Your Choice?

Rumble—

Inside the city hall bunker.

The ornaments on the table rattled intensely as the vibrations continued, heightening the anxiety etched on the faces of the Tokyo Metropolitan government officials hiding in the bunker.

Bang!

Listening to the ear-splitting explosions echoing outside and watching the grievous losses among their self-defense forces on the monitor, Kikunojou Tendo clenched his fist and slammed it on the table. "Damn it! Where did these tin cans come from?!"

Although the massive explosion had destroyed numerous surveillance systems, the city's monitoring network still captured intermittent feeds. At first, Kikunojou Tendo and his colleagues assumed it was an invasion by Zodiac-level Gastrea, likely the Scorpion Gastrea lurking nearby Tokyo.

However, the truth turned out far worse—it was not Gastrea but an organized human invasion.

How could this be? Why are they attacking us? Where did they come from? And how is it they're unaffected by the Gastrea outside our walls?

One question haunted Tendo the most: with such a wide breach in Tokyo's Varanium walls, the usual concentration of Gastrea should have already swarmed inside. Why was there no sign of them?

"Buzz—"

On the wall-mounted monitor, a towering figure in black power armor wielded a chainsword, shredding the front-line soldiers into bloody shreds. The sheer brutality left some of the more privileged officials retching.

The armored giant turned towards the camera, raised his massive weapon, and fired. With a single "Boom!" the screen turned to static.

"The Mechanized Soldier Project…" Kikunojou Tendo gritted his teeth. "Albrecht Grünewald… could it be you, that German bastard?!"

It was not far-fetched that he might mistake them as products of that project, with their towering builds clad in advanced armor.

The Mechanized Soldier Project had aimed to harness the power of Varanium to create ultimate soldiers against Gastrea. But the project was abandoned when the power of the Cursed Children became evident, leaving its initiator, the German Albrecht Grünewald, as its overseer.

"…"

The atmosphere in the bunker turned even grimmer as the bunker's wall-mounted displays darkened one by one.

Finally, it was the reigning leader, Seitenshi, who broke the silence in the command center. "Tendo-sama, they're human, aren't they?"

The armored giants looked far from ordinary humans with their immense builds, yet their tactical movements and use of weaponry spoke otherwise. Whether they were humans or machines, humanity was surely their creator. Surely, they couldn't be extraterrestrial?

"…Yes, Your Majesty." Tendo answered in a low tone, "Moreover, look closely at the double-headed eagle on their chest armor—they're Europeans."

"That's something, at least. If they're human, we can negotiate. It's better than dealing with mindless Gastrea…" Seitenshi's tone held a glimmer of hope as she looked to Kikunojou.

Her gentle, saintly features would have moved anyone. But while kindness and benevolence were virtues, they were not ideal for a ruler.

Yet she clung to this sense of righteousness, oblivious to how naïve and impractical it was in a time of crisis.

Sighing deeply, Kikunojou shook his head. "Your Majesty, I advise that we must fight—"

Suddenly, a monitor beeped urgently.

"Reinforcements?"

"Your Majesty! You must evacuate at once! The defense line has been breached! The commanding officer has fallen—everyone has died! No reinforcements are coming! Tokyo's self-defense force base has been overrun. Seven thousand troops—completely annihilated!"

Staggered, the bunker turned to chaos. Officials, reduced to panic, shouted over each other, their composed façades shattered.

"Seven thousand men lost already? Just seven thousand pigs killed one by one wouldn't go down this fast!"

"Run! We must escape the bunker; staying here is just waiting for death!"

"We should relocate—if Tokyo is lost, there's still Sendai and Hokkaido."

"Where are our weapons? Aren't they enough?!"

…

The air in the bunker filled with shrieks and curses, their fear and hysteria filling every corner.

"What did you just say?!" Tendo slammed his hands on the console, roaring in disbelief.

"It's true, Tendo-sama…!" The bloodied self-defense soldier coughed weakly, his voice crackling with static over the monitor. "The airport, the military base… all destroyed…"

Boom!

A deafening explosion shook the bunker, shattering the lights and causing sparks to fly as the room plunged into darkness.

As the backup power kicked in, Kikunojou, his face ashen, managed to stammer, "Your Majesty, we… we have lost…"

Seitenshi sat in silence, her hands clutched tightly together. After a moment, she responded with quiet determination. "Open the bunker door."

"No, Grandfather!" A man's voice called out. A refined-looking young man in a tailored suit and black-rimmed glasses stepped forward.

"Kazumitsu…"

The young man was Kikunojou Tendo's grandson, Kazumitsu Tendo, the Vice Minister of Land and Transport.

