Johannes Volkner bid farewell to the routine he had finally settled into. He was as prepared as he could ever hope to be. Between Beissende Hunde, the armor he'd accidentally convinced Pádraig to loan out to him, his cap and coat, and the topaz in his back pocket, he was about as ready for the Boudica fight, and the rest of the siege both before and after it, as he could ever be. With his heightened connection to the Command Array, he could tell it was at roughly two thirds capacity, maybe a little less. Somewhere around two thousand units of magical energy that he could use as needed.

  As dusk approached, he saw each member of their expedition team slowly gather together until everyone, bar the duo that had split off at the beginning and possibly betrayed them, was present. Even several of the colony's own men had made a militia of sorts, wielding firearms taken from the workshop stockpiles or reverse-engineered, likely by one of the other Callers in the three days. Pádraig was manning the cannon, though in this case that meant he was politely asking Martin to help him with pulling the cannon's cart as everyone once more began to set across the forests. The trek was, frankly, disturbingly silent. It was as if they were on a march to all of their deaths, and Johannes had a feeling that Honda Tadakatsu's fate was still fresh in many of their minds. It was theorized that whatever divine power or weapon had struck him could not be used at night, but that was all it was - a theory. They were gambling their lives to march early and either win or lose in one fell swoop, since a battle of attrition would heavily favor the Aztecs.

  They came past the bloodied field where Lady Tomoe, now present in their entourage, had killed Pedro Cabral. All the blood present was gone, and Johannes wasn't sure if that was due to the ecosystem naturally wiping it away or due to the differences between a 'real person's blood' and a Spirit's vessel. Regardless, to see the battle wiped away as if it never even happened sent a shiver down his spine, even if none of his allies seemed particularly bothered by it. He couldn't help but notice he'd been checking their reactions to almost every little thing, ever since they'd arrived in the Distortion. Yet, that was still something natural to do, wasn't it? He wasn't particularly strong, and especially not skilled or experienced in these sorts of interactions. For all intents and purposes, he was naught but a baby chick, waiting to hatch.

  Still more time passed, and his legs grew sore, and then numb. They had gone up the nearby hill, as prior, and performing such a task in armor made him feel like he was going to drop to the ground at any moment. How the hell did Pádraig make this look so easy on the first trip? Still, looking down through the darkness of the oncoming night, Johannes could make out some details when he took his helmet off to use his glasses. Firstly, the city of Tenochtitlan was still darker than the surroundings, even at night. Secondly, he could just barely make out the exact as to why under the cover of moonlight, where just enough danced off the edge of a particular object to draw his attention.

  It was a disc. A massive disc, floating above the entire city, so transparent it was almost impossible to notice under most circumstances. And if that disc were to be built in such a way, that suggested to him one thing as the true nature of the divine wrath. "It's water. They used water as a lens, and gathered the light of day. That's why all the water levels in the city were much lower than they should be." Drawing Beissende Hunde from its sheath, he pointed its tip along the edge of the disc, slowly tracing around what he could see before it practically vanished into the horizon. He had no idea who, if any, of his allies could see the edge as he traced it.

  "In other words, then... It won't be able to fire at night. We can proceed with the attack."

  As if he was waiting for that line, the Governor launched into a frenzy of orders, showing clear experience from what must have been several voyages at sea. Pádraig and the cannon were set up at the top of the hill to strike at any targets that exposed themselves before the buildings, while several of the other Spirits were being kept in reserve until they could understand the enemy's trump cards. As for the colonists who had come along with them, they were going to be the main force despite numbering only a few dozen men. Johannes was somewhat awe struck then, not at the Governor's callous nature for sending these men to their deaths - he had seen enough of the Governor's tastes to know he was not above a little cruelty. No, what struck him dead silent was the fact that those men were willing to advance into certain death regardless, some praying to Christ and Mary above before the battle, others speaking fondly of their wives and children.

  Even if they could not bear to fight alongside the Governor as an ally, even if the Director and higher-ups of Heliopolis seemed to be harboring all sorts of great cruelties, Johannes found himself renewed and just a bit more ready to fight, if it meant fighting along these men who were willing to lay down their lives for their new homes and families. They were still colonizers, arguably invaders, but he could not bring himself to hate these men who were trying to make an honest living in a new world unfamiliar to them. Soon enough, they had gathered themselves into several smaller squads, able to move independently of one another and without further direct action from the Governor. It was a startlingly modern tactic, and Johannes couldn't help but see Takahashi looking intently as it was ordered. Perhaps she had put him up to this, then, either herself or through Melion.

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  The two Spirits that were sent forward, however, were Yoshinaka and Lady Tomoe, with Wilhelm accompanying them himself. Wilhelm's face visibly paled, before the Governor spoke directly on why. "Put simply, two Spirits that can both fight expertly on the front lines will force the enemy to dedicate forces and show their hand, and those two are already a known force by the enemy's command. You three will be directly marching to the Aztec emperor, the one they call the 'water thorn'. Do I make myself clear?"

