Chapter 235 - A Mission Completed

Panting heavily, he finally released Link Origin, falling down to his knees as his body cramped up and twitched on all sides, dropping the head as both the crown and body of the demon dissolved into sable dust, carrying off into the wind. 

Looking up with a throbbing neck that didn't want to follow along, he watched the harrowing clouds return to their normal, formless selves as the crimson skies relieved themselves to the blackness of the night, inhabiting the glow of the stars. 

The downside to such a great spell is...Human bodies aren't really meant to inhabit the direct authority of a deity. If my body was hurting before, well, now it's a shit-show. 

"...I did it, Lucas…though it hardly feels like I won. What the hell am I going to tell the others…?"

Left alone in the devastated, crimson-painted town filled alone with death, his reward was nothing but a broken body, drenched in the blood of his own, demons, and a dear friend. The celebratory roars he would've liked to yell out were only cries of anguish, coming deep from within a wounded heart. 

It was a victory coated in nothing but pain, despair, and loss. 

On this day, the Outlanders tasted the bitterness of defeat. 

Allowing his eyelids to finally shut, they were immediately opened once more as he heard a cry belonging to a child resound from within the surrounding forest. 

"...Huh?" 

Slowly bringing himself to his feet with a wince, he began to drag himself towards the source of the crying, holding his limp arm. 

Just breathing hurts; it's like inhaling flames right into my lungs. Pretty damn sure my shoulder is dislocated, my bones feel broken all over...Man, this day sucks. 

It wasn't a fast process, but he eventually found himself in the depths of the forest where the sounds originated from, seeing a small boy pressing himself frighteningly against the trunk of a tree as the rotten form of a husk lumbered towards him, releasing groans as it held its decaying hands out towards the child. 

"Hyah…!"

Using what little strength left he had in his tank, Sora threw his fist against the husk's fragile skull, blowing it apart as it fell over without a hitch. 

Turning towards the boy, he gave him a half-smile, as he couldn't feel the other half of his face. 

"You okay? I'm Sora, what's your name?"

Kneeling down in front of the boy carefully so as to not tumble over pathetically, Sora tried to assure him with whatever trembling smile he could muster. 

The boy seemed understandably frightened by the appearance of the large, blood-soaked man, but slowly swallowed his fears and answered him, approaching him cautiously. 

"...Finn…" 

Returning to the desolate town that had been nearly completely leveled in the battle, Sora carried the small boy close to his chest while retrieving the lifeless body of the lost friend, hoisting him up over his shoulder as he returned to the forest. 

"...He...He's the one that saved me…"

Hearing this from the boy, Sora stopped for a moment--feeling his heart be completely compromised by this revelation as he looked at Lucas. Watching the hazel locks that still remained neatly kept even after the harshness of the accursed day, he felt his cheeks grow numb as he battled with his own tear ducts. 

"Idiot, you did save someone…" 

Fighting his tears back, he continued to march forward with his head held high. Carrying both bodies in his arms, each step was a triumph for him. 

"Is he okay?..."

"Yeah." 

There was no hesitance in his lie, but saying it didn't come any easier as he could feel his face grow heated with bubbling up tears. 

"Where are we doing?"

"I have a friend who's still out here. I think you'll like him."

Trudging through the bountiful forests weakly, he could hear the scattered footsteps belonging without a doubt to the rotten, compromised human corpses. 

"What's that noise?"

"Nothing."

Sora assured the boy, giving him a big smile before returning his sights on the path ahead, keeping his eyes and ears peeled. 

It sounds like we're being stalked from all sides. I thought killing that bastard would have solved this husk issue, but it seems he wasn't linked to them. The summoner was dead too, but the husks didn't fall then so it wasn't him either. Shit...I thought our mission was over. 

He was in no shape to fight, he knew that well. Hearing the footsteps draw close enough for the snarls of the decrepit creatures to be heard, he limped forward with caution. 

I don't know if I'll be able to protect myself, let alone the kid. This isn't good. 

Stopping in place as the scattered footsteps now grew more frequent and intense, it sounded as if the entities were sprinting all around them now, hiding within the obscurity of the thick foliage. Finn hid his face against the man's shoulder, whimpering as Sora kept his eyes peeled. 

"I've got you, kid, I've got you…"

Keeping the body of his fallen comrade propped on his shoulder, he had only one, bare fist to defend himself with. 

Preparing to clash with the first husk that dared to take a bite out of him, another, much louder sound reverberated from within the forest, drawing closer at an intense rate. 

It sounds like...a vehicle?

As one husk revealed itself to him, snarling at him with half of its face missing, the trees behind it suddenly parted in way of a steel object crashing through the husk, landing on top of it before coming to a screeching halt. 

"What the--!"

A car? A tank?...No, there's no way those exist in this world. Those are definitely wheels, but still primitive in design like a carriage, but made of steel. What the hell is this thing?! 

Looking at the pristine, sleek surface of the tank-like vehicle, a door on the side of its bulky form opened by sliding itself down into its threshold. Standing in the entrance of this enigmatic vehicle was a young man holding a bright smile tucked behind round-rimmed, yellow-tinted glasses. The style of his garments first and foremost reminded him of his electric-wielding comrade; an overly complicated uniform that inhabited black as its main color. 

"Sora, right? Wow, you look like you've seen better days." 

His black blazer was left unbuttoned, showing his crimson tie and white undershirt that was covered in straps holding a variety of knives.