Chapter 22: The Four
His heart throbbing, he quickly darted his eyes, trying to glimpse the god's presence, however, the space behind him was empty. The four remained motionless, digesting their objective and their supposed allies. Moth girl broke the silence.
"Well, this is a rotten game," she said, flitting her eyes amongst the group.
"What's that supposed to mean?" replied the salaryman, his back rigid and face stern . Dressed in a fine suit, the man exuded an air of dignity synonymous with Japanese culture.
"To be honest, this is the worst group we could've ended up with. It's blatantly unfair." she said with a sigh.
"I'm sure if we work together we can manage something," said the businessman. True to his culture, the man believed in the unity of the group. Those who called themselves Japanese lived as a well-oiled machine. He looked down on the smaller girl, adamant in his words.
The cyborg boy yawned, his earlier nap interrupted by the change in location, his bed back at the jungle tower. He perused the street longingly, his gaze falling upon a nearby house. With heavy, wobbly steps he crept towards it.
"Hey!" the businessman reached out a hand towards the boy's shoulder. Whirring to life, one of the boy's mechanical arm's gripped the older man's wrist. Unimpeded, the cyborg's drunk-like stupor continued, now pulling the Japanese man behind him.
After a stream of curses and some frantic scrambling, the robot arm relented. The boy opened the door, which he lazily pushed behind him. Within seconds, snores could be heard from behind the ajar door.
"Damn kid!" Flustered and out of breath, he returned to the group, now one person shorter. Straightening his tie and calming his breathing, he carried on as if nothing had happened.
"Well, there are still the three of us! And we have time, so I'm sure we'll figure something out. Maybe he'll be more cooperative after a nap."
Kay seriously doubted it. Though he had scarcely interacted with the cybernetic boy, he had always been tired or sleeping. Even in the dream, the kid had been yawning.
Dismissing the silly thought, he contemplated his unique role in the second trial. Their team was shaping up to be a total failure. He was the traitor and the cyborg was uncooperative, leaving the little girl and the salaryman.
There was simply no chance they'd win, even with three days. All he had to do was what he did best: nothing. Inevitably, someone would die, and just like that he'd profit. He'd stumbled into his perfect role.
"I hope that's true." said the moth girl. "But what if he doesn't help?"
"Leave it to me!" proclaimed the man, beating a fist confidently to his chest. "I'll lead us to victory!"
His words echoed into the large but deserted town. Dark and misty, the empty streets and city blocks caused the man's speech to feel cold and dead.
"Oh? And how are you going to do that?" mocked the little girl.
In a monologue lasting several minutes, the man explained his hardships in the country of Japan. The company where he'd worked had been brutal, forcing all its employees into long bouts of unpaid overtime. Despite the fact that he was newly-married, with a young son to be cared for, the man was rarely home. However, he'd endured, sacrificing his happiness for his family's financial security.
"So, basically you wasted your life." said the moth girl flatly.
Kay was hit in the crossfire, the words resonating with his own life. He clutched his wounded heart while staggering.
"What's wrong with you?" she asked.
"Nothing," he said, attempting to regain his composure and maintain some dignity.
The businessman tried arguing with the girl, but she didn't seem to be listening.
"Okay. You said you'd lead us to victory. How do you plan on getting past that wall?"
Several hundred meters away loomed the imposing structure, the first obstacle in their mission. Enshrouding the similarly huge castle, which could barely be seen now, long partitions of the barrier stretched in both directions, giving Kay the impression that it was never-ending.
Kay was glad he didn't have to climb it, mainly because he simply wasn't capable of it. Having seen the moth girl effortlessly climb trees, he knew it might be possible for her. The businessman, not so much.
Though he seemed to be analyzing the structure for weak points, or an easy point of entry, his calculations seemed to be producing no answers. Eventually, he scoffed.
"These things take time. The god has given us three days for a reason. Let's take things slowly. Yes… slowly is best," he nodded at his own words.
Kay was still staring at the wall, struggling to comprehend it. In history class, they'd learned about the Great Wall in China, and after seeing pictures of it online he had been reasonably impressed. It was big, he thought he understood that.
Yet, the wall before him was a different story. Maybe it was different seeing something so large with his own eyes, but the barrier was incomprehensible to him. Yes, the god had built it. But to think that people on earth had built something similar astonished him. As he gazed at the wall, fear trickled into his mind. It was simply too big.
His eyes darted to one of the watchtowers. Within it, faint though it was from such a distance, a vibrant color flashed on the monstrous stark grey wall. It was an orange-reddish light and it seemed to grow brighter the longer he stared at it.
He thought back clearly to hours ago. In his past experiences, that light was always followed by an explosion, one that had a bad habit of starting forest fires.
The miniature star twinkled high in the distance, flashing the townscape with vermillion hues. Kay felt his life was already forfeit. So, he decided to make use of it.
"Do you think there's food and water somewhere in the town?" he asked.
The moth girl looked exasperated, while the salaryman pondered the question seriously.
"Is food all you think about?" she asked with a sigh.
"I think it's a legitimate question. We'll have to explore. Maybe inside the houses?" said the businessman. He looked relaxed, not having to ponder the question of the wall for the moment. Tasked with something feasible, he began walking towards one of the buildings when he stopped.
"Why is it so hot?" he muttered to himself, loosening his tie. Fresh perspiration had already darkened his white undershirt.
Kay could feel his own body temperature rising, though the cause was obvious to him. Slowly approaching them was the ball of fire, easily big enough to consume the small medieval-style homes. Its blast radius would be gigantic, their fates were sealed.
The girl noticed where Kay's gaze fell, a brief scream of horror escaping her lips. As she stood there, mesmerized by the massive light she hissed at Kay.
"Why are you just staring at it! Say something, dammit!"
Seconds later, the spell made impact.