Chapter 74: Trials

Tears fall off his face as he touches his large belt.

I never got he got the chance to thank him for the belt! Why did he have to go like that?! . . . Zahtan will pay for what he did!

He then glances at his gloves and shield.

This shield given to me by Tahara and blessed with Haco and Iza . . . and my first ever present . . . these gloves that Kayn gave me after our first fight.

A missile flies nearby, dangerously close to hitting him and Adora moves away, jumping off the wave.

Coming from behind, he moves his free arm and grabs it, casually chucking it back to the sender at an insane speed and blowing them up.

Adora lands, looking at Chad who has covered his face with his hands. He signals with his hand that needs a moment and stops paddling, starting to fall.

He falls through to the machines and does so without an effort and then recomposes himself, bouncing off one, exploding it and landing on the deck of the ship, traveling near the speed of sound again.

Adora sees all that and closes her eyes. She takes a deep breath as her armor emerges again.

. . .

She stays still like that for a while . . .

. . .

Contain yourself . . . everyone is . . . even Dara . . . who lost his twin brother. Grief can come after, over Daki, and your failure.

She opens her eyes and her pupils sharpen, like a panther.

One of the riders hovering near her signals that they are at their destination. They will focus on evacuations while Adora does whatever she needs to do.

"Chad will be providing cover for all of us and fighting the enemy. If he finds one of your targets while doing so, he will be sure to inform you as soon as he can,"

Understanding the plan, she signals for all of them remain safe.

Adora pauses in contemplation as daggers form in her hand. She shakes her head, throwing them at two machines and hovers her hand around her waist, forming a small belt like device with two launchers on either end.

Launching what?

She then places the hooks in them, looking at the armor's claws and how sharp they are and then proceeds to flip upside down, snapping her finger with the gravity ring.

She starts to free fall, the grappling hook firing and attaching to the flying machines, and she uses them to swing around, throwing daggers. Any enemy in the way of her swing, she shreds with her claws.

. . .

Floating above . . . a figure in white looks down at the ship going further down the Rope.

"Things seem to be going well,"

She is brought back to her garden as she takes a bite of her chocolate cake.

"Yum! This cake is great! Chad is just . . ." she exclaims happily.

She wipes her mouth, "Well, I should do a quick check-up on my people and boost their morale before going there to read some more. Ivy, be on standby,"

"Yes, ma'am," responds Ivy.

Tahara stands up and starts to walk a good distance to the gate of her garden, where guards stand, protecting it as a large crowd sits in front of it quietly.

Someone looks up and notices her.

"Mother of Mercy!" they say in excitement and the entire crowd shifts its attention to her.

The guards ready themselves for a crowd that will push itself towards her, but there is no rush, no chaos, and no worries as they watch her.

Tahara pushes open the gates gently.

"My dear people of the Rope, all pilots are at work trying to restore order to the lower half of the island along with Chad. I am glad that you all also hold strong and are in patience of the circumstances. I ask you to hold on a bit longer,"

"And to put a smile on yo–"

"And what do I do after that?" asks someone from the crowd and all eyes turn to the person who interrupted the person they all love.

". . . after that . . . the Rope rises . . . and we . . . unmarked ones are left behind. Why are we unmarked? Why will happen to us? Will we just fall to the bottom?"

. . .

The Mother of Mercy steps out of her guardian gates, the guards attempting to follow her but she waves them away, commanding them to stop as she walks closer to the man who asked the question.

He gulps, feeling the heavy pressure of the ocean, sinking him down from opening his mouth.

The Mother of Mercy stands some distance away from him as everyone makes space, not daring to go anywhere near her. The man, unable to look into her eyes, shifts his eyes to th ground as shivers pass through his body.

"Everyone, listen to what I am about to say and spread it word for word,"

"First of all, thank you," says the Mother of Mercy and the man looks up, his face filled with confusion.

Why is she thanking me?

"Thank you for choosing to be peaceful, even at a time like this that you are going through. As for the marks, we discovered some people might have their marks on some internal organs so they won't be visible. However, to not dodge your question, what if it isn't even internal? What if you don't have it at all?" she pauses.

"Sadly, this is a matter that even I don't have a response to as it is something beyond my Authority. As that is a matter of personal responsibility,"

The man looks down in disappointment.

"However, know this. I will ask and see if I can find a way to help you people out. Furthermore, as long as you choose to come here, to peace . . . I . . . we will protect you and help you with all we can. So, again, I thank you for also letting us help when we can,"

She looks at the man.

"Stand up," she commands, and the man stumbles, trying to respond quickly.

"Marked or not marked, we will protect all who seek refuge and peace, and I will not allow public condemnation, humiliation, or discrimination on the matter. For personal thoughts and private conduct, I pray that the people with the marks live up to what they earned and don't spread bad-mouthing about their fellow unmarked citizens. For, if they do, I will be disappointed in them,"

She folds her hands, "I will go around seeing my people and spreading this message. If you are of strong memory, I would like you to do the same,"

The Mother of Mercy starts to walk through the crowd, all of them making way and space for her and the crib following her when she is suddenly shifted again to another place.

. . .

Once again, she's in front of the woman she saw before.

This time, with a flaming sword holding her on the inner flesh of the monster they are inside of.