Ren

“I will fillet your skin once I hamstring your pathetic corpse from the tree,” snarled a demonic knight in black armor as he lifted up his bloodied war mace pointing it at the white armored knight.

They were both standing in a field of two foot-high tall grass with about 20 dead demon knights in black armor and 40 dead human knights in gray armor. Most of the human knights were torn apart, sliced to ribbons, or burnt to ash. The dead demon knights had multiple spears, arrows, axes, and broken swords in them. The wind howled as the night sky whisked on unaffected by the minuscule battle below.

The lone, surviving demon knight’s armor was jagged and intimidating. There was no face underneath the dark helmet. Only two piercing, red eyes shined out like flames from the thin eye slit. His unnaturally large hand was gripping his jagged war mace as it dripped blood. He was nearly 14 ft tall. Recently made scratches and fresh wounds between the articulations of his armor were all over his body as his bright red blood slowly oozed out of him. His left arm was cut off from the forearm down and the stump was cauterized. His breathing was heavy as he tried to show an air of confidence and strength despite the searing pain of his wounds.

Across from him was a skinny, athletic human in custom, all white armor with a Corinthian style helmet. The armor was lightweight and functional for quick and rapid movements, particularly for those who are flexible. A slash of blood splatter adorned the front breastplate. The left shoulder pauldron was ripped off revealing a white gambeson with a deep gash of blood. Within the slash of the gambeson, there was the faintest amount of pale skin that shined almost like snow in the moonlight. The knight was steadily holding a katana in both hands. Instead of gauntlets, the knight wore fingerless white gloves with padding. The knight’s breathing was steady and calm.

The demon knight growled, “Yours and mine are all dead! Why not end things?”

“…”

“You think because you are silent you are strong? Smart? You have no chance of killing me! The other demons were imps in comparison! I’m a being of destruction! You are nothing, but human filth!”

“…”

“So be it, human… But know this… No MAN can ever kill me,” the demon knight said with venom.

The white knight gripped the katana tightly and raised it forward unbothered by the words. The white knight stuck a middle finger at the demon knight.

The demon knight chuckled and said in a whisper, “A brave fool you are… No matter. You have my respect for you are no coward.”

The demon knight charged forward shaking the ground with each stride it took. The white knight stood ready and timed the charge perfectly matching speed with the demon knight. Both lunged forward with the demon knight screaming something unnatural as it swung its mace. The white knight remained silent. A bright flash of white light and a large splatter of blood showered the tall grass. The tips of the grass were sliced in a near perfect, horizontal line. There was no sound from either of them as the wind howled. The white knight stood still resting in a forward lunge with the katana at the bottom of a fast swing. The demon knight stood still for a moment in a mirrored position away from the white knight. A violent coughing of blood shot out of the demon’s helmet like a leaky faucet.

A loud and pathetic thud was heard as the white knight stood straight up taking a deep sigh. The demon knight fell on his back with his right arm sliced off and part of his stomach slashed open in a clean line on his right side. He was still alive, though not for long. He began to curse in demonic speech as the white knight slowly walked over pointing the end of the katana at the demon knight’s throat.

The demon knight yelled out, “You can never kill me human! No MAN can kill me”

“I know,” said the white knight in a calm and feminine voice that surprised the demon knight.

“It can’t be… Clever… So you’re the one to end my life?”

“…”

“I’ll wait for you in hell!”

“I know,” she responded coldly.

She took off her helmet revealing a beautiful face with almond-shaped, violet eyes, short white hair slicked-back with a cowlick over her left eye, and a faint scar running down her left cheek like a lightning bolt. Her hair flowed in the wind as she stared with annoyed eyes at the demon knight. She stabbed the demon knight in the throat watching the red eyes fade away into darkness as his body disintegrated. His armor rested on the ground with a hollow thud.

She looked up at the moon and sighed tiredly as she tried to slow her breathing. She peered across the windy field noting all the dead. A feeling of sadness and pity crept along her spine making her shudder. She instantly pushed that feeling away and wiped the blade of her katana with a rag and sheathed it to her side. She proceeded to throw up after the fighting was all done. She immediately recovered and straightened herself up upon hearing muffled grunting a few yards away from her.

There was an injured, young knight failing to sit up as he was holding his stomach. His left arm was crudely patched up with bandages and his shield was shattered next to him. Blood was dripping from his broken nose and he was wheezing pathetically. She gently knelt down and put his head in her lap. He smiled forgetting he was in pain upon seeing her.

“An angel,” he whispered.

He was a young man. 18 years old. Recently made knight fresh from the academy. No combat experience until now. First ever encounter with demons. He had messy brown hair and blue eyes that were slowly dimming away.

