A Young Girl's Weaponization of the Mythos

Chapter 28

ALBISH LIGHTNING ASSAULT ON REMULA FAILS !

Yesterday, the headquarters of the Imperial Army's peace-keeping forces in Ildoa were attacked by a task force of aerial mages from the Allied Kingdom, leading to a brutal battle in the district of Remula surrounding the Holy See. Despite being outnumbered due to having to cover the entire Kingdom of Ildoa, our brave soldiers gave a ferocious account of themselves, buying time for the urgent deployment of one of the Wunderwaffen which was first used in the Defense of Kheriaha.

Through the use of that Wunderwaffe, the cowardly raid was defeated, though not without casualties among the aerial mages stationed at Remula, whose heroic sacrifices prevented the battle from spreading to the rest of the Eternal City and cause untold civilian casualties. According to military sources, the goal of this reckless operation was none other than the death of Colonel Eric von Lergen, who led the lightning strike into Ildoa following the Battle of Bovariastadt, and prevented the nefarious schemes of the vile conspiracy which started the so-called Crusade from reaching terrible fruition.

Leading the attack was none other than the Royal Wizard of the Allied Kingdom, a man whose official job requires him to advise the Albish royal family on all magical matters. It is believed by Imperial High Command that he might have acted on his own authority and without the authorization or awareness of the rest of the Albish military, although details are still scarce.

There is little doubt that this attack, which took place mere days before the planned transfer of responsibilities to the Unified States, will impact the tense ongoing diplomatic exchanges between the Empire and the Allied Kingdom. While the Kaiser and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have repeatedly stated their wish for a peaceful resolution for the conflict between our nations, the multiple provocations of the Allied Kingdom must surely be beginning to fray their patience ...

Excerpt from the headlines of the Berun Post, February 10th, 1926.

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Colonel Lergen : "Alright. Alright. Let me see if I understand this correctly. Your teacher, the Royal Wizard of the Allied Kingdom, found ONE [emphasis original] mention in some pre-Inquisition text of some kind of evil wizard making monsters during the Dark Ages. From this, the words of a long-dead soldier who clearly had no idea what was going on, he came up with the theory that the Empire might have been infiltrated by some sort of recurring warlock who cracked the secret of immortality through reincarnation thousands of years ago."

Niniane : "That is correct, Colonel. Though I think he only really started believing it after what happened in Kemet, you can see why I had my doubts as to his mental state."

Colonel Lergen : "Mental state ?! Miss Niniane, that old man has clearly gone off the rails. The only question is whether that is simply a result of old age and the pressure of his job, or if there is something more sinister at play. You have been briefed about what happened in the Holy See, right ?"

Niniane : "I was brought up on what your diplomatic corps sent to ours following the end of the Crusade, yes."

Colonel Lergen : "Then you know about Being X and the indoctrination process. To be honest, the sole reason I don't think Merlin was indoctrinated by Being X like Doctor Schugel and Archbishop Beauvais were is that if that were the case, he wouldn't have tried to kill me."

Niniane : "Oh ? And why is that ? While you're clearly not the 'Not-Man', if such a being exists at all, you are obviously of great importance to the operations of Division Y."

Colonel Lergen : "... I'm afraid the answer to that is classified."

Niniane : "Does it have anything to do with the 'Lady of Stars' which appeared in Arene and Bovariastadt ?"