Chapter 04: Scarlet Blades and the Beginning of Hell

   I think this is the first time in two years that I wake up in a good mood.

   No frustration. Without any regrets. Just... a feeling of victory, of accomplishment. 

   As I opened my eyes, I confirmed that there was something wrong with my pillow. This is because I felt that my head was higher than it was supposed to be.

   As my vision becomes clearer, I realize that I am on Marino's lap, who apparently moved me while I was asleep. At that moment, she was reading a book, but realizes that I have woken up and gives a smile.

   -Uya. Good morning, sleeping child.

   -Good... morning. What do you mean sleeping child? Aren't you the one who woke up early?

   I said as I closed my eyes and took a deep breath and finished waking up my body. As I opened them, I couldn't stop thinking about how beautiful Marino's caramel-colored hair was. Not just the hair, but all of his features, smile... I have to stop. If I end up looking like a beast in love, she'll just be a pain in the ass.

   -It was actually you who woke up at least two hours later than usual. It must have been the result of the fight with Caius. Anyway, it was easier to move you here than I thought.

   She spoke with a calm expression on her face, as if she were in the middle of a silent walk with a warm breeze blowing on her face. Actually, that could be a good comparison with the feeling I have at the moment. 

   To wake up knowing that two years' efforts have started to pay off, together with a person you love without a doubt is sensational.

   -Well, you must want to do something, so I'll go.

   -Wait.

   I interrupt Marino, while reaching for a book that was in a pile that Marino had placed near her. I open the book, and start reading, so that the book covers my entire face.

   -Actually, I don't think it's a problem for us to stay like this... a little longer.

   I end up speaking, but in an embarrassed voice. 

   -Uya. All right then. 

   She answers with her contented tone and goes back to reading the book she was reading before I woke up. We stayed like this until I finished reading what I had started last night. Noticing a few things, I turn to Marino with a question:

   -Mari, you are the captain of a unit. Shouldn't you be at your base?

   -Uya. Good point, but the entire sixth platoon is on recess until tomorrow. 

   -Wait, recess? Even with the tactical change caused by the increase in monsters?

   -Uya. My unit has not been informed about this.

   Marino was surprised, but more than anything, she was worried about something. She was trying to act natural, but I know her well enough to know from the look on her face that she was trying to appear normal. 

   As I thought about what could be worrying her, and even before I asked what was wrong with her, I received a light tap with the edge of the book that was in her hand on my forehead.

   -I'm just wondering why put my unit in recess if you had a tactical change like this, but it's a normal thing. If you're worried about Caius, Jack and that pre-diabetic girl, they'll be more than fine on their own.

   -Well, I have no reason not to trust you. 

   I get off her lap and go straight to the bathroom to take a shower and brush my teeth. Given how long I've slept and how long I've been waiting to get up, Mari must have been hungry. I know this because I am too. 

   I get out of the shower and go upstairs to my room to put on some clothes to go to an AWA research base. I could not forget that today was the test with the code core, a system that awakens and amplifies the technology manipulation abilities of a human being.

Although I was already officially an AWA aspirant, I needed the code core to awaken technology manipulation. I was sure this was intertwined with what Naila had told me yesterday, what she called ArcanaTech.

   I put on dark blue pants and a simple black blouse with two small horizontal stripes on the left breast. I put on my black shoes and go downstairs to start preparing the coffee. 

   Since it wasn't a battle exam, I didn't have to wear an AWA pre-assigned outfit, so I could wear casual clothes that matched the venue. However, I realized that even though I was dressed up, something was missing.

   Upon arriving in the kitchen, I immediately find out what it is. I notice that Mari is wearing a black sweatshirt with subtle horizontal white stripes running across the entire jacket, and a white metal zipper in the middle.

   Seeing me in the living room, she removes the jacket and tosses it to me, making a relaxed expression. As I put it on, she breaks the silence:

   -You don't have to worry about cooking anything, I ordered some things to eat.

   -I was already imagining that you had cooked something and that I would die even before my first mission as a soldier.

   Marino puts his hand on my shoulder, maintaining a frightening expression. I don't know who was more intimidating: her or Naila. But from the murderous intent I sensed, I don't know if I was going to get the chance to find out. 

   -Uya... Did you say something?

   -Look, toast! You know I love it, right? Hahaha.

