With the festival at an abrupt end all of the students were ordered back to their dorms for the night. Not that any of them could really remember the trek, though. For the first time the students of Class VII were actually grateful for their combined exhaustion, as that was the only reason they were able to collapse into their beds for a fitful night's rest.
The news was almost incomprehensible. They had all been to Garrelia Fortress just two months prior and all knew just how gargantuan the place really was. That an unknown weapon could obliterate the place in just an instant defied all imagination, but the pictures in the next morning's special edition of the Imperial Chronicle were undeniable. A huge chunk of the fortress had just... vanished, leaving only a crater where it once stood.
As awful as the destruction of the fortress and presumed death of all inside it was, of greater concern was what it all meant for the Erebonian Empire and Zemuria as a whole. Just a day prior the idea of Crossbell posing a threat to the safety of Erebonia was laughable, but now nobody was laughing. With Garrelia Fortress gone and Crossbell in possession of this mysterious weapon, just what could tanks do to stop them? Already rumors were spreading that an entire armored division had been deployed and were subsequently wiped out by the same weapon.
And if not Crossbell, what of Calvard? There was no news out of Erebonia's fiercest foe and that was leading to all kinds of speculation. Could they be working with the treacherous city-state? Was this just the prelude to a full invasion?
Needless to say the atmosphere around Trista and Thors the next day was abysmal. The average citizen was in a near panic and the cadets weren't much better off. The Principal made the decision to continue classes as normal in a valiant attempt at normalcy and giving the students something to keep their minds occupied.
Valiant, but futile. Everyone tried their best, but it was frankly impossible to proceed as normal. Even the instructors weren't immune to that feeling. War was imminent and right now the only person who seemed to care about the War of the Lions was Instructor Thomas.
Normally Class VII could rely on their more unique characters to give an air of levity in times of crisis, but even they couldn't be relied upon now. Instructor Sara tried her best, but she couldn't do much when most of her free time appeared to consist of calls and meetings with other bracers and guild related personnel. Millium's status as a member of the intelligence division was undeniable as she appeared far more serious and busy than usual. And as for Crow... While on the surface the second-year transfer appeared normal, something about him felt distant and they all made the choice to give him his space.
With nothing better to do rumors began to fly. Soon those rumors were treated as facts. Those facts would later be used to start new rumors. By the end of the first day stories of how Calvard was already invading the Empire were being treated as truth, even as deep down everyone knew it was highly improbable.
Class VII was forced to weather this storm like everyone else. While usually they would love to pretend to be above the petty gossip that was consuming the rest of the campus, they really weren't, especially as so many of them had personal connections to the current events. Whether it was to the nobility, the government, the military, the industry, or in Gaius's case being from a nation that suddenly found itself between two very hostile superpowers, very few of them weren't deeply connected to what was happening. Thus they were forced to listen to each rumor and do their level best to consider any possible truth in it.
With war seemingly inevitable even the freedom of time they had been looking forward to with the festival concluded felt hollow. The oppressive atmosphere significantly dampened any enjoyment the students could get from club activities or social visits. And those that still tried inevitably found themselves rehashing the same topics of conversation as everyone else.
Needless to say the next few days were a miserable and very forgettable experience for all involved. It felt like the entire world had come to a halt and nothing they could do would cause it to start up again. As terrible as it was, they couldn't help but hope that whatever was to happen would finally happen, just to break the terrible monotony.
That time was coming very soon and they would soon all come to regret that selfish desire...
That Saturday the students of Class VII were gathered in the classroom waiting for homeroom to begin, but that was proving to be impossible as their instructor had yet to show herself. She wasn't alone either as neither Crow nor Millium were present. Since class wasn't happening they decided to gather together and continue discussing recent events, as pointless as it was. The destruction of Garrelia, the actions of Crossbell, the reactions from Calvard, and the pro-war sentiment sweeping the country. All topics that had been repeated many times in that week, but still continued to dominate their consciousness.
The lack of their two classmates was a little concerning, but not at all surprising. Crow was never one for punctuality so they dismissed his absence as nothing unusual. Millium, however, was a member of the intelligence division, as easy as it was to forget, so her not being there was extremely worrisome.
