Chương 24: BELIEVER

Over the next few days, the believers had been gifted an array of loot. No discrimination. Anyone who wanted got to pick from T'balt's bag of tricks. They would come to him, bow, and pray before him, sometimes even going as far as to kiss his hand. Every person who gave him praise made him want to cringe. But he was following Arthur's advice, and it proved to be working to a T. Every command he spoke, the people followed without a second thought. But it didn't feel like power.

It felt like a telekinetic manipulation. Just because he knew about the loot first. How easy it was to take command of so many. And yet there was one who didn't take as kindly to him. And it was the person he wanted to see him most in all the world. Ellie remained distant, operating within her basement, mostly outside of him. T'balt had given a few others around the camp healing loot as well to ease her burden of taking care of so many.

But Ellie would find other ways to keep herself busy by organizing shelves or acting as hospitality to all the new people seeking shelter. She seemed to only look at T'balt when he was looking at her. It left him uncertain, questioning his decisions.

"Maybe I shouldn't have given others healing loot. Now I don't have as much reason to rely on her. I just wish… she'd look at me." It wasn't the only decision he became weary of. Most commands would be third-partyed by Abbot Kilgrove. Once, he stated that T'balt didn't have the gravitas that these people expect of him. So he carried out most of the instructions practically with a name tag that said "messenger of the Redeemer." He would go on to preach his name in the sermons that T'balt never attended.

That was fine by T'balt. He didn't want these people to see him giving commands like that. They would start to think he was some sort of dictator. Maybe that was why Ellie seemed to avoid him. It felt like the same skepticism that she showed Monan when they arrived. He supposed that their only real connection was their shared hatred of him back then. That didn't stop him from staring at her now, a deep longing in his mind. A longing for something that technically he never had.

He had mentioned the name Monan to a few around the church. But no one had heard or seen of him or a man matching the description. But as rumors started to circulate, people grew curious. Some would ask. T'balt wouldn't tell them, afraid that others wouldn't believe him. Or even worse, that they would believe everything without question. So his name floated around in the ether until it eventually got attached to the word "devil." That was likely Acelin's doing.

It was only with him that T'balt had a real conversation about Monan. T'balt had to remember that he was just a kid whose imagination could run wild, if given enough room. But at least they all knew his name meant bad news, so if someone spotted him, they would come to T'balt immediately. Until then, they had to prepare for the Nrv attack. If he remembered right, it was in about two weeks. But he couldn't remember an exact day. He was in a depressed stupor then, so he wasn't keeping track.

He was spending all his time not eating and thinking about Chosa. But for now, he had the others building barriers with earth loot around the perimeter of the church's property. Many of the young men and women experimented with their new loot in the parking lot. He limited each person to one, not completely sure of the effects of having multiple. Plus, he didn't want to overwhelm them with too much power, lest someone accidentally burn the church down.

Those experimentations would turn to training sessions and then the young ones would be fighting on the street. Weapons would spark, fires would bellow, and the abnormal would shine. T'balt went out to the church's balcony to watch them from above. But there was someone already there.

"You aren't in the infirmary?" T'balt asked. Ellie was practicing with her bow of light summoned by loot. She focused on her grip of it, the weight, and figuring out the proper form to hold it. She appeared to be in peak concentration when T'balt unconsciously interrupted. Her response was warm but no different than her natural demeanor.

"Not today… There's an attack coming, right? I want to be able to defend myself. Besides, there are other healers to take care of the sick when I'm gone." He didn't know where she'd gotten the bow from. It wasn't something that he found, but he remembered her having it in the last iteration as well. He'd figured she'd somehow gotten it from Monan. Wherever it was from, it was powerful, versatile, and seemed to fit in her hand as easily as a glove. He was almost jealous he didn't have one himself.

"So you're just determined to be an attack healer, huh?" he said. Ellie's eyes dotted in confusion.

"It's a video game reference. It's something you see in some tactical fantasy games or hero shooters. There's really no such thing as an attack healer. Usually, when one appears, it means you lost the game because the medic doesn't have the tools to defend themselves on the front lines. They're backline supports. But certain support characters also have a high aptitude for one-on-one combat in case things get hairy. This is the attack healer."

