Chapter 124
By the way, when Kana says 「Father」, she doesn’t mean that Reina won the love battle, but rather that they are both her foster parents in Ver2.00. So which one actually won the battle remains shrouded in mystery…!
「5 minutes until the operation begins. Combat personnel, please take your positions.」
That announcement echoes through the waiting room we were guided to. Both Kana and Kanata have wistful expressions. This is more about their own lives than about me. No matter how much they struggle, their lives will soon come to an end. The two stand up, saying they’re going.
「Where are you going?」
「To the hangar. By the way, is the livestream on? This time it honestly doesn’t make much difference whether it’s on or not, but we want our efforts to be recorded.」
「…Alright.」
「And I think mute is fine now, so you should include voice too. Might as well, since you have the chance.」
Finding merit in her words, I turn the livestream ON. Many viewers seem to have been eagerly waiting, as the comment section immediately starts filling up. The current time is 17:15. The operation seems to be running a bit late.
『Orange’s stream is up!』
『Why is the login campaign starting at 18:00 when the final battle starts at 17:00? Do the devs not want us to participate?』
『Maybe that means log out for now?』
『No, right now there’s a login restriction for everyone except Orange and some players. It says ‘Login available sequentially from 18:00’, so it seems different from the usual restrictions.』
『Why is it delayed anyway?』
『It’s actually on schedule. The Losers’ stream shows they’ve started approaching Earth.』
『Expose them already!』
『This is Evening Wave Broadcasting. We’d like to feature your video on our program. Could we have your permission?』
『The media guy who kept getting ignored has finally come here to get permission, lol.』
『There’s sound this time!』
『That beauty, Kanata? Has she finally become an NPC? Can we go meet her?!』
『It’s a rare livestream. Players can’t log in, only humans can. Mysterious.』
『The number of overseas viewers is increasing. There aren’t many other streams, so it makes sense.』
『The Loser trio seems to be able to stream too.』
As I skim through the rapidly scrolling comments, I somehow gather information. Once again, it’s only people who can’t log in, but it seems everyone will be able to from 18:00? I hold my head, not understanding why the devs are doing this. When I ask about that question, Kana responds as if it’s obvious.
「It’s more efficient to have them log in based on the drop point rather than dropping them from here to the ground. Entering the atmosphere isn’t free, you know.」
I see, so that’s why login is later. I pretend not to see Kana’s expression that seems to be hiding something. The comment section is filled with opinions like 『Don’t give special treatment to one player』, 『Oh, so they need to descend because they’re in space now』, 『They said they’d add 2 new races, what happened to that?』, and so on. Well, certainly, other players must be feeling impatient. Forgive me, but with the service ending, the devs are invincible now.
Thinking that, I’m soon conveyed to the destination. Opening the door, there stand 12 giant humanoid machines, each about 40 meters tall. Scaffolding is constructed between them, with maintenance staff making final adjustments in various places. Upon seeing that sight, I mutter.
「They’re all Apollyon Fusions…」
I don’t know the exact production numbers, but considering that Strains are the material, there should have originally been less than 20. Nevertheless, the reason they succeeded in manufacturing 12 Apollyon Fusions is something I have an idea about. That’s right, from Ver3.00 onward, there are infinite resources. They probably picked up the Apollyon Fusions overflowing on Earth and remodeled them.
Certainly, Apollyon Fusions are strong. They even withstood nukes. But neither Kanata nor I can pilot them… As I think that, I suddenly realize. My current race is 「SOD」. And to pilot an Apollyon Fusion, you need to be close to a Machine Beast, like Teo. In that case, I can pilot it too?!
Still surprised, I look at Kanata and see her lowering the zipper of her clothes and sliding down her back. On the spinal area where there should be living flesh, an artificial machine similar to my connection port is peeking out. Noticing my gaze, Kanata explains.
「This is one of the body modifications, a unit for controlling Apollyon Fusions. In the previous version, they apparently created humans with Machine Beast bodies, but this time they only need to control them, so just this part is enough. That’s why the other pilots and I have undergone this pseudo-‘SOD’ surgery.」
「Then they didn’t need to increase the races?」
「Ah, you mean in the game. That’s apparently for the system’s convenience, to clearly distinguish between regular Cyborgs and ‘SOD’ humans.」
「They deliberately separate Powered Armor Humans, Cyborgs, and Espers too, so I guess that’s how it is.」
Having such a conversation, we each reach our cockpits. The old man Tanaka gives a thumbs up, indicating the maintenance is complete. Before boarding the blue machine with a design almost identical to 「Falschblau」, I look back.
The two are staring at me intently. Even at this point, when they’re supposed to be in a situation where they’ll die, what floats in their eyes is concern. I somehow realize that their emotion is slightly different from anxiety.
They’re worried that I might bottle things up. They’re concerned about whether seeing people die in front of me will weigh on my mind. The me in Ver4.00 probably experienced a similar situation. So I give a thumbs up to show them not to worry, and as if to sever the unease, I leap into the cockpit.
The interior is the same as a regular Apollyon cockpit. They intentionally made it similar for ease of operation, but the tubes hanging from the ceiling are different. 「Ah, so that’s what it means,」 I fumble to connect the metal part on my back with the tube, and with a clicking sound, it fits perfectly. At the same time, the instruments light up.
《Orange Assist System Booting》
《Ascalon and board equipped on back》
《Blade, UK-0000, and ammunition loaded》
As I gaze at the familiar display, I fasten my seatbelt and check the control stick. Just then, it seems the time has finally come, and a window appears in the center of the cockpit. There, I see familiar faces.
