Landing in a noisy country village with flags and a circus of sorts in the town's outskirts, amidst the center of a snowy forest. The Pave Low carrying a VIP entourage immediately drops its rear ramps and a General with three women in expensive gowns exit out it. The small checkpoints soldiers all stood to salute as he exited out and breathed in the cold, clean and calm air.

“Yeah, this beats Iron Mountain by a mile.”

A player in Multicam ACUs then walks up to him and greets the high ranking officer and the players stationed on the base in medieval clothing. Many wearing low class nobleman outfits with their swords slinged to their belts and without a gun or any modern accessories or clothing.

“Good Morning sir! How was the ride?”

“Rattling and noisy. When will the chopper be ready to fly again?”

“The maintainers will be doing a quick five hour check on her sir. She should be ready to fly in the afternoon.”

“Alright and what’s with all the fuss?”

“Oh, there’s a Knight circus of some sort in town right now sir.”

“Knight Circus? My Lord. I believe this is a Tournament.”

“Tournament? Like racing?”

“Yes My Lord. Racing and also of Chivalrous Acts.”

“Ehhhhh… Alana, have you ever been to one?”

“Yes, M’Lord. The Kingdom of Rose usually has three of these tournaments in a year to keep the Noble Knights to their toes. Though ours is far more brutal and real than the human ones as we can heal from heavy damage.”

“Bahamut. Wanna watch?”

“Will there be food?”

Elizabeth then places her hand on her shoulder. “Yes Bahamut. There will be food.”

“LET’S GO!”

“Wait wait, can we enter though? Don’t you need a family or something?”

“Well, M’Lord… hmmm… officially you're not Knighted by the Minuits so that is indeed a problem as only my Father can Knight someone into the House…”

“Hah-hah-hah.” With a high and mighty laugh, Elizabeth stands between the two of them as Bahamut’s head peek out the back of Alana with a curious expression. “You’ve been Knighted by me though My Lord. Fear not! Maybe some of your already dressed men can roleplay a bit as part of the Bartley House!”

“Lieutenant?”

“Well sir, people here are already in uniform so why not.”

“But first things first boy. Get your men into the color purple.”

“We got a mage here who knows color changing magic. Right Davey!”

“Sir yes sir!”

The thin human player with a white wig and an expensive staff on his right hand stood at ease as the General patted his shoulder. “But what about a carriage and horse?”

“Oh, we have stables on the rear of the base sir. Please follow me. It’s a short walk from here.”

Looking down on the soil, the General’s shoes would make a noise as the frozen soil was far more solid than the sandbags laid about on corners and on the walls of the tents. On the rear of the base is a makeshift stable made from wood and concrete. On the rear, one of the Horses caught Alana’s eyes which made her run to it immediately to see the creature.

It had clear white fur and wings. The magnificent horse seems like it was meant to be ridden by a heroic warrior.

“I’m guessing this is yours?”

“Yes sir. That’s my Pegasus.”

“Nice. How much did it cost you?”

“Three hundred thousand gold or something around that.”

“Geez. This is why I always get mine for free.”

“What’s yours sir?”

“A Demonic Horse. Summonable rides are the thing for us high level players since we go everywhere and anywhere.”

“Man… I wish I had a summonable horse.”

“M’Lord! This horse is quite exquisite! May I know where I could purchase one?”

“Ooooo… you might need to find dedicated Equestrian folks if you want those.” He then scratches his cheeks as his eyes look up and down. “I think the Capital of Breznick should have one. I oddly remember buying my first Mule there.”

“PFFT…” In the back, Elizabeth couldn’t help but giggle. “My Lord, you used to ride a Mule?”

“W-Well… they're cheap and can haul stuff… don’t laugh at me… I loved that Mule. Ole Garcia.”

“Bahamut, have you seen this Mule?”

“Nope. Master was already with Junior when he met me.”

“Awwww… I would’ve loved to hear how he got around in one.”

“It was pretty good. Could be better but it did the job.”

“Now ma’am. Don’t laugh at sir for riding a Mule. We all began with a Mule. Before I got a Pegasus, my ride was a Giant Leopard. I used to smuggle things up North and down South of the border, paid well enough I got my first set of armor.”

“A Giant Leopard? That seems interesting. I never heard of such a thing.”

“They're pretty rare but players mostly use them for quick reaction forces that don't require an Armored Horse.”

“Uhm… should I summon my own horse, Elizabeth?”

“Yes My Lord. I shall be naming you my husband.”

Immediately, Alana and Bahamut’s heads popped out from her sight and stared at her with an intense gaze. “What? I do not presume anyone else has a better plan do we? Or do you wish that we’d all just stay in the benches like the Commoners and watch in silence?” The Officer with Paul immediately turns to the exit, letting the dire situation calm on its own.

“When will that chopper be ready for take off?”

“Sorry sir, still a few hours.”

“Ugh. Well, I might as well do this then. Get everyone in uniform as to what Elizabeth demands and I’ll be looking into what I can get from my suitcase.”

After an hour, all of the players stationed in the base had their Armored Horses repainted and with the logo of the Bartley House. Elizabeth and Alana then used magic on themselves and shifted their pointed ears into rounded ones like that of a normal human. After getting everything together, she rides an open top carriage and one of the players gives her a fur coat.

“Hm?”

“Uhm… it's cold.”

“Oh! I almost forgot!”

Taking it and then donning her masquerade mask. Alana soon arrives in an Ushanka and wearing a large coat with white and gray fur. She also had thick black gloves while Bahamut was just in her Dragon form. Comfy balled up on her thin shoulders.

“Your Majesty.”

“Good. Board the carriage then. Now, where is that man of ours?”

Exiting the barracks, the General appears in his Noble attire that’s changed from white and gold to purple and crimson. He then wears a leather coat but doesn't put his arms into its sleeves. Wearing it more like an extra cape as he sat next to Elizabeth with Alana and Bahamut opposite of them. “Lead. Forward.” the player driving the carriage nods and they exit out the Forward Operating Base.

Riding for only ten minutes, they reached the town proper and the festival was in full swing. With Adventurers both Solo and Groups all with Boars on their shoulders and packs. On the main street leading to the other side of town where the Tournament is held. The entire place is loaded to the brim with people. But seeing the orderly horses in formation leading a carriage. It was enough for them to divide and make way for the players. Suddenly, Elizabeth wraps her hands around the General's arm. “My Lord, be sure to smile and wave at anyone.”

“E-Eh?”

As soon as the crowd gets a look at the Nobles on the convoy. The people started cheering and clapping. The General was forced to follow along with Elizabeth, the two looking like a happily married couple as they rode onto the other side of town. As he looked at the stalls, the General saw one that was selling hotdogs. “Lieutenant! Get me four of those!” the Lieutenant who was riding near the carriage immediately spins his Pesgasus around. The majestic winged horse took the attention of the children and the citizens of the town as it strutted along the stone road and in front of the stall.

“Good Morning sir. How much for one?”

“Oh! You're with the Nobles? Here, take them for free. Just be sure to tell my name to the Nobles, let me get my uhhh… where are my contact cards?”

“Ah, you're also a player?”

“Yeah, but I’m just a low level Chef. I don’t really have much use other than in making hotdogs! I came from the Capital of Avaria to get a chance to meet with the Nobility. I’ve been hearing how they like Burgers and stuff like that.”

“Ahahahaha, I see. I’ll be sure to send good words then.”

The man with an apron immediately prepared the food with a personal card full of his personal information even to his address in the Capital. Taking the hotdogs on a plastic bag, the man immediately returns to the carriage and hands over the food to the General. “Here you go sir.”

“How much was it?”

“For free sir. He just wanted to have the Nobles know his stall and business in exchange.”

“Are you up to the task Lieutenant?”

“Should be easy sir.”

“Hah, alright. But if you get into trouble, don’t be afraid to call me up.”

“Sir yes sir.” With a quick snappy salute. He returns to the front of the carriage and the General hands out the hotdogs to everyone on the carriage.

