Although Fie had experienced many things during her life, riding a small boat down some rough rapids was definitely a new one. Despite how hazardous it was she couldn't help but find it fun and would love to do it again. Preferably when the situation wasn't so dire, of course.
Because right now they were on a very important mission.
What had started with an unexpected but quite welcome call from Angelica Rogner with news about the whereabouts of Alisa's mom had ended in gunfire. While they didn't really know what exactly was going on in Roer it was pretty obvious that her relationship with her old man was almost as bad as the one Jusis shared with his.
Angelica could be obnoxious and overbearing at the best of times, but at the end of the day she was a friend and a fellow Thors student, thus the obvious decision had been made for Class VII to infiltrate the tech city and find out what had happened to her. Thanks to Alisa's granddad they had a way of entering the region without getting detected by the army of Nortia.
By riding a small boat down a river all the way from Ymir right to the outskirts of Roer.
Unfortunately they were only able to get their hands on one small vessel for the infiltration so only a few members of Class VII were able to participate, at least for this initial phase. The team that ended up going was very similar to the ones who went on the field study just a few long months prior: Herself, Rean, Alisa, and Machias. Elliot – who was still riding the high from rescuing his sister – chose to sit this one out, ceding the spot to Emma in case her magic was needed. Millium also joined the squad since Airgetlam meant she didn't need space on the boat, something that she whined about the entire time.
Gwyn's information had proven correct and after a wild boat ride that had Alisa, Emma, and Machias screaming like little girls the group disembarked within walking distance of the industrial city. "We still haven't discussed how we are going to enter the city." The shotgun wielder pointed out after finally recomposing himself.
"There aren't many entrances into the city, and I'm sure Count Rogner has them all guarded..." Alisa added grimly.
"If needed I can use the same spell I did at Bareahard, but it would be dangerous if they caught on to it." Emma hesitated before offering her solution.
Rean nodded. "Let's keep that as our backup option. With any luck security will be lax at the city."
It was possible, Fie supposed. From all accounts the war hasn't really had an impact here as the nearest battles have occurred in the Nord Highlands. Sentries with little to worry about tend to grow lax after a while. Despite that, she was unconvinced. Zephyr never really had much respect for Erebonia's provincial armies, but they were at least grudgingly respectful of Gerhart Rogner's military acumen. His troops were probably a little more disciplined than the rest.
After securing the boat the group of six students made their way to the city, avoiding the road as much as possible. Thanks to their earlier mission in the area and Alisa's natural understanding of the place they were able to make good time through the area and arrived safely at the city gates within a matter of minutes. A city gate that was unfortunately just as guarded as they all expected.
The two orange-clad soldiers guarding the gate noticed them about the same time as Class VII noticed them, and so as to not appear suspicious they all followed Rean's lead as he approached the duo. His story that they were travelers from Ymir probably wasn't too convincing given the fact it was a middle of a war and none of them looked like simple travelers, but the guards seemed inclined enough to believe it.
That was until one of them noticed Alisa. That was a huge blunder on their part not having the blonde girl in disguise as of course any native of Roer would probably have seen the Reinford's heiress before! His suspicious gaze turned towards the rest of the group and seemed to linger on her, Machias, and Rean. Was he one of the soldiers involved with the mine incident?
The former jaeger stealthily placed a hand on one of her weapons. The second he tried to call out a warning she would dash forwards, incapacitate the man and his partner, and give Emma the time needed to screw with their memories. It was incredibly risky as backup could arrive at any moment, but in their current circumstance she didn't see any other-
She and the others blinked in confusion when the other guard waved away his partner's concerns and convinced the suspicious soldier that they probably were just a bunch of kids on a stroll. The first guard relaxed, admitted he was probably being paranoid, and waved the group of bewildered students into the city.
...What just happened?
As far as Fie could see there were three possible explanations. First that the other guard was just as laid back and incompetent as he appeared. It was possible, of course, but she didn't think it likely given this was the middle of a war. Surely even the most relaxed soldier would be taking his duties seriously now.
This could also be a trap. Lure Class VII into the city where they couldn't easily escape and capture them. A dangerous possibility, but an equally unlikely one. Even if they were willing to freely endanger civilians, Roer was a massive city and thanks to its unique layout had plentiful areas to hide in, many of which they already knew thanks to their field study. She was confident that even if they were trapped they wouldn't be caught anytime soon.
The last possibility was that the soldier recognized them, but was on their side for some reason. A possible detractor of the Noble Alliance, or could he have been one of the supporters Angelica had mentioned having during that brief call earlier? This would be the most welcome outcome, but they didn't really have the chance to investigate it further at the moment.
Instead it was time for Rean to do what he did best: Go around making a pest of himself until they found someone willing to help them out. A tactic that had proven surprisingly effective in the past. Of course given this was an occupied city they couldn't risk splitting up and had to avoid any areas with a heavy military presence, but that still left plenty of Roer to explore.
