episode_0111

From the perspective of Security Officer Violet 312, the situation was the worst.

First, Irene’s house was ablaze. The penthouse located on the 60th floor’s rooftop was currently engulfed in smoke and flames.

Fortunately, Irene had quickly broken a window and burst out just before the explosion. Then, she pulled out a spear, plunged it into the wall to reduce her speed, and landed. Up to this point, it was fortunate.

The problem was that some madmen had intruded and began a gunfight. In the middle of the city! From the rooftop of the cafe near the penthouse building where I am located, I can clearly see what’s happening.

“Agh! Irene is in danger!”

“A gunfight in the middle of the city! In broad daylight!”

I don’t know who they are, but they must be madmen. The Central District is an area where several large corporations, the headquarters of the Four Great Clans, federal government buildings, and major institutions of the Academy City are gathered. To put it in terms of the world before my transmigration, what those terrorists did is akin to having a gunfight in the middle of Gangnam Boulevard!

“Security team, assemble!”

After deploying the sniper unit on the rooftop, I leaped down from the building without hesitation.

The sniper unit Violets observed the scene.

Surrounded by several armored vehicles mounted with machine guns, armed soldiers and hunters were relentlessly attacking Irene. The sight of many individuals ganging up on one person was like witnessing a school bullying incident.

Drones hovered in the air around them, like vultures over a corpse’s head. They must belong to them.

“Sniper unit! Have you detected anything nearby? Like Kroshel, or that General Affairs bastard! Oh, the Vice Student Council President might be there. Find them!”

“It’s Kaim! That slacker’s name. He’s not visible here for now!”

Violet 312 shook her head. Is he commanding from behind? If not them, then who could have done this?

Everything was happening rapidly. People screamed and ran in all directions. The patrolling police officers were also flustered, clutching their radios and helplessly calling for reinforcements.

“Violet Provisional Command, ready! Field team, this is an urgent situation, move quickly!”

As the Violet Provisional Command quickly took their seats, Violet 1, holding the command staff, began issuing orders to all conscious, tangible and intangible Violets.

“All personnel, ready for deployment!”

“Alright, then, field team! Prepare smoke grenades!”

Violet 312, having quickly changed clothes and descended to the sidewalk, pulled out several can-shaped objects. People’s gazes were drawn to the sudden appearance of the black-masked Violet. Violet 312 ignited the smoke grenades and threw them to the ground.

“Deploy smoke!”

Several cans rolled across the ground. The smoke billowing from the homemade smoke grenades quickly covered the middle of the sidewalk.

“What is this now!”

“It’s smoke!”

Smoke so thick one couldn’t see an inch ahead filled the area in front of the building. Now there was no need to worry about being seen.

“Deployment initiated!”

Violet 312 quickly created clones. Violets in black combat suits appeared from within the smoke and rushed out. From the outside, it would have looked as if armed forces had suddenly burst out of the smoke. It was a measure to conceal and distort our clone generation ability.

“Perception-hindering device operation confirmed. All clear!”

“Violet Security Company. Deployment complete. Operation start!”

17 Violets of the Firepower Unit scattered around, while 90 Violets of the Assault Team ran through the streets. They leaped over vehicles and crossed the middle of the road. The police officers, who were frantically radioing nearby, were startled and shouted when they saw us,

“Headquarters! Currently engaged in a gunfight on 12th Street… Agh! Who are you people now!”

Oh dear, there were still civilians remaining. We need to chase them out. We’re planning to use high-firepower weapons, and they might get caught in it by mistake. The Provisional Command issued an evacuation order for civilians.

“Hey! Get out of here quickly! From now on, this is a battlefield!”

“Ugh!”

Violet 122 pulled out a federal-issue automatic rifle and fired it wildly into the air. Other Violets also grabbed nearby civilians and police officers and drove them elsewhere.

“This is Violet 1 of Command. The operation begins now. First objective is to rescue Irene! Second objective is to annihilate the enemy! The final objective is to move to a safe zone!”

“Confirmed!”

The objectives were set. The Command, linked to the field personnel’s senses, declared the attack. Now, it was time to move!

The Violets, with their magic activated, moved towards the sound of gunshots. A terrible situation was visible to the Violet unit’s eyes. Irene could be seen inside the building’s first-floor lobby. Her clothes were tattered from gunshots and explosions. Although there were no major injuries yet, her exposed skin was covered in numerous small wounds. Blood was also flowing.

