Chapter 44: Night Siege on the Kosun
The group teleported seven-hundred meters, west of the Kosun village. The village is on fire, explosions and gun fires are brightening up the place, and the sound of conflict filling up the silent surroundings. Planes flying by, dropping bombs there and there and strafing at the village. Shouts of the soldiers' commands and clashing inside the village can be heard in a distance. "We're here..." Chiho spoke with a rasped breath. "This is as close as I can bring us, sorry..." She apologized. "...It's not a problem..." Shu Fang comforted her. Confirming Chiho's safety, Mariko turned and looked ahead. "Maeru's not messing around..." She said as she observed the blazing village. "I hope... we're not too late... we need to hurry there!" Chiho coughed, she quickly covered her mouth... Blood splattered to the ground in front of her. Shu Fang gasped. "...Chiho!" She grabbed both of her shoulders. "...You... you..." Shu Fang didn't know what to say. "Oh no, oh no, oh no!!!" Ayumi saw the blood and is on verge of crying.
"Damn it... I may have pushed myself too hard" She coughed some more. "Go on... Gentaro said there are ships at the Kosun sea... We need to destroy them first!" She said. "...But, how about..." "Go! I'll have Mariko by my side. Get Ayumi with you..." Chiho raised her voice over Shu Fang. "You two have the power to destroy them after all... I will need to rest..." She took deep breaths, settling down. "You heard her. Go, or the Kosuns are done" Mariko turned to them. Without wasting any more time, Shu Fang nodded and flew away with Ayumi. Mariko and Chiho watched them disappear inside the village. "Alright..." Mariko faced Chiho and walked behind her. "Can you stand?" She asked. "I guess so..." Chiho nodded. "Good. Let's get you somewhere safe..." Mariko grabbed her lower body. "Eh?!" Chiho looked at her, blushing. "Up you go!" Mariko carried Chiho, holding her at her shoulder and legs. "You don't have to carry me like this!" Chiho protested but Mariko was focused on looking for a place to hide.
Looking to their right, from a distance, they saw a small farm. Its occupants are packing up their things to their wagon in a hurry. "Look, Chiho! I can run there! They're abandoning the place anyway!" With that, Mariko ran towards the small farm. "Wait! Set me down, It might be hard for you to carry me!" Chiho shouted. "You're lighter than my old lady's broom!" Mariko shouted. "Gotta eat some more, you know?! A little bit more weight won't kill ya!" She said she hurried to the farm.
At the Kosunjin-Yi, numerous civilians and Kosun soldiers are being killed by Maeru's troops. Some use guns, some are skillfully slashing people with their blades. The Kosun's forces are hardly fighting back, some successful defend there and there, but only to be overwhelmed by more enemies. They are picking up the guns fallen to the ground but their poor handling of the guns doesn't help them. They are not used by the recoils of the guns and often fall out of their grasp.
"...The Kosuns are not doing well..." Shu Fang said as she looked down at the whole village. "Maeru... Where's Maeru?!" Ayumi looked everywhere. "...She's just not gonna pop out. We have to fight them back, that will bring her attention to us" Shu Fang said. "Okay! I will go there!" Ayumi pointed to the far east of the Kosun wall. There are large enemy forces closing in to what seems like an ambushed convoy of carriages. Its troops disembarks and faced the ambushing enemies. "...Can you take them all by yourself?" Shu Fang asked. "Hm!" Ayumi nodded with determination. "...Good. I will handle the ships" With that, they separate ways. Shu Fang flew further towards the sea. There, she saw where the enemies are coming from. Maeru's fleet is stationary near the shores, broadside facing the village and firing their cannons. "...They're huge!" Shu Fang's jaw dropped seeing the battleships in formation. However, her eyes sets into smaller cannon fires.
There are four Kharkov and three Storozhevoy destroyers among the fleet. "...Those are smaller..." She saw the Kharkovs. "...But those are smaller..." She looked at the Storozhevoys. "...Okay" Shu Fang took a deep breath and flew ahead. As she fly towards the ships, the enemies charging towards the village saw her. "Above us!" She heard one of the soldiers shout. As she looked below, she saw two soldiers fly to engage her. She stopped and prepares to defend herself. The two soldiers separate ways to engage her on both side.
