Maya turned around and faced the Underworld forces. "Members of the Underworld, the Army has shown their true colors! Their betrayal is fully on display. Let's show them our power for daring to cross us! Attack!"

Loud cheers erupted from the Underworld forces as they rushed to meet the attacking Army head-on.

"When we took up the mantle of Guardsmen, we swore to protect the Haven that we love and live in from any and all threats. Today we shall excise the tumor that has been festering unchecked within our very own walls! Take up your arms; today we shall honor our oath and protect the citizens. Onwards!"

"Yes, Ma'am!" The guards replied in unison, their weapons drawn and ready.

With this, the battle that will shape the future of this world shall begin.

"Inanna, Operation is a go, deploy our forces." Ria alerted Inanna over the comm.

"Roger, heading down now, ETA 2 minutes."

The Guardsmen formed up to the right of the Army and began shooting at them, suppressing their movements. The army soldiers specialized in close-quarters combat; they wore heavy metal armor and wielded Repulsor Shields and Molecular Vibration Spears. This afforded them considerable defense, and their spears allowed them to cut through most materials with ease. Their formation stood strong as they slowly marched forward, shields up and spears forward.

The Underworld forces, at least those who were currently participating in the battle, were not just a group of riff-raff that were not properly trained and poorly equipped. With the Underworld's considerable power and influence, they were able to equip their members quite well. Still, they were not suited for direct confrontation, especially against such heavily armored opponents. Instead, they ran up towards the approaching line of the Army just out of their reach and began lobbing explosive and incendiary grenades into their ranks. They got up close and fired powerful short-range plasma blasters before retreating back.

The Guards, who normally fought on the frontline against the revenants, were used to shooting from a distance without much close-quarters combat, combined with artillery support from the walls. Right now, they couldn't use their artillery pieces as they were not meant to turn inwards towards the Haven and had to settle with small arms fire against the Army. Their shots could not penetrate or disable the Repulsor Shields, but they could still significantly damage the Army's body armor if they took a direct hit.

The battle was in a complete stalemate as neither side could push up. The Underworld was suited for hit-and-run guerrilla tactics, but the large open area of the city square did not allow for such actions. The Guard were suited for longer-range fire and suppression, but they could not effectively take down the soldiers. The Army, on the other hand, boasted considerable defense and close-ranged power, but they could not get close due to the suppression from both the Guards and Underworld, hindering their already low mobility.

Suddenly, more soldiers appeared on the rooftops, this time with rifles, and they began shooting towards the Guards and Underworld Forces.

"Guards, deployable cover now!"

With Irene's order, the guards took out a small device and placed it on the ground. The device activated and surrounded them with a dome of yellow energy, blocking the incoming projectiles.

"Suppress those rooftops!"

The Guards then began shooting towards the rooftops where the soldiers were, attempting to prevent them from peaking out and firing back.

Back at the Underworld forces, seeing the situation, Maya decided to change up their tactics. "All of you, disperse through the city and secure those buildings where the Army is stationed, prevent them from using those rooftops. While you are at it, get rid of those up there too! We will let the Guards handle the frontlines."

Seeing as the Underworld was quite useless in fighting up front and were actually quite in the way of the Guards' ability to shoot freely, Maya decided to send them out into the city to prevent the Army from garrisoning more of the buildings and to remove the army from those that had been garrisoned. The Underworld quickly dispersed as the leaders of the private forces took charge of the other members to follow Maya's orders.

The battle was now spreading throughout the city as the Guards held up the majority of the Army's forces while the Underworld forces prevented any reinforcements from entering the main battle in the city square.

Ria and Maya went towards the Guards' location and regrouped with Irene.

"Irene, I've got a few questions. Those soldiers, are they modified humans?" Ria asked, bullets whizzing past her and impacting the deployable shields.

"Yes, they are. I don't know the specific details, but they go through a bunch of chemical therapy alongside some mechanical augmentations."

