City Series:Volume6b Chapter7

Chapter 7: The Wheel Soars

07/29/1939 00:31 – 00:59

Everyone begins to run

I join them

But not to follow them

To reach what it is I desire

European Tuning and Busting

European Tuning and Busting is a fusion of European emblemology with the Wuxing philosophy brought over from the East, so its character differs somewhat from Eastern Tuning and Busting. It is systemized, it has a clear goal, and most of its uses fall into one of two categories: casting or combat.

Borderson remained the leading family for nearly 1000 years, but most of them were killed by Heidengeists in ’21 and they lost their base near the Black Forest in the south. The head of the family, Reichle Borderson, was effectively lost in ’33, bringing an end to the direct bloodline. The Borderson territory was lost and all that remains of them are the hidden villages that shelter the very same Heidengeists the family once hunted. Those villages located across Germany are the only place in the country where Heidengeists are allowed to live and they act as sanctuaries where all conflict is forbidden.

The Maldrick family took the title of leading Buster family due to their bloodline and abilities, but Alfred Maldrick, the second son, showed greater ability in hunting dragons and other Buster activities than the actual heir, so they still have not properly established their position even now in ’39.

Part 1

The shipyard to the west of the base was covered by the Globe Protect ether shield created by the AIF.

The shipyard’s ceiling barrier was closed beneath that 300-yard glowing hemisphere. It was shut to protect the ships within, but that meant the AIF had complete control of the area above it.

The AIF’s main force of Glossolalians stood on the edge of the ceiling barrier, firing on the base guards attempting to surround them. Others spread out to important points along the road to secure an escape route.

They were all focused on the top of the ceiling barrier.

Several large emblem charms were attached to the seam in the metal barrier. They were known as Lock Charms and commonly used in construction and for mooring ships. They only worked with gravity in a single direction, but they would activate on a surface to hold two objects together.

That barrier could not be opened from the inside or outside.

The top of the barrier was essentially a giant plaza now and a 3-yard Tune Emblem was being drawn there. The circular emblem accelerated and processed the Lives in the air.

It was being drawn by four young men in AIF uniforms.

An old man in the same uniform stood in the center with a sword Device at the ready. Once the emblem was complete, he would strike it with the sword to activate it.

High-purity Phlogiston stolen from the Vaterland was being emitted into the shipyard below the barrier. It was pure enough that the moonlight alone was enough for it to go berserk.

As is, it would react to the surrounding space and detonate, but by igniting it with the Tune Emblem above, the barrier would become a giant oven.

That was why they worked so hard to protect that barrier.

Then a sound erupted in the western sky.

They all briefly looked up beyond the thin defensive light surrounding them, where something was happening on the western side of that ether shield.

They saw a continual eruption of sparks and smoke.

Something like large artillery shells were flying in from the west.

The Emblem Master on the west spread his arms and reinforced the shield there.

The shellfire continued. The western side of the shield glowed white with heat as the hits continued.

Conservation of energy sent the force of the blows back to the caster. Shields like this did not eliminate the damage – they distributed it. If an impact could not be distributed, either the shield would shatter or the damage would reach the caster.

The nails were stripped from the westmost young man’s spread fingers, blood spraying.

“––––!”

But he held his position. The shellfire stopped, the overheating settled down, and the shield’s glow returned to its original color.

The four young men working in the center of the barrier jumped out from the center.

They had finished drawing out the Tune Emblem.

Only the sword-wielding old man still stood in the center.

He raised the sword straight overhead.

A beam of light extended skyward.

But then something went wrong.

A sound much like shattering glass, came from directly above.

The puzzling sound was high-pitched yet quiet as it spilled down.

“…?”

Everyone looked up within the sounds of gunfire and blowing wind.

They all saw what had caused the sound.

A hole had appeared in the sky. A 5-yard circle had opened at the very top of the shield, like someone had scooped out a chunk with a spoon.

The shield had been destroyed.

“!?”

The Emblem Masters’ confusion was interrupted by a single sound and a single Text bursting through that hole.

The sound was the reverberation of a great mass soaring through the sky.

The Text was as follows:

<Nothing can obstruct the Hero’s vision.>

Something shaped like a black dragon passed above that hole revealing the scarlet night sky.

But that was not all. They all saw a light drop down from the object.

The light was a line of silver. It descended along a line so straight it could be called meticulous.

It was a person – a young man in military pants and a combat vest, his long brown hair fluttering in the wind of his descent and a silver sword held aloft.

His descent was accompanied by a greeting.

“The Kaiser Schwert has arrived!”

Part 2

Alfred used the force of his landing to attack the old man standing in the center of the ceiling barrier.

Rein König’s blade cleaved him in two, from head to groin. It met no resistance and even the sound of the cut was drowned out by the wind created by his landing.

Everyone’s eyes were on him as he leisurely stood up at the barrier’s center.

“…”

The corpse thudded onto the barrier and the blood sprayed out.

The liquid sounded more solid than liquid as it hit the barrier, burst, and spread out into a puddle. The new color blotted out the Tune Emblem below it.

The Glossolalian elites did not move an inch in response.

The only movement came from the one human. Alfred finished standing up and rested Rein König on his shoulder.

He brushed his hair up with his left hand and spoke without even giving the corpse a glance.

“Let’s have some fun, shall we?”

He took a look around him just as the ether shield vanished.