But T'balt started fantasizing in his head, remembering his youth and his obsession with the archetype.

"Theoretically, if someone could switch effectively between attacking and healing, they'd be overpowered, especially if they can heal themselves. They'd just have to prioritize the team not dying," he gushed, nearly drooling at the mouth like the geek he always held inside of him.

"I'm not some video game character," she said flatly, before resuming her practice.

"I guess not… sorry." T'balt apologized, still unable to figure out the reason for her distance. The kind church girl act must've been reserved for her patience and other church members. She had said before that she always had a hard time trusting people. Especially strangers. But T'balt felt like much more than a stranger. But that was all in his mind. He was starting to accept the fact that maybe she would never see him in the way she had again.

"At least she's alive," he said to himself. A boy mimicking a bullet shot to his right side, looking to attack and activated by speed loot. But T'balt's reflex loot blocked his kick, then the punch, and finally the electric strike. His face started to sag in boredom, realizing it was just Acelin. He buzzed around him like a busy bee trying to break through the reflex loot, but even his incredibly fast attacks started to get trivial after a while.

T'balt could block them now with one arm tied behind his back, much to the kid's frustration. Acelin stopped once the element of surprise was gone. Ellie looked over in astonishment.

"Man… that sucks," Acelin complained.

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"You know, when you first talked about a game, I figured it would be something a little less violent."

"What do you mean? It's basically tag."

"What kind of tag do you play?" T'balt reacted.

"This kind." Then, from behind, a furry creature materialized in the air. It was small, but its hooved hand nearly took T'balt's ear off and would've even if it wasn't for his enhanced perception. T'balt leaped high, taking a perch on one of the cathedral rooftops.

"A demon?" He prepared himself for its incoming attack as he could see the small beast cutting through the air to get to him. He prepared to block its attacks, but it never came. The beast just floated in front of him, looking him blank in the face.

"It stopped?" Acelin was stopped in his tracks by a bonk on the head from Ellie. She swatted him like a kindergarten teacher catching a kid throwing food at lunch. Acelin's eyes swirled like a blended ice cream cone.

"Acelin, what did I tell you about using your powers for unnecessary violence?"

"Ugh..." He rubbed his head.

"Sorry, Miss Brazer." T'balt raised an eyebrow as the horned demon faded into a puff of smoke. Ellie knelt in front of the boy whose face flushed red.

"You play too roughly sometimes. That's why the other kids don't always want to play with you."

"I don't care about the other kids," he pouted.

"It's just a game."

"But if you hurt whoever you're playing with, you won't be able to play anymore anyway. Wouldn't you hate that?"

"I guess." She placated the boy's defiance with a few simple words. Something that T'balt hadn't been able to do since they picked him up.

"Not only is she that cute, but she's an attack healer and great with kids. Can the universe just stop giving me reasons to love this woman?" He felt himself glossing over. But he snapped back to reality after thinking about what just happened. What Acelin just did. He climbed down from the roof.

"Acelin. Were you controlling that thing?"

"Oh, that." He sounded surprised.

"Oh, you don't know?"

"Uhh. No, I don't." He smiled like he had just found his new favorite candy.

"I know something T'balt doesn't know. Hey, does that make me a Redeemer? Will you start worshipping me now?" he teased. Another smack to the head from Ellie.

"Don't be rude."

"Ow.. Fine… It's another loot. See." He put attention on the back of his neck, where another hexagonal tattoo formed in the lump of his spine. In the middle was the image of that horned creature.

"It's like a summon loot. It makes a demon appear and fight for you." T'balt remembered back. That must've been how Monan was controlling the Fury. How he was able to kill them all. Just another loot. He should've known. That seemed to be how everything was explained in this world. Loot. It seemed like they could make anything possible. Anything the mind could think of, and twice as many more. So that only meant they had to prepare for anything. T'balt was lost in thought.

That also meant Monan had broken his no more than 3 loot rule. He had started to categorize that rule as a lie, but then he remembered the strange cracks in his skin and how his entire demeanor became demented. That was what it looked like when someone took on more than they could handle, and Monan did it because he knew they were going to reset anyway.

