When can a being be considered dead? When does it lose its life? When there is no one left to remember it? How important are memories? Can you remember someone you only saw a few times for a lifetime?
"We found a little girl, sir!" "Perfect, bring her in."
The order was leaving its mark on the minds of his companions, not just the word itself, but the events that unfolded from it.
"Listen, Anteiro, do you think a child could be the perpetrator of such abominable acts?" Hannah asked.
Appealing to possible intimate memories, Hannah wanted to buy some time to devise an escape plan.
"I found Estacia in dark alleyways; she was completely alone," Arpiesta said.
"Estacia? So she's an orphan, I see. Unfortunately, the decisions will be made by someone with a higher rank than mine. That would be the right thing to do, wouldn't you say?"
While Hannah and Arpiesta had their hands tied and were being held at gunpoint by Anteiro's men, Diramar whispered, hoping his captors wouldn't hear him, since he was farther away from his companions. Eliezer could only watch and hope for the best.
"Order!"
No sooner had those words been spoken than two bullets pierced Diramar's head and chest, his lifeless body falling to the cold floor. His companions turned and witnessed the horrific scene that stained the room.
Arpiesta couldn't hold back her tears for her friend, whom she hadn't even been able to say goodbye to before seeing him in a better life.
"Damn you! You had no right, he didn't do anything, this isn't an order, you damned liar! How could you do that, you bastard?"
Hannah was consumed by fury, desperate to escape this predicament that had already cost Diramar his life.
What can be done at this moment? Should we fight? Eliezer could use his weapons, damn it, how did he know Diramar's plan? All of this was going through Hannah's mind.
"Did you think I wouldn't notice that your friend was seconds away from launching an attack against us? However, it seemed strange to me that he was doing it so soon, it's as if he were anticipating an important future event."
"Order." Those were the words that made a soldier kill a person without hesitation. How is that possible? Is he part of his "Land of Memories"? Does this guy possess a weapon or ability from there that allowed him to order that act, Eliezer thought, beads of sweat forming every second.
Seconds later Estacia appears with her hands tied and two subjects at her sides.
"Okay, little one, why don't we begin the interrogation?"
Estacia saw Diramar's body and immediately felt a chill that made her body tremble, with a strong urge to vomit, on the verge of tears.
"Why are you crying, little one? Did you know him your whole life? That's not how things are connected, that's not the order, so tell me, why are you crying, little elf?" The tone of Anteiro's words only served to instill fear in the little girl, who couldn't form words because of the terror this moment represented in her life.
"Listen to me, sweetheart, if you don't want another one of your saviors to be attacked, please cooperate. Where do you come from? Do you know others with your ears? Tell me, do you know others with those horrible ears of yours, elf?"
Estacia's body was in constant flux, a rage even less intense than the terror she felt for that man, and grief for the death of one of Salvadora's companions. This was a tragedy, the downfall of her existence.
"Order!" The soldier guarding Arpiesta's pistol was pointed at her face.
"Hurry, girl! If you tell us now, there's no need for the council to delve into your memory, and your dark-winged friend will be safe from us."
"I... I don't know, sir, I don't remember anything... she found me, please don't hurt her," Estacia said, her tears barely making her words coherent.
It's clear, "Order" is the word that activates his ability. It functions as his own perspective on justice, an order subject to privatizing mistakes. If I attack now, I can give them time to escape; that's enough for us to figure out what to do with these guys later.
Before Eliezer could attack, hoping to minimize the damage to his comrades, he heard the word from which he had already deduced everything.
"Order."
A gunshot rings out, and the winged body is brought down coldly by a single word. And now that the person Estacia had grown most fond of is gone, her mind begins to tremble, her heart pounding, pumping out signs of hatred, blood filled with despair.
"And she's gone. Only two more left. Come on, girl, these mercenaries are running out."
"Harpie..." Hannah murmured, her voice trailing off.
"Damn it! Turn off the microphones, let's take the girl, silence everyone else, I don't want any complaints about this, notify the officers on the street."
Anteiro carried the girl to the door, not expecting a wave of anger.
"You damned hypocrite!"
From the upper part of Eliezer's hand, daggers with an ancient mechanism, manufactured in the capital, emerged, severing his captor's wrist in a single motion after breaking free from their cords.
"Anteiro!" Eliezer shouted, his soul racing as he lunged at the murderer of his comrades.
Hannah seizes the opportunity to free herself from her captors, her fists still bound, placing herself in a favorable position to ensure her survival.
Two other soldiers are killed by Eliezer on his way to Anteiro; unfortunately, Eliezer had a firearm pointed at Estacia.
Eliezer pauses to consider his next move until...
"Order!"
From a soldier some distance away, a weapon he was wielding fired at Eliezer, striking him directly in the face and ending his life.
"It's a good thing you have a heart, you damned mercenary. I wouldn't want any more of my orders wasted." Before he could finish his monologue, Anteiro was struck by the butt of a gun.
It was Diramar. Shockingly to Anteiro and his officers, he was unharmed and had his soldiers' weapons lying on the ground.
"Get up, sir. Let's make this quick."
"What the hell? You... you were dead. It was my order." Diramar pressed the gun to Anteiro's head, as he lay on the ground.
"If you had ordered my death, it would have taken much longer, sir. Instead, you only asked for one shot. A poor choice, if I may say so."
Hannah breathed a sigh of relief and patiently began to free herself from her ropes.
"You took your time, Diramar. I thought I'd have to wait for Arpiesta to wake up."
"Forgive me, Lady Hannah. I also wanted to understand how your land of memories worked."
Anteiro had many questions. He didn't understand what was happening. The mercenaries' composure was astonishing, and that could only mean that no one on this battlefield had died.
"It seems my lady Arpiesta will need some time for her shadows to regain their vitality. Eliezer, on the other hand, won't regenerate for quite some time. I'll take care of this. Please let my lady, Hannah, know." Hannah nodded and approached Anteiro.
"There are no microphones, are there, Anteiro? Then I think we can begin the interrogation." Estacia, observing this situation, was much more confused than Anteiro, but her heart breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that her new companions were, apparently, "immortal" to her.