The Afternoon brought fierce snow. Temperatures had plunged once again to near zero, and snow was falling out of the skies like a rain of bullets from overhead. The Marines watched as their breath formed miniature clouds in the air before they vanished into the skies. Visibility had been reduced to less than a half-mile. Marines were ordered to remain inside or close to the warmth of Vehicles, the only heat source around here. A few bonfires had sprung up around 181 serving a few squads of soldiers who shared stories of the battles fought both on Earth and here. But inside of a vehicle was the safest bet, and as a bonus, it was mobile. The marine force made do with what they had. Wearing as many layers as possible, tucking in their undergarments into boots and gloves, wearing ponchos and balaclavas, combat goggles, and neck gaiters. They wore white coverings over their normal MARPAT-colored uniforms, leaving brown and green helmets, boots, and gloves exposed. Most wore facial coverings to block out the flurries of snow and ice that were thrown up and about into the air. Flying like shards of glass into exposed faces, they stung eyes, pinched noses and cheeks, and bit at the ears.

Echo Company had around 150 Soldiers in it, gaining fifty more after the wave of reinforcements from Earth. Assisting them was Alpha, the largest in the Battalion, which had 200 soldiers inside. Echo had the armor, Alpha had the infantry. Led by Captain Zee, Alpha Company was the largest in 1st Battalion after the expansion. Alpha's forces would embark on Echo's transports and ride into battle.

On the Iscariot side, was well over a thousand soldiers from the Minervan Garrison. While they lacked the discipline and life-long dedication to warfare that the Imperial Army had, they were resolute in defending their homes. Most of them had been awoken by alarms in the city streets, running out of their homes to take up the call to arms. Leaving behind families and children in the hope that they could win this battle and save their homeland. For the Minervans, this was a fight about survival. Many belonging to the Minervan Garrison outright despised the Imperials now after word got out that they were kept ignorant of the pending attack. Nobody could blame them either. What was worse, the Garrison only wore their normal clothes and some ill-fitting armor over it. Being not much better than a militia, the Garrison had no regulation on equipment. Many soldiers were on the border of freezing, especially for the smaller mammalians who couldn't save their body heat as well as the larger demi-humans.

Reinforcing them were two different armies. Sir Perceval and his army of five thousand Imperials were just unloading at the docks. They would be ready to reinforce the wall soon. Their strength lay in the commitment that these soldiers had to the crown, career warriors by choice. They had the finest armor and equipment of any force throughout the Empire, and with it, they were assured of victory here in the name of King and Country.

The other force was the Magicians. Deep in the heart of the city lie the Minervan Magical University, directly across a smaller river branch from the Minervan City Hall. Though the mages in the Minervan Garrison were only capable of basic spells like deploying shields and basic manipulation of the environment around them, the graduates from the Magical University had access to powers that were more powerful by an order of several magnitudes. If the discipline of the Imperial Army and the survival-like mindset of the Garrison, weren't enough to win this battle, the Mages sure enough would.

Captain Bannon took one final observation outside of his LAV. He made the rounds with his binoculars, cursing when he couldn't even see the walls of the city despite being less than a mile away. He sighed picking up the radio.

[Capt. Bannon] "This is Captain Bannon here from Echo, I can't see jack shit out here! Jefferson, I've gotta ask, are you sure that you want to continue with this-"

[Eagle Six] "Just move forward with the plan, Bannon. We will not be stopped by a little snow."

[Bannon] "But sir-"

[Eagle Six] "That is an order, Bannon. We do not have time to wait for this storm to blow over, just bring that wall down, and get your men in the city ASAP. Understood?"

Bannon brushed away the ice forming on his mustache, slamming a fist against the metal of the LAV. He was wearing his tanker gear, a smooth helmet covering the upper parts of his head with a thick built-in headset inside. He was a tanker back in Iraq. He knew how to command armor and was an expert in supporting advances. Jefferson of course chose his men to lead the assault as the spearhead, a mechanized storm that would catch the Iscariots by surprise, shatter their morale, and force a retreat. Bannon desperately wanted to wait until he could at least see the enemy in front of him with his own naked eyes, it was a giant wall for crying out loud! It could be seen for miles!

