Rangers Endgame

Two months rolled around and Yakeru had fully recovered, thanks to his therapy. However, somewhere during the process, he realized no amount of therapy would heal his memory stained with the gruesome images of his fallen comrades. He'd been close to death on multiple occasions before but always managed to escape its clutches. Down in that shaft was the very first time he truly felt death's cold embrace, a more terrifying experience than merely looking it in the eyes.

He didn't know what it was, but upon waking up in that hospital bed, he felt as if he'd lost something. He could no longer view the world through the lens of naivety.

Bo was discharged before him and left to check on Touma but made sure to remind Yakeru about his 'thank you gift'. Akari had already departed as she had to take care of some things back home but promised to return when he was expected to make a full recovery. Kenji and Fuyumi stuck around until he was discharged.

Like before, he needed leg braces to walk properly, though they were of slightly lower quality than the one he wore in Yama. The design and material were a bit different too. The nurses waved him off as he and his companions left for the mine.

"You gonna be okay walking on your own?" Kenji asked the ex-patient.

"I'll be fine."

Although he wore two, unlike the last time, he was already accustomed to wearing them so getting used to walking again wasn't as arduous as the first time.

They walked down the dirt road, passing villagers by. Since the place was smaller compared to other villages it didn't take long to reach the exit gate. They could already spot what they assumed were miners hard at work. With the behemoth gone, they were back in business.

As they approached the entrance, a man in a drenched white tank top stood up from a stone he'd been lounging on.

"Are you Yakeru?" the man asked.

"Yeah." he eyed him up and down.

"Bo wanted us to deliver something to you." he stepped to the side, revealing a familiar plate of armor leaning against the wall. It even still had some skin attached underneath it. Yakeru's eyes widened in surprise.

"That's..."

"Yeah. Bo hired an excavation team to retrieve it for you. The boys were a little skeptical about heading down there but he let us borrow some pendants for the lingering gas and assured us there weren't any more monsters." he grabbed the plate which, side by side, took up half his size and handed it over to the the ranger. "Thank you for everything. We saw what was left of your party down there...I'm sorry."

Yakeru accepted the plate of armor. "Thanks..."

It didn't take much contemplation to figure out what he should do with it. During his battle, his armor was torn to shreds. Akari even had to stop by again with spare clothes so making new armor out of the plate was a no-brainer. The only problem was cost. Although he'd already saved quite a lot, he'd also been doing low-ranked missions that didn't accumulate as much revenue as the higher-ranked ones. He imagined it would cost an arm and a leg to forge wearable armor out of near-indestructible alloy.

As he debated his options, a carriage pulled up beside them, and hopping out the back was Akari.

"Hey, need a ride?" she half-joked.

A couple of miners helped load the plate into the back as Akari wrapped her arms around her fully recovered brother.

"How do you feel?"

"Better now."

"Good." her eyes narrowed as she sneakily flicked his forehead with enough force to make his head recoil.

"That's for making me break down." There was a sliver of playfulness behind her scolding tone. He stumbled back, massaging what now felt like a welt on his forehead.

"Okay, I get it! Sorry." He apologized as Kenji and Fuyumi climbed into the back of the carriage.

Akari pulled Yakeru into another embrace, the lingering trauma from seeing her brother at death's door causing her trembling arms to squeeze a bit tighter than intended.

They climbed into the back and before long they headed off to the Capital. As usual, Fuyumi watched the horizon as the village shrunk in the distance.

Images of the behemoth flashed in her mind. Though she dealt the finishing blow, she couldn't help but feel frustrated. The feeling she got when first laying eyes on that creature was similar to what she felt six years ago. In the face of overwhelming power, a strangling sensation of helplessness followed.

"You're Fuyumi, correct?"

Her thoughts were interrupted as she turned her attention to Akari.

"Yes."

"It's nice to officially meet you. I'm Akari, Yakeru's sister. I'm sorry I haven't gotten the chance to introduce myself. We ran into each other before but I figured it wasn't the best time since your family was visiting you."

Fuyumi vaguely remembered seeing her from somewhere but couldn't figure out where. The only time her family visited her was when she was hospitalized from their battle with the Ripper. Then it clicked.

"It's fine."

Akari looked her up and down, glanced back at Yakeru, then back at her with a faint sly smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"You know, Yakeru has told me a lot about you."

His ears perked at the mention of his name, narrowing his eyes at her in suspicion. He'd known her long enough to know when she was scheming something.

'What's that woman planning now?'

The slight lift in her brow hinted at a trace of intrigue buried beneath her composed expression as she glanced his way.

"I have to say, it's very comforting knowing he has someone as reliable as you by his side," she shot her an innocent smile. "So Fuyumi, what do you think of my little brother?"

Fuyumi looked in his direction again, contemplating her response. He was willing to go out of his way to help Kenji in his time of need, even if it put him on the serial killer's radar. He didn't hesitate to protect Aoi from an A-tier monster despite their drastic power difference. And recently, he was prepared to sacrifice everything to defeat that behemoth and save everyone, including her. His actions, even if self-destructive, spoke volumes of his selfless nature. It was clear to her what kind of person he was.

