YUUKI - To Move Forward: Prelude 1
Chapter 19: Chang and Marinos

Log #577: Kingdoms

One notable fact about the surviving Kingdoms are their origins and discoveries. Strangely enough, both Kingdoms that were discovered by Dominic were already protected by a Barricade, which then linked to the previous Kingdom’s Barricade once a direct, safe route between them had been blazed. The mechanism which extends the walls of the Barricade towards the other Kingdoms is currently beyond human understanding, along with the refusal of Dominic’s Barricade to connect directly with Devarden’s. Every attempt to traverse the route between Dominic and Devarden have resulted in the complete disappearance of the entire group. Furthermore, the locations of each Kingdom in relation to the others are oddly convenient: as it stands, the three Kingdoms form an isosceles triangle, with Ismira standing as the northernmost Kingdom and Devarden and Dominic being the side corners. Since Dominic and Devarden cannot directly unite within the Barricade, it has been led to believe that there may be a fourth Kingdom directly south of Ismira, which consequently would create a diamond in which humanity will continue to recover. If that is true, then the ESF will undoubtedly discover a fourth Barricade surrounding a human concentration area in that location. But the mystery of the Barricade and the relative locations of the Kingdoms remains, as well as a rather distressing realization. If the Four Kingdoms do indeed unite in a diamond, what could possibly be in the center? And who, or what, intends to watch us find out?

-General Elvira Ramos

188 BPE

Over two hundred kilometers of hostile territory remained for our group to traverse before reaching our destination, Ismira. At the moment, our group was composed of ten first-year students. The general consensus was to split up our Squads and explore a bit as we travelled, staying close enough to easily detect the other Squad’s flare guns if necessary. Isabelle didn’t approve of the idea, however; she was reluctant to separate from Kadie after such a short reunion. Kadie herself was fine with the decision, since Sadie was already on her team. Undoubtedly this could potentially have posed a serious issue if unaddressed, but Francis came to the rescue, promising Isabelle a lollipop every half hour if she would drop the argument. Unsurprisingly, she did.

Nobody asked where he stashed the pops.

A few Silverwolves attempted to interrupt our team meeting, but Miranda handled them all with Artemis, her dark-blue sniper-bayonet. Despite her fragile and shy essence, she was an excellent shot. When we finished our sweet negotiations with Isabelle, Sarah called Miranda over to relay the decision. She agreed immediately, and began discussing which route to take with her Squad. I had already planned ahead, using the map in Mr. Darnay’s room to figure out the safest course to take, so I gave her a bit of advice on good vantage points and water sources. Less than half an hour later, we were locked, loaded, and fully fed for the expedition. We took one last look behind us at the Kingdom that had been our only world, our first and final home, and headed into the forest, towards whatever dangers waited beyond.

The expanse of trees seemed endless, but according to the map it was only sixteen kilometers thick. We were an hour in, but not a single threat had imposed on our peaceful stroll through the woods. Isabelle had begun humming ten minutes in, quickly followed by Francis giving her a life-draining stare a minute later. Nicole seemed to be having the time of her life gazing at the treetops, her mind probably creating some amazing story to go along with the scenery. Kazuki glanced from tree to tree with a scary suspicion, and even I could feel his tense, heavy breathing from the front of our group. Boredom seeped from his body and into his posture, and soon he was dragging his feet around with him. It felt like Isabelle, Nicole, and I were the only sentient beings in the forest who were enjoying the serenity of the situation.

A soft wind had sprung up, rustling the leaves around us gently. A sweet, flowery aroma drifted into our path, following the wind’s careful lead. It smelled of newly blooming sunflowers, but no visual of the composers aided the scent that enticed us. Even the sour attitude of Kazuki began to disperse with the wind, replaced by the sweet melody of the breeze. Thoughts, emotions, words, ideas; all muddled together, forming an entity that began to wander from our group, exploring the trail of petals that had followed the wind’s warm guidance. Without their assistance, Chang Squad was left defenseless, thoughtless, following a trail that was to lead them through the trees and out of the woods safely. The aroma was delectable, almost hypnotic. It was impossible to think or make choices; the feeling of ecstasy was the only thought that remained in our minds.

