the question, my eyes tried to move around the room, as if I was going to find them in front of me.
"Right now we are out of something called a Saiton flower. They grow in the forest just outside the town entrance, but unfortunately wild wolves that Azzov had tamed have created a den in the area, keeping us from harvesting them." She explained, continuing to clean the bowls off in a fresh bucket of water.
"What do they look like?" I asked, as I tried to mentally visualize the flower based off of name alone.
"Their stems are a dark green, and their petals are light blue and the plants have a glow to them as well. Harvesting would usually take place about now while the petals are still closed and haven't opened up yet." She piled up the bowls she finished cleaning.
"And you said they were in the forest just outside of town?" I was putting a picture in my head, still unclear of all the details. I couldn't put a definition to what was driving me to find out, but the feeling was strongly present.
She sighed and looked over her shoulder to me. "Listen, Kaguya wants you to rest right now. We've all been through a lot within the past day and she would like us to take a moment to settle down, and she'd like you to put some time aside where you're not fighting something, that's why she's holding on to some of your clothes right now."
"Really?" I asked, still genuinely intrigued about Kaguya's concerns with me.
"Yes. I know you still have the drive to do something, and I know I'm not going to stop you." Hitomi looked around her immediate area and set her eyes on me afterwards. "So, it wasn't me that told you she's going to be occupied for the next thirty minutes, and it also wasn't me that told you that those flowers are in the forest on the left side of the road looking out of the town. Lastly, it wasn't me that told you that the flags are the entrance and exit to the town." She looked away from me as she explained.
I quickly nodded. I grabbed an empty vegetable sack and made my way through the doors back into the lobby. I quickly jogged into the town square and looked around for a set of flags. They were maroon with a black symbol of some sort in the middle, and that's where I ran towards. I made turns left and right down the streets and eventually found the entrance of the town where the flags were.
Just outside of the town were small patches of grass to the left and right which led into a forest cut down the middle by the dirt path. With only so much time on the clock, I ran towards the left side and made my way into the trees. I was a little more careful once inside the forest, stepping over branches, stumps, and poorly uneven ground. The forest got darker as I made my way deeper inside, but the sun provided enough light to keep me going. I was determined to get my hands on those plants for everyone who needed them, but still couldn't define the catalyst that drove me.
I pushed branches out of my way and got nicked a few times sharp edges and angles, scratching me on my arms and body. After a while of looking around I saw a faint blue glow in the shade of the forest floor, one I approached excitedly. I made my way closer and closer, moving other foliage out of the way to find a set of blooming and unbloomed flowers, just like Hitomi described them. I placed my knees on the ground and started to dig at the dirt around the flowers with my hands. I pulled the unbloomed flowers up, getting as much of the root as I could along with them. I placed the four flowers in the sack, looking them over for any notable defects.
I heard a loud exhale near me and I froze up, only using my eyes to look around me. When nothing came jumping out of the forest I started to shift my body a little, looking closer towards the sound. An inhale, then another exhale was audible from my position. I looked towards where I assumed the origin of the noise was. Something orange stood out amongst the bushes, and as I moved them apart, there lay a small girl face up on the ground. Her hair was short and orange, almost drill-like in some areas, it was matted and tangled too. Her body was covered with nothing more than a dark green cape with a maroon inside on her back and the same colour hat on her head, both of which were ripped and disheveled in places. Was she injured, did she wander out here and get lost, or was she a wolf herself?
"Hey…." I tapped at her shoulder, to no avail.
"Hey!" I whispered a little louder, putting a hand on her shoulder and shaking it lightly, still nothing.
As I was trying to wake the girl up I heard soft growls coming from the other side of the foliage. My heart jumped, as I knew what would be coming for me without even seeing it. I looked at the girl, then to the origin of the growling, then to the girl.
"Ah, fuck it..." With the bag in hand I quickly set the girl on my back with her hands over my shoulders and my hands holding her thighs. I was incredibly uncomfortable considering the implications of her size, but my mind screaming at me to stop was a fate better than letting her become wolf food. I heard movement towards me and I bolted back towards the down. The growling turned into barking and running, which brought on more barking and running.
"Damn dogs again! Where's the fucking ATF when you need them!?" I shouted, my heart slamming against the inside of my chest that gasped for air.
I bobbed and weaved through the forest, getting cut in a few places from the plant life. I knew I couldn't keep ahead of the wolves for much longer, and just when I needed it the exit of the forest was visible. I ran as fast as my legs would carry me and the sleeping girl. As I exited the forest into the light of the mid morning I tripped on a branch and was sent flying forwards. I slid against the grass in pain, just barely catching my breath.
«Твою мать…. » I looked behind me in a bit of panic, thankful to see the girl still safely on my back, and the bag at my side. I picked myself up and half-limped back into town with my muscles screaming out. A dozen pissed off eyes glaring at me from inside the edge of the forest.
As I got back to a now body-free town square, yet another angry set of eyes was there to meet me at the front of the shrine maiden's sleeping quarters. I approached Kaguya with an embarrassed smile while Hitomi stood with her head looking towards the ground.
"I got th-" I wanted to tell her about the flowers I had collected, but all I got was an angry stare, and a lecture that followed.
"I thought I told you earlier that you needed to rest, and off you go into the woods!" She started in on me. Kaguya's irate voice was unexpected from a face like her's.
"I told you I would treat you equally, and that goes for punishments too. As a result of your own reckless behavior I-..." Her eyes caught on to the person on my back, doing a double take before cutting off mid sentence. Her expression snapped in an instant to one of curiosity as she lowered her folded arms and made her way around my side. Her pupils widened quite dramatically, and her gasp was loud enough that someone in the lobby could have heard it.
"Luu-Luu!" Kaguya exclaimed.
Author's note:
Me: "I'm sorry if this one is shorter"
Also me: Makes longest chapter yet.
How did I do with this one? I tried to and include a bit of characterization and development between characters.
Translations:
«Понял » "Understood"
«Твою мать…. » Literally "Your mother". Can be used as "Damn it"
Lastly if you want to look at a really cool web series with modded out AKs and Russian operators, Battlestate just released their first episode of a series called "Raid" on YouTube.