The Redemption of the Fallen Captain

Chapter 1: That Fateful Day

  Standing atop the high cliff under the dark, cloudy sky, an Adventurer party watched from afar the colossal, pitch-black monster massacring a remote town—its townspeople scrambling in horror and striving with every inch of their strength to save their most valuable possessions, members of their families, or their livestock.

  Standing at forty meters tall, The colossal monster emitted dark beams of light from its mouth, eradicating every building it hit with it and causing many casualties along the way. It had one massive eye, (Like cyclopes) covering almost all of its giant round-face. It had long, bushy, red hair that spiked in its end. Its lump body was as hard as titanium—Not even the bombs of the town's army weren't enough to damage it or even shed its blood. And its stout legs were covered whole with hundreds of small, poisonous spikes.

  No resident saw any way of escaping. And even if they tried to escape, their fate wouldn't change—only death by the monster awaited them. If only someone could save them and spare them from death, but that only seemed a mere imagination in the townspeople's thoughts. And the reality: Imminent death.

  After some time, the Adventure party could see nothing but withered land, wrecked buildings, and above all: The monster. Fear however hadn't met them or even dare to gaze at them (Except from one). The Adventurer party called "The Eagna party", consisted of four people: Aidan, the Red Prince and captain, the healer and vice-captain, Asteria, the young swordsman, Cliff, and the archer, Ren. Each member with their own unique powers, as kids in those dark days would say. A light wind lifted their hair up, as the monster stomped a nursing home, killing some people who hadn't evacuated.

  Transfixed in their position, spread out on the cliff, the four kept staring in silence, grasping their weapons in frustration. No one had realized that someone among the four was crying, not even the person themselves. Tears had swelled up in the round, black eyes of Cliff (The youngest out of the four).

  He had a heart-shaped face. His short, black hair ruffled by the wind. He was dressed in an iron, light-weight armour and wore a small pouch around his waist. His sheathed, shabby sword hung around his back, with his iron shield.

  He gulped, gazing anxiously at his comrades—only the light wind and the melancholic silence surrounded them. As usual, the party waited for their captain to give the signal, so they could enact their plan. However, even as the rampage went on, becoming worse with each second, their captain, Aidan, hadn't given them not even a single instruction for the battle.

  Cliff was wrenched with fear, as if it was as a snake wrapping its slithering body around him until his breath was gone, and his heart stopped beating. If this silence continued, the Eagna party wouldn't be able to save anyone from the monster. Someone had to act; and it if it wasn't Aidan, then someone else had to be. Although the thought of saying something made Cliff's legs tremble unstoppably, he had to; he had no other choice.

  Taking a deep breath (Anxious as always when he tried to suggest something), he opened his mouth. "Aren't we going to do something?" Asteria suddenly roared as Cliff tried to say something, her round, red eyes sparked with anger, and her long, black hair rose high in the air, due to the wind, looking as though it was a floating cape.

  She wore a plain, brown robe, with her sleeves raised up. Her alluring staff clutched in her right hand, accompanied by a bracelet around her wrist, which had a peculiar stone in its pendant. Seeing all this destruction while not doing anything, her anger had erupted. Asteria wanted to save at least someone from that monster, and yet, her captain wasn't doing anything.

  "Answer me, Aidan!" she bellowed, approaching him, who stood the nearest on the edge of the cliff—two footsteps away and death would engulf him. Asteria grabbed him from the ruff of his tunic, bringing him closer to her. "Weren't you the one who said that we would save any soul that came to our way?" she cried, small tears dropped  on the rough ground like rain drops. "That's what you said when we first started. Remember the oath you took when we first started? You must remember it! Because Jake was there..."