Hey Y'all Forzarismo here with a new chap for Faust: The Horseman Gamer~! I honestly tried to have this chap done for the one year anniversary of this fic, but a combination of writer's block, getting distracted, and a shitton of work certainly didn't help matters. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy my work and may you all continue to do so.
And while I'm at it, I feel like I need to address something.
To be more exact, my first fic here on this site: The Rubbery Vengeance.
As much as I desperately wanted to continue that fic, and I have stated so many times on the latest shaps for that fic, I just no longer have the heart to do so. My writing style since I have written the first chapters for that fic has changed significantly, to the point that they are completely different from one another. Honestly, the first chapters are so poorly written that I basically screwed myself over before I can even properly start the fic. Worse so was that very fic killed my passion for writing for over a year and a half. This fic here is basically me starting anew, but I hope you all understand why I won't continue The Rubbery Vengeance.
Nevertheless, I hope you all enjoy the newest chap!
Chapter 10: Everyone's The Protag of Their Own Story
Looking towards the dimmed street, I can't help but let out a sigh.
I know it's my job, but I don't think I can ever get used to the smell even after so long…
Oh, Kije is going to be upset that I'm back so late.
But that's just her being such a worrywart.
What did I do to ever deserve such a wonderful woman is anyone's guess, but I am all the more thankful for it.
Especially when taking into consideration all of the horrible things I have done in the name of the Empire.
I've wanted to leave for a long time… but the ritual I did with the Incineration Squad and the fact that they know where my family is are the only things that stop me from leaving.
They told me themselves, there's only one way I can truly leave the Squad, and that's by death.
Unfortunately, that would leave my beloved Kije and Logue by themselves, and I can't have that.
The only reason they remain untouched is because of me.
The moment I'm gone, they are defenseless.
And I must not let that happen no matter what.
This reminds me of one of the new orders our group received straight from the Emperor himself. Apparently, there has been a new threat appearing from the North that is suspected to have ties with the Revolutionary Army. They have been the cause for some substantial losses for The Empire and thus want them to be exterminated with extreme prejudice.
No doubt to get some Imperial Arm users to deal with them as soon as possible, since it's been quite a while since I've seen such an order be issued.
Looking over my shoulder at Rubicante, I also see in the background two men wandering about as if they are looking for something or someone.
"I swear we are heading in the right direction! The little girl and her mother said they were headed down this street!" The man wearing a brimmed hat remarks in exasperation as the larger man behind him seems to be at his wit's end.
"You've said that twenty minutes ago! Do you know how much can happen in twenty minutes!? Let's face it, we have completely lost him!" The larger man exclaims and judging by the look on the other man's face, it looks like he's trying his hardest to maintain his cool and not love his patience with the blonde man.
Actually… now that I take a good look at him… Isn't he Zank?
Yeah, that is him! He was one of the brightest recruits a couple of years back just when I finished my initiation with the Incineration Squad.
He looked so different back then. He certainly has built up muscle, completely different from when he first appeared as a recruit for the army.
"If you keep talking that way then we'll never find him! So relax and let me do my work!" The other man growls out, looking around the area as if searching for clues.
Judging from their conversation it looks like they have lost someone and searching for them.
I can't help but feel a bit sorry for them, since if anyone were to disappear it would more than likely end up with something horrible happening to them afterward.
Not to mention the longer one stays missing the more likely they're in danger.
…
Forgive me my beloved Kije, looks like I won't be making it home on time.
Walking up towards the two, they stop their bickering as they turn their attention towards me.
"Forgive me for interrupting your little search but from the looks of it, it appears that the two of you are in dire need of assistance." I ask of them, with the smaller of the two instantly on guard as his hands hover over his revolvers.
I can't help but bite back a sigh since that kind of response to my presence isn't really that uncommon from people seeing me for the first time.
Thankfully though, judging by the brightened look Zank's face is giving me, he has recognized me. "Wait a minute, You're Bols of the Incineration Squad! You are a legend among the Empire's rank and file! Is that your Imperial Arm Rubicante? This is the first time I've laid my eyes on an Imperial Arm other than my Commander's." Zank starts off amicably, walking up to me with relief all over his face, causing the other man to relax a bit, his hands lowering themselves from their original position but still close enough to do something.
