Death Notice

Scientists discovered this too late, and they could no longer close this Space-Time Rift through technological means. In the 1980s, creatures that originally existed only in myths began appearing inexplicably around the world.

Unicorns with sharp horns on their foreheads, harpies with feathered wings, Nightmares with fiery hooves, Eastern and Western Dragons depicted in ancient murals… even Demons with giant bat wings, and tall, beautiful humanoid beings—Angels!

Along with these mythical creatures, some magical structures that only appeared in science fiction stories also emerged. For instance, a massive cube-shaped structure appeared atop one of the Egyptian pyramids.

This enormous cube was composed of countless smaller cubes, connected by bolts of lightning. One corner of the cube pointed directly at the pyramid’s peak, floating in mid-air above the pyramid, looking like a strangely shaped giant funnel.

Fortunately, the majority of these legendary creatures and structures appeared in remote, desolate corners of the world, such as: the North and South Poles, the depths of the Sahara Desert, the peaks of the Alps… Moreover, after they appeared, they remained in a state of sleep and isolation.

Scientists theorized that these mythical creatures fell into sleep and the sci-fi structures were isolated, seemingly because they hadn’t truly integrated into this world. A faint, thin membrane of law still separated them from the real world.

This membrane was almost invisible, yet it protected the sleeping creatures and structures. They could neither be moved nor harmed. Any weapon attack would pass right through them, as if their massive bodies were just illusory mirages.

However, the world’s sense of relief was quickly shattered by reality. That cube floating above the pyramid, perhaps due to depleted energy, crashed in the year 1983 A.D., and the protective membrane vanished.

At that time, the explosion from the crash almost turned the pyramid below into fine dust. The accompanying shockwave uprooted a nearby Egyptian town like a typhoon. Fortunately, the Egyptian government had evacuated the town’s residents when the cube first appeared; otherwise, this disaster could not have been concealed.

The scientists from the world’s major powers responsible for monitoring the cube were swallowed by the disaster like soap bubbles in the ocean, unable to even send a warning.

Thus, world leaders and scientists learned that the creatures and structures within these membranes were not mirages, but real entities.

Therefore, using the year 1867, when humanity discovered the Space-Time Rift, as a dividing line, most scientists who understood the truth began to regard this year as the starting point of the Divine Comedy Calendar. The name originated from the long poem “The Divine Comedy” by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri, which describes the author Dante’s dialogues with various famous figures in Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven.

One day, these mythical creatures would wake up, and the membranes on the surfaces of the sci-fi structures would disappear. Humanity, currently the dominant species, would then step down from the top of the biological chain and face catastrophic destruction.

After understanding this, the world’s major powers finally grew nervous. With an attitude befitting preparations for a future war, they began reinvesting in Superhuman development and research.

Because by studying the cube’s wreckage, they discovered that the technology inside far surpassed humanity’s. Most of it could not be integrated or replicated by modern science. Perhaps only Superhumans, also born from the influence of the Space-Time Rift, could protect this world and human civilization in the future.

Hearing this, Qin Lun felt a stir in his heart and asked calmly, “Did your special forces unit of the Third Reich also gain something from that cube’s wreckage?”

“Yes, the collapse of the cube atop the Egyptian pyramid was very sudden. The organizations from the world’s major powers responsible for monitoring it were somewhat caught off guard. Our organization took the opportunity to acquire some fragments.”

The fat Major said with an unashamed smile, “The power source of the Zeppelin Airship beneath our feet comes from that cube structure. However, we can only use it; we don’t understand how it works.”

“I see. No wonder Washington and London still care so much about us outdated old-timers!” Qin Lun and Grant nodded silently.

The world now faced an unprecedented crisis, needing Superhuman warriors more than ever. At the same time, the Allied Forces, victorious in World War II, remained wary of their former adversary—the Third Reich—potentially reviving and seizing this opportunity.

If the world truly underwent a drastic change and conventional military power could no longer protect nations and people, then they would have to rely on the few Superhumans.

Then, undoubtedly, the Allied Forces, who organized the Justice League during World War II, and the Third Reich, whose unconventional forces were a match for or even surpassed the Allies, would once again step onto the stage of history.

“Yes, in the near future, Captain Kluge, and you… your strength is crucial for Germany. The Third Reich will revive from the world’s ruins. We need war, a Third World War!”

