“Fyra… Fyra…”

The girl named Fyra heard her name called softly as the world around her remained black.

“Fyra… Fyra… Fyra… FYRA..!!”

The childish voice grew louder and louder as her body felt like she was being shaken. Fyra struggled to open her eyes, but managed to do so in the end. She felt nothing else but sore all over her body and slight confusion on everything that had just happened.

“FYRA! FYRA!!”

“I’m up! I’m up! Sheesh..-” Fyra replied irritatedly, getting up from the dirt ground of the courtyard into a sitting position.

The world around finally took shape as Fyra’s consciousness had fully returned. She recalled now what just happened; they were in the middle of a war against the Skull Clan, they were battling Yakh’juj-khan, and somewhere along the way, she was knocked out by the emperor.

‘Oh yeah, the Skull Clan emperor!’ Fyra thought to herself.

“Mako! Did we-”

“Yes, we did it, Fyra. Yakh’juj-khan’s dead,” Mako answered with a faint smile.

Hearing this, the girl breathed a sigh of relief and proceeded to get back to her feet. Mako helped pull her up, and after that, the duo stood idly for a while- witnessing the atmosphere happening around them while pondering on the events that had led them to this point.

With their emperor defeated, the skullies had lost every reason to defend their clan. Many quickly surrendered, and many more were gunned down as they continued on fighting without heart and morale. The rebels quickly runned them over and soon enough, Megadon was now fully reclaimed by its former rulers.

Far north of the capital city, the northern coast of Mount Mortis where the main base for the Skull Clan’s maritime army stood was now conquered and destroyed completely by the Diamondback Navy and the Sparrowhawk Pirates. Skull Clan’s flags were pulled down from the port as a new flag was raised on its steed; the flag of the former Mount Mortis clan, as agreed in their meeting before because if the Diamondback Navy claimed the port to be theirs then the pirates won’t hesitate to burn it down just for the sake of fun and sports.

As for other Skull Clan territories, news of their emperor’s death had yet to reach them. It won’t take long however as rest assured, news of the death of prominent figures spread like wildfire here in Delirith. Once that happens though, one of two things might happen: the outside territories unite to bring back their clan in the game, OR, the outside territories break up and form their own individual clans now that they have no powerful figure to lead them. The latter occur 99% of the time as for most cases of major clan’s defeat, but for the sake of avoiding the first scenario, the rebel-sand-navy-pirate union will hunt down the remaining territories outside- or at least on neighbouring territories near the mountain range right after this.

“Guess this will be the last time we’ll hear of the Skull Clan,” Fyra remarked.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Mako replied.

All of a sudden, the duo felt a hand tapping both of their shoulders. They turned around and were greeted by Sandking Anubrax, his body filled with bruises and wounds.

“Congrats kids. Ya finished him off just like ya hoped for,” Anubrax commented. “So, how did it feel? After fulfilling your revenge?”

Mako and Fyra looked at each other. To be honest, they felt no difference whatsoever compared to before. That’s not to say they weren’t happy but truthfully, it didn’t feel as celebratory as they expected.

“It feels like I’ve accomplished something, but that’s pretty much it,” Mako replied honestly. “Truth be told, I feel empty now that my wish has been fulfilled.”

“Aaah... I know that feeling kid. That’s what happens when you spend your whole life’s goal on seeking vengeance,” Anubrax remarked. “Revenge’s sweet and all, especially when the person you're seeking for wronged the people you loved, but it shouldn’t dictate your entire purpose in life.”

“That emptiness ya feeling right now, think of it as the last page of a book, cuz once you’ve finished reading a book-”

“You grab a new one…” Mako completed his sentence.

“Or better yet, you write a new one your own,” Anubrax added, ending his passing down of wisdom to the two.

The three gazed ahead as at this point, Copperhead and Chief Oda arrived in the scene alongside some group of rebels with their lightly-armoured vehicles. The rebels attended their allies, helping them get back up, patching a few wounds or two, and carrying off any injured soldiers, as well as finishing off any surviving skullies too weak to get up.

Copperhead and Chief Oda approached the three upon noticing the Sandking’s presence.

