Rolling through the open countryside of Geraldia, with its large rolling hills, open plains and the cold and harsh mountains behind them. Riding on an open top M151 jeep. An officer in his combat uniform was wearing gold framed Aviators with rose tinted lenses leading his massive column of armor and transport vehicles into the fray. The wild life only looked in curiosity or ran in panic as the ground shakes with the iron beasts from another world driving through paths meant for carriages pulled by horses. The military vehicles would flex their suspension as they drove over the unmaintained roads.
Crossing the plains, the tail end of the column reached far into the mountain ranges, its peaks covered by the clouds as below was a solemn plain that’s overtaken by small grass that would sway on the wisp of wind blowing into the South. There was no longer any snow, though the mud was still hardened and the exhaust smoke of the vehicles as white as the clouds above them, the armored transport trucks and tracked infantry fighting vehicles would tip and sway violently on the path that was getting further destroyed by the weight of the metal machines.r
Kicking up a wild dust storm as they drove through the dirt forest road, the heavy wheeled vehicles kicked up an unimaginable amount of debris, rocks were being thrown and crushed as the cloud could be seen for miles in all directions as if a snake was burrowing through the trees and the sound of the diesel engines echoing to the mountains far away. “Stop. Convoy stop.” with a single word. Fixing the position of his Aviators, the long line that reaches far into the horizon of hundreds of vehicles stops and the officer dismounts the jeep alongside his men. He tapped the mud with his combat boots and it was still frozen hard.
“Well… whaddya think?”
“We should call the Engineering Company, sir.”
They look over to a stone bridge with a big arch on it. Rushing water below it. With vines already encroaching on its foundation and some of the stone wall missing bits and pieces.
“Alright. Call them up. Tell everyone to take a break. We’ve been driving nonstop for a day now.”
“Roger, General.”
“Also, call up the two other armies, tell them the bridges of this part is not eligible for our vehicles.”
“Yes sir, and what’re we going to tell General Jackson sir?”
The high ranking officer then puts his hands on his hips as he spits on the dirt road and a 5 ton transport truck arrives and a bunch of players exit from. Majority of them are Dwarves as they check below and above the structure.
“Lieutenant.”
“Sir.”
The small Dwarven player salutes the 2-Star General as he unrolls a map on the hood of the jeep.
“Does our bridge layer work there?”
“Nah. We’d be missing… hmmmm… about a meter or two.”
“If that is so. Then the next bridge we can check is thirty kilometers down. After that, it's a hundred kilometers for the next bridge.”
“I suggest we try it, General. Fording the riva’.”
“Hmmmm…”
“Captain, I think Jackson is not gonna be happy with the news. He will have to wait a bit longer.”
“Yes sir. I’ll relay the information to him.”
“And tell him that if the soil isn’t good, we wouldn’t be able to lay bridges and will have to find a part of the river that’s low enough for all of our vehicles to pass through it.”
“Copy on all sir. But I am sure he’ll throw a fit. He really wants us to get to Zavalda as quickly as possible.”
“Yeah… well if what he says is true, he will need us there as fast as possible.”
“Is it really it sir?”
“No. It’s more like a localized version. The Organization wasn’t planning a rebellion, they were buying time for the chaos we created to brew up and have the Mana Core to attract the attention of Hell.”
“I did not understand a single thing you said sir.”
The General then chuckles and lightly punches the Captain.
“You asked and I answered. Now fuck off and tell him the bad news. And get the two other Generals on the line.”
“Sir yes sir!”
Riding on a roofless UAZ. The player takes them to the back of the large gigantic Hangars formerly meant to take in B-52Hs. The once mighty Airbase Shadilay is still in ruins, with its Administrative Buildings still full of large holes and the tarmac that once parked the bombers of the UN Strategic Air Command was now left as spots for the cargo planes, unloading an unimaginable amount of munitions. The skies were oddly quiet as only a handful of aircraft were flying and everyone was focused on stockpiling everything they could.
Armored mounds can be seen on the grassland inside the Airbase’s perimeter, with the taxiway leading to them and all of the bunkered parking areas for jets were open and trucks were parked outside in each one of them with crates upon crates of weapons and ammo around it. Reaching the first group of four hardened hangars, the two Generals follow the player.
“Here we are. Each hardened aircraft shelter here holds about a few million rounds of all types.”
He then takes the two to the first hangar. It was full of ammo crates labeled from top to bottom in 5.56 and the other half was in 7.62.
“Take one of the Sevens.”
Using magic, the player telekinetically makes a crate float and gently lands in front of them. He then flicks his finger and it pops open. Revealing the ammo inside it. The two Generals take one and inspect them. Opening the wooden crate, they were greeted by two metal boxes that were fully closed. The text on them in full Russian and on its top right were the logo of the Rostock Guild, a Double Headed Eagle with a shield and crown.
Taking the metal opener that came with each crate, Jackson pierces the side of one and he gently pushed it down. The air tight box then hissed a bit and with little effort, he flips the lid where a paper roll was covering the FMJ rounds. Yamaoka then unfolds it, revealing the 440 rounds inside one box. He inspects one of them with a green tip on it.
“This is the one meant to pierce enchanted armor, correct?”
“Yes sir. One hundred forty grams, its tip is made of melted Silver and Iron.”
“It looks good Thomas. This should serve us well. Lieutenant, Can you lead us to shells then.”
“Sir yes sir. Shells should be on Hangar Three.”
The officer then leads them outside. The two Generals hung behind as they inspected the skeletons tirelessly working in doing usual menial tasks of soldiers.
“Jackson, these shells came from Zavalda, correct?”
“Yep. It's transported straight out of the factories and stockpiled here. That’s why of all the things we have, we won’t run out of one-five-five and one-five-twos. Only problem is, artillery is outside the city.”
“Hence you and Miss Minuit’s fixation on the logistics of all this. I understand that, but I hope we won’t have to use this on the buildings inside the city itself.”
“Don’t hope too much about it, Thomas. We’re soldiers, our job isn’t to save, but to destroy the enemies of the state.”
The two then follow the soldier as their lead into the next hardened aircraft shelter repurposed as a munitions dump.
“The Shine Guards operate differently. We do everything in our power to not raze the cities we were meant to protect.”
“Man, I’ve been everywhere. I’ve actually stayed in your main Guild Base for a few days.”
“You went to Lowvalley?”
“I did. I was with Bahamut, we were on our way to join an Open World Boss Challenge and we just kinda stumbled our way to your base on our way there. You guys has some of the most Knightly decor I’ve ever seen. Not even Breznick could match the style.”
“Ah, yes. Was this with the Magma Wyvern? It was pretty close to Lowvalley, pretty much next to it.”
“That one. It was pretty nice of you guys to have your base open to everyone. I thought that was just a joke because of your motif and theme but hey, we got fed, bed, and heating. I’m surprised none of you found out about the missing blue gem on the painting of your Guild Leader. Bahamut stole that.”
“Everyone is allowed in our base. We guard not just for the sake of the money and the fame. We also want everyone to have a safe passage through areas and wait- NANI?”
“Not gonna lie, you guys saved my ass multiple times whenever I visited the Dark Continent. Those Bandits. Grrr.”
“Hey hey hey, don’t brush that off. Bahamut stole the rare blue sapphire in the main lobby of the Blue Castle?! So that was her doing?!”
“I mean… she revealed it to me when we were already outside the region. I just logged in for the day and I found her sleeping with the thing.”
“WHA- RETURN IT.”
“Ahem. Here we are sir. What shell type should I bring out, sir?”
“One Twenty and One Twenty Five.”
“Jackson, you have to return that sapphire.”
“I will, I will…” he then looked up and then down to the ground. “Unless…”
“Don’t tell me you’ve sold it off…”
“I might’ve… repairing Death Knight armor isn’t cheap.”
