บท 446: [84.2] Atta POV: The Soldier Becomes a Hero

****Disclaimer: This chapter contains mention of a corpse and desecration of a corpse.

[Author's note: This chapter is from Atta's perspective.]

This soldier is confused.

I looked around the foot of the mountain after having been pushed off by a sudden surge of snow.

This soldier must return to her post.

I tried walking back up but was thrown back. I stared at it in confusion.

Why won't Master allow this soldier back up?

Has my duty changed?

I closed my eyes and listened intently. I listened to the wind blow and the storm howl. Thanks to the wind, a scent hit my nose.

Ah.

A battlefield with comrade fighting.

This soldier must join her.

I spun around and jogged to the smell, my long braid swaying and smacking against my back. I arrived at a temple that had been burnt to the ground with bodies lying around it. I stared at the corpses, blinking as I waited for an order.

This soldier…

What should this soldier do?

I sat on the ground and stared off into space. I waited until I saw smoke in the distance. I stood back up and jogged to the new battleground, but once again I was too late.

I carelessly strolled into the burnt temple and found myself in the kitchen. I picked up the old, scorched bread and broke it into small pieces. I reached under my scarf to put it in the back of my throat and swallowed. Regaining my strength, I marched back into battle.

However, my fellow soldier was always a step ahead.

This soldier must find her comrade quickly.

A comrade must never face battle alone.

As I turned to face the direction of the new fight, I saw hundreds of holy swords in the sky. My eyes lit up.

Comrade!

As I ran in that direction, I heard a shout in the distance.

"HELP!"

I stopped and stared at the distant explosion for a brief moment before sprinting off in the direction of the crying.

"PLEASE HELP ME!"

A woman with black hair that had a sheen of blue was pressed against a tree as a group of dirty men surrounded her. Her expression seemed harsh, which was surprising considering she had screamed for help earlier.

"The holy temple can't save you, wench! They are all dead!"

"You tried to defraud us for the last time!"

Her expression suddenly turned fierce, "How DARE you! My prophecies are always right!"

A man screamed, "You said I would be married within a year!"

"No, I said you'll have a wedding within a year. Did you not?"

"SHE DITCHED ME AT THE ALTAR!"

The woman scoffed, "You still had a wedding."

"JUST GIVE US BACK OUR MONEY YOU HACK!"

She spat on them, "Over my dead body!"

"OUR PLEASURE!"

I swooped down and smacked the back of each of their heads, knocking them unconscious. I turned to look at the woman who was staring back slackjawed.

"Who… Who are you?"

I wrote on the chalkboard: 'A hero in training'

"H-Hero in training?"

I turned away from her and jogged back in the direction of the fighting. However, because of the distraction, I suddenly forgot which direction to go.

As I thought about it, I suddenly felt my hand pulled.

"Wait! Before you leave, allow me to tell your fortune!"

I looked back at her and blinked slowly. I pulled out my board and wrote, 'What is that?'

She read it, "Oh… Well, I'm best at determining the future of your love life. I just need to read your palm and I can figure it out."

Love life?

This soldier doesn't need that.

This soldier needs to find her comrade.

I went to leave but she pulled me back, "Oh come on. Don't be like that."

She took my palms into her hand and traced each line.

"I see… Well… Unfortunately, there's no love any time soon."

This soldier doesn't care.

"Eventually, you'll find your soulmate in love. He will see past the surface you and find the beauty underneath."

My heart suddenly skipped.

She let go of my palm and gave me a smirk, "You'll have a hard time taming that one. Quick to anger, but quick to chase."

Another explosion sounded in the distance.

The woman and I both jerked our heads to look.

She laughed, "Talk about another idiot in love. I never thought I would see a priestess destroying all the Holy Temples."

I abruptly ran in that direction, leaving her behind.

She shouted after me, "I forgot to tell you!!! Your love will get you ki-"

I was already too far away to hear her finish her sentence. As I approached the new site, I realized I already missed her.

Comrade is faster than me.

I scratched my head as I looked around.

Right.

This soldier was…

This soldier was doing…

What was it?

I sat down and waited for instructions, but they never came.

As I waited more fire erupted in the distance. Over several weeks, I tried to catch up to my comrade but I kept getting distracted or running into humans that tried to fight me and even some that needed to be saved.

