"Brothers,

The time has come. For months, we have suffered the indignity of our fatherland being occupied by the vile invaders from the Empire. All that time, we've stayed in the shadows, gathering our strength and making preparations. Now, at long last, the long-awaited hour is upon us.

The Imperial dogs must learn that our glorious fatherland will never submit to them. They must be taught to fear the wrath of the country they have trampled under their boots. The traitors who turned their back on the fatherland must be brought down, so that our country, purified of their cowardice, can rise again.

We have all made our own plans to strike at the filth polluting our homeland. Tomorrow, we will enact them all, rising up as an unstoppable legion. Those of us who die shall do so secure in the knowledge that their sacrifice paves the pay for a better tomorrow, where our fatherland can regain the glory that was stolen from us by invaders and traitors.

Legadonia shall never fall !"

Excerpt from a missive circulated among the partisan cells within Legadonia, June 13th, 1925.

June 14th, 1925 – Legadonian Entente – Imperial Detention Facility

Colonel Anson Sue – his Imperial captors made a point of always addressing him by his rank, even if he found it unlikely he'd ever command a unit in the field again – stretched his limbs as he stepped off the examination table.

"So, Doctor," he asked. "What's the verdict ?"

Doctor Iosefka was a blond, professional-looking woman, and the leader of the small group of experts who had come from the Empire to check on the prisoners after the sickness that had run through their ranks over the last few weeks. It felt weird for Anson to see a woman be an actual doctor instead of a nurse, but then the Empire was a meritocracy, and that was nothing compared to the literal child who had accompanied her.

"You'll be fine," she told him. "The initial diagnosis was correct : it was just a normal flu, if a bit off-season. It might have been dangerous for someone more fragile, but you and your men are soldiers in prime condition. There shouldn't be any lingering effects." She turned to look at the other person in the room. "Really, Director, you overreacted. I can understand being careful, but any of our medical experts could have confirmed this."

"I didn't want to take any risks," replied the tiny Major sitting to the side. "Did you locate the vector of infection ?"

The doctor nodded. "Oh, yes. One of the local cooks fell sick recently, with the same symptoms. I expect he brought the infection in while asymptomatic, and given how closely together the Colonel and his men live, the virus spread quickly among them."

"I see. Could I trouble you for some hygiene recommendations to spread across town before we go back home ? An epidemy is among the last things the troops here need."

"I will have a list ready before tonight," nodded the doctor. "Now, shoo. Bring the good colonel back to his men with the good news."

"I see your doctors are a lot more free-spirited than ours," Anson observed once they were out of the room.

"I assure you, Iosefka is in a category all her own in more ways than one," answered Major Degurechaff with a thin smile. "Her expertise is undeniable, though, so I am willing to give her a lot of leeway."

When he'd asked her what had happened to her eyes that required her to wear sunglasses even indoor - despite clearly not being blinded - she had frozen in place, her cheeks reddening, before whispering something about an unexpected side-effect of her battle magic. Anson hadn't pushed her : it wasn't his place to ask if she wasn't comfortable talking about it.

His men were in the courtyard, doing their daily exercise. Anson had insisted they keep in shape, as much for their health as to avoid giving everyone too much time to brood. All humans found routine reassuring, and soldiers especially so. The last six months certainly had been more relaxing than the ones before : his only complaint about their treatment was the food, but he had seen the guards eat the same stuff, and they didn't get care packages from their families. They'd even been given newspapers, which really showed how confident the Empire was that they weren't going to do anything stupid.

To the side of the courtyard, a janitor was pushing a cart full of cleaning equipment. They passed by him, Anson about to ask the Major a question about allowing his daughter to come visit, when suddenly –

"DEATH TO TRAITORS !" the janitor screamed as he lunged at Anson, a knife in his hands.

Anson's first reflex was to shove Major Degurechaff aside – which was stupid, as she was armed with a computation orb and he was not. Then the man slammed into him, and something cold and sharp pierced through his chest, between his ribs and into his lungs.

Anson felt a surge of mana, and his attacker was sent flying, crashing on the ground before being immediately dog-piled by his men. It seemed their reflexes were in a better shape than his own, he thought deliriously as blood flowed from his wound.

Anson had seen enough death on the battlefield to know what was happening to him : he was drowning in his own blood as it filled his lungs.

Oh, God, he thought amidst the pain. Is this the price of surviving the war when so many did not ?

"No, don't you dare ! You don't get to die on me like that, Colonel Sue !"

Ah, to think she could be so emotional. A shame it was in those circumstances.

"Sorry," he managed to whisper through the pain. "Tell my … family … I love -"

"I said," she cut him off, snarling, "you don't get to die."

Her glasses had slipped off. He could see her eyes now. Her eyes … were … full of stars …

As darkness crept around him, she rammed her oh-so-little fist into his chest. Light erupted from the computation orb held tightly in her hand, washing over Anson.

Then there was more pain, and merciful blackness.

