Story: Forever After

"… And so, we lost." [???]

Once Gerard staggered off, the ones hiding in the shadows resumed the discussion among themselves.

"Indeed. We had honestly thought Gerard Ochet would be a match for the elves' guardian monster what with their compatibility." [???]

"Not all of us. Others were more skeptical." [???]

"As if you didn't expect victory as well." [???]

"Exactly. Though triumphing over Hossylei Nac was the desired scenario, in the end…" [???]

"Things went as it was foretold, huh…" [???]

Someone muttered, causing everyone to go still and quiet for a moment.

"… Perhaps, we should have withheld from using a black stone beast to destroy everything. Perhaps, we should have sent our best weapons instead of that small force. Not S ranks, magic weapons or even those new Thunder Screamers, but a godki-." [???]

"Are you suggesting something as foolish as to go against our orders?" [???]

"We were informed beforehand that our expedition to the elves' homeland would likely fail and to accept our defeat if it came to pass." [???]

"To try to overturn this result is sacrilege." [???]

"Do you doubt the future sought by the First Order? The heavenly vision we've been shown?" [???]

Someone timidly made a suggestion, but he was swiftly and mercilessly rebuked by everyone else.

"Besides, you propose we send our best instead of someone on Gerard's level, but have you forgotten? We did send one. A godkin." [???]

Footsteps resonated in the room. A woman with short, black hair, black eyes and tanned skin walked into the light. She calmly stood in front of everyone with a smile on her face.

"Welcome, Lady Airmed Linea. Thank you for meeting us and we are sorry for taking up your time." [???]

The shadows stirred. The people present stood up and respectfully bowed to the young woman.

"It's fine. I had to give my report after all. And really, you don't need to bow every time. I'm just good at getting people to forget about me." [Airmed]

Airmed said amicably, ignoring the tense, solemn mood. However, though no one rebuked her words, nobody heeded them. The people looking down on her from their high positions nervously kept their heads lowered for a few seconds before finally taking their seats. Airmed shrugged her shoulders and lifted the crystal ball she held in her left hand.

"Something interesting happened." [Airmed]

The item glowed and projected above it what she saw in Hossylei Nac while she hid instead of helping Gerard and the rest during their fight.

"And I think you should all see it for yourselves." [Airmed]

Inside a dark room, a man in his early thirties was buried in a couch by his lonesome like a sloth. His blue hair was unkempt and long, covering his black eyes and reaching his shoulder blades. His skin was pale and his face was covered by a messy beard. Although he wasn't too bad-looking, he had a rather sinister look like a snake.

Moreover, he was chubby, his belly bulged out like a balloon and he smelled foul since he hadn't taken a bath in a while. Sloppily dressed in a black T-shirt and pants, he lazily bit into a red apple, raised an eyebrow, and took another bite. Then, he dropped the apple on the floor and sighed tiredly.

"… It's rotten." [Man]

The man muttered to himself.

"Are you having fun?" [Airmed]

Suddenly, Airmed appeared in the room, leaning against the wall behind him.

"… Faceless." [Man]

"I'm here to visit you, Havoc." [Airmed]

"… What?" [Havoc]

The man, Havoc, didn't seem surprised by the black-haired woman's sudden intrusion, or perhaps he simply didn't care.

"Staying locked up in your room and eating rotten food isn't good for your health." [Airmed]

"… What?" [Havoc]

"Take it from me. I'm a healer. You should come out sometime." [Airmed]

"… Hmm." [Havoc]

"People in the Order are starting to make fun of you, you know? Saying, 'What a useless godkin we have!' and stuff like that." [Airmed]

"… Mhh." [Havoc]

He randomly and disinterestedly replied to her, barely keeping the conversation going.

"Your guts are definitely unhealthy because of your bad lifestyle, and it's just no fun." [Airmed]

"… Huh." [Havoc]

"Sooo, I brought a little something to cheer you up!" [Airmed]

"… Huh." [Havoc]

Airmed silently walked across the room as if she was gliding and stood in front of the chubby man that seemed like he was going to fall asleep. Then, she showed him the crystal ball that she held in both hands and, from it, a projection of her last mission.

