Northern Utopia

ESSLIB PLC - Economic Report: Q3.1, Current Year

Overview:
The economic landscape of ESSLIB PLC has shown remarkable improvements in the 15 days following the start of the third quarter (Q3). These developments reflect a proactive approach to addressing economic challenges and fostering growth and stability.

Key Economic Indicators:
- Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Growth: 7.5%
- Current GDP: IS 560 billion
- Unemployment Rate: 7.5%
- Inflation Rate: 3.8%
- Export Growth: 12.3%
- Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Inflows: Kr 16.2 billion
- Corporate Profits Growth: 15.2%

Economic Highlights:
- GDP Growth: ESSLIB PLC's GDP has expanded by 7.5%, reflecting the positive impact of economic reforms and investments in key sectors.
- Unemployment: The unemployment rate has decreased to 7.5%, indicating progress in job creation efforts and enhanced labor market conditions.
- Inflation: Inflation has moderated to 3.8%, alleviating some of the pressure on consumer purchasing power.
- Exports and FDI: Exports have surged by 12.3%, driven by increased demand for ESSLIB PLC's high-tech goods and manufactured products. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows have risen to Kr 16.2 billion, underscoring growing investor confidence.
- Corporate Profits: Corporate profits have grown substantially by 15.2%, primarily attributed to innovative strategies and improved efficiency within major corporations.

Positive Developments:
- Job Creation Initiatives: The major corporations have jointly initiated job creation programs, leading to a reduction in unemployment.
- Innovation and Technology: Investment in technology and innovation hubs has resulted in increased productivity and competitiveness.

Challenges and Ongoing Efforts:
- Inequality: Although progress has been made, addressing inequality remains an ongoing challenge, and further initiatives are needed.
- Environmental Impact: Continued efforts are required to ensure long-term environmental sustainability.
- Regulation and Oversight: Discussions on enhancing corporate regulation and oversight persist, aiming to prevent unethical practices.
- Social Welfare: Expanding and fine-tuning social welfare programs is crucial to further reducing disparities in society.

Economic growth, job creation, and investment have all seen positive momentum. However, the nation must remain vigilant in addressing persistent challenges such as inequality and environmental sustainability to secure a prosperous and equitable future. Further reforms and collaborative efforts between corporations will be pivotal in achieving these goals.

AURORHEIM REPUBLIC ARMY, UNIT 707
2100 HOURS, STORTFJALL, TYRHALL

"We've gotten word from the top, new orders.
We're going back to our roots, I'm sure all of you are aware of
Vladimir Nikolaev?"

"The former communist dictator of Altikar now running for the presidency.
We don't expect him to win but, the fact he's still around is an issue
in and of itself. Our mission? Put him in permanent sleep."

"Don't expect any interference from anyone else, for all we know,
Nikolaev has fallen out of grace from the other socialists,
especially the Novoroyskans."

"The plan is simple, Nikolaev is holding a speech at the capital,
Tetsone where he's going to try to present himself as a person
people can vote for. This is where we come in."

"We'll be smuggling in a Republica Arms. LSR-95 Anti-Material Rifle.
Chambered in 50. BMG should be more than enough to take him out."

"Remember, Speed and Aggression Gentlemen."

4kms South of Tetsone, Altikar
External Security Operation
"For the Fatherland We Trust"
Aurorheim Republican Army Unit 707
"Ad Tyrannos Deducere"

Operation: Ember Echelon

Five men, all White Aurorans dressed in average attire drove through the streets of Vrapgas in a white van that had a pest control advertisement on the side. Two are in the front while the remaining three are in the back with several duffel bags each containing what seems like pest control equipment. However, one of them reached their hands into the duffel bag and they pulled out what seemed to be a rectangular object with a top handle. Not too long after that, the man unfolded it to reveal a Republica Arms. FMP-9 submachine gun chambered in 9x19mm Parabellum with a 32-round box magazine. He inspected the gun, pulling the charging handle back and forth multiple times before folding it and putting it back into the duffel bag.

"Gentlemen, we are nearing our destination, get yourself sorted and be ready to execute the operation." Said Cpt. Gudrun as PFC. Magnus woke up Pvt. Sigrun who had dozed off during the drive from Kerith.

"Our target is Vladimir Nikolaev, a Novoroyskan who was the leader of the Communist Party of Altikar during their tenure and still is the leader of the party. We have intel that he's going to be holding a speech in Tetsone to rack up the number of people voting for him. Considering the history between him and Altikar, suffice to say, he's up to no good." Said Cpt. Gudrun as he held a clipboard with a document detailing Nikolaev and several pictures of him paperclipped to it. Cpt. Gudrun handed it to the three men in the back as he continued to drive the van toward Tetsone.

"Remember, failure is not an option, we either kill him or leave empty-handed."

Tetsone, Altikar
2 HOURS LATER

707's van parked outside a tall hotel they grabbed the duffel bags in the back and headed toward the entrance of the hotel as they put the plan in motion, to kill Nikolaev. Wearing what appears to be a pesticide company's uniform with respirators, goggles, and a cap to fit with the uniform, they split off as three of them headed toward the hotel security room while the remaining two headed towards the elevator with a room key at hand. PFC. Magnus woke up Pvt. Sigrun entered the elevators and went toward the 12th floor whilst Cpt. Gudrun, Sgt. Stefan, and Cpl. Aron entered the employees-only section of the hotel, right toward the security room.

Magnus and Sigrun arrived at their floor they quickly left the elevator and headed toward their room with three duffel bags at hand. Arriving at the door, Sigrun opened the door as Magnus rushed in with Sigrun following suit both of them took off their respirators, goggles, and hats opened the two duffel bags, and pulled out parts of the bullpup, bolt-action LSR-95 and began assembling them. After about a few minutes, the LSR-95 was assembled as they loaded two 50. BMG rounds into a single magazine before loading a round into the chamber. Magnus grabbed the rifle from the carry handle before unfolding the bipods and setting it on top of a coffee table, in front of the balcony door which overlooked a stage where Nikolaev would be having his speech. Sigrun got out onto the balcony with a weather meter and a range finder on a tripod to determine the distance and the wind speed and direction. Sigrun relayed the information to Magnus and he adjusted his scope accordingly while Sigrun got out of the balcony and closed the balcony door partially, giving room for Magnus to take the shot as he pulled out binoculars to watch over the stage as a spotter.

