This chapter is a roller coaster of emotion and one of the hardest to write, and so is the next one.
It's also edited BTW... planning to post it tomorrow but well- it's already tomorrow anyway in my country.


11st RECORD
The Bloody Reaper

Once upon a time their instructor had told them to never let anything stop them from completing their mission. Alberich had always been an obedient person because he knew it would be easier to blend in and be accepted if he did. So he obeyed Krause's order to the letter, preventing the Republican artillery unit from conquering their sky.

He knew how feeble humans were when their mean of defense was removed, so he ordered Ludwig and Wolfgang to destroy the artillery. A leader was both a compass for direction and a pillar of support, so he disabled them and made a show of their misery to the soldiers of the Republic. The Neural Intervention spell was created for torture and interrogation and due to requiring direct contact it was deemed unsuitable for a battle fought with guns and bullets. However, it was a weapon with an impressive capacity for terror when utilized properly. Due to the strange rules of war you had to maim and kill your enemy humanely, so the variation he used was the one that affected the brain to induce deep sleep. They would wake up in few hours after the spell wore off.

He could kill them with his mage knife but that would be a messy affair that left a trail of blood. Since he was under the Camo Spell he couldn't expose himself that way. It was also his way of rationalising not killing every single member of the Artillery crews. He had killed people before, and sparing more wouldn't wash off the blood. Tanya would call him spoiled and foolish for sparing those he couldn't afford to spare and he would pay for it later. Besides, with Wolfgang and Ludwig bombarding them from above these artillerymen would be even more defenseless when panicking over the loss of their leader. They would die all the same in the end.

'How many men have I killed today?' Alberich didn't know. He just ran and ran and caressed the back of the unsuspecting men that acted as Chiefs of each unit around the Gods of War. He didn't stay to see the result of his work, and his ears were deaf to the panicked shouts of the enemies who found their leaders in sudden comas. He didn't let his conscience catch up with him and moved as fast as he could. Alberich wasn't Tanya, whose morality was hers to control as she pleased.

All his head told him was he'd rather these men suffer and die than his comrades. It wasn't devotion to his country, or his kindness as human being, Alberich just didn't want to see the people he knew dying first in this hell called War.

"This is Hawkeye 09." Wolfgang's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and Alberich quickly took off to listen to the radio away from his victims. "Enemy mages are breaking away from our commander and coming down! They're bombarding our friendlies, we've lost contact with them. Over!"

Alberich scowled, "This is 08, don't panic! I will rendezvous with you in 30 seconds!" Judging from how silent the cannons had become after he had swept over them, he had made enough chaos in their artillery unit. However just in case, as Tanya always said, there was nothing short of overkill to make sure your mission was completed. His order was destroying them, and it was these artillerymen's fault for not withdrawing when their Officers were down.

So Alberich held his palm forward and cast an Optical Spell, setting it on a destructive path towards every artillery piece he set his sight on. The cannons were a tough weapon made of hardened steel, but even though he didn't destroy them completely the ground beneath them was overturned so it would be a long while until these Gods of War could get back to their feet.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The green eyed mage groaned when he noticed the old model orb he was using had heated up to dangerous levels, so he tossed it towards the confused enemies below and took off to rendezvous with his comrades. What became of his enemies after the unstable orb exploded in their faces wasn't his concern. Two more orbs, one new and one old.

"Hh…" Alberich coughed as he increased his altitude. He had started to feel dizzy.

Even mana powerhouses like himself had limits and he must have hit below 50% of his capacity by now. This was mana sickness, when the body of a mage suffered from headaches and nausea due to the shock of mana deficiency. Other mages were used to hitting as low as 25%, and it became too dangerous for them to continue using their mana when they hit 15% of their capacity.

Alberich had never gone past the threshold that would start to affect his body before. No wonder his comrades were so jealous of Tanya and him if they had never suffered mana sickness. 'Maybe I shouldn't have overdone that last Optical Spell.'

Ignore and Endure! If he indulged his body's pain, he would be killed in this hostile airspace!

