Colossus: The war never ends

01

By the time the sun had withdrawn from the battlefield, thousands of dirty and bloodied remains, lay on the stained grounds of what was once known as the Glencoes. The retreating batallion lifted their heads up high as they marched to leave, trying to ignore the stench of gunpowder mixed with blood, and the endless sounds of screams and explosions ringing in their ears. They survived, and they knew very well that they would not have if it were not for that girl. One of these men, with a runty and clumsy body, walked towards his comrades. Hands shaking, he could barely hold on to his rifle, but he knew he had to. After what he had seen, he had been so frightfully enlightened that truly, only the strong can and will survive. Trying to be brave, he almost yelped when his boots came in contact with the face of a dead man.

"Shizuka ni shitte kudasai" the voice of a young girl echoed around the foggy hill, shushing him.

Her mere voice ignited the memories and potential nightmares from the recent bloodshed. For weeks before her arrival, chaos ruled over the once sane minds of men. Some of which panicked and mindlessly stabbed and aimlessly fired with their guns. Blindly hitting, blindly missing.

After a request for back-up, a teenage girl appeared on the camp of the japanese troops. Her small and frail frame, raising confusion. But as light struck the Glencoes, and her bright red hair was tied in a pony tail, the end was easily determined. She was fast, too fast. Barely visible, guns and canons were all pointed towards her, but she took no bullet, instead, she had her silver daggers simply and literally lashing through the necks of the opposing force.

It was hardly a day when she finished off their enemies, and now she was calmly standing atop the bodies she had piled. The girl brought to her men victory, yet instead of pride, they all felt fear. And as they watched her listening to the wind, one thought prevailed to haunt them. She is not human.

The small man held his breath when the girl raised her left hand, loosely gripping her dagger in the other. A few seconds after, a weak grunt was heard from one of the bodies, senses tingling, the girl accelerated herself towards the body with deadly speed. She kicked one of the bodies to face the sky, then as the man's face was revealed, it paled in utter fear.

The girl's chapped lips moved to ask, "Nan no tame ni tatakatte iru?"

She knelt towards his face, "What are you fighting for?"

Seeing the emptiness in her eyes, reflecting the last sunset he could ever gaze upon, and the glint from the blade in her hands, the soldier had finally seen his poor fate. And so without much remorse, he accepted it.

The wind blew on the hills, relentlessly carrying the blur that the fog had brought to cover the violence. Though the men had known the place to be in a critical condition after what had happened, they hadn't seen it in its full glory. When the wind had brought clarity for them to see, all justifications for war instantaneously vanished.

"Peace", the enemy answered quietly, even so, everyone heard him.

They all fought for the same thing, and yet the path towards it was nothing more than its perfect opposite. How can something so easily attainable, be solved through complex ways of violence.

Ichiru, the small and cowardly soldier clenched his fists tight against his rifle. All fears of the girl washed away, he took a step forward, one of his comrades pulling his uniform to stop him. Yet he was determined, determined to do what? That, he had no idea.

"Hm?" The girl turned her head towards Ichiru, sensing his defiant motion.

"We-were all fighting for it!"

His palms were now sweaty, his face refusing to show any sign of fear, though his knees were already trembling. What was he doing? He had a family waiting for him, he had a child to carry as soon as he steps home. So why?

He did not stop there, his rants became more verbal as his voice quaked, obviously disapproving of what his mind was forcing him to do.

"This is not the way! Peace! We cannot have peace in this way, this is not peace at all! We're all fighting for this world to become white again, yet we're right here painting it darker! Peace is what we all want!"

The world froze, the girl's crimson eyes glowing brighter. They should have known better. Red hair, red eyes, pale skin corrupted by a darker red, and an unquenched thirst for the same color. They knew she wasn't human, but they didn't know that she was a creature without a heart. No one will care if she kills one of their own, not if she had paved the way to triumph.

All air was suspended.

"Is that so" she sighed. Uninterested.

"Then die for it"