MM - Chapter 186 - WHY WE FIGHT

Celeste Luu Rahn

- Continued -

If there was anything Celeste enjoyed about dying, it was the dark, empty space she was taken to each time. It only lasted a few minutes, but the quiet, comfortable darkness gave time to consider her mistakes while the memories were fresh. Her eyes drifted to a close, a deep breath filling her lungs.

She'd fucked up bad this time. As more and more people joined ZionLine, the need for low-level gear skyrocketed. Currently, every piece was selling at a premium on the I.S. The good ones were going for over a thousand credits. For the average person, that was two months' salary. The 5k pieces of gear she just lost were… a lot of credits.

No. It’s worse than that. They aren’t gone; they’re being used to make our enemies stronger.

Celeste jerked her thoughts back into focus. She couldn’t allow herself to wonder which item she lost. She wouldn't know until reviving and gaining access to her interface again. If she started thinking about it, it would consume her, and the more useful thoughts she needed to process would be abandoned.

It had never been more blatant that spies were watching Astra’s every move. Their ambush had been too perfectly placed and timed. She'd even altered which detachments were moving out at the last minute, and their route, yet it was all in vain. They knew exactly where her people would be and when.

Raine created their guild contracts… I don’t understand why he didn’t include a penalty for betrayal. Mine sure has a hundred of them. He must have a plan. He’s always two or three steps ahead. Even in a situation he doesn’t expect, somehow, he has two or three contingencies in place. Being a seer is such a cheat.

She was now solidly off the fence; not having Alaric around to lead them sucked. At the same time, she didn't want to see his face. He was going to be so disappointed in her. Once more, Celeste had to force her thoughts back to what was important. Lately, thinking about Raine was a bottomless hole that constantly tried to suck her into torpid ambiguity.

Replaying her death caused Celeste to suck air through her teeth. She easily could have survived those charging bastards by fighting slightly more efficiently. A combination of spreading out her Lunges to conserve Discipline and using the chargers to bodyblock each other would have done it. After regrouping with the core group, they would have been unstoppable. 

Now, Celeste couldn’t even check if the rest of them made it out alive. Something told her they didn’t. Rising Endlessly had come prepared. They’d probably watched every fight her people had been in till now, devising a perfect counter to each of them.

I should never have led us into that situation to begin with. Why didn’t we change directions randomly more often? Traveling in a straight line just to reduce the complexity of the monster rushes we have to face is idiotic. Fighting more only makes us stronger; it shouldn’t be avoided, but sought out, simultaneously reducing the chances of an ambush.

I could have grouped up with the others straight away instead of running off on my own. I’ve gotten too used to flying solo and putting out fires.

Celeste fell onto her back, limbs spread wide as she focused on breathing through the crushing dissatisfaction. She stayed there until a mechanical timer appeared in the air above. As it counted down from ten, she hopped to her feet, standing tall. No matter what, she couldn't allow the recruits to see her vulnerability. With two seconds left, she slapped her cheeks, hard.

The sting was the last thing she felt before appearing in the Mirror Lake Town graveyard. A blast of commotion assaulted her ears. Thousands of people, her people, were all around, many trying to shout over the others.

“I’m telling you, it's pointless!”

“Man, I thought you would have my back. You ran like a bitch weasel! You have any idea how much it hurts to get a spear up the ass?!”

“At least they killed you in one go! I had my legs ripped off and had to lie there till I bled to death!”

Celeste barely registered what they were saying. Her focus was glued to her interface. Her heart froze upon finding her staff gone. Then, she nearly collapsed from relief when she saw that her boots were as well.

[Level down! -9 free attribute points]

[Finesse: -3]

[Connection: -8]

Her staff had been removed and placed in her inventory since she was no longer able to equip it. The boots she dropped were only level 20 Common Greys. An expensive loss to be sure, but nothing compared to the staff.

The clamor and disorder snapped back into focus as Celeste equipped older, lower-level boots and closed her interface. Since there was still so much chaos, it was clear Rhino hadn’t died yet. That meant bringing a semblance of order was up to her this time. 

Before she could begin, a particularly egregious voice rose above the crowd. “You should have listened! Alaric abandoned us. He doesn’t give a shit if we die a hundred times. Everything he said was a lie. He’s not going to teach us anything. Just like all the other dojos out there, this guild is a scam waiting to happen.”

Celeste saw red and moved without hesitation. Suffering, complaints, disagreement, frustration, and even speaking out in anger, she could abide. But no one who spoke ill of Raine would escape her unscathed. Subconscious killing intent erupted from her, slicing through the crowd and sending dozens to their knees. They clutched their skulls as a banshee screamed bloody murder directly into their brains. 

The speaker was of average height and build, making him both taller and larger than her. In ZionLine, such differences meant nothing. Only attributes mattered here. The man was holding his head while searching for the source of the scream. Celeste grabbed his shoulder and roughly spun him the rest of the way around. Her hands found the collar of his armor, and she hoisted him into the air with deplorable ease.

