CHAPTER 3: WHITE GHOST

XENON WINGATE

3 YEARS AGO

The stench of burnt blood, steel, and rubber is the most painful sensation my nose felt. There are now several explosions ringing around the environment, and the source of it is the burning city which is a kilometer away from us.

Vanilla City is well known for its vanilla-like thick snow. It is a fortress-like city of the Empire of Alterra which also serves as a center of commerce other than the capital. It is made up of skyscrapers bathing with snow which makes it feel like Christmas every day. Surrounded by tall and thick walls made of steel, the city is never meant to be penetrated from the outside forces. It is a peaceful sanctuary of humans and dragonoids alike.

On normal days, the snow is pure white. But now that we're here, we can see a small tint of darkness on its snow. Three explosions echoed.

"It has started," Alfred said. "The explosions.. it's the signal of the start of the war."

Alfred Sierro is my senior, a fine man with white complexion with a trendy pineapple haircut. His hair is artificially blonde which makes him look like a pop star. In fact, girls who saw him would fall for him in first sight, if the girls can endure his putrid smell, that is.

"Is that the signal?" I asked. "Are you sure that's not your fart?" I covered my nose.

"Hahaha! You're just smelling Alfred's stinkiness again." Carlo laughed.

Carlo Tavionas is my other senior and a best friend of Alfred. He is a bulky tan guy having spiky black hair. He's somewhat opposite of Alfred since he doesn't have any distinct characteristics that would attract any girls. He's quite ugly, but don't tell him that. His macho fatty arms would certainly be good for beating the crap out of anyone.

"Shut up, piece shit." Alfred curled his eyebrows. "We are going in as planned. We sneak in, grab the dossier, and get the hell out of there alive. Understood?"

"Roger." Carlo and I said as we pulled down the steampunk skull gas masks on top of our heads. We also pulled the furry hood to cover the majority of our head.

We started to move into the vast desert of snow. We're one kilometer away from the Vanilla City, yet the smoke can be smelled from this place. There is a thick dark cloud covering the snowy metropolis, and I can see raging flames on the skyscrapers.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

There was a loud distant dragon's roar, and it's coming from the city. It's almost impossible for a loud voice to be heard in such distance unless the dragon was really big.

Not being threatened, we venture forward. We are all aware that we are entering a place that is about to turn to hell. We have a mission to complete.

Alfred, Carlo, and I are no strangers to the cold. Back in Elysia, we trained under special temperatures and endured nightly snowstorms. Yet whenever I remember the events of this day, the chills continue to haunt me.

"Get down! Now!" Alfred whispered.

Without any qualms, Carlo and I followed. We laid flat on the thick snow and let the icy rain shower upon our bodies. We are wearing thick Eskimo suits, so the cold wouldn't bother us even if we sleep here for six hours.

"What is it?" Carlo asked.

"Armada. There's a bunch of them." Alfred said.

"Couldn't we just take them out?" I asked.

"No, there's like an army," Alfred said.

Suddenly, I heard a rumbling noise. The ground is shaking as if there was an earthquake. Soon, I realized that there are a lot of people talking just a few meters from us. I can also hear a loud engine similar to a large motor vehicle.

"Don't.. move.." Alfred whispered. "Stay low and don't do anything stupid."

The rumbling noises became closer. It was then when I realized the definition of an army we couldn't take. There are hundreds of foot soldiers, and they are all humans. They are accompanied by ten tanks paving its way on the snow. The army comes from the west and exits to our east.

They walked just above us. We let the foot soldiers accidentally step on our bodies as they go on their way. It's painful, but we need to endure it to remain undetected. I was almost run over by a tank, but I maneuvered slowly so that its wheels won't grind me to pieces.

After ten minutes, the Alterran armada has completely passed through without us being detected. The thick snow and the white Eskimo suits helped a lot in our stealth.

"Phew. I thought we were a goner there." Carlo said.

