“The importance of protecting this child just grew for me that day.”
- Excerpt from Lieutenant Hans Hoffman’s Journal Entries.
+++
+++ Lieutenant Hans Hoffman +++
Rousselot City
“I’d rather die first than let that thing do whatever it wants to do to her.”
The words from Adelyn had fully turned cold. While Hans couldn’t see her Wanderadler, as she was traveling in a parallel road, he knew that she was rushing through the chaos just as fast, both of their mechs dashing through the tight lanes as fleeing masses tried to make way for their vehicles.
“I know,” Hans responded. “And I agree. How much ADI MPAT have you readied?”
“Four.”
“Good,” Hans’ Wanderfalke made a tight turn on the lanes, emerging on the main road that was headed to the central district. Right as he turned however, the Diligence almost drifted as Adelyn also turned and rushed forward in front of him. Hans followed her closely, as the sounds of chaos in the city intensified.
Muskets. Cannons. All of them cracked left and right. Not just that. He could hear the beast itself—as a sudden blue beam of water sliced through the buildings just a few hundreds meters ahead of them. Already, Hans pulled his mech to one of the buildings, fired his grapnels into its roof, and scaled it.
“Captain, I’ll do the flanking. Be careful.”
“Noted.”
Hans’ Wanderfalke however proved too heavy for the fragile stone structures of the buildings, and so, he wasted no time moving before the structures underneath him collapsed. One after another, his Wanderfalke moved and jumped, building to building, house to house. He even made one long gallop over the streets, landing on what appeared to be a merchant’s or noble’s home, before he dropped to the streets, sparks flying off as the Peacemaker’s legs screeched through the stone road.
Ahead of him—was two light cannons of the regiment being prepared. He ignored it, speeding up—and jumping above the dumbfounded soldiers. Ahead of him, on the square near the Countess’ estate, was the demon itself, slittered on one of the buildings as steam rose from a rapidly closing hole on its body.
Hans pulled the break, as in front of him, on the square’s central fountain, the Countess’ feet dropped on the head of a lion statue, her sword drawn for combat, and blood pooling out of her multiple wounds. Hans keyed his speakers.
“Artillery units! Move forward in haste! Deploy and take aim!”
Behind them, musketeers and the men who manned the cannons rushed into the square. Staggered fire, all of them powered by skills, cracked left and right from the muskets of determined men trying to stop the monster ahead of them. The shots all flew straight at the massive target, each of them piercing through its skin, only for the wounds to close immediately.
Four artillery pieces, finally readied in their firing positions, were aimed at the demon. Behind Hans’ Wanderfalke, Captain Strobel, who rode his horse, shouted atop his lungs for the artillery crew to open fire at the creature, his saber pointed straight at its tentacled head.
The shots, although uncoordinated, with one cannon ball missing entirely, pierced through the beast’s body. Immediately, it destroyed the building it was in, as its head rushed to the ground, its tentacles, now almost uncountable, ravaged through the soldiers on the ground.
Musketeers, pikemen, artillery crew, Hans saw dozens meet a grizzly end, as a shot from behind him boomed. It was from Adelyn, her 120mm main gun releasing an ADI MPAT that slammed straight to the head of the creature, casing it to burn in a brutal inferno. Unfortunately, water particles formed above the demon our of the air, raining down and taking the fire out.
“Damn it! Loading APFSDS!”
“I’m doing the same!” Hans said, as he took aim to the center mass of the creature. Pulling the trigger, the depleted uranium penetrator gutted the creature in and out, his shot overpenetrating and exposing the innards of the demon, with the house that was hit by the slowed down round still collapsing from the sheer energy of Hans’ shot.
The demon soon looked at Hans, its tentacles extending to strike him. A hail of machine gun fire peppered it, stopping it from its tracks at attacking Hans. At the same time, the Countess jumped, her sword slicing through the mass of tentacles as Hans’ gunfire stopped in order to prevent friendly fire.
