Ch. 21: The Traveler from Afar

11:09 AM, December 15th, 1918, Korea Strait

A small, passenger steamship transporting people from Shanghai to Busan was propelling it's way forward. The passengers on the ship consisted of people from various backgrounds.

Standing outside on the deck of the ship was a German man in his early thirties wearing a trench coat over his two-piece suit along with a homburg hat on his head. He was descended from a heroic Prussian general who served King Friedrich Wilhelm I in the 18th century. Emulating his ancestor and his Prussian roots, his brown hair was tied into a pony tail in the back, similar to the ones worn by Prussian soldiers. He was also holding a suitcase in his right hand.

"I'm almost there. I'll hopefully meet Zero, a man who truly shows heroism and power. A man who leads the charge to victory. A warrior that makes his enemies tremble. They must let me see him." thought the man as he stared at the approaching Korean coastline in the distance.

7:38 PM, The Dangun, Keijō, Chōsen

Zero was sitting at the large table in the middle of the Dangun's common room. Capt. Gang, Kim Gu, Lt. Jo, and General Rozhkov were sitting there as well. All five men were discussing their next move and the distribution of their resources.

"So far we've evade the deathly grip of the Shinigami. However, he's practically arresting whole villages en masse." said Capt. Gang.

"But we can't just keep running away from him. We must confront him head on, like we did with Hasegawa." replied Lt. Jo.

"If what I heard is correct, Hasegawa is a totally different person than Tōdō. You guys only experienced a fraction of what he can throw at you with that whole incident with the train." replied Rozkhov.

"General Rozhkov makes a point. Theres in no doubt Tōdō must be approached differently. But we must make an offensive move soon. Otherwise we've lost." said Zero.

"The only question is where. Japanese intelligence has strengthen it's defenses, making it harder to determine the most important potential targets." Kim Gu explained.

"Yeah. I also heard Tōdō moves a lot more than Hasegawa, making his location harder to determine." said Lt. Jo.

Suddenly Myo came into the room holding a piece of paper in his hand.

"Zero! I think you should read this." Myo said.

"What is it?" asked Zero as he took the paper from Myo's hand.

"Well, according to our regional outpost in Daegu, a Caucasian, German man seemed to have figured out where the regional headquarters was. However, he approached the building and requested to see you Zero. As a result, the Black Army captured him and is currently watching over him."

"He requested to see me? Besides figuring out where the base was, asking for me just baffles me more." replied a surprised Zero.

"What do you plan to do with him sir?" asked Capt. Gang.

Zero silently thought to himself for a moment as everyone around the table looked at him.

"Kim, you and I are going to Daegu tomorrow. I want to see this guy personally and see what his deal is."

"Uh Zero, you think that's safe?" asked Kim Gu.

"We must understand the meaning behind this guy's intentions and I'm sure the council will be interested in hearing this."

"I guess that makes sense." replied Kim Gu.

"Myo, please tell Daegu to look over our prisoner with reasonable care and to not let him out of our sights. Also tell them I will be personally coming there to interrogate him tomorrow as soon as possible." Zero commanded.

"Sir!" yelled Myo as he saluted Zero and ran off.

"Gentlemen, I expect you to oversee and monitor your respective units while I am away." said Zero.

"As you wish sir." said all three men at the table simultaneously.

Zero then proceeded to leave the table and head towards his room so he could sleep for the night.

6:52 PM, December 16th, 1918, Daegu, Chōsen

Zero and Kim Gu arrived at the city of Daegu via a covered automobile the Black Army managed to obtain. The city was one of the many Korean cities growing due to the placement of railroads. The streets were mostly empty since it was real dark outside. The only light one could see came from some electric street lamps and some stars in the night sky.

The car came to a stop in front of a local press shop. Using the darkness as cover, Zero, wearing his Black Army uniform, and Kim Gu, wearing a usual suit, quietly went up to the door of the shop and knocked on the door three times.

The door suddenly opened and a middle-aged Korean man wearing Western clothes and glasses opened the door.

Zero showed the man the Black Army's insignia sewn on his jacket. The man, recognizing the symbol, immediately let them into the press shop. Inside were newspapers hanging on wires drying and an old electric-powered printing press.

Making sure the door was closed all the way and that they weren't being watched. The man then walked towards a wall consisting of what looked like coat hooks. He then turned one of the hooks, causing the sound of something unlocking to be heard. Pulling backwards, the man opened the wall, which was a secret doorway leading to a flight of stairs leading downward.

Zero and Kim Gu proceeded to walk downwards into what appeared to be a large basement. It had electric lighting, along with a table full of papers relating to Black Army activities. There were also a few other Black Army soldiers down there, and the commander of the regional headquarters approached Zero.

"Nice to have you here sir." said the commander as he shook Zero's hand.

"Same to you Lt. Chae." replied Zero. "Anyway, where is the prisoner?"