He switched to his thermal binoculars and was able to see it towering over the snowy landscape. He let out a shiver as a trickle of cold air managed to get down his clothes. He radioed back to Jefferson.

[Bannon] "Alright, you’re the boss," He cleared his throat as he switched channels.

[Bannon] "This is Captain Bannon to all elements. Operation is a go! Bring the hammer down!"

The choir-like sound of engines roaring thundered in the air. Bannon slightly braced himself as his LAV jumped forward. Wheels turned in the snowy slush that covered the soil, leaving behind tracks in the snow. With the infrared and thermal sights equipped, the LAV's turned their turrets to the top of the walls where Iscariot infantry was gathering on mass.

At the garrison, the Marines began firing the artillery. Soldiers carried large shells placed them into the chambers of the massive howitzers with barrels pointed up at the sky towards the wall. The sound of soldiers yelling and whistles blew through the air, and the soldiers readied themselves for the bang. With the pull of a cord, the guns fired leaving an explosive boom and thick smoke in their wake. Streaks of white shot through the air, disappearing into the winter storm. Moving faster than the ground elements, the rounds came back down after traveling the seemingly impossible distance, angling themselves to drop right on top of the Iscariot infantry.

Sensing their position under attack, the Garrison's mages deployed their shields, but they were far too weak. The artillery shells broke clean through the magical shields with ease, colliding into the wall with a large fiery explosion. Five rounds fell on the wall at a time, each exploding one after another until another wave of artillery fire broke through. The UAVs picked up countless Iscariots getting blown to shreds, unable to retaliate with their weak magic.

Meanwhile, the LAV's advanced with the artillery raining ahead of them. The plan was simply to bring the wall down with the Iscariot infantry on top of it, and while the Iscariots were stunned, to force the armored element into the city with an infantry escort. It was the perfect plan of rapid movement and coordination between the spearhead of LAV's and mounted infantry, support artillery, and the reconnaissance drones flying out of sight above the clouds and winter conditions.

But the drones spotted something. The reinforcements. They were moving up to reinforce the wall faster than the Marines had expected, though they were confident it wasn't anything to worry about. The only thing that mattered was bringing the wall down, and the cracks were already showing.

The LAVs opened fire with their bushmasters to assist, with the rounds beaming through the air. Tracers highlighted their trajectory through the storm and turned the grey and white terrain into a light show. At around 500 meters away from the wall, the LAVs halted according to plan. They were in the middle of a small rural village that was just outside of the Wall. Behind it directly was the Central Promenade, the mainland Entrance into Minerva from the South. The occupants of the village had already run off a few moments before the battle, probably being evacuated finally by an Iscariot patrol.

The village was of course small, with less than twenty buildings, and one seemed to be a large church or village council. Each of the homes was made out of wood, with medium-sized farmland in the back. Dirt roads, thick hedges, cobblestone walls that stood at around three feet, and wooden fences. It was the perfect place to unload infantry as there was tons of heavy cover to shield from any Iscariot retaliation, though Jefferson doubted that they could, this was him being cautious for once. The infantry disembarked from the LAVs, soldiers yelled at each other to get into position as the thick booms of explosive artillery sounded off in the distance. They ran through the village, taking cover behind what they could, as they opened fire on the wall. The soldiers kept up the fire. The Iscariots were tossing everything that they had at them, magical energy beams that exploded upon contact with the ground, fireballs, shockwaves, anything that could fend off the wave of soldiers besieging their city, but the Garrison's magical force was too weak. They couldn't hold on for much longer, and with the cracks growing larger in the wall's structure, it would be any minute before they either evacuated it or fell along with it.

But the wall didn't fall. No matter how much fire the Marines put on it, no matter how dangerously close it looked to collapsing, it stood still as ever, "Somethings keeping it up, sir!" a soldier told Bannon. Hurriedly he relayed it to Jefferson.

[Bannon] "This is Echo Actual to Eagle Six, we're being held up over here!"

[Jefferson] "Damn it, Bannon! This is a simple task, what on Earth is the holdup now?"

[Bannon] "That wall isn't coming down, sir! There's something on the other side holdin' it!"

