episode_0261

One is the Violet Network, and the other is the Erosion Zone.

The Violet command post quickly ordered battlefield control. The map is too dark. Securing visibility is the top priority.

“Sortie! Sortie!”

A fleet of 100 heavily armed hang gliders took off from various parts of the city. Slowly, the fog of war lifted, and the movement paths of faint red dots were detected.

Innumerable numbers surged forward. They were at least dozens of times more numerous than us Violets. Each Violet must take down at least a hundred monsters before dying.

“Why are there so many!”

We, who had just regained our composure, quickly fell into confusion. Where did these damned Apostles bring such a large horde of monsters from?

“Yes, are you afraid? This is merely the tip of the iceberg of our forces. Despair!” The Apostle, having read our reactions, opened its mouth to mock us.

“Quiet!”

After punching it once, I tried my best to calm down. What I saw then were white powders. They were the ones I had taken out earlier to reduce the pain.

Potent drugs that even worked on Awakened Ones. I examined the labels on the pouches. Most had hallucinatory or relaxing effects, but some were marked as stimulants.

What would the effect be?

I poured the white powder, which had been placed on the command center’s desk, into my mouth. As I swallowed the unknown stimulant, my heart began to pound, and thoughts started to race in my mind, like well-oiled gears turning smoothly.

Yes, this is it. A vitality incomparable to mere caffeine!

“Calm down! We are Violets!”

“Ah! That’s right. We are Violets!”

Violets are the lamp of democracy and the guardians of freedom! The command post, its will bolstered by the drug’s effect, encouraged the others.

“We Violets are beings of courage! We have excellent convictions!”

That’s right. We Violets have convictions. We have courage. Within our network resides the spirit of hope, dreaming of freedom and peace.

“Wh-what are you talking about? Democracy? What a bizarre political system—” The Apostle, hearing our words through the network, grumbled. I quickly hammered the spirit of democracy into its pitch-black face.

-Thwack! Thwack!

“####-!”

“Be quiet!”

It wailed in incomprehensible words. Primitive theocratic races have no right to speak.

“Monsters don’t know courage! They don’t know the spirit of freedom and solidarity! They’re no different from insects!”

Yes. Those guys are the real insects.

The Violets, their courage surging, re-examined what needed to be done while grappling with the Apostle.

“One. Protect the academy students and survivors!”

Drive out the monsters and evacuate people from the convention center to a safer location.

“One. Annihilate the Apostles and the monsters!!”

While the Violet units block the monsters, locate the Apostles and deploy a small elite force to take their heads.

“Operation Decapitation, it’s called!”

However, whether we can truly kill all the Apostles is honestly questionable. We landed a blow with the network’s power, but how can we physically kill them?

Fortunately, the Isis Academy rescue team or the Helios team haven’t entered yet. And we have another Janghaksa. But the problem is the other people.

“One. Hold out until the passage opens!”

The injured and those unable to fight must be somehow removed from beyond the barrier.

Number 1241, holding a shield and standing at the front, looked around.

“Everyone’s condition…”

All around were people in disarray. They brought to mind the displaced victims of a ruined city after a storm.

For now, the small groups of Awakened Ones were intimidated by our numbers and retreated. The problem was those soldiers.

“Hey, officer! Where’s your commander?”

Feigning ignorance, I pointed to the Major in the armored vehicle and asked. Major Klein, with a weary expression, faced us. He composed himself and replied,

“There isn’t one. I am the commander here currently.”

Oh, an unexpected answer. I had originally intended to subtly cooperate with the commander here through the Major.

“What? Is that even possible? No other commander?”

“I am the senior-most officer in this sector right now. Other units are isolated, and command…” The Major hesitated, glancing in one direction.

In the distance were crumpled armored vehicles and red orbs, mashed into a single pulp.

“Ugh! It’s a meatball!”

I heard that all the senior officers controlling the mobile units were dead, and there was no connection to the command outside the barrier.

From here on, let’s be bad Violets.

“I see. Then cooperate with us. We, the Ariel Group, have come to annihilate the wicked monsters!”

“…Are you telling me to cooperate with terrorists now?”

“Cooperate!”

I pushed appropriately with intimidation. As the Major, who had been observing me, lost his temper, subordinate officers and soldiers approached and whispered to him.

Soon, the Major muttered reluctantly, “…I have no choice. Given the situation…”

There were too many of us to refuse cooperation.

“Temporary alliance achieved!”

Good. No need to hesitate. The Violet infantry advanced immediately, cutting down monsters.

“Charge! Charge!”

What we’ll use here is the Polaris-style close-quarters combat.

“Deploy!”

Swords and axes cut through the monsters’ bodies, tracing large, fluid arcs like waves.

