“Normalize early mortality, and you’ll normalize terrorism.”
- Coalition for Men’s Rights, circa 1980.
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Duchy of Oldrach
Rastwurst City
“...Goddess almighty,” Amelie collapsed to her knees as she looked at the carnage in front of them. They were passing through an overpass, and below them was a highway. It was filled with police cars, all destroyed. Then there were the corpses of dozens of policewomen. There were even three members of William’s Salvo Company, their SUV burning on the side, lying on the ground. That, and what must be dozens of civilians dead.
All caught in the crossfire.
“We need to keep moving,” William said, pulling her back up. Once again, face to face with her failures, Amelie teared up.
“I don’t understand,” Amelie said. “They only want me, right? Why…why…why do all of this?”
“They probably brought in more than just a few dozen of those marauders here,” William said. He eyed one of the policewomen down on the ground. Her neck was blown open. “Damned bastards have specialized anti-magic weaponry it seems. And our small arms can barely touch them.”
“I’ve sensed some magic in their weapons,” Nia said, her voice shaky. “I think they can sense it too, right?”
Amelie’s friend looked at the three women of Alpha Squad. All of them nodded at once. Even Amelie, who had caught a whiff of active mana in their armor, nodded. Only William, the single man who was incapable of sensing it, was caught surprised.
“Shit, so they’re not only using advanced technology,” William said. “Must be arcane technology beyond our current grasp then. No conventional nation-state has access to any of this.”
“It’s incredibly difficult to control enchanted tools without having magic of your own, that it’s almost impossible outside of one-time uses,” Olivia stated bluntly. “These people probably figured out a way to get around that problem.”
“Damn…” William muttered, as Amelie finally stood up. When Amelie turned to William, she saw in his eyes a cocktail of emotions. Fear? Amazement? Relief? It was as if he was simultaneously proud and horrified by that news. “Does that perhaps mean some men can do magic?”
“Who knows,” Olivia frowned. “It might just be them figuring out a technological solution at last. Or maybe that’s the scenario. In any case, it seems like we really are staring today at the last days of the old order.”
The words from the RIU agent rang in Amelie’s ears. She’s right. Amelie gulped. Internally, she was kinda ecstatic now too at that possibility. That at last, magic wouldn’t be something so exclusive to women. But at the same time…
What if such a technology only exists in a fringe, enigmatic, and possibly terroristic group?
Quite frankly, that thought disturbed Amelie greatly. Notwithstanding the horror of truly achieving the fusion of magic and technology. What would happen if someone were to create a magical nuclear bomb?
Amelie felt herself pulled again. The six continued onward. They soon descended the overpass and went through a tight street. By the time they were outside, it was the same. Two black SUVs seemed dead. Bullet holes were peppered on them. And outside, eight OPM operatives were dead on the ground.
William went down to inspect one of the corpses. He pulled the man’s body to the side of one of the SUV’s tires. Then, he fumbled through his vest to check for his ID. When William finished looking at it, he punched the tire.
“Damn it, these guys are from Pilot Platoon,” William looked at the bodies of the other OPM operatives. “These guys...they have been with me since the First Great War, it’s just…Ian…”
Amelie just watched from the side. This was the first time that she had seen William seriously grieve. But the man stopped, closing the eyes of the dead OPM operative, before grabbing his gun.
“Apologies…” William said, shaking his head. “I almost forgot…this doesn’t matter. It shouldn’t matter. Let’s just keep moving.”
Amelie caught his words. It was as if he was just reciting some sort of mantra instilled in him. Doesn’t matter? They continued onwards, with Eleanor leading their group. Sporadic gunfire and explosions continued throughout the district. It worried Amelie greatly.
The civilians. Goddess, they’re all probably in danger.
Suddenly, the group stopped as gunfire streaked through them. Amelie immediately dropped to one of the abandoned civilian cars on the street. Meanwhile, William and Eleanor immediately got to work, their guns opened fire at their targets. Nia ducked beside Amelie, keeping her hands on her ears.
“They’re here! Goddess they’re here!” Nia screamed, and Amelie opted to just hug her friend to comfort her.
