Blood, ... Gunshots, ... Screams, ... Death, … and a flower.

It stood alone, pristine and undisturbed by the surrounding chaos. It was the one light in the darkness, life surrounded by death, and the lone star shining in the abyss.

A man's hand went down to pick up that flower, carefully making sure that none of the blood on his hand was on the beautiful, milky petals. The man brought it close to his nostrils and took a small whiff, ... tears started pouring from his face.

"It has a pleasant smell, even with all the blood and death around it."

The man had a gruff voice that was sore from yelling at the cruel world. He lowered the flower and brought it closer to his heart.

He wished from the bottom of his heart that he could be this flower, standing tall and full of life as destruction overwhelmed everything around it.

Bang!

***

"Hhuu Aaaah"

Ajay woke up with a start, his breath was ragged as his chest drenched in sweat. He looked around, realizing he was still in his dorm and not on the battlefield. He calmed his breathing and pushed aside his bedsheets, as he got up and grabbed the flask of water on his bedside table, drinking it in a hurry. Getting up from his bed, Ajay proceeded to look at himself in the dressing mirror which was positioned across from his bed.

Ajay was a middle-aged man who was 42, but looked slightly older because of the horrors he had seen on the battlefield and because he would not take care of himself properly. His skin tone was tanned to the point that it looked bronze due to the amount at times he would stay in the sun while he was out on patrol. There was a miniscule amount of gray hair creeping in from his sideburns. Other than that, his hair was jet black. He had average looks, and his face was matted with wrinkles here and there, but overall, it looked hardened and unflinching. But his most prominent feature was his physique, he was ripped, he had the right amount of muscles at the right places, and looked as if he had not an ounce of fat in his body.

The only thing that broke this perfect physique, was the long, ugly scar that went across Ajay's chest, stitches could be seen beside the scar, making it look like patchwork. Looking at the scar, Ajay sighed, it was a reminder of the hardships he had gone through, but also of the sins he carried.

Not wanting to look at it anymore, he brushed his teeth, took a quick shower, put on a black skin-tight t-shirt and some gray cargo pants and proceeded to exit his dorm room. He is currently living at Military base #09, on the outskirts of the country land, about 40 miles away from the battlefield. That's right, he's a soldier, but not any old soldier, he's the Chief of the Terrorist Defense Squad, 9th battalion.

Ajay Lucius Zackary.

His whole life, Ajay had ties to war. Both his parents had served in the army, loyal and while doing anything for their country, even laying up their own lives. Ajay was only 6 when he got the news of his parents bravely sacrificing themselves for their country, He was living with his grandmother at the time and didn't know how brave his parents were and the honor that they brought to the country, so... he cried.

But now he knows better, he knows when someone close perishes, you don't shed tears because you'll never see them again, you stand tall and be proud of them. Because they now have the highest honor, the honor of living for their country. That is what his country, the Republic of Garza, taught and what the citizens obeyed, it was better for everyone to abide so they may have peaceful, joyous lives.

Ajay continued to live with his grandmother, until eventually she too passed away. Ajay was sixteen then, and with no other relatives or places to live, he dropped out of school and joined the army. He had many reasons for his decision to carry on with his parents legacy, to honor his grandmother's last wish for him to join, and to prove himself to be a warrior that his country could call upon.

In the end, he spent his whole life trying to achieve this goal. He didn't know if he had achieved it or not, but one thing was sure, the horrors he witnessed forged the man he is today, cold, ruthless, patriotic, efficient, and works like a machine.

'Definitely not like that flower.'

Shaking his head, he told himself to stop thinking about it and get on with his day.

The hallway that Ajay was currently walking through was very dull and gray, with only a few doors here and there led to other soldiers' dorms or offices. He didn't stop at any doors and went directly to the end of the hallway, which had a wider double door entryway. When passing the doors, it led to a more open lobby with different facilities and utilities. On the far right, was a kitchen shaped in a 'L' structure. It had basic utilities like a stove, microwave, fridge, cabinets, a dishwasher and Ajay's favorite, the coffee maker.

