《Plague Children》Chapter 30: The people right in front of you
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The chaos that ensued within the city was relentless. The gates were brought down, cutting off any entry or exit. However, they soon knew that the gates would fall. There was only one exit which everyone took to escaping.
However, many of them did not try to flee. Instead, they gathered all in one spot in front of the western barracks. There, confronted by more than several thousands of concerned and worried denizens, was the plague child Ora.
Rel stood besides him ready for battle along with Alel's super heated arms. Several of the other plague children also stood by Ora. They all held their relics ready for battle. This was not to participate in the imminent war however.
This was to prevent any angry crowd from thinking they were powerful enough to attack.
Many tearfilled faces peered at Ora. There were mothers, clutching their crying babies in their arms. Old men, comforting their grown sons and daughters. Young children that were old enough to understand the direness of the situation. All of them, pleaded loudly for Ora's help.
Whatever those words were, they were falling on death ears. Any sympathy towards them all turned off within Ora years ago.
Those eyes that met the teary faces were ones that were completely apathetic to their plea.
"PLEASE! MY CHILDREN ARE GOING TO DIEEEE!!!"
"PLAGUE CHILD, HELP US! YOU'RE OUR ONLY HOPE!"
"YOU CAUSED THIS SITUATION!"
"No." He kept his answer short and concise. Watching them all plead with him, was oddly...irritating. The less he could see of these people the better. Once they all die off, he won't have to deal with their hateful attitudes.
"H-how...how CAN YOU JUST WATCH PEOPLE DIE AND IDLY SIT BY DOING NOTHING!!"
"You all...you've all watched us just die and did nothing."
"All of you are guilty for having done that."
"B-but a majority of us have never harmed you."
"No. You are right. You simply just watched us... like I am now."
"y-you can't...even babies will be killed off!"
"And? Is that my problem that you all cannot protect your own children?"
"Please!"
"O-ORA!" A middle aged man walked out of the crowd. "I... I know we haven't treated you all the best." Tch. Minced words. They were treated like trash.
"BUT NOT BY EVERYONE!" He shouted. "I want to apologize to you... on everyone's behalf."
"We're not all like this! Some of us know we were all wrong.."
"Amai Yoren - She tried to help you all but was ostracized because of it by everyone else. She couldn't find a job at all and resorted to escort service in order to pay for you. We all couldn't go through with that kind of lifestyle!"
Tears dripped from his eyes. "So please...you cannot blame us for the failing to act. We all now realize our mistake."
The man bowed down before him, eyes closed and both of his hands over his head. "I'm begging you...not just for me, but for everyone else here. Please, save us."
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A shadow slowly distorted around the man and a spike impaled him through the stomach, ascending him 20 feet into the air as he spat out blood and screamed.
"If you're going to apologize...you can at least look at me. Or are we still so disgusting that you can't bear to look at?" The entire time, the man's eyes were averted from them.
It was a pitiful display of sorrow. How many of them out of this crowd had seen Aries die and did nothing?
Ora scowled. As the crowd screamed in horror. The panic that once ensued came again as they continuously shouted pleas for help.
A child ran out of the crowd screaming for his father that had just perished. To him, Ora's eyes lingered for just a bit, almost feeling remorseful for the scene.
He had just now been just like the citizens of Sei'O were to him. It didn't grant him any happiness in his actions.
"O-Ora...p-p-please..is my dad's death not enough.. Please, I will die too if it means you'll save everyone." The kid no more older than 10.
Tears and snot came out of his face. Compared to any of the plague children, he was truly weak. Ora turned his back to the scene. "We're done here."
"You all can just go and die. That has nothing to do with me anywa-" SLAP!
His cheek felt hot. The cold he had been feeling all this time faded away in awakening to pain. His eyes scanned the various people in front of him that could have done it.
Zephise, Rel, Alel...right now, though he seemed calm, his rage was at a peak and the slap had stirred his heart even more. But the shocked expressions of everyone else was also apparent on the faces of his peers.
He finally looked down to see Sela, tears streaming from her eyes as she held onto his leg.
"O-Ora chan...please...I don't want to see you b-be become like this!" She wailed and held tightly onto his leg.
"Hey...S-sela...let go." He tried to walk forward, but she made it almost impossible to leave.
She shook her head. "I can't l-let you be bad!"
"Hey..Sela. Seriously! Let me go!"
She shook her head again and refused to leave.
"Its alright to cry Ora..."
"Everyone's crying."
For whatever reason, when she spoke those same words, Ora had shattered.
His emotions were the mix of apathy and refusal to acknowledge his own pain. So long as he prevented his friends from harm, he could not care about the fate of others, or the actions he did himself.
Killing nearly 50 men, killing 5 guards, slaying an army of 3,000...he never cared about all of those actions. Or so he thought. No, he clearly did. But so long as his comrades were alright, he could stomach them. He shouldn't need to acknowledge them.
