Now it's time to get to the second part of the episode. This chapter will introduce the next work involved in this series, although it's going to be brief.
At the same time, I'm going to be adding more tracks into the list for I have none in the past few episodes.
Tracks used:
1. Chikyuu no aratana yume/Earth's New Dream – SUPER ROBOT WARS T
2. Dai Kessen- STRIKE WITCHES OST
3. Karsland no Higeki- STRIKE WITCHES OST
4. Guardian ~SIRBINE~ - New Story of Aura Battler Dunbine
(1)
The next day, the 501st proceeded to conduct training with the recruits. Mio already launched with Gertrude, Yoshika, and Lynette in their Striker Units. Izetta and Alice were also part of the training group despite their civilian status.
"Today, we will be working on flight formations," Mio led the girls as they circled her. "There are six of us, so we shall separate into three elements."
Alice had expressed her excitement for training in the sky compared to the shy White Witch.
"Feels nice to be tagging along with the professionals, right Izetta?"
"Miss Elvira said she wanted to get more photos of me flying with the other girls. She wants the world to know that we'll be fighting alongside the other Witches."
"Still thinking about your Archduchess again?" Alice smugly inquired.
"Eh!?"
"I hear that you share a room with her on the base, and Tipler said you were screaming. When he entered the room, he saw that you did so because she cuddled close to you on the same bed. Did she try to hurt you last night?"
Izetta's panic caused her to lose balance immediately. All of the girls turned to the White Witch who suddenly flew out of control. They weren't too concerned about the magic in the area, especially since she was flying perfectly in that spot for minutes. There were also incredibly red cheeks on her once she regained her flight and flew towards the Psionic girl.
"I-I-I-I-It was nothing of the sort! S-She did hurt me or anything like that!"
"Izetta-san?" Yoshika became oblivious as to what happened.
"Sister, could you be in that kind of relationship?" Lynette's face was not as red, but she could see the tension within her.
"W-W-W-Why are you saying things like that of a sudden!?
"Just curious," Alice smirked away, leaving a hint of anger within the White Witch.
"Prying on needless affairs is distracting," Gertrude remained stern throughout the incident. "Major, I believe it's time we get to training."
"Mm," the Major confirmed. "I will be paired up with Lynn, Barkhorn will be with Miyafuji, Izetta will be with the Psionic girl."
"Yes, ma'am!" Lynette affirmed.
However, Miyafuji had yet to say anything. Mio intended to have her pair up with Barkhorn and understand what was wrong with her. So far, the young Fuso Witch had her eyes on the more experienced Lieutenant, but she remained fixed forward, not turning a degree to her.
"Miyafuji, do you have anything to say?"
"No, ma'am!"
Mio gave her signature laugh before continuing.
"Each element will be divided between a leader and a subordinate. The leader will always have her eye on the enemy and should give exact orders to her subordinate. Those who are subordinate should follow everything the leader commands. Don't look at anything else."
"M-Miss Sakamoto," Izetta inquired the Major who did not look at her.
"By the way, you can call me Major. We're soldiers here after all. In the meantime, you and Alice will participate after a warmup. We'll be getting to evasive maneuvers, so you and Barkhorn's element will pursue us."
"Y-Yes, M-Major Sakamoto."
The Major gave her signature laugh but stopped when she heard nothing from the stoic Lieutenant.
"What's wrong, Barkhorn? Can you not hear me?"
"I'm fine. Go right ahead."
"Very well, Lynne, follow me!"
Lynette followed the Major as the two took off. It took a while before Gertrude and Yoshika went ahead as well.
"Follow me, newcomer," the Lieutenant ordered coldly to her assigned subordinate. Alice quickly read that she was not happy with her partner.
"Say what she wants, but there's something up with that Lieutenant girl."
"Maybe she's mad at me," Izetta wondered the same thing, noticing the Lieutenant ignoring the White Witch as well.
"You? I was talking about her relationship with Yoshika."
It's not that she did not care for Barkhorn's behavior towards Yoshika, but her reaction to the White Witch was similar. She also paid a visit to the 501st commander who gave almost the same consultation.
Miss Barkhorn is not the same as she was when we first met. Izetta had minimal knowledge of her clan's history. Though she did not have all the details, she only had essential information and locations where she could find all the answers. Grandmother even said that our ancestor was a traitor. But Barkhorn's ancestral clan were traitors, too. Is this the burden Miss Wilcke was talking about? If so, then…
Izetta's train of thought broke over the sound of a horn. Both girls turned to the base as flares went off above it.
