(A New Distortion has begun. Let the path towards salvation light the way forward for all to see.)

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Bold + Italics = Japanese Conversations

Distortion 19

The Cold Otsunian winter blew as hard as it could through the recently reactivated NOL base. The NOL soldiers were trying to huddle themselves up to any heaters that they could find as several troops were searching the abandoned buildings for supplies they could use to last an extended campaign in Otsu. Inside the old NOL building, power had been restored and the Zero Squadron had taken one of the old office rooms for their own to handle their own operations in.

Tsubaki herself was managing all of this as she had a list she was using to check on the state of their supplies. "So what is the current state of our food supply Tsubaki?" Meifang questioned, leaning on the office door as Tsubaki scanned the final details before coming to her conclusion. "We have enough food and water to last here. The issue right now is heating. The Otsunians made sure to destroy the heater units so our troops will have to make due with the limited heaters we got." Tsubaki said as Meifang rubbed her head.

"We can feed our troops. But if they are huddled up trying to stay warm then we are going to burn through more of our food in the process." Meifang mumbled as Tsubaki nodded her head. "My suggestion to the current heating problem is to seize the wooden belongings of these criminals and use flame ars magus to form small pits of fire to assist with warming up the base. We will need to dedicate a team to seize all of the wood but we should have enough for us to completely seize the rest of Otsu back from these criminals." Tsubaki suggested.

"That will work. I'll leave the rest of the organizing to you then." Meifang said as Tsubaki cleared her throat, prompting that there was more for Meifang to be notified about. "I would also like to ask about how we will handling the defense of our guest?" Tsubaki questioned as Meifang tapped her chin before realizing who Tsubaki was talking about. "You mean Relius Clover. Well I was planning on leaving the man to his own devices and not really caring." Meifang said, shrugging her shoulders a bit as Tsubaki thought about it.

"If that is the case, may I also handle his security detail? We might as well try to make his visit here as comfortable as possible. And while he may be able to defend himself, we shouldn't be overexerting him unnecessarily if we can avoid it." Tsubaki suggested as Meifang thought about it. "You know Major, you don't have to be pushing yourself like this. You've reached where you wanted. You don't get any bonus points for overachieving." Meifang clarified as Tsubaki nodded her head.

"I understand that very well Commander. But as a member of a Duodecim, I must hold myself to a higher standard set by my predecessors. Please allow me to do this along with my current duties." Tsubaki asked as Meifang rubbed her forehead a bit. This was one of the few things she hated to deal with. Overachievers. "That's fine by me. But if you are going to be doing that, the least you can do is let me handle the whole heat situation we got right now. Share the load equally, not this unbalanced crap you're trying to suggest. My orders."

Tsubaki was about to oppose Meifang's suggestion but when she said it was her orders, Tsubaki was forced to accept that Meifang was not going to let her do what she wanted freely and accepted what was being delivered to her. "Very well, if you insist. I cannot oppose orders." Tsubaki said as Meifang simply grinned and left the room at that moment, leaving Tsubaki to be on her own as she sat down on the chair she managed to clean before doing so as she looked at the map of Otsu and began to plot things out.

As she did so, her mind couldn't help but wonder back to the past few days. She had come to Otsu to help liberate the citizens of Otsu from their criminal overlords yet she was finding that the opposite was true and the citizens were running away from the NOL. To add up on things, her last confrontation between her friends ended sourly when they refused to hand themselves in and decided to accept the Zero Squadron's punishment of death instead.

'Why are you all being so foolish right now.' Tsubaki thought, the spell in her mind influencing her very thoughts as she couldn't help but feel a sense of frustration over people being stubborn and not wanting to accept the help of the NOL and instead choosing to fight against them instead. As her thoughts continued to stir, a knock was heard on the door as Tsubaki stood up and opened the door to see if Meifang had any other information she wanted to know.

