It was quite a long time ago, glorious times. A time when everything was under one king, and everyone obeyed him without exception. And so it was with the guards, the imperial guards. They protected the capital and the king's chambers, so that no one could try to eliminate his majesty.

  Our city was divided in an interesting way. It was divided into several walls, behind which your fate was determined. Born behind the very first wall? You were

  you'll work all your life without rest and get a pittance. Otherwise, if you were born behind the last wall, you will be bathed in luxury. This method was quite popular among the rulers of our time. In this way, they could keep themselves as safe as possible from the world outside the walls, a world rife with robbery, plunder, and other sinful atrocities. And so I, a child who was born outside the 2nd wall, had no right to "upgrade" my title. As the elders here say, "If you are born with low status, you will not have a sweet life." They

  They speak the truth, even the high commanders ask them for advice. They say they go back to a time long ago. A time before the capital was built and they defended this land. Only they didn't defend it from other peoples. They never told us the details. Maybe the higher-ups know about it, but what about the other people?

  for some rabble-rouser to know that. The kids in my class have practically one dream: to get beyond the wall. And then, some go to the capital, some go into the dense forest to explore what the elite guards are afraid of. My dream is to be the protector of my village. It's always being humiliated by the Guards or the people from the capital. Also, someone on the other side of the wall is trying to get to us. They don't tell us who it is.

  "Mom" Son, what are you thinking about? Eat up, you may not be able to eat later. "Augustine." Okay, Mom.

  "Mom" Remember, if you eat a lot, you will be very strong and become the best defender of our village.

  "Augustine" Yes, Mother, that's the way it's going to be!

  My mom is a very bright woman, I also have a brother and a sister. I am the oldest among them and I dream of going to ranger training. Rangers are such a local authority that walks the streets and patrols it. In case of danger from behind the walls, they are the first to rush to help. That was five years ago.

  That's when the first wall was torn down and destroyed everything.

  "Augustine" Sophie, Lavrin, haven't you ever wondered what's behind that wall? "Sophie." Yeah, it was interesting. But there's no way you're getting in, is there? "Lavrin." That's right. There's a lot of security there.

  "Augustine" But we don't have to climb to the other side, we can just climb the wall itself. How about that?

  "Lavrin" It's a dangerous idea, all in your spirit.

  "Sophie." That's right! We'll be caught right away and taken to the commander. Where we'll be severely reprimanded and our mom will be made to work off our sins.

  "Lavrin" Right, and you know how hard it's gotten for mom without dad. Even with us helping her.

  They're talking business. My father was the commander of the First Ranger Battalion, the first to face danger. He came home victorious, but was sent to explore the dense forest. After three years, there's no sign of him. Rumor has it that this group he was in was attacked by these unknown creatures.

  "Augustine" Don't you ever wish you could go and see where your father was sent? Maybe he's okay there?

  "Lavrin." Well, what can we do? Rangers take years of training. And we're too small for them. "Sophie." I'm also very afraid of them.

  "Augustine" You think the others aren't afraid of them? We can just try to get outside the wall. Yeah, we'd have to steal some equipment.

  "Lavrin" Stealing equipment? Do you even know what the penalties are? It'd be easier for me to just go to ranger school and go find my dad.

  "Augustine" Himself said years for this training. What if dad needs us right now? What if he's out there somewhere needing emergency care?

  "Sophie." Well, he's got a point.

  "Lavrin" Sophie, why are you in favor of him? You're afraid of them.

  "Sophie." I'm afraid, a lot. But you can stop being afraid for your father's sake. "Augustine." That's right. Laurin?

  "Lavrin." Aw, the hell with you. When you gonna move out? "Augustine" Tonight.

  "Sophie." What? Already today? "Lavrin" Did you get the gear?

  "Augustine." Equipment? We're just going on a scouting trip, why do we need it? "Sophie" I think I could use it, you know what can happen.

  "Lavrin" That's right, safety should never be forgotten.

  "Augustine." What kind of security are you talking about? Those things haven't been heard from in half a year! So they're just not there. Right? And to be sure, we need to go there.

  "Lavrin" You're not thinking logically.

  "Augustine." Blah, blah, blah, blah. All right, we'll each take a knife, how about that? "Sophie" Knife? What if someone sees us with them? They'll probably ask questions! "Lavrin" I doubt it's possible to confront anyone with this, but we have no choice. "Augusta" That's right! Don't worry, everything will be fine. Right?

  "Sophie" Hopefully...

  "Augustine" Since there are no objections, tonight is the night to go!

  Augustine had always been like that. Reckless, always going into danger, realizing the gravity and danger, but it only drove him on. It's probably a defensive reaction and he's more afraid than we are. No one has ever gotten into his soul before, and he didn't really let anyone get close to it. Not even his own mother or his brother and sister. Because of his character, he often got into accidents. He fought with someone or stole something. Lavrin, on the contrary, was more judicious. He first assessed the situation and then took action. There were no incidents involving him. Sophie was pretty

  a modest, cowardly girl, but quite malleable and would bring any endeavor she started to the end. They are all opposites of each other. It's more like their zest,

  a feature of their family. They didn't know much about their father. He was always in some kind of meetings, traveling. Even on his vacations he could not spend time with his family, he was always summoned "urgently". Who knows, maybe he was.

  "..."

  "Augustine." Everybody ready? "Lavrin." I think.

  "Sophie." Y-yes. "Augustine" Then we're off. "..."

  "Lavrin" As I understand it, you want to climb that wall, and then somehow get down? "Augustine" Not somehow, but by rope!

  "Lavrin ... "Sophie" Rope?

  "Augustine." Yeah. That's a good idea, isn't it? Assuming we don't have anything.

  "Lavrin." That's a stupid idea. The wall is at least 15 meters high. Whether you have enough rope is a good question.

  "Augustine." That's what we're about to find out.

  Augustine stood on the edge and secured one end of the rope to the wall - threw the other end to the ground.

  "Augustine." How's that look?

  "Lavrin" Poorly seen, can't tell if it reached the ground or not. "Augustine." Then we'll check it out.

  "Lavrin" You want to get off without even knowing for sure if the rope has reached the ground? "Augustine." How else are you gonna check? I'll go first, then Sophie, then you. All right? "Sophie." X-good.

  "Augustine" Then let's go!

  Augustine timidly slid down the rope, but near the end he had already noticed that there wasn't enough rope.

  It was only about two meters to the ground. He didn't hesitate long enough to jump down.

  He pulled the end of the rope to let her know that it was safe to go down. After a while Sophie was nearing the end of the rope.

  "Augustine." Be careful here, there's a little bit of rope missing.

  "Sophie." A little? It's about 5 meters! At least! How do you want me to go down from here? "Augustine." Let me help you.

  I walked over to her and she leaned on me. That way she was able to get down safely. After a while Lavrin came down as well.

  "Lavrin." We're down. Good. But how do we climb up?

  "Augustine." I'll hook you up, or we'll stand on something. We'll figure something out. "Lavrin" I hope.

  Next, we walked in silence towards a village that was not far from the strange forest.

  "Sophie" Are you sure it's safe here?

  "Lavrin" Highly doubtful, this is where the creature tracks were last seen. "Sophie" Why are we still here then?

  "Augustine" Don't worry, everything will be fine. "Sophie" No, it won't!

  Sophie started to shift to screaming.

  "Sophie." Why. Tell me why. Why couldn't your hole-in-the-wall head have thought of it before and given up on the idea? Why are you condemning us to death now? What have we done to you that's so wrong, tell me. Why did you bring us here? Laurin, why did we agree? We could have slept peacefully at home and not been afraid of every rustle.

  "Augustine" Sophie, but I...

  "Sophie." What are you? Tell me, what are you? Are you saying you didn't mean it? At any moment, we could be attacked by this diabolical creature. What about us? We've only got knives, and those aren't dumb! Dumb like you, Augustine!

  "Lavrin" Sophie, I think you're overreacting....

  "Sophie" Lavrin, why are you on his side? Did you really want to get out here and stay here forever?! "Larin." No. Look, I didn't like the idea and I don't like it either. But we've already made our choice.

  "Sophie." Choice? We had a choice to either go together or send him alone. That would mean condemning him or all of us to death. That's your choice?! Either way, we'd still be guilty. Will something happen to him? - guilty because we couldn't stop it. Something's gonna happen to us.

  is gonna happen? - It's our mom's fault for not looking after us, and it's our fault for knowing we can't come in here!

  "Lavrin" Okay, why don't we go back then? Just don't yell, please. "Augustine ...

  "Sophie." Why don't you say anything? Don't you even have anything to say? You can't even say "I'm sorry"! Oh, to hell with you!

  Sophie's "Lavrin..."

  No, she can't leave. She'll get lost here and stay for centuries in this village.

  "Augustine." Sophie, stop! You're going the wrong way. It's dangerous!

  "Sophie." I don't care! I'd rather be eaten - than have a brother like you! Completely reckless and stupid! Who can't be relied on, let alone trusted.

  "Lavrin" Sophie, you need to apologize right now.

  "Sophie" Lavrin, I'm sorry, but fuck you. Always covering for him. "Augustine" Sophie, wait!

  As soon as Sophie started walking, an entity appeared in front of her. It was about two meters tall and had a large build. Its eyes were bright red and bulging. The monster also had a tail and some kind of discharge from its mouth. Maybe it's their saliva, or maybe s o m e kind of pheromones that make it easier to find victims. And it was easy to find these children, the noise from them went all the way to the village where they came from. And these entities have keen hearing, looking at their antennae.

  "Sophie" M-m-mom...

  Sophie managed to say, before the monster created by the devil himself turned his attention to her.

  "Augustine" Sophie!

  Augustine immediately ran up to Sophie and began to distract the monster.

  "Lavrin." What are you doing? Let's run away together!

  "We can't do Augustine together, he'll easily catch up with us. I'll hold him off, and you quickly run to the village and pull the rope behind you.

  "Lavrin" What about you?

  "Augustine" Don't worry about me, I'll get to the village somehow. Sophie, I'm sorry for everything, I've been a bad brother. Now run!

  After these words, Augustine pushed Sophie toward Lavrin, where he caught her, and together they ran toward the rope. As they started to run, the creature followed them.

  "Augustine." Hey! Actually, I'm your target, pay attention to me!

  No matter how hard I tried, it wasn't paying attention to me, then I took a stick and started sticking it into it.

  He obviously didn't like it, and perhaps it hurt him, because he began to shout so loudly that the whole capital seemed to hear him. The roar attracted his companions, who soon surrounded Augustine.

  "Augustine." This is bad. You can't even get out.

  They kept getting closer and closer to him, not giving him a chance to escape.

  "Augustine." Sorry, guys. Hope you can get back to the village and survive.

  Augustine closed his eyes.

  Meanwhile, Lavrin and Sophie were already at the top of the wall and had the rope in their hands.

  "Sophie" Do you think he'll be okay?

  "Lavrin." Of course. It's Augustine, he'll find a way out of any hole. "Sophie" Well, yeah, right...

  Lavrin judiciously assessed the situation and realized that Augustine might not be expected for the morning.

  "Sophie." I'll apologize to him tomorrow then. I said too much to him. I'm sorry too, Lavrin, I yelled at you too.

  "Lavrin." It's nothing, don't mind him. The main thing is that he comes back tomorrow safe and sound. I don't think he's even mad at you.

  Soon they climbed off the wall and went home, where Lavrin was still long awake. "..."

  The next morning was rather uneventful. After Lavrin woke up, his mother came to him.

  "Mom" Lavrin, there's an emergency evacuation in progress. Take Sophie and Augustine and go to the exit while I gather your things.

  "Lavrin." What? What evacuation? Where to?

  "Mom" Somebody in the night woke up the creatures that have been sleeping all this time. Now they're trying to break through the wall.

  Immediately Lavrin broke out in a cold sweat. He began to realize that the entire population of his and the nearest villages was suffering because of them.

  "Lavrin." Okay.

  "Lavrin" Sophie, wake up, we're going to the exit. There's an emergency evacuation in progress, I'll tell you all about it as we go.

  Sophie was very flustered, but apparently guessed what was wrong.

  "Sophie" Is it because of... "Lavrin." Unfortunately, yes. "Sophie" And means that...

  "Lavrin" Yeah, I guess we don't have to wait for Augustine....

  "Sophie." No! Don't say that! He will definitely stay alive! I believe in him... "Lavrin" I did too, but we both saw the picture that was then before us.

  Indeed, Augustine had no chance of surviving. The creatures were getting bigger and bigger, and they surrounded him, preventing him from escaping. Sophie realized this too, but refused to accept his loss.

  Now their village is about to face some pretty scary times. If the wall is breached, they will die. If not, they'll live the same way, but with more fear. They have no choice but to move somewhere closer to the capital.

  Their family wasn't poor, after all their father was a ranger, and a capital city ranger at that! That's a pretty high position. But still not enough money to live in the capital itself. They'd have to look for somewhere on the outskirts, perhaps.

  "Mom." Wait, where's Augustine?

  "Lavrin." We don't know. He's been gone since this morning. "Mom." Shit, he's really going for it.

  "Sophie" Decided to what?

  "Mom" Determined to get on the other side of the wall. He'd been wanting to do that since the day his father went missing. I hope he didn't do it...

  "..."

  "Augustine" Mommy, where's Daddy? He's been gone a long time. "Mom" I don't know, maybe she's late on a mission.

  Someone knocked on the door unexpectedly. Yes, it was unexpected, because it was nighttime.

  "Mom." I'll get it.

  There was a man standing on the doorstep, fully clothed, with a patch on his shoulder or the insignia of his unit. This man must have seen a lot.

  "Stranger" I apologize for this late visit. "Mom." Who are you?

  "Stranger" My name is Sir Austin. I am an ambassador for the Ranger Recon Group. 103rd Squad.

  "Mom" Do you have any news about my husband?

  "Sir Austen." That's right. Report. Lieutenant Colonel Osip Freegan of Ranger Reconnaissance Unit 103 has been reported missing. I offer my sincere condolences

  condolences, this is a great loss not only to his family but also to our squad. "Mom." What? Where or where was the last place he was headed?

  "Sir Austin." According to my sources, he and a few other men from 102nd Squad were sent to the the dense forest to investigate certain lights that have been appearing there for weeks. The fate of those who were with him is also unknown.

  "Mom" I told him he better not head that way....

  "Augustine." You mean Daddy's gone?

  "Sir Austin" Sorry kid, but we can't say for sure until we find him dead or alive. For now, he's in a "neutral" position.

  "Augustine" Where is this forest located?

  "Sir Austin" It's southwest of the main gate by the wall. But they won't let you out, so, little one, you'd better not go there.

  "Augustine" But... How do I get out there?

  "Sir Austin" You can become like us, and serve for the good of the capital. But it would take a very great effort.

  "Augustine." Okay, I'll figure something out. Dad, hang in there.

  "..."

  "Lavrin." Wow. And I didn't even know Augustine wanted to be a ranger after that.

  "Mom" He didn't want to become one, it was enough for him to become a guardian so his family could sleep in peace. He didn't want that to happen to any of you. But unfortunately, he didn't talk himself out of it...

  "Sophie" What do we do now...?

  "Lavrin" To get outside the walls, we should train and become rangers, right?

  "Mom." Yeah. But is that really what you want to do? I mean, you have to be physically fit. "Lavrin" For his brother's sake... For his father's sake.....

