Sebastian heard the crackle of the fire burning next to him and its gentle warmth radiating off him, as well as the cold and wetness of the snow around him. He felt himself emerging from the darkness as if after a long sleep, as he kept his eyes closed he realized that he was far from sitting in the armored car with Misha by his side and Hoshiguma holding his hand. Then he opened his eyes and immediately felt strange.
A flood of information reached his brain. First of all in his body he didn't feel the same weight on his bones as his thirty five year old body, just as his bones were probably shorter, his heart younger and his muscles less developed. Then after that microsecond when he noticed these changes in his body the information from his eyes finally came to him, he was in the middle of a snowy clearing, resting his back against a tree stump with a campfire burning right beside him. But that was what he saw out of the corner of his eye, his attention was focused on his hand... He tried to see the wrinkles in them but his hand was caught in a gauntlet of armor... Immediately he recognized the black damas iridium and could see that it was one of his creations. The fingers of the gauntlet were elongated like claws giving an intimidating look to his hand. He looked down his body to see that the armor was all over his body. He looked at it and began to wonder. Where had he seen this armor before? He also noticed that he was covered in snow, a sign that he had just fallen asleep in the snow. But soon, a familiar voice sounded next to him.
?: Ȳ̷̨̢̲͔̥̠̠̫̻́̈́́̂͘u̶̡̍͂̀̋́̌̈́̈́̅r̸̢̛̻̙̤̿̂̈̇͂̈̿̾͠i̵̥͕̘̹̘̖͈͙̊͂̾͗̈̓̾͑̍̇̚͠ͅͅ
He did not recognize what was said by the voice next to him, but he managed to understand that it was him who was being addressed. He turned his head in the direction of the voice, which was standing on the other side of the campfire. Immediately he was filled with fear when he saw this person. But strangely.
His face would not move.
Nor did his whole body.
In fact it was as if his mind had no influence on his movements. And yet his body was moving by itself, so that in the end he sat down in front of the wendigo colossus in front of him...
Sebastian: Buldrokkas'tee...
Patriot: Mh. It will always amuse me how you pronounce my name without getting it wrong.
Sebastian: Many exaggerate its complexity... 'How...?!'
Even his words came out of his mouth without his control and when he recognized his voice he could hear it much younger... This time his voice did not testify to his build, which was more like that of the gorilla than that of the average human. And the wendigo in front of him was also very different... Less tired, less hoarse and especially with less cuts. The doctor then assumed during this microsecond of analysis that it was the oripathy of the Wendigo that had caused such an effect on his voice, the crystallization having to touch the vocal cords of the sarkaz.
Patriot: That's right...
Sebastian: How long was I out?
Patriot: A good six hours at the most.
Sebastian: Already? Shit...
Patriot: Calm down, boy. You can rest for a while, the five days of fighting the snow priests without interruption must have been hard even for you.
Sebastian: I should have checked on my men before I collapsed, where are they?
Asked the young man, slightly panicked and looking around, until he heard footsteps in the snow at his back.
He turned in that direction, to see a man approaching him, the doctor recognized the armor and shield that resembled those of the guerrilla soldiers of the reunion. But still... There were also symbols and stripes of the ursus army... And that's when Sebastian realized that Patriot was also wearing army stripes...
In shock, his mind fell silent as the action continued to unfold before his eyes.
Sebastian: Ah Oleg, good to see you looking well. How are the others?
Oleg: Most are doing as well as I am... But the first squad...
The soldier turned his head to the side, implying what had happened. The young man clenched his fist in bitterness at the thought of his soldiers' deaths. Even for the older man inside the child's body, the thought was unpleasant.
Sebastian: I should have been there...
Oleg: General, you have a quarter of an army under your command. Don't blame yourself if a squad perishes in a war... They knew what they were getting into.
Sebastian: It's not that comrade. It's just that I could have prevented their deaths... This road would have been used by patrols during their reconnaissance, but it didn't occur to me.
The low-ranking soldier looked at the wendigo in front of him who looked back at him. Both presumably worried about their superior but the wendigo waved the soldier away.
?: Wouldn't that be the six-year-old general I hear whining about the throes of war?
Sebastian: Wouldn't that be an old man I hear talking badly to his superior?
?: Touché...
The young man turned his head in the direction of the voice and once again the doctor was struck with shock... That old man Hellagur. Dressed in the ursus lieutenant's uniform and wearing the insignia. Arriving with a bottle in his hand. The liberi sat down on a tree trunk right next to the wendigo.
Hellagur: You take better care of your men than any other general and you work much better, you should be proud of yourself.
He removed the cork from the bottle and brought it to his lips taking a few sips.
Hellagur: And cheers to one more battle.
He said as he raised the bottle in the air, a smile on his lips, before passing the object to the wendigo beside him.
Patriot: What is this?
Hellagur: Samian mead...
The liberi smirked and upon hearing his words, the old wendigo grabbed the bottle and pulled down the piece of his mask that was around his neck to reveal a piece of human skull, stripped of skin, revealing the bone. And that's when the doctor realized why the wendigo was covering his face.
The sarkaz finished his sip, having finished half of the large bottle, letting out a satisfied laugh in appreciation of the drink. The doctor was envious, perhaps just like the young man at the time. For the latter raised his arm in armor towards the wendigo.
Sebastian: Pass that to me.
Patriot: I don't think that's for your age, boy... I wouldn't give that to my own son.
Hellagur: Your son is a sixteen year old wendigo, not what our dear general might be...
Sebastian: I am just another raceless...
Hellagur: And I joined the army yesterday... Seriously, a raceless is not supposed to turn into a ferocious beast and devour men in armor, or kill an emperor's blade in a duel...
Patriot: I'm keeping the bottle.
Sebastian: Give me that old demon!
Hellagur: Pass it to him. This is going to be fun...
The wendigo handed the bottle to the young man in armor who grabbed it before bringing it to his lips.
Sebastian: Thank you starik.
He took a sip and his eyes widened before spitting the alcohol violently on the snow and the campfire in front of him and he ended up coughing dryly because of his choking.
Sebastian: What the hell is this donkey piss?
Suddenly the doctor remembered the bitter taste he had on his tongue...
Remembered?
wondered the doctor's conscience, but the answer came to him as a matter of course...
That moment in Chernobog when he grabbed his sword during the fight against Talulah.
The moment with the pink-haired woman...
Yes, there was no doubt about it.
Once again it was a memory that was unfolding before his eyes...
He was brought back from his shock when he heard the other two men laughing out loud at the young man. The bitter taste on his tongue came back to him... at the time his pupils were not developed like his adult form, so maybe that was the reason he was spitting out one of his favorite drinks.
Patriot: What did you expect my boy? Pumpkin juice?
Sebastian: No, but something with a slightly more refined taste...
Hellagur: Aye kid. Give me the bottle so it's too cold here.
His gloved hand held the bottle out to the liberi who began to drink.
Sebastian: So how long will we be here...
Hellagur: Not long. I have received information from the communication team. Direct orders from the council of dukes. A war has just been declared with Lungmen...
Patriot: Where is it again?
Sebastian: At the border with Yen, a little further south if I remember correctly...
Patriot: I see...
Sebastian: Well... Then let's bury the first squad and head for Lungmen.
The young man put his sword back on his belt, the same one the doctor used to split the skulls of the reunion in two.
Patriot/Hellagur: Victory or death.
Said the two men as they stood up and took their weapons as well.
Sebastian: Victory or death...
The leader of Rhodes Island could no longer stand being trapped in this shifting shell that he could not control. He wanted to wake up from this nightmare. Every second of this memory was a torment. For every second brought him a hundred more questions instead of answers. He wanted to wake up, but more importantly he wanted answers to those thousands of questions about his past.
But who the hell was he!
As the giant screamed this in his own head, the young man lowered his head and grabbed his helmet.
He recognized it instantly as he held it in his hands before his eyes. Having seen it at Chernobog some time earlier... Of course in the shock his brain stopped for a quarter of a second.
He had done some research on the ursus hero... The emperor's right hand... And every line that counted his exploits and actions surprised the doctor... To cut the mountain range separating Ursus and Higashi to allow the army to pass... With a single stroke of the sword... To massacre half of the sarkazs banshee in one afternoon... Alone. Or finding the golden city of Sargon and throwing the heads of the three favorite padishas at the feet of the king in retaliation for a broken trade agreement...
And still this kind of actions had been legion during the ten years or so that the red demon had walked this earth. The kind of hero you only see every x years. So holding this helmet in his hands... This helmet that he recognized as his own...
How could he not be shocked?
A piece of his past.
Providing an answer.
But a billion other questions.
