[ Part Finale of the Royalty & Loyalty Series ]

  { 5 minutes and 11 seconds before the assassination attempt of Second-Leader Asheera Eria }

  ...

  “You weren't the one who burned the village down, were you? We hid in a house together because the Mobilizers were coming. I have the feeling we were looking for the same thing back there, didn't we? An escape in life. I wanted to escape with you, but you left me in the house to talk to the Mobilizers. Trying to persuade them that I wasn't here.”

  “...”

  “You tried to sacrifice your well-being for me... while someone found me. He was pretending that he was scared of being executed and set the house where I was hiding on fire in hopes of killing me but that fire spread to all houses. My mother... my brother... They all died in that fire, thinking you helped initiate it. I resented you for it. I hate that I did.”

  “...”

  “I thought you doomed us all so the blame could be placed on you... but I lost everything because someone else was an idiot... That's why I fought you, but I wasn't strong enough. So you won and left me to die while you escaped. We were never meant to be together.”

  Asheera spoke to the stranger. Her best friend.

  “... I hate you so much, Ashe. I hate myself for not killing you when I had the chance. You brought Mobilizers to us like moths to a flame. I thought I could save you but your existence... it infuriates me. Your existence ruined everything.”

  “That's why you want to kill me, right?”

  “...”

  “You're here for Sachiel because he’s been keeping me alive... but in reality, you just want to kill me. You don’t care about him.”

  “...”

  “Karsel, that traitor... burned our hometown and lied about you being a Mobilizer... because they could’ve used me to eliminate you, a threat. But you were stronger, so killing me would've been easier on you. You thought I’d be running away from everything when it all failed but instead I did the opposite you wanted. The funny thing is... You taught me that I shouldn't live my life in hate, in despair. That I should be a better person... But you couldn't practice what you preached, could you? I couldn’t practice what you preached.”

  “...”

  “He... gave me a second chance... Serith... He gave me purpose. He gave me purpose that you never gave me! This town was all about you while I grieved for my own losses because I can't see or feel!”

  “Nothing you say or think can twist me, Roselka. I won't hate you.” Asheera said, smiling.

  “I... hate you.”

  “I love you.”

  “I HATE YOU, ASHE!” Roselka shouted.

  The silence grew.

  “It's okay. If anything, I hate myself. I've never done anything right in my life. I don't deserve to live. You know that too, right?” Asheera smiled with her eyes closed. It was like she came to terms with her own death.

  “I'm so pathetic that I can't kill myself. So I want you to do it for me. Fulfill my last wish. Kill me.”

  Roselka's eyes widened in shock, even if she couldn't see. The trembling got worse. She couldn't do it. Her best friend, Asheera Eria... The 'princess' that took her place in the Royal Family was asking to die by her hands.

  “You are pathetic, Ashe. Asking your enemy... and your friend to kill you is truly pathetic.” She spoke out loud. Her face softened. She still can't get a grip on how much she loved Ashe, but also how much she hated her. Love. Hate. Love. Hate.

  “Is it a bad thing to be a broken piece, like the rot you hear out of an old CD?” Asheera looked away, looking into the sky. The gentle breeze made Ashe's pink hair fly like the last remaining hope for Roselka.

  “You can answer that for me... I know the answer either way.”

  Roselka didn't have a chance to respond before Asheera spoke again, her voice now so quiet Roselka had to strain to hear it.

  “It's such a nice day to die.”

  The finality in Ashe's voice was enough for Roselka to follow through. But even Roselka was holding back her tears.

  “...I hate you.”

  “I hate you so much.”

  This was what truly happened.

  = = =

  [ Nymeria Town, 2187 ]

  "Ashe!? Ashe, where the hell are you!?" Roselka shouted in panic, frantically looking for Asheera in the burning village. The smoke blinded her, effectively limiting her vision. Not that she could see anyways.

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  She coughed, placing her hand over her mouth. She couldn't feel if it was giving her a reflex but she could hear her coughing and her breath hitching.

  "Asheera!" She yelled harder. People were scattering to different places as Mobilizers tried to contain them. The military was dispatched to a small town, all because of one girl. And this girl is her best friend.

  The whole ground was trembling. The building next to Roselka collapsed, the debris hitting her leg. She didn't realize she was on the ground with an injured leg until she heard the tumbling of a brick landing near her. She was on the ground, but she couldn't feel the pain at all. The only thing she could feel was panic.

  "Damnit... Damnit!" Roselka yelled again, this time, she couldn't move because of her leg. "How has everything gone so wrong because of you, Ashe!?" Roselka cried.

  Roselka had left Asheera in a house without knowing someone else would've frantically set the whole town on fire to try and kill the Soul-Wielder he so feared.

  Because of her. All because of her.

  She didn't want this. She wanted Ashe to be free, but her freedom was cut short because of this entire ordeal. She tried so hard, and this is what she gets. The military trying to kill everyone in the town for harbouring her, someone she truly cares about.

  Roselka started to crawl, her leg dragging against the fiery wooden floor that used to be the home of a happy family. The Mobilizers didn't care that they were burning innocent families. The floorboards creaked, and Roselka could feel that the house was going to collapse. She couldn't feel it per say, but she could hear the groaning wood and feel the heat against her skin.

  "Ashee- GU-" She was being strangled from the back by a Mobilizer. But even then she couldn't feel it. However, she did have the power to speak. "L-let me go--!"