One after another however, the tentacles began assaulting the Countess, who experly slashed her way through all of it, until four runic circles appeared around her, firing a red beam on the body of the demon, and stopping further attacks on her. The Countess however was injured, as some of the tentacles managed to slice through her even with her dodges.
Perhaps out of exhaustion from her injuries, alongside her heavy usage of magic and skills, Hans watched as she slammed her sword on the stone road and use it as support from collapsing.
“You should have never gone there, Jacques,” she shakingly said as she looked at the creature. “Look at what the desire for revenge has done to you. Now…you’re nothing but a monster.”
“Damn you, Julie! You fool. You absolute fool of a woman. Traitor! Traitor! You work with them! You fight for them! The same Empire that killed our daughter! And now that I found the perfect replacement for her, you betray me?! You traitor!”
She laughed, as she tried standing up.
“You’re just a ghost…deluded beyond reprieve. Who told you that you can simply abduct a child to replace her…” She picked herself up, and aimed her sword at the monster. “Burn.”
Suddenly, a massive inferno torched half of the demon’s body. Hans heard the most blood-curdling screams come from it, as it began running and retreating. Its water magic, instead of attacking anyone, began desperately raining water on its body instead to set the fire off.
The Countess however finally collapsed from exhuastion, as Hans and Adelyn rushed forward to chase the retreating demon, their main guns opening fire side by side. Adelyn’s mech drove through the road itself, while Hans’ mech scaled another building and began chasing it, and firing at it from rooftop to rooftop.
“It’s just us that’s left!” Adelyn shouted on the comms. “Fire everything we have!”
“On it!”
His autoloader worked in overdrive, slamming APFSDS after APFSDS to the firing pin, each shot gutting the beast, leaving thick pools of blood on the streets that it crawled on.
Then…
Wait…Alizée?
Alone from one of the ruined houses ahead of them, was Alizée. She seemed…different. Her body was now covered in a pink armor of sorts, which would have looked not so fitting for a girl of her age, and would probably fit more if Hans was watching a TV show. But, Alizée now held a determined stance. The crossbow in her hand was also aimed at the creature.
“Alizée!” Hans shouted through his speakers. “Get out of the way.”
“No!” She shouted. “I’ll kill it now, and end of all of this!”
The arrow from her shot glowed pink, piercing and ripping through the demon’s flesh with ease. Blood sprayed everywhere, covering the buildings and streets, as the beast finally collapsed on the road. Hans wasted no time, as his Wanderfalke jumped straight into what appeared to be the head of the “Tentacled Eel”. Engaging his forward leg razors, it stabbed through its skull in a sickening slice.
The creature tried to resist, its head shaking left and right to shake Hans’ eighteen tonner mech off to no avail.
“Captain! Finish it with an anti-demon round!”
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Adelyn’s mech stopped, her main gun aiming straight at the head of the demon. Hans didn’t need to be told, and he disengaged his leg razors, and jumped off from the beast’s head as Adelyn fired her shot. The tentacles that attempted to grab the legs of the Peacemaker didn’t have a chance, as they burned in a blue inferno.
His mech landed just a few meters from Alizée, who, just like the Countess, finally collapsed from exhaustion.
[1 DEMONIC ENTITY (LVL. UNKNOWN) LIQUIDATED]
[LEVEL UP! NOW LVL. 23]
[PROGRESS TO LVL.24: 75%]
[AVAILABLE AP: 275 PTS]
Hans however cared not for that. Not that the demon was dead. Not even about the city. Not his safety. No, he pulled out his helmet, removed his seat belts, and popped his hatch open unarmed, climbing off to run and take Alizée. He had already endangered the kid enough with his plan, and the last thing he wanted was her being injured at this point.
Glowing lights surrounded her body, as the armor and weapon she had dissapeared. By the time Hans finally got to her and checked her for injuries. One after another, he checked her hands, feet, neck, and head. Everything while keeping her in the same position.
But aside from scrapes and bruises in her knees and elbows, it appeared that she was fine.
