Chapter 12 - Into The Fray

"Terra. A God. They... really wanna kill us that bad, huh? Haha... but how... how could they even manage that...? I thought you said Stratus killed the Old Gods?"

Apollo's mind was racing a thousand miles per second as he tried to process what Mirri had just told him. He hadn't even known about the existence of "Gods" until yesterday, and today, here he was, stood before one. And not only that, but he and everyone else were essentially at its mercy.

"They did... that's why... it doesn't make sense. But it has to be." Mirri explained, her voice trembling. "Even beyond that, though... Terra and the first King were friends! Even if he was brought back to life, he wouldn't attack us! He wouldn't... cause all of this devastation..."

"If they can kill Gods, perhaps they could figure out a way to control them..." Apollo thought aloud.

It was because he was lost in thought, however, that he didn't notice the boulder come flying toward them and La Riviere from another one of Terra's attacks.

Thankfully, Mirri did.

"Stasis!" she yelled, loud enough to bring Apollo out of his deep thought, raising her arm toward the boulder as she did.

It froze. In mid-air, the boulder stopped completely - a yellow aura now being emitted from it.

"Quick, Apollo! Hit it with something!" Mirri called out, her voice strained.

In an instant, the young man warped into the air, and punched the boulder with all his might. He winced as he did so, pain filling his hand from hitting such a hard surface.

"Release!" Mirri yelled as Apollo warped back to ground level.

All of a sudden, the boulder went flying off in the direction in which Apollo had hit it, leaving the pair, and La Riviere, safe for now.

"Was that Time Magic?" Apollo asked.

"I'm impressed you could tell just by looking." Mirri chucked in response, giving a smug smile. "That's my Signature Spell, Temporal Stasis. I can freeze time for an object, and then any momentum it would've gained from being hit is stored and stacked until I release it. And then... whoosh! Like that."

Apollo smiled, rubbing his chin. "So, we both have an affinity for Time and Spatial Magic, huh?"

"That's right!"

"How fitting..." Apollo whispered quietly.

Mirri couldn't quite hear what he said. "What was that?"

"Oh, nothing... anyway, let's go report to the Captain!"

And so they did. Upon returning indoors to the resistance base, the pair explained the situation, the faces of the Captain and the rest of the resistance growing grim as they listened.

"So, Stratus is using the Old Gods. The odds of us getting out of this are looking... not great." The Captain commented once they had finished.

"What do we do, Cap?" asked Wallace.

"What do we do? I'll tell you what we're going to do." The Captain began, taking a deep breath. "Stratus thinks they can wipe us out for good by using Terra. But they're endangering the lives of civilians in the process, and we can't let that slide. So, here's the plan... we hit 'em hard, and we hit 'em fast. Anyone ready and willing to fight, give 'em hell. If anyone wants a shot at the big guy, be my guest - otherwise, focus your attention on the troops. Anyone who isn't up for fighting, aid in evacuating the town. We absolutely will make it through this. So... let's get out there and give them everything we've got!

Everyone in the room began to cheer triumphantly, their hearts filled with hope.

"Let's do this!"

"Stratus is gonna pay!"

"Let's get those bastards!"

And other such things were yelled as the resistance members gathered their weapons and spread out into Fiorir. At the same time, soldiers were beginning to disembark from airships - fully armed with protective armour, automatic rifles, and other kinds of deadly weapons.

Soon, the sounds of gunfire filled the air throughout the town as fighting ensued.

"Captain, what are you going to do?" asked Mirri, once the room was significantly emptier.

"I think I owe the Mayor a visit. He needs to announce a full evacuation, and... I get the feeling he can answer the question of how they got our location."

It was subtle, but Mirri and Apollo could both hear the quiet rage in the Captain's voice. Clearly, he was suspicious of the local government, and the idea that they may have played a role in initiating their current predicament was not something he took lightly.

Benson threw the Captain an assault rifle, and he followed the rest of the resistance out of the building to make his way toward the Fiorir Town Hall.

Apollo walked over toward the exit hallway himself. "Mirri, I need to go find Alice. What are you going to do? Will you come with me?"

"No, I... I'm going to stay here and make sure no one gets inside La Riviere. And that it isn't destroyed." as she spoke, she noticed a book on a nearby table and picked it up. A proud smile grew on her face as she tilted her head. "Remember, Apollo... it's my duty to protect the books."