We were vulnerable—we were at peace.

A beautiful patch of flowers came into view, and we all ran over to it, absorbing the aroma that entranced and hypnotized us so, before falling to the ground in a fit of giggles. I felt the ground shake, and it looked like a giant flower came out of the ground, but it was just something funny I was imagining. The vines that grew out of its sides were for show, and the kids it lifted in the air was all part of the illusion. Even my body began to rise, pretending like the vines had constricted around me as well. One, two, three, four other people were flying, all imagining that vines were holding them in the air. The other four people who flew lifted their arms downwards in the air, drunk smiles adorning their faces. I suppressed a giggle, but everything was just so funny and giddy, it was hard not to burst out laughing. The big flower that acted like it was holding us began to split in half, and rows of teeth and saliva shined through the crevice.

I felt my body drifting over to the hungry flower, probably to say hello. Somebody screamed below me, but that surely it was a result of our shared pleasure. The beautiful stench of acid toyed with my nostrils, and I hovered directly over the flower. It was smiling, at least. I looked up at my friends, and realized I had made a simple, dummy mistake: there were three people in the air besides me, not four. All three of them looked happy, with hands raised below their heads as their bodies swung from the imaginary vines. The only thing not perfect with the situation was the screaming. Whoever was doing that didn’t sound happy, and it was starting to bug me. I didn’t like that, since the big flower tried so hard to keep everything nice. Right as I was drifting downwards to give the kind flower a kiss, I felt the vine that was around me rip apart, and I began to fall. As I fell towards the ground I had a sudden thought.

Why am I no longer flying?

I was about to fall right into the flower’s loving embrace, but something caught me while I was falling, and I felt my body jerk to the side and into a tree. That’s where I bonked my head on the trunk, and got a little dizzy.

Where was I?

... Ngh...

...wait...

Kazuki! Everyone!

What happened to everyone? Hadn’t we been enjoying the tranquility of the woods not a moment ago? I looked behind me, and saw a naginata piercing straight through my purple cloth, sticking me onto the trunk of a rather large tree. I felt a trickle of blood where the naginata had grazed me, but it was clear that the weapon belonged to no assailant. Whatever had just transpired, the naginata had probably saved my life. As if to finally sate my curiosity, I heard a strange, twisted gargle, and finally directed my attention to the field of flowers. Directly in the center, a massive flower-like monster waved a dozen or so vines wildly in the air, three of them constricting my comrades in their grip. On ground level, Sarah and Miranda were fully armed, slowly pacing around the monster, never turning or facing away from the creature. The three entities were trapped in some form of stalemate; neither side could afford to strike first and surrender the advantage to the other. Right as I began to ponder if the standstill would be eternal, a new figure leaped out from below me, sword raised and directed towards the back of the flower-beast. With a furious yell, the boy in black sprinted across the clearing, closing the distance between him and the creature unbelievably quickly. Instead of breaking his stride, he leaped up in the air and began to climb the body of the creature, sword held firmly behind him.

A multitude of vines wrapped around the monster’s back towards the challenger, every strike aimed for impalement. The man in black barely slowed down in response, sidestepping every whip and stab. When two vines whipped out from both sides, he halted suddenly, thrusting his sword into the massive bulb-like body. The creature let out a horrid gurgling sound in response, calling upon every possible vine it had in its arsenal to rid itself of the intruder. As a result, the rest of my Squad was released, and the three teenagers fell into freefall.

The fall wasn’t long, however—Miranda and Sarah ran over to catch them before they could plummet to the forest floor. The boy on the beast removed the blade from the creature’s core, and abruptly continued his sprint towards the peak of the being, ignoring the dozens of new vines that were pursuing him. With three powerful strides, he reached his goal, and though my vision was impaired by the massive petals surrounding him, I could still recall the sight that he beheld at that moment: the giant, Venus flytrap-like opening with the same acidic pit that had nearly devoured me. A powerful, furious roar erupted from where the boy must have been, and I heard the soft ignition of flames lighting up within. The surrounding petals drooped momentarily to allow the vines access to the intruder, and I caught a glimpse of the boy holding up a black sword, flames dancing angrily on the blade. And then, he jumped inside the carnivorous interior, and was swallowed up by the monster.

