Your Compassion makes you Weak

The parties were not allowed back into the city for some time. The ruling powers that controlled its functions decreed that no one was to reenter the city until they were fully healed and healthy. Nobody of noble blood wished to see the outside or see how close they came to destruction. They didn't even wish to see the king's corpse. Thus, the priestesses and doctors made their camps outside the walls. Their hands would be full for a while. Even with the high fatality rate, hundreds were still injured.

Tama sat on a cramped bench, hiding half her face with a rag. While Marine's temple disinfected and healed her wounds, more than half her face was utterly deformed, twisted into a patchwork of exposed muscle and bone. She doubted the priestesses could offer more than what the goddess’s work could, but she begged for it nonetheless. Anything to return the face she once knew.

“Hey, they got you, too?” Nice asked, approaching her. “Don’t be shy. Show it.”

Tama glanced up with burning hate, but it disappeared in an instant. The avatar of Rani was missing a nose, and the sword scars of several demonic blades decorated her face with even more unique beauty marks. That put her at about 60% of Tama’s level. The ninja girl removed her rag, to which Nice smiled.

“That’s it? That’s not bad at all. I’m sure after some R&R, we’ll both be as beautiful as ever.”

Tama couldn’t tell if she was serious, but it was enough for her to let everything out. Nice gave the girl a shoulder to cry on, and she held her to let her know she was safe.

“It’s okay,” Nice sniffled. “Everything will be okay.”

Only the most injured were allowed to get a makeshift bed, which included the mutilated and the comatose. Shige kept his hand on Vel’s to let him know he was there, and he prayed that at some point, he’d feel it twitching. The elf was as beautiful as ever, even in her long sleep, but her mind may have been destroyed. A thick layer of bandages wrapped her head.

“I’m sure she’ll wake up any day now,” Fura smiled. “Elf noggins are made of something else.”

“I hope so,” Shige replied. “But, what if she’s not the same? It's not fun being a pervert without her snide remarks.”

“I hear in other realms, elves lose all of their memories every 100 years, usually during life or death situations. It's like becoming a completely different person.”

“Please don’t say that. That’s not making me feel any better.”

“I wonder what she’d name herself?”

“That’s enough!” Shige gave Fura the biggest noogies, a favorite pastime of his. In these hard times, he needed some comfort more than anything.

“Stop! That hurts! I can’t stop you! I…I can’t do anything anymore!”

Fura started wailing, and Shige’s frustration turned into a series of apologies, holding her tight to muffle her cries. Nice may have been scarred, but she was functional. Vel may have been comatose, but she’d hopefully awaken with no consequence. Fura, with her arms dismembered all the way to the shoulder, was lucky to be alive. No magic would allow her to regrow what she had lost.

“It’s alright,” Shige grunted. “I’ll take care of you, all of you. This isn’t the end.”

He hoped that was real, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was lying to himself.

Team Shige:

Leader: Shige Sakakura (Revived)

Support: Vel Ambrosia (Wounded, Critical Condition)

Support: Nice Rania (Wounded)

Support: Fura Wellsee (Wounded, Disabled)

At the city gates, one hero was allowed into the confines of the city, but only because of her status. The prim and proper princess Cordelia took to Fargo’s court with a stone face and glassy eyes. The nobles initially approached her with their usual gossip, but her presence emitted a powerful, repulsive aura. Her noble steed doubled the effect. The court fell to its knees. No one present had partaken in a single battle since the beginning of the assault. They were as green and gentile as anyone from her home city. She stood over them all.

“I hope you are all happy,” she said. "The demon general was confirmed to be inside King Vladamor. It was your responsibility to root out evil, and you let it run amok right in this throne room. Under Lord Akira's orders, you will now ride as my new vanguard.”

Team Cordelia:

Leader: Cordelia Dreamer & Weeksworth (Alive)

Support: Dreams 12th Calvary Division (all 200 riders deceased)

As the camp settled with the sun’s setting, a food kitchen served rations and a community stew to stave off hunger for the exiles. Mars was the first in line to get a share. While fighting was his lifeblood, the past week had diminished his strength. Even this meager serving of grain and broth wouldn’t quench his desire for meat. 

He watched the others as they took their rations with both hands. Rows upon rows of suffering humans, grieving with loss or clenching their wounds in agony. A familiar sight for an orc on the other side of the conflict. He thought about Kuroni, how he left her, and how she felt about her little sister and her condition. The lack of any compassion disturbed him. He felt nothing. He thought about Artemis and again felt nothing. Dige popped into his mind. Their suffering didn’t raise his blood pressure a bit. Was he right to try to live in a world of humans?

“Food. You eat?” It was Gunch sniffing over the orc’s shoulder. “I take, if you not want it.”

Gunch’s skull practically caved in as Mars struck him. The somber, quiet tent became a racket of dropped utensils and flying chairs. Mars secured the weasely reptile by the tail and dragged him underneath, holding him down as his fists crashed into Gunch’s face over and over. Each blow brought a little more out of Mars, slowly shedding his cold, detached stare for something more sinister. If the humans weren’t brave enough to pry him off, he would’ve beaten the lizardman to death without a second thought. The poor, pathetic creature. Mars couldn’t bring himself to care if he lived or died.

