Zero No Tsukaima Fan Fiction ❯ Zero No Tsukaima Darkness Rising ❯ Twilight ( Chapter 15 )

Twilight

 

The following days have been the most difficult not because the enemy had begun to send more powerful fighters quite the opposite. In the last five days of travel no one has attacked them. Many people would consider that to be a good thing but being left with their own thoughts and fears is much worse for the Holy Knights. The attackers were a way to release a way to forget now with no new enemies they are forced to hold their anxiety inside of them. The thoughts they all shared but didn't openly talk about like how can they fight an army of one hundred trained warriors and mages. What happens if they lose.

The hardest question to come to terms with for Saito unlike the rest is what if he is forced to draw his sword against Allison, against Louise, can he save her, is she already too far gone to be saved, how could he be sure?

While all these questions began to float around in their heads they all became much more hostile towards each other for very small things. Rain though admitting to herself that Haimere did save her life and deep down is thankful for that still holds a powerful grudge against him. Her husband has been trapped in a book with no words, Haimere's book for close to a month now. Haimere doesn't even seem to notice the fact that he has taken the thing most important to Rain and locked it away and most painful of all he is close enough to reach out and take but there is no way for them to be together. She isn't like Seth and Haimere, she doesn't have the runes that they both do. The book doesn't work for her.

The group finally reaches a city though once inside they begin to notice that there are many buildings but few people. The amount of people would only be enough to fill a small village. Rain stops at a fruit stand of to the side of the main road and waits for someone to appear from behind the tattered cutain of a door that seperates the front of the stand from the back.

A little girl no older than sever by her size comes out, “Can I help you?” Her voice is rough a gravel like which seems impossible for someone of such an age. Her hair is a mess of browns and her clothing ripped and tattered, a small scarf is wrapped around her throat and it lightly moves is the wind.

At first Rain doesn't know how to react to such a sight, she has seen this kind of thing before but this seems different, not like all the times before, “Is there an adult I can speak to sweetie?”

The little girl shakes her head and begins to rub her hands together, “No, they are all gone...away.”

The girls answer is the exact opposite of what she was expecting, how can there be no adults. Rain thinks for a moment and realizes that maybe she misunderstood the question, “Is there a grown up somewhere that I can talk to?”

The little girl whips her arms down to her sides her little hands clenched into tight fists, “NO!” She turns and runs into the back of the stand and through the back into the heavily damaged building behind it.

Rain walks back over to the group and Zion looks very distraught, “Zion what is wrong?”

Zion's hands are trembeling, “I used my eye to try and find an adult in this whole area, there are none. But there are a lot of bodies, and a lot of magic traces.”

“What do you mean?”

Zion walks away from the group and doesn't stop so they follow him. He reaches a plot of land that looks like people have been recently farming, “Here, there are so many bodies.”

Rain looks down at the ground and realizes that this isn't a plot of land to be farmed but a large burial ground, “Oh my god.......”

Zion kneals down his hair damp with a cold sweat, “There aren't any males in this.....Only women and girls.”

Tabitha walks over to Zion and wraps her arms around his body as he begins to break down and cry.

“Why, what would the point be of this, why kill so many, they are all women and girls they couldn't have been fighting back.” Zion's body begins to shakes as he slowly begins to completely lose himself.

“HEY WHO ARE YOU!!!!???”Airo turns to the voice and sees a young boy maybe ten years old or a little older. His clothing is just as destroyed as the little girls before only he has armor pieces on his left shoulder, right wrist, and his left knee. His hair is a red mess and long passed his shoulders, a piece a rope used to keep it all together. “ANSWER ME!” The boy reaches behind his back and pulls a metal pipe out from behind him. The end has been smashed into a sharp point, “ANSWER ME!”

The boy charges at the group and Airo steps forward and draws one of his knifes. The boy tries to stab Airo but he side steps the point and pushes it down into the ground with his knife. The boy pole vaults over Airo and lands on his feet, impressing Airo in the process. He charges against with time he twirls the pole around his body and everywhere trying to hit Airo after making him lose track of where the pole is. In a flash the pole is caught in his hand and Airo wrenches is from the kid and throws it away. With a scowel the boy runs at Airo and swings at his gut but catches nothing as Air once again easily dodges the attack. The boy stops as he notices behind Airo there are three women.

“You have women with you.....Who are you!?”

Airo kneals down, “We are the Holy Knights and we aren't your enemy.”

The boy seems to relax a bit but keeps his eyes on Airo, “Why are you here!?”

Airo puts his knife away, “We are passing through, we are headed to the northern pennisula.”

The boy turns and walks away, “Then leave....”

Airo gets off his knees and rejoins the group, “I think we should leave.”

Tabitha helps Zion to his feet and the group leaves the town though it is tough leaving the children there is nothing they can do for them. Before the city is completely out of sight Airo turns back and takes one last look.

From the highest building in the all but abondind city the boy his armor cast aside watches as the group disapears into the horizon, “Good luck.....”