"So you're not going to Katyn?"
"Correct. I'll be on standby in case they decide to do something about Christof. And the idea of working under Brenner makes my skin crawl. Though I am intrigued by the situation, I refuse to let Kraft sway me."
"I see. Well, can't say I don't get you."
Following the gathering, I went on to have a chat with Samiel. I still hadn't remembered Claudia or even the castle room I threw her into. My mind was completely focused on Katyn.
This woman's name is Eleonore von Wittenberg. Though our meeting was one of the shittiest you could imagine, neither of us really cared. We were far from friends, but she was the one I could relate to the most in the LDO.
She and I were both enchanted by Lord Heydrich and pledged unwavering loyalty to him. And besides that, she was the only one who got it.
"By the way, is it just me, or did the castle get bigger?"
"It's not just you. And it actually did. All those who die on the battlefield come to Lord Heydrich. They are what make up this structure, so it's only natural for it to grow. I can't begin to guess how many of them there are now. We can only wait until the war's casualties are calculated further down the line, and even then, they'd probably only be vague estimates. Counting them now is a fool's errand. As we currently are, we might as well assume they're infinite. In fact, Lord Heydrich's caliber might be limitless. It certainly wouldn't be strange if it was."
"True."
I, too, believed that His capacity was Infinite.
The only way His Briah could be active for almost two months was if it was supported by a vast amount of souls, which, just as Samiel'd said, was still growing.
Most would assume that it was because the number of dead "produced" by the battlefields throughout the land outmatched the amount that He'd used to uphold the castle, but I thought otherwise.
I had a hunch — no, was absolutely sure — that He had yet to consume a single soul for this.
Imagine a stupidly huge gymnastic formation. Since the stress was spread out all over, no one involved found it particularly difficult or saw the need to give up.
In military terms, it was an army with the absolute perfect formation. It was so well organized that you could call it work of art, and it became the castle's foundation in the most literal sense.
The efficiency involved was abnormal, and it was a prime example of His mystifying talent as a Commander. When following a leader who wielded a people so well, even the lowliest grunt could become a hero.
Lord Heydrich had the power to inspire His subjects and lead them without a flaw to name. The man took all the souls in His possession and uplifted them into legends, greatly improving their quality.
You see what I'm getting at? Lord Heydrich was already putting the idea I came up with into practice.
Not to mention that He had the quantity, as well. The man never stopped filling me with awe.
"All because of love. He loves all, so He will consume and destroy all. His army will be akin to the Einherjar of Valhalla. I wish to be among those ranks. What of you, Bey?"
Was that even a question?
"I was there when Machina was created. Becoming part of this castle... No, part of Lord Heydrich... Means being immortal. I don't know much about it, but that's what those 'Einherjar' are, right?"
"Right. Despite not having the slightest bit of education, you are decently perceptive. That's commendable. I'll ask again. This doesn't scare you, does it?"
"Like hell. There's no greater honor than this. What, you don't agree?"
"No. I feel the exact same way."
This was what I meant when I said that she got it. In the entire Longinus Dreizehn Orden, Samiel and I were the only ones who knew the nature of Lord Heydrich's blessing and continued seeking it regardless.
Machina seemed to know it as well, but he was rejecting it. Though, he wasn't opposing us and acted rationally, so I didn't intend to get in his face about it.
He did seem like a fucking idiot to me, but his death was his own dumb wish, and I didn't mind respecting that.
Christof had probably escaped 'cause Lord Heydrich's blessing scared him shitless, while Schreiber was just too fucking demented to piece it together.
The rest were probably interpreting it however they wanted. You know how it is — you focus too much on something and you just lose sight of the bigger picture. Though, in this case, it was more like they were just blinded by the Gold's light.
Whatever the case, they didn't know His true nature. Anyone who thought He was all about just giving love was downright fucking stupid, especially if they thought it was free.
You had to be braindead to believe Lord Heydrich would hand out immortality and infinity resurrection to anyone who asked nicely and just let them go on their way. No, they'd be taken in by Gladsheimr and become a part of Him.
This made me think of the women. Bitches in general tended to see things how they wanted them to be. Malleus and Babylon in particular seemed blissfully unaware, and I had no idea what they'd do if they found out. Not like I planned on telling them, but I did hope they'd figure it out themselves.
There was nothing to hate about someone who reached the same epiphany as Samiel and I.
"That said, I have no idea what to make of Beatrice. She's a dumb bitch, sure, but she's also a soldier. There's no way she won't see it. Knowing how much of a pure little lady she is, you'd expect her to bitch about it non-stop, and yet she's not saying a word. Honestly, that freaks me out a bit."
"..."
Samiel fell silent, probably because it was a mystery to her, too. Still, this wasn't something that could be unpacked and solved with just her and I.
