Chapter 74
「This is the production model Apollyon 3rd Unit from the space military attached to the artificial planet ‘Osaka’. We have arrived at the destination.」
「This is the space military mixed 2nd Unit from the artificial planet ‘London’. Understood. Sending current target observation data. Battle will commence in less than 1 minute. Stay alert.」
「Of course. I won’t do anything that would make me unable to face Mr. Tanaka who maintained us with his life on the line.」
This is the story of the world called Ver3.00. Against the backdrop of the glittering artificial sun in the sky, three production model Apollyons dance through space. The Apollyons are all a pale orange color. Though this coloring allows them to blend in with the light from the artificial sun, their imposing presence is still staggering. Disproportionately small arms, enlarged legs for mobility, hydrogen boosters on the back for aviation. A huge cannon is mounted on the back, with work arms and short blades stored on either side.
The group known as the 「Reformists」 had the region once called the Moon under their control. But to achieve this, they had to rely even more on the Kōmitsu Solutions that had gained momentum since the previous Ver, ultimately having to hand over the entire artificial planet 「Osaka」. Still, the 「Reformists」 were steadily progressing towards their ambition.
And this time, their goals aligned and they could not afford to be at each other’s throats. The moment the production model Apollyons concealed themselves in the shadow of the debris, their target lifeform appeared.
Below their eyes, the Earth of 2060, painted in a disturbing mix of colors like spilled paint, comes into view. And the shadow obscuring the Earth is shaped like a moth. The agonizing cross-shaped scars on its body were inflicted during the advance party in 2055. With metal tentacles in place of legs, it flies between the stars in search of prey. The name of this Moon lifeform is 「UYK」.
「Target confirmed. 5 seconds until mission start. 4, 3, 2, 1…」
They had suffered greatly at the hands of Moon UYK. The development of artificial planets as a means to escape the ruined Earth should have at least prevented the extinction of humanity. But the reality is that Moon UYK’s attacks have ruined everything. Before the 2055 operation, an extermination battle was conducted and they managed to deal it a serious blow, but that was the extent of it. That’s why in 2060, before the players log in, it needs to be dealt with again.
In the vast expanse of space, the ruined Earth, the debris of the abandoned artificial planet 「Paris」, and the Apollyons hiding among them. The artificial sun and the artificial planet 「London」. And Moon UYK drifts, its insect-like mouth gaping open with mucus. What can be seen inside is something like the Gatling railgun that Nakamoto Tsuyoshi once used, but its size is extraordinary. With a total length of over 100 meters and a caliber of over 1 meter, it is a slaughter weapon that scatters its own tentacles as mass bullets at speeds many times the speed of sound. Considering that tank calibers were around 15 cm even in the 2040s, anyone can imagine the power it possesses.
That cannon is aimed at the artificial planet 「London」. Moon UYK still bears a grudge. Against the pain it suffered when its entire body was burned by the 「Artificial Sun Creation Project」 that made the moon itself a sun when it was still small. No matter how much energy that created sun provides to the artificial planets and saves countless humans, to Moon UYK it was nothing more than an act of arson.
The turret heats up and turns a faint purple. As its metal body contracts and is about to erase one of the few human habitats, at that moment…
「0. Anchor shot! Apollyon squad, commence maneuvers!」
Three bullets fly out from the shadow of the debris. The surprise attack unerringly hits Moon UYK and pierces deep into its body.
But that’s all. Without detonating or spreading poison. As the puzzled Moon UYK turns its ominously glowing rainbow compound eyes, it sees the Apollyons leaping out. They all activate their aerospace boosters using NMM and scatter in three directions. In the weightless space, they move in the direction force is applied. And with a weight reduced to less than 1 kg by NMM, even boosters mounted on the back of the Apollyons can maintain near-subsonic speeds.
But naturally, if they make such movements, the humans inside will just be shaken to death. Therefore…
「Evacuation successful. Switching to remote control.」
In the first place, there is no point in deliberately boarding the Apollyons. The biggest advantage of Apollyons is that they can transport people and cargo while traversing the chaotic terrain of the Earth. That’s why they board the cockpit, the safest place. Conversely, if such constraints are removed, unmanned machines like the ones Hiniru used in Ver2.01 would work just fine.
The production model Apollyons, pulled by the anchors, orbit around Moon UYK. The three units each take orbits at right angles to prevent Moon UYK from taking aim. The Apollyons ready their guns. The 「Kōmitsu Solutions Fusion Apollyon Combustion Weapon UK-17」 begins firing, burning liquid oxygen and launching depleted uranium rounds in the direction of the anchors.
