8:00 P.M.
After an hour of doing parkours between the buildings, they finally arrived at an old big abandoned house.
"Ow, oof."
When Tester arrive at the entrance, she just threw Mark into the lobby.
"Ow... Goddamnit." He grunts.
Mark immediately saw two flags after standing up. Both of them are similar to the French flag, except with a weird symbol in the middle.
"What is it? Seeing something unexpected?" Tester taunts after seeing Mark was just looking at the flags
"Yeah.... What's the capabilities of the 'KAN-SEN's here?" Mark wonders.
"Are you seriously doubting their powers?" Tester questions Mark's question.
"Yes. But not their powers, their loyalty. Betrayal are always a main factor of losing a war." Tester was rather surprised by Mark's explanation. "Anyways, what are you? Some sort of cyborg or something?"
"Maybe, or maybe not. We're made up actually." Tester's answers interests Mark.
"So, you're like a biological weapon or something?"
"Perhaps. And we, as a Siren are able to do telepathy powers." Tester recalls when they and the KAN-SENs were still enemies. "At that time, we can manipulate those who desire for cheap and strong power, and become our temporary puppets."
"So that explains why I somehow heard some weird signals coming from you when you just jumping around?" Mark remembers his experience minutes hours ago.
"Yes" She admits.
Mark remember that he heard a weird signal coming Tester's head when she's carrying him. It's like a signal, calling for someone.
"So, when will those girls that you called to return?"
"Yes, you have quick understanding, Mark." Tester was impressed by Mark's understandability. "They'll be coming back any minute now."
But as they are talking, Mark realized that something's not right.
"Wait, those boxes looks odd." He says as he saw the boxes just besides them. It looks like it was poorly overlayed into a small mountain.
"Oh, it seems that we're the one's that late." Tester signs.
"What?"
After she said that, the boxes that was besides them starts to collapse. After all of it collapsed on the ground, a figure that was hiding in them reveals herself. Is a woman with a black luxurious dress, along with a weird staff with a crystal-like object in it.
"Well, well, well, look what we got here." She says as she stare at Mark with a glowing red eyes.
Another figure, which comes inside from a window, landed on a bed supporting frame, and on the land. She immediately gazed Mark with a irritated glowing red eyes.
"Tester, what have you done?" She asks it in a aggressive tone after seeing Mark. "I thought you said we should stay concealed!"
"There, there, easy now, Jean Bart. Don't be such aggressive to our new guest." Clemenceau was more interested of Mark instead of being alert by him.
"Now, instead of being in absolute puberty, how about we just make things easy and let Richelieu decide?" Tester taunts, which Jean Bart was still irritated by that.
Just as she finished that word, the massive gate opens, revealing a figure approaching with a glowing bougainvillea color.
"Well, speak of a devil." Clemenceau says.
As the figure slowly approaching them, her face was shown full confusion after she saw Mark.
"You bought a human here....?" Richelieu says with full confusion, and alertness.
"Richelieu, he's more special than you think." Tester tries to justify of Mark's existence in this place.
"No he's not! Richelieu, we need to get rid of this human as quick as possible!" Jean Bart's opinion was the complete opposite of what Tester's think.
"Please, calm down Jean Bart. Maybe we can know about this human, and convince him not to expose us." Richelieu has other alternatives, in a non-aggressive move.
After calming down Jean Bart, Richelieu then shift her focus to Mark. She inspect him from head to toe. She saw multiple small holes on Mark's outfit, along with small amount of blood and wounds.
"You've gone a lot in this journey, human." She says after inspecting him. "I am Richelieu, the lead ship of the Richelieu-class Battleship, and the leader of the Iris Orthodoxy." She introduced to herself.
"Lieutenant Dennis Charlie Marks, but you call me Mark."
Jean Bart was still have the urge to get rid of Mark, while Clemenceau was interested of Mark.
"So he's a soldier." Clemenceau knows Mark's identity after hearing that word.
"He doesn't look like a soldier....." Richelieu was rather full of doubt of Mark.
"And you look like an average religion enthusiast." Marks taunts, which actually got Richelieu.
"Pff.... Hahaha." Tester find Mark's taunt to be hilarious.
Jean Bart was not happy after hearing that, she immediately aim her staff at Mark.
"What did you just said about my sister!?" She threats angrily
"Jean Bart, stop."
Richelieu halted Jean Bart, while also calmed Jean Bart's anxiety. After that she shift her focus to Mark again.
"What are you doing, Mark? Why are you here?" She finally states the real question.
"To... Meet all of you?" Mark awkwardly answers.