"Ludwig! Wolfgang!" He shouted to them as soon as they were in sight. "Let's regroup with Commander Krause!

"Right!" Ludwig and Wolfgang agreed. Harassing a unit on the ground was possible with a three man squad, but they were still rookies. Too green to face half of an enemy mage wing on their own.

Alberich was about to contact his commander when he felt the mana in the airspace intensify, as if suddenly got heavier. "Random evasion! Thicken your shell, now!" He barked urgently as he took off in a zig-zag maneuver, followed by his comrades.

The area they occupied a moment ago exploded, and while they escaped the worst of it, the impact could be felt through their shells. "That was close!" Ludwig heaved as he followed Wolfgang and Alberich.

Alberich glanced to the side, it seemed Commander Krause had done a good job stalling the enemy, but due to their already small numbers eliminating their enemy wasn't made a priority. None of the Republican mages had been killed since the blast from the overloaded orb had eliminated a squadron. "This is Hawkeye 08, We've made contact with enemy, requesting assistance, over!"

"This is Quebec 05!" They had survived the enemy bombardment!

Unlike Tanya's grave emergency in Norden he wasn't alone, but the danger wasn't less. Their ground forces should have regrouped with reinforcements from HQ, but hoping for reinforcements to come in time was overly optimistic. "Uugh…" The rigor of intense maneuvering wasn't helping his body.

"Beilschmidt, could it be you're… mana sick?" Wolfgang was always attentive, but this wasn't the time for Alberich to be fussed over.

He snapped, "Shut it! If you don't want to die, fly and dodge!" Was it just him or were the remaining enemies trying too hard to shoot them down? They didn't spare a glance at Commander Krause's team at their heels. "Volley of fire incoming! Deploy optical decoys and climb higher!"

They dodged the Republican's famed volley of fire doctrine, but at the rate they were going it was only a matter of time before they would get hit. Alberich could feel he was getting tired, but Ludwig and Wolfgang even more so because their capacity was lower than his. Mana was one thing, but his stamina was only a tad higher than most children his age. If they keep playing this cat and mouse game in the sky his team would be the one running out of steam first.

'The only advantage I have over my enemies is my firepower.' But his aim wasn't as good as Tanya's, and deploying a Guidance Spell when fleeing was like singing while blowing your nose. He should have trained his marksmanship more, but there was no medicine for regret. "2 o'clock! Hide in the cloud and lower your signature!"

Only once they had entered the mass of water vapour did Alberich try to regain his breath. "Haa… ah-haa…"

Wolfgang and Ludwig watched their friend, Alberich Beilschmidt looked nothing like the laidback and introverted young mage they knew. Those verdant eyes were bloodshot with panic and exertion, his face was sweating bullets, as if he had been to hell and back. Compared to them, he looked like a wounded wild beast instead of human.

"Beilschmidt… you-"

He let out a small rueful laugh, "I wish Tanya was here…" He whispered to himself, his green eyes were unfocused as if he had forgotten Ludwig and Wolfgang were there. "She would know what to do, and I don't…"

They had always know Beilschmidt had something like a partnership with Degurechaff, but at the same time there was also something in their bearing that set them apart, as if their purpose in life was vastly different. This was the first time Ludwig and Wolfgang saw how vulnerable their young friend could be and they also wished his counterpart was here with them.

"What would Tanya do here…" He mumbled to himself, his eyes shifted to their direction as if considering something.

Wolfgang and Ludwig felt a chill down their spine because Alberich's warm green eyes had gained the cold glint they was normally associated with certain girl with icy blue eyes. Those deep pools of green were looking at them like one would look at prey but it quickly vanished as the redheaded mage shook his head. "Heh… what am I thinking? I'm not her… I can't do what she would do…"

"Beilschmidt?" Ludwig called out in worry.

He raised his hands up and an active barrier was erected, blocking the hail of bullets that came from outside the cloud. Protecting Ludwig and Wolfgang, who quickly add their own barrier to Alberich's. "I'm sorry…" Alberich muttered with a regretful voice. "I should have…"

Ludwig snapped, "Shut it, Beilschmidt! We're in this together and we can't lump all the responsibility on you!"