Yamaoka just facepalms. “Aghhh… that was the treasure of the group. Why would Bahamut do that?!”
“She has a thing for shiny stuff… Even in her human form, she still slips at times. But ever since then, she has been pretty reasonable when it comes to theft.”
“Can you atleast try to find it?
The player then walks into the side and with his hand open. A small ball of light appears and it floats around the sides of the larger and heavier crates that’s cut into three sections of two colors. The ones in the front were in bright wooden color which the player quickly takes two crates of and ones in the back in a darker hue.
“I’ll try. When I get back to Iron Mountain, I’ll have my carriage transported there. I’ll check my loot crate for it.”
“Geez.” Yamaoka shrugged and focused on the large crates presented to the two of them. Written on its side “2 Cartridge 120MM APFSDS-T M829A5 FOR M256 SMOOTHBORE” while the 125mm one was in a smaller and compact green crate that had markings in Cyrillic. The text on its side was unreadable for the two except for the first words on it. “125MM-3BM59”.
“Good. I was sent to the Dark Continent for my tour for three months so I never managed to investigate it properly.”
“A few months. Dang. Peacekeeping Guilds are just something. The longest I stayed in the Dark Continent was a week and I never rested easily there even with my little Bahamut on my shoulder.”
“But you were near the roads as we recommend, right?”
“A bit. But Bandits also love roads and passageways so they try very very hard to learn your patrol schedules. IsekAI NPCs are just something, at times I think they are more intelligent than your average medieval bandit so I camp a bit more inside the forest. Doesn’t help that Bahamut eats so loudly and she’d snore like a cow at night.”
“Ahahahaha, oh. Mars does that too funnily enough.”
“Really? What’s up with our Dragons and snoring. I never saw sleeping Dragons that snore always. Or is it something to do with how they work?”
“Don’t know. But Mars told me she snores because I am a pain to protect.”
“AHAHAHAHAHA, Oh man. Bahamut says the same about me.”
“Good to finally talk to a man that knows my troubles. Would be nice to have some beer with us.”
“Ahem. Sirs, this is the shell right here.”
They both looked back to the shells right in front of them, crouched down and touched the casing and the APFSDS rounds. Carefully looking at how they're built and made.
“You know what to inspect right?”
“Yeah. I’m a Reservist in the JGSDF. I worked on Type Nineties as a mechanic and was a Marksman on the side. This shouldn’t be any different as the main gun or smoothbore as we call it-”
“Is as the same as the ones used on the Abrams and Leopards.”
“You an Enthusiast Jackson? Or were you in Armor?”
“Combined Arms, was a Colonel in the United Asian Alliance.”
“Eh? You were a Colonel? So…”
“No. I did not participate in the invasion of Japan’s tiny islands and no. I was a thousand kilometers away from the Asian Theater. I only fought in Thailand and was shipped straight to Afghanistan where I got my promotion to Major. It was in the Iran conflict where I got my Colonel rank.”
“Well… it's not like I actually got into combat. My country surrendered before I could use my skills.”
“Hah. From what I heard with the Indonesians and Filipinos that stormed Okinawa. You guys put up a hell of a fight.”
“What theater were you in, exactly?”
“The Asian, Middle Eastern and European one.”
“Oh! So you were part of that legendary Spearhead that reached into Turkey?!”
“I was. Ankara… that was a shitshow.”
“I only saw videos on Social… I cannot believe you brought tanks to a city that was crowded and had Drone Swarms.”
“Ehehehe, well. Our Electronic Warfare was excellent… when it worked. But when it doesn’t, many people usually die. Even I am surprised that I survived that long, there were so many killer drones that most of my MBTs ran out of Hard Kill systems halfway through the fight.”
The 5-Star General then lifts the 125mm APFSDS shell.
“You know what this is right? I’m sure your American instructors have told you what round this is.”
“It’s a Three-BVM right?”
“Fourty-Four-M to be exact or known colloquially called by my white friends on Eastern Europe as Mango. Then you know our much vaunted Black Eagles?”
“Hm. An example was brought to my base for inspection for the Higher Chair of the Army Command. It was captured late in the war, so it was pretty beat up.”
“Yeah. Then you know how it works?”
“Ahhhh… it has two ammo storage right? One in the bustle and another in an encased carousel? Had the new Monolith Armor Package, Afghanit Hard and Soft Kill System, Three Dimensional Map of the world with Terrain Datasets, and it used Vacuum Twos.”
“Wha- Are you sure someone didn’t just sell NATO a fully intact one? How the hell was it still running that good? What country left it?”
“I think it was an Iranian one.”
“Hm… that explains a lot. They got money but little brains. Well, also has a reload time of five seconds but it can be down to a second. But I’m sure NATO has taught you about its special capability right?”
“I remember. It has the same type of fast reloading mechanism found on the Type Ninety.”
“Exactly! Sad that we don’t have those MBTs but I guess they're far too brand new to be really recreated in Dark World… for now.”
“I’ve always wondered. But had it actually been rated for the One Twenty?”
“Yes. My Black Eagle got shot many times on the front. Not one penetrated but the concussion is a bitch even with the exoskeleton oversuit we wore.”
“Interesting. We’ve always been thought to aim on your lower glacis as the front plate has the same level of protection as the Kontakt Five.”
“False. What we actually have is a mixture of Monolith and Relikt. It seems that the one you captured had its armor package blown. I’m guessing this is one of the hundreds that were lost to artillery?”
“It was. A One-five-five hit it and destroyed it completely. But the interior was mostly intact enough for inspection. So your tanks can survive a one twenty?”
“Heh, well. It depends. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t. I don’t know who's at wrong here. Either the Russians who we bought the design from or the factories in Asia who built them. If one penetrates, just pray the tungsten round is still intact and stops inside the engine.”
“I’m guessing this would be a bit of spalling? As Relikt degrades even APFSDS if I am remembering things correctly and if you use a mixture, the tungsten rod would be basically a million pieces the moment it enters inside.”
“It does. The spalling is enough to stop or maim our driver or what happens usually, kill everyone inside. So we might as well be dead at that point. Though I did command an Armata late into the campaign and Vacuum is… well that's classified and I’m sure my contract stays like that till I am dead.”
He then drops the 125mm shell and stands up. Wiping his hands. “But the shells are all good right?”
“Hm. This is made with great quality. None of these should fail. Heck, this is way better than the Chinese manufactured ones we use. Those on the other hand were questionable at times. Though it never failed us, the crates those things usually came in scare me.”
“It seems that I have much to learn. Someone with your experience could tell me a book's worth of tactics and advice in armored warfare.”
“I could. Maybe a thing or two, but whatever NATO taught you before. It should be basically the same. Many of the UAA nations were also trained by them. We just mended Eastern and Western designs into a mutated army that used both and made weapons whose designs originated from both sides.”
“I hope you can use your experience back on Earth here, Jackson. We need that more than ever for what’s about to come.”
“That I don’t know. I never faced hulking monsters and demons on Earth. Just drones… lots of drones.”
“Either way, please do take care of us. Lieutenant, take us back. We know we got enough ammo to keep everyone supplied.”
Returning to the main building, the two Generals walk in the three storey structure that has large and small holes on its walls. Even after all of the days that have gone. Cracks of broken glass could still be heard as they walked inside the building whose marble tiles were full of dust and was slippery for those in smart shoes. There, a soldier salutes the two. “The Command room is ready sir.” with a rank of Captain, the man led them inside.
“Good. Lieutenant, you are dismissed. Good work.”
“Thank you General Yamaoka, General Jackson..”
He then swiftly turned around and got inside the UAZ. Leaving the two as they walked to the two the approach the stairs but Paul who was scanning the area saw a short curly haired person in civilian clothing on the end of the hallway on the ground floor. “You go ahead Yamaoka.” though he stopped for a few seconds. The 4-star man walks up and leaves the General with the Captain. The two just looked at each other and continued to the command room.