“Squad 1 and Squad 2, target the enemy’s armed forces from the rear and flanks! Squad 3, secure Irene!”

“What about us?”

“Firepower Unit, stand by; you need to deal with the enemy hunters! Sniper Unit, first, eliminate those drones hovering in the sky!”

The sniper unit set up anti-material sniper rifles and combat rifles on the cafe rooftop. The drones immediately plummeted to the ground.

The Heavy Weapons Unit carried grenade launchers and rocket launchers. It was time to test the weapons purchased from Armas!

“This is Squad 1! Engagement has begun!”

Squad 1 and Squad 2, who had rushed forward, poured gunfire onto their backs. Simultaneously, Squad 3, carrying shields, entered the building and surrounded Irene. Irene couldn’t hide her bewilderment at the sudden appearance of the black-clad forces.

“You… who are you!”

“It’s me, me! Violet! Can’t you recognize me?”

Violet 45 whispered.

“How did you get here…”

“Let’s get out of here first!”

The one who appeared to be the enemy leader pointed at us.

“What are those things now? Deal with them!”

A large human-shaped mechanical weapon beside him charged at us. Unusually, for a robot, magic was flickering in its arms! The Violets who recognized the weapon’s identity were agitated.

“Was that there even before the main story?”

Robots that use magic are extremely rare in this Academy City! Because machines are antithetical to Aether.

That’s a human-machine weapon used by the Four Great Clans, a Stregonix. It’s an Awakened Cyborg! A wicked culmination of Aether science, combining the power of machines with the intelligence of Awakened beings. To think I’d see that here.

“Firepower Unit! Prepare rockets and grenades! Pour it on them right now!”

Half of Squad 3 rushed to intercept the Awakened enemies and the Stregonix. As they ran out of the lobby with Irene, the Firepower Unit simultaneously launched rockets into the first floor.

“I’ve always wanted to say this line. Broken Arrow!”

The Awakened were startled as soon as they saw the rockets. They shook off the Violets and quickly rushed out. The Stregonix reacted slower than them. The machine was hit by a rocket, sent flying, and crashed.

“Did we get it?”

“No, it’ll wake up soon! To destroy that, these kinds of rockets aren’t enough. Get out of here for now!”

Squad 3 quickly led Irene out.

“Irene, here’s a communicator! I’ve put it in your ear. Follow me!”

“Ah, alright… Ugh…”

Oh no, Irene had completely collapsed from exhaustion. Squad 3 carried their friend on their back and fled.

Meanwhile, Squad 1 and Squad 2 were engaging the mercenary unit.

“Ugh!”

“An ally is down! It’s a surprise attack!”

Mercenaries in exoskeletons were caught in the machine gun’s barrage and fell. The mercenaries were masked like us, but their astonishment could be felt behind their masks.

Unfortunately, our enemies were not fools.

“Get down!”

Although we killed several with the initial surprise attack, the rest quickly took cover. Some of the machine gun turrets on the vehicles turned their barrels towards us, and some of them responded by pulling out smoke grenades or hand grenades.

“Woah! Their reaction level is different!”

“Agh! They have heavy weapons!”

The trajectories of grenades and rockets crisscrossed overhead. I quickly thought it over. They’re different from that gang last time. These guys are combat professionals. Command quickly changed its orders. There’s no time to leisurely engage in a gunfight here.

“No time. Transmitting to Squad 1! Shock troop deployment approved. Break their formation!”

“Ready!”

While Squad 2 slowly approached, laying down suppressive fire, Squad 1, having completed their weapon change, activated the magic throughout their bodies. Squad 1 charged forward with overwhelming speed.

“What the! Why are they so fast!”

“Awakened beings?”

The Shield Unit, wielding riot shields and hammers, charged at incredible speed, blocking bullets. Violets carrying one-handed swords, automatic rifles, and shotguns in both hands followed close behind. Seeing the magic imbued in the sword aura, the mercenaries became flustered by the unexpected situation. But this wasn’t the end.

“Remember me!”

