A losing battle

As Azrael and squad 13 were about to leave, they heard footsteps coming towards them. They saw a soldier approaching them, looking flustered.

"The commander has given an order. Squad 13 should advance east to border town immediately. You're to remain there until further information is given," the soldier informed them.

Without wasting any time, Squad 13 departed for border town. As they moved towards the town, they discussed the possibility of an invasion and why they were given such an order.

"You think cyval warriors are already there?" Veno asked

"That's possible, we must stay alert and be ready to fight if necessary" vazid responded.

They couldn't shake the feeling of unease that had settled over them.

Finally, after about an hour, they arrived at border town. It was eerily quiet, but there were no signs of any enemy presence.

"What's going on? Why are we here?" Herald asked, voicing the thoughts of the entire squad.

"I don't know," Vazid replied. "But we need to stay alert and be ready for anything."

Squad 13 split up and began searching the town for any signs of enemy activity. As they moved through the abandoned streets, tension hung thick in the air. It was a relief when they found no evidence of any enemy forces.

As the night wore on, the squad settled into a watchful vigil, waiting for further orders and keeping a keen eye on the horizon. The possibility of danger still lurked, but for now, Squad 13 was prepared and ready for whatever may come.

Vazid assigned the night shift duties, with him, Venon, and Herald taking the first shift while the others rested around a fire they had made. Azrael, Dan, Vergil, and Mortiz soon drifted off to sleep, but Azrael was suddenly woken up by a loud explosion.

He quickly grabbed his sword, and the others woke up, looking around for the source of the blast. Azrael noticed that Herald was injured on the ground and rushed to his side, asking him what had happened.

"Those bastards, they are here," Herald gasped in pain.

Azrael's attention was then drawn to the front as the smoke cleared. He saw a severely wounded Vazid barely standing, facing two individuals. One of them was Clyde, the rank 9th of Azrael, but what shocked him the most was the other person - it was Lyra, the rank one.

"Oh, what a coincidence to find Ryzel's most popular student here," Clyde said with a smirk.

"What are you doing here? What is the meaning of this ambush?" Azrael asked, fear written all over his face as he looked at his bleeding captain and comrade.

"It's exactly what it looks like. We're here to eliminate you," Clyde said with a chuckle.

"This is against the rules. You're Ryzel's students, you can't do this," Azrael said, his voice shaking.

"We aren't in Ryzel anymore. There are no rules to stop us," Clyde retorted.

"I won't let you get away with this," Vazid said as he struggled to stand up.

Clyde raised his hands and pointed his open palms towards Vazid, smirking.

"5th Ignition: Sun's Rage!"

An explosion bigger than the last shook the area, pushing Azrael back.

Vazid was lying still on the ground, burn marks covering his body. He didn't look alive.

"Listen, all of you. Go back to the forest we came from. The night patrol soldiers should be there now. Inform them of the situation," Azrael ordered.

"But Vice Captain, what about you?" Veno asked.

"Go now. That's an order," Azrael shouted, cutting Veno off.

The rest of Squad 13 quickly started retreating.

"Do you think I'll let them leave?" Clyde asked, with a sneer.

Azrael pulled out his sword and held it tightly, determination filling his eyes.

"I won't let you stop them," Azrael said firmly.

"Ha, you must be naive," Clyde sneered as he suddenly appeared beside Azrael. "...to think you can stop me," he continued, delivering a swift kick that sent Azrael crashing into the building next to him.

Azrael was overcome with pain and his vision blurred as he struggled to understand what was happening.

"Have you gotten cocky, huh?" Clyde taunted, closing the distance between them again and grabbing Azrael by the head before delivering a brutal knee to his gut. Azrael collapsed to his knees, vomiting blood.

"You may have beaten an idiot like Zach, but don't overestimate yourself," Clyde said as he kicked Azrael's face, sending him flat to the ground before pulling him up again to deliver a barrage of punches.

"That's enough," Lyra said calmly, breaking her silence. "Our work is done, let's leave," she said. Clyde dropped Azrael and met Lyra as they started to leave.

"If that's all there was to them, why did they make me come here?" Lyra asked Clyde. "Who knows, maybe they didn't expect them to be that weak," Clyde responded.

As they left, Azrael lay bleeding and in pain on the ground. Despite his injuries, he somehow managed to stand up and walk over to where Vazid lay.

He saw that Vazid was already dead, and as he looked down at his comrade's lifeless body, his anger overtook the immense pain he felt. He immediately headed towards the frontline base, driven by his determination to survive.