Public sentiment in Roar wasn't nearly as positive about the war as it had been in Bareahard. The incident at the mine hadn't been that long ago, so rumors about the Noble Alliance's involvement with the ILF had created a very negative sentiment among the populace. Not to mention it seemed that the Nortia Army was forcing the mines and factories to work extra hard in order to fuel the war effort. The city was a rather gloomy place, all things considered.
But not all of it was gloomy. Fie couldn't help but grin as she noticed that kid she and Rean had helped playing hide and seek with during their night together. It seemed he was still just as awful at the game as he had been before. She would have loved to help out again, but duty came first sadly. Maybe later.
Annoyingly, Rean's ability to poke his head into every house paid dividends almost immediately as they found Becky's rival, Hugo, inside the RF store. One more Thors student to cross off the list.
The number quickly reached two as they found Linde working in one of the local shops. Although she had nothing interesting to tell the group, she was delighted to see them all the same – something which further increased upon learning that Vivi was safe and on board the Courageous. Fie found herself looking forward to telling the prankster the good news, knowing just how worried she had been.
After thoroughly investigating the lower level the group decided to head up the elevator to the upper level. Of course like last time she again took the wrong steps, dragging along a barely protesting Rean in the process. Alisa, Machias, and Emma seemed embarrassed to be in their presence, but Millium at least must have found it quite amusing as she quickly abandoned the 'correct' path to join them.
Considering the three of them beat the others to the top they had absolutely no right to complain.
Once there they bore witness to an interesting spectacle as a fancy limo rolled up to the entrance of the Roer Building. Out stepped the textbook definition of a pompous noble. The windbag seemed quite happy to loudly proclaim his role as acting chairman until Irina Reinford recovered from her 'illness'. It was obviously a load of crap.
Alisa was understandably fuming as she explained that the man was Heidel Rogner, brother of the marquis and normally the director of the 1st Factory. With a man like that holding the reigns of Reinford he could ensure that arms and equipment flowed freely to the Noble Alliance. And the news that he was staying in Alisa's home was enough to cause the blonde girl to nearly explode in anger.
Until arriving at Thors Fie had never really had a home of her own, but she at least thought she could understand her friend's anger. It would be like discovering that Patrick Hyarms was sleeping on her favorite bench, but way worse.
With security at the tower so high there was no way the group of wanted students could approach. Instead they resumed their original mission of checking out the upper levels while making sure to stay away from the Rogner mansion.
The cathedral was interesting as they witnessed a new sister leaving the building. There was something about her voice that Fie found familiar, but there was no way the overbearing Taito specialist could walk and talk like a demure sister of the cloth... right? She supposed it didn't matter much. If it actually was Angelica than she knew they were there and could initiate contact once it was safe.
The only other person of note they found was Instructor Mary. The teacher claimed to have originally been with Mint's group as they escaped Thors, but somehow got separated and ended up stuck in Roer. She had been staying with Mint's family the entire time. Fie shared a glance with Rean and saw he was thinking on the same page as her – How could a cooking teacher survive in a house with such a terrible cook?
Although their initial tour of the city had been fruitful they still had no leads on the whereabouts of Angelica or Irina, so Rean suggested they regroup at the lower level. This time both Machias and Alisa practically held her at gunpoint as they forced her down the 'right' steps. Spoilsports.
Before they could discuss their next plan of action they were interrupted by the sound of a ringing ARCUS. Alisa's ARCUS, in fact. Someone in the city knew they were there. This had the potential to either be very bad or very good. Given their earlier meetings she had a good feeling about it, but was on guard just in case.
The call ended up being from two of Alisa's friends who worked at the nearby diner. She vaguely recalled the place. Since they were currently lacking in leads Rean made the obvious call to stop by. It was only a short walk from their current location. Inside the diner they met the two callers...
"I've been eagerly anticipating your arrival, Class VII." And the church's newest sister. Bingo. That one statement confirmed her suspicions as to her identity.
The others were a little slower on the uptake, which suited her just fine. Watching the shock on Alisa's face as she finally pieced together the situation was hilarious. Something which the sister finally confirmed when she revealed herself to be the missing Angelica Rogner.
Since they were in a diner they were able to trade stories over hot drinks. Fie contented herself with silently sipping her beverage while Rean and Alisa explained their mission. How dumb was Angelica to not expect them to be worried when her earlier call cut out like it had?
For her part the daughter of the marquis had been gathering supporters in preparation for an eventual showdown with her father. According to her his loyalty to the cause wasn't as strong as the likes of Albarea and Cayenne so he was allowing her to settle matters with a fight to decide the fate of the Nortia province.
That was all well and good, but her insistence that Class VII had no role in the conflict was kind of annoying. Half the reason they came to Roer in the first place was because Irina Reinford was being imprisoned! While she couldn't say she was a huge fan of the businesswoman, at the end of the day she was Alisa's mom and that was enough for Class VII to act.
