DECLARATION OF WAR

Two months had passed since our battle against Blytharos, and there was still no sign of the cultists.
Ellie had recovered and regained her former strength, yet she couldn’t stop thinking about the remnants of her brother’s magic power. She kept ordering us to investigate and gather any possible information about him.

Ellie: “Still no word from my brother?”
Kiyoshi: “No, ma’am. We haven’t found any trace yet. I think we should start focusing more on tracking the cultists — otherwise, we won’t get anywhere.”
Ellie: “What are you saying, Kiyoshi? You want us to abandon my brother and chase those freaks instead?”
Kiyoshi: “Ma’am, if we find a lead on them, we might get closer to finding your brother as well.”
Ellie: “Do not defy my orders, Kiyoshi. If we find my brother, he’ll be our biggest lead on the cultists.”
Kiyoshi: “...Understood, ma’am. My apologies.”

While everyone was focused on finding Ellie’s brother, Blake called us to a meeting about a lead he’d discovered.
Ellie, Lukas — a soldier transferred from Base D — and I prepared quickly and headed for Base C.

Inside the meeting room, we found Victor and his commander Matthew from Base B, Blake from Base C, and a new girl, Emily Carol, who had recently been transferred from Base D. I didn’t know what her ability was, but I was sure I’d find out sooner or later.
Once we all arrived, the meeting began.

Blake: “First of all, thank you for coming. Let’s talk about Blytharos — the alien Kiyoshi and Victor fought. He was gathering information about us and sharing it with the cultists, working as their informant.”
Ellie: “We already know that.”
Blake: “I know. But there’s something you’ve missed. Two weeks ago, when I visited you, Ellie, I went to inspect the battlefield. There, I found traces of another magical residue — similar to Blytharos’s. After further research, we discovered it belonged to another alien… one with the rank of commander. We don’t know what kind of power it wields, but we do have an idea of who it might be.”
Matthew: “And who do you think it is?”
Blake: “We don’t know exactly, but it’s definitely not Vyron. If it were Vyron, he would’ve made his presence known by now. So far, we’ve identified four commanders — Blytharos, Vyron, and the two who died in the previous war. That leaves only one commander unaccounted for — the one who left that magic trace two weeks ago. But… there’s something strange.”
Ellie: “What kind of strange?”
Blake: “The magic residue matches one of the commanders who died in the previous war.”
Ellie: “Then isn’t he the culprit?”
Blake: “No. That’s the weird part. We also found traces of magic from many soldiers who supposedly died in that war.”
Matthew: “That’s impossible… how?”
Blake: “We don’t know yet. But it might mean that the cultists are actually our own soldiers — the ones who died before. I couldn’t believe it myself, but that’s what the evidence suggests.”
Ellie: “So… they didn’t die?”
Blake: “I can’t say for sure. But I watched many of them die right in front of me.”
Matthew: “Then who the hell are we fighting for? And what are we even fighting against?”

As heavy silence filled the room, the large screen on the wall flickered on — and Blytharos appeared.

Blytharos: “Hello there, pathetic, cowardly species.”
Matthew: “There’s no way you can access this network!”
Blytharos: “About that… let’s just say your dear brother helped me a lot, Ellie.”
Ellie: “M-my brother?! RELEASE HIM RIGHT NOW OR I SWEAR I’LL MAKE YOU SUFFER IN WAYS YOU CAN’T EVEN IMAGINE!”
Blytharos: “Ahh, terrifying~ Please, don’t say such scary things. Anyway, listen up.”
Matthew: “Why the hell would we listen to a bastard like you?”
Blake: “Wait. Let him speak.”
Blytharos: “We’re declaring war on you. A force of five thousand soldiers. We’ll start with the Asian continent — destroy Base A first, then B, then C — and finally, we’ll settle here. Our ships are probably already on their way, so get ready to be erased.
Oh, and I’m telling you the plan just so you can entertain us a little before you die.”

The screen exploded with static and shut off.

Immediately, we began preparing for war, gathering every Elite Corps soldier we had.
All units were sent to reinforce Base A.

While the army was organizing, Ellie summoned me and the remaining Black Soldiers of Base A.
When I entered her room, everyone was already there.

Ellie: “Now that Kiyoshi’s here, I can brief you. You won’t be on the front lines at the start. You’ll enter the battlefield when Blytharos shows himself. Until then, our main forces won’t engage.”
Kiyoshi: “But ma’am, if we don’t start with full force, wouldn’t it be harder to push them back?”
Ellie: “Unfortunately, not all units are here. The other Black Soldiers are staying behind to defend their own bases in case this is a diversion. That means right now, aside from me and you three, we have no other Black Soldiers available. If there are no more questions — return to your preparations.”
Kiyoshi, Lukas, and Shun: “Understood, ma’am!”

Our army was nearly two thousand strong — enough to win the war.
But if the cultists truly were the fallen soldiers from the last battle… we were in deep trouble.
Among those soldiers were Black Soldiers strong enough to stand against Vyron himself.
This would be a brutal war.

“I’ll just focus on what I must do... and wipe them all out.”