I can't help but think that this man is very paranoid, but given the things I've done for the Empire, not entirely unwarranted.
"Yes, I am Bols, and you are correct to assume this is my Imperial Arm. It looks to me that the two of you are looking for someone. Need any help?" I ask Zank, looking towards the smaller man to see what he thinks of the idea.
Sure enough, before Zank can get a word out he starts talking. "Another pair of eyes would certainly make things easier I will admit, but don't get any ideas. The only reason I'm letting this happen is so that this buffoon can finally shut up." He remarks, with Zank looking insulted by his comment. And before he can say anything, the man presses on. "You have done nothing but bicker in my ear as I have done all the work, you can't tell me otherwise."
"Well, we've been running in circles because of you!" Zank shouts.
"It's because their trail has them overlapping many of the same areas! Faust is drunk out of his mind, you think someone in such a state would only head in one direction!?" The other man continues.
"I'm sorry, if I may interject here, may I ask what is your name…?" I interrupt, stopping them from bickering any longer.
"Arthur." The man that I know is named Arthur states.
"Yes well, wouldn't it be more prudent to just stop with all this incessant arguing and try to focus on finding your friend?" I try to placate him.
Thankfully he understands, letting out a small huff before looking around his surrounding as if searching for some sort of trail. "That way, right towards that tall building over there. They went inside, I can tell." Arthur says with complete confidence.
Before Zank can finish letting out a snort of disbelief, I hold my hand over his mouth and nose and speak. "Lead the way then." I state curtly, ignoring the daggered look Zank is throwing me.
Heading towards the tower, we enter through the doorway and see a receptionist reading a book without a care in the world.
"Excuse me feller, but my friends and I are looking for a buddy of ours. He's really tall, has tan skin, and came with a blonde lass in very scandalous clothing I assume?" Arthur asks politely as he takes off his hat and places it over his chest.
Without missing a beat, the man just points towards the map chart. "Head up towards the sixth floor, the last door at the end of the hallway." The receptionist says in an uncaring tone.
He really doesn't care about client confidentiality, does he?
Silently looking at Arthur, he gives me a curt nod before smirking at Zank, who didn't seem to have taken being proved wrong in stride.
"They could be anybody for all we know. We don't know for sure if that is actually Faust." Zank retorts, trying to get under Arthur's skin, but to no avail, as Arthur just continues on walking up the stairs in a leisurely manner.
"According to the locals we questioned, Faust has quite the exotic features, more than enough to stand out in their memories. Apparently while drunk with the lass he did many small but kind gestures to strangers. Guess he isn't as heartless as he says he is." Arthur remarks all too smugly, though he spoke more softly towards the last sentence.
Guess this Faust character made quite the impression on these two if they are really trying to find him.
As we climb up the stairs, we remain relatively silent, mainly focused on finding out what this man is doing on the top floor of this establishment.
As we reach that sixth floor, we head towards the end of the hallway to find our destination.
Before Zank or I can take the next step, Arthur holds a hand up to stop us. "Do y'all hear that?" Arthur asks us, making us pause to focus our hearing.
There's some muffled grunting and moaning coming from the other end of the door, and judging by the slow turn of heads both Zank and Arthur do as they stare at each other before staring at me, we all have come to the same conclusion.
Arthur takes it a step further and crouches in front the doorknob where the keyhole is and peers through it for a couple of seconds.
He soon lets out a light chuckle and shakes his head. "That bastard… I can give him a piece of my mind later." Arthur then gets up from his spot and looks at the two of us before fixing his hat. "Let's leave the two lovebirds to themselves. At least we know where to look tomorrow morning. Come on, let's get out of here." Arthur tells us before heading down the steps we came from.
Well, that's the end of it then. While it is rather anti-climactic considering how desperate they were to find their friend.
Glad it ended well though, considering the other potential fates he could've met.
Heading down the stairs, we see that the receptionist has completely dozed off, with his book covering his face.
"This man is going to lose his job soon if he keeps that up." Zank mutters as we pass him by.
"At least he told us where Faust was, so he has that going for him." Arthur remarks as we head out of the door and back towards the streets.
Walking down the road in relative silence, I decide to ask a simple question. "So what are you guys up to now?"
Zank looks towards the moon and merely shrugs. "I think I'll have a stroll around the area, talk to some locals and see if there's anything interesting going on."
