“Evil knows no bounds. And demons represent this the most. They will massacre and massacre mankind until there is nothing.”

- Excerpt from ‘An Emergency Treatise on the Subject of ‘Demons’” by Daniel Specke.

+++

+++ Lieutenant Hans Hoffman +++

Torei

AUG 25, 1538 CE

“I met the Virtus woman last night,” Hans said, as he sliced the piece of steak on his plate. Adelyn on the other hand took a sip of her tea while reading some sort of publication from the local press. Alizée, who, as usual, was seated at the center of their table, obliviously munched her way on the roasted chicken that she had for lunchtime.

“You did?” Adelyn asked as she took a spoonful of her omelet, clearly quite disinterested about it. “Well, I’m sure she told you some quite irrelevant lies again. Perhaps she bragged a bit about things?”

She chuckled, while Hans shook his head.

“She said something about people turning into demons,” Hans said. “Again, it’s one of our hypotheses, no?”

“Well, the mechanism is quite interesting, but it’s not yet set in stone. After all, we never saw it happen. Except for the aftermath,” Adelyn replied. Hans’ eyes slightly widened, until he realized why. “Though, it might be a strong possibility.”

Oh…she…

She never saw Alizée turn into whatever that is. Because that timeline…never happened.

Hans looked down at his steak.

I’m the only one alive who saw that.

“She said her mother turned into one.”

“Well, just like how her ‘party’ killed those snow dragons. Youngsters. They say all kinds of things. Though, okay, maybe that does have some possibility.”

“Think we should ask her about it?”

Alizée stopped chewing on her chicken for a second, looking at Hans cutely.

“Maybe you should!” She cheerfully said. “Helping people is nice!”

“Pfft, you absolute muffin,” Hans replied with a chuckle, while Alizée resumed eating obliviously. “Well, the little lady here said that. Think we should heed the kid’s advice?”

Adelyn giggled as she watched Alizée.

“Well, did she ask for help?”

“Yeah, she wanted to join the big hunt for the Calamity of Desire,” Hans said, as Adelyn’s expression turned more serious. “She seemed determined about it. And she said she knows what it is, and its origins. Maybe she ain’t lying, I don’t know.”

Adelyn, finishing her main course, turned to the pudding on the smaller plate beside her, taking a taste before she shook her head.

“Hmm…I don’t know. How would such a young girl have more idea about that strong demon than the IYC or the relevant authorities? Doesn’t make much sense. Besides, letting kids join in on the hunt…sounds too risky. I’m not into it.”

“Well, to be fair, a lot of the mercs joining on the hunt are young dudes blinded by the big pay,” Hans said. “And you and I know those kiddos won’t have a chance except at becoming meat shields for us to do our work if that thing is too strong.”

“I admit the last demon almost got us,” Adelyn said. “But should we do things right, we can minimize casualties well. Hopefully, with the munitions abundance we have now, we can just wipe them out easily. Oh, by the way, I took one of the options for the mech upgrades already.”

Hans watched as Adelyn grinned.

“What did you take?” Hans asked.

“‘UPG: Arcane Maintenance System’,” Adelyn replied. “Now I can repair and maintain my mech well. Quite the natural priority, I believe. I already have a powerful offensive upgrade after all. Though…I do plan to turn ‘UPG: Wrath Against Sinners’ into a Tier II upgrade soon enough. But that’s for future plans.”

Hans nodded.

“Yeah, I’m also leaning into doing that upgrade too,” Hans said. “It’s in my options. Though, isn’t your AP cap still too low to exploit that?”

Adelyn awkwardly looked at the side.

“Ugh…yeah, half of it is effectively locked for me because of that.”

But then, she shook her head and gave Hans a determined expression.

“But I’m not worried, I checked the books. They say that at Tier II, I may have the option for a specialization path that gives attributes that expand my AP cap and regen rates.”

Oh, that thing too…

Apparently, it was how many Virtus and Vanus people gained superhuman abilities. Outside of the skills that they had due to higher tiers, at Tier II, they gained these ‘attributes’ based on their specialized classes. Most seemed focused on AP management, with Virtus individuals expanding their AP cap and regen rate, while some of the Vanus race could gain attributes that would give them a regen rate slightly weaker than what humans had.

Each tier would mean that new ‘attribute’ options would come in, strengthening their bodies or giving them superhuman senses (which must be how the Countess managed to take hits from the ‘Tentacled Eel’ and fight it on her own terms). Hans however wasn’t really interested in that, and he most probably would focus on things that would give him an organic regen rate for his AP to fuel his needs in the mech side of things.

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Though, we’re already classed as ‘Mech Pilots’. Hans thought. Maybe that’ll give us more things to support the mech upgrades instead of changing our bodies directly. That’ll be more useful.

Maybe, they’d be able to get something cool from it, Hans hoped. He really hoped. Advancing rapidly with their levels using their modern weapons was one thing, actually benefiting from it was another. One thing he knew about these demons was that many outside of Ygeia wouldn’t just have simple magical and physical attacks.

Some were said to cause environmental changes. Some were said to manipulate minds. Some could even create music that could burst people’s heads if they heard it. So many anomalous powers that Hans struggled to determine a good conventional approach against them. Sure, the ole cannon was always the universal option, but when something could pop your head from a distance just by listening to it—well, how’d you get the cannon in position to fire at it?

“Well, yeah, hopefully you’ll have that,” Hans replied. “I’m also hoping for solutions on my no AP regen problem thing anyway. Oh, and…hmm…about something. Are you up for some…I don’t know, preventative recce?”

