High School Soldier
Flags that can be bought on the side of the road make soldiers tremble

Nio could only see the endless white light.

“Don't catch up with me prematurely, Nio.”

Typical male voice – very Nio recognize – makes his left eye wide open. His father, speaking with a vague face as his eyes almost closed again due to the tiredness and pain he received.

Everyone was heard shouting for no apparent reason, even the entire fighting force was screaming as well.

“Please don't die, Hero of Hope. Rise up and defeat your enemies. There are many reasons for you to do all this. Everyone will know your struggle is the hardest. I'll keep watching you. So, keep living and do the fight with your own two hands.”

The female-type and unknown figure, with a very pretty face, was probably the most beautiful of all the women Nio had ever seen in his lifetime, speaking like that. The woman's plea sounded very sincere, and it felt like it would stab Nio in the heart if he didn't do it. But, Nio was completely aware of the limits of his strength if he had to deal with a powerful enemy.

Faintly, Nio could see the Hero of Rage roaring after the previous attack. As expected, Rio did not get any serious injuries at all, but somehow with her.

The back foot of Rio was stomped to the ground, then the imperfect Gate appeared as a way of retreating himself alone, aka leaving his subordinates who were still struggling.

Rio could not resist the 7.62mm projectile from the SS20 that Nio shot through his right arm, the pain he received greatly made Rio suffer. The wound that Nio caused now was the most painful of all the battle wounds that Rio got. And then, he saw that Nio was no longer moving.

He managed to escape, and Nio was still motionless standing firmly, with a hideous smiling face even though Nio's only eyes were closed.

Then, the Enraged Hero and the imperfect Gate he had raised vanished, returning to safety at the Alliance's central headquarters.

**

Everyone watched the events that Nio faced with their respective eyes, and the footage of the butterfly drone being released throughout the battlefield. Nio stood up, without moving a bit, with the bionic right arm split in half. Nio's robotic arm fell to the ground, then wriggled for a bit and finally ended up being scrap metal.

Although Nio's eyes were closed and his mouth was smiling faintly, everyone could feel that Nio was now wearing the expression of someone who had achieved the best victory of his life. Nio's smile was filled with strength, willpower, and determination.

Ah right too…

This is the ending that makes the soldier happy to fight.

“Nio..”

The voice of someone who was so soft, made Nio see a beautiful scenery that did not exist in Indonesia. Maybe now he's in the warrior's paradise.

Nio and the Enraged Hero had previously pulled the trigger together, but Nio was more precise and quickly a split second of firing. The slash of the projectile from a distance of 5 meters was much faster, and Rio failed to anticipate it even though he was ready to take out the Sham Magic to stop the speed of the projectile.

Rio froze in fear, though his Abinya Bullet managed to damage Nio's robot right arm, forcing him to retreat leaving his loyal soldiers behind.

In less than a second, the two were hit by a shot in their right arms.

“I'm sorry, but it looks like this struggle will be a little longer than expected.”.

Right after he said that, the girl in front of him vanished, and Nio's left eye opened wide. Time starts to go normal again.

He's not dead yet, a broken bionic hand won't kill him. After all, Rio had no idea what was behind the arm of Nio's combat uniform was a bionic arm that could be moved with the mind of its user. Nio forgot to roll up his sleeves.

Rio escaped, and the last attack in this battle was a huge explosion of high explosive cannonballs that flew dozens of unfortunate Alliance soldiers. The blasts of red-hot flames soared high, shrapnel shells spreading out in all directions in high speed, engulfing the Alliance forces that had been desperate in the flames.

Nio moved back, he could only see the dark forest that was now lit by the flames of a deadly battle, almost resembling hell. Meanwhile, the sun almost showed itself from where it had risen.

“Ah..”

The tears of some very familiar people were dripping endlessly.

All the girls, the male members of the 12th Team, and the Silent Assassins showed cries of happiness. Then, a drop of dew hit Nio's forehead, but Nio still could not cry.

“Now... Now our biggest enemy has lost, right?”

“Commander, are you okay?!”

“Commander, you fool!!!”

“Letnan Nio, good work!”

“Sorry, can not protect you, My Lord.” This saying comes from Edera, followed by the whole girl with a nod together.

There was a girl among the cheering crowd and a man in his 40s beside him, his whole body seemed to be emitting light. The two of them smiled, then the man gave his right thumb to Nio, making the young man smile sadly.

“Thank you, Mr..”.

Nio grabs a small ball of light – his father's form after returning to heaven – but both his hands only catch the air. He could only see his father's smile when he returned to where he should be, and was determined to continue fighting for all who needed him even though this hell called war tormented him greatly.

