Chapter 6:Residents Of The Other Side

The moon hung high, and the campfire blazed brightly. A quarter of the expedition squad was present, the others out on patrol. A heavy silence had settled over them after dinner.

The air was thick with unspoken dread. No one dared to break the tension. Everyone stared into the fire, lost in their own dark thoughts.

"How did he even get out, I wonder…" Keith finally spoke, breaking the silence. "Leaving us behind… It should have been us among those who opposed the kingdom that day."

"Maybe we could have made a change," Alex added. "If only he'd asked us to join instead of picking favorites."

"Sulking over a dead man. What are you two? Five-year-olds?" Ethan interjected, his voice sharp.

The crackling of the fire filled the void left by Ethan's words.

"The moment we started this, it was already too late. It's futile now. The others would probably have met the same fate…" Ivan sighed. "What should we do next, Lord? Are you certain they're still around? If so, about the lead… we have none."

Lelloid continued to stare into the distance, lost in contemplation, offering no reply.

"Lord? Lord Lelloid?" Keith called out, his voice growing impatient.

Lelloid seemed to snap out of his reverie.

"What's on your mind?" he shouted, his voice laced with anger. He sighed, then continued, "This was a waste of time. I regret my oath of service."

Keith stood up abruptly and began to walk away from the campfire.

He paused just as he was about to leave the circle of light.

"Hear that?" he asked, his voice low.

The others immediately rose to their feet, drawing their weapons.

"Cover all sides. In six or seven seconds, an ambush starts," Keith ordered.

They formed a circle, blade and spear gleaming in the firelight. Diana, however, held only a small dagger.

"Zero."

As Keith called out "Zero," ambushes erupted from all sides. Centipedes, the size of chairs, leaped from the bushes, aiming to latch onto their prey.

Everyone easily dispatched the creatures with two or fewer slashes, except for Diana, who was shielded by Sandro due to her short-range dagger.

"What kind of portion is their diet?" Ivan asked, examining a centipede's corpse, green blood oozing from its wounds.

"You," Alex replied instantly.

"This is very…abnormal," Ivan mused, flipping the monster over with his sword. "So these are the residents of 'The Other Side'… Encountering at least this on a daily basis, I wonder what state that boy's humanity is in."

"Check on your men. Scatter now!" Lelloid ordered immediately.

Sandro and Ivan, Ethan and Oscar, Lelloid, and Keith, Alex, and Diana, each group went in different directions to support their subordinates.

Some of the guards remained at the campfire to protect the horses.

"We're just in time!" Alex announced to the trio they were assisting.

"Hang in there, we'll take it from here," Sandro declared to his group.

***

The trio, Alex, Keith, and Diana, checked on the well-being of their men and some of the Squadron 1 members.

"We shouldn't have left you guys unmonitored," Alex chastised his squad.

"Viceman! Captain! We're being ambushed!" one of the squadron members cried out, struggling to fend off the creatures.

They were facing a relentless onslaught of centipedes and other poisonous insects, such as scorpions, mantises, and spiders, all of abnormal size.

The numbers were significantly higher on this side.

Down both flanks, Keith and Alex cleared swaths of the monsters, their blades flashing. With their help, the squad managed to regain their footing.

"Any injuries?" Keith asked, slicing down the last of the creatures.

"Thankfully, just light injuries on some members," a soldier replied.

"Regroup. We'll handle the big bosses," Alex announced, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Only two praying mantises remained, but they were no ordinary mantises. At eleven feet tall, they were a menacing sight.

One of the mantises grabbed a dead spider with its claws. With a swift, brutal motion, it ripped the spider apart, its mandibles working quickly to devour the remains.

The sickening crunch of chitin filled the air as the massive insect consumed its prey.

"Ewwwww," Alex mocked in disgust, mimicking the mantis's act of eating the spider.

"Wish it was you," Keith said, stepping away from his partner.

"HUUUURRHGGHRH." Alex shivered.

"Not that hard to sweep all this alone. One-on-ones?" Keith challenged.

"Bro thought he's Raya. Yes, Cap!" Alex replied.

Two men against two monsters. The watching soldiers were awestruck. The swift, fluid execution of their moves was a testament to their skill.

They truly lived up to their titles of Squadron Head and Viceman.

Within minutes, both mantises were dismembered and decapitated.

"Tada~~," Alex announced, kicking the head of one of the mantises. "WATCHA!!!" He toyed with its claws.

"Halt," Keith said, looking around at his men. "Where's Diane?"

"Oh yeah. We're maids, I forgot," Alex said, tossing aside pieces of the mantis corpse.

"She went to the right when we were busy fighting the monsters. She heard the others call for help. We got split up during the mist," a soldier explained.

"Follow," Keith ordered.

"Obliged, Captain," the soldier saluted.

They moved along the indicated path. They couldn't allow her to escape their watch since they were responsible for her.

They arrived at the scene, their faces filled with astonishment.

Six scorpions, the same size as the mantises they had just fought, lay dead. Their tails were severed, and their bodies were brutally cut apart, as if a predator had ravaged its prey.

In the center of the carnage, two members of their squad lay unconscious, their arms tied with cloth and propped against a large rock.

On that rock, Diane sat, her hands stained with a mixture of green and red blood. She gripped her fists tightly. Four broken daggers lay scattered on the ground, also stained with the same colors.

What was even more impressive was that she was completely untouched, without a single scratch.

Alex helped carry the unconscious soldiers. "You know, this one guy—Lucas,not a real name. He would have blabbered about poor maiden, forced to fight.Then rushed off to sleep so he wouldn't puke hours later."

Keith gave Alex a disgusted, judging glares. "Sigh, they say when pushed into a corner, we can achieve our best," Keith said to Diane. He offered her a hand to help her up.

"Thank you. One hell of a thief you are."

"I appreciate the credit," Diane replied, accepting his hand.

"Yet, this just raises more suspicion about you," Keith continued. "We'll be more aware from now on.You can't leave our circle."

Keith led the group back to camp.

"You 'thief' his heart." Alex chuckled to Diane.

She didn't respond, remaining silent. There was no good reply she could give in such an awkward moment.

"Whatever you say, Alex," Keith muttered, just barely audible, having heard the slight whisper.

-To Be Continued-