The Seine reflected a reddish glow, a river turned into a mirror of the hell that was being lived, that all Parisians were living, interrupted only by ashes that fell like grotesque snow on the historic bridges.
The sirens that were supposed to warn people of disasters screeched as in the old days of war, a traumatic characteristic that made everyone feel a blade on each neck, at every moment.
The blue zinc roofs fell in pieces, falling on their own buildings or on the streets full of rubble and destroyed houses. The limestone facades that had their so characteristic beige color, were now only stained by the soot of burning apartments; their own black iron balconies that once showed the history of Haussmann building architecture, were destroyed, melted, and dirty, full of dust.
The Arc de Triomphe no longer existed, only its rubble was visible, that and the incredible crater that existed in the middle. Notre-Dame once again was in a hurricane of fire, a memory similar to that of 2019. The bridges of the Seine lay in pieces at the bottom of the river, some barely held up by incomplete pieces on their edges, as if tons of explosives had detonated throughout the area.
And what would be its main icon, the Eiffel Tower, it would be more practical to say that it was bars of melted puddled iron, the entire building had fallen to its side, it was no longer the magnificent view of Paris, or well it would be the new image that would mark the world.
At the same time, a few streets from what would be the Sacré Coeur, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, there was a team of 5 men, all with black tactical equipment, each one with fatal injuries, especially one who had half his face burned by flames.
"Are you okay, Adler?, your face is very burned, I'm worried you'll pass out"
Ash blonde hair, short and always combed back, contrasts with his now only dark gray eye, athletic build.
"I'm fine Greta, you should worry about your leg, it got quite crushed with the fall of those pillars"
Medium height and defined figure, her honey blonde hair falls in soft waves over her shoulders, her long eyelashes, straight nose, and intense green eyes, even with the crisis and her injuries, she doesn't stop looking beautiful.
"…I'll have to replace it with a prosthetic"
"There are other ways, and you know it", Heinrich commented.
Robust build, thick neck, his black hair cut close to the skin highlights the paleness of his skin, a closed beard, and ice-clear blue eyes.
"This is not the time to talk, we must get out of the city before…", but Klaus couldn't finish saying what he was thinking.
"¡BOMM!", "¡BOMM!", "¡BOMM!".
Three large explosions were heard and seen, all from the direction of the city center.
"¡BOMM!", "¡BOMM!", "¡BOMM!", "¡BOMM!", "¡BOMM!", "¡BOMM!".
At once more explosions were heard in the distance, they were at the edge of the city.
"¡Pin-pon! pin-pon!"
The French sirens resonated loudly with the explosions in the background.
Everyone looked somberly at Paris in flames, the sky was covered by black clouds, it was simply eerie. During that brief period, several clenched their fists and jaws, it was anger.
"…Damn it, if the district truly thinks that this is the way out, that this is the future...then it's better that we go extinct"
"¡Screeech!"
Suddenly a vehicle braked in the curve, different people with military uniforms came out of it.
"¡THERE THEY ARE, ELIMINATE THEM!"
Subsequently, other vehicles would arrive, with the objective of eliminating and possibly capturing those responsible.
This scene repeated throughout Paris, there were hordes of men with black suits and red pauldrons, others with numbers from 1 to 4 framed and colored yellow.
The fight was bloody, in the end, the five ended up exhausted and with their bodies even more aching. They held the bodies and ended the lives of anyone who had seen their faces.
Adler in particular was covered in blood up to his elbows, his face had splatters from the repeated blows he had to give to make the last man fall dead. And between that half charred face, dirt and blood fell a drop of water, a tear streaked his face.
The others said nothing, each one was in bad condition and wanted to pass the bad taste in their mouths silently, because of course, they were the ones who survived, their other 11 brothers had been eliminated.
The only codices that survived from district 5 were them.
"Hah… hah… hah…"
Breathe and exhale sounds come from Adler's mouth, his chest rises and falls, contracts, it's hard for him to breathe, his limited sight becomes blurry.
"¡ADLER!"
"¡ADLER!"
His companions shout at him, but he doesn't hear; each second is as if his life were being sucked out, without control of his body, only unbearable pain in his head that eclipsed that of his body.
"Hah… hah… hah…"
"Hah… hah… hah…"
"Hah… hah… hah…"
***
"¡Gasp!", suddenly he leaned up and took a breath of air.
He was leaning in front of his bed, breathing heavily, covered in sweat from head to toe.
"…Another nightmare?, I thought they had gone down in the last few months"
The voice was male, he was at the window with something in his hand that gave off a characteristic orange glow. He brought it to his mouth and inhaled deeply, shortly after, he exhaled smoke that was carried away by the cold autumn wind.
