⁕ Illusion of Victory

*Inside the Kremlin, Moscow.

A general entered the military meeting room and closed the steel door behind him. Putin and several other country leaders sat around a small table where a map of Moscow was displayed.

[General Winston] - "The enemy is currently advancing toward the Moscow district. Their 5th fleet has occupied Khimki, Mytishichi, Lyubertsy and Balashika, which means that we are trapped and on the tip of our toes. "

Said the general while drawing lines on the war map with his finger.

[Viktor Putin] - "Marshal Feliks and his 12th and 13th fleets will break through Podolsk from the South and together we will hold off Valentine's 5th fleet. "

Said Putin in a dismissal tone.

One of the Russian generals glanced at Winston who hesitated before reopening his mouth.

[Winston] - "Mister president... Marshal Feliks... "

Said the general in a trembling voice.

[General Vitaly] - "Marshal Feliks simply doesn't have enough force to counterattack. I've just been on a phone call with him and the attack didn't take place. "

Said the general in a firm voice.

The president slowly removed his glasses while trembling with rage.

[Viktor Putin] - "Marshal of the Russian Federation's defence Alyosha, Marshal Ivan, minister of defence Lev and marshal of the air force Maks shall stay. The rest, take your leave, please. "

Said the president in a calm manner.

The rest of the command staff immediately left the conference room in an orderly manner and when all of them were out of the room, the door was shut tight behind them.

[Viktor] - "What is the meaning of this? How dare Felix disobey my direct order? How dare that fucking traitor to disobey my order? "

Said Putin as he banged in rage at his table.

The people outside of Putin's office could clearly hear the screams inside.

[Viktor] - "This is the final outcome huh? The military, the general staff and all my troops have all been disloyal traitors to me and this country! I'm surrounded by cowards and traitors!

[Lev] - "I'm sorry mister president but I cannot allow you to insult our brave soldiers... "

[Viktor Putin] - "Then who is to blame? COWARDS! TRAITORS! INCOMPETENT IDIOTS! "

[Lev] - "Mister president, this is outrageous! "

[Viktor] - "The generals are the scum of the Russian people! "

Screamed Viktor before angrily throwing his pens on the table.

[Viktor Putin] - "No sense of honour! You call yourselves generals because you went to the academy but all you can do is use a fork and knife! All the years, the military has been holding me back! Since my grandfather's invasion of Ukraine, the military has been a torn on my family's side! I should just... "

Exhausted by his rant, Viktor Putin stopped to take a breath of air.

[Viktor Putin] - "...I should just have all the high-ranking officers executed, as Stalin did! "

The room remained in dead silence for a few seconds while the ground shook due to the city's bombing by Valentine's army. Viktor took the moment to sit back down in exhaustion.

[Viktor Putin] - "I never went to an academy and still took the entirety of Ukraine after my old man failed. Traitors, I have been deceived from the start of this fourth world war! Such an enormous betrayal of the Russian people. But all those traitors will suffer, they will drown in their blood once the empire captures them! "

The men in the room stared nervously at Putin without a word.

[Viktor Putin] - "All my orders have been ignored. It's over. The war is lost. But if you think I'll leave Moscow to seek refuge in the USA, I'd rather die with a bullet to my head. "

Putin lowered his head in defeat.

[Viktor Putin] - "Do as you wish for I am no longer in command. "

Said Putin in a defeated tone.

As Valentine's aircraft carrier advanced toward the edge of Moscow, Mike looked down at the war-torn city from the hangar exit. The wind pushed the lower part of his coat into the air while wave after wave of jet fighters exited the mothership. Mike took a step forward and stood by the edge.

[Valentine] - "Rid me of the anti-ship batteries near the Kremlin, Grand Knight. "

Said Admiral Valentine over the radio in Mike's helmet.

As steaks of missiles flew toward Valentine's fleet, Mike dashed into the sky like a bolt of lightning before destroying every single missile in the air. Before the missile batteries had a chance to fire again, Mike jumped amidst the field before extending his arms in both directions. In an instant, the massive launchers all burst into a mess of molten metals. 

[Mike] - "Area cleared, you may move forward and proceed with the capture of the city's central district. "

Said Mike through his radio. 

