Dealing with the aftermath - Part 1

As I stand above the two severed halves of a whole corpse, the sight brings an uneasy feeling within my stomach. While I have had plenty of experience with death in Other World, witnessing and being around it is not something I can enjoy.

The smell of blood surrounds the body, as does the pool around where it fell; fortunately, the body's bloodiest aspect is facing the ground. Examining the beast controller's body pieces, it's clear there isn't much on it, aside from the collection of daggers and regular knives.

Tired of carrying the rifle, I hang its sling over my neck, accidentally catching it onto Kiru's hilt. With a quick readjustment of the sling, I re-secure it properly around the base of my neck and shoulder. Letting go of the rifle, it drops to my side and I push it behind my coat to further secure it.

I gently wrap my hand around Kiru's hilt, hoping to hear her voice while reflecting on Kiru's, 'Damage? Injury? I don't know how to refer to it.' Letting go of the hilt, I kneel down closer to the body piece that was the controller's right side, and I begin looting for anything I need or could use.

Rummaging through his pockets and under the severed cloak, I find a couple more of those controlling blades and stumble upon something wrapped around his arm. Pulling up the cloak, I uncover a complex device that I've never seen before.

The device appears to have been designed to be easily hidden by large baggy clothes; what seems to be a battery pack is wrapped around the bicep of his upper arm, a pair of cords leading to an assortment of controls with a small, thin screen that would fit in the palm of one's hand.

Taking care as I unwrap and disconnect the device from the corpse, I notice the same symbol from the blades' hilts embedded on the underside of the battery pack. 'Okay, that explains the connection between this and the blades. But how does randomly stabbing a creature with these grant someone full control with this?'

Holding the control device along with a pair of blades, I realise that I need something to carry them in. While the edges of the cloak are slightly bloody, it is intact enough to serve as a small makeshift carry bag. 

Searching through his left side in the hopes of finding more, or at least some form of identification, maybe even something that can help me figure out where they came from. To my disappointment, all I find are more daggers and a pouch with a small number of coins.

Despite my thorough search through the controller's corpse, I rush through the search of the other bodies, opting to only take their coin pouches, as they had nothing else I could consider to be of value. Even the bandit leader held nothing that could be considered useful.

Making an observation of the darkening sky and the ever-fading light, I admire the sky's unique blend of red, violet and black hues filled with stars glittering in the background. Making my way down from the outcropping, I approach the pair of survivors, who still haven't moved from the spot where I told them to stay, ready to enact my judgement upon them.

"Alright you two, we have a problem." The man wears a fearful expression, while wrapping his arms around his fox woman companion, who glares at me with a mixed combination of anger and concern. "I have to get back to Alameria, and I'd rather get there sooner than later. The problem is, what am I going to do with you?"

"What are your intentions with us?" The man speaks up, although his voice is small; even the fox woman's glare is more of a gaze of concern now.

"Well, that depends. What are you two planning to do after this?" 'While I don't care about what their answer could be, I am curious about what they could do afterward.'

"What's it to you? You and that buddy of yours already butchered a bunch of our friends, why don't you just let us go?" The fox woman lashes out at me; however I remain unfazed, as her companion keeps her restrained in his arms. While he restrains her, he tries to address my question.

"Please forgive her. While we do appreciate the fact that you spared and saved us, right now we just want to get as far away from you as we can." As I hear the man speak, I'm once again reminded of my earlier thought of these two not being cut out to be bandits.

"Well, too bad! You made the mistake of messing with my town, and now you're going to pay." The pair open their mouths as if to object; however, a harsh glare from me silences them before I continue. "And since I was kind enough to not only save and spare your lives, as you so graciously pointed out, your lives belong to me."

The pair's mouths hang agape at my declaration. I can feel my mouth curling upwards to form a smirk as I observe the pair's comical reaction. Holding back my smirk, I force myself to maintain a stoic and serious expression, while the pair recover from their shock.

"Like hell you own us! If you think that we're just gonna..." I silence the fox woman's outburst by raising my hand towards Kiru's hilt. I don't quite grab the hilt, but the action alone was more than enough to scare the both of them into submission.

"Like it or not, that's how it is. Regardless of your leader's decisions, you chose to follow him, and now you're stuck with me." My matter-of-fact tone dissuades the pair from trying to argue back, more so the male than his female companion. "Now, I feel inclined to just let you go with a warning; however, I can't trust that you won't join up with another bandit group in the future."

"I promise, we won't cause any more trouble. We just want to leave and find a place to call home." The man's sincerity isn't lost on me, however, 'I can't afford to be soft with these two. The best option is to escort them back to Alameria. At least there, Grey and Treia can keep them out of trouble.'

"Not gonna to happen! Now, you two are going to come with me back to Alameria. Where the both of you are going to face justice, and be punished for your actions. No ifs, ands, or buts about it, got it!" 

Despite my stern declaration, the man stares at me in defeat, while the fox woman pushes him off her with so much force that he falls to the ground. She then marches right up to me.

"Justice! What the hell do you know about justice?" The rage in the fox woman's voice is clear, so much that I'm taken aback by her brazen action as she grabs me by the collar. Though her passion is high, I can't help but see the sadness behind her piercing orange eyes. 

"Do you know what it's like to be ostracised from childhood, just for being born a Foxell? How about being labeled a thief, just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time." I can't help but stand in shock as the woman unleashes years of her pent up rage at me. I can't even get a word in.

"I never wanted to live like this, but it's ignorant people like you who drove me into this life-style. Why did you bother saving us if you're just going to kill us anyway, and if you're planning to enslave us, you may as well take that sword of yours and kill me now, cause I'd rather die than live as a slave."

The woman breathes heavily after her emotional rant as I maintain my calm demeanor. However, while I do feel sympathetic to her plight, I can't be sure or believe that she told me the truth. 'Regardless.'

"From what I've seen of you two, you appear to have good hearts. However, regardless of your past, you are accountable for the attack on Alameria, and you have to face the consequences for that." With a stern expression, I place my hand atop hers and remove her hand from my collar with no resistance.

"Please, can you at least show mercy upon us?" The man, who has been watching us from the ground from where the woman pushed him, catches both of our attention as he speaks up.

"That isn't up for me to decide. But, if you come with me..." Answering the man I shift my gaze to the fox woman in front of me. "Without making a fuss or trying to escape, I'll speak favorably on your behalf. However, if you try anything, you can say goodbye to any hope for a future."

My gaze shifts between the man and woman, both of whom look down to the ground in defeat. I can't help but feel a knot in my stomach as we prepare to leave for Alameria. I follow the pair to a makeshift camp they had set up in a gathering of trees nearby. 

As I observe the pair disassemble and loot their campsite, I can't help but feel sorry for them, as I have forced them to uproot their lives only to be subjected to persecution. Deep down, it has me feeling like I'm some kind of villain or antagonist, and I don't like it.

With our business in the area concluded, we begin our trek into the night towards Alameria.