"She will come to understand sooner or later. Or perhaps I will reveal it to her. I've been taking care of that girl for a long time. It's almost a job by now."
"All right, I'll leave it to you, then. Though, I imagine she probably thinks it's her job to take care of you."
"Shut up. This doesn't concern you."
In fact, over half a century later, we came to know Beatrice's goal, but whatever, it's unrelated to the story.
"Focus on your task. Travel to Katyn if you want, but don't disgrace us. And speaking of 'taking care' of people, you, too, have a noisy girl with you. What will you do with the nun? Bring her?"
"Huh? Well, yeah. Is that even a question?"
Thanks to her words, I finally remembered Claudia. And yeah, she was coming with me to Katyn.
Why? Just because I didn't want her to die while I was away. We were at war, she was dumb and careless, and I couldn't really ask anyone else to look after her. Especially not Samiel.
Most of all, I figured it was possible that getting a taste of battle might make her change into what I wanted her to be. I didn't know much about the anomaly at Katyn, but the situation there probably wasn't something a person with normal psyche could bear.
When it made her mind burn out and blow up, she would awaken, and that was all I really wanted of her.
"In a way, she's basically my field ration."
"I see. Very well. Then take this as a parting gift from me."
"Huh? What the hell is this?"
Samiel gave me some sort of envelope. From its appearance, I could tell the thing inside was official.
"I happened upon it while taking care of extra business. This might seem meddlesome of me, but do read it. It might be the key to helping you gain what you desire."
"..."
I couldn't even begin to understand what she was getting at, but I had no real intention to refuse.
"Oh, so this is where you are, Wilhelmina. I've looking for you."
"You dumbass! I told you to just sit and wait! Why the fuck are you walking around?"
"Well, but I just..."
"Until next time."
When we accidentally found the idiot, the situation got all messed up.
Samiel left without telling me more about the envelope, but more than that...
"What the hell were you doing?"
"Eheheh. That's a secret."
I should've forced her to answer.
Of course, I'd remembered that Lord Heydrich had called for her and I let them meet. A single exchange was enough for me to lose interest, but at the very least, it was clear Mercurius wasn't lying.
Still, the anomaly at Katyn was just so big in my mind that didn't spare a thought.
I do look back and think I should've examined the situation more thoroughly.
Not like I want to make excuses here, but the circumstances just didn't allow me to consider everything.
Basically, it was a turbulent time.
"Wow! Look over there! Tanks! So many of them, too!"
"Yes. It's quite a majestic sight. Though war is something to be despised and we would all be off without it, rejecting all that pertains to it is wrong. One thing I think is really important are all the feelings of the soldiers. Friends or foes, each and every one of them serves with something important in their hearts. Thoughts for their country, friends, or lovers... Wishes for peace for their family — none of that should be looked down upon. They certainly don't want to leave their mark on history as the madmen of the era, and being looked at as pitiable victims would likely make them scowl. After all, that's basically the same as saying that the people of this age were simple fools that couldn't think or act for themselves."
The naïve woman "blessed " us with her outlook, while Claudia nodded like she was moved. I, on the other hand, was completely fed up with it.
"All right, you dumb whore. Why the fuck are you here?"
As we rode the train toward Katyn, I asked her the same thing I'd already asked many times. Of course, I already knew the answer and was aware that it wouldn't change a damn thing, but I wasn't magnanimous enough to conveniently look at it the right way and act accordingly.
It pissed me off and annoyed me like fuck, so I just kept complaining. Simple as that.
"What, this again? Why do you grumble so much? You're such an a irritating man. In the first place, you have no right to say anything about what I do. Riza allowed it, so it's fine."
"Well, Babylon's not here now, so the chain of command's pretty vague. No, it's downright fucked. I mean... Seriously..."
Heh heh heh. I am your commander here."
Claudia chuckled and puffed her chest, and it honestly made me want to fucking kill her right then and there.
"That's why you two have to get along. That is an order."
"No chance in hell."
The actual person in charge over us in this mission — and the one with the highest rank — was Babylon. She wasn't with us at the moment, though. She'd said she would scout ahead — gather information and whatnot — and went on to Katyn ahead of us.
Normally, that was a job for the underlings, but we couldn't argue against it because she was the most normal-looking and least menacing of us all.
In all honesty, it was hard to deny that she had the aura of your common modest lady. And I thought that even while knowing the truth about her.
Because of all that, I saw no problem with Babylon going there first. Katyn was Soviet territory and a controversial place in general, and I knew full well that strolling around there in army uniforms wasn't the best idea. You had to pick the right people for the right task.
But what the fuck was I supposed to make of the shitty situation that left me in?
