-Play OST:Valkyria Chronicles Theme-

Fort Amaranthine. Four days later.

A dozen people sat in the office that the commander of the third regiment of the Gallian Militia occupied, a very strange place. All of them were people who'd completed officer training for the Militia beside their usual classes and all of them were ranging of age from 18 to their late 40s. Alongside them, others who had trained as NCOs, with ages ranging from 16 up to the mid thirties. Among them were Welkin Gunther, Lieutenant in rank, Matthew Siegfried, Alicia Melchiott and Alexander, the three with Sergeant Ranks. Sitting at the desk, a woman in her mid-thirties, with raven hair caught in a small bun on the back of her head and loose, long and thick strands at the front. She arranged her glasses on her nose, her blue eyes peering over the personnel file of Welkin Gunther himself, clad in his officer's tanker uniform.

With a clear voice, calm, but stoic, the woman said "Lieutenant Welkin Gunther. You're assigned to Platoon 7 as their commander. And per request... Your tank and Halftrack are coming with you." And she raised her blue eyes from the paper, to see Welkin snap a salute as the room burst into whispers about Welkin's family name, which made Alex give off a slight grin.. The boy answered a quick "Yes, ma'am!" Before settling back down. The woman nodded, then set his file onto the table beside a few other ones that had been assigned. She got to Alicia, nodded, then said "Sergeant Alicia Melchiott... You're also with Platoon 7, serving as the NCO." And Alicia immediately saluted, then said "Understood, ma'am!" and settled herself down. She got to a three-way file. Matt, Alex and Mashiro. She looked to see only Matt and Alex there, then said "Sergeant Siegfried and Sergeant Alexander. Platoon 7 as well... It is a pretty big Platoon, with some 40 people, so multiple NCOs are required to keep them in check." And she nodded to Matthew "Though I trust that you, alongside Lieutenant Gunther and Sergeant Melchiott, can keep them in check."

"Yes, ma'am!" The two boys yelled, saluting. She nodded, looked back down to Mashiro's file, then said "Ah, and tell Corpsman Mashiro Shiina she's in your unit as well. Field medics are hard to come by these days..." And she nodded to them. "That's all the officers and added members for the Sevens... I will give the Lieutenant personnel files on everyone after I finish assigning every other officer to their posts... Seventh Platoon officers, DISMISSED!"

The group clicked their heels, saluted again, swiveled around and walked toward the door, clearing a place in the front, where the back officers moved up a row. Walking out the door and closing it, the group formed up outside, in the hallways of the executive building of Amaranthine. With Welkin in the lead, the group started walking down the corridor toward the Sevens' barracks. Alicia looked toward Alex, then asked "Speaking of miss Killer Painter, where is she?"

"Farthest cot of the hangars, probably sleeping as Ryuu's making repairs to the Halftrack." Alex answered, nodding to Alicia. He smiled, sighed and chuckled "That girl's always been a heavy sleeper after any heavy exercise... Or anything that actually puts a mental strain on her."

"What's up with that, anyway? Never got to talk to her much." Matt inquired, looking to Alex. The Romanian boy shrugged and said "I don't know... She said some doctors say that she has a mental disease unknown to the medical and psychiatric branches... Others, that she's just simply lazy on instinct. I don't see her being mentally ill, though. She enjoys life to its fullest and hasn't ever shown signs of problems."

Alicia looked to him, then raised an eyebrow and said "Well, anything related to the mind might not show for decades... That or... Wasn't she some big painter after all?"

"Attended the London Art Schools and passed all their exams easily... Some of her paintings are in the Louvre right now." Alex responded, arms crossed. Everyone looked to him, clearly shocked, then Alicia stuttered in asking "W-What!?" to which Alex merely gave a nod. She sighed, then said "That's why... It must be lonely at the top like that. I'm betting a lot of guys courted her over the simple fact she and her parents earned a lot of money from it, so she started shutting everyone out, acting quite dull."

Alex sighed, nodded and said "That'd do it." Then looked to Welkin and switched the subject "Hey, Lt. How far out from the Barracks are we?"

