A few days passed since then. After class, the children all head underground to begin their briefing for War Time. In Rossius' control room, their commander, Ivan Krosky took up the stand.

"Because of Jenock and Harness' attack, along with Bandit's invasion, Rossius has lost many of its soldiers." He explained. "While we reorganize our forces, we need you to devote yourselves to protecting Rose City."

"Yes, sir!"

As everyone else got prepared, two platoons stopped in their tracks to exchange pleasantries.

"Muraku-senpai! It's an honor to have the same mission as you today! May it go smoothly!"

"By protecting this land, we will secure Rossius' revival. Face this mission with care."

"Yes!"

~~~~~

"It is now the scheduled time. The Second World will now activate. All systems checked. War Time will begin in 180 seconds."

As always, two LBXs entered the craft carrier she prepared. But what they didn't realize at the time, was that only one would make it back after the mission.

~~~~~

"5... 4... 3... 2... 1... War Time, begin."

The craft took off and flew straight towards Rose City. All the units dropped and took their assigned positions around the fortress, while the mechanics flew back up to help the intel team survey the area.

It wasn't long until they could hear their commander yelling.

"Attention all units! Bandit has appeared! Be on guard!"

Something exploded. A quick scan told Muraku it was his junior's Gunther unit. Someone shot at his rifle, knocking him back. Luckily, his unit was still functioning.

Intel told him there were over 30 enemy units. Their commander's order came quickly after, and he did the first thing that came to his mind.

"Wataru! Use this!"

"Huh?" An all too familiar blade landed in his hands. "The Belial Edge?! Isn't this your favorite...?" He trailed off, realizing just how important this battle is to his senior. "I'll work my hardest!"

But it was a losing battle. From the many they had stationed, only 14 remained intact. And even then, only eight were able to continue fighting. Andrei Gregory's platoon, Muraku's platoon, and Wataru's.

With more and more becoming LOST, the numbers became too great for them to handle. Some got past the outer defenses and made it to the middle. And when they got there, they went after a single LBX.

The second she realized this, Hannah patched a line to her friend. "Nikolai! They're all after Wataru!"

"What? Why?!"

"I don't know! They just are!" She spotted the sixth platoon doing their best to keep Bandit distracted while her brother made a run for it. "Muraku-san probably told him to take the ESCAPE stance. Could you-"

"Say no more. Come on, Moskau!" The wheels at the bottom of his LBX drifted as he made a turn and sliced the enemies that were about to surround him. Moskau Blastrizer, an LBX created by customizing the leaked blueprints of Dot Blastrizer. He had only gotten a hold of it recently, but thanks to his mechanic, he was able to get used to it at a rather alarming rate. "Hold on, captain. The vanguard's coming!"

As soon as he arrived on the same side of the field as his leader, he found him engaged in battle with a Caliper unit. It kicked the Belial Edge out of his hands, but before he could rush down to help, Nikolai himself was ambushed by a couple of Gordos.

Muraku was unable to do anything as he was preoccupied by the infamous Gruxeon. Mikhail and Vanessa too were struggling to shield themselves from the small army advancing on them at the roof of the fortress.

The Caliper took the Belial Edge as Wataru did his best to get his LBX functioning properly again, but just as he managed to get up, it stabbed the Gunther unit. Not quite a Break Over, but he was still unable to move. It was then that another LBX appeared. It seemed that it had been cloaked the whole time and was waiting for precisely this moment.

Hannah watched helplessly from the craft carrier above as the phantom LBX pulled back its arm and lunged for the Gunther's chest, causing an explosion. That was it. Her brother is now LOST.

"The point has been captured. Ownership over Rose City will transfer from Rossius to Ezeldarm. Cease fighting immediately. All units under Rossius, please evacuate from the premises of Rose City."

"Ezeldarm?! This whole time, Ezeldarm was actually Bandit?!"

That was all they could hear from the moment they stepped out of their control pods. But none of it registered in her ears. Hannah went straight to her brother's side and gave him a hug. He was shaking, the rush of fear and disappointment coming in all at once. She gave her friend a look, and he immediately understood, stepping back and turning a certain Violet Devil around before his captain could notice him. The last thing he needed was his idol watching him cry.

~~~~~

A certain black-haired woman made her way to the teacher's office. She had been off-duty that day, but after hearing the details of War Time from her younger cousin, she couldn't sit still. Walking in, she found her superior already barking out complaints to the headmaster.

She shook her head, taking a seat far from the commotion. "Sure is lively today."

"Miss Levanov."

Niara Levanov, second in command of Rossius.

"Mister Kaidou. Miss Mito."

Kaidou Jin, substitute teacher and the commander of Harness.

Mito Reina, homeroom teacher and commander of Jenock.

They exchanged nods as they greet each other. Before she could ask how much had she missed, the door opened and in came the person they were all wondering about.

"What's all the fuss about?" Seredy Kreisler, commander of Ezeldarm. "I could hear you shouting from all the way down the hallway."

"Seredy Kreisler! What is the meaning of this?!" The commander of Rossius marched across the room. "To have a whole virtual country play along with your game of terrorism?! Despicable!"

"Is that really the case?" The shorter boy smiled confidently at him. "The battle in the Second World is a proxy war for the nations. It's not uncommon for a county to disguise some of its forces and have them work underground as terrorists."

"That's absurd! Your very actions are destroying the fabric of the Second World! I absolutely cannot accept this!"

"Seredy Kreisler." The headmaster finally spoke up. "As the headmaster, I recommend that you retire your position."

To everyone's surprised, the boy's smile only widened. "That's perfectly fine. I wouldn't be inconvenienced by that. But you will."

"...?"

"The Second World is a game of power, played behind closed doors by the leaders of the real world. The people of the world don't know this fact. And, of all things, they use clueless children to play this game for them." He walked to the center-front of the room, gaining everyone's attention. "If you were to forcibly dismiss me, I would reply by announcing this truth to the world. If the people knew of this, then both the Second World and all of Kamui Island would be abolished. If you're alright with that, then please go right ahead and fire me."

No one was able to respond.

"I'm glad to see that you understand. To avoid any other misunderstandings, let's hold off on our accusations until I openly provoke you."