On the other side of the "Gate of Ginza"—
That is, the otherworld which Japan had named the "Special Region"—
It was already April of Imperial Year 678.
Spring was in full bloom, the most comfortable season of the year.
Yet the commander of the Tokyo Division and also the acting commander of the Special Region's advance Self-Defense Force, sat in his office with a face full of worry.
It wasn't because of any so-called Imperial threat.
Over the past few months, the two sides had already clashed in three large-scale battles.
The enemy had lost over 100,000 troops.
Adding to that the more than 60,000 who had died in Japan, the total loss came to between 160,000 and 170,000 men.
This didn't even include those who hadn't died in battle but had collapsed and scattered as routed soldiers.
That was nearly 200,000 troops gone.
For a nation still stuck in an "ancient" period, this was a devastating loss.
All the more since this world's population wasn't large to begin with.
On their own side, only a few dozen men had been injured due to accidents.
So in recent days, the Imperial Army had stopped making trouble.
This meant the Japanese forces no longer felt any real concern about this "Special Region world."
With no more battles to fight, the advance force began using the engineering equipment they had brought with them—excavators, bulldozers, and other vehicles—to level the uneven slopes surrounding the "Gate."
They planned to turn "Alnus Hill" into their own military base.
All of it had been going smoothly.
But starting last week, they had been unable to contact Japan.
Not only did phone calls fail to connect—even the massive iron gate sealing the entrance on the other side of the "Gate of Ginza" was no longer being opened for them.
At that moment, the General realized the situation was becoming serious.
He immediately ordered those in the know not to reveal anything. Otherwise, under wartime regulations, any leak would be punishable by execution.
Because once the soldiers learned they might never return home, a mutiny could easily erupt.
Still, the General knew he could not keep the secret for long.
So he decided—if after another week they still couldn't establish contact, he would be forced to announce the truth.
On the other side—
Inside the tunnel of the "Gate of Ginza," two Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers armed with Type 64 automatic rifles stood numbly before the massive iron gate.
They were two of the four men who knew the truth.
The General had ordered them to guard here in pairs, round the clock.
If the gate opened, they were to report immediately.
At first, it wasn't so bad.
After all, they knew full well how severe the consequences of losing contact with the homeland would be.
And standing watch here meant they would be the first to know of any change.
But after two days, they realized the assignment was sheer torment.
It was too dull, too boring—they could barely even feel the sun.
The tunnel had only a few makeshift lamps set up.
The two chairs by their side, they had brought themselves just the other day.
[Zzzhhh—]
Just then, the two of them suddenly heard a very familiar sound. Instinctively, they turned their heads toward the gate.
Sure enough, bright red lights were flashing atop the iron doors.
That was the signal that the gate was activating, warning nearby personnel to keep their distance.
The soldiers' faces instantly lit up with a mix of surprise and joy.
The gate was opening!
But then they saw them—strange soldiers marching in, wearing German-style M35 helmets and clad in American olive-green uniforms.
They were aiming at them with the old-fashioned Thompson submachine guns in their hands.
To be honest, their appearance made him think of the World War II movies he had once watched.
"You are—"
The soldier began to ask, startled and confused.
But clearly, the men before him had no intention of wasting words.
[Ratatata!]
With a burst of sharp gunfire and flashing muzzle flare, the two soldiers collapsed on the spot, their bodies riddled with a dozen bloody holes, faces twisted with unwillingness and pain.
If one looked further beyond the iron gate, one would see that Ginza Street, once cleared and cleaned, was once again strewn with corpses lying in pools of blood.
These were the Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers assigned to guard the "Gate of Ginza," all belonging to the Tokyo Division.
Now, however, the area had been taken over by the 2nd Division of the Auxiliary Corps' Second Army.
Having eliminated the two gate guards, the soldiers of the 1st Brigade rushed swiftly into the dim tunnel.
[Ratatata!]
[Ratatatatata!]
The steel-helmeted soldiers of the 1st Brigade, wielding Thompson submachine guns, had barely rushed out of the "Gate" before colliding head-on with the advance unit soldiers in the camp.
The result was inevitable.
Caught off guard, the latter had no time to react before collapsing one after another under the storm of gunfire.
Meanwhile, more soldiers of the 1st Brigade poured out from the "Gate" like a rising tide.
Less than three months of construction time had not been enough for the advance force to properly complete the base facilities.
Still, the once uneven hillside had at least been leveled flat.
So for now, what filled the area were mostly rows of green tents, along with armored vehicles and tanks parked in the corners.
"Third Company, secure the ten o'clock direction—don't let their armor get moving!"
"First Company, their command post must be nearby—find it!"
"Watch the skies! If you see a helicopter, bring it down with an RPG-7 at once!"
With the battlefield environment now clear in his mind, Colonel Rommel ignored the gunfire roaring in his ears and the cries of the dying as he began shouting orders to the surrounding units.
All the while, he advanced forward with his guard platoon, occasionally firing precise bursts at Japanese soldiers in the distance who tried to shoot back—wielding his assault rifle with the precision of a sniper's weapon.
By now, the camp near the "Gate of Ginza" was completely engulfed in flames of war.
The ground was littered with corpses from both sides, though the fallen Self-Defense Force soldiers were clearly the majority.
In terms of the battle itself, Colonel Rommel's 1st Brigade had already seized most of the central area of the base.
The Japanese General's Ground Self-Defense Force was being beaten back in utter disarray, forced to abandon the bodies of their dead comrades as they retreated further and further.
But this only exposed the Japanese General's role as commander, and Rommel immediately directed his troops to encircle him.
At the same time, the tanks and armored vehicles captured on site were already being operated by the 1st Brigade's soldiers.
[Boom!]
The first tank fired a shell straight at the position where the Japanese General was located!
Despair appeared on the faces of the general and the nearby soldiers.
[Whoosh!]
But just as the General's heart filled with unwillingness, a black shadow suddenly cut across the clear morning sunlight, striking the ground about 10 m in front of them.
From it burst crackling purple lightning, intercepting the incoming tank shell in midair.
[Boom!!]
However, the massive fireball and shockwave from the shell's detonation blasted the lightning apart by sheer force.
The remaining aftershock slammed into the chests of the General and over a dozen nearby soldiers.
"General!!!"
A Ground Self-Defense Force officer with the insignia of a Second Lieutenant rushed over, quickly lifting the battered general, who had been blown into the air and then slammed harshly back to the ground.
"Y-you…"
The general coughed up blood in heavy spurts, his consciousness clearly fading.
But he seemed to recognize the man.
"I'm Itami Yōji, Second Lieutenant of the 6th Platoon, 1st Infantry Company!"
No sooner had he introduced himself than the General could hold on no longer. His head slumped to the side, life slipping away.
"Itami, what do we do now? Fight, or retreat?"
A girl with short blue hair, carrying a long staff, walked over and asked softly.
Yet her gaze never left the direction of the "Gate."
At this very moment—that "Holy Maiden of Death and War," the so-called Death Demi-Goddess Rory—had already charged into the enemy ranks, swinging the Halberd Scythe in wild slaughter, her eerie girlish laughter echoing through the battlefield.
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---