"It's rooms 305 and 306, actually." Welkin said, then he pointed to the doors. "Right here." And the group walked into the place, to the sights of the 40 people, as per the Captain's sayings. The group looked around the room, to the sight of Susie and Noce sitting nearby. The two former watchmen waved to them, the latter with a smile, then continued talking. There were a few empty bunks in 305, four to be exact. And another two here in 306.

"Well, that's strange..." Matt said, scratching his chin. Welkin nodded and said "Think it's them?" to which he received a nod from Matt, then said "Most likely. They don't really sit still..."

"Who are you guys talking about?" Alicia inquired, looking at the two. Welkin turned back toward her and answered calmly "Four friends of Matt's, two of which are Darcsen." Making the girl look toward Matt, who nodded and said "It's true..."

Before the little chit-chat could continue, the sound of something breaking and a boatload of swearing sounded off from the outside. The group turned about and ran toward the exit without another word, then turned and left for the courtyard. There, they saw a boy with silver hair and clad in a militia squad 7 uniform clutching his right shoulder. The boy groaned in pain, then grunted and yelled "I thought Dark-hairs weren't supposed to fight back!"

Alicia gasped, then looked up, to see a pair of boys clad in Gallian Militia Uniforms, Squad 7 as well, in hand-to-hand combat stances. Beside them, Ryuu was in front of Mashiro, his right cheek a bit swollen and bruised. He sighed, set his jaw back into place, then nodded and showed Mashiro to go for the door. The blonde Japanese girl complied, immediately running for the door. She stopped in front of Welkin, Alexander, Matt and Alicia and sighed in relief, then looked to the boy on the floor, still struggling with his arm and said "Idiots..." And moved behind Alex. The Romanian looked to the girl, then, with a raised eyebrow, asked "The hell's going on here, Mashiro?"

She pointed at the boy and two of his friends, then said "The three took to bullying Ryuu while he was taking me to the Seventh Platoon's barracks... He insulted them and received a punch to the jaw. When the two in the middle, taking judo stances, saw that, they jumped in."

Matt grinned, then looked to Alex and pointed at the two, then said "That's the two friends I've told you about. The Darcsens. Ragna and Kai."

"Wow." Alex smirked, crossing his arms. Alicia was in pure shock... She'd never heard of Darcsens not following their code. "A Darcsen must not retaliate" she always heard the parents say to their kids as they were mocked, dehumanized and treated as if they were a plague... Never had she seen any fight back. However, the girl noticed something odd about the first one... Half his hair was silver and one of his irises was cherry-red. With a smirk, the boy looked back to his friend, then said "Ready, Kai?" And the asian Darcsen nodded "Aye aye, Ragna. Let's kick some ass!"

The two friends of the boy on the floor rushed Ragna and Kai, cocking back their fists. The two ducked under the strikes as they came, effectively making the enemies hit each-other's hands. The two bastards staggered back, to which Ragna applied an uppercut to his, breaking his teeth, while Kai sent a low leg sweep in the direction of the other, knocking him off his feet.

"Holy shit, you weren't kidding, Matt!" Alex exclaimed with a wide grin. "They're good!"

The boy who caught the uppercut with his jaw started seeing double, shook his head, clearing the confusion, then growled and looked to Ragna, who grinned, then asked "What's the matter, jackass? Getting whiplash?!" Before he parried one of his punches. The Darcsen boy grabbed his wrist, twisted it inward, kicked his shin and sent the man tumbling to the ground. The boy with the wounded arm in front of Welkin and the others stood up, set his arm back into place, growled, then yelled "OI! FREAKSHOW! WHICH SIDE SHOULD I LOOK AT WHEN I TALK TO YOU?!" Toward Ragna. Matt sighed, planted a palm on his face, then said "Oh, fuck..." and chuckled. "The bastard screwed up SO BAD."

