Part Ninety-One

To fully explain the current situation in the fort, one needed to understand the events that led to this day. Four months ago, Braddock and eight others escaped from the hell formerly known as London. This wasn’t all that special or unique, as many, many others had done the same. But what happened next was.

“We can’t let this happen again. Someone has to be ready for what comes next, or it could mean the end of us all.”

Those words, spoken in a house they’d broken into to shelter in for the night, roused something within the eight of them. A flame was lit, one which would guide them into the future. From that moment, the nine of them fought and lived together, relying on each other as they explored the slowly collapsing world they now found themselves in.

Of course, not everything was smooth sailing for them. There were several encounters along the way that nearly resulted in the deaths of one or more of the group, as well as several run-ins with hostile humans. The level of danger the new world contained was more than any of them expected, and there was a limit to what eight people could do on their own.

It was this knowledge of the limitations they faced that drove them to begin expanding their roster of fighters. After nearly two months of fighting in the apocalyptic English countryside, Braddock began to use some of his old connections to recruit others, gathering like-minded individuals to further their cause. Over the next two months, the group expanded from nine people, to close to a hundred. Things were looking up.

Until Ethiopia asked the world for help.

A schism of sorts began to appear within the group, as they are wont to do when dealing with larger numbers. A great many of the mercenaries gathered advocated attempting this Dungeon. Their success clearing a total of five D-Rank Dungeons had made them confident in their power. They believed that by participating in this endeavor, they could cement their status as one of the strongest groups in the world for the foreseeable future.

But there were also those who wanted nothing to do with the Dungeon. The reasons for this varied greatly, which caused several smaller factions to form within the group. What was once a whole monolith was now greatly fractured.

In the week before the Dungeon clear was to occur, the group became more and more polarized, to the point where fights were becoming a daily occurrence. Even Braddock couldn’t stop it. And finally, the tower broke. One of the squabbles turned deadly, and someone was killed. The group finished fracturing, and many went their separate ways, including one of the original nine members.

As for what happened next, well, maybe it was a kind of fate. In a desperate attempt to prevent everything from turning to ash, Braddock convinced a number of those who’d wanted to attempt the Dungeon to accompany the core members. His idea had probably been to re-forge the bonds of comradery they’d once had, but the plan backfired spectacularly.

The last week had been brutal for their group. Over half of them were dead, and only four of the founding members were left. Worse, those who’d grudgingly agreed to accompany them were planning to run off with everything they had, though much of it was legally theirs anyway, and were even plotting to kidnap Kalia. But, one thing that should be said was that they weren’t all doing this. Specifically, it was a man named Armando who’d thought it up.

As one of the first to join the group, he’d seen first-hand how Kalia's magic gave them a major advantage in any fight. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that he coveted her power. He’d gone to enormous lengths to convince enough of the others that capturing her would be easy. The only issue would be getting her out of the Dungeon without being caught, as no one had any clues as to how to actually escape the Dungeon. There were no obvious exit points, nor were the NPCs of any help. However, the common consensus was that the way out would be revealed either during or after the Commander’s assembly today.

And while keeping that in mind, Armando had devised a plan to abscond with Kalia before anyone could notice. An hour before the assembly, they would lure Kalia out with a fake emergency, and abduct her. He even had an easy way to keep her sedated. He’d actually managed to Awaken his Unique Skill a few weeks ago, and it allowed him to put people into shallow trances. He should’ve been able to smuggle her out like that.

So why? Why was he here!?

“I don’t know if you’re just an idiot, or just plain unlucky, but you’re not going anywhere now. Drop your weapon, and maybe I won’t hurt you. Maybe.”

In an ironic twist of fate, they had been the ones lured out. Someone disguised as Kalia had lured them to a remote corner of the fort, where their group was quickly surrounded. Considering that Braddock was among them, Armando knew his goose was cooked, and took immediate action to avoid capture.

He knew that Braddock likely had no proof of any wrongdoing on their part, so if they could just escape, they would be in the clear. He quickly activated a cluster of Smoke Bombs, and they used the smoke as cover to flee. Only, Braddock had been expecting something like this, and had had even more people waiting to capture them. And the man in front of him was probably the worst one to run into.

Despite the recent growth Armando had experienced, he was in no way delusional enough to believe he could fight Michael one-on-one. The man was simply too strong, and the magic he used was extremely deadly. A single hit would be near fatal.

But surrendering would be just as bad. Braddock may be a fairly compassionate person, but he was also a trained soldier. His mentality wasn’t so fragile that he couldn’t kill someone who’d tried to betray him. And so, Armando made his decision. He drew his sword and settled into a fighting stance.

