Unfortunately, I’m Not A Hero: 139: Interlude: Reiser

Unfortunately, I’m Not A Hero: 139: Interlude: Reiser

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Commissioned by Shaderic

Wordcount: 2500

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Duty.

Honor.

Justice.

Those words were inscribed into my mind and body all my life.

Their importance was something I simply agreed to.

Now, I understood their importance, as I walked into a village of Ylstu’s northern neighbor.

The village lay in ruin. Their fields were ravaged by battles. Blood soaked the lands and made mud of soul. Crows and other carrion birds filled the sky. They landed and feasted upon the corpses strewn about the land.

Kindred corpses ravaged by battle and left to rot.

Even in the past, I would have thought the actions shameless. Kindred bodies were to be collected and processed for the better of the Empire. Those thoughts shamed me, for I knew that they were truly people now, but those were my thoughts in the past and I did not run from them.

I took refuge from my shame by the disgust I felt in the present, and the commands I issued a moment later.

“Haru, take your Kunoichi and search for survivors. Kian, and all the Amazons, place markers for anybody you come across, but follow me into the town.” Hachiman had assigned troops for me to hunt down the Empire’s next generation. Those of the Academy came from the most noble houses of the Empire. They were strong, but narrow-minded. Even without my troops, I was confident that I could destroy them. I was foolish to think such a thing. If I had pursued them on my own, I would’ve had to watch them destroy many villages, before I found the opportunity to render judgement upon them. “Many of the wounds are recent. We are only a day or half a day behind at most.”

The Kunoichi surged forward at my command, while Kian joined me. The Amazon’s elites were deployed closer to Ylstu, so that they could be called upon by Hachiman. However, those provided to me were more than my equals and would ravage my former fellows. Even before they learned how to wield magic to enhance their bodies, they were terrors on the battlefield. Now, Hachiman outfitted them with enchanted weapons and armor, trained them incessantly, and provided to them without thought.

Their seemingly frail forms when I first met them before were gone, and now they were creatures of beauty and strength. They rivalled Kindred in every respect, and could be mistaken as Kindred themselves. Their resistance to magical means of control, however, had their world written off and they were sent to die. If the Empire had chosen to develop an alliance with them based on trust and friendship, we could’ve become stronger and mightier.

But the Empire that I fought for, the Empire that would’ve done such a thing, did not exist.

“What is this cruelty?” Kian spoke and drove away my thoughts. We marched and found ourselves in the village. A frown crossed her face and I followed her gauntleted hand’s finger pointing forward. My thoughts on what could’ve been were dashed completely as I looked upon the evils wrought by the best of the Empire. “They not only take, but cause immense suffering?”

The town hall of the village was nothing but a burnt ruin, but upon its ashen façade and broken pieces were the bodies of the town’s inhabitants. Stakes were all over the still, burnt frames of the Kindred and they were bound the building itself. The outside of the building, so that they would not swiftly perish from inhaling too much smoke. The center of their town’s governance was used as a funeral pyre for them… and because they were Kindred with greater resistance to normal flame, they would’ve suffered immensely until they perished.

“It is the way of the Empire to burn and cause suffering to its foes… and all those they see lesser.” A part of me took pride in my family’s poor circumstances. Our coffers and influence were so little that it was all I could to do study, train, and fight against Kindred. The gatherings of my peers, where they relentlessly dreamed and spoke of massacring Kindred and hunting heretics, had been beyond my means to attend. “Come. Kindred are strong. We must see if we can end their suffering, if we cannot save their lives.”

Kian followed me with a nod, and we entered the burning ruin. The faint scent of cooked flesh reached me, and some of the corpses were recognizable enough to obviously have spent their last moments screaming for mercy that would never come. We found none that could be saved, and one or two that cried tears of joy as we ended their suffering, then the Kunoichi’s leader arrived.

Haru did not, however, return with a survivor.

“We found this one in the town well.” I looked upon a water-soaked young woman clad in the Academy’s uniform. Amidst the wreckage left by the flame and all the death and destruction, she looked out of place. “What shall be done with her?”

My first thought was to send her back and have her mind be plundered by Kurama, while moving forward.

