Chapter 9: Aftermath

Nathan sat on his bed staring blankly through the infirmary window. A third plate of breakfast remained beside him untouched for the third day. The battle against the Beast King had left him broken in many ways.

His face was pale and bags sat underneath his eyes. He hadn't slept or eaten since the mission.

Sindy and Andrew were also left in a depressing state. Thankfully, they weren't nearly as bad as Nathan.

"It's been three days and he hasn't even uttered a word, Andrew... He doesn't eat, sleep, or talk to anyone..! I-I don't know what I'm supposed to do for him!" Cried, Sindy.

"I'm sure he'll be fine eventually, princess!" Said Andrew with a smile. "Just give him some time and he'll be back to normal before you know it!"

"I don't understand how you can be so optimistic after what happened... After we were knocked unconscious, that monster killed everyone in the village... He didn't even spare the children!"

Andrew then gave a short laugh before responding, "We were just a bit too overconfident... But what's important is that we learn from this and move on, right?"

Sindy did not respond. Instead, she looked up at Andrew who had a broad smile placed across his lips. She didn't know why but seeing Andrew's smile made her even sadder.

Shortly after, Andrew began to walk out the door. This made Sindy a little confused as he did not state where he was going.

"Where are you going..?" She asked softly.

"I'm just going outside to get some fresh air. You should stay here with Nate in case he becomes responsive."

Andrew was usually a jovial person. He loved to make jokes even in the toughest situations, so it was no surprise that he was acting so optimistic. However, for some reason, Sindy had a tugging suspicion that something was wrong.

"Andrew, are you okay..?" She asked gently.

"I'm more than okay, princess. Pour your worries into your future husband over there. I'm sure he needs it a lot more than I do."

Before Sindy could even respond, Andrew disappeared through the door.

"Maybe I'm overthinking this... I guess Andrew really is okay..." She muttered to herself.

Not knowing what else to do, she picked herself up and took a seat beside Nathan. She needed to get him to at least eat his breakfast.

"Nate..?" Called Sindy softly. "Please talk to me... I'm worried about you. You know that I'm here for you, right? You can talk to me..!"

Unfortunately, her words simply flowed through one ear and exited through the next. Nathan was still lost in his failures.

Sindy then stretched her hand towards Nathan. She hoped that physical contact would be enough to at least get him to speak. However, this was when she was interrupted by a sudden knock on the door.

"Come in..." She said effortlessly.

Instructor Brady then stepped through the door with his usual sunglasses and cigar.

"How's he doing?" He asked calmly.

Sindy shook her head dimly in response.

Instructor Brady then slowly walked over before taking a seat on a bed next to Nathan's.

"Donna can cure physical wounds, but mental injuries aren't her specialty," continued the instructor.

"We failed instructor... We failed horribly..!"

"I'm to be blamed. I let that assassin distract me. I wasn't there when you all needed me the most. It was your first mission and your Instructor abandoned you to fight a powerful enemy by yourselves."

"You didn't abandon us! We're assassins now. It's our job to help those in need. I'm surprised that Alondo hasn't fired us yet for how horribly the mission went..."

"Alondo holds absolutely nothing against you three. Instead, he's mad at me for abandoning all of you. In fact, the guy's so mad that he put me on probation for an entire month! Can you believe that guy? Sheesh!"

Sindy found herself confused due to the Instructor's carefree tone. She couldn't understand how he was able to take it so easy after failing a mission that cost the lives of many innocent people.

"Instructor, how can you be so calm in a situation like this..?"

Before responding, the Instructor took a small lighter from his pocket and lit his cigarette;

"Simply because moping about it doesn't help. Look, Mindy, pain is meant to make you, not break you. It only breaks you if you allow it to. Instead, you should take all that negative energy and turn it into positivity."

"What..? How? I don't understand what's so positive about the situation..."

The instructor then took a long puff of his cigar before releasing a cloud of smoke into the air, "You see that cloud of smoke? It's normally considered unclean, right? However, that unclean cloud of smoke won't always be there. Eventually, the air that surrounds the smoke will accept its uncleanness and they will become one."

"So, you're saying that just like that cloud of smoke, our situation will one day disappear as well..?"

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"Yeah, Mindy. It's a lot like this; Instead of feeling down about all the people you failed to save, you should be thinking about how you're going to save the ones ahead of you. Pain and strength go hand in hand. You learn from the pain and use that newly acquired knowledge to make yourself a stronger person. Pain is a lot like a tool. If you know how to use it, you can fix yourself to become stronger. But if you fail to understand how to use it then you'll dismantle yourself."

Sindy paused to dissect what the Instructor had said. It was nothing she was familiar with but it was starting to make sense to her.

