A man with shiny blonde hair dressed in Imperia's officer uniform was accompanied by a taller male with white hair in the same uniform but colored white instead of the default blue. They quickly paced through the wide hallway, light shining in from the stained glass beside them which illuminated the white hallway in light shades of blue, red and green.

"Interested in catching your sister I see." The white haired male said while wearing a smug expression.

The blonde beside him furrowed his brow "Not only that, I'm annoyed that you tried to use her as one of the test subjects."

"She displayed great capability with EXover material, Kaga. It's only reasonable to use her to further our goals."

Kaga came to a sudden stop and pointed at the white haired male. "I was promised that my sister would remain out of this war. I overlooked the children you captured for this experiment." He dug his finger into the man's chest "However, I will not overlook my sister being used as a tool. This war and experiment isn't as important as she is to me, Warui."

Warui grabbed Kaga's finger "I think you're forgetting who you're addressing." He began to twist his finger back which caused Kaga to wince in harsh pain.

"We cannot afford to lose this war. This experiment must be finished at all cost so we can wipe out magic from all over the world. You think that'll be easy once we defeat the TGA? No! We're lucky the French haven't chosen a side and remain away while we're fighting." He released his grasp from Kaga, now kneeling and holding his injured hand in pain.

Warui continued walking, "You know what'll happen if you bring your sister back here and if you don't then I will." He stopped and turned his head. "And if I have to then I'll gladly dispose of you."

"Grk!" Kaga averted his eyes away from Warui's. Weakly he responded, "Y-yes sir..!"

"Good." Warui left Kaga to wallow under the light from the stained glass.

》》》》》◆《《《《《

The snow lightened up and the clouds parted allowing sunlight to shine down on Amelia's group. They traveled along a broken bridge which was a battlefield previously. Full of cracks and held together by the thin steel frames. Tanks and damaged supplies were left behind on this road towards Imperia. Bodies were charred from flames and thunder alike and supplies were left scattered. Upon closer inspection of the tanks, Mikael determined that it was practically a one sided battle…

"They were torn to ribbons by magic. Imperia didn't suffer as many casualties." He crossed his arms. What the green haired girl said held some truth. The TGA were held down by their own rules of warfare; no use of magic in war. But who the hell would listen to that?

Imperia had power not the TGA, so it only made sense that they would use it to crush the opposition. Without magic… was it possible for humans to do anything?

Mark continued moving, "That's a loaded question."

"Nothin' loaded about it. All signs point to magic being the path towards the future. It would be stupid to not take the obvious path." Mikael shot back.

"What about the people who lack magic? Imperia was founded on a rejection of magic. Their acceptance of it now is strange." Mark said.

Amelia interjected into their debate with a rather off topic question, "Mark, when we fought the cardinal I saw that your bullets bounced off the snow. Was that not magic? It had to be..!"

Mark nodded, finally someone had noticed, he thought. "That was my EXover ability. I use my mind to ricochet bullets off any surface, with that skill I'm able to trick my opponents easily."

"EXover…" Mikael trailed off. "Just what are they?"

"Extra overs have psychic powers, or so I was told. Each EXover has different abilities that manifest for them." Mark then frowned, "There aren't many of us though. The only other EXovers I know of besides Midare, a girl named Akari and a child that died long ago."

"..." Amelia stayed silent to herself, something Mikael picked up on but didn't want to point out.

"What I know is probably outdated since I've been dead for quite some time. I wouldn't worry about encountering an EXover since I'm the only one here now." Mark finished.

After finishing their cross on the bridge, they were on a clear trail that led to a train station captured by the TGA much to their surprise. Despite the heavy losses on the bridge, they had won that battle and taken one of the trade outposts that delivered supplies up to Imperia.

The badge Mikael had would've come in handy about now…

He wasn't recognized by anyone despite his out of place cowboy look. They were approached by a TGA soldier questioning their appearance in the station. "That uniform is Imperia's but… you don't look like a soldier of theirs." The TGA soldier placed his hand on his holstered pistol "So explain your presence."

"We're with the church in Imperia." Amelia clasped her hands together "We need to get back to help our friends. They're still in the city and if it becomes a battlefield then…"

"Sorry but we can't let you civilians go. It is too dangerous." The TGA soldier said. Mikael unsheathed his sword "We're capable of defending ourselves if needed."

Amelia lifted her finger and ignited the tip with a purple flame. "With guns and magic! We just need a ride up there."

The TGA soldier rubbed his chin. "Hmm Alright. You can hold your own however we're in a bit of a dilemma."

The soldier explained to them that the train passes through another station, a checkpoint, before reaching the city. They're afraid that the station might be guarded or rigged with a trap set for their arrival. Right now they were deep in enemy territory and were awaiting reinforcements before making a decision.

Since they needed help, Amelia jumped on the offer, "We want this war to end peacefully so let us lend a hand. We'll take the train and investigate for traps."

The TGA soldier groaned "That's practically suicide lady. I don't want to send you on a life or death mission. Tell you what, you can take a route from a local mine shaft we found." He dug deep in his coat pocket and unfolded a partially worn out map of the surrounding area. An 'X' marked the area of where the mines began but it wasn't fully sketched out since they were holding back from an assault with minimal forces.

