episode_0042

Verso’s steps were heavy as he walked alone down the medical ward corridor, but his eyes were burning.

‘Damn it…! For me to be the only one to survive like this.’

He unwrapped and threw off the cumbersome bandages tightly wound around him, walking upright as if his injuries were nothing.

The place he finally arrived at was Commander Lucas’s office.

Commander Lucas remained silent, not taking his eyes off the hologram screen, before finally opening his mouth.

“You should have rested longer, Verso.”

Lucas said in a low voice, still keeping his gaze fixed on the screen.

His voice carried a deep sense of mixed feelings rather than reproach.

“I cannot rest. I must avenge Lieutenant Kyle and my comrades!”

Verso’s voice was agitated.

Only then did Commander Lucas gaze directly at Verso.

“Revenge, huh… Emotional responses are of no help on the battlefield.”

“His strength transcended common sense. There’s absolutely no way to defeat him with ordinary methods…”

Verso clenched his fists so tightly it seemed blood would seep out. The tremor seemed to reach all the way here.

To eliminate that monster, he himself had to transcend human limits.

“I have made up my mind. Please… authorize the augmented human surgery for me.”

Lucas let out a hollow laugh as if dumbfounded by his words.

“You’re saying you want to undergo augmented human surgery? Are you serious?”

“You know I’m a war orphan.”

At the heavy words, Lucas’s brow furrowed deeply.

“They were like family to me. I have nothing more to lose anyway. It doesn’t matter if I die here.”

“I understand your feelings, but I don’t recommend it. How about seeing the world a bit more broadly?”

Lucas said softly, as if trying to persuade him.

“My resolve is firm.”

“Even if… you die during the surgery?”

Augmented human surgery, in most cases, resulted in death after extreme side effects if the body couldn’t withstand it.

Even if the surgery miraculously succeeded, one would become nothing more than a living corpse, needing to receive nutrient fluid through a tube connected to their body for life.

What one gained by abandoning all joys of life as a human was merely an overwhelming ability to pilot mechs.

Knowing well of that terrible price, Lucas truly wanted to dissuade Verso.

‘You’re still young. There’s no need to abandon your life this way, is there….’

Unfortunately, Verso’s gaze, fixed on him, was unyielding, without the slightest tremor.

“It doesn’t matter. I will pay any price. And… if the surgery succeeds, won’t it also bring benefits to the corporation?”

Verso coldly mentioned even the realistic advantages, as if he would not allow even a hint of compromise.

After a long silence, Lucas slowly turned around and took out a thick bundle of documents from his desk drawer.

“These are the augmented human surgery consent forms and related documents.”

He continued speaking as he placed the bundle of documents on the table in front of Verso.

“Read every item carefully and decide prudently. Because once you choose this path, you can never turn back.”

Verso picked up the bundle of documents without hesitation.

On the consent forms spanning dozens of pages, the risks of the surgery, side effects, and countless things one had to give up as a human were written in tiny print, but he didn’t properly read a single line.

‘It’s already decided.’

As he came back alive alone, it was something he had vowed countless times, leaving behind the burning mechs of his comrades.

Verso, who had inscribed his name on all the documents, handed them over to Commander Lucas.

“Won’t you regret it?”

It was Lucas’s final question.

“Regret is merely an excuse for losers.”

Lucas let out a small sigh and picked up the communicator.

His fingers hovered in the air for a moment.

“Connect to the infirmary. Augmented human surgery protocol, proceed with top priority. The subject is… Lieutenant Verso.”

As soon as the formal psychological counseling procedure ended, Verso headed to the surgery room without an inch of hesitation.

As he lay his body on the cold metal bed, the white lights of the operating room poured down intensely, almost blinding him.

Even as all his senses blurred, only one thought clearly lingered in his mind.

‘I must… with my own hands.’

*****

[This is Lieutenant Kyle’s revenge, you damned bastard!]

With his hateful scream, he plunged down and charged.

‘He’s coming in perfectly to be hit.’

I firmly fixed the pile bunker, which was already prepared for deployment.