Two Rooms Over on the Floor Above
Foreign Intelligence Directorate (UVR)
"In the Defense of the Motherland"
5th Special Purpose Brigade

Four men, all of them Novoroyskans are setting up their bullpup 12.7x108mm bolt-action anti-material rifle. Two stand guard with PP-90 foldable submachine guns while the other two assemble parts to finish getting their rifle together. Once done, Pvt. Barkov brought out a weather meter and a range finder much the same as the Aurorans a floor below with Cpl. Vasilevsky manned the KSVK while Sgt. Kosmol and Snr Sgt. Kastov stood guard near the door. Nikolaev had since fallen out of favor with Novoroyska as part of the reason they sent special forces to retrieve USSA's leadership during the Second Civil in Altikar was to... Well, silence them for good. Now? They were gonna finish moping up their mistakes. Nikolaev was the last spot of filth and dirt that needed to be cleaned and the 5th Special Purpose Brigade was the mop that was going to do it.

Prviate
Mid-Graphic Warning
(The following story is a miquel between UKMC II and UKMC III(upcoming), taking place in 2021)

Prologue
Robotics Lab, Imperial Academy of Science and Technology, Edokyuuria; 0.0_2.1;00:00;12/12/1993
Everyone had already left the campus except for a professor and a genius student Simon Mendelson. In the only room where light reigns, the professor was helping Simon with his graduation project.
“Mendelson, I’ve always wanted to ask you something.”
The professor said while he was putting an optical sensor onto a skull-like metal frame.
“Yes?” Top student Simon Mendelson replied casually while he complied with his program on the laptop.
“I wondered why humans devote so much to creating something in their image.”
“Eh?” Mendelson turned over to the professor, he was confused. The professor took a step back from the working table, checking for any loose parts of the humanoid android.
“The Trinity program you’re working on, the artificial human intelligence, is nothing but an emulation for sensory data gathering software to simulate humans by limiting their decision-making to our limits as a biological computer. So that it’ll appeal to us, humans.”
The professor walked over to the confused Mendelson and pointed at his computer screen.
“The purpose of a machine is to complete its task. The purpose of a human is to reproduce. These are hard-coded lines of script inside our heads called instinct. If this feeling of so-called happiness is required to complete the task, the machine will be required to feel ‘happy. And for happiness.class to be executed, a certain condition must be reached. That condition could be being praised by another, or completing another task.”
The professor then opens the windows and takes out a cigarette.
“There isn’t a large difference between humans and your AHI, humans were born with the preset Shell of emotions such as dopamine. In your little project, you had to recreate that Shell preset in your program manually… Tell me, Mendelson, why do you and other scientists around the world try so hard to create something so human?”
Mendelson paused and stared at his computer screen for a moment, trying to think of an answer. “...I don’t have an answer, Professor Heller.”
“Don’t you think children and androids are similar?”
“Why is that?” Mendelson now looking even more confused.
“We identify a humanoid as a human that is if it acts according to its mind. Then what is a child, a humanoid who does not have any concept of social norms? When children play with dolls, they are not practicing parenting... Don’t you think playing with dolls and parenting might be similar?”
“Children are not dolls, Professor Heller.”

Nephilim: Aurea of Light Part 1
One week after Judgement Fleet Remnant left Serbatijan Elevator and joined Eden’s Rebirth.
Year 2021 A.D. September 27. Location: Aurea, Former Luthorios. Weather: Foggy.

Two Months after the War of the Fourth Coalition, with the fall of the Armed State of Jezabelstien, and the failure of the Meridian expansionism. With the collapse of the trio rivalry, the United Kingdom States remained the sole superpower of the world.

Riding this momentum of victory and success, the United Kingdom States did not hesitate to give aid to Lilium while secretly sending Nephilims to sabotage the last two oracle reactors in Lilium and Phoenix-1 during Thanedom’s invasion of Taiwan.
The retrieved oracle subjects were later sent to Locus Solus Sa Collegium with their new identity as normal students.

To return their gratitude to the Serbatijans in the Pupatorian civil war, they turned to the last remaining hostile force, the calamity that brought ruin to western Wasari… the enemy the Serbatijans called, the Unknowns.

-

The world was completely colorless, trees were not to be seen, and the sky was covered in thick fog. A lone humanoid figure arrived at the edge of an artificial cliff. From there, the roofs of the city ruins could be seen above the fog. At the bay, there were numerous shipwrecks, most were of naval origin with runes painted on them.
From the far end of the sea, the sound of explosion-like thunder could be heard behind the fog.
They sighed in disappointment before turning around and leaving.

A moment later, from the far mountains, a stream of hot gas was fired and suddenly vanished in mid-air. Moments later another explosion could be heard coming from the horizon, this time with some light piercing through the fog.

The humanoid figure puts on a torn robe made out of a flag of a familiar but unknown country. They rolled up their sleeve to check their strange watch. It was a three-dimensional mechanical clock. At the bottom of the sphere, there’s a label with ‘M-density Counter’ written on it.

Timeline Divergence from Greater Human History: #0.000

“URN Tanikaze, RAN Tsugumori, LRN Actonia, SRN Sombor, and SRN Maribor have suffered heavy damage from the previous attack!”
“I’ve told those Serbatijans to stay behind the deflector ships, didn’t I!? Get them to reposition to the rear for emergency repairs!”
Burning naval vessels on the horizon slowly reposition themselves behind a strange-looking ship with giant shield-like superstructure.
“Inaban, this is Just like the report…” Akima muttered as he looked through the binoculars from the red-lighted bridge of URN Hakuhou. Not giving the fleet time to react, the central cylinder hologram on the bridge suddenly turned red and sounded the alarm. From the Intelligence Destroyer in front of the Hakuhou, the sound of the siren spread like a virus throughout the entire Volunteer Combined Fleet of multinationals.
“Captain Akima! URN Enigma reporting, Gravitational Singularity Confirmed at point coordinate JY-45! Reaction from Imaginary Number Space Observatory! Accuracy at 62%, It’s surfacing!”
“Get those idiots out its line of fire!”
Naval ships modified with side propellers began to move in parallel. However, it wasn’t fast enough, a bright beam of heat blinded the windows of the fleet.
“Damage report!”
“URN Tonelico vaporized, other ships of the 33rd division suffered minor to medium damage.”
The deflector ship that sailed at the front of the 33rd division had its superstructure in glowing red.
“That’s going to take a while to cool-”
“Captain! Multiple SSM incoming!”
“Prepare-” Akima tried to speak but his mouth was covered by Inaban with a radio transmitter.
“This is Admiral Inaban. Prepare Halo countermeasures, everyone indoors now!”

The halo structure on the two experimental Enigma class Intelligence Destroyer starts to glow and emits an eerie noise, and then it stops. An invisible wave of death quickly expanded from the two destroyers and covered the entire fleet. Incoming missiles malfunctioned and dropped into the ocean. However, one landed right on one of the Intelligence destroyers, damaging its rudder and setting it off course. Then another missile landed right next to it, damaging its communication systems.

