A couple of weeks later, Stepan, David, and a couple of Ukrainian and American Marines were searching the abandoned battle torn streets and buildings of Irz Village. It's been 3 weeks since the attack on Staging Area.

"I can't believe it was abandoned," David said as he stepped over a dead body of a Cross Army knight.

"Me too. I'm still hoping we find some survivors. Or something." Stepan replied as he kept his eyes and ears open for any signs of life.

As the group continued their search, they came upon a house that looked to have been ransacked. Upon entering, they were met with a gruesome sight - bodies of human civilians, their throats slit, lying on the ground.

Stepan grimaced at the sight, his heart heavy with sorrow. "They didn't stand a chance."

David sighed, shaking his head in disgust. "It's a fucking mess."

They walked around and searched the empty house. Stepan noticed the bodies of a lamia mother and a lamia child. Or what's left of their top half.

"Hey, look at this," a US Marine called out to a Ukrainian Marine.

The Marine walked over and she saw what her American counterpart was looking at. "Jesus..."

"They cut them in half... Like animals." She muttered.

"The brass said they had no respect for demi-humans, did they?" The Marine said as he checked the bodies. The Ukrainian Marine shook her head.

"No. I'm just glad the others(URK) are not seeing this. This is fucking horrific." She responded as she felt bile rising in her throat.

"Yeah, no shit. The brass said that the Cross Army were fanatics and they will do anything to win and kill any and all non-humans for their 'god'. What a load of bullshit." The Marine spat out.

Stepan and David walked in.

"What's up, you guys see something?" David asked.

The Marines showed the demi-human bodies.

"Fucking hell..." David uttered.

Stepan didn't say anything, he just closed his eyes and looked away. He then walked out and went to a nearby building that said 'Guild' or whatever language it was. He went inside.

"Major!" David shouted as he went after him.

As Stepan and David walked around, the US and URK Marines followed.

Stepan noticed the corpses of the adventurers and more Cross Army knight corpses. What caught his eye was one in a priest outfit. He walked over and inspected the body.

"What's up, Major?" David asked as he looked over Stepan's shoulder.

Stepan didn't answer him, he was too engrossed on the body, "I think I realized what are considered their company/battalion commanders."

David and the other Marines looked at him confused.

"Their company and battalion commanders are dressed in the same clothing. This guy is a priest." Stepan said.

David and the other Marines looked at him and at the corpse.

"So they are priests then?" One of the Marines asked.

"Not quite," Stepan replied, "But they have the same symbols as their soldiers, just on different places. The company commanders are priest or even nuns, and the battalion commanders are either paladins or the apostles."

David and the others were taken aback, "Holy shit."

Stepan sighed and looked at the dead man again, "He's no older than 50. Bastard."

The US and URK Marines were a bit taken back.

"Well, I guess this explains the religious craze," David commented, "The higher-ups thought they were just a bunch of humanist."

"Yeah, well, now we know," Stepan said as he looked at the dead adventurers, "But this isn't helping."

A Ukrainian Marine radioman runs up to Stepan with urgency, "Майор, його генерал-майор Азаров. Він хоче звіт про село. [Major, its Major general Azarov. He wants a report of the village.]"

Stepan turned to the radioman and takes the radio, "Генерал-майор Азаров, це майор Кравчук. Село Ірз виглядає повністю покинутим. Ознак життя, крім трупів, немає. Ми знаходимо тіла мирних жителів, убитих напівлюдей і, здається, тіла авантюристів. Командирів рот і батальйонів Армії Хреста визначено як священиків і паладінів. Будемо шукати далі, можливо знайдемо щось корисне. [Major general Azarov, this is Major Kravchuk. Irz Village appears to be completely abandoned. There are no signs of life except for corpses. We are finding bodies of civilians, slain demi-humans, and what seem to be bodies of adventurers. Company and battalion commanders of the Cross Army have been identified as priests and paladins. We will continue to search further, perhaps we'll find something useful.]"

As Stepan conveyed the report to Major General Azarov, his voice remained steady despite the grim news he had to deliver. The radio crackled with static as he awaited a response from their superior officer.

After a brief pause, a voice came through the radio, the tone stern and authoritative, "Understood, Major Kravchuk. Continue with your search and report back with any significant findings. Be vigilant and exercise caution."

"Roger that, sir," Stepan replied crisply, acknowledging the orders.

With the communication concluded, Stepan handed the radio back to the Ukrainian Marine radioman. He turned to David and the rest of the group, his expression determined.

