Milan, Italy. There was a fashion brand store on Monte Napoleone called Fortuna. This store was filled with customers, so business was booming. A middle-aged man entered the store dressed in a grey and black vest suit with a black overcoat. His black and white hair, resembling zebra stripes, peaked out from under his grey fedora.
"Mr. Lavigne, welcome."
He was greeted by a store clerk the moment he entered. She took his coat, revealing his rolled-up sleeves, while also showing off his muscular arms and stylish black gloves.
"The others are waiting in the back."
He nodded and followed the female clerk to the back of the store. She stopped in front of a door. The man opened the door and stepped inside. A light flashed and he vanished into thin air. The clerk closed the door and silently stood outside.
Location unknown.
The man appeared from a flash and found himself standing on a beach with white sand. He calmly turned around and walked towards the mansion that was in the distance.
"Good morning, General."
"General."
"Hello, General."
He was greeted by many soldiers who were training on the fields he passed to reach the mansion. After five minutes of walking, he arrived at the mansion. He greeted the guards outside and walked in.
"Ow, ow, ow! I said I was sorry!"
His ears were immediately assaulted by the sounds of a man's painful cries. He walked to the living room where the scene of a giant of a man was in a Boston Crab lock by a woman dressed in a white Army General uniform with a coat hanging off her shoulders. She was also wearing a blank mask and had an upside-down crying skull on her coat.
"Eris, release Deimos."
The man spoke to the woman, Eris and she released Deimos.
"Phobos, you took longer than I expected to return."
Eris spoke with a sweet voice, in contrast to her previous actions.
"I travelled through Europe for a bit to see if there was any news of Alala's defeat."
"Well?"
Eris sat on the groaning Deimos. Phobos sighed.
"It's on the level of rumours, but news did spread."
"Well, Ethiopia did declare they defeated the Bellum Company. So, I expected as much."
Eris punched the back of Deimos' head.
"All thanks to this brat."
"Again, I'm sorry. The guy was just too strong for me to defeat."
Deimos groaned.
"Was he too strong, or did you give up too easily?"
"I promise, I gave it my all! I even passed out on my feet! It was a heroic moment!"
"It's not heroic if you're the one saying so."
Phobos sat on a chair.
"Whether he was too strong for Deimos or not, I doubt he was too much for Alala. Right?"
"That's not it."
Deimos stood up, forcing Eris off him.
"It's his ability. He seems to absorb damage and the boss probably had trouble defeating him because she didn't know what his ability was. He caught her off guard when she was focusing on everybody else."
He pointed at his head.
"She was hit on the temple and was knocked out."
"He was able to take Lala out with one attack? No, the fact he was able to get an attack in is impressive."
Eris sat on a sofa nearby.
"To catch Lala off guard you need incredible speed, and you'll need equal or greater firepower to harm her. His defensive ability has to be out of this world to survive both Deimos and Lala....If he can fly and fire lasers from his eyes, he should start wearing an "S" on his chest."
"This isn't a joke, Eris."
"I'm not joking, Phobos. Only an alien would be able to complete such a feat. That or another Calamity."
Eris crossed her legs and turned towards Deimos.
"You should've slaughtered everybody there. Why did you retreat?"
"I agree with her, Deimos. The Bellum Company's name can't afford to be tarnished. You retreating has put a dent in our reputation."
Phobos spoke with a voice oozing with disappointment.
"I know it looks like I ran because I'm scared. You guys know I'm a coward after all, but I did it to save the Bellum Company."
"Are you implying that unknown guy would've destroyed us?"
"No, no, no. I'm not afraid of him. He might be the main character, but he's no killer. I was afraid the final boss would wake up enraged and destroy everything around her, including our clients. We can't kill the client for no reason, right?"
"....True, Alala would be angry and go overboard."
"Lala would definitely destroy Abyssinia as a whole."
Phobos and Eris agreed with Deimos' words.
"See? I was in a lose-lose situation. I just picked the option that was easier to solve."
"When you put it that way, I guess you did well. I'm sorry for the abuse."