“All contact with Enigma II has been lost!” The radar officer reported as the crew looked at Enigma II leaving the fleet.
“The Nephilims on that ship will manage, don’t let this opportunity slip. 10 minutes until that thing can fire again. Once we cross the rayshift emitter’s inner range, it can do nothing about us landing.” Inaban explained as she pointed at Aurea.

-

In a certain landing craft of the hundreds, Nephilims Type Bs, and human troops waited nervously as the explosion could be heard outside.
“What are you doing?” Type-B12, Iroha asked the trembling Rikuran marine who held tight to a cross-like object while he mumbled.
“Leave him be.” The veteran Serbatijan marine said. “It would surely be nice if god is on our side, this time.” He sighed.
“God? This time?” The curious Nephilim android asked.
“I was there in Ras, 2019. Buying time for civilians to escape the horrors. While their name had pretty much become public knowledge, SSS had censored and classified all photos to them.”
“You saw them?”
“Yeah, when we began our counteroffensive with your predecessors ‘spider-bots’, I could take a closer look at their corpses… They were very different from Khacat Tur’s G.A.I.A. Their look is simply too unnatural to be man-made.”
“But, Sergeant Darko~ the higherup has said this ‘Unknowns’ strain in Luthorios was different from those in Ras. The higher-ups called this strain the Harvesters.” Type-B104 Ashily a member of Iroha’s Long Range Scouting Platoon interrupted the veteran. “Maybe they would be cuter!” Type-B105 Ui suggested with hopes in her eyes. Ui who was a medic and a mechanic for both human and Nephilim units had never been to the frontline.
“No way…” Type-B11 Irena sighed in the disappointment of her platoon’s members. Irena, the team’s science and analytical engine.
The four of them laughed carefreely, while the soldiers around were trying to suppress their fear.
“Do you four not have any fear of death?”
“Whether that is fortunate or unfortunate, we do not understand the concept of death. Our numbered trinity preset can easily be copied from the last neural cloud backup.” Iroha explained.

-

All four Genjitsu-Class, 71,000ton Super Reinforced Heavy Destroyer lined up and were ready for a salvo with their Twin 51cm gun mounts at the planned landing locations. All 12 of these gun mounts were now being armed with experimental Cryo-666 Antibiotic endothermic shells, developed and made for this specific operation.
“IXS Gejitsu, all green.”
“IXS Queen Eternal, all green.”
“IXS Arsviellec, all green.”
“IXS Sanctuary, all green.”

“Admiral, anytime now.” The communication officer on the Hakuhou reported to Inaban.
“Fire,” Inaban ordered as she and Akima looked out at the Aurean coast with their binoculars.

In an instant, the powerful 51cm guns fired and sent shockwaves throughout the fleet from the rear. The fired shell exploded in mid-air above the targeted location. Spilling two types of chemicals onto the ground, when they made contact, they instantly froze everything around the area, The chemical reaction happened so fast, that it eliminated or temporarily immobilized Harvester threats around the area.

“It doesn’t matter if they’re biological or mechanical, no battery can survive that temperature.”

-

The temperature of the initial blast only lasted for a few minutes before it rose to habitable levels. The carriers, heavy aviation destroyers, and amphibious assault ships opened their hanger and let out landing crafts.
“It’s finally our turn!” Ui yelled with excitement. The multiple sounds of a Gatling gun firing at the coast from the landing craft soon become background noises.
“Be quiet, or you might bite your tongue off.” Sergeant Darko yelled at her.

Then the landing craft began to decelerate before hitting the beach of Aurea. The trapdoor at the front lowered, and infantry stayed in their position as they headed out into the enemy territory.
The Nephilim type-A drones headed into the battlefield and formed a defensive formation first with their Decagrammatonian Composite shield.
“See you later, our goddesses of victory,” Darko said to Iroha before leading his team out of the craft.
Iroha took one last look at Darko before he vanished into the fog. “Are we good?” Iroha asked her platoon as she switched one of her visual sensors to infrared.
“Yeah, let’s finish this job and get our promised holiday,” Ashily replied as she put on aim-assistance goggles safely and released the radiators for her Heavy Mass Cannon.
“Ui is so excited! This is the first time Ui has been outside of the United Kingdom!” Ui exclaimed as she was about to rush toward the beach, She was stopped by Irena. “Stay in formation, stupid.”
“Let’s go, LRS Platoon,” Iroha ordered, and they sprinted out of the landing craft. “Multiple Infantry-Class and two Destroyer-Class Harvester incoming, straight ahead in 500. Ashily you’re up,” Iroha ordered. “Mo-man-tai!(No problem)” Ashily replied as her goggles showed motor movement values to adjust her aim. She stopped and stood still, and pulled the trigger. The radiators immediately turned white hot, and the tungsten shell was fired, piercing the fog and creating a tunnel. The shell pierced through the Infantry-Class Harvesters easily, however, it was deflected by the Destroyer-Class’s armor.
“What-” The platoon was just as shocked as Ashily, it was the first time the HMC could not pierce through something. “Aim for the wheels!” Iroha ordered as she tried to see the actual shape of their enemy through the thick fog.
“They don’t goddamn wheels or tracks, Iroha! They have legs! Too many legs!” Ashily replied in frustration.
“Then aim for the leg joints! Think of it as the simulation with Sentinel-Class Aragami! Ui, Irena, and I will cover you so hurry up!”
Ashily pulled the trigger again this time firing at the legs of the Destroyer-Class Harvesters. The extent of the damage is unknown due to the fog, however, the enemy seemed to have stopped their movement.

The four carefully moved toward the ‘wreckages’ of the Harvesters. Their appearance was slowly revealed in the dense fog.
“Is this what they call the emotion of disgust?” Ashily asked.
“It’s called the feeling of disgust,” Iroha replied.
“Ui thought they would be cuter…” Ui commented.
“...this material… is not metal…” Irena said after she poked the Infantry-Class Harvester’s ‘wreckage’ with her bayonet. “This… is similar to human skin.”
The Infantry-Class Harvester was a slug-shaped creature slightly bigger than a human, It had a big mouth and multiple eye-like sensory organs at the front, and it was constructed in a material similar to human skin.
While the Destroyer-Class Harvester had a metallic shell of unknown material attached to its frontal body. The Destroyer-Class was at least thrice as big as the Infantry-Class, it had six legs, and the leg's bone structure bear resembled horses. Its muscles were made of an unknown soft material.
Then the radio transmission channel came through. The sound of gunfire, screams of total despair, and fear of this absurd mission were then realized. The landing parting on the far western side of the bay seemed to be overwhelmed, being torn apart, and were desparated in needing reinforcement.
“Let’s go,” Iroha ordered coldly. “There’s nothing we can do for them. The operation must continue.” The platoon stayed silent and followed Iroha’s lead into the old ruins of Aurea.