“You want to die again? Say that again! I fucking dare you!” Celeste gave him less than a second to reiterate the bold accusation before shaking him fiercely, rattling him inarticulate. “Where do you think the armor you’re wearing came from? The sword at your hip? The twelve thousand credits for your headset?!”

With the beginning of her rant, Celeste’s mental ability flicked off. The crowd was silent, staring at her with wide eyes, many learning for the first time that she even had one. They all knew that in the outside world, using mental abilities was considered assault. What they didn’t know was whether that was the same in a ZionLine town. If it were, Crimson Nebula would soon be in a cell, and they would be without a leader.

When the guards didn’t show up to accost her, the man’s expression turned thunderous. “Crazy bitch! You’d even attack your allies? Let me go! I’m done. Fuck you. Fuck this guild, and fuck Alaric!”

Just like all the others in her past, the man proved he was scum. The minute he didn’t get what he wanted, he revealed the nasty truth hiding under the surface. Celeste dropped him with a sneer, not wanting to touch his filth a moment longer. “Good. Get lost. Astra doesn’t need ungrateful cowards.”

Before the man rose to his feet, the exit clause of his contract triggered. His gear was unequipped and transferred to Celeste’s inventory, then he was forcefully ejected from ZionLine. Morty’s drones would deal with him in the outside world, making sure he didn’t cause more trouble on the way out. By this point, the AI was used to it. The man wasn’t the first to quit, nor would he be the last. 

He was, however, the first person Celeste had personally kicked from the guild. She had done everything possible to keep her people alive, and still, they left in droves. Of the original thirty thousand, a little over half remained. Yet no matter how Celeste justified the desertions, each one felt like another failure weighing on her shoulders. The man wasn’t alone. Others disappeared from the crowd, their equipment transferring back to her. In total, this latest cluster fuck cost them another 50 recruits.

Celeste slumped, head drooping. This was the largest mass-abandonment so far. What would Raine say when he returned to find a skeleton of the guild he’d left her with? Especially after giving her all the tools and equipment to succeed. Celeste could no longer deny reality; she’d failed.

Soft fingers on Celeste’s arm delivered irresistible strength. She was spun to find Mel wearing her typical, beaming smile. Celeste couldn’t understand how the older girl could wear such a positive expression at a time like this. Grabbing her by the shoulders, Mel forcefully straightened Celeste’s back. “Nice one! I can’t wait to see Alaric’s grin when he watches the vod I just took. You were so awesome! Do you even realize what you did?!”

“What?” Celeste wasn’t following. Her head felt fuzzy. Something was definitely wrong with her, but she didn’t know what. The only thing she could think of was how bizarre it was that none of what Mel said was delivered in a condescending tone. The girl was so sincere that Celeste wondered if she was dreaming. Which would be amazing, because that would mean they hadn’t just lost five thousand pieces of gear and a handful of members.

“You were 100% right. That douchenozzle was ungrateful and a coward. I’m glad you kicked him. Do you really think the Alaric we know would want someone like that in his guild? Not a chance! And you know better than anyone how fast he can get all the lost gear and levels back.” Mel leaned close, soft whisper tickling Celeste’s ear, “He left us here to fend for ourselves for a reason. He wants us to weed out the weak so he doesn’t have to do it himself. So, keep it up. You’re doing a great job.”

“I… I am?”

“You are.” A stern voice spoke from the side. Celeste recognized Bear from the dual hatchets hanging at his belt. The bearded man wore a stern frown, arms crossing as he nodded. “This is nothing. Dying in this world is only pain. And our enemies are nothing more than bullies that we’re too weak to beat on our own. As we are, we don’t deserve more of Alaric’s help.” Bear raised his voice, eyes ranging across those in sight, “Aren't you ashamed to beg for even more before we’ve managed to contribute in the least?”

Most nodded in agreement. Those who did had more fire blazing in their eyes than they did before dying. Celeste was struck by a fresh realization as she met their gazes one by one. They hadn’t given up, so how dare she admit defeat first? The fog in her head cleared as the sting of withheld tears threatened.

Never again.

Celeste’s chin lifted as determination blazed in her chest. So long as even one member of Astra Infernum stood tall, she would be there beside them.

If Mel is right, then getting everyone to the next town doesn’t actually matter. If that’s the case…

Celeste shook her head, clearing the last cobwebs. Her voice rose, vigorous and laced with venom. “We’re weak… untrained, undisciplined, and disorganized, and CronGate knows it. But they still needed to outnumber us ten to one before they were willing to show up for a fight! They even brought outsiders to help… We might be weak, but doesn’t their fear prove they still think we’re stronger?”

Having their attention now, Celeste let them hear the fire building in her breast. “They’ve been hounding us since the beginning, picking us off from the shadows. Enough is enough! Screw getting to Hammer Smith Town! Let’s take the fight to them for a change. I bet those fuckers are throwing a big party right now, celebrating their cheap victory. Let’s pay them a visit, and we might as well get our gear back while we’re there… plus interest.”

Gripping weapons and grinning like maniacs, her new family threw their heads back in approval. “Raaargh!”