Make Way For The Legends

The silent trudge through the forest land was only interrupted by the occasional chirping of birds or the wind itself. The Port-O-Bea army had sent out about five thousand troops to do a head-on assault towards the village of Harler, split between the road on two sides of the forest. They had moved through nine of the ten miles mostly on foot, as their own mechanized division made up of carrs and about three light tarrs drove ahead to take the brunt.

Jamal himself was completely focused on the mission at hand, slicing through any branch or thicket blocking his path. Since that engagement in the camp earlier in the day, the group assigned to the attack remained in a mood of concern, as no one knew how Jamal would move about once the village was spotted. At least in their case, it could potentially be for their benefit. Even with that, it was still possible for his mood to go against them, and such action could be devasting for the current mission. Heskins himself knew how the man could be depending on the situation, as he moved closer to his side.

"Hey Jamal, everything's still going to go to plan, right?" Hesksins attempted to ask.

For a brief moment, Jamal didn't reply back before giving him his statement, "I'll make sure of it."

Not even willing to ask any more questions, Heskins started to pull back from the man, as shouts between the assigned groups were beginning to go off. In the distance, one could hear the loud shots and explosions of the two sides already clashing ahead, as which made Jamal put his hand up for everyone assigned to his side to slow down and wait. Pulling out and adjusting his binoculars, Jamal was able to get a good sight of the village ahead, with the hastily formed fortifications of wooden roadblocks and makeshift trenches leading into the village, before being greeted by a sight of the open terrain and spacing between homes and businesses.

"You guys need to follow the lead of your squad leader, who will coordinate alongside the three commanders on the attack. I'm sure everyone understands the plan we established prior to getting here, which includes assisting the spearhead up ahead. Do not wait for me to follow suit, as I will join and end things very shortly for us. Just get the ball rolling and I'll take care of the rest."

While the rest of the soldiers understood the memo, Hesksins was a bit bewildered before feeling a pat on his shoulder. Turning to see who it was, he was greeted by the sight of Brat and Fonda, who shot him a quick smile.

"Don't worry about him, we got some work to do!" the boy attempted to cheer him up, as fur began popping out of his skin.

"If you're still worried, I've looked into his mind already. Strangely enough, it's actually blank except for one thing." Fonda added, as Brat waited for her to hop on, "I only saw fire."

Nodding at those words and with nothing else to add, Heskins began to pace himself alongside the rest of the soldiers on his side, as a large pile of dirt got launched into the air, no doubt from one of Leon's punches. It was time to give their enemies what they were really looking for.

.....

"So, you're finally embracing the power, huh?" Jamal moved his head towards the sound.

The same dark figure of himself was walking over the fallen branches Jamal had cut prior before stopping to directly face him. Jamal felt no emotion with the figure, as his hands were unclenched and free of stress and worry, but also from desperation and revenge. His time would come soon enough to figure out what was really happening, but for now it appeared that this thing was a part of him, and would be something he had to deal with.

"That power you claim I have is nothing that I've ever used or felt before. You can't truly expect me to handle something like that." Jamal stated, before letting his flames ignite.

"We know deep down you have a lot of pent-up energy. I would even like to say in a sense, a primal type of energy you've yet to utilize. You cannot expect to beat Youden or really be that useful in any actual scenario without it." The figure watched as Jamal moved towards the open road, "I'm warning you."

"And I'm warning you, that I'm really fine." Jamal said one last time, before disappearing in a blur.

The dark figure of himself stared towards the raging battle, before letting loose a light chuckle. Of course, that man would say something like that while ignoring actual reality. Perhaps being blind to the truth was one of his current flaws, as the figure slowly began to dissipate.

"We shall see soon enough." the figure let out a louder laugh, before fully disappearing.

.....

Already through the first three-row of houses, it was quite evident that the Reserve Guard didn't compile all their troops into this sole village with little strategic value, but instead set some of their weaker or newer divisions to hold the lines. With that information, it appeared that neither side was willing to give out that easily, as Leon had his back pressed against the concrete wall of an older house. The ten or so soldiers assigned to him kept watch of the perimeter while awaiting his call to move inside.

