Chapter 64
The concept of the 「Shed Armor System」 comes from powered suits. I thought it might be possible to create a powered suit for Apollyons since they all use the same skeletal structure made by Kōmitsu.
This is the result. Additional armor and NMM equipped on an Apollyon powered suit… Although artificial muscles couldn’t be installed, the effect is still good. If I had fought in mobile mode from the beginning, I would have taken damage from Ugly Gold’s shooting and been at a disadvantage. Being unscathed now is excellent. I confidently speak to Hiniru.
「I think this will be default equipment on all units starting from the next version.」
「No way! Damn it, did you give the unmanned unit stock to the Strains and Order? Why does everything go wrong just because you’re here?!」
「Wouldn’t it have gone wrong even if I wasn’t here?」
Ugly Gold takes flight and aims its handguns, but I launch 16 tracking missiles from the shoulder missile pods to counter it. Actually, this can’t be used before shedding the armor due to interference. Whoever designed this, come out. Well, it’s me. The UK-12 is also integrated with the armor, so it needs to be purged together, with normal arms coming out from below. I wanted both arms open for close combat so this is fine, but I’d like to adjust it more next time, I think as the weapon arm state is unlocked and both hands become free to grab the assault rifle.
The missiles trace curves chasing the golden light but don’t reach it. They are easily shot down by the other drawn handgun, making it dual wielding. But that’s fine, the role of these missiles is merely a shield until I get close. The penetrated missiles don’t explode but deploy smoke, blocking Ugly Gold’s view. Using the NMM to jump in that gap, I fire the assault rifle in bursts, but the moment I do, the handgun is pointing this way!?
「Whoa!」
I twist my body to dodge the shot at the last second. I knew it would aim for me as I fell, so I forcibly hide behind rubble using the emergency evasion boost system. Being able to make this maneuver is also a benefit of shedding the armor.
《Console Information: Enemy machine temperature rising, currently 574°C. 426°C to overheat.》
Its cooling is having trouble keeping up. By the way, my unit is still at 280°C and there’s no worry of overheating for a while.
I deploy missiles again and resume shooting. Perhaps flustered by the situation of overheating gradually approaching, Hiniru’s shots become increasingly erratic, while my unit doesn’t have a single scratch. And finally the moment arrives when the golden unit sets foot on the ground.
《Console Information: Enemy machine temperature rising, currently 824°C. 176°C to overheat.》
It likely no longer has the leeway to fly constantly. Ugly Gold looks at me grudgingly and uses NMM to close in on me all at once. Caught off guard by that action but fixing my posture, I draw my unit’s specialized blade as tall as a person and step in to meet it in a single stroke.
However, that blade is deflected by the back of the right hand gun and the left hand gun shines as a bullet is driven into my chest. To recover from that, the moment I use NMM, Ugly Gold drops its guns, grabs my lightened unit and throws it. What the…!
「Isn’t this way stronger than flying around?」
「Of course I wanted to unilaterally seal you! Exposing myself to this risk is way better! Not everyone loves high risk, high return like you, Orange!」
「It’s boring if you don’t take risks. You enjoy shooting from the sidelines?」
「If I could do that, I wouldn’t be making mistakes! Instead of talking about judgement, I’d be seriously challenging myself to become a pro gamer!」
We converse while I block the pursuit shooting with the flat of my blade. Come to think of it, there was a story about how Hiniru was a skilled player in BCD but at some point turned into a streamer specializing in exposing and harassing people. In other words, Hiniru flowed towards the easier path of reliably getting views rather than the unstable state of being a pro gamer? Well, that still doesn’t justify those actions.
「I know I’m scum! But views on my judgement videos kept dropping too. I got older chasing the remnants of a dream with part-time jobs! When the collapse happened in 2050, I thought ‘Good, now I’m not miserable anymore!’ Even though my dad and mom died!」
No longer able to fly but still capable of normal NMM, Ugly Gold’s power is far more threatening than before. When I try to ready my assault rifle, it closes the distance and strikes me with its handgun. I won’t lose, so I try a spin kick but get tripped. I block the gunshots with my blade while slashing but it nimbly dodges.
「So, what’s your point?」
「It’s your fault! It’s your fault I stumbled and the operation in 2055 failed! That’s why I’ll become the power of the Reformists and stop you, Orange!」
「I see, you can’t bear it without an ‘absolute evil someone’ to blame.」
I stand up and ready my blade. This will likely be our final clash. Ugly Gold must defeat me with this one blow as its NMM will overheat. Meanwhile, I still have plenty of leeway with my NMM, but my unit is damaged all over. In terms of damage amount, I’m at an overwhelming disadvantage.
