This will be my first light novel "attempt" so please be merciful.^^ I appreciate any advise and tips.
Special thanks to BitterSugar. I wouldn't be able to do this project without his help.
Summary:
2016.06.06
A strange incident could be observed above the skies of numerous cities. The clouds had turned red and the sky split open. Hideous beasts, later referred to as “youkai”, descended to Earth to wreak havoc. That day marked the end of humanity’s sovereignty.
But along with the youkai's appearances came a strange phenomenon; childrens with extraordinary strength or magical powers were born. People started to call those born with such abilities, Knights or Priests.
Year 2041. The world is at war with unknown creatures. They devour and slaughter humans without reason and, in a short time of only 25 years, had already taken over USA, Africa and Europe.
To fight the monsters and prevent total annihilation, an alliance consisting of the remaining forces was formed. A huge program was started to enlist all Knights and Priests as soldiers.
Amongst them is the cold-hearted Jin, who solely lives to seek revenge for his parents.
Prologue:
Spoiler! :
"Are you serious? He killed another youkai by himself?”
“Man, my legs wouldn't stop shaking when I'm facing one and he doesn't even need a Priest to fight them...”
“But why does he refuse to bring a Priest with him?”
Chatter could be heard amongst the soldiers.
The cafeteria was usually a busy place but today it was far more boisterous than usual.
The topic everyone was talking about was the young Knight named Jin, who was silently enjoying his meal.
“You know someday this arrogance will kill you Jin,” the middle aged man who was sitting across Jin and dressed in a military uniform which had several badges attached scolded him.
“...”
The young man remained silent.
“Even if you can defeat youkais alone, wouldn't it be better to just assign a Priest? Why are you being so stubborn? Every Priest is to be paired with a Knight; that's a rule set by the alliance! You are giving me a headache with that attitude of yours.”
“...”
No response was given from Jin as the middle aged man continued to berate him.
“Hey... how can he have that attitude towards colonel Hades?”
“Man, my legs wouldn't stop shaking when I'm engaged in a conversation with the colonel.”
Soldiers who overheard the conversation started to whisper.
Hades grew impatient and as he was about to continue his objurgation, the young man finally replied.
What he said left the middle aged man and everyone who heard him speechless.
****
“So, what did he say?”
A general who was walking next to Hades asked.
“Well...he glared at me and said...” the colonel hesitated. “Go f*** yourself...”
The general's eyes widened as he was dumbfounded for a second. Then, after a brief moment, he burst into a laughter.
“Hahahaha, I knew he was something but I didn't expect something of such degree. Don't worry about it too much, Hades. Hahaha!”
But it didn't seem like the colonel was finished just yet. Hades gulped and started sweating as he continued, “He also said to tell the general to go f*** himself.”
“…”
“Man, my legs wouldn't stop shaking when I'm facing one and he doesn't even need a Priest to fight them...”
“But why does he refuse to bring a Priest with him?”
Chatter could be heard amongst the soldiers.
The cafeteria was usually a busy place but today it was far more boisterous than usual.
The topic everyone was talking about was the young Knight named Jin, who was silently enjoying his meal.
“You know someday this arrogance will kill you Jin,” the middle aged man who was sitting across Jin and dressed in a military uniform which had several badges attached scolded him.
“...”
The young man remained silent.
“Even if you can defeat youkais alone, wouldn't it be better to just assign a Priest? Why are you being so stubborn? Every Priest is to be paired with a Knight; that's a rule set by the alliance! You are giving me a headache with that attitude of yours.”
“...”
No response was given from Jin as the middle aged man continued to berate him.
“Hey... how can he have that attitude towards colonel Hades?”
“Man, my legs wouldn't stop shaking when I'm engaged in a conversation with the colonel.”
Soldiers who overheard the conversation started to whisper.
Hades grew impatient and as he was about to continue his objurgation, the young man finally replied.
What he said left the middle aged man and everyone who heard him speechless.
****
“So, what did he say?”
A general who was walking next to Hades asked.
“Well...he glared at me and said...” the colonel hesitated. “Go f*** yourself...”
The general's eyes widened as he was dumbfounded for a second. Then, after a brief moment, he burst into a laughter.
“Hahahaha, I knew he was something but I didn't expect something of such degree. Don't worry about it too much, Hades. Hahaha!”
But it didn't seem like the colonel was finished just yet. Hades gulped and started sweating as he continued, “He also said to tell the general to go f*** himself.”
“…”
Spoiler! :
Berlin 2041
A mix of soldiers from different countries stood in a line as they saluted their commander. They were the remains of the German alliance forces.
One could see the traces of war by looking at their uniforms and faces; the bags under their eyes, that were formed due to sleep deprivation and the uniforms that were torn and so dirty that one could hardly recognize them, made these soldiers a sad sight to look at.
They were young, none of them exceeded the age of 25, but they had seen and lived through more horrifying things than anyone else.
Usually, these soldiers would be sent to their home country, be celebrated as heroes and given some kind of a medal. But unfortunately for them, they weren't normal humans. These soldiers were Knights and Priests who only had two options in life.
To either die a dog's death by the hand of youkais, or to prevail and survive for the next day, only to find themselves on another battlefield.
25 years ago when the youkais first appeared, a strange phenomenon occurred. Children with mysterious marks on their wrist, resembling either swords or religious crosses, were born. This happened to approximately 1 out of 1000 newborns, all over the world. It was only later discovered, that these children had inexplicable powers that could be used to fight youkais. People started calling them the “gifted generation”.