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"I got to sort of visit the city of the elves as a secret peeping tom again. Accompanying a bunch of strangers just to spy on them and report back was annoying, but it turned out to be quite fun." [Airmed]

Airmed blushed and a happy smile floated on her face, though her eyes had a twisted light in them.

"Especially the last part. There were a lot of guts." [Airmed]

The projection that appeared above the crystal ball, which was basically a recorded video that she sneakily took, showed an intense battle between Gerard's group and the elves' side.

Or rather, it showed a single human massacring everyone in cold blood.

"…" [Havoc]

Havoc half-heartedly watched the projection, which was similar to a hologram, that was shoved in his face. He didn't even feel like turning his head or closing his eyes. So, he saw everything that Ryner did as he went on a rampage. Caked with dirt and blood, he was practically half-naked and his body was covered in scars.

"…" [Havoc]

Ryner held a screaming man over his head and ripped him in half, bathing in his blood and entrails.

"…?" [Havoc]

He punched through a person's face, jammed his arm down his throat and pulled out his innards.

"…!" [Havoc]

He smashed a person's head against another, causing both to burst like watermelons.

"… Ha." [Havoc]

He smashed his forehead against another's, causing his victim's head to burst and paint his face red in blood and gore.

"Haha…!" [Havoc]

He split a person in two.

He pulled a person apart

He tore a person asunder.

"Ha, hahaha!" [Havoc]

He crushed. He cracked. He butchered.

He cleaved, ruptured, broke, shredded, dismembered, mangled, severed, flattened, amputated.

"Hahahahaha!!" [Havoc]

He mercilessly eliminated anyone that stood before him in a gruesome, visceral manner.

All while sporting dark, murky eyes. Eyes that were like a bottomless abyss.

"Haha, hahahahaha! HAhahahaHAAA!!" [Havoc]

At first, Havoc's eyelids merely twitched and he still seemed disinterested. But, as he watched the projection, the massacre, he ended up leaning forward and staring intently at Ryner's rampage until laughter gradually and increasingly leaked from his mouth.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" [Havoc]

And in just a few moments, the slothful, unmotivated man had disappeared. Instead, an ecstatic madman, who was roaring with laughter, had taken his place.

"I knew you'd like it too. The High Council didn't smile at all when they saw this." [Airmed]

Airmed said and nodded contentedly as if she was happy to have found a kindred spirit. Meanwhile, Havoc continued to laugh maniacally. He grabbed the crystal ball and held it tightly with both hands until cracks formed on the surface and it broke into pieces.

Ryner, having left Hossylei Nac, was aboard the gigantic ship flying in the sky, Avalon. High above the clouds, far above the land, the giant vessel that came from another world stayed hidden from view. Inside the futuristic structure, Ryner had entered one of the many rooms and was sitting at a desk, focused on his work. Floating by his side was a cylindrical drone, one of many that were tasked with repairing the ship's damaged areas and facilities.

"98% of Avalon's functions have been repaired." [Drone]

It reported in an electronic, emotionless, high-pitched voice that sounded a bit like that of a man.

"What about the drones?" [Ryner]

Ryner asked it without looking away from his work.

"Every type of service and maintenance drones are performing at peak efficiency within expected parameters." [Drone]

"Is the android factory up and running?" [Ryner]

"Affirmative, it is currently assembling combat droids in human civilian disguise for infiltration as per specifications." [Drone]

"The armory?" [Ryner]

"Operational. Weapons are being fabricated." [Drone]

"The nanomachines factory?" [Ryner]

"Operational. Nanites are in production." [Drone]

"The spacecraft factory?" [Ryner]

"Operational. Your order of satellites is currently in progress." [Drone]

Ryner asked and the drone answered his questions emotionlessly one by one. It also shone a holographic image in front of it in the shape of a board with a report of the ship's status written on it. Ryner looked at it and, after confirming what he wanted to know, told the drone to leave, which it obediently did.

