Thirty One Attacks

Thirty one attacks.
A slice.
And the first death was blessed.

Slash.
Stab.
Cleave.

Heads fell with every slash.
Hearts pierced with every stab.
Bodies split with every cleave.

Thirty.
Black mist of grief, they cried for leniency.
The grim reaper did his job.

Twenty.
Crying goblins knelt before the approaching guillotine.
Awaiting judgement to be served.

Fifteen.
They wept with no purpose.
Their hearts were pierced.

Ten.
Empty tears fell for naught.
Their heads chopped and rolled free.

Five.
Perhaps their meaningless grief needed release.
Their lives were reaped.

One.
Last tears seeking for mercy.
And so the last head fell free.

Silence.

Thirty one goblins gone.
Thirty one goblins no longer cried.
Victorious silence.

Rei and Derrick collapsed onto the ground, exhausted. They looked at the woman in front and sighed.

Voidborn looked around.

The black mist surrounding him had faded with every kill.

But that was not the last of them.

Two left.

A pitiful, crying puppet.
And a pathetic, whimpering coward.

He limped towards the giant puppet.

Blood flowed down his arms in braided streams.

The battlefield was reaped of goblin screeches, but it was now time for Voidborn to screech.

Not the frenzied, bestial screech of a goblin, but the screech from the tip of his blade dragged across the ground.

Behind, the cowardly Shaman sniffled.
Its body trembled.
Its staff shook.
It tried to strengthen the vines, but the never-ending tears interfered with its spell.

The vines weakened and uncoiled, retreating back into the ground.

Voidborn sheathed his sword.

He bent down and picked up a dagger from his left, a short sword from his right.

A few more tired steps.

He looked up at the giant crying puppet.

It raised a trembling hand, fingers brushing against Voidborn's leg.

But the hand dropped, another sob escaping its throat.

The dagger sank into the left.
The short sword dug into the right.
The puppet roared in anguish.

Its left arm burst with pain, but all it could do was cry.

Did its tears have meaning now?

Pain?
Agony?
The fear of death?

Perhaps, perhaps not.

To Voidborn, it did not matter.

Dagger pulled out, he stabbed it higher.

Short sword pulled out, he stabbed it even higher.

Pulled and stabbed.

Pulled and stabbed.

Voidborn climbed the bugbear.

Plunge after plunge, he now stood atop its shoulder.

The bugbear had barely managed to stand.

It turned its head, looking at the human on its shoulder.

Still crying.

Unable to do anything.

Dagger and shortsword abandoned, tossed to the side.

Sword unsheathed.

The blade pierced flesh.

Voidborn drove his sword right through its throat.

Gurgle.

The bugbear’s hands weakly clambered for its neck, trying to rip the sword out.

So Voidborn assisted it.

He ran around the back of its neck while holding the handle, carving a full 180 degrees around its neck to the other side.

With a final jump, he leapt off from the opposite shoulder.

The tears did not stop.

Then its head dropped.

They continued to run down the severed head's face until the last traces of life faded from its eyes.

Voidborn laid on the ground in exhaustion, watching the towering bugbear, headless and dead.

It was no longer sad.

It could no longer be sad.

He pushed himself upwards, looking at the shaman.

In its place was a fog of dark, purplish miasma.

It was gone.

“What was that?” Chaewon asked.

“You saw nothing,” Derrick said.

“But—”

“You saw nothing.”

“Right.” Chaewon nodded, watching as Derrick collected back the cubes he scattered.

Voidborn limped back to Gunrage, his sword stabbed into the ground with every step, propping himself to keep upright.

Rei ran forward towards him, passing him a potion.

“Drink.”

He popped open the vial and downed the clear blue liquid.

Pain coursed through his nerves as the torn skin of his wounds melted and tried to mend.

He grunted as he pulled out the shortsword stabbed in his shoulder. Another groan and tremble as he wiggled out the serrated dagger grinded into his thigh.

All his wounds closed.

Voidborn turned around and took in the sight of the bloodied battlefield.

He swung his sword and flicked the bugbear’s blood off the blade, before sheathing it.

Hundreds, no thousands.

There were close to two thousand dead goblins strewn over the ground.

He turned to look at Derrick.

Terrifying.

More than two thirds were killed by his gadgets alone.

And Rei. She was just a Rebirth 2, and yet she possessed enough power to devastate in both quantity and quality.

Compared to them, he was incompetent.

He looked at Jimin.

She was crying. Crouched and seated as she leaned against the wall of Gunrage, her face was buried in her legs that were tucked in.

She sobbed. Bawled. Wailed.

Black flooded within her entire body, condensing to the point of overflowing.

Voidborn walked towards Jimin and knelt.

