Union Between Man and Machine Part 2
The delayed roar of the sonic boom followed, reverberating through the battlefield. Kou had broken the sound barrier. The shockwave erupted, kicking up smoke and dust in its wake.
Unit 5 had activated not just its back thrusters but also the thrusters on both arms, propelling the blade’s draw and sheath retraction with explosive force.
Corvus’ hands, gripping its sword, flew into the air—severed cleanly at the wrists.
The sheer precision of the strike was terrifying. A surprise attack executed from outside the reach of issoku ittou no maai—the ‘one-step, one-sword’ distance.
From the low, lunging stance, Kou had extended his upper body and right arm fully, using the sheath retraction to carve a devastating arc. The blade’s path wasn’t merely swung—it was planted with deadly precision, aiming directly for both of Corvus’ hands from beyond typical striking range.
「Wh-what!」
Castor was speechless. He couldn’t comprehend what had just occurred.
Corvus had raised its blade above its head, preparing for a powerful strike—a mere prelude to the actual swing. In the split second it took for both arms to lift and position its fists overhead, Kou had struck.
Unit 5’s right arm groaned audibly, the strain on its armored muscles had been immense. The devastating upward slash, powered by explosive acceleration, had pushed the arm to its limit, threatening to tear it from the shoulder.
Without hesitation, Kou released the sheath and gripped his blade with both hands. Channeling every ounce of force from the overwhelming momentum, he unleashed a diagonal kesagiri slash, silent but seething with deadly intent.
The blade severed Corvus’ left arm at the upper joint, cutting through its armor as if it were paper, and continued downward, carving deeply into the torso and embedding into the waist.
「Corvus may be the fastest Silhouette, to surpass the fastest, there’s only one way—to achieve shinsoku (divine speed).」
Surpassing the fastest—Kou’s mastery lay in harnessing high-velocity detonation technology not just for movement but for precision strikes. By combining thruster propulsion, armored muscles, and explosive velocity, Unit 5 drew its sword at unparalleled speed.
This was the essence of the TSW-R1-05C Lanius. Its speed wasn’t merely extraordinary—it reached the realm of shinsoku.
A shrike defending its nest will use its beak and talons to the fullest, even a mighty raven falls before them sometimes. Castor had overlooked this.
「What was that technique just now? I’ve never seen something like this!」
It was unmistakably a refined technique—nothing improvised or born of whim.
It was evident that the technique Kou had just executed was a result of his personal training, a skill he had honed through relentless practice and had recorded into Unit 5’s system.
The technique his master once demonstrated was nothing short of otherworldly. It was akin to performing a push-up, lifting the body into the air, releasing the hands, and simultaneously drawing a sword while launching into a sprint. No human could ever achieve such a feat. Even his master had collapsed to the ground in exhaustion after performing it.
Kou himself had once been captivated by the move, training obsessively to replicate it, though it was ultimately impossible for him to replicate it with his human body. After all, running on tiptoes straight from a push-up position defies basic physical capability. He recalled practicing just the act of releasing his hands during a push-up and attempting to draw a sword, that was Kou’s limit.
But for the two combined it was possible. The mechanical body of Unit 5 allowed it to realize the inhuman movements the technique demanded combined with Kou’s intimate understanding of the technique, allowed them to perform the technique to utmost perfection bringing the ideal into reality.
「This is the okuden Sword Dance: Hien Gaeshi.」
Okuden—a term for techniques only available for those with the highest level of mastery, passed down when a disciple receives full licensure from their master. Kou’s okuden was a lost technique, a technique no longer taught or preserved within his school. It had been entrusted to him alone by his master.
The movement of the sword rising for a strike was like the flight of a swallow. Unit 5 struck Corvus’ hands precisely during that upward arc, severing them mid-motion.
This technique involved flying low-altitude, even lower than the shallow weaving below its prey, and then striking upward faster than the sharp ascent of a shallow. The critical moment was seizing the movements of the target placing the sword in the target’s path.
No matter how fast or slow the target was, anything caught within the blade’s drawing arc would inevitably be swept into its path.
