At Alnus Hill, across from the "Gate of Ginza," the remnants of the Japanese vanguard unit had already finished cleaning up.
Burned tents were collected, broken corpses buried in the earth.
Damaged tanks and other vehicles—those still salvageable were under repair, while the ruined ones were hauled to the perimeter to serve as cover.
Even so, shell craters and blood-stained soil were still visible everywhere.
But compared to the massive host they once had, the current scene looked pitifully diminished.
As for Japan's situation now—
They had already learned from soldiers of the auxiliary corps.
Lelei's ice magic had merely frozen their bodies; it had not killed them outright.
Thus, dozens of selected prisoners were still being held in the camp.
The rest, however, had to be put to death.
They simply lacked the food and manpower to guard so many.
But conversely, the more one knows, the greater the fear.
From those captives, they had learned vast amounts about the World Government—and the knowledge left them in despair.
Numbly, they steeled themselves to remain in this other world forever.
They no longer entertained any thought of magicians leading them in a counterattack.
No matter how powerful the magicians appeared, there was no way they could stand against a force that ruled seven worlds.
Eight, counting their own.
...
On this day—
The weather was clear, the sunlight somewhat harsh, and the wind light.
The vanguard soldiers wandered idly about the camp.
[BOOM!!!]
A thunderous explosion shook the heavens as the ice-sealed "Gate" burst open in a blaze of golden light, detonating across the entirety of Alnus Hill.
Before anyone in the camp could even react, the lingering energy of that golden brilliance shot out as a thick beam.
[BOOM!]
"Enemy attack!!!"
"Move, move, move! Find cover and prepare to fight!"
"Get the tanks and APCs running, now!"
Warrant Officer Kosugi, the highest-ranking officer present, had by default become acting commander of the unit.
The moment he regained his senses, he bellowed hoarsely, his voice thick with panic and urgency.
In an instant, the camp descended into chaos.
Soldiers scrambled to cover, rifles and turrets swiveling toward the "Gate of Ginza."
Gradually, the field fell silent again—
[BOOM! BOOM!]
Suddenly, everyone's eyes widened as two streaks of lightning—one gold, one blue—shot from the pitch-black "Gate" at unimaginable speed.
Without waiting for orders, many of the vanguard soldiers instinctively squeezed their triggers.
Yet in the very instant their fingers tightened and the triggers clicked—
Those two bolts of lightning had already torn into the camp!
From within the azure lightning came A's roar.
His raised right arm swept through the air, and wherever it passed, crimson mist burst forth.
In a blur of impossible speed, A appeared above a Type 74 main battle tank.
With a downward strike of his leg, he slammed into the vehicle's chassis.
[Boom!]
Another deafening boom tore through the camp.
The tank exploded on the spot, fragments crackling with high-voltage arcs as they blasted outward.
At the same time—
The golden lightning that was Budo rampaged through the ranks, slaughtering Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers without pause.
In this moment, rifles, tanks—it made no difference.
Nothing could withstand the joint assault of A and Budo!
"Seems they won't be needing our help after all."
From a distance, Kurama Unkai—who had just emerged from the "Gate of Ginza"—watched the carnage unfold and could not help but sigh.
"I only hope they still have some shred of reason left—enough to leave us a few survivors to gather intelligence from," Yamanaka Inoichi said with a weary shrug.
In less than two minutes, the thousand-strong force had been reduced to only ten survivors.
Among them was Warrant Officer Kosugi.
"He's yours."
A tossed the unconscious Kosugi heavily to the ground.
"Give me a moment."
Inoichi nodded calmly.
He stepped forward, placed his right palm against Kosugi's head, and slowly closed his eyes.
Before long, they saw steam rising from Kosugi's head.
Soon, Inoichi opened his eyes again.
"I'm sorry to say, Yuki Yasuhiro and Ruri Seiji have fallen."
Inoichi stood and sighed.
"Kurosuki Raiga and Kaguya Kazushi were taken by the enemy. They should have been taken to a place called Rondel, a city of magicians."
"There are two powerful magicians there. One is a short-haired blue girl who wields frost magic, named Lelei. The other is an old man who controls lightning magic, named Cato—the one who instantly defeated Kurosuki Raiga."
At those words, the expressions of the shinobi shifted at once.
"Defeated instantly? Are you certain it was instant?" A pressed in shock.
"Yes, instantly. I saw it clearly in his memory."
Inoichi's expression was grave as he nodded, then turned his gaze toward Budo.
"The technique was a lightning strike summoned straight from the sky."
"Oh?"
At that, Budo's golden brows arched, his interest piqued as he glanced down at the dead Kosugi.