Eris bowed her head.
"Nah, I deserve some of it for not defeating that main character before the Commander arrived."
"Thankfully, Alala's reputation is too great. No one believes Ethiopia's claims and expects us to handle them."
Phobos stood up.
"Is Alala upstairs? I need to ask about our next course of action."
"She is. I don't know if she's awake—"
Eris was interrupted by an explosive noise and the mansion shaking. The three Generals raced upstairs. They stopped when they reached the foot of the second floor.
"....Well, I guess she woke up."
Deimos muttered as he and his comrades gawked at the sight of the entire second and third floors missing.
"She's going to blow up Ethiopia, isn't she?"
Eris mumbled.
"Let's just hope she spares the rest of the Abyssinian Empire."
Phobos said while rubbing his temples.
Gondar, Abyssinia. The Ethiopian forces had fought back the Eritrean rebels outside of the city and back to their bases in the 24 hours since the Bellum Company retreated. The Emperor of Abyssinia had gathered his military advisors at his palace to discuss their next steps.
"Thanks to the Hero calling himself Impactor, our army has obtained a great advantage. We announced the War Angel's defeat and have started to get positive responses from our allies regarding aiding us in this battle.
He stood from his seat and raised his hands to the sky.
"The heavens have shone their light on our empire!"
His vision was dominated by red lines.
"?!"
He looked around in a panic and everything around him was covered in red lines. His palace, his Generals, even himself. The roof of his palace exploded, and the rubble crashed down on those inside, crushing several people to death. The emperor was unharmed; whether that was divine protection of the heavens or the whim of man...
"War Angel."
He was fully aware. He looked up at Alala as she floated in the sky with the sun behind her. He couldn't make her out properly, but seeing her silhouette was all it took for fear to take root deeply in his heart. The emperor fell to his knees and clasped his hands. He closed his eyes and mumbled under his breath.
"Asking the heavens for another miracle?"
Alala spoke with a low voice but it hammered down on the emperor's heart. He didn't open his eyes and his mumbles became clearer.
"And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil!"
"You're making a request even the heavens can't fulfil."
The red lines started to glow.
"To live in my presence is to suffer eternal damnation; for I am the black goat who passes judgement on the heavens themselves."
The emperor opened his eyes and the sun was nowhere to be seen. Only Alala floated in the sky, looking down on him in condemnation. The longer he looked at her, the darker the world became. Before long only the two existed in a pitch-black world voided of light and life. Glowing angelic wings appeared behind her. These angelic wings slowly turned red as if they were stained with blood.
"I see...."
The emperor closed his eyes and reopened them. He was in his palace that was covered with red lines as the sun shone brightly on him.
"This light is mockery from the heavens."
"I don't know anything about heaven. You were praying, so I mocked your faith. Heaven or hell means nothing to me."
She snapped her fingers.
"Just like your lives."
Massive explosions erupted all over the city, forming a chain of destruction. The emperor's ears were assaulted by the screams of his people being swallowed up by the detonations.
"Your time will come, War Devil."
A catastrophic explosion erupted and swallowed the city of Gondar. A massive mushroom cloud stretching for several kilometres appeared in the centre of the Abyssinian Empire. The being responsible for it floated in the air and observed it in silence. After a while, she turned her back to the destruction.
"My time came and passed. Death was just too incompetent to take me."
She flew off with explosions erupting from her feet. After several hours, Alala appeared on the mysterious island that belonged to the Bellum Company. She was saluted by her soldiers when she walked past them. She stopped and all the soldiers gathered before her.
"Be at ease, everyone. Take the rest of the day off to rest."
"Yes, Ma'am!"
They scattered and she walked towards the mansion. She took a deep breath before walking inside.
"Welcome back, Commander."
She was immediately greeted by Phobos, who had two mugs in his hands. He pushed one of the mugs towards her.
"Tea?"
She frowned.
"I was just flying under the sun for hours."
Phobos silently smiled at her. Seeing that, she spoke again.
"Chamomile?"
"Of course."
Phobos answered. Alala took the mug and walked into the house.