"Tsubaki Yayoi." A stern voice spoke as Tsubaki immediately knew who she was speaking to as she stepped to the side and allowed Relius Clover to enter the office, closing the door in the process. "Colonel Clover, What brings you here all of the sudden?" Tsubaki questioned as Relius looked around the room, his eyes were not focused on her as he was simply on his own world. "I came here for some fresh air. Then I was told by Meifang Lapislazuli herself that you wished to organize some protection detail for me." Relius Clover sternly said as Tsubaki did not flinch when he said that.

Tsubaki: Indeed. Is there something wrong with that request?

Relius: It truly is unnecessary to dedicate security forces to protecting a mere colonel like me.

Tsubaki: Nonsense. You are a high ranking official in the NOL. You deserve to be treated with respect

Relius: I am not saying this out of formality my current position provides me. I am saying this because I wish to work in peace.

Tsubaki: All the more reason why you should have some people protecting you as you work. Though judging by the tone of your voice you will never take a no from me in the first place.

Relius Clover adjusted his collar as soon as Tsubaki delivered her final word. He couldn't believe a woman whose fate was to die horribly and was only spared from said death by the interventions of the master unit and their meddling ways was trying to protect him at that very moment. He had no idea whether to be amused or disappointed at the turn of events in front of him as he rubbed his forehead slightly in thought about what to say next.

"I would respectfully decline. But since you are so insistent on being my protective detail. I shall allow you to protect me but only under two specific conditions." Relius said as Tsubaki looked at him with interest, curious to know what these conditions would be. "The first is that any defensive detail assigned to me will not interrupt my work downstairs. They are to only guard the entrances and only the entrances. The second and more important thing is that they do not disturb me while I work." Relius explained as this made Tsubaki nod her head.

"I am guessing that whatever is underneath is what interests you. I would ask what is interesting underneath there but that is none of my concern." Tsubaki said as Relius simply smiled. Both in satisfaction that Tsubaki was going to meet his demands and understanding that the magic placed by the imperator on Tsubaki, Mind Eater, was still strong and hanging inside her mind. 'I guess that confrontation with her friends did not interfere with Mind Eater too much I see.' Relius noted

"Indeed Miss Yayoi. And for the interest of your position with the Imperator and your duty, you do not interfere with my work. Though should anything happen to me while I am down there, I do give you and only you permission to come and notify me if communications are cut for whatever reason." Relius instructed, Tsubaki simply nodding her head like the obedient puppet she was as Relius decided to leave the room at that moment, deciding to not waste further time in this room as the item he had been looking for was not here.

"Allow me." Tsubaki said, gesturing herself towards the door to open it for Relius before he raised his hand to stop her. "Allow me. You should focus more on that protection detail you said you wanted me to have." Relius calmly said as he left the room, leaving the future head to her own devices as he decided to head back down the stairs to look at the latest thing he had to experiment with. "Colonel Clover." A soldier said as they were stationed in front of the elevator.

Without a word, Relius stepped inside the old elevator to ride it all the way down the basement while his mind was allowed to reign free with his own thoughts. The Detonator project was coming to a standstill and he was running out of time. All the potential candidates were either running dry or proved to be much more underwhelming than he had originally thought. However he couldn't be so hasty as to rush the process as one last person remained.

'Where are you currently Makoto Nanaya.' Relius thought as the elevator dinged as he stepped out of it and was face to face with a massive metallic ball that was just right in the middle of the room he was in. Most people would presume this to be an artistic piece but to those who knew, the metallic ball that was in front of him was in truth a cauldron, one of the world's mysteries and the source of all things that are powered with Ars Magus, Seithr.

What was something like this doing in the middle of an unknown town like Otsu? Nobody knows, the history behind that was actually lost until the NOL reopened the doors leading to the cauldron. Various magical seals of great power were placed to restrict access but thanks to his dabbling, Relius was able to regain access to the city's long lost power source. Most people would think that by discovering such a place, the NOL would be able to have Otsu gain it's own source of power however there are a few issues with that.

