Re:START/If {Book 1.0}
Chapter 57: Aswad 4 of 15 “To Act” (Part 02)

Now, spring of 2,699 the Pendulum Calendar.

Wind gusts from the sea, through the waves to get to the rocks and land. Grey clouds walked in the air towards the lush forest area, the rustling sound of leaves that sounded signified silence. The morning sun that was supposed to start the day was invisible at all, covered in an increasingly thick gray gray. The waves hit the rock that became a natural dock for two large ships of the Moloia people, located in a bay that both sides are squeezed by a large cliff but has a fairly calm sea current.

At the natural harbor of coral rocks, two large ships that dock it comes with their respective purposes. One of them was a wooden ship with three main sailing masts belonging to the Special Unit of the combined factions of the kingdom of Moloia. The ship was in such a way reshuffled, from a ship usually filled with cannons and fire balistas to a ship that really looked like a merchant ship. However for the generator that became Moloia technology was not eliminated, it was hidden and the position of the chimney was changed as well as the iron fins were replaced with wood.

Not far from the camouflage ship to infiltrate it, seen a corvette type ship that does not hide the elements of its warship. The hull of the ship is coated in steel armor and buoyancy that can be adjusted to maneuver, two chimneys on the stern, two propellers are connected to the engine and fins for the directional lane connected to the steering wheel on the bridge.

On the main deck, there are two main guns — Cannon 76 mm and AK-360 30 mm. In addition to these weapons, there were also several machine guns on each corner of the deck that had just been used and the bullet casings were still scattered on the floor. The technological difference between the two ships is very clear, so far in terms of civilization even though it still belongs to one kingdom and only different fractions.

Cold, moist, and slightly fishy smelling. However, the sea breeze that blew fiercely towards the land was enough to carry the scent of blood that was shed on the rocks and began to mix with the waves that hit. Silence felt, seagulls flying high around both cliffs and did not want to go down after a short battle in the cove of rocks.

Bodies were lying on the rocks, some were floating in the bay and lying on the deck of the corvette ship. Leaning against the deck guardrail, Laura Sam’kloi sat limp as she pulled out a bullet lodged in her right waist. He tore off tight clothes, stabbed himself in the stomach with a knife and picked up the nesting hot lead.

Before the bleeding was more severe, he used magic to heat the blade and close the wound. The pain was obvious, he wanted to shout loudly but was too limp to do so. Smoke came out as the flat surface of the blade attached to his wound, the flesh was covered in burns and he immediately dropped his knife and raised his head withstanding the excruciating pain.

“Akh! This .... Damn, I should have brought more anesthesia when I got here. Who would have thought the mission would end this way .... Fuck!”

The High Elf got up and held the deck divider to stand. Looking around, at a glance he narrowed his eyes and recalled the battle between countrymen that happened very short in that place. It began with a debate with the opinions of the Special Units of the combined factions remaining at the main headquarters in the sabotage mission, which was to be followed, the firefight occurred when one of the higher-ups of the Military Faction did not accept Laura's opinion to retreat for a moment and cancel their long-term mission.

Sighing and putting on an annoyed expression, Laura muttered, “You put where my face is when I come back, huh ..?” That sort of thing was said by an officer of the highest rank who was on duty at the time. The officer insisted on continuing the mission, invited his subordinates and began to commit violence. It was this that made the shootout break out, inevitable and became a one-way killing by the Fairy Soldiers due to the difference in strength that existed.

Leaning her body against the barrier, Letda muttered again, “What Athena thought to the point of making such a person her one. Tch! Damn, why is it like this .... It feels ... exactly like what the black hair boy conveyed.”

Trudged limp, the blonde woman walked towards the bow and saw the corpses that were also lying below. Not only from the combined factions, some of Laura's men were also victims and most were technicians who did not have high combat capabilities. Squinting his emerald green eyes, the High Elf was fed up with the strife of one nation he had always faced on the battlefield.

“Laura!”