"Grandfather, we can't surrender so quickly! We need to negotiate for favorable terms," Kazumitsu urged desperately.

He didn't care what price had to be paid. He couldn't lose the wealth and power he had clawed so hard to attain. To him, surrender was unthinkable if it meant giving it all up.

"Grandfather, we still have resources we can leverage…"

He never finished.

Clang!

A metallic thud shook the bunker as a loud crash reverberated through the sealed chamber, sending those inside reeling.

Another blow struck. The heavy vault door, designed to withstand severe impacts, began to bend with each shuddering impact. With a final screech of twisting metal, the massive door, weighing several tons, was hurled inward.

"Get back, Your Majesty!" Kikunojou Tendo shielded Seitenshi, pushing her to the corner of the room.

Boom! Squish!

The massive metal door, weighing over ten tons, crashed down with thunderous force, instantly pulverizing half the officials in the bunker to pulp.

In that moment, it was either escape unscathed or meet a mercifully swift end. A few unlucky souls were only partially crushed, their bodies pinned, writhing in agony as they lay bleeding on the floor, filling the bunker with anguished, heart-wrenching cries.

Amidst the chaos, a series of heavy footsteps reverberated through the bunker as a towering figure entered—a nearly three-meter-tall Astartes warrior, clad in pitch-black, masterfully crafted power armor. His helmet's faceplate bore golden wings, and he exuded a terrifying presence that sent shivers through the survivors.

It was none other than Ureno, a champion within the First Legion. His chestplate, marked with the symbol of a double-headed eagle, was smeared in thick, congealed blood, which trickled down in sticky streams, leaving a trail of ghastly, crimson footprints with each step.

Seeing the huddled, trembling natives of this foreign world cowering before him, Ureno paused. He reached up and wiped the blood splatter from his visor, then stabbed his massive Honkai-powered greatsword into the ground. The silence was chilling as he assessed his remaining captives.

"Commander! I've located them—directly below the city hall. Based on intelligence extracted from a prisoner, that silver-haired, purple-eyed girl there is their leader, known to the people as Seitenshi."

"…Understood. I'll have her—"

"Die!" With a shout, Kikunojou Tendo lunged forward, thrusting a katana toward the giant.

Unfazed, Ureno stood still, his stance unshaken as another Astartes soldier in the background charged his chainsword and intercepted the old man's blade with ease.

With a sickening crunch, Tendo was cut in half, his intestines spilling out over the floor.

"A warrior to the end," Ureno observed coldly. "Give him a clean death."

"Understood!"

The Astartes raised his bolt gun, and with a single shot, obliterated Kikunojou Tendo's remains.

"Lord Tendo!"

"You're the one who calls herself Seitenshi, the 'Holy Emperor' of this place?" Ureno asked with an eerie fervor, as he loomed over Seitenshi.

"Yes… I surrender. Please, sirs, I surrender…" Yet before she could finish, Kazumitsu sprang forward, throwing himself to his knees.

Annoyed, Ureno pushed him aside, dragging Seitenshi from the cowering crowd. "Kill the rest."

The Astartes raised their weapons as explosions echoed through the bunker, mingling with Seitenshi's gasps. She closed her eyes briefly, hands trembling.

"May I… speak to your commander?" she asked softly after a moment.

"You may. Follow me."

Emerging from the bunker, Seitenshi stumbled along the shattered hallway, holding back bile as she passed mangled corpses lining the walls. Her eyes widened at the sight of the demolished city hall.

Shakily, she approached the tallest among the armored giants, who stood flanked by elite Astartes soldiers bearing ceremonial flags.

"This is the so-called 'Holy Son of Heaven' of these lands?" Ureno asked.

"Indeed, Commander," he confirmed, gesturing towards her.

Commander Alex fixed a piercing stare on Seitenshi, the weight of it pressing down on her shoulders. She struggled to meet his gaze, her body trembling involuntarily.

"Why are you attacking us, Commander?" she asked, forcing out the words.

"There is no reason," he replied with a smirk. "We expand our Emperor's empire. Now it's your turn to answer…"

Opening his arms, Alex's voice took on an ominous, fanatical tone.

"Accept the rule of the Empire, and you may bask in the glory of our Emperor. Refuse, and you die today."

"What is your choice?"

In the Selene Empire, within Royal Palace.

"Hmm… according to the intel from Mine's Grail War—seems there was a lancer with some skill and a meeting of three kings… interesting."

Screech—

"Your Majesty, a report has arrived from Commander Alex…"

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