[14] The Fallen

An hour. It took an hour before I found myself. I couldn't even remember the finer details the moment I came to. I only saw the blood on my hands and the corpse that lay still on the tree bark.

It was disgusting how mutilated his body became. Every inch of his skin was carved into a crescent moon, bitten and eaten no doubt while still conscious. The shadows were uncontrollable as they devoured everything they encountered, acting in the will of the crazy things the fog in my head suggested.

I should be guilty.

[ Shadow Being Restricted ]

Like the morning after a huge night out, I crashed hard with mixed feelings about the gruesome murder. I would have started hyperventilating hadn't it been for the disgusting stench of blood and feces. Flies already gathered and feasted upon the corpse. I was reminded that there was more that I was neglecting by taking my time with this man.

Holly and the others must be worried by now, I should head back and burn these corpses. Maybe that would be enough to atone for my sins of senseless torture.

I hauled his body over mine with ease and shuffled in the direction of the others. It didn't take long, after all, we met immediately as soon as I started looking. I was more surprised by their cluelessness as soon as I emerged from the bushes and saw the shock written on their face.

King jumped off of Holly's lap and stalked around me, using his nose to the fullest to gather as much information about the battle. He looked relieved despite fully knowing what had happened. I was glad he didn't mind the smell of death and torture.

Ezekiel jumped to his feet, recognition on his face as I threw the body of the leader to one of his companions. I continued to work by hauling the dead to one pile, ignoring the horrified looks on my companions' faces, and focusing on the work I did.

Master taught me a lot of things. One of them was the process of dealing with corpses. Whether enemy or ally, every person deserves to be burned like the sun upon death; their ashes mingled with the air we breathe and the essence of their soul carried by the smoke to reach the skies where no one could touch.

I didn't want to give these people the satisfaction of the sun's warmth. However, my body moved like clockwork. A lesson engrained to the deepest furrow of my bones.

"I-I know him. He's the guy that killed Muriel and the others. H-Holly..." I tried to ignore their voices, cursing my ears for their natural curiosity to his fearful tone. "Holly, if he's here... then... then Sir Karl must be..."

The bodies immediately caught on fire, blazing with the strength of their souls. For a moment the fire turned black and their screams echoed throughout the forest, announcing their death.

I watched as the smoke climbed. Once it reached sufficient height, I turned to the others.

"We should get moving," I said, "I'm... I'm sorry to say this, but we fought for an hour. Sir Karl... and the rest of the Knights... I don't think they're alive anymore."

Ezekiel's world tilted from the despair that crept up in his eyes.

"If I had..." If I hadn't been caught up in my own emotions. If I had been here fast enough. If I wasn't so weak. These thoughts ran through my head, different feelings welling up at the back of my throat. In the end, all I could manage was a small, "I'm sorry..." before hanging my head and breaking eye contact.

Holly gently touched my arm. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Lady Knight." The tears in her eyes were less than a second from falling, yet she smiled. "Let's head back. Maybe I could salvage my spice bag in one of the broken carriages."

I only nodded in response. Speaking felt like the weight of my guilt would swallow me whole. So I nodded and moved before we could talk about anything else.

I led the way with King on my head. Despite being sure that there was nobody else alive in this operation, unexpected factors are still unexpected. 

When we arrived at the scene, all my suspicions were confirmed.

Sir Karl was impaled while standing, remaining upright by his own volition as the blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. It was a sight to see, one that befitted that of a knight who fought until the very end. A statue wouldn't do justice to the kind of miracle position he was in.

"No no..! Sir Karl!" I held the boy in place before he could jump to hug the unmoving Sir Karl, possibly impaling himself on the weapon and killing them both. "Let go of me!"

I didn't move an inch.

"Sir Karl... What am I going to tell your daughter what happened" Holly murmured, distraught and fully sobbing behind a poorly placed fist. She didn't look any better than Ezekiel. I was worried that she might jump and try to hug the man as well, eternally grateful when she remained where she was.

King tried his claw at making them feel better. Their sobs quieted but I felt the tensions were still high in the air.

