I'm thinking of getting both a physical and digital copy of the Remaster. Do you guys think that's excessive?

Chapter One: Part Five

"The Massacre of Innocents". The name for what would later be adopted for the incident that happened at the island. It's not what Astraea called it though; in the frenzied chaos, only fragmented words could describe what she experienced.

Murder. Blood. Blood. BLOOD.

Astraea had been standing near Darko, and so she was close by when the blood geysered from his neck. All he could manage were a few gurgles before he collapsed to the ground. No one made a sound. A stunned, hurrified silence swept over the clearing as the group stood frozen. Astraea's mouth open and closed rapidly as she stared down at his body. She couldn't force the words out but words were screaming inside her mind.

Resurrection Rune? Resurrection Rune! We need a—

A dozen soldiers dressed in white armor burst from the trees and upon the unprepared teenagers with war cries. Nils and Annalenya were the closest to them, and they both barely turned in time to find themselves each sliced down and run through with a sword. Then suddenly, everyone was screaming and scrambling for their weapons, but the butchers were faster. In an instant their training as soldiers dissipated as the panic and horror overtook them. Astraea sucked in a breath to scream, but when she saw someone lunging at her out of the corner of her eye she fell backwards, landing on her backside and scrambling away. "R-RUN!" she finally screamed. "RUUUUUUN!"

Barely five seconds passed between the arrival of the butchers and her scream but already Darko, Nils, Annalenya, Anredj, and Moza lay crumbled in the dirt. Oskar broke into a sprint into the trees, but three butchers gave chase after him. Something seized Astraea's left arm and she quickly looked up to see Barrett help her to her feet. "COME ON!" he shouted.

Milo and Ritta quickly joined them, and Astraea saw that they were armed. The remaining nine butchers charged towards them, and someone threw a knife at them, barely missing Ritta. Milo grabbed the burning torch out of the ground and flung it towards them with a shriek. The torch landed on the grass and ignited it. Ritta fired two arrows towards the assassins as they retreated, and Astraea saw an arrow strike an assassin in the shoulder and he shrieked in pain.

The murders flickered in Astraea's vision and she blinked rapidly to clear it. "F—Follow me!" she shouted. She did not say where they were going, but she tore through the trees and her half-siblings quickly followed. In the distance she heard a boy's scream, and her stomach churned as she realized that Oskar must have been taken down by the three butchers who had chased him. She looked behind her and saw that only her half-siblings followed. She had known what happened to the others. She had seen it. But her mind…her mind had held out hope that maybe, just maybe they had survived. But only Milo, Barrett, and Ritta followed her, with the butchers in white giving chase. She knew then what she didn't want to be true.

They were dead. Everyone else was dead.

"Get to the beach!" Astraea shouted behind her.

"Yeah!" Milo shouted. "The crew needs to come back and help us!"

But as they neared the beach, Astraea saw a giant orange glow through the trees. She knew that her siblings had seen the glow because Ritta started chanting, "Oh no, oh no, oh no" in a quiet voice. The four burst through the trees and reached the beach, and the entire area was illuminated by their ship consumed in flames. Astraea suddenly violently ill as she realized that this was the emergency the captain had told them they needed to evacuate for.

Ambush, ambush, we were followed, this is an ambush—

"NO!" Barrett shouted, wringing both hands through his black hair. "How did this happen?!"

"B-Bianca!" Milo wheezed in shock as he looked at the others with wide eyes. "The Bianca Alliance! T-They have white military uniforms!"

Astraea nodded mutely, her eyes still on the burning vessel.

"Yeah!" Barrett shouted to him. "Those bastards! I heard things were bad, but to do this?!"

"Why did they do this?!" Ritta exclaimed. "We're just kids!"

The air whooshed and a spear sailed past Astraea's ear and landed in the waves crashing into shore. Clarity returned to her, snapping her back into her senses. "G-Get off the beach!" she shouted. "Get out of the open!"

The butchers burst onto the beach, still screaming their war cries. "MILO!" Astraea shrieked. "Your Water Rune!"

"Right!" Milo screamed, raising his hand. "F—Fog of Deception!"

A blue raindrop—the symbol of the rune—rose above Milo, and the area around them suddenly became shrouded in a thick, impenetrable fog. "Follow me!" Astraea shouted.

She took off running towards the western part of the beach, with the other three following behind her. Then she turned back into the trees and dove into them. She heard a shout from the butchers, and she knew that Milo's rune spell had worn off, and she ran faster. "Come on! These people must have boats that came here on!"

"Yeah!" Ritta agreed, but her tone was shaky.

