Chapter 60: Full Circle
Que Intro (Song: Warriors; Imagine Dragons, 2WEI and Eda Hynes version)
As a Child you wait and watch from far away, you always you knew you'd be the one that work they all play, you'd awake at night and scheme of all things you would change but it was just a dream (Tatsumi looking forlorn under a red sky with his army ready) Here we are don't turn away now, we are the warriors that built this town (Night Raid assembles for battle outside Melitine) Here we are don't turn away now we are the warriors that built this town (Argardon ignites his sword and raises it up) from dust. (Swords clashing, Tatsumi fights Volgoth, Dorothea battles Izel) instrumental (Battle clashes as demons are slain and the Primus Imperator looms over the city) Here we are don't turn away now! We are the Warriors that built this town! (Looming demonic shadow) We are the Warriors that built this town (Tatsumi thrashed about as his armor is battered and his face is covered with blood) From Dust. (Empire's End logo appears with the Golden Dragon facing the Demon) Song End.
Outskirts of Melitine, two days before the deadline… Tatsumi stood on a tall hill under the blood red sky no it was near levels of red mixed with black and infernal fire in color this close to his city. The sky however was not what had the focus of his sight no what had his sight was the army, his grand Alliance of Order, he had thru hard work and skill with diplomacy assembled, the army he had numbered in the millions, hundreds of millions in truth but before him was only the western force of his army, in the sky above thousands upon thousands of Dwarven Aircraft powered by energy that according Umber would last years without being needing change, while on the ground a massive army from all over Eden was assembled from battle, humans from all the kingdoms of the west, Dwarves in numbers not seen since the Elder days of the Empire, Minotaurs in great numbers, Hob-goblins in hordes, and of course Imperials that were legion in number all the Empire had been assembled for battle, every man, woman and child that could use a weapon had been mustered, Tatsumi had called on everyone because this was no time for ethics on who should be part of the army everyone was needed because this would be the final battle of a war that would decide the fate of the entire planet, it would be better for these souls to die fighting then live under demonic rule if they lost. The army of course was even bigger as every nation and every ally Tatsumi could call upon had committed their whole might and the host had enveloped Melitine from all sides, of course, the fighting had been fierce as soon as the armies came into the range of the nexus, demons came in great numbers, extremely great numbers and wouldn't stop coming but even against such numbers the armies pushed driven by something that even the hosts of hell themselves couldn't have: the desire to save their world.
"There it is," Tatsumi said looking towards the city, the Four Rakshasas along with Esdeath, Aria, Spear, Najenda, and the rest of his entourage looked with him, the great city of Melitine, its walls full of breaches from demons causing senseless destruction, the palace loomed under the shadow of the sky with dark clouds surrounding it but far more taller and terrifying was the massive nexus that had been constructed by Volgoth, that black and red portal was three times the height and size of the palace itself and Tatsumi could see the ruins of many buildings Tatsumi wondered how many of his people had died when they had been trapped outside the safety of the shield, hundreds of millions no doubt as Melitine was the Empire's largest city and home of many people. "Volgoth; I'm coming for you; I'm going to take back my city and save this world and nothing you can throw at me will stop me" Tatsumi thought.
"It hurts to see it in this state! How many of our people died when those monsters came forth?!" Aria shouted, shedding tears.
"Too many, one was too many, Volgoth's cruelty knows no limits and we will avenge every soul that he and his demonic kindred have killed" Spear replied and readied her sword.
"Aye we'll have vengeance," High King Durin said from nearby, he along with the leaders of the armies had gathered with Tatsumi to take in the city.
"What is our battle plan?" Esdeath asked.
"To put it simple we'll go into the city and slay every last demon, Volgoth included, no protracted siege just an all out assault we've no other option we just have to fight them; the main targets will be that giant nexus, the palace and any place that has demons in it, we'll fight until either they're beaten or we are all dead, first priority though is to link up with the forces inside the shield, that will give us more manpower: I've specific roles for everyone, I will lead the best of our best into the Palace and fight Volgoth everyone else your job is to kill every single demon you come across or as close as you can do to kill them just send them back to hell, every last one of them" Tatsumi explained, it was a simple plan but it was the only option, no siege would do against an enemy that didn't need to eat and would grow stronger by the day, the only option was to fight and hope against all odds to win. "I'll take my force and approach the southwest gate, we'll rally those inside the shield to battle and come forth using the best attack angle, the main target is the palace and Volgoth is there, I want to minimize our losses but I'm not sure that will be possible, High King I want you to take the bulk of our Western forces and attack the western side of the city not covered by the shield also coordinate with the other forces we've got we'll surround Melitine from all sides and push in; we've no other option but to fight: we must fight and importantly I want you and all of you who hold sway over our armies to stay alive as long as possible if any of you die that will hurt our morale so survive at all costs, don't overextend yourselves and keep your forces around you, special focus on all Teigu users we CANNOT afford to lose them each of our Teigu users is worth at least a thousand demons losing any of them would be a tremendous loss for our forces, Mirellia I want you and Charles to take your forces around the right flank of their forces, High Labyrinth Lord Oratus I want you and General Valens to handle the left, everyone else center ranks; disciplined formations and use melee weapons first, ranged weaponry while powerful is only as good as the amount of ammo a soldier can carry, other then that may the gods be with us; we'll make our battle sacrifices and perform all pre battle rituals; we'll send the slayers, any suicidal fanatics and Ice constructs in the front lines their expandable as you know and then we'll bring the rest of the army behind; we've got to take the city quickly and I want a focused attack on the Nexus if that's destroyed we'll thin their number substantially" Tatsumi explained, he then turned to Syura and Angulas who were ready, Tatsumi noted that at Syura's side were his sisters, Leone, Lillianna and Nancy along with many other siblings including Valdis and a fair few of Honest's younger sons and daughters who had joined the Order of the Radiant Dawn. "Make the necessary offerings to Asha hope that she sends aid we'll need if she will, any offerings to other gods too if we can get ANY divine assistance I'll damn well take it even if its from a minor god" Tatsumi ordered.
