A Distant Reverie

Chapter 53

Night had long descended. Darkness blanketed over the ruins of the Houshou Legionnaire campsite. Miasma of the battle still hung in the air. Smoky remnants of Vesper's spells lingered in the vicinity. The corpses of the fallen cultists laid scattered across the earth. The entire area was shrouded in silence. Atypical. Normally, even deep into the night, there would have been the occasional buzz of a card game or conversation.

It was obvious why—the battle against the cultists left the legionnaires depleted. The death toll was significant and the list of injuries unending. Over the course of a single day, the campsite had thinned out. Tents were left empty; their former occupants buried deep beneath the earth. For the survivors, the matters of exhaustion, injuries, and grief kept them silent. Even the few legionnaires on patrol were sullen, gripped by the somber mood.

Suisei was on her bedroll. She stared blankly at the ceiling. Her right shoulder where she was struck by a bullet had been wrapped in several layers of bandages. A dark scarlet blot was beginning to form from the dried remnants of coagulated blood.

She had been trying to fall asleep, but to no avail. Her eyes were heavy with exhaustion, but her mind was excruciatingly alert, dead set on keeping her awake. And each time she closed her eyes, she saw the same gruesome sight.

It was the second reserves rushing towards Eden's detached force on her orders. One by one, they were skewered by the endless rain of arrows. The rifles and shields in their arms were dead weight, slowing them down as they struggled to get into fighting range. When they realized the futility of the fight, they panicked and tried to flee. Suisei saw the agony and bitterness on their faces. Their eyes accused her of betrayal, cursing her for sending them to their deaths. Their final moments seared into her mind.

She should have never ordered them to charge. She panicked—startled by the fact that she escaped death by a narrow thread.

The result was an entire reserve force dead.

The irony was that if she had held out for just a few minutes longer, Kersen would have arrived in time to help. If she hadn't lost her composure. If she had stopped to just think for a moment. If the legionnaires hadn't trusted her blindly.

Why did no one question my orders?!

Did no one else see that she was just a young lady? There was nothing special about her. Why did anyone think she was fit to command?

She wanted to scream and cry, but the tears refused to flow. Scared to draw attention to herself, she kept quiet, bottling the despair in her chest. It was a small punishment for her irreversible mistake.

Someone scratched her tent.

Suisei froze.

Who is it? Her first thought was a legionnaire coming to get revenge for their fallen comrades.

"Suisei? Are you awake? It's Marine."

Her mind spiraled into disarray. Why is she here? Did she find out what happened? What do I do? Should I—

"Suisei?"

"Y-Yes?!" she replied instinctively. Suisei immediately covered her mouth, cursing her blunder. There was no way to hide now.

"Can I come in? I'm with Mr. Noir."

"S-Sure."

The tent opened up. Marine entered with Vesper close behind. Suisei's heart thundered. Both of them wore a nasty expression. Marine was scowling, clearly infuriated over something. Vesper was sullen.

"How are you feeling?" Marine motioned towards her shoulders.

"F-Fine...I'm okay."

Marine nodded, before letting out a long sigh. "Then, did you hear about Alice?" Huh? The confusion must have been clear on her face. Marine immediately brought her up to speed.