Victory.
The Supreme High Command and the politicians were slowly getting addicted to it. The Imperial 203rd Aerial Mage Battalion had given the ruling parties a hearty mouthful of it. The battalion had sent the idea to the Supreme High Command and the politicians that, with sufficient suffering and sacrifice, anything was possible.
The capital raid was a success. The Imperial 203rd Aerial Mage Battalion had earned a large propaganda victory over the communists and, with that, earned The Empire enough time to breathe and look at their options again.
Tanya Degurechaff was injured during the raid, severely so. Mary Sue was able to put her on the defensive, and just as Tanya was able to turn the tide, a timely intervention interrupted their fight, and thus both sides retreated.
After some time, Tanya was supposed to receive a report from the eastern front, but she had disappeared from her office. Viktoriya Ivanovna Serebryakov immediately noted her superior's absence and reported it.
For weeks, the infamous silver ace, the devil of the Rhine, the leader of the Empire's sharpest spear, had vanished without leaving a single trace. Hans Von Zettour initiated a search for the missing lieutenant colonel, but it was fruitless.
Tanya Degurechaff, with her wisdom and combat effectiveness, was needed for the eastern front. The Federation managed to advance, but not without casualties; the leaderless imperial aerial mage battalion was still able to bare its shattered fangs.
Just as the order to retreat was given, Tanya appeared, returning from somewhere. Serebryakov was elated upon seeing the return of the lieutenant colonel and immediately provided aid and assistance to the emaciated superior.
However, Serebryakov was surprised when her legendary superior wasn't alone in the room. There were strangers who smelled horrible and dressed strangely. Tanya was still in Serebryakov's hands, her eyes lifeless and dull.
She was muttering that someone had given her another set of tribulation to prove her faith. The other mages were called in and immediately arrived and arrested the strangers. The strangers were unsettlingly cooperative and showed no outward hostility, and over the course of several interviews proved to The Empire that there was something larger going on.
Tanya, after some rest, woke up and gave her report. She asked for some coffee, but none was provided (Zettour's intervention) until she explained everything with concise metrics and precise words.
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The Backrooms.
A title that spread to upper echelons of The Empire like rats inside a granary.
It was a world with almost limitless space and possibly exploitable resources. Strangely enough, it was Cid Kagenou who explained the concept of different dimensions and alternate worlds. Cid explained it like he was explaining a one-in-a-lifetime real estate offer.
The young man was striving to capture The Empire's fascination with the place.
The Empire was skeptical of this supposed infinite place, but after Cid and Motoyasu displayed their power and might. The Empire immediately accepted the truth that out there, there was something more than their country and world. The Empire, desperate for any avenue of hope, immediately looked for ways to conscript the powerful strangers.
Naofumi Iwatani was obviously out of commission; the young man suffered from some mental affliction. Cid said that there weren't any spells affecting the so-called shield hero, stating that it was merely mental trauma.
The rotating band of doctors and physiologists agreed, stating that the shock was similar to shell shock or war trauma.
Motoyasu Kitamura, despite being almost blank in the head, was suspicious of The Empire. This was the country that kept pushing Tanya to provide victory after victory. For him, a country that kept pushing its cutest and prettiest 'mature for her age' girl to the limit was not a respectable country at all.
Cid Kagenou remained elusive; the young man spoke in phrases and hardly appeared. The young man often wandered. The synthesis of the First and Second World Wars, the current great war in this new world, had amazed the young man beyond belief. Spymasters and espionage handled the dark, shadowy side of the war, elating the young man.
He was already thinking of ways to insert himself, but there was something bothering the young man. That thing, God, put him here for some reason. Any deviation would possibly forfeit his life. He was like a playful dog chained to a post. He wanted to play, but something, from the back of his mind, always tugged at his leash.
Tanya Degurechaff was in the middle of this brand new group. The strangers couldn't be detained nor disarmed. Motoyasu couldn't let go of his spear and could easily break through even a maximum containment cell. Cid outright threatened the military police.
As for the Backrooms. The Empire couldn't properly exploit the whole place; they lacked the resources to do it, and based on the dangers that lurked, night crawlers or undead, it wasn't exactly an enticing investment.
However, Hans von Zettour, seeing the value of the Backrooms, arranged for a scouting party, or at least an outpost inside the Backrooms. The Empire's scientists were already aware of the unexplainable earthquakes way before Tanya was swallowed by the Backrooms.
There were reports of strange earthquakes and green sheens of gradient appearing all over the country or fronts. They were small enough not to be deemed a priority to investigate but big enough for the Empire to keep an eye on.
Cid Kagenou, for reasons known only to himself, knew a way into the Backrooms. The room they found themselves in was already a sort of gateway, and if the earthquake were to strike again, the Backrooms would become accessible from there.
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Tanya sighed, nursing a cup of coffee. She watched the brown liquid swirl as she stirred the spoon; the coffee's texture was pale and murky instead of black and rich. The coffee was not real coffee, probably a substitute mixed with caffeine. Nevertheless, it was better than nothing. She sighed again, this time even louder.
The earthquake occurred again; strangely enough, this time the entrance was permanent rather than intermittent. The Empire immediately seized on the opportunity, not even bothering to think why the gateways were permanent.
Tanya knew exactly why, or had a good hunch. She thought that Being X was behind this; otherwise, why would this entrance become permanent now?
Anyways, a small outpost was established inside the gateway entrance. Inside the Backrooms.
The first images and reports emerging from the location described a place where things seemed to repeat, with numerous pieces of furniture and wooden items stuck to both the ceiling and the floor. The main features of the Backrooms, the persistent hum of the light sources and the pale yellow wallpapers, were present.
The scouts hadn't encountered any undead yet, but they remained cautious.
Tanya led the expedition. The Anomalous Scouting Legion. While also dealing with the eastern front, she was juggling between two responsibilities. However, Motoyasu proved to be quite competent at following orders.
After some persuasion that the Empire would do its utmost to help Naofumi, Motoyasu agreed to 'temporarily observe' on the eastern front as a 'volunteer private force'. Motoyasu charged and destroyed two tank companies by himself.
The tactical victory of Motoyasu surged an exhilarating feeling of victory upon the politicians and supreme high command. They concluded that perhaps, deep within the Backrooms, lay the key to defeating the grand coalition they were fighting against.
(The next chapter is... six seven...)