"It's not normal for a human to become aware of us. Tell me, is there something happened?" Richelieu was concerned for Mark's existence. Cleary that there's something going on outside that causes this human to become aware of them.
"Well, yes. The country you're on was in a state of war." He actually states of what's going on.
"State of.... War?" Richelieu's heart becomes heavy after hearing that.
"Yes, this country just started a war against another." He says as he points to the ground.
While they're still listening to Mark, Jean Bart interrupts them again.
"Don't listen to him! I already looked around this place, there's nothing unusual here!" Jean Bart strongly supports her own point.
"Are you sure? Don't you see anything unusual? This whole place was in high alert." Mark refutes.
"I can support that, we just attacked a police force on the way here." Tester sides with Mark, which irritates Jean Bart even more.
"Tester you WHAT!?" She's angry even more after knowing that they just attacked humans.
"Oh my, this is getting interesting." Clemenceau was more interested.
"Jean Bart, stop it now." Richelieu was startled by Jean Bart's shouting, and telling her to stop.
Jean Bart immediately stops after Richelieu said that.
"Look, Mark, I don't know what is going on outside, and how you become aware of us, but it is too risky for you to stay here any longer, especially the events that you just described." Richelieu was still feel threaten by Mark's existences.
"So you'll still want me to go, huh?" Mark was unpleased by Richelieu's decision.
"We'll like to help you. But for our safety, we are unable to keep you for any longer." Richelieu tried to get rid of Mark with the most polite way possible. "Now please, get out..... While you still can, and may the heavens bless you."
A bit of reluctant was heard in her voice, it's like her inner voice was completely opposite of what she just said.
"You know the consequences if you leave this place. Convince them to let you stay." Tester whispers.
"Hm, guess I have no other choice then." Seeing no other alternations, Mark can only use his trump card.
Mark then immediately reach out his arm. Within his palm a bunch of liquid substances flow up until it forms the cube. The weird light of the glowing cube shocked them.
"W-what's t-this...?" Richelieu was very shocked by this cube.
"You think you are clever enough to outsmart them. But in the end, they just outsmarted all of you and you didn't even realized."
"W-what's all about!?" Jean Bart was both shocked and confused.
"I'll tell you, our enemy by the name "The Centrals", has already know about your existence, and they're hunting down all of you." Mark finally states the current crisis they face. "This cube right here, is the key for them to know every location of any kind of you."
"Human, is it true of what you just said?" Clemenceau asks.
"Why would I lie to you? I even almost lost my life just to protect this cube. Until Purifier just saved me from that."
"You..... Met Purifier?"
"To think that annoying robot can actually do stuff right, hm." Tester was still annoyed by Purifier.
"Listen here, my friends. After she saved me, she brings us to the former glory ship of Mikasa, and woke her up."
"So you also met Mikasa."
"She told us literary everything about you, your origin, background, plots." Mark explains the details even more. "You are a special species of anthropomorphism ships called "KAN-SEN" with a special object called 'Mental Cube'."
"Y-you-" Jean Bart still can't take the fact that Mark knows more about them.
"'You' what? I'm just telling of what I should tell. Now here's the point, the Centrals have some kind of high-tech armored soldier units, which able to do a lot things that normal humans can't do. It's exact purpose is unknown, but it's possible to hunt down targets like you."
"H-how could this happen.... What have the heaven sent?" Richelieu also can't take the fact any longer.
"We won't know, but what do we know is that those 'Super Soldiers' are creations of after manifest some of your technology into their own that they somehow got. And now, they seek even more."
"So that's why you take this whole journey risking your life, to meet us?" Clemenceau finally got Mark's point.
To unite all of you. Because you are in a weaker state ever since you arrived to this world, and you are vulnerable to the threats of the Centrals. It's not only for your species, but the future of humanity. What the Centrals did can't lie us."
"Of humanity? What did the Centrals did to make you aware of them?" Richelieu asks.
"Oh yeah, a big truck was not even enough for the atrocities caused by them to us." Mark gives an exaggerated description.
"That..... Was very concerning. What do you want us to do?" Richelieu asks.
"Simple. We get the hell out of this country while we still can. Since you KAN-SENs are basically a type of superhumans, I'm sure no humans can stop you."
*Metallic door knocking sound*
While their conversation was in a big plot, someone hurry knocked on their door. It's like someone was chased by something.
"Who's there?" Clemenceau questions.
"Is it those "Centrals"?" Jean Bart immediately becomes alerted by that.
"No, I don't think so." The cube's gives a signal to Mark, which Mark immediately knows. "I'm afraid that we're busted."
Richelieu quickly approach the door, asking for the ones who knocks the door.
"Bonjour, who's knocking this door?"
