It was time for Kei and Yuna to head out and attack the jade palace. Other teams, especially the ones with more popular Enlightened such as Hana, received applause as they headed for their respective gate to venture out from. These two received no applause. Stares, frightened and respectful expressions were all Kei and Yuna got to see.
Yuna was used to this by now. She wasn't the type to be conceived well by the masses due to her cold-hearted behavior. However, Kei on the other hand, was looking forward to the applause and disappointed by the lack of it.
"Don't make such a long face, Kei. We don't deserve applause yet anyway. This tradition is worthless. If we come back alive and well, I guarantee you, they will applaud us."
"That doesn't change the meaning of the applause though. It's supposed to give us courage and motivate us by showing that we have people waiting for us at home."
"Stop taking it to heart, please. This matter isn't worth anyone's concern. You're my apprentice. Prepare yourself for more situations such as this."
Kei frowned slightly as she said these words and felt heard by neither his master nor the crowd, but he said nothing and let it go.
They walked and got to the north gate quickly, where two Enlightened had been waiting for them patiently.
They swung the gate wide open for the two to exit.
They remained inside the first stronghold and guarded the gate even in this situation. They weren't strong enough to make a difference either way, so it didn't matter.
As the gate closed shut behind them, a boulder was lifted from Kei's heart. The thousands of eyes staring him down constantly drove him mad.
Unfortunately, the smell of blood and decay, which was typical for the pathways between cities, hit him like a bullet.
His eyes widened in surprise and disgust. One hand instinctively clutched at his stomach and the other covered his mouth. He knelt on the cold ground and started to gag profusely.
Yuna stopped moving forward. She stood quietly by his side, patiently waiting for him to calm himself down again. It was natural for a person who never left the city to have such an initial reaction.
A few more moments passed and Kei puked multiple times.
Once he had finally finished his extreme reaction to the stench, Kei rose from the ground with shaking knees and Yuna's help.
"You'll get used to it eventually."
"I better…"
His voice sounded rough and tired after emptying his stomach just now.
Kei and Yuna took their trip slowly, but not slowly at all. It was a barely endurable pace for Kei. However, Yuna walked the distance, like the distance between the front door of her apartment and her bed. It was nothing to her.
Once they arrived at the north gate of the jade palace, and stood in front of it, Kei seemed completely flabbergasted by such a wasteful and extravagant gate such as this.
"How do they even have the resources for such things? Isn't it smarter to invest the money in trades? You could easily buy plenty ascender stones with this and increase the army of this place."
He asked in a disbelieving and curious tone. To him, it was hard to believe that a city would waste their money on such a trivial thing.
"It's true. Such things aren't efficient decisions at all. I take it they simply believe fame and reputation to be more important than efficiency. One more reason why this fight will prove easy."
The more she talked, the more excited her voice became. She approached the gate quickly and kicked it in with a simple, yet powerful kick.
Despite training with her for a while now, Kei seemed amazed each time that she used her strength like that.
He stood there idly as she already entered the jade palace without hesitation, lost in pleasant thoughts.
Yuna waited for not even a single second. She immediately dashed past the unhinged gate, and into the jade palace.
As Kei lost his direct view of Yuna, he was abruptly forced back into reality and ran after her quickly.
The screams of mortals filled the air. They disgusted Kei greatly and made him feel immense guilt. He despised violence. He truly did.
The beauty of the place, despite the destruction and chaos of it, didn't go unnoticed to him at all.
He had mixed feelings. He enjoyed being here immediately upon entry, because of the jade palace's beauty. He also felt guilt, knowing that he would most likely kill soon, and knowing that his friends and allies were taking innocent lives. The emotion he felt more than anything else was loyalty.
He could push past all the hesitation and mercy if it ensured the survival of the people he held dear. He wanted to prove useful to Yuna and the first stronghold.
Yuna had left a path of death and destruction for Kei to walk on. All she saw was completely destroyed.
"How can anyone do this without guilt?"
He thought to himself, his voice shaking even in his head.
Once he had finally reached Yuna, she was covered in blood. It wasn't her own, of course.
As she noticed and gazed at him, he couldn't help but shiver. She had always appeared like a decent person to him, but at that moment he couldn't help but wonder if it was all just an illusion, and in truth she was a monster in human disguise.
"Kei, I don't want you to fight in a dangerous battle such as this at all. Do not fight anyone you aren't 100% sure you could kill in an instant. I'll take care of everyone else for us."
She stepped forth and spoke softly, seeing his distressed form.
"Simply act as eyes on the back of my head, okay? Don't think of the people here as humans. They are worth less than ants."
Her words calmed Kei to a small extent. Even if it was ineffective, he was grateful nonetheless.
"Yes, I will. Don't be concerned about me, please."
Just then, Kei noticed a bright glint far behind Yuna; the glint of the scope of a sniper rifle.
The bullet was shot and traveled towards Yuna unusually fast, leaving just enough time for Kei to try and warn Yuna.
"Yuna, step to the side!"