Nothing at All Part 1

 


Within Astraea’s command center, Asia, who was in the middle of talking to Aimer, suddenly raised her head in alarm.

「Enemies are approaching. They’ve managed to get past the Familiar’s surveillance network. Aki, please raise the alert.」

『I still can’t detect them on my end.』

Astraea’s tone was filled with tension.

「I will raise the alert immediately. But just what kind of enemies can’t be detected by the Familiars and Astraea……?」

Aki operated her terminal and began confirming the situation.

「I’ve detected them. There are three Silhouettes that are fast approaching. They’re all sending surrender signals as well as video and audio feeds on the open channel.」

An image was projected on the command center’s screen. Aimer quickly turned expressionless after seeing it.

Images of Yoshikawa, Yamaoka, and Niijima were displayed on the main screen.

『They managed to approach undetected due to a combination of the Familiar’s non-recognition function and the surrender signal. They basically took advantage of a loophole in the system.』

Astraea muttered softly while displaying a slightly annoyed expression.

One must not attack an opponent who has given out the surrender signal without good reason.

And the Familiars could no longer perceive Yoshikawa and the other two because of what happened before. Only Familiars like Voy who harbored murderous intent against them were the exceptions.

「The Familiars are unable to do anything against them. After all, they can’t perceive their existences in the first place. And thanks to the surrender signal, we couldn’t detect them immediately as well.」

Asia displayed a look of frustration.

「So, they’re enemies, aren’t they? They’ve sent in some demands. They are seeking to offer a personal apology to Admiral Aimer in exchange for a guarantee of their personal safety. How utterly impudent.」

「Rather, there’s a good chance it could be a trap.」

Aimer analyzed the situation calmly. She didn’t show any apparent indication of hard feelings or hatred against the three.

「I’m heading out.」

「No, I’ll go instead. If it’s me, then it’s just gonna be judged as a private fight. The surrender signals won’t matter.」

Kou quickly interjected.

「Aimer, please. Contact Blue and Nyanta as well. If you don’t inform them too, they’re definitely gonna get angry, okay?」

「Okay.」

At Aki’s request, Aimer initiated the process of linking the comms with Blue and Nyanta.

Flack, who was now at the foot of Unit 5, called out after finishing up his maintenance work.

「Kou-niichan! You can sortie anytime now!」

「Understood. Thank you, Marle. Flack.」

Kou immediately boarded Unit 5 once more.

It was now finally time to settle things with Yoshikawa.


「This really ain’t my day!」

Yoshikawa unexpectedly ran into Takaba Hyoue and proceeded to run away from him desperately.

Fortunately for him, the Familiars didn’t react even if he exposed his face on the official comm channel. Their previously nightmarish treatment of completely ignoring his existence turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

He and his two accomplices managed to become mercenaries under the Stones after stealing new pre-production Silhouette models from TAKABA.

They sweated buckets when a man named Bardo skeptically asked about the origin of their machines, but they decided to honestly reveal that they stole them.

Their machines were taken away for close to a month, but they were safely returned afterward, and they were formally accepted as members of the Desmodas Underground Force that was led by Bardo. Their treatment wasn’t bad, all things considered. That includes the period when their machines were taken away.

Yoshikawa and the other two were now in a seemingly advantageous position. The three of them eventually managed to shake off Takaba Hyoue’s pursuit and quickly took action that would allow them to extricate themselves from their dangerous predicament.

They decided to directly head to Metal Iris’ flagship Astraea in order to board it and try to kidnap Aimer if possible. If that wasn’t feasible, they simply would pretend to surrender and look for a good chance to escape later on.

They could now see Astraea which was moored near the coastline right before them. It would be over once they’ve managed to board it.

「Please! We want to personally apologize to Admiral Aimer for our previous transgressions. And so, we request permission to board the Astraea.」

Yoshikawa pleaded to Astraea on the shared open channel.

Aimer appeared on the main screen of his MCS in response.

「Unfortunately, your request is denied, Yoshikawa-dono. Please stand down and move to another ship. If you do so, we will not launch an attack on you and your companions. You’ve been warned. Please do not approach this ship any further.」

After saying her piece, Aimer immediately cut the transmission.

「Eh? Denied? You gotta be kidding me!?」

The other party was just a child. Yoshikawa fully believed that their plan would work out after coaxing Aimer a little.

「What are we gonna do now!? We’ve already been given a warning!」

Yamaoka, whose machine was in the lead, yelled in panic.

「Yamaoka, don’t worry. As long as the surrender signal is still being broadcasted, we’ll be fine. So, just get moving already.」

After all, those who send out surrender signals were basically prohibited from getting attacked. At the very least, the Telema AI and those similar to them will not be able to launch attacks on them.