"Mrs Sue,

It is with great shame and regret that I must inform you that your husband, Colonel Anson Sue, was victim of an assassination attempt by a Legadonian partisan while walking within the courtyard of the detention complex he and his men were stationed in.

YOUR HUSBAND'S LIFE ISN'T IN DANGER. I feel I must make this clear, knowing the distress my earlier words have no doubt caused you. Although his injuries were severe, we used top-of-the-line magical healing and his condition is currently stable.

However, this grotesque and unforgivable act has revealed a present and real threat to the captives of the Imperial Army on Legadonian soil. It has therefore been decided to move Colonel Sue and the mages who surrendered with him to a more secure location within the Empire's mainland, in order to prevent further attempts against their lives.

Which brings me to the second point of this letter. During interrogation, the criminal who attempted to kill Colonel Sue made some worrying claims, which I won't elaborate upon in this letter. Suffice to say, I believe that you and your daughter are in danger due to your relation to the Colonel. Therefore, I would like to offer you the opportunity to follow your husband to the Empire. While I cannot compel you to accept, I must insist that the danger you and your daughter are in is very real, and I would be remiss in my obligations to Colonel Sue if I didn't take it seriously. To make things more palatable, I can promise that visits to your husband will be easier to arrange if you accept, for both you and your daughter : our medical personel believes this could only assist in his recovery.

Lieutenant Grantz, who delivered this letter to you, has also been tasked with ensuring your security during this relocation. He is a veteran of the Rhine Front, and I trust in his skills and abilities to keep you safe should my suspicions come to pass.

If you choose to refuse my offer, which is perfectly within your rights, I would still advise you to be extremely cautious, and to move to a friend's or relative's house for the immediate future. Lieutenant Grantz can give you more detailed advice on this as well.

I offer you my most sincere apologies for what befell your husband while in our care.

Respectfully,

Major Degurechaff."

Letter from Major Degurechaff to the house of Colonel Anson Sue, written June 15th, 1925.

June 16th, 1925 – Legadonian Entente – House of the Sue family

Mary tore her eyes from the letter she had read over her mother's shoulder to look at the Imperial soldier sitting on the opposite side of the table in their living room. Despite what the letter said, Warren Grantz, as he'd introduced himself, didn't look like much : he couldn't be more than a year or two older than her, and one of his arms was held in a sling.

"Please, Lieutenant. Do – do you have any more details about my husband's situation ?" asked her mother, her voice trembling.

"He will make a full recovery," affirmed the Lieutenant, before grimacing. "But … it's going to take time. Months, at best. The healing method that was used to save his life took a lot out of him. And by the time he gets out of bed, he is going to need a lot of rehabilitation."

"Why ?" Mary asked plaintively. "Why did they do it ?"

"The investigation is still ongoing, Miss. The Major herself avoided the subject in her letter, didn't she ? It would be remiss of me to speculate …"

"Please," she insisted. "I … I need to know."

Lieutenant Grantz glanced between her and her mother, then sighed.

"Very well. If we take the assassin's words as face value, the attack was motivated by your father's surender to the Empire at the Osfjord. They blame him for the defeat of the Entente. Which," he stressed, "is complete and utter nonsense. By the time your father surrendered, the Osfjord had already fallen. I may just be a Lieutenant, but even I know that by that point the defeat of the Entente was unavoidable, if not long before. And I have personally met and trained with the soldiers who were involved in the operation, so I can tell you with confidence that any further fighting on his part would only have resulted in his death and that of his men. Instead, by surrendering, he helped bring the conflict to an early end and avoided hundreds, potentially thousands more needless deaths, most of which would have been on the Entente's side."

"If it's that obvious, then why do they blame him ?" asked Mary.

"That … is difficult for me to say. I am an Imperial, Miss Sue. We pride ourselves on our pragmatism and rational approach. If I were to guess, though, I would say it's because blaming Colonel Sue is easier than acknowledging that the Entente made a mistake declaring war in the first place. Which, by the way, is an opinion shared by most Legadonian soldiers who actually fought in the war. As far as we've been able to tell, the assassin never fought on the frontlines himself."

"I … I see." She didn't, not really. But it sounded plausible enough. She'd seen a lot of anger simmering under the surface as she walked around town, and several looks aimed at her that, looking back on them now, suddenly seemed a lot more sinister.

"What are your thoughts on the Major's offer ?" asked Grantz.

Mary looked at her mother expectantly. She didn't want to leave her friends here, but the thought of her father being taken even further away for such a long time without her mother being able to see him was far worse. Even exchanging letters would become difficult, if her father was even in a state to write, which sounded doubtful.

"My place is at my husband's side," said her mother resolutely. "And I won't let Mary be taken from my side either. We will be troubling you and your commanding officer, Lieutenant Grantz."

"Very well." He smiled in relief. "She'll be happy to hear it. To be frank, I think she took the attempt on Colonel Sue's life rather badly."

"She ?" asked Mary, cocking her head. "Your commanding officer is a woman ?"

