City Series:Volume6E

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Title Page

Right:

City Series

Panzerpolis Berlin 5 1943 Erste End

Left: Welcome to the Panzerpolis – to Berlin.

Bottom: By Kawakami Minoru

Characters

Name: Hazel

Hazel’s bottom text:

The Messiah hesitates and chooses

Name: Berger

Berger’s bottom text:

Destiny is the power to connect

Central text:

Nordpolarstern (North Star) – An Unforgotten Starting Point

This night sky was once a place of regret. But it was in fact the starting line for the final battle which leads to the beginning of the end of everything.

Kampflage

Bottom right box:

Explanation

[Lines]: Effective Range of the Dome

[Arrow]: Attack Routes

[X]: Battle Starting Points

According to AIF research, the Wheel of Destiny will begin on August 24, 1943, at 4:24 AM.

“Afterwards, the History Lives for the past 1000 years will simply be repeated and regenerated from the remnants that escape destruction, so the real flow of history continues outside the loop. If the loop is stopped, our history will reconnect to the real history outside. But that connection will require both sides to adapt to each other, which will cause great change across the world.”

In other words, stopping the Wheel of Destiny will change the world at 4:42 AM, creating a world where the Messiah never existed in Germany. The Allies laughed off the idea, but the AIF has decided that change should happen if it would correct history to its proper form. Thus, the AIF intends to independently stop Tristan to stop the Wheel of Destiny.

The time limit is 3 AM on the 24th. If Tristan is not stopped and the dome not eliminated by then, the Allies will launch their ACBS toward Germania.

The AIF must stop Tristan by then and trigger the worldwide change at 4:42 AM.

Left Labels:

1. Berger’s Attack Route

2. Pale’s Attack Route

3. Hazel’s Attack Route

Berlin

Right box:

△: Berlin in the 12th Century (Village Era)

This land first appears in the records in 1237.

Before then, it is thought to have been no more than a small village.

The village was split between north and south by the river Spree. The north part was named Berlin and the south part was named Cölln (not to be confused with the German name for Cologne).

Strangely enough, Berlin was split in two from the very beginning.

▽: Berlin in the 15th Century (Twin Cities Era)

In 1415, Berlin became the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg.

The people resisted the lord’s rule while expanding Berlin and Cölln.

Left box:

▷: Berlin in the 17th Century (Fortress City Era)

The twin cities were united when walls were built around them.

The fortress was no longer necessary by the end of the 18th century, so Berlin expanded in every direction, growing to a very large city.

A remnant of the city’s shape at this time can be seen in modern Berlin’s central Tiergarten and the surrounding area.

Ad

Right Text:

I’m so excited to be attacking Germania that I think I might just cause massive damage! (whatever that’s supposed to mean)

Bottom right circle:

Today’s Cover Girl is Hazel Mirildorf, smiling with one of Germania’s Tristan souvenirs. Provided by: Chokugeki Bunko

Top blue box: Plane Ticket

Text below top blue box:

is no longer necessary.

Instead, you need:

Other blue boxes:

Strength

Guts

War Cry

Left:

Just call the

AIF

if you need to attack a foreign country.

Our current Crazy Mission Deal only costs

$5

for an attack on Germania. And you’ll be doing it

ON (good for your health) FOOT

1. Banzai Easy Course

Berlin – Germany (European Stroll Course)

2. Good Luck, Dad! Course

US – Germany (Solo Atlantic Ocean Trip Course)

3. Sure, They’re the Enemy, But Why Not? Course

Japan – Germany (Swimming and Walking Course)

“Eh? I Have to Walk?”

We imagine that’s you’re first concern, ma’am (or sir).

But the AIF’s tours are all perfectly planned out.

Some of the courses might seem intentionally roundabout, but life has its ups, its downs, and its utter failures, so we will give you a training period ahead of time so you won’t feel too bad.

Combat Training Menu

Summer: Guarding Crucial Facilities in Venezuela

(3 Month Contract – No Benefits – On the Beach)

Winter: Patrolling the Siberian Border

(6 Month Contract – Free Sauna Access – Hourly Wage)

See, we thought of everything.

So sign up! Do it! Now!

Panzerpolis Berlin 5 1943 Erste-Ende

Someone asks me if I can hear that.

I want to tell them I can.

There are some things I must not do, but I want to use every other power I have – and even borrow an inhuman power of steel – to find my answer. Because that will surely lead to the next question.

If I do not find the answer, the questions will end there. Nothing will change if I do not answer the simple question of “can you hear that”.

I want to answer that question and ask a question of my own. I want to ask them what their answer was.

Opening Quote

“The piece does not need a name.

All you need to know

Is that there it depicts a single hero battling their enemies.”

-Strauss, about the tone poem “A Hero’s Life”

Prologue: The Promise Prepares

8/22/1943 17:21 – 20:18

I have landed in Germany

I must first find a safe place

Or so I thought

Part 1

The light inky sky was damp and colored by a misty rain and heavy air.

The inky color gradually darkened as the rain grew heavier and the night arrived.

The sky looked so much like blurry dark waves and the vague shapes of dark mountains covered the earth.

The weight of the gray sky and white mist pressed down on the many slopes of that vast land.

Concepts as vague as the misty rain and dark night were gradually taking over this world as night fell.

But one notably unvague thing traveled from the ground and into the sky: a sound.

Something in the forest sounded a lot like stone hitting stone.

It was a gunshot. The bang of the bursting gunpowder echoed through the mountains and spread through the mist. Its lingering echoes rattled the misty air and mixed with the other sounds in the air.

The deep sound rose into the rainy sky where water burst and the rain grew stronger.

The rain fell on a narrow mountain path running between the forest’s trees.

A single person was running down that rainy path.

The woman’s long blonde hair was a mess from the rain and she held a white sword in one hand.

Her eyes were different colors. The left one was a brown feline eye and the right one was a blue human eye.

Both eyes were facing dead ahead and the mouth below it was busy releasing white breaths into the chill of the misty rain.

She stared at her own white breaths for a moment and then smiled bitterly.

“But it’s only August.”

She kept running. Her footsteps were light on the wet dirt and she ran softly across the ground by kicking off with her toes.

A sign was carved into a tree on the side of the path, naming this place.

“Borderson. Armed conflict isn’t allowed in this land.”

She removed the poncho she wore over her clothing and wrapped her sword in it.

She covered the plain white sword in the forest camo green, giving it a long package.

The hem of the poncho swayed loosely past the end of the sword.

She checked her pockets for something to tie up the hem with.

The choker around her neck and a red gem pendant spilled from the collar of her inner clothing.

She tugged on the choker’s string, but the rain-wet cloth had gone tight and she couldn’t get the knot undone.

“But I can’t use the pendant. It’s too important.”

She put the red gem back in her clothing.

She hesitated a moment before continuing the search and pulling out dog tags on a thin chain. She quickly wrapped the chain around the package and used the dog tags as a clasp to hold it in place.

The wet dog tags caught the light, revealing the name carved into them: Hazel Mirildorf.

Hazel held the tightly closed package under her arm and nodded.

…Only I came down with the chill of a Live disease three days ago, so I went to Germany first.

They would meet up again in two days’ time. At midnight of the 24th in an inn on the outskirts of Germania.

They had to stop Tristan before the History Lives could begin another loop.

According to continued research by the AIF’s prophets, the pressure sent back through the ley lines would cause Tristan to lose control at 3 AM of the 24th and the loop would happen at 4:42.

…If we stop Tristan by 3 AM, this world will remain until 4:42.

But if they stopped the Wheel of Destiny, the Spacetime Lives would be freed from the loop and connect to the future Spacetime Lives. 4:42 AM was the moment of truth regarding the loop.

…There will be a revolution to create a world without the Messiah, but we will finally have a future again.

The Allies didn’t believe any of it and had rejected everything the AIF tried to tell them.

But they had accepted the AIF’s plan to stop Tristan and were paying careful attention to it.

A one-way transmission from the Allies had said the ACBS being used in conjunction with the ley line pressure would be launched at 3 AM. And it would arrive in Germania at 4:42.

But if the AIF managed to destroy the dome before 3, the ACBS launch would be canceled. To meet the conditions laid out by the Allies, the AIF was gathering almost all of its forces in Germany.

Hazel had intended to spend a day in Borderson and then head there.

“But I’ve been on the run ever since I arrived!”

She focused on her ears. A new sound had joined her footsteps and the falling rain.

She heard running water.

Quite a lot of water was flowing by a bit to the right of the path.

Her gaze was drawn rightward by the sound.

The forest here was thinner and she could see a river of about 20yd across through the trees. The river was fuller than usual thanks to the rain, but its water hadn’t been stained by mud yet.

The dark green water seemed to swell up at the surface as it flowed downstream.

“If I follow that river over the hill, I reach the Village of Pardons.”

Hazel sighed. She broke through the white breath with her shoulders as she continued forward. She removed her eyes from the river to face forward again as well.

She saw a bridge through the forest. It was a simple design – two logs placed end to end to connect the banks with a boulder sticking up from the middle of the river. The bridge was hard to see through the mist rising from the river, but it hadn’t been washed away yet.

She could still cross.

If she ran down the straight mountain path for another 20 yards or so, she would reach the side path to the bridge.

Then she heard the grass parting behind her.

It was pretty far away, but the rustling of the grass soon changed to the footsteps of someone in pursuit.

She frowned.

…Someone’s still after me?

“They don’t give up,” she muttered, leaping right before reaching the side path.

She ran through the forest, taking a shortcut to the bridge.

The pursuing footsteps did not enter the forest. They chose to remain on the path.

She did not look back.

In the shadowy forest, she held her cloth-wrapped sword to her chest and ran along the knee-deep grass and soft humus.

She saw the side path through the trees up ahead. As well as the small clearing at the end of the bridge.

She sped up, kicking the humus back behind her.

Her speed whipped up the wind, shaking the branches around her.

The sound of the rain doubled as more drops fell from the tree leaves, leaving a spray of water in her wake.

She arrived at this end of the bridge, but then her face stiffened and she stopped running.

Two small silhouettes in raincoats were on the bridge made from two logs.

One was a small girl down on her knees, nervously watching the river below as she crawled across.

The other was a boy taking careful steps in front of the girl to make sure the log wasn’t too slippery.

Hazel saw the two of them and they turned around to look at her.

The two pairs of eyes within the raincoats widened with surprise and then looked behind her.

When she noticed that, she twirled around, her blonde hair trailing behind her.

A slender woman carrying a handgun stood at the entrance to the side path leading to the bridge.

She aimed the gun with the pale light of the main mountain path behind her.

Hazel just about ran into the forest on reflex, but…

…The children.

She stopped herself and prepared to raise her poncho wrap as a shield.

But before she could, a gunshot rang out and she felt an impact in the center of her chest.

Before she even felt the pain, she found her feet had left the ground.

Her airborne body was first caught by the empty air rather than the dirt ground.

And then the water caught her.

All of a sudden, she couldn’t see anything other than the inky gray sky. But when she felt a tugging on her back, water splashed high toward the sky on either side of her vision and she heard rushing water.

At the same time, the sky seemed to shake unsteadily in her vision and then it was covered by a thick layer of water.

The water felt ticklish as it surrounded her cheeks and neck.

Her mind resisted the ticklishness and the chill, but her mind was dragged into darkness by shock.

Her senses of sight, hearing, and touch all faded away.

Part 2

The pit was easily half a mile deep and more than 100 yards across.

Light filled it from the inner walls and a thick metal column pierced it down the center.

Several walkways connected the inner walls of the cylinder to the column.

A large man stood on the highest of those walkways.

He wore the black combat boat of the Geheimnis Agency Air Force Division and he stood next to the column with his right prosthetic arm entirely motionless.

He was staring at a desk-sized control panel installed on the side of the column about 8 yards in front of him. The control panel had a fist-sized hole on the left side and it was not currently functioning.

His gaze climbed from there.

A glass window was installed on the wall above the control panel. It was 2 yards tall and a yard wide and several plastic pipes could be seen crawling and intersecting on the other side.

But something else stuck out from between the pipes twisted in a wild but flat arrangement.

It was a skinny arm. The feminine right arm had the frail lines unique to sickly people and it stuck out toward the window. The open palm was pointed upwards and it was so close it touched the inside of the glass.

An ear of golden wheat sat on the palm.

The man’s eyes narrowed at the wheat.

Just then, he heard a voice from behind him.

“Captain Schweitzer. You were in here again?”

Schweitzer turned toward the voice.

He saw the walkway leading to a large door on the pit’s inner wall. That door sat open and a tall, skinny man stood in front of it. He spoke the name of the elderly man who wore the same black coat as him.

“Bermark. Do you need something?”

“With martial law and a strict security alert in place, I have a lot of spare time. As do you.”

That comment put a bitter look on Schweitzer’s face. He sniffed the air blowing in from the door.

“Is it raining outside?”

“Yes, a large craft will soon be landing on the high-altitude launchpad at the end of the hallway.”

The two automatic doors sitting open behind Bermark led to a long hallway. That led to another door which led to the launchpad hangar.

Schweitzer walked forward and Bermark nodded.

“Are you returning to your quarters?”

Schweitzer frowned at the question.

“What are you trying to say? Are you suggesting I stay here forever?”

“Not at all. I was merely asking if you are heading back…which would mean you are not going anywhere.”

Schweitzer sharpened his gaze and looked to Bermark.

Bermark gave him a much calmer look in return.

After a bit, Schweitzer sighed.

“Where are you taking me?”

“You misunderstand. I have no intention of taking you anywhere.”

“You are the most irritating aide in the world. Where is it I am apparently going?”

Bermark nodded and pointed toward the corridor behind him.

It continued to the left, right, and straight ahead, but he pointed at that last option: toward the launchpad.

“You cannot just choose to leave during this alert.”

“I am not ‘just choosing’ to leave. Because I imagine a few different people want this. Also, do you have no intention of confirming what the fräulein wanted?”

That shut Schweitzer up.

His gaze wandered for a moment, but he finally looked back toward the hand visible through the window.

“She once told me to believe her lies no matter what might happen. And if this is what she wanted…”

Bermark stopped Schweitzer from continuing.

“Perhaps she did want this, but can you accept it?”

Schweitzer slowly turned back toward Bermark.

He found Bermark was not looking at him.

He was looking over Schweitzer’s shoulder toward the window on the column.

“Captain. I hear that, when Hazel Mirildorf lost the Sylphide, she grieved, but she did not give up.”

“And so I shouldn’t give up either? She did not want that to happen. And if you claim to be her ally, why did you let it happen?”

Bermark raised his right hand a bit. He wore a white glove over it.

He moved the fingers in the glove, producing a quiet mechanical sound.

“I am a non-evolving Sein Frau, so I do not know what it is like to have a ‘heart’. My tooth-fueled Freischütz remains undeveloped, but that is why I do not obey the decisions made for me. I-”

“Enough. Tell me where I am going.”

“To the old HQ, captain.”

Bermark placed his right hand on his chest.

Then he sang a song for Schweitzer.

Follow the path to a familiar face

While walking side by side

Your hand and voice might reach them

But the moon sees it not

The gatherers begin their party

A wall separates the pair

As they follow the same path with the same words

After singing the gentle melody in a low, steady voice, he looked up at Schweitzer.

“The fräulein’s final prophecy was the 6th Section of the Ending God, but…”

“You mean the prophecy Lowenzahn left us with before entering Tristan, claiming the true purpose of the Panzerpolis Project would be fulfilled if we followed it? You want me to obey that?”

“No, do not forget how this has always worked. Back in ’37, we were not obeying the prophesies – we were fulfilling them. This is the same, captain. Will you grieve, will you give up, or will you hope for something else? Hazel Mirildorf should have reached the point where she can accept both grief and resignation. If you wish to reach her level, you should consider all of these things with what you will obtain at the old HQ.”

“I have just one question regarding this long speech of yours.”

“What might that be?”

“Whose side are you on?”

Bermark narrowed his eyes and finally closed them. He even inclined his head forward.

“I am your aide, Captain Schweitzer. I am yours to command. Where will we be going?”

Part 3

A small room made entirely of wood functioned as a house.

A lamp without its shade sat above the fireplace in the back of the room, shining a brown light on the room.

In the fireplace, a few pieces of charcoal burned red with the firewood ashes.

The windows in the left and right walls showed only darkness on the other side.

Raindrops and their dripping lines decorated the exterior of the glass.

The lamp light flickered, affecting the single shadow near the entrance on the other side.

Two people sat across from each other at the small table next to the door.

One was an old man in casual clothing. He did not cast a shadow on the floor or wall. Not even the shadow of his crooked nose could be found anywhere.

The woman sitting across from him did cast a flickering shadow on the floor and wall.

The middle-aged woman wore a stole over a blue dress.

She looked to the old glass bottle and the glass sitting on the table.

The liquid in the glass shined a dark red in the brown lamplight.

She turned to look at the bottle’s label.

“That wine is from our mansion’s cellar. I completely forgot my sister brought that here.”

“You were still children back then, weren’t you? She left one of your family’s wines here so Lady Melda of Borderson or the regional lord could drink it if they visited.”

“Ellis really loved acting like an adult. She brought five bottles over in all. A child like her couldn’t know how it actually tasted, but she grabbed whatever looked most expensive and carried as much of it as she could manage.”

“It was quite a surprise to learn it was meant to be offered to the imperial family, Lady Lillie.”

The mayor sounded amused and Lillie smiled bitterly in remembrance.

“We can laugh about it now, but the Telmetz family declined after that, the mansion fell into disrepair, and I lost all of the wine, furniture, and people. It must have been the curse of the stolen imperial wine.”

She viewed the bottle.

“So how many have you gone through so far?”

“This is the third. Take the remaining two with you when you leave. That is all this village can do to thank you for your consideration.”

“No. I’m the one who should have done more. This village has done nothing but look after me and my sister. Even if it is a Heidengeist village, the military’s current orders go too far.”

“Let us not discuss that right now. I have already informed the heads of the households. We will simply start moving. Calmly, like nothing is amiss.”

“I suppose so,” said Lillie, reaching for the glass.

She drank some of its contents, giving her a view through to the other side.

“I don’t know what to make of it. Everyone except me is moving on. And without doubt or hesitation. I want to follow them, but I can never seem to find an answer for my doubts and I can’t bring myself to do it.”

She set the glass back on the table and tilted it a bit.

She watched the dark red liquid rippling.

“I was supposed to collect Lady Rose’s gem from the wreckage of the Requiem that crashed last year.”

“You mean the giant ship that crashed on the border between Borderson and Hamburg?”

“Yes. I was to give that gem to the Messiah when Tristan is fully switched on tomorrow. As a good luck charm. Yet I took a job from the military and here I am.”

The mayor’s eyebrows reacted ever so slightly to the word “Messiah”.

“I was so worried when you left with the Neue Kavaliers waiting outside the village.”

“I know. But I failed. Now, I hear a villager took in a cat earlier.”

“Yes. When a man from the Eldering family took his kids down to the waterfall basin, they found a sword, some clothing, and a Flektierened Werecat washed up on the bank.”

“I assume the sword was left with you. So did you see it?”

“It was Rein König. The Messiah’s Werkzeug passed down by the Maldrick family.” The mayor looked to Lillie. “The Messiah is currently in the Eldering home. In the care of a woman with the maiden name of Ilfheim.”

“Ilfheim? That was Lady Frobel’s maiden name.”

“It is a variation on Alfheim. I do not know Lady Frobel’s family history, but the Messiah once gave the Ilfheim family a protective necklace. She had them promise to watch over the country’s prosperity and to act as its guardians. She also allowed them to mix with other families.” He took a breath. “The main branch apparently compiled history books at a library in Berlin, but they were killed off during the Heidengeist purge in ’35, with the sole exception of the daughter…who lost her memories.”

Lillie gulped at the mayor’s explanation.

“Where is this necklace now?”

“I do not know. It was lost during the previous war. And the Ilfheims born to other families would not know where it is or even be aware of their own duty. Nevertheless, the strong connection between the Neue Kavaliers and the Heidengeists continues to protect the Messiah.”

“But the Neue Kavaliers are no longer with her. Heiliger is still only ordering her capture, but we are focused more on the AIF’s attack on Germania. If the Messiah arrives with the AIF, we will have no choice but to fight back and prove which of us is in the right.”

“What do you intend to do? You know she is here and you are under orders to capture her.”

Lillie kept her smile intact, but closed her eyes.

“I am a simple woman, so it all comes down to one thing: I cannot forgive the Messiah.”

She tilted her head and sighed. She untangled her hair from her neck with her free left hand.

“I think the Messiah must pay for those who have died. She is trying to change the present for a better future, but that will negate all the efforts of everyone who has fought to preserve the present.”

Lillie straightened up and touched her index finger to the edge of the glass.

She tilted the glass back and then spoke more quietly.

“I fight for the past and she fights for the future. Let’s see which of us right.”

Chapter 1: The Promise Activates

8/23/1943 07:01 – 14:43

I can stop the Wheel of Destiny

And start a global revolution

That would mean not getting another try at the past

But

Is that the right thing to do?

Part 1

Hazel came to.

…Hwuh?

That noise came from her mind.

Her body sat up just fine, but her mind was still woozy.

She could see a bright light, she was wrapped in a light pink blanket, and a gentle milky scent came from the blanket.

Clarity gradually returned to her mind.

She was sitting atop a bed.

This was a small wooden room. It had little furniture and the bright morning light shined in through the window to her left.

“You seem to be doing well. You slept through the whole night, so are you feeling better now?”

The sudden female voice made Hazel jump.

Her mind was fully awake now.

She turned to the right, wondering who this was, and saw a woman standing in front of the sink on the wall. She held a baby and Hazel recognized her.

“Eryngium?”

“I thought I recognized you from our wedding last year. You were with the guest Lehrer invited.”

Eryngium narrowed her eyes below her long brown hair and the baby in her arms cooed.

“I’m getting this girl some breakfast right now, so give me a second. Sorry if it’s cold in here.”

That last comment made Hazel look down at herself.

She was naked.

She shrieked and pulled up the blanket. Eryngium laughed with her back turned.

“Don’t worry. I had my husband spend the night with the neighbors, so it’s just me and the kid here. Okay?”

Eryngium scooped a spoonful of steaming oatmeal from a pot sitting next to the sink. She put it in her mouth first, chewed a few times, and then fed it to the baby.

Hazel held her knees below the blanket while watching it all even if Eryngium had her back turned. And then…

“You’re with the Allies, aren’t you? You call yourselves the AIF, right? Lehrer suddenly disappeared about a month ago…so are you here to clean up after that? Or are you using our village as a shelter?”

“The latter. Sorry.”

And…

“Excuse me, but what day is it? You said I slept all night, right?”

“It’s the 23rd. Around 7 in the morning I think.”

“Thank you. I really did sleep all night, didn’t I?”

Hazel shrank down in the bed and thought to herself.

…These villagers don’t know what we’re fighting for.

History would come to an end tomorrow, the 24th, at 4:42 AM.

Stopping the Wheel of Destiny and allowing history to continue would likely allow the damaged Spacetime Lives to reconnect to the future Spacetime Lives they still couldn’t see.

When that happened, the revolution carried out before the connection would be applied to the entire world, greatly rewriting the Spacetime Lives so everything fit together.

…Without the Wheel of Destiny, the Messiah never would have appeared in Germany.

This would change her and those around her, but it would also change Eryngium and others like her.

…But they won’t lose anything. Things will only change.

She shook her head at the word “only”. The AIF couldn’t think up a way to avoid that and the Allies had thrown it all out as made-up nonsense.

There was nothing she could do.

She sighed, lowered her knees, lifted up the blanket, and looked at her body.

When she touched between her breasts, she felt a twinge of pain and realized something.

“E-excuse me. Was I wearing a pendant?”

“Check the side table.”

She looked to her right as told.

A black string choker, the Wheel of Destiny card, and a pendant on a gold chain sat on the wooden bedside table.

The pendant’s locket sat partially open, giving a glimpse of the red stone ring inside.

Hazel breathed a sigh of relief and picked up the pendant. However…

“Oh.”

The pendant was broken.

The locket part opened and closed just fine, but the red stone that decorate the outside had broken. The stone now had a hole in the center and pieces had fallen out, revealing the locket portion below.

“Is that a good luck charm? Because it saved your life. You were fortunate, so you won’t even have a scar.”

Hazel nodded, assessed the damage she had taken, and shuddered.

She felt some tension and reached a hand to the brand on her shoulder.

Then she realized something else.

She knew something important about this woman.

…Eryngium should have a scar. But not like this brand.

She didn’t know the details, but it had to be true. So she relaxed her tense body and sighed.

…I can’t just sit here trembling.

Just then, she heard a quiet voice from Eryngium.

But it wasn’t Eryngium’s voice. It was a smaller voice that couldn’t even pronounce anything correctly.

She looked over to see a small round hand waving over Eryngium’s shoulder.

That was the baby’s hand. The small palm stuck up toward the ceiling and repeatedly closed and opened.

“There, there,” said Eryngium, turning toward Hazel and swaying gently side to side.

She began to hum a lullaby and Hazel breathed a sigh of relief.

…I can’t keep fearing scars.

She had another thought while viewing Eryngium.

…If possible, I hope this doesn’t change afterwards.

She knew that was only self-righteous selfishness, so she reached her right hand to the side table and grabbed the choker.

The black string was somewhat damp.

But that didn’t prevent her from tying it. She reached for her neck, placed the choker around it, and looked back to the side table.

If the Wheel of Destiny card was here…

“Excuse me. Do you have the clothes this card was in?”

“They’re hanging out to dry. It’s supposed to rain again starting this afternoon, so I wanted to get that done sooner rather than later.”

“Thank you. I would have liked some underwear sooner than this, though.”

Eryngium smiled bitterly.

Hazel looked up and saw the baby had calmed down at Eryngium’s chest.

That small face without a full head of hair was drifting off to sleep.

“Oh, sorry. I’m hogging the bed, aren’t I? Do you need to let that child sleep?”

“Don’t worry about it. Or were you planning to hang around the house in the nude?”

“N-no, I thought I could maybe borrow a shirt or something.”

“Unfortunately, my figure isn’t as nice as yours. I’ve been getting a little saggy of late.”

“Oh,” was all Hazel said, looking out the window and deciding not to press further.

It was the sunny period between two rainstorms and there was enough of a wind to occasionally rattle the window.

…The laundry should dry quickly like this.

She heard the bed creak. Before she realized that meant Eryngium had sat next to her, she felt a small voice and a tickling sensation on her neck.

The touch to such a sensitive spot made her jump. She turned around in a hurry to find the baby in Eryngium’s arms reaching for the choker on her neck.

She managed to hide her surprise and noticed the baby had two feline eyes.

…Eryngium said she’s a girl, didn’t she?

Hazel looked her in the eye and shook the end of the choker’s string that stuck out some.

The baby reached out, trying to catch it.

“My, my. You must have an unusual scent.”

Eryngium pulled the baby a bit away from the choker and then commented on its black color.

“But plain black is unusual for a girl like you. Does your partner like black?”

Hazel held a hand to her throat and looked to Eryngium.

She knew the exact look on her face: brow furrowed and lips pressed firmly together.

…Does she remember Berger?

She did not.

She hadn’t realized who he was at the wedding last year and Hazel had been able to make some good guesses from the way Berger acted and the things he said. Hazel looked the other woman in the eye.

“He…” She nodded and unfurrowed her brow. “Yes, he dresses all in black and I should see him later today.”

…His Tune healing finished the other day, so his right leg has fully recovered.

She had ended up entering Germany before he came to, so she hadn’t spoken with him for about a month. She would be reunited with him…

“On the outskirts of Germania. He will have black wings and a black sword. And I…I will be wearing this choker, whether I’ve turned into a cat or turned back.”

“I see.” Eryngium gave a satisfied smile and casually stopped the baby from grabbing the black string and putting it in her mouth.

Hazel watched the exchange before asking a question of her own.

“Eryngium, do you not like black?”

“I know it is supposed to be bad luck. But at the same time, it can be used to hide so many things. Important things that you don’t want people to find.”

Eryngium’s gaze turned toward the bottom of the side table. The bottom of the table was a box with a glass door and several things were line up within.

Hazel realized what they were.

“Black disks.”

Part 2

Hazel saw 12 black disks contained in paper cases in the bottom part of the side table.

She gulped and silently looked up.

She saw Eryngium staring at the 11 disks without smiling.

“Those were the only things I had with me when I arrived in this village. Unfortunately, the village doesn’t have a player, so I can’t play them. You can have them if you are interested.”

“No, I couldn’t possibly take them from you.”

“But they would be better off with someone who can play them.” Eryngium suddenly bent her eyes and eyebrows into a smile and nodded. “The mayor said you are Stimmer. I suppose you wouldn’t need music from a disk if you can access the Texts of reality at any time.”

“N-no, it isn’t about that.”

…Besides, I still don’t have an Ober Beweisen Text.

The Messiah’s Ober Beweisen could read any and all Lives, but that wasn’t necessary yet.

…It’s needed only if we can’t stop Neue Erde’s Spacetime Lives extraction and the world must go through another loop.

She didn’t see herself ever using her Ober Beweisen, so she changed the subject. She checked the titles written on the thin shoulder of the black disks.

“You even have Handel’s oratorios. Which include his Messiah.”

The title most closely related to her was the 8th from the left. That made it 4th from last.

Eryngium looked to the same thing.

“Who knows what would happen if you sang that one in Germany right now.”

She smiled bitterly and Hazel smiled bitterly back. Then Hazel noticed the title to Messiah’s right.

“Destiny.”

“Sometimes I feel like these 11 disks were important to me in some way. You see, I lost all my memories before I arrived in this village. All I have from my life before that are these disks.”

She held the baby in just her left arm and used her left hand to open the glass door on the side table.

She shifted the disk cases one by one from left to right and she sang along to the rhythm of her nails on the paper cases.

Below the wind blowing through our fatherland, the freeshooter feels a tailwind on his back

Below the tragedy, the emperor sings a requiem

Below the moonlit night, the messiah captures destiny

A lone hero marches into a new world

Hazel tilted her head at Eryngium’s lyrics.

“Do you think it is the hero who will arrive in a new world, not the Messiah?”

“The Messiah saves the current world. The new world is the world beyond that. The Messiah can guide us there, but I feel like the first person who sets foot in that new world will be known as a hero.”

Then she shut the side table’s glass door, stuck her right hand in her pocket, and pulled out something small and red.

She held it out for Hazel to see.

“A red gem!?”

Hazel’s right hand reflexively reached toward the side table for the pendant with the broken red gem.

“Why do you have a gem just like the one that was in this pendant?”

“I don’t know. But you were shot because you stopped to protect a pair of children, right? Last year, when a giant aerial warship crashed about 50m east of Borderson, those children said they wanted to go check out the crash site. The adults were against it, of course.”

“And they found that there?”

“I never saw the wreckage because there were too many soldiers around, but Lehrer accompanied the children and she said the pieces were scattered across a radius of about 10 miles. She said they found this in the valley east of Borderson.”

Eryngium stopped there and tilted her hand. The gem slid from her palm.

Hazel quickly reached out and caught it.

She held it between her fingers and let the sun shine through it, but she still couldn’t see completely through it. It had some highly dense material in it.

…It really is the same as the one in the pendant.

“Please take that. The children wanted you to have it as thanks for saving them and to make up for the broken pendant…and because they wanted to give a present to someone who reminds them so much of Lehrer.”

Hazel kept her eyes on the gem.

The presence seated next to her stood up with a sigh of relief. She heard one and then another step on the wooden floor before another question.

“That pendant was important, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.” Hazel nodded a very deep nod. “Someone very important left it in my care.”

Part 3

Light carved a diagonal line through the darkness.

That light came from the floor. A stairway covered in anti-slip strips and green glow panels continued ever downward. However, the faint green light was only enough to indicate the location of the steps, not to illuminate the entire stairway space.

Two people descended those series of faint lights.

The two sets of footsteps were very different.

One was loud and hesitant and the other was light and unwavering.

The hesitant set hung back a bit and asked a question in a deep voice.

“How far are we descending, Bermark? We have been doing this for nearly an hour now.”

“Until the old HQ is satisfied. Yes, I may be more than a century old, but that makes me a newcomer compared to this place’s millennium of history. When anyone other than its leader, emperor, or commander attempts to approach, it will make us go through a lot of trouble.”

“Could I shorten the space using my Der Held power?”

“I am afraid to say Germany’s millennium has featured several barrier masters with the Titel of Schallmauer Zerstörer. Do you really think such a common power could affect the true nature of this place, Captain Schweitzer?” Bermark took a breath. “And do consider what I told you on the way here about Germany’s destiny tonight.”

“The Nibelung, you mean? You said it is all connected to that. Which I find hard to believe.”

“Believe it or not, the Allies will launch their ACBS at Germania tonight and the fräulein will state her Ober Beweisen from within Tristan. Everything is falling into place.”

“Everything you say has to be painfully accurate, doesn’t it?”

“That is how it has always been.”

Schweitzer’s footsteps and presence changed when he heard that.

His footsteps grew louder and his presence grew as solid as a rock.

“If so, then all of this must be correct just as it always has been, Bermark.”

“Indeed it is.”

“But then where did Lowenzahn’s prophecies come from?”

“She told me to tell you that she can prophesy without relying on an Eingeweide device.”

Bermark’s response was answered by the solid crash of metal slamming into the unseen wall.

The footsteps stopped, the metal reverberated, a few beats passed, and Bermark finally asked a question.

“Have you calmed down now? Where does this impatience come from? Why not trust the message the fräulein left for you? She is a Sofort Leser, so she followed her own prophecies.”

“Just like Stimmers and Busters, Sofort Lesers can read someone’s Tons by touching them. And if they want to, they can pass their own Tons on to the other person.”

“What about it?”

Schweitzer took one step down the stairs as he answered.

“But whenever she had something truly important to convey, she was always extremely talkative.”

“That is very flimsy reasoning.”

“But it’s that talkative Lowenzahn I believe in. If her prophecies really did come from someone else, then I must determine whether or not she really wanted to go through with them. I must know what is truly accurate there.”

“Do you now?” Bermark nodded in the darkness. “It is true none of this world’s mistakes ever really go away. They merely grow more concentrated as the cycle continues. Just like you, my only desire is to add just one new accurate fact to the all the previous ones.”

Schweitzer’s footsteps took one more step down and then stopped.

His powerful presence stopped moving down the stairs and the skinnier presence ahead of him stopped as well.

“Is something wrong, Captain Schweitzer?”

“That’s my line, Bermark. Look ahead.”

The skinny presence made another footstep and a rustling of cloth.

The green lights leading down had ended.

The stairs didn’t go down any further. Instead, a pair of green glow panels decorated a double door. Bermark viewed it with the faint green light illuminating him.

He looked across the square landing with each side the width of the door.

“The castle has already accepted you? That is a surprise.”

‘You don’t sound surprised.”

A heavier footstep descended onto the landing.

The green light revealed a large man with a large prosthetic arm. It was Schweitzer.

“Maybe it decided I wasn’t worth tricking since I’m prepared to check over everything so carefully.”

“I have no will of my own, so I can never reach this place on my own. Just like my brother needs the Eisen Ritter Project to use an Ober Emblem, I can only use an incomplete Beweisen and Ober Beweisen.”

Schweitzer sighed at that and raised his prosthetic right arm.

“You are correct that it is your will that rules this place – not your strength.” He looked to his aide just once before viewing his prosthetic arm. “Thank you for earlier. I was getting impatient and I nearly relied on the Titel I inherited.”

“So what will you do now? Your Titel of Schallmauer Zerstörer means nothing from here on in. You have been following the same path as before, so I do not see how you can change anything with your strength or will.”

“Bermark.”

Schweitzer cut off his aide.

And he viewed Bermark while smiling with only his eyes.

“Why not just come out and say it? You’re asking if I intend to complete in a few hours all the work that Hazel Mirildorf put into changing her own destiny.”

He smiled bitterly and reached into his pocket.

He pulled out a small key.

“Lowenzahn left this with me. Did you know that?”

“I was the one she left her clothing with when she entered Tristan. I had my guesses when the key was not with her things.”

“Good grief.” Schweitzer inserted the key in the keyhole at the seam between the two sides of the double door. “A woman who tells you to believe her lies yet gives you the key to the truth and a Sein Frau who obeys that woman while simultaneously defying her.”

He turned the key, heard a click, and saw the door shake a bit.

Instead of pulling out the key, he pushed open the left side.

The right side opened with it. And quickly at that.

Nothing but white light spread out before his eyes.

Part 4

The light came from a large domed stone room. The walls were all covered by meter-long plates and all of those plates were emitting bright light.

Schweitzer stepped into that light and narrowed his eyes.

“This looks a lot like that room below Munich.”

The main difference was the lack of any cold storage tanks on the floor.

He walked forward and slowly opened his eyes to view the plates on the walls. The plates below Munich had been plans for Ober Geheimnis, but these were…

“The Unreif Germane.”

“This was once a lab used to recreate the Messiah’s history and search for the dragon. This is the control center for the surface facility and it can be used to recreate any history related to the Messiah.”

Bermark’s footsteps rang loud as he caught up from behind.

Schweitzer held a hand to his forehead and took a look around while waiting for his aide to arrive by his side.

His eyes stopped on a point near the floor, not the ceiling.

A desk made of brass panels sat in the center of the room.

He walked toward it. With each step, his eyes adjusted more to the light.

By the 17th step, they had adjusted enough for him to clearly see the skinny writing desk, the chair, and the black leather hardcover book sitting on the desk.

“Is that a journal?”

“Its former owner and its current owner must want you to read it.”

“I see.”

Schweitzer nodded and grabbed the journal with his biological hand.

It was thick and heavy.

He could see the black leather was dried and crumbling at the edges of the cover.

Something appeared to have been written on the cover in gold leaf, but too much had come away to read it.

He held his prosthetic right arm up in front of his chest and placed the journal on that in lieu of a desk.

He lifted the hard cover and opened it.

He found a titlepage with brown discolored edges. The page contained the year at which the journal began.

“1919. The year before my father died, the previous war ended, and the Geheimnis Agency got its start.”

He lowered his head somewhat to read the name written below the date.

It was a woman’s name. He frowned when he saw the last name.

“Frobel Nay- wait, is that her maiden name? It has been erased. Ilf-”

“Ilfheim. The same last name as a friend of yours. A lot of half-Heidengeists from the Alfheim region have that name, so Sir Lowenheit chose to keep Frobel’s identity a secret. I imagine only a few other than me knew.”

Schweitzer groaned a response to Bermark’s explanation.

“There was Heidengeist blood in the very core of the Geheimnis Agency?”

“Do not worry. Many in the agency have an Ilfheim somewhere in their family tree, but Heidengeist blood vanishes after a few generations. Our tests told us the Fräulein had human Tons. The only Ilfheim trait remaining would be the hair color she shared with Lady Frobel.” He took a breath. “So to put it another way, the Geheimnis Agency did not contain Heidengeist blood – it contained their will. Their will to watch over the country’s history and bind its protectors with promises.”

Schweitzer clenched his teeth and flipped the page.

The next two pages were blank save for a single line in the center of the left one.

“To ensure the following prophecies are upheld…”

He took a breath before finally reading the rest.

“I will leave destiny in the hands of my daughter who will one day take command. And I will have her promise to protect that destiny.”

Part 5

A single shadow was cast in a small clearing in the forest at the entrance to the Borderson village.

There was only the one shadow, but two people stood there. One was Lillie with a black coat wrapped around her and her shadow cast on the ground. The other was an old man in a white linen shirt and pants.

The woman stood with her back to the gate at the village entrance and spoke without turning the old man’s way.

“As scheduled, I will deal with this village myself come 4 o’clock. You can do whatever you want after that.”

“Thank you for your tolerant decision, Lady Lillie.”

“Forget it. More importantly, mayor, what did you think of the Messiah when she came to pick up Rein König?”

“When I went to check on her during the day, she was apparently out helping our people in the field. Do you know what happens when an amateur tries to help weed during the rainy season?”

“They trip and get all muddy. Ellis did that a lot.”

“Precisely. But she didn’t even bother cleaning up before leaving the village with Rein König and some rain gear.”

Lillie turned toward the mayor, viewed his face, and softened her expression just a little.

“You’re smiling, mayor.”

She smiled bitterly and silence fell between them. Stillness spread across the clearing, but it was soon broken.

Several decidedly unnatural sounds reached them from the mountain. They recognized the rumbling sounds.

“Armored trucks,” said the mayor.

That was exactly what appeared on the mountain road. The three Geheimnis Agency Navy Division armored trucks were designed to cross rivers and their rubber tires slid as they came to as top in the clearing.

Lillie nodded their way and they flashed their headlights to respond.

The front command truck’s door opened and a girl wearing the armband of an aide stepped out.

She ran over to Lillie, the puddles splashing below her feet.