The soldier on the left spins and throws a kick. Shu Fang swiftly blocks with both of her arms. As soon as his kick landed, he disappeared. "...What?!" As soon as she reacted, she got kicked behind. "...Ukh!" Someone kicks her back with brute force, immobilizing her. As she got kicked forward, the soldier on the right spins and kicked her in the face. Unable to react quickly due to pain and the force of the kick, she took the kick and got thrown down to the ground. She landed hard in a forest and struggles to stand. As soon as she's on both of her feet, she got shot on the left shoulder. "...Ahhh!!!" The bullet hits hard, she got thrown to the ground once more. Blood splattered on the ground. "She's there! She's there!" She heard the soldiers shout.
"...Damn it!" She weakly tries to stand. She managed to stand for a second before falling to her one knee. The two soldiers landed in front of her. "She's that assassin" The soldier on the left said. "Kill her" The other soldier said. The soldier nodded and approached her. Shu Fang forced herself to stand and make a stance. "Give it up!" Three soldiers appeared behind the two. Shu Fang is heavily breathing, trying to fight the stinging pain all over her body. As she stared at them, she saw one of the soldiers wielding an AKM. Its different appearance than most of the Prohorovkan's weapons immediately brought her attention. Along with her last resort, she plans on snatching the gun.
The third soldier fired her SVT-40 and shot Shu Fang at her intestine. She spat out blood, weakening her more. "Go!" The same soldier shouted. With her signal, the soldier on the left charged ahead with his right blade pointed at Shu Fang. As he draws near, Shu Fang transformed herself into a black shade and flew ahead past the charging soldier, taking them in surprise. She immediately hits the soldier and snatched away the AKM. The gun got swallowed inside her shade. Securing the gun, she flew away from the forest. "She took my gun!!!" The soldier got enraged and took out his Makarov and started firing at the skies. "Argghh!!!!" He screamed in frustration. As he angrily turns away, Shu Fang went back and hits him again, snatching away his Makarov in the process.
With the soldiers effectively taking her down, she retreated from the shores, failing to disable the ships, even just the destroyers. They continue to maul down the village with full firepower.
Shu Fang flew to where Ayumi said she will be fighting. She landed near the carriages. She immediately turns back to her human form and falls to the ground. "Are you okay?!" The head of the convoy saw her and ran towards her with some soldiers with him. "...救命啊! (...Help me!)" She shouted at the soldiers. "平静些... 我救出你了! (It's alright... We got you!)" The head of the convoy comforts her as he ordered his soldiers to get some medical supplies. "...她在哪儿, 她没有受伤吧? (...Where is she? Is she alright?)" She asked him. "At the skies..." He looked up. Ayumi is currently brawling with Maeru.
"...Ayumi!" She forced herself to stand, but fails and falls back to the ground. "You... wounded... Don't stand" The head of the convoy spoke Tsuchiyan slowly. "Kosunjin-Yi... falls..." He said. Shu Fang saw how hopeless he is through his eyes. "撤离... Leave... Return to Saiju... Help people, to escape (Evacuate...)" Then he looked everywhere. "Chiho... Where is Chiho?" He asked. "...She's..." Shu Fang could no longer let out a word. "这把, 拿着这个! (This here, take this!)" The soldiers came back with a Prohorovkan syringe. "...Ah! Give me that!" Shu Fang forcibly stood up and took the syringe and quickly injects it at her arm. Her whole figure brightens up, lightning up her surrounding.
The light quickly disappears but her wounds remained bright for another second before disappearing completely. Shu Fang took a deep breath. "太酷啦! (That is cool!)" The soldiers were fascinated. As soon as Shu Fang looked up the skies, Ayumi fell to her side. "...Ayumi!" She was about to check on her until she felt Maeru's presence. "...You!" "Stop!" Shu Fang was about to fly towards her but she stopped her. "You are Chiho's friends, right? Where is she?" She asked. "...What do you want from her?!" Shu Fang shouted. Maeru raised her hand as to stop her forces below her.
