3 days later…

The information Phrixus and the others discovered is made public immediately but their identities remain undisclosed. The discovery of terrible human experimentation methods by the Red Confederacy is a massive scandal, causing a worldwide mix of fear, disgust, and hatred against the military alliance—especially in China after the revelation of the ultimate fate of a few, important representatives of their country. The backlash has been so intense that it causes China to pull out of the Red Confederacy, withdraw its active troops and assets, and not participate any further in the conflict.

Phrixus is currently at the Warren Air Force Base watching the news. He feels some relief, after all the work he’s put in. “One small task to achieve a big victory,” says Phrixus.

“With the loss of China’s support no doubt they have lost a lot of manpower. I hope this is a step toward ending this war soon,” says Vincent.

“Even if we destroyed the lab,” Floyd says, “there are still a lot of them scattered on Earth, hell… there is a big difference between acquiring powers directly from the Omicron Stars and making a cursed bootleg version of it.”

“At least we spoiled their reputation. The countries supporting the Red Confederacy will think twice about the boss Hyeon Su and his mad ideas,” says Sylviane.

“Gonna send an e-mail to some friends, talk to you later.” With that Phrixus leaves the room.

Venezuela, Cabimas…

“I got an e-mail from Phrixus,” says Roberth.

The message relates a tale of Phrixus’s victory against his enemy in a war-ravaged camp with many dead soldiers and destroyed vehicles. There is another tale regarding a raid to a research lab that caused China’s recent resignation from the Red Confederacy. He considers himself and his fellow men-at-arms as the culprits of such pandemonium.

“Are. You. Kidding me?” says Valeria, in complete disbelief.

“If what he says is true, he just caused the breakdown of China with the Red Confederacy, that’s a huge achievement.” Roberth smiles.

“A great blow against them. Now we have a clearer picture about how this war might end.”

4 months later…

Phrixus is called back again for briefing. The war has continued to rage on. Without China’s assistance, the Vanguard of the Atlantic has the upper hand in the conflict.

“Corporal Phrixus, we’ve got a mission for you,” says Colonel Ethan Carver. “We have been contacted by a Russian computer and electronics engineer who wants to defect to the VOA. He is hiding in a specific area on the Russian-Ukrainian border, maintaining a low profile, and your task is to locate him and bring him for extraction. It seems he has been targeted for elimination so you’ll have to get him as soon as possible and avoid any confrontation to ensure his survival. You will receive his position by contacting this frequency.” He hands him a card. “Say the phrase ‘The neophyte rises.’”

“I’ll get the job done, sir.”

“Excellent, you will get your custom gear for this mission but remember we need the defector alive. Dismissed.”

Phrixus goes to the quartermaster and acquires his equipment. He will take his pollaxe with him just in case.

7 hours later…

After a long ride in a patrol boat, Phrixus arrives at the coast and disembarks.

A soldier finds him, and says, “Once you have the VIP in tow proceed to these coordinates to find an Air-Cushion Vehicle and go to our unit, it’s well-hidden so it shouldn’t be a problem, good luck.”

The patrol boat leaves the area and Phrixus starts to walk. The card has the frequency written on it, synchronizing his radio he says the phrase the Colonel told him.

After a few seconds, a robotic-like voice comes on and gives a code. “N17, SW1, EN9, D5.”

Checking the tactical map he tracks the coordinates given, it points to a small town where the defector should be hiding. Without wasting any time, Phrixus heads to the place and enters a spruce mire area.

32 minutes later…

So far the trip has been a quiet one; no people in sight, trees everywhere, and the faint sounds of small animals. It doesn’t take long to see a small town from afar, checking the coordinates again he pinpoints a small wooden hut. Descending from a slope he approaches the village, there are some people there that look at Phrixus with disbelief. Not wanting to draw more unnecessary attention, he goes to the hut, and notes that the door is unlocked. He decides to let himself inside, from there he spots three people, a woman who is a bit startled by the unexpected visitor and a small kid who is at the side of a distinct man who promptly addresses Phrixus.