Now alone, Jackson then takes one small step. The section was refurbished, with newly cleaned tiles of the Administrative building reflecting his shiny Oxford shoes as he started going fast and reached the end of the Hallway just to look to the right and the emergency exit door being half open. With his hand in his jacket, the man slowly opens it and notices no one.
“General.”
Suddenly, the man looks to his left behind the fireproof door and sees a familiar face. The slender and curvy body accompanied with a stern face with a turtleneck sweater and slim slacks made him lax immediately.
“Ah, the Boogeywoman.”
“I’ll need you after this.”
“Exactly what for? Can’t you see I have ten things to keep an eye on right now? What happened? Did you find anything? Have you interrogated those two further and got info?”
“I have a lead. The ticket on those two was for a Purple Shinkansen line to Neo Tokyo. I’ve sent agents to check on it and none of them returned, not even one photo was sent to me either. I’ll need the heavy guns ready as after this, I am sure they’ll be far more than prepared for a fight and my lightly armed men in suits cannot stand up to a Black Ops Battalion.”
“Hah? Do you even hear yourself? I need to do repairs and check the city's integrity afterwards. I cannot just leave and begone.”
“General, be a hero later. This is a single chance we have to potentially cut off the line between us and them. If we find out their base, we can stop or limit their operations down to a snail's pace. If we do a good enough job, even halt all their operations in the continent for a long time. That should give us enough of a chance to strike the killing blow and find out there true base.”
“Hero? Pfft. I’m no hero. I’m just a man doing his job. I am a soldier, my job is to do what the Government wants me to do. Not wear a cape and swoop in to save the day.”
“The others would’ve left this city for dead long ago or sent some poor lowly officer to protect it… like what the UN was originally planning. Yet here you are with the five stars on your shoulders walking and driving around while having to give mental therapy to three people that do not understand mankind.”
“So? I have my own personal reasons to keep this place in one piece. Like the entire military industry, the heart of the war machine that has kept us going for this long is literally on the West side of that city. I will not allow it to fall.”
“This is why I hate inherently kind hearted men. I don’t know if I should slap you and kiss you or slap you and drag you down to the basement of my Headquarters and blackmail you into getting your men to do what I want. Good thing I have such kind morals.”
The General then takes a few steps back. But his eyes did not look away from her and his body was as steady as stone.
“High Command is scared of you and the other lower players below them that have companions and friends that are… Godly or Superbly strong. But I’m sure you already know that seeing how you’ve been limiting Bahamut’s usage of her divinity.”
“How else am I going to teach a Dragon on how to be a human or atleast give her a share of my humanity? I just can’t have her floating behind me like a ghost. I also don’t want the attention of the Heroes. I know just enough that the Gods of this world are watching everyone. Including me.”
“Just what kind of soldier were you, I wonder. One of the terrorists was an old friend of yours right? The chopper pilot told me the two of you seemed to have a conversation while he was hovering at the City Hall. The Organization only hires those who were truly soldiers and field operations given to people that specialize in a certain school in their respective militaries. What do you know?”
“He was…” the General then loosens his tie a bit and clears his throat. “An old friend, yes. But one I will not recommend for you to chase. He was born for war, to kill and fight. Someone like him does not have a place in a big city full of normal people. Leave him to me. I’ll deal with him personally. In war, there are two types of reactions when dealing with death. Those who will laugh and mock the corpses and those who will laugh and later cry.”
“So far, what we know from the Black Ops units that left us. We only identified two of them. One was a former SEAL team member who had multiple operations in Thailand and Malaysia before the Third World War… and that old friend of yours. You wanna deal with him personally? I recommend you put your hand in this mess fully rather than dipping your fingers and washing it just to go back to your women and feel at home.”
“What are you saying…? You have a guarantee to me that he will appear on that train.”
“It’s not fully known yet. But I presume the train itself might be their base.”
“A… Shinkansen? That’s their base?”
“I still have to go to Neo Tokyo and visit the Magic Rails Guild. The Purple Shinkansen is one of three meant for the Zavalda-Neo Tokyo HSR with only two stops in the middle. I'll see you later, General.”
She then nonchalantly walks out the door and to the hallway.
“Hey wait.”
“Hm?”
“After I help you. Tell me, what is High Command hiding from me and what they know.”
“I don’t even know half of the things they're telling me to do. But… since you are who you are. I’ll try my best to answer some of your questions if it's within my knowledge.”
“Good.”
“I hope you have fun. I can’t imagine what it's like to be with a Vampire Queen who has probably walked around the Continents multiple times over and seen people die and live and mastered arts and then go into battle and leave their name in history.”
And just like that, she walks into the hallway, as she turns into the entrance. Jackson tried to catch up to her but once again left to scratch his head. “Damn Shinobis.” with his hands in his pocket and his head down. The man went up the stairs like it's a tiring Monday morning and into the Command Room. There, a large map of the region was on top of a large table as mounted TVs on the wall show current troop movements. Three huge red arrows with flags on them with smaller arrows pointing towards it are placed coming from multiple other regions. Joining into one huge combined army storming the city.
The General then takes a fourth flag and holds it. “Will the Ervtes Armed Forces arrive?” another Officer who was sitting down raises his hand. “Sir!” the General faced him. The officer was wearing a brown uniform unlike the General’s green. “I’ve contacted Sir Ervtes himself. He will be retreating from Schon and will be arriving at the city.”
“Can you tell him to help defend the three layered defensive line on the outskirts of the city instead of going in the city guns blazing? The three armies arriving already know where to go and what to do. I don’t need another level two hundred players spamming high level magic on everyone’s faces and ruining everything.”
“I’ll try sir but Sir Ervtes see's Zavalda has his crown jewel. He was pretty adamant on taking on the action with his bare hands if needed.”
“If he wants, he can come to the city itself and fight with his troops then. But he needs to leave most of his Engineering brigades to rebuild damaged trench lines and barbed wires.”
“Sir, yes sir.”
The officer didn’t leave. His eyes looked from his left to his right.
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“Anything else?”
“Lieutenant General Henry Wilkins just called a few hours today sir. He said they’ll be delayed for at least two days. It might also include the two other armies you’ve called to respond.”
“WHAT?! So…” Yamaoka’s head then turns to the officer as Jackson wiped his face with his hand. “We… we have to wait for at least a WEEK?!”
“Y-yes sir.”
“Oh Lord… Oh Lord, that is…”
“Don’t worry Jackson. Miss Minuit pre prepared for that scenario too, right?”
“She did but that would be cutting it way too close. Like thinly close. Our chances of surviving this are just a fraction now.”
“There’s still a chance.”
Jackson then recalls Bahamut holding him sweetly. With a deep long breath, his hands clenched into a fist. He looks down and then up to the ceiling.
“Okay, okay. We’ll modify things a bit. I need charges planted on the three bridges. Yamaoka, let me pass with this one.”
“... … If that is what’s needed.”
“Thank you.”
A few miles inside the center of the city. Elizabeth looks at her back and sees that there were now only a handful of people left to evacuate. Most of the roads passed the barriers and fences were now few and far inbetween as military activity starts to pick up with more helicopters arriving on the National Park and armored vehicles going at high speed to the intersections around it.
“Wow. We’re ahead of the schedule, ma’am. Looks like the Generals won’t have to worry about the civilians.”
“How bad are the attacks? And what’s the composition of the enemy?”
“Just mindless skeletons wielding swords and shields. Though one oddity has appeared that seems to have machine guns as hands. But other than that and the strange flesh growing under the city, the fighting has been concentrated and trapped there.”
