All around her, things were just thunder and chaos.
The constant gun fire, the yells and cries for help were deafening, the glow of flares and flashes of detonations were blinding her eyes and the smell of powder and of burnt flesh were attacking her nose. To protect herself, she tried to cover her ears, close her eyes and hold her breath, curled up behind a rock. But even like this, she could feel its presence.
The Fire Dragon was still there.
Her mind was still filled with memories of her previous encounters with the beast. She had seen what it could do to her kin, and she was terrified.
A voice started to reach for her, but she did not hear it. All the sounds were mixed with one another, creating a painful noise. And even then, had she heard it, she would not have answered. She was too focused on how she was going to die that what it took was a powerful shake for her to get out of it.
« Tuka, can you hear me ? »
« Le... Lelei ? »
The young mage was leaning over the elf, looking for any injuries.
« Are you hurt ? »
« Wh... Where is my father ? »
« Are you hurt ? »
The second time she asked her question, the tone was harsher. It was like she was ordering Tuka to answer, to focus on herself at this point in time and not on traumatizing events from the past.
« No... No, I am not. »
« Good. If you stay here, you should be fine. Wait here while the others take care of the Dragon. »
Lelei stood back up, observing the battlefield before a hand reached for her arm.
« Where is my father ? Is he fine ?»
There were a few seconds without any answer as the mage finished to assess the situation. A few seconds that felt far too long for the elf. So, when the clear blue turned back towards her, she was eager to know the answer.
« You do not have a father anymore, Tuka. It has been several long months. »
« But... But... He is... »
« No, Tuka. Anthony is not your father. He was only pretending to when you started to act as if he was. »
The elf's eyes widened as she completely froze still.
« What ? No... No... He is alive! I know it ! »
«Tuka ! It is time for you to face the truth and to accept it ! Your father is dead. He was killed when your village was burned down. It has been almost four months and your situation is quickly worsening. You must open your eyes as to what really happened. »
Her legs just could not support her weight anymore. She crumbled down on the dusty ground, covering her face as tears appeared in her eyes. It just could not be true. Her father had been with her all along, he had taken her on this trip. But Lelei was not someone that would lie on such important issues, especially in such difficult times.
Every idea was in contradiction with all her other thoughts. The only thing she wanted to do was run away and scream. But her breath was too fast and her legs were too weak.
« Tuka. Listen to me. Do you see the launchers over there ? »
If Lelei's voice had been harsh before, now it had returned to its more soothing natural tone. And despite the constant background noise, it managed to get Tuka to put her hands away from her face and look towards where the mage was pointing.
Near the entrance of the cave, some of the anti-tank weapons were still piled up, just waiting to be used by a someone with the proper knowledge.
« Y... Yes... »
« Do you remember how to use one ? »
« I... I don't know... I don't understand. »
« Your father is looking at you from the Afterlife, Tuka. If you strike the beast down, you will both feel at peace. You know that as of now, things are not as they should be. Do you want it to stay like this for all of your elven lifespan ? »
The elf remained silent for another few seconds, but Lelei noticed how she progressively stopped shivering and her breath slowed down. Just by looking her in the eyes, the mage could see that the pieces of her mind were finally starting to come together in a coherent manner.
Behind, the sound of gunfire stopped. It was replaced by steps of soldiers running to the safety of the access cave. Tuka finally stood back up, her legs finally capable of carrying her weight, and stepped towards the tubes lying on the ground. They were heavier than what she had expected, but it was not an issue as she brought it up over her shoulder.
« Tuka ! What the hell are you doing ? » yelled Anthony as he ran towards the young elf to prevent her doing anything stupid. But Lelei intervened by moving between the soldier and the elf.
« Let her do this, Anthony. She is finally starting to make things right by herself. We can only observe now. »
One thing that really distinguishes elves from other races is the way they learn. They are extremely visual, and can acquire new skills only by observing the world around them. So, it was with only a minimal amount of hesitation that she uncovered the sights and disengaged all the safeties. Now the only things she was focused on were the fire button and the large target down range. She could see the bright red light that was being waved around, but she did not acknowledge it. She was just waiting for one thing.
For the moment at which she would get the perfect shot.
« Rocket ! »
She did not feel anything when the propellant ignited in the tube, launching the warhead towards the red monster. What she felt, however, was the cry of pain as the shaped charge pierced the scales of the dragon's back, directly hitting its spine.