Apollo seemed pleased with her answer. "Right!"

"Don't worry, we'll protect her!" Benson called out, as Apollo took in a sprint toward the exit.

"Counting on it!" he called back.

As Mirri muttered something to herself, she felt her cheeks become warm. "Come back safe, won't you...?"

❖

"What... is that...?"

Elsewhere, Alice and Ciela were frozen in fear as they watched Terra ravage the town of Fiorir from their hotel balcony. Ciela could no longer hide her emotions, and she trembled just as much as the girl beside her.

For a moment, they tried to disconnect themselves from the situation. The God of Earth was so far off, and all of its powerful strikes against the ground and the shockwaves that ensued continually missed their location.

This didn't remain the case for long, however.

Suddenly, the two were knocked off balance as one of the boulders that came flying out of Terra's arms came flying through the walls of the floor below them. The sounds of shattering glass and the explosive collision of rock against wood filled their ears as the hotel began to topple over.

"Momentum Burst!"

Almost instinctually, Alice grabbed Ciela's hands and jumped off the falling balcony, activating her magic and soaring over the town's signature river at high speed - Alice leaving behind very brief, wispy afterimages in the air as she flew. Unfortunately, their landing was not as smooth and stylish as their jump, the pair crashing into a rooftop on the other side causing tiles to become dislodged and fall.

"Ow!" Alice yelped. "Sorry for the rough landing, Ciela..."

"Are you kidding me? Nice save, Alice!" the woman replied with a smile. "Now, let's get going! We should find Apollo!"

Without another word, Ciela scooped up Alice in her arms and jumped down into the street below - the red aura of the Guardian appearing around her ankles and cushioning her fall from the two-story building they had landed on.

"Whoa, cool!" exclaimed Alice, blushing both from the embarrassment of being carried in her friend's arms and how cool she looked.

Noticing soldiers off in the distance, Ciela carried Alice into a nearby alleyway and set her down.

"You know, it's pretty lucky you slept in your clothes, huh...?" Ciela noted. "Imagine if you hadn't..."

Alice's whole face shot red. "W-Why are you thinking about that?!"

Ciela chuckled mischievously. "What a sight that would've been, you Momentum Bursting through the air in your underwear..."

"W-Well, that didn't happen, so let's just move on! Ngh..." Alice complained, clearly deeply embarrassed by her friend's words.

Their playful banter didn't continue for much longer, however.

"Civilians! Down this alleyway!"

A soldier had appeared at the alleyway's entrance, having heard their voices. His weapon was aimed right at Alice.

"Sorry, our orders are to shoot on sight." said the soldier, his voice muffled by the helmet he was wearing.

What took place next happened so fast it took Alice a few seconds to process what had occurred.

The red aura of the Guardian flowed through Ciela's body as an angry look grew on her face. She leapt toward the soldier, closing the gap in an instant - not giving him the chance to fire - before landing a powerful blow to his face. The soldier was sent flying into the nearby river, as his comrades looked on helplessly.

"What was that you said? Shoot on sight? You want... to shoot Alice? Haha... I don't fucking think so, you bastards."

Alice was almost frightened by Ciela's tone of voice. She looked (and sounded) just about ready to kill someone. The Guardian's aura was fluctuating chaotically, almost like it was mirroring the woman's emotions.

Having realised that Ciela was no normal civilian, she was soon swarmed on all sides by groups of imperial soldiers.

"Let me handle this, Alice," she called out, turning toward the alleyway for a brief moment.

All of the soldiers had their weapons aimed at Ciela.

"Light her up!" one of the soldiers called out.

The instant the entire group began to fire, Ciela jumped high into the air and in the direction of some of the soldiers. As the woman began to make her descent, coming closer and closer to the soldiers - who were completely taken aback - she readied her fist.

And as she landed...

...took yet another grown man out of the fight in a single blow.

Thus began Ciela's rampage. Now that she was within close range, the soldiers had a harder time lining up a clean shot that wouldn't result in friendly fire, and all the while this single woman continued to kick and punch her way through them.

Bullets flew and the sound of metal being crushed filled the air. However, the woman didn't even flinch, and barely took a single hit. She snapped their weapons in two and shattered their armour in a single punch. It was noticeable that her attacks were very haphazard, as Ciela had no kind of combat or martial arts training.