“I never want to see your face again,” Mars stated. “If you aren’t gone in 10 seconds, I’ll eat you alive. Right here, right now.”

Gunch disappeared before the orc could finish. To wherever, nobody knew, and Mars didn’t care. He would’ve done the same in his old world. The taste of orc flesh was familiar to him. He was sure lizardman flesh wasn’t so different.

In the dead of night, the protagonists received a summons to the throne room, spiriting them through the curfewed city and up the mountain. When they reached the top, Akira awaited them on his throne. The kingdom was now officially his. There would be no replacement.

“I won’t keep the title,” he said. “I don’t want to be held to one place. Besides, this city is effectively dead. Once we’re gone, the citizens will realize how much has been taken from them and scatter.”

“It sounds like you’re blaming me, my lord,” Cordelia grumbled. “I’m a princess. I won’t ride into battle alone.”

“I made that recommendation based on his needs. What do you think, Weeksworth?”

The horse whinnied.

“I see. Very well then.”

“So you’ll listen to a horse over me?”

Akira let the room stand quiet for a minute. No one else was speaking up. The dwarf was the only one who’d look him in the eye, and he would rather he not. At least Dige learned how to not get diced to pieces, but the other three disquieted the swordsman. The swordsman didn’t need this sorrow.

“I’ve distributed the excess experience points I received to you three. With what you were able to perform today, you and Weeksworth are now MAX level. You are now fully ripened souls, ready for the battle ahead.”

And yet no one said anything. With power coursing through their veins, the protagonists had nothing to say.

“I quit,” Shige muttered. “I’m not fighting anymore. I’m going to find a home and take care of Vel and Fura.”

“You will do no such thing.”

“I’m not going either,” Hideyoshi said. “I can’t watch another friend die. I won’t put Gerthwyn and Khylee out there again!”

“I wasn’t asking you to.” Akira’s voice went cold. “You don’t have to put them in danger.”

“How?”

“By leaving them.”

The two froze, not sure if they should yell at him or strike.

“You’re all heroes blessed by the gods. You have untold magic, incredible abilities, and the power to revive after death. You’ve never needed a party to begin with. Look at me. I took that step a long time ago. You should follow in my footsteps.”

“No, you’re insane!” Shige stepped forward. “I’d have died a thousand times over without Vel and Fura. I wouldn’t have gotten to learn about Glynn’s world and its people, and I wouldn’t have made friends and had fun adventures and-.”

“Your compassion-.”

“Don’t finish that sentence! My compassion doesn’t make me weak! My drive has never been stronger!”

Within a millisecond, Akira was standing inches from Shige, his face not cold, but understanding.

“Your compassion makes you selfish,” he whispered. “I know what your fantasy is. Let it go.”

The teenager was hit with a black emptiness. It was as if his elder had reached into his soul and ripped the protective layer around it, exposing his basic core. Maybe he was right. At what point was he jeopardizing his mission for his personal time? Was he being an inconvenience to the others? That thought brought him the most dread.

“He’s right,” Fuuma said. “We don’t need anyone else. I’ve already cut ties with my party. My loyalty belongs to you, Mr. Kasuga.”

“Boy,” Dige perked up. “You shouldn’t have.”

Dige received an answer in the form of pistol fire. It would’ve killed him if Fuuma had aimed. 

“Shut up, shut up, shut up! I hate you! I don’t wanna see you ever again!”

“If I may, lord Akira,” said Cordelia. “I propose we dump the dwarf. He’s more of a liability than anything else. Everywhere he goes, he brings disunity.”

Akira nodded. “I agree. I admit you were almost in the same boat as him, since your steed is the actual protagonist, but you’ve proven yourself. You all have. The only one who’s disappointed me in this war has been the dwarf.”

“I don’t understand,” Dige huffed, holding his shoulder. “What did I do? What have I done that you haven’t done yourselves!? I’ve bled for this world! I’ve died! I defeated the demon general! Why don’t you all like me!?”

Dige received nothing but silent hatred. Grudges all of them. It was locked into place. The only one who was spared was the one closest to him.

“Monkey man, you can’t be listening to these bastards. What would your lover have done?”

This woke something in him, and he stepped to Akira’s side.

“If Lupa were here, she wouldn’t allow anyone else to be put in harm’s way. If abandoning my party means protecting them, then I’ll do it. I owe it to her!”

Akira patted his friend on the back. “That’s the spirit.”

Dige clenched his fist. “So that’s it, eh? Fine. I never wanted to save the world anyway. I got caught up in what that lass Vel said.”

Shige shot a glare at him, as if hearing her name in a dwarf’s mouth was sacrilege.

“My goal has always been the same,” Dige slowly pulled out his axe. “And that’s to kill you, Akira Kasuga!”

“Fuuma.”

The room exploded into a flurry of blades, gunfire, and magic, and then silence for the rest of the night.