   I turn away from her before some part of my body is ripped off by a sword she makes appear from who knows where. However it happened, I was never going to be completely used to it. 

   Marino had bought toast and cake, where we devoured it all in half an hour while chatting. After finishing the first meal, I went to the pantry and discovered that Naila had not only eaten half of the chocolate I had hidden, but had also taken home the other half. 

   Just as I was about ready to leave, I received a text message from my parents saying that they will be home around 4:00 PM. It has been a week since I have seen them, so I was excited to show them that I finally made it into the AWA.

   -Keyner.

   When I was already at the door, Marino called me from the hall.

   -Hello?

   She had a mischievous smile on her face. I was already expecting the kind of thing she was going to say.

   -You're leaving without giving me a kiss? This is outrageous!

   -If you're free tomorrow, I can think about making up for it by then. 

   She makes a surprised face. No wonder, since she had no idea I would be so direct. She nods her head in agreement, but leaves me surprised with a very direct question she asks me next:

   -Keyner, if you found out that someone you knew was a wizard, what would you do?

   I can't hide my astonishment at the question, swallowing hard. The atmosphere clearly became more tense, and Marino for a second stopped looking into my eyes. 

   -Mari, do you...

   -Of course not, this is just a little psychological test. You'll have to take one of these after the contact with the code core, so it's just a training session.

   I am relieved by the answer she gives me, but not completely. The face Marino was making was still the same as it had been since the morning when she told me about her unit's recess.

   -I... I don't know what I would do. I've never seen a wizard, and since this is someone I know, her not telling me might have been fear or something. I don't hate wizards myself, I have no aversion to them.

   -If Ketley heard that, you'd probably lose an arm. 

   -Actually. The thing she hates most in this world is wizards.

   Yes. Since the day her brother was taken by wizards... No, even before that, she hated them. She had no fear of them at all, always repudiating them. The episode with her brother only served to increase her hatred more.

-You'd better go. Remember, don't be surprised if you get sick from the code core.

   -I'll remember that.

   I leave the house, while Marino stays to finish cleaning up after her. On the way, I think back to the last conversation we had.

   In fact, I have no grudge or hatred against the wizards. Even though I know that my research could contribute to a weapon against them, I don't intend to help in anything that could promote a war or increased conflict. 

   "Real monsters are not those who can harm you, but those who want or try to take something important from you." Cless' words return to my memory. 

   After 40 minutes, I arrive at the research base. It was like the campus of a university, where there were several gray cubic domes. On top of the domes were observatories, probably intended not only for visual analysis but also for launching drones. Outside, there were several people taking soil samples or just standing around with their holographic notetaking devices. It was an amazing place, where I longed to be.

   I went to a dome that was in the center of the campus. The inside was amazing, full of computers, people using technology manipulation to control AI's, computers, electronics and chemistry labs. It was scary the way things worked, since with the manipulation of technology, remote controls and keyboards are useless, only existing in more antiquated equipment, like the ones I use at home, for example.

   Thinking that I would no longer be surprised, I was mistaken when I reached the room where the code core was. It was a huge circular room, with a big golden octagon of three meters standing in the center of the room. To get to it, you had to go down stairs with long steps, and on each step, there were scientists' booths with computers analyzing the activities of the mysterious golden hexagon. 

   That octagon was the code core itself, a mechanism capable of awakening or improving a human being's ability to manipulate technology, although this is a secondary function, since its main purpose was to be the central information and data terminal for all of Tecmetriun.

   At first, when I found out about the code core and that only soldiers with technology manipulation problems used it, I thought I would suffer some kind of discrimination or prejudice for it. But finding out that I didn't, I just continued my training with Marino and Cless to pass the first phase of the exam.

   I remember that in history classes, there were people who had prejudices against others for trivial things like skin color, sexuality, or the simple fact of being a woman, and even homicides occurred for such reasons. I wish I wasn't alive at that time, because given my brown skin color that looks like a tan, I would probably be a victim of such absurdities.

   I came out of my thoughts when the instructor told me what I had to do. I just had to touch the code core, trying to manipulate its system when given a signal. I was a little reluctant at first, but I was told it would be quick. 

   The instructor also told me that it was normal for the examinee to faint or feel ill, but that if this happened, I would be taken to a hospital and could return home at my convenience.

   Once the preparations were finished, I positioned myself in front of the code core, just waiting for the instructor's signal.