Maeru then slowly descended and walked towards Shu Fang. "...Stay back!" Shu Fang shouted. Maeru stopped as she said. "We got this village. You are outpowered and outnumbered. We dealt enough damage to get you all scattered like bugs... But if she wins a duel against me, we will leave" She arranged a duel. "...You said so yourself! We are outpowered! A duel with you means death!" "You ARE nothing compared to her!" Maeru raised her voice over Shu Fang. "Unlike you, she has the potential to turn the tides" She crossed her arms and closed her eyes. As the two sides both unaware of where is Chiho currently, Azumi appeared behind Maeru's forces, crushing down two soldiers. Its engine replaced the burning sounds of the village. Maeru quickly swings her left arm to shoot Azumi, but it went full accelerates and evades the projectile. "Tch..." Maeru utters as she misses. Azumi disappeared ahead.
"You even got Rousseau with you here, huh?!" Maeru got angry knowing another faction of their own is fighting against them. "...Wh-who?" Shu Fang barely remembered the name. "That Red Mosin girl is also here! Find her and bring her to me!" She commanded her forces and they all went away. "Now..." She sighed and faced Shu Fang. "Tell me where Chiho is, or this village will become ours" She threatened. "There's no way you will be able to take this village away from my grasp. So be wise and tell me where she is" She added. "...Kh...!" Shu Fang's infuriated as she has to say something. "...She's... outside the village" She said. "...She coughed blood when she teleported us here. She has to rest somewhere" She added.
Maeru looked to their left. "Hm..." She thinks of something. "Then kindly bring her here" She turned to Shu Fang and smiled. "I will wait" She said. Shu Fang and Ayumi looked at each other. "...I will bring her here. Watch her" Shu Fang said without looking and immediately flew away. They watched her disappear, then Maeru turned to Ayumi. "Look what we have here..." She slowly approached her. "Don't come near me!" Ayumi readied her sickles. "You looked so bad back at Tsuchiya... You're lucky Chiho was there" She stopped and smiled. "And for a small child like you, you're a tough one to kill" She said with almost an astonished tone. Ayumi suddenly remembered her past. "You are all monsters! You enjoy the sight of dying children!" She shouted. Her words struck Maeru hard, silencing her. "Monster! You monster!!!" She shouted louder.
Maeru couldn't react. She carefully eyes Ayumi. She has tears in each corner of her eyes. "I still don't get what is so fun at killing people! You guys kill just like slaughtering animals!!!" Ayumi tears up but she held up before she completely breaks into crying. "You take our homes! You steal our beloved ones! You guys are the worse!" Ayumi's voice is shaking. Maeru clenched her fists hard, unable to respond. "We could just have been friends, allies..." Her voice finally calmed down, followed by her sniffs. "I...uh..." Maeru slowly raised her right hand to reach out for Ayumi, but quickly stopped herself and shook her head. "This is ridiculous" She said, bringing their attention. "Crying won't do you no good" Her voice shook for a second.
"Is it?!" Ayumi glared at her, surprising her. "You're up to the point where seeing your victims cry won't do anything to you?!" She asked. Maeru couldn't respond and brought up a second of silence. "When the first time I killed a person, I couldn't sleep very well... The event just kept appearing in my mind... Even Yagano-san has troubles sleeping at some point... You? You don't look like you have any trouble sleeping at all!" She shouted. A soldier walked forward and stood beside her.
"Y-you also doesn't... looked like you kill for fun, either... Miss..." He said. The head of the convoy scolded him not to talk to her but he persisted. "I...I don't know... You looked kind. I know a look of a killer, be it a female, if I see one..." He said. They looked at him. "O-of course I know how to differentiate them from those who are not! And I can say... you're..." He sighed. "You must have something so important that made you do this..." He said, making her stare. "Otherwise, why would you?" He looked back at her sadly. Maeru was shaken, losing her cool. "I..." She looked at the ground.