The primary issue being where Otsu was located in terms of Seithr density. The 1st Free City of Otsu was a city that is located dangerously close towards the massive seithr cloud that had devoured the whole of the lower world. The activation of such a thing would result in the whole of Otsu being devoured by the cauldron, making the city long disappear. So if the result would catastrophic to a whole hierarchical city, one must question why it was built in the first place.

That is the mystery that Relius Clover was now trying to solve as he approached a door and tapped on it. The lower levels leading to the cauldron were not the only places that was sealed but this very door as well. He had tried to destroy it and even attempted brute force but the seal on this door was unique that any attempts to try and break it were met with a resounding failure as what seemed to be a wooden door remained standing.

"Surely the mysteries of this door being so well protected will be soon revealed. And potentially any data that may prove useful towards the detonator project." Relius mumbled as he walked over and rubbed his hand on the dormant cauldron. He couldn't feel the heartbeat of the cauldron and thus was unable to reactivate it but he knew that there was more to this cauldron that meets the eye and if he did not pursue it any further he would be a failure as both a scientist and a man of magic as Relius simply raised his hands towards the metal ball.

"Now show me… The true reason why you are here."

While Relius continued to ponder and experiment with his new toy, the NOL soldiers standing outside the cold Otsunian air were shivering. NOL troops tried to huddle around any warmth they could find to stay focused. The NOL were cautious of an attack from the Otsunians and were doing everything they can to reinforce their forward operating base. The route between the NOL base and the airport was kept secure through several vehicle transports patrolling between the two locations with their own troops watching each base.

Unknown to them, the Otsunians had been watching them carefully, observing and making sure they could find a way to exploit a gap in this armor. The lack of heating was proving to work due to how the NOL troops were huddling themselves close, making sure to share the warmth between themselves as the heads had figured out their strategy. As the NOL continued to remain on high alert, an explosion was suddenly heard nearby, the explosions rattling and destroying most of the nearby windows as the NOL soldiers quickly formed barriers above their heads to prevent the glass from cutting them up.

"EXPLOSION! EXPLOSION ON THE LEFT SECTOR!" A soldier reported, spotting the massive smoke cloud that was forming as Meifang ran out, not caring that the snow was biting down on her skin as she could see the smoke rising in the air and had a visible look of annoyance. "I want you all to keep watch! Those Otsunians are probably just trying to use that explosion to make us panic! Remain here!" Meifang shouted as soon another explosion was heard and more windows shattered from the vibrations.

"ANOTHER EXPLOSION AT THE LEFT SECTOR!" The soldier reported back as more black smoke began to build up in the area. Then as if it was one bad situation after another, a massive gust of wind suddenly blew, carrying the suffocating smoke right towards their direction as the NOL soldiers and Meifang inhaled the toxic fumes and immediately applied their ars magus gas mask filters to counter act the smell as the whole area was covered with black smog.

'A crude smokescreen? What are they planning now?!' Meifang thought as the soldiers struggled to get a bearing of what was going on. They were afraid at any moment the Otsunians would choose to attack and they would be overwhelmed in the smoke. Minutes passed but the tension never relented. Soon, the clouds of smoke dispersed and nothing happened. This should bring some relief to the troops but the fact that nothing happened was even more concerning to the troops.

"Maam! What should we do?" A soldier questioned as Meifang's mind was racing with how she should handle this situation. It was bizarre that the Otsunians chose to not attack them when the cover of smoke was present. The explosions seemed deliberate but what if they weren't. What if the Otsunians were fighting against each other, having their own agenda like the criminal scum they were. If they were fighting amongst themselves, they should be able to take advantage of the fracturing lines and take down the Otsunians at one fell swoop.

"If that wasn't a tactic from the Otsunians then that means I see an opportunity for us to take more territory from them. Let Major Yayoi know I am going ahead to secure a forward operating base. Get a platoon organized and make sure they head to the direction of the smoke immediately." Meifang ordered as she was not going to let this opportunity pass her as she began to run ahead, acting as the forward scout as she had the Ars Magus communicator to let the troops know if anything else was up.