"That's," Izetta became more familiar with the warning signal.
"An air raid siren," Alice smirked. "And you know what that means!"
The two nodded to each other, prompting them to cruise towards the Witches who were in the middle of practice. Mio reached all the girls in the intercom as she called out to them.
"Enemy forces coming from the eastern gird! Altitude around 10,000 meters!"
(2)
Alice and Izetta joined up with the 501st units from behind. The White Witch stayed for a while so she could obtain her lances and swords form the top of the base. She continued checking her mana supply to ensure she could still fight in its airspace. Only Minna got a glimpse of what was going on. While Perrine saw the response Izetta obtained, she did not bother to question it. Not that it mattered to anyone else since, besides the Galian Witch, they knew Izetta's weakness. Not wanting to bother with the White Witch, Minna flew over to Mio's side as Wing Commander.
"The enemy's movements have become quite erratic lately," the Major conversed with her superior.
"Karsland has been tracking movements throughout Germania for the past few weeks, but even they are unsure what's going on."
"Karsland…"
"What's wrong, Barkhorn?" Mio caught the Lieutenant muttering.
"I-It's nothing."
Mio sighed in distress. It appeared that getting the girls to close together was not going anywhere. Perhaps giving a little more distance will be better for them.
"We will change the formation this time. Barkhorn and Perrine will pair up. Miyafuji, you're with me."
Again!? That damn raccoon-dog! Perrine exclaimed as she turned her head away. Her irritation let go when Mio issued back through the intercom.
"Heads up! Four Me 109 squadrons within 1000 meters! Germanian fighters incoming!"
"G-Germanians!" Now Perrine exclaimed for a very different reason. She and the other Witches knew the Empire was building up a massive air fleet in their homeland and on the shores of Galia. They didn't expect the force to show up now.
Barkhorn and Minna tightened their weapons, both hardening themselves for the fight ahead of them. Alice was brim with confidence. Izetta narrowed her eyes as the lances and swords surrounded her.
"Impossible," Lynette was also stunned. She turned Miyafuji, who was shaking and unsure of what was going to happen. She had the same feelings; this the first going up against someone human.
"This fight will be a little tough this time," Mio said to herself as she contacted the recruits for the apparent matter. "Listen, Miyafuji. We're going up against enemy fighter planes from the Germanian Empire. I don't want you to freeze up out there."
"Are...Are we really going to fight them?" Yoshika stuttered for the moment.
"Is something wrong?" Mio replied. "Are you still not used to battle yet?"
"No, but," the young witch hesitated. "Aren't these planes flown by people?"
"I agree, Major, lets-" Perrine wanted to object for once.
"Who cares what enemy we're facing," Alice boasted in the intercom. "It's about time they showed up again! I was getting tired fighting Neuroi already!"
Even though she unnerved Yoshika and Bishop, the girl's words motivated the Galian Witch for once. After what the Germanians did in her homeland, and what she witnessed with the White Witch, she couldn't let that slide either.
"Those damn Germanians!" Perrine expressed her frustration openly as she turned to Yoshika. "Fine then, I'll just vent my anger upon these filthy Boches rather than you!"
"Perrine-san?" Yoshika noticed the anger in her eyes.
"Listen up, raccoon dog! You may have escaped me for now, but someday I'm going to deal with you just like these wrecked planes right here!"
"R-Raccoon dog!?"
"That's enough, you two," the Major quelled the argument between the two. "Miyafuji, Bishop, I know you never fought against enemy planes piloted by humans. But all I ask of you is, don't die."
"R-Roger!"
"Izetta, can you still fight?"
Mio directed the words to the White Witch, who finished check the mana in the region.
"The magic still varies within the channel. I'll have to be careful about flying in this area."
"Just warn us if you fly into a place where you're out of magic," Minna recommended. "We'll carry you someplace to replenish."
"You're the world's hero, and Elvira is waiting to obtain more photos of your battle," Mio additionally consulted. "Do not let your weakness falter your abilities."
Izetta continued to notice the Lieutenant not saying anything. She still wondered if Barkhorn was still mad or hid true feelings about her family's shame. She still needed to thank her for offering this opportunity to be of use to everyone.
