Magical Girl City: Empire of Ice

It was a quick and dirty breakdown. There was nothing inherently wrong with the series of events. Not when taken individually. Honestly, mistakes were bound to happen with this operation, or really, just about any operation.

Mistakes became a problem when those mistakes became alarmingly regular. My own work history, hell, my own work experience in general informed me that what had happened wasn’t exactly kosher. The bigger issue though, was where was the problem originating from?

The generals?

The ministers?

Or was the whole chain of command rotten?

Worse yet, what if it wasn’t the chain of the command, or even the system, but the head of it all?

We were outsiders and frankly, we had too little information to do anything. Diana seemed, distraught. Which felt rather out of character for her. Then again, based on her history, what she told me, it was entirely possible that she was reliving her past life to an extent.

She made it rather clear, she had no idea what to do. Same as her last life. She was raised to be in a position of power, unlike me. And yet, she was never properly trained for the position. Taught in a private school, given the minimum education and credentials to fill a seat. She was no more than a puppet really. A tool.

Which… was oddly similar to my own struggles. Perhaps… that’s what Diana saw in me. A kindred spirit of sorts. Only, she and I were nothing alike. She was a canary, trained to sing and sit in a gilded cage. Never raising a fuss, whose job was to merely to exist, and to sing when called upon.

Whereas I was a dog, a hunting dog. A tool, a weapon never meant to hold the throne, but to act as its long, far-reaching hand. Only, I’d been a bit too effective. They’d grown to fear the very weapon they raised.

After all, a dog too vicious for their owner, needs to be put down. Luckily, they chose to merely let me go. Why? I wasn’t sure. And… on reflection, I did find that odd. They spent lots of resources keeping me down, chasing me, but… how far did it really extend?

How much was them, how much was me?

A question, for another time, for now… we needed a response and well…

“I really don’t have anything to say.” Was my response.

“Really? Nothing? No advice, no answers?”

“There are too many variables. I do agree there is an issue somewhere, but how do we even begin to find the source? It’s not like we’re in a position to push for an audit.”

Though, I was beginning to have an idea. Since arriving, I’ve seen plenty of the clan forces. A mixture of each, with each having their own families and elites, with one exception. The Xaio Clan.

Since coming here, I’ve not caught a whiff of any notable Xiao Clan members, none save for the ancestor. Was this by design? Was there a reason for it? Sure, each of the other clans were subsidiary clans, branch families, but…

No… I’m probably overthinking it. And clearly, Diana wasn’t happy with what I was saying. So, instead of simply dismissing her, perhaps…

“We can, however, do something.” I say instead. Her look changes, how she regards me, that flickering light in her eyes.

“And what would that be?”

“We stop playing nice, obviously.” I said aloud, after all, we didn’t have to care about our image, or future relations. For all we know, we’d never see these people again.

Again, she blinked. As if she couldn’t quite parse what I had said. Or even begin to understand what it all meant.

“How?” She asked, clearly confused.

“Well, it depends, but honestly, its fairly straightforward.” I gave her the details, but…

“I don’t… I don’t think I can do that.” She finally said. I made to speak, to comfort her, to encourage her, but she spoke back up. “Do you think, during the next retreat you could take charge?”

I wanted to argue. Rather, the very idea of it almost brought a violent response. But… after a moment’s reflection, I realized, it wouldn’t be a bad idea. Rather, this was very much in line with my previous work experience.

Leading wasn’t exactly my strong suit. Recent events had proven that. I was learning, adapting, and developing my own tools. It was inevitable that I be able to take charge, but… this wasn’t exactly a situation that needed a leader. It needed a weapon. A hunting dog, like myself.

Diana could politic, she could wheel and deal, at least, a little. Just enough to keep the group together and from tearing each other’s throats apart. Had I been in her position, no doubt the group would have fractured, little would have gotten done. I’d either be too strict, or too relaxed. Much like with the second event.

“Alright, I can do that.” I finally said, and Diana, she breathed out a sigh of relief. Her shoulder relaxed, as if a weight had been taken off her shoulders.

“Thank you… now, what were you thinking of doing now?” She asked, now notably lighter with me having taken her job.

Now? I considered, thought…

“Sleep, eat.” I said, as a matter of fact. Which made Diana laugh a little.

