Author Notes:
Yahallo~! Happy! Merry Christmas, everybody!
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Yup, it's an early greeting from this lowly Slime-author. A little bonus, Ein is currently wearing her festive attire, so don't forget to check it out!
Since the holiday season is near, don't forget to hook yourself up to the Monthly Recruitment Drive! The opportunity will end right after Christmas, so be a dear and take a look over it! If anything, that will be a motivation, a big one, for my mom and I~!
Big thanks to anyone who have weathered with us throughout the months and years! And we wish you all many more splendorous festivities to come!
Peace!
Christmas Ein: https://postimg.cc/rd3SWV5c
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"W-Why would Sensei rush back...?" Stammers a girl with teal hair tied into a side ponytail and dull teal eyes. Just the way she sits on the chair, her legs together and her hands gripping the hem of her miniskirt, is more than enough to see her as a nervous child. "S-She could have just stayed with her Master, right? T-There's no need for her to brave such mortal dangers, at least not yet, right?"
Sighing, Nanagami Rin takes off her glasses and puts them down on the table. The subsequent minor clattering of metal upon metal echoes are drowned by the thickened atmosphere in the room.
"Sensei... Has her duties. and her attachments, Hiyori." Rin answers. "We all know how she is, aren't we?"
The Vice President of the General Student Council pans her gaze across the room, seeing understanding and wry acceptance on everyone's face. She too can't stop herself from letting out a wry grin. Really, they are all familiar with how dedicated Sensei is. Once she makes up her mind on something, even an unbreakable wall may find itself conceding its durability to her.
Although calling this gathering place a room would be an understatement of the century, considering how this building is Kivotos' high-tech analogue to the ancient amphitheater, with all the bells and whistles that come with it. It's only in such a massive complex that the GSC can host the constant streams of student representatives coming to them to discuss Sensei's situation. And after President Arona uses the System-modified Shittim Chest to relocate Sensei's livestream from the sky to inside the amphitheater, it's only here that the student body can check on Sensei's status. Given Sensei's lasting impact on everyone's lives, however, it's no wonder that this amphitheater, nicknamed Kaleidoscope by some more imaginative students, is turned into a hub where all the major factions and academies now operate out of. The GSC itself now basically works here full-time to monitor everything, and SRT Academy is responsible for keeping Kaleidoscope and the Shittim Chest safe 24/7.
As for how they manage to get the amphitheater up and running in just a few months... Let's just say some demolition experts were called in.
Today, like any other day, numerous students can be seen gathering at different tables in their free time, all periodically taking a look at the immersive livestream, which is no different from a panorama augmented-reality movie in perfect resolution. Given the details the System offers in Sensei's livestream, Rin finds it fortunate that she managed to convince her dork of a friend, the GSC President, to censor the more... Damaging parts, thus hopefully preventing the birth of a traumatized generation.
"Eh... Sensei is really set on bringing a shield to a war, huh?" Comes the drawn-out voice of a certain pinkette with mismatched eyes. "Not that I will do any different, but I am curious to see how good she is with that."
"Hoshino..." Rin looks at the pink-haired girl who has been a regular at the Kaleidoscope. As a matter of fact, she's been the only girl in the Foreclosure Task Force to have a near-permanent presence in the amphitheater, with the others busied catching up on their studies now that Abysdos is not a sandy planet.
"You look different." Rin finishes her sentence, causing the members of Arius Squad, who have mostly been in a world of their own, to turn and appraise the pinkette.
Hoshino sleepily tilts her head with one eye being drowsy before realizing what Rin meant. "Oh, you mean this ponytail I am having?"
The pinkette chuckles, although everyone at this table can hear the grimace in her voice. "Sensei said I'm best with a ponytail, made me act more like my age and all that... It's the mood over here getting into me, basically."
