Deus lo Vult

by Carlo Zen

  “Reinforcements acknowledged, but this is my battlefield.”

  I don’t want to, but I have to at least rush them. Otherwise, it could adversely affect the evaluation of my achievements in this battle. Now that I recall, I wonder how the Kwantung Army was able to puff up their self-image so much. That said, I can definitely get ahead if I act like them. Nobody who calls themselves a patriot is worth a damn.

  True patriots demonstrate their love for their country through actions, but the fakes express it in words. To get ahead, you have to do both. Patriotism is a really handy tool, and tools are meant to be used.

  “Our mission is to eliminate the rabble violating the Empire’s borders regardless of whether they’re from the Entente Alliance or the Republic—we don’t discriminate.”

  Elinium Type 95 comes with a curse that corrodes my mind the more I use it. In exchange for performance, I have to exalt the self-proclaimed god, Being X, with all my might. The only silver lining is that since I’m employing the Kwantung Army promotion doctrine, I can at least make it sound like patriotism.

  But there’s really something wrong with the army if the more you copy those big-talking Tsugene guys, the more you advance. That’s gotta be why there are soldiers who actually want to take part in something as stupid as war.

  Really, no one should long for peace and an idle life more than soldiers.

  “Spatial coordinates acquired, potential evasion paths calculated, expansion chamber magic filling normally.”

  They want to leverage their numerical superiority and hunt me down. I doubt taking out one at a time will work against Republican mages. If I try, they’ll probably gang up on me. They take pride in their perfect coordination, after all.

  I was unbelievably lucky to have the chance to pick them off and thin the herd at first. I can’t expect an opportunity like that again, so I need to switch up my tactics. In short, I just need to treat this clump of guys as a single target instead. Time for some giant killing.

  I don’t need to fiddle around with my aim. I can just target the whole area.

  “CP, requesting theater warning for spatial detonation.”

  “CP, roger. Will issue a spatial detonation warning.”

  Elinium Type 95 is capable of storing mana via its system of four synchronized cores. With an explosion formula cast at full throttle operation with that stock of magic, it’s possible to superpose interference across the entire war zone. Of course, that means full throttle operation of a flawed orb—something stupid is bound to happen.

  “Sergeant Schones! Prepare for impact!”

  In addition to blowing up friend and foe indiscriminately, it would litter the area with mana noise and reduce visibility with smoke, isolating soldiers. It would throw organized combat into chaos, making all coordination impossible, so I can’t just go using it willy-nilly when fighting on a team.

  The tactic is so disruptive, in fact, that the instructor unit was kind enough to comment that apart from self-destruction, there was no use for it. If, however, the fight is one versus a group, it can blow away the group’s organization and turn the fight into one versus multiple individuals. Thus, the verdict is that the formula causes nothing but problems in team battles but it’s not bad to have on hand when low on manpower.

  “Be gone, impertinent foes. This is our Empire, our sky, our home.”

  I should be able to get positive evaluations for proclaiming my nationalism to the entire area.

  Coincidentally, the military also generally approves of religious faith, so I might as well make use of Being X’s curse to get ahead. I’ll just have to accept it this time, even if I scream in agony as my freedom and dignity are trampled.

  “If ye come to disrespect the fatherland, we shall pray unto God.”

  The enemy mages begin spreading out. They create a zone of interlocking fire from either side; rather than concentrate their shots on Tanya, they plan to torture her to death in midair. On top of that, as a precaution against ordinary explosion formulas, the spread is wider than usual.

  “O Lord, save the fatherland. O Lord, grant me the strength to defeat my nation’s enemies.”

  They can pin me down even after all those intense maneuvers up this high? These guys are war crazy. Geez, if you like it so much, you should just split into two sides and kill each other.

  Why do they have to get other people involved? Did no one teach them not to be a bother? There had to have been some major flaws in their education. Education decides a child’s future; they need to take it seriously.

  Or maybe they’re rational, economical people like me, using war to advance their careers and aiming to survive. Wait a minute. If that’s the case, shouldn’t I do my best to negotiate for a profitable outcome…? How could a logical, economically minded person like me nearly forget the pursuit of profit? Is war so harsh that people lose all reason?

  Profit is everything; that’s self-evident. In short, negotiation is key. If you blow up the other party before you start the dialogue, there won’t be any of that.

  By the time this dawns on Tanya, she’s overwhelmed by how easily her reasoning had been impaired by war and how far she’d gone down the path to losing her humanity. Unless your hobby is fighting to the death, killing someone without getting anything out of it is pointless. Right, this isn’t a zero-sum game, so building cooperative relationships should be theoretically possible.

  Then instead of earnestly slaughtering one another, it would be more logical to rig the game. We’ll move from a savage world of killing and being killed into a world of reason. Surely the fabled “win-win” solution is possible.

  We can’t go overboard. Just as economists were able to determine through statistics that Japan’s national sport was riddled with fixed matches, our deception will one day be exposed, but by the time a third party sees through our plot, the fighting will be long over. Economists have plenty of other things to be working on during a war, and most of the time those things are extremely important.

  “Save us from the heathen invasion. O God, grant me the strength to slay our enemies.”

