Chapter 15: The Saint of War

Noah returned dirty and muddy from the battle. They had been warring for three weeks now, fighting in a pointless stalemate as each side lost their lives needlessly. Groaning he made his way back to the Unit 7 building, his muscles aching from exhaustion.

He wasn't surprised to see that Arthur wasn't sleeping in his bed. He rarely saw Arthur nowadays, for a couple at hours at most. He wouldn't even return for rests while in battle. He'd spend the entire time searching for wounded and bringing them back. Most were half-healed already when he dropped them by the medical building.

Noah knew that Arthur must've awakened his trials while out there, he must;ve been gifted some support healing type of ability. Noah saw him sometimes while fighting, and joined him when he did. They fought well together, Arthur's spear snaking through the gaps in his swordsmanship. But when he returned after the days fighting, Arthur didn't. He'd stay out there the entire night, then when morning came, he'd bring back all the soldiers he managed to half heal during the night.

Noah doubted the fallen noble knew just how famous he'd become in the army. They had hated him when he first arrived, so had he. Everyone had hated Arthur, for either being a noble they could do something to, or because he was a criminal. Sometimes both. 

He had hated Arthur also. But…even though it pained Noah to admit. He respected Arthur now. Arthur had ignored them when they hated him, working on himself constantly. And now, he was saving them. Most units had at least one soldier that had a story of being dragged to safety by Arthur, his red eyes glinting furiously as he carried them to safety with a furious determination.

Shaking his head, Noah went to shower, revelling in washing away the mud and ache. Then, after changing out of his armour, he went to sleep.

But Arthur didn't…

Scampering, head down, Arthur ran across the battlements, almost running on all fours as he tried to make himself less noticeable. He could faintly hear the moans of a soldier nearby. His muscles strained in exhaustion, and his brain ached from lack of sleep. But he refused to give up. There was always more to save, more to help.

He reached the soldier, half buried in earth. His arm was missing, and blood gushed from the wound. But that wasn't what made Arthur pause. It was the fact that the soldier wore white and red. The colours of the rebel forces.

He had dark eyes and hair, with high cheekbones and sickly pale skin because of the bloodloss.

"Please, help me," he begged hoarsely as he noticed Arthur.

Arthur hesitated, but only for a moment. What good were his morals if he was leaving everyone else to die.

"Look, I'll help you, but I can't carry you to safety."

He took out a small knife. It was made from the shattered remains of his spear. He slit open a cut across his palm, causing a stream of blood to flow out. Then he held it to the soldier's mouth, "Drink."

The soldier stared at him as if he had gone mad, but quickly relented, remembering his situation. Then, Arthur tore off a piece of his body suit, wrapping around the man's stump in order to slow the blood flow while the effects of 'healing blood' kicked in.

It took some time, but slowly the healing stopped as the cut turned into a scab. Right now the effects of his blood were too weak to regenerate limbs, but they could close open wounds, while eliminating any infection. 

The soldier stared at him gratefully.

"T-thank you. I thought I was going to die", he sobbed, tears beginning to stream down his face.

Arthur stared at him silently. He wasn't the only rebel that Arthur had saved. Often he found just as much as them as he did allies. However, for the rebels he did request one thing in return.

"If you move now, my side will shoot you down. Stay here the entire night. In return for this, you have to do something for me."

The soldier looked at him. After a moment he nodded in acceptance. "What do you want?"

"Stop fighting. Come tomorrow, if you make it back. Leave the army if you can, or transfer out of active duty. Do anything you can to stop fighting. I don't want to save you...just to see you here dead the next day."

The soldier nodded after a moment. "I'll do what I can"

"That's all any of us can ask for."

Then, taking back the strip of nanosuit, he left the soldier, looking for anyone else he could save. Those that could walk, he would leave them there after ingesting his blood. But those whose injuries were too severe, or couldn't walk. He would cut a ditch around them. So when morning came, he knew where to find them.

It was impossible to save everyone, especially at night, where anything with a mana signature that moved would be shot at. Many had injuries too severe for his blood, causing them to die before he could take them to the tent. Their deaths hurt. 

It burned him inside every time he failed, forcing him to seek out someone else he could save. It was the pain that propelled him so strongly..

And he still did kill.

But it was only when he had no choice. There were many enemy soldiers that had tried to target him when he transported wounded, and so his hand had been forced. That didn't happen as much recently, maybe he had just become better at running while dragging an injured soldier with him. Or maybe they ignored him, focusing on more dangerous opponents. 

When morning came, the sun peeking out from the horizon, dispelling the dark, he finally made his move. As the armies charged, he scrambled for the wounded soldiers, hoisting them onto his backplate, as they held onto it frightfully.

Then grabbing their legs, he would turn away from them, and drag them to the medical building, worming his way through the conflict as best he could.

It was almost midday when he had decided to take a rest. Stumbling away from a soldiers who's gash in his stomach Arthur could only partially close, he stumbled his way to the unit 7 building

"Status" he muttered under his breath. A translucent orange screen appeared in front of him, visible to no one but him.

