Disclaimer: English is not my first language. I'm using Grammarly to check the Grammar and using Word to write it.
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After everything was over, Asclepius and Paracelsus returned to the hotel. I told Moriarty how the tests went and that the PRT would enter into contact soon.
Outside the hospital, I meet with Ushiwakamraru, Barghest, Morang, and Cú Chulainn.
Cú Chulainn returned my revolver to me. He said that Edison had finished working on it but forgot to hand it back, so he passed it to Cú Chulainn to deliver it to me.
Nice to have it back.
I'm going to make the Empire bleed tonight.
The obvious choice would be to target more safehouses, but I want to do something that would tarnish Kaiser's image. Something he couldn't afford to overlook.
Ushiwakamaru came up with the answer.
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"Good evening ma'am!" I said jovially.
The woman stared at me with wide eyes and quickly walked away.
I let out a chuckle at her reaction.
And it's not just her avoiding us, everyone around us is also keeping their distance.
"You're in a good mood," Cú Chulainn said with a grin.
"Why wouldn't I be? It's such a beautiful night to go for a stroll," I said cheerfully.
Yep, we're taking a stroll.
Right in the center of Empire territory.
Ushiwakamaru idea is quite simple.
What better way to insult your enemy than to casually stroll through their territory, acting as if you own the place.
This is the kind of disrespect that Kaiser can't ignore if he doesn't want to lose his standing with his subordinates.
An important part of Ushiwakamaru's plan is that we don't attack anyone.
We're just here for a pleasant stroll and couldn't care less that this's Empire territory.
Honestly, this's all just a giant middle finger to Kaiser.
"I hate to admit but Kaiser knows how to keep his territory orderly," Ushiwakamaru said, looking around the street.
I also hate to admit that.
The streets are clean, buildings are in pristine condition, and all around doesn't seem a bad place to live.
Except for the fact that nazis control this place.
Well, it doesn't matter.
It's only a matter of time before we take over.
"From my understanding, Kaiser rules over his territory like a king. It would make sense that he'd want his territory to thrive," Barghest said.
Cú Chulainn snorts, "Are you serious?"
"You should see the image he tries to project in PHO. He makes himself out to be some kind of protector of the people and all that," I said.
"Please tell me that nobody buys that crap," Cú Chulainn said.
"I wish I could no," I said.
Cú Chulainn shakes his head in dissapointement.
"Humanity's foolishness never ceases to amaze me," Morgan said.
Yeah, people can be really stupid sometimes.
I put my hand on my stomach when it growled.
I could go for a burger right now.
"There's a pizza place two blocks from here," Cú Chulainn said, pointing at the place.
Pizza also works.
"You guys okay with that?" I turned to Morgan, Barghest, and Ushiwakamaru.
"I will pass," Morgan said.
"I'm okay with that," Ushiwakamaru said.
Barghest shrugged in response.
It took a few minutes to get there and when we entered the place, everyone stopped talking.
They were all looking at us with surprise looks, some even grabbed their phones and started to record us.
Oh, this's perfect.
I approached the register, where a blonde-haired man in his early thirties stood. His back is turned to me and he's talking with someone on the phone.
"Hey there," I said.
"I will be with you in a minute," The man said.
"Take your time," I'm not in a hurry.
"All right, that's three chicken pizzas and two sodas. It will take forty-five minutes. Yes, we are also open on Sundays. Okay, have a good night," The man ends the call.
"Busy night?" I asked.
"Not really. We have been getting more orders to go. I had to hire another deliverer man," The man said.
"Oh? Is there something going on around here?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Haven't you been watching the news? With all that happened in the last few days, everyone is on edge," The man said.
I hummed thoughtfully.
We've completely shifted the balance of power in Brockton Bay. And it's clear to everyone that we're far from finished.
Now they are all waiting for the fight that is going to engulf the entire city.
"I see," I said.
"Give a few more days and things are going to go back to normal. You know, like it always does," The man said.
You mean go back to the status quo.
Yeah, that isn't going to happen.
Things are going to change in Brockton.
One way or another.
"So what ca-" The man stopped talking when he saw us.
"Hi," I said with a friendly smile.
He's looking at me with wide eyes, not believing that I was in front of him.
"What do you guys want?" I asked.
"I'm fine with whatever you choose," Barghest said.
"I would like some anchovy," Ushiwakamaru said.
"They got any booze?" Cú Chulainn asked.
"You guys sell beer, right?" I asked.
The man nodded dumbly.
"Okay, so I want a large pizza, half pepperoni, half anchovy, four beers, and a bottle of water please," I said.
The man kept looking at us for a few more seconds before he swallowed heavily.
