In Another World With A Marine

by Nightmare 6-4

Sgt. James Murphy was a Marine Marksman who did his duty to combat terrorism and protect the homefront, he made the ultimate sacrifice and God revived him in another world, but unfortunately for James the war is not over, because Marines never die, they just go to hell to regroup.

8. Chapter 8: Let Slip The Dogs of War

Ch. 8 – And Let Slip The Dogs of War!

In Another World with My Smartphone is owned by AT-X, Tokyo MX, and BS11, I only own the OCs. Semper Fidelis, Oorah! **Disclaimer**: If it seems rushed in certain parts, I apologize as I probably wrote the part when I was SUPER tired from work.

"Yuri! Get a control center up and running on the second floor of the castle! Fox and Pearson, we're gonna need two V-22 Ospreys for quick touch and go extraction. This is gonna be a race against the clock, but we have speed and manpower on our side. Roman, can you and Feldman build an MLRS drone?" James asked as he looked to the SAS member.

"Shit bruv, that wouldn't be an issue. Give me about thirty minutes and ye'll have y'r ground support. Oi! Feldman! Let's get to it." Roman said before he and Feldman disappeared around the side of the castle.

"I gotta go talk with the King to let him know what's happening." James said as he opened another [Gate]. "We're gonna do what is essentially a two-prong offensive: first prong will be taking out Aegis Obsidian while the second prong will be our offensive on Sandora that would be in conjunction with the Search & Rescue of the enslaved people in the Kingdom of Sandora. Foley, get everyone prepped and ready." James explained before he stepped through the [Gate]. James stepped out and found himself standing in front of the King of Belfast "Ahh James, it's nice to see you." King Belfast said as he stood up out of his chair, James nodded silently.

"You said you'd back me up one hundred percent if I moved against Sandora, right?" James asked as he approached the King, Tristwin nodded "Yes I would, is it time?" Tristwin asked, James nodded as he stopped about four feet from the King "Yes, we're going to be doing a two prong attack against them: One on Sandora's allies which are various mercenary groups and the other is a full fledged attack against Sandora to rescue the enslaved people, would you be able to provide some soldiers to accompany my forces?" James asked, Tristwin seemed hesitant for a moment before James spoke again.

"I can use my [Modeling] null spell to change their armor color, we'll get Touya involved as well." James said, Tristwin nodded before he summoned one of his advisors "Yes, your majesty?" The advisor asked as he took a knee in front of the King. "Lucien, please prepare eighty of our finest soldiers and send them to Juniper Castle with Touya." Tristwin ordered, Lucien nodded "Yes, your majesty. Right away." Lucien said before he left to get the troops ready.

"Where can I find Touya?" James asked as he was about to leave, Tristwin nodded as he pulled out a map "There's a mansion about four miles east of here. That's where he is." Tristwin said, James nodded before he used a [Gate] to get outside the city walls. 'Alright... east... got it.' James thought as he pulled out his compass from his SERE kit. "[Accel]!" James said before he disappeared in an instant. James used [Accel] a total of three times before he found himself outside the walls of a large mansion. James walked through the gate and immediately found two swords pointed at his throat "State your business, intruder." The guard said as James raised his hands.

"Boys, let's lower those swords before someone gets hurt." James said before he felt the tip of the blades poke into his neck, he quickly kicked one of the guards in the chest and knocked the wind out of them, he immediately drove a roundhouse to the side of the head of the other guard which rendered him unconscious. "Now, y'all sit tight." James said before he patted them on their faces and continued to the front door of the mansion. Some of the servants moved behind cover as James banged on the door "Yo Toyota! Open up!" James yelled, suddenly an older gentleman opened the door "Hello, how may I be of service?" The man asked, James nodded as he looked at the man "Is Touya here?" James asked, the man nodded "Yes, allow me to fetch him. Please, do come in." The man said as he opened the door and invited James inside.

"Master Touya, there's a gentleman here to see you." The butler said as he called upstairs, Touya descended the stairs a few minutes later "Who is it, Laim? Oh... James." Touya said. "What? Are you disappointed to see me? Anyway, it's time to move. We're striking Sandora today... since I shot his crown off his head about thirty minutes ago." James said as he crossed his arms. "You WHAT!?" Touya exclaimed, James chuckled "He sent another group to try and attack my castle, still haven't found a name for it... but that's not the point. We have to evacuate the enslaved before the 2nd Battalion strikes. Besides, you agreed to help." James said as he reminded the teen of his agreement.

"Yeah... Alright, what do we do first?" Touya asked, James sighed as adjusted his helmet "I need my girls to stay here. At least until this over." James explained as he snapped his fingers and opened a [Gate] to his castle. He stepped through and found Ayumi, Naomi, and Shelyn in the living quarters with Camilla, Minerva, Marilla, and Zaleria. "Hey girls, so today is the day I end this with Sandora, and I want you to stay at Touya's mansion." James said, immediately Marilla and Zaleria got upset "Are you going to die? We don't want to lose you." Zaleria said as Marilla cried into Azazel's fur. James took a knee and patted her head "Sweetheart, nothing can hurt me. I'm practically immortal here so you have nothing to worry about, besides... you'll be in this huge mansion with all these nice people. Ayumi, Naomi, and Shelyn will be with you too." James said as he calmed her crying.

Marilla and Zaleria cheered up as they followed Minerva and Camilla into the [Gate] along with Ayumi, Naomi, and Shelyn. Azazel walked through followed by James before the [Gate] closed "Touya, this is Minerva, Camilla, Zaleria, and Marilla. They'll be staying here while we're away, Ayumi, Naomi, and Shelyn will also be here. "Ready?" James asked, Touya nodded before Naomi pulled James aside "My sister's name is Misuki, please find her." Naomi said before she hugged the Marine tightly, James placed his hands on her lower back as he held her closely. "I'll find her, don't worry." James said before he slowly let go of the Neko, he kissed Ayumi, Naomi, and Shelyn before he walked through the [Gate] with Azazel and Touya.

The three exited the [Gate] and found themselves on the tarmac "Well... you've been busy..." Touya said in disbelief, James chuckled as he pulled out the handheld control rig and opened the lid, the screen lit up and flashed the emblem of the Marine Corps before it displayed all the drones at his command. James scrolled down and activated the AC-130 that was labeled appropriately 'The Angel of Death'. The propellers spun up before it slowly pulled out of the hanger and taxied onto the runway, Touya stared in disbelief as the AC-130 started to barrel toward them but lifted up into the air before it banked right; James typed in a command for it to circle an area of thirty miles at eight thousand feet. James activated two of the MQ-1C Drones and had them take off into the air, James sat down on the tarmac as he typed away on the small computer.

James finished up typing after five minutes and stood up "Alright, all targets have been labeled and my drones are on standby, I have two other drones on standby as well as six F-22 Raptors and a B-52 Bomber. For the locations not in Belfast or Mismede, I have Cruise Missiles for those." James explained as they started to walk down the runway, the loud rumbling noise of propellers caused James to look up. Two V-22 Ospreys flew overhead before the propellers rotated as they slowly descended onto the tarmac while the sound of tank tracks echoed behind him, James turned around and saw four M270 MLRSs lined up while Roman had a smug grin "Did I say thirty minutes? More like fifteen." Roman said as he jumped off the middle one.

"Alright, looks like we're almost ready to go. One last thing." James said as the other Marines joined him. He snapped his fingers and opened a [Gate] to Alephis before he walked through and found roughly eighty soldiers lined up, he turned his body before he pointed at the portal "Alright soldiers, forward!" James barked, the soldiers marched in unison before they passed through the portal and found themselves standing on the tarmac. "Alright soldiers of Belfast, we are going to strike our enemies of Sandora who have been enslaving and kidnapping people for god knows how long. But, we can't have you going dressed like that, so allow me to fix that." James said as he pulled a can of black paint and a can of red paint out of [Storage].

James picked up the paint and walked up to each soldier before he dipped two fingers on his gloveless hand into the black paint, he touched the paint to their armor before he chanted "[Modeling]" James said before the man's armor glowed; as the light faded, they found the once silver armor was now black. He dipped a single finger into the red paint and touched it to the armor again "[Modeling]." James said before a red emblem of a skull with devil horns had been painted onto the armor, the black gauntlet's fingers were now red, and their black close helms had a red wicked smile painted onto it, the design resembled the iconic smile on the A-10 Warthog minus the white teeth.

James repeated the process over and over again for every soldier until he had a sea of black devils in front of him "Perfect, no affiliation to be known. Now, break up into eight groups of ten and form up in small squadrons." James said, the Belfast troops moved and formed eight squads that stood in two rows of four groups. "Shit, that's some good coordination." James said as he used a blue magic stone that he swiped from 'The Blue Moon', he used the steady jet stream of water to power-wash the paint from his fingers. He slipped the stone into his BDU pocket before he pulled his glove back on "Right, so now that this is all done, it's time to move." James said before he looked up at the sky as the sun was starting to set.

"Alright, four units load up in the back of those metal beasts. Ramirez, Fox, Austin, and Roman, you're with me on the Ospreys. Elliott, Feldman, Pearson, and Yuri, you take the other unit and take out the Black Phantom Company locations. Foley and Jones, you're going to Faybell to train the locals. With you guys running the show, they should be adequate by nights end." James said before the group moved to their designated positions. James boarded one of the Ospreys while Victoria piloted the other one "When did you learn to fly?" Victoria asked, James chuckled "I didn't, I figured if these guys can do it then it must not be that hard." James said with a chuckle.

The Osprey's cockpit had been outfitted with a single seat, a flight-control stick, a rotor-speed lever, and a rotorprop wheel that would change the rotor's position when spun; the ramps closed as the soldiers stood chest to back while the Marines stood near the cockpit. "Alright, we're going off the original callsigns, Osprey unit will be Alpha and ground unit will be Bravo. Bravo, you have the locations thanks to Alonzo and the spell [Recall], remember to move methodical and slow. When you're ready, we'll start the attack by hitting the bases with no hostages using the drones and Cruise Missiles. Good luck and happy hunting, move out." James said via the Marine's comms.

'Azazel, protect the area.' James said telepathically as he looked at the seven foot tall hellhound. 'Yes master, I will summon my minions to patrol the area until you return.' Azazel replied before he howled demonically. Bravo opened multiple [Gate]s as Alpha took off into the sky and circled the area, James looked down and watched as Demon Lords, Skeleton Warriors, and other smaller Cerberus's rose out of the ground before they knelt before Azazel. The two Ospreys flew off toward Sandora, the blinking light of The Oracle flashed in the night sky as the Ospreys flew past it "Damn, we're already over Mismede." James said into his comms as he communicated with Victoria.

"Alright Marines, suppressors on. Fire rate set to Semi, we'll be touching down outside the first location." The Gunnery Sergeant said through his comms. "Touya, you're gonna use your [Gate] spell to warp the slaves to the kingdom of Mismede where Jamukha will be ready to receive... or he will be once he receives our notice. You got that [Gate] mirror, right?" James asked, Touya nodded as he fished it of his pocket. James handed Touya a folded piece of paper that the teen then slipped into the mirror, five minutes later a piece of paper came out from the other side, Touya picked up the paper and unfolded it before he read the contents.

"James, thank you for what you are doing. Mismede will be ready to receive the captives. Sincerely, Jamukha Blau Mismede. Yeah, he'll be ready." Touya said as he finished reading the letter. "Heads up, we're five minutes away from our first target." James said as he saw the dimly lit silhouette of a city in the distance, the Osprey's rotors slowly rotated as they made their descent half a mile outside of the city "We have to be careful, sound will travel easily here." James said through their comms as the propellers slowed and the ramp lowered, the soldiers exited the Osprey and moved into formation along with the Marines who stood in front of them.

"Austin, you move onto the next target." James said through their comms as the VTOL by, the ramp closed behind James as he stepped out of the Osprey and onto the sand. James pulled down his optics and watched as the area was blanketed in a green hue, their IR laser sights shown as bright as day while he attached a suppressor to his Scar-H. "[Multiple, Enchant: Silence]" James said as he enchanted the knights armor with [Silence] so they wouldn't make a sound. The marksman nodded before they started in toward the city; as they moved through the desert, James's ear piece went off "This is Austin, in place." Victoria said through their comms.

"10-4, cast the following spells in this order on the knights: [Multiple, Enchant: Silence]." James said as he they got closer to their target. "Roger." Austin replied. The Marines got to the outskirts of town and slowly moved inward via an alleyway, James signaled ten of the soldiers in black to circle around and infiltrate the city with Fox while Ramirez took ten soldiers and moved to infiltrate from the other side of the city. James flipped the rate of fire to semi as he pushed himself against the wall and slowly peaked around the corner to check if the coast was clear, the sound of loud talking and yelling caught the Marines attention as he scanned the area.

His eyes landed on a tavern that had multiple men who looked like thugs with swords on their hips, the men had young women with collars around their necks who looked scared and underfed. "Uhh, you men are pigs! How can you do this to these poor girls?!" A female voice exclaimed, the men laughed at a woman who stormed off away from the bar... toward the Marines. James reconnected his Scar-H to the rifle sling that wrapped across his chest and let it hang, James crouched down behind a barrel as the woman passed before he moved out and covered her mouth before she tried to scream. "Shhh, don't scream. We're here to help, I'm going to let you go and I need you to remain calm. We're here to free these girls, alright? Nod if you understand." James said in a calm whisper, the woman nodded her head slowly before James removed his hand.

