Sorry for being a day late on this chapter, but it was finals for my classes and those always come first. Since Christmas is next Friday, I will not be updating next week. I may update during the New Years, but I cannot say for sure.
In any case, please enjoy the chapter and I hope it holds you over until next year. Thanks again to Jo-nov for the reviews and I hope more of you leave comments.
Chapter 25: Exspheres
Mithos stared hatefully at the person who called himself Ichor. He troops hadn't made a move yet, but it didn't take a genius to know that they were in trouble.
"Farm!" Mithos yelled in uttered contempt. "How the hell is this place be call a Farm!? This place is more like a torture chamber!"
Ichor laughed at the boy. "You may be a fellow half-elf, but you obviously been around brain-dead humans for too long."
"Answer the question." Eric growled.
Ichor looked among them with is nose to them before he spoke again. "Well, considering you won't be leaving this place, I guess we could tell you." The soldiers behind him chuckled. He then smiled viciously. "This is a Farm because we harvest exspheres here."
"So, this is an exsphere factory." Gem said in disgust. "But, what do these people have to do with it?"
"Surely, you can't be that dumb." Ichor laughed. "These people, of course, are the ones who make the exspheres."
"What!?" Yuan yelled in horror as he turned around to look at the cylinders. As he looked closer, he saw a black sphere on the base of all the people's necks. Some of them were even turning red. "How...how is that possible?"
Ichor sighed. "I thought a fellow half-elf would be able to figure it out."
"You are using the mana from their bodies to power the exspheres." Martel whispered. "Exspheres needs mana to grow into their full form, but instead of using the world's mana supply, you manage to do the same thing by using people."
Ichor clapped. "The young girl figured it all out, congratulations."
"You....how could you use living people to do such a thing?" Kratos asked in a cold soft voice. But, his anger and hate were easy to hear.
Ichor took no noticed of Kratos' rage. "It is the most practical means to creating exspheres. As you know, it takes a great deal of mana just to create one batch of exspheres. Even then, only half the bunch is worth using. However, after years of research, we have found the perfect method to create a large volume of exspheres that are perfect every time."
Ichor went over to one of the cylinders and touched it lovingly. "By using the mana that are store within humans, we can create perfect exspheres without wasting any mana. It is a flawless and inexpensive process."
"But, why only humans?" Yuan asked once he regained his bearings.
"As a half-elf you should know." Ichor mocked. "Unlike elves and half-elves, humans cannot use their own mana supple. It just sits there building inside their bodies uselessly. Because of that, the average full grown human has enough mana in their body to easily power a city for a month. Which is the require amount to make exspheres." Ichor smirked sadistically. "In a sense, you humans are nothing more than walking batteries."
Kratos narrowed his eyes. "So, that is what has been happening this entire time. You buy prisoners from both Sylvarant and Tethe'alla and sell off the half-elves as slaves. You then bring all the humans here and put the dormant crystals on them and let the exspheres suck the life out of them. Once the human is dead, you harvest the exsphere and sell them for a extremely high price on the blackmarket."
Ichor laughed. "Well done, you're not as stupid as you look, human. Although, not all the half-elves are sold as slaves. We give them the choice to join us in our business. Most are smart enough to say yes, but we have our fair share of the stupid ones."
"You bastard." Eric said. "You think human's life is just some big bag of money."
Ichor lost his smile and sneered hatefully. "And why not, you humans treat us like disposable trash. We are just returning the favor. At least your worthless existence is worth a great deal of money when you are dead."
"I had just about enough of you!" Mithos yelled as he held out his sword. "No living creature should be treated like this!"
"Well, aren't you the idealist brat." Ichor said, returning to his chuckling self. "I would ask if you and your sister to join us, but our leader already told me that it was a waste of time."
"Leader?" Martel questioned.
"Indeed." Ichor said coldly. "You humans will make perfect exspheres and the Cruxis Crystals you two half-elves hold will go along way for our cause."
Martel was surprise. "How did you know about our Cruxis Crystals?"
"The mole." Gem said coldly. "That is how he knew we were coming to begin with."
"Took you long enough to figure that out." Ichor mocked. "Now, seize them!" The group of soldiers walked towards them.
"Your spy failed to mention that we wouldn't go quietly!" Eric yelled as he took out a soldier with is spear. The other did the same as the met the soldiers head on. Martel stood in the back gave support to her team.
