The moment that pop-up fell, every single music player in the dystopian city shut off.
An ominous silence ensued, but it was soon broken by the nuclear siren, which seemed to be coming from the white spire in the very center of the city.
But there was also the sobbing. Yet unlike earlier, when he could just barely hear it, the sound was now right behind him.
Rael froze, slowly turning around, expecting the worst.
But instead of encountering some eldritch horror, he was met with a creepy red-haired doll made for children.
"Someone break that darned thing, it’s giving me the creeps," Frederick said plainly, and a moment later, one of the Starlight Division members stomped the doll, breaking it in an instant.
It broke, and then to their surprise, it melted, sinking into the ground. Moments later, it fully vanished.
And that was when everyone finally became alert, including Rael.
Dolls and horror... I don’t scary shit, Rael thought, nodding to himself.
He remembered seeing stuff in the movies back when he was younger. From then on, every time he saw a creepy doll, he considered it a red flag.
"Let’s get moving. It can’t be this quiet all the way," Frederick instructed.
With those words, he took the lead again as they walked through the destroyed dystopian city. Several houses looked like they were intact, but upon closer look, Rael realized they were nothing but recharging stations for the mechas.
So, just as Frederick had said, the mechas had really taken over the entire world.
They continued walking, but some time down the line, Frederick began speaking.
"Most new recruits don’t understand our cause... Isn’t that right, Aster?"
Rael paused, then nodded. "What’s the point in conquering this world? Natural resources?"
"Military expansion," Frederick replied with a chuckle. "The Blazing Sun Knight Brigade numbers a few million... at least that’s what is open to the public. In reality, every world we conquer, we post a couple million of our potential soldiers, then train them."
He lowered his voice. "We sow the seeds, and after a decade, the higher-ups descend. They evaluate everyone’s performance, and if it meets a certain standard, a new division is created. That division goes back to the Silver City, and just like us, they get sent on missions."
Rael’s eyes widened slightly. "So... if we get rid of all the mechas on this world..."
"The higher-ups will gather new candidates, and then send them here for training. After a decade, the cycle repeats," Frederick affirmed, a slight smile appearing on his face as he turned toward Rael.
"However, those who are born or live in the Silver City don’t need to undergo evaluation. They simply enter a training camp for a few months, then join a Division right away."
"What happens to the world after they finish training?" Rael asked. "Do they just go ahead and reuse it? Also... you mentioned an evaluation. What happens after they fail the evaluation?"
Sure, Rael had some memories of a soldier, but he wasn’t high-ranked. Frankly, he only had two golden pins, and aside from fighting skills, he wasn’t very useful.
So it seemed kind of knowledge only applied to captains and above, and the only reason Frederick was sharing it in the first place was because he trusted them.
"Once training finishes... the worlds get discarded," Frederick said with a sigh. "After all, imagine housing 1 million soldiers on a single world. All of them are at least Grade 1 in strength, and even if they’re not very powerful, the damage accumulates very quickly."
He raised a single finger. "For one, a world can only stand so much, so when pushed to the upper limits, it is bound to collapse. Its laws get scrambled, and after a decade, the world is too dangerous to walk on, so it gets destroyed."
Then a second finger. "As for your other question... there haven’t been many precedents of a failed evaluation. It doesn’t require much effort to pass. But, theoretically, if a batch were to fail an evaluation... they would be destroyed alongside the world."
Rael’s brows furrowed. "Seriously? All of them?"
"Indeed." Frederick nodded. "The Goddess believes in competency. That’s why there are minimum standards. Fail to reach that minimum standard, and in the Goddess’s eyes, you’re worthless."
With a heavy breath, he returned to leading them toward the spire.
Still, he continued speaking.
"The Starlight Division, unlike other divisions, was formed inside the Silver City. We didn’t need to go through the evaluations, but it was a bit different... it was a division filled with volunteers and aspiring warriors trying to make a name for themselves, trying to get the Goddess’s recognition."
"But, as I’ve already said, we’re cursed..." He trailed off, halting. "We’re here."
Before Rael knew it, they were right outside the spire. Despite its thin stature, from up close, it looked pretty damn massive.
But more importantly, there were several dozen red wigs scattered everywhere, almost as if they were leading a path to somewhere.
And when Rael paid closer attention, he spotted a pathway in the wall, one that had been covered with those same red wigs.
Rael patted Frederick’s shoulder, then pointed at the entrance.
"Oh? Men, we’ve found our way in," Frederick announced with a chuckle and, alongside the rest of the division, walked toward the entrance.
They got rid of the wigs, and of course, stepped inside the white spire.
Rael was the last one to step inside, and to his surprise...
And that was when his vision shifted. A moment later, he found himself in a completely red room. From the air pressure, he assumed he was far above ground level, likely near the top of the white spire.
But as he glanced at his teammates, Rael realized something was wrong.
Their eyes were unfocused, and all of them were reaching for their weapons.
All except for Mathieu, who shot Rael a puzzled glance.