"Right! We should think of a way to get out of this." Wolfgang agreed.

Static noise interrupted them, it was Krause. "This is Hawkeye 07, give me your sitrep! We see enemy mages shooting at a cloud, are you inside?" His voice sounded strained, their commander must be injured.

"Yes, Sir!" Answered Ludwig, "They're persistently chasing us even though we disengaged from their artillery units!" By all accounts the mages should have gone down and helped the soldiers Alberich disabled with the Neural Interference spell, but they prioritized chasing them instead.

"Could it be they mistook-"

"They mistook me as our commander because of my large mana signature." Alberich finished, his mind suddenly became very clear. "I really overdid it this time…" It was the most basic tactic to target the commander, and Alberich had proven himself the most 'troublesome' enemy of the lot. "This is Hawkeye 08, are you injured?" Silence answered his query before the pair from 206th answered in spite of Krause's protest.

All of them were injured and barely maintained their flight spell, Krause was especially so, the wound on his dominant arm kept bleeding and he was barely stay conscious.

Krause's voice rang again, "I will get you all out of there at all costs..." That didn't assure him at all. What could a three man team do against half a battalion when the objective was saving trapped comrades in their state?

"No." Wolfgang suddenly interjected, "Commander, sacrifice Ludwig and I if you must." Ludwig was also nodding with grim determination. "At least… Beilschmidt alone, he has to survive this battle."

He must had heard them wrong, did they just offer themselves as a sacrifice to save him. "You must be joking! Didn't you hear, they're just after me?! The correct tactic is me playing the bait and you regrouping with Commander Krause and the incoming reinforcements!" He didn't like the idea of sacrificing himself, but rationally they should choose a tactic that will save more lives! If he was alone he could improvise something to save himself with!

"No." Wolfgang's voice was firm, "Listen… aside from you, no one saw this hell coming… not me, not Ludwig or even our commander."

He meant this war?

"You're important to our country." Ludwig added, "Maybe it's not hammered to that pretty little head of yours yet but Commander Schwarkopft had briefed everyone. In a worst case scenario, if the Republic did invade at least…" At least this young friend of theirs, he alone should survive to be a future pillar of their Empire.

What was this stupid notion these patriotic soldiers had about him? Alberich noticed the signs simply because his soul had come from a world that had suffered World Wars! And it was Tanya who taught him about logistics and supply lines! He wasn't worth their sacrifice! Commander Krause had a son and a wife waiting for him at home, Wolfgang had brothers and a mother depending on him and Ludwig also had his own family in Berun.

"May I have my Mondragon back?" He asked nicely, the stunned Ludwig could only wordlessly hand Alberich the rifle. He smiled at them before declaring, "As for your suggestion to retreat alone… I refuse!"

"Huh?" Ludwig and Wolfgang chorused, before both of them had the butt of Alberich's rifle buried in their abdomen. "Urk!"

He turned his radio on, pointedly ignoring that Ludwig and Wolfgang that doubled over in pain and said, "To all of you who think sacrificing yourself for me is a great idea, I hereby reject it! My commander is delusional from blood loss, so I'm taking charge. So get the hell out of here!" He said in one breath.

Silence fell. Obviously Alberich's reaction wasn't what they had in mind when they told him their resolve.

"If that's all… stop gawking and do all you can to survive." Alberich snapped before taking off.

"Beilschmidt! NO!"

He shot up like a bullet, higher and higher, inwardly wondering if he would ever regret this decision as he felt numerous hostile mana signature chasing him as he expected. None of his comrades could catch up,since he had plenty of mana left. All he had on him was a Mondragon rifle he couldn't use, one Mk.13 orb, one old model Lambhor-11, a couple of grenades and a dagger.

"Beilschmidt! Get back here!"

He laughed as he climbed higher, "No can do, commander!" As expected of Commander Krause, he was still conscious enough to shout into radio. "Aren't we all rationalistic and pragmatic soldiers of the Empire? You should lead Ludwig and the rest instead of saving me." You could do that after regrouping, hopefully he would still be alive by then.