"I-I forgot about my rune," Milo said, his tone full of sorrow. Astraea looked over her shoulder and she saw that his face was ashen. "W—Why didn't I cast that spell when they ambushed us?!"

"Don't think about it!" Barrett told him. "It's not your fault!"

Don't think about it. Don't think about it. Astraea silently chanted the words to herself as she jumped over fallen trees and brushed aside branches. They needed to survive, and they wouldn't survive if they fell apart.

A smaller clearing came up and Astraea skidded to a stop as she heard shouts ahead of them. She wondered if the butchers somehow got ahead of them, but then she heard the shouts in the forest from where they came. "There's more," she whispered.

"More?!" Ritta exclaimed. She frantically spun around with her arrow pointed at their surroundings. "H—How many soldiers did the Bianca Alliance send to kill us?!"

"Enough to make sure we all died," Milo said grimly. He moved to Astraea's right, raising his ida sword and taking a hanging right stance.

"Damn," Barrett said in a low tone. He moved to Astraea's left and raised his club. "Astraea…what do we do?"

Astraea knew that they sought answers from her because she outranked them, but she stomach still clenched with panic. The voices from both sides were getting closer. She knew that they could continue to run, or stand their ground and fight. She had to take a moment to contemplate which was the right choice.

Then…she made her decision. "We need to fight!" Astraea shouted. Ritta immediately moved to stand back to back with her. "There's nowhere for us to go! It's us or them!"

"Right," Barrett gritted. "I'm make them pay! I'll make them ALL pay!"

"We need to thin their numbers," Milo said. "And find their boat! M-Maybe we can force one of them to tell us!"

"Do you all have Medicines?" Astraea asked, readying her knout. "I have two."

"I have two, too," Barrett said.

"One," Ritta said, shaking her head. "I had more, but I…I left them on the ship."

"I didn't bring any," Milo said. "I didn't think we would need them."

"I wish I bought a Sacrificial Buddha," Barrett muttered.

Me too, Astraea thought. Aloud she said, "Let's take Standard Formation. I'll be the center. Milo and Barrett—stand on either side of me. Ritta, stand directly behind me. We'll keep to this formation and rotate around this clearing as needed as the enemies attack."

"I see them!" a shout came ahead of them.

They shifted into the Standard Formation, all four of them shaking but ready. "I don't want to die," Ritta whispered, tears in her eyes as she readied her bow and arrow. "I don't want to die!"

"Me neither," Barrett said quietly. "I thought I would—I don't know—die in glory in battle years from now!"

"Don't think about it," Astraea told him, keeping her tone calm. "We won't die here."

"Here they come!" Milo shouted.

Six Bianca soldiers suddenly charged towards them from the front. Astraea, Milo, Barrett, and Ritta let out war cries and charged forward. "Fog of Deception!" Milo shouted, raising his hand. The rune disorientated the butchers and allowed the four to move forward and engage with the opening advantage. The soldiers were strong, but they were faster. They handled the first wave just fine, but then the second wave of six butchers came from behind. Astraea pushed Ritta behind her and Milo and Barrett charged forward to greet them.

Petit allegro, Your Highness. Practicing these steps will help with your movements in battle.

Cisne's voice whispered in Astraea's mind, and as she was engaged by a butcher he thrusted his sword towards her swiftly and fiercely. Memories of her dance training flooded her mind and she used the petit allegro steps to maneuver between the thrusts of his swords. The graceful movements took the soldier by surprise, and then Dawa's voice filled her mind. Reverse overhead. Enemies will not know from which angle your knout will land.

Astraea swung her knout over her head, and she saw the soldier's eyes dart around frantically, confirming that he did not know where the whip would land. He did not expect the blow that landed between his eyes.

The second wave was difficult but manageable, but the third wave proved to be very difficult. These soldiers were angry and frustrated, and they were faster as the four had just battled twelve soldier before. Milo had used every spell of Fog of Deception, and he reported that all he had was Kindness Drops, which unfortunately could only heal one person at a time. And he did not have many uses for them. By the time they were down to three butchers in the third wave, the only person who had Medicines left was Astraea, and it was only time. They were all exhausted and injured, struggling to stay on their feet.

"Resistance is futile," one butcher seethed, raising his large sword. "You brats need to hurry up and die!"

"Go to Hell!" Ritta shrieked, firing an arrow at him. He swatted at it and missed, and the arrow pieced his cheek.

Two left. Astraea straightened and started swinging her knout over her head. "You want to kill me?!" she snapped, glaring with hatred at the remaining assassins. "Come and get me!"

