There were no slow-motion montages. No triumphant soundtracks. No glowing captions highlighting bravery and sacrifice.
Just cracked roads, crumbled buildings, and the smell of scorched metal lingering too long in the air.
The battlefield—now nearing its seventh day—looked nothing like the footage aired on national broadcasts. Those feeds were saturated with carefully selected hero poses, cropped angles, and cinematic filters.
But the truth was what Hermes saw now: charred tree stumps, melted glass on sidewalks, and collapsed homes that had been "accidentally" caught in the crossfire of what was supposed to be a 'staged' conflict.
He couldn't help but feel responsible.
Did things really need to go this far just to expose the truth?
He kicked aside a smoking helmet as he walked next to Ymir, both of them doing a perimeter check. The damage here wasn't even the worst part.
"Ymir…" Hermes muttered, pausing in his tracks. "There's someone over there."
