Summoning Our Country - NHS Kai

Chapter 13.5: Fox One!

Note: This is rose. Hopefully the title didn't give away what this chapter will be. After this chapter would be a mainline, not-0.5 chapter. You'll have to wait just a bit more before we could return to Japan as the Gra Valkas Empire's introduction nears its end. Have a rose ✿

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April 19, 2022 NOTE: This is to serve as a notice that this chapter is due for minor revisions. Any information mentioned here will soon be obsolete and I highly encourage rereading this chapter again in the future once the rewrite has been released.

Aircraft carrier Drachen, FZT.

Winds picked up from the southwest as clouds began to gather. The high winds prompted the creation of high waves that rocked the carrier back and forth. The weather wasn't optimal, but it was by no means terrible. If anything, not even this slight hiccup in the weather would prevent them from putting their operation into action. One of the pilots, Oberstleutnant Anton Leitz, was in his single-seater Ma-67 "Jauchzer" jet fighter, which was already being prepared for taking off. After the crews attached the jet to the catapult, the blast deflector behind his jet raised before Anton's jet roared to life. Swinging his head to the left, he saw his friend, Oberstleutnant Joachim Weber, piloting a similar fighter, ready for takeoff as well. Signing to the flight director that he was ready, the flight director then turned and stretched out his arms forward, signaling the jet's takeoff to everyone. A moment later, Anton felt a great tug pulling him forward as inertia dictated that he remain in place. His fighter was propelled by the catapult at an impressive speed through the Drachen's flight deck before releasing the jet to fly on its own power. Now clear of the deck, Anton slowly pulled up as he disengaged the landing gear. Some seconds after he was propelled into the air, his friend too was then launched into the air.

15 minutes later

After his entire squadron had taken off from the Drachen, they flew in formation ahead of the attack aircraft squadrons. The Gra Valkan Navy fighters, cruising at an altitude of 5,000 m with a speed of 850 km/h, headed northeast towards their targets. The clouds were seemingly endless, and visibility was close to terribly poor. Still, even this won't stop them from proceeding with their attack. Anton surveyed his surroundings, content with the peace and calm and wishing that it would stay the same. However, he himself knew that this wouldn't last. Feeling drowsy, he yawned. When he opened his eyes, he expected to see the same endless cloud cover. However...

"Huh?"

Unfolding before him was a blood-red sky devoid of features and of the cloud cover that was once there. With a dark crimson light shining on his cockpit, he looked around him only to see the ocean below him tinted black. The ocean surface was featureless as well and empty of any noticeable, crashing, white waves. Seeing the scenery, he could only assume that he was now somewhere in the underworld.

No no... Take me back!

The sight of the crimson skies scared Anton to the core. As a superstitious person himself, he interpreted what he was seeing as a dreadful omen and associated it with death. Feeling his heart race from the sinister unfamiliarity of his surroundings, he instinctively closed his eyes. When he opened them again...

"What the?"

The dark, gray clouds were back. The puffiness of the clouds of water vapor was more than welcome sight, despite the fact that visibility was still poor. Looking down, he could see the dark ocean dyed a familiar dark blue. He could now make out individual waves on its surface.

"Got a problem, Kapitel-08?"

His comms roared to life. It was his senior who led their squadron. Shaking his head to try and get himself out of drowsiness upon which he blamed his hallucinations, he replied to him.