The empty tube heavily fell on the ground as she looked at what she had done. In front of her, the beast was twisting and twitching, its flesh and bone exposed to the elements. She had done it. She had destroyed what had haunted her mind for the last months. She had avenged all of those that had been killed by the Fire Dragon. And she had freed her father's spirit.
But such a large monster was not going to go down that easily. A sudden whip of its tail passed near the elf who lost her balance. The Dragon was heavily injured, but it was not dead yet. It could still move, and it could still breath fire.
Anthony rushed to pull her back up as fast as possible, pointing towards their only exit.
« On your feet, Tuka ! We are leaving ! »
And so, she ran. Ran as fast as she could towards the hole in the mountain where the soldiers were taking cover. When she passed the first ones, she turned her head. Anthony was right behind her, but he was not who she was looking for.
The Lieutenant dived towards the place where the detonator was located. They were far from being safely out of the blast zone, but they had no choice. The only thing they could do was hope that the massive body of the dragon would soften the blow enough.
« Fire in the... »
« Wait ! Where the fuck is Yao ? »
Mary had yelled loud enough to stop the Lieutenant from pressing the button.
« What ? »
« Over there ! Look ! »
Muhammad was quick to point his finger back towards the crater and a silhouette that was running for its life, trying to avoid falling rumble and desperate claw strikes.
« Hurry up ! Hurry up, dammit ! »
Adrenalin is a wonderful chemical when it comes to boosting one's performance in desperate situations. That was what Yao was experiencing, her legs moving faster than how they had ever moved before. And when she finally reached cover, everything else happened in a few short seconds.
« Fire in the hole ! »
The press of the button immediately sent out an electrical impulse through the metal wires. It might not have been enough to set off the plastic explosives themselves, but the small charges of the blasting caps did not resist and detonated. The resulting pressure wave unsettled the chemical compounds within the C4, sparking a destructive chain reaction strong enough to send rocks flying and tear open the belly of a giant ancient beast.
Everything happened so quickly that nobody had time react before rubble started to rain down on the group. The ground was also starting to dangerously shake, forcing everyone to run through the cave as fast as they could, fearing that the whole thing would just come down on their heads.
« Come on ! Go ! Go ! Go ! »
« Follow the flares ! »
« Left ! Left ! Left ! »
« Leave the launchers behind ! »
« There ! The exit is there ! »
In the distance, the dark of the walls was replaced by the slightly brighter night sky and the fading light of a glow stick that had been left here for orientation. It was the final dash towards the real end of their mission.
When the cold windy air engulfed them, most fell down on the dusty ground out of exhaustion. For a few long seconds, they remained like this, not moving, taking back their breaths and coming back to their senses. It was only after that they really started to realize what had just happened.
« Did we do it ? »
« Fuck yeah we did it ! »
More and more reactions of joy started to come out as some started to laugh or clap. But quickly, others started to realize something else was up.
« Hey ! Where are the others ? » asked Anthony as he started to look around for the two soldiers that had remained on guard. Of course, he expected a clear reply from his subordinates, not a sentence coughed out from a mouth full of blood.
« You really took your time, huh ? »
Everybody turned their heads to see where the voice came from. A bit uphill from their position, under the light of the clear moon, two silhouettes were standing. Or rather, one was standing on top of the other that was lying in a pool of its own blood. And by the weapons each of them were holding, it was pretty easy to identify one of them.
« Oh shit ! Rory ! »
The unidentified silhouette turned its head towards the Lieutenant and his men, and a large carnal smile appeared on its face.
« So, here is the rest of your group of followers. Quite a lot more than last time. I must say that I was not expecting that. »
The silhouette was humanoid, but it was far from being human. In fact, a more detailed examination, this time under the bright lights of all the torches that were now turned towards it.
Or rather, towards her.
Some kind of reptile humanoid woman was standing there, the blue tint of her scales reflecting the white glow coming from downhill. Her only piece of clothing was a white dress that looked strangely similar to Rory's Apostle uniform despite the striking color contrast. But what was immediately shocking was the weapon she was handling.
A scythe of a similar size to the black halberd that was on the ground.
« Drop your weapon ! Drop your weapon ! »
Of course, everyone started to point their rifles in her direction, fingers ready to press on the triggers at any moment. The reptile woman started to laugh before spreading two large wings from her back, making it clear that dragon woman was a more appropriate description. But the standoff took a strange turn as Yao dived in front of the soldiers and pushed Anthony's barrel down.
