DEVOTION
She could remember them, every little face that she had been assigned to care for on these past two years. How drastically then her life have changed, devoting her life in the solitude of darkness she had found another meaning of light, to be reminded of what it means to be human. She can't help but chuckle as she did her daily chores of trimming the grass, or picking the wildflowers she would need to set on her windowsill. Where once she worried on how to make her head remain on her body during missions, now she worries about pricking her fingers in the thorn bush as her hands searched for its flower.
All in all it was a blessed life for her, and soon she learned to love her new name. "Sister Latea" they call her. The children love her, the men desired her, the populace enjoy having her in their presence. So different from the way she is treated as a Silver-Eyed Witch before. Where once she radiated doom and fear, now she gives hope as she blessed people and children flock to her care even in the far home of hers, on the little cabin in the woods.
Then it all changed, once she thought she was satisfied by her daily life, another variable inserted itself. That came in the form of the blue-haired Crusader Hara, a tall woman rivaling her in beauty and in grace. She had been impressed with the woman's character, a seasoned warrior yet a gentle heart. The woman did not judge her for what she is, but for who she was. She still can't even fathom what possessed the blue-eyed woman to kiss her that night. That was her first kiss she reserved for the one she can love and the crusader had stolen it unknowingly.
Even she did not understand how it all end up like this anymore. The woman called her beautiful, something she want to be but can never achieve. She's a vain person doing her best to maintain her beauty unlike the other who is just that way. Until now she still can't fathom the reasons how she had fallen for the other woman. She hated herself for that, she knew the Organization will find her one day, no matter how carefully she hid her footsteps. Knowing her lover she would rather fight for her and die, than watch her suffer.
Life is so unfair, why must it deny me love? Haven't I sacrificed enough? All she could feel was the slow beating of her heart as she felt her life draining away from her. Somewhere in the corner she could hear another woman's screams as they tortured her. Looking up she could see the shady outline of the sun leering at her face. Oh how lucky it is, that it is safe and unreachable.
A silhouette of a standing warrior of the Organization shadowed her dying form. She could feel the ghastly thing she inserted on her eating her insides. Oh how she wished that God would answer her prayers to see the woman she loved again, she laughed inside, she haven't even said the three words that meant a lot to her. How annoying life is, and how cruel love can be. She closed her eyes feeling the fog of Death encircling her.
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Galatea had barely time to move out of the way as she felt the ground where she is standing on erupted in a debris of stone and sand. Leaping nimbly on her feet she raised her claymore in time as another of her executors appeared behind her attacking at her unguarded back. A clash of steel echoed as she leaned her body backward blocked it using one hand with the flat of her blade. The warriors she is facing are fast but they lack creativity.
"Getting a little impatient are we?" she smirked kicking the woman in the gut sending her to the dust on her rear. "May I at least get to know the names of my executioners?" she asked haughtily standing tall and proud.
Audrey nodded her head to the others before answering. "Audrey Number Three. I am the leader of this little party," She leaned her head to the other warriors behind her. The next warrior stepped forward, she is bearing many scars on her face making it impossible for her to smile anymore.
"I am Viletta Number Six,"
"Claudia Number twelve," she had long hair like her though not as sleek. The next warrior Galatea recognized.
"Fadara Number seventeen," Galatea sighed, she had expected to be killed fast. Now that she is here she knew that would be quite impossible. The other woman is well known as the Organization's interrogator when trying to pry secrets from their enemies. And her methods are usually brutal.
"The Organization sent its best torturer then. I wonder what that meant for me,"
"When this is done, you'll know," replied the Number Seventeen in her monotone voice.
"Right, that's four of you, who is the last one then?" asked Galatea haughtily.
"I-I'm Number Thirty-Five, my name's Katea," the warrior mumbled shyly. The nun raised an eyebrow at her, out of all the warriors she's the prettiest of them all, in fact she resembled Galatea a lot, only her rounded face, cheerful eyes and hair which is blond rather than the white of the other woman marked the difference between her and the taller woman.
"Hmm interesting," muttered Galatea with a curious tinge on her voice. "I never thought that a lower digit from the thirty's would be sent after me,"
"She's here to observe, nothing more," the one known as Viletta answered.
"Ah I see, so she's also an "Eye" like me right? If I may rightly guess she's the one who is supposed to replace me after the Organization finished getting rid of me on their ranks"
The others' solemn expression confirmed her answer. Sighing the nun leveled her claymore in front of her in a guard expression. She knew she was going to die here, but she won't go down without a fight. That would be too nauseous for her taste, nobody's going to say that God-Eye Galatea went down without a fight.
"Well what are you waiting for?"
