'The fall of Galbadia is imminent! Push on, brave men!' Reis yelled to the cheering soldiers as they drove the last remaining Galbadian soldiers in a decisive rout on the western side of the ocean bridge. Fisherman's Horizon was safe; if torched nearly to the concrete. Only five or six buildings stood untouched, the rest having been razed by rampaging Galbadian soldiers; hundreds of its citizens perished in the crossfire between Esthar and Galbadia, and in the ensuing battle; its mayor had also died in the violence of the dusk, shot to pieces as he signed a false contract with a Galbadian officer prior to the start of the devastating battle.
Down the dragoner stabbed with her katana; into the hard, shiny steel and through the soft flesh of a Galbadian marksman; having been incapacitated through four slashes in both his legs, he begged of Reis to spare her life as she delivered the killing blow, ultimately releasing the poor soul of his sufferings as she took his senses away. Turning around to another fleeing horde, she extracted the bloody blade out of the carcass, charging forward with a curse upon her lips and one hand stretched forwards, gathering arcane energy within the palm of that hand.
The effect was immediate; a swirl of energy quickly grew to a pulsating, throbbing sphere of pure heat; emitting sparks and tongues of flame as she directed it towards the fearful faces of the fleeing fools. A spiral of fire, a whirlwind of searing wind; screams of the agonised and the cries of the fallen. The fleeing soldiers were thrown unforgivingly from the half-demolished concrete bridge, soaring through the air in a charred and ashen heap, before disappearing into the foaming depths of the raging ocean.
Thunder split the darkening evening; the battle would continue on through the night. Advancing towards the national capital of Deling City, the soldiers of Esthar trooped over the grassland, razing the buildings along the way, firing upon the townspeople along the way—all on the orders of Reis Dular, the unofficial commander of Esthar's fifteen legions. If they will destroy the lives of the innocent…let their innocents be the price…she thought, fire burning within her blue eyes as she cleaved off the head of a resisting civilian, letting the body lie in the pool of blood that it created.
'Entrench!' Laguna shouted into the loudspeakers. At his command, the troops dug into the grassy land, piling the dirt into mounds facing the capital city. Artillery units began to unpack their loads, tamping down the exposed dirt that had been dug up to create a hard, compact area to place their energy cannons on. These were…nothing like the catapults or ballistae of Ivalice…Reis thought, as she watched one being erected, wiping off blood from her blade with a fragment of torn cloth.
By twenty-one hundred hours…
'Halt!' Laguna commanded again, seeing the vast system of trenches spread out over the vast field, 'You may sleep now. Legion one, your job for tonight is to stay awake as sentries through the night until nought-four-hundred hours, at which we will start the siege. All others: sleep well. Tomorrow we fight,'
'Sir Laguna,' Reis said, bowing to him, 'I wish to ask you…how many soldiers do we have?'
'Ah, Reis. No need for formality with me. I may be leader of Esthar, but there is no need for polite speech with me. For your question, we have here, half a million highly-trained riflemen equipped with fusion energy rifles, with another thousand or so artillery units. Galbadia will not stand for long,'
Whatever 'fusion energy rifles' are, they sound dangerous. Half a million sounds good to me, too…
'Soon I will rid the world of the one evil that I can think of…Edea. After that, I will resign from the post of President. I want a quiet life…in the country town where I met my beloved,'
He's…got a wife?
'Umm…this may sound rude, but…' Reis started, scratching her head, 'Where is your wife?'
His eyes look down now. Maybe I shouldn't have asked him that…
'She…died years ago. Giving birth to a daughter…who never survived either…' Laguna replied, silent tears welling up in his dark brown eyes.
It is strange to see a man cry…
'Sorry,' Reis said hastily, 'Maybe I shouldn't have asked that,'
'No, no, it's alright…' Laguna said, stemming the water flow, 'I just miss her so badly…'
Just like my Beowulf…
'But don't think of too much of that. Please, go look after yourself, you look like in need of a wash and sleep,'
Reis looked down on her battle gear. Indeed, she was in need of a wash; the blood and gore had stuck onto her fair skin, drying up to form a mat of red on the white skin. Plucking at the buckle of her battle gear's belt, she let fall the hard metal plate-skirt. Coated in dried blood and scraps of human gut, it looked as though a butcher had used it as a tray. Blushing in shame at what she looked like, she immediately stripped off her armoured top, quickly pulling over her equally-bloodstained silk dress as she saw Laguna's face.
'Uh, where can I find a stream nearby to wash in?' Reis asked, feeling foolish.
