A Distant Reverie

Chapter 52

Flames hissed everywhere. Marine squirmed at the hellish remnants of the battlefield. She squeezed her nose shut, no longer comfortable with the odor of burning flesh mixed with the nauseating tang of gunpowder. Her stomach churned at the stench. Beside her, the survivors of the Houshou Legionnaires trembled at the insanity before their eyes. The carnage was too much for human eyes to bear. Some froze, stunned by fear. Others puked immediately as the scent of charred flesh was carried by the indifferent wind.

Vesper had unleashed a firestorm upon the cultist's main strike force. Marine saw the world flash white for second before everything went red. Blaze bloomed spontaneously at the cultists' feet, cascading down the line like fireworks. The effect was immediate. The inferno raged through the cultist with vengeance, swallowing them whole without mercy. Marine had to cover her left eye to prevent the overload of stimuli—she nearly passed out from the explosion of mana erupting from Vesper's body.

The man was on his knees, panting. His eyes were vacant, his face paled, awash with fatigue, staring off into the distance. He was oblivious to the glances of the legionnaires who realized he was the source of the destruction. Their eyes were filled with fear and awe. Vesper must have looked like a God.

"The battle isn't over yet! First reserve, eliminate any stragglers! The rest of you are to tend to the wounded!" Marine yelled.

The command given to the first reserve might have seemed excessive after Vesper unleashed devastation on the cultists, but Marine thought there was no harm in making sure. Eden had already caught them off guard more times than she liked, and she wanted assurances that there were no more surprises.

"Kersen, give me a status report on our numbers. After that, reassess our supplies." Kersen saluted and immediately went to work.

That takes care of the immediate worries.

Marine nearly staggered. She leaned on the hilt of her sword, resisting the urge to pass out. The effects of Vesper's Indura had worn off. The accumulated fatigue struck her at once, ravaging her body.

Not yet, there's still something I need to do.

She steadied herself, removing the grimace on her face, trying to hide the pain screeching from every joint and fiber of her being. No matter what, she had to preserve the dignity of a commander for the sake of morale. She walked, as straight as she could muster, towards the ruins of the cabins near the decaying ogres.

"There you are," Marine muttered to herself. Alice was still there, hunched over on her knees, clearly in pain. She clenched her sides, heaving in dried rasps.

"So, what happened to you?" Marine asked sarcastically once she got close enough. Alice looked up, flashing her signature wry smile.

"The ogre got me with a good swing. Probably got a few ribs crushed. Could be worse," Alice's eyes moved up and down, scanning Marine's body, "Could be a lot worse."

Marine snorted, "You're a real funny person, you know that?"

Alice's eyes went wide, catching a whiff of murderous intent. But Marine was faster. In a flash, she drove her foot into Alice's chin. The young lady's head dropped back—concussed. Marine gave her another kick to the chest for good measure. Alice groaned, rolling over on the ground. Marine pushed her onto her stomach before pressing her sword atop her neck.

Ptoo! Alice spat out a mouthful of dirt.

"Fucking hell, do you get off on being a fucking asshole?"

"Sometimes," Marine twitched her wrist. A trail of blood trickled onto her blade from the small slit in Alice's neck. "I have a few questions. Try to be as candid as possible. If I sense that you're lying, I won't hesitate to send you to your Goddess."