Let's go back to two weeks earlier, before Impactor and Sinvula met.
Yangon, Myanmar. The city, like the rest of the country, showed signs of violence everywhere one looked. Destroyed buildings, bullet casings scattered across the streets, bodies piled up and awaiting to be burnt or buried; it was a hellhole to say the least. In this place, a single truck drove down the pothole-infested streets. Those who saw this truck quickly stopped what they were doing and saluted it. Whether they were treating their injuries, burying their brothers in arms, or beating the enemy until they felt a little better, everyone stopped and saluted the truck bearing the insignia of a sword with six angel wings.
"General, we've gotten word that the King is prepared to meet us."
Inside the truck were two people, both dressed in white military clothing with blank white masks. The one driving was dressed in tactical gear, while the one in the back was dressed like an army general with a jacket hanging off his shoulders.
"Good, tell them to have the payment ready so we can leave as soon as possible."
"Yes, Sir!"
While his appearance was hidden behind his mask, his coarse yet refined voice showed maturity. He sat cross-legged while operating a tablet in his hands. He pulled up a news article with the headline "Abyssinia on the Verge of Civil War".
"I hope Deimos is doing his job properly. There's no Teleportation Array in Abyssinia anymore, so I'll be tired by the time I arrive."
He put down the tablet with a sigh.
"Travelling to Africa from Asia is so tiring."
After nearly 10 minutes, the truck arrived at a large golden palace-like building surrounded by soldiers and armoured vehicles.
"To turn the Sule Pagoda into his palace..."
The General shook his head as he stepped out of the truck. The back of his coat became visible to those around him. Their expressions matched the panic-stricken face on his coat. The General approached the entrance, where he was greeted by an obese Burmese man dressed lavishly in comparison to everybody else.
"General Phobos, I'm overjoyed by your arrival. Please come in, we've prepared a celebratory feast."
"King Daivika, I'm sure we communicated the desire to leave as soon as possible."
"I know, I know. However, I just want someone to celebrate with after a hard-fought victory. So please, even 15 minutes would be great."
Daivika wore a pleading smile as he approached Phobos.
"...I can give you 10 minutes and no more."
Daivika's eyes lit up.
"Thank you, thank you."
He led Phobos into the Pagoda while the soldiers remained outside. The inside of the Sule Pagoda was brimming with gold; the designs of the ceilings, the pillars, and even the floors were overflowing with Buddhist art and symbolism. Daivika talked about the Pagoda's history, religious, and political importance as they walked.
(He sounds so proud to be using this sacred place as his home....Truly a shameless person.)
Phobos' displeasure only grew as time passed by. A few minutes later, they were seated around a large table filled with food and drinks. There were also beautiful women in every corner of the room. Some played instruments, some danced, and others served Daivika and Phobos.
"No, thank you."
Phobos stopped a woman from pouring him wine. Her hands visibly shook after his refusal. She looked at him with fear in her eyes.
"My utmost apologies, General."
She bowed and took her leave.
(You did nothing to apologise about, though.)
Phobos sighed internally.
"King Daivika, while I accept your invitation, my utmost priority is to acquire payment for our services. So, pardon me if I come off as rude…."
His eyes narrowed behind his mask.
"Surely you aren't planning to negotiate the fee you owe us?"
"Well, I can't deny that the fee is rather excessive."
"Excessive?"
Phobos' icy voice dropped the temperature in the room as everyone shuddered.
"The fee was agreed upon before we took part in this war on your behalf."
"I know, I know."
Daivika gestured for Phobos to calm down with his hands.
"It's common knowledge the service of the Bellum Company isn't cheap by any means."
He showed a troubled smile.
"It's just the country took so much damage because of the war that we'll need a great amount to return it to the great nation it was before."
"The damage is a result of your request to have a complete victory as fast as possible; by any means necessary."
"I know, I know."
Daivika placed his hands over his chest.
"This is my fault, but as the new king, I must think of the future of my people. I can't just—"
*Bam*
Daivika was cut off by an explosive noise resounding in the room. He looked down at his chest before looking at Phobos. Red stained his clothes as a burning sensation appeared around his heart. The women inside paled as they opened their mouths.
"Anybody who screams will be killed, no exception."
They closed their mouths and froze as Phobos stood up. He held a gun in his hand as he walked over to Daivika.
"W-Wait! We can talk—"
Several gunshots rang out as Daivika was shot in the head and chest repeatedly. Phobos walked up to the chair while Daivika's body slumped on the table. He kicked the body off the chair and sat down. His subordinate walked up to him and handed him a phone. He took the phone and placed it at his ear.
"Supreme Commander, we have a problem."
"Did Daivika not pay the money?"
A female voice came from the phone.
"No, and he also used a body double when trying to negotiate the payment. Of course, I killed the double, but I fear he may have fled the country with all its assets. Your orders?"
"Use your brigade to take control of the country for the time being. We'll decide whether to sell it or claim it as our own on a later date."
Phobos nodded.
"About Abyssinia..."
"I'll go there myself. The involvement of Heroes was unexpected, so I'll handle it."
"Understood."
The call ended and the doors were swung open. Soldiers dressed in full white flooded the room, dragging the Burmese soldiers who were stationed outside. They were forced to kneel in front of the table with guns to their heads. Phobos placed the phone on the table and looked at his troops.
"Let's get to—"
"General, we have a distress call from General Deimos! He said his Brigade is on the verge of defeat!"
