Chapter Three: Destruction (Engelard)

Beauty in war?

Exactly one hundred steps from Leon's house on the outskirts of Basel, Engelard freezes and puts his arm out, stopping Leon from walking any further. His friend lets out a small exclamation of surprise before trying to push Engelard's arm out of his path, but it doesn't move.

"Engelard, what are you-"

"Cover your ears and lay on the ground."

"Wha-"

"Now!"

Engelard spins around and tackles Leon, holding him to the ground as he covers his ears and ensures Leon can cover his. A second after Engelard's palms are over his ears a loud boom occurs before the ground violently shakes.

Engelard's vision blurs and becomes black for several seconds, causing him to roll off of Leon before blinking multiple times and trying to stand up. His head spins and his ears ring. Leon remains on the ground, still covering his ears as his eyes are closed.

The archer brings himself to regain his composure, before looking in the direction of the sound. Smoke and dust block out most of what he can see, but brick and pieces of furniture lay scattered around not just the wreckage, but also himself and Leon.

Was Basel just...attacked? More accurately, was it bombed? A groan from Leon alerts Engelard to his friend's situation, and he hastily helps him up into a standing position. Leon glances over in the direction of the sound, and Engelard can see his eyes grow wide. He takes a few steps forward, but Engelard walks in front of him, putting his hand out once more to stop him.

"I don't want you to hurt yourself or get sick. We can come back after everything is cleaned up, and see if anything is-"

Engelard can hear a distant yell. He can just barely make out what is being said. Without warning, he takes Leon's hand and runs in the opposite direction of where the two were originally going. From behind them, another loud boom and rumble occur, which almost makes Engelard lose his footing on the already uneven ground, and he can feel a heavy weight pull his left arm downward, telling him Leon fell over.

The boy turns around, picks up Leon like a mother would their newborn child, and takes off towards the small car the two used to drive from Fribourg to Basel. Engelard opens the passenger door, throws Leon in, closes it, then gets in the driver's seat and steps on the gas. His destination is the lights of Zürich on the horizon.

The rumbles barely affect the ground, and the booms are now distant and muffled. Engelard, despite the adrenaline in his shaking body, doesn't stop driving until he crosses into Zürich, signaled by the wooden sign welcoming the pair into the city.

He turns the car off, gets out of his side and picks Leon up out of his, sets the knight down, and falls to his knees, catching his breath. Looking up at Leon, he notices the assassin looking in the direction of his birthplace, his lips trembling, and eyes halfway closed trying to hold in unreleased tears.

Engelard tries his best to stand up, but his legs and arms shake. He tries his best to comfort Leon from afar, but his voice is a hoarse whisper, and even he can barely hear himself.

"Leon... I will...find us another place...to live..."

Leon stands still and wipes the tears streaming down his face with the sleeve of his white cloak. Engelard forces himself to stand up despite his trembling body and uses his hands to brush off his black jacket and jeans, which are covered in a thin layer of light brown dust.

The assassin turns his head in Engelard's direction and runs to him while the latter automatically puts his arms out to hug his friend. He can hear Leon's muffled sobs and attempts to hold back tears of his own, which is a futile attempt to begin with.

"Why...why was Basel bombed?" Leon's quiet voice can be heard in Engelard's ear.

"I can only assume we are now at war. To whom or what nation, I do not know, nor do I have the slightest idea about the reason why this nation or Basel would be attacked. I believe we best go request an audience with the General of the Army and ask for further information on the occurrence, though I doubt he would know more than we already do," Engelard explains, releasing Leon so the pair can have a minute to fully regain their composures.

With Basel destroyed, where would Leon and Engelard sleep and spend their leisure time? And why would Basel, out of all of the other major cities in Schweiz, be attacked first? It was known for its beauty and proximity to a river (both of which Engelard knew were now most likely destroyed) but had little significance when compared to the nation's capital of Bern, or its financial capital, Zürich, where Engelard and Leon were now.