She wanted to waste no time investigating what was happening. If there was truly in fighting within the Otsunians, the NOL should take advantage of it and crush their resistance while they are busy fighting with each other. If they weren't fighting each other then they would be busy trying to quell the flames that had eruption from their faulty construction work and still achieve the same thing. As long as the Otsunians were being kept busy, Meifang felt the NOL would be able to exploit the gap made.

The Otsu Four however wanted this specific scenario to happen as they heard the scouts radio back to them. "Good news, the trap we had set up has attracted the attention of the NOL. The bad news is that only Meifang Lapislazuli is approaching the trap." A scout reported as Vlad nodded his head at that bit of news. "That's fine. She's probably just being a scout. They will have a force right behind her that will be rushing to aid her. Stick to the plan for now." Vlad ordered as he turned to his fellow heads.

"So the plan is officially a go?" Tetsu questioned as Vlad nodded his head. "Your men Sofia?" Vlad questioned as Sofia had a small grin. "Ready and itching to get moving as we speak. Just waiting for you to give us the damn signal to move already." Sofia said as Zhang Pi nodded her head. "And the rest of our troops are ready to move when you need them to." Zhang Pi added as Vlad smiled at that. "As for our friend?" Vlad questioned.

"Makoto Nanaya's being escorted by a couple of Otsunians through the route you plotted. She should be poised to act when we do so." Tetsu added as Vlad clapped his hands together in excitement. "Then we are ready to act on this chance given to us. Guys. The fate of Otsu is now in our hands!" Vlad shouted as the heads raised their hands in the air, knowing what is at stake as they were ready to fight for what they cared for.

"For Otsu!" They cried as the signs of the battle ahead were beginning to show.

As the heads prepared themselves for the final battle, deep underneath the 1st free city of Otsu laid the Otsunian sewage system. To a majority of the outside population it is well known as a maze like labyrinth, over designed for the simple use of disposing of a city's waste. The Otsunians however saw it's true use as an intricate route system that connected various buildings in Otsu with each other. Whoever was responsible for the construction of this system linked several important buildings with each other, including the building that was currently the Novus Orbis Librarium's Otsunian branch building.

The Otsunians have been using this as a way to navigate through their fine city, keeping the prying eyes of the media and the NOL away from their more illicit activities such as smuggling and body disposal. The stench of the sewers would have driven most people to vomit as Makoto herself managed to keep her small lunch in as she was being escorted through once more by a familiar face. "Why can't Otsunians just clean the sewers once in a while? Or just put in one big air freshener to make the air quality better?" Makoto questioned as Jasmine turned towards Makoto with a small smile on her face.

"Well. The amount of drugs and dead bodies we toss through here makes it difficult to actually make this place smell better. Can't say we tried." Jasmine said, no longer wearing the getup of a stripper but more casual clothes that covered up most of her assets, something Makoto could wish she could do. "But what about you? Aren't you cold wearing something like that?" Jasmine said, pointing to Makoto's own choice of outfit as Makoto pouted.

"Well just so you know. It's both cute and practical." Makoto said while keeping her pout on her face as Jasmine chuckled. "I know I know. It's because you have a massive rack and wearing bras is a pain in the ass because of how much they snap all the time. But would it kill for you to consider something to support those poor puppies of yours." Jasmine commented as Makoto couldn't help but shake her head at that.

"I appreciate the attempts at small talk Jasmine. But maybe I will tell you why breast supports haven't work so well for my line of work. Right now I really just need to get as close to the NOL building as possible." Makoto said, trying to focus on the work at hand as her mind was racing with other details as Jasmine punched her in the shoulder. "Geez, tense much? It makes it sound like you need a quickie before you get to work again." Jasmine teased, making Makoto go red.

"I-I-I Do not need your sexual services right now Jasmine! I am a normal adult woman who has a normal human sex drive that doesn't need to have sex 24/7. Not that my species of beastkin would have anything to do with my Normal sexual hormones!" Makoto said, feeling a bit defensive as Jasmine chuckled, stopping herself from actually laughing and accidentally inhaling the foul smelling air of the sewers.