“Preventative recce?”

Hans sighed.

Should I really drag her into this?

Nope…he had no other choice.

I need my only ally to fight and win. That’s final.

“I’ll tell you later,” Hans said, and Adelyn’s expression turned more concerned. Before she looked at Alizée and attempted a smile. Hans on the other hand continued eating, thinking back about that demon.

Perhaps, if attacked by two Wanderpanzers, it’d go down easily.

+++

“An unknown magical entity?” Adelyn asked in a hushed tone. Hans nodded resolutely.

“Spotted it in the woods,” Hans said. “Very bright on the thermals. I can’t check its levels or whatnot. Which means it must be overwhelmingly powerful. It appears to be a flying X-shaped object. I retreated and refrained from engaging it.”

“Good job,” Adelyn nodded. “Alright, we’ll try checking it out. And try taking it out. It sounds like a demon.”

“A random ominous magical entity or element roving around in a remote area randomly. There’s no mistaking it. Normal wildlife, they’re always documented. I haven’t seen any documentation from the locals about an X-shaped metallic object.”

Adelyn frowned a bit as she looked to the side.

“That sounds really ominous, Lieutenant. It’s like you’re describing an alien object.”

“Well, considering the names of other famous demonic entities, and the appearance of what we’ve seen, I think being otherworldly and messed up is their entire shtick.”

“Mhm…in that case, this town is potentially in danger. I’ll warn the town mayor to call for an evacuation. Even if this is a false alarm, it’s better to be safe than to have hundreds be wiped out in an attack if it’s true. We can’t risk it.”

“Yeah…I guess…” Hans said before an idea popped into his mind. “Hmm, then, perhaps, we can just evacuate the people and act as their escort? I mean, they’d need to get out in carriages and stuff anyway, many on foot. They’d be unprotected on the roads to other settlements. At least, this way, we can move out of the town too, and get closer to Fort Elmo.”

Perhaps, if we do this, I can just avoid having to confront that demon. If the town leaves, the town is safe. I met it in our rear anyway, kilometers away from this place. Assuming we move toward the east, we’d be able to get out of this situation.

Then, Hans cringed a bit.

But then, some of our allies will have to use this road. That’s why I decided to take it out, after all. If it threatens the soldiers of the IYC in transit, then…then it’d be bad. Especially if some of the 4th marches through here.

That, and there was still the possibility of that demon targeting Alizée again for some reason, and Hans now felt shifty about that plan. Still, Adelyn makes sense with the evacuation plan. That’s what any responsible military personnel does whenever civilians are in danger from combat operations. We literally have no choice in that case.

Still, considering that he was attacked on the 26th, they had a day to pack up and flee at once. It would be best to act now if they weren’t planning for an actual defensive operation for the town.

“Alright, go warn the mayor,” Hans said. “I’ll go prepare our Wanderpanzers. And about Alizée…? She’s…she might be in danger again during combat.”

Adelyn sighed.

“Well, I have no choice. I’ll take the more cautious approach while she’s with me. I’ll stay at the backline and not expose myself unless needed,” Adelyn said, before smiling at Hans. “So, please do things well, okay? And don’t die. I’ll have your back.”

“Well, I am your designated Vanguard after all,” Hans replied. “Alright, let’s get this done.”

+++

It was already afternoon, with the skies slowly turning dim when the majority of Torei’s civilians finished their preparations for the evacuation, the sun already beginning to set under the August landscape of Ygeia.

Carriages clogged the streets of Torei as the evacuation order came from the mayor.

Guardsmen already deployed to also escort the civilians, helping people left and right to prepare. Many poorer residents on the other hand had no choice but to carry nothing but their barest essentials on foot, while the more well-off ones couldn’t do much either and left their heavier belongings.

Hans right now for example was trying to help with the guards, as he pushed a stuck carriage on the side of the exit roads from the town. The guardsmen around him shouted as they pushed it forward, before raising it up from the muddy ground. The family that drove it thanked them and apologized profusely, while Hans merely told them to leave their extra stuff out to lighten their load.

“Hey, thanks man,” one of the guards said with a thankful smile afterward. “Didn’t know you’re the type of an officer down for the dirty work.”

“Yeah, well, that’s what the Captain ordered,” Hans replied. “We have to speed up this thing as fast as possible.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

Hans looked back at the two parked Wanderpanzers outside of the town, facing the distant woods. Alizée, sitting on top of Adelyn’s mech, was still cheerfully snacking on some chocolate bar while swaying her feet, with Hans hearing a tinge of that cutesy music that Adelyn was playing for her, while Adelyn herself watched the flat, distant plains with her binoculars.

Hans smiled as he made his way to them.

“Hey, Captain!” He called out, and Adelyn turned back. “The last of the civilians are getting out of the town. We should be clear to set out for the op.”

Adelyn nodded.

“Alright,” she then gave Alizée a glance. “Alizée, get back inside.”

“Okay, Lady Adelyn!”

Just then, Hans turned to his mech, as Adelyn and Alizée went inside of the Diligence. When he climbed his mech’s hull, he looked back at the lines of civilians trying to flee. Then, his eyes turned to the town, and for a second, his vision changed. The town was on fire—and the road was filled with bleeding civilians.

But, it was immediately back to normal. Still, it raised Hans’ body hair, just as a cold breeze of air grazed his back. Hans just sighed.

These visions are getting way out of hand. Hans thought as he opened his eyes. What the hell is happening to me?