“Calm down. It’s gonna be alright. It’s gonna be alright.”
“Fuck, my gun isn’t working,” William complained, as he pulled out something. It was a grenade. Pulling the pin, he tossed it at two of the armored dudes. Then, he ducked behind the car that he and Eleanor used as cover. The grenade exploded, as William pulled out his radio again. “Anchor Actual! Respond, Anchor Actual! What the hell’s the status of the exit roads? Anchor Actual?!”
“They’re out,” Eleanor said. “Anchor Platoon’s squads were pinned the last time we saw them. I doubt half of them survived.”
“Shit,” William turned to Amelie. “Just stay down, you two!”
Amelie silently nodded, as Eleanor rose from cover. She aimed her gun at her targets. Pulling the trigger, black colored flashes came from it. Amelie watched as the soldiers she targeted disintegrated when she used her gun. Their armor and bodies turned into this glue-like thing.
But seconds before they fully turned into melting puddles, their suits self-destructed.
Eleanor then dashed forward, her staff glowing blue. Water appeared out of it, and solidified into this long, lance-like thing. When she aimed it at one of the armored attackers, a blue flash that extended a few dozen meters appeared for a split second. It sliced through, then the attacker detonated as her lance seemed to retract itself.
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Then she continued onward, slicing two more attackers. By the time the brief firefight was done, seven attackers were dispatched by Olivia, Elsa, and Eleanor.
Alpha Squad is the only one keeping me alive. Amelie realized. But all the other units…they still sacrificed so much…
“Area clear!” Eleanor stiffly shouted, lowering her gun. William stood up, gawking at the work of the trio in shock. Eleanor turned to Amelie’s direction. “We can continue now, Your Majesty.”
“Alright…” Amelie said. “This is…this is the worst.”
William slammed another magazine on his gun. While it wasn’t working well, it seemed that Amelie’s right-hand man was still determined to do his most important job.
To protect her.
“I can barely contact half of Salvo Company,” William said. “My men are screwed beyond reprieve. It’d take a while for us to recover from this.”
The gunfire at the distance seemed to further intensify. Already, they could hear the sounds of brief autocannon fires.
“Twenty-fives are going out,” William said. “Seems like the city garrison is here now.”
Amelie breathed out a sigh of relief as she and Nia stood up.
“Good then,” Amelie said. “I hope they can deal with these people.”
“Their plot already failed when their ambush didn’t kill you immediately. But judging by the fact that they all self-detonate when they’re killed…I doubt these people care about death at all,” William shook his head. “They’re going to finish their damned mission or die trying.”
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They soon reached one of the exit points of the district. Near it was one of the large plants, and there was a firefight down there. Amelie looked at one of the apartments in front of the industrial plant’s walls. Below them, OPM operatives of Salvo Company seemed to be firing their guns at the apartment from the cover of their armored SUVs.
“Right-o, we’re almost there!” William shouted as they ran.
Naturally, they rushed straight in the direction of the pinned OPM operatives. William and Eleanor laid down suppressive fire on the attackers garrisoned in the apartment building, while Amelie, Nia, Olivia, and Elsa went behind one of the parked SUVs.
“Y-Your Majesty?”
Amelie looked to her side. Sitting on the tires was one of William's men. He was barely breathing properly, and there was smoke coming from a hole in his vest. His shoulder also was bleeding.
“Are you alright?!” Amelie panickedly asked as she tended to him. “Hey! Someone’s injured here! Olivia? Agent Henze!”
The black-haired woman immediately stopped, leaned down, and checked the injured man. She placed her scythe to the side, as she pulled out her clock. After a brief chant, a violet-colored circle appeared in front of her hand, which she aimed at the injured operative. The man’s eyes shook violently as he glowed a slight purple.
Amelie watched in amazement as the bullets that struck him were removed, and his flesh reformed in seconds. It seemed similar to normal healing spells but radically sped up. Not to mention, from what Amelie knew, using magic to heal gunshot wounds was usually a multi-step process.
“He should be fine now,” Olivia said. She picked up her scythe and rejoined the battle. Amelie saw how surprised the operative was. He seemed dazed at how quickly he was healed. Amelie just smiled at him.