   This was it. I was not expecting an Arcana Tech, just wanting technology manipulation. I didn't care much for combat, but since I didn't have the slightest manipulation ability, I was dead weight for any job, transferring to the AWA through my own research being something impossible. 

    I remember everyone who helped me so far. Jack, Naila, Caius, Marino, Cless, my parents... It seems like I am going to die to be remembering everyone in this way.

In a way, I will. Because from now on, I'm going to be a new person.

   -Now, Blake!

   Hearing the instructor's signal, I place my hand on the code core and close my eyes, trying to concentrate to observe its structure and somehow change it.

   After a few seconds with my eyes closed, I open them. But something was wrong.

   I knew I had my eyes open, but I couldn't see anything. 

   -I... have I gone blind?

   I kept my eyes open, maintaining the concentration that I thought was right and to cause some reaction in the code core. But nothing happened.

   I was already thinking it was hopeless, until I finally started to get a reaction. 

   It wasn't a good one, after all, my body started to feel heavy and very hot. The darkness that I was seeing started to show several flashes of light, which was already irritating my eyes.

   But I should forget about the irritation I was feeling from the moment there was a fixed point of light in front of me.

   This point started to get bigger, and my surroundings started to stabilize, but keeping only a black and white coloration.

   In the end, that's all I saw. Even to those around me, a white void, as if I were looking at snow. In front of me, an immense darkness, where what was only a point of light a few seconds ago, was now a large yellow ellipse that was standing upright. 

   I continued to focus my gaze on this ellipse, which seemed to be the size of two meters, as it came closer and closer to me.

   As it came closer and closer to me, I was perplexed by what I saw.

   A person.

   There was a person inside this ellipse.

   I had no idea who it was, nor if it was a boy or a girl, as I could only see a very blurry silhouette. But this was not normal, I knew that, and I was already asking myself several questions about what the hell this was. 

   But apparently I was going to run out of answers. My body felt very heavy and very hot. It also seemed as if it wasn't responding properly to my commands.

   Turning my gaze back to the silhouette, I realize that there is something fluid going from the silhouette to me, and the further it came, the heavier my body got.

   I had no idea what it was, it looked like some kind of bright yellow smoke. I couldn't hold it or smell it, but it was entering my body.

   -I'm sorry for the selfishness. But please let them know that I'm here. 

   I heard a voice, which seemed to come from the silhouette.

   I hold out my hand. Before I can even ask anything, my mind falls into darkness, with my body falling to the ground. 

   -Hum...

   I realize that I am lying on a bed, my body still a little heavy and a little warm still.

   With the greatest effort to open my eyes that I have ever made in my life, I open them and realize that I am in some sort of infirmary. However, with all the lights off.

   Not only the lights in the infirmary, but in the entire building. 

   Looking at a clock on the wall, I see that it is 6:20 pm. Meaning that I have been asleep since 11:00, considering that I have not spent more than 24 hours asleep.

   I get up with my still heavy body that did not want to obey me. Even with that, I could move, I wasn't feeling any pain, and I was hungry enough to go out and buy something to eat.

   Looking at the side of the bed I was on, I notice the injection gun on a table, which means that what I have must be the effect of some medicine. 

   Leaving the research base, I notice that the outside is deserted and with most of the lights off. Which meant that Tecmetriun was running on emergency power. 

   -But what hell happened while I was sleeping?

On the way home, I manage to buy cookies from a vending machine. But what I saw was almost no different from what I saw in the research base: only 20% of the night lighting was being used. The only difference was that there were still some people walking around.

   I finally get home, and as I open the door to take the first step, I bump into someone. 

   -Hey. Excuse me. 

   -Keyner, you're... back early.

   I am surprised by who is standing in front of me. A person about 1,60m tall, wearing a gray blazer and pants with silver stripes running down the side of the pants. The sharp gaze and brown hair identified Naila Ketley.

   -Early is it? Of course. By the way, what are you doing here? I thought you'd be on patrol. And why is Tecmetriun using the reserve power?

   Starting with an ironic tone given the time I arrived home, I changed to a normal tone of voice as I wiped my shoes on the carpet and headed for the living room.

   -I was having a conversation with your parents.

   I walk down the hallway, and with that I smell an awful smell.

   -Come on Dad, I told you you can leave lunch with me. It smells like dead people.

   I finish playing and get to the living room. But something was different.

