2. Chapter 1: Behind enemy lines

CHAPTER 1:BEHIND ENEMY LINES.

Once more, the group froze as a roaring beast sped past them. Once it was far enough, they relaxed under Emroy's veil.

"How can they live with such beasts moving in their cities?" asked Gelt in a panicked voice.

Ygar eyed cautiously one similar beast nearby, although this one had its eyes closed and didn't seem to move. It had no legs, but wheels made from some kind of black material.

"I do not think they're beasts… They have wheels. Chariots? Iron chariots?"

At Ygar's comment, Gelt managed to calm down a little.

"You're… Surely right. Doesn't tell how they move, but let's go, we need to find a secure place before dawn comes. And some of us really need to bathe. It's getting hot under that veil."

Velgard completely ignored the remark, focusing on the environment. They had been walking for quite some time now, and there was still no sign of reaching the city limits. No guards as well, which was a blessing in disguise for their mission. All that surrounded them were towers of varying size, but all of them easily dwarfed the best imperial constructions.

"I still wonder how they build those…" wondered Olva. The new world had many wonders, the ability to build so high being one of them.

"It reminds me of the Dassani tribes… We were there with Velgard about ten years ago, they live on the outer edge of the Western Desert. They live in troglodyte homes, dug out from really high stone spires sticking out of the ground. Maybe this place was built with similar means?"

Ygar's explanation made more sense than anything they could imagine, and with their curiosity at least a little bit sated the resumed their search, occasionally commenting on the strange and almost godly sights all around.

It was only after walking all night and when the sky started to turn orange that a suitable place presented itself. A patch of forest seemingly left unbuilt inside the city, with a red stone structure that seemed to be some kind of gate to a path leading to a primarily wooden construction. All around, the large towers had disappeared to give in to more simple houses that the Saderan bourgeoisie could have lived in. Considering the architecture difference and the small size of the place in front of them, it looked like to be a shrine or a temple. But the important part was that the trees looked dense enough to provide cover during the day.

And to be fair, it relaxed the group that felt like they had been walking in a rock and steel labyrinth. Checking that no bystander was around, they removed Emroy's veil from their shoulders and easily climbed the fence. Once far enough in the trees to be hidden, covers were laid out and all slept soundly, except for those unfortunate enough chosen for guard duty.

The whole next day was thankfully uneventful, the group staying low amidst the vegetation. They had taken a very low amount of supplies initially with the idea that they would be able to scavenge from the land. The thing was, in this sprawling city there seemed to be nothing natural to scavenge, unless they wanted to eat tree bark and grass.

With the dimming light of day, a discussion was taking place as to what the plans would be for the night. There was a lot to do, and little time.

"…Haven't seen any armed guards last night, but those uniformed people that roamed around the gate, maybe they were? I suppose their black staves are maces or magic items?"

Olva was quick to answer Ygar's query.

"No, I haven't felt any magic coming from them. In fact, I haven't felt any magic except mine since coming to this world… Maybe they're just dumb? No sane leader would leave city guards unarmoured. All they have is this… Weird black staff for those dressed in green. And even worse, those dressed in blue had no weapon that I could see."

All took a moment to think about it, until Gelt broke the silence.

"Maybe they weren't guards? After all, they were also those that had white robes, near the gate, unarmoured too. "

It made little sense. For anyone, having a foreign structure suddenly appear in the middle of the city would at least make people wary. But near the gate, the closest things to guards they could see where those men in blue, green and white who seemed to have no armour and no proper weapons.

"Let's forget about that." Began Ygar. "We have to scout out this city, find the strongholds or any important structure and draw a map. I propose we go by groups of two in different directions, and meet again when the moon is at highest at this place we passed by earlier. It had all sorts of ladders, swings and small open houses. I will go north with Geld, Velgard and Olva will go south."

Without knowing about it, Ygar was describing a playground they had passed the night prior. After receiving approving nods from everyone, it was a simple matter of waiting until night fell completely.But even when night fell, it wasn't ideal. Strong lights coming from metal poles left little shadow to hide, and with their battle gear they didn't really fit in with the civilian population.

What was also surprising was the number of people in the streets. Even when night had fallen, a few people still roamed about, forcing the mercenaries to stand down.

"Damn it" hissed Gelt. "Why are there people outside so late?"

The three mercenaries ignored the centurion's comment, having long learned that complaining about a situation you could do nothing about was useless. However, it gave a good idea to Olva.

