Point-of-View: Inoka Fonseka
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"Huh, cool, I’ve never been to Arica before," I remarked dryly.
"Well, take in the sights, because we won’t be here long," Replied Neo with a stifled yawn, seeming pretty chill and laidback.
His attitude suggests that we’re in for a super easy and/or boring mission here, but of course, there’s no way I can tell for sure since he hasn’t told a single thing about what we’re supposed to do here!
"Uh-huh, noted. By the way, are you going to tell what this mission’s actually about, or am I going to be left in the dark the whole ti?" I inquired with a sigh.
"Oh, right. I deliberately didn’t give Kiyana the details, because the other Outliers might have reacted negatively to such an assignnt. I picked you to co along with because I figured that you’re the least naive of the bunch. In different ways, the others are still a bit childish," He responded bluntly, his carefree deanor fading a bit...wait, was he just putting on an act this whole ti?
Could that an that this is a mission he’s nervous about? Nah, probably not, he was probably just trying to look cool or sothing...
"Well, I can’t say that I disagree, but to be fair, Zoraiz and Alexis are still teenagers, and Aurora lived apart from human society for most of her life. Anyway, the details of this mission?" I prompted him expectantly.
"Right, guess I should inform you...first, tell , what do you think happens when a ta-Human and normal human hook up and conceive?" He asked in response.
Uh...what does that have to do with any of this?
"Huh? Uh, I suppose their child would be a mix of both?" I guessed uncertainly.
"Correct. However, the powers they develop will be very unstable, nearly impossible to control. Such children prove to be a danger to themselves and those around them," He explained grimly.
"Why, though? I an, we Outliers were regular humans, but our powers aren’t unstable, right?" I pointed out with a raised eyebrow.
Damn it, I’m starting to get an idea of what this mission might entail, and I don’t like it...
"I don’t quite understand it, but all recorded cases of such instances have been the sa. Therefore, ta-Humans are forbidden from impregnating or getting impregnated by regular humans. Because if it does happen, well...we have no choice but to eliminate everyone involved."
Oh...ohhh...
So, that’s why he didn’t share the details of this mission till just now. Yeah, I can’t imagine that the others would have been okay with this.
Aurora even hesitated to kill people in shooting gas at first, and while the other two can be pretty pessimistic towards most things, they’re surprisingly pure-hearted once you get to know them, despite their upbringings.
, on the other hand, I can remain indifferent to most atrocities, I rarely feel anything when I hear about tragedies and stuff. When it cos down to it, I’d definitely say that I’m the most cold-hearted of the four...well, unless the others have hidden aspects to themselves that I’m unaware of, I suppose.
But still, this is a bit much, even for ...hearing about horrible things happening and actually doing horrible things myself are two completely different things.
"So, what you’re saying is, in addition to the ta-Human who broke this rule, we have to kill their partner and child too?" I responded apprehensively, shrinking back a bit.
"Yeah, that’s right. Don’t worry, you can leave the actual killing part to . See, the higher ups determined that you Outliers need to gain two things...real field experience, and an understanding of the darker side of what we do," He inford , averting his gaze a bit.
"So, I guess that ans this kind of thing happens often, huh?" I remarked with a grimace.
"No, not particularly...but it definitely does happen, there’s probably several such cases unknown to us. After all, it’s not like we can keep track of every single ta-Human all the ti. This is the third ti I’ve been assigned a mission like this one," He said with a slightly bitter look.
"Third ti, huh. Must be rough."
"No, not really, I’m...I’m used to it. Anyway, regarding this mission, about two years ago, one of our Category 1s suddenly disappeared, we just assud that he was captured or killed by Eden. But a couple of days ago, one of our mbers spotted him in a supermarket, followed him and found him living in a relatively secluded house in the woods, along with a woman and a child. The woman is a normal human, but the child has a slight Aura. This was reported to the higher ups, and here we are."
Here we are, huh?
"You were probably right in that I’m the least likely to put up a fuss about sothing like this, but...it just doesn’t sit right with ," I frowned in response.
"Yeah, either. But if I refuse to take on this mission, it’ll simply be assigned to soone else. And so of the more, shall we say, supremacist ta-Humans can be quite cruel and brutal in these missions. I try to kill them as quickly and painlessly as possible...yes, that probably doesn’t make it any better, but it’s better than them suffering unnecessarily, right?" He pointed out...it was faint, but his expression was wavering slightly, most people probably wouldn’t even have noticed...
