章 20: Departure
In the gloomy and silent night of the dark forest which covered a vast land, a small village got decimated into ruins. The survivors within it had the fates of those as slaves, but fortunately, with the sacrifice of a young girl. Their destinies were averted, for now. At this moment, the soul deal had concluded, and the price was taken.
But for some reason, the young and first Krieger found herself confused and somehow not joyful. Such an event brought unwanted memories of her past, and the mistakes of her choices were brought right in front of her. Yet, even then, she still thought of it as something she had to go through.
The young girl was Maria. She had recently disintegrated into pure light as the price of the soul deal. After that, a strange lingering silence shrouded the decimated village and the dark forest surrounding it. Those that had survived the bandit raid found themselves shocked and frozen.
After all, their friend, who had saved them by calling upon a heroic lady, seemingly fell into pieces right before them. She fractured into thousands of fragments and turned into silver light. Such were the last moments of her life, and they couldn't wrap their heads around such a situation.
The events that unfolded in front of them were strange, shocking, and heartbreaking. It took a while for them to release their bodies from the shock, and what came after was a rush of sorrow, which they didn't expect.
The young and first Krieger was a silver-haired girl known as Alastair. She had been executed by her enemies not too long ago. She was burned in a stake like the witch of the old, and the empire she had served had probably fallen into pieces, eaten by the allied nations.
Alastair silently stood as she sighed with an emotionless expression on her face. So that was the first soul she had gained through the contract of the soul deal. Alastair had previously thought that she would have been happy with this. After all, the price allowed her to grow and become stronger than before.
But for some reason, there was a strange feeling within her heart.
It was none other than dejection.
Her silver-white hair swayed along with the breeze of wind as the pale moonlight illuminated her. It didn't take that much time for her to realize. It was simply a victory with a considerable amount of loss. Such things were the reason she remembered unwanted past memories.
She wondered if these were the things she would commonly see in the future. Followed by dejection, disappointment, and melancholy. Confusion shrouded her heart, but even then, she had a goal in mind. That was to stand in the zenith once again. It was a flimsy goal, and it was practically nothing but a distraction for her.
Soteria was right beside Alastair, standing with an emotionless face. Her expression didn't change that much, but she had numerous thoughts passing through her mind. It would have been better if her master had her first contractee as a selfish bastard. But unfortunately, fate gave her master a more complicated option.
The option of devouring an innocent right before her master's eyes. The last words, wishes, and moments of Maria would continue to linger within her master's heart. Such would have been a heartache for her master.
'Lady Alastair must take her time to adapt to the current environment she is in. Unlike her previous world, soul and life in this kind of work are a supplement to becoming stronger and better. Such is a simple truth and the only conduct of a Krieger.' Soteria thought to herself as she continued.
'If Lady Alastair doesn't adapt to the current circumstances, then she will slowly break apart from the inside. And unfortunately, her master's worldview wouldn't be the only thing that would get affected.'
After a while, the children finally reacted to the situation before them. The scene of their friend slowly disintegrating into a silver light echoed within their minds. The older ones were surprised and shocked as their body shook in fear, wondering if they would be next.
But it didn't take that much time for them to calm down. The older ones thought that such an end must have been the price for saving them. It made them a lot guiltier than before, which resulted in the older ones clenching their fist. The reality was cold as they wondered if a happy ending was possible for them.
The children had different reactions. They didn't fear reacting with their mouths, unlike hiding their responses from within.
"Eh!? Where is Older Sis Maria?! Why did she disappear into that light? Where is she?!"
"I don't know!? But the heroic lady should know, right?!"
"B-but, should we ask her?!"
A little girl then looked towards Alastair with an innocent gaze and questioned with a soft voice. "M-Ms. Hero, where is my older sister? Why did she disappear in thin air? Did you take her?" Her questions echoed throughout the decimated village. All of the survivors waited for Alastair's response.
Alastair gazed upon the little girl with an emotionless expression and replied with a calm voice. "She died, and her soul got eaten by me. That was the price of my aid and the price of killing the ten bandits." Alastair was straightforward. She gave them an honest and cold answer which they might not want to hear.
"E-eh?!" Obviously, the little girl found herself confused. Meanwhile, the other kids immediately realized what Alastair meant. They all gritted their teeth and clenched their fist as they stood in silence. One of the boys then walked forward and shouted toward Alastair.
"I thought you were our savior!!! I thought you were our hero!!! But, if you are, then why did you take her!? Do you know how much she had gone through?! Why did Old Sis Maria have to have such an end?!" He shouted with all his might as tears began to escape from his eyes.
"Yeah, w-why did you take her!?"
"Please bring her back... I beg you!"
Like an avalanche, the explosion of their hidden feelings came out. The emotions of sorrow, anger, and pity. Alastair heard all of their words, and she didn't mind it. How much had she heard such words before even reincarnating as a Krieger? Too much, probably. It made her resistant to it.
