Editing City Series:Volume6c Prologue (section)

===Part 2===

The sky had cleared up, but the ship was shaking and the wind was pounding hard on the bridge’s windows.

The light from a few moments ago had blasted away the clouds.

The commander turned to the side to ask his first officer what the light had been.

But the man was missing. The first officer had been thrown from his seat and onto the floor in the middle of the bridge. His neck was bent at an unnatural angle.

Only the few who had fastened their seatbelts remained at their posts. The dozen or so others were sprawled out on the floor, by the windows, or on the control panels. Some were groaning in pain and a faint iron scent filled the bridge.

One young man, the navigator, turned back, so the commander looked him in the eye.

“What about the others? What happened to the other ships?”

The commander stood up before receiving a response. The higher viewpoint let him assess how well his bridge was operating. The controls and all other electronics weren’t running. Only the analog gauges still had their needles moving.

“6mph? We’re only being swept along by the wind.”

He walked across the bridge and undid the seatbelts of the other survivors.

Once he had released the 5th and final one, the navigator gave his response.

“The others are…gone. There is no sign of Ships 4 and 5 or the bombers.”

“I see.” The commander nodded and stood up after undoing the communication officer’s seatbelt. “Are you still alive? You were sent to us by the AIF, weren’t you?”

“Y-yes.”

“Then I have one final job for you. Return to HQ and tell them the following: My division arrived in the enemy mainland and confirmed the presence of an enemy force in our assigned recon region. Ships 2 and 3 were lost in an attack by three Heavy Barrels. And…” he sighed. “Ships 4 and 5 and our entire bomber unit were lost to a Babel Cannon. …This confirms the existence of an enemy Babel Cannon equipped ship and we can never enter the German mainland from the west without first eliminating it.”

The survivors gulped, but he continued nonetheless.

“Hurry. If the rear deck is still intact, you can launch an escape boat.”

“Understood.”

A single set of footsteps started awkward and hesitant, but it gradually picked up speed and left the bridge.

The commander remained motionless, eyes shut, until the footsteps had faded away entirely.

“Okay,” he said, facing forward once more.

Four things floated about a mile away in the now-cloudless sky.

They were Heavy Barrels. Three were the white, red, and blue ones from before. The fourth was a new one. It was colored silver and had six wings spread on its back.

“I’ve heard of that one. The Geheimnis Agency’s supreme commander is supposed to Write Bring into a gaudy silver Heavy Barrel despite having no emotions.”

“Report: the escape boat has left the rear deck.”

“I see,” said the commander in relief. But then the Heavy Barrels ascended to fly above the ship and pursue the escape boat behind them. The commander snorted with laughter.

“You’re that terrified of being found out? Chief Engineer, manually restart the engines! Move us forward. If that escape boat can’t get away, this was all for nothing. Draw the enemy’s attention!”

His voice passed through the communicator to reach the engine room.

Before long, the ship restarted just as the four Heavy Barrels were passing by overhead, leaving behind white trails.

The ship shook and moved forward.

The commander held the wheel himself and faced forward.

“All hands, don your life jackets and keep your eyes peeled. We will soon see the true identity of our enemy.”

No one responded, but none of them were about to disobey.

The ship picked up speed. The inertia erasure emblems were not functioning, so the weight of acceleration bore down on them all. They could really feel the ship’s speed.

“Report: the four Barrels…are not stopping!”

“Why not!?”

The Heavy Barrels ignored the warship as it accelerated toward their mainland.

“Are they that terrified of a report getting out? Or…”

Did they have something else ready to intercept this ship? Were the Barrels not needed for that?

It arrived.

They heard the same girl’s voice as before.

But it was different this time. Instead of just speaking the Words, the voice had a rhythm to it.

<The Requiem march traverses the sky.>

<The Requiem song traverses the woods.>

<The Requiem tune traverses time.>

There were specks of light on the horizon. City lights.

Light raced by above the city. Flashes of lightning. They illuminated a massive shape.

The shape began to approach.

“Is that a ship!?”

No. From moment to moment, the enormous shape accelerated further and altered its form. The thing approaching so rapidly was not a ship made of metal.

It was a great beast with a long body glowing a bluish white.

It was a dragon.

“–––––!?”

The girl’s voice continued.

<We travel together.>

<We sing together.>

[[Image:City_v06c_033.jpg|thumb]]

The great dragon charged toward them as if sliding through the air.

It was big. Not even the aerial cruiser’s size was comparable. The bluish-white glowing dragon’s face already filled the bridge’s front window, so they could see its eyes and its fangs.

<nowiki><I</nowiki> walk the path of shared silence.>

<You walk the path of separated silence.>

“A ship that size can use an Armed Emblem!?” shouted the captain as he listened to the song.

That was the last thing he ever said.