Chapter 441: Strength
The Chapterhouse was the large castle in the middle of the city.
Anko, Ferro, and Malz were guided straight there, all the while being stared at by people on the way. Even with a mostly direct path, Malz could tell the city was a maze. Perhaps that was intentional, a means to foil invaders who would likely have superior firepower and want to enslave them again. Heaven’s operational doctrine was to avoid large conflicts inside of cities, relying on proxies if they weren’t going to just level the city with magic.
Malz started to notice a theme as they walked. People with green sashes seemed to be druids or those associated with farming, while those wearing yellow seemed to be craftsmen or merchants.
Those were the most common colors the closer they got to the docks, but there were also people with patterned scarves who seemed to be associated with each other but with no definite role. Perhaps they were other militias or even street gangs - Ayther had street gangs, right? Malz seemed to remember street gangs were common antagonists in fiction about the world.
Had she been at her full strength, she might have enjoyed such a tropey encounter, but without the suit, she was horribly weak. She could heal people just fine, a little, but it had never been her strong suit. Information was where her true strength lay, making the tactical and strategic judgements that would minimize the amount of work she and others needed to do.
Her lesser seraph manifestation had even reinforced that, but achieving that form felt as distant as Hell. Having achieved that height was part of why she felt so powerless now. Part of why she froze.
Because she didn’t know how to handle herself anymore. Torture, starvation, and captivity had robbed her of confidence and strength in equal measure. And combat brought out the spectre of death that she’d spent years avoiding, hoping that what she went through would mean something.
This could not stand.
I need to recover... not just rest, but actually dig down and figure out why I’m so fucked up right now... Echoes of those other Aikos rose in Malz’s thoughts. So many lives... maybe there was something there that could help.
She saw them in dreams. In flashes and half-remembered whispers. Feelings of deja vu.
I need to look at them...