Chapter 21: War zone rescue
Unknown Location
City of Teluso.
8:09 pm
Deep in an unknown chamber, an Amber-haired girl was chained to the ceiling. Her eyes were blindfolded, her naked body was covered in lacerations and bruises, blood coated the floor below her. Zolzal walked around her, carrying what appeared to be a whip with serrated blades on the end of it...
"I had such high hopes for you, Reina." Zolzal said.
"But I did everything you asked, my Lord." The girl said with a broken voice.
"I know...AND YOU STILL FAILED ME!" Zolzal said, striking her with the whip.
"I gave you that structure from their world, how could I have failed you?" Reina asked with tears flooding her eyes.
"You failed me when the ogre you tamed died, and the structure was destroyed when you were supposed to protect it!" Zolzal said.
"Traveling between their world and ours had weakened me, so I couldn't get back there in time." Reina explained.
"Stop making excuses!" Zolzal shouted as he began to strike her repeatedly.
In that moment, power began to course through Reina's veins as she let out a scream so loud that she immediately disappeared in a blinding white light that released a shockwave that knocked Zolzal back. She ended up teleporting into a back alleyway in the chaos filled city, right in front of Shandy Graff, a member of the Rose Knights, alongside her colleagues Grey Co Aldo and Panache.
"Please, you must help me." Reina said in a weakened voice.
"What should we do?" Shandy asked.
"We need to get to operative Godici, she's waiting for us at the Rendezvous." Panache said.
"I...Have..." Reina said through coughing fits.
" You have what?" Grey asked as he kneeled next to her.
"Information (cough) on the (cough) crown prince." Reina said before coughing up a great deal of blood.
Grey grabbed a worn down blanket off a nearby clothesline and wrapped it around Reina, scooping her up in his arms and turning to his colleagues...
" We have a reason to take her with us now." Grey said.
" That we do." Panache said, before the sounds of fighting began to get louder.
" We must hurry!" Grey said.
The three knights escaped the alleyway and ran into an inn where they met up with Juliana, who was wielding a suppressed GS36 at the window. She turned to them as they entered the room with their unexpected guest...
"Whoa, who the hell is this?" Juliana asked as Grey set the injured Reina on the bed.
"Someone with knowledge on the crown prince's operations." Grey said.
"Why the hell is she banged up like that?" Juliana asked.
"We don't know, she appeared before us in a blinding light." Shandy said.
"Well then, trauma kit is over there, can you get for me?" Juliana said to Shandy.
"Of course." Shandy said, hurrying over to the table where a big red bag was.
"How's the situation the city?" Juliana asked.
"Its deteriorating rapidly, civilians opposing Zolzal's recent claim that he is now the ruler of the city have begun to openly attack his supporters either on the streets or in their homes, but Zolzal's army and his followers have begun launching a strong counter-offensive." Panache explained.
"What about the ruling family?" Juliana said.
"Both Lord and Lady Masseniga have been confirmed killed, however their children have escaped and fled to their relatives in Ligu." Grey explained as Shandy set the kit next to Juliana.
"Let's pray help arrives soon." Juliana said.
While Juliana tended to Reina's injuries, Dante was about to learn of the situation in progress happening in Teluso...
Commander Perez's office
Fort Tombstone, New Sanctuary.
8:30 pm
Dante was sitting patiently in a chair while his father read his report on the expedition to destroy the black site, in which he was curious about how Zolzal was able to slip past the defenses that they had put on the Gate, and this mystery mage girl that was aiding them...
"So, do you have any questions?" Dante asked.
"Not really, I'm just glad you got back safe." Daniel said.
"Yeah, I'm still surprised that we ran into the last member of the Radford family." Dante said.
"She and the others that you brought back will be integrated into our society once their papers had been filed." Daniel said.
"I hope we can identify who that mage girl is." Dante pointed out.
"Let's hope so." Daniel started. "Anyway, after you rest up, I have another assignment for you and Xavier once he returns." He said.
"What's up?" Dante asked.
"Reports are coming out of the Kingdom of Elbe, apparently Zolzal and his followers had assassinated the lord of the city of Teluso, Elbe's major port city." Daniel explained.
"What?!" Dante said in a surprised tone.
"Furthermore, he's declared himself the city's new leader and is trying to convert it into the Capital of his "True Empire." He added.
"I'm pretty sure that a lot of people are not happy with him." Dante said.
"That's correct, because half of the city in the first few moments had pledged their support for him, while the other half took to violence against them." Daniel said.
"Is the situation being monitored?" Dante asked.
"Yes, but once Xavier returns to base, you two and a team will be going in to extract a group of HVIs from the city." Daniel said.
