+++ Lieutenant Hans Hoffman +++

Nomosian Countryside

He was in some real trouble.

“Damn it!”

He pulled his mech hard down. The sharp leaf that flew on top of him nearly chopped off his mech’s turret. Hans pushed his mech into a sharp turn in the direction of the same demon chasing him. The Calamity of Recklessness herself.

“You’re quite the puny little annoyance,” the demon said, as she floated down into the green fields. Vines and flowers almost bloomed and surrounded her, as she walked in Hans’ direction. “Now, of course. I’m not stupid. I know you and that friend you bought here—you both killed Desire.”

“Does that piss you off?” Hans asked with his speakers. His rear was a densely forested area. He continued trying to maintain distance from the demon by pushing his feet on the reverse gear, as he prepared his incendiary machine gun rounds. Recklessness however didn’t seem to appreciate that. One of the long vines that shot out from the ground flew through the air straight at him.

Hans was naturally alerted by it, pulling his mech into an even harder retreat. Just enough to dodge the vine that nearly nicked off a leg or two on his mech. Hans clicked his tongue. He was running out of options at this point.

Damn it. That other demon should be nearby too. Maybe even at my rear already.

He already half-regretted surveying this area. Well, at least for now. It seemed that he was doomed. Reinforcements would take a few more hours at the earliest. Even if Adelyn dashed her at full speed, it’d take her dozens of minutes before being able to render help.

And I can’t alert her about anything. I’ll be dead before she gets here and finds out what happens.

He gritted his teeth. It was over. Truly over. He’d be dead soon. He already half-debated the virtues of pulling out his Ruger and executing his “updated standard operating procedures”. It would certainly be an easier way out. But then again, at the same time.

This blunder could be an opportunity.

Dying…and dying, and dying…

Hans felt his eyes turn hollow at the prospect of it. It would always happen. What was new now?

“I am more so annoyed by it,” the Calamity of Recklessness said, as she raised her staff. “Mankind has always been quite the arrogant little cretin. You would expect that it would learn its place, and learn from the consequences of its endless sins. But it doesn’t.”

“Does that learning have to involve burning down entire cities and massacring thousands in heinous ways?!” Hans asked with his speakers. “Besides, weren’t you one of us before all this?”

The woman chuckled at that.

“You’re right. But you see, I’ve grown beyond that already. For now, I represent one of mankind’s greatest vices—recklessness! The same sin that placed you here today, and the same sin that’ll lead to the deaths of the fools about to rescue you!”

Shit, there’s no way out. Screw this.

Hans fired his main gun straight at her. The MPAT round streaked straight into the woman. But it was blocked by a tree that grew out of nowhere. Hans however charged in, stepping right beside the smoke of the explosion. Then, out of it, his turret was aimed at the demon. Gunfire erupted from his machine guns, raining lead on the Calamity of Recklessness.

Each vine that attempted to block him was burned by his bullets. Due to its special nature, each round glowed slightly red. It lit up the battlefield, and Hans targeted the demon as she tried to run and dodge him. He gritted his teeth when two vines flew straight in his direction. One sliced below him, another nearly diagonally.

He only barely managed to dodge it with a last-minute jump. When his mech landed on the ground, Hans placed full power on his engines. Each of his mech’s legs rushed in full force. His mech began driving straight in the woman’s direction. Pulling into a hard jump, Hans engaged his razors.

The demon naturally saw it. She immediately sent two vines to cut him. But Hans pulled his mech’s legs upwards by a few inches. Thus, instead of being sliced—his razors zipped through both vines. They fell on the ground, as Hans landed a few meters away from her.

But she managed to dodge at the last second.

A barrage of incendiary rounds peppered her as she ran. She then began creating gigantic leaves that acted as a barrier out of nowhere. Hans however tracked her and chased her. His main gun soon opened fire as well, the round slamming on a mass of leaves that she summoned to block it.

A massive explosion sent her tumbling into the green field. Like an unrelenting rascal, Hans charged in again at her direction. But he was dissuaded when she managed to stand back up and send further attacks against him. Instead, Hans was forced to dodge hundreds of thorns, each of them glowing slightly green.

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Some of them shot through his mech’s armor, disrupting and damaging many important components inside. Within seconds, Hans was forced into a limping retreat. His radiator was damaged. His fuel tank briefly ignited after it was struck, only fixed by the automatic fire control system. Then, one of the thorns sliced through his cockpit.

It pierced one of the displays and plunged through his upper left chest. Blood pooled out of his open wound, and Hans screamed in pain. He pushed his mech away, trying to gain distance as he retreated away from the woods at last. All as his machine guns ran out of ammunition.

“Damn it! Damn it!” Hans shouted. He struggled to breathe, and the demon was charging fast at him. “Damn it, you bastard!”