“Uhm… M’Lord?”

“Oh, we don’t use utensils with this. Use your hands.”

“My hands, My Lord?”

“Yeah, like this.”

The General then demonstrates and uses his hand to support the front and the rear and starts biting. Elizabeth then follows afterward and though Alana was reluctant at first. She also followed through while Bahamut in her Dragon form was already destroying the hotdog and left nothing in her wake. Even the cardboard plate they were given was also eaten by the Dragon.

“Ahhhhh… that felt nice. A little bit of home abroad.”

“My Lord, just be warned we won’t be able to play for long. Maybe one or two games but that’s that. Maybe Melee and something with Equestrian.”

“Oh sure! Junior is all ready. I made her put on armor.”

“And your mana supply, My Lord?”

“All good. I got enough sleep and rest. If I need more, I can just have Bahamut to give me more.”

“Alright. I’ll be looking forward to seeing my husband compete. Do well and bring home a medal, my love. I shall hang it in the lobby of our mansion.”

Blushing, the General scratches his head with a dorky smile. Alana and Bahamut weren’t impressed but the Queen was a natural at it. She didn’t even need to put a pint of effort to be seductive and convincing as the convoy turned right into the soil and to the entrance to the Tournament. Loud cheering could be heard alongside the clangs of armor and the galloping of horses.

Entering the show proper. The General is rattled by an attacking wave of Knights on horseback and Griffins. The flying Knights with bows were firing from above as the ones below adjusted to where the weakened spot was and soon, the two sides clashed against each other like a wall of metal. The gnashing of lances and swords can be heard as Noblemen dropped from their horseback and one of the Knights wearing Green and Yellow storms passed everyone.

Though his armor was lighter and less extravagant than the ones he was fighting, the man stormed past the lines. Taking jousts that would be enough to put a man down from his horse and pinned into the ground as he uses his small round shield to deflect incoming arrows from the other Griffins. Quickly reaching the rear, he meets the Noble in Command wearing a shiny polished silvery armor with thick animal coating on top of it and on his cape.

Paul watched as the strange faceless Knight screamed. His deep manly voice took the attention of the Knights far too busy fighting in the middle and the opposing sides lines completely collapsed as he disabled the Commander Knight. With the opposing force in disarray, the Knights on his side took as much hostage as they could. His eyes just flickered at the sight, the Commander’s armor was far more greater and he could even see its rainbow shine to it. Yet the lone Knight in his badly maintained armor and less than great war horse managed to take the High Noble as hostage. The Judges on their own box hail their side as winners.

On the field next to them had a ring to it and Nobles and Commoners alike were watching the Knights fight each other in Heroic battles of chivalry. Cheering and loudly screaming for which Family they support. A horse then comes from the sidelines and leads them to the tents of the Attendees. “Oh crap, we don’t have a tent!” The large section on the other side of the road was dedicated to the Nobles in the games and their varying tents of all sizes. Some brought more than they needed for the occasion as the section near the road had all sorts of horses of different breeds and types in all sorts of family colors lined up on a wooden post.

“Shush. Be calm, My Lord. There’s Nobles already here. Also, we won’t be staying here for more than a day. To bring a tent would be foolish. Now, remember. You are Sir Bartley. No need to act all lovey-dovey. But just remember to hold my hand and support me whenever I am exiting or entering a place.”

“No need to remind me. Lieutenant, are we good?”

“Yes sir. Perimeter is clear.”

He was the first to hop out and helped Elizabeth exit and then Alana who had Bahamut with her. “Alright. Where to then?”

“M’Lord, why not the benches?”

“Yeah sure. If the game is good. I might enter properly. Lieutenant, take your boys around and have them eat at the stalls and such. Enjoy your time.”

“Sir yes sir! Thank you sir!”

Now alone. The group first goes into the ring to watch Duels between two Knights. Doing up to it, he could see the Commoners were in the back while the Nobles were in the front. Looking at the stands, there could be at least a thousand or more people present and majority of them were Commoners and the Peasants. With his arms wrapped around Elizabeths, the two walked with dignity to a free seating in the middle. Behind them, Alana could see the stares of the Nobles at the blonde beauty with her.

Some of the Noblemen already had ideas while the Noblewomen could be visibly plotting something as they took their seats. The General then immediately trained his eyes to watch the battle and could see the two Knights fiercely fighting each other with blunted swords; meanwhile, the jousting behind them was open air with the crowd being forced to stand in the field while the judges were up on their own box inspecting the fight on the middle of the crowd. Same set up on all the three games.

Soon, the Knight in purple and orange wins. With a helmet that has the design of a Falcon and real feathers of such a bird on the metal design. With a respectful bow to the crowd, the Knight then faces his opponent and does the same. His opponent on the other hand just rides his horse back to the tents. Ignoring the victorious man.

“And now folks from all levels of society! I hereby announce the next Melee! Against Sir Lawrence Annos of the Annos Family is Lord Maximillian Gerald Henry the Sixteenth! Please hold your heads high at these mighty warriors! One, an Outlander from a far away world who has risen to the ranks of Geraldia’s most fiercest Knight and another, a Veteran of Gareth’s wonderful Chivalrous Kingdom! He who had never wavered his loyalty to whom he served!”

Two sides appear from opposing sides. The General could immediately see who the player was. Wearing a more modern rendition of the Knight armor, with thin but flexible neck guards and pauldrons with lance slips while his opponent wore a clearly battle hardened armor but polished and cleaned Gothic armor with a cape made out of Dragon scales and his right arm more armored than his left which held his heavy kite shield. “Knights! Draw your weapons!” the player looked around the ground and picked up a stick that was protruding from the ground. This made Paul stand up but was pulled down by Elizabeth who shrugged. “Bahamut, can you read the man?”

She immediately turns to the player as its opponent draws a polished Longsword. The General notes though both of their armors had their own impracticalities, the player was over the top with ornate designs like his and a tasset with a long black skirt while his opponent was just due to the overly bulky breastplate and eye slits that was so small that it would be impossible to see from above and below without having to forcefully move your head on the axis.

“Where is your sword gentleman?”

The Native Knight with his polite and hardened crass voice yelled out at the player.

“I am saving my energy for the better Knights in the finals. So I shall be using this stick against you instead.”

“A stick?”

The Nobles then go berserk at supporting the Native Knight while Bahamut crawls down Alana and goes to Paul. Sitting obediently on his shoulder.

“Master, he is a high level player. One that surpasses even you.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“When he picked up that stick. I could see what he was planning. He is trying to morph it into a weapon.”

“Eh? He has that much mana to spare?”

“His armor seems to have Mana Crystals melted onto it or maybe located in between the plates. But due to the amount of designs on it, I’ll need to get closer or change into a larger form so that I may unleash more of my power.”

“My Lord, in terms of so-called High Level players. How does one know if one is stronger?”

“In Dark World. You don’t really have a cap in learning and mastering weapons. The only limit truly is your time and it takes a crap ton of time. Technically speaking, if you had no life or streaming was your life. You could become a Master of All Knightly things but that would take like five years of your life of nonstop gaming daily.”

“Ah, I see. Bahamut, what else have you assessed in that Outworlder?”

“He is extremely relaxed… bored even, Master.”

“Bored huh. Where’s his attention then?”

“He seems to be watching the Dragon Ring, Master.”

“Does he have a summonable? Like a bird or something?”

“Mhm. He has one and is using its eyes to watch the battle, Master.”

“Talk about disrespect. Alana, do you think you could take him on?”

“Your Majesty, I do not think that’s such a good idea. After all, I do not have a pair of armor.”

“Nonetheless, can you take him on?”

“I can.”

“That’s all I needed. My husband.”

“U-Uhhh… y-yes. My wife?”

A tornado of fire then comes from the far left. A shield blocks the flames from reaching and engulfing the entire show as the General sees two large wings of Dragons fighting each other. “Woah… I-i mean what?”

“Do you want to play, My husband?”

