Chapter Two: A New Kind Of Warfare

The sound of the alarm clock beeping startled Jeremy out of his slumber. The man rolled over and slammed the clock shut, turning it off for good. He laid down for a bit and stared at the white ceiling for a couple of seconds before rising from his bed. He checked the clock; six-thirty in the morning. He stretched his arms as he stood up and went directly towards the bathroom. After a couple minutes in the bath, he went out wearing his bathrobe and went to his wardrobe, where he instantly picked out the leftmost uniform; the one he used during his military days four years ago.

The battle that he had survived was a turning point in his entire life. Both he and Mark had been recruited into Task Force Sentinel and then sent into training. What they didn't know was they were going to be sent on a school meant only for girls; Saint Freya's Academy, the place where Valkyries learn and train their arts. Due to society issues and the UN making a deal with Schicksal, boys were now part of the school, and pretty much most boys actually liked it there more than the training camps that they had once used for training. The girls were immediately eyeing the boys, since this was the first time boys were finally integrated to an all-girls school and their first chance on at least having a love life, but that wasn't the case. The boys were focusing and training too hard to be the best of the best, and didn't have time to at least have a life outside of training and work. Fortunately, he wasn't like those people. He was the type who goes out regularly, sociable, and definitely has the points.

He wore his own custom uniform; a green trouser with khaki web belt, khaki long-sleeve button-up shirt khaki tie, and tie clasp. He then wore his black heeled boots and to top it all off, a peeked cap on top of his head. Before putting on his coat, he wore a shoulder holster which could hold two handguns, and he placed both of his custom-built and upgraded Springfield Armory XD Mod.2, sliding them inside the holster and securing them in place. The handguns were his signature weapon and he was known for his pinpoint accuracy when shooting these handguns; he would move like those in the movies and shoot every target in its place, sending them tumbling to the ground in a pool of blood.

His factory handguns were modified to his own design; fitted with new grips and flared magazine wells for easier handling and reloading, an extended baseplate magazine for each handgun; adding the ammunition count of sixteen rounds to twenty-one rounds in each gun plus one in the chamber, a threaded barrel with thread protector for adaptation of suppressors, maritime spring cups for use even when drenched in water, and finally, polymer construction of the bodies of each handgun, making them lighter and easier to carry. Because of this, he had the nickname of 'Two Hands', derived from the nickname of the anime character Revy from Black Lagoon.

After securing his handguns in place, he then wore his khaki coat and buttoned himself up. After that, he wore his watch and grabbed both his home keys, wallet and phone before doing one last check to make sure everything was secured. Once he had done that, he speedily went out of his apartment and locked the door behind him. He then went down the long flights of stairs of his apartment building, almost tripping down in the process. As he arrived down to the ground floor, he then rushed to the sidewalk before changing his speed to a walking pace.

He admired the scenery of the city as he walked down the road. The houses were close together; a far cry to what had happened in the good old days, when the world was more peaceful. He passed some people who greeted him, and he greeted them in return. Then, fate had to play with him as his stomach grumbled; and that's when he remembered that he didn't have breakfast this morning. Well, off to the mart it is!

As he took a right, he then crossed the road and went to the small mini-mart, the doors quickly opening as his presence entered the store premises. He then proceeded to the deli section, where he picked a burger and then proceeded to the mini-fridge, where he grabbed a bottle of water. Once he got what he needed, he proceeded to the counter, in which he placed what he wanted to buy. As the woman who was manning the counter started to scan the products, she couldn't help but notice the unique patch that was on his he tooleft breast pocket; two swords crossing each other with a single sword in the middle. But Jeremy had already noticed her for a while now, eyeing his uniform, but he just pretended like he didn't see anything until the woman would speak to her.

"So….where are you from?" The woman asked.

"Saint Freya's Academy, ma'am." Jeremy replied, shocking the woman.

"Wait, what? I thought that was an all-girls school?" The woman said to him.

"Right, I've heard that before." Jeremy said as she proceeded to get a plastic.

"What's your job, anyway?" The woman said as she placed the products inside the plastic.

"Well, let's just say I'm part of the support personnel…." He replied as the woman typed in the computer how much he would have to pay.

"Alright, that would be thirty dollars." The woman said as Jeremy pulled out three ten-dollar bills from his pocket and placed it on the counter.

