Love or Vengeance - Chapter 7：The War

“Strike back? What do you mean?” Asked Reina.

“Don’t worry. Everything will soon be explained.” Said Alexis who lead the way.

The five of them stepped out and saw a chopper waiting for them. After they took off flew for about ten minutes. They soon entered a mountain range. Suddenly the chopper flew straight towards a mountain.

“What’s going on?! Asked Akari.

“We’re going to crash!” Said Cana.

Alexis just smiled. The chopper kept flying straight towards the mountain. The three girls closed their eyes and held on to each other. Then like magic, the chopper flew straight through the mountain.

“You can open your eyes.” Said Alexis.

When they opened their eyes, they found themselves inside a large military base.

“What the….”

“Welcome to Area D. This is our top secret base where we keep the most classified information and weaponry.”

“I figured as much.” Said Julius.

“But… how did we just pass through that mountain?” Asked Reina.

“Hologram.” Said Julius.

“Exactly.” Said Alexis.

They soon landed. A car was there waiting for them. The car then took them to the control room of the base. There they met with General Kingston waiting for them.

“Your majesty, I arrived just as you required.” Said the general.

“Thank you for coming on such short notice. I believe you already know about our situation.”

“Yes. The Storms are ready.”

“Very good.”

“The Storms?” Asked Cana.

“Yes. That is one of our many weapons. The Storm is basically a missile.”

“But what’s so special about it.” Asked Akari.

“I’m glad you asked. These are no ordinary missiles. Each Storm missile has five hundred smaller tracking missiles stored in the big one. At a certain altitude above the target, the big missile opens up. Allowing the smaller ones free to fly straight to the target. Once it reaches their target, they attach to it without means of removal. The explosion that one small tracking missile causes affects everything on a radius of two hundred meters.”

“That’s amazing.” Said Cana.

“With this, we could end the war.” Said Reina.

“That’s what we hope as well. What’s more, we have two types of storms. The one that causes the normal explosions like any other missile and a radioactive missile.”

“Radioactive?” Asked Julius.

“Let’s just say that each tracking missile has the radioactive power of a normal nuclear missile. The only difference is that each missile affects only their target. We don’t want the radioactive energy to move around Britannia, do we?”

“I can’t believe that we had this in our arsenal.” Said Akari.

“Forgive me for not telling you. To be honest, I never wanted to use them in the first place. But this is an emergency.”

“It’s alright. As king, you need to keep certain things secret even from us.”

“You’re majesty, we’re ready.” Said the general.

“Just a moment.” Said Alexis. He then turned towards Julius. “Julius. I need your permission first, before I give the order to fire. Those are your people.”

Everyone turned to look at Julius. This was indeed hard for him. In just a few months, his whole life changed. From just an ordinary teenager, he turned into a prince. And now, he became the rightful king of Wisseragna and is the one who is to decide whether he is to fire at his own people.

“Julius.” Said Cana as she held his hand.

“I’m alright. This has to be done. As it is now, they are following Ishin-san. Which makes them traitors. And as king, I need to take responsibility.”

“Very well. Fi…”

“Your majesty, we caught a man coming up to this base. He said he knows his majesty, King Julius.” Said a solider.

“Me?” Asked Julius.

“Very well. Bring him in.” Said Alexis.

“Are you sure? He might be a spy.” Said Reina.

“For the fact he knows Julius and found out about this place, it will be safer to have him here, surrounded by all our men, than have him roam free and possibly give away our location.”

“Good point.”

A few minutes later, the soldiers came along with a man in handcuffs. Julius and Cana immediately recognized him.

“General Kurosawa?!” Said Julius.

Even though Kurosawa was held by the guards, he bowed before Julius. “Your majesty. I don’t have enough words to describe how sorry I am for betraying you and the Kingdom. I was brainwashed by Ishin-san to think that it was you who had murdered the King.”

“And why exactly should I believe you?” Asked Julius.

“Three days ago, as I was going to bring a report of our new troops to Ishin-san, I overheard Freed-san boasting about his achievement of killing the King. I couldn’t believe how foolish I was to believe Ishin-san and betray you. At that moment I decided to track you down. I knew that King Alexis was your cousin, so I deduced that he must have been the one behind your rescue. So I faked my assassination and made my way to Britannia. By the time I got here, I went to the palace. I was expecting to be taken prisoner or even killed. But I had to come and tell you everything I knew about Ishin-san and his plans. But I was surprised to hear that King Alexis was expecting me. Then I was told to make my way here.”

“Alexis, you knew about this?” Asked Julius.

“Yes. I heard all about the assassination. I figured that it was fake since my men haven’t reported any kind of movement against Kurosawa-san. So my hunch was correct. I knew that you will eventually make your way here. I’ve known you for quite some time and I know how much you love your country. I trust that you came all the way here to support us.”

“Yes, your majesty. I am at your service.”

“Well, if Alexis trusts you, then I shall too. Free him.” Said Julius. “So what is it that you know about all this?”

“First off, I want to inform you that 75% of the Wisseragnian army is made up of Ishin-san’s organization. The rest are hired mercenaries and criminals who were promised a great reward after the war.”

“That bastard. What about the others? Are there any Wisseragnians in the army?”

“All of the old soldiers were removed from the main army and sent to work in the factories to help make the Super Soldiers and the Destroyers.”

“Well, that makes it a whole lot easier.” Said Julius.

“How so?” Asked Akari.

“Well now that I know that none of our Wisseragnian citizens are in the army advancing into Britannia, then I don’t have to hold back.”

“That’s right.” Said Cana.

“Your majesty, do we fire?” Asked the man at the control panel.

