11. Chapter 10: A flashy end

CHAPTER 10: A FLASHY END

They had to act quick. The more the dog barked at the truck, the more soldiers got interested, and through a small opening in the green tarp they could see that a few soldiers were heading to the back of the truck with their weapons raised.

There was a small door leading to the front of the truck from the holding area. And thankfully, it didn't seem locked. Grabbing a knife, Ygar bashed it open and quickly assessed the place. At his left a seat in which a confused green guard was looking at him, and at his right another seat.

The guard reached for his weapon but Ygar was faster and applied his knife against the guard's neck. Slowly, he brought his hands up. Ygar disarmed his quickly, passing the small boxy weapon to Velgard in the back.

« Watashi o korosanaide kudasai! » he said with a panicked expression on his face. Knowing that words would be useless without the translator, Ygar pointed first to the driver, then to the large chariot he was driving, then to the gate in front of them. It was so close, yet so far! Only one street away! There was still a military roadblock and the defensive perimeter around the Gate to pass, but well… The chariot they were in seemed solid enough…

Having apparently understood, the guard slowly brought one hand on the wheel in front of him, and shifted a stick at his side with the other. The engine came to life with a roar, and the chariot slowly started gaining speed.

Outside, now all the soldiers had seen Ygar in the driving compartment and were raising their weapon in his direction. Yet, none shoot as the driver was still there. They were shouting orders and threats which fell on deaf ears as none of the mercenaries could understand them.

It was a surreal scene. Despite the rapidly rising tension and the fear and nervousness that came with it, the green guards didn't falter. The expression in their eyes only intensified as the black mouth of their weapons followed Ygar's movements. He knew those eyes.

There were multiple types of enemies. The youngster who didn't know anything about real life. The stuck-up prideful knight. The cowardly bandit. The rageful roar of a mindless beasts. The contempt of a mage who believed his magic invincible… All of those were enemies that Ygar had fought. Yet, in the eyes of those green guards, he was reminded of one type of enemy in particular. It was the glare of a professional killer. Of someone who knew where the weak points of a full plate armor were. Who knew where to hit precisely to kill in the most efficient way. Who stayed silent as he slaughtered droves of men with quick and efficient moves. Who didn't falter when ten men charged him, because he knows he will win… These were the most dangerous, and the green guard's glare definitely belonged in this category.

Ygar shuddered as the chariot drove past the last soldier of the checkpoint.

"I TOLD YOU SO! WHY ARE YOU LETTING THEM GO?!" screamed Gennosuke. He had them right under his nose! Again!

"Alright calm down Lady. You know what that truck has inside? A tank, tank fuel, and spare parts for the tank. Do you want me to turn this whole checkpoint into a smoking crater?"

After hearing this, Gennosuke quickly calmed down. However, it did little to quell the urgency of the situation.

"Lieutenant, can I have my cars follow that truck now?!"

The soldier clicked his tongue multiple times.

"No can do. I still can't allow civilians or policemen inside. Besides, HQ is now aware of the situation, the second checkpoint will be prepared to greet them."

Gennosuke raised his arms in the sky in frustration and looked at the developing situation with his feelings clearly showing on his face. Seeing this, the lieutenant slightly smiled.

"Don't worry inspector. We're soldiers, we'll get your criminals in no time. And- Oh, shit."

Something had caught the soldier's attention behind Gennosuke. Facing the scene, his face immediately sported a grimace.

At least three TV teams with cameras, microphone holders and journalists were racing in his direction to get a hold of what had just happened.

"And to think my day started so brightly…"

Ygar looked with apprehension the next checkpoint, in which the green guards were now ready to shoot with their rifles. Still, he maintained his grip on the knife. When the guards driving the chariot tried to deviate just a little bit or do any other move other than turning the wheel or moving the stick at his side, he put just a little more pressure to the blade.

He noticed one of the guards of the second checkpoint had a longer "rifle" than the other, with some kind of tube on top of the weapon. Of course, the weapon was aimed straight at him. Just to be sure, Ygar got a little closer to the guard driving the chariot.

That wouldn't help him. At the distance of less than a hundred meters, and with the truck driving straightforward, there was no way the sniper would miss. And he didn't.

The bullet easily broke the speed of sound, left a clean hole in the front glass of the truck, went right through Ygar's right lung, punctured the wall separating the front from the holding area of the truck then finished its course against a square metal box. Immediately, Ygar fell on the unoccupied seat at the front, screaming in pain.