Misha: Doctor!
His mind emerged from the darkness of unconsciousness brought to life by his powerful instincts. He opened his eyes immediately to look around. The armored car they were in had been overturned and the back door ripped open. The forest around them was on fire and the few L.G.D. squads were fighting against the Crownslayer soldiers. But Sebastian's gaze fell on the little ursus who was begging for help. Only a few meters away from him, Misha was being grabbed by the arm of a reunion soldier who was trying to kidnap her. The doctor got up from the ground on which he was knocked out a second ago and ran towards the reunion soldier, and with a single punch to the face, used enough force to break his neck with a blow of his fists that were attached to each other by the handcuffs. The dead soldier dropped the little girl and fell heavily to the ground.
Sebastian: Misha are you okay?
Soon the girl embraced him, reassured that he was okay.
Misha: Doctor! The truck exploded, I don't know what happened and the bad guys from the reunion are here now-
Sebastian: Just stay behind me, and everything will be fine.
The giant grabbed his sword that was lying on the ground and turned to the crowd of enemy soldiers who were starting to approach him, trying as best he could to handle his weapon with his hands tied, but in any case, he was ready to fight, the girl hiding behind his back, his opponents in front of him preparing themselves as well.
A second of extreme tension passed. Then one of the enemy soldiers started to run towards the giant who prepared to kill the opponent in front of him.
But as he raised his sword and the girl hid behind his back and closed her eyes, a large figure passed in front of the good doctor who spotted a green spot moving too quickly in his field of vision. The soldier who was about to attack him was shattered by a metal wall that crashed into him, as were two other soldiers who had approached. Sebastian recognized the wall that had just killed the enemy soldiers as a gigantic shield, but more important was the person holding the shield. A big horn on her forehead and long green hair that reached his back. Of course the good doctor recognized the person who had just protected him from his soldiers as Hoshiguma.
He took a step back surprised at the violence she had just used to kill those three soldiers as well as Misha behind him who seemed to imitate his movements and reactions.
Hoshiguma: Turn back right now!
The oni said, her voice closer to a ferocious animal's roar than to a common human. Her yellow eyes glowed in the darkness of the night.
The few soldiers still facing the group took a few steps back in fear.
But then one of the soldiers raised his loaded crossbow with the aim of shooting down the onu that had risen before him quickly and easily. But no sooner had he raised his arms that they fell to the ground in incomprehension, he looked at his arms which began to bleed violently and before he had time to cry out in pain, a sword was thrust into his back, piercing his heart and killing him instantly. When his body fell to the ground he revealed the person who had just murdered him, a lung equipped with two swords.
Ch'en: Hoshi what are you doing?! I asked you to protect the third squad!
Hoshiguma: Watch out!
As stupid as they were, the enemy soldiers rarely left time to talk during the fighting. So some of them approached Ch'en in his blind spot with the idea of attacking him. And they almost succeeded... Well, if it wasn't for the giant who was only a few meters away from them. The doctor threw his sword with all his strength so that it turned on itself in the air, right towards the enemy, three of them were cut in two, and the last one who was not in the trajectory of the blade could only watch his comrades being killed. Then sensing a movement in the air he looked in Sebastian's direction and swung his machete in the air when he could see that the giant was right in front of him about to throw a punch to kill the soldier.
Sebastian was surprised by the soldier's lightning reflex, but seeing the metal of his handcuffs shining through the darkness he decided to use them with an old technique he remembered the old man taught him. He spread his hands and made the machete of the reunion soldier strike the chain of the handcuffs. The restrictions on the doctor's handles were not made of sugar, so they held up against the attack. Taking advantage of his out-of-sorts speed, the giant moved his wrists to wrap the chain around the weapon and with a sharp blow ripped it from the soldier's hands, throwing it a few feet behind him. The panicked soldier pulled a dagger from his white jacket but it was already too late. The giant's wrists began to move again and this time the chain wrapped around the enemy soldier's neck without him even being able to react. And with a sharp blow, Sebastian broke the soldier's neck with his metal restrictions. The cracking of the bones echoed in the air and sent a shiver of disgust down the spine of those who heard it.
The doctor dropped the corpse and looked around more carefully. He confirmed his fears, the L.G.D. convoy had been attacked, he looked at the vehicles to see them out of action, traces of explosive shells on their bodies. What Sebastian had heard in the distance while he was sleeping in the transport. And probably what had set the forest around him on fire. But that didn't explain why there were so many soldiers from the reunion fighting the L.G.D. forces... An artillery strike... Followed by a quick ambush on their position... A coordinated and prepared attack in advance. Concludes the giant. But how? The road they should have taken was supposed to be secret and that was why they had made this huge detour through the woods to avoid being ambushed if they went directly to the city. This could only be an internal betrayal of the L.G.D. The giant quickly concluded.
The lung turned to the giant, wiping the blood from her face from the fighting.
Ch'en: I didn't need your help!
she shouted, startling the giant. He couldn't blame her for being in a bad mood... A long night, a hard fight, betrayal... And a terrible temper... Everything was gathered for the lung to be very angry. The good doctor gritted his teeth.
Sebastian: Of course you didn't...
He said recovering his sword, his mind also tired by all the events. Then hearing an object split the air he looked in Misha's direction to see that a flaming tree was falling on her, most likely weakened by the flames. Without thinking he ran towards the young ursus in order to protect her but while he thought he was too slow, Hoshiguma arrived in time to protect the girl by raising her Hannya over the heads of both, the debris fell and broke into several pieces that flew everywhere, the arms of the oni barely moving against the shock that must have made well close to a ton of pressure ...
When the danger was over the oni lowered her shield and looked the young ursus in the eyes.
Hoshiguma: Are you alright kid?
The girl looked at the woman who was much taller than she was, although at first intimidated by the strength and imposing size, as well as the reputation of the oni, she began to smile.
Misha: Yes, thank you ma'am!
Sebastian stopped right in front of the oni and bowed his head humbly.
Sebastian: Thank you so much for protecting her.
Hoshiguma: 'Kyaaaaa! He gave me a compliment! Oh my god what am I going to do?! Oh no he's going to see that my cheeks are completely red!'
Although internally feeling things like a high school girl with her first love when the giant raised his eyes to look at her, his face was almost cold...
Hoshiguma: O-oh it's nothing. I just acted without thinking. Come on, I'll take off the handcuffs.
The young woman looked in her pocket for the keys to her handcuffs but was surprised when Sebastian threw them at her. She looked at them to see that they were still closed, as if they had simply slipped off the giant's wrists. She raised an eyebrow and let out a laugh.
Hoshiguma: I should have known you would do that...
Sebastian: I like magic tricks.
Ch'en: What the hell are you doing! We have a fight on our hands!
Hoshiguma: 'Ch'en if it wasn't you I would have killed whoever interrupted us.'
Sebastian: And don't you have anything else to do like commanding your units?
The doctor's patience was already beginning to reach its limits, a sign of his fatigue. This was evident when his eyes turned red and his face looked more and more bestial. But with the increase of his bestiality inside his body, the doctor could also feel his senses getting sharper. His hearing in particular. He heard something split the air... at nearly sound barrier speed. His eyes immediately turned in the direction of the projectile and he raised his sword to stop it. It took only a fraction of a second for the projectile to travel several hundred meters. Sebastian raised his sword and let it clash with what had been thrown at him.
An explosion sounded. More powerful than the mortar explosions of a few seconds ago, but this time there was no ball of flame, instead a cloud of sparks flew through the dark night from Sebastian's sword. The gusts of wind created by the shock did not fail to destabilize those who were close to the doctor. Hoshiguma planted his shield in the ground as an anchor and Ch'did the same with his swords. Misha grabbed the doctor's left leg as hard as she could to avoid being thrown by the torrents of air.
Surprised by such power, the doctor forced himself to draw even more of his own energy reserves to try to counter the attack that didn't seem to want to stop. So using all his strength, his muscles swelled up threatening to crack the fabric of his shirt and he finally managed to deflect the projectile downwards, making the object plant itself in the ground right at his feet. And at that moment a second explosion sounded, much louder than the previous one, fracturing the ground and lifting all those who were standing on it on a hundred meters radius. When the dust settled, everyone opened their eyes and took a breath. Ch'en and Hoshiguma looked at the good doctor to see that he was looking at the projectile that had landed at his feet.
A halberd. Massive, black and obviously extremely well made. The image of the halberd came back with pain in the doctor's head who realized that he had just seen it in his dream when he was chaos. The same halberd as in Chernobog. He had the chance to see it up close at that moment... If up close meant stabbing it in the eye. The doctor gritted his teeth again, knowing whose weapon it was. He plucked it from the ground and looked at it when it was firmly in his hand.
