Chapter 1375 - Maintaining Order

As time passed outside the Projection, the World continued to develop or decline amidst the chaos. Many had formed small communities around the food distribution centers maintained by the Empire while an even larger number wandered the expanding wastelands, looting, pillaging, and much worse.

With information pertaining to various thaumaturgical principles easily found on any previously networked device, some had committed all of their time to develop their new skills. Though they weren't nearly as powerful as actual Magi, the pressure of the 'Apocalypse' allowed a few unique exceptions to rise up. Some of these people considered the current state of affairs as a chance to realize their darkest wishes and desires, now supported by supernatural powers lacked by the vast majority.

Much like the Magi that had proceeded them, those experiencing some degree of success with the listed spells used them to persecute those weaker than themselves. This strengthened the convictions of the religious communities that had arisen in the aftermath of Vahn's announcement so the two sides had been in constant strife with each other.

One side believing themselves to be the children of God, fighting in the holy war mentioned in Revelations. The other believed they were very different kinds of chosen ones, those that had the ability to gain power and survive in this changing world. The boldest among them even believed they would gain enough power to topple the Emperor, seizing the world for themselves. This was one of the most dangerous side-effects of rampant change without human societies as, when a large power vacuum was created, people naturally fought to fill it...

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Sitting in an icy cold room illuminated by pale-blue lights, a beautiful woman with peculiar black and white hair calmly sat along one of the two benches present within the chamber. Around her, a total of thirty nearly identical woman, each matching in facial expression and attire, were patiently awaiting her next series order as information of their current objectives danced in the periphery of their vision.

Each of the women was wearing stylish yet functional white armor, trimmed with either silver or gold to denote a separation in rank. The only exception to this was their Commander, the woman the world had come to know as the Herald of the Emperor, Uesugi Kenshin. While she had done away with her previous outfit entirely, her armor was still distinctly oriental in design, albeit with a few western accents for the sake of unity. What truly separated her from everyone else was the fact her armor was predominately black in design, accented with gold and crimson to make her stand out amongst the otherwise uniform platoon of Homunculi.

Even before Vahn had decided to move forward with his plans, Kenshin had been one of the few people operating away from Avalon on a daily basis. She had taken it upon herself to head one of the task forces charged with restoring order around the food production facilities, a task that kept her, and the battalion that served under her, extremely busy.

This time around, Kenshin had received order to suppress two groups of enemies, one calling themselves the New World Order while the other was a supposedly a band of actual cannibals, people that relished in the flavor of human meat. Fortunately, though perhaps not, the latter was the result of mass hysteria and starvation manifesting into a Demonic entity that quickly infected the minds of those with weak wills. So long as she could track the host of the Demon, rooting out the problem was a simple matter...

Once the information pertaining to their mission had finished flickering across her vision, Kenshin removed the specialized contacts designed by Da Vinci, placing them into a small container. They always bothered her so she opted to keep them stowed away, relying on information provided to her by her Squad Captains and their support Companions to make tactical decisions.

The moment Kenshin put away her contacts, the eyes of every Homunculus in the staging room were focused on her. Though this was no different from before, they were no longer splitting their attention between the data stream and Kenshin so, for a brief moment, the atmosphere became a little heavy. This was something Kenshin was used to, however, so she didn't even bat an eye as she explained, "You're already aware of our Objectives. Squad 4 will be with me while Squads 7 and 8 will secure the food production facility and protect the citizens. Remember, buildings can be rebuilt easily so prioritize protecting the people as much as possible."

Since they already knew the details of the mission, there were no questions amongst the highly capable force of Homunculi, something Kenshin was always grateful for. In truth, she mainly relied on her instincts during battle and, while some had referred to her as a tactical genius back in her era, there was a reason Nobunaga called her an 'idiot that only knew how to fight'.

When the mission began, Kenshin would leave most of the decisions to her Squad Captains as, while she had trained them all to be skilled combatants, their generations of knowledge and experience made them far more capable tacticians. This was knowledge shared between them so they always worked together seamlessly, forming the greatest combat force Kenshin ever had the honor of leading. She had absolute trust in these women and, after their training together, each of the Homunculi gathered around her had the same trust in her...

As this comforting thought crossed her mind, Kenshin couldn't help but produce a small smile in timing with the lights shifting from blue to red. Then, without having to say anything, she, along with everyone else, dawned helmets that vaguely resembled foxes. These were each equipped with Heads Up Displays that allowed them to view the battlefield from above, track the location of allies, and mark enemies. At the same time, it allowed them to communicate over long distances and, perhaps most importantly, see both mana and hidden magic formations.

Ten seconds after the lights hand changed color, the entire staging area began to vibrate with a tremendous force. This caused even Kenshin to tense up as, from what she had heard from Da Vinci, there was a non-negligible chance the vessel they were in would be destroyed during each transfer. In truth, the chances of this happening were .0007% but, since there was always a chance something would go wrong, it was still considered 'non-negligible', at least in the minds of Vahn and Da Vinci. Since most soldiers were superstitious by nature, Kenshin couldn't help but worry that she would spontaneously die without having any chance to defend herself.

