Defective Weapons
「Kou, the enemy is starting to pull back.」
「Got it. We’ll switch to a long-range shooting engagement.」
Yasuyuki and Kou both raised their D-rifles, taking aim. Piloting the fighter, Heino, also locked onto the enemy silhouettes and began firing.
What remained were a single Angel unit, one Archangel unit, and the Aratron, observing from high above in the rear. Kou focused on the Archangel. Yasuyuki targeted the Angel.
The two units initiated evasive maneuvers to avoid the railgun’s firing axis while flying. Unit 5 accelerated with surprising speed, matching the flight velocity of the Akors carrying the Aramasa.
「Damn it! That thing can move that fast? I thought Lanius was supposed to be a ground-based close-combat unit!」
The Angel, which lacked exceptional acceleration, became an easy target for the Aramasa. A direct hit from the D-rifle’s fluid metal round struck its chest armor, causing an explosion.
「Whoa! Captain! The enemy’s weapon appears to be some kind of unknown technology! It’s piercing straight through the Angel’s armor!」
An impossible phenomenon unfolded before their eyes. The pilots were gripped with fear at the sight of the unknown weapon.
「Everyone, fall back! Retreat!」
If there existed a weapon capable of penetrating the armor of the antique silhouettes, it was a different story altogether. Ryuk made the decisive call to withdraw.
Judging by its destructive power, even the Aratron wouldn’t escape unscathed. A close-range confrontation could lead to fatal damage. Although the Lanius was known as a machine specializing in swordsmanship, the enemy unit was flying at supersonic speeds. It could only be assumed to be some kind of experimental prototype.
As the Aratron prepared to retreat, its camera fixed on the Lanius.
「What the—!」
Unit 5 was closing in from below. Its additional armor had been jettisoned. In mere seconds after being spotted, it had achieved an incredible acceleration. It was moving at Mach 2, hurtling through the air like a projectile.
「Did you think I’d let you escape?」
Kou’s cold voice cut through the comms.
Even the highest-performing Antique Silhouettes could barely reach Mach 1 inside the atmosphere. Humanoid weapons were never designed with high atmospheric flight speeds in mind—it was simply impractical.
The TSW-R1C High Mobility Model was different. It had been built with one purpose: to eliminate enemies attempting to create distance. The unit prioritized acceleration to ensure a decisive strike. Long-duration flight wasn’t feasible, but a few seconds was all it needed.
The Antique Silhouettes, designed with efficiency in mind, stood no chance against Unit 5’s acceleration-focused concept. Even with outdated technological standards, the difference in design philosophy was insurmountable.
Unit 5’s thrust, launched with the force of a battering ram, pierced through Aratron’s MCS with pinpoint precision.
「Gah…!」
Ryuk looked down at his abdomen in disbelief. The blade’s tip had impaled him with surgical accuracy, piercing straight through his body. Writhing in agony, he coughed up blood before succumbing to death.
「Just as Astraea said… Unit 5 can handle these guys.」
Unit 5 swung its blade, flinging the Aratron violently toward the ground.
With their commander’s machine destroyed, the Angel, an antique silhouette belonging to the Roche Phalanx, hurriedly descended to retrieve Aratron’s remains. Meanwhile, the Archangel twisted its frame and fled.
「Next…」
Unit 5 switched to its D-rifle, shifting its sights away from the Angel, which had descended to recover its fallen comrade, and onto the retreating Archangel instead.
「What? After killing so many, they retreat the moment they face resistance? Don’t screw with me!」
Heino shouted impulsively as he began pursuit of the fleeing Archangel, initiating attacks mid-flight. Unit 5, also airborne, joined in, targeting the same machine.
「They are concentrating on me? Why are they focusing on me when they can attack the guy who’s retrieving the commander’s machine more easily?」
The Archangel pilot, on the brink of desperation, spat something that was tantamount to betraying his comrades.
「Don’t use me as bait!」
The Archangel’s armor was steadily being torn apart. The Angel unit, which had gone to recover the Aratron, showed no intention of aiding the Archangel, seemingly indifferent to its plight. Cradling the damaged machine, it too withdrew from the battle.
As expected of a high-spec version of the Angel, its armor is formidable.
Kou begrudgingly admired the enemy unit’s performance, however, from the enemy’s perspective, their armor should have withstood even railgun rounds unscathed. They were completely baffled by the two machines’ destructive power, this was something unprecedented.
「Did you really need to go this far for reconnaissance? Answer me!」
Kou demanded, his voice brimming with anger.
「The silhouette’s MCS wasn’t destroyed directly! We didn’t intentionally kill any humans!」
「You completely destroyed the armored vehicles—those had Familias inside them!」
「Those things aren’t humans, aren’t they? They were unmanned!」
The Archangel’s pilot shouted back, their voice trembling with tears.
Hearing this exchange, the crew aboard the Astraea went pale, the implications of the pilot’s words striking them like a cold chill.
Aki and Nyanta let out sighs that were closer to resignation than anything else. This kind of mindset was not uncommon among the humans of Asia during the Interplanetary War era. The same treatment was once extended to Therianthropes as well.
Kelly, Takaba, and Kinukawa glared at the screen, veins bulging in their foreheads. It fell to Taa-kun to try to calm Takaba down.
Aimer buried her face in her hands. She could understand the pilot’s reasoning; even Master harbored similar views, and she had come to accept that. But she knew one thing for certain: Kou wouldn’t tolerate it.
Kou continued to pull the trigger in silence. The Archangel’s limbs were blown apart, and the unit plummeted toward the ground.
「W-wait! I surrender! I’m surrendering!」
The fallen Archangel lay on the ground, yet Kou continued firing at it from above, as if looking down in judgment.
