A Familiar Face

[Iris Lefay]

"How are you so unaffected by this biting cold?"

Carlo asked, shivering as the icy wind whipped against his face.

I chuckled, rubbing my bare arms and tracing my fingers over the scars that marred my fair skin

"The Karsus Duchy is in the North and the winters there are brutal. The attic, where I lived, was the coldest place. I had no blankets, just a thin nightdress."

I smiled at him, "You get used to the cold when you endure years of it."

Carlo grimaced, "I knew Duke Karsus was cold-hearted and ruthless, but I never imagined he'd be this cruel."

I shrugged, "Well. He only promised my mother that he'd keep me alive."

I tilted my head and looked at him, "I've been meaning to ask, what led the Devereux family to send their son to the Shield?"

Rubbing his hands together for warmth, Carlo replied, "I wanted to prove myself to my father. I need to show them that I'm capable of leading our family."

A chuckle escaped my lips, "So the wee lad of House Devereux came here due to a succession crisis."

He frowned, "Wee lad? I'm older than you."

"And I'm your more experienced senior.", I retorted and returned my gaze to the sky framed by the mountains of Les Anciennes.

"They should be within sight.", I said, squinting over the rugged peaks of the mountains, hoping to catch sight of the massive shape of the Argo or its escort helicopters.

"Have you seen the list of recruits?", Carlo inquired.

I shook my head, "Nope. I've been busy speaking with the High Queen."

"Ah, the High Queen requested your presence.", Carlo remarked a hint of envy in his voice, "She must've been surprised to learn you're dating the vice-captain."

"She was quite cool with it. Heck, she was delighted.", I said with a smile, "She truly is an awesome queen."

"Yes, she is.", Carlo agreed, bringing up the list on his holographic display, "You need to see this."

My jaw hit the tarmac as I scanned the list, especially when I saw the ranks.

"Holy Incarni! Minerva? How many are there in total?", I asked.

"Two hundred recruits. A hundred and ten females and ninety males.", Minerva's cold voice spoke into my earpiece.

I swallowed hard, "Did we hit the bloody jackpot? None of them are below B rank!"

"I guess we did. Perhaps it's due to the current circumstances?", Carlo suggested.

I nodded, "Could be. We'll certainly need the extra help, especially when those suckers are appearing at night."

Just weeks ago, daemons had surged out of the Tear during the night without warning.

Almost all the Deathwalkers that were quickly summoned to the battlefield were slaughtered.

"Those sons of bitches blend seamlessly with the darkness and seem to grow stronger at night.", I muttered, my fingers hovering over a particularly huge scar on my exposed waist.

That was the handiwork of a daemon tearing into my side with a barbed spear a week ago during a night battle.

Mordred has never stopped poking me there with his mocking smile since then.

"There's also a new type of wraith with an incredibly venomous bite.", Carlo added.

I sighed, "Wonderful. Those undead fuckers will soon develop immunity to stakes in the next update."

"Careful, Captain. That might become a reality.", he warned.

I shrugged and pored over the list of promising Deathwalkers.

"I've heard that the Ragnarok Empire and the Order of Lux have agreed to send warlocks to the Shield.", Carlo mentioned.

I rolled my eyes, "About damn time! The Kingdom's been protecting the world from the daemons for decades, and now they decide to send reinforcements? It is a good thing though. More meat for the meatgrinder."

He nodded, "That is quite accurate."

A powerful gust of wind announced the arrival of the chopper squadron escorting the Argo.

I watched as the massive craft emerged from behind the mountains, gracefully gliding towards the airfield.

I smiled as the Argo silently approached the empty airfield, my eyes taking in the sight of the Deathwalkers bustling around, preparing for the landing.

"Shall we welcome the fresh meat?", I quipped, my smile stretching into a slightly eerie grin.

"Please don't go overboard with them.", Carlo replied, rolling his eyes.

Winking at him, I said, "Don't worry, Master Devereux, I'll behave."

*******

"What part of 'not going overboard' did you not get?."

Carlo grumbled, leading the very traumatized recruits toward the Shield's main doors.

The stone eyes of dragon engravings seemed to watch us as we approached.

I shrugged, cleaning the blood from my face and hands with his handkerchief, "Those five recruits were incredibly annoying."

"Sure they were quite arrogant but did you really have to amputate their limbs?", Carlo asked, rubbing his temples.

I frowned, "Oh c'mon. I wasn't that cruel."

"Wasn't that cruel?", he stared at me incredulously, "You tore off a young woman's leg and slapped her in the face with it!"

"She kicked a ball of condensed lightning to my face!", I defended.

"Then beat her up and show the clear difference between you two! Don't start ripping her legs off!", Carlo argued.

I waved him off dismissively, "They'll be fine. Perry took them to Althea."

Carlo sighed in defeat, "Well. I'm glad Vice Captain Mordred wasn't here. He would've sent them to Althea on a bloody skewer."

I grinned, "That's my Mordred."

"I give up!", he threw his hands up in exasperation, turning to address the recruits, "Alright, gentlemen, follow me!"