"Nice doing business with you." Jeremy said as he picked up the goods and went out of the store. He then sat on a bench outside as he first unpacked the burger and started to unravel it. Once the paper casing was peeled off, he then ate the burger piece by piece, also unpacking and drinking the water once in a while. He missed these kinds of times; where he was all alone with no problems at all and the view was as serene as it could be. Your sense of doubt just disappears and everything just slows down. The last time he felt this kind of peace was with his parents, when he was just fifteen years old; when they went to that private beach his father told him about…..Ah, that were some good times indeed, before shit really hit the fan and Honkai beasts appeared almost everywhere. He and his parents were part of the evacuation, but when the evacuation turned awry and their transport crashed, he and two others were thrown out of the transport as it blew up in front of them. It was the saddest time of his life, and he vowed to take down the enemies that took the life of both his parents.

After a few minutes of eating and drinking, he threw them to the proper trash bin and started to walk towards school; his body feeling good that he now had something in his stomach. As he walked towards the school, he took off his cap, sweeping his hair to the left as the wind blew past him. After fixing his hair, he then wore on the cap once again on top of his head before taking a right; that lead him all the way towards the school.

Walking towards the school was not a hard thing to do when you ask him. He liked the serenity of the surroundings and the peaceful morning walks he always wanted to have. Even though nobody was really walking outside right now, he still had a sense of loving and care towards other people, even greeting strangers which greeted him back in return. Those times really brought back memories for him back when he was in the German countryside, walking down the narrow streets and meeting people he had never seen before. He would also bike around when he had the time, checking out the different attractions and when he had spare time, watch the sun set on the vast blue sea on top of a hill, then after that, have dinner with his parents and they would watch the television before they sleep together. Ah, what good old times they were.

His thoughts came to an abrupt stop when he finally arrived at the front gate of the academy. As he started to go inside the school grounds, a voice shouted behind him, and he turned to look at who it is; it was a woman with white drill-patterned hair and wearing a school uniform. He immediately then knew who it was; one of the best Valkyries in all of Saint Freya; Kiana Kaslana.

"Hey, Jeremy!" Kiana shouted as she approached him.

"Hello there, Kiana." He replied as she stopped beside him.

"Where are you heading?" Kiana asked as they both started walking.

"Well, just to the classroom….I'll be late for class at my rate." Jeremy replied as he chuckled a bit. "Where are you heading, Kiana?"

"Oh, just to the Headmistress' Office. I've been called there." Kiana replied as she looked at him. "Um, I know this is embarrassing, but…..could you come with me?"

"Why not? I would not miss this chance to walk with a woman as beautiful as you." Jeremy replied while grinning.

"Oh my….you're such a flatterer, Jeremy…" She said while being flustered, as Jeremy opened the door and they both proceeded in the building towards the office.

As both Jeremy and Kiana walked together, several individuals were stalking them from a few meters away. They had been hiding near a pillar on the staircase to be used as cover as they kept an eagle eye on both personalities.

"Hm, our CO is starting to get really good with the girls…." Daniel said as he stared relentlessly at the duo.

Daniel Kruger was a young recruit of the German KSK, specializing in close-quarters combat and long-range sniping, capable of hitting a target three kilometers away. During the Honkai Wars, his parents were killed when Honkai beasts toppled the building they were in, burying all of them. UN forces safely excavated him out of the rubble as he watched his parents being pulled out lifelessly from the destroyed building. When he stayed at one of the safe zones outside the city he lived in, he was approached by two Schicksal operatives and recruited him because of his expertise. Having blue eyes and brown hair, he was one of the task forces' top snipers.

"Really, how does he do it?" Takeshi added as he also stared at the duo.

Takeshi Ikamoto was also a young JGSDF Ranger who specializes in explosive making and disposal. During the First Honkai War, his parents were part of the militia force who was supposed to protect the city and buy time for evacuees to safely flee the combat zone. He saw with his own eyes as a flash of light destroyed the defense line his parents were in, and it devastated him as he rode the last transport aircraft leaving the city itself. After a year in one safe haven, Schicksal sent him a letter and after reading it, he quickly accepted. Having brown eyes and blue hair cut into a bowl-style haircut, he was one of the best explosive ordnance personnel inside the school.

"That's maybe because of his charms…." Nohara added as he answered Takeshi's sentence.

Nohara Shisunike, like the others, was a young Japanese Coast Guard Special Boarding Unit member specializing in hand-to-hand combat. During the Honkai Wars, he was deployed behind the lines; but as they started to proceed to their mission, everything went sideways as both Honkai beasts and zombies surrounded and pinned them down, and they quickly ran for their lives and successfully escaped, at the cost of a quarter of their ten-man unit dead, their corpses left on the war-stricken battlefield. As his commander was also a Schicksal recruiter, he reluctantly accepted the offer, but as he trained and stayed more, he softened himself up and accepted society in this institution. Having black hair and blue eyes like Daniel, he and Jeremy were the only ones who had survived and, no less, took Major Himeko down in hand-to-hand combat.

