Winds of War [AfriCatastrophe Act IV]

The Lord of Burial

END

Calliope had braced for a conflict with the Dragon as it veered towards her directly. It wasn't going to end pretty for either of them. About to call out for her ultimate form, whatever Eldritch creature had replaced Liltotto as her battle companion brought the beast to the ground. It wasn't a relaxing moment—she couldn't take the moment to catch her breath. She didn't know whether that thing would eat her as well. Calliope froze, weighing her options. The Dragon writhed to free itself from the ribbons' grasp.

Calliope stared as two calamities wrestled for dominance. It was at this moment something clicked. It wasn't the thought of her being out of her depth. That thought had already come and gone by now. Perhaps it was the destruction—yet another city reduced to slag and rubble—or maybe it was the thought of her getting caught in a direct attack from either of these two beings. She realized then and there that neither were right. Neither were part of the world. Neither were part of the true natural order of things. Yes, this Dragon might be a Hollow—but who is to say that Hollows should be part of the natural order? Shouldn't the so-called "World of the Living" be for the Living?

The Hollow let out a final shriek of frustration before... slipping away? Calliope snapped out of her reverie for a moment, ready to strike... only for it to threaten to find her? She was mid-swing of another volley of silver tubes before it fled into a Garganta. She caught herself before releasing them and quickly slid them back into their holsters. She would remember this Hollow more than any of the others she had slain. She made a quick mental note to sift through whatever records the Vandenreich had on that thing. Something told Calliope that this wasn't going to be the last time she saw the Dragon. The radio keyed on once more as one of the engineers called for her. "Madame Director, we have completed repairs and have restarted the field generator. It's running just fine now."

"Copy that. I'll be returning there posthaste with one additional. Go ahead and place two chairs in the protected zone. I think the two of us will be taking a much-needed breather." She turned to the Vandenreich's own abomination—no matter what form she took, Calliope would always see that thing as Liltotto. It explained why the majority of the ink in Liltotto's file wasn't from a printer, but from a censor's pen. Stowing away any of the anxiety and apprehension she felt, Calliope called out to her "comrade." "Good work there! I don't think I would have been able to stop it myself without resorting to more devastation. Come back to the forward base with me; I think you have earned yourself a break before—"

A wave of Reiatsu crashed over the area. The entire city shook for a moment as something massive came into being. She didn't know what it was or who it came from. At the level it was, she didn't care what it was. She'd need some kind of spiritual nuke to counter that. The only thing she could tell was that it was from something related to a Hollow. "Well, before that becomes our problem. We should both be rested before tackling that if it comes to it."

It didn't matter if Liltotto came or not, because Calliope was going back to her pet project. She was going to chug a bottle of water or three and sit and relax. She waved off the salutes from the engineers as the generator was turned off for a brief moment to allow entry. She sat in the uncomfortable fold-out chair and stared out at the sky. She wondered why she bothered with trying to destroy these Hollows. She wondered why she bothered with the creation of new technology to better protect. She, herself, would never be a fighter like the Sternritter in the thick of it. And yet, she continued the fight. But why? A break in the smoke and clouds gave her the answer. A beautiful sky existed beyond the haze of eternal conflict. So why did she do it? It was... "For the preservation of our blue and pure world."

The Lord of Burial

END

Calliope was planning on just sitting down and resting. Those plans were interrupted by being stared down by a mass of ribbons and two glowing eyes. Calliope's only thought was to run away, but she doubted she could do that. So she waited to see what it would do. It stared for only a moment before she felt the sensation. It was like hearing a voice on the wind—perhaps it was there, perhaps it wasn't. After today, Calliope didn't know or care. With the things she saw, anything was possible.

It's why Liltotto's limp form wasn't that surprising either. Anyone who knew Calliope wouldn't expect her to act. That's because her actions like this were only done far from sight—behind closed doors and well into history. She had no reason to anymore. She caught Liltotto and watched as a snowfall of light fell in reverse. Calliope had no idea what they were, and she wasn't about to touch them either.

Finding a building on the way back, Calliope removed her vest and uniform's tunic. She wrapped Liltotto in the uniform like a blanket before strapping the vest back on. Calliope would rather be seen in a sweaty tanktop than let a hero of the day parade around in the nude. "Get a medical team in there instead of the second chair. And tell the men to keep their eyes on their work." Even as she carried Liltotto's unconscious form, the thought of what she had released still echoed in Calliope's mind. She looked like a normal girl, but Calliope reminded herself that she wasn't. That there was something else behind those sleeping eyes—something she couldn't fathom currently.