Shattering Humanity-Chapter 417: Defending Artillery Fire

’Do you not see that Allah knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth? If three converse privately, He is their fourth. If five, He is their sixth. Whether fewer or more, He is with them wherever they may be. Then, on the Day of Judgment, He will inform them of what they have done. Surely Allah has perfect knowledge of all things.

Have you not seen those who were forbidden from secret talks, yet they always return to what they were forbidden from, conspiring in sin, aggression, and disobedience to the Messenger? And when they come to you O Prophet, they greet you not as Allah greets you, and say to one another, "Why does Allah not punish us for what we say?" Hell is enough for them—they will burn in it. And what an evil destination!’ -Surah Al-Mujadila 58:7-8

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Daisuki: "That’s right, Bud!

I hope you wrote something on it in permanent marker like I told you!"

Jormungand looks happy to make his leader proud, but also upset at the same time.

Jormungand: "I did.

I wrote ’Sorry it had to go this way’..."

Upon hearing that, Daisuki slows down what he is doing and seems to come to a depressing realization.

Daisuki(thinking): *While I was getting caught up in the formalities and prepping for this war, I had forgot...

We are going to be hurting other humans, while in the middle of an apocalypse already...

I told Jormungand to write a cocky message on the mortar, like we did when I served... But instead, that genuinely kindhearted young man wrote an apology...*

Taking a deep sigh Daisuki returns to the calibration of his artillery fire.

Daisuki(to himself): "Damn it Nephilim, maybe you are right.

Maybe I am just fated to be a chaotically neutral shit bag..."

Once he is finished beating himself up, Daisuki pops his own head out of the hatch and looks down at his top Gunner.

Daisuki: "How you holding up over there, Char?

Think you can hold the liquid curtain up for another two minutes or so?"

Sweating and heavily breathing, Charybdis holds a shaking thumb up without saying a word to his "Uncle".

Accepting the answer with a smile, Daisuki looks at young Jormy and his wife to be.

Daisuki: "Alright, you two head back down and let everyone else, especially Saku, know we’re ready to initiate phase two.

I’ll stay up here with Char and his enchantingly charming little friend until the last second of his ability.

At that point, Saku should pop back up here, and move Abby, with us inside to safety."

Scylia and Jormungand nod, then both run for the roof doorway, leading down a staircase and out of the building full of workout equipment.

Daisuki looks at shy Persephone and the young woman notices his gaze. She avoids eye contact with him.

Daisuki: "I’m sorry, I don’t think I ever got your name, Miss."

Embarrassed Persephone stutters while trying to introduce herself

Persephone: "My n--name is P-Persephone."

Daisuki: "Well P-Persephone, have you ever been inside a tank?"

Persephone adorably shakes her head.

[Two Miles Southeast Of Roronora Lake]

Walking through the small forest, SoulSeiõrShielded Vegetius notices the overlapping indents in the ground left by giant Icemen footsteps. Each footprint is the size of 1-2 school buses. There are crushed/splintered trees pushed into the dirt by the weight of the enormous aliens.

With his head on a swivel, and a hand gripping on the handle of his stolen SunSword, Vegetius cautiously travels through the destroyed forest.

Vegetius(thinking): *I hope my prophetess is doing alright. I’m worried about the defense forces she’s against.

Could they all be as strong as that one woman who put me on this game of hers?

My encounter with that other powerful woman set me back about 25 minutes, but I’m collecting information and that’s what matters most.*

Raising an eyebrow, Vegetius stops, and pulls his facemask slightly away from the bridge of his nose. Just enough to take a few sniffs of the air.

The scent in the air makes the young soldier shiver and cringe. Returning the thin cloth back over his nose, he continues on his way along the uneven tree line while thinking to himself.

Vegetius(thinking): *I don’t know if it’s my guilty conscience, or if the air actually reeks of blood and death.

Is that stench coming from where I’m supposed to be heading?*

Interrupting his thoughts, the familiar ominous growling, tongue clicking, and spine tingling slithering can be heard coming from multiple directions.

Frozen in position, Vegetius tightens his grip on the handle of the foreign SunSword and his blue eyes dart all around.