The Emblem Masters fell back while the soldiers they had been protecting advanced. They were large, but they were more than just hulking muscle – they were well-trained soldiers.

The six of them faced Alfred, each with a submachinegun in their left arm.

He could see their killer intent.

“Ooh, I like the color of your killer intent. That’s what I’m looking for in a Heidengeist.” He smiled. “Did your Emblem Masters fall back to begin on Plan B? Securing an escape route, perhaps? …You thought this through. But I have just one thing to say to that.” He lowered Rein König from his shoulder and relaxed his right arm, letting it fall limply at his side. “Die.”

He turned his body to the left and suddenly swung his right hand.

The result was more a groan of agony than a scream. Something strange was sticking into the mouth of the soldier he was now facing: a sword’s hilt.

And something strange had grown from the back of the soldier’s head: a sword’s blade.

“A little prick from Rein König isn’t enough to slay a big, strong Heidengeist like you, so don’t act so surprised.”

Alfred shifted his gaze further left and took off running. He sprinted not toward the soldier stabbed with Rein König, but toward the one standing to that soldier’s left.

He was fast and his feet pounded loud on the metal barrier as they carried him forward. He bent like a bow, and…

“!”

He accelerated to reach his opponent in the blink of an eye.

The soldier had been briefly distracted by the sword thrown to his left.

That proved fatal.

He noticed Alfred’s approach and attempted to aim the submachinegun in his left hand, but Alfred grabbed the barrel before he could.

Realizing the gun was now aimed at a distant ally well behind Alfred, the soldier chose not to pull the trigger, let go of the gun altogether, and leaped backwards.

Alfred tossed the submachinegun into the air and pursued his enemy.

He tapped the bottom of his vest and a dagger wrapped in a sticky light dropped blade first.

He snatched it from the air and ran forward.

While the soldier leaped back, he formed a symbol with his right hand’s fingers, pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket with his left hand, and opened his mouth.

Alfred swung his dagger first.

It sliced through the air, but the soldier holding the parchment was uninjured. The momentum of swinging the dagger spun Alfred around, showing his back, so the soldier pointed his right hand’s symbol toward him and shouted the text on the parchment.

“–––––!”

Except his voice would not come. Noticing something was wrong, he held his throat.

Alfred completed a full rotation and extended his left hand toward his foe.

“Here, you can have your throat’s Horn back.”

He tossed over a small bone resembling a spiral shell.

While it was in the air, he threw a left roundhouse kick into the soldier’s right knee.

The soldier’s knee bent the wrong way with a sickening crunch.

The thrown Horn hit the collapsed soldier in the chest and bounced off.

“What, you don’t want it?”

Alfred sounded a bit surprised as he put the dagger back below his vest and pulled out something else. It was a metal tube measuring about a foot long.

“This is a new invention of ours. It launches a piece of sacred wood. We call it a Panzer Reinigung.”

He pressed it against his collapsing opponent’s chest and pressed the button on the side.

A sound of bursting gunpowder and a puff of smoke burst from the back end and the soldier’s body convulsed. His body was even larger than Alfred’s, but it arched back and shook.

There was no scream. He simply broke.

His entire body trembled and turned to layers of bluish-white ether light, leaving his clothing behind.

It was like a humanoid pile of papers.

Before he could take another breath, he burned away, starting from the feet.

This process of Ashing was unique to Heidengeists.

But Alfred did not bother watching his opponent’s annihilation.

He simply moved to the right. He made a quick side jump to approach the soldier with Rein König’s hilt growing from his mouth.

He ducked below the weak punch thrown by the soldier’s right arm and looked up to see his opponent’s face with his weapon’s hilt extending from the mouth. He sent his right leg up while he stood up.

He struck with his heel, but not straight at his opponent’s face. His heel swung down and to the right like a battle axe to kick the hilt sticking out.

The soldier was spun to the right by his face.

Alfred used that motion to circle behind his opponent, grabbed the bandolier at his opponent’s waist with his left hand, and raised his right hand.

The submachinegun he had stolen and thrown skyward earlier landed in his right hand. And…

“Here’s a lesson for you.”

He looked forward to see a third enemy aiming a submachinegun his way.

The enemy fired.

“Heidengeists are greatly superior to humans when it comes to reflexes, endurance, cunning, and attachment to life.”

He used the soldier in front of him as a shield against the incoming bullets.

“Gah!”

The soldier cried in agony as his body repeatedly shook.

Alfred stuck his submachinegun out from behind him and fired.

He also advanced. He lifted his meat shield ever so slightly and charged at the third enemy.

“–––––!”

“Hey, shields aren’t supposed to scream. You should rejoice that I’ve found a use for you.”

The soldier’s body shook.

Alfred fired while rushing the third enemy. His uniform was shredded and blood and flesh flew through the heated air, but the man’s body would not break.

Alfred’s gun ran out of ammo.

So did the enemy’s.

Bloody, the enemy loaded a new magazine and resumed firing.

Alfred did not hesitate to abandon his gun and use his freed-up hand to spin his shield around the other way. Instead of the bandolier, he grabbed Rein König’s hilt sticking out of the man’s mouth and pushed forward.

His shield shook as it took more gunfire, but he did not care. He held Rein König with both hands now and lifted up the shield as he ran.

He was now right up on his third opponent. The submachinegun had stopped firing. It was out of ammo.

Alfred smiled and then shouted.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

He made a Bust attack.

