Awed gasps and sighs resounded within the Bight’s hidden pound as updated Gsgows, called Burais, lined up before them.
Knightmares from the Six Houses of Kyoto had finally arrived just in time, right before their pnned operation in the mountains of Narita.
Although most of them were nothing special, especially when pared to the “Excalibur”, the number alone was enough to light a hope in their hearts and lift up their morale for the uping operation.
But soon, they discovered one knightmare that stood out amongst the others.
Uhe Burais, oood out as being pletely Japanese made. A crimson knightmare with a rge, cwed, metal arm stood in all its glory before them.
“This is… amazing…”
Karen stood in front of the crimson knightmare with eyes wide in awe. And around her were Mordred, Silver, Ainz, Ohgi, and a few other members of the Bights.
“It really is… Alright, now that you’ve got your own knightmare, you should practice with this one instead of mine, alright?”
“Mordred” looked at her with a smirk, or at least that’s how he sounded. Karen couldn’t actually see the face beyond the mask, but she khat’s what he’s doing behind it.
“W-What do you mean? Why are you saying it’s mi’s obviously going to be Zero’s. He’s our ander.”
Ohgi, who had snapped out of his daze staring at the Guren, also looked towards Mordred in fusion, w the same thing as Karen.
But Mordred shook his head.
“He’s our ander, but he’s not the best pilot. And this Guren MK.II would be one of reatest ons. Rather than him using it for no reason, I’m sure he’ll want you, our best knightmare pilot, to pilot it. Well, the best pilot after me, that is.”
“...”
Karen reflexively wao hit his arm, just like how she’d usually do when he joked around like that. But she was so shocked by his words that her entire body froze.
And soon, hope aement filled her heart.
She looked back towards the crimson knightmare, and stared at it for a few moments.
The Guren MK.II. Along with the “Excalibur”, the Guren was one of the Bight’s greatest ons. And along with it, a heavy responsibility would fall upon its pilot. They would be the oo be the tip of the spear of their operations. The one who will bring the Bights victory. The one who will help turn the wishes and dreams of everyone in the Bights into a reality.
Such heavy responsibility… Would she be able to carry it?
After all, she wasn’t as strong or as skilled as Mordred. Would she be able to carry the hopes and dreams of everyone around her…?
“Well then, I’ll be going around cheg stuff and helping the others. Call me when you’ve got the key from Zero, okay? I’ll help you set it up.”
Mordred patted Karen on her shoulder and walked away, followed by Ainz and Silver, who would also be busy setting up the new knightmare frames and preparing for the operation. And finally, Ohgi also left soon after, leaving Karen behind as she stared at the Guren.
An unknown time has passed since Karen was left aloh the Guren. And as Mordred said before, Zero did e to her.
“It seems like “Mordred” had said something that bothered you again.”
“Ah! Z-Zero…”
Snapped out of her daze, Karen quickly turowards the source of the void addressed the mysterious, masked leader of the Bights.
“N-No… Well… Perhaps… What’s wrong…?”
She heard a snort ing from him, but her mind was too filled with Mordred’s words to eveer it.
“Everyone here is treating it like a party. Like childreing their Christmas present early. I’d rather them be a bit more serious. That said… You, however, seem too nervous. What’s wrong? The Kyoto houses are just sending us as “reinforts”.”
“Y-Yes, No… Nothing’s wrong. I’m… just gd that we are included as reinforts to help the Japan Liberation Front…”
“You’re mistaken, Karen. This is just a test.”
“Even so, it’s amazing to see how far we’ve gotten.”
“...How positive.”
Thehrew her a red and white, feather-shaped knightmare key devibsp;
“T-This is…”
“The Guren MK.II is yours, Karen. You will be its pilot from now on.”
“M-Me? But-”“Enough. I’m sure Mordred has told you my reasoning. You will be our ace pilot, along with him.”
“...Yes. I uand.”
Karen accepted, and she immediately thought of practig with Mordred again to improve her skills a used to piloting the Guren.
“Ah, Zero. Do you have a moment?”
Just then, Ohgi came and called out for Zero with a binder of dots in his hand.
