Author's Note: Hey guys how've you been? What? Surprised? Well you better be. This is probably my fastest update till now. Think of this as your early Christmas Present. Jokes aside thanks to all the people who have been supporting this story till now. I couldn't have done it without you guys.
And so without further ado…
Lets start the chapter.
Chapter-2: First contact
Earth:
Present:
Time Skip : One year
Third Person's P.O.V:
In the country of Japan, On 3 November 2023, 11:50 A.M. a mysterious gate-like structure appeared in the middle of Chuo Street located in the bustling Ginza.
Before the appearance of this mysterious structure could be notified to the authorities, the hinges of the gate started moving.
As the doors fully opened, a romanesque looking army numbering over 1,00,000 men came rushing out. As soon as the otherworldly men stepped through the gate, they started attacking everyone in sight. Men, women and even the children weren't spared from the sudden onslaught.
And so chaos descended over the district. People were dying left and right at the hands of the men wearing roman armor. Everyone was trying to run away, but it was difficult when the entire road was crowded with hectic pedestrians.
Many were unfortunate enough to trip and died below the stampeding army.
The invading army soon spread all across the district, killing indiscriminately and reeking havoc all over. Not only were there people in roman armor, but also many creatures from fantasy such as orcs, ogres, kobolds and even wyverns flying around.
Initially the Japanese Police Department was delayed in their response, but eventually they arrived and tried to defend against the endless hoard of soldiers.
Riot units and Special Assault Teams were deployed to protect civilians, but couldn't do much because of their low numbers.
But as things were getting dire, the Japanese defense force arrived at the scene and took care of the situation. Against the absolute power of modern weaponry the invading army couldn't do much.
The Japanese military force ferociously culled down the army of 1,00,000 to a measly 10,000 men. Most of the invading army were killed, but there were a few who were assumed to be the leading commanders of this army and so were captured alive.
But even then there were many who succeeded in fleeing through the gate.
After the situation was taken care of and the invading force either subdued or eliminated, additional forces were sent to secure the gate-like structure.
Soon paramedics were deployed in order to treat the injured. There were hundreds of people in need of help ranging from mild injury to critical and lethal injuries.
Ambulances were sent in droves for transporting the injured to the nearest hospitals.
Once everything was done, the bustling streets of Ginza looked nothing like it used to do. It looked ravaged much like a war-torn country.
After a thorough inspection it was reported that 1628 Japanese citizens had died in the initial attack and 609 were hospitalized. Among which 17 people couldn't make it, who were in critical condition.
Even then there were more than 200 Japanese citizens missing whose bodies couldn't be found at the site. It was presumed that some of them might have been kidnapped and were taken as hostages.
All together it was an absolute disaster. Japan had never experienced something like this after the second world war.
Once things calm down a little, the surrounding area around the gate was evacuated, and the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) was stationed there.
The public were outraged and shocked from the sudden attack. Many had lost their loved ones that day and were still grieving.
In a matter of time word of the incident spread all over the world like wildfire. The internet was only adding fuel to the fire as pictures and videos of the incident were uploaded.
Many foreign countries alongside the UN tried to intervene claiming to help. The Japanese government became hesitant as the international pressure was piling on and brought more scrutiny.
Finally not wanting any foreign intervention the Japanese government declared the incident as an internal matter. Thus claiming it as a terrorist act. And so later it was dubbed as 'The Ginza Incident'.
The Japanese ministers were on a tight rope. The public were raging for justice. While they couldn't even reassure the public of their safety inside their own borders. It was truly a hectic situation.
Scientists from all over Japan were called to analyze the strange gate-like structure. For an entire week they performed multiple tests and experiments on the gate. After which they all gave the same answer.
There was no scientific explanation of the structure that had appeared, nor did they know how it functioned. They couldn't even identify the material it was made of. At least they found out that it didn't have any adverse effects on the human body. So it was safe to travel through.
The Japanese intelligence department was having their own problems. Because of the language barrier they were unable to communicate and thus couldn't interrogate the invading forces for information.
But after a few nights of endless research they were able to understand their language partially. The dialect the invading army used was a mix of ancient latin and greek.
After which they were able to properly interrogate them and found out a few important tid-bit of information.
The country this invading army belongs to is called the Empire of Sadera. The current emperor of the empire is emperor Molt Sol Augustus. He was the one who sent the legionnaires through the Gate to conquer whatever lands they would encounter, disregarding any casualties that might occur.