“That is good news, but not enough, Colonel. Have them bring more of those transport trucks that were in the reserve. We do not have time. The moment their aerial units start to appear, we will have to dedicate more troops in protecting the bridge they use to exit out. Have the men prepare.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Inside the street that’s been turned into a makeshift command and control sector, with barracks and tents placed on the main road and surrounded by sandbags and fortifications. A Lieutenant then enters Colonel Cresco’s tent and salutes as noises of bus and truck engines get drowned out with the closing of the flap.
“Colonel, sir!”
“Hm? What is it?’
“We have a problem. A patrol through the North of the city encountered a bunch of players in a Militia.”
“Are they halting military operations or preventing us from doing our job?”
“Not really sir but their setting up their own fortifications up against ours. Most of all the ones on the bridges. They put up used tires and furniture on the two lanes that we were planning on using as a choke point.”
“Ah dammit.”
“I’ll do it Colonel.” Elizabeth then walks up to the Lieutenant with her hands together, looking as elegant and majestic as ever. “Are you sure ma’am? You might do more here than deal with a bunch of Militias.”
“Just do as I said. Lieutenant, do you have a radio man with you?”
“Yes ma’am!”
“Good boy. Lead the way.”
Boarding an open top Humvee, she is then led on a convoy of MRAPs and armored vehicles. The drive only took a few minutes as the only other vehicles on the road were tanks and transport trucks. Reaching the middle bridge that leads to the city, she sees a bunch of players wearing a mismatch of armor and gear wielding modern weapons and magical weapons having a talk in a circle with players from the UN. She immediately appears behind the soldiers, spooking the Militiamen at her sudden appearance.
Pointing their guns up to her, the soldiers responded by putting up theirs. “Hold it now.” Her deep womanly voice commanded respect and both sides put their weapons down albeit slowly and their eyes trained at each other with steel focus.
“Now, where is your commander?”
“His position is top secret. We will not reveal it.”
“Your enemies aren’t us. It’s what’s coming which I presume you have a vague idea about?’
“W-We think it's Demons… right?”
“Your commander?”
“As I said, I cannot say.”
Elizabeth just smiles and tilts her head a bit. After a few seconds of silence, the Militiaman holds out his hand and one of his comrades wielding an AKM hands him a telephone.
“This is Northern Patrol. We have a Vampire here requesting for Command.”
“Negative. Command is busy currently, we cannot send anyone there.”
“Sir… she looks pretty serious.”
“...” silence came and Elizabeth’s heels could be heard clacking as she walked around to the blockade they made. She then checks behind it and sees that it was sacks of concrete and sand while infront are used tires and whatever furniture they got their hands on. “North Patrol Copies. Commander will be there soon." She then looks at them and gives them a quick smile and returns to observing their defenses. She then looks behind it on the two lane opposing street and a pile of tires are bunched up in the centerline and the trenchline that goes into the small forest that’s on the other side of the concrete river.
The soldiers there were busy rummaging around their lines, even at the distance between them, the Vampire could clearly observe the players ordering their skeleton soldiers around. Having them pile ammo boxes and crates of rockets and explosives on the fighting positions and mortar pits. She then returns to face the pile on the centerline, its debris taking up two of the lanes as transport trucks on the otherside are led to go offroad and to the other bridges a kilometer or two away.
“Excuse me, but what’s that for?”
“It’s to give a signal to the other cells we have in the city.”
“Cells…? Just how many of you are there.”
“About a thousand. Not everyone is dumb, building trench lines and fortifying the city? For practice. This is pretty next level.”
“Hiding… where? Why is your Commander busy? Could it be that your base is located not on the surface but underneath?”
Caught off guard. The Militiaman tips his Woodland Bonnie hat and walks back to the circle and converses with his comrades. The Lieutenant then walks next to Elizabeth, his gun slinged to his hip.
“Should we…?”
“No. Don’t. Keep it calm with them. You do allow Militia’s correct?”
“We do, ma’am. It’s their right to put up a fight if they wish to do so. The UN’s laws are more open than what we have on Earth as its rules are meant for adventurers which composes most of the playerbase.”
“And are your leaders sure that they won’t get in the way? As they're already doing it. Those piles on the road are diverting logistics.”
“It's what they say. We’re just following orders, ma’am.”
Elizabeth quickly breathed a sigh and she put her hands on her hips waiting for the Commander to appear. Bored, she then walks towards the Lieutenant once again, now bringing with him a long range radio backpack. She leans in to close the gap between their heads as she looks as imposingly beautiful as ever.
“Boy with the radio. Do you know what the Generals are up to? My Lord was pretty fast in his trip to the Airbase. Has the problem on the sewers been alleviated?”
“I think it has something to do with the Reserve Armies arriving, ma'am. It’s been a pretty big talk for a while and I think something is happening and it's not good. Generals going to one place all the sudden is usually a sign that things aren’t going as nicely as planned behind the scenes.”
“Word really gets fast around here don’t they? I’ve only thought about it now but rumors of any type can spread fast in your cities. Technology and your mass use of long range communication magic really makes it hard for anyone to put a tape on things.”
“Yes ma’am. You usually get used to it. All the rumors and news spread around fast. You never know which is true or which has been modified that is basically fake. But it's part of life.”
“Really? Then how do the humans in your world determine if they're being told the truth? These Militia are seemingly believing their own truth. But can we even explain to them that they might get in the way of Military Operations.”
“We… uhm… don’t. Not gonna lie. I don’t really use social media anymore. Things are far too polarized if you saw that I’d see in my feed daily, ma’am. Even though the war has been long over, people are still debating the battles that happened, overanalyzing stuff and making their own opinions and thoughts. I only really use YouTube, and it's for the neat cat videos and cool cooking tutorials.”
“The more I stay in your cities and mingle with you people, the more I appreciate My Lord’s openness. Being here, I was constantly bombarded with information. Far more than when I was in the Throne at the peak of my Kingdom's wealth and power. Everyone is so close to one another, yet a lingering length between their souls.”
“General Jackson seems to be a pretty chill dude. I saw a picture of him on TV when I was eating in a diner. He did the thing with the Vampires and got the two to align and not fight. Man, our Generals are just something else. Yamaoka too, him and the Shine Guards, the saints of the community, pillars even. They keep the major roads on the Dark Continent safe for travel. Even low level players like me can go there and farm stuff to sell.”
“Hah. I can attest to that. My Lord most of all, I do find him to be a good point of showing human willpower and I look forward to seeing him in combat once again. There’s nothing more nourishing in my eyes than to see a man fighting for what he believes in. For what he loves and cherishes, I adore such things as I adore luxuries that were afforded to me in the past.”
“The General? In combat?”
“Hm. Don’t your Generals do that?”
“Well… some Generals are kinda like that I guess. Ripper back then would be the first spearheading into combat like a madman from what I heard. I am a very new member in the Guild of Ervtes, so they put me in the Reserves. I never really expected I’ll fight this early on.” The soldier then tapped the top of his helmet as his eyes stared directly into the militamen. “I thought I’d have to do some fighting in the end, but that’s that. Not this early. General Ripper would usually tell us that war is part of nature, and it will come for us when it wants to come for us.”
“That man? His insanity has gotten the best of him. I never did get to see the other side of that leader.”
“I-Insane? We-well… General Ripper is a bit out there but in situational awareness. I never saw him get it wrong. His feelings and thoughts are usually onpoint too when he’d talk to us.”
“It seems that my initial assessment of him is a bit too harsh. But he had led his ideals to cloud his judgment. A severe pitfall in any leader which even I fell in. He paid with his demise, though I cannot say that it was a good one. But he went out like any other warrior.”
“Permission to speak freely, ma’am.”
The two then look at the Militia’s and how some of them were Elves, Snakefolk, and even Lizardmen. They wore special vests that’d fit the more slender frame of the snake players while the Lizards had their combat helmets have holes on the top for their horns that numbers above two and of varying sizes. “Do the other species have better hearing?”
