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the waves crash ever so graciously onto the rocks of the nearby. as the cool ocean air strikes the morning lands of Japan, two motorcycles slow down and park by the edge of the coastal highway. the ever so familiar sight of two black haired figures dismount and walk to the road barriers.
>9:37 AM, along the Omagoshi Highway, Aomori Prefecture.
the man, wearing his school's signature navy blue uniform fatigues, pulls a cigarette and lights it and rests his hands on the barrier overlooking the sea. the woman, wearing her school's uniform; this one more significant and bears medals as opposed to the man across to her.as the two approach the sea barrier, an awkward silence fills the air, both of them processing in the serenity of the sea and what lays ahead of them today.after a solid while, the girl breaks the silence first "So why bring me here, Nelson?" she asks casually, still admiring the ocean"Because, It's special." he replies back, replying in the same exact manners as hers she breaks position and turns at him and asks "Special? You're really gonna do-" she says before being interrupted by an unexpected question"Your fiancé, how is she?" he asks, ever so casually still staring out into the sea, taking another smoke of his cigarettesurprised at the sudden question, she stutters and tries composing a proper reply "Oh, uhm, well. I took her out on a date recently, I guess." trailing off quietlythe man lightly coughs as she spoke and replied "Good, that's nice to hear." proceeding to blow smokeshe pauses, "Yeah." she responds, following that she then looks down into the rocks below "So, what's special about this view of the ocean, Nelson?"the man stares off into the ocean, for a long period of time, he then takes a drag on his cigarette "Before I left for the Marines, we had a vacation to Japan remember?" he replies"The one where we had the stomach bug when we got home, if you remember" he continues"Yeah, I remember. You had so much vomit it looked like it was for a pigs pen." she snickered, she tilts her head and looks up at him, with a smile"Yeah, remember how we went to a resort that overlooked the sea on a cliffside?" he asks her, still focused onto the ocean"Mhmm." she says still looking at him, dropping the smile as she listens, "Well this is the exact same place we were in on that swing, just on the highway this time. Look up, you'll see the swing." he says taking another dragshe shifts her body, and looks at the cliffside, where ontop a white swing rests alongside 2 huge oak trees, thinking back to the past and plans for the future. "Do you remember what we promised each other there?" he asks her, he rests his hands on the barrierthen she swings herself back, looking directly at him with fury, one arm on the barrier and the other gesturing her anger at him "No, I don't wanna hear it Dan, you used this argument over and over already, can't you get ov-" she's interrupted as he raises a hand gesturing to quiet down."No, it's not about that anymore." he replies lowering his hand down "I'm genuinely happy for you and your new fiancé. But I'm talking about what happens when we break up." he says in a somewhat joyous tone, looking at her with a small smile.she turns back and stares down onto the rocks below, pondering what to offer her now ex-boyfriend in return for being so gracious with her coming out, and as a payment for the times she had with him. still thinking deep, and weighing her options, she was interrupted by his sudden reply, "Don't worry about it."he looks to her, this time with a full smile he looks back onto the ocean, and finishes the last whiff before flicking it off into the seas. despite the ever so quiet nature, the atmosphere remains dense by the thoughts and memories of the two before it all comes to an end.the girl tapping rhythmically on the barrier waiting for him to do his job. while across, he looks away and down into the road as he unholsters his pistol, the ever so familiar sound of the strap being unclipped.he rests the pistol on his hip, as the girl starts humming a soothing tune, he hesitated to continue as he still continues reminiscing before she breaks the silence for him. the humming stops and she looks at him, all awkward and frozen.she's leaning onto the barrier, hand on her chin and asks "Hey, Dan." he glances at her, with dilated pupils, a mixture of emotions that couldn't be deciphered "Will we ever meet again?"the man, gets even stiffer as if ready to burst with all his thoughts built up in his head. until he lets out a huge sigh, and softens up dropping his shoulders "If you go out looking for me, maybe." he repliesshe looks down, and back onto the ocean understanding the last words she'll ever hear from him, she has already prepared herself for what needed to be done, a final promise she cannot back out on. he raises the gun on her, as she looks back into the ocean, taking in the beautiful blue waves and clear blue sky. the man, also looks with her and sighs. he pulls the trigger, as a loud but yet muffled bang rings out followed by a thump on the ground
[PRAVDA GENERAL, SHANE FJÖRDSON HAS BEEN ELIMINATED.]