"I see, that explains their unnatural ability to suppress their fear. Even with bullets, grenades, and incendiaries tossed at them, they still manage to stand their ground."

Bright spotlights suddenly illuminated the army's soldiers, both on the ground and on the rooftops, as a large starship descends from the skies above.

Inanna's voice came over the comm. "Hey! Heard you guys need a hand!"

The starship, which was actually one of the few Specter Planetary Support Gunships that were deployed on this operation, hovered above the Guard's positions, its weapon systems aimed toward the Army's soldiers.

"Inanna, weapons free on small caliber weapons; otherwise, you have full discretion."

With Ria's permission, the Specter Gunship opened up onto the army's formation with its Laser Pulse Repeaters, showering them with a hail of individual laser fire. The lasers shredded through their shields and armor, tearing them to shreds along with their fleshy bodies within.

Chunks of burnt flesh were separated from their bodies as the temperature of the laser immediately burnt off flesh and skin alike, causing a horrible smell to permeate through the entirety of the City Square.

Seeing this massacre, a lone figure could be seen running away in the darkness: it was Braun.

The Specter Gunship's spotlights adjusted and followed him as he ran away.

"Irene, what do you want to do with him?"

"Just end him; there is no purpose in keeping him alive. It will just be more of a headache afterward."

Nodding, Ria relayed that information to Inanna. The Specter Gunship then fired a short burst of its Laser Pulse Repeaters at the fleeing Braun. The lasers impacted and penetrated through his exposed and vulnerable back, killing him instantly.

After the area was clear of hostiles, the Specter Gunship left the area; in its place, multiple dropships began descending from the skies and landed in the tower square. Their rear hatches opened, and contingents of Combat Droids filed out in an orderly manner, with Inanna exiting last.

"Ria, scans from above show that the route to the spillway is completely clear; there are currently fights breaking out throughout the city. The scattered groups of the Army have begun rampaging; I have deployed other squadrons of Combat Droids to protect the populace of the Haven, but it will likely be better if the Guards took over this role instead."

Irene took in the information and looked over to the guards standing behind her. "Guards, spread out throughout the city and control the situation, prevent the populace from getting hurt in the crossfire. Gregson, coordinate the distribution of Guardsmen squads throughout the city; I will leave the place to you."

"Alright, I wouldn't be of much use where you are going anyway. Take care, the rest of you." Turning back to the Guardsmen, Gregson yelled, "Guards! Form up!"

"I will stay here; I need to control the Combat Droids to clean up the remaining filth after all." Inanna said.

Irene stretched her arms. "Then it seems that Ria and I will be storming the gates. Well, with both of us there, it should be a breeze."

"I have no complaints either; let's go."

Irene and Ria sprinted down the main street leading towards the spillway where the Army's Headquarters was. Over there was where they expected the Awakened, who had never shown themselves before, to be waiting.

Sounds of gunfire and explosions could be heard around them as they sprinted down the main street. The fighting within the city was growing more intense as the Army rampaged around without care. Specter Gunships and Dropships buzzed the nearby buildings as they fired their weapons in to them, clearing the army's soldiers from them.

Anyone attempting to stop the two's advanced were dealt with airborne sniper fire.

Before long, the two were standing in front of the Interior Army headquarters.

The military headquarters exterior stood as a monument to excess, displaying opulence that seemed entirely at odds with its purpose. Gilded accents adorned every architectural detail, catching the various spotlights in a blinding dance of extravagance. Marble columns, their surfaces polished to an almost blinding sheen, lined the entrance like sentinels of wealth. It was as if every ounce of restraint had been discarded in favor of an ostentatious display.

"You sure this is a military headquarters sitting atop the most important place in the Haven?"

"It's not even the worst one; the one in the capital makes this one look like a pigsty. Come on, let's head in and end this." Irene gestured for Ria to follow her.