"Yeah, maybe it is….." Kim Il-Yoon said.

Kim Il-Yoon was a young Captain of South Korea's 9th Special Forces Brigade callsign "Ghost", specializing as a designated marksman, and he is very good at it. He was recruited into the task force when he and his unit was being transported to one of his city's safe zone breaches. But as they neared the battlefield, his convoy got attacked by Honkai beasts, and to make matters worst, zombies also joined the fray, obliterating 90% of the reinforcements that was supposed to get to the breach, and the city went down in less than a week, he and his family escaping from the onslaught, and then, he was recruited two years later, and with the consent of his parents, he accepted. Having blonde hair and black eyes, he was at the top of his training.

"He's a charmer, as always." Mark added.

Mark Frost was a young soldier who was part of the UN's secretive Hunter Squad, the same unit Jeremy was on. Both men met during their training in the early days, and as both served, their bonds became more closer than ever, and they considered themselves as brothers. They both survived the ordeal on their operation at one city four years ago. Out of the two hundred UN and militia, and then down to eighteen; only both of them survived as they arrived in the bridge that was about to be blown up, and there, their lives changed as a Schicksal operative recruited them and placed them where they are now. Having black hair and amethyst eyes, his specialization was defensive driving and close-quarters combat.

As Jeremy and Kiana stopped in front of the Headmistress's office, the boys went back in hiding and waited for the opportunity to peek back. Jeremy opened the door for Kiana and she entered first and then he went in, closing the door behind him. Once the coast was clear, the boys moved in closer to the room and tried to hear what they were about to talk about on the other side, but unfortunately, the wall was too thick for them to even hear anything, but the door wasn't, so they used the door to let them listen, but it was a risky move altogether, since the door could sway at any moment.

Back inside the office, Kiana stood in front of Principal Reanna Brigantia, who was sitting in her long leather chair, and Major Himeko, who was just beside her, while Jeremy was just behind the door.

"Kiana…" Principal Reanna said as she sunk deeper into her chair. "Your aunt has requested that I look out for you here in school. Did you know about this?"

"No ma'am, I didn't. This is definitely the first time that I've heard of this." Kiana replied.

"Alright. Now, Major Himeko will have to tell you about something…" Principal Reanna said as the Major handed her a dossier, in which Kiana opened and started reading as Himeko also started to explain.

"The Anti-Entropy has increased the severity and numbers of their attacks on military units, and now, civilian infrastructure. The UN's best investigators and our intelligence says they're planning something big, but we still don't know what it is. And to make matters worse, Honkai beasts are starting to increase more in numbers also, so its really a losing battle on this. Our Valkyrie and the UN military units are being strained by these circumstances and now, we force our hand." Major Himeko said as Jeremy's eyes widened.

"What do you want to do, ma'am?" Kiana asked.

"In one week, we're sending you, your squad, and Task Force Sentinel will be sent to the front lines-" Jeremy then raised his hand which made Major Himeko stop talking and earning a brow from both Principal Reanna and Kiana Kaslana.

"Somebody's behind the door." Jeremy said as he pulled his handgun and pointed in on the door. "You boys better get in….."

Everyone, with the exclusion of Jeremy, were shocked when five boys went inside the room while bowing their heads. Principal Reanna was about to be pissed, she needed an explanation on this!

"Sorry ma'am….." Kim said as he started talking. "We were only stalking Jeremy and Kiana….we didn't mean to listen to your briefing."

"Yeah, I knew." said Jeremy while smiling. "You guys need to work on your tailing skills."

"When did you know?" Daniel asked.

"When you guys ran to the door. I wasn't sure at first, but something felt wrong as I was standing beside the door." He replied.

"That's the boss for you." Mark said while grinning.

"Raise your heads, boys. You're not in trouble." Major Himeko said as the men raised their heads. "Just don't do it again."

"Yes ma'am!" All of them said as they stood attention.

"Alright, where we're we?" Major Himeko said as she cupped her chin. "Oh right, all of Task Force Sentinel and our best Valkyries will be sent to the front lines and eliminate any enemy combatants, may it be zombies, Honkai beasts, or Anti-Entropy operatives. So, any questions?"

"No ma'am." Kiana replied.

"How about you, Jeremy? You and the boys up for your first mission?" Major Himeko asked.

"No ma'am….Is that right boys?" Jeremy replied as he looked at his bros and slid back his handgun on his shoulder holster.

"Yes, sir!" All of them said in unison.

"Alright….Kiana and Jeremy will stay here, the rest of you are dismissed." Principal Reanna said as the boys saluted and left the room.

As soon as everybody was sure no one was eavesdropping, Principal Reanna was staring at Jeremy, at that sent chills on Jeremy's spine…..Why was the principal staring at him?

