What the hell was that?!

…

(Orion POV)

Early in the morning, I felt a thick scent of blood grab ahold of my sinuses as if they were trying to claw their way inside of me themself.

A nostalgic queasy feeling sat in my stomach, waiting to ambush the rest of my body once I had stepped onto the moist and damp soil.

I could already see the stains of blood-forming on my armor and coat, like a layer of sedimentary to protect me from any outside forces.

“*sigh*… This is bad… We have to get there faster,” I muttered as the bloodlust injected itself into my own limbs.

If we waited too long, I might just end up becoming a puppet for my bloodlust and a vessel for my killing intent… and the pain of it eating me from the inside out was too much.

“You good? You’re sweating a bit too much… Do you maybe have a fever?” Bella asked as she served me some meat and potato soup

“I’m good… Worry about yourself now. I don’t think you’re ready for what’s to come….” I said as I felt her giddy attitude slowly seeping out of her actions.

“I am ready. Do you know how long I’ve waited to prove myself?” She retorted, but that only made me angrier with her… she was way too naive, and I’m sure she’s already noticed it, but can’t help the feeling of waiting for success.

She must think she is so much more powerful than everybody else on the battlefield, and I’d say that’s partially true… but the overwhelming amount of numbers is more than enough for us to still get overwhelmed.

I could literally feel the skin underneath my eyes dampen and darken with each passing second… as if I was reverting to my old self.

“*sigh*… Hey, if I lose myself, don’t try to interfere. All of you will just die,” I muttered, causing everybody to stop what they were doing and look up at me.

“Okay, edgelord, don’t go stealing all the spotlight then,” Aisa chuckled before slapping me on my back.

I felt my vision clear a bit when everybody around me began to laugh and cheer, seemingly without a care in the world.

“Alright, we’re leaving!” The large leader said, and we were soon funneled into large trucks.

The cheery attitude, just like I had expected, immediately disappeared as their anxiety grew like a monster that fed off of their juicy fear.

“Damn… Th-This is a bit more nerve-racking than I thought,” Aisa chuckled, trying to hide her almost overwhelming anxiety.

She definitely had the worse case of nerves right now.

Goosebumps crawled up and down her skin, her lips were dry from breathing out of her mouth so much, her eyes seemed a bit foggy, and her grip on her sniper was so hard that it looked as if it was about to break.

“Hmm… Hmmm… Hmmmm… Hm Hm Hm…”

All of a sudden, somebody in the truck began to hum a calming tune which everybody soon jumped onto, desperate for something to take their mind off their impending doom.

But instead of something calming and relaxing… I felt like it was a tune you’d play at a funeral.

…

Upon arriving at the battlefield, a nostalgic draft of bloody wind swiped past me, infiltrating my nostrils and grabbing ahold of my throat.

A dirty, bloody, and muddy open expanse with hundreds of trenches, endlessly burning fires, flying bullets, and clashing adventurers.

Everybody had the same solemn and unmotivating look, but they knew that if they stopped now, they would immediately die.

Trying to cover up the sickening stench, a few soldiers smoked some cigarettes, but that only eased the pain, not the smell that continuously tried to claw its way through our sinuses.

Drool slowly leaked from my gritted teeth as my body craved blood, but I was a sniper right now, so I took position towards the back of the battlefield, inside a muddy trench.

Aisa moved with me, her face and body frozen and paled with fear.

Her anxiety was through her roof as she began to hyperventilate, but I quickly tossed her a black mask I had previously bought, already expecting this to happen.

Growing up with a tough life still can’t prevent you from the sights of a gruesome and bloody war… so you have to,

“Adapt. Adapt quickly otherwise. You’ll die… Also, don’t use the breathing technique yet. You’ll inhale too much carbon dioxide with the mask on, so adapt quickly and then remove the mask… trust me, okay?”

My hand rested on the fearful girl’s shoulder, her face brightening a bit as I tried to inject just a bit of motivation.

I knew this wouldn’t last long, but at least this could help her adapt.

BOOM

All of a sudden, a piece of the trench beside us exploded, sending already dead corpses to fly towards us and the living arms and legs of a few soldiers to seemingly cry for help.

“AHHHHHH!” Aisa screamed as a splatter of blood painted itself on her face, with a detached arm sitting on her shoulder.

“Tch… She needs more time,” I muttered, but I also had a few questions…

How come a magical projectile was fired all the way over here? Is that even possible because the trajectory and power would need to be perfect? The front lines are way down there…

“Mage! A Battle Mage is coming!” I heard a few people shout, and after seeing an opening the bullet fire, I peaked my head out before quickly ducking back.

I knew it was a trap, but at least I was able to catch a glimpse of the battlemage quickly approaching us.

Alright… you mother**ers better work your ass off because that guy is at least a Low-B Rank…

…

(Findir POV)

I already wanted to run away after seeing so many corpses… it was sensory overload in every single direction that I stepped.