Sebastian: The old demon...
Hoshiguma also looked at the weapon and recognized it after a few seconds.
Hoshiguma: Ch'en... That's not the weapon of the wendigo... That we saw in the pictures at the briefing...?
Ch'en: Yes...
The two young women were overcome with terror... They had heard about the wendigo colossus... Like almost half of the children of terra... Who were told terrifying stories about this legendary warrior... And the doctor was far from ignorant too. He knew that if the colossal wendigo had shown up on the battlefield then it meant that the balance of power for this confrontation and even for the battle of Lungmen had tipped drastically in favor of the reunion. So we had to strike while the iron was still hot...
And to smash his face so that he returns to Chernobog with his tail between his legs without influencing the course of the battle too much...
Easy...
Sebastian: Misha stays here. You two keep a look on her as if she were the apple of your eye.
The oni's eyes widened as she understood the doctor's intentions.
Hoshiguma: Wait, Seb, you're not going to-
Sebastian: Whether you believe me or not, I'm the only one who can stop him.
Misha: Doctor...
The girl grabbed the giant's leg, terrified that he would leave her even if it was only for a few minutes. The giant realized this very quickly. He bent down and turned around, putting a knee on the ground to look Misha in the eyes while stroking her head, a reassuring smile on his face.
Misha: Don't leave me alone... Please...
Sebastian: I promised you I would keep you safe, didn't I? I will keep my promise. But I have to take care of this bad guy. You will stay with Mrs. Ch'en and Mrs. Hoshiguma, I promise to come back soon.
Misha: Come back soon...
Sebastian: I promise.
He stopped caressing her head and the girl's tears faded away. Then the giant took a few steps forward and his smile disappeared.
Concentrating all his strength in his arm that held the halberd, he raised it and threw it with all his might towards the one who had sent it. A detonation and a supersonic crack sounded, which was followed by another explosion. This time it was the footsteps of the giant who ran faster than a car in the direction he had thrown his weapon.
Ch'en: But how many of these do they have in stock on Rhodes Island...
The wendigo looked to the horizon, the dust around him still settling from the force he had just used to throw his halberd. A guerrilla soldier approached him looking in the same direction.
Oleg: Sir, we can launch another salvo of mortars... Why are you attacking them yourself?
Patriot: I'm following. The plan.
Oleg: Weren't we supposed to draw someone from that convoy?
The two red orbs on patriot's skull seemed to stop glowing for a second, as if he was squinting. Then suddenly the two lights began to shine again with fervor and the colossal wendigo appeared another halberd in his hand thanks to his arts and raised it in front of him with both hands deflecting at the last moment a supersonic projectile that could have torn off his skull if he had not stopped it with difficulty, throwing the soldier who was next to him a few meters away and alerting all the other guerrillas who joined their leader.
And as a shit never came alone...
*CLUNK*
So fast that the guerrillas could not even see him, the wendigo used his weapon to parry another attack, but this time it was not a projectile. The doctor from Rhodes Island, at such a speed that he was imperceptible, had just swung at the sarkaz, which he parried using his strength.
But seeing that their attack had no effect, the two men, who were the same size, raised their arms and hit each other in the face at the same time. Once again creating an explosion of unspeakable power. Both fighters were thrown backwards a few steps because of their strength.
But they both knew it...
It was just a warm-up.
Sebastian wiped the trickle of blood from his lip and Patriot tried to breathe with difficulty because of his almost completely broken mask.
Patriot: Yuri...
Sebastian: Stop calling me that, you old devil...
The doctor got up and even started to walk... Around Patriot like a predator looking at its prey before pouncing on it to devour it. He could see that the antler he had torn from the wendigo had grown back perfectly... And underneath the holes in his armor he could see that the wounds had healed. The doctor was simply amazed at the regenerative properties of the leader of the reunion. Not everyone could survive a shower of jellified plasma burning almost as hot as the surface of the sun... So to survive it and recover from it in only a few weeks was simply exceptional.
Patriot: You can't even remember your name... What did these people. From Rhodes Island did to you...
Sebastian: Shut up! I don't give a shit who you are or who I was! Then draw out!
The wendigo stood up, gripping his halberd firmly with both hands. It's not like getting punched in the face was the worst thing that ever happened to him. Sebastian looked at him surprised not to see him without his shield... But then he remembered that he had cut it to pieces with his fangs and claws.
Patriot: You really want to beat me... When you're tired and don't even use a quarter of your strength?
The giant flinched. It was true that this time he couldn't count on his body being strengthened... He was not angry enough for that and far too tired. But he wasn't going to give up.
He would never give up.
Sebastian: And you're really going to beat me without the help of your donkey of a daughter?
The wendigo's eyes glowed and he was filled with a fatherly rage. He grabbed his halberd and immediately found himself right in front of Sebastian, swinging his weapon in an attempt to pierce the giant's skull. Surprised by such speed, the giant tried to raise his sword to protect himself, but he did not succeed in doing much more than being pierced by Patriot's weapon, which had a number of advantages over the good doctor. The doctor felt his ribs being pierced and his sternum shattering under the blows of the steel causing him to spit blood in pain. His nerves didn't have time to shut down and the pain hit him hard.
To move back?
No, impossible, the wendigo would advance with him to continue to skewer him.
Move to the side?
He could do that... But he would have to cut out half of his rib cage which was already in a pitiful state.
Ah yes.
The counterintuitive method.
The doctor approached Patriot with the tip of his halberd sticking out in the back of the emerald-eyed giant with a trickle of blood, caught off guard the leader of the reunion could not defend himself when Sebastian grabbed his skull with both hands, before delivering a monumental blow. So hard that he created another explosion. The giant gritted his teeth, half his brain inside his skull reduced to mush by his own blow. At the same time he wasn't wearing a helmet. But he knew he didn't have time to take a break. So he grabbed his sword and thrust it into Patriot's torso, who was still stunned by the blow, and taking advantage of his free hands, Sebastian joined them together, clasping his fingers tightly between them and striking the handle of the halberd with all his might, breaking it and freeing Sebastian from the wendigo's grip. Not giving up on his combo at this point, Sebastian grabbed the handle of his sword again, which was stuck in his enemy, and kicked Patriot, sending him flying a hundred yards away this time.
At least his body was beginning to respond to the confrontation...
Sebastian took his sword firmly in his hand, keeping the courtesy of waiting for his opponent to get up. While removing the halberd that he had planted in the stomach with his other hand.
The guerrilla soldiers who until then had been standing still were too frightened by the display of brute force in front of them that they could not move at all. But one of the soldiers who was tired of standing still while their leader fought, who was tired of being paralyzed by his own fear. He raised his crossbow and fired at the giant. The crossbow bolt split the air and stuck in the side of the doctor's skull. But the doctor didn't fall. Instead, he looked at the man who had just shot him and then ripped the arrow out of his skull and threw it with all his might straight at the soldier.
Perhaps he had used too much force?
No doubt.
Because in addition to throwing the object at a speed much higher than the speed of sound, when the projectile hit the soldier, the poor human exploded in a cloud of red and splinters of bone and armor that hurt the others around.
Then all the other soldiers took a few steps back. This reckless soldier had just given them the final proof.
The last proof that mortals had no place in a battle between the gods.
Patriot made another halberd appear in his hand with his arts, ignoring the wound he had just received on his chest. Then he too concentrated all his strength. He raised his halberd and began to run straight towards Sebastian, so fast that once again the giant was caught off guard, but this time he managed to raise his sword enough to counter the point of his enemy's weapon. The doctor planted his feet firmly in the ground, but the strength of his enemy was such that both of them retreated towards the convoy at a speed that defied logic. Realizing that they were desperately close to the girl Sebastian wanted to protect, the doctor, drawing on the depths of his energy, managed to use enough speed to disengage the grip they had on each other's weapons and deflect the colossus' halberd, stopping their frantic run just a few feet away from the L.G.D. members in the middle of the confrontation area. Some of them looked at the two giants who had just arrived, their strength creating so much wind and shockwave that they could not be invisible...
Patriot did not stop there and attacked again with his two-handed halberd, speed being his watchword. But this time the Rhodes Island doctor was ready. His eyes had adapted, and were seeing infinitely more movement every microsecond. So once again he managed to parry Patriot's blow. But this single pass created an air knife sharp enough to slice through the L.G.D. and the reunion soldiers who were standing a few feet away, cutting off their fight with death.
Sebastian, sensing Patriot's next move out of the corner of his eye, stepped to the side, dodging Patriot's halberd point with ease.
