Knife

The situation was tragic in the crash site, but some awkwardness had inevitably fallen among the awake group. Khan had to rip the recruits' uniforms apart to create bandages and tend some injuries, so everyone was partially naked.

Khan had a better time ignoring Reebfell's uncovered skin and exposed sports bra. His mind was forcing his emotions in a part of his brain that didn't affect his body. Also, that wasn't his first time seeing women in that state anyway.

The Slums didn't give Khan the chance to have relationships, but he had lived among complete poverty. Torn clothes were the norm there, so he had often seen women roaming the narrow streets and going to work with little more than a few rags on them.

Moreover, everyone knew the locations of the brothels, and the hookers didn't even try to hide their bodies. Khan had often walked past completely exposed chests that attracted many men willing to trade their meals for a few hours of pleasure.

The same didn't apply to Flurris and Reebfell. They didn't complain about Khan's actions, especially after he had saved their lives, but their eyes often fell on their companions to snatch quick peeks.

Flurris was quite evident in his attraction toward Reebfell. She was as tall as Khan, and her sports bra didn't manage to hide her well-developed chest. Her long blonde hair and large green eyes were even perfect for the slender body and firm curves that the training of the Global Army had forced her to obtain.

Flurris wasn't ugly either. He had an average face, with short black hair, dark eyes, and thick eyebrows. It was clear that a beard had even started to grow on his chin, but he seemed to shave often.

The boy was taller than Khan and had a decent layer of muscles. His chest was quite hairy, but his broad shoulders gave a mature vibe to his figure. However, Reebfell barely looked at him. Her eyes seemed unable to leave Khan and his scarred chest.

'It's almost time to wake up the other two,' Khan concluded in his mind after spending a few hours meditating under the heavy rain.

Khan quickly inspected the two recruits before moving to the duo sleeping under the vehicle. Their condition was getting worse, especially when it came to the girl's hand. A dark-red shade had appeared on the tip of her fingers, which forced Khan to consider a harsher approach.

'Don't tell me that we have to amputate her hand,' Khan wondered before standing up to check the two unconscious recruits.

"Ylaco, right?" Reebfell asked as soon as she noticed that Khan was on his feet. "I think we should drop these codenames. You know, in case some of us don't come back."

Khan showed a confused expression, but Flurris quickly supported the girl's argument. "The survivors must warn the families about their dead descendants."

Understanding dawned upon Khan at that point. That topic made sense, and he didn't hesitate to follow their suggestion. "I'm Khan."

"Dorian Aiyti," Flurris announced while slapping his chest in pride and moving his gaze toward the girl next to him.

"Cora Ommo," Reebfell exclaimed without even glancing at Dorian. "Just Khan?"

"I'm from Ylaco's Slums," Khan promptly replied. "Dorian, you seem to be fine now. Help me with this girl. She must wake up and meditate. I think she might lose her hand."

Dorian and Cora widened their eyes when they learnt about Khan's background. Every large city had Slums around them, so they could immediately understand his situation. Yet, they couldn't explain how he could be so strong with the evident lack of backing.

"Dorian?" Khan repeated, and the boy snapped back to reality before standing up.

Cora imitated Dorian, but both Khan and the boy shot a confused glance toward her. She was still tending her bruises and cuts, and her help appeared unnecessary in the matter.

"How do you think she'll react in front of two half-naked boys?" Cora explained, and Khan promptly moved to the side to make room for her.

Dorian and Cora walked toward Khan's position, but only the girl crouched next to him. She blushed a little when her bare shoulder touched Khan's, but she remained focused on her task. Meanwhile, the other boy remained behind them to oversee the situation.

Cora lightly slapped the girl a few times, but she increased her strength when she failed to wake up. The unconscious recruit eventually opened her eyes, and a painful scream immediately left her mouth.

"Calm down!" Cora shouted while trying to restrain the girl, but the latter was in too much pain.

She struggled to get out of Cora's grip, and her eyes often fell on her broken hand. Her mindset didn't improve when she gained a clear understanding of how bad its condition was, and her screams became louder after that.

"Move aside," Khan whispered while placing a hand on Cora's uncovered waist and pushing her away.

Cora slightly jumped when she sensed his firm palm pushing her away, but she complied with his orders. She waited for Khan to grab the screaming girl's elbows before moving to her legs and keeping them still.

Khan dragged the girl under the heavy rain and shook her a few times until she decided to suppress her pain for a few seconds. She sobbed as her tears mixed with the falling water and her bloodshot eyes focused on Khan.

"You need to meditate now," Khan explained in a steady voice. "Your hand is in bad shape."

Khan didn't bother to spend time explaining the crash or his other hypotheses. He only wanted the girl to be combat-ready as soon as possible and leave the area.

The girl seemed to calm down after his words. She nodded, and Khan slowly left her elbows. She shook when her injured hand fell to the side of her body, but she managed to sit and enter the meditative state after taking a deep breath.

Khan sighed and turned toward the boy. Cora moved farther away and left her spot to Dorian, who carefully grabbed the unconscious recruit's arms from areas that didn't feature injuries.