  "Mom" Okay, I'll show you where the cadet corps is where you will be trained for this. "Lavrin." Okay, thanks. Sophie, are you with me?

  "Sophie" Yes! I still have a lot to say to Augustine....

  "..."

  The next day, their mother took them to the cadet corps, where they were to undergo a selection process that would determine if they were worthy to be trained by the former commander of the capital's Defense and Intelligence Rangers.

  "Yeoman." Now, you're not gonna get any favors here. If you are too weak physically or mentally, you have no place in our ranks. All those who are afraid of blood, torn limbs or anything else, please leave at once.

  Surprisingly no one left, are the toughest nuts gathered here, gathered from all over the country?

  "Senior" Good, but words alone are not enough, let's put it to the test. Deputy, would you be so kind as to bring me "object C"?

  "Assistant" Are you sure? "Senior." Yeah. Bring it in. "Aide" It will be done.

  "Objective C." I've heard of that somewhere.

  After a while the assistant came with a wagon, in which was a certain box covered with a white sheet keeping out the sunlight.

  "Elder" So, you are about to meet one of the freaks of this world.

  The older man pulled the sheet off. Underneath was a wooden box, inside of which sat something, something very ugly and smelling the most unpleasant odor I'd ever smelled.

  "Elder." There are plenty of those outside our walls. For starters, each of you must get up close to one. And at least keep your breakfast inside you for starters. Not to mention when he starts to feel you up.

  Feel? What did he mean by that.

  Nevertheless, one after another came up to this creature. Every second could not stand such a stench, such a disgusting sight, and simply began to vomit right in front of the box, just not having time to reach the bucket.

  The first stage proved to be quite a difficult stage, I think half of it will remain. The important thing is that we can get through it.

  The line went on, one by one leaving this selection. "..."

  Now it's my turn.

  As I approached, I smelled a stench I had never smelled in my life. There's no way to describe it. It just can't be compared to anything. Nothing in the world stinks like this creature. The smell almost made me vomit, but I held it in. Next came the second stage. The creature stretched out its slimy, slimy, slimy tentacles made of nothing but slime. When it touched me, my skin started to burn a little. It didn't hurt at first, it just had to stand there for a couple minutes, I thought it would be very easy. But after a few seconds the pain increased dramatically and it was no longer pleasant, even painful and very painful!

  But still bearable.

  After one minute I was on the verge of screaming in pain that I can't describe. It's like being poured 20 liters of hot water on you, and then later being dunked into a tub full of hot water and shut down for a few minutes, maybe even hours. That's roughly what it felt like to me

  but I was able to endure it. As soon as he let me go, the pain subsided almost immediately, and the scorch marks began to go away, too. But the burn was almost to my bones.

  The important thing is to get Sophie through now. When it was her turn, I was all nervous. Sophie was very nervous too.

  But in the end she also passed the exams, but at the end she almost burst into tears.

  I had little interest in the results of the other candidates. After these exams, we were to be informed who had passed and which groups would be included.

  When we got home, we told my mom everything and waited for the results. "..."

  In the morning there was a knock on our door.

  "Mom" Don't worry, I'll get it.

  A tall guy showed up at the door, bringing the results of the supervisors' meeting, on our exams.

  "Mom" Well, let's see.

  As it turned out, Sophie and I passed that test.

  "Lavrin" Sophie, you're doing great! "Sophie" S-thank you....

  "Lavrin." I saw you more nervous than I was. Not for nothing, though. "Sophie" Yes, now we will train together and achieve a common goal. "Mom." Well, I'm not gonna tell you that.

  "Lavrin." What?

  "Mom" Lavrin, you got into the training group of rangers who often go outside the walls. Sophie, on the other hand, has fallen to the capital rangers, and will spend more time guarding the capital and the towns or villages nearest to it.

  "Lavrin" That's how it is....

  "Sophie." But, we wanted to get together.

  "Mom" Alas, it's not always done the way you want it done.

  "Lavrin" It turns out that tomorrow our paths will be separated. That's how. "Sophie." Wait, take your time. Maybe there's some way we can get together!

  "Lavrin." Alas, that's impossible. And I myself would like to go outside more often. See what I can find out about Augustine and my father.

  "Sophie" X-good...

  I could tell from Sophie's reaction that she was going to be very worried. It wasn't surprising; if one of her loved ones disappeared outside the walls again, she might not be able to bear it. But I promise you, Sophie, I'll be back with Augustine at least.

  "..."

  The next day we were divided into groups. As it happened, most of those who had enlisted had joined the Capital Rangers. There were at least 15 people in the Capital Rangers. We had seven or eight.

  Before we were separated and about to be taken to different camps Sophie called out to me.

  "Sophie" Lavrin! Please stay alive!

  I only nodded to her and let her know to take care of herself as well.

  "Lavrin" Teacher, may I ask a question? "Teacher." I'm listening.

  "Lavrin" I'd like to know why there are so few of us. After all, we'll be going outside the walls, where it's quite dangerous. I don't rule out the possibility of casualties. But don't you think there are too many of us from the capital?

  "Teacher" Unfortunately, the capital ones have always been outnumbered. Most are cowardly and afraid to get outside the walls and try every way to get from our group to theirs. But don't worry, you will train well - there will be no losses.

  "Lavrin" Good teacher.

  Farther on we rode the wagon in silence. "..."

  We arrived after some time that I had even gotten in. The training camp was in a forest I had never seen before. There were several residential houses on the camp grounds, apparently we would be living there. I also found several stadiums where we could train. There were also a few buildings, the meaning of which I did not understand.

  "Teacher." Okay, now you're going to be assigned to your rooms. Since this camp is designed to accommodate many

  If you have more students, each of you will have your own room in the same building. You'll be taken there now and told everything. We'll be meeting here in an hour.

  We were led to our rooms.

  The room was not small, there was a large bed, a table, a closet, and a few chairs. But I don't think it filled the emptiness of the room much. And yet such rooms were made for several people, but not for one.

  I quickly put my things in the closet, locked my room, and went to the square.

  "Teacher" So, there are 8 of you here. We don't have a large territory, so I suggest you split up into 4 people to start with, and then 2. That way you might be able to find some good allies. Pick a pair.

  Squads of four formed pretty quickly. I met two guys and a modest girl.

  "Guy." Hi, are we going to be in the same squad? My name's Nico, what's yours? "Lavrin" Lavrin, nice to meet you. I hope we can be friends and good allies.

  "Nico" Likewise! And this is my brother Juno, he's a bit shy, so he's afraid to approach. "Lavrin" Nice to meet you, Yuno, I'm Lavrin. I hope we can work together.

  "Juno." And-and me, too.

  Yeah, he was very shy, though.

  "Lavrin" Boy, do you know who the girl sitting there is? She's in our squad, too.

  "Nico." No, we don't know anyone like that. She doesn't seem like the social type. Juno, she's like your sister!

  "Yuno" What are you g-g-speaking..... "Nico" Come on, I'm kidding!

  "Teacher" Okay, now divide into two people and come over to me.

  "Niko" Lada Lavrin, see you later. I'll see you around. "Lavrin." Cheers, good luck to you guys!

  I had no choice but to approach that girl.

  "Lavrin." Ahem, hello. Do you mind being a couple? Everyone's already found her, and we're sitting apart like this.

  "Girl." Yeah. I don't mind.

  Wow, she can talk. Even though she hid her face, I thought she was pretty cute. "Lavrin." Then it's nice to meet you. My name is Lavrin, I think we'll work well together. "Girl" And m-me Yu-yuki...

  "Lavrin." That's great! Now let's go to the teacher, or we'll miss the whole thing.

  I took her hand and led her to the teacher. She exclaimed strangely, and I turned around and saw that she was burning with embarrassment, so I immediately let go of her hand and apologized.

  "Teacher" So, hopefully all of you have found a date. Now let's move on to the first training session. Each pair will be allocated a certain area of the territory, on it you will need to find a flower called - Liko. From it you should make a bandage. There are an equal number of such flowers on each of the sites, but remember! If you make a mistake once, then the second time you may not have enough of these flowers. So be careful and accurate.

  We all nodded and joyfully went to pick those flowers.

  "Lavrin" Yuki, where are you from yourself? "Yuki" From the village that's behind 2 walls... "Lavrin." Wow, that's amazing.

  "Yuki Do you think that people like me can't be worthy of the title 'ranger'? "Lavrin." No, why would I do that? I didn't mean to!

  "Yuki" All you metropolitan types....

  "Lavrin" Hush, hush, Yuki. I was just asking. I'm from there, too, but strangely enough, I don't recognize you. My father was a Ranger Commander and he disappeared behind a wall in the woods. So my sister and I went to try to get into the academy to find him and.....

  I stopped, for I shouldn't tell you yet that my brother had gotten out illegally outside the walls, I don't know how that might turn out later.

  "Lavrin" And get him out of there.

  "Yuki" Wow...I'm so sorry, Lavrin. It's just...it's just that I've met so many metropolitan unpleasant people who have made fun of me time and time again because I'm from a rather poor village. Had they known that if it wasn't for this village, they'd be walking around hungry, starving and barefoot!

  "Lavrin" That's right!

  We started laughing amicably.

  After a while, we heard some shouting.

  The screams grew louder and stronger. It was as if someone was being pierced by a thousand daggers. It was as if he were in a closed cell, where everything was made of sharp knives, where there was no way out.

  When we ran to the spot, we were horrified. The guy was sitting there with his arms, neck, eyes and head completely burned. Underneath his uniform he had also turned into a raptor that had been roasted over a fire for a long time. His partner wasn't far away and was also on edge.

  "Lavrin" What happened here? Yuki, call the teacher! "Boyfriend" Help...

  "Lavrin" Now...now-now-now. Hold on a little longer, please. We're gonna help you.

  While Yuki ran after the teacher, I quickly picked up some herbs, I knew what they looked like and how to use them.

  After a few compresses, the guy's pain subsided, the burning went away. But it was painful to look at him. His neck, his arms, his chest-- burned. I can't imagine the pain he was in.

  "Lavrin." Can you talk, or does it hurt?

  He made it clear he couldn't speak. Must have damaged his vocal cords, if they weren't completely burned out....

  "Lavrin" Good, don't strain yourself. Now the teacher will come and we'll definitely help you.

  Yuki took a very long time to walk and didn't come until half an hour later.

  "Teacher" What's wrong with you?

  "Lavrin" He can't speak, either he's in a lot of pain or he just can't anymore. "Teacher" God...My children...An emergency meeting for everyone.

  We realized that the matter was very important. An hour later, everyone gathered in the square.

  "Teacher" So, something very tragic has just happened, and now I want to warn you so that it doesn't happen again. Unfortunately, we have lost a student.

  He's going to a better world, I'm sure of it. There's also one student hospitalized with very bad burns. So now.

  I looked around for a moment, there were 8 of us. There should have been 6, but for some reason there were 5.

  "Teacher" ...which is why you should be much more careful with them than I expected.... "Lavrin" Master! One more student is missing.

  "Teacher" What?

  The teacher counted everyone.

  "Teacher." Indeed. Where's your friend, Evan? "Evan" He's...missing.

  "Teacher" How did he disappear? Where?

  "Evan" We were on our property and he saw this flower a little farther away than her and went to take it there. Said he'd be back real soon. He's been gone two hours.

  "Teacher" What? Why didn't you tell me this before?!

  "Evan" Well, you were excited about those two students and....

  "Teacher" Don't be ridiculous! You should have reported it to me! What are you going to do now? Where to go?

  "Evan" N-I don't know...

  To hell with these knuckleheads.

  "Lavrin" Yuki and I are offering our help. We can go and try to find the missing student.

  Yuki must have been very shocked at my boldness and suggestion. She didn't really want to do it herself, but a familiar face wouldn't hurt.

  "Teacher" you? Are you sure you can do it? "Lavrin" We'll do our best.

  "Teacher" Okay, come back before tonight. "Lavrin." Yeah.

  Just need to find out the details.

  "Lavrin" Evan, tell me what his name was and where he went.

  "Evan." His name was Abrams. He went northwest from here. Where he might have gone next, I don't know. It's just that there was that flower in that direction.

  "Lavrin." Okay, thank you, Evan. We'll try to find your friend.

  "..."

  "Yuki" Lavrin, why didn't you ask me...?

  "Lavrin A. Yuki, please forgive me, but I couldn't stand by and watch as they could fail at a simple task. We've lost one comrade, and we may lose another. These are all potential allies we have to fight shoulder to shoulder with.

  So I'm sorry, I needed someone I knew. Even though you and I just met. "Yuki" Well okay... I don't mind adventures!

  "Lavrin." That's good! Now, please be careful.

  We were approaching the place from which Abrams was going to go to the flower. There was a steep slope with a trail below.

  "Lavrin." Shall we?

  Yuki only nodded silently and we tried to carefully descend.

  Halfway down the descent my foot started to slip and I spent the rest of the half somersaulting as hard as I could.

  "Yuki" Lavrin! Are you alive in there? "Lavrin." Yes, of course.

  "Yuki" Don't break anything. Aah!

  Before Yuki could say anything, she started to fall. I was lucky to catch her.

  "Lavrin." Are you okay? You have to be careful with that descent. "Yuki" S-thank you b-big...

  It was as red as a tomato. When we came to the trail, we followed it. "..."

  At the end of the trail there was another descent, although it was more like a cliff. I guess he didn't go this way, because there was no body and no sign of a fall at the bottom.

  Maybe there was some other way?

  We walked around and looked and found a small cave.

  "Lavrin." Shall we go there? "Yuki" Let's go...

  "Lavrin" Aren't you afraid? "Yuki" Not a bit!

  Yuki was shaking, whether from embarrassment or fear. Maybe it was just a mixture of emotions.

  When we entered the cave, we were plunged into total darkness, whether it was the cave of an ice dragon, which according to legend lives far away in the mountains. Only occasionally we could see rays of light that illuminated our path a little, so we were able to move forward a little. All we needed was a torch.

  "Yuki Are you sure he went this way?

  "Lavrin" He has nowhere else to go, we didn't notice anything down below. Even the grass was untouched. So that's the only option.

  Yes, I could have made a mistake and gone to the wrong place, but there's simply no other place. Where he could have gone.

  As we walked on, I saw something on the wall that looked very much like a wall torch. What would a wall torch be doing in the middle of a cave? Or is it not really a cave?

  As I took it in the distance I noticed a burning torch, but where did it come from? From it I lit the one I had taken and we moved on.

  I didn't like this whole story more and more. Why is there a lit wall torch in a cave? Why would there even be a wall torch in a cave?

  Wandering around the cave we lost track of time and it seemed as if we had been here for hours, days.

  Soon around the corner was a room that was completely hung with wall torches and was very well lit. Why would there be such a thing in an ordinary cave?

  When I entered the room, I saw many exits, like a labyrinth indeed! The situation became even more heated.

  "Yuki" S-listen, L-laurin, let's get out of here. I'm scared. "Lavrin" Don't worry, everything will be fine, I promise.

  Of course I was scared too, but I tried not to show it. But something happened that I didn't want to happen at all.

  There was a sound coming from those exits. Like singing... No, not singing, like a prayer being recited. But why would there be a religious church here? Or is it not a church...? I started to listen.

  Really, it wasn't a church. It was a kind of ritual. They were not very popular in our time, but it cannot be said that no one practiced them. Rituals need a permit, unless it's a cult. Isn't that right?