"So who'd we be looking for?" Dante said.
"Three of Pinya's Rose Knights, Lieutenant Commander Godici, and a possible informant." Daniel explained.
"Who's the informant?" Dante asked.
"A girl named Reina De Costa. She was apparently one of Zolzal's advisors." Daniel explained.
"That doesn't explain why she is now a defector." Dante said as Hazama walked in.
"Commander Perez, we need to talk." Hazama said.
"What is it?" Daniel inquired.
"Duran is considering mobilizing his army to retake Teluso, but something has come up." Hazama said.
"What is it?" Dante and Daniel said.
"Apparently, Zolzal and his army have apparently managed to utilize flintlock armaments." Hazama explained.
As Dante and Daniel pondered how the former crown prince managed to acquire flintlock armaments when its construction methods had in fact been a closely guarded secret, Xavier and his group was about to make a return trip back to base with an unexpected guest...
Icarus Inn
City of Rondel
3:40 am
Xavier and his group readied themselves early in the morning in order for them to make the journey back to Fort Tombstone. Following the defeat of the Red Wings, Lelei submitted her application for mastership, but due to the incident, she would not receive official confirmation of receiving the title until an investigation of the mercenary attack was completed...
"I can't believe that they are holding an investigation." Lelei said.
"Relax Lelei, they are just looking for the person that they should send the bill to." Xavier said.
"Anyway, we should probably get on the road." Cole said as he threw his duffel bag into the trailer attached to the truck.
But before he walked to the driver's seat, all three of them heard someone say "Ow" as the bag landed on them. Xavier carefully rested his hand on his rifle, while he and Cole approached in the hopes of identifying the individual in the trailer. Cole immediately pulled the tarp under his duffel bag off, in which Arpeggio immediately sat up rubbing the side of her head where the bag landed...
"Why did you throw that so hard?" Arpeggio asked.
"ARPEGGIO, WOULD YOU PLEASE TELL US WHY YOU ARE IN OUR TRAILER?!" Xavier exclaimed.
"I wanted to surprise my future husband." Arpeggio said, leaping at Xavier, hugging him tight.
"I did not agree to this!" Xavier said.
"Besides, she has to go through the ceremony of the three nights with you." Lelei said.
"That's enough out of you, little sister." Arpeggio said, flicking Lelei in the forehead.
"Don't you need permission from your mentor to do field work?" Hannah asked as she walked into the conversation.
"When she means field work, that does not mean stalk the Lieutenant colonel." Lelei explained.
"Oh, I had already gotten the permission from Mimoza to go out in the field for geological analysis in UECG territory." Arpeggio explained.
"Oh great." Xavier said in an annoyed tone.
"So that means I can come with you!" Arpeggio said.
"Oh nuts." Rory, Lelei, and Xavier said in unison.
Putting the argument aside, the group loaded up into the truck and proceeded to drive back to base. Arpeggio sat next to Xavier, while another argument was taking place in the back seat as Lelei and Rory argued about the fact that Lelei was married to Itami, when Rory has been making all attempts to seduce the man.
"I swear, those kids are going to give me a headache." Xavier said.
"Rory's over 900 years old, so you can't consider a kid anymore." Hannah said.
"Well she is not acting like a 900-year-old adult now, is she?" Xavier said as he noticed that Cole too, was getting frustrated with them.
"You two, knock it off!" Cole hollered at the two.
"Engineer Severance?" Lelei asked.
"We're very tired right now, so stop your stinking bickering, or will turn this truck around and leave you two back at Rondel!" Cole said.
The two girls immediately went silent as the ride progressed while they journey back to base, with the three members of the Ghosts taking turns driving when one was getting more tired than the other. They arrived back at base at 10 am, where Dante came out to greet his friend...
"Looks like the Death hound came back from a wild party." Dante said sarcastically.
"I'm too tired to put up with that attitude, Pikachu." Xavier said.
"What? Was Rondel too hectic for an assignment?" Dante asked.
"Kind of, learned Lelei has a sister, fought off 100 mercenaries sent by Zolzal to try and kill me and Lelei, found out Lelei's sister has a crush on me, thwarted another assassination attempt on Lelei's life, learned that mages from Rondel have possibly been kidnapped by the former crown prince. You know, the works." Xavier explained.
"Wow, and I thought that I had the rough job." Dante remarked.
"To top it off, the sister has decided to tag along." Xavier said as Arpeggio fell face first out of the truck.
"That's Lelei's sister?" Dante said.
"Also, apparently, Lelei and Itami are married." Xavier pointed out.
"Wait, what?" Dante said.
"Anyway, you look like you have something to tell me." Xavier stated.