“Lady Telmetz! The target has escaped toward the eastern Essen region!”

“She hopes to take a freight train straight to Germania, doesn’t she? Essen is less than an hour’s drive. Did you tell the army stationed in Essen to bolster railroad security?”

“I did!”

“Then we should be fine.”

Lillie rubbed the girl’s head. The girl narrowed her eyes, but lost the smile when Lillie slapped her on the shoulder. She turned to the mayor, saluted, and returned to the command truck.

Lillie listened to the girl’s footsteps as she faced the mayor and opened her mouth to say something.

“…”

Her mouth stayed open but no words came.

Her raised-eyebrow face saw the mayor holding out two bottles. They were the same thing he had given her to drink last night.

“These are the last two unopened bottles. They should have been returned ages ago.”

After a pause, Lillie nodded and took just one of the bottles.

“Give the other one to someone you trust more than me.”

And…

“Remember this: if destiny plays out as our commander foretold, then the world’s ruin will begin tomorrow morning at 3 and it will end at 4:42.”

“Ruin?”

“It is this world’s unavoidable destiny. Whatever the Messiah might try to do and whatever we might do to try and stop her, the world will change at 4:42. Because that is when the ruin occurred every other time.”

Chapter 2: The Promise Begins

8/23/1943 14:56 – 18:32

Why do we fight?

To make amends for the past?

Or…

Part 1

The giant metal sheet floating in the sky had two long rails attached.

The metal sheet spanning the rails had the letters USIF written in white.

It was an aerial aircraft carrier belonging to the US branch of the AIF.

At the base of the runway, a preparation crew of around a dozen was moving around the flight deck and a single catapult platform was about to be launched.

A black-winged Heavy Barrel stood atop the metal platform.

The sleeves of its pitch black armored clothing bore the AIF’s world map emblem and its shoulder armor bore a drawing of a black lion.

That was Neue Schwarz. It had a more angular shape than its predecessor Schwarz Löwe and its two wings were longer and larger.

The weapon from which Heavy Barrels got their name had been attached as well.

A long barrel and an extra tank had been attached to the exterior of the secondary cockpit.

The barrel was around 4 yards long. It was attached at the center of the secondary cockpit and it stuck out past the right side of the head to help balance with the rear magazine.

Both the barrel and the magazine had their inertial control emblem panels activated and they were making several small metallic noises.

Similarly, shimmering heat was rising from the wings and the thrusters within them.

Its entire black form looked ready to take flight at any moment.

It was kneeled in preparation for launch and a woman stood to its right.

The large middle-aged woman looked up at the glowing sight device she could see from her side.

“They explained how that Word Rifle works, I hope? It will take four hours and an extra tank to negate the inertial weight. The bullet takes an entire extra tank per shot. You have four tanks, but the barrel probably won’t survive the second shot.”

“It’s an unboosted miniature Babel Cannon, right? Can’t I break through the dome or Tristan with this?”

“Didn’t they explain that? That thing applies damage to a single point, but the dome distributes that across the entire surface. And Tristan isn’t just the framework used to support that stupidly tall structure – it has a defense barrier similar to the dome set up along its surface. Your job is to blast all the enemies that might stop the others, Berger.”

“So I’m just there to set the stage, huh?” said Neue Schwarz in Berger’s voice. “But, Corelle, everyone keeps secrets these days. That idiot Hazel said she took my blood to have a prosthetic arm made for me…but when was this made?”

“The AIF helped dismantle and work on Schwarz Löwe in Germany at the end of ’39. Hazel was only trying to get you an arm made initially, but one day she went to M. Schrier with a different request.”

“And he had this made? He spoils her.”

“Isn’t it a lovely present? All the steel was made with your blood mixed in and the design was reworked from the ground up. Also, Schwarz Löwe’s memories of the battle against Neue Kaiser were included along with Schwarz Löwe’s High Organ prototype device.”

“Wait, what? Why don’t people tell me these things? That explains why the stomach feels kind of heavy. Y’know, mechanic teams aren’t supposed to modify people’s gear without permission.”

“If they weren’t that way, they never would have made an experimental Heavy Barrel on some girl’s request. Oh, and she paid for the development fees and everything else with a long-term loan. I believe she only has around 800 monthly payments left now.”

“Hah. It’s true what they say about war being an economic activity. I see. So everything about it is top class: power, reaction, and the debt behind it. Why’d she have to give me the best when I’d prefer second best?”

Corelle gave a toothy bitter smile and kicked Neue Schwarz’s right knee.

“Your heart’s not in your bitching today, Berger. Is it that disease’s fault? I mean, you even volunteered to join the fight.”

“I just want off this damn carrier. Before the new captain knocks out my back tooth on the other side this time.”

“This mission is being led by Pale and our new captain – Oscar Mirildorf, a man who put together a plan that sends his own daughter to the front lines.”

“He’s just a doting dad. A guy like him? Sees the front lines as center stage, right under the spotlight.”

Part of the crew checked the time and waved to Corelle. She checked her own watch.

“Three more minutes. Time for the final route check.”

“I fly too high for their radar to see me and then I drop straight down on the target. I land in the rain before they can even notice me. The same technique you’ll be using tonight. …What about you? Can you handle it?”

“Except for Coolers, our select team is already over there. That just leaves half of the people here to descend near some other cities as a diversion.” Corelle put her hands on her hips and breathed from the corner of her mouth. The ends of her eyebrows rose slightly. “Make sure you get Hazel from Borderson to Germania. You owe her at least that much after she healed your right leg.”

“Yeah, but I’ve gotten the short end of the stick more often than not.” Before Corelle could say anything more, Berger continued in a disinterested voice. “Corelle. Did Hazel read my Lives when she healed my leg?”

“I told her to, but she said it would be wrong without your permission. You know how she is.”

“That explains it. And it’s moving so well now. How many times do I have to tell her second best is good enough for me?”

His right knee shifted a bit on the catapult, making a metallic scraping noise.

“Hey. If we do stop the Wheel of Destiny, then the world will be remade to not include the Messiah at 4:42 tomorrow morning. But what do you think she would do if she knew there was a way to avoid that?”

“Eh?” said Corelle, her eyebrows rising somewhat. “What do you mean? Pale and the others have accepted that the world will be completely remade.”

“There is a way to stop the Wheel but keep the Messiah around. It sounds like a joke, though.” He kept his voice low. “And it’s a dumb joke I doubt would actually work.”

The black Heavy Barrel raised its head somewhat to face dead ahead.

Corelle started to say something, but took a few steps back instead.

A launch crewmember in the center of the runway waved a flag down.

That wave was the signal to go.

“I’m off.”

With that, the wind blew.

In an instant, the two-winged black Heavy Barrel raced across the steel runway floating in the sky.

Divine spell gunpower burst to provide the initial acceleration, producing smoke and bursting sounds behind it.

The dark ocean reflected the afternoon sun below the runway. Thin clouds blew in the wind of the blue sky above.

An Allied high-speed aerial bombing fleet was spread out to either side.

The Barrel slid forward in a crouching start position and it silently waved back to the crewmembers waving up from the runway, but then it looked to the right where the fleet’s flagship flew somewhat further back from the rest.

The long, white, streamlined shape of an ACBS was attached to the belly of the flagship.

That unmanned ship had no windows or bridge.

It had small wings, rocket nozzles for attitude control and thrust, and noticeable power points across its hull.

It was only marked with its numeric designation: ACBS-M0-001.

The black Heavy Barrel faced forward after its sight devices caught the letters ACBS.

Then it arrived at the launch point and the runaway abruptly ended.

Only the sky lay ahead.

So it spread its wings with a roar of splitting air and flapped them.

Those two simple actions propelled the nearly 40ton mass of metal through the sky.

It used another flap to accelerate beyond the initial acceleration that launched it into the sky.

Water vapor exploded around it while it rolled to the right and then took a somewhat rightward ascending trajectory.

The tips of the wings briefly drew out lines of cloud, but the clouds vanished once it altered the angles.

By then, the entire fleet had been left far behind and below it.

It used its wings to further accelerate. A black band was visible at the horizon ahead.

Those were the rainclouds hanging over Europe. Its destination was below the dark rainclouds of northern Germany.

The black Heavy Barrel said nothing. It only began its ascent along a ballistic trajectory to achieve the altitude it needed.

It accelerated.

It accelerated in order to pierce the sky.

Part 2

Hazel stood below the darkening sky.

She wore a rain poncho over her head and stood motionless on the mountain road running through the forest.

She held Rein König wrapped in a white cloth under her arm. She only wore a backpack on her back.

She could hear the raindrops hitting the poncho.

She shifted just her eyes to view Rein König while listening to the wet pitter-patter.

“I knew this would be a challenge, but the backpack is kind of heavy too.”

…Maybe Eryngium packed a bit too much in that lunch she gave me.

“But I can’t worry about that now. I need to get to the Essen railroad.”

She tensed her eyebrows and focused on her ears to listen to the rain.

A single stray thought about tonight intruded on her focus.

…Will the world end tonight?

If they stopped the Wheel of Destiny, the world would change at 4:42 AM.

She had been worrying over that ever since leaving Borderson.

“I can blame that on the peace I found in the Village of Pardons.”

She told herself those things would simply change, not be lost, and she shook her head.

She focused again, concentrating on clearing her hearing. She heard something other than the rain mixed in with all the noise.

She heard creaking metal from the forest to her left. That was the sound of a railroad shaking below a train.

She nearly ran toward the rhythmic sound of steel.

“…”

But she stopped. She heard a whistle through the trees, but she bit her lower lip and let it go.

She had heard something other than the train. Something she couldn’t afford to ignore.

…Footsteps carrying killer intent.

She heard the whistle fading into the distance as she shut her eyes and moved her mouth.

“Why not come out? Isn’t it cold in the forest?”

She directed her question toward the entire forest and rain, but someone did respond.

A slender woman stepped out from the forest on the left with her hands in her coat pockets.

Hazel recognized her silhouette.

…She’s the one who shot me at Borderson.

The woman spied on that thought and responded to it.

“Yes, and I don’t know how you managed to survive that. Not that it matters.”

Hazel prepared to fight.

“You can read Tons?”

“You can tell? I am Geheimnis Agency Naval Division Chief ‘Wasser Meister’ Lillie Telmetz. I am the descendant of second-rate nobility that served under Borderson and Karlsruhe by making wine for the imperial family. …I am also a Stimmer.”

Hazel looked to her face.

Her faintly wrinkled face was not at all wet from the rain.

Hazel looked up to find the rain split above Lillie’s head and flowed to either side.

“It’s not an unusual technique. It’s just another form of Tuning.”

Lillie pulled her right hand from her coat pocket and Hazel knew what the ring on her right middle finger had to be.

“A Werkzeug.”

She gulped.

…She’s only using a Werkzeug? She isn’t using an Up and she isn’t even transforming the rain into something else.

“Yes, unlike the highly formalized Tuning and Busting your Allies use, German Tuning and Busting is all about releasing your own will in its purest form. Using a formalized Up makes it a lot easier and ensures anyone can learn how, but there are other, more powerful, methods.”

Lillie raised her right hand.

A dove alighted on her hand. A dove made from rainwater.

She stroked the dove’s wings just once and then released it back into the sky.

“I was ordered to capture you alive…but there are many in our ranks who disagree with that decision.”

“Like you?”

“Yes, unfortunately. This is our last chance to see whether or not the Messiah will be lost.”

Lillie stopped speaking there.

She pulled her left hand from her coat pocket and raised it in front of her eyes. She viewed the military wristwatch she wore there.

“Look behind you.”

Hazel did not comply. She kept her eyes on Lillie.

Then she heard a deep sound like a thunderclap behind her.

“Eh?”

It sounded like the sky was shaking and a massive throat was gulping.

Hazel reflexively turned toward the noise.

She looked west toward the Borderson Village of Pardons.

Past the forest, the village was about two hours away by foot.

A single color was rising into the gray sky from there.

That color was black.

The black of smoke. A single line of smoke rose slowly but thickly into the rainy sky.

…There has to be a considerable fire to produce that much smoke.

“It can’t be!?”

“Yes, it can. You are watching the ultimate fate of the Borderson village.”

Panicking, Hazel turned back toward Lillie.

“Why? The Village of Pardons was the only place in Germany where Heidengeists could live!”

“That was no more than a verbal promise. Just like in ’35, the government and military need a scapegoat for the people’s frustrations. Burning down a city of Heidengeists who support the Allies sounds like a good decision to me.”

Hazel heard another thunderclap-like sound behind her.

The deep boom reverberated through her and sweat poured from her body.

Then she heard new noises joining the falling rain and distant explosion. They came from the road ahead of and behind her.

She heard the rumbling of engines through the rain.

She soon realized what was causing it: armored trucks.

Their large silhouettes came into view down the mountain road behind Lillie.

The same had to be coming from behind her.

She saw them switch on their headlights. Lillie’s silhouette was outlined in the rain, showing she was faintly smiling.

The smile splitting her face asked a question of Hazel.

“Now, how about we hurry this up?”

Part 3

Schweitzer still stood in the light.

The journal resting on his prosthetic arm was opened to the final page.

His eyes were still staring down at the journal, but he suddenly lowered his head.

A drop of sweat dripped from his forehead to his cheek before reaching his chin and falling to the floor.

And once it did…

“Bermark.”

“Do you need something?”

“I will omit any unnecessary questions. Does this journal describe our entire truth?”

“Yes, that is everything we are now. The past comes from a thousand years of history, but the present comes from the twenty years of history that began with Lady Frobel’s journal.”

“So this journal is the borderline between the past and the present.”

Schweitzer flipped through the pages. Old German written in sharp, hurried handwriting had been rewritten in places while describing the events in chronological order.

“It even includes me suggesting the Gard-class’s 2nd ship be used to build Tristan.”

“Lady Frobel and Sir Lowenheit were both skilled Sofort Lesers.”

“And they left this journal with Lowenzahn. So she could fulfill her role as our commander. Did she know her mother’s maiden name was Ilfheim?”

“No. Lady Frobel came from a family that managed the Naylor knowledge stockpile, but that was recorded as a Naylor branch family. Sirs Graham, Heiliger, and Bertecht kept her secret and sent the fräulein to a rural home after Lady Frobel’s death so the information would not get out.” Bermark took a breath. “But as fate would have it, she happened to see a distant relative at Borderson last year.”

“She was very insistent after learning of the wedding. She may have had her suspicions.”

Schweitzer wrinkled his brow even deeper and flipped another page. He kept flipping.

The sound of turning pages filled the space and they produced small gusts of wind as they turned.

“Bermark, did anyone other than you know of these prophecies?”

“Originally, it was only those of us who were close to Lady Frobel before World War One and were involved in the creation of the Geheimnis Agency: Sir Graham, Lady Rose, Sir Karl, and me. Later on, Lady Lillie who was taken in by Sir Graham…and then Sir Heiliger heard it from the fräulein herself a month ago. Also…”

“Marsch?”

“Because some excerpts from the prophecies were installed as plates in the underground knowledge stockpile.”

“I see.” Schweitzer continued flipping pages. “The final page.”

There was nothing beyond this page.

“This isn’t a prophecy.”

A short passage was confidently written across the two pages. There were none of the previous diagrams or explanatory notes. Simply a confident statement meant to convey something.

When skimming through it, the words “war”, “Nibelung”, “’43”, and “sin” jumped out at him. When his eyes reached the end of the page, he noticed the final words.

Unlike the rest, the last bit was scribbled out in a hurry. A date and a postscript were added below.

“January 16, 1919. PS. I will be emblemizing this text and placing it underground.”

“Do you recognize that date, Captain Schweitzer?”

Schweitzer looked up for just a moment.

“One week before my father died.”

Then he looked back down at the hurried text.

As soon as he read it, he shut the journal with enough force to make Bermark tilt his head.

“Why not read it more carefully?”

“I want to read that final page after I have calmed down some. Can I take this from here?”

“If you wish. I am sure Lady Frobel would be delighted for it to be in the hands of someone the fräulein entrusted with the key.”

Schweitzer grabbed the journal in his biological hand and stuck it in his coat pocket.

Afterwards, he slowly lowered his prosthetic arm. It produced a mechanical noise as he rotated the elbow halfway around and lowered the shoulder. He kept his eyes on that arm.

“Has anyone other than Lowenzahn read this?”

“You already know the answer to that, don’t you? A portion of the prophecies and that final page were carved into a plate in 1919 and placed below Munich’s central hospital. The man who decoded it ordered to have it carved away so no one else would know what it had said.”

“Did Frobel Naylor – no, Frobel Ilfheim – know that Marsch would be the one to read it?”

“Yes. When the plate was embedded there, she knew everything – including that the people would rebel and that your father Bertecht would die protecting the hospital.”

“I can’t believe this.” Schweitzer let the words fall to the floor. “To be honest, I feel some anger toward the way this journal views the world. And at what Lowenzahn did. But I also feel like there was nothing I could have done if that was what she wanted.” He took a breath, shut his eyes, and shook his head. “I don’t understand that final sentence.”

“You have a heart of your own and you still do not understand it?”

“It may be that heart that keeps me from understanding. If she was going to use her own daughter as a component in a machine then how could she also send that daughter to us for-”

He stopped there, gasping and spinning around to look to the right.

Some Unreif Germane reliefs were embedded in the wall there.

One of the brick reliefs was glowing.

The one depicting the knights battling a black dragon was emitting a bright light.

He lowered himself to a fighting stance as the black dragon relief reacted.

It vanished. No, it fell away into the wall.

“What?”

He watched as all the other reliefs fell into the wall and vanished too.

After around 30 of them had fallen, a 3yd diameter hole appeared there.

There shouldn’t have been anything but a wall there, but it instead opened out onto a different place altogether.

There was a black forest inside.

But that wasn’t all.

Two things toppled into the room like felled trees.

Except these were people not trees. One was short and the other tall.

The short one wore a cloak stained brown and the tall one wore a suit of amor straight out of a medieval painting.

The brown cloak made a rustling sound as it fell to the floor and the armor made a metallic sound as it clattered to the floor.

Both men were old. Schweitzer recognized them both and opened his mouth to speak.

But Bermark spoke up before he could.

“These are Intelligence Division Chief Witzmann and Development Division Chief Elrich.”

And he casually added one more thing.

“They appear to enjoy dressing up as medieval knights.”

Part 4

The armored truck dropped Hazel off in the middle of the rainy forest.

She was walking down the misty mountain road all on her own now.

No one had spoken to her or even looked her way aboard the truck. She had sat in a corner of the passenger area for about two hours, staying perfectly still. They hadn’t even said anything when dropping her off.

“It’s understandable, at least.”

She spoke out loud to feel some slight release after the silence of the truck. She sighed, pulled up the hood of her poncho, and looked around.

She only saw the piercing mist and rain hanging in the darkness of dusk.

…Where is she?

Lillie had gone ahead in the command vehicle and Hazel couldn’t sense her anywhere.

“I just have to deal with it,” she concluded, drawing Rein König as she walked.

She untied and unfurled the cloth surrounding it, revealing the white blade.

She wrapped the cloth around her right hand, gripped the hilt, and held the blade out in front of her so it reflected her surroundings. The reflection gave her a glimpse of the right side of the forest through a gap in the mist.

This was a brighter green forest, with a subtly different distribution of trees compared to Borderson’s black forest.

…We traveled two hours toward Germania.

That would put her near Hamburg. And since it was a forested area, probably around 20 miles from Hamburg. She was within about 80 miles of Germania.

She used her left hand’s fingers to calculate out the time and distance. She didn’t have a watch, so she had to rely on her gut to judge the current time. That was far from exact, but…

“Maybe I can catch a train somewhere. I doubt they’ll take me in their truck if I win.”

She shook her head and mouthed a man’s name. She thought it was a little sad how that actually helped calm her a little, but then she pulled a certain color from her pocket.

She pulled out the pendent that now contained the red gem Eryngium had given her.

She intentionally rattled the chain louder than necessary while loosening the neck of her poncho with the hand holding the pendant. She placed the chain around her neck below the hood.

The chill and weight of the chain was nice in how it contrasted with her choker.

She tugged down on the chain just once to really feel the pendant’s presence.

A moment later, she heard a woman’s voice in her left ear.

“Hurry up. The battlefield is right over there.”

Her heart raced in surprise and she reflexively brushed her left hand through her hair.

But she only felt her damp hair and the mist.

…Did she make the mist talk? Using her Tuning?

She took a few hurried steps forward, which helped calm her. She looked down at herself.

The sound of the rain falling on her plastic poncho seemed to reverberate through her entire body. That sound confirmed that her body was there. She calmed her breathing and began walking again.

The air around her had changed. At some point, the mist had grown stationary and thinner.

…Am I in a wider area?

She looked around and saw a world steeped in a dim but white mist.

A dark shape to her right contrasted that white world. She recognized the boxy silhouette in the mist.

…The armored truck. The Naval Division Chief should be nearby.

The battle was imminent.

She understood that, so she slowed her pace and then stopped. She took a deep breath that came out white.

She faced forward. She focused her eyes.

Her sharpened vision and spotted the enemy.

A slender silhouette stood beyond the mist in the darkening air.

It was about 30 yards away. Once the enemy was in view, her mind sharpened her other senses too.

Her ears heard a river – the deep sound of a river flowing through the forest.

A great quantity of water was gulping down the air and carrying all sorts of things downstream.

Suddenly, another sound joined that deep one.

This one was much higher. A note from a string instrument rang loud and clear.

It was joined by a voice. Lillie’s voice.

“Now, perhaps I should start with something so basic even you would understand.”

“Eh?”

Hazel looked up just in time to hear a shout pierce the mist.

“Ober Text! Tons of the air with an octave of 3.2 million!”

Hazel trembled in response.

…An Over Up? What is she doing?

Her question was soon answered.

The mist cleared away to let her see.

It only lasted a few seconds, but the mist split apart, creating a straight path 20 yards wide.

The split was only on the flat surface. The mist still covered the sky, but that sky already carried the darkness of night.

Hazel saw a slender woman standing 30 yards ahead of her.

Lillie Telmetz held a yard-long harp on her left shoulder.

“Eingeweide Harfe – Mondnacht. This is my first time using it to kill a Heidengeist.”

Before she was even done speaking, the mist behind her split as well.

There was no ground there.

…A cliff?

But that broad cliff did not simply lead to an abyss. A great body of water was visible past its edge.

Lillie stood in front of a lake. Loud watery sounds shook the air as water dragons broke the misty walls to move this way and that. They were playing in the lake despite the mist.

Hazel stared at Lillie. For the first time, she noticed the other woman’s head was lowered.

Then the mist around Hazel began to shake.

…Is it synced with the controller’s Lives? With her trembling will?

Lillie spoke quietly, as if to confirm Hazel’s speculation.

“I will teach you there are things that were lost because of you.”

With that, the mist fully cleared away behind Lillie.

The view opened up. The mist vanished from the lake, revealing a small island in the center.

The island was dark and angular in a way no natural land formation would be.

Hazel recognized the thick cylinder jutting up from the island.

“A Babel Cannon.”

Lillie nodded and raised her head. The lake behind her was now clear of mist, four water dragons roared and frolicked on the surface, and a crashed aerial warship acted as the lake’s centerpiece.

With all of that behind her, Lillie bowed and spoke to Hazel.

“Welcome to the battlefield of vengeance.”

Part 5

Two old men sat in front of Schweitzer.

The forest beyond them had disappeared. The wall reliefs had moved back into place, covering the hole.

The old men were busy removing the armor and whatnot they were wearing.

Witzmann held a removed breastplate and looked up at Schweitzer.

“Something must have happened if the son of Schweitzer is here at the old HQ.”

Bermark opted to answer.

“You should know what that is now that you have seen the past. Things are underway to ensure that past happens. All in the name of the Nibelung.”

“Oh?” replied Elrich, undoing the strap on Witzmann’s back. The chest of the armor dropped down to Witzmann’s stomach. Witzmann caught the falling breastplate.

“The world has started to go wrong, hasn’t it? Then I’m guessing today is August 23.”

“I would expect no less of the man with the Titel of Hellsehen.”

“Don’t give me that crap, Bermark. You fully intended for us to die in there.”

“If you had, it would simply mean you lacked the necessary skill.”

Schweitzer’s cheeks tensed at that cold statement.

Witzmann smiled bitterly and Elrich stretched his legs.

The two old men looked to the large man in the center of the room – toward Schweitzer.

He looked down at the two of them.

“So I take it you two saw the past in there?”

“A much denser version of it than you saw. That Sein Frau there set us up. Still, it was a fascinating experience. But I would like to confirm something with that Sein Frau and with you…Captain Schweitzer is it now?”

“What is it?”

Witzmann looked to Elrich.

Elrich hesitated before hardening his expression, shutting his eyes, and nodding.

Witzmann nodded back and looked to Bermark and Schweitzer again.

“Are we correct in concluding that the Messiah is Hazel Mirildorf after being sent to the past in a Ton explosion on August 23?”

“Yes, that is indeed correct.”

“And does your presence here mean something happened to our commander?”

“Yes. She entered Tristan to use herself as a component of Neue Erde. Her Ober Beweisen extracts the Spacetime Tons and boosts Tristan. The Messiah’s Ober Beweisen lets her view all Tons, so-”

“You don’t need to explain every little detail to the man known as the Hellsehen. Our commander’s actions were linked to all of this, weren’t they? Including giving the Allies plans to our Wort Bombe and the Allies building their ACBS based on that.”

Bermark continued from there.

“The Messiah will lead an attack on Germania late tonight. She cannot break the Spacetime Tons extracted by the fräulein since she is a Stimmer, so the destructive power of the ACBS is needed to trigger the Nibelung. The fräulein hopes to-”

“To control the Messiah with her Beweisen and forcibly draw out the Messiah eye’s Ober Beweisen to crash the ACBS into the Spacetime Tons she extracted, right?”

“Correct,” confirmed Bermark.

Schweitzer nodded between the two of them and then asked Bermark a question really directed at all of them. His coat swished a bit as he turned to face his aide.

“What do we do about this?”

“The fräulein has always sought to trigger the Nibelung as the Geheimnis Agency Commander and Sir Heiliger is working toward the same thing now. The Nibelung is the one way for the Neue Kavaliers to protect Germany as its knights. If the Messiah chooses to lead us, then we must show her a willpower and strength worthy of being led.”

“I see,” said Witzmann with a sigh. “So Heiliger chose to follow the Naylor girl.”

Schweitzer turned toward him.

His gaze poured down on Witzmann’s bald head as the old man continued.

“The two of us saw the Messiah in the past. It was a valuable experience and it allowed us to make a number of decisions. But what about you two? Will you place your trust in Neue Erde or in the Messiah?”

Part 6

Dragons and people fought on a battlefield created from the split mist.

Two minutes had already passed since the battle began.

The ground was cracked and the air shaken while some scattered mist hung in it.

One person remained entirely motionless: Lillie Telmetz on the edge of the cliff. She had not moved a step and simply played the Mondnacht resting on her left shoulder. She played several high string notes.

<The moonlit night prefers a decorated sky.>

New dragons appeared from the lake, splashing water as they stretched up into the sky. There were already 6 of them in all.

Motionless Lillie and the dancing dragons were opposed by the most active part of the battlefield: Hazel. She sliced the air with Rein König. She had lost her poncho and was soaked with rain as she used a Wind Up to create spears and arrows that shot out in front of her. She was only 30 yards from Lillie, but…

“I can’t get any closer!”

The water dragons might as well have been a moving wall.

She had to focus all of the spears and arrows created from the air in order to break just one of the dragons.

Meanwhile Lillie only had to strum Mondnacht once more to produce another dragon.

Hazel watched the dragons being produced before her eyes while she moved. Her thoughts were racing as much as her body.

The two of them could use the same octave. The difference was their speed and how good they were at expanding and contracting the Lives.

…It comes down to our skill as Tuners.

She felt something akin to panic as she ran forward.

She could not use the wind to break the dragons in quick succession. She needed a large quantity of some denser Lives.

She tried to figure out what to do while taking a few steps forward and transferring her sword slash to the air.

White curved blades of wind appeared over her head and flew toward the pair of dragons breaking through the mist on either side with fangs bared.

She slashed them.

The dragons’ faces split and broke apart at just 5 yards over her head.

White spray scattered as the dragons ruptured into no more than water.

She heard the wet splash and wiped the spray from her cheek with her left hand, noting that this smelled of river water, not of mist or rain. The dragons were made from the lake’s water.

With that realization, she nodded once and ran ahead.

A new dragon was already approaching from dead ahead.

She viewed the murderous look in their eyes and slowly held Rein König low.

“320 thousand Lives floating in the wind – the many cries of the racing air. Can you hear my Lives!?”

The dragon was still coming. Hazel’s Tuning wasn’t going to make it in time.

…But it doesn’t have to!

When the dragon twisted its head to the side and opened its jaws to the left and right, she made her move.

She ducked low and threw herself to the ground.

With a roar of wind, the dragon passed above her. Its jaws snapped shut.

Its fangs struck each other with the sound of colliding ice.

Hazel’s back trembled as the dragon’s powerful wind pressure felt like it would crush her.

But she was not done yet.

She had lowered Rein König just before the water dragon’s face passed above her and now she swung it upwards. She lifted herself from the ground a bit to help send it straight up.

She raised her voice and activated her Tune attack to create a wind blade.

In a single slash, the wind blade extending from below split the water dragon’s body.

But it only lasted an instant. A moment later, the blade became wind once more and the dragon was returning to water, but Hazel was already on the move again. She followed Rein König’s upwards swinging curve to stand up and turned the sword around with her wrists to hold it overhead ready to strike.

She was surrounded by…

…The wind from the blade and the water from the dragon.

“4 million Lives floating on the battlefield – the war cries of the soaring wind and the chorus of blessed rain! Can you hear my Lives!?”

The message she sent was no longer a physical form.

She asked for the power to reach her opponent and the penetrative power to break through any wall of water, land, or wind.

She raised her voice and swung Rein König down as hard as she could. The tip of the blade did not stop at the ground and sliced into the dirt on her right side. She used just her right hand to stop it after it had swung around behind her.

A brief moment of silence followed.

That was broken by a tremor in the air.

The water surrounding her shook, rumbled, and bent forward.

Then the wind blew in from behind her.

It whipped at her red clothing and blonde hair while dancing in the empty sky of the night.

She looked up in that wind with Rein König still held behind her on the right.

She turned toward Lillie with her left hand held forward.

“Break through!”

A great power answered her will and shot forward.

The mist was rapidly blown away and the air sliced through. A blade made of wind and water briefly appeared, but as it accelerated, it transformed into an invisible field of pure power.

The unseen power tore a straight line into the ground and raced forward.

It produced the sounds of blowing wind and breaking earth.

The three remaining dragons flew in to stop the piercing power.

It was no use. One’s face, another’s body, and the last one’s entire self were broken and reverted to water.

The penetrative power spread out just a bit as it flew toward Lillie, but she was a Tuner.

…She can neutralize this power.

Hazel pulled Rein König in from behind her and prepared to launch a second strike.

But she saw something strange floating in front of her.

It was a thumb-sized drop of water.

“Eh?”

That brief confusion removed the tension from her vision and let her see her surroundings.

For some reason, all the puddles had disappeared from the ground around her.

Instead, drops of water were floating in the air.

…The water.

Before her thoughts could progress any further, she heard a voice coming from the target of her destructive power.

The voice ignored the roar of the wind and the breaking of the earth. Aerial Words rang loud in the air.

“Eingeweide Harfe Mondnacht – Over Beweisen.”

It happened as soon as the words had been spoken.

Everything that had been water was blown high into the sky by a new wind.

The mist, the water, the moisture, and the power Hazel had launched were all flung skyward.

“––––!?”

A powerful wind had appeared out of nowhere. Hazel herself was thrown several yards back where she landed on her butt.

Her backpack bounced a moment later, causing her to lose her balance and collapse onto her back.

She quickly covered her stomach and got up to see the mist had vanished entirely. The floating drops of water were nowhere to be found either.

The shadows of the night surrounded her now. Coat-wearing Lillie stood 30 yards away in those faintly bluish shadows.

That was all Hazel could see anymore. There was no mist and no rain.

She felt a chill on her back and quickly stood up. She also heard the harp playing.

Mondnacht played without Lillie’s assistance.

<Water and dreams.>

Lillie’s Aerial Words sounded without her opening her mouth.

<Two things watch over all that tries to change.>

Lillie raised her right shoulder, the one Mondnacht was not resting on.

<The sun and the day.>

Her right hand slowly, slowly rose.

<The night and the moon.>

The hand stopped with its open palm directed heavenward.

Hazel saw the rainclouds had vanished from the sky above this area.

<The Moonlit Night contains all that tries to change in the night.>

The moon shined down from the hole in the sky. It was nearly but not quite full.

Lillie lowered her hand and Hazel lowered her gaze.

Lillie put her right hand in her pocket and ignored how Hazel took a fighting stance. She leisurely pulled her hand out with a wine bottle in its grasp.

She swiftly bit the cork and jerked her head to pull it out.

It audibly popped out.

She spat the cork to the ground and then threw the bottle behind her, toward the lake.

The bottle spun through the moonlight, its contents scattering through the night air. The wine looked dark in the night’s colors, but the moonlight caused all of its drops to shine bright.

The bottle dropped over the edge of the cliff, disappearing. Lillie stuck both hands in her coat pockets and turned to face Hazel. She still had her head lowered.

“This is goodbye, Messiah.”

Hazel sensed a presence when she heard those words.

A moment later, a massive wall of water appeared out of nowhere.

It roared.

“…!?”

The overwhelming quantity of water that rose from below the cliff behind Lillie would put a tsunami to shame. The reverse waterfall stretched from one side of Hazel’s vision to the other.

…What is this!?

Surprise ruled her senses. She intellectually knew it was the great roar rattling her body and the tremor in the ground shaking her legs, but her senses couldn’t keep up.

Her eyes were fixed on the wall of water behind Lillie that continued to grow into the sky.

She gasped as sweat poured from her and her senses rapidly returned.

The ground was shaking below her, but that wasn’t what mattered right now.

…The sky.

The colossal pillar of water was on its way to the white moon.

It seemed to wrap around the moon as it took the form of a great beast.

Clear water created a serpent with a pointed face.

It was a great water dragon. It glowed bluish-white in the moonlight and it had to be more than 2 miles long.

Hazel simply gulped as she looked up at it.

“What do I do?” she mouthed before repeating it out loud.

The dragon was slowly circling in the sky above.

It pushed the air out of the way and produced a deep, muffled noise.

That noise grew to a tangling groan that dropped to her from the sky.

The dragon was satisfied with just one rotation through the sky. Its face was already directed at her.

Its giant bestial eyes gave it a wide range of view, but its gaze was soon directed on her alone.

…I sense killer intent.

The dragon slowly descended as if to confirm that for her.

The wind blew and it opened its maw to show off its fangs.

It roared.

The sound shook both the air and the ground and it didn’t stop.

The roar continued and the great water dragon seemed to wriggle through the sky as it flew toward her.

A face 200 yards wide accelerated toward her, but then she realized something.

…What about the Naval Division Chief? Does she plan to die with me!?

She tried to look down but found her body wouldn’t move. She was too nervous.

She forced her chin back to face forward with great effort.

Lillie stood in front of the waterless lake looking into the sky, just like before.

“My people are waiting outside of this attack’s range. You and I are the only two who will die.”

Before Hazel could ask why, the roar from the sky pressed down on her back and shoulders.

The approach of that overwhelming power kept her from moving.

“Ah…”

A noise escaped her throat as that massive sound pressed down on her shoulders. A single inexplicable tear dripped down her cheek.

But even that tear floated up into the air before it could reach the bottom of her cheek.

In her frozen field of vision, the tear ascended toward the dragon in the sky.

Her tear had been stolen.

She clenched her teeth at that fact.

“Kh.”

She forced her caught voice from her throat.

The ground quaked below her feet, a great pressure bore down on her shoulders, and the dragon’s killer intent and roar combined to rattle her entire body.

But despite all that weight and shaking, she chose to walk forward. She started by sinking down a bit.

She threw off the center of gravity of the force bearing down on her, shifting it forward. It was a lot like rolling forward.

She took a first step.

She used that as a starting point and used her willpower and movements to keep herself from actually falling over.

She pushed forward a knee that had lost all feeling, slamming it against her skirt’s lining.

…I can move.

She told herself that and took a second step.

…I can move!

She started to run. She opened her mouth and raised her voice to drive the roar from her body.

“––––!”

She entered a full-speed sprint on the second step. She stomped at the dirt and kicked stones behind her as she propelled herself forward.

She ran across the broken ground, twisting her body and swinging Rein König forward from the right shoulder.

But she still felt heavy, so she opened her mouth even wider to break free of that weight.

“I will stop you!”

She gathered strength in her body and shattered the killer intent binding her.

She sped up.

She aimed for Lillie’s Mondnacht. Break that and the great water dragon would lose its support and possibly stop.

…I can’t guarantee it, but I have to try!”

This was her only option, so she pushed her body forward and extended it in a dash.

Meanwhile, Lillie raised her head to view Hazel.

Their eyes met. Hazel ignored the great pressure from the dragon and asked a question.

“Why!?”

“Because you have sinned. You stood by and let so many die because you placed too much faith in destiny.”

The talk of letting people die reminded Hazel of the Glossolalians of Borderson.

…If we change the world, then all of us and all of them will be changed too.

She shook her head to shake the thought out of her mind.

…No.

She rejected the idea, but she couldn’t put to words why. She carried that frustration in her heart as she continued forward.

The pressure from the sky was moving quickly too. She would only have an instant in which to act.

She twisted her upper body and slightly relaxed the hand holding Rein König.

She kicked hard off of the ground and untwisted her body. She gripped Rein König’s hilt hard in that moment. The twisting of her body traveled through her shoulder to her arm and swung Rein König like a whip.

“Ah!”

At the same time, Lillie pulled her right hand from her coat pocket.

She held a handgun in it. A handgun Hazel recognized.

…That’s the one she shot me with yesterday.

The red tone color of killer intent left the muzzle before Hazel could even feel the panic.

A moment later, she heard Lillie’s voice.

“That gem!”

Lillie’s eyes were on Hazel’s chest where she wore…

…The pendant with the gem Eryngium gave me.

After Hazel confirmed what it was she had, she saw Lillie’s face distort.

Then that face dropped below Hazel’s field of view.

By the time Hazel realized Lillie had fallen to her knees, Rein König had already swished through empty air.

“Oh, no!”

She had failed to destroy Mondnacht.

She looked to the sky where the dragon looked so close she could reach out and touch it.

The great water dragon was falling toward her.

“––––!”

In that instant, Hazel heard a voice. She recognized the Aerial Words.

They were spoken in a calm voice.

<Destiny says the dragon’s fangs never reach the Messiah.>

All of a sudden, all the water above Hazel burst.

Part 7

Ether scattered with a sound like a waterfall exploding, but it vanished after only three seconds.

Hazel was still looking up into the briefly mist-covered sky.

…I’m alive?

She could see. That meant she was still alive.

Rainclouds covered the night sky, so she could no longer see the moon.

The rainclouds were entirely black now, telling her night had truly fallen now.

She looked down to see a dark mist floating and producing waves.

A drop of water landed on her nose.

It was raining.

The sound of the rain drew her gaze toward the ground where she saw someone sitting on the ground with shoulders drooping.

It was Lillie. She hung her head and remained entirely motionless.

Only Hazel slowly took a breath.

Her shoulders rose and fell as she filled her lungs with air and then she turned around.

A large black shape stood there. Its hips were lowered and its right foot swept backwards in a fighting stance.

Its outthrust arms held a long hilt modeled after hair.

“Gelegenheit and…Neue Schwarz.”

The rain fell on the armor, adding a sheen to its matte black color.

Hazel breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the Heavy Barrel’s rain-wet skin.

She could tell her eyebrows were drooping.

She tried to take a step forward, but then she heard a voice from behind. It was weak and joined by the rustling of cloth as someone stood up.

“Messiah. This isn’t over yet.”

She heard a quiet metallic sound from behind her. Realizing what it was, she asked a question.

“Is a Neue Kavalier and one of the Fünf Leithammel really willing to shoot someone in the back, even if it is for revenge?”

“Are you saying you have no reason to keep fighting? I burned down the Borderson village.”

She said nothing more because a somewhat raised male voice interrupted.

“Enough. You were never cut out to be a villain, Lillie Telmetz.”

Hazel looked up at the voice.

A dark figure hopped down from Neue Schwartz’s back.

The man was wrapped in a black coat with his eyes half hidden by sunglasses.

Hazel wasn’t even surprised to see him. She only shut her eyes with a sigh of relief.

Lillie’s voice reached her from behind.

“Stay back! I’ll shoot!”

“Will you? We both know you’re more interested in complaining than shooting, Lillie Telmetz.”