Rein König emitted a white light and his shield was blown away. The third enemy was eliminated a moment later.

Alfred ran through the explosion of light he had created, seeing the lower half of his shield falling away.

“I needed some cushioning to keep that from destroying the barrier. Great work.”

With that, he picked up speed. He ran, took a step, and flipped to the side.

Instead of planting his hands on the barrier, he used the inertia of his legs for a full midair side flip.

A clawed attack slammed into the spot he had just vacated.

A fourth enemy had Flektierened into a humanoid wolf with silver fur.

“Oh? That English Frühmond stuff?”

After landing, Alfred glanced around to see a fifth and sixth enemies injecting their arms with a drug also known as moon opium.

“!”

Two empty aluminum containers clanked against the barrier.

The fifth and sixth made their next move before the sound had even faded. They jumped back to avoid Alfred, but their jumps easily cleared 10 yards.

As soon as they landed, they were engulfed by explosions of white steam.

The steam spread out from the center and was blown away as their bodies Flektierened.

They were Hard Wolves – bipedal wolves who retained a lot of their human forms.

They prepared for a fight and howled into the sky.

A trio of war cries echoed into the heavens, surrounding Alfred.

Hearing that, he lowered Rein König and pressed the tip against the barrier.

“I never finished my lesson, did I? It’s true you Heidengeists are superior to us humans…but there’s one thing we have on you.” He moved the tip to draw a semicircle in front of him. “None of you is named Maldrick.”

His line acted as a cue for the triangle formation of enemies to rush toward him in the center.

They sprinted in, but he did not stay still. He leaped backwards.

One of the Hard Wolves was charging in toward there.

With his back to that enemy, Alfred shrunk down a little in the air.

“!”

And he spun around in an instant.

He also threw the dagger he had used before. The white blade flew toward the Hard Wolf’s forehead.

His Heidengeist reflexes easily saw the throw coming. At his speed, dodging it would throw off his balance, so he reached out a clawed hand to grab the flying dagger.

He caught it and his thick fur kept the blade from cutting his hand. But…

“Those reflexes will be your undoing.”

Alfred ran in.

“!?”

He flew through the air before the Hard Wolf could show his surprise. He extended his leg straight out to kick the haft of the dagger forward like a hammer.

The impact pushed the blade into the Hard Wolf’s forehead. All the way in.

A moment later, Alfred kicked the dagger’s haft again and stretched out his body.

He leaped backwards.

His long brown hair fluttered in the heated night air as he flew more than 5 yards back.

He passed above the heads of the two Hard Wolves running in toward him.

He landed behind them and immediately placed his hands on the ground in front of him and flipped to the side.

The Hard Wolves attacked behind themselves without even looking back.

After two side flips, he straightened up again.

The one enemy was flat on the ground while holding his forehead. The dagger had reached his brain. Not even a Heidengeist could keep fighting after that. Two remained.

Those two were nowhere to be seen, so he moved forward, throwing on his full speed from step one. The wind he felt behind him told him the enemy had been charging him from the left and right. And that they were now pursuing from behind him.

He immediately ducked and rapidly braked by practically lying down on the ground.

A beat later, two sets of claws swept by overhead and the two enemies moved out ahead.

“That uncontrollable speed will be your undoing too.”

Alfred stood up and swept the feet out from under the staggering figure on the right.

He successfully tripped that Hard Wolf.

At the same time, the left one finished braking, spun around, and raised his claws. He jabbed the five sparkling claws straight forward. That was a move learned through martial arts training, not an animal’s attack.

“–––––!”

Hearing an animal roar, Alfred struck the tripping Hard Wolf in the head with Rein König.

With the sound of a juicy fruit splitting open, the head burst, the body tilted, and the claws coming from the left stabbed into the right one’s chest.

The right Hard Wolf instantly turned to ashes.

The final one frantically pulled back his ashy left arm, but Alfred’s Rein König stabbed through his gut before he could, breaking his spine.

“!?”

His body bent forward from the impact and Alfred pulled out a Panzer Reinigung and pressed it against the Hard Wolf’s jaw.

“Poor thing.”

With that, he skewered the Hard Wolf’s face bottom to top with the sacred wood stake.

The sound of gunpowder echoed out and Alfred pulled Rein König from the enemy’s gut, further breaking his body before it Ashed.

The sound of falling ash was just like that of spilling sand.

Alfred emotionlessly glanced down. Five paces past the blowing ash, another Hard Wolf was convulsing on the ground with a dagger still stabbed into his forehead.

“…”

Alfred wordlessly approached and then heard a shout.

A human shout.

“Alfred!!”

Alfred recognized the voice.

But he did not look back. He instead used his sword to split the head of the agonized Hard Wolf at his feet.

Precisely two seconds later, he heard footsteps from behind him.

First two steps and then a third, more solid step.

“Did he jump?”

Alfred looked back, twisting his body around and raising Rein König overhead.

He raised his voice for a full-power Bust despite being atop the barrier.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

Rein König amplified his Ton and let it burst out as a white light.

But the incoming attack split the white light.

The attack was composed of darkness and it was swung down by a figure in a black coat: Dog Berger.

Part 3

Fire was visible out the front of the bridge. The two-hull ship flew along a straight line while slightly tilted.

“Flying above them for a moment can scare the enemy into falling back! If you see any Heavy Barrels or whatever, give them a quick flyby!”

Corelle was shouting instructions.

