The soldiers looked all relieved now that the battle had ended, even those who were wounded gave out small smiles, while others gave out chuckles despite some having lead stuck inside them.
The Elves who were defeated looked at the man in shame, while some glared at their sergeant who had failed them.
They were all gathered next to a wall of a house completely exposed from the rain, guarded only by three infantrymen with their rifles in their arms. It was an easy escape for the elves if they would try, but the soldiers glares tells that they won't hesitate to put lead in their abdomens.
However, despite this small victory, one soldier looked more worried compared to the others.
His eyes would often flicker around the village, his pupils shivering from each second pass, he was trying to search for something, or for someone, but he couldn't find it.
He kept on searching and searching until he finally had enough of it.
He hurriedly stood up from the ground and rushed towards the enemy's once fortified street, moving closer towards the only two soldiers who stayed after a rough day.
Kazuto, who stood with his hands shivering, and his eyes gazing towards the elven machine gunner's lifeless body, watching as his blood got dragged away by the rain; and Adolph, sitting down and gazing at the coin in his fingers.
He soon reached them, panting, however it did little to stop his anxiousness. His eyes wander even further as he searched behind the path where both Kazuto and Adolph had come through, but his worried expression was still there, it never faded, in fact it worsened.
"Where's Hanz!!?" Gunther yells in desperation, gripping to Adolph's collar as he looks at him in the eye. However, Adolph looked away not even bothering to answer.
Kazuto saw it all unfold in front of him. Anger that was coming from Gunther's eyes, fear with his hands shaking, and overall belief that he isn't particularly sure to follow.
The rest of the soldiers were left to wonder what was going on, while Kazuto took a short deep breath and stood forward, slightly hesitant.
He had taken this matter with his own hands. His expression filled with solemnity, yet the feeling of fear stayed inside of him as he opened his mouth towards a man with a face willing to kill hundreds, or maybe thousands.
"He was left behind wh-when he was shot. We couldn't get to him... even when we tried we would just die in the process. We had no choice..." Kazuto answered in condolence, looking away in guilt as the same way as Adolph.
"So you left him there.. bleeding!?" Gunther yelled, glaring towards Kazuto.
"It was his own wish as well. We couldn't reject a wish like that. besides, The main objective was still the main priority even if your fellow comrades die.." Adolph answered, looking unfazed from the tantrum Gunther had with them.
"He couldn't die!! Not that easily..." Gunther muttered to himself.
Still with a mad expression in his face, he grabbed Adolph's collar and pulled him up as his eyes glared against the look of Adolph's uninterested demeanor, his eyes busy looking at his silver coin.
"Where did you last saw him..?" Gunther asked. "Tell me, now!!" Gunther demanded, his grip tighten even further into Adolph's collar.
"Near the wagon over there.. behind that tree," Kazuto answered.
He pointed his finger towards the direction they went through in the beginning of the confrontation, as the wagon he pointed couldn't even be identified as a wagon anymore.
Gunther gulped, dropping his grip from Adolph's collar, still worrying as his fears might have come true. He left behind Kazuto and Adolph, running as fast as he can towards the directions Kazuto had given him.
Gunther was now gone from their sight, as Kazuto is consumed by guilt. While Adolph just gaze at the man running away unfazed.
Soon he reached the area as he got a closer look at the wagon. It was obliterated, and wherever he looked at, it's shape had ruined itself from battle.
However, He couldn't find anyone, nor anything, it was abandoned, and to him it felt like Kazuto had lied. Nonetheless, the hopelessness he was slowly suffocated in vanished, as he saw something in the ground.
It was a hand, hiding in a tree, lying down in the wet dirt, completely open and weak, moisten by the mud and rain. He rushed towards it, as he saw a young man with blonde hair.
His eyes slightly open, with droplets falling down from his eyelashes, and his lips had become dry, his skin was slowly becoming pale as well, while his head pointed down with his back lying to the trunk.
"There you are Hanz!!" Gunther said in relief as he couldn't help but smile even a little.
He hurriedly run towards him; however, it wasn't over, there was still something that he had to do.