While the Shield Unit paused for a moment, the leg muscles of a Violet waiting behind them contracted like springs and quickly launched them off the ground. From behind the shields, the Shock Unit, wearing thick bomb vests and carrying bags, leaped up and threw themselves into the enemy ranks.

“It’s… a suicide charge! Get down!”

One mercenary shouted upon seeing the vest and bag worn by the Violet. Violet 78 smiled and pressed the switch.

“Hug me!” —Boom!

The tens of kilograms of explosives carried by the Shock Unit blew away the encirclement of non-Awakened troops.

“Aaaah! Aaaah!”

Though not a small number of enemy armed personnel were still alive, Squad 1 and Squad 2, who had been waiting, charged simultaneously right after the explosion. We couldn’t give them time to react.

“This is Eos-1! …They’re all Awakened! Ugh!”

Starting by beheading one shouting mercenary, we proceeded with the slaughter. Violet 462, with one hand, flawlessly emptied the magazine of an automatic shotgun, reducing three enemies to rags. Violet 221, impatient, threw away her gun and leaped in. A sword flickering with magic cut an opponent in half with a single strike. The mercenaries resisted with all their might, but they were still just non-Awakened. Their speed was slow, even to my eyes.

“Where did these monsters come from!”

A mercenary in an exoskeleton resisted with a dagger. The power unit of the exoskeleton he wore activated with a fierce whirring sound. Violet 126 dodged the dagger and then lightly cut him down.

Some Awakened who escaped the explosion turned to face us. Their number was five.

“An Awakened unit of company scale? Is this even possible?”

“We’ll handle those!”

While the one who appeared to be the leader and one other person fought Squad 3, five of them charged at us.

“Enemy Awakened encountered!”

“Idiots! To think they’d withdraw their forces so easily.”

“No need to fight! There are still more bomb vests, right?”

We charged forward, feigning struggle while fighting. Immediately, we were pierced by blades or had arms severed, but it was too late. The heavily wounded Violets clung to the enemies.

“Let’s go together!”

“No… no! They’re self-destructing! Don’t come! Go away!”

The hunters, who belatedly recognized the bombs, tried to flee. The Violets pulled the switches.

—Boom!

Four Awakened were caught in the explosion and ripped to shreds. Four Violets for four enemy personnel annihilated, an overwhelming cost-effectiveness.

“Aaaah! I’ve had enough!”

One hunter, seeing his comrades torn apart, began to flee in terror.

“Sniper Unit!”

“Understood.”

The sniper unit’s anti-material sniper rifle on the cafe rooftop aimed at the enemy’s head. A muffled gunshot, suppressed by a silencer, rang out. The hunter’s head vanished.

“Got him!”

Objective 2 was almost achieved. But there was still a variable left. The leader of the enemy hunter group and one subordinate were still alive and in a standoff.

“A vehicle will arrive in 10 minutes. Get out of that spot for now!”

Violet 56, who was in charge of Squad 3, protested.

“That’s too long! Other clans might come. Or the Inspection Bureau!”

“Then, hijack a nearby vehicle!”

While information was rapidly exchanged, the battle continued.

“Get lost!”

“Ugh!”

Violet 45, who had been charging with a bomb vest, was hit by the leader’s mace and sent soaring into the sky. Whether daunted by our suicide tactics and firepower, they didn’t charge us head-on. They merely jumped around on streetlights and vehicles, observing our surroundings.

They didn’t charge us, but they didn’t retreat either. What are they waiting for?

A new report came into Command, which had been observing the situation.

“This is the Sniper Unit. The Stregonix is moving!”

Command observed through the sniper unit’s vision. The Stregonix, which had been sent flying by the rocket, emerged from the building, dragging its metallic bulk. Its armor plates were dented, but the machine moved perfectly fine. Fierce magical flames flickered in both of its arms.

Somehow, we were lucky just now! If that monster is what we know it to be, it wouldn’t be destroyed by a single rocket.

“Transmitting to field personnel. One squad, quickly secure a vehicle and escape with Irene! The rest, concentrate firepower on the Stregonix!”

The fight seemed likely to get longer.

Two Awakened who had been lingering nearby retreated behind the cyborg. The sniper unit pulled the triggers of their anti-material sniper rifles, and the firepower unit pulled out rockets and repeating grenade launchers, firing them wildly. The middle of the road echoed with thunderous gunshots. Unlike before, the Stregonix deployed a barrier and approached, firing magical beams from its hands. It seemed to have adapted to our attacks.