The history and customs of the empire bears many similarities to the past roman empire. Especially their tendencies for war and conquest.
Just to confirm that the information wasn't false they had some hidden 'Legal' interrogations (A.N. : You know what I mean). After confirming all the information were delivered to the Japanese cabinet.
Once the Japanese cabinet received the information about the hostile country on the other side of the gate, a council was called in order to discuss how to proceed further.
After many arguments the Japanese cabinet came to a unanimous decision, a special task-force was created in order to establish a base on the other side of the gate, which was named 'The Special Region'.
During this entire time, there were multiple attempts by small groups of empire men to get through the gate. But were quickly subdued by the stationed Forces.
After which more military bases were established around the gate, alongside heavy weaponry such as tanks, machine gun turrets, missiles etc. Even a dome with reinforced steel doors was built around the gate.
On 13 December, the prime minister of Japan Fumio Kishida of the liberal democratic party, announced that a 2 billion yen relief package will be released for the victims of the Ginza incident. Further adding that an expedition to the special region will be conducted, in order to bring the culprits of the attack to justice.
Following that two weeks later on 27 December the JSDF took their first step towards the new world. The gate was tall and wide enough for the Japanese tanks to comfortably get through.
At the end of the dark tunnel, the JSDF forces found themselves on a green meadow at the base of a hill.
They were also met with an army of cavalry men numbering over 15,000 rushing at them. But they were decimated in seconds as the tanks fired.
After the battle, the bodies of the cavalry troops were buried in a mass grave by the JSDF using heavy excavating machinery. At the same time, the JSDF began construction of a temporary base at Alnus. Consisting mostly of tents and other mobile housing. And were defended by barbed wire which was entrenched. Heavy weapons and vehicles were also placed for further protection.
A few weeks later another army numbering over 60,000 men attacked the JSDF base camp. But this time they did it in the middle of night, thinking the soldiers would be asleep.
But unknown to them the JSDF forces were all awake, ready for them behind their trenches. Right as the enemy forces came into range, the machine gun turrets started firing.
All of them were brutally mowed down by the hail of bullet fire. In the vail of darkness they didn't even know what killed them. In the aftermath of the 'battle' the ground was littered with blood, mince meat and gore.
This was the worst and most brutal defeat the Saderan Empire ever faced. Which was later called the 'Battle of Alnus Hill'.
When there were no more further attacks the JSDF started building a more permanent base.
The temporary base was greatly expanded with the construction of structures serving as barracks, mess halls, command centers, armories, firing ranges, motor pools, and landing facilities for both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
The base was the first, and thus far only area in the Special Region with the full-scale use of modern electricity, indoor plumbing, and cell phone services. The base was defended by large concrete walls with guard towers, turrets, and anti-air gun emplacements.
The entire base looked like a star fort shaped pattern similar to that of an 18th century bastion fort.
There were many experienced and capable soldiers assigned to this expedition. And among them was one named Yōji Itami.
When the gate first appeared and Japanese citizens were being attacked by an unknown hostile enemy force. He took the citizens to the Imperial Palace, and made sure they were able to take refuge.
Because of his quick thinking hundreds of lives were saved that day. The media started calling him the 'Hero Of Ginza'. He was also praised by the minister of defense for his actions during the Battle of Double Bridge and was promoted to First Lieutenant.
Itami P.O.V:
"First Lieutenant Yōji Itami reporting for duty sir!" Out of all the capable individuals why was I selected in this expedition? They even cancelled my vacation! I had planned to laze around and read manga all day. Instead here I'm doing drills under the Sun.
Akira Yanagida the adjutant of Lt. General Hazamaa looked up from his paperwork and smirked at me.
"Congratulations. You have been appointed as the leader of the Third Recon team. Here's your first assignment, the general will brief you on the rest. Have fun", he said handing me a file still smirking.
Ughhh! as if it wasn't bad enough. Now I can't even laze around. I just want to punch this spectical smug bastard so much!
But in the end I just took the file, sighed and made my way towards the generals office.
Once I got there, I stopped and knocked twice on the wooden door.
"Come in".
After getting permission I slowly opened the heavy door and stepped inside.
The office itself was very plain and sparsely decorated. Other than the very large table and comfortable looking chair the general was sitting on, there wasn't anything of notice.