She looked back at Akari. After everything they'd been through together, she confidently said, "He's an idiot."

"I couldn't agree with you more." Akari chuckled.

Yakeru's eye twitched in annoyance. "You say that like I'm not here."

"Well, you're not exactly the type to weigh the consequences of your actions." Akari reinforced her point.

While Yakeru bickered with Akari and Fuyumi resumed idly spectating the outside through the flapping fabric, Kenji had been theorizing. Back in that shaft, the behemoth was simply too large for his ability to have any effect on it. It was only when he decided to target individual parts of its body, such as its leg before it had a chance to skewer Fuyumi, that he saw a noticeable difference.

'I wonder if it's more efficient to target smaller parts of the body rather than the body as a whole?'

It would undoubtedly throw his enemies off balance since their weight would be unevenly distributed, although a variation like that would demand a certain amount of precision. He'd have to experiment with it later.

*****

Their carriage parted through the never-ending sea of pedestrians before making a stop by the guild. The rangers got out, Yakeru leaving his plate in the carriage with Akari for later. They walked inside the building, passing by other fellow rangers either browsing the mission board or departing on an adventure.

The receptionist was in the middle of sorting paperwork until she happened to look up. It took a moment for her to process the three faces but when she did she dropped the pile of papers and her eyes went wide.

"You're so clumsy." her coworker smirked teasingly.

"Oh my! Pardon me!" she scrambled to retrieve the scattered forms before setting them aside, now disorganized. "I wasn't expecting to see you. I assumed the worst after you've been gone for two months. How did your mission go? And...where's the rest of your party?"

Her cheeks were still flushed from fumbling earlier. The three of them glanced at each other before giving their report. The further they went with their story, the wider the receptionist's eyes grew. Her hand shot over her agape mouth the moment they mentioned 'behemoth'. Her coworker and even a few rangers in earshot exchanged shocked glances.

"A behemoth...in the inner rim?" she questioned, unsure if she heard them correctly.

"Yes, a behemoth," Yakeru confirmed.

After laying out the rather gruesome report, the receptionist hung her head to process what she'd just heard. Their story sparked a chain reaction of murmurs that spread throughout the lobby. News of the guild sending an ill-prepared party of rangers on a suicide mission would undoubtedly spread like wildfire. The public was already losing faith in the guild after the Ripper. Who knows how they'd react to a disaster such as this.

The receptionist raised her head with an empathetic look. She opened her mouth but nothing came out. Misranked missions were so rare that even an experienced employee like herself was unsure of what to say in this situation. So she said the only thing she could think of.

"I'm terribly sorry. That must've been a truly horrible experience. Rest assured, you will receive additional compensation for your troubles. It'll take around two business days to-"

Yakeru narrowed his eyes into a piercing gaze, making her flinch. "What about the fallen? How will the guild explain their needless deaths to their families still waiting for their return?"

She stumbled over her words for a moment under the pressure before her coworker came to her rescue. "The guild will acknowledge this colossal error. A formal apology will be issued to their families and they will also be properly compensated for this tragedy.

The two receptionists bowed deeply to dispel some of the tension before placing their standard rewards on the counter. Their responses didn't exactly sound as genuine as they could've been since they wanted to maintain a level of professionalism. Kenji tightened his fist around his staff in boiling anger as they couldn't truly comprehend the nightmare they had to endure and no amount of money could reverse the damage already done. Yakeru laid a hand on his shoulder which seemed to dissipate some of his anger.

"Let's go," he said calmly, taking his reward while the others did the same.

Fuyumi and Kenji followed Yakeru out the door but not before glaring back at the receptionists.

After they'd left, the first receptionist let out the breath she'd unknowingly been holding while her coworker placed a consoling hand on her shoulder.

The three rangers informed each other they'd be taking breaks from missions. They went their separate ways while Yakeru climbed into the same carriage that'd been waiting for him.

"Well?" Akari probed.

"I'll need to come back in a couple days to pick up extra pay for their mistake."

"I see."

Yakeru sat silently, studying his feet in deep thought.

"How're you holding up?" She asked worriedly.

"I don't know." He looked out at the passing crowd, knots churning in his chest and his hand shakey. "Watching people die when they didn't have to...that's just..."

"I know." She replied sympathetically, looking away as she recalled her own experiences.

"Does it ever get easier?" He asked, hopeful.

She hesitated for a moment, searching for the words to comfort her brother but she couldn't bring herself to lie to him like that.

"Oh, Yakeru...I'm sorry," She rubbed his back consolingly. "I wish I could say that it does. But the world can be a cruel and unpredictable place. It's not fair but that's our reality."

If it weren't for the bustling crowd and the wooden wheels creaking over the pavement, they'd be sitting in silence. Hunched over with his fingers crossed, he continued digesting what had transpired that day.

Alek's muffled cries, Haruto's impaled corpse, Riku's desperate pleas, Hiroto's twisted body...death's icy touch.

What was supposed to be a laid-back mission turned into a horrific experience that'll forever be seared into his memory.