Arc 2 - Chapter 39: Harvester of Death

(Kalemonath 6, 56 / 7:24PM)

A week after that day…

“Who’s this fellow?”

“Don’t know.”

Both Gwen and Benn looked at the dark-complected teen in front of them. Looking like he was drenched in sweat, his eyes looked dark and baggy like he hadn’t gotten enough sleep.

Worst of all, he stinked. Dirt and grime plastering his skin, he looked like he didn’t bathe ever since that day.

“Are you two soldiers?! Are you guys open to recruits?!”

“What for?”

“I-I need a place to stay…”

Gwen tilted her head to the right, and placed her hand on her cheek. Staining her skin with her callused hands, Benn folded his arms beneath his chest. Both of them stared at him, as the teen tilted his head downward to the floor.

Even though he was half a foot taller than both of them.

“Look … I don’t mind whatever training, or harshness you guys do … but all I want is a place to—”

“Do you want to be a soldier that bad?”

Gwen slowly walked toward the dark-complected teen, as she had her hands onto her hips. Even though she swayed them back and forth, she didn’t have any curves or thighs. Straightening her back, clearing her throat, she inhaled an abundance of air into her pink lungs.

“Do you know how grueling it could be? It ain’t a vacation resort.”

“I don’t care if it's a prison. If it means that I could survive, then…”

The teen had his eyes looking down to the asphalt pavement. Sensing that she had a smirk full of warmth, he traced his eyes along the road, and saw a numerous amount of cracks littering it. Eventually, he lifted his head slowly, and pushed his eyes onto the freckled woman.

“I’ll be more than happy to be a soldier.”

She widened her eyes, and faded her smirk. Letting her hands drop to her sides, she then turned her attention onto the shark-human, who still had his arms folded. Both of them making eye contact, he awaited anything that might spark out of her mouth.

“Benn. Put him on the list of candidates.”

“Sure thing.”

“Wait, list of candidates?”

“It’s a program we’re doing. Even though you’ll be the oldest in the brunch, I’m sure you’ll fit right in.”

“Oh okay…”

Clapping her hands together, Gwen unveiled a small feminine smile as she tilted her head right. Making both the teen and Benn fluster their cheeks, Benn turned his head and walked toward a brown van.

A van loaded with ammunition and weapons.

Because the teen was still in turmoil, since he had been running without food for many days, it made him clutch his stomach tightly. His stomach growling, eating and clawing its way toward anything digestable, he soon felt their stares grow strong. In an instant, he straightened his back, although his hands were clutching his body.

Gwen eyed the teen, with a smirk.

“You should rest inside. Me and Benn will be heading toward Ticia.”

“Ticia? For what?”

“The mission is classified. Someone gave me orders to head toward there. Anyway, what’s your name?”

Before she would walk off, she looked upon the teen that had loosened his body. Looking exhausted, spent, she had her head cocked to the right as she made him somewhat blush.

But clearing his throat, and letting go of his stomach, he gave her a nod.

“The name’s Miles. Miles Brown.”

________________________________________________________________________

(Libertatem 1, 59 / 4:40AM)

“Luna! Help those two out for a bit!”

“What about you!?”

“I’ll figure something out.”

On top of the roof, both Miles and Luna placed themselves near the edge. Looking down below, they saw the sight of Gary being held hostage, making them tighten their stomachs.

Gritting the front of her teeth, Luna held her batons with enough strength for them to creak. In an instant, Luna vanished into thin air, leading the dust and dirt to be swayed.

As she was gone, Miles turned his attention onto the fiery monster.

‘She looks like a gardener, a woman who cultivates and harvests the crops. Harvester huh? If she is a woman who is death incarnate, then that makes her a Harvester of Death.’

Gripping the helm of both of his shotguns, he rubbed the metal with his thumbs. As the monster still prowled through the industrial district, the cool summer breeze was replaced by something spewed out of an oven. Scrunching up his face, he wrinkled his cheeks.