"Sit", obeying the command for what it was, I sat down on the generals opposite side and handed over my mission file.
As the general took the file, he took a few moments to carefully read over it. After which he rummaged through his drawer and took out a few photographs. A second later he pushed those photographs towards me and asked, "What do you think of these?"
Taking up the offered photographs I started examining them carefully. In each photo, there was a visage of a humanoid looking metal robot. On its back a pair of golden wings and on its face a red visor was situated. But the oddest thing was that, the robot looking thing was floating above the ground.
"What is this sir?", I asked befuddled. To me it looked like a Gundam figure from a Sci-fi anime.
The general crossed his arms as a serious expression came to his face. "That's what I want to know. A week ago the Saderan soldiers that were stationed a few miles away disappeared, and these things replaced them. Though low in numbers, they have successfully surrounded us from all sides. Their abilities are still unknown. We are currently assuming these are the trump card of the Saderan Empire. Any questions?"
"If they are really some kind of trump card of the empire, why use them now? Why not in the initial attack or even during their failed retaliation?. They literally threw thousands of men at us ", I said befuddled.
The general hummed and nodded, "We currently don't possess sufficient information for us to come to a conclusion. But some of my specialists speculate that, these might be some really advanced tech from a third party we are currently unaware of. That is the reason we have yet to make contact with them."
I suddenly have a really bad feeling about it.
"And so the Third Recon team has been assigned to make first contact with this unknown force, and learn of their intentions and allegiance.", the general said in his rough voice.
Damn it!!!
"But sir! What if these robot looking things become hostile towards us? Wouldn't it be far too dangerous for the Third Recon?", I pleaded to the general hoping that he would give this burdensome task to someone else.
"You don't have to worry about it. The Third Recon team has already been briefed and will be fully armed. If hostiles are shown upon contact you are to retreat by any means possible. Understand?", the general ordered.
"Yes Sir!", I replied accepting my rotten fate.
"Then you are dismissed".
After getting out of the generals office my entire body sagged in stress. 'Why does this always happen to me?!', I lamented while making my way towards my team. And as I reached them they all saluted.
"All in. Third Recon team ready to go sir!", the oldest looking member of the third Recon Sergeant Major Sōichirō Kuwahara said while saluting.
"Hey old-school!", I waved to my second in command. "How're we looking here?", I asked while observing the rest of the team.
Which are:
Master Sergeant Tetsuya Nishina: Rifleman.
Sergeant First Class Akira Tomita: Rifleman.
Sergeant First Class Mari Kurokawa: Combat Medic.
Sergeant First Class Shino Kuribayashi: Close Combat Specialist.
Sergeant Takeo Kurata: Driver.
Sergeant Azuma: Driver.
Leading Private Tou: Rifleman.
Leading Private Daisuke Tozu: Rifleman.
Leading Private Wataru Katsumoto: Heavy Weapons Specialist.
Leading Private Hayato Sasagawa: M2HB Gunner.
Leading Private Hitoshi Furuta: Rifleman.
Leading Private Higashi: Driver.
Sheepishly I introduced myself ,"Uh thanks for falling in or whatever, I'm First Lieutenant Yōji Itami, nice to meet you". There weren't any responses. "Oh god, I missed one train on the way to sexy shimbashi and now I'm here. With a platoon full of dudes!", I mumbled to myself in dejection.
"All right, let's get cracking guys", I urged them to get inside their LAV's.
Among the third Recon team only one Sergeant Kuribayashi eyed me with hate. "You kidding, this is the dipshit they sent", she said quietly not thinking I'd hear.
'That's odd? I don't remember doing anything that pissed her off', I thought to myself confused while glancing at the simmering Sergeant.
After boarding the vehicles we rolled out in full speed towards our objective.
Within minutes we were out of our perimeter losing sight of the base. All three LAV's were going smoothly at the speed of 60 km/h, as green Meadows and lush fields rolled by us on each side.
We even passed by a Stonehenge, which looked quite similar to the popular Stonehenge in the UK from our world.
"Hey, do you know what's up with Kuribayashi?", I asked Kurata in a low voice, who was sitting beside me driving the LAV.
Kurata looked at me surprised "You didn't hear?"
"Hear what?", I replied confused.
Kurata pursed his lips while keeping his eyes steady on the muddy road. "Kuribayashi's little sister was present during the Ginza incident. I'm not sure if she's alive or dead, but since they didn't find her body she was designated as missing. We think Kuribayashi joined this expedition in the hopes of finding her", he said solemnly.
