[2]

– It was as Ace said. Since Class Zero's arrival, the tides of the defensive battle for Akademia had changed drastically.

Because the Crystal Jammer had been destroyed, the Suzaku Army's magic was restored. All of the surviving soldiers on every battlefield simultaneously began to attack with magic.

In the airspace above Akademia, the tides also turned as Byakko's airships carrying out the bombings were shot down by Class Zero's land-to-air magic attacks. Furthermore, they had started to search out and exterminate the Byakko soldiers within Akademia.

Thus, it was 12:58, about 6 hours since the outbreak of the war. Already, Suzaku had forced the entire Byakko Army to retreat and had succeeded in liberating Akademia.

And now, at 15:17 on the same day. 1200 kilometers northwest of Akademia, in the capital city of the Militesi Empire in the Byakko region. In the marshal office of the governor-general…

The Byakko l'Cie who had returned from the battlefield, Qun'mi Tru'e, was confronting her commander.

"Qun'mi, it seems you were beaten by some lowly cadets," the older man said, gazing at Qun'mi. "For a l'Cie, that is beyond disappointing."

His voice was quiet, but contained bottomless intensity. Qun'mi grinded her teeth together and answered the man.

"…If I may, Marshal. Those cadets were not normal human beings."

The 'marshal' frowned.

"Oh? And by 'not normal human beings', you mean?"

"First, they could use magic within range of the Jammer. And they had both superhuman bodies and magic. It is most likely due to a special treatment applied to the human body via a magic technique."

"A magic technique unknown to us, huh? And with it, they obtained the strength to rival a l'Cie?"

"That's right. In other words, a type of human weapon Suzaku prepared in anticipation of our declaration of war. Though 'devils' suits them better, I think."

"Hm…"

The marshal nodded, falling silent. The man waiting in the corner of the room spoke up.

"I ask you this, l'Cie Qun'mi. What were their distinguishing features?"

The man who asked had an eyepatch over one eye. But, the light of the remaining eye looked as sharp as a blade. His hair, white-gold in color, was cut short. He also donned the white uniform decorated with gold thread that only higher ranking officers were permitted to wear. His attire and looks were both sagacious, but on the other hand, he was a man who exuded killing intent.

Qun'mi shifted under his gaze and answered.

"Commodore Qator, they had two distinct features. First, because they were cadets, they were exceedingly young. The other is that all of them wore vermillion colored mantles."

"Devils wearing vermillion mantles…"

"Yes. I believe that those devils will influence the course of this war. The entire army should be vigilant–"

Qun'mi only got that far before the marshal said, "That certainly seems to be the case."

"In reality, our plans went awry from the start of the war. The takeover of the Suzaku Crystal failed. The Crystal Jammer's existence was also revealed to the other countries."

"…Yes."

"Most likely, next time both Genbu and Soryu will increase their vigilance against us. There is also the possibility that Suzaku will be apt to form an alliance with those three countries and advance upon our country…This blunder is quite the big one, isn't it, l'Cie Qun'mi?"

"…I understand that."

Without saying it, Qun'mi well understood the gravity of the failure to capture the Suzaku Crystal. If Byakko had only obtained the Suzaku Crystal, even if Soryu and Genbu were to join the war, it would have been more than enough to oppose them. That was the reason they had launched a surprise attack on Suzaku.

But that did not come to pass. If Suzaku, Genbu, and Soryu were to form a threeway alliance, it would be difficult to oppose them no matter how many Crystal Jammers they had. That was why Qun'mi had already made up here mind. The moment the capture of the Suzaku Crystal failed, she had taken responsibility.

She brought the heels of her boots together and informed the marshal.

"From here on out, I, Senior Captain Qun'mi Tru'e, will switch to the next plan. I will commence the 'Northern Dawn Operation'. Once I advance upon Genbu, it can be finished within five hours."

"Very well."

A sorrowful look came over the marshal's face for an instant. Seeing that, Qun'mi's chest throbbed with pain.

This would probably be the last time she confronted the man she thought of as a father. Without giving time to regret this final farewell, she turned on her heel.

"This is goodbye, marshal*…May we bring glory to the Militesi Empire," she told the marshal standing in the background before leaving the office.

Walking down a long hallway, she thought.

(This is fine…With this, I can finally repay my debt to him.)

Qun'mi, who had lost both her parents in a border dispute, entered the army and became a weapons researcher to exact revenge on Suzaku. At last, with talent and persistence, she gained the marshal's notice and was appointed to a post under him. And she had received both the research facility, a large number of subordinates, and abundant funds.

As long as there is someone to acknowledge one from the bottom of their hearts, people will endeavor to far exceed their limits. Qun'mi devoted herself to research day and night, and contributed to the advancement of the Byakko Army's weaponry immensely.

Although still not completed, it was the Crystal Jammer. As long as they could perfect it, they could win against Suzaku. In accordance with Qun'mi's desire for that to come to pass, one day the Crystal called out to her.

"Become a l'Cie of Byakko, and guide them to victory."

And so, it had been two months since she became a l'Cie. She had not managed to lose her human heart yet. Before she completely became the Crystal's puppet, she had wanted to repay her debt to the marshal.

Her thoughts reached that point before she noticed the figure standing at the other end of the hallway.

It was a young woman wearing a white coat and glasses, one of the subordinates that the marshal had given her, Captain Innes.

"What do you want, Innes?"

Right after she asked, Innes said in a brooding manner, "Lady Qun'mi…you're going to attack Genbu!?"

Qun'mi was a little surprised by her words. All matters of dealing with the situation after the invasion on Suzaku failed were only supposed to be known to the higher-ups.

"As usual, you remember everything single thing I say. Well, it's true."

"That can't be! It's everyone's fault that the operation failed, you can't take responsibility for all of it!"

"That's what I decided. Besides, someone had to do it."

"But…!"

Looking at her subordinate who had tears flowing from her eyes, Qun'mi thought. She sure is childish despite being twenty-two. Even though she only differs from me by two*.

"Don't cry, Innes. You're a soldier, aren't you? After all this is over, you will forget all about me."

"I will not."

Qun'mi grumbled at her with a sarcastic laugh. "…This is the worst. I can't get alone with gloomy people."

But, since it was Innes, she could probably succeed her. She was childish and wildly inconsistent with her moods, but she was equal to Qun'mi in terms of talent as a scientist.

And then she left her behind.

For a long time after, Innes's quiet sobbing could be heard down the hall.

* She uses 'your excellency' in addition to 'marshal' here but I'm not good with military titles and don't feel like figuring out what to word this as at the moment. Basically, she's being ultra-ultra formal…including the stock phrase 'Glory to the Militesi Empire'.

Don't get used to the quick updates. xD I just happened to have time, and this part was short.