The Heart of Gaia

"F*ck Yela... I don't plan on dying today." I complained.

*Cough!* *Cough!*

Blood spilt into my cupped hands as I covered my mouth.

"Ha! You look like a mauled chicken!"

"You don't look too good yourself..."

"Yeah right! Says the guy with a broken arm." She grinned cockily.

I hate it when she's being a smart ass.

"If Sir gets as much as a scratch, I'll kill you!"

"Yeah, yeah." She waved away.

My mind flew into a daze, as I thought of questions that remained unanswered.

"Where have you been?! Everything is in knee-deep sh*t!"

"I aided Madame with some trouble."

That explained her roughed up appearance, I guess one mystery solved.

"So it's true then?"

I stared at her with concern.

"Madame got attacked by a Bailiff, chances are they already knew of our plan."

"T-Then?"

"Rats running around the Liberators." She said sternly.

Then all of this would be for naught, a lot of lives would be lost--All this thinking made my already troubled mind fall deeper into disarray.

"Ack!"

I grunted in pain as the numbing rush provided by adrenaline simmered down.

"Get yourself healed! There's a squadron a few blocks down from here, I passed by them." She added.

"W-wait! Where's Madame!?" I shouted.

*Woosh!*

She flung an arrow that forced the giant stammering away from our senior.

"I'll explain things later!"

She fled towards the Battlefield.

It took a few moments before my mind settled, the once foggy view had finally cleared. I saw her slender but petite figure turned against me, the bright golden hair that shined with confidence. We've both been quarreling since our recruitment days but I trust her.

Her skills are worthy of ascending into a better position in the Liberators. I knew that she was better than me in every possible way, although I don't acknowledge it yet; I admired her.

*BANG!* *CRASH!* *BOOM!*

The heated situation escalated, flying arrows and magical projectiles could be seen everywhere. The shock-waves that came from clashing of two opponents could be felt from this distance. I watched in awe as the synergy between Yela and Bardel was absolutely stunning.

I guess the difference in roles had done wonders to their unbelievable teamwork. Yela served as cover-fire that gave way to Bardel and his undaunted attacks. I'd only be a burden if I join them with my current status; Wish I could fight along side them...

*SHRIEK!* *BANG*

"I need to get going, how do I stop that thing..."

I stared at the ever bright being floating in the sky. The helpless voices of the people forced me to limp towards the nearest squadron Yela mentioned.

"I'll find a way..." I whispered to myself.

If I could get enough strength I'll be able to help the people, while saving Yela and Bardel from those monsters.

Soon I found myself in front of the vanguard that took in wounded refugees. Luckily, I somehow found my way through the ensuing chaos. I wasn't in the right mind as I felt a little light-headed.

After the brief introduction they took to aid my broken arm and other wounds. They placed a splint on my arm to help stabilize it while the Medic chanted a healing spell.

My arm slowly reconnected the separated bones, every inch and fiber within it felt like hell. I bit into the already saliva-dampened cloth as the burning pain seared into my arm. The crackle of bones was unbearable, muscles pushed aside in the process, scraping the delicate insides of my arm.

"It's done, May I suggest from further straining your arm." The Medic said.

"It might've strained my mind instead." I thought to myself.

As the person left to tend the remaining wounded, I called upon the highest ranking officer in vicinity. We collaborated a plan that would hasten the evacuation process further, ever since the Seneschals got busy, everything turned for the worst.

Unruly knights are left to handle the unprecendented situation, while some are reduced to a confused state. With the help of a Telepathy-specialist scout, I made sure that every single personnel was informed of the scenario.

Now that was over and done for--I took my trusty shield, I'm surprised that this was still intact after that monster blasted me away.

"Dented..."

*Sigh*

After I inspected it, almost the whole entirety of the round shield was caved in and cracked at the edge. The Liberators emblem had been partially erased, it served as symbol of freedom, peace and equity among men.

I wore this proudly on every mission, as a weapon, a decoration but most importantly a reminder. Saddened at the sight of my favorite shield, I still hanged it behind my back with pride. It eased my mind as I remembered our talented Blacksmith back at the fortress.

Quickly, I snatched a nearby shield as a replacement although it's shape was rectangular and larger than that of my buckler.

"OI! THAT'S MINE!"

"I'LL BRING IT BACK!" I answered with reassurance.

"COME BACK!"

As I made way from the encampment, the entity left a destructive trail of breadcrumbs. The path of demolished stone and wooden beams made it particularly easy finding my way towards it. Not to mention it's bright physical being that lit every nook and cranny that it passed through. It was flying at least fifty meters above ground, the direction it headed for was the center of the city.

"THE CITY GUARDS!" I exclaimed.

They might be able to help with our situation. Their numbers would prove useful in maintaining peace within the Black Market.

*Gleam* *Gleam*

"What?!"

I rubbed my eyes in disbelief, the entity and the Large corr that spanned thousands of meters in middle of the city; gleamed. Pulsating light, with rhythmic pauses at the exact same time. Was it connected to it? No, it felt as though it was communicating...

"LET US IN!"

"CONTACT THE AUTHORITIES PLEASE!"

"THERE ARE MONSTERS IN THE INDUSTRIAL AREA!"

"HELP US!"

"MY CHILD! SAVE HER AT LEAST!"

"GAIA HAS SENT IT'S MESSENGER!"

*BANG!*

"STAY AWAY FROM THE WALL YOU SAVAGES!"