"Co-coming right up," The man said.
"Thank you," I said.
I turned my attention to the rest of the customers.
There's only a handful left of people.
I waved at them with a smile.
"Did I give you permission to record me?" Morgan asked coldly, flaring a little of her power.
They all flinched at Morgan's power and quickly put away their phones.
Oh, they got lucky.
Morgan usually isn't so forgiving at anything that annoys her, especially if involves humans.
"Ex-excuse me sir," A woman said, raising her hand nervously.
I raised an eyebrow, "You don't have to call me 'sir' or raise your hand. You can just ask the question."
"What're you doing here?" the woman asked after a moment of hesitation.
"I was hungry and felt like eating some pizza," I shrugged.
"But why here? Here's...you know," the woman said.
Oh, I do know.
"I was curious about this part of the town as I never have been here before," I said.
The woman glanced around the place anxiously, fearing that a fight might erupt at any moment.
Great, now I feel like a dick.
"Don't worry, everything is going to be just fine," I said, trying to reassure her.
She didn't listen to me and left the place.
Everyone else followed suit.
I don't blame them.
Kaiser might hesitate to launch an attack here because it's within his own territory. However, if it were located elsewhere, he wouldn't hesitate to wipe out the place.
It took another ten minutes before our order was ready.
"I'm sorry about your customers," I said, handing him the money.
The man let out a grunt.
We exited the pizza place and headed to the rooftop of a nearby building.
"You sure you don't want a piece?" I asked, looking at Morgan.
"I'm sure," Morgan said.
Maybe there's a place around here that sells tea.
"This is not a bad pizza," Barghest said, taking a bite.
"It's a shame that they didn't have anything stronger," Cú Chulainn said, taking a sip of his beer.
"Why don't you use reinforcement?" I asked taking a bit of the pizza.
Interesting fact: reinforcement can also be used on booze to make it stronger.
Cú Chulainn froze for a second before he reinforced the beer.
We kept eating in silence for the next few minutes, enjoying a moment of peace before the Empire showed up.
"Who do you guys think is coming?" I asked.
Since Kaiser is the leader, he must make an appearance and pass judgment on us for our 'transgressions', or he risks a significant blow to his reputation.
He also knows that he can't intimidate us, and a fight is inevitable.
"Crusader will handle the heavy lifting with his ghosts, while Kaiser, Rune, and Victor will support with long-range attacks. Fenja and Cricket will likely stay hidden, only reveal themselves if they need to retreat or if a chance arises to take one of us out," Ushiwakamaru explained.
Brute force isn't going to work against us, so Crusaders' ghosts are their best bet in hurting us.
"The problem is going to be if Purity, Night, and Fog makes an appearance," Ushiwakamaru said.
Night and Fog left around the same time Purity did. Nobody knows where they are or why they left in the first place.
"You think they are still in town?" I asked.
"I don't know but if Kaiser is trying to bring back Purity then he would also try to do the same with them," Ushiwakamaru frowns.
They could be a problem.
"There's also Gesellschaft. What's the plan regarding them?" Morgan asked.
"I'm thinking of sending a team of servants to Europe to deal with them. Now that we have more servants, we can finally start to look into dealing with the S-Class threats," I said.
"Who would be first?" Barghest asked, taking a bit of the pizza.
"Slaughterhouse Nine is our first target. With what we have planned, it's only a matter of time before they come for us," I said immediately.
They always go after anyone who might make the world a better place, and we fit that bill perfectly.
"Who're you going to send?" Cú Chulainn asked.
"For the Nine, I was thinking of Saber(Siegfried), Assassin(Hassan of Serenity), Lancer(Melusine), Berserker(Herakles), and Archer(Emiya)," I said.
Barghest frowns, "I can do a better job than Lancer(Melusine)."
I hold back a sigh.
Barghest has a rivalry with Melusine and takes any chance to prove that she's stronger.
"If you want to be part of the group, that's fine. This is-" I was interrupted by Cú Chulainn.
"We got company," Cú Chulainn said, looking at the streets.
About time.
I looked at the streets to see who was coming.
Kaiser is calmly walking down the street with his hands behind his back. He's coming in our direction.
Fenja is the only one that he brought along.
I looked at them with narrowed eyes.
Something is not right.
"It's a trap," Ushiwakamaru said what we're all thinking.
Yes, it is.
"Well, let's not keep them waiting," I said.
We got down to the street to meet them.
"Ah, Magus. I wasn't expecting to see you tonight," Kaiser said.
"I decided to go for a stroll," I said.
Kaiser nods, "You couldn't have chosen a better place for a stroll. Unlike the rest of the city, people can walk around without fear. Of course, we have to keep the-"
"What do you want Kaiser?" I said.
