Editing City Series:Volume6a Chapter4 (section)

===Part 5===

Hazel remained entirely still while the alarms soaked into her body.

She only moved once a slight change came over the alarms.

They had been a single long and shrill wail, but now they gained an intermittent, almost footstep-like rhythm while also growing louder.

“The third alarm.”

She had some knowledge of what the different alarms meant thanks to her father. Hearing that indication of an emergency, she looked up, stood up while dropping the knife into her breast pocket, and looked out the window.

The lines of black smoke rising past the woods around the airbase had grown in number.

…''Someone’s fighting and I just know it’s Dog.

A knock came at the door behind her as if responding to her thoughts.

The door opened before she could turn around and an old man entered with a paper bag held in his gloved hand.

“Excuse me. It is Bermark Vier. …I am here to drop off the daily items your requested, but there seems to be some trouble at the moment.”

Hazel lightly slapped her own cheek when she heard that.

She drove out her timid thoughts, composed her expression, and asked a question.

“You mean what’s happening out there, don’t you? Um…is this destiny too?”

“Too?”

[[Image:City_v06a_141.jpg|thumb]]

“That lieutenant mentioned that it was destiny that prevented me from becoming the Messiah.”

Bermark smiled a little and nodded.

“He is a stickler for the rules, so I imagine he did not explain to you the details of the prophecy concerning the Messiah’s birth.”

He looked out the window and sang a short song while holding the tune perfectly.

''The one-armed youth holds the Messiah

''The moonlit pair returns to the earth

''The dragons gather and dance tonight

''Every last thing returns home

The gently flowing Text carried enough pressure to drown out the alarm.

Bermark placed the paper bag on the table, cleared his throat, and asked a question of his own.

“To what do you think that Text refers?”

“It’s a passage from the Unreif Germane, isn’t it? It’s referring to the Heidengeist Messiah who commands a dragon and the youth with a divine name.”

“You would think so, but no. That Text was recited three months ago as a prophecy for the appearance of the Messiah. It is strange, but…” He gave a deep nod as if to encourage himself. “For about a year now, our prophet’s prophecies have often been identical to parts of the Unreif Germane. Most likely, a portion of Germany’s Tons are growing identical to their state a thousand years ago.”

His calmly-stated explanation briefly left Hazel speechless. And finally…

…''Germany’s Tons?

She tilted her head, but Bermark continued to look out the window.

“The ether forming all of space contains Tons and those Tons are inherited. Over time, Germany’s Tons have permeated this land so thoroughly that the humans born here all contain Germany’s Tons.”

“Do Heidengeists like me also contain them?”

Bermark’s smile sank and he cast his gaze downward.

“No. Unfortunately, most Heidengeists do not have…”

He trailed off and all strength left his voice, so Hazel panicked.

“U-um, sorry, I didn’t mean to trouble you. But…but is that what the German government means when they say Heidengeists and foreigners are being hunted down because we possess inferior Tons?”

He confirmed that with a silent nod. Then he composed his expression and cleared his throat.

“Pardon me. That conversation took an unpleasant turn. Anyway, do you understand now? Reading Germany’s Tons is the same as reading the destiny of all pure-blooded Germans.”

“And that acts as a prophecy?”

He nodded and flicked the insignia on his shoulder with a white-gloved hand.

“Our Geheimnis Agency’s leader commands a total of 207 people including the Fünf Leithammel who head the Five Offices of the army, navy, air force, military development, and military intelligence. She is a Sofort Leser who can read the destiny of this land. Three months ago, she presented the previous Text to the entire Geheimnis Agency.” He placed his right hand on his chest and bowed. “She said the Messiah will one day become our leader and save this land if this Text is fulfilled by next April when the Greater Germanic Reich is announced. So she said we must contact the Messiah in accordance with the prophecy.”

“Um, then is that what you two are doing?”

“We are but a portion of the untapped talent that was deployed to fulfill the prophecy. The entire Geheimnis Agency has been seeking the one worthy of the Messiah title for the past three months.”

“And I was a candidate because of this eye?”

“Yes. Sir Marsch, a colleague who knew of the prophecy, created that eye and named it Messiah two months ago, but it was lost and we were searching for it.” A breath. “We did not know if it would truly become the Messiah, but we had to trust that our colleague had created it for a good reason. We wanted to see whether or not the prophecy Text would come to pass when we secured you.”

“And I didn’t live up to that prophecy at all, right? Sorry, but I guess I’m not your chosen one.”