Those same words were once spoken to him by Amai. As they set up a funeral for another Roren, another plague child 5 years back. He was dragged from a cart on a horse until he had died.
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His body was painful to look at, and when they buried him, Ora's anger had grown, but no tears dropped. "It's alright to Cry, Ora...Everyone's crying." It was Amai who muttered those words.
Remembering those thoughts and remembering all those times others of his kind had died. Then remembering his own actions that lead up to this, he could save it in himself anymore.
The tears trailed down his eyes. He could see that both Rel and Alel were also tearing at the death and destruction that came at their doorsteps. The pleas of everyone around him were all the same pleas of his very own fallen. "We want to live."
He curled up into a ball with Sela hugging him crying as loud as she could. This time however, her very own tears were caused by him. As a direct result of his actions.
He was very much able to shoulder the guilt of killing thousands. But what about his comrades that would have to bare testimony to the fact that they didn't help. He was being selfish.
"I'm sorry...I was wrong."
The crowd seemed completely taken aback at the scene. Perhaps it was because of Ora's ability to kill someone within a split instant. Perhaps it was his instability. Or Maybe for the majority of them, they had thought plague children to be capable of emotion.
In the midst of all this, giant balls of flame began to rain down on the buildings, detonating houses and sending debris flying everywhere. The mages were beginning their offensive. So it seems the warriors had lost...
Ora closed his eyes and inhaled deeply before patting Sela's head and standing up. "Its okay..." he said in a completely relaxed manner. "Its okay, Sela. I'll stop all of this now..."
Sela looked up and nodded. As he walked forward the crowd was completely silent. They parted in front of his path and many of them remained bowing so as to avoid displeasing him.
Many of their eyes locked onto his, and they all said the same thing. "Win."
"Rel, Alel...Aren...Zephise, make sure everyone's protected."
They all nodded in unison. First of all,none of the villagers actually believed he could destroy them all. But they believed he could put enough of a dent in their forces that they would be forced to delay their attack. If maybe Ora could take out their leaders, they would be saved for a while longer.
It seems the gates had been broken through a long time ago. In the midst of all the chaos, he could not hear it. But many people were being slaughtered in the streets. As Ora walked, various knights came at him with their weapons drawn.
Magicians casted fireballs at him, attempting to destroy him. Each blast that came at him were blocked by walls of shadows, acting on their own.
The knights were all impaled by tendrils of shadows that stemmed from Ora. As he walked, he kept them skewered on. Their wails drew the attention of various people and they all became drawn to him. He was becoming their primary target to eliminate.
Several various relic abilities were revealed during their unsuccessful attacks. During this craziness, Rel and Alel had took to the scene. With their ability combined to hide and attack, they disposed several of the military units with relative ease.
Due to the chaos of the situation, it was very easy to attack while hidden without drawing attention to themselves. Several pairs of chakrams spun around the area. "Oh..so Aren's here too."
Various civilians tried to fight off the soldiers, but to no avail. All manner of relics revealed themselves in brutal ways.
A man with claws that extended more than 30 meters ventured through the city just tearing up everyone and everything in sight. His claws dragged through buildings with ease.
A soldier utilizing barrier relics blocked off several parts of the city, all the while mages flying above blasted rocks and flame towards the citizens below.
"Tch...This is an annoyance." Before he could leave the city Ora made sure to dispose of all the malicious people within the walls. Several of citizens he saved just moments before death cried their hearts out and thanked the child.
Others hugged their children and relayed their gratitude for allowing them to live on. This was an odd sensation... to think they would thank him. To think he would be helping these people out. These very same people...
Ora discontinued his thought process. He didn't want his rage to build up again. Instead, he calmly surveyed the city and a giant wall of shadows blocked off the gate.
His body scaled up off the ground from one giant shadow spire. He stood at the very top, lowering himself over the gate. The thousands of military units that greeted him was impressive.
Various eyes looked at the child who had now just descended and questions all about begun being asked.
"Is he a mage? but he's so young.."
"What does that fool think he's doing?"
"A Plague child huh? He doesn't look so inhuman to me."
Nonetheless, Arrows whizzed right at him, only to be stopped dead by his shadows. The people looked confused. Another launch of arrows came towards him, but to no avail. Next was a line of magicians shooting different elemental magic at him.
Naturally, these attacks had no effect as well.
"I'm sorry...but you all must die."
Those were Ora's choice of words. The army before him that heard that couldn't understand what he was saying, nor the conviction in his words until it was too late. He was but a child against an army 120,000 strong.
They didn't realize that he was making a statement, not asking.
In that sudden moment, screams hollowed out from the fellow knights and they began to perish left and right.
This was not normal...they weren't just dying at speeds of a hundred. No...as each second passed, 1000s of them were dying all at once.
This was madness!
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