Chapter 106
「We have just received an announcement from the organizers! Umm, a raid boss has appeared, and if we defeat it, the match will end and we’ll receive… 1 million points based on our contribution!? No way, what was the point of the battle royale then? Was the struggle of the Losers up until now just a farce! Also, Coach Naga, stop talking on the phone!」
「Yes, this is Naga. …Ah, it’s the first example. It seems multiple juveniles can exist within a single egg – or rather, it’s more like a womb than an egg.」
1 million points. It’s an absurd number, but because of it, the fighting between players will cease and the subjugation will become easier. Silently thanking Momiji, who likely pulled some strings, I begin to spin up my arm-mounted RE-222 Gatling gun. I could have attacked during the ‘dive’, but I didn’t want to get too close with my short-range weapon and end up like the corpse next to me.
In other words, I’m about to engage in a long-awaited deathmatch against a fully-formed Strain-46 that has grown beyond time.
Seeing that it continues to glow but with weakening intensity, I maximize the light output. The reflections make it a bit harder to see, but I don’t mind if it makes it easier for other players to target this thing.
The Strain-46 looks the same as before – an unremarkable appearance. The form of an enlarged swordfish, countless holes in its horn. But seeing the absence of the mechanical beasts with metal threads emerging from those holes, I breathe a sigh of relief. The Strain-46 houses countless Machine Beasts within its body. That’s why it can create an army with just one body – that terror is absent. However, the threat of the tentacles remains.
「Whoa!」
The abnormally developed long and thick tentacles that support the enlarged body lash out, ignoring the concept of gun range. I force my unit to move back, but the tentacles are faster and graze me slightly. The armor peels off with a tearing sound.
『Warning: Steam intrusion detected. There is a risk of errors occurring.』
But in that moment, my shooting preparations are fully complete. Seeing the screen displaying a lock-on, I flip the switch and forcefully push the control stick. The muzzle rotates and begins spewing shells the size of tank rounds at a rate of 100 per minute. To suppress the recoil, the propulsion unit submerged in water roars vigorously as the AI adjusts thrust in all directions to relatively reduce the impact on the unit. Explosions echo through the normally quiet deep sea.
The firepower is impressive, the barrage forcefully pierces the Strain’s flesh and shatters the scales on its surface. Scattered flesh and bodily fluids hideously contaminate the surroundings. However…
「It’s no good, the flesh is too thick…!」
Yes, the bullets are far too small for its enlarged body. I need to either aim for the core or cause enough gouging that it can’t be ignored. The commentator’s voice, still thinking about the event despite the situation, grates on my ears. He’s probably a good person dedicated to his job, though.
「Umm, we will now allow conversation between players, but it won’t be included in the broadcast!? Producer, your instructions make no sense! That’s the part we should stream!」
「Yes, this is the first try. The ‘Reformists’ are uncooperative as they operate under the premise of migrating to an artificial planet. Kōmitsu Solutions didn’t have the leeway to conduct deep-sea surveys in each area before 2050 due to the impact on the company. There were the ‘Scorch Wars’ after all. However, this time they recklessly spent money and forcibly conducted the survey as if provoking others, without considering the consequences. That’s why this is the first try. Yes, the reason for the ‘Reformists’ cooperation is simple – to not allow monopolization of information, a completely unfounded concern. …Huh, this audio is being broadcast!?」
「Coach Naga, please save that kind of talk for the orange thread! I’ll continue the commentary. Now, Orange’s shooting – is it having little effect?」
…I feel like a lot of behind-the-scenes information just flowed out, but anyway, putting that aside. As I continue firing, bullets come flying in from above. Two shots in a row – the first shatters its eyelid, the second destroys its left eye into a pulp. A voice flows from the speakers. A child’s young voice.
「Orange, fight properly!」
As ☆Star_Night☆’s voice resounds, the Strain writhes and flails its tentacles wildly. I instinctively cease fire to evade, but metal shrapnel flying at a terrifying speed pierces the Gatling gun and causes a secondary explosion. An unpleasant explosion rings out as the words 「RE-222 function ceased」 scroll across the monitor.
My left arm is damaged, but it can’t be helped now. I grasp the heat blade with my right arm alone and activate it. The heat generated on the blade propagates to the surroundings, vigorously evaporating the seawater. And I swing the blade vertically down on another incoming tentacle. Living up to its anti-Strain designation, the tentacle smoothly severs while glowing red-hot.
But it doesn’t end there. A large number of torpedoes are dropped from above onto the tentacle-flailing Strain. Although a considerable proportion are intercepted by the tentacles, several torpedoes pierce the gaps in the armor I created and grandly gouge out the metal flesh. Taking advantage of the tentacles’ momentarily slowed movement from the impact, one unit smashes its fist into a tentacle while another unit hammers and forcibly breaks them.
