The Otherworlders' First Skirmish, Part 6: Escape

"We must return! We must return right now!" Karen said while tears form on her eyes.

"C-Calm down for a moment Karen. Even I can't verify my omens, so what I saw earlier might be just my imagination. There might be a chance that it won't happen." Mari said to her in worry.

"But, what if...what if that is true?!" Karen angrily said.

"Like I said, it's not always true most the time, so calm down, okay?" Mari restated.

Mari glanced at the bald captain to ask for help regarding the matter. The captain, after noticing Mari's worried stare, immediately gave an order for everyone.

"A-Anyway we will return now since we're done here...you [Promised Ones] should rest now, while the soldiers clean up any mess that we've caused." The captain said.

The soldiers then followed him, as they started retrieving the corpses of their fallen comrades. Meanwhile the whole class also started to return to the carriages, but Karen fell silent and just stood while looking at the ground.

("Ren...I hope you're okay right now...") Karen said to herself with eyes filled with worry.

**********

"Hello there, [Promised One]? I believe that you have something I needed."

General Trajan walked towards me while grinning.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" I took a step back as to keep my distance from him.

"Now, now, don't feign ignorance on me. I hate people who hides secrets." The traitor general said while still grinning.

What is it that I have that he needed from me? I want to ask him but I decided not to.

I don't know what's going on, like, why am I being trapped in a situation like this? What have I done to suffer like this?

"If you won't tell me, I'll get it from you by force!" He said while drawing his sword towards me.

He swung his sword quickly towards my left side. I desperately tried to evade, but my left shoulder is cut.

"Aaaaaahhhhh!!!" I screamed in pain.

M-My shoulder...blood's gushing...

"Hahahahaha! Now, where is [that] thing?" He asked me again.

"As I said, I don't know what you're talking abo--AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!"

He slashed my left thigh. Blood spurted from my wound like a fountain.

"Still feigning ignorance? Very well then. I'll cut you to bits."

"GHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!" I screamed in despair as I rolled on the ground away from him.

I rolled and rolled on the ground already muddied with dirt and my own blood. My clothes are now stained with deep crimson, even my face's full of that rusty scent of blood still gushing out of my wounds. I can't think straight...strange thoughts spiraled on my mind.

This kind of pain...why do I have to experience this???

(Why is he trying to kill me?)

(Why can't I defend myself from him?)

(Why...)

(Why am I powerless...?)

(Why...)

"Oh, what's with that look?" He asked me with a jeering laugh. "Are you confused with the situation right now? Are you wondering why I'm asking you things like that? Come on, just tell me already where it is!"

He swung his sword to slash me again, but it was parried by another sword.

"Eh?" Trajan said in surprise. He looked at the mysterious man beside me.

Even I got surprised with that sudden development. Exerting the strength that's starting to leak away from me, I twisted my body so that I could see the person who tried to save me, but even with my efforts I still can't see his face clearly, probably because of the blood covering my eyes.

"Don't you dare hurt my friend!" The man shouted at him.

"A-Allen..." I faintly called the name of the man who blocked the attack that is aimed at me.

Allen? What are you doing here?!

"Tsk. Don't interfere with me, or else you'll also die!" Trajan spoke angrily.

"We the [Cannon Fodder] won't allow the likes of you to harm powerless people!" Allen replied while looking at him with eyes of rage.

My eyesight's slowly starting to regain their clarity, that's why I could see his face now.

Meanwhile, the other members of [Cannon Fodder] suddenly appeared and surrounded him as they brandished their weapons.

"I...won't let you hurt Ren...General!" Huey shouted at him.

That timid Huey...did he spoke in a very loud voice just now...?

"That's right! For our friend Ren, we won't hesitate to risk our lives fighting against a traitor like you, General Trajan!" Claude also shouted in rage towards Trajan.

Contrary to everyone's killing intent being shown to him, the traitor only sported a wicked smile to everyone.

"Is that so? Fine. I'll give you a present you'll never forget."

Trajan snapped his finger, and several earth spikes burst from the ground. The spikes pierced the hearts of all the members except Allen and me.

"Claude, Huey, everyone?!!!" Allen screamed in shock and despair.

