“Who she really is, is a question of great fascination for the organization. Perhaps she’s a devious young woman, selling cheap dreams to the masses to keep hold of her power. Perhaps, really, she’s an overly naive child trying her best to grant an imperfect change for the masses. Regardless, it is evident that Queen Amelie is a dangerous fool. She must be removed swiftly, not just to create chaos in the ranks of the Royalists, but to remove the head of these so-called ‘reformists’. To sell ‘safe change’ to women, and to sell ‘hope’ to men, undermines the revolution that we have worked tirelessly for. The solution is clear as day.”
- Unknown Email
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Duchy of Oldrach
Rastwurst City
“Keep your head down! Nia! Get down!”
The orders from William were interrupted when they slammed hard to the side of one of the apartments. Amelie’s face was immediately bashed into the airbag as it deployed. Gunfire continued to pepper their vehicles, but Amelie’s convoy stubbornly covered William’s SUV.
“Ow…” Amelie said. “Oww…”
She felt William’s hands check her. Especially her neck, as Amelie’s senses slowly returned.
“Hey?” William asked. “You okay?”
Amelie didn’t have a chance to respond when another hail of bullets totaled their vehicle. William immediately grabbed his submachine gun, before talking to his radio. Amelie meanwhile was still too disoriented by the impact, as she tried to find her wand.
Active mana…active mana…get it now.
Her head spun and spun. The impact must have been way too hard, Amelie thought. Her chest didn’t feel alright. And her neck was slightly numb. Soon, without warning, she felt herself pulled hard by someone out of the vehicle. William placed her on the side of the SUV before he tapped her cheeks.
“Hey!” William shouted. “Hey! Amelie!”
“I…” Amelie coughed. “Sorry, I spaced out. I…I’ll try…”
Her halo appeared as she began converting her passive mana into active mana. But when she tried to move, she winced. William’s eyes turned even more concerned.
“Shit, probably rib injuries,” he said.
“Damn it! These fools! They hurt Amelie!” She heard from her side. It was Nia, who already pulled out her wand. A golden halo had appeared on top of her friend’s head. And her wand was readied. Soon, a slight blue glow appeared on top of Nia’s body. “I haven’t tried this yet, but damn it…I…I studied some self-defense spells. Screw these assholes!”
“Oi, hold your horses, Nia,” William shouted, pulling her back into cover when Nia attempted to poke into the side of their SUV. “You’re in no way trained for this. Let the goddamned professionals handle it, and stand down!”
Amelie turned to one of the SUVs driven by the HMSD’s Charlie Squad. Four of them had already dismounted. A soft blue glow appeared on their bodies as they rattled the attackers with their arcano rifles. At least, until Amelie watched one of the young uniformed girls getting her head blown off. Blood spurted in all directions as she dropped to the cold ground.
Amelie’s eyes widened at the sight. How? She saw the blue glow from her shield spell. Most small arms would need to reduce that shield first. What the hell are these guys packing?
Three more SUVs rushed in their direction. Immediately, heavily uniformed personnel of Salvo Company were funneled out. Three soldiers rushed in their direction, as five more laid down gunfire on the attackers ahead of them. William immediately shouted at them.
“You three tow the Queen to that vehicle. Nia! Get behind them. Move out!”
“W-wait, I think I can still walk—”
Amelie’s yelp was ignored. She was then grabbed painfully by two of William’s men. Nia ran like hell toward the last SUV, while William and the third guy continued firing their guns at the distance. Soon, she felt herself thrown harshly inside the armored vehicle by the soldiers, while Nia barely got in without being shot herself.
Soon, William dashed straight into the front seat, taking the wheel for himself.
“You three, join them and keep them out!”
“Copy, Director,” the trio said before they exited their vehicle and rejoined the fight. Amelie finally fully regained her strength, although her ribs still felt a bit sore. Just then, William pulled their SUV into a sudden reverse, then a hard turn. They drove away from the fighting.
“William!” Amelie shouted. “Who the hell is attacking us?”
“Order Platoon fumbled,” William said, his voice still tense. “Eight guys already died. These fuckers have power armor.”
“P-power what?”
“Yeah, you heard it right!” William grunted as he drove through the tight streets. “Those bastards that we’re investigating. They’re here. Shit…Order Platoon and Effect Platoon already suffered severe losses. Come on Theresa, damn it!”
William pulled hard on the wheel to dodge what appeared to be a burning SUV in front of them. Gunfire suddenly greeted them, and the trio all ducked again. Luckily, William didn’t bash their vehicle straight into a collision course.
“For fuck’s sake! Why is Theresa’s Alpha Squad not yet here—”
His radio suddenly buzzed.
“What was that, Director?”
Someone suddenly dropped beside them. It was Agent Olivia Henze. And she was holding a purplish, customized scythe. Then, Amelie raised her head to look at the men ahead of them. They wore gray, modern, and sleek armor. Their heads were obscured by their helmets. Their vizors were sharp and angled.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
And their guns…well, Amelie thought it should only exist in the realm of science fiction.
“Guess we’re learning today who these assholes are!” William shouted.
They watched as Olivia charged in their direction. The guns held by the four men in armor barely scratched the shield spell that she used. One of them then pulled out a special pistol. It glowed blue for two seconds, and when he fired it at her, Olivia’s shoulder was blown open.
“Goddess!” Amelie screamed in horror.
William, realizing how screwed they were, desperately pulled their vehicle into reverse, but another shot flattened their SUV. William bashed his gloved hand on the wheel in frustration, as three more bullets slammed into their bulletproof windshield.
“I can’t believe I’m about to die,” Nia panicked as she quivered in the back seat. “I thought this was just a little visit outside of the capital!”
