1. Red Platoon

"I've believed half of my long life that manipulation and massive control of the population created by the elite is the most sadistic and terrifying crime against humanity, and that the end of days and salvation of the soul is our only true escape... until..." were the words spoken softly by the hoarse voice of an old man, watching as a young person screamed at the top of their lungs, stretched out on a metal table under a blinding spotlight.

It can be seen that the table is centered inside a pentagram, glowing in shades of red, leaving its imprint on the ceiling of the dimly lit room.

From outside the room where only screams could be heard, Rex, the redhead, lit a cigarette.

( Rex, man with a powerful presence, standing at 1.90 meters, solidly build, carrying a large weapon around his neck )

"Did you hear that, Rex? Do you think the kid will be okay? I mean, at his age, I didn't even know what world we were living in, and he's been through so much already..." Hope ( a breathtaking young women, at 20, with a remarkable innocence evident in the smallest interactions ) asked with a worried expression.

"Blondie, you don't need to worry. Just like he took care of you, he'll take care of the boy. After all, he knows what he's doing. Let's trust the old man." Rex said with a grin.

After a brief moment of silence, a shout echoes from the end of the hallway:

"Yooy, what's up, you lovely folks?" Nickolas ( Hope's younger brother, 18 years old, with long, black hair, carrying a katana, and dressed in a shiny blue cloak ).

"Nick, can't you be calm for once?" Hope says, embarrassed.

"Sergeant, I've told you to address me with respect." Rex asserts.

"My bad, but we don't have to be so formal..." - Nick

"AAAHHHH!!" - can be heard from behind the door.

"What was that?" Nick asks.

"The kid has reached demon age." Rex replies.

"Huh?! Already at 13? But he hasn't even left the bunker until now." Nick exclaims, laughing.

"Hush, hush! Speak more quietly!" Hope admonishes.

"Apparently, the doctor had more business with him than with us. So, why are you here?" Rex asks.

"I almost forgot why, "Lieutenant" Rex. Commander Connor has requested our assistance in Sector 13. He has largely managed to reclaim the area, but our spies have reported that a force twice the size of the one that initially occupied the zone is approaching." Nick explains.

After a second of pause, he continues:

"And he mentioned something about avoiding casualties, blah, not letting people die, blah blah, and he would highly appreciate our intervention, blah blah blah."

"You know how much Commander despises our help, Rex. This must be serious." Hope says, concerned.

"Hmm, you might be right. But we should consult the doctor first." Rex responds, proceeding to press a small button that triggers a faint buzzing inside the room where the elderly man is.

The door opens, and the doctor appears in the doorway.

"We've been called to Sector 13 by Commander Connor. It seems to be something serious. Should we go?" Rex asks.

"Do as you wish. Hope, you stay here and continue Sofia's training. I want her to go out into the field at the same time as the boy. I sense he's a fast learner." the doctor says.

"Understood…" Hope replies.

She also addresses Rex and Nick, saying:

"Take care, I won't be there to watch your backs."

"We're a platoon of 20 gifted people; your absence won't be noticed, sis." Nick says.

"Correction, 10 of us will go. We'll just take your squad, no need to bother Xavier." Rex adds.

Sector 13, 30 minutes later:

"Commander, there are too many; we can't handle it anymore. We should retreat." one of the infantry soldiers said, his voice trembling, as he looked at his comrades massacred by demons.

"I won't retreat from this sector again. I made that mistake once, and we won't repeat it. I'd rather die here, soldiers!" Commander Connor shouted at the top of his lungs while distributing bullets.

( Commander Connor, the leader of the East battalion, a massive man, bald, not more under 2 meters, 35 years-old )

Although the Commander doesn't want to admit it, his battalion is completely overwhelmed by the demon armies, both in terms of numbers and strength. Their hopes seem to have faded, and the soldiers are on the brink of death when suddenly, the sound of approaching vehicles can be heard. The soldiers turn their heads and see 2 military vehicles falling from the walls of sector. Before these vehicles even touch the ground, a few figures with astonishing speed exit the vehicles, and one by one, the demons start to fall.

"What's happening?!" one of the soldiers exclaims.

One of the battalion's lieutenants exclaims: "The Crimson Squad is here, the misfits have arrived."

"So there they are, hellhounds, Doctor Romanov's dogs, the Devil's Doctor." another soldier exclaimed.

"You brought too few weapons with you, Rex." the Commander says.

"I thought gunners weren't necessary, so I only brought the Crimson Squad." Rex replies.

Back-to-back, the Commander Connor and the Lieutenant Rex, both using automatic weapons, they caught the eyes of the soldiers:

"Their technique is Incredible" - Soldier 1

"I tought is impossible to create this synergy" - Soldier 2

"Boys, don't lose your focus, this is not synergy or technique, this is experience. They are both experienced enough to know what they have to do. Keep shooting!" - Major Sting, Vice-Commander of the batalion.

( Sting, a blonde athletic man with green eyes, 28 years-old and with an eye patch and a deep scar behind him )

Amidst the barrage of bullets from the two veterans, something passes by in a flash:

"Yay yay yay yay, yahaha, get them all, get them all, spare nothing! Ha Ha Ha!" Nick exclaims.

"Haven't you muzzle this one yet, Rex? We might have to put him down." Connor says.

"Considering the horde of demons in front of you, I think you prefer him berserk." Rex grins.

"Dean, Raptor, let's get drunk after this beautiful day!" - Nick

"Yes, sir!!" - they both shouted in unison.

