月亮播放器

Chapter 135: Atop The Mountain

The Commander moved away from the center of the area, once again walking, climbing, crouching, and crawling.

She arrived at the edge of the cliff, but couldn’t get herself to start climbing down the mountain.

The one time she had climbed it down, had been with a Tsero Crystal in hand. It had cost the lives of dozens, but the objective of their quest had been accomplished.

“Tsk.” Roka clicked her tongue, unable to start descending the mountain. She let go of the bag in her hand and lay down both the snipe rifle on her back and the shotgun she had been holding.

The Commander took a seat on the smooth and flat surface of a fallen crystalline structure. She stared at the ground for a while, fidgeting with her hands together, and raised her gaze towards the dark clouds that surrounded the peak of the mountain.

Red, green, blueish. All sorts of lights could be noticed, appearing suddenly, and disappearing just as suddenly.

Many or one, Paru or not…

A mission that took more than a year…

“It’s just…” Roka clenched her teeth, lowering her gaze to the ground. “Impossible now.”

Her frustration and annoyance only grew.

She wanted to blame it on someone. Anyone.

The Paru seemed the simplest one to blame.

But even he, Roka couldn’t bring herself to blame.

“We would have died on Tyl. We would have been unable to… If anything, he bought us time. I…”

She tried to blame her people. She tried to blame the countless Soldiers who refused to join the mission, judging it suicidal. She tried to blame… But in the end,

Drip- Drip-

On her expressionless and twitching face, tears slowly flowed down.

“Fuck…”

In the end, she could only blame herself. And Roka judged doing so right, as she was the Commander.

“I kept calling them useless… But in the end, I’m-”

Roka’s eyes suddenly widened as her ears twitched.

She immediately reached for one of the guns on her holster belt and turned towards the edge of the cliff.

The same sound resonated.

‘Something…’

It was clear now.

‘Is climbing…?’

Roka quickly judged the distance separating her from the cliff, and hearing the sound get a bit louder each time,

‘If it keeps going at the same speed, it’ll appear… In four seconds…’

The Commander took a deep breath in, keeping her finger on the trigger.

She counted down, the sound coming from just below the cliff growing clearer and louder.

‘Ha…?’

A second early, something emerged.

It dangled, and lazily moved from right to left.

“That’s…?”

It was a tentacle.

Roka’s eyes narrowed.

‘She’s not going to shoot, is she?’ The Paru asked himself, his whole body remaining hidden by the cliff, except for the tentacles exiting the two upper holes on his back that moved lazily and waved. ‘She’s not the type to shoot right away but… You never know.’

The Paru had seen Roka wait before shooting Cryna Hurna. He had seen her wait until the last moment to make sure the shot was fatal. This allowed him to show himself without worrying that Roka would shoot instinctively.

“What… Are you doing here?” Roka asked, furrowing her brows as the Paru’s body became visible.

He stood up, and dusted himself.

Roka scratched her head, confused by the Paru’s sudden appearance.

“Well, whatever it is you’re doing…” She sighed. “It’s worthless. I’m not sure how you got here but… Hm. Did Raya send you?”

The Paru shook his head.

“Well, whatever.” Roka shrugged. “It’s time to go back.”

Just as she was about to stand up, the Paru took a seat.

He sat in front of her, facing the dark clouds and the cliff.

“Want to stay here for a bit?” Roka asked, looking at his side and back. “I guess we can do that.” She sighed.

The two sat in silence for a moment.

A couple of silent minutes passed, and Roka’s gaze moved away from him.

“I really thought I could do it, you know?” She whispered, gazing at the dark clouds surrounding the peak. “I really thought I could get the Tsero Crystal, save the people… I thought that I could be a Hero.”

The Paru listened carefully but didn’t react.

“It could have worked. In the right circumstances… With enough luck, it could’ve worked. I just needed enough time to get to the center, and get away from the center. A two-hundred-meter sprint done twice. That’s all it would take. Even brought these rods to attract their attention… But no matter how I look at it, it’s just… It’s just…”

As her facial expression darkened, the Paru turned towards her, which caused Roka to pull back and chuckle, embarrassed.

“Nevermind. I’m being pretty pathetic, aren’t I?” Roka stood up and so did the Paru. “I wanted to be a Hero, as all females do. In the end, I’m unable to do it properly.” She turned around, bending to take hold of the weapons she had cast aside. “It’s pathetic, but we will need to do it the way that we did before. It’s even more pathetic… That I let myself think it could go differently than-”

Roka pulled back, surprised by the sudden appearance.

By the time that she grabbed her weapons and turned back towards the Paru, he had closed the distance separating them.

Before Roka could react, the Paru’s hand moved, and lay on her hand.

She raised her chin, allowing her gaze to connect with his.

“What are you doing?” Roka chuckled. “Comforting me or something? I don’t need that. Ha! I’m the Commander.”

The Paru gently patted her head.