[Jefferson] "Then get rid of it, Bannon! Eagle six, out!"

Bannon took a look again at the wall. He no longer needed his thermal sights to see it. With his binoculars, he was able to make out a red aura surrounding the bricks of the wall. It must've been something magical holding it in place! But how was he supposed to fight that? More disturbing news came from Zulu-Nine almost immediately after that observation.

[Zulu 9] "This is Zulu Niner, about those Iscariot reinforcements? Yeah, they've arrived. Looks like they're the guys holding the wall in place. They are moving on top of it. Zulu-Eight can take a few shots at them, how copy?"

[Bannon] "Understood Zulu-Niner, tell Zulu-Eight to fire all that he's got at those reinforcements. Take 'em out please!"

A new voice hopped onto the call.

[Zulu 8] "This is Zulu-Eight. Roger Wilco, we're firing on those ground targets. Standby."

Bannon watched as out of the clouds, the streak of a missile descended upon the city. It was glowing a bright fiery red color, flames spewing out of the missile's engine. It looked almost like a shooting star as it streaked across the sky leaving a trail of light behind. But as it came to the ground, it began to slow down…

"What the fuck?" Bannon whispered in confusion as he watched it drastically decrease speed. He wasn't an expert on the matter, but he was pretty sure missiles weren't supposed to do that. He looked closer at it. The missile was now practically hovering over the ground. Its thrust was still burning but whatever force was keeping it in place was equally as strong. Bannon saw the dark crimson aura surround the missile, the same as the one keeping the wall in place…

Magic.

The missile's thrust cut off, apparently whatever timer it was on running out. When it did, the projectile shot upwards. Back into the clouds, hurtling itself towards the UAV. Bannon couldn't see where it went as it disappeared into the storm. But a loud boom in the atmosphere followed by a hue of red in the sky signaled that it of course detonated.

[Zulu 8] "Woah! That one barely missed us! What the hell was that?"

[Bannon] "It looked like some kinda return-to-sender spell. They must've seen the missile coming!"

[Zulu 8] "If that's the case, I cannot engage the target. AO is too hot-"

[Bannon] "It's a drone dammit! If we break it, we buy a new one! We need fire on those guys, now!"

[Zulu 8] "..."

"Fucking, dickheads," Bannon muttered. He hopped out of the LAV for a better look. His eyes narrowed at the wall as he sensed something was wrong. The other soldiers must've too, as without any orders to do so, they stopped shooting. Soon the only sound left was the hum of the LAV engines and confused talk among the Marines. An atmosphere of dread fell upon the combatants as they waited for what would happen next.

Suddenly, from the top of the wall came the thunderous sound of brass. The soldiers prepared to shoot again but quickly lowered their weapons when they realized that a flock of birds had taken off to spread their wings in flight. Now the soldiers were doubly confused. A few tried to shoot at the birds but their small size, large numbers, and fast speed made any attempt to shoot at them prematurely nothing short of a waste of ammunition. But there was also the factor that nobody knew why the birds had been released. Perhaps they were scouts of some form? But everyone doubted that the Iscariots had working cameras, much less imaging technology light enough for a bird to carry. Perhaps they were messengers? But where were they sending the message? Any Iscariot position would be behind the wall, not further into Ithacan-controlled territory. And why were so many birds flying there?

[Bannon] "Uh, Eagle Six, are you seeing this shit?"

[Jefferson] "Yes, I am."

[Bannon] "Whaddya think it is?"

[Jefferson] "Bannon, I've already told you that-"

Bannon frowned as he looked down on the radio. He checked to see if it had died but it was working perfectly fine. Why had Jefferson stopped speaking all of the sudden then? While he pondered that, the birds drew nearer. He was able to make out the colors of their feathers. A fiery red…

Bannon turned back to his radio as he heard the sound of his commander's voice come through.

[Jefferson] "Get your men back into their transports! IMMEDIATELY!"

[Bannon] "What? Why?"

[Jefferson] "Those aren't regular birds. Those are phoenixes!"

