The Last Drop of Hope, Chapter 23 (Patreon)

The Last Drop of Hope

Part 2: Dawn

For the first time in nearly thirty years, the day dawned on Axel. Not a slight lightning through smog-filled skies, not a ring of the shift bell, and certainly not the false light of neon bulbs. Sunlight streaked through to hit the city below, breaking through the clouds in places. It would have been called a pitiful display in other places and times, but here, it was a sign that for once, things were actively getting better on Belzerg.

Even with the dawn of a new day, that only meant that the citizens of Axel had something to fight for.

Across the surface, a platoon of hover tanks retreated rapidly, swiveling their turrets to fire behind them. Their plasma cannons ignited asphalt and liquified concrete, smoke and flames obscuring the buildings and streets behind them.

“CRYSTAL! ICE! PRISON!”

With a gesture, the flames were snuffed out, and two of the five hover tanks were encased in ice as a massive glacier formed. The other three tanks kept moving, their plasma cannons battering the ice and melting great holes in it, but not quickly enough.

Through the ice, two shapes blurred, smashing through the unnaturally dark blue mass and barreling towards the tanks.

“I have the two of the left!” Megumin shouted, her massive Sword Gram held before her. A shot of plasma roared towards her, but she stepped upon the wind itself, dodging to the side and closing in on the tanks.

“Take the right most, I shall take the center and left,” Iris ordered, pointing her far smaller machete at her intended targets.

“I can take them!” Megumin argued, refusing to veer away from the center tank.

“Do as your queen commands!” Iris snarled. “EXTERION!”

“RUNE OF SABER!”

Two blades, one of golden light, the other of dark lightning, slammed into the central hovertank, instantly obliterating it in a titanic explosion that knocked the other two askew, though they rapidly righted themselves. One managed to get off a lucky shot, heading right for Iris, who had been knocked off course from her leap through the air by the sudden explosion.

“Dammit, WATCH OUT!” Megumin shouted, using her Zephyr Step to try to interpose herself, gritting her teeth as the crackling ball of energy raced towards them both.

Then a great spire of ice slammed into the plasma, flashing to steam, which buffeted the girls, causing minor burns, but not enough to seriously slow either down thanks to one being in power armor and the other in highly magical plate. Two more ice spears shot out, skewering the other two tanks and sending them careening into the rubble of the mostly ruined city.

No sooner did Iris land, then she whirled on Megumin, her face red from the scalding steam and fury. “Did you not hear my order?! I said I had it!”

“Well you must need to clean out your ears, because I said I had it first!” Megumin snapped, picking herself up off the ground and wincing at her own minor burns. Magic armor and levels in constitution only did so much. It felt like she had minor burns all over the exploded skin of her face.

“Ladies!”

Both girls whirled, looking like they’d been caught with their hand in the cookie jar, as Wiz strode out of the mist and fog created by her ice. She was wearing her robes of dark purple and black, but had on a hooded mantle with a blue gem resting on her forehead, within which swirled strange energies. Her expression was rather exasperated, and she regarded the two young women for a moment. “Iris, Megumin, you are both very cute and strong, and skilled on the battlefield. This cannot be a competition between the two of you. You are not enemies, but friends. You must act like it.”

Megumin glared at both the lich and Iris, especially the royal brat, who was a good four years younger than she was. It hurt Megumin’s feelings more than a little that in her power armor, Iris was head and shoulders taller than Megumin, and even out of it was a centimeter or two taller than her already. Crimson Demons weren’t known for their great size, but for their skill on the battlefield, but it was still irksome.

“I am the queen! She should respect my authority on the battlefield!” Iris declared, drawing herself up regally and tilting her chin up to look down her nose on them all.

“Iris, you are indeed the queen, but you cannot do everything yourself. You must learn to trust your subordinates,” Wiz said, sounding all too much like a mother lecturing her daughter. “And Megumin certainly could have destroyed the hover tanks on her own. She may have an unorthodox build for a Crimson Demon, but her firepower is top-notch.”

