ML C9, P3- "Bury A Friend"

"Bury A Friend" is the third Part of "Miracula Luxia" 's ninth Chapter- "King Of Hearts". It was released on 21.04.2020.
== Plot ==
Farrar arrives at the gates of Formello, in an attempt to intimidate Jared and mock his abilities as a leader, showing how his childhood friend joined his army as an example.
However, Jared gets angry. Not because his friend is with Farrar's forces, but because it was his army that caused the death of his good friend Samuel Blake.
Farrar and his scouts are forced to flee after the angry guards shoot at them.
Meanwhile, the residents of Formello wonder what to do with Samuel's corpse. The residents are planning to burn it, out of fear that the infection might spread if it's left alone.
However, Jared has other plans.
== Story ==
Jared sighs.
"What do you want, you heartless fiend?"- He says.
Farrar grins.
"Well. I reckon that you lost a friend not too long ago, eh?"
Jared raises his eyebrow.
"A friend, you say?"
Farrar smiles.
"Akari Minamino. Does that name ring a bell?"
Suddenly, the hooded girl next to him shudders, as if recognizing the name.
Jared notices this. His eyes widen.
"Did you do something to her?!"- He asks Farrar.
The huge man doesn't respond. Instead, he turns to the girl next to him.
"Lift your hood, sweetie."- He says.
When she lifts her hood, Jared recognizes his good old friend Akari.
However, there is something wrong with her...
Our hero looks closer and sees that her eyes have changed.
Not too long ago, they were brown and beautiful. Now, they are black and threatening.
Also, a huge gray eyepatch sits on her left eye.
Akari herself is very quiet. Instead of saying something, she just looks up at Jared and coldly stares at him, silent loathing emanating from her remaining eye.
It is more than clear that Akari regards Jared as a threat.
After evaluating him for a while, she pulls out a sword from her back.
"Wait. Not yet."- Farrar says- "You will have your revenge soon. I promise."
Akari nods and sheathes her blade, continuing to silently loathe Jared as she does so.
Jared sighs.
"Well?"- Farrar says- "How does it feel to be betrayed by the one who you betrayed a long time ago?"
Jared shakes his head.
"I understand that Akari is my friend. And a very dear one, no less. But I am not the one who can influence her to stay or go. I am just a friend of hers, and I really care about her. Decisions are decisions and I won't interfere when it comes to her loyalty."
"None of my friends were randomly picked. Although they haven't been with me for a long time, they still showed how much they respect me when it comes to making decisions. Yes, maybe they aren't entirely loyal to me. And you know what? I don't mind that. As long as our friendship lasts strong and unbreakable, that is what matters the most to me."
"And we crush every traitor who stands in our way- former friend or not. Unless they show that they are able to change. If not for us, then for the world's future. To be the heroes that it deserves."
A single tear falls from Akari's remaining eye to the ground. For a moment, she looks at Jared sadly, as if she finally understands her mistake and wants to fix it for good.
However, her usual evil demeanor returns and, moments later, she continues staring coldly at Jared.
Farrar laughs.
"How interesting! You're trying to recruit your friend back so you can hurt her again!"
"But it won't happen! I promise you that she's entirely changed now. And she's not going to show any mercy the next time the two of you meet again. You understand that, right?"
Jared smiles and points his bow at him.
"There won't be a next time, Farrar. You and your soldiers caused the death of my good friend Mr. Blake- the leader of Formello. And for that, we will take every single one of you down!"
"And when that happens, Aki will be with us once again. And we will treat her much better that we ever have before, that's a promise. When that happens, the world will finally be rid of your pathetic presence."
He turns to the archers at the walls.
"Warriors... "
He aims his bow.
"Attack!"
The battle begins as Farrar's soldiers try to cowardly run away. 
However, Formello's brave soldiers manage to track them down and easily kill most of them.
Farrar becomes scares when he sees that most of his warriors have died, with only a handful of them still remaining.
"So this is how it's gonna be, eh?"- He mutters.
Akari draws her blade.
"No, Akari."- He stops her- "Let me handle this.
Akari nods, steps back and watches as Farrar attacks.
He parries all of the arrows easily with his sword.
Then, he starts to destroy the walls around the gate.
"Little pig, little pig."- He says and grins- "Let me in!"
"Sir, he's getting in!"- Barin says.
"What do we do?"- Another soldier next to him mumbles.
Jared doesn't have to think for long. A small mistake and Farrar is going to destroy Formello singlehandedly.
"Barin."- He turns to the brave defender- "Give me one of the special arrows."
Barin raises his eyebrow.
"Special... arrows?"
Then he remembers about the emergency arrows.
"Ah yes! Those arrows!"
He grabs an arrow from a nearby pack and gives it to Jared.
"Good luck, sir. We've still got a lot remaining, so don't worry."
Jared nods and aims the arrow at Farrar.
"It's no use, you fool!"- He yells- "Nothing can stop me n-- "
*PKOW*
The arrow is shot with huge force. So huge that it immediately throws Farrar back.
The man is unable to get up and simply watches in horror as Jared threatens him with another arrow.
"What... "- He says- "What are those?! How is this possible?!"
Jared grins.
"Those are special blast arrows. No matter how heavy the foe is, they still push them back with tremendous force."
Farrar looks at his chest. The arrow is stuck there.
He quickly pulls it out.
"Oh, did I mention that it also causes severe bleeding to the one who is shot?"- Jared adds.
Farrar looks down in horror and sees that Jared is right. There is indeed a bleeding spot from his chest. So severe that alarming amounts of blood are gushing out.