Usually being born as such would make one special. That was the case, but feeling happy about it was out of question. Having the power to fight the youkais did not mean that it was an easy task to do.
Before the youkai appeared humans fought against each other and even started wars. Soldiers who were trained to fight would still be scared once they were sent to the battlefield to kill other humans.
Fighting against a youkai was a completely different case. These monsters weren't human and therefore didn't have a shred of humaneness. They brutally slaughtered and ate humans without a second thought. It wasn't uncommon for soldiers to be eaten alive while desperately crying for help.
No human in their right mind would torture another to death to such degree, even to an enemy.
There wasn't anyone on Earth who didn't know about the terror of the youkais. Hence, it was an honorable act to voluntarily enlist as a soldier.
Unfortunately, being born as a gifted child didn't allow one to be honorable on this matter. Humankind’s only weapon against the youkai were the Knights and Priests. Being born into the gifted generation was equivalent to being born a soldier. Even if one thinks it wasn't fair, there was nothing that could be done to change that fate.
The way they chose to life live was limited to, either die a dog's death by the hand of youkais, or to prevail and survive for the next day, only to find themselves on another battlefield.
With these two as the only options for their life, the soldiers were having a hard time accepting the order that was about to be given.
They had gathered in Berlin and were saluting the German-Poland-Romanian commander, colonel Tyr, who had a wary expression as he faced the survivors.
“Your next destination is Moscow! Be prepared to move by tomorrow morning!
We've lost a lot already. BUT we won't give up on humankind yet!”
If this was a typical war movie, the soldiers would probably start to cheer and show their unyielding spirit. But it wasn't. This was reality.
The only thing that remained after the order was given, were the devastated looks and the faint sound of sobbing.
Well, that was to be expected.
The colonel thought to himself as he walked past the crowd. He was someone who believed the current system, to forcibly recruit soldiers, to be wrong but he nevertheless couldn't deny the necessity of the gifted generation. His eyes wandered across the crowd while briefly scanning the soldiers expression.
They stopped at a young mans face, who looked to be around 20 years old. The man's name tag on his chest showed his name - Jin Martinez. A badge on his right breast pocket identified his military rank.
Major at such a young age. Impressive.
He had the facial features of a Japanese but the stature of an European. His height was around 1.80 m and his medium-long hair had a dark brown color.
Even with his uniform which effectively covered his body, one could see that the man was well-built. His face was something that would be described as handsome, if asked. He was one of those who were probably hated by males but loved by females.
But it wasn't his feature that made Tyr stare at him. It was his cold expression. Dark eyes reflecting the abyss, seemingly shutting off the world around him.
Jin, unlike most of the other soldiers who looked either depressed or angry, had a different look on his face.
"Eyes that have lost all hope...
It's saddening to see someone so young to wear that expression.
I pray that you find your light again."
The colonel murmured to himself as he left the site.
***
"I heard you had another fight with colonel Hades,” a youthful looking boy tried to start a conversation. His facial features and his black hair suggested he was Asian. The boy was wearing the typical black military coat which all soldiers wore during the winter seasons.
Jin knew this guy. His name was Daisuke Kiyoshi, someone he fought alongside for 3 years and also someone who acted before he thought of the consequences. But something was off.
This idiot shouldn't be here...
Thinking about it, where am I? I'm supposed to be in Moscow.
Jin looked around to examine his surroundings.
Right now, he was in a watchtower which was adequate enough to fit around four people. Currently, the only people occupying the tower were two similar dressed 16-year old boys.
The tower was tall enough to provide a full view over the whole city and the surrounding vicinity. Like many others it was build with the purpose of detecting the dreadful yokais.
This should be Bonn - Germany's second stronghold. I see... so this must be a memory from four years ago. Seems like I'm dreaming right now.
“It wasn't a fight. He was just nagging about the usual,” Jin replied in a calm tone.
Hearing his comrade answer in his standard manner, Daisuke could only smile lightly with a can't-be-helped look, “I've known you for three years already. I know better than anyone else that you will be fine by your own. But still... I'd feel better knowing if you had someone by your side.”
Daisuke stopped momentarily to look Jin in the eyes before continuing with an mischievous smile, “There are a lot of pretty priestesses around. Imagine the ruckus if rumors that the infamous Jin Martinez was looking for a priest got out. We could create our own harems!”
Apparently, this guy wasn't thinking about his friends safety but only of his own advantages.
Even though the term Knights and Priests was common, it was more appropriate to be called Knights and Priestesses. As of now, the only male priests were below 1%. Same can be said for the female Knights ratio.
Jin knitted his eyebrows as he asked himself, should I hit him?
He was seriously considering it but discarded the idea and decided to tease him with a modest smile instead, “Maybe I should tell your sister about this. A siscon like you, who writes letters to her on a daily base, wouldn't like that, I'm assuming?”
Fearing the threat, Daisuke immediately got on his knees and grabbed Jin's legs, “I'm sorry sir, I was wrong. Please don't tell her!”
...This guy would die for his sister.
Jin sighed at the apology that made even him who was only watching, feel embarrassed.
“Don't worry, it's not like I could tell her even if I wanted to.”
Having heard that, Daisuke showed a relieved expression as he stroked his head, “Right, I forgot. You don't even know her.”
He let go of the legs and displayed a stoic look.
After a short moment of decision-making, he came to a conclusion.
Still kneeling, he took a letter out of his military coat and presented it to Jin.