Hazel undid her seat’s four-point belt and placed her hands on the back of the seat in front of her to get a better view.

The base was burning.

“The ether shield is down. If they can’t ignite the Phlogiston from above, we just have to wait for it to go berserk on its own…but that takes time. The enemy might stop it.”

Hazel did not know what Pale was talking about, but she had a bad feeling about it. She wordlessly held her left shoulder for just a moment before clutching the chest of her clothing instead. That one card was the only thing supporting her now.

She looked back toward Corelle in the captain’s chair.

“Pale! You want down!? This might be one of those losing battles you love so much!”

“Yeah, no. The plan this time is to see it through to the end. Besides…” Pale looked to Hazel. “Girl.”

It took her a few seconds to realize he was addressing her.

She looked over in a hurry, but she had missed her chance to respond.

He scratched his head and spoke again.

“Girl.”

“Y-yes!?”

“That’s the battlefield you wanted. We’re getting closer by the second. You can see it, can’t you?”

“Y-yes…I can.”

“Then listen carefully. A lot of people there will die, be destroyed, kick the bucket, and bid this world farewell. You get what I mean, don’t you? But you can also tell you’ll be safe in here, right? You can remain an observer.”

She nodded and looked to the scarlet-glowing base. They were close enough to make out its general layout. She could tell what was happening and why it was happening.

It was all right there in front of her.

“You asked before if wanting to fight meant you wanted to die, right? And that you wanted to do something else on the battlefield, right? …Is that because you pity the people dying down there? Or did you want to thank them for doing this while you stay safe and sound up here?”

“Pale!”

Corelle threw a rebuke at the man, but he ignored it.

“Girl, I’ve only got one thing to say to that: go to hell.” He smiled a little. “Not wanting to run away means you don’t want to lose. Do you get what that means?”

“…”

“That’s what you don’t understand. People get what they deserve. Winning doesn’t mean killing. If losing means death, then winning is the opposite.”

Hazel faced his words head on.

She pressed her arm against her chest and held herself.

“Now, what do you think about that? What does it mean if not wanting to run away means not wanting to lose? Again, the battlefield you wanted is right there.”

“I…”

Only after speaking did she notice the strength in her hand.

…Why am I so tense? I’m thinking too hard.

She smiled bitterly at herself and the smile parted to let a sigh out.

“Two years ago…”

“Yeah?”

Pale had a smile on his face. He was waiting for her to speak.

So she did so.

“I actually thought I wanted to be a history teacher.”

“I get the feeling you’d’ve been a real strict teacher.”

She narrowed her eyes at that.

“Probably so,” she said. “But now I think I get why I couldn’t bring myself to write it down.”

She relaxed her hand. Her destiny was right there at her chest and there was no need to hold it there.

She placed her hand on her lap. The arm was trembling a bit, but she ignored that.

She faced forward and saw Corelle turned back toward her.

…Don’t look so worried.

That thought naturally took the bitterness from her smile.

“I know I can fight.”

She spoke the words that would determine everything for her.

“I want to do everything I can to make sure everyone can go on living.”

Part 4

<Destiny clears the way ahead.>

An Erklärung raised its voice and Alfred roared from his throat: “Ah.” He used that single tone.

The two Texts clashed and the Tons ruptured between the two weapons. The black and white lights briefly bent before popping like a balloon, moving the surrounding air.

“…!?”

Alfred’s feet slid about two yards back and Berger was blasted a few yards through the air before landing down on his knees. Their weapons’ lights were gone now. They had vanished.

Alfred was the first to straighten back up. He readied Rein König in both hands without speaking a word.

Berger faced him and stood up while replacing his weapon’s Phlogiston Tanks.

“It’s been 4 years, hasn’t it?”

“Why are you here?”

Alfred’s tone made it clear that was not a real question. But…

“Why is the divinely named dog crawling back now?”

“I know you know why. Because I’m the only one who can match you. After all, I’m-”

“What is the point of being second best?”

Alfred leaped.

He attacked with a voiced “ah” and Berger caught it on Gelegenheit.

<Destiny contains great power.>

“What power have you gained in the past 4 years? Even Gelegenheit is her power.”

Their weapons clashed and the white and black lights burst. They both pulled their weapons back and moved before the lights had fully vanished.

Berger went right and Alfred went left.

“We have spent those 4 years protecting this land, yet you have been obsessed with helping people escape.”

<Destiny clears the way no matter what anyone says.>

“That destiny is no match for my voice.”

White and black crashed together.

Rein König and Gelegenheit pressed together, their lights enduring.

Berger’s blue eyes and Alfred’s brown eyes glared at each other with only the former’s sunglasses in the way.

Berger did not even smile.

“You’re the same tiresome bastard you always were!” accused Berger.

“You just don’t understand what it means to take life seriously!” shot back Alfred.

“You really haven’t changed at all! You know what I did to-”

“I was the one who killed her. Because she was a Heidengeist. And when that killed her…when that actually killed her, it was already over.”

They separated.

Alfred opened his mouth to release his voice and Berger attached two more Phlogiston Tanks.

White and black light erupted from their weapons. Alfred raised Rein König overhead so it would not destroy the barrier and Berger held Gelegenheit low.

They were about 5 yards apart. With their weapons, they could arrive within striking range in a split second.

They looked each other in the eye, their shoulders rising and falling somewhat.

“I can’t believe Rein König can’t cut that.”