“Goddess…” Hans breathed out, pulling her up and finally placing her on his arms in the most careful way he could. If she had any bone injuries or internal damage, he didn’t want to exacerbate it. He needed to get her to the priests or anyone capable of medical magic quickly. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…I lied…I…”
“Sir Hans?” Alizée weakly spoke, as she finally opened her eyes. “Is it…over?”
“Alizée?” Hans looked at her eyes. Why did I do this to her? He gave her head a gentle pat. “Tell me, is there anything wrong? Do you feel anything off? Tell me quickly, please. Please. Please understand me.”
Panicked, he fumbled for the translation booklet in his pocket. It was a struggle considering she was in his hands, but before he could pull it out, she spoke again.
“I’m fine…” she said. “I just feel a little tired…”
“What?”
She smiled at him.
“Thanks…for saving me, again…Sir Hans.”
What? I didn’t save you! I used you as bait! Now…now all this happened…
“What? How can you say this much already?”
“I ‘memorized’ it.” She giggled a bit. “I want…chocolate too.”
“Chocolate?”
“...Yes.”
Already, behind him, he could already hear the starting commotion as soldiers rushed to this street. Then, the sounds of a walking Wanderadler that stopped just behind them. Hans could only chuckle a bit. Even if he felt extreme guilt for his actions…it seemed that she was fine, for now.
“Alright…I’ll make sure to open another MRE pack for you then, Alizée.”
+++
Rousselot City
AUG 8, 1538 CE
To say that Rousselot City had seen better days would be quite the understatement. Truth was, the “Tentacled Eel” had damaged the city pretty badly. Buildings. Businesses. The roads. The defenses. Public spaces. The Countess’ estate. The City’s Council Hall. Even the port facilities were struck by the water beam that the “Tentacled Eel” fired. Two Frigates of the IYC, both moored in the harbor, were also struck, their seaworthiness in question.
But what truly struck the city the most, was in its population. As of now, the city almost seemed…dead. Many people fled even when the threat was gone. From a city of forty-thousand souls, he doubted that twenty-thousand (mostly poor commoners) still remained in the city. The devastation. The casualties. Hell…the tallies of dead remained unknown outside of their estimates—at least a thousand civilian fatalities, and two hundred thirty men of the Rousselot Garrison and the 4th Holy Ygeia Regiment according to their latest counts.
“Regardless,” declared Captain Strobel in front of the Countess, Hans, Adelyn, Father Olbrich, and the two IYC mercenaries that were about to take Hans and Adelyn to the IYC. They were now discussing the future plans for the city. “We killed the ‘Tentacled Eel’, thus, it should be fine now to declare that the County of Rousselot is safe. Cleared of demonic threats.”
“Wouldn’t that be too hasty?” Adelyn asked. “Shouldn’t you all take this time to prepare for the next instead? Quite frankly, I seriously doubt that there wouldn’t be another attack.”
“We’ve accounted for that,” the Countess replied. “But, now’s the time for recovery. The city. The county…it needs her people back. To pick up the pieces. The more we remain in this state of high security, the worse the state of our county would be.”
Hans crossed his arms.
“That’s complacency,” he said. “Quite frankly, all of the Imperium must remain in a war footing at once. This is ridiculous.”
“Heh, foreigner, you have no idea how braindead those at the top are,” Captain Weibel said with a laugh. “Lady Fresnel here can only do so much. I can understand if her priorities from now on is to place her domain into recovery. All demonic threats near Rousselot has been eliminated, after all.”
“That, and this place won’t be your responsibility no more,” the Countess said. “You two did well. But, I believe that there is a greater calling in Ygeia for the two of you. My county won’t be your problem from now on.”
“Right,” Captain Weibel said. “The deal. From now on, you two will be with us, hunting the big one. The Calamity of Desire. The defense of Ygeia relies on that. And hey, one hundred thousand Imperial Marks too. Quite the bounty for the kill.”
“I’ll actually be joining in on that,” Father Olbrich said. “I’ve learned quite a bit about demons from the carcasses we have retrieved. I believe we need to learn more. If we’re taking down that one next, every knowledge we have would be needed.”
