Chapter 311
Chapter 311
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 311
Chapter Title: Emergency Deployment
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“204 people?”
Someone muttered in a dazed voice at the unbelievable number of missing persons. The change in the mobilization plan was an issue too, but the mass disappearance of mages took precedence as the bigger problem. That set it off, and voices began rising from students seated all around.
“How did this happen? How could they just vanish?!”
“You don’t mean the professors too... right now...?”
A mage who had reached the level of a ‘scholar’ in magicology was equivalent to the Empire’s military strength in terms of technique or anything else. Not all scholars had vast mana reserves by default, but compared to non-mages—new humans born only with a core—they naturally had far more. It was these mages who determined the Empire’s magical national power.
‘...This isn’t good.’
My mouth went dry.
Right now, the Empire had failed to defend one of its absolute core assets. And this at a time when France and Austria were locking horns just like in World War I.
With the international situation, barely stabilized, racing toward the worst once more, the government had no choice but to be on high alert, even more than during the Pentalon incident.
Wheeeeeen—
The alarms began to blare. A eerie blue light poured in from the darkened outdoors at 10:30 PM. The emergency state had been officially declared, turning the outside world an artificial shade of blue. A staff member spoke with a face full of tension.
“We’re searching for the professors’ whereabouts. From what I’ve heard, about 150 went missing from a small magicology conference held in Berlin today. They suspect an insider spy was involved, but the remaining fifty or so didn’t even attend the conference, and they’re from completely different regions... We’re investigating that part now.”
I felt a chill crawl up my neck and turned to Narke.
“Looks like it was pretty urgent.”
Narke nodded.
No matter how I thought about it, Pleroma seemed the most likely culprit. France had organizations like Pleroma too, so suppose they’d come here. For outsiders unfamiliar with German geography and society to come relying solely on disabling security measures and kidnap 204 mages from scattered locations across different regions—it strained plausibility when considering realistic odds. I’d keep all possibilities in mind, but it was more rational to bet high on a crime perpetrated by Pleroma, born and bred in Germany.
Kidnapping our Empire’s magicology scholars after touching Emmanuel meant they wanted technology comparable to what Maria’s Perurer held. For an organization that had laid low since Pentalon to act this aggressively—could it mean anything other than Pleroma being extremely anxious right now? So why were they anxious?
Just as I’d thought earlier.
‘...If there’s something threatening Pleroma’s very existence or its breakthrough growth.’
If an organization tied to the Orléans family—or another group rivaling Pleroma—had emerged in France. Other scenarios were possible, but this was the hypothesis I rated highest, and I’d already explained it to Emmanuel that way.
‘If I don’t rate this highly... then this is Pleroma’s declaration of war on us.’
We were in a situation fretting over a potential France-Austria war mirroring World War I dynamics, while simultaneously bracing for war with Pleroma.
In that case, Pleroma would have made full preparations. The Empire had missed its chance to uproot them, and unlike ten years ago, they now boasted a sophisticated parish system with hundreds of thousands of followers.
Sensing my thoughts growing tangled, Narke reached under the table and touched the hand resting on my leg. He shook his head.
“Calm down.”
“......”
“There’s nothing we can change. It was going to happen anyway.”
He whispered.
Nothing we ‘can change.’ Even if we turned back time?
Unable to stop thinking, I stared into Narke’s eyes and began reciting the Berlin warp coordinates from A. Narke understood my intent and turned away. Reciting warp coordinates had become a signal for both of us now.
I turned away from him too. The staff member was reciting warp coordinates.
“Warp coordinates will be active for two minutes from now until 35 minutes past the hour. Head straight to the locations I call out. 255:786:094. Two-five-five, seven-eight-nine, zero-nine-four.”
As the warp coordinates were announced, students frozen in shock began vanishing from their seats one by one. Narke glanced at the emptying conference room and said.
“We should go too.”