“Uhm… yes? The Lizards have a buff in overall awareness from hearing to taste, and resistance to fire.” Elizabeth crosses her arms and takes the conversation to the sidewalk as she stares at the Militamen’s eyes. The mishash of armor and civilian clothes clashed with the uniformed men of the UN as the Vampire took the man to the shadows.
“This should be far enough. Speak.”
“What exactly is High Command planning? We can’t truly defend the city, can we? The plans I was given are more akin to slowing down the enemy than an In-Depth defense of the streets. The fortifications we’ve been putting up are only on certain buildings spread about the entirety of Zavalda.”
“Hmmmmm… Lieutenant. What you are doing is a folly to any army. The plans you have been given are for you and your men. Some plans involve staying in place, like the ones on the outposts. Do not overthink. Have you asked this question to your superiors or other soldiers?”
“No. Just something I thought up when I was reading it.”
“Good. Better keep your thoughts to yourself. Such things could lead to mutiny down the line Lieutenant. Though I know you mean good and you love this city, My Lord and Sir Yamaoka have to plan for all situations, including a possible defense outside if needed. But I can assure you this. My Lord will never go far beyond the trenches he had built on the other side of that river.
“Ah, so we’ll be retreating there and using the water as a barrier?”
“Something of that sort. My Lord has always been creative in his planning. I think the fortifications that you’ve been setting up are meant to be beacons for the Reserve Armies when they arrive. I am still trying to learn your jargons, but from what I’ve got from his briefing. If the main city falls, he plans to take the battle out in the open where your modern weapons can be at their most devastating effect.”
“But how will we get resupplied? I apologize if I am asking too much. But I am taking with me people I’ve known years before even getting teleported here. Even before I was part of Ervtes, me and my party were adventurers. I can’t lead them to death when in the end, we’ll just run away from this city.”
“Hm.” Elizabeth then looks down at the well equipped and well armed soldier of the UN. On his shoulder, the flag of Ervtes, with his red Teutonic cross and a large rising sun behind it and on top of it, the blue UN one. “Quite unprofessional for such a well equipped army. But I guess this is the hands we’ve been dealt with. You mean well Lieutenant. But the things clouding your mind could easily infect an army like a cancer from within. A doubt of its superiors and its strength. Remove those thoughts and trust in your officers.”
“I’m in the National Guard of Zavalda. Only some of my friends have been sent to Schon. This whole we’ve been fighting, I don’t get it. They say we need it, but none of our troops has stepped foot into the territory of Vitas even though the plan was to get to them before they get to us, right?”
The Queen then just pats his helmet. “Steel your soul for what is about to come. Be not moved by the words of others and the dangers of your enemies. This is war, you will never have the answers for everything, nor the solutions to it all. Just know your part and be ready for what’s about to come.” She then looks up and walks to the main street as a man in Multicam BDUs appears from the Alleyway. He stares as Elizabeth is in parallel with him as they walk to the circle of soldiers. He stops and faces her.
“Are you the one that has called for me? A Vampire in a gown working as a CO for the UN? This is where my tax money is going?”
“I have come from this planet. But my allegiance is to your cause. I mean no harm in wishing for your presence, I am merely here to ask a query about what you plan on doing here as it disrupts the supply lines that heads down to the park.”
“My units are spread out through the river. This is where we plan on making a stand against the Invaders.”
Unlike the others in the Militia. He is decked out and fully uniformed with a combat helmet with a gold star on it. The two kept their distance, their voices only reaching each other due to the silence of the city streets.
“Hm. I see. But can you remove the obstacles here? You see, the Lieutenant here is ordered to make fortifications to help protect the transport trucks passing through and he cannot do that unless he was to bulldoze the things you’ve built.”
“Really? I was called here for this dumb reason? I thought it was something big when I heard it was some hotshot commander. But all I got was a woman who knows she can forcibly do anything as it's my right.”
“Oh… Commander. If it was for me, I would’ve just had all of you killed and piled on the outskirts and your corpses burned. But since I am under your rules. I am opening dialogue for you and me to meet eye to eye in this conundrum we’ve been in. I am doing my due diligence in performing tasks the human way and not the Vampire way.”
Her emerald eyes didn’t wander but so did the Commander. Both of them stood in silence against each other. While in the back, some of the Militiamen converse in whispers. The Commander only played with his thumb, tapping it on his trousers as he took in the words she spouted. The Lieutenant on the other hand is just standing at ease.
“... How have our human rules been?”
“Restrictive, annoying, unproductive, and far too kind and lenient. Things would’ve gone far faster if I were to be the one running this theater play.”
“In what ways?”
“In dealing with so many of your social and military problems. But I must digress, you are human. I barely remember my human life. I am of high birth but strangely live in a countryside village if I recall correctly.”
“So you weren’t born a vampire?”
“I’ve long not been human. I do not remember much anymore nor does my soul contain any humanity within it. I am a thorough Primeval Vampire, one whose power is comparable to the first Vampire created by the God of Emotions, Angus.”
“And what makes you a competent leader in an army that’s full of humans? My avatar might be an Elf. But I am actually human, you know?”
“I know.”
“A creature that does not fear death leading people that does…? What the heck is the UN up to?”
“Hmph. You speak as if I haven’t felt death before. But I have. Although petty concepts such as living have long left my mind. I was once given a taste of this thing you call death. I couldn’t live anymore, I was wretched. Thousands of years spent, and nothing came to be. My Kingdom became stagnant and my husband tire to his bones in defending us from invaders. Do not speak as if I haven’t felt it.”
She then observes his manners as the man stoically stood before her. His hands on his back and his chin up. His neat and well ironed uniform far unlike his other members and his weapon, decked out in attachments and his vest full of extra gear like a combat knife, slings, and even a gas mask pouch. On his neck was his dog tag with multiple others attached to the thin chain.
“Really? You? How did it feel?”
“I think the word you have for it is… fear? In the end as I lay at my throne bleeding. Unable to heal from the amount of blood loss I’ve taken to the point the shine of the Saint’s Holy Blade was lightly burning my eternally perfect skin. I felt fear, I wanted to scream and cry out. But all I felt was pain and soon, I awoke inside a train going through a mountainside track.”
“Then you should know what we feel. The city we love, the city we worked so hard to nurture and grow, now about to become a battlefield. You think everyone is just gonna run off and hide like the others? You don’t think we have an idea of what the Black Ops guys are doing to you?”
“Ah but such a commander like you should also know.” She then stood at in front of him with her arms now crossed, just enough to lift her well sized breasts up and with her legs a bit more far apart, she smiles at the man. “This place is going to be a hardpoint when things begin to heat up. An officer like you, a leader. Should very well see that you will not be able to hold this line. It would be better if you were to join up on the other side, where you can pick them off with your guns.”
“I see what you're doing. So this is what a true Vampire is capable of huh? You're far more scarier than I imagine. No player can replicate something like this. The confidence alone is striking, but I’ve made up my mind.”
“Oh, but don’t you think many will die?”
“Hah, I am ready to get more dog tags. I’ll carry everyone’s souls into battle if I have to.”
“But it would be a shame wouldn’t it be? If you were to all meet a horrific demise without ever putting up a fight. Let me partake of your knowledge from someone as ancient as me.” Elizabeth then leans in, closer and closer that she could see the map case of the sewers badly tucked in his vest, she was so close the Elven player could feel the cold breath of the woman hitting his sharp ears.
“The beasts that will come upon this land are far more dangerous than you expect. If you want to truly save or help this city, do it from afar and not here. You will die without doing anything but be a blunder to us and everyone and you don’t want that, correct?” The man's hands clenched as she slowly backed off him.
“You think they’ll come from the sewers, but they won’t. What’s happening there is merely an offspring of the rising Mana in the air. Your plans need to be adjusted, commander. And I am sure for someone like you. You can do that without much of a hassle.”
After some seconds of silence, the man breathes out.
