Chapter 4 - IV. RED

 𝟜. ℝ𝔼𝔻

The Banquet hall shook in discernment, as the smell of fear could be found within every man's silent breath. Lusen's eyes dilated at the sound of the horrifying news. Return to the Eastern Front? 

In an instant, Lusen's eyes began to flash with his macabre memories of the Eastern Front. Muddy ladders, polluted swamps, moisture from blood in the sands, the smell of charring corpses, and the rhythm of constant bombardment.

He needed to get into this mission.

Suddenly, five men in the distance rose from their seats as they lifted their plates with their voices.

"This is unacceptable!"

"We are your people too!"

"You cannot send us back, for we have just returned!"

The sounds of crashing plates echoes through out the hall, as more men attempted to stop the five, as they crashed into the banquet, wasting tables of food, and yelling their voices out. 

Lusen peered around the long room to see the Ambassador's reaction, but he had none. He stared throughout every crevice and dark corner, and was able to snag a peek. He could see tall, dark figures slowly creeping towards the main hall. They held large silhouettes, some that even looked like rifles.

The crashing plates made their way towards the main stage, narrowly missing the Ambassador. The Ambassador, however, kept silent and his cool, as he closed his eyes and continued breathing, as if he was giving them one final chance.

But the people did not stop their rampage. They knocked chairs, pushed other conscripts to the ground, dropped food on the grimy floors, and attracted many unpleasant looks towards their skin.

"Take the shot." The suddenly monotone voice of the Ambassador echoed throughout the whole of the hall. In an instant, the banquet responded.

The silhouettes rose from their corners, revealing more Cameradean guards, as they aimed their sights towards the five.

Lusen attempted to lift his knees, but was stopped by Rin's metallic arm halfway. "This is not your fight to kill in, Lusen."

 The Cameradean guards began to charge their rifles, as the five men began to plead, and precisely spent one round on each.

The floors were painted red, as blood splattered around the glorious food. Blood contaminated the faces of other men around them, as fifteen more men rose and attempted to escape the room out of fear.

"Please! Ambassador, not this!"

"Don't kill us, please!"

The Ambassador gave a stern, unimpressed expression on his face before speaking into the microphone once more.

"Besides the type of man who does not choose to stand down when given the chance, the other type of man I resent is the man who riddles in fear. Take the shot."

The floors were lathered in bile and red, as all those in their seats riveted in them, not daring to move a muscle. Lusen stared into his hands, shaking, as he struggled to take a breath after the scene he just witnessed.

"That... could have been me," he thought to himself. "My nation.. is killing me.."

Lusen directed himself toward Rin, checking to see if he had gathered the same revelation, but his robotic face remained cold, as his chassis continued to stare toward the Ambassador in compliance. Forced compliance.

The Ambassador readjusted his coat as he brought himself closer to the microphone once again. He coughed loudly as he switched the subject, paying no mind to the men he had just massacred.

"Well, that winds down our margins. The number of conscripts present in this room should be 430 now."

Lusen stared towards the large, blood-stained red banquet, as all he could think about revolved in his mind.

"This is the faction I'm fighting for?"

"Snap out of it, Lusen," Rin said as his incandescent eyes peered towards the man. "There is no use in sulking for something that has passed or never happened."

"Now, you all may be wondering, how must we choose the fifty representatives to move towards Overgrief?" The Ambassador continued to ramble in his blind excellence. "Well, we shall make use of these, buzz rounds."

The Ambassador revealed a small, bullet-like round, glowing red.

"Now, these things won't kill you," The Ambassador said as he pointed towards the man in front of the stage. Immediately, an armed guard loaded his rifle with a buzz shot before taking fire.

"A-Ambassador, are you sure?" the man began to plead.

"Fire."

The guard fired, as the buzz shot made contact with his skin, splattering and coating a fluorescent red liquid around his body.

"They won't kill you, but they will mark you in the dark. Overgrief is dark," The Ambassador turned towards the man once again. "Take him away, he's out of the mission. He's shown nothing but fear this whole time."

"Wait A-Ambassador, I can change!" The main's rattled voice began to beg.

"Or would you prefer I shoot you too?"

The man reluctantly followed the orders.

Soon after, the Ambassador approached the microphone before giving his final instructions.

"All of the Mechanaias may exit the banquet hall. They shall be chosen by our mechanical inspectors."

Rin arose from his area, patting Lusen on the back, telling him one final thing before he left. "Good luck, Lusen."

As the mechanical men trudged outside of the banquet, Lusen could not help but think to himself. "Good luck for what?"

The banquet doors shut close, echoing and shaking the inside of the hall, as the Ambassador pulled out his remote once again, but this time, flicking a lever attached to its back.

In an instant, the large tables that stood in the center of the banquet hall began to lower. All the men saw this happen and piled, taking as much food as they could before the tables could disappear into the compartments of the floor. This was yet again another scene of gluttony in the eyes of Lusen.

"For my final say," The Ambassador's voice spoke as the others continued picking off the tables. "Avoid the buzz shots. Do not get marked, or be sent back to the Eastern Front."

The table lowered as the lights of the hall went dim. Everyone around Lusen froze in fear and confusion. The room grew cold as the concerning sound of wind began to fill the room. Lusen could barely see anything but the silhouettes in front of him. He groped around his chair, the edge of his table, the plate he used for the breadroll, until he felt a sharp edge graze the top of his finger, his breadknife.

Silence could be felt within the hall, as all could hear that be heard were the increasing laboured breaths of each man present.

Lusen could feel his heart begin to palpitate as his adrenaline pumped once again. The area around him grew thick, as his mind twisted the scene back to the ruined chapel and the shattered glass of the Emperor.

"The Emperor got us here, and I'm going to kill that damn man."

The sounds of pulses began to fill the room, snapping Lusen from his episode, as the corners of the room began to shine in fluorescent red. It was at this moment that Lusen finally understood. Do not get hit, and you qualify.

A twisted game for all.