CHAPTER 23: MUFFLED SCREAM

SERENA MAIZONO 

2 ½ YEARS AGO

The Operation Arcadia Annihilation consists of two large groups: the Front Lines and the Infiltration Team. The Front Lines, which is commanded by Captain Kevin Valesmith and Lady Danielle Keine will lead the soldiers to make a frontal assault. The Front Lines will guarantee a war with the ratio of two is to one, which means we have the advantage in numbers. There are two dragon knights on the front lines, and the Arcadia army has none. This will be a clean swoop of victory for us, but it will not guarantee the capture of the leader of the terrorist group.

This is where the Infiltration Team comes in. Infiltration Team comprises of only four members: Sir Faradeiss and his dragonoid Z, and Sir Wingate-senpai and me. Senpai has a lot of experience on stealth missions due to him being a White Ghost in the past, so he will command each and every move we make.

Right now, we are casually walking on the downtown of Amnesia City, trying to blend in with the people. The streets are not lively but not entirely dark. There are street lamps that give an orange tint to everything in the surroundings. As we venture further, we saw that the population of the dragonoids in these areas became dense. I can see coffee shops and restaurants populated by dragonoids, and not humans. The man who runs this City: Duke Zac Schneider, is well known for giving dragonoids rights to own properties and businesses like any normal human being. He does not treat dragonoids as slaves. He treats them as an equal person. Maybe that’s the reason why the dragonoids see him as a hero. I think he’s actually a good guy.

“I thought assassins had a hobby of crawling in cramped spaces and lurking in the dark, not blending in with the people,” Z muttered with a dissatisfied look. 

“Actually, Senpai is not an assassin. He’s more of a thief who eavesdrops and violates your right to privacy.” I happily explained at the mislead dragonoid girl in a witch’s hat. “White Ghosts have two specialized departments; One is for pure assassinations and the other is for information gathering. Senpai falls on the latter, so during his time as a White Ghost, he’s only in charge of snatching documents and overhearing gossip from the targets.”

“Ooooh.” Z’s mouth stayed O-shaped for five seconds. “I see.”

Suddenly, we stopped walking when Senpai raised his hand. Then, he looked to us and we formed a circle to discuss our plans.

“Twelve dragonoid guards ahead, fully armed, in the checkpoint. We can’t blend in with them, and they are not allowing any civilians to go further. We can’t go stealth if we are taking them out.” Senpai explained. I’m impressed at Senpai’s hawk-like eyes which are able to spot and perfectly describe the enemies from two blocks away.

“So we have to shoot our way in and fuck them off?” Alphonse asked.

Suddenly, a series of gunshots, explosions, and weak tremor echoed in the night skies. There are also fireworks-like shooting stars several kilometers away. It seems that the war against the terrorist group Arcadia has started, and the Front Lines are now doing their best to raid the castle.

Several dragonoids started to run, and there are also dragonoid people armed with rifles who are in a rush to go to the warzone. Since they are being attacked from the south, they will focus their defenses on the south. Some left their post on the western part, in which we are situated.

Senpai glanced back to the checkpoint and then whispered to us. “Now there are only four guards. We still don’t have a chance to sneak in because of the barricade.”

“That’s not a problem. Let’s go Plan B. Dragon Form.” Alphonse said.

Senpai just looked at me in the eyes, and I already know what they are planning. I made a smile and a nod. Z did the same confirmation with her dragon knight Alphonse too. Seeing that we both dragonoids agreed, Senpai and Alphonse held their chest which glowed with golden light.

“Activating Vesryn Pulse!” The two knights shouted.

In an instant, my body was covered with golden light as I feel my knight’s heartbeats. Our synchronization of hearts made it possible for me to unlock my dragon form: A white-and-blue eight-meter tall Nexus Dragon.

Meanwhile, Z transformed into an eight-meter ash-gray dragon with awesome characteristics. She spawned four wings which represent the four basic elements of fire, earth, wind, and water. Her long lizard tail is enhanced with lightning sparks, completing the five elements she had control unto. Her scales are different for each of his body parts. Her right arm and claw are covered with crimson fire scales, her left arm and claw are swarmed with white ice scales, her right foot is filled with sturdy rock scales, and her left foot is protected by green feather-like scales. There is also a giant unicorn-horn on top of her lizard head that is filled with electricity. She is an Elemental Dragon.

“Graaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!” Both me in my Nexus Dragon form and Z on her Elemental Dragon form roared out loud that makes it sound like a dragon screaming contest.

Our knights immediately ride on our heads with their weapons deployed. Side note: I always love it when Senpai rides me on my dragon form, but I’ll be happier if he rides me too on my human form. Just kidding!  

Without wasting any time, I jumped off the ground and use my wings to burst a sonic boom, making us fly at a fifty-kilometer per hour velocity as a head start. The Elemental Dragon did the same and followed us. It only took a matter of two seconds before we passed above the checkpoint. The four terrorist guards were astounded when they saw two giant dragons glide just above their heads.

One of the guards was able to grab his radio gear. He was about to report to his superior, but then Alphonse used his chains to grab that precious walkie-talkie from his hand. Alphonse also used his other chains to snatch the other radio phones that are on the dragonoid’s chest the entire time. Now they won’t be able to notify the central command that we’ve infiltrated their base.

“Are you daft! Does the word stealth means anything to you!?” Senpai shouted at Sir Alphonse, but his words are a little bit inaudible due to the wind pressure.

Sir Alphonse threw away all those radio phones back to the ground, shattering it to hundreds of pieces. “As long as they can’t tell their allies that we’re here, it’s still stealth.” Sir Alphonse smiled.

I can see the castle, just half a kilometer away. The grand hideout of the terrorist group Arcadia is the City Castle itself, where Duke Schneider rules with his power. It’s a medieval gray castle of about six floors, in which the only top has a balcony. It would be easier to confront the enemy leader by landing on the rooftop, but there are no entrance points in this castle anywhere on the upper floors. If there’s only one route in and out, it would be on the bottom floor.

With my momentum and strength, I boosted forward, reaching speeds of a fighter jet. I swirled around and finally found an entrance at the lowest ground of the palace, and it’s just as little and fit enough for a compact car. There is no way a dragon like me can fit with that door.

When we landed, Senpai and Alphonse held their chest which glowed with golden light again. They deactivated the Vesryn Pulse, making Z and me revert back to our human forms.

“Let’s go!” Alphonse waved his hand as we ran towards the entrance. 

When we finally made our way inside the castle, the door closed. The ground floor from inside was dark at first, but after two seconds, it was lit with bright spotlights that blinded us. When the surroundings became clear, we saw that we’re on a tight linear space just as wide as five meters. There’s even a red carpet below our feet.

On the far side of the linear hall is a gigantic barrel, attached to a gigantic clump of metal with a trackwheel. We heard various engine noises, together with a spraying gas. We soon found ourselves in a great predicament when we realized what that machine was.

“Tank!” Alphonse shouted. “How the fuck did they fit it in here!?”

Suddenly, the barrel blasted a giant basketball-sized shell that rushed to our position. Without any way to evade in this tight space, all we can do is to take the tank shell head-on.

“Give way!” Senpai shouted as he went in front and deployed his blaster shield. The blaster shield made a clunking sound as it expanded, making a wall to shield us from the incoming blast.

The sound of the explosion echoed upon impact with the blaster shield. The blaster shield is strengthened by Senpai and my own magical properties, so there is no way it could shatter easily. That would guarantee us a long time to live.

“Everyone, prepare to attack! I’m going to charge head-on!” Senpai shouted.

But the moment we readied our weapons, we realized that there is a much bigger problem right in front of us. The tank shell that was launched earlier started to spray some kind of white smoke that spreads out rapidly in this linear hallway.

Since Senpai was nearest to the shell, he was exposed to it first. He managed to inhale a small amount.

“Is this…” Senpai muttered, and then it was followed by a series of coughs. His eyes were opened wide as if he is in some unbelievable shock. When he saw that the white smoke started to crawl towards us, Senpai looked at me.

“Get back!” Senpai jumped to me and covered my mouth with his sleeve. Outbalanced, I fell down on the floor with him on top. 

“Kyah!” I cried.

“White phosphorus!” Sir Alphonse cried as soon as he smelled the garlicky aroma in the air. He immediately covered Z's head with his arms. “Try not to breathe or it will burn your lungs!”

I saw blood crawling out from Senpai’s nostrils. He was the first one to inhale the deadly gas after all. For the second time, I was saved by my knight, and he did it selflessly, putting me on top priority before everything else. For the second time, I feel terrified that I might lose someone dear to me.

“Sen...pai…” My muffled shout was not able to reach him.