“How did you know I was here?” The man subtly puts his hand inside his lab coat, like he is going to pull a gun.

“I’m Phrixus, agent of the VOA, I got your position by your password.”

With that the man relaxes. “Give me a moment.”

The man speaks to the woman and the kid, they exchange some words and the kid hugs him tightly and he returns it. Then he speaks to Phrixus. “We should depart now, rumors say the Red Confederacy’s special forces have been deployed at this region to get me or kill me as a last resort. Call me Prazdnikov.”

“Let’s go, then.”

They leave the village and going by the coordinates Phrixus received, they head southwest. It shouldn’t take long.

“So tell me Prazdnikov, what were you working on at the Red Confederacy?” Phrixus is curious, and he doesn’t expect the VOA to tell him exactly who this man is. He only knows the man is valuable.

“Special Weapons Department, I was researching autonomous armament and advanced guidance systems. You should have seen the rotor-based attack drones employed by them, they are still in the experimental stage and not completely ready for efficient combat, but the hotheads wanted them to be deployed to the battlefields. I was the Chief Investigator in that time and the creator of the project, along with other schematics for their arms race…”

Phrixus thinks the man is telling the truth. “Why did you join them?”

“I didn’t choose to work for them, at first my duties were focused on electronic infrastructures and data processing designs mainly focused on the civilian area. Of course, my expertise drew the attention of some influential people in the Red Confederacy. They offered me a job to put my skills to ‘good use’ and protection in exchange for developing new gizmos for them. I grudgingly accepted, not because I wanted to, but those who have enough knowledge in any discipline of science unwilling to accept their work are secretly executed, to avoid the possibility of them working for the enemy.”

“How did you manage to slip out of their hands?”

“One day I was sent in a small convoy to oversee a weapons research facility in Ukraine, in the middle of travel we were suddenly ambushed by armed attackers. I reckon they do not belong to any insurgent or guerrilla group but they were common bandits, superhuman bandits… I assume they came for our confidential files and documents, they could probably get a large sum of money on the black market. At first they used explosive weapons against us, killing some of our escorts and making us stop, we were ordered to remain inside our transports while they handled the situation. Our vehicle got hit by a rocket launcher, and we were lucky it was reinforced. I thought I was as good as dead. I decided to sneak out and see what was happening, our guards were being slaughtered by the assailants, and at that rate it was only a matter of time before they got to us. They were too distracted and without thinking twice I ran away as fast as I could…”

“…And you ended up in that town.”

“Yes… they are good people, I arrived after six hours of non-stop travel on foot, they offered me food and a place to stay, but I’m afraid the more I remained in the town, the more I exposed those people to danger. I began to ponder the path the Red Confederacy was taking… since the loss of one of their founders they have become more aggressive and relentless with their actions, even at the cost of many innocent lives. I decided it was time to quit their perverse agenda and turn my sights to the VOA.”

“I’m sure you made the right decision, the VOA gave me a helping hand back then in Venezuela to get rid of the red presence, right now between their missions and R&Rs it has been a pleasant experience working for them.”

They walk for some minutes before they’re shrouded by a thick mist. It doesn’t take long to find a wooden bridge. They suddenly stop when they spot a human figure on the other side slowly walking to them, once on the other side the person emerges from the mist. It is a female soldier dressed in some kind of body armor from her neck to her feet. She is also carrying two sabers on her hips and a large sword on her back, she looks like she is in her late thirties. After a brief silence she speaks.

“Prazdnikov Zhakarovich… The Red Confederacy demands that you explain your unexpected disappearance during your dispatch at Kirovod Voyn.”

Prazdnikov speaks in a low voice to Phrixus. “I-I know her, she is the Icy Fury of Dojran, the best operative of the Chimera Unit.” Then he addresses her. “The convoy got attacked, I had no choice but to flee, the rest of the group was entirely killed, I was the only survivor.”

“Care to explain why you did not use the radio integrated in your coat?”

Prazdnikov remains speechless.

Without an answer she responds. “The Red Confederacy will take it as insubordination, I have orders to take you for a trial. If you refuse, I am authorized to dismiss you permanently.”