Only two other nations who were at odds with Schweiz and would have the audacity to attack it pop into Engelard's mind: Russland and Deutschland. Polen and Finnland were close allies with Schweiz and may come to their aid if the nation was being attacked by Deutschland, but that seemed unlikely, as the nation itself was still recovering from a civil war that unexpectedly broke out over disputes concerning the system of government.

If Russland was attacking Schweiz, though it didn't reveal any possible reason why the nations were suddenly at war, Polen and Finnland would think twice before sending them assistance. Trying to send assistance to a nation in the midst of fighting Russland was a death wish upon the involved nation.

Their military was not only powerful in terms of weaponry and tactics but sheer numbers as well. Russland, if it had to, could fight two small-scale wars at once, and quite possibly win both. They already had their civil war years ago, and the system of government and line of succession was already in place and doing quite well, so it was only reasonable that it was the nation attacking Schweiz.

Engelard would find out the reason later, and he hoped it would be soon.

But first, the two had to request to meet with the General of the Army of Schweiz before making any unnecessary assumptions.

He does a quick scan of the well-lit plaza, failing to spot the white uniforms of the military. Usually, they would be walking up and down the streets, keeping a watchful eye on possible pickpocketers or criminals. But no white uniforms are seen.

Engelard, with a disproving scowl, begins walking down the main streets leading from the plaza to the market square, where cafés, restaurants, and vendor stalls would be open, beckoning tourists, travelers, visitors, and residents into their clutches. Stores carrying expensive wares are further down the street as if eating in the marketplace didn't have one spend enough money already.

Leon was by his side within seconds, not bothering to look for the white uniforms. Usually, Engelard would playfully nudge him. But after what the two just experienced, he decides not to tell him to help scan the streets. Engelard can handle it himself, anyway. He just doesn't want Leon to feel completely useless.

As the pair continues walking, Engelard racks his brain for the name of the Army General who commands Schweiz's military. He thought he heard rumors about him not being born in Schweiz, but Deutschland. If the rumors were true, as was usually not the case, wouldn't Schweiz and Deutschland be on good terms?

But politics didn't work like that, and Engelard hated getting himself involved with it. He only had opinions and knowledge about politics if it helped him in his negotiations with his clients. He had a few desperate politicians ask for his assistance a few times a year, but Engelard killed a majority of them anyway.

They thought they could run with his money? Not on his watch.

Finally, as Leon and Engelard are entering the market square, the archer locks eyes with a white uniform. The person wearing it was undoubtedly male, sitting across from a teenage boy at one of a café's outside tables. Was this a father-son outing of sorts? How cute.

Unfortunately, Engelard placed the bombing of Basel as a higher priority than the strengthening of familial bonds.

Unfamiliar with the boy sitting across from the man, Engelard takes out his bow. The market is silent, the only four people outside being himself, the man, the boy, and Leon. As Engelard aims his bow and notches an arrow, the man's head turns. He jumps from his chair and leaps for the boy, the force of his jump able to knock the boy down just as Engelard releases his arrow.

The weapon misses its target and instead breaks one of the café's windows. The shattering of glass makes Engelard flinch, but he's more concerned as to how the man was able to save the boy if he had no idea Engelard was around.

The archer cautiously approaches the short white metal fencing around the sitting area, signaling for Leon to follow behind him.

Engelard is within feet of the gate when the young man stands up and glares at Engelard, pointing his gun at the archer. Meanwhile, he can see the teenage boy look at something past Engelard, probably Leon. There is a strange silence for several seconds, in which the young man helps the boy up, who looks dejectedly to his right at the scattered scones on the cobblestone floor by the collapsed table and chairs.

"Is there something you want from me?" The man in the white uniform eventually asks, and Engelard takes a moment to process what he says before replying.

"Ah, yes, actually. You're the General of the Army for Schweiz's military, correct?" Engelard tries to wrestle with his memory to get a name but fails.