Rin finds herself pausing after Hoshino's explanation. Subconsciously, she caresses the ring on her ring finger, meticulously crafted entirely out of Ceylon sapphire. The cool feeling on her fingertip brings Rin out of her trance as a subtle sense of loss wells up in her heart. If even she, who is usually cold-hearted and serious according to her stature, feels this, then what about Atsuko and Saori, who are sitting to her left? Or Hina, who isn't here and is probably holding up in her private training arena. Sensei left her indelible marks on everyone in Kivotos, imprints that won't fade with the passage of time. Yet, to see the person they're indebted to, care for, and even love so willingly throws herself into harm's way once more... Rin doesn't think she will ever be able to get used to it.
"You're next on the draw, right, Hoshino?" Saori suddenly asks, changing the subject. The way her thumbs caress her well-worn mask is a tell-tale sign that it contains fond memories of her time with Sensei.
Slumping on her chair with her two arms flailing tiredly, Hoshino answers. "Yeah... My raffle puts me as the next in line to have the System acquire a part of me. Even with its supposed modifiers, I don't think the System would be kind enough to somehow change my Mystic into something that will directly bring Sensei back to us, or at least connect us with her."
"But at least, there's a chance your power will get to Sensei, and it will either protect her or help her protect those she cares about." Atsuko smiles softly, speaking with hope.
Rin watches as Hoshino gives a thumbs-up. "Yup~!" The pinkette pops the 'p'. "That will make this old man's day! If anything, I am confident that whatever part of me, which will one day get to Sensei's side, will become her best shield against the terrors of her world. And speaking of shield..."
They all turn towards the livestream once more as their Sensei expands her sense outward. Because the livestream is tied to their Sensei's perception, they too can see what she is seeing, which is a top-down, real-time 3D map of the convoy and the surrounding battlespace. VIPs are marked in green, allies in blue, unknown in yellow, and hostiles in red. It's a setup brought about by Ein Sensei's training under her Martial Master, and Rin can't help but find the experience familiar.
"There's something about these..." Rin can't quite put a finger on it until someone says behind her.
"Eh? Isn't this like what we used to see on the Ship of Utnapishtim?"
Rin and the others turn around. The one who spoke just now was Rin's Chief Finance Officer, Oki Aoi, a serious and self-aware girl with a short navy blue bob and side-swept bangs. Utnapishtim, the Ark of Atrahasis... Yes, it's indeed a tumultuous chapter in the history of Kivotos, in their shared history with Sensei. Remembering thus far, though... Both Rin and Hoshino shudder, with even the newcomer Aoi finding herself clutching the document folders in her fingers tighter.
Suffice to say, they all shake their heads at the same time to shake away the lingering dread from that particular chapter in their lives. As Aoi passes Rin some GSC-related documents before taking a seat at the table herself, the livestream from Ein Sensei's perspective changes and reveals the truly massive scale of this war.
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"JTF, roll out!"
The command from Chapter Master Tu'shan is still ringing through the convoy's vox when rearline artillery batteries start unleashing their own litany of hate against the traitors of mankind. The Cadian 8th's trusty 132mm Earthshaker cannons, the Salamanders' blazing Whirlwind missiles, the Orders of Our Martyred Lady's Exorcist barrages that chant holy hymns midair... Stuck inside the metal walls of the Chimera as I am, I can still see well the colorful traces left behind by all the munitions, painting across the sky before landing and purging the urban hellscape that was once habitably sane. The vibrations from the countless shells and warheads are more than enough to shake up the entire convoy, causing Johnson in front of me to whistle appreciatively as the rest all turn to view the spectacle through the vision slits.
Normally, you can't quite see anything with all the flame and smoke outside. The only way you can tell that we've just driven over No Man's Land is the presence of a great many potholes that would have made someone's car sickness worse enough to the point of achieving fatality. If you're going for my point of view, however, it's like watching someone playing a video game and calling in a massive artillery superweapon that wipes all the red dots clean from the map. And this is not all the firepower the JTF has at our disposal.
