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To Our Enemies, Cannon Fire! And Don’t Forget to Add Some Black Pudding!

 

「Kou, where has your ‘always-ready-for-battle’ mindset gone?」

A harsh remark came from Asia’s Aimer toward a clearly worn-out Kou. Her tone held a hint of anger, possibly laced with a bit of jealousy.

「Oh, right. But… I’m exhausted.」

「Well done. You managed to talk things through without creating a hostile atmosphere and completely outplayed your opponent.」

Asia’s Aimer smiled faintly. In truth, she believed Kou had done quite well.

「Well done? I feel like I talked a bit too much.」

「The goal was to communicate, so it was a success.」

Though overly empathizing with the enemy could be troublesome, Kou never forgot about the lives lost or his own position. For Asia’s Aimer, that was enough. The reasons behind his empathy were largely for Asia and Aimer’s sake, so she didn’t fault him for it.

「Now, the question is what’s happening on the surface.」

「Understood. Lifting the blockade. Resuming information gathering…」

Asia’s Aimer’s expression darkened rapidly.

「Kou… The situation has gotten much worse…」

Kou was surprised, Asia’s Aimer was clearly hiding something, and her face had gone pale.

「It’s only been about ten minutes, hasn’t it?」

「Listen, Kou. Stay calm and hear me out. Yuzuki-san has fallen in battle. Hyoue-san Accipiter was heavily damaged as well. Both were defeated in one-on-one duels.」

「What?! That’s impossible!」

Kou’s voice rose in shock and anger.

Yuzuki was dead. How could anyone take down a swordsman of her caliber? Moreover, in single combat. The two Accipiters had faced the two Corvus Vasa had talked about before—that much was clear to Kou.

「Yuzuki-san apparently used Prometheus’ Flame.」

「Why… how?」

Prometheus’ Flame could only be activated through the pilot’s sheer force of will. It meant she must have been pushed to her very limit.

「I don’t know… I’m sorry. Her Silhouette is completely destroyed. As for Hyoue-san, he fell from a building, but it seems we managed to rescue him before he hit the ground. However, the psychological trauma he received was too severe, so Kawakage-san ordered him to retreat.」

Takaba Hyoue had just lost his grandson’s fiancée, the only family he had left after the death of his grandson. Even a skilled swordsman like him wouldn’t be able to fight after such a blow.

「Damn it… It’s because I was sitting around chatting…」

Kou couldn’t stop the trembling or the flood of regret that overwhelmed him.

「No! That’s not true, Kou. Your job was to defend this place. You even defeated the powerful enemy who took down Blue and Müller-san. You’re not a god. Thinking like that is arrogant.」

「…Ugh.」

He had been happily talking to the enemy in the middle of such a dire situation. The frustration gnawed at Kou’s heart.

「I’m not a god either. If I could, I’d save everyone. If I were a god, I wouldn’t even allow wars to happen. But whining won’t solve anything. We have to focus on what we can do now.」

「Asia, Aimer… I’m sorry.」

Kou realized it. By criticizing his own actions, he was also criticizing Asia and Aimer. And it was clear they hadn’t done anything wrong, after all, neither of them were gods.

「Both of them lost in one-on-one duels. Would you have interrupted a one-on-one duel, Kou?」

「I was wrong… Thank you, Aimer.」

Even if he were to lose in a one-on-one fight with Vasa, he would never blame those who weren’t there. He reminded himself of that truth.

「Expect a lecture later.」

Asia’s Aimer said with a faint smile, trying to lift Kou’s spirits.

「Got it. But later.」

「Yeah. Even if the surface is completely wiped out, we’ll defend this place no matter what.」

「Yeah.」

Still, something weighed on him. He understood what needed to be done, but there was a part of him that he couldn’t reconcile—his feelings for a certain someone. Kou covered his face with his hands and muttered softly.

「I’m sorry… Shuji-san…」

The words slipped out quietly. Asia’s Aimer watched him with a look of sorrow in her eyes.

Kou couldn’t protect what he had cherished so deeply. That fact cut into his heart like a sharp blade.

「Kou.」

「I’m fine. I already said it to Vasa, didn’t I?  The only way to truly honor those who have died for my sake is for me to save as many innocents as possible.」

「Yeah.」

「It’s clear to me now. It’s a foolish thing to only realize this now, but… I’ll never see those who died again. I can’t make any excuses. For those who fought to the end, for the humans and the Familia, I can’t allow myself to bow to the Stones.」

「Yeah.」

「It’s because of those who fought and died that I’m still here today. I may have regrets, but even so, I’ll fight to the very end.」

「I’ll stay with you until the end, Kou. No matter what happens.」

「Thank you.」

With a renewed resolve, Kou embraced the will to fight. For those who were no longer with him and for those still living, he vowed to carry their hopes forward.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

The Silhouette was severely damaged. Desperately, the Canary fled through the sea of rubble.

「Strangely… No, it’s not strange at all. Everyone’s helping me.」

As if she were blessed by the gods, the Canary had managed to survive.

When she was about to get caught, suddenly, a street sign snapped in two, crashing down and slicing the enemy Silhouette that had been chasing her clean in half.

When the building the Canary had tried to hide in was bombarded with concentrated fire. In the instant the roof of the building was blown off, the half-destroyed door slammed shut, blocking her pursuers. An enemy Silhouette, was caught in a maintenance hole for the sewer system and had to struggle to free itself.

However, the enemy was relentless. Led by a Krylro-Kazakh, several Kazakhs continued their pursuit.