Fortunately, after around thirty seconds had passed, the lights within the container turned green. A moment later, the far end of the room opened up, revealing an underground facility where a small team of operatives belonging to the Atlas Temple, accompanied by twice their number in Companions, was waiting for them. They had been the ones to establish the anchor point for the transfer and, with the forces of the Empire currently lacking, they were the division that worked alongside Chaldea to scout ahead and gather pertinent information.

After exchanging quick salutes by lightly tapping the emblems over their chests, Kenshin and her Vice-Commander, a Homunculi named Nora, listened to the verbal report of the Artificial Human operative, a man named Xavier. He reported that the Demon had been present on the northern side of the city, hiding in a location with little conflict. It was obviously intending to corrupt other humans to bolster its number so, with a rough understanding of its location, Kenshin gave the order for Squad 4 to follow her while entrusting the secondary objectives to her two Captains.

In total, including Kenshin herself, their forces consisted of 31 humanoids and 35 Companions so they had more than enough personnel to split between a few locations. After all, each Homunculi could be graded between a D and C-Rank Heroic Spirit while the Companions, borrowing from a shared pool of knowledge and a functionally limitless supply of magical power, were the ultimate support troops. They could use magical attacks strong enough to pierce barriers, heal lost limbs in a few seconds, and trace magical energy back to its source. This made them the primary force of the Empire, even if individual Heroic Spirits would be able to annihilate hundreds of them with relative ease.

Using the HUD in her helmet, which was linked directly to the network of Companions, Kenshin reached their destination in less than three minutes. Even the slowest Homunculi in her forces was able to move at supersonic speeds so it rarely took more than a few minutes to initiate the first phase of their operations. Today didn't seem to be an exception and, after leading more than fifty missions over the last couple of weeks, Kenshin, Nora, and the other nine members of her Squad, immediately carried out their respective duties with machine-like precision.

As the main combative force within the entire Platoon, Kenshin's duty involved tracking down the Demon's host and rooting out the source of the current conflict. Thus, once their relay point was secured, she left Nora in charge as her two Companions clung to her body. They were a unique duo of fox-like Companions that had been hand-made by Da Vinci, each with a monochromatic coat of black or white. Because of this, Kenshin had named them Hikari and Yami but, instead of what others would expect, it was the black one named Hikari while the white was called Yami.

With the HUD allowing her to see the radial pulses emitted by her Companions, allowing them to scan the interior of buildings, it didn't take long for Kenshin to find a small group of people hiding in the basement of an abandoned hospital. It, like many other hospitals, had struggled to keep up with a never-ending number of in-patients. Then, as the fear, fervor, and greed of the people hit a critical level, mass rioting and looking had brought it low. As a result, most Emergency Medical Services had shut down in the so-called First World Countries as, without supplies and constant military protection, it was impossible to treat the number of victims requiring aid.

Though others might flinch at the sight of rampant destruction visible throughout much of the world, Kenshin didn't bat an eye to her surroundings. She fully believed in the future Vahn wanted to create and, while his actions may have set events in motion, it was the people who had given in to their destructive whims that brought the world to ruin. There were literally hundreds of millions of people just waiting for an opportunity to break free from the constraints of the previous system so, when the opportunity presented itself, the monsters hidden within the depths of their hearts broke out. These people would have been even more troublesome after the emergence of Angra Mainyu so, while things were certainly bad, they were inarguably better than what was bound to happen if Vahn had chosen to delay his plans.

With this conviction driving her forward, Kenshin passed through the hallways of the hospital like a phantom, her movement causing no sound whatsoever. She was able to achieve this with the use of her actual skill but, if she wanted to, the armor and mask provided to her had Abilities that allowed her to become completely invisible. Though most of her forces rarely made use of this functionality, it had come in handy during the times when they wanted to infiltrate crowds without drawing attention to themselves.

By the time Kenshin came to a stop, she found herself standing outside the barricaded entrance of the hospital's reserve power station. There, she sensed eleven hostiles, her target, and a total of four signatures she temporarily assigned as victims. Since one was missing both of their legs, while the others were tied together by a series of chains, it was a relatively safe assumption to make...

After pulling out a Wakizashi and Tanto, Japanese-style weapons with very short blades, Kenshin cut through the barricade in an instant, entering the room with phenomenal momentum. Most of the targets weren't even able to react to her entry, their expression barely showing the first signs of shock as she cut them down mercilessly. Then, without missing a beat, she pursued the only two targets that managed to react, the host of the Demon and a woman with icy-blue eyes that glowed in the low light of the room.

Unfortunately for the duo, Kenshin wasn't the type of person that held back against her enemies so, before their feet even touched the ground a second time, she vanished amidst a tempest of blood and core, appearing right behind them. The Demon attempted to send bloody spikes erupting from its back but, just as the flesh began to expand, Kenshin had already vanished once again, this time appearing next to the catatonic woman strapped to a table. By the time the duo touched the ground, their bodies had separated into dozens of smaller chunks, each dissolving into a fine black mist that was quickly bottled up by the waiting Yami...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Everyone thinks they are the protagonist until they get a sword through the chest o3o...','Companions are OP','The might of an A-Rank Heroic Spirit')

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