"Richelieu, it's me Kersaint! Please let me in!" It's a familiar voice, begging for Richelieu to let her in.
After hearing that familiar sound, Richelieu immediately open the door to let her in. What comes in is a girl with a blonde hair and a glowing red eyes.
After she come inside, she immediately collapse from out of stamina. Richelieu quickly trying to get her up. Her body was shivering and was full of wounds, from beating to burning and cut wounds, some bones from her leg was even saw with minor fractures. The glowing of her eyes are also dimmer than anyone else.
"Oh god.... Who have done this to you?" Richelieu asks with full of concern.
"I-I d-don't kno-ow..... I'm al-already have this body e-ever since I woke up. I-I d-don't remember w-what happened before...." She's in a bad shape to the point where her voice was weak and stuttering.
"Who had done this.. To our brethren!?" The furious was booming from Jean Bart after seeing her compatriots being in this state.
"I know we're in a trouble state, Jean Bart. But we need to think calmly for a solution." Clemenceau was probably the most rational among all. However, her inner world was also filled with anger.
Jean Bart immediately rush to the pile of boxers to find any medical supplies. Thankfully there's still some med kits available. After she get the supplies, she quickly use them on Kersaint. First she pour some liquid of Bacitracin on her burns wounds, then she use the saline solution on her cut wounds.
"Mmm..!" Kersaint felt the pain while the solution was poured on her wounds.
"Hold it a little, it'll be over soon." She tried to comfort Kersaint with her voice while she's performing medical action on her.
When she's trying to cover her wounds after finishing the disinfection, she can't cover it alone as one of her arm was holding Kersaint, while the other arm was struggling to let the cloth to stay on her wounds.
"Need some help for this one?" This scene triggered Mark's inner instinct of, always help a comrade when they in need.
"Mark? Well... If you don't mind." Jean Bart can finally trust Mark, at least for a little bit.
While Kersaint was struggling to stay awake, she's still can have a look of Mark.
"A-a human...?" She's seem to be afraid of human. Ironically, that's what they were sworn to protect.
"Don't worry, he's nice." Richelieu calms her down.
After some bandaging, all of Kersaint's wounds was fully covered.
"There, that's the last one."
But just as he finish the bandaging, he noticed something in her sleeves.
"Hold up."
He pull apart Kersaint's sleeves, and a note was taken from it.
"A note?" It gains everyone's interests.
"Let me see."
Mark then check the note and say the words on it.
"'To the KAN-SENs who saw this note, we have captured one of your friend. If you want to take them alive, then meet us at this location at 10 P.M.. And yes the one who you just got that has wounds on it was intentional.'"
While hearing all of this, Jean Bart was already have anger in her.
"It must the Centrals, they already have your companion as hostages." Mark says.
"But what if it's a trap?" Richelieu concerns.
"Less likely. More likely to lure us out and take us all at once." Tester infers.
"Then what should we do!? We can't just leave our brethren!" Jean Bart yells anxiously.
"Perhaps we can ambush them by going there early?" Clemenceau says the plan.
"If we have no choice, then so be it." Seeing no other choices, Richelieu can only agree. "But what about Kersaint?"
"I can take care of her, you can go save her without me." Clemenceau determined.
"Are you sure? Clemenceau?"
"Yes. I already had that old wounds I got before. Following you will only dragging you down." She says as she reveals her abdomen, an old wounds seem to have surfaced at some point in the past in this world.
".... Very well, we shall go and save our brethren." Richelieu agree for Clemenceau to stay.
"They definitely have those Super Soldiers with them, how should we proceed?"
"It's simple, we take care of the stronger ones, while you sneak in and take her out of there." Jean Bart reveals her quick and reckless plan.
"Not sure that'll work." Mark questions the feasibility of her plan. "Those Super Soldiers are not something you can handle easily."
"No, no. I'm with her." Tester likes the plan. "After you get the hostages, quickly inform us and get us out of there."
"If that was the case then, I'll accept it."
After some discussion, the gang starts their journey to save their brethren.
10:00 P.M.
At the place the Centrals talking about, a place about a temple with a large corridors and a bunch of old abandoned houses. The gang was hiding in the bush, waiting for the one that sent the war letter to them. After an hour of waiting, they finally saw someone arriving the scene.
"You see them?" Mark asks.
"Yes, Mark."
What they are seeing is a group of heavily armored Super Soldiers, with one of them seems to be commanding the other, presumably the leader.
"Good god....." Richelieu was shocked after seeing the Super Soldiers.
"Just what the hell was that?" And so is Jean Bart.
"Super Soldiers, that's what they use to hunt you down."
