Apollo:
I was only one turn away from the explosion, it happened around three minutes ago so depending on how things are laid out the authorities won't be there yet. Gladly it was raining so the fire should be easier to handle, all I needed to do was to get people out. I reached into the cube and pulled out two small gray spheres and threw them forward. Once they hit the ground the sphere expanded, turning two average sized silhouettes. One in a maid outfit and the other in a butler outfit. The homunculus followed my lead and ran with me.
"I don't use you guys often but that may change soon. I need you two go around the site and find anyone injured and bring them to me. If you see any weird black rocks on the way, be careful around them, I saw them on the way." I ordered.
"Understood." They both replied.
We turned the corner to see what happened. There were a lot of workers outside the building a lot of them with burn wounds.
"This can't be. No, no, no."
I focused on one of the workers on the ground, he was looking at his legs as there was a clear injury. I moved towards him.
"You two go inside to do your orders" I said.
The two pressed off the ground heading into the building. I turned back towards the worker.
"Where does it hurt?" I asked.
"Don't touch me, I'd rather you not get infected." He said.
I spotted something next to his leg, on closer inspection I saw it was a small piece of the black rock I saw on my way there. On the rock reflected a dark crimson color along one of the sharp edges. I focused on the injury.
"Infected or not I rather not have someone die in front me. I won't be able to sleep at night." I said.
I reached into the cube for another sphere and threw it close to us. Out came another homunculus, this time I wanted this one in specific. It wore an all white outfit with, on its chest and hat was the Caduceus, the international medical symbol back home.
"Debrief all the others on the objective. Treat the wounded, stick to standard medical practice; magecraft only when the wound is fatal." I said.
I got up and threw five more spheres, this time they didn't have any defining feature; but just as capable as the rest following orders. With that I ran inside the building.
The inside was a burning landscape. The temperature wasn't too bad compared to what I've dealt with but I can easily see someone losing their mind in this. The smoke was making it difficult to see, the only thing that was easy to understand was the sound of people calling for help.
"My leg is stuck. Someone, I need help!"
"I can't get out of this room. Its block. Is anyone there!"
"I don't want to die. I need to get back to my family! Anyone please!
I could sense the sheer despair in here. I took a moment and focused on looking to find the presence of those inside, mainly looking for the weaker one since they are closer to death. I pushed mana into my legs and rushed towards the presence I felt. I made sure to not put too much into my legs so as to not ruin the already fragile state of the building. The presence led me deep into the building, likely close to where the actual explosion happened.
"You, over there. Please help us!"
I turned to my left to hear the origin of the weak, horse voice of a woman. With her were two other people, large patches of black; likely burns were present. I rushed towards them, the woman was good, all things considered somehow. The same couldn't be said with the other two. Both of them were barely hanging on as half of their bodies charred black, likely also having internal damage from the explosion.
"Have you seen anyone else?" I asked.
"No, no. I think we were the closest ones that lived. Everyone else- everyone else was burned alive." She said,
The woman instantly started breaking down, she lied on the ground in a ball. It would be cumbersome to deal with her emotions at this point in time so focused on the other two. I placed my hand on the two and magic circles formed, I wasn't doing anything major just healing them enough so I can get them out. I rather not expose myself too much, the homunculus outside can do the rest. It didn't take long. I picked them both up, I tied one to my back and carried the other in my arms. I tried to look for more presences but just like the women said there was no one else.
"Oi, I need you to get up now woman. This isn't the time to break down." I said.
The woman looked at me, her makeup a mess from everything that happened today. She looked at the ground for a moment before getting up.
"Good, now just hold onto my arm and I'll guide you out." I said calmly.
She simply nodded and did as I said. The journey there wasn't too bad for me but the woman on the other hand was clearly on the verge of collapse just due to the situation she found herself in. I comforted her by telling her that 'we aren't that far away' or 'be happy that you're gonna see another day'. It seemed to work a little but the majority of the anxiety was still there.
"We need a bottle of painkillers!"
As we neared the exit I could hear the sound of a woman yelling I didn't recognize.. I picked up the pace a little till I felt the freshness of a non fiery place. I searched for the sound of the voice to see an average sized woman with a high cut jacket with a loose skirt. Just like the other people I've seen there were extra features mixed in with the human appearance; mainly her four brown horns that have an orange tip.
"Yo, I have three more here. Two of them are badly injured, likely in near critical condition!" I shouted
"Someone give this one painkillers." The orange horned woman said as she came to me.
