episode_0114

Exiting the erosion zone, filled with chaos and madness, you encounter fortresses and cities with defensive walls that protect reality and order. Traverse several tens of kilometers further from there, and you can see the human settlements where safety is guaranteed. Across the human settlements spanning various continents, countless people continue to live fiercely each day.

However, this is not our stage. To ascend to the true stage, we must leave the continent.

Crossing the sea beyond the splashing waves, you will encounter a multitude of islands. This is the Lustrum Archipelago.

The academy city, Lustrum, is located on the main island of the Lustrum Archipelago. Around the massive main island, dozens of large and small islands are scattered like stars in the night sky. If the main island is the largest gem embedded in a crown, the surrounding islands are the tiny granular jewels adorning the lead role.

Most of the archipelago’s population is concentrated on the enormous main island of Lustrum, but people also live on the surrounding islands.

Notable islands include Mystia, Veridis, and Cascadia. If you stop a passerby and ask them to name an island in the Lustrum Archipelago, nine times out of ten they will name one of these three major islands. While not as populous as Lustrum itself, they are densely inhabited. They are also safe due to low gate occurrence rates and are famous tourist destinations known for their beautiful scenery.

However, not all islands in the archipelago are easily accessible. Some islands are entirely eroded, and others are restricted areas due to being clan outposts or federal military bases. And the vast majority are uninhabited islands.

We Violets focused on these geographical characteristics. Uninhabited islands mean no people, making them good places for our work. While the Violet barracks in the central district handled troublesome issues, the rest of us took a boat out of Lustrum’s main island.

“Adela’s main family home, it’s on the island we stopped by earlier, right?”

“Yeah, I think it’s that island.”

From Lustrum, you can reach Cascadia Island by armed ferry. After chartering another boat and traveling for a long time, Lespera Island, boasting dizzying cliffs, welcomed us.

“Is this really a famous spot? I don’t see many people. We climbed up, and there’s no one around.”

“It’s probably because it’s not tourist season right now.”

Lespera Island is a small island with a tall volcano and rugged cliffs. Though not as prominent as the three major islands, it’s still considered a tourist attraction in its own right.

However, for us, who work tirelessly day and night to bring down the academy, there’s no reason to suddenly come here for leisure. The Violets came here for a different reason.

“Well, since there are few people, it’ll be good for practice!”

Lespera Island has suitable sea breezes and high cliffs. This natural environment has made the island a popular spot for paragliding and wingsuit enthusiasts. This means it’s an excellent environment for flight practice.

“Alright, Violet First Flight Squadron, assemble!”

The Violet unit established its first flight squadron today.

***

Originally, we had planned to practice flying on Lustrum’s main island. Since our future operational environment would be urban, we thought it would be better to practice takeoffs, landings, and general flight within the city.

“Alright, let’s start.”

“Be careful not to break it!”

After placing the delivered parts into our inventories, we moved them to the explosive workshop in the distance.

The Violets at the workshop took out powered hang glider parts from a box and began assembly. Before long, a proper aircraft was born in the middle of the factory. We put in fuel and started the engine; it worked perfectly.

However, a problem arose in the next step.

“How do we fly this?”

Though less complex than an actual airplane, a powered hang glider is still an aircraft. I had never flown a plane before, so I had no idea how to operate it.

“Airplanes have joysticks, but this one doesn’t.”

“Is this even the right one?”

There were several types of ‘powered hang gliders’ that we ordered. One was an aircraft-shaped vehicle with an engine, seat, and landing wheels attached beneath a hang glider. The other was a simplified item with only an engine and a gondola attached beneath a parachute. Strictly speaking, this should be called a powered parachute.

We searched through the enclosed manual, books, and various video materials.

“It says it’s controlled by shifting body weight!”

“Oh, so it’s like a motorcycle!”

I sat in the unstarted seat and moved around. After a few tries, it felt like I could do it.

“Let’s start right away!”

“Prepare for takeoff!”

We dragged the powered hang glider out to the wasteland near the workshop. There were so many volunteers eager to ride first that we used a computer’s random number generator to pick a number. Seventy-four was drawn.

“Yahoo!”

Number 74 sat in the seat, beaming. When the engine was started, it rumbled a few times, then the propeller began to spin furiously. The hang glider moved forward.

“Try moving your body back and forth. Then it might take off!”