Yamaoka was leading their formation, with Yoshikawa in the middle, and Niijima bringing up the rear.

「Hey! They just got a lock on me guys! What the heck!?」

「It’s just a bluff. Endure it and move your backside already.」

And the moment Yoshikawa said such a thing–

Yamaoka’s Falco was suddenly blown to smithereens.

「What the–!?」

「They just fired their main gun! Yoshikawa-san!」

No matter how tough high-dimensional projection armor was, it still can’t withstand a direct hit from the large-caliber railgun that served as the Astraea’s main gun.

「YOU FINALLY SHOWED YOURSELVES. TRASH. YOU DAMNABLE PIECES OF WASTE.」

The shooter addressed the remaining two with an emotionless robotic tone. It was actually Ponko.

She wasn’t a Familiar. That’s why she was affected by the surrender signal’s restrictions.

She was determined to absolutely eliminate all of Aimer’s enemies. That’s why she fired the main gun and blew Yamaoka and his machine to pieces.

「We’ve already warned you. Stand down and take your leave. If you really intend to surrender, at least disarm yourselves first.」

This time, it was Aki who addressed them. She then immediately hung up.

「I’ll head out too. I’m able to freely attack them as well.」

Most other Therianthropes were unable to attack opponents who have already surrendered, but Aki could.

This was possible if it was for the sake of those she regarded as important to her such as Kou and Aimer. Attacks under the premise of self-defense or protecting important people weren’t restricted.

On the other hand, Yoshikawa and Niijima fell into a state of panic after getting attacked. Mourning Yamaoka’s sudden death was the furthest thing from the two men’s minds.

「You’re the Therianthrope lady from back then, aren’t you!? What’s the meaning of this?! Why’d you attack us?!」

「Let’s just board them, Yoshikawa-san!」

Yoshikawa’s Accipiter and Niijima’s Falco quickly jumped onto the Astraea’s deck. As long as they were still broadcasting surrender signals, Astraea’s anti-aircraft guns would not function against them.

The two machines successfully made it to the Astraea’s deck. However, they were greeted by a Silhouette that rose from one of the deck elevators.

It was Kou and the Lanius Unit 5 C-type.

Unit 5 already had one hand placed on the hilt of its katana and was poised to draw it immediately when required.

「I won’t give you any chance of surrendering. I’ll settle the grudge between us right here, right now.」

Kou held absolutely no hesitation and was already resolved to kill the other two.

He swore never to put Aimer in danger due to his circumstances ever again.

「K-Kou! Why is someone like you piloting such a high-performance Lanius model……? Godammit! Don’t tell me you actually managed to crawl your way up to an executive position?!」

Lanius models equipped with flight units were quite rare. After seeing such a situation, Yoshikawa couldn’t help but let out an incoherent scream. His intense jealousy managed to overwhelm the fear he was feeling.

However, he still had some battle awareness. He slowly made his machine step back to take some distance.

He took a defensive stance with his machine’s sword in place of a shield. He expected to get attacked with a slash. He knew that Kou practiced iai as a hobby. Some of Kou’s co-workers, including himself, used to make fun of Kou and called him a weirdo due to his eccentric hobby.

However, swordsmanship can now serve as a dangerous threat when engaging in Silhouette battles.

The Lanius launched an attack without warning. It quickly slashed off both of the Accipiter’s arms regardless of the latter’s defensive stance.

「S-Seriously–!?」

Niijima’s Falco witnessed the situation and quickly pulled out its gun. Even something like Lanius would take a lot of damage if it gets successfully shot from behind.

But then, a huge shadow enveloped the Falco.

Something else jumped from the nearby deck elevator.

「Eh?」

The moment Niijima came back to his senses, his machine was already slammed down onto the deck by a huge metal fist.

Aki hit him with her Epona’s giant combat claw.

「Don’t you dare get in Kou’s way.」

The gigantic metal claw pierced the Falco’s back, destroying its reactor and power unit in the process, and went all the way though its MCS.

「H-Hiiiiii!」

Niijima was shocked silly the moment he saw the claws penetrate his MCS and narrowly miss him by a hair’s breadth.

「I don’t even want to kill you personally. It’ll just make me feel all filthy.」

The Epona kicked the Falco away with its powerful hind legs. The Falco was blasted all the way to the open sea.

Because Niijima’s MCS wasn’t working anymore, he suffered from the intense shockwaves that were generated by the blow.

「D-Did I actually survive? ……Eh?」

Niijima saw water quickly pooling under his feet. He turned back.

And then, he saw seawater rapidly gushing into the MCS from the holes that were gouged by the combat claw.

「A…… Aaaaa……」

He frantically stood up and moved to the rear in a desperate attempt to plug the holes.

However, the seawater just kept on pouring in.

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