User blog:Seieireppa/God Eater ∑: The Maxim of Possibility, chapter 7

It had been a number of days since Lyrr’s arrival. The day of Operation Downfall was fast approaching, and the denizens of Rhizome Duos were in high gear with preparations for zero hour. God Eaters from all walks of life were in training, conducting mock battles and strategic exercises to sharpen their fangs, and lying in wait for the day they would finally storm the hive and slay the source of the Neo Aragami, the sleeping Gehenna.

Sasha and Lyrr had spent the last few days training together, teaching each other what they knew. With not one, but TWO of the world’s strongest snipers backing up the Operation Downfall assault team, humanity’s victory was all but assured.

Alan Croswell had put in an order with Natalia Estheim, Rhizome Duos’ R&D head, for a new God Arc. His wild battle tendencies meant a high risk of damage to his God Arc, so he asked Natalia to fashion him a new God Arc, a special gauntlet type, which would allow him a higher degree of control and a faster attack rate with less of a risk of undue damage.

Natalia herself had spent this time doing all the maintenance she could, as well as developing a new type of anti-Neo Aragami bullet using technology salvaged from the bodies of devoured Rangers. They knew the Rangers could communicate telepathically with the hive, so Natalia deduced that they must have been using some sort of quantum entanglement to facilitate this – Natalia thus fashioned a bullet that made use of quantum reshuffling to track the target and instantly warp to the target’s location. Truly, this was a marvel of modern science, the best technology the age had to offer.

Compared to the prior age, where the Neo Aragami made a sport of genocide against all of humanity, now was the age where humanity could hold their own against their former hunters – no, an age where humanity truly had the upper hand.

And thus the members of Rhizome Duos waited, sharpening their fangs and biding their time…

“So what do you think?” asked Croswell, approaching Nanako in her strategy room. Operation Downfall was now merely a week away, and Rhizome Duos was collectively in their top form. They were more ready to fight than they had ever been… but something was weighing on Nanako’s mind.

“I don’t…” Nanako began. “I just don’t know. Part of me is glad we’ve had this easy a time preparing for Operation Downfall, but part of me is worried that they know we’re preparing something and are trying to lull us into a false sense of security.”

“Come on, Nanako,” replied Croswell. “The Neo Aragami might be smart, but they can’t magically know things they can’t actually know. As far as they’re concerned, we don’t exist, and there’s no one here. They killed everyone here already, so they won’t be coming back.”

“He’s right, you know,” came a follow-up from Natalia, as she entered the strategy room carrying what appeared to be Nanako’s God Arc. “Nanako, I finished the maintenance on your God Arc as you requested, and outfitted them for compatibility with the new quantum round. Croswell, come by the lab later for a checkup to see whether your new God Arc is functioning properly. But anyway…” Natalia approached Nanako and placed her hand on the taller woman’s shoulder. “We should be happy that we’ve had the time we’ve had to prepare. Why question it, you know?”

Nanako nodded. “I guess you’re right,” she spoke. “Thank you, Natalia… and thank you too, Croswell.”  Nanako walked over to the wall, flipped a switch, and began to speak.

“Citizens and God Eaters of Rhizome Duos,” she proclaimed. “Only a week remains until the commencement of Operation Downfall, and we are doing better than we ever have. Humanity’s fangs are at their sharpest, and come a week from now, we will use these fangs to tear the Neo Aragami apart and win for ourselves a bright new future!”

As Nanako’s voice rang out through the halls of Rhizome Duos over the base’s intercom, the entire base erupted in massive cheering. Morale was important, crucially so, and especially in times like this – and Nanako was better than anyone at raising morale.

Nanako’s speech, however, was interrupted by the sound of the alarm ringing out through the base. Someone… or, more likely, something had discovered the base and was on their doorstep.

“Gather a small team of God Eaters and meet me at the entrance,” spoke Nanako to Croswell as she grabbed her own God Arc from Natalia and strode off towards the door. “Whatever this is, it’s rather small… around the size of a human. We should be ready for anything, so don’t slack off… and most importantly, come back alive.”

Nanako’s heightened state of alert, however, proved to be unfounded, as what had been waiting at the entrance had not been a Neo Aragami, but rather a lone human. An impossibly tall man, towering above even Croswell at nearly six feet ten inches, the man identified himself as a God Eater named Baluar.

A chill ran down Nanako’s spine as she heard that name. Baluar was notable among the network of resistance groups as being one of the strongest God Eaters alive, carrying the title of “Humanity’s Strongest Soldier,” a title gained from his many battles and just as many victories.

“I’m glad I finally made it,” spoke Baluar. “How are preparations for Operation Downfall coming?”

“Very well,” came Nanako’s reply. “We’re at our readiest that we’ve ever been, and your arrival was the final piece we needed. Welcome to Rhizome Duos, Baluar."

Nanako reached out to offer a handshake, which Baluar returned. “It’s good to be here,” he exclaimed. “But first… I’d like to know the strength of those with whom I will be working. Who is the strongest God Eater here?”

Everyone present looked in the direction of Nanako – and before she knew it, Baluar’s blade was at her throat, a crimson wing-like short blade that tore the very air itself apart as it sought its target. But it never got there, it never found its target, as Nanako instantly dropped to the ground and executed a low dash straight for Baluar, shifting her God Arc to its short blade form and slashing upward at Baluar, who dodged backwards.

“You bastard!” shouted Croswell, who readied his fists – but Nanako held out her hand, ordering him to stand down.

“No, Croswell,” announced Nanako. “This is something that needs to happen.”  As she spoke that last word, Baluar thrust his blade directly at Nanako, but the latter executed a swift axe kick, sending Baluar’s blade crashing to the ground and taking Baluar’s arm, and the rest of his body, similarly downwards. Nanako stepped onto Baluar’s blade and ran up it, flipping over him and landing at his rear.

“You’re pretty good,” came Baluar’s words as he turned around, slashing at the air behind him. Nanako, however, dodged out of the way with a backwards handspring, before leaping skyward and descending on Baluar, who blocked her strike.

“Of course I am,” Nanako replied, a tone of sarcasm in her voice. “We’ve both seen more battles these past twelve years than most humans would in five lifetimes. If we hadn’t become stronger to compensate, we’d never have survived. Am I wrong?”  As she called out those words, Nanako pulled back her blade and executed a low slash aiming at Baluar’s legs. Baluar responded with a short jump, clearing the path of Nanako’s blade, before responding further with a side kick forward to knock Nanako off-balance.

“No, you aren’t!” proclaimed Baluar, as his leg thrust forwards towards Nanako, as the latter responded in kind with a kick of her own, the two of them standing on one foot with their legs meeting at the ankle, locked in the air between them. Baluar spoke further, the air crackling with tension. “Why do you fight, Nanako? What do you fight for?”

“You know very well why I fight,” Nanako replied. “I fight so that I can win a future for all the people under my command and leadership here at Rhizome Duos – and for all of humanity at that. I made a promise all those years ago, a promise to lead humanity towards a new tomorrow, and I fully intend to keep it at all costs!”

“A promise, huh?” mused Baluar, before he lowered his foot to the ground as Nanako did the same. “I can see very clearly what kind of person you are,” he spoke, withdrawing his God Arc and offering his own hand for a handshake. “With your conviction and your strength, you truly are one who will lead humanity towards tomorrow.”

Nanako returned Baluar’s handshake. “I look forward to working with you, Baluar.”