[Randall's POV]
Sitting in the middle of the entrance room, barely any notable movement changed my body. Thousands of muscles remained as unmoving as possible, whilst blood still pumped energy everywhere… and something else.
Miasma.
Yet another magic hexagon formed by my hands. Violet fluttering violently flailed, despite my attempts at controlling the flowing magic. 'With how I'm performing right now, it's almost a miracle that I managed to land such a well-timed puff of pollen back then.'
Was it the pressure? Dunno. All that mattered to me was getting this- Oh wait.
"I think this is it."
After spending about ten seconds fighting with the consciousness or spirit of this energy, the outer layer finally looked stable. Violet light covered the poking splinters of wood that could easily wreck my feet.
It also mashed up nicely with this… blue hand.
'... Wait, does the skin look different?'
Instead of just glancing at it, I stopped to actually give it a proper look. And guess what? I was right!
It does look a tad more built. 'Does this mean my efforts are paying off…?'
I took off my shirt and left it on my left forearm. My hands swept through my chest, rigid as… Well, not a tank, but still pretty tough. Despite their initial deflation and further deterioration… They're not pure bones anymore.
Pretty good, if I had to say so myself.
Some knocking on the door caused my nerves to shake slightly.
After putting on the shirt, my claws appeared quietly. I strode to the door, and waited for a bit.
"Is anyone there? It's still me, Jack."
… After a moment of hesitation, I opened up. Fortunately, he was indeed alone.
"Hey, Jack. Any updates?"
"Not really. I just needed to talk."
As he strolled in, the entrance drew to a close.
Clank.
And, since we were alone, we did what any normal person would do at a time like this.
"You're troubled because of tomorrow's event, then?"
Non-paid counseling.
"Yeah." Just like I positioned myself at night, the almost-2 meter tall titan laid down on the floor. Staring at the ceiling, stone-faced. As for me, I sat on my knees by his side.
Jack's hands placed themselves between his head and the floor. Indigo hair strands snuggled in-between his fingertips.
"It does sound troubling… Knowing you have to potentially risk harming civilians."
"No, that's… I mean, that's not too much of an issue, but… Gah, nevermind." He gritted his teeth, tension rising on both of his hands.
"Jack, if you are uncomfortable talking about it, it's fine. We can take this conversation to another topic."
One sigh blew some air away. In spite of the size of its creator, anyone who heard it would notice the load of tiredness it carried.
"... Randall?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you know what it feels like to be alone?... To have no one you can trust by your side?"
Memories arose thanks to that question. Flashbacks mixed in along with "what if" moments. 'I'd still say I'm rather familiar with that feeling.'
"... Nevermind. Forget what I asked." He rose from the base and left towards the door.
His mental load seemed to be heavy. Giving him some encouraging words may help to lessen it. "Remember, we're in the same ship. As such, we'll help you if you need it."
He stopped for a moment. "Thanks."
And left.
…
The following day… 3rd of Octobre. Under the cover of the night, Jack would carry out a move that, with some luck, would strengthen the Syndicate's position by improving public morale.
The titan had already changed into the uniform he'd have to wear today. A brown undershirt with a silver plate. Cooper armguards with leather gloves, both covered his skin, safeguarding it from potential attacks. As for his face, he borrowed my scarf to cover it.
Meanwhile, for the bottom section, he had leather pants with steel kneeguards. Finally, a pair of boots adjusted themselves quite well to his feet, mostly thanks to Anne's tempering with the base footwear. Though, neither of us knows where she got the materials to do so.
'Whatever. The matter at hand is much more important than this.'
"Make sure you have everything on the bags." The demoness' command echoed within our ears, as she gave one final, throughout look at the key figure of the night.
The bomb.
It sure didn't look reliable… I'd go as far as to say it looks scary. Really feels like the sort of thing that can blow up in your face if you press it too hard, or set yourself on fire.
'Looks like we'll be unable to return the stolen mattress to Mr. Joe… Fret not demon, your blanket will help us to do this.'
"Randall, you good?"
Jack's words cut off my thoughts. "Ah, yes, yes. I just felt bad for the blanket owner…"
"Then why were you smiling?"
… I was smiling? Shit.
"B-because we're putting it to good use, of course."
He almost laughed. Almost. "Yeah, sure… By the way, you don't need to feel sad. The old man often steals blankets from others, so you guys stealing this one from him is almost payback."
The ice-cold betrayal halted even the rising tensions.
"What-"
"Anyway, we should get going." Nonetheless, tears of tension trickled down Jack's words, but pointing it out would lead nowhere.
"Correct, the starting time for the operation is approaching. Jack, go and confirm if your weapon feels usable, as it is pretty important that you can fight comfortably with it." Her head turned from facing the purple titan, to me. "As for you, scout the area."
Given that we were in Jack's place, I figured leaving through the storage room's cloth-hidden passway was a better choice. But first, I peeked out.
'No one around… Time to check by exiting.'
Emerging from the hole took a bit more effort than usual. Though, getting dirt on my clothes might be helpful today.
… Nothing on the roofs, let alone the ground. No footsteps entered my ears, either.
With the coast potentially clear, I relayed this to the others. "We can go."
And those two demons, the titan and the female fiend, left. One through the hole, another with the door.
Our stroll towards the Solprani Farm turned out to be quite long, unsurprisingly. An increased number of guards enabled us to move more freely.
'Perhaps is this also a part of Oliver's plan?'