Berger spat the words out in disinterest and Lillie gasped.

Hazel tried to get a look at the woman behind her, but Berger arrived in front of her before she could move.

She looked up at him.

The black coloration in front of her suddenly approached further and hugged her.

Her rain-soaked body received the warmth of his dry coat and his body heat.

His biological right arm and mechanical left arm briefly but firmly squeezed at her back.

“Oh.”

She sank into his chest. That chest shook and she heard his voice from overhead.

“You got ahead of yourself there, silly Hazel. You too, Lillie Telmetz.”

The comment to Lillie made Hazel look up in confusion.

“The Borderson village isn’t dead. How do you think I knew to come here, Hazel?”

“Well…”

Now that he mentioned it, she realized she was in the middle of the woods with nothing but the mountain road around.

“When I arrived in Borderson after you, I found the village burned to the ground. But the mayor was still there and he told me everything.” He took a breath. “Lillie Telmetz, you told the mayor you would be burning the Village of Pardons for the sake of your reputation, but you let all the residents escape and told him to return and rebuild if that was what they wanted.”

“Lies!” shouted Lillie.

Berger’s right arm immediately moved.

Hazel realized he had reached into his black coat.

And when he pulled his hand back out…

“The mayor gave me this wine. He gave it to me along with a certain question, but is it not enough proof for you?”

“What question?” asked Lillie, her voice barely a whisper. “One-armed young man, what did the mayor say to you?”

“I hadn’t seen him in a few years, but out of nowhere, he asked me if I had ever made a promise with a certain Ilfheim woman. When I said yes, he gave me this. To be honest, I don’t really know what it all means.”

Bright lights split the mist behind Berger.

They were the headlights of the armored truck waiting back there.

They were blocked by Neue Schwarz and Berger, but they still illuminated Lillie.

Hazel saw Lillie turn toward the lights, her head lowered in the rain.

She still held the gun but did nothing at all with it.

After a few breaths, she lowered the gun.

Hazel breathed a sigh of relief.

…I don’t sense any killer intent.

Then she realized Lillie’s mostly closed eyes were directed toward her.

“Um…do you need something?”

“Yes. I apologize, but, uh.”

Lillie held a hand to her mouth in hesitation but finally…

“If you don’t mind, could I see that pendant?”

Hazel stepped away from Berger.

After confirming he had taken a step back in response, she grabbed the chain around her neck.

She slowly lifted the red gem locket.

Lillie took a step closer and crouched.

She viewed the red gem for a few seconds before her shoulders slumped and she let out a long sigh.

“So I was wasn’t mistaken.”

She nodded and looked back over her shoulder.

She looked to the Requiem that was now hidden by the mist.

Hazel didn’t understand what any of this meant. But…

…This must have been important to her.

So she held the pendant out toward Lillie and waited without speaking a word.

Lillie groaned just once and then slowly looked up into the sky.

Her exposed white throat trembled and then she sobbed once.

No actual words left her lips along with her breaths, but they did mouth two names.

“You two were already in the Messiah’s care?”

Hazel watched as Lillie directed her words and her face toward the sky.

The rain fell to the corners of her eyes, wet her cheeks, and dripped down to her chin.

After a few breaths of silence, she lowered her head.

She quietly cleared her throat, straightened her back, and viewed the pendant again.

“I should have been the one to present this to you.”

She smiled with a note of resignation in her voice.

Hazel saw the tone color of her Lives in that smile.

The bluish-white color and weak tempo was not quite that of happiness.

But her smile remained, so Hazel didn’t comment.

Hazel felt a small push on her back and Berger’s voice whispered in her ear.

“Hey, what’s this about? Isn’t that mine?”

“Sorry. When I was shot yesterday, it took the bullet for me and broke.”

“When you were what?”

She shrugged and didn’t explain further. Lillie laughed quietly.

“Something similar would have happened regardless. You heard everything from our commander, didn’t you? When you travel to the past, you are supposed to give that pendant to a girl. And then…”

“Hold on. I bought this pendant at a festival shop,” said Berger.

“I don’t know if that really is the same pendant passed down through the ages, but that isn’t what matters.”

Hazel gripped the pendant and nodded at Lillie’s statement.

…Yes, I understand.

Lillie smiled and nodded back.

Then she glanced toward the lights shining on her.

“This is as far as I can go, Messiah. However…”

Hazel tilted her head and Lillie narrowed her eyes and continued.

“But if you wish for an undivided destiny and attempt to reach it, I promise you the moon shall assist you. And for that…” Lillie placed a hand on her chest. “You must seek out your own Text.”

That was the end of it. Lillie glanced over at Berger, bowed, and walked away. She walked toward the obscuring mist to reach the light that had been shining on her for a while now.

Left behind, Hazel leaned into Berger’s chest.

Then she saw the lights move. They illuminated the mist as they turned around.

The armored truck was leaving. The moving light vanished and the rumble of an engine reached them.

Only the damp air and dark night remained.

Part 8

Hazel breathed a sigh of relief within the shadows and the rain.

Berger also sighed and wrapped his arms around the front of her body.

She let him hold her and the contents of her backpack shifted position.

She recalled something important.

“Um, Berger.”

“Hm?”

“Do you want to eat somewhere? I was given some food at Borderson.”

“Have you forgotten we need to hurry to Germania? We’re supposed to be at the rendezvous point in 5 hours.”

“Were you planning to take 5 hours to reach Germania?” She lowered her head further and felt his heat while he held her. “We just have to make the trip faster. I was thinking we could head there right away and then use what time we have leftover to-”

She stopped talking when he squeezed her in his arms.

Then he forcibly turned her around in his arms.

She gasped and then found her face buried in his chest.

The tension drained from her right arm, so Rein König and the white cloth wrapped around that hand fell away.

Rein König’s hilt landed on the little toe of Berger’s right foot.

Part 9

Schweitzer watched as Witzmann repeated his question while picking up the breastplate.

“Will you place your trust in Neue Erde or in the Messiah?”

Schweitzer softly clenched his teeth.

Bermark was watching him and he nodded with no expression of his own.

“So what will it be? Will you let the Messiah do as she wishes? Will you ask the Messiah what it is she wishes to do? The fräulein is no longer in any condition to answer such questions. But if you value her more…”

“You always use your lack of a heart to shield yourself from criticism, but this is pushing it. You’re siding with Lowenzahn, aren’t you? Everything you’ve done today helps her in the end.”

“If you say so.”

Bermark bowed deep with a hand on his chest and Schweitzer sighed.

“So what does my aide say I can do to protect our country?”

“You should focus on simply protecting it instead of on your position as the Schallmauer Zerstörer. Just like when you have twice protected the fräulein in the past.”

Schweitzer frowned at that.

Witzmann questioned Bermark’s comment with a hand on his chin.

“Twice? I know about the dragon attack at Neuschwanstein, but what’s the other one?”

“I doubt Captain Schweitzer remembers the first time either. When Frobel Naylor once visited that chamber below Munich, Sir Bertecht-”

“He protected the hospital from rioters and died,” continued Witzmann.

Schweitzer briefly looked up and frowned.

“What does that have to do with this, Bermark?”

“He initially hesitated to go assist in Munich, but then his young son told him that a Neue Kavalier is supposed to protect the things they care about.”

When Bermark finished speaking, silence hung over them all.

But then Schweitzer suppressed a groan and clenched his teeth hard.

Bermark looked and spoke to him with no readable emotion on his face or in his voice.

“Frobel Naylor was pregnant at the time and she apparently spent around 12 hours down there with Lady Rose. They discussed her unborn child to distract themselves from the anxiety.”

“Enough,” rumbled Schweitzer. He removed the scarf from his shirt’s collar and loosened the collar. He took a breath and twisted his head once. “I will oppose the Messiah. I will trust in Lowenzahn and protect her. To keep my promise to the Ilfheim bloodline she may not have known she belonged to.”

“Protection is not always the correct choice. Sir Graham and Lady Rose learned the hard way that protecting people can lead to greater harm in the end. And If the Messiah is right…”

“Then I lose. But as a nameless fighter, not as the Schallmauer Zerstörer.”

Schweitzer smiled bitterly. He saluted the two old men and turned his back.

He walked away, toward the door up to the surface.

“I am leaving, Bermark. Take care of those two.”

“Wait, wait. We haven’t made our own choice.”

“Then be quick about it. I am in a hurry.”

Elrich sighed, got up, removed his brown cloak, and put on a white coat instead.

“I am going to Germania. If this comes down to a battle between Neue Erde and the Messiah, Neue Erde has an unfair advantage. She already knows where destiny is headed, after all.”

Elrich began to walk, but after a few steps, he looked back at Witzmann who was still seated on the floor.

“What about you, youngster?”

“Oh, I will be joining the AIF.”

Schweitzer frowned at that one.

He turned back at the door to see Elrich giving him an exaggerated shrug and Bermark as expressionless as ever.

Schweitzer scratched his head and then gave a quick disheartened comment.

“You really are young.”

Chapter 3: The Promise Accelerates

8/23/1943 20:26 – 21:56

I think

A promise is

A contract with someone

And an agreement with yourself

Part 1

The small room’s floor, walls, and ceiling were all made of wood.

A single small light shined above the small table by the wall. It came from the pale flame of a rusty Phlogiston lamp.

The circular light of the lamp reflected off the wall to illuminate the opposite wall.

A single chair and bed sat next to that opposite wall. As did two people.

A woman and a man sat with their backs to the wall. The blonde woman on the left and the black-haired man on the right.

The woman wore a shirt with a towel over her shoulders. Her lower body was hidden below a blanket.

A small object between the two of them weakly diffused the lamplight.

It was a wine bottle. Two glasses of red liquid sat next to it and the plate next to them carried fries, salted meat, and a few leaves of boiled cabbage.

To the right of the somewhat disturbed food was a silhouette with somewhat squared shoulders.

That was the man. He wore a black shirt and black pants and had his legs stretched out on top of the blanket.

The wind whistled in and the thick curtain over the window fluttered. The woman turned to look.

“Aren’t you glad the inn you destroyed in ’39 was rebuilt?”

She grabbed one of the fries and ate it. Berger did the same.

“Under a different owner. This place wasn’t considered a part of Germania. But…it was ordered evacuated last year. Looks like Germany doesn’t have anything but empty shells left for me.”

“Do you not like this country?”

“I don’t dislike it, but I can’t forget what’s happened here either. What about you?”

“That’s a good question.” She held her knees below the blanket. “I’m not sure. I lost friends, I was separated from them, I was branded on my shoulder, I had to give up my home, and so many people see me as their enemy, but…but….”

“But what?”

She couldn’t immediately answer him, but she finally managed it while hanging her head.

“But…am I still allowed to like it?”

She tilted her head at her own question, but Berger didn’t respond.

He sighed, lowered the wine bottle from the bed, grabbed some of the salted meat from the plate, and ate it.

“Let’s change the subject.” He shook his head. “Now that I think about it, you really are uncompromising, aren’t you?”

“Wh-what is that supposed to mean?”

“You said you got this food at Borderson, but it was from Eryngium, wasn’t it? Losing your memories must not change your sense of taste because I recognized this level of saltiness right away.”

Her shoulders trembled in response, but he continued without turning her way.

“How is she doing? Does she have a kid yet?”

“Yes.”

“Do you regret reminding me of the past at such a critical point in time?”

“…No.”

“Then why do you look ready to cry?”

“B-because…”

She bit her lip once, clenched her teeth, and sighed.

After a moment, she continued in a vanishingly quiet voice.

“Because I have to do this.”

“Which is what I meant by uncompromising. C’mon, dry those tears and eat. We don’t want to leave any.”

He wrapped some salted meat in a cabbage leaf and shoved it into his mouth while holding the plate out to her.

She unclenched her fists and grabbed some of the meat.

“Eat three at once.”

She nodded and rolled them up in two leaves of cabbage. He watched her put it in her mouth before speaking.

“There’s one thing you have to watch out for with Eryngium’s cooking.”

She nodded her head a little while listening to him. When she moved her jaw, a solid crunch came from her mouth. Her eyes widened and he laughed.

“She sometimes forgets to remove the bones.”

“Th-that was mean.”

“Don’t spit it out. Eat it. And remember this.” He smiled and continued with confidence. “You’re the only woman anymore who will turn around when I call her name, Hazel Mirildorf.”

She reflexively turned toward him when she realized what he meant.

She saw him rub a hand through his hair.

“I won’t say it again, so don’t forget it.”

She nodded several times with the edge of a cabbage leaf sticking out of her mouth.

The movement of her head caused a single tear to fall from her eye.

“Hazel, don’t talk or cry with your mouth full. We’ll find out tonight whether the world will change or loop, so try to hold it together until then.” He sighed. “But if this goes well, the world won’t change all that much even after stopping the Wheel of Destiny.”

Part 2

Eh? Hazel looked at him.

…If the Wheel of Destiny is stopped, the Messiah won’t exist anymore and the world will undergo a great change.

But if it wouldn’t change much…

…Could the Borderson people stay the way they are?

The impatience inside her colored her tone of voice.

“Wh-what do you mean? What would make it ‘go well’?”

“Calm down and listen, but think of it as mostly a joke, okay?” He pulled his head back at her reaction but then sighed and explained. “The Wheel of Destiny happened for Lehrer because she destroyed a millennium’s worth of Spacetime Lives along with the anxiety Lives. But what if you managed to tune those millennium’s worth of Spacetime Lives?”

She considered it, spreading out her hands and counting on her fingers.

“Um, so you want me to use my Tuning on the Spacetime Lives extracted within Tristan?”

“You get what that would do, right? Tuning requires the Tuner to stay with the Lives until the tuning is complete. If you tuned a millennium’s worth, then you would travel with the Lives and end up a thousand years in the past. That would tune rather than destroy the Spacetime Lives but still send the Messiah to the past.”

That would create a past with the Messiah without making the world play out another loop. However…

“B-but that only works if Tristan extracts those Lives.”

“Yes, you would have to target precisely a thousand years of the Spacetime Lives and Tristan isn’t going to extract only what you need. Besides, tuning Lives on that scale would require a Device that’s up to the task. One that makes Rein König look like a toy. Which is why I called it a joke.”

He smiled and she sighed.

“Come to think of it, when the Geheimnis Agency Commander spoke to me at their Hamburg base last month, she said she would target the Spacetime Lives with my Messiah eye and try to avoid as much damage to them as possible when the ACBS hit.”

“Yeah, even they have to look at it as an ‘as much as possible’ kind of thing. But…the way things are headed, that will be the only option.” Berger gave her an exasperated smile. “Sorry. Did that get you down?”

“No. I’m kind of happy to learn you’ve been thinking about this, actually. I’ve been wishing I could do something like that too ever since leaving Borderson.”

She smiled and finished eating her cabbage and meat while being careful about possible bones.

…He’s thinking about the same thing.

She wiped off her hands with a towel and touched her chest through her shirt to find her pulse was elevated.

…I need to calm down.

She tried to set aside her fear and speak the words in her heart, but he spoke before she could get her mouth open.

“Hey, are you serious about learning about our past, Hazel?”

That was exactly what she had been hesitant to ask about.

“Even if that means going at it as a continuation of what we started in Borderson?”

“C-could you try to find a more tactful way of putting that?”

“I am trying. …You get what I mean, right? You have a Lives combat style, so you can read the German Lives injected into me if we sleep together.”

“Yes, and that should include the History Lives that have repeated time and time again.”

He stopped talking when she said that, but then he slowly nodded and continued.

“You’d figured that out? Lehrer told me there was one way to make sure she didn’t disappear.”

The German Lives injected into the two of them would include the Memory Lives from the versions of them and of Sylphide that had been destroyed by the loops.

…And it’s easier to read the ones in someone else than the ones in yourself.

“Will you let me read our many pasts? Including Lehrer’s? I should be able to find some part of my own Text there and it will let me inherit all of my past selves.”

“Sure. It should also let you cheat when it comes to your Ober Beweisen. Not that it matters now that you want to stop the cycle.”

“True.” She smiled but then her eyebrows drooped. “But are you sure about this? If I’m going to read the injected German Lives, I have to start with-”

“With my past and the Text for Gelegenheit’s Ober Beweisen, yeah.”

He stopped there before suddenly pulling her toward him.

It was a forceful act, but she didn’t fight it.

She practically toppled onto her side in his arms and she reacted by purring.

Part 3

Her body heated up quickly thanks to the wine.

At first, his hands felt ticklish touching her through her shirt.

But once they began kissing and breathing more heavily, that changed to something sharper than ticklish.

Her other senses were growing sharper too. He held her in his left arm and lay her down on her back.

When he leaned over her and touched her, her body moved more than she expected.

He reached for the collar of her shirt and undid the top button.

“Ah.”

One by one, he undid the buttons down to her hips and his face sank into the exposed skin.

His lips and damp tongue felt so much softer than his fingers as they touched her collarbones and worked their way down.

Her heart pounded extra hard when she suddenly recalled what had happened last year in Borderson.

“U-um, Berger. If you’re going to b-bite me, warn me first.”

“Really? Then do I need to warn you before every grope and lick too?”

“Eh? But…”

“Grope, grope, lick, lick, bite, grope, pinch, lick.”

“Hey, ah, wait, you’re not a puppy, you pervert!”

“What, I’m just doing what you asked? Bite!”

The sensation that vanished from below her navel suddenly came back as hard teeth biting at her collarbone.

She yelped and twisted her body and he reached down to finish unbuttoning her shirt. Her twisting stripped the shirt from her, revealing her in nothing but her underwear.

“Oh.”

She looked up at him, but he was only unbuttoning his own shirt and looking down at her.

Unsure what to do, she lifted her knees and tried to press her thighs together, but…

“Um, Berger? What is your hand doing between my legs?”

“Open sesame!”

His hand grabbed her left inner thigh and she realized she had a thin layer of sweat on her legs.

She reflexively spread her legs a bit to avoid the damp sensation.

He shifted to the right to avoid her moving leg.

A moment later, he pulled down her underwear.

Before she could say a thing, she felt the white cloth catch on her foot and then it was in his hand.

It all happened so fast she wasn’t sure what she should say, if she should say anything at all, or what she should do. Meanwhile, he looked at the underwear in his hand.

“Fancy.”

“I-I don’t need your opinion on that!”

“Now, now.”

He set the underwear down on the bed, pulled his left hand out from below her half-removed shirt, and stuck it between the shirt and her back instead.

His right hand removed her bra, so her chest lost its support and felt the air.

She tried twisting her body to see if she was frozen up with tension or not.

She could move. So she relaxed and shifted her position to remove her shirt while still lying down.

Then she twisted toward Berger on her right.

He moved his right hand between her somewhat spread thighs to touch her left inner thigh again.

She looked him in the eye and spread her legs some more.

“What should we do? We are a cat and a dog, after all.”

“Too scared to do it on your back?”

“No. From the front, I can hold you when you hold me.”

Hazel faced the ceiling and spread her legs while watching Berger move above her again.

“This is embarrassing. But it’s a little late for that, I guess.”

“You’re the one with a habit of showing up naked in front of me.”

“I don’t do it on purpose. But this is different because I’m getting naked so you can see me and lick me.”

“That is one hell of a seductive thing to say.”

“I-is it?”

He sighed and pulled his hand from her back.

He shifted himself a bit further up, raised his biological right hand, and touched her hair splayed out on the bed.

“But maybe you can’t help it. Lehrer told me that, once you reach your 20s, spring and summer are your mating season and you can’t resist.”

She could feel herself blushing and she shouted back without thinking.

“That is a lie! It is true I feel a tingling sensation near my butt at the start of summer, though.”

“Wait, so it’s past that season now?”

He looked legitimately surprised.

“D-did you think I was in heat all this time?”

“Well…” He lowered his gaze to between her legs and slowly looked back up to her face. “Can you blame me?”

“Y-yes, I can!”

“Oh, shut up. And whether you are or not…” He lowered his gaze to between her legs again and finally looked back up again. “I don’t think it matters.”

“A-again, I-”

She started to protest, but she decided to let it slide when he rubbed her head. He moved his hand from her ear down to her neck and touched her choker and the pendant.

“Please don’t remove those.”

He silently lowered his face to her throat. His breath felt ticklish as he placed the choker and her left side of her throat between his hard teeth.

She cried out and jumped. Then he pressed his teeth against the right side.

“W-wait. My throat is sensitive. Because I’m a cat.”

She wrapped her arms around his back to hold him.

He stroked her throat with his right hand and she ticklishly lifted her chin. Then he bit her exposed throat again. Her breathing grew heavy.

She let out a heavy breath and sweat poured from her.

He sat up and she tried to tighten her grip to keep her arms around him, but…

“Oh?”

A broken and heated breath left her mouth and her arms fell limply to the blanket.

She felt a damp sensation on her chest. After escaping her arms, Berger was traveling down her body with his lips and tongue. His arm relaxed its embrace on her as he moved ever downward.

When he kissed her spread legs and held her thighs from below, she raised her head and looked at him.

“Um, uh, Berger? Um, what are you doing?”

“Only what you told me to do. I shouldn’t have to warn you of that.”

“Eh? You mean look at me and lick me? Ah, wait, th-that’s not playing fair!”

She protested and twisted her body, but it didn’t last.

She let him do it plenty.

When she stopped resisting and let her body react how it wanted, her voice, sweat, and movements came out much more naturally.

She breathed heavily, shut her eyes, and then opened them again to see Berger with the ceiling behind him.

His black eyes stared down at her and he asked a question.

“Are you afraid?”

His voice, the blanket and shirt behind her back, and the pale light all worked to sharpen her focus.

…Now that you mention it…

She recalled something. To confirm that memory, she slowly held her left palm out toward him. The hand was still weak, like she had just woken up.

Eventually, he grabbed that hand.

The strength of his fingers interlocking with hers let her focus on her own presence here.

She tried to smile. She wasn’t sure if she managed it, but she did know her view of her hand in his began to blur and he started talking again.

“Hazel.” She viewed his face in her blurring vision. He looked completely serious. “What will you do if my joke from before becomes real? What if you could go to the past like that?”

“Would you join me in the past?”

He hesitated, but he did nod in the end.

She giggled at how deadly serious he looked.

“We are bound by the German Lives, aren’t we? But I’m glad to hear you say that.”

She took a breath.

“As thanks, I have something to tell you.”

Part 4

Hazel was faltering but firm.

“Once, there was a girl. She thought of herself as fairly smart and was proud of that, but she never could say the things she really wanted to say. As she grew up, she started having nightmares. She dreamed of war, of being trampled by great crowds of people…and of saying goodbye to someone she loved.”

“I’ve had similar dreams.”

They both laughed bitterly and she nodded.

“The girl always thought the person she had to say goodbye to in her dream was her father. So whenever she had that nightmare, she would reach her hand out toward his back as he left. And of course, he never took that hand.”

She took a breath.

“But then a hand did grab her outstretched hand. But this wasn’t her father – it was someone else she loved. And it wasn’t in a dream – it was very real.”

She looked to Berger without letting go of his hand.

“Do you remember when we first met? In ’37 in that small room below Berlin, that person stayed by my side while I was having my nightmare and he held my hand.”

“I was only-”

“I don’t think that happened for any of my past selves. Because no one ever took my hand in the nightmares.”

“….”

“He took my hand and he told me ‘it’s okay’.”

She smiled bitterly.

“But he saw me naked, which wasn’t at all ‘okay’ for a precocious teenager.”

Her bitter smile grew, but it didn’t last. She couldn’t find anything else to say and closed her eyes.

A hot liquid that wasn’t sweat dripped from her closed eyelids and fell back toward her ears.

She took a few awkward breaths and then got her trembling voice out.

“Do you remember that?”

“Hazel.”

She opened her eyes when he called her name. She knew her face was far from presentable, but there was no helping that.

“The snot running down your face is ruining the moment.”

“B-but this is important to me.”

“It’s okay,” he said.

His expression was a mixture of tension and a smile.

Her heart pounded in her chest.

Before she could say anything, he sank down and held her in his prosthetic arm.

He lifted her hips just a bit and placed them on his lap.

She shut her eyes and his lips touched her eyelid.

When he licked up her tears, she held him in her right arm and wrapped her legs around him.

“You’re right. It is okay.”

She breathed in and continued with a smile.

“So let me see all of you.”

She felt strength enter his arm.

Part 5

When she raised her head, Hazel found herself seated in a chair. It was the kind of wooden chair she had used at school. It was damaged in places, but someone had tried to disguise that with varnish.

She looked down at herself in the chair and found she wasn’t wearing anything.

She looked around for something to wear and noticed a white tablecloth on the large square table in front of her.

“Umm.”

She held a hand to her mouth in thought, but ultimately decided to remove the tablecloth.

She wrapped it around herself and tied it above her chest.

She made sure the knot was good and tight, nodded in satisfaction, and took another look around.

This was a large room filled with the midday sun. Several full bookcases were lined up on the floor.

This was Berlin’s central library. She had fought there one night a month before, but…

“I used to come here with my friends a lot in middle school. …Oh?”

She could no longer see the chair and table from before. They had vanished.

She also heard countless sounds of flipping pages.

The dry sounds would not stop and they sent a tremor through her.

All of a sudden, there was a flood of people around her.

She looked behind her in shock and saw children and adults – men and women – standing in front of the bookcases and reading the books.

Their sudden appearance made her press her back against the nearest bookcase and hide herself.

But they didn’t move from the bookcases or even look her way.

They simply stood there reading their books.

They would pull a book from a shelf, open it, flip through the pages, close it, and return it to the shelf. Then they would pull out a book again.

“It’s always the same book as before.”

They repeated the same thing over and over, rereading the same book each time.

She commented on the endless sound of their constant rereading.

“These are the messages forming Berger’s Lives.”

She stared at them and then narrowed her eyes.

“None of the people inside him are old.”

She smiled with just her mouth at that, but then she found herself somewhere else again.

Now she saw the library counter in front of her.

A woman stood behind it. Hazel recognized her. She looked a little weird since she was younger than when Hazel had seen her, but she spoke the woman’s name to get past that weirdness.

“Eryngium.”

Eryngium wore work clothing and she simply narrowed her eyes in a smile behind the counter.

A large writing desk sat behind her. A few dictionaries and a pile of letters and other papers covered in writing sat on the desk.

The desk’s side table carried a half-eaten sandwich and a cup of coffee with no steam rising from it.

Further back, Hazel saw a desk with a large vise-like device attached. A wooden frame sat on that desk and the floor around it was littered with scraps of black and brown leather. It appeared to be a bookbinder’s desk, but no one sat there currently.

…Where did they go?

She kept that question inside and looked to Eryngium again.

The young, slender woman gave her a smiling look and said nothing.

Hazel noticed her collar was open.

She saw two colors on the exposed skin there.

The first was a scar running from her chest to her throat. As a sword-user, Hazel immediately recognized it as a blade scar, so she must have suffered a wound that left an inch-wide scar on her throat.

…That could have easily killed her!

Her eyes widened and she noticed the other color next to the scar.

Text was written on Eryngium’s skin in black ink. A lot of text.

Hazel gasped and looked up to find Eryngium meeting her gaze.

Part 6

Hazel heard falling rain.

She couldn’t see. Everything was dark. But her arms’ senses were heightened.

Her arms were held out in front of her and a weight bore down on her elbows.

She was standing up with someone in her arms. She was experiencing someone else’s senses of hearing and touch.

When she realized that, she suddenly felt very cold. She was feeling the rain hit her.

She also heard the rain. A male voice suddenly reached her through the falling raindrops ahead of her.

“How did it turn out this way?”

The tone of voice was neither high nor low – it was perfectly calm.

Hazel did not recognize the voice. She heard a radio playing behind the voice. She was out in the rain, but she must have been standing in front of…

…A house’s front door?

She could not ask her question out loud.

But she did feel her mouth moving. And her mouth spoke with Berger’s voice.

“We didn’t mean to kill her. Even they were only here to recommend she go to the Village of Pardons.”

“But the director rejected their mercy and refused to stop compiling history and you wanted Eryngium to escape but she refused to?”

The unfamiliar voice spoke slowly but showed no emotion.

“What did she say when she refused to flee?”

“Just that she didn’t want to run away.”

“I see,” said the voice. “Where is Alfred? He was the one who cut her down, wasn’t he?”

“Schweitzer forcibly took him away. Punched him in the gut to calm him down.” Bitter laughter. “I used my power to fight back…but while I did drive them away, I couldn’t protect her.”

“That is probably the punishment for your hubris. So what will you do now?”

“I want your help. She isn’t actually dead yet. Her pulse is weak, but she is still alive.”

“I am not a doctor. I am an engineer.”

“That’s why I need your help. You needed a specimen for that Eingeweide device you’re working on, right? I’m going to use my power just once to try and heal her. But there will be a cost. I need something to replace the Tons inside her that I’ll use to heal her wound. That will eliminate her wound, but it will cause another wound somewhere else.”

“This is sounding serious. Are you going to use your divine power to alter a dead girl’s destiny?”

“And then I’ll say goodbye. I never plan to see her again,” said Berger. “Our hubris killed Eryngium here, so I’m never overestimating myself again. I’ll settle for second best. So…”

“You don’t need to state your conviction out loud. There are only two things you need to say here,” said the voice. “What will you use as payment for healing her? And what will you give me to create the Eingeweide? If your answer doesn’t catch my interest, I will not let you inside. …So answer me.”

Berger fell silent.

His senses told Hazel he had lowered his head.

…He must be looking at Eryngium in his arms.

Then he moved his head in a nod.

“I will use the Tons of her memories. I will use them to overwrite as much of her wound’s Tons as I can and erase it altogether.”

“Why that? Wouldn’t a leg or an arm work just as well?”

“How is she supposed to live a new life if she remembers what happened today? Is this my hubris talking again?”

“Hah. This sounds self-destructive to me, but I accept. And your other answer?”

“Some of her memory Tons should be left over after overwriting her wound, so I’ll mix her memories with the divine Tons inside me, convert that into a spirit stone, and give it to you.”

“You will abandon your divinity? You could find unmatched power and glory there.”

“I’m only half-god, so I’m not immortal or anything. All I have is this power I can’t even use while I lose the person standing by my side.” Berger hung his head. “Help me heal her. And give me a weapon. A weapon that lets me cut away myself so I never have to lose someone else again. A weapon that lets me remain second best.”

He did not immediately receive a response.

Hazel heard only the rain for a few seconds, but then she heard the dry sound of clapping hands.

“I will help you and I will give you a weapon. So that you can remain yourself after this. However…”

“What?”

“Make no mistake. I am not kind enough to help you resign yourself to your fate. The weapon I give you will let you one day reclaim your divine power and place someone else by your side.”

Berger laughed bitterly at that. “Like that’s ever happening,” he spat toward the ground.

But the man responded with no smile in his voice.

“Just remember that even the dumbest god can find salvation. That is why I will name your weapon Gelegenheit. Destiny is something that suddenly comes knocking at your door, that refuses to let go of your hand, and that trusts you while staying at your side.” He laughed softly. “Enter. Remember what I have said, Dog Berger. I will not-”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. You won’t say it again, so don’t forget it, right?”

Berger nodded and spoke the man’s name.

“Like I could ever forget this, Marsch Gant.”

Part 7

Hazel sensed her vision was back and opened her eyes to find herself outside.

She gasped and looked up in the sky to find it was blue. The ground below her was a green field.

She felt a light breeze on her skin and the green grass tickling her ankles.

She could not see the end of the earth. The blue sky and green field continued as far as the eye could see.

“I thought I was outside Berlin’s central library.”

She looked behind her, but the library was gone.

“Eh?”

But something else was there: a small door. A door in a small wooden frame stood in the middle of the field. It sat open and she could see the library from before through it.

When she peered through the wooden doorframe standing in the field, she saw Eryngium standing alone at the counter. The busy readers were still at the bookcases too.

Hazel breathed a sigh of relief at finding the library was still there.

She realized something else as well.

…I’ve seen this door before.

She saw it when she entered Germania a month before.

…This was the door in the library’s underground room where I met up with Berger.

The door had been deep below the ground, but now it was below the open sky.

She viewed the door and looked up to the sky. Then she looked down to the green ground.

She looked all around, spotting a few tall apple trees growing around the door.

“Oh?”

One patch of the field wasn’t colored the green of grass.

It was the white of paper.

She walked over to the paper and smiled at how the soft grass tickled her bare feet.

She stopped and looked down to see the paper was blank. She hesitantly picked it up.

“Eh?”

Now there was a large desk in front of her.

A man in a black coat sat with his back to her in the desk chair.

He was using a pen to write something on the many papers on the desk. He would occasionally pause to check a dictionary before continuing.

His hair, shirt, and pants were all black. She only knew one person who looked like that.

“Berger?”

He did not respond. He kept his back to her and continued working.

He showed no sign of turning around.

She sighed and waited, keeping her eyes on his back.

The wind blew through, rustling the leaves of the apple trees.

The whisper of the leaves was louder than the wind itself and it made the wind sound more like a crashing wave.

She looked to the sky to see thin strands of cloud stretching out further and further.

The wind must be strong, she realized before noticing movement out of the corner of her eye.

The man seated in front of her held his metal left arm toward her over his other shoulder.

The hand was spread wide and it wasn’t moving.

“Do you want this paper?”

He didn’t answer her.

But she handed him the paper she had picked up.

He didn’t thank her before pulling his hand back, laying the paper on the desk, and writing on it with the pen in his right hand.

After a few seconds, the work was complete.

The moment after that, he held the paper out with his left hand.

She took it with her right hand.

He immediately pulled his hand back and got back to work.

He opened up the dictionary on the desk, pulled out another sheet of paper, and began writing.

Hazel looked at him, not the paper he had given her.

“Why?”

She glanced behind her in the wind.

She could see the library through the small door. Eryngium and so many other people were in there.

“Why are you out here, away from the others?”

She looked back to him.

He continued his work. But she noticed something on the desk.

A letter opener with its grip modeled after hair sat in the pen holder with its bottom end pointed up. A new color had been added to its gold grip.

A black ribbon-like string was tied around it near the end.

“Oh,” she gasped and reflexively reached for her throat.

But her fingers found nothing there.

This was his place, so she gave one deep nod and unfolded the paper in her hand.

Only a few words were written there.

They were the Text that Berger used for his Ober Beweisen.

Part 8

Hazel’s mind was on the move.

Images, sounds, and emotions from the past rushed into her own memories.

Things both big and small flowed in together, making waves and never ceasing.

She gasped as she worked to see and hear those things, not just accept them.

…These are the memories from the German Lives.

They covered a massive span of time. Instead of directly entering her, they had their own senses and carried her through time.

First, she was high in the sky. The wind blew through and caressed the mountains. A forest grew at the foot of the mountains and the earth was found below the forest. There were Heidengeists, humans, and dragons there.

A village formed on the riverside, it grew into twin cities, to a fortress city, and finally to Berlin.

A promise was made and the world was set in motion.

New friends were made, new battles were fought, and a goodbye was said.

The forest covering the earth was cleared away, the mountains were shattered, and a metal cross split the sky.

Night fell.

She stood atop the giant cross overlooking all of Germany.

She held a white sword in her hand.

She looked back to see a man in a black coat and a blue aerial warship resembling a blade.

No one was moving. She faced the wall of the cross.

All of its metal armor had bent and it was starting to swell out unnaturally.

She responded to the change by glancing down at the military watch on her left wrist. It was currently 4:40 AM.

“So it really does all end at this time. If this Live disturbance continues for another two minutes, it will create a giant monster carrying the Spacetime Lives and the world will be destroyed.”

She moved her hands to raise her sword.

“I must believe the correct answer will be reached eventually. Maybe it will be the next me or maybe the one after that, but I must believe that, after countless turns of the wheel, someone will eventually choose a destiny that was not forced onto her.”

And…

“Eingeweide Eye Messiah – Ober Beweisen!”

Her right eye glowed red.

The intensity of the light changed, but instead of growing stronger, it grew sharper.

“The all-controlling Messiah’s Text is the answer to it all.”

The wind blew and the metal wall before her rattled extra hard like something had struck it from the inside.

Her lips parted to speak her own Text.

Part 9

She didn’t hear her Text – she sensed its meaning. The very next moment, she found her mind floating in a void.

The past memory had ended. That was the only thing she knew for sure.

The last thing she saw was a very familiar memory. It was one of Berger’s memories related to her. She felt her mind falling and then saw herself through Berger’s eyes.

First, she saw a memory from last month. She had Schwarz Löwe’s vision after it fell before the emperor. She saw her own back standing in front of it, but the black Heavy Barrel was trying to stand back up to move in front of her.

She saw a memory of the Cologne schoolyard from last year. She saw herself about to be shot by a Live bullet. She had been trying to protect Berger, but he instead protected her by getting on top of her.

She saw her own face with eyes and mouth squeezed shut and felt Berger breathing a sigh of relief.

She saw a memory of returning to the same inn back in ’39. She heard a voice calling his name as her vision burst into the room and saw a girl trembling by the wall before anything else.

She saw a memory from the college campus in ’37. A girl was running from pursuing gunfire while holding a pair of sandals. Her gaze looked down to the girl’s running feet, noting how she was liable to trip.

The memory suddenly changed again.

She was in a dark room with the faint light illuminating a naked girl sleeping in the bed.

She was frowning and holding out a hand, so he held that hand in a firm grip and spoke to her.

“It’s okay.”

Her mind nodded at those words.

…He never told me anything.

“But he did agree to go to the past with me.”

Her mind was being released from the memories. But she wanted to reward him in some way.

…Maybe I’m just being a selfish nuisance with this.

“You can be yourself. Don’t restrict yourself for anyone else’s sake.”

She pondered her own words for a moment and then something burst deep in her mind.

She felt a great heat.

Then the memories ended.

Chapter 4: The Promise Races

8/24/1943 00:02 – 02:40

The battle begins.

Part 1

The rainclouds began to pull away, revealing a palely-glowing sea.

The vast sea was created from the fog and the light. It was colored a pale red and had to be at least 40 miles across.

A great cross jutted toward the sky at the center of the light.

The cross produced no light, remaining dark as it loomed over the glowing fog sea below.

The glow came from the city below the fog.

The city of Germania.

The layered city had six underground levels and the lights of each level combined in the large holes before they were released into the sky. The lights shined on the fog from below, creating the glowing sea.

At one point of the sea, small lights were constantly on the move.

That was Tempelhof Airport at the south end of Germania.

A few shapes were moving within the fog over the airport.

The crafts in the standby zone bore a wyvern emblem on their dark, oblong sides.

No one could be seen in their canopies.

However, a large man in a black coat and a short man in a white coat stood next to them. A Grösse Panzer standing more than 20 yards tall towered into the fog across from them.

The Grösse Panzer’s sight devices glowed red in the fog to view the white coat man.

“Once the Himmelschild dome is in place, every Geheimnis Agency military division will take up defensive positions south of Tristan. The military’s main nine armies will be positioned outside the Himmelschild to the north and west of Tristan to form a defensive line fortified with heavy AA guns to prepare against the bombing. The field artillery and armored units will be positioned to the east.”

“Do you think the bombers are coming?”

“No. The AIF is coming. A small and highly mobile elite force will attempt to pass through Germania and reach Tristan. But I have also set up the military along a wide defensive line just in case. That should take time to break through. See, the AIF isn’t interested in how many of our forces they take out – they need to break in and break in fast.”

And…

“An abnormal number of aircraft and monsters have been detected entering Germany over the past two weeks. We managed to intercept 80% of them, but not all.”

“And the AIF is like us,” said Elrich. “One of them is worth as much as an ordinary army. If the AIF has sent in all their forces, then that 20% will attempt to break into Germania.”

Schweitzer nodded.

“Chief Elrich, we need to hurry. I don’t even know if there are still any posts left for us.”

“True. Okay, Karl, this might be the last time we see each other. Try to get along with that wife of yours.”

“I would have done that regardless.” Karl slowly turned to face the east. His vocal device asked one last question as he turned his back. “What happened to Witzmann?”

“He went to snap a photo of the Messiah.”

Karl’s artificial voice made a “?” noise but then he continued, sounding satisfied.

“Hah. So you know everything now. That could be trouble.”

Karl completed his turn, facing east to reach his post.

He disturbed the fog around him before fading into a shadow.

Elrich watched the mountainous shadow rapidly leave through the fog.

“Okay, let’s get to Tristan, youngster.”

“What do you intend to do there?” asked Schweitzer.

“Set everything up so I can see the truth.”

“What truth?”

“I trust our commander. I trust the Messiah too. But I trust the truth most of all. And at the moment, everything is working for the commander. The truth can only be found when no one has stacked the deck and all options are on the table.” Elrich looked back over his shoulder at Schweitzer and tilted his head. “I do not recommend aging. It makes you talk too much.”

Schweitzer laughed bitterly.

“That just shows how young you still are.”

Elrich laughed bitterly too and slapped Schweitzer’s shoulder.