Then the giant used his sword and the second of inaction of Patriot, who had his weapon planted in the ground, to deliver a clean blow to the wendigo's throat, slitting it with ease. Then he grabbed the old demon's ankle, and lifted him into the air before smashing him to the ground with a grunt of exhaustion from the strength he had just used despite his fatigue. His strength broke the ground... But in an unparalleled measure... As if a meteor had just hit the ground, the demon's body fractured the earth, throwing everything that stood on it into the air. Armored cars, debris, fallen trees, even people. The impact was so strong that the ground sank and some of it began to fly.
The killing intent didn't stop in the giant's body, so even though the wendigo was on the ground, Sebastian threw himself on top of him and began to pummel him with punches to the face in such rapid succession that it was impossible to see anything but the afterimages of the doctor's arms. And with such force that the explosions seemed to dwarf his scream of rage. But the guerrilla leader... He was far from dead... He raised his forearms and began to parry one punch after another, trying his best to resist the merciless assault he was receiving. And just as the wendigo felt the demon rolling him over weaken, he deflected one of his punches, and retaliated with his own attack sending Sebastian flying away to crash into the forest floor. Sebastian got up, standing on his shattered bones, and when he noticed the colossal demon charging at him he looked around and his eyes caught a flaming tree trunk. So he grabbed it with one of his hands and broke the base of the log before grabbing the rest of it, using it as a gigantic weapon he pulled back his arm and threw the log with one hand using it as a javelin.
Patriot's eyes widened at such an excess of madness that could only have come from one man, so he concentrated his last strength in his arms and cut the tree trunk end to end. Trying to move forward while protecting himself, when Patriot finished cutting the tree into pieces of wood, only embers remained in front of his face. From this cloud of embers came the giant's arm, and he punched Patriot in the face, fracturing the latter's mask even more. But that punch wasn't all. Sebastian unhooked a grenade from his equipment and quickly pulled the pin before lodging it under one of Patriot's armor plates before jumping back to save himself from the blast zone.
The wendigo tried desperately to remove the explosive from his armor plates, but it had no effect. The explosion sounded and the colossus fell to the ground.
The sparks that ran through Sebastian's body began to fade, until they disappeared completely, his breathing rang in his ears, tired, as did all the muscles and organs in his body that were just screaming fatigue. He put both hands on his knees breathing heavily, the weight of his own sword feeling like a billion tons.
When he heard the cracking of twigs though, he quickly looked ahead to see that the wendigo had just gotten up.
Sebastian: That's not true... Will you fucking die ?!
Patriot: There's still a long way to get your former power...
The leader of the reunion brought up another halberd in his other hand, changing his fighting style to one weapon in each hand.
Patriot: Tell me. Do you really think you can beat me?
he said, his eyes shining. Then he ran straight towards the good doctor who could only raise his arm holding his weapon in defense. The assaults came one after the other as the doctor did his best to counter the endless assaults of the wendigo. Attack after attack, the sparks flew, each time a halberd broke, another one appeared in the second in one of the wendigo's hands. Step after step, Sebastian had to step back because his opponent was so brutal. He was getting tired, but the sarkaz seemed to have only just begun...
Sebastian: 'This is not good... I can't take it anymore... If this continues... He's going to kill me! Think Seb, think...'hat the fire had not yet touched, Sebastian received a palm strike to the torso during a microsecond of inattention. A technique he recognized as his own. He gritted his teeth as the bones in his rib cage were reduced to splinters under his muscles. He gritted his teeth and crashed into a rock in the middle of the clearing. Blood flowed in so many places that he couldn't tell exactly where the red liquid that warmed him was flowing from. He stopped moving. He was simply too exhausted to do anything. Patriot slowly approached him... Before stopping right in front of him.
Patriot: You lost...
Sebastian: It seems so.
Patriot: I wish it had ended differently, my boy...
Sebastian: Me too... Buldrokkas'tee...
The behemoth's eyes widened as he realized he had just used his real name.
And his eyes opened wide...
He couldn't see the handfuls of flashbangs that Sebastian threw in his face. The grenades exploded, just as they exploded the eardrums of the sarkaz. And blind he could only feel a blade pierce his belly until he could no longer feel the lower parts of his body. He felt himself falling, not able to walk, and then he felt himself being knocked back against the rock.
When his sight returned along with his hearing a few seconds later he could see that Sebastian's sword was stuck in his gut.
Sebastian: Don't even try to move, I cut your spinal cord.
He withdrew his sword from the body of the sarkaz and pointed the blade at his face.
Sebastian: I would have liked to give you a warrior's death. Alas, there is a girl I must protect.
Patriot: You called me... By my name... Do you remember? From our past?
His eyes seemed full of hope... Despite the fact that he looked like he was about to die.
Sebastian: Only bits and pieces. I remembered that moment at the end of Sami's campaign with the mead...
Patriot: And you're still going to kill me?
Sebastian: Tell me. Would it make any difference if I remembered my entire past? Would Rhode Island stop treating the infected? Protecting the innocent as best it can? Would the reunion stop slaughtering civilians who stand in its way and the uninfected under the guise of corrupt ideals?
Patriot: No... No, certainly not...
Sebastian: Then don't blame me if I kill you right now. Whoever you were in my past, even if you were my father.
He said with a slight laugh in his voice.
Patriot: Always so stubborn... You can kill me. It will change absolutely nothing. I've already accomplished my mission here. The little ursin is going to find her sister once and for all.
Suddenly the doctor had a terrible feeling in his gut.
Misha: 'My sister disappeared at the same time my mother died...'
The memory of what Misha had told him about his family echoed in his brain... Just like the memories of his dreams... His dreams where he had seen Misha wearing the Skullshatterer uniform... The said Skullshatterer who reminded him far too much of the girl... The relentlessness of the leader of the reunion to capture the young ursus... He didn't like that at all... All the pieces of the puzzle began to make sense in his head but at the same time to make no sense. But in any case, he felt that something dramatic was going to happen.
Sebastian ran in the direction of the convoy without finishing off his enemy, worry clouding his reason. The wind began to blow so hard around him that the flames of the forest fire were extinguished because of the speed at which he was running, managing to find energy in his desperation to reach the scene of the accident. A few seconds were all he needed to cover the kilometer that separated him from the group.
And when he arrived it was a cold shower.
The troops of the reunion seemed to have retreated and the L.G.D. agents were thinking about their wounds. Ch'en and Hoshiguma were talking to each other, their faces almost mortified.
The giant looked around the area and began to raise his voice.
Sebastian: Misha?! Misha!
The L.G.D. soldiers turned to the good doctor and their eyes widened at his condition. His shirt was more red than white, and that was understandable seeing all his wounds. His belly was split open at the intestines and yet he didn't even seem to notice it, his whole body looked deformed because of all the broken bones he had and some fragments of his broken bones were sticking out of his skin as if he was covered in thorns.
Honestly.
He was scary to look at.
And those who saw him wondered how he was still alive.
But his poor health was not the only scary thing. Of course, no one could have missed the unparalleled strength he had used against Patriot... The trees were still torn up from the shockwaves, and the rock on the ground was in a thousand pieces.
He approached the lung and the oni, the few soldiers in his path moving aside in fear and the two young women looking at him uncertain of what they were going to say. But fortunately he spoke first.
Sebastian: Where is Misha?
Hoshiguma: Sebastian... Misha has...
Ch'en: We think she was kidnapped.
The giant's face broke down even more at the bad news that had just hit him. He gritted his teeth in rage.
Sebastian: What happened?!
Hoshiguma: I don't know... There was some mist on the field... Then Misha suddenly disappeared...
From the appearance of a sudden fog, from the infiltration The doctor recognized Crownslayer's modus operandi... But he was still lucky that she was close. He closed his eyes and lowered his head, concentrating all his energy and attention in his ears.
With a little luck he might be able to pinpoint the girl's location...
He began to hear the frantic heartbeats of the people around him, to hear the air in their lungs, their blood in their veins.
Come on, just a little luck...
He began to hear the small animals of the forest for miles around...
Just a little bit...!
The sound of insects in the earth, of air against each blade of grass sounded like explosions to him. And yet he did not hear the heartbeat of the young ursus. All the noise was unbearable for him, his ears began to bleed and the pain almost made him even more crazy.
But he could not give up...
Certainly not he had promised her!
Noticing his pain the oni next to him put a hand on his shoulder.
Hoshiguma: It's okay Seb, stop... She's probably already far away...
The giant gritted his teeth and stopped using all his power in his hearing, electricity began to run through his body, and his skin took on a gray tint that was hard to notice. He turned to the opposite side of Hoshiguma and uttered a single insult.
