“Be advised White Knight, combat operations at the edge of target Ignis will commence shortly… Beginning counter-insurgency operation, now…Do not expect me to return…”

Silently watching as a distant patrol began to make ground, the men of Diamond Squadron remained hidden amongst the rubble and dirt that covered the southern sewer system. They all waited. Newly furnished rifles in hand, and spare ammunition by their sides. It was beyond silent in this single tunnel that would lead to the outside world. Over twenty hours had passed since the fighting began, and Mike wasn’t about to let this horde of demons break out into the city. He and his team had been fighting ever since the raid in Ignis was authorized by army command, and even after their relief force came to secure the underground facility they remained opting to fight the sudden horde that was drawn to what they believed was the exposed core of the mana crystal.

“Fire.”

On his single word did the remaining members of his squadron let loose a rain of led. The suppressed and unsuppressed gunshots echoed throughout the tunnel. Spent brass casings collided onto the ground as the occasional muzzle flash illuminated the darkness. Pressing his thumb on the light in front of his rifle, a stream of light shined upon the enemies at the end of the tunnel who flinched at the intense beam pointed directly at them. Four bodies were on the ground, blood pooling from their wounds sustained from the bullets fired. Instead of any demon that the staff sergeant imagined that he would be facing, it appeared their opposition was nothing more than the same goblins and ogres they had encountered in the forests near the Frontier. Ten more bullets killed the remaining three monsters that stood. Their bodies slumped to the ground and remained revealed by the light. All the guns pointed at the enemy went silent; raised but not moving, the riflemen waited in case of hostile reinforcements.

Without a word, Richard and Jorge moved from their firing positions at the front of the formation. Both Lecca and Mike remained in the rear for security, and by this point Dimond Squadron had been operating as a fireteam attached to the CBRN platoon that had moved in to rescue them. They were sent ahead as a scouting element, and not far behind the men dressed in hazard gear and heavy armor trailed behind cleaning up the groups of monsters that they had missed on their way to carve a path to the southern exit. The two swept the immediate area and double tapped the monsters present not willing to give the chance for any possible survivors to retaliate. Their rules of engagement had changed and they were given express permission to eliminate anything that was interfering with their mission or posed a threat.

Corporal Richard scoffed as he came across the final body at the back of the tunnel. He kicked the small goblin getting blood on his boot. Raising his rifle and peering down the sights, the click of the trigger moving into position was all Mike heard before the hushed echo of a bullet impacted T-box on the body.

Patting the ground next to him, Mike turned off his light and grabbed the ammo box next to him. Flipping the cover open, he stared at the remaining 300 bullets that was held within. He had started with 700 rounds, each member of his team did. But the further they proceeded in their scouting mission the more and more they expended taking out small patrols.

“Conserve ammunition. Limit engagements.” Dispersing the order to his men over the radio, Mike peered trough his rifle as he waited for an update from Richard and Jorge. “How are things looking up there?”

“Seven dead. Clear for next approach.” Richard’s voice was crystal clear.

“Are you keeping up fine with that arm?”

“No problems. That magic fixed me up just fine.”

Walking back down the tunnel, both Jorge and the corporal returned to their former firing positions for a moment. Grasping the magazine in his rifle and checking the ammunition left, Richard sighed as he tapped it back in. When they had eliminated the unknown weapon near the sewer management facility the corporal had sustained a wound to his right shoulder. Thankfully it missed any vital body parts and Mike’s quick thinking prevented the wound from getting infected, but in any normal firefight, Richard would be out for the count and would be sent back to a field hospital before being transferred to a civilian instillation for further treatment. However, this was not necessarily due to the field medic that arrived with the CBRN unit that relived them. Flexing his arm giving it a good stretch, a heavy sigh escaped his lips as he watched both Mike and Lecca approach him and Jorge carrying their spare, external ammunition in both of their hands.

Leccamaradel was tired; she had been pressing herself beyond what she normally would undertake during the last forty-eight hours: first it was the midnight flight to Ignis in the somewhat cramped passenger airline, and now she had to press herself after the draining raid. An additional thirty pounds was added onto her back as she was tasked with carrying the majority of the spare gear the relief team provided. Ammunition, weapon parts, explosives, rations. She carried it all. She admitted long ago that she could barely keep up with Mike and his fellow Rangers, but just as it was before as it was now it was expected of her to lead from the front and live up to the title she had.

With the left earpiece she wore connected to a radio attached to her neck, she was wired into the central communications network that was set up throughout the Federation. The gentle hum of the radio still trying to cut through the white noise all around bugged her to no end. She bit her tongue in frustration, “Raven is responsible for all of this and we haven’t even seen the bastard.”