The woman turned around slowly as James signaled her into the alley "We can't be seen, we have to stay hidden." James said before the woman followed him into the alley. "What's the name of this city?" James whispered, the woman nodded as she got closer "This is Astal City, but it's also called Slave City." The woman said in a hushed tone. "Is there anyone else in this city that's opposed to slavery?" James asked as the knights in black remained motionless and blended in with the night. The woman shook her head remorsefully "No, it's just me against the city. Everyone has slaves here, it's disgusting." The woman said, James nodded his head "I need you to get out of the city, this city is about to go down and you shouldn't be here." James explained.

"I have an affinity for Null magic and have a spell called [Gate] that can make a door to anywhere. Go through it." James said as he snapped his fingers and opened a [Gate], the woman bowed her head and walked through the portal before James closed it behind her. James pulled out his phone and pulled up the map 'Search: Misuki, Naomi's sister' James typed into the search bar before he hit search. The loading circle spun twice before a red pin popped up on the map "She's in a city near the coast." James said to himself as he put his phone into his pocket. "All units are in place. Commence the assault." James said via his throat comms.

He pulled out his handheld control rig and opened it as the screen turned on, he accessed the AC-130 and watched as red squares formed on the targets, James switched the 105mm and 40mm to the ammunition enchanted with [Explosion]. The Marine moved the joystick and took aim at the target before he pressed a red button.

---

*Meanwhile in Belfast*

A small fort sat quiet on a ridge, armed men patrolled the walls while others sharpened their weapons "Man, when's the boss getting back?" A thug with an eyepatch asked as he ran a sharpening stone across the blade. "I don't know, how hard is it to attack one castle?" The other thug asked before a 105mm shell hit the ground in the middle of the fort and wiped it off the face of the world, a huge mushroom cloud filled the sky as four 40mm rounds peppered the area. A Hellfire missile dropped from the bottom of one of the Predator Drones and hit the center of another fort, the base was reduced to ash and fire as the explosion ripped everything physical to pieces.

The AC-130 continued to circle as it sent the hate down range toward the other highlighted targets, massive explosions lit up the night sky as the Aegis Obsidian's operation was dismantled one 105mm and one Hellfire missile at a time. "WHAT'S HAPPENING!?" A man yelled as everything exploded around him, he tried to run away but James chased him down with a Hellfire. James switched the ammo in the MQ-1C's to the Hellfire missiles enchanted with [Mega Explosion], James aimed down at one of the Bronze Bull bases and pressed fire.

The large fort sat quiet as the Hellfire missile screamed through the sky and impacted the middle of the fort, a massive explosion consumed the area as the night sky was lit up as if the sun was at mid day. Another massive explosion shook Belfast as the other Bronze Bull base was hit with a Hellfire missile, minutes later the smoke cleared and revealed a crater that was 210 feet deep, 450 feet wide, and had a lip radius of 890 feet.

---

*Back in Sandora*

"You can run, but you'll only die tired." James said as he set the drones to return to base, he scrolled down and selected the Cruise Missiles before he selected the targets in Regulus and on the border of Regulus and Belfast, James pressed the red button before he closed the lid of the handheld device and placed it back into his backpack. James turned around and watched the night sky as four bright lights shot into the sky and flew off into the night "There they go... death delivered on time or your money back." James said with a chuckle before he resumed the raid on Astal, the Marines pushed into the city and went after various locations.

James crept toward the Tavern while Ramirez and Fox readied themselves to become door to door 5.56 salesmen. "What's wrong with you, bitch?!" A man yelled before he backed handed a frail girl to the ground, she let out a yelp as his hand connected. The man stood over her as he readied himself to strike her again, suddenly a clap in the darkness echoed through the night as the man's body slammed to the ground. The chatter at the Tavern seemed to die down as everyone looked at the man's body as blood started to pool around his corpse, the woman cried on the ground as the others stared at her.

"Release the slaves or you'll meet the same fate." A voice said in the darkness, the knights in black slowly surrounded the Tavern as James stepped out into the light while Ramirez and Fox kicked in doors, cleared houses, and rescued the enslaved people. "I'll take care of this guy." A cocky man said as he withdrew a short sword and approached James, he raised the blade and swung downward. James raised his hand and caught the man's arm before he pulled out his revolver, he put the barrel against the man's forehead and pulled the trigger. The crowd watched as the back of the man's skull exploded and sprayed brain matter onto the desert floor.

"Sir, houses are clear. All that's left is the Tavern, the slaves have been transported to Mismede." Ramirez said via their comms, Fox showed up to James's right side but remained in the shadows. "Come on guys! We can take him!" A man yelled before the Tavern let out a rallying cry. "Hang on! If we're gonna do this, I'll come in there and you send your slaves outside." James said as he let his rifle hang, a drunk man staggered forward "Deal. Go outside, dogs!" The man yelled before the slaves exited the Tavern and into a [Gate] that was concealed by darkness. James walked into the Tavern and found himself surrounded by armed, drunk, and angry thugs. "Right, before we tear each other apart like a bunch of animals. Allow me to ready myself." James said as he pulled a Remington 870 from his [Storage]. "[Modeling]." James said as he turned the stock into a pistol grip and shortened the barrel "[Program] start: Condition/ when user says 'Reload', Action/ use [Aports] to bring shotgun shells from users body and insert them into the shotgun until filled to capacity. End [Program]." James said as the shotgun glowed.

"Reload." James said as he watched seven shells get inserted into the receiver, he cocked the slide before he inserted an extra shell. "[Program] start: Condition/ When trigger is pulled and shell is fired. Action/ Pull slide back to eject spent shell and load next shell. End [Program]." James said as the shotgun stopped glowing. "Are you done?" A man with a war hammer that rested on his shoulder asked as he shifted his weight to his right leg. James nodded "Almost. [Speaker]." James said as a white sigil formed on the roof above them while a smaller one formed around his phone. "What's he doing?" Fox asked as Ramirez joined him in the shadows, Ramirez chuckled as he watched "Well, he's about to clean house with style." Ramirez said as the Marines watched the show as the sound of deafening guitar riffs echoed from the Tavern.

Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd (Specifically the 4:42 mark aka the legendary solo aka the rampage solo)

Lord, I can't change

Won't you fly high, free bird, yeah

"Is that... Free Bird?" Fox asked before he looked over at Ramirez who grinned from ear to ear. James nodded his head as the solo picked up, the thugs ran in and slashed at the Marine, James drove his knee into the gut of the man with the war hammer before he fired to his right and peppered the crowd with buckshot. The slide cocked itself and ejected the spent shell as James leveled the shotgun and blew a man through the wall with a pull of the trigger, he turned around and slammed a man's head into the bar before he grabbed a bottle, broke over the man's head, and stabbed another in the jugular. James pulled out his M45 1911 and shot a man with two daggers twice in the chest and one in the head before he blew another one's head off with the 870.

"Unleash the Kraken!" Ramirez yelled as the two Marines watched the carnage unfold inside, a man tried to run out the door but was dragged back in before another shotgun blast filled the air. He aimed the shotgun down and blew a man's knee off as he was about to swing an axe, the man dropped to the ground in agony before his dome was removed via buckshot. "Reload!" James yelled before four shells loaded themselves into the receiver, the marksman picked up a dagger by the tip and threw it at a man who tried to escape, the blade pierced the man's skull before his body slumped to the ground. James fired at a man with a longsword who charged at the Marine and blew open his chest, the ground beef of his chest exploded outward and coated the crowd before they were peppered with another squeeze of the trigger.

Murphy spun around and pulled the trigger as it was aimed at a thicker part of the crowd, a man was blown back and slammed against the wall as his abdominal cavity had been blown wide open; two men successfully escaped the carnage via the front door but were lit up by Ramirez and Fox. James switched to his 1911 as the crowd's numbers began to thin and the song was near its end. James fired at four men and hit them in the head with one shot each, the slide locked back as the mag was empty just as the song ended. The only survivor was the man with the war hammer who stared at James in horror "Y-you... you're the devil!" The man exclaimed, James chuckled as he holstered his 1911 in favor of his MR412 Rex "No, I just arrange the meetings." James said before he shot the man in the head and watched his body drop to the ground amongst the other corpses.

James walked out of the Tavern before he withdrew a hand grenade, ripped the pin, and tossed in via an open window "You good?" Ramirez asked as James held the shotgun by the receiver, James was silent for a second before the Tavern exploded in a fiery explosion of meat and wood. "I am now." James said as he started back toward the Osprey, he placed the Remington 870 back into [Storage] before he pulled his Scar-H back out. "This is Bravo, Belfast locations are secure and slaves have been sent to designated location. Waiting for your strike." Pearson said through their comms, James pressed the mic button on his throat as he continued toward the Osprey.

"Roger. Use [Gate] to get to Mismede." James said as the back of the Osprey opened as Touya stood inside the VTOL "Why did I come along again?" Touya asked, James walked up the ramp as the Marines and black knights followed. "Cause there's one more location to hit and it's big. There's gonna be pandemonium and you'll use [Gate] to get the slaves out amidst the chaos." James explained, Touya rolled his eyes as the back of the VTOL became cramped. James sat down in the cockpit before he pulled out the handheld drone controller. The screen flashed to life as he selected the Artillery emplacements in Mismede and switched the ammo to The Falling Star of Armageddon.

James selected two highlighted locations in Belfast, one in the far north and one down south near the border, he pressed the red button before he closed the device and started the VTOL up. The Osprey rose into the air and flew off into the night sky before he let it hover for a moment; James, Ramirez, Fox, and Touya watched the darkness before two bright lights flashed in the distance. Two columns of fire rose into the night sky that were visible all the way from Sandora "James... what did you make?" Touya asked in disbelief. James chuckled as he moved the flight stick "Death, same day express delivery." James said in a monotone voice as they flew toward the next location.

"Wait, what about Astal?" Fox asked, James pulled back on the stick and turned the Osprey so it had a clear view of Astal. The Marines and Touya watched the town as James accessed the Artillery Batteries and targeted Astal, he hit the pulsing button before he increased the altitude and backed away as fast as possible. Two gleams of light shimmered over the horizon as they got closer and closer, the balls of light took a sharp downward turn and impacted the city; the gleams exploded in a flash of blinding light and released a shockwave that caused the Osprey to lose stabilization. "Shit shit shit!" James yelled as he pulled back on the stick and spun the rotorprop knob.

The propellers rotated ninety degrees before he pushed the power lever forward and pulled back, the Osprey's death spiral ceased as it flew upward into the sky that was illuminated by the two non-nuclear... nukes that just erased a city from existence. Fox white-knuckle gripped the cockpit doorframe while the black knights picked themselves up "Oh Jesus Christ on a cracker, fuck that noise!" Ramirez exclaimed as he shook his head. James pulled out the drone control rig and handed it to Ramirez "Taxi the Raptors onto the runway and get them set into gun-run mode." James said as they rapidly approached the coastal town.

"This is Lance Corporal Austin, Sandora operations is cleared. Rendezvousing at secondary location." Victoria said over their comms. Ramirez selected a Cruise Missile and targeted the location highlighted in Sandora before he pressed 'Fire'. "Location has been marked and a Cruise Missile is inbound." Ramirez said as he held the control rig. Thirty seconds later, a flash of light lit up the horizon as the missile hit its mark "Alright Alpha team, we're almost there. Check your weapons and get ready, we're going in hot. They're on high alert now." James said as he watched the radar ping and illuminate twelve dozen red dots in the city along with about three dozen green dots.

"Sir, this is Bravo. We found Kawan... but it's abandoned." Pearson said over their comms, James shook his head before he pressed his mic "10-4, standby for [Gate] to link up with Alpha." James said as he spun the dial on the thruster handle and had the propellers rotate ninety degrees vertical. The wheels slowly extended as the Osprey touched down half a mile outside the city, the back ramp lowered as the other Osprey landed and followed suit; Ramirez opened a [Gate] and watched as Bravo team moved through to join up with Alpha. "Alright, as far as I know... this is the last stronghold. We hit this and the Kingdom falls, so we hit them hard. Roman, go get the MLRSs and send them through but stay behind to man the central control unit, Pearson go with him and get the Abrams." James said as he gave his orders, the two Marines nodded before they disappeared into a [Gate].

Seconds later, a large [Gate] forms as the M1a2 Abrams pulled through followed by the four M270 MLRSs before the [Gate] closed. James watched as the MLRSs moved on their own and set up thirty-six feet apart from one another "Heads up boys, the Angel of Death and her minions are on their way." Roman said through their comms. "Alright Marines, move out." James said before the massive force started in for the city. As they got closer, they found a welcoming party waiting for them "Charge!" James yelled before the Marines fired into the mass of armored soldiers, their bullets ripped through their armor like butter and dropped them to the ground. Blood leaked from their shredded armor and muddied the sand beneath their feet; soldiers on horseback charged at the Marines and black knights but were ripped apart by the Abram's coaxial heavy machine gun.

The Abrams raced forward as the turret turned a complete one hundred and eighty degrees before it smashed through the city's outer wall, the Marines stormed through the breach and fired at the armed soldiers that stood ready to fight. The black knights ran into battle and clashed swords with the city's guards, a loud boom echoed from the sky before a 105mm shell hit a building in the middle of the city followed by a Hellfire missile that hit a guard station on the wall. The Marines sprinted through the street while the Abrams followed behind them slowly "Stop!" Roman yelled in their earpieces before the Marines slid to a stop.

