Sickening Revelation

The bright golden light washed over the entire area with a roaring sound. The ground rumbled underneath Yusato’s feet as the light filled his vision.

It was so intensely bright he couldn’t see a thing thing. But despite that, the light surrounding him felt warm and safe.

Was it protecting him?

As the light faded away, the hooded women was tied to a tree by golden chains. Her hood had fallen over, revealing her fair skin and long blond hair tied into a ponytail.

She had pretty blue eyes that would’ve made her look like sweet and delicate if it wasn’t for that harsh and sharp face she kept giving them.

Yusato and Mira carefully approached the girl. Seeing her up close like this, Yusato realized she was a fair bit younger than he thought. She actually seemed to be about his age.

“I can’t believe you two fools got the best of me.” She scoffed and cocked her head away.

“Listen,” Yusato said before kneeling down to meet the girl at eye level. “I don’t really know what’s going on between you and Mira. But I don’t have any intention of opposing the Black Moon as long as you leave her alone.”

“Didn’t I already tell you? She’s a thief.”

“Yeah.” Yusato nodded. “But do you know why she took the spellbook in the first place? I sure as hell don’t.” He notched his head over to Mira who was once again, holding the spellbook tightly to her chest. “Maybe she has a good reason for it?”

“You’re so persistent to defend a criminal. How obnoxious.”

“Why are you so persistent to get that spellbook from her?” Yusato asked.

After having fought her, Yusato realized she was just as determined as he was and that piqued his interest. Though there was this vibe he got from him her that told him she didn’t really want to be doing this in the first place.

Almost like it was an obligation, rather than a desire.

“Way too sharp,” the girl muttered under her breath. “Look. You’re right, okay? I was just following my orders from the Black Moon’s leader. I was sent to lead this squad to go and retrieve the spellbook. That was my mission. I don’t have any idea why our leader wants it so badly. But we aren’t supposed to question orders. Only act on them.”

Mira peeked her head out from behind Yusato. “This is some sort of secret origination, right?”

She glared at Mira, causing the petite girl to instantly shirk back. Then, she sighed before answering, “That’s right. The Black Moon is a secret organization dedicated to weeding out the corruption in the kingdom.”

“Then, why are you telling us all this?” Mira asked meekly. “Won’t you get in trouble?”

The girl cocked her eyebrow. “Weren’t you planning on killing me?”

Mira was about to speak up, but Yusato quickly stopped her. This was a perfect opportunity and he couldn’t let it go to waste.

“We won’t kill you. If you do us a favor.”

Yusato never had the intention of killing this girl in the first place. But he knew if he pulled this bluff off, it would help them out a lot. A gross feeling welled up in the pit of his stomach, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. He needed to do this.

“What favor?” She shot Yusato a suspicious look.

“Join us. We’re about to go on a quest and we need two more people. You’re strong, so you’d be a lot of help.”

“That’s all, huh?” The girl smiled wryly as he lowered her head. “Fine. You have a deal. My name’s Azalea.”

Yusato nodded at her. “I’m Yusato. And this is—”

“Mira Luin,” Azalea said. “I know.”

“Alright then. There’s one more thing I’d like to ask. You mentioned corruption in the kingdom. What exactly does that mean?”

“You saw it firsthand, didn’t you? That festival this town has is a prime example of it.” Leo’s face scrunched up in disgust. “People with too much magic are at risk of polluting the mana stream. As their magic grows, they start to take shift and slowly develop into Sirhix. Mayor Zagar would hold that festival and execute those people at the end every year.”

Mira clasped her hands over her mouth. “He…executed them?”

“…Yes. And because of how this kingdom views the Sirhix, all the people cheered. It’s the event they looked forward to the most. Because it relieves them of their fear. Meanwhile, it makes sure all those who are close to becoming Sirhix stay far away, leading to Litsuria becoming a prosperous town.”

“So, you and your group didn’t take care of this until now?” Yusato finally stood back up and looked down at Azalea. “What took you so long?”

“The mayor took a lot of precautions to cover it up. We weren’t even aware of it until recently. Plenty of places in this kingdom are just like Litsuria. Trying to hide how corrupted they all are.” Azalea bit her lip. “There were purges in other towns too. Places to keep potential Sirhix trapped or to have them on a tight leash. The Black Moon looks for places like that and snuffs them out.”

After hearing all that Yusato felt so sick to his stomach he wanted to vomit. He had no idea how rampant corruption in this kingdom was. He almost wanted to join the Black Moon himself. Then, it hit him like a truck.

The Sirhix were people.

He remembered how when he first arrived in this world, he and the others were told to kill them all. They said it was an invasion. But if they were people who unwillingly turned into monsters, then wouldn’t they have already been living there? They were never invaders to begin with.

Queasiness nearly overwhelmed him as he wobbled on his feet. He clasped his hand over his mouth as he thought about it even more. He had killed an innocent people. People were probably crying out for help. Not giving people help when they needed it was one of the things he hated and most and yet…he had killed them.

He wanted to wretch, but he pushed it back down his throat.

“Yusato?!” Mira held onto his shoulder as he nearly fell over. “Are you okay?”

He swallowed harshly and forced a smile. “I’m fine. Thanks, Mira.” Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Yusato took several deep breaths to calm himself down. “Anyway, welcome to the team, Azalea.” He held out his hand for her to shake, but she just stared blankly at him.

“I can’t move, remember?”

“Oh right. Mira, can you undo that spell you did now?”

She nodded and brought her fists to her chest. And with a cheerful smile said, “I definitely can’t!”

Azalea was speechless for a few moments.

“WHAT?!”

“Well, guess we’ll just have to wait for it wear off then,” Yusato said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Guess so!” Mira agreed, plopping down onto the ground.

“WHAT?!”