Narita the battleground
Nina was doing her work on her laptop trying to calm herself down after the fiasco at lake Kawaguchi. For the first time in her life, she felt brave and free. it was thanks to Lelouch who helped her to be brave. She was afraid at first but the feeling of protecting her friends fueled her to take that step and try to negotiate.
'Maybe I should thank Lelouch for making me brave.'
Secret Base somewhere…
A masked person was discussing with one of his associates the situation with the Demon Slayers Corps.
"It seems the Demon Slayers Corps is already hyped on the internet right now," said Orpheus who was looking at the information.
"Zero defeating Cornelia with just a sword was a hit. Now the E.U. Government is interested."
"What now, Wizard? Contact the Corps?"
"Just because he bested Cornelia doesn't mean we can use them to fight Britannia. Let's wait and see more."
"I agree, still what do you think the Emperor would do?"
Somewhere in E.U.
Leila Malcal was talking to her superior about the hot new vigilante.
"So what do you think?" General Smilas asked the former noble.
"I think it would be preposterous that the Demon corps would gain our interest."
"Still, Zero's ability to defeat Princess Cornelia only using his wits and skills has garnered my attention. It wasn't some cheap smoke and mirror tricks."
"Yes. Because of this, he has boosted morale in the E.U. to push Britannia out of our territory."
"I doubt that was the only thing."
"Yes, the council may or may not contact the corps."
"Knowing this, the Emperor would probably send a round just to save face."
Charles zi Britannia the 98th Emperor of Britannia Empire with his judge wig was conveying with Bismarck at the throne room. It was only the two of them for a small matter.
"As you already know Bismarck, Cornelia's humiliating defeat is already known to the world. We can't have such action causing problems to the Empire. We were leaning on Cornelia's title of peerless victory."
"Do you request to send a round?" The knight asked his emperor.
"No, not yet. Let her have her chance to repent. She's already returned to her campaign from the Middle East. We'll see if she can clean her mess before I decide to intervene," was the Emperor's explanation.
"But if she failed who do you send your majesty?"
"I will send the one that has just been promoted who showed true loyalty to the empire."
Bismarck could tell who the emperor meant. "Why would that person your majesty would be better than Cornelia?"
"That is the reason why I can't send her. She would look after Cornelia's well-being and could hide secrets from me."
"Surely you jest your majesty." Even if true, he doubted the rounds would speak their secrets openly, especially Bradley; that person probably had more skeletons in his closet.
"Do not underestimate that. Any man can sway a woman. Especially Cornelia."
"Tell they to get ready if Cornelia fails; this is my final verdict."
"Understood your majesty. I will send my message to the rounds." Bismarck left leaving the Emperor alone.
"Did you get that V.V.?" Charles called to a person in the shadow knowing a familiar blond child appeared. "I got that brother. As long as Cornelia did her homework I won't intervene." 'Not yet anyway.'
At night in Lelouch's room, he was on his laptop. He was looking at files and pictures of people who wanted to join the Black Knights. Rai was busy with the journalist and what he was going to write about. He needed to spread awareness of how dangerous Refrain was.
"A Britannian?" Lelouch looked surprised at the picture. 'Diethard Reid, I doubt he's a spy. He looks too overconfident.'
"This is really good though," C.C. intervened to Lelouch. "You have more and more people wanting to join our ranks because of your performance with Cornelia."
"We're simply doing what we must do. The general Japanese populace here hates Britannia but that doesn't mean they support terrorism. That is their mindset. If other rebel factions would have understood that, it would have been easier for them and they would have had more support. This is why we Demon Slayers are extremely popular: We don't tolerate terrorism, and we practice Bushido."
"You sound so confident."
"We don't have to worry about any leaks or people supporting us reporting us to Britannia. We've even increased our informants."
"Even Kyoto is keeping an eye on our activities and supporting us, despite us saving Euphemia and others from the JLF members. They're even willing to send Knightmares."
"Yes, I've been demoted," Diethard said, "just the same as you two."
Jeremiah glared at Diethard in response; he didn't like his tone.
"Which is why we want your help," Villetta said.
"My help? With what exactly?"
"We don't intend to let things end like this," Villetta explained, "surely, you feel the same way."
"Hmm, I wonder…" Diethard responded shifting his eyes.
"We might find some clues in regards to Zero!" Jeremiah declared even that was a lie.
Diethard was surprised and intrigued.
"There's a school called Ashford Academy. Investigate the male student body. Either someone there could either be one of Zero's supporters, connected to him or is him." Using her women's intuition, Villeta planned things out because Ashford wasn't far from the Ghetto.
Diethard typed the word Ashford on the search engine in his computer as Villeta continued: "For the rest of us, we've been ordered to go to the Narita Mountains. According to Diethard, that's where the main base of the Japanese Liberation Front is located."
