𝑶𝒱xt.𝗈𝗆

About two hundred thousand survivors lived in the Sanctuary. Between them only seven thousand were trained soldiers, and about another twelve thousand were men of military age and fit enough to join armed combat.

Ramla had done everything she could to secure weapons and equipment before the Nephilim went on their rampage. None of it would’ve been of any use against them, however it was better to have something than to be unarmed.

Sam was doubtful that the small army would be able to do anything against the madness the old fortune teller had foreseen.

When the sky above lost its azure color as a veil of red covered the world, he knew they were in for a horror unlike anything they’d seen before.

“Doctor Sanderson.”

Turning around, Sam saw a man dressed in full combat attire walking over to him. Despite the mask covering his face, it was easy to recognize who he was since not many among the human soldiers dared to speak to him.

“Sergeant David.” Sam acknowledged him with a nod. “Are you done with your preparations?”

“Yes. We have positioned ourselves as you’ve suggested.”

As if it wasn’t obvious, the surviving humans were reluctant to follow the orders of some outsider, let alone an alien who was in control of a dozen Angels, the same creatures that destroyed their world. There was no time for him to earn their trust so he replied on Ramla to help him get his orders through to her people, hiding it under the guise of a plan devised using her future sight.

The sanctuary had four entrances connected to long tunnels stretching for miles on end. According to the old woman, the monsters first start to appear through those tunnels. To prevent them from reaching the underground shelters they needed to ensure nothing gets past the outer gates, which made things a little easier to plan.

The mundane soldiers were divided equally through all four gates. A few tanks were positioned around each one as well. Some of them were equipped with actual rail guns. The long tubes connected to them were in fact power lines. Seeing such heavy equipment made Sam reevaluate his opinion of the old fortune teller. He was starting to get a better idea of how much she had prepared for this day.

“Somehow, I still have a bad feeling about this.” David said as he stared up at the red sky. Sam could sense the tension he was feeling right now. The other soldiers were on edge as well. This might be their first real battle, but it might as well be the last.

“Tell me about it.”

With the threat of the Olympians still present Sam was reluctant to send his Valkyries into combat, but without the girls he doubted that the human soldiers would be able to defend their home for long.

The truth is he saw no need for the human soldiers to be involved. Just like the war against Calamities, human soldiers couldn’t hope to make much of an impact. It was better to leave everything to those capable of fending against. Humans being on the frontline only served to increase the number of casualties.

‘There I go again…’ Sam thought, glancing at the two standing on his sides. ‘I guess a part of me still sees them as nothing more than humanoid weapons…’

He had sent two Valkyries to each of the gates; Zero Five and CS to the east, Trenta and Triska to the north, Juni and Venti to the west while the south was left to Sitta and Zero Three.

Nino and Ichigo remained by his side. His personal Valkyries protested that they should be the ones guarding him, however he argued that he needed their combat abilities somewhere else, since he would be retreating to the Sanctuary as soon as the battle starts.

Currently, they were the western gate. Even from this far Sam was still able to spot the crimson tower penetrating the sky. He knew for sure that it has something to do with what was about to happen, and as if to confirm his suspicion, he saw a flock of birds take off to the sky as the forest began trembling. The mountains in the distance seemed blurry for a moment as if enveloped in a weak haze. Something like that shouldn’t have been possible, after all his eyes didn’t have the same weaknesses as those of normal humans allowing him to see clearly all the time.

Before he could begin to wonder why, a strange wave washed over everything around him, leaving a tingling sensation all over his skin.

“Wha…” it seems he wasn’t the only one who felt it as David turned to him with wide eyes. “What was that?”

Without giving an answer, Sam took out his phone and checked the readings from his drones. What he saw only served to confuse him even further.

The sensors did indeed pick something up, however none of them were able to discern what it was. The reports were chaotic, nothing made any sense at all. Thankfully it didn’t seem like anything has changed so far, at least nothing they could see with their eyes, and he hoped that it was not something his tech couldn’t perceive.

He would need to do more tests to be sure, however now wasn’t really the time for that.

ραΠdαsΝοvεl.cοm “Um… Doctor…” Ichigo spoke as she pulled on the sleeve of his lab coat. “I think it’s better if we retreat now.”

She seemed a bit spooked, looking at their surroundings as she slowly inched closer to him. Nino on the other hand seemed rather calm. She was staring right at the crimson tower in the distance, but after a while she turned around and took his hand.

“Let’s go.” She said. “It has already started.”

As if to confirm her declaration, a rustling sound came from the forest followed by a few loud snaps. The large trees were toppling over as if they were nothing but twigs, and as the sounds drew closer, the green leaves began losing their color then slowly fell as if life was being sicked out of the plants in an instant.

“What in the world…”

Whatever caused that sudden change, none of the soldiers wished to face it. Thankfully they all knew more than well that they had nowhere to run. Their only choice was to stand their ground and fight no matter how desperate they were.

“Juni.” Sam spoke the Valkyrie’s name into his communicator.

Understood.

Hovering high above the human soldiers, Juni summoned her bat and prepared a ball of light. She looked down at the forest and saw the hectic movements of whatever it was that was rushing toward everyone below. Taking her position, she aimed for its path then swung her bat.

The ball of light was blasted like a laser, disappearing into the forest before blooming into a large dome of destructive heat and force.

The explosions blinded everyone who was too late to cover their eyes. The light seen faded and everyone turned to look at the aftermath. A small section of the forest seemed to be gone and fire and the trees around seemed to start catching on fire, but no one cared about any of that. Their sights were on the cloud of smoke and dust where the center of the explosion was supposed to be.

The world seemed to grow silent for one very long second, but then something moved sending everyone into high alert. A sound like the rhythmic strikes of hundreds of pickaxes against hard stone reached their ears. It grew closer and closer sending shivers through everyone standing there.

A moment later something emerged from beyond the smoke and dust. Seeing it, every man out there thought the same thing.

“What the fu-“