"Fools, don't fight them in there!" Ichor screamed. "You'll damage the exspheres!"
The soldiers lured them back to keep them from damaging the cylinders.
"Don't let them led you out!" Kratos yelled. "Stay within the room."
Yuan finished his chant. "INDIGNATION!!"
"Ray!!" Martel also yelled. A fury of lighting and light rain down the Fahrer, killing a handful of them and destroying some of the cylinders. The bodies dropped lifelessly on the steel floor.
"My exspheres!" Ichor yelled in horror.
"You will have more than those exsphere to worry about." Mithos stated as he started his own chant. "I call upon the red giant, the ruler of hell fire. I summon thee. Come, Efreet!!" In a rush of flames, Efreet appeared before them.
"Shit, he's a summoner!" One of the Fahrer yelled.
"Burn them!" Mithos ordered as Efreet flew at them and throw several huge balls of fire. The Fahrer screamed in pain, as several of them were burn alive.
"Their tougher than I thought." Ichor noted as he retreated from the room.
"Don't let him escape!" Mithos yelled as he followed shortly behind him.
"Mithos, come back!" Kratos warned too late.
"Follow him, Kratos." Yuan said as he gutted a Fahrer. "We will hold them off here." Kratos didn't waste another moment and quickly ran after his student.
Mithos stopped running at some point and was now using his wings to caught up with Ichor. Even with the increase speed, Ichor still managed to stay ahead of him. They ran until they reached a portal near the edge of one of the rooms. Ichor quickly jumped in with Mithos shortly behind him.
They were now standing in a large room that appeared to be some type of control room. Ichor was typing something in the computer when Mithos confronted him.
"I have you now, Ichor." Mithos said hatefully. "I will make you pay for all of your crimes."
"What, you mean the crimes against those filthy humans?" Ichor laughed. "After everything they did to us over the centuries, I think they're getting their just desserts." Mithos was strangely silent.
"Our leader told me it was pointless to convert you, but I disagree." Ichor said coolly. His face was slowly softened. "Mithos, you don't have to fight for those humans. If you join us, you can do whatever you want. You can put the fear of the spirits within those defiled human's hearts."
"You're only saying this to save you own butt." Mithos said coldly.
Ichor chuckled. "I have no reason to fear you, Mithos. With one press of this button, I could seal the Harvest Chamber and fill it with poison gas, killing everyone within."
Mithos looked horrified. "But, your own men are in there!"
"Their deaths are meaningless in the bigger picture." Ichor dismissed. "In order to get what you want in this world, you have to be willing to sacrifice a few pawns."
"You bastard!" Mithos exclaimed.
"I will be more than willing to reconsider if you join us." Ichor said coolly. "Your summoning abilities are amazing and will help make the Fahrer unconquerable."
Mithos said nothing for a moment. "Tell me, is the Fahrer's goal really just about making money?"
"Oh Mithos, you lack vision." Ichor laughed. "This is only the first part of our great plan. Once the Sylvaranti and Tethe'allan destroys one another, we will be in perfect position to create our own nation."
Mithos' eyes narrowed. "So, your goal this entire time is to create a Fahrer's nation."
"Not a Fahrer's nation, a half-elf nation." Ichor corrected. "A kingdom free of the hand of human or elf, where only we half-elves live. With the money we make off their worthless flesh, we can create our own world."
Mithos slowly began to laugh and it steadily increased by the second. "A half-elf nation? And you're willing to create it with the death of the Kharlan Tree, even you can't be that stupid."
"With the latest battle between Sylvarant and Tethe'alla on the horizon, the two nation of men will finally fall before the World Tree withers." Ichor said. "So what do say, Mithos? Join us in our noble cause."
Mithos stared coldly at him. "Your 'noble cause' is a bunch of bullshit. You claim to want a half-elf nation, but you are willing to kill our kin to get ahead and sell the others into slavery to the very humans you despise. You're nothing but a self-righteous hypocrite."
Ichor growled in annoyance. "I suppose as a child, you're unable to see the greater good of our cause. However, you're too dangerous to be left alive. You and your friends will all die here."
"Like hell!" Mithos yelled as he flew over to Ichor with his sword held high.
"Have you forgotten about my machine." Ichor stated. He pushed as single button on the console and a several bolts of lighting struck Mithos, stunning him.
"You stupid boy." Ichor teased. "You will die because of your lack of vision."