“Move the roadblock. Tell the other squads around this area that the signal will be moved to the other side of the river. I want to keep a contingent on the other side but move everything around the trenches.”
“Sir, yes sir!”
“What’s your name, ma’am?”
“I go by the name you’ve given me. Carmilla.”
“From what? The Gothic Novels?”
“Yes, many often comment that they are reminded of her.”
“They're wrong. Carmilla in that story is still a human. She was supposed to represent the women of that time and the desires they hid. But you, you’re not even representing one of those. A brazen Vampire who knows who she is and worst of all, can read a man like an open book. I kept my face as solid as I could and yet you trapped me like a rabbit in a cage.”
“Oh, you're awfully well versed in Earth literature.”
“Because I specialize in Gothic Literature. It's exactly because of my knowledge of the past that I refuse to become a Vampire in Dark World. So many are trying to copy what was in the past and present, from Dracula to Carmilla. The depictions of them in Movies, Animes, and Novels.”
The man then starts to step away from her. “But in my eyes, a true Vampire would be far scarier, far more than what those stories make them. Which is often just a representation of what society’s ire was at the time… but you… you are what I’d call a Vampire. Someone who had fully lost their humanity, a beast that surpasses time and commands youth till its last breath.”
All of the players just stared at the Commander as he began to reach the shadows of the alleway.
“Carmilla was lonely, like Laura. But you, you aren’t even sad. You looked at me with glee, happily tearing my pages part by part as you ripped my personality apart. You didn’t only use your body and language to seduce me, but used me myself against my own. If anything, you are more akin to Elizabeth Bathory, a murderer in our history.”
All she had was a big warm smile on her face, like a mother willing to take in their son who no matter what, will always be invited to rest upon her bosom in the warmth of a loving person. The man completely disappeared from their sight. The Militia soldiers quickly got to their feet and started dismantling the roadblock and the Lieutenant grabs the phone as the Commander veers his eyes from Elizabeth’s and he walks back into the dark alley. Disappearing.
“Ma’am!”
“Let us return. I have much to do.”
Back at the Evacuation Site, there were only a handful of people left and the last bus was about to leave with Alana standing behind the concrete barrier with a fence to it. Her hands crossed as she witnessed the final citizens of Zavalda leave for a long time.
“That’s it ma’am. What’re your orders?”
“Prepare. Remove the barriers and put down the fortifications. Have the tents moved out now and have all of the command structures placed inside the museum.”
“Good copy ma’am.”
“Oh, and prepare me some Wine.”
“What kind ma’am?”
“Anything native?”
“I’ll see what I can do. Anything else ma’am?”
“Yes, prepare me a vehicle and give me an update in any problems with the logistics.”
“Good copy.”
“Ah! Where is Bahamut?”
“Uhm… She was last seen on the sidewalk on the intersection to the park.”
“I remember. Carry on my orders then.”
“Yes ma’am.”
The soldier salutes and she starts walking to the sidewalk as a front end dozer with chains attached to its bucket are driven to the concrete barriers. Engineers get to action quickly, lifting it up and making way for trucks to drive inside and start unloading munitions and equipment for fortifying. One has a tan container van on its back, its bed tilts up, its rear end pointing down to the ground as a skeleton unlocks the doors. The driver then puts the pedal to the floor, throwing lines of H-Barriers down on the sidewalk as she leaves the area.
Already behind her, dust particles could be seen by the naked eye and the sounds of machines were roaring in full. With the silence fully disturbed, more and more trucks arrive. Some are already unloading troops of infantry with ATGMs loaded in the middle. Everyone ran to formation on the two lane road. Leaving the other two lanes for the vehicles going to the park.
She sees Mars and Bahamut were both in their human forms. Both of the Dragons standing shoulder to shoulder next to one another. Unmoving like a statue as skeleton soldiers arrive to unload green Hesco Barriers to protect the Parks perimeter.
“Oh, what an outfit.”
Mars wasn’t in her blouse and skirt, but instead in her seductive and threatening black latex bodysuit with a large red cape. The crimson veins on it that ran up from the heels to the neck were lighting up enough to paint the area with a shade of red. The skeletons working on placing the modern gabions around the concrete walls of the park were suddenly frozen, the mindless piles of bones wearing combat uniform and kevlar stiff in their posture as the Vampire approached the two Dragon Gods.
Closing her eyes, she didn’t feel anything unusual in the air. Opening her palms, a large Blood Rose materializes on top of it and breathing in, she lightly blows it into the direction of the two Dragon Gods.
Her vision was then carried onto another plane; “I shall name you Bahamut” echoed the voice of an old man. Forcibly opening her eyes, Alana could see an infant Black Dragon. Towering over the tiny creature were two insanely large ones. A Red and Black Dragon of immense proportion, enough to sizeable tower over the tall trees.
The Red Dragon had horns facing upward while the Black one had four sets of horns on its head and facing in a forward angled direction. It watches around as the heavily toned Red Dragon spoke like a wise old sage from the mountains.
“Your name, meaning the Overseer in the language of Man. Spread your wings, unfold them and may the world hear your roar.”
The tiny Dragon tries to irk out one, but only a cute squirm was emitted. The Black Dragon then lowers its head down to the soil and licks her full.
“Ahahahaha, my mate. It seems that our daughter is yet to be capable of a roar.”
“My, you shouldn’t force it on her.”
“But she was born with horns already on that head! She is destined! Only a handful of Dragons were born with such a gift.”
“Ah, but things must be taken slowly. I shall teach her first how to survive and when the time is right, we must return to the Kingdom and there, we shall see if the Elder would name her worthy to become a warrior.”
“Oh I’m sure she is! She may look cute for now, but I know deep in my heart. She’s the offspring of two Dragonlords, it's impossible for her not to become a warrior.”
The vision of the Vampire forcibly shifts into a carriage. With a familiar human on the front, driving it and sitting beside him was Bahamut curled up like a ball. Sleeping soundly.
“And get this Bahamut, this young dude from work. Pfft. Piece of fucking work that guy. He had the shit balls to DEMAND ME, ME who is like, making six more digits than him to go and pick up some delivery that’s none of my problems! Like geez, what’s with these people?! I feel like the older I get, the more messed up each generation becomes.”
Alana felt an immense sense of warmth and kindness, both from her own heart and the vision she sees. It would then once again switch to the night. With the Death Knight prepping the stove and pan as the fireplace lit up a small section of the forest, surrounded by shrubs and bushes that kept the Moon's gaze away. He’d constantly keep Bahamut from eating the uncooked steak with his hand. Pushing her away again and again as he went into his inventory and spawned the tongs, thyme, salt, herbs, and pepper. “Oh my, she wasn’t lying to me. They have been eating nothing but steaks even back then.” it then cuts to them eating and sharing the food. With the Knight patting and scratching her belly as she ate her portion with a smile on her face.
It then cuts once again and her vision is brought into an unarmored Humvee. Leaving a checkpoint where a family who was riding their carriage was at. With the General in his usual uniform, looking out the window as the sun slowly sinks in the horizon and in there right was City 01, with the smokestacks from the battle that just occurred still present and the ocean that was once there no longer present and replaced by a mountain range and a large lake that leads to a river.
Peaceful and solemn, even the Vampire felt as if she could sleep it away. The only missing was her to close her eyes and she’d eternally slumber, with a clear mind and a resting heart. “Oh no. No, this must be stopped!” The vision would then start to fade as she resisted the feeling of having to rest, the sides of it slowly slipping away as the Dragon gets her head patted by the General.
“Just rest, Bahamut. We’ll figure everything out when we arrive at the airport. I just… did we really just get transported into another world…? Hahhhh… nonetheless. Good job for today as always.”
As Bahamut was about to close her eyes, Alana screamed. “DRAGON!” Noticing this, the Goddess looked up and around and noticed a shadowy presence sitting on the driver side passenger seat. “Dragon… Dragon… wake up…” it would then form into a humanoid figure just to dissipate into a plume of black smoke.
