5. The Captain Of The Red Capes

"How good I feel now that the exterior wall repairs have been completed, we can finally relax." Hope said with a broad smile.

"It should hold now, but work is still being done on it." Guardiol chimed in.

"It's been a very long three months. I've had enough of those 4-hour shifts." Rozalia said.

"Let's hope the doctor's pentagrams on the wall and whatever else he did there for protection are resilient enough against the fallen angels, not just the demons. I don't think I could handle a fight with one of those." Guardiol added.

"Do you know anything about Rex and Nick, Hope?" Rozalia asked.

"Rex hasn't contacted me since his conversation with the doctor, and as for Nick, no one knows anything yet. He disappeared completely after recovering from the battle with Furcas. Some people were saying he went outside the wall." Hope replied.

"Ah, you mean Rex wanted more power. Who knows what the doctor told him..." Guardiol gently exhaled.

"BR, BR!" Hope receives a notification, and after reading it, she looks surprised.

"It was the Doctor; they're coming back tomorrow." Hope informs the other two.

"Ah, finally!" Guardiol sighs in relief.

"We should prepare something for their return, Hope. Sofia can help; I'm pretty sure she'll be happy to get involved, especially considering she hasn't seen Max in three months." Rozalia suggests.

"We have a library here in Sector 13. I'll go look for a book with some special recipes."

Meanwhile, in Sector 7, Dr. Romanov, wearing an uncharacteristic smile, says, "Look, Max! The Marquis woke up."

From the corner of the room, Max, seated on the floor and leaning on the trident, asks: "Is he stronger than me?"

"If he's stronger than you? No, he's not stronger than you."

"How am I, Doctor? Did I succeed?" Rex inquires.

"Considering that you're still alive, I'd say you did, Rex. We'll leave tomorrow; rest for now." Dr. Romanov replies.

"What about my weapons?" Rex asks.

"I've managed to calibrate only the pistols for now. We'll take the automatic weapon with us, and I'll calibrate it in the meantime. Hmm, I've changed my mind about resting. Max, get us something to drink from my office." Dr. Romanov instructs.

"Immediately." Max responds and leaves the room.

"Rex, I want to give you something else, but you must take great care of it. You'll use it only if Max is in danger, and it's mandatory." Dr. Romanov says, taking an old revolver from a box.

"What is this?" Rex asks.

"It's the most powerful weapon, but it has only four of its unique six bullets left. Keep in mind that only two bullets have been used in over 200 years. It's much more precious than you can imagine, so handle it with care." Dr. Romanov replies.

"I'm back." Max says, returning with a bottle and two glasses, placing them on the table, and then leaving the room.

"Aren't you staying with us, Max?" Rex asks.

"I'm going to rest." Max replies.

"Alright..." Rex says.

The doctor fills the two glasses, Rex lights a cigarette, and Dr. Romanov proceeds to tell Rex about what has happened in the past three months.

While Hope searches for the cookbook with new recipes, she accidentally knocks down several books, quickly putting them back in place. However, she stops at an old book with an indecipherable cover, opens it, and reads a line: "Fire magic...". Curious, she flips through the pages, passing the halfway point of the book, reading: "Demonic power can be used as a catalyst for unspecialized spells..." While leafing through the book, Hope recalls some words: "MAGIC! MAGIC!..." — Furcas' words. In her mind, Hope thinks: "This could be an interesting read in my free time."

The next day in Sector 13, Hope, while stirring in a bowl, says: "Sofi, is the appetizer ready? Rozi, did you put the cake in the oven?"

"Almost ready, the appetizer." - Sofia

"Everything is fine, don't get so worked up." - Rozalia

"We're running late, Rozi. I haven't seen the guys in 3 months; everything should be perfect." - Hope

"How soon do you think they'll arrive?" - Rozalia

"They've arrived!" Guardiol shouts.

"SEE? I told you! Hurry up; I'm going to meet them. Hold this!" - Hope, handing the bowl to Guardiol.

Standing in front of the inner circle entrance, Hope shouts: "Rex!"

"Sorry, no Rex here." Dr. Romanov replies.

"What?! Wasn't he supposed to come with you? Where's Rex?" Hope asks.