Thanks to the cover of our artillery, our convoy's initial foray into the badlands is smooth, with any resistance being picked off cleanly by the spearheading Salamander Land Raiders and Deimos Predators. Those coming at us from the front will find themselves incurring the combined metallic wrath of the 8th's Freya Russes and the burning fury of the Sisters' Immolators. Shoring up our rear, we have the Salamanders' more heavily armed variants of the Rhino APC, the Razorbacks. And in the center of this metallic, rolling ball of death, is our formation of Chimera IFVs and Rhino APCs, each carrying enough battle-hardened men and women to give a nasty kick to anything they come across that is of our same size.
Frankly speaking, it's a shame that we don't have a Baneblade or two in the mix. It would have made for some damn cool unit composition, but our current mission requires the speed that the Baneblade fails to deliver. As such, even if we do have any Baneblades on Installation 08, they will be relegated to housekeeping duty while we venture forth without the Imperial Guards' heavyweight champ.
The moment we go beyond the range of our artillery, however, it's when everything changes. Weiss is our Vox operator, and from her Vox set, we can hear triple the amount of incoming fire reports from the perimeter vehicles. The whole convoy quite literally lights up, with both us and the heretics trading fire as we speed through and crush any obstacle beneath our treads. Even our Chimera, Frogger 4-1, has to pitch in with its Multi-laser despite our vehicle being really near the middle of the massive armored formation. While we don't have any incoming fire that specifically targets us just yet, the same can't be said for vehicles that are in the line of our convoy. While the Rhino chassis is built tough and lasting, it has its breaking point, and the first casualties come from a couple of the Sisters' Immolators, whose Twin-linked Heavy Flamers turrets are manned instead of remotely operated. Those same turrets have been breached by hostile attacks. If anything can get through the gunshields of the Immolators, then it for sure can punch through a Sororitas Power Armor. It can be a lucky shot from a plasma bolt or, Emperor forbids, a Lascannon shot.
Either way, the outlook for the gunners on those damaged Immolators is grim.
Although Blade Mantra calms my heart, I still find myself subconsciously gripping the handle on my shield tighter. The entire Order of Our Martyred Lady is, in my eyes, one big family with Mama at the helm.
One of those casualties could have been someone I know or am familiar with.
Should I flip the table now? I have the power to do that now, right? A couple of swings from Myrtenaster and an Eminence should be more than enough to clear a safe passage, right? So, why haven't I done that now that I've returned to this grimdark universe?
It's because there's this nifty little thing called the War Escalation Ladder. Once a new variable is introduced haphazardly, a proportional response will be given, sometimes haphazardly just as well. This can lead to a Domino effect that will soon see the Emperor's Grand Design and my little own script go spiralling out of control. So, if I do anything, it must be limited in scope or, at the very least, brief and decisive, so that I won't land in the gaze of the Chaos Gods. Fortunately for me, Hua's training means that I am quite suited for a Blitz attack. On a massive assault like this, however, any supernatural movement I make risks broadcasting everything to the wider universe in real time. Word of mouth can be as dangerous as an Astropath communication, and if any of the Chaos God catches a glimpse of my overt action, which they no doubt will, thanks to their metaphysical presences, then I can kiss goodbye any plan for a cautious build-up in firepower, technology, and allies that the Emperor and I made.
Still, if these heretics so much as touch a single hair of my Mama and those I care about... Well, let's just say I have the leeway to completely pulverise their souls, consequences be damn. Heh, I think I am quite a hypocrite, but then again...
That's just me being human.
After the convoy has taken some hits, some serious, some not, with a couple of our perimeter vehicles being heavily damaged enough that they have to switch positions with those deeper inside the formation lest they be destroyed and abandoned, the Aeronautica Imperialis comes flying in to give us all a momentary respite. The rumbling sounds of Avenger Bolt Cannons and rocket strikes bolster the already unshakeable morale of the armored convoy to a near zealous level. We all know that the flyers won't be able to accompany us for long, but Emperor blesses them, it's better to have them now than never.
By now, the heretics must be prepping a response against this dastardly push of ours.