You’re in the Sniper’s Sights

(Wednesday, 5th of Marching Legion Moon, 2021)

Jack's group exited the tree house to see Yaba was trying to get out through the barrier, but with no luck. Around Yaba's body, there was some kind of blue armor that protected her. Othelia was confused as to what was going on, but the sight of Simo aiming his rifle at the armored woman quickly made her get ready for combat. Othelia prepared her mech, Caroline summoned a bolt of lightning, TJ got his dual glocks ready, and Saorise aimed her LMG. Jack grabbed Jojo by the back of her neck and reeled his arm back, ready to throw the badger at a moment's notice. Meanwhile, Angelo simply stepped forward, with his footsteps radiating pitch black smoke with every step. Vedmak was wearing a unique kind of armor whilst preparing an odd spear in his hand.

"Okay guys, listen, this armor I'm wearing is called 'Aslan', and it gets stronger the more people who are on my side." Vedmak informed everyone. "It's not really suited for a warlock like me, but it's better than nothing. Yaba's armor is Utgard, which is perfect for her because it enhances magic power."

"Wait, you're a warlock?" Jack asked the man, who confirmed the answer with a nod. "I have a friend who may be in danger, and I need your help."

"Let's discuss that after this fight." Vedmak agreed, and Jack summoned Angelus in your spare hand. "HEY, YABA YOU WHORE, GIVE THE DIVINE WEAPON BACK!"

"FUCK YOU, VEDMAK!" Yaba shouted as her palms glowed a gold color and the light began to take the shape of something.

The light in Yaba's hands slowly extended and grew until it took the form of an odd weapon. The weapon took the form of just the hilt of a weapon that had a trigger on it that was the length of the hilt and made of gold. Baba Yaga pressed the trigger of the sword, and there was an ignition sound on the blade before a sword made crystal shot out of the blade. Baba Yaga raised the blade above her head and slashed the blade downwards towards the group. A wave of energy was sent towards all of them, and Jack was almost about to be wiped out before something blocked it.

"Please, as if I'd get hit by such an attack." Angelo had summoned a massive, black barrier in front of the group, blocking the slash from even hitting the group.

"Hey Vedmak, undo the forcefield." Simo asked while he prepared his rifle. "If we let the storm in here, I can take her."

"I'll mark that down as 'considered'." Vedmak ignored Simo's request before Angelo undid the shield that blocked the sword slash. "That forcefield is the only thing keeping her here in the first place!"

Upon dispersing the shield, Saorise fired her machine gun at Yaba, letting bullets fly and filling the area with the smell of gunpowder. The bullets flew towards their target, but the crystal sword of the divine weapon began to change until it became a perfectly round shield. This round shield blocked the machine gun bullets, so Jack prepared to jump towards Yaba. Jack launched himself towards Yaba, and to no one's surprise, the flying witch moved to the side, dodging Jack's attempted strike. Instead, Jack smiled and rang the bell called Angulus. Neither Jack or Jojo were affected, but the ringing clearly shook up Yaba, because it forced her to stop flying and even destroyed the shield. As Baba Yaga fell, Jack threw Jojo at her before he left the barrier. The force of his jump from earlier sent Jack out of the barrier and crashed into a nearby tree. Jack landed against the tree bark and launched himself back into the barrier, seeing that while Yaba was now on the ground, but Jojo was also on the ground, hissing while backing away from Yaba. Yaba ignited the divine weapon once more, and it took the form of a sword once again. Yaba tried going into the air once again, only to be stopped by Vedmak slashing his spear downwards atop the witch.

"Nice try Yaba, but we're keeping you on the ground!" Vedmak pulled the spear back and attempted to stab the witch, but the witch dodged. "Mech girl, keep Yaba on the ground!"

"I'll back you up sir!" TJ appeared on Vedmak's side and rushed towards Yaba while in a boxing stance and his boxing gloves on.

TJ launched a right hook at Yaba, but the witch dodged it and summoned a wall of force to block all of TJ's punches before sending the wall back towards the tree. Caroline created a powerful gust of wind, pulling TJ out from behind the wall of force and letting the wall of force collide with the tree. A cloud of dust to envelop the area, and Saorise used that dust as cover. Saorise used this cover to summon yet ANOTHER M249 in her arms, and the selkie girl began firing both guns simultaneously as Jack landed right beside her. Jack sent Angelus back to his dorm and replaced it with Bonnie and Clyde. Both Jack and Saorise fired at the witch, but neither of their bullets reached her because Yaba summoned another wall of force. Vedmak tried stabbing the witch from behind, only for Yaba to teleport behind him and deliver a powerful slash to Vedmak's back using the divine weapon.