“Yes. Fire at will.” Said Alexis.

The man at the control panel, proceeded to fire the missile. The ground started shaking. Julius and the others could see the tip of the missile come out of the ground. Soon, the missile flew into the air towards the twenty thousand enemy soldiers. As expected, the missile released five hundred tracking missiles which rain down on the enemy. There was a large explosion. The dust started to clear.

“What’s the status of the enemy army?” Asked Alexis.

“Your majesty, two Destroyers were taken down.”

“Good. What about the infantry?”

“…-ne.”

“What?”

“Your majesty, none of the enemy has been affected by the missile attack.”

“That’s impossible. Have they been enhanced that much that they’d be immune to that kind of explosion?!” Said Julius.

“Don’t loose hope. Prepare the radioactive missile.” Said Alexis.

“Yes, your majesty.”

Soon enough, the missiles was shot towards the incoming army. Just like the one before, it opened up and released five hundred tracking missiles full of radioactive energy. Each missile went for their respective target. After they hit, a few seconds later, about five thousand soldiers started disintegrating.

“It worked.” Said Akari as she embraced Cana and Reina.

“Send the rest of the radioactive missiles. And send normal missiles and take down those Destroyers.” Said Alexis.

“Yes, your majesty.”

“Now, General Kingston, we need to start making radioactive weapons. Weapons that work on radioactive energy. Since we now know that radioactivity is what will work against them.”

“But how will we manage to mass produce these radioactive weapons?” Asked Julius.

“We did it with the missiles. So we should be able to do it with guns too.”

“Your majesty, if I may, Taking down these soldiers and Destroyers won’t do us much good unless we destroy the factories. And by what I know, there is absolutely no way in destroying them from the outside.” Said Kurosawa.

“Take them out from the inside.” Said Julius.

“Exactly, your majesty. I suggest that we form a small but elite unit that we will send into Wisseragna and destroy the factories.”

“That sounds all good, but what will we do about the Wisseragnian soldiers working inside the factories?” Said Julius.

“Now that is a problem. How will we manage to save them when they believe that we are the enemy?” Asked Alexis.

“Your majesty, before I faked my assassination, I mentioned that I heard Freed-san boasting about him killing the king. Well, I went to the security room and manage to make a copy of the security footage that has Freed-san and his confession in it.” He then hands over a flash drive to Julius. “This drive contains the footage, your majesty.”

“This is amazing. I never would have imagined that the evidence will reach my hands. With this, we can bring Ishin-san and Freed to justice.”

“There’s one more piece of evidence that you’re forgetting about.” Said Cana.

“That’s right. Remember? All of Wisseragna thinks that we’re dead.” Said Reina.

“With us there, we will back up Ishin and Freed into a corner. And there will be no other way out for them.” Said Akari.

“Well then. Now we know what the plan is. The next question is, who will be part of the elite team that we’ll send into Wisseragna?” Asked Alexis.

“I believe that’s already decided.” Said Akari.

“I’ll go.” Said Julius.

“And so will we.” Said Cana, Akari and Reina.

“Of course you will.” Said Julius with a smile.

“Aren’t you going to try and stop the love of your life from coming along?” Said Akari as she nudged him.

“Are you kidding? She’s worth a hundred men. I’d be better if she was coming along. We’ll get the job done faster.”

“Are you saying that I’m a war machine?” Said Cana as she punched him in the arm.

“You said it. Not me.” Said Julius as everyone laughed.

“Your majesty. Allow me to be part of this team as well. Let me serve you in the upcoming battle and fight alongside you.” Said Kurosawa as he went down on one knee.

“I’d make a big mistake if i didn’t have you with me. Thank you.” Said Julius.

“Well then. I will lend you a few other elite troops to go with you. Unfortunately, Kingston-san and I will have to stay here and take care of the front lines.” Said Alexis.

“Your majesty, the twenty thousand soldiers and the Destroyers were wiped out.” Said one of the soldiers who came to report.

“That’s the best news we got all day.” Said Akari.

“All right everyone. Once we have the new radioactive weapons, King Julius’s team will proceed to infiltrate Wisseragna and destroy the factories that are producing the Super Soldiers and the Destroyers. Our job is to distract and hold off the enemy for as long as we can. Remember. These Super Soldiers aren’t going to be affected by normal weapons. If you don’t have a radioactive weapon with you, do not engage the enemy. Have I made myself clear?!” Said Alexis as he spoke to the soldiers in Area D.

“Yes, your majesty!”

“Good. Now let’s get to work. We have a war to win.” Said Alexis. He then turned to his friends. “How was I?”

“Perfect. Very empowering.” Said Julius.

“Oh don’t flatter me.” Said Alexis as everyone laughed.

“Well, since we have some time on our hands, I believe this is the best time for some training. What do you say Cana-chan?” Said Julius.

“Of course. Would the rest of you like to join us?”

“Sure. Count us in.” Said Akari.

“Let’s go then.”

◆◆◆

A week later.

“Hyah!!!” Cried Cana as she swung her sword towards Julius.

Julius dodged it and landed a finishing blow on Cana, making her sword fly from her hand.

“That was magnificent you two.” Said Akari.

“It would seem that Julius has managed to surpass everyone here in swordsmanship.” Said Reina.

“He’s just as skilled in hand to hand combat and gun fighting.” Said Alexis.

“In other words, a war machine.” Said Cana after she picked her sword.

“Very funny. We all have to be skilled enough. We are at war after all. And you guys are war machines yourselves. We’ve been training for hours each day for the week.” Said Julius who was wiping his face with a towel.

