After the briefing, Robert and Simone went to prepare themselves. Simone hadn’t been in any kind of battle against the supernatural. Robert was lighting a cigarette with Simone.

“How did we get to this place, Oswald?”

“Strange winds?”

Simone was observing Robert. He can tell that there was something changed in Robert. Anyone who had an eye for detail could see it.

“Worked out?”

“Could say that. Had to go through a ritual of my own.”

“Oh, you have?”

Robert nodded at Simone’s words before Simone took a drag. Simone was looking at the team of American operators. The best of the best. The 1% that was allowed to go through hell.

Anna Ford was briefing them. Simone and Robert had their own considerations, but their magician was Simone who will apply them with certain advantages that will make their life easier when fighting a horde of well-experienced, former soviet soldiers who had come out of the grinder.

It was easy to guess that the moment they start something. The men under Yaga’s payroll will start to move and defend the compound. Yaga’s personal men were defending the compound while the hired mercenaries and folks he had hired from abroad had started fighting people in the city.

It was one hell of a battle. An eruption of violence that covered the whole city with tension. Bullet whizzing by and even with the police trying to do something. It was useless with the amount of mercenaries and throughout this there was something else happening. Something was wrong and Robert could tell.

Simone was looking passively at the city. Eyes on the rising smoke and chaos on the street. A disappointed face and a look that sympathized with the tragedy of the normal citizens that were unaware of anything that was happening.

“They say that the current war is going to lessen the number of magis in the world, Oswald.”

Robert recalled that there was another hidden war going on. The war started by the families of the magicians. Simone who had been participating in some parts of it was already jaded. Robert hadn’t been seeing him and considering how things were.

Robert was sure that this somewhat passive look on Simone was because of this war that they started. A foolish and aimless war that was started because of the appearance of Rubio Ferric’s men and the cultists who were emerging in the city of Saint Lucius.

One might ask why CASE wasn’t focusing on them. But the truth was simple. CASE was stretched thin and problems piled up day after day that there was nothing left other than a backlog of problems that they needed to go through. There wasn’t just one problem in the world. It’s a collection of problems that need solving. And manpower was what CASE was lacking in recent years. The poor winds of magic. The personnel who didn’t want to join knew that there were demons involved. It was not simple. Robert had experienced the fear of demons and just hearing the words of a devil could make him almost lose his mind.

But it was not all devils and demons. The affairs of the supernatural entities who are living this modern age. The creatures and the cults that were trying to do their best to somehow gain something from dying age that they were living on.

The war of the magis was their last war. Simone, who had been participating, knew that many had already died in this war. Simeone explained it.

“A blaze of glory. One last clash before their world ends. Most of my peers cannot imagine a life without their precious magic. All of their souls have been devoted to magic and with magic slowly dying. Those who don’t have the appropriate strength to retain their power will lose it.  And so before they lose it they hoped to gain something through the use of their power to leave a name that their peers will remember.

“It’s absurd. How they try to waste their life for this. I might be saying this because I have a chance to retain my power. But these people… they think it's over and want nothing more than to burn the memories of their power through deeds.”

Deeds that will be remembered. It was an old belief that these magicians have. When it is still their time their tales will be told in parcels and handed over. But in this world where guns have to reign supreme. Where their charms and trinkets can easily be withered by a hail of gunfire.

Their time has come to an end.

Only those who are in the realm of eccentricity like Sir Hawke and the Lionhearts would remain in the leagues of the strong. People that are beyond normality and would remain even when the magic that one could acquire fades away.

“I had a dream for magic. I always wanted it, but seeing how they die for it. It makes me wonder if magic was anything beyond a tool that they use to kill.”

Simone lit his hands on fire. The flow of magic that was on Simone was stronger than usual. Like a flame that was going to burn everything. Robert realized that Simone had grown to such an extent. And yet with that grown came an exchange. Something was lost while acquiring this power.

Robert didn’t know what it was.

And from the look that Simone was showing.

He was sure that it was something that Simone wouldn't say.

The chaos beyond the buildings could be seen.

Robert wondered what was the scheme here.

What was the point of allowing these men to act on this port city?

There were threads missing.

Information was lacking and Robert understood how seriously lacking they were in regards to intelligence. CASE was outmatched when it came to the information gathering and that it was focused more on finding the supernatural rather than finding the cultists and the syndicates of the city.

 

Working with Strato’s team made Robert somewhat feel like a professional again. He was familiar with how they worked. And even in the future some things never really do change.