"I won't die." Mithos muttered as he stood back up. "Not until I kill you."
"Really?" Ichor mocked. "Then, allow me to send your friends to the afterlife before your eyes." He went to push the button.
"Don't you dare!!" Mithos yelled.
Ichor laughed louder. "You seem so close to your dear sister. Let see you keep your precious ideals once she is dead."
"I swear to the spirits if you hurt her, I will you send to hell personally." Mithos warned. His eyes blazing with hate.
"Like you can kill me." Ichor laughed.
"But, I sure can." A dark voice said. Kratos appeared from the wrap and ran towards Ichor with speed that Mithos had never seen before. Before he could even blink, Kratos had embedded his sword deep into Ichor's chest.
"You.....you filthy human....." Ichor stuttered as he collapsed to the floor.
Kratos looked at the body in dispassion before he sheathed his sword. "Are you alright, Mithos?"
Mithos stood up slowly. He was still very unsteady. "I think so."
"You shouldn't have try to confronted him by yourself." Kratos said neutrally. "A retreating enemy is always the most dangerous."
"I will remember that, Kratos." Mithos said in shame.
"We should join the others." Kratos said. "They still might need our help."
Mithos stared one last time at Ichor before he nodded. "Lets go." The two swordsmen walked though the wrap to rejoin their friends.
Just as they left, Ichor sat up again as he bled on the cold floor. He managed to hit something on the console which made a hologram appeared before him.
The figure was tall, but his silhouette was completely black, making it nearly impossible to clearly see him. The only detail that could be faintly seen was the fact that he was wearing some type of armor with a helmet and cape. However, his eyes could be clearly seen for all. They were a bright gold that glazed into Ichor.
"My lord, I have failed." Ichor said weakly, he was now wheezing. "The summoner and his friends are still alive."
The figure chuckled coldly. "Ichor, it is nothing for you to be ashamed of. I never expected you to succeed in the first place."
"What!?" Ichor exclaimed as he coughed up some blood.
"Your true goal was to only slow them down and you have done a wonderful job." The figure said.
"But....you said you.....wanted them dead...." Ichor struggled to say.
"Why would I want my perfect pawn dead?" The figure asked sarcastically. "His value is far greater than yours. Although, your sacrifice is greatly appreciated."
"Dark.......King....." Ichor muttered before he finally took his final breath.
"Goodbye, Ichor." The Dark King said as the hologram shut down.
By the time Kratos and Mithos returned the battle was all but won. Only a few Fahrer were left and Mithos and Kratos easily dealt them with.
"Looks like everything is clear here." Yuan said. "Where is Ichor?"
"Dead." Kratos said bluntly.
"Good ridden to that bastard." Eric snorted.
Gem turned solemnly towards the cylinders. Several bodies were on the floor and there was red liquid everywhere that disturbingly looked like blood. "What is to be done with them?"
"Can any of them be save?" Martel asked hopefully.
Yuan frowned. "I doubt it, but we should check all of them. We owe them that much."
For the next five hours they went across the room looking for anyone that could be rescue. There were even more cylinders than any of them original thought and they even found another room filled with people. In all, there were at least two-hundred people.
They inevitably found the delegates, but they were all but dead. Like all the others, their exspheres had sucked the life out of them. They were soon to learn that no one could be saved. They were forced to regroup near the entrance as the full weight of their revelation hit them.
"Dammit." Yuan cursed when he joined the others. "These people, they're all dead."
"They all must have been brought in around the same time." Kratos attempted to keep his voice calm, but there was no hiding his anger and sadness.
Martel looked physically ill, but she was able to keep herself together. "We need to give them all a proper burial. We can't leave them.........like this."
"Yeah, it's the least we could do." Gem said glumly.
Eric was barely holding in his emotions, but he also managed to keep control of himself. "What about the exspheres? Can we really just destroy them?" There was a long pause.
"We may have no choice." Kratos said slowly. "They're too dangerous to just leave around and it would be unwise to let Sylvarant have them."
"I can put a barrier around this place and we can let Zilveren decide." Yuan said.
"You can do that?" Martel asked.
Yuan nodded. "It will take about all of my remaining mana to create a barrier strong enough to keep any remaining Fahrer out, but it is the best we can do. The only other option is to destroy the factory with all the exspheres."
"We couldn't do that to those people who died making those exspheres." Martel said with her head down.