This didn't matter, though. Against such overwhelming strength, the low-level soldiers of the Stratus Imperial Army didn't stand a chance.

"What the hell is this?! It's just one woman! Kill her already!"

"She's like... a one-woman army!"

All the while, Alice watched from the alleyway as her friend defeated foe after foe. She gazed in awe as the soldiers' bodies flew through the air again and again as the woman knocked them off their feet.

"You know, I've always wondered about Ciela's Signature Spell..." the girl thought to herself. "Guardian of what? Or who? I don't know how it works... but either way, it's working! Right now, she's guarding us both!"

As for the woman herself, she was shocked and excited by all the power at her disposal.

"This is great!" Ciela exclaimed, shoving a nearby soldier into one of his comrades, knocking them both out. "Our lives have never been in danger like this before... now, all of a sudden, I'm so full of energy! Energy for beating the crap out of losers like these, that is!"

The soldiers of the Stratus Imperial Army weren't going to go down uncontested though. just as Ciela was beginning to thin out the troops before her, another group of soldiers ran up the street - and with zero hesitation, a couple of them opened fire on the woman.

Catching the woman off-guard, the attack hit its mark. The bullets tore into her skin and the woman cried out in pain.

But not too much pain.

"Hey, wait a second... it doesn't hurt too bad. Is... the Guardian really that strong? I can get shot at... and be fine?" Ciela wondered, letting out a nervous chuckle. "Heh... perhaps... I should've expected this. After all, my feelings would be stronger than bullets."

However, Alice wasn't aware of this. All she saw was her friend being shot at. Fear and anger rushed through her body. As warm tears began to form in her eyes, the girl's legs moved without even a thought. She had seen those men shoot her friend, and in her mind, she had seen what had to happen next.

She leapt forward, heart pounding.

"Momentum Burst!"

And unlike what happened in the battle with Capri, this time, she didn't lose control. In an instant, her fist made contact with the face of one of the soldiers, sending him flying backwards into his comrades and all three of them into the Fiorir river.

"Ciela! Are you okay?!" Alice pleaded with tears in her eyes.

"Oh, I'm just fine, sweetie," she responded, kicking yet another soldier into unconsciousness. "Nice work!"

"O-Oh. I mean, of course! You're strong! I should've known." Alice stuttered in response, trying to hide how relieved she was. "W-Well, anyway... I can't believe I just did that! it's just like that time, when I went from the truck to the checkpoint... I managed to use my power without losing control..."

Losing herself in her thoughts, Alice began to ponder how she had managed to do this.

Each time she had successfully done a full Momentum Burst, it was like everything else had disappeared.

All that was on her mind was her destination - her fist to her foe's face. In her head, she was already there. She had already seen her attack hit its target, felt the impact of her knuckles against the enemy's skin, and felt the magic power flow through her body. And then it was almost as if every part of her worked in sync to ensure she did make it there.

"How peculiar..."

"Hey, Alice."

Alice's Signature Spell, Momentum Burst... she had much further to go in order to master it.

"Alice! For goodness' sake!"

"Uh... huh?"

"Hey, while you were zoning out... I finished off the rest." Ciela spoke with a cocky smile on her face, the red aura from the Guardian slowly dissipating. There was blood slowly dripping off the woman's fingers, and neither could tell whether it was hers or from the soldiers.

Regardless, what Ciela said was true. Alice's eyes widened as she looked around to see countless unconscious bodies in armour on the floor around them.

"No way... just how strong... are you, Ciela?!"

Unbeknownst to the two girls, elsewhere, a mad scientist had watched this encounter unfold.

"The Hero Queen... and her Guardian, is it?" Azazel began, thinking aloud, pausing to take another sip of his tea. "How interesting! How wonderful! Can you protect her through this, I wonder...? Can you guard her against Terra's might? Oh, I just can't wait to see."

He stared down at Alice from his high-flying airship, almost in the same way a scientist would watch a mouse run through a maze for the purposes of an experiment.

"That's right, I got to see that power again, too... even just for a moment."

After soaking in their inconsequential victory, the girls set off to continue trying to find Apollo. And while Ciela had defeated numerous soldiers, there was still an incredible amount swarming the streets of Fiorir... far more than there were resistance forces. And of course, the God's rampage would persist all the while.

For you see, the sun had only just risen, and the battle against Terra was still only in its early stages.