"Alright, let's keep moving. We need to search every inch of this village. There might still be survivors or valuable information that could aid us in our mission," Stepan instructed, his voice commanding.

David nodded in agreement, his gaze steely as he surveyed their surroundings. The other Marines followed suit, their resolve unwavering despite the horrors they had witnessed.

As they resumed their search through the desolate streets and buildings of Irz Village, Stepan couldn't shake the feeling of unease that lingered in the air. But he pushed aside his apprehension, focusing instead on the task at hand and the duty he owed to his comrades and the innocent lives lost in the wake of the Cross Army's brutality.

Meanwhile with Anthony, Itami, and Keith are matching through a forest with US and Japanese Marines and Soronox Union soldiers. Corpses dead and decaying Cross Army knights lay around.

"Damn, this is fucked up," Itami said as he kicked a body.

"I've seen worse," Keith said.

Anthony didn't say anything, he just looked on ahead. The other soldiers didn't say anything, the Japanese and US Marines were too busy checking the corpses for any loot.

"Any IDs?" Keith asked.

"No, just the symbol on their chest plate," Anthony said.

"Say, I feel a magical energy in this forest." Said a voice making a couple of soldiers including Keith to look at Anthony.

He lifts his plate carrier a bit as a Fairy from the Fairy Kingdom flew out it.

Keith raised an eyebrow seeing the Fairy, "What the? You guys are allied with fairies too?" He said towards the Japanese and US Marines.

A US Marine shrugged his shoulders.

"What's up?" Anthony said looking at the fairy.

"The magic I sensed earlier, it's not good. Like a Fairy has been injured. We should go there." The fairy spoke.

"Alright, let's check it out." Anthony said as he gestured for the group to follow.

The US and Japanese Marines along with Soronox Union soldiers followed him. They walked through the forest until they see a clearing. In the center was a small pool of water and a small fairy with an injured wing.

"A another... fairy...?" A US Marine muttered.

"She's hurt." Said another.

"Yeah, I can see that," Anthony replied.

"EEEEEHHH?! MORE HUMANS!?" A small but loud voice rang out startling the troops as they point their weapons at the source. It was the fairy with an injured wing, "PLEASE GET OUT IMMEDIATELY!! NOW!!!"

"Wah?"

"くそー。 彼女はうるさいです... [Shit. She's loud...]"

"Mas maingay siya sa asawa ko kapag nag-iibigan kami... [She's louder than my wife when we're making love...]"

'Fuck me, she's reminded me of my Drill Sgt. when I was 18.' Thought Anthony as the other fairies flew in due to the noise.

However, he and the other marines and soldiers noticed two major details between the fairies from the Fairy Kingdom and the fairies here.

1) These fairies here glow brightly that some have to shield their eyes when one gets close.

And 2).

"なぜ仏陀の名において彼らは裸なのでしょうか？ [Why in Buddha's name are they naked?]" Whispered Staff Sergeant, Akira Tomita to Sergeant Azuma Higashi.

"彼らは完全に裸ではありません。 生殖器部分だけが表示されていません。 [They're not full on naked. Just the reproductive parts aren't shown.]" Azuma whispered back.

"Ah. This must be the Fairy Garden." Whispered a female Dark Elf to Anthony.

He nodded as she continued explaining, "There's this treasure of the Fairy Queen." He raised an eyebrow. "Not ours. There's. Anyway, all the fairies here are born in the Spring of Light, where the treasure resides and they receive its protection."

"In other words its a very important object that should never be stolen." Itami said and looked around, "But I think it was stolen recently given how there's not a lot of light shining here."

Anthony and Keith crouch down towards the injured fairy as she backed away in fear as the Fairy with them flew down to check her wrounds. The other fairies around were both shocked and surprised to see her.

"Your... your from the Fairy Kingdom..." The injured fairy spoke in disbelief.

"That's right." The fairy from the Fairy Kingdom said, "We're not like these humans(Cross Army). We're here to help." She looks at the wound, "It seems like two of your four wings on your right side of your back have been ripped off. Hmmm, and you or someone else used magic to try and heal and reattach it. Bad idea." She muttered.

"What are you talking about?" Keith asked.

"When you rip off a wing, the fairy's lifespan is shortened to the amount of time it would have taken the wing to fully mature. Which is 1 year per wing." The fairy explained.

"So..." Itami trailed off.

"This girl is going to need your type of medical healing to fix this. That way, her lifespan will be back to normal." She said.

"I have a potion. Will it work?" Keith asked.