-

Above the dense cloud of Luthorios in low orbit. The Rhongomyniad Mirror Array of the Rias International Space elevator aligned themselves to create a perfect reflective line of fire from the Celestial-1 Module. “This is an announcement from the RISE Terminal, Luna Line will be delayed. For passengers who are heading to Tsukuyomi-1, we apologize for the inconvenience.”
The message was broadcast throughout the station. Then a beam was fired from the RISE Terminal, hitting all the mirror arrays and shot directly above Aurea. The energy of the last was dispersed when it made contact with the strange disruption fog above Luthorios.
“Sigh, It’s no use after all…” Teresa Row, the Chief of Celestial Affairs murmured in disappointment. “Resume the Luna Line’s operation. It was a waste of time.” She ordered from the central control of the Terminal.

-

“Irena! At your 6!” Iroha shouted just as she realized an Infantry-Class Harvester was closing in.
“I got this!” Ui said as she took her SSS standard-issued Decagrammatonian blade and sliced the head of the enemy off.
“Stay focused! Think about the technical and science later, Irena!” Iroha yelled at Irena.
The platoon slowly retreated into a building as they kept firing at the swarm of Harvesters.
“There’s no end to them! Ashily complained.
“That’s probably what the Serps thought of us Aragamis during the Serp-UKS war.” Ui joked.
Irena stopped firing and looked around the interior of the factory-like building, it was a steel factory.
“What’s wrong? Irena?” Iroha asked while she kept firing at the Harvesterunits approaching the entrance.
*Ashily, fire your HMC at that crucible above the entrance.”
“The what? Irena?” Ashily replied in confusion, She looked up and immediately understood Irena’s plan. Quickly aimed and fired at the joint of the giant crucible, it started to lose balance.
“Get back, that’s gonna fall!” Iroha called as she dragged Ui by the shoulder to retreat further into the building. The giant crucible finally loses its balance and falls to the ground, crushing some Harvesters and blocking off the front entrance to the factory.
“Are we safe?” Ui asked. But before anyone could answer, the sound of Harvesters ramming themselves into the blockade could be heard.
“Ui guess not,” Ui answered herself.
“Backdoor, we must go now.” Iroha leads the platoon away from the main entrance and further into the industrial complex.

Turning on their flashlights, the four arrived into a long hallway with all different type of pipes and vent on the sides and ceiling. Despite being abandoned for so long, there weren’t any signs of plant life, not even moss. They continue their walk into the dark hallway carefully on high alert. “Not even spiders or mosquitoes. The ecosystem is just dead within this region.” Irena mummered.
Iroha stopped the team as soon as she noticed sandbags at the end of the hallway. It was a barricade created by survivors.
“Survivors!” Ui said excitedly, but she was interrupted by Irena with an infrared view on. “There’s no heat source in that room, it’s safe to go.”
The four got over the barricade and opened the door.
“Ugh.” Ashily looked away.
The room was full of burnt corpses of human survivors. On the right side of the room, the wall was breached and opened. There were signs of a defensive battle between survivors and the Harvesters from the damage to the furniture. There were explosive burn marks at the center of the room.
Iroha did not say a thing, she immediately walked over to the breached wall, taking a look at the situation outside. Ashily remained silent and followed Iroha.
Ui stared at the scene blankly. “Harvesters can’t use explosives… right?” She asked the Platoon. They did not answer. A medical Type-B Nephilim android, they have Medical Tasks running at higher priority than normal inside the Instinct Module of the Personality Trinity, resulting in their abnormal fabricated desire to save others. However, when situations such as these human rejects the chance of being saved. The failure to execute a task due to external factors would send a spike of chaotic data into the initially well-organized emotion matrix, resulting in both the artificial, external expression of sadness and trauma. This would be the auto requirement to redistribute attributes based on the 7 sins and virtues in the Moral Module of the Personality Trinity, resulting in a change in future rational and irritation decision-making. In other words, AHI character development.
“Harvester cannot use explosives…” Ui answered her question quietly, held tight to her assault rifle, and followed the rest of the team.

Outside of the factory, it was the coast again. Other than the sound of the waves, it was awfully quiet. No signs of any friendly or hostile. “It’s the beach again,” Ashily said as soon as she noticed she was stepping on the sand. Iroha takes out the map to confirm their location before putting x marks on the map like bingo.
“Our reconnaissance mission's destination should be up ahead.” She told everyone as she pointed at the eastern end of the beach of Aurean Bay.
“Eh?”
In the direction she was pointing, there was a massive fleet of shipwrecks. Due to the fog, they couldn’t tell the classification or origin of the wrecks. But something about the ship’s outline looked somewhat familiar.
“Could it have been the first Luthorios scouting division?” Ashily asked.
“That wouldn’t be possible, Long Bridge-Class Deflector Destroyers and Point-Mass Singularity Detector weren’t developed yet. They would’ve been vaporized before reaching here.” Irena immediately shut down Ashily’s theory.
“Anyhow, now that there’s that anomaly in front of us. We have no choice but to confirm it ourselves.” Iroha signals the group to approach the wrecks on high alert.

Those were wreckages some kind of destroyers and arsenal ships. What’s most unusual is that they were all covered in runes of intersecting squares and circles.
“They look like the Pupatorian Runes we have in the URN,” Ui commented as they continued their walk through the wreckage site on the beach.
“They are indeed awfully similar… but I don’t have data on this kind of symbol in my database. These are not Catherdrasilicom runes.” Irena said as she took a closer look at the rune patterns.
“They kind of look like the Ashigara-Class but bigger.” Ashily pointed at the superstructure of one of the ships.
“I don’t have any data on these vessel numbers, they don’t belong to us,” Iroha said, but she was starting to doubt the reliability of the data provided to her.
Ui suddenly stopped and pointed at the wreckage at the further end.
“Hey… doesn’t that ship look like… it has a halo?” Ui asked confused and slightly frightened. The group immediately looked at the direction she was pointing.
“Yeah…” Ashily agreed nervously.
“No one else on the planet would be a halo on their war machines other than…” Iroha also agreed, smiling nervously.
“That’s no doubt an Enigma-Class Intelligence Destroyer,” Irena said, even though she didn’t have a clear explanation of how is there a third one when only two had been constructed.
“Hey… do you think Edokyuuria is lying to us?” Ui starting to suspect the UKS government.
“We won’t know for sure until we get closer,” Irena replied, immediately walking toward the suspicious shipwreck, The others followed her lead.

