episode_0135

Taurus flagship, Pasiphae.

“Hehehe, what an overwhelming difference.”

Maria, the captain and commander-in-chief of the Taurus Colony Space Force, shook her head as she laughed at the colony slowly approaching from the front.

“It’s as if the tree is parasitic on the colony. What about the size? Compared to the Taurus Colony, it is nothing more than a satellite?”

[Commander Maria.]

Communication came in through the bridge.

[Are you sure you can win?]

“Oh, really. Poisonous scorpion man. Did you just buy it after being deceived?”

The man whose face appeared on the monitor along with the communication was wearing a mask on his face.

It was a mask that resembled a scorpion, and the man had cable-like cables attached to his entire body.

“You say you can win.”

[The opponent is the three Creation Trees.]

“We can win at least the number of generations?”

[…….]

“Are you sure you don’t believe it? ‘Paladin’?”

Everyone on the bridge swallows their saliva.

What does it mean to believe in a paladin who is clearly standing over there as an enemy?

“You know how awesome Paladin is. I also completed the practical test.”

Everyone here knew that, so they had no choice but to swallow their saliva.

“That Paladin, how many do we have now?”

[…….]

“There are 1,000 AI Androids that incorporate data as is. There are about 300 homunculi created through DNA culture. And…”

[Cosmos Children, I said.]

“Yes. It is taken from the name Paladin likes, ‘Blue Cosmos’.”

Cosmos Children.

Maria stroked her abdomen and laughed bitterly.

“A genetically modified baby doll that can be said to be a kind of alter ego and child cultivated from the original. A being mass-produced by only pinpointing Paladin’s AS manipulation ability.”

[…….]

“To sum it up in one line, there are now as many as 12 paladins in active service.”

The Taurus colony did some genetic experiments.

And the result of the experiment was successful.

By cloning cells created from someone’s sperm and eggs, an artificial human was created with ether flowing through the body.

“They can all have the same skills as a paladin. Sasori, you barely managed to beat a paladin 1:1, right?”

[It was just a mock battle.]

Sasori, the actual leader of the Scorpie Colony, responded with a tearful voice, but the mock battle data does not lie.

23 matches, 1 win, 22 losses.

Although it is certainly encouraging to have achieved victory even once –

“Of course. After adjusting the specifications of the aircraft to the difference between the current generation and 10 years ago, he achieved a mental victory by self-destructing using the latest improved model of the Taurus rather than the power possessed by the Scorpie Colony.”

[…….]

“Anyway, there are as many as 12 Paladins. Even on the status of the ‘Twelve Gods’, the 12 aircraft that the Taurus Colony is proud of.”

[Did you say it was a body symbolizing the 12 gods of Olympus?]

“Yes, that’s right.”

Maria spread her arms and smiled broadly.

“It’s our victory. We just have to watch. Their defeat.”

* * *

The enemy is before your eyes.

However, something feels strange.

[There is something wrong with the brain wave control, Master.]

The sapphire unicorn whispers.

[A number of beings emitting wavelengths similar to the Master’s brain waves were discovered in the nearby area. This pattern is-]

“Wow, you created a cloned human. Maria, that woman.”

It’s a familiar pattern.

And it is a known pattern.

‘I made a clone of an ace pilot and took on an enemy who fought.’

Space century.

We live in an era where genetic manipulation is fundamental and it is also possible to transform the human body into etheric organs.

With just a slight disregard for ethics, humanity can create very powerful weapons.

And those weapons are likely to be the numerous battleships and fighter jets on the front lines right now.

“Paladin 00 to each period.”

Click, click.

Press the button and change the line to a public line dedicated to allies.

“The enemy Scorpi-Taurus alliance, the so-called Star Alliance, is likely to have Androids on board the AS.”

The planes twitch.

Rather than being surprised to hear that the other person is an android –

“There is a high possibility that the android’s genes were mine.”

That opponent might be a Paladin android.

“I can feel it. I feel the ether. As if there are tens or hundreds, or even more, of people like me.”

You may ask how that makes sense, but when you enter the realm of brain quantum waves, sometimes there are parts that are difficult for humans to explain scientifically.