“This is the first time Gelegenheit’s failed to cut something.”

“Why not change weapons like four years ago?”

“No,” said Berger. “I will never use my Heidengeist blood again. I decided 4 years ago I would become human.”

“Then you cannot defeat me, divinely named dog. You cannot defeat me without that power that altered a human’s destiny – altered her destiny.”

“…”

Berger wordlessly lowered his body.

Alfred stretched his body up, raising Rein König even higher.

“!”

And he swung it down.

<Destiny can sweep you away.>

The black attack deflected the white attack to the right.

The deflected white afterimage drew a circle to rise back up and then swung back down for another attack.

It was fast, but Berger deflected Alfred’s attack to the left this time.

His vision was briefly filled by light, but he felt no fear. He ignored the intensity of light and slammed Gelegenheit up and to the left.

<Destiny will escape you.>

The white and black clashed.

“It only took four years to create such a great difference?”

Berger heard Alfred’s comment.

A moment later, the white was knocked away by the black. Knocked upwards.

The light emitted by Rein König vanished.

No, it was eliminated. Because Alfred had stopped producing his voice.

With the repulsion between the two weapons gone, Berger’s Gelegenheit wandered through the air.

“––––!?”

He could see Rein König flying through the air. It had left its wielder’s hand and now rotated through the crimson-dyed night sky, high above Berger’s head.

“It can’t be!?”

Berger readied himself and lowered his gaze to see Alfred running toward him.

Predicting Berger’s defense, Alfred had used Rein König as a diversion. He had thrown it away and sent himself forward, using the light as a shield.

Alfred closed in on him, so Berger used Gelegenheit’s hilt to guard his face.

Something metal hit the hilt: a dagger aimed for his forehead. The dagger was deflected into the air with a metallic clang and a flash of light.

But it was not over yet.

Alfred’s hands raced out.

He held ten Panzer Reinigungs between his fingers, sending them toward Berger.

Two were stopped by Gelegenheit – the two aimed for his head.

The remaining six reached him.

They hit his right shoulder, right forearm, left upper arm, left chest, right chest, and left side. Then the Panzer Reinigungs all ignited.

Smoke burst out the back of the aluminum tubes and the sacred wood stakes stabbed into Berger’s body.

“!”

The impact knocked his feet off the ground and he flew backwards like he had been hit by a log.

But Alfred moved forward even faster.

He pursued airborne Berger and swung up his right leg. Faster than the wind, he kicked up at Gelegenheit, which Berger had readied defensively in both arms.

Once his foot was high enough, he converted it into a powerful attack. He dropped the heel straight down.

The direct blow to the chest caused Berger to collapse backwards in midair.

“It’s not your bedtime yet.”

Alfred kicked off the ground once his foot reached it, sending himself even further forward.

He reached out his left hand to reach Berger’s collar.

But instead of grabbing it, he pushed. He pushed Berger further through the air.

Meanwhile, his right hand was held aloft.

Something fell into that hand: Rein König.

“Even more boring than I expected!”

He suppressed his scratchy voice, placed his right hand alongside his left, and swung the sword horizontally. With a sound like the sword tip tearing through paper, a white trail of water vapor formed behind it.

The invisible attack known as sword pressure was not just a wind. An explosion of sound slammed into Berger midair.

Water vapor audibly exploded and Berger crashed into the edge of the barrier. The concrete of the edge broke, scattering rubble and forming a cloud of dust.

Alfred came to a stop, spun around to use up his inertia, and swung Rein König. The wind produced by the blade scattered the dust before it could reach him.

He took a breath and looked to the pile of rubble, noting blood seeping from the gaps. Red blood.

The blood still had the heat of a living body, so white steam rose as it spread.

“One of the Panzer Reinigungs reached your heart. Just lie there and die.”

Alfred let his shoulders slump a little.

Just then, a giant shape cast a shadow on him.

“Is that Nein!?”

Two Grösse Panzers entered the base. They had just left the Black Forest and were about 30 yards away. The wind must have carried his artificial vocal cords’ voice to them.

The blue and red Panzers turned to face him.

“I am glad to see you here, Sir Alfred.”

“Because I knew I couldn’t rely on you! What’s the enemy doing? You can tell from up there, can’t you!?”

“The enemy’s main force is scattering and they appear to have failed to take the command building. The Vaterland, however, is a different matter.”

Alfred took a look around.

He could hear gunfire and shouting voices. The sky was shimmering from the heat of the fires below and it was colored by an endless supply of embers and smoke. The scene could only be described as a battlefield.

His face clouded slightly when he took a glance toward the pile of rubble in front of him.

But only for a moment. He soon formed a satisfied grin and crossed his arms.

Then he noticed that Berger’s blood was starting to solidify atop the barrier.

“It’s already drying?”

This was not a blood’s natural coagulation. The blood was bubbling. It was solidifying from heat.

He crouched down and touched the barrier. An instantaneous change came over his face.

“Nein! You’ve overlooked something. Something major.”

He turned to the right of the blue and red Grösse Panzers entering the base and looked to the Vaterland on the westernmost edge of the base.

“The enemy wasn’t after the command building!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, crimson flames erupted from the tip of the Vaterland. The flames seemed to explode as they rose even higher into the night sky.

The wind blew though, carrying the heat.

Alfred stood tall and fearless in that heated wind.

