“The Company will rebuild. A mere calamity cannot stop man’s progress.”

- IYC Board of Directors

+++

+++ Lieutenant Hans Hoffman +++

Rignon City

A slash came from the Calamity of Desire.

It was too fast. The way she charged at Hans meant that he only had a split-second to dodge, he did. He timed it well enough that her axe merely grazed the Peacemaker’s turret. Sparks flew, as she passed by him, landing on the ground behind Hans. For his part, he moved quickly, pressing his feet on the gas pedal to create distance again between him and her.

“I see then—” the Calamity of Desire said as she watched Hans escape. “You rascal is just too untouchable.”

Two beams of light struck her, courtesy of Laura’s spells. Then, Alizée passed beside Hans. Her sword was drawn out, and she aimed it straight at the Calamity of Desire. Her sword struck the axe of the demon. The shockwaves of their attacks reduced multiple shoddy buildings into rubble.

And out from the rubble came Adelyn, her mech’s main gun firing a glowing sabot round. It glowed a cool silver color in the heavy rain when Hans saw it. AD APFSDS. She had always used ADI MPAT because she sucked at aiming well. But this time, it seemed that Adelyn managed her solid shot round well.

In a split second, it pierced through the Calamity of Desire. The powerful energy of the penetrator rod tossed the demon hundreds of meters. Her body destroyed dozens of buildings. It was almost as if Adelyn’s attack carved a straight line on the city. Hans immediately moved in to survey the results.

Alizée, dazed by the sudden attack from behind her, followed suit. Adelyn moved rapidly as well on alternative routes on the destroyed sections of the city. On the other hand, Hans moved rapidly on the collapsed buildings, rubble, and the few intact structures.

Within half a minute, he found the Calamity of Desire lying on the rubble. Blood oozed out of her mangled body everywhere. Adelyn’s sabot round created a massive perforation on her chest. It was barely stitching itself. For a moment, Hans almost felt an extreme surge of pity at the brutalized woman.

Alizée almost ended up like her. Hans reminded himself. It’s awful that for all other demons, all I can do is kill them.

The woman wheezed painfully. She picked herself up, her body now considerably weaker. Hans opened up his speakers.

“You know,” Hans said. “I should kill you right now. Well, I probably should pulverize you as hard as I can before you pull any nonsense again on us.”

“Then why aren’t you doing it, Grey Knight?” She coughed more blood as she looked down at the pulverized rubble on her feet. “Why not do it? You crushed countless demons already with that machine of yours. They’re no different than me…I’m just…stronger…”

“Indeed,” Hans said. “But I haven’t conversed with any of them. You’re the only one that can speak continental. And the only one seemingly interested to even speak. That’s why I wonder, why would you choose this?”

“You don’t understand…do you? All this…all this is payback to this damned world for denying me what I want. Have you not felt it? To be denied and denied of your most primal wants? I wanted power to control my fate. And it was denied to me. By someone else. I have been crushed countless times. But when I chose to submit to my mind’s deepest wants…”

She smiled as she spread her arms, looking up at his mech.

“Look at me. A monster who can have everything she wants. And I can now let all those…those who ignored me know who I am. I can let those who harmed and mistreated me feel what I went through. I can strike back. I can strike back. It pleases me. It pleases my mind in ways you cannot imagine.”

Tears of blood fell down her cheek as she smiled wider.

“None of the thousands of people you killed harmed you, Mrs. Ambre,” Hans pointed out. “And neither did your daughter and granddaughter. I’d wager many, like those two, love you. But you’ve let your mind be consumed by that irrational nonsense and commit all this.”

Her smile faltered.

“I never denied that. Then they shall hate me. I chose this. I chose this fate. And I love it. I love to kill. I love to turn people into my toys. I love this power. All these burning cities, the blood that covers me…it’s warm. So…so warm…”

She looked at her palm.

“Indeed…you’re right. You’re right. I’m just like him. I want my playthings. I am pleased by power and control. I am pleased when I inflict pain on others. That’s just me. Oh…oh…why did I even kill him that night? We were so perfect together. Indeed, this is who I am. This…is who I am.”

“Lady Ambre,” Alizée landed on one of the collapsed buildings. “Gran…you know that’s not you. You were kind to me. To all of us. Back then.”

“And I was living a lie, precious Alizée,” the demon replied. “Hiding behind the pretense of a pure, kind lady. I’m not that. This is who I am. This is what I want.”

Hans looked to the side. Zooming into Alizée’s face, he realized it wasn’t just the rain. Her eyes…she was crying.

“Father harmed you so much, but you inflicted that same pain on many more people!” Laura shouted from another lane, as she aimed her staff at her mother. “Didn’t you tell me, us, that we should never inflict harm on anyone? What happened to that?”

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“And I lied to all of you. The pure, the kind ones, they never survive in this world,” she breathed in deeply. “They die a brutal death. Only those who take what they want, the strong, can live on. Goodness doesn’t exist. This world is cruel. It will always be cruel. And you have to be more cruel than this world to thrive.”

She began to slowly change as she glowed. Red, fleshy masses appeared on her body. It resembled the doll-like swarms that her spells created. Alongside that, four long appendages shot out of her shoulders. They sliced through the rubble around them. Hans prepared another APFSDS round.

“Captain,” Hans said on the comms. “I’ll be taking the shot. She’s changing again.”