He wondered if Tanya would laugh at him for his stupidity, but he couldn't turn back now.

┬┴┬┴┤幼女と少年戦記├┬┴┬┴

Berun, Cruscos airport

Tanya slumped over her desk, exhausted in both body and mind due to mana sickness. That damned orb sucked her dry again today and she could see in the mirror that she had bags under her eyes. If that stupid thing exploded tomorrow, Tanya would definitely write a request to transfer this time. It should get across the upper brass in her current department that she had her limits. No human deserved being toyed with by Schugel's evil invention.

She looked sideways to her mug of coffee. She remembered this mug one of a pair Alberich had bought for them for her eighth birthdays back in OCS. It was a plain white mug at first but Alberich had gotten some black paint and drawn the silhouette of a man in a suit and glasses, along with a quote she liked.

"Miracles are just illusions for unobservant idiots" It was written in cursive on the rim in a font from their old world, so elaborate it looked like decoration instead of words.

It was a nice gift so she had accepted it, and she paid for Alberich's share of mug. He had drawn a silhouette of his family on his, it suited him well. Tanya was attached to her masculinity and job from her past life, while Alberich could never forget his old family.

"Gah, this coffee is terrible." You'd think a high class lab with a lot of funding wasted on that impractical orb could afford a decent coffee bean. "It's on Al's level of brewing." He was a tea-guy, and totally clueless of how to make coffee that wasn't instant. HIs brew was either too bitter or too thin.

Crack!

"Hm? A hairline crack just-" The coffee didn't spill, and she didn't bump it to anything so why this mug suddenly had a small crack like this? There was a superstition that said that this was a sign of misfortune, but of course Tanya didn't believe it. She drank her coffee in one gulp before wrapping the broken mug in paper before throwing it into the trash.

"Hmph… what bad luck." Throwing her uniform into the laundry basket and putting on her pajamas, Tanya went to bed. It was too early to sleep but Tanya was exhausted. Despite this however her eyes wouldn't relax, her mind kept spiraling towards a certain redhead who was out there flying in the cloudy skies of the Rhine. "Damn it Al! Get your ass back to the rear soon, you're cut out for front line even less than me." In comparison to her, Alberich was a simpler and peace loving individual. He just wanted a quiet, humble life while drawing and painting to his heart's content

Alberich once joked he would retire from military early and be one of those old men painting in his spare time and telling stories about good ol days. It wasn't an ambitious dream, but Tanya thought Alberich deserved peace and quiet after his past life was cut short. Of course, Tanya didn't feel guilty because it was Alberich's choice to help Tanya back then. They had agreed that Tanya didn't owe Alberich anything.

However…

"You still hold onto your unfaithfulness, I see…"

Tanya sat up as soon as she heard that hateful voice, her eyes widening in shock when she saw the mug she had thrown away sitting on her desk. The mouth of the salaryman silhouette was moving.

"You!"

Slowly the scenery of her private room washed away to reveal the white space she had appeared in after her death and the silhouette on the mug materialized into a familiar old man in a toga. "You haven't changed at all… sinful human."

Tanya groaned, "This is the most unpleasant reunion I could imagine, and I wish you wouldn't appear when I have a headache." She did wish she had a rifle to shoot his mouth though.

"You are in a grave situation…" Indeed, being Schugel's lab-rat counted as mortal peril. "Yet, you didn't call out for God."

The little girl scoffed, "I'm sorry, but I am not that delusional or weak to cling to God. I will write a letter to request a job transfer, black on white… like any sensible salaryman. So shove your nonsense to someone who will hear it, your sales strategy is terrible… I don't think even Al will buy it."

Being X just looked at her scornfully, "Thanks to you, even that child has grown stubborn… he is convinced I'm not the same God he ought to worship…"

Tanya grinned at that, "That's your fault not mine, while I don't agree with Alberich… I will say any believer with common sense will not follow an unreasonable God like you." Just like how no employee would follow an incompetent boss.

"Such a shame… those who believe in me should endure any hardship in their faith."