“Heh, so we’re doing this the fun way? Heheheh, so be it.”

Not even a moment after Michael had drawn his swords, and he was already in front of Armando. That almost explosive speed allowed him to get in close to enemies before they could react. He’d seen it, but experiencing it himself was something different. It took all his concentration to block the first attack, and even more to duck the second one.

“Oh? Hm, not bad.”

What? Why does he seem almost pleased?

His concerned question would have to wait, as Michael quickly launched into a slew of attacks, each one more than capable of horribly maiming Armando. Every single unnecessary thought was purged in favor of focusing on the only thing keeping him alive. A single slip would leave him dead.

“Heheheheheheh.”

Gah! Why is he laughing!?

Michael’s abnormal behavior scared him, and caused his focus to wane for a few seconds. Not a very long opening, but one Michael wouldn’t miss.

“You’re wide open.”

“Gah!”

Michael’s fist landed square in Armando’s stomach, doubling him over in agony. Being struck in the stomach by anyone is never fun, but when it’s a C-Rank fighter capable of treating weaker monsters like they’re children? Well, he’s just lucky he wasn’t throwing up blood.

“Oops. Haha, I, uh, I must’ve hit him too hard. Beast of the Nightmare makes it hard to hold back against those weaker than me. Hm, life lessons I guess.”

The last thing Armando heard before blacking out was Michael brushing off what he’d just done.

***

Damn this guy's heavy! He’s gotta weigh more than twice what Kalia does. Though I guess that makes sense. It would be weird for the two of them to weigh exactly the same. Still, how am I going to get him back? Nothing to do but just do it.

Grabbing both of his legs, I started to drag him behind me like some sort of strange wagon. It was actually easier than I’d thought I would be, especially since he was wearing leather armor. Metal armors would’ve dragged more, making it harder than necessary to move him. Well that, and they just weighed more too.

Thankfully he hadn’t managed to get too far when I caught him, so I didn’t have far to go when bringing him back. Braddock’s plan had gone off without a hitch. Our mysterious cooperator had disguised someone as Kalia, all the while keeping the real one in the dark. He’d even expected for them to have an escape plan, and had worked out what routes they were most likely to use. This guy was just the unlucky dope who chose where I was waiting.

When I returned to where the others were waiting, I saw that all of the other conspirators were either tied up or unconscious. Someone directed me to set the guy down by them, and then he was immediately restrained in a similar fashion to the others.

Well I guess my part’s done. While I’m curious about what will happen to these idiots, I’m more concerned with the assembly coming up. I was told I had to arrive a half-hour earlier than the others, and I’m not the only one. Braddock got invited, and who knows who else. This is going to be, interesting to say the least.

***

[Grant's POV]

And so it dies, not with a bang, but with a whimper. I suppose this is as good an ending to Braddock’s ideals as we were likely to get. We’re just lucky things didn’t get to an unrecoverable position.

“I suppose you’re pleased with how this ended? You’ve protected your friend and upheld all your promises. What a magnificent outcome.”

“Camilla. So you’ve finally revealed yourself."

Despite the fact that she’d been working with them for close to a week, neither he nor Braddock actually knew who she was. She always appeared without warning, and could disappear just as suddenly. They hadn’t even seen her face since she always wore the same bulky armor that obscured her entire body. She was even more secretive than Michael.

“Revealed myself? Hmhmhmh, but I was here the entire time? Why would I miss such an important moment?”

“What? If you were here, then why didn’t you-? No, never mind. I don’t think I want to know.”

“Very good. Discretion is the better part of valor after all. Knowing everything is sure to lead to an early grave.”

This was why he couldn’t settle down when she was nearby. Every other sentence out of her mouth held a veiled threat. There was just something about her that spooked him. His sense for danger warned him that she would inevitably bring them nothing but trouble.

“So what do you want? Braddock already agreed to let you take custody of them. And you were the one who said you were planning on leaving the Dungeon. What else could you want?”

“Simple. You. Personally, I couldn’t care less about the Dungeon or its rewards. What I want are people. No matter how strong one person is, they won’t be able to change the world on their own. Braddock is a prime example of that.”

“Hmph, if you think I’m going to abandon him just like that, then you’ve got another thing coming.”

“Hmhmhm, well, maybe you feel that way now, but there are groups working in the shadows, planning things that would make your skin crawl. If you’re unlucky enough to catch their eye, you’ll wish you stuck with me.”

And she left, leaving only that ominous warning behind