  I have to just keep singing meaningless praise to make it look like I’m using a formula. That way I can conceal my intentions from CP for a while. If this goes well, all I have to do is settle the negotiations while they can’t tell what I’m doing due to the mana noise.

  Things are coming together. Noting that, Tanya thinks for a moment and then decides that the proper time for her message might be at hand.

  Perhaps they will open the door to negotiation, and things will go well for both sides. No one can call themselves an adult if they are bound by preconceptions. Maybe she’s only been looking at Republican soldiers as stereotypes.

  People are more than appearances. Surely we need to gain a thorough understanding of people’s true inner selves to interact with them properly. All individual personalities are one of a kind and thus deserving of respect.

  Even in the middle of a war, if it might be possible to negotiate with someone, you should be sincere with them. Of course, negotiating with the enemy will naturally get you court-martialed. Forsaking combat is treated the same as fleeing before the enemy; you have no way to talk yourself out of the death by firing squad that awaits.

  However, if I can avoid needless combat as an upright individual, I’ll accept the personal risk. If I can make myself understood, I’m willing to forgo opportunities for promotion and time off. I’ll earn them by defending myself from war-crazed maniacs.

  Most importantly, the amount of risk and labor involved here is clearly unfair, given my salary. I have no obligation to do work above my pay grade.

  In the unfortunate event that I can’t make myself understood, I’ll have to take them down and have a nice vacation eating tasty food in the rear. It’s a crying shame I can’t drink wine, but the region back there is famous for the way it prepares sautéed fish. I’m sure it’ll be exquisite.

  “Attention! You are trespassing on the Empire
’s territory.” For now, let’s start with a couple benign remarks. “We will do our utmost to defend our fatherland, because behind us are people we must protect.”

  Apparently a soldier’s duty is to protect their country’s people. Though some armies are violence machines and some belong to emperors, soldiers really are usually protectors of their nation. Well, there are also cases like Prussia, where the army possesses the state instead of the state possessing the army, so it’s not a hard rule. But the generalization sure sounds good.

  “Answer me this. Why do you wish to invade the Empire, our homeland?”

  She says it like a reprimand, but she actually wants an answer. I’ll get the negotiation ball rolling. I may be talking to the enemy, but this is still innocuous enough that I can explain it away.

  I wonder what their response will be, but all I get is a barrage of curses and a hail of bullets. Are these guys really just a bunch of dumb, war-crazy animals? I can’t help but doubt their sanity.

  So these people aren’t modern entrepreneurs I can calmly pursue a rational outcome with? Or perhaps they, too, have lost their humanity in the war? If that’s the case, how sad. That means I have to play along with these war-loving fools—the worst possible scenario.

  She wants to request overtime pay, along with extra compensation for being placed in this hazardous working environment, but she doesn’t know who to invoice… I realize it’s immature to throw a fit, but I want to cry.

  “This is CP with a warning for the theater. Watch out for mana noise.”

  CP is kind enough to issue the warning Tanya requested. And she has accumulated enough mana. All right, if these guys are logical, economically minded fellows, they’re sure to value one over zero.

  Who knows? Maybe they’re the prudent types who won’t take a risk while the radio signal is good. Even if they get bombed first, rational fellows like that will undoubtedly choose a reasonable solution if they survive.

  At least, I would choose a reasonable solution. Maybe I should get this over with. Knock it off with the hesitation and delays and get things moving. Focus on controlling all the mana I saved up and accept the noise in my thoughts.

  “O saints, believe in the blessings of our Lord. Let us be fearless.”

  Tanya feels drained at the sudden release of loaded mana. She wants to scream as all the energy is sucked out of every one of her cells, but Elinium Type 95’s curse prevents it. Still, she can’t get over how weird it is for pain to be forcefully converted into religious ecstasy.

  The sensation of joy and agony blending to rattle your mind is a horror beyond description.

  “Lament not your fate. Oh, the Lord has not forsaken us!”

  The full-body pleasure and the uncomfortable deprivation of my freedom finally reaches an intolerable level. If she could, she would curse him, but her mouth is probably only capable of praise. It annoys me, but the one thing the commies got right was to call religion a drug.

  The Chicago school of economics says drugs should be regulated by the economy.

  That said, my problem isn’t that I want to stop but can’t, it’s that if I stop, I’m likely to die. It’s the biggest pain in the ass. The Chicago school doesn’t consider the case of a drug where if you quit you instantly die.

  “At the distant end of our journey, let us reach the promised land.”

  A process similar to a thermobaric explosion starts up instantaneously. The mana has reached its pressurization limit and gushes out at an immeasurable rate. As the boiling magic explodes into freedom, the scattering mana makes contact with the open air and triggers an unconfined magic explosion. The abrupt changes in atmospheric pressure could collapse lungs and cause pulmonary congestion, and the combustion drops the already low oxygen concentration to fatal levels.

  Oxygen deprivation and carbon monoxide poisoning at eight thousand feet would cause even the hardiest aerial mages to black out and fall. Anyone who manages to maintain consciousness would experience agonizing pain. Collapsed lungs, carbon monoxide poisoning, and the complications from the steep drop in oxygen hurt like hell.

