Editing City Series:Volume6a Chapter9 (section)

===Part 1===

The two aboard the König Pseudo-Drach did not see the giant explosion behind them.

They simply heard the extended rumbling and noted a slight ripple in the clouds surrounding them.

They were more focused on the two crafts up ahead.

The one in the lead was the Sylphide which continued to fly even with its armor stripped away.

The one in pursuit was the Silber. The König Pseudo-Drach ascended and gave a scream of acceleration after arriving behind the Silber. It used the Silber’s shockwave buffering field to assist its movement.

The air shook and the sky gradually grew darker.

The three crafts soared through the night.

There was nothing but ocean to see below. They were in the northern sea near the North Pole.

Just as that ocean grew fully dark, the Silber began to change course. It tilted its nose somewhat upwards to ascend. The two in the König Pseudo-Drach adjusted their course in the same way, turning to look up into the thick clouds overhead.

A transmission reached them.

“There is snow falling near the pole. That will hinder our engines, so we will move above the clouds. After that, it will take almost 3 minutes to reach the pole area. The Silber will take the lead until then.”

“Excellent work, Bermark.”

“No, it is just that the Silber was not designed to make a vertical ascent. Plus, the task of killing Sir Marsch is too much of a burden for me.”

Bermark fell silent there and Schweitzer eventually spoke in a vanishingly quiet voice.

“Berger.”

“Yeah?”

“If Marsch did set all this up to singlehandedly fulfill the conditions needed to create the Messiah, does it mean he had not given up on us and he was in fact working to help Germany?”

“Most likely. He was badly injured and knew he couldn’t fully control the Sylphide’s mind, but he took the gamble anyway. His pride as a creator told him the activated Sylphide would search out the Messiah implant, take it into itself in order to evolve, and thus create the true Messiah.” Berger took a breath. “But the Sylphide doesn’t need a pilot and is guided by its mechanical instincts and mission, so it’s trying to fly into space. That’s why Marsch sent me the 9th Section of the Ruling King needed to create the Messiah.”

“Even though the prophecy’s fulfilment might have originally been meant to take a different form?”

“Marsch probably thought the same thing, but he chose this destiny instead. He chose this destiny where the Sylphide is forced to sacrifice itself and either I or that girl has to see it through to the end.”

“Berger.”

“?”

“Was Marsch’s will already inside the Sylphide when it was hit by the military’s Nein Ton rounds? Did he intentionally let that happen so it would fall apart like this?”

Berger narrowed his eyes and wordlessly tapped on the seat in front of him.

Schweitzer accelerated as if in response.

The König Pseudo-Drach ascended and Bermark’s voice arrived over the communicator again.

“We have the Sylphide on our radar. Hard to say if it will fall apart first or reach outer space first.”

The clouds approached from above like fog. They flew right into them.

Their vision was dyed white.

The air was more frozen than simply cold, so small particles flew into them. The white fog was too thick to breathe, but they plowed through it anyway.

Then their view grew pitch black. They had burst through the top of the clouds.

They could once more see the Silber’s stern up ahead.

The König Pseudo-Drach rolled to the right and shimmering heat burst from its rear as it moved up alongside the Silber.

“Continue on ahead,” said Bermark. “Please hurry, Lieutenant.”

Berger gave acknowledgment and Schweitzer expressed his appreciation.

Then Berger sank deep in his seat and looked up into the sky.

The stars twinkled coldly in the vast empty sky.

He wrapped his remaining right arm around himself and muttered a name.

“Hazel.”

The wind blew and there was no response, but he continued anyway.

“I’m on my way to see your answer, Hazel Mirildorf.”

“Why?”

This time he received an unexpected response.

“Why do you want to know my answer that badly!?”

“That’s an easy one. Because the rest of us have too much blood on our hands to give an answer. So…”

He was cut off by Bermark’s voice over the communicator.

“The Sylphide is incoming! From directly below us!!”