NAME: ARTHUR GRAVEWALKER

AGE: 14 YEARS OLD

RACE: HUMAN

CLASS:

BEGINNER SWORDSMAN LVL1 ——> BEGINNER SPEARMAN LVL2

SKILLS :

MANA BOOST (lvl1)

AURA : LOCKED

BLESSINGS:

Hades Will -

Sun's Concept -

AFFINITIES : BLOOD, FIRE, EARTH

STATS - RANK F+

STRENGTH: F+

AGILITY: F+

STAMINA: E-

INTELLIGENCE: F+

MANA CAPACITY: F

CHARM : F-

 He had unlocked Mana boost a week ago, and had been using it almost constantly in order to keep his body going for far longer than a human should've been able to. Arthur was aware of the dangers of overusing mana boost. but there were just so many he needed to save. And he was only one person. 

"Huh, my charm's gone up at least," he murmured to himself, rubbing his chin.

When he entered, he saw Officer Mara in her office. She had sustained fresh injuries a week after being rescued by Arthur. She had managed to return herself that time though. Her injuries had been severe enough that she needed multiple rounds of healing in order to not kill her from the energy drainage.

He hadn't seen her since that day he'd saved her. He hadn't seen anyone really, apart from Noah in the battlefield a couple of times. None of them asked what they did, 'perhaps they already know.'

Officer Mara's eyes flicked up when he entered the building. "Ahh, Arthur, come in."

'Ahh fuck, just let me sleep man.' Pushing his frustration to the side, he stumbled into her office, relying on mana boost to keep him standing.

"I want to let you know, I've put in a request for you."

"Ma'am?" He asked. 'Had he done something wrong?'

She smiled at his expression. "You're misunderstanding Arthur. I've put in a request to remove that collar around your neck after the battle is over.'

Arthur looked stunned. "Y-you mean -"

"Yes, if all goes well you shouldn't have the threat of an electric collar around your neck for much longer. I'm not sure if it'll mean you'll be a free man though Arthur. That's up to them to decide."

Arthur nodded, trying to keep his hopes down. He doubted they would actually give him freedom. It was more like they trusted him without a leash. And why wouldn't they? He'd been saving them all night and day, like a good, loyal dog.

The feeling left a bitter taste in his mouth. Wasn't he just being a good dog? Should he just stop? But no, he knew already that there was no way he was going to stop saving them.

'Keep calm. Remember the plan. Two years. That's all you need to wait. Two years.'

"And the battle," Officer Mara continued, unaware of Arthur's inner conflict, "shouldn't last much longer."

"Ma'am? I was under the impression we are in a stalemate."

Officer Mara smiled, "Yes, we are. But the King's council gave permission for General Thanasons army to arrive as reinforcements in order to crush the rebellion."

'General Thanason huh. So I'll be seeing him again.' Arthur's mind flashed back to the beating he took in the prison cell. The feeling of the metal rod striking him again and again, and again.

"What are you going to do now Arthur?"

Coming out of his thoughts, he smiled tiredly as Officer Mara. "Shower, then sleep."

She nodded curtly, "You're dismissed then."

Officer Mara watched Arthur go with a tinge of sadness. She could no longer think of him as a noble. Nor could she really think of him as a criminal. No, in the time he'd been here, the boy had undergone a dramatic change. No, that wasn't right. Arthur had been different from the very first day he'd arrived. Not resembling the disgusting brat that she had heard rumours of. She couldn't forget that time when he had saved her. How his pale face had appeared when despair was about to overwhelm her. As he tore away the corpses he had hidden her in and dragged her to safety.

That action alone had made her rethink her opinion on Arthur. However, when he left right after saving her, refusing to stop. Well that had confirmed her new opinion of him. Deep down, Arthur was a good person.

Arthur walked to his room, exhausted. After showering and changing, he fell asleep. He only planned to sleep for a couple of hours, but the toll he had forced his body through those past few weeks finally caught up to him.

.

.

.

.

.

When Arthur opened his eyes, it was night time. He could see the soft silvery glow of moonlight cascade down the window, an iridescent waterfall of serenity.

"SHIT", he yelped, clambering to his feet.

'He had overslept, he had meant to only sleep for an hour or two. Not the whole damn day!'

Running, he tried to find his armour. "I'm sure I left it right here" he murmured. But no. His armour was nowhere to be seen.

'Fuck it. I'll just go without armour.'

He turned away to leave. But to his surprise there was someone at the door. It was one of the squad members of unit 7. He was short for a man, but still taller than Arthur. With dark curly hair and round dark eyes set upon a round face that was slightly tanned.

'I think his name was Mat.'

Arthur tried to get past him, but Mat shoved him backwards, refusing to let Arthur past.

"Get out of my way", Arthur snarled. He had no love for the soldier's of unit 7. He didn't like any of the soldiers in the army, he just saved them.