After some wholly unnecessary convincing the second year finally agreed to join forces. First they would rescue Alisa's mom who was being guarded by jaegers in the fancy imperial train currently in station up at the Sachsen Iron Mines (thankfully Fie was pretty confident neither Xeno nor Leo would ever accept a boring guard mission like that). With Irina freed they would retake control of the Reinford building. Once Roer was secured Angelica could have her duel against her dad at the Schwarz Drache Barrier where he was currently stationed. Easy.
With the mission in place Angelica used a radio she had stashed away to make another call with the Courageous. Towa and George listened while she and Rean filled them in on the details. Fie listened quietly, but a plan was brewing in her mind. They were currently chatting with the bridge of the Courageous, which meant...
Just as Angelica went to end the communication Fie stopped her. "Oh. By the way?" All eyes shifted towards her. "...Linde says hi."
"Whaaaaa-!?" She only heard half of Vivi's shrill cry before pushing the button and ending the call. Let her stew on that one for a while.
"You look way too pleased with yourself." Rean observed warily as he and the others made the trek up the mountain to the Sachsen Iron Mine. And why wouldn't he be worried. A smug Fie was a dangerous Fie.
Especially for him.
"Why wouldn't I be? Can you imagine what Vivi's doing right now?"
He sweatdropped nervously. The pink-haired girl was probably freaking out trying to figure out if Fie's parting words meant that Linde was in Roer. Her inability to enter the city herself or contact the ground team for confirmation was almost certainly eating her up at the moment. Poor Towa.
"If she wrests control of the Courageous and gets it shot down trying to enter the city that's all on you." He informed the girl with complete seriousness.
So naturally she brushed off his concerns with a shrug. "My conscience can survive it. You're the one her ghost is gonna be haunting after all."
He paused. "How so? You're the one who wronged her."
"Maybe, but you're funner to mess with."
The swordsman could only slump down in despair, especially when Fie reached up to pat his head. How could she make such a wonderful gesture feel so condescending?
"Aww! I can't take it anymore! I'm so jealous!" Angelica, who had been walking a fair distance behind them, finally exploded. "Alisa! Emma! Throw yourselves into the bosom of this heartbroken maiden! I need comforting!"
Emma seemed to be at a loss for words. "Um..."
"Not in this lifetime or the next." Alisa meanwhile had far more experience dealing with the eccentric noble.
"Ooh! Let me!" A blue blur shot past the group and into Angelica's waiting arms. Rean wasn't too worried. Despite her perversions he was confident Angelica wouldn't do anything weird to someone as young as Millium."
...Probably. Maybe he should be a little worried.
"Are you sure you should be doing this?" Machias asked, trying to sound stern but failing miserably. "Won't Albarea be saddened to find out that you are leaping into the arms of someone else?"
"A battle between House Rogner and Albarea over this darling little girl, is it? Sounds like fun!" Angelica was far too willing to play along with it.
"Heehee!" And Millium was completely oblivious to the chaos, as usual.
Rean glanced towards Fie, surprised she hadn't tried adding fuel onto the fire only to find the shorter girl focused intently on their surroundings. He hadn't realized it at the time, but they were now very close to the mine. Her ability to seamlessly shift between her casual chaotic self and cool professionalism was second to none.
It was one of the many things he admired about her, after all.
Her change in demeanor was quickly noticed by the others and it was a very wary Class VII plus ally who eventually entered the Sachsen Iron Mine. From a distance everything looked normal with miners hard at work and no security in sight, but the atmosphere felt wrong. The place was entirely too quiet and the miners seemed extremely unhappy to be there. A few tried to warn the students away when they approached, but their mission prevented them from heeding that well-intentioned advice.
Knowing that the jaegers would be waiting for them inside the mine proper, they stopped at the entrance. Rean was fairly certain they still possessed the element of surprise, but it would only work once. As soon as everyone was prepared the group of seven burst through the doors, immediately encountering a pair of jaegers who hadn't been expecting them at all. They were quickly knocked unconscious before they could act.
"These are the same jaegers that were in Nord." Alisa pointed out. Indeed, she was right. The equipment and color scheme matched those opponents perfectly.
"Nidhoggr." Fie confirmed with a nod as she took in their uniforms. Dangerous foes, but ones that he was confident they could best in a fight.
Before they could advance further the sound of many approaching footsteps put them on guard. Instead of it being more jaegers like they feared, the approaching group actually ended up being a bunch of miners. Instantly recognizing Alisa and Angelica the head miner was quick to offer their support by taking custody of the unconscious jaegers. Given they had been all but held hostage at the mine since the war began Rean suspected there was some serious animosity there. Hopefully they didn't do anything too drastic to their prisoners...
Shaking thoughts of miners vengeance out of his head Rean led the others into the freight dock where the train that Alisa's mother – the Eisengraf - was located. This time the group of jaegers they encountered was prepared for them, but not even prepared jaegers were able to hold back the entire group for long.
Sadly the final jaeger had one nasty trick up his sleeve to play once defeat became inevitable. Before he could be stopped he quickly activated his radio and told the train to leave station. Someone must have been at the Eisengraf's controls, as even before Angelica knocked the man out the luxury train was already beginning to move.