"Quit being a child, Bey. It's unsightly. Not to mention it's the reason why this is happening. Despite appearances, Riza can be quite mean-spirited. I don't enjoy this either, but I figured that Claudia would keep you on a leash better than me. Also, all things considered, this is purely your own fault for bringing her with you. You reap what you sow."
"Shut the fuck up. That's bullshit and you know it. Might as well say that you pissing me off is all your fault for joining this trip. And what was that shit you were just spouting? Madmen of the era? Their feelings and the actions they choose? If that's so fucking important to you, then quit talking shits about the relationship we have here. Practice what you preach, you bitch."
"That has nothing to do with this. I simply cannot ignore a girl in danger of straying from the path because of a woman as terrible as you. I will do all I can to prevent that. By my knightly honor and pride, I shall not allow it."
"Hey, Claudia. Since you're in charge here, can you just fire this bitch? Come on, tell her to fuck off."
"Are you stupid? You're the one who should be going. Claudia, could you please open your eyes already? You should know by now just how much of a scumbag she is."
"Oh dear, what a predicament."
"That's my line!"
"Fuck off, it's mine."
So yeah, this situation was the result of Beatrice finding out I was taking Claudia and furiously volunteering to tag along. It was really fucking annoying. Like, Holy shit.
And if that wasn't enough, we were passing a bunch of battlefields, too. Wouldn't have been weird if we were bombed or gunned down the very next moment.
Of course, it didn't mean shit to me and Beatrice, but the fact that the one most endangered here was so nonchalant about it put me on edge.
We weren't really in any position to pretend this was some fun trip.
"Please calm down, you two. If you quarrel too much, you might negatively affect our plans. I hear the train will soon stop and we'll switch to automobiles. That means we're approaching a heated battlefield, does it not?"
"...Yes, that's certainly true. Apparently, the railroad ahead is broken, and going through there wouldn't be wise even if it wasn't. Riza had everything planned out for us, so we'll have to rely both on her help and our own skills."
Beatrice smiled wryly. There was a certain weight to her tone that I couldn't resist mocking in my head.
At that point, the so-called Russo-German War was going really badly for Germany. So much that turning the tides was fucking impossible. Felt like it wouldn't take long for Berlin to fall.
Germany had never done anything for me, so the fact it was getting fucked over even made me feel a bit of glee. Beatrice, though, looked pretty damn miserable. She clearly didn't share my opinion, which I found pretty fucking funny.
Claudia, apparently, wanted to cheer her up.
"Speaking of that 'Riza' lady... I must say, she seems like a very cool and capable woman. She reminds me of Mata Hari."
"Mata Hari? Ah, the famous spy woman from the Great War. I'm impressed you know of her."
"I'm actually an avid fan of action novels and films. I was often scolded for it too, since it's improper for a servant of God. This journey has had a number of spy-like events, and again, though it's inappropriate, I find it very exciting. It's wholly different from the time we left Warsaw."
"Is that why you have that smile glued to your face? That's just fucking stupid."
The conversation was so pointless I couldn't help but comment. During war, it was normal for a country's transportation network to become military-focused, and the trains like the one we were riding weren't an exception.
That made traveling harder for every civilian, but the soldiers were even less free in that regard. After all, we couldn't go anywhere unless we were on a mission or something.
Because of that, traveling long distances using standard means was impossible for us. We'd have to avoid the tons of identity checks along the way, and the fact I didn't do that when I was taking Claudia from Warsaw had caused tons of trouble.
This time, however, Babylon went ahead and prepared an uneventful journey for us. I didn't know or care about the details, but apparently, we were now recognized as a group going on a super important mission.
Not like that was a lie, though. The only difference was that the order came from Lord Heydrich, not the Führer.
"Well, whatever, just don't spill the beans. We're still far from Katyn. Going there on foot would be a real pain in the ass."
"Yes, I understand. But if I may ask... What exactly is happening in Katyn?"
"No clue. Don't really give a fuck, either. Why're you asking? Wanna do your nun thing and help us with prayers or something? Think you can exorcise the grudge of those sad little souls that got executed? Hah, good one."
"Bey, can you just stop already? You're the one who brought her here, so don't talk to her like that."
Seemingly tired of mouthing off, Beatrice heaved a sigh. To be frank, I'd only said what I'd thought, so I had no fucking clue why she talked down to me.
"I'm sorry, Claudia. Are you upset?"
"No, I'm quite used to this by now, and I understand what he's trying to say. For one who has experience as a soldier, those who do nothing but pray when faced with death must be thoroughly unpleasant. Even I myself believe it to be somewhat insincere. Of course. I do wish to mourn those who perished at Katyn, but more than that, I simply wish to avoid being a hindrance to you. To that end, I need to learn a few things. For example, what is an 'anomaly?' from what I heard you say, this isn't a first for you, correct?"
"Ah, yes, well... Uh..."