spectators and commentators are in shock and go wild, Shane had an amazing reputation as the only General to not have died in her entire career. everyone had their rumors but one thing was for certain. she played with a demon, and the demon stopped playing.the corpse fades away, as the respawn process begins. the man stares longingly on the spot where she laid. he approaches her empty and will be abandoned motorcycle and drops a rose on her seat. he slowly but calmly walks back to his motorcycle, as he twists the ignition on, he looks back to the site one more time knowing this will be his last time seeing her again. he looks back and drives off, as the nicknamed "Heaven's Demon" departs into the blue sky.
>St. Anastasia Military Medical Center, Aomori Prefecture
Inside a hospital room, the Pravda General laid motionless in comatose. The beeping sounds of the Vital Monitors, the constant hum of an Air-conditioner. Here in the sleek, yet cramped room dozens gather around her.The General opens her eyes, as her fiancé who patiently sat by her suddenly pounces, and hugs her in tears at the site of her awakening. Meanwhile, the crowd of high ranked officials clap their hands and cheer as after 35 days, the General has awoken.Still waking up to the entire ordeal, she deals with her fiancé first. Letting out a soft groan, she clears her throat and asks "Ugh, hey hon. How've you been?" as she places her left arm on her back to comfort her.The woman, replies in a raspy but happy voice, "I'm fine! I'm doing fine! I'm just happy you're back!" crying tears of joy by the end, Shane brings her right hand in to brush her hair to comfort her "There there, respawning guarantees you live anyway." she says, kissing the top of her head.A Gentleman in the room tries to get her attention, she looks up at the man who's surrounded by a huge crowd. All of them dressed in similar uniform to hers before leaving with the mysterious man on the motorcycle. "Yes, uhm." she stares at his uniform for a bit looking for his rank "Comrade General-mayor?" she asks, the man steps forward and introduces himself "General-armii, for the past 30 days I've sent my best Razvedka to locate your last known location before your unfortunate passing, General." the man says calmly and professionally, bowing his head as he speaks.She only gives him a confused look, continue to pat her fiancé still blinded by joy. "We found your abandoned motorcycle ma'am, in it a weltered rose and a piece of paper, and forgive me for my actions dear General." He says, clearing his throat as he felt an awkward lump in his throat "I had to read the letter, to ensure it's not a trap, however I do think it's very personal and should be given to you." approaching her slowly and handing off the folded letter "T-thank you, General-mayor." she says awkwardly, receiving the letter with her left hand.She taps on her fiancé and asks her to get up, as she also needs time with her General Staff. The woman obliges and gets up, promising to bring back dessert when she returns. She smiles as she leaves looking back at her, then the General looks to her Staff who converse with themself and also try to grab her attention for other matters and the back onto the letter, preparing herself for whatever is to come."Hey Shane, it's Daniel.
I don't know when you'll receive this letter but I'm sure two things have happened by then, You have awoken and I have died in sport. Y'know what happens to T0's like me, therefore I don't get to respawn unlike other soldiers. Immediately after my death, I would have left Japan, back to your place. I'll just grab my valuables and move to somewhere else now, I know you'll be worried reading that but don't worry, I'll be fine.
I also wanted to write to you is that, despite you moving on and finding someone new. I still have feelings for you, but overtime I've suppressed them. I never liked that plan I made one day, but then again I knew either way I was no longer yours. I'm not afraid to admit, I miss the old you, the one I had and loved all those years ago, But I've also come to terms that eventually you have changed and I won't be yours anymore, eventually one day we'll both fully move on and forget about everything but hopefully a memory, at least sticks around. Shane, if to you I was a wonderful experience, to me you were Everything. So hopefully, if you do go out looking for me, please do come. I'll be where the clouds are far behind me. high above the chimney tops, Where troubles melt like lemon drops.