"To think they somehow able to manifest our technology. But since it's originally belongs to us, I'm sure there's no problem dealing with them." Tester casually sets a red flag.
"Easier said than done." Says Mark.
But while they are whispering, the group leader, General Yao Weizhe, starts to command his units which startled them.
"Very well, our prey has caught up the net. Rip their flesh from their bones, and bring me their cubes." He commands.
Two of the Super Soldiers then charge at the bush they are hiding, forcing them to come out.
"Incoming, incoming!" Mark yells, alerting the whole gang.
"Damn! They already know we are hiding!" Tester complains.
All of the gang then starts to run away to various directions, with Mark going straight towards to an abandoned house with guards guarding it. General Yao sees it and immediate shoot his grenade launcher at him, the grenades miraculously miss all the shots and exploded when hitting the nearby trees.
*Pew*
He tried to shot again, only to get interrupted by Tester's laser cannon.
"Don't you dare. Girls, we got company."
Jean Bart does a backflip from the charging Super Soldiers and pull out her massive staff. While Richelieu just casually approach slowly, then charge at General Yao after pulling out her staff.
"Everyone, prepare for combat!"
General Yao then casually breaks a random tree and threw it towards Richelieu, Richelieu then just slice the tree with her staff. After she approached him, she quickly swing her staff at him several times, but he just dodged it every move. She tried to swing it again, but General Yao just blocked her staff and punch her in the face.
"Oof!"
On the other hand, Jean Bart was handling the smaller units, she swing her staff at the head of a unit, slightly stunning him. There's another one then tries to punch her from behind, only to get blocked and beaten by the staff instead.
"Oh they have grenades and heavy weapons now? Who are those guys?"
Tester say that as she having two full auto laser cannon shot at a spot where the even smaller units are shooting them with machine guns and grenade launchers.
"Hah!"
Richelieu tries to do a blow on General Yao, but he instead grabbed her staff and suppressed her by her own staff with his strength.
"Grr...! How...?" Richelieu was confused by this new threat.
"I enjoy that face of confusion, when a weaker creature meets a higher being." General Yao taunts.
Then he kicks Richelieu out, and look at the others who were still struggling against his units.
On the other side, Mark was steadily sneaking towards the guarded house, he takes down the two guards with his suppressed pistol, then quickly get in. He found a cage with a girl inside, the girl's glowing color of aquamarine was barely illumining, and it is diminishing once a second, hinting that her vital signs are critical.
"Oh my god." He marveled after seeing the state of this girl.
Seeing her like this, Mark immediately search the surroundings for something that can use as a file for cutting the cell. But there's nothing that can be used as a file, aside of a saw.
"I have no other choice, only this can be used."
After getting the saw, he quickly cut the cell door. But the knife was not design for heavy materials like the cell door, so cutting it will be a huge task.
"C'mon... c'mon!" He says anxiously.
Return to the fighting scene, Tester just pulls out her metallic claw and clamped it at the neck of a unit. After that she take her claw and turn it clockwise, forcefully decapitated the soldier. His head falls down along with his body, his blood starts spraying like a fountain.
"We can't hold them off much longer, when will Mark finish his task?"
Just as she said it, one of them charges at her, which broke some trees while getting knocked back. Then a lot of the units charge up and pile up to her.
"Grr!"
Richelieu swings her staff again, but General Yao just dodge it and punch her face again, causing her to spit out blood.
"Where's that man?" General Yao questions the absents of Mark.
Mark was just barely cut one part of the cell, and now he's ready to cut down another one.
"Oh c'mon!" He's getting more anxious.
General Yao then swing his arm and punch Richelieu's face again.
"Hey! Over here!"
Jean Bart immediate throws a tree at him, but he just catch the tree and threw it back at her instead.
"Jean Bart!"
Richelieu quickly gets up, and swing her staff at him. But he just block it with his arms and beat her head with his head. She quickly retake her composure and swing her staff again.
"I had enough of this."
He grabbed her staff instead of blocking it, and threw it away. Then he grabbed Richelieu's arm, causing pain on her. After that he punched her stomach, making a massive on her.
"Argh!!"
He punch her stomach again and kick her back. Richelieu was down due to massive pain from the stomach and split out a large amount of blood. He punch her head once again, letting her head to become bloody.
"C'mon... Ok that's the last one."
Mark was finally able to cut down 3 metals of the cell doors, he quickly get in and grab Le Téméraire out.
"Hey wake up! This is no place to die!"
He immediately carrying her on his back and quickly get out of there.
"Grr..... Urm...!" Richelieu was struggled after that much of traumas.
"And you are even the leader of your faction. What a shame, you can't even let your sister and your friends to be united." General Yao taunts. They probably even studied their history before.