"I... I was faking it!" She said, making them curious. "Those acts before, the smiles I made... Those are all fake, I pretended to be nice just so-" "That's not what I was talking about..." He raised his voice over hers. "Right here, right now, I can see it on you" He said. Maeru gasped lightly. "I also... never saw any bad people listen to a child's rant... They would shut them up quick, so they wouldn't cause them any more stress than they already had for what they are doing..." He said. Maeru chuckled. "I happened to have more composture than those lowlifes you encountered" She said. "That is true, you guys looked like professionals, after all... But I know you're not a killer"
Maeru turned around. "Grr... You guys are..." Her voice slightly shook. "...Is there really no way out of this?" The soldier asked. "...You're pushing your luck here..." Maeru whispered. "W-what is it?" "You're pushing your luck!!!" She faced the soldier and pointed at him, then faced away again. "Goddamn it..." She shook her head. "You're lucky. I won't mess around next time..." She said before flying away.
As she disappears, the invaders continue to strike again. Gun fires and explosions returned. "Ah! Looks like they haven't completely given up yet!" Ayumi said. "Mister! Get to safety!" She shouted at the head of the convoy. "Y-you got it! Let's go men!" He gathered up his men to mount back to the carriages. "You be careful now, Ayumi-chan..." The soldier pats her head. "Okay..." Ayumi nodded with a smile. With that, he returned to the convoy and they drove away.
As she looked everywhere to go, she saw Chiho and Shu Fang flying in her direction. She waved her hand for them to see. Seconds later, they arrived and landed in front of her. "Huh? I thought..." Chiho looked around. "She... She left... I don't know where..." Ayumi shook her head. Then Takumi landed behind the two. "Hey... Maeru's no longer here" They looked at her. "I saw her fly away and I no longer sense her here, what gives?" She put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow. "I don't know... She just left..." Ayumi replied. "Huh?" Takumi got even more confused. "We were talking! We were talking to her, and she just left" Ayumi said. "Oh, You hit a nerve?" Takumi smiled. "I'm... not sure... We were just talking, she's not mad or something... But..." "But that doesn't matter" Chiho interrupts them.
"Maeru left but her army is still here. We need to fend them off first!" She said. "Yes, that's right. We need to keep moving" Takumi nodded. "Oh, and sorry. I wasn't able to help much. Maeru is one of the few who knows me completely. If she sees me now, she'll do everything to capture me. Even worse she will find out that I'm the one with powers. She will tell the whole organization and they will all hunt me down" She added. "But why?" Ayumi asked. "Bah! I told you already! I will explain again later!" Takumi then flew away. "Let's go! We saw the ships sailing away! They will pose a threat again sometime! We must chase after them!" Chiho said. "I will uh, stay here and fight off the soldiers!" Ayumi volunteered. Chiho nodded. "Alright, you stay here. I and Shu Fang will chase after the ships! Look for Mariko! She already has entered the village by now!" She said.
"Okay!" Ayumi nodded. "Alright, let's go!" Chiho looked at Shu Fang and she nodded. They flew towards the sea and disappear. "Now, where to go..." She looked around. Having no battles nearby, she flew up the skies and looked at the whole village. Southwest of the village is filled with soldiers of both sides. Maeru's forces are overwhelming the soldiers defending the area. "There!" She flew ahead with speed. She raised her sickles, planning on landing on a soldier. However, they noticed her before she could land a hit. Her sickles got stuck on the ground.
"Who's this brat?!" One of the soldiers shouted. "Kill her!" Another soldier shouted. With that, the soldier on her right charged. "Hiyah!" Ayumi throws a kick against him, but he threw her leg away and kicked her on the stomach, sending her away, removing her sickle from the ground in the process. She quickly recovered and stood up, but she was facing another enemy. Before she could react, the soldier slashed her chest with his right blade. Ayumi screamed in pain as she got thrown back to the ground. "So hard to hit such a small target!" He swings his blade to remove her blood. "Kh...!" She touched her long wound as she glares at the soldier.
"I won't hesitate to kill you just because you are a child!" He pointed his right blade and thrusts them, but a gun fires behind them and he got shot at his right shoulder. The soldier grunts in pain. "Ayumi!" Mariko called out. "Ah! Marikoooo!!!" Ayumi shouted. Mariko opened fire at the soldiers, forcing them to take cover at the buildings. "Hey, hey, hey! That one's got an AK!" One of the soldiers shouted at his allies, pointing in Mariko's direction. "Where the hell did they get one?!" Another soldier shouted. Mariko fired for a few rounds before stopping. Once she does, the soldiers dragged her close to the buildings. "Get away from me!" She whined. The soldier who dragged her got annoyed and thrusts the stock of his Ppsh-4 to her head, but she quickly blocked the stock, stumbling the soldier.