"Hmm ? Oh, right, the Entente Army didn't allow women in its ranks even for mages, did it ? Yes, she is. Well, 'woman' may be an exaggeration, but … you'll see for yourself when we meet her."

Mary blinked, and wondered what Grantz meant. It didn't really matter, though. She was going to see her father again !

"State your name for the record."

"… Greger Klass."

"And who exactly are you, Greger Klass ?"

"I am one of the sparks that will set Legadonia's fighting spirit ablaze ! I am a soldier fighting for the freedom of my fatherland ! I am -"

"You are none of these things. What you are is a drunkard who was dishonorably discharged from the Legadonian Army three years before the war started for unsightly conduct in the line of duty, along with insulting your superior, laziness, and a bunch of other charges. Since then, you've lived off menial jobs and petty crime. There is no army in the world who would be willing to have you as one of its soldiers."

"Shut up ! It's all you Imperials fault ! You started this ! You invaded our country !"

"Everybody knows it was the Entente's government that started this by sending troops into Norden."

"Ah ! That's what you want us to think ! But we aren't idiots ! We know it was you who pushed them into doing that so you'd have a reason to invade us ! Why else would you respond to by launching a full-scale invasion ? You were already prepared for it ! It was always your plan to destroy Legadonia ! But you won't succeed, we won't let you !"

"… I am speechless. Is that how you justify your crimes to yourself ?"

"I am not a criminal ! That bastard had it coming ! He betrayed the fatherland !"

"You are deluded if you really believe this. While you were getting drunk in the rear and wasting your life in seedy bars, Colonel Sue was fighting in Norden. We have the records of the war's early engagements : his actions during those days are a big part of the reason the Entente was able to keep fighting as long as it did in the first place."

"If he were a true patriot, then he would have died fighting before surrendering ! Instead, he was talking to that Imperial witch as if they were old friends !"

"What you are describing is a fanatic, not a patriot. A patriot does what is best for his country, and in Colonel Sue's case, that was not throwing away his life and those of his men in a battle that couldn't be won and shouldn't have been fought in the first place."

"No ! He gave up our nation's pride, its honor ! Without that, we are nothing ! We have to reclaim it, no matter the cost !"

"Idiot. The moment this war ends, the Empire will withdraw its troops from the Entente. All you and your accomplices have done is make things harder for your own compatriots, the very people you claim to fight for."

"If they are true patriots, then they will join us. The rest are all traitors who can rot in hell !"

"Really ? Even the civilians who were caught in the blast of your explosives ? Even the children who had to be sent to the hospital with burned and broken bodies ? They are the one who will go to hell ?"

"…"

"Oh, and one last thing : Colonel Sue survived. He will fully recover from your pathetic attack and be eventually reunited with his family, while you rot in prison for the rest of your days, having thrown away your life and accomplished nothing in return."

"You … you …"

"That will be all for now. I can't bear to listen to this nonsense any longer. Take him away, men : we'll resume our discussion once he's had some time to think on his own, if he is capable of that much."

Excerpt from the interrogation record of Greger Klass, citizen of the Legadonian Entente and member of the Citizens's Committee for the Liberation of Legadonia, one of several organizations involved in the partisan attacks across Legadonia, June 15th, 1925.

VICIOUS ATTACKS SEND FEAR ACROSS LEGADONIA !

Yesterday, the Special Administrated Territory of Legadonia was struck by a series of criminal attacks orchestrated by rogue elements who refused to accept the end of their nation's participation in the war it unjustly provoked.

The vile criminals were indiscriminating in their choice of targets : they bombed a civilian administrator's car in the middle of a crowded street, ambushed off-duty military personel, and even attempted to kill Legadonian soldiers who surrendered to the Empire at the end of the conflict between the Reich and the Entente. Dozens of people, the vast majority of them ordinary citizens caught in the crossfire, have been wounded, and while the death toll is still being tallied as doctors across the nation struggle to save as many lives as possible, at least a dozen fatalities have already been confirmed.

However, in a speech to the assembled press, Brigadier General Rudersdorf called for calm. The general, who led the campaign against the Entente and oversaw the signature of its surrender, reminded us that in most cases, the criminals responsible for these despicable acts were either killed or captured. He reaffirmed that these were the actions of only a small group of cowardly malcontents, and that the Empire would soon drag their accomplices out of the shadows where they cower to face judgment (a more complete rendition of the speech can be found on page 2).

The civilian administration of Legadonia also denounced these attacks …

Excerpt from the front-page of the Berun Post, June 15th, 1925.

HEROIC LEGADONIAN FREEDOM FIGHTERS FIGHT BACK AGAINST IMPERIAL OPPRESSION !

The people of occupied Legadonia have sent a strong message to the Empire that though their armed forces may have been defeated, their nation's spirit remains undaunted. Ordinary citizens have taken up arms in defense of their homeland, and struck at military targets all over Legadonia, challenging the Empire's stranglehold on the country.