The driving soldier immediately floored the brake lever with his right foot, but it was too late. The tires screamed as they screeched against the road, but the truck blasted open the metallic fence closing the second checkpoint with a loud crash and soldiers jumped out of the way to avoid a premature death. Unfortunately, not all of them. One of the soldiers on the road got a panic attack seeing this uncontrolled mass of havoc and stood paralyzed.

The driving soldier turned the steering wheel to avoid him and the truck took a sharp turn to the right. In normal times, that would have been it and the truck would have finished its course on one of the street lights on the side of the road. Unfortunately, this was far from normal times, and a 42-ton tank as well as hundreds of liters of fuel had an important part in the whole's balance.

The unnatural turn sent all this weight to the side of the truck which quickly found its way on five wheels instead of the usual ten. Then, it fell to the side, sliding on the ground for a good 20 meters more.

Metal screeched against the concrete road, leaving sparks in its way and a smell of burned tires, before the truck finished its course when it hit one of the tanks guarding the gate.

Loud alert sirens came to life, alerting all the soldiers of an imminent danger and the tank hit by the truck slowly backed away. A metallic sound rang as the tank tracks crushed something, but the engine kept on pulling the tank back.

"Ygar! Ygar wake up!"

A strong slap woke the mercenary up from his momentary loss of consciousness, and was immediately assaulted by two feelings. The first was that of an indescriptible amount of pain in his chest, and the second was an abnormal tightness in the chest as well as a heavy, ragged breath. Clenching his teeth, he tried to look at the wound.

He shouldn't have.

His whole front was soaked in blood, and he felt cold around the wound. If he wasn't treated soon, he would die. He knew it.

"Olva… We have to… Get out…" Ygar's voice was cut by deep breaths that managed to bring enough to the punctured lung, but that wouldn't last.

The wych nodded, she grabbed Ygar by the shoulders and pulled him to the back of the chariot, ignoring the body of the unconscious driver still on his seat. Velgard was putting everyone's bags on his shoulders with one arm (the other arm was bent in an unnatural way and bone could be seen through an open wound), making him look kind of like a beetle and Gelt was looking over the metallic spare parts they had spotted earlier.

"What's… The plan…"

Each second counted. Ygar could literally feel his life slip away as it became more and more difficult to breathe. Velgard was quick to answer with a painful grin on his face.

"My left arm's broken, so I take all the bags, Gelt is looking for something to protect us from their rifles why we run for the Gate. I also have a trick that might help us, although I don't know if it'll be effective. Can you still throw things?"

"I guess… So…"

"Good, take this and throw it in front of them when I tell you."

With his unscathed arm, the barghest passed a small spherical clay pot to Ygar. Then, Gelt came back holding two large metal plates in his arms.

"This should protect us on the way out. " He said. "It's heavy, but it's the only pieces large enough I could find."

And sure enough, they looked heavy. Two large metal plates painted in green, tall and wide enough to cover a standing human, Velgard would have to crouch.

"I'll go with Olva, Velgard will go with Gelt. We need you alive to attest of what we found, Gelt." Said Ygar.

"Of course." Answered Gelt.

Gelt was the first to get out, cutting an opening in the tarp with his sword. He was immediately greeted by a salvo of gunfire which clattered against the large metal plate he held like a shield, Velgard behind him. The impact was surprisingly strong, and he got close to dropping it. Fortunately, years of military discipline made him maintain the grip on the plate.

Olva quickly joined him with Ygar behind her who struggled to walk straight. More gunfire was fired in their direction but blocked by the plates. The Gate was right in front of them, maybe only twenty meters away or thirty meters away. And quite ironically, the black void seemed extremely inviting.

For now, the collapsed truck was covering their back, but the whole run from the truck to the Gate was completely empty and offered no cover. And large the metal plates may be, they couldn't cover all sides.

As the volume of gunfire intensified and the plates jumped in their hands at each impact, Gelt ran for cover behind a row of sandbags, Olva following him soon. As Ygar was quite literally dying out and Velgard occupied trying to prevent further injury at his broken arm despite all the bags on his back, Gelt took the matters in hand.

"Mercenary Olva! We may not have the best relations, but right now I'm begging you in the name of the Empire! Tell me you can cast something that will get us to the Gate!"

She pointed to her staff strapped to one of the bags. It's top had been broken somehow during their escape.

"My staff's broken, they had a lucky hit! And there's no water around, I can't cast ice without water!"

They had to shout to cover the ever-intensifying volume of gunfire directed at them. Amidst the "normal" shooting sound of the rifles, there was also a much louder one. Peeking from above their cover, Velgard swore when he saw one of the steel elephants shooting at them. Its main snout remained silent, but a smaller one underneath spewed an almost uninterrupted stream of fire that made itself feel even from behind the sandbags.