The constant cries of the panicked people met my ears, at the main gate of the walls was a crowd of helpless men, women, children. All of them begged access upwards to The Middling, wishing for safety against the reigning catastrophe. The City guards still had the audacity to shoot some of the fear ridden people who only asked for help despite of the current situation.

"IT'S HERE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

The mass hysteria dissipated the mass of people as I neared.

"WHAT THE F*CK IS THAT?!"

"SHOOT! SHOOT!"

"KEEP SHOOTING!"

*BANG!* *BANG!*

The constant firing of their weapons didn't faze the entity, bursts of Corr blasted from the barrels of what they carried which covered the sky. Those must be the rumored peculiar weapons made by practice of Vitallurgy.

They packed serious fire-power but it was nothing against their foe. They all fired in vain.

"EVERYONE! OVER HERE!"

I saw the rest of the remaining knights guiding the frightful people, herding them like sheep towards a safer evacuation.

"DON'T PANIC! RUN TOWARDS THE BUILDINGS!"

I drove the wave of people to the nearest members of the Liberators. We're out numbered and most of them had already been consumed by their confusion.

"HEY! PEOPLE NEED HELP DOWN HERE!"

No response, as they were preoccupied at shooting Knoxx down.

I forgot that these men were not in any condition to support people of the Black Market, all they had to do was stay put and prevent people from getting through. The selfish system of The Everglow were clear especially to those who were natives of this area.

"Tsk! Who needs them." I sneered.

*BANG!*

Bolts of pure Corr rained down the stone-bricked roads of the City center, corpses lay wasted on the cold unforgiving world they once thrived in. As the calamity rained down upon us, I raised my shield to deflect some of the raining death.

I struggled underneath the constant pressure, even with the rebound spell; it proved challenging. I poured all the strength I had into maintaining the spell, as each drop of it disintegrated miles of dirt and stone beneath it.

"I gotta move!"

I ran through the hard downpour with the intention of trying to survive the cataclysmic event. Was this Gaia's way of punishing us? Never mind that, I have to find a way to put an end to this.

"Hopefully this will work..." I murmured.

I strategically deflected the loose projectiles back to its owner. Hoping it might do something but to no avail, it was useless. The entity had some sort of protective shield surrounding it.

I made it close the City walls, it had a magical barrier against magical attack, They even prepared themselves? Were they expecting some sort of mutiny against the people of Black Market? The Barrier was slowly cracking from the constant pressure provided by endless rain of terror.

There were minimal casualties, mostly are of inanimate objects.

"HEY! YOU THERE!" I shouted.

*BANG!*

"STAY WHERE YOU ARE PEASANT! IF YOU MOVE ANY CLOSER! I'LL BE FORCE TO FIRE A SECOND SHOT! THIS TIME I WON'T MISS!"

"THE WHOLE CITY IS IN CHAOS! PEOPLE ARE DYING! WE NEE--"

"IT'S NOT OUR PROBLEM!"

"IT'S GOING TO BE! IF THAT THING DESTROYS THE BARRIER!"

They ignored me once more, eyes filled with disdain, to them I was merely a nuisance. Of course I wouldn't expect anything more from dogs that barked at their owners for bones.

"KNOXX! STOP!"

To my surprise, that deep-husky voice I recognized so I scanned the street for it's owner. There I saw a humungous character, bald atop with strong facial features.

But there was one thing iconic about his look, a handlebar mustache that curled upwards at the end--His clothes had been tattered, roughed-up, a hint of blood beneath his neck by the collar and everything else was covered in dust. From the looks of it, he emerged from the Industrial area; north of the city center.

"You! get out of the way! do you want to die!?" I pointed towards him.

It was dangerous, the endless rain hadn't stopped, one hit from it could literally disintegrate his whole being. As curious I was of his Identity, he'd be useless dead.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING! MOVE AWAY!"

He slowly sauntered into the fray, I don't know if it was confidence or mere stupidity. Instinctively I ran.

"I'm not going to make it..." I grumbled.

The bolt descended towards him with great speed.

"F*CK!"

I was only a few meters away from him as the blast forced me further away while defending myself, the whole area was shrouded in dust clouds.

"Stupi--"

My jaw dropped in sheer astonishment, as the clouds dissipated he came out unscathed. Completely calm, devoid of harm and worry as though he knew this would be the outcome. He wore that same stern expression as he reached his hand towards me.

"H-how?!"

He didn't answer. As he pulled me upright I was utterly confused: A unexplainable entity and now? an immortal man of sorts? what was the world coming to. Now that I was seeing him up close, I realized how unbelievable his height was.

In an estimate he stood almost six, no, almost seven feet tall. He looked down on me, as I cowered from the sheer aura of dominance he radiated. My senses tingled of danger, like prey in the midst of it's predator.

"Are you ok--" He asked.

Out of instinct my body moved on it's own, hurriedly I activated a spell to dispose of this dangerous character.

"That was rude of you."

He dusted himself, again, completely unharmed.

"W-who are you?"

"I can't believe that Cordelia would go through all of this just to save me." He sighed after.

"Help you? just who are you?! How come you know Madame?!"

He talked as if he was familiar with the Madame.

"Watch out!" he exclaimed as I saw another bolt dropping towards me.

Immediately he jumped with both hands against the force, it met his hand then in a blink of an eye, it was gone. He fell on the ground and then turned towards me.

"I'm here to help."