Phoenixes? Bannon remembered fairytales about those creatures. It didn't click immediately why he should've evacuated his troops, though the context should've made it completely obvious of the risk they possessed. He was about to instruct his men to re-embark onto their transports when the first bird hit. Like a kamikaze run, it slammed into a Marine straight into his chest, instantly engulfing the soldier into a ball of fire. The soldier fell backward into the snow, flames spreading through his thick winter clothing as they all began to ignite. He began screaming uncontrollably, the snow doing little to help him. A comrade of his quickly dashed to help his friend out, grabbing a bunch of the snow on the floor and throwing it on his pal, but he too was slammed into by another bird. Much like his friend, he exploded into a ball of fire.

"Oh shit!" Bannon swore as he finally made the realization, "FALL BACK! COME ON, YOU SHITHEADS! FALL BACK!"

The panicked soldiers turned face to run. The entirety of the infantry company now on the run with the Phoenixes on their asses. Many were hit, combusting with a few stopping to help them, only for them to burst into flames as well. The pained screams of those on fire, mixed with the terrified yells of soldiers and their officers ordering them to retreat into the armored vehicles, created a terrifying sound that Bannon could only describe as the sound of war. All around him, soldiers were either running away with terror written on their faces, or they were on fire. Meeting a premature death through immolation. Many tried to shoot back, with a few of the birds dropping out of the skies, but ultimately the effort was futile. There were too many.

Bannon felt the heat rise through the snow as he all around him he watched his soldiers die. It terrified him in a way that no other battle had. It didn't help that as the bodies burned and gunfire intensified, a thick smoke had begun to rise, growing thicker and thicker. Bannon inhaled a bunch of it and started a coughing fit. He was burning hot, checking himself briefly to ensure that he wasn't on fire. He ran until the LAVs just ahead of him, and he watched one on his left. A squad of Marines banged on the metal for the doors to open, the truck presumably full, the soldiers caught outside were too scared to move any further. He watched as two birds fell simultaneously on top of them, ignited the whole squad who immediately began to flail around.

Bannon's confidence wavered as if it wasn't already in the dumps. He felt his legs grow weary and he quickly realized that he lost track of which LAV was his. He surveyed the area, desperate to find anything until his eyes landed on a house. Marines who couldn't find their LAVs in time were breaking into civilian homes, a smart move if they could get the doors down quick enough. But luckily, most were trained in door-kicking. Bannon began to shift his run towards the small wooden home but lost balance when something hit his helmet. He fell face-first into snow and rocks, scratching his chin and cheeks against the cold and sharp floor. As he looked up, his vision felt brighter. He observed traces of his own blood against the snow. Wiping his face clean of dirt with an arm that was also covered in more snow and dirt, he began to run towards the house. He realized that the soldiers inside were watching him through the windows. And they were…pointing at their heads? They waved their hands, trying to get his attention it seemed, and they pointed at their heads unrelentingly.

Bannon felt a slight burn on his neck, and he looked up. His entire helmet had been engulfed in fire. The work of a Phoenix, the same one that brought him to the ground. He quickly detached the tanker's helmet, uncovering his brown hair to the world. He briefly made an attempt to put the flames out but that proved futile, so he ditched the thing. Brushing out any loose flames that may have caught onto his hair. He burst through the door to the sound of exhausted and scared soldiers.

Someone placed cool water on his head, clearly, he hadn't gotten all the flames out. They patted his shoulders, someone asked a brief 'You good?' until he nodded and flashed a thumbs-up. Temporarily safe, Bannon looked around. Something to the tune of twenty men had been gathered in here. They were all packed in like salmon. They checked each other for injuries, with a few yelling as a burn was touched or a wound disturbed. There were also the ones who wept for fallen friends and comrades inside. Helpless as they could only watch the bodies burn and smoke in the fields. The Iscariots had unleashed one of their most devastating attacks yet.

Bannon went to his radio, "Attention, all LAVs!" He spoke breathlessly into the box, "Please. We need you to come and pick up all of us. We are stranded inside the village homes. If you have space, please let the soldiers in! Thank you."