"You might want to take care of that."
Farrar turns to Akari.
"Akari, sweetie, save me!"- He says to her.
Akari looks sadly at him. Then angrily at Jared.
"Aki."- Jared says- "This is the time to leave him. Join us! He's just a cold conqueror who wants to conquer more and more! We are the heroes here, not him!"
Akari shakes her head.
"I'm too far gone to do this anymore. Farrar helped me out when I needed help. And I'm not going to leave the man who saved me to die here."
"So screw you!"- She yells, picks up a bow, aims it... "
And shoots it at the nearest soldier.
The arrow immediately strikes his head, leaving him no time to react. He falls from the wall and a crunching sound is heard.
As Barin and the rest of the soldiers try to revive him, Jared watches silently as Akari slowly drags Farrar away.
"Goodbye, Aki."- He says to himself- "We will meet again very soon."
He gets down from the wall as well just when the soldier is proclaimed dead.
Meanwhile, Akari drags a severely wounded Farrar to a safe location.
"I knew that you would save me."- He says weakly.
She grins.
"Yeah, yeah. But you know that I'm only helping you so I can get my revenge, right?"
"Remember our agreement, Farrar. Promise me that you'll help me with my revenge again and I will help you out."
Farrar smiles.
"I would want nothing else, but to make you happy. Deal."
Akari smiles, lifts her armor and rips a part of her shirt to bandage Farrar's wound.
"Not the best bandage ever, but it'll stop the bleeding until we arrive at camp."
Farrar smiles and hugs Akari.
"We'll last through this, sweetie. We will."
"Now let's get back to those losers and give the command."
Akari nods, grins and takes Farrar back to Bargha.
In Formello, the citizens stand at the spot where the undead Samuel was killed and wonder what to do with his dead body.
"We can't just bury him!"- John suggests- "The disease might still be on him! What if one of us gets it as well?"
The rest of the citizens are quiet. They are clearly unsure what to do.
"We need to burn him. It's for the safety of the city."- Annie says and begins to drag the corpse into a nearby fire.
However, she stops when Jared and Barin come back.
"What are you doing?"- Jared asks his friends.
"We're doing what's right for everyone."- John says- "Burning the mayor's corpse so it doesn't infect us."
Jared is shocked by this.
Just as they try to throw it in, he screams:
"Stop it!"
Annie and John panic and throw the corpse to the ground near them.
"Are you mad?"- He scolds them- "The infection does not spread on the living. It does not kill living beings. They only reanimate when they die!"
"And what happens if one of us dies without being put down?"- Aimee says- "We're endangering the whole city, Jared! We can't let his corpse be simply buried!"
Jared sighs.
"You clearly do not understand the nature of this infection, do you?"
Everyone looks at him suspiciously.
"Is there something that we don't know?"- John says.
"Well, first off, the infection is only limited to a few specified individuals who reanimate after death. This was the case with my uncle and Mr. Blake. But not all of us are infected, people! Don't be scared! If someone reanimates, we will put him down. It's that easy! The dead won't hurt us if we're prepared, if we fight back. Even they have a sense of self-preservation sometimes, you know?"
"So stop being scared of a potential attack from undead or humanoids. Fight back against them! This is our only chance, people! Fight! Defend! Believe! Only then we will be able to win against the cruel Farrar and his vicious marauders. Keep fighting, for goodness sake!"
Something in Jared's words reminds everyone around him that there is nothing to be afraid of. They go back to their usual endeavors.
Meanwhile, Jared, John and Annie watch Samuel's corpse.
"Well, what do we do now?"- John says.
"We bury him."- Jared responds.
John nods and the three of them move him back to his grave.
Then, they seal it with dirt once again, putting Samuel to a truly eternal rest.
Annie sighs.
"You know, I was a little afraid of trying to burn this good man's corpse. Even if we decided to do so, I... I wouldn't have had the heart to do so."
"He was so good and kind."
John nods and turns to Jared.
"Jared, do you want to say a few words before we leave him to rest?"
Jared sighs and wipes a tear from his eye.
"There are no more words left to say. All I can say is that I am glad that I used to know him and wish him a good life in Heaven. Saying more than that is pointless."
He turns around and leaves the area, heading for the city hall.
Annie and John look at each other briefly. Then they sigh and decide to join Jared.
Meanwhile, Barin decides to come and pay his respects to the former leader of Formello.
"Sir, I promise that we'll never forget you."- He says- "We'll always cherish your memory and fight in your name, for the safety of our sacred city, just like you always wanted us to. We'll keep fighting for the good and only for the good!"
"And we will crush whoever stands in our way."- He stares coldly in the direction where Farrar and Akari fled.
Then he turns back to the grave.
"We'll always be strong! Farewell, sir!"
He salutes and leaves the area, going back to his usual spot.
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Over the course of a few hours, a few people pass by Samuel's grave, completely ignoring it. Only some of his most devoted soldiers come to pay their respects to the one who motivated them to fight for so long.
After the sudden attack, everything has gone back to normal. The streets are once again bustling with activity. Giant lizards hiss at each other. People talk about their everyday lives. Even the mooing and munching of happy cave cows can be heard in the distance.
However, Formello has to continue without its devoted leader, the one who did so much to protect Formello and make it a safe haven for every adventurer, dying by the blades of countless humanoids.
No matter how some pretend like his death doesn't matter anymore, all of them will still remember him.
Long live the new leader of Formello. Long live the mighty city of Formello.
Amen.