The cool evening air bit at Kaede’s face as she adjusted the straps on her armor. The polished ptes hadn't lost their factory shine over the past month, despite the scuffles she'd had duriraining.
That was thanks to Artificia's assistance. Apparently, just like in the game, Kaede could ie one of her skills into her equipment. She quickly ran into a problem though.
_One Month Ago_
"What do you mean you 't?!" Kaede id down her armour pte on a fold of fabric.
Kaede groaned, running a hand through her hair. "Catastrophisequences? Like what?"
"Okay, okay, I get it. Bad idea." She leaned back against the workbench, staring at the armor pte with frustration. All this pootential locked away, tethered to her very existehe idea of not being able to share or enhance her equipment directly felt like a massive roadblock.
But Artificia wasn’t done.
Kaede's eyes lit up. "Wait. You're saying we copy it?"
It wasn’t perfect, but it was better than nothing. Kaede nodded, determination hardening her features. "The’s get started."
_Present_
Her gaze shifted to the camp sprawling before her. Fires flickered in the distance, casting dang shadows across the vas walls of dozens of tents. Soldiers moved with purpose, their expressions grim but determihe sound of king armor and muffled voices filled the air, underscored by the occasional whinny of restless horses.
"Kaede!"
She tur the familiar voice, spotting Kirara jogging toward her. The girl’s new scarf fluttered in the wind, its vibrant red a stark trast to the dull colors of the camp. Unlike Kaede who was all armoured up, Kirara was only wearing her military uniform. Despite the somber atmosphere, Kirara’s expression held an air of calm fidence, as though the tension of the ing raid didn’t faze her in the slightest.
“I 't believe the old geezer is letting us out of the castle. How are you feeling?” Kirara asked, ing to a stop beside her. She tilted her head, her sharp greeudying Kaede ily.
Kaede nodded, adjusting her gau on her shield arm. “As ready as I’ll ever be. You?”
Kirara smirked, brushing a strand of auburn hair from her face. “I was born ready.” Her gaze softened slightly. “It's not like anything get past you."
Kaede didn’t respond immediately. Instead, she let her eyes wander over the camp again. She’d spent the past month mastering the intricacies of both [Ananke] and [Devour], pushing herself to the brink iraining session (Mostly Artificia, as most of the ws went over her head). While she’d made progress, doubts still lingered. Could she trol [Devour] enough to use it without harming Kirara—or anyone else?
"Kaede," Kirara said, her tone more serious now. "You’re doing the thing again. Hmmmn..." She leaned in closer, a pyful griurning to her lips. "Are you thinking about Shogo? I guess I see it. He does have a certain charm."
Kaede couldn’t help but chuckle, despite herself. “Yeah. Not in a million years.”
Before Kirara could respond, the sound of a horn echoed across the camp. The sharp, mournful note silehe chatter around them as soldiers turoward the source of the signal. A figure emerged from the rgest tehe ter of the camp—General Ordric. His presence was anding as ever, his scarred face set in a grim expression as he strode toward the gathered troops.
“Listen up!” Ordric’s voied, carrying easily over the camp. “The scouts have firmed the location of the bandit stronghold. It’s a fortified camp in the northern woods, roughly ten miles from here. We’ll move at first light, but tonight, we prepare. Ensure your ons are sharp, your armor secured, and your minds focused. This will not be an easy fight.”
A murmur of assent rippled a small crowd, standing a few feet away from the small army. Kaede couldn't help but watch them. They didn't dress like soldiers as they each wore pletely different gears even from each other. 'They don't look very anised.'
Ordritinued, his tone firm. “Get some rest while you . Tomorrow, we show these bandits what happens when they challenge Falmuth.”
As the soldiers dispersed, Kirara nudged Kaede with her elbow. “See? No pressure at all.”
Kaede rolled her eyes but couldn’t suppress a small smile. “e o’s check ear o time.”
"You mean year."
"Let's just go."