… Anyway, with the veil of the night befalling our frames, we hid behind a house. Two buildings away from the farm, enough to spy without risking detection.
Jack's still stressed gaze still flew from an object to another, but it wasn't as bad as it was yesterday.
"You know the plan, Jack." Anne's cold words flew towards us like lesser whistles. Her face didn't even peek out the corner, but solidness still filled her tall posture.
"Yeah… Go in, scorch some grass, plant the bomb, light the thing and run off. I know. It's all I could think of for the past three days." The brown armor worn all over his taller body protected some of his limbs. And his face. Particularly, his identity.
"Good. Then, go. We'll help you if the escalation of the situation gets out of control."
He nodded, and took a few steps forward.
But he stopped.
…. Nevermind, he's walking again. Maybe he steeled his resolve. 'The scarf makes it difficult to tell what exactly caused him to hesitate.'
Vaulting over a fence, his frame's figure vanished, blending in with the bleakness of the night.
"Let's move, we need a good vantage point."
While he sneaked around, we set out towards a nearby house. He didn't need to be observed just yet, as there would be no chaos to be worried about. Meaning, no point in getting involved.
As planned, we quietly laid down on the wooden roof. This position would grant us a good overview of the general area within the farm, while also letting our clothing act as natural camouflage.
'This is the only roof nearby that is still flat. The surface covered by the house is also large, so we can exploit this to hide. Though, leaving from here will be a hard task.'
Yeah, everyone will be alert and rushing out to flood this zone.
"... What do we do if Jack fails-"
Some smoke rose near the shop's green crops. Then, fire.
'Nevermind…'
"He won't. He has too much to win here." An immense sense of confidence coated her voice… Or maybe it's pride. "And besides, our opponents aren't good enough."
Either way, screams didn't take long to start echoing in the farm. No, in fact, they were quite quick to appear. About ten seconds.
Three of the four farm guards rushed towards the southern area, while one of them headed towards the bell… in the center.
Jack was far ahead of them all, fortunately.
Outside the farm, people emerged out of their homes, and even the folks in the house we used as a vantage point did. The Shepherds' guards were quick to keep them inside, but the wave of curious civilians out-numbered them.
'First part has been dealt with, which was luring "inner attention" away from the main target, and "outer attention" towards the area. Now, the actual hit.'
Anne tapped my shoulder. One raised finger to seal her lips replaced a "now we must be quiet."
Two demons draped in the standard Shepherd uniform reached the burning crops. One summoned a magic circle, firing some water spheres off of it. The other one threw dirt at it. The farm's guards quickly joined in, either supporting by throwing dirt or removing the nearby crops.
In the meantime, Jack reached the mill's outskirts safely. Crouching near some bushes, he quickly checked the building ahead of him.
Four mill blades slowly rotated with the wind's guidance. In spite of the rustical, crude designs shared by the six mills in the farm, they sure held some big secrets…
The titan's big frame approached it with haste, not daring to waste even a second.
As he crouched in front of the wooden structure, flooding hordes of armed individuals dashed past our badly-lit position and towards the flames, blatantly disregarding everything else. Blue and simple figures, all leading a charge in the same direction.
However, even in a place used to blindly following the masses… One demon went against that. One of the farm's guards, to be exact.
A slim runner, similar to the one who started by ringing the bell. Most notably, a blue bat held by both hands, its shining contrast made obvious by the abnormal mix of pale and blue.
Then, I realized it. That was Rodion.
A direct line of sight enabled him to spot Jack from a distance, his running speed increased considerably.
'We're too far to warn him. We also can't get involved directly.'
Both hands carried the oceanic weapon upwards, before swinging it down at full force.
A quick-witted backwards roll let the bat have a good taste of the dirt beneath him. I'd have liked to cheer for Jack's good reflexes, but hearing my whispers from about a block away… sounds hard.
He whipped out a metal stick and thrusted the spectre's stomach with the end of the stick.
Jack tried to close in to land a finishing, non-lethal blow, unsuccessfully. He backed off momentarily due to the "random swinging," of the blue bat.
And- nevermind, he's going back to attack.
He deflected one of the attacks with his metal pipe, which… got bent. Easily.
Nonetheless, it still gave him a good opportunity to grab the demon and knock him down with a well-placed fist to the face.
Rodion's body collapsed on the ground. The bat disappeared, leaving almost no traces behind of its existence. Only the bent iron pole.
'Great. Now he should go back to the bomb.'
Jack went back, and crouched by the bomb's side. Seconds later, he got up and ran off. 'Ok, he turned it on.'
Someone from the Shepherds happened to appear nearby, too late to catch anyone besides the evidence in the mill.
… Anyway, the explosion forced those further away to stop dead on their tracks. The few that happened to be close by clutched their potentially pained ears.
Someone tapped my shoulder again.
'Should be- Yep, Anne.'
She pointed her hand away from the farm and towards Jack's place. Whispers soon ensued. "It's our chance. People are either hiding or doing damage control."
One quick glance at the Solprani farm confirmed this. No civilians in the area, only demons either doing their best to put up the fires on the crops… Or some blue-wearing demons crowding around the blown up mill, and its contents.
'He did it.'
Distancing footsteps quickly made itself evident. 'Right, gotta go.'
As Anne slid off the roof, I chased after her.
Avoiding the windows was a bit of a pain from time to time, but we slipped out undetected nonetheless.