Seeing his friends puzzled expression Daisuke followed his action with the words, “Love letter. Please go out--ugh”
His sentence was stopped halfway, when his stomach was hit by a black boot, that came flying at a frightening speed.
Disgusted by Daisuke's actions Jin had decided to respond in a arbitrary manner, even though he knew that it was only a joke after seeing the recipient's name on the letter.
“To Maria” read the italic words written on it.
Daisuke, held onto his stomach and coughed violently as he questioned their friendship.
How could he hit his only friend that hard?
It took several seconds for him to regain his composure.
Jin, on the other hand, looked down at Daisuke as if he was a mere excretion produced by a dog. Sympathy was nowhere to be seen.
This guy is the devil! Daisuke thought as he slowly stood up, still holding his belly in pain.
He had a second thought about handing the letter over but decided to do it anyway. After all, he knew what kind of person Jin was and he was also partly at fault.
Once again, he stretched out his hand that was holding the letter and spoke the real reason, “This is my will. I want you to give it to my sister if something happens to me.”
Due to the graveness of the words, Jin could tell that his friend was being serious. Daisuke looked like an carefree idiot who would forsaken the world for the well being of his sister. That was the conclusion Jin came to after knowing him for three years. His action seemed to hold meaning to that judgement.
“What do you mean?” Jin, not understanding the meaning asked, “You are one of the strongest Knights I have ever met. Even the most vigorous cockroach isn't as tough as you.”
In his eyes, Daisuke was someone who could raise every soldiers' morale, given any situation. He was someone who could change the tide of a battle with his remarkable commanding abilities and exceptional fighting strength. His name was well known amongst the soldiers at the battlefront. The thought that a guy like this could die never crossed his mind. Not even once.
“I'm not confident.” Daisuke looked up at the white winter sky with a somewhat poignant expression, “I don't think I can survive through this. I can pretend to be alright but in reality, I'm not....It's frightening to walk into the battlefield and see your comrades die one after another. You start to wonder when your day will come. And I know it's inevitable."
Daisuke shifted his gaze to look at a confused Jin. “You are strong. I know that you will make it.”
Those words came with a smile, but it didn't conceal the melancholic emotion which was evident in his eyes.
Ah... that's right. This was the day before he died.
When Jin opened his eyes, he found himself back in reality. He felt a warm liquid run down his cheeks.
It really is an unpleasant memory.
A mix of soldiers from different countries stood in a line as they saluted their commander. They were the remains of the German alliance forces.
One could see the traces of war by looking at their uniforms and faces; the bags under their eyes, that were formed due to sleep deprivation and the uniforms that were torn and so dirty that one could hardly recognize them, made these soldiers a sad sight to look at.
They were young, none of them exceeded the age of 25, but they had seen and lived through more horrifying things than anyone else.
Usually, these soldiers would be sent to their home country, be celebrated as heroes and given some kind of a medal. But unfortunately for them, they weren't normal humans. These soldiers were Knights and Priests who only had two options in life.
To either die a dog's death by the hand of youkais, or to prevail and survive for the next day, only to find themselves on another battlefield.
25 years ago when the youkais first appeared, a strange phenomenon occurred. Children with mysterious marks on their wrist, resembling either swords or religious crosses, were born. This happened to approximately 1 out of 1000 newborns, all over the world. It was only later discovered, that these children had inexplicable powers that could be used to fight youkais. People started calling them the “gifted generation”.
Usually being born as such would make one special. That was the case, but feeling happy about it was out of question. Having the power to fight the youkais did not mean that it was an easy task to do.
Before the youkai appeared humans fought against each other and even started wars. Soldiers who were trained to fight would still be scared once they were sent to the battlefield to kill other humans.
Fighting against a youkai was a completely different case. These monsters weren't human and therefore didn't have a shred of humaneness. They brutally slaughtered and ate humans without a second thought. It wasn't uncommon for soldiers to be eaten alive while desperately crying for help.
No human in their right mind would torture another to death to such degree, even to an enemy.
There wasn't anyone on Earth who didn't know about the terror of the youkais. Hence, it was an honorable act to voluntarily enlist as a soldier.
Unfortunately, being born as a gifted child didn't allow one to be honorable on this matter. Humankind’s only weapon against the youkai were the Knights and Priests. Being born into the gifted generation was equivalent to being born a soldier. Even if one thinks it wasn't fair, there was nothing that could be done to change that fate.
The way they chose to life live was limited to, either die a dog's death by the hand of youkais, or to prevail and survive for the next day, only to find themselves on another battlefield.
With these two as the only options for their life, the soldiers were having a hard time accepting the order that was about to be given.
They had gathered in Berlin and were saluting the German-Poland-Romanian commander, colonel Tyr, who had a wary expression as he faced the survivors.
“Your next destination is Moscow! Be prepared to move by tomorrow morning!
We've lost a lot already. BUT we won't give up on humankind yet!”
If this was a typical war movie, the soldiers would probably start to cheer and show their unyielding spirit. But it wasn't. This was reality.
The only thing that remained after the order was given, were the devastated looks and the faint sound of sobbing.
Well, that was to be expected.
The colonel thought to himself as he walked past the crowd. He was someone who believed the current system, to forcibly recruit soldiers, to be wrong but he nevertheless couldn't deny the necessity of the gifted generation. His eyes wandered across the crowd while briefly scanning the soldiers expression.