“Nein! Destroy the Vaterland! They’ve set it to go berserk!” A breath. “They’ve sent its Phlogiston below this barrier! The really pure stuff! This will disturb the Tons of the Gard-class down there, possibly turning it into something else! Hurry!”

“Understood.”

The blue Grösse Panzer ran toward the Vaterland tower that stood twenty times taller than it. With a rifle in one hand.

The red Grösse Panzer unexpectedly turned south and shouted.

“Sir Alfred!”

Sparks repeatedly burst from the large shield it held, producing a sound like a ringing bell.

That was gunfire. From something large. Following that artillery-level gunfire, another new sound entered the battlefield. Heavy metallic noises pounded out a deep tempo. Metal feet were felling trees as they approached.

Two Grösse Panzers were approaching. They had the crude armor shape of German models with green painting and they wielded shields and specialized submachineguns.

As soon as they passed through the main gate and entered the base, they entered a run.

They apparently intended to use the remains of the Grösse Panzer hangar as a shield. Their fire was entirely focused on Neue Zinnober and Neue Blau. Their plan was to pin those two in place, giving the surviving troops time to escape and preventing the Vaterland from being shut down.

Alfred ignored the non-tracer gunfire flying overhead.

He made his way toward the enemy Grösse Panzers while the gunfire sounded a lot like someone pounding on a metal wall.

“Nein! Get to the Vaterland. Once it’s destroyed, break through the barrier! My Busting would ignite the Phlogiston with its destruction Tons, so keep your priorities straight! I’ll deal with them in the meantime!”

“But, Sir Alfred! Your Panzer!”

“You think a destroyed hangar is enough to crush it!? That thing’s the finest piece of tech the Geheimnis Agency has put together since the Rot Löwe! And it’s the only Eingeweide Panzer without a lion name!”

He looked back toward the bleeding rubble on a whim.

Nothing had changed.

The ends of his eyebrows dipped a bit and he dropped his gaze to his left hand. He wore a red ring there.

But he soon faced forward and began to walk. Toward the enemy Grösse Panzers and the destroyed Grösse Panzer hangar.

He saw the enemy Grösse Panzers pull giant metal tubes from their backs. Those were incendiary bombs.

They intended to throw them into the hangar to detonate the fuel within and destroy all the equipment.

“You fools.”

Alfred walked across the barrier that gave off a shimmering heat thanks to the Phlogiston running wild in the shipyard below. He shifted Rein König to his left hand and raised his voice.

“Our first battle shall be fought in the very forest from which the Messiah was born! Meet the strongest Eingeweide Panzer, built by my friend and born from my very own voice and flesh!”

He raised his right hand as he walked and shouted toward the destroyed hangar.

“Awaken, Kaiser!!”

With that, a Text raced through the air. Space itself was rewritten by the deep voice.

<The Emperor is a conqueror.>

Part 5

The green Grösse Panzer stopped just before throwing its incendiary bomb.

The rubble at its feet had blasted away and a giant hand had reached out and stopped it.

The powerful white right arm was joined by a right shoulder, right chest, face, stomach, left arm, hips, thighs, and legs.

They all stood up as the hangar rubble collapsed around it.

A massive white Grösse Panzer emerged.

It stood more than 11 yards tall. The curved armor on top of its head resembled a crown and its narrow face resembled that of a female Grösse Panzer.

Its Panzer Kleid was mostly white with some black decorations, but it did have a red dragon emblem on its right shoulder. The Panzer visible below that clothing was slender, but it had broad shoulders and powerful thighs. The armor attached in places was bumpy, giving it an even more powerful appearance. The six wings extending from its back gave it a strange silhouette resembling a Nein Engel.

It was armed only with the sword at its hip.

The white Grösse Panzer looked to the right arm of the green Grösse Panzer it had grabbed.

It turned toward that one and casually pulled its arm back, creating a wind from that alone.

With a sound like tearing metal and kneaded clay, the green Grösse Panzer’s right arm was torn off at the elbow.

“––––!?”

A voiceless scream left the green one’s voice device.

The white one moved as if to prove that no one who screamed belonged on the battlefield. It adjusted its grip on the enemy right hand in its left hand and slammed it into the enemy’s face.

The metal hand stabbed wrist-deep into its owner’s facial structure.

With a sound like shattering stone, the green one collapsed backwards with its hand returned to its face.

The sound of the great metal mass falling to the paved road was a lot like that of a building collapsing. The individual sounds were too loud and numerous to distinguish, so it all blended together into a single deep roar.

The incendiary bomb in the hand detonated inside its collapsed owner’s face.

The other Panzer began a panicked run after seeing the resultant flames.

The white one followed the runner with its gaze. The green one ran to the side, raising its shield and firing its submachinegun. It used anti-Panzer bullets, so no armor could escape unscathed.

If not for the white one’s abnormal action, that is.

It leaped. No, it flew. It moved left without moving its legs, seeming to slide along the ground. It slowly turned itself around while rapidly evading the bullets. And it flew.

A heated wind blew from the bumpy armor at its legs and hips and it moved several hundred yards all at once.

It had just one destination in mind: its owner.

The white Panzer slid to the side of the barrier on the west side of the base. Its legs roared and sparks flew as it braked.

It looked down to where a man stood, holding the sword named Rein König in his left hand.

That man was Alfred Maldrick.

He looked up at the white Panzer and grinned when his gaze met its sight device.

“Let’s go, Kaiser.”