“Uhm… I might just watch first. See what’s the buzz. If it's fun, then I might. But playing PvP can easily go out of hand.-”

The two Knights just stood opposed to each other. None of them attacking first

“-Most of all if it's between two high level players. It's akin to two Deities duking it out fully.”

“Hmmmmmm… then you could say he is here to make a mockery of this Tournament?”

“Ehhhhhh… Yes. After World War Three, depression was on the rise and mental illness became a normal thing amongst both the Youth and Adult. So I don’t really expect much respect from a player like that.”

Seeing that the Native Knight wasn’t gonna make a move as snow piled on his helmet. The player swipes his stick and the battle hardened Knight quickly dodges it and is insanely fast at closing the range between them. He left a trail of thorn up snow with his speed. The player didn’t move as his enemy got close enough to swing his Longsword. The Knight swung at him and he just disappeared, leaving a trail on the snow on the ground as he reappeared behind the man, kicking up a huge amount of snow as he used the stick and hardened it.

Now with a metallic stick, he smacks it into the helmet of the Knight. This angers the Native as he tries even more to level the playing field, unlocking more of his abilities. Setting fire to the soil as the Longsword changed from its silvery color into a fiery red and his speed was thrice as fast. The Player could be heard chuckling as the Native kept trying and trying and missing at all points.

The Player didn’t even break a sweat as he kept using the stick to bang the helmet of the Knight over and over again. It ended with the Native sheathing his sword and leaving the ring without a word. Seeing the entire fight, Elizabeth turns to Paul.

“My Lord…”

“What? I already know what those eyes mean. No.”

“My Lord… …”

“Alana! She’s trying to seduce me again!”

“M’Lord, why not just go and stop him?”

“I’m telling you. This PvP will turn the entire town into a hellscape. Most of all if it's someone against that. Me and Bahamut will have to work together harder.”

Bahamut then crawls up and down the General as a child in a Nobleman attire walks up to Elizabeth and bows properly.

“Hello ma’am. I am Sir Lawrence. May I take a portion of your time?”

“Oh my! What a dapper young lad! Come here. What is it?”

“May I see that Dragon? I’ve been sitting far to the left and I couldn’t help but feel the need to touch the magnificent ancient beast.”

“My husband, would you let Sir Lawrence here to play with Bahamut?”

“Do you have food?”

“Food? Uhm…” the kid then reaches for his jacket and takes out a small pouch. Opening it, it had biscuits on it. Bahamut pops out of the General’s back. “Looks like that’s a yes. Here, I’ll show you how to handle this Black Dragon.”

“Woah! It’s a true four legged Dragon!”

Unable to contain his excitement, the dapper Noble immediately turns into a kid as Paul stood up holding Bahamut underneath her front legs. “Here, open your arms and cradle her like a baby. Don’t be afraid of the spikes on her back. She’ll adjust herself so that you won’t get hurt." The kid does as instructed and holds Bahamut as she’s fed the biscuits. “Good job. Here, come sit down at my place. Alana, with me now.” The Countess then stood up in her now purple gown. “My wife, I shall return. Please entertain our guest while I am gone.'' The sudden aura of the man caught the Queen off guard. Prompting her to lift her fan. “O-of course, my husband.” Elizabeth then looks at Bahamut who was enjoying being pampered. Already on the verge of dozing off into sleep.

Down below, the General is at the entrance to the ring as the player exits out. He then holds Alana’s arm and teleports his armor to him. Donning the Gothic Death Knight armor, the player immediately unsheathes his gleaming Katana. This puts the grunts at the entrance into a tense position as the two high leveled players stood at each other's necks.

“What was that?”

“And who’re you?”

“I’m Death Knight Jackson. My wife has told me to go and warn you about your unsportly manner.”

“Your wife? Tsk. Of course, let me guess. Since you never touched a woman back on Earth, you're now willing to bend down and let some lady from another dimension peg you?”

“Oh man. Oh man, oh man, oh man. You are very lucky that I am trying my best impression of a Good Man. Look, just cut the crap and don’t do that. At least do him a favor and give him a worthy Knight battle.”

“Dude, that isn’t why I am here. I came here to get the prize.”

“Then at least show you're willing to play along. People came here to have fun and train. Not get steam rolled by you.”

“Sure bro. Just get off my back already.”

As he walked past the General, the man’s arms were gripped by the Death Knight.

“Last warning. Play along and be respectful. You do not want to know what awaits you in the stands.”

The player then slowly turns his face to look at the General. “Who… the fuck do you think you are? You see that Blue Wyvern on the Dragon Ring? That’s mine.”

“You wanna see mine?”

He then shakes his grip off and crosses his arm as he looks a bit higher angle at the General. The two’s eyes seemingly stared down the very molecules between them as their faces were fully covered by their helmets.

“C’mon, wanna fight?”

“Grrrrrrrr… Alana. Does the ring have enough of a forcefield to handle the both of us?”

“M’Lord, I’d like to suggest against this. It won't even be enough to handle the moment one of you would pull out your sword.”

“That’s… tsk. Alright. You heard the lady. We can’t fight.”

“All I hear are excuses. What’s a good ole PvP between players gonna do?”

“I don’t know, maybe cause untold numbers of deaths? We’re not in Dark World anymore. No one respawns here except us and even that can be nullified. So how about you just… don’t act like an asshole and be normal for once?”

“Pfffft… I can’t believe this. Who’re you? Some Guild General? Your posture and the way you speak reeks of Admin privileges.”

“And who’re you? Judging from your armor. It's stylish and expensive yet it bears no flag nor alliance. You're an Adventurer Knight aren’t you? A Solo player.”

“And I’m guessing you're a Guild Member. Would your guild feel nice that their boy is off marrying natives from another world?”

“Hey now. My Guild might be selective. But we never go that far.”

Silence then falls as the next two Knights enter the ring. Alana could feel the tense situation between the two and placed herself between the two of them. “How about this? May we all show a bit of sportsmanship? After all, you are all visitors to our world. It would be nice for no violence and if one would wish to join the games, be respectful? I know Outworlders are far more stronger than your average person in Threa but it’d be great if there were no bloodshed or humiliations right?” The two stayed silent.

Through the dark eye slits, the Vampire could clearly see their eyes were completely trained on each other. Ready to strike at a moment's notice. “Haaaah… sure. Feel lucky Admin boy. I respect a good looking woman who can stand for herself. The food in the town seems pretty good anyways. Who wants to be in these boring games with old people in wigs.” he sheathed his sword and walked to the right where the path of the Dragon ring was.

“Haaaaaah…. Phew.” The General then touches Alana’s shoulder and returns to his noble uniform. “Each new Generation seems to get more and more fucked up for some odd reason.”

“Crisis has been averted. That’s all we should be thinking about, M’Lord.”

“Guess so. C’mon. Let’s return back and continue watching. Later, we should totally watch the Wyvern fight! Aw that’s going to be so cool! I’m sure Bahamut wants to see it too.”

On the snow covered streets of Zavalda, the city was going on as usual. Traffic was light and the sidewalk was bustling with people going about their days as usual even after the attacks. On the Shadilay Airbase, the entire place was in tatters. Bullet holes littering the buildings, littered corpses of tanks and armored vehicles all destroyed from both sides. Bullet casings and broken glass was seemingly endless as everywhere you go, you’d find heaps of them. The skeletons toiling away on the cold day couldn’t even put a dent to the amount of damage that was caused from the short firefight inside the Airbase.

None of the fighters on the base was spared and the runway had destroyed jets on them and the helipads were mostly rendered useless by the blow up helicopters. As if all went like a passing hurricane, nothing could be seen or heard but the cracking of glass shards being crushed by boots of the soldiers patrolling and making sure nothing else was booby trapped. The General walks around the place, looking at the devastation caused by a short and quick war.

Remembering how the place looked a few days ago and how it looked now. Walking to General Ripper’s office, he is met with a sea of .50 caliber shells and an M2HB mounted on the floor with sandbags behind his armored desk. “I kinda wanna go back to that town now…” Bahamut could immediately smell something and opened the desk to find a twinkie inside it. She opens it and eats it in one go, wrapper included.