She snorted, "I told you, no human will believe in a God without equal exchange for their faith. So far you have given neither Alberich nor I any reason to believe in you. The fact you threw us to this wretched world to grow our faith just proves you have no sense at all… Alberich can be stupid at times but he is sensible enough to see you're not worthy of worship."

The entity grew silent before saying, "It's surprising… but you have grown in unexpected ways, lost lamb…"

Tanya frowned, she didn't like what this entity had said. "Yeah, since you put me in this body-"

"I mean towards that lamb of mine you lead astray from me…" Being X drawled on, "I wonder… would you keep your stubbornness if I take him away from you?"

Some part of her mind said she couldn't care less, she wasn't someone weak enough to cling to bonds with other humans. However the larger part of her was furious with Being X for once again toying with her and Alberich! The bastard got them stuck together in this world and he had the nerve to threaten to take Alberich away whenever he pleased. As if Alberich, another human being, was no more than a trinket Being X gave to her on a whim. She had always known Being X didn't care about Alberich, even his words about being more lenient to the boy were a big fat lie.

However… listening to this entity playing with their lives, and not even sparing Alberich who just happened to get dragged into the mess between them was just…

"Don't you dare!" Tanya howled, "Who do you think you are, toying with him?! With US! I hate you and you hate me, it's mutual! However… getting rid of Alberich just to get my faith doesn't make any sense! You have done nothing to regain his faith." That guy was adopted and returned like unwanted merchandise! He acted like he didn't care but for someone whose life had revolved around a family in his previous one there was no way he didn't feel anything. "And you certainly have no right to play with his life!"

Being-X had no right to take Alberich away from her life or his own.

"We will see… lost lamb. You will witness a miracle and perhaps then you will see the truth."

And then he left, the space of nothingness disappeared and was replaced again by the small room she occupied in the military airport. Tanya looked around, her azure eyes bloodshot with fury. She jumped from her bed and retrieved the mug from waste basket, unwrapping the paper and staring at the neatly drawn silhouette of a salaryman and her personal quote that Alberich had written.

She checked inside and saw that the crack hadn't reached that far, just the outside surface. So she used mana like sandpaper to smooth out the cracked surface, the resultant patch being slightly uneven because of the lack of glaze, but it was as good as new now. "Hmph! I… we will not lose to you, vile piece of shit!" She cursed as she put the mug down.

She was about to go to the wastafel to wash her face but turned back to the mug, "I am just keeping this as symbol of perseverance in defying Being X!" It was a proof of determination, like how Japanese people would draw one eye on daruma doll and vowed to draw the other eye when they accomplished their goal. It had nothing to do with who the giver was of course!

┬┴┬┴┤幼女と少年戦記├┬┴┬┴

Rhine/Francois Republic Border

He was already 6000 feet above sea level, and soon he couldn't climb up anymore without risking his life more than he already had. Even though he succeed drawing the enemy forces away from his allies, Alberich was running out of ideas. No matter how he cut it, even with massive mana reserves a lone mage couldn't win against eighteen to one odds. Then again, the objective was survival not victory.

'A shame I can't copy Tanya's tactic here.' First of all, his comrades were retreating. Even if somehow Alberich managed to copy Tanya's great escape through faked suicide, he would just die in a ditch. Also, these guys seemed to be set on eliminating him for good, and not on a pressing schedule to make reckless moves. The only upside was they were all exhausted, especially their commander. All mages had an innate ability to sense mana though not as accurate as radar, so Alberich had a rough guess of his enemy's condition. They still had their numbers, and the Republican mages were masters of exploiting that particular advantage.

The only thing that came to mind was turning their strategy against them, aiming for their commander and hopefully they would turn into a disorderly crowd. 'But that means I'm up against a Named mage one on one.' Alberich didn't have time to contact the Command Post to access their Named library, and he was no shounen protagonist who would attempt defeating a last boss level enemy like that. 'Should I try hit and run tactics?' That wasn't a feasible tactic either, after what happened last time these Republican mages might be desperate enough to randomly shoot any cloud he used for shelter. Active shell ate up a lot of mana. If they pelted him long enough with mana enhanced bullets even his thick shell wouldn't last.

