Knights Apocalyptica

Chapter 117: Debt

Almost everyone left the field after the soccer match. The only person who lingered nearby, waiting for Erec, was Garin. Predictably, his friend was hemming and hawing and trying to pretend he wasn’t hanging around out of concern while leaving Erec space to recover. To Erec, this was once more one of those reasons why Garin was one of the best people on this planet.

Erec stared at his hands, watching his fingers twitch as the last bits of adrenaline flushed from his system.

Odd. That whole thing was different, and he’d thrown a fist or two; using Fury this time didn’t lead to a blood bath. And under the influence, he retained direction toward an abstract goal. Though it wasn’t as fulfilling, it led him to question just how much he understood the true nature of his Divine Talent.

Were he born to a different world, in a different position, would he have come to the same conclusion that his destiny was that of a human weapon? If he’d been from Vega, could he have found a spot in this soccer—was there more? No, he’d fly off the cliff at some point and dig too deep into the inferno. In a heated second, he was too unpredictable not to end someone's life in an intense moment. With the sun sinking, he knew time was running out to decompress.

Reality would call, one way or another, and living in his head with what-ifs and what-could-have-been’s was pointless. For now, Erec settled on the pride of knowing that, for the first time, he’d shown himself to others, and it didn’t bring an ounce of shame.

Erec’s fingers stopped shaking, and he finally called upon his notification.

Agility Advancement: Rank E - Tier 5 → Rank E - Tier 6

“Shouldn’t be that surprising, but I suppose it’s welcome nonetheless,” Erec admitted. With how he’d run about and had to stretch to keep pace with Enide, it was only naturally his body fueled by Fury would adapt. Throwing raw strength at the problem forced the other parts of him to expand, but at a measured pace like this, it was still safe. And he’d have a couple of days after to rest. It'd be fine if he didn’t pull what he’d done during the hunt.

“I get jealous of that, sometimes.” Garin plopped himself down next to Erec. “You got another advancement again, right? You keep speeding ahead, and it’s like I can’t keep up.”

“We both know I didn’t choose this.”

“Yeah, that doesn’t do much to ease the sting, though. And I worry about you. About what happens if you keep flying by everyone else. What if you’re left alone at the end? As much as you like to wander off alone, I’m pretty sure you’d be hopeless if you spent too long like that.”

“I’d avoid that if I could. But that won’t be the case.”

Garin paused, giving Erec a lopsided grin. “No kidding? So confident. I didn’t think you’d say that, thought you might argue you’d be fine without anyone else.”

“Well, Goddess forbid that we can’t find a way to grow you too—I learned a lot from Bedwyr. He thought he’d have to take on the responsibility of the world since his Divine talent is similar to mine. That the natural progression for him is what you’re afraid of—he’d end up alone. Among his class, that already happened.” Erec ran a hand through his sweaty hair and winced. He’d have to find a way to get clean before rejoining the fire, “…Before, I think I’d have ended up a lot like him. Now at least, we have each other, so neither of us can pretend we’ll be alone anymore.”

“I’m glad you realized that on your own,” Garin got up and kicked at the sand. “But, for the record. I don’t intend to let you two run off into the sunset together and leave me behind. I don’t know how I will get there without some Goddess-damned Overpowered Talent like yours, but I’ll find a way.”

“Good.” Erec took his friend's offered hand and launched to his feet. “Can’t picture life without you next to me anyway.”

They began to walk away from the field, and a final question popped into his head. One that he should’ve thought of before.

“…Uh, who won the game, anyway?”

— -☢ - — - ☼ - — - ☢ - —

Enide leaned on the back of the car seat, making herself comfortable despite the dust flying beneath them as the steel frame rocked. She tilted her head while staring at Erec, but he couldn’t look away from what was ahead. They were coming up to the city of Worth quickly. It was as broken and massive as Erec last remembered, but thankfully, there was no more White Stag to watch him from atop a building.

And there never would be again. He’d seen to that with his own two hands.

Erec’s eyes rested on his steel gauntlets as the memory of shoving one of those horrible antlers into the monster vividly ran through his imagination. Those countless attempts it’d taken to stab into his mind still haunted him. Though it was dead, the memory of it still ran through his dreams from time to time.

“When are you going to use them?” Enide asked, once more taking her daily chance to pester him.

That tore his attention away from the past. He stared at her; Enide hadn’t taken kindly to her loss. Let alone that the Knights won with two points over them. Garin thankfully gave him a play-by-play of the more minute details of the match between Fury and the drugs. Those small things slipped his memory. Without his team, there wouldn’t have been a victory. As much of a monster, as Garin described him as on the field, their improvement throughout the game is what secured victory. But the win left him with a curse.