They stopped at a young mans face, who looked to be around 20 years old. The man's name tag on his chest showed his name - Jin Martinez. A badge on his right breast pocket identified his military rank.
Major at such a young age. Impressive.
He had the facial features of a Japanese but the stature of an European. His height was around 1.80 m and his medium-long hair had a dark brown color.
Even with his uniform which effectively covered his body, one could see that the man was well-built. His face was something that would be described as handsome, if asked. He was one of those who were probably hated by males but loved by females.
But it wasn't his feature that made Tyr stare at him. It was his cold expression. Dark eyes reflecting the abyss, seemingly shutting off the world around him.
Jin, unlike most of the other soldiers who looked either depressed or angry, had a different look on his face.
"Eyes that have lost all hope...
It's saddening to see someone so young to wear that expression.
I pray that you find your light again."
The colonel murmured to himself as he left the site.
***
"I heard you had another fight with colonel Hades,” a youthful looking boy tried to start a conversation. His facial features and his black hair suggested he was Asian. The boy was wearing the typical black military coat which all soldiers wore during the winter seasons.
Jin knew this guy. His name was Daisuke Kiyoshi, someone he fought alongside for 3 years and also someone who acted before he thought of the consequences. But something was off.
This idiot shouldn't be here...
Thinking about it, where am I? I'm supposed to be in Moscow.
Jin looked around to examine his surroundings.
Right now, he was in a watchtower which was adequate enough to fit around four people. Currently, the only people occupying the tower were two similar dressed 16-year old boys.
The tower was tall enough to provide a full view over the whole city and the surrounding vicinity. Like many others it was build with the purpose of detecting the dreadful yokais.
This should be Bonn - Germany's second stronghold. I see... so this must be a memory from four years ago. Seems like I'm dreaming right now.
“It wasn't a fight. He was just nagging about the usual,” Jin replied in a calm tone.
Hearing his comrade answer in his standard manner, Daisuke could only smile lightly with a can't-be-helped look, “I've known you for three years already. I know better than anyone else that you will be fine by your own. But still... I'd feel better knowing if you had someone by your side.”
Daisuke stopped momentarily to look Jin in the eyes before continuing with an mischievous smile, “There are a lot of pretty priestesses around. Imagine the ruckus if rumors that the infamous Jin Martinez was looking for a priest got out. We could create our own harems!”
Apparently, this guy wasn't thinking about his friends safety but only of his own advantages.
Even though the term Knights and Priests was common, it was more appropriate to be called Knights and Priestesses. As of now, the only male priests were below 1%. Same can be said for the female Knights ratio.
Jin knitted his eyebrows as he asked himself, should I hit him?
He was seriously considering it but discarded the idea and decided to tease him with a modest smile instead, “Maybe I should tell your sister about this. A siscon like you, who writes letters to her on a daily base, wouldn't like that, I'm assuming?”
Fearing the threat, Daisuke immediately got on his knees and grabbed Jin's legs, “I'm sorry sir, I was wrong. Please don't tell her!”
...This guy would die for his sister.
Jin sighed at the apology that made even him who was only watching, feel embarrassed.
“Don't worry, it's not like I could tell her even if I wanted to.”
Having heard that, Daisuke showed a relieved expression as he stroked his head, “Right, I forgot. You don't even know her.”
He let go of the legs and displayed a stoic look.
After a short moment of decision-making, he came to a conclusion.
Still kneeling, he took a letter out of his military coat and presented it to Jin.
Seeing his friends puzzled expression Daisuke followed his action with the words, “Love letter. Please go out--ugh”
His sentence was stopped halfway, when his stomach was hit by a black boot, that came flying at a frightening speed.
Disgusted by Daisuke's actions Jin had decided to respond in a arbitrary manner, even though he knew that it was only a joke after seeing the recipient's name on the letter.
“To Maria” read the italic words written on it.
Daisuke, held onto his stomach and coughed violently as he questioned their friendship.
How could he hit his only friend that hard?
It took several seconds for him to regain his composure.
Jin, on the other hand, looked down at Daisuke as if he was a mere excretion produced by a dog. Sympathy was nowhere to be seen.
This guy is the devil! Daisuke thought as he slowly stood up, still holding his belly in pain.
He had a second thought about handing the letter over but decided to do it anyway. After all, he knew what kind of person Jin was and he was also partly at fault.
Once again, he stretched out his hand that was holding the letter and spoke the real reason, “This is my will. I want you to give it to my sister if something happens to me.”
Due to the graveness of the words, Jin could tell that his friend was being serious. Daisuke looked like an carefree idiot who would forsaken the world for the well being of his sister. That was the conclusion Jin came to after knowing him for three years. His action seemed to hold meaning to that judgement.
“What do you mean?” Jin, not understanding the meaning asked, “You are one of the strongest Knights I have ever met. Even the most vigorous cockroach isn't as tough as you.”
In his eyes, Daisuke was someone who could raise every soldiers' morale, given any situation. He was someone who could change the tide of a battle with his remarkable commanding abilities and exceptional fighting strength. His name was well known amongst the soldiers at the battlefront. The thought that a guy like this could die never crossed his mind. Not even once.
“I'm not confident.” Daisuke looked up at the white winter sky with a somewhat poignant expression, “I don't think I can survive through this. I can pretend to be alright but in reality, I'm not....It's frightening to walk into the battlefield and see your comrades die one after another. You start to wonder when your day will come. And I know it's inevitable."
Daisuke shifted his gaze to look at a confused Jin. “You are strong. I know that you will make it.”