LoveSigned, Nelson."
The General sat in her bed, filled with somber, and an immense feeling to make tears well up in her eyes "God, he's so corny." Resisting the urge to cry "He even put in a reference to that stupid song he played for me!" tears now dripping down. "Fuck you, Dan. I didn't want to wake up from my first death like this." she says sobbingly.The conversing staff suddenly turn quiet as their Commander cries out of frustration. As the crying slowly subsides, another General steps up "Tovarisch Commander, is uh." he says bashfully "Is this the same Daniel Nelson, classified as the only T0 operator?" he manages to ask, the fear behind the ranking of the operator brings chills down their spines.She sobs quietly, until composing herself to reply, looking up at her staff with teary red eyes and stuffy nose gripping the letter violently "Yes, it's the same Daniel Nelson." she replies in a depressing tone, "Is it confirmed?" she asks quavering. The men stand around quietly, looking at each other seeing who'll reply, before the same General, commanding the reconnaissance forces steps up "Yes dear General, he's been reported KIA. Cause Unknown" he says, shakingly, scared of the mere thought of the Demon and the repercussions he might face upon sharing the details. A long heavy silence insures before she raises her hand, gesturing for all the men to leave. They then bow their heads in respect as they leave.Several Minutes later, a happy brunette walks in carrying a bag filled with sweet treats "I'm back!~" she says gleefully, she opens her eyes and sees the room is empty outside from her girlfriend who sits on her bed with a reserved smile "Welcome back." she says, "Where'd the others go?" The confused brunette asks "Oh, they left a while ago already." She responds.The woman then approaches her waving the bag filled with their favorite pastries and sweets "Well, sucks to be them cause I got everyone's favorites in here!" she says childishly, Shane quietly laughs as her fiance starts munching on the chocolates, the Brunette notices her fiancé holding a letter and goes to ask, with chocolates in her mouth "Hey, what's that you're holding?" she points at the letter, "Oh this?" she raises it "It's a letter from someone, someone who's currently over the rainbow."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Centurion here.” the radiopack crackles to life.
11:32 PM. Anzio Battle Arena 1, Utsunomiya City
in the pitch dark knight, platoons of men were reduced down to mere squads. explosions ring out as a yellow wave of tracers pepper a nearby building. in it men from the 1er Bataillon de Voltigeur-Saboteurs , from the start they knew this wouldn't be easy.for 30 days and 31 nights, BC Freedom's finest elites were deployed to enable a breakthrough and spearhead into the heart of the Anzio Capital (arena). This planned operation was estimated to have concluded 25 days ago, nonetheless despite all circumstances, the force remains bogged down. Battle Arena 1 was regarded by intel as Anzio's toughest nut to crack, a defense line designed to envelope and encircle any attacking forces assaulting from any direction legally permitted within regulations. however, it comes with one big flaw; if broken into a short and undefendable path into the capital. therefore they reinforced the city and its emplacements with as much men as possible. deep strike was considered, to bypass the city's defenses but it would be too risky considering it is required to lay siege to permit a battle in the main city.