"You tell me, Magus. You clearly want my attention since you entered my territory without permission," Kaiser shakes his head. "Didn't your parents teach you any manners?"
"My parents taught me to stand up to people like you. My father, in particular, always said to aim where it hurts," I replied with a toothy grin.
"How uncivilized, this's why the youth of today doesn't show their better respect anymore," Kaiser said.
I laughed, "You? My better? You're more delusional than I thought."
Kaiser extends his arm in front of Fenja, stopping her from taking a step forward.
"Are you done with your childish insults?" Kaiser asked.
"What? I thought we were having a good time. You know, like before when we were kicking your asses," I said.
"Yes, good times," Kaiser said dryly. "Anyway, I didn't come here looking for a fight but to make a proposal."
"What?" I asked.
"We both wish to better Brockton Bay and-"
"Shut the hell up!" I snarled. "Don't you dare group us! What we want is completely different!"
"Is it? You want to make Brockton Bay a better place but from what I hear you have your hands occupied with the ABB territory. Or should I say your territory," Kaiser said.
I narrowed my eyes, "Don't you d-"
"Please no petty threats. I'm just trying to have a civilized conversation. You're capable of those, aren't you?" Kaiser asked in a mocking tone.
I flipped him off in response.
"As I was saying, you're already dealing with a lot right now and don't need any more distractions. So, I suggested we call a temporary truce," Kaiser said.
I can't believe that he just said that.
I have only one answer to that.
"Go to hell," I said.
"I advise you to think this through," Kaiser said.
"What's there to think? We're winning, you lost half of your capes. You're just trying to buy time," I said.
"You have indeed caught us off guard, a mistake that won't happen again, but we have something that you're dearly missing," Kaiser said.
What's he talking about?
"And that would be?" I asked.
"Connections. Strength isn't just about physical might; we have many allies we can reach out to for support," Kaiser said.
"Like Gesellschaft," I said.
Kaiser nods, "Exactly. They're just one of the many we can call on for support. But that's not all, I have eyes and ears all over the city, and I've come across some interesting information regarding a product that you wish to sell to the PRT. And if I'm not mistaken, the PRT conducted a test earlier this evening."
God, this guy likes to brag.
"Let me guess: you're going to interfere in the distribution of the healing potions if we don't back off," I said in a bored tone.
What he said is an issue, but I've faced much worse.
"It would be such a shame if something were to happen to those potions. Think how many li-"
"My answer is still no," I said.
Kaiser paused for a few seconds.
"May I know why?" Kaiser asked.
"Agreeing to your demands is a return to the status quo. And that is never going to happen," I said determined.
"What's that you want? You want Brockton Bay?" Kaiser asked curiously.
"I don't want the city," I said with a frown.
"But you want something and you're willing to go hell and back for it," Kaiser commented.
"It's none of your business," I said.
"Oh well," Kaiser shrugged.
He's way too rela-
Cú Chulainn yanks me to the side tightly.
I was confused for a second until I saw the ghostly spear that would have pierced my heart.
Crusader is around here.
Ushiwakamaru lunged toward Kaiser, her blade slicing through the air, aimed at his stomach. But the moment her weapon made contact, Kaiser burst like a balloon, vanishing in an instant!
What!
Ushiwakamaru quickly turned her focus to Fenja as she began to grow. With a swift motion, Ushiwakamaru sliced through Fenja's neck but she also burst like a balloon.
Ushiwakamaru quickly returned to our side, gripping tightly her sword and looking around the street.
We didn't have the time to reflect on that, as we had to leap away- more Crusader ghosts were emerging from the ground.
In a few seconds, there's an army of Crusader's ghosts in front of us.
What's going on?
I don't think he was capable of creating this many.
Morgan swiftly creates a large, glowing magical circle above the ghost, covering them all. The circle begins to radiate light, and the ghosts flicker before vanishing one by one. In just a few moments, they were all gone.
That will buy us some time.
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
I glanced behind to see what the noise was and blinked in surprise at what I was seeing.
Fenja is coming toward us, and there are ten of her.
"Are they an illusion?" I asked.
"No, they're all real but their life force is too weak," Morgan frowned.
I recall my talk with Moriarty and my eyes widen.
"They're clones," I said.
Gesellschaft is here.
Barghest ignites her sword, unleashing a wave of fire above us, engulfing a dozen Cricket's that were plummeting towards us.
"They're weak," Barghest said.
Cú Chulainn hurls Gae Bolg at the approaching Fenja's, striking down seven of them. However, this has little effect as even more begin to emerge.