“A Britannian just sent us a request to join our ranks. I’m afraid it’s a trap… It’s too dangerous to tact him directly, but ign it would be wasting a ce to gain inside information. What should we do…?”
Zero looked at the information of said Britannian, and as he expected, it was the one called Diethard Ried. A future loyalist of Zero, or rather, the Zero who wreaks chaos onto the stagnant Britannian Aristocracy. He was very useful in spying and espionage, having helped the Bights gain information from Britannia as well as something simir to being the head of public retions iure.
Although he defected to Sizel’s side in the end, Lelouch still pnned on using him as long as he could.
“...We’ll shelf this matter for ter. But now… how about we take a hike to the mountains of Narita this weekend.”
““...!””
The time had finally e.
--------------------------------X--------------------------------
Hiking up a mountain was a healthy hobby and a pleasant pastime many people enjoy, especially those with a love for nature.
There was no denying the fact that hiking hysically demanding sport and hobby, and not everyone could successfully reach their goal even if they wao. However, to diseeself from the hustle and bustle of the city and simply enjoy mother nature in all its glory was in of itself was reward enough for all the energy, time, and effort they spent.
And if they mao reach the top, they would be rewarded by a magnifit, beautiful sight from atop the mountain.
Unfortunately for the members of the Bights, they won’t get to enjoy such a pleasant pastime.
The mountains they were on were no longer lush with nature, and they’re simply moving through rger clearing of rocks and nd aboard their Burai type knightmare frames and massive wheeled tainers dragged by the knightmares.
Karen sat upon the opened cockpit of the Guren while it moved, doing her final checks on her knightmare frame with a rge manual book about the Guren and also occasionally gng at Mordred, who was on his Excalibur.
The bd crimson knightmare strode with dignity and pride as its owood upon it.
Karen was enamored by the sight of it for a moment before she noticed where Morderd was staring at.
He was staring out towards the city of Narita that was below him.
The once beautiful mountain-side city… now a remnant of its former self. It was deserted, sparsely filled by “eleven” refugees and remnants of a brokeance group that had nowhere else to go, hiding within its broken buildings.
The once beautiful mountain, lush with trees and nature, had now been turned into a military fortress by the Japan Liberation Forces. While iy, Britannian soldiers lurked in every er and the army surrouhe mountaiablishing a war front at the foot of the mountain.
It was a heartbreaking sight… Ohat made her heart tremble with rage and frustration, aermination to stop this war ond for all.
But then, when she snapped out of her daze, she noticed Mordred looking at her silently.
“...What?”
She spoke through the unication lihey’ve established between their knightmare frames.
“Karen, what do you usually d your off time?”
“...Huh? What’s this all of a sudden?”
Karen looked at him with a fused look.
“Just trying to make small talk. I notice you’re shaking in your boots from how nervous you are.”
He said teasingly, and without even having to see the face behind the mask, Karen knew she was smirking.
“I-I’m not! Well, n-not that much.”
Karen immediately looked at him with a fierce gre, like a cat who had its tail stepped on. But the blush that stemmed from her embarrassment was impossible to hide.
“It’s normal to feel that nervous when yiven su important and critical job. But you’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
“...Gee, thanks, asshole.”
She snorted and averted her face from him. But… though annoying, he did help her calm down a bit. Not that she’ll actually admit it.
“So? What do you usually do?”
“...Not much, I guess.”
“What? Oh, are your hobbies embarrassing? I won’t judge.”
“That’s not it, you asshole! I just do normal things! Like… maybe watg some movies, reading some books, studying, stuff like that.”
“Hm… You sound like a pretty b person.”
“...”
Her left eye twitched in annoyance as she gred at him and gritted her teeth. Mordred was extremely skilled iing under her skin.
That said… she ’t actually deny his words. After all, she didn’t have any time to cultivate any hobbies because she had always been busy with the resistance group. Perhaps, if she lived like a regur girl, she’ll have some normal hobbies like irls her age.
“Then how about you, bastard? I bet you don’t have any hobbies tht?”
“Me? I enjoy cooking.”
Karen’s head immediately turowards him and looked at him with eyes wide as saucers and mouth agape like a gaping fish mouth.
Mordred? Cooking? Heh… What kind of joke is this?