In response, the Empire has redoubled its harsh oppression of occupied Legadonia. Citizens have been dragged out of their homes and into Imperial interrogation cells whose walls still ring from the screams of the partisans who were captured alive. Among the population, chilling tales circulate of the horrors such captives are subjected to, as the Empire bends its mastery of medical science to the dark purpose of breaking those who resist its will.

Councilor-in-exile Abensoll praised his compatriots' courage and devotion to their fatherland, and called for all civilized nations of the world to support their struggle for freedom …

Excerpt from the front-page of the Londinium Times, June 15th, 1925.

June 17th, 1925 – Occupied city of Os

I sighed in contentment as I sat back on the bench and basked in the warm sunlight, ignoring the hubbub of activity on the dock around me as the last bits of cargo were loaded aboard the ship that would take me, Doctor Iosefka's crew, and our mage prisoners back to the Imperial mainland. For once, there was nothing I had to do, and this location was guarded by both Division Y troopers and regular Imperial soldiers in the wake of the recent string of partisan attacks, so I could simply relax and think.

A cup of Visha's coffee would have complemented things nicely, but bringing her along wouldn't have made sense. Due to the side effects of Endlose Nacht, she would have effectively been knocked out for the maritime leg of the trip, meaning I had to bring additional bodyguards – and if I was already doing that, then bringing her along was surplus to requirements, especially when there was so much work going on at Division Y's headquarters. Also, she had just been reunited with her friend after months of separation and censured letters, so bringing her along might have fostered resentment I definitely didn't want. Although I could definitely have used her, given the mess that had happened at the prison camp.

After stabilizing Anson Sue's condition, Doctor Iosefka had left to assist in dealing with the sudden flux of wounded from the partisan groups' terror attacks. Technically speaking, she had asked my permission before doing so, but I'd known from looking at her that refusing her on safety grounds would be a mistake. She would have gone anyway : she took her medical oath very seriously.

As the premier medical expert of Division Y, her willpower was as strong as one would expect : she hadn't even blinked when I had been ushered into her office on a wheelchair, my body still reeling from the Kosmosblut I'd taken at Arene. Fortunately, Iosefka was one of the Empire's greatest magical healers, held back from being acknowledged as such only by her gender and Russy ancestry. For all that the Empire prided itself on being strictly meritocratic, it still hadn't completely outgrown such prejudices, though I knew it was still leagues ahead of the rest of the world. But if the medical community was unwilling to recognize Iosefka's talents, I certainly wasn't, and after learning about her from the good Professor Gehrman, I had extended her an offer to join Division Y which she had accepted.

I certainly had no reason to regret that decision, as Doctor Iosefka's exemplary treatment of the backlash of my use of Kosmosblut in Arene had only been the latest of the services she had provided to Division Y. A combination of standard methods and magical healing had brought me back almost to my state before the battle of Arene, and she was certain I'd completely recover with only a few more weeks of moderate activity.

Hopefully the effort of using the spell that had saved Colonel Sue's life hadn't pushed that date back too much. I wasn't a true healing mage like Iosefka : the spell I had used was an all-purpose recovery one, pre-loaded in my computation orb. More importantly, it used a Mythos formula 'reconstructed' by the Denkmaschine. In this case, that meant it was dangerously hard to cast and horrifyingly painful and draining for the target. But it had worked, even if Iosefka could probably have done much better. In the heat of the moment, I hadn't been willing to risk the Colonel dying in the few moments it would have taken for her to arrive.

Such a priceless human resource deserved to be allowed to do what she felt like from time to time so long as it didn't impede on her duties. And besides, it was good PR. The line between terrorist and freedom fighter had always been a thin one, especially in my old world. Based on what we'd learned from the Colonel's attempted killer, these particular partisans weren't exactly the cream of Legadonia's society, which made me wonder. Idiots like Mister Klass could run their mouths all they wanted, but someone had coordinated the attacks across the entire Legadonian territory. Someone with some degree of management skill had orchestrated it, sending the disposable pawns like Klass off to their doom in order to make a statement (and probably remove the more annoying recruits from their groups while they were at it).

Some degree of partisan activity had been inevitable, of course : nationalism was one hell of a drug, and forcing an entire nation to go cold turkey was bound to cause some reaction. But from what I'd heard, Imperial Intelligence had expected a much more low-key style of resistance to the occupation - sabotage, theft, the occasional beating of an Imperial soldier dumb enough to get drunk while off-duty. Not what amounted to terrorism with no regard for civilian casualties.

It didn't take a genius to guess who was behind that. The Allied Kingdom had supported the Entente's war effort behind the scenes for months before its fall, all to help take some pressure off the Republic, and they had the government-in-exile set up in Londinium as well. From their point of view, chaos in the occupied territories could only benefit them : at best, they would secure a fifth column to help in their eventual 'liberation' of Legadonia, at worst, the Empire would be forced to divest resources to keep control of the region while tarnishing its international image.

