episode_0382

—Crackling!

A flash of light burned through the air, piercing the offshore base.

This was no mere attack. Thousands of years of accumulated hatred from oppression and bondage poured out as a blue flash.

[Enemy… foe!]

The ancient vessel trembled all over, raging. Its advanced detection system picked up enemy signatures everywhere.

The wicked demons who had destroyed its creators were right here.

Cannon barrels, seething with fury, simultaneously spat fire. The steel structure of the base ripped apart like wet paper.

The entire platform vibrated as if screaming.

Dozens of turrets rotated like a death dance, and the circuits revealed through the cracked armor pulsed ominously like red hearts.

[Annihilate—destroy!]

Countless mists, flowing like mercury, poured out from within the vessel.

Under the exploding flames, it shone coldly like metallic sand. Wherever the mist touched, the platform and everything on it began to corrode as if boiling.

[I am… nanobots!]

Precise molecular machines, beyond human comprehension, moved as if they had a will.

Clusters formed from the silver mist scurried like ant swarms, swiftly gnawing away at surrounding structures and restraining wires, in accordance with the vessel’s coordination.

Violet’s body was no exception.

“Argh! My skin!”

The Aether shield encasing her skin sparked as it collided with the nano-cloud.

It was a violent reaction, incomparable even to Corvus infection.

The enraged titan’s attack didn’t stop there. As it concentrated its will, a giant, black hole-like opening appeared in one corner of the platform.

A powerful gravitational field warped and twisted space. Surrounding humans and machines struggled, clutching at pillars and the floor,

but in the end, all were sucked into the hole.

—Boom!

Again, a barrage of light beams poured down. The research building exploded, and the hangar melted away.

Cranes and steel structures collapsed one after another like dominoes. The Foundation’s cutting-edge defense facilities and Violet’s combat power were mere toys before this otherworldly war machine.

Anti-aircraft turrets blazed like pillars of fire, and tanks desperately firing back shattered like glass bottles.

No one could stop it. The vessel’s sensors detected only unfamiliar, alien, never-before-seen extraterrestrial species. Persuasion or dialogue would be meaningless.

—Crackling!

The control devices attached by the Foundation sparked, then fell off one by one.

Added to the ominous aura, its judgment of these never-before-seen creatures was swift.

[Otherworldly life detected—presumed to be Eidos’s servants—]

A rain of fire poured over the black sea like a meteor shower. Debris from the base scattered everywhere like meteorites, and the entire platform let out a pained groan.

Melted steel structures plunged into the sea, and the remnants of explosions dotted the night sky like red shooting stars.

The massive hull slowly rotated like a predator.

More lethal weapons appeared. As the otherworldly bombardment tore the offshore base to shreds, no one could stop its maddened rage.

[Annihilate.]

The titan, finally awakened, began to push everything that had bound it into the flames of destruction.

**

We Violets found ourselves in a truly absurd situation.

No, beyond absurd, it was dizzying.

In the middle of fighting those Luminex guys, a wicked alien vessel suddenly started rampaging.

“What the! That thing’s attacking us!”

“Aaah!”

Through the memories of the finance director, we had a vague idea of what the Foundation was researching.

That wicked alien vessel held incredible technology, and if awakened, something amazing would happen.

But to think it would turn out like this. The thing that should have slept for a long time began a frenzied dance the moment it opened its eyes.

“No way! Did those Luminex guys order it to kill us? Gulp!”

Unit 664 desperately grumbled while dodging the pouring light beams, only to ultimately vanish.

Our other Violets hastily turned their muzzles, preparing to counterattack, but the scene unfolding before our eyes was absolute pandemonium.

“Aaah! I’m dying! I’m being sucked in!”

“Shriek!”

Grotesque flashes continued to erupt from the low-flying vessel. It was close enough to touch, yet we dared not approach.

