Warning: Please read only AFTER reading Chapter 7!

I notice him staring at me with sorry eyes. It doesn’t seem as though he’s sorry for not being able to beat them up but rather, it seems as though he’s saying he’s sorry for not being able to stop me from crying but then he suddenly passes out. I try to hold back my tears as I notice him slowly fading away.

I can’t just not do anything. All of my life I have run away from who I really am but that ends today. If not for me, if not for my family or for my kingdom then I will fight for you. I hold my pendant and utter a few words:

“Activate: Exo-Armamental Suit.”

My body is covered by a highly advanced exoskeleton designed for magic warfare. I can feel my strength, endurance and speed rising tremendously. As a person born without a developed sense for magic, as is everyone in Pantheon, we have to rely on these machines to be able to defend our dominion, otherwise, we wouldn’t even be able to put up a fight up against those magic wielding monsters.

I applied advanced medical artes to Mr. Tonkatsu using my suit’s mana drive. As I said before, I am a person born without any senses for magic so on my own, I cannot use runes nor can I tap into my own mana reserves. For me to be able to use magic that I normally cannot, I have to rely on my suit’s mana drive.

The mana drive is an artificial engine developed by Pantheon for use in Exo-Armamental magical warfare. It basically condenses the mana around us on a regular basis so theoretically speaking, we have a near limitless supply of mana. Of course, highly advanced runic magic such as Lady Belle’s “Laser Beam” is impossible for us but we can wield a vast majority of the magic available to man.

I can hear Mr. Tonkatsu’s ragged breathing slowly stabilizing. Good, the medical artes must be working.

Satisfied with stopping his bleeding, I send out a transmission to headquarters.

“Call sign Reaper, this is Yuriko, Knight-Captain of the Republic of Pantheon’s Iron Maiden Squadron. I am requesting a warp. Stat. I have with me a heavily injured man in need of immediate medical assistance.”

“Roger that Captain Yuriko. It’s good to hear from you again.”

“Did Captain Yuriko say she had a man with her?”

““Whaaaaaaaat?!””

“Keep quiet, Chie, the Captain can still hear you!”

“Teehee, these girls haven’t changed one bit” I shake my head as I smiled to myself.

I’ve been running away from my duties all this time. Was it because I was afraid? Or was it because I was running away from the shame of failure? Regardless, I have come to see this kingdom as evil. There will come a time to deliver judgment on its government but for now, I have him to worry about.

I smile at Mr. Tonkatsu’s sleeping face as light begins to cover our bodies.

“Captain, coordinates set to Izumo. Warp engaging in 3. 2. 1.”

As the lights around us intensified, I find myself feeling nauseous but as soon as the feeling made itself known to me, I realize that we have already reached our destination as I smell the ocean in the air and hear the breeze of the wind passing through the trees.

Izumo Island, an uninhabited island home to my unit. Though I say that, it’s just a regular resort island, completely unlike a certain fortified fortress in Zanzibar Land.

Greeting us is my subordinate, Chie, call sign, Berserk Flash.

She used to be shorter than I am but she grew during my absence, huh. Well I chose to run away and live a normal life for a time but I don’t regret it at all because I did manage to meet Mr. Tonkatsu in the process.

I’ve had military training all my life but I have never met anyone as disciplined as he and everything about him intrigues me.

“Captain!” as Chie salutes me.

“Good to see you, Chie, but this is going to have to wait.” I impatiently answered as I returned her salute.

“Yes, Captain I know. Medical squad. One injured man with possible ruptured organs and broken bones. Bring him to the medical trailer, stat.” Chie barked out her orders with accuracy and authority. My, she sure has grown.

As I was admiring my dear subordinate, I hear thrusters from behind me. Ah, Ebon Mk. II engines, perhaps? They’re pretty new.

The medical team has arrived. Two female emergency medical technicians wearing highly advanced weaponized Exo-Armamental Suits land on the warp platform, quickly saluted Chie and I and picked Mr. Tonkatsu up and brought him to the medical trailer.

“I guess I’m back on the island huh?”

And suddenly, my dear subordinate loses her calm and jumps towards me.

“Captain, welcome home.” Chie says as she hugs me.

“Yes, I’m home. Sorry it took me so long.” I reply as I hug her back.

As soon as the tension wore off, I cried the tears that I had for Mr. Tonkatsu. After seeing the prentice that I admired from a distance beaten and broken like that, I just felt so relieved that he was safe now.

“Captain. Before that, I have something to report.” She says as she tenderly strokes my back. After hearing what she has to say, my heart skipped a beat.

A few moments pass and I breath deeply. I have found my resolve. I have to protect him.

“The enemy is coming…you say?”

________________________________________________________

Author's notes

Hello, hello. This basically details what happened between Chapters 3 and 4 and tells us how Ke..err Mr. Tonkat...err Alphonse ended up in Izumo Island.

So are you liking the progress so far? Questions? Comments? Post them all in the comments section below. I'll do my best to answer everyone's queries :) Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!