"Then we will seal the factory." Eric said. "But, what about these people?" He looked over the many tubes in the room.
"We will destroy them all." Kratos said. "It will take too long to bury all of them, but we can still give them a warrior's send off."
"I will do the honors." Mithos spoke up for the first time as he began his chant. "I call upon the red giant, the ruler of hell fire. I summon thee. Come, Efreet!!" In a burst of flames, Efreet arrived again.
Mithos turned towards the Summon Spirit of Fire. "Efreet, please give these people a proper pyre. One worthy of even the greatest of heroes."
Efreet nodded and released his blaze upon the room. The tubes burst from the intense heat and the victims disappeared in a hail of flames. He then went into the next room and did the same to the remaining people. Soon, there was nothing left of any of the cylinders except the burnt glass. With his task complete, Efreet once again disappear.
"Thank you, Efreet." Mithos whispered.
"There is nothing more that can be done here." Kratos said solemnly. The group slowly made their way to the exit and closed the doors forever to the Harvest Chamber.
Mithos stood away from the fire as the group settled down for the night. The day's events had weighed heavily on his body and mind, but he found himself unable to sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he kept seeing the frozen faces of those people. How much pain did they go through before the darkness had mercifully claimed them? And, how many met similar painful ends for the sake of exspheres, no, for the half-elf nation?
"You should rest, Mithos." Kratos' voice broke his train of thought. "We leave at first light and we have a lot of walking to do."
Noishe, who was by his side, squawk in agreement.
"I can't sleep." Mithos said simply.
"Thinking about what happen won't bring those people back." Kratos stated.
"Don't you think I know that?" Mithos asked with more heat than he meant to.
Kratos closed his eyes as he sat down next to Mithos. "Forgive me. You are still a child, but I am treating you like a harden soldier."
"No, Eric was right." Mithos said sternly. "The moment that I accepted Lord Zilveren's request, I stopped being a child." Some tears began to glitter in his eyes. "But, it still hurts and I don't even care for humans."
"You have a kind heart, Mithos." Kratos said. "And kind people feel the pain of others, even when they don't like them."
"Well, it sucks." Mithos said sourly. "And to make it worst, I actually do sympathize with the Fahrer."
Noishe suddenly squawk. It was like he wanted him to explain more.
Mithos sighed. "The Fahrer want to create a nation for half-elves. They plan to use the money they make out of exspheres to do it."
"Ingenious." Kratos muttered. "Not only do they make a great deal of money from monopolizing exspheres, but they also weaken both Sylvarant and Tethe'alla financially as well as military wise."
"They are egging on this latest attack on Tethe'alla in the hope that the two kingdoms will finally destroy themselves." Mithos said.
Kratos stared at Mithos for a moment. "Ichor told you this."
"He wanted me to join him." Mithos whispered. "He wanted my help in creating this new nation."
"And you refuse." Kratos stated bluntly.
Mithos narrowed his eyes. "I despise Ichor and the rest of the Fahrer, but I can't help but agree with them about wanting to create a kingdom just for half-elves. Wouldn't things be better if we had a place to truly call our own?"
Kratos sighed. "I am not sure. Maybe the Fahrer have the right idea, but the wrong method of achieving it."
"Maybe?" Mithos questioned.
"There is an old saying. That the ends justified the means." Kratos stated. "To the Fahrer, sacrificing lives may be worth them having their own kingdom."
Mithos snorted. "It is always easy to make that decision when you're not the one making the sacrifice. Even if the Fahrer's goals are the right ones, they are killing the Kharlan Tree to achieve it. Just for that, I will fight them with everything I have and crush them."
"You have finally lost you hesitation, Mithos." Kratos noted. "You have indeed grown must stronger."
"I don't know about all of that, but we must succeed, more than ever now." Mithos said. "I can't just let the Fahrer have their way anymore."
Kratos smiled. "Then, we will do everything in our power to stop them."
Noishe squawk in agreement.
Martel was also having trouble sleeping as she stared at the fire. She wished she could talk to Yuan, but he had all but passed out as soon as his head hit the sleeping bag. He was completely drained from creating the barrier around the Farm. So, she really couldn't blame him. She would talk to Gem, but he had been avoiding her ever since he learned of her relationship with Yuan. Unfortunately, she wasn't really in the mood to cheer him up.