"If we can't scout during the day and during the night, we'll have to find some clothes and explore when we can. We only have a few days after all."

The senate had only given them a few days to explore and get to know a rough outline of the land. A week at most. The invasion order would be launched whether or not they came back. And if they failed, not only would they wouldn't be rewarded, their reputation would plummet, and work opportunities along.

"Then, " began Ygar, "we should break into a home, get some clothes and local currency so we can fit in. I haven't seen other non-humans yet Velgard, so I don't know if there's going to be something for you."

The wolfman groaned.

"I guess I'll have to do with what I have then."

They waited even more, and it was only when the moon was at highest that the street lights shut off. Fortunately, there seemed to be not a soul in the streets too. Under the cover of the night, they walked off the wooden grove. As the choice of the house to raid didn't matter, they picked the closest one. It was a relatively common one, at least in comparison to all the other houses around. One large fence closed a path on which one of the iron chariots rested, this one thankfully with its light off and no roaring sound. A smaller gate led to the door. The house itself consisted of a main floor, and a first floor with a seemingly flat roof. With the smaller gate left unlocked they entered and closed it behind them.

"Alright," Began Ygar, "Remember that we have to do it silently. Me and Geld will go from the front, Velgard and Olva look for other exits and block them."

Geld raised his voice.

"We can't leave them alive either, we don't want them to babble about our looks to the enemy."

Olva was the first to react.

"We can't just kill them!" She furiously whispered. "What if they surrender?! Do we just slaughter them, women and children included?"

He looked at her with a cold gaze.

"Should I tell the senate AND the emperor the whole mission was compromised because you were too soft to kill?"

Ygar sent him a dark look, but he had to agree. They had to leave the least amount of clues about their presence, and killing was certainly the most effective way of silencing. Yes, the bodies would soon be discovered. But provided no one else came into the house, it would take a few days and they would be long gone at this point.

With that in mind, as Ygar and Geld knocked at the door, Olva got around the house by the left while Velgard took the right.

Kenichi was a simple salaryman, with a simple life. He had a family, a job, a house, a car and every modern amenity needed. While it wasn't rare for him to be in the red at the end of some months, it wasn't something that forced him to change his lifestyle either. But if there was one skill Kenichi was proud of, it was hunting. He enjoyed the thrill of the hunt, the kick of the shot against his shoulder and the pride of seeing the result of perfect aim. And right now, as hunting season was about to start, he was already thinking about what to prepare, happily humming.

So when someone knocked at the door, he sighed, thinking about who could interrupt his dinner with the family. His wife simply smiled, put back the fork on the table and went to answer. Kenichi looked warmly at his sons, two boys eight and thirteen years old respectively who wolfed the contents of their plates. Through the open door of the kitchen, he heard his wife talking with the person who knocked.

"Excuse me, who is it?"

"Secede, mulier!"

Foreigners? Kenichi had come into contact with foreigners only a few times and even then, his broken English was quite bad. His train of thought was interrupted when he heard a noise. Something had hit a compact material, and was followed by a scream of pain. He recognized it immediately. His wife was screaming. He immediately got straight up, knocking his chair down and scaring his kids who stopped eating.

Things were quite hectic in Kenichi's mind. On one hand, he wanted to go look at what happened at the front door, on the other hand he was a bit scared. One detached corner of his mind was already screaming at him to run, but he couldn't. He had sons to protect.

The sounds of people running came closer to the kitchen, and his wife barged in, followed by a foreigner holding an axe and a shield. The incongruity of the situation surprised him, but what he saw quickly made him focus. Her whole left waist seemed to be covered in blood.

"PROTECT THE KIDS, KENI-"

Her shout was interrupted when the foreigner slashed with his weapon and silenced her. Immediately, two choices presented themselves in Kenichi's mind. Try to save his dying wife, or run with the kids. When he saw the foreigner's look, he immediately chose the second option. There was no time to lose.

"Akito, Haru!"

Without waiting for their answer, he grabbed them by the hand and pulled them as he dashed to the living room. He could feel the youngest, Haru, losing balance so he pulled him and forcibly took him in the arms. Once in the room, he closed back the door behind him and ran to the glass door leading to the garden.

"Akito, get outside, quickly!"

A little confused by the events, the boy named Akito opened the glass door and stepped outside.Only to be met with a literal monster. A hybrid of a human and a wolf, towering at least three times his height. He didn't get to feel anything, as the beginning of his scream was cut short by a knife stab. As he witnessed this, Kenichi's heart sunk. He had lost his wife. He had lost his first son. He wouldn't lose his second son.