The moment the words left her mouth, the warriors except Number Thirty-Five charged. Galatea grunted as she blocked Viletta's stroke, the force of the blow jarring her sword arm. She smirked, the girl might be strong but she isn't as experienced as her, kicking her at the abdomen she backed away just in time just as two auras appeared behind her. Twisting her body in a complete hundred eighty degrees, she turned just in time to raise her sword to block an attack from Audrey who looked sorry, but she could not meet the second blow from the other and hissed as Number Twelve made a slice on her exposed side.
Draining strength from the inhuman power inside her, she pushed Audrey off with mere strength allowing herself a margin of a few scant seconds to pull back just in time as Fadara's blade made contact with her legs. Taking a couple of jumps back, she winced as she felt the wounds taking their toll. They are shallow, but very painful, she was confused when her body didn't heal itself. As a powerful defensive type, these kind of wounds automatically generate without the use of her Yoki aura.
Glancing to the side, the nun's eyes narrowed as she saw Katea looking at her with a very apologetic face. Opening her Yoki perception, Galatea could clearly see the other's aura binding hers' like a snake, trapping it inside. Grimacing she felt a pit on her gut as she realized that she could not use her abilities of twisting the enemy's movements here. Overall she had nothing to use except her sword skills which a skill on which she didn't actually excel at much. During her time as a warrior, even the Number Six was better than her on a normal sword fight.
"So that's her ability," thought Galatea, techniques like that are hard to develop and require months if not years of training. Deep inside the nun can't help but smirk. The young woman who looked like her also have her abilities, though not yet as developed. There was something definitely off here.
"You've improved Fadara," she said trying to appear calm despite the pain. Luckily her connection to her Yoki is still working if she concentrated hard enough. She didn't want to think what would be the outcome of the fight is, if she is totally cut off from her aura. Looking to the side she could see Number Twelve standing recovering from being winded by her attack. Galatea was now surrounded by the four warriors.
"If you lay down your sword, I would give you a quick and painless death Galatea," Audrey told her. "I would even disregard the Organization's orders to torture you slowly to death if you do that," Galatea was stunned as she heard the woman's words. She can't believe those bastards would order her slaughtered like a pig rather than a noble death like a true warrior.
"Those are not our orders Audrey," hissed Fadara. "Rimuto himself gave me the assignment how to deal with this woman,"
"She is a fellow warrior like us even when she deserted. At least we can let her die with honor," the Number Three replied through gritted teeth.
"Bah! Honor.…what honor is there when we end up suffering for her? Don't you know that we will end up in harder missions if we didn't follow the orders given to us?" scoffed the Number twelve. Audrey was about to snap back when Viletta stood between them, her eyes pointed at the nun who is busily patching up her legs as best as she could.
"Before you guys argue more about what we do with her, I suggest we subdue her first. And Audrey," she gazed at the higher rank with steely eyes. "You are the leader of this little execution squad. I strongly advise that we follow the orders given to us or else there will be…..consequences," her tone making it evident that the higher rank would remember what their orders are. The Number Three was silent for a while before she answered.
"Fine, so be it,"
"If you plan to take my head, you have to take it by force," the nun said who had been silent the entire time they are arguing.
"Oh don't worry, we don't want your head," sneered Fadara jumping into the air jumping from the air, bringing her sword down two-handed with a shout while Viletta and the other two attacked from the ground.
Galatea grimaced as she felt her side open as Audrey slashed barely missing before the sword crashed into the ground. For once the nun wished that she excelled in speed not in strength. Sidestepping the Number Twelve warrior who lunged at the opening, Galatea arched her blade and was rewarded when the woman cried out in pain, her left hand gone. Leaping back from the Number Three who seems determined to cut her head off, she winced as she automatically felt her speed drop. Taking a glance at her wounded legs, she really wished that the annoying Number Thirty-Five would stop messing with her aura. Pushing her Yoki aura to ten percent, Galatea attacked the Number Three with such force that the nun was sure that the other woman would be turned to into a pulp of fleshy strands.
Her eyes widened as her sword stroke was negated by the other. She can't believe it, out of the forty-seven warriors of the Organization in her time, she is unmatched in strength when she released even ten percent of her Yoki aura. Seeing that her most powerful skill is easily outdone is just downright insulting for her. Forcing herself to twenty percent, she fueled more strength in her arms, aiming at the sword who seems to block her most powerful moves with consummate ease.
"Did you like my technique?" smirked Audrey as Galatea forced their swords into a deadlock near her chest. The nun was panting from the effort already.
"What…is…that..?" she huffed feeling the salty taste of perspiration touch her eyes.