“My Lord, I think we should stay in the city instead.”

“I don’t know, we could be attacked there. Though it's surrounded and under martial law, no one knows where or who is specifically responsible for this. I guess I’ll make some calls and move my office to the City Hall.”

“M’Lord, do you know the length of the battle?”

“Two hours and ten minutes.”

“Will the Airbase be operational, M’Lord?”

“One runway should be cleaned easily. It was only bombed a few times and the jets that tried to take off were on the nearest one to their Hangars.”

“Good. As I’ve worked for a year with you know and your logistics is like a hungry Sandworm, it eats and eats till turned off. I suspect M’Lord that we cannot fight a rebellion in this state.”

“Hah… yeah as you can see. Though Zavalda is an industrial city and more than a portion of our arms comes from it. We can’t really take any of the weapons they manufacture as it's all listed to already go to Schon and other conflict areas we’ve started.”

“M’Lord, may I suggest something? Maybe move at least a tiny bit of these arms or even munitions to the city itself?”

“I’ll see what I can do. I still have paperwork to do on that train deal we made with you guys… doesn’t help with Ripper dead. Their manufacturing base will be angry at us for a bit. It was him who spearheaded Zavalda’s modernization. As crazy as he was, he did a lot for his Guild.”

Elizabeth then walks up to him. Her heels breaking the glass and crushing the lead casings littered on the ground. “My Lord, be not afraid to call to us and use us. You mustn’t carry it all on your shoulders.”

“I know, Elizabeth. I know. C’mon everyone. There’s nothing left here.”

Alana on the other hand looks at the contents of the upward desk, taking the files and reading them. “Hmmm… M’Lord, I think you might wanna look at this."He took them and could see a lot of things underlined, most of them just random words and things that caught the previous owner's attention. “Yeah, he's crazy. I already said that.” Alana then takes it back and points at the first letters, writing out the word “INSIDE”. Seeing this, he tilts his head and realizes something. “Well, hot damn.” He then starts shifting through the documents the General has underlined with and from the jumbled letters, he could make out a sentence from it all. “Inside this city is a cancer.'' This made Alana and Paul look at each other and then back to the document.

“That’s for the suits to think about. StateSec will be arriving unless they're already here and are watching us by this very moment.” He folds the paper and puts it into his jacket. “That’s oddly specific M’Lord.”

“Because we’re talking about the suits here. Elizabeth, I’m sure you’ve seen how these people operate.”

“Of course, My Lord. They are sneaky, but not enough for me to not recognize them every so often.”

“Problem is, they're always watching you. Not every so often.”

The group then rides a Humvee to the outside of the base. There, they look around and see a Motel meant for soldiers. Walking to it, the place still had ammo crates, shells, and sandbags set up on its reception desk and army vehicles were still parked in its lot. “Excuse sir, can you call a taxi?”

“Five bucks.”

“Is this fiat or…?”

“Gold.”

“FIVE GOLD? No. Heck no.”

The group soon finds a taxi after asking around from the soldiers living in the Motel. Soon, they entered the sprawling modern city with all types of plates from all species walking on its sidewalk. It constantly had military choppers and planes lingering about its skyscrapers and the skies, patrolling and watching the citizens as they went about their day. Even far away, the sprawling metropolis spans miles and miles in all directions and every junction had a patrol or checkpoint set up and police boxes were turned into makeshift bunkers with machine guns and skeleton soldiers.

“Excuse me, do you know a good hotel?”

“I know one. But it's deep within the city. Might cost you as traffic is bad in the middle. You soldier boys put tanks in the Main Street. Hah!”

“Uhm… sure why not and they were put there so that main battle tanks can quickly go to areas that might be attacked.”

“Do you seriously think they’ll attack again? They used what? Gas and raided the Downtown Police Station? As if anyone’s gonna cry over those corrupt assholes.”

“Excuse me. But I am a General you know.”

“You are? That’s surprising. I thought you were larping or some shit with your wives. Every time I put on the TV, you people would be riding around in armored SUVs with an entourage of tanks and helicopters!”

“I also do that. But not always. Anyways, what’s the problem with the Downtown Police Department? The files I was given. It seems to be full of well trained officers and properly funded by the city.”

“Properly funded? Tsk. They ride around in old Crown Vics and they can’t use gravity or stun magic if it means their lives depend on it. I was even stopped by one because they thought I was part of a scene! No proof! It cost me so much time with their procedures and crap!”

“I see… then the files I was given are wrong then.”

“M’Lord…”

“I know.”

The human player then puts up the radio which was a broadcast alert about the curfew for civilians whose real Earth Age is below 18. Driving through the highway, and entering the city proper. They already encounter soldiers. Pairs of them patrolled the alleys and main battle tanks parked in junctions and important areas while APCs were strewn everywhere, littered as they continually drove into tight roads with infantry support. Army trucks were also driving from left and right, even though the people seemed to be going about their day as if it's normal. The General couldn’t help but see the city as under an occupation.

Blending with the normal everyday player trying to do their best to live temporarily on the foreign world were skeletons in their multicam combat uniforms and assault rifles, machine guns, and rocket launchers. Everywhere they’d go where there’s traffic. There’s always a military vehicle on stand by watching the walls of the city in deathly silence. As if a metallic statue was placed to threaten anyone who dares do anything to cause trouble.

The taxi soon takes them to the middle of the city where the four lane road was reduced to two as the remaining lanes next to the sidewalk have been taken by rows and rows of military trucks and transporters unloading tanks and equipment to be littered throughout the city. There wasn’t a single hint of a player as all of them were being used by skeletons only, ordered and carried out without a waste of time.

“See! Look! This road is four lanes wide! Look at what they're doing! Those tanks are also wrecking up the asphalt! Jesus look at the tracks those threads are leaving on our roads!”

After an hour and thirty minutes of sitting in traffic, Bahamut’s head is hunched over to Paul’s shoulder and while he leaned over to the window as the two slept silently. Elizabeth just looked outside her window and took in the narrow sprawling city and the National Park in the middle of the metropolis and the large camp being set up inside it. Alana constantly checked the map and looked at the zig zagging mess that’s the infrastructure planning and the messy road network that came after. The rail network that had multiple different lines also didn’t help as it was placed in difficult areas near industrial centers causing bottlenecks that lead to the inner city. The subway on the other hand was only three lines that reached all ends of the city and the artificial river ran from the entirety of the North of the city.

“We’re here.”

The taxi driver drops them off at a Grand Hotel, Paul’s heart sank knowing the cost of the ride but he pays. Elizabeth was already walking into the lobby and he was left to carry their stuff. Looking around, he takes one of the carts and loads them with the large bags full of gowns and clothes. Pushing it inside, the carpet to the decor screamed Victorian and the Christmas tree in the lobby was still full of lights. On the corner is a Grand Piano that everyone can use. Bahamut has already gone into the restaurant looking at what she could eat.

Sighing, the man walks over to the receptionist and starts talking to the lady and his heart drops once again at the prices he is given. He could be seen palpitating. “M’Lord, you should really stop being cheap for once, you know?” the man just points at the weekly price he was given as he held his chest at the amount he was asked. Elizabeth on the other hand looks at the Piano, the elegant blonde lady slowly walks over it with the envious eyes of the female players in the lobby giving her stares. Locked on to the woman as the men all became enamored by her as soon as they heard the clacking of her high heels on the marble tiles. She first flows her hand over the board and checks the hammers and action frame.

She could be seen having a solemn smile as she walked around the Grand Piano. Inspecting the metallic black paint and the golden stripes it had on its sides.

Seeing the keys, she pushes one and then two. Her face immediately lights up at the good sound it made. She smiles even more and properly sits down on the piano bench. She then pushes the pedals and starts looking at the music book that came after it. “Ohhhh, Moonlight Sonata?” She soon starts playing it and to Paul’s surprise, who was trying to negotiate the prices to the lady, that the woman could play the tune to a tee. Although alone, the General was set in trying to get lower prices as Alana walked around holding a bunch of things in her hands.

