Obscure War (8)

The Obscure Guild, inner layer.

The layer had five cities, each representing a different Cursed, the homes of the Five Seats, also known as the Five Capitals.

One of those cities was Dovure, the reptoid capital. It was prestigious. Dovure was known as the Obscure Guild's free city. In Dovure, the residents widely embraced the ideals of racial equality and non-discrimination. It was also the home of many famous personalities, the place to be for anyone working in literature, cinema, or media.

Zephyr Dragos, the Reptoid King, had transformed what was once the most depressive location out of the Five Capitals into a masterpiece riddled with jewels, gold and novelty.

It was a site anyone who could voyage in the Obscure Guild would see at least once. However, beneath the shiny blankets, it was a show of strength, an exhibition of what the Obscure Guild would never be for everyday people, and a way for the government to waste their hard-earned money instead of investing in the citizen's well-being.

It was Zephyr's genius method for controlling the masses.

Zephyr sat on his comfortable leather couch and looked at the view underneath his clawed feet. Through the enormous one-sided window of his living room, he saw his creation, a city he regarded as his own.

His skin was rough, a greenish-brown, sturdy like tree roots. He was very muscular, both a politician and an exceptional combattant. The unproportioned folded legs of reptoids allowed them to catapult themselves like grasshoppers. Through vigorous training, Zephyr attained legs sturdier than most of his kind.

"Zephyr, darling." Stana walked out of the corridor. She was his wife, an old energetic reptoid.

"Yes, love?" Zephyr looked at her with eyes on each side of his elongated face. Her ridiculous amount of makeup, golden accessories and colourful clothes made it seem like she was preparing for a theatrical performance at a festival.

"I've received a report from the second layer."

"How bad is it?"

"Worse than we thought. There are dozens of terrorist attacks. They are targeting important members and establishments. Gabriella Rivampe is trying to weaken us, and it's working."

…

Having accomplished their mission, Gabriella and Aaron went back to the pub. There were fewer soldiers than before. Some had died, and others were out doing their own assignments.

Gabriella wondered what Stephen was doing and what was next in the plan. She felt uncomfortable now that she was hiding from the media. People would start to worry, she thought. The rebels were all following Stephen, thinking it was Gabriella's plan. 'I feel like a charlatan.'

There were many people at her table. They were Aaron's new friends and comrades. Some were in their forties, but most were young adults. Everyone was celebrating their victory; no one of them had died.

After calming down, they began discussing about a serious matter. "The reptoids still haven't appeared. We can't find any of them." Said a young blonde woman.

"They must be hiding," a slim vampire glanced at Gabriella to see her reaction.

Aaron also looked at her and added, "Many human politicians have also disappeared."

The Vampiric Queen took a deep breath. "The reptoids' ability is to shapeshift. They can change from reptilians to humans. Some can take on tens of forms. As you might have guessed, most human politicians aren't really humans. The Obscure Guild is ruled by the cursed. One could be sitting among us, and no one would notice."

…

Zephyr stood up and kissed his wife.

"There's something else," she said, looking him in the eyes.

"What?"

"The humans… they've breached the Northeast outer gate."

His eyes widened. "How is that possible?"

Stana sighed, looking at her feet. "Tech-Think was in charge of surveillance. We fired all the old board members, but the new ones aren't as good… and the cyber-attacks made it harder for the company to operate."

"If only we still had Snoid," Zephyr frowned.

He regained his calm. "Whatever. It'll take a lot of manpower to get past the first layer. Each major city has its own set of walls for protection. Order the troops heading to the Topaz Guild to move to the first layer instead."

"Alright."

"Let's get on with the initial plan now." Show me how you perfected the form.

Stana smiled. Veins suddenly popped on her greenish-brown skin, then her muscles contracted, and her hair became smooth and red, her face flattened, her legs straightened, and her skin became pale. At last, her purple veins disappeared. She had perfectly replicated Gabriella Rivampe's appearance.

Zephyr laughed and pressed on his earphone, activating the microphone.

"Initiate operation allusion."

…

Northeast City's Northeast Gate, First Layer.

The commander James Rack was leading the army. They stormed through the city's streets with their weapons in their hands and their magic ready. Robots were stationed at the front line to reduce the amount of human casualties. However, Rack did not fear death as he and some of his soldiers ran alongside the androids.

The commander held a megaphone as he shouted. One of Stephen's hackers transmitted the audio to everyone in the city. "We aren't here to kill! Stay inside your homes! However, we will kill anyone who doesn't oblige!"

Some didn't listen and came onto the streets: trained soldiers. Most of them were snake humanoids like Snoid.

"Don't look into their eyes!" Rack ordered. He knew of their hypnotic ability.

A string of robots pushed towards them while the rest fired accurately from a distance.

"Drop down your guns!" Rack shouted. They didn't comply.

James Rack was a metal magician. He could control this element with ease; he had almost mastered it. Before anyone could fire at him, metallic armour encased his body. Combined with his heavy laser rifle, he was lethal and nearly unstoppable.

However, the soldiers in the streets weren't alone. They had snipers, something Rack found out the hard way by getting hit. Placing his hand above the bullet hole in his armour and using magic to repair it, Rack called out to Seth.

"There's a sniper, Seth!"

The sniper was grinning. He knew he couldn't win this fight but wanted to at least take down the commander with him.

"Hey."

Shivers ran down his spine as he heard a cold, deep voice behind him. He turned around and saw a shadowy figure. It was Seth's image. The master-rank mage pushed him down the window, giving him a quick death.

Moments later, Seth appeared in Rack's shadow. "I'm done here. Clear this city yourself. I'll go to Shroud City's gate further south."

Rack nodded. "We came from the Northeast Gate. We'll push both South and West to arrive at the second layer's main gates, splitting our forces.

"Once done here, I'll send a third of our forces your way. The rest will follow Ejiro to provide support against the Obscure guild's army."

"Send him the best of the best. I fear the Topaz Guild will also send soldiers to confront them."

"Of course."

…

There was another sniper. She had climbed onto the roof of a tower where she had an easy view of the gate.

Spotting her, Ejiro flew over. She quickly got up and let go of her sniper. Two daggers began floating around her waist.

Ejiro grinned. "I see you are a telekinesist."

"And you're a vampire," she grumbled.