Hearing that, Megumin smirked at Iris, who looked slightly deflated, until Wiz turned her frosty gaze on Megumin instead. “And Megumin, Iris is your rightful sovereign and your battlefield commander. Do you know the Crimson Demon clan’s greatest weakness?”

“That there aren’t enough of us to stomp all the corporations into the dirt,” Megumin growled, but she blushed as she said it, having a fairly good idea of what was coming.

“You don’t know how to be team players. Your culture has always emphasized individuality and feats of skill and bravery on the battlefield. While that can be laudable, it made your people easy prey to those who would divide you and pick you off one by one. I know you want you and your sisters to survive and thrive. Learn from the past.”

“And I suppose the same can be applied to me,” Iris said, her shoulders slumping. “My father always said that a good leader must not always lead from the front. There is a time for glory, and a time to give glory to others.”

Scuffing her boot on the ground, Megumin grimaced at Iris, trying to force a smile. “Sorry.”

“It is I who should apologize. A queen must know her subordinates strengths and weaknesses,” Iris said in a far more dignified manner, which just furthered Megumin’s irritation. It was hard to hate Iris, but being that good at everything was grating.

While they were talking, a squad of soldiers hustled out of the fog dressed in ShopWiz uniforms, but with the Royal Sigil on it: a shield divided into red and silver, with a golden crown at the top center. On the red was a silver sword, and on the silver a crosshatch pattern with a purple bunch of grapes with a green leaf.

“Your highness!” the lead guard cried, hurrying over to Iris’ side and panting for breath. The guards were dressed in power armor, but even that couldn’t help them keep up with a Belzerg. “We…we tried to keep up with you. Please don’t don’t run off like that again…”

“I apologize, Captain Aloerina, but there are times when I must take point. Besides, I was not alone, Megumin was at my side,” Iris said with a rueful smile and a nod to Megumin.

“Well, yes, I suppose one Crimson Demon is worth the rest of us combined,” Aloerina said ruefully, looking to the destroyed tanks. “And Lady Wiz was with you as well. I guess we can call this sector cleared?”

“Let me check.” Megumin unclipped a radio from her belt, and spoke into it. “Rune to Summoner, what’s the situation, over?”

“Hi Megumin!” Komekko’s voice said brightly, ignoring the call signs. “Mr. Hoost says there’s no more bad guys he can see, ‘cept for the planes and ships way up high, but we can’t hit those.”

“Thank you, Summoner,” Megumin said, smiling at her little sister’s exuberance. “Chief, what’s the situation on your end?”

“Um, t-the last group of NyteTech troops surrendered to us. We’ll have to p-process them, but um, things are going OK over here…”

Megumin looked to Iris, who nodded in satisfaction. “Very well. Have our men patrol the border, but let us adjourn to back to the base. We have much to plan yet.”

A short time later, armored hovercars flew in, picking up the royal party, and making for the undercity. As they flew over the surface, the clouds closed back up, hiding the sun again, and Megumin frowned, squirting up at the hazy sky. “That was weird. I wonder what made it come out again.”

“On Eris, the sun shone on us most days, save for when it rained,” Iris said, looking up at the dark sky wistfully. “There are stories that once this planet was green and verdant, with many lush continents and islands. I do not recall such days, however…”

“I do,” Wiz said quietly, but she gave both girls a small smile. “Days I think will yet come again.”

As they flew over the city, Megumin looked at the ruins of it all. It had been ten days since Beldia had been struck down, and at last, the borders of Axel were secure. Almost 900 km2, both above and below the surface, free of any last pockets of resistance. They had subdued or driven off all of the NyteTech forces, and driven off the elements of Santomon Chemicals that had come into their territory. Their enemies were massing now in the wasteland less than fifty kilometers away, and there was some urban sprawl to the south and west that was controlled by NyteTech, but the city proper and most of its suburbs were firmly under the control of what was being called the Royalist forces.