Ragna's expression turned from one of smugness, then cocked his head toward the boy. Kai sighed, keeping the other bastard pinned to the floor, then warned the soldier ahead "YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE SAID THAT, REGARD! IT'S GONNA END BADLY FOR YOU!" To which the boy raised an eyebrow and looked to Ragna. The soldier-boy ran toward this 'Regard' guy and, before he had a chance to get out of the way, he felt a hand wrapped around his throat. Ragna was already in front of him before he got to run. He immediately felt himself get sent face-first into the dirt, skidding to a stop in front of Ryuu, who started walking across the field and to everyone else standing at the door.

Ragna walked toward him as he was struggling to get back to his feet, then knelt in front of him and pinned him to the floor with one hand. The Darscen boy sighed, then said "How do I say this, buddy... Don't talk shit about my looks." And he picked the boy up, setting him to his feet and holding him by the collar. He pulled him close, so they were face-to-face, then said "My hair and eyes are the last thing I have to remind me of my parents, asshole... Disrespecting that is like spitting on my parents' graves... And I won't have that standing here... We may be same squad, Cezary... You can throw slurs at me, try and beat the crap out of me, you see the result to that and do anything of the sort to me, though it's not recommended for your health... But try and do anything that will either hurt or kill other Darcsens... I will hunt you down and make you suffer."

The boy felt a hand on his shoulder, then heard a familiar voice add "I think he and his goons have got the message, pal... Let him go." quite fondly. Ragna looked to be greeted by the face of his closest friend, Matt, before he smirked, nodded and looked back to Cezary. He let go of his collar, then said "Remember what I said, Regard, and keep your racism to yourself." And he waved Kai toward them. The Ninja boy let his target go, then stood up and started walking toward them with a smile Ragna and Kai high-fived, then nodded to Matt, who smiled and sighed, rubbing his forehead "You guys..."

"That had to be the most interesting and scary thing I've seen to date..." Alicia said from beside Welkin and Alex. Ryuu nodded, then, with a grin on his face, said "Indeed. Well done."

"That was freakin' awesome!" Alex said, an even wider grin than Matt's or Ryuu's. "Ragna and Kai, right?"

"Yeah." Ragna nodded, smiling. "Good to know you guys are all well and alive, Welkin, Matt."

"Beh. A few Imp tanks are nothing to us, pal." Matt said, nonchalantly waving it all off. Kai laughed, then patted his friend on the back and said "Full of energy as usual." And he looked to Mashiro, kept the smile, bowed and said "Kon'nichiwa." placing his hands together and bowing. The girl bowed back and answered in the same manner, then said "A true display of the Martial Arts. Thank you for defending me and my friend."

"A pleasure on our side, miss." Ragna nodded to her, then to Ryuu and said "What's your name?"

"Ryuunosuke." The boy answered, extending his hand toward the boys. They shook it, then nodded to him. Alicia stepped up to them, then said "I'm Alicia Melchiott..." And she looked to Ragna, then asked "Just how in the good Lord's name did you close distance so quick when that Cezary guy insulted your looks...? I swear, the racing cars I've seen weren't nearly as fast there." And Ragna smirked, then said "Well, I've got some of the fastest reflexes known to man for one and two, my speed, strength and other parameters, to call them that, seem to differ from the others'. Nobody was able to explain why to me."

"He's swift of feet and sleight of hand." Kai said, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Don't go Deus Ex Machina here." Alex said. Matt looked around, then locked glances with Ragna and asked "Hey, buddy, quick change of subject... Where's David and Axel?"

Ragna pointed back at an exit to the outside of the residential and administration building, then said "Axel's out testing the Dragoon's upgrades in the vehicle course. Dave's at the rec room. Last I saw of him, he was eating something, but I think he's still around there."

"Okay then... I'd say we go and check up on Scott first. I'm interested on seeing what he's done with the Dragoon. And praying to god he hasn't crashed it yet." Matt responded. Everyone else nodded and Mashiro hummed in agreement.

Alicia raised her hand, then said "Hey... Uh, Ragna, Kai? Mind telling me about yourselves while we head on out to the course?"

"Sure thing, Alicia." Ragna said. "Ask away."

