Editing City Series:Volume6d Chapter1 (section)

===Part 7===

Hazel raised her head and looked around to find the library had returned to its dark and quiet state. All the gazes gathered on her were gone. The only other people here were Berger in front of her and Alfred behind her.

Then she heard a sound like tearing cloth but repeated over and over. The bookcases had been sliced through and the top halves were sliding down.

With a creaking sound, the split wood and books slid along the cut and spilled to the floor.

With the top halves scattered across the floor, the bookcases were now a lot shorter.

The destruction did not reach the windows beyond the bookcases. The windows still showed the scarlet sky of Germania and the cityscape filled with gaps.

…''There’s no one here. Like everything I was just seeing was never really there.

Hazel placed her hands on the floor and spoke, ignoring the blanket slipping from her shoulders.

“The words affect reality…”

“I don’t know what’s real and what’s not,” said Berger, standing next to her.

He pulled all the Phlogiston Tanks from Gelegenheit’s hilt, reached into his pocket for the envelope Hazel had given him, and threw it away.

“Unfortunately, the authorization seal on the orders was fake. A really well made fake.”

“How can that be!?”

“Don’t get upset, Hazel. It’s not your fault. Blame the people who gave you a fake.”

He took a look around the quiet library.

“This city is real pain in the ass. Can you place words on top of words and make it all real?”

He turned toward Alfred who stood a few yards behind Hazel.

“Yes, our words can overwrite reality. The library’s bookcases really have been removed and it really is full of Geheimnis Agency soldiers.”

Hazel realized something from that.

She viewed the silence around her.

“So this silence was created when I came up here?”

“It is a false silence created by my words. I used my earlier Erklärung to pull back the curtain and show you the truth. And his Gelegenheit only managed to cut through that top-level Erklärung.”

Berger smiled bitterly at that.

“So the question is whether I placed my words on top of yours to create a further fiction or if I cut through your words to reveal the truth, huh?” He took a breath. “Either way, we can break through it all.”

Hazel looked up at Berger.

…''He said we.

There were only two people in the AIF – no, in the entire Allied forces – with a High Organ device capable of Aerializing words: Hazel and Berger.

The Allies were researching High Organs, but they had only succeeded in creating exact copies. The AIF was working on creating a remote control device based on Hazel’s ability, but they had yet to develop their own High Organ devices.

It was with that in mind that Hazel looked up at Berger and nodded.

He kept his eyes on Alfred and reached his prosthetic left hand toward her.

She reached out her own hand to take that mechanical one.

<But first, Der Held’s voice fills the library.>

<The Hero greets the Messiah.>

Hazel realized a bluish-white line of light had moved in between her and Berger.

…''Ether!?

The line expanded vertically to surround her on all four sides. The ether line outlined a special field.

“I recognize this!”

Berger’s left hand was wrist deep in the barrier, so it was promptly severed.

Hazel suddenly found herself floating.

She was falling.

“No!”

She was falling backwards along the library’s floor.

Gravity had been redirected 90 degrees within the field. The spatial positioning in the field had been altered.

She was “falling” toward the window, taking her away from Berger.

She reached out her hand, but it wasn’t enough. She only managed to reach his severed left hand, causing it to tumble in the air.

Her fall continued.

Just before her back hit the field wall behind her, the field shattered.

Gravity immediately returned to normal, nauseating her. Her floating body fell toward the floor now.

But something caught her in midair before she could hit the floor.

…''Eh? What was that?

She struggled a bit and righted herself, finding she was on top of some kind of flat surface.

She and the blanket around her were held by an enormous hand. She knew the arm’s name.

“Der Held!?”

Her shouted question was answered by movement. The arm produced a mechanical sound and her viewpoint rose.

The next thing she knew, she was draped over an enormous metal shoulder.

She grabbed at the metal shoulder and stretched out her elbows to prop herself up.

Her pulse raced and she saw the prosthetic arm’s owner was looking to Berger, not her. She recognized the square face she saw in profile.

“Lieutenant Hellard Schweitzer.”

“I am a captain now.”

She answered his brief correction by lowering her head with her eyebrows drooping.

But that was all. She then turned to look at Berger.

He stood about 5 yards away.

He had lost his left hand and he held Gelegenheit in his right hand.

He was looking her way even though it took his eyes off Alfred behind him. He looked expressionless, but there was great strength in his unwavering gaze.

That gaze brought her relief, so she relaxed her shoulders.

Then Schweitzer spoke.

“Berger. I’m sorry, but I will be taking the Messiah with me.” His tone was thoroughly businesslike. “I have one suggestion.”

He fell silent there and Berger did not respond.

Schweitzer took three breaths before continuing.

“Berger, would you consider joining the Geheimnis Agency? This request comes straight from our commander.”

The gasp of protest did not come from Hazel, who struggled wide-eyed on Schweitzer’s shoulder, or from Berger, who simply frowned. It came from Alfred behind Berger.

“What is the meaning of this, Hellard!?”

But Schweitzer ignored it all like he was only conveying a message.

“After all, Berger, you and the Messiah have nowhere left to run.”

He raised his left hand.

The large flesh fist held a broad strap. A large, rectangular brown leather bag dangled from that strap.

“Th-that’s the bag I left in Potsdam!”

“Yes, we had noticed you well before then. We examined the contents and found something very interesting indeed.” He shut his eyes. “A serum meant to fight the German Tons we injected Berger with.”