A Story of Evil

Chapter 171: Afterburn

Sol's group were flung in the air without much care. The fainted direwolves and the disoriented members of the team were all in a bad shape. But still, they were able to safely land on the top of the cliff. Sol used his gravity in order to lighten their fall. Thus ensuring that nobody from the team got injured physically.

However, their pride was a different matter altogether. It was tarnished and stained, so much so that Hendrickson couldn't hide his frustration. Screaming as he said:

"DAMMIT!"

"Calm down Rick." Jade said in reply. He was just as frustrated as the steel user but, he wasn't the type to let such emotions show. 

"How am I supposed to calm down? He just preached on us and threw us away! We were like helpless babes in front of him. It was...it was...GAAAHHH!" Hendrickson gave one strong punch to the ground. Burying his whole arm inside it before taking it out.

"You should be thankful that you're still alive." Cain said in reply.

"What's that you punk?" The steel user said, ready to fight Cain at that moment if not for Solomon who finally made himself heard.

"Enough." Nobody was in a fighting state. Even with all the bravado which Hendrickson was showing, he was far from being capable to fight. And even if he was, Sol wasn't going to allow fighting between his allies.

"There's no point in fighting among ourselves." He added.

"Yeah, we should go down and give that person a beating right?" Rick suggested, a sentiment which only he held.

"No. We're gonna retreat."

"W-what?"

"We're gonna run. As far away from here as possible."

"But leader!"

"Hendrickson Steelheart! If everything has yet to sink in to you, then I'll gladly feed the facts to that brain of yours." It was the first time Sol raised his voice during the whole mission and, the first time he called Hendrickson by his full name. The combination of these things made everyone silent as Sol continued explaining.

"We encountered a monster that we didn't anticipate and couldn't defeat. That's a fact."

"We got cornered by that same monster and were about to die. That's also a fact."

"We were saved by the enemy. That's the third."

"We were flung out of harms way by that same enemy. That's the last."

Sol omitted the mention of how Damian's words were sensible. How they really killed a bunch of monsters which were living in peace and, would have never harmed humans for the rest of their existence. 

"You are the monsters here." These words uttered by the emperor rang on Sol's head. A thought that he would ponder on for a while longer but, not something he made obvious.

"No matter what angle you look at this. No matter how many times you punch a hole to the ground or scream, none of those facts can change. Because they already happened. Because they already are."

"But leader..."

"We're all tired. I know. This whole operation has drained much more from us than what we expected. But we need to continue moving. We need to find a safer place to rest for the night. You can remember this moment in your life as Solomon's cowardice for all I care. But I'm not allowing any of us to stay on such a dangerous place." Sol got his water pouch and opened it, splashing the water on his direwolf which was abruptly woken up.

"Get your mounts awake and start preparing to leave. This isn't a request, it's an order. And you'd do best to follow as I say."

It was a side of Sol that nobody has ever seen before. He was commanding, authoritative; demanding full control over all the members of his team. It wasn't like this wasn't how things were supposed to go. It was just that, they weren't used to that side of Sol. One which evidently came out because of what they just experienced.

And because of this same version of Sol, not a soul spoke up. They all followed as he said. Even though their bodies were still weak from the ordeal, they had no choice but to forced themselves and their direwolves which were in just as bad of a shape.

The preparation itself took more than five minutes. Although strict, Sol wasn't about to make them march out if the legs of the direwolves still felt like soft noodles.

Within this same interval, the young paladin was already thinking of what they needed to do and where they needed to go. The night was already deep and a lot of dangerous nocturnal monsters also come out during this time. That's why he needed to find the safest path for them to take. One which had a lesser chance of encountering monsters.

"Where do we go Sol?" Alice asked, taking the reins of her direwolf which was as ready as it could get.

"We'll go back to the edge of the abandoned city we passed by." He said in reply.

"So it's basically a reset."

"Yeah. I wanted to avoid backtracking as much as possible but, that's the best choice I can think of for the moment."

"Roger that. I'll tell the others."

"Please do."

Although this was also a kind of reset, they had no choice but to set up camp there. Primarily because they knew no other area and, it was also the only spot which had tall ruined buildings. Big enough to cast large shadows that they also need in order to use their camouflage. Plus, since it was at the edge of the ruined city they passed by, there was also a lower chance for monsters to be there.

The place was far from where they were. But with the running speed of the direwolves, Sol knew that they could reach it in approximately an hour. That's why he was also thankful that the same creatures were fed during supper. Because if they weren't, then these mounts would simply collapse on the way

"Let's get going. I want everyone to be properly rested before the sun rises the next day." Were Sol's last words as they began riding through the night.

Sol could feel the cold wind pass against his face. He almost forgot the fact that, between the cliff and the city was a wide desert. They already passed by the same terrain at nighttime but, it was the first time they went through it at a time that almost reached midnight. Because of this the wind was colder, to the point that everyone needed to grab on to their cloaks for extra warmth. That is, except for Jade whose [Living Flames] kept his body at normal temperature.

There were a lot of things going on inside the heads of everyone in the team. The experience wasn't something they could forget that easily after all. Not the appearance and the encounter with the dragon and, definitely not the fact that they were saved by the supposed enemies.

It was another wild pieced in the puzzle of information that Sol was trying to put together. Something which didn't have any place on the facts and truths he already obtained. That is what kept Sol warm that night. He was deeply focused and motivated in learning the truth. The real state of things that goes beyond appearances.

But even the young paladin had a limit. He could only do so much with all the variables he had. And what was undeniable at that moment was that he was exhausted and drained mentally. Especially so in the encounter with their enemies.

He began feeling a splitting headache. One which intensified the more he thought about things. That's why he stopped for the moment. Focusing solely on the thought of rest. One which sustained him through the death defying night's experience.