They were saved from further discussion by the arrival of their missing teacher. While normally the announcement that classes had been canceled would have been a cause for some celebration among the students (Machias notwithstanding), given the current political situation it was anything but. As proven true by her next words.
Chancellor Giliath Osborne was scheduled to make a speech in Dreichels Plaza at noon that day. Even the most naive and optimistic student knew exactly what was going to come from that. Erebonia was going to war.
Still, as terrible as it all was, their instructor was right in that as cadets they had a duty to witness the unfolding events first-hand and not to look away just because it was convenient. All of the classrooms were being provided with radios to listen to the address and it was an easy decision for all of them to decide to listen together as a class.
Of course to listen as a class they needed the entire class present. With Instructor Sara confirming that she had seen Millium on campus just recently and with Crow probably just slacking off somewhere the students made the decision to keep an eye open for them, as most of them planned to disperse to spend some time with their clubs before the grim proclamation that was sure to come.
As Rean was not part of any club he decided to dedicate his time to seeking out the missing members. As he had absolutely no idea where Crow could be hiding out he first decided to check with the two who would have the best idea where to find him: Towa and George. If he was lucky he would spot Millium on the way.
With everything that was going on he wasn't at all surprised to find Towa hard at work in her office as she prepared for the events of that afternoon. A part of Rean seriously wanted to abort his current mission and assist the diminutive president in preparing for the address, but he had told the others that he was going to find Crow and Millium and couldn't allow himself to get distracted, even if it was for a noble cause.
Unfortunately she was little help in that endeavor, as she had no idea where Crow could have been. Oddly enough she had seen the slacker just the previous night as he dropped off all the things that he had borrowed from her over their tenure at the school. He even dropped off the stuff he had borrowed from Angelica. While not the most abnormal things a person could have done, Rean couldn't help but feel that something was off about the entire situation.
It didn't help that George provided the same answer as Towa had. The night before Crow had showed up with all the stuff he borrowed from the engineer, but hadn't been seen at all that day. Rean didn't press his larger friend for more info as George seemed to be pretty stressed as he considered what the world was going to look like for an engineer just a few months from graduation.
A quick walk in and around the academy turned up nothing. He had potentially hoped that like the rest of his classmates who were helping at their clubs that Millium would have been found in the cooking club, but unfortunately nobody could recall having seen her since that morning, or Crow since last night. He was about to expand his search into the town itself, but paused as an idea came to mind. After all, he did find Crow there during the festival, right?
His hunch ended up being right on the mira, as the doors to the Old Schoolhouse were unlocked despite the fact that none of the others should have had access. Not seeing anyone on the ground floor he descended down the elevator to the ever mysterious seventh floor. One teleporter ride later and the swordsman found himself staring at the mysterious robot...
And Millium Orion. The little girl was staring at the robot with such intensity that she didn't notice his arrival until he called out to her. While startled, she didn't seem too concerned about his presence, which was reassuring as a part of him was worried about where her current loyalties might have been to.
Instead the Intelligence Division agent happily blurted out the fact that part of her mission had indeed been to observe this building for any suspicious activities, which made Rean suspect that the chancellor actually knew something about the contents of this room. Still, as big of a reveal as that was, she also admitted that it was only a secondary objective to her true mission, which she refused to elaborate on, but did add that said mission no longer applied. Very curious indeed.
To her credit it appeared that her role as an agent still wasn't interfering with her status as a member of Class VII and the girl happily agreed to meet up with them for the upcoming speech, which she did already know about. She was just about to leave when he asked her about Crow. While she had no answer for him, the news of the second-year's absence was enough to give her pause and she instead offered to search alongside Rean. An offer which he happily accepted.
Since the academy and Old Schoolhouse were busts Rean decided to expand the search parameters. The most obvious place to check next was Trista. It was a long walk from the depths of the mysterious building to the gates of Thors, but the two walked it in companionable silence.
There was one obvious place to check in Rean's opinion, but he figured that they should do a quick walk around the town first before stopping in at their dorm. Sadly that ended up being a bust, as even those who knew Crow best like the folks at the cafe and the kids he frequently played blade with had no idea where he was.