“I suppose you should…” She glances at my wounds, the smile fades. “Yeah, hopefully after you rest you’ll get a proper check-up.”

“That’s the plan, afterwards, I plan to check on my soldiers, and well, those that survived. After that, I’ll get right back to putting out fires.”

“If you’re sure… I don’t think anybody would complain if you took a bit of extra time off.” She replied, her words were enticing, but…

“We’re under assault, I’d rather spend every moment helping out. Besides, the more I do now, the less I have to do later.” I say words fitting for a workaholic.

She looked unconvinced, and well, I knew why. The enemy numbers were limitless. Both in a literal and figurative sense. Already, the monster waves had shifted, newer, flying types had joined the masses. Trained archers could take them down with ease, but that was for the current type of flying monsters. If larger, more dangerous ones started appearing, I doubt they’d hold. Hell, it was an entirely possible they’d started to appear since I’d been taken off the front.

“Just make sure you don’t push yourself too hard.” She says, eyeing my current condition.

“I won’t, promise.” I said, and she gave me a look I knew all too well. We both knew, I was lying through my teeth, but she didn’t point that out.

“Well, I’ll get out of your hair then.” Diana said, still unconvinced, but I could see still, she wanted to trust me. Hopefully, this time I won’t make her worry too much. We split right after without much more drama. On my way to find something to eat, I ran into both Ruth and Raksha. Both were dead on their feet. Covered in wounds, exhausted and yet happy.

It reminded me of how Ruth had smiled when she showed up. Clearly, being there when she had been, saving me when she had failed before, it was having an effect on her. As for Raksha, well, she just seemed glad to be in the thick of it.

I made sure to thank them both. Because without them, the evacuation would have failed. Especially since, in the final portions, it seemed like the leadership was just going to up and abandon a chunk of the forces. Had that happened, well, I’d have died. Claire might have as well…

Instead of just giving up, however, Raksha and Ruth had jumped at the chance to assist. With both of them having incredibly strong offensive capabilities, they had the necessary firepower to breakthrough and make the evacuation a success.

Though, not without cost. Even if the forces retreated, even with the pair doing all they could, people still died. Supplies were lost. Which meant a net loss in defensive capabilities.

Which just made it all the more confusing, exactly, what was the end goal here? And if the ancestor was involved, how would killing off his own people, benefit him?

With those thoughts in mind, I split with the pair and headed to a makeshift mess hall. A larger building, a former tavern of sorts with a large outside seating area. Soldiers were lined up, getting bowls of food. The food itself was surprisingly filling. A mix of rice, and various vegetables.

There was no meat, but the variety, quantity, and quality of the food more than made up for it.

After a few bowls, I retired at the nearest bunk and a few hours later, I was back at it.

We were in the middle quarter of the city. It housed the middle class, predominantly. With the lower, or outer section of the city meant to house the lower-class citizens. The laborers, the farmers, the slums, and such. The specific section of the city I’d fought in had been the slums.

The slums had been perfect for the task. The area was somewhat cut off from the rest of the city, with additional walls, that, and with how packed the various buildings were, and how narrow many of the alleys and passages were, it made a good spot to hold.

Having lost the outer walls didn’t exactly put us in a bad position either. Rather, comparatively, the middle portion of the city had about half the length of wall compared to the outer section. Which meant the soldiers were more condensed, and more capable of holding back the encroaching horde.

Less area, meant that we could cover more ground, and provide greater support. Less area also meant less possible areas for the monsters to punch through, as the walls were made thicker as well, and sturdier.

Though, they were nothing compared to the inner walls, and then finally, the palace walls.

The inner area was the upper class area, where the rich were housed, usually. Now, with Terra and Faust assisting, a huge portion of the inner city had been turned into sprawling camps that housed all the refugees. Of course, the wealthy citizenry decried this, as did many of the ministers, but… their concerns weren’t our problem.

The overall plan was to hold the middle wall as long as possible. When time came to retreat, we wouldn’t just do it, stage by stage, like last time. Instead, it would be a fighting retreat.

We’d use and abuse the wider passages to let soldiers fight in formation and slowly beat the horde as they retreat. And once everyone was behind the walls, we’d prepare for the final stand. By then, if everything went to plan, the Exodus Engine, as it was called, should be near completion.

Of course, whether it went to plan or not, well, that remained to be seen.