"…haa…, what are you doing awake?, it seems you can't sleep either Klaus"
Tall and thin was the figure that remained in the darkness, only partially illuminated by the moon. With long limbs that give him an air of still and analytical figure, his dark brown hair falls to the base of his neck in straight locks, and his clear skin accentuates the brown eyes, almost golden.
"Let's just say I was feeling a bit restless"
"…Is it because of Operation Vox Caeli?"
"Yes…, I'm afraid that what happened to us 2 years ago in Paris is just a game compared to what the district is planning"
"I wouldn't call it a game"
A slight force in his words remained imprinted.
"…I'm sorry, it's just that we both…everyone was marked after that…and with the recent death of Heiss…."
"Don't worry, but you should cut back on the cigarettes, you've been smoking a lot lately"
"..It's just a hobby, besides with the new medicines in 3 weeks everything accumulated is eliminated"
"Yes, but the last time I saw you, you were pale from the amount you vomited, plus you know that those drugs can wear down your health if you use them too often"
"Fuu, I understand", he accepted, exhaling a large ball of smoke.
"Do you want to go train?"
Klaus held the cigarette in his fingers and examined it for a moment.
"Sure, but if you lose again, don't come to me with complaints in the morning"
"Ha, what confidence, last time you ran out of breath"
"Tss, children, I should have educated you better"
He put out the cigarette against the wall and stood up, stretching his hands.
"You're only a year older"
"Shh", don't get me started"
He put his finger in Adler's mouth, which was quickly swatted away.
The two left near the fountains adorned with small angels that sprayed water downward, where all the streams fell. They walked through what appeared to be an exclusive property, its hallways were ancient, typical of French nobility in its pre-revolution era.
Finally, they arrived at what would be an open-air training field. The floodlights illuminated the central area, and around there were benches, it was like a mini coliseum, where everyone trained with instructors or even MÁSTERS.
A spectacle, however, they didn't seem to enjoy the place much, there was no more space in the incredible mansion; they were only allowed to train in this place for security reasons.
They were separated from other nearby properties, and the city was quite far away, the closest was the Karlsruhe Palace a few kilometers away, where the MÁSTERS resided, and they had no permission to approach.
This was because it was a deeper area within the palace lands where they were located, perfect for being discreet.
On the far right was Adler, on the left section was Klaus. The coliseum was formed by the shape of an octagon, if the opponent left the line, they lost, this form was also done this way for multiple combats, like putting a person in the center and having adversaries come from the 8 directions, a cruel form where they knocked down the target and beat him until he passed out.
"Well, it's time"
Putting his hand in a pocket, he pulled out a bronze coin.
"Tink"
The coin was thrown into the air, to the center, near a point marked in red; it fell, and the moment it touched the ground, the combat began.
Adler was the first to move, he ran straight at Klaus, in a zigzag manner, in this way, he intended to reach him from an unforeseen side with feints and body fakes. He used a French Renaissance broadsword, with a length of 1.4 m, it was large, but with low width, silver color and protective ring in the shape of C outward.
It's a weapon that is handled with both hands, however he ran across the battlefield holding it with one hand as if its weight wasn't anything special.
"¡Clank!"
The blow was received on Klaus's upper left side, Adler ran around and threw a descending slash, grabbing at the end with both hands to give all the pressure possible and achieve an overwhelming cut, despite his speed and power, it was blocked.
The weapon Klaus was holding was a French rapier, a very simple and old one. Adler's eyebrows furrowed upon seeing what weapon had blocked his attack, his right arm was suspended in the air supporting the full weight of his opponent.
It was surprising that it hadn't broken with the amount of force, fortunately it had fallen on the most robust part of the sword, if it had been on the middle or longer part, it would have fractured or broken.
"Haa…what are you planning?, last time a rapier, before another different weapon and this time a rapier, what… shring"
He couldn't continue with what he was saying, Klaus tilted his sword, which caused a squeaking of the swords rubbing together; at that precise moment, Klaus took advantage of Adler's lack of balance and made a turn to the right, to the opposite side, raising his foot and delivering it to Adler's abdomen.
That single movement lasted a second, sent Adler flying about 3 meters, almost near the exit line.
When he recovered, Klaus was already on top of him.
"Clank, clank, shring, clank"
A torrent of sharp blows fell on his position; there was no space for a counterattack or much less rest. The blows at first were at Adler's critical points, but shortly after they changed from elegant and orthodox blows to a wilder fencing, one that risked his own safety with each reckless attack.
"Kyc"
The results began to show, cuts on the thighs, arms, face, and side; each part seemed to be cut in a surgical manner.
Adler threw a desperate attack at a possible opening of his expanding right arm, however that was Klaus's intention, he barely dodged the tip of his sword, put his free hand on Adler's right shoulder, and in the blink of an eye, a knee strike was launched below his solar plexus.
