Chapter 62
As the situation remains unclear, Kana and I race through the collapsing interior of the Ark. Occasionally, we catch glimpses of people fleeing, but they are few and far between. Mostly, we encounter only rubble. Did that damn debt system carry over even with the version update? I wonder if they at least changed the interest rates.
「What’s going on right now? This update was just supposed to be routine maintenance, not some special event, so I don’t really get why all this is happening.」
「Starting from Ver2.00, the updates switched from continuous to post-maintenance, so the confusion is understandable. In this case, there are various causes centered around Father’s ‘Orange Cannon’.」
「That’s some toxic-looking artillery.」
「But regardless, the 『Primordial Strain Type-UYK46』 attacked, using to fuel itself.」
I’m shocked by Kana’s words as she runs diagonally ahead of me. First, that thing is the Strain-46 – the very entity Reina and I supposedly defeated. So due to the version change, our progress got wiped and it resurrected. This is the worst. Don’t go casually reviving insanely tough bosses. The nuisance level is on a whole other scale compared to typical good-natured raid bosses that stay holed up in the depths of MMORPG maps.
And the second point is that it used our previous failure as fuel.
「What do you mean by ‘used as fuel’?」
「Obviously I’m talking about Ver1.08 and Ver2.00. There’s no reason we can use ‘Passive Precognition’ but they can’t, and the UYK are experts at handling imaginary atoms.」
The worst possible information. No wonder the Machine Beasts I saw during the false prophet hunt in the previous version were equipped with UK-08. They didn’t obtain those in Ver2.01, but copied my equipment in Ver1.08 and carried it over. And this time, they successfully invaded the Ark by leveraging the experience of being blocked and unable to attack by something called the ‘Moses’ Sword’ in the previous version. I mean, the sight of a swordfish skewering the ship is incredibly surreal. But I guess it’d be hard for something that size to fly all the way to the middle of the ocean, so swimming partway and then using momentum to break through the ‘Moses’ Sword’ range makes sense.
So that swordfish dude showed up aiming for electricity, not to eat Machine Beasts like last time, but to use them as pawns. The complete opposite.
「So we just need to defeat that Strain then?」
「No, this time there’s something else I need you to do. Are you familiar with the ‘Reformists’ led by Greg, Father?」
「Hm? Nah, don’t know ’em.」
Momiji explains while spin-kicking falling debris out of the way. I see, so the Reformists are trying to take over the world, taking advantage of its destruction. But wait, if that’s the case, this situation is hopeless. Aren’t they totally incompetent? As I’m thinking that, Momiji answers without looking my way.
「…They’re actually handling things quite skillfully, all things considered. This is the reality of the situation after the failure of the 2055 operation to save as many people as possible and escape the Strain threat. If they hadn’t prepared this Ark, the Strain-46 that has learned would have wiped out all the people in the vicinity of Japan by now.」
「So this situation isn’t what the Reformists wanted either.」
「Their desire is to govern humanity or gain strong authority after overcoming 2055.」
「They have no intention of clearing things by 2050 then. Guess that means they’re not a particularly benevolent organization. I mean, their leader’s eyesight is so bad he can’t even notice a crossdresser.」
「There’s no connection there. And Greg is just a guardian.」
The sound of destruction spreads further. The floor ahead is pockmarked with holes, exposing the level below. I follow awkwardly behind Kana as she nimbly leaps down, using rubble and structures as footholds. I just now noticed, but looking at the cross-sections of the shattered floors, I see the familiar blue metal sandwiched in, with pipes for circulating coolant. To think they made this ridiculous ship possible by putting negative mass matter underneath the floors. This technology has all sorts of uses.
「And we in the ‘Order’ were unable to lay a hand on the Reformists. But now, in this situation, their main force of Cyborgs isn’t out fighting the Strain. So we’ll take advantage of that opening and defeat them.」
「Ignoring the Strain?」
「We have no choice but to ignore it. Their intentions are unknown, but they’re raiding Hereafter and stealing their technology. We don’t understand anything, but if we don’t stop them, things will get ugly. At the very least, they’re ignoring the Strain and seem intent on doing something that allows the collapse of the Ark.」
An answer that doesn’t really provide any new information. Well, constantly spewing info would just overload my brain, so I convince myself it’s fine as I follow behind. As we continue descending, relying on what Kana calls the magnetic field emitted by imaginary atoms, familiar flames erupt from the lower levels. I barely manage to dodge thanks to Kana kicking me out of the way, and turn my gaze to where the flames came from. There I see another familiar face.
Urairo Aika.
Her outfit is different from before, closer to the casual clothes I saw her in at university. But she has metal components incorporated throughout. With her youthful appearance unchanged, she warns us with a pressure conveying her age.
「Back off. If you proceed with the 『Inverse Dive Citation Information Project』, someone like you should understand there’s a path to save the world with just two more iterations, Orange.」
Her words are completely different from when she was a student – the stance of someone immersed in battle. Gone is her usual somewhat unreliable aura; instead she exudes the readiness to kill the instant we make a wasteful move. I don’t know the background or settings that led to this, but the reality is that Urairo Aika is clearly hostile to us.
But that’s not all. The situation grows even more chaotic.
「I’ve finally found you, Orange…!」
A golden Apollyon leaps over from the other side of the rubble. Despite its flashy appearance, its equipment is extremely simple and the frame is significantly lightweight. I recognize that voice too. It’s Hiniru. Yeah, aren’t we reuniting a bit too much? His voice sounds aged too. Is this an NPC? Just how clingy can you get?
And from above, a container and a red Apollyon also descend.
「Hey you, I brought it.」
「Are you still hung up on when I was using an alias!? I’m not in disguise anymore, so just call me Orange!」
As if interrupting our deflated conversation, the red Apollyon ‘Anfangsrot’ kicks up a cloud of dust as it lands, roughly dropping the container on its back to the ground and charging at Urairo Aika. At the same time, I dash toward the container as it automatically enters receiving mode and the cockpit opens. Furthermore, the golden Apollyon soars toward me, and Kana takes that chance to start running further underground.
The fuse is lit on this chaotic battlefield.
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