1 Let's Imagine: Prologue!
| Euphoria, Gundian Empire, 6 years ago |
"If only we had a bit more time, then maybe I could've spared your life."
A man in light chainmail dropped to his knees wheezing. A figure towered over him, grinning in delight.
" …Fuckin' bitch …You aren't human."
The woman in blue armor grimaced and held her blade at his neck.
".... Now why'd you have to go and say that."
The edge slices across his throat, and the wound opened, showing the whiteness of his flesh as red liquid starts to ooze from the open cut. He gargled on his own bodily fluids and fell face-first onto his stomach.
The blue-armored woman took off her helmet. Her pearly locks danced as if overjoyed from being freed of her armor. The knight tilted her head up, looking towards the sky; her devious smile showed her sharp canine teeth.
"... What a beautiful day to die."
Her pupils mirrored the reddish-yellow tint of the atmosphere above. The clouds moved like infernos near a volcano. A large gust of wind made the blades of grass coated in a crimson liquid shimmer across the plains. Armored bodies lay in heaps around her, skewered with swords, pikes, and large hammers. Cloaked individuals with amputated limbs and extruding intestines are shown on the horizon with their staffs unwavering, being implanted to the ground.
The air was brisk and dry, as any hint of nitrogen caused the atmosphere to be ablaze.
The woman exhaled. Her breath looked as if a dragon was sprouting a miniature flame.
"Calina, it's time to go."
A man with deep-crimson armor appeared from the sky and landed near the woman. His armor's outlined in black, matching his laidback hair but contrasting with his light-brown eyes.
"If we're here any longer, someone might see us."
The blue-armored woman smiled at his concern.
"Oh, don't worry, Kali, the only people who've seen us are all dead."
She bends down and smacks a spear implanted in a bloody corpse.
"Isn't that right, Mister 'General of the Gundian Empire'?"
The embedded weapon staggers as if responding to her taunt.
A light metal clink is heard brushing against the ground. The man from before coughs blood as his throat expands from the bruise. He finds the strength to look up at his killer. His eyes were bloodshot red.
"TAKE THIS, YOU BASTARD!"
He lifts his hand as a red runic circle appears on his palm. A fierce ball of fire is summoned and angled at Calina.
The crimson-knight unsheathes his blade from his hilt, but Calina holds up her hand.
She stands, unwavering to the flame approaching her.
"He still has some fight in him! I'll give him one last shot before he dies!"
She opens her arms, welcoming the attack as it scorches her entirely.
Her body goes up into flame and smoke. Her burning carcass gave off a foul stench.
"…For ...Gundia.."
The man's hand falls to the floor, his eyes lose their light as he takes a final breath. His head drops as a maroon liquid spreads to the ground, tinting the grass red.
The crimson-knight sighed.
"I don't know why you give them false hope like that."
The fire crackles upon Calina's corpse and disperses into smoke. The top of her armor melted pure metal as her inner skin was shown blackened like charcoal. The inflamed corpse fell to its knees as one of her arms split from her torso, the blood secreting from her wound bubbled from the hot iron.
"…Ha…Aha…"
The corpse found humor in its death. She opened her mouth allowing her blackened tongue to tumbled onto the ground. Her teeth crackle into ash, with her bottom jaw, falling to the ground shattering to pieces.
The crimson-knight looked away from the carcass.
"… He was right about one thing though,"
The knight stood on one foot, then two. Their brittle skin regained color as her jaw reformed. Another limb slowly penetrated from the gaping hole on her left shoulder.
Her hair, though burnt away, fully flushed into a tinted silver, the same length as before.
The seeming immortal knight flexed her left arm as it grew to its natural size, nails extrude from the ends of her hands, spritzing tiny bits of blood.
— CRACK
She then uses her right hand to position the deformed jaw acutely on her chin.
The blue armor that melted away started materializing back in rays of light as if it was never damaged.
"... You aren't fucking human."
Calina looks over at him and whimpers.
"Aww. That isn't something you should tell a lady."
Their metal footwear snap as they lunge into the air.
A flag showcasing a green elephant clothed in jewelry burned on a hill in the distance.
"One nation down,"
Calina looked back and gave a sadistic smile.
"… Five more to go!"
. . .
| Euphoria, the City of Phoenia, Military District, 3 months into the future |
"Shouldn't we wait to advance after the Battle of Washi?"
A tall overbearing man puffed smoke, holding a wine glass in his hand and motioning towards a map.
Another man with a girthy mustache takes a sip of wine, balancing a pen on his open hand.
"That's too risky. We might as well wait for our generals to come back from their excursion before we plan another attack."
The other men fell silent.
"…You don't mean …Her …Do you?" Someone broke the censorship.
A man at the head of the table exhaled a strong cloud of smoke.
"As long as we can satisfy her bloodlust, we shouldn't have a repeated 'incident'. Don't worry, I have it under control."
Murmurs surround the table.
A man, quite skinny but tall stands from his seat.
"And what happens when there are no enemies to fight, Chancellor?"
He inhales while holding a black cigar to his lips, exhaling black fumes from his nose.
"I already have a contingency plan. Lady Ursla, herself, plans to send some 'exposables' soon enough."
Another man jumps from his seat and slams his hands on the table.
"So we're accepting help from the goddesses now? You obviously don't remember all the trouble they caused us this far dammit!"
The man with the cigar raised his hand, the excited individual fell to his seat.
"We've seen the new strength this generation has to offer. Now, we just have to use them to our advantage."
He beckons a young girl with short brown hair over to his side, she hands him a light-purple crystal that gleams from the light of his cigar.
The man throws it onto the table shattering the ornament. Its remains disperse into the air, lines start to form from its relics creating a group of charts showcasing different individuals plastered for the entire room to see.
The Chancellor whisks his hand to the right as different profiles are shown. He stops and gestures with his finger bringing three profiles forth.
Three girls, one with short jet-black hair, another with long red hair situated in a ponytail, and a younger girl with pink hair are displayed.
Murmurs grow around the table.
"Two Holy Knights and a Valkyrie, huh?" One man scratches his beard in an enthused manner.
"This could work, but only if they're given the right mentors." Another man adds inhaling smoke from his cigar.
"Gentleman,"
The Chancellor stood up and threw his hand forward pointing at the three females.
"These three girls are going to forever change Phoenia… Perhaps even Euphoria itself."
"…But how can we know that they're on our side, Chancellor."
The standing man put out his cigar in a nearby ashtray and grinned cynically, one eye wider than the other.
"If they aren't,"
He looks to his left and grabs the brown-haired female by the throat, unknowing of his attack. She squirms in his grip as he lifts her from the ground.
— CRACK
Her body stops moving and her feet dangle. Her blue eyes bulged from her face, her tongue hangs from her mouth as spit foamed at the side of her lips.
"…I'll kill the bitches myself."
. . .
