Embers of the Holy War

Family In A Car

When the crowd finally settled down enough for them to move their cars, they departed to Crimson Pass. Guang was so relieved when the hotel became smaller and smaller until it was lost into the mist. Guang didn't know that popularity entailed being hounded by strangers. He wasn't even that popular yet, and that was already a terrifying experience. He can't imagine how it'll eventually be in the future.

The car Guang was in was surrounded by three other cars: one at the front and two others on the side, forming a defensive formation. It bummed Guang out somewhat, since his view from all directions was constantly being blocked by a car. And with the atmosphere in the car...

Lieutenant Lancelot, their driver, gripped on the steering wheel firmly, thick eyebrows tilted downwards. He appeared like an angry father. Jeromah had his ears plugged in with earphones, humming to himself; the carefree mother. Jin was polishing his gun, Proxima Centauri, and checking its functions; the responsible brother.

And then there was Guang. Doing nothing and knowing nothing; the oblivious baby.

Guang wasn't sure if silent rides were Lieutenant Lancelot and Jeromah's thing, but Guang had only stayed silent since he needed some time to recuperate from that traumatic experience. Now that he was alright, the silence was making him uncomfortable. He would talk, but he was just not vibing with the aura the two lieutenants were giving off. One was ferocious like a tiger while the other creeped him out down to the bone. Why were their escorts so unapproachable?

"Lieutenant Lancelot, how are the weapons?"

Jin! Thank you so much for breaking the silence!

Robotically, Lieutenant Lancelot responded, "Each soldier is armed with Clover-32 pistols and two daggers. There are ten Alpha-G drones in each car, forty in total. The cars, including the one we are on right now, are the latest of the Prota series, Prota X-79, all with an in-built railgun."

Awestruck, but not knowing what all that jargon meant, Guang said, "Wow! They all sound like pretty powerful weapons. What do they all do?"

Eager to explain, Jeromah had twisted around, a finger raised when Jin cut in.

"It's too much to explain. President Valerie is worrying too much."

Guang begged to differ. Since Alca was widely known for their technology, Guang had always been fascinated with the technological advancement of his own nation. Within a hundred years, Alca have far surpassed Naylen in terms of their technology that travellers had claimed the nations are living in two completely different eras. While Guang had been exposed to some technological devices used on a day-to-day basis, he had never seen anything from the military, which was said to be on another level. This was an extremely rare opportunity - he couldn't wait to see those weapons in action!

With the aura of a person who had achieved enlightenment, Guang said coolly, "Jin, not everyone has the same privileges nor the opportunities we have. We need to be grateful for what we have in life, not take it for granted nor brush it aside."

Jin, on the other hand, was squinting suspiciously at his radiating halo. "Why are you preaching?"

Lieutenant Lancelot cleared his throat. "Besides that, Jin, I have something important to tell you."

"What is it?"

"The railguns installed in the cars have been slightly modified, so that they can only be activated by Proxima Centauri."

"What?" Jin nearly shouted.

"Told you he would throw a fit," Jeromah said smugly.

Ignoring Jeromah's quip, Jin sat up and fiercely demanded, "Do you understand what you've done? If Proxima Centauri is needed to activate the railguns, then that means Proxima Centauri would be temporarily placed out of commission during the battle! Why did you have to go modify the railguns?"

Wow, Jin was seriously pissed off! Guang had never seen this side of Jin before. Usually, when mad, Jin would at most lecture Guang. He had never seen Jin scolding so harshly to the point where it looked like he wanted to bite off their head.

However, as expected of a seasoned soldier, Lieutenant Lancelot barely flinched. Instead, Guang got the feeling he understood the essence of Jin's message.

"It was a direct order from President Valerie," Lieutenant Lancelot said monotonically.

Jeromah crossed his arms, nodding. "I had the same thoughts too, but Val believed that we would face Winged Demons at the border, so he ordered for the modification. In exchange, the railgun, powered by not electricity but a ruby, would be a hundredfold more powerful than your average Prota X-79 railgun, capable of even decimating the Demon King himself!"

Capable of even decimating the Demon King...Sui...

Suddenly, he remembered the injured Sui who fell to the ground, screaming in pain, his arm having been blown up by Jin's gun, Proxima Centauri. If Sui got shot by the railgun installed in these cars, it wouldn't just be his arm that he'll be losing, but his life.

Guang clenched his fists. The thought made him sick to his own stomach.

For the rest of the journey, Guang did not participate in the conversation anymore.

Two hours later, they arrived at Crimson Pass. Even though Guang had never been here before, it was easy to tell where they were. Ahead of them was a tall gate. Beyond the gate was a cobbled bridge, stretching long and wide over a glowing orange river.

On the other side of the bridge was Naylen, the nation of misled humans.

He was finally here. As the cars slowly and carefully crossed the cobbled bridge, butterflies fluttered restlessly in Guang's stomach. Was this fear or excitement? Under them was a boiling river of molten lava. Only because of this bridge were they able to pass into their neighbouring nation safely. Their neighbouring nation, whose culture, beliefs and traditions are completely different from theirs. In essence, it could be said that he was entering a different world. A world unlike theirs, a world that does not honour the Hero but instead, the Demon King.

Unexpectedly, the car braked, catching Guang off-guard. As a result, his head was painfully smashed into the front seat.

Rubbing his head, Guang whined, "Hey, what gives?"

Without tearing his eyes away from the bridge, Lieutenant Lancelot tapped on the car's display screen. "All groups, halt!"

Instantly, the cars surrounding them stopped in their tracks too.

Grabbing the front seat, Jin pushed himself forward to get a better look at things. "What happened? Why are we stopping?"

Grimly, Jeromah pointed ahead. In the distance, there were multiple small specks. Fireflies? However, the closer they came, the more obvious it became what they were. Those were not fireflies. In fact, those were-

"Winged Demons," Guang whispered horrifically.