At that Arthur let out a small chuckle. "Well I'll be, that's exactly what I was planning on doing. Funny how the world works." Arthur states glancing at an alleyway for a quick moment before doing a subtle double-take.
Wondering what he saw, I too look towards the direction he is staring at and just catch a shadow slink into the alleyway.
"Somethings not right…" Arthur comments softly as he begins to head towards the alleyway himself with surprising silence, pulling out one of his guns as he nears its entrance.
The sudden shift was not lost upon us, with Zank and I deciding to follow suit to see what did Arthur sense.
We catch a glimpse of the shadowed figure turn a corner, I glance at Arthur's hand and see that he has already cocked the hammer back, already ready to take a shot should the need ever arise.
Seeing him take cover behind the building, we follow suit and stick close by him as he peers around the corner.
"We got a situation in our hands here…" Arthur mutters as he keenly maintains his sight on the shrinking figure.
"What do you see?" I ask since if our night is taking a turn to something more unsavory, I'd rather know what I'm dealing with.
"A mother and daughter are being tailed by someone with less than kind intentions. With the things that Faust has told me about what this place tends to do to the innocent, I'd rather not take any chances." Arthur growls, getting out of cover and trailing the man with Zank and I trying our best to be as inconspicuous as possible.
Well, as inconspicuous as three large men can be anyhow.
Though both Arthur and Zank don't seem to be having a much easier time than I at tailing the man discreetly.
Well isn't that a new tidbit for myself to improve upon once I have the chance.
"Zank, Arthur… I am going to stay farther behind so as to not alert the man. My stealth skills aren't up to par so to speak." I whisper to them, who silently nod back without taking their eyes off of our target.
As I slow my stride, my two compatriots slowly gain distance from me and eventually the shadowed figure leaves my sight. From this point on I just have to believe in the two of them to ensure that they don't lose sight of the man.
Strangely enough, for the past forty minutes nothing notable happened. We were just walking through the myriad of streets and I was slowly beginning to wonder if this was all just a mere misunderstanding.
And then there was a high pitched scream and a loud gunshot ringing through the mostly empty street.
My instincts kicking in, I feel my body launch itself forward with a burst of speed as I pull out Rubicante from behind me and-!
…
Well, looks like I'm not needed.
Arthur looks to be consoling the lady and her daughter while Zank keeps the injured assailant on the floor.
And would you look at that, one of his arms is torn off… and it's still holding the knife in his hand.
Well it certainly can't get any more incriminating than that. Strange taste in tattoos though.
"So what went down?" I ask the two, putting Rubicante away as Arthur leads the mother and her daughter into their home while Zank pushes the man's face onto the ground.
Zank is the first to respond. "To keep it short: the man pulled out a knife, the woman screamed, making the man to raise his arm to stab her, in which Arthur reacts in time by shooting his arm off with his gun, which leads us to now." Zank easily explains as he entirely ignores the man slowly bleeding out of his left arm.
Heading towards the man pinned on the floor, I pull out a spare belt I had on my person and tie it tightly on what's left of the man's mutilated arm, ignoring his painful protests as I do so.
"So, what do we do with him?" Arthur asks, his attention now away from the mother and daughter as they have now entered their home, leaving just the four of us out here in the middle of the street.
"We can take him to the proper authorities and have him arrested. Bols and I work for the Empire so it shouldn't be difficult to get him arrested." Zank affirms as he pulls up the assailant onto his feet.
"You have no idea who you've messed with haven't you? Just wait till my buddies get ahold of you!" The man spittles, his glasses falling off of his face as he jerks himself violently in a weak attempt to get out of Zank's grip.
"Your buddies huh… and pray tell, who would they be?" Arthur asks in a mocking tone as he unholsters his gun.
"The Fangs of Integrity." He snarls, before letting out a smirk that I've seen too many times in my life to know the meaning of it.
There are others besides him here.
Seeing a shadow move above the roof, I don't hesitate to pull out Rubicante activating its trump card Magma Drive as I do, and shoot at the shadow, watching it scream in agony as it falls from the roof onto the ground.
Sudden gunshots ring from my left, making me turn my attention to Arthur, the barrel of his gun whisping smoke as it is aimed behind me.