A warehouse somewhere…
The Black Knights were surprised as the lights came on and they saw newly designed Knightmare Frames. Lights turned on to reveal a bunch of knightmares.
"Wow, it's amazing."
"These are Glasgows, aren't they?"
"Burais, a Japanese modification."
"I've never seen these before."
"Man, the Black Knights have got some serious muscle."
"It wasn't easy to sign up with the Demon Slayers."
While the new recruits are talking, the main group consisting of Kallen, Tamaki, Sugimaya, Yoshida, Minami, and Inoue were looking at a special type of Knightmare. "The Knightmare was a vibrant red color with a silver face and blue eyes, its right arm being silver and a five-fingered clawed hand at the end.
"A true Japanese Knightmare Frame, the Guren Mk. II, equipped with a radiant wave surger." He pointed at the fork-like hand of the Guren. "It has the power to emit strong waves of heat and radiation… and one shot is enough to vaporize another Knightmare Frame."
"Those guys from Kyoto, they believed in us. They sent us this," Sugiyama said in amazement.
"A completely made Japanese Knightmare," Tamaki said in equal amazement.
"I'm really loving this. The big shots in Kyoto are recognizing us. We've got their approval." Tamaki said, very pleased with the situation.
"Mr. Tamaki!" A female voice called, "How do we use this equipment?"
Tamaki and the others looked back. "Hang on, I'll be right there to show you," Tamaki responded before going to the other side being their senpai.
"Man, the newcomers can be pretty helpless," Sugiyama said.
"I'll say," Inoue commented.
The Black Knights continued to be in glee about the new Knightmares that were provided for them and the backing they were getting from Kyoto.
"Everyone else is quite gleeful?" The voice, belonging to Zero asked. As he stepped out from the shadows, Rai was right behind him.
"Zero," Kallen commented, refusing to say his real name in front of the newbies.
"Say, Zero, is it true that Kyoto is providing assistance to other resistance factions?" Ohgi asked.
"Yeah, I know for a fact that it's true," Zero answered.
"Then that's great," Kallen said with a smile, "it just means that they support us as well."
"No, that's not it Kallen," Rai said as he'd done his homework.
"What?" Kallen responded surprised that as Kyoto.
"This is actually a test. They want to see if we're worth the backing."
"Oh, but still even so, just getting their attention and their support is remarkable."
"I admit that it does well for us, even if it is a test. Anyway though Zero?" Rai said knowingly.
"About the Guren Mk. II…"
"Yes," Zero said as he brought out a key. He tossed the key to the redhead and caught and looked at it with awe.
"What's this?" Kallen asked.
"The key to the Guren Mk. II," Zero said, as of now, it is yours to pilot Kallen."
Kallen was surprised and looked at both Zero and Yuki that this wasn't a joke. Yuki was a title name like Zero to disguise Rai real name.
"A-Are you sure about this?" Kallen asked, "I mean given the defensive capabilities of the Knightmare, I think it would be better for one of you two to have it."
"No, you're the one fit to pilot the Guren, Kallen; the fact is that you're actually a better pilot than I am."
Kallen shook her head in disbelief, saying, "You're just saying that."
"No, I'm being sincere, with all the missions we've done as the Demon Slayer Corps and even before then, you've always been a better pilot one of the best Knightmares we have right now, it's only right to have one of the best pilots for it and that Kallen," Zero pointed at the ace, "is you."
"Zero," Kallen was in awe of how he complimented her skills and trust towards her. "Besides, piloting a Knightmare is not my style at all."
"As for me," Yuki replied, "I have my own Knightmare. It's still not ready to be used as it requires a few more modifications. Not for another month."
"I understand. I won't let you all down." She was determined to see it through, a future that she was aiming for.
"Excellent, that's what I wanted to hear," Zero said as he was pleased.
"Zero, do you have a minute?" Ohgi called out suddenly.
"Yes, Ohgi."
Ohgi was approaching them with a folder report. "We received information from a Britannia who wants to join us," Ohgi said with a hint of skepticism.
"Really?" Zero replied raising an eyebrow behind the mask, "it might be Diethard Reid…"
"Is it a trap to lure us?" Yuki asked.
"We should find out more," Ohgi said, "but it would be too dangerous to just approach this man recklessly. At the same time, this information is too important to ignore."
Zero closed the folder after reading it. "This information is something that we cannot ignore. The Japan Liberation Front is the largest resistance group in this country with a great deal of support behind it, including Kyoto. If it falls, then all other resistance in Japan will as well."
"Not if we have anything to say about it. Because we'll be rescuing the JLF."
That caught everyone's attention. "Rescue the JLF!?" Kallen repeated in shock.
"You sure you wanna do that? After that mess at the Hotel-Jacking?" Rai reminded.
