episode_0343

In the cold blue light of the monitors illuminating the conference room, the generals’ voices became as sharp as blades.

“I’m asking you seriously.”

Major General Jukobik’s voice trembled.

“Are the intelligence reports about the Foundation truly accurate? The operation concerning the artifact failed, and the senators escaped the cage and landed safely in Restraidna’s arms before we could even implant bio-trackers. What do you intend to do now?”

“What should we do?”

From beyond the video conference monitor, Raihan replied indifferently, as if exasperated. Major General Jukobik’s face instantly flushed red.

“Do you have any idea how precious my elite subordinates are?! Damn it!”

The fact that a valuable naval special forces unit had instantly vanished in the middle of that dangerous area was enough to infuriate the naval generals involved in this operation.

For today, the long-standing conflict between the Air Force and the Navy was momentarily put aside, and all the generals erupted in a chorus of rage.

“Do you know how much power was deployed?”

Another general gritted his teeth.

“The places you told us about, like the deadlock corridor and the other dimension, weren’t safe. Just look at how we lost the senators!”

“Even the airborne mechs we deployed in a hurry were destroyed!”

An Air Force general slammed his fist on the table.

“Do you know how much that cost? When the Luminixa barrier lifted, there wasn’t even a corpse left. It’s as if ghosts passed through. When the barrier lifted, everything vanished without a trace, except for a few remnants! It wasn’t even the Foundation’s Containment Enforcement Unit; it was some unknown thugs who suddenly interfered!”

Raihan, watching the generals from the other side of the screen, found their behavior akin to a child’s whining.

Instead of scoffing, he replied gently, maintaining his elegant smile.

“Failure sometimes becomes a new opportunity, Generals. Didn’t we still inflict significant damage on the Containment Enforcement Unit? According to our intelligence network, an entire strike team vanished. Let’s try to think more positively.”

Major General Jukobik roared.

“Stop spouting nonsense! All my subordinates are dead! Elite troops trained for years!”

Before he could even finish speaking, Raihan looked genuinely surprised, as if he couldn’t understand.

“Aren’t soldiers just replaced when they die? To be honest, I’m disappointed in all of you. Despite such support, there were no results, were there?”

“Do you think our soldiers are your toys?”

As one enraged general slammed the table and roared, a subtle smile spread across Raihan’s lips in the blue hologram. His expression was as if observing an interesting insect.

“Weren’t they toys? They were falling dead like toy soldiers.”

“You… you son of a bitch!”

As the distorted, red faces of the generals filled the screen with hatred, only Raihan’s serene smile shone coldly.

“You damn bastard! If I’d known this, I never should have accepted your proposal in the first place! What’s with this attitude now?! Are you planning to break ties with our Federation Army?”

“You faggot, worse than a dog chasing after a man!”

Raihan chuckled briefly, as if slightly embarrassed.

“Oh dear, please refrain from such discriminatory remarks in this day and age. It hurts my feelings, you know?”

“Shut your mouth!”

“And you’re… misunderstanding one thing. I’m not someone who ‘only’ likes men. I like men ‘too’. There are so many people in this world who appreciate my intelligence, regardless of gender.”

His gaze fixed on one officer.

“Officer! What do you think of me?”

The generals were dumbfounded by Raihan, who elegantly swept back his green hair and smiled slowly.

Until, at that moment, the adjutant who had been questioned suddenly raised his hand and shouted.

“Yes! I love Chairman Raihan!”

“Wh-what are you talking about…”

The general, who had turned his head in bewilderment, found his face contorted in fear.

Because his subordinate was melting and losing form, becoming like jelly.

In an instant, all the soldiers wriggled like jelly and rushed towards their superiors.

“Sh-shapeshifter! Aaaargh!”

In an instant, opaque, jelly-like creatures filled the conference room, completely apprehending the generals.

“Now, everyone. What do you think of me?”

“We love you, Chairman!”

The jelly humans cheered in unison.

As the Chairman’s joyous laughter and applause filled the space, Major General Jukobik, thrown to the floor, cried out with difficulty.