'It's a gamble for sure,
but surviving that obstacle with my own power is the best feeling there is.'

Or so Tanya said. There was no need to hesitate when your life was on the line. That sounded like a good idea, so he did what he had never considered. There was one spell he would never cast on himself, knowing this body with ADHD would react badly to it. Or rather he wasn't sure how badly it would, but he could imagine it was akin with over-dosing children like him with sugar.

'A terrible idea indeed.' But desperate situations called for desperate measures.

"Opening magic circuit. Cutting off the sense of pain. Increasing reaction time-" He mumbled under his breath, "Magic doping…" It was the list of enhancement spells Tanya used on herself back in Norden, and according to Tanya, she lost it for a bit afterward.

As soon as the familiar buzzing on his head started Alberich had time to think that it really was a bad idea. Just before coherent thought became impossible.

┬┴┬┴┤幼女と少年戦記├┬┴┬┴

Francois Republic 301st Mage Wing

At last their target had stopped climbing up, a good thing since they didn't have enough mana to bear climbing any higher. He had heard rumors that several mages in the Imperial Army were mana powerhouses, but this was ridiculous. This mage should be running out of gas by now, but if Foch had estimated his capacity right this fellow at least had around half of his capacity left after their intense battle.

Mana capacity wasn't the only thing about this Imperial Mage that bothered him, that stature… "It's a child soldier." The Major said quietly to himself. "He couldn't be older than my son." Why the heck would the Empire place a kid on the frontlines?!

Also… this boy, why did he suddenly became very still? Foch suddenly became hesitant. If this child surrendered... "Boy, if you surrender now… we will guarantee your right as a prisoner of war!" This kid had blood on his hands, but Foch would be damned if he didn't offer this choice through an open channel at least.

For a moment, Foch dreaded this child soldier would spout some patriotic declaration and refuse to surrender. Or the opposite, start bawling like a child his age. The boy however did neither. Instead they heard the cheery voice of a child mixed with bell like laughter. "Eh-he he...surrender, ah yes! Treaty of worms, I learned that in school!" A pause, "Or was it Hague Convention? Aha ha-"

It sent a chill down his spine, to hear the innocent voice of a child speaking in the Empire's mother tongue. That was when Foch wondered if he should reply in the same, but he couldn't speak the Imperial language. Then the child's voice rang through open channel again. This time, it was in English. "Good morning- oops wrong language-" Did he hear this mage wrong or had he heard native language of Akitsushima in the last half of his sentence? The next try contained speech more familiar, while the accent was thick he could understand the boy at least.

"Bonjour… he he, did I get that right?" The boy was waving his rifle now as if it was an extension of his arm.

"Yes, I can understand you." Foch answered hesitantly.

The boy straightened up at that, "Thank you for the offer." Whatever came over the boy had calmed down somewhat. "But I can't do that." The boy said as if it was the most obvious choice in the world. "I have my orders."

There was no passion in his voice, none of the bravado Foch had come to expect from fellow soldiers on the battlefield. It was as if his words were a reality that had to be stated.

"War is no place for a child!" He roared.

Said child covered his lips, muffling a giggle."I have a question." He held his free hand up like a student asking for permission to speak in class.

Just how many language this boy know? Four? Undoubtedly this boy was a wunderkind, what a shame he was born on Imperial soil instead of theirs. "Yes?"

"Which-one-of-you-is-the-commander?" He asked so quickly Foch almost thought the boy would bite his tongue.

He flew slightly forward, "I am, Major Foch, Francois Republic Army."

Foch could almost imagine the boy was smiling when he chirped, "Merci bien!"

CLANK!

Then the next thing Foch knew the boy was on him, their bayonets clashing violently. "Kuh."

"Commander!"

Just now, it was as if the boy burst with kinetic energy and closed the distance between them in a blink of an eye. Even the pressure of his weapon against Foch's was heavy. Where did this power came from? "You…" Something was really wrong with this child soldier, from this close distance Foch could see his green eyes were empty as if his soul wasn't inside his body. The boy was also giggling helplessly but there was no humor in it, as if he laughed because he couldn't help it. HIs laughter sounded more like cries of a helpless child in his ears.