"GYAH!" Vedmak screamed, and Jack tossed both Bonnie and Clyde into the air, opening his hands to use Switch. By snapping both his fingers, Jack made a blade of grass in front of him and Vedmak switches places just before Yaba could pierce his armor with the sword. "Damnit, her sword can cut through Artifact Armor!"

"Sir, my idea to deactivate the barrier is still on the table." Simo suggested to the man.

"Why are you so insistent on the barrier falling?" Jack asked as he watched Caroline summon a bolt of lightning to strike Yaba from above, only for the strike to be deflected using Yaba's newly acquired sword.

"Because I spoke to Nikola." Simo answered, and that was an unexpected answer. "Like me, he's from another world, the same world as me in fact."

"What the fuck is this about another world and shit?" Vedmak tried standing up, but he couldn't, so Jack crossed his arms over his chest to use Osiris in order to heal Vedmak.

"Long story, but anyway, Nikola told me that all of us who were brought into this world possess a special gift." Simo aimed his rifle at the witch. "The best way to awaken that power is to return to what made you a legend in the first place. For Nikola, it was just being smart. For me, I need to fight like I did back then during the war."

"And that means you want the barrier to go down because you were amazing at fighting in the snow, right?" Jack asked, and Simo nodded. "Vedmak, get rid of the barrier. Caroline, I need you to make as much snow as possible."

"You sure?" Caroline questioned while looking understandingly confused.

"Trust him, Caroline." Angelo ordered after doing almost nothing for the vast majority of the fight.

"Thanks, Boss." Simo thanked Jack as Saorise and TJ backed away from the witch after trying close combat. "Now, let me show you why they called me the 'White Death'."

With that said, Vedmak snapped his fingers, and the barrier preventing the snow from entering fell. The blizzard raging outside entered the area, and it got slightly darker because the artificial light of the barrier was now gone. Yaba tried flying away, but before she could, a bullet embedded itself into Utgard's knee joint, making it difficult to move Yaba's leg. Yaba was forced to pull the individual bullet out from her joints. As she bent down to pick the bullets out, a bullet flew through the air and towards her head. Yaba cut the bullet in half in the air and looked at the source, noticing Simo calmly walking towards her whilst holding his rifle as it emitted a pale white hue.

"Simo Hayha, Vänrikki of the 6th Company of Infantry Regiment 34 of the Finnish Army." Simo introduced himself as his eyes began to glow a chilly white color. "I also go by the White Death."

"Hehe, why are you telling me this you midget?" Yaba noticed how the blizzard around her began to increase in intensity, completely blocking her view of the rest of Jack's group and Vedmak. "I could annihilate you right here with Utgard, or my secret weapon, a living artifact called Bahamut."

"In the span of 94 days, do you have any idea how many people I've killed?" Simo questioned Yaba, with every step forward causing a crunch in the snow.

"I haven't the slightest clue." Yaba answered, and Simo stopped.

"I don't know the exact number myself, but experts think that it's at the very least five hundred and five people." Simo answered before his body began to decompose into snowflakes, blowing with the wind. "Let me show you a new trick I learned from Nikola."

Simo completely turned to snow and disappeared from the area. Yaba pulled the bullets out of her knee joints and looked around her, but the blizzard was completely blocking her view. Yaba tried walking towards the spot where Jack's group was, but she couldn't move for some reason. Ice began to creep up Yaba's legs, but she used a flame spell to melt the ice. Yaba then used a powerful gust of wind to create an area around her where the blizzard didn't reach. The area extended all the way to the tree, but there was no one there.

"Where on Desponia are they?" Yaba questioned whilst looking at the evergreen trees around her. "Did that Simo guy run away?"

The answer to Yaba's question came in the form of gun fire coming from the blizzard that was still raging on the outskirts of the area Yaba made. Yaba tried blocking the bullets, but they moved too fast for her to catch, piercing Baba Yaga's left arm. Baba Yaga then sent a beam of concentrated flames through the blizzard, but her attack hit nothing.