Suddenly, an intense pain made him go back undercover. He put his intact hand to his head and looked at it. It was covered in blood. One of the bullets flying towards them had tore his left ear away. However, that wasn't the most pressing matter. He had noticed that the soldiers were starting to converge on their position while the gunfire kept the mercenaries from even looking above the sandbags.

Things were looking grim.

Unbeknown to both parties, there was a problem in the making. When the truck had crashed and collapsed, the long grind against the concrete of the road had snapped many of the straps holding the green tarp, and the crash against the tank hadn't been soft either. In the end, anything that hadn't been bolted down to the floor of the back of the truck had flown off because of the impact.

One of those things was a fuel container, which had been crushed when the tank hit by the truck had backed away. Of course, the container's content spilled on the road in large quantities.

But here was the dangerous part. A lot of fuel on the ground. And bullets flying over the sandbags to prevent the mercenaries from moving. Of course, the gunner in the shooting tank didn't shoot at the collapsed truck behind the mercenaries, but at the sandbags and the road in front of the sandbags.

One of the bullets ricocheted against a manhole cover. The bullet flew over the mercenaries and the truck, only to find its way into what was an advertisement for a nearby coffee shop that had closed when the military had taken hold of the area.

Struck by a 12.7mm bullet, the advertisement was brutally torn away from the wall it was placed against and fell to the ground. On the fuel-soaked ground, to be precise.

The glowing letters of the advertisement let out one final spark before dying for good.

The spark ignited the fuel.

The fire quickly reached the inside of the crushed container, where a bit of fuel still remained.

The container exploded, sending burning fuel everywhere. Part of that fuel landed on the truck. It quickly started to burn the green tarp, then the truck.

Then, the truck's fuel container.

And the world went aflame.

When the fuel reserves of the truck exploded, it triggered a chain reaction which set aflame the spare fuel containers that had flown off the truck. Some of the containers were sent into the air, then exploded creating a both fascinating and devastating sight. A nearby building started to burn when a container broke a window and exploded inside. A rain of burning containers ready to explode peppered the area. One of the tanks was quickly evacuated when two containers exploded on top of it, the occupants not wanting to be cooked alive like in an oversized oven.

Gelt was the first to wake up from his daze. His vision was blurry, his earing replaced by a constant ringing and even his taste and smell overwhelmed by the effects of an intense fire. His skin was covered in red areas just from the sheer heat. Peeking above the sandbags which were also starting to burn, he observed the situation. The Gate was still intact, although blackened with soot at some places. And most importantly, a lot of the green soldiers were backing away from the flames.

Which meant that the way in was momentarily unguarded.

Turning back, he first spoke. Not hearing even himself, he shouted. But all he could feel was a vibration in his throat. Putting a hand to his ear, it came back bloodied. The explosion had busted his eardrums. While it was a setback, it could be healed at any proper healing institution that knew the right magic back in Falmart. He slapped Velgard and Olva to wake them up and pointed at the Gate. Velgard's fur was blackened, and Olva quickly put out the flame which had started burning her hair. Both tried to speak, but they quickly came to the same realization as he did just a few seconds ago.

And both saw the opening.

Velgard was the first to get up and force Gelt to run with the metal plate. Both sped towards the gate and no gunfire came in their direction, so much focused were the soldiers to flee the hungry flames.

It was another matter for Olva. Ygar had finally passed out, and she panicked momentarily before realizing he was still breathing, albeit barely. Wearing a passed out Ygar and the metal plate being impossible for her frame, she discarded it and limped as fast as she could towards the Gate. The heat had burned her left leg a bit, slowing her down even more.

As she limped, she rejoiced. It was just a product of her mind, but the smell of good Falmartian air filled her nose. As she came closer and closer, the ugly grey road was replaced with green grass and flowers. She took one last look at the world.

And saw one of the soldiers aiming at her.

Three bright flashes left the black mouth of the rifle, and three bullets dropped her to the ground.

But she kept going.

With the energy only the desperate had, she forced herself forward, pulling Ygar behind her and leaving a trail of blood. Her whole body was a mess.

A small spherical object bounced off the ground and landed behind her.

An explosion shook her world, and forced her into the sweet arms of unconsciousness.

Three days later.

Gennosuke was slouched on the sofa of his apartment, looking at the TV screen in front of him.

