Awed gasps and sighs resounded within the Black Knight's hidden compound as updated Glasgows, called Burais, lined up before them.
Knightmares from the Six Houses of Kyoto had finally arrived just in time, right before their planned operation in the mountains of Narita.
Although most of them were nothing special, especially when compared to the "Excalibur", the number alone was enough to light a hope in their hearts and lift up their morale for the upcoming operation.
But soon, they discovered one knightmare that stood out amongst the others.
Unlike the Burais, one stood out as being completely Japanese made. A crimson knightmare with a large, clawed, 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 Black Knights.
"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 knew that's what he's doing behind it.
"W-What do you mean? Why are you saying it's mine? It's obviously going to be Zero's. He's our commander."
Ohgi, who had snapped out of his daze staring at the Guren, also looked towards Mordred in confusion, wondering the same thing as Karen.
But Mordred shook his head.
"He's our commander, but he's not the best pilot. And this Guren MK.II would be one of our greatest weapons. 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 wanted to 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 and excitement 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 Black Knight's greatest weapons. And along with it, a heavy responsibility would fall upon its pilot. They would be the one to be the tip of the spear of their operations. The one who will bring the Black Knights victory. The one who will help turn the wishes and dreams of everyone in the Black Knights 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 checking 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 alone with the Guren. And as Mordred said before, Zero did come to her.
"It seems like "Mordred" had said something that bothered you again."
"Ah! Z-Zero…"
Snapped out of her daze, Karen quickly turned towards the source of the voice and addressed the mysterious, masked leader of the Black Knights.
"N-No… Well… Perhaps… What's wrong…?"
She heard a snort coming from him, but her mind was too filled with Mordred's words to even register it.
"Everyone here is treating it like a party. Like children getting 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 "reinforcements"."
"Y-Yes, No… Nothing's wrong. I'm… just glad that we are included as reinforcements 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."
Then, Zero threw her a red and white, feather-shaped knightmare key device.
"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 understand."
Karen accepted, and she immediately thought of practicing with Mordred again to improve her skills and get 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 documents 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 contact him directly, but ignoring it would be wasting a chance 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 Black Knights gain information from Britannia as well as something similar to being the head of public relations in the future.
Although he defected to Schenizel's side in the end, Lelouch still planned on using him as long as he could.
"...We'll shelf this matter for later. But now… how about we take a hike to the mountains of Narita this weekend."
""...!""
The time had finally come.
--------------------------------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 was a physically demanding sport and hobby, and not everyone could successfully reach their goal even if they wanted to. However, to disconnect oneself 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 managed to reach the top, they would be rewarded by a magnificent, beautiful sight from atop the mountain.
Unfortunately for the members of the Black Knights, 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 larger clearing of rocks and land aboard their Burai type knightmare frames and massive wheeled containers 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 large manual book about the Guren and also occasionally glancing at Mordred, who was on his Excalibur.
The black and crimson knightmare strode with dignity and pride as its owner stood 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 broken resistance 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 in the city, Britannian soldiers lurked in every corner and the army surrounded the mountain, establishing a war front at the foot of the mountain.
It was a heartbreaking sight… One that made her heart tremble with rage and frustration, and determination to stop this war once and for all.
But then, when she snapped out of her daze, she noticed Mordred looking at her silently.
"...What?"
She spoke through the communication line they've established between their knightmare frames.
"Karen, what do you usually do during your off time?"
"...Huh? What's this all of a sudden?"
Karen looked at him with a confused 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 glare, 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 you're given such an 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 watching some movies, reading some books, studying, stuff like that."
"Hm… You sound like a pretty boring person."
"..."
Her left eye twitched in annoyance as she glared at him and gritted her teeth. Mordred was extremely skilled in getting under her skin.
That said… she can'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 regular girl, she'll have some normal hobbies like other girls her age.
"Then how about you, bastard? I bet you don't have any hobbies too, right?"
"Me? I enjoy cooking."
Karen's head immediately turned towards 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 such an 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 lace apron, cooking miso soup in the kitchen…
No… That looked so out of place… 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 can cook!"
"...I feel like I should be offended by that. Oh well. You can 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 between the two was so uncanny 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 confidence 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 placing electrodes through the mountain and into the water reserves.
A few moments after they finished their preparation, Zero returned and met with Ohgi.
"H-Hey, are we really doing this?"
Ohgi turned towards Zero and asked with a trembling voice. A clear sign of nervousness and anxiety.
"The enemy is Cornelia. Even within Britannia, her army was a force to be reckoned 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 become 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.
Cornelia Li Britannia. A royal princess of the Britannian royal family, half sister of Lelouch, and commander of one of the most powerful armies in the Britannian empire. She was an exceedingly beautiful woman with long fuschia hair, lavender purple eyes, luscious pink lips, and donning her wine-red purple royal military uniform.
"Right. Commence operation!!!"
Her hands reached for the control sticks of her knightmare, and immediately launched with her wind-red purple knightmare frame, her very own and famous customized Gloucester.
"The Japan Liberation Front. You, who time has left behind. You, who have forgotten basic human kindness. Now you and your dream of a great nation shall fall and rot to nothingness."
And as Cornelia raced on with her knightmare, tens of Britannian knightmare frames that appeared from within train containers, raced through the empty streets of Narita, and dropped by tens of carrier planes moved to surround the mountain, the base of the Japan Liberation Front.
Instantly, the radar within the Japan Liberation Front's headquarters blared with warning as more than a hundred of enemies suddenly appeared and surrounded them all of a sudden.
"An enemy attack?!"
Tatewaki Katase, the Major General of the Japanese Military and leader of the Japan Liberation Front, quickly came to the command center of his base. And immediately upon arrival, a subordinate of his saluted and reported him of the dire situation.
"The Britannian forces have the Narita mountains entirely encircled! We've already counted over 100 units!"
Then, reports from other ground units began coming to him, informing him further about the sheer gravity of the situation.
"We're completely surrounded. Even our underground reserve forces were captured all at once!"
"Major General Katase, we've received a message from Cornelia's forces to surrender!"
"You fool! If we fall here, Japan's resistance movement dies with us!"
The Major General replied with a voice filled with anger and frustration.
"Then… Do we shoot back or use the entrenchment plan…?"
One of his officers asked.
"Tohdoh… What about Tohdoh? Where is he?!"
"He's gone to Kyoto to get the Burai Customs!"
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 Major General 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 Japanese! This is our moment of truth!"
""YES!!!""