---
The jouro the bandits’ first hideout took the better part of the day. What started as a crisp m with pale sunlight cutting through the trees gradually shifted into the oppressive dampness of the s. The air grew heavy, thick with moisture that g to Kaede’s skie her armor’s entments. She had always thought ss were just wet forests, but this was something else entirely—a realm that seemed alive in its hostility.
The ground squelched underfoot, each step sinking slightly before the mud relutly released its hold. Soldiers grumbled in low voices, their boots coated in a sludge of brown and green. Every so often, someone cursed as they tripped on an exposed root or slipped on a patoss. The sound of buzzing is formed an almost maddening background, punctuated by the occasional croak of unseeures.
Kaede gnced around, her eyes sing the unfamiliar terrain. The trees here were uhe t oaks and pines she’d grown aced to he castle. These were gnarled and twisted, their trunks bed as if scorched, with roots that sprawled out like cwed fingers. Their braretched upward but bore no leaves, only clusters of damp moss that dripped like melting dles.
"This pce is miserable," Kirara muttered beside her, swatting at a mosquito. Her scarf was tied tighter than usual, her auburn hair tucked beh a hood. "Why would anyone willingly hide out here?"
Kaede shrugged, keeping her shield arm raised. "Because no one wants to follow them into this mess." Her voice was steady, though she couldn’t shake the unease coiling in her chest.
Further up the line, General Ordric walked with the same anding presence he always had, the s seemingly uo faze him. His armor was caked with mud, but his stride remained purposeful. He’d insisted they take this path rather than risk alerting the bandits by approag from the main trade routes. “They think this s is their shield,” he’d said earlier, his tone like iron. “We’ll show them it’s their grave.”
Kaede wasn’t sure she shared his fidehe s felt less like a simple obstacle and more like ay unto itself, watg, waiting. The occasional movement ier—ripples that broke the surface without visible cause—set her nerves on edge. Artificia’s analytical voice echoed faintly in her mind.
“No kidding,” Kaede muttered under her breath.
Kirara caught the ent and raised an eyebrow. “Talking to yourself again?”
“Just keeping a,” Kaede replied, sing the water again. “This pce feels weird.”
As if on cue, one of the soldiers at the rear let out a startled cry. Kaede spun around, her shield raised instinctively. The man had sunk knee-deep into a patuck, the visud ging to him like it had a mind of its own. Two others rushed to help, pulling him free with a wet, sug hat sent shivers down Kaede’s spine.
“Keep moving!” Ordric barked, his voice cutting through the rising tension. “Eyes forward. Stay in formation.”
The group pressed on, the s growing darker as the day wahick fog began to roll in, curling around their legs and obsg the path ahead. Kaede could feel her heart beating faster. It wasn’t fear, exactly—more like anticipation. Whatever y ahead, they were closing in on it.
“Kaede,” Kirara said quietly, her tone unusually serious. “I think you’re right. Something’s off.”
Kaede ightening her grip on her shield. Her eyes flicked to the soldiers arouhey were alert now, their earlier grumbles repced by a tense silence. Even the band of adventurers she’d seen earlier—so mismatched in their equipment and demeanor—seemed on edge.
Then, just as the s seemed like it would never end, the trees parted. Ahead y a clearing, its ter dominated by a crude wooden structure half-sunken into the muck. Torches flickered around its perimeter, their fmes casting eerie shadows oer.
“That’s it,” Ordric said, his voice low but firm. He raised a hand to signal the group to halt. “The bandits’ hideout. Remember your assigs. We take them alive if possible, but do not hesitate to defend yourselves. Uood?”
A chorus of murmured assent rippled through the group.
The soldiers began moving into position, their armor king softly despite attempts to muffle it. Kaede’s eyes stayed fixed on the crude hideout, its makeshift wooden walls camoufged with moss and s vines. 'Why would anyone live there? How could anyone live there? I'd like to see how they even -'
"Too quiet," she muttered to herself.
Ordric raised a hand to halt the soldiers behind them, his scarred face etched with caution. "They know we’re here. Watch for traps."
The air hung thick with tension, the s's natural stillness amplifying every shuffle of boots and rustle of leaves. But before the group could advance further, a pierg whistle rang out from the hideout.