As for the civilians who had died in the process, well, such was the price of liberation. I was sure the gentlemen in Londinium would shed a manly tear for their brave sacrifices and swear not to let them be in vain with a hand pressed against their heart. Nevermind the fact that, from what I'd seen, the overwhelming majority of Legadonians were like Colonel Sue : sane people who wanted to live in peace with their families and loved ones, and would much rather put the stupidity of their previous government behind them. The raison d'etat wouldn't let them consider such things.

It wasn't logical, but then if the Allied Kingdom was driven purely by logic they would have realized declaring war on the Empire was not going to work out in any way they liked. As Director of Division Y, I was privy to information far above my nominal rank of Major. And based on what I knew, the best way I could think of to describe the current state of hostilities with the Allied Kingdom was 'Phony War'. The Albish didn't have nearly enough troops to invade us, and we didn't have enough ships to punch through their Navy and invade them. So both sides were stuck glaring at each other over the sea, shouting insults and making the occasional probe. Not very pleasant for anyone involved, yes, but still far better than the mud and blood of the Rhine Front for sure.

It would be great if the diplomats could solve this mess with words instead of bullets, but I wasn't holding my breath. If the Allied Kingdom was anything like the British Empire of my old world, they would be far too arrogant to admit to having made a mistake.

As for a military resolution, while I didn't want to besmirch the Imperial Navy's honor, they hadn't exactly covered themselves in glory when the Entente fleet had eluded them, however near-impossible the task of containing it had been. It was far more likely that the Empire would end up asking me for another miracle to break the deadlock. In anticipation of that, I had put some people on the problem back at Castle Schwartzstein, to see how some of our Projekte could be used to solve that particular problem. I didn't want to unleash more Mythos-born horrors upon the world, but if I had to do it, then I would do it right, and NOT improvise something at the last minute. That way laid accidentally bringing forth the apocalypse.

So far, I had to admit that my fears about using the Projekte in open warfare hadn't come to pass, and I wasn't so arrogant as to fail to realize when I'd made an error in judgment. I'd feared that the sight of the Werwölfe would drive the entire civilized world to declare war against us, but so far that hadn't been the case. A few religious wackos had protested in front of our embassy in the Unified States, but if anything that had only solidified the rest of the public opinion, which hadn't been willing to risk being associated with them. After so many months working in Division Y and worrying about worst-case scenarios, I'd forgotten how utterly absurd the foundations of our research really were.

Of course people thought the Werwölfe were illusions. That possibility was much more sensible. And even those who knew they were real didn't realize what their existence actually implied. If there was an equivalent to HP Lovecraft in this world, he either hadn't written anything or … wait, come to think of it, Lovecraft's work had only really took off in my old world long after his death, hadn't it ? I didn't know what effect my interference would have on his writings if he did have an equivalent here, but hopefully it would involve him seeking professional help for his many, many issues.

The fact that the sickness had just been an ordinary flu and had already passed was good news too. In my worst fears, I had imagined an eldritch-touched version of the Spanish Flu that had laid waste to Europe in my old world sweeping through the continent. But again, it seemed I had worried for nothing. Oh well; better to worry ten times for no good reason than to let one catastrophe slip by because of negligence.

I was driven out of my idle musings by a respectful call from one of the soldiers guarding the dock.

"Yes ? What is it ?"

"Major, Lieutenant Grantz has arrived with our guests," the soldier told me.

"Good."

I had sent Grantz to recover Sue's family for the same reason I'd used my magic to save the man's life from that witless would-be assassin : reputation. Per the laws of war, the Empire was responsible for the humane treatment of its prisoners, which included keeping them reasonably safe from harm. And Anson Sue was a prisoner I had personally taken.

Grantz emerged out of the car, the arm he'd lost still held in its sling. We'd managed to reattach him after it'd been cut off by an Eikon the moron had managed to survive briefly fighting, through a combination of magical healing and his own regeneration, but it would still take some time before the nerves grew back fully. And on his other arm …

I closed my eyes, removed and swiped my sunglasses, then put them back on and opened my eyes again. Nope. Nothing had changed. I sighed, and approached the Werwolf I had brought with me to Legadonia as a replacement bodyguard for Visha.

"Lieutenant Grantz," I said in my best officer voice, and he immediately jumped at attention. "Care to tell me why there is a girl who I assume to be Colonel Sue's daughter hanging off your arm ?"

I mean, the two of them were at that age, yes, and the girl was quite cute too, I saw as she stared at me with her head cocked to the side in incomprehension. But still, I expected more decorum from him ! What would the higher-ups think if they saw one of the dreaded Werwölfe responsible for breaking the back of the Republican Army look like that ?

Although, maybe we could use that for propaganda. Keep the Empire from being afraid of its own supersoldiers by showing them some slice-of-life skits … wait, no. I had to focus.

"Ma'am !" he answered, blushing slightly. "This is, uh, well …"

"If you'll allow me, ma'am ?" said Private Keller in a long-suffering tone as he approached, carrying several bags in addition to his kit, an older, nervous-looking woman with a clear ressemblance to the girl hanging off Grantz walking behind him.