  Wilhelm took several seconds to respond, as if taking it all in, before nodding. "You do, sir. We'll make the first strike." Yoshinaka elbowed him lightly in the side as he submitted to orders, and Johannes had a pretty good idea as to why. Given the current layout of their forces, that left Melion, Jill, and Martin and Aylin as their 'reserve' forces, both to protect Pádraig and to move into each battle as needed. Three of them could potentially strike directly on the enemy positions once the battle was truly underway, either fighting their way through the Aztec army, once their soldiers were mustered for a more proper defense, or intercepting enemy Spirits when they encountered and threatened to entirely wipe out the various squads of colonial militiamen.

  Soon enough, it was time for the plan to actually begin, and each of the several squadrons began moving to get a head-start on the assault, ahead of Wilhelm's trio who would inevitably move much faster than them. Wilhelm himself was, frankly, absolutely absurd, and the two Spirits moving with him were Spirits to begin with. Less than a minute passed before the first cries of alarm sounded out into the night, alongside clashes of blades faintly echoing, and gunshots cracking off. The battle had begun, and Johannes was still watching with his glasses on, waiting for a certain someone to show her face. "Jill, we should start moving early. Boudica is going to attack one of their squads, and we'll need to intercept her quickly."

  Jill gave him a light nod, not saying anything, and they started down the hill. His legs were still killing him, but there was no time to worry about that. It wasn't as if he'd be maneuvering quickly or pulling any special tactics out against Boudica regardless. A blaze of fire soon sounded out, and it was all too clear where the lady in question was. They were going to be fighting her soon enough, and he quickly threw his helmet on to be ready. He hadn't said anything to her, but he saw that Jill drew her knives out, and readied her lantern, even though she was still herself at the moment. She hadn't yet been overcome by that 'ripper' personality of herself.

  Amidst the alleys and streets of Tenochtitlan, despite the raging battle, things were eerily quiet. Most of the civilians were thankfully staying inside, fleeing from the loud and terrifying weapons rather than daring to fight head on as the city's soldiers and elites were. Soon enough, the smell of burning brick and clay led them to a grisly sight. There, one of the squadrons had been attacked by Boudica, and two were already laying dead on the ground. One was bisected at one point, the top half of his body entirely separated from the bottom, while the other had been charred away into an unrecognizable figure that made Johannes want to retch at the sight. Of the other three soldiers, one had been severely burnt on his left side but seemed to be mobile, while the other two were unharmed. If they stayed nearby though, they would be nothing but targets for her, their guns would be entirely useless once Jill used her lantern.

  Walking down the stone brick path, Johannes could already see Jill losing her composure, and spoke quickly. "You three, get out of here! Regroup with one of the others, we'll take her on ourselves."

  ...He wished he could be as confident as he sounded, frankly. As the three men retreated, Boudica flourished her blade, but did not try to kill them, simply narrowing her eyes. "You know, boy, you still had one day remaining until our duel. Yet you join these would-be Romans in burning down cities. In striking down innocents."

  He sighed, slowly turning away from her as if in shame. "I'm not fighting for the Governor. I'm not fighting for his country, either. Boudica, you won't be able to understand what I'm fighting for in this lifetime. Maybe, one day, you can understand it in another. But not today, and not here."

  He kept her listening and talking, even as Jill tried desperately to hold herself back from attacking. Turned away, he could reach his free hand into his coat with subtlety, especially in the nighttime environment. If he wanted any chance of winning this with just the two of them, he was going to need to be underhanded. He was not strong, and Jill was strong, but not as much as Boudica. Weak creatures in the wild survived by taking advantage, striking from ambush or stealth or on an off-guard opponent that was already on the hunt for something else. Some strong predators did the same, but the creature that most came to mind for him was the snake. Unbound, waiting, weak but able to kill almost any creature that was set in front of it.

  And almost a universal symbol of treachery. Perhaps he was a snake, in this moment, but he would rather be a living snake than a dead lion, if it meant that snake could slither back to Jessica.

  Jill finally couldn't hold it anymore as Boudica began to speak a retort, and she lunged as the fog began to envelop the alleyway, enclosing it entirely and removing Boudica's vision of the two. They held an advantage, and yet... Why did Flash of Inspiration ping him? What was so dangerous in this moment that even in their soon to be perfect advantage, there was an unseen danger? Was there a second, unseen attacker aiding Boudica?

  His eyes narrowed, as he pulled the topaz free, pouring Magical Energy into it and letting it blow apart in his hand, spraying shards to the ground in front of him. Boudica's body shook as if pressed upon by a great weight, and she almost toppled to the ground as Jill lunged forward, bringing one of her short blades down from above, only for Boudica in her weakened state to still swing forwards. He understood it exactly as the blade slashed deep into Jill's shoulder, eliciting a savage scream that seemed to cross the line between human and animal.

  He had picked the worst venue to fight Boudica in.