"AMBUSH!"
The shout came too te. Explosions of s water erupted around Kaede’s group as cealed bandits sprang into a. From the trees, arrows rained down, coated in a slick, green substahat hissed as it struck shields and armor. Soldiers who tried to deflect them were horrified to find their ons corroding.
“Poison!” Ordric barked. “Shields up, advance slowly!”
But the bandits weren’t waiting for the soldiers to recover. From the undergrowth, figures emerged with startling speed—thin, wiry men wielding hooked bdes and slings loaded with small, smoking bombs. They hurled the bombs toward the advang soldiers, creating bursts of blinding white smoke that stung the eyes and throat.
Kaede raised her shield instinctively, beside her, Kirara coughed but was fine overall. "They’ve been pnning this for weeks. Look at how they’ve set the terrain!"
Kaede squihrough the smoke, her mind rag. The bandits had the advantage of higher ground, using the natural s as a barrier to fuheir enemies into predictable routes. Makeshift barricades of logs and mud slowed the soldiers’ movements, leaving them vulnerable ted attacks.
From behind the barricades, a guttural ugh rang out. A rge, burly man stepped into view, wielding a massive, jagged axe. His leather armor atched and dirty, but his stance radiated fidence. “Falmuth’s mighty soldiers reduced to s rats? What a sight!”
Ordric’s eyes narrowed. “Hold the line! Pikemen, form a wall!”
The soldiers scrambled to obey, f a defensive formation, but the bandits pressed their advantage. A group of them leaped from the trees, swinging down on ropes to nd behind the pikemen, throwing the formation into disarray.
An adventurer cursed under her breath. "They’re f us to spread out!"
Without waiting for orders, Kaede surged forward, her shield smming into a bandit who had slipped through the lihe man crumpled to the ground, but more were already closing in. Kaede turo face them, her armor responding to the threat by releasing steam with a loud hiss. Her movements became deliberate and precise as she tried to stem the tide of attackers.
The adventurer was beside her, moving with practiced agility. She ducked under a bandit’s wild swing aaliated with a ssh to the man’s leg, dropping him into the muck. Looking around, Kaede saw chaos. “We roup! They’re splitting us up!”
The adventurer gritted her teeth. “Ordri’t retreat. Not after ing this far. Men like him don't.”
Another arrow streaked toward her, and she raised her shield just in time, the poisoip defleg harmlessly off its reinforced surface. But the soldiers around her weren’t so lucky. Several had already fallen, clutg at seeping wounds as the poison worked its way through their systems.
From the er of her eye, Kaede spotted a bandit kneeling by a tree, holding something small aallic. Her heart skipped a beat. "Bomb throwers!" she shouted. "Take them out before—"
The explosion cut her off, a deafening bst that sent mud and water flying. Two soldiers were thrown off their feet, their armor dented and bed. The bandit leader’s ugh echoed again, full of mockery. “Falmuth thinks it crush us? You’ll drown in this s before you reach ates!”
Kaede ched her fist, suppressing the surge of frustration threatening to overwhelm her. "You, fnk right with me. We’ll cut off their leaders and break their formation."
The adventurer nodded, a sharp glint in her eye. "Got it. The name's Britta."
Together, they charged toward the barricades, weaving through the chaos. Kaede’s shield absorbed another volley of arrows, the shield dispersing the impact harmlessly. Britta moved like a shadow, her sword fshing in the dim light as she cut through bandits trying to block their path.
But the bandits were relentless, their strategies shifting rapidly. A pair of them rolled barrels down a slope, the tents spilling out into the muck. The liquid ignited on tact with the s water, creating r walls of fme that cut off Kaede and Britta from the rest of the soldiers.
“Damn it!” Kaede muttered, skidding to a halt. The heat licked at her armor, and she gnced back to see Ordric struggling to rally the troops against the bandits’ tinued assault.
Kaede felt the world spinning around her, as soldiers fell in droves. She could easily stop this, apart from maybe the leader, there wasn't anyohat could hurt her. She had the power to do so, but what would that mean... for her?