Eternal Elysium

My eyes fluttered briefly as I opened them; my head was heavy, throbbing painfully. I clenched my fist, taking a deep breath; my vision, still blurry, finally started to clear up.

"Ah."

I gasped, feeling the heaviness of my body lying on the cold floor.

Soon my mind cleared as clarity hit me. The last vision, my last memory, was of stabbing something with my crystal blade. The tingling sensation of flesh being ripped and torn was still clear on my fingertips. The feeling of being soaked in warm blood was also fresh in my mind. It was not the most pleasant experience.

I squinted my eyes, trying hard to see where I currently was. My head craned around as I saw myself lying on a makeshift bed surrounded by a big tent.

I pushed myself up and looked around, only to find no one present here beside me.

"Did someone… heal me?"

Looking at my hands and body, perfectly fine with only some minor scars left on them, I sighed in relief.

"Oh, Captain Asher, you are awake!"

I turned my head to look at the source of the sound. It was from a young-looking girl; her hair was tied in a bun as she looked at me curiously before walking toward me. Her voice was soft as she smiled tenderly.

"You have been asleep for quite a while now so we all got a little worried. How are you feeling? If you have any issues, please let me know. I am not the best healer, but I am still decent enough."

"Heal me?" I frowned, my mind still shaken momentarily before I understood her words.

"Oh, were you the one who healed me? Thank you for that; I am feeling a lot better now." Saying that, I stood up, making the girl's eyes widen in surprise.

"Wait! Sir, you should rest!" She said in a panicked voice. I ignored her and took a painful step forward. My body was heavy but still it was enough for me to move around a little.

"Ugh."

My knees suddenly buckled down and hit the ground abruptly as I lost my balance and fell hard on the floor. My lips trembled briefly as I tried to open my mouth only to close it back.

'Why? Why do I feel so… weak?'

The young girl sighed and shook her head as if expecting this.

"See, I told you. Sir needs to rest. Um, well, sorry, I think I forgot to tell you the cause of your fall. On why you must be feeling weak specifically." She said smugly but as she reached the end of her words, her voice trailed off, turning small. She placed one hand to hide her lips threatening to curl up into a smile.

'Wh-What is she even saying?' I looked at her dumbfounded, my eyes wide open in surprise at the nature of our conversation.

"Oops," she gasped, placing both hands to cover her mouth in embarrassment.

"S-Sorry, Captain Asher, l-let me—Yes, let me help you!"

She took two steps forward in a hurry, grabbing my arm with both her hands and pulling me toward the bed.

"W-Wait! I can stand."

My lips again trembled as I felt my mind almost spinning with dizziness. I raised my right hand, rubbing my temples. The young lady listening to this let go as I crashed on the bed. The scent of oils and ointment, along with a mix of faint smells of blood, entered my nostrils.

I frowned.

'This—this is the first time I wish to hit someone but can't.'

My body felt even heavier as all the energy in my body left me. Even my essence seems to be depleting slowly—no, rather, it's used in something…else?

I opened my eyes again and saw the young lady doing something with her hand raised in the air—a stem rose from the ground touching my ankle, coiling around my foot like a snake.

"Please don't panic. I am healing you." She said calmly, taking me by surprise.

"Please stop, I am feeling well; there is no need for any further healing." I pulled my body away from her and pushed the stems growing on the ground. The weakness that was taking over me had come from her ability. I was certainly aware of that by now.

"You haven't introduced yourself. What's your name?" I said, a little annoyed by this whole charade.

I remember seeing her previously in the base alongside Captain Maira. She was one of the two awakeneds walking by her side. I was obviously not aware that she was a… healer. If we can even call her that, certainly no other healer till now has made me feel weaker rather than healthier.

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"Ah, I am sorry, Captain Asher; I totally forgot to introduce myself." She chuckled before adding in a low voice. "I am Sula, um, from the 6th division."

"And?"

Sula furrowed her brows together and tilted her head in confusion.

"And, what, sir?"

'Ah, nice, I am surrounded by idiots.'

I facepalmed and rubbed my face, trying to not get angry.

No, I have every right to be angry right now.

I woke up in pain and all weak and then got made fun of by her instead of getting helped. And in the end was thrown in the bed like a rag doll!

"Tell me why I am feeling weak… Miss Sula."

I managed to spill those words out without showing any hint of frustration.

"Oh, yes. Actually my ability is good at sucking energy and transferring it to heal me. I can do the same to others but I can't use my own energy to heal others so people will end up using their own energy and stamina while healing."

My lips started to twitch the more I listened to her explanation. It was an absurd ability to have, a dangerous one at that. She was safe from using her abilities but the same couldn't be said about others.

"Isn't that dangerous? What if someone died from it?"

Sula just smiled and nodded softly.

I shuddered slightly, forcing back a smile.

'Okay, she is crazy.'

I winced thinking as such. And I almost closed my eyes but stopped myself, knowing the risk of doing it in front of this woman.