Those words came with a smile, but it didn't conceal the melancholic emotion which was evident in his eyes.
Ah... that's right. This was the day before he died.
When Jin opened his eyes, he found himself back in reality. He felt a warm liquid run down his cheeks.
It really is an unpleasant memory.
Chapter 2 Before the Battle
Spoiler! :
2037 Bonn
Around 5000 soldiers where divided into squads and were ordered to gather at Bonn's pedestrian area, which was barely able to fit the mass number of soldiers.
Earlier scouts had sighted a huge number of youkais that was headed towards the city. Because of this, squad leaders were ordered to gather their respective groups, which roughly held 100 soldiers in each squad, and inform them about the objective they were told beforehand.
Jin, who had the rank of a captain along with Daisuke, was forced to become a squad leader against his will. He wasn't interested in his title, but his remarkable skills compelled him to climb up the ranks in a frightening speed.
A squad leader who doesn't care about his team. What a joke.
He knew that most of his squad members agreed with him on this matter. Accusing him of an incompetent commander wasn't incorrect, but strangely enough the casualty rate in his squad wasn't any higher compared to the others. This was most likely due to his exceptional fighting skills that compensated for his lacking leadership abilities.
“Good morning, my lovely comrades!” Daisuke had his usual cheerful voice and idiotic smile that didn't fit the current situation as he stood in front of his squad.
There surely must be a lot of soldiers who are tempted to hit that careless face, Jin thought in a cynical manner.
“Today, I have great news.”
He really is asking for it.
Ignoring the annoyed faces, Daisuke continued to speak, “A large group of youkais has been spotted. They are coming from the west and the estimated time of arrival is noon. Their numbers should be around... um... what was it?”
He turned to his side to find an answer. There stood a girl with blond, shoulder-long hair and a petite figure. Her name was Hana. She was probably regretting her choice to become the careless man's priestess, as she whispered the answer to him.
“5000?! What? That's great! Around the same as us. Hahaha!”
Did I just hear the sound of swords being unsheathed?
Feeling the murderous intent that was directed at him made him quickly get back to the point.
“Anyway, the plan is as follows. Squad 1 to 20 will defend the Southern area of the city. Squad 21, that's us by the way, to 30 will stay in the central and the remaining squads will be stationed north. Use the surrounding buildings to your advantage, since youkais can be quite big and will have trouble fighting in narrow areas. Hiding in buildings and ambushing them at the right time will be the best way to fight them. I'll give you further details about your exact positions later. Our mission is to kill as many youkais as possible before retreating to the next stronghold located at Siegen!"
He paused for a moment and examined the soldiers with a sincere look. "But your most important mission is to survive! You may think your life is meaningless right now, but I promise, if you keep on living, one day your efforts will be rewarded. Dismissed!”
His squad, as if the accumulated anger from before had disappeared, replied with an unified, “YES SIR!”
Even if he is an idiot, he's at least as good a commander. Approving of his friends suitability as a leader, the corner of Jin's mouth rose slightly.
He himself found it to be a hassle to give speeches, so he made sure to place his squad next to Daisuke's to spare him from that.
“You heard the idiot. Squad 15 is to be stationed south. For further details about the precise location... ask the other squads. Dismissed,” he spoke in a nonchalant manner and walked away from his squad he had no particular feelings for.
****
“If it isn't Colonel Tyr! Good to see you still alive,” a bald man with a face covered with scars and an intimidating expression approached Tyr, who was watching the young soldiers gearing for the upcoming battle.
“Same to you Hades. I'm glad you didn't kick the bucket yet,” Tyr responded in a friendly manner.
The atmosphere between these two suggested that they were old war buddies.
“So what do you think?” Hades leaned back on the wall behind him. “How many will make it today?”
Being asked by that question saddened Tyr, as he knew the meaning behind it. He looked like a parent who was watching his children about to set off to a hopeless battle.
“It's the same as always,” Tyr sighed. “These soldiers don't fight because they want to. They do, because they have to. Curse the god who made them that way.” The last sentence clearly contained resentment.
“The gifted generation, huh? Well, we adults are powerless. We have no other choice besides sending these youths out to win against the youkais.”
“WIN?!” Agitated Tyr gave Hades a sharp glare, “Hades, you know as good as me what this is for.”
That's right. Hades knew what the stronghold system was for.
Youkai have shown tendency to be attracted to places with high human density. Therefore, the military evacuated the surrounding cities to make sure that the enemy would attack the strongholds. There was a reason why this had to be done.
25 years ago, the youkais first appeared in the US and Africa. Humanity used all it's available weapon to fight against the enemy but that proved to be futile. When humans used guns or explosives to kill them, they would respond by mutating their skin to steel-like properties.
When humans utilized toxin, they would reproduce the poison and use it against humans. The youkais evolved in a terrifying speed. Whatever mankind used to fight them, they would adapt shortly after.
It took the youkais less than a year to wipe out the majority of Africa's population.
4 years later, the lost of Earth's most powerful country, the USA, was declared.
The situation was dire. God seemed to have abandoned humankind.
However, just when everything appeared to be hopeless, the “gifted generation” was discovered - around the same time when the US was declared to have lost.
After losing the above mentioned continents, a global alliance consisting of the remaining countries was formed. The Grand Union (GU). The GU ordered every country to forcibly recruit Knights and Priests and immediately train them.
