Counter 11: The Pouring Mist (part 1)

Ten minutes after two o’clock in the afternoon

Gymnasium’s Roof

Dark smoke rises towards the clear blue sky. The wind blows calmly from the sea shore. The trees rustle and specks of dust whirl in the air. Clanks resound as Taka and Gaozu walks around the gym’s roof to secure their position. Elen turns her sight around peeking back and forth from the hologram videos. Some things are not working the way they expected. She bites her thumb nail while fixing her eyes on the feedback of the ongoing battles.

“They are responding to our attack as if they knew we are coming.” Elen mumbles. “But… Something else is off. Something is wrong… all this commotion-” She suddenly turns towards the direction of the dorms.

“What is it major?” Taka asks.

Elen passes her binoculars to him and then points at the dorms. “Taka, tell me what you see over there.”

“Huh-?..” He uses the binoculars to check into the pointed area. “Buildings?... Um, the dormitories.”

“What else?”

“Nothing really.” He puts the binoculars down while looking confused.

“Nothing?” She repeats and her brows knit. “No people? How about the students? None of them came out to check on what’s happening? Does none of them care at all? They should have heard that loud explosion.”

“N-no?..”

Gaozu takes the binoculars and then checks at the dorms. “It’s true,” he says. “This is not how it should be.”

“Hey, hey-” Azalea suddenly calls their attention. “Miss Elen, that tattoo on your wrist… It’s the emblem of K’shirm, isn’t it?”

Elen peeks at her wrist and then pulls the sleeve of her black body fitted suit. “What do you know?” She asks, her tone sounds deep.

“Just enough for anyone who knows how to read a history book.” Azalea answers wearing her extra sweet business smile. “I thought that cult died several decades ago.”

“We’re not a cult!” Elen grits her teeth.

“Is that so?..” Azalea tilts her head. Her expression falls flat.

“The likes of you should-” She stops before she can finish. She bites her lip and then turns around.

K’shirm is a religious organization that believes in preserving “normality.” In other words, a world for the ubliss, ruled by the ubliss. They flourished during the Age of Chaos and participated in many wars around the world. Because majority of the population of the world are unbliss, it was not difficult to find faithful members in different countries. Due to the unstable and fragile peace and order of the era there were many wars where the reveils are involved and made to fight as powerful murder machines. Many powerless people saw the reveils in a dark light, especially the civilians who did not want to get involved in the war but because of some accident, their loved ones were taken away.

With K’shirm claiming to bring them justice and give them protection, many ubliss joined together to find different ways to fight against the more powerful reveils. Gathering the richest minds and funded by a large number of faithful followers, K’shirm invented weapons to rival the reveils. Their growing technology and strategic approach showed remarkable results. They fought targeting the reveils and proved that even the ubliss can stand up to these seemingly untouchable forces.

However, due to their victories and expanding number of followers little by little as years passed by, the organization changed internally. From an organization that wants to bring justice and protect, they focused more on taking over the world.

K’shirm is a religious entity that worships a god who created the world for the pure souls, the ubliss. They believe that the ubliss are superior and the reveils are products of curses to punish them because their ancestors committed a grave sin against god. K’shirm spread their teachings that encouraged the ubliss to stand up for themselves and take their place as the rightful rulers of the world. However not everyone in K’shirm followed such philosophy. There are those who believe that using violence against the reveils is not what god wants his people to do, rather they should open a peaceful means to accept and convert reveils to become a part of their religion. This would only be possible by implementing restrictions and tight supervisions on the reveils as they pray to have their sins be forgiven, so that they can start over again as an untainted child of god. Because of this, the organization started to be divided into two factions.

At the end of the Age of Chaos, K’shirm is one of the biggest organizations that ICA crashed until the remaining members had no choice but to disperse and go into hiding. There are still few places that believe in K’shirm’s teaching but as long as they do not disturb the peace and order that ICA had established, they are left alone to express their own beliefs.

“You’re just like those monsters and demons.” Elen says softly.

“Mhm?..” Azalea stares at her. She then gazes towards the hologram feedback. “You’re a hardcore believer, aren’t you?.. I wonder what caused the change of heart?”

“Change of heart?”

“Those other intruders that the professors are fighting don’t look like they are ubliss.” She says coldly while staring at the ongoing battle of Professor Crownheit and Professor Zhu. “I wonder… what about these two here?”

Elen pulls out a pistol. “I don’t think I need them to shut you up!”

A gunshot echoes. The bullet sounds like it hit something before dropping down the roof. For a moment after the first gunshot, only the clink of the crumpled bullet tumbling and rolling down the uneven roof is heard. Elen’s eyes widen. After assessing the situation she grits her teeth and then continues to pull the trigger. Consecutive gunshots thunders nonstop until the magazine is emptied. Crumpled bullets showered down the roof while Azalea remains standing, calm and untouched.

“A magical barrier.” Elen mumbles. “I don’t get it.”

Taka and Gaozu are posing in a defensive stance while Elen changes the magazine. She points her gun at Azalea once again.

“Why?” Her eyes burn fiercely while she stares at the mage who shows no reaction towards her provocation. “You’re really… You have no plans to fight? Are you looking down on me?!”

“We have plenty of time.” Azalea answers with a calm tone. “I’ll play with you.”