« Stop ! Do not do that ! This is... »
« Do not bother, interrupted the dragon woman with a really powerful voice. I will introduce myself with my own words. I am Giselle, the Blue Dragon, Terror of Chulon, Guardian of Belnargo and humble servitor of my master Hardy. »
The end of her sentence hit everyone on the head like a heavy hammer.
« Apostle ? » asked the Lieutenant that completely lowered his rifle.
« Indeed. Just like my dear Rory, I am an Apostle. However, while she obeys Emroy, I am under the orders of Hardy, goddess of the Underground. »
« What have you done to my men ? »
« Nothing. They have just run away when I started to clash with my sister. Their fate only lies with what they encountered after that. Though, I would not put my hope too much. In reality, I do not really care. I have only come here to take care of one person that refuses to come meet my master despite all of her invitations. »
« I have told her too many times... I will not come to her... »
Rory's reply gave enough time to Anthony to turn around and launch orders to try to contact Pierre and Marc. And it seemed that Giselle had not noticed it, instead focusing on the Apostle that was bleeding out.
« How well that is too bad, because this is not up to you. Look at you, you cannot even defend yourself now. You are no longer the best of us in one on one combat it seems. You have gone softer as you become older. »
Again, Giselle laughed. But this did not really disturb Rory who continued with her explanation.
« I have found my place, Giselle. I have found people that do not see others simply as objects they can use as they please for their own gain. I have found a community that sees me as one of their members and not as an idol that needs constant prayers. I am happy, but I guess Hardy is too blind to see it. »
With her monologue, she was winning time, and the soldiers had made most of it. They had spread out to both get a better look on the situation and look for their squad mates. And when a few words broken by static reached some radios, it seemed that they had found them.
« Do... copy... hidden... dra... hostiles... »
« We hear you, we hear you. But come again, the message's breaking up. »
After another few tries at different positions, the message finally started to get clearer.
« We've hidden ourselves behind some rocks south of your position. We've managed to contact command. Fighters are incoming. I repeat, fighters are incoming. Callsign Ours. »
Anthony was about to confirm the message, but something made him turn his head back towards the two Apostles.
« I would really love to talk more, but I have a mission to accomplish. Willing or not, I am taking Rory with me. »
With one quick move of her arm, the scythe cut through both of Rory's legs like it would have through wheat. Of course, she let out a scream of pain that pierced through the sky and caused everyone to point their barrels back towards Giselle.
« Drop the weapon and let Rory go ! »
The only reply they got was a laugh.
« Ah ah... Sorry, but you mortals can only accept what the gods will. And I already wasted too much time. So, if you want to have a fight with someone, I will leave it up to those two. »
She raised her free hand and snapped her inhuman fingers in a strange way. The few seconds of silence that followed only added to the confusion, until things became very clear.
« Shit ! Six o'clock ! Dragons ! »
Two shadows passed over their heads before landing behind Giselle who smiled even more.
« Their mother got quite strong after I got her to eat so many elves. And they have to build up their strength too, so... »
« You did what ? »
Giselle was taken aback by the sudden remark from Yao who had yelled that question at the top of her lungs.
« What ? »
And she was far from being the only one feeling dumbfounded by her sudden confidence in front of danger.
« Did you say that you sent the Fire Dragon to kill my tribe ? Did you confess that you murdered all of my kin ? »
« Oh no. The only thing I did was follow my orders and wake up the Fire Dragon. I know it was a bit earlier than what most expected, but that is what Hardy wanted. With her eggs, she looked a bit weak, so I simply pointed her towards the best nearby source of food. »
The Dark Elf fell down on her knees, tears starting to fill up her eyes.
« You... You... »
« Oh. What are you going to do ? Are you going to try to fight me ? Are you trying to go against the will of Hardy, the goddess that protects you in these lands ? »
But Yao did not listen to Giselle's taunting. Instead, she continued her monologue that seemed to be addressed to both the Apostle in front of her and the holy being watching from below ground.
« For generations, we have spent all of our wretched lives honoring Hardy. The prayers, the rituals, the sanctuaries dug in the caves... All of this has been made on the backs of hundreds of Dark Elves that all thought this would lead them and their tribes to salvation. But what did we get in return ? We became the food of a monster. What did we do wrong to earn such a miserable end ? »
« You are but mere mortals, you cannot understand the will of the gods. In fact, you should feel honored by the fact that a deity gave you a greater purpose. »
Despite her injuries, Rory still let out a small laugh.