Princess, Izetta thought about the words she had with Fine last night as she grasped the mana within her hands. For your sake, I'm going to protect the world for you.
Mio closed her eyepatch now that they had visual on the enemy. Each of the Germanian fighter squadrons spread out to surround them and take on the girls by elements
"Split up to attack each squadron!" Mio ordered as they split up for each set of planes. "All units attack!"
Off the shores of a nearby island, a wide-spanning aircraft rested on the English channel. It was a flying wing with a wingspan well surpassing 40 meters. To support its weight in flight, it had six turboengines and near the tail and two more on the sides. The aircraft had four single MG131 machine gun turrets on the front of the wings, two on top, two on the bottom, and two on the rear near the tail. There were also two turrets by the nose, one on top of the fuselage, and one on the bottom, each with a single MG151/20 cannon. There were four pylons on the wings with tanks that both carried extra fuel and acted as floats when empty. The bottom of the fuselage had two loading bays for bombs and ordinance.
Although classified as a bomber, the term floating fortress or flying warship was not inaccurate, if not an even more accurate description of the command vehicle. That was the thought of Major Berkmann and Second Lieutenant Rickert, the former of whom commanded this vehicle that was the Amerika.
Both of them observed the battle from afar, on top of an island of rocks the aircraft hid behind. It took a while to get into position, but they brought a lifeboat on the plane for this occasion. Berkmann brought a radio with them as they observed through their binoculars.
They traced the Me 109 squadrons that advanced on the Witch units, each in a box formation with its Schwarms in a four-finger formation. With approval from the Kaiser, Berkmann enlisted the support of the nearest Jagdgeschwader unit stationed in Germania. With fifth squadron incoming, they had more than enough forces to complete their mission.
"Hope you've gotten used to flying that machine," Berkmann shared his sympathies with their top ace, who lead one of the squadrons towards the White Witch and Alice. Their main focus was the unit lead by the Heinkel 112 Vergeltungswaffe model that they lent to Bassler from the Technology Arsenal. It distinguished itself from even the other squadron leaders with its gold and yellow markings. Although the Captain was below one rank for the position, he was assigned the leader of his squadron that targeted the White Witch. Even then, the pilot seemed to enjoy the plane far more than his current, if not a temporary position.
"This plane is a wild horse," Bassler commented. "It seems only I can master it."
"Unfortunately, there was no time to practice. You'll have to try it out in actual combat."
"Just try not to wreck the plane while you're at it," Rickert said to himself, concerned about the Captain's childish antics.
"What, you expected to fly with me?" Bassler retorted, overhearing the boy.
Berkmann had to chuckle for the moment as he reminded his pilot.
"Our main objective is to confront the White Witch. Other than that, you're free to engage the enemy force however you'd like."
"Jawohl," Bassler confirmed before the transmission ended.
The Germanian air fleet crossed paths with 501st, Izetta and Alice included, with an exchange of gunfire. Shells, tracers, and magic shields riddled the sky as the battle raged above.
Although there were casualties on their side, Berkman observed the results. To a degree, he found some fortunate some of the Witches were younger and hesitated to shoot. The others were not so hesitant, although they showed signs of struggle.
"Are you sure this will be enough to take on the 501st?" Rickert questioned the Major as he observed.
"The 501st Witches are not that much of a concern," Berkmann answered. "Two of their unit's movements are sloppy, so we're dealing with green soldiers."
"They don't look like the kinds of girls who want to fight people either," the Second Lieutenant noticed as he observed Yoshika and Lynette avoiding the cockpits of the planes. "However, isn't it too soon to deem them not a threat?"
"No, because there are several ways how we were able to combat a common Witch."
(3)
Berkmann continued observing the Witches in the 501st as they battled the Germanian planes. He caught a glimpse of the Galian Witch who went in a scissors formation to avoid the shot, only to have a few of them hit her Striker Unit and cause them to lose balance.
"Although they are as small and mobile as the White Witch, they rely on machines for flight. Damaging their Striker Units even by a little bit will cause them to lose control and fall."
He turned his eyes on Yoshika next, who projected a large shield to protect herself and Lynette from gunfire. The He 112 V, which continued chasing after Izetta, took the time to attack the green pair. Lynette was forced to project her shield to stop the bullets from killing Yoshika. The cannon from the He 112's nose blew the Britannian Witch as it flew by them.