To mankind's luck, youkai had one weakness that took time for them to adapt to. They couldn't swim. That flaw prevented them to cross the sea and invade Europe, giving the world five years to enlist and train the gifted children.
But that time wasn't nearly enough to prepare for a decisive war. After that short period, the oldest soldiers from the gifted generation were merely at the age of ten. Having these kids fight at the frontline and expecting to win was delirious. Therefore, the Grand Union had to make a decision which would, no matter what situations, be described as inhuman. The order to stall time was given and with that the stronghold system came to life.
“I will never be able to forgive myself for destroying the future of so many youths...”Tyr said, in disdain to himself.
“Don't be so hard on yourself. I know you wouldn't have done this if you had any other choices,” Hades tried to comfort his friend who blamed himself.
“Anyway, I actually came over to look for someone. Did you see a soldier at the age of 16 who has the rank of a captain? He has remarkable fighting skills - you probably know him,” he changed the topic which was leading to nowhere but despair.
A moment of thinking passed before Tyr answered, “Oh you must mean that cheerful Japanese youth. Captain Kiyoshi, was it? I'm certain he will be a great commander one day.”
Hearing an unexpected name, Hades was taken aback for a moment.
“No, the one I'm talking about is Japanese as well, but only half. And cheerful? Hahaha! There is no way we are talking about the same person.”
“I see. So we have another 16-year old captain at the front lines?”
Jin was someone with few words, hence he unintentionally kept a low profile.
To Tyr it was the first time hearing about his existence.
“Yes, and he's quite something. If it wasn't for his rotten personality, he'd make a great commander. But hearing about that other youth you mentioned makes me want to meet him. Let's hope both of them survive today's battle.”
“I agree. Let's hope so.”
They both earnestly wished for that.
Time flew by quickly. There was less than an hour left before the enemy would arrive.
***
The soldiers were about to finish their preparations. Well, even if one called it preparations there wasn't really anything to prepare.
Knights, as the name implies, mostly used a combination of a sword and a shield or a lance to fight. There were exceptions, but weapon handling weren't their main ability.
They were born with the ability to manipulate the Ki that resides inside their body to any part they desired it to be - such as weapons or body parts. Depending on the density of the Ki, ones weapon could increase in it's deadliness or it's durability and defense capability.
Even so, an average Knight was only capable of causing non-lethal wounds to the youkais and therefore were unable to kill them by themselves without the help of a Priest.
Priestesses used holy prayers to demolish the youkais. Prayers took a long time to chant and was cancelled if they were interrupted. If that was to happen the Priestess would have to start the prayer from the beginning.
This was why they needed Knights to protect them from the youkais as the creatures were aware of the damage the Priestesses can inflict and often targeted them.
The cooperation between a Knight and a Priestess was inevitable in order to defeat the youkais.
However, there were those who didn't follow this principle. One of them was Jin, who was currently sitting on a bench at the pedestrian area - polishing his sword.
“Captain, how come you always look so calm? Don't you fear them?”A soft voice asked in a curious manner as the person sat down beside Jin.
The voice belonged to the female who stood next to Daisuke when he held his speech - Hana. She wore a white coat along with fitting black pants and boots. It was the regular uniform for females during the winter seasons.
Hana was popular amongst the Knights because of her lovable demeanor. Jin, even though he wasn't really interested, didn't deny her cuteness. He always thought that she looked so feeble that the slightest ruckus would 'break' her. She had the look of an ill girl that threatened to faint any moment.
“I do fear them, but I loathe them even more,” he replied with a neutral tone despite the heaviness of his words.
“I see...that's really amazing.”
Surprised by the unexpected response Jin looked at the girl who blankly stared at the ground.
“As for me, I'm really, really scared of them. I...” Hana stopped momentary and said with a painful expression.“...I don't want to die yet.”
“....”
“There are so many things that I still want to do..." With watered eyes she spoke in regret. "Like going to school and making a lot of friends....or falling in love and getting married. And I even want to do that cosplay thing that captain Kiyoshi told me about.”
snivel. Looking like she was about to break out into tears she raised her head and gave Jin a helpless look.
“It's not fair! There are so many things that I still haven't done yet! Can't I just run away and hide until this is all over?” Releasing the depression that had accumulated her words sounded like a desperate cry for help.
Jin and Hana weren't on particularly good or bad terms. She always followed Daisuke, who liked to hang out with Jin. That gave them the opportunity to occasionally chat... although, one would not call it a chat. It was usually a trivial smalltalk-like questions from Hana's side and Jin answering halfheartedly.
But right now, Hana expressed her earnest desire to Jin. Even so, Jin wasn't someone who couldn't differ between reality and sympathy.
“You can't. You have a duty as a Priestess,” he refused her in his usual flat tone.
To the brutal reality the priestess couldn't help but feel wronged. She already expected Jin's answer but a part of her was still wishing for him to say, "You can.”
I already know, but it's just..
His next words stopped the emotions that were about to flow. They came with confidence and a faint smile, “But you won't die. You didn't choose him to be your knight for no reasons, right?”
Hana looked at Jin's face as if to confirm his seriousness. Realizing the sincerity behind the words she calmed herself.
How despicable of me..., she used her arm to wipe her teary eyes as she forced a happy expression.
Daisuke had been her knight for two years already and not once did he fail to protect her.
“You are right.” Seemingly having received the answer she wanted to hear, Hana stood up as she gave her farewells, “It's about time. I'm really sorry... thank you for listening to me and... please don't die, captain Martínez.”
With a salute, she took her leave.