Irene pushed open the intricately decorated double doors that served as the entrance into the building. Inside was every bit as gaudy and excessive as the building's exterior. Marble lined the entire floor, with red velvety carpets and gold accents draped over them. Towering pure white marble pillars with golden engravings supported the ceiling. Dangling from the ceilings were extravagant crystal chandeliers inlaid with beautiful gemstones.

"This feels more like a palace than anything."

"Yeah, I rarely come here, but every time I do, I can't help but feel disgusted at the opulence on display. You can barely call it a military building. The spillway is down below, and that's where the awakened are probably at right now." Irene said in disgust as the pair walked down the winding corridors.

"Ambush? Or do you want to talk to them first?"

"There is no need to talk; they are all egotistical bastards who care for naught but their own desires. There would be no convincing them to stand down. We should just end them all at once in an ambush."

"You really don't like them, do you?"

"Of course! They are useless and do nothing but throw their weight around haphazardly to get what they want. Just kill them instantly without mercy. You don't want to suffer the brain rot which is their words, I tell you."

"Will do."

They soon reached the center of the Army HQ, where the path leads to the spillway. Here was a massive cargo elevator that could fit well over 100 people at once. Irene and Ria boarded the elevator and went deep underground. The elevator ride took a total of 5 minutes, and when they reached the bottom, they were greeted with a large staging room.

Boxes were stacked randomly across the room, and loose items such as weapons, armor, and other miscellaneous items were strewn all over the floor. The chamber itself was fairly large, standing at around 20m in height, and had enough floor space to fit multiple large vehicles with room to spare.

"Once we pass those doors at the end, we will be at the spillway."

"They are clearly gonna be expecting us to enter through the door. How about I teleport us through, high up into the air, and we swoop down from above to kill them?"

"That works."

Irene materialized Gae Bolg in her right hand and grabbed onto Ria's waist with her left. "I am all set; let's do this."

Ria, with Irene in tow, phased through the walls of the staging room and teleported high into the air near the ceiling of the spillway. Below them were countless lines of barricades with heavy weapon emplacements installed behind them. The Spillway was a large tunnel that seemed to stretch infinitely into the depths of the earth below.

Blocking the entrance were many layers of Repulsor Fields that were stronger than those used around the exterior wall, due to their smaller size. These could withstand blows from Marquis-level Revenants for a few minutes at least, enough time for either Awakened to eliminate it or to give a head start on the evacuation of the Haven if there is no one capable enough to take down the revenant.

Besides the weapon emplacements, there were around 10 people loafing around together around the center of the chamber. Some were simply sleeping, some were eating, and some were just talking to each other. None of them were paying attention to the surroundings, much less the doorway where Irene and Ria would have entered from under normal circumstances.

Irene let go of Ria and kicked off the ceiling, diving towards one of the awakened who was eating. Her spear pierced the awakened's head, instantly killing him. She quickly pivoted on her foot and sent a spear thrust right into the heart of another nearby, ending his life. A nearby awakened noticed the commotion and ran over to check the situation out but was immediately greeted with a spear thrown into his chest.

Ria did not dally for long either; as soon as Irene killed the first awakened, Ria teleported into the center of the three people talking to each other. "What? Who are you?"

With a graceful twirl of her body and Gehenna, the heads of the three awakened were cleanly decapitated, a fountain of blood showering the area.

With the six awakened killed without even being able to resist, there were only four sleeping ones remaining. Without even knowing what happened, their consciousness was plunged into eternal slumber by Ria and Irene.

"That was easy; they weren't even aware of their surroundings."

"They have barely any combat experience and are way too prideful for their own good. They might have special powers granted by awakening, but their bodies are still that of a normal person if their abilities do not augment it."

With the Army's awakened killed without even being able to resist, there were only scattered groups of soldiers still remaining on the surface. But with the combined efforts of the Guards, Underworld, and Avalon, it was only a matter of time before their resistance was squashed out.