Turning around, I see three dead people lying in rather awkward positions, no doubt they too are a part of this so-called "Fangs of Integrity" group.
"You were saying?" Arthur snarks, placing his gun under the man's chin. "Please, enlighten us as to what this group is about."
Later…
Heading towards the entrance of the five-story building in front of us, the three of us stand in front of it and wonder how we should go about entering their base of operations.
"So how do you want to go about heading in there?" I ask since if it comes down to it, I can simply just kick in the door and just let Rubicante do its thing.
Zank contemplates for a moment, looking around the building before deciding to speak. "I can sneak up on the third floor and cause a diversion while the two of you head through the front door. From there we can meet on either the second or fourth floor. Any thoughts or suggestions?"
"Eh, I was just gonna suggest entering head-on, but your plan sounds better." Arthur says, pulling both of his guns out from their holsters.
"Not much better than what I had planned. I was honestly going to suggest burning the whole building." I respond to the two of them, with Zank merely shrugging and Arthur's eyes widening slightly at such a tactic.
"Okay then, here I go." Zank then jumps towards one of the nearby ledges and without losing his stride begins jumping in tandem to the other ledges before reaching the open window on the third floor.
Arthur walks forward and takes point. "Let me take the first shot, and when I need to reload then you can take over. We can't have you burn down the whole building from the start."
Even with my mask hiding most of my face I can't help but raise a brow. "I believe you are underestimating me here Arthur, but I can see where you are coming from. We'll do it your way then." I concede, and just in time too, as I hear muffled screaming coming from the top floor of the building.
"Alrighty then, let's get this show on the road." Arthur mutters as he strides with swagger towards the door and kicks it open.
There doesn't seem to be as many people as we thought, but even then that left roughly over twenty people.
Still doesn't seem to be a problem for Arthur though, seeing as more than roughly three-quarters of them were gunned down in a second before any of them can properly react to the threat in front of them.
"Behind me Arthur!" I call out, with him swerving his body around to be behind me as I let Rubicante do what it has always done and incinerate those in front of me.
In mere seconds the flames consume the remaining lackeys and turn them into ash along with the surrounding corpses.
"What the hell!? How are we going to get to the second floor now!?" Arthur exclaims since the flames have now crawled up the large stairwell.
"Do not fret Arthur, I wouldn't be worthy of holding Rubicante if I didn't know the full extent of its capabilities." I appease as a flick of a switch, all of the flames soon start flowing back into Rubicante's nozzle. "This weapon would be too dangerous to practice with if it didn't come with any safeguards you know? Each and every Imperial Arm has one to ensure The Empire's safety." I explain, watching as the final lick of flame is consumed by Rubicante.
Arthur at the sight of this, is flabbergasted. "How in God's name did they make that? Is that a new weapon?" Arthur asks me in wonder.
"Unfortunately not. Rubicante is a one-of-a-kind weapon made roughly a millennia ago when it was commissioned by the First Emperor of The Empire." I reply, ignoring the astounded look Arthur is giving me.
Walking up the steps, I don't bother with looking to see if the enemy is waiting there and just pull the trigger, ignoring the screams as I always do as I get to the top of the stairwell and see that there are still some people left alive in the corridor. "Your move Arthur." I tell him as Rubicante begins to suck in all of the surrounding flames, with many assailants coming out from the doorways with their weapons raised to either strike or shoot us.
Arthur thankfully makes their attempts moot, as his bullets ricochet and fatally wound our enemies with absurd precision.
I have never seen a marksman as good as him in the Empire, his skills with his guns make me wonder why he isn't part of the Army? He certainly has the skills to be a high-ranking officer, unless he isn't from around here and just recently came to The Capital to make it big.
One of the adversaries throws a hatchet towards us as Arthur reloads his weapons, barely missing him by inches as the hatchet gets lodged onto the wall behind us. And instead of immediately shooting them, he instead holsters one of his guns, pulls the hatchet from the wall, and then throws it with impeccable accuracy, watching soar through the hallway before lodging itself into the skull of the man who threw it.
Activating Magma Drive once more, I take more accurate shots at those that still remain to be taken down before entering one of the rooms to get some cover.
Taking a quick glance at the room, I notice that it appears to be an office of sorts, with some files scattered here and there.
I would've ignored them had it not been for one single detail that froze my body when I glimpsed it.