Foch tried to disengage but the red haired child stuck closely to him, the small but agile body was darting wildly around his like an annoying fly. His comrades were in confusion as they couldn't shoot with Foch in the way.

"StupiIdiotMoronAnnoying." The boy chanted, rapid fire. "GoAway-GoAway-GoAwayGoAwayGoAwayGoAway!" His ears were ringing, but at least the boy had turned off the open channel so Foch was the only one subjected to his incessant rambling.

"Kid!" Foch barked, "What the heck did your superiors dose you with?!" He became even more hesitant to just off this boy, because obviously the Imperial Army had mistreated this child!

Then much to Foch's surprise, the boy withdrew a few feet away. It should have been his chance to subdue this berserk child but suddenly the boy burst into tears. "Hic… hic, Nietzsche is right, God is dead… Tanya said so too…"

The Major had seen kids with mood swing, even his own son was quite temperamental at times when he didn't get his way. But this was extreme even to a father like him. Foch was stunned by the display, but not his subordinates who didn't forget this boy had killed too many of their comrades today. Seeing their chance as the boy was no longer sticking to their commander like glue, three mages opened fire. The boy didn't dodge and was covered in fire and smoke.

Foch shouted, "What the heck did you do?!"

"But Commander, this boy- no- this demon has killed so many of our comrades!" His subordinate argued.

That wasn't the problem here, moron! Foch wanted to scream, but then once again chime like laughter could be heard through the dissipating smoke. "Even altruism is already dead in this world" The smoke cleared away, revealing the boy whose temple and arm were bleeding lightly, it seemed his active shell was enough to protect him from the worst of that attack. "Because the world treat kindness cruelly." The boy lamented in anger, waving his rifle around restlessly.

What the boy said made his heart break, "No, we-" His subordinates lost their patience, and three hotheads charged. "STOP!" Foch didn't know why but he feared not for the boy but for his men.

The next thing they knew, the boy's mage knife burst with energy and the men who was still a good six feet away were cut in two from the torso down. The boy had been closing in, the blood soaked his body, his mage coat and part of his face were painted in a red shade not unlike his hair. The boy looked stunned by his blood soaked state, staring at his hand in a daze.

Foch's group was in the same state, especially the Major. He couldn't believe his eyes that, for a moment, that rifle looked like a scythe. Then their ears were deafened by a howl of despair.

┬┴┬┴┤幼女と少年戦記├┬┴┬┴

Alberich was regretting doping himself to hell and back as now he was paying the consequences by acting like a clown in front of enemy mages. It was a miracle itself that the enemy commander had offered taking him as prisoner of war, and rationally it wasn't a bad offer. His body was that of a child, if he planned it right the Republic would mistake him for a child conscript or some other kind of sob story.

However, being high from this maximum mana surge his body was going through meant Alberich had thrown his rationality out the window. His thoughts were clouded with a mix of giddiness, anxiety and anger, all mixed together with a mana surge into a terrible concoction in his body and mind. His mouth spoke in rapid fire, not even thinking about what he said as his brain couldn't catch up with his tongue. Somehow he had a shred of sensibility left and felt excited that the enemies were talking instead of shooting him, felt wronged they looked at him as if he was a freak and, felt angry because the idiots were shooting him.

He managed to level his voice somewhat but there was still a tremble in his voice from energy rush.

And then his mana reacted, sharpening and lengthening his bayonet before cleaving the three mages cleanly. Their blood bathed him and the smell of iron invade his nostrils, clearing his mind from the fog. Then reality began to sink in and Alberich lost control of himself. He screamed.

He killed them! He took away their life so cruelly. However when the noise started, his mind became clouded again as he darted around to dodge raining bullets. "Noisy! Be quiet! STOP!STOP!" The noise made his whole body uncomfortable, he wanted to rip his ears off! His free hand clawed on his face and he sobered again slightly due to the pain.

Alberich cried, 'I'm tired… but I don't want to die.'