My second thought was to extract some knowledge before doing that, so that we could learn from her.

However, both my thoughts were dashed aside, as the young woman’s eyes looked over the destruction and devastation… and she heaved the contents of her stomach onto the ground and began to cry.

“No, no, no. This can’t be happening.” The young woman sobbed and drew confusion from both myself and my companions. A glance towards one of the Kunoichi, who were well versed in discerning truth from lies, confirmed that I wasn’t seeing some sort of trick. The young woman from the Academy was truly at a complete loss at what she looked upon. “You… you have to stop them! They’ve all gone mad! All my friends have gone insane!”

I put aside my thoughts on the matter aside for a moment, and brushed back my blackened hair over my pointed ear. My disguise as an Elf was complete. Only those who could gaze into the depths of my being could discern the fact that I was once human. Fewer still would be able to discern that in the past that I was hailed as a hero of the Empire.

“I am the leader of this warband commissioned by Hikigaya Hachiman to hunt down a raiding force of the Empire in this region.” I looked over the young woman. Now that I searched her carefully, I found that her clothes were worn, sporting some fine repairs, but repairs nonetheless. Then, there was the fact that on her chest was a single red star. She was a first-year. However, that red star was crossed over by a sword and a staff, which meant that she earned merits for both magical and melee combat. This young woman was a capable warrior, but she was left in a well by her companions in a burning village. My questions abounded, but I focused on the matter at hand. “Your life will be spared, if you divulge information regarding your comrades to us. Answer my questions carefully.”

I spoke to the Kunoichi behind me with their hand-signs to be wary of any attack, as I spoke to the young woman… but I was surprised as she spoke through her blubbering tears.

“I-I don’t know who you a-are, but please just stop them! Y-you all look strong, so please take them prisoner just like me! I… I just know what’s happening here right now is wrong!” I was taken aback by the words. My mind whispered to me that this was a ploy, that this was an act, but I heard no deception and the Kunoichi found none. My heart wrenched at the young woman’s words, a first year at the academy that possibly came from a downtrodden family, as she spoke words that I could’ve said… if I were a better person. “I’ll tell you everything that I can, but please make this all these horrible things stop!”

I stared at her for a moment, a wretched part of me telling me that this was a lie and an act, because there should be no hope for any of the Empire. That all in the Empire could hope to do was to be forcibly awakened to their mistakes, as I was. However, I’ve been wrong time and time again about my thoughts about other people, and I’ve found many good people where I’ve expected none.

This young woman could be a good person from the Empire that broke the instant she saw its horrors… unlike me.

I needed to accept that, especially with the mounting evidence that I found all around me.

“Very well, then.” I nodded towards Haru and the Kunoichi came forward. She bound the young woman’s arms together and divested her of any weapons. A moment later and the sodden young woman was hefted aloft on an Amazon’s back, as we moved back. The Kunoichi brought no one else forward and if there were any other survivors, they would have to be found by the team following us. “You will speak and I will listen, student of the Imperial Academy.”

…

The Kunoichi were capable scouts and powerful Kindred, so they had little need for horses. The Amazons were just as indefatigable and they could cover land with ease. Therefore, with my mostly human stamina, I was the only one who required such a steed. Thankfully, there were plenty of such creatures running amuck around in the area. Normally, Kindred hunters would take them down and consume them, but with marauding bands of Empire soldiery about they were incapable of doing so.

So, with her hands tied and her horse bound to mine, I spoke to my captive.

I learned much.

“The Emperor decreed that anyone with talent could enter the Academy now. Everyone celebrated when the call came, especially since we didn’t have to pay. We had to repair some donated clothes and uniforms, but it was a decent price to pay.” Cerise spoke with her voice soft and eyes wary. Her gaze was drawn to the Amazons running in formation around us, while my horse and her own kept up with their pace. She blushed at their mostly naked torsos, but she retreated whenever she took note of their innate power and their equipment. Hachiman’s premier troops were a force unmatched. “We were told that this was a learning trip. We’d hunt Kindred and fight against them for the good of nearby villages. But one night, something changed, and the next morning everyone was… so angry and filled with hatred.”