The surface city was mostly ruined, with most of the buildings having been knocked down and destroyed in the more than week of fighting. The intense airbattle was finally over, largely thanks to the fact that most of the combatants were running out of pilots, ships, and supplies. The same was true for the space battle, though the situation was precarious: No one controlled the orbitals completely, but ShopWiz forces were mostly hiding, and didn’t have enough supplies for many more days of operations out in the black.

As the passed into the undercity through a mostly intact tunnel, the view rapidly changed. While there were still obvious scars of battle, there was something else, another site that had not been seen on Belzerg for generations: Greenery, and clean water.

The ancient sewer systems now flowed like great rivers, with water that while not completely untainted, was far purer than anything anyone had seen in a hundred years. Mosses, lichens, fungi, and in places with enough artificial lighting, grasses and shrubs had sprouted. There were even fields of wild potatoes, onions, and garlic sprouting. That would have been better news if the plants weren’t also murderous, but still.

ShopWiz headquarters itself was in excellent condition, despite several kinetic strikes from ships in orbit. Wiz might not have had the best business sense, but she took good care of her people, and thick layers of earth and concrete prevented any serious damage. Most of the city’s population had moved into the undercity nearby Wiz’s headquarters, working to harvest the rapidly maturing crops. In ten days, they’d already had one full harvest, with another well on its way. This was thanks in part to the efforts of the Axis Cult, and hundreds of newly minted priests and farmers (a rather powerful melee class it seemed).

However, the real credit went to two people in particular. Iris, who as Queen, had performed several rites that guaranteed fertility and a swift harvest, and Aqua, Goddess of Waters.

As the hovercar landed, Megumin could make out Aqua on a platform below the landing pad. She was on stage and seemed to be performing a variety of party tricks for an adoring audience, broken up by songs, dances, and drinking sessions.

“It looks like she’s just wasting time with a big dumb party again,” Megumin commented as she got out of the hover car, going over to the railing to look down at Aqua, who had out two paper fans and was making little jets of water spray out to the audience’s cheers.

“It does seem frivolous in the midst of a war, but one should not underestimate the effect of morale,” Iris agreed, coming to stand beside Megumin. “That, and…”

“-and she’s probably actually doing something really clever, even if she doesn’t know it and looks like an idiot while she does,” Megumin sighed with a shake of her head.

“Generating faith,” Iris agreed. “Which will result in an overflowing abundance of Mana. Even I couldn’t get this many crops to grow so quickly, no matter what Royal Blessings I gave. But with a goddess doing so…”

Just then, something small and solid flew out of the darkness, smacking Aqua upside the back of her head and sending her sprawling on the stage in a very undignified pose. A few moments later, a venerable swarm of potatoes followed, even as Aqua started crying. It seemed her little show had caused the potatoes to harvest themselves, several tons of them, and they were all coming straight for Aqua and her audience.

“Looks like she needs rescuing again,” Megumin said with a grin, unsheathing Gram. She bowed to Iris. “After you, your highness.”

“Please, to you, just Iris. We’re of an age, and I’d rather we were friends instead of merely ruler and vassal. That said, you take the right, and I shall have the left,” Iris agreed with her own broad grin. Both of them lept from the landing pad, a good fifty meters above Aqua’s stage, and raced down, Iris with her jet boots, Megumin with Zephyr step.

Potatoes weren’t exactly the most challenging of foes; a good smack was enough to lay them low, and Megumin used Rune of Saber to fry dozens of them at a blow, while Iris knocked the tubers senseless with some wind magic. The Royal Bodyguards joined in the fight, along with the audience members, and in short order, they’d put down the potatoes. The final count was something like 10,000. Not enough to feed the city for a day, but a welcome addition to their stores.

By the time they found Aqua, she was looking chipper as ever, munching on some fresh french fries one of her worshipers had made her, seated at a table made from an old packing crate with smaller boxes for chairs. She waved cheerily to Megumin and Iris, scooting the large platter of golden fries towards them. “Hey you two! Come on, try these, they’re great!”