  Unfortunately, no. People dressed in red came out of the aisle, it must be a cult and it was all planned. I have to get Yuki out of here somehow.

  I quickly darted back, but there were already people there. There's no turning back.

  "Lavrin" Who are you and what do you need?

  "Stranger" Oh, it is you who better tell me what you are doing at this late hour in our manor. How dare you barge in here uninvited?

  "Lavrin" I...We were looking for a comrade of ours who supposedly might have come in here. Have you seen anyone like that?

  "Stranger." I think I'm... I think I remember. Yeah, there was this kid. Daniel, please.

  All right, the important thing is to get him and get out of here. Maybe they already have plans for us. "Lavrin" Fine, then can you bring him in and let us go? We deeply apologize for intruding on you. "Stranger" Oh, no problem, Danielle will bring it over now.

  "Yukie" P- bring it...?

  Five minutes later, Daniel came out with some strange device, I don't even know what it was. It looked like a bag, but it had a trigger mechanism and blades.

  "The Stranger" Daniel. "Danielle." Check.

  A moment later, Abrams came out of the sack--as he came out, individually. All of his limbs were severed, including his head. It was a horrible sight.

  "Lavrin" Yuki, turn around.

  Yuki was trembling with fear, but she couldn't cry. She was frozen in utter terror, apparently thinking that it would be the same with us, but I wouldn't let it happen, at least not with Yuki....

  "The Stranger" Behold! What happens to those who violate all the laws of our religious company!

  A religious company? Is that what they call their sect?

  "Lavrin" I...I apologize, but could you please let us go.

  "Stranger" No way... You've seen my face. You saw how many of us there are. You saw the one who interrupted us. So you're witnesses. The real deal!

  He started to psychically taunt us. I don't know what's next for us, but it must be a battle, no other way. There's a lot more of them than there are of us. Can we handle it?

  "Lavrin." And you'll do to us what you did to him?

  "Guy" Boss, I like him, he's so smart. Can I kill him myself?

  "Stranger" Hold your horses, there's enough fun for everyone. You'd better introduce us to your friend....

  He licked his lips. No, this was getting out of hand. "Lavrin" Can't, doesn't socialize with rabble like you. "Stranger" What? What did you say?

  "Lavrin" Does a pathetic creature like you need to be told twice? Well, I'll say it again, she doesn't socialize with rabble like you.

  I knew I was playing against myself, but there was no other way out. They won't let us go. Even if they use Yuki... No! I can't let that happen.

  "Stranger" How... How dare you?! How dare you say that in the face of the head of the church. "Holland"?!

  "Lauren" of the Church? You are more like Satan worshipers. The Church can't do that to ordinary people.

  "Stranger" You defiled me - fine. But I won't let you defile our church! "Lavrin" Fuck you.

  I walked over and spit in the face of this evolutionary mistake. I guess that was the last straw.

  "Stranger." Get them! Now! Don't spare the boy, but save the girl.

  They began to approach us from all sides, but a large gap formed between them leading into one of the passageways through which they had exited.

  No choice. I grabbed Yuki in one hand, my weapon in the other, and moved forward.

  They tried to grab me, but were deprived of a couple of fingers. However, this did not stop them and they continued to run after us.

  They were outnumbered, they know these tunnels by heart. It's all against us now! We ran as fast as we could. Yuki fell down a couple times, but I quickly picked her up.

  We came around the corner and there was a dark room, we ran into it.

  We hear them running past this room. Just as I want to look out, the lights in this room come on. In the corner of it is their leader.

  "Stranger" You can run from them and escape. But you can't run away from me!

  "Lavrin" Just let us go and no one will have a problem. We could easily kill a few of your men.

  He interrupted me.

  "Stranger." That's right, several. The two of you can't take on everyone. Although I see you're the only one in the mood to fight back. So there's no choice but to surrender, is there?

  He starts laughing nervously at us again. I can hear the rest of his men approaching us. Is this really the end? No! There's a way out of every situation. When your life is on the line, what do you do? Go for broke!

  I came up sharply and grabbed their ringleader and put a knife to his throat.

  "Stranger." What are you doing?! Let go of me!

  "Lavrin" No way. Yuki, go behind my back and make sure no one goes behind your back.

  She only nodded silently.

  Soon everyone came running to us and saw the scene. Their leader is being held by some ragamuffin. They started coming towards me.

  "Lavrin" One more step and I'll slit his throat!

  It worked at first, but ....

  "Stranger" Don't listen to him! He's not capable of this! Remember who you are and put all doubts aside!

  They began to approach me more confidently. No choice.

  I pressed down on his throat and he bled, and if I gave him any more, he'd drop dead.

  "Lavrin." I'll say it again. One more step and I'll slit his throat!

  They're petrified.

  "The Stranger." Listen to him! Don't make a move! Have you forgotten? If your priest dies, your church dies!

  Everyone really started listening to him. That's how we got to the exit.

  "Stranger" That's it, now leave me and go on your way.

  "Lavrin." Oh, no. You and your church and all your subordinates are going to the supreme court. That's where you're going right now.

  "Lavrin" Yuki, run to the teacher and tell him where I am and who I'm with. "Stranger" Let me guess, your teacher's name isn't Ithaca by any chance?

  "Lavrin." Right. But how do you know him?

  "Stranger." Uh-oh. He was the creator of this church, he started to instill this faith in us. I was just a follower.

  "Lavrin How can I trust you after what you've done?

  "The Stranger" In reality, both Ithaca and Evan are traitors. They are faithful worshipers of the church "Holland!" Why do you think the teacher didn't go looking for his student himself. How come two guys got very bad burns, one of them died, didn't he?

  "Lavrin" What...?

  "Stranger" Right now there is utter chaos going on in the training camp. Itachi opened this cave and unleashed the monsters that are tearing down these walls. Or rather our church did and we worship them! Previously our church had the name "Axiom Church", but that name caused too much attention, which we didn't need. That's why we changed the name.

  Now your friend is going to come running in screaming that it's like Satan himself walked through that training camp and wanted to "train" there!

  He started laughing evilly. And I-- I just can't believe it all. It all started because of one man, so many people died, a table of innocent people.....

  "Stranger" Don't worry, Ithaca is long gone. It was all done by our people in alliance with the monsters. "Yuki" Lavrin!

  "Stranger." There, right there. That's what I said. It's in your best interest to let me go now. I won't kill you for it now, but I'll be watching you closely. I like your combative nature, you've either been through a lot or you have a willpower of steel.

  So I let him go. He quickly disappeared into the cave.

  "Yuki" Lavrin! Why did you let him go? That's not the only problem, though. Our whole camp is on fire! We have to do something!

  "Lavrin." I know. This stranger told me everything. In exchange for me letting him go, he won't kill us and will just keep watch.

  "Yuki" What? So it's their business? We're not just going to let it go, are we? "Lavrin" No, not theirs.

  "Yuki." Whose is it?

  "Lavrin." Come on, I'll tell you all about it. We have more challenges ahead of us than we realized.

  On the way to the campground, I told her everything. She was in total shock. We walked around the camp a bit and found no one. We went to the capital to see the leadership.

  Upon arrival we told everything that had happened and about the flowers too.

  They sent a rescue team there, but they wouldn't even listen to what I said about the church and the teacher's involvement. It was like they already knew everything.

  "Yuki" What can I do... They won't even listen to you.

  "Lavrin." I guess that's it. Everything. Including the walls, the monsters, the capital, it's one big game. And he's playing it very well. We need to figure this out. But first, we have to do our duty to our people and not get killed--

  Debt. What is it, exactly? Maybe it's some kind of obligation to someone? But to whom? To the ordinary villagers who are waiting for the time when it's all over.

  is going to end? Or to the top of the government? Who are always ready to sell someone out, just give them money....

  But, why we, the ordinary people who decided to stand up for this place, have a duty to everyone - their protection. We have to fulfill it successfully, otherwise... Otherwise, these people will die.

  people, our family, friends, families. Everyone! Except the government has a duty, but it doesn't fulfill it. Ithaca's teacher is proof of that. He's one of the main ones.

  Maybe they're all in cahoots with this church. I'd like to believe they're not, but I can't trust them now...There's only hope for the survivors of our group. There are only two. Those are the brothers.

  At the time of the fire, they were in the forest garden and as soon as they saw the fire, they ran to call for help from one of the teachers. From what we saw, it looks like everything had already been decided.

  "Lavrin" And is it worth it to defend those who can easily "sell" you out, in either sense.... "Yuki" What are you talking about?

  "Lavrin." No reason. I thought, why defend those who would turn against you, sell you out, betray you? "Yuki" You mean like Ithaca's teacher?

  "Lavrin." Yeah. The whole top brass. Don't you think they've made up their minds?

  "Yuki" I don't know... Maybe there's a reason. We don't know everything either. And about the teacher situation...Maybe things aren't going well there either?

  "Lavrin." I doubt it. According to that ringleader.

  Why should I believe him? Yes, what he says confirms what we've seen for ourselves. But is it really that simple? We didn't meet the teacher or Evan.

  "Yuki" Toh?

  "Lavrin" Toh, maybe we shouldn't take his word for it. It's not like we saw the teacher or Evan. And the fire was just about to break out, so we couldn't have gotten far.

  "Yuki" Do you think this is all the work of that church? Do you think they want to turn you against those who lead you?

  "Lavrin." I don't know, but it could be. I don't know what the hell they're up to. The most important thing is to get together with Nico and Yuno. They may or may not be the only survivors.

  "Yuki" What's next? What are you planning to do next? "Lavrin" Going to go beyond the walls.

  "Yuki" But, we haven't even practiced much. You want to go outside the walls like this? "Lavrin." It's gonna be okay. I just can't not go in there.

  I didn't have a clear plan of action. And I could have been assigned a completely different task.

  "..."

  Later, the commander called us in.

  "Lavrin" You summoned us?

  "Commander." Right. I have some news for you, have a seat. "Lavrin." Thank you.

  "Commander" And so. In this new mission, you'll be teaming up with Nico and Yuno. I think you're familiar with them.

  "Lavrin." Yes, I did.

  "Commander" Also, you will be joined to the Alpha - 1 group for a mission.

  "Alpha One Lavrin"? Aren't they much more experienced than us? I thought you'd put us with the likes of us.

  "Commander." Right. They have already seen a lot of things, been in difficult situations and found their way out of them. You'll have a chance to learn from them. And the mission will be too dangerous for you without them. The meeting with them will be in a few hours, as well as with the brothers. I hope that's clear, and if there are no questions, I won't keep you.

  "Lavrin" There's a couple questions. "Commander." Go ahead.

  "Lavrin" What kind of mission is this that we needed the help of almost the strongest squad in the capital?

  "Commander" Your mission will be outside the walls. So you'll be outside the city at all times.

  Surrounded by monsters and dangers. That's why you'll need the help of one of strong squads.

  "Lavrin" And what is our expedition?

  "Commander." I can't give you all the details. You will have to scout the nearby villages for the raw materials you need. You will be given all the details later, if they deem it necessary.

  I hope I've answered all the questions you're interested in? "Lavrin." Yes. Thank you.

  "Commander" I dare not detain you.

  It's kind of weird....

  "Lavrin" Yuki, don't you think it's strange not to communicate the purpose of the expedition to those who are going there?

  "Yuki" I don't know. Maybe it's some kind of secret mission? And they don't want us to blab? "Lavrin." I doubt it. Let's wait for Nico and Yuno then.

  Still, it really bugged me. Yes, we were told we were going after raw materials. But what kind of raw materials? What is it for? I realize there are times when you don't need to know any details, but this wasn't it. There was something strange in his voice, but what? Being

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Maybe I'm just making this up and then I'll worry about it. I should first learn something from those brothers and then draw conclusions.

  "..."

  An hour later they arrived.

  "Niko" Lavrin! Old friend! Long time no see! We're going on a joint mission today, aren't we? Who's that with you? Is it your girlfriend?

  "Lavrin." Good luck to you, too. Yes, it's been a long time This is Yuki, my friend.

  "Nico." Nice to meet you! I'm Nico. And this is my brother. I think he can introduce himself. "Yuno." I-it's nice to meet you. My name is Yu-uno.

  "Yuki." B-mutual.

  "Nico." Like a pair of boots! Honestly.

  "Lavrin" Niko, listen. I wanted to ask you a question before they came. "Nico" Yes, ask.

  "Lavrin." What do you know about our mission? We weren't told anything personally. "Expedition for raw materials" - that's what the commander called our trip.

  "Nico" For raw materials ... We weren't told anything either, but this is the first time I've heard of raw materials.

  "Lavrin" So you were told a different purpose for the expedition? "Nico" Yes. Juno, maybe you remember?

  "Yuno" I remember for sure that we were to explore the nearby villages. What for, I don't know.

  I remember. I don't know if he was looking for people or parts. I think he said something about a forest, a cabin.

  "Lavrin" Yes. We were told for the villages too.

  "Nico" Forest, a cabin you say... Exactly! We were told that we must find a hut where some old man who knows how to slay these monsters and

  no longer fear them.

  "Lavrin." And this is the operation they called us for? People who haven't even fought monsters yet?

  "Nico." But we'll have almost the most elite of the capital with us! "Alpha One! I wish I could be there. So don't worry. Everything will go smoothly.

  "Lavrin." I sure hope so.

  Two different targets for one expedition. We need to hear the elite group's side of the story. An hour later, they were just arriving.

  "Nico." Oh, look! There they are! There they are!

  A small carriage pulled up to us, and several big guys got out. Big, not in the sense of overweight people.

  But in terms of people who really looked like

  almost the elite of the capital. I think they even had muscles on their fingers. And a lot more on our arms.

  "Guy" Are you and I the ones who have to go behind the walls?

  "Lavrin." Yeah. I'm called...

  "Guy." We'll get to know each other later. Get in and let's go.

  We got in and were taken to the southeast part of the wall. Where there were guards at the gate.

  All along the way I was thinking, "Why us? There are guys who are much more experienced than us." I mean, really. It's weird. Do they have such expectations of us that we will return from the first mission unharmed, and even more so as a whole team.

  My thoughts were jumbled, unable to concentrate. "..."

  "Augustine" W-what....? W-where am I...?

  I woke up in some kind of cave... The last thing I remember was standing surrounded by monsters. Alone. Or not alone? I think there was someone else with me, but I can't remember who.....

  My head was buzzing, my body wasn't listening. How many days had I been here? If it's months.

  And why am I still alive? Maybe someone wants me alive and they didn't kill me? No... That's crazy. I have to try to find a way out of here... They're waiting for me at home... And who's waiting for me...? Do I have a family? Family.... I think... I think I remember something... I remember that there was someone with me in the house... There were four of them... Two men and two girls... Or not............................................................................................................................... I can't

  remember... My head.... My head hurts a lot... "   "

  We had already crossed the Southeastern border with the wall and were driving beyond it. After a few minutes we did stop and I decided to ask.

  "Lavrin." I beg your pardon. Could you tell me the purpose of the expedition? "Boy" Didn't your commanding officer tell you that?

  "Lavrin Reported, but.. "

  "Guy." What did he say to you?

  "Lavrin" Said going after the raw materials, but....

  "Boyfriend." Well, that's it, then. Or do you think we have other plans? "Lavrin." No, I don't think so. I apologize.

  "Guy." That's right. Now we'll split up. Each of you will be joined by one of us.

