User blog:Seieireppa/God Eater ∑: The Maxim of Possibility, chapter 8

The air was cool and crisp as Nanako Kawashima roused from her slumber. Across Rhizome Duos, others followed suit – one by one, the many God Eaters of Rhizome Duos’ combined force awoke and prepared for battle.

But this day brought with it no ordinary tidings of war.

No, today was the day humanity had been awaiting for twelve years. On this day, Operation Downfall would finally begin, and with it, the plan to slay the Gehenna once and for all.

After getting ready – dressing herself and taking up her God Arc – Nanako made her way to the strategy room, where she was shortly joined by Alan Croswell, Sasha Andersen, and Natalia Estheim, Rhizome Duos’ core members and top soldiers, as well as visiting God Eaters Lyrr and Baluar, who had traveled long and far to make their way here to join in the final assault on the sleeping Gehenna.

And it was on this day, at this very moment, that Nanako sat her soldiers down and finally, for the first time, relayed to them the true nature of Operation Downfall.

“We will hike north-northwest from Rhizome Duos,” began Nanako, unrolling a large map and laying it out on the table between them, “for three miles, where, right here…”  Nanako pointed to a location on the map marked with an X. “…We will meet up with a joint regiment of God Eaters from Aberdeen and Newburgh, across the Grampian Mountains to the northeast. From here, we will change course and head due west for two miles before turning northwest and continuing for two more, where we will rendezvous with another team of God Eaters from Lochgilphead to the west. Together, our teams will head due north, arriving at Loch Lomond, where the hive’s main entrance is located.

“Here, we will rendezvous with one final helper and descend into the hive and navigate through until we reach the main chamber, where the Gehenna will be waiting for us. Along the way, our forces will split up into two teams. Team Alpha, comprising myself and the forces from Rhizome Duos, as well as our mystery helper, will descend on the Gehenna from above and enter through its back vents. Its insides will be vast and labyrinthine, but our objective is not navigation. Instead, we will combine our fire and blast a bath straight through to its core. Destroying the core will result in the disintegration of the Gehenna into Oracle matter and the end of Operation Downfall. While this is going on, Team Bravo, comprising the God Eaters from Aberdeen, Newburgh, and Lochgilphead, will descend to the bottom of the chamber through the hive’s passageways. Once they emerge, they will focus their fire on one of the Gehenna’s eyes at a time, so as to distract it for as long as possible. We don’t know what internal defenses the Gehenna possesses – more than likely this will be some sort of heretofore undiscovered Neo Aragami – but Team Bravo’s objective will be to keep the Gehenna from mobilizing these defenses for as long as possible. Is that clear?”

Natalia, Sasha, Croswell, Baluar, and Lyrr all responded in unison with an emphatic “Yes, ma’am!”  All of them had waited just as long as had Nanako for this day; it meant just as much to them as it did to her, and as long as they drew breath, they would ensure that Operation Downfall was a success.

“But wait,” Croswell spoke up. “Who’s this ‘mystery helper’ you referred to?”

Nanako merely smiled in response. “Well… let’s just say that he’s our ace in the hole. He can be a bit unreliable, but when it comes down to it, he’s the strongest there is.”

“The strongest there is, huh?” Baluar interjected. As one who held the title of “humanity’s strongest soldier,” Baluar would have to see for himself whether this mystery helper’s strength truly measured up to his own.

“Anyway, we depart in 0300 hours. Gather up your individual squads, brief them, and assemble at the entrance by that time. Dismissed!”

In her room, where she had returned after the Operation Downfall briefing, Nanako sat on her bed, steeling herself for the coming journey. She thought back on all she had been through to get here – her meeting with Sigma twelve years ago, Cyrus’ murder, the Gehenna’s awakening and subsequent destruction of the Glasgow Branch, Sigma’s final gift, and the time of turmoil that came afterwards, with the surviving humans fighting for what resources remained until the God Eaters that were still alive banded together in groups to bring order. The Neo Aragami took the lives of countless thousands, tens of thousands even, of humans… but now, that was all about to come to an end. Today, humanity’s ultimate joint force would storm the Neo Aragami hive and bring an end to this living hell.

“So this is it, huh?” Nanako spoke to herself. “By the end of the day, our twelve-year nightmare will be over. Finally…”

A voice from behind Nanako responded. “You have done admirably, Nanako.”

“Have I?” came Nanako’s reply – before she realized that she should have been the only person in the room.

Whirling about, Nanako prepared to face her would-be guest… only to discover that she was indeed alone.

Nanako stood there, puzzled – until the voice spoke again.

“What’s the matter, Nanako? I’m right here!”

Nanako continued to look around the room, yet she still found no one. Who was talking to her, and from where?

And that’s when she noticed – the voice seemed to be coming from her own God Arc, resting against the wall by the doorway to her room.

And she knew that voice.

“Wait…” Nanako began. “Could it be… you are–”

Nanako had no time to finish her sentence, as her God Arc rose into the air–

–and began to transform.