CH18

“Welcome to today’s rally for truth!” Alice shouted over the crowd.

The crowd erupts in cheer, fist raised, resonating throughout the city. People cheered from inside their homes, children bewildered.

Alice then signals for silence.

“Today, we will be discussing about the situation of our peace-loving city! With our esteem guests!”

Alice points to one person in the crowd. “Mister! Can you guess who will it be?”

The man answered with upmost excitement “Is it Mr. Robert and Ms. Belle?”

“Correct! Let’s welcome our guest, Mr. Robert Via Erronea and Ms. Belle Superbia!!!”

The crowd erupted once again, this time more powerful than the last.

A blonde man walked out from backstage, waving his hand and smiling at the crowd. The crowd welcome him with their cheers.

After him a white hair, blue eyed woman follow suit. Dressed beautifully, she waves her hand, greeting the crowd below. The crowd also cheered her arrival.

“Ohh, as handsome and beautiful worth of being the face of the Erronea company! Give them a round of applause!!!” Alice said.

The applause given, it was the show of will of the people, their belief.

After the applause died down, Alice turns towards the guest and started asking “Mr.Robert, what do you think peace is?”

“For me, peace is what everyone should strived for, it is the collective effort of communities to maintain order, checking each other’s behaviors, allowing for businesses and life to go smoothly with no fear of trouble.” Robert said.

“But right now there are some from overseas with barbaric thinking, they aimed to dismantle our peaceful city! They seek the destruction of our lives! They are here to disrupt OUR BUISNESSES!”

The crowd erupted in cheers; arms rose like a revolution.

Alice calms the crowd down then turned to Belle “Excellent words! How about you Ms. Belle, What do you think about the ‘scourge’ that those people talked about?”

“Have you seen one?” Belle shouts to crowd

Many voices roar in unison “NO!”

Belle leans into the crowd “They say these things can destroy cities in minutes! MINUTES! So where are they? Where are these city destroyers? Shouldn’t they be knocking on our walls by now?”

Robert cuts in, his voice booming “When you’re cowering, shivering in your hole. Who gets the benefit?” A pause for thought “Those higher ups! An excuse to fill OUR resources into their pockets than using it on us!”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Belle steps up again, each step overflowing with confidents “Not only that, with just a word, you’re under control! Controlling us like sheep, then they’ll ask you to be their meat shield. And you’ll comply without a thought!”

“Well thank you for your wisdom” Alice said, turning to the crowd“Recently there was a violent attack on the 34th street, the attack injured many and killed some, the attacker exploded the area on a busy day before fleeing!”

Two hooded figures can be seen far away in the crowd, listening to the rally, hiding their faces.

“Hey! That’s me!” Furi said

People around her turned towards her, their eyes fixed

“-at shop over there!” Continuing her sentence.

“Can you shut that mouth of you? You’re going to ruin this” Spero whispered

“Sorry!” Furi whispered back.

“I just want to kill those 2 right now” Spero said, trying his best to control himself “Those lying hypocrites…Those bugs destroyed the old world, and now there are people refusing to believe it”

“But what was our mission again?” Furi whispered

“What? You already forgot? Great, I’ll tell you”

Sometime before

“Tomorrow, there will be a mass rally of the citizens. And we need to know what they are up to” Lisa said, pointing at a map “It will be held here”

Lisa looks up, her hands firm on the table “Questions?”

“Doesn’t this place supposed to be just a sanctuary? Why are we spying on them?” Furi asked

“You can’t keep hiding forever, you know” Lisa responded, blunt but straight to the point

“Why us? More specifically why her?” Spero asked “She just joined, and you trust her already?”

“I picked you both because if something goes wrong, with your skills you both should be able to run.” Lisa walked in front of the table, stopping in front of Furi.

“Well, this can serve as your test” Lisa leans closer “Prove to me that you’re loyal to us” Her eyes fixed on Furi, daring her to looked away

“And you! You’ll be her caretaker” Lisa said, pointing her hand at Spero

“What? Me!?” Spero screamed

“Of course, who will it be?” Lisa said “Just make sure she follows the mission”

Spero let out a sign “Fine”

The Present

“Oh, so that’s our mission” Furi said

“Well, you remembered now?”

Furi nodded, she observed her surroundings, listening to the rally, but her mind drifted, those feelings from before that she pushed away, started to poke their heads again.

The voices of the damned, their cries for help and for one to wake. Although she wants to reach her hand to help, to stop those running to their doom

But still, they rushed forward, and they burnt. Was it logical? Could she have done something else? One thing was for sure, however

Her helping hands are stained with blood. And it weighs like the world, like the city was pulling her to hell.

Furi looked at her hands, pondering that thought.

Spero noticed Furi looking at her hand and was concerned

“Magic isn’t something that comes for free, you know” he said

Furi looked at him, his eyes still stared at the stage. “Becoming a mage isn’t easy, every spell, every drop of mana used cost something”

He pauses for a bit “Whether it be choices, blood or in lives, an ideal mage doesn’t exist. Remember that”

“Yeah, you’re right” Furi said

Fate doesn’t care about our feelings, nor about your past, you’re only window to act is now.

“Have you all ever thought of looking at the High Command Headquarters?” Belle points her hand towards the tall building north of the city. “That is where they reside! That’s where they make our decisions for us!”

“Tomorrow! That will change! We will make our own decisions! We will roar forward! We will topple them and lay forth their crimes!”

Robert joined in “Tomorrow will be the change! For Peace!”

The crowd erupts in cheers “For Peace! For Peace!” The sound echoed through the city, the ground shake with every pounding step, voices chanting like war drums

“This doesn’t seem peaceful at all” Furi said

“Yeah, you just notice that?” Spero uttered “I don’t like this, let’s head back, we got what we’re here for”

As they both turned to leave, suddenly a voice called out to them.

“You two! Over there! Why are you in a hurry?” Belle called out

The two slowly turned back, unsure of their next action.