Aerial Fortress 14-C

Hermann stared up at the fortress floating among the clouds, caught between awe and disbelief.

“…Unbelievable,” he whispered.

The wind was picking up, but he still craned his neck, gripping the disc tighter to keep his balance.

It looked like a massive cluster of grapes: dozens of enormous stone-and-timber spheres bound together beneath a broad walled plaza.

At its center rose a single dome of shimmering magic, while the rest of the base remained exposed to the open air.

Beneath the translucent glow, Hermann could make out buildings with surprisingly familiar shapes, not all that different from those back home.

Narrow shafts, ladders and hanging bridges descended into the lower structure beneath the plaza.

Tong flew straight toward the platform surrounding the dome.

As they drew closer, more discs came into view, packed tightly across the landing area.

“Hang on, this is gonna get rough!” Tong shouted over the wind. It nearly ripped her hat off and sent the disc wobbling.

Two red lights flashed ahead of them.

Hermann squinted.

Are those... people?

They stood on the platform, waving frantically, magical lights shining from their hands.

“How am I supposed to land there?! There’s no room!” Tong yelled, as if arguing with them.

The ground crew waved even harder, pointing urgently toward a narrow opening.

“It won’t work, we’re out of balance, damn it!”

She turned around.

“Jump!”

Hermann didn’t hesitate.

He pushed off the disc a split second before impact and hit the ground in a roll across the smooth stone.

Behind him, the disc slammed down and skidded across the platform, sending several ground crew members diving out of the way before it screeched to a stop.

“Wow… that was something…” Tong muttered, catching her breath as she got to her feet, casually smoothing her skirt and adjusting her hat like nothing had happened.

She took her goggles off and turned to Hermann.

“Nice reflexes. You’ve done that before?”

He gave a faint, tired smile as he got to his feet.

“Something like that…” His gaze drifted for a moment. “…Been a while, though.”

Tong just shrugged as the ground crew rushed past them to inspect the disc.

Hermann blinked in surprise when he got a closer look.

They’re all girls too?

Their outfits looked like a cross between military uniforms and witch attire.

Blue caps, black gloves, oversized goggles resting on their foreheads.

One of them stepped forward.

Her hat was noticeably larger, the brim wider, an eyepatch concealing her left eye.

She crossed her arms and fixed Tong with a sharp glare.

“Every time! Every time your squad takes off, it’s a disaster waiting to happen! That’s the third disc you’ve lost this year. Do you guys have any idea how much work it takes to attune those things to your magical resonance?!”

Tong just awkwardly laughed it off.

“Good to see you too, Nandai!” She glanced around, searching. “Where are the others? Shouldn’t they have arrived already?”

Nandai sighed, then nodded.

“They’re with the healers. Singe looked pretty bad. She pushed herself too far again, didn’t she? I’m telling you, one of these days her luck’s going to run out. Is she trying to fast-track herself into the Mother Program to get out of here? She can forget about that…”

Her eyes flicked to Hermann, looking him over.

“And who’s this supposed to be? A male of all things?”

Tong started to speak, but Nandai cut her off immediately.

“You know what? Never mind. I don’t even want to know. Commander Zirka can deal with it. She’s been asking about your squad anyway.”

Tong stiffened, and for the first time, Hermann saw something like unease, almost fear, on her face.

“S-she has?”

“Oh yeah,” Nandai said, her expression turning dark, almost gleeful. “And this time, she’s not going easy on you. So you’d better not keep her waiting after picking up your foolish squad leader...”

She turned toward the shimmering dome, shooting them one last glance.

Then she walked straight through it, like passing through a thin film, and disappeared behind it.

Hermann pointed after her.

“What is this… thing?”

“Protective barrier,” Tong said curtly. “Keeps out the wind. Enemy attacks, too.“

Hermann glanced around in confusion.

Enemy attacks? But we’re floating thousands of meters above the ground…

His gaze drifted toward the open landing platform where the wind tugged at his shirt.

“Then why is that part unshielded?”

Tong snorted.

“Try flying a disc through an active barrier and you’ll splatter yourself across the plaza. The shield distorts the discs’ magical resonance.”

”But...”

She tossed him the bag.

“Enough talk. Come on, let’s find the others.”

Soon, they stopped before the shimmering barrier Nandai had disappeared behind earlier.

Tong walked straight through without slowing, but Hermann stopped.

Carefully, he reached out and brushed his fingertips against the surface.

“Strange…” he muttered, then stepped through.

On the other side, a dense cluster of timber-framed houses and sturdy stone buildings spread out before him.

Narrow, winding streets twisted through the place, their cobblestones worn and uneven.

Tong noticed the look on his face and smiled faintly.

“Impressed, huh? Guess I forget sometimes, men almost never get to see our flying bases.”

Hermann frowned.

What's with all this talk about men?

She spread her arms wide.

“Welcome to Aerial Fortress 14-C. But most people just call it the Grapevine.”

She pointed farther down the street, where a wooden tunnel spiraled down.

“The infirmary decks are just one level below. Singe and Linly should be somewhere there.”

Hermann hesitated for a moment, still caught in awe, before following her down into the lower structure.

When they reached the infirmary level, he noticed it again.

Everyone there was female.

What is going on here?

As they moved through one of the antechambers, Hermann saw rows of white-shrouded forms lined up in silence.

I know that sight...

The slight, delicate silhouettes left him no doubt of what lay beneath those sheets.

His thoughts drifted back to the creature they’d encountered.

So they really do fight those monsters? All by themselves?

He hurried to catch up beside her and gave her a serious look.

“Tong... Wasn’t it?”

“That’s my name.”

“Tell me... where are all the men?”

She stopped and looked at him like he’d just asked why water was wet.

“Where else would they be? In Stratum, obviously.”

Stratum. Some kind of city?

“Why aren’t they here fighting these Manylegs, as you call them?”

Tong blinked, then burst out laughing.

“Hahaha, wow… that’s a good one. Men fighting…”

Hermann just stared, dumbfounded.

Is this a joke to her?

She noticed, and her tone softened.

“…You’re really not from here, aren’t you?”

A flicker of magic sparked in her hand, forming a pulsing sphere of light.

“This... is the only thing that can harm the Manylegs.“

“Magic?“ Hermann spoke in awe, while the humming sphere bathed his face in a warm light.

Tong nodded.

“Only women can use this power. Which means, men have no way to fight them. You would just... die.”

Hermann frowned.

“But don’t you have weapons? Your magic can’t possibly be the only thing that...”

“It is,” she cut in coolly.

Tong paused for a fraction of a second, her eyes flicking to the rifle on his shoulder.

The magic in her palms faded, the light died.

“At least that’s how it was…”

She turned and continued walking, glancing back over her shoulder.

“Come on.“

Hermann didn’t move immediately.

His gaze drifted to the rifle on his shoulder, then to the bag full of weapon plans in his hand.

Finally, he walked on, a thought beginning to form in his mind.

That’s how it was. Until today, I guess.