11 A Rising Rebellion - Final (1/2)

”The existence of an Aegis User is dangerous. Getting rid of you was the choice that all of us had agreed.”

Grandpa let go of my hair and moved over to Hope.

”This guy is an exception. He was scared of you, and yet he went against us during that discussion. Hope's the only one in the group willing to do such a thing. Don't you think he's contradicting himself?” continued Grandpa.

Hope gritted his teeth and glared at grandpa. I had never seen Hope so angry before.

I felt a tug at my chest.

My wound was healing. I retracted the makes.h.i.+ft clog of crystal I'd applied into my flesh immediately, and the wound healed.

I wasn't sure how much time had pa.s.sed when Inghild shot me, but it didn't pa.s.s the two-minute mark. Perhaps the plasma couldn't withstand my regeneration completely and was overwhelmed by it. If I had not sealed the wound, it could've been worse.

Grandpa had not noticed my condition yet as he was focused on Hope.

”I-I was scared of her. But, I envied her bravery. I understood her pain of losing her parents, and the desperation of looking for them, not knowing whether they are alive or not,” Hope said.

He got on his feet and grandpa kicked him back to the ground. His grey T-s.h.i.+rt was smeared in blood, and without me noticing, I'd hold onto my breath.

His blue eyes were still glaring at grandpa.

”Jeremy, we're bringing Hope with us. Put him in the back,” shouted grandpa.

He was open for me to attack.

Swiftly, I sent one narrow spike from my right palm towards him.

However, Jeremy blocked it, his hands prevented my spike from moving with both hands. I saw pale blue wires softly radiating from his arms the moment he grabbed it.

”Oh?” Granda grinned. ”You're amazing, Ava. Trying to kill me, are you? You're not the reserved girl like I thought you were. You're brave, like your father,” said grandpa.

”Why are you doing this? Aren't you worried about them at all? My parents?” I said.

His mouth curved downwards. ”No, Ava. Useless people or dead people means nothing to me. As an Aegis User, you were useful. Very valuable.” His face turned sour. ”And yet, they are the very thing I despise the most.”

With one hand, I adjusted my blue scarf to cover my mouth. A red blade replaced my spike as it danced in the air. Without warning, it swung at Jeremy in a downwards arching motion, but he grabbed at it with his hands.

”Trust me. You're not going to beat Jeremy. At least, with how you're using that weapon,” said grandpa. His expression was that of sheer confidence.

At the flat side of the blade, smaller ones sprouted, damaging Jeremy's metal hand.

”I made it sharp just for you,” I said.

My mind was figuring out all sorts of solutions to the problem at hand. I realized if I desired the Aegis to be the sharpest blade it could be, even the strongest metal was no match for it.

'Why I didn't think of this earlier?' I thought.

It would be very useful against the previous Vasquez, but that idea came into my mind too little too late.

I swung the blade a few times at grandpa and Jeremy, and they dodged it easily. When both of them were a few meters away from Hope, I charged towards that boy and covered us with a large, crystal-like dome appearing from my back.

”Are you trying to protect Hope? Hah!” Grandpa's voice could barely be heard from the inside of the dome.

”Is it. . . Bad?” I asked Hope, my eyes were on his wound.

”Uurgh, no. It hurts, but the bullet went through clean.” He coughed. ”I just need to bandage it. Yeah. . . I'm okay.”

The blood poured out as time pa.s.sed. Clearly, he had lost a good amount of it.

”Hmm, maybe. . . ” I cut a long piece of fabric from my blue scarf with my blade and handed it to him.

”Thanks.”

He carefully bandaged his wound and struggled to stand up. He stopped suddenly and frowned at me. ”Ava, why are you crying?”

”Eh?” I touched my cheek. Indeed, it was wet from the streaks of tears pouring out of my eyes. A strange feeling hit me when I was there with Hope. I felt the urge to tell him everything.

My hands tugged at Hope's s.h.i.+rt and he came closer. I lowered my head for some reason, refusing to meet his stare. ”I don't know Hope. . . People died because of me. . . And I hurt a lot of them too. Their faces just keep popping inside my head. . . This must be what a killer feels all the time.”

”Ava. . . ” said Hope.

”And grandpa hurt me. I never intended to harm him in any way. I don't want to lose him either.”

”He shot at you without hesitation,” said Hope. His voice was soft as if he sympathized my condition.

”I was angry at him. I hated him so much after that. . . but somehow, I can't seem to have the courage to hurt him. When I swung my blade at him, my body directed the blade the other way around purposely.”

I rubbed my cheeks hastily, trying to get rid of the tears I didn't want him to see.

Hope was silent. He proceeded to pat me in the back and smiled.

”You're one brave girl, do you know that? I don't know how many times I've said that already. For me, if that Aegis weapon or whatever is inside me, I would have killed myself. Or tried to. I don't know if it's appropriate to tell someone your age that kind of thing. Basically, the weapon would make me feel lonely. People feel fear when they don't know something, whether your Aegis would lash out at them at any time. Everyone is tested with the different circ.u.mstances in their lives, Ava.”

I nodded slowly. ”I wouldn't even think about. . . killing myself. Just being able to possess a weapon this powerful maybe boasts my confidence a bit too much. It feels great as if I can do anything my heart desires. But right now, I'm not so sure anymore. Maybe I'm just being naive. I'm only a ten-year-old girl after all.”

I chuckled, but it lasted for a moment. My heart was wrenched by all the things that I'd been through. If Mommy and Daddy were there, I could have endured it and faced anything in my path with a straight face.