Jin responded with a light smile as he returned the salute. “Same to you, Hana.”
Around 5000 soldiers where divided into squads and were ordered to gather at Bonn's pedestrian area, which was barely able to fit the mass number of soldiers.
Earlier scouts had sighted a huge number of youkais that was headed towards the city. Because of this, squad leaders were ordered to gather their respective groups, which roughly held 100 soldiers in each squad, and inform them about the objective they were told beforehand.
Jin, who had the rank of a captain along with Daisuke, was forced to become a squad leader against his will. He wasn't interested in his title, but his remarkable skills compelled him to climb up the ranks in a frightening speed.
A squad leader who doesn't care about his team. What a joke.
He knew that most of his squad members agreed with him on this matter. Accusing him of an incompetent commander wasn't incorrect, but strangely enough the casualty rate in his squad wasn't any higher compared to the others. This was most likely due to his exceptional fighting skills that compensated for his lacking leadership abilities.
“Good morning, my lovely comrades!” Daisuke had his usual cheerful voice and idiotic smile that didn't fit the current situation as he stood in front of his squad.
There surely must be a lot of soldiers who are tempted to hit that careless face, Jin thought in a cynical manner.
“Today, I have great news.”
He really is asking for it.
Ignoring the annoyed faces, Daisuke continued to speak, “A large group of youkais has been spotted. They are coming from the west and the estimated time of arrival is noon. Their numbers should be around... um... what was it?”
He turned to his side to find an answer. There stood a girl with blond, shoulder-long hair and a petite figure. Her name was Hana. She was probably regretting her choice to become the careless man's priestess, as she whispered the answer to him.
“5000?! What? That's great! Around the same as us. Hahaha!”
Did I just hear the sound of swords being unsheathed?
Feeling the murderous intent that was directed at him made him quickly get back to the point.
“Anyway, the plan is as follows. Squad 1 to 20 will defend the Southern area of the city. Squad 21, that's us by the way, to 30 will stay in the central and the remaining squads will be stationed north. Use the surrounding buildings to your advantage, since youkais can be quite big and will have trouble fighting in narrow areas. Hiding in buildings and ambushing them at the right time will be the best way to fight them. I'll give you further details about your exact positions later. Our mission is to kill as many youkais as possible before retreating to the next stronghold located at Siegen!"
He paused for a moment and examined the soldiers with a sincere look. "But your most important mission is to survive! You may think your life is meaningless right now, but I promise, if you keep on living, one day your efforts will be rewarded. Dismissed!”
His squad, as if the accumulated anger from before had disappeared, replied with an unified, “YES SIR!”
Even if he is an idiot, he's at least as good a commander. Approving of his friends suitability as a leader, the corner of Jin's mouth rose slightly.
He himself found it to be a hassle to give speeches, so he made sure to place his squad next to Daisuke's to spare him from that.
“You heard the idiot. Squad 15 is to be stationed south. For further details about the precise location... ask the other squads. Dismissed,” he spoke in a nonchalant manner and walked away from his squad he had no particular feelings for.
****
“If it isn't Colonel Tyr! Good to see you still alive,” a bald man with a face covered with scars and an intimidating expression approached Tyr, who was watching the young soldiers gearing for the upcoming battle.
“Same to you Hades. I'm glad you didn't kick the bucket yet,” Tyr responded in a friendly manner.
The atmosphere between these two suggested that they were old war buddies.
“So what do you think?” Hades leaned back on the wall behind him. “How many will make it today?”
Being asked by that question saddened Tyr, as he knew the meaning behind it. He looked like a parent who was watching his children about to set off to a hopeless battle.
“It's the same as always,” Tyr sighed. “These soldiers don't fight because they want to. They do, because they have to. Curse the god who made them that way.” The last sentence clearly contained resentment.
“The gifted generation, huh? Well, we adults are powerless. We have no other choice besides sending these youths out to win against the youkais.”
“WIN?!” Agitated Tyr gave Hades a sharp glare, “Hades, you know as good as me what this is for.”
That's right. Hades knew what the stronghold system was for.
Youkai have shown tendency to be attracted to places with high human density. Therefore, the military evacuated the surrounding cities to make sure that the enemy would attack the strongholds. There was a reason why this had to be done.
25 years ago, the youkais first appeared in the US and Africa. Humanity used all it's available weapon to fight against the enemy but that proved to be futile. When humans used guns or explosives to kill them, they would respond by mutating their skin to steel-like properties.
When humans utilized toxin, they would reproduce the poison and use it against humans. The youkais evolved in a terrifying speed. Whatever mankind used to fight them, they would adapt shortly after.
It took the youkais less than a year to wipe out the majority of Africa's population.
4 years later, the lost of Earth's most powerful country, the USA, was declared.
The situation was dire. God seemed to have abandoned humankind.
However, just when everything appeared to be hopeless, the “gifted generation” was discovered - around the same time when the US was declared to have lost.
After losing the above mentioned continents, a global alliance consisting of the remaining countries was formed. The Grand Union (GU). The GU ordered every country to forcibly recruit Knights and Priests and immediately train them.
To mankind's luck, youkai had one weakness that took time for them to adapt to. They couldn't swim. That flaw prevented them to cross the sea and invade Europe, giving the world five years to enlist and train the gifted children.