* * *
The darkened sky turning an artificial blue was even more vivid here. I was in the hall of the 1st Educational Institute’s Cadet Corps operations office. The ground outside the massive windows was entirely blue.
During an emergency, they intentionally shrouded the darkness for a while. It consumed a huge amount of mana, so it wouldn’t last long. Whistles restricting movement blared endlessly outside the building.
When news of the mass disappearance broke, Leo had left the countermeasures meeting in Bavaria midway and come to Berlin. Even after spotting me in the hall set up like a briefing room, he said nothing unusual.
I had no intention of openly grabbing Leo in front of all the Cadet Corps students from every school. No bandwidth to address questions about when we got close. With a slight finger snap, Leo flinched and turned to me. Understanding my intent, he cast a soundproofing spell and walked forward, speaking calmly without looking my way.
“Let’s wait a bit more.”
He knew exactly what I wanted to ask.
“What’s your basis?”
“We have to move differently based on the enemy’s actions. If it were the first incident, maybe, but the moment the second one happened, total blockade became nearly impossible.”
“......”
“One of the missing is the teacher who taught me magicology back at the 3rd Educational Institute. I studied under her for over six years—she’s like family to me.”
Leo’s low voice reached me. The mana around his core felt subdued, as if holding its breath. Different from during Emmanuel, but he was clearly in a state of extreme tension. Noticing me reading his mana, he said.
“You’d know what emotion I’m feeling right now. I’m worried my intent might be misunderstood. So... even if you turn back time to change the future, I won’t stop you. Finding the culprit would be meaningful. But we already turned back time once and set an ambush, yet no one was found around Excellency Emmanuel’s estate.”
“......”
“They’re moving organizationally, so catching them will be tough. And now that Pleroma has signaled their intent to keep committing crimes, you and I alone can’t stop everything. We need to consider if blocking this prevents something bigger. I’m not saying don’t turn back time or that you must—just that to see how events unfold... let’s wait a little longer.”
He always snapped me out of it whenever my thinking stalled. Watching Leo’s back, I pondered silently.
I’d stopped Emmanuel from rampaging, and maybe I could prevent these 204 disappearances too.
But I knew better. If they’d only targeted Emmanuel, turning back time might have had meaning, but Pleroma committed another crime less than 24 hours after the first was exposed. This insane act beyond imagination wasn’t something time reversal alone could fix—it required dismantling Pleroma’s resolve. Or perhaps the resolve of a specific parish within it.
‘Maybe...’
This happened because I saved Emmanuel, who should have rampaged out of the estate.
My head cooled. Blocking this incident would spawn another; blocking that would birth a new one. In this mad class-based society, the moment they targeted royalty instead of commoners, their exceptional resolve was inevitable. They’d witnessed the Freiburg Grand Parish’s success during Pentalon firsthand and knew their influence on the Empire was immense. The Empire had already crossed an irreversible river. That was the meaning behind Narke’s words: ‘There’s nothing we can change.’
Once even the 1st Educational Institute Cadet Corps students had all arrived and taken their assigned seats, lights flickered on across the previously dark stage. A spot that would normally buzz with student laughter and chatter was now deathly silent, without even a whisper. Everyone was tense.
[Can you hear me?]
A new human I’d never seen stood on stage, wearing a Magic Division official badge. After testing the amplification spell, the Magic Division official spoke again.
[I’m Henriette Gneisenau from the Magic Division. You’re aware that a total of 205 magicology scholars have gone missing across the Empire so far. The Magic Division judges this to be Pleroma’s doing.]
Straight to the incident from the start. And the missing count had risen by one. The initial announcement mentioning the emergency wasn’t casual. With the Empire’s core personnel vanished and emergency declared, there was no reason to waste time with jokes.
[Therefore, until the situation resolves, students from the 2nd and 3rd Educational Institutes will assemble on the 1st Educational Institute campus under Magic Division protection. Cadet Corps dorms will be reassigned by midnight, and submit any needed luggage to your dorm supervisors soon—they’ll be magically transported directly to the 1st by the Magic Division.]