I felt both a sense of guilt and pity swell inside me. Even though I was there and did everything I could to save a few people. There were still far too many innocent lives lost that day.
"Attention! we will be making contact in approximately six minutes, Over", the words from the radio brought me out of my contemplation. Everyone straightened in their seats and prepared themselves for any possible confrontation.
I felt hopeful when the floating robots didn't show any indications of attacking as we came into sight.
Just when we were a few meters away one of them came forward and raised its metallic arm. "Halt! You are currently trespassing on the lands of the kingdom of Nazarick. State your intentions!".
I was not ready when the voice came from inside my head rather than the floating robot. I was expecting some kind of robotic voice, but the voice I heard was strangely… melodic and gender neutral. But what caught me off guard was that it spoke fluent japanese.
Taking a deep breath I opened the door and slowly got out of the vehicle. All the while keeping both of my hands in the air as a sign of peace.
"Hello! I'm First Lieutenant Yōji Itami, leader of this Recon unit. We are from the country beyond the gate. If you don't mind me asking, are you guys part of the Saderan Empire by any chance?", I asked nervously. Because if they were, we have to high tail it out of here as fast as we could.
The six feet metallic giant looked at me as if contemplating and then declared, "No, we are not. I'm thirteen, captain of the northern guard unit. We serve the kingdom of Nazarick. which you are currently trespassing. So I repeat, state your intentions?".
And now that I look, there is a black coloured thirteen written in roman numeral on its chest. As are all the others with different numbers.
Shaking my head off those thoughts, I started thinking about this new information. As they speculated this was a third party which has yet to show itself as hostile. If I played my cards right, we just might get ourselves an ally on this side of the gate!
Trying to give a friendly smile I replied, "We have been appointed to make first contact with your country. Would it be possible for us to meet your commanding officer or… leader?"
The thing now known as thirteen took a moment to think and then said, "Wait a moment". The next few minutes were quite tense as thirteen seemed to just float there staring into space.
"You have been granted permission for an audience with the king. Please follow me", thirteen said in his monotone voice.
Getting the green signal, I radioed my team and informed them of the situation. After a few back and forth we had started trailing the muddy road beside thirteen.
Even though we were maintaining a moderate speed of 70 km/h, thirteen kept with us without a problem. As an hour had passed, I tried to break the tense silence with some small talk, "So… thirteen, if you don't mind me asking, are you some kind of high tech robot?".
Kurata who was sitting beside me, gave me an incredulous look for asking such a question.
But thirteen shook his head and answered, "I do not know what you are referring to. But my kind are known as the archangel flame of the third Sphere".
My eyebrows went upto my hairline in surprise. I was sure the others were similarly shocked. An actual angel?! While we were in another world, possibly a fantasy one. But we were seeing actual fuckin angels?!!
I was too shocked to say anything, and so kurokawa who was sitting behind me chimed in, "Third sphere? are there other angels besides you".
For a minute thirteen didn't respond. But finally he did reply, "There are. In total there are three spheres of angels. The first sphere being the highest and the third sphere being the lowest. And above all is the divine lord".
I was still reeling from the shock of finding out that a real biblical god might be living in this world.
Before more questions could be asked, we arrived in front of a fortress city. And in front of the fortress gates were two more angels far more larger than thirteen. They were stationed as guards on each side of the gate.
Without promting the huge wooden gates opened up inviting us inside. As we were about to cross the gate, the two angels slammed their halberds on the ground and declared in unison, "Welcome to the Fortress city of Italica".
Kurata chuckled nervously while saying, "Dramatic much?". I had to acknowledge that everything we were seeing was quite over the top.
The city itself was packed with people participating in buying or selling miscellaneous items. In total the city looked like a busy trade hub.
While driving through the main road, rather than a passing glance we weren't getting much attention from the locals. As if modern armoured vehicles that didn't depend on animals to move weren't anything special.
The people themselves looked quite normal, if you ignore the few fantasy species such as elves, orcs, dwarfs and other demi- humans walking around. It made quite the fantasy esque scene for a novel or game. And drew a nice picture of different races living together in harmony.
Within minutes we arrived at the city center with a huge clearing. In the middle of which was a thirty meter tiled circle of many patterns. From each edge of the circle an angel like thirteen was placed keeping the local populous away.