It’s clear that he’s not happy with this assignnt either...in that case, there’s no point in complaining to him about it, I’ll just keep my reservations to myself...
"I get it, you don’t need to convince . I’m definitely against this, but I understand that there’s no point in trying to talk you out of it, that would only delay the inevitable at best. Let’s just...let’s just get this over with, okay?" I sighed in reply.
"Right...let’s go."
...
A little while later, we’d arrived at the spot where the ta-Human and his family were living. It was quite secluded, and a fair distance away from the nearest town.
This ta-Human knew that Harmony would be after him if they found out, so he must have decided to live out here with his family...the house looks a bit old, maybe it was an abandoned building before that was renovated?
And then, as the front door creaked open, a woman walked out, with a watering can in her hand, humming a tune with a smile on her face. She walked over to a flowerbed near the house and began watering the growing flowers. I then used Perception to check her out...okay, she’s just a normal human.
She was pretty, with flowing red hair, green eyes, a slender figure and a fair complexion. She looked young too, she might be around my age or even younger. She looked so happy and peaceful, blissfully unaware of the imminent danger she was in...
"Honey, don’t leave the door open, we don’t want any mosquitoes flying into the house," Ca a man’s voice, before erging from the house with an exasperated smile, along with a toddler in his arms.
Is that the ta-Human? He looks pretty young himself...he had dium-length blonde hair, green eyes, a mole below his right eye, and a smile on his face. Huh, his appearance...he kinda reminds of soone. And he’s got an Aura, he’s the ta-Human we’re after...
"Hehe, sorry, darling, I was a bit lost in the clouds," Replied the woman with a sheepish laugh.
I then glanced at Neo, my eyes widening in surprise as I got a look at his expression...his eyes were trembling, his teeth chattering slightly and it sounded like he was forcing himself to keep his breathing calm. His breathing was slow and deliberate, like he was trying not to let himself panic.
He then bit down on his lower lip with a slow exhale as he closed his eyes, before opening them with a look of determination, but the hint of sorrow in his eyes didn’t disappear.
He then raised his right hand with his index finger pointing at the woman, before raising his left and pointing it at the child, as small orbs of fire ford at his fingertips.
"Damn it...," He muttered under his breath, before remarking quietly as he took aim, "Pyro Skill:...Piercing Fla."
He then fired out the charged up fire orbs in rapid, narrow beams, which pierced through the heads of the woman and child, killing them instantly before eliciting a cry of pain from the man as the beam which killed the child pierced through his right shoulder.
As he collapsed onto his knees with a pained expression while clutching his shoulder, he then froze as he saw his son’s lifeless body in his arms, his eyes widening in horror as he saw the hole scorched through his head.
His gaze then silently shifted to his wife, an inaudible gasp escaping his lips as he shook his head in denial, his body shaking.
"H-honey...? N-no, it can’t be...Mary! J-John, open your eyes, p-please! Mary, y-you have to get up! C-co on...you can’t be...please, no!" He wailed in despair, scrambling towards his wife while clutching his son close to his chest, tears streaming down his eyes and nostrils.
He didn’t even seem to notice the pain in his shoulder anymore, as he reached his wife and slowly lifted her head up, before letting out a sob, his tears dripping onto her face and streaming down onto the grass, as the fallen watering can overflowed the flowerbed.
"Th-this is just...it’s just too cruel...," I whispered as I felt a tightness in my chest.
I...I don’t even know these people, but that didn’t matter...the scene playing out before was far too heartbreaking for that to matter...
"I’m...I’m begging you, please wake up! Please!" He yelled desperately, his voice cracking and trembling.
"Ti to end this...," Mumbled Neo, as he fired out another piercing beam at the man.
But right as he fired, the man inadvertently lowered his head as he reached down and hugged the corpses of his family, stiffening as the beam grazed the back of his neck.
And then, he went silent, as he slowly lowered their bodies onto the grass, before standing up and shifting his gaze over to where we were.
"I...I know you’re there. Co out, damn it...co out and face , you coward!" He snapped viciously, his eyes bulging with unbridled fury.
"Hey, now wha-...Neo? What are you doing!?" I whispered sharply, as Neo stood up and walked out from the bushes, his expression unreadable.
"It’s...it’s been a while, Lance," Remarked Neo, his tone blank and emotionless.
"Huh? N-Neo...? I-is that...is that really you, big brother? Y-you...you did this? Why...?" He responded with a broken look on his face, a look of sorrow and betrayal, tears starting to stream down his face as his shoulders slumped in anguish...
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