Looking over his shoulder, his eyes hidden by the gentle light given off by his goggles, Mike fiddled with the ammo can he held. “We’ll get him, eventually. Let’s try to not let this next horde overrun our position. Second Company are relying on us to stall the next hostile approach.”

Adjusting the metal helmet sitting on her head and further concealing her silver-hair, the princess grunted, “Roger.”

A small smile tugged at the corner of Mike’s lips. He was glad the princess had adjusted to this harsh lifestyle, but he could never truly be happy knowing that her life was being thrown theses world-changing events every single day. Taking a deep breath, the nasty smells flooded his nose making him cough as he once more led the remnants of his squadron from the front. He had been lucky enough to not catch a single bullet during the raid. His teammates were not as fortunate; with two dead leaving him with himself and the other three battered and tired, this was more of a fight of attrition than survival. If they could just fight long enough for a larger force to storm and counterattack the second wave of demons, then perhaps just maybe he could send the rest of his men home. There was even a chance that the princess would get one single day where her home nation and the Federation weren’t butting heads.

Flipping over his wrist and checking the watch he still had from Earth, Mike noted that the time was listed as twenty till eight. They had been working through the entire night. It was cold and wet, which wasn’t a surprise to any of the, and their current trajectory pointed them towards the exit of the sewer system. There was enough mud and unknown materials coating their bodies to make them look unrecognizable to anyone that might’ve stumbled upon them, but this was an advantage as the smell and dirty environment hid them from any prying eyes, and only if they silhouetted themselves or let the enemy get close did they ever get sported.

Advancing at the head of his fireteam, the sergeant lead his remain three troops down the dark, decrepit tunnels. This was beyond anything he could’ve expected to live through; the magical world that was intertwined with mechanical machinery. It was something he remained wary of even as he passed the dead monsters that had nothing more than wooden clubs and stray metal shards attached to their bodies.

“Crazy sunzabitches are trying to go against us? That’s suicide.” Corporal Richard observed.

“With just a little bit of help they were almost able to overwhelm us. That first wave was nothing to be proud of beating back.” Jorge said. The OMFS agent was right, with a rough guess it could be determined that the mere three-hundred large wave was only a scouting and testing element. Something about the enemy composition being primary goblins and small ogres did not present an ideal threat, but instead the idea that they were cannon fodder for the real threat that was still to come.

“Still, we were able to hold them back.”

“Maybe.”

Reaching a darkened hall on the side of the patience tunnel, scattered beams of light broke through a roof grate and lit up the only patch of ground below it. Taking a pause just before the grate, Mike looked up and stared aimlessly at the sunlight that came from well above. They were still a good four floors underground, but to see the gentle morning, orange sunlight gave a morale boost to the four. It was dangerous to expose themselves under the light considering they were in hostile territory, so with the clock still ticking against them, the sergeant leading the three continued on albeit at a slower pace.

It was Mike’s personal decision to slow the pursuit of Raven. If Lecca, Richard, and Jorge were unable to truly fight against the fallen hero who they may very well encounter in this scouting run, then their deaths would be on his name. McCann and Bishop were already dead. Their faces and names engrained in his mind just like all the others he had lost even before the incident in Peshawar. The least he could do is keep his troops in a ready state, able to fight until the last man. That much he could offer to those that passed before his own life would be taken. Death came easily, yet here he stood tall against the myriad attempts on his life. How many would have to die before the world stopped fighting? That he didn’t know.

“We should be reaching the exit within the hour.”

Jorge diddled with his bolt-action rifle. He carefully watched the metal sights atop of the gun dimly reflect the light that was given off by the dying lights on the side of the tunnel.

“Expect to run across another patrol. These tunnels are flooding with the demons.” Leccamaradel warned.

The more and more they grew deeper into the tunnels and closer to the exit of this godforsaken labyrinth, uncanny, supernatural, and magical sights were witnessed. Gentle blue and green lights from small collections of mushrooms provided a soft ambient light alongside the fading white-artificial lights that were once installed in this system of man-made pathways. Further-and-further, more grates that shined light from the morning surface light grew common, and just for a moment did the four slowly lower their guards.

With each footstep they took, only the occasional dead body would be found. From a frail-looking goblin to what was believed to be a once mighty stone golem had been stumbled upon. Each body had a number of wounds that scoured the entire body. Small holes that looked like the typical gunshot wound, and large vertical and horizontal slashes indicated that a bladed weapon was also used to cut through the stray demon that someone, believed to be Raven, stumbled across. For what reason he had to cut down these monsters was unknown. His intentions were perceived to be to expose a hole within the city of Ignis to let a horde of demons flood the populace and crumble this crown jewel into nothing but bones and ashes, yet these bodies indicated that perhaps he was relying on luck if this was his plan. He did not have control, if any over these foul monsters from the Frontier. All that mattered now was tracking the fallen hero down and bringing him to justice and helping him understand that killing and stealing all the souls he had ordered to be taken was not going to bring salvation to either the Federation nor the Kingdom of Yondel.