“Squad 1, Platoon 2! I picked up a radio. It’s enemy radio. Listen!”

As the audio was shared, new information came in. Someone on the other end of the radio was screaming furiously.

[“Respond, this is Headquarters! The ‘Princess’ escaped? Respond! You can kill her! Reinforcements are coming soon. Hold on! You must capture her before the Inspection Bureau arrives!”]

Hearing the radio, I felt annoyed. Whoever it was, this guy must be the mastermind. Violet, the platoon leader of Platoon 2, turned on the voice changer.

[“Shut up!”]

[“Eos-1? No, who are you? Who the hell are you!”]

[“I’m your grandfather in the afterlife! Grandson. Who told you to live like that!”]

[“What? You son of a b-…”]

After uttering one more word, I smashed the radio. While the others bought time, the Squad 3 leader put the exhausted Irene into a stolen car and stepped on the accelerator. According to the radio, more enemies were coming. They had to get away quickly.

Squad 1 engaged in a fierce melee with the approaching cyborg and two hunters.

At that moment, fire rained down from the sky. Looking up, a swarm of small propeller-equipped drones buzzed and flew towards them.

“Agh! Is it magic?”

“They’re suicide drones!”

“Sniper Unit, all machine gunners, aim for the sky!”

The enemy leader, who had been wielding a mace, was also terrified.

“Stop! There are allies here! Can’t you hear me!”

“These crazy bastards! They’re just blindly sending them in, even with allies mixed in!”

Squad 1 and Squad 2 fled to the surroundings. Drones also flew towards the car Irene was in. The escorts, leaning out of the car windows, shot down several, but one drone stubbornly fell near the car. A tire burst and the car flipped over.

“Ugh!… Violet! What’s going on?”

“Agh! The car flipped over!”

“Irene is safe! Initiating escape!”

As the Squad 3 leader and personnel hastily pulled Irene out of the car, two passenger cars appeared on the road, blocking their path. New enemies, armed with swords and axes, got out of the cars.

“Ugh! This is getting tiresome. More enemies?”

I gritted my teeth. Drone bombardment, and even reinforcements?

“Alright, so they want to do this, huh? All-out war begins!”

The Violets in Command angrily gulped down magic supplements. With a mind to finish this, the Squad 3 leader and the surviving Violets prepared to generate clones.

And then, an ear-splitting noise came from the sky. A jet plane sliced through the sky and flew in.

“Huh? That’s!”

That plane. It’s the vertical take-off and landing aircraft that appeared at Aegis Academy. A new convoy of vehicles also entered the city.

[“This is the Inspection Bureau. All personnel, surrender!”]

A warning broadcast echoed. Agents bearing the Inspection Bureau’s mark disembarked from armored vehicles and surrounded the area. The guys blocking our path were terrified and raised their hands. We looked around, dumbfounded.

The plane hovered above us, then its rear ramp opened. A black figure leaped down.

—Clang!

The Stregonix, which had survived the drone bombardment intact, was split in two. It was the Dean’s doing.

“There, it’s the Dean!”

“What do we do?”

“First, Squad 1, Squad 2! Quickly take out any remaining smoke grenades!”

The Violet squads deployed smoke. The agents rushed in. But it was too late. We disappeared into the smoke.

“What about us?”

When the Squad 3 leader asked, the Violet Command, after a brief thought, reached a conclusion.

“If it’s the Dean, we can trust him. Let’s entrust Irene to him.”

“What about us?”

“We can’t reveal our identities right now. Let’s just hand Irene over and leave quickly!”

We saw the Dean running towards us. We carefully sat Irene down nearby and quickly retreated.

“W-where are you going?”

“We have to leave now!”

I tapped the communicator in her ear.

“I’ll explain later separately. Those people are from the Inspection Bureau. You can trust them!”

Irene, who had been looking at us with exhausted eyes, nodded as if she understood something.

“Right, it’s hard to reveal your identities, isn’t it? I understand. Go quickly…!”

The Squad 3 leader and the remaining Violets quickly departed.

“Miss Irene! Are you alright?”

The last remaining sniper team disappeared after seeing the Dean take Irene and leave.

We weren’t found out, right? No way?