Having grown up as an outcast who never knew where her next meal was coming from, Megumin immediately sat down and unceremoniously started shoveling the greasy potatoes into her mouth. She paused when she saw Iris dismount from her power armor, taking a towel from one of the royal guards and wiping off most of the sweat and lubricant from her body. She was dressed in a special mesh plug suit of gold and white, and after washing her hands, sat and daintily picked up a single fry, biting off only half of it.

“Mmm! A simple fare, but after a battle, a very much appreciated treat.”

“No booze for you,though!” Aqua said, taking out a bottle from her bosom, a feat that should have been impossible, and taking a long pull. “It’ll stunt your growth!”

“Simple water will be fine,” Iris said, as another guard hastily poured glasses for both Iris and Megumin.

Iris continued to eat with impeccable table manners, while Megumin grudgingly forced herself to eat less like a starving animal and more like a human being. Aqua was slightly more decorous than Megumin had been initially, but not by much. Then again, Aqua always gave off an aura of sophistication and grace, even when she was executing pratfalls.

After the snack, they headed inside the building to refresh themselves. Iris left to her own suite, not far from Megumin’s own in the executive wing.

“BIG SIS!” a moderately sized blur rammed into Megumin, rocking her back slightly. Komekko grinned up at Megumin, showing a gap in her smile. “Notice anything different?!”

“Hmm, you look a little fatter, did you find a food store and raid it?” Megumin asked, pinching Komekko’s cheek. She was a little plumper actually, though that really just meant that after a week of decent eating, Komekko didn’t look quite as undernourished as she had.

“No! Guess again!” Komekko demanded. Then she paused, sniffing the air. “I smell…I smell… FOOD!”

Megumin produced a brown paper bag with a grease stained bottom and shook it. “I brought french fries!”

“GIMMIE!” Komekko demanded, jumping up to try to snatch the bag, though Megumin easily held it up out of reach of her six year old sister.

“Hmm, I haven’t figured out what’s different about you yet though,” Megumin teased.

Quickly, Komekko dug into one of the pouches she had at her belt, and pulled out a small white tooth. “I lost a tooth! Miss Darkness says if I hide it under my pillow at night, the Tooth Fairy will give me a candy for it!”

“Tooth fairy?” Megumin said, frowning. She shrugged. It certainly wasn’t the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard. “Well, it’s worth a try I guess. Here, enjoy. They’re a little cold now, but they’re good.”

“YAY!” Komekko cheered, and sat down on the floor, stuffing a handful of soggy fries in her mouth. There was a flutter of dark wings, and Hoost the Raven hopped over from his perch, pecking at the bag.

“Fries? Come on, boss, ya gotta share some! I was getting shot at all day, that deserves a reward, right?” Komekko’s familiar pleaded.

“I gave you corn,” she pointed out, but gave Hoost a french fry, which the greedy bird instantly gobbled up.

“W-welcome home!” Yunyun said, poking her head in from the bedroom. “H-how was fighting with the queen?”

“A bit too much fighting with the queen and not as much fighting alongside her,” Megumin sighed. “Catch.”

Yunyun squawked at the bag of fries tossed at her, but as socially awkward as she was, she had a Crimson Demon’s reflexes, and she caught the bag out of the air. “Um, thanks. I-I didn’t bring you anything…”

“Eh, it’s fine. I’m going to shower. Iris called a meeting in a couple of hours, she wants me and you to come along,” Megumin told her adopted sister.

“What about me?!” Komekko demanded hotly, puffing out her cheeks in annoyance.

“It’s past your bedtime,” Megumin called as she headed for the bathroom, stripping out of her stained and grimy armor.

Stepping into the shower, Megumin sighed in delight as the hot water hit her body. This was an unimaginable luxury, but one she was rapidly getting used to. To nearly everyone on the planet, the very thought of being able to have clean water to drink was crazy, not to mention hot water for a shower or bath. Only upper level executives could afford that. But Megumin had seen pools and hot springs created by Aqua in the undercity, where anyone could go for communal bathing. That sounded a bit too vulnerable to her enemies to Megumin, but she did love a shower. Baths were even better, but she didn’t have time for one now.

