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墨書 Inktalez
[City Recapture Battle No. 013 - 7 Hours After Start]
The hellish scene gradually took shape in Hasan's mind as he received continuous text reports from the surrounding soldiers.
Even though he couldn't be present on the battlefield, he could see the blue lights representing the hope of humanity, one by one, extinguishing. He seemed to hear the deafening roar and howl that filled his ears. He also seemed to smell the taste of blood, immersed in breathing.
Burying the wreckage in the crimson earth.
The tears left behind by the departed.
He did not leave footprints there, but his heart has stayed with the earth.
Once again gazing at the coveted blue planet outside the window, I find, in a daze, that it is so close yet so far away...
Immediately after, reports of another batch of unknown "sparks of light" fading are submitted to Hasan. The mountain of documents on his desk collapses towards him in an instant.
At the moment when he was overwhelmed by the documents, the original noise in the conference room was silenced by the surrounding darkness. Instead, there were countless unknown questions and reproaches.
"Why... haven't you retreated yet?"
"I want to go home..."
"At this rate, we're all going to die!!!"
【On the left! infectious agent!......Ah......】
【I really... don't want to die...】
In a daze, Hasan felt as if someone had grabbed him by the throat. He wanted to argue that the sacrifice was necessary for the entire human race. But as the numbers from the reports kept appearing before his eyes, and the final question suddenly surged into his mind, the heart that had once wanted to stay and move forward with them on that land shattered in an instant.
"Why don't you see it with your own eyes?"
(I...)
"Hasan Speaker!!!"
Suddenly, a shout finally brought Hasan back to reality. Struggling to break free from the documents, Hasan finally stood up again, holding his head.
"How long was I out for?"
"Probably about ten minutes..." The soldier on the side said, then promptly handed a new battle report to Hasan. But when Hasan saw the expression on the soldier's face, he simply silently put away the document.
"Retreat." Hasan said softly. As if relieved of a heavy burden, he gently patted the shoulder of the soldier in front of him who seemed a bit dazed.
"Retreat." Hasan said again. He wanted to force a comforting smile, but he didn't even have the strength for that. Just at the moment when he was about to collapse, he forced himself to stand firm.
Just like those who have been fighting on the front lines, he has probably not slept for a few days, from the preparation for this battle to now. Just when Hasan thought he could finally stop this so-called meaningless sacrifice for all mankind, suddenly the communication link from the large projection screen in front of him shattered his last peace.
"We... do not agree."
On the projection screen, there were a group of people who had once sat in the parliament chamber. Some may have been high-ranking officials who had invested a large amount of money in the early stages of the war, while others were individuals with outstanding achievements in the golden age. They sat at the top of the parliament, like lofty gods, looking down on Hasan who was currently looking up at them.
"Although you are the speaker, but..."
Hasan naturally understands the meaning of this sentence. Since the birth of the Sky Garden, or when the fate of all mankind is bound together, commands and decisions have long ceased to be made by one person alone.
He is the speaker of the Sky Garden, but that's all there is to it.
So, as if in response to a request, accompanied by the soldiers around him looking up, Hasan picked up the report that had just been handed to him. As if those deceased were questioning him in the darkness, Hasan held the report up before them.
"Why don't you see it with your own eyes?" The instrument by the ear continued to make a loud noise.
The dots of light on the screen continued to dim one after another.
Until countless intermittent communications continued to be transmitted to this place.
"Request... repeat... withdraw... please... here..."
So, once again, Hasan asked those people.
“Why don't you see it with your own eyes?” But silence once again emanated from their mouths.
"Answer me!!!"
It was almost a shout with all his might, almost causing Hasan to fall to the ground again. As he looked up once more at those 'divine beings,' his eyes were already covered with tears.
At that moment, he could imagine.
As the wave of infectious agent was about to engulf them, were those soldiers, like himself, looking up... looking up at the sky and sunlight that had disappeared, praying for a glimmer of hope.
At the same time, the indicator lights in the command room suddenly began to flash with a dazzling light.
"Large amounts of infectious agents detected around City 13. Repeat, large amounts of infectious agents detected around City 13. Estimated defense line will be completely destroyed in 10 minutes, and the death toll will reach..."
"Let's retreat. Please..."
"But Hasan..."
Finally, they who had been silent for a long time spoke.
"You should know better than me. Perhaps this is our only chance to set foot on the earth. So..."
"But I don't want them to make reckless sacrifices! ... Failure is not frightening ... foolishness and arrogance are ..."
So, the gears of fate began to turn again with a silent motion, and the 'tick-tock' of the clock on the wall was the sound of hope and life passing away.
"Please. While there's still time..."
Finally, as the clock's hands returned to zero on the wall, the answer also finally reached the ears, accompanied by the trembling of the heartbeat in the chest.
They tacitly consented, but also deprived Speaker Hasan of his duties.
"You will face the judgment of parliament after this matter. Former Speaker of the Sky Garden, Hasan..."
Hearing the sound of an electric current "zzz" and communication was interrupted. But hope often comes with despair.
When the order to retreat was finally conveyed to every soldier in the operations room, the intermittent communication that had echoed in the room could no longer be connected.
And those azure blue lights finally disappeared in the scarlet sea. "It's just a few minutes..."
Just a few minutes...
He looked woodenly at the screen that had been swallowed by scarlet, and the tears that had been spinning in Hasan's eyes finally fell. And he himself also collapsed from exhaustion.
"Sigh..."
That was the sigh from Nikola on the other side of the war room. It was not just because he had witnessed everything that had happened in the past few days, but also a little bit of pity for Hasan in front of him.
"You are indeed getting old," Nikola said, waving his hand and ordering several soldiers to send Hasan to the Star of Life. He then broadcast a message to all the frontline soldiers.
Perhaps he has also considered many versions, many modifications, in order to cover up the unwillingness and guilt in his heart. But when he recalls the past, all those sins seem to have made him forget the two words - "I'm sorry."
So, before the brief postscript, he added them.
Who is that for? And can that postscript really reach everyone?
Finally, another sigh escaped as Nikola pressed the send key. He himself turned away, unwilling to face everything in front of him again.
"Let's leave it at that. Notify the cleanup team and wait for the infectious agent wave in City 13 to subside before attempting to find any survivors. If there are still people alive at that time... The battle to reclaim City 13 is over."
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