  In this way, we can ensure security and communication above all. We have a lot of territory to cover. That's why we have to be on our guard at all times. Do you understand me?

  "Nico." Yes!

  "Yuki" Can you go with whoever you want to go with? "Lavrin" And who do you want to go with?

  "Yuki" With L-lavrin....

  "Boy" You do realize that in that case, none of us will go with you, right? So we can't guarantee your safety. So for your own good, I'm forced to

  to turn you down.

  "Yuki" We won't be lost. In case of danger, we won't fight, we'd rather come to you.

  "Guy." Well, do what you think is right. We'll be exploring this area. You'll take the northwest section. The others will be told their territories. We'll explore this village down to the dense forest. Anything you find or suspect, contact us. Stay out of harm's way.

  I hope everyone is clear on this, so let's get started!

  Everyone broke into pairs and we went to our territory.

  "Lavrin" Yuki, why did you want to come with me? I think they can protect you better than I can.

  "Yuki" How can I explain it to you... I feel a kind of uncertainty around them. Some kind of danger. And we can definitely stand up for ourselves, can't we?

  "Lavrin." That's right. But what kind of danger did you sense? "Yuki" Don't worry about it. It was probably just my imagination. We started wandering around this village.

  It's hard to search when you don't know what you're looking for. I mean, they still haven't told us what kind of raw materials we need. Or should we look for the cabin? If we look for a cabin, we have to go into the woods. And there's sure to be a lot of those monsters out there.

  Lucky it's morning and we don't have much to fear from them. They are mostly active at night, but there have been cases of them attacking in the sunlight.

  I wonder how Nico and Yuno are doing? "..."

  It was about 3 hours later when we heard strange noises coming from one of the houses. When we approached, we were horrified.....

  There was a body lying in the house, covered in blood, mutilated beyond recognition. We decided to approach him.

  Blood was pouring in rivulets. Must have been done recently. And the uniform was familiar... It was so battered, you wouldn't know if it was from our squad or not.

  However, there was still an emblem on his shoulder that indicated that this person was from our squad. So it's someone from Nico or Yuno... Is that what you're saying? No, it's not,

  Bullshit...Although the uniform didn't look like the uniform of those rangers, it was definitely our uniform...I stepped closer, the body was still breathing and trying to move.

  "Laurin." Hey, kid, wait a minute, take your time. How'd you do that? You're bleeding, let's bandage it up sometime.

  "Juno" l-l-lawrin....

  I was thrown into a cold sweat. It was Juno. But... Who's that with him? He was supposed to be protected by that ranger.

  "Lavrin" Yuno! How did this happen, who did this to you?

  "Yuno" L-l-lawrin...Y-you're in b-b-b-big danger...Khe-Khe...They s-said to kill everyone who goes against the capital and against the church.....

  "Lavrin." Who said that? Against which church?

  But he didn't answer me anymore. He had lost too much blood, and it was coming.

  "Lavrin" Rest in peace, friend....

  I walked out not knowing what to do next.....

  "Yuki" Lavrin, what is it? Who's lying there? You don't have a face!

  "Lavrin" There's Juno lying there. Can you imagine? He said: "They said we should kill everyone who goes against the capital and against the church." Those were his last words.

  "Yuki" But, who are "they"? What church? What does the capital have to do with it? We're under its authority, aren't we?

  "Lavrin." I don't know. But so far, suspicion has fallen on only some.... "Yuki" So what you're saying is...No, impossible....

  "Lavrin." Yeah. Maybe that was their plan all along. After all, we know about the church, the Ithaca teacher....

  "Yuki" Then why did they take on Yuno first?

  "Lavrin." Maybe they thought these brothers were connected. But I'm sure they don't know anything about the church.

  "Yuki" You say brothers... Then in danger and..... "Lavrin" Niko! We need to find him now.

  It didn't add up in my head. Why would the elite kill their subordinates. Those who are just learning to be rangers?

  "Lavrin" If we were in the Northwest, we found Uno in the North. Maybe they went northeast? "Yuki." I think so. We should check it out anyway.

  It's true. If Juno's gone after 2 hours, what guarantee is there that Nico's still alive? We have to hurry. We ran northeast first. We went around this whole area, but no one. Then we headed east.

  Around one corner of the building we could see an open door. We went in.

  The place was trashed, like they were looking for someone but couldn't find them.

  We quickly walked around the whole building and on the second floor we found a hatch behind a door. It was almost invisible, but it was slightly open. If we noticed it, then those thugs and

  I don't think so. Unless...

  We started down into that basement. We didn't know who was going to be there. If it's a trap, then we're dead. We can't even escape. It's just a cage. But something tells me

  tells me we need to come down here.

  When we descended, we were plunged into pitch blackness.

  When I lit the torch, I found boxes in the corner with someone sitting behind them. I drew my sword and was ready to strike when I noticed that there was...Nico! "Lavrin" Niko! You're alive! What's wrong with you, are you okay?

  "Niko." Quiet! They can hear!

  "Lavrin." Right, sorry. You okay? No wounds? What are you even doing here?

  "Niko" This "Alpha 1"... These are not people! They're beasts! First they took Yuno somewhere, but then they came back without him. Then I overheard that they wanted to kill me. But first they

  needed to corner me. When I heard that, I rushed over here and ran into the house. Then I saw this trapdoor and I climbed in. I heard them break in after me and start turning the place upside down trying to find me. When they didn't find me, they left right away. What do we do now?

  "Lavrin" I...I don't know...We've already seen Yuno...You're better off not seeing him. His face was mutilated, his body almost torn apart. By the time we got there, he was already dead. But his last words were:

  "They said we should kill everyone who goes against the capital and against the church." "Nico" Oh my god...Juno....

  "Lavrin." I'm sorry, Nico. But there was nothing we could do to help him. Even all the doctors in the capital couldn't cure him. Do you know anything about the church he was talking about?

  "Nico" Church- When we passed by our camp where we first met you, the

  we saw our teacher talking to some stranger in a cloak. We overheard the conversation and as it turned out, this man was from some church, the name of which I can't remember, it seemed to be....

  "Lavrin" "Holland"...

  "Nico." Right. I take it you met them, too? They were discussing the need to set fire to the camp, especially the dormitories. After they talked, we went and tried to get everyone out of there, but no one believed us. As it turned out the teacher also heard us and realized that we had overheard him.

  Apparently told that stranger because later he showed up and they started looking for us. And eventually the camp was on fire and no help came from the capital.

  "Lavrin" We were there too, but apparently from the other side. We even had a confrontation with this church.....

  "Yuki" He insulted their church and spat in the face of their head man. "Nico" A desperate act....

  "Lavrin" They wanted to grab us and do the same thing they did to Abrams. "Nico." That's right, you followed him there. Did you find him?

  "Lavrin" You could say that...They chopped off all his limbs and his head. Then all of it.

  put in some kind of bag. The same thing could be waiting for me and Yuki. The cave in the mountain near the camp was their meeting place.

  "Nico" That's it. Then there's no way we should go to the capital! They must think we're dead.

  I don't think so. Right after he said that, it was like the door to the house was ripped open by someone. Then very loudly they started walking around looking for us. And it wasn't just five people...there were more!

  "Nico" Shit, they found us.

  "Lavrin" Do you think they'll find this place?

  "Nico" If you've closed the hatch tightly, of course, they'll need time.

  I looked at the hatch...There was a huge gap that showed it was practically wide open.

  "Nico." Got it. Let's go out the back exit. "Lavrin." Is he here?

  "Nico" Surprisingly yes.

  Nico led us into a room that had a small window that looked out into the backyard.

  "Lavrin" If we get out now, where do we run to?

  "Nico." Closer to the forest. I think there was a forest to the west of here. And if we go a little north, we'll come out at the woodsman's house, which is considered the same as us.

  "Lavrin" Did you hear that from them too?

  "Nico." No. I read it while the commander was away. How do you think I started talking about this house? We were also told something about raw materials and stuff.

  "Lavrin" Then what are we standing for?

  We went out that window and ran. Unfortunately, they saw us after a while and started chasing us. When we were already near the forest, we heard them approaching.

  "Nico" Now you should go to the right, I will lead them in the wrong direction. Once you get to the end of the street, then turn left and you will bump into a house. Knock three times and say the code: "No Church Holland!". It should open. Take care.

  "Lavrin." But what about you? You'll make it with us!

  "Nico" But then they'll see where we've gone and we'll be trapped, and we'll also be setting up the elder. Do what I told you. Promise me you'll survive and deal with all this shit.

  "Lavrin." I promise. "Yuki." I promise. "Nico" Take care....

  Nico ran the other way, and we started running to the elder. We hope Nico survives.

  We said the password and the door was opened. A couple minutes later, we heard those thugs running down the street. Just a little more and...

  "..."

  We looked around. There was a room around us, with a table and chairs in the middle. We went over to them and sat down. We were very tired.

  As soon as we sat down, we heard someone coming down.

  "Elder" How nice of you to come safe and sound. "Lavrin" We thank you for opening the door.

  "Elder." Oh, come on. You shouldn't. After all, you're facing this problem too. So it's a sin on my soul if I don't help you in any way I can.

  "Lavrin" I'm sorry, we haven't introduced ourselves. My name is Lavrin, I'm a ranger. And this is my friend Yuki. She's a ranger too, but it's not her job to go outside the walls.

  "Yuki" Z-hello.

  "Lavrin" She's shy, don't mind her.

  "The Old Man." Well. It's nice to meet you. You can just call me "The Old Man. "Lavrin." Likewise.

  "Elder" You've come a long way, would you like to rest? "Yuki" I'm in favor!

  "Lavrin" I still want to talk to you for now.

  "Elder" Okay. Yuki, go up to the 2nd floor and go to the room on the left. There will be your room. To the right of it will be the bathroom. I think you can figure it out.

  "Yuki" Okay, thank you.

  "Old Man" What did you want to talk to me about? "Lavrin" I have a few questions for you.

  "Elder" Ask them all. I'll be happy to answer them if I know the answer.

  "Lavrin." Okay. First I'd like to know what kind of church is this? What can you tell me about it?

  "The Elder" It was a long time ago. Ever since the capital was built. When the first Rangers first appeared. Once, there were a few guys in the selection who were cheated by our government. So they left the capital, but that's not all. They must have crossed someone's path, and they're being watched. Their every move. I don't really know what they did to make it happen. Eventually they were kicked out of the walls. There were six of them from the beginning. They banged on the gates at first, begging, pleading to be brought back. But the guards were adamant and would not open the gate. Then they decided to take revenge on our authorities. They've been outside the walls for a long time, I think they know the territory very well. Then, people started disappearing in the city. The villages closest to the capital, too. It's not clear what this was about. Soon it got to the point where students were disappearing in broad daylight in front of everyone. With such complaints began to appeal to the top, they could not do nothing and sent several units to check whether it was so or not. In the end, after a while,

  out of 20 people, only 5 came back. And those 5 could not say another word for the rest of their lives. Even though physically there was nothing physically preventing them from speaking. Their ligaments were fine, their tongues were fine. I think it's the church's fault, because they simply couldn't have gotten that many

  followers outside the walls. When they had recruited a certain number of people, they began to enter the capital, by paths prepared in advance. These paths were everywhere. In the mountains, in the ground, in fountains, wherever. And now, they stand in the square and tell them what they are

  exist. A great many people came over to their side. Soon there was almost an armed conflict between the government and the church, but the authorities settled everything and agreed that now they would cooperate. And since then, strange things have been happening in the capital itself. A fire starts by itself, someone goes missing, someone dies. Yeah, we've been finding some sort of explanation

  an explanation, but that's not what I think. I hope you haven't had any serious dealings with them. "Lavrin" Yes, indeed, I didn't know anything about them at all. Thank you very much.

  "Elder." You're welcome. What was your problem with them?

  "Lavrin" Yes, it's the same situation. One or two students died dramatically, allegedly from the "poison" of the plant we were assigned to get. And one of them disappeared. Yuki and I went looking for him and found the entrance to the cave where the church was. Turns out they killed and dismembered that friend of ours. They wanted to do the same to us. We ended up escaping.

  "Elder" You haven't met such a short man, also the voice is quite elderly, maybe similar to mine. Not afraid of danger, even if his life is at stake and plays with his targets to the end, even if she can kill him in an instant.

  "Laurine." Uh, I don't know, why? Is it dangerous in any way?

  "Elder" You have no idea. This is one of the 6 disciples who have been betrayed by our authority. If you insult him, it's nothing. You're just a matter of being harassed and beaten up. If you insult the church, put a knife to his throat and spit on him, you will not live. He will pretend that you are of no value to him at first, but in the end he will follow you and at any moment he may kill you.

  "Lavrin" Ah... That's it... That's who it was.... "Old Man" What?! Are you kidding me?!

  "Lavrin" Unfortunately no...When they started to surround us, I had no choice but to go all out, I should have tried to make that move, even though mine and Yuki's lives were at stake. Я

  first insulted him, spit on him, then insulted the church. When we broke away from the chase, he was the first to find us. Then I decided to take action and put a knife to his throat. Surprisingly, he didn't resist. Now I understand why.

  "Elder" Fool! You're not only condemning yourself to death, but Yuki as well! What did he say to you when you let him go?

  "Lavrin." I don't remember exactly. I remember that he told me who set fire to the village, about the government a little bit and....

  "The elder E...?

  "Lavrin" Said he'd be watching me closely. And that he liked the way I acted, my character.

  "Elder" That doesn't usually sound like him...I don't even know what's on his mind. Anyway. ever, you hear me? Never insult their church, their faith. Don't condemn Yuki to death.

  "Lavrin" Okay, I'll try.

  "Elder" What other question did you want to ask me?

  "Lavrin" I was wondering. When were these walls built? Did the monsters attack right away? They don't tell us why, it's like they're not telling us.

  "Elder" It's not weird... The thing is, this is a monster world. We're in their territory, that's why we're under attack. They don't spare anyone and they're trying to drive us away. It's already

  for decades. For the first time, a few people found themselves here. When they surveyed this island, they saw a lot of usefulness in it. Territory, fossils, and so on. They went into the forest as well, but there was no one like that. It was rumored that they even found a settlement of indigenous people there, but it was destroyed. Further on, they also found some settlements. But these

  the settlements looked as if an army had marched through them. All the houses were battered, not a single animal, not a living soul. So they decided to build a walled city because they didn't know what would be waiting for them. At first, there were small walls. About three meters high. When the first attack came, most of the guardsmen were killed, and the walls were badly damaged, they would not survive the next attack. Then it was decided to send all the elite units and the best builders here. Then, these units went to clean up the area. They also went as far as

  the woods. Several of them were missing in action. One was named Nicholas, I think, and we knew each other and were good friends. Too bad, he had a wife and a son at the time, if I'm not mistaken.

  "Lavrin" nicholas...? Nicholas Edoms?

  "The Old Man." Yeah, that's right. You know him? Do you, uh.

  "Lavrin." That's my father. I'm not his only son. He had a son, Augustin, and a daughter, Sophie.

  "Old Man" Augustine... Right! How is he now? I had the opportunity to meet him when he was a kid. "Lavrin" He...He's gone....

  "The Old Man." What do you mean? How did he disappear?