That was when a wind blew through overhead.

The giant cross visible in the fog had begun to produce a glowing umbrella.

Part 2

A rebuilt inn had a parking lot bordering the forest behind it.

It was a small parking lot with room for only four cars. It wasn’t even paved. But it was made to be hidden from the front of the inn. Germania and its dome were already visible in the northern sky.

A camouflaging sheet hung from the inn’s roof to cover the parking lot.

The sheet was made to look like a grassy field when viewed from above and it was even set up to work in this fog.

Below the sheet, around 40 people sat holding their weapons.

They all wore the gray uniforms of the AIF.

One man stood in the center of them.

He was a large man with two prosthetic arms.

He had gray hair and only one eye and he currently viewed them all with a few documents in hand.

“That concludes our review of Operation Glossolalia. The biggest change is Hazel using her Tuning to revive Neue Erde and use that to stop Tristan. Our time limit is 3 AM. At that time, the Allies will begin their ley line reversal in earnest and push Neue Erde to its limits. They will also launch their ACBS. That means our job is to stop Tristan by then. If we do, the Allies will not launch their ACBS and we can stop the Wheel of Destiny.” He took a breath. “If we do stop Tristan, this world’s history will connect to a new history at 4:42 AM. The destiny created by the Wheel of Destiny will be replaced by an unseen true history, which will erase the Messiah’s legend and revolutionize the world. So if this goes well, try to get along with them until the change hits.”

They all fell silent, but they did nod with just their eyes.

After that one nod, they all looked up at Pale again.

Undaunted, he looked back at all of them, accepting their gazes equally. He checked his documents before continuing.

“That about covers it. All the company commanders and higher have their new orders, right? We need to split up, so pay careful attention. And use of Moon Ash is forbidden since our enemy will include Hounds. …Corelle?”

“What is it?”

One of the seated soldiers raised her hand. Corelle did not look pleased. Pale looked to her.

“Maybe it’s a little late to be asking this, but can you fly that big old transport ship through the gap in the dome?”

“I can get it through a 30-yard gap if you need me to. I’m more worried about the RB arriving from the border in time. Coolers was part of the main unit, but he was apparently late to arrive.”

“Well, we’ll destroy the roads with just enough left over to use as a runway, so the rest is up to you.”

Corelle crossed her arms, pulled a card from her pocket, and viewed it.

“Looks like you can relax. The card is still Strength. This should work.”

“It should, huh? We’re a boring bunch, aren’t we?”

“You can say that again,” said a male voice. “Only 20% of us managed to get here. And it was questionable if we could get an entire battalion’s worth to begin with.”

That was Berger who sat with his back against the inn wall.

He calmly accepted all the eyes gathered on him and stared at Gelegenheit held up in front of him.

“Just take it easy, everyone. If Hazel dies, we’ll wish we still had the Wheel of Destiny option left. So if that happens, you might as well go on a suicidal rampage of revenge.”

“Your damn pessimism is not what we need right now. Do I need to drown you in the spring out back?” asked Pale.

Berger laughed.

“C’mon, we were all thinking it. In a way, we’re the ones fighting to destroy the current world. Only the Wheel of Destiny is holding our world together and here we are trying to- ow ow ow!”

He yelped in pain and everyone’s eyes focused on the person next to him.

A much brighter color sat by the inn wall there.

The blonde woman in a women’s AIF combat uniform was Hazel.

Her left arm wore a military watch and held a white sword and her right arm was pinching Berger’s left ear.

“Why. Must. You. Be. So. Cynical. About. Everything?”

“Ow ow ow! Hey, hey, hey! Why are you in such a bad mood?”

“Hmph.”

She turned away from him and let go of his ear.

She was comparing his current comments to the “joke” he had told a few hours prior.

…He can’t open up around other people and he hides behind a wall of cynicism and sarcasm.

She sighed.

…Our new orders have us on different routes, but he hasn’t said a thing about it.

Berger’s Neue Schwarz was key to their attack on Germania.

He would go east and Pale would go west. Once those diversions were in place, Hazel would be using the elevated railroad to enter Germania from the south. She would rendezvous with the RB-21 there and fly up to the top of Tristan.

The original plan had been to break in by force, but they had been forced to change that after seeing how many people had actually shown up.

…It’s a shame our plans had to change. And…

She narrowed her eyes and viewed the AIF members lined up in front of her.

“I hate all of you.”

Pale alone tilted his head at that and looked to Corelle.

“What’s with her?”

“Oh, we all spied on her afterwards.”

“After what?”

“You don’t have to tell him!” shouted Hazel, blushing.

Then she noticed Berger had turned the other way and lowered his head. But his shoulders gave him away.

“Why are you laughing, Berger?”

“Because of you, Hazel. You really are – how should I put it? – the most serious person in the world when it comes to yourself.”

“B-but it was my first time and then they did that!”

She raised her voice in protest and everyone else asked a straight-faced question.

“Your first time?”

“Oh.” Her shoulders shrank down and she looked away.

Pale, Corelle, and everyone else stared at her without even blinking.

“Oops,” she muttered under her breath and turned to Berger, hoping for some help.

He still had his back turned and his shoulders shaking.

Realizing he wouldn’t be any help, she faced forward again. Everyone was still staring at her.

Corelle raised her forearm and asked a question on the group’s behalf.

“What is this about, Hazel? Don’t worry. If you anger me, I won’t do anything worse than kill you.”

“B-but, um, uh.”

Hazel’s voice and body shrank down and she clutched Rein König in both hands just in case.

Then she heard a voice speaking from the foggy forest behind all of them.

“Yes, I imagine it was your first time. The rest of you have a lot to learn when it comes to observing people.”

Everyone turned toward the unfamiliar elderly voice coming from the fog obscuring the forest.

They readied their weapons, but they remained seated and showed no killer intent.

“Not bad,” said the voice in the fog as it approached them.

The white curtain of fog parted and an old man appeared. He had a bald head and wore a three-piece suit.

He stopped just outside the forest with his hand in his pockets.

“Most of you won’t know who I am. I am Geheimnis Agency Intelligence Division Chief-”

“Galue Witzmann!” shouted Berger.

A moment later, everyone truly readied to fight.

But a voice stopped them.

It came from Witzmann himself. He spread his empty hands to show them off.

“Calm down, why don’t you? If I was your enemy, you would all be dead by now. Isn’t that right?”

Pale tilted his head.

“What’s that supposed to mean, Mr. Witzmann? You aren’t making any sense.”

“Maybe not.” Witzmann nodded deeply and pulled an album from his pocket. He flipped through it and showed off a few photos of Hazel. “You see, based on the intelligence division’s superb observation records, that would indeed have been the Messiah’s first time.”

“Not about that.”

“I’m only kidding.” Witzmann put the album away. “Destiny has gone off the rails and taken so many things with it. The Neue Erde has altered many things to oppose the Messiah and swapped out the mechanical gears to fortify her position.” He looked to the others. “You, on the other hand, are at severe disadvantage due to your ignorance. This battle deserves to be fought on equal ground. No one can complain about or resent the result then.”

“So the intelligence division chief himself is going to leak intel to us?” asked Pale.

Witzmann shook his head.

“I never said that.”

He turned toward Hazel and she bowed toward his narrow, smiling eyes.

He nodded back.

“To be cryptic about it, let’s just say I am ensuring this will be a fair fight.”

Part 3

The top floor of Tristan provided a view of the glowing ocean and umbrella that covered Germania.

That space doubled as a viewing platform and a large meeting room.

The southern wall was a window of blast-resistant glass. The lights were currently off and the thick glass bent the outside light a bit as it provided a view of the scenery below.

Two people stood next to the window.

The man on the left was tall and had two prosthetic arms.

The man on the right was short and plump.

They were both lowering their heads to look down from the window.

The fog covered Germania, its nearby forest park, and the river.

Germania’s lights made the fog look like a faint white film and it rippled from the wind and the city’s movement.

The fog on the surface below was mirrored by the dome above.

The shorter of the men spoke in the light from above and below.

“Sir Heiliger, the Allies have begun their reversal of the ley lines into Tristan. All of the world’s anxiety Tons are being sent to Germany and the management team has already detected a powerful reaction.”

“It will grow even more powerful before long. We must increase Tristan’s output to push back the anxiety.”

“According to the control team, the current pace will shift control authority to Neue Erde at 2:30 AM.”

“Then our commander must protect it all with her own power.” Heiliger looked to the right, viewing the short man in profile. “I am sorry about this, Müller. I know Lowenzahn was your daughter for a time.”

“It couldn’t be helped.” Müller sighed. “I still understand so little of this, but I do know that she wanted this herself.”

“Is that why you did not give the Schallmauer Zerstörer his usual company and assigned him to guard Lowenzahn after he failed to show up at the appointed time? Was it out of sympathy for her?”

Müller raised his expressionless head at that.

But he did not look to Heiliger. He looked into the sky where some rainclouds still lingered.

“I really hope the AIF does not show up.”

“You never were any good at changing the subject.”

“That is my answer to all of this. After all, most of this fog below us was likely created by an AIF divine spell team.” Müller stared at the fog and smiled a little. “But it is a shame,” he said. “Captain Hellard is the son of your former aide Bertecht. That former Schallmauer Zerstörer protected everything he held dear, but he lost his life in the end.”

“I wonder if his son is a knight in the same vein,” said Heiliger. “If he is, he will attempt something similar tonight. The question is: can he protect Lowenzahn?”

“What do you think?”

“I live in the name of a promise I made – in the name of Tragisch.”

That response wiped the smile from Müller’s face. His eyebrows rose a little as he looked to Heiliger.

Heiliger was already looking at him.

They exchanged a look between their very different heights and Heiliger spoke.

“Of course, people are not bound by their names and their roles. But some people do fulfill their name or their role like they are fulfilling an inaccurate prophecy.”

“Do you…”

Müller started to say something, but his eyes flitted over to Heiliger’s shoulder.

From his perspective it was the right shoulder. The armor there had to Phlogiston Plattes installed.

Müller shut his mouth and swallowed his words.

His silence was answered by the wind rattling the blast-resistant glass. It sounded like the strum of a string instrument and shook the floor below their feet as well.

Eventually, Müller faced forward. He viewed the sky and then lowered his gaze to Germania.

“I want to redo so many things once this war is over.”

“Everything will be redone before long. Just not in the way you think. However…”

Heiliger let out a bitter laugh and Müller turned to look at him.

Müller saw Heiliger’s eyebrows drooping slightly.

“There is one thing I would love to do if this war were to end. Even it can no longer happen.”

“What is that?” asked Müller, his eyes on the two Phlogiston Plattes, but Heiliger did not answer.

Instead he changed the subject with his eyes shut and his expression blank.

“It is time to go see the predetermined answer. And to make a decision in the name of Tragisch.”

He turned around, the bottom of his black coat fluttering around him, causing the light from the window to waver for just a moment.

Müller frantically turned away from Germania’s nightscape.

He saw that enormous back continuing to walk away and heard the loud footsteps refusing to stop.

Past the large man, chairs were scattered across the meeting room and the north wall had an elevator leading down.

It was all dark. The light from the window did not reach that far, so the red emergency lights were the only source of light.

But the back walking away from Müller approached those red lights with no hesitation whatsoever.

“I will send out Silber Löwe – my brother’s Panzer. It should protect this city well.”

He continued walking even as he spoke.

Part 4

August 24, 1:55 AM.

Flames from what was thought to be a civilian riot burned on the eastern outskirts of foggy Germania.

It occurred on the border between the Geheimnis Agency division and the military division sent to defend against the coming bombing, so confusion over who was responsible delayed the response and the Geheimnis Agency got things started by making the first move.

At 1:57, the military groups defending the north, east, and west of Tristan heard gun and artillery fire from the fog around Germania and saw some people moving rapidly outside the warning line.

But the military did not respond. They doubted a small ground force was a real threat and they were the foundation of Germania’s defenses.

At 1:59, some of Germania’s defenders made their move a few minutes earlier than usual.

The Geheimnis Agency moved through the fog, quickly set up a front line, and began a battle in a region only they could enter.

Part 5

The battle started to the east.

The Spree river ran east to west through Germania and violent sounds came from along that river in the Treptow borough located outside of Germania.

The muffled, repeated sounds came from the fog.

They were technically inside Germania, but still outside the dome.

Germania’s eastern defensive line could best hear the sounds of combat.

That line was set up at the confluence of the Spree on the eastern end of Tiergarten.

Above the fog hanging over the river, they could see Tristan’s hazy silhouette in the sky and a giant figure standing on the ground.

That figure was Karl Schmitt, a Grösse Panzer with a pair of Drache Kanone on his back.

He stood on some elevated ground looking up at the edge of Berlin’s protective umbrella.

He was near the end of the bridge on the eastern end of Tiergarten.

The dome shined above him, with its edge covering the city beyond the bridge.

The Spree flowed north to south in front of him.

The river was over 200 yards wide at this point and the bridge spanning it was large enough for a four lane road.

At his end of the bridge, they had set up a pair of 75mm field guns and four 20mm machineguns aiming vertically out from Germania.

Karl turned his head to view the roads stretching left and right from the bridge.

The soldiers manning the machineguns and field guns were generally from the military. They were dressed differently from the Geheimnis Agents, wearing ordinary uniforms. The black of the Geheimnis Agency Army Division was nowhere to be found here.

Karl silently faced forward again.

Five layers of low fence barricades had been set up along the bridge.

They were simple metal fences that would let bullets through but not people.

After one or two fence layers, the bridge faded away into the fog.

The other end of the bridge could only be seen as a pale brightness with two large silhouettes standing in it.

When Karl’s vision focused on those silhouettes, a woman’s voice rang in his ear.

“Neue Blau and Neue Zinnobar are itching to fight.”

Karl used the compound eye device installed on the side of his face to view the slim person standing on his right shoulder.

It was Jeanne. She fixed the collar of her combat uniform as she continued.

“How far do you think they will get? It’s been 20 minutes since an unusually small group broke through the MPs in east Treptow. Are the AIF’s elites really as powerful as we are?”

“Let us pray those soldiers are unharmed. Remember, those men were civilians just a few years ago. They don’t have as strong a motive to fight as we or the AIF do.”

“This isn’t looking good. The end of the war is only just beginning, but a ground unit has already made it into our capital. Tactics change with every new war. The previous war primarily came down to group battles that questioned the need for the Panzers building our foundation, but this war is more focused on aerial bombings and blitzkrieg.”

“Yes, and if the AIF manages to take Tristan tonight, they will have proven the effectiveness of a new tactic – assault warfare using individuals with outstanding skills and using high-speed Grösse Panzers.”

“In a way, that’s how we fight. Those are the tactics of Neue Kavaliers, not of ordinary soldiers.”

Meanwhile, sounds like shattering stone reached them from the fog.

The enemy was close.

So Karl and Jeanne both looked to the other end of the bridge.

Several people were rushing in from the foggy roads to the left and right of that end of the bridge.

The people fled behind the legs of the two Panzers standing there and then ran along the river bank.

“Pretending to flee while actually fortifying the sides of the bridge and directing the enemy along a single route?”

“Excited to be fighting again, Jeanne? You are smiling.”

“So are you.” Jeanne reached out and slapped Karl’s face armor a few times. “It isn’t just the military out there in the fog. One of our Grösse Panzer units is there too.”

“To break through that, the enemy must include a Neue Kavalier of equal or greater skill. And since Treptow is full of rivers, it would also require a weapon well suited for breaking through fortified bridges. They couldn’t have gotten any tanks in here, so my guess is a flight-capable Panzer. Either a French one or…”

“Dog Berger in Schwarz Löwe. The world’s second best Panzer Kavalier who survived two run-ins with Kaiser and even fought Silber Löwe.”

“If only the military had sent Rot Löwe to the east.”

The wind blew and the fog across the river began to shift.

The rippling fog showed a change beginning in Neue Blau and Neue Zinnobar.

They were activating their Ober Emblems.

“Incredible that the Eisen Ritter Project allows a Sein Frau to activate an Ober Emblem by linking his mind directly to a Panzer,” said Jeanne.

“We need to join the fight soon,” said Karl.

Jeanne nodded and turned toward the large secondary cockpit on his back. The cockpit contained weapon controls and two female aides poked their heads out.

They looked worried, so she gave them a reassuring nod and looked behind her just once.

The two Panzers were no longer visible in the fog across the river.

But the metallic noises of combat could be heard through the fog.

Part 6

The western defensive line had pushed the enemy back outside of Germania.

The Geheimnis Agency there was led by a Hound unit comprised primarily of Air Force Fallschirmjäger.

But in front of that unit was a unit of 12 Grösse Panzers.

The military’s tanks were stationed across the urban area facing west. When the enemy moved in, they would fire and fall back. If the enemy withdrew, they would move forward and fire. Their role was to blockade the roads.

The only usable road was the wide-open major thoroughfare.

The AIF group was a Heidengeist unit led by Pale. They hid behind or on top of the buildings lining the road as they fought.

The battle had reached a standstill.

In the borough of Charlottenburg, several Grösse Panzers fired machineguns on the surface.

The shapes moving quickly down the road were attempting to slip past the Grösse Panzers and below the dome.

But they couldn’t manage it thanks to the Hounds and the barricades set up behind the Grösse Panzers.

The AIF front line was led by Pale Horse, a man with two prosthetic arms.

The silver-haired one-eyed man refused to fall back with a male Grösse Panzer in front of him.

The Grösse Panzer was the same color as his hair. It was covered by old-style silver armor.

Its name was Neue Silber.

Pale moved right to dodge the silver Panzer’s sword as it jabbed just off the ground.

The sword shifted to the side to pursue him.

“Oh!” he roared while raising his left prosthetic arm.

The metal arm had an extra-large hand that slammed into the thick blade, producing sparks.

With the sound of scraping metal, Pale was lifted from the ground.

His large body was launched back into the sky. But he used his Hard Wolf reflexes to twist around in midair. He punched his right fist against the sidewalk curbstone at the end of the road to spin himself around and land on the ground.

His boots slammed hard into the ground. And with a breath, he rolled forward.

The massive sword flew over his head before crashing into the first floor of the building behind him.

Air-splitting pressure exploded within the building.

Dust and wind broke through the windows, pursuing rolling Pale as a wave.

He kicked off the ground to stand back up.

He ran forward, toward the feet of the silver Panzer.

He kept his legs moving and his boots sounding loud on the road as he moved just his eyes to observe his surroundings.

Grösse Panzer legs grew from the road like a scattering of great trees, but these trees were on the move.

Past them, his subordinates had split into even smaller teams to obstruct the path of the Grösse Panzers.

“Didn’t think we’d make it this far this fast! Our balanced division of troops threw you off, didn’t it, Heiliger Karlsruhe? Your brother’s Silber Löwe looks good on you.”

About 20 yards in front of him, Neue Silber held a sword at the ready.

Pale didn’t slow his run as he pulled both his fists back.

His boots pounded on the hard road while his arms made sounds of breaking metal.

His fists were transforming. The panels that had formed his upper arm armor had split into three side-by-side panels.

The middle panel rotated inward toward his thumb. The other two rotated toward his little and middle fingers with their ends sticking out like a ram.

The usual fingers were tightly clenched, sinking into the giant palm.

The two three-fingered hands of metal jabbed sharply up into the sky just once.

Then the new metal fingers formed their own fists.

This created a pair of even bigger fists.

He ran, holding his arms down at his hips and building up his strength.

Looking forward, he saw a Grösse Panzer move between him and Neue Silber.

The black Panzer looked down on Pale’s path forward and raised its giant right leg.

It intended to stomp him.

Pale looked up at that metal foot and opened his mouth, baring his canine teeth.

“Outta the way!” he shouted, swinging his left fist.

The arm shot diagonally out from his hip and steam burst from the elbow to accelerate it further.

The metal fist split the air.

And not just once. It accelerated thrice as it flew.

It produced three roars before slamming into the sole of the dropping Panzer foot.

The sound and power broke through in an instant.

Pale pulled the fist back as soon as it hit and the impact sent the foot flying backwards.

The leg swung backwards like the Panzer had thrown a reverse kick and its upper body lost its balance.

It toppled over.

The 8-yard metal warrior collapsed toward Pale on the road.

Pale was already spinning.

He had used the force of the impact to pull his left fist back and used the rotational energy to swing his right fist overhead.

He twisted his body to the left while accelerating his right fist.

His boots cracked and shattered the asphalt below him.

But he didn’t care.

He stretched his body out like a stick and his right fist shot out at the top of that.

The metal fist accelerated thrice in midair, catching the collapsing Panzer on the jaw.

The simple impact had a simple result.

With the crash of demolished metal, the large figure was lifted from the road.

Below the airborne Panzer, Pale Horse lowered his hips with his legs embedded shin deep in the road.

The Panzer’s shadow slowly flew back behind him and his own shadow was cast on the road by the dome’s light. His gray hair was a mess, his fists were pulled back behind him, and his upper body was bent over and emitting hot steam.

But his eyes were directed dead ahead. He bared his teeth in a smile.

“Okay, let’s do this, Heiliger. In the name of our pasts and in the name of what we’ve both lost.”

He was answered by the Panzer crashing to the ground behind him.

The sound of breaking metal joined the sound of breaking asphalt. However…

“I am much too old to fall for your silly provocation,” said Neue Silber’s vocal device.

“Coward! You would run away!?”

The silver Panzer fell back before answering Pale’s question.

Two other Panzers identical to the earlier one stepped between them.

That was when a great noise reached them from the mist to the south.

Pale briefly glanced in that direction, seeing a small red light rising into the sky through the mist.

“What is that?”

Pale was answered by Neue Silber while it took another step back.

“A flare from our southern vanguard. It means they have located the Messiah.” The silver Panzer turned around. “You sent most of your forces to the east and west to divide our forces while you sent a small assault team down the center to Tristan. Using the railroad, most likely. Anyone could have predicted such a simple plan.”

“Then you knew but still came here to lure us in?”

“Our primary forces remain within Tristan. We had no way of knowing which railroad you would use, but once inside Germania, there is only one track leading to Tristan. The solution was simple: keep our cool, lure you into that singular route, and send a defense unit there.”

A deep roar of straining metal came from the northeast. That was the sound of several transport vehicles loaded down with cargo.

Neue Silber walked toward that noise.

“We will capture the Messiah. Because that is what Neue Erde desires.”

With those parting words, Neue Silber stared to walk into the fog.

Pale walked toward the two Panzers left to stop him.

He pulled his feet from the ground to take his first step.

But his eyes remained on the silver Panzer vanishing into the fog.

Toward his true opponent who was attempting to leave with the fog enveloping him.

He bared his teeth and let out a deep sigh.

“That overconfidence is going to get you in trouble.” He sounded disinterested. “I have one warning for you.”

Still showing off his teeth, he pointed a giant metal finger toward the departing silver Panzer.

“A Neue Kavalier is supposed to clear the way for the Messiah. Lose sight of that and you are in for a rude awakening, Kommandieren.”

Part 7

Hazel ran along an elevated railroad.

She was surrounded by fog. The dome already covered the sky above and she could see wide gap of Tempelhof Airport through the fog past the east wall of the railroad.

Her running feet took her toward a German military truck collapsed with its belly toward her. The two trucks used by the vanguard had rolled on their sides, blocking the way ahead.

The people hiding behind the truck barricade were firing into the fog.

…I thought it was odd things were going so smoothly.

She kept running, hearing the elderly unit commander’s voice from behind her.

“They lured us in. Everyone, we need to join the vanguard. Are you ready?”

She looked back to see the 20 soldiers who had been riding the third truck.

Seeing them all spread out across a decent distance, she nodded. She checked side to side and viewed the sides of the elevated railroad. Due to the proximity of the airport, the railroad was built about 15 yards high to allow cargo trucks and Heavy Barrels to pass underneath.

…I can see armored trucks and special vehicles gathering below.

She saw the metal Lives moving around below them.

“Enemy soldiers will be climbing the support pillars soon.”

Before that warning from behind her was even done, they arrived at the two trucks blocking the way.

A few dozen soldiers were hiding behind them. Those were the four platoons who had ridden those two trucks.

A few were injured and being healed by the Tuners assigned to their unit.

“Situation report?” asked the elderly commander.

The man firing from behind the truck didn’t even look back as he replied.

“This is all of us now and they’re gathering over there. What about the rest? Were they taken out?”

Hazel looked behind them and realized she couldn’t hear the fourth truck anymore. A woman pulled headphones from her backpack and put them on, but she shook her head after a bit.

Gunfire and shattering glass could be heard from the other side of the trucks.

Bullets would not stop hitting the trucks.

Hazel sighed and then spoke her thoughts aloud.

“I need to do something.”

Her voice came out louder than intended and everyone turned toward her.

The gunfire suddenly stopped at the same time.

…Eh?

She gasped and focused on her ears.

All sound had vanished from direction of Tristan. As had the killer intent.

She waited for three breaths.

But even then, she didn’t hear a single bullet hit the trucks or even whizz past them overhead.

The man who had been firing from behind the trucks tried firing into the mist.

Still no response. He crouched down and peered out.

“What’s going on?”

Then a somewhat higher-pitched male voice spoke from the fog.

“Is that you, Messiah?”

Hazel recognized the voice.

“Geheimnis Agency Air Force Division Chief Herbert Müller?”

“Indeed. I would much prefer you did not playfully bring down the railroad this time. We only ask one thing: to take the Messiah into our custody.”

<The view along the railroad is clear.>

The fog vanished from the railroad. As did the trucks Hazel’s unit was using as cover.

“An Erklärung!?”

“You are within Germania now, so this is a simple task for us.”

That voice came from atop the now-fogless elevated railroad.

A black wall stood about 50 yards away.

It was formed by armored trucks and black-clad Geheimnis Agency Neue Kavaliers.

They all carried swords or spears and their bodies were heavily customized with prosthetics.

The short, elderly man named Müller stood out in front of them.

“I borrowed some of the army division’s best troops for my vanguard unit. Our comrades are already closing in on you from behind and the rest of our forces should have left Tristan by now. And…”

He used his right hand to push up the glasses covering his squinty eyes.

Then he raised that hand skyward and snapped his fingers.

“Once your situation sinks in, I do believe you will accept defeat.”

Black figures instantly lined up along the concrete walls on either side of the railroad.

They were all Geheimnis Agency Neue Kavaliers. They all held weapons and directed their gazes down toward Hazel’s unit, but there was no emotion there.

Hazel gasped.

…I thought they were still down below.

“I assure you this is no Erklärung,” said Müller.

Hazel responded while ignoring the walls of Neue Kavaliers to instead look dead ahead.

“If I surrender to you, will you let the rest of my unit leave unharmed?”

“If those are your terms.”

Hazel gave a satisfied nod and smiled with just her eyes.

“Everyone.” She took a deep breath and spoke to the group behind her. “I intend to fight, so that I can accomplish something. Do you have the will to fight as well?”

They didn’t respond, but the commanders of the three platoons there did slowly move.

The elderly man, the man who had been firing earlier, and a woman holding a Device walked out in front of Hazel. Then the rest of the unit formed up next to and behind her.

Tension filled the air. Müller and the Neue Kavaliers in front of them and the Neue Kavalirs on the walls crouched down a bit as they prepared to fight.

But the gunner man in front of Hazel ignored that killer intent and spoke quietly while still facing forward.

“The knight near the support pillar on the left has a sloppy stance. Focus on him.”

The Device woman to Hazel’s right nodded and whispered back.

“What’s the plan after we get down to the surface?”

The elderly man to Hazel’s left held his empty fists by his hips and answered.

“One of my men is from Tempelhof. We let him lead the way. But…no one here is going to say they don’t have the skills to jump down from this height, are they?”

Everyone’s bitter laughter was all the answer anyone needed. Hazel could see the yellow Lives of tension in that laughter, but she also saw the warm crimson they all formed.

The elderly commander pulled out a pocket watch.

“2:28. Another 7 minutes until the artillery and RB-21 arrive.”

“Another 32 minutes until the ACBS launches.”

“And about another 2 hours until the world changes.”

Hazel saw a brightness other than confidence in the three commanders’ voices. There was a calm composure there.

…We can manage this, can’t we?

Hazel gripped Rein König in both hands and Müller asked her a question from up ahead.

“Is this your answer, Messiah?”

“No.” She looked him in the eye. “It’s our answer.”

“In that case,” said Müller, raising his arm and snapping his fingers.

Killer intent formed and grew from the front and both sides.

Part 8

Neue Schwarz moved as quickly as it could through the foggy city.

It had not yet activated its Ober Emblem.

It raced through the dark city with extra tanks on its back and a Word Rifle on its shoulder.

It faced a four-lane road with the city’s buildings on either side.

Its right hand held Gelegenheit and its left hand held a white sword. It had just raised the white sword to strike.

“You still alive back there!?” shouted Neue Schwarz, receiving responses from a few men inside the secondary cockpit on its back.

It had taken in five AIF soldiers to protect them from the high-speed combat. It looked out ahead after hearing their voices.

“Then we can leave the rest to the others while we make the second biggest commotion in the world!”

Two Heavy Barrels burst through the fog floating about 500 yards ahead.

After seeing their blue and red coloration, Neue Schwarz ran forward.

The two Barrels also moved closer.

A Heavy Barrel’s forward propulsion could easily surpass 50mph on the very first step.

They approached each other in a flash, tearing up the asphalt below their feet.

The red one moved out front with a shield at the ready and the blue one stayed behind with a rifle at the ready.

The black one responded by rushing straight toward them. Once they were less than 100 yards apart, it flapped its wings just once. The thrusters contained on those wings launched air backwards.

The explosion of air accelerated it forward. The blue one’s rifle fired along the path of its speed.

An 88mm bullet flew out, grazing the red one’s head on the way.

The black one swung its black sword as it ran.

<My Destiny has not yet reached its demise.>

The bullet passed by with a velocity of more than half a mile per second.

At a distance of about 30 yards, the black one had crouched low, placing the red one between it and the blue one’s line of fire.

As they got closer, the red one pulled a knife from behind its large shield.

Both sides continued forward, speeding up as they did.

Without warning, Neue Schwarz swung its white sword up from the bottom left.

“Nh!”

The red and blue ones both grunted and gently braked. The sword failed to find its mark and swished through empty air.

Neue Zinnobar moved in after the sword strike missed. It swung its knife diagonally up from its left in a mirror of the path the white sword had taken.

Neue Schwarz chose that moment to let go of the sword.

The thick double-edge blade drew an arc as it rotated toward the red Barrel’s neck. The large shield could not be moved into place in time.

“Kh,” groaned the blue and red Barrels before the blue one raised its voice. “Is that all you have!?”

Its rifle fired.

The bullet traveled over Neue Zinnobar’s head and struck the approaching sword.

With a clang like a bell breaking, the sword sliced through the foggy air and flew off into the sky.

Below the airborne white blade, Neue Blau fired its rifle some more.

Gunfire sounded repeatedly, but Neue Schwarz kept the momentum of its rightward sword strike to collapse its upper body to the right. It used its right toes as a pivot point to swing its left leg upwards.

Its black toes kicked up at the red shield.

The shield lifted upwards and one of the rifle bullets hit it on the inside.

The shield survived, but it triggered a shockwave on the back of the shield. The pressure first smashed Neue Zinnobar’s right arm and the primary armor on its torso and then it spread out as a white explosion.

A gut-shaking boom raced along the street, shattering the windows of all the buildings.

The glass shards sounded like spraying water as they scattered through the fog.

But all of that was launched skyward a moment later.

Powerful wind swept across the road, but just one thing was unaffected: Neue Schwarz which was crouched low directly below the shield at the center of the blast.

The shockwave inside the shield failed to hit the Heavy Barrel directly on the other side.

It slowly raised its wings within the rapid wind.

Then it flapped them.

“Ah,” it shouted while pouring all of its forward thrust into the left shoulder crashing into the red shield.

With a crash, Neue Zinnobar was pushed from the ground by its own shield and the knife fell from its left hand.

The defense field emitted by the red shield instantly reacted to the extreme mass slamming into it. Steam burst from the bottom of the shield, its surface grew red, and it emitted a launching force.

Neue Schwarz’s left shoulder armor groaned for a brief moment and then began to break away.

Behind airborne Neue Zinnobar, Neue Blau moved to support its red back.

The two-against-one contest was evenly matched while the shield’s red glow grew. The black shoulder armor briefly bent and gave one final resistance before shattering, but Neue Schwarz did not stop.

“You’re only the opening act, you third rates!”

Neue Scwharz flapped its wings.

The wind produced behind it was more like an explosion of heat and all three Barrels briefly came to a stop.

The equilibrium broke almost instantly, creating new movement.

“!?”

With confused shouts, the blue and red Heavy Barrels were blasted backwards.

The black one pursued them.

The red one held its shield up in a defensive stance.

Neue Scwharz did not stop.

It had already moved too close to swing Gelegenheit.

It raised its fists and threw a flurry of punches.

It took aim, swung its body, and started by targeting the head. Then the right shoulder, left shoulder, the thighs, and the center of the shield.

The red lion’s armor shattered, its Panzer Kleid shredded, and it pushed the blue one back.

The blue lion planted its feet firm while holding onto the red one.

Its feet tore through the asphalt as it tried to stop their movement.

It wasn’t enough. The black lion kept running and slammed its supersonic fist into the center of the shield.

It didn’t end there. The barrage continued, pushing further and further forward.

The shield’s glow had passed red, reached yellow, and was approaching white.

The steam coming from the bottom of the shield had lost its color, simply emitting a shimmering heat.

Neue Schwarz’s right knee tore through that shimmering to slam into the shield.

The striking ram extending from the top of the shin practically stabbed into the shield’s center, bending the shield.

Wind blew out and the blue and red Barrels were pushed even further back. Their sight devices focused on the black one’s right arm. It had opened the fist and pointed the open hand toward the sky.

Something fell into that black hand.

It was the sword Neue Blau had launched skyward with its earlier gunshot. The white sword spun on its way down and the black hand swung sideways to snatch its hilt out of the air and then swing the sword in a sweeping horizontal arc.

The thick blade sliced through the air and slashed the shield.

The destruction only took an instant.

With a loud clash of metal on metal, the sword completed its swing.

Neue Schwarz let the sword’s weight propel it into a spin. Once the inertial force had weakened enough, it attached the sword to its hip latch.

It fully opened its wings and dug its feet into the asphalt in preparation to leap.

The red and blue Heavy Barrels landed at the same time.

They smashed the pavement as their feet hit the ground and the red one’s shield had lost its light.

The shield had been split in two by a horizontal line down the center.

Neue Schwarz raised its wings while viewing the top half of the shield slide away along the cut.

“Consider it a favor I’m using your master’s sword. I’m not accepting any complaints.”

With that, its wings blasted air behind it.

It shot forward.

The blue and red Barrels turned around, trying to catch up.

It ignored them. The road was a straightaway and the bridge it needed to cross was just up ahead, so it only needed to face forward.

Neue Schwarz ran.

Part 9

Just as Hazel’s group prepared to face the killer intent, a deep voice reached them from behind.

“Our answer? Well said, fellow werecat!”

A stream of motion raced forward, instantly splitting through the killer intent on the left and right.

At first, she could only see the flashes of several blades moving quickly.

A moment later, a tearing sound passed by either side of Hazel’s group from behind.

A moment after that, the Neue Kavaliers on the walls were knocked back into the open air.

Seven on the right and five on the left were launched from the wall.

They all had holes in the chest of their uniform and the breastplate within was shattered.

“––––!?”

They shouted in confusion and looked to a point on the elevated railroad before they started to fall.

Everyone was looking to a point in front of Hazel’s group.

Four AIF soldiers stood between Hazel and Müller and at the center of the remaining Neue Kavaliers. They took combat stances in the center of the whipping wind and the man leading them looked back Hazel’s way.

He had short blond hair and a scar on his cheek. He had green feline eyes.

“Good to see you again. We met on Commander Corelle’s ship back in ’39.” He smiled with his eyes. “We got delayed trying to enter Germany, but I am AIF Army Anti-Hound Assault Battalion Commander Major Robert E. Coolers. Commander Corelle carried us here, so I hope we were in time to save the day.”

Hazel nodded.

“We can use all the help we can get right now.”

“Perfect.”

He faced forward while a light shined in from behind her. She knew what that light was.

…The other truck.

She heard Coolers’s voice.

“I shamelessly survived after our humiliating defeat to the Gard-class in ’42, but after a year of grueling battle, it’s time to settle the score. I’m sure you’ll take issue with being matched up with an opening act kind of guy like me, but you’ll just have to deal.”

A gunshot burst from up ahead.

Coolers twisted his body to dodge the bullet.

Hazel faced forward.

Müller was aiming his handgun their way.

“Such foolish resistance. Reinforcements are coming from Tristan as we speak. It will be too late to complain once they arrive.”

“Once they arrive? You had better hope it isn’t already over by then. We’re already on the move, after all.”

Coolers leaned forward with his feet spread somewhat apart.

He shrank down and lowered his head to let his next line fall to the cement ground.

“Hazel Mirildorf. We still have 5 minutes until the artillery fire from the east and west and my commander’s arrival. We will guide the way until then.”

She nodded and watched him and his three men crouch even lower.

Then the truck headlights behind her came to a stop. She heard footsteps kicking off the ground and several uniformed people gathered behind Coolers and around Hazel’s group.

“Follow me, everyone, and don’t look back,” said Coolers. “The major will clear as long a path as he can manage.”

Before he was even done, he took off running like the wind. Hazel’s group ran forward along with him. Killer intent exploded around them and grew into a torrent that attempted to surround the wind.

The two sides clashed.

Part 10

Neue Schwarz sprinted forward.

It used the force of its wings to race down the road and slip through the 30-yard gap at the edge of the dome.

It soon reached the western end of Treptow. Its movement could have been interpreted as low-altitude flight or a gliding across the surface. Its wind crashed into the buildings around it and its destination came into view after only 7 seconds.

That destination was a bridge.

The bridge over the foggy Spree was covered by a glowing roof.

Neue Schwarz spread its wings to brake. A few lights flew in from straight ahead.

Before identifying them as red-hot shells, it leaped to the left.

High-speed shimmering heat tore through the air and passed by the black Heavy Barrel’s right side.

Neue Schwarz raised its right arm, grabbed the Word Rifle sticking out from the right of its back, and swung it down.

The forcible action bent the barrel, but it fixed the gun in place with its right arm and faced forward.

The muzzle could see the enemy. It aimed along a straight line to the bridge, but it had to see beyond that as well.

It had to look to Tiergarten located across the bridge and below the dome.

“Tiergarten has a flat structure stretching east to west. An attack from the east will clear a path to the west!”

The front and back of the weapon were boosted with anti-inertial weight emblems. A loud bursting sound rang out.

The black lion’s wings opened wide and expelled a great heat behind it.

Its forward-viewing compound eyes changed color from blue to red.

A moment later, the fog split on the other side of the bridge.

The two 75mm cannons on that side had opened fire.

Neue Scwharz crouched and stayed put.

It stared at the battlefield across the bridge, ignoring the metal shells passing by it on either side.

Its vocal device spoke through the lingering reverberation.

“Operation Glossolalia Phase 2 complete.”

Its own weapon audibly split the air.

While a Babel Cannon boosted a large quantity of Words and converted them into a great mass, the Word Rifle accelerated a small quantity of Words and increased the size of their mass. There was only one accelerator within the barrel, but the metal Words emitted from the magazine were passed through the barrel repeatedly using the linked transporter spaces situated in the front and rear of the barrel.

The bullet made approximately 130 million loops of the 4-yard barrel in just two seconds, passing through the accelerator once each time.

Finally, a great penetrative power was launched.

Part 11

It took only a moment before the unboosted metal Words were scattered through the air.

They traveled a much shorter distance than the projectile fired by a Babel Cannon. Only about 20 miles.

But the Lives of the air, trees, mist, wind, ground, and everything else along that 20-mile path were pierced by the ultra-high-speed bullet.

The bullet flew into the forest park, piercing the trees and ground, raced down a major road, and passed through the giant Brandenburg Gate in western Tiergarten.

From there, it scattered. The bullet began to adapt to the surrounding Lives as it grazed the roads of Charlottenburg, passed below the edge of the dome, and vanished into the sky.

All of this happened in less than a ten-thousandth of a second.

It hadn’t even produced any kind of noise yet. It moved too quickly for anything else to keep up.

It was only observable as a lightning-like flash racing through Germania from east to west.

A line of shimmering heat followed after the light a moment later.

After a few seconds, the air suddenly distorted and produced an indistinct but loud noise.

Then the air exploded.

The air explosion and the metallic impact produced by the metal Words covered the 20-mile line at the same time.

An attack of that speed did not race out like a wave – it caused everything to burst in an instant.

The Lives of the air and land had been converted into a metallic impact, so they seemed to have been struck by a hammer after the shockwave ran through and a 30-yard-wide rip created a 20-mile path.

