The regiment arrived six days later. They came in forest green armored trucks that rumbled along the paved roads that led toward the empty village. Yuki stood outside at the side of the road with Akira and Erica by her side. Lieutenant Mason stood on the street, his corporals with him and his soldiers lined up behind him. Yuna was one of them, standing at attention in the front right of the soldiers.

Five trucks grinded to a stop a few feet away from the lieutenant. The doors of the trunks popped open, and uniformed officers stepped out. A man stood in the center of the officer, his uniform as crisp as his steps. 

“Colonel Gyra,” Lieutenant Mason saluted. “I hope you had a comfortable journey.”

“As comfortable as those trucks can be,” Colonel Gyra replied, giving the lieutenant a small salute.

Colonel Gyra stood shorter than Lieutenant Mason, about two inches from Yuki’s estimations. His build was lean but athletic, the opposite from Mason’s muscular physique. A pair of glasses hung from a front pocket on his jacket. 

But despite his smaller profile, the mana that the colonel radiated couldn’t be ignored. It dwarfed the lieutenant’s and almost everyone around. The only ones who held more that Yuki knew were Akira and herself. They both were dampening their own presence to not alert others to their strength.

“My men will be setting up camp in the field outside the village’s north entrance,” the colonel said. “Your squadron can stay here. The hotel will remain our temporary base of operations.”

“Understood, sir,” Lieutenant Mason replied.

“Gather your officers. We’ll have a briefing,” Colonel Gyra said. He turned toward the hotel and walked in, passing Yuki as he did, but not giving her an eye. The officers that came with him followed right at his heels.

“You heard him,” Mason said. “Follow the colonel.”

Yuki waited for a few squadron members to pass before heading back into the hotel. She found a seat and caught Yuma’s attention, beckoning her to join.

“I might have to leave if this is a briefing just for the officers,” Yuna whispered when she made her way to Yuki. 

“You won’t. Trust me,” Yuki said. “Here, take a seat. Eri, scoot a bit closer to me to make some room.”

Erica complied, sliding her chair toward Yuki. The already small space between them became nothing, and their arms pressed against each other. Erica pulled back a bit, but Yuki caught her hand and gave her a small smile.

“Don’t worry. I don’t mind,” she said.

“Alright then,” Erica replied, though her cheeks pinkened.

The rest of the squadron entered the hotel lobby and took whatever empty space they could to sit and listen to the colonel as he spoke to the other officers. The colonel was seated in the chair that had previously been the lieutenants. Now the lieutenant sat at Colonel Gyra’s side along with other lieutenants. The corporals were seated further away.

“Let’s get right to business,” Colonel Gyra said, his soft yet firm voice shutting down any other conversation. “I am Colonel Gyra from the Libra Army. I’ve been in the army for twelve years now. It’s always been a pleasure to work with the Libra Taskforce. Now, to the task at hand. The hydra.”

The colonel’s hand went into one of his pants pockets and pulled out a small disk-like device. He pressed on it with a thumb and placed it gently on the wooden table. A holographic screen projected out from it, displaying a report.

“This is the report that Lieutenant Mason had sent to the Libra Taskforce which they have in turn sent to me,” the colonel said. “Our information on the target will be based on this as well as previous data we have from hydras of the past.”

He pressed the disk again with a finger and the report was replaced with a three dimensional model of a hydra that looked almost like the one in the forest. The spines and webbing of the model monster were smaller than the actual seven headed serpent. Its overall size, in fact, was smaller than the actual monster.

‘Hmm. They seemed to have underestimated the size. Not that big of a deal,’ Yuki thought. ‘That’s easy enough to fix later.’

“This is a mock up of what the hydra looks like based on descriptions given and our historical reference,” Gyra said. He looked around the table with a stern gaze. “However, this is in no way a completely accurate depiction. Do not place your entire trust into this model. If anything, think of it as an underestimation and increase the size and deadliness by two if not five fold.”

‘I like this guy,’ Yuki thought with a small twitch of her lips.

“From our analysis, these hydras are resistant, but not impervious to physical attacks. They are more susceptible to magical attacks. Our records also show that hydras seem to have a sensitive point at the tip of their tail. It has been shown to inflict the most pain, thought the amount of damage it creates is unknown.”

Another press on the disk. A different hydra was shown now.

“This is the last hydra we faced. It has five heads and was classified as a rank A monster. It was defeated through brute strength with a team of five rank A soldiers. This strategy will most likely not work this time around as this is a seven headed hydra and so its power is exponential higher.”

The colonel brought the seven headed hydra model back up.

“The strategy decided on by HQ was a combined physical and magical assault,” he said. “It’s a simple strategy. Our best physical attackers will face the hydra while our best magical attackers strike from the back. During the assault, we’ll gather what seems effective and fine tune our attack.”

Yuki found no real fault in the plan the colonel was suggesting. It was a good approach when one didn’t have enough information. The main problem was how the regiment would defend against the hydra’s attacks.