The soldiers took the bait and charged forward. But the four were not deterred, and surrounded the butchers. Barrett used his club to knock the helmet off one's head before slamming his club down upon his head with all his might. Astraea struck the other with her knout to disorientate him, and Milo shrieked as he lunged forward, burying the blade of his ida in the butcher's throat.

Silence swept over the area as the last Bianca soldiers fell. The four were hunched over, panting harshly and looking at their surroundings. But no other soldiers charged them. They heard no voices or footsteps in the trees. Only their own breaths and the wind stirring the treetops.

It's over.

Astraea collapsed onto the ground, her knout slipping out of her hand. Adrenaline was still pumping in her body, but she couldn't bring herself to stand. Milo, Barrett, and Ritta collapsed in a makeshift circle with her, all of them exhausted. As the silence stretched on, and a chilling peace settled over the area, the horror of what they just experienced began to settle in. It was the first time Astraea had been in a true battle, and…and it had been the first time she had killed anyone. She looked at their surroundings—at the eighteen corpses that littered the clearing—and she didn't feel triumphant or vindicated. She felt…hollow.

Because we made it…but no one else did.

She looked at her half-siblings, and she saw from their facial expressions that they were similarly about to break. They had been bred to be soldiers, destined to die in battle. But experiencing battle firsthand in such a horrifying manner had disturbed them greatly. Astraea knew that she needed to keep it together, for their sake. "W…How are your injuries?" she asked, pulling out her last Medicine.

"I'll live," Barrett said, nursing his side. "I didn't get cut, but my ribs…might be cracked."

"I-I just have a cut on my arm," Ritta said quietly, motioning to the deep cut on her left forearm.

"I was nicked by one of their blasted blades," Milo said, gingerly feeling his right side with his fingers. Astraea could see blood seeping into his shirt and she crawled over to him. "How deep?" she asked.

"It's just a flesh wound," Milo reassured her. "Give the Medicind to either Barrett or Ritta. O-Or yourself, Astraea."

"Yeah Astraea, you didn't tell us about your injuries," Ritta said, leaning forward slightly.

"I'm okay," Astraea said. "Just disheveled, a-and bruised."

"You're very fast on your feet, Astraea," Barrett commended her. "Were those…dance steps you were doing in combat?"

Astraea nodded. "Ballet steps. I was taught by Cisne—"

"Cisne?!" Ritta exclaimed, her eyes going wide. "S-She's the best dancer in the world!"

Astraea waved a dismissive hand. "We need to focus. We just survive an assassination attempt. We need to get back to Zelant and report this to His Majesty."

"Yeah," Milo said quietly, shaking his head. "To send eighteen soldiers to kill us? I-I heard that we were having problems with the Bianca Alliance, but for them to do this?!"

"H-How did they know that we would be here?" Ritta wondered.

"We were given a public sendoff," Barrett pointed out. "No doubt the entire Western Continent knew the lot of us were going to Harmonia."

"Yes, but the Bianca Alliance knew that would be here," Ritta said sharply, jabbing her finger into the ground. "They were practically waiting for our arrival!"

"Yes," Astraea murmured. She hugged her arms tightly. "It's clear what happened here. This wasn't just an assassination attempt. This was—"

"Furious Blow."

The whisper was Astraea's only warning. She looked over her shoulder to see a green symbol rise into the air, and suddenly the night sky became tinged with green. She opened her mouth to scream a warning, but before a sound came out two yellow bolts of lightning struck the ground on either side of Ritta. Her head snapped up in alarm, but before any of them could react a purple lightning blast struck down from the sky and consumed Ritta.

"RITTA!" Barrett shrieked.

Astraea knew the spell. Furious Blow was the strongest spell of the Thunder Rune. An elemental rune FAR stronger than a Lightning Rune. A scream quickly built in her throat and ruptured out as the spell swiftly dissipated, and where Ritta had been sitting she now lay in a smoldering heap.

No no no no no NO NO NO NO NO—

"RITTA!" the three scrambled over to their half-sister. Astraea grabbed her by her shoulders but she was hot to the touch. She could feel it through her gloves. She let her sister go and fumbled frantically for her last remaining Medicine.

"Ritta?! RITTA!" Milo shrieked. He grabbed her shoulders, only flinching slightly from the contact, and shook her violently. But Ritta only moved when Milo moved her. She otherwise did not respond.

"WHO DID THIS?!" Barrett hollered, launching to his feet. "COME OUT, YOU MONSTER!"