The monsters’ crude, surging offensive temporarily halted. Spears rained down. “Attack!”

The front line, armed with swords and shields, retreated a step. Through the opened gap, long-spear and great-shield units charged. A fierce collision.

-Thud!

The monsters flinched and fell. The shield formation retreated once, crouching slightly. Other Violets leapt, stepping on their backs.

“Cut them down!”

The Violets, swords in both hands, ground them to pieces. The anti-monster combat techniques of the fallen old academy, passed down by Instructor Frederick, shone at the tips of our blades.

You monster, ignorant of martial arts, I’ll grind you like a blender.

“Graaah!”

Suddenly, light ignited in the monsters’ vacant eyes. The creatures, being slaughtered by the attack, flinched as if struck by lightning, then cunningly exploited gaps.

“Warning! Warning!”

Simultaneously, the crude, surging red dots of monsters that dotted the map halted. Order emerged in the march of the mindless monsters.

“It’s the Apostle!”

The Apostles had truly begun to intervene on the battlefield, controlling the monsters.

We should have somehow kept both of them tied up in our minds.

Did they read our intentions?

The Apostle in Violet Square gestured in the air, sneering.

“How foolish, my comrade fully escaped this place. Half of my mind is also fully outside. Did you truly think you could completely subjugate me?”

“Blah blah blah! Shut up!!”

Hordes of monsters charged under the Apostle’s command. This was no longer a hunt. It was war.

“Pattern switch!”

A wolf-shaped humanoid monster approached, swinging its claws. The magic clinging to its long claws drew closer. What was needed here was…

“Aegis Swordsmanship!”

The trajectory of the claws, aimed at vital points, was deflected. What was now being deployed was Aegis Academy’s defense-oriented swordsmanship. It mitigated their counterattacks with its firm, defensive style.

-Clang!

Each time an enemy attack was defended, they retreated a step. One step for three exchanges. Two steps for six exchanges. The essence of Aegis Swordsmanship was the profound art of defense and counterattack.

Furthermore, our weapons were not just swordsmanship.

“Fire! Fire!”

-Rat-tat-tat-tat!

A torrent of gunfire covered the monsters. With the Violets’ offensive from the flanks of the defensive line, having bypassed to the rooftops, the enemy’s charge lost momentum once more.

“All troops! To the left and right!”

Footsteps pounded the ground in a unified movement. The Violets split to the left and right. What shone between them were the countless electromagnetic rifles of the federal soldiers lined up.

“Now!”

-Bang! Bang! Bang!

Heavy projectiles, accelerated by magnetism, pulverized them. After a volley, they returned to their positions. Charging again. Counterattacking again. Defense, counterattack!

As the first Violet company recovered the defensive line, other Violets scattered in all directions.

“We are the Ariel Group! Cooperate!”

They rescued isolated units and hunters, and prepared to extract and evacuate students and civilians.

“Defensive line secured!”

Now all major roads leading to the exhibition center vicinity were secured. The Violet command recited: We are gears. The Violets gave themselves a self-suggestion: We are killing gears.

Gears that never misalign. Let us become the grinders of justice.

“Let’s grind the monsters to dust!”

Thus, once, twice, they continued to rip through the surging waves. Then, they immediately faced the third wave. Something was different.

“Be careful! Those guys are—” The Major’s urgent voice reached the ear of the radio Violet.

Strange human-shaped beings with white skin advanced in formation. Bullets, flying faster than sound, ricocheted off their skin once, and then again off a peculiar force field they raised like a shield.

“High-speed movement nullification field!”

“Ariel Group, listen up! Those guys can use weaponry! They are intelligent monsters!” As the Major shouted, the hunters waiting as reserves behind us grimaced, looking disgusted.

“…!”

“Cease fire! Prepare for close combat! Sharpshooters, switch weapons to crossbows!”

The attacks of the high-speed monsters. The Violets at the front began to be torn apart one by one.

“Argh! My right arm!”

“My head’s gone!”

Defending with Aegis-style swordsmanship, they activated the Violet simulation. Indeed, the enemies’ movements were extraordinary. Taking advantage of this opening, they launched successive attacks.

-Crackle!

“Aaaah!”

The head of the machine gunner, who had been frantically emptying bullet casings under the sniper ghoul’s assault, exploded.

-Boom!

“Hiyagh! This is 1st Battalion, 4th Company, 2nd Platoon! Krannos appearing in front! They’re coming! They’re coming!”

The assault of large monsters, smashing through and collapsing the front line.

“1st Air Wing! Prepare for aerial combat!”

Flying monsters once again flew over the hang glider fleet that had been securing visibility.

It was truly a combined arms tactic.

