“The green powder shall be Ygeia’s fuel to build the future!”

- Imperial Ygeia Company Executive Council.

+++

+++ Lieutenant Hans Hoffman +++

Near Lotagne

You’re such a mean boy.

His eyes shot open.

“No! I’m still—”

He angrily crushed the imaginary neck that he must have been holding. Then, his fist landed on the metal on his side. He gritted his teeth as the terrible pain from his last life assaulted him once more. His body was sliced from top to bottom. His skull and face, sliced so cleanly…

It was as if death itself kissed him.

But in seconds, he had controlled the phantom pain that threatened to tear him apart. No, I’m still in this fight. I can still do it. He had already died a second time. What more? He barely learned new things in that fight. Except for the fact that his weapon was ineffective. Hans…

No…no.

He shook his head.

Adelyn’s munitions worked. Alizée’s weapon worked.

He didn’t get to see what Laura and his team could do, however. He was unsure, the chaos in the city was so bad after all. But one thing was clear. Nothing. Nothing would be able to parry that creature one-on-one. Not Hans. Not Adelyn. Not anyone.

“She’s an absolute monster,” Hans said. “Almost a machine of death. Her body’s so tough, it can resist and absorb damage beyond that of a normal human. Her magic is so goddamned bullshit that she can turn people into sick toys of hers.”

He frowned.

“And she’s a goddamned lunatic. A sadist.”

Of course, she’s a demon. No, Hans shook his head at that thought. No, not just any demon. The Calamity herself. She represents the Calamity resulting from Desire. Perhaps that’s why her mannerisms are like that.

And perhaps why she targeted Ygeia. The Principality contained the Imperial Ygeian Company. The single, most ambitious, forward-facing, brutal company of humanity. A drug empire, an agricultural giant, with its ambition to reach more and more, even things on the great seas to the west. The lust for more.

He remembered a glimpse of his last life.

The headquarters of the Imperial Ygeia Company—blocked by makeshift wooden barricades on the road, manned by desperate musketeers, as she laughed on top of that wagon. So much money and power, yet, it was reduced to its last legs by a monster that mirrored them.

What does the IYC have?

The green powder.

A massive war chest.

Their exploration fleets.

Their agricultural exports.

And their mercenary army.

So many things, none of which allowed the IYC to stop her. But perhaps, there was something there that Hans could take. The upcoming Duke’s Army was an obvious choice, but it had already proven itself to be too large, too disoriented, and too disorganized to fight a single anomalous creature.

Hmm….

The green powder came to mind. Hans wasn’t exactly sure what he could do with that. It was for healing, or for enhancing the fertility of the soil. But just as it could create life, when used badly, its low-grade version could impair the mental state of its target.

Perhaps, we can fire a concentrated low-grade powder at her?

Hans shook his head. How would that even be possible? It might just make her even crazier. Besides, those powders might enhance the growth of those fleshy things she created with her magic. No, that was probably not an option. Adelyn then? Alizée? Hans needed to try them both. Get them…get them into a position that would allow them to get a clear shot on her.

She called Alizée the Angel of Purity. Hans remembered. Then…then maybe she can do it. Get her to fire that crossbow, and purify the Calamity of Desire.

+++

Once the talks with Duke Lorenzo ended, Hans and Adelyn immediately returned to their vehicles. But Hans made a detour, going straight to Adelyn’s Wanderadler. Naturally, Adelyn looked back at him curiously.

“What are you doing? Aren’t we riding out?”

“No,” Hans said. “Let me talk with Alizée. I have something to propose.”

“What?”

“We awaken her powers,” Hans said without a beat. “And get her into the fight. I…I think she’s just like you, Captain. An angel. Which means her abilities are directly for countering demons. In this case, the Calamity of Desire.”

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“...I know,” Adelyn said. “But no, absolutely not. We already talked about this. We’re keeping her out—”

“But we never can anymore,” Hans retorted. “We can’t. She’s riding with me. With us. If we die, she dies with us. It doesn’t matter anymore. And she’s probably also a target. We have no choice now, I realized. We have to make her fight. And the kid knows how to do it.”

“Hans,” Adelyn glared at him. “She’s a child.”

“...I’m running out of options, Captain.”

“Options? We haven’t even met the Calamity of Desire yet,” Adelyn said, crossing her arms. “You know, you’ve been looking increasingly paranoid now.”

“It’s because we lack so much intel and we’re going in blind. That crazy creature destroyed entire cities. What if…what if our guns aren't enough?”

“Whatever magical ability Alizée had…you do remember she only summons a crossbow?”

“And a crossbow that sliced through the Tentacled Eel like it was nothing. Even her magic can kill night wolves like they’re nothing. Look, I’m just saying, why don’t we finally open the dam and ask her what really is happening?”

Adelyn sighed, clearly hesitant.

“That’d just remind her about…”

“And she remembers it,” Hans said. “Let me through. I’ll ask her.”

“No, I’m asking her. You stay back and watch. And we’re not pushing her into anything. Deal?”

“...Fine, deal. You’re the one in charge anyway, Captain.”

Soon, the two went into the side of Adelyn’s mech. Alizée seemed a bit surprised when Adelyn called her out. For a while, Adelyn was shifty from asking the girl about the powers she manifested in Rousselot. But, when finally pressed, her eyes shone.