"Yeah. Get some rest because we have another job to do whenever you're ready." Dante said.
"What's the job?" Xavier inquired.
"VIP rescue, a certain former crown prince has staged a hostile takeover and seized control of a city in Elbe." Dante explained.
"He's shown his cards, huh?" Xavier asked.
"Yep, the VIPs that we've got to rescue is one of our own, three of Pinya's Rose Knights, and a defector from Zolzal's faction." Dante said.
"I see." Xavier said.
"By the way, what did you mean mages have disappeared from Rondel?" Dante asked.
"Apparently, mages who were researching the offensive capabilities of infusion magic had been abducted from their homes and labs in the middle of the night." Xavier said.
"Where did you hear about this?" Dante said.
"I heard about it from someone who had informed me that it is the talk of the city." Xavier said.
Xavier went off to go get some sleep due to his severe lack of it while visiting Rondel due to the firefight that he was in. When the time to go on the assignment, he woke up with Arpeggio next to him in which he was greatly annoyed by that, in which he pulled out a slip of paper and created a score chart so when the night came around, he could keep track of how many attempts she was attempting to complete the "Ceremony of the Three Nights" with him...
"Oh, I'm planning ahead for this." Xavier said to himself.
Teluso City Streets
8:00 pm
Under the guise of travelers, a six-person team that consisted of Dante, Xavier, Alleecia, Anna, Blaze, and Itami, entered the city in a wagon and looked around at the chaos created. Civilians clashed with each other in the streets, fighting against one another. They all knew that those loyal to the city were fighting against those who willingly given their loyalty to the exiled crown prince, in which they were also passing by citizens trying to stay out of the fighting as much as possible...
"Look at this place, Duran said that this city was a jewel in the crown of his kingdom." Anna said.
"Now its reduced to a warzone." Xavier said.
"How many people are refusing to participate in the fighting?" Itami asked.
"Reports said approximately over a few hundred non-combatants have either fled from the city, or retreated into their homes." Blaze said.
"How long until we reach the rendezvous?" Alleecia said.
"It's just a couple more blocks." Itami said.
"Keep an eye out for a fella named Bouro, he's our contact." Xavier explained.
"Who is this Bouro guy anyway?" Dante asked.
"He used to work for Tyuule, did a lot of covert work for her back when she was trying manipulate Zolzal." Xavier explained to the team.
"What?!" Blaze asked in a shocked tone.
"Relax, she wanted to manipulate the guy into causing a suicidal war, but she was satisfied with his exile and disownment." Xavier said.
"Uh-Oh." Itami said.
"What is it?" Xavier asked.
"Trouble." Itami said.
Xavier saw a group of men wielding flintlock rifles attempting to surround the wagon, wearing elaborate-designed armored long coats. But he also noticed something was different about the way that the rifles had looked, as they appeared to have been infused with elemental magic...
"Well, now I know why mages from Rondel were kidnapped." Xavier thought.
Right before the soldiers could fire, an enormous mob of angry citizens swarmed into the area, which allowed the team to escape the wagon and flee down an alleyway with their equipment. They slip past the rampaging crowd just as the soldiers are opening fire, taking refuge in a small courtyard between the buildings...
"This job just got a whole lot more complicated." Itami said.
"Can we get to the rendezvous from here?" Dante asked.
"Or it can come to you." A voice said behind a gate.
The team turned to see a small, pig-like man in ragged clothes walking out of the shadows of the alley. He immediately began to pick the lock on the gate, revealing a white bandage over one of his eyes, finally picking the lock and opening the gate...
"You must be Bouro." Xavier said.
"That makes you six the UECG team I was told to expect." Bouro said.
"This is our contact?" Alleecia asked.
"He certainly smells like it." Dante said, covering his nose.
"Sometimes smell can be a useful tool in spying, nobody would expect to think that the boar who looks homeless to be a spy." Bouro said.
"Where's Co Aldo and the others?" Xavier asked.
"They're at an inn down this alleyway, on the other side of a residential area." Bouro explained.
"Okay." Dante said.
"Be careful, Zolzal has men patrolling the streets. He believes that he has the street locked down." Bouro explained.
"Overconfidence is making him careless." Xavier said.
"I need to oversee matters here, give my regards to Tyuule-Sama when you see her again." Bouro said before leaving.
After Bouro left, the group proceeded down the alleyway that he came out of and into the residential area. The entire district was dark, with the only lights being on were the tall street lanterns that would be lit when night came. All the lights in the buildings were out, and the neighborhood's dirt streets were covered in wagon tracks...
"Looks like the people that lived here got out of dodge when all the fighting started." Anna said as she looked at the tracks.
