Chapter 2

When Aralith opened her eyes, she was lying on a cot inside a small, improvised medical facility. She was being nursed by a female human soldier in green uniform and dark hair. When she tried to raise herself, she was immediately stopped by the human soldier.

"No. You must'nt get up yet. Your wounds are still healing," she said, gently putting Aralith back down.

"You must have seen the black object! It is of dire importance to me," Aralith exclaimed, still trying to get up.

"Yes. Your items and equipment have been brought here by the imperial soldiers. I have set them aside right there," the soldier answered, pointing at the pile of objects next to the cot. Only after confirming that the artifact was present, the seer calmed herself down. She had to wonder for a second if "Imperial" meant the same Imperials as the one that she was familiar with, but she judged by the psychic imprint of the female soldier that it was most likely not the case.

"That is an unique sword you've got there. Family heirloom?" said the soldier, gently smiling, pointing at the witchblade.

Aralith nodded. The soldier was kind, yet Aralith felt that revealing too much will only buy suspicion. She chose her answers carefully.

"It is similar. It was handed down to me by a very respected elder," she answered, carefully choosing her words to prevent suspicion, "Along with the artifact. It is my duty to protect it."

"Okay," the medic stood up, the tone of her voice changing just slightly more inquisitive, "So will you explain how you ended up where you did? From the look of it, your device nor the craft you've landed in doesn't seem like anything from this world."

Aralith focused her sight. Her mind weaved through the mind of the female soldier. The soldier lacked psychic presence, yet it wasn't impossible to read.

"The artifact is an ancient device of our ancestors. Recently, the great enemy attacked our vessel, bringing it to ruin. A few of us managed to escape using the device. I must reunite with my kin, and we must work together to defeat the great enemy."

Despite Aralith's thought that "great" was a bit exaggerated when describing the humans, but it seemed as though her description delivered the proper message.

The medic seemed slightly overwhelmed, yet she maintained her smile despite her confusion.

"Uh... What is this Great Enemy?" she asked, with a mix of curiosity and anxiousness.

Aralith gave some thought before she answered. She swallowed her pride and described the enemy in a way that the human might understand.

"They are a powerful human empire that stretches across the stars," Aralith's expression became grim as she spoke, "And they bring destruction to this world to claim our ancestor's treasure. They spread hateful lies of my people and aim to exterminate all who stands against them. Many of my kin met their valiant end in the battles against them. They slaughter people by the thousands to feed their leader. They sends billions to die in meaningless battles. Their empire is bloated, and their people are fanatical. Their goal is the extermination of all beings who do not follow their corrupt religion, and they will stop at nothing until their goal is met!"

Aralith did not have to read her mind to find out that the woman believed what she had just told her. The medic felt a drop of cold sweat running down her forehead. She shook off the unknown terror that she suddenly felt.

"So... you're not from the Gate, are you?" asked the medic, retaining her fabricated serenity.

The alien in robes shook her head, as the Gate was not the same as Webway.

"Well," she said with reassuring confidence, "The JSDF will protect you now. So do not fear. I'm Sergeant First Class Mari Kurokawa. You can call me Mari. What is your name?"

Mari stretched her hand out towards the seer. The seer looked at the hand.

"My name is... Aralith the Seer," the young Eldar answered in a timid voice.

Mari took her hand and shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Aralith."

The word of the 12th Recon Team's devastation reached the ears of all JSDF combat teams. Many of them boiled with anger, while others were terrified. The 1st Combat Unit was already mobilized, and the others began to prepare to be mobilized as well as per orders of General Hazama. By the result of the incident, it was likely that they were dealing with an apostle of some type like Rory. This rumour eventually reached Itami's ears, as well.

"Do you think it was an apostle's work, Rory?" he asked, looking more serious than ever, sitting in a tavern. Before the two were mugs of apple juice as Itami could not drink while on duty.

Rory placed her finger under her chin and gave it some thought. The demi-goddess loli sat in the chair next to Itami in her usual gothic dress, the dress of the apostle.

"It's very possible that they have incurred the wrath of an apostle," she answered in a slightly teasing manner, "But I can't think of the reason why any apostles would want to pick a fight with the JSDF. Even I can't take on the JSDF if they decided to come at me with full force."

It wasn't surprising that Rory was her usual nonchalant self. Violent death meant nothing to the apostle of Emory, god of violence, war, and death. Itami, on the other hand, was not himself, struggling to find answers. This is an usual case. Never have such gruesome incident occurred in the past, at least as the JSDF being targets. The report showed that many of the cadavers showed confusion in their face rather than pain, meaning that they were killed without being aware of what was happening. The culprit was either extremely fast or a magic user. He couldn't think of another entity capable of such feat, aside from the apostles of the gods.

"Then who else could have committed such horrendous act?" he questioned, resting his chin on his hand.

Rory shrugged her shoulders.

"You suspect the apostle due to their physical feats. But this world is full of surprises. Even in my 961 years of life, there are many things unknown to me. Perhaps you should look harder, Yo-ji!"

She poked the lieutenant's forehead with her finger in a playful manner. Itami made a blank expression, but he soon shook off the heavy atmosphere.

"I suppose sulking over this won't solve the issue, would it? I can ask if the 3rd Recon Team can help investigate this matter," he said, raising himself up from the table. Rory followed with a smile of approval, raising her giant halberd and resting it across her shoulders.