There was one potential lead at the train station, as the haggard looking ticket lady thought she might have seen him in the station earlier that morning, but given that she wasn't actively looking for him and that would have been in the middle of the morning rush wasn't certain. Given how much of a mess the train network was with the Transcontinental Railroad being cut in half made her confusion understandable. Not wanting to get in her way any further, the two exited the station, passing by a familiar looking pair from Liberl as they departed.
With the rest of the town checked there was no other place to look save for the dorm, so that was where the duo headed next. Sharon was there, as usual, and while she claimed surprise at their presence didn't actually appear surprised enough for them to believe her. Still, she did provide their first solid clue as she confirmed that Crow had in fact been there earlier, but hadn't stuck around very long.
Investigating further brought Rean and Millium to Crow's room, but there wasn't anything there to give away his location. There wasn't much there at all, to be honest. While Rean knew he had been delivering stuff that he had been borrowing, to see the slacker's room being neat, tidy, and completely empty of personal effects was a weird sight. It was also somewhat unsettling and he couldn't help but feel that something was very wrong with the situation, despite the fact that Crow was scheduled to leave Class VII in just a couple days. The fact that the normally boisterous Millium appeared to be deep in thought only confirmed that feeling of wrongness.
While their search had turned up some clues, the time was fast approaching noon and so the two decided to abandon their mission and return to the classroom for the address. As ever, Aidios works in mysterious ways and they received their answer unexpectedly in the form of Patrick Hyarms. Unlike many of the noble students, the Hyarms member had elected to remain at Thors. He surprised them when he told them that he had actually seen Crow just that morning and had found out that the second-year had elected to go see the Chancellor's speech in person, confirming that their sighting of him at the train station was accurate.
With his location all but confirmed and Millium clearly disturbed by something that she wasn't elaborating on the two made their return to the academy and to their homeroom. Unsurprisingly, they were the last ones there as even their unreliable instructor was already there and present. After reporting their investigation results the two joined their classmates as they nervously waited for the broadcast to begin.
Which it did just a few minutes later. Most of the students were pleasantly surprised when they discovered that Misty, the host of the ever popular Abend Time, was the one reporting on the upcoming events. The one exception was Emma, who was completely shocked at the voice as she seemed to recognize her, and was completely flabbergasted when informed that the radio host was actually frequently spotted in the town.
Before they could question her on her reaction they were informed that the chancellor was stepping up to the podium. Putting her unusual reaction out of thought the group listened with baited breath as to what Giliath Osborne was going to say, even if deep down they all already knew what was coming.
"Citizens of Heimdallr, fellow countrymen, Erebonians far and wide, I thank you for your attention." Even though it was merely through a radio all of them could easily recognize the voice as that belonging to the ever intimidating Blood and Iron Chancellor that they had met briefly at the start of that month. "I am Giliath Osborne, your chancellor and the acting representative of the Imperial Government."
It wasn't hard for them to picture the man standing in the middle of Dreichels Plaza, surrounded by the military and excited civilians. "We stand today in the face of an uncertain future. All of you, I'm sure, are aware of what has transpired in recent weeks. Crossbell, our erstwhile province, has defiantly declared its independence... and as its parting shot, frozen the assets entrusted to them by the hard-working men and women of Erebonia!"
With each word the Empire inched closer and closer to war and there was nothing any of them could do about it. It was a miserable feeling."As we have moved to safeguard our national interests, armed conflicts have broken out on our borders. Our enemies point to this as an example of Erebonian aggression, but nothing could be further from the truth. We acted in accordance with our duties as a colonial power. All we have done, we have done as is our sovereign right."
"The Imperial hand may be firm, but it is fair. These traitors, however, have shown the world that they are neither. With an unknown weapon of mass destruction, they have annihilated Garrelia Fortress... The stronghold that has long protected the very gates of this country!"
"I ask you, brothers and sisters of the Empire, do we allow such an odious act to go unpunished? Do we sit idle as the pride and dignity of our great nation is spat upon and trampled underfoot?" The listening students all stiffened as it was clear that the chancellor was starting the drums of war. "We cannot. We must not. And we will not! With blood and with iron, we shall mete out justice!"