"I say that they were the smart ones." Blaze said.
"Cut the chatter. We need to keep moving." Xavier said.
The group made their way into the alley across the way, where they saw the building that they were looking for, surrounded by Zolzal's followers. Dante reached into his backpack, pulling out a small drone, in which he tossed it into the air after Anna started it up with the remote...
"What do you see?" Xavier asked.
"Multiple bad guys, thermal's picking up 12 more inside, searching the rooms for our VIPs." Anna explained.
"Where are they?" Itami asked.
"Fifth floor, corner room." Anna said.
"Let's move, keep it silent. I don't want the local riff raff causing trouble for us." Xavier said.
They quietly crossed the street, avoiding the massive group of soldiers that were posted at the main entrance to the inn. They slipped around the building into the alley behind it, killing two enemy soldiers posted at the rear entrance. Carefully making their way into the lobby of the inn, they drew their weapons, which were suppressed MP5s, and made their way to the target location. They arrived outside the room, where Shandy let them in...
"Glad you folks made it." Juliana said.
"Had some minor problems, ended up losing our ride into the city." Xavier said.
"Wow." Juliana said sarcastically.
"The city is falling apart, did you think that we would stroll up in shinging armor?" Dante asked.
"Enough, is this our extra VIP?" Itami asked Grey.
"Her name is Reina De Costa." Grey explained.
"She's in pretty bad shape." Anna said.
"I recognize her, she was the mage who helped Zolzal on Earth." Dante said.
"You went back to Earth? Why didn't you tell me?" Xavier asked.
"You were tired as all hell, I didn't want to disturb you unless you got your beauty sleep." Dante said.
"Cut the chatter, we need to get to the evac point." Itami said.
"Right, Shandy will stay close to Reina with Grey providing support, Juliana and Blaze will take point, Dante, Anna, Alleecia will cover the rear while Panache and I will cover the sides." Xavier said.
"Crescent guard formation, nice." Dante said.
The group made their way out of the building, fighting their way to the rendezvous point: the city harbor. They slew multiple enemy soldiers that were pursing them, taking refuge in alleys all the way to the harbor. They jumped aboard a boat that arrived at their location, driven by a masked Mikayla...
"You guys alright?" Mikayla asked.
"We're good, all VIPs accounted for." Xavier said.
"Good, because this city is falling, we need to get out of here." Mikayla said.
She drove the boat away from the docks, setting out alongside dozens of boats containing people fleeing the fighting in the city. The group watched as the small fleet of boats proceeded out towards the bay, pondering why so many people have had the lives they built completely destroyed by the conflict. That moment immediately ended when one of the boats exploded.
"What the hell?" Anna said.
"They're firing on civilians?!" Itami exclaimed.
"Why the hell are they are doing that?" Xavier asked.
As the Ghosts discussed the issue, Reina was covering her ears as she tried to ignore the fact that Zolzal's followers were opening fire on civilians fleeing the city by boat. She then leapt out of her seat, casting wards over the still intact fleeing boats. They escaped the harbor, accompanied by 4 of the 6 ships that were evacuating...
(This last part is Xavier and Daniel talking about the outcome of the conflict.)
"The two ships that Zolzal's men sunk had 30 civilians on each, all hands lost." Xavier said.
"That's rough, but the casualty reports coming out of Teluso are worse." Daniel said.
"How much?" Xavier asked.
"Over 34,000 civilians were killed in the fighting, with another 40,000 going underground." Daniel explained.
"My god, Zolzal completely ignored civilian casualties while trying to cement his grip on the city." Xavier said.
"To him, if you fight against his authority, you are not worthy to exist in his empire." Daniel explained.
"Anyway, did we learn anything from Reina?" Xavier said.
"She gave us the location of the missing mages from Rondel. Zolzal is holding them prisoner and forcing them to create magic-infused weapons for his army." Daniel said.
"He's building a stockpile." Xavier said.
"Our first priority is to destroy the stockpile and rescue the captives. This signifies the start of our construction of a retaliatory response operation should he make a move against Saedra." Daniel said.
"You really think that he will make a move against the Empire?" Xavier asked.
"War is inevitable, so we are going to make sure that we have the biggest stick." Daniel said.
This chapter concludes with A UECG covert team infiltrating a city in chaos and rescuing a group of high value individuals from the city. One of those individuals was a former follower of the Former Crown Prince, who revealed the location of the missing mages from Rondel, whom Zolzal has taken captive. The next chapter picks up with a mission to destroy the stockpile of magic-infused weapons and rescue the captives. But on this mission, the final endgame of the Former Crown Prince is revealed...
WAIT AND SEE.