The swordsmen continuesly reaped the hoarded with movements difficult to be detected by the human eyes. Their swords were covered by the demons black blood.

Nickolas and the Crimson Squad, his team (all users of steel weapons, from swords to scythes, daggers, or sickles), manage to cut down all the demons around, reducing human losses to zero since they joined the fight.

However, it remains a grim day, with over half of Commander Connor's battalion being killed by the demons. The blood of more than 500 people currently floods Sector 13, earning a new name, the Red Sector.

"Ready, Rex, there's no trace of demons left in the whole sector, can we start drinking?" Nick asked.

"Wait until we get back home and drink there, share the remaining booze with the soldiers from the Eastern Battalion, they need it more than you do." Rex replied.

"You're coming with me to the Center, Rex, I just received the notification." Connor said, looking at the communication watch.

"Me? To the Center? What did we do?" Rex asked.

"Let's go." - Connor

An hour and a half after the liberation of Sector 13 from diabolical occupation, The 5 Wise Ones, along with the Army General and the three commanders, begin the administrative discussions of the area.

(The 5 Wise Ones, the supreme leaders of the human settlement Castilla, 5 personalities considered divine by their subordinates, clad in white velvet garments with continuous golden rose embroidery, their faces concealed by golden masks with different expressions )

( Marxus, the Army General, the supreme leader of the army, who submits only to The 5 Wise Ones, a solid man with white hair and black eyes, 45 years old, with a very serious expression on his face )

( Liam, Commander of the Western battalion, a slender man with red hair and blue eyes, 30 years old )

( Knox, Commander of the Northern battalion, a tall, massive man with long blond hair and green eyes, 37 years old )

( Cristof, Commander of the Southern battalion, a healthy elder with long white hair down to his ankles and tiny glasses covering his blue eyes )

"To avoid a lengthy discussion leading nowhere, I would like to ask you directly if anyone is willing to send a platoon to Sector 13. What do you think?" asked The Voice, the Wise One responsible for conveying the collective idea of The 5 Wise Ones.

"No one is crazy enough to send a platoon into that bloodbath for certain death." Cristof replied.

Knox, with a firm attitude, also said: "I won't send my people so far from their homes. The last attack on Sector 13 couldn't be stopped by an entire battalion, and it would weaken my borders."

"I'm the farthest from Sector 13; it's not even a consideration." Liam added.

"You can rest assured, this was more of an informative question; we have no intention of sending anyone there unless the area requests it." The Voice stated.

"I know one madman who would accept; we can confirm with a simple notification, and if we're lucky, the response will be a quick one." Marxus added.

After sharing his idea with the others, Marxus sent a notification from the communication device, and three seconds after sending the message, he received a notification. Upon reading the message, he began to grin, making it appear that the response was affirmative.

Shortly after receiving the response, the doors of the Holy Chamber, where the meeting was taking place, opened, and Connor and Rex entered.

"What's this one doing here?" Knox asked.

Connor replied, "Marxus invited him, so I brought him. Do you want to argue with me?"

"Marxus, can you inform us why one of the dogs is in the Holy Chamber?" Cristof inquired.

"As you well know, the decisions made by me always have divine approval; he is here because he needs to be here." Marxus replied.

The Voice intervened in the discussion: "Silence! To simplify and expedite the discussion, I have a question for you, Commander Connor: Do you still wish to lead your people into battle in Sector 13?"

"What people? I've lost more than half of my battalion." Connor responded.

"That is not a problem; we have discussed it, and the decision has been made. After the unfortunate death of the Central Commander last month, the Central Battalion was left without a commander. We have decided to abolish the Central Battalion to fortify our borders, and the 2,000 people from the Central Battalion will immediately join the Eastern Battalion." The Voice explained.

"Even so, the losses in another battle in that sector will be overwhelming. I propose we give it up." Connor replied, receiving approving looks from the others.

"I asked you to ensure your desires are far from the Red Sector. Someone has already agreed to administer the place." The Voice concluded.

"Who did this?" - Connor asked.

"This is now related to the reason why you were asked to bring Rex here." Marxus replied, drawing puzzled looks from everyone.

He continued: "Uh, the one who accepted the administration of the Red Sector is Dr. Romanov."

This news sparked anger in the eyes of the others and more confusion for Rex and Connor.

Marxus went on to explain the details: "Apparently, the Red Platoon is the only one willing and probably the only one capable of handling that war-torn area. Rex, you will need to ensure that the doctor doesn't lose his mind. We want you to be our eyes and ears."

"We're not asking you to betray the doctor or share personal information; we just want you to be vigilant, and if anything seems suspicious, prevent a disaster." The Voice added.

The previously heard Voice became a chorus, and The 5 Wise Ones spoke simultaneously: "We appreciate the doctor's assistance; after all, he is the reason we can fight the demons, but he is also unstable. I hope you can understand this, Lieutenant Rex."

"With that said, everyone is free, and I wish you a swift and safe journey home. Connor, don't forget your army." Marxus concluded.

The four commanders give a military salute, and Rex, still a bit confused, lights a cigarette and asks for something to drink for the journey home.

The Red Platoon is now responsible for its old sector, Sector 7, and the new one, the Red Sector (formerly Sector 13).

Meanwhile, in Sector 7, Hope was coaching Sofia (a 15-year-old girl with long black hair and beautiful features) on shooting moving targets. Unbeknownst to them, from the upercut floor, in the dark, Dr. Romanov is observing the shooting range. While watching Sofia, a few words crossed his mind:

"Bless her, she can't even imagine the crucial role she'll play in humanity's fate."