The opening snapped shut, and the vines stalled in midair, as if confused by the sudden change of events. The clearing was still; Sarah and Miranda had long ago used the commotion to escape with my other comrades. A breeze entered the clearing, tugging gently on the leaves around me, whistling in suspense.

A strange, bubbling sound interrupted the sudden, peaceful slumber of the forest, and I thought I saw a ripple along the body of the flower. My suspicions confirmed themselves as the core of the beast began to bubble violently, and in a single moment, the entire being exploded, a green liquid spraying everywhere. I shielded my eyes with my arms, the warm, green liquid splashing on my arms. When I finally worked up the courage to look back at the gruesome scene, nothing remained visible on the clearing but the green liquid coating the regular flowers, a few twitching vines on the ground, and Kazuki Yuki, standing alone and completely covered in the disgusting green liquid.

Smiling.

“I’m so sorry, everyone.”

Two lollipops since the ambush, my heart remained as heavy as our drenched outfits. In order to conceal and deodorize Kazu’s tainted outfit and body, as well as remove any lingering residue of the Crimson Petal’s grimy remains, I had ordered the entirety of Chang Squad to locate and cleanse themselves of the filth in the nearest body of water. After that unfortunate encounter (of which I had no doubt was due to my lack of adequacy in the field), not even Marinos Squad was in a chipper mood, the expected exception excluding Isabelle. I doubted little that my Squad grew tired of my surplus apologies, but that had no effect on its necessity. I had failed my entire team, and had almost caused the end of five young souls of unlimited potential. That miserable fact weighed down on my soul, and I made no effort to fight back. After all, without the crushing regret of failure, how could I possibly hope to grow from such a terrible blunder?

The five of us were tired, soaking, and at long last outside the boundaries of the forest, but there awaited no time for halting or resting. A long journey still loomed ahead of us, and arriving last at our destination would be unacceptable. Fortunately, the sparseness of the Shade outside the forest mirrored within, so we were granted a few hours of anxious peace to mentally and physically recuperate. Isabelle had begun humming again, and Francis seemed too fatigued to call her out. Nicole seemed to be unaffected by the situation, resuming her daydreaming, and Kazu’s mood was far fouler than the lingering stench that obediently followed his every move. The silence was cursed with depression within, and it was my responsibility to bear it. No matter how painful, no matter how exhausted, no matter how foul I felt in my heart, my countenance would hold steady. My pace would remain even. My spirit would endure.

For the sake of my Squad, my spirit would endure.

Imagining days on end passing in such a manner would be all too easy for anyone in this situation, but by the sun dangling lazily in the sky, no more than eight lollipops had transpired since exiting the forest. A small prairie and a flowerless plain, both surrounded on either side by hills, separated Chang Squad from our first landmark on our adventure to Ismira: Fort Ramos. The fort itself was barely visible from this distance, but the battle that glorified it was blazed into every Slayer’s minds, being the battle that earned Elvira Ramos the title of General. Half a year after the remnants of present-day Devarden had been discovered by the ESF, the largest cluster of Slayers ever assembled took refuge in that old fort. More than twelve Squads of Slayers were on their way to claim Devarden from the Shade that surrounded it. The objective was to use the fortress as a station between Ismira and Devarden until the Barricade connected the Kingdoms, but the Slayers recovering from their long trek southwest had underestimated the concentration of Shade in the nearby area. Everybody had gone to sleep unperturbed the first night, confident that their outpost would be safe from any serious attack until they got the attention of the Shade. The next morning, those same Slayers awoke to the horrific realization that the fortress was besieged by hundreds of the beasts.

