A Helping Hand

The Aerial Knights Squadron had first been deployed in the campaign against the demon incursion. They proved their worth in delivering valuable scouting information and it was because of them that the army was able to keep track of the demon positions. The aircraft had been exposed to a real combat situation and their performance had been excellent.

Now, it was time for the aircraft to receive an upgrade. In the beginning, aircraft had only been used for scouting and had no fighting capability. The reason was because machine guns had not yet been added onto the planes. However, that problem was now being remedied. A machine gun was now to be added to the front of the plane to be operated by the pilot.

One of the main problems with adding the gun to the plane was that the bullets might end up hitting the propeller. The team working on the aircraft had to develop a mechanism to stop the gun from firing when the propeller was in the way. It took a couple of weeks for the synchronization gear to be perfected, but now that it was done the planes could now shoot bullets rapidly. The stage was set for an aerial fight.

Merem was chosen, along with four others, to be the team to go on the mission. They had shown themselves to be skilled and they were the best the squadron had to offer. Merem was quite nervous as it seemed that this mission would be even more dangerous than the one before, and he almost died then.

The five of them were standing there, waiting for the king to tell them what their task was. Finally, Roland entered.

"You five have been chosen because you have demonstrated a high level of competency in aircraft piloting." Roland motioned toward the group. "As a result, you will be sent on a mission to strike at the demons. Your aircraft have been modified to include a machine gun in the front. You can use the machine gun to shoot the demons in front of you."

Merem was quite pleased with the new addition, as now he wouldn't end up defenseless while Devilbeasts pursued him. That had been a harrowing experience.

Roland began outlining their task. "You five will fly above the demon base at Taquila and draw out their Devilbeasts. Once they emerge, you are to engage them in battle to kill as many of them as you can. This will be an important part of our plan as taking control of the skies will allow us to control the battlefield."

Merem was excited. He couldn't wait to begin.

"But first, you will have to practice", Roland said. "We will have targets set up for you all to practice shooting while flying. You five also need to practice coordinating with each other so you don't end up shooting one another."

It took several days of practice, and a few close calls, before they were ready. It was a bright sunny day with clear skies and no wind. It was the perfect day for flying.

The planes were ready on the runway and they launched, heading in the direction of the demon base at Taquila. The five of them approached in formation and as they got closer, they could see swarms of Devilbeasts rising up to intercept them.

Merem was excited. It was finally time for him to strike back against the demons. He could see the demons getting closer and closer and becoming clearer in his view.

Finally, they were in range. The planes began firing, shooting hundreds of rounds at the approaching demons. It looked as though flames were coming out of the nose of the plane. The initial burst of gunfire caught the demons off guard. They had not expected there to be guns atop the planes and as a result they had not been prepared for the attack. The large group of Devilbeasts were quite clumped up and as a result the machine gun fire was able to kill huge amounts of demons

However, the demons began adapting. They began splitting up to make it harder for them to be targeted by the machine guns. They also flew somewhat irregularly to make it harder to aim at them. The Devilbeasts were now spread out over a large area and they began moving in to attack the planes.

Merem watched as several Devilbeasts approached. The range at which the Mad Demons on the Devilbeasts could throw their spears was much lower than the range on Merem's gun. A quick burst of gunfire took out one, and then he quickly turned to shoot down another Devilbeast.

By this time, his plane had gotten quite close the remaining Devilbeasts who were about ready to counterattack. Merem quickly had the plane pull a turn and he zoomed to the side of those Devilbeasts, leaving them behind.

Merem quickly spotted yet more Devilbeasts ahead. He once again began firing, taking several of them out before he pulled away. The spears of the Mad Demons fell to the ground before they could reach him.

After killing several groups of Devilbeasts, he found himself being surrounded by a group of them, who had gotten quite close. As the Mad Demons began swelling up their arms to throw their spears, Merem pulled the nose of the plane up and the plane quickly shot up in a steep climb. The pursuing Devilbeasts all reached the point under the plane, only to have no target.

The plane soon leveled off and Merem turned and took the plane into a dive toward the group of Devilbeasts. He began firing into the group, killing a large number of them. The group scattered as he came down and he turned his plane to pursue some of the survivors.

After picking off a few more Devilbeasts, he spotted another plane in the distance which was being chased by a group of Devilbeasts. Merem turned in that direction to intercept them from the side. As he approached, he began firing while turning his plane slightly. The shots ripped through the line of Devilbeasts, killing many of them. As the Devilbeasts turned to give Merem their attention, the other plane swooped back around and killed the remainder.

After several minutes of a fruitless chase, the surviving Devilbeasts retreated and returned to the ground. With no more targets left, the five planes headed back and landed on the runway. They had returned from a highly successful mission.

After landing, the five pilots were greeted by Roland who awarded all of them with a medal. Merem, with the best performance, received an additional medal for being an ace pilot. He had killed 48 Devilbeasts during the battle.