Tapping his finger repeatedly on a circular table, Luccio Felnatus shows impatience.
"Where is he? I've been waiting for news from that wretch for over a week, and he doesn't even do the basics!"
"Young Master, you have to be a little more patient. If we're not careful right now and anyone from the Judgment regiment finds us, you'll be punished by the commander and possibly by the master."
"I know that, you imbecile! I'm surrounded by incompetents! Even that freak would have achieved some decent results by now!" In yet another moment of uncontrollability, Luccio kicks the chair he was sitting on.
A light knock on the door can be heard, and the man next to Luccio approaches it.
"Who's there? We have nothing to give to the poor!"
"The poor are those who don't recognize the glory of Felnatus."
He opens the door, letting a hooded person enter and approach Luccio.
"I apologize for the delay, young master, but the last few days have been chaotic at the camp."
"I don't want to hear your excuses. Have you managed to complete your mission yet?"
"Unfortunately, no, my lord. She was under the watch of other soldiers in the regiment and was under constant surveillance. I ask you for more patience so we can carry out your plan." Unhappy with the news, Luccio grabs a porcelain mug on the table and throws it against the wall, shattering it.
"You useless man! You've been with her for over a month and didn't manage to do something simple like leave her in an isolated place?!"
"My sincerest apologies, my lord, but if I act rashly, I will not only tarnish the honor of House Felnatus, but it will alert those who are protecting it, and that will only cause trouble for you." With a click of his tongue, Luccio calms down and sits down, filling another mug on the table and taking a big sip of wine.
"Why does everything have to be harder for me? That wretched Amiliath makes everything seem so simple."
"Don't worry, my lord." The hooded person said. "There will come a time when she will be alone, and you will be able to fulfill your wishes."
"My time is running out, you need to hurry this up, or I will have to go north as my father ordered. If he finds out that I disrespected his orders, I will certainly lose my title of heir."
"My lord, since you are in such a hurry, may I make a suggestion?"
"I hope it is good because I am tired of other people's incompetence."
"I'm sure you'll like it, sir. The harvest festival will be held throughout the kingdom next week. Even this small village will have festivities. Many people will be involved in security on the day of the festival. We can use a fake incident to lure her out of the village to a place without any interference."
Satisfied, Luccio laughs euphorically, with a grand smile forming on his lips.
"Perfect! Sit down! Let's agree on the best place to ambush her! Fillandre, bring the map of the region. This time, that abomination will suffer the due punishment!"
At camp, Manila trained with her battle axe against a training dummy; her precise blows created small cracks in the parts she hit, even bending the iron plates that served as armor.
Looks of admiration and fear gathered around her. With each blow she landed, the image of those she killed came alive in her mind, and the feeling of helplessness for not being able to control herself continued to haunt her. A gentle hand touched her shoulder, and she quickly turned around in surprise, realizing that Boltu was smiling at her.
"I may understand what you're feeling, and I'm even glad you're training, but it's been four hours, and you need to rest." Like a father talking to his daughter, his posture made her smile.
"I'm sorry, I'm trying to feel in control, I want to feel every action of my body, I want to know how I can control this, I don't want to feel what I felt when I woke up from that nightmare again."
"Are you feeling the weight of those you killed or the feeling of loss of control?"
"I don't feel anything for those I killed, from what I've been told they were all bandits who were ready to accept that fate when they committed the acts they did, but the lack of being in charge, simply 'sleeping' and waking up covered in blood in the middle of a true carnage..." She pauses for a moment. "It's not something I want to feel again.
"Come with me to my tent, let's talk about it." She wipes the sweat off her face and heads to the tent. When she arrives, Elzen is sitting, waiting with a shy smile. She smiles back and sits next to him.
"He's the one who asked me to check in with you." Boltu said as he entered the tent and sat in his chair. "Now, my dear, please tell us what you feel."
Manila looks at the two of them with fear, fearing that everything she has to tell them could push away the two people she loves the most, but the gentle smiles on their faces remind her that she can try to trust them, so she begins to speak.
"After the duel between Luccio and me, he punished me severely, leaving me on the brink of death. During the time I spent unconscious, I felt trapped in a dark room, with nothing around me."