“Hmm, he has a point,” Hans said. “Rousselot now contains the most experienced people when it comes to battling demons. Is the 4th Holy Ygeia Regiment really going to remain here?”
“I suppose that’s true,” Captain Strobel said. “But we lost a number of our assets. Three of our artillery pieces and their crew were lost. The men are more motivated than ever, yes, because we managed to do the impossible, but regardless…demons are demons. Without Captain Wittenstein and Lieutenant Hoffman, we would have failed.”
“But we required that extra firepower to fight,” Adelyn said, turning to Captain Weibel. “Hey, can you negotiate with the IYC? We need a proper plan if we’re serious at hunting that beast. And I’d honestly like to have men we worked with already in this fight.”
“I can,” Captain Weibel said. “So long as the Calamity of Desire is killed, the IYC will do anything. But then, what about the city?”
“The city will be safe,” the Countess said. “I believe there’s no more threat. Not in the near future for us at least. And my coffers are dry. I cannot pay the 4th Holy Ygeia Regiment any further if I’m hoping to rebuild my lands. I advise that you, Captain Strobel, find someone to employ you all now, or be forced to disband.”
“Alright, alright,” Hans broke the discussion. “We have a week or two to decide anyway. For now, how about we check our options well?”
“That’s definitely a better thing to do,” Father Olbrich said. “Well then, I believe we still have our jobs to do. I shall take my leave.”
“I’ll go check the men,” Captain Strobel said. “See where they stand.”
One by one, the others left the room, as the meeting ended, leaving just Adelyn, Hans, and Countess Fresnel inside. Quite frankly, Hans still hadn’t asked the Countess about the demon, and why she retrieved the body, but…
“You two,” she smiled. “I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure what to do with you two since you arrived, but…you helped me greatly.”
“Um, Ma’am, I actually have a question,” Hans said. “Is…is the demon…”
“I’ll be sure that he rests well from now on.” The Countess replied. “For now you two should focus on what matters the most. That kid. And prepare for the next fight you shall see. That’s…your final task from me. I would be greatly pleased if you can end the demonic threat in Ygeia. Rousselot needs true reprieve. That’ll only come from that.”
“I see then…” Hans replied.
“We’ll do our best,” Adelyn declared. “Thanks…for letting us in your city. We won’t forget the hospitable kindness you showed us. Even if we’re just a bunch of foreigners.”
She merely nodded, and soon, Hans and Adelyn too left. Still, Hans knew that the fight was very much not over. No. Perhaps, now his role in it had just increased further, knowing what happened to Alizée. He’d need to figure out what exactly happened to her, and why she was a problem. Then, the Calamity. The other demons. The IYC.
“This is such a pain…” Hans said.
“Well, at the very least, it won’t just be us doing the fighting,” Adelyn declared. “Hey, are you alright over there? I noticed…you really looked more and more tired since…this whole thing started.”
Hans smiled. Of course I’m tired. It’s just me who knows all those failures. It’s only me who went through all those…it’s still etched in my damned mind. But…
“Eh, probably just a lack of sleep,” Hans said. “Quite the busy few days, after all, hehe.”
“I don’t know about that,” Adelyn said. “But, I swear, since we got the first quarter of the bounty rewards, I think we should splurge a bit in an R&R for ourselves. Yeah, that’s right. Before we leave Rousselot, I’ll make sure that the money is spent for our enjoyment. I think Alizée needs some fun after all.”
“Well, sure you do, Captain,” Hans said. “You control the money and my paycheck anyway.”
“You sound so disgruntled about it.”
“Come on, I mean, if I can grab a few dozen muskets…”
“Stow it to your fantasies. You have a PDW with you. See, this is why you entrust it to me. Even you yourself know you’d suck at handling money.”
“Fine…I’d rather we do not go broke soon while we’re here anyway. Cut off from the Army and all…”
“Exactly.”
Hans smiled as he followed her. Well, sure, he was quite in a bad place with all these, but he had a team with him. And a partner that suffered from less brain damage than he did.
Things should soon be fine, he supposed.
He really hoped for that. For their sake.
[ARC III END: ONE MAN]