In one of the scattered files, I saw Logue's photo.
Grabbing from the ground faster than I've realized, I open the file and begin reading what they have on her.
What they had… infuriated me to the core.
They had all of her personal info from her weight and height, her likes and dislikes, and they even know what she tends to do on certain days of the week. The next page then boiled down to multiple scenarios as to how to kidnap my little girl from my dearest Kije since she never leaves her side.
And the page after shows the exact same thing, this time for my wife.
I feel my mask tighten on my face as rage floods throughout my body.
How dare they…
To have their sights on Kije and Logue.
To have the audacity to even consider them targets!
That's it.
Everything burns.
With Zank…
Pulling my arm blades out of the last guy's throat on the fourth floor, I can't help but feel like I deserve a pat on the back for my efforts.
All too many of them were too slow to even be considered a challenge, though that might have to do with the intense training one has to do to be one of The Empire's Executioners.
Now, many might think that being an Executioner is just a simple thing as being the one to take the weapon and have your prisoner draw their final breath, but that isn't the case.
To be an Executioner you have to have… a particular set of skills that'll assist in one's job.
We don't just execute them when their verdict is given, we are the ones sent to those particularly nasty individuals to capture alive, regardless of the opposition ahead of us.
Which certainly helps me with getting rid of all of these men, seeing as they all are strewn about on the floor bleeding out and their guts spread about.
Wonder where Arthur and Bols are?
I hear some noises from the bottom floors but I've been too busy with dealing with the onslaught of people coming from both the upper and lower floors along with those that were already on the third floor when I breached into it.
But even with all of that additional challenge, I still prevailed with relative ease, eviscerating them left and right as they appeared.
The only problem that arose was when I saw that there were children caged like animals on most of the fourth floor, some of them even being used as meatshields when he came up from the third floor.
Unfortunately for them, such tactics are paltry for a trained executioner.
But now, after all of that, I am left with three dozen children wearing nothing but rags and I am not sure how to go about this.
Do I have them stay here and wait for Bols and Arthur to see what I should do or head down the third floor below and bring them along with me?
The torrent of flames coming from the bottom steps answers for me as a burning corpse is thrown in the air before crumbling into ash before it can hit the ground.
And just before the flames can even spread, some form of air vacuum sucks them all back down the stairs.
I don't even need to guess who's the cause of that.
Bols stomps up the stairs in silence with Arthur shortly following behind him, though the hat-wearing marksman seems rather tense.
As much as I would like to know why he is feeling such, there are much more important things to do right now.
Like what the hell do we do with these kids!?
As Bols gets closer to us, I notice that his grip on his Imperial Arm is tight enough for his knuckles to turn white.
That's not a good sign to see, hopefully, he can overcome whatever is afflicting his mind quickly though, seeing as we are just about to hit the final floor and it has been ominously quiet.
"So do we leave the children down here? Or do we risk it and take them with us?" I ask them, but judging by the stares they're giving me, it was the wrong thing to ask.
"Brilliant idea you have there Zank, just brilliant. Let's take the kids to an unknown area where we don't even know what to expect, and by extension make it so much more dangerous for all of us by dividing our attention between keeping them safe and dealing with a potential threat." Arthur grunts sarcastically at me, holstering his weapons and crouching down to see eye-to-eye with the children. "I'll get the kids out of this damned place while the two of you handle whatever is left up there." Arthur states seriously, pulling out a handkerchief from his breast pocket and giving it to the closest child near him, a small boy who hesitantly takes it in his hands. "Here you go, use it to clean yourself. God knows that none of you deserve whatever happened here." He softly assures the boy, who slightly tears up as he gingerly cleans his arms with the handkerchief.
"They… they killed my pa… and then they… they did…!" The boy chokes out tears, his body shaking like a leaf in the wind as he clutches the handkerchief tightly to his body. This in turn sets off many of the other children as the hall fills with their distressed cries of anguish.
Without missing a beat, Arthur takes the kid into a hug and begins to rub circles around his back. "I'm sorry we couldn't come sooner kid." is all he says as many of the other children begin hugging him as well, obviously looking for comfort from the first person that begins giving it to them.
I turn to Bols, who seems to be shaking with anger as he stares at the disheveled state the children are in. "You heard him, we need to finish this up." Bols accepts, leaving the children in Arthur's care as he briskly heads up the stairs towards the fifth and final floor.
