THE MORE, THE MERRIER?

They say a community of people is stronger than an individual. While I might not fully agree with that, I’ll at least admit that when a lot of dreams come together, something powerful could be born.

“I already told you this village is mine. You have no place here, so don’t interfere!” he shouted, about to strike me with his magnetic baton.

“And I already said you won’t do as you please on my watch,” said Masashi, blocking his attempt at the last second.

“You guys never learn? Those big shields might be good for bullets, but my weapon generates pressure on impact. They’re useless!” he screamed, knocking the shield from Masashi’s hands and forcing him to his knees. I wanted that. I wanted the kind of power he was using to hurt my friend.

“Why are you so obsessed with taking over the village?” Masashi grunted, holding his shoulder in pain.

“I’m simply following the orders. Who wouldn’t be happy being put in charge of such a mission ? Just look at this sight of puppets, marching down the street , taking everything from worthless people" He said, extending his arms to present us his army

“That’s the only reason for killing civilians ? Don’t mess around with me” Said Masashi angrily , swinging his arm to the side

“What a lame way to live your life , always following another person” I said , lying on the floor and looking up at him. That's right, I've made up my mind a long ago to not follow anyone, especially not those who would leave me behind. That's why I have to be the one standing in front of them, not lying down like this.

“You’re here too, following orders. Besides, no Amethystian is innocent,” 

“Don’t lump me in with you, Selenoran.”

“I agree , I’m nothing like you… that’s because I don’t lose !” shouted Haruto, aiming for Masashi’s head. “Huh, an arrow !? But how…?” He said , turning his head towards his left arm that was pierced with a copper arrow. 

“I’m not running anymore… Mother, Father!” the family’s oldest son shouted, releasing another arrow into Haruto’s right arm.

“Tch, do you think a mere villager could challenge me !? I’ll crush you like an ant…huh?”

“Another arrow in his right leg? And another in his left leg? What’s going on?” asked Masashi, surprised, as he stood up.

“The Cuprite village sends their regards,” one of the villagers said, standing on a roof, holding a bow.

“We’ve allowed you to destroy too much of our homes..this place is one with us! ,” another villager shouted, doing the same.

“This village is mine ! Master Ryunosuke gave me this chance… I won’t let you ruin it—“. Suddenly, an arrow hit his helmet, and was followed by numerous other arrows all over his body ,tearing off his clothes .

“This is ridiculous. I can’t possibly disappoint Master Ryunosuke,” he said, trying to pull the arrows out of his skin. However, each time he mananged to remove an arrow , another one would be fired by a villager, eventually falling on his back , defeated .

“Come on, it’s finally over. Are your arms okay?” Masashi said, helping me get up.

“I can stand on my feet alone. You should check on Riko,” I said, my arms tucked inside their sleeves, letting my uniform hang loosely over them.

“I told you already… I have to follow the orders!” Haruto shouted, standing up again, his body covered in arrows.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. How on earth is he still moving?” I said, frowning. There's no way I would lose my arms for nothing, just for him to get up.

“I can’t... live without orders. I need a purpose,” That’s right, he gave me a purpose” He muttered, reaching for the holster , drawing his pistol, and shooting some villagers on the roof

He won’t even notice me… He’s all about the villagers who protected their homes, blinded about the thing that defeated him , and also what interfered with his orders.

"You need to rest a bit; I’ll help you with that,” I said, pulling a grenade from my uniform pocket with my mouth, using my shoulder to hold it, and releasing the safety pin with my teeth. I threw it with a brutal movement of my head toward him.

“Ironic. You got distracted,” I said, watching his destroyed body lie on the ground. “I told you I wouldn’t need my arms to defeat you. Huh? What the—”

“I’m sorry, Master Ryounosuke… My existence wasn’t useful to you,” He said with a hole in his chest , revealing his secret

“An artificial heart? I’ve never seen one before.”

“It’s his greatest achievement, but he wants to go further with his inventions. Soon, he will...” 

“Your master? He’s not saving you. He left you all alone here. Is that how you treat your invention?”

“Save me? He already saved me by allowing me to continue living in this body,” he said, covering the hole with his hand. “Everyone needs to follow someone else. We can’t live on our own.”

“Nah, I don’t need to. I think I’ll choose to do things my way.”

“What will you do when you’re forced to follow an order you can’t accept?”

“That won’t happen—“

“Don’t be so sure. Either way, I hope it does happen. I hope the Amethystian nation falls apart, and you along with it, Amethystian,” he said before his system shutting down, along with his soul.

“Ryo, are you alright? Where are the others?” said Rin who just sprinted towards the village, exhausted, with her hands on her knees

“We’re here, Captain Rin. Thank you for coming all the way here,” Riko, who had recovered enough to speak, said as Masashi carried her.

“I really should’ve come faster. Sorry, everyone. However, I have to tell you something. The connection… I fear it was cut off intentionally.”

“Intentionally? What do you mean by that—“

“Are you the soldiers who helped us? We thank you so much,” 

“Yeah, you guys saved my family from terrible things. I don’t even know how I would’ve lived without them.”

Suddenly, a massive crowd of villagers swarmed us, interrupting Rin’s important speech.

“We didn’t do anything, honestly,” Masashi said, scratching his head in embarrassment. “Anyway, it was good you guys created the weapons and used copper as the material.”

“This place was built on top of copper resources. We’ve only seen copper our whole lives; it’s who we are,” Said Kazuya, hugging his family. It must feel nice, having someone like that.

“Dad… I’m home. I crafted the bows and gave them to everyone,” the oldest son said, approaching his father.

“Welcome home. We’re proud of you,” Kazuya said, holding back tears.

“Thank you, mister. You’re the reason I was able to do it,” the son said, looking at me.

“Me? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I didn’t leave the village, actually. I was standing behind the house, thinking about doing it all this time. That’s when I heard your words… and decided to continue crafting the weapons.”

“Well, that played out good for you,” I said, trying to leave and go back to the train. My team, sharing the happiness with the crowd, was already far ahead of me. I was behind them, but I had one more thing I needed to know.

“Kazuya, what do you know about the crystallization sickness? Is it true only miners get it?” I said, turning slightly.

“I know about it, but you’re wrong. I’ve heard of others getting sick like that; it’s not exclusively miners.”

“Not exclusively miners? I bet the classified documents are part of this. I knew something was missing. I knew she couldn’t get sick all of a sudden. Maybe... I did everything I could back then.” I said, clenching my fists.

“By the way, Ryo, you can learn something from anyone, even in places you didn’t think you could,” Kazuya said before I left to meet up with my team.

“Sorry, I was useless again,” Riko said, biting her lip.

“Don’t worry… he took care of it. I just wish sometimes he wouldn’t,” Masashi said, his head down.

“Everyone, you’ve been summoned to a meeting by headquarters. We’ll stop there first, then I'll provide you with the address of your place to stay,” Rin said, holding her phone.

“Do they have something to say?” I asked, catching up with them.

“No, It's an honor meeting. They'll just give you the proper introduction into the army"

Tch, honoring us? I don’t need any stupid medal or badge. I’m doing this only to get what I want. However, there’s definitely something fishy about this whole army thing. I probably signed up for this when I made the choice, but I still don’t regret being the military’s dog if it means saving her.