"Moreover, their shields are only effective in a given direction. As long as they spend too much time focusing on that direction, then unless they have someone for support, they will still be vulnerable to typical flanking tactics."
Then, he went to Mio, who just drew her katana to cut through a plane's fuselage. Even though it was not as thick as a Neuroi's, it still put a lot of strain that left her breathing deep.
"Alas, Witches' power sources are not infinite. Like normal planes, Striker Units require power to run. They drain far more energy than the Witches can produce, which is why they don't have unlimited range," Berkmann turned to the Second Lieutenant for the moment. "Set the White Witch and the other girl aside, these three factors prove as that as powerful as they are, they're no different from ordinary military hardware. That's why we managed to defeat many Witches even without the advanced capabilities of the Neuroi."
"That's true," Rickert lowered his binoculars. Of course, due to how powerful the two abnormal targets were and how experienced the 501st Witches were, they could not just rely on their current forces any longer. That's precisely why they carried out this operation.
"This is Major Berkmann of the Special Unit to Luftflotte 2 Command," Berkmann called through the radio. "Is the special package ready for delivery?"
"This is Luftflotte 2 Command to the Special Unit," A response came. "Triebflugel is on approach. Standby for engagement, Major."
"Jawohl."
As the Major ended the communication, Berkmann and Rickert resumed their reconnaissance. After going through the battles with the Witches, they remained fixed on the White Witch as she battled the Germanian planes.
"It seems like we'll have to rely on those Neuroi now," Rickert lamented. Berkmann could not agree more.
The 501st and their allies continued battling the Germanian planes sent at them. Each one had their fair share of battle.
While Alice confronted her set of fighters, Izetta faced a real battle happening where even at full power, the enemy was smarter and harder to destroy. Her real opponent was the yellow and gold-colored plane trailing behind her.
"That machine is keeping up with me!?" The White Witch exclaimed. Even though she only fought battle recently, never before did this happen, even among the Neuroi she encountered. She was forced to use her swords and lances for protection, and when she sent them after it, it evaded single one of their attempts to take it down.
"You may be good, but now it's time to pay you back for what happened in the Alps!" Bassler opened fire once more, forcing Izetta used her swords for protection. The amount of gunfire from its machineguns and nose-mounted cannon was substantial, and she lost many swords to deflect them. She sent them after the plane once again, only for it to evade and the projectiles barely grazing his wingman.
Lynette was having more difficulty. She followed Minna to the outer reaches of the battlefield, but her shooting was as sloppy as before. This poor performance was not due to pressure; that went away the moment Yoshika became her friend. The real problem was that the enemy was human, and she shared Yoshika's sentiments as her officer indeed witnessed. She was not the kind of person willing to kill people, even if they were terrible, invading her homeland, and overall her enemy. But that did not mean she had no choice to kill them; she just needed to down their planes.
Don't worry, Lynette. You don't have to kill them, she thought to herself. Just avoid the cockpit, you'll be fine.
Yoshika was having a similar problem aside from being separated by Mio. She did not have to hit targets far away like Lynette, but she was so concerned about not killing anyone whenever she fired and kept deliberately missing her shots. Even shooting them broadside was a challenge for her.
"It's no good! I can't hit any!" Yoshika struggled as she aimed at probably her third target, all of which were misses. She was trying to hit the tail of the machine, which she thought was enough force to pilot to bail out. As the Me 109 flew away, Yoshika got distracted by another plane that headed straight for her friend. "Lynn-san!"
A rifle shot tore through the 109's right wing, causing it to plummet. At its current course, it would plunge into the ocean, which left a chance for the pilot to survive. However, this left Yoshika distracted as a plane heading towards her. She projected a shield to block the upcoming gunfire, but the cockpit got riddled with holes, killing the pilot and sending the fighter in the channel.
"Rookies won't survive for very long if you keep up like that," Perrine descended from above to her side, marking the kill on the enemy plane.
"Perrine-san?" Yoshika found herself bewildered by her rescuer, who was still made right at the moment.
Another Me 109 cruised to the side, firing more shots at the girls. While Yoshika barely evaded with one bullet grazing her unit, Perrine barrel rolled to meet the enemy plane.