"Oh, we've kept him in the storage room. Don't worry, he hasn't been abused and we've been keeping 24/7 watch over him." answered Lt. Chae.

"Let me see him." commanded Zero.

Lt. Chae then led both Zero and Kim Gu to a door labeled "STORAGE". There were two soldiers guarding the door. They immediately saluted Zero and the Lieutenant as they entered the storage room.

Inside Zero saw the storage room to be another large room containing boxes of supplies such as food, fuel, and ammunition. There was also another guard overseeing the prisoner, who was sitting quietly in a chair.

Upon seeing the prisoner, Zero couldn't believe who he was looking out.

"Private, leave us be. Me and Kim need to talk to this guy alone." commanded Zero.

The guard in the room immediately followed orders and exited the room. Once he was out, Zero approached the prisoner.

"Diethard? It can't be you." said Zero.

"Diethard? I don't know who you're talking about, but my name is Dietrich Ried." said the man.

"So, it's like Tōdō and Tohdoh all over." thought Zero.

"Alright Mr. Ried, explain how you figured out this headquarters and your intentions." asked Zero.

"When I was in Germany, stories of an armed resistance within the Japanese Empire started to emerge. You see, I was formerly a teacher at the University of Bonn. My expertise was in Literature, Western Philosophy, and Oriental Studies. When I heard about you Zero, I had to meet you. You were like the warrior Siegfried from Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. Like Siegfried, you are a symbol of strength and inspiration, who's wields justice as your Nothung in order to defeat the dragon Fafner, who represents the unjust Japanese. Your organization and cause invokes the idea of reason and chaos simultaneously, the ideal form of balance." explained Dietrich.

"Ok. Interesting. Please continue." said Zero.

"As I was saying, I was teaching at the University of Bonn when revolution broke out in November. Germany's poor performance in the war had resulted in revolutionary fever plaguing the nation. After the Kaiser left the country, anarchy erupted. Communist, nationalist, and democratic supporters started fighting one another in the streets. It was then I decided to resign from my position at the university and head to Switzerland.

Once in Switzerland, I managed to legally obtain Swiss citizenship. Thinking of what to do next since there was nothing back in Germany for me, it was then I decided to seek the Black Army, so I could transform Zero into the mythological hero that he was destined to be." said Dietrich.

"But how did you figure out the location of this headquarters?" asked Kim Gu.

"Oh that, well, I had heard from locals in Busan that the Japanese was increasing security in Daegu. Figuring that was due to Black Army activity, I decided to go there. After arriving in the city, I then logically figured the bet place for a rebel organization to hang around would be a place relating to communications. This guess led me to this printing press shop here, and I simply mentioned the Black Army to the owner of the shop, which resulted in me being taken into Black Army custody." explained Dietrich.

"I see." said Zero as he nodded. "Well it is no doubt you are someone who can piece together a random pile into an elaborate portrait. And you say you want to serve the Black Army, make Zero into a Wagnerian hero. I think we can use someone like you within our ranks."

"Really?! Oh thank Zero. I shall not fail you." said Dietrich as he rose out of his chair and proceeded to shake Zero's hand.

"Uh Zero, may I speak to you in private?" asked Kim Gu.

"Sure." Zero replied.

He and Kim Gu excused themselves for a second and walked towards the corner of the room.

"Zero, we just met this guy and you want him in our ranks this quickly? I must say this is extremely dangerous and potentially threatening to the integrity of our organization." whispered Kim Gu.

"Don't worry. He won't stray off the path. His desire is to create an image of Zero that embodies the qualities of mythic heroism and the ideal form." whispered Zero,

"But still..." Kim Gu replied.

"Besides, you can say I knew a guy like him back in my world. I feel he is safe to work with." whispered Zero.

"Very well. I'll just have to explain this to the council when we return." Kim Gu said.

Zero and Kim Gu then proceeded to tell Dietrich that they would accept him into their organization. They then planned to stay the night in Daegu before returning to the Dangun the next day, where Zero planned to introduce Dietrich to the team along with their plans and structure.

Author's Note: Well, now we have Diethard's counterpart. If you're wondering how he's getting pass any language barrier, it's because he taught some Oriental studies. Like Diethard, Dietrich wants to make Zero a god-like hero, except in this case it's with a Wagnerian theme.

In Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, which is based off Norse mythology, the hero Siegfried kills the dragon Fafner with his sword called Nothung. That's why Dietrich is saying Siegfried is Zero, Nothung is justice, and Fafner is the Imperial Japanese Empire.

Dietrich also mentions how the Black Army embodies order and chaos simultaneously, which is the ideal form of balance. This is a concept brought up in Friedrich Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy. In it, Nietzsche also says that the Wagnerian operas were a rebirth of the classical Athenian tragedies that embodied this dichotomy.

I had Dietrich use Nietzsche and Wagner to promote a heroic, ideal image of Zero because later I will mention another part of his backstory not mentioned yet. It's not important to the main story, it's just interesting since it will involve mentioning one of his past students.