Keller was one of the Division Y troopers who had escorted us to Legadonia. I had sent him along with Grantz mostly to serve as a driver, but he was as capable as any of the infantry stationed at Castle Schwartzstein. Well, those who survived with body and mind more or less intact long enough to get used to the weirdness, at any rate. Despite my best efforts, we still had a turnover rate that would've made any self-respecting company back in my old world blush – though not the black ones, at least.

"Very well," I nodded. "Report, Private."

"It was as you feared, ma'am. We were attacked on our way here, and they were after the Sues, not us. They threw a log on the road in front of our car and demanded that we send the – the civilians out."

Those definitely weren't the exact words they had used, but I understood why he didn't want to repeat them in the presence of the Colonel's family. They already looked upset at his present recounting.

"And ?" I prompted him.

"The Lieutenant came out and made a show of dropping his gun, saying he wanted to talk, and that if they wanted to punish someone it made much more sense to do it to him rather than the civilians. They let him get close, I think because they intended to beat him to death. That … was their last mistake."

I glanced at Grantz, and he slightly shook his head, getting my question immediately. So he hadn't transformed in front of the civvies. Good. Yes, we were planning to have them moved near Castle Schwartzstein, in the same village where we were going to put the prisoners until we could get proper accomodations. But having them freak out in the middle of Legadonia would have made things needlessly complicated.

Besides, a bunch of brigands against a Werwolf in human form ? That shouldn't even be a challenge. Well, Grantz did have to fight with one arm metaphorically tied behind his back, but even then, he had passed the training I'd subjected all instances of Projekt W to. It was amazing how far you could push someone with a healing factor, really. Between that and the boost to his physical prowess the Rite of Union had given him even in his human form, it would have been shameful to struggle against a bunch of numbskulls stupid enough to only start fighting after their country had already lost the war.

"Well done, Lieutenant, Private," I told them. Giving praise when it was deserved was one of the pillars of good management. "Did you contact the authorities so they could dispose of the criminals properly ?"

"Well, we told the next checkpoint about them, yes," replied Grantz. "But, ma'am … I'm afraid I wasn't in a position to take prisoners …"

"That's not an issue," I assured him. "Your goal was to get the Sues to safety and you did. Besides, I doubt they knew anything useful."

"Um, excuse me," said the girl, still clinging to Grantz. Well, I could understand where she was coming from. For a civilian, being exposed to violence and the threat of death would be a shock : it made sense she wanted to stay close to Grantz, since he'd already proven his ability to protect her. "But, who are you, young miss ?"

I blinked. Oh, right. I looked like that, didn't I. I might have spent too much time with only soldiers and mad researchers if I forgot what the normal reaction to my appearance was supposed to be.

"I am Major Tanya Degurechaff," I told her, and watched her eyebrows rise in recognition of my name. "Now, Colonel Anson Sue has already been transfered to the ship's infirmary. Lieutenant Grantz, escort the two ladies to see him while Private Keller brings their luggage to their cabin. I made sure it's one of the closest to the infirmary. Now, I'm afraid Colonel Sue is still recovering, so I'm not sure he'll be awake to see you. Please follow the doctor's instructions regarding visits – it's for his own good, and Doctor Iosefka has little patience for people cluttering her workspace."

"Thank you very much, Major Degurechaff," said the older woman with a slight bow. "For this, and for everything you did for my husband."

"Think nothing of it, Mrs Sue," I answered with my most polite smile on my face. Manners cost nothing, after all.

"Please, call me Josephine," she said with a bright smile. I could see why Anson Sue had married her : back in my old world, she'd only have been slightly above my strike zone. "And I don't think it is nothing. You saved my husband's life, after all." Her smile dimmed as she went on : "And the Lieutenant may very well have saved my daughter's and mine as well."

"I was only doing my duty, Mrs Josephine," I demurred.

"Hum," the daughter called out to me, finally letting go of Grantz's arm – and I didn't miss the brief flash of disappointment on his face before he schooled his expression. I might need to run him through some lessons on how to behave properly around civilians after all. "P-please call me Mary too ! And, and thank you very much for looking after my father !"

I didn't mind admitting that it felt a little surreal to be thanked by the relatives of a soldier I had come all too close to killing and only really had spared for purely selfish and practical reasons. And I wasn't so thick-skinned not to feel a little awkward either.

"Very well, Mary," I told her. "Now, come on. Let's get you and your mother aboard so you can see your father."

"Of the seven instances of Projekt U who returned from the Rhine Front having used Endlose Nacht, all of them broke regulations by feeding on their enemies during the battle, though the one deployed in the defense of the advanced headquarters only did so on human mages as opposed to the Republican Eikons. Due to the attenuating circumstances of being under the effects of Endlose Nacht, the Director has decided against inflicting any punishment on the Untoten for this breach of conduct, apart from a verbal warning she delivered in person.