Grabbing Haru in his arms and with tears in the eyes, he shut the glass door and went back into the living room. On one side, the foreigner with the axe burst in the room, while the sound of shattered glass behind signified that the wolf-like monster had broken in. His last route of escape being the stairs leading to the first floor, he rushed in, jumping the steps three by three. Behind him, the noise of multiple people giving chase only made him take more risks to outrun them.

Once up the floor, he rushed to the bedroom he usually shared with his wife, locked the door, put a chair against it and sat his son on the bed.

"Haru, daddy will have to do bad things…" His voice was cut with sobs and his sight blurred by the tears. "Close your eyes and cover your ears, alright? Everything's going to be alright…"

Kenichi smiled, caressing with a trembling hand the smooth hair of his son. The poor kid was too young to understand what was happening, and he smiled at his dad before doing what was asked. Then, Kenichi rushed to the wall cabinet, opened it, threw the clothes away until he found what he was looking for: a long safe, closed by a digital code. He clicked the right buttons and the safe opened, revealing his trusty hunting rifle and a carton box of shells.

He grabbed the rifle in one hand and the box in the other. Too anxious, nervous and afraid, the box slipped from his hand and the shells clattered against the ground. Kenichi fell on his knees and grabbed a fistful of them. Behind him, the noise of cracking wood and loud thuds meant the door would hold for a few more seconds at best.

He had experience in using his rifle. But loading a weapon in preparation for a careful shot and loading under extreme stress and with his own life and his son's at risk were two different things. He broke the action, inserted one cartridge, the rest of the shells slipped from his fingers. He was about to grab one from the ground when the door finally broke and another foreigner he hadn't seen before barged in. It was a man with some kind of scale armor and a sword in one hand.With no time to load the second shell, he closed the action, cocked the hammer and fired blindly in the direction of the foreigner.

Thunder spoke, and the strenght of multiple pellets fired from such a close range was enough to propulse him against the wall, shocking the rest of the invader group. The large wolf-like man was the first to react, rushing in and kicking away the rifle from Kenichi's hands.

It was over. It was all over. With a silent cry, he crawled to the bed, and knelt over his son. If there was one last thing he could do, then he would at least try to save him. A female voice spoke in a calm, almost regretful tone.

"Fortis fuisti, accippiat Emroy te in imperio suo..."

Then, the world turned white.

They had left in a hurry. The noise generated by the man's thunder stick had probably woken up the whole district and soon people would come to check. With speed in mind, Velgard had taken the unconscious Geld in his arms while Olva packed full a backpack they had found with all sorts of clothes and Ygar raided the house, taking anything that might have looked useful. Of course, Ygar had carefully packaged the thunder stick and some of the red cylinders. While he had no idea how it worked, seeing the effect on the centurion's armor was enough to tell it was extremely powerful.

As they ran, suddenly a noise started to grow in intensity. They literally couldn't describe it. It wasn't a scream or any voice, it wasn't a music instrument… Was it a product of magic? Maybe Olva was wrong in thinking magic didn't exist here?The question was quickly answered as from the corner of the street suddenly appeared a black and white iron chariot, with blinking red and blue lights on top of it. The vision froze the three members of the group still conscious, but at the last moment they managed to hide behind a street corner.It was as if madness had overtaken one of the chariots, its belly roaring angrily as it picked an impossible speed, the unnatural lights hurting the eyes and casting terrifying shadows around while a loud scream of alien noise assaulted their ears. It sped past them, and it took them a good moment to get back control of their limbs.

Still shocked, they acted as if they were automated constructs, searching for a place to rest to look after the wounded Gelt. And with the commotion generated in the house, going back into the wooden area was out of the question. They needed to go far, far away.

Hello there, author here.

I will start by telling this: I am not taking a real map of Tokyo to write the story. You can consider I am using an "alternate" Tokyo, where I only pick a few landmarks that will stay the same.

I don't have a clear upload schedule, I'll try to upload every saturday, but I might take a few more days to write if needed.

During this chapter, I fear I have written it a little bit dark, but that's what I wanted to portray. Don't hesitate to tell me if you're fine with this level of "graphicness" or if you'd rather want me to tone it down a bit.

And lastly: I have only seen the anime. As such, all my informations are from either the anime, either the internet. If there's an error in the lore, please tell so.

Reviews are very welcome!