“Do not let it bother you at all. We were only hoping for a greater purpose here, but your eye remains important to us.”

She smiled bitterly at that.

“But there are others who are getting worked up over this for different reasons, aren’t there?”

More dark smoke rose beyond the woods visible outside the window. An explosion rumbled out after a short delay and the windows rattled.

Hazel asked a sudden question.

“Like Dog or that blue craft I briefly saw while I Flektierened last night?”

Bermark turned toward her in apparent surprise, but he said nothing and nodded.

Then he gave a shallow bow and shut his eyes.

“I cannot tell you anything about that craft other than it is named Sylphide. Our only job now is to deliver you and the Messiah implant to Geheimnis Agency HQ and then search for a new Messiah.” He raised his head. “Army reinforcements have arrived here at Tempelhof Airbase, so its defenses have never been stronger. Also, the 1st Aerial Fleet’s 7th Division has been on patrol in the sky above since this morning, so once we are ready to depart, you will be taken to the Geheimnis Agency HQ in southern Germany.”

“Depart?”

“We will fly there using one of the Geheimnis Agency’s König Pseudo-Drach strategic reconnaissance crafts. We would have preferred to give you a more comfortable flight aboard one of the new Silber strategic transport crafts, but we are in a hurry.”

Once done speaking, he swung his arm in a way that pulled his sleeve tight and made a solid snapping sound.

At the same time, military boots could be heard beyond the door behind him and a young man spoke through it.

“The König Pseudo-Drach is ready for takeoff! Everything is progressing smoothly!!”

“Very good.”

Bermark swung his arm back to its original position.

Hazel gulped as she heard the footsteps departing beyond the door.

But Bermark gave her a relaxed smile like this was a perfectly ordinary situation.

“Do not worry. I am a born servant, so I will treat the daughter of the Mirildorf family with the utmost care.”

“Did you know my father?”

“Our Geheimnis Agency often finds it necessary to work alongside the military and we have learned to appraise those we see there. Major General Oscar had the highest mission success rate at the time.”

“Yet he allowed the Kaizerburg to escape in the very, very end.”

That weak comment was all Hazel said about that bitter memory.

She then asked Bermark a question.

“Um, what does it mean if you don’t want to run away? No, I guess what I mean is…what does it mean to run away?”

“To run away is to survive.”

His immediate answer made her gasp, but then she smiled a little.

“Then if you don’t want to run away, does that mean you want to die?”

He said nothing and her pulse raced a little as she simply looked out the window.

Armored trucks, motorcycles, and Panzers were moving along the airbase’s roads. From above, she could see them blockading the roads and creating defensive formations at strategic points.

The only thing she could hear over their movement was the endless wail of the alarms.

They were all pointed toward the back entrance on the northeast side of the airport.

…''They’ve mobilized so many people.

They were taking this intrusion seriously and that showed just how well-known Berger was, but she could also tell it showed just how much they wanted to protect her prosthetic eye.

Past the large open space that doubled as a parking lot, she saw a giant empty truck trying to enter the airport through the back entrance.

There was of course a barricade of smaller armored trucks in front of that entrance, so it could not get in.

Bermark seemed to notice something while watching the truck’s movements.

“Is the battle outside over?”

Just then, a figure in black stood up atop the accelerating truck’s roof.

Hazel and Bermark instantly knew who it was and they both spoke his name – one with excitement and one in a deep groan.

“Dog Berger!?”

Just then, the truck crashed into the entrance’s gate. It was meant to carry a Grösse Panzer weighing more than 30 tons, so the metal gate was bent, torn from its base, and thrown into the air.

The roar reached them where they were, but the truck only trembled without slowing and crashed into the first blockade.

The armored trucks forming the barricade toppled over, flipped, and flew through the air with a metallic cacophony.

Hazel heard Bermark speak with great force within that festival of noisy destruction.

“So the halfbreed has arrived.”

“Halfbreed?”

“You hadn’t heard? Dog Berger’s mother was human, but his father was a resident of England. The military discovered this the other day, so he too is one of the Heidengeist who must be expelled from Germany.”

She watched the distant young man in black with eyes wide.

“Wait, so shouldn’t you be the one running away right now!?”

He was not running away, so she thought about what that meant.

…''Does he want to die?

She asked that while she watched the truck crash into the second blockade set up within the airport. It slammed into the wall of armored trucks while soldiers fled.

The sound of crushed metal rang loud and the armored trucks spun outward to clear a path for the larger truck.

At the same time, several gunshots rang out and the battle within the airport began in earnest.

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