Side Story 21
Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Army, Fabio Caliber, was furious—his anger flaring clear to the top of his head.
It was because of an incident that had occurred at the recruit training camp.
The way things had unfolded was beyond absurd.
"Those idiots!"
Just what the hell had Anton done?
To smear the Caliber family's name like this.
"Move out! Destination: the Northern Front railway station plaza. Prepare the combat golems and mana-armored vehicles as well."
"Yes, Commander!"
Commander Fabio Caliber was over eighty years old this year.
Ordinarily, he should have retired long ago, but he was still active with undiminished vigor.
Part of it was because he had reached the Master rank and overcome the limits of aging.
A soldier by birth.
The person who had influenced him the most was Veronica Caliber.
If she were still alive, she would have been like an older cousin to him.
He had met her once when he was young—around ten years old.
Veronica had been home on leave from the army.
The sight of her in a ranger suit, holding a mana rifle, had been incredibly impressive.
He had sworn then that he, too, would grow up to become a soldier.
When he later heard the news that she had died in battle, that resolve only hardened further.
She was Fabio Caliber's role model.
The guardian hero of the North whom he respected most.
And now someone claiming to be Veronica Caliber had appeared?
Worse still, when he ordered her arrested and brought in, the railway station had been seized instead.
To make matters worse, Anton and other elite soldiers had been captured as well.
This was terrorism.
A direct challenge to the Northern Army.
There was no way he could let this stand.
He would seize the impostors and terrorists and execute them on the spot, to protect Veronica's honor.
That was why he personally set out, bringing special ranger troops and heavily armed magical war machines.
Vroooom!
Mana-core engine combat vehicles carrying the commander and his troops rolled out in formation.
The railway station wasn't far from Northern Army headquarters.
They would arrive within five minutes.
"What's the current situation?"
"Lieutenant Colonel Anton Caliber has been confirmed in the plaza."
"Is he tied up?"
"Doesn't appear to be."
That idiot.
Getting himself captured after going to negotiate with terrorists.
He should have fought, even if it meant sacrificing himself.
Did he have no judgment at all?
"What about the snipers?"
"They're deployed around the area, but… there are hostages."
You couldn't judge everything from reports alone.
He had to see it with his own eyes.
"Commander, the plaza is in sight."
"Hold position for a moment."
Fabio climbed atop the vehicle and scanned the plaza through binoculars.
"Heh…"
It was unbelievable.
Anton and the soldiers looked completely dazed.
Around them, the terrorists were clapping and cheering.
"Those crazy bastards!"
What is this, a celebration party?
The place was in absolute chaos.
Commander Fabio Caliber was enraged.
Wooooong!
Overwhelming mana surged up around him.
He was one of the very few Rifle Masters in the entire Imperial Army.
"Just where did these bastards come from—"
At that moment!
"Hm?"
Through the binoculars, Fabio met someone's gaze.
One of them in the plaza was looking straight at him, grinning.
A chill ran down his spine.
Even from that distance, the intense presence was palpable.
Instinctively, Fabio lowered the binoculars.
"What was that?"
An illusion?
He raised the binoculars again.
"Wh—where did he go?"
The one who had locked eyes with him was gone.
…
He had vanished like a ghost.
This was no ordinary situation.
"Commander, please issue your orders."
After a brief moment of thought—
"You brought the mana-visual recording device, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"Start recording now. And issue a full army emergency alert."
"At once."
With just this force, it felt dangerous.
He had a strong premonition that going to 'resolve' the situation might backfire on them instead.
"We should bring in more troops and—"
In that instant—
Slick.
A cold sensation brushed his neck.
Someone was right beside him.
A blade was pressed to his throat.
"Th-this—!"
Fabio couldn't move.
He had already been completely subdued.
The mana within his body was firmly frozen.
The situation around him was even worse.
His aides, staff officers, bodyguards, and ranger agents were all right there—
Yet none of them had noticed.
Not a single one realized their commander had been taken hostage.
"Wh-who are you? What do you want from me?"
As Fabio stammered, the assailant slowly revealed himself.
Only then did his subordinates realize what was happening.
"C-Commander?"
"Gah!"
"E-enemy!"