"He was stopped by Xavier before we left and called to the Center." Dr. Romanov explains.

"What do you mean by Xavier?" Hope inquires.

"Oh, right, you don't know. Xavier was promoted; he's the new lieutenant of the Red Platoon."

"What?!" - Hope

"Yes, none of you are part of the Red Platoon anymore." Dr. Romanov explains.

"What are you saying?!" - Hope

"Did you prepare something for me? I'm starving... Max, let's go!" - Dr. Romanov says, entering the inner center with a bag where Rex holds his weapon in his arms and Max with a long rectangular box with a handle in his left hand.

Shortly after, inside the bunker, Hope is heard saying: "I'm so sad that Rex isn't here with us..."

"I should be sadder; you left me to cook alone." Rozalia replies.

"Very good food, girls. How have you been around Sector 13?" - Dr. Romanov

"Nothing special has happened... Did you do anything particular?" - Rozalia

"Just training, I can't recall any significant events." - Dr. Romanov

"BR, BR!" - Guardiol's communicator. Curious, he picks it up to check the notification.

"What does Central want from Rex?" - Hope asks.

"Who knows?" - Dr. Romanov

"Excuse me; I have something to do." - Guardiol

"Oh, alright." - Hope

"I might want to have a drink later, Guardiol." - Dr. Romanov

"Yes, of course, Doctor." - Guardiol

During all this time, Rozalia looks out of the corner of her eye at Guardiol, and shortly afterward, Rozalia excuses herself and leaves, saying: "I need to go to the bathroom."

"Where do you think you're going?" - Rozalia catches up with Guardiol, who is heading towards the eastern exit of the inner circle.

"A friend from the Sector 12 research team informed me that someone is wreaking havoc among the demons outside... I received the coordinates." Guardiol replies.

"I'm coming with you." - Rozalia

"I'm going alone." - Guardiol

"No, it's not even a question; I will come with you. You're too reckless; you need to be supervised." Rozalia says, passing by him and continuing to walk toward the wall.

"You're too stubborn for your own good, shorty." Guardiol says.

"Who are you calling shorty?" - Rozalia

Shortly after the two of them argue, Hope receives a message from Rozalia on her communicator: "Guardiol and I are going outside the wall."

"Rozi and Guardiol went outside the wall." Hope says, worried.

"It should be fine; there haven't been any earthquakes for a long time. I'm sure the area is quite clear." Dr. Romanov says.

"You're probably right, but Rozi doesn't have the sniper rifle with her." - Hope

"I'm pretty sure she has the pistols with her anyway." - Dr. Romanov

"That's true... Sofi, let's set the table,, please." - Hope

"Sure." - Sofia

After setting the table, Sofia realizes something after putting the leftover food in the refrigerator: "We're out of fruits."

"Max, do you think you can go with her to Sector 10? They have the best fruits." Dr. Romanov suggests.

"Yes!" Max replies.

"Going all the way to Sector 10 for some fruits?" Hope asks.

"They'll be fine, Max will protect her in case of anything." Dr. Romanov reassures.

"I guess you're right..." Hope concedes.

"I'll go lie down for a bit; I'm not in the same shape as you." Dr. Romanov says.

Walking to the eastern part of the outer wall, Rozalia pulls Guardiol by the hand and says: "Do you think we'll find him there?"

"It doesn't matter; it's the only lead we have. I won't leave Nick alone!" exclaims Guardiol.

"But in the end, he left because he wanted to. Do you think he'll want to come back with us?" asks Rozalia.

"I'll do my duty as his second, and if he doesn't want to come home, I'll stay outside the wall to protect him." Guardiol replies.

"You're an idiot..." Rozalia says slowly, looking down.

"Look!" Guardiol says.

Raising her gaze, Rozalia sees several demons gathered in one place. Before she can say anything, Guardiol runs towards the demons, shouting, "HAAA!" and starts killing them.

"You could have waited for us to make a plan, you reckless one!" Rozalia says, pulling out her pistol to cover Guardiol.

"So, let me get this straight, you're the ones who've been killing my demons so far... What fools." a voice is heard from their vicinity.

When they turn their gaze, the two of them notice a demonic presence, a slim, tall silhouette with long black slick hair, and a white sword in hand.