a battle-tattered man adjusts his glasses and stumbles onto the radio pack, ducking from incoming rounds and keeping balance from explosions ringing around him. he picks up the handset “Blue Fox copies, Blue fox copies.” the man said frantically. “Blue Fox, I've been trying to reach you for the past 5 minutes.” the man on the radio says, the broadcast is disrupted by an explosion ringing out “-I repeat armoured reinforcements will not arrive until 0700.” he finalises his report, “Fuck, the fuck you want us to do Centurion? We're only one bombardment away from being blown off the face of the earth!” the radio operator says angrily. “I'm sorry Blue Fox, artillery and mortar teams are currently not clear to reposition to the newest positions, enemy forces are still numerous in the previous sector.” Centurion says “The best I've got is heavy bombers to bomb the shit out of the city.” he finalises. “Fuck, ok Blue Fox copies.” the radio operator says before slamming the handset back onto the radio, he then cautiously rushes to his platoon leader and reports “Sarge, we're shit out of luck. Centurion got nothing for us and Red Fox is in a similar situation 5 blocks down from us.” he says hoarsely. “Well, fuck do you want me to do, Einstein? We've got a shitload of injured, we can't pull back to them easily now can we?” the sergeant says. both troopers go back to returning fire.
after a while, the radio guy gets shot and slumps over on the floor, blood starts to coagulate around him then disappears into the respawn process. the sergeant pauses and looks at him before fading away he stares at his comrade's dead body, and thinks to himself “Fuck, Daniel look what you did- no, fuck this isn't your fault command sent you guys out on this death mission. None of this is your fault.” before he's snapped out by what's left of his platoon screaming of an incoming barrage, he falls flat on the ground before multiple shells of artillery hit around the house causing it to cave in and killing what's left of the platoon.
before passing out, daniel hears the wailing and begging of what's left of Blue Fox being mercilessly shot. “ Per favore, per favore! ” one of his squadmates begged the Anzio conscripts. after an hour later he wakes up covered in rubble, he checks the area around him and luckily for him, he wasn’t impaled by anything, unfortunately for him upon dislodging and breaking free from the rubble, he notices he’s fractured his left leg. luckily for him, one of his perks nullifies the effects of fractures until he leaves the arena. he pats himself down, checking to see how much of his kit remains with him “Pistol, ok. Mags, check. Beretta mags, check. Meds, also good.” he says faintly as he pats himself down rapidly. looking back on the rubble, he tries to see if his gun is there but he hears a patrol approaching nearby, he halts his search, as he darts toward a nearby building, hoping it’s empty. pulling his 1892 revolver from its holster he moves slowly but checks each room swiftly, to not alert any potential troops inside the building. he climbs up the stairs and goes to clear another room, in it a weapons cache. the room brims with small arms and explosives, and some war trophies. he approaches the cache and picks up the Beretta smg, the same one he had. all of a sudden he gets hit in the back of the head and stumbles. he looks back at his would be attackers, suddenly six men enter the room. the feathers on their hats being a noticeable feature of their uniform, no doubt in his mind this was their Bersaglieri , a tier one unit. “Well well well,” one of them steps up “look at what fool we caught stealing our supplies.” the arrogant man says. he stumbles and balances himself on one of the boxes, breathing in heavily. “Y’know I never liked you French bastardi. ” the man says smugly, he lifts his rifle and points it directly at Daniel “Such a shame, you guys were destined to win this championship.” the man says to him. before long Daniel picked up a sword and struck the man’s rifle causing it to fly off, disarming him. the bersaglieri trooper looks in disbelief as he looks at his rifle, he then looks back seeing the injured man lunge at him from a low angle, he is promptly killed with one slash. the rest of the soldiers look in shock as he looks up at them, covered in their commander’s blood, they raise their rifles at him as he spoke “Well, come on then. Take the championship away from me.” he then does the same to all their rifles and with one swipe, he launches all their guns away. as they stare in horror, they see the man lunge at them the same way, he manages to slash one as the group splinters across the room. what ensues was a merciless bloodbath as each one of them tries to engage him in a fight with fists or knives. one by one each one of them was hacked, slashed and stabbed to death. none were left alive, he leaves the room stealing needed supplies and covered in blood, carrying the blood stained sword with him. “I’ll be taking all of you greasy, pizza-eating fascist pigs down with me.” he says harshly, before marching out of the room “Tovarisch , do you know who