Rebirth of the Villainous Bird
「Hyoue-san!」
Kou cried out after seeing the transmission.
Hyoue was piloting his latest creation, the Accipiter. It was a successor machine to the Lanius.
It was currently standing alert in a two-sword stance. No other Silhouette performed such a distinctive stance.
「We’re currently in the red, so we couldn’t send out a lot of reinforcements. So, only the two of us old guys at the top were able to deploy. Sorry, Kou.」
「I feel you’re already worth thousands of troops, Hyoue-san.」
Kou muttered in response. He was still reeling from the surprise.
The surrounding pilots were also stunned to silence. Takaba Hyoue. He was one of the most legendary mercenaries in Asia.
He was a master swordsman who was said to have easily handled even Desmodas’ Bardo.
Kou wondered if Kawakage was the one who accompanied Hyoue.
President Kawakage can be said to be a man deeply knowledgeable and highly skilled in both Western and Japanese archery, and was one of the people responsible for TAKABA’s rapid growth back on Earth.
The Nereid captain Jamie also couldn’t help but smile. He found Metal Iris more and more interesting.
Even the legendary sword demon appeared before their hidden boss. He considered himself quite fortunate to be able to witness the legendary mercenary’s skill up close.
「We’ll talk more later. Today’s main star is about to arrive.」
「Main star?」
Kou muttered. Was there anyone else qualified to be the main star other than Takaba Hyoue?
Another Thunderstorm airdropped a Silhouette.
The machine glided and danced in the air with an appearance akin to a devil.
It was equipped with large flight boosters that resembled the wings of a bird.
It held a two-handed great sword as tall as it was.
The Silhouette rapidly descended straight toward the Philotes.
The Philotes detected the danger and fired its anti-aircraft lasers at the descending Silhouette, but they didn’t even manage to graze the latter.
The Silhouette was so fast and graceful that all who witnessed its aerial dance were stunned to silence.
It had a familiar outline–
The jet-black villainous bird viciously swooped down.
「Huckebein!」
A Kurt Maschinenbau employee cried out excitedly.
「How about that, Kou? The main star has arrived.」
「Eh…… Eeh?」
Kou was at a loss for words.
However, there was definitely no mistake. It was undoubtedly the Huckebein.
The Huckebein sent a transmission out. It was sent to all the Kurt Maschinenbau employees on the battlefield.
「You’ve done well to survive, everyone. Even though I’m still ashamed to face you all, I have returned to the battlefield.」
The man within the MCS smiled powerlessly.
It was Kurt Ludwig.
He had descended from the heavens and resolutely cut the head of the Philotes right off.
「President!」
「It’s great that you’re fine, president!」
「I’m sorry for not getting in touch with you all until now, everyone. If the enemy were to find out that I survived, I would definitely get targeted. That’s why I kept my survival a secret until now.」
Kurt apologized to his employees. The employees were also targeted because of him. He understood that fact painfully well.
「Kurt-san!」
「Kou-kun. I don’t know just how I can thank you for everything you’ve done. I am grateful from the bottom of my heart for your grace of protecting the ones important to me.」
「It was nothing. It’s really great that you’re alright, Kurt-san.」
Kou thought he’d only done what needed to be done. He was even more thankful to the Kurt Maschinenbau employees who offered him their wholehearted support.
「President!」
A transmission was sent by the Pericles. It was from Harald, who was on the verge of tears.
「Harald, I’ve given you a hard time. I will concentrate on combat for now. I’ll talk to you later, my friend.」
「Yes!」
Harald’s expression changed from a teary one to one of joy.
Kurt’s machine flew up and got ready for battle.
The truth was that he should have not survived that day.
When Fortress Area D516 fell, the mechanics of the supply unit pretended to replace the Huckbein’s arms and legs and slapped them on one of their own machines to serve as a decoy, allowing Kurt to escape.
He then escaped to the outskirts on a half-track loaded with the Huckebein that was equipped with a Wurger’s limbs.
It was then that his Familiars activated the Spirit Link system.
「The reborn Huckebein’s new name is Hrafnagud. Now is the time to unleash its power.」
The Huckebein’s completed form was the Hrafnagud.
It was named after one of the Norse chief god Odin’s kennings, and meant ‘god of ravens’. The machine was secretly completed by TAKABA with the help of Hyoue.
Thus, the villainous bird was reborn as the raven god.
「Carla, Lottie. Thank you. Thanks to your sacrifice, I was able to reunite with everyone.」
There were two dolls sitting at the back of Kurt’s MCS. Kurt addressed them with a hint of sorrow in his tone.
They were a dog Familiar and a cat Familiar who had completely stopped functioning. Their eyes were still wide open as they remained perfectly still. They were truly akin to lifeless dolls.
During Kurt’s escape, the half-tracked armored vehicle he was driving suddenly displayed Whis output comparable to that of a Fortress Area’s shelter, and that allowed it to survive the enemy’s bombardment.
However, the price for that was the lives of the two Familiars. In other words, Kurt survived mainly due to the activation of the Spirit Link by the two Familiars.
He just kept driving the half-track straight ahead without stopping.
Thus, the half-tracked armor vehicle became capable of withstanding even direct hits from railguns and large caliber lasers. It ran through the battlefield and eventually escaped from the enemy’s pursuit.
And Kurt’s Familiars never moved again.
「Are you two happy about the fact that I am able to fight once more? Or perhaps saddened by it?」
Kurt continued to talk to his friends who can no longer respond to him.
He was painfully aware that the current him stood above the corpses of many of his treasured employees and Familiar friends.
He no longer wished to look for a place to die. Even if he had to consume mud, he will survive and send all Murders to oblivion.
That’s why he returned. To the battlefield, that is.
「Here I go. I shall send you to hell first.」
The name of his new weapon was the prototype two-handed great sword Gram.
Wielding the sword whose name signified wrath, the Hrafnagud pierced straight through the reactor of the Philotes.
Comment (0)