The Empire was recruiting from the villages and towns that tended to the fields in the innermost cities. Barring the calling of levies, this was as close as the Empire could call upon the regular peasantry, which has not happened since the first summoning. Should the Empire call upon the levies, and pull the regular peoples out of their lives, then they would find themselves with greater difficulties. Since the first summoning, the Empire has enjoyed waging wars without repercussion from the people they ruled, but a mere few years after Hachiman arrived they were on the brink of having to call upon all they could.

But, for now, I ignored that fact in favor of a returning scout that slipped a message to me.

We have found them.

Simple and succinct.

I turned to Cerise.

“We have found your fellows. In a few moments, we will be upon them. If you have any idea as to why they’re acting as they are, then you should tell me now. I cannot capture the crazed and mad.” I considered the matter carefully after consulting with my two lieutenants for the task. The damage done to the village would’ve inspired hatred from any Kindred that stumbled upon it. But the Kunoichi were used to dark deed being done, and the Amazons had endured far worse. They were willing to take prisons, but if our foes did not surrender, they would not. “Think hard, Celise.”

I pressed the girl and she bit her lower lip until it bled… for a long moment my horse galloped and hers followed, while the footsteps of Amazons thundered around us.

The sound of battle came.

The Kunoichi stopped the enemy force via an ambush and we found ourselves looking down a path upon a disorganized group searching for foes. Most were clad in the Academy’s uniforms like Cerise, but unlike her, they were indeed mad. Their clothes were drenched in blood, many had open wounds which were untended, and their eyes were wide as smiles were on their faces. The scent of blood and bile reached me from the battle, as well as the stench of decay, which only raised further questions.

What happened to these people? Who did this to them? How were they still alive?

I called for a halt with a simple raised hand and the Amazons came forward with weapons at the ready. A line of metal, muscle, and power stood between me and the chaos… and I waited for Cerise to answer.

I thought that I would receive none, until she gave a shout.

“Him! There! He came to us and everyone began to act strangely!” Cerise pointed and at the center of the chaos was a man in the vestments of a sorcerer. Unlike all the others driver mad, he was surveying the situation and searching for attackers, while protected by keen-eyed guards. “He… he tried to feed us all something, but I didn’t since I felt terrible that night! Then, the next morning, everyone was different, laughing, and… utterly mad!”

I listened and heeded the young woman’s calls for a second, before looking towards Kian.

I hesitated, but spoke nonetheless.

“Kian, do you recall how we brought low flying foes?”

The Amazon snorted and stood straight, before offering me her hand to dismount.

She spoke as I did.

“You hated it, if I recall.”

“I hated it when you missed and I had to go again.”

“Hah, don’t worry. I’m much stronger now.”

“Strength without precision is worthless.”

“Hah!”

Kian’s laugh resounded in my heart, and I recalled better days filled with warmth despite the coming terror.

I shut it aside, as I readied my blade and balanced myself upon on an Amazon’s palm, while she aimed to throw me.

The tactic felt as crazed and inane as ever… but I knew it would work.

“Go!”

“Haargh!”

Speed.

Wind flowed past me.

The world blurred.

But I strengthened my gaze despite the storm that surged around me and kept my blade bared.

A barrier tried to interrupt me, but the sword quelled its protective qualities, and I burst threw amidst motes of broken magic.

The black-robed sorcerer turned towards me in an instant after realizing his protection breached.

But it was too late.

My sword swung through his skull, while I flew to the other side of the battlefield.

I landed on the opposite side of the battle with my blade covered in blood.

I was ready to be the hammer that smashed the enemy into the anvil known as the Amazons, while the Kunoichi struck and killed all who tried to escape to the flanks.

Instead, besides the sorcerer’s guards, the academy students as one began to shudder… and then as one they began to cry out in grief, pain, and sorrow. Some fell instantly and screamed, others vomited and tried to hold themselves, and others still… turned their weapons upon themselves.

The Kunoichi were quick to kill the rest of the professional soldiers, while I approached after sheathing my blade.

How… how could I have ever believed in the Empire when they would do things such as this?