The ship had the Prafectean number MCIV at the front. Judging from the shape of the vessel, it was no doubt an Enigma-Class Destroyer. Like other wrecks, it was also covered in unidentified runes. “Praefectus? But the runes certainly are not of Praefectean of origin.” Ashily said as she approached the hole in the hull. She put her hand onto the damaged hull and noticed a rough pattern of layering. Without paying much attention to the strangely manufactured hull, Ashily signaled the others they could enter the ship from the hole in the hull. Ui and Iroha followed her inside, but Irena stayed behind and took a closer look at the hull.
“This is… 3D printed alloy…” She muttered.
“Irena?” Iroha called from the inside.
“Yeah, I’m coming,” Irena replied and followed the others, not thinking much.

There were signs of combat but no signs of any corpses. Taking the lead, Iroha carefully led the team stairways based on her knowledge of the Enigma-Class’s interiors. “Even the location of the stairways is the same as ours. This ship isn’t a replica, it has to be one of Yotsubishi Heavy Industry origin.” Irena theorized as she looked for company logos on the pipes and electric boxes around the dark hallway. “A secret fleet constructed by Yotsubishi Heavy Industries that no one knew about, or the Edokyuurian Government had been hiding it,” Iroha added to Irena’s theory as she began to climb the stairs. “It’s too clean for an abandoned ship,” she commented after looking up the stairway that led to the bridge.

“It’s no good. It won’t open.” Ui said tiredly after trying to open the door to the bridge. Irena shines her flashlight at the door, It has an unfamiliar lock design. “The general structure of the ship is a replica but not the tiny electronics huh…” Irena said after she inspected the lock mechanism. “We can’t use the HMC here, it might attract the enemy.” Iroha reminded Ashily who got excited about destroying the door. “Let’s try with our swords,” Ui suggested, and Iroha agreed to the idea. Carefully taking out the composite blade, Iroha tried to cut the metallic rod that locked the door in place. The Decagrammatonian Composite blade managed to pierced through the metallic rod, however, it required a lot of force. “This material has to be some sort of nanotech super composite, not even concrete is this hard to slice with our blades.”

After a while, they managed to break the lock, and Iroha chipped away some of the super composites for Irena to take back for research. With permission from Iroha, Ui then kicked down the door with full force.

The bridge was almost identical to URN Enigma, except for unknown text labels and interface designs. But the placement, floor planning, cables, and everything else were almost the same. As the other platoon members investigated the controls of the ship, Iroha turned to examine the rear wall. “Just as I thought.”
The metal plate that engraved the name of the ship was there at the back of the bridge, however, it fell to the ground. Iroha walked over and carefully lifted the plate off the ground. Irena who noticed Iroha’s discovery, quickly walked over to investigate. “Now that’s just ridiculous”

“The ship of fools.” A mysterious voice whispered. Iroha and Irena looked at each other to confirm whether they’d heard the voice. Before they could speak, Iroha’s standard-issued Miraculum Density Counter started to go off. “I think it’s broken,” Iroha said to calm her startled team. Just as she was about to take it out to investigate, the counter of all other three team members was also going off. All four of them looked at each other, not knowing how to react or what to do. Iroha then realized the beeping sound of her counter was going faster and faster than others. Without explanation, Iroha kicked Irena to the wall.
In an instant, the ceiling of the bridge was breached open with an explosive impact. Iroha barely dodged whatever was landed there.
The rest of the platoon had their weapons aimed at the unknown target as the slowly cleared itself.
“Ah~uh, I missed.” A distorted but similar voice came from the unknown target. The target slowly stood up. Slicing through the dust with a crystal spear that forms out of nowhere, and disappears right after. It shows itself as a humanoid. The Miraculum density counters quieted down after the disappearance of the mysterious crystal spear.
Iroha quickly stood up and aimed her c96 mk4 her the humanoid target. The unknown humanoid raised its head and turned its attention to Iroha. It had the same face as Iroha,
“A mimesis!?” Irena asked, staying calm.
“Who knows, but Miraculum density counters had some crazy numbers just now. It seemed like some sort of Miraculum weaponry.” Ashily replied nervously.
“Then it’s just like you’ve theorized, Irena. This mimesis lady here got to have something related to Edokyuuira. We’re the world away from the only Miraculum contamination in the world.” Ui said with a nervous smile.
“What are you!?” Iroha asked the Mimesis as she slowly approached with her gun aiming at it. “
Suddenly a high-frequency music-like communication emitted from the Mimesis.

xE re durra mEezazc z jTDUie an dDUurra/.
Kyu -> ExkY[afixi] -> ExkY[rai] -> {durra};
Rai => {
Kyu -> ExkY[fire] -> ExkY[nul] -> {durra};
Kyu -> ExkY[meza] -> {durra};
Kyu - > ExkY[fire] -> {Lir};
}
Kyu -> ExkY[rai] -> {durra};

“Impossible! That’s- Iroha get back!” Irena yelled as she started firing at the Mimesis. A crystal-like assault rifle that resembled the URA’s Stg44Mk3 appears in the Mimesis’s hand. Iroha quickly rolled behind one of the control units to take cover. The bullets’ path of the projection was distorted as soon as they reached within a close spherical radius of the Mimesis.
“What-”
Then the Mimesis coldly returned fire, hitting Irena on the shoulder and causing her to fall to the ground. “I’m good! Don’t worry about it!” Irena reported.
“If they could warp energy beams out of nowhere in the middle of the ocean like earlier, of course, they are capable of this kind of distortion witchcraft.” Ashily said as she prepared the HMC.
“Then how about close-quarter combat?” Ui asked without expecting an answer, leaping toward the Mimesis with her bayonet. The blade distorted before it even reached the enemy. “Then how about this!?” Ui murmured as she fired her rifle at point-blank distance. The bullet’s projection path was still distorted but it was too close to the Mimesis, it pierced through its body. The Mimesis grabbed onto Ui’s neck and fired its crystal rifle at her. Damages that the crystal bullets passed through began to crystalize, including the coolant liquid that spilled out from Ui body.
“Ui!” Horrified at the scene, Iroha drew her Decagrammatonian Composite sword and rushed toward the Mimesis. The Mimesis immediately noticed the sword, was surprised, dropped Ui to the ground, and dodged the attack. Iroha took a quick look at the Ui who remained unconscious. Her wounds had a similar effect to the mysterious Rapture Pandemic in the UKS. Iroha then turned her attention to the Mimesis once again. “Why do you look like me? Answer me!” The Mimesis remained silent, it materialized a black crystal blade and leaped toward Iroha with an attack.
The two engaged in close-quarter combat, Ashily who had the HMC ready could not aim with Iroha being so close to the Mimesis. “The legs, Ashily. If the Mimesis has a distortion field all around, it cannot stand at all. The field does not cover the legs.” Irena told Ashily where to fire, and Ashily nodded.
“Iroha! Distance yourself!” Ashily warned the platoon leader. Iroha attacked with a heavy strike before retreating backward, allowing her to distance herself from the Mimesis. Ashily immediately pulled the trigger, and the powerful shell instantly removed the Mimesis’s left leg, causing it to lose its balance. However, a crystal replacement left leg quickly materialized. “Monster.” Iroha called. The Mimesis heard Iroha, and turned its attention to Iroha again, staring emotionlessly. Then it leaped to the roof, retreating from the ship.