Ajay wanted to get rid of his thoughts which were wandering back to the dream he just had. So he brewed himself a nice big cup of coffee and took a refreshing sip.

"Aaaahh. That's just what I needed."

Feeling refreshed and ready to start a new day, Ajay was about to head into his officew hen he heard a voice coming from the lobby door.

"Arrgh. My back has been still aching since yesterday. Couldn't have Chief have taken it easier on us?"

"You know how Chief is… He's a demon, and not just any demon, he's the god damn reincarnation of the Demon King!"

"Shh. What if the chief hears you? I don't know how, but he always manages to catch wind of all the stuff you call him."

"And also, you are way too immersed in those light novels, Aussie. If the chief catches your secret collection, they'll be accompanying the ash pile of your dirty magazine collection."

"Tsst. Yeah right, I'd like to see him try. He doesn't scare me if he was right in front of me, I would give him a piece of my mini–"

The group froze when they arrived at the front of the kitchen, especially the young man who was talking big. Ajay was casually drinking his coffee while leaning on a wall. He looked up and raised his eyebrows when he saw the shock, and the increasing sweating faces of his comrades.

"I–"

The young man started to talk, but Ajay interrupted him.

"So, you can take me on, can you?"

The young man, Aussie's, face turned slightly paler as he said:

"No, chief, I didn't mean that, uh."

Ajay put down his finished cup of coffee and proceeded to face the young man-who was shorter than him by about an inch, with dirty blond hair and looked to be a Caucasian descent. He put his hands in a basic fighting stance and signaled Aussie to come at him. Aussie visibly gulped and got in the same fighting stance as Ajay, except it wasn't as stable because he was shaking slightly.

"Is that what I taught you?"

But before Aussie could reply, Ajay charged forward swiftly and was about to

Punch Assie's lower left rib. Aussie looked like he was ready to block it, except it was a feint. Ajay proceeded to grab Aussie's outstretched hand by the elbow and suplex him in the cold marble floor of the kitchen.

Only the dishwasher running in the background could be heard accompanied by the snickering of one of the soldiers, and the pained grunts of an Aussie. But he quickly got up and bowed to Ajay.

"I am extremely sorry SIR! I will never undermine or ever call you a monster in human ski–Aghh"

That earned another punch in the gut. Just as Ajay was about to scold him, he could hear snickering from the group behind Aussie. It was a young lady with creamy white skin, and raven black hair that was cut short. She was trying her best to hold her laughter, but failing miserably.

"You think this is funny, Maya?"

"Cough! No Sir. I am not a dumbas–"

She was slapped on the back of her head by Angel, a woman who had chocolate colored skin and curly black hair.

A shy-looking young man then carefully stepped out from the group. He was the shortest of the group, you could call him the runt of the group. His name was Lux.

"We're sorry sir. We will never talk behind your back again and will thoroughly discipline ourselves."

Ajay looked at the group of misfits bickering. He had hand-picked them himself, and while they might act goofy, he knew what a menace this group could be out on the battlefield. Sighing, he said:

"I want 20 laps around the premise for each of you." Oh, and Aussie, after you're done, I want the light novels at my desk."

As he left the group, Ajay could hear a cry of despair coming from behind, making him snicker a bit. While he may be a cold, calculating killing machine out on the battlefield, when he was with his squad, his heart couldn't help but warm up a little. Whether he knew it or not, with all the loss he experienced, he had grown to care and love his rowdy little group.

While having these warm little thoughts, Ajay entered and sighed at the sight of the paper work on his desk. Despite being a chief in the military, he always felt like he had to do as much paperwork as a desk job. He sat down and was about to unwillingly start. When…

Ringggg!

He picked up his phone and saw the words "Commander Uragirimono" on the top of his screen. He picked up with a serious look donning his face.

"I salute the commander!"

"At ease, soldier. How have you been, Chief Zackary?"

"I am always ready for duty, Sir."

"Usually I would tell you to be less stiff, but. Today is different, we have a problem."

The wrinkles on Ajay's forehead creased and tension grew on his face.

"What is it, sir?"

"...Zackary, I need your team ready to go. We're being attacked!"

...