"Everyone stop! Don't act rashly!"
"Th-this can't be—!"
The troops were shocked, but there was nothing they could do.
They had no idea what was happening.
"This ain't the time for this—we gotta hurry. Before Major Ver's 'thrilling show' ends. The Caliber family's got the right to watch."
Flash!
With a blade held to the commander's throat, the man who had dropped his concealment flicked out his red tongue as he spoke.
"I'm Kosak. A shining example of the peace dove, voluntary draft dodger, mass enhancement drill instructor—one hundred years of civil defense experience."
"And who might you be? If you ain't a peeping tom, why were you spying from afar?"
Gulp.
Fabio swallowed reflexively.
He doesn't know who I am?
Can't he see my insignia?
"…I-I am Fabio Caliber, Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Army."
"Huh?"
Slick!
In an instant, the blade was removed from his neck.
"You're from the Caliber family too?"
"Y-yes. Is that a problem?"
"Oh! Nice to meet ya. I'm Major Ver's buddy. She's head over heels for me—absolutely loves me."
Major Ver?
"I mean Veronica Caliber."
What in the world was going on?
"No time for this—we gotta go. Before Major Ver's thrilling show ends. The Caliber family deserves front-row seats."
Flash!
Kosak scooped Fabio up in a princess carry.
"Ugh!"
Spot! Spapapapapap!
Shadow Step activated.
In the blink of an eye, the two vanished toward the railway station plaza.
The remaining troops were in total disarray.
Their commander had been kidnapped right before their eyes?
The strongest man there, a Master?
"…C-chase them!"
They had no choice but to pursue.
Beyond the Northern Front fortress walls—
Shwaaaaa!
A green aircraft flew through the sky at incredible speed.
Standing tall atop a dragon's back, Veronica took aim at another group of monsters.
Selector to semi-auto, ammunition type: heavy round.
Her rank long ago surpassed the limits of heavy ammunition—its firing restrictions had vanished ages past.
Ziiiiing!
Pajujujuk!
Thud!
Pababababak!
Monster blood and flesh scattered in all directions.
It felt surreal.
Before she had died fighting monsters here—
Back when she had served as a sergeant in the ranger sniper unit—
She hadn't even been able to properly take down a single normal monster.
All she could do was punch holes through their bodies until they bled out.
Even her so-called finishing move, the heavy round, had been the same.
Against elite monsters, even a direct hit wouldn't kill them.
But now?
One light round blew a normal monster's head clean off.
A heavy round wiped out entire clusters of monsters at once.
If a champion-class monster appeared, she'd use a sub-light-speed round.
Though honestly, even that wouldn't be necessary.
Zzzzzzzzzzz!
Pachuchuchuchuchu!
Sluuurk!!!
Boom!
It was exhilarating.
Revenge was always sweet.
At this rate, conquering the North might actually be possible.
Until now, the Empire and the southern kingdoms' strategy in the Great Monster War had been simple: defend the walls and stop monsters from advancing south.
They had never even considered pushing into the North to eradicate them.
How were you supposed to advance into that land of extreme cold?
But now, they could.
All thanks to the Commander.
She was truly grateful.
"If I hadn't met the Commander, the me of today wouldn't exist."
To subjugate the North and wipe out the monsters at their root—
That would be her gift to the Arcane Empire of the Mechanos Dimension, once her homeland.
"I'll patrol just a bit more, then—"
But then—
"Hey, Major Ver."
"Yes?"
"Could I use one more breath attack?"
"You've already used it twice."
"Well, uh… after firing it, all my stress just vanished."
Veronica chuckled softly.
If you're stressed, you should let it out.
"Go ahead. Feel free to finish them off completely."
"Oh! Thanks, thanks."
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
Greeny's breath meticulously melted the monsters away.
Northern Front Railway Station Plaza.
Commander Fabio Caliber, having been kidnapped(?) and dragged here by Kosak.
He, too, was watching the footage streaming from a hologram playback device.
Anton was beside him.
A ranger soldier riding a dragon and firing a mana rifle of overwhelming power.
At first, he had thought it was a lie, but Anton whispered that it was real.
That he had seen it clearly with his own eyes.
