Chapter 32 : Deductions.
Earth orbit
Gerel was more and more furious. Her armies were in difficulty and retreated before the earthlings. Every day she received news of rebellions, defeats and lost territories and this made her even more angry. Now she was sitting in an armchair, glaring at planet Earth.
No good ... Not at all!
She think.
Within a week the enemy forces took the lead, when they were on the defensive before ... How is this possible?
She wondered.
She adjusted himself better in the armchair and began to think. It was obvious that a man with great tactical and strategic skills, a true military genius, led the operations. The ace in the sleeve of the earthlings. Whoever it was must have been on the field recently, since at the beginning her armies had had an easy life to subdue half of the world. But who was he? And where was he hiding? She had to find out, before the invasion ended with a hole in the water. She had to find him ... And kill him. The main problem was the vastness of the planet, which allowed him to hide anywhere: in a forest, on a mountain range, perhaps in an underwater base. Even excluding the occupied territories a large portion of the planet remained to be scanned.
Let us try to reason ...
Tinkering with the central computer, she activated an interactive map of the planet. Clicking on it zoomed in on Europe.
The first victorious offensives started there. Now, if I wanted to push back the enemies I would start from the area where my headquarters is located. Ergo, if my calculations are correct the enemy command must be somewhere in Europe, certainly far from inhabited centers. I'll send a couple of drones to find it.
She smiled wickedly.
And at that point I will take the field personally.
Weiswolf, 2.15 pm
"We have just received the news that the offensive in European Russia has been a success, now the front line is attested on the Urals." Esdeath stated.
"Perfect. As always, my strategy proved to be successful. "Lelouch commented, satisfied.
"Now the Siberian front opens, not at all easy due to the notoriously cold winter climate. Moreover, unlike our soldiers, cyborgs do not suffer from the cold."
"That can wait. First we have to reconquer the Middle East, with the vital oil reserves."
"Right, our war machine cannot depend only on the sakuradite deposits." Cornelia intervened.
Meanwhile, Leila continued to stare at the young ex-sovereign with hatred.
Bastard ... It's his fault that I've lost all my loved ones!
Start flashback
Masovia, 1 September 2026, 19:39 hours
Leila was walking in the woods, still lit by sunlight (fortunately the days were still quite long). She held the sword of Ayano and occasionally looked around. Apparently everything was in order: the birds were chirping, the wind was blowing, and in the area calm reigned. Besides her also Akito and Ashley (plus her companions) had gone out on patrol to spot possible dangers, even if up to now the thing turned out to be superfluous. She was totally unaware of what was happening in the world, and honestly she didn't care. She was happy ... Living in contact with nature, with what he could very well define a family, far from wars and violence, was the most he could wish for. He looked up at the sky, smiling. Suddenly, however, her attention was drawn to some heavy steps from the east. Suspicious, and cautiously, he headed in that direction until, hidden behind a tree, she saw a military column formed by Knightmare and infantry heading in the opposite direction to her. She understood immediately that they were British soldiers, from the Frame model.
They are headed to the camp ... I must give the alarm!
She thought, alarmed.
She was about to start but someone kicked her in the back, making her fall to the ground and then fall on her, immobilizing her on the ground. Turning around, she saw a British soldier with short black hair, red eyes and an impassive expression.
"Leila Breisgau, right?" He asked.
She remained silent.
"So the emperor saw it right ... You're still alive. Then our expedition is not fruitless. "
"What does Charles want from me?"
"Charles? He's been dead for years now. Now it's his son Lelouch who leads the whole world. "
"The world?"
He looked at her with pity.
"You see that you have cut the bridges with civilization ... After the death of the previous emperor Lelouch vi Britannia ascended the throne, and in September 2018, with a lightning war and thanks to the FLEIJA he unified the world under the imperial flag." He explained.
"How did you find out I was alive?"
"Deduction ... Your body was never shown to the public, and when it sent spies to Weiswolf they found the fortress substantially intact, except for some signs of the battle. Ergo, you had to be alive, despite the lies told by Smilas. "
"What do you want to do to me?"
"This will be the emperor to decide. In the meantime we could have some fun ... "he said, staring at her intently.
In response, Leila nudged him on the face.
