Ultraya: Origins

Chapter 27: Descent

28/05/4013 AD – 17:54 – Earth – Open Sky – High Altitude over Alton City

"What's wrong?" Hyperzio called over to Dracolast. The blue skies of Earth were wide and clear, still a while before sunset. A brief calm before the storm as, below them, the residents of Alton were under attack. In the nine years since the first attack on the country of Moderrus, the Human public had become more scared of Wyperians than ever before. New Side City had received several budget increases to military and defence funds, most of that was thanks to the help of the Destiny Weapon Complex; new funding allowed for the recruitment of more soldiers and the development of heavy weaponry. However, Alton City's funds received no such luck; the local council deemed the act as 'utterly pointless' and to 'see how well that worked the last time'. Ailutarya barely has any military presence at all so no major changes have been made to that city either.

"I just don't know if that was entirely necessary", Dracolast eventually replied.

"What do you mean?" Hyperzio asked.

"Well you killed several soldiers like it was nothing", Dracolast sounded somewhat upset.

"That's war", Hyperzio stated blankly. "No respawns, no noble defeats, no rules. It's just chaos".

"I must say it's surprising to hear you say that Dracolast", Anmarina's intrigued voice came over the communications. "What happened to 'kill them all'?"

"I don't know", Dracolast gazed out into the sky. "I guess the brutality of that claymore and the Turi caught me off guard. Not to mention using the body as a shield. It's cruel". The skies became shrouded in smoke.

"You're right, it is", confirmed Hyperzio, almost with a hint of pride. "My claymore is certainly brutal; I have no doubt that any electrically-charged attack will be exceptionally painful".

"I know you'll say that 'the A.E.R. would do the same' but that's not good enough!" Dracolast complained. "We can't stoop down to their level". The Mylialta's broke through the barrier of smoke. Hyperzio pointed downwards as Dracolast stared in horror, "You think they feel the same way, Dracolast?"

The two Mylialta entered the airspace of Alton City. Buildings were lit with flames, and destroyed jets, tanks, and armoured vehicles littered the ground. The Human defence forces were struggling to handle the intense situation; panicked civilians ran to the shelters and neither of the other two cities were prepared to assist with reinforcements; they were scared of a repeat of nine years ago. But that wasn't the worst of it: A.E.R. soldiers mercilessly mowed down fleeing civilians; fathers and brothers were throwing themselves at the enemy in order to save their families. A Shutenghen hovered above the city; raining down sapphire bolts of explosive energy indiscriminately at the ground; striking various spots at random. Dracolast saw a Wyperian with a launcher, firing a rocket at a random office building. He couldn't know if there was anyone in there, he was just firing for the sake of potentially picking up a few easy kills. Dracolast suddenly remembered why he hated the A.E.R.; no, why he hated Wyperians. He wondered why he felt guilty before. His thoughts were suddenly cut short; a squadron of six Duacrits had gathered on the flank of the two Mylialta.

"We need to split up!" Olicleaver said to Anmarina. "We can't do all these fancy flips with Hyperzio and Dracolast on our wings". A display popped up on the view screen of Anmarina's fighter. It was a holographic map of the city, significantly zoomed in. A path was marked out throughout the streets.

"What's this?" Anmarina asked.

"A map of the city", Olicleaver explained. "Take the designated course and do it quickly. Do not engage the enemy, understood?" Anmarina glanced over towards Hyperzio, who was barely hanging onto the wing. She knew that he could not see her through the enclosed cockpit, but she wanted confirmation from him; it was times like these when she relied on Hyperzio's guidance. The Duacrits opened fire with their bow-mounted machine cannons, the bullets shaving off a small part of Anmarina's wing.