"No matter what, get in touch with Team Tekka and Team Gekko first and decide our next objective."
As Yamanaka Inoichi spoke, he pulled a Den-Den Mushi from the tactical pouch strapped to his thigh.
The line connected.
"Captain Gekko, this is Yamanaka Inoichi. Five squads of shinobi have arrived at Alnus Hill. What's your situation?"
The Den-Den Mushi first showed surprise, then clear delight. "That's great!"
"Our squad followed the trail of Lelei and the others and tracked them all the way to a city called Rondel."
"But we discovered that nearly one hundred thousand mages live here. Worried something might go wrong, we didn't immediately move to seize anyone."
"To raise the chances of success, I contacted Captain Uchiha Tekka this morning and asked his team to come assist."
Captain Gekko quickly laid out the current situation.
Inoichi was taken aback. "Rondel again?!"
"Hm?"
"It's like this—we just probed the memories of an officer from the Japan Self-Defense Forces and learned that Captain Raiga and his people—"
Inoichi shared the intel they had just obtained.
"I see. So Cato and Lelei are bringing Captain Raiga and Kaguya Kazushi toward our position. Do you want us to intercept and rescue them?"
"No!"
Inoichi rejected the idea at once.
Face grave, he spoke into the receiver: "That old mage named Cato could defeat Raiga with ease. Add in the help of those two magical girls, and the four of you will have a hard time taking them head-on!"
"However, you can try to draw out more information from them—then wait for us to arrive!"
"Captain Gekko, let me first tell you what we know on our side."
"Much appreciated."
Inoichi paused, then continued.
"From the images in that man's memory, the blue-haired girl named Lelei wields powerful frost magic. Its area is large, its precision is high—she can freeze only enemy targets even on a chaotic battlefield."
"In addition, she has magic that can release energy bolts in midair, and a magic barrier strong enough to block Captain Raiga's Lightning Release."
Inoichi spoke in earnest.
"Lastly—the girl named Lelei can speak Japanese!"
"Understood!"
Yamanaka Inoichi put away the Den-Den Mushi, but did not rise immediately.
Instead, he pulled another kunai from his tactical pouch—its shape slightly unusual.
With a casual flick, he threw it into the ground on the west side of the "Ginza Gate."
"Captain, what's that for?" Uchiha Teru asked curiously.
"Nothing."
Inoichi shook his head, signaling him not to ask further.
Those who recognized the kunai kept silent after hearing his words.
Inoichi then turned his gaze on Budo.
"Major General Budo, do you have a plan next? Or will you be acting together with us?"
The shinobi no longer dared to underestimate him.
In sheer personal strength alone, even A might not be Budo's match.
Yet Budo calmly declined.
"Since you're covering Rondel, I intend to head for the imperial capital. As it stands, those two cities—besides the Temples—are the most critical places in this world."
"…All right then." Inoichi still wanted to press the matter, but when he met Budo's unshaken eyes, he had no choice but to let it go.
And so, Inoichi said no more, instead picking up a map they had recovered from the camp.
They parted ways with Budo's group of four and sprinted swiftly toward the northwest, where Rondel lay.
Twenty shinobi moved in formation, clad in black flak vests and headbands marked with the crest of the "Five-Ringed Cross."
On the other hand, while Budo and his group were on their way to the capital, they encountered an unexpected situation.
Ahead, a cavalry force numbering well over a thousand—its rear still out of sight—came thundering forward.
The ground shook beneath the roar of hooves, dust billowing thick into the sky.
At the front of their column, two banners snapped in the wind.
One bore a pink rose on a red field with golden edges, framed by two golden flourishes.
Budo did not recognize it.
But the other flag made his brow rise.
It was the standard of the Empire!
And judging by their direction of march, they were clearly bound for Alnus Hill.
If that was the case, then best to take them down first.
There was no way to communicate—language was a barrier too wide to cross.
"Prepare for battle!"
Budo's voice, heavy with command, rang out to the three at his side.
"Yes!"
The colonels answered at once, their eyes sharpening.
Across the plain—
At the head of the oncoming column rode a striking young woman with waist-length scarlet hair and eyes to match.
A black-sheathed longsword hung at her hip as she urged her armored steed forward with practiced skill, galloping at the fore.
Yet her attire was bizarre.
A short white dress paired with white thigh-high stockings, black heels bound with golden straps.
Only her shoulders, chest, and knees were armored in iron, and a white cloak streamed behind her in the wind.
Even stranger—the great majority of this unit were young women.
And they were dressed in much the same way, all wearing "mini-skirts," though each was fair of face and figure.
This was the Rose Knights, founded by the Empire's Third Princess.
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