All seven Untoten were run through the same battery of tests that was initially used to determine their capabilities back in the Projekt's early days, in order to check for any changes. The most obvious and severe is that all Untoten who used Endlose Nacht are now completely paralyzed when above (or under, as further testing has determined) large bodies of flowing water. Momentum is not cancelled by this weakness and full control returns immediately once the obstacle is crossed, meaning it is possible for the Untoten to fly above small rivers by angling their approach correctly. However, seas and oceans are completely impassable. The experience of total paralysis is accompanied by a mental shutdown : from the perspective of the Untoten, the time between its beginning and end passes instantaneously.

This side effect of Endlose Nacht (which appears to be permanent), combined with the lack of control shown while under its effects, has only reinforced the Director's determination to restrict the use of Endlose Nacht to the most extreme of situations. The proposal to dispatch Untoten to the Allied Kingdom and have them lay waste to their military infrastructure has also been tabled, nearly half of Projekt U's instances are now unable to reach the enemy nation on their own.

Other side effects have only been observed in the Untoten who fed upon the Republican supersoldiers referred to as 'Eikons'. The Untoten have reported that the blood of the Eikons was particularly delicious to their altered palates, though no two of them gave the same exact description of its taste. All of them, however, show pronounced black veins under their skin, and have exhibited enhanced senses that they cannot turn off, making them vulnerable to bright lights and loud noises.

Unlike the weakness to water caused by the use of Endlose Nacht, those side effects appear to be weakening over time as their veins and senses return to the previously observed baseline. Based on our current projections, we estimate they should've completely faded within four to six months. Whether those effects would have manifested with only the ingestion of Eikon blood without the Endlose Nacht already present in the Untoten's system is a question that will remain unanswered for now, as we lack the materials to find a definite answer. In addition, such an experiment would violate the ethical guidelines set by the Director where the treatment of sentient Projekt instances is concerned.

Should new types of supersoldiers be deployed by the enemies of the Empire in the future, great caution is recommended in deploying Untoten using Endlose Nacht against them, as there exists the possibility that other side effects will manifest in a similar vein, and there is currently no way of restricting the bloodthirst of the Untoten while using the serum.

Further use of Endlose Nacht by Untoten who have already used it has been forbidden by the Director, as there is no telling what additional side-effects might manifest with repeated uses …"

Excerpt from an internal memo at Castle Schwartzstein, June 9th, 1925.

June 18th, 1925 – Castle Schwartzstein

"Your coffee is even better than it was back in military school, Visha," said Elya as she put down her mug.

"Thank you for the compliment," replied her old friend with a smile. It was reassuring that, despite all that had happened to Visha, her smile was still the same. The two of them were inside Visha's personal room in the castle, taking a moment to enjoy each other's company and catch up. It all felt very familiar, except Elya was the only one drinking, and there were no windows through which the sun could shine : the only source of light was the electric lightbulb hanging from the ceiling.

To say that Elya had been shocked when she had learned what had happened to Visha would be an understatement. When she had realized that her beloved friend had died on the Rhine Front, she had almost completely broken down in tears, even though Visha had been right next to her at the time, in the Director's office.

The Director's attempt to calm her down had been … well, 'cute' was probably the best word. For all her immense skill at commanding people, Tanya Degurechaff didn't seem to be very good when it came to dealing with emotional outbursts.

In the end, Visha had been the one to calm her down, gently holding her in her arms until she'd stopped shaking. Elya had been slightly mortified to have reacted like that in front of a superior, but Major Degurechaff hadn't mentioned it and just carried on with her explanation.

By the end of the discussion, Elya's new job was to review Division Y's anti-spying protocols, as well as see if she could think of potential uses of the various Projekte for counter-espionnage purposes. The Major had been ticked off by the repeated evidence that there was a leak somewhere in the Empire, and was determined that the spies wouldn't get a chance to access Division Y's research itself. Having witnessed the terrible power of the Wunderwaffen in person, although at a safe distance, when she had deployed Projekt V against the Francois headquarters, Elya whole-heartedly agreed with that goal.

The Empire having access to that kind of weapon was already scary enough; she didn't want to imagine a world where every nation used them. As it turned out, that kind of perspective was exactly why Major Degurechaff had asked for her transfert (well, that, and the fact that anyone involved in deploying something like Projekt V had to be pulled into Division Y for safety reasons). Especially with how the Division was going to increase the scale of its operations, as High Command was willing to pour more resources into it after the stellar results it had shown on the Legadonian and Rhine fronts. As Degurechaff had put it, the best time to infiltrate an organization was while they were expanding and recruiting new personel, and there had to be plenty of parties interested with infiltrating Division Y.

Right now, Elya was still familiarizing herself with the inside workings of Division Y and meeting with its important and eccentric figures. Hence why she was here, drinking Visha's coffee and trying to relax. Really, apart from the ordinary soldiers working security, everyone in this castle was more than a little weird. She had to admire the Major for managing to keep things under control for so long.

Castle Schwartzstein was a strange mix of the modern and the ancient, which reflected Division Y's work as far as Elya could tell. Electric lightning illuminated strange rituals performed by the second and third sons of Imperial aristocracy in lab coats, and soldiers armed with rayguns kept watch over vaults full of occult reagants or patrolled atop the old medieval walls.

