"Calestro huh?"
— She muttered, lips spreading out in a small smile.
"Noted. Quite a shitty name for a not-so shitty person."
Calestro snorted.
"I shall take it as a compliment."
Meanwhile, the armoured girl is at the back.
Distracted by their antics, her face devolves into one of pure confusion before mumbling;
"eh..? what does 'shitteey?' mean..?"
—
A few meters away, there stood Hamilvan, still bowing towards the air where the noble used to stand on. The saliva dripping from his ragged helmet.
"Damn it. Why can't I do anything..!?"
— Hamilvan bored holes through the grass-filled ground with an unending stare while gritting his teeth.
"Was..my hometown really doomed from the start..?"
He pondered, a blurry flashback consisting of a lone tree standing atop a small hill where a lass of small stature could be seen slumbering.
*CRACK*
"..No..!"
Then it flashed into a burning town, blood-curdling screams could be heard echoing everywhere under the starless night, with the only light source being the full moon.
- amidst the chaos, there was someone being trampled by a creature which appeared to be a mixture between a bird and a boar, her body spasming with each of the creature's crushing stomp on her stature, though her face was blurred out, she could be seen reaching her hand out towards the viewer.
"Argh!! Tch..!"
A sudden chill from Hamilvan's spine shot up towards his brain stem and caused a splitting headache to proliferate around his nerves. He quickly shook his head despite the pain all the while his gums were secreting out blood, due to his gritted teeth digging deeper unto it.
"..!" — With his yell, all of the surrounding militias that were going about their duties suddenly halted and shot him an empathetic, yet cautious look.
"..Si..Sir Hamilvan..!"
The girl from before, behind both Calestro and the medic attempted to run towards his aid, only to be—
*Fwip!*
stopped by the sudden rise and blockage of the medic's arm, she then briefly looked back to the lass before opening her mouth.
"Don't. You'll only make it worse if you run to him."
"But..He..!"
"No. Trust me, staying here is better, okay?"
"..!!"
With a shaky lip and arms, the lass diverted her gaze from the medic and towards the ground, small tears prickling on the corners of her eyelids.
"...Is it.. really alright to leave him like that?"
Calestro asked, seeing Hamilvan breathe raggedly all while tightly squeezing his helmet, just to subdue the pain inside.
"Watch for now."
She then looked at the left of Hamilvan, where two militias with hesitant dispositions were seen nudging each other, gesturing towards the struggling Hamilvan. Gradually, one of them yielded and began to walk towards Hamilvan;
"Oh there we go..some good souls.."
Calestro commented, causing the girl's eyes to quickly light up while the medic on the other hand; snarked in response.
"You'll see."
As both of the militias approached the bowing Hamilvan, they glanched at each other before fully focusing their attention at him, and in a gentle tone they inquired;
"Si..Sir Hamilvan..? You okay?"
— Inside Hamilvan's head however;
"Damn it all..!!"
"Why am I so weak!?"
"Why am I so Pathetic?"
"Why am I so worthless..!?"
The void of which that consumed his vision of the ground quickly spreaded like a smoke, coating whatever object it comes across with a pitch-black, gloomy hue.
"Its..because of that man..!"
— Hamilvan turned his head slightly to his left, where he met the eyes of a troubled Calestro, staring at him with a partially worried and confused expression.
"DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT
DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT
DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT
DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT
DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT
DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT
DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT
DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT
DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT
DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT
DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT
DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT
DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT
DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT
DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT
DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT
DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT
DAMN IT DAM—"
"sIR HaMilvAn..? yoU okAy?"
"..?"
— A distorted, unclear voice emanated from his side effectively silencing the barrage of resonant voices ringing inside of his mind. As he turned his head from the ground towards the side, what greeted him was a sight that made both of his eyes widen whilst at the same time minimize his irises.
"yOù ÖkAy..!?"
— Two humanoid figures, with no remarkable features aside from a pair of crimson-coloured eyes that squinted right at Hamilvan accompanied by their bodies that were of utter, pitch-black coloration.