"Just... Who are you guys? Where do you come from?" She asked, completely clueless to the entire subject herself. Ragna nodded, then said "I and Kai come from a village in Kloden, a Darcsen town and we've known each-other since childhood... Our village wasn't as lucky as we were... When we were really young, our home came under attack by an Imperial Darcsen Hunting unit that operated at the borders..."

"The village was burned. Our parents were killed and... Well, me and Ragna were separated for a long time..." Kai sighed, a bit saddened by the fact that he had to relive that memory. Ragna nodded, patted his friend on the shoulder, then looked back to Alicia and continued "Yeah... While I was captured by the Imps, Kai managed to get away. Good lord be praised, good thing he did... When the Imps were still deciding what to do with me, I had a weapon they forgot to take from me... My mother's blade, a broadsword and a family heirloom. She told me never to use it unless I, or my friends, were in grave danger, because it'd unleash an incredible power... Shen I placed my hand on the hilt, I blacked out and, next morning, when I woke up... The Imps were dead. Cut wounds so deep I couldn't even believe. I managed to escape and followed my father's orders, to 'find a house with a Dragon's head'..." His smile returned "As luck would have it, I found one of the Siegfried family homes that fit the bill. From then on, Matt's family took me in, while Kai was also recovered in one of the Siegfried Orphanages and we were both raised and trained by the Siegfried family... Matt's old man put us through some heavy training, but it worked out in the end."

"And that brings us to today." Matt completed Ragna's story. "All of us in the Militia." And he smiled at the two boys. Alicia sighed, rubbing her arm and said "Wow... I'm sorry to hear about your village, Ragna, Kai." And she nodded to them, then smiled "I kind of lost my home too..."

"Bruhl..." Ragna said, crossing his arms. "Don't worry about it, Alicia. We're here with you to take it back. It's also Welkin and Isara's town." And he nodded to the girl, then looked ahead as the testing course came to view. A bunch of dirt ramps and roads on which three vehicles currently resided. On the left, there was an observation tower where five people were currently sitting, binoculars in hand and examining the vehicles on the course. Alicia looked to the course herself, then gasped... A medium tank with a 75mm Cannon and thick, slanted armor at the front, powered through the course at top speed.

-Play Initial D:Deja Vu!-

"Up on the tower, everyone!" A voice yelled, making everyone turn their heads toward them. Isara waved at them, in a Gallian Tanker uniform, with her shoal covering the top half. She waved at them and said "Come on! You have to see this!"

Everyone climbed to the top of the tower and Matt leaned on the railing, with Ragna and Kai beside him. Atop the tower, beside Isara, Simo, Kolkka, Misaki and another girl, this one with a notepad in her hand, glasses on her eyes and a wide smile, watched as the medium tank performed admirably in the course. Two targets came up ahead of it, enemies. The 75mm cannon of the vehicle boomed and the shell went through both of them precisely in the middle, at the weak point, exploding behind them in a crater. The vehicle performed a slow turn across, then serpentines and, finally, it turned for the final, a 180 turn.

"He can't make that! It's a tank!" Alicia contested the situation, fear in her eyes "At the speed it's going, it's gonna turn over and fall on its side!"

Matt laughed, then said "Shows that you don't know what the Edelweiss and, by extension, my tank can do!" And he pointed at it "Watch!" making Alicia tense as she watched the vehicle approach the turn at an angle of attack so weird it made no sense... She gasped as she saw one of its treads block. The vehicle began turning hard and fast as its other track performed its duty, then it immediately skidded across the dirt and mud, raising the locked tread some feet off the ground due to the inertia, nearly going out of bounds and throwing some dirt out toward the fences shielding this place off... And managed the hairpin turn! A perfect drift!

"HOLY SHIT!" MULTI-TRACK DRIFTING! Alex exclaimed, with Mashiro clapping and smiling widely at the vehicle's performance. Ryuu, eyes wide and jaw dropped, mumbled "I want one..." with Isara beside him, smiling as she saw the tank turn the roundabout and prepare to stop in front of them. She lowered the binoculars, then looked to her brother, who was smiling and said "Axel hasn't lost his coordination."