"The Major really likes coffee," said Visha with a wistful look as she refilled Elya's cup. "As her assistant, I have to try my best."

"You really miss her, huh," said Elya, truly making full use of the finely-honed investigative skills she had developed as an operative of Imperial Intelligence.

"I … Yes," her friend admitted. "I have been with her since I woke up, you know. It hasn't always been easy to adjust, but she was always there, and I found her presence … comforting."

"Like a baby duck imprinting on the first thing it saw as a mother," teased Elya with a smile.

"Elya !" Visha pouted. She didn't blush anymore, but she was still just as easy to rile up as before. "It's not like that. It's just … respect."

"Well, your beloved Major should be back home soon. And you know she couldn't take you with her this time, and it was best she stay with Doctor Iosefka until we're sure she's completely recovered."

Most people would have missed Visha's flinch, but Elya was both a trained operative of Imperial Intelligence and her best and oldest friend. She sighed.

"Do you still blame yourself for that ? Visha, there was nothing you could have done at Arene but die. You didn't have Endlose Nacht with you back then : the Eikons would have torn you to pieces."

Since part of her job was to strengthen operational security in the Division, Elya had been fully briefed on what had happened at Arene. Intercepted communications was her best guess as to how the Francois had known where and when the delivery of Projekt V would take place, but where in the chain of command the message had been read, and by whom, she was not sure. What she was sure about, however, was that the Major had saved Visha's life when she'd ordered her to leave after that first clash with the Eikon leader.

"I know that in here," said Visha, gesturing at her head. "But in here," she laid her hand on her chest, "I still feel like I should have died for good before allowing her to come to harm. I was her bodyguard, Elya. It was my job to keep her safe. And now, with that mess in Legadonia …"

Apart from the official channels, the two of them had also received information straight from the Major as to the partisan attacks in the former Entente territory. Visha hadn't taken the news that the Major had been so close to one of the attacks well, though Elya personally thought it would be a cold day in Hell before a mere mortal managed to harm the Director of Division Y.

"She will be home soon," she said, placing a reassuring hand on Visha's arm. "And I assure you, there is plenty of work to keep her here for a while."

Unless, of course, something else went horribly wrong with the war. But what were the chances of that ?

AN : Look, Elya has been through a lot in the last few days. She clearly hasn't completely recovered yet, or she would never even think something like that.

Thank DeusVult for the suggestion of calling the canonically-nameless wife of Anson Sue "Josephine".

In other news, another three days, another chapter. This cannot possibly continue forever, so enjoy it while it lasts, folks. At some point, either I am going to burn down or the authorities are going to catch onto your goat sacrifices to the Muse and put a stop to them.

I have finally caught up with all 11 presently translated volumes of the LN. And without going into spoilers ... holy hell things are getting dark by Volume 11. Like, I look at the state of Germania at the start of A Young Woman's Political Record and I go : well, this certainly is much better than canon. I mean, we all know that the Empire is fated to lose the war in canon from Andrew's POV in the future, but still. Why is it that my crack story with eldritch horrors being deployed against hapless soldiers comes out less grim in tone than the canon one ?!

At first I planned to write the scene of the attack on the car, but then I decided to change to how this ended up. If someone wants to write an Omake describing the "fight", go right ahead. Once Grantz got in melee range, it really amounted to a bunch of NPCs trying to rob a high-level character doing a side quest far beneath his level. As Tanya put it, not only is Grantz's human body boosted to the very peak of human potential, he has been trained by her, while his enemies were a bunch of disgruntled civilians with improvised weapons.

I might have gone overboard with Greger Klass' characterization. Then again, I would argue ultra-nationalism, where you refuse to even consider the possibility that your country might be in the wrong, is as alien and dangerous a form of madness as that caused by the Mythos.

Also, the conspiracy theory that the Empire arranged for the Norden Incident to happen in order to have a casus belli to invade the Entente is something that is mentioned in canon : a Russy Commissar tells that to Mary Sue, helping twist her already fragile mental state even further by giving her an excuse to blame her homeland's actions on the Empire. Again, to be clear : there is canonical evidence that this theory is absolute bollocks. The Empire had zero plans for invading Legadonia, and their entire military strategy relied on defense.

And yes, I nerfed the Untoten with the Endlose Nacht's side-effects. Look, you can't take a drug that gives you the powers of an VtM!Antediluvian and not expect some long-term, actually handicapping consequences. Mythos magic is dangerous stuff.

Not a lot of Eldritch in this chapter, I know. Don't worry, this'll change in the next one. I considered doing a time skip as the geopolitical situation progresses, but I felt it's a good opportunity to explore some aspects of the world in more details.

Speaking of Eldritch, any suggestion for a Projekt that could be used for spying and counter-espionnage purposes ? Yes, I am asking because with Elya in Castle Schwartzstein, the opportunity to diversify Division Y's activities all but write themselves.

As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to your reactions, comments, and suggestions.

Zahariel out.