And yet, as serious and dramatic as this speech was there was one student who didn't seem to be paying it much heed. Millium seemed far more interested in trying to contact someone on her ARCUS, but was apparently unable to do so. Given her status as an intelligence agent the rest of Class VII were concerned and questioned her actions.
"Oh... It's part of my mission. The most important part, actually. If only I'd caught on a little sooner..." The way she said that sent a chill down their spines. Rean felt like he was about to be given the answer to a puzzle that he had all the pieces for, but was unable or unwilling to solve. "...But considering he managed to outwit Claire, Lechter, and even Gramps... I suppose Crow's earned this victory."
Naturally, the other nine students were very confused by her words, but Instructor Sara, as if reminding them that she was in fact an elite bracer when she wasn't being her usual self, figured out her meaning almost instantly. "Huh. So that's your angle. You came because you had a potential lead on C, and couldn't look into it from the outside, is that it?"
But that didn't make any sense! Group A clearly saw the terrorist leader's airship explode in the mines that day. And yet their instructor seemed convinced of her reasoning and Millium confirmed it with her next statement. "The Intelligence Division looked at all of C's actions so far and drew up a list of potential subjects... and one possibility we couldn't dismiss was that he had ties to this academy somehow. But after C and his cronies got blown up aboard their airship in the mine, we thought it a moot point. Looks like we spoke too soon, though." She sighed miserably. "I can't believe how bad we screwed this up."
"...Are you seriously suggesting that it's Crow? That its been him all along?" Rean couldn't believe it. That their friend and classmate was the enigmatic terrorist leader. It all seemed completely impossible. And yet there was a niggling sensation in the back of his mind...
"Crow was with us in the mine right up until he went with the miners to escort them back to the surface, right?"
Machias spoke up next, continuing Alisa's train of thought. "Yeah, and then his route back ended up blocked off by a cave-in, so he wasn't able to reach us until later..."
Replaying those memories aloud made them realize that a different possibility existed. "B-But..." Elliot look floored as realization set in. "...what if he actually used another route to get there ahead of us...?"
"...Then fought us wearing that masked helmet and cape..." Fie recalled the two times she fought against C. While the weapon he used was completely different from that of their classmate, some of his movements and mannerisms were pretty similar...
As the only other member to fight the terrorist twice Rean's thoughts ran parallel. "Before making it look like he boarded the airship, then sneaking back around to join the others like nothing happened...!"
"Madness." Jusis muttered with a shake of his head. "No one would stake their entire plan on such a precarious stunt!"
Laura nodded her head in agreement. "Perhaps we can read the evidence that way, but there are a few leaps in logic that bother me."
As always, it was Gaius who was most able to keep a cool head in this situation. "Besides, remember when the terrorists escaped from Garrelia Fortress? We heard C talking to us. And not just then – he was addressing us just before the airship exploded in the mine, too."
Those facts were pretty indisputable and the members of Class VII felt a swell of hope that perhaps Millium was wrong in her conclusion. "That's true, on both counts." Machias agreed with the Nord's statement.
"And Crow was with us the whole time during everything that went down at Garrelia." Pointed out the young musician. "He never left our sight."
"Right. No mistaking it." He had been there to help Fie save the terrorists after they tried to take their own lives, after all.
They all thought back to the words C said to them after boarding the airship in Garrelia and the mind. "Y-Yeah. There's no way he could be..." Alisa seemed convinced by this point.
"He could have recorded a message in advance and played it back."
"Oh..." Unfortunately for the Reinford heiress and the rest of the class, their instructor was able to deflate all their arguments with a single sharp point.
But Sara wasn't finished. "And the airship that exploded? It could have been controlled remotely. His alibi seems airtight, but once you account for things like that, it starts looking pretty questionable."
"Yup." Millium brought herself back into the conversation she started. "And if C's still alive that means the other ringleaders probably are, too."
If all of this was true, then the earlier information Rean learned about his current location pointed towards one thing in particular. "Then right now, Crow is..."
Machias gasped in horrified realization. "Oh, no..."
"He said he was headed to Dreichels Plaza, didn't he?"