Everyone here had.
His grand-nephew might be sloppy, but he wasn't the type to lie.
"It's not some fabricated illusion?"
"I swear it isn't. And that video is being broadcast live."
"…Good heavens."
The Magitech Empire also possessed mana visual recording devices.
But transmitting footage live like this was impossible.
He had never even heard of such a device existing.
"How could something like this…"
It was unbelievable.
But that was only the beginning.
The real shock lay elsewhere.
Fabio had no choice but to be shaken to his core.
His cousin—older sister—Veronica Caliber.
The guardian hero of the Arcane Empire.
It was her.
She was riding atop a dragon.
Exactly as she had been back then.
Not even a little had changed.
No—
She had grown stronger.
To a degree beyond imagination.
A mana rifle whose power rivaled a dragon's breath.
"Ah…"
No matter how much he rubbed his eyes, the image remained the same.
"She's… alive?"
It was impossible to believe.
Fabio wanted to deny reality.
He had even confirmed her body.
Was it possible for the dead to return alive and well?
Yet somewhere deep in his heart, a voice screamed that the soldier in the video really was Veronica.
And so, without realizing it, a word slipped from his lips.
"Big sister…"
Anton, who was listening beside him, jolted in shock.
"G–Great-granduncle, is that really Lady Veronica?"
"… "
Fabio didn't answer.
He still couldn't be certain.
"Th-that damn Greeny brat, firing another breath again."
"That rash mouth of yours ought to be stitched shut with a sewing machine."
"You got a problem with our Major Ver earning achievements?"
"Who's the discipline officer of the White Tower?"
"Kosak."
"Tsk! With a draft-dodger running discipline, how's anything supposed to work properly?"
"Why you yellin' at me?"
"Hyeeeek!!!"
Fabio and Anton listened to their conversation.
The content itself was nothing special.
They were just bickering among themselves.
It sounded ordinary.
And that was what made it frightening.
The terrifying power of the dragon and Veronica shown in the video meant nothing to them.
All they cared about was lax discipline or why someone was firing breath attacks.
Just who were these people?
Their companions were obvious enough.
The one they called Greeny was clearly a green dragon.
The young man who had carried him here went without saying.
Two bearded old men, giants, women exuding icy cold, a man and woman shaped like angels and demons.
Was that all?
No.
People lounging around the station plaza, laughing and chatting noisily.
There were more than two hundred of them.
And every single one looked stronger than him.
Over two hundred people estimated to be Master-rank or higher.
Were they planning to conquer the world?
And finally—
A round, fluffy hamster.
A pet?
Cute, at least—
At that moment!
Someone approached him.
"Hello. Things were hectic earlier, so I didn't get the chance to introduce myself… I'm Bong Juhyeok. Haha!"
Juhyeok greeted Fabio, and Anton leaned in to whisper something in his ear.
"…The Commander?"
Fabio's eyes went wide.
"This man is the leader of all of them?"
It seemed so.
As soon as Juhyeok began talking to him, people around them snapped their heads around, watching warily.
A prickling sensation crept into his body.
It felt like a warning—move recklessly and die.
In truth, Fabio had no intention of doing anything foolish.
He understood the moment they met.
The man named Bong Juhyeok
was stronger than him.
In that case, courtesy was only proper.
"Fabio Caliber, Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Army."
"I've heard about you already. I hope Mr. Kosak didn't act too rudely."
"…It's fine. I understand."
Though the rudeness had been immense.
"Have you met Major Ver before? I heard you're relatives."
"W–We did know each other, of course, but… I'm not sure she's the Veronica I knew."
"Oh, so you're close. Major Ver will be happy."
But this "Major Ver" thing again—
"What does 'Major Ver' mean?"
"Ah! Major General Veronica Caliber. It's a rank we decided on ourselves. Not official, of course."
Juhyeok lowered his voice conspiratorially.
"So, about that… I want to give our Major Ver an officially recognized rank insignia. A general's uniform with four big shiny stars slapped on."
A general's uniform and real insignia would be enough.
No other procedures were necessary.
With just those, he planned to hold a four-star general promotion ceremony at the White Tower.
General Veronica Caliber—General Ver.
