Guardians of The Damned-Chapter 27: Trickery

Liquid seeped from Puffy, forming into Goo Han beside me.

"That ended well," he said.

"Yeah. Kind of unexpected."

I stopped Puffy and ordered it to idle.

"What are you gonna do with him?"

"I wanted to kill him," I admitted, looking at the unconscious Moose. "But killing someone who's already out cold... just feels wrong."

I let out a sigh.

"Your way of thinking is scary, Sunny. Let's just tie him up somewhere."

I nodded and called the others. Told Miem to stop her dragon—our last resort if Moose went berserk. She complied. The beast pulled back its breath and landed, shaking the ground.

"Hakku."

"Need help?"

"Give him something that'll keep him knocked out."

"Got it."

Hakku approached Moose, scanning the ground before picking a few stones. Goo Han stood beside him, curious.

"Len, what's your status?" I asked through the watch.

Only silence.

My chest tightened.

[He's somewhere better,] came a woman's voice.

"...He's dead?" I asked, too calmly. My eyes, though, were burning.

[Aren't you too calm? Your friend just died.]

"I know. I'll make you regret that."

[How scary~] she mocked, then cut the line.

"What now?" Miem asked.

"We retrieve the device ourselves."

"You know where they are?"

"East. We need to move before they vanish."

I turned toward Goo Han—and froze.

Moose's body shot upright. A plasma blast fired at point-blank.

Hakku flinched, too close to dodge. Goo Han reacted on instinct, shoving Hakku aside—and took the hit himself. The plasma pierced straight through his chest.

"Goo Han!" I shouted.

As if triggered by my voice, Puffy surged forward, blade raised, slashing Moose down. But before the blade landed, Moose smiled.

"No..." I whispered. Disbelief drowned my voice. I stared at him, stunned.

Hakku and Miem rushed to Goo Han, trying to treat him—even though they already knew it was useless.

I called Puffy off. It couldn't cut Moose deep enough, but it had done damage.

Moose coughed blood. His breathing slowed. He was at his limit. Our eyes locked.

"Aren't you going to kill me?" he rasped.

I crouched, leveling my gaze with his. I grabbed his thigh, tightening my grip.

"Going to crush it? Your sword couldn't even cut me—what makes you think—"

"You'll have to pay," I said. Then I squeezed harder.

He screamed.

Good.

Blood splattered as I crushed his thigh, tearing it off with brute force. His screams didn't shake me. Not anymore.

I tossed the leg aside and reached for the other one.

"Please... no more," he begged.

"We're just getting started."

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Blood hit the dirt, bounced onto my clothes. I crushed the other leg.

"Kill me already," he panted, soaked in pain.

"Too merciful."

I moved to his arms—ripped them off too. Now he was just a head and a torso.

"Sunny," Miem called, her voice tight. "Goo Han's dead."

"I'm sorry," Hakku added, eyes low.

I stood still. Then walked toward Goo Han.

We only knew each other for a year, but we clicked. In this job, you know it's either you or them. I'd accepted that. Or thought I had.

But when it actually happened...

F*ck.

A tear slid down my face, falling onto his cheek.

I wrapped his body in smoke and solidified it.

As for Moose? Death was too kind. I hung what was left of him under a tree, sword hovering beside him. Every few seconds, it'd stab his liver again.

"Let's regroup with Eve and the others," I said. No one objected.

"Can we even finish the mission?" Hakku asked.

Half the team was dead. And two more factions—Rinesse and Scarecrow—stood in our way.

I hated thinking this, but if Vie showed up saying she made a deal, I wouldn't mind.

Not that I'd count on anyone else.

I 'saw' the remaining members. Eve was alive, surrounded by three Honors. But in the next instant, they turned on each other. Two died.

I wasn't surprised.

Next, I found Dre. He was alive, facing off with an orange flame.

...Weird. He left and came back? I frowned.

The orange flame suddenly bolted out of the mist. Fast. Suspiciously fast. But I let it go. I'd ask Dre myself.

I summoned hoverboards, and we picked him up. He was badly beaten.

Hakku jumped off and shoved food into Dre's mouth. His wounds began to heal immediately.

"Thanks, Hakku. Wait—where's Goo Han? Wasn't he with you?"

Hakku looked away. Regret, pain, and sorrow flashed in his eyes. Dre understood.

"Damn it. Who else?"

"Len. Ned."

"For real? They were top-tier... Are we *sure* this was just a Grade A+ mission? Three Honors are dead! Are we seriously going to keep going? We're barely holding on!"