"I understand. Just trying to lighten the whole mood since you look so tense. Now that I think about it, you were just as tense when we were with your friends bringing them through to the airport. Care to explain?" Jasmine asked as Makoto looked to the ceiling for a bit before stopping herself from taking in a big sigh inside a sewage waste tunnel. "Let's just say… There was tension between us before. Mainly tension between me and my friends but we talked it out… sorta and we should understand each other much better." Makoto explained as Jasmine smiled.

"Not my business to ask any more than that. I am just glad you and your friends aren't fighting each other anymore. But still answer the question of why you decided to return back to Otsu as abruptly as you did." Jasmine asked as the two walked through another sewer tunnel, their destination approaching much closer as they did. "So you are serious about this. Sneaking into the NOL building by yourself?" Jasmine asked as Makoto nodded her head at that.

"That's right. I understand it's risky and I won't have any backup with me. But there's just something I need to investigate for myself and waiting is not an option for me." Makoto explained as Jasmine nodded her head. "Time is of the essence for you huh. That makes some sense as to why you are taking such a risky route but to the permission of the Otsu four for your plan is something else entirely." Jasmine noted as Makoto scratched her head.

"Let's just keep the details simple for now and focus on you getting me to where I need to be right away shall we?" Makoto asked as Jasmine understood as the two continued to make their way towards their destination. "Where I am taking you is the closest we can get you to the NOL building without being actually near the NOL tunnels. After our last stunt with you walking through the sewers they are most likely going to tighten security around the NOL sewer tunnel." Jasmine explained as Makoto nodded her head.

"I got the basic gist of the idea on my head. I will wait for the Otsu four to give their signal before I move. Once they do so, I will be ready to use the chaos that ensues to get to the NOL building and check out what is happening." Makoto explained as Jasmine nodded her head. "Though I am still surprised that someone like you is so close to the Otsu four in the first place. How did you come to know them in the first place?" Makoto questioned as Jasmine smiled.

"Now that is a bit of a secret between customers and employees. But if you really want to know, I can tell you for a fee." Jasmine teased as that was her way of telling Makoto that she was not going to tell her a single thing. "Now as much as that sounds like a good idea. I don't really like the idea of having to pay people anything so I will be just happy keeping my mouth shut for the time being." Makoto said, making Jasmine chuckle as they stopped at the sewer entrance Makoto was to take.

"In any case, here is your destination. I hope you find what you want to find down there." Jasmine said as she leaned in and gave Makoto a kiss right at her lips, causing Makoto to blush. "Y-You know I have a boyfriend right?" Makoto said as Jasmine tilted her head a bit confused. "You do now?" Jasmine said, surprised as Makoto immediately felt the weight of her situation crash back down onto her once more as she shook her head before kissing Jasmine back.

"Sorry. I couldn't help but tease a little. See how you will react." Makoto said, trying to immediately defuse the awkward situation that she felt was about to grow if she did not act like she did. Jasmine paused for a moment before smiling right at Makoto. "You sure know how to tease a woman Makoto Nanaya. Keep that up and maybe you will get some cock or pussy some day." Jasmine commented as she slapped Makoto right at her exposed ass and groped it.

"In all seriousness. Anything bothering you, you make sure to let me know alright. I will come and help you with whatever may be on your mind as soon as you do." Jasmine said as she blew a kiss right at Makoto's face before walking away, a small group of armed Otsunians following her as Makoto waited for a few minutes for them to disappear before she laid her back on the wall and slid down slowly to process what she had just experienced.

'I am running out of time…' Makoto muttered as she massaged her own head. More and more people were beginning to forget about Sora and she was starting to fear that she might do the same. The more she thought she was approaching her solution, the more she feared that her next step would be the last step she would remember Sora before forgetting completely. 'No… No! I refuse to forget about him. Not now… not ever.' Makoto thought as she pulled out her necklace and held it gently.

