{*WILL be an Edit here to showcase Talks between Yukino, Jack, Python, and Jessica. CH28.5]
Beneath the sewer grating leading out into a sprawling metropolis of ivory and stone covered in ice, a dozen figures in white-patterned armor stood at the ready.
Jack cast his eyes to the Templars nearby, his former enemies now allies against the threat of the High Table.
Without meaning to, the two parties had segregated themselves, Jack's imperial commandos on the left, and Templar soldiers on the right.
Although they were allies, there was still a tension between them that was palpable in the sewer air.
Jack tapped into his com-link, synching to his teammates.
“Remember Majestic,” Jack began, “We're here to help these people, not make their lives worse. Minimum structural damage if possible, no civilian casualties. Watch your shots, understood?”
A series of green acknowledgement blips appeared on Jack's HUD.
“Are you set milord?” Jessica asked as Jack tightened his helmet.
Sara? Are we ready? Jack sent to his faithful companion.
“Lita’s armored divisions are ready to move from the warehouse. Yukino and Python are setting up the rayshift beacon now,” Sahaqiel replied, the angel overlooking the desolate city smothered by winter's embrace. “Are you ready? This will be a fight against mostly humans, not monsters and I know-”
“Ich bin bereit,” Jack confirmed coldly with his eyes on his head-up display that read 1859. At 1900, the assault would begin, all he was waiting for was the-
BANG!
At the sound of the timed detonations, Jack jolted to attention and leapt upwards, his wings protecting his head as broke through the paved road above to emerge into the city street thrown into chaos.
In the open air, everywhere Jack looked he saw flames and explosions, a battlefield raging as aircraft, tanks, and rag-tag rebels poured into the holy city from their hidey holes towards the papal soldiers caught off guard by the cry of thousands going to war.
“Go forward comrades! Not a step backwards! Liberate our home from these polluters!”
Jack ignored the Templar Chaplain beneath him, moving instead to rise into the air where he was joined by Sahaqiel.
“It's begun.”
“So it has,” Jack replied as he unfurled his feathers his eyes dancing with sparks as a storm gathered above him.
****
Three days later…
Over a sprawling megacity wrapped in flames and ash, lead and ionized bolts flooded the air, traded between hulking masses of metal commanded by humans fighting for air dominance.
“Push through! The enemy is in retreat!” Jack roared, his arm swinging his silver gunblade stained in black ichor that beheaded a four-armed homunculus. “We end this today!”
Atop a mound of bodies and debris, adorned in white armor with silver wings upon his back, Jack stood firm as the never-ending tide of abominations poured forth from the enemy's headquarters.
They were close. So close to the enemy yet far.
What was supposed to be a blitz attack had turned into a drawn out brutal clash, the entire city lying in ruin as coalition forces battled the High Table in brutal urban and air warfare.
To make matters worse, Roland airships had appeared, reinforcing the Cintelli traitors with imperial soldiers as demonspawn under the command of the Green Bishop poured out from the laboratories below.
This had been a trap. But it was one that Jack would break as he spun, bisecting an man with his left wing while his right broke apart, impaling a squad of papal soldiers rushing him.
“My Lord!” Jessica called out, the soot-covered lieutenant pointing to a black tide of ravenous monsters bringing down a Templar dropship from above.
Jack narrowed his eyes, his golden glare flashing with red as his hand reached out, the wind responding to his will and catching the falling craft like a form of telekinesis.
Days of practice had finally bore fruit, his mastery over the wind growing with each subsequent use.
Sara. Jack ordered, his wings breaking apart to release hundreds of feathers that ripped apart the gargoyle-like creatures tearing at the steel carapace of the Templar vessel.
Suddenly, as Jack attempted to save the crashing aircraft, a wounded papal soldier emerged from out of hiding, rushing Jack whom he thought off guard.
Jack’s gaze shifted, his head turning slightly to lock eyes with the awakened man who froze, his chipped sword stopping mid-swing.
Then, the weapon fell, the papal loyalist dropping his weapon before being quickly subdued by Jessica who began beating the man in submission. With the threat dealt with, Jack turned and finished his business with the gargoyles.
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With the ship deliced, Jack set the craft down, allowing the crew to safely disembark onto the depilated streets of the city.
“Lumenese, we are ever grateful for your assistance my Lord!” The pilot in white overalls said, kneeling as he and his aircraft gunners joined Jack and Jessica.
“Templar, are you or any of your men injured?” Jack asked, sending his feathers out to shred a lurking nest agent that dared to try and ambush him.
“No, my Lord. Thanks to you.”
“Then rejoin with Commander Strongarm, we need every able gun in this fight, take this prisoner back too,” Jack ordered, tapping the com-link to radio the Paladin Commander. “Lita, I'm sending a trio of rescued Templar pilots to you plus one prisoner.”
“Understood Lumenese, Roland Air support is pulling back to the citadel, opening the airways, the 8th armor and 14th are on the way to you,” Lita radioed back as Jack cast his eyes to the flood of armored units and white-clad infantry charging across bridges, racing through open streets, and disembarking from imperial aircraft.
Imperial and Theocracy forces working together. An odd sight to Jack's eyes who still felt a bit apprehensive about the Templars.
Still, emotions aside, there was work to be done. A war to be won. This battle just one of many in the long road ahead.
Jack narrowed his eyes at the cluster of soldiers in the distance.
“Damocles, this is Angel, I've got papal golems forming a vanguard for a counter-assault at the south citadel gates. I need disruption,” Jack said, relaying information from Sahaqiel.
