User blog:SPARTAN 119/A Witch's World War: Izetta (Izetta: The Last Witch) VS Tanya von Degurechaff (Youjo Senki: Saga of Tanya the Evil) VS Rusalka Schwägelin (Dies Irae)

The last year or so of anime has been a good year for inserting magic users into a World War setting, featuring three magic girls into the an either WWI or WWII-like setting.

One fought Nazis… (er the fictional Germanian Empire but close enough),

One is mistaken for a Nazi by ignorant viewers (the Empire is Youjo Senki is based on WWI, not WWII, people!),

and One actually IS a Nazi (or at least worked for them), but…

WHO IS DEADLIEST!?

Izetta
"My beloved soldiers, the girl with the red hair is my dear friend, and second coming of the White Witch who protects us. Fight alongside her, and protect the freedom of our nation."

- Ortefine Frederika von Eylstadt, on Izetta Izetta is the titular protagonist of alternate history-fantasy anime Izetta: The Last Witch. During her childhood, Izetta befriended a girl who she did not realize was Ortefiné Frederika von Eylstadt, commonly referred simply as Finé, who has snuck out of the palace when she met Izetta. Izetta showed Finé her powers, and was surprised that Fine, unlike most of her other people who found out about her powers, was not afraid of her. While she was with Izetta, an angry mob of villagers blamed Izetta for burning down a barn, and threatened to attack her. Fine stood in front of them, and in the purpose, took a grazing thrust from a pitchfork. Even after Fine and Izetta went their separate ways, Izetta felt indebted to and enamored with the princess for saving her life.

In 1940, Izetta, now a young woman, was captured by agents of the Germanian Empire all of the other residents of the village she was staying in, including Izetta's grandmother, were slaughtered. Izetta was placed in some form of suspended animation, and loaded onto a train. By a twist of fate, Izetta was reunited with Fine after the princess was captured by Germanian agents in neutral Westria, on a diplomatic meeting with a Britannian ambassador, attempting to broker an alliance. Soon after Fine and Izetta were captured, Germania invaded Eylstadt.

When Izetta awoke in the middle a flight in which both she and the princess were on board and used her powers to destroy the aircraft, it became apparent that Izetta's powers would become the last hope for Eylstadt to defeat the enemy invaders.

Weapons and Abilities
Note: This will be the Episode 9 version of Izetta- before she got the magic stone, all limitations went out the window, and the show hit itself on the head and thought it was Dragonball Z

Custom Anti-Tank Rifle
Izetta's primary weapon and mount after she was officially made the cornerstone of Eylstadt's defense is a custom-made anti-tank rifle, similar to a Lahti L-39, but with a barrel more resembling that of a British Boys rifle. The version in this battle will be the final upgraded version, with drum magazine with a presumed capacity of between 30-50 rounds of 20mm (or similar sized caliber) ammunition. The weapon may be capable of fully automatic fire, though Izetta may have simply been "mashing" the trigger in that instance. The rifle also has a motorcycle-like handlebar with mounted trigger, a seat, also similar to that of a motorcycle, and a foot stirrup. These modifications allow Izetta to easily aim and fire the weapon while riding. Izetta's magic is capable of making the rifle fly at up to 400 kilometers per hour while she rides it similarly to the broomstick of a stereotypical witch.

Telekinesis
One of Izetta's most commonly used forms of magic is a form of telekinesis which she can use to make objects fly. This ability seems to be limited by the mass of the object in question. Izetta can make an anti-tank rifle with her flying on it travel at about 400 kph, however, she can accelerate an anti-tank rifle bullet to the point that, when combined with energy from firing, can go all the way through both the front and rear armor of a Panzer III and keep going. Izetta can lift multiple objects, provided she has made physical contact with them recently, however, in an emergency, she can "cheat" this rule by dropping a droplet of blood on the object as she flies by, albeit at the relatively small cost of cutting herself. The greatest mass of objects Izetta is known to lift is the equivalent of three Panzer IIIs, or about 69 tons, though these objects are thrown at about slower speeds than smaller projectiles (though still at speeds up to perhaps 100 kph). Izetta does not seem to be able to throw large objects, such as entire buildings or larger, at all. A more unconventional example involves using this power on a snow bank to launch spikes made of ice at a target.