Upon hearing the news, Valentine ordered his officer to accelerate at full power toward the city centre. Like the roar of thunder, the engine from Valentine's massive air carrier blasted a powerful stream of blue fire from its back. Meanwhile, Mike dropped into the residential area to assist in the evacuation of civilians and wounded military personnel. 

As Mike guided a family out of the burning wreck of their house, a loud blast suddenly filled the air as a skyscraper collapsed to the ground. Mike immediately flew into the sky before catching Valentine's fleet in a savage act of indiscriminate attack against civilian targets. As the fleet moved toward the city centre, all of their cannons drew toward the skyscrapers which blocked their way before reducing them to a smoldering mess. 

Just as Mike attempted to stop the carnage, one of the ships suddenly blew up from its inside. Confusion and shock quickly spread through the fleet.

[Valentine] - "Investigate the situation, Grand Knight! "

As much as Mike wanted to confront Valentine first about his actions, whatever caused that explosion now took priority on his list. In an instant, Mike dashed and landed on the wreck hull of the massive battlecruiser which quickly fell onto the city below. Amidst the raging fire, Mike suddenly felt the intense heat despite being protected by his ability. However, what shocked him was the fact that even metal turned into gas under the current temperature. 

[Vlad] - "Greeting Grand Knight. "

Mike turned around to see a cyberknight standing a mere five metres away from him. 

[Mike] - "Well, looks like the culprit is ready to turn himself in. "

[Vlad] - "I will proudly take full responsibility for this. "

Said Vlad in a confident voice. 

Mike stared at the man with confusion on his face as to the motive behind this attack. 

[Vlad] - "I've waited long enough, I've tolerated enough. The imperial military's behaviour has been under scrutiny for almost a year now. Corruption, war crimes, immorality and genocides. We are supposed to be the protectors of peace, justice and progress, Grand Knight. Yet, look at what they did. "

[Mike] - "That's still no reason to kill over 6500 imperial officers and civilians. "

Said Mike as he stared into the knight's eyes. 

[Vlad] - "YES IT IS! "

Yelled the knight with fury in his eyes.

[Vlad] - "You might have helped crush Michele's rebellion but know that we will never give up. He saw what you can't see within the empire and he chose action instead of ignorance. Russia is my home country and look what your fucking empire did to it! Valentine and his dogs ravaged Moscow for no fucking reason! Thousands are dead, yet you only care for those I killed, who for the most part, aren't even fucking civilians! "

Screamed Vlad as he activated his ability. 

For context, Michele was the leader of a rebellion against Sniper within the empire. The rebellion, composed of many rogue cyberknights and powerful high-ranking individuals, sought to overthrow Sniper as they believed that he was a tyrant destined to lay ruin to the world. However, a series of leaks allowed Mike to investigate into their secret plan a few years ago which led Sniper to wage a campaign of extermination against their organization. The eventual result was the downfall of the rebellion and the capture and execution of Michele and his associates. 

[Mike] - "Are you proud of yourself for doing exactly what these bastards did to others? I bet Putin is turbo-rolling in his grave right now knowing his country produced this bloody savage before me who's preaching about the righteous ways of a terrorist the likes of Bin Laden. I'll call you a hypocrite, but you can make the entire US Senate look like an honest debate between Socrates and his students. "

Said Mike with a piercing look in his eyes.

[Vlad] - "Hypocrite? Aren't you one as well? You allowed all these crimes to go unpunished. You stayed ignorant to the truth until it knocked on your doors. If I didn't do what I did today, would you have caught on to what atrocities happened below your eyes? Answer me, Grand Knight! The empire betrayed us, admit it! "

Despite Vlad's agitated yells, Mike remained stoic without giving in to his provocations. 

[Mike] - "I know the details already. However, even if I want to take action, it will not be with the help of people like you. So tell me, what the hell do you want from me? "

[Vlad] - "My actions today will spark the flame of a new revolution. By killing you, I will expose the empire as a weak entity and inspire more to follow in Michele's footsteps. "

Said Vlad as he began igniting his crystals.

[Mike] - "So you want to kill me? Why would you want to kill me, even I wouldn't want to kill me. "

Said Mike in a sarcastic tone.