"Yes, your highness" Syura replied.
"Anad! High Rune Priest Tharkun make the necessary offerings to the ancestors offer up everything we can for their blessings" High King Durin.
"Yes, you heard the Emperor make all the sacrifices!" Spear shouted, and every leader began barking out orders, within an hour a great number of alters had been constructed and offerings were made in great amounts, everyone who could offer something in sacrifice did so and with all that done a massive number of portents were read, many spoke of victory but any that did said it would come at a great cost and remarkably some read off divine intervention, Syura's pleads to Asha as he now carried a white staff were sent loud and boldly and the Eternity Queen of all the deities answered and suddenly a great portal opened and a heavenly legion came forth lead by a mighty champion and an emissary from the Goddess came forth; that emissary was a Phoenix clad in armor out of the world and accompanied by an honor guard of their kind, the Phoenix in question was male and had dark skin and orange hair and brown eyes along with a set of glasses and bore a crown of some golden alloy but it was not gold and had sparkling gems of power in it, the armor he wore was red, gold and bronze in color and was a many layered of set of plate armor underneath an ornately decorated breastplate and tabard, his tail was long and he also has large bird-like wings that were green and gold in color he was accompanied by an honor guard of men and women not just Phoenixes but also humans, lizardmen, dwarves and all manner of races all clad in the most formidable armor and ornate as well with large creatures the size of dragons carrying hammers and great-axe that could crush mountains yet these creatures were sapient and noble in their faces and baring.
"You summoned us Syura and Emperor Tatsumi, I am Eternity Prince Darius Darthanion Darkar son of Asha and Erasiel and these are my valiant warriors, friends and family my mother Asha sent me to lend aid against our shared foe the numbers she sent are great but out foes number greater still, billions of demons lay ahead of you; I must ask though why you have summoned us I hope it is not the face Volgoth for you as though we could do so you would not learn the lessons of a leader" The Phoenix greeted.
"No that's not why I asked you, Volgoth is mine to slay he has committed great crimes against my world and- he murdered my father, my uncle and raped my aunt then ate her ALIVE; no justice must be done by the hands of those he has wrong, what I need of you is to help preserve the lives of as many of the people of these armies as possible, I want as few to die as possible because what's the point of victory if the people of Eden have lost so many, how can we call that a victory if the people we fight for lie dead in masses" Tatsumi explained, Darius smiled.
"Then you are a truly worthy of being an Emperor Tatsumi Gildenstrom, a true leader puts the lives of his people first and foremost and you are right in a war against demons and against monsters there is no point in a victory that at the price of many deaths that need not happen; you grasp the principles of leadership well we'll fight for you in this battle and at the forefront of the battle, our might will help greatly and those of my following will strive to preserve as many lives as possible, I've been in your shoes before, started from nothing and rose to power and all that time I safeguarded those I love, and strove to save the lives of as many people as possible" Darius explained then drew his sword a great Falchion and raised it in honor. "I pledge myself and my army to fight by your side and that of all free people of Eden till this battle is won, in the name of my father, my mother, myself and of the Great Dragon Shrukanaath himself I will fight we will fight the tides of evil and no matter how many times we die we'll return until the battle is won" Darius pledged. "Adora my beloved inform my forces to make ready for war we fight the traitorous demons today and tell the Dragon Ogres to mind where they step I don't want them trampling any unfortunates" Darius explained.
"Of course my dear Darius I'll make sure they get the message" Adora replied she was a long blonde haired human a beauty with blue eyes and supple curves clade in bright golden and white armor and holding a large sword with a blue blade that radiated power, she took her leave before the hosts.
"Dragon Ogres?" Tatsumi asked concerned, Darius indicated the large creatures that loomed over the rest of the army.
"Great creatures part Dragon part Ogre, massive in size as you can see some serve evil but many more serve my mother as she created their race, trouble yourself not with them they'll not harm your people demons on the other hand well you'll see tens of thousands fall to them. Also it appears my mother isn't the only deity to take interest in your cause the Dwarven gods have taken an interest and have called forth the dead of many Dwarves to fight as heavenly warriors they bring also constructs of divine metal" Darius explained and noted, Tatsumi and Durin noted a light of runes shined and hundreds of thousands of dwarves clad in armor of divine origin carrying divine axes and hammers came forth from ether and beside them great golden constructs.
"Aye the do; the Ancestors of have come! The Einherjar and the Valkyries along with the Great Golden ones forged by Grombol himself come to our aid!" Durin rejoiced. "They've only ever come forth when the hour of need was greatest not for 4000 years have they come, but the time is here for them to come once more!" Durin declared and the cries of dwarves yelling in joy were heard.
In the Imperial Palace… Volgoth sat on the Imperial throne, Izel walked into the room. "The Primus Imperator is fully armed and operation father" Izel reported.
"Excellent is it ready for battle?" Volgoth asked.
"Not yet the last of the munitions are being loaded it will take a couple hours to finish them also I've made some- adjustments to it I think you'll be impressed by the new mode I've added: Purge mode" Izel explained.