"Tonnerre!" the Galian Witch emitted sparks around her as they struck the plane. The cockpit and fuselage exploded, sending the remains into the water. The young Witch felt dread over her rage and callousness against the enemy planes.
"Just don't get in the way, do you hear me?" Perrine continued to move forward to regroup with Barkhorn.
The Karsland Witch already gunned down several enemy fighters with her guns. When Izetta crossed paths with her, she projected a shield and retaliated with more gunfire. She targeted the yellow-marked Heinkel plane that stood out from the others that stood before it, though it easily dodged a tactic she had previously encountered.
"Those moves, where did I see it before?" Gertrude flew above as the plane passed. She had much more time to view the pilot inside. Although it wasn't much, she was sure the facial hair and style of his uniform looked familiar. "That pilot…No way! Could that be…"
"Barkhorn, is something wrong?" Now even Minna continued to inquire about her feelings.
"N-No, it's nothing. I'm continuing to engage the enemy."
Mio listened into the intercom while turning to Miyafuji. No matter how many times the Lieutenant keeps saying she's okay, her erratic behavior showed otherwise.
"She's become troublesome today," the Major encountered another plane, which she cut down underneath through the fuselage, sending it ablaze. "Though come to think of it, they're sending a much smaller force than reported. What is Germania thinking?"
As she flew to her stranded wingman, Minna announced through the intercom.
"Major, another enemy is incoming."
"Germanian reinforcements?" Alice called within after destroying another fighter with her sparks. "How much do they plan to bring here!?"
"I'm afraid it's bigger than that," Minna declared. "Altitude is above 15,000 meters, way about their service ceiling. The enemy is closing around 2,000 meters from our position. Same direction as the first wave."
Mio took the time to fly up above the clouds. She opened her eyepatch to zoom in. The enemy was just as she expected.
"A Neuroi!"
Just then, the large Neuroi descended from the clouds, getting everyone else's attention.
"Now we got a real fight on our hands, don't we?" Alice charged her flames once more.
"Hold on," Lynette called as she noticed something else from a lower altitude. "Something else is following it below!"
Mio descended along with the sizeable alien craft and used her eye and zoom in. Another squadron of Me 109s flew underneath the Neuroi's shadow as it broke through the clouds below.
"Germanian fighters?" the Witch muttered to herself as it approached.
The Neuroi began firing its weapons, which angled towards the Witches. They all put up their shield to evade, although the 109s planes and even Bassler took the time to flank Perrine by the sides, grazing her by the arm.
"Dealing with a Neuroi at a time like this?" Perrine growled.
"But why isn't it attacking the Germanians?"
Yoshika noticed that first when got a glimpse of the planes and Neuroi side by side. If the Neuroi were humanity's enemy, then they would have destroyed those Germanian planes at any time. Instead, they were together as they headed straight for the Witches.
"Could this mean, the Neuroi and Germania have joined forces?" Alice guessed.
"That's not it," Izetta voice broke in the intercom, which stunned the other Witches.
"Izetta-san?" Yoshika to say that, wondering what she knew.
"Just as how we Witches of Weisse Hexe control objects, there is a way to control complex machines and even living beings. It requires a lot of power, but if one of us wishes, we could control a Neuroi as if it were familiar creatures."
"Impossible," Lynette flew above in fear.
"This is not a surprising feat for us," Minna added beside her, recognizing the machine as the Triebflugel from intelligence reports and knowing more history behind Witches' abilities. "There are rumors and legends that say some other Witches were able to control other machines, and Germania somehow copied that principle artificially. Now they demonstrated it by installing a core into a machine and directing it even after Neuroification."
"Are you saying that Germania turned their machines into Neuroi and made them their personal soldiers!?" Alice exclaimed.
"No way," Yoshika stood flying above in fear. "That's…horrible."
"Those damn Boches!" Perrine's anger broke out in the intercom. "To hell with their Kaiser Otto!"
"Barkhorn, are you alright?" Mio called to her once again. Only this time, she heard a click from her tongue, indicating her response. "We cannot worry about it now. Lynette, Alice, and Izetta will provide cover against the Germanians. Everyone else, focus your fire and take down that Neuroi!"