"Make the cheeks tighter. Lift the nose. More. Hair is slightly shorter. Shorter. Good. Stop. Save." [Ryner]

Then, he gave instructions to the flat, rectangular monitor in front of him. Displayed on its screen was the face of a man that was slowly changing according to his instructions. The realistic picture shown was that of Gerard's. Moreover, there were also lifelike drawings of other individuals that he had seen during the attack on Hossylei Nac, such as Hames and Lovel.

Furthermore, the portraits of people he had fought in the past were also present, like the assassin that could swim in shadows, Orga, the mercenary that had possessed one of the Heaven's Blades, Rick Ochet, and the oversized noble that had a penchant for elves, Earl Tenneb.

Ryner didn't know if they were all part of the same group as Gerard. But, he had decided to include in his investigation anyone that seemingly had the skills, backing or resources to be involved in the assault on the elven city. Because, although the young puppy had been avenged, it was not over yet. Gerard and some of his allies had escaped.

He probably had more comrades hiding somewhere and whatever he was a part of was great enough that it could supply the invaders with guns, magic swords and a self-replicating creature that killed anything it touched. If Ryner wasn't careful, that unknown group might take someone he cared about.

Again.

So, he wanted to find them before they found him.

Such an investigation where he chased down any lead, hint or suspicion would take a lot of time and effort.

Luckily, he had acquired the means to do it.

"Avalon…" [Ryner]

He said while moving the broken pieces of an object that were on his desk and putting them back together like a puzzle. He had been slowly working on it and the end result was a medallion.

"Reporting." [Avalon]

A deep, electronic voice resounded in the room in response to Ryner's call.

"Self-diagnosis." [Ryner]

"Understood… Diagnosis complete. All systems operational. I am the ship's central artificial intelligence designated by the same name, Avalon. Awaiting orders." [Avalon]

"Who do you report to?" [Ryner]

"I report to the ship's captain. Current registered captain is you. First name, Ryner. Last name, redacted." [Avalon]

"I'm not good with last names. Now, self-diagnosis." [Ryner]

"You have asked me that 18 times since the service and maintenance drones reported that I was back online. Is there a reason behind it?" [Avalon]

"Just making sure that you're working. Scan the medallion on the table and recreate it on my screen. Remove the cracks and damage." [Ryner]

"Understood. Scanning." [Avalon]

A few seconds after Ryner gave his order to the emotionless voice calling itself Avalon, the assembled item appeared as an image on the screen in front of him. Engraved on the round medallion's flat surface was a ring of feathers. At the center were two circles in an elliptic shape, basically a pair of eyes, and between them was a sword pointing downward. Ryner stared at it in silence, as if committing it to memory.

"Is it acceptable?" [Avalon]

"…" [Ryner]

The artificial intelligence that managed the ship's systems asked, but he ignored it. It might be rude of him, but Avalon wouldn't feel offended. After all, it could hold a conversation, it called itself an artificial intelligence, but it didn't actually possess a will or a sense of self. It was an elaborate program that could process a massive amount of information and choose the best course of actions based on its given orders.

And that was what Ryner needed at the moment.

"Avalon." [Ryner]

"Captain, how can I help?" [Avalon]

"Add anything resembling this medallion to the list." [Ryner]

"The list of individuals and items to be located as high priority targets?" [Avalon]

"Yeah." [Ryner]

"Can I assume that everyone I am to find all carry this item on their person?" [Avalon]

"I don't know." [Ryner]

"You cannot confirm?" [Avalon]

"Honestly, I'm not sure about the list. Some of them might not be related at all to what I'm looking for, but I want to leave no stone unturned. Also, call it a gut feeling." [Ryner]

"So we are following a gut feeling? Very well. But, given the fact that I need to do a planet wide search with limited means and resources, it will require time. Estimated completion time to be determined. Will that be alright?" [Avalon]

"It's fine. Once everything's in place, start the search…" [Ryner]

Ryner glared coldly at the faces and medallion on the screen as he gave his order.

"And we'll hunt them all down." [Ryner]