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*beeeeeeeeep*
"Recording log..."
"Week 4"
"Wednesday"
"0430 hrs."
"H.Q. Airfield"
"Gargan Forest"
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...
Under a dark early morning, a freshly showered Harvey wearing a gray hoodie and jeans, just finished spawning additional units required for their operation in Babilon. Behind him are the two Brigadier Generals of the Special Operations and the Intelligence Department.
"Is that all?" asked Harvey to two Brigadiers.
"Yes sir." replied Brigadier Caesar of the GID.
"All additional units have been accounted for, sir." replied Brigadier Charles of the SOF.
As the new spawns disperse to their designated groups, a member from the Second Cavalry of the Followers Of Razhiel approaches Harvey with a salute.
"Sir Harvey. The "Special Operators" are now finished with their training."
"Wait, what? Did they really make it?" gasped Harvey.
"Yes sir. Although the first days have been hard for them, it only took some help from the Eclipse Knights and the Key Casters for them to easily finish the rest of their training."
"I-I see. Well, Colonel Falco originally recommended it to see if it could work. Now we will see if they can be really efficient on doing our operations as well." said Harvey.
"How many "Special Operators" are we talking about?" asked Brigadier Caesar to the Follower.
"They are all about twenty-four in total, sir. Ten local male volunteers including the nine mixed-raced males recruited by us, and all of the five local female personnel with the ten females of mixed-races that were hired as maids at the Main House."
"The maids? Seriously?" asked the Brigadier.
"Yes sir. We originally planned to just train the locals who volunteered for this. But the maids plead with us to train them as well. They said that they want to at least repay Sir Harvey for rescuing them at the Jackal's Hideout."
"Hm. Well, if they succeeded then, what are their specialties?" asked Brigadier Charles.
The Follower grabs a notepad underneath his coat and reads it.
"T-There are nine blessed with Holy Aptitude, eight Unholy Aptitude, and another eight Phantom Aptitude."
"Hm? There are no Spirit, Natural, and Unnatural ones?" asked Brigadier Caesar.
"I'm afraid so, sir. The reason is that we need the help of Sir Harvey and the captured Lesser Books and his Greater Key Of Sollom in order to bestow the volunteers with those certain aptitudes. So those are only available for now."
"Y-Yeah. I did give them permission. It's also that angel's decision to test it out on them." replied Harvey.
"Angel, sir?" asked Brigadier Caesar.
"Oh. Fruchiel rather." replied Harvey with a deadpan face.
"Oh. Understood, sir."
"I get it. So, we will now see some magic stuff within our units, sir?" asked Brigadier Charles to Harvey.
"Yep. Expect them to be integrated into some of your attachments as well in the future." replied Harvey.
"Understood, sir. Then, where will all the twenty-four Special Operators attach to?"
"Them? Heh."
Harvey then looks towards the runway.
"Look towards the birds at the strip, Brigadier."
All of them did and saw four Ospreys taxiing down on the runway to depart."
"Wait, are they already inside them?! Sir?!" gasped Brigadier Charles.
"Yeah. Because Colonel Falco suggested the idea first, I and Major General Hopkins decided to integrate them first into our airforce for testing."
"I-I see. If the schedule is in order, they are the ones who will be going to the Babilon. I didn't know that the "Special Operators" would be also going with them."
"Really? I thought the Major General informed you on this?" asked Harvey.
"The Major General also didn't inform me of this, sir." said Brigadier Caesar.
"Hm? That's odd..."
But that is when the Major General greets them from afar, along with two of the HOTELS and two Followers who also taught and trained the "Special Operators".
"I was already going to inform them and have that Follower report the success of the training, Sir Harvey. Things are really busy so I didn't have the time to tell them earlier." said the Major General.
The two Brigadiers and the Follower salute at the Major General. As the Major General reaches up at them, Harvey also does a quick salute.
"Busy, huh? Is this also because of the King's approval of the operation as well?" asked Harvey to the Major General.
"Yes, sir. That's why for the time being, I decided to attach the "Special Operators" on the ongoing operation at Babilon for their maiden operation." replied the Major General.
