Dimensional Descent

The detonation was deafening. To those within the walls, it felt as though another doomsday was descending. The cacophonic blasts were no less haunting than the day the Paradise Islands fell from the sky.

Miles felt the ground beneath his feet buckle and collapse.

What did it sound like for millions of tons of steel to bend? What did it sound like for a mountain of metal to collapse?

Well, it was uncertain if many could tell you because that day, those noises weren't what stood out at the forefront. What they would instead remember was the sight of the wall that had protected them for over a year splitting and the flood of Invalids that crawled out from the billowing smoke and endless fires.

It was a sight right out of hell.

These creatures didn't know pain, they didn't know fatigue, they didn't know mercy. Even while climbing over the charred corpses of their own comrades, they didn't pause for even a moment.

Their only thoughts were of the humans they could sense. Those were the people lucky enough to succeed where they failed, they were the nutrients they could use to evolve once again and change their futures.

Miles clung onto anything he could to not fall to the ground below. He pulled himself up, crawling toward where the walls were still level. But, there were no small number of soldiers who weren't nearly as lucky as he had been.

The chain of command completely collapsed.

The tanks of the Slayer Legion continued to roll forward. Their barrels aimed upward, firing toward the tops of the walls.

The chaos was already enough to almost guarantee that no one would be able to target the Fort's canons toward them. However, Joseph left nothing up to chance. Without caring for casualties, the tracks of their tanks crawled through the battlefield, firing in a rhythmic manner.

Within the city, chaos had descended. With the intelligence, or lack thereof, of the Invalids, they didn't even seem to realize another party was approaching from the back. They all shot forward, entering the outer limits of the Fort.

now, within the inner city limits, the nobles

should we do?" James entered his father's office with

panicking about?" James'

Invalids! I'm sure that if even I've heard

father placed down the

James was stunned.

the commoners, shouldn't he at least care about his own

shook

is one of the only eight on Earth. Even if most of The Empire's strength has been concentrated in the Capital, do you really think the walls of such a

"You…"

James was stunned.

by the hands of the foremost experts of the Royal Blue Province. How could it only last a few hours under siege? How could

Fort was meant to represent the consolidation of much of Earth's power. How could a ragtag

that James remembered… the inner city had always been under an illusion cast by the

like a normal doorway and

always a casual façade. Why would these nobles spend resources on protecting an outer city of peasants when they could pour all their resources into protecting an

it, other than Miles, no other nobles went to the wall. In fact, Miles could be considered to be the one with the greatest

abandoning the

person we should still follow? Why? So that we

didn't know

had lost the greatest friend he had ever had for the sake of pleasing Miles. Now they were abandoning him so easily? For some reason, this made his insides churn even more than that look Leonel had given him that last time they stood

he was dead. He tried to betray Leonel for Miles, but now he might very well be dead as well. How many more sacrifices would he have to make? How many

though, James." James' father rose from his seat. "That Miles contacted me about communicating with the Siegfried family.