“... Understood Angel," Tangerine replied, his voice almost bored, "Standby.”
From above, Sahaqiel eyed the formation of papal awakened, men and women protected by demonspawn and monstrosities born from the twisted mind of the Green Bishop gathering to try and rebuff the invaders.
The attempt didn't last long as a sleek, wolf-like MECHFrame in black armor descended from above, crashing into the group with an explosive force that flattened the south gate.
“Papal golemancers down,” Tangerine reported to the sound of automatic gunfire echoing from his comlink, “Holding position.”
“Understood Damocles,” Jack said, turning to the crunch of tank tracks crushing falling debris that took his attention from behind.
About damn time.
“Lumenese!” Lita, the 6ft tall platinum blonde woman with blue eyes called out from atop a Templar battle tank. A sight to behold, “We've got these bastards on the run! The 9th, 12th, and 56th have secured their sectors with Roland air support fleeing from your King's Raven. All that remains is the citadel.”
Kingrave Jack almost corrected but didn't.
“Good work. All that truly remains is the facility that lies below,” Jack said, boarding the Eclipse-Class battle tank, courtesy of the Empire as paladins flowed past him.
“Correct. My Judicators and your pink-haired acrobatic have secured the secret tunnels and passageways. The Green Bishop will not elude us this day,” Lita answered to the backdrop of massive red-eyed golems flanking the tank she rode up on. “I must thank you Lumenese. Without your assistance victory would not be so decisive.”
Jack narrowed his eyes, focusing on the heat and flame that surrounded the city, along with the corpses of both Papal and Templar forces.
“Don't thank me Lita, I'm merely here to find my sister and to keep Selfia's promise to aid you,” Jack replied as the Damocles came into view, the jet black MECHFrame piloted by Tangerine standing amidst corpses of the Papal resistance.
Ahead, Jack could hear singing, power, his eyes picking up strong traces of mana overlapping over one another.
“Captain Verlance, report,” Lita said, her tank coming to a pause beside a group of white-armored injured paladins.
“The traitorous forces have retreated into the audience chamber, erecting a barrier with their choirmen that is proving to be unbreakable to our pious brothers,” The Captain said, pointing at the translucent barrier of gold expanding from within the citadel. “They are also protected by hellspawn, two agents that have already killed scores of my men.”
“Where is Superbia?”
“Lady Superbia is still lock in combat with the enemy general Cerda.”
Jack’s brow furrowed, his angelic eyes registering the lifeforms within.
“I'll deal with this,” Jack said, stepping off the tank, his feathers flying through the air to reform his silver wings.
Walking up the marble stairs, the Templars and Imperials gathered snapped salutes, standing like a form of honorguard for Jack who stood before the ruined gates of what had surely once been a majestic citadel.
Ahead of him, he could hear the singing, the prayers. A futile attempt to keep the attackers out of the citadel and away from the secret chambers that awaited below.
“There's fifteen of them and two nest agents,” Sahaqiel reported, acting as his forward recon.
Jack took a step forward, entering the grand chamber, his surroundings now that of a massive auditorium that had once been used to house hundreds of papal politicians.
Now, however, there were only a dozen men and women, clergy who still held firm despite the inevitable defeat in the form of Jack knocking at their door.
Two nest agents ran at Jack, two monsters that, years ago would have terrified him, now… were no more than a nuisance as their drained husks hit the floor beside his boots.
[Agent of Ferkal Drained! Ski-]
Jack ignored the pop-ups, stepping over the corpses to stand before several Papal Paladins who kneeled to Jack, begging for forgiveness from the man akin to an Angel of Death.
“T-th- Ripper man!” A paladin cried out, prostrating himself before Jack.
Days of fighting had built up Jack’s mythos, the constant carnage he displayed steeling the heart of the man whose eyes held a blackness to it that could only be described as an erosion of the soul.
For all their monsters, for all their weapons, Jack now stood before his quivering enemy deep in prayer, a sight that once may have moved his heart now… did nothing for the King of the Imperium whose eyes held no trace of the youth who once dreamed of the open sky.
Jack reached out, touching the shimmering barrier of mana that blocked all physical and magical attacks. Feeling the absence of air, it even blocked sound not of magical nature.
It’s strong…
“But not strong enough for me…” Lilith smiled, Jack’s bloodlust rising as the raven-colored specter rose from his shadow.
She was eager, Jack could feel it. Despite being silent for so long, he could feel the spirit of vengeance craving violence from her creator.
Jack was all too happy to oblige.
Lilith howled, letting out an ear-piercing scream that silenced the prayers. Across the battlefield, thousands of eyes turned, both horror and human, everyone’s attention enraptured by the cry of vengeance echoing through flame-filled sky.
The barrier before Jack fell away, the nuns, and clergy falling to their knees weeping before Jack who stood indifferent to their cries of mercy. After months of warfare, after years of bloodshed, and violence, Jack held no sympathy for his enemies.
But he wasn’t a monster.
And so he let them be as he walked by their quivering forms and grabbed hold of a vault door that stood between him and his quarry.
With one tug, Jack’s enhanced strength ripped the metal gate off its hinges.
“Sir, what should we do with the prisoners?” Jessica asked, catching up to him with Commander Verlance leading templars into the chambers.
“Lita will handle them, our objective remains the Green Bishop. Stay here and contact Colonel Python, I have a bad feeling about this,” Jack ordered while his thoughts turned to his wife and child as he peered into the abyss below.