"¡Bff!"
Saliva was spat from his mouth, the contraction in Adler's facial features revealed the pain he felt.
At the same time as he let go and let him step back two steps, Klaus threw a kick to Adler's jaw; he managed to take advantage of the opportunity and delivered the finishing blow.
"Thump"
Adler's body left the combat area and fell on his back against the ground.
"Kaa…haa..haaaa..kof kof"
They were empty groans of pain, there was no way to release anything since he emptied all the air with that knee strike, the only thing he could release were growls, gasps and dry coughs.
"First in a battle you don't talk, we are opponents, so don't let your guard down. Second, you thought I would use a rapier like last time, that's why you threw yourself with a strong blow, intending to break it, unfortunately I had already thought about it in the previous encounter, that was the reason I decided to receive the blow instead of dodging it"
"Haaa.. kaa.. but it wouldn't make sense in a fight where you can't change weapons…and you have a fixed one"
"Adler, do you remember the tournament we had 3 years ago, where they gathered all the codices for a confrontation?. I don't know if you remember codex #7 from district 3 of Colombia or codex #3 from district 7 of Korea. Both were experts in weapon handling, the second was terrifying in handling any weapon, especially cutting cable, which he combined with blades to make deadly traps; and the first was a genius in weapon handling, unlike the second, he had specialized techniques for each weapon, developing unseen arts, making the other districts look ridiculous in the coliseum game, similar to this confrontation. That's why I thought about changing my styles of graceful and wild art to adapt them to any weapon….I considered myself a genius, but those monsters are of a different caliber"
Klaus wasn't weak, that would only be a discredit to the number of skills he has, it's just that when he saw the professional handling of those two, he realized that his wild and orthodox style didn't have the lethality that they showed with their techniques. Back then Klaus came in third, below those two, that's why in recent years he improved his fencing styles and started adapting it to different weapons.
"…Isn't that too much effort?, I feel like it would be better to perfect ourselves in one or two weapons, but more is…."
He had no words to describe it, it was an arduous task. The districts had already trained them in different weapons and fighting styles, but they told them to choose one to perfect themselves in, mainly because it will be a Herculean task to put your own style to all those weapons.
"Clap clap clap"
Unexpectedly, some applause coming from the stands distracted them. Upon looking at the darkness and seeing 2 people sitting and one standing, they were surprised.
"How long have you been there?", Klaus asked.
"We followed you when you couldn't sleep, you know that the smell of tobacco bothers me and you keep doing it, how shameless of you"
The person speaking was none other than Lucien, of refined appearance, almost aristocratic, with an upright posture and a grace that seems inherited from generations prior to nobility. His bright black hair, combed to the side, accompanies a clear face with well-defined features: fine nose, pronounced chin, lips with soft curve, and eyes of a dark and deep blue, maintains a thin but strong body.
"Mmmh, I'm sorry, I'll stop doing it"
"You always say you'll stop, please stop once and for all", this time it was Greta who spoke.
"It's unfair that you play alone and leave us out"
"This isn't a game Heinrich, we were just training"
"Still, you didn't invite us Adler, how rude. Even so, I heard what Klaus said and he's not wrong, you are the team leader because we chose you, but you must be more aware of your level and that of your opponents. I know you're the youngest, but that's no reason for you to waste the opportunity to learn, don't just take what the district idiots offered you, take it to a higher level; or are you going to tell me that when the districts mark you for elimination like they did with Heiss, you'll be ready to face those who taught you in the first place?"
Adler's face contracted, and a feeling of self-loathing invaded him, none of Lucien's words were wrong.
Slowly, Lucien approached Klaus and Adler.
"It's something to learn from, but it's good that you understand it, because we don't have much time left"
"….Yes, only two years for the districts to start with the cleaning….if we can't change destiny, maybe this time we really will die in the act or discarded by the districts just like Heiss and his companions from district 3"
A doubt that had plagued him since learning of the death of a codice, another of the unknowns who were like brothers from being raised the same way, they only found out they were the same when they started sharing missions.
The burden Klaus carried on his back was unbearable, he had had it for two years, when he led Operation Nuit Écarlate in Paris. There hasn't been a day he didn't regret not having enough experience or someone like that, maybe if that person existed, more of his brothers would still be alive.
Slowly Adler got up from the ground and wiped his training clothes, in his gaze there was something of determination, he didn't want something like that to happen again, the tragedy of 2 years ago, the death of another codice.
"Klaus, Lucien"
"¿Mmh?"
The two watched him, attentive to his change of attitude and waiting for his words.
"I want you, tomorrow, at the meeting with the other codex leaders from the other districts, to be there with me. We will not let the districts direct our destiny"