The City of Ionia

The large veins of roots spread across the dirty floor. Surrounding us was a wide variety of canopies with insects that infested them. The towers of wood blocked the dying sun, making it seem darker than it was.

Harley had been next to me the entire walk for a good two hours. We chatted endlessly, which put a strain on my communication skills. I kept quiet after that since I didn’t know what else to say. But that silence didn’t last too long.

“You nervous?”

“Eh, somewhat,” I shrugged.

“Don’t be. Nadia went over the plan. You should be fine as long as you stick with that. And besides, I’m here. I’ll save you if worse comes to worse.”

Well, that was reassuring. Even though she probably would’ve saved me anyway without verbal assurance. It felt refreshing regardless. I never saw Harley take a fight seriously. We’d sparred a few times, and I begged her to give it her all. She never took our fights seriously. It was a bummer since I wanted to see how good she was and also take notice of my improvement.

“Thanks, I guess.”

Harley displayed a rather sinister grin, which was a rare sighting. What was she planning?

She grabbed my hand and ran through the pack, pulling me against my will. I didn’t even bother to resist. Once she brought me towards the front where Nadia was, she dropped my hand and jumped onto her back.

“Hey there!”

“H-Harley!” Nadia shook Harley off her back. “Please do not cause a ruckus when we are almost here,” she said with a stern look.

“No need to be stony-serious all the time.”

Stony-serious? What did that even mean?

Harley continued. “I have a small request before today’s raid. Is it possible to station me near Jill? It’s the best thing to do for her sake and my own.”

“Absolutely not. I refuse to change the plan for your sake.”

“You’re placing Jill in the outskirts where the enemy might flee from. What if a few slips and head her way? She’s all alone and could face much more than she could handle.”

Nadia turned her head towards Harley. Her eyes were sharp enough to chop through the forest. Her face was locked straight, not budging a single expression from her lips. It was a glare I would never forget. A look shackled to me forever.

She then proceeded to open her mouth. “Then you better make sure none of them slip away.”

“We’re here,” said Nadia, raising her fist towards the sky. I couldn’t see the base since Harley slowed us down, causing us to be the caboose. The others stopped, circling Nadia without her even peeping a word. Harley pulled me to the circle, waiting for Nadia to say whatever.

“Alexious's group could easily do this task. You all know that. The enemy at hand is mere child's play. That said, an enemy is still an enemy. No matter if their defenses are in shambles, if their weapons are fragile, or if their men are amateurs, we do not underestimate them. We take them on as if we were the ones facing death. Burn the entire thing to ashes. Execute anyone that is not us. Stick to your attacking points, cover each other’s spines, and force the rising flames to challenge the Gods!”

Simultaneously, everyone interlocked their fingers and slammed their locked palms against their chest. I mimicked Harley as she showed me step-by-step as to what they did. It’s not like it was complicated or anything. They did it so fast my eyes couldn’t keep up.

“May we bleed together.”

Everyone repeated those words from Nadia, including me, though I was a tad late. The circle broke off, with the squad splitting off into their groups. Harley hugged me, assuring me she wouldn’t let anything wrong happen.

I trusted her.

And just like that, the raid was on.

***

I sat against a tree that was surrounded by a few tiny shrubs. I was sitting outside the base, waiting for an enemy to come to me while everyone was doing the dirty work. Amazing…

Not.

I would rather stare at pebbles beneath the water’s surface than sit and do nothing. Like seriously, I was doing nothing. I twirled my sword around like Randy—except I wasn’t obsessed with it.

I rested my head against the trunk, watching the base burst into flames. The ashes challenged the naked sky, trying to reach the stars. Wood crackled as a few nearby trees collapsed inside the base. Screams, yelling, explosions, I was missing out. I was not a stone-cold killer who enjoyed this, but I wanted to see how things were going inside.

Nadia ordered me to stay out here. I wasn’t sure if Ruby told her to tell me or if it was just Nadia’s idea, but either way, it sucked. I finally thought I grasped the chance to show my improvement. It’s like someone using you as a doll even though you firmly said no. It sucked.

The justification was that I’m the “getaway slayer,” meaning if any bandits escape from my line of sight, it’s my duty to slay them. Hence the name. Apparently, the scouts only found one entrance around the spear walls, so here I am camping it. But couldn’t bandits escape from the fallen barriers?

Whatever. It’s not like I cared. All I wanted was to show off a bit. I gave an aggravated growl to no one, stamping my sword into the dirt.

“This isn’t fair.”

I could complain for an eternity, but it wouldn’t change a thing. Harley, Nadia, the others, they're all out there giving it their all while I’m sitting alone. I was doing nothing while they did everything.

I got up and punched the bark. “Dammit! Dammit, dammit, dammit!” I dumped my complaints on my punching bag. While I was busy growling at the tree, a twig snapped behind me. Instinctively, I turned around to see someone in all black. The only thing exposed was the ginger, bearded face.

I lifted my sword, aiming at his heart. I gulped louder than the crackling itself. A bandit was right here.

A bandit who escaped from the fire and blades.

“Oh dear, I wasn’t expecting to run into anyone. I suggest you walk away while you’re still breathing,” said the man confidently.

I wasn’t sure why he appeared so confident since he seemed defenseless.

“O-Oh ya? Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not going anywhere.”

“Are you wishing death?”

“I could ask the same.” I tried mimicking his confidence but didn’t have it in me.

“Your swords shaking. Scared, perhaps?”

I gave a somewhat confident scoff. “Your eyes are deceiving you.”