Funny enough when we kick the door open, there was only one person there and he seemed to have been waiting for us to come to him.
"About time you showed up. I was wondering who was causing all of this commotion…" The towering man remarks nonchalantly, acting as if this is all just a mere inconvenience to him.
"Are you the leader?" Bols asks immediately after the man finishes talking, his body as still as it can be.
"You are correct! I am the Magnificent Silrem-!"
In all honesty, I shouldn't be surprised by the sight of Bols immediately activating his Imperial Arm, not giving our target any breathing room as he begins howling in agony as the flames soak into his body and-!
…huh.
I didn't realize this man had an Imperial Arm as well.
The medallion necklace around his neck begins to glow brightly as the man's body enlarges and begins growing a thick black and red coat of fur all over his body, not to mention his whole head morphs itself into that of a wolf, again with the same black and red fur coating.
But even turning into something like a werewolf doesn't seem to help him, as there is just more of him to burn, and considering the rumors of what Bol's Imperial Arm can do, it looks like the flames won't be put off anytime soon.
In fact, he's been spreading it all over the room with his sporadic writhing.
But even with his body engulfed in flames, he stills seems to be conscious enough to try to launch a last-ditch effort of an attack towards the two of us.
Unfortunately for him, Bols is completely beyond his level.
A ball of condensed flames exits out of the nozzle of his weapons and hits the man dead center on his chest, caving it in with morbid ease as the man's body falls apart right before us.
Bols then begins to suck in the flames through his Imperial Arm, leaving for the most part only scorched and charred marks on both the floors and ceiling.
Though that's not the only thing left remaining, as despite all logic the leader of this so-called Fangs of Integrity is still alive and breathing.
Though, that might be a bit off a stretch, considering he mostly torso now, with most of his face melted and charred beyond belief, some of his organs bubbling out from his back, and his necklace embedded into his ribcage.
Walking up to the soon-to-be-dead man, I dig my fingers into his chest and rip the Imperial Arm from his person, the man groaning out a painful wheeze as I do so.
He looks to be mumbling something, but for the life of me, I cannot understand a single thing he's saying. "Can you make out anything he might be saying?" I ask Bols, who merely stares at the charred and melted man with what I can only describe as spiritual disdain.
Getting no answer from him, I shrug and decide to end the man's life. With just a flick of my wrist, my blade decapitates his head from what remains of his body and I leave it at that.
Looking around the room, I notice the desk at the end of the room which appears relatively unscathed despite the fact that the area surrounding it was been scorched. Walking up towards the desk, I open the drawers to see if there is anything incriminating that we can use to put an end to their work.
Unfortunately, as I rummaged through all the papers in the desk, I couldn't find anything of relative importance, frustrating me to no end.
Like seriously, of all the times someone has to be competent in something it had to be this!
Kicking the desk over in frustration, I see a button on the bottom of the desk with some wires coming out from the bottom of the legs of the desk.
Okay then, I take back my statement.
Pressing the button, I hear some gears turning behind me, making me turn around to see what is happening. As the floor opens up, I see a large safe being lifted from the ground by some form of contraption.
This in turn grabs Bols attention as he walks up the safe and looks at it with keen interest. "So how do we go about opening it? I mean I can use Rubicante on it but there is a high chance that'll destroy the contents inside." Bols says, fumbling with the combination lock in an attempt to get it open, but to no avail, unfortunately.
"Here let me try." I tell Bols, getting my hands on the combination lock to see if I can open it.
Unfortunately for me, it doesn't work the first time.
So I try again.
And again.
And again.
And again…
And again…
By the seventieth time, I was feeling pure rage at this safe. No matter what combination I did it just wouldn't open!
"Okay, what the hell is taking you all so long?" Arthur's gruff voice calls out from the stairs.
"We've been trying to open a safe!" I yell back, smacking the safe with my blade once more, only leaving a scratch as it happens.
Seriously, what the hell is this safe made out of!?
I soon hear footsteps coming up the stairs and Arthur comes up looking at me with a disappointed expression. "Here, let me take a knack at it." Arthur says before shooing me away from the safe.
I huff and look away from the man. "Good luck with that, I highly doubt you can even get the thing to-!"
