With a sharp metallic scream, a great sword cut open the abdomen of a mechanical creature.
The cut almost penetrated the entire body, so this mechanical creature, which had leaped to pounce on something, ceased functioning before it even hit the ground.
Then came a dull thud as it crashed to the earth, raising a cloud of dust.
The wielder of the nearly body-length metal greatsword was an adult woman.
Silver long hair, blue eyes, facial features so delicate they seemed inhuman.
Her curvaceous body was wrapped in what looked like a black skin-tight battle suit, though the outfit appeared somewhat tattered.
It now resembled a black vest and leather pants with over-knee black stockings, giving off an alternative kind of sexiness.
The skin exposed to the air, which should have been smooth and fine, now appeared somewhat dirty.
The young woman, after surveying her surroundings once more and confirming there were no more mechanical creatures, walked over to a machine that resembled a vending machine.
Accompanied by another sharp metal cutting sound, No. 2 violently cleaved open this transmission device.
Following the cut, she pried it open further, revealing various materials stored inside.
According to the intelligence she had received, these materials could be used to construct new YoRHa unit limbs.
Though she was an old model and wasn't sure if they would be compatible, taking them after destroying the machine couldn't hurt.
After quickly scavenging everything, No. 2 rapidly left the area, getting as far away as possible.
After all, when she destroyed the device, an alarm had likely been triggered, and the unit hunting her was probably rushing to the scene.
Strictly speaking, No. 2 couldn't be described as an adult woman because she wasn't human.
She was merely YoRHa Type A No. 2, known as A2, an original attack prototype that previously belonged to the YoRHa forces.
However, since the Pearl Harbor Descent Operation in 11941, she had defected from the YoRHa forces and become a wanted fugitive.
She could not forgive their betrayal—the betrayal by Command.
From the beginning of the plan, her batch had been destined to be discarded.
The operation's initial objective was to destroy the machine lifeforms' server at Mount Ka'ala on Oahu Island. For this purpose, twelve YoRHa Type A experimental units were deployed, with her being one of them.
The initial descent to Earth didn't go smoothly. Due to the enemy's anti-air system interception, only four units reached the target location.
Since she was No. 2, she took over the captain position from the eliminated No. 1, leading No. 4, No. 16, and No. 21 to continue the mission.
Normally, with only four remaining units, they would have been unable to complete the mission, but Command forcibly ordered them to execute it anyway.
It wasn't until the end that she discovered the true purpose of this mission: to collect combat response data from the YoRHa experimental units, analyze the data, and incorporate the feedback results into the newly manufactured official YoRHa forces.
So, from the beginning, there was no plan to retrieve them—they were merely test subjects.
Upon learning the truth, she naturally lost trust in Command, becoming a wanted fugitive, hunted down by them.
Thus, A2's enemies were not only the machine lifeforms that had destroyed her sisters but also the YoRHa forces pursuing her.
After reaching her current hideout and concealing her loot, A2 sat somewhat aimlessly on a tree, gazing at the ruins of an ancient city beyond the forest.
It was boring with no machine lifeforms appearing for her to kill, so she once again summoned that strange [Super-Dimensional Channel].
At first, she thought she had been infected by a machine lifeform's logic virus, but later discovered it didn't seem to be the case.
Still uncertain, she continued to suspect she might have been infected by some virus causing this situation.
What exactly was this channel?
She couldn't explain it clearly at present.
If what it claimed was true, it would be quite shocking, completely overturning her understanding.
Though it was called a channel, it wasn't like a pure communication voice channel; it had windows and such.
Taking a deep breath, she decided to open it.
[Fallen Saint Black Cat: It's bad, really bad. I hope 'Poisoned Island Swordplay Style' comes online soon
Whisperer: What's wrong, Miss Fallen Saint Black Cat? Do you have information about her world? Is some major problem about to occur in her world?
Fallen Saint Black Cat: Problem? It's a huge problem. According to the plot I'm currently seeing, her world is about to face doomsday
Dr. Katsuki: Doomsday? What kind of doomsday? Will it be worse than our world? A bunch of insects
Tendou Civilian Defense Company: Just logged in. What's this about doomsday? Could it be like our world, a crisis caused by a doomsday virus?
Fallen Saint Black Cat: It is indeed a virus-caused doomsday, but with some differences—people will turn into zombies!]
Such exchange information appeared in the channel window.
Each differently named speaker claimed to come from a different world.
It was so bizarre that A2 still suspected she might have been infected by a new type of machine lifeform virus, causing this incomprehensible chaotic communication.
As for herself, now also a member of the channel, she naturally had her own name, simply written as A2.
Regarding those people's names, she now knew that most weren't their real names but rather something like code names.
And in this channel, a situation had emerged.
Some people would somehow learn about another member's background.
For instance, through games in their world, they might discover that a certain channel member was a main character from that game.
Others might learn someone's background through what they called "manga."
But not everyone knew multiple members' backgrounds; so far, it had been one-to-one unilateral discovery.
For example, A might understand B's identity through a game, then B might learn about C's background through a novel.
Then, if A discovered the future trajectory of B's world and something bad might happen—while B's current time hadn't yet reached the point where that bad event would occur—A could reveal this information, helping B avoid the crisis.
So, could she also learn about her world from others?
The prerequisite would be her willingness to disclose some information about her world, allowing members to search for related information in their own worlds.
Still quite cautious, A2 had remained silent since joining, merely watching the conversations of others.
[Fallen Saint Black Cat: Huh? This is!
Dr. Katsuki: Is someone else joining us?
Whisperer: I wonder what kind of world it will be. I hope it's a peaceful world like Miss Fallen Saint Black Cat's
Seventh Heaven: A new member?]
A new situation emerged. The channel interface disappeared, replaced by a holographic image resembling a radar. In its center was a complex polyhedral crystal, which, like a radar, began to search and diffuse search waves.
Suddenly, a light spot appeared, and from the polyhedral crystal, a line shot out connecting to this spot.
Once connected, the line began to contract, pulling the light spot closer.
However, halfway through, it got stuck.
???
Like a system crash?
No, it wasn't stuck—it was moving extremely slowly, so slow that some people couldn't wait and logged off.
Finally, after who knows how long, the light spot successfully entered the core.
The next instant, the radar image vanished like a mirage, and the channel window reappeared.
[New member "Golden Toilet" has joined.....]