“We know. Don’t worry about it. We’ll win this war for sure.” Said Reina.

“We have to win. For the sake of all those that lost their lives.” Said Alexis.

“It has been only a week, but our troops have been fighting constantly on all fronts. To think that Ishin-san managed to get these many men and attack us so many times. The southern part of Britannia is in ruins.” Said Julius.

“We have to hurry and get into Wisseragna and stop Ishin-san as soon as possible.” Said Kurosawa.

“Don’t worry. Once the weapons are ready, you will immediately depart for Wisseragna. Until then, we have to keep getting stronger. I am sure that by now, Ishin-san and Freed-san have become Super Soldiers themselves.” Said Alexis.

“Without a doubt. We will surely take them down.” Said Julius as he got up. “Alright everyone. Back to training.”

◆◆◆

A few days later.

“Everyone. As you can see, the weapons to counter these Super Soldiers are now complete. These weapons will allow us to fight on equal grounds with these enhanced men. And win. We have guns with radioactive energy infused in them. Thanks to some very brave soldiers, we have also discovered that these Super Soldiers are weak to laser beams. And so, we managed to created laser guns.” Said Alexis as he addressed his men.

“Laser guns?! How did we ever manage to create such a weapon?!” Asked some soldiers.

“It sounds so futuristic.” Said others.

“We have been working on these sort of weapons for quite some time. And now that war broke out, our weapons engineers managed to pull through and bring forth these amazing results. And lastly, each soldier is to carry a titanium sword with him at all times. These swords are able to cut down these soldiers. We now have all that we need in order to win this war. So we have nothing to fear. We will bring down the enemy and come out victorious.” Said Alexis who raised his sword.

“YYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! All hail King Alexis!!!” Cheered the men.

“You all know the plan. King Julius and his team will infiltrate Wisseragna at take them out from the inside. Our job is to hold off the Wisseragnian army and keep Ishin-san focused on us. If you follow these plans, I promise you victory.”

“All hail King Alexis!!! All hail King Julius!!!”

Later that day.

“Well everyone, it seems that all preparations are complete.” Said Alexis.

“It would seem so. Now that we have everything ready, I believe it’s time to head for Wisseragna.” Said Julius.

“That’s right. You will all be leaving at 3 AM with the submarine that brought you here. Once you get in Wisseragna, wait in the safe house for the night and monitor Ishin-san’s movements and what they are planning. Use that house as your base of operations. Once the time is right, infiltrate the main factories and destroy them. And since Wisseragnian men are currently working in those factories, make sure to set of an alarm warning them that the factory is about to be destroyed. We don’t want innocent men to be caught up in this. Once that is done, all that’s left is for you guys to take out Ishin-san, Freed-san and any remaining resistance and then prove Julius’ innocence. We will fight off the enemy from here and promise to meet you in WIsseragna” Said Alexis.

“That’s a lot to do. But we will get it done for sure.” Said Julius.

“You can count on us.” Said Akari.

“Consider the war over.” Said Reina.

“Alright. All of you should get into the helicopter and head back for the palace. Then all of you should go and get some rest. You’re going to need it.” Said Alexis.

◆◆◆

A few hours later.

Everyone is fast asleep. All except for Julius who is out on the balcony looking out towards Wisseragna. Cana slowly turns in the bed and wakes up noticing that Julius isn’t in bed. She looks for him and sees him out on the balcony. She smiles and stands up, heading towards her beloved and slowly hugging him from behind.

“You should be in bed.” Said Julius.

“I could say the same thing to you.”

“I’ve slept enough.”

“I doubt it.”

At that moment, a flash of light, like a shooting star, flew across the sky, towards Wisseragna.

“That must have been another one of those Storm missiles.” Said Julius.

“I’m sure that it’s just as Kurosawa-san said. That Ishin-san promised everyone a huge reward at the end of this war.” He then turned to Cana. “I will not let anything happen to any of you. I will protect you all and I promise to end this war.”

Cana touched his cheek. “Don’t put all this burden on yourself alone. We are all here with you. Remember that we are a team and we are going to get through this together.” She then proceeds to kiss him. “And remember that I will never leave your side. I will stand by you to the very end.”

“You know, I’m grateful to Ishin-san for one thing.”

“Really? And what’s that?”

“Uniting me with you.” Said Julius as he held her. “I love you Cana.”

“And I love you Julius.”

They stayed like this for a while. Then their alarm went off.

“It’s time.” Said Julius.

“It is. Let’s go.”

Half an hour later.

“It seems like everyone is here.” Said Alexis.

“Looks like it.”

“Everyone, let me introduce you to the three men who will be joining your team. Captain Vincent Strauss and Sargent Lucas Wilson from Britannia and Sargent Miguel Torres from the Spanish Federation.”

“We are honored to fight alongside you, your majesty.” Said Vincent as he and the other two bowed before Julius.

“Thank you for joining us. We are glad to have you on board.” Said Julius.

“Your majesty, the submarine is ready.” Said the captain of the submarine.

“Thank you.” Said Alexis as he turned to Julius and the others. “This is it everyone. I will pray for your safety and your victory. I will make sure to make it to Wisseragna once we have defeated Ishin-san’s army.”

“And we promise to take back Wisseragna by the time you get there.” Said Julius as he hugged his cousin.

“Don’t worry nii-san. We will teach them to never mess with us again.” Said Akari.

“Well said, Akari-chan.” Said Cana.

“Good luck everyone.” Said Alexis as everyone got into the submarine.

A few minutes later, the submarine was nowhere to be seen.

◆◆◆

“Have they made it out?” Asked Ishin.