Sore, the boy put his hands to the injured party. The blonde wriggled out of her grip, then sprang to her feet and kicked him in the face and then fled. She absolutely had to warn the others or it would be trouble.
Go ahead, blonde ... You'll find a nice surprise when you arrive.
The soldier thought, smiling sadistically.
He rose to his feet and began to run in turn, in the same direction where his prey had headed.
Leila ran as fast as she could, she had to reach the camp and tell everyone to escape, they couldn't compete with an entire regiment, which was supported by frames. She would not allow her friends something bad to happen, at the cost of giving her life for them. When she reached her destination, however, she saw that it had come too late. The camp was already in the hands of the British, counted as many as 11 soldiers, certainly a small group in advance. There was no trace of her friends.
Damn ... What did they do to Ayano and the others? Have they taken them prisoner? Or maybe killed? In both cases they will pay dearly!
Furious, clutched the sword with both hands and left for the attack.
The first to die was a soldier who was leaning against the cart, who slaughtered without mercy, causing him to collapse on the ground. The other 10 had the same fate: Leila cut them down one by one. Strangely, none of them tried to shoot her; some tried to flee in terror, others tried to block it with their bare hands, but ended up torn apart. When she was finished she was panting, covered in blood from head to toe and staring hatefully at a dying soldier, with short black hair and blue eyes. This she said, with tears in her eyes:
"Leila ... Why did you do this to us? We thought you our friend ... "
"What the hell are you saying?" She asked, confused.
After a few moments the image of the soldier dissolved, leaving in her place that of Ayano. On seeing her, Leila was shocked. After a while the young Japanese exhaled her last breath. Leila, stunned, looked around: she was surrounded by the corpses of her friends: Ayano, Yukiya, Ryo, Anou, the gypsies ... They were all dead. And it was she who killed them. She fell to her knees as her eyes filled with tears.
What have I done ... What have I done!
Suddenly she uttered a heart-rending scream that tore the air, then burst into tears. She remained there, among her victims, for an indefinite time, until he was joined by Akito and Ashley. When he looked up she saw that they were both looking at her in shock.
"Leila ... What have you done?" The first asked, horrified by the massacre committed by his lover.
"Akito ..."
The second one instead approached her and grabbed her by the hair and stared at her with a look of pure hatred.
"Damn bitch! Why did you kill them? "He asked, furious.
"I-I ..."
"REPLY!"
"I deserve my geass." A third voice intervened.
They all turned and saw a British soldier heading towards them. Leila recognized him immediately: it was the same one he had met earlier.
"Thank you from the imperial army, you saved us the trouble." He said, mocking.
The blonde didn't reply, the other two stared at him strangely.
"Did you really think you could do all this by yourself? To stand up to 11 trained British soldiers and shoot them down? So much for presumption! But your friends, people who loved you and hesitated to hit you, is another story. "
"So it was you .. You hypnotized me with the geass!"
"Exact. His Majesty Lelouch in person instructed me to take part in this expedition against you. "
"You're a Japanese, aren't you?" Akito asked.
"Sergeant Itachi Namikaze, to serve you ..."
He could not finish speaking, because suddenly Leila cut his throat. The boy slumped to the ground, while the blonde continued to hit him with ferocity.
"BASTARD! FOR YOUR FAULT I LOST EVERYONE! I HATE YOUUUU! "She shouted, furious.
She continued like this for five minutes, raging on the lifeless soldier, before being blocked by Akito.
"Leila, that's enough! We have to leave, the British are coming! "
"Did you see them too?"
"Exact. There are many ... "
"I saw them too ..." Leila intervened, her voice broken with tears.
"Come on, let's go!" Her lover spurred her on.
"Go you."
"What are you saying, Ashley?"
"Akito, you need someone to act as a bait, to allow you to escape. And I'm the only one left, since my companions have been captured. I will depose them. "
"If you stay here they will kill you!"
"I couldn't live anyway, knowing you didn't make it! Hurry, go! "
Although reluctantly Akito nodded. He took Leila by the arm, still shaken by what he had just done, and ran off with her.
End flashback
I'll make you pay Lelouch ... I swear. Ayano, Ryo, Yukiya ... I will avenge them all!
Leila thought, furious.