Despite the majority of the Slayers using long range attacks to kill Shade one after another as they attempted to tear their way into the fortress, more creatures replaced the fallen, and the human struggle was beginning to seem meaningless. The desperate defense of the fort dragged on for seven days, and by then supplies had dwindled drastically, ammunition running alarmingly low. Many Slayers gave up trying to hold off the Shade, claiming that any resistance in such a situation was futile. With morale and resources at a minimum, the outpost was all but doomed to fall.

That would have been good riddance, huh?

However, in that bleak situation, one girl finally stepped forward, claiming that she had a strategy planned to not only survive the assault, but return to Ismira with two thirds of the current headcount. The very idea seemed preposterous, but she was still heard out due to a painful lack of options. The more she explained, the more intently her audience listened, and by the time she had finished explaining her plan, many of the Slayers were nodding their heads assuredly, some clapped, and others broke out into meek but hopeful cheers.

The general plan of defense up until that moment had been working to reduce the number of Shade by killing them off one by one indiscriminately. The problem with that plan was devastatingly clear, though: with five or more Shade replacing every one downed, ammunition had no distinguishable effect on the situation. Elvira’s plan was to escape using a similar strategy Slayers used when blazing routes between Kingdoms: focus on one direction alone, wiping out Shade on that side while ignoring the others. For some reason, blazing this particular area was proving far less effective than normal, so they would have to focus on one small section at a time in order to get results. As she has predicted, the amount of Shade in the chosen direction began to dwindle, until an escape path had been blazed, where no Shade dared approach. By doing that, however, the rest of the fort was unprotected, and Shade soon began to flood the base. The surviving Slayers charged through the gap in the otherwise impenetrable barricade of bloodthirsty monsters, and proceeded to systematically slaughter every Shade that attacked them, working their way around the fortress as a single unit until the entire structure was cleared of the darkness. Elvira’s prediction of the mission’s casualties was slightly off, however; approximately a quarter of the Slayers present had given their lives to the defense of the newly dubbed Fort Ramos.

“Because of that battle, Fort Ramos was designated a safe haven for any wandering humans, Warriors or otherwise, in their travels. For a Squad such as ourselves, it is a most convenient rest spot, once this great plain ahead of us has been traversed.”

I looked over at Francis, who had recited that last bit like the finishing line of a play, surprised. It was almost as if we’d shared identical thoughts. A glance at my other squadmates confirmed the suspicion: we were all thinking the same thing, eager to reach the fort in the distance.

The trek dragged on for two hours longer, and Francis and Kazuki had began to talk back and forth about nothing, then pause for a bit to talk back and forth about nothing. Isabelle stopped humming, and skipped through the tall grass ahead of us in glee, beckoning us to follow her. It seemed like Nicole was enjoying herself, watching the boys quarrel about more nothing and Isabelle do some sort of rain dance in the prairie grass. All in all, Chang Squad had apparently grown bored of boredom, and entertained themselves with turning nothing into something that merely resembled nothing. The whole time, I kept a watchful eye out, suspicious of the warm, gentle breeze and the calm, clear sky.

As our Squad marched onwards, a strange scene appeared before me.

A boy with black hair, and a blond girl much shorter than her companion. The boy plucked a few tall strands of prairie grass, holding them out like wings. The girl laughed, before reaching down and yanking out a fistfil herself. Unlike the boy, however, the girl smiled, and leapt at him, tossing the clump at his face. The boy stumbled back, laughing and sneezing. He grinned, and sprinted away, waving his grass strands in preparation for flight. The girl chased after him, and the scene continued. I smiled, just a bit, and returned my attention to our surroundings.

The grass in the prairie grew up to our calves, which unfortunately provided smaller and sleeker Shade the ideal surroundings for stalking prey. Before I could shake the suspicion to enjoy the beautiful day everybody else relished in, a Silverwolf leapt out from of the very soil, straight for my face. I wasted no time to grab my baton, remove it from my belt, and swing it forward, smashing the predator in the nuzzle. With a yelp and a growl, the creature retreated into the grass. It was only then that I noticed them: dozens upon dozens of red eyes, burning hungrily in the brush behind us. The faintest of growling was swept to my ears with the wind, and with terror rising in my heart, I knew there was only one way to survive this ambush.