"Excellent, return to your lab my son and make ready your creations for battle our enemies have come to fight their final battle; inform Rel'Gov to ready the palace defenses and assume his post, Tatsumi will be coming soon and I'll take immense pleasure in facing him myself" Volgoth replied and Izel left the room on spidery legs. A portal opened and Valtor came out with a neutral expression. "My Lord Valtor to what do I owe this unexpected visit are you here to watch my moments of triumph?" Volgoth asked.
"No, I can do that from the safety of my palace, I came to inform you that the Phoenix Queen has taken interest and sent an army to support your enemy; its an unexpected turn of events" Valtor explained.
"Bah, I don't fear them; they'll join my enemies in defeat" Volgoth replied, Valtor grinned and laughed.
"Oh I admire you my servant, you are brave few who haven't faced a Phoenix would take such a stance well then I hope you know you are in for more than you think, they don't stay dead" Valtor replied.
"That just makes them an inconvenience besides neither do demons, so we'll be at an impasse there, how many are there?" Volgoth asked.
"200,000" Valtor explained, Volgoth grinned he had expected more.
"Good more for the slaughter, I will win, and I will destroy all those who oppose the rise of me Tar-Esh-Tavani Volgoth Ugor!" Volgoth replied.
"Excellent then, I just thought it would be nice of me to inform you, know Volgoth I care not whether you win or lose I want to see what you are able to do in a war to see your strengths and find any weaknesses you have that I'll need to correct; this is a test it doesn't matter if you fail or succeed because either way you'll have much to improve as I'll have taken your full measure, now take your steps to prepare; I'll be watching the whole affair from the safety of my infernal Palace; farewell for now my faithful servant" Valtor replied and vanished, Volgoth took a good look around the room and Rel'Gov walked in followed by Mammon and a number of other elite demons. "You summoned us?" Rel'Gov asked.
"Yes; make ready our defenses, Argardon will secure the south-west gate my foresight has allowed me to anticipate Tatsumi will attack from that direction, give orders to my son to either kill him and bring me his corpse along with those of his loved ones or die trying, as Lord Valtor said this is a test and I want to test my son's abilities against a real opponent" Volgoth explained.
"What of us my lord?" Mammon asked.
"Mammon you and Rel'Gov along with the best of our legions will stand guard at the door to the throne room; I want you deal with Tatsumi should he get that far, fail and you'll have weakened him for his battle against me; a war of attrition my subordinates a war of attrition is the war we will rage" Volgoth replied, Rel'Gov smiled.
"I relish the chance to face Tatsumi in battle, I will prove my worth against a worthy opponent" Rel'Gov replied.
"I've been waiting for a will my lord to test my might against a capable opponent; I'm looking forward to this" Mammon explained, Volgoth grinned then turned to Graal and Lorhish.
"Lorhish I want you and Graal to make yourselves ready for battle your targets are any friends and loved ones of Tatsumi when they come into this room you are to kill them" Volgoth ordered.
"Graal smash em and beat them to pulps like I did stupid guards" Graal replied, Volgoth smirked and noted the wall on which hung the Imperial Arms of the four fallen that died fighting him in defense of Makoto along with the weapons and helmets of the guardsmen who had likewise fallen in that battle; these were trophies of victory and Volgoth was keen on adding more to that wall of the throne room.
Back outside… Tatsumi took order of his elite team selected from his retinue, harem, along with Night Raid and the Jaegers and every other elite soldier in the army of all races only the best of the best were there to fight with him, 5000 in all ready for the reclamation of the Palace but Tatsumi had many more besides about 10,000 elite soldiers that had an important mission of leading those inside the shield in outward attack; it took time for him to decide who would lead his personal army in his absence and after careful deliberation it was decided that Lubbock would lead them it was an interesting choice to say the least but not a controversial one as Lubbock had more than earned his position as an Imperial Field Marshal in the Golden Dragon Army and with Yami at his side along with many other great leaders he would do well commanding the army.
The only step remaining was to commence the plan and put into action; as soon as they had neutralized the enemy forces at the south west gate Syura would open a portal to allow Tatsumi's elite force thru the shield without dropping it before the forces inside were prepared for battle he also had consulted with Esdeath who suggested finding an alternative path into the Palace to keep the main strike force concealed and allow them to attack from an unexpected angle; Esdeath suggested using the city's underground sewer and flood tunnel systems while Durin suggested Tatsumi use the Dwarven undercity beneath Melitine to attack the palace a suggestion Tatsumi took to heart but he'd have to find an entryway from the shield.
After the final preparations were made and the army was ready to march Tatsumi looked at his city now under siege as other forces now closed in around the city. "The deep breath before the plunge, it has begun, the fate of Eden hangs in the balance we must be strong, we must be brave, we must remember we why we fight" Tatsumi muttered then turned to the army behind him and rode on his raptor clad in his golden armor with his new crown proudly on his head and he drew his sword and raised it up. "Brave souls of Eden, warriors for freedom and order; I see in front of us all the same thing you all see; a host of enemies the likes of which our world hasn't seen for centuries, a foe so great that all Eden must fight against them; here in front of us all is the place of my birth the Imperial Capital City of Melitine: here is where the fate of Eden will be decided. A day may come when our world ends, but it is not this day! I shall not be tomorrow or any day in the lives of any of us or of our children's great grandchildren's, that day is millions of years off! Today we Fight! A Hour of blood, of smitten foes, of broken skulls and shattered homes when this battle is won and today will be that day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on the face of Eden this day we will fight, we are no longer nations divided no we are the people of Eden! WE WILL FIGHT! And we will triumph! Now everyone go forth and vanquish every demon avenge the countless souls that have died to the dark ambitions of Volgoth over years we will have Justice and we will have Freedom! To WAR!" Tatsumi spoke giving the most heroic speech he'd ever given so far in his life, it was a rallying cry and the battle cries of many went up the yells of nations from all over Eden of all races that were mustered. "FOR EDEN!" Tatsumi yelled and that cry wrung loud and everyone proclaimed. "Forth to war!" Tatsumi declared and turned his steed toward the city and raised his sword.