"Special Operators, huh?" pondered Harvey as he continued to look at the taxiing Ospreys.
...
"How about we also designate them into the SFODs as well? Two groups to be exact." asked Harvey to the Generals.
"S-SFODs? You mean, they will be going our seventh and eighth?" asked Brigadier Charles.
"Affirm. Because they are going to be attached to our Special Operations and Intelligence Department, we might as well register them into the SFODs. Just like the ECHOES Group."
"Hm. Good idea." replied the Brigadier.
"I also approve of that." said Brigadier Caesar.
"So, any ideas on their designated group?" asked the Major General.
"Well, I think that because they are the best choice in blending within the population, we should partner up the two groups as well."
"Ah, I see. You're right about that, sir. Especially on the intelligence side." replied Brigadier Caesar.
"Yeah. Hence, we will gonna designate them as - "
" - ROMEOS and -"
" - JULIETS."
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Meanwhile, in a certain destroyed cottage in Yormford City, Babilon...
A weak and ill woman in her forties is lying on a ragged bed sheet with only another thin sheet covering her. She coughs and shivers as the very cold early morning breeze easily passes through the holes and broken walls of the cottage.
"...Hubert..I hope you're safe...." whispered the woman as she continued to cough.
Then all of a sudden, two men in red cloaks appear out of the shadows. Their presence is quickly noticed by the woman and she realizes the meaning of their arrival. She forcibly sits up and smiles.
"...Oh. I see. Very well..."
She realized that her son, Earl Hubert, had managed to escape through the surveillance of the Watchers. Because of this, they will going to take her as hostage to make the Earl return.
"Come with us." said one of the red men.
But surprisingly, the mother punches through a broken window and quickly gets a big shard, only to slice it through her neck.
"WHAT THE-!" the red men gasped in shock as they watched her lie on the bed with blood now coming out of her neck.
At this moment, the red men also began feeling that something was flowing out of their necks as well.
It is none other than their blood as well. They fall dead on the ground not realizing the cause of their assassination. Their fixed gaze only answered them with two shadow-like creatures enveloping the dying mother and disappearing with them.
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"Hrrnhngg...." the mother groaned as she heard mumbled voices nearby and crowd noises in the background.
"...-blood levels are now stable. Continue monitoring."
"...Roger that."
As she slowly opens her eyes, she sees three people and a butler holding her hands. They are all inside a covered wagon in disguise.
"Madam! You're awake!" gasped the butler.
"Butler Rickenson...."
She quickly recognizes the butler as her son's butler. But the other three men are unknown to her. They are wearing some sort of bulky green clothing and strange armaments and gear. Their faces are covered with glasses and masks.
As she continues to observe them, she remembers what happened earlier and feels her neck, only to feel a patch of cloth snitched on her slit wound. There is also a strange tube attached to the same hand she used to feel her neck, and on the other side of that tube, is a bag of blood hanging on a metal post near her.
"Wh-Where am I? Who are they?..." she asked the butler in a soft voice.
"Madam Perth. I advise you not to speak for now. Let your neck heal in the meantime." one of the men in green clothing attending to her said.
"They are here to help us, madam. Do not worry." the butler said in tears.
As Perth looks at the patches on the shoulders of the three green men, she sees the words "FOXTROTS" - on the one monitoring her, "DELTAS" and "HOTELS" - that are on the lookout and security.
"It is me and Sir Maxwell that rescued you back there, madam. The Earl meanwhile is also with us and safe." said the butler.
Hearing about his son being safe, she looks at the butler with a smile and sheds a couple of tears.
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...
As their wagon continues its approach discreetly towards the Follower's Hidden Bunker, two operators that are on standby continue scanning the surroundings with the help of the DETLA's hidden demon partner.
"See anything unusual out there?" asked the DELTA Operator telepathically to his demon.
His demon meanwhile, is hovering up above in relevant to their wagon. It is smiling nonchalantly as it looks at the invincible Watchers running all across the entire city looking for them.