"..!!"
—
"What's going on..?" - Calestro mumbled, seeing Hamilvan absentmindedly gaze with a dilated pupil at the two militias that were beside him, expressions of worry prevalent in their faces.
"Here it comes."
— The medic whispered, before glancing over to her side looking at a well-equipped man that were also keeping a cautious look at her. She nodded towards the man and the man reciprocated her gesture, before she stood up and whispered.
"Hey..You."
Hearing the medic's words, Calestro and the armoured girl couldn't help but pause and take a glance at one another, before raising an index finger to point at themselves.
"Me?" — They both said in unison.
"You. The Girl." - The Medic looked back, and focused on her.
"Slightly worried about your shitty commander right?" - She inquired, leaving Calestro pouting in the corner.
She clutched her chest and looked down, taking a moment to sigh before nodding at the medic;
"I may..not know what 'shitteey' is..but..I do..care about Sir Hamilvan.. Is there anything..I can perhaps do?"
The medic scoffed, flashing her a snarky smile.
"Well there's ones thing."
The girl lit up. - "Wha-what is it..!?"
"Sit back and watch. Let your seniors handle this sort of thing."
— As the medic replied, she took a step forward, while other distinct individuals from the surrounding area with similar armour yet different designs began to also advance a few steps in front, putting the remaining militias behind their backs.
In front of Calestro and the Girl, there was the medic, she remained standing with an upright posture. Breathing eerily calm as she steeled herself for the worst.
At the left was an Armoured Man, a militia? Not quite. He wore an armour a bit more gray compared to the others, behind his breastplate were protrusions, resembling small metal wings. Below was his silvery greaves, at his forearms were the iron guards and on his fists, was of metal gloves. Though varied in location, the greaves, forearm covers and his armoured knuckles all had the same design.
- Smooth with small, razor-sharp spikes. -
With furrowed eyebrows, he assumed a stance, raising both arms before his face. Though appearing to have the fire of anger rekindled in his core, his breathing remained unnaturally solemn, as if unaffacted.
Martial. Second Division Commander —
Igranas
"At once."
-
At the right of the group, a lightly-armoured man with a prevalent crimson-coloured robe that flew in the air as he strode confidently forward. He then pulled out two large scrolls strapped on his back and unfolded them on the floor. Revealing black and white drawings of;
- Tigers, Boars, Wolves, and Insects.
Drawn eerily accurate. Almost too realistically depicted inside the scroll.
Meisterate. Third Division Commander —
Bakzeu
"A little exercise won't hurt."
-
Then, was the medic who strode forward first, after a momentary pause inhaling the breeze that blew through the encampment and allowed her white robe and similarly coloured wavy-bob hair to soar through the air, she heaved a sigh before taking it off.
- Revealing a figure in a jumpsuit, a black jumpsuit with no gaps no visible tatters, her stature was of excellent quality, she had a waist smaller than the size of her hips and a torso shorter than her long legs. -
She possessed a thin belt where a few vials were strapped on, while below her feet was a pair of heels with exceptionally sharp top pieces.
"By the way.."
— Astounded. Calestro could only stare at all three of them, However as the medic had spoken once more; he couldn't help but focus his attention on her.
"The wrinkles were due to the stress and fatigue."
She looked back and locked gazes with Calestro, her azure-like corneas complimenting the shine of the pale blue heavens.
"I'm still at my twenties damn it."
— She snarked. Eyes finally focusing on Hamilvan, whose otherwordly stare now unnerved the two militias that approached him earlier.
Magic. Fourth Division Commander —
Foryan
"Time for some sensible beating, Hamilvan."
— The air thickened. Because of the deafening silence that filled the atmosphere afterwards, only the gentle monsoon that passed by the encampment, carrying a few leaves were brave enough to pierce through the unnerving quietness. The armoured men and armed women at the surroundings? No, none even dared to lift a finger as they stared at the three different division commanders, glances switching from them and towards the hunched-over Hamilvan while sweat was sliding off their chins.