I glanced at her, raising my head. She smiled sweetly seeing me like this.

'Let's… Let's stay away from this woman.' I promised myself and again tried to stand up.

"You really can't stay still, can you, Captain Asher?" Sula gave me a wry smile before moving toward me.

"Oh, you are awake."

A feminine voice asked slowly, coming together with a gentle wind.

Sula and I froze momentarily in our places as we watched a beautiful woman with blue hair walking toward us after lifting the tent curtains to the side. She held a fierce look in her eyes, like a seasoned warrior forged after countless battles. She stopped a few meters away from us and frowned before speaking.

"You seem to be doing pretty well, Captain Asher. Am I interrupting something?"

I hastily shook my head and walked toward her, making as much distance as I could from Sula.

"No, no, absolutely not, Captain Maira. Rather, I had been waiting for you." I paused and craned my head back to see Sula waiting patiently for us to finish speaking.

"Let's talk outside, Captain Maira. I would like to have a small walk if you don't mind. Oh, also thank you, Miss Sula for your help." I didn't let either of them react as I placed one hand on Maira's shoulder, surprising her. She opened her mouth to speak but I took two steps forward, confusing her even more.

"Wait—"

"Ah, I should also take my leave, Captain. "I need to attend to the other soldiers," Sula spoke with a strong voice, interrupting Captain Maira before she could even decide on her words.

Sula walked past us with sunken steps, her face unreadable. I quickly stepped back, giving her space to move. She glanced at me and nodded slightly with a subtle smile and left, not turning back.

I sighed and looked back, feeling a hand touching my shoulders.

"Let's talk."

I nodded.

"Yes, let's do that."

The tents were set quite far away from each other, considering this place was very different from the place we originally had been camping on the last time. The land, even while uneven, was still far better than before. After all, considering Kalista was mainly composed of mountain ranges, finding a plain area was pretty hard. Maybe the soldiers, even after getting injured had carried me and the others farther away than my expectations.

"You looked very uncomfortable with Sula. Did something happen between you two?"

I gently shook my head and gave Maira a subtle smile before speaking slowly in a tired voice.

"No, it's nothing like that… I just, well, don't feel good around her. Calling it uncomfortable might be too harsh. But let's just say that girl gives me the creeps."

"I see, she certainly gives such vibes… But she is still a kind girl, one with unusual antics, but still kind and hard-working. Don't mind her too much, Captain Asher."

Captain Maira remained silent as we walked around the camp; the place was wretched as if it had been hit by a storm but probably that's not what happened. Since most soldiers had been injured and the previous camp was destroyed, they must have hurriedly gathered our supplies before switching places.

"You still have not told me anything regarding our current situation, Captain Maira. Are you not going to give me a report?" I asked, smiling wryly and walking slower than usual. Maira noticed this and matched my pace at a reasonable speed so that I could follow her.

Hearing my whisper, Maira took a deep breath and said with a calm voice, gently touching her face to move the strands of hair behind her ears.

"To be honest, I never imagined we would survive the monster wave of yesterday. Even if we did, I was sure it would be no more than a handful of us who are being left broken and torn apart by creatures from beyond… That was truly a horrific thought, a terrible dream, I must say. Thankfully that didn't happen due to someone killing and injuring monsters with his every move and even going as far as to slow them down so that soldiers could kill the monster easily."

I listened carefully to every word she spoke; her voice was coming off softer than ever, and her fingers trembled slightly as Maira took shaky breaths.

"Wasn't this… truly a miracle, that this many of us survived even after fighting hundreds of them? Don't you agree, Captain Asher?"

I licked my lips, feeling them go dry and then solemnly asked her a question I had been waiting for.

"How many of the soldiers survived? No, actually, how many did we lose?"

Maira remained silent and then answered without hesitation.

"Something around ten of us were lost… Several are injured as well, with two at high risk, but they will be okay. They are strong and brave after all; no one tried to run away. No, it's not like we had a choice anyway." Captain Maira smiled painfully and continued moving forward. I followed her back, keeping my breathing in check.

"I see… That's—"

"You did your best. You did more than anyone could have on the battlefield. Supporting everyone even at your risk after getting tired and badly injured, even going as far as to kill high-level beasts by yourself. Captain Asher, you are the bravest man I have met. You don't need to say anything; your actions have spoken louder than anything else."

I stopped hearing this and stood still, frozen at my place in shock.

Her voice came off unexpectedly to me. Captain Maria's gratitude was so pure and unfiltered that it made even my heart ache alongside hers.

"Your team is alright so please rest properly for today. Tomorrow we have work to do."

"Work? What work?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

'I thought we would retreat back?'

Captain Maira turned around, giving me a look at her face, which shone brightly alongside the campfire we had ignited, her blue hair fluttering together like leaves of a grandiose tree as she said with a cold, bloodthirsty voice.

"We have found the nest and the place from which these monsters suddenly came. Shouldn't we pay them back?"