Suddenly, a rocket salvo rained down and peppered the walls methodically, the rockets hit designated targets with precision accuracy. The Marines continued on after the last rocket hit its mark, they Marines turned down a road and saw a massive stone castle at the end of the road. Cylindrical towers rose into the sky and lined the ramparts that surrounded the castle, Fox stepped forward and took a knee as he pulled a SMAW-D from his [Storage] and rested it on his shoulder. "Blast back clear?" Fox yelled before everyone moved out from behind him "Blast back clear!" James yelled. "Fire! Fire! Fire!" Ramirez, Feldman, and Fox yelled one after another (one word per person). Fox squeezed the trigger on the SMAW and felt the launcher buck as the 83mm rocket erupted from the tube and screamed toward the large doors.

The rocket hit and blew the doors off the hinges, the doors collapsed and crushed three guards who stood behind the large, heavy doors. "Pearson! Gun it!" James yelled, the tank tracks dug into the brick road as the Abrams sped down the road and slammed through the brick wall, the guard tower wobbled slightly before it collapsed and crushed the guards within. The coaxial HMG fired sporadically as it cut down the approaching soldiers, James and the rest of 2nd Battalion stormed the castle as the tank turret turned "Pearson! Wake them the fuck up!" James yelled as they hid behind the tank, the barrel leveled before it bucked and blew the doors inward. "Touya, take the black knights and move through the city, rescue any slave you come across. Go!" James yelled before the boy in white used [Accel] to link of with the knights.

The Marines stormed the castle and quickly gunned down anyone without a collar, the men in black and red robes were taken by surprise before being lit up by James, Fox, and Ramirez. Their bodies hit the wall and slouched to the ground, the Marines turned their focus to the obese man who was wedged in the throne. James stepped forward as the other Marines kept their rifles trained on the obese man, Jafar moved his hand and caused the slaves to move themselves in front of him as meat shields "Hahahaha, what are you going to do now?" Jafar asked as he took a drag off his pipe.

James sighed as he pulled out his phone and tapped on each of the slaves which caused a sigil to form above their heads "Paralyze." James said as he held his hand over his phone, the slave's bodies tensed up before they collapsed to the ground.

"I told you your country would be reduced to ash and your slavers would be slaughtered. Now all that's left is to free the slaves, feed you to dogs, and your palace, neigh, the city, will be destroyed." James said as he stepped over the slaves and walked toward the obese man. "You'll never be able to free them. You can try all you want." Jafar said as James stepped closer to the throne. James reached into [Storage] and pulled Dragon's Bane out, the black blade shimmered in the light as James tightened his grip on the handle of the sword made from the scale of the black dragon; James felt the power swell up inside of him as he held the enchanted blade.

"You'll never free them, all thanks to this little item of mine." Jafar said as he held up his left arm but found the item was gone along with his hand and wrist, James held the fat man's hand and pulled the bracelet from the severed hand before he tossed it back at Jafar. "Ahhh! You bitch!" Jafar exclaimed as he cradled the wound on his left arm. "Hahahaha! You'll never be able to free them, it's made for me and only I can control them." Jafar said as blood squirted from his wound. "... and if I die, so do they." Jafar said with a smug grin, James stared at the obese man as he held the bracelet. "So you mean it's linked to your body or your magic wavelength?" James asked, Jafar chuckled "Yeah, something like that." Jafar said as one of the court mages used [Cure Heal] to stop the bleeding.

"Fox, what does that sound like to you?" James asked as he maintained eye contact with Jafar. "Sounds like it's encoded, like it's scripted to his biological wavelength." Fox said as he thought about the bracelet. "So there's a code that needs to be broken..." James said as he trailed off. "Or cracked? Maybe there's a spell that can break enchantments." Ramirez said as he walked closer to James before he shot the court mage in the chest, the mage's body slammed into the wall before slumped to the floor and his head dropped as blood leaked from his mouth.

"Come flame wind, Whirlwind of blazes!" Three voices chanted behind the Marines, the 2nd Battalion turned around and saw three mages who readied themselves to cast a spell. "I got this." Pearson said calmly over their comms before the Abrams's engine roared louder as it drove toward the Marines. "Ignis Hur...!" The mages started to yell before they were crushed by the Abrams with a bloody crunch as the tracks mangled their bodies and reduced them to three pancakes of blood, meat, and bone covered in cloth.

"As I was saying, this thing is like a safe and needs to be broken." James said as he brainstormed possible spell names. James held his hand over the bracelet as he focused his concentration on the item "Break." James said but nothing happened. "Crack. Interrupt. Break down. Breaking." James said as he tried to think of spell names while he had the spell effect in mind. "Cracking?" James said unsure before the bracelet glowed. "Holy shit that worked." James said as he looked at the bracelet, he threw the bracelet at Jafar who stared at him stunned but chuckled as he slipped it onto his other hand "Kill them." Abdul said as he issued a command to his slaves but none of them budged.

A frail girl stood up from behind his throne and stepped away from the obese man "Where you going?! Get back here, whore!" Abdul yelled as he tried to stand up but James walked up and pushed him back into the throne, the man's fat jiggled as James's boot pushed deeper into the man's chest "Now, what did I say would happen again...? Oh right, the dogs." James said before he snapped his fingers and opened a portal back to his castle. Suddenly, four Cerberus hellhounds bolted through and sunk all twelve jaws into the man's fatty flesh; the hellhounds ripped and jerked as they forced the obese man out of the throne and onto the floor.

Abdul screamed bloody murder as the hellhounds ripped through his flesh and into the muscle, Fox used [Recovery] on the paralyzed slaves and allowed them to stand once more. The slaves stood and watched as Abdul Jafar Sandora was ripped to shreds, his blood soaked into the carpet rug as their teeth got into the meat. Abdul let out a bloody scream until he was silenced when one of the hellhounds ripped out his jugular, the sound of gurgling filled the room as blood filled the area that was once his throat. "Heel!" James yelled which caused the Hellhounds to let go, back away, and stand as if at attention.

The marksman walked over to Abdul's body and looked down at the mutilated corpse "Rot in hell, you piece of shit." James said before he walked to the throne and picked up a golden, jewel encrusted Scimitar. "Honestly, this is so fucking cliché." James said as he examined the blade before he placed it on a table and held his hand over it "[Modeling]." James said before the gold formed into ten stacks of ten gold coins and the gems were in a pile next to the coins.

Ramirez ripped the cloth from Jafar's corpse before he modeled it into multiple cloth sacks which James put an equal dispersal of the coins into the aforementioned bags while Fox opened a [Gate] to Mismede "Here, you guys take these coins and start your lives over, begin anew. This place is going to be destroyed and erased from the face of the world." James explained as he handed a bag containing five gold coins to the freed slaves.

Explosions echoed outside as Hellfire missiles and 105 HEAT rounds rained down from the heavens above, Touya appeared next to James and stepped in front of the Marine "We swept the city and rescued everyone we could find. What do we do now?" Touya asked, James chuckled "Get them out of here, I still have one person to find." James said as he pulled his phone out and accessed the map before he typed 'Misuki' in the search bar. The loading circle rotated for a moment before a red pin popped up on the map... on their location.

"[Search] Misuki." James said as he closed his eyes, the area around him popped up in his mind like a 3D digital model including the area above and below them. A highlighted figure popped up beneath his feet, the figure seemed weak, as if they were barely hanging on.

"Hey, does this place have a sub-level... a basement or a dungeon?" James asked, one of the slaves nodded "It's where he'd take his... toys to play with." The frail girl said as she looked at Jafar's mutilated corpse. "Right, Cerberus's... take him to Azazel." James said as he snapped his fingers and opened a [Gate] back to the castle, the Cerberus hellhounds sank their teeth into Jafar's fat flesh before they slowly dragged his bloody corpse through the [Gate]. The faint sound of tearing flesh could be heard as Jafar's corpse was pulled into the [Gate] by the snarling purple hellhounds, the [Gate] closed behind them and left the Marines alone with the freed slaves, a pile of corpses, and a large puddle of blood and flesh.

"How do we get to the area below?" James asked the freed slaves who looked at one another, one of them pointed to a door near the throne "Through there, down the stairs and through doors at the end of the hall." The girl said before Touya escorted them through a [Gate] to Mismede, James backed up and got a running start before he threw his shoulder into the door. The hinges creaked as they bent under the force of the impact, James back up slightly before he lined himself up with the door again "[Boost]." James said before he sprinted toward the door and threw his shoulder into the door again, the hinges snapped before the door slammed into the marble wall; James quickly descended the stairs into the dark chamber and found himself swallowed up by the darkness. James placed Dragon's Bane back into [Storage] and pulled out his Scar-H.

The marksman pulled down his optics and let them click on, the dark room was blanketed in a green hue as every detail of the room became crystal clear; Ramirez, Fox, Austin, and Yuri joined him down in the sub-level as Elliott, Feldman, and Pearson secured the top level. As James, Ramirez, Fox, and Austin moved down the hall, the unmistakable sound of screaming could be heard coming from a room at the end of the hall "[Accel]! [Boost]!" James yelled before he disappeared in the blink of an eye and reappeared at the end of the hall, the Marine kicked the door in with all his might and blew it off the hinges, the Marines sprinted into the room and quickly gunned down the armed soldiers inside.

A hooded man stood above a girl with cat ears, dark chestnut hair, and cerise (reddish-pink) colored eyes who was tied down to a stone bed "You're too la-" The man started to say before James shot him in the head, his body collapsed to the ground as the other bodies hit the floor and slumped against the walls, James placed his rifle down on a chair as he moved to the girl's side. "We're going to get you out of here." James said softly as he pulled up his optics and clicked up his shoulder-mounted flashlight to assess the damage. The girl had multiple lacerations, broken bones, and ligature marks around her neck "Mother fucker. Come forth light, healing of the goddess, Mega Heal." James said before the girl's body glowed as the magic restored her damaged body, healed her bones, and ridded her body of any internal damage.

Suddenly, the Marines' comms went off "Be advised, The Oracle is picking up multiple hostile groups moving your way. There are eight groups of about twenty soldiers." Roman said as the sound of Hellfire missiles hitting the ground ceased. "10-4 Overlord, alright Marines! Get ready for a fight." James said through their comms before he resumed working on the young girl. He used his Ka-Bar to cut off the restraints that tied her arms and legs to the slab, James slid the Ka-Bar into its sheath before he picked the girl up bridal style and carried her toward the stairs. James placed one foot on the steps when the building and foundation shook violently "Roman! Not so close to the palace!" James exclaimed as he carried the girl up the stairs to the first floor.

"Sir, that wasn't me." Roman said as another explosion shook the building's structure and foundation, James placed his hand on the girl's head before he closed his eyes "Come forth light, the breath bringing health: Refresh." James said before the girl's body glowed as she was filled with a burst of energy and stamina. The girl's eyes opened as she clung to James's chest "Where are we?" She asked weakly, James looked down at her and pulled down his tan Shemagh he had over his mouth "You're safe now, but it's about to get loud." James said as they walked out to the main floor, the Abrams size and power shook the area metaphorically. James looked down at her and saw she was wearing absolutely nothing "Uhh, Victoria..." James said before Lance Corporal Austin walked up.

"I got it, sir. I'll take her back to the castle and get her situated until you return." Victoria said as James let the girl down while Victoria opened a [Gate] to the castle. Victoria guided the girl through before the [Gate] closed and left the Marines alone with their new guests "Roman, sitrep. How we looking?" James asked as the Marines regrouped with the others. "It looks like they have the city surrounded and are about to push in." Roman said as he relayed the enemy positions. "Alright Marines, let's move out and eliminate the threats." James said before the Abrams lurched forward and cracked the marble floor beneath it.

James looked out over the dark streets illuminated by the raging fires from burning buildings nearby and saw the black knights marching toward him, roughly seventy strong. "Alright black knights, you're job is done and you can head back." James said as he opened a [Gate] but the knights did not budge. "We're not leaving, sir. You've brought us this far for such a valiant and noble cause; if it's our day to die, then we'd die by your side on the battlefield." One of the black knights said before all seventy knights slammed their fists on their chest plates in unison. "Alright, standby for our call. I'm gonna go speak with them." James said before he [Fly] to take off into the sky and land on one of the damaged guard towers.

"[Multiple, Speaker]." James said as he projected eight large speaker sigils. "I request to speak with the leader of this group, please step forward... alone." James said, his booming voice echoed through the city and out to the sands of Sandora. James slid down the incline of the guard tower and touched down on the sand below, the Marine looked up and saw a wall of soldiers who held various types of weapons, the soldiers all donned various types of armor that seemed very familiar; James stood up as a man in black armor approached him "So, I take it that you're the REAL head of The Black Phantom Company?" James said as he stood up, the man in black armor chuckled as he removed his helmet and shook his medium length brown hair.

"You know, it's like the legend of the hydra. Cut of one head and two more will take its place. It's kind of like the Council of Aegis Obsidian, as long as there's crime and greed in this world, we'll never truly be gone. So, am I the leader of The Black Phantom Company or is it one of those guys over there. It could be any one of us or it could be none of us." The man in black said as he gestured to the soldiers behind him.