<The Emperor marches on.>

Part 6

While the Grösse Panzers loudly fought, the pile of rubble on one end of the shipyard barrier began to stir.

The large concrete chunks were pushed up from below and rolled onto their sides until a black form appeared below.

It was Berger.

He was in bad shape. His hair was wet and matted with blood, his black coat was torn, and his blood-slick boots made a wet sound when he stood up.

He managed to get up on unsteady feet, but there was no strength in the eyes behind his sunglasses and his complexion was poor.

He silently took a step forward while taking a look at himself.

He was bleeding from where the sacred wood had been driven into him. The five stakes had pierced out his back thanks to the sword pressure attack, so he would recover quickly as long as he stopped the bleeding.

He held a hand near his heart – where one of the Panzer Reinigungs should have pierced him.

“Did this protect me?”

He pulled out a pendant. A woman’s pendant adorned with a red jewel.

“The old lady at that night shop said it was originally the Messiah’s. Now, that’s a blatant lie, but its protection was real.”

He opened the locket and found the photo inside was stained with blood.

The weight of the blood pulled the photo away from the locket and it fell toward the barrier.

“––––––”

It slipped past his outstretched fingers and landed on the barrier.

It shrank a bit and then scorched on the heated metal.

Before he could stop it, it set on fire and burned away.

His face clouded over, but only for a moment.

“Saving me twice is more than enough, Eryngium.”

He smiled bitterly and resumed walking across the metal that gave off a shimmering thanks to the great heat below it. He walked toward the Grösse Panzer hangar.

He could hear combat at the distant airfield.

“Firing as they escape? …The AIF’s Panzer Kavaliers aren’t half bad. When retreating anyway.”

He cut across the barrier. The edge was a yard higher above him, so he placed his hands on that and climbed up like he was doing a pull up.

Once out on the road, the ground shook beneath him. The tremor came from underground.

He fell, making a sound like a wet rag slapping against the ground.

Gelegenheit tumbled out from his torn black coat. The Eingeweide sword had a golden decoration resembling a woman’s hair and he reached out his right hand to stop it from rolling further.

He grasped Gelegenheit in his hand and used it as a crutch to stand up. His gentle movements gradually gained more strength and he accelerated his standing by pushing down hard with Gelegenheit.

He took a breath, seeing the road from the main entrance to the command building in front of him. Strength filled his gaze and he looked around to see a change coming over the battlefield.

The AIF was fighting to escape instead of to get in. They used the buildings and wrecked armored trucks for cover as they moved to and fro. Their mission was complete.

Berger caught his breath below the roadside trees swaying in the wind. Another tremor came from belowground.

“Is that the Vaterland?”

The Vaterland was burning. Fire erupted from the white tower and its walls were being scorched by smoke as they crumbled. The outer layer of the 120-yard structure was falling away, revealing the internal structure.

Especially large flames erupted skyward.

At the same time, explosive flames burst out in every direction from about halfway up the Vaterland.

The ground shook from the blast and Berger leaned against the tree behind him for support.

The top of the Vaterland was imploding. The outer walls were falling toward the internal acceleration reactor.

“Was that Bermark Nein’s gunfire? He shot right through the internal walls.”

The 120-yard tower was collapsing and falling. It barely felt real from this distance.

Berger looked to the shipyard barrier and found it was still heating up. However…

“If the Vaterland is destroyed, the Ton reaction within will weaken. If the barrier is destroyed after that, the Tons will be released and the Gard-class might not be fully destroyed.”

He heard more gunfire in the distance, but it was soon followed by an explosion.

He pulled himself from the tree and walked forward.

“Damn, I’ve lost too much blood. If only I could lose just the Heidengeist blood.”

Strength filled his legs and he started to run forward, toward the Grösse Panzer hangar.

The up-down movement of running caused more blood to spurt out and fall to the ground.

That blood gave off steam before vaporizing. Even the ground was overheated.

“Just a little more and the Gard-class will be sunk and the others can escape before the base is blown away from below. …The only way to hold off that colorful trio is to dig out one of the hangar’s Grösse Panzers, isn’t it?”

Berger looked across the base as he ran and he noticed something.

“The truck on the mountain over there is gone?”

But he did not have time to worry about it now. He already knew where he needed to go: the Grösse Panzer hangar.

The ground shook below his feet again. It shook vertically, making it noticeably different from an earthquake. The space between the tremors was shrinking, like the pulse of some new life being born.

Berger listened to the sounds and shaking and kept Gelegenheit in his right hand.

Suddenly, strength faded from his legs and he collapsed.

But he was spared falling when someone reached below his arms to catch him.

“––––?”

He looked back to see a girl with blonde hair cut short.

It was Hazel. She supported him and smiled with some stiffness left on her face.

“I finally found you. Are you okay, Mr. Berger? Um, you see, uh…”

She tried to find the right thing to say while holding out an old envelope.

Berger spoke the German word for it.

“A Verlsten Brief!? Hazel, where did you get that?”

“The addressee has faded a lot, but it definitely says ‘Wild Hunt’ Dog Berger. My teacher asked that I deliver it to you.” She smiled bitterly. “It’s apparently some kind of prophecy.”

Part 7

The Geheimnis Agency #8 Base’s Grösse Panzer hangar had been reduced to rubble.

Hazel stood alone next to that rubble and spoke into it.

“I can’t believe anything survived in there.”

“They make these things blast resistant, you know? Now stand back. I’ve got a direct link.”