"But I don't remember picking up a loot like that anywhere or anyone running that by me. Where'd you get it?" T'balt asked Acelin.

"I was… loot hunting." The kid averted his gaze.

"Acelin…" T'balt began to scold him.

"How many times did I tell you not to go out on your own?"

"What? It's not like I'll get hurt. I'm too strong for anything to beat me."

"It doesn't matter. We don't know what's out there. And if something happened and you didn't tell me, how can I know where to find you?" He found himself playing the boys' guardian, simply by proxy of him having no one else to play the role. But still, he was headstrong and tended to do what he liked despite warnings. It was the third time T'balt caught him going out like this.

"He's right," Ellie said.

"We know you're strong, but if you're not here, who's going to protect T'balt, huh?" That seemed to stop Acelin in his tracks.

"I guess you do need me around for that." Who knew thirteen-year-olds could have egos? Ellie had Acelin by the hand, who then went to grab T'balt by the pant, unconsciously pulling them all closer. T'balt was, of course, awkward about it, not entirely comfortable standing too close to Ellie when he knew she wanted her space this iteration. But to his surprise..

"Are you blushing?" Ellie's face was a little red, too.

"You're imagining things," she said.

"I was protecting you, though," Acelin said, hiding further behind T'balt's leg.

"What do you mean?" said T'balt.

"I saw that man… the devil. And I followed him."

"You did what!?" T'balt was incensed, ripping himself away, eyes now full of crazed anger. Acelin switched his allegiance to hide behind Ellie, who made a short step forward to defend him. T'balt had to realize himself.

"I'm sorry. Just… Tell me what happened, Acelin." He squeezed Ellie's leg at first, unsure of what all he should say.

"He was behind the church, sitting on the wall that you had everyone build. He was laughing. And then he walked away. So I tried to follow him. I thought that… If I could beat him up, then I'd, you know… get some sort of reward. But I guess he saw me. Then he gave me that beast summon loot."

"He just gave it to you?" Ellie asked. Acelin nodded. T'balt's mind was racing. So Monan was around, which likely meant he was still planning on coming after him and the church. Scouting. It was bad news. Grave news.

"We have to double our defenses, make sure everyone is trained, and make sure we have people on watch 24/7. I don't want him setting foot on the church's property again," he said aloud.

"Who is he?" Ellie asked, having heard the name but only rumors.

"The devil himself." The word was passed around, and the church acted in a controlled frenzy. Arthur was quite the commander and came up with the perfect plan to defend. Assigning shift watches as well as patrols around the perimeter of their newly built earth wall. He put a 24-hour guard protection around the resource floor, and all volunteer soldiers were assigned to mandatory morning training. They were told that they had to defend God's church.

Arthur Kilgrove was far more useful than T'balt could ever hope to imagine. But T'balt didn't sit out of the training and defense planning. He had come up with a battle strategy. He would have elemental loot users act as a row of archers in the back with a row of healers behind them. Then only the extremely adept would meet any attackers on the front line, as the elementals would try to drive the attackers into a centralized area. Everyone else would be on top of the earth wall, throwing attacks from above.

Hoping to stall any entrance into the church territory. It was their castle, and so siege tactics would work to his advantage. He knew his small obsession with medieval warfare, and RPGs would come in handy one day. But it still didn't prepare him thoroughly. He had no clue what Monan's plans were or even why he was laughing while staring at their defenses. And why did he give Acelin the loot? Was it because he knew Acelin would be close to T'balt?

Monan was there two iterations ago, when the kid was fighting alongside them. But what was the play?

"Redeemer, sir." Someone had run onto the balcony where he sat to isolate his thinking.

"What is it?"

"A group of men are gathered outside the wall. They tried to enter, and we tried to deny them as you asked, but now they demand to speak with you." He was struck sharply by this news and went to see where the commotion had started. He eyed the group of men from where he could see over the wall. They were burly, and about ten of them. Now that he knew Monan was around, he was on high alert for anything suspicious. And this… felt suspicious.

He wanted to tell the man to just shoo them away, but he supposed he was somewhat of a leader to them now. If it had something to do with Monan, he should be the one to face them.

"Fine," he said.

"I'll go."