"Here!" Astraea opened the Medicine and pressed the vial to Ritta's lips. She poured a little of the healing potion into Ritta's mouth, but the fluid simply spilled back out and down her cheek. Tears stung Astraea's eyes and she pressed a hand to her mouth as the horror settled over her.

Milo vocalized what they all knew. "She's dead." Tears welled up in his eyes and he shook his head violently. "She's dead," he repeated himself in a sorrowful tone.

"No Resurrection Runes amongst you? How careless."

Astraea looked up. A figure dressed in white armor with a white cloak entered the clearing. She knew from the voice and the stature that it was a woman, but she could not see her face with the white hood covering her face. "Well, I was aiming for Princess Astraea," she said in a casual tone. "I didn't know which girl it was, so I guessed. Not that it matters, as all your fates are sealed."

Barrett pointed the tip of his club towards the woman, tears streaming down his cheeks. "You're dead," he rasped. "I'll KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"

"Run!" Astraea screamed, scrambling to her feet. She didn't want to leave Ritta, but she knew that the situation was very dire. "Follow me, RUN!"

"What?!" Barrett exclaimed, but when Astraea and Milo took off into the trees he quickly followed.

The woman watched them go. "Ah," she said after a moment. "That was Astraea." She glanced behind her, where a small militia in white armor stood in the trees. "Well? What are you waiting for?"

"W-Where are we going?!" Barrett shouted.

"Somewhere else!" Astraea shouted back to him. "She—She had a Thunder Rune! She's too strong for us!"

"We need to get back to Zelant!" Milo said. "We—We have to raise the Army and crush these butchers!"

"What's that?!" Barrett shouted suddenly, skidding to a stop. Astraea and Milo stopped as well, and Astraea's stomach dropped when she heard marching footsteps approaching them from behind. "There's more of them," she gasped, readying her knout.

"MORE?!" Milo exclaimed. "Did they deploy their whole damn army here to kill us?!"

"S-Standard Formation!" Astraea said. They stumbled to get into formation. Her mind was racing and she struggled to maintain the outward appearance of calm. "They'll probably come in waves of six like before!"

"Yeah," Milo said, raising his ida. "But how many waves?"

Astraea didn't want to think about it. "Get ready—"

"Milo," Barrett said suddenly, raising his club. "Find any boat and get Astraea back to Zelant."

"B-Barrett?!" Astraea exclaimed.

"What are planning to do?!" Milo demanded.

"I don't have a family, but you two do. I'm going to hold these bastards off."

"What, NO!" Astraea screamed, grabbing his arm. "You're not sacrificing yourself, Barrett!"

"Yeah, we're your family!" Milo shouted.

"We can keep running, but there's too many of them!" Barrett snapped. "I said I wanted to die in glory in battle! Well, I'm ready to lay down my life for both of you!"

"B-But you said you didn't want to die now!" Astraea wailed.

"I don't. But Ritta's dead, and—" he sucked in a sharp breath. "If it means you two will live, I'm ready."

"Barrett—"

Barrett looked at them and smiled sadly. "I glad I met you both," he said softly. "And Ritta. And Denzel. But it's time for me to see my mom again." Then he took off running towards the marching footsteps, his club raised over his head and bellowing out a war cry.

"BARRETT!" Astraea screamed after him. But Barrett didn't look back.

"W-We need to go," Milo said, grabbing Astraea's arm. "You can't die here, Astraea!"

The overwhelming feeling of loss made the breath choke in Astraea's throat. Tears spilled down her cheeks but she allowed Milo to pull her away and they continued running. Sobs hiccuped in her throat as she heard the sounds of fighting behind them but she couldn't bring herself to look back. Barrett was strong, but she knew her half-brother didn't stand a chance.

Suddenly the trees ended and they came to new clearing, but there were no more trees to greet them. Milo and Astraea panted harshly as they approached a cliffside. Astraea looked over the edge, hoping that it was safe to jump, but her heart sank when she saw jagged rocks pointed up at them. Waves crashed into the jagged rocks mercilessly. Milo cursed under his breath and shook his head. "It's not safe to jump," he murmured.

"W-We have to keep going," Astraea said, scrubbing at her eyes. "There has to be another beach where they landed." She saw that Milo was becoming paler and he was hugging the wound at his side. She handed him the half-full Medicine. "P-Please heal yourself."

Milo glanced at the bottle for a moment before taking it. He swallowed the Medicine and then tossed aside the empty bottle. "Let's go."

They had no more healing items left or healing spells. They fast-walked along the cliff's edge, their eyes fixed on the trees. From the angle of the water, Astraea believed that they were approaching the back of the island. But she saw no signs of a second beach.