Usually he would start to pray for salvation by now, but all he could think about was survival. Maybe the adrenaline had gone to his head, even his pained body was getting numb. Since when had he tried this hard on his own, not wishing for God to help him at all? Perhaps he started to be convinced by Tanya's argument that Nietzsche is right, God is dead. Even though he watched a movie with a title that said otherwise, he couldn't even remember the killer argument from that religious college student.

"That isn't true, my child…"

The voice of Being-X, he recognized it. However he couldn't even spare a thought to beg for his life, as this cruel God was the one who punished him like this. No wonder Tanya didn't rely on God, if this Being X put him in this hell on a whim, letting this entity save him would be the same as throwing away all of his dignity as a human with free will.

"I didn't mean to make you suffer so, this is just a trial of faith."

Is it fair for a God to test the love of his believer? Wasn't it sacrilegious the other way around, then why not vice versa? Why should he believe in this God, his parents said God is fair but this one was just petty. Being X only want to see him and Tanya suffer, throw away their dignity and beg. He was in a desperate situation, mortal peril where pride meant shit but even so he wanted his dignity intact.

"I won't degrade you so… I will prove it to you, just ask and I shall grant you salvation."

Hell, no. He couldn't trust a petty God to save him.

"Sigh… so you won't believe me unless I show my sincerity, very well!"

Then his mind became cloudier than ever before.

┬┴┬┴┤幼女と少年戦記├┬┴┬┴

Foch trembled, "What just happened?" The boy stopped all of a sudden like a puppet whose puppeteer had frozen. The atmosphere around the boy changed, and it made them hesitate from shooting the child soldier full of holes. His mind told him to kill the bloodsoaked child soldier now or he would regret it forever but his body refused to obey.

Run, his instinct told him.

His trembling hand swept over empty air and a holographic screen appeared, Foch zoomed in the view so he could get a good look at the boy's face. 'Why… his eye color-' It had turned to a vivid shade of gold. Mage's eyes took a more vivid shade of their original color when using mana, and Foch had heard when a mage with certain capacities let out their maximum output of mana their pupil would turn red because mana surge flooded the circuit on their eyes.

This was certainly an abnormal phenomenon, even if the boy had been anything but normal since they had laid their eyes upon him.

"Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine on them..." The boy sang through open channel, and from close up view Foch saw the boy was smiling benignly at them. It was a beautiful smile, like an angel and his eyes were looking at them with indescribable warmth.

Then he held his rifle up like one would a spear, the bayonet blurring as the blade materialised the form of a scythe once again. "Ge...ge-" Foch felt his tongue became numb and used his all to choke out, "GET AWAY FROM HIM! RUUUN!"

His warning came too late, the scythe was swung and his subordinates closest to the incarnation of death were torn to pieces. "Hear my prayer, unto Thee shall all flesh come. Grant them eternal rest, 0 Lord, and may perpetual light shine on them."

Then the slaughter began. Before them was no longer a child of humanity but a messenger of death sent by God to harvest souls. Foch fired his strongest spell, desperate to destroy the monster in human form together with his comrades. But their struggle was fruitless as the god of death danced in the sky, and all he could hear was a gentle and warm voice that had no place on the battlefield.
When everything turned red, and then quickly from red to black, all Foch could hear was the requiem that accompanied him into death.

"Lord, grant them rest…"


Phew! I am so glad I'm done with this part... I hope I portray Alberich's tantrum well, it's based on personal experience so I'm not sure how accurate it is. So Alberich, no more doping spell for you.
Also... I edited last chapter so Alberich attacked the artillerymen in gentler way, as apparently inflicting pain severely isn't allowed in war. Thanks to Ocean Sailor for correcting me.

As for Alberich's second name, the remaining contender are Paladin and Ardent, so anyone who wants to vote now... do write your choice in your review.

BTW for those who haven't check Batoto out, BD extra of Youjo Senki is out and we can wait for manga chapter 23 next.
Of course, please leave a review that tells me what you think before you run off to Batoto ^^

Stay tuned and wait for next update.
12th Record: You Can Only Die for Me