"I call it Gentle Sword, even the most powerful attacks are easily parried by it without the use of my Yoki," the Number Three bragged. "And now you die!" her irises turned to gold as she suddenly pushed the former Number Three backward who stumbled not prepared by the forceful action. Her eyes widened in alarm as she felt another Yoki appear behind her. "How come she didn't see that?" Only the feeling of something cold was what the nun felt as the blade pierced her from the back and protruded from somewhere near her abdomen. The wound was incapacitating but not fatal, feeling an odd sensation of floating, the nun fell down hitting her face in the ground.
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"Well that was easy," crowed Fadara in triumph as she removed her bloody sword from the woman's body. A pool of blood soon covered the ground as the nun struggled to breathe through her lungs, she was still alive…for now.
"I can't believe she cut my hand off," protested Viletta who had finally succeeded in returning her dismembered organ back to its rightful place. "I think it's time I returned the favor," Pushing herself up she walked to the fallen form looking at it with disgust. "Pathetic, and this is supposed to be the Former Number Three," she teased. Pulling the right arm in a vertical manner, she cannot help but grin at the silver eyes looking fearfully at her.
"An eye for an eye. A hand for a hand God-Eye," she yelled before bringing her sword down on the arm somewhere near the wrist. She took perverse pleasure at hearing the woman scream in pain as her hand was separated from her body. "Ohh did that hurt?" she mocked. "Wait till Fadara's done with you,"
"We need to kill her now," insisted Audrey who isn't thrilled by the display of violence. "She is a warrior and I strongly must protest that we do this the honorable way or not at all,"
"Really? So you want to disregard our orders and spare her a quick death?" asked Fadara her tone sounding as if she expected the outburst from the present Number Three.
"Yes," the long-haired woman replied stiffly. "We may be half-yoma, but we are not animals who torture our own until death,"
"Very well, Claudia would you mind doing the honors?"
"What?" Audrey had barely time to ask when a sudden pain in her abdomen mad her hiss in pain. Glancing at it, her eyes turned cold as she saw the cut deep enough to spill her organs. Clutching at the horrible wound she stumbled to a nearby tree preventing her guts from spilling out. She could feel the emotionless eyes of Claudia looking at her. She was an offensive type of warrior and wounds like these are hard for her to heal, if she can even heal herself at all.
"Audrey, Number Three, the fact that you refused the order personally made to us by our leader Rimuto, I sentence you to death," the Number twelve stoically said.
"Da-Damn you," coughed Audrey as blood gurgled in her throat. "Is…. that how…the Organization…view… my life as… expendable…then?"
"Yes," the other replied curtly before turning away her hair billowing in the wind behind her. She was replaced by the scarred-face of Fadara. "Oh does it hurt?" she gleefully asked poking at the open wound on the woman's gut. "I really like it when people scream from a gut wound," the woman added before inserting her right hand inside making the Number Three scream shrilly as her intestines are slowly pulled out of her.
"Let her go!" the young voice of Katea demanded as she swung her claymore to the torturer who jumped out of the way. "You're all worse than yoma!" the low-ranked warrior screamed with tears in her eyes. Placing herself between the three and Audrey, she held out her weapon in a defensive form of stature. The normally shy girl can't even believe that she had the courage to defend her fallen leader.
"You really think that you a lousy Number Thirty-Five could stand against all of us higher ranks?" the bored voice of Viletta asked as she assessed the trembling figure facing her. "Fine, I'll make it quick then," she took a step forward when something suddenly grabbed her ankle making her stop. Peering down she could see the face of the nun looking at her with intense hatred with those silver-eyes of hers.
"Leave…the girl… alone!" she hissed as blood poured out of her mouth.
"You're in no position to make demands traitor," the Number Six coldly replied before kicking the woman in the face making her grunt as blood erupted from her nose. "Fadara, would you mind following the orders our benevolent leader gave us while I execute the other two traitors?" asked Viletta looking at the spiky-haired warrior who grinned with pleasure before walking to the fallen form of the nun. Turning her head back to the pretty girl in front of her she smirked. "Now where were we traitor?"
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Katea was literally trembling in fear as she saw the braided woman nearing her. Inside she knew she was doomed, even with her skills in yoki manipulation the others clearly outclassed her in every way. An ear-splitting scream echoed in behind her foe and her eyes widened as she saw the Number seventeen making superficial wounds on the nun. Large enough to hurt her and make her scream, but shallow enough to avoid making lethal damage. She gritted her teeth, the woman tried to protect her from Viletta and as a result was kicked hard in the face. The claymore do not know anymore where her allegiances lay.
"Katea…." The wheezing voice of Audrey behind her caught her attention. "Y-yes?"