Mike presumed that they were hot on Raven’s trail. He had inadvertently caused the four to follow his direct path that was clean cut through the waves of monsters that no doubt had passed them. All that mattered was stopping the mad-man, but at times it felt like the staff sergeant should be doubling back and supporting the growing defensive lines that were set up by the Federation. By now, NOGS from 1st battalion should have arrived and moved to reinforce the already wary CBRN troops that were handling both the cleanup of the city and the security of the critical assets within the underground water treatment facility. They had the chance to slow their pursuit, to catch their breaths. To stop chasing after Raven would be a death sentence to the Federation. If a war against the kingdom didn’t destroy the nation, then the fallen hero would take matters into his own hands and rip the Federation a part, piece-by-piece. Mike wouldn’t let that happen, he would bring Armageddon to the fallen hero no matter the cost.

“Exit up ahead.” Richard words just managed to tickle his ear as straight ahead laid a series of doors to the outside that were guarded by a large collection of Goblins, Ogres, and Golems.

“Designated zone marked! Prepare to fire cluster munitions!”

“T-Minus fifteen! Got a bunch of these raptor fucks at our doorstep!”

“God damn it! Just get it locked in!”

Crackling to life as it cut through the white noise, the four radios each wore received the incoming message of a call for fire. Mike made the call and halted his fireteam. All kneeling and securing a perimeter, Mike took his time taking out his radio and dialing the frequency by a quarter point. The white noise was eliminated, and the final part of the message sent was loud and clear.

“Davis, you hear that!? The south side is going to be shelled! Get your men the hell out of there!”

“Location?” Looking over his shoulder the staff sergeant turned the question to Agent Jorge who had been keeping count of their pace and where they were located in the maze-like sewer system.

“We’re definitely heading south, but without any coordinates I can’t say if we will be in the strike zone.” The agent responded fiddling with a map he had withdrawn from his pocket. The Slavic-looking man was frustrated as this was something he had never had to previously deal with. Raising his radio to his mouth he tried to make an interception call before the guns would prepare to fire, but no matter what he said nothing got through. They could only receive, not send messages. “No word. We’re in the dark.”

Focusing on the world beyond the gun sight he looked through, Mike let out a hum as a response to his fellow OMFS agent. The Federation was likely preparing short-range and low-yield artillery pieces to eliminate any further waves before they could breach the underground tunnels that ran below Ignis. This was quite the scorched earth tactic as civilian casualties could very well mount up from even the slightest of mistakes. One thing the staff sergeant feared was that President Harding had finally given into the demands of the Senate and had given full authorization for the armed forces of the Federation to persecute targets as they pleased. For something as serious and dangerous as a coordinated terror attack, especially on a critical city which hosted many important VIPs, allowing the army to reign supreme with their field guns could prove to be catastrophic in the long run and would set a dangerous precedent for a future response to a terror attack.

“We have to keep going.” He said firmly not willing to give the chance for Raven to escape once more. Richard reached out and patted Lecca on the shoulder. With her turning around, both the corporal and Jorge did the same ready to proceed.

“Mike.”

Looking over his shoulder to the words of his first name, the staff sergeant formed a small smile.

“Rangers lead the way.”

Stepping into the light ahead one-by-one, the four rapidly approached the exit of the tunnel. Trash littered the entire exit and puddles of water reflected the light of the sun. An awful odor painted the entire environment, but it was nothing compared to the sight that was no more than two-hundred meters ahead. Running through the muck and garbage, Mike lead his team towards the large group of hostiles that had taken up shelter. Their path was compressed into the mud and sand, and their weapons remained secured in each of their hands as they moved to the front ready to engage in an all-out-firefight. Was their move suicidal? Perhaps, but it was the one chance they had at making sure target Raven wouldn’t live to see another day. If they could kill the fallen hero with the price of their lives, then that was a risk they were all willing to take even if their deaths were caused by friendly fire.

At the center of a large circular plaza, four unknown riflemen stood guarding what looked to be a large marine vessel. There within the bridge of the ship was none other than Raven who was observing the entire standoff that was about to happen within the next ten seconds. Without missing a beat, Lecca raised her lever-action rifle and aligned the sights on the still target. Within a second she slammed the trigger back and fired a single bullet into the window that Raven looked through. The window shattered and a large explosion send both glass shards and metal shrapnel onto the deck below. Raven remained in place as he stood tall and raised his left hand to activate the headphones he was wearing.

