The gears of a strangely antique-looking machine rattled, the stench of oil and sweat hung in the air and for those who were sensitive was also the tingling aroma of fear and tension noticeable. A naked light bulb cast, in time with the vibration-induced movements, strange shadows on a heap of huddled figures in black army clothes with gold ornaments.
"Damned wizards, I knew your kind couldn't be trusted!" hissed a corpulent man on the ground, golden badges adorning his blood-soaked uniform. "This has nothing to do with trust and loyalty to the fatherland," replied a calm-looking woman in an icy tone. "The new findings go against all the principles that are high and sacred to us.".
"Hight and sacred ? The only thing that is of importance to you is your status in the magistrate and your reputation, but both will be of no importance once the Führer finds out about your little revolt", replied the colonel group leader and spat at her feet.
A dangerous fire flared up in the sorceress's dead eyes and the fat man instinctively crawled back a few feet. "And what if he finds out about this? Have you forgotten the importance of our regiment, the dirty work we do for the Farterland, who do you think he would prioritize Heinz, a small man with an ego that is far too big, or the backbone of the fallen legions?".
"Oh, you'd be surprised," giggled Heinz, his superiority complex briefly making him forget his fear, he added, "For far too long, this world has been crushed by the burden of inferior races, they suck it dry and give nothing back. But we humans didn't make the same mistake, we saw alternatives, at least some of us did. Margarete, don't make the mistake of believing that the Führer would stop with these animals, the magistrate and his devil spawn are no better, you too are causing the world to lose its vitality with your greed, your arrogance and short-sightedness will be your downfall and that sooner than you would expect".
"Funny to hear that from you, but we both know who our leader owes his rapid rise to power and his victories on the battlefield to. A visionary like him will not make the same mistake as the rest of you untalented people with your short life experience that fades after death, just like your whole ridiculous existence." With an almost invisible smile on her lips, the archmage continued, "But that doesn't matter anymore. You've eaten your fill in your years of decadence. Even if your corpse is almost as worthless as your puny soul, the difference in mass will still make a good meat bomb. You can do more for the Fatherland that way than if you spent all those years with your small gang of thugs rooting out the few pests that are still lurking somewhere on the countryside, don't you think, my dear?".
"I have always detested your arrogance, woman, but to think that even you, with your supposedly long memory and the accompanying experience, would not realize that I am playing for time is, to be honest, a little disappointing." All the tension that had been evident in Heinz's body language up to that point vanished and gave way to an expression of deep satisfaction.
"Oh, I already noticed that, but in case you've forgotten, the alchemical circle has been destroyed, your guards are now my lackeys and no word of our little crime has reached the outside world. So what can a small, untalented officer with no weapons and little support do to turn the situation around? Please tell me, so I can crush your last bit of hope and watch you wet yourself in fear." But contrary to her expectations, Heinz said nothing and didn't freak out about her little vulgar outburst, he just pointed to the telephone on the wall, a device that had become useless since the circle was destroyed.
Or at least that's what she thought until a clear shrill ringing of the same telephone broke through the oppressive silence of the factory. Margaret's expression briefly showed a brief look of irritation, but it immediately disappeared with a smug shrug of her shoulders. "Oh dear, we didn't destroy the circle thoroughly enough," she said to Heinz in a honeyed voice. In a cutting tone she continued to her subordinates, "Make sure that something like this doesn't happen again." With these words she picked up the phone and began her conversation with a justification.
"I know how that sounds, but we acted in the interests of the Farterland...This new war machine is unnatural, it works against the principles of this world, who knows where it gets its energy from...Surely the army command will understand that and abandon this unconventional line of thought, the value of these things is marginal in war, we will triumph either way...What are you saying, we win on all fronts...Suspended? Do you know who you were talking to?... Yes, my name is Margarete Jasques Le Vavasseur, I am a supreme archmage, directly subordinate to the magistrate...What does it mean it doesn't matter?...That can't be, the magistrate would never resign just like that...Who are you, a spy? Tell me your name and rank...I would like to be put through to the Führer immediately...What does that mean he is unavailable...That is treason, our leaders would never agree to that!...Hell no, we will not leave the premises and turn ourselves in to the police, until I have spoken to the Führer I see this as an open rebellion... Hello?!... ...".
****
At the same time this happened I was on my extremely uncomfortable bike on my way back home from work. Of course, I had no idea that this journey home was different from the countless ones I had taken before and that I was about to be drawn into an unbelievable horror that I would have gladly avoided experiencing. Often it is Truk-kun or some other paranormal event that transports the average Japanese person into a fantasy world. Usually such people have no connection to the world they came from and are generally not very satisfied with their lives so far.
Well, I'm not Japanese and although I can't say that I'm completely satisfied with how things have turned out so far, I can't say that I'm completely consumed by my work like the typical isekai protagonist. I'm about to get my own apartment and I have a few friends, although I'm not wealthy I can't say I'm living on the poverty line. All in all I don't have the prerequisites to turn the new world into a hell for all its inhabitants.
To say I was surprised when a portal suddenly opened up in front of me and sucked me in like a black hole would be an understatement. Strangely enough, this happened in the inner city and no, I didn't see a truck there and I wasn't even close to dying. Before everything went black and I lost consciousness, my last thought was, 'this had better to be a damn nightmare'.