He looked down at Hanz' as he could see his uniform damped in blood with his other hand clenching tightly to his abdomen. The white bandage he had held turned darker than a velvet rose as it was damped with the rain still falling above.
He kneeled down in shock, with his eyes shaking and his mouth slightly hanging open. However, fear can't solve anything, it never once did solve anything.
He crawled towards him in haste, checking his pulse in the neck for any signs of life and there he found something. A beat, a frail yet perfectly beating pulse.
He quickly grabbed a few bandages in his pockets to replace the ones Hanz' tightly held. But as he touch Hanz' hands, it had gone cold with little to know strength even left to hold the bloody bandage.
"Hanz stay with me, you can't die!! Not yet!!" Gunther begged desperately, pushing his hands to his friend's wounds.
But Hanz did not answer. He never once spoke when Gunther arrived, nor even bother to gaze him in the eye. He was just there looking down to the ground as he could see his blood getting dragged down by the rain, drenching the leaves.
But there's still hope, he was still breathing, even slightly. Gunther still doesn't have an intention to give up hope. He pushed his bandage closer towards Hanz, looking at his eyes if there's any movement.
"Hanz, I know you can hear me, keep fighting... will you!! The medics will be here soon, trust me!! Remember, your mother is still waiting for you back home!! Your father... Your father still wants to see your face alive in pride!! Isa—"
He's words of desperation had been cut down short. the little breath Hanz gave out finally could no longer be felt.
"Hanz...?" Gunther asked, shaking his body if there's still a sign of life, but it didn't move not even a muscle.
"HANZ!!?"
He violently shook Hanz' body, still in denial. He's gone, that's what his head has been telling him. He's gone for good but Gunther won't believe that. Not now and never will. He still wouldn't let go of his hope that from the very beginning it was already hopeless.
He pursued on putting pressure into the wound, but it won't bring him back.
"Hanz... how could you leave just like that..."
Gunther finally let go of his hope as he lay his head to his knees. He sighed closing his eyes, whimpering in tears blaming himself internally. It was all his fault he said to himself, he could have done something before but he didn't.
It was only him now and the rain and it's droplets comforting him from his faults. It was only him, It was always him... until he heard a mutter.
"Just shut up already... will you. You look like a baby trying to grab someone's attention with all that crying. It doesn't suit you... for someone in your age at least," Hanz said. It was soft, but it was a the best he could have mumbled, even so far as to give off a small smile.
Gunther opened his eyes looking up once more, seeing the man he thought dead just laughing in front of him like all of what happened was nothing.
"I was trying my best to sleep off the pain but you have to come in and wake me up," Hanz continued as he coughed, complaining like a kid to his brother. "Well... I guess that's better than getting to sleep in a tree and getting drenched by rain."
Hanz continued to chuckle despite still in pain, while Gunther just still kneeled down there with a straight face and his mouth open, speechless to what he had just seen still not believing what's happening.
He later rubbed his eyes thinking it was his own delusions playing tricks around him, but Hanz was still there looking at him. He clenched his jaws and laughed, finally opening up.
"Hanz... you bastard, I thought you were dead!!" Gunther yelled, punching Hanz in the shoulder.
Hanz grunted as he took the punch like it was no big deal, looking at Gunther's tired and angered, yet relieved face.
"Me? Dead? Never gonna happen.." Hanz bluffed, coughing even louder than before.
Gunther was left speechless as from the beginning he knew Hanz' words were just bluffs. He scoffed kneeling once again and looked down, as he could finally relaxed his body in relief.
"Don't even try to scare me like that ever again," Gunther said softly.
"Trust me, I won't."
Gunther scoffed again as he nodded. He then took a bandage from one of his pockets, wrapping it around Hanz' abdomens to stop the bleeding, while Hanz' vision started to become hazy.
He soon held Hanz' arm, helping him to stand up as the higher he gets he could feel his abdomen aching a sharp pain, grunting in pain in the process. The lead was still stuck inside him, struggling even in the slightest of movements.
The two later walked back to the village with each step they could, it was slow but safe, at least Gunther found the person he's been searching.
Finally they were now leaving the tree, with its barks left with blood only to be washed away by the rain. Leaving not only the pain, but as well as the near dreadful memory.