CHAPTER 37: RENDEZVOUS POINT

After hours of driving, the truck came to a stop, leaving the back opened by Shin. There wasn’t a glimpse of daylight outside, yet lights still managed to pour through.

"Damn, talk about bright," Shin mumbled, hopping out.

Lily energetically followed behind, "Ha-ha! So, this is Sector Fifty?"

Stuck behind the large frame of the blonde soldier, Seven stepped out after Alexander, letting his boots land on the asphalt. He looked up, finding buildings outfitted with digital billboards staring back at him.

"What’s up with this? The power is still working in this sector?" Shin asked, tilting his head back.

There were displays of commercials for movies, ranging from one of a knight traversing a hollow world to another about the fleeting love of a young couple. It was nothing he was familiar with, though it felt like peeking into a lost world.

"It’s...pretty lively," Seven remarked.

The orb on his shoulder hovered up, staying beside him, "From my database, the last reports had Sector Fifty as being completely off-the-grid, without any functional power. This runs contrary to that."

"It certainly does," Haoyu added, walking past, keeping his laptop propped up on his forearm while typing with one hand.

On the street at the border of the City of Second Chances, multiple tents were set up along with impromptu barricades, occupied by soldiers of UNED. As he followed the others towards the tents, he found himself on the receiving end of sudden applause from the others there.

"Good to see you, Seven!"

"Hoping to take out another Fulminare tonight?"

"I’d like to see that."

It was within one of the hollow buildings beside the pop-up base that he followed the others, discovering it was also occupied by UNED forces. The establishment seemed to have been a hotel, at one point or another, though the walls were full of bullet holes and overgrowth having sprouted through the gray tiles.

Several soldiers sat in the lobby, talking amongst each other, even playing chess. It was a perplexing sight for the young man, knowing full well the situation could change at any moment.

"Surprised by how calm they are?" May asked from his left.

"Yeah, guess so," he responded, walking beside the girl through the hotel lobby.

"The soldiers who fight on the frontlines, well...I think they know and have accepted that at any moment, an enemy attack can come," May said. "That’s just the way it’s been."

He glanced back, watching Alexander serve himself a cup of coffee before hurrying on over. There was a slight stumble to the large man’s step, seeing as he was lugging around a good few hundred pounds of equipment on his back.

"Need a hand?" Seven offered, continuing on as the towering figure caught up.

"Pfft, no way! I’m not breaking a sweat," Alexander assured, tapping the metallic bicep of his exosuit.

It was within the cleared-out kitchen of the building that the Bastian unit settled down, with Alexander setting down the crate he hauled in. A passcode laid on the front latch, leaving Haoyu quickly tapping in the appropriate term before it unlocked with a trailing hum.

"Alright, get your gear and get ready to move out," Haoyu said, stepping back.

The lid to the pale crate opened, revealing the contents–from prototype pistols to grenades that resembled scarlet pinecones, the equipment was rationed between each of the young soldiers. Of course, Lily practically stuffed her pockets full of grenades, enough to level a town.

"You’ll be set on a route through the north strip. The objective is reaching the Aurora Resort–that is where there has been a reported nest of extraterrestrial entities," Haoyu explained.

"Do we know what species yet?" Shin questioned, halfway drawing a short blade from its metallic sheath as it hummed with electricity.

"All we’ve managed to scout out are heat signatures. By some estimates, there are Exa-Goliaths and Vandraken inhabiting the resort," Haoyu said. "There has been a surge of power detected there."

"Power? Are they building something in there?" May asked.

"There’s no way to know for sure until we have eyes in the building. However...It’s likely they’re establishing a sort of base there, or already have," the engineer said as he adjusted his glasses.

There would be no shortage of deadly encounters with aliens, he knew that—all that left was a weapon for himself.

He looked through the crate, picking up pistols and rifles, though not feeling much attachment to any.

"Looking for something?" May asked, kneeling beside him.

On the other side of the cleared-out kitchen, Alexander and Shin were gawking at one another’s weapons.

He felt somewhat underprepared, holding up his hand as he stared at his covered palm, "I know my fists are capable on their own, but I’d prefer something else. At least, in most cases."

"A force amplifier..." May raised her eyebrow, rummaging through the chest. "Ah-hah!"