"White Death's Cloak." Simo's voice came from behind Yaba, and the witch turned around in order to cut the source of the voice in half, only to be met with several C4's strapped to a log.

The explosives blew up in her face, making cracks appear in her armor. Yaba began to sweat, and the drops of sweat froze instantly on Baba Yaba's face because of the cold. Yaba began to panic, and decided that running away would be her best option. Yaba used magic to fly straight up, but before she could run away, an artillery shell came from the unknown within the blizzard to land straight in the witch's chest. Yaba was knocked out of the sky and landed in the thick snow on her back. Yaba sat up, feeling the snow from the blizzard begin to cake onto her armor. It was getting so cold that Yaba was forced to heat the armor with magic to ensure she didn't get frostbite.

"Where are you, you coward?!" Yaba shouted, but her shouts were drowned out by the roaring wind of the blizzard.

"Out of your range." Simo's voice was coming from every angle of the blizzard. "People in this world like in relative peace, so let me show you what it's like to fight in my world."

Bullets of all varieties began to shoot themselves out from the blizzard, and Yaba was forced to create a force field around herself in order to block all the bullets. The dome protected her from both the bullets and artillery fire, and Yaba grit her teeth, trying to think of a strategy. In her eyes, it felt like death himself was toying with her life, trying to prolong her suffering all while wearing a white cloak instead of a black one. Artillery fire covered the shield in smoke and explosions, when all of a sudden, everything stopped. The blizzard, gunfire, and artillery stopped. Baba Yaga stood up and deactivated her shield. Baba Yaga looked around the area, noticing how silent it was.

Then a single gunshot rang out.

Yaba's head began to drip with blood, and a cool breeze blew through the large hole that went straight through Baba Yaga's forehead and showed the other side. Yaba fell forward, and her face collided with the thick layer of snow right below her. Meanwhile, Simo's feet crunched the snow below as he walked towards the dead watch.

"White Death's Scythe." Simo said the name of his second technique. "Thank goodness I can teleport now, walking here from that mountain top in the distance would have been a pain in the ass. I should take this armor, since Boss is collecting these kinds of weapons."

"YO, SIMO, CHECK IT OUT!" Jack's voice came from above Simo, and the sniper looked up to see Jack riding atop of a black colored dragon along with Vedmak, Caroline, Angelo, Othelia, TJ, and Saorise. The black dragon was carrying Othelia's Mech in its claws. "I TAMED A DRAGON!"

"I think that's the artifact, Bahamut." Simo looked up at your riding the dragon. "So what do I do about the divine weapon?"

"Pick it up, they'll return to normal in a couple minutes, even if they don't know how to." Vedmak ordered, and Simo did just that. "As for the armor, just grab a part of it and the rest can be summoned."

Simo removed Utgard's gauntlet and picked up the domovoy divine weapon, and you ordered Bahamut to lower itself onto the snow, allowing Simo to get onto the dragon's back with the rest of Jack's group. Bahamut flapped its great wings, and began to take flight into the sky. Simo let out a tired breath before leaning down on the dragon's back. Simo looked at the tree below, and noticed that the tree no longer had that horned man in the bark.

"Hey, where did that tree guy go?" Simo wondered, and Jack answered.

"Apparently, the founder of Vita Bergen, Kernunnosl." Jack answered as Simo yawned. "Apparently he was living inside that tree, so that's pretty neat. Oh! He was that guy you pointed out earlier!"

"Is it alright if I take a nap?" Simo asked as you rode atop the dragon's body, keeping an eye on Jojo, who was riding on it's head.

"Sure thing, do you need a blanket or anything?" Jack asked Simo, who simply shook his head in response. "Alright, I'll try making sure you don't fall off."

"Relax, I don't plan on dying anytime soon." Simo smiled as he closed his eyes, and began to drift off to sleep.

"Hey Jack, quick question, why does Simo always wear that mask of his?" Caroline gestured to Simo's face while talking to Jack.

"Oh, personal reasons." Jack answered simply. Since Simo kept his scar a secret, Jack decided he would help him with keeping the secret. "I don't even know why myself."

"In that case, shouldn't we move his mask just a teeny bit so we can see what he's hiding under there~?" Caroline suggested whilst reaching for the mask, but Jack swiftly caught her wrist using his hand.

"Sorry Caroline, but I think we should respect his privacy a bit." Jack suggested to the brown haired girl.

Underneath his mask, Simo let out a small smile.