“It's alright.”

He pulled her in for a hug.

“It’s alright. The woman who took care of me before she was killed by the monster who destroyed my house said to hug someone if they are sad.”

He tapped gently on her shoulders.

Methodically. Rhythmically. Just like how the woman taught him.

Then the black stopped growing.

Slowly but subtly, Voidborn noticed a soft glow in his pocket.

Then black mist coiling in her trembled.

Slowly, it began to thin.

He thought of investigating, but Jimin clung on to him harder, crying even louder.

Not today.

He would ask Derrick later.

Right now, Jimin was still crying.

“So what now?” Jimin asked, wiping the blood off Voidborn’s arms with a wet tissue.

The five of them sat on the ground out in the open, Gunrage already dissolved.

“We shouldn't stay here,” Derrick grunted. “I don't have enough energy to maintain Gunrage for the night.”

“I don't suppose we should move deeper in then,” Rei said, already drawing diagrams in her tome.

“I’m not part of your team, but may I suggest something?”

“Sure,” Derrick said.

“Well, it's not so much of a suggestion but a plea. I’m thinking that we should head back to the village and regroup with the Wordwraiths there.”

Chaewon looked at the rest for a reaction before continuing.

“I’ll be honest,” she sighed. “The last I saw of my teammates were them being captured. I was hoping to get both your help and the Wordwraiths’s help in rescuing them. At the same time, since the shaman hasn't been killed, we could take the opportunity to raid its camp.”

“No,” Derrick rejected flatly. “We are in a rush to Kandar.”

“W-why? Please, I beg you. They are my precious teammates…”

“We have no time.”

“Once we succeed, I can request to the Empire for an extraction. They will send for a pick up and that will save you time!”

“And if we don't succeed?”

“We will!”

“How sure are you?” Derrick rebutted. “You saw the shaman. It had skills a typical shaman would not have. You saw the number of goblins. Have you scouted its camp? Do you have information on their numbers? Are there going to be three thousand? Four thousand? Ten thousand? How many bugbears will there be? Five? Ten? Fifty?”

Derrick continued to bombard Chaewon with probing questions.

“You saw the intelligence the shaman had. What makes you think there isn't any more shamans? Your teammates’ lives are important, sure. But the chances of them being alive are basically zero. I'm not going to risk our lives for yours.”

Chaewon looked at Derrick, dumbfounded. Then her gaze lowered.

“I-I’m sorry. I was selfish.”

“I’ll head back to the village alone then. Thank you for the potion.”

She stood up and bowed, getting ready to leave—

“We’ll do it.”

“Yoo Jimin!” Derrick exclaimed.

“I said we’ll do it.”

She continued.

“As you've said, we don't know of their numbers, their capabilities. And that means if we head deeper in, we will be putting ourselves to the same risk. The shaman has seen our faces. It knows who we are.”

She looked at Derrick with a firm face, her sobbing already stopped.

“It’ll definitely come after us. If their forces are larger than just now, then we won't be able to handle them alone. I’d rather we regroup with more people for a better chance.”

She did not stop talking.

“And… I cannot in good faith throw away the chance to save people that could still be alive. Plus, the village folk and travellers will still be at risk with the monsters still alive.”

Silence.

“Wow,” Rei said, her eyes lifted from her tome long ago. “I didn't know you had such foresight in you.”

“I was brought up by my mom and dad after all. Anyway, my decision is final. Rei?”

“I'm for it. I need time to replenish all my spells and mental energy. Going further or staying here would mean I’m fucked.”

“Voidborn?” Jimin asked, wiping dried blood off his cheek.

Voidborn nodded.

“Derrick?”

He looked at her, a frown plastered all over his brow.

“Ugh fine. Only on the condition that the Wordwraiths are willing to help, and the guarantee of an air blimp express to Kandar.”

“I’ll try my best,” Chaewon said, heaving a sigh of relief.

“Then let's go,” Rei said, brushing the dirt off her butt as she stood up. “I don't want to stay here any longer.”

“You’re lucky the horse doesn't take much energy.”

The ride back was filled with nothing but chaos.

Derrick was talking to his lunchbox, planting it with endless kisses and smooches.

Rei was asking Voidborn an incessant number of questions.

Jimin did not stop crying. She just sat there, talking to everyone with tears streaming down her cheeks, hiccups between sentences, cry-chatting with a smile as if nothing was happening.

Chaewon sat by Voidborn’s side, enduring the jerks and bumps as the cart surged forward, rolling over small rocks and potholes.

“Do you want my seat?” Voidborn asked, watching Chaewon rub her butt in pain.

There were only three modified seats, so she had to settle with the hard, flat wood.

“N-No, it’s fine. You guys did all the work earlier, so you guys deserved it.”