The troops and tanks waiting in front of Tiergarten, the Brandenburg Gate, and the Grösse Panzers battling on the roads of west Charlottenburg were all blown away by the impact.

The Geheimnis Agency’s main force had been gathering near the Brandenburg Gate after leaving Tristan, so the collapse of the gate damaged them just as much.

The 20-yard-tall stone gate could not withstand the shockwave passing through it, so its inner walls burst into flames while they were blown away by the scattershot hitting it at the center.

Rubble sprayed out, instantly forming a shockwave from east to west.

The air within the dome was split and the shockwave blasted that air skyward. The pressure of that air on the interior of the dome caused electrification that made the interior glow a bluish-white.

A great roar and the crackling of ionization rang loud.

The floating moisture within the dome gathered together and formed rain.

A short but sudden downpour fell within the dome.

A damp wind whipped up and blew across Germania. The wind and rain reached the underground portion of the city too, hitting the cross-sections of the different layers and producing a loud, whistling noise.

It took less than 40 seconds for that noise to fade.

By then, the destruction had left its mark on the ground, buildings, and weapons swept away over 20 miles. Only a powerful wind remained.

The mist was gone and the night sky was visible past the dome.

A nearly full moon floated in that sky.

Part 12

Hazel’s group up on the elevated railroad saw the blast racing from east to west.

They were in between Tempelhof and Kreuzberg.

They were just starting to descend at the next station when everyone caught up to them.

The view opened up in front of Hazel and she saw the dark forest stretching east to west in the distant fog.

…That’s Tiergarten’s forest park.

Then a line through the park exploded.

First, the fog covering the forest appeared to be split between the north and south. Then the gray of dust and the white of a water vapor explosion shot high into the sky above the forest. It almost looked like a massive wall.

It took a moment longer before the sound and the wind arrived.

It was a powerful gust.

“––––!”

Everyone there on both sides ducked down to keep their footing in the wind.

The AIF’s divine spell users and Greenhorners set up a defense field and their charm user used a windshield charm to deflect the wind.

Hazel was protected by several layers of defenses, but she still had to hold her hair down and narrow her eyes against the strength of the wind.

…I know this was part of the plan, but still!

The wind was more powerful than she had expected.

It hit her like a blast of sound, drowning out all the surrounding voices and trying to blow away everything here.

The Neue Kavaliers near the railroad’s walls were swept away in an instant. Of course, that wouldn’t be enough to kill such well-trained warriors.

…Still, I’m worried.

Hazel held a hand to her chest just once.

She confirmed the Wheel of Destiny card was still in her breast pocket and then looked around.

Only a few seconds had passed since the explosion and she could tell the wind had weakened just slightly.

So she stepped out from behind the protective layers.

Coolers and the other unit commanders turned toward her while crouching low.

Coolers gave a firm nod in the wind.

She nodded back, said thank you, and let the wind push her as she ran.

She made her way to the left wall.

She staggered in the wind, but viewed the wind’s tone color and listened to its tempo to keep it from sweeping her away.

Her Live-viewing eyes could see the wind swirling within the dome.

This wind was blowing outwards from the blast.

That included an updraft from the explosion.

That updraft was drawing out an arc along the inside of the dome, causing it to spread outwards.

All of a sudden, Hazel could hear her own footsteps as she ran.

The wind had vanished.

The wind traveling outwards and the wind arcing downwards from above were colliding at the edge of the dome, which caused this still air. It was only for a brief moment while the powers of the two winds were in equilibrium and they canceled each other out.

Then large raindrops fell from the sky.

Hazel ducked away from the rain striking her skin, but she kept running.

She looked around to see everyone looking up at the rain falling inside the great growing umbrella.

They were all silent and motionless. She was the only one running toward the edge of the elevated railroad.

She arrived at the concrete wall.

With a single loud footstep, she climbed atop the wall damp with rain.

She heard a deep rumbling of thunder that sounded like a metal drum rolling along the ground.

…The wind is breaking apart and canceling itself out.

She had a clear view in all 360 degrees, so she saw white smoke appearing along the entire edge of the dome.

Then she heard a voice from the railroad below. A few of the Geheimnis Agents were looking her way.

“Hey!”

They were telling the others to get moving because the Messiah was running away.

But it was too late.

…Now, then.

Hazel gave a quick bow behind her and then jumped out from the wall.

She briefly floated in the air 25 yards above the ground.

She looked back before the floating sensation vanished.

A shape passed below the rupturing cascade of wind at the distant edge of the dome and flew toward her.

It forcibly slipped through the 30-yard gap between the dome and the surface.

“Corelle!”

That was the RB-21 two-hull transport ship. The larger ship kept its stability in the wind and accelerated without shaking.

It approached in the blink of an eye.

It enveloped Hazel in its defense field before passing her by.

She felt a wall of wind for just a moment.

But once she passed through it, she landed on the roof of the container tween the two hulls.

The flaps on the sides of the ship made minute adjustments to keep the ship from stalling while flying at such a low speed.

The bow pointed somewhat higher than horizontal to remain stable.

Then it flew away from the elevated railroad crawling with Neue Kavaliers.

The slightly upwards angle of its propulsion kept the heavy ship from falling before its powerful acceleration could begin.

Hazel crouched low and held Rein König under her arm while grabbing ahold of a seam in the container with her empty right hand. The ship’s angle gradually increased until she could only see the back of the container and the moonlit sky.

The defense field weakened the wind, but Hazel’s rain-wet hair still blew behind her, quickly drying out.

After 5 seconds, the RB-21 suddenly tilted downwards to direct itself forward instead of upward.

The remaining Gs of the ascending acceleration pinned Hazel to the floor when she would have flown off.

Her wristwatch said it was 2:37 AM.

…Another 23 minutes!

They pulled out into the open air.

They were surrounded by a great emptiness.

Her view had been restricted to the moon and the container, but now it opened up. She could see the dome above and…

“Tristan!”

With that exclamation, an umbrella of white water vapor formed around the RB-21’s nose.

With a roar of speed, the RB-21’s flaps caught the wind and its wings harnessed its lift.

The two-hull ship took an arcing path as it broke through a wall of air and continued on ahead.

Its wings sliced through the wind to reach the top of the giant cross.

Part 13

Neue Schwarz saw the white trail stretching toward the cross.

All the grass had been blasted from the riverbank to either side of the bridge.

The 30-yard-wide rut torn in Tiergarten was visible on the other side of the bridge.

Neue Schwarz spread its wings.

“I can leave the ground troops to the others while I get to the sky.”

That muttered comment received an unexpected response.

“Fly and I will shoot you down.”

A large green Heavy Barrel seemed to be straddling the path of destruction through the forest.

The two towers attached to its back were dragon breath cannons.

The pair of cannons were slowly aiming toward Neue Schwarz.

The sounds of metal coils showed the cannons were operating.

The green Heavy Barrel also aimed the Power Points installed in its forearms.

“I had everyone take shelter after I sensed an extreme ether discharge, but it was not enough.”

Tanks and AA guns were strewn about the forest.

The green Heavy Barrel was crouched in front of them. The coffin-shaped secondary cockpit on its back had risen up and its lower armor had opened up, revealing a collection of microphone-like holes.

The black Heavy Barrel recognized that.

“A multi dragon breath cannon? You really are a mobile fortress, ‘Eisen Panzer’ Karl Schmitt.”

“I challenge you.”

“Do you have to?” sighed the black Heavy Barrel while slowly taking a fighting stance. Karl nodded.

“I will fire on you until you reach me. If you make it through that, then I will leave you be. I will resist no further. However.”

“You’re asking for an awful lot here. What more do you want?”

“I will choose the battlefield. Because I must confirm whether or not you are what you claim to be.”

“Aerial Words, huh?” whispered Neue Schwarz after hearing that.

Then it nodded.

“Fine. If that’s what you want.”

Immediately, a pair of winds rushed in from above and behind.

It was a red and a blue Heavy Barrel. Their armor had been destroyed, but their Ober Emblem remained intact as they flew over the black one’s head. They landed on either side of the green one.

“Allow us to handle-”

They were silenced by a single look from Karl.

They exchanged a glance and nodded.

They cleared the way and kneeled, but the blue one held up its rifle in both hands.

“Please take this.”

Karl responded by looking to Neue Schwarz.

“Is that alright with you?”

“With a monster like you, one more gun isn’t going to make any real difference.”

The green one laughed at that and took the rifle from the blue one.

That MP42 Heavy Barrel autocannon could perform full-auto fire of 88mm armor-piercing rounds, but even that looked like a mere handgun when held by a Heavy Barrel measuring over 20 yards tall.

Karl held the grip with the hidden arm below his right forearm and held the barrel with his usual hand.

The hand latched on with a metallic clang and the blue and red Heavy Barrels withdrew into the forest.

“Good luck.”

Karl nodded and lowered his hips.

His 20-yard-high vision had been directed straight ahead the entire time.

The black Heavy Barrel also lowered its hips a bit.

“Didn’t expect a one-on-one battle with a knight here. My second shot was supposed to be for Tristan.”

The bolt attaching the Word Rifle to the top of the secondary cockpit was released with a divine spell explosive.

The 4-yard gun briefly floated up and the extra tank on the Heavy Barrel’s back fell away.

The unneeded weapon fell to the ground behind it with a metallic clatter.

The reduction in weight on the right caused Neue Schwarz to list to the left just a bit.

But only for a moment. It spread its feet to shoulder width and adjusted its weight.

The loss of that excess weight allowed it to stand taller.

It lowered its hips and reached for the weapons at its hips.

But after a moment’s hesitation, Neue Scwharz chose only Gelegenheit on the right.

Karl nodded at the choice. Then the sounds of metal fitting together came from all over his body. It sounded like several clocks operating at once, but it was actually the many bullets being loaded.

The sounds ended after two seconds. The last one to be loaded was the 75mm cannon at the chest.

Silence followed.

The only sound was the wind blowing by overhead.

The green Heavy Barrel unintentionally leaned forward in anticipation, but then it looked to the sky.

The wind was blowing there, but past that it saw the dome and the moon.

It stared at the moon as it spoke.

“Geheimnis Agency Army Division Chief ‘Eisen Panzer’ Karl Schmitt.”

Neue Scwharz held Gelegenheit to the right with both hands.

“AIF…‘Wild Hund’ Dog Berger.”

With those words, a black blade emerged from Gelegenheit.

The black power stopped at a length of 5 yards and sliced through the wind.

Neue Schwarz didn’t even look to its blade as its vocal device spoke.

“You’re on.”

Part 14

With those words, the pair of black wings rose sharply toward heaven.

Then they swung down and back, sending an explosion of air behind the black Heavy Barrel and propelling it forward.

Light flew toward it from dead ahead.

All the sounds arrived after the fact.

The lights were dragon breaths and a barrage of physical artillery.

The physical projectiles flew straight in while the homing rounds drew out arcs to circle in from the outside.

Neue Schwarz swung Gelegenheit while running.

<My Destiny has not yet reached its demise.>

The barrage passed behind it.

But more was already on its way.

“That was fast!”

With that expression of surprise, it prepared Gelegenheit for another swing.

Just as it was going to swing the sword up into the incoming attack, it heard some Aerial Words.

<The sky…>

Aerial Words spoken in a deep voice made a request of this space.

<The sky is here.>

Part 15

The Aerial Words continued.

<The sky contains the colors of morning, a chilly wind, and the fresh air.>

<The artificial sky cannot be severed by destiny.>

Gelegenheit’s blade caught on the empty air, bent, and broke.

Neue Schwarz immediately flapped its wings.

The ground had disappeared below its feet, replaced by a white sea of clouds.

It was surrounded by the morning sky colored a light purple.

The thrusters in its wings gave a blast to propel it forward with sufficient initial velocity. Neue Schwarz shouted in recognition of a sky it had once flown in as Schwarz Löwe.

“Kaiser’s sky!”

The second barrage was incoming. And unlike the first volley, this one had no homing rounds.

The lights of a third barrage were visible past this one.

Its opponent was not found past that third one. He had disappeared.

“Did he already shoot enough!?”

That man had said to make it through what he fired.

Not to dodge it.

So Neue Schwarz roared. It slammed its wings into the air behind it to start forward with a loud boom.

It left behind the white smoke of bursting air as it raced forward through the sky. It flew toward the space behind the two incoming barrages – toward where Karl Schmitt had withdrawn.

Its wings’ thrusters sucked in more wind and created powerful turbulence behind it.

A roar briefly exploded behind it.

Then all sound in front of it vanished.

Its head, the center of its torso, and its shoulders broke through a barrier of air.

It had broken the sound barrier.

The barrages were coming.

The physical projectiles distorted the air as they flew in.

But the racing black Heavy Barrel did not hesitate to charge in shoulder first.

It closed its wings and flew with its legs behind it. The leading bullet grazed the right side of its head.

It used its neck to absorb and correct for the impact. It had entered the barrage.

It opened its wings just enough to soar through the destructive rain.

It spun right, up, left, and then left again. And it never forgot to be moving ever forward.

Just one shot was on a collision course for its left chest. There was no dodging it.

So it swung its left fist out in front and struck the shell’s extrapolated course before the shell actually arrived

The punch created a shockwave that collided with the shell.

With a roar of air and a crash of metal, the shell was diverted off course.

Neue Schwarz made it through.

The Heavy Barrel and the barrage intersected over a distance of about 400 yards, but it took less than half a second.

However, the next barrage – the third one – was already incoming.

There was nothing past it.

Distance-wise, passing through this barrage would mean reaching Karl’s previous position.

So Neue Schwarz flapped its wings to fly forward.

The color black accelerated through the artificial emptiness of the dawning fictional sky.

It advanced.

Then it caught sight of a shape flying in even closer than the barrage.

It was hard to notice with the bright lights of the thick barrage spread out behind it, but that was definitely a single physical bullet.

It was an 88mm armor-piercing round. It flew in like a black arrow surrounded by distorted air and it must have been fired by Neue Blau’s rifle.

The entire barrage behind it had been camouflage for this one shot.

“That was your plan!?”

Part 16

The bullet was about to hit.

Neue Schwarz tried to lower the left fist it had swung upwards to hit the shell earlier, but it was no use.

The bullet would hit before the fist was in position.

And Gelegenheit in its right hand was still without its light.

Nothing it could do would be fast enough.

It only had time to determine where the 88mm armor-piercing round would hit: the center of the chest. That was the hardest location to dodge.

Neue Schwarz made up its mind.

Its answer was to raise its voice. The black Heavy Barrel surrounded itself in wind and roared into the sky.

“Fully open all weapons and abilities to respond to the enemy threat. Begin full drive!”

A pair of wings spread in the purple sky.

But these were not black.

They were white.

The Ober Emblem seemed directly dyed by bluish-white ether as it instantly covered Neue Schwarz. The armor was a nearly-blue white and the joints were black, creating a dual colored armored warrior in the sky.

“Ober Emblem Weiss König – activate!”

It pulled its left arm back against its side.

The 88mm armor-piercing round struck the fictional armor still being formed from ether light.

The Ober Emblem armor shattered.

But the original black armor below survived with only a single crack.

Its left arm strained under the force of the impact and its white body was covered by new ether armor.

At the same time, it counteracted the backwards vector with a flap of its wings.

The explosion of wind behind it was far greater than ever before.

It shot out like it had been kicked forward.

Weiss König’s metal body groaned as it flapped its wings again and reaccelerated.

The third barrage was up ahead.

The impact on its left side was still affecting it, but it didn’t care.

Seeing the sea of clouds below, it tilted its body forward and moved its wings all the more forcefully.

The power of its wings and its forward-tilting attitude caused it to tumble forwards.

Its left hand stretched downwards and scratched at the clouds.

It seemed to bounce from there and flew forwards.

It all happened in an instant.

It was practically flipping forward as it broke through its inertia and the air resistance. As soon as it was nearly upside down, its wings fully opened in the direction it was flying.

Each wing worked independently. Their individual feathers blew out their own winds, accelerating the rotation.

The eruption from the wings rotated the Barrel.

It completed its flip and its feet were directed downwards again.

The white Heavy Barrel landed on the cloudy ground with its hips somewhat lowered. Then it flapped its wings to accelerate again.

It raced forward in its standing position.

Its speed was so great it erased all sound.

The thrusters on its legs and hips maintained its attitude while the power of its wings made it glide along the clouds. It twisted around as if sliding to the side and blew away the clouds behind it.

The barrage reached it just as it released the white sword from its left hip.

Nearly a hundred destructive projectiles attacked it from the left, right, and above. Each and every one of those winds could destroy the Weiss König.

The white Heavy Barrel soared and swung its white sword within those many winds.

It twisted its body toward the winds coming from the left, swung its blade toward the winds coming from the right, and ducked below the winds coming from above. It maintained its forward speed the entire time.

The winds collided, beginning an explosive chain reaction.

The Weiss König left light, smoke, and flames in its wake as it gracefully spun and advanced.

It raised an arm, tilted its head, stepped on the clouds, and scattered those clouds while sliding along them.

“I will make it through.”

It did.

After one more flap of its wings, it was past the last of the barrage. A giant explosion erupted behind it.

But Weiss König continued gliding across the clouds, leaving the range of the blast in an instant.

The pursuing smoke, flames, and even sound could not keep up.

It was unscathed.

But this was not over yet.

Weiss König put away its white sword, readied Gelegenheit in its right hand, and shouted its Aerial Words.

<Destiny is a testimony to the past.>

It sliced through the sky.

The green Heavy Barrel was visible up ahead.

Part 17

The white Heavy Barrel glided across the ground and accelerated with its Ober Emblem wings.

Dirt was blasted behind it and the Tiergarten forest’s ground was thrown into the sky.

It roared in, arriving less than 100 yards from Karl Schmitt.

But Karl did nothing. His arms were at his sides and his cannons aimed upwards. Only his sight devices were directed right at Weiss König.

“Do as you wish.”

Weiss König responded with a nod.

It approached, readied Gelegenheit in its right arm, and prepared to strike.

But at the same time, its sight devices caught a certain truth and a certain movement.

The truth was located behind Karl. Only after approaching this far could it see the green colors on the torn ground behind him.

They were the military’s soldiers.

All the injured soldiers from the overturned armored trucks and tanks were hidden behind Karl.

The movement Weiss König saw was on Karl’s shoulder.

A woman in a black combat uniform was standing there.

She was Army Division Deputy Chief Jeanne Schmitt.

She ran from his shoulder to his head and spread her arms out toward Weiss König.

Her eyebrows were raised, her eyes were glaring directly at Weiss König, and her mouth was open.

She was shouting.

Weiss König was moving too quickly to hear her. It only had the visual information to work with.

It saw the woman standing in front of Karl to protect him and Karl standing in front of the soldiers to protect them. That was all.

So Weiss König ended it all with just one action.

It slammed its wings into the air.

With a roar and an explosion of wind on the ground, the Heavy Barrel soared high into the sky.

It passed between the pair of cannons above Karl and flew toward the pitch black cross jutting up into the sky.

Chapter 5: The Promise Leaps

8/24/1943 02:41 – 02:48

You don’t need to know everything

You only need

To know a few important things

Because that lets you

Make a decision

Part 1

Tristan’s cross-like shape was partially due to the launch pad sticking out from its side. That enormous space was 100 yards wide and 300 yards long.

The top was built into a shallow depression to keep the wind off and the entire structure was constantly shaking from the wind.

It had become a battlefield made of pitch black metal.

A great bluish-white bird flew above that battlefield.

A woman ran below, her shoulders heaving. That was Hazel.

Several people were collapsed around her – all Geheimnis Agency soldiers.

Her eyes were on the Tristan tower 200 yards ahead.

A giant door was shut tight on its massive cylindrical surface.

That was used to let Heavy Barrels and transport ships in and out.

She was out of breath, but she kept her eyes on that door.

…Neue Erde is through there!

Witzmann had told her that. If she entered from this launch pad and continued straight, breaking through any doors that got in her way, she would arrive at the base of Tristan’s central Babel Gun.

“Neue Erde is waiting there.”

She swung Rein König to the right.

The prosthetic left fist swinging toward her was sliced through horizontally.

With the sound of metal being cut, several fingers flew from the fist. However…

<The opponent ignores his injury.>

She heard Aerial Words.

Her opponent reached his prosthetic right arm toward her chest which was wide open after swinging her sword to the right.

She remained calm. She confirmed his action and then looked behind him.

Another soldier was rushing in with sword raised.

The prosthetic arms man was meant to hold her in place so the sword strike could hit.

She dodged the incoming prosthetic arm by circling to his right.

She stepped right as if pulling her body toward Rein König.

She arrived next to his right shoulder, but she did not stop there. She continued to slip behind him.

She moved further right and confirmed that his hand had grazed her chest before snatching at the empty air.

<The opponent’s left arm – the one sliced by the sword earlier – moves.>

“Nh!” grunted the one man as his fingerless metal fist thrust out in front of her as she tried to circle behind him.

But instead of dodging the fist, she stopped her running feet.

The metal fist passed rapidly from left to right in her suddenly-stopped vision. She even felt the wind on her cheek.

“Sorry,” she said, sticking out her left hand and lifting his outstretched right elbow from below.

She placed the base of his prosthetic arm in the path of the sword coming from behind him.

And…

<The two of them suddenly disappear.>

Hazel gasped in surprise.

The hand holding the prosthetic arm now held empty air. The two enemies were gone.

<The two Neue Kavaliers have circled behind the Messiah.>

Hazel did not look back. It would be too late by the time she did.

So she took off running. She spun herself around while running and kept running backwards after turning.

<But they are behind her again.>

She stabbed Rein König below her arm and behind her.

<They are not there.>

She could not see the enemy. The Aerial Words were rewriting their location.

As she avoided them and ran, her foot caught on an obstacle. She stumbled on the leg of a Geheimnis Agency soldier she had defeated previously. Her heel hit the military boot while moving backwards.

She cried out and fell back onto her rear.

Her momentum caused her to bounce twice and topple onto her back. She saw the enemy in the air.

The two men rushed toward her, preparing to leap. One directed his metal arm toward her throat.

The other swung his sword tip down toward her hips as if to pin her in place.

She felt the instinctual animal fear of being on her back, but she still managed to move.

Instead of dodging, she opened her mouth and spoke a single word.

“Come!”

Before the word was even complete, power raced through the sky.

A great bird’s wings released a gust of wind.

The falcon wings captured the approaching soldiers and blasted them away instantly.

The wind and the impact rang loud and only the night sky through the dome remained in Hazel’s view.

She took a breath, stood up, and viewed the great bird flying away again as she got back to running.

She took a look around while running backwards with a hopping motion.

Men in black uniforms formed a circle around her at a distance of 20 yards.

“You still aren’t through?” she asked, jogging away.

They did not answer.

She smiled just a bit and turned to face the door into Tristan.

She was a bit more than 150 yards away.

She raised Rein König in front of her and muttered “let’s do this”.

Just then, a drum-like beat passed right through her body. It came from…

“Inside Tristan?”

After another beat, she was certain it came from the other side of that door in the distance. No, it came from even further in than that.

Another beat. The Neue Kavaliers around her were also looking up and toward the door.

Another beat. She could see the bluish-black Lives of confusion coming from them all.

When they realized they had no idea what this sound meant, tension filled their faces.

“Is Tristan overloading!?” she shouted, staring at the door.

They reacted to her voice by retaking their fighting stances.

But she ignored them. She crouched low and took off running while the beats continued.

“Please move out of the way! Don’t you understand what this means!?”

None of them obeyed. They only directed crimson killer intent her way.

She groaned and kicked off the metal ground to accelerate.

That ground kicked back without warning.

She cried out in confusion and tumbled to the ground.

She rolled to the side and noticed the continuing beat was growing louder and more intense.

The deep pulse reminded her of an enveloping heartbeat and it was now coming from the floor as well as through the door. It started weak, but by the fifth one, it was like a pounding impact.

…Is Neue Erde beginning its Ober Beweisen?

Hazel listened to that preparatory pulse as she got back up and viewed the closed door.

“Give me a path!” she shouted.

She was answered by a power from the sky.

The bluish-white wind falcon closed its wings to form its assault form and began to glide.

It was aimed nearly identically to Hazel’s eyes – toward the door that would lead her into Tristan.

The great bird opened its beak just once and let out a piercing screech as it approached the door.

<The door is open.>

There was no warning at all.

“Eh?”

Hazel was more astonished than surprised.

The door the enemy should have been defending to the bitter end had been thrown open, revealing the dark space beyond.

That shadowy space looked entirely empty from here.

But just as the falcon was about to fly inside, a giant blade stabbed out from the darkness. It was 20 yards along and made of glowing white light.

No, there were two swords stabbing out from the darkness in perfect unison.

They struck the approaching wind.

The falcon shattered and became an explosion of wind.

The air shook and briefly drowned out Tristan’s pulse.

Then the blades slowly emerged from the door. Including their wielder.

Hazel recognized it from the Geheimnis Agency’s Hamburg base a month ago.

A black aerial warship emerged from the darkness. It was shaped like a 30-yard blade.

She knew its name, so she came to a stop and spoke it aloud.

“Erlkönig!”

Erlkönig had the number 01 on its belly and it hovered above the ground as it advanced.

Its full body was soon across the threshold.

Hazel knew what the unmanned aerial warship had to be using in place of its own will.

…Neue Erde’s request.

That was proven by the Aerial Words coming from the sky.

<The Elf King rules the new world.>

Lights began to shine across Erlkönig.

The lights ran through the emblem patterns carved into its wings and surface armor and then ran through them again.

It was using two Power Points on the front to produce the pair of glowing swords.

Hazel faced Erlkönig from head on and exhaled with Rein König at the ready.

Her breath was white.

The Geheimnis Agency Neue Kavaliers standing between her and Erlkönig cleared a path for Erlkönig.

At the same time, she heard some straining metal.

She frowned in confusion and noticed the door closing behind Erlkönig. Unlike when the metal door opened, the double doors were closing gently but with increasing speed.

She moved forward.

<The Elf King makes its move.>

Erlkönig launched an attack from the right.

It struck Hazel.

“!?”

The attack had been too fast for her to perceive.

But her catlike reflexes had sent Rein König to the right.

Her blade stopped the 20-yard sword of solidified light.

However, the weight differential was too great.

Her feet left the ground and Rein König’s rear blade dug into her right shoulder. It sliced through the shoulder armor hidden below her clothing and stabbed into her right shoulder blade.

The bone creaked and she flew 11 yards before losing speed and tumbling along the metal ground.

She let out a breath and stood up, but her thoughts couldn’t keep up. She had acted purely on reflex, so she didn’t know where the attack had come from or how she had managed to defend against it.

She only knew that she had been hit by an attack, that she had been thrown backwards, and…

…That I’m alright.

Pain ran through her shoulder and she looked to the right to see blood on Rein König’s blade.

She looked forward to see Erlkönig’s glowing sword floating within arm’s reach.

“A single attack did all that?”

<The Elf King does not desire the Messiah.>

She gasped and looked up to see the black aerial warship gliding her way.

Its left sword was pulled back in preparation to swing.

She saw the attack this time. The silver arc swung low, aiming for her legs.

She gathered strength in her unsteady arms and attempted to get Rein König in place. But…

“Kh.”

The pain in her right shoulder loosened her grip on Rein König.

The giant slash did not care about her pain or anything else.

It simply continued along its arcing path.

In that instant, something flew into view.

It was a giant white wing.

Part 2

“Eh?”

Hazel clearly saw what had come to her rescue.

The wing belonged to a Heavy Barrel in white armor. It was the Neue Schwarz.

It sliced through the wind to move in between them and sent a high-speed knee into Erlkönig’s nose.

The blow sounded like shattering glass.

The speed overcame the mass differential, stopping the 30-yard aerial warship in its tracks.

The Erlkönig seemed to float up a bit, but a moment later, it pushed the wind out of the way and shot up into the sky.

Neue Schwarz glanced up at the fleeing ship, but that was all it had time for. The knee attack had thrown off its balance, so it entered a shallow vertical spin before crashing into the right door.

Its right shoulder hit first, piercing through the door with a boom Hazel felt in her gut.

Its white Ober Emblem armor instantly shattered and scattered as light with the sound of breaking ice.

Tristan’s pulse was drowned out while the ground below Hazel’s feet bent and shook vertically. The shaking reached an amplitude of about 3 inches and almost seemed synched with the pule.

Within that shaking and noise, Hazel looked to Neue Schwarz partially embedded in the door 150 yards away. The impact and the pointy Ober Emblem had torn through the door like paper, so its layered armor was splayed open like a flower blossom to devour the black warrior.

…He can’t get out like that.

But this prevented the right door from closing.

There was a gap of about 5 yards from the closed left door. She could get in without issue as long as she could reach that point.

Suddenly, Neue Schwarz’s secondary cockpit opened and five AIF soldiers emerged.

Before she could look up and widen her eyes, the surrounding Geheimnis Agency soldiers prepared to fight.

At the same time, someone stepped out from the darkness through the door.

The enormous man had a prosthetic right arm and wore a black combat coat.

He calmly walked out into the open air.

Hazel knew his name, but she was not the one to call it.

That voice came from the right where Neue Schwarz was embedded in the wall.

It was a somewhat raised man’s voice.

“I had a feeling you would be the last line of defense, ‘Schallmauer Zerstörer’ Hellard Schweitzer.”

Hazel turned toward the speaker.

Atop Neue Schwarz’s shoulder, she saw a black-haired man with his black coat whipping in the wind.

A sigh of relief escaped her mouth.

She breathed in and called his name in a much calmer voice.

“Berger.”

He gave her a smile in lieu of a response and nodded without taking his eyes off of Schweitzer.

Schweitzer nodded back at him.

“This is the final battle, Destiny and Messiah.” He took a breath. “And I have one thing to tell you, Berger.”

“What’s that?”

“I have abandoned a power just like you abandoned your divine power. I have thrown out my Titel of Schallmauer Zerstörer.”

“So you’re okay being a no-name soldier?”

“Yes, that is who I am here. Keep that in mind.”

“I see,” replied Berger, hopping down from Neue Schwarz.

His feet sounded hard on the ground. He pulled Gelegenheit’s hilt from the connection staff at Neue Schwarz’s hip on the way.

“I will keep it in mind, Hellard Schweitzer.”

Hazel saw the corners of Schweitzer’s lips curl at that.

But the distorted curl turned them upwards, not downwards.

…Is he smiling?

Hazel tilted her head at that smile between two men about to fight each other.

She could only hear Tristan’s pulse and the blowing wind.

The shaking from Neue Schwarz’s crash had weakened but continued below her feet and pain throbbed in her right collarbone, but the quaking and aching were not hindrances.

…They prove I really am here.

With that thought, she faced forward, toward the bearer of the destiny she needed to trust in.

Berger was there.

He held Gelegenheit and climbed down from Neue Schwarz’s hip to the floor before saying more.

“Schweitzer, I have a question: how much do you know?”

“All of it,” he answered quietly. “I came here knowing Tristan had begun to overload itself and knowing everything else as well.”

He moved just his eyes to view his surroundings.

His eyes landed first on Hazel and then on the Geheimnis Agency soldiers surrounding her.

“Perhaps it is too late, but I should probably tell the rest of you about the Nibelung. You must first choose whether or not you wish to be a guardian of Neue Erde. Only then can you truly choose to fight.” Schweitzer looked up into the sky and glared at the top of Tristan. “Attention all knights within earshot!”

Part 3

A dark space was filled with heat and had only red warning lights for illumination.

The cylindrical space’s floor was about 50 yards across and the walls were about 30 yards tall.

The ceiling was a circle just like the floor and there was a seam in the center.

B6-18 was written in white gothic text across the seam.

This was a storeroom on Germania’s deepest level. It was meant to hold VIP escape craft, so the cylinder was divided by 18 barrier floors that ensured absolute protection and a rapid escape route.

But currently, an aerial warship sat in the center of the floor instead of a VTOL escape craft. Its coloration was hard to make out in the red lighting, but it had a blade-like silhouette.

It was locked down on an elevated platform sitting on the floor and a veritable spider web of fuel pipes connected it to the surrounding walls.

Several people were moving around it, all of them wearing white coats dyed red by the lights.

The old man on the outer wall of the cockpit at the top of the aerial warship gave them all instructions.

He was Development Division Chief Elrich. He called to the young researcher removing the rear protective cover.

“How is Tristan doing?”

“Neue Erde took over at 2:30. Its Ober Beweisen should be starting soon.” A pulse sounded and the researcher pointed toward the door leading further in. “But its power has very nearly overloaded already, making for a very dangerous situation. The structural materials cannot withstand this pressure for long, so if this continues for another half an hour, Tristan’s Tons may begin to break down.”

Something was unusual on the back wall where a 4-yard door was located.

There was a vein there.

A blood vessel made from the same material as the wall was throbbing in time with the pulse.

“So the overload has begun already,” noted Elrich when he saw it. “Isn’t this a tad quick? I thought it wasn’t supposed to peak until 3.”

“Neue Erde appears to be gradually increasing the power on its own. Slowly and carefully.”

“I see. The control room must be in a tizzy. Because there is nothing they can do to stop it at this point.”

With that, he stopped paying attention to the wall. He instead viewed the cockpit hatch in front of him.

“Is it alright that it only has room for one?”

“Our commander said to assume the Messiah would be the only passenger since the Sylphide itself runs autonomously.”

“Hmph. Let me guess: she also said to make the cryogenic storage device for one, didn’t she?”

“You guess correctly.”

“I was told in the past that only one person could return to the present.”

A researcher turning a large bolt to release the ship from the elevated platform responded to Elrich.

“But, chief, is what you said about the Nibelung really true?”

“If you don’t believe me, why are you here working?”

Elrich’s question contained a hint of a smile. He opened the hatch and took a look inside.

“Because you lot got carried away and completed eight Erlkönigs while I was away, the power balance between Neue Erde and the Messiah has tilted heavily in Neue Erde’s favor. But that destiny only exists because Neue Erde was warned in advance…which is what I call cheating.”

“Then why are we preparing the Sylphide in secret?”

“Because engineers love nothing quite as much as a secret project.” He laughed bitterly, told them to “remember that”, and went inside.

The cockpit was cramped. The floor was two yards long and one yard wide and the space was about a yard high. The cockpit existed as a tub-like sunken portion in the front.

“I don’t see a cryogenic storage device. Does the entire cockpit itself double as one?”

He was answered by the researcher standing outside the hatch.

“After a triple-confirmation switch, the shutter lowers and seals the cockpit for freezing. The prototype and the wreckage found at Hamburg used a separate chamber, which obstructed the rear view from the cockpit, so we solved that issue.”

“I see. Excellent work.”

“The Hamburg wreckage gave us the hint we needed. It had a larger cockpit with a single chair-style seat, but we reassessed the design and lowered it all by about a yard to-”

Elrich nodded and held his hand out toward the hatch to stop the man. His eyes were still on the inside of the cockpit.

“Hm?”

He saw something glitter atop the control panel. But not the metal or glass of the controls or gauges.

“A woman’s bracelet? What is this doing here?”

“It was within the parts collected from the prototype. A colleague said he had seen Marsch wearing something similar.”

“Marsch Gant, huh?”

Elrich narrowed his eyes a little and lowered his head, but only for a short moment. He nodded toward the bracelet on the controls and backed out of the hatch.

He stuck his hands in his lab coat’s pockets and asked a question of the researcher waiting out there.

“Have you completed the two modifications I requested via telegraph from the old HQ?”

“Yes, it will all be complete in a few more minutes. First, the engine fuel bypass was switched to a fully external supply…just like with the Kaiserburg. It was 80/20 external/internal before, so as a stopgap measure, we blocked off the bypass from the internal tank and set the input sensitivity of the 8 external intake ports to 130%.”

“Good. As long as the initial startup works, the Sylphide will be able to extract ether from its surroundings and fly without ever needing to refuel.” Elrich looked to the researchers working on different parts of Sylphide. “Have you removed the limit on the external supply? So that it can consume external ether at all times, even with its Panzer Emblem active?”

“Yes. The Kaiserburg shut off the external intake when using its Panzer Emblem to ensure stability of the Panzer Emblem’s form. That created a momentary reduction of power immediately after ending the Panzer Emblem. Removing that limit will cause the Sylphide to consume its own Panzer Emblem, but…” The researcher paused. “But the real problem is compatibility with the next modification. As instructed, we extended the Panzer Emblem’s activation text to connect with the basic repair emblem text. That should allow it to repair its Panzer Emblem.”

“I fail to see the problem. The Hamburg wreckage handled the issue similarly, I believe.”

“The Panzer Emblem works by syncing any colliding matter with its ether armor Tons, destroying it. But this Sylphide will then consume the destroyed object’s Tons through its exterior intake.” A breath. “But even after being synced, a small portion of the original Rätsel remains. So instead of just consuming the Tons of whatever it destroys and using them as more material for the Panzer Emblem, the Sylphide must use its repair emblems.”

“Yes, to repair the destroyed objects to their original form.”

“An aerial warship with the power to Tune is terribly unstable! What if it loses control!?”

“The prototype took in the Tons of the Schreibener and this one uses some of the prototype’s components, so it possesses Marsch Gant’s will and that will keep it under control.”

Elrich did not sound remotely worried. He gave the gasping researcher a glance before looking around the area.

The workers were looking up at him.

He shut Sylphide’s hatch while looking down at them.

He slapped his hand on its armor a few times, making just as many sounds.

“The Messiah no longer wishes to destroy, so the same will be true of her guardian dragon. This aerial warship possesses the power to break through its opponent, but it will retune them afterwards.” He viewed them all. “Perhaps we should call it an autonomous Tuning Werkzeug.”

Part 4

A battle was underway in the center of Germania.

A silver Heavy Barrel fought a man with two prosthetic arms. They were Heiliger and Pale.

The two inordinately large people ran southeast across a deserted wasteland.

They were just inside the western side of Germania. Another 10 yards south and they would reach the large hole between Charlottenburg and Tiergarten.

There was no road. A Word Rifle beam had torn a trench in the ground from east to west. If they ran much further, they would reach the main road and they could take that east to reach Tiergarten.

The only movement beyond themselves was the occasional tree, building chunk, or sign falling to the ground after being launched by their battle. Sounds of combat came from far to the east and west, but only the Heavy Barrel and the man could be found here.

Pale’s gray hair was matted with blood. Blood dripped down his forehead and the scar on his one eye had reopened.

But he bared his bloody teeth and smiled at the silver Heavy Barrel.

The pulse coming from Tristan was slowly increasing in speed and volume.

“What’s wrong, Heiliger? Distracted by Tristan’s out-of-control pulse? It only took one good blow to throw your main force and your western unit into disarray. So what now?”

“You are meant to command your entire army, so why do you seek a personal fight?”

Pale didn’t answer that.

The silver Heavy Barrel looked to the sky where the moon shined through the dome.

“You will die soon. Tonight is not a full moon like it was during the previous war. You cannot draw on your true power as a Heidengeist, so you are struck relying on the Frühmond drug. Your Archetype bloodline cannot save you here.”

“Really wish you didn’t know that!”

A sword rushed in. The strike was made while running, but it was steady and drew a perfect arc toward Pale’s back.

He swung his metal fist back and punched the blade.

The metal clang coincided with Tristan’s pulse.

With the roar of wind being pushed away, Pale’s fist was knocked forward by the force of the sword.

He moved about 10 yards ahead of Neue Silber and landed on the shaking ground.

“Too slow.”

A powerful slash dropped down from directly above.

Pale clenched his teeth and punched the ground. His metal fist went through its triple acceleration to blast away the dirt.

With a trio of roars, Pale used the power of his fist to leap forward. As soon as he was away, the asphalt behind him exploded from a sword strike. He summed up his thoughts by whistling.

He saw the ground was shaking even more than before.

“An earthquake? No, his sword strike and the pulse were in sync.”

A great hole had opened up within arm’s reach. When a shock ran through the ground, it could be seen as a vibration, especially on cracked and broken ground.

Another pulse arrived from Tristan.

On the nauseating pulse, Pale landed and faced forward again.

The amplitude of the ground’s shaking was growing sharper and more focused as he viewed his opponent.

Neue Silber straightened its forward-leaning body and began putting its sword away at its hip.

Pale stood up and asked a question.

“Why are you sheathing your sword? In a rush to go somewhere?”

“You are only trying to buy time here. Your fists can never reach my Panzer.”

The silver Heavy Barrel’s blade vanished into the scabbard at its hip.

Pale viewed the black scabbard and frowned.

“You think I can’t reach you?”

The silver Heavy Barrel did not respond.

Neue Silber looked up and away from Pale. It viewed the top of Tristan.

That was the tallest point in Germania.

An AIF two-hull transport ship was battling Erlkönig in the sky above that.

Neue Silber spread the six wings on its back. It had already started gathering air in those wings.

