I call us The Devil. Not a group–more like two guys who nearly killed each other when they met, plus some girl. The name came from something I said the day Miyamoto and I met. Miyamoto and I decided to walk in front. This doesn’t mean we trust Celeste; we figured we could survive anything she threw at us. I had to ask—what the fuck were those blue flames coming out of his katana? He said it was a type of magic he could do that boosts the power behind his attacks, but it takes a lot out of him. Sometimes I forget there’s magic in this world–maybe because I can’t use it. I never tried to do any magic, but I just have a feeling it is impossible for me.
I don’t care. I have everything I need, my gun and my knife; it’s not like I’m going to fight in a war or fight a god and the devil at the same time. Celeste came up front with us and told us that this is where the ambush took place. We look around for clues as to what could have happened after Celeste ran away. I discovered a blood trail and followed it for a bit. There was an encampment and a cave behind it. I decided to walk back to the other two and tell them.
“The plan is to take out anything in the encampment outside the cave and then lure the remaining units out. Now, Celeste, for this plan to work, I need to know what you can do.”
“I cast a fi-fi fireball the size of a fist, and I-I can-can create arrows made of magic.”
“Alright, here’s the plan. Miyamoto and I will take out the encampment, and when we lure the remaining enemies out, you will fire everything you have at them. Ok, the first true team meeting for The Devil has now been completed. I wish luck to each of us and a great meal after we finish.”
I took out my Bowie knife, and Miyamoto took out a wakizashi. The journey to the camp was a long one in which anything could happen and destroy the plan. I finally made it to the camp and started to hear sounds. It almost sounded like muttering. I saw two goblins with wooden spears muttering to each other. I found a small rock around me and chucked it into a deeper part of the forest.
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The goblins, hearing the noise, decided to walk over to the noise. I readied my knife and crawled after the two. They split up. I followed the one that went left. The goblin looked to his left and right and started to piss. I stabbed the fucker again and again. Always remember: in combat, overkill doesn’t exist. I then did the same thing to one that went right. I cleaned off the blood from my knife and returned to the camp.
The whole camp reeked-a mix of shit and rotting corpses. I headed into the cave without backup and kept my gun readied. I couldn’t call for Miyamoto because his location and the number of enemies left out front were unknown. Celeste was too far in the back to be of any help and would’ve passed out from the smell. I felt a strong uneasiness. I know I’m going into something that will change me mentally for the rest of my life, but I kept going. Driving straight into the abyss. I walked into the real entrance of the cave and I damn near vomited. The smell of death felt like a gut punch. Corpses piled up, and screaming came deeper down…
Children. Women. Men. All piled on top of each other…
The rot of death surrounded me. Anyone would’ve snapped seeing this. I’m just happy Miyamoto and Celeste weren’t here to see the true horror of life. A primal rage boiled in me, and I started running farther and farther down, killing everything in my sight. There was ringing in my ears and I was covered in the blood of these fucking beasts. I tracked down the source of the screaming and was damn near ready to pull the gun on myself. I helped the woman out and kept moving.
I discovered a cage full of people, broken, dead-eyed, and traumatized. I would’ve cried if I could remember how. Their faces were blank and hollow. There was a lock on the cage. I told everyone to cover their ears. They did so, and I shot the locked door and started leading the people out. On the way out, I felt a tug on my shirt. It was this young girl mounted on the back of a huge dog.
She looked up at me with a piercing gaze. Her face looked like that of a boy who had just come back from war. A tear fell down her cheek. When I made it outside again, the dawn had broken overhead. The world kept moving even after the end. I only had 17 rounds left after the events of tonight, and I was covered in blood. The dawn was warm, and I was tired.