Now up and about, I made sure to check over my soldiers. The terracotta soldiers were placed all about on the inner wall. Eagerly awaiting their time to shine. My own soldiers, the surviving stone, and ice soldiers stood further in, by the singular gate that led into the palace. Alongside them was the now active bone golem. It towered, nearly standing as tall as the gate even as it was huddled on the ground in a standby state. Even now, it was still absorbing ambient energy and topping up its reserves for the upcoming fight. As it was, the air was thick with magical energy.

With every dead horror, the lingering tang in the air would grow. Becoming denser, heavier. Even if most of the energy was diffused into the ground or absorbed by the slowly revving up Exodus Engine, what stayed behind made the very air crackle with magical energy. Enough that I could feel my fingers and toes tingling with all the magical energy diffusing into my blood with every breath.

It was thick enough, that without a doubt, a mundane individual would probably start having trouble breathing and possibly even showing signs of sickness from being poisoned by the magic in the air.

After I finished with my inspection, I immediately went to get my lingering wounds healed and went right back at it.

In the hours I had slept, the situation had hardly changed. Soldiers still fought, monsters still died. The only big exception being the number and quality of the monsters. Bronze ranks became commonplace. Reaping a healthy reward of coins for every minute on the wall.

Occasionally, a silver rank would appear, only to be focused upon and dying in short order. The only concern was when exactly gold ranks would begin to show up, and if they did, if we could even handle them. Worse, as time passed, there was actual talk of whether or not we may see a platinum or not.

Even with each of us split amongst the soldiers on the wall, I was more than able to meet and greet them as I went about putting out fires. The flood of coins had each of them eager and also worried for our future. Many more were forced to consume or use their coins just to maintain an edge over the constant flood.

Their was a delicate balance at play, and rapidly, it came time to organize the second retreat. As promised I joined Diana in the war room inside the palace as we hashed out the details, and to take charge.

Diana took a step back, allowing me to take the forefront, and during the final preparations, she kept quiet save for the occasional added bit of information. However, as the final details were being hammered in, I gave Diana a simple command.

“Contact Morrigan and bring her here.”

Diana didn’t think much of it and had one her followers send a message. Soon enough, the girl was here with us in the flesh.

“You needed something?” She asked, looking over the generals, the map, and finally to me. She looked bored, like she was itching for a fight. I could understand, she wasn’t the type to sit back and watch, like she had been.

Her entrance had caught a few eyes, with people wondering why she was here, and for what purpose. Of course, I ignored them and spoke to Morrigan.

“Yeah, we’re about to begin the next stage. I need you on hand to smooth out issues.” I said, and I heard a few angry mutters in the background, of course, again, I ignored them.

Her eyes flashed, a primal smile graced her lips. “That sounds… fun.” She said.

A few of the generals looked nervous at my words, but… nobody complained. Whether it was because they didn’t think a single girl could do anything, or they thought this would go the same as last time, it didn’t matter. What did matter, was with Morrigan in the room, we officially began the retreat. Messengers were sent out, Diana relayed commands through her subordinates.

It went surprisingly smooth, at first. The retreat was seemingly going according to plan, but…

Unsurprisingly, we hit an early roadblock.

“Retreat has stalled in this sector.” A messenger announced, pieces were moved. It was apparent with one glance what had happened, two different companies had used the same aisle and crashed into one another, now command had broken down as the orderly retreat had turned into a wild scrum. With neither of the captains on the ground able, or seemingly willing to take back control.

It seemed normal enough. Rather, it seemed benign, but reality said otherwise. The generals seemed unbothered by the event. Already they were beginning to move pieces around them, as if a single road block wouldn’t cause issues, but I knew otherwise.

And I knew without a doubt they had to know as well. So, as they spoke, as they blocked us out, I looked at Morrigan.

“Morrigan, handle it.” I commanded. That primal grin on her face grew.

“Hope you don’t go regretting that order.” She said with glee and left.

Some of the generals noticed, but none of them made an issue of it. Which was fine. Diana though, was confused. A few of the lingering ministers, however, frowned and spoke to one another.

“What was that?” Diana asked, confused, worried.

She seemed almost shellshocked during the meeting. She was shaking, uncertain. Constantly looking at me for something, anything. And seeing me ignore them and give an order to Morrigan had her confused. And for good reason.