Explosive Lance
After her victory at the Battle of Coenenberg, in which Izetta used medieval lances and swords as improvised projectiles, the Eylstadt military designed custom projectiles similar in appearance to medieval lance, presumably intended to exploit the psychological impact of the flying weapons. These versions, however, are equipped with a hardened steel tip and a follow-through explosive payload, making them effective at destroying hard targets such as tanks. Izetta can launch these at a speed of between 400 and 600 kilometers per hour, meaning that she will not be able to chase the faster Killercraft (unless it slows down- quite possible if it can't get a missile lock), but will be able to launch them into the path, timing it so the two will collide.

250 kg Glide Bomb
Izetta was later outfitted with a winged 250 kg glide bomb, designed to be levitated with her magic and guided in to a target. While the only one deployed was shot down before it could impact, the sheer amount of explosives would allow it destroy multiple tanks in one shot. While it could theoretically be guided into the path of the Killercraft, it, like the explosive lance, will not be able to use it effectively chase the Killercraft, unless it slows down. For this reason, the bomb will be unlikely to see much use in this fight and will probably ditch it if it makes her too much of a target.

Flight
Izetta is capable of using levitated objects, typically her anti-tank rifle, as a mount for movement at speeds up to 400 kilometers per hour, with superior maneuverability to period fighter aircraft due to her small speed and very low turning radius. However, for some reason, Izetta is not capable of directly levitating herself- she must ride on top of another object.

Object Reinforcement
Izetta is capable of reinforcing objects she levitates to use them as shields, while this ability is powerful- able to reinforce a grid made of old swords to the point that it can block a 37mm round, it does not made the object indestructible. For instance, the "sword-shield" Izetta uses to block the 37mm round was heavily damaged, and it is implied it would not survive a the impact from a larger shell.

Cold Resistance
Izetta is apparently resistant to cold, as seen when she flies over the Alps, in light clothing with no apparent negative effects, and may even be able to spread this effect to a small area around her as, on two occasions Finé is with her, who did not seem to be effected either. During one sequence, Izetta and Finé land on top of a very high snowcapped mountain peak, which, given that Eylstadt is based on the Austrian Alps, may be up to 3798m/12,460 feet in elevation. Given this elevation, Izetta definitely has a substantial resistance to cold, however, this is still an elevation at which it is possible (although it may be difficult for those not acclimated) to breathe without oxygen. All evidence in the anime suggests that Izetta still needs to breathe like everyone else, and would thus likely still eventually reach an upper altitude limit.

Tanya Degurechaff
"Peace and tranquilty, let alone reconciliation, are acts of domestic dogs who have forgetten their fangs. Sheer madness brought upon by despair and disturbance, sounds more like a paradise than hell to me!"

- Tanya von Degurechaff

Tanya von Degurechaff is the protagonist of the light novel and later anime Youjo Senki. Tanya was formerly a Japanese salaryman involved in management, until he was murdered by a disgruntled ex-employee that he had recently fired, being pushed into an oncoming subway. Upon his death, the salaryman that would become Tanya met an entity claiming to be God, who Tanya refers to as “Being X”, refusing to acknowledge that they are God. When asked why he was an atheist, the salaryman stated that he lived in a world where modern technology provided everything and that there was no evidence of the supernatural.

In the novel, he goes further and tells “Being X” that because he failed to anticipate this, he cannot be omniscient. Because of this, Being X sends the salaryman to be reborn in a war-torn world where magic exists. He is reborn as Tanya Degurechaff, an orphan girl in an alternate pre-First World War Germany, who is selected for military service because of her massive magic potential and her unusual intellegence for her age- as she is literally a 40-year old man in child’s body. By age nine, she writes a thesis on military logistics and completes officer candidate school. By age ten, she sees her first combat, and soon after proves herself the only one capable of operating the Elinium Type 95 orb. Tanya is promoted to the rank of Major and placed in charge of an elite mage unit specializing in deep penetration of enemy lines.

Mondragon Rifle
Tanya’s primary weapon for the first half of the anime is a Mondragon Rifle, standard issue to the Imperial Mages Corps. The weapon is a semi-automatic rifle that appears to still have to be reloaded, having a ten-round magazine. The range and stopping power aren’t really relevant as Tanya’s magic abilities allow her to fire off magic bullets with a range of at least 3 kilometers or so and with the explosive force of a small tank gun or artillery shell (appear to be comparable to a 75mm).