Swiftly, she threw her chains, and the spiked weight at the end of the sickle digs through the soldier's neck. She quickly casts the weight with power, it glows in pink. She pulled the chains hard, making her fall forward, the spiked weight pushes through his neck smoothly, beheading him right after. While falling, she quickly spun to her right and threw the chains with her right hand. The same time her back hits the ground, the sickle landed on the soldier's shoulder. She yanked the chain hard, forcing the soldier to turn around and stumble towards her. As he stumbles, Ayumi threw her chains with her left hand, sending the spiked weight flying. It landed at the soldier's forehead and it got stuck, killing him.
"Crazy motherfucker!!!" The last soldier shouted behind her. She quickly rolled away, evading the soldier's gunfire. Once she faced the soldier, she threw her chains with her right hand, sending the sickle to the soldier's left leg. Seeing and feeling the sickle bites to his leg, Ayumi quickly yanked the chain, pulling his leg and completely immobilizing him. She quickly stood up and spun to the left. As she faced him, she threw her chains. The spiked weight scratched his neck. Ayumi spun again. She quickly cast power on the sickle and it glows pink and swings it at the soldier's neck, beheading him.
"Yo! I saw that!" Mariko appeared to see Ayumi, but she was breathing heavily to notice her. She falls to the building's wall, quickly catching herself with her arm. "You alright?" Mariko walked and pats her shoulder. "I guess..." Ayumi nodded. "I almost... got shot" She looked up to her and weakly smiled. "Everything happened... too fast... I had to act fast as well..." She said as she keeps catching her breath. "I saw you spin around to cut that bastard's head! That was so cool!" Mariko hits her shoulder in amazement. Ayumi giggled a bit. "I was scared, and it was hard to pull off... But I guess I did it and it's cool..." She said.
"Man! You're gonna be a legend with that chained sickle of yours!" Mariko shook her shoulder, Ayumi weakly laughed in response. "Oh, by the way!" Mariko jerks up. "The enemies are leaving, they are probably scared now that Maeru left them!" She laughed. "And also, Takumi up there!" They both looked up and saw her fly across the village. "These guys are the last guys around these parts... How's it going on the rest of the place?" She asked. "Well... You did say that they are leaving... So, I guess they are leaving?" Ayumi shrugged. "Yeah, that's right, but you know there are ones who are just persistent" Mariko looked around in annoyance. "Oh! By the way!" She got excited and showed Ayumi her gun.
"Look what Shu Fang gave me!" She held the AKM with both of her hands. "She said she took it from one of them! Here! Hold it!" She pushed the gun to Ayumi. "W-whoa, heavy..." Ayumi took the gun. It was dark, she couldn't see much. "This here also!" Mariko took out the Makarov and showed it to her. "Shu Fang said it was her first time seeing these weapons! So she took it!" She happily smiled. "Good for you, I guess..." Ayumi weakly laughed. "T-take it now... Let's talk about this back at Saiju once we are clear" She gave back the gun.
Meanwhile, at the sea, the formation of the ships is totally loose. The battleships are being left behind by the destroyers. This caused the two to land on the last battleship from the fleet. "It's so big! How are we supposed to destroy this?!" Chiho whined. Shu Fang looked behind her. "...Your Peacemaker?" She said. "Oh..." Chiho took her Peacemaker from her back. "It takes time to recharge though..." She pressed the button and charged herself with its power. "...If that is so, aim for the bigger ones first. They are more dangerous" Shu Fang said.
"Alright! Let's go!" Chiho nodded. They flew away from the battleship and stopped when they have distanced themselves from the ships. Chiho aimed at the battleship they were on before. She took a deep breath before enraging herself with thoughts, the Peacemaker started to spark uncontrollably with power. Shu Fang flew back a bit just to be safe. "I'm firing now! AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!" Chiho shouted as loud as she can before she pulled the trigger. Yellow trace formed from the Peacemaker's muzzle to the battleship's hull almost immediately after it fires, bringing shattering yellow cracks on the battleship. The ship exploded right after the cracks spread fast in a second, annihilating everything. Its remains are only blazing steels and floating shards. No living human can be found around it.