“I can’t return…” He steps back a bit, looking stunned.

She redirects her gaze to Phrixus. “You… it is you, the most wanted individual in the blacklist of the Red Confederacy, this is an unexpected coincidence to find you here. In any case, it’s a custom of mine to know the name of who I am facing. What’s your real name?”

After a pause, he decides this will end with one of them dying in the fight, so there’s no harm in her knowing. “Alejandro.”

“Nice to meet you Alejandro, I’m Ksenija, now the next question is… are you prepared?”

“There’s obviously no peaceful way to settle this.” He wields his pollaxe.

“Certainly...” She unsheathes her sabers.

Phrixus wonders about the purpose of the additional sword. Then he watches as the two-handed sword begins to slowly unsheathe itself, levitating close to Ksenija’s head and assuming an offensive stance. As if that weren’t enough, her swords are being covered in a layer of frost: small icicles form at the blades’ edge, giving them a serrated appearance.

Ksenija yells, “Blood and Thunder!”

She and Phrixus rush forward, their weapons clashing. Phrixus feels his body heat being drained away and replaced by a chilling sensation. Her style of fighting consists of quick and fluid slashes with her sabers while the large sword delivers formidable and violent thrusts and wide swings. Phrixus can barely deflect and evade many of her blows, resulting in suffering a few frigid strikes from her. Changing his tactics, he uses ephemeral but intense telepathic attacks to disrupt her concentration.

For a moment, she partially loses control of her mind-wielded sword. With a tactical strike, he makes her recede and her large sword falls to the ground, still it doesn’t stop her bellicose spirit and she charges forward, delivering rapid hits and moving like a dancer. With a mighty blow between both sabers, Phrixus flinches and take some steps back, enough distance from Ksenija for her to recover her large sword and lift it near her head as before. Phrixus maintains his posture and fights back, six minutes of non-stop brawl has passed, neither duelist wanting to give up, in a final collision of weapons they disengage and recoil a bit, both of them fatigued by combat.

“You have tenacity… I underestimated you. However, I can’t allow Prazdnikov to leave with you, this will only…” Suddenly Ksenija stops talking and switches her stare to the sky behind Phrixus.

Phrixus turns back and from afar he spots six confederate attack helicopters coming to their position.

“Too late, they have found you, I hope both of you have strong legs because they will turn this place in a raging inferno.” Ksenija sheaths her swords and starts running to the bridge, from there she jumps to the rapids below, disappearing in the turbulent flow of the river.

“We have to move, go go go!” says Phrixus.

They run hastily and cross the bridge, after some seconds they hear the launch of rockets from the helicopters, and realize the choppers are attacking the village, setting it on fire.

Prazdnikov turns around to see the horror of the assault. “Nooo! What have they done?!”

“We can’t stay!” Phrixus grabs his arm. “Let’s keep moving!”

Without looking back again, they keep running but the helicopters are quickly getting closer. Eventually they stop near a large crevasse, below it the faint light overlooks a cavern.

“We’ll have to jump down, otherwise we are done for if we keep running,” Phrixus says.

As the helicopters are close enough to attack, Phrixus and Prazdnikov jump to the darkness below as they hear explosions from above. Large fires cover the area in an instant, and they have cheated death for now.

“At least it wasn’t a large fall.” Phrixus stands, pulling his smartphone and using a flashlight app to illuminate the place.

“They… razed the village, they didn’t deserve that fate… damn them, damn you Hyeon Su, damn you all!” Pradznikov clenches his fists.

“We couldn’t do anything for them, we have to keep moving.”

They navigate the rocky maze which has a few round chambers, and continue walking the long, straight path. After some minutes of walking they arrive at a dead-end but there is a ledge above. Climbing up, they can spot a dim light in the distance, the light at the end of the tunnel. Keeping the pace they find the exit of the cavern and find themselves on a small hill.

Phrixus checks his tactical map. “We are not far from our transport, this way.”