Pale clicked his tongue when he saw the shimmering heat rising from the wings. And just before that moving air became a wind…

“I just thought of a great way of getting my fist to you.”

The silver Heavy Barrel did not even look his way. But Pale still bent his left elbow and directed his left fist toward the ground.

The movement came suddenly.

His left fist clenched as tight as possible.

The heavy metal frame made some noises as it formed an even larger metal fist. The elbow had already pulled back behind him in preparation to throw a punch. He bared his fangs but kept his voice relatively quiet.

“So stick around a while longer.”

After that, his voice and his fist gave a roar.

His arm flew straight down toward the ground and it gained extra acceleration as metallic noises and steam came from the elbow.

The fist parted the white steam. And not just once. It happened thrice before the swing was complete.

The air was audibly destroyed three times before the fist struck the ground.

With the sound of compressing dirt, Pale kicked off the ground.

He used the force of the impact and his own strength to produce an incredible acceleration.

His crouching body leaped to the left of the silver Heavy Barrel with the force of an artillery shell.

“Nh.”

In an instant, Neue Silber took a defensive stance and Pale landed to its left, blasting dirt into the air.

Neue Silber turned toward him just as Pale punched the ground again.

The triple blast of acceleration sounded in an instant and Pale launched himself behind the Heavy Barrel.

All that remained was the afterimage of his silver hair, the cloud of dirt rising from the ground, and the powerful shaking of that ground.

The silver afterimage moved behind Neue Silber.

Neue Silber planted its feet firmly on the ground, drew its sword, and stabbed it backwards.

The sound of a sword slicing flesh and the impact of a fist could both be heard from the direction it sent the sword tip.

The white smoke of smashed air surrounded it and something leaped to its right.

Another triple metallic noise followed.

Pale left behind an afterimage showing a slashed cheek as he circled in front of Neue Silber.

He bled as he lowered his hips and pulled his left shoulder back to stand at an angle. Sweat dripped down his brow and his left arm’s elbow was glowing red with heat, but there was a smile on his lips.

“Let’s finish this!” shouted the beast.

With another crash of impact, the ground’s vertical shaking increased and the silver-haired man left an afterimage as he leaped to his right and Neue Silber’s left, which was north.

Pale landed with both feet firmly on the ground and faced forward. He was about 12 yards from the silver Heavy Barrel.

The ground was shaking below him and the amplitude had surpassed half a yard.

The repeated blows had formed waves that increased the shaking.

He used that shaking to lightly kick off the ground and jump straight up.

Just then, he heard a faint voice from the distant sky. It was a man’s deep but carrying voice.

“Attention all knights within earshot!”

Pale caught some of what the voice said next while in midair.

“So the time has come for the Neue Kavaliers to learn of the Wheel of Destiny,” he muttered, spinning through the air and readying his right fist behind him.

The ground below him had reached the lowest point of its amplitude.

Meanwhile, Neue Silber grabbed the hilt of its backwards-thrusting sword with both hands.

The silver Heavy Barrel twisted its body toward Pale and raised the sword to swing it down in a large arc.

The quaking ground started to rise.

With the threat of the ground below and the sword above, Pale’s eyes were on the sword.

“Do you know how much force it takes to shake the weight of a city by half a yard?”

It all happened in an instant.

Pale did not dodge the slash.

He opted for an offensive defense. He swung his left fist straight up to punch the blade.

With a sound like shattering glass, Neue Silber’s blade instantly broke from the hilt and Pale’s left fist broke in return.

The impact slammed Pale’s body toward the ground, but just before he hit, he shouted up at his foe.

“You’re about to find out!”

Pale’s right fist flew diagonally down toward Germania’s rising ground.

That fist had applied its triple acceleration to the vector provided by Neue Silber’s sword strike.

It struck the ground with all that built-up momentum.

The fist smashed into the ground and Germania rumbled.

Then the principle behind a ricocheting bullet gave Pale’s body great speed.

He twisted his airborne body, giving himself a rapid spin that sent his right arm forward.

He saw Neue Silber still in the follow through for swinging down its sword.

Beyond that, he also saw a large pit opened in Germania’s ground.

His metal right elbow clicked like a key turning in a lock and all of its steam ports opened.

White steam blasted behind him for the primary acceleration.

The same sound repeated and the secondary acceleration began.

Shortly thereafter came the tertiary acceleration.

Each time the fist’s speed increased, it tore through the air and created a ring of white vapor.

The sound arrived after a short delay.

The metal fist struck the Heavy Barrel in the chest.

The impact pushed Neue Silber backwards.

Its weight provided no real resistance as the chest armor shattered and the force of the blow passed through it and out its back.

The six metal wings on its back ruptured like a flower.

Pale then tackled Neue Silber’s chest with his shoulder.

The Heavy Barrel staggered and tried to regain its footing, but…

“Kh!?”

It could not get its feet back on the ground. In fact, there was no more ground below its feet.

It was already out over the enormous pit.

Its wings were broken, so there was only possible outcome: succumb to gravity and fall.

“Pale Horse! Why waste your time on a personal vendetta against me!?”

“This isn’t personal.” Pale was out of breath with his right fist pressed against Neue Silber’s chest. “Those young fools are fighting up on Tristan right now. What’s so personal about keeping an old man out of their hair, Heiliger Karlsruhe?”

Pale didn’t wait for a response.

He took one look around as their falling speed picked up. He laughed bitterly as the growing wind of their fall rang in his ears. The surface of Germania was above them now.

The wind grew, carrying away the sweat on his brow.

“I doubt this fall is enough to kill you, so how bout we get round two started?”

He accelerated his right fist with it still pressed against the Heavy Barrel’s chest.

A loud crash followed.

Part 5

All work had ended in the red-lit underground space.

Only Elrich and Sylphide remained in the hangar.

The open door on the back wall led to a large elevator and all the researchers were onboard.

The space was filled with a pulsing and tremoring. Something like distant thunder came from the barrier floor up above.

“I don’t know what happens next, so leave ahead of me,” said Elrich before turning to look at Sylphide.

Sylphide was still connected to the pipes coming from the walls, but it had been released from the raised platform.

Elrich was currently viewing a metal box about as tall as he was.

The box had several gauges on its surface and their needles had all reached the red zone, but the hinged lever at the center of the box was pointed up in the off position.

He pulled out his pocket watch to check the time. It was 2:45 AM.

The researchers in the elevator behind him called his name and some told him to hurry, but he slowly put the watch back in his pocket.

He reached for the lever in front of him.

“I will activate you now. If the Messiah uses her Beweisen, she should detect your presence.”

He yanked down on the switch.

“When she does, call for her, Marsch Gant.”

He took a breath.

“Ask her for the Text needed to leave this place.”

Part 6

In the wind, Hazel heard everything Schweitzer said in front of the door.

…So he knows everything too.

She gave a mental nod of understanding and looked around. No one was moving. The Neue Kavaliers surrounding her had lowered their heads a little, but they seemed frozen in place with their weapons in hand.

There was one sound, however.

The clank of boots came from Schweitzer planting his feet a little wider apart.

“The world can undoubtedly be saved with Neue Erde or the Messiah’s method. At the very least, both are attempting to do so.”

He viewed the Neue Kavaliers on the launch pad and told them to make their own decisions.

He smiled before turning toward Berger on his left.

“I will fight to keep my promise with Neue Erde. …Messiah, perhaps it is possible to save Neue Erde with your Tuning, but can you save every last part of her?”

Hazel responded with a question.

“What does that mean?”

“She views it as her duty to be lost, so is there a way of saving her that does not allow even that duty to be lost?” He took a breath. “If you can do that and stop Tristan, then I will admit defeat.”

Schweitzer took a fighting stance once he was done speaking.

Berger responded by readying Gelegenheit.

Only Tristan’s pulse echoed across the high-altitude launch pad.

That heartbeat had a rhythm of one beat per second, making it sound like the ticking of a biological clock.

That sound acted as a signal for two people to move.

The first was Hellard Schweitzer standing in front of the door.

The other was Dog Berger.

Schweitzer raised his prosthetic fist and Berger shoved a Phlogiston Tank into Gelegenheit’s hilt while they both walked toward the center of the launch pad.

Schweitzer had his back to the door and Berger circled in front of him, placing himself in front of Hazel.

Meanwhile, the five AIF soldiers standing next to Neue Schwarz lined up alongside Berger.

But the Geheimnis Agency Neue Kavaliers surrounding Hazel stayed put.

Berger glanced over at the motionless knights and asked Schweitzer about it.

“Not getting any help?”

Schweitzer nodded.

“You are short on time, aren’t you? And…” He raised his metal fist. “Do not think this will be easy for you.”

Hazel nodded at that.

“The plan was to get through no matter what it took. And once this is over…”

She checked her watch to find it was 2:48 AM.

But seeing that time made her smile.

“Let’s try to be friends until the world changes.”

Then she opened her mouth to speak her will’s Text – her Aerial Words.

<The Messiah believes in destiny.>

She activated the Messiah eye’s Beweisen and a thick dark blade emerged from Berger’s Gelegenheit. When the destruction grew past 4 yards, a voice spoke from the sky in response. A woman’s voice.

<The New World…>

That was Neue Erde’s Beweisen. A single powerful tremor ran through Schweitzer’s prosthetic right arm.

<The New World believes in the hero.>

Hazel saw Schweitzer lower his head for just a moment.

He pressed his lips together and stared at the metal floor, but then his head sprang back up and he turned toward her.

She noticed a change then. Wind ether was gathering atop the 3-yard overhang that formed the lip of the door.

The bluish-white Lives of the high-altitude wind were forming something.

…Just like the person standing atop the Gard-class.

But this faintly transparent person was not the one she had seen in Cologne’s sky.

This was a woman wearing a Geheimnis Agency combat uniform.

“Lowenzahn Naylor.”

Schweitzer heard Hazel speak the name, but he did not look back. He only shut his eyes and nodded.

Standing above them all, Lowenzahn expressionlessly viewed the Neue Kavalier below and nodded.

She opened her mouth and spoke gently.

<The New World has arrived.>

Her voice signaled the beginning of the battle.

Chapter 6: The Promise Soars

8/24/1943 02:49 – 02:58

I will run

Run forward

I don’t have to think about anything else

Only running forward

Part 1

Several powers crashed together simultaneously between Hazel and Lowenzahn.

The wind roared and the pulse beat. Hazel’s wristwatch said it was 2:49 AM.

…Only 11 minutes until the Allies’ time limit.

She was not concerned about that. She pressed Rein König against the floor, held its hilt, and opened her mouth.

<The Messiah’s destiny clears the way.>

Berger’s black slash grew thicker and shattered Schweitzer’s spatial barrier.

Higher than the rest, Lowenzahn stuck her hands in her pockets and opened her mouth.

<The New World protects the hero.>

The shattered spatial barrier regenerated. Gelegenheit’s black blade caught on the barrier and they both shattered.

Hazel looked to Lowenzahn. The ether reproduction of the woman stood at the top of the door.

“That’s only a speaker for Aerial Words.”

But Hazel shook her head.

…But there is still a will forming it.

She couldn’t tell if the increased morale of those below was just a coincidence or not.

But there was one thing she knew for sure. If a will was forming that image…

…Neue Erde is still alive after becoming a component for Tristan.

She started to say something more, but then Berger looked her way while shoving a new Phlogiston Tank into Gelegenheit.

“Hazel! Keep those Texts coming!”

“They aren’t drinks at a beer hall!”

She shouted back and looked to the Geheimnis Agency commander atop the door.

And she heard that woman open her mouth and speak some crucial words.

“Eingeweide heart Neue Erde – Ober Beweisen.”

Part 2

When Hazel heard Lowenzahn’s Text, she gasped and raised her voice.

“No way! She’s already activating her Ober Beweisen!?”

In lieu of a response, the dome grew brighter and the air shook.

Something was moving and that rumble was the answer to Hazel’s question.

She gulped and saw Berger click his tongue.

“Neue Erde is activating her Ober Beweisen early to prepare for the peak of the reversed power!” he said bitterly. “I bet she’s going to increase the power gradually and carefully instead of trying to do it all at once. That way she can prevent the anxiety from scattering Tristan’s Lives.” He took a breath and suppressed a slight tremor in his voice. “She’s planning to drag out her Ober Beweisen until the moment of ruin!”

Hazel realized what he meant and learned just how serious Lowenzahn was.

“She’s going to keep singing until the last moment?”

…Because she’s looking past 3 AM and believes the wheel will keep turning.

And…

…That means she thinks they can beat us!

That thought made her gulp.

Everything around her shook, but not because of a shockwave or quake. The shaking was in the very ether that traveled through the ley lines and formed all things.

For a moment, everyone felt out of sync with themselves.

“…!?”

Hazel suddenly looked to the ground below.

…Eh?

She was supposed to be standing atop Tristan, but now she was in the sky.

Her field of view was unusually high and wide. She was looking down on the world from nearly a mile up.

She saw a river running through a forest below.

Two adjacent cities existed on the river’s sandbank.

A few of the houses had their lights on, revealing the shape of the walled cities in the night.

She realized something while viewing the cities.

“They look so old.”

The cities were made of stone and wood, like something in a medieval painting.

Her vision remained in the sky as she looked down at them.

But her senses told her that this was not just a false vision.

Her sense of sight picked up the lights and shadows, her sense of hearing picked up the sound of the wind, and her sense of smell picked up the scent of the river. It was all real.

She realized what those two cities had to be.

“This is Berlin’s past – when it was still a pair of fortress cities. That was in the 17th century, wasn’t it?”

She had seen Berlin like this in the German Lives’ memories found inside Berger.

She understood why she was seeing this moment from Berlin’s past.

…The overloading has begun and the Spacetime Lives are being extracted in response.

The view of the cities vanished. The cities, the walls, and the buildings vanished like she was watching a film in reverse. The forest grew and the cities became villages.

History was playing out in reverse.

“Has the extraction of the Spacetime Lives begun!? Is it moving even further back than the 17th century!?”

Then the entire scene below her disappeared.

She gasped and found Tristan and the dome in front of her.

She could feel the sweat soaking her body.

She looked around to see Berger, Schweitzer, the Neue Kavaliers, and the soldiers were all motionless.

Confusion Lives hovered around them all. They were all holding their breaths and unsure if they should move.

Hazel realized they had all seen the same thing.

She gulped while focusing on something that bothered her.

She could no longer hear anything at all from Germania below.

Before, she had heard the many deep sounds of the battle being fought to support her, but all of that had vanished. She only heard the blowing of the wind.

“Did everyone down there see that too? No, I bet everyone in the world did.”

She felt nearly certain of that when another sound reached her: Tristan’s distorted pulse.

…That means she really thinks we can’t stop her!

“We will stop you!”

Hazel raised her eyebrows and reflexively clenched her teeth.

She forcefully raised her head to view Lowenzahn above the door.

But Lowenzahn held her right hand to her left chest and did not look down at Hazel.

She kept her eyes on the sky. And just as Hazel was about to speak to her, her lips moved.

The pulse was like a deep drumbeat providing the tempo for her words.

Part 3

In a world actively having its past stolen – in a world where no one could speak or even move – one woman’s Aerial Words rang loud.

<The future is limited, but I will not look to it.>

Tristan’s power boost was pushed to new heights.

<The past is unlimited, but I will not listen to it.>

The pulse pounded.

<I will break it all and throw it out.>

Tristan tremored.

<We can redo it all.>

An indistinct groan left Tristan and synced with the pulse.

<The New World is a world that will not be lost.>

The pulse and the groan harmonized and sped up.

<The New World is a world where nothing is lost.>

The Text traveled through the ley lines to reach the entire world.

<But destiny has declared…>

The Text pierced the voiceless earth and sky.

<…that all forms, colors, sounds, and wills will be lost.>

The Lives that resonated with the Text left the ley lines and were rapidly pulled toward Tristan.

<I do not want to lose all that.>

The Text gathered so many Lives while rising to a shout.

<I do not want to lose any of that!>

Part 4

Lowenzahn was answered with a roar.

All around Hazel, the Geheimnis Agency knights raised their voices and resumed fighting.

Schweitzer and Berger also resumed their battle in the center, like the chains binding them had been broken.

She heard Berger’s voice.

“Hazel!”

But she was still staring blankly up at Lowenzahn.

Lowenzahn was only a translucent specter, but she performed dance steps in time with the pulse surrounding them all.

She had already shut her eyes and her lips were moving to whisper her Ober Beweisen Text.

Hazel repeated that Text to herself.

“I do not want to lose any of that.”

…She’s motivated by the same thing we are.

“Hazel!” shouted Berger.

His sharp voice snapped her out of her revery and she saw a shape flying in from the right.

A black, blade-like ship was approaching from as high in the sky as the dome allowed.

That was Erlkönig. The black aerial warship had shaken free of the RB-21 attempting to pursue it.

It accelerated along an arc in the sky and turned its nose toward Hazel.

The two glowing swords emitted from its nose had already been swung forward. The sword tips sliced through the wind and left a trail of white cloud.

As soon as she noticed Erlkönig’s approach, Hazel felt an odd sensation in her right eye.

Her vision was acting up. The Messiah eye had already gone red and was rapidly heating up.

…Eh?

She found her left and right eyes were seeing different things.

The right one only saw the color red.

She ignored the image coming from her left eye and poured all of her focus into the red light seen through her right eye.

She felt like she was stealing someone else’s vision and that sense was growing stronger.

Her left eye’s view was swallowed up and colored by the right eye’s red light.

She gasped and held her right hand in front of her right eye, but she couldn’t see the hand.

She saw a low-ceilinged room. The room had a circular floor and ceiling and it was lit by red lights.

Several black pipes ran along the floor before reaching her.

She could not see herself.

But she realized her expression made no sense.

Erlkönig was approaching fast and her eyebrows were crumbling in a way that suggested tears, but she had a smile on her lips. She heard Berger’s voice from beyond the red vision.

“Hazel, does that mean what I think it does?”

“Yes!”

Her body fully recalled this familiar sensation.

The resurrected memories spread from her right eye to the rest of her and she felt the wind on her skin.

She could tell what she sensed was underground. It was trapped, but it was waiting to move.

It was waiting for her.

…And I’m waiting for you!

So she raised her voice.

“Can you hear me, Sylphide!?”

<The Messiah has not forgotten the wind.>

Part 5

There was movement in the deserted underground hangar.

The wind was moving.

The blue ship had been resting on a raised platform, but its rear end suddenly lifted. It silently rose from the platform, causing the air to move and creating a wind.

The heavy wind slowly swept across the inside of the underground hangar.

The ship finished floating from the platform.

The tubes plugged into its lower surface popped out and clattered to the floor.

A pulsing sound surrounded it. Something like throbbing blood vessels covered the walls around it.

But Sylphide ignored it all and paused in the air for a moment.

Small lights ran through the emblems decorating it. The lights moved from nose to rear – from wings to body. The lights seemed to confirm the ship’s shape before gathering back at the nose.

The sensory devices for a Schreibener were all gathered in a single black line on the nose.

The lights all ran through that line before vanishing inside.

At the same time, the Kunst Eyes on either side of the nose emitted pale white light behind it. The light was briefly radiated in all direction before narrowing down and forming a pair of Schwerts. They were 20 yards long, stopping just before reaching the room’s wall.

Then Sylphide lifted its nose.

It slowly tilted vertically like a pillar supporting the ceiling.

A moment later, it emitted its Text into the air.

<The Wind…>

The swords pulled back behind it were rapidly swept forwards.

<The Wind is the dragon that serves the Messiah!>

With a tearing sound, the metal ceiling was easily sliced through.

At the same time, the windy pressure of ascent produced a roar and the Sylphide broke through the already broken metal.

Then it rolled and accelerated.

It used a quick slash to slice through the next barrier, breaking the seal.

The blue power passed through the metal door that had blossomed open like a flower. It produced more destruction as it repeatedly accelerated.

The blue ship focused everything on flying straight up.

The broken barriers triggered alarms that drowned out Tristan’s pulse, but even those wails were left behind as Sylphide broke through 18 consecutive barrier doors.

It ascended rapidly through the pit.

The nose was directed toward the surface and the sky beyond.

It rolled with delight as it worked to escape this underground space.

After freshly awakening from its slumber, Sylphide poured all its strength into the ascent.

Part 6

Hazel’s vision returned.

She was on Tristan’s launch pad and she could see the tower, the dome, and the sky trapped within.

A black blade-like ship was flying toward her from the right.

She saw another color in the sky to the left.

A line of white cloud was ascending into the sky surrounded by the dome’s light.

At the tip of the cloud, she saw what looked like a blade splitting the sky.

“Sylphide!”

Sylphide answered her by turning its nose toward her.

The tilting of its nose changed the shape of its shockwave before the shockwave vanished entirely.

It had entered fully inertial cruising mode.

Its turn transformed into a sharp reflection partway through. After turning its nose her way, it shot toward her along with the air gathered around it with its inertial control. The air pushed out of its way shook and rumbled.

It sped up even more.

Its blue shape instantly passed by overhead, leaving a wind in its wake.

Its rumbling continued on toward Erlkönig approaching from the right.

Erlkönig fired homing rounds from its three rear Power Points. The white bullets were freezing rounds.

The bullets curved toward Sylphide, so Sylphide drew its pair of swords and took a certain action.

It accelerated.

It poured on even more speed.

The blue dragon used its speed to slip between the homing rounds.

The freezing rounds lost their target and exploded behind it, producing a white mist. Sylphide ignored that and continued its charge.

It charged straight toward Erlkönig.

Erlkönig immediately performed an evasive roll.

It rolled right from Sylphide, spun around above Sylphide, and swung its two swords toward Sylphide as they passed each other.

In that instant, Sylphide made a compact leftward roll.

Erlkönig’s swords were swinging in from the left, so Sylphide’s fangs crashed into them with the force of its rapid spin.

They shattered.

With a metallic impact, shards of light scattered across the sky.

Erlkönig rolled again into an escape route.

Sylphide suddenly shifted its inertial cruising into reverse. It redirected its forward momentum to the rear.

It reversed to stick with Erlkönig as it tried to roll away.

Erlkönig had already veered off course, so now it was about to pass above the launch pad.

That was when Hazel spoke some Aerial Words.

<The Messiah fights alongside the dragon and destiny.>

Berger shoved a Size C Phlogiston Tank into the back of Gelegenheit’s hilt. That brought the total up to 20. Gelegenheit looked more like a spear now and it produced a black blade measuring more than 80 yards long.

The Messiah’s Aerial Words made the blade grow denser and longer.

The black blade-like silhouette was about to fly over Berger’s head.

He sent Gelegenheit’s cutting power toward that supersonic action.

One of Erlkönig’s wings was severed and the rest of the ship bounced in the sky.

Sylphide caught up and spun its bow to the front.

The black and blue ships arrived half a mile away from the launch pad in just two seconds.

Their paths crossed.

Erlkönig sent glowing swords from its back end and Sylphide swept them aside with its own swords.

Sylphide flew in and tore into Erlkönig with the pair of fangs emitted from its front end.

Ether light ran through Erlkönig and then light exploded from its back end.

A deafening boom rang out just as seven contrails burst from the middle of Tristan.

Those were Erlkönig’s mass production models. They initially spread out and then attacked with enough force to deal with the threat. The seven ships charged toward the lone blue ship floating in the sky.

Hazel took action while watching that from the launch pad.

She raised Rein König and ran forward. Her watch said it was 2:57 AM.

…3 more minutes!

Her heavy breathing sucked in the chilly night air while she gathered strength in her legs and shifted her run into a sprint.

She arrived alongside Berger while he added another Phlogiston Tank to Gelegenheit and then she moved out ahead of him.

Schweitzer was up ahead and Lowenzahn stood at the top of the door.

She continued sprinting forward and noticed Lowenzahn looking down at her.

Schweitzer was watching her too.

They opened their mouths at the same time and spoke Neue Erde and Der Held’s Aerial Words.

<Stars spread across the light-scattered sky.>

<The future is limited, but I will not look to it.>

Schweitzer ran forward, seemingly pushed onward by the Texts, and Berger rushed up by Hazel’s side to meet him.

Schweitzer readied his prosthetic arm.

<Excellence is determined in the sky above.>

<The past is unlimited, but I will not listen to it.>

He shouted with his metal fist raised.

“Why would you try to block her will!?”

<Do not compare your height to others.>

Berger moved in front of Hazel as if to block Schweitzer’s words from reaching her.

<I will break it all and throw it out.>

He hopped a step forward with Gelegenheit at the ready. He shoved two Size C Phlogiston Tanks into the bottom of the hilt.

<All power is lost before them.>

Schweitzer shouted toward the growing black blade.

“Maybe it is all a lie! But!”

<We can redo it all.>

Hazel realized she and Berger had been surrounded by spatial barriers.

<The heights are for the soaring dragon.>

Lines of ether resembling bluish-white threads began to form 50-yard walls around them.

Nevertheless, she looked to Berger’s back and did not give up on running.

She leaned forward and kicked off the metal ground to keep moving.

She heard Schweitzer’s words.

“But she asked something of me.”

<The New World is a world that will not be lost.>

Past Berger’s back and outside the barrier, Schweitzer was sticking his biological left arm toward her. His eyes were directly on her.

He clenched that hand into a fist.

“She asked me to believe her no matter what lie she told.”

With those words, the barriers were complete.

<The depths are the foundation of the earth.>

In that instant, the ether inside the barriers came to a stop.

All light faded from her Messiah eye and the black blade vanished from Berger’s Gelegenheit.

<The New World is a world where nothing is lost.>

Then Schweitzer held his prosthetic arm and triggered its striking staff. An empty cartridge was ejected from the arm.

<The Hero defends the new world.>

A new barrier formed to surround running Berger and Hazel.

<But destiny has declared…>

He pointed his left thumb down to say “be destroyed”.

“Can you stop the millennium wheel behind us now that it has begun to turn once more!? Can you stop her lies!?”

Hazel listened to his shout.

She thought about herself, about someone much like her, and about the person by her side now.

So in the instant the interior of the barrier was crushed, she looked at Schweitzer.

When their gazes seemed to audibly crash together, she raised her voice.

“What are you trying protect!? The lies!? Or…”

<…that all forms, colors, sounds, and wills will be lost.>

I know it isn’t that, she thought before continuing.

“Or the will of the person who told the lies!?”

A pair of Aerial Words flashed just as she got the question out.

<The Messiah has destiny on her side.>

<Destiny will not abandon the Messiah.>

Their devices had been forcefully stopped, but they were restarted with a Beweisen. Gelegenheit resumed functioning.

The unstoppable black blade sliced through the barrier.

With a sound like shattering ice, the blue ether barrier split and burst.

While Berger made his follow through with Gelegenheit, Hazel raced past him.

Schweitzer stood in front of her. He was frowning and clenching his teeth.

He clenched his metal right fist enough to make a metallic noise and then raised it.

“I…!”

<I do not want to lose all that.>

Hazel chose to ignore what he said. She raced in at full speed, her boots pounding on the metal ground.

His fist flew straight toward her.

Unshaken, she raised Rein König, crouched down, and slipped below the fist.

Just as the attack whizzed over her head like a bullet, she swung Rein König forward with both her hands gripping its hilt tight. It was the exact motion she had done in practice countless times.

The white curve sliced through the wind and severed the metal arm at the shoulder.

When she heard the slicing of metal, she knew she had done enough. She threw herself forward and kept running.

She heard the last line of Lowenzahn’s Aerial Words.

<I do not want to lose any of that!>

Hazel nodded and saw an image of the past for one brief moment.

She saw the overhead view of a river flowing through a forest at night, she saw the pair of small villages built alongside it, and then even that disappeared.

But she said nothing.

Her vision returned as she ran into the door sitting open before her.

Part 7

She ran.

She ran through the darkness, broke through another door, and found a lit corridor just like Witzmann had said she would.

The place was deserted. She focused all her attention on her vision, ignoring all the sounds around her.

There was a door ahead, so she swung Rein König to break through. She didn’t need an Up. Her heightened will and her experience from battling Lillie let her Tune with just her words.

She didn’t know what it was she said.

But a piercing power emerged from the corridor’s thin air.

The power raced out and broke through the door, revealing the space on the other side.

It was another corridor with another thick door at the end.

A man stood to the side of that door. The tall, skinny elderly man wore a Geheimnis Agency Air Force Division combat coat. It was Schweitzer’s aide.

She felt bad that she couldn’t remember his name.

He faced her and bowed. The hand he held toward the door held a pistol.

She heard his voice with her will, not with her hearing that had faded away thanks to her intense concentration.

“Eingeweide gun Freischütz – Ober Beweisen.”

<One body gathers everything inside it. Another releases everything into the world. Which will you watch over? Which will you abandon?>

The muzzle flashed, but no bullet emerged.

Instead, Hazel saw a power. It flew toward the door and destroyed it.

But instead of destroying it in an ordinary fashion, all the screws and rails used to construct the door came apart in an instant. The door became no more than a few metal panels and other components and collapsed away from him.

Hazel bowed toward the elderly man as she ran by. She passed through the collapsing door in just three steps.

The door past it had been dismantled as well, so she ran through the gap that created.

She found a large space beyond.

The tall cylindrical space was the core of Tristan.

She found herself on a walkway crossing a seemingly bottomless pit.

… Neue Erde is here!

She saw a pillar running through the center of Tristan. There was a control panel where the walkway reached the pillar and a window was installed on the wall above that.

“That must be it!”

The sound returned to her ears then.

She heard Tristan’s pulse and a deep tremor of the air. They both rang loud like a shouting voice.

But she did not fear those sounds. She ran forward with Rein König ready in her right hand.

The window was right in front of her. The metal and plastic tubes on the other side were pulsating to show the massive device was reaching the height of its activity.

Something odd stuck out from the artificial veins that twisted around like serpents.

Hazel confirmed it was a woman’s hand.

The right hand had its palm up and an ear of golden wheat sat in that palm.

She leaped, raised Rein König in her right hand, and slammed it directly into the window.

The tip shattered the glass and pierced the metal pipes to stab deeper.

She felt it reach something.

Then she raised her voice to return the target’s Lives to normal.

“Ah.”

There was no hesitation in her voice.

…Because she’s so much like me!

Rein König’s blade shined bright, that light burned the pipes, raced across the control panel, and accelerated along the outer surface of the giant metal pillar.

She reached out her left hand and grabbed the outstretched right hand, pressing down on the ear of wheat.

“That’s enough. This can end.”

She sent her thoughts into Rein König, trusting it would reach the woman.

“This nightmare can finally end!”

Light exploded inside Tristan.

Everything was ending.

Part 8

August 24, 2:58 AM.

The protective dome of light covering Germania suddenly disappeared.

At the same time, two surges of bluish-white light raced across Tristan’s surface armor.

They were answered by one last gentle beat of its pulse followed by silence.

The pulse’s reverberation lingered for around 10 seconds before vanishing into the night sky.

Then Tristan and the shield facilities built in the four cardinal directions all went dark. The red lights of emergency power switched on instead. The red lights shined for a bit before vanishing as well.

The silence from the massive structure was followed by the seven black aerial warships losing control and stalling in midair. They whipped up the wind as they crashed outside the city and stopped moving.

Tristan and its defenses had lost all power, as had the control system that provided structural support.

The massive structure could not support its own weight without that.

It creaked and groaned before it began to collapse.

The cross looming tall in the night slowly began to fall.

Chapter 7: The Promise Rises

8/24/1943 02:59 – 04:20

The battle is over

The power is crumbling

Or so I thought

Or so I thought!

Part 1

Tristan’s interior was collapsing.

The roar of destruction began at about the exact moment Hazel took Lowenzahn’s hand and pulled her from the window.

She heard the damage from overhead where the metal panels forming the ceiling were bending and popping loose.

The creaking of metal came afterwards, but there was so very much of it.

The cacophony of friction filled the pit and was joined by the sound of metal breaking.

Once the ceiling and wall panels could no longer bear the stress they would break and pop out of place.

Then it all fell.

It scared her how the reverberating destruction shook her body, so she took a breath.

…I need to hurry.

She pulled on the hand, fully dragging Lowenzahn’s naked body out from behind the glass.

Hazel held her slender body.

The woman’s eyes were closed and her skin pale and clammy, but she had real weight to her and she was gently breathing.

That breathing was steady and constant, so Hazel nodded.

The destruction rang in her ears and shook her body, but she spoke the words in her mind aloud this time.

“I need to hurry!”

She turned back toward the walkway with Lowenzahn in her arms.

And…

“Eh?”

She saw the color black in front of her.

It was worn by a large man. She looked up to see Schweitzer standing there with the collapsing ceiling behind him.

His prosthetic right arm was still missing and he came to a stop a few paces away with his eyes shut.

“Could you leave her with me?”

Hazel smiled at the way he waited for her response.

She narrowed her eyes and showed her teeth.

“I have no reason not to.”

She recalled Eryngium’s song – the song that included the names of their devices.

…Yes, the Messiah isn’t the one who sets foot in the new world.

She spoke softly to Schweitzer over the din of the collapse.

“I will leave the new world with you, future hero.”

Part 2

Tristan’s launch pad provided a front-row view of the collapse.

The groan of the giant cross sounded like the roar of a waterfall.

The weight control and protective field needed to preserve Tristan had been lost, so the armor, the inner walls, and the frame were all bending and breaking.

The waterfall-like sound was played by an orchestra of falling parts.

Everything was stripped from the mile-tall structure and it all crumbled away like a sand dune.

The bottom of the launch pad bent and the exterior panels that couldn’t absorb the distortion started to come away and fall. From the upper armor of the RB-21 flying next to the launch pad, the falling armor looked like autumn leaves.

Several people were on top of the RB-21: the AIF and Geheimnis Agency soldiers who had been on the launch pad, as well as the people it had already picked up from the ground.

Two people stood on the very edge of the upper armor, waiting for someone to board from the launch pad.

Those two were Corelle and Jeanne. Jeanne looked to Corelle on her left.

“What’s taking them? Are they still in there?”

“They are taking their time. Hey, Berger, you go in after them!”

Corelle called back behind them, but received no response. Jeanne frowned and looked back to see the black-clad young man sitting in a chair-like hunk of metal with a look of disinterest on his face.

The hunk of metal was in fact a giant prosthetic arm. He pointed forward from there.

“They don’t need my help. See, here they come.”

Jeanne faced forward again to view the door that still had a black Grösse Panzer stabbing into it. A large man holding a woman wrapped in a black coat and a blonde woman were running out of the darkness beyond the door.

The launch pad shook violently at the same time.

“It’s collapsing!” shouted a Geheimnis Agent.

That was exactly what happened. The giant launch pad tilted down from its joint with the cross.

It pushed the wind out of the way while tilting with the weight and force of something sinking into water.

It produced the windy sound of pressurized air and the crack of breaking metal.

Schweitzer lowered his hips in the center of the launch pad to keep his balance.

Then he ran up the slanted floor.

The problem was Hazel behind him.

She failed to keep her balance and rolled once down the slope. And she rolled forward like she had thrown herself outwards.

Everyone on the RB-21 gasped.

Hazel rolled a second and third time, but she somehow managed to get back up and held down her skirt.

Everyone sighed when they saw her running toward them again.

When Jeanne realized how relieved she was, she looked to the others.

She smiled bitterly when she noticed similarly relieved looks on their faces.

“Why are we so worried?”

She was answered by an elderly voice from below.

“Because she is our leader, of course.”

“Witzmann!?”

She looked down to see a military two-hull warship ascending from Tempelhof Airport.

The black ship was about half a mile below them and she saw AIF and Geheimnis Agency soldiers and even her husband’s green Grösse Panzer on top of it.

Two old men stood on the front of the two hulls: Witzmann and Elrich.

Their ship was slowly but surely approaching.

Jeanne wasn’t the only one to notice it. Everyone around her was watching the girl running toward them, the man carrying their commander, and the two-hull ship.

It was that sight that led a Geheimnis Agent near her to reach a certain conclusion.

“So it’s over.”

That agent was an old man. He lowered his face a little while viewing the girl and the man carrying their commander.

“Deputy Chief, are you seeing this?” The old knight did not wait for her to reply. “The Messiah has saved the new world.”

Part 3

The AIF transport ship and the German two-hull warship approached in the sky.

Someone far below the sky was watching that encounter between the two forces.

That person was on the bottommost level of Germania.

There was a small park there so far down that the moonlight barely reached it.

A work of art could be found on the red brick ground at the center of the park.

It was a silver giant. The 8-yard giant wore silver armor, except its metal body was smashed and embedded in the red brick floor. It lay on its back with no left arm, a smashed chest, and both legs broken and burst.

The moonlight reflected off of several things on the sides of the hole that led all the way up to the surface.

Those were the places the silver Panzer had struck on its way down, leaving pieces of its armor behind.

Those armor fragments fell like sand on the center of the park where a man lay collapsed on his stomach.

He wore a terribly disheveled Geheimnis Agency officer uniform. He was missing his left arm and his prosthetic right arm was stabbed into the floor. Its metal fingers were spread out and fibrous metal wires ran from the hand to the ground.

His eyes were on the giant cross visible within the imperfect circle of the moon. And on the AIF transport ship and German two-hull ship floating next to it.

Something spread from his body on the moonlit floor.

The puddle looked nearly black in the pale moonlight.

A change occurred on the floor stained dark by that liquid.

A serpentine shadow formed on the red brick surface and that began to bulge out like a vein.

That was the result of Tristan’s power surging out into the ley lines.

A man’s hand silently moved above the red brick vein.

He said nothing, put up no resistance, and didn’t move his broken legs. He simply grabbed the floor with his right hand.

His finger armor came away and fibrous metal wires spilled out. They no longer took the shape of a hand, but those tiny metal wires moved thousands or tens of thousands of ways to grab ahold of the vein on the floor.

A scratchy voice left a bleeding mouth and spoke up into the sky.

“Is this compromise your answer?”

His eyes were on the two aerial ships in the sky.

He spoke as if savoring the flavor of the blood in his mouth.

“Instead of redoing it all, you would stage a revolution and make it so none of it ever happened?”

<Tragedy is found in the name of sacrifice.>

His forearm armor split and the metal wires controlling it were released.

“If you refuse to redo it all, then you mustn’t just forget the dead.”

The metal wires spread out across their moveable range and went taut, producing a sound like a string instrument.

“You must not hide them behind revolution. You must have the courtesy to say out loud that their deaths were meaningless!”

His eyes looked to his right shoulder without moving his head. There were two Phlogiston Plattes inside that shoulder armor.

“If this world cannot even do that, then it deserves to be destroyed!”

<Tragedy is an indelible memory.>

The man raised his voice, the words rushing from his opened mouth.

He shouted a couple of names. And then…

“Eingeweide arm Tragisch – Ober Beweisen.”

The two Phlogiston Plattes in his shoulder shattered and the metal wires spreading out across the floor swelled out.

Then he and the arm vanished.

All that remained was the dark blood puddle and the moonlight.

But a pulse pounded. The floor vein began to throb and beat.

Part 4

Hazel jumped to the RB-21 in the nick of time before the launch pad fell.

She kicked off the pad and leaped through the roar of bending and breaking metal.

For just two seconds, she felt like she would be pulled away by a great movement of the air, but then she landed on the RB-21’s metal upper armor.

She fell to her knees from exhaustion and the pain from when Rein König stabbed into her shoulder.

Everyone atop the ship paused.

But then they all shouted out loud and rushed toward her.

She tried to catch her breath while looking to the chorus of voices and footsteps.

Her allies and what had been her enemies were gathered around her.

They gave off red Lives of joy with a hint of confusion and they had smiles on their faces.

…They’re all okay.

At least for this one moment in time, the distinction between enemy and ally didn’t matter. She heard Tristan collapsing behind her and smiled while still out of breath.

But she lowered her head when pain stabbed into her right eye.

…Eh?

She felt a light itchy pain deep in that eye. The small pain was accompanied by a faint heat.

…What is this feeling?

She rubbed her eye and heard Corelle’s voice.

“Hazel!”

The sharp shout got her to look right, where Corelle stood within arm’s reach.

“Hazel. Your eye is doing its thing again!”

That freaked her out. Cold sweat instantly covered her back and pushed her to action.

She quickly pulled Rein König out from under her arm and viewed her reflection in its blade.

“My Messiah eye has turned red on its own.”

Before she could ask why, the supposedly stopped and crumbling Tristan began to pulse again.

Part 5

It was undoubtedly a deafening heartbeat.

The sky, earth, and everyone listening were shaken equally.

This was the same vibration as when Tristan was initially boosted.

That was why Hazel held her right eye and stood up on the RB-21.

“Tristan is starting back up!? But why!?”

The giant cross did not answer. It only quickened its pulse and continued shaking even as it fell apart.

The atmospheric reverberation resumed and everything shook. That tremor was answered by lights shining from Tristan’s surface. The lights came back on, starting at the bottom and gradually working their way back up, growing brighter all the while.