At that, Elias, seated to Narke’s right with a stiff face, muttered.
“For once, they’re not telling us to guard Berlin. I figured even if not other students, we’d be sent out for security duty.”
“...Don’t say that...”
“......”
Scary it might become reality. Narke smirked and clamped Elias’s mouth shut. Anyway, that covered the essentials, but it wasn’t the main point.
[Now, I’ll brief you on the revised mobilization plan.]
Cherlingen, seated up front, turned his head slightly. Our eyes met. He forced a smile, but his expression was as poor as mine.
[The Imperial Mage Corps batches 50 through 90—53% of active members—are missing, causing disruptions in berserker handling. The missing fall mostly between ages 40 and 100, so the Empire’s Magic Division deems those batches prime targets for criminal groups. To prevent neglect of national defense duties they also hold as Imperial Army members, we’ve decided to fully exempt them from berserker handling.]
“......”
“...Then?”
Ulrike whispered from the front row.
Mages aged 40 to 100 were the absolute core among new humans classified as mages.
Eschet, publicly the Empire’s top across the 1st and 2nd Institutes, handled 8th to 9th-grade berserkers—but the most critical, highest-risk 1st to 3rd-graders fell to those 50th to 90th batches. Declaring their removal from the front lines in this situation showed the will to protect precious human resources from further losses. They’d now fall under direct government protection.
Yet mentioning the military framed it as ‘secondary duties’—don’t die pointlessly handling berserkers; preserve national strength.
The real problem lay elsewhere. Excluding all from 50 to 90 left...
[Imperial Academy Imperial Mage Corps 101st Batch. Where are you?]
“......”
Across universities and high schools, we were the only Imperial Mage Corps. Especially the 101st.
I bit the inside of my lip. From the 1st to 2nd Educational Institute Cadet Corps, every student’s bewildered gaze snapped to us. Leo’s mouth parted slightly before he schooled his expression and stood.
“101st Batch Eschet.”
The Magic Division official nodded, face unchanging.
[Good. Imperial Mage Corps 101st Batch will handle nationwide 1st to 3rd-grade berserkers starting noon tomorrow.]
“...?!”
Gasps echoed everywhere. Murmurs erupted instantly as they turned to each other.
“...Pardon?”
An unplanned question slipped from Leo. Even though I’d anticipated it, nothing else would come out. 1st to 3rd-grade, nationwide. Even knowing it was coming, my head went numb.
‘...They’re scrapping the agreement like this.’
Emergencies allowed prior agreements to change anytime. With poor international tensions, they needed to safeguard adult mages of outstanding experience, knowledge, and skill for potential war. Plus, not just new human wars but Pleroma too. No blaming the government—this seemed the most ‘rational’ Plan B. If you accepted coldly reducing people to numbers.
Even sarcastically, I didn’t mind facing 1st-grade berserkers. I wasn’t mocking the government to dodge duty.
The issue was our friends here, not yet of age, whose safety hung in the balance.
“1st-grade?”
“...This is...”
I felt other team students glancing our way. The noise from students swelled louder. Eschet members stared blankly ahead with rigid faces.
No surprise—students had never trained on that grade, never learned handling methods. Best they’d done was 4th-grade in the third exam. Plus, the government blocked media reports analyzing 1st to 3rd-grade berserkers, so they didn’t even know the risks properly. The ability gaps between grades were vast; you couldn’t compare 4th and 3rd. It was plunging into the unknown.
I couldn’t use divine power externally, so no Labyrinth conquest either. Pure combat to handle high-risk 1st to 3rd-graders.
“I’ve always wondered what 3rd-grade and up are like that they even block reports on them.”
Ulrike’s mutter reached me. Probably couldn’t believe we’d learn this way.
The official, seeing reactions, seemed conflicted and just waited silently for the clamor to die without quelling it. Once they quieted, awaiting his words, he answered Leo’s curt question.
