The sky was gray, covered by dense clouds that promised a storm. A perfect omen for what was to come.
After several simple evacuation missions, Itsumi's squadron received a new order: they would be temporarily transferred to the Imperial squadron. The squadron of the famous—and feared—Tanya Degurechaff.
The name echoed in Itsumi's mind with chilling clarity. He knew it.
Not because someone had told him, nor from documents, nor reports. But because, in that first encounter with the being who brought him to this world, before being thrown into the hell of war, a voice echoed in his head:
"You and the chosen child... Tanya Degurechaff. You will meet. And when you do, your destinies will collide forcefully."
Those words had been burned into his skin. Since then, his unspoken mission, his hidden purpose, was one: to find her. And now... he was heading straight for her.
During the journey, the men of the squadron observed the landscape from above. Cities conquered by the Empire stretched like scars across the land. Unlike the chaos in the Communist Federation, what they saw here was orderly... frighteningly orderly. The cities were clean, intact, but lifeless. The Empire's flags flew from buildings that looked more like cemeteries than homes.
"So this is the 'peace' you're offering?" Zhang murmured, swallowing.
"This isn't peace... it's a concentration camp without barbed wire," Takeda replied.
Itsumi said nothing. He just watched. His body firm, his gaze motionless, his mind nonetheless churning.
And then, the battle found them.
Magical explosions tore through the sky. In the distance, they could see the Imperial squadron being attacked by enemy forces. There was no time to think. The Captain raised his fist.
"In battle formation!" Bayonets to the front, shooters to the rear! Let's go!
The squad descended rapidly. The magic bayonet soldiers lined up at the front, sweat running down their foreheads. One of them, Hayashi, gave a nervous laugh.
"Well, if we die today... let it be with glory."
"Shut your mouth and run," another snarled at him.
"Now!" the Captain shouted.
"BANZAI!" they shouted in unison.
And they ran like an unstoppable tide, like arrows launched by the gods of war. The bayonets pierced enemy lines like lightning. And then... the explosion.
A massive, magical detonation that shook the battlefield. Fire, smoke, bodies flying. The magic shields protected the bayonet soldiers from their own destruction, barely keeping them alive.
The shooters, Itsumi among them, opened fire mercilessly. The enchanted bullets streaked through the air, blinding enemies stunned by the blast. It was a choreography of death. A lethal strategy.
But for Itsumi, it wasn't enough.
"It's not enough..." he whispered.
Without waiting for an order, he folded his magic shield over himself and launched himself. His speed was inhuman, almost impossible to follow with the naked eye. The magic propelled him like lightning through the mist. His bayonet sliced through flesh, bone, and armor. Enemy screams were drowned out by the roar of his passage.
He was like a specter. A divine retribution.
The enemy soldiers tried to flee, to hide... but there was no escape. Where he passed, nothing remained. Only blood, scorched earth, and silence.
From a distance, Tanya Degurechaff watched, her gaze hard, calculating. The battle was almost won, but that... child. That expressionless face, that precise movement, that total indifference to the suffering he caused...
"Who the hell is that?" she asked, half in a low voice, half to herself.
"Is he one of us?" one of his officers asked, clearly uncomfortable.
"Technically... yes."
And then, their eyes met.
Amid the smoke, the fire, the corpses, Tanya and Itsumi saw each other.
She frowned. There was something strange about that boy... It wasn't just his destructive capacity. It was that gaze. Empty, unfathomable... and at the same time, filled with something dark, as if it concealed centuries of torment.
Itsumi didn't look away. He said nothing. He only thought:
"So finally... I found you."
His lips moved, but only he heard the whisper:
"I found you..."
Tanya didn't understand why that soldier was looking at her like that, as if he knew something she didn't. As if he already knew her. As if he'd been waiting for her.
A shiver ran down her spine.
She didn't know it yet, but that encounter... would change the course of the war.