OLD-WORLD EXTRA

Chapter 368: A Sacrifice Remembered

Chapter 368: A Sacrifice Remembered

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Their feet moved through debris, rubble, craters, chewed-up limbs, and blood.

Every step brought them closer to a horrifying scene-an insanity-inducing one-causing Sofia's throat to chock up. Never mind Aria, who had spat out vomit twice in the first ten seconds of their grimy trek.

Surprisingly, Elijah handled it well, almost as well as Emma and Jake, two people who certainly had seen worse. Kiera's crew, or at least what remained of them, a nightmare still stuck in their minds.

The smell was all too familiar, only slightly worse as a strong odor of gunpowder was mixed in, giving Sofia a hard time; her senses as a Ranger more heightened than the average Celestial.

But that somber mood of hers suddenly changed as Jake announced:

[We just got extraction requests from two students a few hundred meters ahead. Xavier Jr and Quinn.]

Quinn being in trouble brought her joy, as she smiled slightly.

'That's what she gets for being such an idiot.'

No one picked up her change as they were concentrating on the path ahead, killing every monster that blocked them from reaching their destination.

But that wasn't the same for Elijah, as he voiced out his reaction:

[What's their status? Is Junior hurt?!]

[Junior?... Ah, Xavier.]

Jake questioned and then answered himself as he proceeded to check on the health status of the two students.

{Quinn:

Physical Health: 97 Percent. External Damage o Percent, Internal Damage 3 Percent.

Mental Health: 31 Percent. High emotion spike, likely experiencing panic. Increased levels of cortisol and adrenaline, leading to suppression of empathy and basic emotional connection.} {Xavier Jr:

Physical Health: 99 Percent. External Damage o Percent, Internal Damage 1 Percent.

Mental Health: 76 Percent. Slight panic. Increased serotonin levels indicating a strong focus on goals. Elevated levels of dopamine and oxytocin, suggesting feelings of guilt and conflict between responsibilities and personal desires.}

[...He's fine, Quinn's the one we've gotta be worried about.]

That comment made Emma perk up, curious.

[What's wrong with her?]

[We're about to find out.]

Jake smashed a Berta Scorpion down with his bladed staff and stopped just outside a hole to their right, the cohort behind him.

He then neared his face to the wall and whispered:

"Quinn, Xavier, we're from the Academy, it's safe; come out."

"

||

A long silence resounded as if the world had gone still, and they might've believed that if they hadn't heard the crunching of bones in the distance.

Elijah, knowing that they didn't have much time to spare, got close and said:

"Junior, it's me, Elijah!"

||

|||||

Things didn't change; silence remained.

"You'll regret ignoring me, you jacked piece of shit!"

""

||

Again, nothing changed-

Click clack.

Or so that was the case for the first few seconds, as eventually, steps echoed out of the hole.

The two began to move, slowly making their way to the cohort.

And it didn't take long.

Junior was the first one out, long sword and shield at the ready, Quinn directly behind, her assault rifle aimed at them.

The cohort didn't return that tension, Jake and Emma raising their hands in surrender to calm them down.

Quinn breathed out, but Junior didn't do the same as he rushed forward.

Before Jake, Emma, Sofia, and Aria could react, Elijah did the same.

"You bitch!"

"You're alive!"

They met in half hug, as Elijah cursed the kid a few more times while Junior patted his friend down, checking for injuries.

The rest looked at them with dumbfounded and blank faces, almost disappointed.

But Jake's gaze was different from theirs.

'Is he really?...'

He had never deeply thought about it before, only suspecting it and then dismissing it, but

now, upon seeing his face, it was something he couldn't deny.

'He is, isn't he? He's an exact replica of the commander, only younger.'

That kid was Xavier's son.

'Why didn't Emir tell me?...'

He internally questioned and once again, he answered himself:

'Probably 'cause he wanted to fuck with me.'

Chuckling, Jake moved closer to Junior, who had stepped away from Elijah, and tapped his

shoulders.

"Hey kid, you up to join our cohort? We've got one big monster to kill."

Junior looked up in surprise.

"Uh... Yeah-"

As he was answering, he suddenly turned silent, noticing the way Jake looked at him.