‘And how am I supposed to fight that thing with no leverage? The best I could do is hope that my shield is strong. But even then … I don’t want to risk it.’

His body drenching out cold sweat, it was like his skin tried to battle the hot burning air. Swiping away sweat from his forehead, he felt like his gums began to be parched dry.

Until he sharpened his eyes, and tightened his grip on his two sawed-off-shotguns.

‘So I got to perfect this.’

Raising his right arm, he had the barrel straight at the fiery beast. His finger cozying with the trigger, he waited, as another gust of hot air blew against his face.

As he then pulled the trigger.

Smoke emitting from the chamber, the loud gunshot rippled and shackled the air from all directions. Taking a step back, he glared at the beast who was still. But she turned her head toward the puny human beneath her.

‘That got her attention.’

Pulling his hand back to his side, he kept his palm firm on the grip of his gun. Breathing in and out, he saw the beast narrow her eyes at him. Without roaring, without expressing, she began to walk right up to him.

Making Miles pale his face.

‘Shit, I didn’t think this through!’

Once she was close, she didn’t hesitate to lift up her foot and leg. Having her knee barely touch her chest, she had it high for her foot to fit between the building’s roof and street. Keeping her flaming eyes on Miles, who shook his head back and forth, he didn’t have time to even check on her.

As he pushed out his voice.

“Luna!”

Feeling the temperature rising, and his skin beginning to swelter, steam expressed from the top of his head. Once he kept his eyes on the flames above, they were closer and closer…

Until—

________________________________________________________________________

Her foot still tightened on the street, burning magma crumpled from the edges of her ankle. Lifting up her leg, she took a step back as the dust began to clear. She didn’t express any emotion, except for a simple soft nod.

Lifting her head, she turned her attention toward the downtown district. Just as she began her walk … she heard another gunshot.

Turning her head down to the buildings again, she tried to trail the gunshot’s direction. The more dust that faded, it unveiled the whereabouts and small movements of two puny humans. In fact, she saw one of them wield shotguns, while the other wielded twin swords.

Which pushed her fingers into her flaming palms.

“Holy shit, you saved my ass.”

“Hold your thanks. We got to outrun the bitch.”

Miles turned his head toward the flaming beast, whose scales began to grow red. Sprouting out its scaly skin, it looked like the epidermis was coated with cold magma, meaning her blood was … magma?

Moving his eyes away from the beast, he pinned them on Luna’s swords, blades that wouldn’t be of any use.

“Those things won’t do jack to her.”

“I’m not that stupid! Hell, you can’t do jack shit either!”

“So we’re just going to have to run then!?”

“Deal with it!”

Glancing in back of her, she noticed that the monster raised her right hand up high. In return, Luna locked her left arm with Miles’ right arm. Once she noticed that the beast’s hand was balled, she tightened her stomach and chest, and even her thighs.

As she saw another building coming in the distance.

“You better keep up!”

“I’m more worried about you! You look pale!”

“You look paler! J-Just run!”

The beast's fist closing in on them, Luna closed her eyes, and vanished. Teleporting to the building she had her sights on, they almost fell from the millisecond change.

Resuming their sprint, they kicked away patches of dust and grime that were stationed on the roof. Their breaths taking in the oven-like air, Miles especially felt his lungs wrinkle and hardened. His breathing going rampant, he felt like he might collapse here and now.

“We have to lead it to Diego's ambush, or else she’ll lose interest!”

“What does it look like we’re doing!?”

Glancing in back of him again, the beast had already kept in pace with their running. Raising up both of her hands again, and having them balled tightly, the heat itself made him quiver his legs.

Slowing down, Luna tugged him to push onward, as she saw another building in the distance. Teleporting, the dust that was loosened from the ground swirled from their original position. But she had slammed her fists onto that same building they sprinted on.

Landing onto another building, they continued their sprint, as the heat dimmed from behind.

“I hate that thing … pants … I just hate hot weather in general … pants …”

“I don’t care if you’re a tundra boy! Just keep moving!”

