Chapter 13: Leaving the Wings Behind II

The tension kept building—Ashfall had no idea why, but the five Timer Agents had suddenly turned hostile.

Something was off about them—and all three of them could feel it.

"Commander Ashfall..."

A tall, emaciated Timer Agent stepped forward. Cale had introduced him earlier as Fenn.

"Do we know each other?" Ashfall replied cautiously, pulling back his hand due to the growing tension.

"Do you remember someone named Ken? He used to be in your unit..."

Ken... Ken... Ken—Ashfall suddenly remembered. There had been a narcissistic bastard in his fourth squad—one whose arrogance had led to their mission's failure back in World 5.

"I only knew one Ken—and he was a complete ahole. He more than deserved to die."

Fenn charged at him in a blind rage, aiming a punch at Ashfall's face. Ashfall dodged and tripped him, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Now that you mention it—wasn't his little brother supposed to be just as much of an ahole? Could that be you, by any chance?" Ashfall sneered, staring down at Fenn's now dirt-covered face.

Suddenly, the other four agents raised their weapons at the three again.

Fenn grinned up at Ashfall, then said, "Believe me—there are a lot of people who'd rather see you dead. You've returned alone from eleven missions now. Eleven. You think that's a coincidence?"

He got up and spat at Ashfall's feet before turning to Lira and B-Day.

"Did you know? His reputation is so bad that no one wants to team up with him anymore. None of his previous teammates ever made it back."

Lira and B-Day lowered their gazes and stayed silent.

"He's said to have abandoned his comrades! One time, he even sacrificed them to save himself! Another time—"

Blood suddenly spurted from his throat.

"Stop spewing so much bullsh*t," Lira stood beside him—her blade had slit his throat. Blood sprayed across her face.

B-Day immediately understood her cue. He rushed toward Dahn, who stood on the far right. Dahn opened fire, but B-Day was too fast—dodging and driving his bone spear through his chest.

"Marek, Varin! Deal with them. I'll take—"

Ashfall was already standing in front of Cale with a murderous, cold stare.

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He swung his spear, but Cale managed to dodge and roll out of the way.

Marek, the stockiest of the five, charged at B-Day. B-Day's only weapon was still lodged in Dahn's body.

"DIE!" Marek roared, trying to grab B-Day with his bare hands.

Meanwhile, Lira and Varin clashed—Lira wielding her spear two-handed, a dagger clenched in her mouth.

Varin had both his own pistol and Marek's as backup.

Just as he raised his gun to fire, Lira hurled her spear.

Varin easily dodged it, the tip only ripping through his coat.

"What the hell was that supposed to be?" he mocked.

"Take a look at your friend," she replied with a smile.

Distracted, Varin glanced toward Marek. That gave Lira just enough time to close the distance.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed her approach and dodged again with a smirk—

—but Lira had never aimed to stab him with her own dagger.

She deflected his gun to the side, snatched the blade from his belt, and plunged it upward into his chin.

She landed gracefully behind him as Varin collapsed, lifeless.

B-Day was still evading Marek. Meanwhile, Ashfall and Cale had resorted to barehanded combat.

"Those two newbies are better than I expected," Cale said, swinging a punch at Ashfall. Ashfall blocked and countered with a kick, trying to knock him down.

"Why did you want to kill us? Is your hatred for me really that deep?"

Cale exhaled slowly.

"We've pledged ourselves to the one true ruler. And since we know you all too well—we knew there'd be no point in talking."

Marek had finally cornered B-Day—no more room to dodge.

He raised his fists—B-Day shut his eyes.

A single shot rang out.

The bullet pierced Marek's head, killing him instantly.

Lira stood behind him, shoved his body aside, and offered B-Day a hand.

"Come on, get up. That bastard Cale is still standing."

Ashfall's thoughts raced.

The one true ruler... That title again. He'd heard it before in the crater settlement, but had no idea who it referred to.

"Even the lower demigod Orvak mentioned him... Who is he?"

Cale didn't answer. Instead, he landed a barrage of punches on Ashfall.

One hook hit Ashfall's wounded abdomen. He collapsed, gasping for air.

Cale drew a blade and stepped in front of him.

"The one true ruler is—"

Gunshots. Multiple.

Cale's body was riddled with bullets as he fell backward, lifeless.

B-Day and Lira rushed over, both holding stolen pistols.

"Are you alright, sir?" they asked, offering their hands.

"I'll manage—what about you two?"

He gratefully took their hands and was pulled up.

B-Day had only suffered minor injuries. Lira, however, held her arm tightly.

"Are you hurt?" Ashfall asked, reaching for the wound.

"It's nothing—just a clean shot through," she replied and let her hand fall away.

"You seem to have taken a hit too," B-Day noted, pointing at Ashfall's abdominal wound.

Suddenly, Ashfall's vision dimmed.

His left cheek throbbed again and he dropped from the pain.

Their voices became muffled as everything blurred. He tried to push past the pain, to regain clarity.

"Sir?! Sir!"

Both of them shook him, trying to keep him conscious.

His vision slowly cleared, and the pain dulled slightly.

"Ugh..." Ashfall groaned as he carefully stood up, supported by B-Day and Lira.

They leaned him against a tree and knelt in front of him.

Lira examined his wound—Ashfall hissed sharply from the pain.

"I'm not sure what it is exactly—but there's some kind of internal damage," she said, rising again.

"What now?" B-Day asked, clearly worried.

Before she could answer, a weak, blood-filled cough came from behind them—it was Cale.

Lira stepped toward him and aimed her pistol.

"Heh... Maybe we shouldn't have... underestimated you," Cale coughed, blood bubbling in his throat.

"Those your last words, traitor?" Lira sneered.

"Hah... Just like your sister..."

Lira's hands began to tremble. Her pupils widened.

"W-What did you say...? How do you know my sister?"

Then she remembered his very first comment:

~ ~ ~

"Rare to see a female Timer Agent—especially one named Lira..."

~ ~ ~

"Who the hell are you?! How do you know my sister?!" she screamed, burning with rage and questions.

But it was too late.

He was already dead.

Whatever the truth behind Lira's sister and Cale was, and why the five had pledged allegiance to the one true ruler—those questions would remain unanswered for now.