Mikael took the map "Thank you sir! Give us a day to search the checkpoint station. We're pretty fast."

"You know this means more walking." Mark said which made Mikael drop his head in defeat.

The TGA soldier turned and pointed at nearby snowmobiles they could use. They were low on gas and useless to them at this point. "You can use that to get to the entrance of the mines. It'll save you the long walk."

"Aw yeah! That'll come in handy." Mikael grinned.

Amelia bowed towards the soldier "Aah, thank you so much. We're forever in your debt."

The soldier was a bit embarrassed by her kindness and scratched his head "Don't mention it. I'm all for ending this war as peacefully as we can."

Night rolled in while they were on the ride. Mikael had his own snowmobile while Mark and Amelia shared one. Silence was setting in.

"Amelia…"

"Yes..?"

Mark looked back at Amelia who was holding onto his waist. "I'm a bit interested in what that cardinal who attacked us had to say about your family."

Amelia let out a sigh "You want to know about my dad's 'crimes' don't you?"

Mark raised an eyebrow "Not only that. You know about Midare and I so… tell me more about yourself."

Amelia paused briefly. She put on a fake smile to hide the sorrow in her eyes, "My family were nobles among the vampires and were granted special status while we lived in France. Reanne took care of us since we weren't like other rushè. Eventually my family found out the cruel things she was doing to us vampires behind closed door..."

"Everyone's mad at my parents because they were eventually forced to help kill all the vampires that were popping up in France. And about the crimes against the whole world, well… I can't even remember. All I remember is being rushed out of my home before it was raided."

Mark looked up, "Do you feel the burden of your father's actions?"

"I shouldn't be blamed for my father's sins. He was forced to kill all those vampires too. I don't even know why." Amelia replied. There were too many gaps in her memory and fake memories tried to implant itself in the holes but she knew none were true because they made too much sense. Her eyelids eventually grew heavy and she drifted off to sleep, hoping a dream would point her in the right direction.

Their ride didn't last too long and since Amelia was the first to fall asleep, Mikael and Mark decided to set up camp at the entrance of the mines. They would start at the crack of dawn.

》》》》》◆《《《《《

Imperia HQ representing holy…

"This war is not just a war. This war is not just a battle of ideologies. This is a divine decree given to us by God."

"Some might say this is the long awaited holy war. I believe it so. After the despair brought to the world previously, our rapture is in this moment. God's plan is for Imperia to win..!"

Warui stepped into the cathedral's lobby from the dark halls. The polished floor was so pure that it reflected the ceiling giving the roof a yellow holy glow that was a sight for the many civilians and soldiers alike. This served as the center of Imperia, the heart of the entire city located near the top of the mountain. In the center of the lobby were several individuals who were called upon by Warui. These individuals, known as cardinals, were the top in command for their abilities and devotion to God and sought to win the war in his name. For it was God's plan that they would succeed even if it meant severe casualties.

Dressed casually in a black and red letterman jacket and jeans, a checkered red hat was a male with a feminine appearance. His white hair curly at the ends and front bangs covered his right blue eye. He was rubbing his chin in thought similarly to Warui coming up with a strategic way to capture a certain girl, a saint if some might consider. But to this group she was as much a heretic to their cause as the TGA, running off with their tools of destruction meant to end the war and if these tools were to be given to a so-called 'war hero' then the atrocities will grow ever more vast.

"Clarette certainly knows her way around our soldiers. None of my forces have spotted even a trace of her." A tall purple haired woman with hair so long it nearly touched the ground said. Her eye pupils were in the shape of a star and darker than a black hole, an emotionless unwavering gaze, just like Warui's cause.

A flamboyant man with a flower attached to his uniform let out a heartfelt sigh, flipping his split bangs as he did so "I pray she hasn't fallen to the rain of warfare. Her beauty, wasted and ravaged much like the lands. If any of you manage to catch her however, please do send her my way."

"We don't have time for your antics Jean Forde." the woman grimaced.

"It'd be a tragedy for one of your army men to accidentally shoot her down, Kurai." Jean retorted.

"What say you to this, Cynthia?" The red haired male said, pointing to their standoffish member in purple and black. She was shorter than the rest of the cardinals, wearing the standard Imperia officer uniform. Adjusting her collar, she shrugged at the question.

"Sounds like a big mess. I'll leave that issue to y'all." she rolled her eyes.

"Cynthia has her own problems like that TGA commander, Ibuki was it?" A woman wearing a dark blue victorian era dress complete with a hat and veil that nearly covered her hazel eyes. She tapped the cane she wielded on the ground once after getting a confirmation for her assumption "Indeed a strategic battle between intellectuals shouldn't be interrupted. I suggest we leave Cynthia out of this for now."

"Then maybe we should take a different approach to capturing Miss Clarette. She is becoming much of a distraction to our goals." Jean's point was agreed upon by the other cardinals. Warui crossed his arms and chuckled,

"So it seems. Then leave her to me for now and focus your efforts on preventing the TGA from reaching the first triad. If we can push them out of our borders then we'll be free to make our push to Mariellir and ask for their assistance in taking all of Japan."

With their small meeting over they split all in separate directions to focus on their individual goals. All had their own idealized vision of what they wanted the world to be after the war.