[416] The Second Purgatory (3)
Gaold barged into the gap in the Meka formation like a robber and looked down at them imperiously.
"You rebels, right? Where's your headquarters?"
Finding the rebels' stronghold on the mainland was one of his objectives, so getting that information from them would save him some trouble.
But contrary to his expectations, the woman who had been shaking with fear moments before changed expression sharply when she heard Gaold's voice.
She sprang to her feet, hoisted the Ark, and shouted, "Ordnance Community! Raise your weapons! We die here today!"
At the squad leader's command, the men braced for battle.
With the Signa and XDs up front, their faces showed the resolve of those willing to die.
"Leave this place now! Or you'll become Ark fodder."
The Ark's laser leveled at the space between Gaold's brows.
A Meka long-range weapon that fired explosive spheres.
But the woman knew it would be useless against him.
'I've staked my life—might as well try bluffing.'
"Kek—kekekeke."
Gaold's shoulders trembled as if a breath had found its way into him; creases formed around his mouth with the laugh. When he lifted his head again, his pupils burned with a fire that wasn't actually there.
"Stop that incessant chatter."
A searing hellfire wrapped the Mekas.
Whether it was a misunderstanding or a hallucination didn't matter. Gaold wasn't the sort to be merciful to those who dared attack him.
Every Meka soldier caught in that blaze went pale, drooled, and shook uncontrollably.
Their screams were so ghastly one would want to rip out their eardrums.
This was not a terror a human could bear.
Even the woman who'd survived many life-or-death trials as squad leader crumpled, jaw trembling, utterly spent.
"Ugh—st-stop. Please…"
Only after the Mekas lost their will to fight did Gaold ease his restraint.
The tear-streaked woman lifted her head and glared at him with hatred.
"Why do you torment us? We're fighting against Heaven. You're human too, aren't you?"
"I don't know what nonsense you're spouting, but I'm not the Ordnance Community or whatever. And weren't you the ones who used to call the Watchers 'counterfeits' and insult them?"
"T-that's—"
As she tried to retort, trees began to fall in the woods behind the Mekas.
Everyone turned their gaze.
Something enormous seemed to be approaching at speed, but nothing was yet visible to the eye.
-Magnetic field off. Argon engine online.
The forest shimmered and an opaque outline began to take form.
A bipedal armored tank nearly four meters tall finally revealed itself.
Its torso and legs were evenly proportioned, with relatively long, thick arms mounted on short, reverse-jointed legs.
Hydraulic cylinders pumped in differing cycles to the engine's rumble.
-Hostile detected. Preemptive strike authorized.
The tank charged with a palm extended—four-fingered hand reaching out.
As Gaold stepped back, the machine pitched forward as if falling and slammed the ground. Earth rose like a steel rampart.
Although the tank looked as if it couldn't right itself under the deluge of dirt, its legs pressed on and it threw off roughly two tons of soil, regaining its balance.
Meanwhile, Shirone and his group spread out, each keeping their combat spacing.
Shirone activated Diamond Armament, pulled his hood up, and watched the situation.
'What the hell is that?'
Every time the waist of the bipedal tank turned—smooth as oil on water—the cockpit above scanned ahead.
The cockpit was a glassy oval orb with a violet sheen like running electricity; you couldn't see inside.
"Kuroi. Meka combat system, Stage 2 equipment."
At Gangnan's explanation, Gaold narrowed his eyes.
"Oh. The real thing does look impressive."
On paper he'd thought it a walking heap of scrap. But in action it was mobile and, depending on the pilot's skill, tactically versatile. The tech that distorted magnetic fields to conceal its presence was cutting-edge and hadn't been in the documents until recently.
The top of the Kuroi rotated and faced the Mekas.
"Is everyone in Platoon 2 safe? What about the Kergos?"
The voice through the speaker sounded neutral, though the tone suggested a man.
"The Kergos were annihilated. But they're not ours."
The Kuroi's cockpit turned its gaze back to Gaold.
"Who are they?"
The woman hesitated.
The bearded man had clearly denied being from the Ordnance Community. But the illusion he'd shown them had been like intangible violence—an experience nobody would willingly go through again.
"It attacked us."
Kuroi gave orders over internal channels.
-Eliminate them. Switch to strike mode. Increase Argon engine to gear five.
Clank! Clank! Clank!
The five advancing Kuroi all changed their hands in unison.
Four fingers folded outward and massive barrels with black voids inside sprang forth.
-Fire!
Klang! Klang! Klang!
Hundreds-of-kilogram iron cylinders acting as rounds roared like thunder, a noise that could tear out eardrums.
The heavy projectiles ripped through rock and snapped trees like twigs.
One Kuroi swung its body toward Gaold.
The black rounds sped toward a point thirty centimeters in front of Gaold's face, then, as if buried in something, their speed dropped suddenly.
Thunk! Thunk-thunk-thunk!
Unable to penetrate the air shield, the rounds gathered and built a dark iron barrier.
"Hmm. Metal spheres."
Gaold waited until a shell lost its spin, plucked one from the air, and weighed it in his hand.
Confusion ran through the Kuroi unit, transmitted as a tremor through their frames.
-Squad leader! He grabbed a round with his bare hand!