"And you lovely ladies, come with me!", I chimed in, flashing a sweet smile intended to calm their nerves

Carlo shot me a glare, "Stop that. They're terrified."

"Fuck off, Carlo. You handle the men.", I retorted, maintaining my smile.

*******

"Processing Room 12."

Minerva's voice came through clearly in my earpiece as I led the female recruits down a well-lit hallway within the Shield.

"I suppose we need the space with this many recruits.", I mused aloud. Room 12 was one of the largest processing rooms in the Shield.

"For someone with a penchant for sadistic violence, you do have moments of clarity.", Minerva sniped.

"Can it, you pile of vacuum tubes.", I shot back

"Ah, it appears Iris Lefay is slated for another night battle.", she informed me casually.

"How petty can you be?", I snapped. 

"Um. Captain Lefay? Is there something wrong?", a soft voice asked behind me.

It was one of the recruits. She was a young girl of eighteen years with light brown hair and blue eyes.

She chose to be in the front of the group following me. 

Even after seeing what I have done, she is not scared of speaking to me.

I smiled. This is the type of Deathwalker we need.

"Nothing. Just talking to our annoying resident AI.", I reassured her. With that, we continued towards the processing room.

"It's on the left.", Minerva chimed in just as I was about to turn right.

Right, I knew that.

We took a left turn and walked for a minute before reaching a door labeled:

Processing Room 12

The door slid open to reveal a Deathwalker exiting, holding a tablet in his hand.

"Ah, Captain Lefay! I've just completed the routine checkup.", he greeted me with a smile, extending the tablet towards me.

"Please review this and confirm."

Scanning the report, I raised an eyebrow. "The safety barrier is malfunctioning?"

He nodded, "Yep. It tends to activate randomly and even severs communication with Minerva. Just exercise caution."

I frowned, "Can't we get another room?"

He offered a sympathetic smile, "Unfortunately, the other bigger rooms are under maintenance or occupied."

"Is it true, Minerva?", I asked the AI but there was no response.

"The barrier's activated.", the Deathwalker sighed and knocked on the translucent shimmering blue layer between us.

He strode back into the room. After a moment, he returned, "I've just repaired it."

I contacted Minerva again and she responded in her cold voice, "Yeah?"

"Can we switch to another processing room?", I inquired.

"The only available room is farther from your current location and will require some time to reach. Also, spoiler, we have an imminent attack.", she replied.

"But I can guide you to a different room.", she offered.

I sighed, "No need. I'll manage."

Turning to the Deathwalker, I nodded, "I guess we'll be here."

He nodded back, "Very well. Everything else is in perfect condition. Just watch out for the barrier."

With a salute, he walked past me and the recruits, "I'll take my leave."

"Wait.", I called out, "What's your name?"

He paused and turned back, "The Fairy of Tenebris is curious about my name?"

I shrugged, "Just wondering."

He smiled, bowing his head slightly, "I'm Jeko Hess. A pleasure to meet you."

Returning his nod, I said, "Likewise. Thank you."

"You're welcome.", he bowed again before heading off down the corridor.

As he disappeared from view, a nagging feeling of unease settled in my chest.

"Weird.", I muttered before entering the room.

It took a few minutes for everyone to assemble inside.

The room was enormous, more like a hall, filled with rows of capsule-shaped pods.

I turned to face the recruits, "Alright, ladies! Time to take off those cozy layers covering your bodies. That includes your underwear or even lingerie."

Everyone stared at me.

"What?", the leading recruit asked in surprise.

I rolled my eyes, "Get naked for processing. Minerva will scan your entire body to register you guys as Deathwalkers and mark you. It's standard procedure, nothing inappropriate."

"If you're uncomfortable undressing in front of others, you could also do it in the pods.", I added.

Some recruits looked relieved and headed for the pods, while others began to undress where they stood. I settled behind the control table.

"Minerva. Fire up the pods.", I instructed, leaning back and trying to relax, to ignore the sense of unease growing inside me.

No response.

"Fuck.", I muttered, rising to my feet when I noticed a faint blue shimmer on the walls.

The barrier was up.

The tablet Jeko had shown me contained instructions to disable it.

Just as I reached for the tablet, a voice from the door stopped me in my tracks.

"Captain Karsus."

I whipped around to see one of the recruits by the door. She hadn't undressed and she kept her hands behind her.

"What did you call me?", My eyes narrowed, meeting her cold gaze.

I had introduced myself to the recruits as Lefay. There was no way they would know my old name unless they recognized me.

But I am not that well known in the outside world.

Well, I am infamous as a kin slayer but people don't know how I look.

Then how does she know?

But now that I have a closer look a her, the recruit looked oddly familiar.

The fragments of my broken memories flashed and a face appeared.

A face among many who had looked down on me during my time at the Karsus Estate.

"You.", I said, locking eyes with the maid of the brother I'd killed, "What are you doing here?"

Instead of answering, she revealed an intricate glass canister filled with swirling crimson smoke.

She tilted her head, her smile dripping with malice, "Your brothers send their regards."

My eyes widened as I recognized the smoke.

Instinctively, I jumped back just as she pressed a button on the canister.

"Shit!"