  "Hey, we got a lively one here." The Mobilizer gruffly spoke. Roselka was flung into the ground.

  "So... we got a child resisting arrest, huh?" The other Mobilizer kicked her in the stomach.

  "This child looks familiar... She is the blind girl." The other Mobilizer pointed out. "Great Kamisword Eria said we should bring her back to him for questioning."

  Roselka punched the ground, knowing she was busted. This is all her fault. If she hadn't left Ashe in that house... But she needed to find out who started the fire. The fire spread to the house Ashe was in. She had to save her before the whole house collapses. The heat was unbearable, but even that wouldn't change her mind.

  "Karsel was an arsonist anyways. Goddamnit, that mad monster. Come to think of it, who gave him the approval?"

  "No one did, he just wanted the town to burn." The other Mobilizer laughed.

  "3 years long in the town and he couldn't take it anymore." They both laughed now.

  Roselka tried to move away by crawling again but to no avail. The Mobilizers noticed and kicked her face, grabbing her and slamming her face to the ground again.

  "Mierlen, get the others." One of the Mobilizers told the other. Mierlen ran off, leaving Roselka and the other Mobilizer alone.

  .:. So it was a Mobilizer that did it... But why? Why Karsel? Why burn the village? .:.

  .:. So he was a spy... .:.

  .:. They initially wanted Asheera only... So why the entire town...? The whole point of their mission is to bring the Soul-Wielder in. So why the need to kill the town and even risk Asheera's death? There's no point in killing the asset they want to bring home. Unless they never intended to tak- .:.

  Roselka's eyes widened.

  .:. ... They'll kill us all no matter what. All because she exists. They'll kill her too! They truly think we're all better off without her... I can't allow that to happen! .:.

  She got onto her knees. She has to do something about them. She couldn't stand on her feet. She has to make a move now. She can't let them win.

  "Let me go, you fucker! You're tyrants! All of you!" Roselka tried resisting again but was met with another concussion.

  "Hah, it seems the mute wants to speak." The Mobilizer chuckled as he slammed Roselka's face on the ground again, this time cracking the concrete. She doesn't make a single sound as her face gets slammed. All that she knows is that her brain is fogging up.

  "Get up." The Mobilizer ordered as he lifted Roselka up, but she still wouldn't comply. Her brain was taking a severe toll, she was bleeding from the head quite a bit. The blood dripped down her cheek, and she can't even wipe it because she has no control over her own limbs.

  "I said get up!" The Mobilizer dragged her over the ground and threw her close to burning debris. Roselka was now inches away from the fire, oblivious.

  "You won't... kill me... You need me... alive..."

  "A live person doesn't need to think or speak, child."

  "Don't you realize what you're doing is wrong? We're not your enemies."

  "We follow orders. And as of this moment, you're an enemy. We will not hesitate to kill you if you resist. It doesn't matter if we're ordered to capture you alive or not."

  .:. That makes no sense! They were explicitly told to bring me in alive! .:.

  -

  [ 6 minutes ago ]

  Roselka walked over the town headman, the mayor. Telling him that the plan should be ready. "I've hid Asheera in the easternmost part of Nymeria, the least dense area in this entire town."

  The mayor was trembling.

  "You see, Mr. Mayor? No one would even look for a Soul-Wielder like her in a poor district. They'll question us and they'll leave us! If that's not enough, me and Ashe will run away and never show our faces here again. Your town will be safe."

  The Mobilizers landed on plain glass with a ship, causing a small earthquake. A huge ship came from the sky, a big hunk of metal shaped like a pyramid but with a pointy bottom. The bottom opened and out came four, eight, twelve, sixteen, twenty-four Mobilizers in their menacing black armor. And one more person.

  The Great Kamisword; Azrael Eria.

  As they call him now, the King That Went Mad.

  Each armed to the teeth, carrying a laser rifle, a plasma grenade, and a vibro-knife.

  "Mobilizers... from the Royal Family..." The mayor shook.

  "Don't be a wuss." Roselka whispered as she went in front of the mayor to greet them. "What brings the Great Kamisword here-"

  "Everybody put their hands up! Those that do not comply are shot on sight! This town is under suspicion of harbouring a fugitive." The Mobilizer in charge shouted through a speaker.

  "W-"

  Everybody put their hands up as fast as possible. The children, the elderly and the women too. Roselka had no choice but to comply. She didn't want them to die because of her. For being blind and a defect. She put her hands up, smiling at them.

  "Good." Azrael stepped forward. "We have received information that a Soul-Wielder resides here. We are not incorrect."

  Roselka swallowed the lump in her throat, trying to remain calm. Her heart hugged her ribs, but she didn't show it on her face.

  "Let it be known I do not expect your compliance to be readily given. However, you must all understand the gravity of the choice before you. To knowingly shield an individual that can wield Souls is to commit treason against the Crown. The recompense for this transgression against the sovereign is absolute: summary execution, enacted upon all residing here."

  The Great Kamisword sounds mad for a king.

  It seemed like he wanted an excuse to kill people.

  "Where is she?" Azrael asked, his voice calm and chilling.

  None answered.

  "We shall search house to house. You will be escorted to your town hall and kept there. Any attempts at resistance will be met with lethal force."

  As they started rounding everyone up, Roselka knew the plan was falling apart. She never expected Azrael himself to show up. She thought they'd send low-level grunts she could potentially mislead. This was a whole different beast.

  .:. Fuck... .:.