After a few months of following the same pattern, I stood in front of a large gate door that had been burst open by force. As I walked in, I could see the signs of destruction from fire and war. Bodies were piled up and because of the lack of smell, I knew they were fresh.

I finally made it to the center of the town where a large pillar was erected with the word 'Traitor' carved into skin.

My eyes trembled as I saw who was ripped apart and skewered onto that post.

My precious comrade…

My only friend…

Alora was grotesquely stuck on that pike. Her body was ripped open by her stomach and her head was ripped off and stuck on top of the pike. She had so many scars both before death and after. Her eyes were open and glazed over as if staring into nothing.

Even in death, she wasn't smiling.

Yet it was her chest I couldn't force myself to look away from.

No matter if it was night or day, I could recognize that mark on her chest.

A curse.

She was cursed by a demon.

And it wasn't just any demon.

I clenched my fists as my eyes teared up.

Moni cursed my comrade.

Hatred implanted in my mind, searing the current memory into permanence.

First, I will get my comrade down and give her a proper burial.

Then, I will find Moni and enact judgment for his sin.

Just as I went up to her body to grab her, I heard a scream. "There's a demon!"

I spun around on my heels and avoided the attacks from the sudden guards. The more I fought them, the more I realized there were too many.

This soldier doesn't care about injuries.

This soldier doesn't fear death.

But…

This soldier has duties to complete first.

I hopped up to the roof of a stable building and started running from roof to roof, leaving a blood trail behind. I had no idea the extent of my injuries until I was far enough away. I leaned against the capital's wall, my vision fading from the blood loss.

"Heeheeeeheee."

My body tensed up as I heard a screeching laugh.

"Hello." A hooded man stepped toward me as I held my wounds. I could feel overwhelming hatred from him as he spoke, "I see you came into the Capital?"

I gave a firm nod of my head as I fought back the nauseating feeling. Even though his hatred was blinding, he didn't have any ill intent against me.

"Coming into this city is pretty stupid of a demon to attempt. Especially one like you who doesn't even try to hide her horns."

My brow furrowed as I assessed him.

Friend or enemy?

He ignored my stare and spoke, "I am just a simple man who has yet to own any land."

This soldier doesn't understand.

"I don't understand why you are conducting a suicide mission to get a useless corpse, but I can help you attain the one you want."

My eyes brightened.

"But first, I need something from you."

I stepped forward, nodding in excitement.

This man can help this soldier?!

Seeing me agree, he spoke in a low and ominous tone, "I want something, but I can't attain it. It requires someone idiotically pure- erm. I mean, it requires someone like you rather than me."

I tilted my head.

He handed me a map, "Go to this location and get this weapon for me. Bring it back to this spot and I will exchange it for that body."

This soldier…

This soldier can recover her friend by doing something so simple?

I happily reached for the map, and as I did I realized that he had black markings on his skin. He had tattooed his skin with strange runes that I couldn't read.

A sense of familiarity passed through me, but the memory was unattainable.

I ignored this familiarity and took the papers from him. His lips curved up as he spoke.

"Be quick or else you'll only be receiving a skeleton."

I nodded firmly and checked the location on the map. After ensuring the direction, I rushed away. I traveled to the spot he circled not even thinking about his hysterical laughter as I left him behind.

Once I arrived at the location, I started feeling there was something wrong.

This soldier must have read the map wrong. There is nothing here.

I walked forward until I felt the earth rumbling under my feet. The ground gave way underneath me and I fell into the gaping hole until landing softly on my feet. When I raised my eyes, I saw a pair of black inky eyes staring back at me. I raised my fists as the person emerged. Her voice croaked, weak from the lack of use, "Who are you?"

I pulled out my chalkboard and wrote: 'Atta. And you?'

Her eyes were on the chalkboard then slowly raised to look at me, "I forgot how to read."

"..."

As she emerged further from the shadows, I could see her pale skin and long silky black hair. Although her clothes were practically disintegrated, she herself looked perfect.

Almost as if time had stopped for her.

I put away my board and focused on the muscles around my mouth.

"Ah-ah."

She blinked slowly at me, "...What?"

"Ah-ah."

"...How long have I been down here? Has language really progressed to being gibberish?"

I stared at her silently for a moment before pulling out a drawing. The paper was thrust into her face.

She scowled as she looked at it, "You want that piece of crap?"