"Alonzo and The Azure Demons were weak, they told you everything while the others held their tongue. But I will give Alonzo some credit, he knows how to save his own ass when it comes down to it... he also knows how to sell a story. You see, you eliminate all these people of power and what are you left with? Vacant seats and people willing to fill them. You can kill the council but you can't kill the individual ideals and honestly, I should thank you for eliminating the King since it was getting hard to keep him in line... this self-proclaimed slave king. He wanted to keep all the merchandise for himself and well..., that's not how business works so thank you." The man said condescendingly, 'God, this guy is a douchebag.' James thought to himself

"You know, you're so much worse than Leon. Just shut up already." James said with a sigh. "Is that all you do? Just go on and on about shit that people don't fucking care about, that I don't care about. If you try to rebuild, I'll fucking destroy you again. So, what's your name, cock waffle?" James asked as he rested his hand on the handle of his M45 1911. "Well, you can call me Mustang." The man in black said, James chuckled as he facepalmed "Mustang huh? Well, let me introduce you to Colt." James said before he pulled the pistol and pressed it to Mustang's forehead. Mustang didn't flinch as the cold steel was pressed into his flesh.

"You think this scares me?" Mustang asked before James cocked the hammer back "No, but this will for sure. Now." James said as he pressed his throat comms, moments later a barrage of 40mm Bofors rained down and hit the soldiers while Hellfire missiles impacted the other side of the city. "Make way for a gun run." Roman said via their comms as the stylings of Kenny Loggins could be heard over the horizon. James shot Mustang in the knee before he use [Boost] to throw him away from the city walls, James then used [Accel] to get within the city limits as six F-22 Raptors appeared on the horizon.

Headin' into twilight, Spreadin' out her wings tonight

She got you jumpin' off the deck And shovin' into overdrive

The F-22 Raptors broke off into two groups before they lined up for a barrage strafe, hot lead rained down and ripped through the soldiers as they tried to run. The F-22's banked in opposite directions before the circled around and prepared for another run while Hellfire missiles continued to rain down from the MQ-1Cs, 105mm HEAT rounds hit groups of enemy combatants as they attempted to figure out where the projectiles were coming from.

Highway to the Danger Zone

I'll take you right into the Danger Zone

Mustang pushed himself off the ground as blood leaked down his leg into the sand, the man looked at the destruction when a 105mm impacted the ground forty feet from his position and blew him into the wall. The sudden impact knocked the air from his lungs and dropped him to the ground gasping for air as blood filled his lungs from internal hemorrhaging. Mustang struggled to stand as the F-22 Raptors formed up for another pass as Hydra 70 rockets pods formed on the wings of the Raptors. James pulled the handheld control rig out and tapped into the drone guidance system, he quickly targeted the forces around the city limits and watched as a salvo of Hydra rockets screamed from the Raptors and hit the masses of soldiers with devastating effects.

The F-22's pulled up and flew off into the distance as Kenny Loggins seemed to fade into the distance, Mustang looked around at the devastation in horror. Severed limbs littered the desert as stragglers pulled themselves out from beneath the corpses of their friends, James walked out of the city gate as Mustang dropped to his knees in disbelief and horror "Who... who are you? The one who commands the wrath of the gods?!" Mustang exclaimed as James walked up to him. "This wasn't the wrath of the gods, this was the Wrath of the Kraken." James said before he stepped back and watched as Mustang was ripped apart by a barrage of gunfire from the Marines that stood on the city walls.

"So, what was shitfuck monologuing about?" Ramirez asked after he slid down the side of the wall and touched down in the sand. James laughed as he reloaded his weapons "Oh you know, the usual cliché bullshit. 'You'll never get rid of us. We'll always be here.' You know, that kind of shit. Also the guy we captured who we thought was the leader of The Black Phantom Company, wasn't the leader. He was just a pawn piece." James explained. "So whoever this leader is, he's extremely cautious and wants to play it safe." Ramirez said as he shook his head. "Be advised, there are forces moving into the city." Roman said via their earpiece and comms,

"Roger! Fox, grab the knights and let's go. We'll give them a little surprise. Roman, bring the Angels of Death back home." James said via their comms before he and the Marines ran from the city toward the Ospreys, the Marines split up as Pearson drove through a [Gate] followed by the M270 MLRSs while James and Ramirez boarded the Ospreys along with the knights and the other Marines. "Alright Roman, fire six Falling Stars of Armageddon." James said as he started up the engine of the V-22 Osprey. The Ospreys slowly lifted off the ground and rose into the night sky, he spun the rotorprop wheel and caused the propellers to turn ninety degrees. The Ospreys flew off into the night sky as six shining stars appeared on the horizon, the Ospreys flew away from the city before the rotors rotated vertical again and hovered in the air. The VTOLs turned around and watched as the Stars turned downward and increased their velocity.

Six massive flashes of light lit up the horizon as the capital city of Sandora was completely vaporized, columns of fire and smoke rose into the sky as the looming orange glow of death illuminated the area; James watched the window of the Osprey begin to vibrate as the shockwave rapidly approached. "Brace for impact!" James yelled as he pulled back on the stick but the Ospreys were hit by the shockwave and rocked the VTOL, almost sending it into another death spiral. The system alarm beeped rapidly as James regained control of the Osprey, the marksman looked up and watched as the six columns dispersed and saw six massive craters where the city used to be.

"Jesus. Christ." Ramirez said over the comms. "I got a feeling this is just the beginning." James said before the VTOLs turned around and flew back toward Belfast. The Ospreys flew over the deserts of Sandora before it turned into lush green and giant trees "I think this is the Sea of Trees." James said as he looked out over the horizon and saw nothing but trees. "Hey, lower your altitude a bit and look at the tree tops." Ramirez said as he decreased his altitude. James followed suit and scanned the tree tops, numerous huts and wooden shacks popped out of the tops of the trees along with a column of white smoke.

James spotted a clearing ahead of them and focused on it to memorize the details of the location "You securing a [Gate]?" Ramirez asked through their comms which caused James to chuckle "Am I that predictable?" James asked as the twin Ospreys flew over sand again and saw The Oracle towering over Mismede. James looked down at the desert below and saw his artillery batteries sitting, ready for action. The Ospreys continued on and flew over Jamukha's palace, the propeller noises echoed off the roof and walls as they flew overhead. "Alright, we're almost there." James said as the lush green of Belfast replaced the tan sand of Mismede, James banked to the left and did a wide turn as it circled around to land on the tarmac.

The rotors twisted upward and slowed the Osprey's speed before it slowly touched down on the black concrete, Ramirez slowed his descent and had wheels on the ground in a matter of seconds. The ramp lowered as the propellers slowly spun and the engines slowly powered down, the knights disembarked from the Ospreys and formed up outside of the Osprey before the Marines walked out of the rear of the VTOL. James walked past the Marines toward the brick building that housed the remaining members of Aegis Obsidian and threw the door open, he walked over to Alonzo's cell and stared at the man through the bars.

"How'd it go?" Alonzo asked, James gritted his teeth as he stared at the man "You didn't mention that Leon wasn't the real leader of The Black Phantom Company, I met Mustang and killed Mustang. He told me about the fact that since I cleaned house, that Aegis Obsidian is now going to become more ruthless and that if we cut off one head, two more will take its place." James said as he leaned against the steel bar. Alonzo looked away as he cursed silently "What are you hiding?" James asked as he gripped the bar with both hands, Alonzo shook his head "Aegis Obsidian has backup plans if you will, that in the event of a current leaders death, two successors are chosen; one to lead the group and one to get revenge. Mustang was the revenge and I guarantee Grant Wheeler is the new head of The Black Phantom Company, here's the downside... he operates out of Eashen, which is in the far east. I didn't think they'd mobilize so fast." Alonzo said apologetically, James nodded as he pulled out some metal and polymer from [Storage].

"Right, well guess where you're going." James said as he opened the door and walked into the cell, he used modeling to convert the polymer into two silicone liners and the metal into prosthetic legs; James put the liner on Alonzo's nubs before he pushed the legs onto Alonzo's nubs and secured a sort of pressure seal. "Alright, now stand up." James said as he stood up, Alonzo grabbed the cell bar to steady himself as he slowly stood up. Alonzo stumbled slightly as he took a few steps, he looked down at his new legs amazed but looked back at James "But why?" Alonzo asked confused, James chuckled "Cause you are going to show us the Aegis Obsidian Council." James said before he led the man outside of the makeshift prison.

"Yuri! He's all yours." James yelled before the Spetsnaz walked up with his RPK in hand. "Privyet Cyka Blyat, YA sobirayus' prevratit' tvoyu zhizn' v ad [Hello Bitch Fuck, I'm about to make your life hell]." Yuri said as he grabbed Alonzo's arm and opened a [Gate]. "That poor bastard." Ramirez said as he walked over to where James stood. "Where's Yuri taking him anyway?" Fox asked as he joined the Sergeant and Gunnery Sergeant. "Dangle him over an active volcano? Reenact The Nutcracker but with a hammer?" Ramirez said as he shuddered and shook his head at the thought. "Hey, that Yae girl is from Eashen, right?" Ramirez asked, James nodded "Yeah, let's go." James said before he opened a [Gate] to Touya's residence.

James, Ramirez, and Fox stepped out of the [Gate] into Touya's mansion and found two blades pointed at them by Lapis and Cecile "Oh James, it's you." Lapis said as she quickly hid her blade. "Lady Naomi, Lady Shelyn, and Lady Ayumi, Master James has returned." Laim called upstairs as James stepped forward, he looked up the stairs and couldn't help but stare as three goddesses descended the staircase "So... is it done?" Ayumi asked, James shook his head "Unfortunately, I think it's just beginning but the Kingdom of Sandora's slaves have been liberated and the King of Sandora was ripped apart by Azazel's minions." James explained as he approached the staircase, the three girls started to tremble before they broke down and ran to the Marine who stood at the foot of the stairs.

The three girls clung to his body as they wept tears of sorrow and relief into his BDUs and Molle Vest, Naomi pulled her head from his shoulders and looked into his blue eyes "And my sister? Is she...?" Naomi started to ask before she trailed off, James nodded "She's safe, Victoria is taking care of her back at the Castle." James said as he held her closely and rubbed her back lightly. James looked up and saw Linze, Elze, Yumina, and Yae standing in the doorway "Yae, I need to speak with you, but first I want to take the girls home." James said as Camilla, Minerva, and the twins walked down the stairs.

"Me? Why me?" Yae asked confused, James sighed "Cause this war I'm involved in is about to take me to the far east, to Eashen." James explained, Yae's eyes went wide as the Marine opened a [Gate] and walked through his companions, comrades, and the four young girls. The group walked out of the [Gate] and found themselves in the castle, Azazel walked into the room now the size of a Great Dane "Oh hey Azazel, what's up?" James asked as he rubbed one of the Hellhound's heads. 'You need to go to your room, something is wrong with the new girl.' Azazel said telepathically, James nodded before he made his way to his room and found Misuki laying in his bed with Victoria next to her.

Misuki was breathing rapidly and sweating profusely "I don't know what's going on, I tried [Mega Heal], [Cure Heal], and even [Recovery] but no dice." Victoria said, James cursed his short fuse "Damn it, Jafar knows what this is but I sicced the dogs on him." James said as he stood with his back to the door. "Shit, we need Touya's help." James said before he opened a [Gate] to Mismede, James walked through the portal and found himself in the Mismede Palace. Touya was conversing with Jamukha when James ran up "Touya, I need your help. It's Naomi's sister, there's something wrong with her and no amount of magic will heal her." James explained, Touya rubbed his chin thought as a brown teddy bear walked up with a squeak in each step followed by a young woman with white hair and golden eyes.

"Ahh Leen, perfect timing. We need your help." Touya said as he approached the white-haired girl, Leen looked at Touya and then back at James "So, you're the one who has been causing a lot of ruckus lately." Leen said as she approached the Marine. "You're a devil, correct? I heard that you're a devil dog?" Leen said questioningly, James chuckled "No, I'm a human like Touya. The term Devil Dog was coined by my peoples enemy during a bloody war." James said as he remembered the term's origin from the German Empire in WW1.

"Leen, he needs your help; there's a girl that is in serious condition and no magic will heal her, not even Null spells." Touya explained, Leen rubbed her chin in thought "That is most curious. Please, take me to her at once." Leen said, James immediately opened a [Gate], said goodbye to Jamukha, and stepped through with Leen, Touya, and the bear.

Leen approached Misuki while Shelyn and Ayumi held Naomi who fought back tears, Leen placed her hand on Misuki's abdomen and held it there for a moment "I see, it's not that magic isn't working, it's that there's a cursed artifact inside her. It's poisoning her and if we don't get it out, she'll die in a few hours." Leen said as James walked up, Leen grabbed his gloveless hand and placed it on Misuki's abdomen before she moved it south toward her land down under. "Here. Do you feel it?" Leen asked, James nodded slowly "I think... it feels... evil, negative if you will." James said as he could feel the magic energy coming from the object, he used the objects energy to trace its size.