How did they get here?! Where are their boats?! They couldn't have landed on the same beach as us, could they?!

The cliffside eventually merged with the forest again, and they were forced to re-enter the forest. The terror and dread started swelling inside of Astraea once more. She could see why this island was chosen for the ambush; she didn't know how they were going to escape it. But they HAD to escape. They HAD to stay alive.

"Berserk Blow."

Astraea heard the familiar whisper, but then suddenly Milo slammed into her, knocking her off her feet. "LOOK OUT!"

Astraea slammed into a tree trunk and was dazed for a brief moment before she heard Milo scream. She lifted her head and screamed as well as she saw Milo be consumed by a thunder spell and he collapsed to his knees. "MILO!" She lunged forward and grabbed Milo's arm, dragging her half-brother back out of the forest and along the cliffs. "Milo, hang in there!"

Milo was groggy, and blood was gushing from the wound in his side. "Milo, I need you to stand!" Astraea said in desperation. She heaved on his arm with all her might, and Milo managed to climb to his feet. "Milo—AHHH!"

Astraea screamed as a searing painful sensation erupted from her back. She felt an impact from two places on her back—the upper left and lower right—and she realized that she had been struck by two arrows. Her knees turned to jelly and she collapsed, pulling Milo down with her. "Milo—MILO!" she screamed in alarm. "Get—break the arrows! HURRY!"

Milo glanced towards her back, and his eyes became less cloudy. "D…Damn!" he rasped. He grabbed the arrow in her lower back and he yanked it hard. White patches filled Astraea's vision from the agonized pain. "B…BREAK THEM!" she rasped. "Don't pull them out!"

"R-Right!" Milo grabbed the upper one and snapped the shaft in half. But then suddenly Astraea was pushed forward and her face slammed into the grass. Milo covered her with his own body and he screamed. "MILO!" Astraea screamed.

"Hold!" a voice shouted.

Astraea scrambled out from underneath Milo, and she wheezed in horror when she saw a dozen arrows sticking out of his back. Her breaths came out in frantic bursts and she turned him over as best as she could. "Milo! Milo, hang on—"

"Hrrrrk!" Milo coughed, blood spilling down his chin. Half-lidded eyes met Astraea's and he struggled for breath. "M-Milo," Astraea tried to reassure him. "You're going to be okay—"

"Mmmn!" Milo reached up and grabbed her shoulder. His body jerked and his head arched as he tried to speak. He coughed again, and drops of blood hit Astraea's cheek. "Milo…" she whispered.

"P…Please," Milo grunted, struggling for breath through the blood. He held his gaze with Astraea. "Tell—Sarka," he gasped. "Tell my sister—tell my sister! Tell her that I—I'm s-sorry for driving Horatius a-a-away!"

What? Astraea blinked in confusion, but then Milo exhaled loudly and sagged in Astraea's arms. His eyes slid closed and his body went still.

Astraea's mouth hung open and tears spilled down her cheeks. She couldn't scream. She couldn't wail. In the moment, she felt like she was about to die.

Dead dead everyone's dead EVERYONE'S DEAD—

The footsteps behind her was her warning. Astraea fumbled for her knout and turned, but her body could barely move from the raw emotional and physical agony. Mouth still agape she struggled violently to stand. None of the butchers made a move to immediately attack her. No more arrows were fired. She could have sworn she saw amusement in their eyes at her futile efforts.

She couldn't die there. Not like this. But with a wall of butchers advancing upon her, and a cliff at her back…she knew she had no chance.

Do your family proud, Astraea Reiser. Do your family proud.

Astraea gritted her teeth and readied herself on her wobbly legs. "C…Come and get me," she hissed defiantly.

"Leave the princess's face intact," the woman's voice called from behind the wall of butchers. "She'll need to be identified."

The rumblings could be heard from the Great Hall. Albert knew if he went out to check the commotion it would only cause people to talk. So he remained in his apartment in the West Wing with Darya and their son. Darya did not know, but Albert was certain she would not care. But he kept himself busy playing with his toddler.

He looks so much like Grandfather, he mused to himself. "Hand me the soldier, Leon," he told his son.

"Yes, Papa!" his son, Leon, cheered as he handed over the figurine.

Albert looked at the figurine for a long moment. "Do you think I should make another order from Mr. Mooney, Leon?"

"Yes, Papa!"

"Yes, please, Papa," Albert gently corrected him.

"Yes, please, Papa!"

The frantic knocking on the door of the apartment drew his attention, and he set the figurine down. It was time.

This chapter proved to be very difficult to write.