"No..." Welkin answered. Through a light chuckle, he added "I'd say he's improved drastically."

"Sweet Molly! THAT WAS AWESOME!" Misaki exclaimed, pumping her fist in the air, full of joy. Jin clapped along with Mashiro, then said "Truly, a dancing tank, this one!" And he heard Kolkka chuckle. Simo smirked, crossed his arms and looked to Matt, then said "Fancy vehicles, Theimer has built for ya." To which Matt merely gave a thumbs up and said "Deja Vu~."

The vehicle's driver hatch propped open and the boy that was in the tank driver's seat pushed himself out of the vehicle. He had long, blonde hair caught in dreads, red eyes and a lightly tanned skin, as well as a bandana on his head and a pair of racing goggles strapped to his eyes. He smiled to the group on top of the tower, then waved at them and said "Hello there!" His accent thick, that of an Australian, even though he was a Gallian. The blonde boy pushed himself to his feet on top of the tank, extended his arms to the sides and asked "Were you entertained by the performance the crew of the Dragoon put up today?"

Everyone clapped in response, making the Gallian boy with an accent smile even wider. He dropped off the tank, onto the side, then walked toward the stands as the people came down from the tower to greet him. Isara was the first. She brought a hand to her forehead, with a proud smile, then said "Good to see you again, Scott." making the guy smile too. He nodded and said "Likewise, Is. Been too bloody long since I got to compare wits with you in engineering." And he ruffled the girl's hair a bit.

Next, Ragna and Kai came up in front of him, with the former grinning as they slammed hands together and shook the way they usually did. He grinned, then said "Good God, man. How're your brains not splattered against the Dragoon's inside right now? That drift must've given you some Gees to worry about!" to which Scott's own grin widened as he answered "Well, mate, you know me. I'm the Human Crash Test Dummy. Nothin's too much for me!" making both Ragna and Kai laugh. Matt followed through, then shook Axel's hand and said "Ax, you'd better not have thrown up inside my tank."

Axel nodded, then said "Don't promise anything, Matty! Good to see ya made it outta Bruhl alive!" And looked to Welkin, shaking the boy's hand as well "Ah, Nature Boy's alive too!" And he gave a light punch to the shoulder to Welkin and said "You got the group into some deep stuff in Bruhl. Glad to see you're up and around too, man." And Welkin nodded, smiled and added "Glad to see you're not dead yet either, Axel. Had me scared for a moment you might tumble out of the course with the tank." with both respect and smugness mixed in.

"Come on, Welks, whaddaya take me for?" The boy jovially returned.

The boy's jovial demeanor came to an abrupt halt as he looked at the Japanese group, Sakura-Sou, as well as at Alex and two other guests. The two white-haired Hayha brothers stared at the boy, Kolkka with a wide grin and Simo with his arms crossed and a calm smile. Simo tipped his Finnish infantry hat to the boy, then said "Pleasure to meet you, Axel. Heard some interesting stuff about you from Matt, Welkin and Isara. I'm Simo Hayha and the girl beside me is my sister, Kolkka."

"Matt..." Axel said, looking back to his friend "Why'd nobody tell me we had the White Death and Snow Fairy here?"

Ragna and Kai's jaws dropped. The two boys didn't expect it either, so, to make a long story short, Ragna walked up beside Axel and immediately stared at the two snipers with awe. "I'm more concerned on how I didn't notice this up to now... We just walked with them up to you..."

"We're hard to notice." Kolkka smirked, running a hand through her hair. "That's the best part about us. When sniping, it's a great attribute."

"I can tell..." Ragna said. He let out an awkward chuckle, then said "Trying really hard not to fanboy."

"And..." Matt swallowed, then motioned toward Alex and Sakura-sou "You guys?"

"We're actually friends of Alex and Matt from Ran-Uni." Misaki said with a smile, then she gave a thumbs up to him and added "Nice drift by the way!"