After indulging in further decadence like Axis Brand Soap, along with real shampoo and conditioner, Megumin just enjoyed the hot water washing over her body for long glorious moments. At last, though, she turned off the water and toweled herself off, then used the blowdryer for her short dark hair. She admired herself in the mirror, wrapped in a towel after that. She was looking healthier, and there was more muscle on her frame now. She was sadly still lacking in the chest department, but, well, if she was as overdeveloped as Yunyun, it would only get in the way during a fight.

Still smiling, Megumin headed out into the bedroom, where Yunyun was pouring over an ancient grimoire of magic at a table, her brow furrowed in concentration as her lips moved silently.

“Learning any cool new spells?” Megumin asked, pulling open a drawer and rummaging through it. Another wonderful change in her life: clothes! All sorts of wonderful clothes! She settled on a red blouse with a black miniskirt and undershorts. Cute, but still practical if she needed to move and fight in a hurry. Gram was the accessory that went with all of her outfits, and she strapped the sword to her back as well.

“Oh, yes!” Yunyun said as Megumin got dressed, looking up excitedly. “I-I almost have enough points for advanced magic, but I’ve learned several important Intermediate Spells! Right now, I’m researching Teleport! It’s a spell that lets you instantly return to any location!”

“Handy,” Megumin mused. “What’re the limits on it?”

“W-well, you can only take a group of up to ten people with you, a-and you can only register a single Teleport location initially. Y-you can register more locations at the cost of one skill point each, but, um, there seems to be a limit to that.”

“Huh.” Megumin mulled that over, then shrugged. “Well, you couldn’t just teleport into a group of enemies and wipe them all out, but that’s still really cool and useful.”

“Oh! You’re thinking of Flash Step!” Yunyun paged through the book, then held it up for Megumin to see. “Flash Step lets you teleport to any location you can see within 100 meters! You can only take yourself and your equipment, b-but it’s a very powerful spell! I thought about taking it myself, but, um, I-I think I’d rather purchase Teleport once I unlock Advanced Magic.”

“That is a seriously cool spell,” Megumin murmured, her eyes looking through it. She nodded. “Yeah, I like it! It’s got a hefty mana cost, so most people couldn’t just spam it, but I’ve got a huge mana pool. I’ve got enough points for it too! Thanks, Yunyun!”

At the praise, Yunyun beamed happily. “You’re w-welcome! I-I want to unlock all the ancient Lore of the Crimson Demon Clan! T-this is a spell book from our people that L-Lady Wiz saved, just for us! She’s given it to me, a-and we can study it as much as we want!”

They spent a little time together going over the grimoire, with even a sleepy Komekko asking about spells she could learn as she got herself ready for bed.

“Hmm, you have a summoner build, s-so I would suggest Create Golem for you,” Yunyun said, showing a spell that created what looked like a robot out of earth, stone, and various metals. “T-the basic level is Earth Golem, b-but you can learn to summon even Adamantoise Golems with the right materials and enough skill points.”

“I like it! Teach me!” Komekko agreed eagerly.

“Tomorrow, it’s time for you to go to bed,” Megumin ordered.

“I’m not tired,” Komekko yawned, but she got into bed anyway.

The sisters gathered around, and engaged in a strange new ritual: Evening prayers.

“Thanks for all the yummy food that I ate today, and for keeping my sisters safe,” Komekko said, her eyes squeezed shut and her little hands clasped tightly together.

“Thank you for letting all the green things grow, for keeping my sisters safe, and for new magic spells. Please help me be a wise chief, and discover more about the Crimson Demon Clan,” Yunyun prayed.

“Thanks for giving us hope,” Megumin said softly. Then she giggled. “But try not to be too much of an idiot!”

“Thanks for the corn,” Hoost added from his perch by the bedside.

