P24. Resolve

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Uriel didn't give me any mercy.

The battle was too one-sided since the beginning. He launched the attack, while the only thing I've ever done was dodged, crouched, ran, and hide. The best thing I could do was shielding myself against every time Longinus tried to pierce against my defense.

"Evade and dodge. It isn't like a Mikhail at all," Uriel sneered behind his black helmet. And I could already see his image laughed at me, right inside my head.

I looked at his back and realized someone was missing amidst the chaos. Gleipnir no longer chased out after me.

"And you let someone slipped," The answer came cold and steady, something that couldn't possibly come out of my mouth five minutes ago. "That wasn't like The Wisdom of God should do."

But at the same time, I couldn't ignore his remarks. I couldn't bring myself attack or landed a finishing blow against him.

Why am I fighting him? The deepest part of my mind shook, strangled by the very fact that happened right now. He's one of my kind.

Here and there, I used the rifle instead of Lohengrin every time my eyes saw an opening, every time Uriel accidentally showed it to me. But every time also, the bullets repelled by Longinus hard fangs. The metal-spear repelled all of the attacks with the same speed as Gleipnir, but with strength worse than those chains. To make things worse, the reflexes Uriel showed me were above expectations. His fighting skills showed an unexpected improvement, while I was slacked off like a dummy.

Dust blasted through my eyes. While I have no problem with sand, but the one second of letting my guard down should be paid when all of my paths closed with double fags of Longinus.

"It truly a surprise to see you again after your dramatic report, Mikhail," Uriel said. He must be smirked inside that helmet. "But you moved like a turtle."

"And you moved differently," I remarked. "You didn't slack off all this time."

Uriel laughed. "Of course. We are against a new chemical weapon that puts our nano agent into an inactive state. No one would doze off at a time like this."

There was something in his voice. Something that felt bitter and colder, even more than Dimitri's answer.

"You experienced that too."

"Most of us had experienced it, once in their battle now." Uriel pulled Longinus once again, let the thing dance in the air. "Humans depend on a weapon they thought of the most effective, so within three days, we've foreseen most of their strategy."

The battle continued as Uriel launched another attack. Longinus whipped the soil, spread it all over our faces. Blinded our sight. I used the chance to turn away at the refugee camps.

Barely any movements could be seen. Not much left. Reana had successfully done her job. And I couldn't see her anywhere either. My job is done. She should be safe by now.

The roar of atmospheric beasts upward shook the ground. The electric light of The thunderpulse lite a dimming light between us. The thunder that shot and shook the land send another light shock and by that time, Uriel was already stood before me.

"Big mistake." One fang of Longinus embraced my arms in its deadly grip. Broke it and tried to slice my arms into pieces. "Never turn your back against me, Mikhail."

I lift Lohengrin, readied for the worst possible to lose one arm. But right when Lohengrin was ready to cut the bones, someone shot.

***

Uriel backed off when that shot has proven to be hurt him physically. The bullet made him bleed. I quickly swung Lohengrin on Longinus. The echo made by our weapons went against each other ringing inside my skull, but even so, the alterium cracked opened. On both of our weapons. The whip of Longinus separated, shattered into pieces while my sword was almost broken from the suicide strike. Uriel was about to strike again, but the raining bullet didn't allow him to do so. He backed off when someone walked in between us.

A woman covered in dust, soil, and blood.

"I won't allow you." Her voice ringing pierced all those noises like an attack of thunderpulse itself. It ringing right to my ears. "He still had some business with me."

"Another surprising attack." Uriel sounded satisfied. "I didn't know you befriend the very young lady on your top-list, Mikhail. She supposed to be dead tomorrow."

That fact, the lie he spits, that alone enough to pierced me. Send shivers to my spine as I stood up. I was ready to face him, even in deathmatch. But I'd never be ready to face any face she could be making right now. Not in front of half-baked truth in this chaotic state.

"Is that so?"

My head whipped at her, looked up, only to see her unwavering gun towards Uriel. She didn't even flinch.

"Threatened to be killed has already been my breakfast. As normal as taking a breath." Reana stated fearlessly. "So your threat or truth or whatever you called that statement just now, didn't really bother me, Sir. Sorry to disappoint you."

The strange sensation suddenly stung my arms. I looked down and saw the shards of Longinus were walking right back to its mother and its master. They liquefy and turned into tens of silver needle. With regenerated arms, I pulled back Reana next to me, at the right time before those shards hurt her.

Uriel whistled amusingly. "That was close."

After that, I quickly let go of her and stood in front of her. I could feel she didn't lower her gun at all. She was lingering behind me, like a shadow.

"Look at you, Miss Mellista." Uriel readied his position again. "You ready to shot him."

Yes, that was most likely true. I readied myself to hear the same statement coming out of her mouth. But something kept my fists. Something crept inside me, whenever the images of her being disappointed at me, resurfaced.

"No."

The answer was a shock to me. 

"Not until I got the answer from him."

I didn't even dare to turn back. I couldn't bring myself to.

"I want to know everything! Not being left in the dark like this!" She screamed her heart out. And here I was, listening to what she wanted to say, whether I wanted it or not. "I want to know, why did he choose to protect me? Why did he fight you? You were supposed to be on the same side! Not like this! So, I will pester him like a leech, because I want him to answer all those damn questions before I explode!"

Something hurt in my chest. I grasped it, hold a part of my clothes. There were no injuries. No blood. But strangely, the pain was still there.

"I've told you to run." My voice as cold as ever, but somehow, it sounds so pathetic right now. "You only dumped your life here."