'You don't need to find one. There are makeshift showers available near my tent. I will personally make sure nobody comes around yours when you use it,'
'Thanks,'
Laguna did indeed prevent anyone from entering the shower cubicle; he stood just outside the door. Which way he looked, Reis never knew. Turning on the shower tap, she shivered as a stream of ice-cold water rained down on her golden-blonde sheets. Scrubbing away the red muck on her arms, she sang softly a song in an ancient language of origins she knew from somewhere; she never quite remembered where she received some of these pieces of knowledge. Running fingers through her hair as she rubbed shampoo into them, she mused on the battle before her; should she charge forwards immediately, or should she remain behind? All the choices were spread out before her mind; and only one to pick. Continuing to muse as she lathered her thighs, she continued in the same vein for the next five minutes.
Irritated with her own indecision, Reis turned off the water, and after wrapping a soft woolen towel around herself, walked out of the cubicle—to find Laguna sleeping next to the cubicle door. Smiling slightly, she picked him up and easily lifted him to his tent, avoiding the astonished stares of the soldiers; never before have they seen a woman carry a person, let alone on one arm. Placing him down gently, she looked down upon the sleeping form.
Just like a baby…peaceful, tranquil, quiet…
Leaning against the side of the tent, she yawned widely. Never before had she felt so tired; after fighting hostiles for hours and hours on end, slicing up limbs and shredding bones and flesh, she began to feel the strain of tiredness upon her mind and body. Eyelids began to droop…ears…becoming less…sensitive…closing eyes…hearing nothing…then the silence.
Next morning…
The first loud scream of 'Fire!' roused Reis from her deep sleep; she hadn't slept well for quite a while. It had been…days, weeks, possibly months since she didn't dream of nightmares or scenes of death and destruction. Picking up her battle gear, she slipped them on over her slim, athletic body. Running a finger gently along the edge of a razor-sharp katana, she tested the keen blade; licking up a droplet of blood from her finger, she then smeared another upon the handle, rubbing it into the black handle-cover.
Now she was ready for some action.
Outside…was a battle of epic proportions. Thousands of men charged across the battlefield, opening fire as they ran, beams of light striking the Galbadian army, and bullets felling some Estharians. The wounded moaned piteously on the bloodied battlefield, creeping up to the nearest trench with trembling limbs—before being shot dead. Neither side was emerging the victor this time; an artillery blast eradicated the men, sending them flying either side of the explosion or incinerating them in the heat blast.
Running over to the nearest artillery, she observed the men loading the fusion cannon and firing a blinding beam of green light towards the fray, loading canisters of bluish-white fluid into the ammunition hopper. Noticing the way that the men fired randomly into the crowd of people, not caring whether they struck friend or foe made Reis quite impatient and furious at the same time.
Why…of all the people on this planet…did Laguna call them skilled? I will show them how it's done…
'Step aside, soldier,' she commanded the man aiming the siege weapon, 'I will show you how it's done,'
'You? A woman? Don't play tricks with me,' the soldier scoffed, before resuming his pointless barrage, blasting a group of friendly soldiers into the air with a badly-directed beam of energy.
'Step aside, I repeat. Or do you wish your guts to be spilled out like those Galbadians that I slew yesterday?'
This seems to be working, fear is flitting across his face…he's getting up and letting me use it…
Reis peered into the periscope. She could see some Galbadians running across the field…and something behind them. Gazing further, she saw…a line of tanks, moving across the horizon rapidly.
Grabbing the handle that controlled the movement, she lined up the dot marked 'Hit' and the other that was marked 'Distant hit'. Holding her tongue between her teeth, she pulled the trigger…
An almighty blast issued from the muzzle of the cannon, knocking Reis slightly backward, but the beam it issued was on its way. Mercilessly, the green ray of light bored into the armour plating, piercing through, burning the interiors…before annihilating the vehicle in a column of flames and shrapnel.
'Thank you, soldier. Resume your firing,' Reis said quickly, leaving the artillery troops there, stunned at her efficiency.
'The Galbadians are running out of reinforcements,' Laguna said, rubbing his hands together.
Is that due to you happiness of hearing that news? Or is it because of the cold?
'By fifteen hundred hours we shall be able to storm the city,'
And that's…a good thing?
'Sounds…good,' Reis muttered stiffly.
'Aye, it is,' he said, standing proudly as he observed another group of soldiers reach for the heavens as they soared through the air, before landing face first into the dirt.
At three in the afternoon…
'Hold fire!' Laguna yelled into the loudspeaker. The field was a barren wasteland of craters and dead bodies; both Estharian and Galbadian. Not one Galbadian soldier remained with even the slightest trace of life in them.
'March! Towards Deling City! Tonight we shall destroy the evil that corrupts this world!'
The columns of soldiers picked up their rifles, marching steadily in a uniform line towards the waiting city. Treading on the faces and bodies of the dead, they showed no remorse or pity in their faces; blank, inexpressive, and…strangely similar. Each wore an expression of blank obedience in their faces; Reis wondered if they were even alive. Nevertheless, Deling City drew ever closer…