  "Lavrin" Once, long ago, we decided to go to the other side of the walls, on his initiative. He wanted to find some clues to find his father. But it didn't go well. Sophie yelled at him and decided to go back, but one of those things came around the corner. Augustine quickly ran up and got their attention. So he was able to distract all the creatures that were there. Now we don't know what happened to him. We haven't seen him since that day...

  "Elder" That's it...Why did he become a ranger, was it really because of finding his brother?

  "Lavrin." Partly yes. I also wanted to fulfill Augustine's dream of becoming a ranger and finding his father.

  "Old Man" He hadn't forgotten about him...Even wanted to find him.....

  "Lavrin" You have no idea how eager he was to find his father. He was ready to go outside the walls without equipment, training or anything else. That's what ruined him.

  "The Old Man." Well, you say that, too. We don't know his fate yet. Maybe he survived and is somewhere not far from here.

  "Lavrin." It could be anything. We can't rule out that he's alive. I agree with you. "Old Man" What are your plans anyway? What are you gonna do next?

  "Laurin" You mean Augustine?

  "Elder" Not only that. "Lavrin" A...Church....

  "Elder." Yeah. I mean, this is no joke. Especially when you're going against their authority and their beliefs.

  "Lavrin." What am I supposed to do now?

  "Old Man." I can't help you with that. Just don't get too involved in this shit. Otherwise you will be waiting for several outcomes and all of them are not positive.

  "Lvvrin" That's it....

  "Old Man" You can't stay here much longer. They'll find you sooner or later. Get some rest, take a shower, eat something. Tomorrow you and Yuki will go on your way.

  "Lavrin" But, where do we go?

  "The Old Man." I hate to say it, but apparently this is your only choice. You're about to embark on a journey into the dark forest.

  "Lavrin" Dark Forest?! We'll be gone in a minute! And with all that gear.

  "Elder" So you need to go to the capital first, but don't stand out much there since you're already wanted.

  "Lavrin." Wanted? But why?

  "Elder." Why? You went against the church, you even killed your comrade. That's what the headlines will look like.

  "Lavrin" And people are going to believe that...?

  "Elder" Very much so. So be careful. I won't be here in the morning, so I wish you good luck and find Father and Augustine.

  "Lavrin." Thank you. Take care.

  He went up to the second floor.

  I couldn't believe it. In just a couple of hours, our honor had been sullied...There's no telling what kind of fate awaited Nico...What if they put him there? I think that's to be expected. But, Sophie, she has to believe me. I mean, we're brother and sister.

  "Elder" I forgot to clarify. You have a sister who serves in the orders of the capital, don't you? "Lavrin." Yeah. Sophie's name.

  "Old Man." Don't trust her. Absolutely not. "Lavrin" But...why?

  Without answering the question he disappeared into the darkness again.

  Why can't you even trust your own sister? This is crazy. We should go to her first, but before that, we should buy equipment since we're going into the dark forest....

  What do we know about it? The Dark Forest is a dangerous territory that even the most elite units of the capital won't explore. They say there are monsters there that have never been seen in the cities, but that's all rumors, isn't it? After all, very little territory has been

  and there were no new creatures. In my memory, there weren't even any murders recorded there. There were only missing people, nothing more, and what happened to them afterwards is unknown. And the government was very good at closing those cases. They said, "We deeply apologize, but we can in no way confirm that your particular person is alive, prepare for the worst," and then brought a document that said the person was dead. Delusion, no other way. That's why Augustine wanted to get there so badly. I wonder what's wrong with him now...

  "..."

  "Augustine." Time to get out of here.

  After I woke up, I walked around the room. My strength was almost gone, but after a while I was able to recover. All I realized was that I was in some kind of underground dungeon. Did we have one of those in this country? Though I don't think anyone would have known that

  like me. I also realized I'd lost some of my memories. Some images. Images of people, their face and voice I can't remember. When I remember a passage, it seems as if someone is missing. Who - I have yet to know or remember.

  The important thing now is to get out of here. But how? Someone's been coming in here a lot lately. Only I couldn't figure out who it was because I pretended to be immobilized. I can't figure out who it is. or it would be too dangerous. Maybe try to open

  the door?

  It doesn't look very strong, and the lock's already worn out. We should try it, it can't get any worse, can it?

  After a couple of tries I managed to open the door, and quite quietly, the main thing now was to get out unnoticed.

  "..."

  The next morning, I told Yuki our future plan. She was, to put it mildly, not thrilled...

  "Yuki" What?! The dark forest?! Are you trying to kill us or what?! Do you have any idea how dangerous it is?!

  "Lavrin" Yuki. I understand, I've assessed the risks. We're being followed by the capital guard and the church people. Do you think it's better to die in the dark woods, or fall into the hands of someone who can do whatever they want to you. You want to do what Abrams did?

  "Yuki." N-no.

  "Lavrin." There you go. All the more reason not to go like this. We should go to the capital for new gear first, otherwise we just won't last there.

  "Yuki" But, we're wanted, aren't we?

  "Lavrin" Yes, so we will take risks and try not to stand out. And then we'll take it from there. You with me?

  "Yuki" Yes, of course. "Lavrin." That's great.

  In fact, it seemed to me as if the Elder was not telling me something. I could tell by the way he was nervous, his eyes running. It was strange.

  When we got to the capital, we were shocked. Yes, we knew what to expect, but to be so...On every post cheerfully displayed our name and photo with the price they would pay for our...heads? No, they want us alive. No wonder.

  The blacksmith didn't ask us any questions, even though we looked rather suspicious. 2 people in fully covering clothes, in summer, who also hide in the crowd and buy almost the best products.

  "Blacksmith" I can't ask why you need that kind of quality? "Lavrin." We're going to fight monsters.

  "Blacksmith." But a cheaper sword will do. Are you sure it's still worth getting this kind of equipment? "Lavrin" Yes, we're sure.

  "Blacksmith" All right, it's up to you.

  After a few hours, the blacksmith gave us almost the best equipment. It cost a lot, almost all of our savings had been spent.

  "Lavrin" Now we need to meet someone. "Yuki" Who?

  "Lavrin" With my sister. She's a member of the capital's elite guard.

  I couldn't get the Elder's words out of my head. Not to trust... But why? She's my sister and she'll believe me, right? Right?

  I knew which part of the building her room was in, so going in there wasn't special

  of course through the window. There I left a note for her to go to the appointed place and time.

  "Yuki" Are you sure she's coming?

  "Lavrin." I don't know. I'm glad we'll check it out.

  "..."

  We got to the venue and literally about 10 minutes later Sophie came in.

  "Sophie." Who are you and what do you want? Remember, you don't get away with calling a capital guard for nothing.

  "Lavrin." Hush, hush, sister, it's me, your brother.

  I pulled my hood down and removed the blindfold from my face.

  "Sophie" Lavrin? But you're a wanted man.

  "Lavrin." Yeah. That's why you have to wear so many clothes. I called you for business. "Sophie" You better tell me why you killed your comrade.

  "Lavrin" Sophie, you don't think I could kill any of my comrades, do you? We saw the Alpha One men do it. They were still running after the second man, the brother of the dead man, I don't know if he's alive.

  "Sophie" You dare desecrate the elite of our capital?

  "Lavrin." What? No, I'm just telling you the truth, that's all. I didn't kill anyone, honest. You believe me?

  "Sophie." I don't know. There's been some really weird stuff going on lately with the factions and the people in them. Maybe what you're saying is true. What did you call me here for?

  "Lavrin" What do you know about the dark forest? "Sophie" Not really very much, why are you wondering? "Lavrin" We'll be going there soon.

  "Sophie." You? The two of you? If you don't love your life so much, at least take care of this lady's life. Yeah, it's pretty clear that it's the same Yuki who's also wanted.

  "Lavrin." How can you tell?

  "Sophie" Practice. You're lucky it's me standing here and not someone else. If he'd known who you were, he'd have taken you to the mayor's office, where he'd have been given a very substantial sum of money.

  "Lavrin" That's why I approached you specifically, because I knew all this.

  "Sophie." We weren't really told much about the dark forest. They talked about monsters, some dangers.

  "Lavrin." We know that.

  "Sophie." Uh, there was some talk of a dungeon and a settlement. "Lavrin." Okay, I haven't heard that one yet. Can you elaborate on that?

  "Sophie" I don't remember exactly, but there is a settlement in the forest, something like our villages. There's also a dungeon, I don't know what it's for, but it's very old and may not even be there anymore. is utilized.

  "Lavrin." Interesting. Thank you for the information, Sophie. I'm sorry to interrupt the service like this. "Sophie." Nothing. When are you going there?

  "Lavrin" Today-Tomorrow.

  "Sophie." Got it. Good luck with that. "Lavrin." Thank you.

  This is the first I've heard of the settlement and the dungeon. Maybe these guardsmen are told differently. Or something the others, even the Rangers, don't know. Strange, but at least we have something worth going to. We need to find out what kind of settlement this is.

  "Yuki Do you want to know what kind of settlement is there? "Lavrin." Sure. Don't you want one?

  "Yuki" I want to, but...

  "Lavrin" "But I'm very much afraid, aren't I?" Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I hope you've realized that by now.

  "Yuki" Yes... Thank you so much.

  "..."

  When I got out of that dungeon, I ended up in some village.

  "Augustine" Am I still within the city limits?

  After walking around the village, I realized it was abandoned. But there's someone here, I'm sure of it. Someone was always coming to see me, taking care of me and keeping me alive.

  I went around every house, but I didn't see anything like that.

  After making three more circles around the village, I saw a remote cabin. It was quite far from the village and the dungeon. I should go there.

  When I approached him, I immediately heard the voices of people behind me. I quickly hid in the bushes. Were they ...forest rangers? What are they doing here? Although it's logical to assume they're gathering wood, Augustine. What are they talking about?

  "Boyfriend...and that's how I got it today.

  "Woodsman." Wow, that's great. I told you not to give up. "Guy" By the way, did the guy in charge say anything? "Woodsman" About?

  "Boyfriend." Yeah.

  "Woodsman" I don't think so, it's the same. Look after, feed, water. He doesn't need that kid. "Boy." You don't say. We still have to rebuild the village that fell because of the tower. "Woodsman." That's right. Now they won't come here because they're intimidated. "Boyfriend." Why don't we go and see him off?

  "Woodsman." Come on.

  They went to the dungeon.

  So that's it. Just as I thought, someone wants me alive, but who? And what does this have to do with the village and the government? I can't believe our government would do something like this to bring down a village. Not a big one, but still. It's just not clear who was intimidated. And it's so intimidating that no one comes here.

  While I was thinking, the two men came back, and they were anxious. No wonder I'm here, not in a dungeon.

  "Guy." Comrade Sergeant, he's-- He's missing. "Sarge." How did you disappear?!

  "Guy." That's it. We come in and there's no one in the dungeon. We don't even know where to look. "Sergeant" How could you let this happen?! Find him quickly! Wherever he is, get him for me!

  "Boyfriend." Yes, sir. I'll have to look into it. "..."

  We were already on the outskirts of the forest when we saw a grouping of Guardsmen and Rangers.

  "Lavrin" Yuki, look.

  "Yuki" Wow, but what are they doing there? "Sophie." We're here to help you.

  Suddenly, Sophie's voice came from behind me. It was so sudden that I jumped in place, and Yuki almost fell over. I managed to catch her.

  "Lavrin" Sophie, please don't scare me like that anymore. It's a long way to the coffin. "Sophie" Well, I'm sorry, I forgot to warn you.

  "Lavrin" Do they know who we are?

  "Sophie." Of course! By now everyone knows who you are and what you've done. They're just the only ones who believed you, like me.

  "Lavrin" But why will they come with us? Have they no pity for their own lives? "Sophie." A long time ago, some commander was given orders to investigate

  the entirety of the dark forest. Several factions went, but they were only able to explore 10% of the territory. Only 10 people came back. There were at least 1,000. So the matter was quickly hushed up.

  "Lavrin" And now they've reopened it?

  "Sophie." No. It's always been open in the Guards. The squad that can fully explore the forest gets a bonus and a promotion. That's what a lot of people came for.

  "Lavrin." That's it. Hopefully we won't be asked any unnecessary questions? "Sophie" They shouldn't, at least I asked them to.

  "Lavrin" All right, thank you.

  I didn't mind accepting help from my own sister, but it all seemed very strange. First we are chased by guardsmen and church people, then we meet with other guardsmen, provided we are wanted and they cover for us, you could say.

  Why don't they turn us in? Because if the authorities find out about this, they'll never have a peaceful life. Who's gonna report it, though? Us? No. If we report it, they'll find out and they might take us out before they find us. Someone from the squad?

  I think it's the same situation. I guess that's why they don't worry about it. But still, it's kind of weird that they decided to help us.

  "Lavrin" Sophie, why did you decide to help us?

  "Sophie" I told you, everyone's pursuing their own interests. It's mostly about the payoff. "Lavrin" I get that, but you personally. What's your personal reason for being here?

  "Sophie" I've decided to look into it. I don't think my own brother is capable of such a thing, as they say. Even though it's been a while, I don't think you've changed much.

  "Lavrin." Okay, got it.

  We were in for quite an adventure. According to the rumors, there was great danger ahead of us. "..."

  After a while, those guards came.

  "Guy" Sir. We couldn't find him. It's like he vanished into thin air.

  "Woodsman" We've circled all the immediate area he could have gone through in such a short hour, but all is even.

  "Sergeant" Bestolochi. How could you lose him? Well, if he's nowhere near here, that leaves two options.

  "Boyfriend." What kind?

  "Sarge." Either he escaped much sooner than we realize, or he's hiding somewhere in the camp. And it's possible he can see and hear us now.

  After saying that, he looked in my direction.

  "Augustine." What? Does he really know where I am?

  "Boyfriend." But there's no way he escaped before. There's no way.

  "Sergeant." Then search the camp. Search every bush, every tree. The whole area, especially around our main building.

  "Boyfriend." Yes, sir.

  After they left, he looked in my direction again. He started to get closer.

  "Sergeant." I know you're here. Before they find you, it's in your best interest to come with me.

  Said he was about 10 meters away from me. He was looking right at me, but how did he know where I was?

  "Sergeant" Well, boy, are you coming?

  "Augustine" Are you going to answer my questions?

  I said unsure and still wary of everything.

  "Sergeant." I'm not. But our commanding officer might. "Augustine." So you'll take me to him?

  "Sarge." Right. So what's your choice? "Augustine." I can't just trust you.

  "Sarge." I know, but you don't have a choice. I'm gonna ask you one last time. You coming with me?

  He could have told those guys where I was. Maybe we really should trust him.

  It's complicated. I don't get it. Okay, I've been there.

  "Augustine." Okay. Lead the way. "Sarge" Wise decision.

  Afterward, he took me to the building that stood behind him.

  "Augustine" Is the commander in this building? "Sarge." Right.

  "Augustine." Why isn't it in your main building? That's where you sent those guys.

  "Sarge." I sent those guys over there so they wouldn't look here. Knowing them, they'll be sitting there all the time. And the commander is here because this building isn't much different from the others.

  There were cases of raids from the capital into the forest. They tried to destroy the commander, always trying to take the main building while the commander was here and ready to descend into the catacombs.

  "Augustine" And that's a good strategic move, isn't it?

  "Sergeant" After we killed somewhere around 90% of the capital's army, the remaining 10% ran for their lives. The capital said that those same 90% gave their lives to explore the territory. They were killed by monsters. Yes, there are monsters here, but not in this forest. The capital thinks this forest is the one crawling with monsters. But it's not. Not far away is another forest, which is the place where these very monsters breed. Everyone thinks it's here.