"You were part of the UN's elite Hunter Squad, yes?" The Principal asked.

"Yes, ma'am. Eight years and six tours." Jeremy replied.

"How's the mutagen doing in your body? I heard that you were genetically modified as living weapon, with you and three others being the only few that had these kinds of…powers, correct?" She asked in reply.

"Yes, ma'am, but I don't use it anymore, ma'am….But if the situation arises, I will revive that old self back to life." Jeremy replied once again as he reminisced about what happened to him.

He was one of the four test subjects who were successful in the trials of the military as the next generation of soldiers that were stronger, faster, more skilled, and the best in every other way possible. The mutagen was combined with enough Honkai energy that they were almost similar, but weaker, to a full-fledged Herscherr. In his version of the mutation, he would gain insurmountable powers, the control of special shadow matter inside and outside his body, superhuman speed, superhuman reflexes, regeneration, superhuman durability, extreme accuracy and many more. With these skills, he and the others were the most strongest soldiers there is, but they would need to transform themselves to activate all of those, but for now, Jeremy wanted to bury that completely, or the school would be in deep shit.

"You have that?!" Kiana exclaimed as she looked to him.

"Yes, I had that…My eyes turn crimson red and my hair turns white, and although I still have my emotions, unlike the others, my powers has its limits and I have my weaknesses. Overall, its a weapon of mass destruction." Jeremy replied to her sternly.

"When did you know about this?" Kiana looked at Principal Reanna and Major Himeko as she said that.

"Well, we knew when he had his blood test conducted. Our scientists discovered that he had special attributes and his existence was to be treated as a national secret….Although if he retained his human form , he could mingle with all of you whenever he wants to." Major Himeko replied to her.

"Overall, he is a state secret that would be used if the situation arises?" Kiana asked.

"Well, not exactly. When in battle and they are about to be defeated, he has the discretion whether or not to use his attributes to turn the tide of war…but for the last mission he had before being recruited here, he had decided not to use his powers for a good reason." She replied.

"Which is?" Kiana asked again, cocking a brow.

"He had eighteen of his teammates running along a rubble-filled road; the circumstances were bad to begin with. If he had activated his trump card, he would have done more damage to the soldiers than the enemy. It distraught him so much as to not activate his powers, but he had to follow his intuition." Principal Reanna replied to her.

Kiana took a deep thought on that and looked back again to Jeremy, in which he nodded to her, confirming that he did that to save his comrades from his own self if he had ever used it on that time. She looked back to the duo behind the table and understood what they said.

"So….After I had heard of this, what do you want me to do?" Kiana asked once again.

"I want you to keep this as a secret. It's for his sake, as if he is spotted as having this kinds of powers, he will never have a life again, and that would break him and we don't know what he'll do after that, and we can't let our enemies get to him. Basically, this is his second chance in life, as a human being and not a living weapon. We ask you now….Could you do it?" asked Principal Reanna.

"Yes, ma'am…" Kiana sighed while answering her. She knew this was a big burden for Jeremy and herself, but she had to bear it, for Jeremy's life depended on it.

"Alright, both of you are dismissed." She replied as both of them saluted and left the room.

As they walked on the hallway towards the auditorium-styled classroom, both of them were quiet and thought about what they would say; words that they hoped would not hurt both of them. They knew what they say would change what they had as friends, and they were scared one of them would break and leave them, changing their lives forever

"I-I'm sorry, Kiana…." He said as he stopped in the hallway, Kiana looking back to him as she also stopped. "I should've told you earlier….I thought if you knew, you would leave me…..You, the guys and your group of friends are the only thing I consider as family…." He bowed down his head and tears started to drop on the floor. Kiana approached him and tapped his shoulders, making him look up to her, her eyes also swelling with tears.

"You have been the best friend we have in the Task Force, along with your squadmates. I'm not angry with you over that small thing; we also consider you as part of our family. You have been kind, caring, loving, and approachable to all of us; you celebrate and congratulate with us when we are successful and you comfort us when we are in sorrow….And for that, I thank you for everything you have did for us all this time." She replied as both of them hugged each other. After a few tender minutes, both looked at each other again as Kiana rested her hand on his shoulder.

"Well…..after classes, do you want to come with us? Bronya, Mei, and Kallen will be with me. We'll be eating at a cafe not far from our apartment….That's if you're coming with us." She replied as Jeremy wiped his own tears.

"Why, of course, Milady." Jeremy replied as he wiped off her tears off with a handkerchief from his pocket. "A walk with a beautiful princess and her friends? It would be an honor."

"My my, you really are a flatterer." Kiana said as they started to walk side-by-side towards the classroom.