The reactor overheating warning was annoyingly blaring, but for now, I decided to ignore it.

The moment the enemy mech was drawn into range, I fired without hesitation.

Clank—! Boom—!!

Perhaps because it had been used many times, the graviton damper couldn’t absorb all the recoil.

A terrifying vibration, never felt before, shook my entire body, transmitted all the way into the cockpit.

[Ugh!!]

His flustered voice burst out through the communicator.

‘He’s fine? Impossible!’

No matter how much he had undergone augmented human surgery, his ability to withstand that attack was unexplainable.

However, I only understood after seeing the blue energy shield that unfolded before my eyes.

Emitting violent sparks, it seemed to barely block the direct hit from the pile bunker, but the impact was not entirely negated.

Crunch—!

Along with the sound of the energy shield shattering, the enemy mech crumpled like paper, was thrown back dozens of meters, and crashed miserably into building debris.

He might have avoided a direct hit, but he must have sustained significant damage.

[You! I will definitely kill you with my own hands!]

Kicking out of the building debris he was embedded in, he flashed the energy blades in both his hands. The enemy mech’s head sensor pulsed with an eerie red light.

‘He’s a tenacious one.’

The pile bunker needed time before it could be reused.

I aimed the accelerator rifle in my left hand, but he seemed to have no intention of allowing it, boosting at maximum output and rapidly closing the distance.

[Die! Die!]

His voice sounded somewhat excited.

His energy blade lunged fiercely towards Asura’s head.

[Movement flow activated. Reactor load 200%.]

The system message that popped up indicated that my mech, Asura, was not in a very good state.

I leaned my upper body back, barely dodging the attack.

Swoosh—!

The energy blade grazed right past the cockpit, making an eerie cutting sound.

Cold sweat ran down my spine.

As soon as his attack missed, he began to press even more fiercely.

He swung both energy blades, giving no opening, and at times, he directly crashed into me, leveraging the mech’s heavy weight.

Clang! Clank! Sizzle!

The two mechs intertwined, tearing each other’s armor, damaging components, and engaged in a desperate brawl.

The particle accelerator rifle had long been discarded as it was cumbersome.

Now, all I could rely on was the pile bunker’s cooldown, my combat instincts, and Asura’s basic frame, which Scarlet had reinforced.

[You weren’t a monster after all! Your movements have slowed down!]

Letting out a hollow laugh, he deeply plunged his energy blade into my left shoulder armor.

“Ugh!”

With a violent impact, the system warning window flashed like crazy.

My vision instantly turned red. I tried to strike his flank in retaliation, but it was useless.

Whoosh—!

Suddenly, he retreated and ascended into the sky.

‘What is it? Is he trying to escape?’

[Die.]

It was a mistake.

Two massive beam cannons mounted on his shoulder armament began to deploy.

An ominous blue light leaked from their muzzles.

“Damn it! I have to dodge!”

[Reactor overheating warning! Warning!]

‘Shut up! If I get hit by that, I’ll be burned to death!’

Whirrrr—! Boom!

The moment the beam cannon fired, I fired an interceptor missile as a final desperate act, but the missile was obliterated without a trace and exploded in the beam of light that burst forth with a flash.

“I dodged it!”

It was too early to rejoice about dodging by a hair’s breadth, by such a narrow margin.

Whirrrr—!

I could see the ominous blue energy condensing in the muzzles of both beam cannons again.

[Dodge if you can, I’ll keep pouring it out until I hit you!]

Boom—!

Bang—!

Boom—!

I used all my might to dodge the continuous beams of light, but the result was terrible.

“Damn it….”

Curses escaped my lips naturally.

[Is this the end?]

As the two beam cannons retracted, he leisurely descended from the sky. The composure of one certain of victory could be felt.

[Warning! Left arm critical frame damage!]

[Warning! Multiple armor layers damaged! Internal frame exposed!]

[Warning! Energy conductivity sharply decreased!]

.

.

.

Countless system messages popped up.

Asura no longer moved as I willed it, stopping miserably with its left arm and part of its armor torn off.