Her eyes then widen at what was happening and she roars. It was so powerful the entire reality collapses and the both of them are brought to a mysteriously black world. There was nothing there but darkness and an endless space. Alana was put out of her element as she was returned to a physical body, but not in Zavalda. In another world entirely.
“Bloodsucker?!”
She turns to her left and sees Bahamut’s massive golden eyes looking down on her.
“EH-?! EH?! WHERE AM I?!”
“Calm down. You are in my realm, the Void. I bought your soul here, I cannot risk your soul getting lost if I was to just return you.”
“How? I just used magic to take a look in your head. I couldn’t believe you were having some sort of a paradise.”
“No, this was the work of something that rests on the land far beyond our worlds. It wanted to take me out before I could do anything.”
“Then Mars?!”
“I already sent my Knights to remove her from her dream. She should be here at any moment.”
Red lightning started to appear. One after the other, it then collects into a massive strike and a Volcanic Dragon just as large as her appears before the Black Dragon.
“Mars…”
“Bahamut…”
The two Dragon Gods looked at each other's eyes. Locking one anothers stares, they nodded.
“What’s happening?”
“We’ll be returning you to your physical body. Alert everyone, it is about to begin.”
“You two?”
“We are Dragons. We won’t let a challenge go to waste. We’ll visit the World below and greet the ones you call Outer Gods with glee. The mantle they have to try to pull this on us. Mars, shall we?”
“Of course Bahamut! That was a sweet dream they gave me, but I will not walk into the light without a fight!”
A jet of black lightning outlined by white hits Alana and she’s taken out of the picture as the two Dragon Gods close their eyes. Opening it, they were in their human forms and inside a well lit hallway full of coffins on the walls. They could audibly hear the screams of souls right above them as the plane they are on rumbled and growled like a living being.
Walking forward, Mars stops Bahamut as she points forward. The Coffins started opening, and exiting out of them were zombies with bright blue eyes. All of them in full plate armor of unknown origin and made out of a strange metallic rubbery alloy with helmets adorned with large Demonic horns.
“Huh, I’ve never met Draugrs like this before.”
“Not that Bahamut, what are they guarding?”
“None of my business! Let’s get to fighting!”
“Haaaaah… I’ll let you do that.”
“Suits me!”
She lunges forward at them. To her surprise, even though they were in heavy bulky armor, the Draugr Knights were dodging her hands as if they could telepath her moveset before even starting. “Hah! Finally! A good fight!” Materializing her Primordial sword, it clashes with their blades while in the back, Mars starts shooting lightning arrows of crimson flames into them. Though some would get absorbed by their armor, the flimsy ancient alloy was no longer in the top of its quality and would degrade after a few hundred shots.
Helping with the range combat, the two then slowly started making their way deeper and deeper into the strange place. The stone walls are old but yet clean and maintained, the lamps on the wall burning a fire of green and purple as a shroud of danger and a sense of immense dread hit them from all sides.
“Bahamut, I believe we are in their version of Pandemonium?”
“Could be, Mars. But I sense the greater power that touched us is sleeping and resting from somewhere.”
“Your nose has always been better than mine. But don’t take this as me following you.”
“Hah! Hahahahaha! Look at you!”
“What? This bodysuit looks way more sexier than your horrific gown. You are more suited to a horror movie than the role of a Dragon God.”
“Not that, I meant behind you.”
A Draugr Knight wielding a Great Axe was about to swing at her but before the blade could make contact with her neck, she grabs the handle of her sword and quickly swings it around and sheathes it once again. Leaving only a half moon shaped crimson flame as the Draugr fell to the ground in two parts.
“I think we are near.”
“I don’t like this. I feel more and more like I cannot teleport us away.”
“Hm. The layers of enchantments are getting numerous and I can sense raw magic being used. This place is not for us, nor Vampires.”
“Look at you, caring for a Vampire.”
“She is a good person and I’ve never sensed any ill in her.”
Fighting through more Draugrs and even encountering traps on their way, they finally arrive at the end of the hall. The large metal door had engravings of veins reaching out from below to the soil above. Opening it, they are greeted to a large space with eight pillars on each side. On its walls were a revolving wall of coffins, constantly switching from one and the other.
“This is going to be great.”
“You do you Bahamut. I’d rather not waste my blade on high level trash like this.”
“C’mon. I’ve never fully seen your sword style before.”
“Yours too, and I can see that whoever was your Master, you were taught well.”
“It is mine. I just had Sweord who taught me in the ways of the Dragon style to improve it further. I am rarely in my human form so I never put much thought into it till now.”
“Ah, unlucky you. I forgot that you were one of the types who wouldn’t shed their scales even if it served less and less as time passed. But I had the lucky chance to find a Volcanic Dragon who was the Master of our specific style. I just modified it a bit.”
The coffins then stopped turning and around them, they could hear latches being opened on the ceilings then down to the wall and violently crashing on the ground was the metallic boxes that held the Draugrs.
“Ehhhhh… and who was that?”
“Byrnseax the Lord of the Flames. The old croot might be too old for anything aside from parties in the palace but he still knew his way with the sword.”
One by one, the coffins drop on the wall, piling up and up as the doors to them violently open. Sending the ones on top to crash onto the pillars, damaging the place. On the edge of the wide room, the two sections of the wall turn around to reveal large Demons in full armor, wielding maces the size of school busses.
“He’s still alive, you know?”
“What? Really? The Elder Dragons and the Dragonlords all perished yet he lives?”
“Hm. Master actually met him. He was so confused as he talked in our tongue mixed with the language of Man.”
“What’s he doing now with the Kingdom in ruins?”
“He is the place where most of the Chosen Ones get to sell items from our fallen Isles. They also go to him to buy Dragon Scrolls. But it all specializes in the Crimson Flame.”
“I have to get TomTom to get me to where he is.”
Slowly, the Draugrs surround the two. But they just continued to converse as Mars started walking around Bahamut and started backwalking till she hit her back.
“He’s on the Continent of Gad. Or as the Chosen Ones call it. Middle Continent. On the upper left portion were the Isles of þolebyrdness once stood. You can find him inside the walled town there built from the concrete of the once great Dragon city.”
“I shall remember this. But first, let us take care of this problem before us.”
The two large Demons in full plate armor awakens. The blue bright eyes looking down on the two lanky women surrounded by Draugrs. Though fat and round, the armor they wore acted like cloth even though visibly being made of a layered metal armor that had a rubber texture to it.
“Shus Ill Ou Dragos Scrol?”
“Ah, ou Dragos Scroll. Ill ou hou dre ‘ft tas Dragrus.”
“Hm Marrse, Ou year’ouhcu.”
Mars then plants her sword on the ground as Bahamut spawns Core and Darkarth, with both blades on hand, she pushes their sharp edges together and friction is created. A strange white flame was emitted and she leaned in.
“Sunnd’Urt!”
A burst of energy was created, the very atoms in the air split and a chain reaction was created. The explosion emitted so strong the metal door that they went through bents outward as brown smoke was created by it. Just as quickly did it spread was the cloud of dust and debris controlled and sent away by Mars.
“Oh, interesting.”
Only a handful of the Draugrs were burned to crisp, the rest were still standing and their armor, though barely holding on together, managed to take the Dragon Spell, like a hard slap to the cheek. Bahamut springs forward with dual blades. Crashing down to the sea of undead Knights while Mars spreads her crimson wings and lands on the larger Demons. Carving her red sword onto its helmet and melting it to its skull.
The room was a complete mess with the pillars now left to their very foundation as heavy fighting began between the Draugrs and the Dragon Gods. Every Time they’d kill one, the walls would simply shift and unload more coffins. Even after fighting for what seemed to be days, and the walls now unable to throw more bodies at them as the empty coffins piled high enough that it rendered it useless. They both stood back in the middle, breathing heavily and panting as they looked onto the sea of dead warriors beneath them.
