The time was near. As the sun began to sink, our hearts started to race.
Heretics were nothing new to us, but we had always fought with the advantage. Now our scouts were missing, and we had no idea what was coming.
It felt wrong.
I stood atop the wall, looking at my fellow warriors preparing for battle. I grabbed my relic and whispered a prayer for protection.
Below, I saw Oser commanding his squad. I saw the Sister readying herself as well.
I leapt from the sixty-foot wall and landed, armor rattling, blade ready.
Then I heard it.
Footsteps.
I turned toward the sound.
From the distance, one of our men was running toward us.
I rushed forward and caught him before he collapsed.
He was injured — an arm gone, one eye missing, blood everywhere.
"Where are the rest? What happened?" I asked.
He trembled, gasping for air. I had never seen terror like that in a soldier's face.
"W-we were wrong… T-the heretics… it's not normal corruption… there is a—"
A bullet tore through his head.
Bursting like a balloon.
Blood splashed across my face.
For a moment the world froze.
Then instinct took over.
"SNIPER!"
I fired toward the flash in the distance and dropped it with several shots.
But the moment it fell, flames began rising from the horizon.
Torches.
Thousands of them.
An ocean of fire moving toward us.
"FORMATION!" I roared.
And then—
"FIRE!"
The night exploded.
Gunfire ripped through the air, artillery thundered, metal screamed. The heretics charged like rabid beasts, uncaring for their losses.
Their bullets struck like needles, biting through armor.
Men beside me fell.
More snipers.
I activated my scanner — positions marked near a hill ten kilometers away.
"Mech. Anti-material. Now."
The machine roared.
One deafening blast.
The hill vanished into a crater.
But the mech fell silent — overheated, reloading the shell left it unable to fire for a couple of minutes.
Now it was on us.
I kept firing, cutting them down, but they kept coming.
Ten meters.
Nine.
Eight.
Seven.
"Melee formation!" I ordered.
Six.
Five.
Four.
"NOW!"
The ground ignited.
The oil we buried yesterday erupted into a wall of fire. Five hundred heretics were cut off from their main force.
We descended on them.
Blades, gunfire, fists.
We tore them apart before they could understand what had happened.
But it wasn't enough.
We extinguished part of the flames, forcing them through a narrow path. They flooded in like vermin.
numbers we killed as many as we could but more kept coming, it felt like if we kept this up we might just survive this with most of our men.
Then I saw it.
Through the inferno.
A Corrupted Sin.
It was similar to the ones we encountered still in it's early stage but it was much bigger.
It pushed through the fire and broke part of our defense.
I rallied nearby troops and charged.
I struck, dodged, cut — but this thing would not fall easily.
The beast was close to evolving into a mid-stage corrupted sin. If that happens, no one will survive.
"TANK! FIRE!"
Shells slammed into it, throwing it back, tearing flesh away.
Still alive.
Meanwhile our line was collapsing.
We had seconds.
"RUSH IT!"
We charged.
Its tentacles lashed out. Fast.
Too fast.
I barely dodged but my men were not so lucky.
One man lost his head. Another was impaled through the stomach.
The creature dragged him toward its jaws.
At that moment he looked at me.
Calm.
"It was an honor."
As he was being swallowed by the beast he triggered his grenades.
The explosion tore the beast apart from the inside. the blast knocked me to the ground, ears ringing, covered in blood — his and the monster's.
When I stood, I saw hell.
Flames. Screams. Death.
I felt like I was back to my house, helpless.
I felt anger that i tried to suppress in the face of responsibility.
And something inside me snapped.
I charged.
I don't remember deciding to.
I became violence.
I cut, crushed, shot, tore through the heretics.
"DIE! DIE! DIE!"
Just die you vermin's.
In my blind rage I rushed even deeper into the enemy territories.
"KORTWIL! WHAT ARE YOU DO…." I faintly heard Oser shouting.
But I couldn't stop.
The bullets scraped through my armor and my skin,
some piercing my body, yet I did not stop. I had almost carved a path of blood in my uncontrollable rampage.
But Then one struck my stomach.
I dropped.
My anger could only take me so far, I fell on my knees and finally came to sense.
I was surrounded.
I clenched my stomach as laughing heretics closed in.
Was this my end?
Maybe.
But I will not die kneeling.
I rose, sword raised.
"I am the wrath of God. I am divine punishment. If I die, my road to heaven will be paved with your blood!"
And as I braced for what to come a bright flash came from behind.
Artillery fell from the sky.
Heretics vanished in fire and gunpowder.
And among the dust and death I saw him. Oser arrived with two hundred men rushing to my position.
They quickly carved a path towards me while shells fell around us.
As they closed near, I quickly took stand as well, even if wounded I will not stop.
The battle was brutal, they numbered in almost 9 thousand, they had split from the main army just to hunt me down
Together we slaughtered them.
Blades clashing, bullets flying. Many of our men fell or were injured but thankfully what was left of their army was nothing more than normal heretics and some specialized troops
After a long grueling battle the explosions stopped, we were almost 4km away from our base, I was battered and bruised
When it ended, I turned towards oser to thank him.
But he punched me.
Hard.
"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!" he yelled, voice shaking. "Do you have a death wish?!"
I knew I was at fault and could not utter a word
I could only mutter a faint sorry
He looked at me now with a look of concern and said "Make sure this doesn't happen again. we might not come next time.".
His words settled in my mind, I had forgotten my responsibility succumbing to my anger. Was I really deserving?
We quickly rushed back to base as the battle was not over.
But shortly after we arrived we all froze.
The battlefield was empty.
The base was burning.
And in the flames stood a monster — a gigantic, twisted wolf like creature towering everything.
It saw us.
For a second it looked at us like we were prey.
But then it fled toward the heretic fortress.
Seeing such a scene we quickly rushed towards the base searching for survivors.
Bodies everywhere.
We quickly rallied the surviving troops on the base
Of six hundred…
ninety-eight remained.
How did it happen so quickly.
I scanned for survivors
Then I saw her.
Under the rubble. My heart dropped
"No. Maria."
I ran.
She was still breathing but barely, she was missing the entirety of her right side with fang marks.
"Stay with me. Medics are coming."
She looked at me, barely conscious.
"Kortwil…?"
"Yes. I'm here. The medics are coming try to focus on healing yourself."
A faint smile.
"I have used up all my strength… and even if I hadn't…."
Her hand tightened.
"it's ok kortwil, I had a wonderful time even if brief. it's not your fault, Remember Salvation comes from sacrifice."
"Maria—"
Her grip loosened as her life faded.
She was gone.
"It's my fault,"