Illya and the Villyagers

Despite her desires to heal, Illya had never truly been to a battleground. She had healed some minor wounds of people in pain in the past, sure, but there was never a sense of urgency or death to anyone of the people that she had healed. This, however, was different. Miss - no - Commander West had ordered her to come to this village. A village had been raided by some Dark Guilds, but Dies Irae was luckily close enough to take care of the evildoers before they could completely destroy the town. That was not to say that it was a completely solid task that was eliminated, however. The town was still shambled and ruined, bodies still lay on the streets, and the weeping people mourned their lost family members.

"I swear, I will crush those people to the ground!" Illya said, wroth filling her voice. "These dark guilds do little good for the world, and they need to die. There's no other way around it, Yemaya."

Yemaya sighed, though her outward appearance did not suggest it. "I caution that you do not become the same as they are, but only in the guise of light, child."

"I won't. I swear. This is for the good of the world, Yemaya. There's no other way around it. They are blights, they're just things that need to be removed from existence!"

Yemaya sighed once more, knowing she could not talk Illya out of it. It had happened many times before. Illya would express a dark desire towards the deaths of dark guilds, not realizing her own desire was a vigilante justice, with no trial and no chance to survive. "They don't deserve a second chance at life," she would say. "They've taken too many lives already, and letting them live to take another would be just as bad as letting their blood be on my hands as well! That's why Dies Irae is a better home for me!" Despite what she seemed like, Illya was a stubborn girl. She hated to be wrong about something, and even more, she hated the very concept of rehabilitation for a Dark Wizard. Once evil, always evil. That was her mantra, and she would keep to it. There was fair reason to.

Illya finally made her way into the village, which still crackled from the flames of war. Despite being moved ahead from Neophyte, Illya was still not fully trained in combat, merely working as a high level medic, so to speak. The members of Dies Irae that had killed off the Dark Guild people had already moved ahead to their next mission, and Illya was now all by herself to clean up the aftermath. In the town square, there was more ruin than she could have possibly expected. A collapsed building on one side of the circular hub, a pile of charred corpses on another, it was a sight that was enough to make Illya gag slightly. This was her first time seeing death. She had certainly experienced such a strange and evil feeling, but ever would she have thought to see innocent people piled up like nothing. Straight in the center of the town, tied together, were the corpses of the members of the Dark Guild. Illya's nausea was now shifted to hatred. She took a note of the symbol they had on them. Their guild. Illya banked it in her mind to remember to always eliminate anyone she saw with that symbol on them.

"Y-you're that healer from Dies Irae, ain't'cha?" a haggardly old man said, approaching Illya.

Illya put on a strong, happy face. "Yep! Illya Pegasus, at your service! Here to heal you guys up and make sure you're all doin' great!"

Her peppy attitude seemed to at least have some effect on the old man, who smiled slightly. "Thank you kindly, ma'am. While others come here for healing, would you mind helping me out? One of those bandits struck me with a bolt of fire, and-"

Illya held a hand up. "Say no more! I got this all taken care of!" She waited for more people to gather around before she summoned forth a harp with her musical requip. She closed her eyes and began to play, letting the soothing melodies fill into the air as she sang a song along with it. As her notes floated into the skies above, cuts began to close and bruises began to fade, their melodies and soothing, airy voices lifting the spirits and healing the souls of those in pain. A tranquility hung in the air, its feel a welcome respite from the pain and misery that had been experienced just hours before. Illya knew she could not raise the dead. She could never hope to bring back those who were lost, both in the villagers and their families and friends, nor her fellow guildmates of Dies Irae, and she had a glint of thought towards if she could raise a member of a Dark Guild to life once more, only to strike them down herself. It would be a welcome distraction from the woes of the world, a reminder towards her purpose in life: not only to heal the innocent and help the good, but to punish the wicked for their evil misdeeds.

Finishing her song, she opened her eyes to see a number of the civilians in tears, each of their words floating towards the Sound God Slayer with a reserved peace to them. Illya apologized for not being able to heal their minds, but they thanked her nonetheless. Illya was, however, distracted by seeing something in the corner of her eye. She dismissed herself to head towards the alley where the mysterious figure was. Entering, she found herself staring down a dead-end alley with a man sat down on the wall, in obvious pain. Illya felt herself freeze as she told Yemaya to distract the townsfolk and do some healing of her own. This man bore that same symbol of the dark guild.

"You. Are you one of the ones responsible for this attack?"

The man coughed. "Aye, and I would do it again if I could. Gorgonica will never fall to the likes of-"

He was interrupted by Illya slamming a foot into his chest. "You...you don't realize how much pain you caused!" Despite knowing that her rage was getting the best of her, she let it. This was a righteous anger, in her mind. "People are dead because of you!"

"Keh. And they ain't 'cuz of yer Dies Irae guild? Look at my mates in the square! They were just like these townsfolk that yer whinin' about so much."

Illya's eyes widened from the anger. She lifted her foot, causing a weak smile to appear from the man's face before she kicked it in even further. He coughed, spraying blood onto Illya's shin. "You scum are NOTHING like Dies Irae! You kill and slaughter innocent people because you find it fun! You find it enjoyable! You only have eyes for yourself! We are here to crush worthless creatures like you! You...you people don't deserve to live! We're saving people while you are ending their lives! These are people just trying to live, and yet you-"

"We're tryna live too, lady! Ya think I just popped outta the womb and was ready to kill someone? Hell no! I need to make a livelihood! Yeah, some of the top-end people enjoyed murder a bit much, but who's ta say we were all like that? Macross, over in tha square! Kid was not even seventeen, booted outta his village, and we took him in. Kid would spare everyone, and yet you slaughtered him in cold blood! What do ya-"

Illya had enough. She raised her foot once more and drove it into the man's neck. He gurgled slightly before his spirit left him, his throat smashed against a brick wall and pierced by the force of Illya's strong heel. Illya panted from rage, taking a cloth out of her purse and using it to wipe the blood off of her leg. She felt a pang of satisfaction. It was the first life she had taken. It was the first ne'er-do-well she had saved the world from. A brief smile lighted her face, unable to realize the gravity that she had just killed someone. She wandered back into the town square, satisfied with her work and ready to heal more.

What were you doing in that alley, Illya? Yemaya asked her telepathically.

There was one of those dark guild members still around. Wounded, but alive.

And now?

Wounded.

But not alive?

I know what you're going to say, but he was a villain! I'm just here trying to save the world from people like him! These people are suffering and wounded because of him!

Yemaya sighed, her eyes closing for a brief moment. Very well. I cannot approve of your actions, but it is too late to stop you now. Just be careful that you do not end up like those very people you have sworn to destroy.

I would never! After all, I'm here to be a good guy, right?

She giggled slightly as she played another refreshing tune, healing the souls of the wounded as they cursed the souls of the villains.