“I must say, you pulled off a pretty risky move there charging head first to the emperor all by yourself,” Copperhead commented. “Though that plan of yours was reckless and stupid, its outcome dictates better than its concept. With Yakh’juj-khan murdered, the Skull Clan as a whole is pretty much defeated.”

“So, it’s all over then?” Fyra asked.

“Well, not exactly. There’s still skully territories outside this range,” Chief Oda replied. “But without a central headquarter and powerful leader to round them up, we’ll make quick work of them, rest assured. They’ll be just like your typical lowly bandit clan, assuming they’ll still wave their flag around of course.”

“Would you two like to join us in the upcoming clean-up missions?” Copperhead asked the duo.

All three leaders turned their attention to Mako and Fyra, awaiting their response. They didn’t need to wait long though for the duo had long decided and agreed on what to do next after this.

“Nah. We’re good,” Mako answered for both Fyra and himself. “We only want to kill Yakh’juj-khan, that’s all. Whatever happens to his clan, happens.”

“Understandable. Either way, it’s a pleasure working with you both,” Copperhead commented, and just like that, the duo’s time together with the rebel union ended.

Mako and Fyra rode off that evening, leaving behind the capital city of Megadon to whatever the rebels had planned for the place and its former netizens. On their way out, they witnessed some of the skullies executed through firing squads by the rebels, while their families were locked in cages- their next fate unknown.

The scene became a grim reminder to Mako and Fyra that by the end of the day, regardless of sides, war is still war, and senseless unjustified violence will occur eventually. Seeing those innocent children locked up in those cages and perhaps witnessing their parents/siblings/friends death reminded the duo of themselves.

They rode off into the horizon wondering if those children will grow up just like them- seeking vengeance on the people that orchestrated the assault on their homes.

****

“We’re back! Miss Greciel! Are you here!?” Mako called as the duo entered Greciel’s workshop.

Mako and Fyra returned to the workshop/homestay as promised before their departure from this place. It’s been weeks since their last stay here and truth be told, they considered this place to be their “home” in Mount Mortis.

Because of that, they’ve grown to miss this “home”. Its cozy and comfortable setting, its hot relaxing bath, its owner’s kind hospitality, and most of all, Miss Greciel’s michelin-star quality hot stew that surpassed everything Mako and Fyra had been eating throughout their lives. Just thinking about the hot, fulfilling soup grumbled both of their stomach’s in hope for some nourishment after a hard week’s work.

“Is it me or does this place look very empty?” Fyra pointed out, and just like she mentioned, the workshop where Miss Greciel would normally hang around when she’s not preparing a batch of stew for dinner looked deserted compared to before.

Everything on shelves and racks are gone, cobwebs formed all over the ceiling and upper walls, the floor was dusty as hell and in dire need of sweeping, and even the workplace where the Elder Artificer would do her work lacked any sign of life; the forge’s fire stopped burning, smaller equipments went missing and bigger equipments left to horde dust.

Worried, the duo decided to enter the homestay behind the workshop in hopes of finding the elderly woman there. Just like the workshop, it lacked any signs of life, and the presence of cobwebbed ceiling and dusty floor suggested the place had been abandoned for quite some time now- perhaps as long as the two had been away which lasted for weeks.

“Hey Fyra, look! What’s this?” Mako noticed a written letter taped on a table as they walked past the dining room. The duo approached the letter and gave it a read.

Dear Mako and Fyra,

I don’t know if you’ll ever get to read this, but if you do, I take it you’ve succeeded in killing my son. Like I’ve said before, I have no problem whatsoever in your intention in doing so, but a mother’s love for her children is something you can’t just get rid off in your heart. Even more so once you’ve reached my age.

I know it sounds unreasonable, but I’ve decided to move out from this mountain as a whole in fear of what my reaction will be once news of my son’s death reaches my ears. Not like it won’t reach me anyways considering his influence, but I take it I could cope better if the people around me aren’t celebrating it in a victorious manner. Again, I’m not blaming them for doing so because I know how much of a warmonger my son has been.

That said, who knows? We might encounter one another one day somewhere beyond this mountain range. I have yet to decide on where I’ll settle after my leave, and after seeing you two, I take it you both are one of those wandering types of folks- those that will always be on the move to who-knows-what for what-knows-who.