The man quickly glances at the boy standing across from him, who shrugs dismissively before picking up a scone from the floor, examining it, and taking a bite. The man then returns his gun to its holster on his uniform.

"I'm the former General of the Army. I was forced to step down an hour ago."

"Forced? You didn't have a choice?" Engelard can see Leon move to be on his left side as he finally speaks.

"If I didn't step down, I would have lost my life. The same goes for Reko," the man gestures to the boy, who gives all three a hostile, narrowed stare before continuing to eat another scone.

Engelard finally pulls a name from his mind. His eyes light up, and his mouth forms a small o.

"You're Felix Adelric, aren't you? Is it true that you were born in Deutschland?"

Felix gives the archer a nod.

"Ja, I was born in Deutschland but moved here when I was still young. And, your bow suggests you are Swift Death, the man who killed many of my unit's soldiers last month, am I wrong?" Felix's tone has a hint of hostility in it, and Engelard raises his hand to the back of his neck before replying.

"Ahaha... You caught me. But, in all honesty, they didn't hold up their end of the bargain. What else am I supposed to do other than kill them? The prison here doesn't have enough space for fifty-something soldiers."

From beside him, he can hear Leon whisper.

"Fifty? I swore you told me five!"

Felix sighs, and briefly closes his eyes, before meeting Engelard's gaze.

"Those soldiers you killed had been gambling their money away. I had wondered where they had received more. If you wish for me to pay you back for their recklessness, I can give you what I have left, but I'm afraid the military's funds are strictly for the development of my unit and are not under my control now," Felix offers, but Engelard dismissively waves his hand in the air.

"You didn't do anything wrong, so don't worry about correcting their mistakes. And, I should say I'm sorry for almost killing the boy. But I need to ask, how did you..?"

"I can see the deaths of those I am relatively close to. I knew you were standing in the square, aiming to kill Reko with your arrow, so I did my best to protect him. If the arrow had hit me instead, so be it. I have nothing much to live for, anyway," Felix glances over his shoulder at the fallen table and chairs, before exiting the café's seating area through the white gate on the outside fence.

Engelard stays silent after Felix's explanation. The ability to see death must be more of a curse than a blessing. You could potentially become immortal but at the antagonizing cost of knowing how those close to you die and being under the pressure of trying to protect them as well as yourself.

"How interesting. I'm able to see someone's past through drinking their blood, but I never suspected anyone could be born with an ability that could technically make someone live forever. I'm Leon Kreshnik, by the way. It's an honor to meet you, General Adelric," Leon extends his hand to Felix, who shakes it, and Engelard does the same moments later.

"Engelard Sivert. Though I do appreciate the nickname, sir."

"Please, just call me Felix. I am no longer an Army General, and it is quite odd to hear people who are not my soldiers addressing me as sir," Felix firmly shakes each outstretched hand.

Reko picks up the last scone that ended up on the floor before exiting the cafe's sitting area. He looks around at the buildings with little interest as if he has already been to Zürich before. Engelard gives him a glance before remembering what he originally wanted to ask Felix.

"Do you happen to know why Basel was suddenly bombed? Or what nation Schweiz may be at war with? I know it's rather early for me to be asking such questions, so I'll understand if you don't have an answer, but I considered it harmless to ask."

Felix stares at Engelard, then lets his eyes travel to Leon, who meets his gaze. He looks off in the general direction of the bombing and runs a hand through his black hair.

"Schweiz is not at war with another nation, as far as I know, though I'm suspecting another nation does have a role in this war. Basel was attacked solely because it is a beautiful city. There is no beauty in war."

"What do you mean Schweiz is not at war with another nation?" Leon adjusts his cloak, so it doesn't tighten against his neck.

Felix's eyes return to rest on Leon. His expression, despite the topic, is rather calm.

"We're fighting a civil war."

Words and phrases used in this chapter:

Schweiz- Switzerland

Russland- Russia

Deutschland- Germany

Polen- Poland

Finnland- Finland

Ja- Yes