Modi glanced at the half of Duncan's body that had already turned black. He remembered the feel of Voodoo eating into the back of his hand and the searing pain of having his forearm severed. Every fiber of him resisted going near Duncan; he feared that touching him would infect him with Voodoo again.
As a revolutionary of half-native descent who was committed to overthrowing all oppression and exploitation, Modi felt no affection for the Lorenzo Kingdom. He liked the people from the Rune Federation no better. He had a vague sense that these outsiders, who claimed to come from a distant continent and lorded it over everyone in the Revolutionary Army, might one day inherit the privileges of Lorenzo's rulers after the Kingdom fell. Then they would go on exploiting the native people.
Sebolutes had not taken notice of Modi for nothing. He was neither a fool nor a mindless sheep who parroted whatever others said. He had his own convictions and worked to live by them, even when they brought him into conflict with his father and his Lineage. Most people would call his actions idiotic, but he did not care. These were his principles, and the purpose he had chosen for his life.
Even now, missing a hand and wracked with pain, Modi had no regrets. He looked at Duncan, hesitated, then forced himself forward to help support him. Whatever else they were, they were comrades on the same side for now.
"Thank you for saving me, my lady." Duncan, who had narrowly escaped death, managed a bow to Suzune. This was his first time meeting her. Before today, he had only heard that Sebolutes had an extraordinarily powerful female Assassin under her command, and he had thought little of it. Now that he had seen her