“Yes. Julius and everyone else are currently on their way to Wisseragna.” Said Freed.

“Excellent. This time, I will finish the job myself.”

◆◆◆

A few hours later.

“Your majesty, we will be arriving in Wisseragna in about ten minutes.” Said the submarine captain.

“Very well. Everyone, it’s time.” Said Julius as everyone else stood up.

Just like last time, the submarine came out in the cave under the house where they once escaped to.

“Strauss-san, take Wilson-san and Torres-san and check out the house and the surroundings.

“Yes, your majesty.”

The three went upstairs and after ten minutes, they reported back.

“Everything is alright, your majesty.”

“Very well. Let’s start unloading everything and take them upstairs.” Said Julius.

After some time, they brought everything into the house.

“Your majesty, the crew and I were instructed by King Alexis to stay here throughout the time of this operation.” Said the captain of the submarine.

“I understand. Thank you for your service.”

“We will get breakfast going.” Said Reina.

“Thank you girls.” Said Julius. He then turned to his men. “We managed to make it to Wisseragna safely. We will discuss the plans of operation after breakfast. For now, everyone should go over their gear and make sure everything is functioning perfectly.”

“Yes, your majesty.”

After breakfast.

“Alright. The lab and the factories are situated on the outskirts of the capital. Kurosawa-san, you’ve been there before, haven’t you?”

“Yes. I know that place in and out. I know how to get us in.”

“Good. Once we’re in, we’ll set the explosives. After that, we will send out the warning signals. Once they evacuate, we destroy the factories. Once that is done, we head out to take down Freed and Ishin-san. Is everything clear on what we must do?”

“Yes, your majesty.”

“Good. We move out at dawn.”

◆◆◆

That same day.

“Your majesty, it would seem that the fifty thousand enemy soldiers and ten Destroyers are on the move.” Said General Kingston.

“Well, I believe it’s time to show them what we’re really made of. Send in the Division 4 along with our new armored tanks. Let’s show them what we’re made of.”

“Yes, your majesty.” Said General Kingston as he went to give out orders.

The Allied army soon left to face the enemy and as expected, the new weapons proved to be of great use. But even though they had the new weapons on their side, facing soldiers that had enhanced their body to gain super human abilities gave the Allied army a hard time. Some enemy soldiers would just dodge the attacks and head straight for their target. Even so, the Allied forces kept pushing. The new armored tanks that Alexis spoke of were also modified to be able to damage the Destroyers and the enemy infantry. Thanks to all the information that they managed to get from General Kurosawa, the Allied Forces managed to hold their own against Ishin’s army.

◆◆◆

At the enemy headquarters.

“How are things going on the front?” Asked Ishin who was seated at the table along with the commanders and high ranking officers.

“Well, as expected, the Allied Forces have also enhanced their weaponry and are fighting toe to toe with our forces.” Said Freed.

“Have they managed to advance?”

“No. Our men are still standing firm.”

“What about Julius and his men?”

“They arrived in Wisseragna this morning.”

“Excellent. We can now proceed with our plan.” Said Ishin as he stood up. “Everyone, everything so far has gone according to plan. We expected Alexis’s arsenal to be this strong. But we still have the upper hand. Julius and his team have made it into Wisseragna where they will meet their doom soon enough. As for the Allied Forces, it is time to strike and take them out once and for all. Begin Operation Endgame!”

“Yes, your majesty!” Answered everyone.

◆◆◆

The next morning.

“It’s time to go. Is everyone ready?” Asked Julius.

“Yes, your majesty.”

“Good. Kurosawa-san, please lead us in today’s operation. We will need you the most for this plan to succeed.”

“As you wish, your majesty. Please follow me everyone. We do not know what awaits us. So make sure to stay alert at all time. Strauss-san, you will be up front with me. Wilson-san and Torres-san, you will take the rear. The rest will be in the middle. Let’s move.”

The eight of them set off for the factories. With each step they took, they were getting more and more determined to stop Ishin and end this war. Especially Julius.

“Just you wait. I will take both of you down myself.”

Soon enough, they got out of the forest.

“From here on out, anything can happen. So be on the lookout for anything. And don’t break formation. Let’s go.” Ordered Kurosawa.

They kept pressing on. About two hours later, the factories and the capital city were in sight.

“There they are. As planned, once we get there, we will first capture the control room and send out the warnings. His majesty and the ladies will be in charge of the control room, while the rest of us will plant the explosives. Are we clear on that?”

“Yes sir!”

“And one more thing. As we’re approaching the factories, we will encounter enemies. All of you have trained hard for this day and are strong enough to face these Super Soldiers. I am sure that we will come out victorious and end this war.”

“Well said Kurosawa-san. Our only option is to succeed.” Said Julius. “The eight of us hold the fate of the world in our hands. If we fall, the world will also fall. We can’t allow that. Alexis-san and everyone else are currently fighting on the front lines and keeping the enemy distracted from what we’re about to do. We can’t let them down.”

“Exactly, your majesty. We have to win. So let us go and win this war.” Said Kurosawa

“Yes, sir.” Answered the others.

After walking for about half an hour, they managed to get to the factories.

“Stay low and follow me.”

“Looking from this close, the factories don’t look as big as i imagined them to be.” Said Reina.

“Yeah. It’s hard to imagine that the big death machines come from here.” Said Akari.

“That’s because the main body of the factories are actually under ground.” Said Kurosawa. “Apparently, King Claudius had them made this way. With advice he got from Ishin-san.”

“What?! My father?!”

“To think that Ishin-san had this all planned out since back then.” Said Reina.