As the surrounding Violets advised, Number 74 did as told. The hang glider soared into the sky.

“Wow, it’s floating! It’s flying!”

The Violet succeeded in true powered flight. The hang glider slowly but surely rose high into the sky. Number 74 excitedly spun in circles in the air.

“I’m flying!”

“Amazing! To succeed like this on the first try!”

We clapped our hands wildly in admiration. Some excited Violets took out champagne from their inventories and popped it. This flight was only a small attempt, but for us Violets, it was a huge leap forward! Now, our influence had reached the skies.

“I’ll try landing now!”

After flying in the air for a while, Number 74 attempted to land in the wasteland. Unsure of what would happen, several Violets brought nets out from the workshop. The Violets spread the nets on both sides. They intended to use these to catch the glider for a safe landing.

“Going down!”

The hang glider with Number 74 onboard descended to the ground. However, Number 74 was so excited that they made a mistake. They descended to the ground at too steep an angle.

“Huh? Oh! This feels unstable?”

“The angle!!”

The hang glider crashed into the ground, plunging down without time to slow. Its body flipped over, and its wings shattered upon impact.

“Screech!”

“Waaah! Our hang glider is broken!”

Number 74 screamed and crashed to the ground.

“Ugh…I think my back is broken.”

“Understood, Number 74! Reverse-generate quickly.”

Number 74 didn’t die but was badly injured. Number 74’s body slowly dispersed into glittering particles of magic. However, Violets dying or getting injured wasn’t the problem. The hang glider was wrecked. The propeller was broken, and the body was cracked.

“Oh, what a waste! Our hang glider!”

“Can’t be helped! Let’s buy a new one. From now on, just fly carefully.”

Fortunately, we hadn’t ordered just one or two powered hang gliders. After reviewing the previous issues, we embarked on re-flight.

“How about subtly enhancing our bodies with magic when controlling it? Then we can move more delicately.”

The engine whirred back to life with a ‘whummm’ sound. A new hang glider soared into the sky.

“Slowly, slowly! We’ll catch you with the net, so don’t worry!”

“Good! Landing now!”

The hang glider touched down again in a more stable posture than before. This time, it didn’t stop for a long time, so we had to hold it with the net, but the hang glider was intact.

“As expected, enhancing our reaction speed with magic made controlling it easier.”

“Don’t overuse it too much. We need to conserve magic.”

And on the third flight, the hang glider successfully landed stably.

“Finally!”

Violets rushed to Number 542, who had disembarked from the hang glider, and tossed them into the air.

“Yippee!”

“Let’s keep this up!”

While the Violets were laughing, chatting, and bouncing around, Number 10, who had been observing from the Violet barracks, tossed out a remark.

“But what now?”

“What do you mean ‘what now’? We need to practice takeoffs. And try flight target practice, and bombing…”

“What about the wingsuits?”

“Oh, right.”

The Violets’ gaze turned to the unopened wingsuits. Now that we look at them, we don’t know where to practice with these.

“How about jumping from a hang glider, or generating clones in mid-air?”

“Already? Let’s try that once we’re more accustomed to it. For now, we should start by jumping from a high place.”

The Violets nodded at the valid point.

So, where would be a good place? It seems best to jump from a tall building. Coincidentally, in the middle of the central district, there’s the Lustrum Veil, a building boasting a height measured in kilometers.

“Wouldn’t doing it in the middle of the city be too conspicuous? The workshop was in an outskirt area, so it didn’t matter.”

“Then, where could there be a decent place with few people…?”

Someone came up with a new idea.

“Does it have to be inside the academy city? There are plenty of islands outside, aren’t there?”

“Aha!”

***

And so, the Violets headed to the cliffs of Lespera Island.

“Everyone! Prepare!”

Once it was confirmed that there were no people, I generated a clone and put on a wingsuit. Wingsuits, like other clothes, could be replicated.

“Good weather! Good wind!”

“No one is approaching the vicinity. We can start!”

In the sky, a squadron of hang gliders, airlifted via inventory and assembled, flew overhead.

The primary role of the three hang gliders was for training control, but they were also practicing flight simultaneously. They were also reconnoitering for anyone approaching the area.

“Team 1, begin descent!”

“Falling nowwww!”

First, five Violets threw themselves down the high cliff.