"C'mon! We're jumping on top of it!" Angelica's words were crazy, but it wasn't as if they had much other choice. Plus Fie was already following the older girl over the end of the platform they were on. Sharing a quick glance with the less insane members of Class VII he let out a sigh before following the two over the edge, hoping the others were right behind him.
Anyone who has ever said that jumping onto a moving train was easy has clearly never jumped onto a moving train. Sure the leap itself was nothing he couldn't handle, but the understanding that one slip up would lead to him tumbling off the side to a painful end was enough to make the simple maneuver into something even the skilled swordsman executed very carefully. Once assured of his footing he took stock of the situation and was pleased to see that everyone else had landed successfully atop the train, although most of them looked even more unsure of their footing upon the moving locomotive than he was.
Except Fie, of course. She might protest otherwise, but her actions once again proved just how catlike she really was. That accessory he had purchased was quite fitting indeed.
With the train rapidly picking up speed the group was quick to gather up and find a hatch to lead them down into the train. Never before had being inside a locomotive felt so safe. Of course safe might not be the correct term now that they were stuck on a train with Irina Reinford and an unknown number of Nidhoggr jaegers, none of which were in the same car as them, fortunately.
That luck didn't last forever and soon enough Class VII found themselves embroiled in fight after fight against the jaegers and their military monsters. Thanks to the narrow confines of the trains the mercenaries couldn't attack them all at once, so instead each train car held its own encounter. They even managed to somehow sneak some soldiers around to encircle them during one fight!
Having Angelica on the team made all the difference for those encounters. Thanks to the agile Taito practitioner working with Millium's ever-stalwart Airgetlam the two were able to hold off one half of the pincer attack while he and the others defeated the other formation with overwhelming firepower, before turning back to finish off the remaining foes.
Rean could only sense two people inside the final car and he was certain that one of them was the person they were trying to rescue. Although oddly enough for the briefest of instances he sensed a third, but it was gone quickly enough that maybe he had imagined it.
Shaking off his concerns the swordsman and his friends charged ahead. There – as expected – was the chairman herself. Alongside her was one singular jaeger. He could already tell that this was shaping up to be a hostage situation once again.
"You certainly took your time, Alisa." ...And yet the hostage herself seemed completely at ease with the situation. Rean winced, already feeling sympathy for the girl. Having Irina Reinford as a mother could not be easy. "I wasn't expecting you to do something as reckless as jumping on top of a moving train, but you reached me in the end, so I suppose you earn a passing grade from me this time."
And yet the blonde girl must have had the patience of a saint as she looked mostly unfazed by such a lukewarm greeting. Either that or she was just used to it. "We came all this way to save you, and that's all you have to say?!"
"I'm not sure why I should have to thank you for doing something I never asked you to... I'm pleased to see you're in good health, however. You did well to reach me" There it was. The tiniest hint of praise. Coming from such a stern woman it definitely meant a lot.
The jaeger clearly didn't like being ignored as he pointed his rifle towards the chairman. "I think that's enough idle chatter. If you care for this woman you'll throw down your weapons."
Once again they found themselves in the midst of a hostage situation. "You sure that's okay?" A dispassionate Fie pointed out. "I can't imagine your client will want her injured."
"Our client ordered us to apprehend her. Nothing more. So long as we don't kill her, a few minor bumps and bruises aren't going to land us in any trouble." On one hand it was good that they didn't need to worry about the twitchy jaeger killing Irina, but that didn't mean he was willing to let her get assaulted like that. "You're all gonna be coming with me to Roer. Our client, the alliance, has requested that we take you into custody as well. We'll arrive in Roer soon, so just-"
"True. We don't have long until we reach Roer." Not even being a hostage could make the Reinford chairman concerned. "So I think the time for playing around has passed. Sharon, do it."
"As you wish." Rean only had the briefest of moments to recall the third presence before the maid appeared, entrapping the jaeger with her wires before he could even react. With that finished Sharon descended from her ceiling hiding spot. "That takes care of that."
Come to find out the maid had been on the train the entire time, but was unable to find the opening to rescue her master with all the jaegers around. Thanks to their efforts, however, the enforcer was able to get into position until the order was received. It did bother Rean a little that once again they needed outside help to resolve a crisis, but the important thing was that Alisa's mom was now safe.
But now with her secured it was time for the second part of their plan. "I think we're almost there. The train will stop below the RF corporate HQ, after which we will proceed to seize control of the building itself." A plan which Irina herself seemed to be quite on board with.
Within a few minutes the train reached the city and came to a stop underneath the Reinford building. Upon exiting, Class VII was immediately greeted by the painfully familiar sound of approaching archaisms. With Sharon protecting the elder Reinford they were free to show off just how comfortable they had gotten fighting said machines.