So this battle is a race of whether Ugly Gold’s NMM will run out first or I’ll be destroyed first.
Ugly Gold vanishes. Silently moving behind me, it stomps my assault rifle into the ground with its heel and shoots through my shoulder missile pod with its handgun.
And as Falschblau tries to swing its sword, its back gets immobilized. It was Ugly Gold’s desperate move to hold me in place. The answer to the question of why quickly arrives.
There was an unmanned Apollyon in front of me. The last one I had ignored when defeating the tanks. It was aiming its assault rifle at me. Even if I direct my blade at the restraining Ugly Gold now, I won’t make it in time to break free. But throwing it won’t reach the unmanned Apollyon and I’ll be riddled with holes first. And my trump cards for ranged combat, the assault rifle and missiles, are no longer at hand.
「I see, so I’ll re-equip it again with the—!」
That’s why the integrated arm weapon that should have been discarded by the Shed Armor System, the 『Kōmitsu Solutions Manufactured Apollyon Fusion Incendiary Weapon Model UK-12』, reconnects to my left arm and fires. I had summoned it here a bit ago with the boosters equipped on this armor, judging it might become necessary. The UK-12 spits out bullets at the best timing, blowing the unmanned Apollyon to bits and blowing us away with the recoil.
Fragments crash into the ground making noise. The penetrating bullet can be seen hitting something far ahead, causing further secondary damage. Using the posture disrupted by the recoil, I tear off the restraint and stand up.
In the end, there was the figure of Falschblau holding its blade and UK-12, and the collapsed figure of Ugly Gold whose NMM had overheated and become unusable. Hiniru’s somewhat satisfied voice can be heard over the comm.
「This sucks. I had a 20 year advantage but still lost.」
「The outcome would’ve been different if you had been serious from the start.」
「I see… I see. Hey Orange. Somewhere along the way, when you see me, could you subtly correct me back to my original path?」
An unexpectedly surprising statement suddenly flies out. Hadn’t Hiniru been hostile towards me this whole time? Wasn’t he the type to insist I was the root of all evil?
「What an embarrassing thing to say. How foolish. But I’ve realized that if you spend 20 years, you can reach the ‘real deal’. Even after taking such a roundabout path, I’ve made it this far. If I keep moving forward believing in myself rather than the voices from outside, I should be able to go even further.」
「Even if you say ‘real deal’…」
「Prophet, huh. I don’t believe in such false rumors at all. Orange, what I’m trying to say is that I can even beat the top HAO player – the Orange from 2040.」
「It’d be weird if you couldn’t win after spending 20 years.」
「I couldn’t even believe that, so I averted my eyes from my dream of being a pro gamer. I looked at the high ranked players in BCD and gave up before properly putting in effort, thinking it’s impossible no matter how much I try.」
A strong sense of regret was leaking out from his words. His life was likely greatly distorted by having his need for approval satisfied through exposing and harassing others. And now he seems to be entrusting his wish to me, but honestly it’s troubling to be told that. Why do I have to help someone who harassed me?
As if anticipating that, Hiniru replies to me.
「The 4th horror game playthrough and 7th RPG playthrough, those were streamed using illegally downloaded software. If you investigate, you should find errors unique to emulators.」
「You really are the worst.」
「That’s why you can use it to threaten, right? If you record the applicable videos in advance and talk about this matter, he can’t run. After all, it’s laughable for the one doing the judging to be a criminal. You can make him do anything.」
「No, even without this he’s a criminal, and if I did that I’d become a criminal too.」
Silence dominates for a moment. Then Hiniru, having composed himself, opens Ugly Gold’s arms and shows me its chest area. The cockpit section where Hiniru himself is riding.
「Finish it in one go.」
Perhaps it means there’s no point in living anymore, or maybe it’s a desire to be defeated by his own nemesis. Seeing that noble figure, I nod deeply, raise my blade, and stab twice.
Into the right arm and left arm.
「Wait, kill me!」
「Why would I, I don’t want to. Destroying both arms eliminates combat ability so this is good enough for me. That topic change just now was way too abrupt and like 40% of it felt more like exploitation than a plea.」
「Wait, hey, I’m here! Don’t use NMM and jump! Don’t run away, please—!」
Yeah, no way.
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