As soon as we fell, we spread our arms and legs. It was difficult to spread our limbs against the strong resistance, but we activated magic in our arms and legs to exert force. The membranes attached to our suits deployed. We felt a floating sensation. Our descent speed slightly decreased, and the fall turned into flight. Enjoying the air resistance throughout our bodies, we began to glide.

“Yahoo! So fast, this is amazing!”

“Kyahahaha!”

We were thrilled by the fierce sea wind, which we could feel even behind our masks and goggles. At a speed incomparable to that of a hang glider, we felt an exhilarating sensation.

Fun aside, controlling it was incredibly difficult. Even a slight twist of an arm or leg would send us spinning in circles in mid-air or heading in a completely wrong direction.

Clumsy mistakes during high-speed flight lead to death.

And then, an incident occurred.

“Screaaam!”

Number 412 crashed into a rock due to a flight error. It was due to miscontrol in the strong wind. Number 412 disappeared, becoming like a squashed tomato.

“Number 412, deceased!”

The remaining four Violets, without letting their guard down, headed toward the ground. In the distance, at the end of their reckless descent, white sea foam and rocks awaited them.

“Huh? Oh! I’m caught! Gak!”

While flying over trees, Number 67 failed to see a towering tree and got caught in it. Number 67’s neck was broken.

“This is Training Controller! You’ve almost reached the destination. Now, just deploy your parachutes and land in the water!”

The remaining three successfully reached the destination. Since we couldn’t land in an inhabited area, we decided to land in the sea.

The scenery below showed unknown depths of blue water and rippling white foam. Now, all we had to do was deploy our parachutes!

“No! The parachute isn’t opening! Ugyaat!”

Unfortunately, at the last moment, Number 443’s parachute failed to open. Numbers 234 and 110 landed safely, but Number 443 plunged into the sea.

“Surviving Violets, reverse-generate quickly. Next!”

“Team 2, begin descent!”

The Violets continued to repeat their descents for practice. Like falling flowers, Violets jumped off the cliff and disappeared.

Dying over and over again, we gradually became accustomed to flying.

After the training, the remaining Violets discussed wingsuit flight.

“I looked it up, and wingsuit flight is apparently closer to falling than actual flying.”

“It’s fast, but a bit difficult.”

Wingsuits were incomparably harder than hang gliders. They had no self-propulsion and were difficult to control. Even a slight miscontrol would send us flying in the wrong direction.

Moreover, the descent speed was fast. It turns out that for every 1 meter of descent, you move forward about 2.5 meters. In other words, if you wanted to fly about 10 kilometers, you had to jump from an altitude of over 4 kilometers.

“When actually using them, we’ll have to jump from a hang glider. Or generate ourselves in the air.”

“They might be useful for high-speed infiltration, but sustained flight is impossible. We also have to consider that powered hang glider engines don’t work well at extremely high altitudes.”

“How about attaching rockets to our backs?”

“Rejected, propulsion control is impossible.”

Numbers 45 and 31 Violets offered skeptical opinions. Number 289, who had been deep in thought, replied.

“Don’t think too negatively! We can use them for their respective necessary purposes.”

Necessary purposes… I suppose that’s true when I think about it. There’s no such thing as an all-rounder in the world, so it’s important to apply them to appropriate situations.

Powered hang gliders could fly in the sky without limits but were incredibly sluggish and slow. Wingsuits were fast and agile but could only glide.

We pondered how to overcome the strengths and weaknesses of both items.

Number 3 slapped their knee and exclaimed.

“If flight distance is the problem, how about jumping from hot air balloons or blimps? We might be able to descend from even higher altitudes than with hang gliders.”

“That’s a good idea, isn’t it?”

The Violets who heard Number 3’s suggestion considered it a good idea and recorded it.

Hang gliders, due to engine performance issues, couldn’t ascend to extremely high altitudes. However, large helium balloons or hot air balloons could go even higher. If we used one Violet beneath a balloon as a base, we could continuously generate and deploy wingsuit commandos.

Once everyone put forward their ideas, it turned out there was a lot we could do. The option of flight could provide much more to our fight.

“Wait a minute, everyone.”

Just then, Number 178 proposed an interesting idea.

“You’re all strange. Why are you only trying to use wingsuits for transportation?”

“!”

We had forgotten. That Violets have their own unique methods! There was a way to maximize the advantages of wingsuits.