Fie closed her eyes in thought after Laura finished speaking. "If a skilled sniper has their eyes on you, you let your guard down for even a second and bang. You're dead." The tone of her voice made it clear she had some experience on the matter from her jaeger days. "If he's the one who shot down the airship in the mine..."
"...Then it's checkmate for the chancellor. Crow's already won." The older woman finished with finality.
As much as they were all hoping they were wrong, the assembled group turned back to the radio with a sense of impending dread. If the chancellor was assassinated in the middle of a speech to the entire country during this time of chaos...
"We stand at the brink of nothing less than a national crisis!" Fortunately it seemed that nothing much had happened in his speech while they were distracted. "...In such tumultuous times, we must set aside our differences. We must look past the ideologies that divide us! I will not deny the rift that has grown between the Reformist and Noble Factions, especially in recent times... but how childish, how insignificant such squabbles seem when the enemy marshals its strength beyond our borders!"
"I have met with His Majesty the Emperor, and have secured permission to embark on the course we now must. Thus, in the name of the emperor and as the representative of the Imperial Government, I hereby proclaim that the Empire's full military might shall be gathered together, from all branches and divisions to deliver unto Crossbell a swift response to their impudence, and to form a bulwark against the threat from the East-"
Bang!
As much as they had been expecting it, most of the class were startled by the unexpected gunshot. The screams that followed made it abundantly clear that the event they feared the most had just occurred: Chancellor Osborne had been shot.
"Ladies and gentleman, we've just witnessed a shocking turn of events!" Came the panicked voice of Misty as she took back control of the radio channel. "Chancellor Osborne has been shot by an unknown assailant! He's currently being rushed into urgent care. We'll bring you more on the situation as it develops."
The next few seconds passed in stunned silence as the students tried to process what had just happened. The fact that all signs pointed to the assassin being their close friend made the feeling all the more surreal. They were just about to recover from their shock when...
"Wh-What is that!?" Came a panicked cry from someone on the other side of the radio. "It's coming closer...!"
None of them knew what to think of that comment, but luckily Misty was there to elaborate. "It looks like we may not be out of the woods yet, folks. A large silver craft has been sighted in the sky to the south, and it seems to be headed towards the capital!"
"...But hearing a radio broadcast just isn't the same as seeing it unfold yourselves, is it? So how about I give you Thors students a special treat? Just my way of saying thanks for the fun I had at the festival." The way her voice seemed to change as she made that statement should have been a cause for alarm, but they were all focused on her words themselves. It was as if she was talking directly to them!
"Resound, resound, O voice everlasting...Rend night's silent veil and reveal unto all the beautiful world!" 'Misty' incanted in a loud and clear voice.
In a day filled with awful surprises the purple mist that appeared in their classroom that appeared to present a picture of Dreichels Plaza to Class VII was definitely up there.
Their confusion was broken by the hissing of Emma's cat, Celine as she gazed upon the image. The cat's master also didn't appear to share in their confusion. "This is one of the Azure Abyss' incantations, Phantasmagoria!"
Another cryptic statement that could only come from the mouth of their class president, but like in all the times before it came in a moment where they were too busy to grill her for details. Instead they were focused on the strange projection as the viewpoint began to move closer and closer to the plaza. They had just caught a glimpse of Misty in the outfit she used as an opera singer before it began to follow a bird that Rean realized he recognized from his recent trip to Heimdallr.
Said bird circled around the plaza with flapping wings before turning back and giving the stunned viewers the answer to what the people were panicking about. It was an airship, far larger than anything they had ever seen. And it was hovering over the capital without a care in the world.
And descending from the bottom of said airship were cables, and connected to those were... large robots? They bore similarities to the machine they found in the Old Schoolhouse, but it was obvious even to the most untrained eye that there were major differences too. Still, even if they weren't identical they were intimidating machines and the weapons they bore made it clear that they were tools of war.
The tanks and armored cars of the 1st Armored Division, Heimdallr's guardians, moved to engage these unknown opponents, but despite being untrained in the art of armored warfare it was clear to the students that they were woefully outclassed. While the Achtzehn battle tank's cannon might have been bigger than the guns the robots were using, it didn't matter much when their opponents were skilled and agile enough to dodge the shells sent their way. And once they closed the gap with the tanks the giant melee weapons some of the robots held was more than enough to make quick work of the armored behemoths. Within a minute most initial opposition to the unknown invaders had been dealt with and they were advancing upon the plaza itself.