SIG MKMS Submachine Gun
After taking the weapon from Allied mage Anson Sioux, Tanya uses a MKMS submachine gun as her primary weapon, firing explosive magic rounds in rapid succession, using it like an autocannon. The weapon has a 40-round detachable magazine.

Bayonet and Combat Knife
Tanya’s powers as a mage allow her enhance her Mondragon bayonet and combat knife’s sharpness and durability to the point where it is capable of decapitating a man with a single swing. Using her superhuman speed and strength, Tanya is capable of making rapid melee attacks.

Magic Bullets
Tanya, like all mages, is capable of firing off magically enhanced rounds which possess massive explosive power capable impacting with roughly the force of a 75mm round and firing them as quickly as her weapon can fire, and can be set to detonate on impact or in midair for anti-aircraft purposes. While it is stated that normal magic bullets do not have the firepower of heavy artillery, they are nonetheless impressive, and capable devastating practically any target.

Magic Shield
Mages are capable of projecting a powerful shield around them to protect them from small arms fire. While on normal operational mode, the shield is capable of stopping a few bullets coming from any direction, however, the mage can “supercharge” one part of the sheild. With a normal mage, this only works to the point where it can survive extended machine gun fire or a single mortar shell, however Tanya’s shield is more powerful (thanks to her connection to Being X), surviving multiple magic explosive bullets, however, it is not clear how well it would do against heavy artillery (most mages cannot survive artillery fire). In any case, she still seems to avoid being hit by heavier munitions, suggesting the shield can be broken with sufficient firepower.

Elinium Type-95 Orb
The Elinium Type-95 Orb is an experimental orb designed for use with a mage’s powers, allowing them to fly and fire magic bullets. Tanya is the only mage capable of using the device, thanks to her connection with Being X. With this orb, she is capable of flying at over 300 kilometers per hour at elevations of up to 12,000 feet above sea level (while most mages can only reach a maximum of 8000 feet).

Connection to Being X
The mysterious self-proclaimed god Tanya refers to as “Being X” granted her the power to tap into massive power far greater than a normal mage by praying to him. As much as Tanya hates “Being X”, she will use this power to destroy to gain a tactical advantage. Examples of powers she has gained by using this ability include a boost to her magic shield to the point she can shrug off multiple magic bullets impacts (comparable to AA shells), the ability to fire heat-seeking bullets, and even firing a single massive magic bullet with an explosive force comparable to a large fuel-air bomb.

Rusalka Schwagelin
"I want to live longer. I still haven't had enough. I want to kill, violate, and enjoy myself more and more and more and more!"

- Rusalka Schwägelin

'''NOTE: This version of Rusalka will be the version in the “Venfaulender segen” side story of the visual novel taking place in 1995, in which she was temporarily stripped of her superhuman durability and her sense of self-preservation will be deadened, but retained all of her other powers- essentially meaning she lost her “immunity to bullets”, but kept all of her offensive abilities and her superhuman agility. This means she will be vulnerable to Tanya and Izetta’s weapons. This “nerfing” does not violate wiki rules as it is considered canon in source materials.'''

Anna Maria “Rusalka” Schwagelin is an antagonist in the visual novel and upcoming anime Dies irae. Schwagelin was accused of witchcraft by her village in 18th century Germany, leading to her imprisonment and torture. However, before she could be executed, a mysterious benefactor gave her the diary of Elizabeth Bathory, a “Relic” or “Ahnenerbe” fused to her soul with a form of magic known as Die Ewigkeit, allowing her to gain immense power by absorbing the souls of the dead.