“Thank you Lady Aqua,” they all chanted in unison. Then Megumin and Yunyun kissed Komekko, who continued to sleepily protest that she “wasn’t tired” and could come to the meeting. Hoost tucked his head under his wing, and started snoring. By the time Megumin and Yunyun got to the bedroom door to turn the light off, Komekko was already snoring.

“You think she’ll be safe?” Megumin asked quietly as they went out into their parlor, closing the door behind them.

“Hoost is with her, and, w-well…it feels safe here, you know?” Yunyun said with a shrug.

“It’s weird, but yet, I guess,” Megumin agreed reluctantly, and the two of them headed to the late night meeting.

After passing through several halls and a long elevator ride, they arrived at a large conference room.

“Hey, what’s up?” called a young man with dark hair and the look of a delinquent. He had on a self-deprecating smile and had his boots kicked up on the polished hardwood surface of the conference table, giving off a lackadaisical and irreverent air. Despite that, Megumin considered Kazuma Sato to be one of the bravest and most noble people she knew, if a bit of an ass in person. He was the one who’d gotten Iris off of Discord and back to Belzerg, and his cunning plan had been instrumental to defeating Beldia.

“Um, hello,” the pink haired succubus next to Kazuma said, waving shyly as Megumin and Yunyun sat down next to her and Kazuma.

“Hi, Lolisa,” Megumin said as Yunyun timidly waved. “How was your mission today?”

“We got most of the succubi to agree to help us,” Kazuma said with a shrug. “They were scared stiff at the idea of Axis Cultists around, something about an old grudge? But Lolisa convinced them that they’re safe enough. We’ll have to come up with a scheme so that they can get the mana they need without killing anyone, but for now they’re just grateful we’ve promised that they don’t have to be unpaid prostitutes for anyone who gets their hands on them.”

“Yes, I-I’m talking with some of the more senior succubi, and I hope we can find a way to get the mana we need to survive, and to help Queen Iris and Lady Aqua in the war effort,” Lolisa agreed, blushing slightly as she glanced at Kazuma.

“Aqua agreed that the real enemy are the corpos, not some poor abused working girls,” Kazuma said with a shrug.

“Yes! We will t-topple the capitalist system, and restore the means of p-production to the workers!” Yunyun agreed eagerly.

Megumin shrugged, not really caring about the strange political systems Yunyun had found in dusty old books. “The Corporations are everyone’s enemy. We’re demons too, we should stick together with our sisters.”

“Um, Crimson Demon’s aren’t…” Lolisa trailed off, swallowing as Megumin and Yunyun both turned Crimson gazes on her. “That is…you’re not an Infernal Race. All Succubi come from one of the Hells. Most of us were summoned to the mortal plane and enslaved by warlocks or other Evil mortals over the centuries, but a lot of us came with Duke Vanir specifically. Um, you’d call him CEO Vanir, but…”

“But that smelly demon is a Duke of Hell, and a bit meanie!” Aqua declared, bouncing over and taking a seat by Megumin. She gave Lolisa a smile, which made the succubus flinch. “I don’t mind if you stink, Lolisa! Any demon that risks holy water to defeat evil isn’t really a demon in my book!”

“Uh, thanks,” Lolisa muttered, looking more than a little offended, but too scared to say anything.

“‘Cut it out!’” Kazuma and Megumin said at the same time, both of them reaching over to smack the blue haired goddess.

“Ow! M-Megumin! Kazuma! That’s not nice!” Aqua whined.

“Don’t be rude to Lolisa, she’s a nice girl,” Megumin sniffed.

“Yeah, don’t be such a jerk. Just ‘cause you’re a goddess doesn’t mean you can be an asshole!” Kazuma snapped.

Aqua sniveled and whined for a few moments, but then got distracted by the meeting agenda in front of her. She took the paper, and began to fold it into something, causing Megumin to roll her eyes at Aqua’s antics. Seriously, someone should have put her to bed. She was such a child.