[Vlad] - "Take this seriously, you bastard! I'm going to wipe that fucking smirk off your stupid face, you dog! "

Yelled Vlad as flames began to materialize around his fingers.

[Mike] - "You know why no one wants to kill me? Because one must have a serious few screws loose in their head if this is the way they seek...

Said Mike in a calm manner. 

[Mike] - "...DEATH. "

Said Mike as his tone suddenly dropped ice into Vlad's veins. 

[Vlad] - "No matter, you'll realize when in your last moments that you were nothing but a pawn in this game. Expandable and worthless. "

Said Vlad as he twisted a valve behind his back which released a stream of hydrogen gas. 

[Mike] - "Alright, show me what you got. "

[Vlad] - "Echoing Verdict: Tsar Bomba MK.IV! "

In an instant, Vlad aimed his finger at Mike and abruptly caused the hydrogen to enter nuclear fusion. A blinding light flashed through Moscow as the power of the sun was unleashed against Mike by Vlad's ability. However, to Vlad's shock, Mike simply walked out of the explosion unothered a few moments later. 

[Vlad] - "100 million degrees... How is this mother fucker still walking? "

Yelled Vlad before dashing away. 

Suddenly, multiple fusion-powered explosions happened all over Mike. In a blinding flash of light, the entire area was vaporized but the fire somehow didn't spread further around the city. As Vlad observed the scene in disbelief, a stream of light abruptly shot through the sky and sent all the compressed energy into space. 

[Vlad] - "You... That's impossible to survive... How could- "

[Mike] - "In a situation of total vacuum, heat will not spread. However, in a situation driven by absolute foolishness, one finds out the more he fucks around. 

Said Mike in a cold voice. 

Vlad finally began to understand how outmatched he was compared to Mike. As dread began to fill his mind, Vlad tried to flee the scene only to be stopped by an invisible barrier. 

[Mike] - "Existential Judgement: 1st Dimension. "

In physics, the first dimension is defined by the presence of a single point with no dimension or movement in time-space. Although Mike doesn't control the first dimension, his attack ensures that his opponent is subjected to the conditions of the singularity. One must wonder, what would happen if a 3-dimensional being was instantly forced into a point?

A loud crunch filled the air as all that was left of Vlad was a few large cubes of solid ice and some diamonds. Under the titanic pressure of Mike's attack, water was instantly turned into ice while carbon was instantly turned into diamond. All this process took Mike only 1/1000 the power of a single active crystal out of four and only 5 microseconds of active technique time. Vlad was simply too weak.

With Vlad dealt with, Mike quickly turned his attention to the rest of Valentine's fleet which had already reached the Kremlin by this point. 

The inside of the Kremlin shook violently and caused Putin to fall on the floor. When Putin slowly rose up from the ground, he was shocked to see that he was standing face-to-face with Valentine's carrier situated about a hundred metres away from his window. Aboard the ship, Valentine stared back at Putin from his bridge's panoramic window.

[Valentine] - "I never imagined we the Germans would be standing here, victorious in Moscow. How ironic! You may fire when ready. "

Said Valentine with enthusiasm. 

[Officer] - "But sir, we have already accepted their surrender. "

[Valentine] - "Oh, please. Considering Russia's history with its crimes against its neighbours, it's time for a little payback since they never even apologized for anything. "

The officer under Valentine nodded his head before ordering the crew to prepare the guns. As the massive cannons turned their aim toward the Kremlin, Viktor pulled out a cigarette and lit it up with trembling hands.

[Viktor Putin] - "Have they accepted our surrender? "

[Officer] - "Yes, sir! But it seems they aren't holding off their attacks. "

Putin exhaled a dense cloud of smoke before wiping the sweat off his forehead.

[Viktor Putin] - "I haven't met a single man of honour in my life. Not a surprise I die at the hands of dishonourable fools. "

Said Putin as he shakingly took another puff of his cigarette.

The guns suddenly started shooting massive beams of plasma at the Kremlin with the first wave destroying two of the cones from the central building. Upon seeing this, Mike immediately jumped into the path of the second wave of attack and used his ability to create a barrier that redirected the blast into the nearby river.

[Mike] - "Trial Access: Domain of The Armadillo. 