“Wait, Lady Adelyn, you’re interested in letting me fight those monsters too?”

“What? No, I’m just…” Adelyn chuckled awkwardly, almost backtracking. “I just want to know what really happened. Alizée, you seemed like you…manifested some magical capability or something, so we were really worried…”

“Mhm. It’s called ‘Crosslight’. My ‘Ideal’,” Alizée said. “When I call it to existence, I summon an armor to protect me, and a magical crossbow to kill demons. It’s for killing demons aligned with the ‘Calamity of Desire’.”

“...Is that so?”

“Lady Adelyn,” Alizée walked forward in her direction, determined. “The system said, ever since I changed that day, that my type was, ‘Angel of Purity’. And that my job is to stop the demon that is the enemy of my goddess. The Calamity of Desire.”

“...Then—”

“So please!” Alizée closed her eyes as she clasped her hands. “Let me join you two in fighting her. That’s what the ‘Ideal’ I manifested demands of me. To stop the darkness that Desire wants for mankind.”

The two were dumbfounded, especially Hans. First, he thought it was now truly strange how mature Alizée sounded. How she managed to learn that much continental to speak…was unprecedented. Well, not as unprecedented as her demands.

“I…well…” Adelyn stuttered, clearly disbelieving. “We can’t—”

“We can,” Hans interrupted. “We’ll help you get the final shot, Alizée. I think she has a point. If godly beings are managing this crap, and she’s the appointed ‘Angel of Purity’, then that means our job isn’t to coddle her. It’s to aid her in fighting the Calamity of Desire.”

“But we haven’t prepared her for this. We didn’t train her. We didn’t let her discover what she could do or what not. We didn’t even…” Adelyn stopped for a second. “I don’t understand. Why does she have all of that…but not me?”

“We’ll figure that out soon. For now, we have no choice but to plan around Alizée being an integral part of the hunt. Of course, we’ll also have to plan around the fact that she’s not a fighter. We’ll have to treat her as the most important asset. A glass cannon that we’ll keep out of the fight until she can do her thing.”

+++

Dancing with two angels, huh?

Hans hastened the pace of his Wanderfalke through the road. Then…I wonder, if I get the two of them well into the battle line, will they get me that win? Then, Hans faltered at the thought of him being the meat shield again. Literally…that was going to be the hardest part.

He had to fight and distract that demon until the two angels behind him finished the job. More than likely, he’d be dead and they’d have to restart again. That pissed Hans a bit.

Laura and her team were already running hard behind them. They had informed them about Alizée’s condition. Naturally, the trio was very surprised, especially Laura, but they took that instead as a blessing rather than a complication. Now, they were completely back on the field, and Hans was taking the lead this time.

Now, we just need to find…

The sounds of thunderstorms above them distracted Hans. They were already moving quickly on the road that would go directly for the convoy. They also managed to coordinate a bit with the Imperial Army. Since Hans couldn’t exactly tell them to block all refugees, he decided to get Duke Lorenzo to position his regiments on the roads that led to the entrance of Rignon.

That way, the convoy would be slowed down right as Hans and Adelyn caught up from the north. Effectively, Hans planned to sandwich the woman. The Imperial Army was directly in front of her. Then behind her would be Hans, Adelyn, Alizée, Laura, and Laura’s team.

Hopefully, it works.

“What’s the problem, Alizée?”

“Lady Adelyn…I think…oh no, danger!”

“Huh?”

Hans didn’t have time to react as suddenly, an oversized axe slammed on the dirt road right in front of them. Adelyn drove her Wanderadler into a hard bank to the side, but Hans was struck by the rising solid soil. He felt his head hit the side of his crew compartment. Fortunately, his helmet protected him from any sort of injury.

But his mech was not. The legs were shocked, and for a few seconds, his vehicle was stunned and unable to move.

“Contact ahead of us!” He shouted as he pulled his mech out of the cracked dirt road. “Damn it. What the hell happened?”

“I can smell you, Angel of Purity!” a woman’s voice reverberated from the distance. “So you’ve decided to fully awaken at last? How nice! Reveal yourself, if you would so please!”

Adelyn’s hatch opened, and out climbed Alizée. She had already summoned [CROSSLIGHT] earlier, so she was ready for the engagement. Hans didn’t understand it though. Why? Why did she come here? This didn’t happen last time!

Behind them, Laura, Mathieu, and Charles went into their fighting positions. Charles went into the hill beside the road for overwatch, the archer aiming his bow at the woman. Laura on the other hand went to the flat fields on their left, her staff aimed at the demon.

While Mathieu, unleashing his glowing sword, went just behind Alizée. He clearly intended to personally protect the little girl.

“She’s the Calamity!” Alizée shouted. “I know it. She’s…she’s supposed to be my target after all!”

“Indeed,” the woman said, pulling her axe and locking her eye on Alizée. “After all, you’re that one little cretin that refused to be corrupted. Such strong ideals, in such a little girl. Unfortunately, I can’t have headaches. So, since you refused me…”

Her eyes glowed red.

“I have no choice but to splatter your blood on this soil, Purity.”

“I won’t let you do that,” Hans replied after pressing the button for his speaker.

Then he pulled the trigger for his machine guns.