A few minutes later, once Aqua had made quite the impressive paper butterfly that was now fluttering over the table, Iris came in with Claire and Darkness at her side. Claire was dressed in a white suit with a blue tie, while Darkness had on a low cut evening dress with a slit up the side, showing off her impressively muscular legs. Iris herself was dressed in a beautiful white dress, with a grape ornament in her short blonde hair.

“Thank you all for coming,” Iris said, nodding around the table. The others there included Dust and Rin, Wiz, Lan, and Cecily. The Axis Priestess had on a very fancy hat and a rich blue habit, having been proclaimed Archbishop of the Axis Cult. She had the most experience for sure and she was certainly passionate, but Megumin was fairly sure Cecily had no more brains in her head than her goddess did.

“We’ll get right into it,” Claire said as everyone else took their seats. A hologram appeared at the center of the table, depicting a map of Axel in 3D, including the undercity. Claire used a laser pointer as she spoked, indicating specific sections.

“As of now, Royalist Forces are in control of the entire city; there are no remaining pockets of serious resistance anywhere. Most of the NyteTech forces in the city have come over to our side, and the holdouts were exterminated by Her Majesty or the team led by myself and Lady Dustiness this afternoon.”

There was scattered applause and Dust let out a loud whistle, but most everyone else was too exhausted to do more than that.

“As such, I won’t keep you here long. You all deserve some rest tonight and tomorrow; take the day off,” Iris said, giving them all a smile. That got much louder applause. Even Megumin was worn out and ready for a break. They’d fought for a week straight after a short respite following Beldia’s defeat, but things were more or less stable now.

“What we need to discuss is the future, however,” Claire continued. She zoomed the map out, showing the continent around Axel, along with the orbitals overhead. “The situation is dire: we are surrounded on all sides. Santomon Chemicals to the North, Beldia’s old holdings to the South and West, nothing but empty wasteland to our East, and space held by the forces of our foes. We have won a victory, but the war is far from over.”

Tiredly, Megumin blinked at the display, frowning. “How many of them can we take?”

“Even accounting for the NyteTech forces that changed sides…we have about 200,000 troops, most of them horribly green,” Claire said, grimacing. “Santomon Chemicals are massing, and our intelligence indicates they’ll have a million troops ready to pour in in less than ten days.”

“We’ve got magic though! That counts for something, right?” Dust asked.

“It does,” Claire agreed. “I would say we could take a force twice our size with ease. Three times our size would be a serious challenge, but possible. But five times? We know that most of our low level classes aren’t capable of taking on serious enemy hardware and surviving, and Santomon Chemicals is famous for, well, chemical warfare.”

“The Axis Cult isn’t afraid of a little poison!” Cecily declared, making a fist and shaking it. “Lady Aqua will protect us!”

“I’m afraid that I have to urge caution. It was Hans who destroyed the Axis Cult, and nearly killed Aqua,” Wiz said quietly. “He’s a Poison Slime, and he’s continued to research some of the most awful and horrific ways to kill large numbers of people. While Purification and Holy magic can repel mundane poisons easily…the same is not true of radiation, nor of the magical poisons I am certain Hans has in reserve. We need to be cautious.”

“A mixture of magic and conventional methods of repelling toxins will be needed. And lest we forget, Hans has a biological warfare unit too,” Claire warned. “We need to be ready for genetically engineered plagues, as well as nano-viruses.”

“That sounds like a freaking mess. We shouldn’t stick our nose in that,” Kazuma said with a frown.

“Normally, the best defense is to hit your opponent first, but I have heard of Poison Slimes. To go into their lair is death. We need to lure Hans and his forces to an open area where we can deal with his attacks and our own holdings are not at risk,” Iris agreed. “Additionally, I have another plan.”

“Oh?” Megumin asked, frowning.

“Yes. Many members of NyteTech willingly joined us with their CEO dead. I wish to seize the cities of Spoke, Fellos, and Boxing,” Iris said, taking up her own laser pointer and indicating three cities to their South. “Spoke is a major transport hub, Fellos has a large armory, and Boxing is a manufacturing center. With those cities under our control, we’d have a lot more resources to take on Hans, and we’d have much more depth to our defense.”