"JLF is the biggest resistance group in this nation, and if we are able to save them, we may not only gain their support but the support of virtually every other resistance in Japan! We'd have the whole nation on our side!" Ohgi exclaimed in realization.
"Exactly." Zero nodded.
"While this result would indeed be beneficial, we are still missing one crucial piece of information." Kallen pointed out. "How? As in how we are going to pull this off. I mean even I have limits piloting this Knightmare."
"Ohgi got a point." Rai assumed. "If this is Japan's biggest resistance, you can bet Cornelia is going to bring everything she has to completely destroy them."
While everyone else was trying to think of a plan, as even Zero knew this wouldn't be easy, the masked man asked, "Do we have a map of the area?"
"I have one." Rai showed them from his smartphone as Lelouch checked the geography and saw something that caught its eyes
"Is their water from an underground reserve at the top of the mountain."
"Why?"
"I got a plan." Zero said.
That got everyone's attention. "Would you care to explain?"
"All that water up there has gotta be pressurized right?" Zero began to explain. "There's no leak, it doesn't flow anywhere. So, all we gotta do is squeeze it a bit more and add to that pressure. We keep squeezing and squeezing until it explodes, causing a landslide."
That took everyone by surprise, "Wait.. are you saying we should BLOW UP THE MOUNTAIN!?" Rai almost screamed.
"No, not the whole mountain, just the top. We cause enough of an explosion to create a landslide; it should take out more than half the enemy before they even realize what's happening."
"But what about the Japan Liberation Front?" Ohgi asked.
"Or what about the city in Narita down below?" Kallen also asked. "I thought we don't endanger civilians."
"And we won't. We can send a message to the JLF and inform them to keep themselves inside. Their base appears to be built deep enough in the mountains that the landslide should have minimal effect on them. We can also hack into the local police and military base and see to it all civilian-occupied areas are evacuated before the battle starts. All we need to do is say there's a battle going to happen."
"Perhaps, however, even with all the support our alliance has gained; we are still significantly outnumbered." Ohgi giving the truth bomb.
"Which is why Rai you're going to be the bait."
"Bait?!" The ice demon slayer didn't expect that.
"I want you to attack the Britannia army and royal guard so we can lure them to the kill zone and finish them in one fell swoop. Doing this will lower the risk of property damage."
"Alright, so it looks like we have a plan."
Zero explained: "We need to start modifying our Knightmares immediately; Kallen, familiarize yourselves with your new weapons." The two nodded to his order.
Rai then said, "Well, looks like we're going hiking this weekend." His attempt at humor didn't do well to levy the tense situation that most of them were experiencing.
Cornelia had finally returned and now she wanted to snuff out what remained of the resistance. Or face the emperor should she fail again the last time.
Nunnally woke up early as Lelouch told her about his plan in Narita to save the JLF and probably capture Cornelia.
"Just be careful, big brother."
"I know."
"Big brother…"
"Yes?"
"It's nothing. Just stay safe." It was a lie; Nunnally wanted to fight along with her brother, but she knew deep down she wasn't ready yet.
XXX
Narita.
Inside a cabin high in the snowy peaks of the mountain, two soldiers of the Japanese Liberation Front gave their report.
"Sector Five, nothing to report," One reported on the telephone connecting to headquarters. "Understood, the next scheduled report will be in two hours." He hung up the phone.
"Of course, there's nothing to report," he said as they played Shogi, "this area is controlled by the Japanese Liberation Front, no one can…"
Both men turned in shock to see the door open… revealing the sight of Zero,
"ZERO!" They both exclaimed, bringing up their guns.
"I'm not here to hurt you. Get in contact with your leader."
"What?!"
"We don't have time for this! There's going to be a battle happening here that will destroy the JLF!"
XXX
JLF Headquarters
"General!" A young soldier ran up to Katase, who was in the war room with other officers.
"What is it?"
"It's Sector Five, sir!" The soldier stopped in front of him with a communication device
"Have they detected something?" Katase asked concerned.
"Here, sir!"
"Sector Five what's wrong?" The general asked.
"General Katase, sir. This is Zero." A familiar voice was heard from the other side.
Katase gasped. "Zero!" Other soldiers nearby gasped when they heard what Katase said.
"Listen very closely to what I am about to tell you, General," Zero continued. "Right now, at this moment, you and everyone in your headquarters are in danger. In less than an hour, Cornelia and her forces are making their way to your doorstep."
"Cornelia?!" Katase exclaimed. How could it be? After all this time, Britannia managed to locate their hidden base. And it was happening now? "How do you know this?"
"There can be time to answer questions later, General. Right now, you have to listen to what we have planned?"
"What plan? Why should we trust you?"
