They could only stare down at the ground and hope not be blinded by the heavenly Radiance above them. It was almost as if the Sun and its Shadow were battling, and the mundane could only watch in fear, dreadfully hoping the scorching flame did not erase them, or perhaps that the shadow did not swallow them into its endless abyss.
A man of the Crested rank appeared, his long coat donning two large stars and four smaller ones. 'A Crested Demon...'
His voice seemingly reaching across the world and into its minuscule cracks; "Listen up, Dormants. You will be split into groups of three, each led by a member of the NAF. Their orders are absolute, so if they tell you to pounce on a Fallen abomination, you will pounce. If they tell you to grab your own blade and slit your throat, you will slit your throat. If they tell you to do anything, you will-"
The man was suddenly cut off by Bariealla, "I will not die for the sake of a single man. My life is my own, and I will not fall into a mere statistic. If I must slit my throat to save another, I will kill that said person's throat with my own hands." Her voice was chillingly cold, as if a mere word from her could freeze the world solid.
The other Dormants stared at her with fear—fear of the man she could have just angered.
In the next moment, however, the Crested laughed. "Alright. Let us see how long you last, and whether or not you can back your words up with action." Turning his head away from Bari, he stared at all the other Dormants, his eyes locking onto Ira for a single moment.
"You will all be split up into groups of six, and as I have stated before, you will be led by a member of NAF, each of whom is an Awakened Fiend. Now, you five will be led by Sir Altamore. Yes, his name is a mouthful; call him Alter, instead." The Crested man said, pointing at Ira, Bariealla, and three others.
Ira began to sweat nervously, her face and chin glistening with sweat. 'I am not ready for this.. I do not even have a Soul-Bound weapon yet!?'
The young girl reluctantly raised her hand, "I-I do not have a Soul-Bound w-weapon yet, sir…" she said to the Crested.
Without a word, he threw Ira a blade forged with carbon steel.
"Begone. Slay an Aberrant Demon and your mission is complete." He spouted in indifference.
◇
Climbing a steep hill, the new cohort had begun their journey to find and slay an Aberrant Demon.
Some of the less athletic Dormants had already begun to sweat profusely, and even fewer began to comment on how their lungs burned.
In the distance, rays of light had begun to strike the ground with unimaginable force. The battle between the False Sun and its Shadow had been ferocious. 'He truly meant it when he said we could become Collateral damage...'
Ira paid it no more mindfulness. Her curiosity was piqued by something else, after all.
"Hey, Bariealla… What is NAF? I-I heard that guy say something about it earlier…" She said, her voice showing not a hint of struggle or tiredness. Unlike those around her, she possessed an Echo ability that allowed her to physically enhance her body and other things.
"Oh? The NAF is like an organization that helps people. I am not supposed to tell you this, but their main job is to kill powerful awakened. If you wanted to join, you would need to be at least an Awakened Fiend. By the way, it means 'National Affairs Force', but depending on who you ask it could also be referred to as the "National Awakened Affairs Force." It is best not to anger them, so I would recommend avoiding them at all costs."
Ira shuddered at the thought of killing a person. Sure, she had aided in the death of Adonis, but he had no longer been human the moment he succumbed to the Reverberant, and became a Corrupted.
The young girl did not respond to what Bariealla had said, only continuing their march forward. Soon, one of the other four dormants spoke.
"Bariealla?! As in Bariealla of the Riallman's?! What is she doing speaking to a nobody?"
Ira ignored them, confrontation would only erase any teamwork they could ever hope to achieve.
Bariealla did not do the same as Ira, they were two very different people. Her voice was rough yet even. "That same 'nobody' killed a Strayed Monster and a Strayed Demon at the same time—the latter of which, she had chopped off its head in a single motion. Could you do the same? If not, shut your mouth and keep to yourself."
The unnamed Dormants fell silent as a mouse. Their bodies moved with a certain awkwardness after being shut down.
◇
Eventually, they stopped to rest, Alter beginning to speak.
"This will be our one and only time to speak properly, so we must use it wisely. What are you all capable of?"
Bariealla was the first to speak, "My Echo ability allows me to send out slashes that completely halt the flow of Realm Thread—though it does not prevent them from using the Realm Thread already there. It is pretty… mundane compared to others." Her voice lacked its usual confidence, her eyes set on the ground before her.
Alter stared at her momentarily before averting his gaze towards Ira. "What about you?"
The young girl looked around, almost as if he was not referring to her but rather someone else.
"M-me..? Well… I can create m-mist that can enhance my own body or others, along with objects…" Her voice shook with nervousness at being put on the spot; her eyes kept looking back and forth between the man, the ground, and Bariealla as if looking for reassurance.
A mysterious girl with heterochromia spoke next, "My ability allows me to store poisons in my eyes and augment them. My name is Avian, guys."
The other two Dormants did not possess an Echo ability that could provide any aid to the cohort—actually, Alter did not even consider them a part of the cohort, only civilians that needed to be escorted off of the battlefield.
"You there, Ira and Bariealla. You will aid me in slaying the Aberrant Demon. Avian, how strong are your poisons? I want you to lace all of our Soul-Bound weapons with it."
Avian smiled happily before momentarily going into shallow thought. "Pretty strong—maybe not against an Aberrant Demon, but it will hinder it temporarily." Her voice was slightly raspy. Perhaps it was from the polluted air outside the Forts, or her need for hydration—maybe it was just her normal voice.
Whatever the option was, it did not matter. A group of Purge Beasts was closing in on the cohort, their slobbering maws aching for the flesh of awakened humans.
"Prepare yourselves, Purge Beasts are approaching," Alter said, his voice even and calm; he was a member of NAF, an elite organization that only accepted the best of the best. It was only natural that he could remain calm in the face of adversity.
The monstrosities soon presented themselves before Ira, who peered beneath their abominable flesh to see their Will and assess their rank and class; 'multiple abominations of the Strayed Beast or Monster rank… two of them are Strayed Fiends, and one is a Strayed Demon. I doubt I could take on a Strayed Demon alone—last time I tried I was nearly gutted and killed. If it was not for Kaine healing me I would have lost in only a few moments.'
A pause in her thought happened, only for it to resume in the next moment: 'It seems my target is a Strayed Fiend. If I am being honest, I was cocky to challenge a Strayed Demon, my limit as of now is one or two Fiends."
Lunging forward with her mist-enhanced body, she readied her carbon steel blade to pierce her opponent's heart in one swift motion. Bariealla did the same, also challenging a Strayed Fiend in battle. The other abominations would be left to the other dormants, except for the Strayed Demon, which would be handled by Alter.
'Well, this is quite the turn of events.'
Another flash of blinding radiance shot down from the clouds and collided with a building, annihilating both it and all the surrounding buildings as the Sun and its Shadow battled in a ferocious display of power. Luckily, the cohort was not close to there—but the thought of having to avoid practically artillery shots from a Crested Tyrant sent chills down Ira's spine.
"The world really has gone to shit," Ira said, a deep sigh leaving her wind-chapped lips.
That was not important at that moment. What was, however, was the Strayed Fiend before her eyes, the same one she had prepared to puncture its heart with her carbon steel blade.