The object was no bigger than an M67 Hand Grenade, James took a deep breath and exhaled slowly "[Aports]" James said before a purple light glowed bright, the light faded as James clutched an object that seemed to be burning his flesh. He tossed it into his gloved hand and held it for a moment as Leen examined it closer, James looked at his exposed hand and marveled at the damaged flesh that resembled chemical burns from Sulfuric Acid. "Fascinating, it would seem that this was linked to someone's life force that you extinguished. When they died, it would kill whoever it was inside by releasing poison into the body." Leen explained. "So an insurance policy, they must've known you were coming for her." Victoria said as Misuki's breathing slowed and her body temperature decreased after Victoria used [Recovery] on her successfully.

The teddy bear poked Azazel's leg with multiple squeaks before Azazel let out a demonic growl that caused the bear to run and hide behind Leen's legs "So, there's a spell to create life?" James asked confused but Leen shook her head "No, this is Paula and she's the result of using [Program] and refining it over two-hundred years." Leen explained before James dropped the enchanted orb on the ground and was about to crush it but Leen stopped him "May I keep it? I like to collect artifacts and this is an interesting one." Leen said before James put his foot down and let the white-haired woman take the orb.

"All yours, just be careful with it." James said before Leen placed the orb into a metal tube "I come prepared, Devil." Leen said with a smirk. James sighed "Please don't call me that; James, Gunnery Sergeant Murphy, or Kraken are fine." James said with a slight chuckle. "Hmm, I like Kraken." Leen stated with a smirk. Misuki started to sir slowly in James's bed as she slowly opened her eyes and looked around at the various faces she didn't recognize "Huh...? Where am I? Who are you...?" Misuki started to say before her eyes landed on Naomi who smiled through her tears. Misuki was silent as she tried to form words "Naomi? Is... is that you?" Misuki asked weakly as she tried to sit up.

"Hey Suki." Naomi said before she ran over and hugged her little sister, her emotional barrier crumbled as she let out years of pain and sorrow. Naomi looked up and called James over with a wave of her hand, the Marine walked over to the side of the bed and took knee next to the two girls "Misuki, this is James. He's my lover... and the one who rescued you. Those two over there are Ayumi and Shelyn, they're also his lovers." Naomi said as she introduced everyone that James was intimate with.

Misuki sat up and wrapped her arms around James's neck "Thank you for saving me, thank you thank you thank you." Misuki said over and over again, James rubbed her back as he consoled her "I was so scared that I'd never see her again." Misuki said as she cried into James's shoulder, Naomi wrapped her arms around Misuki's abdomen and rested her head on her sister's back "It's alright, Suki, you're safe now. Nobody will be able to hurt you again." Naomi said as she comforted her sister. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to be there for you, but now I can protect you like a big sister should." Naomi said as she cried into Misuki's back.

"Maybe we should give them a moment." Victoria said before she ushered everyone out of the room before the door shut behind her, leaving James alone with Misuki and Naomi. "So, how did you meet him?" Misuki asked as she finally let go of James and Naomi let go of Misuki. "Well, remember those stories that mom used to tell us about the brave knight who fought through darkness to save the princess held captive by an evil demon lord. Well, he's my er... our brave knight." Naomi said as James unfastened the covered ACH from his head and sat it on the bed, he ran his exposed hand through his dirty hair but winced when the sweat hit the damaged flesh.

"Thank you for saving me, my knight." Misuki said before she pressed her lips against his, the sudden contact caught James off guard as Misuki pulled away and opened her eyes slowly. "Would you have any objection... if I stayed by your side?" Misuki asked as she stared into his deep blue eyes, James chuckled and brushed some her chestnut brown hair out of her cerise colored eyes "Of course, there's always room in my bed for another." James said as he stood up and stretched. Naomi squealed as she held her sister closely "Oh you're gonna love it here. He's such a sweet and caring guy, not to mention he's got... well, a nice broadsword." Naomi said with a wink.

James lowered his arms and took a knee in front of Misuki "Now, Misuki, I'm gonna bring my squadmate back in and she's gonna ask you a few questions, some of them might be extremely hard to answer. Tori, come back in." James explained to Misuki before he radioed for Victoria, the marksman stood up and walked to the door as Victoria walked in. "Hi sweetheart, I'm just gonna ask you a few questions. Now, did they do anything to you like force themselves on you?" Victoria asked, Misuki lowered her head as she got really quiet "Ca-can James stay? Please?" Misuki asked meekly, James closed the door and walked back over to the bed before he sat down next to Misuki.

"He... he tried to force himself on me but I fought back against him, I was the only one without a collar because he didn't want a 'caged kitty'. He took me to the dungeon and hurt me, he'd smile with each scream... but then... then he put something inside me saying it was 'preventative measures'. He kept me in that dungeon with a mage who'd torture me while that ogre watched and... and pleasured himself." Misuki said as she started to break down in James's arms. "But then one day the thing inside me started to pulse and then my insides started to hurt, that mage laughed saying it was all over but then he came to save me, my brave knight." Misuki said as she rested her head on his left upper arm.

"Did he do this to the other girls?" Victoria asked as she knelt in front of Naomi's sister, Misuki shook her head "No, he said that I could be used to quote 'capture the other elusive kitty.' Meaning Naomi." Misuki explained, James chuckled as he placed his arms around Misuki and Naomi "Well, the King of Sandora tried to capture her and bring her back but all his attempts were futile." James said as he pulled the sisters closer to him. "May I ask, why did you ask me that?" Misuki asked Victoria who stood up and straightened her BDUs "Gauging how much psychological trauma might have been inflicted on you from being tortured and sexually assaulted. This kind of trauma usually leads to a condition called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. You could close your eyes to go to sleep but find yourself back in Sandora." Victoria explained with the bare minimum details.

"I know my knight will keep me safe." Misuki said as she wrapped her arms around James's torso, James chuckled as he held her "You just met me and you're like this already?" James asked with a humorous chuckle "If Naomi loves you, I'd have no reason not to. Besides, it's not uncommon for a man to take multiple wives." Misuki said with a wink before she kissed him on the cheek. Their tender moment was interrupted when a knock echoed through the room "Enter." James said loudly, the handle turned before the door opened and Touya walked inside the room "So Yae told me you wanted to go to Eashen?" Touya asked, James nodded as he stood up and walked over to the boy in white.

"I just need to see it once so I can make a waypoint to bring in my artillery." James said, Touya seemed offended as he took a step back "This is Yae's homeland and you're ready to turn it into another American warzone? I know you handle things the American way but could you take a less violent route?" Touya asked but James shook his head "Touya, we're talking about a group that's leader is worse than the original that we captured. Their hierarchy is like a Hydra, cut off one head and two more take its place. This isn't something that can be done so easily." James explained. "So what do you plan on doing when you get to Eashen, then?" Touya asked as he crossed his arms.

"I plan on hunting this monster down before he can restart his operations, we crippled them but we won't have long before they restart the murdering, kidnapping, and raping of innocent civilians. And if they try to fortify their operation locations, I'll have to bombard them with artillery shells." James explained, before he heard his comms buzz "Sir, it's Ramirez. Come to the runway, you're gonna want to see this. It seems Yuri made something that he'd call 'Yuri's special friend'." Ramirez said with as he put on a fake Russian accent.

"Dammit, I'll be right back. Misuki, you get some rest." James said before he opened a [Gate] and stepped through to the runway where some of the Marines were gathered near one of the hangers, James jogged over to see what the commotion was about and joined the group of Marines "Alright, where's the fiiiiii... Is that a fucking Mi-35 Hind?!" James exclaimed in utter disbelief at what he was looking at.

The hulking behemoth of Russian firepower sat before them in the form of an Mi-35 Hind-E Gunship outfitted with a GSh-23L 23mm Twin-Barrel auto-cannon on the nose, two GUV-8700 gunpods that was made up of a 12.7mm Yak-B four barrel rotary cannon combined with two GShG-7.62 mm four barrel rotary machine guns and two B-8V20 Rocket Pods, one pod mounted on either side of the Gunship (one rocket pod and one gunpod on each side) and two 9K114 Shturm Anti-Tank Missiles on the tips of the wings.

"Hold up! Why did he add anti-tank missiles?!" Elliott exclaimed, Feldman chuckled "The Mi-35 features a free-fire anti-tank missile system but this one uses a SACLOS system aka Semi-automatic command to line of sight, it has an IR beam that has to paint the target so the missile can follow the target, Anti-Air missiles follow the aircraft's radar system but Anti-Tank missiles have to be directed." Feldman explained as James approached the Gunship and ran his hand along the barrel of the GSh-23L.

"He made the GSh-23L into a 360 degree ball turret, all we need to do is make a few more and then send them at our enemies." James explained as he examined the rocket pods and anti-tank missiles. "But first we go to Eashen to get this fucker, right?" Ramirez asked, James chuckled as he approached the Sergeant "You're god damn right." James said with a smirk. "Alright Marines! Head back to the castle and rearm, be on standby for when I open a [Gate]. Ramirez and Fox, you'll be with me for the initial infiltration." James said before he opened a [Gate], stepped through, and found himself back in his master bedroom.

"So, what was it?" Victoria asked as she shifted her weight to her other leg, James shook his head "Yuri built a Hind." James said nonchalantly as he approached Touya "So Eashen?" James asked, Touya nodded and opened a [Gate] to his mansion. The boy and the Marine walked through to Touya's residence "Ah, welcome back Master Touya and Master James." Laim said as he bowed to the two. Yae walked out of a side room and was surprised to see the two "Yae, I need you to picture Eashen in your mind then hold my hands." Touya said which caused Yae to blush and stammer her words "Wa-wa-wa-wa-wait! Hol-hol-hol-hold your ha-ha-hands?! Touya, this is so sudden." Yae said as she was started to pace back and forth.

"Yae! Relax! It's one of our Null spells called [Recall], it let's us see what another person is picturing in their minds. If you picture Eashen while touching foreheads with Touya, he can use [Gate] to take us to Eashen." James explained, Yae exhaled slowly as she closed her eyes. "Alright, I'm ready." Yae said before she took Touya's hands in hers and interlocked fingers before they touched foreheads together. James leaned against the wall as the two were in intimate distance with one another, Yae slowly opened her eyes and immediately became flustered, she pushed Touya away and stood up to distance herself.

"[Gate]!" Touya said before a portal opened, James and Touya's group walked through the portal and found themselves surrounded by lush green landscape, snow capped mountains, rolling emerald hills, and a gentle breeze that blew across the land. "Oh wow! It's so beautiful!" Linze exclaimed, Elze nodded as James looked down at the land they were standing on. He jumped down from the embankment that they all stood on and walked down into the lush plains before he looked around the area.

James pulled out his phone and opened the map, one of the Airlander 10's was nearby as The Oracle pinged all the way over in Mismede and relayed off the Airlanders before it pinged over Eashen, the radar relayed and highlighted the area. Various red dots popped up on the map including a large collection surrounding a specific area 'Huh, that's weird. We'll check it out later.' James thought as he opened a [Gate], Ramirez and Fox walked through with their M4a1s and gear loaded "Man, thank god for UCP." Ramirez said, commenting on the digital camouflage of his uniform. James opened [Storage] and removed his M110 SASS, he pulled the mag from the receiver to check how many rounds he had before he slapped it back in and pulled back the charging bolt.

"Oh, it's the shrine of the forest! That means my hometown is nearby, in the Hashiba Domain." Yae said as everyone turned around and looked at the giant shrine that resembled ones from Japan. Yae directed the group toward her hometown while the Marines took up the front and swept the area from left to right with their barrels pointed down range, the Marines moved over a hill and came to a stop as they overlooked a medium-sized town "This is my birthplace, Oedo." Yae explained as the group looked over the town. "So where are these ruins you wanted to visit Leen?" Touya asked as he turned to face the woman with white hair.

"I'm not sure. But I've heard the place is known as the 'Ruins of Nirya' to the locals." Leen said, Yae crossed her arms and lowered her head in thought. "Nirya? Hmm, my father might be able to tell you more." Yae said, Leen perked up "That's perfect, let's go!" Leen said before she grabbed Yae's arm and dragged her toward the town below. The Marines moved forward as the others followed behind them into the city as they followed Leen and Yae toward a shrine-looking house, Linze and Elze looked around amazed at the new culture while the Marines continued to move forward "So, where do you think they're hiding at?" Ramirez asked as the Gunnery Sergeant scanned the area.

Fox looked around and noticed some of the Oedo residents looking at him in a combination of amazement and curiosity "Hey there, I bet you've never seen something like this? You can come have a look." Fox said as he stepped closer to the civilians, the residents were hesitant at first before a young teenaged boy stepped out and moved closer to Fox, James, and Ramirez. "Such strange clothing, you're not from Eashen, are you?" An older woman asked, James shook his head "No ma'am, we're here looking for someone. We're from a distant land called 'America'." James explained. "Say, have you heard of anything abnormal happening recently, like a new face has shown up in the area or people in a certain area started disappearing?" James asked, the young teen nodded before he moved closer to the Marine Marksman. "There's a city nearby called Kentari, it's south of Kyo. There's a rumor that women started disappearing recently, mostly demi-humans." The teen explained, James chuckled before he pulled out a gold coin and handed it to the teen "Thanks for the information, kid." James said before he stood up.

James took a step before his comms buzzed and a thick Russian accent came through "Privyet, Comrade James. I have found the council's location, but you will want to see this." Yuri said before James's phone buzzed, he opened a message from Yuri and found a photo attached that shown a large building built into the side of a mountain. James stared at the photo before he opened a [Gate] and stepped through, the Marine walked out of the portal and found himself staring at a massive structure that was carved into the stone of the mountain.