The familiarity was evident.

'Does he know?'

He grew curious.

Once, he asked that question to Emir but received no favorable reply, so he couldn't help but wonder if it would be the same this time around, unable to stop himself from asking:

"...Do you know my father, sir?"

Jake simply smiled.

"I do, little Xavier. I was the one who closed his eyes."

Junior's eyes widened, not knowing how to react or what to say.

He had always wanted to know more about his father, but the man never shared his exploits in

the Army, keeping him, his son, at an arm's length, never divulging anything of importance

while repeating the same words.

'Never involve yourself with the north.'

What secret was he hiding?

Junior wanted to know. He needed to know.

What did his father die for? Was it really just a sacrifice to delay an enemy? Was that all that

happened? A routine death that meant nothing?

"...C-Can you tell me about him?"

Jake slowly nodded, noticing the apprehension on the student's face.

"He's the second bravest man I know...-"

Interested, Aria rudely cut him off and asked:

"Who's the first?"

Not minding that, Jake answered:

"Emir, your professor..."

Quinn's face twitched as she heard his name being mentioned.

'Are those bastards his men?'

That realization spread to Junior as well, but he wasn't surprised by it; he knew that his

professor wouldn't leave anything to chance.

In fact, he highly doubted that those two were the only ones he sent; he bet that there were many more with the other students.

So his mind was clear as he focused on Jake's words, making sure that nothing missed him.

"It was my and Emma's first mission on the front lines. We were green, too green; they expected us to die and threw us to the battlefield to delay a Tyrant, a Cub."

His tone was somber as he retold a story that was still heavily ingrained in his mind.

"He was the one that led us that day. He promised us death and glory. We received neither." Emma giggled from the side, looking at Jake with a sad smile.

"A bombardment that turned the day into night was about to wipe us out, he changed that. He sacrificed himself, setting an example that the others had to follow. And follow they did, flying into certain death, his last roar sending them to an early grave."

Tears began to form in Junior's eyes, but he quickly wiped them away. "Many died, and we were of the lucky few that lived. It's all thanks to your father. His death

saved lives; never forget that."

Letting out a heavy breath, Junior bowed slightly to Jake, his hand on his second heart.

Sincerely thanking him for lifting a heavy weight off his shoulders.

"You shouldn't forget this either."

As Jake continued speaking, Junior raised his head and locked eyes with him, respect clearly

reflecting off his pure sockets.

"Being a Celestial is in essence a... individual Job. It's true that you need to work with others

but at the end of it..."

Pausing for a second, Jake recalled the lonely body of Xavier, who laid cold on a rock even

colder.

"No matter how many allies you have... You'll always die alone."

Clicking her tongue, Emma killed the somber mood as she said:

"Acting cool doesn't suit you."

Jake clicked his tongue as well, and the two started bickering, going back and forth like an old

married couple-a scene that Emir would've loved to see, as he quite missed it.

"You always fucking cut me off! But to do it even in front of the students?"

"What?! You do it more than me!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Stop with the emo party and-"

"You guys forgot about Arthur?"

Elijah, Aria, Emma, and Jake let out an "ah," seeming to have actually forgotten about the

world's protagonist.

They turned to Sofia, the one who had reminded them, seeing her seething but also calm...

somehow. Sharing a quick laugh, their faces turned serious, and Elijah began to debrief the two new

cohort mates they got as Jake sent them an Invite Link to join their channel while also sending

their combat information.

"Since you're so eager to save people, this is your chance to shine. Arthur is on the other side

of this drop-off point. But to get there, we need to kill the Cannonjaw."

Glancing at Quinn, he commented:

"It'll be your only chance at revenge."

He knew how to get her on board, learning from one of the best manipulators in the game.

It was obvious to most what he was trying to do, but Quinn was either none the wiser or too

unbothered to care.

"...I know."

Her grumble made him smile as he looked at Junior, pride emanating from his eyes.

'You wish you were half as smooth as me.'

'Yeah, whatever.'

Turning his face away, Junior held back a chuckle and said:

"Alright, I'm good to go."

"...Same."

Ready to enter, they got in formation and stepped forward, entering the platform turned

meatgrinder.