Editing City Series:Volume6b Chapter1 (section)

===Part 5===

Schweitzer looked out from the cockpit window to see a young man appear from within Schwarz Löwe’s back.

“…”

He had long brown hair tied back, but it looked red in the airport lights. He wore the black pants of a Geheimnis Agent and even wore the boots, but he only wore a sleeveless black shirt on his upper body.

But the most notable trait was the long drawn sword he held in his right hand.

It was a pure white double-edged sword that allowed no shadows to fall on it.

He climbed on top of Schwarz Löwe’s shoulder with that weapon that resembled a straight line of silver.

His thick eyebrows bent in a smile.

“Alfred Maldrick plus two others here. We decided to stop by for supplies on our way to the HQ.”

His hoarse statement was followed by two roars from the sky.

Two other Grösse Panzers landed behind him with speeds just short of freefall.

They stood back up as pieces of the pavement flew into the air. The one on the right was blue and the one on the left was red. They had both deactivated their Ober Emblems and no longer had wings on their back.

The blue one carried a giant autocannon modeled after an MG 34 in its right hand.

The red one carried a massive shield in its left hand.

Both had shimmering heat rising from the radiators on their back.

Alfred smiled bitterly when he saw it.

“These two are still inexperienced, but they work for me all the same. Allow me to introduce you to ‘Doppel Panzer’ Bermark Nein, the final form of the Eisen Ritter Project. He was left with me by Karl Schmitt, one of the Fünf Leithammel.”

Schweitzer grabbed the microphone from the wall to respond.

He instructed the pilot crew to have his voice played from the loudspeaker on the outside of the aircraft and then took a breath.

“You are in an awfully good mood, Alfred. The hoarseness of those artificial vocal cords suits you.”

Alfred must have heard that because he smiled a little.

“Hellard, huh? Ha ha. Of course I’m in a good mood. After four long years, my Eingeweide Grösse Panzer is finally complete. The new model that uses my voice as a component.” Alfred placed his hand on Schwarz Löwe’s face. “After all, this Panzer was built for the Geheimnis Agency’s internal anti-air tests, but it’s already outdated. The other countries still haven’t reached this level, it isn’t enough to satisfy my skill.”

“So you are visiting HQ for a new toy?”

“No, I have business at HQ other than that Panzer in Base #8. General Graham summoned me to attend the Gard-class’s commissioning…and I can’t exactly refuse His Excellency’s request when he is suffering from Words Warn.”

Alfred looked away from Schweitzer in the cockpit. The look in his eyes changed from joy to ridicule as he looked to Heiliger instead.

[[Image:City_v06b_045.jpg|thumb]]

“Oh, if it isn’t Lieutenant General Heiliger. Making your yearly visit to our HQ?”

“Oh? I am honored that a Panzer Kavalier of your caliber knows of me.”

“I’ve heard all about you from your sister, Lady Rose…not to mention the dark rumors spoken of you within our Agency. The rumors that you are a Neue Kavalier who fled to the military and sold out his family.” He smiled bitterly. “Not that I know what it is you do every year when you meet up with His Excellency and Lady Rose.”

“Stop it, Alfred. Have you forgotten that mouth of yours is what led to the incident four years ago?”

“That’s the distant past. And destiny would have worked itself out if not for that man. The one who thinks so highly of himself just cause he’s got a divine name.”

“A divine name, hm?”

“Isn’t that why you let him take care of the Messiah two years ago? Because he qualified as a one-armed man with a divine name?”

Once he got that out, Alfred’s expression changed.

“––––!”

He looked up and suddenly swung his sword up from atop Schwarz Löwe’s shoulder.

“!?”

Alfred opened his mouth before Schweitzer could even express his surprise.

The shout he produced was a single pure note. It was the Ton note that he used when destroying things as a Buster.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

His sword could amplify Tons as a Werkzeug.

It was instantly wrapped in white light, which it then released, becoming a pillar of light.

The relationship between Buster and Werkzeug was the relationship between the will to attack and the manifestation of that will. If the Buster moved to attack, the Werkzeug would amplify the attacking Ton of his will and allow it to manifest.

He made a single attack with the sword he had raised overhead.

He also turned his body around, so the destructive beam of light swept horizontally across the airport.

The mist evaporated as the destructive light grew to 200 yards long and 40 yards wide. The target of the sweeping attack was the dragon regenerating its body within the mist and preparing to leap at the man.

When the light struck the dragon, it scattered with a sound like shattering glass.

It was annihilated.

The light returned to its original Tons and burst, sending threads of light dancing through the air.

The rain shined.

But Alfred did not even bother viewing the dancing and collapsing light.

He rested the sword on his shoulder and turned back toward the cockpit.

“I’m not the man I was four years ago. No one’s a match for me now that I can wield Rein König.”

“Then I have some news you might be interested in: We have received a report of Dog Berger entering Germany. He may be working with the full force of the AIF led by ‘Verräter’ M. Schrier.”

“Is that so? I had received a similar report,” said Alfred. “The Messiah girl apparently entered Germany as a tourist just before entry into the country was locked down. A team from the Army Division is searching for her, but she was apparently on her way to Berlin.”

Alfred smiled a little as he looked up into the sky.

“Things are in motion as war draws ever closer. And I will be joining the chase this time.”

He called out to the two behind him in the rain. The two Panzers stood up and prepared to leave.

“We’ll be right after you once we’ve resupplied. Whatever the man with the divine name, the Messiah, and the AIF are planning, it’s bound to happen where we end up.”

“How can you be so certain, Alfred?”

“Because we’re their opponent, Hellard. How could I be less than certain?”

With that, Alfred turned his back on them. He started to climb back into the secondary cockpit on Schwarz Löwe’s back, but then he stopped.

He rested his elbow on the armor and looked off into the distance. He took a long look at Berlin on this rainy night.

He even reached a hand out toward it.

He wore a ring with a red jewel on his left hand’s middle finger.

He used that hand to clutch at the empty air as if grasping the city before his eyes.

“Farewell, Berlin.”

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