James pulled out his phone and opened the map to see where they were "So, this is the Regulus Empire. Do they know we're here?" James asked as he stared at two giant stone doors, Yuri shook his head as Alonzo walked up to the Marine and the Spetsnaz. "Alright, everyone's there and they don't know anything has happened to the council." Alonzo said, James looked down and saw that Alonzo wore a pair of long pants to cover the metal prosthetic legs. "Alright, we're going to Eashen to take care of a rumor regarding something happening in a city called Kentari, this might be Grant Wheeler." James explained.

James opened a [Gate] and stepped through with Yuri and Alonzo to Oedo where the others were waiting outside a building with a sign that read 'Kokonoe Shinmei-style Swordfighting Dojo, Kuyoukan.' Yae slid the door open and called into the building "Is anyone home?!" Yae called out, moments later a woman in a yellow kimono walked out from the back of the Dojo "Yes, hello. Greetings..." The woman said before she stopped in silence "Oh my, Yae!" The woman said before she ran up to the swordstress and clasped Yae's hands with her. "Ayane! It has been so long!" Yae said as James and Ramirez pulled Yuri to the side before a woman with dark purple came out of the back of the Dojo.

"Woah! MILF alert." Fox said in a hushed whisper before Ramirez smacked him in the back of the head. "Say something like that when we're guests and I'll make you run PT until you vomit." Ramirez said through gritted teeth as they exited the Dojo. "What seems to be the problem, my friend?" Yuri asked confused, James exhaled slowly as he crossed his arms. "It's about the Hind." James said in a monotone voice, Yuri chuckled "Oops, you discovered Yuri's surprise. Gunship drones. I was gonna show you the Hind and see what American attack helicopters you wanted to add. Maybe Apache?" Yuri said as his speech pattern fluctuated between broken English and perfect English syntax." Yuri explained.

"Well, inform us at least of the broad outline of any ideas you have." James said before Yuri and the Marines re-entered the Dojo. "Oh, these are my friends. They helped me get through a lot." Yae said as she gestured to Touya, Linze, Elze, and Yumina. "Oh my goodness... You have my sincerest gratitude for taking care of my daughter." Yae's mother said before she bowed, she raised her body and fixed her gaze on James, Ramirez, Fox, and Yuri. "And who are they?" Yae's mother asked before James stepped forward, clicked his boots together, and stuck his chest out "Gunnery Sergeant James Murphy United States Marine Corps 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines. Behind me is Sergeant James Ramirez, Corporal Noah Fox, and Yuri." James said as he introduced his squad.

"It's pleasure to make your acquaintance Gunnery Sergeant James Murphy." Yae's mother said as she bowed again. "You can just call me James." James said as Yae's mother stood up. "My name is Kokonoe Nanae, Yae's my daughter. How did you meet my daughter?" Nanae asked, James chuckled as adjusted his chin strap. "I used to be part of their group but we had differing goals so we parted ways and help each other out from time to time." James said as he worded it delicately. "Ah, I see. Well, it's a pleasure to meet you all." Nanae said with a bow once more.

"Mother, where is Father? Did he go to the castle?" Yae asked, Nanae and Ayane looked at each other, gloomy expressions clouded their faces. Nanae stepped forward as she slowly explained the situation "Your father isn't here. He... went to battle alongside Lord Ieyahsu." Nanae said with a worried expression. "To battle?!" Yae exclaimed in surprise and stared at her mother. "Who are they fighting against?" Yae asked, Nanae looked down at the table with a sorrowful expression "Lord Takeda. A few days ago, he launched a surprise attack on the northwestern town of Katsunuma and is now advancing toward Kawagoe. To stop them, the master of the house and Jutaro made their way to the fortress in Kawagoe." Ayane said as they knelt around a tea table, the traditional Japanese furniture style. Everyone knelt around the table except for the Marines who stood with their weapons pointed toward the ground.

"Brother went with him, too...? I just do not understand... Why would Lord Takeda suddenly invade us like this...? I cannot imagine Lord Takeda Schingen ever allowing something so foolish...!" Yae said confused. "Yuri, take Alonzo back to the castle and secure him. Have Roman man the control center and mobilize the air units in fifteen mikes." James said as he spoke softly as to not arouse suspicion. Yuri nodded before he exited the Dojo with Alonzo and used a [Gate] to travel back to Belfast.

"I hear that Lord Takeda recently hired a strange strategist to join his retinue. The man was named Yamamoto, I believe. The people say that he is a swarthy man with only one eye, that he uses mysterious magic... He might have somehow influenced Lord Takeda." Ayane explained, James chuckled as he adjusted his Molle vest "I'll take the other one too." James said with a determined look in his eyes.

"So how's the battle going?" Leen asked suddenly as she stood up. "Due to the surprising nature of the attack, there are rumors that our side could not gather enough soldiers. They say it is only a matter of time until the fortress in Kawagoe is conquered." Ayane said which caused Yae to go pale "But father and brother are there..." Yae said before she stood up and faced the boy in the white coat "Touya! I have been at a ridge not so far from the fortress at Kawagoe in the past! Please...!" Yae pleaded, Touya nodded his head before he stood up "Alright, let's go." Touya said before he took Yae's hand into his before he explained everything to Elze, Linze, and Yumina.

"I didn't expect to go to war. However, I can understand how she feels, so I'll come along as well." Leen said with a shrug as she adopted a faint smile. "Alright, I got it." Yae said before she and Touya touched foreheads together. "[Recall]." Touya said before the image of a ridge that over looked a vast field with castle on a hill flooded his mind. "Alright. [Gate]!" Touya said before a portal opened beside them. "We will do anything we can to bring Yae's father and brother back to you. I'll make sure we're all back in one piece, so don't worry." Touya said before the group passed through the portal and onto a ridge that overlooked a vast field.

James looked out over the field and saw men in samurai armor staggering toward the fortress that had black smoke billowing up from the surrounding area, James snapped his fingers and opened a [Gate] before the four Warlords moved through it and let it close behind them. "Did they get spooked by something?" Yae asked confused but Touya shook his head "No, but I'll have to get to the castle as fast as possible before-" Touya started to before three [Gate]s opened around the field, two Humvees screamed out of the portals near Touya's group while the Abrams drove onto the battlefield and mowed down the enemy combatants in red armor while heavy metal blared from a [Speaker] above the Humvees.

I am a Marine on the beach, I'm a killin' machine, with a need to bleed you when the light goes green

best believe, I'm in a zone to be, from my Yin to my Yang to my Yang Tze

Put a grin on my chin when you come to me, 'cuz I'll win, I'm one-of-a-kind and I'll bring death

to the place you're about to be: another river of blood runnin' under my feet

The mounted M2's barked as the .50 cal rounds ripped through the enemy with ease, James jerked the wheel and drifted the Humvee through the field so it sideswiped the enemy combatants. The Abrams's turret turned 45 degrees counter-clockwise and fired a HEAT round into a mass of soldiers in red, their armor shattered and peppered the surrounding soldiers who continued to stagger toward the fortress. "-Before they get here." Touya said as gunfire echoed through the fields.

Forged in a fire lit long ago, stand next to me, you'll never stand alone,

I'm last to leave, but the first to go, Hard Corps is the only way I know.

I feed on the fear of the devil inside of the enemy faces in my sight.

Aim with the hand, shoot with the mind, kill with a heart like arctic ice...

Flaming arrows flew down from the fortress and impacted the soldiers in red who continued to stagger before they were mowed down by James's Humvee, Touya's group stood on the ridge as sporadic gunfire and explosions peppered the area. The Humvee's came to a stop before the doors opened and the 2nd Marines jumped out with their guns raised, shell casings leapt from their receivers as 5.56 erupted from the barrels and hit their targets with devastating force. Touya was about to move when the unmistakable sound of helicopter rotors filled the air, Touya looked up and saw a Mil-24 Hind exit a [Gate] and fire two rockets into the mass of soldiers before it pulled up and circled around.

I bask in the glow of the rising war, lay waste to the ground of an enemy shore,

wade through the blood spilled on the floor, and if another one stands I'll kill some more

bullet in the breach and a fire in me like a cigarette thrown to gasoline,

if death don't bring you fear then death ain't brought by no Marine.

The GSh-23L ball turret turned to the right before it unloaded 23mm rounds toward the ground and peppered the mass of enemy soldiers, the Hind circled around before it ran a strafe run and unleashed a barrage of 80mm S-8 rockets that impacted the mass of soldiers on the back side of the fortress, plumes of fire and smoke rose into the sky as the Hind circled around and disappeared into a [Gate].

"Roman, send the next wave!" James yelled as he pressed his throat comms. Touya looked up but didn't see anything until four [Gate] portals opened and the M270 MLRSs drove through, the backs of the MLRSs rose up and took aim but sat silent. "Oi! You want Ripple fire or Full fire?" Roman asked, James put down two red samurai before he pressed his comms "Full send, mother fucker!" James yelled, seconds later rockets erupted from the back of the MLRSs and screamed through the sky before arching, the rockets screamed toward the ground and impacted the area with devastating effect.

Come to the nightmare, come to me, deep down in the dark where the devil be

in the maw with the jaws and the razor teeth, where the brimstone burns and the angel weeps

call to the gods if I cross your path and my silhouette hangs like a body bag

hope is a moment now long past, the shadow of death is the one I cast.

"Are you waiting for us to escort you, Toyota?! Fucking go!" James yelled as shot another red warrior, he pulled a throwing knife from his vest and threw it at one of the soldiers, the blade pierced the soldier's throat before it exploded in a massive eruption of fire and massive wave of force that eviscerated the surrounding soldiers. The Marines ceased firing and looked at the sea of bodies that surrounded them, James was about to pull down his shemagh but stopped when the red soldiers picked themselves up and continued to stagger toward the fortress. "Uhhh, what the fuck?!" Fox said before he shot another one, the soldier hit the ground but got right back up.

James looked around and saw the soldiers with broken Oni masks stayed down while the ones with intact masks continued their slow assault. "Alright Marines, Conplan Quad-8 Protocol Z." James yelled, the Marines regrouped by the Humvees and drove toward the fortress but stopped at the gate; the main turrets turned and opened fire into the crowd of red, undead soldiers. James fired into the crowds of soldiers and hit his targets in the head while Touya disappeared through a [Gate], the low hum of engines echoed overhead which caused the Marines to look up momentarily as the AC-130 flew overhead. They watched the Gunship circled around the area before it performed its iconic tilt and fired into the crowds of undead soldiers, 105mm shells screamed from the Gunship and impacted the centers of the hordes while the Marines engaged their targets with sporadic gunfire.

The staggering soldiers were ripped apart by a barrage of gunfire including Yuri's AK that spat out 7.62 casings from the drum mag, one of the soldiers got close and withdrew its katana before James shot it with his MR412 Rex. The red soldiers collapsed onto the ground as the smell of death and decay filled the air, the barrels of the M2HB barked as .50 cal rounds ripped their targets in half while 40mm Bofors rained down and ripped apart their targets, rockets continued to rain down from the sky and impact the mass of undead soldiers behind the fortress. "Swapping mags!" Fox yelled as he dropped the spent mag from his receiver and was about slap a fresh mag into his rifle when one of the red samurais dashed forward with its katana raised, Ramirez sprinted in front of Fox and slammed the buttstock of his rifle into the red soldier's face.

The Oni Mask shattered before the body crumpled to the ground, Fox slapped a fresh mag in and pulled back the charging bolt. He raised his rifle and unloaded on the approaching red soldiers, suddenly multiple sigils formed in the sky above the remaining red soldiers before rods of lights rained down and eviscerated the remaining undead soldiers. The Marines ceased their fire as they looked over the sea of corpses, James turned around and saw the fortress doors open up; the Marines drove the Humvees into the fortress and circled around as the Abrams drove in behind them before the doors closed behind them.

James stepped out of the Humvee but found multiple samurai in black armor with katana pointed at James and the other Marines "Who are you and why did you help us? What are these weapons?" One of the samurais asked as he stepped closer. "I'm Gunnery Sergeant James Murphy, United States Marine Corps., as for why I helped, it's our job to help when people are in need." James said as he put the rifle's sling over his body. "I'm allies with the boy in the white coat in there." James said as he gestured toward Touya who stood on the balcony of the fortress. One of the samurai opened the door and ushered the Marines inside; James, Fox, Ramirez, and Yuri walked into the fortress while Pearson, Elliott, and Feldman stayed with the Humvees and the Abrams.

The Marines walked up the stairs to the 2nd floor where multiple injured soldiers sat but their injuries had been healed. "Touya, do you know these men?" A man in black armor with black hair in a ponytail asked as he placed his hand on the handle of his sword. "Yes, they're my allies from Belfast. They're here for a different reason than I am." Touya explained as Linze, Elze, Yae, Yumina, and Leen stood next to him. James pulled out his phone and opened the map app before he typed 'Kentari' into the search bar, he tapped on the magnifying glass and watched the buffering circle spin; seconds later a pin popped up on the map to the north of their current location.