“Countess, stop looking at maps and brochures. You might end up as our Lord. Too mathematical and fixated, dance for me will you.”

“M-Me?! B-but Your Majesty. I only dance on certain occasions.”

“Marquis Angelo did say you were so good at ballet that it made him fall for you. Show me and these mortals what you can do. Show me the beauty of your body and its swan-like elegance in the art of movement.”

“I don’t even have my shoes, your majesty.”

“As if the Outworlders ever gave proper decorum much thought. Show them what you can do, Countess!”

The General then fetches Bahamut who was about to buy a rare beef salad from the restaurant. Arriving back at the lobby, there was already a crowd gathered as Elizabeth played the Piano and Alana danced to her. Seeing the two vampires put up a show for everyone. He resigns to the sofa, holding Bahamut’s hands and not letting her off to find food. Next to them, a suited man with his legs crossed and reading a magazine stands up and claps. This cascades to everyone clapping and joining Alana in her dance.

“Damn, that’s truly something.”

“Master, can you let me go now?”

“No, I won’t be letting go of you.” In his mind, the General saw the price that was on the board outside the restaurant which made his body numb. “Because what you were about to buy is expensive and the room prices here are already too much.”

“Wow. Master, so this is what it means to dance.” Bahamut blushes as Elizabeth sways her body and head to the tune, and Alana gets into her Ballet routine and starts dancing with her heart.

“I think the Dragons Orchestra is just as good.”

“But we don’t have dance routines like that, Master.”

“Don’t be like that. Dragon Dance is by far more entertaining. The fact that all of your traditional dances include the elements you're born with is so cool to watch. It's not just pretty faces and bodies like with the Vampires. It has the literal essence of the planet dancing with you. Man, it's so AWESOME!”

“You mean when we were visiting the Lantern City, Master? The dance of the Eastern Forest Dragons?”

“Yeah, that. That’s a traditional dance right? With the use of a million leaves and flying up and down like you're floating in water showcasing like…” the General then gets animated as his hands try to mimic the action of the two Dragons they watched. “Stunt jets but far more agile. It’s such a good show. Aw man, after we get back to Dark World. We have to watch another one. What about you Bahamut? Aren’t you a Black Dragon? From what I read, your traditional dance had lava and the void liquid right?”

“I do not really know… Void liquid without proper supervision can be bad. If a Void Watcher were to appear… oh! But I do also know the dance of the Fire Dragons, Master!”

“Oh! The Fire Dance of the Red Dragons! Now that I’d love to see!”

“I can do it if you want, Master. Though, would flying with a string of Lava orbiting me a good idea?”

“Ehhhh… probably not. But hey, you should dance every now and then in that human form of yours. The dance the Vampires thought you was only one of millions.”

“Hm. But learning to dance with two feet is so boring. I wanna fly.”

“I’m sure there’s dances out there for flying or winged humanoids. Can never be too sure.”

A suited man walks up to the General, removing his fedora, the light hearted smile of the man warms the two immediately.

“Hello, I saw you walked in with those two white doves. I’d like to ask, are they natives?”

“Yup, as native as they come. Two vampires from Schon, the Kingdom of Rose.”

“Amazing, no wonder. Only those of true fantastical could create such a show that made everyone even dance from this cold hard place.”

“I was actually planning on telling them to leave, I can’t afford the prices sadly. I don’t really have access to the player bank anymore in the Menu so I’ll have to get contracts with the city bank if I want to pay.”

“Oh please, I live in a Studio. I’m sure you can stay there, it's far too large for me anyways. Just that the city gives me funding for my talents.”

“Really? What’s your talent?”

“I’m a Pianist. Same as the majestic pointy eared golden blonde woman on that Grand Piano.”

“I mean, is that fine? I don’t really have that much money that’s of use right now. High Command sent me here with hopes and dreams and a bit of a miracle.”

“Oh please, I’d actually want to learn from such a legend. If she’s a vampire that must mean she’s been playing the Piano far longer than our entire human history, the things I could learn.”

“Bahamut, are you down?”

“Sure Master, as long as it's near food. I am good.” She then sniffs in the direction of the man. “He also doesn’t smell bad, Master.”

“Haaaaa… you're far too easy you know?”

“Bwahahaha, good to see Bahamut being a human. Pleased to meet you, I’m merely a Support Bard so I couldn’t really do much in your Global Event but I still do remember you burning me to crisp multiple times! Ahahahah. I’ll go and tell the Receptionist then to put my lodging to five and to bring your bags up.”

“Hm, I’ll let them have fun first. Names General Jackson by the way.”

“Ludwig, Ludwig Bach. Player name is AmadeusTheGreat. I’m a Bard and a novice Archer.”

“Knight, Sword and Hybrid DPS-Tank.”

The two wave at each other and he takes Bahamut by the hand. Leading her to the Sofa once again with him as the two watched the vampires make a lively scene with players on the sides recording the entire thing with their phones and cameras. Out of nowhere, another well dressed Elven man sits next to Bahamut, reaching his hand out.

“Your Bahamut right, I only know of one woman in the entire Waifu series of Dark World that looks as good as you and wears that scary ass gown.”

“Oh, a bold Chosen One. What is your request?”

“I apologize, it's not that I mean to ask something for free.”

“No worries, I’d like to hear your request first before I ask what tribute I’ll require of you.”

Paul just listens in, staring at the man's eye and his straight back posture with his hand together and playing with his thumbs.

“I’d like to know the future. The future of a certain person.”

“Ohhhhh, that’s a hefty request. Are you sure? I’d be asking for not only your soul, but your divinity as being Chosen by the One True God.”

“I don’t care, I want to know where he’ll be and what he’ll be doing.”

“Alright, speak.”

“This man is named Marionette. He is a Slaver from Meridia, he took my wife and children. Two months after we were all teleported here, I fell in love and married a woman with kids. I know it sounds as countryside shotgun marriage as it gets, but I truly do love her and I couldn’t do anything as I was asleep when they killed me. I only woke up thanks to the Cleric that was based in that Church. ”

“Hmmmm… revenge. Such a human thing, I do wonder about myself now that I take this form. Will I be also be capable of revenge? Ah, human stories never seemingly bore me.”

“So I want to know, are my wife and kid alive and where will Marionette be?”

“Before that, are you sure you want to hear out the payment I’ll be requesting? My tributes aren't cheap, you know. You are contracting a Dragon God to aid you and though my followers might be more than it was before, I will still ask for my usual.”

“Say it.”

“I’ll require your soul… no not only your current soul. But the one on Earth and to give you some semblance to peace, if you ever return to whence you came from. I’ll give you two… no three years of living and make peace with your end.” Bahamut reaches out her hand, ready to make the deal.

“Do-”

As he raises his hand to agree, the hand of a uniformed man lightly stops him by grabbing his wrist. He looked up and could see it was the High Ranking Officer next to Bahamut, staring at him with a dead set face.

“I recommend you rethink your choices. You aren’t thinking with your brain, you are thinking with your anger. Do not let tragedy steal your heart.”

“And who are you?!”

“I’m General Jackson of the Knights of Eldwood, and I’m also a Veteran of the Third World War. Don’t do this, you don’t want to go down this route. I beg of you. I’ve seen enough of my men and of the enemy die for this useless thing.”

“Then what am I supposed to do? I have no purpose anymore, do you think I’ll be free when I return to Earth? I’ll simply become another drone in our society. Here, I am someone, I can do many things and I can do good and finally. I met the woman of my life, I couldn’t even get a woman back on Earth! Do you think I’ll just leave and find another?!”

“So what? Doesn’t mean you can’t do that on Earth. Jesus Christ, don’t do this. To literally take the majority of your life just so what? You can kill a lowlife? Look, go ahead if you want to. But when you're digging your own grave. Revenge is a fool's errand, you will be like the many that tried to chase me throughout the Middle East. Blown up by my tanks or shot by my sidearm or my colleagues that are now coffins in an International Cemetery.”