She quickly had me lay the two people on the ground so she could see the severity of the wounds.
"While he is clearly injured and burned in various places, both of them aren't in life threatening condition currently." She said with an expression of relief on her face.
"Master Apollo I come with good news."
I turn to see the homunculus with the white outfit. There were various dark stains on her attire ranging from brown to a dark crimson red.
"Now , including the admission of painkillers, all patients are in stable condition. Am I to assume that no one else is inside the building." He asked.
I nodded to confirm his question.
"I see, the local authorities have also arrived and taken over the situation , including the one named Ch'en. Is there anything else you need us to do?" He asked.
"No. You all did an amazing job." I said while smiling, giving him a massive thumbs up.
The doctor homunculus simply nodded. I put my hand on the ground while I pushed mana through it. As if I was the remote and the many homunculus were a device, all of them followed my command.
'You all did good, now return to me.'
At that moment all of the homunculus turned back into their sphere form and rolled towards me. As they reached my hand they merged into my hand, it was always an odd sensation. I could feel the sphere move through my body heading and stopping at the cube which is on the right side of my chest.
"That's quite the useful arts you have. May I ask what your current occupation is?" The orange horned woman asked.
"I actually don't have one. I'm just a traveler named Apollo." I said.
"The name Saria, I currently work for a pharmaceutical company called Rhodes Island." Saria said.
"Does a pharmaceutical company really need someone with a shield? Seems like overkill to me." I said jokingly.
"While we are a pharmaceutical company, we also dabble in many other things as well. However we are getting slightly off track. I want to ask you to join Rhodes Island, I saw that the minions from your arts showed an understanding of medical knowledge. Rhodes Island is always looking for new professionals." Saria stated.
"Can Rhodes Island treat oripathy?" I asked.
"That's one of our main goals, to rid the world of the infection." Saria replied.
With that answer I knew that I couldn't turn down this offer.
"Then I ask that if I join Rhodes Island, that you are able to treat the girl that is currently with me?" I asked.
"Of course. We will never turn our back to the infected. To do that would be considered a crime in my and others hearts." She replied.
I smiled at her answer and reached my hand out.
"Then Saria, you have yourself a new co-worker." I said.
"Don't get your hopes too high, you still have to pass the internship. I'll just recommend you to our HR department. However, whether you pass or fail, the girl will be treated; that I can guarantee ." she said.
I simply shrugged my shoulders.
"It's better than nothing." I said.
"Apollo."
I turned around to see the two familiar faces of Ch'en and Marth. Ch'en had a no nonsense expression while Marth on the other hand had a worried one.
"You called Ch'en." I said as I saluted her.
Ch'en walked up to me and kicked my shin causing all the years of shin splints from running to return to me. Truly a traumatizing experience.
"I see you managed to get things under controlled. I'm impressed, I didn't think you had the ability to do it." Ch'en stated.
I place my hands around my body as if I'm hugging myself.
"My feelings are so hurt, I don't know how I will emotionally recover." I said sarcastically.
I turned my gaze from Ch'en to Marth. Just like the doctor homunculus there were some blood stains on her clothes but a lot less in comparison. I made sure that I lowered myself so that I'm slightly shorter than her.
"Marth I know we first met yesterday but I may have gotten an opportunity for you to get treatment for your oripathy. However we will have to follow Saria over there to the pharmaceutical company she works for. Are you ok with that?" I asked.
Marth's expression went from one of neutrality to one of complex emotions. This girl has likely been through a lot so her trusting a random guy outside is a high order. I continued to look at Marth as she continued to be deep in thought.
"I'll follow you."
That was all she said.
"That's good. So Saria, where is Rhodes Island?' I asked.
"We aren't located in Lungmen currently, our base of operation is actually a land ship. A few other operators and I are on vacation; rather I was forced to take a vacation. We will be departing today in an hour or so." She answered.
"But first I need to say my farewells to some friends. They helped Marth and I a lot in Lungmen." I said.
"It's good to see you understand common curiosity."
I turned around to see the two people I was talking about.
"So you're heading out already. I hope you two can stay here, I know a lot of good bars." Hoshiguma said.
"I do appreciate the offer. I'm not much of a drinker but I'll gladly have a few shots with you." I said.
Swire woke up and punched my shoulder.
"When did you become a smooth talker? You are like my dad whenever he talks to my mother." Swire said.
"Great minds think alike." I said.
Marth and I said our goodbyes to the three women promising that we'll come back someday.