Vegetius(thinking): *How long do these models of the anti-Levite swords from this island stay effective?*

Suddenly, a wild Iceman appears from behind a still standing tree, then another, and another.

Eight total violent aliens shamble through the mangled forest and spot the human all alone.

In full combat mode, with his acknowledged SoulSeiõrShield aiding his physical abilities, and a fully charged SunSword, Vegetius locks in to the mob surrounding him.

Vegetius(thinking): *Stay safe, my prophetess. I will not let you down.*

Birds fly away from their perch in the close by trees as slashes and gnarling echoes through the SeiõrSnowing sky.

[Kami Island North Shore]

Phæstis is doggy paddling in the ocean water by herself and humming despite being alone in open waters.

Her closed eyes are safe from the salt water, but like usual, she notices something that catches her interest.

She chuckles and then dives underneath the surface.

Back aboard her current shipping vessel, Jesse James has her SanguineSoulSeiõrShield active.

She proceeds to finish her attempt of creating mutual acknowledgement between the two high ranked military men and Seiõr. The intrigued, deeply focused Captain and his stunned, silent First-Mate stare at the Sheriff’s back.

Jesse James: "From what the skilled individuals on that island call it, the energy is referred to as ’Seiõr’."

She looks at the light snow falling the same way around the entire globe, and her sad pink eyes watch the flakes disappear into the ocean.

Jesse James: "From my hypothesis, it is the main component to this snow that is falling all around the world.

Whoever is creating this constant light snowfall, with little to no accumulation, is doing so with this Seiõr. They are creating a clear anomaly to help humans become mutually acknowledged."

Captain: "So what you are declaring is, the only way to actually see this specific type of energy is to believe it exists and hope it acknowledgeds you back?

Hmmm..."

Jesse James(nods): "Now that I’ve told you both, whether or not you believe me or not, you’ll be able to see my SoulSeiõr energy around me.

If you don’t believe me, I don’t blame you. It was farfetched to assume the revelation of magic would convince logical minds and respectable men such as yourselves."

The Captain who claims to trust the woman full heartedly, rubs his eyes but from his PoV, the Sheriff looks normal.

Captain(sighs): "Well Madame Sheriff, from how you describe this ’energy’ and it’s hidden properties, it reminds me of arithmetic."

Looking over her shoulder, the man’s comparison makes the Sheriff curious.

Captain: "Excuse me if I sound ignorant, or let me know if I’m wasting my breath.

What I’m getting at is, just like science, math surrounds us everywhere we go but it is ’invisible’ concept unless using numbers, but the values for each number symbol has to be taught in conformity.

On the other hand, even if an average person understands and acknowledges basic math, they’ll never notice the universe’s most complex mathematics patterns staring them right in the face."

The Sheriff takes a moment to consider the well thought out shot in the dark.

She looks back down at the calm ocean in front of the stationary watercraft.

Not reacting to the top half of Phæstis’ wet head poking out.

Jesse James: "That is an interesting theory you’ve laid out, Captain. I will seriously think more about your comparison later when we aren’t in the midst of battle.

How about you, First Officer?"

However, for the First-Mate, the young military man is frozen in not fear, but disbelief.

After being disclosed with the information about invisible, magical energy, the man can clearly see the Sheriff’s illuminating pink and gold SanguineSoulSeiõrShield.

First-Mate: "You gotta be fucking kidding me?"

From the wheelhouse, a crew member opens the door, intruding on the on deck meeting.

Communication Crew: "Sir!

The rest of the fleet is wondering what our next move is?

They are waiting orders from Madame Sheriff."

Jesse James: "We load up the landing crafts with infantry and storm that shore. That water isn’t a serious threat, nor is it solid surface. Everyone will get a little wet, that’s it."

Before anyone else can react, the wall of water in question visibly descends slowly, along with the Shelly clones standing on top.

Once the wall is half as high from it’s original height, Jesse James’ eyes widen and she shouts.

Jesse James: "There’s no more time!

Tell everyone to get going, NOW!"

On "NOW", from the land they are attempting to storm, a large distinct *BANG* echoes and one of the destroyer vessels, the USS Bruce, gets hit with a mortar fired by Abby.