Some trucks pulled up at the gate, and several others entered the village. The full-scale invasion overwhelmed the village forces, as the bandits outnumbered them drastically. Varryance began to feel his vision blur again, his mind clouded with red, blurry flashes of the "IARO" logo. The parasite was messing with him, and he could barely focus.

  Mercy hid behind some cover, charging another explosive arrow. She was about to shoot at the truck blocking the road, but something caught her eye. A helicopter was flying in the distance.

  The gutters panicked as they heard the whirring of helicopter rotors. They opened fire on it, but the helicopter strafed, and the co-pilot began shooting explosive bullets from a turret below the cockpit, dismembering the bandits in midair.

  On the side of the helicopter was a bold red inscription: "Institution Of Anarchy Restraintment My Ass!" Mercy knew immediately that reinforcements had arrived. Armored vehicles with mounted machine guns arrived at the village, spraying bullets at the remaining bandits, turning them into Swiss cheese. Mercy couldn't help herself—she cheered as the bandits were wiped out.

  Finally, every bandit was dead. The helicopter descended and landed in a spacious area of the village, usually reserved for events. More armored vehicles pulled up alongside it, and villagers swarmed to greet the reinforcements. Mercy ran to join them.

  Villagers hugged the soldiers, crying tears of relief, while some mourned their dead loved ones. Mercy stood in the crowd, relieved—but then she remembered Varryance. She hadn't seen him. She quickly slung her bow around her body and started running, calling his name.

  Varryance sat behind a building, his vision red and shaky. The parasite was in full effect, messing with his brain. Blood soaked his clothes, and a dead bandit lay at his feet—the one he had used as a shield.

  "Varry! Varry...! Varry, are you okay?!" Mercy called out, stumbling over her words as she ran toward him.

  Varryance snapped out of it, rubbing his head. "I... I'm fine... god... are they all gone?"

  Mercy nodded, trying to catch her breath. "Yeah..." she gulped. "The reinforcements arrived..."

  Mercy looked him over. He was covered in blood but had no visible injuries, except for the leg wound that had already been bandaged. She was shocked that he didn't have a scratch on him.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  "Come on, let's get you to the reinforcements. I heard some soldiers talking about the new guy..." Mercy said, looking at the soldier who had followed her. He nodded and helped Varryance to his feet.

  As they moved through the village, Varryance overheard villagers talking about the man who saved them. He stood on his own now, still a little shaky, but recovered enough to walk.

  The leader of the reinforcements approached him. "You're the one who played the hero, huh? Pretty bold, if you ask me." The leader offered Varryance a handshake. Varryance shook his hand firmly.

  "Hotheaded is who I am." Varryance smirked, but was interrupted by a sudden explosion.

  Fireworks exploded overhead, and Varryance couldn't help but smile. It surprised him that fireworks still existed in this world, but he enjoyed the sight of the colorful lights. The village leader shot off fireworks to celebrate every victory, and this one was for the successful defense.

  Felicia was seen directing her workers, moving the injured toward the nursing home. Those who didn't make it were covered with body bags.

  "Hey, Varryance, thank you for saving them... It means a lot." Mercy said, walking up to him.

  Varryance, flustered but a little annoyed, replied, "It's fine... I just felt like it was my duty to protect the villagers. I don't know, it struck me hard when you said that... I should get out of here... I don't want to feel like I'm more important than them."

  Mercy looked at him, guilt in her eyes. "Yeah... sorry I said it that way. But I gotta admit, you're a pretty good fighter. Got any experience?"

  Varryance looked at her bluntly. "Ex-military..."

  Mercy wasn't surprised, but still a little flustered. "Makes sense... those moves weren't exactly... common," she said with a chuckle.

  Varryance stayed quiet, a small smile on his face as he looked back at the fireworks.

  "People here will talk about you a lot... Don't be surprised if the mayor wants to talk to you." Mercy added.

  "Why? I didn't do anything all that impressive. I just..." Varryance started, but Mercy interrupted.

  "It's not normal around here... people risking their lives for others. You might even get credits for it!"

  Varryance raised an eyebrow. "Credits?"

  Mercy laughed. "Well, back in the day, you had dollars, right?" she asked, and he nodded. "Well, now we use credits. The dollar died when the flash hit. So, let's say 100 credits is worth a normal pistol, but after what you did today, I'm sure you'll be fine."

  Varryance smiled at her, feeling a little more at ease. He thought she sounded a little like a dork, but he couldn't help but chuckle along with her.

  The two of them watched the fireworks in silence for a moment, and for the first time in what felt like a long while, Varryance felt hopeful. As he looked around, seeing people helping one another, he realized it was his duty to protect them. But there was more to this world than just survival.

  And for some reason, the words Mercy had said about it being unusual for people to save others stuck with him. It hit him harder than he expected.