"Who are you?" Guardiol asks, at which point a powerful earthquake is felt in Sector 13.

"I don't think it's necessary for me, one of The Presidents of Hell, to introduce myself to a couple of worms." the President of Hell responds. Guardiol then engages in a fight with him.

Their swords clash, but despite Guardiol fighting at full strength, the President doesn't even move his left hand from his back, effortlessly parrying all of Guardiol's strikes with the sword in his right hand with great finesse. As Guardiol grows increasingly frustrated, the President spots an opening and strikes Guardiol squarely in the chest, creating an impact that throws him a distance away, causing significant injuries but leaving him conscious to continue the fight. Rozalia moves towards where Guardiol was thrown, continuing to shoot demons.

After the earthquake felt in Sector 13, Hope panics and begins searching for the doctor, but with no success. Max and Sofia were still outside the sector, and it seemed that Hope was the only one who could intervene. She sprints towards the outer circle, and shortly after exiting the inner circle, Hope stumbles, seriously injuring her right leg. The wound prevents her from continuing her escape towards the outside of the wall, she collapses on her knees, screaming in despair with tears in her eyes. At this moment, the sound of an engine stopping is heard nearby, and a shadow covers her. Realizing this, Hope slowly turns back...

On the battlefield, the two of them appear to be at a colossal disadvantage, but they still manage to hold their ground to stay alive in their fight against the demons.

"SWISH" The President swiftly moves and tangles his sword with Guardiol's once more. Guardiol also uses his shield to withstand the impact. At that moment, the demon withdraws his left hand from behind him, points it toward Guardiol, and manages to create an impact that overpowers Guardiol again, this time leaving him unconscious. Rozalia rushes to his side to assist, but the two of them are surrounded by demons.

"R-ROAR-R" The sound of an approaching engine is heard at high speed.

"Nick?" Guardiol, momentarily regaining consciousness, closes his eyes after that.

"I'm sorry!" Rex says, driving an ATV.

"Rex?" Rozalia asks.

"You don't see me? After all, I'm the one killing these scumbags." Hope says from behind Rex, shooting demons.

"Hope!" Rozalia exclaims.

Rex parks the ATV between the two and the President, and dismounts.

"More people to kill, how lovely." says The President, at which point Hope fires at him, but the bullets fail to penetrate.

"What's happening?" Hope asks.

"Be careful, he said something like he's a President of Hell."

"President? The lowest rank of the fallen angels." Rex drew his two pistols and aimed them at the angel.

"And he's a fallen angel too?!" - Rozalia

"Not again..." Hope with a frightened look.

"That's right, you heard correctly, I'm an angel. Your demonic weapons aren't powerful enough to hurt me." said the President, laughing.

At that moment, Rex starts shooting at him, and you can see fear on the face of the President as the bullets pierce him.

"What's happening? What are you?" - The President, collapsing.

"I'm Rex!" while shooting.

Rex continues his fire and manages to eliminate the other demons, then picks up the President's sword and approaches his comrades.

"Hope, can you drive and take Rozalia with you? I'll bring Guardiol. You can wait for me at the entrance to the inner circle to let me in." - Rex

"What? Oh, right, sure." - Hope

"Rozalia, can you hold the demon's weapon?" - Rex

"Yes. Rex?..." - Rozalia

"Yes?" - Rex

"Thanks for getting here in time." - Rozalia, at which Rex nods and goes to lift Guardiol on his back, and the girls head towards the wall.

Shortly after they entered the bunker, Rex finds the doctor to give him the weapon taken from the demon:

"Keep it." - Dr. Romanov

"Are you sure?" - Rex

"Of course, protect your comrades with it, the automatic weapon isn't calibrated yet." - Dr. Romanov

"I understand!" - Rex

"I received a notification; I heard you were promoted, Captain Rex." - Dr. Romanov

"Yes, sir!" - Rex

"I have a gift for you and your team too." Dr. Romanov, signaling towards a large box.

Rex opens that box and says: "Red capes?"

"They should offer you some demon protection and protection against magic." - Dr. Romanov

"I see there are 7 capes; you made one for Nick too." - Rex

"Of course, the kid will come back someday." - Dr. Romanov