Was he trying to tell her a joke to calm her down? No… There’s no way right? There’s no way he’d tell su unbelievable joke.
But it couldn’t be real either… Right?
Karen tried to imagine Mordred cooking… Him, still in his full skin-tight body suit armor and a mask, wearing a cute pink ce apron, cooking miso soup i…
No… That looked so out of pce… It’s as if she’s looking at a fish wearing a skirt. That’s simply impossible…
“...You’re lying. That’s impossible.”
“Huh? No, I’m not.”
“Y-You’re definitely lying! There’s no way you cook!”
“...I feel like I should be offended by that. Oh well. You ask just Zero, Silver, or Ainz after this operation. I’ve cooked for them before.”
“...”
Karen stayed there frozen, still looking at him with an incredulous look in disbelief.
How… How could this person, who seemed like a masked reaper that would destroy anyone and anything in his path with or without his knightmare, be able to cook?!
The disparity betweewo was so uny that she might not believe it even with evidence before her eyes.
He must be chatting out of his ass, right…?
She didn’t trust him in the least, but Mordred’s fidence made her waver a bit. And before she could ask him to prove it they’ve finally arrived, and everyone became busy once again as they began pg electrodes through the mountain and into the water reserves.
A few moments after they fiheir preparation, Zero returned a with Ohgi.
“H-Hey, are we really doing this?”
Ohgi turowards Zero and asked with a trembling voice. A clear sign of nervousness and ay.
“The enemy is elia. Even within Britannia, her army was a force to be reed with.”
“I know… That’s why we’re cooperating with the Japan Liberation Front.”
“What was that? Ohgi, am I that untrustworthy?”
“What are you saying? I requested for you to bee our leader because I trust you!”
“There you have it… You have the answer…”
“...Right.”
--------------------------------X--------------------------------
“Viceroy. It is time.”
A voice from a speaker built into the knightmare frame resounded within the cockpit, and the lips of the woman sitting within it curled up into a thin smile.
elia Li Britannia. A royal princess of the Britannian royal family, half sister of Lelouch, and ander of one of the most powerful armies in the Britannian empire. She was an exceedingly beautiful woman with long fuschia hair, vender purple eyes, luscious pink lips, and donning her wine-red purple royal military uniform.
“Right. ence operation!!!”
Her hands reached for the trol sticks of her knightmare, and immediately unched with her wind-red purple knightmare frame, her very own and famous ized Gloucester.
“The Japan Liberation Front. You, who time has left behind. You, who have fotten basic human kindness. Now you and your dream of a great nation shall fall and rot to nothingness.”
And as elia raced on with her knightmare, tens of Britannian knightmare frames that appeared from within train tainers, raced through the empty streets of Narita, and dropped by tens of carrier pnes moved to surround the mountain, the base of the Japan Liberation Front.
Instantly, the radar within the Japan Liberation Front’s headquarters bred with warning as more than a hundred of enemies suddenly appeared and surrouhem all of a sudden.
“An enemy attack?!”
Tatewaki Katase, the Majeneral of the Japanese Military and leader of the Japan Liberation Front, quickly came to the aer of his base. And immediately upon arrival, a subordinate of his saluted aed him of the dire situation.
“The Britannian forces have the Narita mountaiirely encircled! We’ve already ted over 100 units!”
Thes from round units began ing to him, inf him further about the sheer gravity of the situation.
“We’re pletely surrounded. Even our underground reserve forces were captured all at once!”
“Majeneral Katase, we’ve received a message from elia’s forces to surrender!”
“You fool! If we fall here, Japan’s resistanent dies with us!”
The Majeneral replied with a voice filled with anger and frustration.
“Then… Do we shoot back or use the entre pn…?”
One of his officers asked.
“Tohdoh… What about Tohdoh? Where is he?!”
“He’s goo Kyoto to get the Burai s!”
An officer answered, and another one added.
“The four holy swords are traveling with him as well!”
“If they’re on schedule, they should be returning soon. But…”
The Majeneral thought for a moment, before issuing his decision.
“Tohdoh won’t make it in time… Prepare to send out the Burais! We’ll break the encirclement on one side and evacuate! Show them the pride and spirit of the Japahis is our moment of truth!”
““YES!!!””
VergsX