  "Augustine" Why are you telling me all this? Am I not your enemy? "Sarge." No, you're not our enemy. You're about to find that out. "Augustine" Understand?

  After saying that, he started to open the doors. Behind them sat a man who had already seen a lot. "Augustine." Hello.

  "Stranger" Augustine... You've come at last... Afterward, he began to turn toward me. "Augustine" What...? This can't be happening.... "..."

  We've been walking through these woods for a long time. I don't even know how many hours. Maybe 3, maybe 5?

  There was only one thing that kept me going. No, not to go completely surrounded by capital guardsmen deep into the forest to an unknown destination. It was the silence of the forest itself. After all, according to the legends, this forest is just "swarming" with monsters. There aren't even any sounds.

  "Lavrin" Listen, sister, I have a question. "Sophie." Go ahead.

  "Lavrin" Look, this forest is just crawling with monsters, isn't it?

  "Sophie." Yeah. Right.

  "Lavrin" We didn't encounter any monsters along the way, did we? "Sophie." Yeah. You want to know why?

  "Lavrin." Yes. I'd like to know.

  "Sophie" We're taking the safest road that's been cleared recently. "Lavrin" Recently? When exactly?

  "Sophie." A week or two ago maybe. Why?

  "Lavrin." It's nothing. It's strange that we don't hear any sounds. In the city, living near the walls, you could hear the sounds these things made.

  "Sophie." That's against the wall, and this is--

  "Lavrin." What about it? The wall is at least 5 meters thick and even then everything was fine.

  you can hear. All you've got here are trees and leaves. There's nothing to muffle the sound. And if this forest would really abound with monsters, even if you have cleared the way for weeks, even yesterday, the result is the same - the monsters will come again. Yeah, maybe they'll be fewer, but they'll still be there. And we've been walking for hours and no one has come to see us. Is this forest really as rich in monsters as it's rumored to be?

  "Sophie" There are too many questions. "Lavrin" Be kind enough to answer them. "Sophie." Why? If your days are numbered. "Lavrin." What?

  Immediately after her words we were surrounded by this crowd of guardsmen and quickly tied up. We, of course, tried to resist, but alas, our attempts were even. "Sophie." Did you really think I, your sister, would actually believe you?

  "Lavrin" What...

  "Sophie" Did you seriously expect me to take your word for it? As if you'd never killed anyone, betrayed me, yourself and ultimately the capital! And you dare to desecrate our great church.

  "Lavrin" I mean... I shouldn't have trusted you apparently....

  "Sophie." Stupid Lavrin. Stupid. You only did me a favor by coming to me with your own request. We'd have been looking for you for a long time.

  "Lavrin" But...why?

  "Sophie." Uh-oh. Why do you ask? You've always been a bore. You annoyed me even as a child. I hated you more than anything. Everyone said: "Look at Lavrin, how smart he is.

  Look at Augustine, he's so good, he picks up everything on the fly." That's annoying. You're both annoying. Luckily, I'm rid of one, because I'm the one who pushed him to go outside the walls.

  "Lavrin." What? No, I don't want to believe it.

  "..."

  "Sophie" Augustine. Brother. Please stop crying. "Augustine." I can't. How's he doing...Is dad even alive.....

  "Sophie's alive, I'm sure of it. I mean, he's gotten out of all kinds of trouble. Think about it. "Augustine" That's true, of course, but, you know, monsters are much worse than messes.

  "Sophie" Then how about this idea. We can go behind the walls and look around a little bit. See if we can find any clues.

  "Augustine" For the walls? Are you kidding? It's too dangerous in there.

  "Sophie." Oh, come on. There hasn't been any news of these very monsters for quite some time. "Augustine" I mean, we don't even have any weapons...

  "Sophie." In case of emergency, we can take a knife, an axe. The monsters are weak behind this wall. So it won't be too hard to deal with them.

  "Augustine." Maybe you're right. I'll think about your idea.

  "Sophie." Think, think, think. I think it's the best thing we can do, not just sit around.

  "..."

  "Sophie." And don't believe it. I knew where all these creatures were. All I had to do was just go around the right corner, making some noise before I did.

  "Lavrin." So that's why you started yelling at Augustine. But why were you so upset that he was missing? Why in the beginning, when Augustine suggested we go behind the walls, you talked us out of it?

  "Sophie." Why, did I have to show you how happy I was right away? You and mom immediately suspected something was wrong. And the reason I talked them out of it was to give that idiot a little extra credit.

  confidence, for when you persuade, you offer a man something that will suit him, not so

  did he? It was his way of reassuring himself when he talked me into it. And those words he said, "It's safe there."

  "don't worry about a thing," "I'll protect you." I couldn't stop myself from bursting out laughing. You would know.

  "Lavrin" Thing...

  "Sophie." Also. Did I order that guy, what was his name, killed and disemboweled? "Lavrin" Do you mean Yuno...?

  "Sophie." Oh, that's his name. Yeah, that's quite a name. You should have heard him begging for mercy. "Lavrin." You're not gonna get away with this.

  "Sophie." But his brother's smart. He managed to get away from us. Didn't last long, though. "Lavrin" What did you do to Nico?

  "Sophie." Nothing yet. You'll meet soon.

  "Sophie." Oh, yeah. I almost forgot. Yes, you're right, there really are no monsters in this forest, except that it was in this forest that those factions died, for very strange reasons. They didn't, unfortunately. are known. I hope you're happy you heard the truth.

  "Lavrin" I will only be satisfied when you pay for what you did to Augustin, Yuno and Nico.... "Sophie." Uh-oh. Make sure your girlfriend stays alive. Our commanding officer's got a thing for her. "Lavrin" If you touch Yuki, I'll kill you.

  "Sophie." Uh-oh. We're so mean, look at us. Okay, you see them in cell 34, while we're at it. "have fun."

  "Boyfriend" Check. "Lavrin" Having fun...?

  "Sophie" Unforgettable emotions and unforgettable fun await you. From our "attractions". "Lavrin." That's a great name for a torture room.

  "Sophie." Yeah! Some people don't even realize it. Well, she's definitely waiting for you, but I can't say the same for your friend. She could be saved by the commander. Well, I've been talking to you too much. Bring them in.

  "Lavrin" I'll be sure to get out and remind you of all your sins!

  After that, I was hit on the head and lost consciousness. "..."

  I woke up in some kind of room. I couldn't understand anything. The last thing I remember is that Yuki and I went into the forest with Sophie and her men. But what happened there...? They...they started to surround us...But why?...Exactly. Sophie betrayed us. Why did I ever trust her? I'm not surprised, though. She was the last person I could turn to for help in such a difficult time. I couldn't go to my mom if she was dragged into this. I don't even want to think about that. Now it turns out we have to get out of here.

  "Lavrin" From here...But where are we?

  "Voice" Oh young man. You are in the dungeon that is under the city hall in the capital. "Lavrin." Thank you.

  So I'm in a dungeon... No wonder. Okay, stop.

  "Lavrin" Is there anyone else here? "The Voice." Yeah. Sure.

  "Lavrin." Who are you? How did you get here?

  "The Voice." Oh. I was a personal blacksmith for the mayor and then...Then he just threw me in here...My son was left alone, my wife was gone and I've been here ever since.

  "Lavrin" How long have you been here?

  "The Voice" A long time ago. Maybe 20 years now. Maybe less. My head's old, I can't think straight. "Lavrin." My name is Lavrin. What's yours?

  "Cargo." Cargo calls me. Nice to meet you. "Lavrin." Likewise.

  "Cargo." How'd you get in here, Lavrin? You sound pretty young, how old are you?

  "Lavrin." I'm 22, still young. And I got here...False accusations started, then they surrounded me, hit me on the head and I'm here in general.

  "Cargo" And bad luck for you...Are you alone in here?

  I looked around. Yuki wasn't around. Why didn't I notice that before? There was no sign of her in the neighboring cells either... I wondered if she had been taken to the commander....

  "Lavrin" I wasn't alone. My friend Yuki was with me. Maybe you saw her with me when they started us up.

  "Cargo." No. I don't remember that. You were led alone. Maybe you're confused.

  Still, my hunches are starting to materialize, which I don't like at all.

  "Lavrin." No, no, no, no, no, no, no. She must have been taken somewhere else. "Cargo" But there's only one dungeon in the capital. Where would they take her then? "Lavrin." That's what I need to know.

  "Cargo" I hope you recognize.... "..."

  And now I've been here for at least five hours. And all I've realized is there's no way out of here. There's patrols every five to ten minutes. And there's more than one of them, not just one. So there's no way to escape.

  "Lavrin." Listen, Cargo. "Cargo." Yeah?

  "Lavrin" Do you know when you'll be released?

  "Cargo." Oh, sweetheart. Once you get in here, you never come out. He's just left to rot in here. "Lavrin." Come on. There's no such thing as not being able to escape.

  "Cargo" I think escaping from the jaws of a monster would be a lot more realistic than escaping from this one.

  dungeons. Look for yourself: constant patrols, guards that change very often. If you do manage to get out of the dungeon, you'll find a space full of traps on the way out.

  "Lavrin" Has anyone tried to escape yet?

  "Cargo." Sure. How do you think I know all this stuff? There have been cases where people have gotten to that trap room. But after that, they're never heard from again. They just disappeared, that's all.

  "Lavrin" M-yes, in the spirit of our government.

  "Cargo." Yeah! After those escape attempts, they beefed up security, as you can see. After that, no one else could even try to escape.

  "Lavrin" Mr. Kargo, how long have you worked as a blacksmith for the mayor's family?

  "Cargo" About 30 years old, maybe. So much has happened in that time. The mayor's been in and out of office. I've been out of his hair, and that's good. I was involved in the building of this very dungeon and the room that followed.

  "Lavrin." That's it.

  That old man sure has worked hard for them...... Wait a

  minute, though.

  "Lavrin" Kargo, you were involved in the building of the dungeon, weren't you? Is that what I heard?

  "Cargo." No, young man, I didn't hear that. I was actually involved in it. We built all sorts of moves. There was even a blueprint in case one of the higher-ups had to escape from the cell, and almost every cell had a key for that. I remember about 25 years ago, Andrew and I were--

  "Lavrin." Wait. What? If you remember the blueprint, why haven't you run away yet?

  "Cargo" Remembering the mere existence of a blueprint and its content are two different things. "Lavrin" Also true. What did these "keys" of yours look like?

  "Cargo" was supposed to be the same as the interior. I mean, stone, for example. Not all the cells have these keys.

  "Lavrin." Yeah, yeah. I got it.

  Well, uh, okay.

  I looked around the cell.

  "Hmmm. Apparently I have a few hours of searching ahead of me. Hopefully they won't be in vain."

  "..."

  "Augustine." What? No. This can't be--

  "Sergeant" Comrade Commander, I'll leave you to it. "Commander." Thank you Sergeant.

  "Augustine" I knew...

  "Osip" Augustine. I don't know if you're glad we met or not. Personally, I'm glad we met under this

  particular circumstance.

  "Augustine" Dad...I knew. I knew you were alive!

  "Osip." You should calm down now. Here, sit down.

  "Augustine" But...Why have you been here for so long? We were really worried and thinking. We

  thought you were gone!

  "Osip" I'm sorry...I have my reasons.. I'll tell you all about it now.

  "Augustine ...

  "Osip" I actually went into this very forest. I wasn't alone, I was with an experienced

  a group of explorers who were the best of the best. When we were in the forest, we didn't find any monsters. We were already deep in the forest when we heard some rustling. There was

  I could hear someone running from one place to another, and there were a lot of them. When we just had time to regroup, they struck.

  "Augustine." There were monsters in those woods.

  "Osip." They better be monsters. They were men sent by the mayor. There were about 50 of them. When we were five times smaller. Losing half of ours, we still held out. The attackers in turn lost 80-90% of their men. You're probably asking, "How did you realize that this was

  people from the capital, especially those sent by the mayor himself?". Many were wearing the same patch. Such patches were worn by the mayor's servants. They were his "trump card" and "fierce fighters". That's the mayor's elite. And we interviewed a couple of the living ones, too.

  "Augustine." Did you make it?

  "Osip." Many of them had what looked like IEDs on them. On some of them we did not manage to remove it, and on others... Alas.....

  "Augustine" So the mayor threw his guys to the slaughter and they would have been killed anyway?

  "Osip." Right. We were told everything by one of the survivors, by the way, it's the same sergeant. He said:

  "We were ordered to sit and wait for you in ambush. When you get to a certain spot, we were to strike. Hanging explosives on many he said, 'This is our backup plan. If you are killed, it will detonate and kill the attacker. Otherwise it will not detonate.".

  What a bastard he is. Those bombs detonated after a while. So he wanted us

  to kill, but he would disguise it with something like "brave defenders have fallen as a result of forest exploration, but their sacrifices were not in vain! We have explored the forest area thanks to them! All victims of the fallen will be given aid!". They wanted to get rid of you because you knew too much. About the mayor, about his projects and so on. I think we have the same reason, though."

  "Augustine" Wow...

  "Osip." I've noticed before that something was wrong, that our mayor was up to something. Alas, my hunch was confirmed. Later, we summoned everyone who was left and set up a small camp. Then we recruited all those who were sent here by the authorities, and those who did not want to go against the capital were released.

  "Augustine" What if they told everything?

  "Osip." How? If we were careful. First we put them to sleep, and then we put them in a dark room one by one. And let them out the same way. They'd wake up on their way out of the woods with

  with a note that said, "Run!" No one's ever come back from that. They must be heroes out there. "Augustine" Did you say "go against the capital"?

  "Osip." That's right. That's what our camp is recruiting people for - to change the government. I think we already have the number of people we need. How did you end up here, outside the walls?

  "Augustine" I've been looking for you. I decided to go outside the walls. I thought I'd find some clues or something.

  "Osip" Don't take any more risks like that, understand? "Augustine" Got it...

  "Augustine" And when will your mission to change power begin?

  "Osip" Soon. Very soon. We'll recruit men. We'll equip them. If you want, you can come with us. "Augustine" Of course I do!

  "Osip." That's great. Then let's go to the armory. "..."

  It's been five, maybe six hours since I found the key, all clear. It's like I'm missing something. Something very important.

  "Lavrin" Mr. Kargo, can you please try to remember any of those blueprints? "Cargo" Trying to remember you say.....

  "Cargo" just pops up a couple numbers for me for some reason, that's all. "Lavrin" What are the numbers?

  "Cargo 3,9,10 and 5,8,13. I don't know what they're for. "Lavrin." Is there anything else you remember?

  "Cargo" Kind of like the exit from the cell in the dungeon leads outside the walls, and there's some sort of passageway into the main body of the capital, if memory serves me right.

  "Lavrin" Is that all you can remember?

  "Cargo." I'm sorry, sweetie, for being so useless.

  "Lavrin." No, no, come on. That information was very helpful!

  I looked around.

  Earlier, after hours of diligent searching for the so-called "clue", I found nothing. Maybe... Maybe this is the clue. Because if he was involved

  building this dungeon, then...I wonder why he only had those six digits in his mind? Could it be that he remembers everything? If so, why hasn't he gotten out of here on his own yet? Maybe...maybe they think he doesn't remember anything anymore? There's too much of this

  "may" is getting tiresome. So many questions, assumptions, and, alas, I have nothing from the real facts.