"Thanks..." The boy awkwardly let out a chuckle, rubbing the back of his head. Welkin sighed, stepped up ahead of them, then said "I've got an idea, guys. How about we go find Dave, see what he's up to in the Rec Room, before Ragna and Axel break and we're forced to carry them?" And everyone yelled their agreement to the boy. He nodded, then said "Alright... To the Rec Room it is." And they started walking out of the course and down a path. Beside them, a platoon of infantry marched. Actual Regular soldiers, rifles and equipment on their backs, following their officer. Small-talk exchanges continued between the crew as they entered the building and walked down the hallways, which were cramped and tight, forcing them to move in a row as to allow the other people, specifically hurrying officers to get through.

Going through the main door to the Rec Room, a place filled to the brim with soldiers that either came back from missions or were prepping to go for them, they saw that it was pretty big, with a lot of facilities. A bar in the far left corner, with a big black and white TV, two billiards tables and several other four-person tables to sit at, a library in the far back and a line of Darts games with targets and arrows... At one of them, they saw two guys and two girls playing. One of them, with brown eyes and slick, short brown hair, had a pair of sunglasses hanging by his Gallian Militia shirt and below them, a necklace with a silver wolf's head pendant and an Amethyst cut into a round gem just below the head. The boy grinned and said something inaudible from this distance to the other guy, raised his hand and aimed the steel-tipped dart toward the target. He cocked his hand back and threw with all his strength and, before they knew it, the target had hit bullseye. The boy smirked, nodded and yet again said something to the three, then nodded to them and started walking away. He looked toward the door, to sight Matt, Welkin, Ragna, Axel and Kai and, with a wide grin formed on his face, he started walking toward the group.

"So there Taz is." Ragna said with a smirk. He nodded to the man as he arrived, then shook his hand and said "Good to see you, Dave." To which the man nodded, answering with a smile "Likewise, Ragna." And he looked to everyone else "Matt, Welkin, Kai, Axel. Heard you got into some trouble while escorting our pal, Welkin to grab Isara, Matt. What's up with that?"

Matt nodded, extended his hands to the left and right, then shrugged and said "Imps. Always the Imps, man. Let's take a seat at the table and we can tell you more about this."

Dave nodded, then pointed at four gathered tables with about 20 chairs and said "Got a few 'rented' from the bartender. Said it's no problem to take a seat." And he smiled, then continued "I'll serve the drinks. My treat."


-Play Youjo Senki Full Opening:Jingo Jungle-

Farther East. Gallian-Imperial Skirmish.

Bullets whispered past a Gallian Regular Company as they shot back, retreating to the village across the river Daugava, a stream of water upon which Imperial PT boats had been intercepted as they tried to cross the border and deploy their troops. Trenches had been set up, as well as heavy machine gun emplacements and a couple of AT positions at the river bordering Kloden. The two AT Guns fired once, twice and then reloaded quickly in unison as Imperial T34s attempted to cross the bridgehead. A tank had already been knocked out and the Imperials were holding ground just across the river. A stalemate had happened as the Gallians defended the evacuating civilians with incredible ferocity.

Alas... Not every defense would last when she came...

It is said that, during that period of the war, there was this teenage girl... Bright blonde hair, strange, cobalt eyes and porcelain skin... She looked like a beautiful doll, an angel on the battlefield, but was in fact a Devil, incarnated into this world. To lead her own company, she went through many prestigious Imperial schools and stomped Rebellions by herself, before they even came to being, although she was an Orphan. She came to lead the First Rapid Response Experimental Mage Battalion... A Battalion formed of the youngest and brightest, those who showed aptitudes similar to those of 'Die Weiss Hexe', the White Witch of Eylstadt and were as ruthless as Her...

And her name... Was Major Tanya Degurechaff, the 18-year-old Imperial Officer and Mage... White Silver, or The Devil of the Volga.

Explosive shells landed across the Gallian-defended side of the bridge, killing a dozen men in the first barrage and destroying three Type-36c Light Tanks. A loud thrum sounded off from the sky, making the Gallian Soldiers stare up at the sky. A young girl, with long and messy blonde hair and clad in a padded flight suit, with a heavy box that had the Imperial Service Wings on it, against a red background, stared at them, her bright blue eyes seemingly spiraled. She had a strange metallic boot on her right leg, that had an attached wire leading up to the box. She gave the Gallians a wide grin, then tapped her microphone, switching it to an open channel and started talking, her voice smooth, calm, pleasing to the ears...

