CHAPTER 26
[THE HOUSE OF SERPH RA INKKAH — FROM THE THRONE OF THE ONE-EYED KING, THE SUPREME LORD OF THE EMPIRE OF BAL THRAG-GAR]
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["There have been many sacrifices made during the course of this war. Many warriors have fallen, not just from the Bal Thrag-gian Empire or the Hantrepedeans, but from all the allied nations. Nations that once fought against each other now stand united under a single cause. Our resilience has earned us victory. The heavens stood by us until the very end, and now humanity has been granted another day under the sun.
But sadly, there is no room for celebration. We of the Bal Thrag-gian Empire have learned of the passing of a valiant commander, one whose brave actions saved the lives of countless men, women, and children. Our blind and unwavering belief in the Hantrepedean Arts was the cause of our Executioners' recklessness on the battlefield. A mistake that shall not be repeated. As we learn the strengths of our enemies, so too must we learn the strengths of our allies.
Our deepest condolences go to the Hantrepedean Empire, for they have suffered a great and terrible loss. Yet we, as a nation, and all others who fought for humanity to witness a new dawn and a new sun; must look forward. The commander's sacrifice, and the sacrifice of all our fallen warriors, shall not be forgotten. Let us all stand proud as nations of the earth. Let us put aside our prejudice and hatred for one another, so that we may share in the glory we have fought so long to achieve."]
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This official statement came after heavy allegations leveled against the Bal Thrag-gian Empire by the allied nations. They claimed that the House of Serph Ra Inkkah had instructed their Executioners to unleash devastation on a scale so unimaginable that, had it not been for the Hantrepedean Commander's quick thinking and sound judgment on that fateful day, both the remaining allied armies and the entire Hantrepedean Empire would have been completely annihilated.
The allied nations accused the House of Serph of having ulterior motives. They pointed out that the Empire had only sent their Executioners after countless failed requests for assistance from the Hantrepedean Empire at the start of the war. They branded the act selfish and a total breach of trust, claiming it violated the very agreement that held the alliance together. Furthermore, they alleged that the Bal Thrag-gian Empire's participation had been half-hearted; a performative stunt designed to flaunt their influence and might while conveniently eliminating the threat on Hantrepedean soil before it could reach their own borders. All of this, they said, came at the expense of the Hantrepedean people and every warrior who had fought beside them.
However, the House of Serph firmly denied these claims, stating that the allegations were false. They declared that they had been just as committed as every other nation to ending the war, and that the Executioners were their only true means of doing so. The House fired back, arguing that such accusations stemmed purely from emotion and sentiment. After all, it was impossible for the allied nations to deny that the Bal Thrag-gian Empire had played a decisive role in bringing the war to its conclusion.
MEANWHILE...
[A STATE OF NATIONAL EMERGENCY: THE DEPLOYMENT OF S.C.U.L.A.A.R.S]
The scene shifted to the real world.
In the city of Raville Notash, thick, murky clouds swirled across the night sky. Their origin could be traced back to the abandoned building deep in the woods where the ritual had taken place. It was the night of the blood moon.
The brutal fight between Reagan Armai (The Kraken of Zall), a ranking Mercenary of the Iron Altar, and Ms. Evelyn Ronshire (The Beast of Iron), a high-ranking member of the Order of Exodus, had finally come to an end. The clash left the city scarred and in ruins. Countless people lay dead, with an undisclosed number injured in the carnage.
The government immediately placed the entire city under lockdown. A large contingent of specially trained security operatives was dispatched to the wreckage, where a full investigation was already underway.
The squad of eleven sent earlier to Reagan's coordinates; ten powerful combatants and one elite core member; had failed to eliminate the Calamity Class Existence known as the Beast of Iron. They were forced to retreat quickly before the government's forces could lock onto their trail. With nothing left of Reagan to recover, their escape was relatively clean. It would be difficult for anyone to directly link the destruction of the city to the Mercenaries of the Iron Altar.
Once the squad of eleven successfully fled the scene, government operatives arrived in force. They mobilized rapidly to confront whatever threat had caused such devastation. They searched the area thoroughly but found nothing.
At first, the government suspected an attack from the neighboring country of Lunaria, as they were currently at war along the borders. However, their investigations quickly ruled that out. Their focus then shifted to the one notorious group residing within Raville Notash capable of such large-scale destruction... the Mercenaries of the Iron Altar.
This dangerous subgroup operated under the much larger Red Valley Syndicate, a powerful mafia organization.
The Syndicate, as expected, completely denied any involvement in the carnage. This came as no surprise to the government. The group had a long history of denying all ties to crime and terrorism, despite having built its empire through those very means. It was a well-established crime syndicate.
The government chose not to press them further. They maintained a delicate diplomatic relationship with the Syndicate, one they could not afford to damage. No one wanted a repeat of the disaster that occurred several years ago. With no solid evidence against them, the authorities had no choice but to continue their investigations elsewhere.
Several eyewitnesses claimed the wreckage was caused by two individuals fighting. One wore a strange mask, the other was a man. Both possessed powers unlike anything they had ever seen.
Most of the witnesses; victims who had suffered severe injuries or those caught in the crossfire, repeated the same story. They begged the operatives on duty to believe them, insisting they weren't crazy. They had seen it with their own eyes.
The operatives calmly tried to soothe them, explaining that what they saw was simply the result of extreme stress and trauma from the horrifying experience. No matter how desperately the witnesses tried to describe the events, the operatives kept dismissing their accounts as nothing more than hallucinations caused by shock. After all, it was clearly impossible for just two people to cause destruction on such a massive scale.
In the end, the witnesses felt defeated. Many began doubting themselves, quietly wondering if it really had been nothing more than the effects of trauma.
The hard truth was that the operatives knew the witnesses were right. But that didn't matter. It wasn't information the public had any right to know.
Medics rushed in to treat the injured while the security operatives continued searching the area. Real-time updates soon reached the desk of the head of operations currently on the field, Mr. White Lacroft. After being briefed on the eyewitness statements, he immediately understood the danger of the situation.
He gave swift orders: "Clear the area and retreat immediately."
This was no longer business as usual. The situation had far exceeded their pay grade. They were dealing with individuals who practiced the Arts — and not the ordinary kind.
With no other choice, Mr. White made a direct call to the government requesting the deployment of a highly classified unit known as S.C.U.L.A.A.R.S.
S..C..U..L.A..A..R..S
SOLARIAN COMBAT UNIT & LICENSED ANCIENT ARTS RELEASE SPECIALISTS
A highly classified elite group of government-sponsored and trained specialists in the practice and release of the Ancient Arts. Their identities were unknown to the public. They were considered property of the Solarian Government, and their sole objective was to neutralize any and all unauthorized study or practice of the Ancient Arts within Solaria's borders.
There existed a hierarchical system used to rank those who practiced the Arts. This system was widely adopted not only by Solaria but by many other nations as well. The lowest tier was designated 'The Behemoth of the First,'while the highest was 'The Behemoth of the Ninth.'
Then there were the rare special cases; individuals who ranked even higher than the Behemoth of the Ninth. These were known as Calamity Class Existences, designated Calamity Type. They were the closest thing humanity had ever produced to a god. It was often said that the Behemoth of the Ninth was the closest thing to a Calamity Type… and a Calamity Type was the closest thing to a god.