“We can’t waste any time dwelling on that. We need to move.” Said Cana.

“Yes. Follow me. I know a way inside.” Said Kurosawa.

◆◆◆

The Allied Forces kept fighting and it seemed that everything was going in their favor. Their forces kept pushing the enemy back and soon, they got close to the borders. But the Allied Forces were about to receive a very unpleasant surprise.

“Your majesty!!!” Called one of the officers.

“What is it?!” Asked Alexis.

“We just received news that the Spanish Federation has fallen.”

“WHAT?!!”

“Your majesty!!! The Kingdom of Saldania has been invaded by a large army. They appear to be Wisseragnian.” Said another.

“What is going on?!”

And one after another, bad news kept pouring in. In less than five hours, the Spanish Federation, the Kingdom of Saldania and the Republic of Nirvana have fallen. Brittania was the only one left standing.

“Your majesty. We are currently surrounded on each side. What should we do?”

“This was a mistake from my part. We focused all our forces at the border with Wisseragna. I never imagined that they would go around us.”

“Your majesty, what are your orders?” Asked General Kingston.

“Everyone, I apologize for making such a grave mistake. I will not force any of you to continue this fight. If you want to leave, I will not stop you. But I shall remain and continue this fight. My younger sisters and my cousin are giving their all in order to take out those factories. I cannot let them down.”

“Your majesty, I shall remain with you till the very end.” Said the general as he bowed on one knee.

“So will I.” Said an officer who also bowed.

Soon after, all the men bowed before him swearing to stay by his side and serve him.

“Thank you all. Alright. I want all our forces to spread out all around our borders. We need to keep the enemy from advancing. Also, as soon as the enemy forces get close to Brittania, fire the artillery and the missiles filled with radioactive energy. They should be able to keep them busy for a while. We are the world’s only hope. So let us fight and stop this madman from destroying us. King Julius and his team are depending on us to keep the enemy distracted. Let’s not let them down. Send out all the orders immediately!”

“Yes your majesty!!!”

◆◆◆

Julius and his team follow Kurosawa into the factories. To make sure that they are not spotted, they get in through the vents.

“Strauss-san, you, Torres-san and Wilson-san will split up here. I need the three of you to go plant the explosives. There are five large factories in total. Each factory has three large petroleum reservoirs in each factory. Place one explosive on each of them. This will blow up everything. The five of us will head to the control room. We will communicate from there. Once you are done, make your way back to us. Good luck men.”

“Yes, sir. And good luck to you.” Said the three as they made their way through the vents.

Julius and the others kept going towards the control room. Soon enough they were directly above it.

“Alright. We have three men in there. They seem to be Wisseragnian men. Definitely not enhanced.” Said Kurosawa.

“How can you tell?” Asked Julius.

“I managed to get my hands on this device that can scan and tell if a person has been enhanced or not. Made by Freed-san himself.”

“I see. But what about the four men that are outside the control room?” Asked Reina.

“Let me see.” Said Kurosawa as he scanned them. “They’re super soldiers.”

“Okay. Here’s the plan. Kurosawa-san and I will take out the ones outside. While you girls capture the ones inside. But first, we need to do something about those two security cameras.” Said Julius.

“Don’t worry about that. Those cameras are supposed to be connected to this room. I’ll just hack them from here. Just give me five minutes.” Said Akari.

“I didn’t know you can hack.” Said Julius.

“He he. There are many things you don’t know about me Julius-kun.” Said Akari as she proceeded to hack the cameras.

Five minutes later,

“There. We’re all good to go. Alright boys. You’re up.” Said Akari.

“Right. Let’s go.” Said Julius who moved towards the right entrance.

Julius and Kurosawa got above their targets through the vents and shot them in the head with a laser gun. And sure enough, just like Alexis said the enhanced soldiers were weak against laser beams. The four guards instantly fell dead as the laser burned their brain.By the time they got back, they found the three men already tied down by the girls.

“Good job girls. I knew I could count on you.” Said Julius.

“P-Prince Julius?!” Said the three in shock. “You came back. Thank goodness.” The three quickly struggled and bowed before him.

“Your highness. Please forgive us for calling you a traitor. Mochizuki-san had us all fooled. We know that this isn’t enough to make up for our betrayal. Please, if it would please you, we are ready to offer you our lives.”

“Wait just a minute. You mean the three of you know the truth?” Asked Julius.

“Yes your highness. Because we were assigned to work here, we heard everything thanks to the security cameras. I believe they knew that we would find out, which is why they kept us inside here. We’ve been locked in here since the death of King Victor.”

“I see. Do not worry. I won’t take your lives. All is forgiven. It wasn’t your fault to begin with. But I will be needing your help.”

“Yes your highness. We will do anything.”

Alright. Free them.” Said Julius. “What we have to do now is wait for those three to report back to us. I hope they’ll pull it off.”

Half an hour later, Captain Vincent contacted Kurosawa through the radio.

“General Kurosawa, we finished the job and we’re on our way back. We will be there in ten minutes.”

“Good work men. We’re waiting for you.”

“Have they done it?” Asked Reina.

“Yes. They’re on their way back right now.”

“Excellent. We’re almost there.” Said Julius. He then turned to the three Wisseragnian men. “Set off the alarm.”

“Yes, your highness.”

Soon enough, the alarm went off and everyone started evacuating.

“Julius. I see them.” Said Cana as she looked out the window of the control room. Then she went pale. “JULIUS! It’s my father!”

“What?!!”

When he looked out the window, he saw Ishin, Freed and about a hundred enhanced soldiers coming into the factory. He then saw them open fire against the Wisseragnian men that were evacuating. Vincent and his men couldn’t go any further and had to open fire to stop them from killing any other Wisseragnian men.

