"First commander!"
Toshiro frowned as he looked towards the source of the shout. Akagami Minami, 17 years of age, and just as unruly. He was one of his earliest subordinates who followed him throughout his career. One time, Toshiro had asked whether he wanted to become his vice-commander and he had said, "I'm fine just being your shadow, commander. Wherever you go, I go,".
It had touched him. During those years of war such loyalty was hard to come by, so Toshiro treasured it more so.
Thinking back to the first time he had met this guy, Toshiro had a hard time keeping a straight face. It was hard to imagine that the little thief who made a living stealing and robbing strangers was now one of his most trusted subordinates. "What is it?" he asked, wiping off his smile.
Minami lifted his face, his expression grim. "It was fire in the R & D department. An experiment gone awry, from the looks of it,"
Toshiro grimaced. "And the damage?" he asked, expecting the worst.
Minami's lips curled into a small smile. "Nothing major. All the research data are unharmed. We might need to reimburse them for the damage costs, though," he said.
Toshiro grimaced. It was no news that him and the commander of the R&D Department or rather the Fifth Division didn't see eye to eye ever since that incident...
Ten years ago, when the war was reaching its final stages, the head of the fifth division introduced a weapon called 'Life Steal'. Just like its name suggests it devours a bearer's life force in exchange for god-like strength. But once the time's up, the bearer will age at least 50 years in the blink of an eye.
Life Steal. The very name of that cursed thing made him clench his teeth. It was not simply a hatred born out of apprehensiveness either. Ten years ago, when the weapon first came out, it was his division that volunteered to test it out on the battlefield. Although, him and his subordinates all knew the risks, they still accepted it. But the result...it was more devastating than an overwhelming victory. Although, their enemies received a blow, the damages incurred on their side of the battlefield was no small loss either. Overnight, hundreds of soldiers aged 50 years and were deemed unfit to continue battle.
Such a result, it would've been better had they died on the battlefield. Many thought so. Some went insane with the drastic shift in age and circumstances, while some insisted to continue battle in the frontlines. Even the clan leader was helpless to their plight.
Because of this, the fifth division was criticized a lot, but the divisional commander was indifferent to them and simply replied, "If you knew the risks, then you shouldn't blame others for the result. I told you the risks, and you accepted. This was the result. Face it,"
It was logical, and apathetic. Just like the man himself. And no one could fault him for his logic. The clan wouldn't have survived thus far without his innovations, so many had to swallow their insults and endure it.
Even Toshiro had to admire the man for his cool-headed conduct. And it was precisely this cool-headedness of his that made him many enemies within and without the clan. But the man himself was indifferent to it all.
It was after the Life Steal weapon came into existence that the countless complaints and criticism that had been suppressed finally rared its ugly head and aimed themselves at the fifth commander. The thousands of voices all asking for a dismissal of the fifth commander from his post nearly led to a rebellion.
It was due to the clan leader's timely intervention that all the voices of dissent finally calmed down. But as a result, the R&D Department became the object of hatred of many faction within the clan. It still operated under their commander, but now it was no better than an abandoned factory with a low revenue and an even low amount of man power and human resources.
But even under such circumstances, the fifth commander, Akagami Ren still sat at the annual gatherings and gave a monthly report of progress for the clan leader, as if all the low cut budgets and cut salaries was nothing more than a passing wind. One had to admire Ren for his dedication to the clan, so even though Toshiro and Ren didn't see eye to eye and butted heads often, even though he still hated him for using his subordinates as lab rats, he still grudgingly admired the man for his work ethics.
"Sir?" At Minami's questioning tone, Toshiro snapped out of reverie, and looked around. Now, he could faintly feel the heat in the air, and the faint crackling of embers as the fire raged in the distance. He narrowed his eyes.
He looked at Minami, puzzled. "You did say you contained it, right?" he asked.
Minami blinked. "Eh?"
Ignoring him, he turned around and strode towards the Fifth division headquarters.
From a bird's eye view, if someone looked at the Akagami domain, they would see five mansions built in an ancient japanese style, placed in the shape of a pentagram around a grandly built palace.
At the head, to the north of the palace which was the Akagami clan's main headquarters was the HQ of the First division. To its left, on the North eastern side of the main HQ was the fifth division HQ and to the right on the North western side of the Main HQ was the second division's HQ.
Towards the south, on the south western side of Main HQ was the Third Divisional HQ and on the South Eastern side of the main HQ was the Fourth Divisional HQ.
Between each of these Head quarters was a dense fortress of tress and foliage serving as a wall between these divisions. Now, one shouldn't overlook this forest as something normal because anything that served as a wall between divisions was anything but normal. And likewise, this forest, unlike what was seen on the surface, was a danger zone that not even the upper echelon of the clan had any confidence of crossing safely.
It was known as the Ember maze. Usually, a forest was cool and humid. And looking at the thick forest cover, it should be likely so. But only after stepping into it would one realize that it wasn't the case at all. It wasn't cool. Nor humid. It was warm and the temperature kept rising the more deeper one went.
And yet, the flora thrived in this forest as if it was in a normal forest. No one knew why.
Once Ren had speculated that it could be because of a fire vein that ran underground throughout the Akagami domain, causing the temperature in the forest to thrive. Another reason why the Fire-series Mana-artists could thrive in this domain and cultivate must have been because of this fire vein, Ren had said.
Toshiro wondered if the perpetual iceberg- that had been the nickname given to Ren during their childhood- had ever uncovered the mystery of the Ember maze. No, he shook his head. Somethings are better left as a mystery. He mused.
From the corner of his eyes, he could see shadowy figures flitting in and out of the forest. Ashes. They were called. Like any powerful organisation, Akagami clan commanded a powerful force both on the surface and the underground. The Ashes were the clan's so called underground forces. A force that obeyed the clan leader and the clan leader only. They didn't involve themselves in the clan politics and internal affairs but watched over external threats and got rid of internal threats.
Many of the divisional commanders felt apprehensive towards such a force but as long as they didn't hinder them, then they had to swallow their complaints.
And for such Ashes to be here, Toshiro's eyebrows furrowed. Indeed, this wasn't a simple fire at all.
"Commander!" Minami called, also noticing the Ashes.
"Mm! We're speeding up!" Toshiro said, then jumped up. The force of his jump carried him over the forest cover, then he silently landed on a tree branch. Bracing himself, he turned to see Minami and Rikuou who had been silent up until now, had also followed suit and was keeping up with him.
Nodding, he moved forward, jumping from one tree branch to the next like an agile monkey. When they finally reached their destination, he held out a hand. Behind him, Minami and Rikuou paused.
He crouched forward, his eyes narrowing, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
The grand building that was once the Fifth HQ was burning up in flames, the fire crackling madly. Even from where he was sitting, he could feel the heat emanating from the burning building.
In front of the steps was a tall figure dressed in a white lab coat, his hands buried in his pockets casually. His thin square glasses framed a pair of red eyes that was cold and apathetic, and his short red hair, framed against the burning flames was like a miniature flame, as it danced in the wind. His white skin was pale, and his thin lips were curved into a disdainful sneer.
Surrounding him were a dozen or so Ashes, their guns aimed at him.
As he leaned forward, Toshiro could faintly make out what they were saying.
"Akagami Ren! You're under arrest on suspicion of conspiracy against the clan! Come with us quietly or die as a traitor!"