Now he had two open-ended questions to ask Enide. Anything he wanted, but that made the price of the questions seem higher. So much he could ask, but he didn’t know what he should ask, especially with how willing to talk she was in the first place.

Enide didn’t keep many things close to her chest.

“I’ll use them when it seems right,” Erec sighed. The only thing that could tear his attention away from Worth would be her. “Not looking forward to being back here so soon, to be honest.”

“Last time was that bad?”

Erec pointed out a particularly tall building on the cityscape, the same one the Stag nested on as it sent its army to kill him and the rest of the Knights. “That’s where a massive monster like a White Stag was. A lot of people died that day, then in the hunt afterward… It could control monsters and people.”

“And you’re the one that killed it. Impressive.”

“…You’re well informed.”

The car flew over a bump; Erec flinched and caught one of the braces. Despite the sudden jerking around, it didn’t phase Enide. All of the Pendragons had an unnatural ability to adjust their body and brace at the right moment for the unclean roads; right now, Yniol had gone from the rough sand, and dirt wasteland to a broken-down road pitted with asphalt and sand. It was a clean and straight path to the city, just a bumpy ride.

“So… Hero, how’s it feel to slay such a big monster?”

He winced at the title, which he was glad she didn’t see since she’d only have laughed. His friend shared whatever he wanted to. “Have you ever done anything to give you a reputation you can’t escape?”

That made her pause.

She frowned at him. “Are you using one of your questions here?”

That was the first time she insisted he use it—causing him to hesitate. Whatever came to her mind, and she didn’t want to answer. Was it worth spending one of them? Something was underneath the surface, but would it make her dislike him if he asked?

“Yes.”

Enide looked down and away from him, rubbing her thumb; the rest of the car had gone silent. The atmosphere shifted. Yniol shot Erec an angry look in the mirror, but this didn’t involve them. She knew about his background, and he wanted to know hers: the good and the bad. Too much of her was a mystery, and while she’d been open about the things that mattered. She tended to dance around in conversations, and he was often too blindsided to return to them. He wasn’t like Garin and couldn’t keep up that sort of social tango.

He wanted the truth from her.

“Ever heard of a vault dive?” Enide asked.

“No, as far as I'm aware, such a thing doesn’t exist in the Kingdom,” Erec replied.

“Enide, you don’t gotta—“ Yniol began to say.

“Sssh, it’s fine, y’know. Better anyway, especially since I owe him the question. But really, pops, I’m cool with it.” Enide waved her hand dismissively, settling in her seat. Her arms splayed out over the rest—one of them behind Erec’s back on the frayed cushion, her eyes trailing towards the sky. Without an actual roof to the car, it made for a great view. “…Anyways, a vault dive is one of those things you happen across if you’re lucky. Someone gets word on a vault to crack, and they hire out and sell tech.”

“So you raid old-world facilities, to the Kingdom, that’s forbidden tech. But I understand the appeal. I take it that’s where you got stuff like your las-rifle, right? And whatever else you’ve been sneaking around us.” Boldwick suspected as much, and VAL confirmed it a couple of days ago. Still, there was undoubtedly high-level tech they’d kept out of view since meeting the Knights, which given their association with the Church and the rumors that likely circulated about them, it was the most prudent choice.

“We do. The last dive we got a crack at was one our family stumbled on, and as anyone in the wastes would do, we wanted to keep it to ourselves. Our great opportunity to grow stronger,” Enide stopped and took a deep breath. “Only, it didn’t go so great. I was young, argued my way in, pops says I can be hard-headed, and my uncle had a bit of a soft spot…”

“Bless him,” Yniol added; Erec could’ve sworn he heard a sniffle.

“…So when—“ Enide cut herself off as her dad shed tears. She looked down. “…Aint like I’m trying to squirm out of the question…”

“I think… I understand where this is going; you can… Spare the details. I’m sorry for pressing you about this.”

“You asked, and I’m not one to go back on my word—the place went into lockdown, a voice called out over the facility, and began to yank us apart, run us through tests, til we started running outta food. No way out. For most people. That’s when my talent ignited, and I found the way to slip outta there… Only, couldn’t take anyone with me. Couldn’t get in after, either. Something changed.” Enide’s fingers shook. “So, when I look at that logo, right there on your chest. Forgive me, but slinger, I haven’t been quite so honest with you. That logo you have there’s the last thing I saw, all over everything in that vault. Vortex Industries.”