“Take them down, agents. It’s time for you to shine.”

“Agents?” Jorge parroted with a shocked expression.

“Rouge agents!” Mike bellowed as the four gunmen standing on the lower deck sprinted forward firing their rifles towards Dimond Squadron.

The staff sergeant hadn’t thought about it before. Target Raven, even from the distance between them, was well into his late forties or early fifties. Evidently the fallen hero had been working this entire plot the entire time, as the resources present and that under his control was beyond what any briefing the Federation had could ever hope to tell. The older man stood on the bridge looking down on the dock that Dimond Squadron was rapidly racing to. His sun-burnt face and sunken in eyes held time, and Raven intended to show the Federation why his actions would come to fruition no matter the outcome. He had control of former agents from the NIA and the OHFI. This was their time to shine and show him what they could do to serve his purposes.

“Cut the chords and prepare for cast off!” The leader of the rogue agents growled with a booming voice as two of his men raced forward and shot the ropes holding the watercraft to the wooden docks. The bullets impacting the wood and rope made Dimond Squadron take cover behind the scattered piles of bricks and fallen trees, but they were up and running once more. Their assault was quickly intercepted by the rogue agents who engaged and aimed to delay the OMFS strike team from reaching their craft before it had casted off into the sea that was not less than two miles down a small river.

From the distance they were at, any precision shots were not able to be made, but Mike had an ace up his sleeve as he nodded at Agent Jorge who laid on his back and raised his hand into the air. A flurry of icicles formed in the sun and shimmered in the basking, orange light. Without a second thought the agent discharged the frozen mana and let Lecca’s and Richard’s rifles crackle as they aimed to suppress the hostile fireteam. The bullets collided into the steel hull of the craft and splinters of led shot up the side making the rogue agents take cover as the adjusted their defense to account for the appearance of a mage. The sound of the bullets was unmistakable, but the sight of icicles floating in the air had caught the fireteam completely off guard.

Automatic gunfire was exchanged for the blaring noise of a foghorn. Screeching in a way that was unlike anything Mike had ever heard before, his team quickly disengaged as they moved from cover-to-cover trying to find a way to board the boat that was soon to set sail down the river that ran around Ignis. Their weapons remained trained on the craft, the rogue agents had disappeared from the back edge and most definitely had retreated further onto the large platform. It only took a moment for Mike to realize that Raven was on board some type of barge. Large containers littered the deck and docks providing a maze for his squadron to navigate.

The world was a blur as a large, unknown wave emerged on the other side of the river. Looking through his magnified sight, the staff sergeant froze in place behind a large container as he watched goblins, ogres, mongrels, and other cannon fodder monsters racing to the river. The foghorn had alerted the horde.

Within seconds large fireballs emerged from the ground and shed blood into the river turning the water into a deep-red color. Machine guns began to eviscerate the horde from a fortified position above and the roar of artillery guns tearing apart the seemingly unending advance barked constantly.

“Dimond Squadron. I’ve got you lines in my line fire! Get the fuck out of the way!” A soldier barked over the radio.

Even under the less than favorable conditions, Mike grinned—at least slightly. He slowly rose from the ground and moved at the rear of his squadron as they raced and stepped onto the docks. The thundering shouts of the Federation guns never stopped and provided cover for his team to jump one-by-one onto the barge as it began to cast off and head downwind of the river. By this point Mike didn’t know what would happen, but a newfound confidence breezed through his mind and made his heart pound.

They were coming for Raven and those that betrayed the Federation. Moving down the back of the barge and securing positions of fire, the staff sergeant knew that this was the one chance to change history and bring those who had orchestrated this terror to justice.

That was the least he could do in these dire times.

Publicly Available Information: Dark Zone — The Frontier:

Originally serving as a designated area where Federation Armed Forces operated during anti-demon and monster campaigns, the ‘red zone’ was a heavily patrolled and occupied area by Zivaland and was created to investigated unknown readings in the middle of the dense forest.

However, the situation between Yondel and Zivaland deteriorated rapidly and force all Federation troops to pull out in a coordinated retreat leaving structures, vehicles, and other high value materials and information about the zone. After the retreat, a group known as the MSF was activated and tasked with maintaining the quarantine of the Dark Zone and allowing nothing to enter or exit the long forgotten ruins.

The Dark Zone is a lawless area, and not even the frontier settlers from the Kingdom of Yondel dare to expand northward towards this zone. Unknown reports have cited sightings of mutated monsters and possibly high-tier Demons, though the reports could never be recovered after the hasty evacuation.