Chapter 41

I do not own Claymore

Teresa turned towards the remaining warriors and said, "See if you can help out with the recovery efforts. Your strength may be needed in clearing away the wreckage."

Sheila immediately rushed to the shattered main gates, they had been smashed into flinders by the massed awakened beings hammering on them and lay in ruins.

The gate and ballistae towers had given a good account of themselves, according to the scores of yoma corpses lying outside the gates, pierced by the arbalest bolts loosed in defense of the gates.

While the shattered remnants of several awakened beings attested to the efficacy of the explosive projectiles invented by Rogar, the alchemist's assistant.

The brunt of the attack had been focused on bringing down the two towers and smashing through the heavy gates. There, the fighting had been heaviest.

Fearing the worst, Sheila ignored the destruction and clambered over the twisted iron and splintered wood of the heavy gates, her silvery eyes seeking a sign of her loved one, Rogar the alchemist's assistant.

With all her strength, she heaved aside heavy blocks of crumbling masonry and twisted iron. She tossed aside the splintered timbers and cleared away the wreckage of one of the big ballistaes that once sat atop a tower beside the gate.

Lying beneath this final bit of broken machinery was a body, the body of a young man, bent, broken and bereft of life.

With her heart in her mouth, Sheila carefully turned over the broken young man and her silver eyes fell full upon the beautiful face of her young lover, Rogar. Fate, in its cruelty had spared his handsome face and he appeared to be merely asleep in her arms.

Sheila's young heart broke like glass and she began weeping. Her emotions swept over her like a torrent and they carried her into a pit of despair and rage.

Clasping her lover's body to her bosom, she wept freely, her rage building inside her until she was swept over the edge and her silvery eyes turned golden.

She felt a surge of yoma energy inside her as her rage took over.

The organization was responsible for his death, it was responsible for her family's death and the deaths of her childhood playmates and her village, it was responsible for everything bad that had ever happened to her...She wanted revenge!

All the rage she had bottled up inside of her came boiling to the surface and she became blinded in her thirst for revenge and forgot her own humanity.

Her body became more and more distorted as her rage took over and she was in grave danger of awakening herself.

The other rescue workers, seeing her becoming more and more monstrous in aspect, sent a fast runner for help.

Teresa and Riful arrived moments later, having sensed Sheila's burst of yoma energy in her anguish.

They found Sheila heavily distorted and clawing at the wreckage in front of her, nearby lay Rogar's broken body, forgotten in her rage.

Teresa did not hesitate one moment longer, she swung her fist in a blow that would have crushed an ordinary human's skull like an eggshell.

It only stunned Sheila and she collapsed in a heap of distorted limbs and torn clothing.

Riful quickly extended her ribbonlike hair strands and used them to bind Sheila securely while she lay insensible.

The effects of the blow only lasted moments, but it was long enough for Teresa to take hold of Sheila's bound form and clasp her to her substantial bosom.

Teresa murmured, "Please stop this, please stop...Please...I can't lose you too."

Sheila began sobbing, her body shaking in her anguish as her humanity reasserted itself.

Teresa then nodded at Riful, who then relaxed her hair ribbons a bit, then withdrew them completely.

From Riful's perspective, Sheila looked much like a heart broken young girl being held by her older sister while she cried her heart out.

Riful also understood her grief only too well, she had spent most of a century living with Dauf, a former number three who had awakened and later joined her in her lair as her man.

Teresa held the towering young woman against her lush bosom and let her grieve for her young man.

Not even the clashing of swords interrupted the moment, though Teresa did glance at Riful who merely shrugged.

A dispute between two emotionally high strung warriors was none of their concern, for the moment.

With Sheila now stabilized, they let her carry Rogar's poor remains to the burial detail hastily assembled to dispose of all the dead yoma and awakened being corpses.

They were to be buried in a mass grave outside the city walls while those who had fallen in the city's defense, were to be given a heroes funeral with an appropriate monument to commemorate them.

Mercifully, the defenders losses were light, despite the intensity of the attack.

Returning to the group, they saw signs of a recent altercation between two of the warriors.

Helen and Cynthia were standing between Deneve and Tabitha who were still glaring at each other.

Helen cried, "Hey Deneve! What are you doing?"

Deneve rehung her swords and said dismissively, "Despite her lack of skill, she was acting like she was going to take on the organization, alone.

"If she was just going to throw her life away, I thought I'd make it easier for her and take care of it right here."

Tabitha merely glared in her anger at her own impotency, in her own blunt way, Deneve was right, attacking the organization alone, was suicidal.

Slumping to the ground, Tabitha wept quietly, murmuring Miria's name as her tears trickled from her silver eyes.

Deneve said bluntly, "Sticks with Miria like shit on a goldfish, even now she regrets not being able to go with Miria."

Turning to the group, Deneve said scathingly,"Miria was a fool! She said we would all go crush the organization together, then went alone when we were all occupied.

"I don't know how strong she thought she was, but in the end, she was no match for them..."

Helen murmured, "Hey Deneve..." while Tabitha wept.

Deneve said thoughtfully, "Even though she swore we would train together up north, go south together and crush the organization together...She betrayed us."

Cynthia spoke up, "But like Galatea said, she did it for..."

"Yeah, I know" Said Deneve brusquely "What I'm saying is...She was never fit to be captain, she's just a naïve idealist."