Almost instantly a LAV pushed up in front of the main door. It maneuvered around until its rear was right up against the home. This position would allow the soldiers to enter as smoothly as possible with little risk of being burned. Six people, plus a few standing could get inside, so Bannon opened the door to begin the process, "Six people at a time! C'mon ladies, let's get it moving!" He called out, able to regain his strength for leadership. He brushed back the thoughts of what he had been unfortunate enough to witness. He knew he'd never be able to get the images out of his mind. But they were too dark for now, and dark thoughts clouded effective leadership. So he ignored them for a later day. Besides, his survival too was at risk. That became apparent when a fire billowed just outside the house. No doubt a bird had tried to slam into the home. Bannon initially brushed it off thinking that he and the Marines were safe inside until he realized…

They were in a wooden home. The other marines started panicking as the flames caught onto the wood outside. The faint smell of smoke reaching Bannon's nose. He watched as the first LAV filled with six people and took off. Another one came to replace it. This time, a wave of soldiers pushed forward, pushing Bannon along with it, "Hold on!" Bannon cried out, "Everybody! Slow the fuck down! Do not panic!" He yelled at them. It seemed to hold the Marines who began leaving at an orderly pace. To get more out, Bannon ordered that four extra marines be allowed inside the LAVs. Though it would be an incredibly cramped and uncomfortable ride. But right now, he couldn't afford the luxury of comfort. Six marines took seats inside of the LAV, plus four more who stood inside practically on their tiptoes as legs, equipment, and bodies collided with each other. Not to mention the sweat from physical exertion, and the melting snow on their uniforms. It would be a painfully awkward and uncomfortable ride, but Bannon grew up taking the train to work every day at 8 AM which was practically the same experience. These guys could knuckle up a bit and take a few for the team.

The second LAV was cleared, and it moved on, just in time for a third one to get in. Bannon realized that this was his command vehicle. But he resisted the urge to climb inside. He needed to stay here with his Company since a Captain always goes down with his ship. Though his ship in this regard was a company of pissed off, scared, and exhausted Marines. The fire was growing, now visibly engulfing a good portion of the wall outside. The wood shielding the inside would catch fire incredibly soon, and that would spell disaster.

The third one filled and moved out. Bannon was surprised at how fast it was all going. The number of soldiers inside had almost completely dissipated. All that remained were about eight more himself not included. If the next LAV was as empty as the other three were, they would all be out safe. But when the fourth LAV pulled up and opened its doors, only two seats were left available.

The sound of crackling came from behind and Bannon turned to see the wall burning from the inside. A rather large flame spread into the house, and it would keep spreading. Eight Marines became three, as two more soldiers, plus an extra four were seated inside. Now it was just Bannon and two others. A sense of dread filled Bannon's heart as he feared that a transport would show up full, even with soldiers standing with room for one more. And he'd have to wait with time he didn't have. But thankfully, the last LAV arrived, and inside was room for about five more. Looks like he didn't need to cram more people inside after all, but nobody would ever know. At least not as long as these two other soldiers didn't squeal, and judging by the look of total relief as if God himself had come down and saved their souls, Bannon doubted that they would.

On the cusp of a house that was in the process of burning down, Bannon embarked on the final transport. He briefly looked back at the burning structure with an exhausted sigh. The LAV moved on, joining the armada of armored vehicles that were slowly moving away from the village. Bannon's nerves got to him as he heard the firebirds kamikaze themselves straight into the armor of the light vehicles, but the fiery attacks were harmless against steel. He calmed later on though as the sounds died off, the firebirds either died or the Iscariots ended the attack. Bannon gave the order for the armada to halt when he realized that, and the soldiers briefly left their armored safe havens to reorganize themselves. Bannon found his command vehicle and swiftly rejoined the crew.

Though nearly twenty men lay dead, with many more injured, Jefferson expected to gain a few casualties while sieging down the city. In fact, he must've been preparing for this exact scenario, as without missing a beat he radioed Bannon to refuel the second assault on the city. This time, the soldiers would remain in the vehicles indefinitely. Albeit reluctantly, Bannon gave the word for 1st Battalion to re-engage, and as the day continued, the battle started all over again. Once again did the Iscariots use Pheonixes to drive the Marines away, but against the armor of the LAV force, they were ill-effective, only serving to get the poor birds killed and run over by the twelve-ton beasts.

