Facing the daunting hand of the powerful Greater Marshal Exalt, Oscar could see no way out, the pressure from the encroaching fingers constricting him like a rat caught by a snake. Cuts scraped across his clothes and bare skin. The hand was far away, yet the horrifying Ein around it reached farther out, and he would be consumed by the storms soon, only an inch away. Unable to move and speak, he watched powerlessly as the storms converged, forming a gigantic hand resembling the hand of Xures, the Ancient of Wind, with clouds and twisting dark winds foaming on the surface.
Despite the harrowing spell about to clench on him, Oscar felt no fear, staring dead into the aged and drooping eyes of Rand Cyclos. As the old Exalt snarled at him, presumably offended by his lack of reaction to the impending doom, he glanced to the side and sighed in relief. An even more terrifying yet comforting presence made itself known, and Rand snapped his head to the side, twisting and ducking his frail-looking body to dodge several unseen attacks. A sudden pained expression broke out on Rand's face, two sharp glints protruding from his right shoulder before they severed his arm.
Above, three glaives swung down and severed the giant hand of tempest, including Rand's left hand. The old Exalt howled, the deep wrinkles along every inch of his face deepening further. He used his Ein and formed an arm and hand of winds, replacing the ones he lost. Taking down a Greater Marshal Exalt was far more troublesome than he thought. Oscar retreated far away with his troops to avoid the climactic battle as Aunt Ward suddenly appeared behind Rand.
"Finally, you show an opening. Die, you old relic." Aunt Ward's cold stare signified the end of Rand's life. Her two hands, which gripped the glaive tightly to the point of drawing blood from her fingers, swung down with an unbelievable amount of Ein. The other glaives locked Rand into place like a prison of blades, similar to how he locked down Oscar with the Ein from his tempest hands. Rand strained and writhed around, veins popping on his thin neck. His efforts proved futile, only making him seem more unsightly when the glaive sliced down diagonally from the shoulder. Rand's shocked gasps soon fell silent, his shaky gaze turning bloodshot at the sight of his bisected body.
Aunt Ward was especially cruel, slashing down a second time on the crown of Rand's head, splitting him so cleanly Oscar could see the insides of Rand's brain, fluids taking a moment before spilling out. Relieved by the save, he almost accidentally released his Guise and forcibly halted the process. Although the supreme commander of the enemy's armies was dead, the job was not over. Aunt Ward had already gone over to assist the other Marshal Exalts before they could reform the army in the head's absence.
"Everyone, reform our ranks. We're heading on forward." Due to Rand's interruption, their formations were a wreck. After everyone reformed with Oscar at the helm, he resumed the charge and caught a second wind, the enemy also losing their wits and cohesion due to losing their leader. Flames gathered under Erden's hooves as he trampled over them, and Oscar's shield crushed their bodies like pebbles on the mountainside. Behind, the Vorpalares stayed intact, partly thanks to the meager resistance of the dejected foes.
Moments later, they breached the enemy lines and arrived before the Excrusier, the enemy's headquarters. The city-wide fortress airship with countless guns and thick barriers resisted the small groups that passed through the enemy's defenses. Several large railguns hummed, shaking the air with their tremendous power. Several beams of dense Ein fired from their muzzles, piercing burning holes into their airships. Oscar split his forces into four directions, taking a page from Willet's book, and assaulted the Excrusier on four sides.
The other detachments seemed to understand the importance of his strike and fought to their limits to keep the railguns from targeting his troops. Raising his Eirin, Oscar punched the steel hull of an airship, the metal plates caving in and cracking apart from the inside as his Eirin Omnireus imploded the entire structure. His Vorpalare reached the Excruiser, screeching while it drilled into the city-rank barrier. It was a shame the plans for the improved Vorpalares from Gol-4's notes could be built by improving an older model.
But it still worked perfectly fine. The Vorpalare pierced into the Excrusier barrier, Ein rippling and contorting like curtains in the air. At this time, Aunt Ward finally arrived with the remainder of the Marshal Exalts and ordered them to board the Excruiser and take control. The rest of the battlefield raised their voices as they hunted down the stragglers and commandeered enemy ships. Seeing no need for him to continue, Oscar leaned back, raising his eyes to the murky sky, unable to enjoy the victory when the view was naught but full of smog and dark clouds overhead, a most unlively sight.
"Well done. I believed in you, most of anyone in the left wing." Aunt Ward floated to his side and bowed slightly. "As the Grand Commander, I cannot express enough gratitude to you."
"It's alright, Aunt Ward. It was your plan that led us to this." Oscar smiled. "Why did that old Exalt think he was safe enough to attack me?"
Aunt Ward scoffed, clearly looking at the bisected head stuck on her glaive in derision. "He thought he knew my range well, but he only knew what I wanted him to know. The trouble was finding an opening. That's why your arrival was very…." Her eyes wandered to his right side and trembled, her calm voice turning shaky as she clasped his shoulders, not too tight. "Your arm! What happened to your arm!"
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Oscar tapped her hands, indicating for her to let him go. After being freed from her worrying grasp, he held the shoulder, passing his fingers where the arm should have been attached. "It's gone. Fallen to god knows where. But it had to happen, or there would be no victory."
"Both master and disciple…causing me no end of worries." Aunt Ward seemed tired, her youthful face wrinkling in distress. "Take your soldiers and rest on my Excruiser, the Iron Maiden. Leave the rest of the battle to us."