***

A few days later, while the Violets on the main island struggled with various problems, the Violets outside the island headed for the open sea.

The place they headed to by boat was an uninhabited island, far from Lespera Island. They planned to conduct combat training here.

Having completed their preparations, the Violet First Flight Squadron crossed the sandy beach and soared into the sky. Five hang gliders of various types began formation flying.

“Alright, don’t deviate from position. Prepare!”

The hang gliders slowly flew through the sky toward the target location. Before long, the squadron arrived over the opposite side of the uninhabited island. There, various targets like watermelons, mannequins, and broken home appliances were laid out.

“Attack aircraft, prepare to fire!”

First, single-seater hang gliders and powered parachutes approached. Each held an assault rifle or a small homemade bomb in one hand.

“Commence attack!”

The squadron leader Violet gave the command. The Violets in the hang gliders shot their guns at the ground and threw bombs.

“Boom!”

The target mannequin was riddled with rifle fire and fell. Bombs consecutively dropped onto it. The mannequin shattered into pieces.

As the smaller hang gliders retreated, a two-seater hang glider slowly circled the target, like an eagle preying on its catch.

While the Violet in the pilot’s seat focused on flying, the Violet in the co-pilot’s seat took out a Type 60 machine gun from their inventory.

“Attack aircraft, commence firing!”

“Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!”

The co-pilot Violet aligned the red dot of the scope with the target. As they pulled the trigger, bullets poured down like rain. Yellow streaks of tracer rounds swept across the targets.

“Splat-splat-splat!”

Tables and the watermelons on top of them burst and shattered.

“Target destroyed!”

After the machine gun firing ceased, a burst grenade launcher was taken out and fired at the ground. As small explosions sounded, the targets were engulfed in shrapnel, breaking and tearing apart.

“Up to here, it’s as expected. Nothing special.”

“The important part is what comes next. We need to succeed…”

Once the firing practice was over, the Violets waiting on the uninhabited island’s ground took out a large white cloth. A rectangular cloth with a black crosshair drawn in the center was spread out.

We fixed the four corners of the cloth to the ground, then dispersed back into the trenches and hid.

“Unit 5, ascend to maximum altitude!”

One powered hang glider, having received the instruction, ran its engine at maximum output and soared high into the sky. Number 12 looked around. Below, only the dark blue sea stretched out. After moving far from the island, Number 12 concentrated their magic.

A wingsuit-clad clone was generated beneath the hang glider. Number 241 was wearing a large, heavy bag and vest. Number 241 spread their membranes and immediately glided towards the island. Their body was a bit sluggish due to the heavy load they carried, but it wasn’t enough to prevent them from flying.

“Number 241. You can do it!”

“Focus! Focus!”

Hearing the cheers of her other selves, Number 241 gained confidence. The biting wind whistled and roared past her ears. The sound of the wind made it almost impossible to hear. The distant uninhabited island gradually grew larger. Entrusting her body to the wind, Number 241 freely fell.

Soon, the target approached. The white cloth spread on the ground came closer with each passing moment. The crosshair drawn on the cloth became clearly visible. Number 241 diligently twisted her arms and legs to adjust her flight path, ensuring she wouldn’t miss the destination.

“Getting closer! Kyahhoo!”

Number 241 cheered inwardly. The Violet squadron circling in the sky was visible. Our other selves waiting on the ground were also visible. The white cloth was now right in front of her. The ground was approaching. It was close. Impact!

“It’s gonna explode!”

“KABOOOOOM!”

Number 241 impacted precisely in the center of the white tarp’s crosshairs. One second later, a violent explosion swept through the target area.

The Violet squadron was the first to witness the result.

“Did it succeed?”

“We did it! It succeeded!”

Number 241, returned to the Violet network, shouted loudly.

“See? I succeeded!”

“Well done!”

The Violets on the uninhabited island, unable to contain their excitement, ran around wildly and danced.

“Today’s a good day. Let’s play and drink!”

“Hooray!”

We rejoiced in our new success, savoring another advancement in Violet military science. We couldn’t help but be thrilled. As of today, as of this very moment, the Violets had gained the power to annihilate any villainous group from long range!

A weapon capable of unleashing precise fiery hellfire upon the heads of our enemies, the Violet Air-Guided Bomb, had been born.