She heard a voice from the rubble and then the pile of concrete collapsed as a black arm stuck out.

The palm alone was a yard across. It belonged to the Schwarz Löwe.

“Did you hook the communication cable I gave you to the back of Gelegenheit like I asked?”

“Yes, but should we really be using the repair parts in here?”

Hazel picked Gelegenheit up off the ground. It was now wrapped in Berger’s black coat, making it look thicker. The black coat had transformed the nearly-yard-long hilt into a black staff. The slot usually used for Phlogiston Tanks was now hooked up to an extension cable with the same type of plug.

“It’s fine. This is Schwarz Löwe, used by Alfred Maldrick. It’s designed for army use, but it’s a generic model capable of both anti-air and long-term ground battles. It was the test bed for designing the Kaiser over there. If I’m using it, so why wouldn’t I use the equipment here too?”

“Is that how it works?”

Hazel tilted her head and handed over the coat-wrapped Gelegenheit. His blood stained the metal fingers, giving them an oily sheen.

Strangely, she was not repulsed by the sight.

The Grösse Panzers black right hand gripped Gelegenheit tight.

“Gelegenheit is so hard. It doesn’t bend no matter how hard you squeeze.”

“It must take all this more seriously than you.”

Hazel kept a smile in her voice and looked up toward the heavens.

The wind was blowing there. A heated wind. Long bands of orange Tons formed rising vortexes in the sky.

…That explains why Corelle said she couldn’t descend near the base.

Those updrafts spiraled around, creating collisions of air above the base.

The sounds of roaring flames, gunfire, and explosions took on the tone colors of red killer intent or metallic black aggression as they rose into the air. But Hazel noticed the tempo of a powerful, calm will within it all.

“They aren’t all fighting for their killer intent and aggression.”

“Did you say something?”

Hearing that, she looked down.

The giant black hand was pressed against the ground, with Gelegenheit still in its grasp. He was standing up.

“Outta the way. Once I’m out, you join the others withdrawing. I’ll buy you all enough time to run away and for the base to collapse.”

“…Okay.”

But she did not take a single step.

Schwarz Löwe failed to notice as it lifted its face-down body from the ground. The rubble and dust were blown away and the Panzer broke through the hangar’s roof.

Still on its knees, Schwarz Löwe looked up.

Hazel was standing in front of it.

“Hazel, I told you to go.”

“Are you planning to die here by staying on the battlefield alone?”

Schwarz Löwe was momentarily unsure what to say, but then he spat out an answer.

“Anyone who plans to die on the battlefield is an idiot.”

“Then that settles it. The safest place here is in Schwarz Löwe’s copilot cockpit. I can watch the battle from an untouchable seat.”

“Hey, Hazel, calm down, okay? Leave now and we can write this off as a kid’s silly game.”

“Have you already forgotten what I said two years ago?” She spoke to kneeling Schwarz Löwe on reflex. “I don’t want to run away…so I won’t. I never will again. Maybe I am still a kid, but this isn’t a game and there are some things I refuse to do.” She held out her right hand. “Two years ago, I only left the Sylphide all alone and allowed my friend to get hit because…”

She held her tongue, refusing to say the rest. Bringing up the past was meaningless here.

Instead, she simply held her hand out toward Schwarz Löwe.

Schwarz Löwe’s shoulders clearly slumped.

“This isn’t a smart move and you’re rushing this way too much, Hazel Mirildorf. Is this what the Messiah would do?”

“Yes, yes, it is. Because it’s my choice and the idea is for me to become the Messiah, not that I already am. It was only effective that one time and I’m still not confident, but I’ve been thinking a lot how to use that power, so, um, uh…” She took a breath and looked up at Schwarz Löwe. “I don’t think anyone could want to do this more than me.”

“I really wish Marsch had asked them to interview the patient before giving them the Messiah implant…”

He sounded exasperated, but Schwarz Löwe reached its right hand toward hers. He placed the tip of Gelegenheit on her hand.

“You will cry over this later. Don’t forget that.”

“Please teach me everything I need to know.”

She smiled up at him and walked forward, rubbing gently at his outstretched hand. She noticed a red dragon emblem on the shoulder of Schwarz Löwe’s combat dress.

“Why does it have a dragon emblem when it’s named after a lion?”

“That’s the Maldrick emblem. They took it because Alfred slaid a dragon and now his older brother is out in the Soviet Union looking for an even bigger dragon.”

“Th-that’s quite the sibling rivalry.”

She placed a foot up on his hip armor and then sniffed her nose with a puzzled look.

“What now?” he asked. “Nasal inflammation?”

“Well, last night I rubbed against you around here while you were asleep and I thought I could still detect my scent even in this Heavy Barrel.”

“I really wish you would stop imagining things like that.”

He sounded exasperated and tilted his head while she climbed up Schwarz Löwe.

She awkwardly circled around to its back.

She saw the hatch on the starboard side of the copilot’s cockpit, so he grabbed the latch and then took a quick look around.

She saw the pile of rubble, the Black Forest, the empty sky, and the wind dancing there.

About a mile away, at the center of the base’s runway, a white Heavy Barrel was turning their way with a green Heavy Barrel lying at its feet.

<The Emperor watches over his territory.>

The Kaiser walked toward them.

Hazel silently opened the hatch and threw herself inside the copilot’s cockpit.

She threw herself into what had to be the most reassuring place in the entire world.

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