Khan nodded and began to slap the boy. The latter woke up quickly, and his first reaction was to throw his legs in the air. One of them hit Dorian's side, while the other wanted to aim for Khan's face.

"Calm down!" Khan shouted while grabbing the boy's ankle before the kick could reach his face. "We crashed, the mission is over, and you are injured."

The boy's ragged breath slowed down as he moved his eyes among the three recruits and the crash site. His head eventually performed a nod, and Khan let his leg go.

The boy inspected his left side and noticed the many injuries and bandages. His eyes quickly went on Khan and the others before he nodded again and closed his eyes to meditate.

'Finally a smart one,' Khan exclaimed in his mind.

"Let's rest a little longer," Khan ordered. "You can't fight right now, and I can't handle all the threats hidden here by myself. I'll definitely need your help."

Dorian and Cora nodded before sitting and closing their eyes to meditate. Both of them understood that their struggle to survive would start once everyone was ready, so they had to abandon every distraction.

Khan also sat to meditate. His shoulder still needed care, but it got better with every training session. He guessed that everything would be perfect after a week, but he hoped to regroup with the Lieutenants before that.

Hours passed under the heavy rain. The group of recruits didn't have food, but the falling water seemed drinkable. Khan even tried to taste a few drops to see if they caused strange reactions inside his body, but everything seemed fine.

Managing the hunger wasn't an issue for Khan, but the other recruits' stomachs inevitably started to growl after meditating for so long. Yet, they could only endure that feeling and continue to heal their bodies with mana since they had nothing else at hand.

The world eventually went dark, and the insides of the jungle became even harder to inspect. Khan and the others had to stay close to keep track of their position, and their heightened senses couldn't do much in that environment.

'We must wait until the sun is up again,' Khan concluded while inspecting the darkness. 'Exploring during the night is pure madness.'

The other recruits also woke up when they sensed that Khan had started to inspect the perimeter again. That gave the two unknown kids the chance to introduce themselves and group up to make a point of their situation.

"We must regroup with the Global Army," George Ildoo announced after Khan explained everything. "I hope your attunement with mana is high enough to make you last on Istrone without breathing pills."

George Ildoo had a mature vibe around him. He was shorter than Dorian, and his body was slender, but his sharp eyebrows and calm gaze made him appear stronger than the boy.

The rain forced his long black hair to fall on his azure eyes, but he promptly created a bandana with pieces of his uniform to keep his gaze clear.

"We mus-," Ethel Fensee began to speak, but the pain coming from her hand forced her to stop for a second. "We must hurry. The Global Army technically controls Istrone, so the Kred will aim to destroy its bases."

Ethel was shorter than Khan. She even looked younger than her companions. It was clear that her body had yet to develop fully, but her short brown hair gave her a soldier-like appearance.

"We should take care of your hand first," George pointed out. "You can't move in this condition."

"Wha-!" Ethel spoke, but her pain forced her to stop again. "What can we do about it? Even my mana can't fix it."

Khan had kept track of the condition of his companions during his breaks. Dorian and Cora were mostly fine by now, and George had stabilized his most severe injuries. He was even suppressing the pain released by the other wounds during the meeting.

Instead, Ethel didn't improve. Her bruises and small cuts had mostly healed, but her right hand didn't recover at all. It was actually getting worse, and the dark-red shades were stretching past the wrist. Black spots had even appeared on the tips of her fingers after those hours.

"I have a bit of medical knowledge," George announced. "Your hand is too far gone. It's developing gangrene that will spread through your arm. Your mana might slow down the process, but you'll never get better until we remove it."

"You are talking about my hand here!" Ethel shouted.

"One hand is better than your life," Khan commented while scratching the azure scar on his chest. "I bet that the Global Army will even give you a good prosthesis once we get back to our training camps."

The recruits fell silent when Khan spoke. Ethel and George had learnt about his background during their introduction, and they didn't take much to connect the azure scar to the Second Impact. After all, the reappearance of the Nak had shaken the entire world.

"But-," Ethel whimpered as another wave of pain spread through her body. "It's my hand!"

"Keep your voice down," Khan reminded her while glancing at the dead Tainted bear in the distance.

The corpses of the pilots and the dead Tainted animal seemed to remind Ethel about the gravity of the situation. She was only a burden in that condition, and her chances to survive were even quite low due to the constant pain released by her hand.

The best approach was clear in her mind, but tears still flowed out of her eyes. Ethel was only seventeen, but she had to prepare herself to lose such an important part of her body.

"How should we cut it?" Dorian asked. "I've seen some sharp slabs, but I don't know if they'll be enough."

"I think I can handle that part," George exclaimed before closing his eyes and starting breathing at an odd rhythm.

Everyone felt confused in front of that scene, but no one spoke. George had only shown a mature personality until then, so he had earned a bit of trust.

Khan and the others grew suspicious after minutes passed, but an azure light suddenly appeared between George's hands and made them gasp in surprise.

The light condensed and morphed while changing color. It grew darker and obtained silver shades as it transformed into a small knife.