-Keep firing! Assume they're Watchers! Don't judge the enemy by past encounters!
Gaold flicked the round up with his thumb and sent it flying.
"Like an air gun. That'll hurt if it hits."
Gangnan narrowed his eyes. "If you're going to do it, do it. If not, don't. Or I will."
Gaold snapped up another falling round. "Pocket it. I'll try piloting one myself."
Gangnan ground his teeth at the reckless line, but he wasn't about to overturn the commander's decision.
"They say they can. Can you seize one intact?"
Gangnan asked Sein; the gears in the iron wheel began to turn.
"Calculating. About one minute."
Gangnan scanned the battlefield with worry. A minute felt long enough for all five Kuroi to be wiped out.
"Damn! What the hell are these things?"
The pilot of Kuroi Unit 3 felt hopeless.
The AMOLED vision across the cockpit was split into seven screens covering 360 degrees, but the sword-wielding man moved as if leaping between screens, making him hard to lock on.
'This world is full of weird things.'
Kuan slashed at various parts of the Kuroi.
Each cut peeled the plates like flesh; sparks flew.
'Thicker than armor. Where's the person inside?'
By chance he severed an engine artery, and Unit 3's output dropped—its balance wobbling.
"Ugh! You bastard!"
The pilot threw his arms up to regain center.
Operating a Kuroi in Stage 2 requires meeting Stage 1—Piper. The Kuroi's actuators connect to the pilot's limbs, so without strength augmentation you can't even move one arm easily.
Flailing his limbs, the pilot barely stabilized and searched for Kuan's position.
What entered his view instead was not Kuan but a cute woman with long brown hair and goofy glasses.
"Cute my ass!"
Contrary to her looks, she was a martial artist; every strike she landed made the Kuroi shudder and set off thunderous noises inside.
"All right! I'll break you down to the bone!"
The pilot gritted his teeth and struck.
The Kuroi's waist accelerated and the thick barrel hammered Etella.
Kuuuuong!
The pilot went pale as he realized his waist wouldn't turn anymore.
Glancing belatedly at the multi-vision, he saw the woman had raised an elbow to her face and was blocking the barrel.
"W-what? One arm is only seventeen horsepower?"
"Fuu—"
Etella calmed her arm with a deep breath and slipped to the Kuroi's flank.
Yin-Yang Wave Fist—Wall Thunder Formation.
She struck the Kuroi's leg with the technique; the wave rode the metal, the iron sang, and a thunderous roar assaulted the pilot's eardrums.
"Aaargh!"
Instinctively clutching his ears, the Kuroi's two arms mirrored him and it toppled forward.
-Damn it! That big-breasted woman—do something! She's not human! She's a monster!
-Take her first! She's cutting engine arteries! Deal with the cutter!
"Which one do you want us to take out first?!"
Kanya, sweeping the Kuroi's waist and checking left and right, shouted in frustration.
Either way, it was chaos.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Shocks transmitted through the hull made one of Kanya's eyes squeeze shut.
With her remaining eye she saw a tentacled monster driving its tendrils into trees and flying through the forest.
"That damn creature!"
Klang-klang-klang-klang!
Kuroi rounds shredded every tree where the tentacle thing moved.
Even as they did, the creature kept firing light constantly, continuing the fight.
Teng! Teng!
Each time the light struck, tens of tons of Kuroi shuddered, the shocks transmitted fully to Kanya through her Piper link.
"This is really annoying!"
Wasting rounds just to kill one monster was maddening.
Because the Ordnance Community's interference steadily reduced the rebels' weapons, pilots were selected for maximum efficiency. That was why the Ark marksman could mount a Kuroi.
"Why would a freak like that—!"
What irritated her most was that the monster's ability resembled the magic of someone it longed for.
The incident where Shirone stopped Ilhwa's technique hadn't just saved Kanya's mother.
The wish he left had become a great storm, taking root as the First Principle of the rebels' belief.
That grotesque creature reminding her of cherished memories with someone made her skin crawl.
"No matter how many rounds it takes, I'll make sure to take you down!"
With the trees snapped all around, Shirone's operating radius grew painfully tight.
Realizing a drawn-out fight would be unwinnable, Shirone threw back his robe and began casting in earnest.
Light gathered along the Spirit Zone like a retina, forming a single red beam that struck the Kuroi's leg.
Destroying the torso would be most certain, but in a skirmish the drive joints in the legs were the best targets.
-Warning! Internal heat detected! Cooling systems active! Output exceeding permissible range!
"What the hell is this now?"
Kanya checked the instruments with wide eyes.
On the interface showing the Kuroi's front, the left leg flashed red.
-Energy overcurrent! Energy overcurrent!
The output meters climbed without stopping—240 percent, 370 percent—and when they hit 600 percent the drive joint at the knee groaned and snapped.
"Kyaa!"
The Kuroi's body tilted and the cockpit slammed into the ground.
The impact felt like falling from a building and rattled the bones, but Kanya never released the controls.
"Die, you monster… huh?"
The noisy AMOLED vision cleared and auto-focused on the target the barrel had been aiming at.
"What… what is that?"
Kanya could hardly believe her eyes.
The face of the boy who had even appeared in her dreams filled the screen.