Major Montana’s eyes showed a flicker of fanaticism, but even in his extreme excitement, his tone remained calm and firm, “We will inherit the Führer’s will and cause, and in the future world, truly carve out a vast living space for Germany, uniting other superior races in the world to complete the cleansing of inferior races!”

Looking at the fat Major’s intense gaze, Qin Lun and Grant fell into a slightly somber silence. Finally, the Joker glanced at his companion and nodded politely to the Major. “Major Montana, we are a bit tired. May my friend and I rest for a while?”

“Of course, as you wish!” Major Montana was momentarily taken aback, then smiled as he stood up, bowed politely to the two of them, and turned to leave the medical room, leaving the Iron Cross still on the coffee table.

…

“Sir, have their identities been confirmed?” As soon as Major Montana stepped out the door, the blond young man who had been waiting outside came forward.

“Captain Kluge’s identity is confirmed! As for the other person…” A gleam flashed in Montana’s eyes, and he suddenly asked the blond young man a strange question with a smile, “Captain Hans, do you know the difference between the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross and the Iron Cross First Class?”

“Of course!” Captain Hans’s handsome, well-defined face turned serious. “The Knight’s Cross and the Iron Cross First Class look the same, but the First Class has a pin on the back, while the Knight’s Cross has no pin; it’s worn with a ribbon.”

Speaking of German military honor, Hans’s expression was very proper. In fact, the reason the blond young man had been so respectful to Qin Lun, who had Captain Kluge’s Plot Identity, wasn’t due to military rank.

Men like them, who considered themselves soldiers of the Third Reich, paid little heed to officers of the post-war German government. In their eyes, Kluge’s Plot Identity was still that of a Captain interrogator from before the Third Reich’s fall.

Only the honor of Kluge possessing the Iron Cross First Class, marking him as a war hero, could earn the respect of a tough soldier like Captain Hans. Hans, who had served throughout the war as a special guard in the Aryan Ark Corps, although his rank reached Captain, by the war’s end had only received a fourth-class Iron Cross Medal.

“You also saw the Iron Cross at the crash site. Did you see a pin on the back of the medal?” Major Montana continued with a smile.

“No! Major, are you saying…” Hans recalled for a moment, his mind stirred, but he immediately countered, “But… I also didn’t see a ribbon on the Iron Cross. And the serial number on the Iron Cross can’t be wrong; that is definitely Captain Kluge’s medal!”

“Not definitely, just possibly! That Iron Cross was somewhat damaged due to the crash; no pin was visible on the back, and there was no ribbon! As for the medal’s serial number… Hans, haven’t you forgotten? There is a type of Iron Cross awarded to combat personnel where the serial numbers are all the same, right?” Major Montana’s eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses blinked slyly.

“The same number? I remember those are medals issued to combat personnel en masse. Soldiers receive medals with the same number for meritorious service in a single joint operation!” Hans frowned slightly and quickly replied.

“However, the reason Captain Kluge received his medal was the world-shocking Casablanca battle. I believe only Brigadier General Skorzeny, the commander of the Oranienburg Unit at the time, received a Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross, right?”

“No, the person who received the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross medal in the Casablanca battle wasn’t only the then Lieutenant Colonel Skorzeny, who later became a General!” A trace of recollection, mixed with some hatred, appeared in Montana’s eyes. “Commander Skorzeny was classified as a Class A war criminal by the Allied Forces after the war and died depressed in a military prison. He certainly isn’t the owner of this Iron Cross.

Hans, with your rank back in the Aryan Ark Corps, you didn’t have access to such top-secret German materials. But as the unit’s internal affairs chief, I could read the detailed report of that battle.”

At this point, a rare fluctuation appeared in Major Montana’s eyes. “Captain Hans, did you know, in that combat report personally written by then Brigadier General Skorzeny, he stated he was only the leader of the entire ‘Heracles Plan’, but not the true mastermind of the battle.

The true mastermind was someone else. Like Lieutenant Colonel Skorzeny, he also received another Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross after the war. However, his name was always kept secret by the Empire. His identity documents were destroyed after the Allied Forces occupied Berlin. Apart from the top-secret files at the Allied headquarters in Washington and London, there are also the memories of a few German elites…”

Major Montana smiled and tapped his own temple. “History holds no record of his deeds; the world simply doesn’t know this man.

He was a warrior who wore the Alpine Edelweiss, a super sniper of the German Mountain Hunter troops, the true mastermind of the Casablanca battle, the man forever considered a mortal enemy by the Grimm Academy! The Empire’s Super War Hero—Major Gerthard Heinrich!”