“Well, you two better get the fuck out of this car now before they blow it open. Amelie, you run on that side. Nia, you do the same. Then you two will scram the heck away.” He turned to Amelie. “And don’t you dare even look back!”
The two women heeded William’s orders, with Amelie pushing her door open. William punched his open, rushing to the side of the burning SUV ahead of them. His gunfire temporarily distracted the four unknown attackers. Nia however froze in fear behind their vehicle. She hid and crumpled like a child instead.
And Amelie did dare look back. Just in time to see Olivia rapidly stitch herself back. She picked up her scythe again.
“That one hurt,” she declared. “I’m gonna make sure you four will be worse off!”
She dashed forward again, as chaos ensued in the ranks of four men. William stubbornly fired his gun at them, while Olivia danced and sliced the unknown attackers one by one. The first one had his head removed—before his armor detonated violently. Olivia threw her scythe at the second one, slicing him through the chest.
Just the same, his armor also detonated violently. The third and fourth ones panicked, spraying their guns at Olivia. She dodged them nimbly for a second before she pulled a pistol. It glowed purple for a second, striking down the third unknown attacker. The power armor he held was blown open through the chest. Then, as if there was a timer that was triggered—he too detonated violently.
William charged forward, mag-dumping the last unknown attacker. Unfortunately, the attacker’s armor held on. Two shots pinged William’s kevlar vest. He dropped down on the ground in pain, just as Amelie finished chanting her first spell for the day.
“Homing Ice!”
Amelie’s shout created a blue, vortex-like circle in front of her wand. Three ice spikes came out of it, striking the man’s armor. Amelie was surprised, however. It only created superficial freezing on his armor.
That should have pierced and killed him!
She suddenly found herself tackled to the ground by William as a burst of bullets went in her direction. Olivia recovered her scythe and dashed to the fourth armored man. He was brutally sliced in half, the armor failing to defeat her strength and the magical enchantments imbued on the weapon. He immediately self-detonated.
“I told you to run the fuck away!” William held Amelie’s collar and shook her violently. “You almost got yourself killed, dumbass!”
“Don’t chastise Her Majesty that way, Director,” Olivia coldly warned, standing on the destroyed remnants of their foes. “She tried her best to help.”
Amelie looked at William’s enraged eyes, as he slowly turned calm.
“Sorry,” William said. “It’s just, you almost died there. You didn’t even use a barrier spell.”
Because…you were almost killed too. She prioritized saving him first. But no words came from Amelie’s mouth. Sorry, I blundered…I just wanted to…
“...Thanks, William. You saved my life.”
“No, I didn’t, Agent Henze over there did.”
“I-is it over?” Nia scaredly squeaked out behind them.
Suddenly, two figures rushed in their direction from the rear. Amelie turned to their direction. Elsa Gottfried and Major Eleanor Enzen both stopped to check on Amelie, while William checked his vest. He then pulled out his radio, shouting profanities at it.
“Anchor Actual!” He shouted. “Are the goddamned pathways cleared? What’s the status of the reinforcements from the city garrison and police?”
“The damned district is turned into a fire zone now,” came the reply that Amelie could barely hear as Olivia, Eleanor, and Elsa nursed her. “These folks are way too heavily armed. Small arms can barely scratch them. My men and Lady Lubaine’s squads are too outmatched!”
“You’re thirty-two OPM operatives out there!” William angrily said, not entertaining his men’s excuses. “Do something! Clear the paths no matter the casualties. That’s an order!”
“Copy, Director! We’ll do our best to die for Her Majesty!”
“I apologize for our tardiness, Your Majesty,” Eleanor stiffly said, holding her customized gun tightly. Olivia finished checking Amelie’s chest, and she pulled out her miniature clock. “We had to dispatch seven of them before getting to you.”
“It’s fine, Eleanor—ahh!”
Amelie felt her life being shaken out of her. Her chest felt like it was crackling, while her mind was rattled. Her world spun for seconds at the extreme pain she was feeling. And her mind was filled with the rapid sounds of a clock of some sort.
“There…” Olivia said as she finished. “Feeling better, Your Majesty?”
“W-what the hell did you just do to me?” Amelie asked, feeling half nauseous.
“Your body’s quite the soft one,” Olivia said, completely analytical. “Your rib fractures could have punctured your lungs.”
Amelie pouted at that. She remembered she merely bashed herself into an airbag.
I can’t be that soft!
“...Um, what’s your problem now, Your Majesty?” Elsa worriedly asked as Amelie turned her head to the side.
“Next time, can I please have the standard healing magic spells instead of experimental time-based spells? I felt like I was dying.”
“As is standard with those that I heal,” Olivia said, smirking a bit. “You won’t believe how many ungrateful pricks get half of their bodies blown, get saved by me, and moan about how painful it is.”
The trio then looked down at the furious William as he stood up.
“Alright, enough chit-chat you three,” William snapped at them, and the four women stiffened. “Where’s Captain Faust?”
“Trying her best to clear the way,” Elsa curtly replied.
“Alone?”
“Yes, alone,” Eleanor confirmed. She pointed in the direction they came from. “We should move there fast. Captain told us she’d signal us when it’s clear, but perhaps we can help her instead.”
“Good idea,” William said, as he loaded a fresh magazine on his gun. “Alright, let’s get there on foot. Damn it…this district’s been turned into a goddamned warzone.”
Amelie looked around, as the gunfire and explosions filled their immediate vicinity.
“This is deep in our territory,” Amelie muttered. “How can they sneak so easily?”
“They self-detonate when they’re killed,” William said, glancing at the remnants of the attackers they killed. “This doesn’t bode well for us.”
Amelie spaced out a bit as she stared at where William was looking at. Then, she heard him grunt.
“Anyhow, get moving everyone.”
She obeyed, and soon, it was just the six of them that were walking out of the ambush.