Mikhail Tal is?” a female voice asks, a man in a soviet-styled outfit looks up from the chess board. In front of him, a short and black haired woman sits opposite to him, the General of the 2nd Guards Army. “That one famous chess player from the 60s, dear General?” the man asks, Shane smiles and replies “Yes tovarisch, the 8th World Chess Champion himself. Now, do you know why he’s such a famous chess player?” she asks him as she plays the move Rook to B6, check. The man shocked at such a sacrifice, logically takes the rook “I’m assuming by the move you played dear General, he’s very sacrificial in his playstyle.” he replies, Shane plays the unusual move King to A6 “Correct, but it’s missing the other half of the puzzle.” she replies “ Tovarisch , Tal is an extremely aggressive player. Unorthodox, Unpredictable, and very sacrificial.” she continues. Seeing how she’s threatening a mate in one, he plays Rook to D7. “Unlike other chess champions, he loved creating chaos and just like every other grandmaster saw moves miles ahead.” she tells the General sitting opposite to her “Just like in Pravda, we play big sacrificial moves, moves that stun our opponents tovarisch. ” she tells him, then playing the stunning move Queen to A8, check “Therefore, he saw chaotic positions from miles away, positions where his skill and intuition alone reigned supreme.” she tells him, as she falls back onto the cushioned chair. The man sat there in disbelief at such a move “Just like Tal, we in Pravda play risks. Moves that seem suicidal, unbelievable. We play with shock in mind, tovarisch. ” she tells him. The man resigns, and pulls his hand out to shake her as a gesture of his resignation from the game, she reaches out and shakes his in return.
and just like the chess game with the sacrifice of his platoon, daniel makes his brilliant play. he steps out from the building, boots leaving streaks of blood across the pavement, the fiery and smoke-stained sky looming over him. he made his way to the last known position or 3rd and 4th platoon, his boots squeak and squelch from the amount of blood shed moments before. he arrives at the spot and before him, the remnants of Red Fox, exit the beaten houses, battered and disarmed. rifles thrown away to the side, and hands in the air, as Anzio troops barked commands at them on how they should surrender. grim, however the pitiful situation was broken by the sound of him whistling, the sounds of orders and gunmetal clattering broken as all heads turn towards him. they don’t raise their rifles but nonetheless order him to surrender as well. he walks towards the tired, and injured sergeant of the platoon. tilting his head, Daniel tells the battered sergeant “Johan.” he calls “What would Nelson think of this?” he tells him. Johan looks at him with confusion and attempts to speak but his voice is caught in his throat.
was this fool suicidal? he's surrounded by soldiers all around him? and why was he referring to himself in the third person? the sergeant thought, all the while the Anzio Commander gestures wildly with his pistol and screams at him “
Fermare!
Drop your weapon, now!”. Daniel ignores his shouting, “Drop it now! 3! 2-” the commander is then interrupted, as Daniel pulls his revolver out and points it directly at his skull “Alright, alright. I get it, here.” he says, pulling the trigger. the commander drops dead on the ground, Anzio soldiers watch in shock as the man daringly kills their commander, he follows up his act, pivoting to the soldier behind him and shooting him square in the head too, he switches his sites to another nearby soldier, he drove the butt of the pistol into his nose, breaking his nose then briefly being shot in the head. he holsters his pistol mid-step, as he slides into cover, drawing his Beretta, and thus another bloodbath began. he opens fire on the soldiers, as they try to return fire. bullets fly as men from red fox duck to nearby cover or back into the destroyed houses, one by one, burst by burst the Anzio conscripts fall onto the ground. he drops back into cover, and glances a look towards the hiding sergeant
“Are you fools gonna fight back or what?” he yells at them, the sergeant yells back “We’re out of ammo, Daniel!” hiding inside a bush. he slumps over and sighs, before snapping back at the sergeant “Then get out of here!” he barks at the men, seeing as they have no other use the men of Red Fox comply and slip away into the dark alleyways back to friendly lines