Her staff changed its shape. It now resembled that of a sword staff, with two sharp ends above the green crystal of her staff. She charged in Hans’ direction, meeting an MPAT round that flew right above her. Many open cauterized wounds dotted her body, but it all began disappearing rapidly.

“I must admit, you are quite the worthy foe,” the Calamity of Recklessness declared. “But unfortunately, you are foolish to think that you can fight me alone. That is the height of arrogance…and recklessness.”

Hans felt his mech’s legs grabbed by multiple vines that shot out of the earth. Then, in the same second, each leg was sliced like nothing, and his mech fell hard to the ground. He could only clutch his wide-open wound as she jumped up high—and aimed her sword staff at him as it glowed green.

But, Hans wasn’t going to go down defeated without being defiant. And so, he grinned as he shouted with his speakers.

“I concede then. I suppose you’re right, asshole—!”

The center of Hans’ chest was struck by a wide, sharp, green mass of vines and leaves. His mech was pierced by her attack as if he was nothing. He was dead within seconds.

+++

Hans’ eyes shot wide open.

His hands immediately wandered to his chest, as he hyperventilated a bit. That death wasn’t exactly the most gruesome one so far, but he felt the phantom pain nearly constrict his breathing. He gritted his teeth, and within seconds, he was back in control.

…Damn. I guess she must have thought I was a juicy target. All alone.

But, now, at least his worst fears were fully confirmed. The Calamity of Recklessness was there, and she was actively in the fight. And she’d join only at the most opportunistic moment. Either when he was alone, or if the first demon had sapped him and his allies enough.

Devious.

That was all that Hans could comment about his new enemy. And impressive, she certainly was. This was now his second defeat while fighting her. And the third one ever since they made contact with the “wolf” demon, which he nicknamed simply Tango One.

Now, the question is. How do I make sure that we can fight Tango One without exhausting ourselves enough before Tango Two—the Calamity of Recklessness, decides to appear?

It was going to be a positional question. Hans tried to think hard, brewing a correction to his plans. Certainly, going there alone to scout the city out was dangerous. That seemed to trigger Recklessness’ opportunistic tendencies. After all, a lone Wanderfalke would be an easy and juicy target.

But whenever Hans seemed to be with Adelyn or the Viceroy, she would refuse to appear until the end. Almost letting Tango One soak up all the damage. His only solution thus was to make sure that they wouldn’t have to actively chase Tango One. Like his previous scouting run, baiting Tango One to their defensive lines sapped the Viceroy of her strength.

That’s something I should not repeat. Then again, that scenario only occurs if we decide to delay until tomorrow.

Secondarily, if they rushed today to Presidio, they would catch the demon, yes. But then…the 1st Anti-Demon Unit would be weaker. That was again a problem. Hans needed a perfect trifecta. Bait the demons to him after reaching them at the right time, ensure that the Viceroy was in her full strength, and ensure that the 1st Anti-Demon Unit was well-rested and resupplied.

Well, there’s the option to fully delay things for three days, but that’s going to introduce new variables I have no control over.

That wouldn’t be an option then. Increasingly, Hans realized that the only way to win this one was to get to that city on the second day. Then, they would set themselves up in the defensive positions Hans had scouted…

And we’ll try baiting Tango One to our defenses without reducing our strength too much.

Which was easier said than done. Hans sighed.

+++

“Hey, are you alright over there?” Adelyn asked, poking Hans a bit. He was standing beside their command tent, thinking things through. Hans naturally was pulled back to the present, and he turned to her. “You look quite disturbed over there?”

“I am?” Hans asked. “I don’t know. I’ve had a decent rest. I think I’m doing fine—”

He felt her suddenly pull his face into her. Then, she began checking his eyes and cheeks.

“Look at that. Your eye bugs are getting worse. Your eyes are a bit shifty. And you’re paler than normal,” she shook her head. “I swear…sometimes, out of nowhere, your demeanor changes for the worse. You were doing fine last night. Nightmares perhaps?”

“No, I don’t think so…”

“Really now?”

“Really, really,” Hans tried to smile. “I’m fine. I’m just trying to plan things out. You know…with the whole two calamities problem. It’s a pretty…slightly worrying one.”

“You’re anxious?”

“A bit,” Hans tried to laugh. “But, I think we’ll be fine. No, we will be fine. Regardless. Regardless of how many times…”

He looked at his gloved hand. It was slightly trembling. Then, he felt Adelyn hold it a bit.

“Is that so, Hans?” Adelyn asked, as she softly frowned. “...You know, you’re right. We probably need a little bit more rest.”

Hans looked back up at her face. She was truly visibly concerned for his well-being.

“Yeah…maybe. But not too much. We have to reach Presidio by tomorrow. That’s assured.”

“Alright,” Adelyn squeezed Hans’ hand gently for a bit. “Just, again. If something is bothering you greatly, please tell me, okay?”

“I already did tell you. It’s just the two calamities problem. That’s the truth. I’m just thinking a little bit too hard about it. That’s all.”