+++ Unknown +++

The air split as the strange projectile flew straight to her.

In a second, she felt as if her world was sent into a brutal rocker. Pain shot through her body as she was thrown dozens of meters away on the green fields. Her blood dripped down brutally, and she couldn't believe what the Grey Knight's weapon did to her.

Half of her torso was blown off. The Virtus demon winced as her body slowly recovered. With gritted teeth, she readied her sword, while his partner tried to distract the two metal beasts. Yet, for every swing and slice that her partner gave the Grey Knight, the damage the two monsters dished on him was greater.

The Virtus demon locked her eyes into the 'mech' used by the so-called Golden Angel. That name alone elicited a great deal of hatred from her core. Like her, the Golden Angel was a Virtus; worse, she exhibited enough virtues that she was chosen by the [SYSTEM] as the Angel of Justice.

The direct mortal enemy of the Virtus demon's master. Her corrupted mind reeled with rage, as she imagined how the Golden Angel must have looked like. A golden blonde hair, a face of radiant beauty that eyes turned to her, alongside humility and honor that flowed from a flower like her.

A well-liked heroine of mankind.

I was like her back then.

She gripped her sword tighter.

Does she not know that mankind will betray her too? So why does she keep this charade going?

To be a champion of mankind meant nothing to the Virtus demon. It was a lie. Their race was known to be the bearers of mankind's virtues, created in the image of the messengers of the gods. Angelic.

Yet, like her, they could be corrupted. Vile.

She imagined that the descriptions of this 'Golden Angel' were no different. Mere surface lies. She must be corrupted too, the only difference being, that she was a hypocrite.

Like me back then.

She made her decision. She'd attack and kill her if she could—the Calamity of Injustice's orders be damned.

Right then, she swiftly dashed through the fields, her body nearly healed already.

+++

+++ Lieutenant Hans Hoffman +++

Hans suddenly stopped his precarious duel with the Vanus demon, as he noticed something.

The Virtus demon, which he had badly suppressed earlier, dashed straight in Adelyn's direction. The woman's face was stone cold, hate clear in her eyes, as she readied her sword.

"Adelyn!" Hans shouted as he backed off from another slicing motion sent by the Vanus demon. "Back off now, she's onto you!"

"Huh? Oh god—!"

Adelyn rapidly pulled away, her guns opening fire desperately at the Virtus demon. But the monster dodged it with great agility and speed. Still, gunfire from Adelyn was unrelenting, her bullets clipping the demon—until the demon readied her sword, jumping high.

A sudden burst of red-hot incendiary rounds sent the demon tumbling from her strike direction, allowing Adelyn to dodge it narrowly. Hans on the other hand jumped off, dodging another horizontal motion from the Vanus demon's blade, the tip of his mech's rear leg being cut off.

Like a wolf unleashed to protect its pack, Hans chased the Virtus woman with range.

How dare you attack the two of them?!

His mind was filled with fury. This creature, under his watch, attempted not just to strike Adelyn, but Alizée too. He completely ignored the demon behind him, his hands trembling as he attacked the Virtus demon with wild abandon. His double coaxial and his main gun fired everything they had, his shots deadly and accurate.

An explosion from an MPAT round left the Virtus demon winded, then, Hans emerged from the smoke. The Virtus demon broke to flee, only to receive dozens of burning ADI rounds from the Peacemaker's coaxials. Pain and blood emanated from the demon as she screamed, while Hans took it in glee.

"You bastard!" Hans screamed as he continued chasing her, his eyes nearly bulging out with rage. "If you want to attack someone, attack me, but you will not touch them!"

His mech jumped high, and bloodily, with his two razors deployed, he sliced the running Virtus demon in her neck. His mech dragged her bloodied body to the ground, brutally mangling her, before slicing her head completely.

Right then, a powerful slash slipped through the air, the wind breaking even the trees that were near Hans' mech. His vision, already reddened at the rage elicited by the sight of the Virtus demon attempting to kill Adelyn and Alizée, fully turned blood red.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

His blood spurted inside his cockpit in all directions, as his mech collapsed. Even then, a deranged grin was clear on Hans' face.

Even in death, he hadn't allowed his two foes to touch a single hair on the two most important persons he had.

Then, as his mech fell apart, his bustle rack violently exploded.

+++

Hans' eyes opened.

Suddenly, all that was in front of him was the corpse of the demon they had slain earlier. Cavalrymen from Dragoon Squadron circled the burning corpse, its flesh turning into embers as it flew to the afternoon sky. It was just another kill for the 1st Anti-Demon Unit.

Now, we're going to face off against another group of demons.