"Hehehe. They are like pest flies at a garbage site. I can't wait to kill all of 'em!" said the demon.
Suddenly, the driver of the wagon speaks through the hidden comms of the operators.
"Yeah. You know we can also hear you out there."
"Oops! Haha! Tell me, O' Joker..." the demon descended and sat near Joker who was driving the wagon. It then poses its head resting on its hand looking at him.
"How does it feel to change someone's fate? Hm?"
Joker, with his bird mask still on, looks at the invincible demon beside him.
"Heh. Wanna see it for yourself?" he said as he smiled eerily behind his mask, which the demon also sees.
The demon smiles back as they stare at each other for a while with eerie smiles.
"Come on fellas. Cut the chatter." said the FOXTROT Operator on the comms, breaking the stare-off.
"Rog'. Now get back up there blud." said Joker.
"Pft. Yeah yeah." the demon went back to hovering above the wagon for the lookout.
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The wagon finally reaches the hidden bunker of the Seventh Cavalry. With the help of the other Followers, Perth and the rest of the group safely disembark off the wagon and enter the hidden bunker unseen by the countless Watchers looking for them. Rickenson and the FOXTROT Operator assist Perth in walking down the bunker when suddenly, Rohan and Hannah greet them.
"Welcome, Madam Perth. It is good to finally see you." said Rohan kneeling on the ground together with Hannah.
Perth is surprised that she only gives out a nod to the two demi-humans.
Rohan and Hannah then lead Perth to a room where Earl Hubert is residing. As they reach the room, the closed door suddenly opens and Earl Hubert, with a shocked expression to see his mother again, sheds a couple of tears.
"Mo..ther?..."
He hugs and embraces his mother who is also shedding a couple of tears to see his son again safe and sound.
"Hu..bert..." said Perth with a soft voice.
Earl Hubert notices her mother's soft voice and realizes that there is a patch of medical cloth snitched onto her neck.
"What happened?!" he gasped.
"Earl, madam did this to herself when she was nearly abducted by the Watchers. So for now, she couldn't speak properly." said Rickenson.
"Rikenson! There you are! So that's why you've suddenly gone without notice!"
"Yes, sire. The moment you lost consciousness, I quickly requested help from Sir Maxwell to rescue Madam Perth."
"I-I see. Thank you."
"Don't mention it, sire. I've been also wanting to escape from the grasp of your father as well."
Perth suddenly brushes her son's head with an expression that everything is going to be alright for now. As her hands comb into his hair, he also suddenly remembers Annabelle, whose been doing that in the past.
"Annabelle..." he whispered to himself.
His mother realizes the name and makes a surprised expression.
"Oh right. You want to meet Annabelle as well. mother? Here. Follow me."
Earl Hubert then leads the way to Annabelle's chambers. Upon reaching it, Perth sees Annabelle, now in proper clothing and enjoying some tea. She looks at her son and he gives her a nod, indicating that it is alright to enter.
As she enters the room, Annabelle quickly sees Perth and with a joyful expression, runs towards Perth and also hugs her.
"Madam! I'm so happy to see you again!"
Annabelle also notices the medical patch on Perth's neck and asks what happened. Earl Hubert explained the reason and told her that she would be not talking for a while.
"Oh, I see. But is it safe to have tea with her?" asked Annabelle.
The FOXTROT Operator whose also been accompanying Perth to monitor her, replies to her.
"Yes. Only mild liquids are permitted."
"Great!"
Annabelle then invites Perth to have tea with them which Perth agrees with a smile. They sit at a table and Annabelle begins to set her tea and have a conversation with her.
"We will leave you girls for the meantime, alright? We will just going to have a meeting." Earl Hubert kissed his mom and Annabelle before going out of the room.
As the door closes, Earl Hubert nods at Rickenson.
"I will be leaving Mother to you again." he said with a smile.
"Take care, your sire." Rickenson bowed.
Rickenson enters the room to accompany the two ladies in the meantime while Earl Hubert, along with the Followers, conducts a meeting in another secluded room.
