A Man of Honor.

Chapter 76: War.

"It doesn't make a difference if you're right or wrong; you just have to make a decision." Jimmy Darmody, Boardwalk Empire.

Vale burned.

At night Vale often looked like a pile of glittering gems from a distance. That's how I always looked at it from afar. Every little light was like a glittering jewel twinkling gemstone. The streets packed with cars looking like veins of gold from the sky. In the dark from a distance the city resembled the fortunes it granted people like we. It was a symbol of opportunity and wealth and it had become a welcome sight.

But Vale's glittering beauty was unseen tonight. Tonight the gemstones were replaced by fire. I looked down from the bullhead seeing one of the towering skyscrapers burning, casting the light of its blaze down upon the city sending a thick column of smoke towards the sky. An explosion erupted from the ground casting the streets in a pale orange glow. Through the air I could see the shadows of flying grimm and bullheads. I watched a griffin dive into a bullhead tearing off one of its engines, sending it spinning into the side of a building where it exploded, setting another fire. I watched as the airship fleet floated above sending off bursts of anti-air fire and missiles that detonated in the sky. A string of tracers destroying a nevermore that swooped low. And from the ground I could see the little signs of fighting, Atlesian Knights marching through the streets gunning down urasi and beowolves with concentrated fire.

I had been prepared for this to happen. Between the fighting of Adam's forces in the city it was an inevitability that the grimm would be drawn to the city. I had hoped that stopping Cinder's bomb plot at the arena would keep panic in the city down but with her changing up her tactic I was unable to prevent the kind of mass panic that would happen here in the city. I had miscalculated, my plan hadn't gone off flawlessly, I had worked with the information I had and it hadn't quite been enough.

But knowing all of that didn't make this any easier to watch. Knowing that a simple unavoidable mistake had likely caused all the destruction I beheld, the destruction I had a hand in creating. I felt a sinking feeling as I looked down at my city being destroyed by monsters.

The platoon of Atlesian knights that were marching through the street opened fire on a goliath that charged through someone's house. Their rifles not even stinging it as it was trampled by the massive creature treating them as little more than toys. Moments one of the missiles from the airships soared down and blew the beast to smithereens. I could only hope that the people of that neighborhood had evacuated from the area.

"Griffin on our ten o'clock." The pilot warned us over the radio system, her voice coming in loud and clear over the headphones that I pressed into the side of my head to hear him better.

"I see it." Boris said, standing behind the door gun and leveling the weapon to the approaching monster in the distance. Pressing down on the butterfly trigger and sending a burst of fire at the target. "Got it!" Boris reported a moment later casually.

"How many is that for you sir, eight?" Pavel asked, standing at the right hand door gun scanning the sky for incoming grimm.

"Ten." Boris said casually.

"Sounds like he's tied with you now." One of Boris' men commented with a chuckle. Pavel leveled the gun and unleashed a three second burst from his gun.

"Not anymore, that's eleven." Pavel said with a smile.

For a moment I wondered how they could be so easygoing with everything that was going on outside. Even Cardin who was far more relaxed about violence than me gave the city outside a worried look. But then I remembered how grimm were attracted to negative emotions. After that their lighthearted banter and silly grimm killing game didn't seem silly or deranged. It actually seemed necessary.