Once finished they were directed to reclaim the building from Angelica's uncle while Irina and Sharon worked to disable the security of the place. It was a simple plan, but given the Noble Alliance had seemingly filled the place with archaisms it meant it was a dangerous assault on par with the Twin Dragons Bridge. Still, this was what they had prepared themselves for.
With Alisa guiding them they began the ascent up the large building. Despite nominally being a simple office building the labyrinthine layout worked against them, especially as more and more machines assaulted them. It didn't help that there was no stairwell to use and none of the available elevators would take them all the way up. Instead they had to slog through multiple floors while seeking out the correct elevators to lead them further upwards.
Still, while the entire ordeal was a pain, it wasn't particularly hazardous. With the large team they had no amount of archaisms could stand against them for long. The slow progress and constant battles were taking their toll on them, but unlike their recent infiltrations this was a civilian building with all the amenities one could need to take a rest. Alisa groaned miserably when Millium had her combat shell smash open a vending machine after they came across a break room, but not even she could resist the urge to sift through the remnants for a snack and a quick break on one of the couches.
"Kinda feel bad for the janitors." Fie muttered as she munched on a bag of looted chips. "We've done a pretty good job wrecking this place." Dozens of ruined archaisms. Plenty of explosions. Airgetlam. Rean winced. She definitely had a point. Or perhaps he was wincing because instead of sitting on a coach she had elected to sit on his lap instead? Something which drew plenty of looks and left him feeling somewhat uncomfortable, especially as she seemed very determined to wriggle around as much as possible.
"I'm certain the chairman will pay them well for the extra work." Emma's hopeful comment was met with skepticism, especially from Alisa herself. "...Right?"
Put under the microscope Alisa couldn't help but groan tiredly. "I mean I'm sure she'll pay them..." What she didn't say spoke volumes:
They were getting paid, but there would be no bonuses involved.
"Eh, I wouldn't worry about it too much." Angelica seemed rather unperturbed by the whole thought. "She'll probably make uncle pay for everything himself." The Taito practitioner tilted her head in thought. "Or more likely she'll make him do all the work. Assuming she doesn't throw him out of the tower, that is."
"Still..." Machias grimaced. "How about we stop destroying things for no reason?" His words were to the group as a whole, but his eyes were directed solely upon one unrepentant Millium.
With their short break finished the group continued their trek up the building. More floors to explore. More archaisms to smash. As dangerous as it all was Rean couldn't help but find himself falling into a routine, something which he knew was dangerous on a battlefield, but as the same machines attacked them for what might have been the dozenth time he couldn't really find himself caring. He did at least make an effort to be a little less wasteful with his swings to prevent unnecessary collateral.
...Something which was completely offset as Fie seemed to take their previous conversation as an excuse to be more liberal with her grenades, much to the consternation of Alisa, Emma, and Machias.
After a rather uneventful trek the group of seven reached the floor with the chairman's office. Rean allowed Angelica and Alisa to take the lead, as this was their struggle, but naturally he was ready to back them up should the situation turn violent. Entering the spacious office they encountered the Rogner sitting at the desk, looking entirely too comfortable despite being all by his lonesome. "Well hello there. How good of you to come."
"Director..."
While Alisa seemed saddened by this entire ordeal, a fuming Angelica strode forward. "We're short on time, so let me get straight to the point. You don't belong behind that desk. You just don't have what it takes. So I think it's about time you drop this pathetic act and returned it to its rightful owner." She let out a deep exhale before continuing. "You took advantage of the chaos caused by this war to imprison the chairman of the Reinford Group and steal control from her. And as if that weren't shameful enough, you steal her home and treat it like your own."
Her tirade wasn't finished as she glared at her uncle. "How can you call yourself a noble? Maybe it's not clear to you how angry I am. I'm annoyed with Father as well, but your actions are an utter disgrace. Now get yourself out from behind that desk before I have to drag you my way. I've no intention of standing back and allowing you to bring shame to the Rogner family name one second longer."
Sometimes it was easy to forget that the perpetually horny second year was actually the heiress of one of Erebonia's Great Houses, but speeches like that served as a good reminder. And yet as powerful as it had been it didn't seem to affect Heidel Rogner at all. "You really are so much like your father. You two limit your own potential through that wretched, worthless sense of pride. And for what? He won't even bother to stake his rightful claim as supreme commander of the Noble Alliance! He leads one of the prestigious Four Great Houses, and yet he consistently sits back and lets others rise above him. Pitiful, no?"
"I'm sure he'd be none too pleased to be called pitiful by you of all people. But that's neither her nor there. I intend to settle my differences with Father soon enough. Just as soon as I've finished arresting you."
With Angelica's threats falling upon deaf ears Alisa tried a more conciliatory approach. "Director, please, won't you consider backing down on this?" She pleased. "I came here to try and return the Reinford Company and this city to the way it used to be. You've always had a respectable position in the company. What will it take to get your cooperation?"
Sadly for her, however, greed had taken its hold of this man. "I'm afraid nothing you say will inspire me to back down, Alisa." He raised a hand before giving an ominous snap of his fingers. "This is a nation at war, and your naive line of thinking isn't going to cut it anymore!"
