'Little Herta' gave AR-214 a brief, comforting pat.
But AR-214 remained despondent.
It was only natural, really.
After all, she couldn't deny the fact that she was a deserter.
She had expected that after being intercepted that first time, a relentless pursuit would follow. Yet, even after wandering this far, no hunters had appeared.
AR-214 still believed 'Little Herta' was a specialized member of the Empire, a new breed of sorts—an independent unit developed specifically to deal with stray Iron Cavalry like herself.
The girl's obvious lack of experience only reinforced the idea that she was a fresh creation.
"I don't know why you got caught in a Swarm encirclement while trying to capture me, but they seem to be fighting amongst themselves. I think we should leave while we can."
AR-214 hadn't forgotten the two factions of bugs tearing into each other nearby. She wanted to pull this reckless recruit away.
It didn't matter if a deserter like her went down with the Swarm, but this recruit—who might even be an individual who had overcome their physical instability—deserved to live a little longer.
"Don't be in such a hurry."
'Little Herta' reached out and grabbed AR-214's arm.
Her immense strength brought the other's movement to a dead halt.
Then, under AR-214's astonished gaze, 'Little Herta' extended her arm.
The armor on her body rapidly shifted, shedding a massive array of components that reassembled in front of her into a giant blade nearly two meters long.
"...A sword??"
AR-214 had expected some kind of cutting-edge weapon.
Instead, she got a blade that, aside from a sturdy build, lacked any visible technological flair.
But she soon understood why the armament was such a plain sword.
From the body of that unusual Iron Cavalry, a terrifying aura suddenly erupted.
Intense crimson flames, laced with purple, flickered like the physical manifestation of fear and power. Just standing beside her, AR-214 felt an instinctive sense of looming destruction.
Before AR-214 could even ask, the strange Iron Cavalry raised the heavy blade as if it weighed nothing and swung it down!
The moment the blade fell, the searing heat condensed into a single, dazzling line.
Terrifying power was compressed and poured into the strike, tearing through the Memoria and severing space itself.
Matter ignited, flames erupting along that narrow trajectory, and that blinding line instantly crossed paths with the Swarm King.
In a heartbeat, fire exploded from the Swarm King's body.
"SCREEEECH—!!!!"
Accompanied by a wretched wail, the soaring flames formed a cross etched into the void. The Swarm King, naturally, vanished entirely within that fire.
Once a Swarm loses its King, it collapses, sometimes even withering away instantly.
Seeing the strike hit home, 'Little Herta' let go of the hilt. The high-tech blade disassembled once more, receding back into the armor.
AR-214 was dazed.
Wiping out a Swarm King with a single strike...
The Swarm's attempts to intercept along the path had been utterly useless; they died the moment they touched the light, failing to even leave a scream behind.
The King's attempts to dodge and resist were meaningless before that swing. To her eyes, it almost looked as if the Swarm King had flown straight into the brilliant flash of the blade itself.
"...Who exactly are you? This can't be Glamoth Iron Cavalry technology, and it doesn't look like the methods of the Giants of Light either."
It was only then that AR-214 realized the person in front of her couldn't possibly belong to Glamoth.
If the Iron Cavalry had such power, the Swarm would have been driven back long ago. They wouldn't have been stuck in a stalemate for so many years, sacrificing so many comrades.
"So you don't think I'm here to drag you back anymore?"
"Uh..."
AR-214 made an embarrassed sound. How could she have guessed the other person was this strong?
"Don't worry. Have you heard of the name 'Destiny's Slave?"
"I've seen some things on the Interastral Network."
"In his prophecy, if you went to Penacony, you'd meet a very grim end. So, he sent me to take you away."
'Little Herta' thought for a moment and decided to just be blunt about it. Elio hadn't said she couldn't tell her, and if he didn't say no, it meant yes.
Hearing this, AR-214 let out a self-mocking laugh. "For someone like me, could there really be an end worse than dying in the middle of nowhere, unremembered?"
"That's hard to say. There are many things in this world far scarier than death. You wouldn't want to experience them."
'Little Herta' shook her head.
Setting aside everything else, the Sin Thirsters Acheron was constantly trying to deliver were suffering much more than death.
Honestly, the fact that Pathstriders turned into those things after death was a bit too hellish. She wondered if it was some kind of punishment for being such extremists.
As 'Little Herta' pondered this, the Swarm units that had finished cleaning up the battlefield swarmed toward them.
Under AR-214's shocked and terrified gaze, they all vanished into the body of the unknown entity before her.
"You can think of them as a group of Memory Zone Memes living in a world of Memoria. It's not like I'm raising a swarm inside my actual body."
As she spoke, 'Little Herta' tapped her chest. The breastplate opened, revealing a crystal-like badge to AR-214.
"This is where those bugs exist. It's also the reason you feel like your condition has recovered."
"..."
AR-214 didn't know what to say.
Was this person trustworthy? She wore armor like an Iron Cavalry, yet she commanded the Swarm.
Was that explanation born of honesty, or simply because she felt AR-214 was too powerless to change anything even if she knew?
'Little Herta' had expected AR-214's doubt. But she chose to do this because she had the backing of the Land of Light.
Once she brought her there, all suspicion and speculation would naturally dissolve. That was the power of a gold-standard reputation.
Just as 'Little Herta' was about to lead her away, a fleet suddenly arrived via a short-range warp.
The Penacony-style design was one 'Little Herta' had seen before. Likely, the sudden disturbance of the Swarm had caught Penacony's attention.
Just as 'Little Herta' was about to slip away to avoid the hassle of explaining herself, a wave of Harmony power spread out from the flagship. A familiar, gentle voice echoed through the scene, carried by the resonance of Harmony:
"It is you, old friend. To see you well after several hundred years is better than anything else."
'Little Herta' paused. She turned toward the flagship. This voice of Harmony undoubtedly belonged to a very specific individual.
"Gopher Wood... does a mere trace of the Swarm warrant your personal presence?"
"If it were just an ordinary swarm, certainly not. But if the swarm that appears is the one that recently dominated the war between the Xianzhou and the Abundance... Penacony cannot afford even the slightest lapse in vigilance."
Gopher Wood's tone was relaxed, yet carried a hint of wariness.
He didn't know the intent behind this visit. But the Swarm... especially a swarm under human control... was something Gopher Wood found impossible to ignore.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL