Chapter 5 : Silver Hair

Ron arrived at the base and entered Kanz's room, but before this—specifically 20 minutes earlier—Ron faced off against the central government forces. The van had left him in front of 23 government soldiers.

"Freeze! There's no escape, revolutionary!" shouted one soldier loudly and clearly.

"Freeze? Me? Tsk..."

Ron mocked the soldier's words as he moved his hand slightly toward the robotic dog he had already destroyed. He violently pulled something from the robot dog's head—it was... a sword?

"Unfortunately, freezing isn't an option for me. I've been burning for years!" he said with clear anger in his tone.

"Fire!!" the leading soldier gave the order to shoot.

Simultaneously with the order, Ron quickly moved toward a nearby alley. The soldiers fired at him with the intent to kill, but the closest bullet missed his heel by an inch before he disappeared into the alley.

Moments later, a small ball fell between the soldiers' feet. One of them noticed it and opened his mouth to warn his comrades, but the ball quickly exploded, releasing a blinding gray smoke.

The smoke was enough to make them nervous and unsettled.

"Stay alert and don't lose focus! He doesn't use ranged weapons, so stay—!"

The soldier was directing his comrades amidst the smoke, but he didn't get an extra second to finish his sentence. Ron descended with his sword onto the soldier's head, piercing his skull vertically down to his heart.

His comrades realized Ron was among them, so some tried to defend themselves by firing blindly into the smoke, while others attempted to escape. Those who remained inside the smoke were killed one by one without seeing where the attacks came from. Those who escaped aimed their weapons at the smoke and fired randomly.

"Go to hell!!!" one soldier shouted, firing in desperation and fear.

Out of the 23 soldiers, only six emerged from the smoke unscathed, but their necks were soon pierced by swift metallic objects. Thus, 23 soldiers fell to one man.

Amidst all this, a girl with long black hair, dark skin with a strong inclination toward fairness, wearing a formal suit, a red tie, and an eyepatch over her left eye, sat on her motorcycle seat, watching the purely cinematic scene before her. A clear smile of admiration was etched on her beautiful face.

"You never cease to amaze me, Commander~," she said with admiration.

As the girl spoke, Ron emerged from the smoke with steady steps, unscathed and unexhausted, holding his sword in his right hand and removing his mask with his left.

"Why aren't you at the headquarters, Jennifer? Kanz, despite his intelligence, can't even take care of a child," Ron said without any explicit expression.

"Don't worry, Commander~. Chander and Luna can handle things there. Besides, I didn't want to miss the chance to see the Commander dealing with the government's lackeys~."

"It's not like this is your first time seeing this. You saw me with the Cabbers and the Thrymdor, yet you still act like a rookie," Ron said as he walked toward her until he was beside the motorcycle's handlebars.

"Oh, come on~. I enjoy watching you deal with these scum. I feel like a rookie every time I see your brute strength," she said, winking at him with her right eye and sticking out her tongue.

"Don't wink like that; you look ridiculous with that eyepatch," he mocked her as he grabbed the motorcycle's handlebars.

Jennifer chuckled slightly at Ron's mockery, then stepped back to give him the chance to ride the motorcycle himself. Ron mounted the bike, put his mask back on, and prepared to set off, only for Jennifer to hug him tightly from behind.

"Don't drive too fast~. I'm scared~," she said in a soft, feigned weak tone.

"Honestly, demons are the ones afraid of you," he mocked her behavior.

He revved the engine powerfully and sped away, leaving the soldiers' corpses behind. During the ride, Jennifer seemed to be mischievously touching Ron's chest with a sly smile.

"Keep this up for just a moment longer, and you'll find yourself tied up like a chandelier in the base," he said in a slightly raised, threatening voice.

"Boah~! Scary and such a buzzkill, tsk tsk," she leaned back with her head as she spoke with slight annoyance.

Ron continued driving quickly between the abandoned residential buildings, each one telling a different story—stories filled with horror, fear, despair, and hope. Ron's gaze was fixed on the road, but his mind raced with thoughts.

"Ron~, I know this is a silly question for you, but will this end well? I mean... will this nightmare ever end?"

Jennifer hugged Ron from behind again, this time a bit tighter. Her question was in a soft tone, indicating curiosity and exhaustion. Ron realized this and wanted to respond, to tell her that everything would be fine as planned, but...

"I can't guarantee the ending will be perfect. I'll fight to the end, and you all have the choice to stay or not. You can still migrate to another country outside the scope of this bloody revolution."

"How can you say that?" Jennifer said in a voice louder than a whisper, then squeezed Ron tightly between her arms.

"This revolution was initially aimed at demanding our rights as humans, but now... its goal has become to overthrow the central government entirely, even if it means killing humans like us. The situation has become more dangerous than it was before." Ron slowed the motorcycle down until its noise decreased, allowing him to speak clearly.

"Ron, I... oh, never mind. Let's head back to the base. We must prepare for the worst, right?" Her tone shifted back to cheerful again, but it wasn't genuine cheerfulness for Ron.

Ron remained silent and didn't respond. He increased the motorcycle's speed again to continue the journey, and throughout the ride until they reached the base, neither of them uttered another word. It wasn't clear to Ron, but Jennifer shed a tear from her covered eye, which flew away with the rising air current.

When the two arrived at the base, Ron stopped the motorcycle in the same spot where the comrades' van had been moments ago. The ground beneath them descended slowly. During the descent, Jennifer hummed slightly louder.

"What are you thinking about?" Ron asked with a stoic yet interested face.

"I'm thinking about how to go on a romantic date with you," she said with a naive smile.

"I wish I hadn't asked."

When they reached inside the base, Ron saw the van parked to the side. He sighed and got off the motorcycle, heading to meet Kanz.

"I'm going to meet Kanz. What about you?" Ron turned toward Jennifer and asked.

"Oh~ I'll take a look around the place. You know... the usual work of the deputy commander. I have to do my job well to remain your deputy, right?"

"Indeed. Alright... see you later, Jennifer," Ron waved his hand as he walked away.

Ron left, leaving Jennifer sitting alone on the motorcycle. A group of squad members approached her, but she didn't give any of them a shred of attention. She only looked at Ron, Ron as he walked away.

"Ron, I... I..."

Jennifer wanted to say something, something important it seemed, but she decided to remain silent in the end and leave Ron to his own devices. Her chest tightened, and the words felt like thorns in her throat, constricted by a tear that found its way down Jennifer's soft cheek.

From Ron's perspective, he reached the elevator and stepped in. The band members cheered for him and greeted him as their leader, but he only responded with a simple wave before ascending and pressing the button for the upper floor.

While the elevator was rising, Ron felt time slowing down. A strange dizziness struck his head, and suddenly, he experienced a loud, piercing headache.

"Argh! My head... damn it."

After a few seconds, the pain eased slightly, but Ron sensed something else—something was coming out of his ear. He reached out and touched his ear with the tip of his cracked fingers, only to discover blood, blood dripping from his ear.

"Damn it, this is getting worse every time," he muttered as he leaned against the elevator wall, still heading upward.

When the elevator stopped, its doors opened to reveal the same hallway that Shandar and the others had walked through on their way to Kanz's room. Ron gathered his strength to walk on his feet and stepped out of the elevator.

Ron's steps were heavy now due to the sudden feeling of exhaustion and pain—the same feeling that had always accompanied him for years. But what hurt him more was the memory brought back by this pain, reminding him of his mother, Mayuri, who vanished without a trace when he returned home three years ago.

"I will find you, I swear to it," Ron thought to himself with determination despite the pain, as he moved slowly towards Kanz's room door.

Ron placed his hand on the scanner as soon as he stood before Kanz's dynamic door. As the door opened, Kanz greeted him warmly.

Clara lifted her head after wiping her eyes. "He's back?" she asked this question in her mind, but moments later, the door behind them opened. Clara turned to see who it was, and it was Ron entering, but this time without his mask.

"Welcome back, Ron."

To be continued ...