Then he pulls out his knife, ready for a final blow.
"Leave her alone!"
Jean Bart immediately charge at General Yao. Just as she just jumped up and about to blow him with her staff, General Yao immediately change his position and stabbed her with his knife.
"Grrh..!!"
Her staff falls to the ground, along with her blood spits out from the knife stab. She's still trying to get out from his hand, but to no avail. Richelieu was helplessly watching her sister to get stabbed while struggling to get up.
"I had enough of weaklings getting in my way."
He said that as he gets his machine gun single-handed, and aim it at Jean Bart.
"Jean Bart..... No.....!" Richelieu immediately realized what's happening.
After he aimed his machine gun, he pulled down trigger several times. Each time the bullets ripped Jean Bart's flesh out, and a lot of her blood spill across her, with bits of it spill on Richelieu's face.
"No..... No...." Richelieu can only helplessly plead.
After he's done terminating her, he throw her corpse down, and it landed just besides Richelieu, letting her seeing her sister's face before death.
"No... Please..."
Jean Bart's glowing eyes starts to dim, and finally her eyes completely fade out along her eyes completely close up. Her tears was briefly seen falling down.
"Now, search for that man, he'll come back any minute now." He orders his units.
But what comes here was out of his expectations, a horde of homemade suicide drones was approaching them, and they immediately exploded upon contact.
"What?"
"Take that, pendejo!" Just in time for reinforcements from Judith arrives.
And just in time for Mark to come out from the house, and just in time for his sister to arrive and save them.
"Hey! Target the armored ones, but not for the girls." Mark orders Judith.
"Ya got it, hermano!"
Judith then sends even more drones to attack the Super Soldiers, they can't handle those drones as there's too much of it.
"How can I be defeated by such petty drones-"
*BOOM*
A swarm of suicide drones just fly and explode on him, knocking him back. Mark then take this as an opportunity to take everyone into a truck Judith drove.
"Oh my god..." Mark was shocked after seeing Richelieu and Jean Bart, nothing but grief and gore.
But there is no time, so he immediately grabbed both of them with the help of his cube giving him strength, and put them inside the truck.
"Hey! Help me will ya!?" Tester yells at Judith, pleading for help.
"Ok!" She agreed.
A large amount of suicide drones starts targeting a pile of Super Soldiers, which completely torn Tester apart. The Super Soldiers realized what's going so they quickly retreat from the area. Mark immediately take all of Tester's body parts and return to the truck.
"Judith, that's the last of them. Get out of here now!"
"Ok!"
Judith decided to give them one final blow before leaving, she order the final wave of suicide drones to stall them. After she finish her orders, she run back to the truck and quickly drove away.
12:00 A.M.
While escaping to Judith's house in Jiangxi, they also picked up Clemenceau and Kersaint on the way. In the truck's cargo bay, after reassembling all of Tester's body, Mark fully covered Jean Bart's body with a blanket, while Richelieu was watching. Kersaint, while still having wounds, still quietly chant sadly for the loss of their compatriots.
"Let me check on her."
Mark then shift his focus on Le Téméraire, which have the same state as Kersaint, except it's far worse. Mark quickly use many of the medical supplies on the truck to heal her. After some minutes of healing, all of wounds on Le Téméraire was completely covered up.
"Don't make it much harder for you."
Mark says as Richelieu was still kneeling beside of Jean Bart.
"To think that Jean Bart have this unfortunate fate...." Clemenceau says with sympathy.
Mark then sit at the corner of the cargo bay, and use a communicator to talk with his sister. With the help of his cube, their conversations was not interrupted by the KAN-SEN's presences.
"So, hermano, who are those girls?" Judith asks on the radio while driving the truck.
"Long story short, they are anthropomorphism World War Two ships called 'KAN-SEN's." Mark tried to explain in the most simply way possible.
"Oh, you mean, literal warships but humanized?" Judith immediately guess it right.
"Yes. Do you remember that time when we've got a weird glowing cube before?"
"Yes, I remembered when our father took that weird cube home." Judith recalls her childhood experience. "Coincidentally, a massive internet breakdown was occurred."
"Those are actually similar to a soul of them, which is called 'Mental Cube'."
"That's...... Interesting, what about the cube we got?"
"Well actually, it's inside me." Mark awkward says.
"...... Say what?" Judith was confused by that.
"According to the KAN-SENs I met, they said that the cube inside of me was special than the others."
"Can't wait for your whole story, man." The whole story interests Judith even more.
While they're having conversation, they eventually left Zhejiang and entered the city where Judith's house was on, in the Shangrao City of Jiangxi.