“Hah… hah… hah… this would be better and faster if I was in my Dragon form.”
“Shush Bahamut. Something is happening.”
Runes started to appear on the ceiling and the floor below them rumbled as inbetween where both the large Demons came from, a stage raises and a circular hole was then opened. They both stared at the contraption with confusion as a surge of power was felt by the two. Their eyes sank and they quickly ran to it. But the closer they got, they felt the hands of an unknown force slowing them down to a mere crawl.
“You Gods! I’ll get you!”
Bahamut felt as if sixteen different hands were pushing her down, prompting her to her knees as a platform carrying a large ornate metal casket was raised on the stage. Unlike the coffins that were thrown at them, this was properly taken care of and emanated a dark power that they could see with their eyes.
“Bahamut! We need to break this!”
“You think we can?! This is the home of the Outer Gods. We’re merely visitors!”
“Dunvvatch! Argh Ou portus kara terminyo!”
“I can hear the accent of the Northern Dragons from you!”
“Let me think!”
The large decorative casket starts being lit up by the runes as the hundreds of bodies of the Draugrs were drained to their very bones and powering it up, the bridge opens and a hand with a skin as dark as the Void reached out, dark red veins marking its skin and before they could do anything, the two were sent back to Zavalda.
Back in the open city where they could hear the rotors of the helicopters and the sound of engines. The peaceful blue open sky and the scattered clouds above them and the human structures surrounding every inch of the land.
Alana was also there, just suddenly getting ahold of herself.
“Eh? I thought you sent me first.”
“No time!”
Quickly they ran to the Tent of the Colonel inside the museum.
“Ah ma’am, we just finished moving the command tent as ordered.”
“No time!”
Bahamut then runs past Alana and skids on the marble flooring below them and stops just before the high ranking officer.
“Human!”
“Woah, Bahamut.”
“Call for Master immediately!”
A soldier then comes running to the tent, holding up to him a Gager Counter then reads the ambient mana. The digital screen on it showing “99999999-” till it hits a “NULL”.
“SIR! WE HAVE A CATCH!”
“O-Oh shit! IT'S HAPPENING?! IT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING?!”
The Colonel was fazed at first, almost slipping as he walked from left and then to right and then back again to the man sitting in front of the radios.
“D-DO IT!”
“S-Sir?”
“MAX LEVEL ALERT! NOW!”
Back in the Airbase, alarms blare and the Generals with the officers inside the command room drop their papers and leave their hats on the table as they run to the windows. Before them, they witness a small portal on top of the city. “Eh? That’s it?” The officer’s eyes then widened as the dust and pebbles on the ground started to float and the player felt a surge of Mana never before seen nor heard off in Dark World. It made all of them take a few steps back from the window as if a nuclear bomb was detonated right before them as their bodies trembled heavily and they were breathing in a panicked state out of nowhere.
Some started running, going nowhere while others stood frozen, even in the midst of no predators looking at them. They all equally felt as if they were planted to the ground. Their legs unable to move from the sheer amount of terror they felt in the miniscule of a second that passed.
Slowly it began to enlarge high above them and then dropped just about a kilometer above the highest point of Zavalda. A blindingly bright ring of rainbow spun around making it seem as if the entire section of Geraldia was having a massive party with the lights being the stars itselves. A large black hole surrounded by thick rings of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet while beyond it, the skies were covered with blood red. The beautiful yet terrifying vortex ate and engulfed all of their senses as a strange silence peered over everyone.
Something then emerges from the blackhole, an oddity with a shape not yet known to man nor Threa as it emitted a wave of power. A power that awoke the primal and visceral side of the Dragon Gods.
Down below, the soldiers on the trenches just on the other side of the concrete river stared upwards like a deer caught in the headlights and before they knew it, the wave passed them and everything was painted in a blood color. The shades known by your eyes are gone and replaced with a red tint. The ground then shook wildly, pushing them to the ground as they witnessed Mars and Bahamut in their mountain size forms gaining altitude. The flap of their wet wings was enough to send a wake that disturbed the helicopters far from the seaside park.
The high ranking officers and airbase staff looked in awe as two massive Dragons flew to it. Unlike them, standing in pure fear, the two Dragons looked it right in the eyes and pushed towards it.
“MARS! CONTAIN IT! I’LL HELP YOU!”
“OKAY! MAKE SOME SPACE FOR ME!”
Mars then uses her sword to pierce a hole in time space itself. Hovering, she reaches her claws inside and pulls out a Lance of Crimson Red like her.
“I’ll lynch it to this region only! Give the illusion to the refugee camp that the sky is still normal!”
“Hm!”
Bahamut then starts chanting as Mars flew higher and higher and higher till she reached the massive dark portal in which she then dives down. Using the energy she has built up, she then uses her wings, flapping faster than the speed of sound as she throws her spear into the hole. Stopping its growth while the Black Dragon emitted her own wave of power. The place then settles as dread fills the air, with the sense of the otherworld overtaking everything. Painting every inch of the land with strangeness and an air alien to all the players.
The color outside of the room was in an extreme red tint, as if their eyes were completely bloodshot and the clouds were fully repainted to the color of blood. Paul looks out to the city and his jaws drop at the sight before him. He also couldn’t find himself moving, as a fear man long forgotten returned to him and all the hairs on his body stood up. Three large beams from the skies were then descended to the city. One in the West just by the river to the Industrial sector, another in the middle near the National Park and another far down East to where the Downtown was. Then it exploded and three smaller black holes were created.
An officer then comes barreling down the hallway. On his hand is the handset to a longwave radio and he puts the volume up and points it at the General's ear.
“HIGH COMMAND! IT HAS BEGUN! I REPEAT! IT HAS BEGUN! WE CONFIRM THREE SMALL BLACK HOLES OVER THREE OF THE FOUR MAJOR DISTRICTS!”
Jackson then witnesses Bahamut and Mars return to the ground. It snaps him back as his hand trembles wildly. Taking the radio, he opened his mouth even though his hands were shaking violently.
“C-C-Copy! I’ll get everything sorted here! Game face everyone! Game face!”
He then returns it to the radioman as he sprints to the command room where Yamaoka was. Staring at the screen that’s now emitting a red color, he turns around to face Jackson. His face having the same visceral fear just as he had moments before.
“It's a bit too early but it's doable. Yamaoka, get your armor on. Captain, give me a Mana Stone. Everyone!” all the officers in the room then turned to face him. “You know the plan! Do not get bogged down in a Defense In-Depth! While we have the chance! Learn as much as you can, we can use this in the future for when they’ll do this to the entire planet! Read, adapt, learn. DO YOU COPY ME?!”
“SIR YES SIR!”
Explosions then followed and in the center from where the black holes were exactly on top of. The sound of a choir of screams of the damned souls of Hell itself could be heard, the radios from far and wide all emitting the strange eerie sounds. Walking back to the Command room, the flatscreen TVs on the walls show thousands of zombies and skeletons appearing from thin air right below the portals.
“SIR! THE BLACKHOLES ARE SPAWNING ENEMY UNITS!”
“Those aren’t just some Black Hole… those are the literal gates of Hell…”
“S-s-so… Hellgates sir?”
“You could call it that… by God… look at how many there are.”
Infront of him, a sea of undead was appearing out of thin air, second by second as the guns and cannons of the outposts they placed fired with everything they got. Jackson removed his cap and started combing his hair at the sight before him. Swallowing his saliva, he clenched his fists.
“Yamaoka, time to get to the Downtown PD. That’s the most undefended, so it’ll need our high level asses there.”
“Hm!”
Just like that, Thomas gets his courage back as he nodded in approval.
“Let’s go then!”