"Save….yourself," she mumbled, through the pain in her wounds. "Leave….. me…..run…"
"No, captain I won't leave you," sobbed Katea as she saw her executor getting nearer to her. Even if she try to run, Viletta and Fadara could still easily outstrip her in the long chase. Yet if she try to fight, she will suffer a lot before dying, especially since the infamous Number Seventeen is here. That woman has no remorse at all.
"I….order…you…to…go," the pained voice of Audrey hummed behind her. The very sound of it sent cold tingles of shame on the younger woman. She can't abandon her captain, no way not ever.
"No!" the angry voice of the girl responded, she had finally decided that if she die, at least she could die with dignity. The screams of the nun echoed again and Katea shivered in fear when she glimpsed behind Viletta the bent form of the torturer with a crazy look on her eyes as she began making lacerations on the exposed woman's legs. The grass on which the ex-claymore is lying is already stained with her blood as the executor have fun on making her scream.
"Number twenty-nine," Katea heard Fadara giggle with delight as she made another hole in the tall woman's shoulders spraying her face with red. She's barely recognizable as her entire form is stained with the red of her subject's life stream. "Scream, I want you to scream," she madly smiled as she inserted her blade again making the woman whimper and shudder beneath her.
"Enough," Katea screamed through her tears as she jumped behind Viletta using her Yoki binding to prevent her executioner from moving. It lasts only a second or two, when the target is not being threatened, and it would not work at all if she attempted to slice the Number Six's head off. Bent as she was over the pale form of the nun, Fadara might have ended up killed as she saw the double digits blade approaching her. What happened was rather a large "Clang!" and Katea's sword was thrown off her hand landing a soft thud in the grass a few meters away.
"I believe it is not your place, to interfere with our leader's wishes Number Thirty-Five. The emotionless voice of Claudia whispered in her ear before she felt the hard edge of a blade open the hamstrings in her legs making her fall to the ground. Looking behind she could see the blade of Viletta with her blood on it. The woman had crept up from behind and attacked her. Cowardly move.
"That's the reason why you must not leave an enemy standing," Viletta merely shrugged as if she is nothing but a nuisance making Katea wonder if she had read her mind. Her thoughts returned to her then as she felt somebody poking at her belly and Katea screamed as she realized that it was Fadara. She would have preferred fighting an Awakened Being with a stick and stone rather than be under the woman's hands.
"Your skin's too tender and soft like a newly born babe," Fadara purred as she traced the soft fabric of her subject with her fingers. She relished making the other woman uncomfortable as she struggled to bring herself up with her hands.
"Get.. your…filthy.. hands off…her," the pained voice of the nun warned as she struggled to form the words on her bloodied mouth.
"Ooooh…concerned are we?" mocked the Number Seventeen sweetly as she traced the tear-filled face of her younger companion. "I feel so bad doing this, this is so great that both of you looked almost the same, don't worry Miss Galatea, I'll take very good care of her. I'll make her scream unlike you,"
"No…don't you….dare,"
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Pain washed over her as the hole on her shoulder ached on every twitch it completely immobilizes her arm making it useless. A large open wound from her armpit to the hip bled profusely and the hole in her abdomen is making it difficult to move an inch. A small hole had been made on her chest collapsing her right lung making it difficult to breathe as her insides are filled with blood making her vision blurry. Free now from the Number Thirty-Five's bond she could successfully make her Yoki heal her body, but she cannot concentrate due to the fact that her entire body is laced with pain. Any attempt now make her severely lose control and risk Awakening.
Through blurry eyes she could see the Number Seventeen removed something from her scabbard she tossed it to Viletta who caught it before bending down on the fallen form of Audrey, how in the world did she not recognize that the other woman had an extra compartment on her armor. She could see her taking another one from her luggage hole on the back and Galatea's eyes widened as she recognized it. It is a long tongue of an Awakened Being, it's as large as her arm and long as her leg. Yet what surprised her was the fact that it was alive. The squirming it is doing on the woman's hands are proof enough of its existence.
"I usually reserve this for my special interrogations, and though our orders did not say anything about using this. It is special enough for me,"Fadara grinned as she slowly lowered it into Katea's frail form.
"Don't hurt her!" Galatea attempted to scream but found that she could barely do it in a whisper. She was dying and she could do nothing as the perverse woman make her watch a child being tortured. As a nun she had grown affectionate to people and especially the children under her care. Watching the scene unfold before her was too much. "Hurt me, not her…I'm the one you want," she called out through her prone position.
"Don't worry honey, we'll get to you," the sweet voice of Fadara answered. Proof enough that she enjoyed whatever is going to happen.