Sebastian: Fuck!
He kicked the overturned armored car to his left in anger. And where a normal person would have broken his foot, Sebastian bent the vehicle in half. He looked back at the lung who had just taken a step backwards in fear.
Sebastian: You had one fucking job to do! It was to keep that kid! And you can't even do that!
The L.G.D. soldiers around the scene gasped. They knew that their commander was not going to be insulted freely.
Ch'en: I've lost men in this battle! So excuse me but what happened to that kid is the least of my problems! If you're not happy, you should have protected her yourself!
Sebastian: Are you kidding me?! I was protecting your ungrateful fucking asses from a guy that you wouldn't have lasted a second against if you had found the strength to lift your little arms! But I don't expect you to understand what it's like to protect something!
He said while looking at all the other members of the L.G.D. except for the poor Oni who remained behind his back.
Sebastian: You must not understand it! A bit of mist and you can't protect a kid! You are not able to protect your people! Half of you even enjoy slaughtering some poor people who are just sick! And even less able to defend your own city! Because fucking hobos armed with machetes manage to get in here like they want!
A series of realities spat out one after the other with more brutality than the previous one. Some members of the L.G.D. lowered their heads, not even daring to intervene while others grunted in anger. And one who growled in anger let it out...
Ch'en: And you what are you able to do?! Keep promises?! Not even!
...
The doctor looked at her. His cold look.
Hoshiguma: 'Oh shit.'
So quickly that no one could react, the doctor hit the lung with his fist and she fell to the ground with a grunt of pain. Then he threw himself at her, pulling back his fist with the intention of punching her in the face again.
Sebastian: I'm going to smash your skull so hard that even your mother won't recognize you in the morgue!
Hoshiguma and the other L.G.D. agents charged at the two with the goal of separating them before their quarrel went any further. The oni with his exceptional strength pulled Sebastian away from the one he was attacking with great effort, while the other L.G.D. members lifted their commander to her feet and restrained her arms to prevent her from drawing her swords as she had firmly intended to do.
Ch'en: I'm going to kill you, motherfucker!
Sebastian: Go ahead, I'm waiting for you!
During the chaos where the L.G.D. troops were trying to separate the two leaders who were struggling to fight to the death, the lung managed in the confusion to give a heel blow that broke Sebastian's nose and made him back slightly, the anger that followed being contained with difficulty by the oni. After a few minutes of insults, Sebastian stopped fighting and Hoshiguma let go of him, rightly thinking that he had calmed down. Still bathed in anger but with his violence calmed the giant started to leave the area activating his radio.
Sebastian: Amiya do you read me?
Amiya: Doctor? What's the matter?
Sebastian: We lost Misha. She was taken away by Crownslayer...
Amiya: ...What...? How...
He could hear the sadness in the girl's voice. Just as the girl could hear his rage.
Sebastian: We must prioritize our search for her. The L.G.D.'s orders are no longer relevant. I'll do my own research.
Amiya: Copy that...
And as the giant walked further and further away, Hoshiguma turned to him.
Hoshiguma: But where are you going?!
Sebastian: If you can't do it right, then I'll do it myself! Rhodes Island will no longer follow the orders of the L.G.D. like your obedient lapdogs if it's only to make a mess!
The lung was released and everyone watched the doctor walk off into the dark night through the smoke of the forest fire.
- A few hours later -
The sound of a motorcycle could be heard through the streets of Lungmen. The lights of the city never stopped despite the events that had taken place a few hours earlier. The only thing that had anything to do with it was the news channels showing images of the forest fire, ignored by passersby. The young woman on her motorcycle continued to drive calmly, heading towards an almost deserted part of the city, which she herself had not visited for a long time.
A left turn, as the reflections of the city lights flashed on the visor of her helmet. The young woman began to drive through the streets that were not even lit anymore. The memories of this neighborhood were still vivid in her mind. She could see herself as a teenager, strutting around like a gangster... Just like when she became an adult. But this time really being a gangster. The memories she shared with former members... Were priceless to her.
A right turn and here she was in a street even more empty and desolate than the others, except for a building that stood out by its height among the others and its particular style.
The young woman parked her motorcycle just in front of the building that she easily recognized as a church.
She took off her helmet which opened in a particular way to let pass her large horn on the forehead her long hair towards sliding along her back. She turned off the ignition and got off her bike, leaving the helmet on the seat. In any case nobody could prick her... Because no one was around anyway.
Hoshiguma looked at the church square. Saint Lazarus Church... And judging by the sword, the belts of grenades, knives and the pistol that was standing next to the door, she was in the right place.
She walked to the door and opened it without bothering to knock. He had heard her as soon as she arrived in the neighborhood anyway. She looked inside the church and on one of the benches to the left she could see a giant sitting in a prayer position, his eyes closed.
Hoshiguma: You leave your weapons outside...
Sebastian: You don't go into a holy place armed.
She looked at him and immediately she felt sad. She could see that his eyes had been crying, as well as his face which gave an expression filled with sadness and bitter anger. Surprisingly, his clothes were new and his wounds looked like they had been healed. The advantage of running faster than a car was that at least he could get a spare shirt in a few seconds... Then the giant turned back to the church altar.
Sebastian: I went to a random place so how did you find me.
Hoshiguma: That's where you used to come. When you weren't feeling well, a few hours later you came back with your mood at the best.
Sebastian: It's getting hard not to believe you when you say you knew me...
He says with a smile on his face, as the oni approaches him.
Sebastian: I decide to go to a quiet place to rest my mind, my instincts guide me here, and you still manage to find me.
Hoshiguma: I guess we are inseparable after all.
Said the oni as she sat down next to the giant relaxing on the old wooden bench. When she heard the light laughter of the giant next to her. And just the thought of making him laugh while he was feeling bad brought the oni some joy.
Sebastian: I guess so.
Hoshiguma: Hey.
Sebastian: Hm?
He turned his eyes to glance at her.
Hoshiguma: How are you holding up?
Sebastian: I...
She knew that the giant was far from confiding easily. So she drew her ultimate weapon.
Hoshiguma: The years may have passed, your memories forgotten, your appearance changed, but you are still my friend. I don't mind listening to you.
She says her compassionate eyes while putting one of her hands on the shoulder of the giant.
Sebastian: *sigh* Okay...
Hoshiguma: 'Resistance broken... Ah... My love. I will never regret knowing you so well.'
Sebastian: Thank you. For earlier. I could have made a big mistake if you hadn't held me back.
Hoshiguma: You're welcome. Ch'en... Ch'en is a real bitch sometimes. Even often... But she's not a bad person at heart. Far from it.
Sebastian: I see that... I should have protected the kid... I promised her that I would keep her safe... But in the end I couldn't do it.
Hoshiguma: You said it before. You were fighting the legendary Patriot... That's quite an achievement... But to keep a kid safe in the same time it's even harder...
Sebastian: But that's exactly what I should have done.
He says his tone of voice dry and angry. But angry at himself. The young woman sighed and took the giant's hand in hers, forcing him to look into her eyes.
Hoshiguma: When we first met... I was on the run from the city guard. I had done things that kept me awake at night. And while I was hiding in one of the alleys next to this place you took me in. And there is this sentence, which still echoes in my head. The one you said to me when I revealed all the crimes I was responsible for. "We all fail-
Sebastian: We all make mistakes.
Hoshiguma/Sebastian: That's what makes us human.
Hoshiguma: Do you remember that?
Sebastian: The sentence was engraved in my memory... 'As it has been engraved since my father told me.'
Hoshiguma: Please. Apply your advice to yourself... You may be the strongest or the most resistant. You are still only human.
The good doctor lowered his head to take a second to think. No doubt it was him, he looked like a tough guy but he had a marshmallow heart, his hand clasping Hoshiguma's.. Then he started to smile.
Sebastian: I guess so...
He raised his head and looked at the yellow eyes of the oni which showed only warmth and benevolence.
Sebatian: Thank you. Why are you helping me?
The young woman was at first taken aback by this sudden question, but deep in her heart she knew the answer.
Hoshiguma: The more seconds pass, the more you prove that you haven't changed. Well, except for being a little taller... With a little more beard... And muscles... You are still that person dear to my heart. Even without your memories. You are still the one who saved me from myself. Then before you disappeared ten years ago you made a promise to me, a promise that we would meet again. So I only help you to honor it.
Sebastian: At least one promise I could keep...
Hoshiguma: Don't say that...
Sebastian: *sigh* Thank you. Thank you so much. You know what, even without my memories, I'm glad we're meeting again Hoshiguma. It's nice to see you again.