Their thighs and calves reaching their limits, Miles placed his hand over his chest with iron fingers. His breathing beginning to weaken, Luna noticed this, which caused her to tug him.

But her breathing was beginning to sound the same as hers, as her breaths turned into wheezes. Her face was coated with sweat, and her hair … began to puff up like a heated popcorn kernel.

“You’re tired … pants … aren’t you…”

“Tired…? Me…? Are you a dumbass?”

“You have … pants … puffed up hair.”

“You got something to say!?”

They stopped bickering once they felt the heat closing in.

Glancing behind them, she began to fast-walk toward them. Gasping, both of them widened their eyes, as the beast already lifted her hands up high to the heavens.

But upon seeing a stack of buildings far in the distance, Miles pointed at it, while his feet blistered against the hard metal.

“Luna … pants … Can you teleport … pants … to the last building?”

“Yeah … pants … why?”

“Do it…”

Being a dozen of meters away from the edge, they tightened their stomachs down to their legs. Her hands trembling, she swayed her head, before closing her eyes as usual.

Teleporting through many different buildings, she reached the building at the end of the pack.

Both out of the monster’s heat, Miles arched his head as his sweat coated his dark skin. Meanwhile, Luna’s breathless wheezes continued, and her face grew paler by the second.

“You … pants … need to breathe more …”

“gasps … supt up! I dun’t … gasps … need no help! I cud … gasps … spek fi!”

The heat began to thicken again.

Not bothering to look at their backs, they noticed the nearest building that they could teleport to. Same distance as before, which was tediously long, it made Luna quiver her eyes by even thinking about it.

The heat quickened, and upon hearing her thumping footsteps, it was clear she didn’t fast-walk. As if she was jogging toward them, both found themselves on two different emotional realms…

‘Could we make it to the other building…’ thought Miles.

Their necks succumbing to sunburn, and being below a fiery inferno, she had already thrown her fists at them. With nowhere to go but to teleport, Miles straightened his back, although his head was hunched forward.

As for Luna, she felt like her frontal lobe was pounding the inside of her skull. Her ears ringing, she squealed her eyes shut as her hair began to slightly sizzle.

‘I could make it! I could do it! I’m strong!’ thought Luna.

Both were on the edge of the building. Her flaming fists being only a few meters above them, both found their visions flicker black.

[Miles. Make sure you wear this cross, it blesses you.]

Extending his arm outward, Miles focused his entire being on that particular building … as the space between him and the fist was closing.

[You have to learn how to control your anger mija. You just bottle it up, put it inside a jar, and rinse repeat. But one day … the glass will break…]

Drenching the right corner of her mouth with blood, the hand was inches from flattening them. Feeling like a pack of old prunes, the burning heat that tried to cook them—

—The beast had slammed her fists onto the building below.—

A dust storm scattering the area, it spread so fast and so much that it even got into her eyes. Unable to tell if she squished them or not, she tried to squint her eyes into the cloud of dust. To no avail, she couldn’t see whether there was a stain on the debris.

But she stopped looking, once she turned her body toward the…

“FIRE!!”

Flinching her body, she found both her ankles being wrapped around in something. Looking to be a metal captained in a shade of white, she had her head turned down to see a numerous number of humans below. Along with trucks, jeeps, and many anti-air tanks, her eyes widened at the trap she had fallen for.

Because she couldn’t move, and if she did, she would have fallen and wouldn’t get up. Instead of rockets, shells, or even missiles…

“Weapons free!”

A white light shone through the barrels, and even the area around it. Releasing from the chamber, the highly compressed light pierced through her skin like it was bullets.

His eyes sharpened at the beast, who couldn’t do anything but take the hits, almost all of the soldiers had aimed for her head or stomach. The Lieutenant, along with two other figures standing next to him, were nothing but a Sergeant and a tanned man with glasses.

“So this is the power of mana…”

“I always was a supporter of mana mining.”

“Do you think mana is used for something else, like you know, spiritual energy?”