  But still...Why? Here we go again. Why, why, why. Because! There's too much more

  "why." Do I really have no facts or information that I can be completely sure of? In the past - yes, there was such information, now - alas.

  If that's the case, it's time to start thinking logically.

  We have six numbers. What could they represent? Some kind of code? But I didn't see anything that looked like some kind of code lock. Maybe some kind of cipher? I don't have time for that. What if, uh.

  I turned around.

  The walls of my cell seemed...strange...? Like... like they'd been designed that way, these blocks of stone. It's not a bad idea, I mean, why would they do it like that?

  to fixate on the structure and appearance of these walls. Although, knowing our government, they wouldn't get too hung up on something like that. Uh-huh. Whoa. "Knowing our government, they wouldn't be so obsessed with this kind of thing." Really, they just put up some kind of stone wall, maybe in places, maybe even uneven in general.

  "Lavrin" Look, Mr. Kargo, could you repeat those six digits to me? "Cargo." Yeah, sure, now that I think of it.

  "Lavrin" Okay, thank you.

  I mean, it could really help me right now.

  "Cargo" 3,9,10 and 5,8,13. "Lavrin" Much obliged to you.

  "Cargo" What do you plan to do with them? "Lavrin" If it works out, I'll be sure to tell you. Okay, here we go.

  Let's assume that this is where the coveted "key" is. Let's assume that these numbers serve as my markings. Number 3 is a row. Number 9 is a row. Number 10 is the block I need. Let's try this.

  No, alas. How about the other way around? Number 9 is a row. Number 3 is the row. Number 10 is the key. Let's try it. Nope. Next. Number 10.

  "..."

  I tried every combination...Alas, it didn't work. There's only one left.

  Number 5 is a row... Number 8 is a row... Number 13 is a key... Trying it, even though it won't get anything... As soon as I pressed the block, the wall abruptly began to "open".

  Did I... I was able to....

  "Cargo." Young man, what's that loud noise you're making? The guards are coming.

  "Lavrin" Mr. Kargo, those numbers you gave me are the key! It's a scheme, so to speak. Some digits serve as a line, next to each other, and some digits serve as the key itself!

  "Cargo." Hmm. It's worth a shot. "Lavrin" I had a combination of 5,8 ... "Cargo." Indeed! Listen, you're a genius!

  And I didn't even get to name my combination and warn him that there would be a lot of them.

  "Cargo." All right, kid, let's go!

  We started to descend the stairs that were behind the wall, parallel to hearing the guards start to panic. Apparently they are not even aware of such moves.

  ".."

  After a while, we finally made it down those stairs. Out we went... Outside the walls?

  "Lavrin' Cargo, you didn't tell me that this exit goes beyond the walls.

  "Cargo" Eh, if I knew that myself, or remembered it, it would be a lot easier. What do we do now? "Lavrin" Let me see....

  I didn't have to think long.

  "Starznik." There they are! Behind the north gate! Surround them! "Lavrin" Shit, let's go.

  "Cargo." What? Where am I supposed to run?

  "Lavrin" Never mind where. Let's at least go to that forest. Please try to walk as fast as you can. "Cargo" That forest? But it's not the same forest that's just full of monsters, is it?

  "Lavrin" Isn't dying fighting a monster better than rotting in that dungeon? Or maybe they'll come up with something even worse...

  "Cargo." Yeah, you're probably right. "Lavrin." Then go ahead.

  "..."

  "Osip" Augustine, get ready.

  My dad woke me up first thing in the morning.

  "Augustine." Where to? Where to at this hour of the morning?

  "Osip" We've noticed some movement of the guards in our direction, so we're going to the edge of the forest.

  "Augustine" Are we really going to kill them?

  "Osip" While we go out to reconnoiter. They shouldn't come close to here, everyone there knows about this forest and won't come here for nothing.

  "Augustine" Okay, I hope we're not going alone?

  "Osip." No. You do your business and I'll gather the group. In two hours at the square. "Augustine." Okay.

  Yeah, I'm gonna have to get into a fight...Yeah, I've certainly dreamed of all sorts of

  fights, battles, duels, et cetera. Except that I meant all of it involving monsters. That is, I would only fight monsters, not people...Yes, the government here is bad, personally it did nothing to me, but to my family...I think this reason is enough to engage in battle with them. Even though I'm not morally ready....

  Two hours later, I walked up to the square where my father was broadcasting our plan.

  "Osip" ...then you will have to head southwest, in turn we will approach them from the back, but this is only as a last resort. I hope that's clear to everyone.

  "Guys" When do we start moving out? "Osip" About five to ten minutes later. "Augustine" Are we going to step on them?

  "Osip." No, not yet. After this assignment, maybe. "Augustine." Okay.

  Ten minutes later we were off to the outskirts of our forest.

  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried. I was shaking all over. Yeah, it's unlikely that we're going to go into battle and I just start panicking and worrying and so on.

  It took us a long time to get to this edge. You can really get lost in this forest and you won't get out of it soon, unless you know it.

  As we approached the outskirts, we began to hear some voices.

  "Lavrin." Let's go this way.

  "Cargo" What about the monsters? "Lavrin" I've already told you to that effect. "Cargo" And where do we go from here?

  "Lavrin." I don't know, we can try to get to the other side and run from there. "Cargo" And they can surround him...

  "Lavrin" They can, but don't think the worst yet. These voices gradually receded deeper into the forest. "Augustine" Father, what are we going to do?

  "Osip" Look, go with half the squad behind them, make sure they don't get molested. I and the rest of the team will still be here, as soon as the guards leave, I'll be back.

  "Augustine." Okay.

  Why guard them? They're outsiders. Or are they? Is my father hiding something from me?

  I doubt my father wants to keep anything from me. I don't think he'd tell me everything about their camp for nothing.

  "Lavrin" Cargo, look, some buildings. "Cargo." What? Impossible. "Lavrin." Apparently it's possible.

  "Cargo." But there are monsters here. "Lavrin" Do you think monsters built all this? "Cargo" No of course, but...

  "Lavrin" Apparently, these legends about the forest being full of monsters are just that. "Cargo." But, why? Ved has been a believer in this for quite some time.

  "Lavrin" It's time to stop believing that, at least the two of us. "Guy" Hey you strangers, stay where you are!

  "Cargo" Shit, we've been spotted. "Lavrin" I don't know what to do...

  "Guy" What are you here for? Scouts?

  "Lavrin" No, no, you didn't, we were just running away from the guards.

  "Guy." That's what you all say. Wait for the chief to come - he'll arrange it for you, but for now - to the cell.

  "Lavrin." What? Hold on, please. We were really running away from the guards. "Guy." Now you shut up.

  "Cargo You won't even let us tell you everything! "Guy" Listen, Grandpa, I'm going to shut you up. "Augustine." And I'm going to silence you.

  "Guy." W-what...? You've been here the whole time?

  "Augustine." Right. Don't worry, the commander will find out. Trust me. "Guy." I apologize, strangers. I overreacted...

  "Augustine" Now get away from them. "Lavrin" That voice...

  "Cargo." You know him?

  "Lavrin." Very, very, very much so. It's like, uh.

  It's like I've practically lived with him my whole life, but, that can't be....

  "Augustine." So, I apologize for that guy.

  "Cargo." It's okay, we get it. Thanks for sticking up for us. "Augustine." Oh, come on.

  And the looks are similar. An image pops into my head...And a situation like me, Sophie, and that guy behind the walls. Wait, is that--

  "Augustine...then please follow me. "Cargo" You're very kind.

  "Lavrin" Augustine...Is that really you...? "Augustine." What? How do you know my name?

  "Lavrin" Remember. A long time ago. You, me and another sister got outside the walls.

  "Augustine." Yeah, I do remember going outside the walls with someone. But I don't remember you. "Lavrin." What...? Remember when mom used to cook for us.

  I started to tell him all our stories from childhood, but he still doesn't remember anything...Maybe I'm wrong and it's not Augustine? No, that's crazy. He must have some kind of memory problem.

  "Lavrin." Yeah. It's crazy that you don't remember me. We've had so many events together. You're out of gear again. Even though I was on the edge of the woods, yeah, that sounds like you.

  "Augustine." You think like you did in the old days, Lavrin. "Lavrin" You remembered after all....

  "Augustine." What else could it be? I recognized you right away, from your voice in the woods. "Lavrin" Then what was that all about now?

  "Augustine." Well. That's what I wanted to do. "Lavrin." Mm-hmm, you don't give in to your habits. "Augustine." You bet!

  The next couple hours went by very quickly for us.

  I told my brother what I knew and what I had been through. I told him about Juno, who is sadly no longer with us, and his situation.

  "Lavrin...then we go into the house and see...him... "

  "Augustine" Junot? Was he alive?

  "Lavrin" If only...He was all mutilated, dismembered.....

  "Augustine." Wow... You think they did this to him? Well, the same people from Alpha One.

  "Lavrin." I don't think so, I know so. I mean, he couldn't have mutilated himself like that. And there were no monsters around. He was just in a group with one or two of Alpha's men.

  "Augustine" Oh...So sorry you had to see all that.....

  "Lavrin" Yeah...The important thing is that we're alive and in one piece....

  He told me more about Nico, Yuki. About the church that almost killed us. I also remembered to tell him about Sophie's situation.

  "Lavrin...With Sophie it went something like this.. I don't even know what the top did to her that she

  acted like that towards me.

  "Augustine" No way. To have Sophie accuse you and almost kill you.

  "Lavrin." Alas. I believed her at first too, trusted her on my own head, and then I got the "answer". That's how it is.

  "Augustine" It's sad what happened to our sister.

  "Lavrin" That's okay, we'll definitely try to make her change. "Augustine" We hope so, brother, we hope so.

  After a few more minutes, their commander approached us. "Osip." Well, hello, strangers. What are you here for? "Lavrin" Father............... ?

  "Osip" Hello, Lavrin ...

  What I didn't expect was to see my father, because I hadn't seen him in a long time and we actually thought he was dead.

  "..."

  We spent a few more hours talking with Father. I told him everything I had told Augustine, but one sentence from my father came as a bit of a shock.

  "Osip" Lavrin, I want to warn you, pretty soon we'll be heading for the capital itself. "Lavrin" In the plan? Why do you need the capital?

  "Osip" We plan to overthrow the government.

  "Lavrin" To overthrow the government, you say...Wouldn't that entail many deaths among you? For the guards will outnumber you.

  "Osip" If we proceed with the strategy we have devised, casualties will be minimal, and when we overthrow the government, all guards will be obliged to bow down and lay down their weapons.

  "Lavrin." Wow. That's all great, of course, but. "Osip." But?

  "Lavrin" I'm still underwhelmed by the amount of guards they have. "Osip" I did say that, didn't I?

  "Lavrin" Yeah, yeah, I get that, but you must have some kind of exit plan, or a backup invasion plan, for that matter. You and all of you must realize that things may not go as smoothly as you've fantasized.

  "Osip." Don't worry. We'll deal with problems as they come. That's not what I need from you. "Lavrin" What exactly?

  "Osip" I need you to take part in this assault, invasion, call it what you will. "Lavrin" What? Me? Why is it so important that I go?

  "Osip." We need every man who's fit and can hold a gun. You've had a run-in with someone before, haven't you? Maybe those people from the church or the capital?

  "Lavrin." I've never been in a fight like this before. Just training, nothing more.

  "Osip" Then this would be the perfect opportunity for you to show off all your skills you've been trained in.

  "Lavrin" The thing is.

  "Osip." I don't take no for an answer. So be advised, we're moving out in a couple days.

  I didn't even get a chance to mention that we didn't spend much time practicing. I learned how to hold the sword and how to use it on my own.

  Maybe this would actually be a good opportunity to practice skills. "..."

  A couple days flew by.

  It's like yesterday we had just met Augustine and Father, and today we have to go and take our place on the throne.

  I wasn't ready for this, because I might have to meet my sister...And unfortunately, it won't be our old, kind and carefree meeting. It will be a duel...But I still need to find and free Yuki, because I don't know what's wrong with her.

  I'm also still worried because I'm not sure we'll be able to break through their first line of defense. And something tells me that something very bad is going to happen.

  My team and I started to move out.

  At first everyone was happy, some of them even sang songs. It must have been the former guards, because they were the only ones who sang during the hike.

  There were guys ahead of us, but I didn't see my father and Augustine among them. When I looked back, I saw them behind us. They must be closing our column. Although, shouldn't my father, as commander. in front and directing the team?

  "Lavrin" Cargo, do you think we can make it?

  "Cargo." Oh, I don't know. I wouldn't be much use. I'm old. I'll just be at the end somewhere, like I always am.

  "Lavrin." Come on.

  In an instant, everyone fell abruptly silent.

  We were coming out of the woods, I guess that's why. We walked on in complete silence. "..."

  After a while, we come to the main gate... The main gate?! What kind of raid is it when they knock on the main door? And indeed, they did knock again.

  "Guardian." Who are you?

  "Osip" We are travelers who wish to seek shelter. Would you allow us to stay with you for a while? "Guardian." I don't know. Command wouldn't approve of that.

  "Osip" What if it is?

  Father pulled out a large sack of silver pieces. Where did he get so much? Did he steal it?

  "Guardian." Under these conditions, I'm willing to take the risk. Come on in.

  Are you kidding me? Some sack of money let us in? What kind of guards are these days? They can let anyone in like that.

  "Guardian" Wait a minute...Those two...Aren't they the ones who escaped from the dungeon? "Lumberjack" Listen... And really... And their commander reminds me of someone... Just who ... "Guardian" Guardian! Get them!

  Hell, it's time for that plan I was talking about. But they wouldn't listen to me.

  "Osip." Follow me!

  Dad took us into the main building, then after a few flights of floors we were on the middle floors.

  "Osip." Guys, get in here before they come.

  We all went quickly into a large room and the door closed behind us with a slam. It was dark. Very dark. I couldn't see anything even in front of me.

  "Boyfriend" I've got a candle! "Lavrin" How do you light it? "Boyfriend." How's that? The usual!

  He took a flint and a piece of stone out of his pocket. When he tapped them against each other, a spark would fly out that could light a candle.

  "Lavrin." You do your best.

  His first attempts were even. He couldn't get anything out. Then I realized that the room felt fresh...And there was a noise...A noise...Water?!

  At this point, the guy was able to light a candle.

  We became spectators as the room began to fill with water, and very quickly at that.

  Besides, the problem was that there were only three people in the room! Me, the guy, and Mr. Kargo! Why? Where are the others?

  "Cargo" Don't panic, let's try to open the door. "Lavrin." It's not working!

  "Cargo" So we'll have to beat it out!

  We all started trying to break the door down, but we couldn't. It must have been reinforced on the other side.

  "Lavrin." It's not coming out!

  The water was already knee-deep.

  "Guy" Why are the three of us here? Where's the commander?! "Lavrin" I'd like to know where he is, too.

  "Cargo" Less words! You want to stay here too?!

  Without objection, we proceeded to try to kick the door down further.

  We've already been hard at work for about 30-50 minutes, the water is already up to our chest-neck, I think that's the end...

  "Cargo." Whoa, whoa, whoa. Don't give up, guys! We've still got to get out of here!

  We gathered all our last strength into one last push...And...And we did it! The door gave way and we fell out, followed by the water.