He said as he held out his hand for a handshake, a smile on his lip as a more formal way of greeting her, after ten years of absence. The oni also smiled and shook hands with the giant.
Hoshiguma: You can't imagine how happy it makes me to be together again.
After this handshake of two friends who were reunited after far too long, the oni got up from the bench where she was sitting and held out her hand to the giant to get up.
Hoshiguma: Are you coming? Unless you want to stay all night in this church that stinks of dog piss and threatens to collapse every second...
Sebastian: You have a gift for convincing people. But I'm not an old man.
He said, getting up without taking Hoshiguma's hand to stand up. The two companions left the church, Sebastian retrieving his weapons and Hoshiguma starting her motorcycle quickly.
Sebastian: So what do you want to do?
Suddenly, without warning, Sebastian's stomach began to rumble, but so loudly that Hoshiguma could have sworn he could see the stained glass windows of the church shake from the sound.
Hoshiguma: Let's start with this... Come on, get in the car.
The doctor complied and came to sit behind the oni on her motorcycle. Thanking the heavens that the machine could support its hundred and fifty kilos in addition to the weight of the young woman. The giant, who seemed to be used to this kind of thing, put his hands around Hoshiguma's waist to avoid an unfortunate fall during a turn.
A second passed. Then two.
Then three...
Sebastian: Um... are you okay?
Hoshiguma: Y-yes yes...
The young woman stopped herself from looking at him to prevent him from seeing how red her cheeks were with embarrassment from feeling the warmth of his body against hers, the contact between them... Just the thought of it made steam escape from the oni tnat's ears she was embarrassed. So she hurriedly put on her helmet to camouflage her emotions and started to drive through the streets of Lungmen. A small turn through the city center, the quantities of large crowds and technology sign of prosperity giving a smile to the giant with emerald eyes. Then another turn and they arrived in a more atypical district. The decorations and buildings were more reminiscent of Higashian styles than Lungmenite or Yenite. Perhaps a district occupied by the Higashi immigrant community. The young woman stopped in front of a house a few steps away from a shopping street, filled with small restaurants and street vendors. The oni opened the garage door and hurriedly put her motorcycle and helmet inside, while Sebastian was already looking around the stores and enjoying the smells of the various foods being cooked.
Hoshiguma: Welcome to my neighborhood~
Sebastian: Better than Chernobog...
Hoshiguma: That's for sure.
Sebastian: Mock me, but this is the city I've seen the most of since I got amnesia.
Said the giant as he walked through the streets, the young woman at his side.
Hoshiguma: Then I'm happy to take you for a better view. Come on follow me, I know a nice place.
Sebastian: Good, I feel like I'm hungry enough to eat a whole beef.
The giant glanced around to see that the oni was watching him.
Sebastian: Do I have something on my face?
Hoshiguma: No, it's just that I was looking at how much you have changed physically... If it wasn't for your eyes and your scar I don't think I would have recognized you.
Sebastian: Wait. If that was ten years ago and we take out the four years I spent in the sarcophagus, that means I was what when we met? Fourteen fifteen years old?
Hoshiguma: A-ah... 'How come he never told me how old he was?! I've been drooling and fantasizing for ten years over the body of a guy who's not old enough to be an adult in any country in the world?!' That's funny. You looked like you were more in your twenties back then...
Sebastian: So I always looked old...
He says with obvious despair in his voice.
Hoshiguma: You don't look old... Just... Mature. 'dilf.'
Sebastian: Yeah.
Unknown: Excuse me sir?
The giant turned to his back and heard the voice of another young woman. He could recognize her as a liberi with a mocking smile on her lips.
Unknown: Do you have a phone number for my friend sitting over there?
Said the young woman pointing to another woman who was sitting at the terrace of a restaurant. Young woman who was desperately trying to hide her red face with her hands.
And as the unknown woman turned to the giant to wait for an answer, her face broke down in fear surprising the giant.
Unknown: Forget what I said... H-have day.
She said before hurrying off to where she was. The giant raised his eyebrows in surprise at such a reversal. But what he did not see was the oni in his back who had a murderous expression on her face. He didn't know the feelings of the young woman behind his back, just as he didn't know the reputation the onis had for beating to death those who tried to steal their potential partners...
Sebastian: There are strange people in this city...
He said with a bit of irony before heading towards a ramen stand where the oni was taking him. He could see an old man behind the counter cooking as he sat down, the young woman at his side.
Hoshiguma: Yo boss, a large bowl of ramen for me!
Sebastian: I'll have the same but with pickled seaweed.
Old man: Coming right up.
The old man turned to the counter and Sebastian looked him in the eye. The old man looked at the giant for a few seconds before bursting into laughter.
Old man: It's been a while since you've been here, kid, so I'll put your order on the house.
Sebastian was surprised that the old man could recognize him, but he thought that maybe it was an old man's power.
Hoshiguma: Hey boss, get us some drinks with this.
Old man: Just a second. But this one you pay for.
Sebastian: It's okay, I'll pay. I can offer at least the booze.
Somewhere else in the city. At the L.G.D. headquarters.
The lung sat on a couch in the penthouse at the top of the building, putting an ice pack on her forehead to prevent a bump from forming from the giant's blow a few hours earlier. Hearing that their niece had returned from a mission that turned into a shit storm, Wei and Fumizuki also entered the penthouse. Seeing the dirt on her body, the blood and the few scratches, Fumizuki threw himself on the Lung to look at the slightest scratch, the worry eating her. Wei waited with folded arms for an explanation.
Ch'en: What?
Wei: Can you tell me what happened? I thought everything went well when you got the objective from the extraction point.
Ch'en: What happened? The mission went horribly wrong. The convoy route was leaked, and we were ambushed by guerrillas and crownslayer forces who kidnapped the girl.
The two members of Ch'en's family had almost corpse-like faces when they heard about the patriot guerrillas.
Wei: The guerrillas are in Lungmen?
Ch'en: Yes... I saw their leader with my own eyes. They took advantage of the confrontation to kidnap Misha.
Wei: You managed to get out of a fight with the last wendigo? Congratulations my niece.
Said the lung with a smile on his face, thinking that he had trained his niece well enough to compete with the wendigo. The lung sighed and removed the ice bag from her face to look her uncle in the eye.
Ch'en: I didn't do it. It was the doctor from Rhodes Island.
Wei: How...?
Ch'en: Rhodes Island got us on this one. Their famous doctor is not a commander. He's a fighter, and not the kind you'd think they'd hide. I've seen him take fire from a laterano weapon without even flinching, he bent one of the armored trucks in half with a kick, and he took care of Patriot one on one.
While Wei's mind remained in a state of confusion, Fumizuki reassured herself that she had seen the doctor's true face from the beginning.
Wei: Those bastards...
Ch'en: Now the scouts are turning the whole city upside down to try to find the forces of the reunion. We just have to wait to hear from them. Or wait for Rhode Island to find them first.
The superintendent settled back into the couch, closing her eyes and putting the ice pack down.
Ch'en: What a bastard...
Fumizuki: Who?
Said the kirin as she tended to her niece's wounds.
Ch'en: That doctor. He blamed us when he heard that the girl disappeared.
Fumizuki: Didn't you just say that the doctor was facing the wendigo?
Ch'en: Yes. But I don't know what was going on in his head to think that it was so easy to keep the girl in the middle of the mist and in such a complicated fighting situation. I don't even know if that idiot realized that the explosions of his attacks and the shockwaves had killed several of my men.
Fumizuki: He is that strong...?
Ch'en: Even more so, that kind of blow looked like he didn't put even half his strength into it. But even knowing that, I just want to punch his smile off.
Fumizuki: Did you manage to see him smile while he was wearing that tin can on his head?
Ch'en: No, he took it off at some point.
Fumizuki: Hm. I'm curious to know what he looks like.
Ch'en: Tch. Black hair, dark green eyes, and a scar on his left eyebrow.
The kirin started to think, trying to remember where she had heard this description...
And not one answer came to the kirin, but three. Three people matched this description... But she had to be wrong, didn't she? No chance she was right anyway, so she might as well keep her mouth shut.
*Clunk*
Hoshiguma collapsed on the counter his body responding with difficulty because of the alcohol while the giant took another sip of his drink with an amused smile on his lips.
Hoshiguma: But how?! You couldn't hold your liquor this well before!
Sebastian: Hoshi you should admit that you are defeated in this contest before you fall into a coma.
Hoshiguma: Never!
Old man: He's right, kid...
Hoshiguma: Huh...
Sebastian: So where were we? Oh yeah, how long has it been since you teamed up with the lizard?
Hoshiguma: Eight years now?
Sebastian: And with the description you gave me, you can still stand her?