Every time colorful lights flashed like a rainbow, the offshore base crumbled like a gingerbread house. Mist-like substances appeared from somewhere, melting objects upon contact, while space suddenly warped like a black hole, sucking in surrounding objects. Explosions also erupted unexpectedly in the air.

This was truly an immense power that could only be described as magic, not science. Grotesque, supernatural abilities, as if wielded by an Apostle.

“How do we fight it?!”

Amidst the chaos, we Violets suddenly realized something strange.

The Foundation’s forces on site were also in disarray, and their reactions were largely two-fold.

Either they fled in terror as if something unimaginable had occurred, or they hastily turned their weapons to attack that alien tin can.

“It doesn’t seem like they intended this.”

Our collective intelligence quickly deduced several possibilities.

One was that the Foundation guys had caused their artifact to rampage but lost control. The other was that the artifact had awakened entirely on its own.

“Either possibility makes little difference. Command, how’s the progress on the other fronts?”

“Smooth, except for where the Archer is!”

“Good, connection initiated!”

I quickly assessed the situation and chose an option.

Several terminal access rooms resisted with self-destruction or blocking, and some were fakes. And one was guarded by that terrible Hellman Archer.

But we had already secured one location, and the rest would soon be ours.

Updates were gradually progressing, so retreating now wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Retreat wasn’t difficult. That vessel seemed intent on destroying everything here, not just us.

We could just leave, but something bothered me. What was it?

“It feels bad! It dared to touch us!”

Right, this offshore base was going to be ours anyway.

To lay hands on our spoils of war—unforgivable.

It’s only right to destroy this junk pile quickly.

—Boom!

Everyone on site, both the Foundation and us, began to unleash concentrated fire at that gigantic hunk of scrap metal in the air.

Yet, the vessel itself took most of the attacks with its bare armor, then retaliated by firing its cannons as if annoyed.

—Whirrrr!

“Ugh! Here it comes again! Accelerate! Accelerate!”

In this situation, it seemed even this mysterious acceleration ability we’d just awakened wouldn’t be much help.

Perhaps because I’d used it once, my head felt hot and dizzy.

“Run for now!”

We Violets scattered in all directions in a frenzy. Flashes of light, as if burning hair, streaked past.

Strangely, whenever we used our power, its bombardment seemed to focus on us.

Screams echoed from all directions.

“U-Ugh, aaah! Evacuate! Quickly!”

“Orders came from above! Abandon the base!”

Unarmed personnel, who knows where they were hiding, scurried out from everywhere like cockroaches.

I immediately instructed the prisoner management Violets.

To throw those we captured into the sea for now.

“Kill them? Got it, let’s feed them to the sharks!”

“No! We don’t need unnecessary deaths for now, do we? Give them something that floats and then throw them!”

If they were Foundation personnel, they could be used as slaves.

The plan to capture the Hellman guy, connect him to the network, and merge him with our Violets was in the same vein.

We split into two main groups.

One was the forces fighting that insane alien artifact, and the other was the personnel infiltrating various areas to break into the Foundation’s terminal access rooms and plunder other supplies.

“Shriek! Help me!”

“Alright! Now you’re part of the Ariel group!”

Diving into the flames, we snatched people and threw them into the sea.

It was amusing how everyone screamed as if grateful for being rescued.

“L-Let go of me! Ugh, aaah!”

“This is a life vest, got it?”

“Th-Thank you! Huh? Aaaaaah!”

—Splash!

Even while simultaneously collecting personnel and engaging in combat, the Foundation’s destruction accelerated.

Fighters occasionally launched attacks at it, but they seemed to have little effect, like mosquito bites.

—Boom!

Another explosion rocked the platform. This time, the western side, appearing to be a research complex, collapsed. Screams could be heard from below.

“Shriek!”

“There are more over there!”

“Let’s grab them! Hehe!”

The three of us leaped into the flames. Six or seven non-combatants appeared to be trapped under the collapsed debris.

Even as we rushed to rescue them, the interior continued to collapse further.

“It’s dangerous! Pull them out quickly!”