"Alright Touya, contact us when you find those ruins. We got other business to take care of." James said before the Marines left the fortress and returned to their vehicles. The vehicles roared to life before they left the fortress and moved north toward their target location, Pearson sped ahead of them and plowed through the trees to makes a path for the Humvees. "So what should we expect?" Ramirez asked as he moved the barrel of the M2HB from left to right as he scanned the tree line. "Honestly, I don't know. Leave no survivors though, we can't have this escalating any further." James said as the Humvee bounced after hitting a tree root.

---

*Fifteen Minutes Later*

After driving and carving a path through the Eashen forest, they finally arrived outside the city limits of Kentari. Pearson pulled the Abrams up to the city limits and raised the barrel as the other Marines disembarked from the Humvees "Alright, keep your primary's concealed but have your secondary's at the ready." James said as he placed his M110 into [Storage] in exchange for his Scar-H, he folded the stock and slid it between his molle vest and his backpack. James racked the slide on his M45 1911 and slid it into his front holster be the Marines spread out and moved into the city. James pulled out his phone and searched 'Black Phantom Company Members' in the map, the Marines stopped and watched as multiple dots popped up throughout the city as well as a cluster in the middle of the city.

The Marines moved toward the nearest dot and found a thug cornering a scared man in an alley "I swear, that's all I have." The man said shakily, Ramirez gritted his teeth as he pulled out his Ka-Bar and moved down the alley "Beunos Noches, Mamabicho!" Ramirez said before he covered the man's mouth and placed the Ka-Bar to his throat. The thug dropped a bag of gold coins that slammed to the ground, Ramirez kicked it toward the scared man and nodded for him to get out of here. The man grabbed the coins and scurried out of the alley as the Marines slowly piled in and surrounded the Black Phantom thug.

"Who the fuck are you?!" The man asked as he struggled for freedom and caused the blade to push into his neck more. Ramirez slammed the man to the ground and pushed the man's head around after he had sheathed his Ka-Bar, he turned the man's head to the right and found what he was looking for "Hey look, it's the same as the others. They all have this 'BPC' scar on their neck." Ramirez said as James knelt next to the man and examined the scar.

"Well fuck me raw and call me Alexis Texas, you're right, Ramirez." James said as he took a photo of the scar and sent it to the other Marines. "You got your targets, if your not sure then just put 'Black Phantom Company Members' into the search bar of your phone's map, be sure to enchant it with [Search] and [Long Sense]." James said as he gave the Marines their orders. "Make sure it's quiet and discrete." Ramirez added before the Marines left. James and Ramirez turned their attention back toward the thug on the ground who still gritted his teeth, Ramirez looked up at James who nodded subtly to which Ramirez nodded in return before he slit the thug's throat.

James pulled out his phone and typed in 'Grant Wheeler', the buffer circle spun for a moment before a single pin popped up on the map. James walked out into the street and looked up the road at the location indicated on his phone and saw a tall skyscraper like building that's walls looked to be made of paper and wood "How much you want to bet that he's at the top and we'll have to fight our way up Punisher style. Ah shit I left my compound bow at home." Ramirez said with a chuckle as he racked the slide on his Beretta 92FS. "Hey Yuri, do you happen to have any small arms surprises?" James asked as he pressed his throat comms, the line was silent before a Russian accent came over the line "Da! I thought you'd never ask. Aerial SAT Array doubles as supply drop modeled after pod from Halo 3." Yuri said, his syntax oscillating again.

James felt his phone buzz in his hand and watched as an app popped up on his phone that said 'Arms Drop', James tapped on the app and watched a multiple categories of weapons popped up on his phone's screen, from handguns to anti-material rifles. James scrolled down and selected submachine guns, a large list of SMGs popped and let him scroll through them, he tapped on an H&K UMP-45 and an H&K MP5SD. He tapped 'next' and was greeted to an attachment screen, he added a suppressor to the UMP-45 as well as a reflex sight that he also attached to the MP5SD, he added an ERGO Foregrip to the UMP-45 before he pressed 'send'.

Twenty seconds later, the sound of the thrusters echoed through the sky before two pods slammed into the ground and imbedded themselves in the dirt, two panel doors opened and revealed the SMGs along with six thirty round mags. James and Ramirez removed their SMGs and pulled back the charging bolt almost simultaneously before they stared at the tall building in front of them. "How do you want to do this?" Ramirez asked as the two Marines started to walk towards the tower. James looked over at a woman in a kimono who was watering flowers and walked over to her "Excuse me, do you know who owns that tower?" James asked as the woman continued to water her snapdragons. The question seemed to startle her as she looked around her frantically "Please, come in and have some tea." The woman said as she slid open the door to her home, James looked around and saw two goons looking at the woman before they walked into the house.

The woman slid the door closed and slowly walked to kitchen before she returned with a traditional Japanese tea set "They came into Kentari four or five days ago, the tower belonged to the Katsura Clan but then these men came into town one morning and went to the tower, they... they slaughtered the Katsura Clan. Master Katsura's body was thrown out into the streets and... and we were forbidden from giving him a burial. A few men tried to move his body but they were cut down, these monsters have been mugging the people for what little they have to begin with and the young women..." The woman started to say before she broke down.

"They just take them and have their way with them, then leave them in the gutter to die." The woman said through her tears as she cried into her hands. James clenched his fist as he gritted his teeth beneath his shemagh, James moved his hands to his throat and pressed his comms button "Change of plans, Marines. We you finish with your seek and destroy mission, regroup at the tower... we're cleaning house." James said, seconds later he heard a simultaneous 'Oorah' and one 'Youb tvoy mat' from Yuri. "What the fuck did Yuri just say?" Ramirez asked confused while James suppressed laughter "He said 'I fucked your mother', truly the pinnacle of Russian battle cries." James said before he bowed to the woman. "Thank you ma'am for all the information, as I speak my men are taking out their goons in the streets. We'll get rid of these bastards." James said as he stood up straight.

The woman stood up and threw herself into his arms "Thank you! Thank you so much!" The woman said as she cried into his molle vest. She let go of the Marine before he left her house with Ramirez who closed the door behind him, the woman turned around and walked back to her tea set when she felt a pair of eyes watching her "Who are they, Moku?" A voice asked, Moku looked around scared before a figure dressed in black jumped down from the roof with a Kunai in hand. "Oh no, how did you get in here?" Moku asked as her voice shook with fear, the ninja chuckled as he spun the Kunai "Moku Moku Moku, the Black Phantom Company is everywhere. Now, do I have to teach you a lesson like I did your daughter?" The man asked as he approached the woman.

"You mean like how you raped her?" A deep voice asked from behind the BPC Ninja, the ninja turned around but saw no one standing there. He looked around before he closed his eyes "Bend, O Light, Guiding Curvature: [Invisible]." The Ninja said before his body went invisible, he opened his eyes and was met with the barrel of James's UMP-45. "Now you see me, now you don't." James said before he pulled the trigger and blew the back of the Ninja's skull out, his body dropped to the ground as the spell was cancelled due to him being... well, dead.

James became visible again and stood in front of Moku who trembled with fear "Who... who are you?" Moku asked as she dropped to her knees in front of James. "I'm Gunnery Sergeant James Murphy, United States Marine Corps and it's my job to take out wastes of space like this." James said as he kicked the ninja's body. "I need you to stay inside and don't come out, no matter what you hear." James explained before he turned and left Moku's house. Two BPC goons were slumped against a stone wall near Moku's house while Ramirez stood their with two spent casings next to his feet. "They looked at me wrong." Ramirez said with a smirk, James shook his head as the other Marines regrouped in front of the tower. "Pearson, raise the barrel and point it at the top of the tower. If they want to give us a lot of grief, I want you to shove a 120mm HEAT round right up their ass. If any try to run out the front... cut them down, no survivors." James said, the radio was silent before the Marines watched the barrel raise slowly and the engine rev multiple times.

"Pearson's ready. Let's do this." Feldman said as he pulled an M72 LAW from his bag and extended the launcher. "When we go in, clear your corners and double tap your targets: One to the chest and one to the head. Be on the look out for prisoners or other victims. Our target is the top floor where the new head of the Black Phantom Company is, Grant Wheeler." James said as he briefed the Marines. "Is everyone clear on what our objective is?" Ramirez asked, the Marines responded in unison with 'Yes Sergeant.' James nodded to Feldman who took a knee in front of the tower and placed the LAW on his shoulder.

"Back blast clear?!" Feldman yelled. "Back blast clear!" Fox responded before a 66mm rocket erupted from the barrel and impacted the front door with a devastating explosion that sent wood and debris flying. "MOVE MOVE MOVE!" James yelled before the Marines charged in with all guns blazing, BPC thugs in leather armor were riddled with bullets and dropped to the floor in a matter of seconds. James's UMP-45 moved from target to target as he dispatched them one after another, four men dressed in all black dropped down from the roof with Katanas and dual Tanto blades in hand but were instantly shredded by Fox and Elliott who gunned them down without hesitation. A man in red and gold samurai armor stepped out while he spun a serrated Naginata around with a flourish, he adopted a wide stance as he pointed the blade toward the Marines. The Marines looked at each other before they focused their fire on the overzealous samurai and shredded his armor along with his body.

The samurai's body crashed through the wall and revealed a room that looked like a Dojo "There's the stairs, let's go." James said as the Marines stepped over the dead Samurai into the dojo, suddenly twenty BPC ran into the room with varying weapons before a large samurai in black armor stepped out, he carried two swords on his hip and a Kanabo in his right hand. "You'll have to get past us first." The samurai said. James cleared his throat as Yuri stepped forward "Ahh, so you're my opponent?" The samurai asked, Yuri shook his "Nyet! Cyka Blyat! Privet iz Rossii-matushki." Yuri said before he pushed the buttstock of his RPK to his shoulder and unloaded on the twenty goons that lined the walls, blood and flesh coated the walls as the casings leapt from his receiver.

The samurai looked around shell shocked as the last goon dropped and smoke floated up from Yuri's barrel. Yuri stepped back as James took his place in front, now holding Dragon's Bane "I'm your opponent." James said as he readied himself for combat. "I'll give you an honorable death, unlike what you did for Katsura." James said as he lowered his body. The samurai shook his head as he rested the Kanabo on his shoulder "Bring it on." The samurai said before James charged at him, the samurai swung his Kanabo downward but James was gone. Suddenly the samurai coughed and blood spurted from his mouth, the samurai dropped to his knees as blood leaked out of his armor and onto the dojo floor.

"How... did you...?" The samurai asked weakly before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed to the floor. James spun the blade around and tossed it into [Storage], he took his UMP-45 back from Ramirez before he turned to face the Marines. "Alright men, let's move." James said before the Marines sprinted up the stairs after reloading their weapons, they reached the second floor and found a single man waiting for them "Hmmm, so you got through Kodama but you'll never get through *Barrage of gunfire ensues*" The Black Phantom henchman started to say before the Marines unloaded on him, his body slammed to the ground before blood soaked into the wooden floor while the Marines stepped over his corpse.

"Just shoot them, I don't want to hear a fucking monologue." James said as he shook his head. The Marines sprinted up the tower and shot the BPC goons dead the moment they saw them, one to the chest and one to the head; one of the goons sprinted at Fox with a tanto blade in hand but Fox spartan kicked the man in the chest and sent him through the paper wall. The goon erupted out the other side of the wall and plummeted to the ground, the man hit the ground with a meaty *splack* as he was painted on the brick ground. "Clean up, aisle that guy." Fox said as he looked out of the hole in the wall. The Marines were about to ascend to the next floor when they suddenly heard the gunfire from the Abrams coaxial HMG.

James looked out over the courtyard and saw fresh mutilated corpses in the courtyard, he looked up at the Abrams and saw Pearson's hand shoot out the hatch and gave the marksman a thumbs up. James shook his head as they climbed up the tower, cutting through BPC goons until they got to the top floor that was lined with two doors and a set of double doors at the end of the hall. Elliott and Feldman checked the doors while James, Ramirez, Fox, and Yuri walked to the double doors; Yuri stepped back and drove his foot into the door, the wood cracked as the door broke off the hinge and slammed into the floor. A lone man sat at a desk with his feet propped up on the desk while women stood naked next to the desk with collars and chains around their necks.

"Well hello gentlemen, to what do I owe the honor?" The man asked as he grabbed one of the chains and yanked it down, a young girl to his right was forced to her knees as he stood up, pulled down the front of his pants, and forced himself into her mouth. "Get away from her, you son of a bitch!" James yelled as he stepped forward. The man held up his finger "Eh eh eh! Not another step or I'll slit her throat." The man said as he stabbed a dagger into the wooden desk. "I know about the Black Phantom Company's Hyrda-hierarchy leadership style. Mustang's dead and so are you, Grant Wheeler." James said with venom on his tongue.

"Psst, Gunny. I've got an idea just keep him distracted." Fox said in a hushed whisper, Grant continued to thrust himself into the shackled girl's mouth while tears streamed down her face. Suddenly, the iconic stylings of ZZ Top came out of the ether which caused Grant to look around confused.

La Grange - ZZ Top

James tapped his foot along with the steady string melody before nudged Ramirez and gestured toward the dagger "Use Aports." James said quietly, Ramirez nodded slowly.

Rumor spreadin' 'round in that Texas town

About that shack outside La Grange

"[Aports]!" Ramirez yelled, the dagger disappeared from the desk and appeared in his hand. Grant looked around confused while James handed his UMP-45 to Elliott.