For a proper promotion ceremony, they would need to go to the Empire.
She would have to swear loyalty to the Emperor.
But he didn't want that.
Who would my Major Ver swear loyalty to?
She wouldn't want that either.
"Isn't there a shop that sells uniforms and insignia? There are plenty near military bases. It'd be even better if they do good tailoring."
"Th-that is…"
And then—
…
Shwaaaaaa!
A green dragon flew in from the distant sky.
Flap, flap—hovering gently in place.
"Major Ver's back!"
"Back from earning achievements!"
"Greeny, go over there and slam your head into the ground."
"No, do a full prostration, face-down."
"Put a toothpaste cap under your head too."
Thud!
Major Ver leapt down in a flawless motion.
Snap!
She stood at attention before Juhyeok.
"Major General Veronica Caliber! Mission complete. Returned safely and reporting. Certain victory!"
Juhyeok returned the salute with a satisfied smile.
"Certain victory!"
Then Veronica faced Fabio Caliber, the Northern Army's Commander-in-Chief, who stood there awkwardly.
Their eyes met.
Veronica tilted her head slightly.
After a moment—
"Fabio?"
"A–Are you really my big sister?"
"I am."
"I—I still can't believe it."
"You don't have to. I don't really care."
"O–Oh…"
At last, Fabio's whole body began to tremble.
"Big sister!!!"
Thump—he dropped to his knees.
Veronica's expression turned bitter.
She simply patted her younger(?) brother's shoulder.
Juhyeok's eyes reddened as well.
If this didn't move you to tears, you weren't human.
"This is touching."
"Agreed… but where's the female ranger unit?"
There he goes again—definitely not human.
Ever since earlier, it was always "one hundred ranger troops."
No room at all for emotional moments.
Veronica left her Caliber relatives to catch up after their long separation.
Meanwhile, Juhyeok and the old veterans gathered at one side of the station plaza.
They needed at least a rough plan for what came next.
Major Ver's revenge.
The grand Northern monster extermination campaign.
"The principle is independent operations."
"Agreed. If the Northern Army butts in, they'll just get in the way."
"No, but one hundred female rangers—"
"Enough, Kosak. Please shut up. Go over there and bang your head with Greeny."
"Yes, sir."
"The forward base should be here, at the station plaza—"
"There's still time. We must do this properly. Bring the production-type summoned ones as well."
Ideas poured out one after another.
"Isn't this the heroic return of Major Ver? We should make it widely known. How about setting up a large outdoor theater in the plaza so people can watch Major Ver's exploits in real time?"
Of course they should.
"Deploy a few more reconnaissance satellites. We need surveillance over the entire North."
Launch a ton of them.
They could retrieve them later.
"Highlight Major Ver's achievements early on, then finish things cleanly with nukes at the end. A joint operation with Major Ver and the dimensional cataclysm beast."
That was right.
The North was vast.
To wipe out all the monsters there would require a massive number of nuclear warheads.
They wouldn't have enough.
They'd need to secure a sufficient supply.
From where?
"We should bring nukes from Earth No. 843 instead of ours."
Exactly.
Earth No. 843 possessed a nuclear stockpile incomparable to theirs.
And the performance was superior.
Moreover, the radiation contamination from their explosions was almost nonexistent.
They were new-type nuclear warheads developed through research on mana stones.
Why the difference?
Because they'd detonated them—a lot.
Unlike Earth No. 1001,
Earth No. 843 had experienced sinkhole waves erupting all across the globe.
From them poured enormous hordes of monsters.
In regions with enough awakened players, nukes were used sparingly.
But in countries without that luxury, nukes had to be used often.
Nations stockpiled nuclear weapons
to prepare for sinkhole waves.
But now, nuclear warheads had almost lost their purpose.
Juhyeok had completely cleared the Black Tower, and the sinkholes were being sealed.
"Let's head to the White Tower first, prepare thoroughly, then come back."
"Yes!"
In the midst of it all—clang! Spin!
Rajiks flipped through the air, unable to contain his excitement.
"Nuuukes!"
Oh dear.
Our dimensional cataclysm beast.
Just wait a little longer.
I'll let you blow things up
until you're sick of it.