As on cue, Gertrude and Mio's team went off to engage that enemy Neuroi. The Neuroified Triebflugel fired its beams at the Witches while the Germanian planes came to assist. Alice swooped in to create a trail of fire that destroyed three more Germanian fighters before creating a gust of wind to divert the others away from her. Izetta continued to struggle with the He 112 still following her, even when Minna drew it away with her fire. Bassler responded with gunfire in her direction, forcing her to project her shield, while avoiding Lynette's shots. Another volley struck Lynette by her rifle and sent in a panic as he flew past her and resumed his pursuit for the White Witch.
Mio continued to search the Neuroi for its core. Because this machine was Neuroified, locating the core should be natural. However, the Neuroi seemed to attack her whenever she tried using her eye, prompting her to use her shield. She even noticed the beams working injunction with the Germanian fighters as Perrine was forced to deal with both targets.
There's no doubt something is controlling Neuroi, Mio surmised. Its attacks are well thought out and coordinated, unlike any other units we encountered. We need to be cautious and keep our distance.
Meanwhile, Minna noticed Barkhorn's behavior as the Lieutenant left Perrine to deal with the beams and Germanians planes all at once while she focused on the Neuroi.
"This isn't like her at all," Minna said by Lynette, who continued to shoot at the Neuroi's shell.
"What do you mean?"
"It's Barkhorn," the commander clarified as she observed Gertrude operating alone. "She usually keeps her wingman within her field of view. But she's pushing herself too hard today."
The Lieutenant in question rapidly fired at the center of the craft where it looked like the core was installed. She was sure of it the moment he saw crack leading out red energy.
"I just found the core! If I shoot there, then I will-"
"Barkhorn, you're too close!" Mio called out to her.
"Barkhorn-san, watch out!" Yoshika shouted, prompting Gertrude to back away.
The Triebflugel fired a volley of beams after Perrine and Gertrude. Both them responded with shields to deflect the fire. However, the power of the rays was too much for Perrine to handle, knocking her back for a moment. She ended up striking Gertrude from the back, causing her to lose control.
One more beam came and hit Gertrude directly, destroying one of her MG42s and wounding her in the chest. The Karsland Witch plummeted to the ground to a nearby island.
"Lieutenant!"
"Barkhorn-san!"
"Lady Barkhorn!"
Perrine and Yoshika descended to catch falling the Lieutenant. Izetta also noticed cruised down to reach her. She made a sharp turn to break off her pursuit from Bassler, who now faced Alice after she took down another plane. The Psionic girl threw another spark, which barely grazed his plane, forcing him to back away. While the two Witches from the 501st succeeded in grabbing her, Izetta cruised down in hopes of recovering her as well.
However, she now fell for a different reason as she noticed. Her rifle was just depleted of magic, although she recovered for a period, it was apparent that she was flying into a no-magic zone.
"Izetta-san!"
"Izetta!"
Yoshika and Alice noticed her falling. Now they had two Witches they needed saving. Alice swooped down to rescue Izetta, throwing a gust of wind to blow the enemy places away, but she now had to rescue Izetta twice. This time, they now risked exposing the secret of Izetta's abilities. Although they made it, so it wasn't evident by letting some shots go by, she had to save the White Witch before she crashed into the island's woods with a hard impact.
Even then, a couple of pairs of eyes watched from afar, knowing something was wrong.
Perrine and Yoshika managed to carry the Lieutenant lightly onto the ground. While still in her Striker Unit, the younger Witch got on her knees and assessed the wound on Gertrud's chest. Perrine could only shake in terror over what she had done.
"She's bleeding," Yoshika revealed the wound by her breasts. "If we move her now, it will only get worse. I'll have to heal her here."
"Please," Perrine muttered. "Save the lieutenant."
The Galian Witch stood guard as Yoshika focused her magic. The Germanian planes flew above, completely missing their location. There was already a lot of tension within the Galian Witch.
"Don't panic. Nice and easy. Concentrate," The Fuso Witch's power emitted a vast field that resulted from her healing ability.
"Such incredible power," even Perrine was impressed by latent potential demonstrated by Yoshika. Never before did she witness such power from such a young girl. When tree branches broke within the forest, Perrine jerked over to find two other faces.
"Ah, Perrine, there you are!" Alice called out her with Izetta in tow. The White Witch still carried her large rifle.
"Izetta, why are you here?"
"Perrine, watch out!"