"There will be time for questions later. For now, we have a plan, General," Zero said. "A plan that will give us the upper hand over the enemy forces."
Advancing toward the foot of the Narita Mountains was Cornelia's G1 Mobile Base and her personal forces. It was not just them, as coming behind them were squadrons of knightmares. tanks and soldiers. She's going full out.
"We're certain that the Japan Liberation headquarters are within this area," Darlton said, as he stood in the main room of the mobile base with several other Britannian officers; Cornelia as usual sat at her throne, with Guilford standing at her side. "We've already split four battalions into seven units and hidden them in the vicinity. We've only to wait for the Viceroy's signal and surround them in one fell swoop and wipe them out."
"A logically sound strategy, indeed," an officer said.
"The Japanese Liberation Front has gone on long enough." She narrowed her eyes. "It is right after their part in taking dozens of our citizens hostage that they'll be wiped off the face of the earth without mercy. And set an example to the rest of the nation." She's still angry knowing they almost killed Euphemia.
Euphie looked down unsure of that.
"When the operation begins, we will be blocking off the surrounding highways and mountain roads also," Darlton said.
"Forgive me, General Darlton," one of the officers said. "But I doubt closed roads would do enough to hold off invading rebels."
"If the Corps does arrive…" Cornelia shot a dark look. "Then we shall crush both them and the Japanese Liberation Front with one swift stroke."
While everyone was busy preparing…
"C.C." Lelouch got her attention as he walked toward the mysterious woman who decided to come. "What are you doing here?"
"I said I'd protect you, didn't I?"
"I don't need protection and why are you even here?"
C.C. apparently chooses to ignore that question. "I've been wondering something, Lelouch. Why are you Lelouch?"
"Excuse me?"
"You changed your family surname to Lamperouge, but you kept Lelouch, the name that was given to you at birth," C.C. said. "How sentimental, you can't let go of the past."
Lelouch wasn't offended, but rather just spoke his mind. "I once used that name to remind myself about my mother who was murdered, and the suffering we had to endure. a boy who was angered by the world and wanted to burn it down to the ground…
"Then I dreamed and felt this person's past. His despair. Happiness. Anger and compassion, everything as I learned." C.C. was getting more curious about what he was talking about.
"I'm not trying to be perfect. I'm trying to hide my anxiety, anger, and sadness through this smile. For the sake of a brighter future. For the sake of a Nunnally. For the sake of others like her."
"Tell me something, Lelouch, do you know why snow is white?" Instead of waiting for an answer, she gave it. "Snow is white because it's forgotten what color it's supposed to be."
Lelouch was about to give a response when Ohgi contacted him. "Zero, we need you here now. We're just about ready to start."
"I'm on my way." The revolutionary put on his mask and readied himself, but not before he turned back to C.C. "You coming or what?"
"I think I'll stay here and just watch the show," C.C. said before turning around to look down the landscape.
Zero shook his head in exhaustion as he dashed towards the summit of the mountain.
The excavators had dug very deep into the ground. With The recruits doing their work, they were just slightly over the water pocket. All that remained was plugging in the electrodes that Guren's Radiant Wave Surger would use and waiting for the right moment.
All the Demon Slayers Corps stood at the ready, just waiting for the proper signal. But the wait was killer, one could almost cut through the tension with a knife. Knowing their enemy was large and well-equipped.
Rai looked among the most nervous as he sat on a boulder waiting knowing he was the bait.
"You nervous, kid?" Ohgi asked as he walked up.
"A little." Rai breathed. "Knowing you're going to be bait for an entire battalion."
Meanwhile, Kallen did one last skim through the manual in the Guren.
"So, you all set and ready Kallen?" Inoue asked
"Yeah, I think so," Kallen confirmed. "I got a feel for the controls, and I've read every inch of this manual. I think I'm ready."
"You sure look ready too," Tamaki commented. "I mean this thing looks really cool, especially the color." He smirked, causing Kallen to chuckle while Inoue shook her head with an amused smirk.
Meanwhile, Zero stood on top of the tallest point in the area, sad that such a beautiful horizon will be tainted by war.
"All preparations are complete. Now, all we need to do is wait." Ohgi said
"Good. Make sure everyone follows my orders."
G1 Base
"Viceroy, it's time," Darlton contacted.
"Right… COMMENCE OPERATION!" Cornelia yelled as she shot her Gloucester out of the G1 Base and onto the ground, with her knights and dozens of her soldiers in their Knightmares following her as she zoomed towards the mountain.
"You of the Japan Liberation Front… You who time has left behind. You who have forgotten basic human decency." She wouldn't forget the inhumane approaches Kusukabe and his forces took at Lake Kawaguchi, and how Euphie was almost caught up in it; her eye twitched in rage. It's not just the humiliation that Zero did.