Matrim shook his head. "Felt said you're not to leave."

"What?" Arthur replied incredulously.

He turned to see that the rest of what was left of Unit 7 was standing up now. All of them were awake, probably about to go to sleep after washing off the day's dirt. Felt stood with them, observing Arthur almost cautiously.

"Felt" Arthur snapped, feeling his panic rise as he imagined how many people were dying out there as he was delayed.

"Can't let you leave Arthur. You need to rest."

"I've just fucking woken up!"

"Yeah, and look at you. You still look like you're gonna faint from exhaustion."

Arthur dropped his gaze for a moment. His body was tired, exhausted really. He had been forcing it to keep going by overusing mana boost for weeks endlessly.

"I'm fine", Arthur snapped, as he activated mana boost. Instantly strength filled his muscles and he became more alert. Then standing up straighter, he looked Felt dead in the eye. "I'm fine. And since when do you care about my safety?"

Arthur relished how his words seemed to sting, causing everyone to flinch slightly. Felt sighed heavily. "We were wrong about you Arthur, fine. Is that what you want to hear? I'm sorry. Now, go to bed."

Arthur laughed. It was an insidious sound. "You think I give a fuck about your apology. I told you I'm fine. Look. Now. Let. Me. Go."

Felt turned to look at a blonde haired man with dark eyes and a menacing build. "Petro?" Felt asked.

The large blonde haired man turned to face Arthur. Then he nodded to Felt. "Yeah, he's using it."

Felt nodded, "I thought he must be."

Arthur turned to face the larger man, his anger rising. "What do you mean I'm using."

"It means", a new voice called. "You've been using mana boost to keep yourself going." Arthur turned to face Noah, his green eyes studying Arthur.

"Petro has got a skill sense ability."

Arthur turned to Felt, defiantly. "So what if I am. There's nothing wrong with that."

Felt smiled. "No there isn't. But you've been using it constantly, haven't you?" He started walking closer to Arthur.

"Officer Mara told me that you spoke to a rebel. The next day after that conversation you decide to start saving people. Coincidence? You've been using mana boost constantly, and don't try to deny it. You've been pushing yourself to death every day trying to save as much as, putting your own life at risk. Did you think we didn't notice? You think we haven't been keeping an eye on you? Well we have, all of us."

He stood right in front of Arhur now, looking down at him sadly. "What you're doing, it's not being a hero. It's called a guilty conscience Arthur."

Arthur looked back up at him, trying to hold back his tears. "So what if it is. A guilty conscience doesn't make it wrong."

"No", Felt replied. "But it does when you're not looking after yourself. The rate you're going, you're going to die."

Arthur dropped his gaze. Images of Sera's lifeless body flashing through his mind. Images of countless other soldiers dying in his hands as he failed. As he always failed.

Before he knew it, tears were falling down his face, splashing onto the floor. "I need to save them," he whispered hoarsely.

He felt arm's wrapping around him, bringing him in tight for a hug. "And you can…but don't kill yourself for them."

Arthur hugged Felt back, finally allowing the built up grief and tension to flow away from him through his tears. He remembered his family as Reshi. Mary. Sera, and countless others. How many had he failed now?

When he stepped back, he looked at what was left of Unit 7. There used to be ten of them not including him and Noah. Now only five remained. They all looked at Arthur, and he noticed for the first time. Their eyes weren't filled with outrage, or hatred, or disgust. But with sadness, shame, and respect. How long had they looked at him like that? 

"Sorry", he stammered.

Mat laughed, "Don't worry about it. You should've seen the way Caster cried after his first battle."

Everyone erupted into laughter.

Caster, an average sized man with dark hair and fierce orange eyes glared at Mat. "I didn't-"

"Oh shut up Cas", Petro interrupted. "I was awake when Felt had to comfort you on that night. You were literally bawling your eyes out for your mommy."

Again, everyone broke into laughter, Arthur and Noah joining in this time.

He made eye contact with Noah momentarily. Noah nodded at him, his green eyes meeting Arthur's, not with livid rage, but with a calm respect.

Arthur nodded back. That's all that was needed.

Smiling he felt a soft warmness in his chest as he climbed back into bed, deactivating his mana boost skill. It still hurt him to leave them out there to die. But he could do more in the long term than he ever could wearing himself out like he had been. He understood that now.

So Arthur closed his eyes, his mouth twisted in a soft, almost smile.

Everyone in the Unit 7 building finally breathed a sigh of relief as they heard Arthur's heavy soft breathing.

"He's asleep", Noah called out.

"That was easier than I expected," Petro remarked. Everyone else nodded in agreement. 

Felt sighed sadly. "He's a kid. It ain't right for him to be here. Or you Noah."

Noah snorted, "I didn't want to be here. I was made to."

Mat nodded, unusually solemn. "Do you hate him for it?"

Noah turned to face the sleeping Arthur, noticing the half smile on the noble's face.

"I used to," he muttered quietly. "Not anymore though."