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Inside the meeting room, Maxwell and the rest of the Followers of the Seventh Cavalry are already discussing their next plan when Earl Hubert enters.
"Hm? How did it go?" Maxwell asked Earl Hubert.
Earl Hubert then bows towards Maxwell.
"Thank you very much for rescuing my mother!"
...
Maxwell then pats the Earl's shoulder.
"Haha. It's alright! We have more work to do so come on now!"
Earl Hubert then happily joins in the meeting with the Followers.
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...
"- and, while the Seventh Cavalry is pinpointing and eliminating small key targets around the city, Earl Hubert will have to train with the "operators"." Maxwell concluded the meeting.
All eyes are now on Earl Hubert and greeting from the sidelines, the six SFOD operators join in on them.
"T-Train? But I possess no magical attribute." said Earl Hubert.
"Oh, don't you worry, Earl. We specialize in non-magical combat." said one DELTA to him.
"A-Are you sure? What type of combat are you talking about? Does it have to do with those "weapons" of yours?" Earl Hubert pointed at the rifles slung over the operator's chests.
"Exactly. If you succeed, you will master the art of "guns". Haha!" the operator joked.
"I understood. I will say that I've never seen those things before. It is very "mechanical-looking." said the Earl while looking at the rifles.
"Worry be not. Soon enough, you will learn how to properly use these things."
Two operators, a HOTEL and a FOXTROT operator, come inside the room.
"The indoor shooting range is finished. We've also brought the ammo boxes and munitions out of the wagon you guys used to rescue Madam Perth earlier."
"That wagon?" asked the Earl to Maxwell.
"Indeed. It was a dual mission. The primary purpose of that wagon is to retrieve the supply crates left by their men outside the border of the Gargan Forest. The second is to use it for the extraction for your mother." replied Maxwell.
"I-I see."
"Now that the indoor shooting range is complete, why don't we start now?" asked the second FOXTROT.
"Good idea. While you and a couple of our members learn how to use those weapons, others will continue on the lookout for the Watchers who are still trying to look for us." said Maxwell.
Thus, they all dispersed to their respective locations with faces of determination.
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Meanwhile, inside the King Millionnaire's mansion...
As he continues to look at some paper reports scattered on his office table, the King Millionnaire is suddenly interrupted by a knock on his door.
"My king. You have an important guess." a male voice emanates at the door.
"Go on." the King replied.
The door opens and what greets him first is the alluring perfume lavenderish scent. Quickly realizing who the person is, he stops reading the papers and smiles.
"I thought we were going to talk in the evening - " he stopped and looked at the person.
" - Queen Madonna."
"My, I just don't want to leave an important partner of mine by himself while he's currently facing some - problems."
As she walks towards him, her alluring aura almost hypnotizes all of the butlers and maids nearby. The hypnotized follow her into the room when suddenly a group of Watchers appear out of the shadows and forcibly drive the hypnotized individuals out of the room.
"Really. You ought to adjust and keep your lust aura on a normal level." sighed the King.
The Queen then sits near the office table and grabs a document report. She reads it and the King suddenly glares at her with cold eyes.
"Hm. Report Number Eleven: Still no signs of Madam Perth, Rickenson, and Earl Hubert. Further investigation required...." she said and grabbed another paper.
"Report Number Fifteen: Five additional Watchers are found dead on the Eldras Lake. The cause is still unknown. Further investigation required...."
"Report Number Eighteen: Two Watchers Group disappeared while conducting the search outside the city. The cause is still unknown. Further investigation required...."
She then tries to grab another paper when she is stopped by the King. He grabbed her hand and shoved it away.
"That's enough..." he continued to glare at her coldly.
"Oh, there it is! That expression! Hahaha! How I miss that face!" laughed the Queen.
"You already know the reason why I came here early."
...
"I know. For Hubert..." the King replied.
"Bingo! I already miss him so much. I can't wait to embrace him in my arms and suffocate him with my breast." the Queen said while acting it.
"And then, when he looks at me, his face will be full of emptiness. Fufufufu!" she said with a sudden change of tone and a face of wickedness.