"You and your dreams of a bygone golden age shall fall and rot into nothingness! And once you are out of the way…" Her smile grew wider. "I will direct my full attention and wrath on Zero!"
Elsewhere, Zero sneezed. "Somebody must be talking about me."
"I can see them from up here!" Yoshida exclaimed as the Corps looked in shock at the majority of Cornelia's forces coming up the mountain slopes.
"Oh, man. They're here!"
"Looks like hundreds of them…" Minami observed.
"They're covering all sides of the mountain!" Sugiyama said.
"Are you crazy?! We can't do this. Cornelia will hack us to bits!" A Black Knight recruit exclaimed.
"It will be just like what we heard happened to the Yamato Alliance in Saitama!"
"Stay focused!"
"You expect us to stay focused on this?!" Tamaki said. "We're supposed to be up against Cornelia like this?!"
"There are hundreds of her forces down there," Minami said. "We don't have the numbers to contend with them."
"I didn't sign up for this! We got to get out of here!"
Even Ohgi shared a worried glance at Kallen, and one at Tamaki, who was looking very conflicted with the rising tension. These were civilians after all.
"Listen to me!" Zero spoke up on top of the Gurren, catching everyone's attention. "I know many of you are scared. You have a right to be scared. Even if we are scared, that won't stop us. Because there is something we need to do… make a better future."
That caught everyone silent.
"Future?"
"How with only hope is going to beat this?!" A recruit exclaimed.
"Hope for a better future! Hope for dawn when we are no longer living in fear of Britannia tyranny, where we won't let our generation know and live such life!"
"That is what we have to fight for! It's not just for us but for those who died so that they won't suffer the same fate so that they can walk out in the open one day without fearing persecution because of our lineage and heritage."
Everyone went quiet..
"If anyone doesn't believe they can do the same, I won't blame you. If anyone desires not to struggle or lay down their life today, you can turn back." That caught almost all of them by surprise. "We will not force you to fight our battles if you don't desire to. If anyone wishes to leave now's the time."
"You may feel it is the best course to turn back and live a while longer," Zero said. "You may live… for a time a least. That is if it doesn't bother you to look at Britannia's flag another day longer. Right here and now… what we will fight for… will be the next step to put an end to that horrendous cycle the Empire has established."
"Another step closer to a future where your children, and your children's children, will no longer need to bow their heads under the fists of the oppressive!"
"You stand here because many of you heeded the call to rally behind us! You become Demon Slayers! To slay corrupt and protect and helpless!"
"You have two choices before you now," Zero announced. "Leave now… or stay and fight! Follow me! Follow us! And we will fight and bleed alongside you! Until the day we will not only liberate the land once called Japan and others"
They stood and looked in awe at Zero and what they have proclaimed. Most of them felt petrified… not knowing what else to say. Before long, all the other Demon Slayer recruits glanced at each other and nodded.
"All right, we'll stay as well!" A recruit proudly said.
"And I!"
"We're Demon Slayers Corps, the pride of Japan! We'll fight with Zero!"
"AYE!" They all cheered.
With that, the tension was replaced by a sense of great morale and awe. Lelouch from behind his mask felt a sense of satisfaction. He's glad he could give them all hope.
"Wait!" Yoshida asked with a raised hand, and everyone looked at him as if he was a student in the classroom. "Sorry, I'm not doubting anyone… just asking. What's our big plan of attack on the Britannians? What do we have to beat Cornelia and help the JLF?"
"We have one advantage Britannia doesn't."
"And what's that?"
"We have the high ground."
JLF Headquarters
Back at the headquarters, Katase and his soldiers did not like where the situation was going one bit. They watched as the Britannia forces were getting closer to their location.
"General Katase! We received word from Cornelia's forces demanding our surrender!"
"Imbecile!" Katase growled. "If we fall here then we would have lost, and the whole resistance force falls with us! Zero said to keep our soldiers inside in accordance with your plan, but it looks like we're giving in easily to Cornelia!"
"I understand your concern, but you just have to hang in there," Zero replied. "Once we activate our phase of the plan, we will be able to gain the upper hand over Cornelia. Once that happens, you must make preparations to evacuate at once."
"And you and the Demon Slayers think you are enough to handle Cornelia?" Katase said with concern. "I'm grateful for all your assistance, but it would dishonorable if we were to let you fight alone while the rest of us flee like cowards. If only Tohdoh was here now; I know he would be more than a big help to you."
"You mean Tohdoh the Miracle Worker? " Lelouch was surprised that the man was alive and still fighting.
"Yes." Katase nodded.
"I take it he is absent at the moment."
"Not for long. He departed along with the Four Holy Swords to pick up the custom Burai's. If they're on schedule, they should be returning soon. But I'm afraid they won't make it in time…"
"Stay to the plan, General. By the time it happens, Tohdoh and his allies will make it at the right moment."