Through the Lanius’s visor, faintly visible behind the protective goggles and the two camera lenses lining up inside, the Archangel’s pilot could feel an overwhelming sense of hostility—an intent to kill. His teeth chattered uncontrollably.
Unit 5’s D-rifle unleashed rapid fire. The Archangel stood no chance against the relentless onslaught of fluid metal rounds. Its armor crumbled under the assault. When the rifle’s magazine ran empty, Kou reloaded with a spare clip.
「Kou, that’s enough.」
Yasuyuki’s voice interrupted.
「That guy is already out of commission.」
The Archangel lay sprawled on its back, a massive hole puncturing its chest.
「I see. I wasted ammo, then.」
Seeing Kou reply so indifferently, Yasuyuki felt a chill run down his spine. He had never seen Kou so devoid of emotion. This wasn’t simple anger—it had transcended anger, becoming something cold and unfeeling.
「To all remaining units, regroup with Astraea and retrieve the Familias Core immediately. Make it your top priority. Assault Silhouette squads, I apologize, but could you assist us with this?」
「Understood!」
Jamie, a Nereid, who shared Kou’s rage, responded without hesitation. The other Nereids followed suit.
Like the Familia and the Therianthropes, the Nereids were also artificial beings. They had often endured similar treatment, dismissed and devalued.
「We couldn’t take them all down.」
Kou muttered, a rare moment of self-recrimination over his own tactical judgment.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
The three units returned to the Astraea to analyze the battle situation.
「I just can’t accept it. They even went back to retrieve a destroyed Antique Silhouette before retreating?」
Heino grumbled.
「The antiques were built using unknown science and are incredibly powerful! But that’s exactly why they’re defective weapons!」
Kelly explained, sharing in the frustration.
「Defective weapons? Weren’t they mass-produced back then because they were designed as highly advanced weapons?」
Kou asked, voicing his doubt.
「Precisely, they were suitable weapons for ‘back then’. 」
「Astraea is right! With today’s technology, Antique Silhouettes can’t be repaired or resupplied. The methods used to create them are no longer available. At best, they can only perform makeshift repairs. Even their railguns are likely retrofitted with current tech.」
「So that’s it. They panicked and recovered the wreckage because it’s valuable even as scrap. If it’s an art piece, they might as well put it on display.」
Knowing the reason for the enemies’ swift retreat, Kou could contain the anger in his voice.
No matter how advanced a weapon might have been, if it couldn’t be repaired or resupplied, it was indeed a defective weapon in practice.
A single break could make the performance of Antique Silhouettes plummet, severely impairing their combat effectiveness. No mercenary in their right mind would want to pilot such a fragile weapon.
「Not that they could escape from Unit 5! Serves them right!」
Kelly spat, his lingering anger directed at the Aratron, who had fled after sustaining minor damage despite having mercilessly massacred countless Familias.
「Came swaggering in to pick off weaker prey, only to get routed and run back with their tails between their legs.」
Heino said, his disgust plain. That kind of enemy evoked visceral contempt in everyone present.
「So Antique Silhouettes are just art pieces, relics ill-suited to the battlefield. Whoever named them wasn’t wrong.」
「That’s why even destroyed antiques fetch such high prices! They can’t be repaired so their number is very limited. Fixing up the Skunk was a nightmare.」
The Skunk, an antique silhouette stored at Skunk Technologies, was non-operational but held sentimental value as a close companion of Kelly.
「That recon unit’s probably going to catch hell for this. Even standard Angels, as common as they are, go for a fortune when fully functional.」
「They deserve it.」
Kinugawa chimed in bitterly, his disdain matching Yasuyuki’s own. Neither cared about the losses suffered by their attackers.
「If we’re not careful, they might even try to file a damage claim against us.」
「If it comes to that, it’s full-scale war! Let’s do it!」
「If they’re picking a fight, I’m more than happy to take it.」
Hyoue growled, his bloodlust rising in response to Kelly’s words.
「I don’t think Roche Phalanx is that reckless, but I also doubt they’ll simply back down.」
Her tone carried a certain severity, her thoughts clearly weighed down by the situation.
「We need to confirm the facts—why they deemed it necessary to conduct a reconnaissance-in-force against us.」
「This all started when the P336 Fortress Area was dumped on us by the Mercenary Association Headquarters.」
While most were eager to react aggressively, Aimer maintained a cautious perspective. Barry, who was on a call with Kou, reflected on the series of events.
The P336 Fortress Area had come under Metal Iris control as part of the dual-front operation to liberate Asia. After Metal Iris secured the Fortress Area, they tried to return it to the Mercenary Association, however, the Mercenary Association saw the Fortress Area as a burden and refused to take it, shifting the burden to Metal Iris.
「We need to prepare for the worst. I have a bad feeling about this.」
「Understood. We’ll make sure the Astraea can fight on its own if necessary.」
「Understood. If we have to go up against the Mercenary Association Headquarters, we’ll need to avoid involving Metal Iris any further.」
Kou and Aimer steeled themselves for the possibility of fighting with the Astraea alone. Astraea took their concerns as fact and immediately began making preparations, anticipating the scenarios ahead.
Astraea didn’t trust the Mercenary Association either. She and Kou had taken action themselves because the Association had refused to help liberate Asia. That history was still fresh in their minds.
「Hey now, isn’t that jumping the gun? Though… I can’t say it’s impossible.」
Barry muttered, initially dismissing the concerns as paranoia. But doubt began to creep into his thoughts.
He, too, felt the need to take some precautions. Barry’s distrust of the Mercenary Association was not much different from the others.
「Those guys… I swear, let’s hope this doesn’t turn into an even bigger mess.」
Kelly sighed. He had dealt with the Association headquarters for years, clashing with them in negotiations time and time again.
It was hard to shake the sense of unease.
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