Chapter 20: Chapter 19

Time passed quickly, and before he knew it they were preparing to anchor on the borders of Peru. Yuuji’s days had been fun, but as this date slowly approached there was a growing tension that hung in the air, thick enough to cut with a knife.

They had been called into the classroom despite there being no scheduled lessons, and Mr Pierce stood sternly at the front. He was always an imposing figure, but now he seemed more akin to a drill instructor straight from the military.

And this time, they weren’t in their usual black academy jackets, but each in their own combat gear.

“Today’s the day. You are being divided into two squadrons - Alpha, which is to go on the offensive, and Bravo, which is to cover Alpha team’s advance and provide support where needed. The squadrons are as follows.”

He began writing names in the prepared boxes on the blackboard in large strokes so that it was clearly legible.

Alpha Team

Hema Sundaresan Sahni
Mitra Sundaresan Sahni
Valeriya Zaytseva
Sidheag Fylani
Ishitake Yuuji

Bravo Team

Leona Bianchi
Akil Nwadike
Elis Öberg
Claire Dupond
Wang Bao

Yuuji glanced around the classroom at his soon-to-be squadmates, while the rest of the class did the same. Locking eyes with Mitra, the young man returned a seemingly confident smile, but his ill-suited silence spoke more than words ever could.

“You will all be provided earpieces after landing, on which Ji-Hye will provide updates and reports on the current mission. Remember - in the field, her word is law.”

Ji-Hye nodded solemnly, and in a rare example of her treating the situation seriously, had rested well the night before with the near-permanent bags beneath her eyes barely visible.

“The Firebirds are ready to go on my mark. Are there any final questions before we leave?”

The room reminded deathly silent, and Mr Pierce took a breath.

“Very well. Let’s depart.”

******

The hangar was on the northern side of the island, partially underneath the academy grounds. Despite being an underground hangar, the takeoff and landing process weren’t obstructed as the hangar doors opened at the side of the island, giving the pilots a straight shot without obstruction.

For older generations of aircraft, it may have not provided enough room to depart and arrive safely, but even though the modern Firebirds were large so that they could carry multiple people and goods, their advanced vertical takeoff and landing systems made it a breeze.

Mr Pierce boarded the first jet, while Dr Natsumi boarded the second, both wearing tight-fitting navy blue uniforms with red insignias above the shoulders and on the chest. Alpha team was to board with Mr Pierce, and Bravo with Dr Natsumi. Their destination was the same, but they would ride with their squadron officers as part of standard protocol.

Before Yuuji boarded, he felt a slight tug on the hem of his overcoat and turned to see both Hibiki and Ayumi, eyeing him anxiously.

“Yuuji… please be safe.”
“Yuuji-nii, you have to come back, you hear?”

He gave them both a smile and nodded, before boarding the Firebird with mixed feelings. It was the first time he’d had a true sendoff before a mission - often he would get along well with the others in his company, but they’d just be strangers in similar situations, and he would never see them again afterwards.

As the Firebird hatch closed behind him, he took one last look at the girls who had come to see him, and in the distance of the hangar bay, he caught a glimpse of a familiar face in the control tower.

Ishitake Shinichiro was deadpan and stolid as ever, but he watched on dutifully as his only grandson departed for his first mission at the academy.

*Ka-chunk!*

The hatch closed and sealed airtight, and the jet engines on both wings roared to life, lifting the fuselage as the passengers all experienced a brief moment of weightlessness.

The pilots chattered in the cockpit, dutifully performing routine checks and well-practised procedures before finally flicking a switch, and the hovering aircraft began to rapidly accelerate forwards.

Their seats shook back and forth, while the harnesses that kept them in place strained under the G-forces, and reality set in for everyone aboard. With the speed they travelled it was a short journey, but they remained drenched in dead silence throughout.

Set to land in a small clearing, the Firebird quickly decelerated to a near stop before gently lowering to the ground.

*Ka-chunk!*

Once more the heavy hatch door clunked open, swinging down to reveal a makeshift camp surrounded by ruins of broken buildings and rubble. Though it should have been early afternoon, the sky was dark and gloomy, and the sunlight through the clouds was sparse, but the dry heat that wafted towards them proved there wasn’t any chance of rain soon.

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Two uniformed men waited to greet the squadron leaders, and after a brief wait, Mr Pierce returned to address the group of students turned soldiers before him.

“We’ve got the all-clear to go ahead. The Argentinian Reclamation Drive are beginning their assault on Bahía Blanca southeast of here as we speak, so we’re to clear as many lesser demons as possible to help aid their efforts in the fight to retake the country.”

He looked at the sky with a grimace, before turning back to the group.

“As soon as the fighting starts, it’ll be hard to catch a break, so rest whenever you get the chance. Lesser demons fight using numbers, and if you get caught in a densely packed area it’ll be easy to get overwhelmed. Don’t get cocky.”

There was a slight crackle of static from the table beside him as a voice came through on the radio.

“Comms established.”
“Thank you, Ji-Hye. You heard her - everyone take an earpiece, and make sure you can hear loud and clear.”

As instructed, they each grabbed an earpiece and placing it into their ears heard a clear tone to confirm that the audio wasn’t malfunctioning.

“Good. The hard end of this operation is at 3 am tomorrow morning - be finished before then, or get your asses out once you hear the word.”

He pounded his chest with his right arm in a proud salute.

“Give them hell.”

******

All around the shattered remains of old homes and shops cast grasping shadows on the cracked concrete.

The uneasy silence was only occasionally broken by the echoes of a bloodcurdling scream in the distance, but the sound was inhuman and caused the group to exchange uncomfortable glances.

Lesser demons truly lived up to the name ‘monster’. While greater demons had forms that could easily be recognised from various mythological records and ancient stories, lesser demons were more often deformed, malignant humanoid shapes of mangled limbs and flesh.

Greater demons had fearsome powers and were terrifying in their own right, but seeing hordes of gnashing lumps of meat that only exist to consume wasn’t something a person could easily recover from.

“A small group in the clearing straight ahead, just as Ji-Hye said.”

Mitra, who climbed to a slightly higher vantage point, signalled to the group that they should prepare to engage. As Mr Pierce had said, once the fighting started, the sounds of clashing and smell of blood would soon draw the attention of others in the area, so clearing an area of demons was less a matter of finding them and more a matter of surviving after they found you.

“Rama, grant me your bow.”
“Lakshmi!”
“Faolán, come to my aid.”
“Marena, I call on you once more.”

The others called their spirits in unison, as Yuuji took a breath.

‘Calm the storm, still the heart, and sharpen the soul.’

“Benkei. Naginata.”

For waves upon waves of enemies, there was one clear choice for him. Envisioning a ferocious warrior with the fortitude of a giant, a gleaming naginata graced his palm, and his grip tightened along its shaft.

The golden threads in his jacket shimmered like gilded rivers, and he felt as though he had the strength to carry the world.

“I’ll be the vanguard. Hema and Valeriya provide support, Mitra, cover us with arrows, and Sid, please have Faolán deal with any enemies coming from behind.”

Without a single word of dispute, they marched forward, waiting until the very last moment to spring the attack for maximum effect.

The clearing was the perfect place to begin an assault, as they could quickly escape the way they came - provided they weren’t surrounded on all sides.

The lesser demons loitered in the middle of the road, bumbling about aimlessly as many of them had no eyes, or the eyes they did have were mangled and rotting. The group only numbered around 7 or 8, but there were shadows shuffling through the buildings ahead of them, so they wouldn’t be deceived by the small number they saw.

Yuuji muttered one final prayer under his breath before he launched forward with a roar.

“ATTACK!”

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