"You here that lads we're on lets give these demon bastards a good hammering: Yanad Dur-Anu!" High King Durin barked and the call of "Khazuk" went out from the Dwarves. "Barak-Khazad!" He boomed and that was followed by "Khazad-Ai Menu"
"Send forth the doom seekers!" Tatsumi ordered and the first ranks charged forwards these were those who had chosen to die in battle; dwarven slayers, crazed human fanatics of many desperate faiths who believed only death could purify them of their sins, Ice constructs conjured by Esdeath and the droids that could be rebuilt along with the newly arrived divine reinforcements who simply couldn't stay dead after giving the first line enough time to charge the main force advanced; the tides of soldiers moved toward Melitine outside however a sea of demons awaited their numbers were great but this front force was not the main bulk of the demonic army and thus was outnumbered but that didn't stop them from throwing forward their numbers looming over them all however was a great monster that flew upwards and towards Tatsumi.
"Glaurang: Armor of God!" Tatsumi declared and his body was covered by a golden set of armor, ornate and decorated with runes and glyphs, from it long metal strips protruded to catch the strikes of enemies and from the back a cloak of pure metal protected Tatsumi, Tatsumi strapped his shield to his arm and his Four Champions dawned their full Teigu armor, the only thing that could be seen were their faces but those were protected by a field of energy and the full power of their armor remained untapped, all Tatsumi's protectors we likewise arrayed in either Teigu armor or armor comparable in strength with even the least among his force clad in full Aetherium plate armor that the Dwarves had made for them, their weapons were among the strongest on Eden and no foe could stand before the onslaught of those arms.
Still however the monster descended stopping the advance of Tatsumi and the main army. "Halt!" the monster boomed. The monster loomed over the army about the height of a Dwarven Sentinel the demonic monster had piercing yellow eyes, a draconian skull with large horns, clad in black armor and with bat like wings he stood erect on tall human-like legs but the feet were more akin to those of a dragon, a long red tail protruded from his back and his hands were like unto claws with one holding a massive sword with a dark purple blade none save those that served Asha had ever seen a Vorpal blade and it was an intimidating sight. "I am General Argardon Ugor, son of Volgoth Ugor and keeper of the Gates of New Yeenkar, I am also the supreme general of the sixth legion of House Abaddon! Quake with fear mortals which amongst your number is the pretender Emperor so that I may slay him and bring his ruined corpse to my father" The demon or rather Pit Lord asked.
"I'm him and I'm not afraid but you said you were the son of Volgoth who are you really?" Tatsumi asked.
"Your voice has changed but I know what Valtor has made you brother" Syura shouted and all his siblings looked at him in confusion.
"So Syura you show yourself again, father was most disappointed when he found you had not only cheated death but had sworn allegiance to the betrayer Queen Asha: you denied yourself the rightful reward for your actions" Argardon replied.
"Reward, I hardly call being tormented by demons, violated by them, a reward and if that was a reward then I seriously think what I did to earn it was repugnant vile and cruel and well deserved, I got a second chance but you didn't instead you became a monster Eugene" Syura replied all of his siblings were shocked at this revelation the Pit Lord grinned.
"Eugene, the name of a feeble human, I am Argardon, I was once that weak lay about but Lord Valtor shaped me into something more, if you hadn't died this could have easily been you instead Syura but no you died too soon and suffered and then you cheated Lord Valtor of his just do by the actions of whore Asha" Argardon replied, then a large bolt of lightning struck him and he roared.
"Nobody calls my mother a whore and gets away with it" Darius remarked coming up with his forces.
"I talk not to your spawn of the Great Betrayer I talk to those who were once my family but are my family no more: Volgoth is my father and I will serve my father no matter what comes!" Argardon replied having taken a serious hit but was recovering quickly.
"I never expected one of my siblings to fall so far!" Valdis shouted and Argardon replied.
"Ah Valdis, still self-righteous and high and mighty as ever, you know I long contemplated putting you in your place and so did father but that soul of a failure Honest kept him from killing you or any of us for so long! No more Honest is now trapped and now, father Volgoth devoured him from the inside and his soul is trapped and long he resists but still he delays the inevitable perhaps seeing the lifeless bodies of all of his offspring will break him once and for all!" Argardon retorted.
"Eugene why? You wouldn't do such a thing you're our brother even if you've changed!" Lilianna exclaimed; Argardon looked at her with disgust.
"Oh Lilianna as innocent as ever, always believing in others even when they are clearly beyond redemption, Eugene is dead I am Argardon now and for eternity and while he may have harbored love for you as a brother I have no such inhibitions perhaps you though may be spared father would enjoy raping you that may break Honest more than seeing your lifeless corpse!" Argardon roared, Tatsumi lept into the air dragon wings in flight, he was joined quickly by the four Rakshasas.
"You'll have to go thru me first!" Tatsumi yelled.
