Gaston stood on the ground holding a five meter long concrete pillar reinforced with metal underneath the concrete. Yaizu had been hit by the storming events and was one of the many that did not fall so easily. It’s people were strong and stalwart. They fought hard enough that their city stood by the end.

“I think it's still stuck underneath the rubble!” Janna called. She carried her buster sword and charged it with a bioenergy that made the air ripple. She struck it under the foundation and tore through the concrete.

“Got it!”

Gaston squatted and lifted the rubble with one hand while keeping his other hand pressed on the rubble that was half-pressing on a breaker. When the breaker was free from the rubble. Gaston stood upright and threw the concrete pillar on the side of the street.

He pressed on his earpiece. “I think that’s the last of them, Bridge.”

“Thank you, Adjutant Hardy. We do not have the proper staff right now.”

Gaston watched the medical bay crew take the Breaker.

The skies were red and a mix of this disgusting fleshy look. It was the phantasmal effect.

“It’s getting worse.”

“From the looks of it, they are projecting the bio-energy produced by the BEHEMOTH’s core to corrupt the area. Look at this.”

She shared a data link of the images of the cultists entering the flesh-eggs. The cultists in the video were entering the flesh-pods of their own will. Their screams as they were ‘devoured’ by the flesh-eggs and turned into liquefied meat was quite disturbing even for Gaston who had been trapped once in a world of flesh.

“Fools. Bunch of idiots.”

Janna stabbed her buster sword in the concrete.

“You think it’s a fetish?”

“Maybe. If anything they probably didn’t think that they’d be liquified. It really depends on the person who gets eaten. The stronger ones remain untouched while being fed into their imaginary world. They release hallucinogenic gasses into the nervous system of the person.”

Janna stared at him. Gaston turned his exoskeleton off and tapped on his holster.

“It’s quite… addicting.”

“Is it?”

“Indeed it is. It feels like you entered the perfect world. That if you leave it, then it’ll break your heart. You don’t have to work. You don’t have to do anything other than let the flesh-egg nurture you until your passing.”

She looked at him oddly. Gaston shrugged.

“If you have tasted the smell of it. You’d understand why these bastards want to.”

“Then how come you aren’t joining them if you understood?”

Gaston stared at Janna as if she was the biggest fool. Janna tilted her head to the side.

“What?”

“You’re a damn fool.”

Janna looked at his accusing face before nodding to herself. She looked quite proud for a moment before her face turned serious. She plucked the buster out of the concrete ground and hung it on the magnetic sheath behind her back.

“How come this place is separated?”

“The source is in Tottori and Kyoto so it’ll be a hard fight. There is probably something else. Not that it matters when we’re just Associates of this Company.

Gaston’s bioshield rippled when something hit him. Janna slightly raised the output of her bioshield as a strong gust of wind forced debris, rocks, and tiles from the houses. The most dangerous was the shards from the ruined concrete flying towards them.

Gaston stood in front of Janna. His back faced the direction of the concrete. More objects flew towards them. Gaston waited for the gust to weaken, then turned around. A figure clad in this coating that made it look like they were coated with the night sky. The ‘thing’ tried to attack, but Gaston raised his fist and slammed it on the head of the beast before the thing could reach Gaston’s head.

With the beast down. Janna raised her buster sword and cleaved the thing into two. Before the thing could move, Gaston stomped on the creature’s head.

“Split-realm creatures. Things are getting worse.”

“No shit. I’d be surprised if they don’t wipe out half of this country by the time they are done.”

Gaston lifted his foot again and stomped on the chest of the creature once more. “If it's become too rough, you can bet that they’d signed a treaty and have a purging run happen immediately. Let’s just hope that the folks fighting on have enough firepower. How are they?”

“Still fighting,” Janna planted her sword on the ground and then leaned on the hilt. Her chin on the pommel of her blade. “Red doesn’t really need my help. Jakob and her are tearing the cultists apart while the rest of the breakers are doing their best to hold the line.”

“Casualties must be high.”

“It is quite okay considering how things are.”

“That so?”

Gaston took a piece of equipment and planted it on the concrete. The equipment looked like an umbrella. But it rapidly expanded until there was this protective dome surrounding it. Gaston connected his bracer on the equipment and called on the bridge.

“This is Adjutant Hardy, a beacon has been planted. We have confirmed that there are split-realm creatures. I repeat. Split-realm creatures have been spotted. Bridge, call UEDF’s Secretary and inform him that the storming event has reached a critical stage.”

“Copy that, VTOL will be arriving shortly.”

Gaston did an integrity check on the software of the equipment before looking away.

“It should be done.”

“What about them?”

Gaston followed her line of sight. There were more split-realm creatures appearing.

“Get rid of them. It’ll take time before the VTOL arrives.”

“Okay,” she leaned her buster sword on her shoulder. “Sitting this one out too?”

“Have fun.”

Janna grinned. Her figure vanished and the terrifying output of her bio-energy shattered the spot where the split-realm creatures appeared. Her sword flickered and left afterimages as she butches the split-realm creatures. Gaston stood near the beacon. A concrete wall flew towards him. He ducked down and swiped the wall up as he caught it.

“Try not to hit the beacon.”