And you know what I'm talkin' about

Just let me know if you wanna go

To that home out on the range

They gotta lotta nice girls

James took off in a sprint the second Frank Beard (Drummer for ZZ Top) slammed his sticks into his drum set, James leapt over the desk and slammed his right fist into Grant's jaw.

Have mercy!

"Not today, Billy Gibbons!" James yelled as he responded to the lead singer of ZZ Top while he hit Grant with an uppercut and an elbow to his nose.

A-haw haw haw-haw

Heh, a-haw haw haw

James grabbed Grant by the shirt and threw him across the room, the stocky man slammed into a wooden table and broke in half as James walked towards him.

Well, I hear it's fine if you got the time

And the ten to get yourself in

Grant tried to push himself up but James drove his right foot into Grant's side, the force knocked the air from his lungs and dropped him to the ground, the man coughed and spat blood onto the wooden floor.

A hmm, hmm

And I hear it's tight most every night

But now I might be mistaken

James placed his boot on Grant's back before he grabbed his left arm and jerked it upward with a swift movement, a gnarly crack echoed through the room when Grant's clavicle was broken and his arm was jerked out of socket. The man howled in pain as James picked him up and threw him through a wall, the man slammed through the paper and wood before he slid and rolled into a massive marble statue of a dragon.

Hmm, hmm, hmm

Grant rolled over in agony as James walked up and pressed his foot down into Grant's throat.

Have mercy

"I don't think so." James said as he slowly pressed down on the man's throat, Elliott escorted the nude girls out of the room so they didn't see what was about to happen. Grant clawed at James's boot in a desperate attempt to survive but James thrusted his foot down and twisted, the sickening sound of Grant's neck snapping echoed through the top floor before the only sound was Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill's solo. Blood leaked from Grant's mouth as vertebrae pressed against his skin in unnatural ways "Yuri, go get Alonzo." James said as he looked at the fresh corpse. The Spetsnaz disappeared into a [Gate] while Elliott removed the chains from the girls' neck, Yuri returned moments later with Alonzo in tow.

James guided the man over to the corpse and gestured toward it "Is this it? Is this the last of the Black Phantom Company's hierarchy cause I get the feeling it isn't the last person we'll have to take out." James said as he placed his right hand onto Alonzo's neck and started to apply pressure slowly, the legless man started to squirm uncomfortably as he looked down at the corpse "Yes, that's him but..." Alonzo started to say before James jerked his head back "I swear to god... if you say that there's more, I'm going to break your spine over my FUCKING knee." James said through clenched teeth.

"Uhh... well, you see..." Alonzo started to say before Yuri cut him off "My friend, these Black Phantoms are like Black Market and ISIL; this is just another HVT on a long list of targets. This is just like Al Baghdadi, he's gonna keep running and hiding while other people take the fall." Yuri explained, James growled in anger before he threw his fist through the wall "MOTHER FUCKER! Every time I think we're close, it's not the heart of the problem." James said as he sat on Grant's desk and looked at the man's body. As he stared at the body, a glint of light flashed from the man's body as sunlight shined through the hole in the wall.

"The hell is that?" James asked as he picked up the object, he felt a pulsating energy coming "[Analyze]." James said as he used the null spell on the object, details instantly flooded his mind "What. The. Fuck?" James asked as he flipped through the details. "It's called 'The Raven's Eye'. Long distance visual monitoring." James said as he held the object and looked directly at it "I know you're watching mother fucker, I'm gonna find you and I will skull fuck you with my 1911." James said before he tossed it to Yuri "See if you can trace it back to whoever made it." James said before he walked back over to the Marines.

James grabbed Grant's corpse and dragged it toward the window, he slowly lifted the body up and tossed it out the window; Grant's body plummeted to the ground and slammed into the pavement with a meaty Splat. The Marines walked down the stairs and exited the tall building, the citizens of Kentari stepped out of their homes and approached the Marines "You no longer need to live in fear, they will not harm you anymore." James said loudly, the citizens looked at each other with shocked expressions before they let out a simultaneous cheer as Moku ran up "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Moku said with tears of joy.

"Mother?" A weak voice asked from behind Elliott, a frail girl stepped out wearing a sheet to cover her body "Tamamo? Tamamo is that you?" Moku asked as she covered her mouth with her sleeve "Mother! I've missed you so much!" Tamamo exclaimed as she ran up and hugged Moku. "Thank you for finding my daughter! I thought they had... had..." Moku said before she broke down in tear and hugged her daughter tighter.

"Wait, I thought they said that Demi-Humans were being kidnapped..." Fox said confused, the Marines turned around and looked at the tower. "Basement. They're in the basement!" James yelled before he sprinted back into the tall tower, the Marines followed suit and helped the marksman look for a hatch. "[Search]: Trap door." James said as he closed his eyes, a pulse echoed out from his mind and illuminated his surroundings, the [Search] spell painted a vivid picture of his surroundings including a hatch under the stairs.

James sprinted over to the hatch and lifted it up to reveal a ladder going down, James pulled a Chemlight from his vest and snapped it in half before he dropped it down the hatch. The Chemlight fell and illuminated a dark tunnel, James leapt into the tunnel and touched down on the brick with his UMP-45 pointed down range.

He picked the Chemlight up and tossed it further down the tunnel until it hit a wall "Eyes on." James said as he pulled down his optics, the area was blanketed in a green hue while the Chemlight glowed brightly at the end of the tunnel. James slowly moved down the tunnel while the Marines followed behind him one by one until they came up to the wall "It's a dead end?" Feldman asked confused, James ran his hand across the wall until he hit a bump.

James pushed the bump in and heard a mechanism click, he pushed the wall and felt it give way as it opened up to a larger chamber; the room was lined with cages that had humans with animal features imprisoned two to a cage. "Hironao, is that you?" A voice called out as a BPC thug walked out with a short sword in hand, the Marines slowly entered the dark chamber as the thug picked up a torch off the wall to illuminate the area in front of him. James unsheathed his Ka-Bar and side-stepped as he circled around the thug, James crept up behind the man and covered his mouth before he plunged the Ka-Bar into the man's chest. The torch fell and extinguished as it hit the ground, the man flailed as life slowly left his eyes.

James pulled the blade from the man's chest, wiped the blood off, and sheathed it back on his shoulder; James looked around at the cages as he moved toward another door. "Hey, look at these cages... rust." Fox said as he examined one of the cages closer. Ramirez pulled out his tac light and clicked it on before he turned his optics off, he shined the light onto the spot and made a horrific discovery "Fox... that's not rust... that's dried blood." Ramirez said as he moved the beam of light and illuminated the occupants.

One of the girls inside was shivering and covered in laceration scars while the other was suspended from the top of the cage, dried blood covered her body and was all over the floor underneath her. "We need to get these cages open. Elliott, Feldman! Cover that door, Yuri cover our six." James said before the Marines moved to secure the area. "[Boost]!" Fox yelled before he kicked a cage door off its hinges while the other Marines followed suit. They quickly got to work checking their injuries and healing them with [Mega Heal] and [Refresh] before they were escorted out to the middle of the room, suddenly a barrage of gunfire erupted as Elliott and Feldman cut down the responding thugs.

Their bodies slammed into the ground as blood sprayed onto the walls and floor, James stood up and opened a [Gate] before they ushered the girls through "Come on! WE. ARE. LEAVING!" James yelled as he ripped the pin from a grenade and tossed it down the tunnel before he kicked the door closed, the Marines ran through the [Gate] before the grenade exploded and shook the foundation. James looked back at the cage and saw the first girl still suspended from the roof, he grabbed his Ka-Bar and cut the bindings before heaved her over his shoulder and sprinted through the [Gate] as it closed. James slid to a stop as he turned around and watched the tower's foundation shack violently, the ground around it began to cave in before the tower crumbled into the chasm.

James laid the girl down onto the ground before he examined her closer "Come forth light, healing of the goddess, [Mega Heal]!" James said, he watched as her lacerations and abrasions disappeared but she didn't move. James placed his hands on her chest and started to perform CPR "Come on!" James said as he performed 110 compressions in a minute and followed it by blowing air into her lungs, Ramirez moved to the other side and put two fingers on her neck. Fox watched on as he had flashbacks to Iraq when James performed CPR to try and revive him after an RPG hit their MRAP "Look at his face, I've seen that look before." Fox said as the Marines watched on, Fox handed his rifle to Elliott before he ran over and stood by waiting for an order "Fox, when I give the word, I want you to use [Mega Heal]." Ramirez said as he continued to monitor for a pulse.

As James pressed down one more time, Ramirez felt a faint beat as her heart was restarted "Now!" Ramirez yelled, Fox dropped to his knees and placed his hands over her body "Come forth light, healing of the goddess, [Mega Heal]!" Fox yelled before her body glowed, light flooded her body and caused her pulse to come back stronger. "[Recovery]." James said as he used the Null spell to restore any damaged brain cells. The girl slowly opened her eyes and looked around weakly, James unclipped his helmet and sat it to the side as her vision slowly focused on his facial features.

"Hey, there you are. Welcome back to the land of the living." James said with a chuckle as Elliott brought over a blanket for her, James draped the blanket over her body as he observed her condition "Alright, I'm gonna need you to follow my finger with your eyes but don't move your head." James said as he held his finger over her and moved it left to right, her eyes followed it with precise accuracy as she moved her eyes along with it. "Good job. Do you know your name?" James asked, the girl looked at James and then over at Ramirez who smiled at her "It's okay, you're in a safe place." James said, the girl reached for him and took his hand in hers "Umm... my name is... Yuki." The girl said weakly as she looked up at James, she lime green eyes and antique white hair that was complimented by her porcelain white skin.

"Yuki? That's a beautiful name. My name is James, it's nice to meet you." James said with a smile. "Do... you want to try and stand?" James asked, Yuki nodded her head slowly before James stood up and continued to hold her hand as she moved her legs slowly. Yuki slowly pushed herself off the floor and wobbled as she tried to balance herself, Yuki took a step but stumbled into James's arms "It's alright, I got you. Take your time." James said before he used [Refresh] on her to restore her stamina. Yuki planted her feet on the ground and tried to take another step but this time she didn't stumble "Hey! There we go." James said with a warm smile.

"Are any of you related to her or know who her family is?" Ramirez asked the crowd but was met with blank stares until Tamamo stepped forward "She's not from here, when those thugs came in and took over the town, she was with them as a prisoner." Tamamo explained, Yuki looked away for a moment before she moved closer to James and held onto his arm. "Hey Yuki, I got some more work to take care of but how about you come stay with me, there's other girls just like you who were in the same situation." James said as he extended an offer snow-haired Kitsune, Yuki smiled before she nodded her head. James opened a [Gate] after saying his goodbyes to the people of Kentari, another [Gate] opened for the Abrams and Humvees to drive through. James and Yuki stepped through the [Gate] and came out the other side inside James's castle "Hey guys! I'm back!" James yelled but he was met with haunting silence. James was about to draw his 1911 when Victoria walked around the corner "Oh hey, sorry. I was teaching the girls some new tricks... who's this?" Tori asked.

"Victoria, this is Yuki. I saved her from hell in a town in Eashen called Kentari." James explained, Victoria nodded as she crossed her arms "Black Phantom Company?" Victoria asked, James nodded as he walked Yuki into the main building; Ayumi, Naomi, Shelyn, and Misuki rounded the corner to greet James but their sudden appearance startled Yuki who hid behind James. "Hey girls, I want you to meet someone. This is Yuki, she was like you." James said as he stepped to the side and guided Yuki forward. "Oh honey, let's get you some clothes on. We'll take good care of you." Victoria said as she placed her hand behind Yuki and guided her to James's bedroom.

Ayumi stepped forward and planted her lips on James's "We miss you, please come back to us." Ayumi said before Naomi, Shelyn, and Misuki kissed him then followed Victoria into the bedroom. James turned around and opened another [Gate], he stepped through to the outside where the Marines had gathered "Alright Marines, reload your gear. Ramirez, Fox, and Yuri, you're with me." James said before the Spetsnaz and two Marines grabbed their rifles and followed James, the Marine marksman opened a [Gate] and stepped through with the others in tow. The Marines found themselves back in Eashen, near the fortress they fought to defend. They were about to move out when a [Gate] opened in front of them and a hand waved them through, the Marines stepped through the [Gate] to an area outside a gloomy looking fortress.

James looked to his left and saw Touya along with Leen and another woman he didn't recognize "So, this is...?" James started to ask, purposely leaving the question open ended. "This is the source of those undead soldiers, it's a dark energy... malevolent even." Touya said as the sun was setting. "We were waiting for nightfall to move in... looks like it's time." Touya said, James pulled his M110 from [Storage] and extended the Bipod before he laid down on the ground "I'm ready when you are." James said as he pulled back the charging bolt and chambered a fresh round into the receiver.

A/N: Jesus Christ I got carried away, I mean 23K words, holy fuck. Anyway I hope you enjoyed the chapter, let me know what you thought in the reviews and stay tuned for the next chapter. Sorry this took so long to get out, work and life have been hectic to say the least. Also sorry if it seems all over the place in this chapter. Anyway, remember to Favorite, Follow, and leave a review, and as always, this is Nightmare 6-4, signing off.

2nd Note: Would y'all prefer longer or shorter chapters in the future?