We also call it intuition, or sixth sense.

Something clicks in your head, or a seed of a certain talent stored inside your genes blooms.

“The enemy is probably similar to me, or similar to when I was on active duty.”

Everyone looks nervous.

What if there are not just one or two enemies, but numerous aircraft in the front?

The power ratio is still unfavorable at about 1:17, but what if all 17 people are paladins?

Playing 1:17 with a paladin alone is considered a match, and if you actually predict the winner, you end up favoring the paladin, but the opposite is true?

“Rest assured.”

It doesn’t matter though.

“Paladin is just an ace pilot who survived until the end. No matter how skilled a pilot is, he cannot show off his skills if he is on a mass-produced aircraft like that.”

Even if the mass-produced aircraft becomes extremely strong, the mass-produced aircraft is ultimately just a mass-produced aircraft.

“And, I’ll give you a good tip. This is the ‘Paladin strategy’ told directly by the Paladin.”

And since it is a mass-produced aircraft, this strategy is guaranteed to work.

“Predict the prediction.”

Everyone will probably think it’s strange what I’m talking about.

“Do not predict where the opponent will move and shoot, but predict it and shoot toward the expected point where the enemy aircraft is about to move.”

It’s a difficult order.

It is a strategy that those who have not experienced it will never understand what it means.

“I always move while predicting my opponent, so the right answer would be to attack that.”

One time, I fought a pilot who used quantized infinite flash.

There was a being who constantly used alter egos and created illusions to avoid attacks.

He said so.

‘If the opponent is a skilled person, two situations will unfold. When I dodge an attack, I just have to predict where the opponent will attack by predicting where I will move and avoid it. For example, if the opponent throws a grab, the opponent will throw a predictive grab where I can avoid by blinking, so I predict that location and avoid it.’

I didn’t quite understand what he meant at first.

‘On the other hand, if I predict it here, the opponent will predict that I will definitely avoid it if I enter, and follow him by flashing accordingly. Then, after the opponent moves, you follow him and fight.’

Then, later, when I contracted the ‘disease’ myself, I learned how to deal with it.

Prediction disease.

Although it is good to show off one’s incredible skills through actual predictions, it is a symbol of my childhood when I always liked to engage in battles that were ‘shown’ to others through predictions.

“To put it simply:”

I brought the aircraft forward.

Still, as the Paladin Mk.2 developed by the Sagittarius Colony, it boasted a cavalry lance containing an aircraft designed 10 years ago, and aimed the tip of the spear precisely at the enemy aircraft approaching from the front lines.

“Don’t shoot to the left because you think you’ll avoid going to the left.”

Turning the tip of the spear slightly to the left.

“You can shoot it at the original location or in the opposite direction.”

Ta-ang!

The ether laser emitted from the tip of the spear instantly crossed the battlefield.

The blue trail of ether flew faster than light.

The aircraft that saw the trajectory twisted its body lightly as if it had expected it, but-

Kwa-ang.

The ether bombardment that fell exactly at that moving location blew a hole in my chest.

As a result, the position is slightly shifted to the right compared to before I aimed the tip of the spear.

“Remember, everyone.”

I aimed the tip of the spear forward once again.

“The people inside are just cool people with good skills.”

That’s how I was at that time.

He was a boy who was crazy about appearances and who valued winning in a flashy manner.

I wanted to be the main character wherever I went.

After experiencing numerous battlefields, the energetic child soldier grew into an adult.

“Don’t hesitate.”

Ta-ang.

“Don’t hesitate.”

Ta-ang.

“Even if the artificial humans inside act like humans, in the end, they are not people born from a woman’s womb, but people who were cloned by cultivating in a machine womb.”

Can we call it life?

“They are war machines disguised as life.”

There may be.

A movie could be made about ethical issues or about the existence of a soul in the mind of a specific entity.

But the entities on this battlefield right now are all monsters that are far from that.

“Keep in mind.”

Pull the booster forward and charge.

“From the moment you ascend to the AS, the moment you fight to kill each other, the other person is the ‘enemy’.”

Whether human or not, the enemy must be defeated.