« I doubt that being eaten by a Fire Dragon could be considered a greater purpose. This is why I will not join Hardy. She only does things for herself. »
And her words were much to Giselle's displeasure.
« Silence, you ! If you have issues with my mistress, you will be able to tell those face to face. And if any of you try to stop me, you will meet the wrath of my two... »
She stopped in the middle of her sentence. A strange faint noise had started to fill her ears, and it was slowly starting to get louder and louder. Something was approaching, but there was no way she could say what it was.
But from the smile on the face of the injured Apostle and the sudden activity within her group of followers, they all knew what was going to happen next. Suddenly, she felt as if she was not the one in control of the situation anymore.
« What is this ? Do not try to play your stupid tricks on me, Rory ! »
But Emroy's servant only laughed even more.
« My dear Giselle. You will never change, always wasting your time talking instead of taking the opportunity to accomplish your objective. »
« Maintenant ! »
The dragon woman quickly turned her head towards the leader of the soldiers to try to understand what he was doing, but she immediately heard another noise. A small bang came from behind a rock away from everyone and an extremely bright light started to fly up with an arced trajectory before landing in the middle of area without any cover. With her dragon instinct, she felt the urge to try and come closer, but she could feel that it was a bad idea. However, her two small Fire Dragons were far from thinking the same thing.
And behind that rock, two soldiers observed the monsters fly towards the projectile one of them had fired with his flare gun.
« Yes ! They took the bait ! »
« Ours, this is Recon Three. New targets. Two small dragons, north east of our position, marked by flare, over. »
« Copy that Recon Three. Targets in sight. Moving to engage. »
The rumble noise continued to grow, and Giselle knew something very bad was coming. She immediately took off to follow them and try to get them away from the light.
« Come back here ! It is a trap ! »
« Ours One, bombs away. »
« Ours Two, bombs away. »
But she was too late. She only had the time to turn her head to the sky and see the small flashing dots against the deep black before shockwaves crashed her down on the rocky ground.
« Good splash, good splash ! »
« Copy that Recon Three. Standing by for further targets. »
When the dust cleared, Giselle was still on the ground. Her hardened skin had been pierced in many different places by rocks thrown at high speed by the blasts. Her wings were not in a good state either. As for her dragons…
Gone. Just two heavy carcasses left to rot on the side of the mountain.
What kind of power was being wielded by those men ? Sure, she had heard the rumors about the Men in Green and their armored beasts, but she had always dismissed them as fearful fabrications from peasants distorting witness accounts. But here, she had all the proof she needed. She would have survived a direct hit, obviously, but she would not have been in a pretty state.
With difficulty, she stood back up on her legs. Behind her, she could feel the gaze of that whole group, pointing their weapons towards her. But she did not turn around to face them. She simply wanted to go far away enough for her wings to regenerate and fly back to her master.
While most of the soldiers where indeed keeping a good eye on her as she limped out of sight, Pierre and Marc rejoined the group and Anthony rushed to the side of Rory. Saying that she was badly injured was a clear understatement. Her lower legs were a few inches off her ankles, much of dress had been torn off and stained in blood by numerous slash and stab wounds, her right elbow was bent the wrong way and her breathing was troubled by coughs filled by blood.
« Putain de merde... Pierre, tell Command we need a medical evacuation as soon as possible. »
The young private nodded and turned to his radio to request a MEDEVAC. And, somehow, all of this made Rory smile a bit.
« I am fine, I am fine. Do not worry about me. It is but a scratch. Nothing my regeneration cannot repair. »
« Are you really sure ? I mean... »
« Yeah. Just, would you please stick my legs back together so that I can start to regenerate. »
« Oh... Huh yes, of course. »
This felt incredibly surreal. He had seen situations like these before with injured people missing limbs. Usually, those were highly traumatic for both the injured and witnesses. But here, it was as if nothing had really happened. In fact, it was when he reunited the severed parts and she let out a small yelp that felt the strangest.
« Look I know I'm not specialized in Apostle care, commented Daniella, but you really don't look alright to me. »
« You have to understand, being immortal does not mean immune to pain. But a few days and I should be back on my legs. »
« Well holy magic or not, I'm still going to try and disinfect all of this. »
Rory simply rolled her eyes, allowing her to get a good look at Yao that was getting closer. Her face was closed, and it was to be expected after all that happened that night.
