Heroes to Hunted

The following morning was another slog.

Thanks to my busted ribs, we had to expend our first red potion. Though I was skeptical about it, I popped the cork and chugged. It tasted disgustingly metallic yet sweet.

"Ugh..." I wiped my mouth with a look of disgust. "And you said this heals you?" I asked Mizuno.

"It does. I told you it's a healing tonic," she replied matter-of-factly, then stuffed the empty bottle into her pack.

A healing tonic it was.

Upon consumption, the busted bones within me started to straighten and mend back together. It was an odd feeling but a welcome one as the pain subsided. I was totally rejuvenated!

"It...actually worked?" I said with a dismayed expression.

"I told you," Mizuno replied and shook her head.

Joseph then mentioned Barik's and my training going too far. He griped that we wasted a precious potion by injuring ourselves too much, then pointed to the torn-up wasteland that used to be a verdant clearing.

"What kind of training does THAT to the ground?" he questioned.

Barik flashed a smile, which was unusual for him, at least around the others. "The good kind," he laughed boisterously.

His shift in demeanor was a shock for Mizuno and Joseph. They asked Barik why he'd changed, and he replied with a single phrase. "I found a comrade," and sent a grin in my direction.

Then, for the next three days, we revisited many of our old campsites. Near each, we found a rock, log, or some other hard surface with ground-up red residue.

Individually, the amount of red powder wasn't concerning. However, as we found more, Barik became increasingly worried. He said the combined amount was enough to convert a medium-sized house into a smoldering crater.

Though the realization made us uneasy about the camp's wellbeing, we were thankful we sent Alan. With him there, a possible crisis could've been averted.

Aside from that, the only notable development over those three days was my training. Unfortunately, for two of those days, I couldn't bring myself to use my fire.

It took every drop of courage in my body to use the power. Even after I succeeded on the third day, I needed Barik's help putting it out when the flame inevitably spiraled out of control. Like last time, I was left a shaking mess afterward.

My refusal to use it on the two days naturally led to my ass being kicked.

However, by Mizuno's orders, Barik ensured I was left only with minor cuts and bruises. For obvious reasons, Mizuno didn't want us to consume more of our healing potions.

After each training session, while battered and beaten, Barik and I bonded a little more by trading war stories of our pasts.

Though mine had guns, bombs, and tanks, and his were filled with swords, magic, and wagons, the premise was the same.

Through mud and blood, we had trudged on and slaughtered anything that threatened our country and survival. However, there was one thing he never mentioned; it was the identity of who he'd fought against.

He only described how senseless the war was. How it was instigated by the opposers through greed and hubris. Despite that, he didn't believe in genociding the opposing nation, which was the exact policy his side enacted.

But, as he said a few days ago, we soldiers were just tools; meant to be used at our superior's discretion. So he had no choice but to follow a creed calling for mass bloodshed.

On the third night, I finally asked him.

"So... Do y..you think you could te...tell me about the ones you fought...against?" I was out of breath, and we both found ourselves lying on the ground, panting heavily.

"H...Huh," Barik sighed, "I can't...say much, kid. All I can say is...my country...betrayed them," he took a deep breath and calmed his breathing.

Likewise, I steadied myself enough to speak without interruption. "Your country betrayed them? How?" I was confused. From his stories, it sounded like the opposing nation was the sole aggressor.

"My country did betray them..." Barik propped his head above his arms. "Our two nations were always close. Socially, economically, and politically, we were bound by shared years of mutual prosperity. We had a pact; it stated we'd fight with one another, no matter what."

Barik's expression hardened, and he clenched his fists. "But then the fools declared war on the rest of the world. They wanted land, resources, and power. Their military might made them arrogant..."

He sat up and pulled his knees to his chest. "And when they asked us to join them, my nation secretly aligned with their enemies instead. Those we fostered good relations with over years became our sworn enemies overnight... I ended up killing so many that I once called comrades..."

Barik paused, leaving the air thick with profound sadness.

"I'm sorry, kid," he turned his head to me and grimaced, "but I'd rather not talk about this anymore. Can we drop it?"

I nodded in agreement. I wasn't going to pry, so we sat silently in the moonlight until Joseph relieved us of watch duty.

Barik returned to his bed while I made do near a tree.

Sadly, after I incinerated my bedroll, I was left to sleep in the elements. We hadn't packed any spares, and all we had were some extra clothes I could pile over myself to use as blankets.

I also had to sleep at a distance to protect my and our gear from harm; we were all worried I might lose control again.

After a night of nightmares, luckily not ones that triggered my fire affinity, the morning finally arrived.

This was it, the day we'd arrive at the farm.

We traveled and found the stream we initially planned to follow. It peacefully flowed forever onward, soothing my mind of any angst. Though I was a seasoned soldier, the moments before a mission always filled me with unease.

By the evening, we found a spot on a hill overlooking the farm. We performed a few hours of reconnaissance, confirming what we all had hoped back at Freehaven.

Few soldiers were guarding the farm, and the physical defenses were just as negligible.

Between the many open fields and large bunkhouses for workers, there was a central compound. Surrounding it was a small cobblestone wall that one could easily scale over. Inside, you could see a large main cabin, a guard's barracks, and three fortified warehouses.

We completed our scouting, then retreated to set up camp. We were extra cautious in its preparation due to our close proximity.

That meant we avoided any fires or training and concealed ourselves behind the thickest foliage we could find.

Before we slept, I took one last look at my allies. It was a habit I formed during my missions. I always branded their image into my mind so I could remember them clearly if they fell.

Unbeknownst to me, by the end of this mission, one from our expeditionary group would fall. I'd never see them alive again.