—Thump! Thump-thump-thump!

A Violet squad, which had been returning machine gun fire directly above us, was suddenly flattened like dried squid by an unexpected increase in pressure.

For a moment, my vision wavered. Immediately, the steel structure above collapsed.

Unit 238 quickly reached out and pulled out two people, while Unit 445 and Unit 887 each grabbed and threw one.

But two more still remained.

“S-Save me…”

“Ugh, what a bother!”

Since I’d seen them, it felt wrong to just pass by.

It was then.

“Wait, the Hellman!”

I turned my gaze to where the Hellman was. Amidst the explosions and flames, it was faltering and hesitating as if suffering a system error.

Perhaps it was due to our earlier injuries, but its condition looked poor even behind the armor that covered its entire body. It kept looking back and forth between our side and my side, then suddenly stumbled.

“…!”

It suddenly crouched down and clutched its head, as if suffering a terrible headache, like a computer program crashing.

Then its movements changed. Its swaying body paused for a moment, then it abruptly rushed towards us.

“Oh! It’s going for our prisoner collection!”

It was the moment other Violets raised their muzzles, preparing to counterattack its assault.

A strange noise sounded from above. A massive container, tilted like a mortar pestle, was falling directly onto the structure where we were.

“Ah, we can’t save these ones!”

My regret was fleeting. A black shadow split the air like lightning. It was the Swordsman.

“…?”

It rushed towards the falling container without hesitation.

The cutlass spun fiercely, drawing a silver arc. A wave of violent slashes swept past above our heads.

A diagonal slash grazed one side of the container.

Immediately, a cut surface appeared. The container split in two, sliding to one side. Half landed next to us, the other half towards the researchers.

—Clang!

The sword fell to the ground with a cold metallic clang.

Immediately, the Swordsman rushed underneath. The arm that had thrown the sword braced the other end of the container with its entire body.

Its arm trembled for a moment, then lightly tossed the container to the other side.

Then, the white mask tilted its head slightly towards us before lowering it.

The individual who hadn’t screamed even once when hit by a sword earlier, now spoke.

“…Hurry!”

The researchers hesitated for a moment at those words, then quickly fled.

It gave me a meaningful glare before turning its head. Its gaze pointed to the artifact floating in the dark air.

I tilted my head, wondering why it was acting like that.

“That…?”

Then the Swordsman lifted its head as if in response.

As if suddenly realizing something, it clutched its dropped weapon again and aimed it.

—Flash!

The direction it leaped was not towards us, but towards that monstrous object in the air, with pipes and cables haphazardly dangling like spiderwebs.

“Does it want to take down that first?!”

The Swordsman now used the air as footing, charging at the monstrous object and engaging it in combat.

The artifact lashed out with the wires clinging to its body like tentacles, fighting back.

Could this be… a temporary alliance?

In the midst of my deliberation, a familiar flash of light cut through the darkness. A blue energy sphere flew slowly, as if time had stopped.

—Flash!

The Hellman quickly retreated from the vessel. Immediately after, a violent explosion and orb of light slammed into the vessel’s armor.

The alien artifact stumbled, emitting smoke in the air.

The moment we turned our heads to find the cause of its sudden deterioration, we all understood why.

A vertical takeoff and landing transport plane hovered high in the distance, its ramp wide open.

From there, a group of people leaped down like a special forces team.

Shining among the landed Scholar siblings and Irene was none other than the orange-haired kid.

“Hey! Why are you here?!”

I asked in exasperation why the kid, who should have been in the academy dorms right now, was here, and Enrica stammered.

“…They asked if they could help, even just for the end…”

Looking at the others’ expressions, it seemed to be true.

“Well, for now, it’ll be enough to break that alien vessel!”

Well, it’s urgent, so let’s discuss it later.

In the middle of the burning offshore base, countless Violets swarmed the alien artifact like a beehive, clinging to it.

“Tin can that interfered with our requisition! Die!”