The Atntean staggered back clutg his shoulder. Unfortunately, the wouook was more than just a hand could cover. His wound stretched diagonally across his chest cutting to the bone and through the shoulder. No injuries made it to his ans, but the blood loss from the wound was troubling enough for him.

  He still didn’t uand what happened. Everythi as he pnned. Nothing failed. Yet something ged to destroy his pn. The pieces he carefully pced fell apart before her. All of the arraraps triggered correctly, but she stood again.

  Each calcution he made didn’t expin it. The pain challenged his focus. His vision started to blur a little and his legs no longer felt like they had the strength to support. ‘A one-shot defeat? What’s happening? It doesn’t make any sense!’

  Chapter 157 – Hidden Bde

  “You look a little fused,” remarked Yumi. She stepped forward with a menag presenbsp; Since she stood up once more, the air about her was pletely different.

  The boy took a step back again, so his senses by her voibsp; His effort to keep his distaripped his feet. It dropped him to his krying to recover. “…you broke free…how?”

  She tilted her head up a little looking down at him through the bottom of her eyes. “Yes, I’m free, but not in the meaning of your question. Your little pn to take her out by overloading her mentally worked. That’s the reason I’m here.”

  He still couldn’t follow her. The words firmed for him it worked as he thought. However, the rest of her answer only fused him. Little time remained for him. He wondered if he made a mistake iioning something he couldn’t ge. No escape remained for him. ‘Just have to stall…’ A back up was set in pce for all of them. He things out until they came to relieve him. It would not be long, only a few minutes. “How is that…possible? If I succeeded you…shouldn’t be…standing.”

  Yumi stepped forward to the soldier until only half a meter stood between them. She sent an ued stare down at him. The look in her eye made it clear that she saw no value in him, even as an enemy. “You aren’t anywhere close to being my equal. I’ve no i in furthering this pointless versation. All you do is die.” Her hand rose to the teenager with a red glow building in it.

  Sweat built up on his neck staring down the girl. ‘No bsp; I thought the reports said they weren’t like this…’ His immi demise tensed his body. For the moment, he fot about all the pain that paralyzed him to kneel. He fot about the blood p from his body making it difficult to see straight. Only oion remained for him. The safety of waiting transformed into desperation to live.

  Rippling at his feet decred his iion to absp; Yumi didn’t have enough time to finish the attack before he came for her. Bck spikes jumped up from the ground in all dires. Their speed made it seem as if they were just a blur. However, they all came to a sudden stop. Strange sounds of scrapping came from them as something blocked their progress.

  More sweat came from the Atntean. His eye twitched a bit not expeg the first attempt to fail. ‘I don’t see anything…’ It took him another moment of examination to finally uand. A faint red wall stopped it all. It was so transparent it was almost invisible. He remembered notiions of a barrier around her before, but nothing so difficult to see. ‘She really doesn’t feel the same as before…just who is she?!’

  The spikes shattered under unusual pressure. It pinned doweenager as well. Gravity seemed to increase everywhere. Nothing moved, except for Yumi. She moved her arm again to plete the strike interrupted before. Red light glowed from her fingers with ation.

  He lowered his eyes to the ground. Nothing stopped her. A surprise attack amouo nothing. ‘This is it, huh? Killed by a rebel…’ He closed his eyes. His mind turned baemories. The only hope kept him going the eime. The only reason he fought so willingly for the military. He just wahings to stay the same. ‘…sorry…I wish I could have seen you once more…’

  “What did you say?” he questioned, uo believe his ears.

  Standing before him, ander Abeiron held a paper in his hand with the official seal of the Captain of the South Gate. “Sed Lieutenant Galen has been given a week leave to use as you wish. Do you uand?” Abeiron fixed him with a sterhat made him difficult to read, as anything but ahough was still uain if it was just him being strict.

  Galen snapped back straight, pig up the iion from his superior officer. “Yes, sir! I uand!”

  “Good.” He hahe paper over to Galen to plete the process. “Give this to your Squad Captain.”

  Gdly accepting, Galen took the paper into his hands. He had to stare at it for a few moments to truly believe it was real. Out of the er of his eye, he noticed the ander no longer within sight. He dropped his hands down searg him out. Abeiron nearly made it out of the hall befalen spotted him. “Thank you, sir!”

  Abeiron stopped for a moment and tilted his eyes back towards the very young officer. “Hmm…” He left the area without any more words. Abeiron marched through the halls still fused by the sudden order. Like with most of the MP users, he knew little about them. Most of his responsibility fell to the regur humans in the division. In front of him, the Captain’s office waited. He knocked and waited until he received permission to enter.

  Simonides looked up from his desk. Piles of paperwork covered the surfad the floors. The secret side of their Captain revealed only to Abeiron. His careful pnning and and disguised the fact he fot about his more muasks as Captain until it was too te. He wao know everything and uand everything before ag. An odd trait sidering he spoke highly of his gut feelings. “There something wrong, Abeiron?” His eyes only lifted for a split-sed from the desk.