Rean was surprised when a massive archaism appeared practically out of thin air in front of them. Unlike most of the others they faced, however, this one was surprisingly humanoid in appearance. And the large sword it was holding was familiar to Rean, too. "Seven targets located. Switching to elimination mode. Combat abilities analyzed. Deploying Shigure units." The eight smaller machines that appeared around them must have been the so-called Shigure units.
"What the...?!" Machias and the others were quick to take their combat stances as they realized they were now surrounded. But they weren't what drew Rean's focus.
It was the fact that the machine took a combat stance he knew very well. "It seems to have the Eight Leaves school programmed into it." Normally he wasn't one to get mad at a machine. They had no intellect or goals, just a basic programming telling them what to do. But this thing trying to emulate the sword style he spent much of his life training on?
That bugged him. That bugged him a lot.
"Shigure units deployed successfully. Commencing elimination of all targets."
The large robot charged forward, sword at the ready. Angelica however was there to meet his charge with her mighty fists. As much as Rean wanted to assist her he understood that the key to success was in eliminating the smaller Shigure machines as soon as possible. Seeing one raise itself up as it prepared to do something that likely wasn't good for them Rean dashed forward. He knew he wouldn't make it in time, but that ended up not mattering when a powerful fire art courtesy of Alisa slammed into it, delaying it just long enough for him to slice through it with his tachi.
A similar scene played out as Machias enabled Millium to move rapidly, something which the young powerhouse took advantage of to have Lammy absolutely obliterate one of the machines with its powerful fists. Two down, six to go.
Unfortunately they were soon to discover what the archaisms had been trying to do, as a third one was quick enough to get its attack off just before the group's witch eviscerated it with a barrage of magical blades. The blast of energy it shot outward was disorienting and Rean found himself staggered, but it was a momentary thing and individually something he could deal with. So long as they kept the remaining ones from attacking he was confident in their ability to win.
A hastily launched Arc Slash wasn't enough to finish off a fourth Shigure, but it did damage it. Something which one of its companions seemed to notice as it hovered over to it and began repairing it. Obnoxious, but at least it meant they were out of the picture for the time being. Putting them out of mind for now he switched stances to the second form and launched himself towards another robot with a Gale.
Taking out that robot proved to be no challenge. Neither did the ones that Machias and Millium dispatched on their own. The final two were still hard at work with repairs when Emma and Alisa combined their strongest arts into an absolute cacophony of destruction that obliterated both the machines and a large part of the office.
...The Reinford heiress had no right to criticize any of them for the damages they inflicted upon her mother's office after that stunt.
With the lesser minions dealt with Rean turned, prepared to assist Fie and Angelica with the main threat – only to stare blankly at what he saw. The large archaism was there, yes, but it was currently a sparking mess on the ground. There was a gaping hole in its chest that almost looked like the result of a super-powered kick.
Given the satisfied look on the face of the Taito practitioner that was almost certainly exactly what happened. Next to her Fie gave a bored yawn, but upon noticing his gaze she turned and gave a victory sign with her fingers.
"W-Wait. That's it?" Emma was the first to get over her surprise at the revelation that the battle was already over.
"I've spent every day training to make up for my humiliating loss at his hands." The glare Angelica shot him made it clear who 'he' was. "Wanted to avenge my loss and prove myself to all the fair maidens he bewitched. Didn't expect all that practice would go into beating a hunk of junk like this." She gave the destroyed robot another kick for good measure.
A glance at Fie earned a shrug. "This thing sucks compared to Rean. Laura probably could have taken care of it by herself."
On one hand it was good to know that everything was alright and that he had inadvertently played a role in their success, but he couldn't help but find the anti-climactic result somewhat disappointing. He had been hoping to show off his own skill with the Eight Leaves One Blade style against the impostor robot...
"Whaaat?!" Any disappointment he felt couldn't come close to comparing to the satisfaction at seeing the once confident Heidel Rogner's shock as he finally comprehended the battle's outcome. "Th-This can't be happening! That had the combat data of Crossbell's Divine Blade of Wind installed into it! How could it be defeated by a bunch of mere children?!"
Arios MacLaine? Were Rean anyone else he would have laughed in derision. Although he had never met the man, the very idea that someone could program the skills of a master as great as him into a robot was laughable.
The final nail in Director Rogner's proverbial coffin was delivered by the arrival of Irina Reinford and Sharon. With her came the news that all of the building's security systems and archaisms were once again under her control. His pathetic attempts at pleading for mercy from the stern businesswoman ended painfully for the brother of the marquis.
With Heidel a twitching mess after getting punched, Alisa's mom turned back towards them. " You can leave everything here to me. Don't you have something else you need to do?"
Angelica's showdown with her father. Rean could tell the older girl was ready for the confrontation and with all the pieces now in place there was now no longer any point in delaying. With the Reinford building secure they were able to contact Towa who brought the Courageous in for a pick up.