—hopefully. more men started to press forward, some daring to flank him but unfortunately, noticed too early. they were then shot without a chance to fight back, he hears more troops close the distance between him, noticing his gun was empty he curses himself out and grabs the hilt of his sword, waiting for the opportune moment. as the men get closer, he unsheathes his sword and jumps over cover, cleaving through the two men who dared to get close. the shock of the moment makes the conscripts stop firing and witnesses such gruesome behavior, they weren’t just killed, they were executed. Daniel too notices the gruesome scene, and for a moment looks at himself all covered in blood and grime. it is not long before the conscripts regain composure, they restarted firing at him, as they do Daniel grabbed the headless body of one of their comrades and use it as a body shield. he pulls out his revolver, and quickly dispatches three guys before the corpse of the soldier disappears into the respawn process. the last guy gets lucky, as the revolver clicks with no more rounds left to fire, he manages a shot off scraping his face before Daniel threw the pistol and hit him in the forehead, he closes the distance between the two and throws a flurry of punches disarming him, before grabbing his Carcano rifle and shoots him in the head, point blank range. he throws the rifle onto the floor, as he stood there to take in a breather. he observed the carnage all around him, all caused by him. he touches the wound on his face, painful but doable, he’ll just treat the wound later. he walks back to the same alley he entered the carnage from, and headed towards the high school
arriving back at the high school, on the opposite side of the school he sees enemy reinforcements following the commotion, unlucky for him it was more Bersaglieri from earlier and following them two tanks: an L6/40 light, and a P26/40 medium. already experiencing a lot of fatigue, Daniel took cover just in the nick of time as the P26 aimed in his direction and fired a shell, destroying the walls of a house right behind him. taking another breather, he checks his kit if he has anything to deal with the tanks; fortunately, but also unfortunately he only has one charge of C4, he promptly got up and grabbed his Beretta, he moved down the alley and gunned down a soldier who was flanking, and another one to his right on the main road. he then heard the sound of the engine of one of the tanks approach the alleyway, so quickly he ducked into a house. he is then promptly met by two soldiers, clearing the house. he unholstered his revolver, he tries to fire but forgot that he didn’t reload, so both men charged him at the same time. an intense fistfight insured, Daniel was knocked onto the wall but in return he delivered a knee directly to the guy, knocking him back. the other guy charged him with his rifle bayonet, before he was quickly disarmed and stabbed right in the eye. the previous guy recovers, and lunges at him delivering solid punches straight to his abdomen. daniel gets disorientated, the man charges at him but in the nick of time unsheathes the sword and stabs him, impaling him in his lung. he pushes the sword further to secure the kill, but all of a sudden he is shot from behind, the third guy who was in the kitchen manages to flank around him, and deliver three shots to his shoulder. Daniel staggers, and looks at the man who shot him, he turns around and throws the sword at him like a javelin. unfortunately, it fell short of him. so he runs up into the stairs, and as the man attempts to chase him down he jumps him from the staircase. pinned down on the floor, he beats him up mercilessly, over and over until his fists were covered in his blood. he knelt on the ground repenting his actions to whoever could listen. but time wasn't on his side. as the sound of one of the tanks approaches the house, he staggers over to the front door. he pulls out the C4 charge, and grips the detonator with his other hand. he leaned on the wall, waiting for the right moment to strike the tank. the tank reaches the next house to the one he hides, he pulls the detonator and rushes out of the doorway to be face to face with the tank. the L6 fired its autocannon, but due to its terrible turret traverse misses him entirely. he closed the distance, and stuck the C4 charge right under its turret ring. he ran, and ran as far as he could before falling to the ground in front of a shrine as the explosive detonated, engulfing the tank in an orange fireball. the tank’s system pops a white flag, indicating it has been knocked out. he gets up and notices that through the smoke of the explosion, the P26 drove into the tight alley, and has gotten itself stuck. still it has clear sight of him, as the tank opened fire with its cannon and machine gun. he got up, battered, injured and fatigued as ever and quickly got to the destroyed L6. he hears the sound of the commander's hatch opening and takes a peak. seeing the said commander peer out of his tank to spot where the man is. he grabs one of his grenades before sneaking around the L6 to the front of one of the houses, he gets inside and sneaks through and out the back door. to his right, the tank stood idly by as the commander starts to bark orders at his crew. he climbs onto the tank, though the sound of boots clanging on metal doesn’t go unnoticed by the commander who snaps towards the sound, meeting each other eye to eye. the commander screams and tries to reach for his pistol, before Daniel closed to distance and with the grenade fisted hand, he delivers one punch that knocks him back into the tank. he pulls the pin of the grenade and drops it into the tank, hopping off and slowly walks away as the grenade explodes, retiring the tank and its crew.
