"THEN LET'S BEGIN!" one of the guards roared.
I gripped the hilt of my sword tightly... and charged at them.
The clash was brutal. Between strikes and kicks, I managed to take down a couple to spread them out. As our swords clashed, I noticed each had different strengths: one excelled in brute force, another in agility. I studied their movements, observed their weaknesses. And then I realized...
I was better.
At one point, I was trapped between two of them—one in front, one behind. They closed in simultaneously. Just as they were about to strike, I slid, dodged, and countered. I ended up behind one of them and drove my sword through his back.
He dropped to his knees. As I pulled the blade out, thick blood spurted out. The other guard stared at me.
His face said it all: surprise, fear, helplessness.
"KOBA!... DAMN YOU, YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" he screamed, charging at me in rage.
We clashed. Sword against sword. In just a few moves, I buried my blade in his abdomen. We stood face to face. His eyes welled up with tears. He said nothing, but his gaze screamed everything he felt. I showed no emotion.
I wasn't proud. But it was them... or me.
I held his body and gently laid him down on the ground.
"May your soul rest. You did a good job," I whispered, closing his eyes.
I stood, cleaned my sword, and turned to the remaining two.
"Enough," I said. "I don't want to keep fighting. I take no pride in taking lives. Please... let's not spill more blood."
The leader replied with a deep calm:
"In war, it's always like this. But we fight because we love what's behind us, not because we hate what's in front of us."
Those words froze me.
They weren't fighting out of hatred. They were fighting to protect.
Their people. Men, women, children... so they could live in peace.
If they're the bad guys... why does this feel so wrong?
Did Doctor Kraf and Thomas really know what they were doing?
Or were we just executing orders?
"Boy," the guard interrupted. "We must finish this. Let's end it now."
Both drew their swords and came at me.
I gripped mine, placed it against my forehead, closed my eyes, and prayed:
"Our Father who art in heaven... forgive this man's sins and deliver us from evil. Amen."
The battle resumed. I fought both at once. They were fast... but not fast enough. The leader had experience and knew how to position himself. The other had strength, but didn't know how to use it. I disarmed him with a slash and a kick.
Then, after several clashes, I severed the leader's hand... and drove my sword through him.
He remained standing for a moment, mumbling something incoherent... then collapsed.
The last guard picked up his sword and lunged at me. Our blades collided, sparks flying like lightning. Neither of us took pleasure in this.
With force, I disarmed the enemy, wounded him, and knocked him down with a kick.
Dust rose around us.
The fight was over.
I sheathed my sword, grabbed my firearm, and headed toward the temple entrance.
"Are you happy now?" asked the fallen leader.
I didn't answer.
"Go on… finish me."
"I'm not a monster. I only do what's necessary. Killing you... isn't," I replied.
I walked away.
The temple was empty. I walked among the columns, waiting for Thomas.
Then, a vibration shook the ground.
I looked up. The ceiling cracked.
A massive creature crashed down in the center of the temple. A gorilla—no, a mutation. It roared furiously.
"What the hell is that?"
The next battle had begun.
I fired at it. The beast tore and hurled columns like projectiles. I ducked, dodged, ran. Alone. Once again alone… facing a monster over three meters tall.
As I dodged its charges, I noticed its weak point: the eyes.
I fired with precision. Blinded, it went into a frenzy, smashing everything and toppling columns.
The temple began to collapse.
I kept provoking it, but the exit got blocked by debris.
"Shit!... How do I get out of here?"
Then, from between the rubble, Thomas appeared.
"Over here!" he shouted, pointing to a crack in the wall.
We ran, escaping through a narrow passage.
Outside, we watched the temple completely collapse.
Thomas looked at me.
"Good job. You survived."
"Thanks. You were such a big help doing absolutely nothing," I said sarcastically.
"While you were fighting, I was investigating. Beneath the temple was a nuclear supply station… for their own use."
For their own use?
So the guards were telling the truth?
Everything crumbled inside me. I had killed people who were just trying to survive in this rotten world.
Thomas noticed my silence.
"Something wrong?"
"Why did we do it...?"
"What?"
"WHY DID WE DO THIS, THOMAS?! WHAT THE HELL DID WE JUST DO!?"
"I had to kill those innocent people! FOR NOTHING!?"
Thomas tried to calm me:
"Traytros, there are things you won't understand yet. Things you won't agree with. But when everything is against you… you don't get to choose."
"What do you mean?"
"I didn't agree either. But we serve our nation. Being against it… makes you an enemy."
"And we can't say what they're doing is wrong?"
"That's what ranks are for. Once you rise high enough, you'll understand."
His words gave me no comfort.
We fell silent... until the helicopter arrived.
During the flight, I looked out the window… at the destroyed village. The lives we erased.
We're raised to obey.
Since childhood, we're programmed to follow orders.
It doesn't matter who you are… or what you've lived.
Only one thing matters:
Complete your mission.
Back at the Citadel, I showered and tried to sleep.
But someone knocked on my door.
It was Thomas.
"Come outside with me," he said.
We sat on a bench under the moon.
"Since we were kids, I've wanted to protect you, make you better than me. There are things neither of us like. But that's life. I learned it the hard way."
Thomas began telling me a story.
"Once, when I was a Corporal, we were assigned to destroy an enemy outpost. While clearing the area, I placed the explosives… but heard cries—faint cries for help. They came from an underground door. I opened it… and found people. Malnourished. Dying."
"I called my superiors. They asked:
—Was that part of your mission, soldier?
—No, sir. But…
—Then close that door.
—But sir, they're people! We can—
—DID YOU HEAR ME, SOLDIER!? DO YOU WANT TO BE CHARGED WITH INSUBORDINATION!?
—No, sir…
—Then close that door and blow it all up.
"And we did," Thomas said quietly.
Back in the present.
"That's how I came to know the truth," he said, staring at the moon.
"Sometimes I think about having a family," he continued. "A wife… kids. But I'm a high-ranking soldier. They send me on the toughest missions. I never know if I'll come back."
"Then why don't you quit?" I asked.
He ignored the question.
"Ever thought about having a girlfriend?"
I blushed.
"What? Uh… I don't know! What for? I mean… you know..."
"You're young, 22. You'll meet many. But be careful: love is beautiful, but when you love… you become weak. You'd do anything to protect what you love."
For the first time, we talked like humans. Like brothers.
We stared at the moon.
Then Thomas stood up.
"Well, get some sleep. You don't want to look bad in the pictures tomorrow."
"What pictures?" I asked, confused.
"Oops… guess I got ahead of myself. The doctor was supposed to tell you," he said, scratching his neck, smiling.
"Hey! What are you talking about? Tell me!"
"Hahaha… find out for yourself."
We walked together back to our rooms, joking and under a calm night sky.
Tomorrow… something important was coming.