“What led to that question? Mana has always been our source for electricity. It’s one of our most valuable resources.”

The soldiers who continued to fire, and the anti-air vehicles that maintained their fighting, all screamed from the mana bullets. With the reticle of their rifles having a white dot, the recoils of their guns weren’t immense. In fact, it felt like they were being pushed by feathers.

Magma dripping from her wounds, and even the corners of her mouth, her scales started to peel off.

“She’s beginning to weaken.”

“What do we do?”

“You were the one who made that contraption. Will it work?”

“Yeah, but I’m not like my other friends. I don’t think—”

“As long as that bitch stalls for even a second, that’s a success in my book.”

Turning his body toward the monster, the flaming beast tried its best to push off from the asphalt. Everyone drenched in the brittling heat, the barrels of their rifles soon began to run dry, or rather their barrels were going to run hot.

Like a fast domino effect, they ceased clicking on their triggers. Along with their barrels pointing downward, the Lieutenant saw this change of pace, and straightened his back and his neck.

‘That contraption is the only invention that I did without the help of anybody. I wouldn’t be surprised if it failed …’

Placing his hand onto his cheek, he had his other hand be stalled on his side. His whole body tensing up, he saw that the beast clobbered her hands onto the pavement. Looking like she was trying to wiggle her ankles free, free from the steel ropes that wrapped around her…

[Here Diego, let me teach you.]

The rest of the soldiers saw the beast trying to regenerate, as the flames from her body engraveled her scaly skin. Making herself a layer of armor, it was enough for even the air to boil.

Which paled the soldiers' faces.

‘Please … please work … even if it’s only one second…’

But the other half, the workers, got busy with the ammunition for the anti-air vehicles. Feeling the heat dawn, sweat dribbled onto their eyes. Their lips parched, it was a matter of life or death given the job they were succumbing to.

As they took out the mana from the silos, and replaced it with something else…

[Damn Diego, you kind of suck at inventing. Just stick to engines.]

Feeling his chest beginning to tighten, Diego watched as the beast tried to get itself out. Its legs quaking, its magma dripping, he felt like someone was trying to stab him with a hot knife. Unable to even look at the workers near the anti-air, he closed his eyes, and waited for anything to reverb his brain.

—Until he heard a collection of booms.—

Overbearing his ears, he had no choice but to widen his eyes. Blinding light burning his pupils, he kept them firm as he saw the amounts of steel firing from the silos. All of them aiming right where the monster was trying to get free, it wasn’t just one side.

They surrounded her from the east, west, north, and south. Clinging deep into her body, the steel was materialized to sustain even the hottest of temperatures. Her whole body convulsed under the implementation, her legs faltered, and her knees grounded the pavement.

Which sent the ground to shake.

“It worked…”

The firing of steel stopped, leaving a ceramic of metal rope to hold her down.

Because she tried to regenerate, and because she tried to get out, she didn’t bother to crush the bugs beneath her. Leaving them to switch their ammo, it was a mistake she had placed upon herself.

The soldiers all aimed their guns at her, and immediately locked and loaded their guns. Letting their barrels cool from the heat from prior, they saw the beast unable to flinch, as her muscles and bones were completely bound. As for Diego, he placed both of his hands onto the back of his head.

“Holy shit it worked!”

________________________________________________________________________

A man and a woman leaned back against a chimney.

Their mouths wide open, their breaths heavy, they pushed the back of their heads onto the brick structure. With the dryness of the air molesting their skin, their nerves combat it with sweat. Their legs and arms sprawled, and their bodies utterly exhausted … they escaped death.

Luna shut her eyes, as she looked through the darkened world.

“F … F …”

She couldn’t bring herself the reality in front of her.

“C-Coach…”

And Miles couldn’t utter a sentence.

Her grip on her batons firm, they were drastically loosened compared to before. Unable to raise her arms, nor her hands, she couldn’t feel any feeling within the tips of her fingers.