Staring at the symbol that represented Sora Minakaze's seal, Makoto continued to reaffirm her resolve as she focused on her mental image of Sora and making sure it remained as perfect as she could keep it be. "I will save you. I swear it." Makoto quickly reaffirmed and began to walk up the ladder towards her position. Time was not on her side and she needed to work quickly before it was gone from her.

...Not just for her sake. But for his as well.

As Meifang made it to the place where the explosions occurred, Meifang was quick to begin securing the site for the rest of the NOL troops to secure. The cause of the explosion was now apparent since it was shown to be a couple of buildings reduced to rubble as she noted how the surrounding buildings looked worse for wear. In front of her was the roadblock that the Otsunians had established to try and stop the NOL troops from coming in immediately as it looked completely destroyed, the vehicles that formed the line now smoldering rubble as she heard the sounds of something massive coming from said rubble.

"MAJOR!" An NOL trooper shouted as Meifang immediately raised her hand to stop the scout from coming any closer as immediately her senses told her to immediately back away. Her senses were right as immediately emerging out of the rubble much to her shock was something she would never expect any criminal organization to have possession of. Soon Meifang took cover as the explosive armor penetrating round of the turret of the old style tank that smashed it's way through the rubble immediately zoomed past and smashed it's way to an abandoned building, causing it to topple spectacularly all over the ground and separating Meifang from her troops.

'Of course it was too good to be true.' Meifang thought as the top of the tank popped out and Vlad emerged, a grin on his face as he stepped out of the tank. "COMRADE LAPISLAZULI! YOU DON'T LOOK SURPRISED TO SEE ME!" Vlad shouted, making his intentions clear as he jumped down to the ground and stared right at Meifang's eyes with the barrel of his anti material sniper pointed right at her head.

"I should have expected that you Otsunians would have plotted to split me from the rest of the NOL. But to do something like this is elaborate even for you." Meifang commented as she ducked her head when she felt the presence of something coming close to her attempt to bisect her. "Of course. After our first confrontation we heads had to make sure that you are separated from your own troops for our own safety." Tetsu commented as Meifang couldn't help but scoff.

"You two? Against me?" Meifang said before she could feel several tiny pellets of bullets rain down on her back as she used her strengthening ars magus to dampen the rain of bullets that were aimed on her back before using a barrier to block the rest when the recoil began to go up towards her head. "Shit. Should have gone for the head first." Sofia sweared as Meifang couldn't help but become even more stern as Zhang Pi walked from behind the tank with a small smile on her face.

"I hope you don't mind if all four of us have a go at you this time around?" Zhang Pi commented as Meifang couldn't help but smirk. "One versus Four huh? I don't care how many people you throw at me. I will take on all challengers!" Meifang shouted as the heads soon assembled next to each other to stare down Meifang. "Then let us four be your play mates until you get tired of seeing our stupid faces then." Sofia taunted as Meifang couldn't help but grin, eager to finally take on and capture four of the most dangerous criminals besides Ragna the Bloodedge that currently exist.

...As the war for Otsu's independence began…

GREETINGS LOST SHEEP OF FANFICTION!? HOW IS EVERYONE DOING ON THIS FINE DAY! Well, 2 more months remain before 2021 is over. While yes, it was not as bad as 2020 was. It still was kinda bad for one or other reasons. But compared to the years prior, lets just be glad that 2021 was as quiet as it could be… except what happened for the past few months. Let's just hang in there and hope that this virus situation gets to a point where we can live with it instead of constantly locking down countries and making people go crazy because they spend too much time at home.

SO WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT!? HOW WILL THE BATTLE OF OTSU UNFOLD!? WHAT LIES FOR THE CITIZENS OF OTSU AND THE NOL PERSONNEL TRYING TO TAKE OVER THE HIERARCHICAL CITY!? ALSO WHAT IS RELIUS CLOVER'S PLANS AND WHAT IS GOING TO BE MAKOTO NANAYA'S ENDGAME!? Well, there is only one way to find out and that is to keep on reading for more tales to be told.