Dungeon Raider System
Chapter 678 - 678: Extra 1

"You're thinning the population." Uriel's blatant accusation resounded on Cassandra's head well after her meeting with Uriel. Contrary to most people who voluntarily joined the army, Cassandra didn't have any love for the flag or even humanity for that matter, but she was crushed under the weight of her sins nonetheless.

At first it wasn't too evident, she just sent squads to fight losing battles or to explore dangerous places inside the dungeon with the intent of getting them killed by cryptids, all under the excuse that it was a necessary sacrifice for the flag.

She didn't believe the words that came out of her mouth as she encouraged soldiers to give their lives for a cause that just wasn't there anymore and what left her even more dumbfounded was when people cheered and rallied to their deaths with a smile on their faces.

She didn't know if people had blind faith on her or if she had become too good a liar. All she knew was that now she couldn't even trust herself. What she thought and what she said didn't match, which went completely against her usual blunt but truthful approach.

When Uriel accused her she actually felt relieved, inwardly hoping the punishment for her sins would finally come. But it didn't happen then, just as it didn't happen when she forcefully drafted citizens and sent them to their deaths to the point where her officers informed her the average lifespan of a new recruit didn't even reach 24 hours.

The army didn't stand for anything anymore, it was just a revolving door of people heading straight to their doom. An institution with the task to defeat dreadful creatures was losing the war, not to cryptids but to famine.

Despite the horrors of the reports she received, Cassandra didn't left a single one without reading. She wanted to atone for her sins and if that wasn't possible, at least carry the weight of her own incompetence.

All that would have broken a lesser soldier, but despite Cassandra's lack in conviction the minute she signed up for the army she meant to give it her all. Just because it was convenient for her at the moment didn't meant that she would squander her efforts or do a half assed job.

Eventually, though, Heavenly Sword Cassandra was broken as she was forced into a choice even worse on her mind than sending people to die just so others could survive on the few rations they had left.

She betrayed the man who saved her. She knowingly sent Uriel into a trap as a condition to be allowed safe passage through the second world exit along with most of her soldiers. She was forced into agreeing as they held the refugees as hostages, but it wouldn't make a difference to Aragan, Buckshield, Lara, Tate and Uriel that would end up getting killed or worse. All because of her.

"I'm quitting the army, effective immediately." Cassandra blurted out as soon as she set foot inside the barracks of Hollywood city. Getting most of her soldiers there alive was a feat that deserved at least a medal, especially since they were kicked out of the dungeon without anything to defend themselves other than their traits.

For the next two weeks she remained under the army's radar and Mayhem would meet up with her every single day and beg her to return, but it came to a point where even someone as deranged as Mayhem understood that Cassandra wasn't a soldier anymore, she was an empty shell filled with nothing but guilt.

No amount of reasoning and telling her how well she did by saving so many soldiers from the grasp of the society and from the cryptids on their way to the city, nothing could lift the burden on her shoulders and she eventually gave up.

Without a sense of purpose, Cassandra attempted to find a new role to fit in society, but albeit more beautiful and inviting than Texas, the streets of Hollywood megacity were just as filled with scum and criminals.

It wasn't long until Cassandra found herself pennyless in a hostile city, cornered by shady characters who approached her despite her being obviously poor.

"Come with us peacefully and I promise we won't harm you." The leader of the bandits slithered an arm over her shoulders unaware of both her power and nature as a hybrid and led her to a secluded alley.

"What's up, did the cat eat your tongue?" Some other man spoke with malice.

"I don't have any money." Cassandra said in a last ditch effort to shake off the bad company, but her words fell on ears as deaf as walls.

"Oh, we know." Said the leader as his hand brushed down from her shoulder which the heavenly rank huntress quickly stopped.

Protecting herself from the perverted hand that sought to defile her was an instinctive act and Cassandra questioned herself about the reason. On her mind she deserved that or even worse and it wasn't like she had anyone or anything waiting for her. In fact, she had considered taking the easy way out multiple times but ended up deciding against it unsure of the reason why.

"Let me go, bitch!" The man squirmed as he attempted to retreat his hand from the heavenly rank grasp, only managing to hurt himself.

"Bitch? You're calling me a bitch!? I'll show you how much of a bitch I can be." Cassandra's eyes became sharp, her nails and fangs also grew larger and the bandits dropped on the ground before noticing what happened.

That exact scene replayed on her mind multiple times as she remembered what happened when she and Luna ran away from home. Two small girls without a single credit to their name showing up in the unforgiving streets of a megacity was the recipe for tragedy, but they turned it in their favor by luring criminals into dark alleys and doing the exact same thing she just did.

"Whew! You had me scared for a second there!" A feminine voice whistled from the dark corner of the alley.

"What are you doing here!?" Cassandra bellowed as she kept her incomplete werewolf form despite knowing the person in front of her. To be more precise, it was exactly due to her knowing the woman in front of her that she decided to keep her battle form at the ready.

"It's time for you to head back home, the witches already made their move and it's our turn now." The woman replied.

"What makes you think I'll go back just because you ask me to? I... we don't belong to the pack anymore." Cassandra snarled.

"Please don't make things more difficult than they have to be, dear. If your mother tells you to do something then all you have to do is obey."

"This isn't like in the past, I'm a heavenly rank hunter now. Try and do something funny..." Cassandra attempted to retreat only to bump into the same person she was distancing from despite her making sure not to take her eyes from the dark corner her mother hid.

Someone moving faster than a heavenly rank hunter could perceive was supposed to be impossible, yet Cassandra wasn't surprised when her mother proved her wrong. After all, she was the leader of the biggest pack in the continent and also a member of the hybrid council.

"I was really hoping to reconcile with you," Cassandra's mother sighed before placing a cute silver necklace on her daughter's chest turning Cassandra's worst fears into a reality. "but if you can't be reasoned with, you leave me no other choice."

As much as she wanted to atone for her sins, as much as she felt she owed to the world, nothing could ever compare to the horror she experienced at the thought of being put on a leash once more.

But if the first time had left her traumatized, she somehow didn't feel the same now. Instead of feeling trapped inside her own body, Cassandra felt relieved after having the weight of the consequences of her own actions being lifted from her shoulders.

Suddenly, the lives of the countless people that died because of her were meaningless just as the soldiers under her care. For the first time in a long while she couldn't even get herself to care about her sister Luna which, surprisingly, brought a smile to Cassandra's face.

"Let's go home."

"Yes, mother." Cassandra nodded as she tailed her mother like a well trained dog until they mixed in the crowd.

Hollywood megacity wouldn't miss the dead criminals nor would it be any safer. Their life and death was completely inconsequential as more criminals would surely take their place, but the same applied to Cassandra.

It didn't matter that she was a heavenly rank hunter or a former general, her guilt or redemption wouldn't make a difference in the megacity of Hollywood that would remain its deceivingly hostile ways and the earth would continue spinning like nothing happened.

It was seemingly just another meaningless day, like any other day.