But that time wasn't nearly enough to prepare for a decisive war. After that short period, the oldest soldiers from the gifted generation were merely at the age of ten. Having these kids fight at the frontline and expecting to win was delirious. Therefore, the Grand Union had to make a decision which would, no matter what situations, be described as inhuman. The order to stall time was given and with that the stronghold system came to life.
“I will never be able to forgive myself for destroying the future of so many youths...”Tyr said, in disdain to himself.
“Don't be so hard on yourself. I know you wouldn't have done this if you had any other choices,” Hades tried to comfort his friend who blamed himself.
“Anyway, I actually came over to look for someone. Did you see a soldier at the age of 16 who has the rank of a captain? He has remarkable fighting skills - you probably know him,” he changed the topic which was leading to nowhere but despair.
A moment of thinking passed before Tyr answered, “Oh you must mean that cheerful Japanese youth. Captain Kiyoshi, was it? I'm certain he will be a great commander one day.”
Hearing an unexpected name, Hades was taken aback for a moment.
“No, the one I'm talking about is Japanese as well, but only half. And cheerful? Hahaha! There is no way we are talking about the same person.”
“I see. So we have another 16-year old captain at the front lines?”
Jin was someone with few words, hence he unintentionally kept a low profile.
To Tyr it was the first time hearing about his existence.
“Yes, and he's quite something. If it wasn't for his rotten personality, he'd make a great commander. But hearing about that other youth you mentioned makes me want to meet him. Let's hope both of them survive today's battle.”
“I agree. Let's hope so.”
They both earnestly wished for that.
Time flew by quickly. There was less than an hour left before the enemy would arrive.
***
The soldiers were about to finish their preparations. Well, even if one called it preparations there wasn't really anything to prepare.
Knights, as the name implies, mostly used a combination of a sword and a shield or a lance to fight. There were exceptions, but weapon handling weren't their main ability.
They were born with the ability to manipulate the Ki that resides inside their body to any part they desired it to be - such as weapons or body parts. Depending on the density of the Ki, ones weapon could increase in it's deadliness or it's durability and defense capability.
Even so, an average Knight was only capable of causing non-lethal wounds to the youkais and therefore were unable to kill them by themselves without the help of a Priest.
Priestesses used holy prayers to demolish the youkais. Prayers took a long time to chant and was cancelled if they were interrupted. If that was to happen the Priestess would have to start the prayer from the beginning.
This was why they needed Knights to protect them from the youkais as the creatures were aware of the damage the Priestesses can inflict and often targeted them.
The cooperation between a Knight and a Priestess was inevitable in order to defeat the youkais.
However, there were those who didn't follow this principle. One of them was Jin, who was currently sitting on a bench at the pedestrian area - polishing his sword.
“Captain, how come you always look so calm? Don't you fear them?”A soft voice asked in a curious manner as the person sat down beside Jin.
The voice belonged to the female who stood next to Daisuke when he held his speech - Hana. She wore a white coat along with fitting black pants and boots. It was the regular uniform for females during the winter seasons.
Hana was popular amongst the Knights because of her lovable demeanor. Jin, even though he wasn't really interested, didn't deny her cuteness. He always thought that she looked so feeble that the slightest ruckus would 'break' her. She had the look of an ill girl that threatened to faint any moment.
“I do fear them, but I loathe them even more,” he replied with a neutral tone despite the heaviness of his words.
“I see...that's really amazing.”
Surprised by the unexpected response Jin looked at the girl who blankly stared at the ground.
“As for me, I'm really, really scared of them. I...” Hana stopped momentary and said with a painful expression.“...I don't want to die yet.”
“....”
“There are so many things that I still want to do..." With watered eyes she spoke in regret. "Like going to school and making a lot of friends....or falling in love and getting married. And I even want to do that cosplay thing that captain Kiyoshi told me about.”
snivel. Looking like she was about to break out into tears she raised her head and gave Jin a helpless look.
“It's not fair! There are so many things that I still haven't done yet! Can't I just run away and hide until this is all over?” Releasing the depression that had accumulated her words sounded like a desperate cry for help.
Jin and Hana weren't on particularly good or bad terms. She always followed Daisuke, who liked to hang out with Jin. That gave them the opportunity to occasionally chat... although, one would not call it a chat. It was usually a trivial smalltalk-like questions from Hana's side and Jin answering halfheartedly.
But right now, Hana expressed her earnest desire to Jin. Even so, Jin wasn't someone who couldn't differ between reality and sympathy.
“You can't. You have a duty as a Priestess,” he refused her in his usual flat tone.
To the brutal reality the priestess couldn't help but feel wronged. She already expected Jin's answer but a part of her was still wishing for him to say, "You can.”
I already know, but it's just..
His next words stopped the emotions that were about to flow. They came with confidence and a faint smile, “But you won't die. You didn't choose him to be your knight for no reasons, right?”
Hana looked at Jin's face as if to confirm his seriousness. Realizing the sincerity behind the words she calmed herself.
How despicable of me..., she used her arm to wipe her teary eyes as she forced a happy expression.
Daisuke had been her knight for two years already and not once did he fail to protect her.
“You are right.” Seemingly having received the answer she wanted to hear, Hana stood up as she gave her farewells, “It's about time. I'm really sorry... thank you for listening to me and... please don't die, captain Martínez.”
With a salute, she took her leave.
Jin responded with a light smile as he returned the salute. “Same to you, Hana.”
He seems quite entertaining in his own way. It's hard to tell where exactly the story will be going, so I'd definitely like to read more! (Especially if the humorous bits don't stop after the prologue, haha.)
don't kill her xD