Chapter 108 - Who They Should Have Saved

The group was ready to set forth on their mission.

"Hey, Kai, what kind of monster are we going to be hunting today?"

Yin asked their leader.

"A horrible one. We've lost contact with another squad some days ago, the last distress message they sent were ones asking for immediate assistance. Of course, we could not send one that fast, we had to make sure the team composition, chemistry, and teamwork was there for a squad to be deployed."

Kai Xin answered. He was different after setting foot on the Outer Gates. Kai was actually being serious now.

Zach could not help but have his nerves shaken about. After all, this was his first mission. He and June Alcindor were both nervous.

"So, Kai, what tipped you guys off that there was a monster who supposedly wiped an entire squadron off by itself?"

"We still do not have concrete information about how many of them there are, just that they've killed the Slayers who requested back up."

Kai said.

"H-How did you know that, sir?"

Kai pulled out the letter from his backpack.

It was almost like the piece of paper was a colored one.

The letters were far too jumbled and written in a hurry to be readable in just one glance. And the paper's color was changed from white to red. It was drenched in blood.

All of their eyes widened at the sight of it.

"Holy crap."

Cosette blurted out as she looked more closely into the letter.

June covered his mouth to avoid gagging.

"I guess that is why we have many high ranked Slayers with us, huh?"

He said.

"Wait a minute, Kai." Yin interrupted, why didn't the High Council just send whoever was available or whoever was nearest to them for help? Why did they have to wait a couple of days before assembling this squad of ours?"

Yin was very confused.

"I really do not know, Yin. Believe me. All I am doing right now is following orders, and making sure you kids do not die under my watch."

Kai retorted back.

They were walking west, opposite of where the Operation Phoenix was set.

This area was molten hot, full of spacious desert fields.

Zach took in the surroundings and everything that his eyes saw.

"This is the world outside of the Red Gates…"

He said under his breath.

"What is the matter, Zach, you freaking out?"

Yin teased him.

"Of course, I'm not. Are you perhaps projecting your fear over towards me?"

Zach replied.

Cosette whispered something to Kai.

She motioned for him to come close to her as she leaned in and whispered something.

"Why is June Alcindor here? He's just a kid, a beginner, a rookie. I have no qualms about having another person to save while in combat, I just do not believe that the High Council should have endangered this child's life at this stage of his age."

Kai nodded.

"I share the same sentiment as you, I really do. But for now, we are just going to have to suck it up and do what those old men tell us to. I hate them as well."

Cosette clicked her tongue and shook her head.

Indeed, this was no squad to place a child in, a rookie at that. 

The group kept walking towards where the letter said they were holed up in.

Heat was beating down on them, they had accumulated sweat and were exhausted to the core.

They finally saw the landmark. It was a rusty mountain range in the western part outside.

Kai pointed out to it.

"That's it. That is where we are headed towards."

He said.

"I should have brought less things if I had known we were going to hike up and down off of mountains…"

Yin said.

"You alright, June?"

Zach checked up on his fellow rookie.

"Y-Yes, I am okay, sir."

"You do not have to call me sir, we are both rookies."

Zach tried his best to force out a smile from his mouth.

"O-Oh. Sorry, I apologize!"

June bowed his head at the Fire Slayer.

"Seriously, that was a creepy looking smile, Zach."

Kai pointed it out.

"Hey! That wasn't creepy!"

"It kind of was."

Yin affirmed the fact.

"You guys, quiet. I think I see something."

Cosette told them to hush down and behave.

"Do you see something, Cosette?"

The white haired Slayer asked her.

"Yeah. I do."

She pointed out at the silhouette of something or someone right in front of them.

They were clearly too far away to make out who they were.

But their silhouettes were obviously of humans.

"Do you think those are the ones we are sent to save or retrieve?"

Cosette nudged Kai's shoulders.

"I-I honestly do not know. If that's them, how have they survived all these days outside the Gates without food or water?"

Kai was disturbed, and so was everybody in the group, apart from Zach.

"This is good! That means they have probably beaten the monster and are calling out for us to escort them home, right?"

He smiled and looked at the others.

"We do not know anything as of yet. We should attempt to make contact with them just to be on the safe side."

Kai said to his squadron.

"I have a bad feeling about this."

Cosette mouthed to Yin.

"I know. I feel it too."

Kai took out his newly made sword.

"N-Nice sword, Kai."

Yin pointed out.

"Thanks, Yin. I had to get a new one after you eviscerated my old one into nothingness."

Kai responded with a passive aggressive yet slightly annoyed tone.

"Everyone, make sure to ready your weapons and grimoires. It is better to be safe than sorry."

He said.

"I-I do not understand, sir, shouldn't we be calling out to them to avoid friendly fire?"

June asked the S Rank Fire Slayer.

"That is the proper thing to do in this scenario, but I am going to go with my gut this time."

Kai's eyes were set ablaze as though they were burning themselves.

After a few minutes of walking towards them, they could now make out just who those silhouettes were.

"Hide! Quickly!"

Kai instructed them as they hid behind the rock formations below.

"Why are we hiding, Kai?"

Yin asked.

"Just do as I say, alright?"

Kai Xin was nervous. He gulped down and drank the water jug from his bag.

"June, I want you to peek at them and see if they're okay. You're the smallest one here, you have the least chances of being spotted while peering out of cover."

June Alcindor nodded proudly and slowly peered over.

His eyes turned wide and tears started to swell out from it.

Zach pulled him back before he could see any more.

"What's wrong, June? What did you see?"

Zachary asked him.

"T-The people…"

The rookie could not put what he saw into words, Kai had to take his turn and scout it out for himself.

He stared at the silhouettes which the squad saw earlier and chills began to go down his spine.

He sat back down as Yin, Zachary, and Cosette were all waiting for what he had to say about he saw.

"E-Everyone. Take up your weapons and grimoires. These are not Slayers nor are they humans anymore."

The three of them stood up to get a clear view of them, sure enough, what they saw was going to haunt them forever.

These Slayers now had white eyes and blood gushing from out of their mouths, nostrils, as well as their ears. They just stood in place, holding their weapons, as though they were statues assigned to guard the area.

"What the hell happened to these people?!"

Cosette asked the others.

"We have to help them as soon as possible! Maybe they are just hurt!"

Zach retorted back.

"Open your eyes for a bit, Zach. Look at their skin. The sun has been shining for quite some time now. Their skins are tan and their mouths are snow white. They have been dead for a long time now."

Yin said as he shook his head.

"Let us finish what we came here to do. First things first, we eliminate them if they are ever hostile and find the monster who did this."

Kai said while clenching his teeth.

His rage was almost palpable.

"On me."

"One."

"Two."

"Three."

"Go!"

After Kai's countdown, all five of them rushed to the undead-looking Slayers.

"Identify yourselves!"

Kai shouted at them.

These pale white figures looked as though they were reanimated and have long died already.

"We came to save you guys!"

Cosette shouted as well.

"Just say something and we'll escort you to the nearest healer and mend you back!"

Zach said.

There were five undead Slayers there.

Not one of them responded to Kai's squad and their pleas.

"We are just going to pass by, then."

Kai said.

He walked towards them first.

"Kai!"

Zach shouted for him to stop, sensing the imminent danger that they posed.