The police, the Revenant Knights, and the Secret State Police were not interchangeable forces.
Each had distinct roles for different purposes. Among them, the Revenant Knights were the most flexible. To put it simply, they were modern military soldiers dressed under the ornate title of "Knights."
It had to be said, but the term itself had long fallen out of use by the sixteenth century. The rise of firearms and modern tactics had rendered traditional knights obsolete centuries ago.
Yet history had a way of reviving what it once buried.
In the eighteenth century, when the study of magic evolved into a structured science, everything changed.
Scholars discovered methods to harness and synthesize mana, and in doing so, they redefined warfare. Firearms and magic became tools of equal devastation.
The battlefield was never the same again.
With this new understanding came a breakthrough in human physiology. Magic augmentation allowed soldiers to surpass human limits than ever before.
These enhanced beings were the rebirth of knights, empowered by the fusion of magic and machine.
They could cut through a hundred men by themselves. And with the balance between magi-tech weaponry, magic, and raw physical enhancement, war had entered a new era.
"There's been no sign of Anton Blumentritt, sir!"
The Revenant Knights, working in tandem with law enforcement, patrolled the streets. Surveillance drones flew above, while street drones glided along the roads.
Across Berlin, most citizens had already seen the broadcast. Yet many dismissed it as nothing more than another political stunt or the ramblings of an extremist group.
Still, the Republic refused to take chances.
There was an unspoken rule across Germany. 'Never trust your neighbor.' Anyone could be an informant for the Secret State Police. A friend, a girlfriend, a coworker, even a family member.
Because of this paranoia, most believed it was only a matter of time before the terrorists were caught.
After all, in a nation where everyone watched everyone else, there were few places left to hide.
Not only that, but even most mobile services contain built-in wiretapping systems disguised as harmless data collection embedded in cookies, background trackers, and voice recognition modules.
Of course, the public dismissed it as nonsense. People laughed at the idea, thinking, 'Why would the government care about a jobless nobody when there were far more important people to monitor?'
To the average citizen, it didn't matter. They had nothing to hide, so they saw no reason to worry.
The government didn't need to watch everyone. It only needed everyone to believe they were being watched.
"What a mess…" Gabriel muttered. He turned toward his fellow knights. "Should I just hand in my resignation letter?"
One of them chuckled. "Getting cold feet already, Knight Gabriel?"
"Cold feet? No," Gabriel sighed. "I just miss my bed. I was up all night finishing that damn report after the virus attack, and now this…"
The knight beside him smirked. "Then take a break. I bet this is just another false alarm. Those terrorists don't have the balls to actually pull something off."
To the Revenant Knights, Code Vanguard was nothing more than a running joke. A bunch of ragtag idealists pretending to be revolutionaries, convinced they could change the world through rebellion.
They were children playing soldiers.
Unlike the Black Masks or the Vendetta, who operated deep within the underworld and had earned genuine infamy, Code Vanguard had no reputation to stand on.
To the Knights, they were just a nuisance.
For a while, it felt like just another uneventful patrol.
Beep——
Then, all of a sudden, a tone blared through their terminals.
The laughter stopped instantly. Every Knight moved as their visors lit up. Lines of encrypted text scrolled across the display.
——All units, this is Central Command. Unidentified magical signatures detected in District Sechs, near Alexanderplatz. Possible Code Vanguard activity confirmed. Engage with caution.
The chatter immediately died.
"District Six…" Gabriel said, glancing toward the outline of the Fernsehturm tower extending above the night sky. "That's less than two clicks from here."
At once, every Knight tapped on their visors. The transparent lenses expanded, reshaping into full-face helmets that sealed around their heads.
Within seconds, the nanotechnology spread across their bodies, layering plates of armor. What began as simple patrol uniforms transformed into full combat gear.
The Knights might have thought of Code Vanguard as a joke.
"Looks like your break's over, Knight Gabriel."
"Yeah. I guess it is."
But they were never the type to take any mission lightly.
* * *
Julius, after finishing his therapy session with Isolde, stepped out of the Schneiders' Residence.
"...."
Today, he had an important appointment he couldn't miss.
He glanced down at his phone. "I'd be an hour early."
But it didn't matter. Julius preferred to arrive before anyone else did.
Followed closely by his bodyguards, he entered the waiting vehicle and soon after, it drove off.
"We're here, Lord Schneider."
Julius nodded, stepped out of the vehicle, and entered the venue. He presented his ticket to the guards. After a brief scan and confirmation, they guided him through the security gates and into the building.
He was led up the staircase to the VIP chamber, and Julius took his seat.
Of all the traditions that had survived Germany's transformation into a cybernetic republic, the orchestra was one of the few that endured.
In 2149, orchestral music still held its place in society's heart. With the help of technological advancement, instruments were now enhanced by mana conductors and acoustic resonators, capable of capturing sound frequencies far beyond the human ear.
——The concert will begin shortly. We kindly ask all attendees to silence their neural links and refrain from activating holographic displays during the performance.
Julius glanced down at his phone, idly scrolling through the orchestra's social media page as he waited.
The event poster filled his screen.
"...."
At the center of the poster was a woman with elegantly braided pink hair and eyes the color of clear blue water. With a violin in hand, she embodied serenity itself.
[Featuring: Aiseline Liselotte Vergissmeinnicht]
That was right.
This performance featured his former fiancée, Aiseline. A bitter smile tugged at his lips as he looked at the poster again.
He had come uninvited. Aiseline likely had no idea that he had secured a VIP seat, nor that he was even present in the hall tonight.
Still, Julius didn't care. Whether she knew or not made no difference.
It didn't take long for the curtains to part.
——♬♫♪♩
And with it, the first notes of the violin filled the air.
That night, as Julius admired, watching Aiseline perform under the glow of the chandeliers, the world outside was anything but peaceful.
Across Berlin, forty-three members of Code Vanguard had been detained and captured. Seven remained at large, and fourteen were dead.
The Revenant Knights had crushed the rebellion before it could even find its voice.
——♬♫♪♩
And as the final note of Aiseline's violin echoed through the grand hall, the applause of the audience drowned out the cries that rose from the streets outside.