Indeed, their declaration of having toppled countless civilizations seemed no exaggeration. The Apostles’ attacks did not end with crude numerical superiority.

“Hiiiiiiegh!”

“Agh! I’m being eaten!”

Tactical attacks combining monsters with different characteristics. Artillery fire, charges, air raids!

To prepare for a counterattack, we willingly sacrificed one company.

“Avenge us!”

“We will avenge you!”

-Bang! Boom boom boom!

Violets threw themselves forward like kindling, exploding. A new reserve company was thrown forward to block the monsters that charged through the dust.

“This is the command post reporting!”

I frantically moved the green dots on the map.

Since they’ve pulled out a new card, it’s our turn to counterattack!

On the giant chessboard named Asteria, new pieces were ready to be moved.

“All batteries! Prepare for volley fire at designated coordinates!”

The deployed artillery batteries were ready for fire within friendly lines.

“Good, prepare Ruzilin’s Iron Fist!”

“Mobile units are ready too!”

The outpost outside the barrier. The eyes of the guard standing blankly filled with horror. What was approaching was a column of two tanks and armored vehicles.

“Contact the Helios team! Tell them to prepare for deployment!”

Large transport helicopters bearing the Helios mark ascended to the apex above the hemispherical barrier.

Just as preparations for the attack were complete, a man in white clothes reappeared from among the monster hordes.

“Ugh! It’s the Apostle!”

A red pattern bloomed once again above its hand.

“Agh! Watch out!”

The sensory amplification magic once again overwhelmed the Violets. I thought it had automatically worn off earlier, but must we suffer it again here?

“Th-this is bad!”

The agitated Violets. The female Apostle, mocking us.

“Even if you struggle, an insect is still an insect. You might be slightly superior to us mentally.”

Tearing off one Violet and throwing it aside, it said with a confident demeanor.

“Make no mistake. You won’t be able to subjugate us physically.”

Damn it, that guy in my head isn’t going down easily either, are we going to be counterattacked like this?

Must I taste that horrible pain from a moment ago again?

Just as the command post was preparing drugs and self-detonation once more, an idea flashed into my mind.

“Huh?”

“Flashed into my mind” wasn’t the right expression. It had flowed in from somewhere.

“…I think I know something!”

For some reason, I felt I could do it. Because I was in the same space as that Apostle.

The bodies of the monsters tore apart one Violet squad.

Just as the amplified pain was about to surge in like a flood again. Within the network, I swung the pain and threw it onto the Apostle before me.

“…!”

The Apostle flinched.

“Aaaargh!”

The next moment, a chilling scream that shook the network.

The pain did not disappear. It was merely transferred.

“Argh! No! Release the spell immediately! Stop iiit!”

It worked.

“We did it!”

I succeeded in passing my pain to it, just like a con artist passing on a guaranteed debt.

“This is pain!”

“Feel human suffering! Alien!”

—

Hearing its comrade’s scream, the Apostle’s clone hurriedly released the spell. As it coordinated the battlefield and confronted the hive mind’s army, it checked on its comrade, who was struggling on the front line of consciousness.

“Aargh…ugh…sniffle…”

Its comrade, covered in mortal pain, was gasping and flailing on the floor.

The Apostle could not laugh. It was rare for an Eidos to feel direct physical pain. It was difficult to imagine what kind of pain she was experiencing.

“The spell is released. Are you okay?”

To comfort its comrade, and to check on her condition, it asked. That was all.

Immediately after, he had to doubt the hearing of his human form, which he wore. The woman trembled and replied,

“Gah! It hurt so much! It felt like needles were pricking my whole body!”

The woman was unusually flustered. At her appearance, the man’s eyes widened.

“Don’t use that on this one! Argh! I feel like I’m connected to it!”

The shocked Apostle froze at its comrade’s transformed appearance.

“Why…are you talking like that?”

Unbelievable. This couldn’t be happening.

At its comrade’s remark, the woman tilted her head, then realized. She was greatly shocked and collapsed.

“N-no. I don’t talk like this. Why?”

She desperately denied reality.

Why, why was she speaking like this?

At this rate, she was like a childish human girl, wasn’t she? Surely…

This Eidos, who prided itself on being at the forefront of reason and logic, felt a rare fear in its long life.

“No. No! No! Gah!”

“No! I’m being chipped away!”

Its comrade’s condition was serious. The agitated Apostle’s reason blurred.

“Gateway opening coordination, is it possible? Tell me if it’s too much. Focus on dealing with that insect!”

“Yes, it’s possible! No. It *is* possible! But—”

He made a decision.

“Hold on somehow. I will deal with them with my main body.”

They had to be finished in the physical world.