20 Benevolence

Even though Felicia's exo-suit's helmet confined the sounds of her breath to inside, she still couldn't help but hold her breath in fear of that mysterious robed Elvnari woman. Ever since she walked into the room, Felicia felt the sudden urge to just stand up and run away.

Despite the fact that she knew that running away would only result in her inevitable death, Felicia still struggled to fight the urge compelling her to flee. She had no idea how to describe it, it was almost as if the very presence of that robed Elvnari triggered her basic survival instincts.

But that made no sense, the Elvnari woman appeared to be quite harmless, especially when compared to her armoured colleagues. The kind and friendly expression on her face only reinforced the notion that she was not a dangerous person.

And yet, despite her harmless appearance, she still made Felicia's blood freeze.

With this in mind, Felecia didn't know if she was going crazy from the attack or if her instincts were onto something.

What made it worse was that deep down inside, she actually hoped that it was the former of the two.

"As you wish your grace."

On the other hand, the other Elvnari men immediately complied with the robed Elvnari's orders, with two of them hoisting the unconscious Charles to his feet while the other two stood in position behind the woman, seemingly to stand guard.

From the way that the other Elvnari treated and respected her, Felicia was able to conclude that this female Elvnari held a position of high authority.

But now that Charles was 'standing' on his two feet, Felicia was given the ability to see his current condition.

It was not good.

His already scarred face was covered in cuts and bruises, with blood leaking out of the corners of his mouth. His greying brown hair was a complete mess.

The robed Elvnari took her time to examine the injured and unconscious Charles closely, the smile on her face slowly fading away as she realised the extent of the damage done to him. In fact, it even looked like she was concerned for his well being.

Soon after, she turned her attention away from Charles and instead faced one of the Elvnari standing behind her before she proceeded to give him an order.

"It is time, Ascendant Ethlando, wake him from his slumber."

In response to the female Elvnari's order, the other Elvnari who was apparently named 'Ethlando' bowed before he spoke up.

"Thy will be done your grace."

"Guuagh!"

Suddenly, Charles belly contorted inwards for a split second, as if a powerful force plunged itself into his belly. So strong was this force that his body was actually sent into the air for a short moment, the only reason that it wasn't sent flying was because two other Elvnari were still holding it in place.

It was so extraordinary, that she couldn't stop herself from gulping nervously. Thankfully her exo-suit prevented the sound from travelling outside her helmet.

It took her awhile to rationalise what she just saw.

When she recalled what had just happened a few seconds ago, she felt her face subconsciously grimace in fear.

All she could remember was a bright flash of blue light that appeared out from Ethlando and hit Charles in the belly.

Said flash of light moved so fast that Charles's body didn't even register the hit until the light disappeared.

Looking back at what happened before the bridge was breached, Felicia realised that she actually wasn't conscious for much of the fight, if there ever was one in the first place.

As much as she hated to accept it, all she could remember was an explosion that rocked the hull of the bridge before her sight was consumed by darkness.

When she woke back up, there was a gaping hole on the Chromata where the explosion had taken place and she was now stuck amidst the bodies of her colleagues.

She was never conscious to witness the fight and as such, she had no idea how these Elvnari invaders completely annihilated the forces of the Chromata.

Now, she just got the answer.

[So that was how they were able to neutralise all of us even though they were outnumbered... How incredible.] Although Felicia was in awe of the Elvnari's extraordinary capabilities, she still despised them for obvious reasons.

With Charles now fully conscious 'thanks' to the Elvnari, the one who seemed to be the leader; the woman stepped forward so as to be standing directly in front of him.

Unlike Ethlando who didn't even seem fazed by the consequences of his actions, the look on her face made it seem like she regretted the harshness of their methods but at the same time, she saw these methods as completely necessary.

"Argh... wh-where am I?"

Now that he was conscious, Charles's began questioning where he was. But to his and Felicia's surprise, the Elvnari woman answered truthfully in a kind tone.

"Worry not human, we were kind enough to not take you to a place completely foreign to you during this interrogation. We were also kind enough to let you, the person being interrogating to ask the first question.

Now, I mean and wish you no harm. I only seek answers to sate my hunger for information. My Elvnari templars already showed me those audio clips that occurred on 'that day' and yet, my knowledge of that event is still lacking. I hope that you can aid me in understanding what happened."

Charles seemed to have quickly grasped the implication behind her words. With a bit of relief in his voice, he questioned her to confirm his suspicions.

"'Mean me no harm.' That means that you are willing to spare me if I help you?"

"Yes, you have my word. I would also like to apologise for the lives of your comrades that was lost this day. In order to fulfil my duty, these sacrifices must be made. Please don't allow their deaths to be in vain."

