NOVEL NEXT 722. The Onset of Violence
Gerina cradled her Royal Seal.
Soon, she would have to handle the burden of slaying her family with her own two hands. It was never her first option, and it never fully manifested in her mind until the hours before the planned assault.
She hurled the contents of her stomach into a minecart, unable to keep her thoughts together. Clammy hands tried to keep her upright, and the unkempt giggles of D-13 did not help her either.
“Do I see stale bread? Oh, and is that mutton? Rest assured~ Frost will be clearing that oversize mausoleum for us. The hard part is moving unnoticed.” D-13 tried to offer some comforting words, only to annoy Gerina.
“Is that why she’s been under the weather?” Lucy questioned, hovering beside the princess. “Take this and heal. This isn’t the time to get sick.”
She deployed Healing magic to help Gerina fight through her sickness, but it seemed to be a symptom of a psychological battle. Gerina had no problems cutting down the heads of those who impeded her in the past, and her stalwart heart should not have felt anything to what was left of her family.
In her heart she believed that she was prepared to cleave her blade through their necks, but somewhere deep down she knew that it would not be so simple.
“Regicide and assassinations amongst family members of the royal court shouldn’t be an uncommon sight to you.” D-13 hummed. “It’s the norm. The status quo. A king can live for a very long time. His sons will live in his shadows till the day they die. Most kings will not have children to preserve their power. Or don’t tell me, all your siblings are well and alive?”
“If you can call living like that as being alive… Forget me. I’ve been trying to prepare myself for when things devolve into this, but it became my only option.”
The princess had attempted all avenues to bring the Bellum Empire back.
“The courts of the Empire did nothing when I initially tried to pursue the chaos in the north. It spiraled to confronting Dukes, Barons, their nobles, trying to speak some sense into my brothers and sisters. I watched this Empire die before my eyes. In their eyes… it was only flourishing…”
After exhausting all options, she had arrived at her current conclusion for some time now. But it was not until she met Frost that she realized it was achievable. Many of her soldiers did not know how to wield a sword when she first found them, and neither were they strong enough to face the Memento Mori.
But none of them had ever said to Gerina that it was impossible to take back the Bellum Empire. It was because of this that she had not yet lost her way, and before long, she managed to salvage her mind.
The steel minecart groaned under the might of her grip. The Black Dove cleansed her with magic as she said:
“Your first mistake was trying to resolve it peacefully.”
“Wouldn’t you want to try to resolve it without resorting bloodshed first?”
“That’s not how it works in Grandis.” Lucy reminded. “Idealism gets people killed if you don’t have the power to reinforce it. It took a long time for Healers to realize that innocence doesn’t belong in this world. At least not outside of the Nexus.”
“Violence, hm.” Cara approached the group, wielding a red Talon over her shoulder.
This Talon was usually referred to as a Repeater, similar to the mana firearm that Usa used to exclusively wield. Like the Talons, they weighed several tons and could only be wielded by the Tear Retrievers.
There were blue, slightly glowing nodes found across their body suits, with a larger one just in the center of their chest and on the back of their hands. These were devices developed by Caldera Industries which allowed one to wield the red Talons, and to have it gravitationally locked to their person.
Black Wings had something similar, but it was far more discreet. The Red Talons were just like ordinary Standard Talons, having high output damage and fired at a comfortable rate of 30 bullets per minute.
“Violence is a stapple in Grandis. Let’s not pretend that Grandis wasn’t founded on atrocities. Trying weasel into politics, begging people to stop the travesty, people waiting for something to change without action…”
Cara showed her perpetually bleeding wrists – Her Corrupted Persona, Solemn Repent, which was born from a colleague that had taken their own life the moment they were freed from Scarlet Logic’s grasp.
Each cut was in the shape of sealed, weeping eyes.
“… None of that works. But I guess it would in an ideal world. Just not here. Not in your Empire. The sad thing is that it’s impossible for normal folks to take matters into their own hands.”
“I can’t tell if you’re praising me.” Gerina sighed, watching over her loyal soldiers from above the wide staircase near the entrance. “We were always fighting. Political discourse is just another front until my face was plastered on the walls of every city. My soldiers have their own way of fighting, and that’s just to keep my people safe.”
“Good answer.” Cara said. “Captain. How are the Tear Retrievers looking?”
The bunny-girl hopped along and gave Cara a floppy salute, whilst simultaneously wiping her brow of sweat.
“We’re in perfect condition, Manager! Everyone’s eager and itching for a fight! Anpu will take lead as usual.”
“As expected. Round everyone up and keep a few on standby. D-13, Wayfarer.” Cara directly addressed the two.
“Yes, Ex-Collector?” D-13 hummed.