“Oh dear, perhaps you are right.” He checked his surroundings, tapping the inside of his jacket a few times. “Apologies for cutting our conversations short. They are something I despise. Especially if it’s from someone in my way. If you excuse me, I’ll be out your way.”

Wait, was he really walking away?

“Hey! Don’t you dare ignore me! Are you scared or something? Worried that a petite woman will be the cause of your death?”

He turned around, his face reeked with disgust. “I’m doing you a favor by ignoring your presence.”

“Ya…I don’t think so. My job is to execute any escapee. Sorry, but I cannot let you leave without your blood tainting the grass.”

Where did this confidence come from? Wasn’t I shaking my sword? Wasn’t my throat dry? So where did this confidence emerge? Did I seriously think I could take him head-on?

He pulled out a medium-length dagger from his jacket. “Very well. Your stubbornness will result in your death.” He took a deep breath, then charged at me like a calm, raging bull.

I parried his strike away with my sword. He kept pushing on the attack, unphased at his weapon’s disadvantage. His dagger wasn’t too long but wasn’t too short. He maneuvered it like a professional.

My sword, however, covered more ground. Whenever he tried gaining more ground, I stuck my blade out. Without a doubt, he was more skilled than me. I could tell by glancing at his footwork. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t win.

He was mainly on the attack while I kept my ground. My goal was to tire him out and see if I could counter his strike. Randy drilled that into my head. If I could outlast my opponent in stamina, the greater the chances of winning.

The man aimed low, almost slicing my upper thigh, but I backed off just in time. He then aimed towards my neck, which I quickly blocked.

“You seem to be a novice when it comes to battle.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Have you not noticed anything strange about my fighting style?”

With my sword on guard, I replied, “Nothing in particular.” Though he was constantly on the attack, I didn’t think much of it. Could it be because defending wasn’t his strong suit?

He dropped his dagger. “Look at your surroundings.”

What was going on? He made himself defenseless. Why?

“Why drop your weapon?”

“To show a temporary truce. Do as I asked and look at your surroundings.”

The area was tight, with large trees covering the moonlight. There was enough wiggle room to maneuver, but with a sword…

Now, thinking about it, I couldn’t see the camp anymore. All I saw were orange flames through the branches. He drove me back this far?

“Attacking with your sword in such a narrow space is difficult, even for an expert. Your swings must be more calculated, and your movement should be foreseen. I could easily drive you into something without you even knowing. You were defending yourself from my blade but never considered defending yourself from your environment.”

“Wh-Why are you telling me all this?”

“Because every person should know the reason behind their deaths.”

He was unarmed, a perfect opportunity to attack. I leaned back, kicking off from my right foot. He was not moving. I could easily get him.

But I didn’t. The next thing I knew, I was on the ground. I wasn’t sure how, but he dodged my attack and pinned me down.

My sword. Where was my sword? It wasn’t in my hand.

I couldn’t think straight. I felt concussed. Stars spun around, seeming closer than they were. Were they even real? I wasn’t sure. The only thing I knew was that I was in a tight situation.

His body weight squished my stomach, clogging air passages. He didn’t look heavy, but it was a good lesson not to judge someone by appearance.

Defenseless as a weakling, he strangled me. My hands automatically tried taking him away from my throat but couldn’t do so. He leaned his entire weight onto my neck. I kicked, tried to roll over, and slapped his face, but nothing worked.

“I might've lost some people, but as long as I continue to live, that is my goal,” he uttered with a sinister grin.

I couldn’t breathe. My vision faded. Everything was turning white. I tried stuffing any bits of air into my lungs, as much as I could get. But that amount was useless. Once again, I was knocking on death's door.

How could I let this happen? How did I put myself into this situation? It was Marshall all over again. It was Raphtalia all over again! I couldn’t save them. And here I am, struggling to save myself.

I’m so weak. So pitiful.

It’s awful. It’s so bad I wanted him just to kill me. Kill me from my shame. Kill me because I didn’t deserve to live. Kill me.

“U…se…”

What—? That voice? It sounded like it came from my head. But how? I wasn’t talking to myself while getting strangled to death.

Still on the ground, I brushed my thoughts to the side. It could’ve been my imagination.

“See you—!” He screamed, rolling away from me. I took the hardest gasp of air ever, coughing.

“Jill!”

Was that Harley? Maybe. I didn’t know, didn't care. I had to focus on myself for a moment. Still on the ground, I rolled over to my side.

The man grabbed onto his ribs, where an arrow stuck out. A woman stood over the crawling man. Her white shirt was drenched in red, and her long skirt was ripped from the side. Her normal silky, silver hair was a mess.

The man shouted something to her. I wasn’t sure what he said, but her chin never moved. She raised another arrow and struck the man in the back of the neck. With the same arrow, she repeated this process more times than I could count. She stabbed the body beyond death.

Finally, after the last stab, she left her arrow where the mangled neck was. She walked over to me, crouched, whispering in my ear, “Sorry I let one slip.”

She placed my head on her lap as she stroked my head. She hummed a song I wasn’t familiar with, but the mellow tone gave off a depressed vibe.

It reminded me of what Raphtalia used to do. After one of those days, she would also comfort me, even if her condition was worse than mine.

Even if she was in pain, she always found a way to comfort me.

Harley did the same thing. She comforted me even though she seemed injured herself—a mirror image of Raphtalia.

A mirror image of my savior.

A mirror image of my friend.

A mirror image of comfort.