"I couldn't help it," Reana said simply. I could imagine her smiled behind my back. "I only pay a debt to a friend."

The pain in my chest intensified.

"I'm not your friend. I am not a Human." I tried to ignore the intensifying pain in my chest that strangling my heart. "And you were at fault of me being here, against my own kind."

Yes, everything turned into a complete mess after meeting with her. I should blame her. I could blame her and no one would say anything about it. She was the one who supposed to be dead, anyway.

But at the same time, seeing her, hear those words from her, being protected by her; awakening something that never exists in me before. Something that hurt and warm, cold, and light.

This strong, weird, woman, had already changed me, and seeing her here, only made me got new determination. I knew what I want to do. It might not the best or most heroic option, but I thought, it was a better option than the others.

I looked up at the sky, where planes of humans trespassed, I turned around at the empty refugee camps. The promise was etched on this planet and as irreversible as it was, this Earth would keep pushing Humanity to its limit. It only a matter of time before they completely vanished. The memory of Fatima, Omar, Latifah, Mika, and Bryan once again resurfaced, like a fever dream, faded slowly to a mere memory.

That supposedly never enough a consideration. Those were just memories and they were already dead. Nothing useful could be done to the dead. I would only gain worse failure if keep trying to help this girl. I should've helped Uriel instead and finished my mission to destroy her and her country.

But in fact, I never did that. Not now, or ever.

I aimed the gun at Uriel and shot. Uriel barely evaded at the right time. "Stay away."

And I walked away. I would protect her this time.

"Wow." Uriel stood up, once again whipped Longinus to us. "You're really stand by Human's side."

I leaped to the side, evaded the attack that scratched my left arm. Reana kept shooting while evading the attack just like me.

I could feel Reana's stare at my back, but I ignored it. Everything I said was the truth, whether she liked it or not. Humans bought destruction upon themselves. They had no right to blame it on anyone else.

"I don't want to fight our race or defend humans. They are at fault for breaking the promise, but I think what we've done to them wasn't the only option either."

I jumped, evaded the spiraling fangs Longinus and controlled Reana's bioelectric at the same time. Not a difficult task in my normal condition, but in this condition, my head hurt.

"A fool to the end," Uriel told me. "Humans didn't deserve another chance. They have stripped themselves of any other chances. They bring themselves their own doom."

He got a point. This planet, the doom that befalls upon them, all of it was brought upon by human greed itself. Nothing could change the fact. But I think we, Martian, shouldn't avert our eyes of how the same impact has extinguished our civilization before as well.

"A promise is a promise," I said. "However, having my power stripped from me and forced to be a human, made me realize one important thing. "But probabilities are infinite, and I believe in those infinities that there would be a way to end all of this without sacrificing any of us."

Uriel snickered. "Bluffing."

"Maybe," I replied and leaped towards him, launched the first attack as a full Mikhail. "Don't forget that we were always in a draw in every simulation."

Uriel smiled, like his usual self while he launched his biggest attack with the highest range. I held Lohengrin with both hands and countered his attack with all I have.

"Uriel." I forced a smile on my now-so-stiff lips. "Say hello to His Eminence for me."

I grabbed Reana's bioelectric waves that been lingering around my reach since the battle began. I pushed her to pull the trigger at Uriel and witnessed it firsthand how the strange bullet from Union finally reached Uriel, shot him right on the shoulder, while the explosion was happening right between us.

"Good luck, Six."

The blinding white light and shock waves separated us completely.

***

I laid her under a date tree. Few feet from her, there was a small pond of water. No wild animals. Two miles away, there was an oasis village too. She has a full gun loaded in her hand, ready to use anytime and she was dressed well, at least no one would ever come to her with the bad intention of harassing her.

I stole a port-com. She should be able to contact someone with it.

Now, it depends on her will to survive.

For one last time, I reached out to her, touched her hair, once again felt the warmth of her life, even though covered in dirt and dust. The images of the children's book resurfaced. One of the pages in the book told me something about this warmth that could bring a smile to your face, capable of moving you mysteriously, and bring you pain when you had to bid farewell.

If only I could smile once more. For the last time.

Reana, though eyes closed, lift a hand and hold mine in return. She frowned. When she opened her eyes, I could see glistening tears piled beneath her lid.

"Do you really have to go?"

I nodded. "I will find the answer with my own eyes," I told her. "You have a country to look after."

I need to make sure about this world, Humans, and my own race as well. I need to figure out which choice was the best. I need to confirm whether this extermination was the only option or not.

"Why all men always like you?" She laughed, but her tears betrayed the smile. "A selfish, insecure, confused, little boy trapped in the body of an adult."

I didn't know the answer and I wasn't sure whether she really wanted that question to be answered.

She held my hand tighter, almost like how Fatima always clung to me. "It's your last goodbye, isn't it?" She leaned closer and looked upward, right to my eyes. "We will never meet again."

"I didn't know." I grabbed her bioelectric waves. "But the more you interact with me, the more you will be in danger."

Reana nodded and chuckled. She pulled herself closer until our head bumped and our tip-nose touched each other. "Thank you for protecting me ... Sir Angel."

Reana launched herself at me, hugging me tightly. Her arms embraced me and never let me go even for an inch. She plunged herself closer to the point I could feel her breath against my neck, warm and tickles at the same time. A sensation that I will always remember forever.

With that, I hugged her in return, shared some more warmth as our bodies collided.

No farewell or parting words came out of our mouth. Only gratitude and smile. I didn't understand why we did such a thing that day, but in the future, I realized, the warmth I felt towards her was what people called: affection.

We didn't need a goodbye. Because we would meet again, someday in the future.

***

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