"Good thing they didn't smell Alfred's stench." I laughed.

"Shut up, piece shit. Stick on the mission." Alfred said.

A couple of minutes in walking, and we finally reached the iron wall that is surrounding the Vanilla City. It's about twenty meters tall and has no entrances. Normally, the top of the wall would contain guards but since it was being seized from the inside, the guards should have abandoned their posts.

Alfred revealed two short swords from his sheaths installed on his thighs, and he stabbed the snowy floor with one. He then threw the other short sword up high that it got stuck on top of the wall.

"Let's go now," Alfred said.

I grabbed Alfred's shoulder with my right hand, while Carlo grabbed my butt with a powerful slap. And in an instant-

"Blink."

We disappeared.

We found ourselves on top of the wall where the short sword Alfred threw earlier was stuck. The teleportation we made is Alfred's Blink magic, whereas he can immediately teleport to where his sword is.

Seeing what Carlo has done, I kicked him off my butt. "The fuck are you doing? Are you gay, bro?"

"Hahaha, sorry, sorry." Carlo scratched his head with a smile. "I don't know what to grab, so I touched your butt instead. I never thought Blink teleportation will work even if you touch the man who is touching the caster of the Blink."

"Yeah, maybe you should go back down there." I prepared my right foot to kick him off the wall and yelled out loud. "This! Is! Vanilla!"

The comedic scene was interrupted when a loud explosion echoed just a few hundred meters away from us. We saw a building crumble to ashes, and a loud roar echoes once again, but now it's much closer.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHH!!!"

"I-It can't be-!!!"

We three gasped as we saw a true horror beyond imagination.

There was a gigantic dragon of about fifty meters in height, capable of trampling all the smaller buildings on its way. The dragon has metal plates and red circuits all over its body, making it clear that it's some kind of a mechanical monster. It's red eyes gaze upon the people that look like ants on its perspective and mercilessly stomped on them like insects. It's what intel says. It is a Monolith Dragon.

Suddenly, four cybernetic crimson wings spawned on its back as it charged a giant photon orb on its mouth. Its form is like those of a beautiful dragonfly. I averted my gaze when the Monolith Dragon annihilated innocent people, humans and dragonoids alike, with its photon beam.

"We better not draw attention to that big one." Alfred forced a smile as cold sweat ran over his face. Carlo and I nodded in agreement.

From the top of the wall, we dropped ropes and rappelled until we reached the ground inside the city. Staying on top of the wall for longer periods would compromise the stealthiness of our mission, so we better go on foot and hid in the ruined buildings and falling debris the monster created.

Along the way, I saw several people running, panicking, confused about what to do. Their city is being burned by monsters, and there is the Alterran Army on the mix. This is like a free-for-all where you don't know who your enemy or ally is.

I saw human soldiers shot helpless dragonoid slaves to death, whether they put up a resistance or not.

I also saw dragonoid rebels ganging up on human civilians and chop them to death.

Everybody is hostile, and the people's only way of identifying their allies is to distinguish their races. If human soldiers spot a person with red eyes, they will identify it as dragonoid and shoot relentlessly.

This is what war can do. Endless noise of screaming, gunshots, and explosions. Normal people would go insane at the sight of this.

"Help me! Somebody.. help me!"

I stopped running when I realized a familiar feminine voice. I had a feeling that I should make a short detour. I searched for a nearby alley and immediately saw what I'm looking for.

Cornered by four human soldiers and a wall on her back, the teenage girl cries. She is curling like a scared puppy begging for mercy. Her black hair is silky and long which reaches to her waist. Her skin is like porcelain that is so delicate. Her brownish-red eyes are beautiful like stars, even though it's a sign that she is nothing but a lowly dragonoid slave. She's wearing a dirty long shirt and it exposes her flawless legs. There's also a broken handcuff on her wrists. I was able to distinguish her by noticing her adorable face and natural reddish eyeshadows.

This girl.. I know her.

She is... Serena.

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