The Fairy Kingdom fairy looks at him and shakes her head.

"No potions." She looks at one of the Japanese Corpsman(Marine Medic), "Hey you." The Corpsman pointed to herself and she nods, "Come here and take out your medical kit. You're gonna have to help patch her up." She does what she asks.

"I got this. I got this." She mutters and goes over.

"Hey there. I'm Staff Sergeant, Mari Kurokawa. Alright, I'll have to put your wing back onto your back and make sure its not crooked or infected." The injured fairy didn't say anything and just looked on, "Alright, here I go." She said as she began her work.

"So, what happened here?" Itami asked.

"More like, is THIS the Fairy Garden or a new location? Because we passed by a massive crater that's still smoking." Anthony said.

"We're at the outskirts of the former one." A different Fairy said.

"'Former one'?" A soldier asked.

"It was destroyed. All the fairies that were still near it were slaughtered and the Queen's Treasure was stolen by a half beas-human half fairy." Another fairy said.

"Half human half fairy?" A US Marine muttered and spoke to his fellow Marine, "So does that mean some guy fucked a fairy or some chick fucked one. Because either one would be a big surprise. And not in a good way."

The other marine just shrugged, "Fuck if I know."

"Wait, a half-fairy?" Anthony asked, "I've never seen any such before. She has a name? Where is she?"

"Her name is Lily." A third fairy said.

"Yeah, and last we heard she went to the settlement of Irz. Which is where a lot of explosions were happening. And now there's not a lot of explosions anymore." A fourth fairy said.

"Just got word from Stepan and David. They said that the place is empty but plenty of bodies of both Crossies and civvies." Itami said to Anthony and Keith.

"Shit." Keith muttered.

"Okay, all done. And it looks like its working." Kurokawa said as the injured fairy's wings began to glow brighter.

"Yay! Even though your a human. Thank you very much!" She shouted as she flew up, "Oh, and sorry about being loud earlier."

"I don't mind. We understand. And it's a pleasure to be of service." She said.

The fairies began talking amongst themselves while the other troops were checking the dead.

"You said a half-fairy is the one who stole the treasure?" Keith asked and the fairies nodded, "Well, shit. If we can catch her, that means we'll be able to have more information and maybe a way to return the treasure to you guys."

Anthony listened intently as Keith proposed the idea of capturing Lily to gather more information and potentially return the stolen treasure to the fairies. It was a plan that resonated with their sense of duty and justice, a chance to make amends for the atrocities that had transpired.

"I agree," Anthony stated firmly, his gaze determined, "Capturing Lily could provide us with valuable insights into what happened at the Fairy Garden and how we can help rectify the situation. It won't be easy, but it's worth pursuing."

Keith nodded in agreement, his expression resolute, "Agreed. We'll need to coordinate with Stepan, David, and the others to track down Lily and bring her to justice."

Itami chimed in, his voice determined, "Let's make it happen. We owe it to the fairies and to all those who have suffered at the hands of the Cross Army."

With a shared sense of purpose, the troops rallied together, ready to embark on their next mission. Amidst the chaos and devastation of war, they remained steadfast in their commitment to uphold justice and protect the innocent, no matter the challenges they may face.

As the troops continued their conversation with the fairies, the idea of tracking down Lily, the half-fairy responsible for stealing the Fairy Queen's Treasure, began to take shape in their minds. Itami, Anthony, and Keith exchanged determined looks, realizing the importance of their mission not only for the fairies but also for the stability of the region.

"We need to find this Lily and recover the stolen treasure," Anthony asserted, his voice firm with resolve. "It's not just about justice for the fairies; it's about preventing further chaos and conflict."

Itami nodded in agreement, his expression echoing Anthony's determination. "Agreed. Lily's actions have undoubtedly caused turmoil, and we can't allow her to continue unchecked. We must act swiftly to bring her to justice and restore order."

Keith, his gaze steely, added, "But we need to approach this carefully. Lily may be elusive, and we must consider the potential consequences of our actions. We don't want to escalate tensions further or put innocent lives at risk."

Anthony considered Keith's words before responding, "You're right. We need to proceed with caution and gather as much information as possible before making any moves. Lily may have allies or hidden motives we're not aware of. We'll need to be prepared for anything."

With a plan beginning to take shape, the troops turned their attention back to the fairies, seeking any additional insights or guidance they could provide. As they prepared to embark on their mission to track down Lily and recover the stolen treasure, they knew that the road ahead would be fraught with challenges. But with their determination and unity, they were ready to face whatever obstacles stood in their way.