Something then caught Martel's eye and she saw Eric shift against the tree he was sitting under. He obviously couldn't sleep either, but Martel never felt close enough to Eric to really talk to him before. Especially since he had a stigma against half-elves.
Despite these facts, Martel found herself walking over to the lone soldier. She had vowed, after all, to end the discrimination between half-elves and humans and this was a good place to start. By talking to him, maybe she could understand where his hated came from.
Eric took immediate took noticed of her and lifted up his head. "May I help you?" He asked curtly.
Martel took a deep breath. "I just noticed that you couldn't sleep and I wanted to check on you."
"I am a soldier, I can run on little to no sleep." Eric said. "You're the one who needs rest."
Martel frowned and decided that only bluntness will work with him. "Eric, why do you hate half-elves?"
Eric looked a little surprise by the forwardness of her question, but overall kept a straight face. "I don't hate half-elves, I just don't like them."
"But why?" Martel insisted. "Surely, there must be some reason."
Eric stared at Martel with a keen eye. "Why does it matter to you so much?"
"Because, I have seen too much hate already." Martel said. "Ever since we've left Heimdall, I have seen what hate has done to people. How humans treat half-elves as like trash and how the Fahrer treats humans the same way."
Eric snorted. "You haven't even begun to see the darkness of men."
"Please, tell me, Eric." Martel pleaded.
Eric glared at her. "You want to know, I'll tell you. I dislike half-elves because I hate people. My hate is equal among all the races."
"What?" Martel breathed in surprise.
"When I was still a soldier for Sylvarant, I was second-in-command to some high aristocrat." Eric said in a dead voice. "One day, our unit came across a town that was neutral to the war. However, we later found out that several citizens in the town were caring for soldiers on both sides."
"But, isn't that a good thing?" Martel asked as she sat down next to him.
"To stay neutral, a town cannot offer any aid to any side." Eric said coldly. "This law was broken, but it isn't one that is heavily enforce. After all, if a person sees someone hurt on the road, their first instinct is to help them."
Martel nodded. "That is a common condition of people. We help each other when we're in need."
Eric's eyes narrowed. "But, our commander saw it differently. He saw the entire town as the enemy and order us to attack it." Martel was horrified. "We killed all of the men on the spot and the women were raped in front of their children. After they were broken and beaten, we set their houses on fire and cheered as they were burnt to death. I still remember the smell of burning flesh even now."
"By the spirits." Martel whispered.
Eric had tears in his eyes. "I beg my commander to stop, but he said that he would have my head for treason if I didn't follow his orders. I was too much of a coward to fight and helped slaughter an entire town whose only sin was being too decent."
Martel looked ready to cry herself. "I....I never knew."
"That day, I came to a realization." Eric said in a stone cold voice. "This war stopped being about morality, justice and honor a long time ago. It is not even about hate or revenge anymore. It has become nothing more than an excuse for people to indulge in their own dark nature and heart desires. This war is only about blood and lust."
"That can't be..." Martel whispered.
"That day, I had enough of this war." Eric said. "I left my unit and never looked back. My only true regret is that I didn't slit my commander's throat as I was leaving."
"That is why you hate people." Martel said softly.
"I hate human nature and half-elves are part human. The Fahrer shows that you half-elves have the same dark heart that beats inside us humans." Eric said coldly. "If we humans weren't such barbaric bastards, this war would have long ended to common sense."
Martel was silent for a moment. "I don't think you really believe those words."
Eric snorted. "You think you can see inside my heart?"
"If you believed your own words, you wouldn't be here fighting to end this war." Martel said. "You being here prove that you believe that humans are redeemable."
Eric chuckled humorlessly. "Then you would be wrong. I not here to redeem mankind, but myself. I know that I am damn for all eternity for the things that I have done, but I want to reclaim some of my soul before that happens."
Martel gave a small smile. "The redemption of any race begins with one person. Your ability to feel sorry for what you have done and working to correct it proves that there is hope for all of us. There is the capability for evil in all of us, but if we acknowledged our mistakes we can change and make things better."
"You really think that we are capable our learning from our errors?" Eric asked, being sarcastic. Although, Martel heard a faint hope in his voice.
"I believe that with all my heart." Martel said with certainty.
Eric turned his eyes away from Martel and looked back towards the ground. "You're really naive. By the time this all ends, I wonder if you still would say those pretty words."
Martel looked at him with absolute conviction. "I will say them until the day I die."