From out of nowhere, Tabitha landed a solid right to Deneve's jaw in her anger then stepped back, her fists clenched.

Deneve merely shrugged off the hit, then declared, "Miria's the one you should punch. One thing is certain, Miria betrayed us."

Turning her back on Tabitha, Deneve said to Galatea, "I'm sorry, but we're not good at giving up. We won't assume she's dead based on what you just said."

Galatea smiled at her and said calmly, "Do as you wish, we have always lived in different ways."

Turning away from Galatea, Deneve called out, "Let's go Tabitha!"

Tabitha looked up from her tears in surprise and Deneve said bluntly, "What's the matter? We're going to beat up Miria, right?"

Helen grinned and placed her sword in its holder, "Oh, I get it!"

Cynthia smiled and said cheerfully, "I guess it's the only thing to do."

Yuma said softly, "It's been our common destiny since leaving the north."

They all faced Galatea as a group, the five remaining survivors of the 24 warriors sent to the north to die.

Deneve said cooly, "We leave the holy city in your hands."

Galatea smiled and replied, "We'll manage, we've got Clarice and Miata."

Deneve glanced at Teresa, Riful and Sheila who had stood apart while the five survivors sorted things out.

She said cooly, "Well?"

Teresa smiled faintly and said, "Having another blade couldn't hurt."

Riful smiled and said coyly, "Try and keep me away from this final party!"

Sheila said grimly, "I want to piss on Dae's corpse to make sure he's dead this time."

Helen chuckled at Sheila's remark and said, "Knowing that sick old bastard, he'd probably like it."

They were joined by Dietrich and Deneve said to her, "You've done well, you've more than paid back your debt. Now do as you please."

Dietrich paused a moment, then asked, "Do you think the organization planned this attack?"

Deneve hesitated a moment, then asked, "Why do you ask that?"

Dietrich replied haltingly, "My home town...Suffered an attack like this one. Numerous yoma and monsters I'd never seen before attacked.

"Later I learned they were called awakened beings. I was so young and didn't understand what I saw that day as my friends and family died."

Dietrich said quietly, " In retrospect, I think it started with our village elder arguing with a man in black after a yoma was suppressed.

"Soon afterwards, the village was overrun and somehow, I survived that hellish scene. A man in black took me in and I thought he'd saved my life.

"That's why I decided to risk my life for the organization no matter what it cost me."

She hesitated and with tears streaming from her eyes, asked,"That's why I want you to tell me...Did the organization plan that attack today?"

Deneve replied softly, "Come with us Dietrich."

Turning her back on Dietrich, Deneve said over her shoulder,"From now on, you will learn the answer as we did by seeing with your eyes, hearing with your ears and feeling with your blade."

She paused, "If as a result, you reach a different conclusion than we did, then we will cross swords."

As Dietrich joined the group, Clarice and Miata suddenly arrived and she said, "We came because we sensed fighting, did something happen?"

Galatea said quietly, "It was nothing. It starts now, their final mission."

She watched the group leaving and said softly,"Until this, I never believed in God...But now, for the first time, I feel like praying to the god of Rabona."

She murmured, "Come back alive you nine warriors, and if you can. Bring back the tenth with you."

Galatea looked at the two and said, "Come with me you two, we have much to do before they get back."

Clarice asked hesitantly, "W,Where are they going?"

Galatea smiled at the color headed warrior and replied,"They are going to crush the organization and find out what happened to Captain Miria."

Clarice's expression became one of astonishment and she exclaimed,"C,Crush the organization?" She was so startled that Miata cried, "Mama? Mama, are you alright?" Her alarm evident on her face.

Clarice quickly recovered her composure and said to her young ward, "Yes Miata, I'm fine. I was just a bit surprised that's all."

Turning to Galatea, Clarice asked,"Do you think they have a chance?"

Galatea smiled and replied,"Considering the combined power in that squad, I'd say they have a pretty good chance. Though how many of them will survive, remains to be seen."

Clarice looked a bit confused and asked, "How powerful are they?"

Galatea chuckled softly and said charitably, "It's too bad your yoma energy reading ability is so weak. Otherwise, you'd know that Riful is one of the creatures of the abyss, the last one in fact. Her true form could easily destroy this city.

"Teresa is perhaps the most powerful warrior ever, even in the fiercest combat she never tapped into her yoma energy. She could equal or exceed any warrior no matter their specialty."

Clarice visibly shuddered and Miata asked,"Mama?"

Calming herself, Clarice said quietly,"I had no idea, Riful always seemed so nice, I never would've guessed who she really was. And Teresa always spent time with Miata, I guess I never really thought about how she could simply disarm Miata anytime she felt like it."

She looked at Galatea and asked, "What about the rest of them, are they powerful too?"

Galatea smiled,"Oh yes, they're all powerful. Whatever their original ranking was, they've all become equal to most of today's single digits.

"I'm not concerned about their fighting skills, they've become a cohesive unit to the envy of the organization, who has failed to create their equal."

"What worries me is what the organization may have hidden away, just in case of a rebellion."

A few moments later, Galatea said,"Come along now you two, we have much to do."

Clarice grinned at the tall warrior, now dressed in a nun's habit and the three of them reentered the battered Holy City of Rabona.