Prologue
Part III
La Tragedie de Regina Claris
While Levi was struggling with the new STIGMA,. Some of the students that were still alive were dearly clinging to hope that they will get rescued.
“Michael, am I going to die?”
“If you don’t shut up, we will,” he tried to joke, but his heart wasn’t in it. The man beside him was an underclassman and he didn’t deserve this. “If only the hangar wasn’t busted-oh…”
The door was blown with a single explosion. The pieces of an oil can showered down on them.
“Michael, Doug, get your asses in your STIGMAs. We are going to show them a real hurting.”
“Is that you Levi? That’s very showy.”
“Haha…no time. We gotta act fast. These men could be on our throat at any minute.”
The few graduates scrambled into the hangar.
“What’s with the junk?”
Einzel responded with a stiff, manly computerized voice. “I cannot accept that remark. I am a fully functional STIGMA.”
“With attitude too, my kind of girl!” Doug laughed. He was feeling cheerful already. “I’d like to look at it spec, does it have that new SVP cooler system? Or that Hummingdale stabilizer? Wait, don’t tell me, CARPAS insulator?”
“Shut it, mine’s still broken. It’s the only thing not locked. So lay off him!”
Michael gave orders to the underclassmen “Split up, find the survivors and try to stay alive. These are professionals so don’t you dare try anything heroic!”
Just then, four of the enemies appeared out of nowhere. Instinctively, Levi thrust her arm and shot them with Einzel’s machine gun.
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The bullets went through them easily, killing them on the spot.
“Nice one, now let’s get to Margaret. She’s nearby.”
“Sir, we have found the Kagemusha. They’re evacuating him now.”
“Excellent, we have no need for this place anymore, take care of it.”
The man called the lieutenant was wearing a half mask covering his mouth. His three eyes were looking this way and that.
“That was a good fight, shame for all the talents.”
“Is that right, sir?”
He smiled evilly. “Yes, how else could I have this much fun trampling the buds of the future? Gehehahahahaha!!!”
“Speaking of bugs…”
His hand shot somewhere around the ruins, it was a hand like a cyborg’s, and picked up a woman with a handgun in her hand. “KYAAA!!”
“Good evening, child. Have you ever met death before?”
She tried to shoot him, but the gun was wrested and forcefully pointed its nozzle at her forehead.
BANG!
“A gunshot!”
“We gotta get there quick!”
As they turn around the corner they saw a body falling to the ground with blood gushing out from the head. The empty shell was still falling as it reached the floor. To them it was like seeing a slow motion reel. The sound was like the toll of a cathedral’s bell.
“MARGARET!!!”
“You…you…son of a bitch!! I’ll kill you damn Martian!”
The man smirked. “More bugs? But we don’t have time to spare. Oh well.”
As they took their stances, something exploded, followed with another explosion, and another one splitting the Academy into two, along with the floor.
“Shit, shit, shit!!!!”
“Evasive maneuver activated,”
The red lamp inside Einzel began to spin wildly and its alarm was blaring, but it didn’t stop Levi from screaming in regret and agony.
Even so, everything just stopped for her, not the blaring alarm, not Einzel’s warning, not the sound of the Academy crumbling into nothing, not even her own scream, she could no longer focus on anything.
Everything seemed to focus only on the three silent eyes looking at her coldly like a hungry shark.
Tears dropped from her like a fountain of grief.
Morning fell on the survivors of the massacre as they saw the aftermath of the battle. The creeping Unborns of night began to disperse with the rising glory of the sun.
No one said anything in that accursed morning. The rubble of what was the great Regina Claris began to show its now disgraced self. The survivors could be counted with fingers and they were silent in its hollowness. The bodies of dear friends, strangers, instructors and respected teachers now lie under metals, stones, and broken STIGMAs.
Levi got out of Einzel and ran towards the rubbles. She cried with all her heart. This was the one place she belonged. And now…it’s nothing.
“Martians…damned Martians. Kuh… I…will…avenge you, Marge. I WILL HAVE…VENGEANCE!!”
That incident was a huge blow to both the TAF and 2nd Babylon’s Vanguard. Regina Claris was one of the three biggest military training facilities in the Alliance, and the oldest. This incident was later remembered by the Union as La Tragedie de Regina Claris.
Five months after the request for further investigation, one of the Five Grand Dukes of the Alliance, Kratos Renenberg, decided to stop the investigation so as to stop the Union from breaking apart.
The people had riots and the news never stopped from criticizing that decision, but later supported them.
It was the turning point of what the future might hold both for the survivors…and the Alliance.