He drew his energy blade and slowly approached.

‘Damn it… My vision is dark.’

Perhaps I hit my head from the impact the mech sustained, as blood flowing from my forehead heavily obscured my vision.

I’m dizzy.

‘Am I… going to die like this?’

I gasped for breath. A burning pain, as if my lungs were on fire, surged over me.

[Farewell.]

The energy blade flew towards Asura’s cockpit, as if to pierce it.

‘I can’t die like this.’

I squeezed out all remaining energy, activated the boosters, and instantly shot backward.

A grinding sound emanated from the mech, and a vibration echoed through my body.

[What? You still had energy left?]

A hint of bewilderment flashed in his voice.

Clank—!

“Yes, this is still left.”

I deployed the pile bunker.

[Are you trying to make a last stand? Useless!]

He also seemed to have expended a considerable amount of energy from continuous beam cannon usage.

I could tell by how he no longer tried to evade and hastily deployed his shield.

To penetrate or not. That is the fight now.

Whoosh—! Whoosh!

The boosters roared loudly, and I mobilized all attack means I possessed.

I put everything I had left into this single shot.

[Movement flow activated.]

[Precision strike assist system activated.]

Boom—!

The pile bunker’s steel stake lunged towards the enemy mech’s shield with a flash.

Crack—!

[Damn it…!]

As the energy shield shattered like glass, the metal stake precisely pierced near his reactor core.

[How can this be… To still be unable to win even with this… Lieutenant Kyle, I… I have no face….]

Simultaneously with the explosion, his voice was faintly heard.

Boom—!

Normally, I should have immediately escaped the aftermath of the explosion, but the mech wouldn’t respond.

“Ugh… Ughhh!”

The shattered debris of the enemy mech dug into various parts of Asura’s armor as if in a final struggle.

“Haa… haa….”

I leaned my forehead against the control stick, breathing heavily. All sensation in my body grew distant.

Asura was in such a terrible state that it needed to be scrapped immediately.

Red warning lights were desperately blinking on all parts.

[Special Objective Achieved.]

[Nesis Corporation Special Reinforced Mech Destroyed.]

[Item: Skill Enhancement Token x1 Acquired.]

The system message dryly announced victory.

“I should have… properly reinforced it before coming, damn it.”

A hollow laugh escaped my lips.

It felt like I would die any moment, but there was still work to be done.

I pulled out the pistol Scarlet had given me for emergencies and painstakingly got out of the cockpit.

“Haa… damn it….”

As soon as my feet touched the ground, my legs trembled.

Seeing Asura, battered beyond recognition before my eyes, only then did it sink in.

How reckless a choice I had made.

‘At least I should have properly brought other armaments.’

I was too arrogant. I overestimated my abilities and strength.

I took a deep breath and tapped on my terminal.

The recipient was Scarlet.

[Jinwoo! What’s wrong? Gasp… What’s wrong with your face? Are you dying? What on earth happened?!]

Scarlet, who appeared as a hologram, seemed to be in the middle of her work, covered in sweat.

“Scarlet, do me a favor. Can you send a transport ship? As you can see… the mech is in a terrible state.”

I tried to sound nonchalant, but I couldn’t help my voice from trembling.

[Forget the transport ship! What’s that blood on your face, and the mech…! My God, you crazy bastard! What on earth did you do?!]

Her voice was tinged with bewilderment, desperation, and sadness.

[W-wait! I’ll go right away! Send me the coordinates quickly!]

“Okay, thank you. You were the first one I thought of.”

Those words were sincere.

[Stop talking nonsense and stay put! Got it?!]

The call was urgently cut off.

“Hoo…”

I let out a short sigh of relief. I also considered asking Yuna for help, but still, Scarlet was the closest one from here, so I judged that contacting her was the right choice.

“Anyway, let’s go.”

The surroundings were eerily quiet.

The mechs of those Nesis Corporation bastards were no longer visible.

‘Why?’

A question arose, but now was not the time to dwell on it.

The request wasn’t over yet.