"Bring it then mortal fool!" Argardon replied and raised his Vorpal Sword
(Song Begin: Radioactive: Imagine Dragons)
Tatsumi raised his shield and then his Halberd Hadrous in the other hand as he could one hand the halberd. "Shem's Burning gaze!" Tatsumi declared and a blast of light magic manifested from his crown and struck Argardon searing him and causing pain as the demon lept up spreading his wings but before he could take to the sky he found his fight rooted as Syura had bound them with Nets of Amyntak at this he and his siblings charged Teigus drawn and all of them unleashed their might slashing at their fallen brother they were wroth in their strikes driven by hatred for what Volgoth and Valtor had done to one of their own kin and the only thing for it was to avenge the man he was by slaying the monster he had become; Lillianna was ferocious as Leone in the attacks her angry face rivaling that of Aria's demon fact. Tatsumi then noted this attack and dived towards the demon who swung his vorpal sword, the blade was caught on Tatsumi's shield which robbed the weapon of both its momentum and kept Tatsumi from being knocked back, the four Rakshasas then attacked the sword arm. "Blade of Urannon!" Tatsumi declared and a lightning bolt struck his halberd was electrified and Tatsumi launched bolts of lightning at the demon, at the same time the troops who had been intimidated now unloaded their ranged weapons on the demon the rounds didn't do much but they did keep him from moving, at the same time Spear and Esdeath attacked with bolts of lightning and barrages of ice and Sheele began unleashing strikes from her staff before drawing Extase, the sacred scissor soon met the demonic armor and wrent it. Tatsumi then moved towards Argardon's skull, the demon attempted to breath fire and swung his Halberd, Tatsumi dodged the blade and charged towards the skull of Argardon and like the hammer of Thor flung at a giant struck true driving the axe of the Halberd into Argardon's skull in between the vile yellow eyes Argardon shrieked but Tatsumi drew his blade out and blinded the monster at the same time Leone had shattered the armor with ferocious strikes of her Hammer empowered by Lionelle's trump card and Lillianna drove Rospera Grandus into Argardon's heart, this alone would have killed him but Tatsumi drove a charged halberd strike of Hadrous empowered with light magic and lightning with a two handed thrust thru the skull back into the brain at this Argardon writhed before dissolving as had many demons before.
Behind the Fallen Argardon the legions of abominations held back for this challenge of blades surged forwards towards the lines Tatsumi dived downward followed by his Rakshasas and then signaled a charge, the lines met and a great number of demons fell before the courage of Eden's host and Tatsumi didn't bother counting how many demons he slew that didn't matter as even though he tore, stabbed and hewed down many of their number those losses didn't matter as the demons would simply return to Hell and he had a strong suspicion these exact same demons he was killing would return to keep fighting until the day was won for either side.
(Song End)
In about a half-hour Tatsumi's army had made enough progress that the demons had receded as they had taken enough losses to decide it would be better to fight Tatsumi's Army inside the city; at this development Tatsumi took no time to rest and moved towards the next stage of the plan, after saying his farewells to Lubbock not knowing if the two would see each other again alive and breathing, before giving him his orders and departing thru the south-west gate, surprisingly he met no resistance as apparently the demons had withdrawn further in, though that wasn't really the case as Tatsumi would find out afterwards the army of Volgoth had been forced to fight towards the East and the North as the largest military forces brought themselves to bear and the Giants and Atlanteans especially were making the demons' lives an even bigger living hell then their home, seeing the burnt-out houses and buildings that Tatsumi had only a few months ago seen full life hurt him and made him have more hatred for Volgoth, how many of his people had died? Millions of them, hundreds of Millions, the city had a thriving population from census data of 700,000 million inhabitants at last check and now goodness knows how many of them were dead, well he wouldn't allow it to continue.
After some time Tatsumi and his elite force arrived at the shield, Tatsumi noted the contrast between the ruined buildings and the inside which was still thriving with life but he noted a barricade of troops; Syura opened a portal thru the barrier and Tatsumi and his forces marched in, the troops didn't open fire as Tatsumi had made sure to have Syura send a message thru teleportation to them, the troops saluted and let Tatsumi pass thru some even filled in line with his military formation. After a couple blocks Tatsumi came to a familiar place and noted a rather familiar building, it was the recruiting office he had seen when he first arrived in the city and been booted out of. "Halt" Tatsumi ordered and everyone stopped. "Give me a few minutes I need to see an old friend" Tatsumi explained, the Four Rakshasas and everyone around him looked at him in confusion.
"Old friend?" Esdeath asked.
"Just the person who set me out on this journey in the first place, if he's still there I think he's do a surprise" Tatsumi replied dropping his armor and returning his attire to normal he then walked in accompanied by his protectors, Najenda, Aria, Spear, Seryu, Sayo and Esdeath along with Sheele and Mine, his cousins too and his mother.
Inside the recruiting office a rather bored man looked at a fresh-faced recruit, a young woman, for the local Golden Dragon Army force in Melitine who had just finished filling out her paperwork. "There you're good to go, take your papers and head to the barracks and take them to the captain at the gate he'll let you in and see you sorted" the Recruiter an older man explained.
"Thank you sir I'm looking forward to fighting for the Emperor" the young woman about 17 replied, she had short brown hair in two buns on either side of her head, she was attractive, curvy, brawny, and had grey eyes and wore modest attire. She turned to notice the door open and Tatsumi walk in with his entourage. The recruiter didn't glance up. "You've got company I'll be off" the women stated and moved to allow Tatsumi to approach the desk though she didn't leave the room as someone caught her attention, the man didn't look up.
"Welcome to the recruiting station for his majesty army don't mind my name it's not important, name and age?" The Recruiter greeted without again looking up from his paperwork and grabbing out a set of blanks.
"Tatsumi Gildenstrom, age 18" Tatsumi greeted and the recruiter actually looked up, he didn't forget a voice, or a name and he took one look at the face of the man in front of him and was shocked.
"It's you- ah- the smart mouthed punk, I threw you out what are you doing here and what are you wearing?" The recruiter remarked peeved and annoyed.