Calestro, still frozen in his seat could only watch and ponder.
"What's.. going on here..?"
"Getting crusty old Bakzeu?"
"Ay Ay Ay that tongue of yours really require some disciplining."
"Shit. Now that I think about it..It has been a while."
"It won't hurt to sit down Foryan, let the strong handle this and save that brittle ego of yours."
"Fuck off Igranas."
"Prioritize Saving the Two."
"You ordering me old man?"
"You really need to learn how to talk properly Igranas."
"These two asshats at it again."
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
*Fidget*
Hamilvan's finger twitched. Rendering whoever saw the sudden movement to stiffen, the three in particular, furrowed their brows and readied themselves, Igranas however, looked back and waved a gesture to the group of militias behind him, they quietly saluted before slowly stepping backwards away from the four including Hamilvan.
Hamilvan, after a long eerie pause slowly reached for the handle of his sheathed sword. The two militias; seeing such a sight could only flinch in response and shakily back away, causing the three commanders in particular to have varying emotions flash on their eyes, Igranas'es eyebrows furrowed even deeper, Bakzeu's emerald-eyes widened while Foryan's eyelashes descended, closing her eyes as if attempting to calm herself down after seeing a sudden flash of a long-wished forgotten memory.
"..Idiot..!!! Stay still!"
— Ignaras yelled.
Too late.
Hamilvan, unsheathed his sword in a pace that is literally invisible to the normal militias before wobbling side by side in a manner as if he was possessed. Then, he raised his sword.
Seeing such a sight, the three other commanders could only mutter out a curse before lunging towards Hamilvan and the two guys caught in the middle.
"This is Bad!" - Ignaras leaped towards the three with such force, it generated a minor schockwave.
"Crap..!!" - Bakzeu bursted open his scrolls.
"Noo..!!!" - While Foryan, slammed her palm on the floor before it began to glow a bright green colour all while tightly gritting her teeth.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
*CLANG!!!*
Until—
"..ughh...
...Where was I..?"
— Hamilvan.. Straightened his posture. Face clean and eyes back to the usual brown color, he then proceeded to throw away his blade at the grassy ground.
"uuhh..waah.."
"..Hm. Err..what?"
- Hamilvan turned towards the pair of militias that approached him earlier, they were tearing up, milk dripping out from their noses as they tightly embraced one another, trembling.
"Wha..What happened..!?" - With a sweat dripping from his hair, Hamilvan exclaimed in a loud voice as the two militias continued to intensify in their weeping.
"..What..?" — Eyes widening, Ignaras quickly stomped both of his feet to the floor, effectively sliding through the ground, creating a small linear fissure until he stopped, just a few steps away from the three.
Bakzeu meanwhile, froze, losing grasp of the handle of his scrolls as it fell to the floor.
It was the similar case for Foryan, before those root-like structures could penetrate the ground from underneath, the glow on her palms dissipated as he stared at the.. now Normal Hamilvan.
"..What..happened..?"
— The armoured girl behind, with both hands covered her mouth as she watched everything unfold, frozen on her greaves.
On the other hand, an oblivious Calestro had mustered up a gulp before recalling a recent vision accompanied by a primal sense of terror that overwhelmed his senses just a few seconds ago.
— "What was that..?"
"Was that just my imagination..?"
He then looked up, seeing Hamilvan scratching his head and cackling while being scolded by Ignaras as well as slapped in the back by Bakzeu.
"I could've sworn.."
"He looked at me for a moment.."
"What was that terror then..!?"
Calestro pondered, focus shifting from what his eyes could see; a smiling, approachable Hamilvan, to what his brain saw, an eye, from the same man consumed with so much hatred that he could murder a person with just a look alone.
— "..He was the only one.. unaffected huh?"
Hamilvan thought, taking a glance at the astounded Calestro.
- My doubts were correct."
Calestro and Hamilvan Thought in Unison.
"This man is dangerous."