Click.
I can feel Arthur's smug look as he opens the safe's door, no doubt internally mocking me as a small chuckle escapes Bol's mouth. "It's open." Arthur says, making me begrudgingly turn around to see what is inside the safe.
Papers… The safe is filled with papers.
Sure, there are some gold coins and jewelry in there as well, but what has our interest is those papers.
Before any of us take anything from the safe, I ask Arthur a simple question. "Why did you leave the kids?"
"He didn't." A new voice interrupts, causing Bols and I to immediately take out our weapons at the sound of the new voice, seeing a slender man with wavy platinum-blond hair walking up the stairs with his hands raised. "Now now, there's no need for the hostility, this meeting between us is just a simple coincidence, nothing more, nothing less." He continues, not even slowing down as we notice the children following him up the stairs.
"Who are you?" Bols inquires, lowering his Imperial Arm at the sight of both the children following the man and Arthur's relaxed posture.
"I'm Run, just a concerned teacher looking for someone."
With Akame…
"So you mean to tell us, that the man that kidnapped us, not only says we are on the wrong side of the war, but he also wants to recruit us to his cause? The very same man who we have confirmed to have ties with the North?" Guy questions incredulously, looking at me and Tsukushi with a stern gaze.
"…Yes." I answer carefully, Tsukushi holding my hand for support.
"The same one who made it look like each and every one of us died?" Poney further iterates, pouting angrily as she looks down at her legs.
"Well, in his defense-" Tsukushi begins before being cut off by Guy.
"Cut the bullshit Tsukushi! Even if your breasts are the biggest ones here doesn't give you the right to defend that bastard!" Guy yells back at us, and feeling Tsukushi's grip on my hand tighten, I can tell she doesn't appreciate Guy insulting Faust.
"Yes, I do. Faust is our new leader, and he has shown me the error of my ways and I don't appreciate you insulting him in such a way." Tsukushi rebukes monotonously, her bangs shadowing her eyes as they gain a gleam that doesn't bring me ease.
"How can you betray father's teachings like that!? After everything he did for us!? For you!? You just go and abandon them all as if they don't mean anything!? How could you!?" Poney questions angrily, tears building up on her eyes as she points an accusatory finger towards us.
"Father taught us many things, but in the end, we are our own person and we can make our own decisions. So I plead to all of you, please join us. Join us to a noble cause where we can make our dreams a reality; To make the Empire a better place to live for everybody, a place where children don't need to be taken from their families in order to be made into more assassins for the Empire, a place where I can live the rest of my days with my friends and family." I plead to them, bowing sincerely in hopes that they take my message to heart.
I don't want to fight them, any of them. Despite everything that has happened recently, they are still my family. People I have been raised for years since I was a kid. And now I have the chance to be with them and Kurome, who I haven't seen in so long…
I can't bear leaving any of them and just want all of us to live a good life together doing good things for the people.
They all remain silent after hearing my plea, and for a moment I thought it just fell upon deaf ears, but Green suddenly stands up and walks towards Tsukushi and I.
"I will join you. If that is what you truly feel, then I will follow your lead and hope for the best." Green says, adjusting his glasses as he turns to face the others.
Soon after Cornelia hesitantly gets up as well. "Despite everything he did that night, from what I've seen of him while at Ragiri's compound he was nothing but a kind person who helped when someone truly needed it. If anything I feel like this is a great opportunity to see what kind of person he is." Cornelia affirms as she too joins us, leaving only Najasho, Guy, and Poney as the remainders who still don't seem keen to join Faust.
Well, Guy and Poney to be more precise. Najasho just seems pensive and in deep thought, no doubt calculating the risks of it all.
But despite gaining support from both Cornelia and Green, they remain silent.
"I would suggest taking her words to heart if I were the three of you." Jill says calmly, finally speaking after remaining quiet for so long.
"Shut it lady! Even if you have that sexy secretary thing going for you doesn't mean you can sway us!" Guy exclaims, causing the lady's guards to immediately move in front of her defensively.