Upon hearing the other platoon members calling for her. Ui opened her eyes. “What happened?”
Ui asked as she tried to suppress the warning notifications in her head. She looked down, there was a giant hole in her right chest. “Ahhhh that’s not good, Ui’s right ventilation unit is destroyed.” Ui said sarcastically.
“I’ve removed the crystalized parts and sealed off the coolant vessels. But don’t move around too much.” Irena explained as she put away the mechanic kit. Taking a good look around, the monitor was now on. “Iroha and Ashily managed to get the backup generator working in the reactor room.” Irena explained, helping Ui get up from the floor.
Iroha was checking the ship’s log but they were written in an unknown language. While Ashily was trying to use the radio on the ship, making static noises. Then something came through “Gloria Afixia” the old salute. “Did some idiot forget we changed the salute a year ago?” Ashily jokingly asked. “Who knows?” Iroha replied, changing the broadcast channel until it reached the encrypted SSS frequency. The KivotOS communication encryption was broadcasting outside of human hearing range. “I hate this kind of decryption work-” Ashily complained but Iroha told her to shut up as she tried to decrypt the message. After double-checking the code, Iroha read out the message. “The combined fleet had secured the old Aurean capitol as the base of operation…”

“Let’s go there and get Ui repaired, we’ve already reached the eastmost point of Aurea.” Iroha Ashily suggested, and Iroha agreed. “Ui, can you walk?” Iroha turned over and asked.
“Ui can walk, no problem. But Ui can’t seem to stop yawning though.” Ui replied with a yawn, exhausting heat.
“It can’t be helped, you lost half of your ventilation system.” Irena replied, getting ready to leave. “Well, then it’s decided.” Iroha said with a gentle smile, but deep down she was still bothered by the Mimesis who looked just like her.

Departing from the Stultifera Navis wreckage, the platoon headed for central Aurea, where the Combined Fleet’s base of operation is.
Unknown to them, they were being watched silently by the Mimesis from afar.

-

It was getting dark when they arrived.
The former capitol building of Luthorios stood before the four, the flag of Luthorios had finally returned home at the pole above the giant parliament. Heavy artillery was now being transported into the capitol square, and concrete wall fortifications had been placed quickly. Past the impressive fortifications, temporary barracks were being constructed as medical officers were busy treating the enormous amount of injured soldiers, mechanics repairing Nephilims, and doing data backups.

-

“That took you long enough to report on the situation, Miss Inaban. I thought we were going to need to find you a replacement in the cabinet.” UKMC State Secretary Kristina Gyasivel complained through the video call. “Don’t be like that, Krista. They had to reattach an emergency submarine cable to the Serbatijan elevator to get internet due to enemies’ jamming after all…” UKMC Grand Chancellor Fuyuki Mashiro said trying to calm Gyasivel down. “Couldn’t you just send someone else other than your Chief of Naval Affairs? Or is this one of the navy’s energetic competitions with the URAF?” Grand Duchess Yoshiko of Rikura questioned the UKS’s strange decision. Inaban managed to keep a straight face despite being furious. “Well, Miss Inaban is the most experienced naval officer alive, she survived both extraterrestrial wars, and led a rebellion with the marines toward the fascist Edokyuuria government… Yeah, there isn’t any other person qualified for this operation other than her. Her plot armor is truly something.” UKS Chief of Aerial Defence, Hirosei Hana, Inaban’s eternal rival explained with a smug. “Ah- It’s you who convinced Mashiro to send me here! Hirosei! Are you trying to get me killed again!?” Inaban snapped the moment she saw Hirosei pop up on the call while sunbathing on a military runway.
Alexander Rothschild, Luthorios’ PM in exile who was not used Pupatorian shenanigans remained awkwardly silent with his translator beside him.
“Ahem. Anyway. The Combined Force's casualties are estimated to be over 7,200 at this very moment. We managed to limit the number of casualties thanks to Rikura’s strange-looking Deflector Ships, and our experimental Enigma-Class Destroyer. However, as we expected, the aircraft is useless here, the fog is capable of jamming out communication at a certain altitude. Big objects flying around will also get them shot down by the beam weapon.” The voice call was surprised by the unexpected amount of deaths, Inaban paused and took a deep breath. “As theorized by intel from the Judgement Fleet’s patrol unit. The energy weapon is in fact, a replica of Serbatijan Empire’s Megablaster that was used in the Vril War in 2018.”
“I remember the Megablaster is an energy weapon that cannot fire beyond the horizon due to the curvation of the planet?” Alexander asked in English. “That is correct, Mr Rothschild.” Inaban continued her explanation by sharing data from the Enigma-Class Intelligence Destroyer’s Point-Mass Singularity Detector.
“Mr. Rothschild. What you’re looking at is the gravitation anomaly of a miniature wormhole.” Inaban explained. Alexander thought she was joking at first, but seeing how everyone else kept a straight face he finally gave in to reality. “Go on, Miss Inaban.”
“From an unconfirmed source of Jezabeltien’s Aleph One program, they called the flashlight-like device a Rayshift Emitter. It is capable of sending objects to the ocean of imaginary number space and resurfaces elsewhere in the world. If such a machine does exist, then warping an energy beam is possible. However, the energy required to activate such a theoretical device is astronomical. From all the existing technology we are aware of, only an Oracle Core Reactor might be able to power it.” Inaban explained the theory to the meeting.
“So, this has to do with Jezabelstien? Miss Inaban?”
“Unlikely, we have no evidence of Jezavelstien’s presence in Luthorios… however we might have something more unbelievable to deal with..”
“What do you mean by that, Miss Inaban?” Gyasviel asked.
“The Harvester’s true form is unlike anything we- no I’ve ever encountered.” Inaban carefully hints and refers to the SSS database. “How so? Do continue.” Gyasivel got curious. Inaban then showed them pictures of immobilized Harvesters.
“As you can see, these creatures bear similarities to terrestrial wildlife. As if they’re made of multiple types of animals through some sort of transmutation.” Inaban explained, that everyone in the voice call except for the cold state secretary, was disgusted by the pictures. “Additional note, no corpses of Luthorios civilian, plantlife nor animals had been found.”
“What do you mean there’s no plantlife, Inaban?” Mashiro asked.
“Before we arrive, there’s barely any organic material at all. No even insects.”
“Thank you, Miss Inaban,” Gyasviel said to conclude the report. After another few minutes of talking, everyone left the voice call except for Inaban and Duchess Yoshiko.
“Thank you for manufacturing the 4 Gejitsu-Class in time. Duchess Yoshiko.”
“You should thank your princess. It was Eudokia who convinced me to approve the council’s decision to materialize those experimental weapons for you. You have a lot to explain to your government where that naval budget had gone.”
“Right.”