“Okay,” Voidborn said, turning his attention back to cleaning his bloodied sword.

“You should have still offered the seat though…” Chaewon muttered under her breath.

“Did you say anything?” Voidborn asked.

“N-no! I was just mumbling to myself.”

“Voidborn!” Rei quipped, asking him more questions.

“Where did you learn your sword skills from?”

“The woman who took care of me.”

“What about your punching skills?”

“The woman who took care of me.”

“Then what about your kicking skills?”

“The woman who took care of me.”

“Did she give you your rebirth stone too?”

“I don’t know.”

“Woooow did she teach you how to hug beautiful crying girls too?”

“Rei?! How could you ask that!?” Jimin exclaimed, smiling even wider, crying even harder.

“She taught me how to hug crying people, not only beautiful crying girls too.”

“You're a smooth guy you know?”

Rei kept asking.

“And you! What Reborn type are you?”

“I'm a Savage,” Chaewon said. “Rebirth 2, Berserker.”

“Ohhh. Jimin look, we have someone similar to Voidborn! She seems very pretty too~”

“Rei.”

“What?”

“Stop what?”

“I'm gonna poke you.”

“Fine,” she giggled, turning back to Chaewon. “Do you mind if I touch you?”

“No?”

“Then can I conduct some tests on you?”

“Uh… sure?”

“Can you wear this collar?”

“Rei,” Chaewon said. “You're very very irritating.”

“There we go! See, Voidborn? This is what a Savage should be like. Why aren't you ever irritated?”

Voidborn shook his head, not knowing what to answer.

He looked at Derrick. He was now talking to the Tear unit that had been destroyed, crying as he tried to fix it.

He took out his whetstone and began sharpening his sword.

Flaws were terrifying.

“Nice to meet you,” Derrick said, shaking the hand of the Wordwraiths's leader. “I’m Derrick Yoo, Machinist Union.”

“Oh, I know. I've heard a lot about you. You're the Gadget Freak, right?” The woman said. “Joy.”

“I know you too,” Derrick said, releasing from the handshake. “Rei is always talking about you.”

“Good things, I hope,” she said, waving back to Rei who was looking at her with sparkling eyes.

“Other than you being insomniac and someone who gets brainfarts quite often, you're flawless, according to Rei archives.”

“You're a charmer yourself, aren’t you,” Joy chuckled. “I can't help it since those are my Flaws.”

“Anyway, my guys have already briefed me about the situation. Let's head to the inn to discuss.”

“Sure.”

Both groups entered the inn.

It was already close to midnight, but the inn owner had graciously kept the place open for them.

“Welcome back,” the inn owner said. “You look like you've been through hell.”

“Something like that,” Jimin said, her crying already reduced to soft sniffling.

The lady turned to Chaewon.

“Where's your group? And the burly guy who was your leader?”

“Captured,” she said, then her eyes dropped. “Leader… dead.”

“I’m… sorry.”

“It's alright.”

“Apologies, but could you leave us to our discussion?” Derrick asked.

“R-Right. Sorry.”

The woman bowed and excused herself.

“Now, back to business.”

“I am in favour of eradicating the shaman, its camp, as well as saving her teammates,” Joy said.

Voidborn and the rest listened and nodded.

“However, I am not in favour of going right now.”

“What? Why? The more time we spend waiting, the less likely they are to live…”

“A few reasons. From what I hear, the enemy is a mutated shaman which have consumed at least a Rebirth 2 stone. That bumps up its threat level by several tiers.”

“Second, Derrick and his group are exhausted. I can be upfront with you. I am not confident of completing the raid with my team alone, based on what I've heard. I need to ensure the highest chance of success. Recklessness is not part of my dictionary.”

Chaewon shrank back into her chair.

“Information. We don't know where the camp is and their capabilities. Diving straight in is a stupid decision. I respect your team leader for having confidence in himself, but look at where that got you?”

“I—”

“I’m not saying we won't save them. I'm saying we need to prepare well to reduce the number of casualties. As harsh as it may sound, it would be best to assume that your teammates are all dead.”

Chaewon smashed her fist onto the table, knocking several cups off balance.

Hot chocolate spilled onto the table, which she tried to wipe it off hastily.

“S-sorry,” Chaewon muttered. “I’m just irritated at how helpless I am.”

Then she sighed.

“I agree with your views. How do we solve the issue about the camp location though?”

“I know where it is,” Jimin said.

“You?” Chaewon asked. “How?”

“I can sens—”

“Ahem,” Derrick butted in. “I managed to attach a tracker on its body with a gadget of mine.”

“Rei, if you would please?”

“Sure.”

She summoned her tome and casted a holographic map of the mountainous area.