"Commander, please punish me!"
The moment she entered the living room, Deimos fell at her feet.
"When did you develop that kind of kink, Deimos?"
She walked past him, sat on the sofa, and partially removed her mask to sip her tea.
"You did nothing wrong. So relax."
"Really? I thought you would be more upset, considering you got your ass beat and everything."
"I'm starting to think you really are a masochist."
Eris burst out laughing. Alala took another sip of her tea and turned to Eris.
"How was your mission, Eris?"
"South America was great, the Argentines are a fun people to fight."
Eris got up and sat beside Alala.
"I'm more interested in what you're thinking, Lala."
She brought her face closer to Alala, who was trying her best to ignore her.
"I know you're dying to get even with that Impactor guy."
"I'm not. I'm perfectly fine...Wait, he's named Impactor?"
Eris nodded.
"I lost to a guy with a stupid name like that?"
"I think the name is cool though."
Deimos lifted his head and spoke. Alala looked in his direction and he slowly pressed his forehead back on the ground. Eris caressed her head in a playful manner.
"If you want, I can handle that guy for you. Aren't I a good big sister?"
Alala slapped her hand away.
"Focus on the jobs I gave you, all three of you. Abyssinia, Myanmar, and Argentina; we need to perfectly handle these situations and secure our payment."
"You say that, but you completed my mission for me."
Deimos lifted his head.
"Destroying Gondar and killing the emperor and his military advisors pretty much guarantees Eritrea's victory."
"Pretty much isn't acceptable. We must make sure they 100% succeed, otherwise the job isn't done. Those people practically sold their souls to hire us, we must answer their resolve with perfection. Also, don't let your guard down."
Alala placed her mug in front of her.
"What happened in Gondar is proof that a lack of focus can mean death for anybody."
Deimos stood up and saluted.
"Understood, Commander."
Alala looked at Eris and Phobos.
"The same goes for you two. Find Daivika and help the rebels overthrow the Argentine government. Once that is over then we'll deal with this Impactor situation."
"Yes, Commander."
The two also stood up and saluted. Alala nodded.
"Good. Then, Bellum related work concludes for the day."
The three Generals took their seats and relaxed their bodies. Everyone let out an exaggerated sigh. Alala took off her mask and lay face down on the sofa.
"I'm exhausted. I'm going to sleep."
"Get changed first."
Phobos spoke with a stern tone.
"I'll do it later. I just want to sleep, Uncle."
"Get changed first."
Phobos repeated himself with a sterner tone.
"Ugh..."
Alala let out a groan and struggled to get off the sofa.
"Fine."
She went upstairs while rubbing her eyes. Phobos looked at Eris.
"Please make sure she doesn't go to sleep like that."
"Of course."
She got up and followed Alala. Phobos then looked at Deimos, who looked away when faced with his gaze.
"Leonid, we need to talk."
"....Is this about how I gave up the moment I realised the enemy was out of my league?"
"No, I'm used to that. Besides, you always fight your hardest even when you say you give up. I want you to track this Impactor guy. He left Ethiopia after the battle and disappeared. He nor the GHF made a statement about what happened for whatever reason, so we need to take advantage of that."
Phobos leaned forward.
"Alala needs to defeat him. The future of Bellum Company depends on it. So track him and report everything about him to me. Once she's satisfied with the outcome of our missions, Alala will definitely go after him. We'll create an opportunity to do that. Do you understand, Leonid?"
Deimos aka Leonid nodded.
"I understand, Sir Thierry."
Present day, Phobos and Deimos watched as Alala took out her fellow Calamity, Mad Shaman Sinvula, before he defeated Impactor. The two looked at each other with dry smiles.
"Phobos."
"Yeah?"
"If a Calamity attacks another Calamity, it could mean war, right?"
"There's a chance of war, yes."
"And a war between two Calamities and their organisations is considered one of the few scenarios that can lead to the world ending, right?"
"That is correct."
"...."
"...."
"Phobos."
"Yes, Deimos?"
"Did we fuck up?"
"Oh, most definitely."