“Your majesty! You have to get out of the factory immediately!” Said Vincent through the radio.

“No! We’re not leaving you behind.”

“We’ll set off the explosives and take all of them down here.” Said Vincent. “It was an honor to serve and fight alongside you, your majesty.”

“There has to be another way!”

“Julius, there is no other way. You can’t die here. We have to get out now!” Said Cana as she pulled Julius back towards the vents.

“She’s right, your majesty. If you die here, then we loose everything.” Said Kurosawa.

“Your majesty. We will join those three down there. It is the least we can do. You have to escape.” Said the three men as they bowed and ran down to help Vincent and the others.

“Quick your majesty. We have to go now!” Said Kurosawa as he pushed him towards the vents.

The five of them quickly made their way out of the factory and ran as far away as they could.

“Strauss-san! Are you still there?!” Called Kurosawa through the radio.

“Yes sir!! Have you all made it out safely?!!”

“Yes. We’re all safe.”

“Alright sir. We are ready!” Said Vincent.

“Godspeed men.” Said Kurosawa.

Vincent proceeded to take out the detonators. He then looked towards the other five men that were with him and they all smiled and nodded.

“It was a pleasure to fight alongside you.” Said Vincent.

“Likewise.” Said the others.

The six of them then stood up and shouted,

“LONG LIVE KING JULIUS!!!”

With that, all five factories blew up in a huge explosion that could be seen for miles. Julius and the others just stared at the giant explosion. Kurosawa then gave one last salute to their fallen comrades.

“Your majesty, from what we know, Ishin-san and Freed-san were in there as well. I believe that they were caught up in that explosion as well.”

“You might be right. But I still want to go back and make sure that everything was taken care off.”

“As you wish. But we have to be prepared for anything. That explosion might have taken out the majority of Ishin’s army. But I’m sure that there are still some who were not there when the explosion took place. We might be forced to go into combat.”

“That’s true. If it comes down to that, then we have no choice but to fight. I’m sure that we have the upper hand. The word of the destruction of the factories should have reached their command center by now. I’m sure that they’re main army is being called back as we speak. And if that’s what’s going on on the front lines, then we can leave their retreating armies to Alexis and the Allied Forces. All that’s left for us to do is to go back and then make our way to the command center. So let’s get going. We can’t waste any more time.”

“Yes your majesty.”

The five then started making their way back.

“I hope we took care of all of them.” Said Akari.

“Me too. We can’t let their sacrifice be in vain. We have to win this war for them as well.” Said Cana.

“Well said. We can’t let them down.” Said Reina.

They soon got back to where the factories used to be. And sure enough, everything was destroyed.

“I guess we did it.” Said Cana.

“LOOK OUT!!!” Shouted Julius as he pushed her out of the way as a truck came flying towards them.

“What’s going on?!!” Asked Akari.

“Everyone take cover!” Said Kurosawa.

The five of them took cover and got their weapons ready.

“Where did that truck come from?” Asked Reina.

“Julius, Julius, Julius. Who would’ve thought that you would come back here. You’re either crazy or you just wanna die.” Said a person who was walking towards them.

“Ishin.” Said Julius as rage filled his body.

“In the flesh.”

“Don’t forget about me.” Said another man who came up from behind Ishin with a huge beam in his hands.

“Freed.”

“Hey there best friend. How’ve you been?” Said Freed with an evil smile as he put the beam down.

Soon enough, a few other men came around Ishin and Freed.

“Sorry Julius. But it looks like your little explosion didn’t take out all of us.” Said Ishin.

“Did you really think we wouldn’t know about you little group of misfits?” Asked Freed. “It was all thanks to your good friend General Kurosawa.”

“What?!” Said Julius in shock as he looked at Kurosawa.

“No your majesty. I would never betray you.”

“Oh don’t worry. He didn’t betray you. We just put a tracker on him.” Said Ishin.

“Ha ha ha!!! You thought you had us fooled, but it turns out that it was the other way around.” Laughed Freed as he picked up the beam. “Thank you for your services general.”

With that, Freed swung the beam at Kurosawa which sent him flying a few meters away.

“KUROSAWA-SAN!!!” Shouted Julius as he rushed to him. “You bastards!”

“Y-Your m-majesty.”

“I’m here Kurosawa-san.”

“T-Take t-this. It’s t-the k-key to my s-safe. You w-will find it in m-my locker. I k-kept some f-formula in t-there.”

“What formula?”

“T-That will t-turn you into a S-Super S-Soldier. T-Take it. It’s the only w-way t-to stop them.”

“Okay. I’ll get it.”

“It w-was an h-honor to s-serve you, your m-majesty. Long l-live the king.” Said Kurosawa as he let out his last breath.

“Is he finally gone?” Said Freed.

“I’m gonna kill you.” Said Julius.

“You could try. But you know what? I think a public execution would be best for you. I want the whole world to witness your demise.” Said Ishin.

“Public execution, huh?” Thought Julius. He then went back to where to girls were.

“You will never get away with this, you know that?” Said Julius as he tapped his laser gun.

“Oh really? After all this, you can still say that? You really are crazy.” Said Ishin.

“Justice always prevails.” Said Julius as he kept tapping his gun without Ishin and Freed noticing.

“Morse code. I see.” Thought Cana.

“Sounds like a plan.” Thought Akari.

“I guess there’s only one thing to do.” Thought Reina.

The four of them took cover and threw out a couple of flash bangs and smoke grenades.