"What?!"
Gondar, Abyssinia. The African empire was in the middle of a civil war between its two nations, Ethiopia and Eritrea. A battle between the two forces was taking place in the capital, Gondar. The Ethiopian forces had the upper hand and were forcing the rebels out of the city. Explosions erupted across the city as the battle intensified.
"It's the Bellum Company! They're on the move!"
A soldier shouted before a bullet took his life. Approaching the city were armoured vehicles carrying soldiers dressed in white and wearing blank masks. The Ethiopian forces fired at the approaching party. The Bellum Company returned fire as they approached. Rockets were fired from the city. A shadow shot out of one of the armoured vehicles. It flew at the rockets, and explosions erupted in the air as every one of them was swiftly destroyed. The shadow landed near the Ethiopian forces positioned outside the city. This person was dressed identically to Phobos but had a grimacing skull on the back of his coat.
"General Deimos!"
The Eritrean forces cheered upon the man's arrival. The Ethiopian forces fired at him without hesitation. Deimos kicked off the ground and flew at them. He evaded every bullet and swung his hand. An explosion erupted as people and vehicles were blown away.
"Follow the General!"
The rest of the Bellum Company quickly arrived. Some fired rockets into the city while others charged in. Deimos lifted a jeep and flung it at a tank. When it exploded, he flew at the tank and ripped the driver out of it. He swiftly killed the driver and started walking deeper into the city. His subordinates swarmed in, attacking the Ethiopian forces.
"?!"
He spun around and kicked a truck thrown at him. The truck exploded and several people rushed through the explosions. Light gathered in one of their hands and fired at him. Deimos leapt back, but his feet started sinking into the ground. He looked and saw one of his attackers touching the ground. Two others rushed at him, turning their arms into weapons. He ducked under a blade and kicked the arm-cannon aimed at him away. The cannon fired and destroyed a building behind him. He leapt back to create distance. He looked at his attackers, who were all dressed in combat attire with black and white star emblems.
"Heroes? The GHF is getting involved in this conflict? Why?"
"Why? Because you Warmongers are escalating the tensions in this area. We can't turn a blind eye any longer."
A woman who seemed like the leader glared at Deimos.
"If that's the case, why are you people here? I've memorised the top 50 Heroes, and you're not among them. If the GHF were going to involve themselves with us, they would be prepared for an all-out war. They wouldn't send some nobodies."
"Nobodies?! How dare—"
Deimos' body flickered and he appeared behind the Heroes. Blood sprayed from their bodies as they fell to their knees.
"Like I said, nobodies."
Deimos' subordinates surrounded the heroes and pointed weapons at them.
"Orders General?"
"They're most likely Rookies seeking to make a name for themselves, so they don't know better. Let's capture them and use them as bargaining chips to extort the GHF."
Deimos turned his back on them and started to walk away.
"Let's contin—"
His words were cut and he froze. In front of him was a man in a sweatshirt and sweatpants wearing a wrestling mask.
"….What?"
Deimos couldn't comprehend what he was looking at. Why was there such a strangely dressed man in the middle of a war zone? Was it a civilian or was it a diversion of some kind? He didn't know. So he did the logical thing. He pulled his gun and shot the man. The gunshot rang and the bullet fell on the ground after hitting the man.
"Ow."
That was all the man said.
"....."
Deimos silently shot him again, this time firing multiple shots. The bullets hit the man all over his body before falling to the ground in mint condition.
"Ah, my clothes! Why the hell did you do that?! I didn't even say anything to you—"
Deimos fired a rocket launcher at the man.
"What the hell?!"
The man stood in the flames with his clothes burned. He started examining his clothes while cursing. While he did this, Deimos took out a communicator and made a call.
"It's me. Yeah, tell Phobos that my brigade is on the verge of destruction. Yes, I'm sure…The reason?"
He glanced at Impactor.
"It seems I'm a side character who has run into the main character."
"What the hell are you talking about, Deimos?!"
Phobos' voice came from the other side.
"Oh, Phobos. It's great we talked before my death scene."
The Heroes and his subordinates looked at Deimos in confusion. Meanwhile, Impactor had finished complaining and was facing Deimos.
"What's going on?! Don't tell me you ran into something incomprehensible and gave up again!"
Deimos looked at Impactor and prepared to fight.
"It's no use, Phobos. I've already seen the script. It's over for me."
"Wait, Dei—"
Deimos hung up the call and slightly lifted his mask to reveal his mouth. He stuck out his tongue and revealed a lion tattoo on it. The tattoo started glowing and his body doubled in size as it started undergoing beastly changes.
"Alright, let's get this over with."
He, who had transformed into a humanoid lion beast, took a fighting stance.
"Time to go down in a blazing glory."
As for Impactor…
"…Why is this guy suddenly suicidal?"
He was confused by the entire situation. Meanwhile, thousands of feet in the air, a jet was flying at top speed. This jet had the insignia of a sword with six Angel wings.
"Supreme Commander, we're approaching Abyssinia's airspace. Where do you wish to land?"
Inside the jet was a woman dressed in a white male Victorian-style military uniform and a blank white mask. The uniform complemented her brown skin and long, black, wavy hair, which was tied in a ponytail.
"There's no need to land."
The woman stood up from her seat.
"I'll just jump."
The woman, one of the Three Calamities, Alala the War Angel, was on the move.