A few hours later Class VII and the Courageous found themselves hovering over the Schwarz Drache Barrier to bear witness to the fight to come. Angelica – who had disembarked a little earlier to meet up with forces loyal to her – was approaching the installation on board a Spiegel alongside a group of allied soldats and armored cars. An impressive force, but one that paled greatly in comparison to the soldiers loyal to the marquis could probably muster at the fortress.
Even though ostentatiously they were there merely as observers, Rean had landed Valimar on the deck of the Courageous just in case. He understood just how important the upcoming fight was to Angelica and had no intention of interfering, but better safe than sorry. From all accounts Marquis Rogner was an honorable man, but in a battle of this magnitude things could spiral out of control real fast.
All eyes were drawn to the fortress when the gates opened and out came the marquis in his Hector. He knew from experience just how powerful a Hector could be. Angelica's Spiegel wouldn't be able to match it in terms of strength or durability, but he felt the more balanced machine suited her better. If she could just make good use of her speed and cunning...
The initial exchange of blows went poorly for their friend as it became quite clear that the lord was a very experienced combatant who understood the differences in power just as well as Rean himself did. He would allow his daughter to land blows upon his machine in order to prevent her from escaping his own retaliatory strikes. A trade that favored him as each hit scored big dents on the Spiegel.
Beside him Towa shuffled about nervously, clearly worried for her best friend. As much as he respected the purple-haired girl's skills he could understand it. Being forced to sit and watch while their friend fought in such a high-stakes battle was agony, especially as they were seemingly losing. Still, one of the many things he had learned since being placed in Class VII was to trust in his friends. Even if Angelica was getting knocked around badly right now – something which was proven all the more true when her father landed a clean blow that knocked her sparking machine off its feet – he had to keep believing that she had a plan.
Seizing upon the opening that was now presented to him, the Marquis charged his soldat towards his downed foe in an attempt at ending the duel. There were many gasps of horror among his friends and even he couldn't help but clench the railing of the airship tightly. If Angelica wanted to win she had to make a move right now!
Much to his delight and relief, his faith hadn't been in vain. Angelica must have been expecting just such a move as she rose her battered Spiegel to its feet much quicker than what should have been possible. The marquis – having already commit to his charge – was caught flat-footed and unable to halt his momentum in time to throw up a solid defense, something which the heiress took advantage of.
It was a move he recognized well from fighting alongside and against her in the past. All of her strength gathered into a singular blow. Her Zero Impact. One that struck true on the Hector's chest. A blow that caused the bigger mech to go crashing down onto the ground, similar to what had happened to her.
The major difference was that while Angelica got back up, the marquis did not.
With the battle now decided it was time for the celebrations to begin. Despite his flaws, Marquis Rogner was an honorable man and accepted his defeat with grace and dignity. As he reconciled with his daughter Rean finally allowed himself to relax. It seemed that everything had turned out-
"Sorry, but this ain't over just yet." The swordsman didn't have time to even begin processing the new voice before out from the fortress emerged the largest soldat he had ever seen. Rean wasn't even sure it could be classified as a soldat. The thing stood at twice the size of a normal soldat and was bristling with massive guns. It was so massive that it had four legs just to remain upright!
By the time he had gotten over his shock to recognize the newcomer as Vulcan the terrorist had already blasted away Angelica's Spiegel and was in the process of driving away the over-matched army soldats. His course of action became clear when the gargantuan machine craned its head towards the Courageous. "C'mon, now. You don't think you can sit back and watch from up there now that me an' Goliath are out, do ya? Get down here! It's our turn! Rean Schwarzer!"
He could feel the worried looks from his friends, but he would not be deterred. As terrifying as that Goliath looked he had to believe he could beat it. How could he ever hope to defeat Ordine otherwise? He shot a pointed glance towards the cat of the group, who seemed to understand his intent as she let out a stretch before the two of them approached Valimar. With encouragement from his classmates and friends he boarded his Divine Knight and leapt off the edge of the airship.
"There ya are." The terrorist let out a hearty laugh upon witnessing Valimar's descent. "Man, you don't know how long I've been waiting for this. Couldn't ask for a better stage. We got no chance for interruptions. This is perfect! So let's go, Rean Schwarzeeeeer!"
Even though the battle had started, Rean was wary of bringing Valimar in too close to the opponent. It clearly had a huge advantage of reach and strength over him. Sadly for him, however, the decision was made for him when the Goliath's shoulder-mounted cannon began spinning as it prepared to unleash a barrage of bullets towards his Divine Knight. Normally he wouldn't be too wary of a machine gun, but given the size of it...
Darting in he was just able to escape the rain of death that impacted his prior position. The Goliath must have been a difficult machine to pilot as Vulcan didn't immediately begin moving his massive arms towards him, something which Rean was more than willing to take advantage of. Unfortunately for him, however, his lunging slash achieved less than impressive results. Despite landing a clean blow on the Goliath's leg it barely chipped the armor.
