The Road to War

Lily Aranea sat alone in her office with a cruel smile on her lips. The mobilization had been a success. Led by General Matt Douglas, the Republican army of ten-thousand had departed to destroy the Empire for good. Of course, this army was mostly made up of poorly equipped conscripts, but the Empire had a thousand troops at most. It was simple math, the imps would be overwhelmed by sheer numbers. All that was needed now was to prepare for their victory.

Although, there was one matter she regretted.

A knock was heard at her door.

“Come in!”

A man slowly entered. He had long, stringy black hair and his skin was sickly pale. “Madam President, the new inhibitor has been completed.”

She was overtaken with sadistic glee. “Very good, Dr. Argent.” Leaning back, her face became more serious. “But aren’t you just a bit late? It would’ve been good to use it on Ava and Edea before they left.”

“My apologies, there were some…” He paused ominously. “Unforeseen circumstances… The test subjects…” He winced at the thought. “Let’s not get into it.”

She sighed. “Well, I guess it doesn't matter. The Empire is dead anyway. But how long until it can work on humans as well?”

“That is where we are having difficulties… Hard to say, but we should be able to get a working prototype within a few days. Mass production is still a ways off, however.”

She chuckled. “That’s fine. A prototype will be more than enough. And in time, all will bow to the New Republic.”

***

Kaiser had gathered his “generals” in the Black Palace’s war room. The Empire’s army could only be called an unorganized militia, but assembled here were Kaiser’s most trusted comrades. In attendance were Akira, Nathan, Fyra, Felix, Velvet, as well as a few others.

“All-out war with the Republic is now inevitable.” Kaiser stood tall, and spoke confidently. “We have received word that an army of ten-thousand has departed Paradiso and is heading towards us.”

“Ten-thousand!?” An older gentleman named Henry yelled out in shock. “With an army that massive, we’re outnumbered ten to one! We don’t have a chance!”

Kaiser smirked. “Perhaps, but you aren’t looking at the bigger picture. This army is mostly made up of conscripts with barely working guns. In terms of quality, we have them beat by miles.”

Henry slammed his fist down on the table. “But still! There comes a point where no amount of quality can outmatch such quantity!”

“He’s right.” Nathan came in. “In a battle, we’ll be easily overwhelmed.”

“In a normal battle, yes.” Kaiser spread out a map across the table. It displayed the Empire and surrounding areas. He pointed to the gorge. “Right here, this is where we attack.”

“Are you daft? You think they’d be stupid enough to go through the gorge?” Henry was not convinced, but meanwhile Nathan looked like he was starting to understand.

“Going around the gorge adds several days to the trip,” Kaiser explained, “and while our friend Lily Aranea may be many things, patient is not one of them. Even this mobilization only took two weeks, that’s practically unheard of.”

“Yes, and she is smart too.” Nathan looked over at Kaiser. “She probably assumed that we’ll leave the gorge undefended. After all, who would be stupid enough to go through such a dangerous choke point? We’d be wasting our precious manpower by stationing troops there.”

Kaiser smiled, listening to his friend take the words out of his mouth.

But Henry was still against it. “It’s just too much of a risk! If they don’t go through the gorge, which is the smart option, then we are screwed!”

Kaiser looked down at the map and clenched his fists, faltering for just a moment. “Perhaps.” He looked up, pure determination on his face. “But it’s a risk we must take. We are screwed otherwise, after all. Our only other choice would be to flee.”

The room suddenly went silent. The atmosphere was dense, but Henry cautiously broke through with a suggestion. “Maybe we should flee then. Live to fight another day. That is how we have done things up until now.”

“I understand, Henry.” Kaiser put his hand on his heart and spoke to the entire room, “I will not force anybody to fight with me, you may abstain or flee if that is what you desire, but the Empire, this land, it’s my home now, and I will not abandon my home. If you see things as I do, cast your vote now and pledge to fight with me for our home.”

Kaiser triumphantly raised his hand into the air, and with thunderous cheers, the rest of the room followed, raising their hands and pledging to fight for their homeland.

***

Preparations for the battle quickly began. They would focus all their strength on defending the gorge. With their greater skills, advantageous position, and the element of surprise, it would be like shooting fish in a barrel.

Felix and Velvet were climbing the gorge. A lot of prepwork had to be done, and everybody had to do their part. However, situations like this always bothered Felix. He had to climb up, but Velvet just effortlessly floated beside him the whole way like a little balloon. It just wasn’t fair.

Thankfully, it ended up not being too bad and Felix soon made it to the top. It was quite the view from up here. The mountains, valleys, and forests could all be seen as if you were a bird flying through the sky. Velvet was lost in the view of the Empire from so high up.

“I’m going to go set it up, Velvet. I’ll be right back,” Felix said as he walked off.

“Okay,” she said as she continued gazing wistfully out into the distance. This place… She knew it in her very soul. She really had been here before.

“You recognize this area, don’t you?” Suddenly appearing behind her was Akira. “We only ever came through here once, yet you still remember it.”

“Akira!” Velvet turned around. “This place, our old home is nearby, right?”

“That’s right. Gwehrtain Manor is just a bit further north.” Akira gestured out into the distance.

Velvet looked to the north. “I see…”

“Velvet.” Akira paused. “Would you like to go back?”

A jolt of nervousness, excitement, and longing ran through her, but she didn’t say anything.

Akira warmly smiled. “After this war is over, how about we go back together. All right?”

Those memories, in some ways they hurt, but a tender smile still formed on Velvet’s face. “All right.”