All but the two of us of the [Cannon Fodder]...their bodies brutally skewered by several spikes--some pierced on their heads, some on their chests...but what caused our stomachs to turn is that one spike that pierced them vertically, finally cleaving them in half.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Allen screamed while looking helplessly at our fallen friends.

(Anyone who tried to fight him...would end up like that?)

"Hahahahaha! That's what you get when you're messing with me!" Trajan laughed while looking at us with mocking eyes.

The spikes immediately lose their form and crumbled, leaving behind only the lifeless bodies of the members of [Cannon Fodder].

Upon seeing that, Allen looked at Trajan with eyes filled with burning hatred and insatiable thirst for vengeance.

"You demon! DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"

Allen rushed towards him as he was consumed by his emotions.

"Great flame, bless my sword, unleash your burning rage and raze my enemy to ashes, [Flame Bl--]"

I saw Allen charging while chanting his spell. Trajan stealthily snapped his fingers, and summoned an earth spike from the back just like what he did to Vice Commander Lieman.

"GHAAAAAAAAAAAA--"

"Allen! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

The spike pierced Allen on his chest, effectively stopping his incantation. He fell to the ground when the spike crumbled after a short time.

"A-Allen..." I called out to him while rolling on the ground in a rush.

"Ren...escape...I'm...s-sorry." Allen spoke to me before dying.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! It was foolish of them to face me on the battlefield! Truly, you were all novices!" The traitor laughed and laughed as he hear me screaming my comrade's name.

"Allen, please! Don't, don't die...Allen! ALLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNN!!!!"

I desperately screamed as I beg for him to live, but it's futile.

My friends...everything...gone.

"Allen...I...I must get out of here you said, right?" I asked the already dead Allen like an idiot asking for directions.

My emotions went haywire due to witnessing the deaths of my comrades. My feet desperately tried their best to move. In my mind, all I wanted is to escape this hell.

I need to follow Allen's advice. Escape, escape, I need to escape...

"You thought you can escape in you condition? Well then, it's no use asking you about [that] thing! Join them in the afterlife instead!"

I struggled to get up from crawling on the ground. My legs are a bit numb, but there's still a bit of optimism in my mind that I could still run at this rate.

Trajan laughed as he saw me desperately running for my life. He tried to snap his fingers, but he was interrupted by a flash of light from somewhere.

"Eh? You're still alive, Lieman?!" Trajan said in surprise.

T-The Vice Commander is still alive?

Even though I want to make sure that the Vice Commander's still alive, I used this opportunity instead to work on my feet.

"You...I won't...let...you..." Vice Commander Lieman spoke at him.

I could still hear his voice...thank goodness.

"Fool, how can you stop me? You think you can win against me--"

Trajan mocked the incapacitated Lieman but he stopped. Due to some reason my head turned to see what's going on and I got startled when I saw a bright light shining on the Vice Commander's chest.

"W-What's that?!" Trajan asked in shock.

"A present...for the likes of you..." Lieman said in a faint voice.

The traitor took a step back as the light kept on growing. Meanwhile, Vice Commander Lieman glanced at me.

"Ren...take, this..."

Vice Commander Lieman tossed to me with all his remaining strength while he's still lying in the ground a brown cartridge.

"Use it...to escape...it leads to the secret...passage underground...only I knows..."

I heard his order even though his voice is faint.

"No, bastard! You can't!" Trajan called to me desperately. It seems he knew something about this thing.

He created several earth spikes to try to pierce me.

"...Last...Requiem" Lieman said in a faint voice, just in time with the traitor's spell activation.

I immediately dropped the cartridge to the ground where I'm standing at before i get stabbed by the spikes. At the same time, Vice Commander Lieman invoked his spell. A sinkhole instantly formed below me when the spell is invoking.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

I screamed as I fell in the hole.

As I fall, I saw a bright light from outside the hole followed by a loud explosion. The hole immediately closed after that.

[Last Requiem]. If I remember it correctly it was a very powerful light attribute spell that is capable of destroying multiple armies at the same time. The one casting it will die as it uses the life force of the user for it to activate, though.

Vice Commander Lieman and the others sacrificed themselves in order for me to escape.

I could only cry my grief as I stare into the abyss that's waiting for me.