There was only one person or you could say a bunny girl standing inside of the circle. She was moderately tall with black hair put up in a formal bun.
While the bunny ears did look odd on her, but what caught our eye was her attire. Rather than wearing a medieval dress, she was wearing a dark black business suit with a pencil skirt that you would expect a typical salary woman to wear.
But… I had to admit that it did suit her quite nicely. And by the looks of it Kurata did too.
As thirteen led us the other angels made way for us to enter the circle. After which, me, Kuwahara and Kurokawa disembarked and approached the waiting woman.
"Welcome guests from Japan. We were expecting you for a while. I'm Lucia Meru. And I am your guide for your audience with the king", she introduced herself giving a shallow bow towards us.
Reciprocating, I returned a respectful bow introducing ourselves. "Hello, I'm First Lieutenant Yōji Itami, this is my second in command Sōichirō Kuwahara and our combat medic Mari Kurokawa. Thank you for welcoming us to your city".
Miss Meru nodded cordially. "Its our pleasure receiving guests from another world. His highness is also very eager to meet your people".
"On that, where will the king be meeting us", I asked her.
"Oh he will be meeting you in the capital".
Looking around I asked, "The capital? Is this not the capital?".
Our guide gave a short chuckle and answered, "The fortress city of Italica is used as a trade hub and off point for the kingdom of Nazarick. We will be transported to the capital city once our transportation arrives".
I didn't get the chance to ask what kind of transportation she was talking about. Because before I could ask there was a really bright blinding flash of light. And when my eyes recovered enough to open, I found out what the reason for the blinding light was.
Behind miss Meru stood a three storey tall angel. Not only was it the tallest angel I've seen so far, it truly looked like an angel from the myths. On its back three pairs of white wings rested, while a golden scepter was placed on its hands.
Both its head and body were obscured by light. While its entire body was covered with numerous glowing feathered wings, which were decorated with royal tablets. At the front of its head, a glowing divine magic circle was emitting light.
It bathed the area in holy white-blue light, and brought a slight fragrance to the air.
Hundreds of white feathers could be seen floating in the air. All around us people who were passing by fell to their knees and started praying. Me and my team just seem to go from one bizarre event to another.
"M-miss Meru… what is this?", I asked not truly wanting the answer.
Miss Meru just smiled demurely before replying, "This is our transportation of course. Now please stand your ground. This might feel a little… uncomfortable".
Once again before I could ask we were blinded by light. After which there was a feeling of vertigo and my stomach dropping.
For a minute my head felt hazy and it took quite an effort keeping my breakfast down. But when my head cleared a little I found myself sprawled on ground.
Getting up on my feet I turned towards my team, just to find them gasping and looking around frantically. Even the LAV's were there. Looking around for myself I was once more shocked to see that our surroundings had changed.
And by the looks of it we were on the edge of a park, or was it a garden. As lush trees and flowers were situated in an orderly fashion. I might have even spotted a cheery blossom tree in full bloom. Now, the question was how did we get here.
The answer came to me really quickly. Teleportation, a typical trope in fantasy novels but a terrifying notion in reality. What more mind-blowing things could this Kingdom of Nazarick do?
"Lieutenant! come here quickly!!", before I could delve into my any further, the voice of Kuwahara brought me back.
Turning, I found him looking frazzled while clenching the steel railing on the edge of a… cliff?
Walking towards him I found the answer to my question.
"No… way…"
"How are we-!"
"There's no way we…"
"This is a dream? Isn't it?! I'm dreaming right?!"
Not just Kurokawa, but the entire third Recon team seems to lose their mind simultaneously.
Today just wasn't a good day for the Third Recon.
We weren't on the edge of a cliff.
From behind us Miss Meru said in a sickly sweet voice, "Welcome to the capital of the kingdom of Nazarick-"
We were in the sky.
"To the floating city of Avalon".
Authors Note: What? Disappointed that it was shorter than usual. Don't be because the next update just might be faster. At first this chapter was supposed to be 13k words. But I didn't have the patience for that. So, I broke it into three parts. The next two chapters will be larger.
So what did you think of this chapter? How will the JSDF and Japan deal with this? How will the Saderan Empire act? And most importantly how will our overlord react to this? Tell me in the review! Because your feedbacks gives me the strength to write more.
Till then… goodbye!
And Mary Christmas!
Next Update: Shifting Worlds.