Chapter 142 - Leaving Forever (1/2)

Chapter 142 - Leaving Forever

Cloudhawk didn’t get all of the answers he sought, but the soldier indirectly revealed something important. He was considered a traitor for living among blasphemers.

He understood being labeled a traitor. These visitors from the holy city assumed he was a demonhunter. ‘Blasphemers’ must mean the Seekers who dabbled in old technology, something they thought to be sinful. Excavating and using these tainted things was, to them, an unforgivable slight.

The ‘blasphemers’ Cloudhawk was supposedly in league with had to be the Seekers from Blackwater Base. Was that their target? Had they already been there? Was Hellflower alright?!

Cloudhawk had played a tiny part in something much bigger, and still they’d sent two demonhunters and a hundred soldiers to track him down. Cloudhawk didn’t want to imagine what had befallen the base, nor was now the time. The young soldier, with his dying moments, had given him away to the others. His compatriots would be here soon.

“I’m sorry.” Cloudhawk looked to the two dead soldiers in silence for a moment then began to strip them of their equipment. Luckily, the smaller guard had been roughly Cloudhawk’s size, although he was stockier so his armor didn’t fit perfectly when Cloudhawk slipped it on. Strangely, after Cloudhawk put on the last piece the armor began to reform itself with a series of clicks and snaps. Afterwards it fit snuggly around his person, almost as if it’d been tailor-made for him!

As he was moving the bodies to hide them, a slip of paper fell out of one of their clothes. Cloudhawk picked it up and gingerly unfolded it. Drawn in luminous paint was the image of a girl. She was dainty, delicate and beautiful, with flowers all over her body. The painting released a pleasing scent, and though it was only a picture it was as detailed as though she were right there before him.

On the left side something was scribbled: For my love.

It was a present, one the young soldier would never send. Cloudhawk felt conflicted with its discovery.

When the girl discovered that her lover was dead she would certainly be sad. She would be yet another person who would hate Cloudhawk for the rest of her life. It brought a bitter smirk to Cloudhawk’s face. Something else for me to bear, another person’s hatred to add to the others that only seemed to grow with time. But what could he do? He was just a minor figure, one who only wanted to live. That was all he wanted!

But there was no such thing as a minor figure in this world, not really. Strong or weak was only measured by comparison. To lovers, family and friends, even the smallest person was a giant. When such a giant fell, all the world they held on their shoulders fell with them.

Cloudhawk pocketed the picture, then dealt with the bodies. Shortly after the sounds of footsteps preceded the arrival of two soldiers who had seen the flare. They spotted Cloudhawk’s bloodstained armor before noting his face. It was too dark to tell anything else besides. “What’s going on? Where’s the traitor?!”

“Right here!” When they got close enough, he buried a pair of daggers in their throats. Their deaths were quick and uneventful, and suddenly there were two more corpses to hide. He looked over their twitching bodies blankly.

Since when had his heart become so numb? He remembered the grief he’d felt the first time he killed another human. Now it felt so natural…

He was disgusted with the change he saw in himself. Only, they were changes that ensured he stayed alive. Perhaps everyone who survived out here turned into something despicable.

Several minutes later, Captain Bolte arrived at where the flare had gone up. The first thing he saw was the corpses, neatly lined up on the ground, nine of them in all. All of them were his soldiers. Anger flooded him, made him tremble. “What is this?! Can someone explain to me how these soldiers were all killed so easily!?”

One of his subordinates approached and gave the report. “They all seem to have been caught by sneak attacks. I’m almost certain the traitor is disguised as one of us and attacks our people while their guard is down. It’s the only way he could have killed so many.”

Captain Bolte’s hands were curled into white-knuckled fists.

The turncoat had been hit by Mistress Luna’s exorcist staff, that they knew. He’d never heard of anyone being able to take such a blow and keep fighting so vigorously. This scum wasn’t strong, but he was an adept scoundrel – there wasn’t an ounce of honor in him, no line he wouldn’t cross. His main tactic was to attack from the shadows, and Bolte’s men were dying because they were unprepared.

“If he is dressed like us, we can’t know if he’s still here or not. Should we keep searching?”

Captain Bolte shut his eyes in frustration. Skycloud’s soldiers were not pushovers. Their target shouldn’t be able to completely escape detection or injury, even relying on underhanded tactics. There had to be something special about him. He had to be more more than just a simple renegade, and he also couldn’t have been as injured as they thought. Bolte’s people were tired. If they continued the search under these conditions it would only lead to more dead.

“Return to the outpost!”

“Huh? Why?!”

Captan Bolte’s eyes popped open. He gave the impression of a desperate gambler, going for broke. “Do you remember what Master Raith did to draw him out? The traitor is obviously fond of those despicable worms. If we go back and exterminate them maybe we can flush him out of hiding!”

Cloudhawk was lurking nearby. When he heard the man’s plan, his face fell. This was bad. He didn’t have any particular affection toward Lighthouse Point, but he was tired of all the death.

Killing. It was the choice of the weak and pitiful. It was the most final means of dealing with a problem, and the most lamentable.

Cloudhawk didn’t even think, he simply vanished into the night. He wasn’t going to give his life to save Lighthouse Point, but to the best of his ability he was going to save as many as he could from pointless tragedy.

He reached the outpost before the soldiers did, and when he got there the scene shocked him.

The small, quiet community had changed beyond recognition. The central lighthouse was in ruins, homes were ablaze. Everything was in chaos and blanketed in a haze of acrid smoke.

“Y-You… what are you doing back here!?”