Chapter 167
Although I only had a sliver of hope and wanted to give it a try, miracles in this world don't come from prayer—the power of Efnir Apostle Form doesn't react to simple Corruption Energy.
The soldier's eyes gradually became cloudy, turning gray.
The "Mutation" within him is intensifying.
"Do you... have anything else to say to her?"
"... We've already... said goodbye properly..."
Efnir pursed her lips, her gaze falling, and raised her hand to wipe away the tears from the soldier's eyes.
"Anilas, take her out."
This sentence carried the connotations of both judgment and farewell. The nurse's sobs broke out, then subsided with the soft slam of a door closing.
"Sir... I..."
"I will definitely bring your lover back to Xijing City safely... absolutely."
The soldier paused for a moment, a faint glimmer of light appearing in his eyes, but it was immediately obscured by the gray matter.
"Thank you, sir..."
He struggled to raise his hand, placed it between his eyebrows, and saluted Efnir.
Efnir returned the salute, and the next second, a tranquilizer dart pierced the soldier's neck.
As the soldiers fell into a deep sleep, Efnir drew her pistol.
Bang--
A deep thud, blood splattered, and the spent cartridge fell to the ground.
26. Before the war
The nurse was sent to the rear troops.
She did not accept Efnir's suggestion that she take a break, but immediately joined other treatment teams and threw herself into her work.
"I won't abandon him like this."
As she said that, she disappeared from Efnir's sight.
Repetitive work is exhausting, and exhaustion can numb the mind. Was that nurse pursuing a vengeful work born from grief?
Or perhaps, the obsession she inherited from her lover allows her to feel forgiveness.
Efnir didn't say much, and left with Anilas.
Kururina, that's the nurse's name, that's all Efnir knew from the brief conversation.
"Is this alright?"
Anilas asked.
"She's from the vanguard, so there shouldn't be any problem with my transfer order."
Efnir buried the spent cartridge case with a handful of dirt, got up, and washed the blood off her palms with the rain.
The bullet casings and blood were scalding hot, while the rain and soil were icy cold. The starkly different temperatures lingered in Efnir's palms, seeping from her skin into her veins and reaching deep into her heart.
The rain was pouring down.
Gunshots echoed in the distance—the same scene played out repeatedly among the various forces.
Many of the bodies could not be brought back and were left behind in this wilderness, which was the only place with decent scenery.
The pain inflicted on humanity by the Erosion Entity will not disappear with the end of the battle; it will remain forever on the wounded in a cruel hue, perpetuating sacrifice and death as a substitute executor of "Dregs."
Those who survive must face farewells and choices amidst grief and tears.
Efnir had seen too many things like this: her predecessors, comrades-in-arms, soldiers on missions together, and complete strangers—their gazes were all so similar.
Whenever she met that kind of gaze, no matter how many times, Efnir could not remain calm.
Taking a deep breath, Efnir lifted the blood-stained hem of her dress, then put it down again, raising her gaze.
"Miss Efnir, you don't need to blame yourself. He died for his beliefs."
"His death was meaningless."
Efnir lowered her gaze, watching the soil being soaked by raindrops.
The Apostle are human beings.
To put it bluntly, this battle was nothing more than a pointless infighting among humans.
"Wherever there are humans, there will be disagreements and struggles... This is unavoidable, which is why we are standing here."
"She said the same thing to me before the city's previous commander left, but it was really not a pleasant thing to say."
I can understand it, but I can't agree with it.
"I hate fighting humans."
Efnir's initial motivation for becoming an agent, or rather, the direction she had always strived for, was not this.
"Miss Efnir..."
"Forget it, there's no point in discussing this. Let's go, we'll leave this to them."
Efnir withdrew her gaze and started walking, with Anilas quickly following in small steps.
Looking at Efnir's profile, Anilas pursed her lips and suddenly said, "Miss Efnir, you are very 'kind'."
Efnir did not look at her, but simply pulled the brim of her hood down.
"If you're referring to those Apostle... that's just basic mercy for prisoners. It's better to keep them alive than to kill them, although I don't think they know any more secrets."
The temperature of fresh blood was not an unfamiliar experience for Efnir.
Efnir was not bloodthirsty, but she was not a soft-hearted person either.
"No, Miss Efnir, I still believe you are a very 'kind' person. I know someone like that, someone who shares your perspective. I also believe your 'kindness' is absolutely without fault... Miss Efnir, I admire you greatly, and I envy you. And... please don't take what the Commander said to heart..."
"That matter... I already said I wouldn't care."
One bullet was missing from the magazine. Efnir wiped the pistol clean in the drizzle, held it in her hand for a while, and then put it back on her waist.
"I am an agent, not a soldier."
Kusei Maki wasn't a talkative person, and Efnir could roughly guess why she said those things to Efnir.