Soteria furrowed her eyebrows upon hearing the words of the children. As expected of kids, the two terms of equivalent exchange seemed to not exist within their tiny brains. Even then, it was pissing Soteria on how they were talking to her master like that. She calmed herself by profoundly breathing.
The older ones immediately stopped the children from speaking more as they didn't want to offend the one who had saved them. They didn't want to be people who didn't appreciate the lady's help, despite having a price. After calming the children down, one of them walked forward and bowed. She then apologized with a shaken tone.
"We are sorry... Please don't take their words seriously. They are children, and a lot of things have happened since the beginning of the night." Her apology echoed all over the decimated village and beyond. The remaining older ones also bowed as Alastair simply looked at them.
Her expression didn't change though she did sigh and reply. "I don't mind it. So, where will you go afterward? Do all of you even have anywhere to go?" Alastair questioned as she wondered about the journey ahead of the survivors. This world was dangerous, and those bandits were the most minor threat they could ever find.
Another one walked forward and answered. "My uncle worked in the military of the country. He is stationed in the nearest town. So he can be trusted as he knows most of us." Her answer was simple, and Alastair nodded in understanding as she had no problems with her words.
After releasing her words, the older ones prepared themselves as they took everything they could from the rubble. Food, clothing, and tools, such things were essential to their journey to the nearest town. As the survivors prepared themselves, Alastair knew it was time for her to go.
Before planning to leave, Alastair questioned for one last time. "What do all of you plan on doing in the future?" This was the last thing she wondered as she was curious about their fates and destinies. Would she be able to meet them again? It was a lingering question within her mind.
One of the older ones stopped and thought about it for a while. Then, after a short thought, the young girl answered with a confident tone. "It appears that all of us have to join the military. There is no other way to survive, especially with us being orphans. I doubt that my uncle would be able to raise all of us."
"That should be an excellent way to ease my uncle's workload. It should also be a perfect way to become stronger."
"The military?" Alastair silently uttered as she had dozens of thoughts passing through her mind. The military was a dangerous job to be in. But for orphans like them, it was an excellent job to survive. There were other options but the military, despite being dangerous, was better than all of them.
Such jobs would be abandoning their dignities as human beings. A fate worse than death in this kind of world.
Alastair shook her head as their future wasn't her problem. She had already done her job, and it was time to leave. She had more problems she needed to deal with, and this drama wasn't something she would place above the others. With this simple thinking, Alastair turned her gaze towards Soteria.
"I'm going back."
Alastair said with a calm voice as she walked towards the dark forest. Soteria nodded and followed her master without any resistance. It was time for the two of them to go back. But before Alastair could reach the bushes, the little girl who asked the first question appeared right before her.
The little girl slowly reached out her hands and gave Alastair a piece of bread. Upon seeing such a scene and the embarrassed little girl, Alastair couldn't help but slightly chuckle as she patted the little girl with her pale hand. She then said with a soothing voice. "Thank you, but there is no need to give that to me."
"All of you need it, so take care of it."
The little girl then nodded and ran back to the group who were preparing and salvaging the things they needed. Alastair then looked at the group of survivors. Despite experiencing such things, they still had the will to survive. Alastair respected that, and she only had one sentence for them.
"All of you must survive no matter what, okay?"
Alastair's words echoed as the group of survivors looked at her and nodded simultaneously. They then waved their hands toward her and shouted their gratitude one last time. "Thank you for saving us!" "We apologize for our disrespect." "We'll meet you again, Ms. Hero!"
They had pure smiles on their faces as they continued to wave their hands.
Alastair shook her head as a slight smile formed on her face. She then walked through the bushes and entered the dark forest as Soteria followed her behind. It didn't take that much time for the departure to start. Her mission was complete, and the soul deal had reached its conclusion. However, where she would go after this was something she didn't know.
But there was one thing she was sure of.
This was simply the beginning of her second life. It would be a rocky road just like before, but as she had said, she wasn't someone that was willing to give up without any resistance. Even if there were thorns before her, she would continue to tread without regret.
A dark silver light then enveloped their body. It was just like before. Alastair looked at her pale arms, which were slowly turning into a dim ivory light. Despite this mission being a little bit downside and sad, she still didn't regret it and was satisfied that it was her first mission.
Soteria looked at her master, who was slowly disappearing. Looking at her master, she gave her opinion about her master's worldview.
"I believe that master's worldview is by making an empire where all could live peacefully. That was your dream, and you wanted to change the empire from the inside. But even then, you still hadn't realized that worldview of yours. So you didn't change the empire to be something you wanted."
"It wasn't the empire you had dreamed of. So if Lady Alastair really wants to confirm the questions about her worldview. The answer is simple."
"You must first create the empire you dreamed of."
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