  At the back of the door I discovered a large and thick bar that made our task more difficult.

  "Guy" But why would the commander and the rest of the men want that?

  "Lavrin." That's something we still need to find out.

  "Cargo." What's your name, man? I think we're all gonna have to deal with this together. It'd be nice to know your name.

  "Boyfriend" Agato.

  "Lavrin." Nice to meet you, Agato. I'm Lavrin, and this is my buddy Kargo. "Cargo" Glad to meet you, though it's not a very rosy environment. "Agato" Likewise.

  "Cargo." Where to now?

  "Lavrin" To the mayor's room. I'm sure they're in bed with the mayor.

  It seemed so obvious to me, like it was daytime outside. We began to go up to the king's room.

  "Agato." Guys, I'm gonna stay here in case there's a problem. "Lavrin" Okay, be careful.

  "Agato" You take care of yourself, too.

  He's right, we could use some rear cover, but if the Guardsmen move in, he'll be swept away.

  When we went up to the king's room, we noticed a group of people near the mayor himself. They were discussing and exclaiming excitedly.

  "Lavrin." Who's that?

  "Cargo." I don't know. Why don't we get a little closer? "Lavrin" Wouldn't that be dangerous?

  "Cargo." No. You see those columns over there? We're gonna sit behind them. "Lavrin." All right.

  We began to make our way toward these very columns.

  This mayor's room was so huge that even when we started already approaching the pillars, you still couldn't hear the mayor himself.

  Soon we came to the columns, which stood as close as possible, so that we could hear and see them.

  "Mayor...yes, I agree. Then you're entitled to a reward, aren't you? "Osip." Right. As agreed.

  "Augustine" We've been standing here for at least an hour, you seriously can't give us a reward that long?

  Fr...? Augustine? But why?

  "Osip" Augustine, quietly. But you're partly right. We've been here for at least an hour.

  "Mayor" And you're sure those three are dead?

  "Osip" Mr. Mayor, you've asked me that five or six times. I'll answer it again. Yes. They're dead.

  That's it... They really wanted to kill me after all. But why? "..."

  "Osip" Augustine. We need to neutralize Lavrin, your brother. "Augustine." What? Why?

  "Osip." He's a huge threat to our country. He's a mutant, a monster. Call it what you want, but he's not human.

  "Augustine." What?! What are you talking about? "Osip" There is proof, but I need your full consent. "Augustine" To what?

  "Osip" On helping you kill him, Agato and one nimble grandfather who will be with Lavrin. "Augustine" But...I don't want to kill him...He's my brother!

  "Osip" Then I'll have to make you...Guys, come here. "Augustine." What? No! Don't, please!

  Augustine was led into a building that looked like some kind of vault.

  When they brought him in and put him on a chair, they started beating him, injecting him with something until he consented.

  Augustine's torment lasted a long time.

  "Osip Now do you agree? "Augustine." Y-yes...

  "Osip" Not a word about this incident. Lavrin is your enemy, understand? "Augustine." We need to kill him now.

  "Osip." That's right. "..."

  But what kind of reward do they expect?

  "Cargo" Lavrin...I'm sorry..... "Lavrin." For what?

  "Cargo" For this...

  After saying that, Kargo shoved me hard. I fell behind a column.

  "Cargo" I'll come back for you, I promise....

  "Mayor" Whoops...And you claimed he wasn't alive.

  "Osip." What? Why aren't you dead?

  "Lavrin" Why did my own father want to kill me? "Augustine." I wish you were dead.

  "Laurine" Augustine...And you're in the same place? But why? "Mayor" Guard! Seize!

  I was grabbed and stunned ...

  I can't believe this is really true...Father, Commander, brother, sister, Cargo...They all betrayed me...Why? Why did they do it? What did I do to them?

  First I trusted the commander, and not alone. For that we paid the price...Especially Juno...It's unknown what happened to Nico. Is he alive?

  After that I confided in my sister, but she also spit on me...Why? Why should the person closest to you spit on you? She was my only ray of hope at that moment....

  Cargo. Why did he do that? And that phrase: "I'll definitely come back for you"... He must have some kind of plan? Or is that justification for his actions? But without him, I wouldn't even have gotten out of that dungeon. Why would he help me if he was going to betray me? There must be a plan. I hope so.

  But I didn't expect a trick from my father and brother...I thought I could trust them with everything, all my feelings, worries, emotions. I thought I was finally home... It's a shame it all turned out against me.

  "..."

  I woke up in a small, cold, dark room. It wasn't a dungeon, but what was it then?

  Footsteps sounded outside the door. "It's my turn, they're coming for me," I thought before someone inserted a key on the other side of the door.

  The door opened. Behind it stood the man I'd lost and was trying to find....

  "Yuki" Let's go faster before they notice.

  It was Yuki! I thought I'd never find her again.

  "Lavrin" Yuki, you're okay. I'm so glad to see you again. Where have you been for so long?

  "Yuki." I was here the whole time. They took me here for some reason and didn't touch me, like they needed me for something. Then I heard you being led here, followed you and saw what cell you were in.

  "Lavrin" Where'd you get the keys from? "Yuki" Stole. Now run.

  "Lavrin." Where? "Yuki" Away from here.

  I didn't fight back, because why should I? I just followed her.

  I didn't know where she was taking me, and I was somehow confident that she wouldn't do me any harm.

  "..."

  We ran for a long time, as I realized, we went to the other wing of this huge castle, if it can be called that. But why had we come here?

  "Yuki" We're here. "Lavrin" Why are we here?

  "Yuki" You'll understand everything now.

  We entered a room of some kind. The room itself was pitch black.

  "Yuki" Now, just a second.

  Yuki lit candles and a lantern. And I saw a figure in the corner of the room.

  "Nico." Well, hello, Lavrin. "Lavrin" n-nico?

  "Niko." Who else? Long time no see! Tell me how you are.

  It was Nico, though. His positive attitude, his speech, you couldn't mistake him for anyone else. "Lavrin" Niko...It's so good to see you. I haven't seen you since you told us to run to that old man. "Nico" That's right, I survived.

  "Lavrin" Tell me how you escaped.

  "Nico" Oh...After telling you where to run to, I myself started running to an acquaintance of mine who is at the edge of our region. This acquaintance was a blacksmith,

  but I had a long way to go to get to him, and it was a long way to go. Still, these people from Alpha- 1 were practically the best of the best, but apparently they thought I was an easy target. At first one almost caught up with me, but I turned around behind the house and that one

  smashed through the door of someone's house. I don't know if he's alive or not, but the impact was very strong, I think it even blew the door off.

  "Lavrin" That's how fast they are....

  "Nico." Yeah... Tell me about it. Then, there were a couple more people running after me, one seemed to stay behind to help that comrade. I started running between the houses, hoping to confuse them, but no. Apparently they knew the area better than I did, so they grabbed me after a couple of forks. At first they started threatening me, saying, "We'll kill you! Did you see what happened to your brother? We're gonna make you

  I don't remember what he said to them, but they let me go and I ran on to my comrade. I don't remember what he said to them, but they let me go and I ran on to my comrade.

  "Lavrin." Who's the old man? Maybe they called him by name? Maybe he can help us with something.

  "Nico." I don't think so. But I think he's been addressed in some way... Mr. Kar... Mr. Kargi...

  "Lavrin" Cargo ...

  "Nico." Right! How did you know that? Did you hear it? "Lavrin" Ta no, we knew each other personally.

  "Nico" Opa, you can tell me after you win. "Lavrin" After the win?

  "Yuki" Nico is back to help us take out the mayor.

  "Lavrin" That's it...Then the question. When? When do we act? "Nico" We'd like to get into his room...

  "Lavrin." I've been there before. I haven't seen anyone near it, which is strange. It's not just big, it's huge! We were sitting with Kargo behind the columns listening to the mayor, but then...Then I fell out from behind a column and they saw me. Cargo wanted to help me, but I stopped him.

  "Nico" Wow...

  "Lavrin" Afterward I ended up in some sort of cell where I was rescued by Yuki. "Nico" Then, we'll try going to his room again.

  "Lavrin" Do you want to kill?

  "Nico" First we'll try it peacefully, and then we'll see how it goes if he doesn't agree. "Lavrin" The idea is so...

  "Nico" Don't despair. It's actually the best we can come up with right now.

  "Yuki" That's right. The mayor will be leaving the capital soon, for who knows how long. Who knows if we'll be able to see him again like this.

  "Laurine" You can't argue with that...Shall we try it then? "Nico" Sure, go for it!

  We started walking towards his room.

  In fact, I think this is my last visit there. Because if he won't go along with our terms, and he won't because who are we? Right, nobody. They both hope so.

  understand and have some kind of plan. If he won't, he'll bring guards. And I'd rather die fighting them than rot in some dungeon or be his servant.

  When we got to his room, we heard some shouting behind the door. There was a small gap, so we could watch a little.

  "Osip" What are you doing?! You're killing the country! Why?! People like us Rangers are just dying because of you!

  "Mayor" Do you have any evidence for that? "Osip." Of course! I'm a living example of that.

  "Mayor." That's your proof? Then please leave. Guards, help them.

  Dad went against the mayor? I don't think he's come to his senses. It's crazy, though. He's probably pursuing his own interests like he said when he started this whole thing. But I think our involvement might do him some good. Give him some confidence or something?

  "Osip"...this is exactly why you should be removed from office! "Mayor" Guardian!

  "Lavrin" I am in complete solidarity with my father! "Nico" I am also!

  "Mayor" What? That "father" of yours wanted to kill you recently and wanted you dead. You should be thankful I didn't kill you and only sent you to the dungeon.

  "Lavrin." Maybe you mean "sent to rot in a dungeon"? After all, you never saw people after they got there.

  "Mayor" How did you even get out of there? "Yuki" I helped him.

  "Mayor" You?! You filthy hellcat! You won't get away with this! "Nico" you'll have to be more polite, she's a lady.

  "Mayor." What are you bunch of buffoons gonna do to me? I don't give a damn about your lady! "Nico" Then you are forced to leave our city, our country, and the office of mayor.

  "Mayor." What? And you think I'm gonna listen to you buffoons?

  "Nico" Doesn't our document say that: "If there is a majority of votes in favor of removing the incumbent mayor, the incumbent mayor will be forced from office without hesitation or anything else.".

  "Mayor." I don't give a shit about that document. I created it, I'll destroy it. "Nico." Well, then I'll have to take it away by force.

  "Mayor" Don't make me laugh. Guards, see these clowns away. "Nico" One, two...Three!

  After he shouted "Three," some people who were fully equipped started jumping from behind the column. There were more of them than there were guards at the moment.

  "Nico." As you can see, we have the advantage. And if you refuse to honor the people's request, you will have to do it by force.

  "Mayor" Eh kids...You'll never see me leave this office.

  After his words, twice as many guardsmen entered the hall as the ones Niko and Yuki had prepared, I realized.

  Now the situation has reached a breaking point and there is no going back.

  So we must act decisively. I went up to the guard, took his knife and stabbed him with it in front of everyone.

  "Lavrin" However, this will not only wait for everyone here on the mayor's side, but also for the mayor himself.

  "Mayor" What?! This is unacceptable! Guards, kill them!

  After that, the guards went on the attack. Yes, they were outnumbered, but there was nothing to be done, we would either have to die fighting or overthrow the current government.

  No choice, so we all started a battle with these guardsmen.

  During the battle, I noticed Father, Augustine and their men began to fight the guards as well. As I thought, Father was simply pursuing his own interests.

  "..."

  Apparently the guards were ill-prepared, for that was the only reason why after a short time we were able to be in greater numbers than the guards. But apparently the mayor

  refused to accept his defeat.

  "Mayor" Group "Alpha - 0", "Alpha - 3" and "Alpha - 2" kill them all!

  The mayor pulled out his trump card - the capital's elite units.

  We were outnumbered. No, we were outnumbered, but because the elite units were mowing everyone down quickly, we were soon outnumbered.

  But...

  "Cargo" Alpha 2, Alpha 4 and Alpha 12 units attack!

  We heard Kargo giving orders behind us.

  And so the battle was almost evenly matched. Only the mayor had much better trained troops than we did.

  "Cargo." I told you I'd come back for you. As you can see, you're not alone. "Lavrin" Thank you very much! You didn't say you were a general. "Cargo." I apologize.

  "Lavrin." You don't happen to have any more people left, do you? I don't think that's gonna be enough. "Cargo" Alas, these are all my men.

  The situation was very tense.

  Here is a hall that was recently completely filled with people almost empty.

  "Cargo" If that's the case, good luck to you guys.

  After these words, Kargo himself went on the attack. We did not hesitate and went to help the rebels. "..."

  The fight was very difficult.

  After a few minutes, maybe hours, there were very few people left. I was the only one left. Nico, Yuki, Kargo and the mayor and a couple of his henchmen.

  Yeah, we still managed to kill his men to the max. "Cargo" I'll take them on, you move on to the mayor! "Lavrin" But...

  "Cargo" Now!

  We started doing what he said.

  When we were almost to the mayor, one of the guardsmen attacked Nico, thereby injuring him badly.

  "Lavrin" Niko!

  I quickly jumped on this guard and tried to stab him, but he stabbed me in the arm. Seeing all this, Kargo, after dealing with the last of the men, came running to help us.

  As soon as he runs up, he immediately pierces the chest of the Guardsman.

  "Lavrin." No! Cargo!

  Except that the guardsman managed to point his spear at him and Kargo fell on top of him...Thus they killed each other.

  "The Mayor" M-yeah, well, you're a lot of people...And that's just a small fraction of the people who've managed to come up here and you're already in such trouble...I feel sorry for you, I guess.

  "Nico" You...can't...get...away...with this.....

  "Lavrin." No! Nico! Nico! Can you hear me? Can you hear me? Don't die, please. "Nico" L-Laurin...

  "Lavrin." Y-yes? "Nico" Kill... him...

  After these words, Nico closed his eyes and slipped into an eternal slumber.....

  "Lavrin' Niko...You won't get away with this, you lousy piece of shit. "Mayor." Oh, yeah? You want me to tell you a secret?

  "Lavrin." Which one?

  "Mayor" The one who ran the country - did it through me, and now the question. Who is that person? "Lavrin" I have no idea....Suddenly you're talking my teeth in.....

  "Mayor" It's Yu...

  Before he could finish speaking, Yuki had already pierced his stomach.

  "Lavrin" Yu-Yuki...I didn't know you'd go to such lengths...So you've been this mayor all along...You almost got us killed...?

  Yuki silently started walking towards me.

  When Yuki came close, she stabbed at me without hesitation.

  I had no fear of death. I was not afraid of being killed or of dying simply.

  But there was still a feeling on my soul...A feeling of disappointment. After all, Yuki is someone I trusted completely...Trusted....

  What is trust? Maybe it's that you trust a person. You give him all your emotions, feelings. You are sure that this person will never betray you, never hurt you. And then what happens? Everyone I knew betrayed me.

  Trust...it's kind of like an open relationship between people that is filled with confidence in each other, isn't it?

  Apparently not...Or is trust a completely absent thing in our lives? After all, everyone, everyone who communicates with you, travels with you, does it for their own benefit.

  But why? Or rather, why? Because, you try to give a person everything they asked for, and in the end... People end up forgetting about "trust" and "loyalty". And, yeah. Again.

  Doing everything for their own gain....Everything for their own gain.....