He stops to think, his hand going back to his pocket as the General stares the man down.

“Goo-” he suddenly shakes Bahamut’s hand and his eyes light up for a second. The sudden golden hue of his iris instantly went away and the man just nodded and stood up with a satisfied grin. The General could notice a feminine outline of a shadowy creature looking at him with two large horns and a crown in the midst of a snowfall outside. He tilts his head and just stares at the strange thing as adrenaline is pumped to every fiber of his body.

Soon, the man checks out and he could see that it’s not looking at him but at the guy. He then looks at Bahamut who is unwrapping some complimentary chocolate balls from the top of the glass table. He then looks at the window just to see it watch the suited man exit out the lobby and to the snow and like a breeze of cold wind passing through, the strange shadow creature then disappears into nothingness. Leaving behind not a single trace of its existence.

“Master?’

“I saw an Abyss Watcher… Void Watchers are just humanoids right…? While Abyss Watchers had horns…”

“Hm?”

Bahamut looks at where he is staring and sees nothing.

“Master, are you that tired? Abyss Watchers only appear on locations that have portals to the Plane Between Living and the Dead. I sense no such thing nor smell one. Sulfur isn’t in the air at all.”

“That’s the thing though Bahamut… that one that has two horns and a crown… could it be the rumor… Interloper?”

“Master, forward.”

Ludwig returns to him, giving him four cards to his room. “It's all upgraded now. Can we wait a bit? I’d like to watch the show.”

“Why’re you so hell bent on this? I’m sure you can be just as good with the piano by just practicing.”

“I can… but I truly want to perfect my skills. Make it as best as I could, Miss Elizabeth and her skills, it shows. She must’ve been doing this for ages now.”

“I’m one hundred percent sure she’s been playing the Piano far longer than the entirety of Roman history.”

“And wouldn’t it be amazing to learn from someone like that?”

“Why not a robot? Even an Amazon delivery drone can do it.”

“Pfft… back on Earth. I never learned how to play Piano except from my High School teacher. La perfezione è imperfezione. The perfection in human art is its imperfections. Why doesn’t the UN use more Drones?”

“Because the Guilds focus on stuff that’s widely known and have PDFs off?”

“No! Because the beauty of war is fighting on the front! Even in the Third World War, Drones were only used to destroy houses and tanks. But never did it take the place of a soldier.”

“Not gonna lie. I kinda wish it did.”

“Regardless my friend. This is why I want to learn from her. This is such an opportunity that one cannot pass!”

“You know, if it weren’t for the fact that Drone technology is such a secret and we only have like ten satellites. We would be fielding tens of thousands of those.”

“And what? Let those inanimate things take the glory of war! I know you soldier boys! You might not want to admit it. But you miss war don’t you?”

“I mean… I kinda do yes. War had its moments but I can’t live through war with only the good parts of it. The glory of a victorious battle or the moment when you know your objective is secured. What comes in between is countless nights of being shelled and drone strikes by everything known to man. All that’s missing is a Shopping Cart with a cannon duct taped to it to shell us.”

“But you felt it didn’t you? That adrenaline, that beauty of knowing you did it? Do you want a robot to take that?”

“I-I guess not. It's not like the robots back in Earth will ever remove their tarnished name anyways.”

“And we only have ten satellites? Really?”

“Yeah. The Space Guild needs years to even make a new one. So don’t worry about us making robots and combat drones. It’ll never happen unless we can teleport the complex Earth station satellite network we had back on our planet to here.”

“Phew. Good to know my job here isn’t going to be taken.”

“Till an Elf who lived thrice your life comes and plays the piano. HAHAHAHA!”

As the two laughed. The Vampires ended their performance an hour later with an elegant bow. Following Ludwing to the 61st floor, the glass elevator gave them a full view of the large city from above. Alongside the military helicopters flying about the skies, patrolling and guarding are civilian ones going about their day. Transporting Tourists and high level people to their destinations. Looking down, the General could see the occasional M-ATV or GAZ Tigr rolling with the traffic.

People going about their daily lives in their suits and ensembles, ignoring the large military presence in their city. Though not intruding in their life, the General feels an eerie silence at the sight of the districts. Looking more like Military Installations than proper places for people to go about their mundane days.

Ping, the elevator brings him out of it and follows the Musician to his room. The entire floor only had four doors on it and this is located on the rightmost part of it. Opening the heavy wooden door, they were met with a large open space. A Grand Piano on the huge living room and a fifty inch flatscreen TV with Sofas coupled with a large kitchen and a family sized table with only one plate on top of it. The white walls had guitars and flutes on them for every visitor to see.

“Holy… wow. I’ve been sponsored by Hotels before to stay in their best rooms but none of it has been this good and spacious. Just how much are you paying to be able to live here daily? And are those Bard instruments real?”

“Oof, about fifty thousand Gold Coins? Though it doesn’t really matter much to be as I was a Bard and Charisma is one of the skills coupled with it. I kinda just naturally got rich enough to afford this, General. Oh, please do touch the instruments if you want. Watch out for the flutes, they might make us all dance to death.”

“I see, well keep your mouth shut that we live here alright? If anyone asks, just say we’re guests staying by. It’s not like we’ll be here for long anyways. But you might get caught up in some serious stuff if you spill the beans that we’re living here.”

“I understand, don’t worry. I got you all covered.”

The doorbell rings once again and Bahamut opens it as she pops another Chocolate ball into her mouth. The Attendant with two baggage carriers brought in their personal properties with the General only having two large duffle bags while Elizabeth and Alana had two large ornate boxes.

He then takes his stuff and starts to unpack it. “Man, I still can’t find my extra toothbrush. Tsk.” Bahamut then takes her own stuff and brings it to the extra Bathroom and soon, the room was busy while Ludwig played some Beethoven on the Grand Piano. On his back, a lively atmosphere of his new roommates going around the room.

Bahamut having already found the fridge starts rummaging through it while Alana stares to the outside, the lightly snow filled city seemed quite yet alive at the same time as Elizabeth on the back checks the Pianos on the wall. Paul on the other hand opens the TV and checks for the News. Obediently watching the reports in low volume of the current happenings around the city.

Ludwig sees that the Vampire Queen has taken interest in his Piano’s and switches to Debussy, taking out the notes for Claire de Lune. His body sways with his fingers, like waves rolling through the ocean, wind howling on an open green field on a summer day. He plays the Grand Piano with a wonderful peace and calmness.

“You have good hands Sir Bach.”

“Please. Call me Lud or Ludwig if you will.”

“Then, Mister Ludwig. Would you be interested in learning some pieces from my time and era? From a world far beyond yours?”

“I’d love to. To share something like this with someone like you, I do not care for your titles. But I do care for the music you create. The somber feeling that accompanies it, I never hoped to replicate it as it shows the thousands of years of pain and sorrow you must’ve fought against. But I’d at least want to know how to do it but with peace and happiness.”

“Peace and happiness?”

“Hm, I want the people of Zavalda to get a sense of calm for once. It’s been thirteen months now and we’ve been getting nothing but news on our war against the Kingdom of Vitas. How we’re seemingly steam rolling them with our technological and magical might and yet… the Kingdom of Vitas has never declared war nor made any official announcements. I do think it's strange they haven’t advanced into Vitas’ territory even after reaching its borders a month ago.”

Paul swallows his saliva, removing his jacket and switches channels.

“It has made us so… angry… anger that I never thought I’d see once again after the Third World War. People will be people, it only takes for the whims of those above us with reasons we don’t even fully know to make us hate, make us want to wish death and pain to those so-called enemies of the state whose faces we’ve never seen apart from what is shown to us by the Media.”

“What a mature man you are.” Elizabeth lightly places her hand on his left shoulder. She leans in and listens to the man playing. “I can see it, the hope you have. It’s just as human as My Lords. What beautiful and yet terrifying creatures you humans are. To create wonderful sounds with but your imagination and love for art to hate and waging war. Ahhhh, but I do see it.”

“So what do you say?”