This combination of principles formed the okuden technique Kou’s master had taught him: the sword dance, Hien Gaeshi. Though it shared a name with the iai technique, it was an entirely distinct technique. Kou’s master had passed it on to him alone, this technique that was now deemed unnecessary for ranking examinations would soon be forgotten. Kou, who had no interest in ranks, was a fitting successor for it.
The technique was an old one originating from the samurai who had founded Kou’s school. It was said to be rooted in sword dances that originated in the Sengoku period—possibly a technique once used in actual combat.
The essence of this okuden was to aim for saki no saki—the initiative beyond initiative. It was Kou’s exclusive countermeasure to ultimate strikes like the kiri otoshi.
「A sword dance…?」
「Yes, sword dance fused with iai—it’s far from the proper path, more like a heretical one. I’ve never had a chance to show it to Shuji-san before.」
A heretical technique, which Kou had never revealed even to Shuuji. Sword dances have always been seen as more of a performance than a practical skill. Though Shuuji was aware of Kou’s familiarity with sword dances, he had never witnessed this technique firsthand—and he certainly wouldn’t have expected it to have any real application in battle.
「I’ve taken your arms. Not even Prometheus’s Fire can save you now.」
If he used Prometheus’s Fire, elbow blows or knee kicks would have enough destructive force to deal fatal damage, but by severing the left arm at the upper joint and embedding his blade into the Corvus’ torso, Kou had rendered even such desperate measures impossible.
「Do you think I’m crazy enough to use something like that!」
Seeing that Castor wasn’t surrendering, Unit 5 followed through with a shoulder tackle. Riding the momentum of its acceleration, the impact delivered a force powerful enough to shake Corvus to its core. Castor’s machine absorbed the hit head-on. Falling here would mean certain defeat, and he knew it.
「Didn’t expect a body slam, did you? On the battlefield, anything can happen. That’s the difference between you and me—the difference of real combat experience.」
Kou had come to a sharp realization. The vast gulf between them was experience. In both practical combat and as a Development Engineer, Kou’s expertise was leagues ahead.
It was unlikely that a commander like Castor had ever been stationed on the front lines. In contrast, Kou had been fighting in Unit 5 ever since his deadly clash with the Keres. Day and night, he had dedicated himself to refining Unit 5, continuously searching for ways to strengthen its capabilities. Every modification, every improvement, had been the result of firsthand trials in the crucible of battle.
Meanwhile, Castor had merely inherited Corvus, the strongest Silhouette handed to him, without understanding or pushing its limits.
「What we’re doing here isn’t some sparring match or sword katas. This is a real battle using Silhouettes.」
Castor still didn’t understand. The gap between them wasn’t just in swordsmanship or skill—it was in their approach to combat.
「The skill with a sword directly affects how well a pilot can use his Silhouette! The difference between us couldn’t be clearer!」
Castor screamed, enraged by the situation he failed to see reality before him.
Despite Unit 5’s tremendous acceleration and force, it couldn’t completely topple the Corvus. The body slam had caught Castor off guard, but the weight difference between the two machines was overwhelming.
「That might be true, but when it comes to understanding Silhouettes, you don’t come even close to me. As a pilot, you are nothing special. Silhouettes are the ultimate extension of human capability, the pinnacle of human-machine integration. And you, both as a Development Engineer and a swordsman, haven’t come close to mastering it.」
If it were Shuuji, Kou thought, he would have adapted his movements to the Silhouette, seeking the utmost synchronization. Shuuji would have pursued the boundaries of human possibility and explored the freedom granted by a machine’s body. That was the true essence of a Silhouette.
If this had been a straightforward powered suit, with movement directly linked to its operator’s motions, Kou might have already been captured. But Silhouettes were different—they were vehicles, like cars, motorcycles, or planes. Each machine had quirks and unique structures, requiring the pilot to customize and adapt to maximize its potential.
In martial arts, koto waza—the art of seamless technique and control—referred to the ability to wield a sword with complete freedom and precision. In the realm of Silhouettes, koto waza was the mastery of a machine’s traits and quirks, using that understanding to achieve true human-machine unity.
Castor, who simply used the machine as it was handed to him, could only mimic the surface-level techniques and insights that Shuuji possessed. Kou saw through it entirely.