Her stern gaze forced down any retorts before he could speak them, and he willingly agreed and ordered his troops to retreat. On the Excruiser, the Iron Maiden, he and his soldiers landed on one of the stone courtyards and immediately plopped down, many sleeping and snoring without care on the floor. Leaning his head on the smooth, cool stone, Oscar felt several thuds by his side and saw Emily and Fred in good rest, flanking him on both sides. Erden yawned and rested his large head on Oscar's lap.
Sandwiched by his best friends, Oscar chuckled and felt his worries fly away with the coming breeze, the two suns revealing their light onto the wide plains as the clouds moved away. Basking in the warmth, he yawned, stricken by sudden drowsiness, and allowed himself to sleep peacefully for the first time since the start of this week-long battle. Outside, the cheers continued like a soothing chorus declaring the end.
The next morning, Oscar woke up to the smell of fresh soup and saw Alec cooking a hearty breakfast. His strategist turned and greeted him with the usual welcoming smile, pouring out a bowl for him to drink. Hungry and parched, Oscar graciously accepted the soup and sipped, fulfilled in both thirst and hunger, his stomach grumbling for more. Fred and Emily hadn't woken up yet, still sleeping beside him. Letting them sleep more, he squeezed his way out of their pincer and sat closer to the boiling pot, colors of green, yellow, orange, and brown mellowed out by the white stew.
"Morning, Captain. There's no need to wake up so early. You should rest more." Alec sipped some of the soup, licking his lips. He sprinkled some more spices in it and stirred. "The enemy has been driven out from all three plains. Grand Commander had split her army to assist the right wing, freeing Great Elder Robert to push onwards."
"You want me to sleep, but you can't help from giving me a status report. So what's our job?" Oscar wanted to reach out to fill up his bowl again but felt odd. He remembered his arm was gone and consciously moved his left hand. It would take time for him to get used to missing an arm. An ear was bad enough, but now it was an arm. Grunting, he sipped the fresh bowl of soup, tasting the new spices Alec added, and nodded in approval.
"No job. As I said, the battle is ours. Congratulations on having the greatest achievement. I daresay you'll be invited to another awards ceremony." Alec joked, laughing mildly.
While drinking the soup, he listened to Alec's update on the current events. Aunt Ward already led the armies to counterattack and decimated the enemy's reserves that were in the back, retaking the lands right before Arkenen City. Ordinarily, the enemy should have flanked and supported from the east, but unsurprisingly, his master held back the many Marshal Exalts, killing a few more.
"Five of their Winds have been killed. The First Storm, Rand Cyclos, is dead. The Warden slaughtered the Second Storm. Altogether, the enemy lost 370,000 soldiers out of 400,000 and 1,200 ships. It's a devastating blow. It will take years for the Emerald Hydra Empire to reorganize and recoup after this loss. We have bought years of peace for this part of the borders." Alec lowered the flames by spreading the charcoal around and rested down nearby.
"It's not the end of the war. But it's a good start." Oscar placed a bowl on the ground for Erden to eat. Stroking his friend's head, he turned his gaze outward. Far away, a large wall linked one end of the mountain to the other, riddled with holes full of rubble, some of which he could make out the view on the other side. Greatly, this wall, otherwise known as Arkenen City, suffered, half of it having collapsed to bits.
The Excrusier and the rest of the surviving fleet arrived before Arkenen City. The city was built inside the titanic wall, almost like a scaled-up alleyway with castles and towers built along the wall's sides. Trumpets and drums blared their tunes and beats, cheers reigning over the air in the songs of victory. His soldiers woke up and complained about the loud noise before shutting up once they realized it was for them. Placing his helmet on, Oscar mounted Erden and led them down to Arkenen City, landing on a clean spot between piles of rubble.
Crowds converged on him and the others. From the wrecked houses and towers, the civilians lowered banners of blue and gold, and others cheered on the streets, waving flags and raising their arms high. The look on their faces said enough; the tears flowing down their cheeks past their shouting mouths revealed the extent of their suffering. Erden slowly walked through the parting crowds. He could tell Erden was holding back from lashing at everyone touching his fur.
'Sorry, Erden, but let them have this moment.' Oscar apologized.
'It's alright. Just give me more cores later.' Erden grunted.
'Deal.' Oscar reached up and grabbed a falling flower. Soon, a rain of flowers and petals showered on them, thrown by the crowd. The children gawked in awe, darting their eyes sideways at Erden's majestic figure and up and down at his own towering height. The adults hugged and cheered. The woman blew kisses at them, and many came up to Oscar, gifting him a flower and ribbon, their intent clear as day in their enamored eyes and flushed cheeks.
Rejecting their advances, he brushed petals off Erden's head and continued his march, allowing the crowds to enjoy the victory parade after a week of occupation. He noticed a child lurking nearby and chuckled, entertaining a sudden idea. Picking up the child, he allowed him to sit on Erden and waved to the crowd, who cheered louder. The child laughed wildly and bounced up and down, flailing his arms around.
"Captain. A word?" Alec pushed his way to Oscar's side.
"Right now?" Oscar grumbled, patting the boy's head before letting him down.
"Grand Commander Ward summons you to the temporary command post. She says it's urgent."
"What now?"