They then proceeded to take out most of the soldiers that were with Ishin. By the time the smoke cleared, Cana and the girls were seen running away.

“After them. And find Julius.” Ordered Ishin.

They began to pursue the girls. What they didn’t know is that Julius was going the other way. Soon enough he was at a safe distance from them and kept going towards the capital to Kurosawa’s home.

◆◆◆

“Did you really think you could get away from me?” Asked Ishin as he looked at the girls who were now on their knees with their hands tied to their backs. “Now. Tell me where he is.”

“Do you really think we would betray him?” Said Reina.

“No but it was worth a shot. But I have another method of smoking him out. Freed.”

“Yes?”

“Send a message to HQ to get the nation together and get the media for the public execution of these three traitors.”

“I’ll get right to it.”

“That should get him to come out.”

◆◆◆

Julius finally made it to the city and kept making his way to Kurosawa’s house. He managed to find a couple of soldiers on the way there and get a proper disguise. With that disguise, nobody recognized him. Which made it easier for him to get to Kurosawa’s house. And sure enough, he found his locker and the safe. Inside the safe he found the formula and a letter addressed to him.

“Greetings your majesty.

If you are reading this letter, then it means that I have failed you and I’m no longer in this world. I could never forgive myself for ever accusing you of the murder of King Victor. I know that my apology isn’t enough for what I have done. But I still hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me of my betrayal. I sincerely hope that you bring this kingdom back to its former glory. I’m sure that you will make a perfect king that both your parents and brother would be proud of. As for this formula, you would need to inject yourself with it. You will feel an excruciating pain for some time. But i believe it is what you need right now to save everyone. I believe that you will make everything right. It was an honor to serve you.

Sincerely, General Kurosawa.”

“Thank you Kurosawa-san. I will not let your death be in vain. I will stop Ishin and save Wisseragna.” He then took the formula and injected himself with it. And sure enough, the pain has horrible. But he kept fighting it.

“I won’t let this pain bring me down. I will save everyone even if it costs me my life.”

A few minutes later, the effects of the formula finally died down. He then punched a wall which instantly crumbled.

“So this is how it feels to be a super soldier.” Said Julius amazed at his new power. He then heard some commotion on the streets.

“Quick! We need to get to the palace at once.” Said a man who was running.

“Yeah. I can’t believe that his majesty’s own daughter betrayed the kingdom.” Said another.

“She’ll get what she deserves. Nobody can do this to Wisseragna and get away with it.” Said another person.

“Don’t worry girls. I’m coming.”

◆◆◆

“It pains my heart to see that my very own daughter would betray me and this wonderful kingdom. She may be my daughter, but she is a traitor. And so with a heavy heart, I, King Ishin Mochizuki, sentence her along with her accomplices to death.”

“Down with the traitors!!!” Shouted the crowd.

“And I give my word that I will find Prince Julius and bring him to justice.”

“You don’t need to find me. Because I’m right here.” Said Julius as he walked towards the platform.

“Ah Julius. So you finally decided to join us? Now how about you be a good little prince and come up here and join your three little pals up here on the platform?”

“Oh don’t worry. I’ll be sure to come up there and take your head.”

“Is that how you talk to your king and father in law?”

“You’re not my king. And soon enough the whole world will see your true colors.”

“Freed. Go get him up here. You can break a few bones.”

“Oh this will be good.” Said Freed as he began to move forward. “Aren’t you glad that you finally get to fight me Julius? Although I would have suggested that you come here with your laser rifle. Because that sword won’t do much against me.”

“I’ll never know until I try it. So come at me.”

“With pleasure.”

With that Freed jumped high into the air and went straight for Julius as fast as a bullet.

“Watch closely people of Wisseragna. Witness the might of the enhanced soldier.” Said Ishin as he addressed the crowd.

“He he. Too bad Julius. You’re still too weak for me. Now that I am a hundred times stronger than you, taking you down will be a like taking candy from a baby.”

“Are you sure about that, old buddy?” Said Julius with a smile as the dust cleared.

“What?!” Said Freed in shock as he turned around. As he turned and saw Julius standing there, he smiled. “So you have gotten stronger. Maybe now you’ll last longer than a few seconds.”

“Are you sure about that? How will you fight without your arms?”

“My what?” Said Freed as he looked at down and saw his arms on the ground. “AHHHHHHH!!! My arms!! The bleeding won’t stop. Why won’t the wound heal?! What did you do to me?!!”

“Nothing much. Just stopped the super healing process with my enhanced sword. Courtesy of Alexis.”

“I don’t need my arms to take down trash like you.” Said Freed as he ran towards Julius with amazing speed and kicked towards Julius’ head.

“But don’t you need legs to take out the trash?”

“MY LEGS!!!” Cried Freed as he fell to the ground. “T-There’s no w-way. You’re a super soldier t-too?!”

“You can thank Kurosawa-san for that. Now say good night Freed.” Said Julius as he raised his sword for one final strike.

“N-NO! W-Wait! Y-You won’t kill your b-best friend, right?! I know i did some pretty big mistakes. But who doesn’t. Come on man. Remember when you and I would go to the arcade together?”

A tear fell down on Freed’s face.

“I do remember. I remember those days like they were yesterday. But you took them away from me. You took away my brother. I considered you my brother too. But unfortunately you didn’t. I won’t fall for your lies anymore. Even if I were to spare you now, you would die because of the huge loss of blood.”

“I guess you’re right. I’m a horrible person after all. And I did so many horrible things to you and our friends. So if by dying I can atone for my sins, then so be it. To be fair, dying at your hands doesn’t sound so bad. There’s one thing that I do regret more than anything. Not being able to tell Akari that I loved her. But I’ve got to say that living life with you guys was fun. I wish I had not cast it away for such a sorry excuse of a father.”