“Remain here at all costs. Wayfarer. Don’t let her leave your sight or there’ll be problems. Captain.”
“Yes Manager~!”
“Tell the Vice Captain that they’ll be staying here. A giant Scarlet Wolf is bound to draw attention to us. Leave a few of our Tear Retrievers here to assist with Gerina’s men. You’re listening on our channels too, aren’t you Gerina?”
“I am.”
Cara nodded to herself, then to Usua and several other distant faces who wore the same bodysuit.
“Then have your men ready to start herding people to safety. Frost is going to storm your palace. I don’t have to tell you to imagine the carnage that’ll follow in the Capital. Waves of Librarians will begin assaulting the palace right behind her.”
Lucy checked the oversized magazine of her weapon, counting exactly 30 bullets. When she took one out, another bullet took its place after a few seconds thanks to Galia’s technology.
“And us, since we’ll need you inside of the Palace. I would say bring your men along, but they’d be fodder at best. I’m glad you recognize that. Captain. Get them ready.”
“Will do, Manager~!”
Usa strangely reminded Gerina of someone. In fact, she looked identical to a rabbit-girl she had seen in the past. Noticing her gaze, Lucy answered with:
“Not the first time you’ve seen her? Déjà vu? There are a lot of ‘Usas’ out there; rabbit Demi-Humans who excel at handling firearms. She was over-cloned by an old friend of the Nexus. The place I used to work in kept a bunch of her in cold storage as a buffer for when things went down. It might even be why Rosenrot assaulted that place.” Lucy spoke like it was common knowledge.
“Rosenrot? Now that is a name I haven’t heard in along time.” D-13 shivered in ecstasy, her eyes lingering on Cara’s bleeding wrist. Were she a Scarlet Healer, then she would have released a deluge of drool. “My role is to just stay here….? Hmm. Give me a few vials of Serum H, and I can save many more people.”
Her clawed fingertips rubbed against each other like a knife and steel; whetting them as she fantasized of issuing her form of salvation.
“A shame that we don’t have Serum I – Inoculation. Scarlet Logic always had a profound method of finding those injected with it. I thank the Strings.”
“Wayfarer. Tape her mouth shut and keep her still.” Lucy commanded, and the Elven Wayfarer nodded.
“You wouldn’t do the same if you had people come to you to die?” D-13 asked with a cocked head.
The Raven did not entertain her. Rather, she gave the Wandering Healer a scornful look.
Lucy fiddled with two kinds of bullets, a healing bullets and one that could only kill.
“Come with me.” He took D-13 by the wrist, dragging her away. “We’re the ones being rescued this time. Besides, my role and namesake are to solely to protect you.”
“Is that why we both ended up like human pincushions?” Nothing D-13 said could get through a Wayfarer.
They were trained specifically to be able to deal with them both psychologically and physically, should there be an event where a Wandering Healer attacked them.
It was a role for only the most patient.
With D-13 out of the way, Gerina pulled herself free from the minecart and raised a hand. A swarm of dozens of soldiers climbed the staircase after setting down their personal belongings. They were already adorned in armor and apparel to blend within the Capital.
“My loyal soldiers, we’ll be moving soon. Gather your weapons and equipment. Say what you need to each other in these final minutes before our departure! Remember their names and carry their wills onwards!”
They were enraptured by the flames in Gerina’s eyes, and the passion carried by her voice.
“Never forget what they stole from us! Never forget who allowed them to take root in our nation! The Bellum Empire will be ours by sunrise! Soldiers of the Celestial Heavens have favored us! We will not fail!”
Deities of the Nexus. This is what they called the Tear Retrieves and the Exalted who were stationed here prior. Mostly, their reverence fell onto an expressionless Anpu who oversaw their rally. Their conviction impressed him, and despite their weakness, they had their own role to play in the conflict.
“They’ll be there to guide people to safety while we’ll focus on combat. The amplification Gift will also provide a much-needed warning to the surrounding cities.”
Anpu commented, speaking to the Aspiring Moons in an educative manner.
“Moons never did take this approach, nor were we so coordinated to begin with. They will save many more lives than we can. Do not forget that Moons of the past were not concerned about who or what we save. We simply needed to neutralize the threat at any cost. Often, there wouldn’t be anyone left to thank us.”
Gerina’s men would also use the chaos to gather evidence and capture political allies to her family. She yearned for the heads of those who turned their backs against her Empire. Everything needed to be uprooted, and only could her men trudge through the mud of the feet of titans.
The evil within the Bellum Empire needed to be uprooted here and now.
“When do we leave, Princess!?” One called through the choirs of roars.
She glanced over at Anpu, who held a hand to his ear. A single nod was all that was needed to convey his thoughts.
“WE DEPART NOW! May the Nexus grace us with their light!”