『Alright, is everyone ready? Final check, have you fastened your seatbelts, is there enough oxygen, is the fuel tank full? And don’t forget your board! Also, the separation belt’s operation is…OK, planetary boosters are fine too. Once you’ve confirmed, maintenance team, send in your reports…Alright, OK!』
It’s the members I haven’t seen in a few days. Momiji, Reina, and the Space President. They’ve all aged and grown, but their faces are still full of energy. Especially Momiji, who looks particularly lively. In that studio-like room, she looks at the clock. It’s already past 17:30, and seeing that, she clears her throat, changes her tone to a solemn one, and declares.
『We will now begin the Infinite Horizon Conquest Operation! Do not let the deaths of the great Prophet who fell in the battle against Halley’s Comet ‘UYK’ be in vain! Our forces are ready, all that’s left is to steadily crush them!』
With those words, another monitor is displayed. Amidst the artificial planets emitting a red light, there it is. 37 metal fragments seemingly pulled by the artificial planets, and the Apollyon Fusions surrounding them. The metal fragments are each assigned numbers from 4 to 45, and within them is something heart-shaped. Meanwhile, I wonder just how many there are, as the Apollyon Fusions each hold a spear. Ascalon. Only one of the three prongs is slightly longer and glowing red-hot. The Apollyon Fusions point them towards the metal fragments.
『The 37 cores here are the crystallization of our comrades’ blood and efforts, recovered from the battlefield at the cost of their lives. Now, using these, we will defeat the Strains. Inverse dive, begin!』
With those words, the Apollyon Fusions drive their spears in. The device equipped on their backpacks discharges a pale blue light, and the pierced cores ooze a blue liquid. And that was it.
『Report, 12 Strains observable from the 2040 side have ceased activity!』
『Commencing extermination operation by Nakamoto Tsuyoshi on the remaining Strains on the 2040 side!』
『Execute the Moon UYK and Halley’s Comet UYK as well!』
Just like that, the results were out in an anticlimactic manner. The cores pierced by spears in space line up. The Strains were dealt with in an extremely simple and methodical way. While I think it’s awesome, I also brace myself, knowing the real deal is yet to come. As if synchronized with my thoughts, Momiji shouts.
『That was just the prelude! Next is the main event, activate the separation belt boosters and detach from the artificial planets!』
With those words, I feel a force pushing against my body, and the entire hangar shakes. One of the newly added windows displays the orbits of Earth and the planets.
Nine of them are descending towards Earth. Seeing them eject eight separation belts behind them, I understand the meaning after a short pause. Certainly, if you want to unleash maximum firepower, this is the only way. To effectively utilize resources, this is the only option. Still…
『We will now drop the planetary mass bullets, namely the artificial sun and the eight artificial planets, onto Earth! Furthermore, purge 11,982 mass-produced Apollyon Fusions from the separation belts!』
…What did you say? Without a chance to resolve my question, the hangar wall shatters with a bang, and we are forced to see the outside, the universe.
Nine giant arrows of fire are vigorously raining down towards the ground. The continuously burning artificial sun leads the way as Ōsaka and Paris artificial planets soar towards the surface. Ah, the red light I saw during the inverse dive was the boosters. Using their propulsive power and the MNB’s force, they’re flying the artificial planets to impact Earth. The true meaning behind the words 「as long as they last until 2060」 was this.
At the same time, my unit is caught in Earth’s gravity and slowly begins to fall. But it’s not just me. A swarm of countless mass-produced Apollyon Fusions, likely over 10,000, uniformly follows the artificial planets down to the surface. What was the point of Ver3.00, where combat personnel could be transported in small rockets? This is way too much excess force.
One of the windows shows people holding up banners that say 『Kōmitsu Solutions × Reformist Banzai!』, 『Charge! Face-visiting UYK’s house!』, 『Hit with planets, 9 times to kill the enemy, Matsuo Bashō (rumors)』, 『I created the artificial sun』. Whether they couldn’t fit into the separation belts or it’s of their own will, they seem to be aboard the artificial planets. Of course, since they’re using the artificial planets they lived in as bullets, death is unavoidable. Yet they were smiling. We’re no longer in a bottomless hell. We’re walking a path with a visible end, a path of hope.
It starts to feel ridiculous. What do you mean by 「steadily」? It makes no sense at all. What are mass-produced Apollyon Fusions? Well, I guess if they mass-produced Apollyon Fusions, that’s what they’d be called. And what the heck are planetary mass bullets? They’re certainly heavy and seem to have enough power to cause multiple ice ages, but still.
A smile forms on the corner of my mouth. This is how humanity should be. We can’t just lose to infighting and enemies, we’ve got to crush the impossible with absurd passion and technology! That’s humanity!
The leading artificial sun finally falls to the ground. The moment it collides with the earth, the planet literally trembles.
The final battle begins.
Mass-produced Apollyon Fusion
By aligning Apollyon Fusions closer to human machinery, successful mass production was achieved. While most of its special abilities are disabled, its power and agility remain, making it useful. Especially in the battle against 「UYK」, regular Apollyons were too small in size, so this also served as a solution. Nakamoto Tsuyoshi has been overhunting the wild Apollyon Fusions used as materials and sending them to space. Because of that, wild Apollyon Fusions seem to have gone extinct in the southern regions of Japan. Terrible.
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