Daniel pushes himself through the fragmented and destroyed settlement, taking a break in a nearby alley. the pain is getting worse, hoping he won’t be disturbed. he slumps over and sits down, flicking open the game display and pulling out his medkit. he reads the display, he’s bleeding and losing a lot of HP quick, the health bar blinking rapidly as he loses more blood. he pulls out a bottle of antibiotics and takes two tablets, he proceeds to take off his kit and shirts off. grabbing a bandage he places it over the bullet wounds, and grabs some gauze and wraps it around himself securing it in place, he places it back and zips up the medkit. before putting the clothes and kit back on. he stands right up, and checks the display. he’s still in critical health, but the bleeding stops. all his statistics are extremely low, but still he pushes onward. for his squad, and for the mission. good soldiers follow orders. leaving the settlement, in front of him lay a vast array of trenches and fortifications, hundreds of men man the trench line, battered and tired yet determined, just like him they wanted to win the match. he moved quietly and swiftly, entering the trenches and slipping by as much men he can. but unfortunately, luck couldn’t always be by his side. he bumps into a soldier, the sentry tries to scream but was quickly dispatched by his sword. though it only made the situation worst, as his comrades right behind him witnessed it all. all around the camp the screaming started, alerting others of an intruder. something took over him, he was tired and almost let another force take over his body. adrenaline, his body moved on its own, killing one, two and more. once his revolver ran out, he stabbed, hacked, and slashed anyone who got close, he kept moving along his need to survive, overpowering any thoughts or morality he had beforehand. he pulled out his Beretta but the killing remained vicious. gruesome, merciless and vicious. for an entire kilometer of trench line, the gore was immense, kill or be killed. by the end of the slaughter, he had killed 81 or more men. but not without injuries, a bullet to the stomach, another grazing his left shoulder, stab wounds from multiple bayonet hits, and severe bruising all across the chest and hands. he leaned on the walls of the trench, as he sees the last objective he has to make. City Hall, the headquarters of at least one of these high-ranking bastards. he goes to his health display, his HP is at a critical level, bleeding is immense. due to the amount of wounds he sustained, the best he can do is inject himself with more adrenaline, which he promptly does.
he leaves the trenches, tired and ragged, yet determined. he can’t tell if its the adrenaline or his will that’s still making him do this. he presses forth, reaching the parking lot of this damned building, it’s gotta be the bastard commanding the entire defense here. he walks through bushes and comes face to face with two guards standing outside, without hesitation he fires his revolver; luckily reloaded beforehand.