"...Damn it..." Shu Fang watched the ships scurry away. "They're too far away from the village, we can't follow them" Chiho said. "...Let's head back" Shu Fang said and Chiho agreed with a nod. They turned around and headed back.
Back at the village, Maeru's troops are starting to retreat. The Kosuns did not chase them out of the village. The last few remaining soldiers are either lost in the village or were still fighting against the Kosuns. At the Center of the village, Ayumi has a wounded soldier pinned down. She is crouching beside him and had her sickle on his neck. "I think they're done..." Mariko looked around. The noise of the battle has went down. Only the flames that are burning down the buildings can be heard. "What do we do with this guy?" Ayumi looked up to her and asked. "Hm?" Mariko looked and saw the soldier. "I say we kill him" She said without hesitation. "How about we keep him? We can make him talk" Ayumi said. "Your call" Mariko shrugged and turned around. She sounded a bit disappointed.
"I guess we should wait for Takumi and the others here" She said. The fires around them light their surrounding. "Stand" Ayumi ordered the soldier. He stood up as told, giving her a puzzled look. "You're that child I've been hearing about" He said. "Sit there" Ayumi pointed at a building to the right. Its brick wall stood up the flames and remained intact. The soldier sat and laid his back at the wall. "Kids like you should be playing on the streets instead..." He said. Ayumi lowered her head. "That's right... But you made me like this" She said. The soldier raised an eyebrow then laughs. "Hah! When did brats like you get to join the war?! You're supposed to be crying over your mom's corpse!" He made them turn around and glare at him. "Then the next thing, you just die in the streets like an animal" He smirks. "Changed your mind now?" Mariko asked, gritting her teeth. "He's just trying to get through our heads" Ayumi said and smirks at him. "Your attempts are low" She said, pissing him off. "You brat...!" He said in anger. Despite that, he had no choice but to remain sitting with his wounds all over his body.
"That's all of them" A voice came behind them. They looked and saw Takumi approaching. "What do we have here? Oh!" Both Takumi and the soldier got surprised to see each other. "You! You little shit!" He angrily points at her. "Whoa, whoa, calm down! No wonder you don't have a girl with you yet!" She laughs and in the opposite, the soldier got angrier. "You're a huge disgrace to the Red Mosin! Someone should have been in your position rather than you! You betraying shit!" He shouted. "I'm not replaced yet? I'm flattered!" Takumi touched her left cheek to look surprised. "You're about to be!" He replied.
A sound of a roaring engine draws near quickly, and Azumi appeared behind them and drifts to park itself in front of everyone, showing its right side. "That EBR!" The soldier shouted. "I almost caught that thing! You were just lucky!" He said. One of the hatches of its turret opened and Emiko popped out. "Yes! You were really great at disabling vehicles despite us fighting most worlds with magic and powers!" She said. "Hah! Fushima! To think I get the chance to kill you without betraying Shichiro!" The soldier looked very amused. "What? You two have beef or something?" Takumi looked puzzled as she turned to Emiko.
Emiko rolled her eyes. "I'm one of the girls he tried his luck on. Refused him right away" They can see her disgust on her face. "You know you have no chance on Shichiro!" His words surprised everyone, except Takumi, who just giggled. "What are you even talking about?! He already has Maeru!" Emiko blushed hard. "That's the point! You just kept on dreaming!" He shouted back.
"Right, right! Cut that love shit right now" Takumi interrupted. "I appreciate how you can hold back from killing this loud dude, Mariko!" She grinned widely. "I could have killed him right away if Ayumi isn't here" Mariko sighed. "Right..." Takumi smiled awkwardly. "So... Where's Chiho?" She looked around and asked Ayumi. "Somewhere at the sea?" She shrugged. They waited for a while.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Keetrix
Keetrix A'ight, with my lazy ass taking too long to upload a chapter, I can't say anything else in this part. The backstory of the PTRD is slowly getting revealed as the characters become more curious about them, I hope you're aware of this ;)
updates for mistakes, oh dude i see a lot of errors in the chapter >.<
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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