Tyranny of Steel

Itami was utterly stunned by Berengar's message. As far as she was aware, there had been no news of an attack on Tsushima. However, from the foreboding tone in Berengar's voice, she knew something horrendous had occurred. 

Over and over again, Itami repeated the words Berengar had spoken to her within her mind, and no matter how she attempted to decipher the message, there was always a noticeable hint of remorse in the man's voice. At first she thought that she was hearing things, but after recalling the memory so vividly time and again, she realized that Berengar had done something that even he had found to be abhorrent. 

Panic immediately began to set in Itami's mind and heart. She quickly looked over to her Generals, with her phone still in hand, and a horrified expression on her face, ultimately struggling to let the words escape her mouth.

".... G...Get in touch with Tsushima this instant! I want to know what has happened!"

Though the Generals did not know why Itami was so shooken, they immediately did as they were told, and attempted to contact that main base on the now lifeless island. However, all attempts ha failed, because there was not a single surviving lifeform to answer the phone. 

Seeing as how all attempts at communication had utterly failed, Itami quickly began to lose her mind, as she hysterically screamed towards her Generals to find answers. 

"Find out what has happened this instant! I want a thorough investigation on this matter at my desk by sundown!"

After saying this, Itami fled from her war room, and back to her quarters, where she struggled to cope with the ill feeling she had. There was something about the guilty tone in the man's voice that led her to believe something horrible had happened, and that she was entirely unaware of what it was. 

Itami remained in a state of panic for several hours before General Shiba knocked on her door and voiced his arrival.

"Kami-sama, we have news from Tsushima... May I come in?"

Itami glared at her door with a hint of fear in her eyes. Her voice cracked as she responded to her General's message. 

"Yes... Yes, hold on just a second!"

Itami quickly climbed out from underneath her covers and tidied her snow white hair, making sure that she was in a suitable state as she straightened the medals pinned on her jacket. It was only after she had an appearance that was fitting of her position that she opened the door, to reveal a rather impatient Shiba, who entered the room, and handed Itami the report which their investigators had compiled after visiting the Island of Tsushima and witnessing the horrific display. 

Itami could barely believe her eyes when she read the words all life on the island is extinct. She had rather understandably become even more anxious as she shouted at her General for answers.

"All life is extinct? How is this even possible? Was there any signs of a struggle?"

The barrage of questions nearly caught Shiba off guard as he sighed heavily before answering the question.

"We are not entirely sure how the Germans had managed it, but the prevailing theory is that they used some form of chemical weapon. The gas appears to have cleared from the island itself, however, it is still heavily saturated within the bunkers and tunnels. We know this because one of the investigators climbed down into the complex and almost instantly died of an unknown cause.

They must have dropped it from the sky. Though it is hard to tell, because there are no survivors on the island who can inform us of what our radar station picked up just before the attack." 

Chemical weapons, the very notion that the Germans had gassed an entire island into extinction, were simply too horrible for Itami to properly come to terms with. Then suddenly she remembered the final words Berengar had given her: Kyoto would be next. Kyoto was the modern name from her past life for Heian-kyō, which was her Empire's capital. Was the man seriously willing to condemn a million innocent souls to a horrific death just because she continued to resist his aggression? 

After thinking this through, Itami finally realized why there was such a lament in Berengar's voice. It was not for the lives of her soldiers who were lost in the attack, but for the overwhelming number of flora and fauna which lived peacefully on Tsushima, whose entire existence was snuffed out at a moment's notice like a candle in the night. 

Knowing that Berengar grieved the loss of the plant and animal life, and still conducted the attack, led Itami to believe that he was by no means bluffing when he said he would attack Heian-Kyo. Nor could she possibly take such a risk. Japan had no choice no but to surrender.

What happened to Tsushima was an atrocity, but luckily innocent civilians had not suffered. For Itami had evacuated the island in preparation for a brutal campaign. Knowing this, she quite honestly got off easy. 

Even if a hundred thousand young Japanese men had perished on Tsushima in the blink of an eye, their families were safe and sound in the mainland, and over time her nation could repair the damage that they had been dealt. 

However, the loss of Heian-kyō would be unrecoverable, and would have a severe impact on Japan's demographics for generations to come. Knowing all of this to be true, Itami sat back on her bed in complete and utter silence for several minutes, trying her best to prevent herself from crying. 

Shiba tried to comfort Itami by wrapping his arms around her back, but she instantly rejected the offer rather violently as she slapped his arm away from her figure and screamed at him at the top of her lungs.

"Don't fucking touch me!'

Though this vicious response shocked Shiba, he prevented his thoughts from escaping his lips. He was just about to offer words of comfort when Itami openly declared her intent to surrender.

"We have no choice now. We must surrender and endure whatever terms the Germans give us. If we do not, then Heian-kyō is next, and perhaps after that, the rest of Japan."

After saying this with a grim tone, Itami chuckled in defeat, before muttering a phrase that would send Shiba over the edge. 

"I have finally been bested by a man, though I never thought it would be in such a cruel manner..."

Knowing exactly what this meant, Shiba suddenly lost his cool as he backhanded Itami across the face, an act which completely surprised her. Itami gazed in shock towards a menacing Shiba. She was just about to protest her treatment when the man scolded her for her attitude.

"Japan will never surrender, not when I, General Shiba Kiyohiko, have a say in the matter. Your attitude is utterly disgraceful, and unbefitting our esteemed Empress. It has become clear to me now that I must assume command of our Empire's military in order to secure a victory against these white devils!"

After saying this, Shiba immediately shouted in a voice loud enough that it carried into the hallway outside. 

"Guards!" 

Itami's Imperial Guard immediately entered the room to see what all the commotion was about, only to see Shiba looming over the Empress, who had a red mark on her face. At the next moment, Shiba gave them a command. 

"Our goddess is hysterical after suffering such a loss at Tsushima and is not well. She is to be confined to her room for the foreseeable future. In the mean time I will be assuming full command of her responsibilities. Until a time where I deem she is fit once more to lead our people."

Itami scoffed when she saw Shiba giving her Imperial Guard commands. These were men who were devout members of the Cult of the War Goddess. How could they possibly stand by and see her treated as nothing more than a puppet? 

However, in the next moment, she saw the sinister look in Otagi Kiyotsune's eyes, as well as the cruel smirk on his face as he nodded his head in obedience to Shiba's orders. 

"Of course, Sir, you can count on the Imperial Guard to protect the Empress and her family..."

Itami gazed between the two men, and suddenly understood that her position had just been usurped by her most trusted advisor. A man who had followed her since the early days of her conquests had so suddenly betrayed her and stolen the power she embodied as the Empress of Japan.

As much as she wanted to protest, Itami knew that she had no power to stop what was happening at this very moment. Her most loyal followers had turned against her, and in doing so, she was now confined to her personal quarters, for now, and until the foreseeable future. 

As for General Shiba, he would later that day announce to the world that the Empress of Japan had suddenly suffered a bout of illness, and that he would be the de facto ruler of Japan until she was once more fit to reign. This ushering in the age of the Shiba Shogunate. 

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