Charging up to being able to use about five times his strength, Leon gave those under him a quick nod before punching the wall down. Plaster and dust went into the air, as the men rushed indoors to find a home that was quickly evacuated. Strewn about were pieces of clothes and furniture, as they carefully continued their advance from within. Each step bringing them closer to the other side of the one-story home, yet eerie of any possible ambushes.

Leon was able to move past the filthy kitchen discarded with uncooked food, until he heard a loud click. All the soldiers instantly had their weapons aimed towards the sole door in front of them, while Leon charged up his fist again. Unless it was one of them, he knew that he had no choice but to attack whoever came out of there.

"October 15th." a woman's voice spoke, causing all the soldiers to bring their rifles down and Leon to loosen his guard a bit.

Hearing the codeword, they waited a little bit longer, until the door managed to finally open, and they were greeted with the sight of one of the other squad leaders.

"We've managed to clear out three-quarters of the entire village within the last two hours." she began to explain to them.

"That was a bit quick, considering we've been fighting well over five hours now with some difficulty." Leon could take into account the sunset turning the sky into a dark orange. "Why so?"

"Well." the squad leader took a quick breath before answering, "I can say that Jamal's been doing a lot of the heavy lifting."

"What do you mean?" Leon began to pace towards the garage opening before the squad leader got in front of him.

"Hold on, you rather not look out there right now. Any of you." she said with concern looking at them all, "I'm not sure if-."

"I think we're fine to see what's happening." Leon finally moved towards the road, only to see more of the soldiers already outside, watching something down the parts they had to capture.

Moving alongside them, Leon was able to see Heskisns in the crowd, although based on his reaction, it wasn't pretty at all. Next to him, Brat and Fonda were also watching the spectacle at hand, with the girl covering her mouth at what she was witnessing.

"What's happening?" Leon asked with legit curiosity, with Heskins only able to point towards what remained for them.

The sight was rather brutal, as the remaining homes under the Reserve Guard occupation were either blown out or covered in black soot, dust, or whatever powder it was. That wasn't the most horrifying sight, as strewn across what remained of the road were dozens of dead members belonging to Youden, each clearly killed through quick cuts to the side of the body or neck, as Jamal continued to clear out the rest of the final homes. Wild bursts of dark red flames were launched into the air through any opening that was available, as rifle shots were usually followed with screams of agony or the begging of mercy.

"Oh, that's what's going on." Leon figured out, "Well, this could be problematic."

.....

With only two houses remaining, the deep red-black flames continued to exert their power, while Jamal had a grin on his face during the entire ordeal. He had no clue for how long he was working, except for the fact that this hidden power really did feel so natural to him. What was once a thought of some weak emotion or evil possession, turned to be nothing short but a blessing in disguise, as letting his real emotions and hatred of Youden feed onto him. Ever since cleaning through the first house filled with the man's members of who was to hold down the country, finally opened his eyes to what they truly were. Fanatics that wanted to do nothing but serve Youden, and expect respect and mercy for all the suffering they've brought. That was no longer an option.

"Come on, let one loose!" the shadow figure appeared by his side, although he noticed the large swaths of his flames still a lighter red. "Ah, you haven't embraced it yet. We'll work on it."

"Maybe you should work on this?" Jamal howled into the air, as he lifted one hand towards the sky.

A large fireball was quick to form above him, as the soldiers still inside could do nothing but attempt to run away or hide in the homes against the incoming attack. Jamal only needed a few seconds' worth of time before launching the ball straight toward the defenders, with the intent of pure annihilation. Rolling with ease through the houses, the attack continued to roll onward for several hundred more yards, before finally imploding on itself and creating a shockwave for those in its vicinity.

"Oh wow, haven't seen that one in a while." the figure managed to be impressed, as the flames from Jamal's body began to disappear, "Don't forget, that primal urge to finish the task we were made to do all those years ago. Kill Youden with no mercy and no delay. We will make him pay."