"You seem to be misunderstanding something here brat. You and your friends are at our mercy here. Even if you killed me and my guards somehow, there's no way you'll be able to make it out of here alive." Jill confirms, not all threatened by Guy's yelling. " but even so, my master is not cruel as to not give you all a choice in what you can do from here. He understands the risks of giving you all the chance to return back to the Empire, so while that means we can't ever return you back there until we can confirm your loyalty to our cause, that doesn't mean we don't have other jobs here that can use a human element to it. The choice is all yours, but do remember that the consequences of your choices are yours as well. Do keep that in mind." Jill states, turning around to walk out of the room with her guards in tow. "Oh, and do keep in mind that Faust currently has all of your Shingus at his disposal, so your chances of leaving are slimmer than you think."
With Jill leaving the room, I turn back to see Najasho letting out a small smirk as soon as she leaves. "Smart woman, she really knows not to give us a choice does she?" Najasho remarks, getting up from the bed after being silent for so long."Seeing as you are the one who is most adamant about having all of us stick together, that makes you the leader. So, what's next?" Najasho asks, bewildering me for once.
"You want me to be the leader?" I can't help but blurt out.
"For now. I know little about this Faust character aside from the intel you, Cornelia, and Tsukushi relayed to us and the one instance we met at a restaurant with Green. I'd say you three are the ones best suited to handling him. If we left it up to Guy, chances are his arms are going to be broken once more." Najasho continues, completely ignoring Guy's affronted protests.
I pause, completely blindsided by what Najasho is saying. I was never one for leading, especially in such a matter…
But if Najasho is placing his trust in me, then that means he has complete faith in me to not lead them astray.
I will show him that he has made the right choice.
I nod to all of my friends, my family, and turn around towards the exit door.
The doors automatically open as soon as I get nearby, and I am not surprised to see Jill waiting for me with her guards beside her, but even they seem to be at ease.
"So have you reached a decision?" she gently inquires, a small smile on her face the only thing telling me that she knows the answer.
"Yes, we have. Please take care of us." I tell her, giving her a slight bow as I do.
"We shall." Jill replies in kind, returning the gesture.
Out of nowhere, we hear a series of clops coming from one of the tunnels, and judging from the look Jill is giving and the diverted attention of the guards, it appears Faust has come back.
But… that doesn't seem to be the case.
As Faust's horse Guerra gets closer and closer, I see that instead of Faust riding him, it's instead a woman wearing unique clothing, all the while Faust's guards surround her and Guerra.
"Oh… please tell me that this is Faust's place." The woman pleads, bags evident on her eyes.
"It is… May I ask who you are?" Jill asks slowly, wondering who this woman is, and to be honest so am I.
Considering that she is riding Faust's own horse, that must mean she is someone of high importance to Faust.
She instead lets out a large sigh of relief, getting off of Guerra and letting her body fall onto the floor. "Oh thank heavens! I am never riding you again!" she exclaims, uncaring of how she appears as she points an accusatory finger at the red horse, who is somehow smirking back at her.
Really weird thing to note.
I can't help but smile at series of events that have lead me here. Sure many of the things I did while under my father's command are things I'm not proud of, taking the mission to assasinate Ragiri turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
As Jill picks up the uniquely dressed woman, I can't help but wonder to myself what comes next?
Somewhere…
"Have you heard the rumors going on in the North? It seems that they have received support from a new benefactor of theirs."
"Yes yes, we all heard of it at this point. Apparently they have been rapidly arming their entire population with these funds. Do you think they are going to make a move soon?"
"I don't know… I only heard that their benefactor came from one the cities on the Empire's northern border."
"You think one of the cities turned?"
"It is very likely. We're going to need to send some spies over there to see get more intel, are those new recruits of yours almost ready to enter the frontlines?"
"Not yet, they have just finished recovering thanks to our doctors and have just started their training. But judging on how much passion they have throwing themselves into it, I have no doubt that within the next two months, they will be ready."
"That's good to hear. In the meantime, I'll send some of our infantry to gain the intel. After all, anything that can be used against the empire is a blessing to us."
"Indeed. To the Empire's downfall."
"And long live The Revolutionary Army."
So The Revolutionary Army finally makes an official appearance after so many chapters. Will they be friend? Or foe? Only time will tell.
Thank you all so much for reading the latest chap and make sure to leave a review! I love reading what you all have to say and they certainly motivate me as a writer!
and if any of you ever have any questions, feel free to ask them and I'll answer them whenever possible.
Sincerely,
Forzarismo
June 30, 2021