“We’d also be spreading ourselves out,” Kazuma said, leaning back in his chair and frowning at the display. “That’s a lot of ground to cover and defend. It opens us up to attack on new fronts.”

“True, but I think simply sitting and waiting for Hans or another General to arrive and attack us is suicide,” Iris stated. “Our intent is to topple the corporations and retake the entire planet. We can’t do that playing defense, and a defensive war is unwinnable for us.”

“A bold plan, I like it!” Dust declared enthusiastically, grinning at the thought.

“I don’t know…are we in contact with anyone in these cities?” Rin asked uncertainly.

“That will be our first step: we need to establish contacts in those cities. Is anyone familiar with them?” Iris asked, looking around the table.

“We are, my queen,” Darkness said, raising her hand. “Claire and I were born in Fellos before being transferred to Axel.”

“We’ve been to Spoke,” Megumin said, indicating herself and Yunyun. “I wouldn’t say we have a lot of contacts, but we know good places to hide there and we know the terrain.”

“I’m a Boxing girl, actually,” Lan said, looking around nervously. “I got family there. I could reach out…”

“Then we have the beginnings of a plan,” Iris said with a nod. “I shall remain in our capitol, and prepare to resist Hans. Aqua shall remain at my side: she is too valuable an asset to risk.”

“Huh?” Aqua said, looking up from folding another paper animal, this one a dragon.

“She said you’re pretty and smart,” Megumin said, patting Aqua on the back.

Aqua beamed, and went back to her paper dragon. Actually, that was a seriously impressive dragon. Megumin had to force herself to look away, and brush a tear from her eye at the beauty of the thing.

“Claire, Darkness, I know you are loathe to part from me, but I shall dispatch you along with Cecily and Wiz to make inroads in Fellos.  We’ll work out which of our forces you will take with you later.”

“Honor to serve,” Darkness and Claire murmured, bowing their heads, while Cecily gave a big thumbs up and Wiz nodded in agreement.

“Megumin, Yunyun, Kazuma, and Lolisa. You shall go to Spoke. There is a large succubi population there, is there not?” Iris inquired.

“Yes, there is,” Lolisa agreed. “But, um, I’m worried about what the other girls would do if they smell the mana on Kazuma…”

“I still charge you with keeping my brother safe,” Iris said seriously. She turned her gaze on Kazuma. “And brother, keep your proclivities in check.”

“What, me?” Kazuma protested, but no one bought the innocent act.

“We’ll keep them out of trouble,” Megumin promised, and Yunyun added her agreement.

“That leaves Lan, Dust, and Rin to tackle Boxing,” Iris said. “I put you in charge, Sir Dust. Take Faitifore with you.”

“You got it, Boss Lady!” Dust agreed happily.

“As long as Rin keeps him on a leash, I’m fine with it,” Lan agreed. “Especially if I can take my baby girl Faitifore with me!”

“Then I shall call us adjourned for the evening. Take tomorrow off, but the day after, I want plans submitted detailing how you intend to approach the problem,” Iris said, standing. “Good luck.”

They broke up after that, and though some stayed for small talk, Megumin and Yunyun were too tired and too socially awkward to do that. They dragged themselves back to their rooms, slipping into bed with Komekko. Technically, they had two other beds, but the three sisters didn’t feel comfortable sleeping by themselves, and the beds were larger and more comfortable than anything they’d slept on before regardless.

“Do you think it’ll work? Going to Spoke and trying to take it?” Megumin asked Yunyun as they lay down with the sleeping Komekko between them.

“As long as we stick together…I-I think we can,” Yunyun agreed quietly, smiling shyly. “I think…I think we can do this, Megumin. I just worry about Komekko…should we take her with us?”

“Yeah, she’d never agree to be left behind anyway. Besides, we survived for this long with no awesome magical powers. Can’t be that hard now, right?” Megumin asked, yawning at the end. “Mmm. Night.”

“Good night.”

Soon, nothing but snores filled the room, and for a short time longer, they had peace.