Instead of focusing on the battle taking place on the ground the bird that was providing them vision instead provided the students with a different event taking place, one that confirmed their dark suspicions. It was C, standing on a distant building with a massive sniper rifle by his side, being held at gunpoint by Captain Claire. The only difference from the C they encountered prior was the fact that he had no helmet on, revealing a face they all knew so well: The face of Crow Armbrust.
Words between the Class VII terrorist and Icy Maiden were exchanged briefly. Crow then did something completely unexpected to the viewers as well as the Captain as he took a step backward off the roof of the building, vanishing from sight. Any worries that their friend had just killed himself were removed as a large blue machine rose up from where he fell. It was nothing like they had ever seen before, but even more so than the robots fighting below it reminded them very much of the thing in the Old Schoolhouse. Crow and his machine flew off out of sight and they were left with another mystery to deal with.
The nightmare was not yet over as the bird proceeded to fly directly to Dreichels Plaza to show the outcome of the battle for the capital. As expected from the earlier fighting, the 1st Armored Division had been completely routed by their unknown opponents, who were now relaxing in a plaza devoid of opponents. Some of the machines opened up as their pilots exited them.
Fie gasped, loudly.
It was a completely unexpected reaction from the quiet girl and earned her more than a few glances, but nobody said anything as they were all engrossed in the horrifying spectacle. Not for much longer, though, as the bird proceeded to fly back towards where the roof where Misty was standing, before ending the strange vision completely. They stood there in dead silence for a second as their brains tried to process what they had just seen.
Naturally the first person they turned to for answers was their mysterious president. Understanding their confusion, Emma was quick to provide it. "Phantasmagoria is an arcane art known to the Witch of the Abyss, capable of showing scenes and visions across great distances. The woman you know as Misty is... something of a sister of mine."
That did clear up their initial confusion and gave them some insight as to Emma's background, although they really needed to find a time to sit her down and demand a full explanation, but having to accept the horrible things they had just seen as true filled them with greater concerns. It all felt so surreal, almost like a dream.
Thankfully, they had an instructor who was capable of dealing with her own shock and confusion enough to get their minds back on track. "Right now, we've got two pressing concerns; the chancellor's been shot, and Heimdallr's been occupied." While she was stating the obvious, hearing the words aloud was enough for the situation to sink in, especially for Elliot, Machias, and Rean, who all had family in the capital city.
Jusis appeared conflicted as he thought about the economics of the mysterious airship and army they had just witnessed. It was abundantly clear that it was all financed by his family and the rest of the Noble Faction. They could only imagine how frustrated he was to have been kept completely unaware of their actions.
"...I saw them there. My old 'family'." Fie muttered with a sad frown on her face. "All this time, I never knew what happened to them. Now, there they are."
Although she kept her voice even, there was no denying the distress and confusion she was obviously feeling in that moment. "Fie..." As much as he wished he had the time to properly comfort the girl, Rean knew that that was impossible in the moment. Instead he simply took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, something which she desperately latched onto. If only he had thought to investigate those two unknown powerful men when he first spotted them in Legram two months earlier...
A thought which Laura appeared to share as she gazed upon her best friend sadly. "So you know those men? I remember meeting them briefly in Legram..."
"They're former members of Zephyr." Their instructor supplied unhelpfully as all of them knew Fie's story by now. "Used to be one of the continent's strongest jaeger corps. It looks like the Noble Faction hired them to do their dirty work, just like the Imperial Liberation Front. On top of that..."
The one thing that none of them wanted to talk about, but could no longer ignore at this point. "...It looks like our guess about C's identity was right on the money." Despite being proven right Millium didn't appear happy about it. "But I dunno what that cool blue thing was he flew off in."
"Crow... Why did you do it?" Elliot questioned miserably, voicing the question that they were all thinking in that moment, Rean included. He just couldn't fathom how the lackadaisical but reliable second-year could actually be a terrorist leader hellbent on assassinating the chancellor. How much of Crow did he really know?