Rean was forced to backpedal furiously when Vulcan tried to grab him. Even as he successfully evaded the attack he couldn't help but shudder. With hands that big the Goliath could completely envelop Valimar, something that would not end well for him.
"I don't suppose you have a plan?" Despite the situation Celine seemed as flat as always.
"I'm not sure... maybe?" The Awakener responded even as he was focused on warding away the Goliath's massive fists with his sword. He winced as one such impact nearly forced the weapon out of his hands. He really needed to hurry up and find a better weapon like Crow suggested. "George mentioned something about the engine on that thing struggling to handle that much bulk. Where do you think it would be?"
The cat scoffed. "I'm a familiar, not an engineer. How would I know?" Despite the condescending answer she paused to consider the question. "But I suppose if the soldats were modeled after Ordine and the Magic Knights it would be in the chest, I guess?"
"Exactly. A chest area that looks to be a lot less armored."
"Hmm. So you're going to do what you did to the Magic Knight- What's he doing?"
He too had noticed it at the same time as the cat. The Goliath was swinging its fists in front of it, but Rean was well out of range. So why...?
The ugly answer revealed itself when flames began belching forth from the nozzles above the machine's hands. The spray was too wide for Rean to evade, so all he could do was throw his arms in front of his mechanical body and endure as much as possible. Even entombed inside his Divine Knight he could still feel the scorching heat of the Goliath's flamethrowers as it bathed him in fire more intense than anything Alisa or the other arts users had unleashed during combat class. Celine howled in misery.
Thankfully after a few seconds of pure agony the assault faded. Either Vulcan ran out of flammable fuel or he decided the attack didn't seem as effective as it had been. A drenched Rean was forced to wipe the sweat from his eyes – Hopefully he didn't need to get treated for burns after this.
What he witnessed once his vision was cleared worried him. The massive cannon on top of the Goliath? It was now glowing bright as it charged up for something obviously hazardous to his health.
He only had a second to decide on his next course of action. Did he play it safe and try to evade the powerful blast? ...Or should he do something extremely reckless and insane that will almost certainly end with him getting scolded by the others in the near future?
"What are you doing!?" Celine hissed as he drove Valimar into a forward sprint.
He didn't answer as he needed his undivided concentration if he hoped to survive charging directly at the cannon that was about to blow him up. He couldn't give away his plan too soon lest the veteran jaeger realize his intentions. He held his breath as he waited for the right moment...
The Goliath fired. At that same instant Rean feathered Valimar's jump jets, quickly boosting his machine off the ground while keeping his forward momentum. His timing had been perfect, thankfully, as the destructive blast passed just a rege under his Divine Knight's legs, impacting the ground where he would have been.
The explosion was so powerful that the concussive force propelled Valimar forward to dizzying speeds. At this point his machine's flight was uncontrollable, but that was fine. His target lay directly in front of him, completely exposed to his attack. Even as the two machines collided painfully he thrust forward with all his might.
Slamming into the Goliath was akin to running into a steel wall. It hurt. A lot. And collapsing to the ground after the impact only added to the misery. The swordsman knew he would be nursing a wicked headache after that and he was lucky that none of his bones felt broken.
Shaking off the pain he raised Valimar's head to witness the outcome of his attack. As he had hoped, between the built up momentum and the Goliath's thinner chest armor his attack had struck true. His blade had pierced completely through the larger machine before snapping at the hilt.
Although the Goliath remained upright, it was akin to a puppet with its strings cut. And the way it was sparking all over the place was unsettling, almost as if...
"Heheh... I knew someone who was in the same class as C would put up a good fight. Sure, I might've lost this fight, too, but I couldn't have wished for my flame to burn brighter one last time before it went out for good."
His fears were confirmed when there was a loud rumble inside the Goliath. Was that an explosion? He barely heard George's voice through the Courageous. "I knew it... Watch out, Rean! Don't get too close! Supporting a frame that huge was putting a massive strain on that thing's orbal engine! It could blow any minute now, and the blast'll probably take the whole Soldat with it!"
An explosion like that... "Vulcan! Get out of there, quickly! If you don't hurry, you're gonna die!"
And yet despite facing his death the terrorist didn't move. "Sorry, but this is just how I wanted it to be. I did what I set out to do. Can't say I don't have regrets, but I'm satisfied, at least."
Now he understood why the man seemed so empty when they chatted on the Courageous! Still, he had to try one last time! "Are you an idiot?! If you go and die, it all amounts to nothing!"
And yet all he did was laugh. "I died a long time ago. I've been dead since the day that bastard had the others in Arngarmr slaughtered. At least now, I can finally be reunited with them an' G. Anyway, try an' give Scarlet and Crow the end of all this that they want, too. Can you do that for me?" The rumbling inside the Goliath was growing louder, something which Vulcan seemed to understand. "See ya. It's been fun."
As horrified as he was at what he was about to witness, he still had the good sense to get Valimar off the ground and retreat to a safe distance. Once clear he turned back, just in time to witness the final end of the Goliath and the man inside it.
The man that he had just killed.