"How dare you address your Emperor like that!" Mez shouted banging Impa's fury on the ground and the recruiter then took stock yes it was the same man he threw out all those months ago but well that man now stood in imperial garb in golden attire worthy of an Emperor with a Dragonscale cloak and he- was the Emperor: the Golden Dragon Emperor, the man whom he had been recruiting soldiers for now on a month and a half, he never forgot a face to make sure he didn't let in people that had been rejected, but now here he was he thought they'd never meet again and he- was now the ruler of the Empire at this his face now was filled with fear he came out from behind his desk and bowed fully to the ground not even looking up.
"Emperor Tatsumi, your majesty, my most humble apologies I take back all the cruel words I've ever said about you, every single one of them, I'm sorry for throwing you out and I'll personally inform those that dared touch your royal person in such a manner that they are being discharged from service; oh I submit myself to your justice" The Recruiter stammered out afraid.
"Rise" Tatsumi ordered then looked the afraid old man in the eyes. "I've just come to show you how far I've, come you were right I was a smart-mouthed punk some country bumpkin that didn't know his place in the world and though himself better than other people just because of his skills, I know better now, in fact if you hadn't thrown me out I'd have never become who I am now and we'd all likely be dead and Volgoth would be ruling the planet unopposed, but that's not what happened you started my quest to make something of myself and well I don't think I'd have ever found out who I truly was, in fact I'd have never gotten the wonderful new family I have, for that I thank you, I grant you clemency for your words and on top of that don't discharge those troops they were just following orders and didn't know better; keep up the good work and don't let that get to you; oh and my wife Sayo has some words for you" Tatsumi replied and turned to Sayo who walked up to the old man.
"Thanks for the boot, I met my best friend thanks to you and reunited with my beloved Tatsumi, we're happily married now; oh and I told you I'd make something of myself and I have, and I'll be making myself an amazing mother soon enough" Sayo remarked and placed a hand on her belly, then held Esdeath's hand.
"Keep up the work, but ready yourself for battle, the time is nigh enough at hand when everyone here will have to fight to save our world" Esdeath remarked, the Recruiter took one look at the Empire's finest and gasped then noticed Najenda and a few others, then sighed as he had been in the room with the Empire's greatest heroes and now leaders.
"I'll do as order your majesties whatever you need of your humble servant is at your beck and call" The recruiter replied.
"Good now I've an order for you, accept all applicants going forward for the rest of this war, I need anyone to fight in this battle every demon we kill is one we stop from killing our people if anyone is willing to fight for their home that is enough" Tatsumi ordered, the recruiter nodded and returned to his desk Tatsumi turned to notice the young woman who hadn't left and to his surprise was talking with Sheele.
Both women noticed him and turned towards him, the young woman bowed out of respect, Tatsumi raised his hand for her to rise and she did so. "Your Imperial Majesty: Recruit Mizu at your service, I was just talking to an old friend and apologizing for a mistake I made" the young woman greeted and Tatsumi was confused.
"I'm sorry Tatsumi let me explain" Sheele remarked and then explained that Mizu had been a friend when she had arrived in the city but also explained something further she was the sister of her late first love and had been dating her brother's killer who was- well abusive, Sheele had killed him and Mizu didn't want any more to do with Sheele after that though she never reported the incident as Sheele had saved her life and she had soon regrated chasing her away.
"And I was surprised to hear all these years later that Sheele had become an Empress and- well she was right I found out a few days later that my brother had indeed been murdered by my- ex, and tried to find Sheele but I've never managed to until now, I'm sorry for my actions I'd like to be your friend again Sheele if you want to be" Mizu explained Sheele hugged her.
"Of course, I'll be your friend again, I forgave your harsh words not to long after I heard them besides in my line of work friends are few and far between" Sheele explained, both hugged.
"I'll fight by your side my Emperor I know a good deal about sword play and how to work a gun, I learned after my ex's death how to fend for myself I wasn't going to let myself be beaten and thrashed about by anyone ever again" Mizu explained, Tatsumi grinned.
"Welcome aboard and to my entourage" Tatsumi replied, Mizu looked at him enchanted by his looks.
"If you want to marry him feel free to have at him, any girl is welcome in his harem" Sheele whispered, Mizu grinned.
"Can I be more than just a soldier under your command" Mizu asked not even being subtle with her flirting, Tatsumi nodded kissed her hand an turned to leave, Mizu followed him.
Tatsumi then stopped at a pub for a bite to eat a familiar establishment as he noticed the Bartender who looked at him in shock especially when the Imperial leader and his protectors had come in to eat; the Bartender apologized for throwing Tatsumi out on the streets months ago and Tatsumi accepted his apology and explained with Aria holding onto his arm that him not taking pity allowed him to meet his beloved wife to be, the Bartender offered Tatsumi his best on the house and Tatsumi accepted and left with a full belly and a drive towards to Grundewick Manor. Tatsumi made other stops along the way people rejoiced at his coming, the women kept looking at him and Tatsumi noted a harem expansion as a result, he also stopped by a military station and saw to getting Mizu equipped with the best and put her under Sheele's command.
The most touching events happened when he arrived at Bols house accompanied by his mother along with Aria and Esdeath he found Bols out in the garden along with his wife and daughter; Logue took one look and shouted. "Tatsumi!" and ran to hug him; Tatsumi picked her up and hugged her, she had grown a bit bigger and was now a bit taller he also noted Kije's baby bump was more developed and Bols didn't have his mask on for once, Bols regarded him with a smile.
"You're back, I'm glad to see you still in one piece, Logue has missed you and asks me every day what I thought about you, and I kept telling her he's alright, and is that cloak actually made of Dragon scales and leather? I've seen some imitation stuff before but is that the real deal?" Bols asked.