She blocked just in time to stop a wave of Neuroi beams from hitting the group. The Triebflugel above oriented itself upward like a flying tower. It continued to fire volleys of lasers while the Germanians flanked them from the sides. The bombardment remained continuous as Perrine struggled to uphold the barrier.
"Perrine," Alice called to her. We need to get Izetta someplace safe!"
"What's wrong, White Witch?" Perrine asked back. "Why can't you use your power?"
"It's complicated," Alice responded in her place. "Izetta is unable to gather up mana in this region. She's completely helpless here!"
"I can only do so much with a Neuroi here!"
The two girls complained as the Neuroi continued firing. One of its stray beams then hit the side, knocking Izetta into a tree. Even Yoshika lost focus as she noticed the White Witch now in danger.
"Izetta-san!"
Another beam suddenly erupted, which as bright and powerful as a Neuroi's. But besides coming from the woods, this one was green like it came from Izetta's magic. The attack blasted into the Neuroi and knocked it backward, causing it to stop its indiscriminate attacks.
"W-What?" Bassler reacted by flying away from the island with his Schwarm.
Lynette also jumped at the sight of the attack. She never knew someone had this kind of attack. Well, there was Izetta, but even she did not throw something that big.
"Was that a friendly attack?" Minna already noticed that Izetta was out of mana and in an area that had no lay lines. "Alice?"
"Whoever it is, that ain't me," the Psionic girl responded. "And it sure wasn't Izetta's doing!"
"Another friendly in the vicinity?" Mio also found herself shocked. "But how?"
There was a brief moment of tension as the girls on the island spent seconds staring where the sudden beam fired. Leaves still fluttered around as the battlefield went quiet. Yoshika was about to return the task at hand.
"Raccoon-dog look out! It's-"
(4)
Right when Perrine warned Yoshika, something burst out of the trees near their location. Whatever unknown force came out stood to be almost seven meters tall, blocking their view of the sun. It looked human, yet so mechanical, coupled with several non-human features. The feet had three talons each, the hands were like claws, and its head had two upward fins. The machine sprouted two pairs of wings: the lower wings were like an insect's and emitted a faint purple aura, and another pair looked like a beetle's carapace that emitted some light in the back. There were glass-like globes on the shoulders that glow light green like the lines and certain portions of the machine. When the dust settled, and the shadow cleared, the humanoid robot was shown to be in metallic silver aside from its joints. It carried a large shield in its right arm and had a sheath on its right hip, the sword of which was wielded by its left arm.
The ground shook as the machine advanced. Perrine stood guard while Yoshika covered Gertrude to keep her body from moving. Alice remained cautious, but Izetta was intrigued, especially after sensing energy within it that strongly resembled her own. Why that was, she didn't know. But then, someone came what they did not expect.
"I saw you girls were in trouble."
Those words shocked the girls around the machine, save for the unconscious Gertrude, as they did not expect the robotic giant to talk. It was shocking enough for them to hear something alien speaking a language they understood. However, there's another thing that even Izetta did not expect.
"A-A male's voice?"
The others remained stunned as they heard the voice of a boy. They found it even more surprising when they sensed the magical power coming from the machine. Not that it was impossible, but a boy that wielded magical power was rare, and there was someone like that right here. They wondered what machine it was and, judging by the voice, why its pilot was a boy.
The machine stopped in its tracks and faced the enemy Neuroi.
"I'm not the type for heroics," the voice of the machine called as it faced the startled Yoshika. "But I figured it was worth it to help out."
Here are some notes before finishing.
I deliberately called Bassler's machine merely the He 112 V/ Vergeltungswaffe because that was the closest that his plane resembled in the anime. It used a propulsion system similar to the V rockets that went over 400 mph like the original He 112, which is how it could keep up with Izetta. The difference is that it had no nose-mounted cannon and three propellers instead of four. Or at least that's what I've seen from the specifications and images.
The Amerika Bomber that Berkmann and Rickert operate from never appeared in the anime. It's a weapon I made for this fic based on Germany's experimental weapons from World War II. In this case, the Amerika is a fusion of the Horten bomber with some influence from the BV 238 flying boat. Furthermore, the name comes from Nazi Germany's Amerika Bomber project: several models of long-range bombers were supposedly able to fly into the United States mainland, bomb whatever targets they marked, and then fly back to Germany in one go. The name felt like a perfect fit for such an aircraft considering its role as a flying warship in this story.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