“Now. How we are going to organize is simple. Physical attackers will be in the front. Support will be in the back alongside of the magical attackers. Five supporters for every squadron in the regiment. I expect your squadron to follow suit, Lieutenant Mason.”

“Yes, sir,” the lieutenant replied.

“The supporters will provide barriers and support spells for the attackers. The physical attackers will be split into two roles: defenders and strikers. Defenders defend the strikers. Strikers deal damage. I have already divided my own troops. Lieutenant, you’ll need to do the same with yours.”

“Understood, sir. Should only take a few minutes.”

“Good. That concludes the briefing. We’ll begin the assault tomorrow. You are to gather at the north field at four hundred. Then we march. Any questions?”

No one spoke up with any. Yuki, herself, had none either, but there were things that she wanted to discuss with the colonel. She would talk with him later. Right now, she knew that it wasn’t the right time. Trying to offer a course of action in front of so many people could lead to the colonel getting the wrong impression of her.

“If there’s no questions, then everyone rest up today and prepare yourselves for what is to come tomorrow,” Colonel Gyra said. With that, he gave the room a salute and marched out of the hotel lobby, his officers following right behind.

When the colonel left, the lieutenant began to designate people into their respective roles. The lieutenant decided to keep Yuki, Akira, and Erica together as their own squad with Erica volunteering to be the physical attacker and Yuki being the supporter. Akira was left to flex between attacking and defending.

Yuna was put as a defender, which Yuki had expected. Where she would be during the fight, Yuki didn’t know. The lieutenant didn’t specify any exact locations. The colonel hadn't volunteered any information on that either. All Yuki knew was that the squadrons were most likely going to be fighting together.

After that, they were dismissed and sent back into their usual routine. Yuki did a shift at watch with Akira and Erica before it became night time.

The perfect time for Yuki.

“Let’s find the colonel,” Yuki said as she ate her dinner that consisted of a sandwich and water. “After this of course. We need to chat.”

“About your plan?” Erica asked, taking a sip of water. 

“Yeah. If I can explain it to him in private, he would probably be more open to it,” Yuki said. 

“Do you need me to come with you?” Akira asked.

“If you want. Erica can come too.”

“I think it’s better that I don’t come,” Erica replied with a small laugh. “What if he asks me a question? I don’t do any of that type of magic.”

“But aren’t you curious about the way the Libra Army organizes?” Yuki asked. “Their weapons? Culture?” 

“Not really, no,” Erica said with a shake of her head. “I’ve seen it before. It doesn’t quite change as much as you would think. They use the same swords, same techniques, and probably will have the same culture.”

“I see. Then wait for us. We’ll be back as soon as we can,” Yuki said. She popped in one last bite of her sandwich and wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Akira, when you’re ready.”

“I already am,” she replied. She stood up from the bed that they were eating on and tossed her sandwich wrappings into a trashcan. 

“See you later, Erica,” Yuki said with a wave as she went to the door. Erica gave her a wave in return, the need to chew occupying her mouth.

Yuki slipped out of the room with Akira right behind. They took the hotel elevator down to the lobby and walked past a few of the soldiers that were messing around. The soldiers noticed them, but only gave them a few words of greeting which they returned in kind.

Outside, the village was as empty as it had been for the past week. The arrival of the regiment didn’t change a thing as they had set camp outside. The two walked right out of the small town into the field that had been transformed into an array of tents and lights.

The colonel was easy to find for Yuki. His mana radiating out into the night like a beacon. It was impossible to miss. She and Akira drew a few odd looks and whispers as they made their way through the city of tents, but no one stopped them. 

When they arrived at the tent the colonel resided in, a female guard put an arm before them.

“What’s your business here?” the woman asked.

“We’re here to speak with the colonel about the upcoming hydra subjugation missions,” Yuki replied.  

“About what exactly? Do you have questions?” the guard said.

“No. Just a few suggestions that I believe the colonel will find at least somewhat worthwhile.”

The guard sized Yuki up for a moment.

“Wait here,” she said.

She ducked into the tent and reappeared a few seconds later. She held the tent entrance up and gestured for the two to enter.

“The colonel will speak with you”

“Thank you,” Yuki said. The guard only nodded in reply.

Inside the tent, Colonel Gyra was sitting on a stool behind a small wooden desk. On the desk was a leather book that looked quite worn and the metal disk device that he had used earlier in the day for his briefing. The disk was on, displaying a map of what looked to be the Keynal Strip.

“Hello,” Gyra greeted. He gave the two a practiced smile. “I’m sorry for the lack of seats here. I could ask someone to fetch a pair if you would like.”

“I’m fine, thank you,” Yuki replied. 

“As am I,” Akira said.

“Then how can I help you today? My guard said that you have a suggestion on the subjugation mission?” Yuki nodded. “You’re the mercenaries that were hired by Lieutenant Mason, are you.”

“That’s correct.”

“I’m always open to a hunter’s advice. What do you have for me?”

“A way to kill the hydra.”