"That may be true but there's a lot of them," Cú Chulainn said, recalling Gae Bolg.
I turn to Morgan.
"Can you find-"
Morgan quickly raised a barrier around us, just in time to block a red beam that was headed straight for me.
The beam made the barrier tremble fiercely, resulting in small cracks forming all over its surface.
What was that!?
Morgan glances at the cracks, her face showing clear annoyance. She repairs the barrier and pours more magical energy, strengthening it.
A second red beam strikes the barrier, but this time it holds strong.
That certainly wasn't Purity. Her beams are white.
It gotta be Victor and he's using tinker tech.
"You got eyes on him?" I asked.
I reinforced my eyes and look the direction the beam had come from, but I couldn't find him.
Morgan fires a beam of light towards a distant building, striking one of the upper floors. Upon impact, an explosion erupted, destroying the entire floor.
I'm not exactly relieved, since I still don't know if that was the original or a clone.
Another red beam hits the barrier and it comes from a different direction.
That answers my question.
I survey my surroundings to assess the situation.
We're surrounded by an army of clones, and I highly doubt that the originals are going to be anywhere near us.
The only threats to us are Crusader ghosts and possibly the tinker tech that Victor is using.
And without knowing where Hydra is, there isn't much point in staying here and fight.
"Henry, why's there an army of Empire capes attacking the hotel?" Da Vinci asked.
"Gesellschaft is in town," I said.
"Ah, I see," Da Vinci said calmly.
"You need help?" I asked.
"Nah, we got it under control. Medea summoned dragon tooth warriors to deal with them. Tesla takes care of anyone who passes the Dragon Tooth warriors. And there's also the protective wards to protect us," Da Vinci said.
That's good.
"Does the ruby have enough magical energy for a summon?"I asked.
I'm going to summon Avicebron.
"Give me a moment," Da Vinci said.
"Who the hell is that?" Cú Chulainn asked.
I raised an eyebrow seeing the countless World War Two soldiers coming our direction.
Is that what Hydra looks like?
"Yeah, you're good to go," Da Vinci said.
"Thanks," I said.
Morgan conjures spikes that erupt from the ground, eliminating a significant number of Hydra's clones. However, they show no sign of stopping and continue to advance towards us.
Okay, this's getting stupid.
"We're retreating," I said with a frown.
Ushiwakamaru, Cú Chulainn and Barghest step back inside the barrier. The surroundings distort as Morgan teleports us away from the battle.
I pinch my nose in frustration.
My luck really sucks sometimes.
"We have a problem," Moriarty said.
"There's an army of Empire capes attacking you, isn't there?" I asked.
"Yes, but I've it under control. The issue is that the PRT is under attack," Moriarty said.
They are trying to break out the others.
"You three, go to the PRT!" I said.
Cú Chulainn, Ushiwakamaru and Barghest ran to the PRT.
"What about the rest of the city?" I asked.
"Smaller groups of clones are causing trouble throughout the city, but New Wave is handling it for now. However that will change once we repel their attack on the PRT," Moriarty said grimly.
They are going to cause trouble until we're all exhausted.
Well, the PRT heroes are going to be.
We don't have to worry about that.
"Alright, once things calm down go back to the hotel," I said.
"Be careful, we don't know if Hydra is the only cape Gesellschaft has sent," Moriarty said.
Yeah, they wouldn't have only sent one cape.
"Hassan, focus on finding Hydra," I said.
"Understood," Hassan said.
I turned to Morgan.
"Let's go to the warehouse," I said.
Morgan nods and we rush to the warehouse.
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I barged inside the place and went straight to the ruby.
I briefly noticed that Da Vinci had finished building the scanners around the ruby.
A screen came to life, revealing Goredolf's image.
"Oh, Henry. How's it-"
"I need Avicebron!" I said hurriedly.
Goredolf blinked in surprise and swiftly looked to the side.
"Get Avicebron ready for summoning!"Goredolf ordered. "What's going on?"
"Gesellschaft is in Brockton Bay and they got a cape that can create an army of clones," I explained.
"What's the situation with the hotel and the area Moriarty is taking over? I assume they will target both to keep you occupied," Goredolf said.
"Both are under attack but Da Vinci and Moriarty got it under control. So far everything is under control but it won't be long before the entire city becomes a battlefield," I said.
Goredolf grimaced at what I said.
"Isn't it better to summon more servants?" Goredolf asked.
"Not yet, I don't know if Hydra is the only cape that was sent. So I'm going to wait and see who else is here," I said.
The ruby glows and after a moment Avicebron is standing in front of me.
"Hello master," Avicebron greeted me.