Hoshiguma: She wasn't always like this, it's been three years since she's been so bitter... Ever since she got infected.
The giant spat out his drink through his nostrils as he heard this coming out of the oni's mouth. He had to move heaven and earth to get this information. And he had just heard it coming out of Hoshiguma's mouth as if nothing had happened? at an old ramen stand? And then he wondered how she could have known it...
Sebastian: But don't say that in the middle of the street!
Hoshiguma: Nobody listens to us. And the old man is half deaf.
Sebastian: How did you know that...
Hoshiguma: I saw her crystals on her body... She has them in her upper back and towards the inside of her upper thighs...
...
...
Hoshiguma: What?
she asked, looking at the giant who was blushing slightly.
Sebastian: And you think I don't know in what situation you saw them?
The oni looked ahead and widened her eyes in realization.
Hoshiguma: Listen, it was two years ago, we knew each other well, one night we were drunk and lonely so...
The young woman hid her face in her forearms which were on the counter of the stand.
Sebastian: So you like her hub...
Hoshiguma: N-no... I mean... It's just that Ch'en is... Ch'en... We've been through so much together... I can never get her out of my head... I feel things in my stomach... it reminds me of how I feel when I think about you... Yeah it's exactly the same, the same feelings...
Sebastian: 'So now she's just admitted to me that she was in love with me and her colleague and the biggest secret in this town in thirty seconds... That girl talks too much when she's drunk.' Uh-oh? So, swinging both sides inspector ?
Hoshiguma: N-no! I mean... M-maybe... I really like you... But I think I feel something for both of you...
She said her tone of voice indicating that she was close to fainting so much she had drunk. Then the giant stood up, and he grabbed one of the oni's arms to put it over his shoulders.
Sebastian: Come on, let's get out of here before you say any more embarrassing things for yourself or we empty the old man's liquor supply.
Hoshiguma: Ok...
The oni stood up and the two of them started walking through the streets like the two drinking buddies they were. Sebastian leaving a nice amount of lmd for all the booze…
Sebastian: Just a little more effort, you still have a lot to tell me.
Hoshiguma: Hey are you sure you want to spend the rest of the night with me? The others at Rhodes might get worried if you don't show up for the whole night...
Sebastian: Aye, don't worry about me. I'm a big boy. And I could spend much more time with you...
Hoshiguma: D-dumbass stop making me blush...
Sebastian: No, that's the five liters of sake you drank that makes your cheeks red.
The two of them managed to climb the few steps of the stairs in front of the oni's house. Who herself only managed to unlock the door of her apartment with difficulty.
Hoshiguma: Welcome to my home.
She said, throwing her keys on the living room table. The doctor looked at her apartment and noticed that apart from the presence of many green plants and a cat sleeping on the couch in the living room, the apartment was very classical.
A kitchen with a dining table and four chairs, a living room with a television and a sofa and three other doors that presumably led to the garage, the bedroom and the bathroom. He watched as Hoshiguma took off her shoes and tossed them haphazardly into the darkness near the couch, before opening the door to her room to enter, leaving the door open. And as the doctor followed like a donkey after a carrot he realized what he was about to do when he had his hand on the door handle.
Obviously if he went into that room, it wasn't a tennis match he was going to make with the oni. So he had to make a decision.
She was attractive. In body and in spirit. But still... He had a simple code of honor. That he managed to remember in this situation.
Never with a drunk woman.
So he closed the door with a sigh.
Sebastian: Well, the couch is it...
- A few hours later -
Lungmen 6:07 am time: clear sky
An old zalak was walking in a park, the golden rays of the dawn sun illuminating the plants and his frail body. The old man, satisfied with this beautiful view, walked to a bench in front of a pond. Soon another man sat down next to the zalak. A raceless one.
Sebastian: Beautiful day, isn't it?
? ?: You'd better tell me what you have to say quickly or get out of here before I order my guards to kill you.
Sebastian: Mr. Lin... Is it a habit of yours to threaten the poor people who have the misfortune to sit next to you?
? ?: Not when they're just poor people ... I know who you are.
Sebastian: So do I, rat king.
Sebastian: Just as I know that your daughter is getting ready for her college classes right now, and that the four guards watching over you were knocked out by me
Rat King: So are these threats?
Sebastian: No, it's just a courtesy for you to take me seriously.
Rat King: What do you want from me?
Sebastian: You have a much better network of information about this city than I do. So I have a favor to ask.
From his large gray coat, the doctor pulls out a file. Misha's file. And handed it to the old rat.
Rat King: A file from the L.G.D.?
Sebastian: They won't realize I borrowed it.
The zalak looked at the pictures of the girl in the file.
Sebastian: I want you to find her. As soon as possible.
Rat King: And what's in it for me?
Sebastian: Anything you ask.
The old man let out a mocking laugh.
Rat King: Then it will be ten million LMD.
Immediately the giant took his phone out of his pocket and tapped it before putting it away. Confused the zalak was brought back to reality when he received a notification on his phone. He looked down and saw that he had just received ten million LMD into his personal account... His mouth was wide open in surprise and he looked back at the giant who had a cold face.
Sebastian: Double that when you finish your job. She was taken by the reunion.
Rat King: I thought Rhodes Island wasn't really financially secure.
Sebastian: I'm not Rhodes Island. This is from my personal account.
Rat King: You are a strange man...
Sebastian: I know.
Rat King: Well... In spite of your clear lack of tact and good manners I will ask my men to find this girl... After all it's a pretty penny you're offering for this...
Sebastian: I'm glad you like it. Here is my number. I'm waiting to see the results.
He says, placing a piece of paper next to him before getting up to leave, a plastic bag in his hand.
Sebastian: Goodbye, Mr. Lin.
The old man watched the giant leave and laughed slightly.
Rat King : Yushia would like him...
- Lungmen 7:12 am time: clear -
An oni turned in his bed, waking up slowly. But when her nose perceived soft familiar smells she got up hungry by what smelled rudely good this morning... Then she realized that she could hear kitchen noises. So she got up and opened her bedroom door to look into the kitchen. She could see a giant in her kitchen, feeding a small piece of salmon to her cat. Then the giant sensing the presence turned to the young woman and gave her a beautiful smile.
Sebastian: Hi, did you sleep well?
Hoshiguma: It was just fine. 'I waited for three hours for you to join me...'
Sebastian: I'm glad it was.
Hoshiguma: I thought the fridge was empty...
Sebastian: It was. I did some shopping. After what you did for me last night, I can buy you breakfast. Besides it's ready.
He said by putting a tray just in front of where the oni had just sat. She could see on the tray a bowl of rice, another of miso soup, a salmon filet and finally some rolled omelet.
Hoshiguma: Huh? Why did you make a Higashian breakfast?
Sebastian: Didn't knew what could please your tastes, so I decided to make something that could remind you of home.
Hoshiguma: Thank you...
The doctor sat down in front of her with the same tray and took his chopsticks.
Sebastian/Hoshiguma: Bon appetit/Itadakemasu.
The girl started to take a piece of the salmon fillet and was immediately overwhelmed with joy. She put her chopsticks on the plate, forcing the giant to look at her.
Hoshiguma: Do you put drugs in your food?
Sebastian: Huh... No...
Hoshiguma: Then why is everything you cook always so delicious?
She says before gobbling down the rest of her meal greedily.
Sebastian: Just putting love in what I cook...
After a few minutes of eating and talking, Sebastian started to wash the dishes, making the oni think of one thing.
Hoshiguma: 'he would make a golden husband...'
A vibration in Sebastian's pocket made him look at his phone to see that he had received several messages from an unknown number, and quickly his facial expression changed.
Hoshiguma: What's going on?
Sebastian: Troops from the reunion were spotted marching in the desert south of the city.
The doctor dropped the rag in his hand and quickly sent all the information he had to Kal'tsit and Amiya.
Sebastian: I'll have to go.
Hoshiguma: Wait! Let the L.G.D. help... Even though we screwed up yesterday... I know we're trying to do our best, and so is Ch'en she also wants to find the kid believe me.
The giant looked at her as he was already preparing to leave and seemed to hesitate as he met her eyes.
Hoshiguma: Please...
Sebastian: *sigh* Fine.
The giant sent the information he had to Ch'en, having retrieved her phone number by the same means as all his other information. Via the shadows... The giant opened the door and took out the oni following him at a walk. The two of them got on the motorcycle and after looking for a few seconds at the place where she had to go, she started the giant sitting right behind her once again and the two of them started to ride through the streets of Lungmen. And although being a peace officer, Hoshiguma didn't seem to be bothered by the speed limits...