I nodded quickly.

She pursed her lips, "But it has a very powerful malicious ghost inside. Anyone who yields it seems to lose their strength and abilities."

I wrote on my board: 'Not for me.'

"Hmmm… Okay." She walked away into the dark tunnels. I followed after her, using my night vision to see. However, she didn't need it and could find her way to a room filled to the brim with various weapons. She tossed them all to the side as she searched, "I could care less what you use it for… Ah. Here it is."

She handed it over to me and I quickly took it. Once it was in my hands, I could find overwhelming excitement leaking out from my body.

Her once paralyzed face came to life with a full grin, "Hah! HAHA! What is this!? Happiness? How do I feel happiness?"

Just as I grew excited, a powerful force suddenly took over my body. I felt heavier and dirtier. The other woman abruptly stopped laughing. She ripped off a cloth from her shirt and covered the sword with it, "I guess it nullifies all magic, even demonic."

Once it was covered, I no longer felt its power over me. I promptly tied it to my back and went back to the hole. I bent my knees and jumped up with force.

As I walked out of the hole in the ground, I heard someone shout.

"Wait for me!"

The woman climbed out of the hole and ran after me. I gave her a nod and left with her to the meeting place the man suggested.

Unexpectedly, he was already waiting with a crate beside him. I looked at it, my heart thudding hard in my chest.

I rushed to it, but he held out his hand, "First. Did you bring what I asked?"

I paused and nodded firmly. I handed him the sword as the woman watched us with sharp eyes. She mumbled to herself, "I guess language is still the same…"

"Heeeheeheee…" The man hidden under the cloak giggled menacingly as he inspected the sword. He carefully wrapped it back up and kicked the box over to me, "As promised."

I quickly grabbed the box and opened it, making sure not to disturb the contents. The woman behind me peered over my shoulder and turned up her nose at the stench and sight.

An indistinguishable head was staring back, bugs were crawling in its skin, but those eyes were still open and staring into nothing. I reached out and closed those eyes before picking up the head and holding it to my chest in a hug.

Comrade…

I have finally recovered you.

You can sleep peacefully now.

Delicately placing the head back, I covered the crate and picked it up making sure not a single limb was displaced.

The man spoke slyly, "Since I'm feeling rather happy to have received such a weapon, and from the maker no less, let me give you one last gift."

I shook my head to show him I didn't need it, but it seemed he didn't care.

"You're a hero, right?"

My head nodded up and down quickly.

"Then as a hero, it is your duty to help those who need it." He paused to read my expression before continuing, "Right now, Vira is in the western plains planning on taking control of it through force. Those people… Really need a hero to save them."

My eyes flickered with light.

That's right.

I am not a soldier any longer.

I'm a hero.

The woman beside me gave him an odd look, "It seems like you really want us to stop her."

"Hehehehehe." His sinister giggling echoed from under his hood, "Vira is evil as you both should know, but I would be lying if I said I was sending you to her with goodwill. I want her gone, or too busy to return."

"Why?"

"This Kingdom needs to be improved. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Hm." She didn't seem to care so much about the kingdom or politics as she did about him, "What's your name?"

"Lord Perrious, oh great Swordmaster."

I hugged the box containing my comrade and started walking away.

The woman who was with me stared at that man before following after me, "So strange. That man had never met me before, but he knew that I was the sword's maker. He even seemed rather excited to see me with you."

I ignored her and traveled far enough until I was sure I wouldn't encounter any more people. I started stacking logs and sticks as the woman watched.

My fingers carefully opened the box. Even when the stench hit my nose, I didn't care. The smell was surprisingly nostalgic. I reached out to pick up every single piece of her corpse and arrange it on the pyre.

There were still pieces missing…

But it was enough.

I set the pure ablaze and watched as her body disappeared in the hot blaze.

I clasped my hands together, tears flowing down my cheeks as I closed my eyes and cried. The woman stood beside me, her eyes bursting with tears herself. I waited until the fire finally came to a stop and only ashes remained. Even then, I cried so hard I couldn't move.

"I never thought I would feel anything again… Thank you." The woman beside me spoke, "You have my gratitude…"

I wiped away my tears and tried to stare at her through the blurry water.

She smiled back at me through tears, "I miss having emotions… Do you mind if I accompany you on your journey, hero?"