The sounds of construction had largely died down by the time the sky turned orange. Defence Line Foxtrot was up and serviceable, and Thunderbolt was now installing obstacles. The First Aerial Division, as an elite shock troop, was also trained to hold strongpoints, so it went without saying that they were capable of manning defence lines.

“Still, being pinned down like this really blows,” Aziz muttered abruptly.

“What’s that about?” Marie asked. “You don’t like defence missions?”

“Don’t look at me like that,” Aziz replied. “Don’t tell me you liked doing them as an officer cadet.”

“At that time,” said Marie, “we only had sticks, stones and a rock. Heck, we even had to share the damn rock. Now, however, we have lots of weapons. Straight Shots. Limitless Shots. Concertina wire. This defence line is not something mere infantry without our weapons can overcome.”

“You do have a point,” Aziz grudgingly conceded. “But the fact that we can’t use our biggest advantage still holds.”

“We’ll leave the air cover to the Guardians here,” Marie replied.

“Yeah, well…”

The men and women from the Hall of Guardians weren’t trained to be soldiers. Aziz knew that they were likely to break if things went south, and more importantly, they were not trained to take losses. The First Aerial would fight to the last man if so needed, but Aziz had a hunch that these people, despite their name, wouldn’t do the same unless they were cornered.

Exchanging bitter smiles with Marie, Aziz corrected the last inaccurate bits of environmental and geographical data, before flopping over on his back. His head was pounding, and his face was abnormally warm.

Marie didn’t look any better either, but at least Hans’ job was done.

“The kids are having their dinner,” said Marie. “Do you want to join them?”

“You alone will be enough,” Aziz replied, his eyes staring up at the darkening sky. “I fear that my presence will be a damper on their mood.”

“How pessimistic.”

“I am their dreaded drillmaster, after all.” Aziz chuckled. “Can’t go around making them mind their words.”

“You know that my presence is going to do the same thing, right?” Marie replied. “Anyway, what do you think? We’ve been watching the Great Divide labour on for the past few hours. I’ll like to know what your assessment is.”

“My assessment, eh?” Aziz pushed himself up. “This isn’t the worst-case scenario. The Great Divide will probably hold for another two days or so; there should be enough time for the garrison at the Heaven-cleaving Fortress to make their way here.”

“Another two days?” Marie shook her head. “I’m afraid we don’t have that much time.”

“What do you mean?” Aziz asked.

“Take a good long look there,” Marie replied, pointing her finger at a certain area. “Can you see it?”

Aziz followed her finger, but all he could see was the deep blackness. “What am I supposed to see?”

Marie frowned, before placing her hands on his head. “I suppose it’s hard for a human to see this…alright. Squint your eyes and don’t resist.”

Before Aziz could ask about that latter bit, an odd power surged out of her hands and flooded into his eyes. His vision lightened up considerably, as if the setting sun was now giving off a brilliant white light that illuminated even the depths of the Great Divide.

Instinctively, he understood that this was Marie’s beast trait, something she hadn’t told Aziz about before, but instead of thinking about it, he turned to look at the Great Divide.

His blood chilled a moment later.

Under this augmented vision, the light-grey Great Divide was riddled with a dense network of spreading cracks. Bits and pieces of grey were falling off every second, revealing a brilliant white surface within.

“Do you see it?” Marie’s voice was quiet, solemn. “The Great Divide will not last the night.”

“That’s why dinner was served early,” Aziz muttered.

“I’ve sent my observations to Minister Eventide, but I don’t know if the other nations will accept my warning or not,” Marie replied. “The Hall of Guardians are also on standby, but if I’m not wrong, the Great Divide will fall within seven hours or so.”

“In other words, midnight.”

“Yes.” Fatigue lined her face.

Aziz looked down at the small, makeshift canteen. The troops of Thunderbolt were bustling around the place, eating and chattering away as if there wasn’t a tomorrow. The sight of it brought both joy and sorrow to him; joy at the readiness and willingness of them to die for a great cause, and sorrow at the fact that not everyone will make it out alive.

The marshal, who was far more aware of when the end would begin, had probably grappled with such emotions the moment the Great Divide began to give way.

“Still remember those observation devices we planted long ago?” Marie abruptly asked.

“What about them?” Aziz asked, surprised at this non-sequitur.

“Apparently, they’re connected to something called a livestream. People all around the world will be watching the Great Divide’s fall,” said Marie. “So don’t give up hope, colonel. The world will see the demons march onto the Five Lands. We will not be fighting alone.”

“What made you think I was worried about that?” Aziz replied, a small smile on his face.

“My instinct?”

Aziz turned to look at her. “Yeah…no. I was thinking about those guys there, actually. Everyone’s eating like it’s their last meal. Say, Marie. How many of us will be alive when we win?”

“If we win,” Marie corrected. “As for that question…I don’t want to answer it either. A part of me says that we’ll be slaughtered to a man. Another part says that we’re more prepared than ever to win. I hope it’s the latter, but…”

She sighed. “Such is the plight of a commander.”

“We send good men and women to their deaths without blinking, expecting them to die for a greater cause.” Aziz shook his head. “And even when we know the end is near, we don’t tell them, hiding the truth for as long as possible to prevent a drop in morale. Put that way, we truly are monsters, aren’t we?”

“Should we tell them the truth?” Marie asked.

Aziz glanced at the merrymaking. “I think you know the answer to that, right?”

Marie let out a sigh. “We truly are monsters.”

“I think we’re good ones, though.”

Exchanging a few more sighs, the two looked up at the dark sky. The world would change in a few hours, and only the two of them would know about it.

The demons were coming.