Bannon carefully watched the wall of the city, and he noticed that the magical force holding the wall up had vanished. Sensing the opportunity, he ordered the vehicles to open fire, and just as soon as he did, rounds of explosive shells were launched at the wall once again. But whatever magical reinforcements the Garrison had, they were now stationed at the top of the wall. Magical shields materialized, and Bannon for fear of running out of ammo ordered the LAVs to stop firing. At that time, the viper helicopters flew overhead to scout out the wall and harass the enemy from the skies. Hellfire rockets were launched from above, devastating the Iscariot lines as the shields were pointed only towards the land vehicles. It served as a useful distraction, for the Iscariots had to balance their magical protection between both the Vipers raining fire down upon them from above and the mechanized force firing at their walls.

But when the Vipers pulled away, the shields dropped entirely, closing in on the distance, and certain that the wall was close to breaking, Bannon ordered that the LAVs concentrated entirely on shooting. But something put him off...

After about five minutes, Bannon ordered the company to stop when the disturbances became too large to ignore. A shaking of the surface could be felt, very much like when a train passed by. Except this was even more violent. Akin to an Earthquake, but Bannon didn't know if an Earthquake was actually occurring or not. The Marines lacked knowledge of even the political makeup of this world, much less the geological landscape and an understanding of how the plates were organized. But as the shaking grew more intense, it became clear that this wasn't natural. Again, the Iscariot shields were down. They were summoning something...

The second clue came when it seemed as if the city had begun sinking. At a moment, the shaking grew incredibly violent tossing the trucks around and making the suspension scream. Throughout 1st Battalion came exclamations of astoundment and confusion. They soon realized that the city wasn't sinking, instead, they were rising. The ground ahead of them moved upwards, surrounded by crimson light being summoned from the mages on the wall. They watched as the village was completely overturned, and the forest caught up in the land wave. A giant tsunami of nothing but dirt. The entire expanse of land ahead being raised above the company like a wall, and everything that went up would soon come down.

Bannon did not need to tell his company what to do. Immediately, all of the vehicles kicked into reverse. In the heat of the moment, the sounds of panic and desperation came through the fog of confusion, the Marines now breaking into a full retreat as the wave of soil came crashing down above them all with a thunderous boom. One LAV was consumed, pummeled completely with all the Marines inside likely dead. Bannon and his crew were next in line, but they caught the tailwind of the attack. With the sound of a thousand lightning strikes accompanying the experience, the LAV was shaken around and tossed about. The crew inside falling off of seats and slamming into the walls. Bannon, helmetless, hit his head on the exposed metal inside...

When Bannon awoke, a half-hour had slipped by. His head sore, he looked around to figure out the status of his troops. His crew was gone. A single hatch was open inside of the vehicle. It let in both rays of light and snowflakes to settle inside. The engine was off, and Bannon's breath condensed into clouds in front of him, cold air streamed in from the hatch. He heard the sounds of guns being let loose and yelling. The sounds of war...

He peaked his head up, his crew must've figured he'd been killed in the shakeup since they clearly all evacuated the vehicle. Moving his hand to a bloody spot on the back of his skull, it wasn't hard to see why they thought that. They must've tunneled their way out through the hatch. At least two inches worth of dirt had completely buried the LAV, but the structure held firm enough for them to survive. Wasn't that lucky?

As he peeked his head out around him though, his jaw dropped. Eyes widened. In what used to be a forest and a small village, was now nothing more than rubble. He could see directly to the walls of Minerva without having to stand on the slopes of 181. All around the new space, the forest was ablaze. Fiery orange and red polluted the air around him, burning down trees painting the skies with black ash. It turned the previous winter wonderland, into a fiery hell. It must've been the Iscariots, attempting to either slow the Marines down and prevent another attack, or to burn any survivors of the land tsunami alive. Bannon's nose stung breathing in the smoky air that burned the flesh of his throat. He had a coughing fit for a round or two before he braced and heaved himself out of the hole. Now, above ground, he was able to see the hellscape he woke up in clearer.

Squads of disorganized Marines were scattered about the Battlefield, survivors of the wave. They fired their guns at the wall trying to pin the mages down to prevent yet another attack. At the same they, they hastily retreated. Running back to the slopes of hill 181 for their lives.

"FALL BACK!"