“Y-you crazy bastard! Are you out of your mind? Do you think the Federation will just stand by?”

Raihan replied with an elegant sneer.

“Yes, do you think I have no other friends in the military besides you? You were deployed secretly anyway. Everything has been sufficiently coordinated with the higher-ups, so there will be no problem if you disappear. As you know, the Federation has too many friends with unnecessary stars. Let’s try to think positively. Consider this a solution to the promotion bottleneck for your juniors… Now, everyone, begin.”

“Yes! Chairman!”

The shapeshifters responded in cheerful voices and simultaneously pulled out syringes. The generals’ eyes widened in terror at the sight.

What wriggled inside the syringes were clearly neuro-parasites.

“No… stop! Ugh, aaaaah!”

The desperate screams soon subsided, and after a moment, the Chairman murmured as he watched the generals stumble to their feet.

“I didn’t want to go this far… but I had no choice. Let’s switch to a different plan.”

The Chairman, having risen from his seat, turned his gaze to a screen displaying other records.

As expected from data acquired from Luminixa, a clear purple phoenix emblem was emblazoned on it.

Information collected and recorded by the Foundation’s follow-up team, who arrived late at the scene, unfolded before his eyes.

“…The possibility of it being the Ariel Group…”

Raihan murmured with deep doubt.

**

“What’s this?”

“A bomb!”

Today, too, the Violet Factory was peaceful.

Until now, we had only been preoccupied with vehicle modifications and minor rocket production, but this week, we began a new challenge.

Namely, aerial bomb production. Naturally, the workshop was moved near the airfield.

“Starting work!”

We dragged the prepared thick steel plates and roughly cut them to the necessary size.

No intricate plans were needed. Roughly drawing lines and marking with a marker and chalk was the blueprint. As soon as a drawing was made, other Violets swarmed onto the steel plate like a tide.

“Beginning cutting!”

Metal processing began. Advanced equipment like precision machining or 3D printers were unnecessary for us. We simply cut the steel plate with a mana-clad knife.

Incredibly thick metal was smoothly cut like paper, taking on the shape we desired.

The Violets rushed in droves towards the cut steel plates, pulling and hammering them.

With this, the basic processing was complete.

-Clang! Clang!

The sound of hammering echoed cheerfully. As we hammered, the steel plate naturally curved into a cylinder.

Now it was time to bring the welding machine.

“Alright! Starting welding!”

As the blue flames seared them, the disparate steel plates became one family in the heat.

With a few welds, a massive cylinder was complete!

A door was attached to it for filling the contents, and holes were drilled for screws and bolts.

A rounded, hemispherical nose was also welded to the front.

An artistic shape, considering aerodynamics, was born.

“It looks like a fish!”

“Tail team! Bring it quickly!”

Violets holding stabilizer fins rushed over in a hurry. After finishing the pre-fabricated tail section with welding, we opened the lid and filled it with contents.

We also didn’t forget to meticulously line the inside with the main components: explosives, monster bone fragments with high aether affinity, and a shaped charge liner made of rare metal shards for large monsters.

“Wow! It’s full!”

This was the truly important part. While the contents were being filled, other Violets tirelessly engaged in assembly work.

Before my eyes, a massive glider, large enough for an adult to ride, appeared. It was our masterpiece, created with technical advice and blueprints from external experts.

A Violet lying prone on it moved the control handles on both sides and the pedals connected to the tail this way and that.

With my movements, the temporary glider’s wings creaked up and down, left and right.

“Operation confirmed!”

After confirming that the metal and fabric wings moved smoothly, we fastened them onto the bomb and tightened the bolts securely.

Now, the massive bomb had magnificent wings attached.

After completing the final inspection and moving it, today’s work would be done.

Now for the final stage. Once the fuse was attached, our colossal creation would be complete.

All that was left was to load it onto a transport plane and drop it.

Two biplane transport aircraft made roaring engine sounds, ready for takeoff. Our proud bomb hung securely by wires from both transport planes.

As the planes slowly taxied down the runway, the bomb was dragged along behind them like a lazy fish, ascending into the sky.

The target was an old fishing boat floating far away on the sea.