There was a sound of someone calling from the wooden boat next to the ship where he was. Letda slowly turned his head, looked towards the completely unscathed camouflage ship and saw Notmarina and the other two Fairy Soldiers on the deck of the ship. The three of them immediately created anti-gravity light particle wings, then flew to Laura's place and landed.

“How? Is there anyone else there? You guys finished everything?” ask Laura.

“Nothing, it seems like those who were outside earlier were all of them. Twenty-one personnel, consisting of 5 technicians and 16 soldiers.” Notmarina immediately approached, saw the wound on Laura's stomach and asked again, “You're really okay? Although the power of the shotgun is not as strong as a semi-automatic rifle, but you were shot very close after using protective magic on the ship.”

“Do not worry ... Indeed my Mana is almost completely empty, but for the first handling it is done. More importantly, are you sure you've finished everything ...”

Laura stared at the sailboat, looking anxious because she knew what could happen next. Some possible information he had received from Odo made the High Elf unable to calm down, anxious if anyone was still alive and other bad things happened.

“Yes .... Everything is done, the massacre this time is done”

“Marina ...”

Laura looked up when she heard this. Looking carefully at the faces of the three subordinates and colleagues, Letda immediately understood that what they had done was not a simple thing. Killing people from the same hometown was no fun, once again Laura was reminded of the dark feelings in her mind.

“Laura ..., is this the right decision? Kill them like this ..”

Getting the question from Notmarina, Laura turned to the corpses lying below and in a serious tone said, “You see for yourself, ‘ right? The fool who led the unit just wanted to find a name and move up the ranks in his mission .... On such conditions, he also dared to oppose the verdict of a person of higher rank.”

“Not it .... I mean, about that young man .... The man who claimed to be Black Element.”

“Ah ..” Laura stared with a doubtful expression, slightly turning her eyes away she replied, “I also feel trust in her it was not the right decision. No. .., until now I don't believe.”

“Then why should there be such a thing again?! Why should we slaughter our own comrades?!” asked Notmarina in a high voice.

The faded green haired woman looked wrathful, feeling that something was wrong with the situation. His reason for wanting to join Laura again was because he proposed a special mission that might prevent war, but seeing the results made Notmarina lose her sense of trust.

Laura was silent for a moment, the wind blew and made the Elf Warriors' hair wavy. Staring in confusion, the blonde woman replied, “Because .... What the young man said was true.”

“You call this massacre true?!” notmarina.

“Not it ...” Laura shook her head, trying to find the right sentence and said, “True what I mean, what will happen to us is true as it is. You know, when we got back last night they were — units combined those factions already showed no disbelief. Maybe it's because we came back too soon and there are some who didn't come back .... From that, some of them have decided to finish us off and Mr. Princess.”

“Mr Princess too?” Notmarina squinted, then asked again, “Not that they just disagree with our opinion and attack for that reason?”

Notmarina flinched, and both partners began to feel it made sense. Holding his chin and slightly turning his eyes away, the Faded green-haired High Elf in his mind felt a similar feeling from the Special Unit's gurgle of the combined fractions before the shootout broke out.

“They ... from the beginning do not like our arrival?” ask Notmarina.

“Kurasa ... it's even worse .... From the beginning the combined factions were just bait, all the members in the headquarters of this Felixia kingdom sabotage mission were mostly from the Military Faction.”

“A-Are you sure?!” ask Notmarina.

“Letda sure it?” Magda Klitea.

“Ti-Cannot .... There must be an error.” Ul’ma Lilitra doubtful.

“I'm not very good at remembering others ..” Laura turned around, looked down and went back to observe the faces of the corpses that were lying below. During a brief battle, the, he felt that there was something strange because the weapons used by them were mostly those of the Military Faction and there were absolutely no special weapons that the Technology Development and Research Faction should have brought.

Turning back and looking at Notmarina, Letda the two said, “But! If the face and the type of uniform I understand. The number is too strange .... Supposedly for special units is 25% of each faction, but here too military faction. If added who died in the forest because Di’in and Ra’an, their number is more than 25% ..”.