“You think you can rejoin the fight?”
The man nodded nervously. Amelie looked to the side. She picked up his rifle and handed it to him.
“Tell me what’s your name, mister?”
“I’m Field Agent Rick Hauptmann, Your Majesty.”
“Well, Field Agent Rick, I’ll try to get word to the Director of your good duty today. Now, get back there. Because if I’m being honest, I feel mighty scared right now and I really want to go home.”
“Thanks, Your Majesty!”
The OPM operative immediately stood up and rejoined the fighting. His gun began trailing the attackers who were shooting them. Amelie turned to her side, past the still-panicked Nia, and viewed the commotion on the road ahead of them. Eight of the armored attackers had challenged the three members of Alpha Squad.
Elsa skewered one of them with her ice lance, his body detonating when it was slammed hard into the wall.
Olivia sliced another one, before being shot herself by one of the operatives with their special pistols. Olivia seemed to have learned though, avoiding it with a quick dodge, before retaliating with her scythe.
Then, Eleanor sprayed her gun on another attacker who hid behind one of the cars. He immediately melted into a puddle before self-detonating.
William on the other hand fell back into cover, still angrily firing his gun at the apartment. Amelie watched as one of the streaks of gunfire nipped his left shoulder. William didn’t respond harshly to it though, merely using his right arm to continue firing.
But Amelie had enough. Taking her wand, she placed a barrier in front of William, protecting him from another burst of bullets, before forcefully dragging him back into cover.
“You’re injured, William!” Amelie chastised. “What were you thinking?”
“Just a flesh wound,” William said, as he hissed. He pulled out something from his pocket. It was a syringe, and he punched it straight to his affected shoulder. “I’ll be fine. I got this. We can’t let them have full fire control on Alpha Squad. They’re above us.”
“Your men are already suppressing them,” Amelie said. “It’s fine now.”
“More firepower is needed,” William breathed in deeply, before painfully grabbing another magazine. He placed it on his gun and began returning fire at the attackers in the apartment. Amelie groaned, before she also peeked out of the SUV’s hood, and aimed her wand at them.
She fired her ice-based attacks at them. Dozens of ice spikes formed in front of the blue magical circle in front of her wand, before being flung into their direction. Some went straight into the windows, striking her targets. Most however slammed into the walls, freezing their exteriors.
“Damn it! My aim sucks!” Amelie complained, as another burst of bullets went straight to her. Luckily, having placed a barrier spell on herself, it simply bounced off her. But still, the power of the shots and her weak shield meant that she felt the energy of the bullets when it went to her face. She dropped to the side of the SUV, her hand on her face. “Ow…ow…damn, that hurts!”
William looked back at her.
“Hey! I told you to stay put! Don’t join in on the fight!”
“I thought you said we need more firepower?!” Amelie shot back.
Before William could respond, however, a sudden ball of fire struck the building. Like a flash of light, a red-haired woman dashed through the streets, her sword glowing as she entered the building. The battle stopped, as the interior of the apartment burned and burned.
“It’s Captain Faust,” William said. “Cease fire, everyone! Cease fire!”
William’s OPM operatives lowered their guns, and so did the rest of Alpha Squad, as Captain Faust rampaged on the remaining attackers in the apartment. By the time she jumped off the third floor, the building was in complete cinders. She placed her sword back into her ornate scabbard.
“They’re all liquidated,” she declared, as Amelie stood up. Captain Faust stared at Amelie with a tinge of shame on her face, before she lowered her head. “I apologize, they almost got you, Your Majesty. This was a grave security failure.”
The gunfire in the district finally stopped. But what was left was utter chaos. Amelie just gulped. This assassination attempt was beyond high profile.
They really want me dead.
“I…” She looked down at William, who finally rested and leaned on the tire of the SUV they hid in. “No worries, we’ll analyze what happened and learn. Everyone did their best. Thank you, everyone.”
She looked at the injured OPM operatives being dragged by their remaining brothers. Amelie could only shake her head. This wouldn’t have happened if they were just dealing with a normal OIA attack.
Who are these people…
She needed answers. And she needed it quickly.