“Don’t,” Adelyn replied. She was behind the Calamity of Desire, his main gun aimed at her. “Just avoid getting killed. Let them talk to her. They’re trying to buy time to replenish their AP a bit. That’s what Laura and Alizée told me.”

“Alright…”

Hans looked at his position. He was far enough away from the demon to be in any direct danger. Only Alizée was close enough to be attacked. And they knew that with her ideal now fully manifested—that she’d be too tough to be killed.

Whatever form she’s creating, this is her last. Hans thought. She’s already exhausted.

“...No, you’re wrong,” Alizée replied with conviction. “There is light in this world. The idea of taking what you want sickens me. That’s not what my mother told me. That’s not what you told me. Because if that’s what everyone does, we’ll all just kill each other.”

“Girl, have you not seen that thing behind me? The Imperial Ygeia Company. They rule this land and take what they want, as brutally as they want, from those who live here. And look at them,” her voice started to shiver. “They’re so rich and opulent. They can have anything that they want. They have control.”

Hans looked at the building behind Adelyn. It was the headquarters of the IYC. Completely abandoned. Yet, the building represented the wealthiest elite of the Ygeian Principality. Ironically, that’s what they did when they wanted us. They just paid us so that we’ll die for them. Hans laughed at himself.

“And just like you, they kill so many innocent people,” Alizée said. “All of those who take and take from people living innocently are bad, wrong people!”

“Yet you’re fighting for them, little girl,” she turned to Laura. “You too, Laura. And you knights…riding those machines…you’re all here because of them. Paid mercenaries. Guns for their desires.”

“Sure, it’s not the purest deed that Lady Adelyn and Sir Hans took,” Alizée admitted. “Yet…yet they do it all to do what is just. To vanquish evil and darkness. The Goddess of Purity said it herself. There is nothing perfectly pure in this world. But that does not mean the world is tainted. We must remain good. Even if our hands are dirty.”

“Then show it,” the Calamity of Desire challenged, her voice cracking. “Show it to me, girl! Show it! Show me a world untainted by man’s base, and destructive desires. Or is your pure heart too weak to strike me down…one last time?”

Hans contacted both Adelyn and Laura. Their radios buzzed as Hans spoke.

“Alright, you two, here’s the big plan,” Hans said. “It seems like she has already used up all of her AP for this. I think Alizée will be the one who can enact the most damage to put a final nail in her. But to make sure she can’t get out of this one, we’ll inflict as much damage as we can, one last time.”

“Alright,” Adelyn replied. “I have an ADAP APFSDS loaded and aimed at her.”

“I can do Pulirae. That’s also with my last AP reserves,” Laura replied.

“And I’ve got an MPAT round aimed at her shoulder. Should disrupt all those spider shticks that came out of her.”

Hans prepared himself, as he watched Alizée ready her sword. It glowed a furious pink. On the other hand, the Calamity of Desire just smiled painfully, as she summoned another axe on her hand. A crimson-red glow came out of her axe.

Alizée readied herself, her stance preparing for one final charge.

On the other hand, the Calamity of Desire took a defensive stance with her axe.

“Me? Too pure? Why yes, grandmother,” Alizée answered as her tears flew. “My naivety is my greatest weakness, but it is also my greatest strength. If I have to kill you to end this darkness and bring back a world where I can be a naive girl in peace, then I will!”

“Everyone, open fire!” Hans shouted.

From three different directions, three different attacks struck the Calamity of Desire. Adelyn’s shot pierced through her chest, sending gore flying out of her. Laura’s spell sliced through her side, piercing even the buildings that were left standing on the battlefield. And the shot from Hans created a violent explosion that rocked the woman.

Then, through the thick smoke, Alizée’s sword slammed into her axe. It was blocked by the demon, but Alizée pushed on. The Calamity of Desire held on in response. Their weapons glowed even more as they imbued more and more magic on it. The two of them stared at each other one last time.

“Kill me then!” the Calamity of Desire shouted at Alizée. “Kill me at last. Show me that the pure can triumph against the impure!”

“I will!” Alizée replied as she cried. “For one last time…for mother, for father, for everyone who died to cruel people like you.”

Alizée pushed harder.

“I’ll kill you!”

Then harder.

“All those words you said…were never a lie!”

The Calamity of Desire’s defense began to falter.

“Because unlike you,” Alizée pushed it further toward the demon. “I…I believed them and followed them!”

A brief look of pride appeared on the woman’s face, as Alizée’s attack finally overcame her. Her axe was sliced wide open, and Alizée, pushing all of her might to strike the demon down—finally sliced her in half.

The woman’s upper body fell at last, as a euphoric smile graced her defeated face.

Alizée, on the other hand, who had expended all of her AP for the final attack, also collapsed.

Hans immediately jumped down to finish the job. The battlefield was silent, with only the rainfall being the final sound that filled the environment. Even Adelyn was silent in the background, only holding her position as she watched the scene in front of her.

Laura, on the other hand, collapsed on her knees. Tears overcame the Virtus Priestess, as she realized that her mother would truly be dead today.

And Hans…well, he saw how the demon still coughed while lying on the rubble.

She’s still alive.

Hans pushed his hatch open. He took out his pistol from his holster.

Time to end her misery then.

And of course…it was time to serve his judgment against her. His judgment against the woman who killed so many people, and killed him so many times.

He knew he wouldn’t feel an ounce of satisfaction from it.

He jumped off his mech and walked straight in Mrs. Ambre’s direction, ready to end it all at last.