Whether Charles accepted her apology or not, he still accepted this chance of survival.

He told her everything.

About the original mission objectives.

About how the strike operatives aboard the Eden grew increasingly fearful and paranoid for no seemingly reason.

And about how the appearance of a D.R.E.A.D. Dreadnought forced the Chromata to retreat and abandon their comrades on the Eden.

The female Elvnari appeared both pleased and displeased upon hearing Charles's entire story. It would seem that thanks to him, she finally gathered the puzzle pieces needed to complete the mystery. However, it would also seem that she did not like the answer.

Probably sensing that he no longer held any use, the disgraced captain pleaded with the Elvnari.

"I told you everything... Now please... will you let me go?"

When the robed Elvnari heard Charles, her mouth curved into a smile that somehow appeared to be both compassionate yet sorrowful at the same time. When she spoke, her voice sounded like that of an angel, one that was determined and strong.

"I shall honour my promise. I hope that you find solace in your final moments."

Charles's expression froze upon hearing the Elvnari's response. With a fearful expression, he questioned what she meant.

"Wh-what the hell are you talking about? You said that you'll let me go?! That you'll spare me?!"

The female Elavnari only sadly shook her head as she answered his question.

"Oh how it saddens me whenever humans misunderstand my words. Please do not think of me as a deceiver, for I told no lie. I will indeed spare you, not from death but from the lie that you will survive, from the lie that you have a second chance."

The expression on her face still remained both gracious and mournful as she spoke, while her voice itself remained determined, as if she truly believed in what she was saying.

"For as you know, you are currently stranded in the middle of nowhere. When we intercepted your warping process, we chose this isolated sector for a reason. Your ship is ravaged, barely able to move and there will be no one coming to save you in this remote location.

Now, I am granting you a mercy, an 'easy way out' as you humans like to call it."

"This is bullshit! You can't just do something like that! It's not 'granting a mercy' if you're just outright killing someone without their consent! That's not how mercy killing works!"

In response to her explanation, Charles's screamed in a combination of fear and anger. However, despite his protests, the robed Elvnari remained unmoved.

She made a sad sigh before she continued to explain herself.

"How saddening it is that you still refuse to accept my goodwill. I truly feel pity for you. But when a child makes a mistake, that child's mother must punish the child no matter how much the child will resent the mother for it. Like the mother, I too shall do my duty. That is the burden that I choose to bear.

Now accept your fate."

"NO! WAI-"

Although Charles's desperately tried to save his life, his words were interrupted by a bright flash of light.

Soon, a red line appeared on his neck before his head fell off his body and began rolling on the floor.

The Elvnari woman still held that compassionate yet sorrowful expression on her face as she watched the decapitated body collapse in front of her.

With a sad smile, she gave her respects to the deceased captain.

"May you rest peacefully in the Light of the Astari."

With Charles now dead, one of the Elvnari; Ethlando posed the robed Elvnari a question.

"What shall we do now your grace?"

"We shall return to the Lance of Luna and issue a recall order to all of the members of our order spread out amongst the stars. Ethlando, you shall also recall the other templar who are still on this ship and ensure that I have a casualty report by time we are ready to leave."

In response to her, all four of the other Elvnari bowed and answered simultaneously.

"As you wish your grace."

Before all five of them proceeded to leave the bridge.

Felicia wasn't aware of how long she waited after the Elvnari left before she decided that it was now safe to stop pretending to be dead.

With a relieved sigh, she stood back up before she spoke to herself.

"Finally... they are gone..."

"I know right. I thought that they would never leave."

Felicia felt her heart-rate increase upon hearing this sudden other voice.

But she quickly calmed down and even felt a hint of joy when she realised the voice could belong to another crew member who like her was only playing dead.

However, her hopes were dashed when she faced the source of the voice.

While this other voice did belong to another humanoid being, she was not a crew member that Felicia recognised.

This stranger also had crimson red eyes and two white horns which protruded out of her temples and curved towards the back of her head.

That could only mean one thing.

"D-dymon!"

Felicia's instincts immediately kicked and she made a run for the exit.

But she never got far.

It was only after a few steps of running that Felicia fell face first onto the floor. She felt a precise, piercing pain in the direct horizontal middle of her waist while her legs and feet became completely numb to her.

She didn't even get time to rationalise what happened before she felt a sudden weight step down onto the fingers of her right hand.

As she screamed in pain, the dymon stopped stepping on Felicia's hand before flipping her over so that they could face each other.

"Oh please, you can stop acting like a fearful lamb. I only want to ask you a few questions."

The dymon's mouth twisted upwards into a cruel smile as she spoke.