Neriood exposed waiting, wishing Simonides answered her. She made her py. The weight of it left her legs a little shaky. If everything failed, she destroyed the st bridge back for nothing. ‘e on, sir! Please, I know there has to be more to what you’re doing!’

  The move from Nerihe fighting stalled. A pause gave them time to work out everything. Seiji leaned back to look at Yumi and the others, much the others wanting answers as well. “The hell’s going on?”

  More ed about the battlefield, Chiharu’s eyes sed the soldiers. She noticed it immediately. ‘Most of them weren’t even real. We didn’t have a ce of winning with odds like this.’ The far distant figure of Simonides came a little more into view for her. ‘You didn’t even it all of your forces, holding back even more reserves. Damn, we were pletely out maneuvered.’

  “She’s using her power to cel everything,” replied Yumi. It wasn’t something she sidered. She looked over at Nerine. An end of the fighting could be in reabsp; She hoped. ‘I wasn’t sure if she was on our side or her own. If I knew she would help us…’

  Seiji stared at his hand. He felt the fatigue in his muscles. Nothing seemed different. “You’re saying we have our power back?” The look in his eyes clearly wao test our Yumi’s theory. Yuki’s power and Field things never made a lot of seo him. It was more plicated than it o be for him.

  Yumi tried to reach out for him. “Seiji, let this py out first. Don’t do anything to take a yet.”

  “Eh? …sure.”

  Chapter 215 – Forced Resolution

  Simonides’ expression remaione-faced, impossible to read. The soldiers all looked on at their Captain with curiosity in their eyes. Everyone expected a certain a from him. However, it left them surprised to find one of their own siding with the enemy. Some hesitation only seemed natural.

  “Abeiron.”

  “Yes, sir?”

  “Why have you not reprimahe men for stopping?” Simourned a little at the waist to look at Abeiron. The way it came out seemed as though Abeiron fot something basic.

  “Sir? Our Fields won’t reach them with Sed Lieutenant Nerine’s Field up.”

  “Push in closer. They’re already surrounded, nothing will reach them when they enter our Fields.”

  “Yes, sir!” The aurned and barked out to the officers to get their troops moving. ‘This is a dangerous game you’re pying, sir. I hope it works.’

  “Looks like they aren’t pnning on bag down, Yumi!” remarked Seiji. The remaining soldiers marched towards them. Dirt disappeared slowly, but reached a point where it fought over with the grass. The line blurred greatly and mixed making everything seem patchy for nearly a meter of a perimeter.

  Nerine saw her hopes falling apart. “Captain Simonides! They aren’t our enemy! I believe they have information that will make it clear, sir!” It was her st bsp; She pulled down her sights oroops. Any sign of them slowly or stopping was all she needed. Seds ticked off quickly, mountiension. She hoped he wasn’t so stubborn to ignore reason.

  Chiharu and Seiji remained defensive, keeping behind the line. The push on their field of influeill shrank, but it was harder. Nerine did everything to keep her Field alive against the forces ing down. However, the loime passed the more it became clear to them.

  “I don’t think he’s ied in talking this out!” yelled Seiji. “He wouldn’t have brought all of his men if he wao talk.”

  “But…it…I just…”

  The situation ged enough for Yumi. Recalcutions to her pns had to start fact in Nerine. She became an unknown variable. Suddenly actics presehemselves to her. ‘There’s options…we do this!’ Yumi could see everything id out before. Each became a pie her mind and a grid to move ea. “Miss Nerine! you follow me? Seiji, Chiharu keep pace while holding defensive positions on the fnks!”

  They all quickly uood that Yumi came up with something to get them out of their present dilemma. No questions followed, just movement. Yumi led Nerine along into the line of soldiers. The ge altered the field at their feet. She forced a choice upon them. As expected, the line drew babsp; However, behind them the Atnteans followed. The circur mass of humans marched.

  “Yumi?” Seiji saw nothing ged. They might have been moving, but it meant nothing if the enemy kept their formation. “You got somethier than this?”

  Chiharu gnced over at Yumi, carrying the same suspicious doubt about her pn. ‘She’s got something pnned.’ The look in her eyes didn’t waver. It almost seemed like she p, expeg the course of a to happen. Chiharu searched the area for answers. She o uand her pn. Nothing revealed itself to her. ‘I don’t see her move. How far ahead has she seen? Does she have any tingencies?’

  Simonides’ forehead drew down, a little, watg the strange synized marbsp; He had the view to make Yumi’s as clear. ‘Clever…’ L the binocurs, his head tilted back towards everything they set up. ‘This one move disrupts everything, most importantly unications.’ Fog ba the stalemate, he zoomed in on Yumi. ‘I’ve uimated you.’

  Awkward minutes passed. No one khe distahey covered. Everyone’s attention stayed on the silent war fought through defensive positioning. Tension reached for a never-endihat tio grow with no sign of it stopping.

  It was then that Chiharu’s situational awareness finally filled her in on Yumi’s pn. She looked in the dista the hill where the Atnteans made their temporary base. They were signifitly closer to it. ‘You’re pnning to smash their own offensive lio their defense. If they don’t want it to happen they’ll have to retreat or hold the line, f our way through. Either way, they lose!’ Chiharu stared at Yumi. A plex expression filled her eyes that Chiharu could not expin.