killing both, he enters the building as more guards scurry to the entrance to see to the commotion occurring. holstering his pistol, he pulls out his sword and slashes the idiots who were too laid back to notice the blood-covered man in front of them. staggering to the reception desk, he locks eyes with the military assistant manning it. the sight of what could be a demon from the myths she heard about as a kid, scares her “Where is the general?” he asks, hoarse and raw, more from being weary than anger. she shakily points upstairs and stammers “F-first left, and t-the one with t-two doors s-sir.” she says, her voice barely audible. Daniel lets out a huge and ragged exhale, and replies with a thank you. he turns and trudges towards the stairs, climbing up it towards the second floor. reaching the said room, he stood outside taking the time to reload his gun, each clearing of the chamber more tedious than the last. laying on the door he listens to the current conversation, their command receives worrying reports that an entire section of the frontline in the arena has disappeared overnight. finishing reloading his guns, he busts the doors wide open, groaning as he does. he points his guns at the man in the center of the room “Don’t even try, You’re all going to die, and me unscathed.” he says with a flat tone “Now if you all do value your lives,” he continues “tell me who’s the Commander of this arena.”. they look at the man in shock, but nonetheless the man in the center orders all the guards to kill him. he sighs “Fine, have it your way.” he mutters. and just like the men inside the weapons cache, he commits his third merciless bloodbath killing one guard, one military staff, after another. one of the guards flank him, but in the nick of time Daniel notices him, but not without a punch directly to the liver. he falls back and staggers again, groaning in pain, he raises his Beretta and fires lead into him before switching back to the rest of the guards in front of him. all the while two bodyguards, and the general duck away from his line of sight. as the last guard fell, and the bullets stopped, the trio took this as a chance to escape, running towards the secret hallway. he notices them, and begrudgingly hops onto the table and throws his sword, it piercing the wall in front of them, stopping them in their tracks. they all stop and look back at him, rocking back the bolt of his gun, he unloads the last magazine in his possession at them. standing there, staring at the dead general he is relieved. his mission is complete, objectives achieved. though paid for a heavy price, his men, his body and, to him; his humanity. he only joined because he wanted to meet someone again. he thought his service to the marines would have made him ready, and his humanity firm through whatever challenges.
he sets fire to the office room, and leaves the building, the receptionist from earlier already scurrying away to not face the man's wrath. as he stares off into the raging battle at the settlement, the plumes of smoke and the orange light of fire from artillery. the sounds of gunfire and explosions heard from the distance. as he sees the fruits of his work bear into fruition, as quickly waves of Anzio men and tanks retreat from the settlement. almost as if they’ve been crippled heavily, then all of a sudden a beeping can be heard, it’s his game display. he flicks to it and notices a familiar but unusual message, “Promotion?” he says to himself, unusual since most of his men are dead and technically he is the top of the operator board. unless. he opens the message as the display begins to read out the message. “Daniel Nelson, following predictive data flows and recent activities. You are now promoted to Tier 0.” the AI says “Please select your new perks.” it finishes, then the screen displays four new perks to add. each one with a lengthy description. “The fuck? I thought Tier 0 was a myth.” Daniel said, in a weary tone, he reads off each perk, it seems that these were more than perks, these were downright superpowers “Holy shit, instant regeneration, teleportation, enhanced strength and mobility, and an unlimited armory?” he says in a surprised tone, these “perks” would make him invincible, and unstoppable. he stares off into the starry skies and selects all four perks, confirming his choice. “Thank you, Daniel Nelson.” the AI says “For balancing purposes, we have removed your Tier 2 perks. Please enjoy your Game.” the AI Finishes, it switches back to the regular display this time, it no longer displays his gun and ammo, nor his stamina, his health bar is reset to 100, but a clock sits next to it. from the jaws of defeat, he is reborn. broken but rebuilt. he doesn’t like what he has transformed into but has to accept this fate.
over on public intercom they broadcast the most recent events. “A breakthrough was reported by soldiers of BC Freedom through Battle Arena 1.” the reporter says “In other news, Daniel Nelson, a tier 1 operator of the
1er Bataillon de Voltigeur-Saboteurs
, has been recently promoted to Tier 0. Making him the first operator to achieve such status.” he continues his broadcast, proceeding to discuss the role of the battalion in the battle, men and women watching were shocked all around. in a bar, a man wearing a kepi picks up his phone and calls someone, the person on the other end picks up “Hello Shane, it’s Schwarz.” the man says, sipping a beer. meanwhile, BC Freedom’s high command, holds an emergency meeting for the recent promotion of one of their operators. the short and white haired petite sits at the center as the staff bicker with one another about the bureaucracy, and logistics of dealing and integrating the man into their forces.