17 minutes later…

After a long trip they find a small, abandoned wooden shack in a coastal area. They open the door to reveal an ACV, the transport to take them to the extraction unit. Without wasting time, they get in and set sail.

“This has been a horrid day… the village, Chimera Unit, the attack choppers… I need to clear my head…” says Prazdnikov.

“I see our patrol boat in the distance,” Phrixus says, feeling sorry for the man. Even if the family who had taken him in wasn’t his own family, just friends, they still were innocent. He wishes he could have done something to stop the men who killed them.

The water vessel acknowledges their arrival, they board the boat and leave the zone.

8 hours later, Warren Air Force Base…

Colonel Ethan greets Phrixus. “Excellent work, with the insight and awareness of Prazdnikov we can get more data about the weapons schemes of the Red Confederacy and develop proper countermeasures. So far their prototypes are quite unreliable, but can get the job done. In any case, we will keep an eye out for anything they may be planning. Dismissed.”

Venezuela, Cabimas, 4:11 pm

“On national news,” the TV journalist says, “a clandestine VRA drug lab has been dismantled in a remote jungle south of the country, a few detained laborers in the place testified they were working for them purely because they needed money. An Army captain has declared they will double the search efforts to cut off their illicit income and find any active cells, more details at 8:00 pm…”

“Narcotics… any guerrilla party’s main source of cash for their antics, I can’t ignore the repeating pattern in the history of all those groups,” says Roberth.

“They are currently more like a rock to the feet than an actual threat, but it would be foolish to lower our guard now.” She shifts her attention to the security camera’s monitor. “Speak of the Devil… who are those three guys outside?” says Valeria.

“More VRA weasels I bet, damn it, they are a persistent bunch, we have to get over with this.”

Getting their gear, they go outside and meet the unexpected guests.

The man in the middle is the first to speak. “Never send a hare to do a lion’s work… This is Phrixus’s hideout; he is not here but… I’d wager he has important information about the Vanguard’s activity in our country. After all, he was involved in the invasion and temporary conquest of our homeland, what a bastard, son of a bitch to betray his nation like that…” The man spits on the ground.

Valeria says, “To prevent miscreants like you from ruining the country for starters, who the hell are you in the first place?”

“Umberto, leader of this state’s cell, that’s all you will know, you are not easily dissuaded by our beliefs but we remain strong in our convictions. In order to fight back against the oppression and impose our system,” with this he unsheathes a machete from his back, and his companions promptly do the same, “force must be used to achieve our goals.”

“I’ve heard enough.” Roberth pulls out his Goedendag.

Both parties storm forward. Roberth makes a thrusting attack using the metal spike of his weapon against one of them but he manages to barely dodge it and responds with a counterattack, slashing his face but the blow is cushioned by Roberth’s unique skin armor. He flinches a bit but performs another strike with the blunt part of his weapon and scores a hit to the left side of his aggressor’s ribs, stunning him for a moment, and uses this advantage to impale him in the chest. He puts pressure on the wound, enough to bring him to his knees and finally die. Meanwhile Valeria fights the other two at the same time, using agility and cunning to dodge their attacks and respond with swift blows with her claws. She discreetly poisons her assailants with her attacks, and they start to feel dizzy and confused. From behind, Roberth smashes the skull of an unsuspecting and woozy enemy distracted by Valeria, until the leader is the last remaining aggressor. Valeria performs a graceful, instinctive attack against him, a devastating roundhouse kick to the side of his neck that shatters it, ending his life in an instant. It was a not-so-difficult battle.

“I expected more, these were easy pickings,” says Roberth.

“That happens when you skip training days, such a waste of a special gift… In any case, if he was telling the truth about being the leader of the cell operating in this state then we should have no more trouble in the future with them,” says Valeria.

“I agree, we got rid of a thorn in our sides, but they are still active in other states. It will take time for the Army and the VOA to find them and take them out, it will take some years… or more… to eliminate their presence.”

“I wish I could find their leaders so easily and end them at once but I need to focus on my own business. If they keep coming we should talk with Phrixus about relocating somewhere else. Now we have to get rid of the corpses.”