"Soldiers of the Principality of Gallia! Regulars of the Army! Cease your pointless battle and surrender to us, the Empire of the East! We wish nothing but to uphold the rights of your country, take it from your corrupt politicians' hands and rebuild it to the greatness it deserves! Drop your weapons, for we show brotherhood to all of you and ask you kindly, In the Name of God!"

The Gallian Soldiers aimed their rifles toward her, then opened fire. The girl sighed, dodging the shots and boosting herself up and above their Gallian-2s' range. She rubbed her forehead and murmured "There's just no talking to these people..." then looked to her Mage unit. Placing a hand on her communication device, which was behind her thick fur coat's padded collar, she yelled "SOLDIERS OF THE EMPIRE! OUR OBJECTIVE HERE IS SIMPLE! EXTERMINATION! NOT A SINGLE LIVING BEING SHALL BE SPARED! THEY REFUSED OUR OFFERS FOR SURRENDER, WE FOLLOWED THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES AND ASKED THEM FOR IT... NOW ONE THING IS LEFT FOR US TO DO!" And she paused, her grin widening "SEND THEM ALL TO HELL!"

The Imperial soldiers and the mages aimed their weapons, as well as the girl. Tanya Degurechaff raised her rifle, an SVT-40, then looked down the iron sights toward the Gallian cross-river defenses, then started her prayer in a quiet whisper "God... Bestow upon me, thy loyal servant, the power to defeat thy enemies and force them into submission... Use me as thy hand and smite the foes of our Motherland... For 'tis what I, your faithful Daughter, ask of Thee!" And her weapon began shining bright golden, energy seething through the cracks of the wood and into the weapon's chamber. The Mage's eyes were locked on target... And she squeezed the trigger. The bullet, an explosively-charged round, left the barrel of the gun and barreled toward the Gallian defenses... With one tap on the ground it touched, between the defenses, a burst of flames engulfed the Gallian MG nests and AT positions before their crew and the stationed soldiers could flee, vaporizing them and sending a cloud of blue-yellowish smoke expanding outward.

Tanya lowered her rifle by her hip, then looked to the right, to a ginger-haired girl with turquoise blue eyes and said "Captain Serebryakov. Take your Broadsword Company and secure the other parts of the village. Wipe out any and all enemy defenses you spot. No prisoners." To which the girl saluted and said "Aye, aye!" Then she boosted away, with some 22 soldiers following her from close behind. Tanya looked to her left afterwards, to a man with a cap covering his had, black eyes and a calm demeanor, then told him "Lieutenant Weiss. You and Claymore Company are engaging enemy armor and retreating vehicles. Leave the Civilians, focus on the Military."

"Understood, ma'am!" The man saluted too, then left. Tanya sighed, then looked at the village and the damage it was sustaining as the Imperial forces marched on through, tanks and infantry alike, as well as the Mages. The relatively young Major Degurechaff, hailing from Volgograd, had been serving the Empire since the odd age of 10, as she had been conscripted at an early age for service as a test subject in the Imperial Mage Department. She had stopped several rebellions alongside other, untrained mages near the Volga, as well as in Tannu Tuva, China and Ukraine, thus earning herself the nicknames 'White Silver' from her soldiers and 'The Devil of the Volga', from the enemy.

The girl ran a hand through her blonde hair, cocked her SVT-40, then looked back at her Company, Dagger Company, and said "We move to eliminate the local Headquarters, ladies and gentlemen!" And she pushed herself ahead, utilizing her magic-based propulsion system and Computation jewel. Bullets rained from the skies onto the village's military-occupied buildings and explosions blossomed across the streets and houses, effectively turning into Rubble...

This was the Devil's work... This was her hand...

The Devil was in Gallia... And none would be safe from her cleansing flame...