Janna grinned. She turned towards the creatures once more and butchered them until none appeared. By the time the VTOL arrived, the designated landing zone was filled with creatures that had lost its ‘skin’. They looked like they were burned by something.

Janna had a frightening look on her face. Gaston returned his focus back to the sight before him, a familiar view that had him stuck to the ground and halted their scheduled extraction. Gaston’s calmness in the heat of battle and Janna’s passion for fighting and raw emotion had rubbed one another to the point where Gaston would channel her passion on her while she projected his stoicism back to him whenever he would try and play professional on her.

She approached him. Janna’s frightening look vanished. She licked her teeth and then tried to hug Gaston while still tainted with the bile and excess matter of the creatures.

“Stop,” he raised a hand. “Have you looked at yourself?”

“Tsk, stingy,” Janna’s eyes raged before it returned lightless. She sheathed her buster sword. Her mood became solemn and impassive.

The VTOL landed. The mercenaries who went out of the VTOL eyed the dead before they placed their eyes on the bile-covered Janna. She marched in the VTOL without a word. Gaston watched the other vehicle start extracting the creatures from the ground.

With the two of them in the VTOL. The pilot didn’t waste time and flew up. From above Yaizu looked like a smoky ruin. On the farther left side of the view there were forces holding the line. The right flank of the city, where you could view the mountain in the distance, were fighting back against TYPE-class monsters.

“This is Adjutant Gaston Hardy,” he said to his comms. “The beacon has been planted. All units are advised to evacuate the area. UTM coordinates are: 54N-276325-3855579. All ships situated in the Suruga Bay are instructed to brace for impact.”

He switched his channel. “Miss Ayumi. Beacon is set. Please contact the YAF and the Defense Force to steer clear.”

“Copy that,” Ayumi’s voice was hardened. There was steel on it. The recent events seemed to have hardened her resolve and made her far colder sounding.

“All units in Yaizu City are to be evacuated. Bombing run will commence within ten minutes. I repeat. All units in Yaizu are to stay clear of the city. Any Consortium-licensed Companies are advised to evacuate into UTM coordinates 54N-236883-3845992 .”

She repeated her message, this time she made sure of her identity.

“This is Secretary Nara Ayumi of the Earthside Consortium Branch of Japan, and Overlord of the Defense Grids Systems. Yaizu City is currently undergoing a terraforming mutation. By the agreements of the UEDF, EC, and the pact signed by the Government of Japan. Yaizu City is now placed under a purging run.”

Her cold and steely voice rang on the comms. Gaston turned off the comms and watched as every unit in the area escaped the city. The beacon that they planted on the city started pinging every device in the vicinity to evacuate the area. From a distance the air carrier Cecil watched from a distance. All other units called to land temporarily on the air carrier. As they approach the carrier. The purging run on Yaizu City began. Gaston saw the fighter jets breaking the speed of sound and leaving no sound other than the sonic booms.

They drop these ‘sprinkles’ that are scattered over the city. They were like a rain of salt that suddenly rapidly expanded. Then another batch of fighter jets came and fired a total of sixteen smaller rounds which got planted everywhere.

“All units. Brace for impact.”

With that impassive voice. There was a sudden quietness that broke all other sounds in the world. Everyone who knew what was coming covered their ears and yet there was a still numbing feeling as the buildings and structures of the city were just gone.

“The Sparticle Bomb has been deployed.”

It was a devastating sight. The city was flatten and the surface was covered in this salt-like material. The water near the beaches was boiling. Eleven miles away from the city the trees were burning.

“How are the shelters underneath the city?” Gaston radioed.

“It survived. Those who are in the first layer… They might not have long to live.”

Gaston squeezed his eyes. He wiped his face and radioed. “Continue the purging run. UTM coordinates are 54N-239026-3881034.”

The beacon should have made a target.”

“Acknowledged.”

This wasn’t his job. It was just that most of the staff of the Earthside Consortium of Japan had perished when it got attacked. With his contract still valid. Gaston was implored to do this task without fail. Not to mention that there were no soldiers or mercenaries around to order.

“Continue the bombing run. Saturate the area until all split-realm openings are neutralized,” Gaston said impassively.

“Roger, Sparrow, please be advised. Duskoff will be coming to allied units”

“Hangfire.”

“Lotus Company is Oscar Mike!”

“Saturating run is bravo zulu. Lotus Company is to sweep the twenty miles around the outskirts of the area. We are moving like pond water, Sparrow Command will now delegate resources to the other areas.”

“Roger that, good hunting, Sparrow.”

The devastating purging run cleared the area. What was left was a desert of salt-like material that covered the whole city of Yaizu.

Everything was still burning. And the hot wind coming from the former city could still be felt. Gaston thought that if it wasn’t for the bioenergy shielding that he was wearing. There was no doubt that he would feel the heat coming from the purged city. A gloom of silence remained in the air. He saw the natives of the country stare at him grimly before turning away. Janna went out of the VTOL while still clad in the bile of the split-realm creatures.

“Adjutant Hardy to Bridge. The request of the Sparrow Command has been fulfilled. Returning to duties, over.”

“This is Bridge, copy that.”

Gaston motioned Janna to go inside while he casts a glance at the flattened city once more.

How many cities do we have to burn before we win?