VOXISTALE: Novel Edition

Chapter 77

Mosu Takibi and Mióm Crocket found themselves at the entrance to a cave just beyond the edge of a forest clearing, a sign outside the front making it clear this was where they were meant to be; 'Gerson's Goods' labeling said sign. Gerson, their target.

Neither were really sure why Gerson was a target at all. All reports made it clear he was next to harmless. Just a slow, really old turtle monster who often took an entire day to complete a morning jog. Despite their doubts, they didn't dare question the leaders, and so, they came to do the deed and earn their titles as lieutenants. Becoming a lieutenant in the Messiah was a two-step process. First, a tournament is held in a trial of combat, a battle to the death, in which there would only be one survivor, or two in their case. Second, they were to carry out their first mission, and succeed, which would result in them earning their titles, names to go by beneath the Messiah banner. Sometimes these names would relate to personality quirks or physical quirks of the individual, other times it would relate to habits they make, and sometimes there had even been a few past lieutenants randomly named solely because they were apparently too boring or too unique.

Regardless, Mióm was certain her lieutenant title was practically guaranteed, what with Gerson being their main target. While Mióm welcomed this happily, Mosu was a lot more disturbed with this. Defeating an armed and challenging opponent was one thing, but murdering a defenseless innocent who mostly kept to himself? It went against all the morals he had retained, everything he'd been taught before the Messiah had inducted him. The side of him the Messiah had failed to quell.

The two stared at the sign for a moment, before looking toward each other. Mióm winked, while Mosu showed no initial reaction to this, instead looking back to the mouth of the cave with a sigh. "After you then," he gestured reluctantly, clearly very hesitant about this mission, though speaking against it would undoubtedly put a target on his back for treason, though those were lengths he was willing to go to if he absolutely had to.

"Making the lady go first, then?" Mióm teased, running a hand through her candy-pink hair, giving a wide smile, allowing Mosu to see her jagged, sharpened canines. "Well, that's fine. I'm eager to kill this monster anyways. Ooo, just imagine, we'll be lieutenants . . . I'll finally be able to pay the leaders back for everything~!" the way she said that last bit was somewhat off-putting, making Mosu internally cringe.

She stepped forward toward the cavern entrance, aware that they'd probably need to do some walking before reaching their actual target. Mosu was quick to follow behind her, looking a little pale. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to voice his concerns to his fellow soon-to-be-lieutenant? Just to get them on the same page, though that seemed a fool's errand on his part, but it wouldn't hurt . . . hopefully. ". . . Mióm . . . don't you feel a little . . . nervous?" he asked.

"Nervous? Oh, oh, you're getting cold feet? Does that mean I can get the kill myself?! Don't worry, we can still share credit!" winked Mióm.

"No. Not that. Aren't you disturbed that we're being sent to kill a passive old monster?"

"Nope~!"

". . . It really doesn't feel even a little wrong to you?"

For the first time since they'd met, Mióm wore a serious expression, which Mosu was able to see even in the dimness of the cave they were wandering into. "Oh, Mosey . . . sweet, sweet Mosey . . ." she said in a hushed tone, her widened eyes drilling holes into him. "Allow me to make something abundantly clear. The word of the leaders is absolute. It is our duty to do whatever they say. Leave your morals behind and do your job. If you start sounding like a traitor, I promise you that my loyalty to the Messiah is much, MUCH greater than my loyalty to you. So just try your best to relax."

"Hm," Mosu frowned, turning his gaze from her. At least now they were on the same page of where one another stood.

Not much more was said as they made their way deeper, both producing their SOULs to provide some light. Hers was a deep shade of pink which didn't provide nearly as much light as Mosu's pure white SOUL, which illuminated the cave ahead of them for several meters.

The stone around them reflected their slick surfaces of the light they provided, the two nearly slipping on a wet rock a time or two as the air grew stale and more chilled.

He wasn't about to bring up his concerns again to Mióm, but his anxiety continued to increase. He'd joined the Messiah for one reason. Well, more accurately, he'd allowed the Messiah to lay claim to his loyalty years ago. Had circumstances been different, he'd very likely have simply been killed. Having been a grunt all these years, his tasks were simple enough. Relocate supplies here, bodyguard some politicians there, train new recruits even . . . but killing innocents was never something he was comfortable with. Sure, he'd manage to get through the dead pool, but circumstances were . . . far different. It was a duel to the death in the name of honor and rank. Something he'd been raised to abide. But this? Murder? He wasn't an assassin. His goal was the protection and preservation of humankind, but this was just wrong. Gerson was just some old hermit who lived in the woods.

Mióm seemed to address his hesitation as his own morals, confirming, at least to him, that she understood how immoral this was.

Perhaps they could simply talk to the monster when they reached the fabled cave of crystals, maybe even capture him. Something or anything to simply prevent his destruction. Enough innocent lives had been wasted, but if he had a choice? He commanded authority now. His voice would not go unheard.

That was the hope.

Mióm, on the other hand, was excited to end Gerson's life. She didn't care one bit if it was 'wrong,' or 'dishonorable,' or anything of the sort. The fact of the matter was that she'd been ordered to kill this monster, and that was what she was going to do. No questions. No doubts. No thinking. All she cared about was fulfilling her task. Being useful to others was all she'd ever known, and it brought her more joy than anything to please the leaders. The Father . . . Leader Krashna . . . but most of all, she wanted to make Leader Nikolai proud of her.

She could still remember how cold she'd been on the night that he'd discovered her. She'd been young, clueless, trapped in the horrific world that was child slavery. That was the only world she'd known. She hadn't a clue how to survive on her own, everything seemed so terribly hopeless and awful . . .

But then he'd appeared. A dark, enormous figure that loomed over her, smoke pouring from his lips as he'd puffed a cigar into the chilly air of the night, his body covered in blood that was not his own. She remembered not understanding a word he'd been saying, barely managing to figure out that he wanted her to come with him . . . the thing she remembered most about that night was the way he'd carried her all the way back to the Messiah headquarters, and from then on, the Messiah was her family. The Messiah was her home. There was nothing else that mattered.

She felt her cheeks burn just thinking about that night. Mióm was older now, not some sniveling child trapped in a cage. She was capable of killing this monster—she had to. For the Messiah. For Nikolai.