Grestancia is the capital planet of the Akadia Empire. It is the crown jewel of Akadian pride and the only sanctuary from a galaxy that has declared it enemies of the goddess herself. Despite this, Grestancia is far from a peaceful planet. The planet's deadly environments have forced the Akadians to adapt in multiple ways. Now it has become a bustling and industrious planet with metallic yet crude structures that fill most of the cities on Grestancia. Its citizens are hardworking and very nationalistic. Their loyalty to their emperor and the destruction of their enemies are perhaps the traits that have kept them going through these hard times.
From one of the balconies of the Imperial Palace, the young emperor Julius Kastaway was looking at the horizon. Even though the sun was coming up, it was blocked by the thick clouds of the planet's atmosphere. Still, such a sight was something that many Akadians have been accustomed to, even better if they were able to find some joy in its bleak view.
Today was one of those days when Julius would find such joy. The one who was responsible for blinding his left eye is dead. Despite not being able to kill her himself, it was enough to avenge his left eye.
Such victories would usually be celebrated with a feast, but Julius was not that simple. He knew that it was a victory for him but not for the empire. It was not worth wasting time and effort on such a small feat.
As he was celebrating, the wind suddenly blew in. A gentle blow that blew his red cape behind him. Julius welcomes its cold embrace, despite it being combined with the city's polluted air. Such meager things did not annoy him at all.
"Do you need something, Hirodinus?"
Hirodinus Konrad stood behind him. His figure towered over Julius by a couple of centimeters, making Julius look inferior. His bright red goggles looked down menacingly on Julius, yet with a sense of respect, as he knew his position well as Julius's subordinate.
"The fleet has departed to the newly discovered planet"
"And you must be wondering why you weren't sent along with it" Julius turned his head to look behind him with a confident smirk "Am I right?"
Hirodinus made no expression, keeping his intimidating look "There is no need for explanation. I already know the fleet's true intentions. To destroy the planet along with the Federation's invasion fleet"
The emperor laughed "Age has not regressed you one bit, Hirodinus" Then he raised his hand to the side with its palm open "You are correct. I have no intention of accepting such a meager planet and its citizens to our empire. Too costly and will take time"
He lowered his hand, then finally fully faced Hirodinus but kept his devilish smirk "Not to mention that your missing defective trooper was the one who called for this unplanned invasion. What was his number again?"
Hirodinus answered but with a slight surprise tone "Trooper 117. So, he is still alive"
"That's right. He even managed to kill that damned traitor. Despite the mess that he made"
He felt sorrow, knowing that Priad had successfully killed Mia. Julius had issued the mission, and Hirodinus had a slight hope that Mia would successfully escape. Priad's fate, however, was none of his concern. Not to mention that he, despite being under the influence of his program, would at least hesitate to kill her.
But alas, he had underestimated both Priad and the trooper's program.
"If I recall, both you and he have faced the Fallen Princess once"
The general scoffs "During a small skirmish on the edge of our territory. I only witnessed the battle from afar. He only held off the princess's assault, nothing more"
"Then he is the perfect pawn to sacrifice for Hakona's destruction. Will that trouble you?"
Hirodinus answered almost immediately without thinking, "His life is expendable, just like the others. Use him as you wish, my liege"
Once again, Julius laughed "Very well. Now, on to... Nrrgh"
Suddenly, his eyepatch began glowing purple. The young emperor felt immense pain, which made him kneel to suppress it. He held his eyepatch and grunted through the pain, refusing to let a single scream of pain out of his mouth.
Hirodinus only stood there as he watched Julius suffer. It wasn't because he didn't care, but because there was nothing that he could do to help. He remained there until the pain stopped.
"Damn you, Narukami. Damn you to hell for causing me such pain!"
He cursed the dead Mia Narukami as if she was still alive and next to him. It took only a few minutes before the pain finally subsided and Julius regained his strength to stand up.
Despite being a useful and cheap energy source to power up the troopers, Grim energy is deadly to other living beings, including Akadian humans. Julius was one of the unfortunate ones who they infected, but it was fortunately halted to his left eye thanks to the eyepatch attached to his left eye.
Not dwelling on the pain, Julius immediately turns his attention to Hirodinus "My children. How are they?"
"They are all still undergoing intense training under their tutors. Your eldest sons seem to have trained well and will soon be ready to lead their first battle. As for your youngest daughter, she shows little promise so far"
"Ensure that they are all ready, Hirodinus. I don't have much time to live. The fate of the empire will soon rest on their shoulders"
"They will be prepared"
The emperor then walked passed Hirodinus, immediately heading somewhere without telling him where. Hirodinus also didn't dare to question it and continued to remain there, now taking Julius's place in sightseeing the sight of the Imperial capital. Though it was mostly to mourn the death of Mia Narukami.
Hirodinus never considered Mia as his friend, but she had done a lot for him which earned his respect. To him, she was a valued comrade who had stood beside him in numerous battles and affairs. But those days were over when she betrayed the empire and infused the Grim energy into Julius's left eye.