“Chang Squad, let’s go! Run as fast as possible, and don’t stop for a moment! Move!” I screamed with all my heart, looking at each of my teammates in the eyes before breaking out into a sprint. Even if my words didn’t reach them, they would surely follow in suit if I suddenly started to run.

Sure enough, no questions were asked and all four members followed my lead. The sound of the heavy breathing of my comrades and the violent rustling of the dead vegetation underfoot was quickly drowned out by the pack of Silverwolves that had been stalking us, as they began to howl and snarl, giving chase to their fleeing prey.

“Come on, guys, hurry! We’re almost there!”

The tall grass of the prairie only lasted half a mile further ahead, before abruptly transforming into a lush, green plain. That was our destination, if we could just outrun the Silverwolves for that long.

A jaw snapping from behind me shattered my concentration, and I glanced back to see a wolf barely miss Kazuki’s hair, before tumbling into its pack behind it. They continued forward without slowing their pace.

“Kazu, hurry up! I’m not losing anyone to this, got it? We just need to make it out of the prairie! Come on!”

Powerful strides propelled me forward, and I had no doubt that this was the fastest I had ever sprinted in my life. No, the second fastest. That’s right...

“Hey, Leader! We’re here!” Francis yelled in my direction, and a look in front of us confirmed his statement. We sprinted into the grassland, and turned back to see Kazuki, still fleeing from the pack of bloodthirsty Shade.

’Come on, Kazu! You can make it!”

“Hurry up, moron!”

“Don’t stop!”

“Almost there, yeah!”

A fierce yell erupted from his lungs, and he leaped forward out of the tall, brown grass. Perfect, now for part two.

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“Kazu! Light ’em up!”

“Got it.” With a bloodthirsty grin that ominously mirrored the Silverwolves’, Kazuki unsheathed his sword, and coated the blade in flames with a click. With a maniacal laugh, he swung the flaming metal into the prairie grass. The reaction was instantaneous; the entire prairie spontaneously combusted, spreading outward through the dead and dying grass. The ground of the grassland was too moist for the inferno’s wrath to consume, so it contended with its frustration by torching every Silverwolf that had been caught in the rapidly spreading brushfire. To my dismay, a few Shade had leapt out of the deathtrap before being engulfed by the fire, and howled in sorrow at their burning pack. That was short lasting, however, and soon turned their attention and fury towards the group of humans in front of them.

“Everyone! Prepare for battle!” I whipped out my baton, holding it cautiously in front of me. Francis chuckled, dramatically unsheathing his own longsword with exaggerated deliberation. To my left, Nicole pulled out her own sword, with an intricate blue design extending throughout the length on the sides of the blade. Kazuki split his sword into two, wielding two flaming swords and an expression devoid of all emotion but the one directed towards the Shade: pure hatred. Even Isabelle reached into her purple purse, pulling out strange, small orbs between her fingers, each a different color. The wolves crouched low in unison, fangs bared and eyes blazing. The atmosphere was buzzing with anxiety and intensity, as the world fell into a deathly silence, holding its breath in fierce anticipation of the upcoming clash of steel and bone. It would be a bloody struggle, no doubt, and many would leave injured, but I was determined to lose not a soul to the void. Everything depended on the first move: who made it, and what it was. Everything was at stake; one misstep could lead to the tragic slaughter of Chang Squad. No matter what happened, failure was intolerable. We would fight to our last breath, if necessary, but we would be victorious.

No matter what.

And then a halberd appeared out of nowhere, crushing four out of the five Silverwolves we faced in one swing.

The last wolf snarled viciously, turned around, and retreated.

All the way into Sarah’s naginata.

As Sarah and Matthew put away their weapons in front of us, I followed in suit, grinning. I looked up and met their eyes, brimming with relief and amusement.

“We could’ve taken ’em.”

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