「Sorry to keep you waiting, Prophet!」
「Did you really kill a child of God? As expected of the Prophet…!」
「That’s my specialty. Leave it to me.」
Kanata, Teo, and our very own Nakamoto. A sense of reassurance spreads through me as they descend from above. Mainly due to Nakamoto. As if responding to my expectations, a transmission comes in from the unit holding a hammer and a Gatling gun.
「It’s okay. The Strain-46’s greatest feature, its swarm of underlings, is absent. The current one is a weakling weaker than the Ver1.08. Even I can defeat it.」
「…You mean ‘we’, not ‘I’.」
「Yeah. But still, give me a hand, Orange. In 5 seconds, charge straight ahead.」
Isn’t that too strong? Nakamoto’s unit accelerates and rapidly closes in. Tentacles attempt to destroy the Apollyon like a whip, but the hammer accelerated with abnormal force blows away three tentacles at once. It’s an NMM-equipped hammer. I want one.
While thinking that, I continue the countdown. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. In sync with the count, I activate the propulsion unit to the MAX and charge forward. That enlarged Machine Beast approaches right in front of me, and then I notice. No tentacles are coming.
Glancing slightly behind, I see Nakamoto moving in a circular pattern, smashing tentacles like a demon. From the perspective of the Strain-46, which lost an eye to ☆Star_Night☆’s gunfire, my current position is in its blind spot. I pass through the gaps between the tentacles at full speed and continue diving. When I’m just a few dozen meters away, the Strain-46 finally notices my movement, but it’s too late. As it tries to turn to bring me into its field of vision, Kanata’s torpedoes hit its side, scattering blue liquid. ☆Star_Night☆’s shot pierces the tip of the Strain-46’s nose, finally halting its rotation. And amidst the raging water currents, I finally land on the Strain-46’s back. I thrust the heat blade into the area where the scales have peeled off, gouging and melting the flesh and blood vessels.
A few tentacles strike my unit, and red warning indicators clamor at me. But with the support of Nakamoto and the others, they lack strength. Left leg completely destroyed? 80% of ‘Moses’ Sword’ function lost? Who cares, as long as it can still gouge flesh.
This thing shouldn’t be here. Putting aside the talk about the Prophet, at least I, as a human living on this planet, must kill this thing that will destroy civilization. If I don’t, I have no future, and I can’t save those who entrusted me.
The red indicators continue to spread. But it’s okay. I won’t die. At least the me up until now, and the current me, are ultimately outsiders. I’m not risking my life, I don’t feel pain. That’s why, to repay their 20 years, I can’t let go of this control stick.
Finally, the blade reaches the center of its body. The screws have also stopped, so I kick the flesh with my right foot alone and push the heat blade even deeper. The sound of gunfire grows distant, replaced only by the sound of flesh burning and tearing. And finally, a clicking sound rings out.
「There it is!」
Inside the metal flesh, a clearly sturdy-looking black spherical object. I thrust the heat blade without hesitation, and after about 10 seconds of resistance, it finally pierces through. My vision flips, and the unit is tossed about by the vibrations. Then, the vibrations suddenly weaken, and a metal scraping sound that threatens to rupture my eardrums reverberates throughout the cockpit.
The monitor displays the words 『Automatic volume adjustment: Activated』 along with a dB number I’ve never heard before. But that was the last of it. Silence flows out, and Nakamoto’s voice interrupts it.
「No doubt about it. It’s dead.」
We succeeded like this because the Strain-46 lacked its army of Machine Beasts – for it, it was like losing a rook and even a pawn. But what would actually happen if this thing ran rampant in 2040? Imagining the figure of a learning and evolving monster sends a chill down my spine.
Thank goodness. As I was about to express my gratitude to everyone, the screen suddenly cuts off and the hall of the New Technology Exhibition is shown. The same high viewpoint from inside a mass-produced Apollyon as when the battle royale began. It was then that I finally noticed. The commentator’s voice had disappeared since around the time I charged in sync with Nakamoto. Not that I stopped hearing it due to concentration, but physically.
And instead of the broadcast to aggregate points and determine rankings to present us with the results, dry popping sounds flow out. Along with those overlapping sounds, explosions and screams resonate. Sounds that should never be heard outside of the game are now coming from reality.
So this is why Momiji prepared such an event. She probably didn’t anticipate directly finding a Strain, but what she really wanted to show was the attitude of subjugating it. The act of finding a Strain and recklessly trying to provoke it. That in itself serves as bait to accelerate their actions. The bursting sounds gradually get closer. The difference from before is that when you die, it’s over. The pain that occurs here, the death, cannot be undone.
The door is flung open. In the hands of three men in combat uniforms are assault rifles that shouldn’t exist in present-day Japan. Seeing the Apollyons presiding over the hall, the man shouts into his comm device in broken Japanese.
「This is Thunder 03, we’ve found the Apollyons! Proceeding to confirm if it’s Orange!」
「This is Kurage, understood. If you find Orange, shoot him dead. He must pay for the crime of killing a child of God!」
The ‘Scorch Wars’ begin.
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