However, Julius wasn't the only one who was corrupted by Grim energy. Hirodinus was the first one to be corrupted by it. Not the first Akadian human, but the first in all living species. The corruption was severe and his entire limb had to be severed and replaced with specially-made prosthetics to contain the corruption within his body.
Now he is eternally locked inside his armor and had to be constantly monitored to control his condition.
After a while, Hirodinus finally left the balcony, now leaving it empty. He made his way to the entrance of the palace. His metallic footsteps could be heard loudly by everyone around him as he walked past them. Those that stood in his way immediately stood aside to make way for him. Even the emperor's royal guard feared and respected Hirodinus, despite him merely being a general, several ranks lower than them.
Outside the palace was filled with beautiful gardens and fountains that decorated the front of the palace. A young scientist girl with black hair, wearing a white lab coat and accompanied by several robotic dogs was also waiting for him. As well as an Akadian dropship that is parked behind her.
"It's time for your checkup, general"
The young scientist is Fleur Harkins. She is the assistant that was assigned to Hirodinus to constantly watch and treat him. She is also the sister of Liliana Harkins, the lieutenant who is currently in Hakona right now alongside Priad.
Hirodinus paid no attention to the young girl and merely headed inside the dropship and sat in the passenger seat. Fleur, who was already used to this, simply headed in as well, followed by her robotic dogs.
The dropship then lifted off and it began flying somewhere.
"Now, sit still. This won't take long"
Fleur sat across Hirodinus and took out her datapad, followed by one of her dogs who sat in front of him. Several metallic cables then emerged from the dog and connected to several parts of Hirodinus's armor as it sent the data of the armor to the girl's datapad.
"Hmm, everything seems normal. Though your heart did spike for a bit just a few moments ago" She then smirked playfully "Did you make his majesty mad?"
Hirodinus answered as the cables from the robot dog retracted from his armor "Just some news I heard from his majesty"
"Oh," The girl puts away her datapad "What news would that be?"
This time, Hirodinus paused for a moment before answering "Trooper 117 and his men are still alive"
After hearing the news, Fleur was hooked "He's alive? What was his name, Pala, Piron..."
"Priad"
She flicked her fingers "Priad, yeah. That trooper that Faith once befriended. Ah, I remember those two. I'm surprised he's still alive. Where is he?"
"In that new world, Hakona"
"Ah, the one Lily was assigned to. Looks like you two will be able to meet each other again. But, that means..." Fleur paused, as she realized what Priad's survival meant.
The general was silent, not giving any answer to Fleur. It was clear what Mia's fate was.
She paused. Silence fills the mood of the dropship. Mia was a dear friend to Fleur. They have been involved in various experiments, despite most of them being inhumane. Great minds think alike after all.
However, what he thought was sorrow, turns into a sudden satisfaction. The corners of Fleur's mouth rise slightly as it turns into a creepy and happy smile. A small laughter of joy then followed after that.
"Hehehehe. The traitor is finally dead. Good riddance to that bitch"
She continues to laugh, overjoyed by the news of Mia's death. It seems the betrayal has made Fleur resentful and hated Mia as well, or perhaps something else even more fierce went down between them. Either way, this was not something that Hirodinus dared to ask. At least, not at the moment.
Instead, another thing would come into his mind. Unlike Mia, Fleur still treasures her sister dearly, so he decides to not reveal the real purpose of the reinforcing fleet. It's better that Fleur didn't know that her sister was going to be killed in a friendly fire.
After she finished laughing, she turned to Hirodinus "Say, what about Faith? Is she alright? Poor kid had to be dragged into her sister's shenanigans"
"No clue. But she should have survived. She wasn't the main target and considering 117's history with her"
She smiled "If she did, someone would have to look after her. Wanna volunteer?"
He raises his hand "I'll pass. I'm bad with children"
Fleur pouts "Come on, don't be like that. You won't have long to live, so you gotta try other stuff too"
"Fleur, I'm a soldier. I can't..."
Before he could finish, Fleur stood up and kneeled in front of him while touching one of his hands. She gave a gentle and understanding smile.
"Not all your life has to be endless slaughter and the battlefield. At least give it a try"
The general paused. There was a part of him that agreed with what she said. His life will be shorter than others and despite being a soldier for most of his life, he does long for the normal and peaceful life he once had. Furthermore, Fleur's pretty face and gentle smile do help in convincing that. Something that he thought he had forgotten and can't feel anymore.
But then, he remembers Priad. The trooper that had defied all odds to find purpose outside of war. He then instinctively retracted his hand from Fleur's.
"I will consider it"
Disappointed, Fleur sat back down to her seat across him but hides it with a simple hump and a composed smile.
"I'll make sure you won't regret it"
The two remained quiet for the rest of the ride. Hirodinus is silent about his guilt, and Fleur by her embarrassing act tries to hide it by reading her datapad. But of course, the victim of all this is the pilot. He's not a trooper, just an Akadian soldier with a simple job. After seeing such flirting, especially between a ruthless general and a sadistic scientist, he decides to just focus on piloting and getting to their destination. Perhaps he is wiser than you think. Not all romance must be teased after all.