「It’s like a hunting party closing in on its prey. As expected of the elite chosen by the Stones.」

Blue muttered bitterly. She was being systematically cornered, surrounded, and driven into enemy territory.

「Yuzuki-san has fallen in battle, and Hyoue-san has been taken down. It’s no good. Everyone’s morale is about to break, but there’s nothing I can do in my current state.」

The situation in the P336 Fortress Area was dire. The defeat of Hyoue, famed as one of the strongest, had been a devastating blow.

「If I get taken down too… I can’t afford to think like that.」

Though she was still managing to escape, the enemy was using its overwhelming numbers to their advantage, relentlessly chasing her down. It was clear they wanted to capture the Canary, but their main objective was clearly herself.

「Is this the end?」

The Canary had been driven into a mountain of rubble. At this point, even a tank would struggle to navigate such terrain.

「It’s too early to give up, Blue!」

A four-legged Silhouette appeared, grabbed hold of the Canary, and easily crossed the mountain of rubble. It was Palm’s Epona.

「Palm! You made it all the way out here!」

「The big boss asked me to come.」

「What are you thinking, Kou… but thank you.」

「Save the thanks for when we break through this encirclement!」

Under a barrage of fire, the two pressed forward. The Epona stood as a shield, positioning itself in front of the Canary. The Krylro-Kazakh charged in with a blade, but Palm countered and cut it down. However, one of the Kazakhs that had been behind managed to sever one of Epona’s hind legs.

「Palm!」

The Canary was out of ammunition. In desperation, she attached a bayonet to her carbine and swung it at the enemy.

「I’m sorry… I’ll be the decoy here. You need to escape, now!」

「Of course not! There’s no way I’m leaving you behind. Besides, I can’t escape alone. We’ll fight together.」

「But… reinforcements might come.」

They were in a dire, near-hopeless situation.

「Now it’s time for the counterattack! To our enemies, cannon fire! And don’t forget to add some Black Pudding!」

A mysterious announcement echoed through the air. The origin was unknown. For a brief moment, a masked man appeared on the screen, cloaked in shadows.

「Who is that?」

「An ally? The signal is coming from the Silhouette Base!」

「Even if it’s reinforcements, there’s no way they can reach us here. And as for Black Pudding, count me out.」

Blue, who had tasted it before, scowled. The black pudding—a sausage made from pig’s blood and fat— was an acquired taste.

「I think it’s pretty good, actually.」

「I’m afraid we’ll never see eye to eye on that. It’s truly sad Palm.」

Palm, being a fox-type Therianthrope, liked all kinds of meat dishes.

「But what kind of support vehicle could even get here…?」

「Even a tank wouldn’t be able to move in this terrain. And any aircraft would be shot to pieces. There’s no way out.」

Palm began to say, but before he could finish, something unexpected happened. A Familia sent a message to Blue.

「Hey, we found you! Fairy Blue! We’re heading your way now!」

「Wait, what? How do you plan to get here? Even tanks can’t navigate this terrain! How are you going to rescue us?」

「No problem!」

「Yes! Leave it to us!」

The comms screen revealed a Border Collie-type in the front seat, with a Somali-type cat sitting in the back. Both appeared brimming with confidence.

「Where did they come from…? Could it be the underground rail system near here?」

「Maybe a rail-bound vehicle? But I can’t imagine any that could carry us out…」

As the enemy’s encirclement tightened, the terrain around them became a twisting maze of rubble, resembling a canyon.

「Whoa!」

Suddenly, one of the Kazakhs, attempting to ambush from behind, lost its footing and tumbled down the rubble pile.

He landed straight in the path of an eerie, self-propelled mine, which detonated on impact, obliterating him.

「What… is that?」

「Tentacles?!」

Several bizarre self-propelled mines appeared equipped with countless whip-like appendages, which lashed out and entangled everything in its path. One Kazakh unit that had seemingly dodged one of the mines was suddenly ensnared by another, and both exploded together in a fiery blast.

「I think it’s on our side, but… that’s disturbing. What is that?」

「It’s the new model Panjandrum, called ‘Jellied Eel Jaridwheel’! It uses sensors to specifically target enemies, wrapping them up and exploding! I hear it’s pretty tasty too!」

Blue’s face contorted as she quickly searched for an image of the strange food. The screen displayed an indescribably grotesque dish.

「No way!」

「I would definitely pass on that. Anyway, we’re almost there!」

The Familia and Blue’s conversation was absurd for the gravity of the situation, however, the situation itself began to change rapidly.

Suddenly, the Kazakhs on the pile of rubble scattered in a panic. It wasn’t the Jaridwheel they were fleeing from—it was something far more terrifying that was drawing near.

「See? I told you everything would be fine.」

The ground began to rumble from the approach of massive treads.

「What… is that…?」

A massive iron wall appeared on the horizon, moving steadily toward Blue and the others. The Kazakh pilots were just as stunned. Those on the sides had the clearest view of the monstrosity and were struck with dread as its true form became undeniable.

It wasn’t just a vehicle. It was a moving fortress, an embodiment of armored might. The side turrets opened fire, picking off the Kazakhs one by one.

「Because this thing is a super-heavy assault vehicle.」

The smug statement of the Border Collie-type Familia resounded on as Blue and Palm looked at the iron monstrosity dumbfounded.

A massive tail wheel and equally enormous treads came into view, as did the colossal rhomboid-shaped iron structure towering like a wall before them.