« Your Holiness, she started after kneeling down, on the behalf of all the tribes that have put their hopes in you and your group, I am presenting the sincerest apologies. »
« Apologies for what ? »
That instant come back seemed to trouble the Dark Elf who could only falter her reply.
« I... We... We asked you to come here... And Hardy tried to... »
« Do not worry about that, Yao. You did not ask me anything. I just decided to come along with the ride. I should have known she would try to do something. »
« But, Your Holiness... »
She stopped when Rory reached out with her uninjured arm and put her hand on the Dark Elf's shoulder.
« Yao. I see faith in your eyes. During your quest, never have you heard the discouraging lies and you carried on to save your kin. And when you told your feelings to Giselle, I heard faith in your cries. But Hardy broke her promise to protect her worshipers and betrayed you. And yet, her Apostle still tried to order you to follow a god that failed. »
« I... I cannot say that I understand, Your Holiness. »
« You took the best decisions you could have taken, Yao. You have nothing to be sorry about. »
Yao nodded with the upmost respect before turning towards Anthony that was assisting Trevis with applying simple bandages all over Rory's body.
« Sir Moreau... »
« Yes ? »
« Thank you. I do not think all of the jewels mined off those mountains would be enough to repay you. »
The Lieutenant smiled.
« Oh, you don't have to. I mean we're soldiers, we're definitively not here for the money. »
« You know, I wouldn't refuse one or two grand in diamonds on top of my pay. » joked Daniella as she continued to cover all the cuts.
« I would like to be at your service as of now. Give me any order you wish, and I will do anything in my power to accomplish it. You can dispose of my body as you wish. »
At the sound of those words, everybody's eyes widened and turned towards the Lieutenant and the Dark Elf. And while she was completely serious, he was feeling extremely awkward.
« Wow, calm down there... I appreciate your enthusiasm to work with the Task Force, but let's not actually do it that way, alright ? It would be like owning a slave and I don't want to own a slave. That would be extremely weird and extremely illegal. »
« Yeah he already got us for that. »
That remark from Marc sparked laughs from everyone, Anthony included.
« Yeah, and that's because it's your fucking job. Now go back to work before I order you to clean off all the vehicles on your own. »
Yao remained silent. She did not really know what to say. She had been with those men for a few days already, but she just could not understand their personalities yet.
Overhead, the two Rafales were still circling around the volcano, on the lookout for any additional threats. But as the medical Chinooks arrived, Giselle was already long gone. And so, with Rory on a stretcher surrounded by medics, everyone boarded the helicopter which quickly took back off towards safety.
Anthony sat down on one of the benches right next to Tuka who had not said anything since they had rushed out of the caved.
« Are you still going to call me "Father" now ? »
« I don't think so... My father is dead, I must move on. Or at least that is what Lelei said. »
« Mourning is not an easy thing to do in life, Tuka. If you ever need some help, we'll be here to help you out. »
She only gave a nod as a reply. From what he could see, things were getting a bit better. Sure, she still needed psychological care, but things were getting better.
Through the open door of the cargo bay of the helicopter, they could still see the mountain as the two fighter jets dived for one last attack run. Cheers erupted as a large cloud of dust slowly rose up the crater as everyone finally realized that their mission was truly over.
« So what now ? »
A simple question that everyone had at the back of their minds, but that Mohammed was the only one to ask. Before answering, Anthony sighed.
« Well if I say that we should hope for things to settle down, I feel like I'm going to jinx it. »
Hello and thanks for reading the thirty-first chapter of Gate : Opération Marteau de Justice.
You might have noticed that this chapter is really short compared to other, more recent, ones. Considering that this marks the end of the dragon arc, I felt that giving that scene its own dedicated chapter was the most appropriate thing to do as what I had planned next did not feel right alongside it. Off course, because this chapter is shorter, it took me less time to write so I published it sooner than the usual schedulde. However, I will continue my usual cycle and go back to Discoveries for my next chapter.
When it comes to the OMJ plot, I feel like we are finally reaching the parts that I found the most interesting in the source material with all the politics and internal tensions on both sides. I'm really excited to hear your reactions when those chapter will launch.
Anyway, thanks a lot again for reading and I will see you in the next one.