Chapter 13:

Several hours earlier.

Before the Passerby meets the Tome of the World.

The Battle at Lowee was just beginning.

8:00 am.

The General remembers the scene in the video. His rage seething from the memory.

He remembers what happened a few months ago, as if it just happened a second ago. The color of red and orange, the heat radiating from the view, the sounds of crackling, the smell of burning. The sensation in his throat scratching, his powerlessness, his inability. He remembers how he was gasping for air, and a second later, how was barely keeping himself awake. He remembers the night that murdered him.

"…Like what I had hoped for…" he mumbled to himself.

He deliberately didn't plan on telling the Oracle of Lastation about the video that he saw. He bet on that the information he received hasn't arrived yet to HQ, and luckily it hasn't. If it did, the Oracle would have definitely called him out, as she is meticulous.

It was even better when she gave him 20 companies. It was overkill, beyond overkill. From her perspective, it is just for tracking down and eliminating IF. It is enough to have at least 1 company for a measly little girl. But 6,000 soldiers all going up? That's overkill.

"…No use complaining now" he already got the confirmation claim on his inbox. He'll fully make use of them.

"Sir, the Subject is heading straight for Lowee. It'll take the Subject 3 hours" a soldier told him.

"Lowee… huh…" good, 2 birds with one stone.

"…Coordinate with the 20 that I just got. We will both takedown IF and that thing at the same time!"

3:30 pm.

"Hold it"

IF raised her fist, stopping their slow advance. She instructs Compa to take a knee with her, making sure they are both hiding between the bushes and trees.

After resting a little in the cabin in Virtua Forest, they walked north of Virtua Forest, then headed east once they reached the Atari Marsh with large overgrown trees and such. Right now, they're in the forest south of the Iris Field, about 2 kilometers past Lowee's border.

About 100 meters out, between the bushes, trees, and trunks, is a small village. If memory serves IF, that village is for the border patrol units. It's to provide housing for a patrol unit's family and children, so that they won't have to take the long trek home to the city proper. The village houses are made of cement. With designs that look playful, or kindergarten-like with matching bright colors. Typical of the fun theme that Lowee always had even before The Fall.

However, what IF sees in that village isn't what she considers fun at all.

"Operator, I'm seeing 3 guys, armed. What does our drone see?"

"Already on it, Commander. Seems the village is crawling with Lastation troops"

"Lastation? Why would they secure this place? I know they're cooperating and all, but still..." a soldier wondered.

"Special forces of sorts?"

"Probably, at the very least their gear is very different from the guys we fought in Planeptune"

"If they're spec ops then something big happened. Operator, do you see anything weird in the village?" another soldier said.

"I'll fly to the other side; I can see something on the main road. Hold on…

Yeah. I see body bags. And they're laying it on the main road. Probably waiting for a truck to pick them up since I can see tracks"

"How many?"

"I count 50, and not going to lie on this one, from the shape of the body bags, it seems children are involved too" the Operator answered grimly.

"What does that mean?" another soldier asked.

"Means we're in bigger trouble than we thought. Everyone, recount our supplies and ammo. Depending on the situation, we may have to push our schedule up a bit"

"But Commander, we're 5 armed, including you, 1 operative, and a nurse. There's no way to do this without backup"

"I'm saying that's still the plan since this might just be an isolated case. But if something unexpected happens or something did happen then we're going to proceed with the plan. Got it boys?"

"Hooraah"

"*Sigh*… I really don't like this one bit…" 7 hours of trekking is a lot of time for something significant to happen. But then she would have gotten the news from the internet through her phones. Or at the very least her network should have informed her. Even if Lastation now has control over the media and the articles surrounding this war, they can't completely plug the holes. Whistleblowers are everywhere on the internet.

"Iffy…" IF's train of thoughts is interrupted by the sound of her friend calling up to her.

"What is it Compa?" she forces a gentle smile to her friend. A smile she forgot how to do naturally.

"Everything's going to be alright…" Compa smiled. Even in this war-torn world, she's still able to smile so angelically.

"Thanks…"

"Commander, all supplies are accounted for. By my estimate, if we push the schedule early without our supplies, we're gonna be out of ammo in no time" the Operator said through the comms.

"Should we get some now? Or gamble that whatever happened here is just nothing"

"Can't say. There's no info on it on the net"

"Then, we're gonna take some supplies just in case. I'll take point and take out those 3 guards over there"

"Ma'am"

"I'm going Compa…"

"Mhm. Come back, okay?"

"Yeah"

IF runs, keeping low, while following the path of bushes that naturally curves towards the village. She keeps her eyes locked onto the 3 guards, thinking of ways to drag their bodies into the bushes. All 3 are doing their job like a model security model guard would; standing there spaced apart from one another, watching the road.

The sun is still out, meaning she can't do anything too bold, or she'll get caught. She can afford some noise but not a big one that would result in the whole village chasing after her.

Reaching a spot adjacent to the 3 guards, she stops and takes a moment to check her surroundings. There's about a 15-meter distance between her and the nearest guard standing by on the edge of the main road, a good enough position to take him out without being seen from the village. The 2 are standing-by right in the middle of the road.

"I'll pull one of the guys in the middle of the road, someone pull the 2 once they're down. Operator, is there anyone watching them?"

"None yet, Commander. But hurry though"

"Then…!"

IF takes out a throwing knife and raises it. The nearest guard is at the right distance. He looks around, his bored expression plastered on his face. As he does so his eyes wander towards her direction–!

She throws the knife and without waiting runs towards her second target. The knife spins in the air as it homes in on the target.

"Wha–!?"

The moment the guard notices her, his forehead is pierced by the throwing knife. But she knows that it wasn't deep enough. She runs up to the surprised guard, palm strikes the pommel of the knife, digging the knife deep into his head up to the guard of the weapon.

"…?"

The second guard noticed a soft tumble of something. He looks to his right—!

IF covers his mouth as she stabs him through the groin, twists it before pulling it out. She reverses the hold on her weapon and swings the tip to his trachea. Blood splatters all around, a miscalculation on her part.

'They'll notice us one way or the other' after justifying herself of the miscalculation, she lays her second kill as quickly and as gently as she could. She walks towards the 3rd guard.

"Hey mister…"

"…?"

"Hehe…" she gives a small playful smile, resembling a certain best friend she lost 7 years ago.

"Wha–!

And before he could even process her, she stabs him through the throat.

"Kaah…!"

Then she twists the knife, destroying his trachea even further.

"—!"

She pulls the knife out, prompting his body to fall forward. She pulls his left arm over her and pushes her left shoulder into his gut then wraps her left arm around his left leg. As the body naturally rests on her shoulders, she pushes herself up using her knees, performing a fireman's carry. She dashes towards the nearest thick set of bushes.

Once she's deep enough, she drops the body on the ground and one of her soldiers meets up with her.

"Okay, wear their gear"

"Ma'am" the soldier immediately performs work.

"Operator, are we still clear?"

"Yes, ma'am. I've narrowed down 2 locations that's possible to be a weapons depot. The small school to the north and the town's hall to the east. For meds and other supplies, seems the local hospital near the school is our best bet"

"Roger. Compa and I are going to get some supplies at the hospital. The 3 posing as guards should get our operator and our last guy a disguise. Then secure a truck and get some ammunition for the ride. Got that?"

"Ma'am!"

"We're going to meet by the end of the main road exiting the town"

Beta Read: TMCraze