「Human-machine unity!? Someone like you dares to lecture me!?」
Due to his knowledge brought forth by Shuuji’s memories, Castor couldn’t see Kou as anything more than an inferior. That preconception clouded his judgment, keeping him from grasping the depth of Kou’s skill.
Unit 5 continued to press forward, leveraging the momentum from its acceleration. While the Corvus had managed to absorb the full force of the impact, it couldn’t completely halt the energy. Bit by bit, the Corvus was being pushed back.
Unit 5’s visor loomed so close it seemed to pierce directly into Corvus’s face. On Castor’s monitor, the battered form of Unit 5 filled the screen in vivid detail. Through the damaged protective goggles, the lifeless dual optical sensors glared unblinkingly, staring through the Corvus as if directly into Castor’s soul.
「Ugh…」
A low groan escaped Castor, a rare slip of fear betraying his composure. Sparks flew from the ground where both machines’ legs scraped and pressed against the surface.
Then, in an instant, Unit 5 disappeared from view.
「Where is it!?」
Castor frantically scanned the skies, the surroundings, and even behind him. The cameras of the Corvus were unable to catch Unit 5’s form. Yet, the high communication signal strength indicated it was still nearby. The realization that the enemy was close but invisible sent waves of anxiety coursing through Castor.
「If this were Shuuji-san, he wouldn’t have lost sight of me, but you are nothing else than an imitator, a fake pebble.」
Unit 5 was above Castor, directly overhead, nearly vertical above the Corvus’ head—a blind spot for the Corvus’ cameras. Unit 5’s earlier leap, powered by its thrusters, had propelled it sharply upward, far out of sight, where it now hovered in ambush.
「To be honest, Castor, it felt nostalgic. Like I was talking to Shuuji-san again. But I won’t thank you for that. This ends now.」
Kou’s words were now dry and unfeeling. He was sure now, that the feelings he had felt when he first talked with Castor, were the same Hyoue and Yuzuki had felt. And because of those feelings, they had fallen prey to Castor’s trap.
Kou was close. Castor knew that. But it was nowhere around him—neither to the front, sides, nor rear. Even scanning the skies above turned up nothing, and the growing sense of unease gnawed at him.
There was only one place left. Directly above.
Realization hit him like a thunderbolt. Castor gasped, snapping the Corvus’s head back, tilting it upward at a sharp angle to look straight into the sky.
And there it was.
Unit 5, the Lanius, plummeting like a hawk with its blade poised. Kou had switched to a two-handed grip, the sword held steady as he closed in on his target.
Kou had intimate knowledge of the Corvus thanks to his knowledge of the Huckebein and the Badb Catha. He knew precisely where the armor was thinnest. The section at the base of the neck, where the armored muscles were most vulnerable, concealed the rear portion of the MCS cockpit.
「Damn you!」
Castor screamed in fury and terror as the sword’s point came closer. The fractured visor of Unit 5 revealed its eerie, dual optical sensors, lifeless and cold, staring down at him. It was the last thing Castor would see.
「Return to being a pebble damn parasite.」
With a deafening roar, Unit 5’s thrusters ignited, amplifying its descent. Utilizing both its downward kinetic energy and the thrust, Kou drove his blade into the back of Corvus’s neck, piercing the thin armor and severing the vulnerable connections beneath.
The blade struck with precision, piercing Corvus’s MCS rear cockpit, directly into the mechanism housing the Stones’ Kaleidolith shattering it completely.
Shuuji’s body convulsed with a scream, then slumped forward lifelessly. His form hung limp, unmoving.
Kou remained vigilant, carefully withdrawing his blade from the Corvus and stepping back into a defensive stance. The crippled machine, now missing both arms, showed no signs of activity. Its posture crumbled, and the Corvus toppled to the ground with a resounding crash.
Unit 5, still and composed, quietly sheathed its blade. Despite having only destroyed the rear cockpit mechanism, the Corvus remained motionless. There was no longer a pilot to control it.
Kou offered no words of mourning for Shuuji. He had already paid his respects in his own way. And as for Castor, there was nothing left to say.
The one he needed to address first was not here.
「Everyone… thank you. I did it.」
Kou said softly, almost to himself, reporting to everyone in Astraea—the ones who had supported him to the very end.
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