"Yes, Dwarven tailoring and I killed the dragon the leather and scales came from myself" Tatsumi explained, Bols was not surprised but was impressed at this point nothing Tatsumi could do would surprise him as Tatsumi was full of them.
"I've been holding down the fort for you, not much happened but we did have a cultist problem and an even bigger rat problem, rodents of unusual size I can't say I believed the old tales about the Skaven until saw for myself, Ieyasu killed a big warlord one on one he's not stopped showing off the head at the manor and after that the whole place rallied and hunted every remaining rat down; I'd wager there aren't any of the rodents left" Bols explained.
"Good I'd have finished them off out of habit, I hate Skaven especially after having fought those vermin, though the Dwarves hate them more" Tatsumi agreed.
"Aye that we do, those rats deserve every loss they take" Gala replied, Bols looked at her in surprise and at about two dozen more dwarves in Imperial heraldry too.
"A real-life Dwarf well I'll be darned I've never expected to see one; what have you been up to Tatsumi since you left" Bols remarked.
"Too long of a story to tell, I'll tell you later when the world isn't in peril of destruction provided we're both alive at the end" Tatsumi replied, Bols grinned. "Oh, by the way Bols this woman next to me is my mother Akame, say hi Mom" Tatsumi explained.
"Hello, as my son explained I'm Akame, dowager Empress of the late Isshin II and Tatsumi's mother" Akaa explained.
"Well I'll be I never expected your mother to still be alive what with all Volgoth has been doing, nice to meet you Akame, though I'll note that there are now two Akames in your life Tatsumi" Bols replied both Tatsumi's mother and the Rakshasa laughed at that. "Need me to fight by your side?" Bols asked.
"No Bols I need you to keep your family safe, I'll be keeping mine safe and they need you to do the same" Tatsumi replied. "Now I'll be off, but before I go I'll leave of couple my Dwarven friends here to help keep any demons of your lawn, Nar and Thornbun I need you to stay here oh and keep that flower garden safe Logue's favorite flowers are there and keep an eye on Logue" Tatsumi explained and ordered, two dwarves clad and Aetherium armor wielding mattocks made of the same metal stepped up greeting Bols with their names and "at your service and your family's" then assumed a defensive posture.
From then on Tatsumi stopped at Umatora said hello to the Theater crew mainly the Dazzling Goddesses who informed him that all fourteen of them were pregnant with his children, he also stopped by a few other places saying hello to all familiar faces but also stopping at barracks and informing troops to make ready for battle at one of these places a Cavalry barracks he found of all people his father-in-law Constantine, in the armor of a Cavalry men and with his saber from above the fireplace, Aria rushed up and hugged her father.
"Daddy!" Aria shouted and was joined in the hug by Fal, Air and Luna, Constantine grinned. "What are you doing here and in battle gear?" Aria asked.
"I thought I'd come out of retirement for one last battle, these valiant souls need a leader and I may be old Aria but I'm not past my prime I can still fight and I'm not the only old veteran who has taken up arms; besides there is no sense in sitting back when everyone who can do their part is doing so" Constantine explained, Aria frowned.
"Please Daddy you don't have to do this" Aria explained shedding tears of fear.
"But I do Aria, it's my duty as an Imperial citizen besides, I'm not long for this world as you know and I'd rather die in battle fighting for my beloved nation and my family in the saddle then in bed with this cancer" Constantine explained. "Also your mother is doing the same and just about everyone else has shown up, Guarry and a number of our family's most loyal have come with me as have a few old friends of mine and their children; we'll give those demons what for by Great Zardock's Ghost" Constantine explained, then looked at Tatsumi. "It's up to you though your majesty if you wish it I'll stay here and protect people but I'll not stand by and watch in the Empire's hour of need" Constantine explained.
"Constantine, thanks if you want to your part do so, these men and woman need a good leader and I can't think of any better, you give the demons hell and yes I'm aware that's an ironic statement so go get your men in order you ride soon" Tatsumi explained, Constantine drew his sword and knelt, Tatsumi bid him rise. "Ride to war and ride to stop the world's end; fight to the Valtor's front door if you have to" Tatsumi ordered; his father-in-law smiled; Aria rushed forward to hug him.
"Please come back alive daddy" Aria said looking him in the eyes.
"I will my daughter, that you can guarantee; don't worry about me, you've your own part to play in this battle I can tell that is near at hand, make sure you have a fresh supply of battlefield medicine there is no telling when it will be needed, your mother's preparations in that matter saved my life on many an occasion" Constantine replied then readied his steed and turned to a contingent of soldiers that had just come out. "Men and Women of the Empire; your Emperor has given us our orders; we are to ride forth and purge our beloved city of the demons, we're to give them greater hell then the one they call home and if we have to we'll fight to Valtor's front door itself and if need be break it down and run that bastard thru too!" Constantine shouted out the swords were drawn, and cheers went up; Syura stepped in front of the troops with his staff.
"In Asha's name I bless you brave souls, the heavenly host of the Eternity Queen fights with us, 200,000 of her most loyal have come forth and the Dwarven Gods likewise have sent forth their sacred solders; we fight by the divines themselves in her name I bless you with might that each of you may slay a hundred thousand demons and not die: I bless you with the power of the Eternity Queen's soldiers, fight by them fight for freedom, fight for order and justice fight for the Golden Dragon Empire and above all fight for Eden and all the innocents thereof who yet live and for those who have been killed by this evil! Fight and Live! Life! Ride to war and to stop the World's Ending!" Syura spoke and more rejoicing went up; Tatsumi then ordered the secondary contingent a much larger force to link up and rally the troops; Nymeria was in charge of these veterans and would along with Constantine and number of Esdeath's subordinate commanders chiefly General Defour and Shadow Commander Cena would lead a counter thrust; Tatsumi would give them about an hour to rally the troops for the push and to allocate rearguards to protect the city's last safe zone from the inevitable counter attack that would come when the shield was put down to allow for the sally, as soon as that happened the troops would have about ten minutes to get out before the shield had to be reactivated to prevent any further attacks.