An old man spoke from the two-hull ship floating behind Hazel.

“It’s Tragisch! And he hasn’t just restarted Tristan with his Beweisen! He’s Schreibened into it with his Ober Beweisen! Tristan is so unstable right now this is sure to cause it’s Tons to collapse!”

That shout was followed by some Aerial Words. They came from Tristan, carried by the tremor and the pulse.

I grant power to those who were sacrificed

So that those who have already been lost

Are not erased by the hypocrisy of the survivors

They were simple Aerial Words, but their effect was seen near instantly.

Germania exploded.

“–––––!”

Everything inside the 6-mile-wide pit was obliterated and erupted from the ground.

The people, the buildings, the dirt, the vegetation, and everything else was consumed.

So much dust and ether flew skyward like a geyser. The gray pillar stretched far taller than even Tristan.

Several layers of what looked like white umbrellas spread out around the rising pillar of smoke.

A shockwave rushed out through the air.

The roar slammed into the two-hull warship and the RB-21 just as they turned their bellies toward Germania.

So many things cried out in terror and were blown away in the name of powerlessness.

Part 6

The shockwave spread the dust outwards and engulfed Tristan in a mere two seconds.

A new air current formed and the dust began to swirl. The electrification caused by the rupturing air created lightning that crackled outwards as bluish-white bolts.

Below the dust, several explosive booms sounded from the surface and spread outwards.

The gulping roar of the thunder joined another sound to race through the sky and along the earth.

That sound was a rhythmic pulse that almost sounded like slapping flesh. It sent a tremor through everything.

The giant cross could be seen as a faint shadow within the dust, but it was beginning to sink downwards.

The pulse’s rhythm gradually sped up as Tristan sank.

The swirling dust began to expand while the tower disappeared.

The electrified dust’s rotation sped up as it spread, so it had already become a massive whirlwind.

When the dust swept through, the earth and sky would crack open and the ether would destroy and consume everything in its path.

It made an icy sound like glass breaking. That sound was incessant as the thunderclouds that appeared around Germania spread out in all directions.

That movement and the pulse grew more intense and refused to stop.

Part 7

Someone came to within the roaring wind and the trembling air.

It was Lowenzahn.

She groaned and twisted her body.

Her blue eyes slowly opened below her wrinkled brow.

She narrowed her eyes against the light while her eyes came into focus and an expression of puzzlement formed on her face.

She moved her eyes to take a look around.

She saw a low ceiling overhead and she was lying on something like a chair. Covering her body was…

“A blanket,” she muttered as her eyes focused further.

There was an unopenable round window on the wall to her right.

Then she saw the massive thunderclouds rotating in the night sky.

She couldn’t tell how far away they were. They were a gray so dark it was nearly black, they extended high into the sky, and they stretched out horizontally to fill her entire view. The different layers of cloud were rotating at different speeds, creating a surface pattern similar to braided hair.

This space was a long way from the clouds. She could see the moonlit forest below.

She had only been using her eyes, but now she slowly turned her head to see further into the distance. She hadn’t moved for a while, so her body cried out in protest.

But she didn’t care. Her cheeks bent in pain as she turned her head to look out the window.

“What are those dark clouds?”

Her question was answered by a woman’s voice directly to her left.

“Half an hour has passed since Tristan was restarted by Tragisch. We are on the bridge of an AIF transport ship above the forest near Hamburg, my commander.”

It was Jeanne’s voice.

Lowenzahn nodded and viewed the massive collection of dark clouds.

The occasional bluish-white light would flash through them, illuminating their center. Even the dark clouds looked white in the light and they displayed the shape of the object inside them like they were a screen.

She saw a moving silhouette within the clouds. It looked like a great serpent.

“That devastating dragon has grown more than 30 miles long. Tristan’s Tons have scattered and formed that ether dragon which is beginning to consume this world.”

That was Schweitzer’s voice.

Lowenzahn sighed at the familiar voice and held herself inside the blanket.

“I see. So I was removed from Tristan and Heiliger took over.” Her voice was scratchy. “So I lost?”

No one answered her.

But that silence was as good as an answer, so she smiled bitterly. Then she looked out the window again.

The giant dragon silhouette was dancing within the dark clouds.

“How much longer until the world changes, Jeanne?”

“It is currently 3:45 AM. So we have less than an hour.”

“That’s not good. You get what this means, right? That is the result of Tristan’s scattered Tons, isn’t it? Then it will contain the Spacetime Tons extracted before Tristan was stopped. And without Neue Erde, those Tons can’t be extracted anymore.”

A few seconds of silence followed.

Finally, Schweitzer spoke toward the floor.

“The vision of the past we all had while fighting was of before Berlin’s twin cities period.”

“Yes. Most likely, around a thousand years’ worth of Spacetime Tons are inside that dragon. Once its Tons scatter too much and it can’t maintain that form, it will explode and destroy those Spacetime Tons. Similarly, if we destroy that dragon before that happens…”

She took a breath and then stated her guess.

“If we destroy it, it will trigger the Nibelung!”

She looked back.

She grimaced at the pain in her body, but she looked to the two people there.

Jeanne kneeled on the floor and…

“Captain, you don’t have to force yourself into such a cramped space.”

Lowenzahn laughed bitterly because Schweitzer was crouched down with his head bent over to look down at her. He accepted her laugh with a disheartened look.

“But I cannot just leave you alone either.”

“Thanks.”

Her quick response helped soften his expression while he looked at her.

She held her knees below the blanket and looked up at him with a smile.

That was all it took to communicate what they were each thinking, so they shifted to tenser expressions.

“Jeanne, do the others know about this? If Elrich is here, tell him to work out a countermeasure ASAP. We need a way to destroy the dragon but not trigger the Nibelung.”

Lowenzahn held the left side of her chest below the blanket and looked directly at Jeanne.

She saw Jeanne’s deadly serious face, so she spoke sharply.

“Your commander was bested by your leader, so I will follow her will. If Fräulein Kitty wouldn’t let me die when I wanted to, then I’m going to assume she’s safe too. And I know what she must be thinking.”

“About what to do now?”

“Yes. So as commander, I transfer all authority over the Geheimnis Agency to her.”

Lowenzahn shut her eyes.

“Of course.” She lowered her eyebrows a bit and forced a smile. “I doubt anyone still trusts me enough to take orders from me anyway.”

Jeanne immediately stood up and shook her head.

“You needn’t worry about-” she began.

Just then, a sound dropped between Jeanne and Lowenzahn.

The sound came from a metal plate slipping out of Jeanne’s pocket.

The dim reserve lighting caused the plate’s surviving text to shine bright.

Lowenzahn’s eyes slowly moved to read the few shining words.

“ ‘War’, ‘Nibelung’, ‘1943’, ‘sin’. And lastly…’take care of-’ ”

Her expression changed as she read them aloud.

Surprise colored her face and she looked to Jeanne.

“Is this what my mother placed in the underground knowledge storehouse?”

“Yes. Witzmann left it with me. He said to give it to someone who fit those words.”

Jeanne picked up the plate, frowned, and viewed its words.

She chose her words carefully while asking Lowenzahn a question.

“Take care of what, I wonder. Of the Nibelung maybe?”

“W-well,” started Lowenzahn, but she was interrupted by a deep, male voice from overhead.

It spoke a longer series of words.

“The next war will be fought over the Nibelung. In 1943, we will pass all of our sin on to the next generation. If you happen to read this, then please take care of my daughter.”

The flowing words came from Schweitzer.

Part 8

The two women turned to see the large man with a thick journal open in his hands.

He closed it and held it out toward Lowenzahn.

“I doubt anyone understands the true will of Frobel Naylor, who helped created the Geheimnis Agency. She hoped to bring about the Nibelung, but contradictorily, she was also concerned for your safety, Lowenzahn.”

Lowenzahn’s eyebrows fell and she squeezed her mouth shut.

She said nothing, so Schweitzer continued.

“But,” he began. “At the moment, we are all safe and we are waiting for a new world. I choose to believe this is the answer she wanted and it is the result of fulfilling her promise.”

When he finished, Jeanne held the plate out toward Lowenzahn.

Lowenzahn accepted the items.

And she held them tight.

Her blanket rustled as she held those two physical remnants of her mother’s will and curled up.

“It was awfully convenient how all this worked out,” she said, a smile of relief on her face.

She took a breath.

But then they heard a quiet tongue click from the direction of the pilot’s seat at the front of the bridge.

The three of them gasped and turned toward the tongue click.

Next to the cramped pilot’s seat was the seat for the navigator who also handled communications. The AIF soldier who stood from there threw his headphones to the floor and ran toward the door leading from the bridge.

“What is it!?” asked Schweitzer in English.

The answer came in a strong tone.

It was a short answer.

“The ACBS was launched!”

“What!?”

The navigator explained with panic in his voice while he ran down the narrow aisle between the seats.

“They stopped the reverse pressurization, but as soon as they learned about the dragon, the high-speed bomber fleet flying this way launched the ACBS! They’re targeting the great black dragon. The ETA is 4:42 AM!”

Jeanne stood all the way up when she heard that time.

“Does destiny want the Nibelung to happen!?” she asked through clenched teeth.

“If the ACBS collides with the dragon, it will destroy that millennium’s worth of Spacetime Tons.” Lowenzahn also stood up. “Jeanne! You and him hurry to the others!”

She stood on unsteady legs that nearly gave out under her, so Schweitzer supported her.

She accepted his assistance while clutching the two items left behind by her mother.

“I can apologize or make excuses to the others later. Now it’s my turn to trust them. Trust that they will follow my orders. …So tell them this.” She took a breath. “Every last member of the Geheimnis Agency is to serve the Messiah. Because she is sure to make the choice that gets us out of this bind.”

She smiled.

“Because she is sure to decide she doesn’t want to lose the present.”

Part 9

Hazel stood on the RB-21’s windy upper armor, staring east.

She saw a massive black storm there. The clouds highlighted the black dragon’s shape whenever the lightning flashed.

She clenched her teeth, furrowed her brow, and watched how the clouds moved.

And she thought to herself.

…Why?

“Why would that kind Karlsruhe man do this?”

She shook her head to cast the words from her mind.

She viewed the clouds around her.

The RB-21 had finished escaping, so it was hovering in the sky alongside the German two-hull warship.

She saw Sylphide’s shape in the imperfect circle of the moon overhead.

She sighed while viewing that shape in the sky and the lights coming from the windows of the two-hull ship.

…This isn’t over yet, is it?

So she gave a single deep nod before turning around.

There were around a dozen people there.

The people seated on the RB-21’s upper armor were the main fighters of the AIF and Geheimnis Agency with the exception of Pale and Heiliger. Noting Berger among them, Hazel’s expression softened somewhat.

Am I too tense? she wondered, taking a step toward him.

Then a shorter person stood up from the sitting group.

The old man in a white coat was Geheimnis Agency Development Division Chief Elrich.

His head was lowered and he kept his hands in his coat pockets.

“Are you ready now? Have you calmed down?”

“Yes. I banished all those unnecessary thoughts from my mind.”

“Then I would like to state my conclusion, starting from what I told you earlier.” His lips bent just a bit as he started to stay something, stopped, and forced it out anyway. “The dragon which has swallowed both the Spacetime Tons and the anxiety Tons will consume the entire world when its Tons collapse. And now that ACBS is on its way. If we are to break free of this…”

He paused to choose his words and Hazel saw a certain color in his Tons.

It was the yellowish-green of a troubled and uncertain kind of consideration.

She viewed that extra-yellowish color while watching his face.

He had strong-willed eyebrows, sharp eyes, and thin lips.

…He looks like a very reliable person.

But he was currently hesitating even as that reliable side led him to choose his words.

So she made up her mind. She spoke before he could continue.

“You don’t have to make yourself say it. I think this was always how I wanted to do it.”

Elrich raised his lowered head.

She spoke to the surprise and confusion on his face.

“I already know how to break free of this.”

She laughed at Elrich’s shocked reaction and then looked behind him.

Someone in a black coat sat a short distance from the ring of people.

He didn’t look back her way, but she still spoke loud enough that he could hear her.

“When I stopped Tristan, it must have already extracted about a thousand years’ worth of Spacetime Lives – bringing it back to just before Berlin came to be.”

She took a breath.

“So,” she continued, but before she could say more, Berger spat out a comment of his own, his back still turned.

“That’s no reason to believe in some stupid joke, Hazel.”

His tone rather than his words deepened her smile.

She organized her thoughts and resumed speaking.

“Um,” she began. “If my Messiah eye’s Ober Beweisen can identify the Spacetime Lives and I can tune them, then I will appear in the past as the Messiah. Just as a Tuner this time.”

“Well done.” Elrich nodded and took over the explanation. “Of course, you cannot repair such a massive amount of Tons with just Rein König. That is why we must strengthen Rein König and use Sylphide’s Panzer Emblem. It should be possible for the Panzer Emblem’s ether to combine with the Tons emitted by Rein König.”

“Really?” Hazel breathed an impressed sigh while looking up at Sylphide floating overhead. “Then is the only problem whether I am a good enough Tuner to pull it off?”

“Correct. Since you are a Tuner, you must correct the contradictions in history and control everything from the past to the present. And this control must be carefully done because you need to preserve a present day where the Panzerpolis Project happens and where the next you is given a choice similar to the one where you become a Tuner.”

So…

“So I think whether or not you go to the past should be a choice made by you alone.”

“Thank you for your kindness.”

She smiled bitterly and bowed toward Elrich.

He wasn’t sure how to respond, but finally nodded and held his head high.

The bald-headed elderly man seated next to him jabbed him in the hip. That was Intelligence Division Chief Witzmann.

“Since when were you so bashful?”

“Shut up, youngster.”

The bitterness left Hazel’s smile when she saw those two exchanging jabs.

Then she walked toward the others, holding Rein König in both hands behind her and trying to remain cheerful.

She viewed all those people seated below the windy night sky.

Corelle, Coolers, and the various AIF battalion commanders were there from the AIF. Elrich, Witzmann, Müller, Jeanne, and some other deputy chiefs were there from the Geheimnis Agency.

Schweitzer and Lowenzahn were not with them yet. Lowenzahn was still being checked over by the doctor.

But Hazel walked up to the one man who had removed himself from that ring of people.

The black-clad young man sat with his back to the others.

Part 10

Hazel crouched to Berger’s left, looked at his face in profile, and asked a question.

“Um, Berger?”

She waited three seconds, but he didn’t respond.

“Um,” she repeated. “Aren’t you going to answer, Berger?”

Still nothing.

She sighed and let her shoulders droop before gabbing his left ear and tugging.

“Ber – ger!”

“Ow, ow, ow! What is wrong with you? The Wild Hund’s ears don’t stand up, so stop pulling like that.”

He brushed off her hand and she smiled.

“So you can hear me. Then you need to answer. I have something important to discuss with you.”

She kept smiling, but he looked less than pleased.

“Something important? You mean your decision, right?”

“Oh? If you knew what I wanted, why were you ignoring me?”

“Oh, come on.” He jerked his chin toward her face without any change of expression. “Take a look at your face. I can tell you’ve already made up your mind.”

“Eh?” She set down Rein König and touched her face.

“See what I mean?” said Berger. “That bashful old fart was afraid to make you choose, but you’ve already got the look of someone who’s itching to get started.”

He was right. The smile she felt on her face was just like that.

…I’m just so happy I can do this the way I most wanted to.

When she thought back on everything that had happened – especially what had happened in Borderson – the smile grew.

“If I do this, I can stop the Wheel of Destiny…and everyone can stay almost entirely unchanged.”

She removed her hand from her face and moved in front of Berger while still crouched. She tilted her head.

“But are you worried for me?”

“Course I am.”

“But I’m not as dumb as you think I am.”

“I’d noticed. Your way dumber than I ever could’ve imagined.”

Once he said that, Corelle turned around from the ring of people.

She looked to Hazel and spoke with some exasperation on her face.

“I hate to interrupt your flirting, but have you made your decision? If Hazel is going to the past, then you’re going with her, aren’t you, Berger?”

Elrich nodded.

“Most likely, the German Tons placed inside them will react when the Spacetime Tons are tuned and returned to the ley lines. The History Tons in there will resonate with the Spacetime Tons and they might tear you apart if you don’t travel through time with them.”

“Looks like you get to enjoy a nice trip through time together,” said Corelle.

But Berger shook his head and frowned.

“That isn’t happening. I don’t think those are inside me anymore.”

His tone and his words wiped the smile from Hazel’s face.

She took a breath, lowered her head just a bit, and muttered, “So he noticed.”

“Yes,” she said out loud. “During our Live Session, I swapped out the German Lives inside him that weren’t affected by the serum with the ones inside me that were affected by the serum.”

“Did you think the Wild Hund shouldn’t be bound by anything? Not by this country and not by you?”

She nodded, bit her lower lip, and looked away from him.

She looked to the Sylphide’s cockpit so far above. That cockpit was built for the Messiah and it only held one.

“I think this is the happiest choice. It just requires some patience from me. So…”

She lowered her gaze to look Berger in the eye.

She smiled and then reached out her hand to take his.

“I will do everything I can to make it work. Once I end up in the past, I will write letters to you in the AIF. And when I return to the present, I will go to Borderson and call myself Lehrer. And…”

“And then go to Hamburg last month?”

“Yes,” she said firmly, squeezing his hand. “But I don’t intend to sacrifice myself. I will go to the past, return to the present, and then do all the things I wanted to do after the war.”

She kept his hand in hers and asked a question of him and the others behind him.

“Maybe I’m being selfish, but are any of you willing to help me?”

Part 11

“You only have to do it if you want to. Please make your own decisions.”

Hazel smiled a little, let go of Berger’s hand, and stood up.

Then she slowly, slowly looked around at the others.

But none of them responded right away, so she asked again, still smiling.

“What do you say?”

“Yes, ma’am,” replied a Heavy Barrel on the rear of the two-hull warship flying alongside them.

The speaker named himself before she could turn that way.

“Geheimnis Agency Army Division Chief ‘Eisen Panzer’ Karl Schmitt reporting in. I agree with the Messiah.”

A short man responded by standing up from the ring of people. That was Müller.

“Air Force Division Chief ‘Standhaft’ Herbert Müller reporting in as well. I will provide what little assistance I can.”

Someone else nodded next to him. Elrich pulled some plans from his pocket and breathed an exasperated sigh.

“Development Division Chief ‘Dachs’ Konrad Elrich. I will help to clean up my own tech’s mess.”

Witzmann pursued each of them with the click of a camera each time.

“I, Intelligence Division ‘Hellsehen’ Galue Witzmann, shall serve you for my own amusement and for the practical benefit.”

“Pipe down. We got to know Hazel before any of you,” said Corelle with a shrug and an exaggerated look of annoyance. “Not a fan of working with the Geheimnis Agency, but AIF Aerial Division Corelle Sevan is with you to the end.”

“Same. I don’t like a lot about this, but AIF Army Division Robert E Coolers is in too.”

It wasn’t just the ones who spoke aloud. The volunteers stood up and turned to face Hazel.

Then a higher-pitched female voice spoke up.

“Geheimnis Agency Commander ‘Neue Erde’ Lowenzahn Naylor will be serving the Messiah too.”

A hatch on the upper armor opened and Lowenzahn emerged wrapped in a blanket.

Schweitzer helped support her and nodded toward Hazel.

Lowenzahn smiled with just her lips and viewed the others.

Her eyes stopped on the black color standing up in front of Hazel.

That was Berger.

He sighed and looked her in the eye with a look of defeat on his face, but then he spoke.

“You’re being way too selfish here, Hazel.”

She didn’t say a word. She only listened to him call her name.

“But I will protect you, even if it won’t last long, Hazel Mirildorf.”

Part 12

At 3:59 AM, the RB-21 and Sylphide, with Hazel and Berger on its roof, accelerated through the western sky toward Borderson.

Schweitzer, Bermark, and Lowenzahn rode the Neue Silber transport ship and flew toward Germania’s clouds accompanied by Neue Blau and Neue Zinnobar.

They had decided the Tuning would have the smallest margin of error if the changed object was removed as far as possible from the location of the scattering, so their job was to pin the dragon in place.

Everyone else moved to the German land where the Live breakdown had begun. They equipped themselves as they saw fit and formed a straight-line formation that created a path from Germania to the North Sea.

Their plan was simple: intercept the ACBS when it arrived from the North Sea, use Sylphide’s Panzer Emblem to consume its destructive power and the scattered earth and structures, and create their own dragon large enough to compete with the Tragisch dragon.

The anxiety Lives would be destroyed using the power taken from the ACBS and the Spacetime Lives would be tuned using Sylphide’s Panzer Emblem.

If they pulled that off, the anxiety would be negated and history could continue on into the future.

Their acceleration route was a 150-mile line that passed through Borderson on the way to Germania.

At 4:20 AM, Sylphide was waiting on the border with Poland when it spotted a small light in the west and its engine gave a roar.

The RB-21 noticed the ACBS as well, so it accelerated out ahead. The atmospheric rift created by the RB-21’s passage allowed the blue ship to accelerate without having to worry about a wall of air in front of it.

Far in the distance, the great dragon released a short roar that resembled a pulse.

Chapter 8: The Promise Arrives

8/24/1943 04:22 – 05:41

It is time to conclude this battle

Does following the past give our actions meaning?

Or does not following it give them meaning?

The choice is ours

Part 1

The eastward acceleration began all at once.

Sylphide pursued the RB-21, flying in its airstream pocket.

Hazel wielded Rein König and Berger wielded Gelegenheit atop Sylphide’s roof.

A half-yard wooden box sat at Hazel’s feet. Its contents were a motley collection.

Rings, short swords, torn-off medals, coins, memos, and more were all thrown inside.

“I asked for anything carrying memory Lives, but I didn’t expect every single one of them to have something.”

“Will you be using that to create the dragon?”

“Yes. I figured using this would allow some of their memories to become a part of this land.”

And…

“I will see them all in my dream. In my dream of standing at the forefront of a thousand years of history.”

She looked up to see the northern sky on her left. A light other than the moon shined near the North Sea there.

That was the North Star.

She recalled when Sylphide had flown up toward that star.

Then Corelle spoke over the exterior speaker.

“We’re approaching our limit here! It’s going to catch up behind us in another 30 seconds!”

Hazel nodded and shouted.

“Sylphide!”

<The Wind races across the sky.>

Sylphide accelerated upwards while keeping itself parallel to the ground. It emerged from the RB-21’s pocket.

The air kept around the ship with inertial control roared as it crashed into the exterior air.

But Sylphide still accelerated. A water vapor explosion instantly passed from the nose to the rear of the ship.

Four shapes lined up alongside Sylphide. They were all Geheimnis Agency fighters that had accelerated along with the RB-21.

The pilots raised a hand in greeting within the moonlit canopies.

Hazel nodded back as a shadow was cast on them all from overhead.

A 100-yard oblong ship flew above them. The steel projectile had no windows and was painted white.

“The ACBS!”

Hazel looked out ahead while also viewing the skinny contrail trailing behind the ACBS’s armor. It was moving faster, so its tail soon came into view.

She could see the ACBS was flying toward the massive collection of dark clouds in the eastern sky.

The light of its rear thrusters was a sharp red that stabbed into the dark clouds.

The four fighters roared as they approached that red. They scattered, ascended along a diagonal trajectory, and began their attack on the ACBS while leaving a clear path in the center for Sylphide.

Hazel was surrounded by the roaring of wind as she kept her eyes dead ahead on the ACBS’s light.

Sylphide accelerated in response.

The streamlined ACBS was 100 yards along and painted in white aerial camouflage.

But its size was nearly meaningless in combat fought at supersonic speed.

The power of the wind couldn’t be sensed as sound and it couldn’t sweep anything away.

This battle would be determined purely by their combined strength.

Four fighters and one ship repeatedly accelerated to catch up to the ACBS.

At half a mile away, the ACBS’s antiair fire control device locked onto each of the approaching enemy crafts. It predicted their courses and directed its interception weapons toward them.

The homing round launchers on the top of the ship all opened at once and released metal bullets.

All 8 launchers fired 8 rounds each for a total of 64.

They fired three waves like that for a grand total of 192 rounds flying toward Sylphide and the fighters.

The first to respond were the two fighters to Sylphide’s right.

“Leave it to us!”

They flew out ahead and continued forward while launching homing rounds of their own.

A third of the enemy shots focused on those two. Around a dozen were shot down by the fighters’ shots, triggering explosions.

The fighters forced their way through a gap in the explosions, drawing the metal bullets toward them.

Their wings broke through the white wind and then turned so sharply to the right it looked like the fighters themselves were bending.

Most of the ACBS’s homing rounds turned right to pursue them.

But the rapid maneuvering slammed the two fighters into a wall of air. They accelerated while hit by the air resistance.

They were instantly dragged back behind Sylphide.

They disappeared from view and two explosions erupted behind the rest of them.

But no one turned to look that way.

The barrage of homing rounds had been thinned out.

Sylphide thrust its glowing blades forward from its front Power Points.

It swung the swords to slice through the barrage and cover for the fighters to its left.

The view ahead opened up. The ACBS’s tail was visible there.

The ACBS immediately fired again.

The armor on the center of its bridgeless deck opened and curving lines of light shot out.

That was a multi-dragon cannon.

The homing rounds had gathered the enemy together in the center so these more direct attacks could hit them.

Sylphide accelerated, its pair of fangs still in the follow through from its previous attack.

It didn’t have time to ready them again. It needed to ascend and move away for the time being.

But something prevented that.

The two black fighters on its left fired their own lights as they flew out ahead.

They shot through the barrage, but it wasn’t enough. They were hit.

Metal snapped, the buffeting wind bent their frames, and they broke with a sound like shattering glass.

At these speeds, destruction was an instantaneous thing.

Sylphide further approached the ACBS in the time it took for the two fighters to be fully destroyed.

The ACBS’s large white shape was already directly below Sylphide.

All the multi-dragon cannons on the ACBS’s upper surface aimed for Sylphide and fired.

Sylphide was much too close to dodge.

The two fighters were breaking apart from the hits they had taken. Their wings were torn away, their ejection devices launched from their canopies, and their wreckage fell atop the ACBS.

Sylphide saw the ACBS preparing to fire its light past the falling wreckage.

Ordinary weapons fire wasn’t going to take down that ship.

Sylphide’s weaponry wasn’t equipped any better than a fighter, so none of its weapons were particularly powerful.

The ACBS was confident in its superiority as it prepared to fire its multi-dragon cannons.

But something happened atop the Sylphide a moment before it could.

The woman standing on the blue ship had her hair whip in the wind while she swung around a certain color.

That color was white and it took the shape of a sword. The tip stabbed into Sylphide’s roof.

She let out an “ah” and…

“Eingeweide aerial ship Sylphide – Ober Beweisen.”

The power that questions the future in the name of the wind is the power that resides within me in the present

The same power is seen in the sky above – the power that brings fear and propels us ever onward

“Panzer Emblem Wind Dragon – activate.”

The transformation power ignited in an instant.

Something like glowing water flowed out from Sylphide’s front armor and instantly covered the rest of it.

The shape slicing through the wind changed with a sound like groaning metal and like splashing water.

A blue dragon appeared in the sky, casting a hostile light on the moonlit ship below it.

The blue dragon grew to more than half a mile long and the ACBS fired its multi-dragon cannons at it.

The wind dragon ignored the bursting sounds as it flew. It soared through the wind and twisted around to arrive behind the ACBS.

The light of the multi-dragon cannons destroyed the falling fighter wreckage.

But it was too late. The majority of the shots lost sight of the dragon and fell to the earth on all sides.

The light exploded, but the sound could not keep up with their speed.

Even the light was left behind.

All that remained were the ACBS and the dragon shining a bluish-white.

The blue dragon opened its maw and roared.

The ACBS fired all of its rear weaponry straight back.

The dragon would have to escape to either the left or right. The woman riding the dragon made the decision.

She stared directly ahead at the incoming barrage and swung her right hand forward to point at it.

“Full speed ahead!”

The dragon responded with a roar and a charge. It slipped through the barrage and crashed into the rear of the ACBS.

The impact knocked the ACBS’s tail upwards and its rear armor split.

But even that only lasted a moment. The dragon accelerated again, roaring as it parted the wind.

The dragon’s light ran from the ACBS’s tail to the nose. The light produced a small explosion as it broke through to the ship’s nose and all the glowing multi-dragon cannons erupted with pillars of fire.

A moment later, the entire ACBS exploded.

The explosion sounded like a crashing waterfall, but even that noise was devoured by the wind dragon.

The explosions’ light and noise were swallowed by the wind dragon’s body.

The blue dragon accelerated and raced forward.

Part 2

The battle had already begun in Germania’s sky.

Turbulence formed a rapid leftward vortex while Geheimnis Agency fighters and attack craft dodged the lightning and flew along with the Neue Silber transport ship.

The dome of dark clouds had formed an 80-mile-radius area of pressurized space within.

A black color floated at the center of the swirling air currents and pressure.

That massive color was covered in bluish-white flashes of lightning and it continued to grow despite already being more than 35 miles long.

The long, twisting body had a vaguely lupine face, but the pair of horns marked it as a dragon’s face instead.

The colossal dragon made large but swift movements. It floated just off the surface, its belly scraping along and tearing up the ground to devour it.

Its movements caused deafening noises as it tore through the air and left white clouds in its wake.

Great cracks ran through the lightning-filled air and dark ground below it.

Space itself shattered like glass and was consumed by the dragon’s surface. Dirt, trees, wind, buildings, and other things with so many different meanings and colors all vanished into the dark color.

Even the slightest movement of that color broke the sound barrier.

Simply raising its head would shatter the wind, cause flashes of light, and produce clouds.

The many fighters and attack craft were buffeted by the wind and forced to match the swirling of the dark clouds to make their attacks.

Neue Silber pushed aside the wind as it flew. Its container portion opened to reveal its trio of 75mm guns that repeatedly fired. The blue and red Grösse Panzers flying behind it used their rifles to fire.

But the size difference was simply too great.

The black dragon’s body was nearly two miles thick.

Each of its scales was larger than a bigger aerial warship.

The wind blew and several beams of light flew from its neck.

Those Drache Kanone were anti-personnel ones only about 5 yards thick.

The black dragon transformed the weapons it consumed and used them for itself.

Six shots flew, one of them toward Neue Silber.

Just before a direct hit, bluish-white threads of light flew from the top of Neue Silber.

The threads raced through the air to form a cube of barriers.

The light entered that cube and was rotated around 180 degrees.

The dragon light came back out the way it had come and crashed into the dragon.

The dragon trembled just a bit and the sharp yellow eyes on its long face moved.

It saw a man and a woman standing atop Neue Silber.

The man had only one arm. His left hand held a wooden staff while he glared at the dragon.

The woman next to him held the left side of her chest while the blanket she wore whipped in the wind. She looked up as if returning the dragon’s gaze and shouted into the wind.

“The Vaterlands remain intact! And I can boost their power some small amount with Neue Erde!”

<The New World is the fatherland’s future!>

Lowenzahn’s pulse rang loud while she frowned and tensed the hand holding her chest.

The fighters and attack craft responded.

Their pilots spoke their Erklärungs, reciting the Vaterland Text as they flew.

They regrouped into two formations and got to work. They pushed through the wind and soared high to approach the dragon. The sounds of their weapons fire echoed across the sky.

Schweitzer listened to the rumble of their divine spell gunpowder while he rotated his staff with his left hand.

The staff roared in the wind and light wrapped around its wooden surface.

“The boosted Tons makes my barrier spells that much easier.”

He struck the space ahead of him with the staff.

The black dragon’s face audibly shattered like glass.

The noise was carried out by the wind escaping a 50-yard square hole in the dragon’s face.

That was small compared to the nearly 2-mile face, but the dragon still narrowed its eyes and shook its head in irritation. The wind blew and the fighter formation left the immediate airspace.

Meanwhile, light gathered on the dragon’s face, healing its wound.

After its face healed, the dragon began to lift itself upwards.

“Eh?”

Lowenzahn braced against the coming impact of air, but then she noticed the dragon’s gaze.

Its sharp yellow eyes were directed to the west.

“That is where Sylphide has activated its Panzer Emblem,” said Bermark in his fussy voice.

Schweitzer spun his staff around with a smile on his lips.

“So Sir Heiliger knows who his true opponent is!”

That shout was answered by sudden movement from the dragon.

It looked up toward the dome of dark clouds overhead.

It opened its mouth.

A sound rumbled out from the throat beyond its long fangs. A series of sounds.

The sounds gathered together and formed light. This was not a Drache Kanone. It was…

“Tristan’s Babel Gewehr!”

An explosion shot skyward.

The clouds were instantly vaporized. Their rotation was pushed outwards.

They rapidly spread out, their electrification intensified, and they swallowed up everything as far as the Hamburg region.

The roar of air and expansion of clouds created a massive dragon’s den. Moonlight shined down among the dark clouds, but even the moonlight was broken down into Tons and absorbed by the dragon.

The air, land, water, and buildings covered by the dark clouds began to crack and split. With a metallic scraping sound, everything within a radius of more than 80 miles broke apart and turned to ether light.

The land around the dragon shattered like glass.

This formed a giant glass flower garden. The moonlit garden of spatial cracking instantly covered the land.

The ether soaring up from the shattered land flew in arcs to be absorbed by the dragon.

Then Schweitzer saw something from atop Neue Silber.

Seven lights flew from the dragon’s belly and into the sky.

“Are those the Erlkönigs!? Are they meant to intercept Sylphide!?”

Lowenzahn nodded and frowned.

“This is a good sign. It means the dragon fears Sylphide.” She returned her eyes to the dragon, her hand still on her chest. “Continue fighting! Our Messiah will reach us!”

Part 3

Hazel scattered sparkling light from the Sylphide dragon’s back.

She took the memory offerings from the box at her feet and threw them into the air one by one.

The rings, coins, and such shined in the moonlight as they danced through the wind and sank into the Panzer Emblem’s ether.

The dragon gradually grew each time.

Hazel pulled some red objects from her pocket: a red ring, a red earring, and the bracelet she had found in Sylphide.

She let them all sink into the roaring dragon as fuel. Not one of the offerings was wasted.

The last things left in the box were a metal plate and a journal.

She picked one up in each hand and offered them to the sky simultaneously.

The journal’s pages audibly flipped as it sank into the wind.

Lastly, she threw the empty box itself.

Sylphide consumed it as well.

“Oh, dear,” she said with a hand on her cheek.

“It’s not a trashcan,” said Berger.

“I didn’t mean it-”

She stopped before saying “like that”. She had noticed Berger was facing the ground rushing by behind them. Gelegenheit had already grown a black blade in preparation to fight.

She knew why. Something was rushing through the dark forest below to pursue them.

She tried to get a better look at it, but Berger stopped her.

“Hazel! Do your Ober Beweisen now!”

“Eh?”

“You can’t do it on a moment’s notice, right? I saw enough of your memories to know that. The Messiah’s Ober Beweisen requires a lot of Aerial Words to see all of the Lives!”

“But,” she said before hearing him laugh.

“Leave the fighting to me and Sylphide. Don’t hog all the best parts for yourself, Hazel.”

She paused but finally nodded at his statement and the raised Gelegenheit.

She felt her eyebrows about to droop and stopped them while sucking in a breath.

She faced forward and saw the dark clouds in the eastern sky had spread out a lot. She also saw a village in the forest.

…Borderson!

She took a breath, choosing to trust that Berger and Sylphide would take care of whatever was pursuing them below.

She raised her sword atop the Wind Dragon’s back. She gripped the hilt of the Device that linked her and Sylphide’s wills.

She opened her mouth to speak. She had seen her Ober Beweisen Text in Berger’s Lives.

…But…

“There is no set form! There is no single answer for the Aerial Words that provides all the answers!”

“Eingeweide eye Messiah – Ober Beweisen.”

In the corner of her eye, she saw something like black serpents burst from the forest below and fly up into the air.

Those serpent dragons were one type of lesser dragon created from the Lives breaking down. Six of them were attacking now.

But she kept her eyes directed forward. She spoke the Text that she felt proved who she was in the present – the Text that had brought her to this point.

<In the deep darkness of the Black Forest>

Berger rapidly swung his black blade every which way behind her.

<Born from the abyss>

<The wheel emerges>

Sylphide accelerated its dragon body.

<It whips up the wind and speaks with the dragon>

They broke through the wind.

<It reads the wind and weeps>

Hazel gripped Rein König’s hilt.

<It carries power in its hand and hesitates>

She shook her head.

“I have no hesitation right now!” she shouted as two serpent dragons rose up out ahead.

They had been lurking in the forest and were preparing to leap up at her.

But she heard a voice from below.

“So you’ve finally made it this far, fellow werecat! I will clear your path as an AIF member!”

The pair of serpent dragons flew into the sky.

Instead of jumping on their own, someone had hit them hard enough to propel them skyward.

Hazel saw several people running through the forest below.

The man in an AIF uniform in the lead was Coolers.

“It’s true there is no set answer and the questions will never end! I’m sure this fight will never end either!”

More serpent dragons attempted to attack from the forest, but the soldiers and Neue Kavaliers in the forest swiftly crushed them.

“But that’s why you need to make what progress you can when you find no hesitation in yourself! Don’t let your strength fade!”

Sylphide raced forward while the serpent dragons were held back.

Then Hazel saw a clearing in the forest. That was where a village had once existed.

The village’s houses had been burned away and some gray smoke continued to rise here and there.

However, several people were gathered in the center of the village.

They weren’t just Glossolalians. The gathered people were likely all the people who had been evacuated from the nearby villages.

“Oh.”

Hazel narrowed her eyes, flipped her skirt around, and bowed toward them as she passed by.

Then she checked her watch. It was 4:28 AM.

“Another 110 miles!”

With those words, they left Borderson and she turned to face Berger.

<The one-armed youth holds the Messiah>

Berger swung his black blade at the pursuing dragons while he viewed the village behind them.

<The moonlit pair returns to the earth>

Sylphide roared and accelerated toward Germania.

<The dragons gather and dance tonight>

<Every last thing returns home>

Part 4

The people taking shelter on a small hill in Borderson watched the dragon flying by in the sky.

The blue dragon consumed the air and forest on its way to the colossal collection of clouds at the center of the destruction.

The people standing in the village center heard a voice that sounded almost imaginary.

<The wind blows / the night blows / the dragon awakes / the people move / the dragon roars>

A pair of young siblings commented on it as they watched the dragon flying away.

“I hear a song.”

Next to them, a woman holding a baby nodded and began singing.

“The wind arrives from the north / a path arrives from the north.”

<The wind arrives from the north / a path arrives from the north>

The wind blew east and the sounds of battle and resistance came from the distance.

<The knight descends as a knight / the dragon soars high as a dragon>

The woman with the baby sang along with the voice coming from somewhere.

And she looked to the northern sky where the dragon had come from.

<All is a path to the north star>

A single star shined in the sky to the north. That cold light was the North Star.

Its weak but unmistakable light shined on the dark clouds covering the eastern sky.

<All is a story of an insurmountable wall>

The woman shook her head while holding her child.

She spoke both to the siblings standing nearby and to the baby in her arms.

“No one will let that happen.”

Part 5

Hazel saw the wall of cloud growing in front of her eyes.

She should have seen the lights of Hamburg up ahead, but they were hidden by the thick clouds.

She kept her eyes on the path ahead and sang while flying above the forest and above the river flowing between the trees.

<Follow the path to a familiar face / while walking side by side>

“Are you doing alright, Berger?”

<Your hand and voice might reach them>

“I’m fine. More importantly, we’re about to enter its territory.”

<But the moon sees it not>

The enemy made its move without warning. A giant shape burst through the clouds up ahead and flew toward them.

The great shadow dragon was more than a mile long and vaguely resembled Sylphide.

“Erlkönig!? But we can’t afford to lose any time here!”

<The Elf King refuses the Messiah’s approach.>

The dragon with a white streak on its black body accelerated until their relative speeds erased the distance between them.

In the instant before they collided, a long shape passed by above their heads.

…Eh?

<The gatherers begin their party>

Hazel looked up to see a familiar dragon. The great water dragon was transparent with its outlines shining bluish-white in the moonlight. A harp note rang from atop the dragon and a woman’s voice joined it.

“I have come to fulfill my promise, Messiah. With my assistance, you can break down the wall and reach your destination.”

The giant water dragon charged ahead.

It opened its maw wide and bit down at the shadow dragon, instantly crushing it with its water pressure.

“Allow me to demonstrate the power of Geheimnis Agency Navy Division Chief ‘Wasser Meister’ Lillie Telmetz.”

With the sound of breaking metal, the shadow dragon’s Lives broke down.

The water dragon flew on ahead, its body scattering shadow Lives for the wind dragon to consume.

<A wall separates the pair>

“Messiah, hurry past those clouds,” said Lillie, pointing forward.