With Cornelia's forces, she herself accompanied by Darlton and several Gloucesters strolled through the trees.
"Come now…" Cornelia said to any unseen enemies. "Come out of hiding already."
"Your Highness, we don't know if the enemy may be planning an ambush," Guilford cautioned. "Please fall back for now."
"Guilford, do you see me as a fragile woman?"
"Uh!" Guilford paled. "I… I mean no disrespect, Your Highness! I'm only cautioning…"
"I know…" Cornelia was irritated by how she felt defenseless.
BOOM! BOOM!
The Gloucesters almost stopped when automated turrets sprang up shooting at them.
"How clever, they turned this whole mountain into a fortress!" Cornelia grinned as she charged in towards the turrets.
"Princess Cornelia!" Guilford cried out, very much concerned.
The turrets tried gunning at Cornelia's Gloucester, but she was faster. With her cape billowing behind her she jumped and swiped her golden lance at one turret before landing and plunging it into the other turret. She saw a turret on the cliff ready to turn and gun her, but she blasted her slash hearken that sprang and took it out.
"What is this? Is this the Japan Liberation Front's defense system?! Random wind-up toys from the trash?! I am as disappointed as I am insulted!" Cornelia yelled as she stood with her lance as Guilford and her forces rallied behind her. "Come out from wherever you are hiding, insects! Cornelia is here! Is there truly no one who will challenge me?!"
The sound of swoosh was heard as ice flowed to one of Gloucester and froze it instantly as the pilot didn't have the time to scream.
"Your Highness, it's the ice demon!" The royal guard saw the familiar fox mask that Darlton spoke about.
"Don't get separated! Regroup! I want every Knightmare unit at this location now!"
"Everyone!?"
"We're going to outnumber him and lure Zero out! The rest of you will remain and flush out the Elevens!" Cornelia remembered that Zero and the Ice Demon were always together when they last struck. If she did this, Zero would come for her.
'Stop blushing!'
Rai had already taken down two Sutherlands and disabled the other three. He saw the entire army rushing towards him. 'They took the bait.' He ran toward the kill zone while being chased.
Not very far, a secluded building housed a group of scientists who were more than agitated by the situation, as they stood in their lab collecting everything to leave.
"I thought the reserve units were supposed to be assigned units to General Darlton!" Jeremiah said as he stood with Villetta, Kewell, and the other Purebloods in their Sutherlands, in a different part at the foot of the mountain.
"That's right, they were. But our unit has to secure the rear line of Viceroy Cornelia's…" Villetta hesitated to say.
"You mean this is the rear line?! You can't get any farther away from the battlefield! How am I going to redeem my reputation if I'm not anywhere near the fighting?!" Jeremiah exclaimed. They're just second fiddle.
"You still haven't got it through your thick skull, Orange?" Jeremiah turned to Kewell's Knightmare. "You have only yourself and your very existence to blame. Your tainted stain unfairly extends to us. Any better chances either of us have to restore our glory is the same as yours. But not me… I'll make sure of it."
Jeremiah knew that all of this was just putting the blame on him. His Highness didn't say anything about Orange to him or others.
XXX
JLF Headquarters
"They're scaling up and making their way towards us!" A soldier cried out as he was at the monitor.
"They smashed through our outer defense!"
"Where's the help the Demon corps promised us?!"
Katase didn't like this at all. "Of all the times… for Tohdoh… this of all times is when we really need another miracle of Itsukushima!"
At the highway, Britannian soldiers tried to wave for them to stop, but they realized that wasn't the case when the trucks ahead went full speed for them. The soldiers had no choice as they jumped to the side as the trucks broke through the gates and in the direction of Narita with haste.
"Sir, don't you think this is a little extreme?" Asahina asked Tohdoh next to him in the driver's seat.
"Asanina, Chiba," Tohdoh spoke. "Prep the custom Burai's ASAP. Tell Urabe and Senba behind us the same. Traffic is blocked off all around Narita, and they've already begun to attack. I just pray that we are in time."
XXX
"All preparations have now been completed!" Zero announced. "Demon Slayers Corps! Let us begin the operation!"
The corps was ready in the waiting. "We the Corps are going to launch a surprise attack on the Britannia's from the summit of the mountain! I will lead a charge alongside a group of selective Knightmares! The ground assault will be led by me. The first objective of this operation is to buy the JLF time to escape! And the second objective is to capture Viceroy Cornelia li Britannia! Our breakthrough will be opened by the Guren Mk-II!
"Rai, are you in position?"
"Yes, and you better hurry. I can't keep them all distracted!" Rai said as he dodged another attack that would turn him to mincemeat.
"Kallen," Zero called out to the girl. "Use the wave surger to set it off."