"I need you to make an army of golems as quickly as possible. There are abandoned ships nearby the warehouse, use as much as you need," I quickly ordered. "And hello to you too."
Avicebron nods and leaves the warehouse.
BOMM.BOOM
I start to hear an explosion in the distance.
Things are getting heated.
"I got to go, bye!" I said.
"Be careful!" Goredolf said before I left the warehouse with Morgan.
It took a few minutes to reach the PRT. Unsurprisingly, we found an army of clones launching an attack, along with a massive humanoid figure made of metal wreaking havoc at the location.
Now I know that Hydra isn't the only one.
The giant stands around nine meters tall, built like a tank. His movements are slow and heavy, likely burdened by his overwhelming weight.
Glancing around, I notice the PRT has established a perimeter in front of the building. Armsmaster, Dauntless, Assault, and Battery are working together to take down as many clones as they can, while the troopers back them up by shooting any that manage to slip past them.
Ushiwakamaru darts across the battlefield, swiftly cutting down every clone she encounters.
Barghest is unleashing wave after wave of fire at the clones, and cutting down any that get close to her.
At the rate they are going, it won't be long before all the clones are gone.
Miss Militia is using an anti-material rifle, shooting continuously the giant, trying to hold him back from the PRT building. However, her efforts seem futile as the giant ignores the damage inflicted by the rifle and steadily advances toward the building.
Velocity tosses a handful of foam grenades at the giant's feet. They explode, briefly halting his advance before he resumes marching forward.
Cú Chulainn hurls Gae Bolg at the giant, effortlessly piercing through him and creating a gaping human-size hole in his stomach.
The giant strikes a building to his left, and the hole in his stomach starts to close.
He's absorbing the building.
Cú Chulainn interrupts the giant's actions by severing the arm that was inside the building. He continues his assault with a barrage of attacks at the giant, who attempts to crush Cú Chulainn in response, but fails, as Cú Chulainn is too swift for him.
"They are real," Morgan said, looking at the giant.
"Is someone controlling it, or is there someone inside?" I asked.
"There's someone inside the giant, their life force is spread all over it," Morgan said.
They are fused with the giant.
"Cú Chulainn, get away from them," I said.
Cú Chulainn immediately jumps away from the giant.
"Force them out," I said.
Morgan traps the giant within a shimmering barrier and summons a glowing magical circle beneath it. Just as the giant raises its fist to strike, an intense fire erupts, engulfing them. The flames are so blindingly bright that I have to avert my gaze.
This lasted for a few seconds before Morgan dispelled the barrier.
The giant was reduced to a pile of molten slag.
Suddenly a man comes out of the slag, screaming in pain. Looking closer I could see why.
His body is severely burned, with second and third-degree burns covering much of his skin, and parts of his costume have melted and fused into his flesh.
I'm shocked that he survived that.
Cú Chulainn grabs the man and takes him to Miss Militia.
Now all that is left are the clones.
"Hey," Cú Chulainn said, landing next to me.
"How is it?" I asked.
"If we didn't show up they would have lost by now," Cú Chulainn said.
"Without the giant, this battle just became much easier," I asked.
"He goes by Atlas, by the way," Cú Chulainn said.
"We need to find how ma-hold on, what did you just say?" I asked.
"Miss Militia told me that our giant friend calls himself 'Atlas'," Cú Chulainn said.
I couldn't help but roll my eyes at that.
"Let's end this," I said.
Morgan, Cú Chulainn, and I joined the fight.
It took thirty minutes to deal with the remaining clones.
The PRT headquarters remains intact, but the area surrounding it has suffered some heavy damage.
I pity whoever has to clean this mess.
Assault, Battery, and Dauntless are catching their breaths.
Armsmaster enters the PRT headquarters.
"Get him to the infirmary and make sure he stays sedated," Miss Militia said.
The troopers nodded and took Atlas away.
Velocity accompanies the troopers.
"Miss Militia," I said, approaching her.
"Magus, it's good to see you," Miss Militia wipers sweat from her forehead.
She's drenched in sweat, struggling to steady her breathing.
"Is anyone dead?" I asked.
Miss Militia shakes her head, "Thankfully no. Some of the troopers are injured but nothing life-threatening."
"Besides Hydra and Atlas, who else is here?" I asked.
"I have no idea. We didn't even know they were already in Brockton," Miss Militia.
Before I could ask another question, Miss Militia raised her hand.
"Hold on," Miss Militia uses her earpiece. "Can you repeat that?"
Miss Militia grimaces and turns to me.
"There are attacks happening all over the city," I said, taking a guess.
The sounds of explosions in the distance are all the confirmation that I need.
This is going to be a long night.
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