“What?! Ishin-san’s your father?”

“I was an illegitimate son of course. He raised me to be a war machine. And that’s what i turned out to be. I was such an idiot.” Said Freed as he coughed up some blood. “So what do you say old buddy? Will you please put me out of my misery?”

“I will old friend.”

“Kick his ass for me will you. But not too much though. Because I want to have a piece of him when you send him over.”

“Sure thing. Farewell Kiba.”

“Farewell Yamato.”

And with that, Julius struck him with his sword. A few seconds later, Freed was gone.

“I never really liked him you know. He was useful I’ll give him that. I turned him into the strongest war machine that ever existed. But that’s all he was. In the end he just turned to a piece of junk. How could you even consider him your best friend?”

Julius turned around in a fit of rage. The hate in his eyes sent chills down Ishin’s spine. Julius jumped on the platform and with incredible speed and strength, took out every single person on the platform. He then proceeded to free Cana and the others.

“So you became one of the enhanced too I see. But that won’t change a thing. Wisseragna is still against you and I still have my large army of Super Soldiers. The Northern Alliance should have fallen by now as well.”

“Oh really? Well I believe that things are gonna change soon enough.” He then turned to the face the people. “People of Wisseragna. I know that you all consider us the traitors. But I assure you that we have not done anything to betray you or Wisseragna.”

“Liar!!!”

“You killed King Victor!!!”

“Just surrender!!!”

“And I have proof.”

“What?!” Said Ishin in shock.

Julius then pointed to the large screen on the platform that Ishin used to address the nation. Soon enough, the picture changed and showed the evidence that he got from Kurosawa.

“NO!!!” Shouted Ishin as he broke the screen. “Don’t believe anything. He is just trying to trick you.”

“We’ve been fooled!!!”

“Mochizuki-san is the real traitor!!!”

“Quiet or I’ll kill all of you! You think you’ve won?! My army should be close. I’ve finished off the Northern Alliance and now nobody will stand against me and world domination.”

“I won’t be so sure Ishin.” Said a voice that came from a megaphone.

A helicopter flew over the palace and hovered above the platform. A rope fell and a person slid down on it.

“Long time no see Ishin-san.”

“A-Alexis?!! But how?! The Northern Alliance should be defeated.”

“Did you really think that we are that weak? The moment your factories were destroyed, your armies started retreating. I guess your generals were just a bunch of cowards.”

“No! I won’t accept this.” He then rushes towards Cana and takes her hostage. “Now everyone stand down or she dies. You don’t want that to happen, right Julius?”

“You scumbag. Let her go!”

“You don’t scare me Julius.”

“So I see you’re just a big coward too.”

“You can’t fool me.”

“All that talk about how great you are is just talk. You are nothing.”

“What did you say?”

“At least Freed, who you called a trash, was a much better leader than you. He would have made a better king. He might have even succeeded in taking over the world. Unlike a useless duke like yourself.”

“How dare you?!!! I’m your king!!!”

“You wish.”

“I’ll kill you!!! I’ll kill you all!!!” Cried Ishin as he let go of Cana and launched himself at Julius. Julius kicked him in the head which sent him flying into the palace. He then jumped after him, caught him by the throat and threw him back on the platform. Julius jumped down after him and slowly walked towards Ishin who was laying on the ground.

“You could try. But you know what? I think a public execution would be best for you. I want the whole world to witness your demise.” Said Julius as he mocked Ishin.

Ishin stood up and grabbed Julius and threw him into the helicopter that Alexis came in. The helicopter started falling towards the platform. Ishin then punched it and blew it to pieces.

“You can’t beat me Julius. All your taunting will only get you killed. Just like I killed your parents. Do you know why I killed them? Because they had no ambition. I helped them develop these weapons. To develop this power. But they wouldn’t use it. They had the power to rule the world. But they were just cowards. And so was my wife who sided with them. So I killed them. But I let you and Victor live. I knew that I won’t be able to get the location of the plans of these weapons from your brother, because his father told him to not tell a single soul except for the next king. So I used you to get to him. And you did marvelously. I got what I wanted. Now I don’t have use of you or anyone else. Including my own wife and daughter.” He then went to grabbed Cana. “Looking at you reminds me of your mother and it just makes me sick. So I guess I’ll kill you first.”

“ISHIN YOU BASTARD!!! GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER!!!” Julius jumped from the burning helicopter and launches himself at Ishin sword in hand and runs the sword through Ishin’s throat. “A monster like you doesn’t deserve to live.”

Ishin starts to stumble and falls off the platform. Never to stand up again.

Julius stands and looks at Ishin’s body.

“Good riddance.”

As he turns around, everyone is silent. He then looks at Cana and smiles.

“Is it over? She asked.

“It’s over.”

Cana then runs into his arms, crying.

“Ishin the Tyrant is dead. All hail King Julius!” Shouted Alexis.

“All hail King Julius!!! The savior of Wisseragna!!!” Shouted the crowd as they erupted in cheers.

◆◆◆

“Do you King Julius take Lady Cana to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do.”

“Do you Lady Cana take King Julius to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do.”

“Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Julius then proceeds to kiss Cana. Their friends start cheering at the sight of the new couple. Alexis smiles at them as he holds Reina and Akari who are both crying.

Julius and Cana then go onto the balcony and wave at the crowd on the streets who start cheering.

“Long live King Julius and Queen Cana!!! Long live King Julius and Queen Cana!!!”

THE END