"Suddenly, a voice similar to mine, but a little darker, began to speak to me. It said that no one cared about me in that mansion, that all those who came close only did so until they could take advantage of me. I tried to deny those words, but deep down I felt exactly that." She looks directly at Boltu.
"When I woke up and saw you and others around me taking care of me, it was the first time that voice influenced me and I ended up getting excited, I said right and wrong things, but I let out all that bitterness that was growing inside me, for years I held back my tears and just lived day by day, that day was my limit."
"I remember well, it was thanks to what you told me that I decided to start acting to help you." Boltu interrupts with a sad tone. "Because of my consideration for my friendship with Mellorus, I let him do whatever he wanted, and I believed that I was being respectful of how he decided to live, but this was getting out of control."
"I never waited for anyone to help me. I knew I was alone, but when you offered a way to leave that mansion and live a different way, I was happy, so happy. The voice that every day tried to convince me to do something irreversible, temporarily silenced, but with the passing of time and the experiences I went through, it slowly returned."
"When was the first time the voice returned after you joined the regiment?" Elzen asked, holding Manila's hand.
"After the Barghashee attack, when I needed to use my mana to recover, I think it was the first time I told someone I could do it, and that person was you, Elzen." She smiled shyly, her cheeks blushing slightly.
"What did you feel during the siege of the bandit stronghold?" Boltu asked as he wrote something.
"During my fight against that gigantic bandit, he was too strong, the voice was silent, but the moment I was defeated and was on the verge of losing mine consciousness, that voice woke up and said in a happy tone, finally you accepted, after that I lost my consciousness and woke up the way you already know." Boltu's face changes to a more serious expression after Manila finishes. He looks at both young soldiers.
"What I'm going to say here must not be repeated under any circumstances, can you promise me that?" Without hesitation, Elzen and Manila nod in agreement.
"Ten years ago, on one of my visits to the capital for the annual royal ball, I met a young researcher looking for sponsors for his research. His name is Velrodth."
"The reason I became his sponsor was because his research was focused on a phenomenon that happens to certain individuals born during the day without stars, you know very well about this Manila, according to the cult of the Star Children, those born on this day are called Guideless, that is, they do not have any special abilities."
"Because of this concept, many children born on this day are abandoned, killed, or mistreated by their parents, regardless of their social class. He set out to obtain information about these children." Boltu's expression changed from serious to angry.
"The first data he got was that half of the children died in some way because they were guideless people, their deaths were never properly investigated, and of those who survived, more than eighty percent developed violent tendencies and were arrested or killed during some criminal activity."
With each word, Manila slowly shrinks, and the discomfort of knowing about these people and the recent events seems like an omen for her future. Noticing the change in her, Elzen hugs her affectionately with one arm, offering her comfort and helping her calm down.
"When interviewing those who were arrested, he discovered that they all did not understand what they were doing at that moment, as if something stole control of their conscience and committed something terrible during this loss of consciousness, he called these people Berserkers."
"Berserkers are people who lose control of their reason and act entirely on their primitive instincts, an absurd resistance to pain, and all their senses are amplified, allowing them to present a huge increase in their reflexes, strength, and even abilities."
"So I am a monster..." Manila said in a tearful tone.
"No!" Boltu exclaimed and hit his desk hard. "The people who treated you like trash all this time are the ones who are the real monsters! The last report I received from Velrodth showed that many of those who manifested themselves as Berserkers had horrible childhoods and suffered greatly during this period.
"If that is true, am I destined to become more and more like one of these Berserkers?"
"Yes, but there may be a solution to this. By moving away from that place that is harmful to your health, you were able to repress those internal and cruel desires that grew inside your mind. Maybe you can control those instincts."
"A Berserker..." Manila said with her head down.
"Don't worry, Manila. I'm sure Commander Boltu and I can help you with that." Elzen said, trying to cheer her up.
"Exactly, my child! Take this as a challenge. Some people have never shown any signs of becoming a Berserker. You can stay in control, and we will help you. First, I want you to rest this week. After all, you need rest from everything that happened. In a week, there will be the harvest festival. I want you to go and create good memories. Who knows, maybe with lots of good energy, you will be free this." Boltu said proudly. He approached Manila and hugged her tightly.
"I know it will be difficult, but I'm sure we will be able to overcome this, my dear."
Manila hugged him tightly and stayed like that for a while.