At the same time the mysterious benefactor encouraged Anna to become the monster they accused her of being. Over the next two hundred years, Anna used her power to torture and murder countless victims and used sorcery to artificially expand her life span. At some point, Anna took up the name Rusalka, after the Slavic water demon known for dragging men down to their deaths, much as she did. During the Second World War, Rusalka met Nazi occultist Reinhard Heydrich and was inducted into his occultist organization, the Longinus Dreizen Orden. Rusalka would serve in this capacity throughout the war and would survive the Battle of Berlin, her magic making her body nigh-indestructible by conventional weapons, though she did not “ascend” with Heydrich at the end of the battle. Instead, Rusalka lay in wait with those members of the LDO left behind, killing and torturing more victims. Rusalka would be reunited with the rest of the LDO in Suwahara City in Japan in the year 1995, in prepartion for the ritual to revive Heydrich and pave the way for him to ascend to godhood. These preparations, however, would take time, and during that lull, one of the members of the LDO, Beatrice von Kirecheisen, betrayed their unit, colluding with a rival organization who managed to temporary remove the LDO’s immunity to conventional weapons. Rusalka and the rest of the LDO, however, retained their offensive powers and fought off the assassins sent to kill them, before Beatrice herself is killed in battle. Rusalka and the rest of the LDO later regain their superhuman durability and, in 2006, begin the ritual to revive Reinhard. Rusalka’s fate varies depending on the player, but in most routes, she is killed by either Ren Fujii or Shirou Yusa.

Die Blutgrafin/Torture Devices
Rusalka’s “Holy Relic”, the source of her power is the diary of Romanian countess Elizabeth Bathory, which grants her the power to summon any number of implements of torture, including spikes, an iron maiden, or even giant spiked wheels, as well as chains which she can create and manipulate at will to trap and ensnare her unfortunate victim. While she can use these weapons kill quickly, at least against “mere mortals”, Rusalka will often use these to completely immobilize her victim and slowly torture them to death or drive them to suicide. These weapons are capable of going beyond physical damage to harm the victim’s very soul.

Csejte Ungarn Nachtzehre
Rusalka’s Briah, or a type of sorcery allowing the user to impose their deepest desire onto reality, which requires the user to have absorbed the souls of massive numbers of victims to use. Rusalka’s Briah is a representation of her own sadistic nature, which allows her to create shadows that paralyze her victim and force them into her own pocket dimension, a torture chamber, in which she slowly tortures her victim to death. She is also capable of using the shadows to devour her victim’s soul completely, as well as using them to erase any evidence of her murders. Rusalka can control and turn her shadows into any form, including monsters capable of chasing and devouring her foes up to a distance of several meters- Rusalka states that they do not have as long a range as some other Briah, but are capable of being adapted to use them for a variety of purposes, including physically manipulating persons and objects. Her powers also allow her to disappear into the shadows and reappear somewhere else, essentially allowing her to teleport.

Superhuman Agility and Strength
Even without the “armor” of her Ewigkeit making her effectively immune to bullets, Rusalka retains the superhuman speed and strength given to her by her magic, which make her able to move fast enough to dodge bullets. However, it should be noted that, while she managed to evade all of the gunfire in the Venfaulender segen side story (where she was “nerfed” by an assassin’s magic), she proved not particularly skilled at it, suffering multiple near misses. This means that she might have more difficulty evading gunfire from an unexpected angle (such as from the sky), or the blast waves of large explosives, which both of her enemies have plenty of.

=X-Factors=

Explanations

 * Training: In terms of training, Tanya takes the edge, being trained as a mage from childhood by the Imperial Army, and a proving a master of strategy, tactics, marksmanship, and close combat during her military service. Izetta had some instruction in the use of her magic with the new weapons that were developed for her, and was taught magic by her grandmother, while Rusalka has extensively studied magic and the occult, but had no formal combat training, being more of a torturer and serial killer than a warrior, mostly attacking outmatched humans while protected by the nigh-invulnerability granted by Die Ewigkeit under most circumstance. With this battle taking place while it was temporarily dropped, lack of experience might prove her undoing.


 * Tactics: In terms of tactics, Tanya takes a definitive edge, proving to be a tactical and strategic genius who was instrumental in devising the “airborne stormtroop” tactics that allowed the Empire to breakthrough the stalemate of trench warfare. While Tanya was as much an officer as a frontline combatant, Izetta was truly more a solder, with her operations and deployments being devised by commanders behind the lines, while she simply executed these missions. Finally, Rusalka scores last in tactics, as she relies heavily on the overwhelming force of her powers and her inhuman durability to allow her to easily crush most of her victims with pure blunt force.