“I’d like to ask first though.” She then places her head on his shoulder, moving her hand to his right as her sharp chin softly lands on his jacket. “What pain and sorrow must’ve you gone through to be able to create such a melody?”

“I… lost a good woman in my life. To war, a war that we never thought would reach our apartment. I still remember it, the Hexacam camouflage of the Asian, African, and Middle Eastern militaries. I’m sure they didn’t mean it, but I was returning from collecting our rations when the Naval invasion began. I could still hear it, with this piano. The scream of the Carabinieri officer. Asiatici! Sono qui! Suona l'allarme! As a swarm of Drones flew into our cities. There was so much it clouded our skies…”

Elizabeth looks at Paul whose feet are together and his back as straight as could be. Watching TV as the man continues to talk about his past.

“It was after that did a missile from those bigger jet sized Drones hit my apartment where my beloved was. I couldn’t even return to see her corpse as more missiles rained on the city, targeting the military installations spread across it. Of course we returned fire but that also came at a price as it exposed the locations of the ones near Hospitals and Schools.”

A tear falls from his eye as he is transported back to the dangerous time of his life. His tune switches to Swan Lake as he recalls running through the alleyways as Mi-28 Havocs, Mi-24 Hinds and UH-60 Blackhawks in the same camos flew into the city as Combat Drones circled the skies like Vultures waiting for a corpse to appear and hunt. The ancient roads needlessly defiled by the tracks of Main Battle Tanks and Infantry Fighting Vehicles. Shooting at anything that merely moved an inch. “TO ALL CITIZENS OF ITALY! STAY INDOORS! DO NOT MOVE OR YOU WILL GET SHOT!” Is screamed on repeat by a person who has clearly not spoken English and sounded with a broken accent.

He then runs to the sidewalk, past the people just in reflection as the united foreign army rolled into their seaside city. Intense fighting could be heard on the horizon as helicopters fired ATGMs and unguided missiles into the city streets and hundreds of Drones could be seen diving headfirst into the ground. Even though the fight hasn’t even reached 10 minutes long, a large part of the city has become instantly razed and another portion in blazes. He looks up and sees that he is getting closer and closer to their apartment.

His as dim as could be with the large hole on it. Visibly burning and soon, an NH90 transport helicopter fastropes soldiers in Flecktarn uniforms onto its roof while another one fastropes a secondary squad to the inside. “NO! FUOR! FOUR!” he screams to the top of his voice as a soldier unpacks an FGM-148 Javelin. A T-95 Black Eagle rolling through the street suddenly stops and it smoke grenades fire on automatic and what follows afterward is an explosion.

Opening his eyes, all he met with is a burning carcass of a tank, with pieces of the exoskeleton the crew wore and plates of tank armor around him. Gunfire then erupts to the windows of the hotel, shooting down on the soldiers on a nearby plaza. Getting up on his feet, he could see the hotel was receiving immense return fire from autocannons to even shells and smoke two missiles that shot down the two daring helicopters and then five large Drones kamikaze's into the rooftop of the building. Killing the team sent to delay the advance.

Breathing in, he continues running. Looking down on his dirtied suit and hands as he runs to the hotel, dropping the bag of rations. A sudden howl of a low flying beast sends the air around him in an ear blistering noise which throws him to the floor as windows are broken, he immediately puts his jacket up his head to protect him as shards of glass fall to him. BOOM!

A gigantic blast follows and all he could see is the faint image of the hotel he onced lived, falling to the ground alongside the soldiers that took position inside it.

He snaps back as Elizabeth's hands reach his stomach and hugs him. “It’s fine, cry as much as you want. It must’ve been painful.” his hands didn’t stop playing, it even went faster and faster till he made a mistake. His hands then just stopped, frozen and not moving. The Vampire Queen’s hand then moves to his palms. Taking it and making him continue to play, but slowly and more lightly.

“Though that is the sadness of living, you are here now. That much is proof of your love for music. Do not worry, I shall teach you as much as I can, though it's not like I can show much. What matters in this form of art is the soul you pour into every stroke of the key. You merely have to control yours. Song with a soul is a song that will never be forgotten, even by time.”

The telephone then rings and the General immediately stood up and took it. “Yes? Yes, that is me. Correct, this is my address now. The Governor? He wants to… right now? Also about my office… yes… alright.” he slams the phone back and takes his jacket. “I’ll be back, the Governor wants to meet with me.”

“Eh? But My Lord, what about dinner?”

“Alana, just cook for me whatever you can. Don’t expect I’ll be back early.”

“Of course M’Lord.”

“Master!”

“Grrrrrrr… Alright, come! But BEHAVE. I don’t want you running off to nowhere alright?”

“Yes Master!”

He then kisses Alana and Elizabeth on the cheek and exits out the room with Bahamut in tow. Gone in seconds as he presses the button to the elevator. After a few minutes of waiting in the lobby, an unmarked Tahoe picks up the two and is delivered to the heart of the city where a large white building is located. On the plaque in its garden is written “The Guild of Ervtes - Home of the Factories” The Tahoe stops at the entrance and men in black suits open the door for him and Bahamut.

To his surprise, there is very little military presence and the soldiers on site aren’t wearing body armor or combat gear of sorts and just sidearms with shoulder bands for Military Police. None of them were skeletons too and are players in their normal form. Mingling alongside other Officials and City Workers. The General is met with stares, with his five stars on his shoulders gleaming, the ribbon and the shiny nameplate on his chest. Soon, one by one the soldiers present started saluting.

The men in black then open the door with two leading them inside. Bahamut is constantly sniffing the air, seemingly curious about something. They then lead to the top floor where the large two door leads to the office of the Governor and Mayor of Zavalda. The man in black opens the door and they are greeted with a suited man looking out at the city with his hands on his back.

“Close the door will you guys? Thank you.”

Paul and Bahamut enter his room and the men in black close the door. He then turns around and the two are met with a warm smile.

“Hello! Welcome General Jackson to my industrial city! The Guild of Ervtes welcomes you and your armed forces with warm hands in this cold day!”

“Good afternoon Governor. I’m surprised you called me so early. I was planning on going around first… and checking the city’s Mana Core… also about my office.”

“Well you don’t have to do that as I can assure you that it is safe.”

“Really? But even then, I wanna see it personally. If it's the Organization we're talking about. They must be planning to do something with the Mana Core. It wouldn’t be the first. Good thing the Sword Saint was there and purified the thing before it could do something.”

“The United Nations just installed those Trialloy ball armor to it. It’s impossible to be corrupted, and opening it to check will take days even with Magicians as the composite you chose is extremely hard to penetrate which includes the removal procedures.”

“I have Bahamut here. She can tell me whether or not it's corrupted.”

“I see, well how about tomorrow then? As I’d like to ask you some questions concerning the military presence in my city. Tourism is very high in its revenue and undead skeletons in full combat gear with scary red eyes aren’t inviting things. It might even make the current people visiting from the Holy See become very hostile.”

“That is none of my business, Governor. If you have a concern about something as little as that, you may talk to my subordinates at the Airbase… when it comes back into operation. I do not care about keeping the status quo when something as bad as the incident… that made robots go insane might also occur here.”

“But the Sword Saint isn’t here though. We can be assured nothing bad will happen. Now, if she is here! Then I’d be afraid.”

“Oh she might be. She was last spotted on a freight train that was carrying antenna parts for communication. I was sent here as the situation has gotten far too dire and I have in my hands the authorization to move four divisions to this city. So far, only one BTG has arrived and it’s barely enough to keep this entire place secured.”

“Calm down now, General. Already traffic has gotten worse by four times because of all the checkpoints and slow military vehicles that’re rolling around town. Let me also remind you, those tracked tanks of yours are destroying city roads and weakening infrastructure at an incredibly fast rate.”

“I know but I cannot and will not let this happen. Not after what I saw, the corrupted Mana Core is something that must be stopped at all cost. If it weren’t from the Sword Saint sucking in the Evil that is suppressed inside that ball, I wouldn’t know what would’ve happened.”