The goal of Strato’s team was to find Yaga and capture him. Robert was curious about their goal. Then they showed what they really wanted.

A connection to the merchant of death.

What they really wanted was the information that Yaga knows about the man called Viktor. He was somewhat different from what Robert knew about him in the future. Even in the future the man’s name echoes through like a legend that never faded.

He was the owner of that title.

The merchant of death of the 21st Century.

Robert raised a hand.

“I thought you had dealings with him?”

“We have. We still have years to let him run around. But he had made a deal with a certain Ferric.”

“Rubio again?”

Robert groaned at that name. That ever-surviving name that seemed to be hidden. They say that the good players are the ones that don’t get caught or named.

Viktor’s case was that his reach was so impossible to hide that not knowing him would be stupidity. But what interested Robert was the change in the direction. Like he was just discovering the hidden side of a world that wasn’t written or informed.

No, if anything, were the worlds the same?

Is the history he know the same?

Robert had no reason to believe that his words could change the world. And even if he does want to change. He didn’t have the proof or the backing to prove them. If anything he’d attract suspicion.

Those who do nothing in the face of evil is evil

You know these things, and yet you refuse to change them.

Is it cowardice or is it because of the fear that the butterfly’s wings will cause more than harm?

Robert wasn’t so kind.

He hated things that involved children.

He hated when men and women died for no reason.

But he was also rational enough to understand that some tragedies are needed to direct the flow of the world to a certain agreeable world. He might be insignificant, not even a footnote in history and is nothing more than one of the many strangers.

But he believed that one wrong step could make things turn worse. What would you do if you had the power to change the world?

Nothing.

It might sound hateful, and somewhat apathetic.

But that was the truth.

When it comes to tampering with such large events.

Can Robert really say that he’d be responsible for whatever he does?

That’s why all thoughts of interfering with history was something Robert barely cared nor thought about. Besides, he barely remembered anything about the 21st Century and how many events happened. He wasn’t a genius, but he could at least recall some of the major events vaguely.

Like the terrorism that led to a war of terror and many more.

“You look lost, Enforcer.”

Anna Ford crossed her arms. Robert shook his head lightly. He leaned forward with elbows on his thighs. The briefing was clear.

Enter the compound during the night.

Get rid of any witnesses.

Extract Yaga out of the compound through the sewer system.

Then enter the vehicle that will pick them up and take them to the outskirts of the city where a chopper will pick them up. It was a detailed operation with many of it relying on the gear that these Americans had.

Compressed aramid-weave fitted with ceramic plates. Silenced weapons that could be easily carried. And night and thermal goggles that were highly advanced. Military gear always were made with the purpose of producing as many with a passable quality.

The best toys were handed to the apex of the food chain. Operators like Strato’s team who were the 1%. They looked normal. Strato was the only one who fit the image of what you’d think of an operator while the rest were men in their thirties who’d look like you’d find in ball games and barbecue parties.

But their skill didn’t match their looks. Simone was unfamiliar with how they operated so  he was going to be with Robert who will act as  lead. They were generous enough to give them equipment and even handed them clothing that would cover their identities.

The balaclava covered their identities. Robert went with K as his call-sign while Simone went with Merlin. The operation started in 1300 hours. The group followed the path that they drafted, neutralized enemies, and entered the compound like a precision knife. Robert followed, admiring the shooting and sneaking skills of the operators.

They barely needed any help. Professionals in the biz of extracting. Even with all the guards guarding the compound. They were able to find an entry point and reached the inner interiors of the compound. Of course, it was partly due to Simone masking everything. From sound to scent. They were like a ghost passing through. 

Robert felt the wards all over the compound, but with the seal on the back of their hands. It was easy to evade them without detection. If anything with Strato and his team being enhanced by Simone’s spells. They were even deadlier than ever.

It didn’t help that they were already at the peak of ability. If anything, Robert felt like they were just baggage. And yet when they took a step forward, Robert felt a suffocating air.

Simone groaned while the operators staggered.

Not far from where they were standing was a creature the size of a tiger. It was a hound from hell.

It was a much more fiercer hound than the one that Robert recalled.

Nonetheless, he remained steady.

And the operators who felt that fear changed their mags and switched to silver bullets. 

Before coming to this compound Robert joked with Strato about the possibility of facing demons. But it was not their first rodeo and the operators who were operating in the shadows poured silver bullets on the hellhound.