It is something else entirely, matchlocks.

Itami had heard gunshots for the better part of his adult life; he spent as much time handling firearms as he did fiddling with his phone depending on his deployment, really. But those were modern weapons – jacketed bullets and intricate mechanisms that had been born from the burning battlefields of the first World War. To be used in an era where a single well-placed armament could slaughter scores of men before they could even return fire. When marching lines and volley formations would only provide a group of clumped targets for a machine gunner. Itami was a soldier but he was a modern soldier, built for modern wars to be fought with modern instruments.

Tanegashima were not modern and so, it was understandable that the opening volley of hellfire terrified him just as much as any of the ancient knights that he stood with.

Lines of overlapping arquebuses rained fire upon the field. The collective crack of igniting black powder washed overhead the defenders of Italica like a deafening wave of force, rattling Kevlar, leather, and plate alike as streams of crimson energy – so hot that the air all but screamed as they flew overhead – streaked across the dawning sky. They crashed thunderously upon the enemy lines, punching into and then through the armored torsos of the frontmost men before exploding into superheated winds that threw disembodied bodies into the air like leaves caught in a hurricane.

"I recognize that sun sewn onto all of your shoulders."

A girl watched them from above, inconceivably standing atop one such matchlock rifle that floated almost lazily closer. Long tresses of raven black hair spread like feathered wings from her back. Red eyes, the shade of a blazing wildfire, gazed upon them with curious relish like a child that had found a new toy.

"Once, I fought for that sun."

Some small part of him that acted beyond conscious thought couldn't help but compare her to Rory – saw the same sort of air in the weight of her presence that belied her short stature, the out of place uniform that looked like it was fit for a cosplay convention, and her almost inhuman beauty. But that comparison was just as quickly discarded into the realm of oblivion. Because no matter how honestly terrifying Rory could be, she had never made him feel anything that could match the tumultuous cocktail of awe and blood curdling dread that seeped into his bones at the sight of this demon in human's clothing.

"I fought when that sun was fractured and broken – dreamt of uniting it once more."

This girl was not an apostle. This girl was not even an existence that should be possible. Itami didn't know how he knew but every single iota of his being screamed at him that she was not something that should be within this world. More than elves, more than immortal priestesses, more than dragons, this girl was the most frightening monstrosity he had come across.

"Tell me, children of Nihon."

The girl's breathtaking features twisted into a corrupted caricature of their fairness, and it was all Itami could do to keep from screaming. Crimson eyes morphed into twin orbs of madness, lips stretching inhumanly in a horrific grin – an asura come to life.

"How fares the nation of the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven?"

XxX

A fun little scene I couldn't stop thinking about. I thought it would be amazing to toss Chaldea into the world of Gate and show the modern army of the JSDF just how terrifying the moonlit world could actually be. I mean there's magic in Gate, yeah, but it's all quite lackluster when compared to the absolute insane bullshit that crawls around in the Type Moon universe.

The Nobu I used here was taken less from Guda Guda and more based on Redline which is why she comes off as both beautiful and monstrous. That Demon King (A-rank) is no joke. It really does make her look like a demon born from hell whenever she wants. If any of you have read the first few chapters of Redline, you probably understand what I'm saying.

I don't know if I'll continue this so if any enterprising author wants to take the idea and run with it, no problem. Go right ahead.