“Why ... can it be like that?” Magda slightly lowered her face, thought of many awkward things and concluded, “What is Athena ... intentionally doing this?”

“Iya .., most likely the damn A.I had his own plans with the Special Unit of this Faction-Fraction joint.” Laura gritted her teeth and trembled. Not because of the conclusions he and his colleagues got, but he began to feel afraid because the possibility was also conveyed by Odo to him.

Laura slowly closed her gaping mouth tightly, then shakily revealed what was in mind, “A.I was definitely adding her own personnel, then intending to do something. If the over 100 Special Units sent for sabotage to each country had such an awkwardness, something must have happened ..”

The atmosphere became tense, they began to sweat and understand what the meaning behind it was. Athena is a Super Intelligent A.I who tends to choose war in solving problems to protect Moloia, the decision taken will be very brutal and even possibly can easily lower the order to kill the inhabitants of a city. Considering such things, it was no wonder in the near future that perhaps a war would break out due to the attack carried out by Moloia's forces without any official orders.

“Not it .. It's better we go back and report this to another A.I.,” Notmarina said anxiously.

“I ... also feel—”

!!!!!!!!!!!

Suddenly a massive explosion occurs on a wooden ship, the debris of which bounces to the deck of the corvette where Laura and her companion are. The shock wave was quite strong felt, making the ship sway and the waves become a little chaotic. Smoke and flames were seen growing from the deck of the wooden ship across, getting bigger and quickly burning the ship, most of which was made of wood.

Laura was just gaping, not believing what she saw. Slowly closed his mouth, his face paled even more and slowly stepped back. With a trembling voice he said, “Dia ... also predict this? What the fuck is that person ...”

“Tch! Is the Mini Fusion Generator the ship triggered?!” ask Notmarina worriedly.

Magda asked back, “Who triggered it? Don't the people over there already we've finished off?”

“Sorry .... Me ...”

Ul’ma Lilitra stepped back, his face deathly pale and filled with guilt. Looking at the expression of his comrade, they all knew who had let someone live from the Special Unit and made the ship explode.

“Why did you lie and let one of them live!” Magda loudly snapped at his partner. He immediately beat Ul’ma to the ground, then took the rifle on his back and pointed it.  With a face of wrath and disgust, Magda again said, “Your nature like that always pisses me off! If the signal of the destroyed reactor is received by the other A.I, it can create chaos! They can speed up attacks and the war can't be stopped anymore!!”

“A-I didn't know that he was going to blow up his ship! Which I-I let only people from the mechanical part, I did not expect that he ...”

Amidst the quarrel, the tightly shut door of the boat bridge slowly opened and a voice rang out, “Laura ...? Why ... ship ... they ...”

It was very familiar to Laura, immediately turned her head and looked anxiously at the woman coming out of the bridge. There is seen the 30th Princess of the Kingdom of Moloia, Ulla Vrog Ma’tar. The woman with long, bright purple hair walked with an anxious expression, slightly lifting the dark red dress that had the folds worn.

Seeing the woman by the nickname Princess Amethyst was approaching, immediately one of the possibilities that Laura got from Odo began to ring in the head and a bad picture appeared. Laura with all her might clambered towards Princess Ulla, ignoring the pain on the wound on her unrecovered abdomen and shouted, “Why did you come out! Go inside!!”

“Eh ..?”

Aarrkk!!!

A follow-up explosion occurred on the wooden boat across, it was more devastating than before and made a piece of burning wood bounce fast from the source of the explosion. Before Laura could, one of the sharp pieces of wood from the explosion shot fiercely towards Princess Ulla.

It was precisely stuck into the woman's neck that long bright purple hair, going inside until it broke her neck bone. Instantly the reflection of the light on his eyes disappeared, then his fragile body was pushed to the side and fell to the floor. Blood flowed on the floor of the deck, his body convulsing and starting to spit out blood.