Imperial Army headquarters

**Imperial Army headquarters** (帝国軍本部, *Teikoku-gun honbu*?) is the military headquarters for the Imperial Army.

## Description

The Imperial Army headquarters is the base for the Imperial Army and is located in the Imperial Capital. It is an enormous base with all kinds of military facilities, imposing and heavily guarded. Not all military personnel work out of the main base. Because it's a bit far off, there are many smaller stations throughout the city. For example, the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit, which is quite different from the other armed forces in many ways, has their own station in the city, not on the base.

The spacious plot of land is surrounded by a tall metal fence. The iron gate is shut fast, and through its lattice one could glimpse well-built soldiers coming and going. The fence is guarded by soldiers on patrol. An officer naturally isn’t subjected to any questioning and only needs to briefly greet the gate guard before advancing their car inside the base’s walls. After the headquarters fell into the hands of the Gifted Communion, the number of guards dwindled to only three in the early morning. The guards will approach anyone who is present near the gate for no reason, telling them that ordinary citizens with no business should leave immediately.

The headquarters grounds is covered with gravel and there aren't paved walkways. Throughout these grounds are a number of large, imposing buildings lined up. One would easily get lost on their own because the buildings look so similar. Each unit has a rest room, dormitory and a hospital. There is also a large training ground and garage at a distance away. Outside, there is light from scattered gas lamps, but there are no lights on inside the buildings before sunset. The further you go from the gate, the more the distance between the buildings begins to become narrower. In one of these buildings is a VIP room. It lies in the center of the military quarters.

### Military hospital

Part of the facilities of the Imperial Army headquarters are the military hospitals for each unit. It is equipped with cutting-edge equipment and the empire’s most skilled doctors of all different fields in permanent residency. The hopsital is not readily open to anyone except military personnel, but naturally that isn't an issue for members of the armed forces. Their family members could also receive the treatment here, and they also had permission to visit patients.

After going through the entrance, a visitor will head to a receptionist first before heading to the patient's room. A hospital room isn’t exactly spacious, but it is still private, and none too cramped. In the back of the room is a clean white bed, with a shelf nearby. There is also a partition screen.

### Military prison

Part of the facilities of the Imperial Army headquarters is the military prison. It is located in a more densely built area. Among all this, the atmosphere exuding from the prison is particularly unusual. Military facilities generally give people a solid and cold impression, but this area exudes a particularly strong force. The cells set up inside the prison only house a small number of criminals. Because the nature of this place is different from that of ordinary prisons, it is mainly used as a detention center. Soldiers who are suspect of having committed one or more grave crimes will be held here, while they await sentencing, such as what happened to Kaoruko Jinnouchi after her betrayal, and Kiyoka Kudou. There are high walls outside the prison that are difficult to climb, and the walls of the building itself are all made of bricks, and the windows are also designed with iron windows, so it looks extremely strong.

#### Administration building

Standing on the front is a two-story administration building. Because it is blocked by warehouses and other buildings, it is impossible to peek inside the building from the outside. The main entrance to the administration building can be locked. In the far corner of the administration building, there is an unbarred window that can be reached by going around to the side of the building. This heavy window is blocked by potted plants. The room behind this window serves as a warehouse or a data room. There are many books and documents neatly arranged on wooden cabinets, with dust everywhere. The room is not frequently visited. Before sunset, the corridors of the administration building are only dimly illuminated by night lights and there isn't a single person present during this time of the day. The corridors of the building are covered by a dark red carpet. The moisture trapped indoors creates a lingering unpleasantness.

Between the administration building and the prison cell building that houses criminals is a junction. This junction is an outdoor corridor. In order to step into this corridor, one has to first pass through a barbed wire fence which stretches from the ceiling to the floor. The fence has a gateway, which can be unlocked with a key. When this gateway is opened, there isn't any traps or techniques that activate. The outdoor corridor then leads to the entrance of the prison cell building. At the deepest part of the building is a special underground dungeon. At the deepest part of the cell building are stairs located that lead to a special underground dungeon. It looks like a dark cave that seems to suck people into it. Even at the top of the stairs, the smell of earth and rancidity enter the nose with the cold wind blowing from below. There is a locked iron fence at the entrance of the cave. The iron staircase is very steep and dark, and each step of this staircase is very narrow. A lantern is needed to descend the stairs and if one is not careful, one may miss the step.

#### Dungeon

The dungeon's environment is very unsightly. Since it is located underground, the ground is covered by gravel and cold to the touch, and the retaining wall are directly exposed to the outside. The temperature in the dungeon is extremely cold. The cold and moisture here are several times stronger than outdoors and enough to freeze the mucous membranes of the nose and mouth. Despite wearing warm clothes, it still feels like a constant loss of body temperature. For those who are imprisoned in the winter, the environment here is extremely harsh. Even for Gift-users, whose bodies are stronger than those of ordinary people, it is still very difficult and painful to survive in an extremely harsh environment for a long time. The dungeon is completely silent and covered in a darkness that is deeper than the night. There is no sunlight, only a faint source of light from the lighting equipment. Because it is dark day and night, the feeling of time passing becomes quite blurry for people imprisoned here. The more a prisoner desires something, the more he will be swallowed up by darkness. The more he imagines a future that he may no longer have, the more his heart will sink into a dark swamp, and he will never be able to come back. This facility is such a place where many people have suffered physical and mental breakdown because of this. The dungeon's air is so heavy and depressing that it makes it difficult to breathe and seems to be enough to crush people. In addition to the smell of earth, the dungeon is also filled with the smell of decayed organic matter, inorganic matter, and other things mixed together.

The dungeon does not have many cells. There is a narrow aisle that could barely accommodate the two of them walking side by side at the same time. There are retaining walls on the left side of the corridor and cells on the right side. There is a large gap between each cell. However, every cell was empty. Collapsed mounds of earth can be seen everywhere, and the scenery is extremely desolate. Inside one of the cells with rusty and corroded iron fence is a wooden platform made of thin branches inside. There is also a rope with a paper hanging attached to it, making it look like some kind of altar. This is a sealing technique used to prevent Gift-users from performing Gifts or techniques in the dungeon. Beings like familiars that are created in advance are not influenced by the altar. Using dispelling, the altar's sealing can be removed. The altar will brittle and collapse as if it is decaying. After the end of the side-by-side cells, the corridor with retaining walls on both sides continue to extend forward. The further one walks, the colder and biting the underground air becomes, and the darker it gets. At the end is another cell.

#### Special detention center

Since the Gifted Communion started their missionary activities throughout the capital, a special detention center is built by the military with a structure that can hinder the use of Gifts. It is located deep inside the military headquarters. There are guards stationed at the entrance and exit. The prison consists of a narrow passage with multiple cells on both sides. At the end of the passage is a simple altar made of wood. It is decorated with ropes and hiiragi trees, and looks somewhat similar to a shrine. This is the altar used to hinder those with supernatural powers from performing their powers. It looks a bit shoddy, as it is a temporary work. By swinging a knife towards the altar, the simple wooden altar would easily split and collapse, and finally lose its effectiveness. The detention center is specifically used to detain Gifted Communion members who possess artificial Gift-like powers.

## References

1. ↑  Novel, Volume 1 Chapter 2
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2  Novel, Volume 4 Chapter 4
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2  Novel, Volume 6 Chapter 1
4. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10  Novel, Volume 6 Chapter 3
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1  Novel, Volume 5 Chapter 4
6. ↑  Novel, Volume 4 Chapter 6
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2  Novel, Volume 6 Prologue