"Right," Kallen said, now in the cockpit of her crimson Guren Mk-II.
"Use penetrating electrode number three. That center of source we need to send this high ground to blast."
"All right," Kallen said, as she moved the Guren and grabbed electrode #3 with her wave surger. "Output confirmed. Wave surger levels ready and holding." The redhead took a deep breath before she started. "Activating gauntlet now!"
She pressed all the way on the button, and a surge of crimson radioactive surge flickered around the silver forked hand on the electrode mine. After a few seconds, she stopped.
"What? It did nothing?" Minami said in his Burai.
"Wait for it," Zero said.
Then came the sound of the ground rumbling. The ground started to crumble violently in front of them before part of the cliff started to descend the slope in a mixture of stone, rock, and violent water combined.
"It worked!" Kallen smiled.
"HOLY SH*T!" Tamaki hollered.
The entire ground around the summit of the mountain began to shake and explode from the outside. Though the Corps on the top were safe, a massive landslide had begun as it appeared the inside of the mountain had fallen in on itself. C.C. watched from her safe vantage point as what appeared to be a massive sea of rocks, boulders, dirt, and land all fell down the mountain to destroy and bury everything in its path; this included virtually half the entire Britannia military force in the operation.
"That's not fair! They've got rocks! All we've got is machine guns!" someone complained before running away as more came at him.
The entire JLF headquarters was also shaken, but the interior remained intact, as did all the soldiers inside. The Britannia military on the outside however wasn't so lucky.
"That's my queue!" Rai quickly dashed jumping out of the Landslide leaving 80 percent of Cornelia's armies swept by the landslide.
XXX
G1 Base
"What is happening?!" Euphie said in confusion as almost everyone in the room looked at the map in shock.
"Our forces are getting wiped out instantly."
"That's impossible!" A Britannian officer exclaimed. "How could a landslide come out of nowhere?!"
"Alex and Darlton's units are getting wiped out!" The other Britannian officer exclaimed in horror.
"Ugh! Get to higher ground!" Darlton had managed to zap a slash hearken and was able to steer through the mudslide to safety, though the same could not be said for his own forces. As he saw the Ice Demon jumping on top of trees and rocks avoiding the slide, he knew he was screwed.
"Status report! What the hell is going on?!" Cornelia exclaimed as she, Guilford, and her forces looked in complete shock at the mudslide before them.
"We're still trying to confirm!"
"Your Highness, pull back! You're in danger there!" Guilford pleaded.
"I don't care! Forget about me!" Cornelia said. "Find out about Darlton! And where's Alex?! Status report! Now!" Cornelia barked as she and her units beside her, including Guilford and Edgar, watched in shock and borderline horror as they saw many of their own Knightmares consumed and wiped out by the landslide.
"Alex and his unit have been completely wiped out!" Claudio reported. "It's just me and Bart left!"
"Same here!" David reported. "Just me, Dad, and Alfred!"
"Your highness pull back! You're in danger there!" Guilford told her as she was dangerously close to the landslide.
"I don't care! Forget about me, where are the rest of our forces!?" Cornelia exclaimed.
"Oh my, it's already made its way to the bottom." Lloyd looked more amused if anything else as he saw the landslide's readings on his computer.
"These heat readings are abnormal!" Cecile exclaimed. "Do you believe a hydro-volcanic eruption was artificially induced?!"
"Impossible, unless of course, someone used Rakshata's Radiant Wave Surger." Lloyd said causally.
"Has something happened?" Suzaku asked the pair from his open cockpit in the Lancelot.
"But it has nothing to do with us, so just relax and continue waiting," Lloyd told him.
Suzaku didn't like that answer as he felt a bad feeling in his stomach.
Lelouch himself had to grimace slightly. "A bit overboard. Though we did succeed in gaining the odds and isolating Cornelia, we could have toned it down a bit. Thankfully we warned the town of the impending battle along with Rai baiting them as they lost more than usual"
"Demon Slayers Corps engaged the enemy!"
XXX
Cornelia was still in shock over what had just happened when she received a communication from one of her soldiers.
"New enemy force confirmed moving in from the summit. Carious' unit is moving in to engage them."
"Hoping to take advantage of all the confusion, are they?" Cornelia mused, thinking this was a trick of the Japan Liberation Front.
"Emergency call from Carious Unit!"
"What's wrong!?"
"It's not the Japan Liberation Front… it's… it's the Demon Slayer Corps!"
"What?! Then it's…"
XXX
"Zero!" Jeremiah exclaimed as he immediately sped his Sutherland up the mountain. "How dare he and those Elevens show up here!" The person that humiliated and brought the purist downfall was near. Even Kewell and the others also wanted to gain back their reputation by killing or capturing Zero even when Villetta warned them.