“Their camp is about six kilometers north-west from here,” Jimin whispered into Derrick’s ear. “Right in the middle of that valley.”

“There.”

Derrick pointed to where Jimin had described.

“That's a good location,” Joy said. “For them, I mean.”

Voidborn nodded.

“They chose one with only a single entry point,” Joy said.

“The slopes on both sides also make it hard to infiltrate,” Derrick added.

“I’ll send a scout,” Joy said, snapping her fingers. “Robert, go.”

“Roger.”

A lean man that's in his thirties stepped forward.

“Are you sure one is enough?” Derrick asked.

“I am more than enough.”

Robert summoned his own tome, the pages flipping like Rei’s before it settled to a stop.

“Refract.”

A white glow shone from the tome and wrapped around his body. Then with a snap of his fingers—

He disappeared.

“Woah!” Rei exclaimed. “Light spells!”

Joy nodded.

“Each one of my members here is specialised in a particular area.”

Voidborn narrowed his eyes.

The man was gone, but he could still see the colours in him.

Vibrant orange.

It seemed he was quite proud of his display.

Then they heard pages flipping once more.

“Gust.”

Voidborn heard a spell chant, and the next thing he knew, the door to the inn opened and closed with a soft click.

“You should head to rest,” Joy said, standing up. “Let’s meet here tomorrow morning when Robert comes back.”

Derrick nodded.

“What are you doing?”

Voidborn turned and looked at the person coming out from the public shower.

Rei stopped beside him, who was sitting at the corridor’s bench on the second floor of the inn.

“Report,” Voidborn said. “To Mr Kennedy.”

“Oh, what for?”

“Just a regular one.”

“Can I see?”

Voidborn passed her the mobile communication device.

“Goblin horde… bugbears… goblin shaman… suspicious woman… possible rebirth stone activity…”

“Seems really normal,” Rei said, passing it back to Voidborn. She pushed her face right at Voidborn’s, barely inches away from hers.

She squinted.

“Okay, you pass.”

“Pass?”

“You resisted my charms. You are qualified to like unnie.”

“Like?”

“She likes you, you know? Do you like her?”

“I… don’t know. I don’t know what it feels like to like someone.”

“It’s okay,” Rei said, falling into the seat beside Voidborn. “I still approve you.”

“Don’t make her cry,” Rei said, tucking her legs to her chest.

“How is she?”

“Still crying, but sleeping.”

“Why did she lie that she’s not a Reborn?”

“Her father’s orders. So please don’t let anyone know, even Mr Kennedy.”

Voidborn nodded.

“Is her Flaw her reason why she laughs when she cries?”

“Yes. I’ve been her friend since forever, and it still pains me to see her cry whenever she uses her power.”

“What Reborn type is she? I don’t think she falls into the six that I know.”

“I’ll leave that question to unnie herself to answer.”

Voidborn nodded.

“Are you not going to rest?” Rei asked.

“I haven’t showered.”

“You’ll be alright. You got cleaned by unnie earlier. Did you like it? Did you like how she wiped your arms? Your cheek?”

Rei laughed and mimicked the wiping motion on her own face.

“It felt nice. Like when the woman who cared for me cleaned my own face.”

“I bet you like her.”

Voidborn looked at Rei silently.

He turned on his communication device and sent the report to Mr Kennedy then kept it in his pocket.

“Are you not going to sleep?” he asked.

“I can’t. After draining most of my mental energy, my Flaw erputed. As you may have noticed, I have been asking lots of questions.”

“I think that it is more than a lot.”

“Right. That’s harmful though. It’s the insomnia that sucks. At Rebirth 2, I can’t sleep whenever I overuse my powers. I’m going to get swollen eyes tomorrow.”

“Still, you should head in to rest. Lay on the bed, close your eyes and meditate or something. The woman who took care of me said told me meditating helps with mind recovery.”

“Doesn’t she have a name?”

“Penelope.”

“Then why don’t you call her by her name?”

“I don’t know. I don’t feel good when I think of her.”

“I see… Anyway, where’s Derrick?”

“He went out to search for the woman who gave us the charm.”

“Right, there was that issue. Anyway, I’ll head in to medidate and rest, as per Penelope’s suggestion.”

“Good night.”

Right as Rei entered her room, she turned around to ask.

“Oh. Did Penelope teach you how to medidate?”

“She just told me to close my eyes and imagine countless objects of what I liked, then count them.”

“Ahh… so it’s kind of like counting sheep. What did you imagine?”

“Mangoes.”

Back in her room, Chaewon sat on her bed.

In her hands were a piece of paper.

She looked at it, staring at her teammates, tears running down her cheeks.

INFOGRAPHIC