-

After supervising the modification and fortification of the capitol’s interior, Akima tiredly headed for the main entrance to exit and get dinner at the newly constructed emergency barracks. With a checklist and reports in his hand, he pushed open the old wooden door to the outside. The outside was as busy as ever, the medical officers never stopped treating the wounded as the fighting never stopped. Artillery fire and machine guns could be heard far away. In the middle of the capitol square, a bonfire was lit. Soldiers were resting around it, some were praying at it, while some were mourning their lost comrades at it. The Nephilims were the only ones fooling around in this situation. Those who were repaired or switched to backup bodies were already up either playing games or lazying around fearlessly. To the nervous soldiers, it was a sort of morale boost. Akima sighed at the scene but smiled.
“Wouldn’t lighting up a bonfire attract the enemies’ attention, Captain?” Iroha who had been sitting at the stairs in front of the capitol this whole time asked Akima.
“For some reason, across all cultures, when humans see the fire at the end of the day it calms us down, Iroha. Especially in situations like these,” Akima explained as he sat beside Iroha.
“Even with that being said, we have yet to encounter Harvester capable of any long-range attacks,” Akima said as he looked through the report in his hand. Iroha stared blankly at her platoon members playing board games. Ui, who had just been repaired seemed to be in the lead due to the excited expression on her. Ashily who seemed to be losing with her nervousness stared at her cards. Finally, Irena tried to calm Ui down and not to move around too much as she hadn’t gotten used to her new replacement parts.
“Captain Koutetsujou, I have a theory,” Iroha said to Akima without moving her focus from the platoon. “Go on,” Akima replied as he lit his cigarette.
“The casualty of this war is much higher, the 3,000 that went into MIA are possibly dead.”
“What makes you think that, Iroha?”
“Our enemies might be some sort of mining machines. You saw the corpses of our enemies, didn’t you?” Iroha asked and Akima flipped the pages to the photos again.
“Yeah, it’s disgusting.”
“Carbon-based lifeform might’ve been mined, collected, and recycled. That would explain things such as why there are no plants, insects, or any corpses of humans who were left behind.”
“You mean, Harvesters eat people?”
“Us as well. We found remains of Nephilims’ Silicon Computing Storage Unit and other parts. Additionally, if you look at Infantry-Class Harvesters, they are made of human tissue-like material. There’s a reasonable possibility to suggest they were recycled. As far as we could tell, Harvester are only capable of close-range combat with their claws and teeth. This certainly would support the theory of them being some sort of mining machine, don’t you think?” Iroha looked at Akima. “You mean the Harvesters might have some sort of drones?” Akima responded to her theory with a question.
“Yeah… Drones…” Iroha agreed and looked saddened by his answer. She returned her attention to the bonfire, Akima wondered if he said something wrong.
“I wonder if I’m the same as them,” Iroha muttered. “If Nephilim Type-Bs’ Trinity system of Insintct, Moral, and Data modules are programmed to emulate a character of human irrationality, which as you can see in front of you, being lazy.” Iroha made her point by showing Akima her platoon members’ carefree behavior across the street. “And if at the moment, I who isn’t feeling lazy, aren’t I the same as them? The Harvesters?”
Akima was surprised by Iroha’s existential crisis, he paused and thought about what to say, but someone tapped on his shoulder.
“Akima, our ship(Hakuhou)’s chief engineer is calling for you,” Inaban told him.
“Huh? This hour? I was just about to get food.” Akim replied, he gave Inaban the documents and left for the harbor. Now it was just Inaban and Iroha.
“Well, about your report.” Inaban sat next to Iroha and began to speak.
“What are you hiding?” Iroha asked immediately.
“Well, what do you want to know?” Inaban replied as she put away the documents Akima had given her earlier.
“Harvesters, the name we gave them. It can’t be a coincidence. What were those shipwrecks? And why was my report about the Mimesis Harvester classified-” Iroha was interrupted by Inaban before she could finish asking.
“I don’t want to say this, but those are dangerous questions you’re asking. Question that would fail this operation.” Inaban warned her. To Iroha, Admiral Inaban cannot be trusted. But then, Inaban silently turned on her phone and showed her a picture of a children’s drawing. It showed creatures that had a striking resemblance to the Harvesters. Then she swiped to show another picture of an old PGRI research paper on synthetic humans. She swiped again to show rejected Aragami designs that never made it through prototype stages. Horrified by the implications, Iroha looked at Inaban, waiting for an answer.
“There’s a possibility that Harvesters-”
Before Inaban could finish, Ui dropped the dice and suddenly collapsed in the distance, Ashily and Irena were surprised as well. Iroha apologized to Inaban before heading toward the platoon to check out the situation.

-

Some say it's a digital location, some say it's under paradise, and some say it doesn't exist at all. Here they are, under the non-existent 11th tower of Da'at of the Student Council Sanctum. In this anomalous imaginary location, an important meeting was being held under the symbol of the forbidden fruit. Each member was standing on a cliff facing the central holographic sphere.
"From the surface heat sensors that Admiral Inaban had been sending out, we were able to locate the presumed Hive of the Unknowns, specifically the Harvester Strain of Aurea." Teresa Row reported to the director's council under her mask to conceal her identity.
“The Anterians had already arrived, but nothing much had changed in the Ras front. To create an opening for the Serbatijan front in Ras, we must diverge the enemy’s attention from Aurea. We must destroy the Megablaster Replica in Aurea, it is an obstacle in logistics.” A masked council member said as he looked at the monitor.
“Well, Inaban had the same idea as you, No.13” Teresa replied, then turned to the other side of the room. “Here are her proposals for the operation to take down the hive. Have a look, will you, No .1?” Teresa sent the file to the 1st Branch director with the fox mask. The 1st Branch Director let out a sigh before starting to read through the file. Next to Teresa, directly opposed to the 1st Branch Director, Eudokia with her mask on, carefully inspects the pictures and reports of the situation in Aurea. She felt something was missing from the reports.
The 1st Branch Director noticed Eudokia’s suspicion on the reports and immediately interrupted the silence. “Well, I approve of the plan, How about the others?” She raised her hand in a vote, and the others also followed in agreement. Eudokia was the last to cast her vote, the 1st Branch Director felt a glare from her.