“You okay, Commander?”

Hendra and Hassan help Nio walk by holding his arm, on behalf of the entire 12th Team.

“I'm okay,” replied Nio while glancing at the rest of his bionic right arm that was cut off.

The ‘H’ duo of the 12th Team looked at the gloomy Nio who now returned only to have one arm. Then, another ‘H’, aka Herman sitting on a tree branch, watched over the whole person from there with some members of the Silent Killer.

“Now, please involve us in each of your fights.”

Nio smiled faintly in response to his vice-president's words.

“Maybe I can keep your promise, Hassan.”

And then, Hassan and Hendra both smiled at Nio's reply above, and Herman who had accidentally heard him raised his fist upwards, in reply to all the members of Team 12 and the Silent Killer.

“... Commander.”

Zefanya feels her duty is unlike any other team member, especially Nio.

“I can still stand in front of you, Zefanya. Of course I will still stand in front of all my members. I am the commander of Team 12.”

Nio has the task of leading and protecting everything to the end, even if someone to himself does not like anything he does, it is still his duty.

“…”

“!!!”

The entire crowd fell silent, and put on a face of great shock as Zefanya hugged Nio like a girl welcoming her lover's return from a deadly battle.

“You, Commander. Please, take care of yourself, don't let you die in vain!”

“But..see the positive side. We may be luckier than the millions of Alliance warriors out there.”

Sigiz had never done that with Nio, yet he was proud to have stolen one of Nio's first experiences.However, the other girls had yet to get a chance like Sigiz and Zefanya.

The Zefanya Deck felt so long, though so ordinary, that it made one unable to immediately understand what was happening.The battle had just ended, and the remnants of the Alliance forces were still putting up a desperate resistance.

Then, after Zefanya released all pent-up emotions, the entire warrior walked out of the forest. Nio's move faltered due to the fight.

Everyone chatted like high school friends on peaceful days.

“You are sure Miss Hevaz, let go of the traitor just like that when the conditions are very favorable to us?” ask Gita.

Hevaz replied, “No, I was actually very scared when dealing with the Hero of Hope. Killing opponents will be useless, the Alliance will definitely do various ways to summon another Hope Pahlawah after we kill Rio.”

All the warriors fighting in the forest walked back to the fortress, with calm faces after avoiding death.

“But, do you know. There are no better words than listening to the words of a jerk in the government if while crying say “Don't die, keep fighting for our country!” or “We beg you, keep fighting for the people”. For the first time, I was eager to hear the government's jerks pleading for the sake of the people, and not for their personal interests.”

Nio smirked, making him seem full of strength and mastery of battle fighters who only relied on his own strength and the help of his allies.

“Betul!!!”

All the Indonesian soldiers who heard Nio's words simultaneously replied like that.

The focus of all North Korean, Russian, Arevelk, and Yekirnovo soldiers shifted to Nio. Their hearts are once again fixated on the TNI's home country.

There is no calmness that everyone feels. If you have to describe it, that is the feeling of someone who has to fight for the dirty people in the country. Neither side could stop the young warriors, there were no words or threats to chain a savage beast like Nio.

Because according to the previous fighters they believed in until now, pride actually means being able to die for the sake of the country and loved ones, and willingly choose to go down that path. They know how precious a moment is and how difficult it is to achieve it.

As soon as the people came out of the forest, the first thing to be seen was Girinhi Fortress and the surrounding villages that were destroyed and consumed by the flames. Everyone was silent, no words were spoken.

A cloth measuring tens of meters, red and white, hoisted on a long stick by all TNI Gandiwa operators who fought in this battle. The color of the ‘suci’ flag may have faded, but it still makes the hearts of all Indonesian soldiers trepidation, he said, more precisely evoke a special feeling that makes them feel they have to protect the fabrics that can be purchased on the side of the road during the celebration of the national day.

That's how Indonesian fighters see their country. As long as Indonesia is not dead, all fighters will fight proudly, even if it means they are ordered to be killed by a ruthless enemy.

“See above the fortress!”

And then, all the soldiers who had finished the fight each looked up at the direction a TNI soldier pointed at.

In addition to the beautiful early morning sky at sunrise, everyone saw the flags of the Guild member states mounted on the five pillars of one side of the ruined Girinhi Fortress on several sides.

Again, no words were heard, except for the sound of birdsong and the warm atmosphere after the victory earlier this morning which was the background of the fluttering of the national flags of Indonesia, Russia, North Korea, Kingdom of Arevelk, and Yekirnovo.