  He knew his Captain for years and thought he uood the way he acted. Abeiron had the room to question him freely without for position. “Why did you give out a leave request to someone so new?”

  The question paused Simonides’ hand from the writing he had been doing since before Abeiroered. “Oh, are you referring to the one I ordered to be given to Sed Lieutenant Galen?”

  “Yes.”

  “Because he is new.” He tinued back at his writing, as though the answer expined everything.

  It wasn’t enough for Abeiron. He tightened his hands. “Sorry, but that makes less sense. There are other soldiers that have been here far lohat have made requests for leave.”

  The writing stopped again. “Yes, I’m aware of each of the requests. As you know we only grant so many at a time and I’m going through them based on the needs of the individual.”

  “Then expin to me how a fresh officer off of graduation, who hasn’t even requested leave, made the top of the list?” By the end of his words, Abeiro his emotions starting to get the better of him. He forced himself to be posed, however the unreasonable answers from his Captain made it difficult.

  Abeiron’s demand brought Simoo a full stop. He pulled back from his desk to fix him with a stare. Their eyes locked for a couple of moments. Simonides never cracked from a ft expression. He stood up suddenly and walked over to a et. Retrieving a folder from the et, he dropped it on top of his desk. “There’s ohing that I be thankful for from the Omega Division. Their ulingly detailed personal reports.”

  “Sir?” The mood hadn’t ged from before, but Abeiro Simonides no longer pying defeh him. He felt the truth surfag.

  Simonides flipped open the folder. A photo of Galen was attached at the top. The thiess of the file went past a fresh officer. “This is our young officer’s report as you see. Despite their methods, Omega has its uses. It is why I request these every time we are given a new MP.”

  It still took time for Abeiron to uand the dire. He khe Captain took time to know each of his soldiers. “What was it?” Abeiron could only guess that he learned something important.

  “Family.”

  “Huh?”

  The folder closed with Simonides’ hand pressed against it. “Do you know why I go so far for them, Abeiron?”

  He shook his head. It was something he rgely just accepted being his anding Officer and not questioning odd traits. Abeiro as long as he was a good leader the rest didn’t need expnation. “I know you remember all of the soldiers here by name. While you don’t always have time, you make frequent visits to the barracks.”

  “But that isn’t an answer.” Simonides raised Galen’s file up. “Many of the members of the military within the ranks of the MPs are here against their will. Military service for them is a requirement, not a choice.”

  “Sir…” It was to Abeiron, but he felt like the words were b on treason.

  A hand rose to stop Abeiron. “I’m not making a judgment of how the King carries out his rule. All I’m saying is that because many are not here by choice it means they are not motivated and willing. While I may be doing all this so that I get soldiers that work and obey, these are people I want to feel fortable here. So I learn what makes them tick.”

  He felt like he was learning an uling side of his Captain. The he felt for them he ko be genuine. Suterest exteo everyone. However, the focus seemed a little too thh. It almost felt maniputive. “And your answer for him is his family?” he cluded.

  “Correct,” agreed Simonides. “The pressure and prejudice these people fa a daily basis is not something I ge. All I do is make their lives a little more bearable while they’re under my and.”

  “There’s reasons why people feel that way, Cap-“

  “Yes, I know. And you say my motives are selfish in wanting to appease dangerous people ahem uhumb by knowing all of their secrets.” Simourned away. He walked back to the et aurhe file. As the door closed, he looked back at Abeiron over his shoulder. “Did you know that he mao evade dete by the Military Scouts for fourteen years? When they found him he resisted capture. In the end, they had t in MPs to subdue him. You know that he requested the South Gate assig.”

  “I didn’t.”

  Simonides sat down behind his desk. “It took me a while to put the pieces together. He always made sure to stay away. I noticed that ohing was always missing from the reports.”

  “Family?”

  “Yes, he roteg them. There’s nothing that he cares about more.”

  Galen arrived ba his hometown after more than a year away. He notiothing much ged about the vilge. It made him gd to see things were still peaceful. After his capture, he worried what might have happeo it. They told him nothing.

  He stood in front of his home never expeg to see it again. The manner he saw the others treated and the attitude of those in and, he had reciled himself to never returning home. The talents he had made him favorable for assigo the buard. He ted himself fortunate, but he was still far away.

  The waiting seemed like forever after he knocked. He got so excited thinking about their faces. They weren’t just memories anymore. He could see them once more. When the door opened and his mother stood ihreshold, shocked to see him back, all he could do was cry. Galen thought he bled them away already through the sleepless nights thinking about them. “I’m home!” he cried, hugging on to her.

  ‘Goodbye…’ Galen’s face looked mencholic the moment before his life ended. He lied on his babsp; Blood poured out from the new wound in his chest. Tears built up in his eyes once more. Through the watery lenses, he could see them once more smiling back at him.