After the long meeting, individual council members disappeared as the light that was shining on their spot was shut off one by one until there was only the princess and the fox mask left.
“What is the meaning of this, Kaguya?” Eudokia took off her mask and asked furiously as she showed her the Miraculum Density Detector Array’s mapping data. It showed two straight lines gradually having different wavelengths before one of them matched the other in the opposite and resulted in destructive interference.
“This lasted longer than 5 seconds, Kaguya. Why wasn’t this on the report?” Eudokia demanded an answer, but the 1st Branch Director simply turned away. Kaguya did not reply and turned off the lights.
The next moment, Eudokia found herself in the dark maze hall of mirrors in the basement of the Student Council Sanctum. The only light source was the lantern that Eudokia carried. Out of frustration, she threw the files onto the floor. Pina watched silently from the corner of the hall.

Punch It, Punk!

In the heart of ESSLIB PLC, amidst the sprawling corporate headquarters and bustling stock exchanges, there was a man named Richard Alden. He was the owner of AstraCorp, given over to him when his father passed away. It was a powerful company known for its ruthless pursuit of profit. However, Richard harboured a secret desire - to transform his company into a force for good.

It all began one fateful day when he visited a run-down orphanage in the heart of Endirinn. The sight of the underprivileged children, their eyes filled with hopelessness, moved him to tears. He decided it was time for AstraCorp to give back to the community.

Richard launched an ambitious philanthropic initiative called "Punch It, Punk!" It aimed to provide education, healthcare, and a better future for the city's most vulnerable residents. The name was unconventional, chosen to grab attention and defy corporate norms.

AstraCorp poured millions into building schools, clinics, and community centres. They sponsored scholarships, hired top-notch teachers, and provided free healthcare to thousands. The city praised Richard for his generosity, and he revelled in the newfound admiration.

Richard felt a sense of purpose he had never experienced before. Seeing the smiles on the children's faces and knowing that he was making a difference filled him with a profound sense of satisfaction. He believed he was on the right path, and his heart swelled with hope.

But as the company funnelled resources into philanthropy, shareholders grew restless, and board members questioned Richard's priorities. They perceived his altruistic endeavours as costing the company dearly, and stock prices plummeted.

Richard's initial enthusiasm began to wane as he faced mounting pressure from his shareholders and board members. He felt torn between his desire to help those in need and the responsibility he had to his company and its stakeholders. The stress weighed heavily on him.

Desperate to maintain his vision, Richard used his personal fortune to prop up AstraCorp's philanthropic efforts. He believed that the sacrifices were worth it, that he could revolutionize corporate responsibility. However, his determination put him on a collision course with his own company.

Richard's determination bordered on obsession. He couldn't bear the thought of abandoning the very people he had set out to help. He felt a growing sense of isolation as he clashed with those around him who prioritized profits over people. His sleepless nights and constant worry took a toll on his health.

As losses mounted, AstraCorp faced a hostile takeover bid from a rival corporation. Shareholders, concerned about their plummeting investments, voted overwhelmingly in favour of the acquisition. Richard fought fiercely to retain control, but he was outmanoeuvred.

Richard's world crumbled around him. The loss of his company, the very embodiment of his life's work, left him devastated. He felt betrayed by the shareholders and board members he had once considered allies. The sense of failure weighed on him like a boulder, and he struggled to find meaning in his life.

In the end, he lost not only the company he had built but also his personal fortune. AstraCorp, now under new management, swiftly dismantled the "Punch It, Punk!" initiative. The schools and clinics were closed, scholarships revoked, and the community centres left in disrepair.

Richard's spirit was broken. He watched helplessly as the legacy of his philanthropic dreams crumbled before his eyes. The sense of powerlessness and regret gnawed at him, and he sank into a deep depression.

Richard, once hailed as a philanthropic hero, was left with nothing. He had tried to punch corporate greed in the face but had been knocked out by the very system he sought to change.

As he stood atop the Lumina Sky Bridge, he couldn't help but hear the distant echoes of the children he had failed. The tragic tale served as a stark reminder that in the ruthless world of corporate power, noble intentions have no place. Richard, once a visionary with hope in his heart, had become a broken man, haunted by the dreams that had slipped through his fingers. He shed a tear as his foot stepped from the bridge, towards the inky black below.

Public RP

Gertbland Gazette #52 | Emergency Meeting Regarding Potentially Melted Town

The Pelvant council was hurriedly gathered yesterday night after its chairman, Samuline Goden, received one of the most imperative weather reports in history. During a late-night broadcast, the Pelvant NewsToday Now! channel reported that Salavé village had a high of above 55,000 degrees Celsius. Panicked viewers from around the country tried to contact citizens of Salavé; but unfortunately, no residents of the small, sleepy town returned their calls. Authorities were not allowed to enter, citing how the community may be considered a graveyard by the next day, and that it would not be respectful to disturb the probably-dead. In honor of those who may have been obliterated by the sheer power of the sun, Our Lady of Pelvant cathedral will be holding a special morning congregation in honor of those who may or may not have been lost. Now, as the morning passes, there is still no word from Salavé and people are fearing the worst. However, the original weatherman who reported the temperature comforts the nation in its time of need:

“What are you on about? There is no way in the world that a place can reach 55,000 degrees. That’s just a fact. Are you guys really joking? It was just a glitch on the screen! I just went along with it as a joke! You guys at the gazette should get your act together.”

NewsToday Now! Corp has yet to respond to the weatherman’s comforting words, but a recent tweeter post mourning the potential death of the three thousand inhabitants of the hamlet is still posted for others on the interweb to interact with and pay their respects.

In other news, Eloise DeChamp, a Con legislative candidate, has released her campaign advertisement for her district in Seltia. Like all campaign ads it is really boring, but Mrs. DeChamp added something special. The fifty second commercial included the champion goose from the 2022 Seltian Goose Competition: Marge “Margy” DeChamp. The cameo quickly became all the rage on Gertblander tweeter. Pollsters and analysts have already considered Eloise DeChamp as a likely winner in her district.