Audrey's high scream suddenly came and Galatea panicked as she felt the woman's Yoki respond as it rose at a high level from zero to twenty percent. Through blurry eyes, she might have covered her mouth in horror at the scene unfolding in front of her. The long Awakened tongue was stuck in her gut making its way slowly inside, it was nearly halfway in. The woman was screaming as unwanted object damaged her on the inside.
"Captain….captain…" the racking voice of the younger one called out in misery and helplessness before she too screamed as one of those long appendages made a hole on her gut eating her from the inside. Fadara was laughing aloud in glee now as she basked through her former comrades' shrieks of pain. Viletta was pale but didn't said anything. Claudia was monotone as usual, and Galatea wanted to cover her ears to block the agonizing sounds of the young girl and her companion. This is not what she had expected, to happen. She thought that they would come, beat her to submission and then kill her, not this insanity that seem to pervade around her. She wanted it to end, she wished it all would end.
"Please, somebody help," she sobbed as the Katea's screams became higher in pitch and Audrey is gurgling now. She barely saw the dark outline of Fadara bending over her.
"Well as promised hon, you're next," she smiled before putting one of the long tongues in the nun's stomach. A few minutes later, Galatea's screams joined the others.
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"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" a male voice broke the continuing cascade of screams and despite the pain, Audrey lifted her head slightly from the tree she was slumped on. A tall man wearing a white coat that stretched to his feet are standing at the road leading to a clearing. He has massed hair which is unkept and a serious face. A long slender sword kept in a scabbard are tucked on his armpit. Audrey thought him handsome and she had to kick herself for making silly crushes in such a time before the bulge on her stomach grew and she proceeded on continuing her screams.
"I was sent by Hara to check on you Galatea, when she felt the distress on your "Yokieeee.." aura," Audrey had to stifle a giggle as she found his miswording of the word so terribly cute.
"Wait, how can a regular man know about Yoki auras? Is he an Awakened Being?" she thought frantically. The last thing she wanted now was a monster making a meal of their dead bodies. Focusing her perception on her, she could feel an aura emanating, but cleaner and more calm than the ones she used.
"Done checking me out yet?" he asked gazing at her. The Number Three was surprised, how could he sense that she was tracing her aura? Even the single digits never know when they are espied upon by their fellow warriors. "Don't worry little girl, I'll pay them back for ya" he smiled making her feel like floating on the clouds despite the pain.
"Yep, I definitely like him," she grudgingly admitted.
"You're Aoshi right?" the whispered voice of the nun caught her attention. Audrey panicked, judging on her standards, the tall woman does not have long. She wondered herself, since when did she consider the nun her ally?
"Yes Galatea she told me about you. I went up here to save your sorry ass as Hara requested. She is following behind me, but I was faster so I went ahead,"
"Could you do a favor for me?" the nun wheezed.
"What?"
"Tell her I love her, please," the nun begged as she began wincing when the tongue in her abdomen began delving itself again.
"You do that yourself. We're not done yet here," the annoyed voice of Aoshi answered before she looked steely at the three executors. "Well here I am, attack me, lop my head off, what are you waiting for?" he mocked.
There was a hiss of wind and Audrey barely saw the three charge without a word at the man. Audrey tried to stand, the person was just a man and she knew that those three would not hesitate to kill him. "Aoshi No!" she yelled in concern. Her eyes widened as the man held the long wooden scabbard on both ends. There was a flash of steel being pulled and she gasped as she saw two small swords being drawn, they're small like half a sword in length and diameter. Now she knows he's going to die, those weapons can't hold off a claymore like the ones wielded by her.
"St-," she barely finished the word when there was the sound of blade breaking bone and skin and she watched three women fell to the ground with two deep wounds each. By the time they hit the dirt they are dead. She could only stare in fear at the man who seemed to just change position from a ready stance to a finishing one in a blink of an eye.
"Quick, precise, painless," he muttered. "Too merciful for what you really deserve," he added coldly aiming a kick at the Number twelve's side.
"Hara-….," the dying voice of the former Number Three floated in the trees and Audrey cried out as she felt the woman's Yoki disappearing.
"I can't let her die! I can't let her die!," her thoughts screamed as flashback of images returned to her of her family being devoured by Yoma while she stood helpless.
"Devotion," a woman's voice whispered softly like water in a riverbank and Audrey found herself engulfed in an aura of green. She could feel the ghastly thing inside her disintegrate, her wounds are closing and she felt better than anytime she had ever been. Looking to the others she could see them encircled by the aura too. She smiled, whoever doing this needs to be thanked and repaid. She couldn't have been more right as another voice screamed louder than any of them ever did filled the air.