Nevertheless, this place is yours to own now. Feel free to do whatever you want with it; a home, a base, a business inn or something. Either way, I hope you both could benefit the most out of it, and I wish you both all the best in your wanderings and life as a whole.

P.S. I’m sorry I couldn’t prepare the mixed stew I promised you both that day. So as compensation, I got a “surprise” for you both at the attic on the upper floor. Go ahead and take a look! Both of you will enjoy it for sure! :)

Yours truly,

Greciel-khan

“The attic, huh,” Fyra remarked. “Let’s check it out then!”

And so, Mako and Fyra went upstairs and pulled down the attic ladder right at the hallways’ ceiling. They entered the dust-filled dark attic and were immediately greeted by an old-fashioned wooden chest in the middle of the empty room.

Without further ado, they opened the chest and needless to say, the duo were simply awestruck by the contents inside.

“That’s a hell lot of good-looking guns!” Mako remarked, a mischievous smile formed on his face.

****

Somewhere in the lost galaxy of Earis, somewhere in the star system of Neula-V. Somewhere in the wicked world of Delirith, lies a Scorpex wandering the plains of Boneyard Badlands in search of prey or carcasses to scavenge for food.

The Scorpex wandered around till it arrived at an abandoned flyover, its pillars half deep inside the sandy grounds and its road holey and uncared for after years of abandonment for who knows how long. The road inclined upwards as it goes on, and the other side bore no difference than the side the Scorpex currently stood on; calcium-rich ashen sands spanning further than the eyes could see.

The Scorpex looked left, the Scorpex looked right. Without an incoming vehicle in sight, it gladly crossed the road-

-CRASH!-

The Scorpex was sent flying as a silver hoverbike crashed right at it at full speed.

“DAMMIT MAKO! WATCH WHERE YOU’RE GOING!!”

“Oh I’m sorry~ I didn’t mean to kill that Scorpex just like you didn’t mean to ROAST THAT GUY’S FREAKING HOG!!!”

“COME HERE YOU LITTLE F***S! I’M GONNA CHOP YAR HEADS OFF FOR KILLING PEPPA!!” a masked man shouted some distance behind, chasing after the duo on his hover-wheeled technical with his men riding on its hood trying to shoot down Mako and Fyra. Behind the man rode also a convoy of similar looking vehicles, all hellbent to chase the duo down after killing their leader’s pet.

“LOOK, THAT PIG WAS WANDERING AROUND BEING FAT AND DELICIOUS, Y’KNOW? CAN’T HELP IT THAT I FEEL A BIT HUNGRY!” Fyra shouted out her excuse.

Either way, the duo went on to drive their Silverbolt across the flyover while their chasers remained hot in pursuit. Mako swerved the bike left and right, dodging the bullets fired by their chasers behind, while Fyra unleashed a hail of bullets at them with her newly equipped dual-barreled gatling assault rifle.

“Hold on tight Fyra!” Mako suddenly ordered.

“What? Why-” Fyra turned and her question was immediately answered as less than a hundred yards in front of them was a huge gap- around 50 meters long, in the middle of the 10-meter tall flyover. Conveniently, there’s a ramp right before the gap, which meant only one thing-

“FULL SPEED BABYYY!!”

“LETS GOOOO!!!”

Mako floored the pedal hard as the Silverbolt immediately boosted onwards at full speed. The chasers behind them noticed the gap as well and proceeded to do the same.

The duo reached closer and closer to the ramp as their rocket-powered bike reached hundreds of miles per hour speed, until finally-

“WOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!”

“YEAAAAAAAAAAH!!”

The duo took off and soared the skies on their bike, flying across the 50-meter gap and landing successfully on the other side. The chasers on the other hand failed to do so and all crashed to the ground below, creating an explosive background as the Devil and the Witch rode off to who-knows-where to do who-knows-what.

Whatever it is, excitement, adventure, and a whole lot of bullshittery awaits them both in The Devil, The Witch, and The Wicked World of Delirith!

~MOUNT MORTIS ARC, END~