Saga of Slime and Devil (Remake)

Vol 1 | Chapter 9 | Dryad's Request

A hastily built research location stood amidst the barren land, just a few days prior the region was a hellish warzone, with the stench of blood and iron still filling the air as the former no man's land was now used for logistics and research. The recent Russy offensive through this region, despite inflicting many casualties on the Empire, had been successfully stalled and pushed back.

Yet what drew the attention of the Empire was a magical anomaly which was present here. It had been gradually fading over the last few days, however its presence had been messing with magical signals in the region, providing a mild hindrance to mage operations during the counter-offensive. This hindrance was only worsened by the death of the commander of the 203rd Aerial Mage Battalion, Tanya von Degurechaff.

What made this anomaly so strange was that nobody knew what caused it, let alone where it came from, or even how to get rid of it. As time went on it seemed it would fade naturally, but many scientists still tried to find the answer, setting up all sorts of advanced equipment around the origin of the anomaly.

The only consistent theory was that it perhaps had been related to the death of Tanya von Degurechaff, or perhaps the powerful magical strike that ultimately killed her. Another theory could be in relation to the sudden disappearance of her adjutant Viktoria Serebryakov. Unlike Degurechaff's death, Serebryakov had no record of her death, other than a sudden disappearance in the same battle as Degurechaff was defeated.

Of course, this was hardly evidence at all as you would be lucky to even have your death documented, soldiers often seemingly just vanishing when they die rather than a body ever being found in the mess of no man's land.

Of all the people sent to inspect the frontline and the anomaly, one of them had grown suspicious, and in truth had conflicting emotions about it all. Brigadier General Erich Von Rerugen stood alongside the various equipment the scientists were using to monitor the anomaly, sighing as he was informed of their lack of progress.

'Just what kind of a mess have you caused here, Degurechaff? Knowing her there's no way this coincidentally happened right around where she died. Did she try to defect and make this anomaly as a coverup?' Rerugen simply shook his head at the thought, 'That devil? No, she wouldn't defect so easily. The Empire would have to be on its absolute last legs for her to abandon it. The child in love with war would never so quickly abandon it.'

Rerugen had conflicting emotions about her disappearance, on one hand she was a devil in the skin of a little girl, an opinion which he gradually began to ignore but never fully got rid of. Her being gone was probably good for his mental sanity, and to an extent the Empire as a whole. On the other hand, as the war waged on she became one of the few voices of reason that he could agree with among the military officers. The viewpoints of the others seemed to only drive the Empire further towards catastrophe, with Degurechaff's opinions aligning much with his own; she was a potentially valuable ally to have, devil or not.

'Now that she's gone, any hope I have at pushing reason into some of those morons in the General Staff is gone too. Perhaps I should try to defect while I still can? I love the Empire but... The way it's heading... It doesn't have long left.'

His main fear was that without Tanya, the 203rd may begin to slowly fall apart, that or General Staff's confidence in it would and the unit would be destroyed, whether by the enemy or the Empire. When that happens, it would be a major loss for the Empire, one Rerugen worried about especially as the Russy Federation finally got its own mage forces into a competent state. 'We need the 203rd now, more than ever. I just hope she trained that Weiss well.'

Rerugen gazed at the crater where the anomaly originated, stepping towards it as he looked down into it. It was likely a result of the blast that had killed Degurechaff, or perhaps the Type 95's destruction caused it. Whatever the cause, it meant a headache of things were to come for him, and Rerugen needed to prepare.