She worried that Efnir might do something "unnecessary".
Efnir is the only one capable of defeating Angel alone, and her strength is comparable to the entire Second Generation squad. Her importance is self-evident. From Kusei Maki's perspective, it is natural to hope that Efnir will abandon those "useless acts of pity," which is based on the considerations of a commander.
Those words could be interpreted as "advice" or "warning".
For Kusei Maki, soldiers need to pull the trigger without hesitation, rather than thinking about "should" or "is it necessary?"
But Efnir always believed that agents and soldiers were different.
Efnir then looked at Anilas, hesitated for a moment, and said, "The Commander seems to trust you a lot... Have you been under her command for a long time?"
"Huh? Actually, it's not very long... about... a few months?"
"So..."
Although it's just a feeling, Anilas seems to be quite similar to Kusei Maki.
It's not about personality, but something else.
This sense of déjà vu comes from the subtle "self" that they exude when they speak; it's an indescribable, delicate feeling.
At that moment, a signal flare rose into the air, interrupting Efnir's words.
Efnir raised her eyes.
"The train has been repaired, much faster than expected..."
Because the energy crisis of the "Shielding Device" was imminent, it is likely that Kusei Maki only required the engineering team to perform the most basic functional repairs, which is why the time was much faster than expected.
"It seems the remaining time is for preparing for battle."
I hope everything goes well.
But clearly, even if they win the battle against the Apostle and force Apostle to retreat, the road ahead will still be difficult.
The battles that followed remained arduous.
Efnir gazed in the direction of the troops behind her, took a shallow breath, and filled her chest with moist air.
During pre-battle preparations, Efnir immediately sought out Yukina, marking their second reunion after two fierce battles.
"Naoko!"
Yukina called out Efnir's name loudly and threw herself into her arms. In Efnir's gentle smile and embrace, she leaned forward, her hands tracing across Efnir's neck, and wrapped her arms around Efnir's neck, completely ignoring the rain soaking her hair from her long dress.
Yukina's lips trembled, and she slightly tiptoed, her breath almost touching Efnir's lips.
But she didn't kiss him in the end. Instead, she bit her lower lip and rested her cheek on Efnir's shoulder.
"What happened all of a sudden?"
"I'm worried about you..."
Yukina didn't cry, but her face was still very pale. Experiencing such hell in her second official operation as an agent was undoubtedly a heavy burden for Yukina.
Her hair was wet from the rain, and her body was stained with bright red blood.
Fortunately, none of the bloodstains were left by Yukina herself.
"I'm fine, as long as you're alright."
Efnir felt sorry for Yukina's appearance, but she couldn't say anything nice to comfort her. She could only put on a gentle smile, put Yukina down who was almost hanging on her, and ruffled the latter's hair.
She hesitated for a moment, then said, "Later... you'll be traveling with us."
"Real?!"
"Um."
Yukina blinked her eyes, and Efnir raised her hand and gently brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.
"The battle ahead will be tough, remember to bring your weapons."
This weapon, of course, refers to firearms.
27. Fully armed
Anilas watched Efnir and Yukina from afar; beneath her hood, her profile looked somewhat tired.
The agents had all been through several battles, and none of them were in good condition.
But there was no more time for them now; they had to get into the next phase of the battle as soon as possible. Once the "Shielding Device" ran out of energy, they would face the risk of the entire team being exposed to the threat of Corruption Energy and Erosion Entity. Although it wasn't visible on Kusei Maki's cold face, everyone knew how critical the situation was.
The Erosion Entity in the "Fallen Zone" cannot be completely eradicated.
The Human Federation did attempt to stop the encirclement and suppression of the Erosion Entity in the Beyond the Boundary region, but the final result was unsatisfactory— the Erosion Entity were born from abnormal fluctuations in Corruption Energy and were products of White Hole Erosion phenomena. They were not life forms in the general sense that needed to go through a period of infancy to adulthood, but were purely energy products.
Simply put, as long as the White Hole Erosion phenomenon persists, the Erosion Entity cannot be completely eliminated. Even if one or a hundred are killed, ten or a thousand will emerge.
Otherwise, humans wouldn't have been forced to stay confined to cities for the past twenty years, unable to leave.
If the "barrier" breaks and the force is besieged by countless monsters, only seasoned agents like Efnir and Anilas will likely survive out of the original thousand-strong army.
That was an outcome Anilas didn't want to see.
With a soft sigh, her breath turning into wisps of white vapor in the rain, Anilas lowered her gaze, skillfully hanging the assault rifle on her belt buckle, while simultaneously picking out two pistols and a grenade from the weapon stand for later use.
The battle that follows will not only involve facing the Erosion Entity; strictly speaking, there should also be a large amount of "Dregs" inside the "Dead City".