Demonic Realm
The discussion with Aimer had come to an end. Now, Aimer was happily writing with Kou using paper and a pen.
On Planet Libya, the culture of using pencils and pens to write had been recreated by the Kryptos.
「I’m counting on you, Aimer.」
「Yeah, leave it to me.」
After entrusting Aimer with the request, Kou made his way to Unit 5 and climbed aboard.
「Alright then, Astraea. I’m heading out.」
Unit 5 had already been serviced. Arges had finished and installed the new armor and the scabbard for the Kogetsu.
The appearance and shape closely resembled the Lanius C Assault Flight Type’s additional armor. While the color tone and gloss had slight differences, few would notice the variations.
「I strongly disapprove of this covert operation, especially since even I haven’t been informed of the details. Please be extremely careful.」
「I understand.」
As long as he was operating Unit 5, it was necessary to report to Astraea.
However, Kou didn’t explain the reasons. It was a critical top-secret mission—that much was enough for Astraea to refrain from pressing further. The important thing was to report in advance.
「It’s suspicious information, to say the least. It’s too convenient to receive information about replacement parts for Another Level Silhouettes just like that.」
「Did you hear it from Morgan?」
Kou had only told Astraea that a covert operation was necessary—nothing more.
「Yes. I was asked about the odds of success. I responded that I suspect there is some sort of scheme at play.」
「That makes sense. I’m skeptical myself. That’s why Arima and I are going.」
Astraea hesitated for a moment before speaking again.
「Regarding the boy, Arima… His biometric scan showed no issues. However—」
「However?」
「No, it’s nothing. Just needless concern. His residential records show nothing suspicious either.」
「I figured as much.」
Kou’s suspicions solidified into certainty.
「His background should be flawless. Alright, I’m heading out.」
「May fortune be with you.」
Unit 5 set off toward the residential district. There, Kou would rendezvous with Arima before heading to the mysterious ruins.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
With Arima seated in the rear, Unit 5 proceeded toward the designated location.
「The link with Realm was cut? Even the link with Astraea has been cut off…」
Partway through, the link with Astraea and Morgan was severed—just as it had been when they entered Realm for the first time.
「Should we turn back?」
「No. We’ll keep going. I’ve already experienced this once.」
Back then, Asia had been with him. But now, she wasn’t. That only made caution all the more necessary.
Suddenly—
「Tch!」
An alarm blared, and Kou immediately made Unit 5 evade.
He pushed the lever forward and floored the pedal, engaging maximum acceleration.
The impact alarm sounded—it was a laser lock-on. Even with his senses enhanced by the MCS, dodging lasers outright was nearly impossible. Instead, he broke away from the targeting, shifting into low-speed flight to minimize exposure.
「This place is different from Realm… The defense grid is still active, huh? Interesting.」
「Is this really okay!?」
Arima shouted, gripping his seat.
「You’re overacting, Arima. We’ll be fine. The enemy isn’t going all out—this should be a facility from the Pioneering era, the technology of that time was far beyond what we have now. If they really wanted to shoot us down, the attack would have been much worse.」
Kou judged that this was likely a warning shot of some kind.
The laser wasn’t melting through Unit 5’s armor instantly, but it had enough power to rival a high-output laser cannon. As long as Unit 5 maintained its acceleration and dodged the targeting beams, he could handle the situation.
「The turrets are completely concealed… No, maybe there are no turrets in the first place.」
The assumption that these advanced weapons must have traditional turrets was just his own preconceptions. It was entirely possible they didn’t need something like that, and even if they did indeed have turrets, destroying them wouldn’t be easy, there wasn’t time to search for their location.
Kou checked his instruments.
「We’re not far from the target now.」
「This area was originally a fortress zone.」
The coordinates Arima had provided were slightly removed from Mount Etna, about a thousand kilometers away. For Unit 5, it was a short trip.
But then—
「There’s a lot of enemies here… With these numbers, they can’t be Eidolons.」
Unit 5’s sensors detected numerous hostile signatures.
Kou steadily lowered their altitude, eventually landing in the dense forest below.
Now weaving through the trees, Unit 5 moved swiftly—closing in on the enemy signatures.
「That shape… A bipedal crocodile?」
「Crocodile-men… Are these Teras?」
Arima muttered, and Kou responded. If Astraea were here, she would likely explain that there had once been bipedal crocodilian species in the past.
Kou analyzed the situation.
「They’re on patrol. Their only weapons are spears. Sneaking in undetected will be difficult.」
Kou pondered for a moment before reaching a conclusion.
「I’ll cut them down. If they’re too strong, we pull back.」
「Understood.」
Arima’s response was as straightforward as Kou’s decision.
Without hesitation, Unit 5 emerged from the shadows of the forest, launching a horizontal slash at one of the crocodile-man-shaped Teras.
The blade cleaved through its torso—slicing it cleanly in two.
Kou’s eyes widened.
「This is…?」
He was momentarily speechless, but his hands never faltered.
Unit 5 continued its onslaught, cutting down the swarming crocodile-like Teras one after another.
Each strike was precise and fluid—like a choreographed battle sequence.
「How strong!」
Arima exclaimed in awe.
Kou smirked at Arima’s amazement and corrected him with a shake of his head.
「No. It’s not that I’m strong. It’s that these things are weak.」
He glanced at the fallen enemies and made an assessment.
「Most likely, these were originally Murders—Telkhines I imagine.」
They were enemies Kou had once struggled against, but unlike the insect-type weapons, these were humanoid infantry units.
The capabilities of the AI acting as their brain were far inferior to those of an MCS.
「Murders? So these were born from modern weapons?」
「Exactly. On Planet Asia, these models became obsolete and disappeared… but on Planet Libya—one of the first planets to fall under the Stones control—they probably remained in use.」
Now that the army on the Stones—the Argonautai—had fully adopted Silhouettes as their main combat force, the Telkhines were nothing more than outdated relics.
The Stones had likely repurposed their Telkhines production lines for new-generation Silhouettes instead.
Kou surveyed the battlefield.
「This entire group has been wiped out. The next target must be ahead.」
Unit 5 had cut down over ten Teras and pressed forward.
Even though the Telkhines armor was outdated, it still used high-dimensional projection plating—but against Kou’s Arc Blade, it was effortlessly severed.
Arima exhaled in astonishment.
「Even so… This sheer number…」
Unit 5, the Lanius hadn’t even fired a single shot.
It was a silent massacre, performed with inhuman speed.
The way it moved didn’t even resemble a Silhouette anymore.
「These crocodile-man Teras have the same limitations of a Telkhines without a Fennel OS. There are still plenty of Silhouette pilots out there capable of this level of combat.」
Kou thought of several of his companions—Takaba Hyouei, Kurose, Kurt—they could likely fight at the same level as he could.
And most likely, Vasa and Bardo as well.
「So Planet Asia is truly a land of monsters!」
Arima was overwhelmed.
「There are still plenty of strong warriors I haven’t met yet. But if you ask me, Planet Libya, where Mythology Weapons roam freely, is much more of a demonic realm.」
Kou spoke as if it were no big deal, leaving Arima stunned in silence.
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