  Yumi stared onward at their destination. ‘What will you do? I’ve foreseen yles.’

  Chiharu watched the certainty and fiden Yumi’s facrease. It seemed everythio her pns. She watched a physical ge start to occur. ‘What’s with her eye?’ No longer were there two soft brown eyes, as on and generic as possible, her right eye turned lighter suddenly. Another ixed in with the brown until it pletely dismissed it. The eye was a bright, fierce green that leapt out of her fainating everything as the single focal point. Chiharu drew attention closer, ed what the sudden ge meant for Yumi.

  The soldiers tio hold their formation. An expected course for Yumi. ‘You want us badly, protect the line and sacrifice the and position. But I won’t give you enough time to reaymore. The pieces are all set up.’ Yumi called out, “Seiji, how’s your strength and body holding out?”

  “These scratches mean nothing!”

  “Good to hear it! Move in behind us.”

  “You got it!”

  Desire to know overcame Chiharu, she looked forward at what the move could be. Then she saw something she didn’t expebsp; ‘Their formation is colpsing?! We haven’t done anything. Fatigue? No…’ She answered her question quickly when she sidered their surroundings. ‘It’s the terrain. We’re going up the hill he used to watch the battle from. Their high ground advantage is being used against them!’

  The ge iion wasreme, but was enough to throw off their movements. A few soldiers stumbled, however most caused the lio thin with everyone bunched up. She forced a weakness into their formation.

  Neriared up at Simonides. He was so close it seemed like she could reach out to him. ‘Why, sir?’

  “Chiharu,” Yumi motioo the young girl to approabsp; “I’ve got something I need for you to do.”

  Abeiron directed the retreating soldiers. They carried off mobile unication devices, but it required a MP to remain with them at all times. Everything was makeshift, adapting to the ging field. He stared back at his Captain, who stood unmoved from his position.

  ‘Everything’s falling apart,’ he thought, watg as they drew closer to him. If it bothered him, he kept it hidden. Waiting until the st moment, he walked off the peak. The emi danger seemed unimportant to him.

  He barely made it off the hill, no more than two hundred meters away, when a loud roar erupted from the hill. Simonides gnced back, actually surprised. It mao crack the stoic expression he managed retly. “What!?”

  Seiji surfaced at the top of the hill charging through the line he just smashed. Yet him charging was the only part that was normal. On his shoulders and back, he carried all of his friends, even Nerine. It kept the Field around him regardless of the speed. None of the men could stand against the brute strength he brought.

  ‘They broke through…’ Simoarted to turn away to link back up with Abeiron, but something stopped him. “You again.”

  Chiharu appeared behind him holding his arm behind his bad her sword at his nebsp; She couldn’t uand what he said, but assumed from the look and tone. “You’re not getting away this time. None of your soldiers are around to protect you this time.” Words wouldn’t get through to him, but iions still could be unicated. Her bde pressed against his skin. “Order off your troops or you’ll die.”

  Gng through narrowed eyes, Simonides felt her words more than uood them. He had a good idea of their pn. His hand squeezed around the receiver, back to Abeiron. Staring into the dista his mereating, his face dreer and the shadows seemed to bee solid bck painted in harsh lines. ‘Abeiron…’

  ‘Captain?’ Somethi off. Abeiron turned around in search of Simonides, but didn’t find him. ging his sight, he pulled up to see where his Captain remained. “Captain Simonides!” he shouted, drawing all of his men to stop and turn. The soldiers froze with their Captain as a hostage. “…Captain…” Wrinkles of pain dug through his face.

  Narrowing her face, Chiharu tightened up her hold on the man. ‘She was right, about everything…how did she foresee all of this? What is she?’ The sword pressed up against Simonides’ neck demanding an answer. “It’s time.” She motioned his arm holding the receiver to act.

  “Impatient…but yes…” He lifted his arm to his mouth with the receiver ready. His eyes fixed on the ander in the distanbsp; “ander Abeiron.”

  “Captain Simonides! I’m moving MPs in now to rescue you!”

  “It's checkmate, friend.”

  “But sir!”

  “Follow the pn, Abeiron.” Simoightened his hand around the metal. “Initiate beta-four tingenbsp; You’re in and now! Don’t let any of them escape! Do whatever you must to keep Atntis—“

  Abeiron fumbled with the device, hearing Simonides suddenly cutoff. “Captain! Captain!” He couldn’t hear anything more. The st sound he was left with eg in his ears was the deadly cough of his Captain. His face turned blue and then white almost instantly.

  Blood sprayed out of the wound in his chest where the sword poked through. Simonides’ eyes drew wide while his pupils shrank. The pain of the bde yanked out of him made him cough in pain. All of the strength in his body suddenly fled him. He fell to the ground.

  Standing over him, Chiharu’s face dripped loosely with blood and the cold stare of her eyes. “It’s over now.”

  “Good, Chiharu,” smiled Yumi, watg from a distance, “Everything pyed as expected.