She tore off his breastplate and made a quick slice with a silver pocket knife into his under shirt exposing his chest and stomach. She cleaned his wound with water and gently wrapped a bandage around the jagged gash. She knew it was a fatal wound. His liver was pierced and severely lacerated. Even if she was able to patch him up, she knew that infection would set in.

He said thankfully through tears of pain, “Major Ren… Sorry I got in the way. Thank you.”

“It’s okay. You did good for your first fight. You all did,” Ren replied laconically. “I’m sorry the cleric is dead. He tried to… Well, you know.”

“He was a dumbass kid like me, eh… OW! I’m sorry… Hurts to talk. The bloody arrows pierced right through! Shite!”

“Then hush. I’ll hold you.”

“Sorry… Sorry,” he said profusely. He looked up at the stars and his face turned into a harsh seriousness. He asked, “I’m dying aren’t I, major?”

“Yes,” Ren responded bluntly.

She brushed his hair from his eyes and looked at him knowing that there was nothing she could do. He recognized it too. His eyes welled up and a tear streamed down. She took her gloves off and placed her warm hands on his cheeks as her own way of comforting him. Her face remained unemotional, but her eyes revealed deep empathy. Thomas saw this in her piercing eyes and felt assured.

He smiled and said, “Everyone told me you were a legendary ghost who didn’t care for others. ‘Everyone around you dies in combat and you show no remorse,’ they said… Like piercing arrows, emotions pass right through you… I always knew you did care. That’s why you fought so hard.”

“Thomas… You need to rest.”

“Major… I know I’m done… I can see it in your eyes… I maybe young and dumb, but I’m not stupid or naïve… Promise me, major.”

“…”

“Promise me that you'll make sure their deaths weren’t meaningless… Please?”

“What about yours?”

“Mine doesn’t matter. Everyone else’s does… They were better men,” he said with a groan. His left hand reached into his pants pocket and he pulled out a bloodied, folded note. He said with gritted teeth, “Please! Give this to… My mother and father.”

“I shall,” Ren said grabbing the note.

She held his head and adjusted her seating to have her legs straightened out. She kept looking at him whilst brushing the hair from his eyes. There was a calming peace between the two. The clouds parted as the bright stars shined down along with the moonlight. The light cascaded over the two like a spotlight on a dark stage.

He sighed out, “Can you please do me one more thing?”

“Yes.”

“Sing that one song for me… That one song you always hum when you were checking on us at night,” he asked earnestly. “Please, ma’am?”

“Everyone knew?”

“We all secretly loved that song. It helped calm us down at night… Please, can you?”

“Okay,” Ren said softly. “Okay, Thomas.”

The faintest of smiles crept out on her stoic face as her eyes narrowed. She closed her eyes and looked up. She began to hum a sweet song about being with your loved ones in a central lands dialect only found in the country of Odai inside the Evandrian Empire. He smiled as he closed his eyes imagining what the words meant. He was at peace.

Thomas quietly said, “Thank you, Ren.”

She finished her song and stared at the starry night noting a shooting star dash across the black sky. A calming peace vibrated in her and she almost produced a thin smile, but forced it to go away. She looked down noticing the color from Thomas’ face had disappeared. She checked his pulse. There was nothing. Only his tears and smile remained on his cold face. Ren leaned down and gently kissed his forehead. She held his hands for a few moments and gently laid them across his chest.

“Rest easy,” she whispered.

She stood up and pulled out an arcane-powered messaging stone from her pocket. She wiped her eyes quickly and said flatly into the stone as it glowed green, “This is Major Ren. Echo company 501st… Sector Omega is secure. All enemy have been defeated… Multiple casualties… Cleric and CO are dead as well. Twenty one enemy dead. Forty dead on ours… About ten clicks North from Hammer base. Need medical transport and four empty wagons… How copy?”

“Copy, Major… Damnit… Sigh… Relief is on the way. Fifteen minutes. Hold position until then.”

“Copy, commander,” Ren said into the glowing stone putting it into her pocket. “Fuck.”

She walked around grabbing all the nameplates from the dead human knights. She grabbed a blood stained notebook and pencil from the dead captain’s bag and took detailed notes of what transpired. Once she was done, she sat on a protruding boulder near the small battlefield. She took off her belt, harness, and katana from her side. She finished her canteen and gently placed it down next to her.

She tucked her knees into her chest as she dipped her head down. The wind howled deafening everything as the blades of grass and the leaves in the trees swayed rapidly. A painful lump formed in her throat. Her façade of tough stoicism crumbled. Like a spear to the gut, Ren’s true emotions poured out of her. Ren cried as quietly as she could, but to no avail. Her anguished cries echoed into the apathetic wind.

Just another day of demon killing. That’s all this battle was. Just another day and another lost platoon under her command. Nothing more.