Ezekiel wriggled in my grasp and I let him go once I confirmed that he wasn't going to kill himself along with the fallen knight. He went and wept in Holly's embrace, his face hidden on the crevice of her neck, sobs lazily hidden behind shaking heads and trembling fingertips. Holly and I exchanged a few looks before I made my way away from the both of them.

Seeing as I had time on my hands, I went around and picked up the bodies of the bounty hunters. I was piling them nicely when Holly stopped me.

"You're... you're not going to burn them, are you?"

"It's only right."

She chewed her bottom lip, her eyes gazing at her companions. "Could you please leave the knights to me?"

"Of course, Ma'am."

"Please, call me Holly."

"Of course, Holly."

With her request in mind, I started working on my ritual. I made sure to avoid the knights with the same armor as Sir Karl, feeling the judgmental stare from Holly each time I moved too close to one of them.

I didn't touch them. I didn't dare to. Holly didn't look outwardly strong, however, one could never assume the indomitable will of a human. I doubt that she would do anything that would harm me but I prefer not to show King a sight of pure desperation. Not to mention, I didn't have a good enough justification to burn the fallen knights after her request. They must have their traditions on how to take care of a body.

Another black fire appeared in the middle of the forest that gradually turned to a more natural color of fire. The sight of it caused Holly to begin moving to Sir Karl, struggling as she tried to pry him from the weapon.

I watched silently, none of my grimaces showing in a sign of respect.

She heaved and hoed, Ezekiel watching without inching to help the poor woman, too caught up in his own distraught. When she did manage to pull him off, the profuse bleeding made her pause, staining her clothes with a dark splotch of raspberries.

Maybe I shouldn't sit still. I placed a hand on her shoulder and helped her stand from where she was stuck between the ground and Sir Karl's cold body. 

Her eyes remained on the man's still open wound and the blood in her hands. I did my best to clean the dirt off of her backside but I couldn't do much about the blood. I doubt she would be moving much with how easily the sight of blood had her body trembling.

I held her hands tightly, shaking it until her eyes met with mine. "Take a bath."

"Excuse me?"

"You're in no shape to be carrying corpses and giving them their rightful burials. Let me do it." She opened her mouth with a protest that I didn't let slip. "I won't burn them. Tell me what I need to do and King will lead you to the nearest river to bathe. I have all the necessary supplies to get rid of the blood in your clothes as well."

She searched my eyes. I felt the icky feeling of drying blood smeared across my fingers, a viscous yet flaky texture that I could never get used to. The last time I held someone's hands in such a manner was under a willow tree in the very place where the old man died. An unpleasant memory but I refused to let go of her hands.

Depressing thoughts only made the scene sadder. I had things to do.

I continued to hold her as she recounted what to do with the corpses. There were some details that I thought were odd, like taking their innards out and feeding them to the local wildlife. It was a lot of work than my method but I respected it.

She pulled away as she finished. I started thinking halfway that she wouldn't stop listing things until night fell, further wrenching my schedule to traveling to the capital.

I thanked whoever mattered that I underestimated how much it took for me to walk from one point to another. I should still make it in time with enough time to spare after the events of today.

King, having heard our conversation, started leading them away after I handed him a bag of new toiletries. There was a small bit of pain upon giving them a week's worth of products, but then I remembered that I overpacked everything four-fold so it shouldn't even be an issue.

I started stripping off my upper armor and garments until there were only bandages that covered most of my upper torso. Some of the bandages had torn from the previous battle and I knew that later in my night guard duties I would be taking the time to rebandage every part of it.

I heard someone meep from behind me but I ignored it as I made my way toward Sir Karl's body.

"Lady Knight?"

"Yes?"

"May I know of your name?"

"My name is Willow. Reborn in the Eastern Territory of the Demon Continent. A demon born to serve the sun." I recited the three sentences that greeted me when I first opened my eyes to this world.

Until now I didn't know what it meant but Master had this twinkle in his eyes when he first heard it, so it must be something important. Holly shared the same reaction, finding herself bowing before following King with Ezekiel by her side.

It was time to get to work.