As for Miles, he had his knees up close to his chest, compared to Luna’s spread out legs. His arms stationed onto his kneecaps, he felt his forearms be dug by bone. Feeling his throat stab his vocals, as dryness caressed and suckled every corner, he pushed out raspy breaths of air.

But Luna was far worse off, as her breaths were wheezing. Her face pale, her whole body was planning to shut down.

“Dad…”

A single tear rolled from her right eye. Streaming along her neck, another tear swept from her left.

But then she felt a mysterious presence. Not in back of her, nor to the sides of her, but in front of her; same went for Miles.

Slowly opening her eyes, she tried to take in the blurred sight in front of her. Tracing the edges of a burly man, his tanned biceps gleamed off his camo shirt. Miles saw a different man. Taking the view of a man wearing a winter jacket, he had a clipboard within his right hand.

‘Dad I…’

‘Coach … I’m tired Coach …’

Yet they only saw their role models, not each other’s. Both men looked down onto their disciples, and saw their faces pale and clammed. Their shadows towering over them, yet their bodies radiating a sense of calmness, both disciples held back tears.

“Rest mija, you’ve done so much.”

“Push forward Miles, you’ll reach the end zone.”

Both Luna and Miles jerked their heads up at their voices. Like they were playing pigments of them within their minds, it sent a cold shiver to streak down their backs. Miles twitched his knuckles the longer he stared, while Luna’s cheeks began to moisten.

‘But coach … what is the end zone…?’

‘Dad … how can I go further than this …?’

He didn’t have a clear goal. Ever since that day, Miles never once thought of the predicaments he faced, and what led him to be a soldier. Everything he did was to ensure his survival, but with a fork in the road, he didn’t know which door to choose.

And Luna trained like hell. Honing her strength, gleaming her muscles, she made herself the strongest fighter in the group. And yet … she was beaten, taken like a cheap bottle of beer. If she couldn’t even avenge her family’s death, what path could she take?

“Your second family is your end zone. Don’t break it, don’t quit, just grovel in the dirt to secure that touchdown.”

“Protect mija, don’t destroy. Forget about my revenge, focus on fighting for protection … for that weird boy you like.”

Protect. Friendship. Love.

Those three things, those three words. Rolling down tears, as it battled the oven-like air, they saw their role models smile at them with warm faces.

As silenced cut through the background.

““But don’t change … don’t change … learn and grow. Grow.””

Both men started to wither away, leaving the two of them to be alone on top of the roof. Their light fading, it was swept into the orangish sky up above.

And like the snap of a mousetrap, their ears began to rumble by the sound of helicopter blades. Unable to lift their heads, they kept them stationed as they sulked in grief and exhaustion … but not despair. Once the helicopter landed on the roof, the rippling blades ripped apart the very air.

Four medics hopped out from the aircraft. Their breaths out of place, they thumped the very metal they ran across, leaving Miles and Luna to feel their reverberations. Once the four medics reached the two of them, they didn’t give them a choice.

As they lifted them off from the ground, and carried them like cautionary baggage.

“Come on! Let’s get you guys down!”

“Jesus, the woman’s body is ice cold! I think she overused her blessing!”

“And the man’s the opposite! He has a high fever I think!”

“We could treat them in the helicopter! We have no time to waste up here!”

Ignoring the fiery monster to the right of them, they felt their eyes beginning to grow heavy. Their breathing turned thin, they couldn’t allow the heavy beast to be on their minds…

As they already did their part.

________________________________________________________________________

Fast forward…

“Alright, let’s finish this bitch once and for all!”

Every soldier aimed down their barrels at the unmoving beast. With nowhere to go, the beast was left to the whims of the Lieutenant's orders. As he placed his hands beneath his back, he glanced at Diego, who popped up near his right shoulder.

“But sir, we don’t know what will happen if it dies. What if it explodes or worse?”

“She is bound by some of the strongest metals made by man. She can’t move. Therefore, our window to finish the job is open.”

“But—”

“It’s either humanity or us.”