In the vacuum of space, sound does not reverberate. But a catastrophic creak emanates from Moon UYK as if sound is ringing, and its metal entrails spill out in tatters. Among them are the Gatling railgun from earlier, UK-16, and a swarm of other copied tools.
Moon UYK lets out an inaudible scream and violently rotates its entire body. Ignoring its organs being torn off, the motion swings the anchored Apollyons around, trying to distort their posture and make them collide with each other. Those creatures again, they’re tormenting me again. I mustn’t forgive them, with every fiber of its being.
But before that, the Apollyons reel in the anchors and begin approaching. Disregarding the attacks from the tentacles, the Apollyons increase the output of their NMM and start accelerating. The Apollyons clinging to its body draw the blades folded on their backs and gouge out the bullet wounds, pushing their artificial muscles beyond the limit to tear the flesh. So naturally, a swarm of tentacles pierces the guts of the Apollyons like spears, and then their flash grenades automatically detonate. The dark space is momentarily enveloped in a flash.
「Good work with the diversion!」
What followed the flash was another flash, but with an overwhelming amount of heat – a scorching light. The last thing Moon UYK saw was, ironically, the light of the artificial sun that had once burned it.
◇◇◇
「Well done, people of Kōmitsu Solutions.」
The words of appreciation were genuine, even coming from a member of the opposing 「Reformists」. Far behind the remains of Moon UYK, there was a huge, semi-transparent device. They simply called it the Lens. A simple yet terrifyingly powerful heat ray weapon that concentrates the energy of the artificial sun to a single point for irradiation. Auxiliary lenses placed near the artificial sun gather and send the heat rays to increase their power.
「Treat us to even a flavored ration.」
「Of course, I’ll prepare it once we land on the ground. After all, this finally allows us to send resources for the players to log in. I asked you to gather organic materials, is that okay?」
「Yeah, the collected organic materials are packed in containers. This should enable smooth login. Until now, our influence was limited, but due to the Orange Book this time, people will flock in. We can’t manage with makeshift measures like before.」
「I agree. We have also finished preparing the metal resources. I made sure to prepare the best performing ones, so they should be of help to the players. I hope the Prophet’s plan goes well.」
「You believe in the Prophet too? I thought the ‘Reformists’ would ignore that.」
「No way. Especially since this time it’s the ‘Infinite Horizon Conquest’. If it goes well, the world salvation will be greatly accelerated.」
The true identity of the Prophet who declared the conquest of the Infinite Horizon is unknown, but they must be a saint. It all started with Kana suggesting with a nasty grin that Kanji, who was mumbling about wanting to conquer the Infinite Horizon, should upload a video. Even Kana’s motive was a silly reason like it being fun if things get interesting and it’s enjoyable when everyone is in trouble.
But those words certainly moved the world.
The Infinite Horizon. A place thought to be the weakness of Earth’s 「UYK」. It was the site of the 2055 operation, and since it was far from the habitable zones, communication was impossible and information could not be left behind. Therefore, even at this stage, it was nothing more than a completely unknown space.
A declaration to conquer it carries weight. In fact, the 「Reformists」, unable to discard the possibility that conquering the Infinite Horizon would become possible through the Prophet’s future predictions, had been steadily gathering strength for 2060 even after the failure of the 2055 operation.
「Speaking of 2040, there’s that new technology exhibition. That triggered the start of the ‘Scorch Wars’, right?」
「I think they were also conducting underwater exploration at the same time. I see, so they will be conquering the Infinite Horizon in both ‘HAO’ and reality. As expected of the Prophet to have thought that far.」
「Well, there’s not much time until login, so let’s start preparing for descent to the ground. The recovery ship should be here soon, so I’m cutting off communication. Don’t forget the treat.」
「I won’t forget. See you then.」
6 hours later, 3 pillars are fired towards the Earth. 12 hours after that, player login begins.
「Updated to Ver3.00.
6 countries have successfully escaped to space.
New cities have appeared near the Infinite Horizon. This changes the respawn points.
The limited-time event ‘Infinite Horizon Conquest’ will be held.
NMM can now be installed in powered suits and prosthetic bodies due to miniaturization.
Skill acquisition limits have been improved by expanding the auxiliary brain.
The catastrophe of 2050 has not been averted.
The success rate of the 2055 operation is 7.12%.」
Author’s note:
The 「Infinite Horizon Conquest Arc: Deep Sea Dive / Fog Limit Tragedy」 begins.
So, Chapter 3 will start from the next episode. Sorry to have kept you waiting. We are finally approaching the 「UYK」. Overall, we’re around the halfway point of the story. I think I was able to explain the system to some extent in Chapter 2, so Chapter 3 should be a bit easier to understand (unless Orange does something weird).
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