It was a poor thing that the Violet Navy had happily used until its engine completely died.

“Altitude 5km! We’ve entered!”

“It’s almost the limit! We have to drop it now!”

The aircraft began to shake unsteadily. Looking down, the ground was distant, and the sky even higher.

Although it was an aircraft capable of taking off from short runways at the cost of speed and boasting excellent transport capacity, a 5-ton bomb seemed too heavy even when split between the two.

The moment the thought of needing a larger transport plane crossed my mind, I sent the wire release signal.

“Drop!”

“Connecting control system!”

As soon as the bomb dropped, I swiftly transferred my consciousness to the hibernating Violet in the cockpit on top of the bomb.

A ear-splitting gale raged, but I paid it no mind and operated the controls in the cockpit.

The two wings, meekly folded at its sides, elegantly unfurled. Now only the descent remained. The 5-ton bomb, transformed into a temporary glider, began to glide towards the vast ocean.

I pulled the safety pin from the fuse attached to the front with a string, removing it. It was unnecessary.

“Distance to target 7km!”

Lying prone on the wobbling bomb, I continuously operated the handles and pedals.

The handling was rough and sluggish, incomparable to a wingsuit or a 1-ton bomb, and I barely managed to control it even with body enhancement magic.

“Distance 4km!”

The wings shook precariously. The bomb swayed like a drunken person, seeming as if it would spin wildly in mid-air at any moment.

I barely managed to stabilize the center of gravity, preventing it from flipping over. The sea was now much closer.

I could see the target ship, but it was truly tiny, like a speck. Could I really hit it?

“We can hit it! Because we’re flight geniuses!”

“Flying! Towards freedom!”

“Distance 2km!”

Not a moment of carelessness could be allowed. The target rapidly approached before my eyes.

The wings trembled even more violently, as if they would break off at any moment.

I held onto the wings with all my might and endured.

Closer, closer… It’s right in front of me! Impact!

-Boom!

A colossal column of water, greater than anything I had ever seen or imagined, shot up towards the sky.

The fishing boat vanished without a trace.

With this overwhelming power, if it had fallen on an island, it would probably have completely obliterated a small uninhabited island.

“We did it again!”

We celebrated the birth of a new weapon, symbolizing the brilliant progress of Violet military engineering.

The Violet Joint Precision Direct Impact Bomb—the 5-ton bomb for short—had made a splendid debut.

Now, with the birth of an ultra-powerful weapon capable of pulverizing enemy strongholds and heavily armored vehicles, there was nothing to fear.

Even barriers of considerable strength or mid-to-high-level monsters would be pulverized if hit directly by such a bomb.

“Armored Knights, don’t mess with us! Mess with us, and you’ll die!”

“Let’s burn everything down!”

The festive atmosphere was short-lived; we Violets immediately analyzed the results gained from the experience.

A time for cool-headed interpretation and critique, using tactical insight and Luminixa-style analysis procedures.

The so-called Violet-style self-critique began.

“It was too stiff to control! The hang glider wings made of fabric are far too unstable.”

“How about making the wings bigger? And we need a fixing device. We had to keep applying force to endure the wind and pressure, didn’t we?”

“Let’s attach a hydraulic system or a chain drive. It might get a bit complicated, but we can consult for design advice!”

Healthy interpretation and critique serve as stepping stones towards new progress.

By meticulously organizing the results obtained from weapon testing and delivering them to external collaborators, we can receive professional advice and necessary parts to create better designs.

Of course, self-critique didn’t always proceed peacefully.

“Is a 5-ton bomb really necessary? The Cascadia V-Flight squadrons are gradually being brought into full force. They can operate various powerful armaments, even if not 5 tons.”

“But we can’t attach our economical and efficient homemade 5-ton bomb to them…”

A Violet from the firepower faction passionately argued.

“Besides, we need to make 10-ton bombs in the future! And even nuclear warheads or antimatter bombs!”

“Exactly! Exactly!”

The debate continued for a while as the faction emphasizing efficiency clashed with the faction advocating for firepower supremacy.

It really was a tricky problem.