The two found companions arrived early in the morning just outside a warehouse on the edge of town from which only a desert was visible. The Rhodes Island trucks were there, as well as the few remaining L.G.D. armored cars, and under a tent without walls that had been put up in a hurry, around a camp table could be seen the two other Rhodes Island leaders as well as Ch'en and Wei Yenwu.
Sebastian: Shit, the top guys are here...
Hoshiguma: I was thinking the same thing...
She said as she removed her helmet, climbing down from the motorcycle at the same time as the giant, the two of them starting to walk straight towards the meeting. Their arrival made all the participants of the meeting turn around and stop the discussions. But in any case, everyone wondered why the two arrived together.
Sebastian: Sorry for the delay. There was traffic on Third Avenue.
Wei: Ms. Hoshiguma, are you driving a cab for the members of Rhodes Island now?
Hoshiguma: I just picked him up on the way when I saw that he was walking down the street.
Said the oni while joining the sides of the lung and greeting her. But when Sebastian joined the members of Rhodes Island... Amiya gave him a smile and a wave of the hand as a greeting. But Kal'tsit... She punched him in the face.
Kal'tsit: That's for telling me to go fuck myself.
And then she punched him again.
Kal'tsit: That's for stealing my chlorophyte vials again.
And another one.
Kal'tsit: That's for disobeying my orders when I told you not to show your face.
And another one...
Kal'tsit: And this is for disobeying my orders when I told you not to take part in the fight at the extraction point.
The feline finished her four punches under the stunned eyes of the others. But this was mainly because even though the feline had struck with full force, the doctor had not blinked or moved a millimeter.
Catapult: I think the boss is pissed off...
Midnight: Nah, you think?
Said the operators, alongside the other Rhodes Islanders who were readying their weapons a few feet away from the meeting table.
Sebastian : Is that all?
Kal'tsit: I think so... Oh, also.
She held out her hand again, but this time she opened it to give four vials of chlorophyte.
Kal'tsit: Don't get hurt too much this time.
Sebastian: Thank you.
The giant turned to the meeting table facing the Lungmen leader. Stowing the healing vials in his holster and revealing for a brief moment all the weapons he carried carelessly under his long gray coat.
Sebastian: Sorry for the delay.
The lung looked into the emerald eyes for the first time, closing his mouth that was open from the surprise of the punishment the good doctor accepted without flinching. And he tried to judge the opponent in front of him. Like the last time... When he looked at him, his instincts screamed danger...
Wei: Doctor Sebastian... I see that after yesterday's events you have decided to show your true colors...
Sebastian: The situation demands it.
Wei: And I thought you were a man of words and intellect. I didn't imagine you to hide the stock of blacksteel weapons on you during a peaceful meeting.
Sebastian: I think you're a bad person to say that to me when you're trying to hide a knife and smoke bombs under your coat. Not to mention your shadow guard hidden inside the warehouse.
Wei gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with anger.
Wei: But how do you know, you stupid-
Ch'en: Hm hm.
The lung cleared her throat to keep the Lungmen leader from saying more without meaning to.
Wei: I hope that the information you're bringing out of nowhere is correct...
Sebastian: Thank Lin Kojui for this information.
The three Lungmenites in front of him widened their eyes when they heard the source of Sebastian's information.
Wei: I hope this is a joke...? You are really bringing me information from a crime lord...
Like a beast he snarled.
Sebastian: I didn't take his word for it... That's why...
Suddenly in the sky, a roar that could hardly be heard just before was heard clearly this time. Some people looked up into the sky and Sebastian recognized the sound.
The sound of a jet.
But the ordinary people of Terra, not used to hearing this noise, looked up to see the planes flying overhead.
Wei: What the hell? Lungmen don't own this kind of aircraft!
Kal'tsit: Neither does Rhode Island...
Sebastian: But the Union Army does. And they are willing to do anything for a little money. Like doing an aerial survey... I got confirmation from them that a mixed group, guerrilla forces, crownslayer, skullshatterer, and a group of unidentified sarkaz are heading through the canyons straight for either the mines, the forest, or the south south east exit.
Kal'tsit: They're definitely heading for the exit.
Wei: Is that what Rhodes Island usually does ? Engage world power armies to help them in their operation on another country soil…
Sebastian: That's what I do. I'm sorry mister Wei but the time is no longer for holding back all my cards in my sleeve. Plus we can't know where they are heading precisely Kal. The only good option is to follow them closely.
Amiya: Doctor... You did talked about the guerilla...
Sebastian: Hm. I ran into the Patriot forces yesterday. And the man himself.
Now it was Kal'tsit's turn to be surprised...
Kal'tsit: It's one thing to face his men. Facing him is another...
Sebastian: It will only be the second time...
Amiya/Kal'tsit: Sorry?!
Sebastian : Oh, I didn't put it in my report on the Peterheim mission... Anyway. I cut his spinal cord. But he's a wendigo. He could be up and about by now or would need a few hours more to be a danger.
Kal'tsit: So that's a lot of extra danger to put in the balance... And not on our side.
Sebastian: I still have a few tricks up my sleeve Kal. We'll get through this.
Kal'tsit: If you say so Doc...
Wei: I see... Then Rhodes Island really is hiding so much of its strength...
Sebastian: Don't believe it, Mr. Wei. I am not Rhodes Island. Those cards that are revealed are mine.
Wei: ... 'That is why Rhodes Island is so dangerous… This man… How many other moves he still hides…'
Sebastian: Well, is everyone ready on both sides?
Ch'en: The L.G.D. troops are ready since the meeting started.
Amiya: Rhodes too.
Sebastian: Well then the second joint operation between L.G.D. and Rhodes Island can start.
The members around him nodded before parting. Amiya returned to his side as Kal'tsit left, as did Hoshiguma and Ch'en who joined their troops.
Amiya: Doktah. I have a gift for you.
Sebastian: Excuse me?
The young woman pointed to a large Rhodes Island military crate on their way and opened it. Inside she revealed a few things to refill the doctor's equipment, as well as his beret, radio equipment other than the metal helmet he had discarded earlier, and a bulletproof vest, and bulletproof elbow and knee pads and finally a pair of black gloves.
He looked at his beloved cautus and stroked her head giving her a smile.
Sebastian: What would I do without you...
Amiya: Eh eh...
In only three seconds the doctor equipped himself with everything he had found in the box, testifying to the experience by his speed, leaving his long grey coat inside.
The giant thus equipped looked infinitely more like a soldier or other Rhodes Island operator than the usual commander or doctor. But one thing was certain.
He was cool looking as hell.
Seeing that Ch'en was walking beside him he turned to her with an idea in mind.
Sebastian: Miss Ch'en ?
Ch'en: Hm ?
He could see on her face that she didn't really wanted to talk. Still bitter of the memory he left on her face yesterday. But she was surprised when she saw the doctor bending forward in an apologetic manner.
Sebastian: I am deeply sorry for yesterday and how I acted. I should have acted in a wiser manner at the failure of the mission. I am also sorry for the men you lost.
The giant raised to his full height and looked at the lung in front of him.
Sebastian: I hope this joint operation will have a better result for both parts.
Ch'en: Don't fuck it up this time.
A vein appeared on the forehead of the giant, but he held back his insults as the lung walked away. A bit far away he could see the oni giving a sigh and a thumb meaning at least it was good on his part.
But the green haired woman didn't lie. Ch'en really could be a bitch sometimes.
He turned to his operators and prepared to speak.
Sebastian: Reserve teams, are you there?
Melantha/Orchid/Fang: Present, sir!
Sebastian: Blacksteel ?
Liskarm: Present!
Sebastian: Penguin Logistics ?
Texas: Present-
Exusiai: We are here! Leader!
Sebastian: And finally the two party crashers...
He says, turning his gaze to Andreanna and W.
Andreanna/W: Here doc! / Fuck you.
Sebastian: 'That was to be expected...' Right. We have only one objective on this mission. It's not to get an important target or anything. No, that's for the reports. What we want is to save the girl called Misha! It's not going to be fun! We're outnumbered and some of you may have already heard, but we've got the guerrilla forces of the northern tundras against us! But this time I won't stand by and watch, I'll be with you all the way! So come on Rhodes Island! Let's show them what we're made of!
The Rhodes Island troops gave a shout of determination before marching off, with the doctor leading the column and Amiya beside him.
Sebastian: Amiya, are you ready?
Amiya: Always. Let's go save Misha, doktah.
The doctor had determination plastered on his face. His green eyes seemed to glow as he walked into the desert, he reflexively put his earpiece back on, feeling more powerful than ever when he had his soldiers walking behind him.
This time he was going to give reunion one hell of a fight.