 * Firepower: In terms of firepower, Tanya wins by far, with her magic bullets essentially allowing her to carry an artillery barrage in a single rifle magazine, with her homing and diffusive magic (essentially a fuel-air) bullets further increasing her destructive power. Izetta’s rifle packs a punch, as do her explosive lances, but they lack the firepower of Tanya’s magic bullets. Only the glide bombs can compare in firepower, and these much larger than a bullet and thus she can carry only a limited a number. Finally, there is Rusalka, whose is certainly capable of widespread destruction, as seen when she mowed down hundreds of people in a nightclub with her shadows and magic torture implements, as well an incident where she summoned a giant spiked wheel which she rolled across a bridge, destroying numerous vehicles and killing hundreds. However, neither of these have the range of Tanya or Izetta’s attacks, as Rusalka states that her shadows can only extend out a few dozen meters, and her summoned chains and torture devices seem to have a similar range, at least in the visual novel, though she may be able to throw the chains and smaller spikes further with her inhuman strength. Also, Rusalka seems to prefer trapping and torturing her victims to mass destruction if possible.


 * Defense: In terms of durability, this is an interesting one- under most circumstances, Rusalka would be so durable as to be immune to any normal weapon save perhaps a nuke, but the Rusalka is this fight was “nerfed” by an assassin’s magic, and this has lost her “immunity to bullets”- meaning she will be no more durable than normal human, though she will keep her superhuman strength and agility. Izetta has special floating sheilds and can levitate other objects to block bullets and even shells, but she has to conciously see the threat coming and activate it. Tanya’s magic shield can survive an impact equivalent to multiple anti-aircraft shells. Tanya gets a slight edge as her shield is constantly up until it is depleted, however, it’s not clear how much use either defense will be against Rusalka’s magic weapons and shadow magic- magic weapons or ‘’Ahnenerbe’’ in Dies Irae are capable of cutting through concrete, steel, and other “mundane” substances like a knife through butter, and, while Tanya’s shield is far stronger than a normal mage’s in Youjo Senki, it can still be broked by conventional weapons, meaning it might not be much use against powerful magic like Rusalka’s. That being said, Izetta and Tanya are still not defenseless- Rusalka can survive falls from hundreds of meters, and the inhuman strength granted by Die Ewigkeit would presumably allow her to jump high into the air, she cannot truly fly, as Tanya and Izetta can. This might be Tanya and Izetta’s most useful defenses, as it would allow them to keep out of the several meter range of Rusalka’s shadows.


 * Brutality: Izetta scores last- she fights to protect her homeland, but does not enjoy killing. Tanya scores far higher as she seems to enjoy killing particularly in close combat. Still, even Tanya is not anywhere near as depraved and sadistic as Rusalka, who seems to literally derive psychological and sexual pleasure from slowly torturing people to death.


 * Stealth: This one is pretty simple- while Rusalka’s torture devices and shadow monsters can be pretty elaborate, they are nonetheless not as flashy as massive explosions created by Izetta and, in particular, Tanya’s magic. Not to mention Rusalka can use her shadows to remove the remains of her victims, erasing any evidence she was ever there, so she gets the ultimate edge.


 * Agility: While Izetta and Tanya can fly and have fairly good reaction times, Rusalka’s reflexes are far superior- she is able to literally dodge a hail of automatic weapons fire. That being said, it is noted that she seemed to have difficulty doing so, possibly as she is less used to dodging attacks, having spent most of her unnatural lifespan “immune to bullets”. As stated above, this might mean the newly bullet-vulnerable Rusalka in this match might have even more trouble dodging fire from multiple or unexpected directions, or escaping a blast radius.


 * Dedication: In terms of dedication, Rusalka and Izetta are definitely tied for the top, Rusalka being determined to become immortal and Izetta determined to protect her country. Tanya, on the other hand, works for the Imperial military as she figures the most effective means of succeeding in her new world. Were the situation to suddenly change, she would likely switch sides rather than defend the Empire to the end.

=Notes= The battle will be a three-way free-for-all on terrain that is unfamiliar to all combatants. None of the three will know anything about the other's abilities.
 * Flight (and related stats): Izetta and Tanya have similar flight performance abilities, while Rusalka can move inhumanly fast and jump inhumanly high, but not actually fly.