About twenty minutes later Tatsumi stopped by Jaeger HQ which was now the military HQ of the Golden Dragon Army in Melitine and spoke to Wave who informed him that preparations had been made and battle hardened veterans from cleansing the undercity of Skaven were ready to go to war Tatsumi gave him the orders and Wave nodded, kissing his wife Sheera and then dawning Grand Chariot, both him and Tatsumi hugged as friends then wished each other the best. "Give Volgoth what he's got coming, and make sure you give him extra for Sten and Ibara those guys may have gotten the ending they would have wanted but they didn't deserve what he did to them" Wave told Tatsumi. Tatsumi replied "That I will and for everyone else Volgoth has killed but especially my father, uncle and especially my aunt Meko that sweet woman I never got to meet but would have loved me like my own mother regardless" at this Wave grinned and dawned the helmet of Grand Chariot and then proceeded to make ready for battle.
Tatsumi noted the readiness, soldiers and ordinary people alike, though this latter group were few as virtually everyone who could use a weapon had conscripted themselves into Eden's Last Hope as the army was called by the people, knelt and saluted him as he as his force past as he headed for Grundewick Manor. It was there that Tatsumi was greeted by Ieyasu and Angela, but also by a good partition of the household maids who had swollen bellies courtesy of Tatsumi, he blushed at this fact, Ieyasu rushed up and hugged him.
"Hey Tatsumi, good to see you alive and in one piece, by the way you look the part of the Emperor even more now; the crown is cool" Ieyasu greeted then noticed Sayo. "Hey sis!" Ieyasu replied and hugged her affectionately, Sayo returned the hug and both expressed how glad they were to see the other alive and with all their limbs still attached to their body, Ieyasu then turned to Tatsumi. "Ok buddy I need to show you the new addition to the mantle" Ieyasu replied.
"I don't have time Ieyasu we need to stop Volgoth you can show it to me after Volgoth's beaten and everyone he's killed is avenged" Tatsumi replied, Ieyasu shrugged frowned and then recovered his composure.
"Oh you know I've been doing some thinking about that; you know you'd be in for a slog if you intend on fighting to the Palace above ground and there are a lot of demons by the front gate I got a good look from the Clock Tower and huge demons, big ones too like that big one that Volgoth sent to the gate earlier and I'll bet you already killed, point being there are too many enemies and you'll be exhausted by the time you get there but I've got a plan" Ieyasu explained, Tatsumi grinned.
"Does it involve disguising ourselves as demons?" Tatsumi asked, Roxanna grinned at Tatsumi, Tatsumi blushed knowing what she had revealed about a week ago, that she was secretly a Tiefling and that she had cut a deal with Khaneesha to become who she was.
"No, no, no, nothing that idiotic, besides all the Sulphur in the city had been exhausted for firearm purposes, I'll show you or rather Angela will show you, only one catch the route inside we discovered isn't suited for any army so you'll have to take a smaller group inside" Ieyasu explained, Tatsumi then followed Ieyasu and Angela who led him and his protectors to the den where Angela then brought out of large paper, a map; the work was somewhat crudely drawn but was intelligible.
"We acquired this from a Skaven warren while leading expeditions to clear out the depths, it's a map of all their tunnels underneath Melitine, we've also compare it to existing maps of the city's sewers and flood tunnels along with a few maps we found in an old Dwarven archive and we discovered a secret passage to the Palace" Angela explained.
"Wow, all this is under Melitine?" Tatsumi replied looking at the map.
"Yep, of course a few tunnels have collapsed over the years but the Dwarven ones above the Skaven ones and the cities own flood control and sewer systems are intact, I don't think there will be any demons along this route they'll be busy up fighting the battle" Ieyasu explained.
"What about the Skaven?" Tatsumi asked not liking the idea of fighting the Ratmen AGAIN.
"Wiped out, we cleared out all the ones in our area and Volgoth's demons were busy clearing out the rest from the city's underground networks he wasn't happy when his cult inside the shield was wiped out by the rat bastards" Ieyasu explained, Angela gave him a dirty look and Ieyasu immediately blushed and retracted the last line to avoid getting a bar of soap in his mouth.
"Good I've had enough fighting those monsters to last me a whole lifetime" Tatsumi replied, Ieyasu looked at him in surprise.
"You fought them too?" Ieyasu asked surprised.
"The Dwarves had me clear out a hold of them, it was an absolute slog and bloodbath, you know for every hundred I killed I think a thousand more came out; it was like fighting demons in a way" Tatsumi replied, Ieyasu noted that feeling.
"Good actually because it prepared you for what our real enemy is capable of; and trust me those rats were nasty here too" Ieyasu explained, then took a good look over the map Tatsumi noted the paths; and Umber along with Dwarni were brought in to examine the dwarven maps that Angela brought out too, Umber grinned when she noted something.
"Ah here: a sure path to the Palace if ever there was one; the Hidden Road; right here, the door is hidden but ah here words of opening 'Amgi Hamul Vaka Roda' which means the main road is too dangerous in our tongue that'll lead right about here" Umber explained and pointed to a location near to the palace in the City sewer system, that incidentally noted a Skaven passageway.
"Well it looks like we've got our way in; I'm going to give the news to the troops and- well select the team going with me" Tatsumi explained and left to do just that.