  “Ngh…gaghk…gagh…”

  Even Degurechaff, who was out of range, has trouble breathing as the oxygen concentration falls. If the mages in range are still able to fly, that won’t last long. The free-range magic explosion creates mana noise over a wide area.

  Not only does it cut off communications, but also it makes sustaining flight formulas difficult, so continuing the battle is impossible. Although smoke limits her visibility, it’s easy to imagine the state of her opponents who have received a direct hit.

  “Attention, fighters of the Republican Army: This battle is over.”

  So Tanya attempts to suggest they surrender. She has to wonder if after all that there are any survivors, but it doesn’t cost her anything to try.

  Well, if there are no survivors, I can take my accomplishment of annihilating an entire company and enjoy a tea break in the rear.

  “If you surrender, we’ll guarantee your rights as prisoners according to the Worms Convention.”

  The Republican Army, which had a strong tendency to rely on numerical superiority, had extraordinary faith in their Named. They could put up a fight against the imperial elites, after all. Due to their rarity and strategic value, they were deployed in the most critical battles, and their bravery was known far and wide.

  The 106th and 107th Reconnaissance Mage Companies of the Forty-Second Magic Brigade belonging to the Fourth Aerial Mage Division were also famous for their skills. Until recently, at least.

  “The tactical council regarding the recent annihilation of the 106th and 107th Reconnaissance Mage Companies is now in session.”

  Initially, the Republic had assumed that the Imperial Army’s powerful magic units, including the Named, were deployed on the front lines against the Entente Alliance, so it should have been impossible for its Named and equally elite troops to be wiped out.

  And yet, that was what happened. It happened despite their overwhelming numerical advantage—and at the hands of a single mage. When the news came in, no one could believe their ears. They thought it had to be some kind of mistake.

  “While the 106th and 107th Companies were engaged suppressing enemy observers, an enemy mage unit came to intercept them.”

  They had sent Named units out of necessity due to the long-range nature of the invasion. The mission was too difficult and strenuous to give to anyone else. As hard to believe as the news was, if a numerically inferior unit had inflicted massive damage on them, it was possible it would have repercussions for the entire war.

  It was no wonder the ranking members of the General Staff, who understood that fact, looked so grim.

  “What I’m handing out now is a report combining the logs from recovered computation orbs and survivor accounts.”

  The expressions of the magic officers who had done the analysis were even darker. To prepare the data, they had had to review the computation orb logs and recorders.

  The debriefing of the survivors was limited since some of them were severely injured, but what they had heard was shocking.

  If the information hadn’t come straight from half-dead survivors, it would have been hard to believe. No, they wouldn’t have wanted to believe it.

  “…Anyhow, first please take a look at this recording of the battle.”

  “Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!”

  That was the emergency distress signal used when encountering an unexpected enemy. The frontline combat controller, whose job was to remain calm and clearheaded at all times, was shrieking. It might have been funny if it had been a newbie, but he was a veteran. He had been the first to report 106th’s defeat and the one to request assistance for retreat. Thanks to him, the survivors of the 106th and 107th companies could be recovered.

  “Break! Break!”

  The screen, though awash in static, showed the unit promptly following their commander’s order. The aerial mage officers who had done the analysis
still found it difficult to accept the reality of what followed.

  At that moment, according to the log, the user was sniped from a distance far greater than was thought possible. It was hard to believe.

  The 106th was performing erratic evasive maneuvers.

  “Sean?!”

  The screen kept jerking around due to sharp changes in flight path. During that short time, several soldiers were shot out of the sky.

  “Bandit! Angels 12!”

  “Angels 12?!”

  And then, incredibly, an attack from twelve thousand feet. They had already received this information as an emergency report. The issue was that an imperial mage had climbed to double the current standard. If it was true, all of their aerial mages would be rendered virtually powerless.

  “Of all the… It can’t be.”

  No one was sure who had spoken, but the sentiment was universal. The number twelve thousand momentarily paralyzed their brains. It was too extraordinary.

  In fact, the unit had wondered if their opponent was a fighter plane, but it was undoubtedly a mage.

  After performing a series of optical-processing techniques on the video, they had managed to make out the standard-issue Imperial Army rifle and signs of an unknown computation orb.

  The distance kept them from getting a clear view of the enemy soldier’s features, but they could make out an incredibly small silhouette. Still, the way that mage cruised so calmly, like the ruler of the sky, told them no one could interfere.

  Then it was confirmed that the 106th’s opponent was a Registered Mage. Even worse, this was a new Named who had recently appeared in the theater and rapidly racked up achievements. All details were unknown. They didn’t even know what sorts of tactics this unfathomable threat would use, much less how to counter them.

  They had kicked Intelligence’s butt to get a reinvestigation under way, and so far they had found several unconfirmed reports that had been previously dismissed as frontline rumors—things like a lone enemy soldier taking down an entire company, a mage flying at an impossible altitude, and so on.

  It was a war zone, after all. They understood some of the intelligence coming in was confused, but it was too bad the unusual nature of their opponent was delaying their identification attempts.