"Lord Jeremiah you can't just abandon your post!" Villetta tried to stop him, but he wasn't listening.
"This recalls drastic measures!" Jeremiah exclaimed. "If you want glory in life, then follow me!"
XXX
A group of Sutherlands was seen. Zero sped past several of their gunshots and up a small mound of rock before using it like a ramp to jump. He delivered a powerful slash straight to the head of one Sutherland to completely decapitate the Knightmare and then the other two. Because of this, the pilots were panicking as they couldn't see anything at all, thus the Demon slayer corps arrived in their Burai and fired their anti-Knightmare rifles killing the pilots easily.
"Yes, we did it!"
"I managed to land a killing blow."
"I think we can win!"
Zero shouted, warning the recruits. "Don't get cocky unless you want to die fast!"
Three more Sutherlands were coming as if they might get the drop on him, but Lelouch was faster.
Fifth Form: Flame Tiger
He performed a series of sword slashes taking the form of a flaming tiger enveloping the user, reducing the Sutherlands into a burning pile of scrap. Good thing Sakuradite was flammable.
Another Sutherland appeared in front of them and shot at Zero.
Fourth Form: Blooming Flame Undulation
Zero performs multiple slash in a fluid circular motion to defend from the bullets as it burnand melted upon contact.
"Zero!" Jeremiah shouted. "Face me! Jeremiah Gottwald!"
"Jeremiah…" Lelouch did expect the former purist would come but this was too early. "Long time no see; I'm surprised you're still in the military after that little fiasco. How ya been?" His voice fill with sarcasm
"Zero, today I will capture you and regain back my honor!"
"And I'm on a bit of a timetable here," Zero smirked, "so, we'll have to chat and catch up some other time… Orange boy."
There it was, the nickname that made him a pariah among his fellow soldiers. "Orange?! Die Zero!"
Before he could even make a move, the Guren MK II suddenly appeared in front of him. It quickly drew a knife-like weapon to knock the rifle out of the Sutherland's hands. Jeremiah's Knightmare drew a pair of tonfas on its arms as it readied itself for battle.
"Lord Jeremiah!" Villetta exclaimed, having caught up to him in her own Sutherland.
"Stay out of this!" Jeremiah shouted. "This is my duel!"
"But look at it… I've never seen a Knightmare like that before!" Villetta told him. "Is it possible that the Elevens…"
"You think the Elevens are capable of such technology?!" Jeremiah questioned.
"Oh, you better damn well believe it!" Kallen challenged from inside her Knightmare. "You're about to have your ass handed to you by this baby, the Guren MK II!" She turned towards Zero, saying, "I got this, guys!"
Jeremiah was the first to attack with his tonfas, but Kallen was able to block it with the Guren's silver claw. It spun around the Sutherland as Jeremiah tried to attack her, only for Kallen to nimbly jump higher than any other Knightmare could jump before.
"It's fast!" Jeremiah exclaimed as he was barely able to roll back in time to avoid a downward ax kick as the Guren landed. Kallen went on the offensive as she drove her Knightmare's knife straight at the Sutherland even despite it blocking. She then readied its claw. "I got a bad feeling. There's something off at its right hand. But if I keep my distance…" He tried to back away.
Kallen activated the extender on the claw, enabling it to reach out and grab the Sutherland's head. It tried to pull back, but the Guren's grip was far too strong.
"Sorry," Kallen muttered before she activated her Radiant Wave Surger. It shot a massive surge of thermal energy all throughout the Sutherland, melting and combusting its insides. The entire Knightmare looked as if it was about to pop like a bag of popcorn. Jeremiah himself could feel the intense heat from the cockpit cooking him.
"What… what the hell is happening?!" He exclaimed as all systems were overloading.
"Lord Jeremiah, eject!" Villetta warned him.
"I can't!" Jeremiah shouted with bloodshot eyes. "I have Zero right in front of me!" He saw how the masked man just stood there taunting him. He saw his Knightmare was about to eject him automatically.
"The auto-eject… Don't you dare activate!" Jeremiah practically screamed as his whole body began to cook from the intense heat. His nose bled significantly and his whole Sutherland was ready to pop. "I can still reach him!"
Right before he lost consciousness, the auto-eject activated as his cockpit was shot far into the distance before the Sutherland exploded and the Guren MK II stood dramatically in front of the fire.
"I won't lose! Not with this! Not with the Guren MK II." Kallen declared proudly.
Villetta was in a state of complete shock. "She defeated Lord Jeremiah… The Demon slayer corps are stronger than us? How… how can we… defeat them…?"
This is the end of the first part as this is the official battle
You can probably guess I didn't send Nonette the round as being obvious usage try to guess whom is Charles sending.
The next chapter would interesting and more revelation.