403 Collapsed

The engineers got to work with an avid quickness. Though they were assured that everything was under control, these men and women were ultimately used to lives spent in labs and private work stations. Something like a battlefield was completely foreign to them. 

Though they had had some run-ins with danger on their way to the Fort, it had already been over a year since then. They had gotten used to their lives of comfort and leisure again. 

Many of them weren't even willing to be here. But, they had lost the luck of the draw, so this was their only remaining option. 

It was no surprise, then, that many of them would be shaking and quaking as they worked. But, luckily, there was the vanguard of troops protecting them from all sides. As they noticed they weren't in any danger, they were able to work faster and faster. 

…

In the distance, Leonel and Aina watched all of this in silence. It had already been a few days since they began to monitor the Fort, so they were quite used to the flow of things. However, this plan the Fort sprung was completely out of their expectations as well. 

Aina seemed to still be mad at Leonel and spent all her time cuddling with Little Blackstar. As though that wasn't bad enough, even Little Tolly betrayed him as well. 

Usually, Little Tolly could only interact with Leonel due to the hazard it presented. But, who knew when the little guy got intelligent enough to steal Leonel's Force Crafter Gloves and pass them over toward Aina. 

Somehow, both his partners favored Aina more than him. 

Though Aina was still mad at him, Leonel couldn't help but chuckle at this. 

Didn't this just mean he had excellent taste? Of course his woman would be beloved by all. 

"Ah…" 

Leonel's breath hitched when Aina turned back to glare at him. It couldn't be that she heard his thoughts, right? Her gaze seemed to spit fire as though saying 'who's your woman'?

Leonel's father had always warned him that a woman's intuition was scary, but he never really believed it. Back then, Leonel thought his mother had ditched them so he never trusted his father when it came to advice about women. What would an old man who couldn't even keep his own wife know about that topic?

Now that Leonel thought about it, his old man had told him a long time ago to stop confessing to Aina and that she probably thought he was annoying. Eventually, he just started making fun of him for all his failures. 

'… Damned old man.' Leonel thought to himself while smiling innocently toward Aina. 

Suddenly, Leonel frowned. 

'Milan… Joel… Raj…' 

Leonel's jaw turned steely. 

Aina seemed to sense the change in Leonel's demeanor and looked toward the battlefield. At that moment, the Gate was opening and a few familiar faces charged out. 

In the past, Aina had only ever gone to a single one of Leonel's games. And, even if she had gone to more, everyone on the team wore helmets most of the time. So, she didn't recognize most of them. However, Milan and Joel had been with them on their trip toward the Fort. 

Seeing them, she immediately knew what Leonel was thinking. Did Miles force them to do this?

Leonel's expression became cold. His gaze locked onto the battlefield, not moving a single inch away. Even the smallest detail didn't escape his sights. 

A pressure slowly built around his body, but he didn't make a move. What if Miles acted like he had before and forgot everything for the sake of killing him? Even if Leonel himself might be able to survive the bombardment now, that didn't mean that he would always be able to. In addition, what about the others?

So, Leonel waited. 

When he saw the engineers come out and begin to build the Force Disrupting Towers, he took note of it all. 

To his side, Aina rose from her squat near the ground. On her back, the massive curved box that carried her ax was there. But, in her hands, a great sword took the stage as her main weapon. Something told her she would have to move soon. 

…

On the ground the battle had fallen into a state of one sided dominance. However, Milan controlled the pace of the vanguard, not allowing them to rush forward without reason. Their main priority was to protect the engineers. Once the towers were complete, they'd be able to drown these Invalids in bullets of the highest quality. 

The morale of the troops were exceptionally high. Their casualties were near zero and the engineers looked as though they might finish at any time. The longer they worked, the more comfortable they got and the faster they moved. 

However, all this time, Milan felt an itchiness to the back of his neck. It was the same feeling he got when the opponent was coming with a sudden exotic blitz. As the center of a football team, it was his job to point out protections and adjust to the onslaught of the opponent. In some cases, his decision trumped even Leonel's. 

They say that the quarterback was the most important position on the field, but the offensive line was the most important group on the field. 

"Defensive positions!" Milan roared, his rounded gut becoming almost like a steel cap. It flexed with such power that it seemed he wanted to break through Miles' sensory block. 

The head of the vanguard was mostly constructed of Leonel's teammates. Hearing such words, they didn't hesitate to move. Their influence caused others to listen as well. There were only very few who lagged behind. But, even they rushed over as they followed with the crowd. 

Milan had been the ancor to their defenses all this time. There was no way they would snub his command without reason or cause. 

At that moment, on the top of the walls, Miles, who had been quietly observing everything suddenly felt uncomfortable as well because… 

The Variant Invalid's smile still hadn't faded. In fact, it continued to look at him from start to finish as though observing something that made it curious. 

The white-skinned Invalids smile suddenly became a grin. Its handsome face distorted, revealing a jagged row of teeth. 

It's mouth outgrew its body in the blink of an eye. Soon after, its entire body more, enlarging and sprouting what felt like mountains of white fur. 

What once was a handsome young man became a towering wolf that was easily half the height of the tall steel walls of the Royal Blue Fort. 

Its jagged teeth shone beneath the drifting snow. 

"ROOOAAARRR!"

The snowy ground quaked and the snowfall became ten times heavier. Whipping cold winds tore through the surroundings, kicking up even the wet snow and sending it jetting outward. 

It took just a single roar. And just like that, Miles' Sensory Domain collapsed.