   The whole house was decorated in dark gray and white, and unless they had bought a red carpet, there was no reason to have one there.

   I step on the floor, and to my surprise it was not a carpet.

   As I lifted my foot, I realized that it was something liquid that had solidified after a while.

   It was... blood.

   I quickly follow where this carpet of blood led.

   Definitely, the joke from a short time ago was the thing that was least funny. 

   Two corpses. Both butchered and with bullet marks.

   One was of a woman, who had her left hand out, her abdomen open with her organs and viscera exposed. It was possible to see a piece of his heart in the middle of one of the holes and what was left of his rib cage, the result of a possible barrage of shots.

   Both were with deep cuts and holes in their arms and legs, making me deduce that it was to reduce their mobility.

   That was one of only two things I could process seeing those corpses. That's because my mind was breaking. Even with all the signs of brutality, I could identify who the corpses were. 

   -AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH.

   The scream that I gave stirred even more my mind that was falling apart. I even ended up vomiting the cupcakes that I had eaten. I wanted it to be a lie but given my body's responses, it was real.

   I didn't want to see it. I wanted to forget about it. But even if I did, it wouldn't be for long, because my vision was already locked on the faces of the corpses. 

   My mind was collapsing. My body that didn't obey me now didn't want to move. I was sweating cold. No, I thought I was sweating cold, because the desperation I was feeling at the moment was covering any sign of rationality, making me just scream and scream. I felt as if all the damage the bodies had taken was coming at me in a single instant, keeping me unable to think.

   The smell of the corpses was strong all over the room. Flies were gathering and by the production of bio-slurry, it was noticeable that decomposition had already begun. 

   I went to try to rub my eyes, but I realized that my hands were covered with blood, probably from the time I stayed on the floor vomiting.

   The smell of the vomit was mixing with the smell of the corpses, and while I wanted to faint in disgust at the smell of rotting flesh, the fallen smell of gastric juice in front of me kept me awake.

   Awake to finish identifying the corpses by what was left of the hands of one of them, which featured a ring that was familiar to me.

Shun and Iris Blake. My parents were dead.

   -I think I have to have a talk with you now, Keyner.

   Naila was the one who was talking to me at this moment, and even though I wasn't looking at her, I felt a murderous intent. Actually, it wasn't necessary to feel any murderous intent because I felt three pipes in contact with my head. 

   -Naila, what's going on?

   I couldn't keep in shape. My arms were dreading it. My legs were too. My voice didn't want to come out. Couple this with my body not responding right, and I don't know what's going to happen now. I was biting my lip at this point to try to stay conscious so that I could speak and understand something.

   -Code core, a mechanism that can awaken a human's manipulation of technology. Only it also has a secret function.

   Naila spoke while taking four steps away, but keeping her triple-barrelled pistol pointed at my head. 

   -You must remember that I mentioned that Tecmetriun had two wizards undercover. Their existence was detected thanks to the code core, which apparently has the ability to locate this garbage that, unfortunately, is identical to humans. 

   His voice maintained a cold and cautious tone, as if he expected me to do something, prepared to blow my head off when necessary using the pistol. 

   -Shun and Iris Blake are the undercover wizards. Or at least they were.

   I... I didn't want to believe it.

   -I discovered this when you provoked an abnormal reaction in the code core, deactivating it and disconnecting Tecmetriun from its main power source.

   I... I don't want to hear any more.

   -You know very well, that wizards are a disgusting race that exists only to bring misfortune to humanity. They are mere calamities that exist thanks to some higher form, only to cause entropy and death. To put it mildly.

   I turn to Naila, since my back was turned to her. As I complete the movement, I hear an instantaneous noise and find it slightly difficult to breathe. My body that was barely responding to me started to have reactions, but thanks to the hole in my belly that was opened with a shot.

   -I didn't give you permission to move.

   I end up spitting out some blood, but I manage to stay conscious. 

   But I end up thinking: how am I staying conscious?

   In normal situations, I would have died with just this one shot. Humanity has evolved to the point that even a shot in the belly is not enough to kill, but I was a special case thanks to my less resistant body. 

   -You're a damn wizard, Keyner Blake. 

   I...

   I...

    I don't care about anything anymore.

   Shaking my head, I see that Naila has materialized her two scarlet-bladed cutlass swords. I could still see that they were soiled with my parents' blood.

   -So please die.