But more shadow dragons burst from the clouds ahead. These were what the remaining 6 Erlkönigs had become.

Lillie strummed Mondnacht’s strings and several water dragons flew up from the river below. Suddenly, two beams of light shot from the forest.

Those were Drache Kanone.

A giant Grösse Panzer was racing down the mountain road through the forest.

Karl Schmitt shot a barrage into the sky with Jeanne on his shoulder.

The Drache Kanone light pierced the Erlkönig dragons and Jeanne raised her voice.

“Finally joined the rest of us, have you, Lillie!?”

<As they follow the same path with the same words>

A new voice came from below.

“Then this must be our post. We must ensure the Messiah can reach Heiliger.”

A two-hull ship was approaching the cloud wall down and to the left.

The voice coming from it was Müller’s.

The fighters following the two-hull ship intercepted the dragons and the two-hull ship launched a Drache Kanone while moving on ahead.

Two of the Erlkönigs turned toward the two-hull ship. They soared upwards before creating a roaring wind and circling back down.

The two of them dodged the weapons fire from below and drew out a fearsome arc to charge toward its deck from either side.

But Hazel saw familiar people on the deck.

The short old man in a white coat on the right deck was Elrich. The tall, bald old man in a three-piece suit on the left deck was Witzmann. They both held weapons.

The one in a white coat had a headphone in his ear and wrapped some kind of cloth around his hand.

“The beast doesn’t seem to understand that a Panzer Emblem is a mass of ether,” he said before reciting his Text and racing toward the incoming fang.

His raised right hand produced a sound like shattering glass and shined bright.

The afterimage of its shining light drew out his fist’s path as the space around him shattered.

He approached and then struck.

“It doesn’t spread as well as fire!”

When his blow caught the fang, the fang of ether shattered.

The Erlkönig dragon’s yellow eyes widened at the suddenness of it. A wire attached to the cloth wrapped around Elrich’s fist connected to the music player in his pocket.

“A beast that does not fear power deserves destruction.”

The second destruction-spreading punch struck the dragon in the cheek.

That single attack caused the shadow dragon’s entire body to explode.

With a glance over at that, Witzmann readied his pen and notepad on the other side of the deck. He showed no concern about the rapidly approaching dragon, sent his pen racing across notepad, and then nodded.

“I’m better at this than Bermark, you know? I just rarely do it because it’s so exhausting.”

He tore off the notepad’s top sheet and held it out toward the dragon.

The soaring dragon’s eyes saw what was written on the paper.

Emblems were drawn on all four corners of the white paper and an intricate pen drawing of a dragon with mouth wide adorned the center.

“Lifelike, isn’t it?”

Witzmann smiled and tore the paper down the center.

The dragon in front of him was torn in two with the sound of tearing paper.

Before it could even scream, he folded the paper and tore it a second, third, fourth, and fifth time.

After seeing the dragon scatter through the sky in 32 pieces, he put his hands on his hip and laughed.

“Messiah! Go deal with Heiliger He can get so sentimental!”

“Since when did you care so much for your superior officer?” asked Hazel, sounding amused.

She looked up into the sky where Lillie was smiling with the moon at her back.

Hazel smiled too. She squeezed Rein König and Sylphide overtook Lillie.

She glanced down at her watch to see the minute’s hand was at 32.

…Another 80 miles to Germania!

When she faced forward again, she saw a tower in front of the cloud wall.

An aerial ship with an extra-long cannon barrel had crashed into a crater-like lake in the forest.

Suddenly, the surface of the lake rippled and several water dragons formed. The transparent dragons bathed in the moonlight and used their great strength to smash the black aerial warship and throw its pieces into the sky.

Sylphide charged in.

Its transformation was instantaneous. The wind dragon swallowed the entire Gard-class aerial warship and grew to nearly a mile long while a single long horn grew from its forehead.

It let loose a long, high-pitched bestial roar and broke through the cloud wall.

Part 6

The battle above Germania had intensified.

The black dragon had already grown more than 40 miles long and was preparing to move outside of its territory centered on Germania.

Its entire body shook in its attempt to move out, but two Grösse Panzers and an aerial squadron fired on it from close range to hold it back.

But the black dragon moved out regardless. Its dragon eyes narrowed and light gathered at its forehead.

Atop Neue Silber, Bermark swapped out Freischütz’s magazine.

“A Drache Kanone is coming. If it were a mechanical one, my incomplete Erklärung would be enough to dismantle it.”

“That won’t work here. All aircraft, take cover behind Neue Silber!”

Schweitzer nodded at Lowenzahn’s command, stood on the edge of the roof, and readied his staff.

The wind blew and the dragon pulled its head back for just a moment in preparation to fire its Drache Kanone.

The fighters and attack craft rode the wind to circle behind Neue Silber. Neue Blau and Neue Zinnobar did the same to take advantage of Schweitzer’s protection.

Just then, something changed with the dragon. The light gathering at its forehead suddenly scattered and vanished.

“What!?” shouted Schweitzer, but he immediately regained a look of tension and swung his staff out even further with his fingertips. Several times as much light as before gathered on the staff just as the dragon made its move.

But this movement would not fire a Drache Kanone. It moved out ahead, opened its mouth, and attempted to eat Neue Silber.

“Are you kidding me!?” shouted Lowenzahn.

Her protest was answered by the color red growing to fill their vision. The wet crimson of the black dragon’s tongue and the inside of its mouth approached while shining in the moonlight. It was so big they actually had a hard time grasping just how big it was.

But Schweitzer spoke to Lowenzahn.

“I shall protect you, Lowenzahn.”

He leaped forward into the empty air – into the dragon’s maw.

He turned around in midair and swung his staff toward Neue Silber.

He instantly created a giant barrier cube. It was around half a mile long on each side and it sliced apart the sky before dropping down with Neue Silber inside. It took them just out of range of the dragon’s jaws.

But while Neue Silber fell, Lowenzahn saw a staff-wielding man in the sky just in front of the dragon’s open jaws. She saw the man about to be devoured.

So she shouted on reflex.

“Someone!” she cried. “Someone please help us!”

Her thoughts became a pure Text that spread across the black dragon’s entire territory.

<The New World desires power!>

Her cry received an answer from within the black dragon itself.

<Power is…>

A Text shook the air as a power burst out of the dragon’s body like a bullet.

<Power is the symbol of the emperor!>

It was a black Grösse Panzer, but it had white wings on its back. The two giant wings spread out while white armor covered its body. That was Neue Schwarz’s Weiss Kaiser.

When Lowenzahn saw it, her Erklärung synced with the Grösse Panzer.

“That Panzer inherited Kaiser’s memory and had its Eingeweide built on that base!”

<The New World recalls the emperor’s majesty.>

The white wings stretched out in the blink of an eye.

The sharp wings caught the jaws snapping shut on the man overhead, but they kept moving from there. The white wings spread out across the sky and roared.

The roar turned west within the dome of clouds.

Then everyone else looked west to see a light.

The clouds were shredded in the distance there, revealing the night sky and a bluish-white point of light shaking the air as it flew straight in.

Its speed reached them all as power and the black dragon roared.

It roared louder and louder.

Part 7

Hazel saw the black dragon in the distance.

There was no village, forest, river, or even mountain or valley below Sylphide now.

Only a flat land that resembled a glass flower garden.

But Sylphide shattered the flowers below with the shockwave of its flight.

The wind dragon had already grown more than 10 miles long.

The dragon could no longer even see as Hazel spread her hands and sang her will atop it.

<The party begins and the village dances / the dragon roars and the knights gather>

“Hey, Berger?”

“Hm? What is it?”

<The bride weeps uncrowned / her words go unsaid and he never arrives>

“I think this country will be split by a wall of sorrow and anger once the war ends.” She shook her head. “But do you think that wall will one day go away?”

“No, I doubt it. I mean…are you going to wait for that wall to go away?”

<Thus she is alone / she weeps and sleeps in this land>

“No, I won’t. I couldn’t wait.”

“That’s what I mean. Walls don’t just go away. Not for people like you anyway.” He smiled. “But I’m sure that fight is a job for the people a few generations after ours.”

“Eh? Um, a few generations after ours? You mean, um?”

Hazel brought a hand to her cheek and felt it was warm.

Noting that heat, she gave a firm nod, and faced forward again.

“When we see each other again, I want to live an indulgent life. After the war, I think I’ll continue doing work for the AIF while working as a teacher in Borderson or somewhere. So…so, um, I should make enough to support someone else too.”

“Then go find someone. I mean, what would your dad say? We’re 8 years apart.”

“Don’t worry. When I return from the past, we will only be 3 years apart. And just so you know, my parents are 12 years apart. You didn’t check that when looking up my information?”

“What the hell!? That’s way more messed up!”

Hazel did not turn back toward his laughter. She only narrowed her eyes and let her shoulders shake in laughter of her own.

“But, Hazel. If you travel to the past, fix the world’s inconsistencies, and leave a riddle for the future you, will the future of this world – and our futures too – be in your hands as you travel to the past, return, and let the loop play out?”

She did turn back this time and saw him hanging his head a little.

“Your role as history’s manager will end on August 24 at 4:42 AM when the next you takes over and the world changes a little more. Actually, I guess the world is always changing.”

“I suppose so. But don’t worry. I’m sure the next me will make a choice much like my own. She will take your hand, call your name, travel to the past as always, be dug up in Sylphide in ’39, and become Lehrer. And if that process repeats itself enough times, surely one of them will find the correct answer. An unstable but unbreakable answer.”

“Sounds pretty idealistic to me.”

“It is, but nothing will ever get better without some idealism.”

She was confident about that, so she faced forward again to find the black dragon was much closer now.

Neue Silber and the white-winged Weiss Kaiser waited in the sky in front of the black dragon.

Weiss Kaiser emitted Lives that Hazel recognized. They had the white tone color of a controlled gale.

“Weiss Kaiser is here too!”

The wind dragon arrived alongside accelerating Neue Silber and Weiss Kaiser.

Weiss Kaiser was on the right.

The wind dragon, Hazel, and Berger with Gelegenheit were in the center.

Neue Silber, Schweitzer, Lowenzahn, and Bermark were on the left.

“We and Kaiser will draw the dragon toward Germania!” shouted Schweitzer.

“Good luck!” shouted back Hazel.

A look of surprise appeared on Schweitzer’s face, but it was soon replaced by a slight smile.

Hazel responded by singing while looking down on the flower garden sky created by the spatial destruction.

Below the wind blowing through our fatherland, the freeshooter feels a tailwind on his back

Below the tragedy, the emperor sings a requiem

Below the moonlit night, the messiah captures destiny

A lone hero marches into a new world

Pushed on by her song, they all readied their weapons and raced forward. The various aircrafts passed through the gap in the split space head.

The black dragon was there. It shot toward them.

It pushed on the air and left countless contrails in its wake.

Hazel checked her watch in front of the dragon.

It was 4:40 AM. Only two minutes until the world changed.

But she remained calm.

She shut her eyes, took a breath, and kept her smile as she spread her hand in the air and sang.

<Urge him on and wait / if you wish for something new>

Weiss Kaiser flew out in front.

Its white wings left behind constant explosions of air as it accelerated.

It held a large white sword in both hands. Light wrapped around the giant Device.

<All hesitation will come to an end up ahead>

The Grösse Panzer gave a shout and a white attack shot out.

The glowing attack was more than 500 yards along, but it was canceled out by the dragon’s dragon breath.

The dragon’s triumphant roar thundered out.

The Grösse Panzer’s entire body was shattered by the shockwave released by the dragon’s body.

Weiss Panzer kept moving even as it came to pieces.

<The Emperor paves the way to a new world!>

Its Device sword flew.

The light-wrapped sword stabbed into the dragon’s jaw, shaking the dragon just a bit.

But that was all.

The Grösse Panzer broke apart in midair and the black dragon smashed it to pieces as it flew toward the others.

<Complete the circle or break it / if you desire something new>

The excited dragon was met by Neue Silber.

Atop the ship, Lowenzahn held the left side of her chest.

<The New World looks tragedy in the eye without fear.>

Her Aerial Words sent several beams of light into the black dragon.

Its forward momentum was slightly slowed and then Schweitzer sent in one of his special destruction barrier cubes.

<Throw out all hesitation and look back>

Bermark spoke his Text and emptied Freischütz’s magazine.

The shots hit, causing the dragon to open its mouth and roar. It was a bestial roar of rage against this resistance.

Even as it roared, all of its injuries were rapidly healed.

Schweitzer noticed the regeneration while Neue Silber was blasted away by the wind.

“So we need a more powerful attack!”

The dragon answered his shout with an even greater roar that seemed to be declaring victory.

But just as that hostile dragon roar rumbled through the air, a small light pierced the dragon’s throat from front to back.

Still singing on the Wind Dragon’s back, Hazel instantly identified what had produced the light stretching up from the ground below.

…A Word Rifle.

Hazel looked to the ground to see a man standing on the moonlit ground of shattered glass.

Part 8

The gray-haired man stood with blood soaking his large body.

He was AIF General Pale Horse.

His prosthetic arms emitted defensive light and he held the Word Rifle abandoned by Neue Schwarz and a Heavy Barrel’s Phlogiston tank.

He had a look of irritation on his face and clicked his tongue when he viewed the glowing afterimage stretching up from the barrel to the sky.

“Less than a minute until 4:42. This is my final goodbye, Heiliger Karlsruhe.” He took a breath. “You refused to accept the future for the sake of the dead, but we choose to honor the dead by…”

Pale stopped there. And instead…

“I’m such a hypocrite.”

A moment later, his air-piercing attack connected the ground to the sky and punched through the black dragon’s armor.

Part 9

The air rumbled from the Word Rifle blast and the black dragon bent backwards.

Its entire body shook and its tail fell into the Germania’s great pit.

Meanwhile, the wind dragon accelerated and Hazel sang on its back.

<The wind is with you, he is with you>

The dragon pulled its head back down in front of them. It had a large hole in the bottom of its jaw and the sky was visible through it.

But it forcibly opened its mouth, causing its muscle fibers to scream in protest.

Sound gathered deep in its mouth. The loud sound converged and changed to light in the blink of an eye.

That was a Babel Gun.

The wind dragon fought back. It opened its jaws, stretched itself forward, and bristled its scales.

<Seek out something new>

A loud sound other than a roar escaped the from deep within the wind dragon’s throat. The sound grew narrower, louder, and sharper before becoming light.

The beam of light that surged from its throat was the Requiem’s Babel Cannon.

The two beams collided and the attack carrying the wind won out.

The black dragon’s light shattered and the bluish-white Babel Cannon attack pierced through its jaw and out the back of its head.

The wind dragon accelerated toward the stopped black dragon.

Hazel looked back from the blue dragon’s back.

She saw a black-clad man standing there.

Berger shoved a Size C Phlogiston Tank into Gelegenheit and looked her in the eye.

“Hazel.”

She didn’t know what he had said at first. It took her a moment to realize he had called her name. By then, he was already saying more.

“Can you hear me, Hazel Mirildorf?”

“Y-yes! I can!”

“You can? Then listen carefully. Once this war is over…I swear I will take your hand and call your name, Hazel Mirildorf.”

“…!?”

She responded in surprise and then he kissed her just once.

“I won’t say it again, so don’t forget it.”

With that, he smiled and walked past her.

She turned around in a hurry to find him facing the colossal black dragon and throwing his 100-yard black blade.

He aimed for the Device that Weiss Kaiser had stabbed into the center of its forehead.

The black blade sliced through the wind, stabbed into the white blade’s hilt, and drove itself halfway through it.

Then the black-clad man jumped down from the wind dragon.

He activated a windshield charm and didn’t even look back while Hazel watched him go.

“Thank you,” she said before facing forward with newfound strength in her gaze.

She took a breath.

And she viewed the black dragon approaching her.

Part 10

Hazel drew Rein König in her right hand and stuck her left hand in her breast pocket.

She slowly pulled out a card.

She saw the card had changed. She narrowed her eyes at the wheel pictured in the center of the card.

“This wheel doesn’t bring ruin!”

Joy ran through her.

So she spread her arms and began to sing. She started with an extended “ah” and continued from there.

Her song was an important Text. It was his extremely short Text she had seen in his memories.

She sang it as the precious thing it was.

<This is how we keep everyone with us.>

And…

<This is how we keep them with us forever and ever.>

Her voice rose to a shout and the Messiah eye accepted its wielder’s will.

Her voice became an endless humming “ah” while her right eye emitted a bright red light and activated its Ober Beweisen power. The Messiah showed her all of the Lives.

It was only for this moment, but she could see all the answers.

She spread her right arm holding the sword and her left arm holding the card and she twirled as she sang.

In the windy night sky, she saw the tone colors and heard the tempos of all the Lives.

The Lives of the moonlit sky.

The Lives of the cloudy night.

The Lives of the flowery ground.

The Lives of the people there and the Lives of time and memory.

…Not one of them are still or silent.

“Yes, that’s right.”

…The world is such a busy place.

When she saw all the sounds and heard all the colors, she saw one more thing.

She saw what lay beyond it all.

…Emptiness.

There was a vast, unreachable emptiness there.

But that scene found past the sound and color was erased in an instant.

And she raised her head.

Her will and her power already knew what it was she needed to do.

…Yes.

She faced forward and raised her voice.

“And I know I can do it now!”

She threw the card forward.

Her smile grew as she placed her left hand on Rein König’s hilt alongside the right and gripped it tight.

She raised it high and swung it down directly in front of her.

She aimed for the black dragon’s forehead where she saw Gelegenheit.

The blade drew out an arc and the tip formed a white tail as it tore the air.

The white path sliced through the card on its way to Gelegenheit’s hilt.

A solid impact rang out, the card turned to glowing dust and vanished, and Gelegenheit also turned to light and shattered.

The blade continued down into the Wind Dragon’s back.

At the same time, Hazel lowered her head to look the black dragon in the eyes.

“Ah,” she sang while tilting her lowered head up toward the sky and extending the note louder and louder from her throat.

Her eyes were on the moon and the world shook in response to the greatest voice she could muster.

The Wind Dragon transformed further, turning to light and scattering Hazel along with it.

The light ruptured and that ended it all.

Part 11

At 4:42 AM, when some purple began to color the night, a massive circular emblem was visible in the sky from the village of Borderson 100 miles west of Germania.

The people gathered in the village center were viewing the distant dark clouds when the emblem drawn in light burst through the clouds and took shape in the distance. It only lasted two seconds, but the light drew out more and more of the emblem while spreading far in every direction. To the west, it spread as far as France.

Then the emblem gathered back in toward the center.

It was instantly sucked back inside the dark clouds and then the change occurred.

All of the clouds covering the eastern sky were blown away from within.

The clouds were erased by a light.

At giant glowing orb floated in the center of the sky where the emblem must have converged.

It had several rings around it while it rapidly rotated and shrank.

The rotating light gave off tiny particles of light that returned to their original form after falling on the ground or sky.

The air, the wind, the earth, the rivers, the buildings, and the people lined up on the horizon.

Like a book opening its pages, everything was built back out from the light at the center.

But that only lasted a short time.

While everyone in the village was watching the world’s restoration, the light disappeared.

But something bright remained where the light had been.

They saw the morning sky dyed white as dawn approached.

There was no dragon flying to the east there.

But the two children in the village asked a question of the werecat woman standing next to them.

“Why do you look so happy?”

“Eh? Oh, I just remembered something that happened a long time ago. So I was just thinking…”

The woman nodded, raised her head, and smiled at the children.

“…that some people I knew had fulfilled their promises.”

Part 12

Below the blue sky of morning, two men sat in the forest outside Berlin.

They sat with their backs leaning against a 4-yard Word Rifle and their legs out on the dirt.

The larger one with gray hair and two prosthetic arms was Pale.

The one wearing all black was Berger. He kept his eyes on the sky and spoke with annoyance in his voice.

“Why aren’t you dead?”

“Well, I hit a wall during the fall and was thrown out, so- hey, are you listening?”

“Forget it,” said Berger, lowering his gaze from the sky. He saw a city through the trees.

That city was not Germania. It was the old Berlin without the giant cross or the underground structures.

“I wonder if the materials used to construct Germania and the Gard-class were returned to the earth. I hear the residents and other people underground were placed in Tiergarten.”

“I didn’t expect the city to be restored like this, though. I guess Germany’s Lives considered that other city to be a mistake.”

“Not necessarily. I mean, we couldn’t have made it this far without the help of the machines.”

After talking with their eyes back on the sky, they heard some footsteps on the dirt. Berger turned just his head to see a blue-uniformed young man approaching while looking around.

He wore a black bag over his shoulder and bowed toward Berger.

“Good morning. Are you Mr. Dog Berger? I am from the post office.”

“What do you need first thing in the morning?”

“My first delivery of the day is for you. This letter.”

The postman pulled out a white envelope.

“Mutual understanding is still hard to find in this world, so it our duty as postal workers to reach the places voices can’t and act as an intermediary for the unseen wills. No matter the time or the place.” He smiled bitterly. “But this one wasn’t easy since your address was only given as ‘just outside Germania’.”

“Sorry about that,” said Berger, accepting the white envelope.

The postman checked his watch.

“Name: Dog Berger. Address: Just outside Germania. Time: the morning of August 24. Another flawless delivery.”

“Thanks. And sorry again.”

“Think of nothing of it. I expect to be serving you a lot more from now on.”

Berger looked up and considered that for a moment before smiling.

“Probably so. I’ve got a lot more Verlsten Briefs addressed to me with awful handwriting, don’t I? Probably one a week, all sent from a thousand years ago.”

The postman said nothing. He simply smiled and bowed.

“I still find you sitting down, I see.”

And he left. His footsteps faded into the distance while Berger tore open the envelope. It was postmarked in Hamburg.

“This date is when I went to save her last month.”

He nodded and read the letter. His eyes ran through a few lines before he chuckled.

“That idiot. What is this black stain?”

But he kept smiling, shut his eyes, and folded the letter.

He sighed and looked up into the sky.

“This is how we keep them with us forever and ever, huh?”

He stuck the envelope in the chest of his coat.

“What’s that?” asked Pale.

Berger smiled and gave a simple answer.

“It’s the Messiah’s blessing.”

Hazel Mirildorf’s Letter: To Dog Berger

I don’t know what I should write here.

I am currently in the Hamburg base and surrounded by kind people. I was told so many different things today. I didn’t know any of it, but maybe you already knew it all.

I have thought about so much and I am writing this letter to help organize those thoughts.

Will the Nibelung really happen on the morning of the 24th? If you are reading this, then either it didn’t happen or you didn’t go to the past with me. If it didn’t happen, then I will be with you when this letter is delivered and I will snatch it away and rip it to pieces. Because having my past thoughts read in front of me would be much too embarrassing. Especially because I know you would read it aloud to me.

But I can only do that if I am with you.

I hope the Nibelung does not happen. But if it doesn’t happen, the world will change and I doubt we would ever meet in the first place.

I don’t want that. But if the Nibelung does happen, we will both be sent to the past because of the German Lives within us and only I will return to the present.

I don’t know what I should do or which option is better.

I don’t even know what it is I can do.

But I also feel like I will find the answer. For example, I don’t know my Ober Beweisen Text. However, that just means I don’t. But how about you?

You are your own person, so would you maybe know the answer?

I want to ask you.

But that requires a future. The best way to make sure you never lose anything is to freeze everything in place, but I believe the true way to never lose anything requires a future.

What do you think? If you are reading this letter, it means you remained in the present and I am not with you.

Can you speak your own Ober Beweisen Text now?

And…

And did I manage to speak mine?

I hope I can hear your answer once the war is over. I swear I will return by then.

So when that happens, I hope you can take my hand and call my name like you always do. I hope to hear you call “Hazel Mirildorf” again.

Final Chapter: The Promise Turns

8/23/1944 23:38 – 23:53

This is one answer

It is an important promise that began with some small words

It is a happy story protected by the wind and destiny

And

It is our hidden memories

That we can continue questioning forever

Part 1

A man sat in a room surrounded by metal walls.

He was a large man in a black combat coat and he sat in the chair next to a small bed. The square face below his short blond hair was silently lowered.

His eyes were on the book sitting open on the ordinary prosthetic right arm held in front of his chest.

He was reading a picture book called the Neue Unreif Germane.

The book had few pages, so he soon finished it, shut it, and reopened the first page.

The only sounds were the flipping of pages and the wind blowing through the small round window next to the bed.

The night sky full of clouds was visible out the window.

The clouds were dark and positioned not far above the window’s position.

Occasionally, a round light would shine on the clouds and sweep along them as if searching for something.

The trembling sound of the blowing wind was interrupted by three solid knocks on the door.

The large man looked back to the narrow metal door.

“Bermark?”

“Indeed, Captain Schweitzer.”

“It’s open.”

“Excuse me,” said a tall, skinny man as he opened the door and entered.

The elderly Sein Frau was built as sharp as a pencil and he looked to the picture book Schweitzer held.

“You have been glued to that thing.”

“Yes. I never imagined she would give me this today.” Schweitzer shut his eyes. “I suppose that was half a day ago now.”

Part 2

That morning, Schweitzer stood within a golden color below the sunny sky.

He was atop a large hill.

The color gold rippled in the wind across the hill thanks to the wheat nearing harvest time.

A dark forest was visible past the gold and the mountains loomed high past that.

While listening to the blowing wind and a distant waterfall, he turned around to view a dirt road with deep wheel tracks located a few paces behind him.

A green military wagon was stopped about 100 yards down that road and Bermark sat in the driver’s seat. That artificial green stood out like a sore thumb in the natural gold.

Schweitzer sighed when he noted Bermark wasn’t even looking his way from within the green.

He faced forward again.

The wheat swayed before his eyes and someone stood up from the wavy gold.

The young girl with her brown hair worn in a braid was Lowenzahn.

She stood in front of him in a dirt-covered shirt and skirt and with her hands on her hips.

“You look bored. Yet I’m busy as could be tending to the field.”

“I’m not bored. Just…surprised.”

“By what?”

He looked around to the gold, black, and blue colors around them before answering.

“By…”

He shut his eyes, nodded, and faced forward before opening them again.

His eyes were on Lowenzahn, her hands on her hips and her head held high.

He kept his eyes on her and only her.

“By how well you’re doing.”

“It’s been nearly a year now. And Lillie’s letters have taught me so much about the past. …So how is my adoptive dad doing? He sounds really busy from his letters.”

“He has been burning the midnight oil ever since you appointed him commander-in-chief. I have been taking on some of the workload by commanding a unit to assist with the military’s retreat from France.”

“Didn’t a prototype Wort Bombe stop something a lot like the Nibelung in France? I heard it eliminated some anxiety Tons there.”

“Yes, Elrich has confirmed it. He said it turned out well because everyone there wished for happiness.”

“Then next time you see Elrich, tell him we need to build a lot more Wort Bombes and launch them all over the world to clean up the rest of the anxiety Tons still out there.”

“The countries that do not understand will see Germany as a villain. I doubt every country will see this as a happy ending.”

“That doesn’t matter. I’m willing to play the villain if it can eliminate all the anxiety Tons.”

“You really don’t change, do you?” Schweitzer smiled bitterly. “I still can’t believe the Fünf Leithammels chose to send you, our commander, to live in Borderson in order to preserve the Geheimnis Agency’s connection to the Neue Kavaliers.”

“Is that something we can’t afford to lose?”

“Perhaps so. But…how is the village?”

“Like I wrote in my letters, the reconstruction is complete. Heidengeists are surprisingly interesting people. Their unique traits show through in their lifestyle, so…how should I put it? Their quirks really stand out when you live with them.”

Schweitzer looked across the wheat field.

<The wind is blowing.>

A golden wave swept across the hill.

Lowenzahn brushed up her bangs with a dirty hand and viewed the wind.

“Germania is gone, but the country has still evolved using the Erklärungs created by several years of ley line modifications. It’s strange, really. A power meant to bring destruction ultimately protected the country and is now giving it its own unique power.”

Schweitzer said nothing.

And he checked the large military watch on his left wrist. Lowenzahn followed his gaze.

“Sorry. I need to get going.”

“Hey, wait a second.”

She stepped out onto the dirt road.

He followed in confusion to find she had a something sitting on the edge of the road. It was a patchwork bag primarily made of red cloth.

She pulled a picture book from there and held it out to him.

It was titled the Neue Unreif Germane.

He accepted it and she looked up so their gazes met.

“The people of the next village over gave me this the other day. You can have it. It’s pretty interesting, so make sure to read it.”

Then they heard a rumbling engine.

They turned around to see a truck driving up from the bottom of the hill.

It was green.

It drove past them, swaying gently on its way to the village.

Schweitzer noted the license plate.

“That truck is from Cologne. Is the village interacting with humans now?”

“To a limited extent. A lot of people took shelter here during last year’s Battle of Germania.”

“I see.” Schweitzer watched the truck driving away. “Heidengeists and humans interacting. I wonder what the Messiah would have thought if she were still alive.”

“Oh? You think the Messiah is dead?”

“Isn’t she? Even if she returns to the present day, she dies at Hamburg. And Sylphide travels through each new loop. The two of them will always meet the same…”

He trailed off there.

Because he had heard something.

The wind was carrying a series of sounds to him from the Village of Pardons located beyond the forest.

The gentle musical notes were played by an organ.

The music seemed to grow and shrink as it rode the wind.

“The Unreif Germane?”

“Yes. The village’s school has its lessons this time of day. They’ve invited in children from the next village over and from the Cologne region where their schools were lost in the war. The one teacher and one assistant are doing the best they can.”

Lowenzahn turned toward Schweitzer and gave him a teasing grin.

“What’s that look for? I can play this song too. I’ve been practicing so I can help out.”

A singing voice reached them as if continuing on from Lowenzahn’s statement.

The female voice began with a flowing “la”.

Schweitzer raised his head when he heard the voice.

“That’s Eryngium.”

“Yes, she’s the assistant.”

The song was carried by the organ music sweeping across the hill.

In the deep darkness of the Black Forest

Born from the abyss

The wheel emerges

It whips up the wind and speaks with the dragon

It reads the wind and sings

It carries power in its hand and hesitates

The one-armed man guides the Messiah

The moonlit pair returns to the earth

The dragons gather and dance tonight

Every last thing looks to the beginning

The wind blows, the night blows, the dragon awakes, the people move, the dragon roars

The wind arrives from the north / A path arrives from the north

The knight descends as a knight / The dragon soars high as a dragon

All is a path to the north star / All is a story of surmounting the wall

Follow the path to a familiar you / To confirm who you are

Make sure your hand and voice reach them / Stretch your hand out to the moon

The gatherers begin their party / A wall separates the pair

As they follow the same path with the same song

The party begins and the village dances / The dragon roars and the knights gather

The Messiah remains uncrowned / She leaves her words and her power with him

Thus she is alone / She dreams in this land

Do not fear your own pain / If you wish for the power to fight

All is found beyond the screaming pain

Do not fear your own trembling / If you wish for the power to protect

All is found beyond the embracing sorrow

Do not fear your own weariness / If you wish for the power to advance

All is found beyond an unending new beginning

The wind is with you, he is with you / Seek out your own words

All hesitation exists to tear through that wall

Schweitzer lowered his head after listening to the song.

He tried to say something.

“…”

But no words came.

Lowenzahn smiled at that, but silently nodded for him to leave.

He turned away from her and began walking.

As he went, he raised his prosthetic arm’s forearm to say goodbye.

That prosthetic arm was only designed to mimic ordinary human actions. But he did clench his fist.

He heard Eryngium singing through the song again as he left.

He heard the children’s voices and a new voice join in this time, but he did not turn around.

Part 3

The song still rang in Schweitzer’s ears.

In the cramped ship’s cabin, he looked to Bermark and shut the picture book.

“It’s strange. I feel like the songs in this book used to be different. It’s like they changed at some point. Don’t you think so?”

“You must be imagining things. You tend to overlook a lot of details,” replied Bermark, his expression blank.

Schweitzer frowned and started to say something, but a loud noise ran through the entire space around them then: an alarm.

“An enemy?”

“Yes, that is what I came to tell you.”

“Then be quicker about it.”

Schweitzer clicked his tongue and stood up. He set the picture book down on the bed and grabbed a staff.

He turned off the lights, opened the door, and stepped out.

He passed by a lot of soldiers while choosing to climb the stairs to the roof.

“Captain, that is not the way to the bridge.”

“I know. I’m going to the roof. No Neue Kavalier goes to the bridge to protect people.”

He placed his feet on the steps and climbed. And…

“Which country is this? Nowadays, it could be France, America, or England.”

“The navigator says this one is unidentified. It appears to be moonlight resistant because it is moving rapidly above the clouds.”

Schweitzer came to a stop, his eyes on the thick metal door to the roof directly in front of him.

“That might be Sylphide.”

“Let’s not be ridiculous.”

“It is possible. Because the Messiah intended to set everything free.”

He placed his hand on the door’s opening ring and turned it.

The door shook heavily and then moved. The chilly wind blew in through the gap.

Walls of light shined all around him.

The high-altitude air blew in from beyond those virtual barriers.

Schweitzer ignored that wind and pushed the door all the way open.

Past the thick door, he saw the dark and cloudy night sky.

He walked all alone into the darkness and wind.

He walked outside.

When his feet were pushed by the wind and stepped on the darkness, he hesitated for just a moment.

<A powerful wind blows down as if to push him back and causes his black coat to whip behind him.>

But he planted his hesitant foot down firm and looked up into the sky.

His lips moved to speak a few names and the names of their devices.

Vaterland.

Freischütz.

Sylphide.

Mondnacht.

Requiem.

Tragisch.

Kaiser.

Gelegenheit.

Messiah.

Neue Erde.

The last one he didn’t speak out loud. He simply held up his staff and opened his mouth wide in the wind.

He listened to the song of the racing wind, narrowed his eyes, and released his voice.

“…!”

His roar raced straight up into the sky, but it did not stop there.

He spoke his Text to fulfill his promise.

He shouted a heaven-striking song and refused to stop.

The wind roared in response and nothing could stop it now either.

It was asking a question.

A new question.

Closing Words

Despite the scale of what happened on that night, most of it never became public knowledge thanks to the Allies covering it up and the Geheimnis Agency and the AIF staying silent. But there was no hiding that the prophets around the world could suddenly read the future’s History Lives again after that night. This was given the following explanation: “For some unknown reason, the previously cut off and unreadable History Lives were reconnected to the ordinary flow of time at 4:42 AM on August 24, 1943.”

Afterwards, the Allies began attacking Berlin which was no longer protected by the dome. On May 7, 1945, Germany declared an unconditional surrender, ending the war, and Berlin was split between the east and the west. In 1962, the Berlin Wall was constructed, physically dividing the city that had been so changed by the efforts of Heidengeists, machines, and humans.

But that wall is no more. It was torn down and crossed in 1988 by a few youths.

And it is said most of those youths were accompanied by machines that responded to their Words.

You may be tempted to ask whether it was man or machine that put an end to that mistake, but that question has already been answered.

8/24/2001. On the morning a certain girl sang.

-Michael Schrier

Neue Unreif Germane

1

“This is a story of when this country was still in chaos and full of anxiety.”

In the deep darkness of the Black Forest

Born from the abyss

The wheel emerges

It whips up the wind and speaks with the dragon

It reads the wind and sings

It carries power in its hand and hesitates

2

“One day, a man visited a woman who was friends with a dragon. He referred to the woman as the Messiah and said that her power was needed.”

The one-armed man guides the Messiah

The moonlit pair returns to the earth

The dragons gather and dance tonight

Every last thing looks to the beginning

3

“The Messiah gathered the country’s knights and worked to bring order to the people’s chaos and the dragons’ chaos. She worked to bring peace to the anxious land, sea, and sky.”

The wind blows, the night blows, the dragon awakes, the people move, the dragon roars

The wind arrives from the north / A path arrives from the north

The knight descends as a knight / The dragon soars high as a dragon

All is a path to the north star / All is a story of surmounting the wall

4

“A long battle followed. But after traveling north and defeating a large black dragon, the clouds cleared away.”

Follow the path to a familiar you / To confirm who you are

Make sure your hand and voice reach them / Stretch your hand out to the moon

The gatherers begin their party / A wall separates the pair

As they follow the same path with the same song

5

“Below the full moon in the sky, the Messiah smiled with everyone. The knights rejoiced, the people danced, and the dragon roared.”

The party begins and the village dances / The dragon roars and the knights gather

The Messiah remains uncrowned / She leaves her words and her power with him

Thus she is alone / She dreams in this land

6

“The one-armed man accepted a sword from the Messiah and departed the morning after everyone threw a party to celebrate their newfound peace. He went to inform the king that the fighting was over.”

7

“The king began an emperor and the knights rejoiced.”

“But the one-armed man did not return. He left on a journey. The Messiah said nothing. She simply wrote many letters.”

8

“But one morning, the Messiah ended her silence and gathered everyone. Then she promised them that their peace would last for a thousand years thanks to their efforts.”

9

“Do not forget to develop ways to fight and to protect and do not forget who you are. Never forget that and this hill will turn gold every year. And you will never build walls between any people of any background.”

10

Do not fear your own pain / If you wish for the power to fight

All is found beyond the screaming pain

Do not fear your own trembling / If you wish for the power to protect

All is found beyond the embracing sorrow

Do not fear your own weariness / If you wish for the power to advance

All is found beyond an unending new beginning

The wind is with you, he is with you / Seek out your own words

All hesitation exists to tear through that wall

“The Messiah said she would sleep for a thousand years at Alfheim and awaken once chaos returned to the world. Once she was asleep in her shrine, the one-armed man returned. He erected two gravestones next to the shrine and spent the rest of his days guarding them…until one evening he breathed his final breath as peacefully as if he were falling asleep.”

“A thousand years has passed since then. Surely the Messiah has already awoken and is living somewhere in this country. All so she can hear someone’s words once more. Yes, I am certain of it!”

“Hazel! Can you hear me, Hazel Mirildorf!?”

Panzerpolis 1943 Erste-End

Afterword

And with that Panzerpolis – Berlin has ended.

This was a fairly indulgent book for me, but I managed to get through to the end. Now that I think about it, this was my first series. I only managed to do this thanks to all of you, so thank you.

I’m so glad I got to write this. (Really, that’s the main thing I keep thinking.)

Meanwhile, I can’t seem to contact H-kun by email. I wonder why.

I can only come up with weird speculation for such a weird friend, so I paid another friend an unexpected visit last night.

“So what’s up with H? I can’t get in touch with him.”

“Oh, you hadn’t heard? He broke his arm so he’s not on the internet.”

“Huh? How’d he manage that? Lose another fight? Pathetic.”

“No, that’s the thing. He works in a similar business to you, right?”

“Now that you mention it.”

“He apparently finished some big job in his room in the middle of the night, so he went out to the convenience store for a late-snack to celebrate.”

“Okay.”

“It was late and he wanted to get home quickly, so he took a shortcut on the way back. You know that park near his home?”

“I do. Did he get into a fight there?”

“No. There was one of those things in the middle of the park. You know, a swing machine with an elephant on a giant spring. Gween gween (SFX).”

“Is that the sound it makes?”

“It’s close enough. Anyway, he must have gone a little crazy because he climbed onto the elephant and started grinding it (not the right term) for about ten seconds. Now, we’re talking about a guy approaching 30 going all out, so the elephant’s angle was going down past horizontal.”

“Get to the point.”

“So you see, he had a lot of momentum built up, but it turned out the thing didn’t have any brakes.”

“They generally don’t.”

“He tried to swing back the other way to stop himself, but he only shifted the motion vector diagonally. He still tried to make it work, but he was getting tired, lost his grip, and launched himself into the air.”

“Oh?”

“He apparently landed headfirst in the nearby sandbox and found his right arm was bent at an odd angle. I didn’t have anything better to do and checked the place out the day before yesterday, but the sandbox is 4 meters away from the elephant.”

“I can see how flying that far would break your arm. But now I really can’t ask him to do the afterword.”

“Why not use this conversation?”

“Oh, that’s a good idea.”

Was it really, though?

Anyway, thank you for sticking with this for all five volumes. If you read it again starting from ’37, you should see a lot of connections and motives you missed the first time, which could be fun.

Now, what I’ve been working on lately. Zeon City – Tokyo and Image City – SF are publishing alternately in the bimonthly MediaWorks novel magazine Dengeki hp. They’re a lot more lighthearted but still have the same Cityness, so check them out if you have time.

My background music this time was the Messiah Chorus from Handel’s oratorios. I was listening to that the entire time I wrote the final battle.

I was listening to it again today while editing, but I was also wondering: “Who will have the toughest time from here on?”

Okay, we’re finally going back to modern times next time. We’re flying all the way to Detroit for that one.

June 2001. A humid morning.

-Kawakami Minoru

Satoyasu Page

With that, we managed to get it finished.

That’s good. Is it good?

Until next time.

-Satoyasu

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