[Pleroma is targeting the Empire’s core magicology scholars, making it unavoidable to alter the structure. To counter Pleroma, the Magic Division and Imperial Household have created an elite unit in the Imperial Army for highest-risk berserkers, highly evaluating the 101st Batch from the Imperial Academy’s outstanding skills and record to include them.]
The follow-up was sugarcoating, irrelevant. Because they’re ‘targeting core scholars,’ exclude 50-90 from berserker duty... So what about the students here?
“We’re not core, so throw us into berserker handling. And among non-cores, we’re the best, so pit us against the highest risks. Thanks a bunch~?”
At Elias’s quiet sarcasm, Narke swiftly cast soundproofing and smiled. Leo didn’t look Elias’s way. He agreed this time. Cherlingen stroked his chin, keeping his usual smile.
With Eschet briefed, the official turned to other students.
[Second change. Excluding Eschet, all Cadet Corps batches from Imperial 1st to 2nd Educational Institutes will handle 3rd to 9th-grade berserkers.]
This time, our eyes met Leo’s. I sensed a hint of shock in his gaze.
“......”
Frankly, it didn’t apply to us, but this hit me harder. The safety line of 8th-grade and below was lifted not just for us but all Imperial Academy Cadet Corps.
Silence fell like ice water poured over the room, and a trace of sorrow crept into the official’s expression.
[Students.]
The official began speaking words not on his prepared paper, hesitating.
[It pains me to say this. We need your strength. The Empire faces unprecedented crises like never before in history.]
* * *
The Empire was utter chaos. Like before and after Pentalon, police armed with guns and wands lined the streets. Newspapers were filled solely with missing persons search updates.
The scheduled ‘noon next day’ arrived far too soon, and we were already outside.
Yes.
A report had come in already. At least for the next week as adaptation period, only 3rd-grade berserkers were assigned...
‘Thanks ever so much, you bastards... makes me want to cry.’
After this, I had to meet Abraham. Circumstantially, that guy surely knew the Perurer who defected to Maria of Austria and France would cause this butterfly effect. He might not have predicted student mobilization due to manpower shortages again like the first order day, but regardless, I needed his unique info on this situation.
Of course, surviving today unscathed to talk came first.
“Are we really getting thrown in right away like this?”
Ulrike muttered. Seeing his stiff face, I patted his shoulder.
“They probably figure doing what we’ve done is fine. We’ve handled up to 4th-grade, so let’s push through.”
“Never knew you were the type to say that, Luca.”
Elias stared at me pointedly. Not surprise, but a nudge. I averted my gaze.
So, where’d we drop today...
[Alert again. High-risk berserker outbreak in Building B, 7th floor, Karl Bonhoeffer Mental Hospital. Estimated grade 3; updates will follow changes. When the berserker’s vitriol enters lull, signal for entry—3 and 4, proceed to rear and front gates respectively.]
I muttered at the guidance voice in my ear.
“Flashy debut report.”
“Tell me about it. First case throwing our whole team in isn’t just a 3rd-grade berserker, but in a hospital with 2,000 patients. Unreal.”
Elias, unusually reading from a textbook in tone, let out a hollow laugh. I mirrored his hollow laugh and turned. Then Cherlingen clapped, drawing our attention.
“Guys.”
“Yeah?”
Cherlingen gazed at the hospital ringed by temporary barriers to prevent secondary rampage damage and said.
“It was a mime-made fake, but we faced up to 4th-grade in the third exam, right? Like Lucas said.”
“......”
Heike and Ulrike, silent in tension, looked at him. Cherlingen extended his hand to his friends with a smile.
“We can do it. Let’s make it work. No matter the high grade, first we try to subdue.”
Making it work.
No other choice right now. International tensions, Pleroma, berserkers in hospitals—this was our assigned role. At this moment, give it our all.
Beeeep—
Entry permission chimed in my ear right on cue. Eyes met with friends.
“Yeah, let’s make it work.”
I lightly slapped Cherlingen’s hand and switched my wand to staff.