Contract of Submission with the Enemy - Chapter 23
Soon, a thick fog surrounded them, dense enough to hide them completely.
Rité recalled the layout she had memorized while wandering around the base and guided them through the maze-like paths purely by instinct.
She led Maud to the rear gate, where the guards were fewest, but it seemed the shift change had ended as there were sounds of commotion.
By now, the guards must have realized he was missing. Rité’s heart pounded wildly.
They finally reached the rear gate. Rité used her ability to create a sharp weapon and mercilessly broke the rusty lock.
The sound of military boots echoed right behind them. Though it was dark and the fog provided some cover, they were running out of time.
Once the iron gate opened, Maud stepped out first, cautiously scanning the surroundings to detect any ambush.
But at that moment, the gate slammed shut with a metallic clang. Maud, startled, turned around to see Rité standing on the other side of the bars with a forlorn smile.
Maud pounded on the bars, shouting, “Rité! What are you doing?”
Rité spoke softly, “Go. Quickly.”
“Rité! Open this gate right now! How can I escape alone? You said we would go together! So, hurry and—”
Rité, tears in her eyes, slowly shook her head.
“No. I can’t go back. I can never leave this place.”
Maud muttered in disbelief, “Why…”
“I found out that my brother has been alive all this time. I can’t leave until I rescue him. And… as you might have guessed, I can’t escape from him. Aster.”
Rité showed him the mark on her wrist. Although Maud didn’t understand what it was, he instinctively knew that it was a brand of sorts, binding her to Aster. He was shocked.
“Found them! Over here!”
Soldiers spotted them and rushed over. Rité shouted urgently, “Go! Aster won’t let me go, but he won’t chase after you. He’ll have to choose, and it won’t be you. This is your last chance to escape.”
Maud’s eyes filled with tears. Rité clasped his hand through the bars, pleading, “Please take care of the others for me.”
Using the last of her strength, Rité healed Maud’s injuries completely. He looked at her with determination and said, “I will come back for you. I promise, I will use this ability you gave me for your sake. I swear on my life.”
Maud’s raid on the supply transport base was all for Rité’s revenge. Rité, with a tearful smile, said, “Thank you, sir. Thank you for being like a father to me.”
Maud, trying to hold back his tears, finally broke down. Trying to hide his tears, he whispered, “Stay alive, Rité.”
His voice was firm, but it was heavy with emotion. With that, Maud quickly disappeared into the dense fog.
Rité watched his retreating figure, reminiscing about the memories they shared. The time he gently taught her to shoot, the times he rubbed his unshaven face against hers, laughing heartily, and her younger self screaming in protest…
They were all precious memories she would never forget.
Soon, the soldiers reached Rité and pointed their guns at her, shouting, “Chase after the escaped one!”
“Yes, sir!”
As they opened the gate to leave, Rité used her ability to strike them from behind.
“Argh…!”
In the fog, she fought five men. She had to buy time until Maud reached safety.
As he got further away, the fog around Rité began to thin. While it was advantageous to her to attack indiscriminately in the fog, as it cleared, fighting five burly men alone became impossible.
Eventually, Rité was kicked and slammed into the iron gate, collapsing to the ground.
“Ugh…”
One of the soldiers grabbed her by the hair and started to lift her when a calm voice interrupted.
“Stop.”
They immediately halted and saluted someone. Rité, gasping for breath, slowly looked up.
Aster was walking towards her from a distance.
He stopped a short distance from her and looked down at her in silence. Through her messy, jade-green hair, she looked up at him. His cold, dark eyes watched her with an unreadable expression.
Aster finally spoke calmly, “I told you, Rité. Whatever you choose, you must bear the responsibility for your choice.”
Rité flinched at his words. Aster then coldly instructed the men around him, “Take her to the training ground.”
“Yes, sir!”
Rité was roughly grabbed by two men and dragged away. Her thin, frail body swayed from side to side. As she passed Aster, she neither looked at him nor pleaded for mercy.
She had nothing to say. Betraying him was a fact.
As she was dragged away, Aster took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. The sky was beginning to lighten, casting a pale blue hue over the surroundings.
He looked up, exhaling smoke that turned the cold color into a dull gray.
It was a foggy, damp, and unpleasant day.
* * *
The soldiers murmured among themselves, gazing at the training ground.
“Isn’t it true that the commander of the vigilante group escaped early this morning?”
“I heard that woman betrayed us. I knew it would come to this. How could we trust a woman who was once our enemy?”
In the middle of the training ground, Rité was tied barefoot to a wooden post.
She listened to their conversation with her head lowered, secretly letting out a sigh of relief. The breath she had been holding trembled as it escaped her lips.
Fortunately, it seemed the commander had escaped safely. From what she could gather from the soldiers’ conversations, the dense fog had made it difficult to find the escape route, and they feared a counterattack from the vigilante group hiding nearby, so they had abandoned the chase.
The decisive factor in halting the pursuit had been Aster’s order. Though it was a relief, Rité knew Aster had the ability to capture the commander. She couldn’t understand why he had ordered the pursuit to stop.
While the outcome was fortunate, Rité feared what it might mean.
Aster was a man strict about rewards and punishments. She had no idea how he would react to this incident or how she should act in response.
* * *
At that moment, Aster stood with his hands behind his back in Lieutenant General Russell’s office.
Normally, he would have directed his subordinates to reprimand Darren, but Aster was granted a private audience instead.
An oppressive silence filled the room. The lieutenant general clasped his hands in front of his face and slowly lifted his gaze.
“Major Cloud. What on earth happened here?”
Aster spoke calmly.
“It was my mistake. I apologize.”
“Mistake… I heard you personally allowed that woman to meet with the commander. And it happened during the early morning shift change, when there were fewer guards in the torture chamber. You even let her get hold of a key. It looks like you practically paved the way for her escape.”
“I have no excuse. I will accept any punishment.”
As Aster spoke calmly, still facing forward, the lieutenant general let out a short, bitter laugh.
“I’ve heard you’ve never failed an Awakened Hunt. Am I supposed to believe that someone of your caliber made a mistake? Do you want me to believe that?”
He paused before shouting suddenly.
“Do you think I’m here to play games with you?”
Aster’s face remained impassive, but it was more stern than usual. The lieutenant general caught his breath and spoke sharply.
“Convince me right here, right now. If you don’t want to be labeled a traitor and end up tied to that post next to that woman.”