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!"

"GO! RUN!"

Those, among others, were the common phrases he managed to hear over distant echoes. He wondered briefly whether he should be doing the same. Many ran straight past him, some tripping over clumps of dirt and mud formed from the melting snow. But his eyes locked onto a viper helicopter flying overhead towards the walls. Shields no longer up, they too were evacuating the wall. The cracks in the structure grew larger. The Viper let fly a single hellfire at the base of the wall before it flew back up and turned tail towards the base. When the missile made an impact, it was all over. Falling, the sound of thunder and lightning accompanied it. It was hidden by a cloud of dust and dirt that rose into the air only to fall back to the ground a few moments later. At that moment, Bannon could've been witnessing the death of hundreds. Lives much like his own taken away. He thought about the souls lost briefly before realizing that this is what they had been fighting for. This fight would finally be over... for now. He could get the hell out of there and-

His eyes caught hold of a beam of energy shooting up from the city. The work of the surviving mages no doubt. It was red in color, a bright red. Much like the firestorm surrounding Minerva. It skyrocketed through the clouds and held there like a giant searchlight. Then, blue lightning zapped through the clouds, twisting around the beacon of red light and spiraling towards the surface of the ground. Upon impact, a wave of crimson red energy was formed. It radiated out away from the energy beam. He couldn't see what it was doing at first, but as it grew to about the size of a ten-story building, it became clear. Trees that hadn't burned down were vaporized. Everything in its way was wiped in an instant. And it steadily approached. He wouldn't be able to outrun it.

"My God," he whispered, the pulse coming nearer. Marines unfortunate enough to find themselves further up, were erased when the pulse showered over them. He saw everything tear apart, flesh, uniform, helmets. The soldiers being instantaneously vaporized as soon as they made contact with the wave.

He closed his eyes, falling to his knees. His heartbeat in his ears now.

"Thud, Thud... Thud, Thud..." That was the only thing he could hear in his final moments. Opening his arms and closing his eyes, he embraced it. Falling into the light...

"Rrrrrring! Rrrrrrring! Rrrrrrrin-"

"Hello?"

"Is this Major Jefferson that I am speaking to?"

"Who's asking?"

"It's General Greene, I'm calling from the Joint Cheifs of Staff here in D.C., I've received your report and video of that recent battle you've had, figured I'd call to understand the situation."

"Oh... well, General Greene, sir! I wasn't expecting a call."

"Well, your report caught the attention of some pretty important people over here. None of us have ever seen anything like it before."

"Neither have I, sir."

"I'm sure. Tell me about it."

"Well, it is a bit too early to tell. But, so far we've managed to bring the Minervan wall down. We're pushing into the city as planned, though, we will need reinforcements."

"How many did you lose?"

"Nearly a hundred dead, few injuries. Anyone who might've been injured was lost in the battle. My captain leading the assault was... vaporized, we're going to need a while to recover."

"I understand. So let me get this straight, that whole... land tsunami thing and the death field... that was all magic?"

"Yes sir, we believe it is."

"Our Portal Researchers over at ACRA have been telling us about this... magic. Ekron, they call it? We think that further research into the property could prove extremely beneficial, even without considering the endless military applications it could have."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"Well, the long and short of it is simple. As you know, we have a highly trained NATO unit moving into the world --The Pentagon is calling the portal realm Mysterium by the way. The Fantastical Environmental Combat Unit. They'll be moving in to act as not only a combat force, but also researchers, and field testers. I want you to place the FECU at the head of any potential mission of discovery, and then I want you to assign a Marine unit to escort 'em. Is that clear?"

"Clear as air, sir."

"Good. I want you to choose the best of the best. Just ensure that you get all of your objectives accomplished, and end this war as soon as possible. We're preparing to declassify the operation in a year or so. I trust you know what to do."

"I do. I'll begin looking for a squad."

"Do you have one in mind?"

"I might... but let's just say that they haven't returned from their last mission yet."

"Ah... well that'll be all for now, Jefferson. I expect good news. Remember, press every advantage you have and do not worry about things such as... rules. No holds are barred for this one. We want this war over as soon as possible."

"I got it."

"I know you do. Sayonara."