Editing City Series:Volume6a Prologue (section)

===Part 4===

The man lowered his prosthetic arm and shut his eyes in the wind atop the bridge.

He could hear the roar of that wind, the rumble of the aerial warship’s engines, and…

“Lieutenant! Lieutenant Schweitzer!!”

Hearing his name, Schweitzer opened his eyes and turned toward the voice.

An old soldier in the same black uniform as him had climbed to top of the bridge.

This old man was tall and pencil thin, but he stood firm in the powerful wind and bowed with his white gloved hands clasped behind his back.

“The enemy craft – the Sylphide prototype – has disappeared to the east-northeast.”

“My failure to destroy it shows just how much room for improvement I have.” He loosened the scarf holding his collar shut. “But this must have been an unpleasant surprise for the military. This ship was only dragged out here to act as a target for the V-0 ramming weapon, yet it was forced to join the hunt. I know the Sylphide evolves through combat, but why do this?”

“Yes, I have to question the military leadership’s decision to order it destroyed. If we had not been onboard, this ship would have been sunk.”

“Indeed. Not only did it slip past the cannon fire, but the Nein Ton rounds specifically developed for use against the Sylphide failed to work for some reason. …Not to mention that our higher ups in the Geheimnis Agency ordered us to capture the Sylphide, not destroy it.” Schweitzer lightly tapped his prosthetic right arm with his left hand. “We got by thanks to my Eingeweide arm Der Held, but we must immediately determine why the Nein Ton rounds failed to work. Also, has HQ still not tracked down the Messiah, Bermark? Our orders were not to mess with the Sylphide; they were to secure the Messiah so we might fulfill the prophecy before the Greater Germanic Reich declaration next April.”

Bermark bowed in response.

“It is true this encounter with the Sylphide was not part of our initial objective. As for the Messiah…the girl’s whereabouts are still unknown. We have narrowed down which doctors were involved, but that is all.”

“I see.” Schweitzer nodded and looked up at the clouds that looked close enough to reach out and touch. “An unbreakable aerial ship which can live above the clouds despite the moonlight that sends spirit stones berserk, can control inertia and gravity to fly, and can heal itself and evolve using its alchemy and repair emblems, is that it?”

“The military says they have begun development of a more powerful detection system to deal with this.”

“It won’t work. Every encounter only lasts an instant and then it flies far above the clouds where no detection system can reach it. Sylphide is honestly a good name for it.”

Schweitzer lowered his gaze from the sky to find Bermark looking straight at him.

The old soldier paused for a moment before asking his next question.

“Did you check inside the Sylphide’s cockpit?”

“It was empty…but I guarantee you Marsch is with that craft. Along with a certain promise.”

He turned toward the blowing wind – toward the direction the aerial ship was flying.

That meant east-northeast, but there was no sign of the blue craft any longer.

His gaze instead fell on the horizon where the dark sky above and the pitch black ground below met.

Specks of light from a distant city shined in that gap.

He suddenly pulled a scrap of paper from his pocket.

It was a piece torn from a photograph. The right half was missing, but it depicted him standing at an airport with a civilian airplane behind him. He was smiling and he had a right arm.

Suddenly, Bermark began reciting a Text behind him.

''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

Schweitzer sighed.

“Yes, that would be the prophecy every single member of the Geheimnis Agency received three months ago. The one taken from the Unreif Germane’s 9th Section of the Ruling King. From what I heard, if we can secure the Messiah in accordance with the prophecy…”

“Then the Messiah will lead us in our time of need and save Germany, right?”

“I really wish I could meet with the prophet girl and his Excellency who run the Gehemnis Agency to ask for further details. I want to know if the Messiah we seek really can fulfill the prophecy and become our savior.”

He returned the partial photo to his pocket and once more faced the city lights in the far distance. He spoke the name of that city.

“Berlin!!”

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