The Instructor then continued, "I've known you for just a little over a month and I can tell you're the kind of person to make sacrifices to help the people you care about. You're like a mother wolf that protects her family. Unlike Nathan and Andrew, I'm sure you're not afraid to kill if you're forced to do it. So the question is; what's your problem?"

"It's true that I'm not afraid. I did try to kill the Beast King when I fought him. I'm weak but it's more than that. I don't like the feeling I get when I'm forced to kill someone. It doesn't feel right..."

"You're right. It doesn't feel right because it ain't right. Someone should never have to take the life of another. It's inexcusable. Even if your reason is self-defense or saving someone you care about, it doesn't make it right. We just kill because we rationalize it to be the correct choice when in a predicament."

"But then-"

"BUT if you do decide to take another person's life, you don't have to like the feeling that comes with it. If you begin to like that feeling, then you're no different from the Beast King. You should always hate the feeling of bringing death upon another, but you must hate it while accepting it."

"I should hate and accept that I am doing something wrong..?"

Precisely... We'll all answer to the Gods one day for the things we've done. None of us are sin-free. But the moment you decided you would help Nathan shoulder his burden was the moment you also accepted the bloodshed that comes with it. Many more people will die no matter how strong you become. Just be sure that at the end of it all, you gave it your best shot."

Sindy's eyes then widened as she began to understand the bigger picture. Killing was not right because no one was born with the authority to take someone else's life. That's the reason she felt so disgusted with herself whenever she thought about killing. The important thing was to know that whatever choice she made, she was willing to accept the consequences that came with it.

"Thanks, Instructor... I think I understand a bit more now. At least some of it... You're trying to tell me that I have to find the answers as I go."

The Instructor grinned, "Hmph! Smart as ever, Mindy!"

Sindy nodded with determination. She also wanted to grow stronger. She realized that this world was not a game. It was their new reality and the faster they adapted to it was the better.

"By the way, Mindy, did Andrew tell you that he was planning to go on a high-classed mission tomorrow with permission from Alondo?"

Sindy froze like a block of ice. Andrew had not mentioned anything about going on a mission to her. Why hadn't he told her something so important?

"What..? No, he didn't!"

"Tsk! It's a dangerous mission yet Alondo permitted him to go so there's nothing I can do to stop him."

"We need to at least do something!"

"I agree but since I'm on probation, I can't help... The next best thing would be for you to go after him."

"As in to join him on the mission..?"

"Yeah, you can ask Alondo. I'm sure he'll allow it. He's quite fond of you three."

"But why would Andrew do this without saying anything to me anyway..? I don't get it..."

"I'm not sure either but it might be a hidden feeling of vengeance. There's a chance he wants to find the Beast King and take revenge for what happened. Seeing how you and Nathan were after that last mission, it doesn't seem too farfetched for him to want to make the Beast King pay for hurting you two."

Sindy pondered for a short moment. She now realized that her earlier feeling of worry was for good reason. She needed to stop Andrew.

She wished she could change Alondo's mind about sending Andrew on the upcoming mission but she was certain that wouldn't work. Once Alondo made a decision, it meant that he gave the decision lots of thought. Due to this, it was near impossible to change his mind whenever he decided on something. Sindy's best bet was joining the mission and putting a stop to Andrew from there.

Though the situation seemed depressing, Sindy smiled. She couldn't allow herself to give up as the Instructor had explained to her. She had to turn her negativity into positivity.

"Don't worry, Instructor Brady! I promise that I'll go on the mission tomorrow and stop Andrew!"

"Hehe! That's the spirit, Mindy!"

Sindy then quickly scooted over to Nathan and began whispering in his ear. Though she couldn't do much for him, she still wanted to give him a few words of encouragement before she left.

"You may be in pain right now... You might not even hear a word I'm saying, but I don't care. Because I promise you that next time I'll protect you! I'll always be by your side, Nate. You mean the world to me and it pains me to see you like this. So I promise that I'll do everything I can to protect you. Simply because I love you."

Sindy then arose from the bed feeling rejuvenated. She had accepted what happened and refused to let it keep her down.

"So where are you heading now, Mindy?" Asked the Instructor with a grin.

"The mission's tomorrow but it doesn't hurt to get some training in until then."

Instructor Brady nodded in approval as Sindy left the room. He felt a little accomplished knowing that his words had gotten through to her.

The instructor then picked himself up and began to exit the room as well. However, before he left, he turned to take one last look at the depressed Nathan, "Two down, one more to go. But I doubt even I could get through to him. I'll just let Alondo handle it," he muttered to himself.

He then slowly placed his cigar back onto his lips and walked off into the noisy lobby.

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