On the ship's bridge, an officer quickly identified Mike through his binoculars.

[Officer] - "Sir, the Grand Knight is blocking our attack! "

[Valentine] - "Hold your fire! Give me the radio! "

The officer passed the radio to Valentine.

[Valentine] - "What the heck do you think are... "

Before Valentine could finish his sentence, Mike smashed through the bridge window and landed right in front of him. The broken shards of window flew for a while before stopping in mid-air, held by Mike's ability. Before Valentine could say a word, Mike grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off the ground. The guards quickly aimed their weapons at Mike.

[Mike] - "You fucking bat-shit insane piece of shit! They have already surrendered! What the actual fuck is wrong with you? "

Valentine showed Mike a friendly smile before being dropped on the floor by Mike.

[Valentine] - "They have lost the war, Grand Knight. We can do the fuck we want and no one will be able to do anything about it. Who's going to punish us? The United Nations? "

Mike lifted his fist and grabbed Valentine by the collar once more.

[Mike] - "That does not excuse the unlawful slaughter of civilians and surrendering enemies! You will not paint the empire as a bunch of savages with no morals! "

Said Mike in an aggressive voice.

[Valentine] - "My actions are those of justice. What gives Viktor Putin and his goons the right to receive fair treatment? After everything they have done, they deserve a fiery death. Just ask our emperor. He approves of my justice. "

In truth, Valentine's arms trembled behind his back but he forced himself to keep a straight face.

[Mike] - "Sniper would never allow such blatant acts of petty revenge. Where even is your honour, Valentine? Do you think the empire is just a place for your personal ambition? "

[Valentine] - "If you accuse me of being a figure of immorality, then you should also put the entire imperial military in prison. There are officers out there doing things that make this incident look like the opinion section in a newspaper. Besides, how would Sniper react when he gets notified of your disobedience? Remember, Grand Knight, you are currently under my authority. "

Said Valentine in a calm voice. 

Mike stared at Valentine with an expression of anger but quickly realized how powerless he was against Valentine. Reluctantly, Mike decided to let him go. As Mike turned around, he showed a death stare at the guards who immediately withdrew their weapons.

Mike couldn't believe how ignorant he was of the war. During the entire war, Mike mostly assumed his other identity as an admiral commanding his own fleet. Due to his high moral standing, the men serving under him also naturally displayed a more refined approach when it came to behaviour. However, all this only served as an echo chamber which deprived Mike of the truth about the other side of the imperial military. 

After making sure that Mike was well outside the range of the radars, the officer returned to Valentine's side.

[Officer] - "Are you alright, Admiral? "

[Valentine] - "It's really a unique feeling when being confronted by Death itself. Makes you question a lot about yourself. "

Not knowing how to respond to that statement, the officer then asked:

[Officer] - "Well... what are your orders? "

Valentine raised a cigar to his mouth with trembling fingers.

[Valentine] - "Raise a German flag on the Kremlin. Forget about the bombardment. "

Said Valentine in a composed voice.

[Officer] - "Of course, sir! "

Inside the imperial war archives, Mike looked at the videos and pictures of the different atrocities committed by imperial officers and cyberknights. From ethnic cleansing to mass-scale massacres, the empire officers and their troops didn't hold back at all considering they were in a position of power where no one could judge them. On the other hand, Karson wasn't the only cyberknight who abused the power he was given. Although rogue cyberknights were mostly hunted down and killed, others who killed in the name of the empire were not punished in any way. Considering their power, they were above laws and nature when they abused their power against the helpless. Censorships and cover-ups allowed none of these events to become public knowledge.

Mike felt so powerless as the ideas he put so much faith into were squandered by corrupt cyberknights and officers who abused their power without a thought. The empire has become a state without law for the strong to prey on the weak. Why is Sniper turning a blind eye to all this mess that has become his empire? What happened to the crusade and revolution that was meant to bring justice to a sick and corrupted world?

Mike inclined himself to the secretary as a sign of gratitude.

[Judge] - "Your audience with our lord Sniper will be tomorrow at 4:00 P.m. exactly. Do not waste his majesty's time. Use your words carefully. "

Said the Judge with a vindicating stare. 

To be continued...