Chapter 8:
"…Ugh… I'll seriously catch a cold like this…" I said as I pick myself up from the river.
Jumping into the river and waiting for those monsters to leave has me seriously soaked to the bone. I used the barrel of the gun as a tube for breathing while I wait. Why you ask? Because those things had to stand by the river \side for 30 minutes. They only left because someone from somewhere screamed. Now I smell like a river that was used as animal toilet with a mix of human organs and blood.
I'm beside these mountains of corpses, drying myself off as much as I can by wiping myself with one of the dead's clothes. Compared to earlier, the gunfire, explosions, and the heavy bass of large artillery have all gone down to distant noises that are few and far between.
As much as I want to contemplate how the war is going on, and why Lastation isn't giving signs of taking over Planeptune in a single night. I'm more concerned about these dead bodies.
They've been thoroughly mutilated as if someone enjoyed it. While the stench they give off is horrendous, what I'm really talking about is how they smell like they're cursing the world. Their silence is almsot damning, the cold stare is filled with desires to take its place among them. They're all dumped there by the river as if it was landfill of dead bodies. Their guts spilling all over, various Calliphoridae roaming around their lifeless flesh.
My bad feeling earlier before I jumped have gotten worst. These aren't ordinary mountain of dead bodies. No. These are materials. They were purposed here rather than dumped here by some madman. They cut the bodies in a certain way, placed them in a certain way, as if they were performing a ritual of sorts.
"I should start thinking that he is involved…" somehow. Someway. He is making his move.
As far as I know he is being cursed by a million beings. With no room to move, to think, speak, or breathe. That place is supposed to stop him from even letting his heart pump blood.
With that frame of reference in mind, then are those monsters somehow connected? Judging by how horrifying they look, they are. Then are they the collectors? Or the failures?
"What the hell is that asshole doing?" I curse my handler. That asshat isn't guarding that place like he said he would. I should make a mental note into reminding him.
"Still though…" that being the case, it's not like he's capable of performing his usual tricks. So, is there another one? A proxy? Maybe I'm over thinking this and it's just me jumping to conclusions. Either way, I'm not going to find the answer if I just sit here, will I? I need to get out of Planeptune first, so crossing the wall is the topmost priority right now.
"…Well saying that it's my topmost priority now might be pushing it…" I said as I stand and turn around…
"Isn't that right?" …and raise my hands…
"…Hmph, at least you know your place, Planeptunian" …to 5 armed military men all pointing their rifles at me.
"Are you sure about this, Mina? Asking her to collect?"
"…Yes"
"…"
"You should at least take one last look at Lowee before she does anything…"
"No need, Kei. I'm sure that when we finally revive them. We'll be able to go back to how it was"
"…"
"So, thank you. I don't need to look at Lowee right now"
"…Such a waste…"
"Yes…"
"No… I meant something else…"
"What do you mean…?"
"The old Mina wouldn't look like that…"
"… And what about you?"
"I guess I'm not too far different now. So? What are you going to do now?"
"Nothing. I will just wait. I will wait for my precious twins to come home to me"
She stands at the highest point of the Basilicom. The city is draped in an array of colors, shining and sparkling. Signboards flicker slightly wanting to get your attention, cars zooming by, trains passing through. As she overlooks, the city lights bring color to her face. Her warm eyes stare caringly towards the city. She watched as the students celebrate their day, the youngsters with their parents, working men and women bustling towards their goals, and adolescence just having the time of their lives.
"So this is what you wanted… eh? Peace…" she mumbles to no one in particular.
"I have to say, good job. Although the method to achieve it was a little… let's just say, over there… you have, technically reached your goal"
"Oh come on now, it's not like it wasn't gonna happen soon. All I did was push up the schedule a bit"
"Me? Hahaha. Surely you jest. What about you and your way of ruling? Forcing a Utopia. Forcing such ideals of yourself into others. Forcing people to believe that Gamindustri is safe. Forcing peace into their throats. Controlling everything just to make your goal happen. You controlled everything from the top to bottom. And in the end, you grew to become what you killed"
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Just for that? You believed in that old hag?"
"Let me tell you a bit of a secret… That wasn't her. In fact, the real her is long dead. Killed by my very own Brother"
"Oh but it's true"
"Evil? Surely, you're not naïve enough to believe that someone is truly evil and truly good? She was once just like you. But unlike you, she chose to be branded as an evil witch just for her children's growth"
"Oh? You didn't know? AHAHAHA. I guess branding someone as the 'Deity of Sin' does offer up quite the guilt free convenience. But don't fret, no one remembers her."
"Caught up in your little selfishness and not thinking if you're doing something diabolical. You and the Oracles too. Just a bunch of selfish people all around me… Ah, but who am I to speak like that? I am also selfish too"
"Grown quiet now are we? No matter. I'm just rambling to myself anyway"
As she finishes her little conversation, she jumps off the roof and lands on the helipad. The wind picks as her hair flutters behind her like a cape. She walks towards the edge of the helipad. And continues to stare with warm pitiful eyes towards the materials.
She smiles, as if excited for the show. She can't wait. She can't wait. She can't wait. She can't wait to collect. Power fills her being and that sense of power made her lose weight. She raises her arms as if about to swing something. A broad sword appeared, whose blade is in dark purple. A sword whose malice doesn't hide. A sword whose hate palpable. A sword whose thirst is unquenched.
"Quite the weight. For almost a decade of not taking any nutrients, its power remained absolute" she examines the sword like an artisan appreciating an old antique.
"Ah but, you don't know how to use it properly though. That's fine. For an item from… let's just say… where I came from, that's no surprise…"
"So then…" she raises the sword once more.
"Let me show you, the real power of this sword"
And suddenly, a thick black cloud shoots out from the sword. Rapidly spreading all around Lowee.