Black, White and Gray

The cold winds howled as the sound of wood hitting her flesh reverberated through their ears.

The fierce battle that seemingly shook the heaven and earth itself took a sudden turn and had ended. The smoke and dust that formed a haze around them started to dissipate, leaving the bare ground broken. As if it was skin, the patches of grass were torn off, huge gashes were found on the damp floor along with the other burn marks and craters. It was a terrain born out of the chaos of their confrontation.

The others were caught up and died when some had decided to join the fight. Some were impaled by a huge blue cross, a few were crushed and some found their remains splattered across the building where they were thrown at.

The body of that giant, on the other hand, laid there on the distance with it's bruised and headless body like a tragic sculpture beneath the moonlight. Next to him were a few pieces of ragged black cloth, the only thing that was left on the reapers who tried to fight him. Among all that lies the Dolphin who just recovered and joined the fray — who was now twitching as he swam at the pool of his own blood as he had his body caved in at the perfect shape of the fist of that monster.

'All… All I need is four seconds…"

She whispered, gritting her teeth as the reaper beside her dragged her weapon out of her body. She coughed a mouthful of blood but even so, she continued to sink her nails into the ground to pull herself forward, despite the handful of reapers surrounding her.

She forgot what they did to her, she forgot what they had used and the only thing that she remembered was the impact of their kicks until when she felt this burning sensation when a set of blades bit her sides and ripped through it.

Her vision was stained crimson and was blurred for so long, the last thing that she saw clearly was the sight of a woman clad in a torn black cloak. It was a reaper that had a fresh gash at the right side of her face, she was missing an eye and she had a cut on her cheeks that widened her terrible smile.

But she didn't want to let things end just yet. She managed to save a lot of people on the way and now, her friends had already escaped except for one. She needed to see him one last time and that's why she decided soil her porcelain-like skin and crawl towards him.

"Three…"

Three other reapers who joined the fight marched at her side and kicked her. All of their eyes were wet with tears and yet, the glint inside it was a flame burning in anger. Despite that, none of them said a word and they all just stood there to watch her take a slight pause to grit her teeth to get a hold of her focus slowly slipping away as she moved towards her prince — their leader who lacked the limbs to stand up to save others or at least to save himself.

"Two…"

The reaper from MC's squad who ripped her flesh jumped in front of her to kick her face into the dirt. That made her stop, the pain broke off a piece of her repeated calculations that she desperately embraced and at the moment she raised her head to grasp for some air, the reaper kicked her throat once more.

Her face fell flat on the floor. She rolled back and forth for a few seconds, she wanted to caress her throat to at least fool her body that everything would be alright but she just remembered that her left arm was already gone. It took her a few seconds to recover but she got herself back and she even tried to use her knees to push herself even further.

"Again… Just one more. Four…"

It went according to her leader's plan. Nicky had already gone back to their base and Marcos came in later to escort him on their battleground. They held on their own for quite some time but it was the giant's fall that brought them down.

She knew that the Dolphin was supposed to be dead but it came back to life just to get bashed back into the ground. It was laughable at first, but that forced them to create an opening. MC's boat rammed itself into him and in that boat lies the Protagonist, who jumped at him and ripped his head away from his body.

Both of them were shocked about what happened, all they did was watch as their comrade fell down and the reapers took that opportunity as well. The same reaper who had the macuahuitl swung down his weapon and buried its blades at the side of Marcos' neck who did his best to keep her at bay.

"Run," he said as he held the reaper's hand with a sad smile.

She picked up her legs and ran as fast as he could towards their leader who he believed tried his best to protect everyone. One, two, three, four... She counted as she spread her arms as he saw his fried trying to retaliate at the corner of her eyes. She knew that he was strong, she knew that cutting up his flesh would make him more powerful but when he saw him move, a spear as thick as her arm appeared out of nowhere and lodged itself in the middle of his forehead.

With tears on her eyes, she opened up the portal and called her friends. Their enemies are closing in and they have no choice. She made peace with herself, knowing that they could escape and spend their time as a unit once more.

His friends ran into the hole, followed by the other with their face worried about the others who would come after them. She then jumped, leaving her friends who had just died knowing that Steve would be right behind her back but no —

Just like what happened to Marcos, a spear came out of nowhere and skewered both of her legs. The pain made her mind turn blank and with that, the portal disappeared, taking both of her legs, leaving her and her leader to be torn to pieces.