The King sighs and stands up to look out of a window behind him.
"Look, why don't you just look for another candidate? I'm sure there are plenty out there." he said.
"Are you kidding? Don't you see the pureness and innocence of heart the boy has? How I yearn to corrupt that and drown him in pleasure." she smirked.
"Yeah yeah. I don't want to hear that reasoning a couple of ten more times." the King shook his head.
"Pft. Just because you're so elusive and hidden from the public, that you can talk to me like that. But, the moment that all of your hidden secrets are out, heh. Well, let's see."
The Queen stands up and proceeds to exit the room.
"Oh and by the way, I will be taking that young butler at the entrance. Might bring me some good time. Fufu." she waved to the King.
The King sighs again and sits down, looking back at the paper reports with extreme discontent.
"Good grief...."
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Inside the 7th Cavalry Hidden Bunker...
The sun is now beginning to set when suddenly, a report comes in through a radio transmission inside the Comms Room. FOXTROT 17, the leader of the whole operator group and is currently on radio duty, receives the transmission, and a follow-up report is printed through a fax machine.
*pzzt! pzzt!*
"Are the papers sent? Over." said a voice over the radio.
"Affirmative." replied FOXTROT 17 as he grabbed the papers.
"Copy. All elements are now close proximately at your location. Once they've arrived, the operation can start at your discretion. Moon's Out, Goons Out."
*psssh!* the radio went static.
And sure enough, after a couple of minutes or so, the radio once again receives transmission.
"Yormford Base, this is REDEYE One, REDEYE One, REDEYE One. Reporting inside a U-2F. How copy? Over."
"Five by five, REDEYE One."
"Two fives. Yormford Base, be advised: All Field Elements and Support Elements are now inside Yormford Airspace. I say again. All Field Elements and Support Elements are now inside Yormford City Airspace. REDEYE One."
He is extremely surprised about the said announcement as they didn't see nor receive any reports on aircraft in their airspace, let alone the public. They will surely be panicking if they see the aircraft flying above them.
"Uhm. REDEYE One, interrogative: How come we didn't spot any of the elements in the airspace? Yormford Base." asked the operator.
"Roger, Yormford Base. Well, about that..."
That is when another report comes in by Maxwell and Wilkins. They ask the operator to follow them up to the entrance of the Hidden Bunker.
"Erh, standby, REDEYE One...."
"They've suddenly appeared out of nowhere." said Maxwell as he, Wilkins, and the FOXTROT Operator walked towards the bunker entrance.
"That's odd. Are they really here?" asked FOXTROT 17 to himself.
As they traverse along the way, a couple of the Followers and four operators (one operator is still teaching Earl Hubert in the indoor gun range) are already standing by the entrance, ready to greet the waiting elements outside the bunker.
FOXTROT 17 opens the hidden bunker and what greets him first are just two people - a young man and a woman, in formal clothing.
"Wait. Hold up. Are you- "
"Nice to meet you. The elements are already standing by for the operation, sir." said the young man in suit.
"Just give us the order, sir." the woman smiled with confidence.
At that moment, one by one, numerous operators from the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, SFODs appear out of nowhere behind the two.
"Wh-Whoa!" FOXTROT 17 gasped and so as the rest.
"W-Wait. If you two are here, then what group-"
" I'm Glenn, leader of the 7th SFOD - the "ROMEOS"
" I'm Felicia. The leader of the 8th SFOD - the "JULIETS""
" We're now OP Effective, sir." said the two.
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Soul Energy :
[ Level 4 ]
+ Lesser Key Of Sollom
+ Lesser Cache Of Hollom
Soul Count :
[ Counting... ]
Spawn Count:
[ Counting... ]
= 1 Major General
-Chief of Main Operations
= 2 Brigadier Generals
-Chief of General Intelligence Department
-Chief of Special Operations
= 1 Colonel
-Chief of Air Operations
= ??? Infantry Units
= ??? Special Forces
UPCOMING NEXT CHAPTER:
Chapter 29 - Legitimate Contentment
TFTC