“You’ll see.” She frowned but said nothing and focused back on the meeting. It became apparent that using the roadblock as an excuse, they were beginning to throw our people into more dangerous places. On paper, it was fine, but the intent behind it was anything but.

Diana was getting more upset by the moment. Knowing without a doubt, that if this kept going, we might actually see casualties. Especially as more messengers came, as more roads were blocked, as our people started to pick up more of the slack.

That is… until a messenger came in, gasping, panting, and clearly distraught. His disordered appearance immediately caught the generals’ eyes. The meeting stalled as they waited for the man, as he gasped like a fish on land. Trying to sputter out words.

Until eventually, his words came out like a crack of lightning on a blue day. “The roadblocks cleared, the captains are dead!”

The whole meeting went silent. Nobody moved. As if they were petrified, made of stone. As if, if they kept still, maybe what he said would be false.

That is, until I moved. I stepped forward, the sound of my boots on stone caught their eyes. Eyeing each of them, I began to move the pieces with contempt.

“The path is clear gentleman.” I say, brushing the path free. “Now what?”

They looked ready to argue, A minister puffed up to say something, but a new messenger came in and cut them off. Before they could make an issue of what happened, a new crisis had appeared, distracting everyone, though, there was a new wariness on their faces. The map changed. The quickly stalling battlefield had a new opening, a new sluice for people to flow, and flow they did.

Diana glanced at me, fidgeting on the spot. That is, until Morrigan slunk back in. While the generals had their heads down, I gave her, her next order. With a wide smile, blood dripping from her axe, Morrigan left.

It was only then that Diana understood. She looked ready to make a scene to say anything, but I just gave her a smile, a wink, and she snapped her mouth shot.

When the next disheveled messenger came, there was yet another shift. The generals and ministers began to sweat, to wipe at their brows. Then another, and another. Until finally, they all moved as if standing on hot coals. Their eyes furtively glancing at me, with some exception.

The head general looked at me. His eyes had caught Morrigan’s first return. The blood dripping from her axe. There was something in his gaze, something I understood well. That of an enemy, not by choice, but command.

The retreat proceeded without much fuss. If anything, it proceeded even quicker with some freshly cut heads as decoration, and a warning. When it was finally over, with little to no casualties, and with shocking speed.

Nobody celebrated, well, save for the head general whom clapped.

“Decisive work.” The man said. Eyeing me with care.

“I aim to please.” I said simply. Both of us eyed one another. Our staring contest broken only by Morrigan’s entrance. Now dripping with blood. She was flushed, her eyes glistening.

“That it?” She asked, and for the first time, they spoke to her.

“You!” Someone shouted, but the head general immediately stopped them. He sent a glare to his compatriots and just like that, they tightened up ranks. Only when he looked back at me did I speak.

“If I may, what was the point?”

He looks at me, at Morrigan behind me. Her hand on her axe, her eyes looking about as if waiting for her next source of entertainment.

He sighs. “Orders.”

“Elaborate.” I demand.

“Math was done, we won’t be able to hold until the Exodus Engine, as that man called it will become charged. Not at the rate of energy gain. It was decided that people needed to die. The more losses we incur, the less charge we need, that and by dying, they can also feed into the engine as well.”

“And I suppose we’d be worth quite a bit as well?” He doesn’t look away. Rather, he continues to look completely unbothered, like what he did wasn’t some big betrayal, but something rather common.

“It was determined that you would be an obstacle.” He replied back, calmly. His intent clear.

Diana was upset. Enough that she began to lose control of her magic, as it lashed out. Fierce winds swiftly filled the meeting room. Papers and pieces were scattered about, guards came into the place with weapons at the ready.

Morrigan wasn’t helping either. The only positive being that she was looking at me for permission before going right to it.

However, contrary to all of their expectations, “Let’s go.” Was all I said. Morrigan clicked her tongue but followed. Diana and those with her seemed caught off-guard with my nonchalance, but followed, nonetheless.

Only once we were outside did Diana confront me.

“Shouldn’t we do something?” She asked, demanded. “They were trying to get us killed! Are we just going to let them get away with this?”

“Yes.” I say first and foremost, the words like a slap to her face. “After all, we have no business dictating how they act. It does, however, change what we do going forward.”

Diana frowns, but… in the end she asks, “And what would that be?”

“We need to talk with Joseph.”