'Just a little more… three…"

She kept crawling, there's a few meters left that separates him and her leader and that's the only thing that kept her going. She didn't mind the kicks that burned her shoulders and insides. She didn't mind the glass shards that tore her skin, she kept heading forward until she managed to meet the eyes of her savior as her vision started to fade.

"Two…"

"One..."

"Thank you…" With the last of her strength, she curled her lips and gave her a reassuring smile. She lacked the energy to keep her eyes open, much less expend the air trapped in her lungs but even so, she moved on. She didn't need to calculate, she just needed to open the gate for one last time. She stretched out her fingers, Steve then felt the cold breeze rushing below him and he fell, he fell far away from there.

***

A few moments after the Vendor left, a being clad with a white flowing cloak and black mask entered their room. It was a sight that took the attention of Mary who remained silent on the ground while the two others were just taken aback by its sudden appearance.

"I'm Luke from the 47th Squad of the White's Field Division. Thank you for your good work and now I'm here to take you back."

It had the quirky voice of a man, complimenting the lean muscles of his leg and arms. He wore a veiled and a pointed bamboo hat, braided like of those of the samurai. Under it, he wore a black mask that had a deep white hole to represent his eyes. He then raised his arm to clear his throat as he entered the room, carrying a huge bag on his shoulders.

"Thank you for your work too…" Tanaka groaned as he stood up from his seat. He patted the dust off of his shoulders and looked at the man that stood before him. "Should I go or should I…"

"Ah, The wagon is just right outside sir. Feel free to walk if you're feeling embarrassed if not, I could carry you there if you want." It tilted it's head to the side and the stripes that veiled his face followed his movement.

"T-thanks… I'm fine. I'm calling dibs on the far left side of the wagon though." Tanaka smiled as he staggered his way past of that white entity. He turned his head at the last moment and with a smile, he whispered, "Take care of that girl over there as well as that burned piece of meat…"

Luke then gave him a nod before he followed his instruction. He fell on his knees and sat beside her. He noticed Mary's distant stare as soon as he touched her bare and bruised skin. It made her remember about what happened between her and Albert but Luke's presence was much more constricting instead of Albert who once calmed her down.

It terrified her, she recalled the memory of her seeing a girl begging not to be healed in that infirmary. Thus, she never gave him her full attention, she straightened her face and she kept it that way even when he felt him turning over her hand. He felt his absence for a second so she glanced at her side just to see him rummaging through his backpack and after a moment, he took out a small pill and placed it on her palm.

"Take this… It'll help with the pain of your broken bones and all… I'm sorry but I wouldn't be able to do much about your friend there so I'll be carrying him first." Luke said as he stood up from his knees and scooped Rei from his spot. He carried him like a princess without a shred of embarrassment and without delay, we walked out of the door.

Albert glanced at Luke who began to fade in the distance and once he's sure that he's gone, he whispered, "So… we're done here huh?"

Mary did not utter a single word as she kept her eyes on the cracked ceiling above her. She then again felt the same rotting feeling that consumed her when she was alive. She didn't want to entertain it any longer with her being a reaper and all but she felt that way as soon as she saw Tanaka walking out without even talking to her. She just clenched her teeth and remembered the stinging pain in her arms and legs as Albert's voice continued to linger at the space between them.

"...So this is hard to say… I don't know how to go about this so I'll just talk to him later…" Albert cleared his throat as he felt a pang in his chest. He drew his lips to form an awkward smile as he twisted the piece of cloth that separates his heart from his hand and after a shallow breath, he said, "I'll do this to everyone and I guess… I'll start with you…"

Silence consumed their ears once more. Albert's chest and arms felt heavy but as soon as he saw that she was at least listening, it gave him the strength to pull out his words.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry that I didn't trus- I got greedy and tried to take them on my own. I risked my life and I risked your safety as well... " Albert squeezed his chest once again as he looked down to breathe. "And… and… t-thank you... Thank you for coming to my rescue… thank you for saving me…"

Just like when they first met, she again felt the freedom and warmth that drove out the stagnation and stiffness that kept her bound. She felt warm, her tears began to fall as if her soul was leaking, it felt like her depravity was finally sated by those words alone. So after that long while of silence, she turned her head, she looked him in the eye and with a wide smile that wrinkled her bloodstained cheeks and eyes, she replied,

"Yeah… You're welcome."