"Ah...?"

What was held up by the brunette girl beside him wasn’t a rifle or hand-cannon, but an electronic, sheathed sword.

"Guns won’t do you much good, but a blade? In your hands, it’ll be ten times as effective," she recommended.

"A sword?" He quietly mumbled.

Grabbing a hold of the handle, he slowly slid the rather lengthy weapon from its scabbard. It released a small click, emitting steam from the minuscule outlets at the end of the hold.

On his shoulder, the little robot lit up as if prompted—

["Anti-Material Claymore: a highly advanced blade outfitted with state of the art nano-bites along the edge. The sword is designed to be able to cut into the otherworldly durable flesh of the Fulminare, utilizing its unique cutting function.

However, due to the inability of standard humans to match a Fulminare’s speed, it is an uncommon weapon."]

"Thanks for the lesson," he said half-sincerely, sliding the weapon back into its sheath.

With a magnetic scabbard, it was simple enough to slide it onto his back, letting it attach to his suit.

Shin walked over to him with an intrigued look in his eye, "Opting out of guns for a blade? Good choice."

"You think so?" Seven asked.

It was the first time seeing some semblance of semblance in the eyes of the usual drowsy, uninterested figure.

Shin drew one of the knives on his belt, flipping it between his fingers like a world-renowned chef, "Guns leave things up to chance. A blade is entirely in your hands. I can teach you a few pointers."

"I’ll follow your lead out there," Seven accepted.

There was a window before the squad would set out, leaving him to scope out the hotel in the meantime. He ventured into the lobby, passing by the front desk as he looked towards the front doors.

Even from the bounds of the makeshift base, the sounds of the city were hardly pleasant. In the distance, the sight of smoke rose into the air, along with buildings clad in otherworldly, black flesh. It was undoubtedly no longer a city within the possession of mankind; it was claimed by otherworldly forces.

"Gross, isn’t it?"

An unfamiliar, deep, but smokey voice greeted him from his right. Beside him, a blonde-bearded man kitted in an all-black uniform watched the unsettling scenery.

"Yeah," Seven agreed.

"Sergeant Fang," the man introduced, extending his hand. "You’re Seven, right? The talk of the world right now."

"Fang? Wait–you’re a part of..." Seven recalled the footage shown to him by the professor prior, though had trouble remembering the specifics.

"I lead the Tiger Squadron. Guess we’re both a bit famous then," Sergeant Fang chuckled, scratching his scruffy beard.

"Have you been stationed out here?" Seven asked. "I’m surprised a Fulminare hasn’t shown up if they’re trying to claim this sector."

The tan-skinned, blonde man rubbed his chin, "Been here about three weeks now. Priority has been keeping the perimeter of the sector. Now, if a Fulminare came in...Doubt we’d hold it."

"Three weeks? No offense, but I’m surprised you’ve held out that long," Seven remarked.

A laugh was drawn from the experienced Sergeant, "You’re not wrong, kid! No offense taken. It’s weird though, isn’t it? I mean, if the Fulminare really wanted it, they could take it."

"I think there’s a simple answer," Seven said.

In his mind, the sights of the infinitely large base and the many planets around it stood out. It was an unforgettable scenery, beyond the scope of human understanding.

"Oh, yeah?" Sergeant Fang listened.

"We’re probably just one of countless other planets the Fulminare are attacking. As much as I hate to say it, Sector Fifty probably isn’t even on their radar," Seven theorized.

While it was a disheartening line of thinking, by the looks of the surrounding soldiers, and the Sergeant beside him, it wasn’t a new idea.

Fang folded his arms over his chest with an assured smile curled on his lips, as if the day was bright and sunny, "That’s the likely reality, yeah. But, that’s a good thing. They’re stretching themselves thin out there in space. They think mankind are just some chumps they can conquer with one fleet. To hell with that, I say. You feel the same way, don’t you?"

When the question was placed to him, it stoked a warmth within his chest, as though his heart immediately found an answer; a seed planted into the very essence of his being. From thoughts of civilizations that could once more stretch the seas, to cultures allowed to sprout again, to green grass and innocence once more allowed to flourish, unshackled by fear of the end.

"Yeah," he answered, nodding his head. "I’m going to wipe them out. The Fulminare–each one that threatens us."