Further conversation was interrupted by a chime from the intercom signaling an incoming announcement. A second later and the classroom was filled with the voice of the Student Council president. "On behalf of the Student Council, I'd like to ask all of you to remain calm." Despite her words it was obvious that Towa herself was just barely able to keep it together. "I'm sure you all experienced that strange vision during the broadcast... and the principal has an announcement he'd like to make about it."
"Good afternoon everyone. This is Principal Vandyck speaking. I'm sorry to say there's a strong likelihood that what you just saw is really happening in Heimdallr. However, it's important to note that we don't yet have confirmation or any official word on the situation. I'm doing all I can to find out what's going on, but in the meantime, I ask for your patience and understanding."
An ominous announcement, but there was one piece that truly stuck out to Class VII. "So all the other classes saw it too..." Alisa muttered as she recalled the strange vision they had just witnessed.
"How could she use a national radio broadcast to show something to just us and no one else? Is that even possible?" It seemed completely inconceivable in Rean's mind, but that was apparently what happened.
Unlike the rest of them, Emma believed it without a doubt. "For her, it is. With little difficulty, at that."
Their instructor opened her mouth to comment, but paused as her ARCUS began to ring. Given the current emergency she wasted no time in answering the call. "Yo, Sara here. Who's-" None of the others could hear the voice on the other end, but it was enough to give the bracer pause. "Neithardt? An emergency meeting? …Right away?" Whatever their military instructor said was enough to cause Sara's eyes to widen in shock and horror. "...What!? Of course! I'll be right there!" Yeah... Understood. I'll meet you in front of the main gate."
Closing her orbment the teacher turned back to her students. "All right, class, I've gotta step out for a bit to take care of some business. But no matter what happens, you're not to leave this building. Is that clear?" She didn't even wait for their response as she bolted out of the door at a full sprint, leaving ten very concerned students in her wake.
"What's going on...?"
"I'm not sure, but it's obvious something strange is happening." Jusis replied to his rival.
"Can this day even get stranger than it already is...? The musician asked pitifully.
In that instant the student from Nord perked up as something caught his attention. The others watched in confusion as he went to the window and popped it open, with Fie just behind him, also looking concerned as she gazed out the window. "What's wrong, Gaius?"
"I hear something to the west, and it's getting closer."
Unlike him, Fie knew exactly what it was that they were hearing. "Several armored cars are approaching. And... it sounds like they have some of those armored suits with them."
Her words were shocking, but in hindsight made sense. If it truly was the Noble Faction responsible for the occupation of Heimdallr than the academy was a very tempting target indeed. The children of high ranking members from both sides of the conflict were enrolled in Thors, so it would make sense to secure them as quickly as possible.
And it also explained why Instructor Sara and the other teachers had left for the front gate. If those robots really were approaching they would be needed to fight them off. There was no denying that Instructors Sara, Neithardt, and the rest were all far more capable than they were, and yet...
"Those giant armors tore through the army's tanks like they were nothing more than toys. Our instructors are strong, but with what they're up against, I'm worried they might not be enough." Mentally Rean made his decision and turned to the rest of the class. "I'm not sure how much help we'd be, or if we'll even be able to put a dent in them. But right now, they need all the support they can get. They need Class VII!"
"I'm with you!" Alisa was the quick to agree to his proposal.
"You have my sword." As was Laura.
Elliot still looked distressed, but he also had a look of resolve on his face. "I didn't really wake up today planning to fight enemies that can gut a tank..."
"None of us did." Machias agreed wryly. "But this battle came to us, so we'll draw the line here."
"I'll do everything I can to defend this school and its students." Emma added, despite her own worries.
If they thought Jusis might be conflicted given his family, they were pleasantly mistaken. "Bah. I take no issue with humbling those that befoul the spirit of true nobility."
"Guess I'll help too." Fie's response was so very Fie.
Unlike the others, Millium looked excited. "Heehee. I wonder how Lammy'll match up against those giants..."
"We haven't got a lot of time, so let's move out." As was often the case it was Gaius that got them back on track.
"All right. Let's do this!" And with that, Class VII ran off to war.