After coming back to the station three days ago, commander Keisuke had been very, very clear. The only reason he wasn't fired on the spot was that "Olva" was still alive even after a grenade exploded near her. Most of the damage had been taken by the other murderer she was pulling who had been found dead. But he still attracted the TV's attention, and the giant explosion who had rocked the ground near the Gate had only worsened the situation. The fact that JSDF soldiers were aiming at policemen had been captured by the cameras as well, giving enough ammunitions for the media to make a thousand and one statements, both true and false.

"You are not to come back until I call you. Until then, stay at home." Was what had been said to him. And so here he was. Still in pajamas as 10am on a Tuesday, looking remarkably similar to a mollusk in front of the TV.

"… Lieutenant who ordered for the shot to be taken which caused the truck crash and the explosion has been taken into custody, and is currently waiting for the martial court summon. His lawyer hasn't spoken yet, so it is hard to draw conclusions. On a lighter note, we are extremely happy to announce that the three soldiers taken into emergency hospital services are alive and well, only suffering varying degrees of burns."

The channel's ending tune started, and some advertisement began showing on the screen.

Taketa lazily raised the remote and turned off the TV. On the coffee table in front of him, ten empty beer cans laid, proof of his last night drinking, and despite the early hour of the day another half-empty can was balanced on the sofa's cushion. His hair was completely undone and the beginning of a beard showed on his cheeks.

His daughter was at school and his wife at work so he didn't answer when someone rang at the door. But the person insisted, constantly ringing. Taketa lost his patience after two minutes straight and stomped towards the door, ready to punch whatever person was so insistent.

"WHO'S H-" He shouted as he brutally pulled the door open. He cut himself when he realized Yuna was here with a small package in her hands.

"I… I wanted to see how you're going, Taketa, seeing as you don't answer to phone calls three days straight now…"

In her hands was a small package of chocolates and the expression on her face was of genuine worry. Seeing this, his anger instantly turned down.

"Sorry, Kanamori… I… Thank you. Come in, please."

She was in her police uniform, so she entered and took out her shoes before following him to the kitchen. There, he started to brew some coffee for her. While the liquid boiled, he addressed her.

"So, Kanamori, why did you come and see this poor wretch that I became?"

She spent a moment looking over him, then to the empty beer cans near the TV and all the obvious signs of a person in distress.

"Well, like I said earlier I wanted to see how you're doing. And as I can see, you're not doing well. What happened?"

He sighed.

"I… I knew this is how it would end, the moment I saw her practicing magic. She'll get experimented on by a bunch of white coats, but she'll never appear before a court. Oh, she'll probably be put in a extremely high security cell, but all the friends, the cousins, the brothers and sisters of the Fuyu family? They'll never have a face to release their anger and sadness against. Olva will never be in a court. That dead man is, well, dead. And the two others fled through the gate. Unless the government decides to move some assets to the other side, we'll never find them again. I consider that a failure, Kanamori. I failed myself. But most importantly, I failed the Fuyu family."

Yuna stayed silent, she didn't really know what to say. She grabbed the warm coffee cup he had given her and slowly sipped on it.

"Well, I came to tell you to come with me. You're a wreck right now. Take a shower, put on some clothes and help me. You're not a failure, Taketa-senpai. You're an esteemed detective, but you're also a human. All humans make errors. None of us could have thought that someone could turn invisible. None of us could have expected to face magic, of all things."

He smiled slightly. Even if didn't change anything to his state of mind, she was trying to cheer him up. Without a word, he left he kitchen towards the bathroom.

He still had smiles to protect.

Hello there, author here.

Here's the chapter I think all of you were waiting for lel.

Now, I know that a lot of things in this chapter don't make sense at all. Like the fuel being transported in separate barrels instead of a fuel truck, and the small door leading from the back of the truck to the driving compartment. But for the sake of the rest of the story, I had to make at least one or two of the mercenaries survive and well, I didn't want to write "and they put on the invisibility cape and made it. The end."

Believe me, I think what will follow will be more interesting. Also, this chapter is a little bit longer than usual.

rmarcano321: Well, the empire's biggest flaw is definitely it's overconfidence. But well, I plan to change that a bit. This story is named "Thus the Empire actually had common sense" after all.

theIrishWriter: How did they know it was heading to the Gate? Green truck. Going straight at Gate with green soldiers and other green vehicles. And I did say they used the cape to sneak in at a red light. And now I realize I didn't make it clear enough, but the truck went past the fenced gate before the dogs started to bark. And I'm sorry to say I don't know what TPD means.I know you're going to find that a lot of things don't make sense in this new chapter, no need to crucify me about it please.

I hope you liked what you read!

See you next publication