Instead of being discouraged, Hans felt himself pumped at the prospects. Sure, the last attempt didn't go too swimmingly well. For some reason, he was so irrationally overcome by his rage that he went into a suicidal charge against that silver-haired demon, but Hans didn't mind.

He did learn after all that she wasn't that tough against his razors. That was quite a useful finding in his book.

"That was…a lot of my special munitions expended," Adelyn reported over the comms, her breathing heavy. "Goddess, you even had a close call with that one."

"Better get working on replenishing those munitions then," Hans replied with a laugh. "I bet we're going to face off against another group of demons ahead of us. I can already sense it."

"Is that so?"

"Yep," Hans relaxed in his seat. "Anyhow, let's drive to our General Ercole's command post. I think he'll be giving us relevant updates over there."

"Right."

"That, and congratulations," Hans said. "That was a damn good kill. It's nice that you have my back when I charge against them."

"Hans, I've been noticing something. You…whenever things turn into a medium-ranged firefight, you always start closing the distance to attack demons. Isn't that…mad?"

"Mad? I suppose so," Hans said. "Normally, it would be best for my safety to retreat and all that. But if I do that, then they can target you. If they can target you, I might lose my very important anti-demon 120mm gun. If I lose that gun, then it's over for me."

A silent huff came from her.

"So I'm just a 120mm gun with anti-demon rounds in your mind all this time?"

"W-well, my valuable partner and little Alizée are inside there," Hans turned a bit defensive. "So, there, I said it. I'd rather not risk the two of you getting into the thick of the firefight, so if you can, whenever I charge in, it's a signal for you to create distance while giving me fire support, okay?"

"...Okay. Still, the dangers you're taking for yourself is too much—"

"I'll face any danger if it means that you two are at least eight hundred meters away from these nasties at all times," Hans replied, his voice firm. "That's my position on this matter."

"Hey, what are you two arguing about?" an annoyed Alizée said. "Isn't the battle over? I wanna see Mr. Ebert at the camp. He can't escape from the dare challenge I gave him!"

"Alizée, why are you even playing with that guy? He's busy!"

"Because it's funny! And it was his fault when he thought he could play truth or dare with me."

"Heh," Hans laughed a bit. "Right, let's just get back to the camp. She needs some air anyway."

+++

Soon, they arrived at the temporary command post that the 1st Anti-Demon Unit and General Ercole were using. Going straight inside one of the tents, they found that General Ercole, Captain Weibel, Captain Strobel, and the Viceroy were discussing their next battle plans.

"We're going to push the 67th and 45th over—" General Ercole stopped moving the pieces, turning at Adelyn and Hans as he did. "Oh, the two of you, you're just in time. I apologize if the battle has drained you two greatly again, but I need you both quickly."

"That's why we're here," Adelyn replied. "What's the current situation?"

"We've received a group of men on horseback fleeing from Venido," General Ercole said. "It would appear that their scouts have recently encountered six demons near the city's outskirts, and two demons tested their defenses last night. It doesn't look too good."

The Virtus general then pushed four regiments on the main roads leading to Venido.

"This is the plan," General Ercole continued. "These four regiments will advance cautiously down south. The 1st Anti-Demon Unit itself will follow behind them as a reserve force. Should any of them come into contact with a demon, the 1st will join in and reinforce the attacked unit."

"They will come in contact with a demon, most likely, around fifteen to twenty miles south of this place," Hans declared. "It's very likely. The Calamity of Injustice should know that we are coming for him. He will ambush our forces at whichever point he wishes on the road to Venido."

"I already knew that," General Ercole said. "What I don't know is when and where."

"I already gave you the range," Hans replied.

"And what is your basis for this guess?"

"A hunch," Hans said. "I don't know, but I've been fighting and killing demons the most in this room, haven't I? I fight them nearly face-to-face with my machine. I know it sounds silly, but I think I'd like to say that I understand how they operate a little bit better than most."

"So I've heard," General Ercole nodded, as he looked down at the map on the table. "I know many soldiers like you, you know? The type who just…knows where and how a battle would go."

"Were they wrong at times?"

"Obviously, it's not perfect, for no one can predict the future. At the end of the day, our decisions are always based on our best guesses. No general in existence will fight eight steps ahead. Everything hinges on every little assumption we have available on our hands, and the conditions we observe in our forces and environment. So it's not like the fact that you are merely guessing things is a flawed approach."

Hans waited, as General Ercole turned back to him, his frown hardening.

"But like all generals, when one decides on a guess or hunch, you must take responsibility for what happens afterward," General Ercole said. "I hope you know that."

"General, I assure you, if we deploy at the estimated combat zone that I gave to you, I believe less of our men would die," Hans declared. "I stand by that assumption."

"Good then," General Ercole nodded. "We'll be conducting a forced march to reach that place rapidly then."

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