“Wo-woah wait. Are you telling me, the Sword Saint actually helped us? How come then I have direct orders from the General Secretary to arrest her on sight?”

“We want answers. Though I can merely ask Bahamut for it, I do not want to stress her and thus I keep it a secret and I think Higher Command is too much of a pussy to ask a God about the world as it might reveal things that are far too unsightly… and if I see her again… I swear to God I’ll shoot her in the head.”

“Jesus, then I have other matters to discuss. About-”

A doorbell rings and the Governor checks his monitor and sees that it's his Secret Service. “Oh what now? General, Bahamut. Please sit down, this might be a while.” he presses a button that automatically unlocks the door and the man in black walks up to his ear. Whispering something while Paul and Bahamut just looked at each other and then at the decor of the room.

On the wall is a big large window showing a small village with powerful players building modern houses with Ogres and Skeletons while on the wide side table is an enchanted Longsword inside a glass case. On the left is a flat screen TV and a table with city plans and military maps. The Secret Service Agent then bows and exits out the room.

“I apologize. The Stars have arrived.”

“Stars?”

“Hm, the Men of the Woods recommended that we’d start a concert and calm the populace down a bit from all the sudden military activity and the recent terrorist attacks.”

“I was actually going to ask about you with those attacks. One particularly got my attention, the Downtown Police Station. Though I know my source is not great, the Taxi driver told me they were badly managed and even badly equipped and trained. How can this be when the paper from this city says that they're well funded and trained?”

“Ah yes, well. We’ll continue this later, General.” He then unlocks the doors once again. Getting his jacket on and fixing his tie. “Fukoa Vladimera awaits me.”

“God… Governor, I was saving this for last but I am heavily against this idea of having a concert in the city.”

“Why? This is a pretty big event, and everyone I know is looking forward to it.”

“We’re under… well shit. You are under Martial Law and there are terrorists going about, I’d want you to come with me and protest this idea.”

“Hmmm… and how do you propose we do that? The reputation of my people and the city is at stake here. Knowing how famous these players are.”

“Tsk, okay go ahead then.” the General stands up, stretching his arms. “We’ll continue this conversation either tonight or tomorrow.” the Governor smiles at him and opens the door just for a silenced Glock to be on the other side, the Agent opens fire, pointed to the General. Bahamut with her reflexes melts the bullets into nothing and runs to the Agent who teleports behind Paul.

The General elbows the Agent as the Governor runs to the sword. The Agent sees this and pulls out another revolver, just as he was going to point the barrel at the Governor, Bahamut belts it and he gets punched in the gut by the General who then pulls out his Python revolver. He stands on the edge of the room as Henry breaks the glass case of the enchanted sword and points it at him.

“I remember that pearl white revolver. Captain Aldrin.”

“I knew we’d meet again sir. Last time it was in the vampire Kingdom. I gotta say, your patrol paths haven't changed. Not one bit sir.”

“Of course, Captain. Why change something that isn’t broken? Governor, I suggest you put that sword down and get out of the room.”

“Uh uh uh.”

“Captain, I literally have Bahamut with me over here.”

“And I have the Queen's blood ready to explode sir. I dare Bahamut to try to kill or disable me. I’ll take the entire city alongside me and start something magnificent.”

“So. You people are indeed responsible for the gas attacks. To use Elizabeth’s blood like this. She won’t be happy when she finds out. Old Royals like her run on a strict program and she has a thing with beheading and staking people.”

“Of course, now Bahamut. I wish you to help me a bit.”

“Ha, as if I am going to follow your orders human. Know your place.”

“Bahamut, I recommend you do so. This city has a population of over ten million players with five million refugees on the outskirts. I do not think your Master will be happy if they were to all die.”

“Tsk, name your request lowly human. But know this, I’ll be sure to have your soul damned to an eternity of fire and pain.”

“I don’t care, Goddess. After what I’ve been through, that’s the least of my concerns.”

He then raises his other revolver which somehow repaired itself from getting melted by Bahamut and pushes the hammer forward. “I want you to find me where the Core is. I know you can faintly smell it. Any direction or spot will do.”

“How are your Commanders, Captain?”

“None of your business sir.”

“Captain Benedict Aldrin. Service Number Four One Eight Five One. I order you to tell me.”

“Ah, brings back alotta’ memories sir. I still remember doing that in front of you at your office table as you hammer me with lectures about my decorum and being a professional. Heh. Professionalism in war.”

Bahamut continues to sniff the air and looks around back and leans forward a bit. Her eyes fully closed as she continued to smell the air. The Governor on the other hand slipped to the outside and pressed a button which raised the alarm as the General and the Captain aimed their revolvers at each other.

“It's not that strong but I can faintly smell two things. One of divinity which might be the Core and the other one, corruption… I think. But it's too weak for me to be sure.”

“Corruption?! Bahamut, where?”

“As I said Master, I am not sure. For all I know, it might be a Demon player lurking about. You did say you spotted an Abyss Watcher. Corruption may also come in the form of a Portal opening and disrupting the local spatial balance.”

“Fuck! Alright Captain. You got your answer.”

“Thank you Bahamut. You’ve gotten good at being a human.”

He points his revolver to his back as the doors slam open and skeleton soldiers rush to the Governor’s office. He fires his gun and the thick glass breaks and he falls down the four storey building and to the yard below. Bahamut was about to jump out but the General stopped her.

“We’ll deal with him later. For now, I want to visit the Mana Core… and Bahamut.”

“Yes Master?”

“His mine. I created that thing and I’ll kill that thing. This is why prisoners should never be soldiers. Fuck.”

He walks out the office and looks at the Governor still pressing the alarm button.

“You may carry on now Governor Cavall. We’ll meet again later.”

“Hm… thank you.”

“It’s not like he was after you. He was after Bahamut. Also, I’d like to move my office from the Air Base to the Police Headquarters. Near the top floors if you can.”

“S-s-sure.”

The General takes the elevator down as the skeleton soldiers shambled around the office, securing the perimeter as players arrived with Agents to secure the scene. Walking outside, Paul could see a MTVR with text written on its passenger side door.

“Honor is in Death

Pain is Salvation.

War is Peace

Happiness is in Service.”

With a mindless skeleton soldier on the wheel, the zombified machination just salutes to the General as he sighs and breathes in. Walking to one of the officials outside as the city workers are evacuated while soldiers and armor rolls in to secure the entire perimeter. The quick response filled the streets with camouflage armored vehicles and skeleton soldiers, all rushing in without a care about self preservation.

Soon, the General has asked almost all of the Officials outside and no one knows where the core is. He slumps down and sits at the stairs heading to the entrance. Just quietly sitting there as the Sun slowly sets on the horizon.

“How come Master, no one knows where the Core is? Does your Leader tell you where it is?”

“Easy, because everything runs on the Core. Not even Alliances would tell each other where their Cores are as if it gets leaked, you can literally destroy a Guild's hard work with one move. So it's not surprising that not even the UN knows where it is. He was supposed to give us, but I have no idea what’s he on about with it being protected.”

“I see… then who else would know?”

“The Governor and… oh! The Leader of the Guild which is… on Schon… fighting. Well shit. Looks like we’ll have to wait till tomorrow. For now, let’s head back home. Alana will be happy to know I’m back early.”

“Alright Master. Oh! Can we stop by a shop? I’d like to buy a toothbrush.”

“Eh? Since when did you start using one? Weren’t you fine with the method the Vampires use with floss and such?”

“Haven’t you checked the bag you gave me, Master? Meant for my Hygiene?”

“No. It's all yours so why would I check it. I gave it to you as you are now human and we humans care a lot about our smell and how we look. I even put a brush in it for you.”

“Well… I heard there are special toothbrushes meant for creatures with fangs and as you know Master, I have four. So I want one.”

“... Alright. C’mon, let's borrow one of these SUVs and head off. I really wanna take a bath.”

“I’m guessing you could say… What a day. Right, Master?”

“Ahahahaha, yep. What a day indeed.”