Same as the rest of his soldiers, the Lieutenant grabbed the mana rifle below his boots. Gripping it with both of his rough fingers, he huffed out air that stalled in his lungs, and puffed it out through his nostrils.

The metal was coated in waxed black, with the barrel sticking out like a sore thumb. Along with the magazine being glass rather than metal, it held bluish crystals that glowed in the early morning.

“If we take a gamble to be under the dirt, we’ll leave humanity the benefit of walking forward; into tomorrow.”

Raising his right hand up, he beamed a death glare.

Every soldier raised their rifles, and stationed the butt into their shoulders. Their fingers on the triggers, and their right eyes honing on the reticles, they awaited for the Lieutenants cue. Combined with the anti-air vehicles locked and loaded, they were replaced back to their mana bullets from prior.

“Ready … and …”

Diego didn’t have anything to fire with, while the Sergeant near him did. Feeling his breath grow hot, he stared at the beast who stared down at all of them.

‘If it means Fred and the others would get to live … then I don’t mind gambling my life.’

Seeing her whole body be enveloped in flames, the light that drew from her grew bright. Like she tried to enact a set of armor, given the circumstances of their bullet type, mana bullets were meant to pierce through anything. Anything.

“FIRE!!”

A barrage of light shone through the asphalt and buildings.

Digging straight into her stomach, along with her head, they targeted everything but her head. With some of the bullets going straight through her, hot magma flushed out from her wounds in an instant.

And they continued to fire, endlessly and dangerously.

“Give her everything! Come on!”

Unable to check on their ammo, many of the soldiers glared at the wounding beast. Diego was the only one who checked on their chambers, and noticed a blinking red alarm flaring beneath them.

‘They’re overheating…’

Yet they continued to fire.

Still having her trapped, they didn’t dare to let emotional thoughts or feelings be of them. In fact, they were infatuated with the makeup they were giving to her.

No flesh or scales scaled upon her chest and stomach, only bone. With her internal organs all piling out from the pool of magma, it drifted onto the asphalt below.

—Right near the west convoy trucks.—

“Oh no…”

And thus, the trucks began to end up in flames. Hearing the workers and operators shouting, it left Diego to instantly turn his head to the commotion. With no one handling the trucks, it left the steel rods … to completely collapse.

Feeling 1/4th of her weight gone, she began forcingly moving, pushing many soldiers to stop their firing. Finally acknowledging the outside world, many of them panned to the fiery trucks to the west.

“Target her legs! She’s going to make a run for it!”

“But sir! Our weapons are overheated! We can’t fire anymore!”

“Damn it!”

Gritting the front ends of his teeth, he saw the beast beginning to overpower the entrapment she was in. Unable to fire, as everyone’s barrels were melting hot, it left all of them to stare at the trembling monster.

Who began to overpower the weight of the north, east, and south convoys.

‘We aimed for her heart, yet it didn’t do anything? Do the rules of zompires don’t apply to her?’

Everyone began to lower their barrels. With everyone staring at the beast intently, they saw her dragging the trucks like they were shackles.

The more she slid, the more her skin began to grow. Softly regenerating tissue, as magma poured from her head, muscles were the first to be crafted. Soon, her skin began to harden, leaving scales to be burned and scorned dry. Her organs crafted, she looked like she was fully regrown, as if the mana bullets were nothing more than bbs.

‘Either way, I don’t think she’s going to attack us…’

She ignored all of them, and ventured into the direction where the water pump facility is. Stomping over buildings, burning the pavement and asphalt of the streets, even brick and concrete weren’t safe.

As her stomps trickled the surface of Terra.

Even though she let them live, it pushed the Lieutenant to place his right hand into his pocket. Gripping a walkie-talkie with his hardened fingers, he raised the metal device to his mouth. Straightening his back, clearing his throat, he placed both of his feet together.

“This is Lieutenant Kuzo here. We stalled the monster but only for roughly 12 minutes. Requesting orders from Fenix, please.”