episode_0383

The pitch-black night sea burned red. Large and small holes pierced the walls of the command and control room corridor, and the outside view seeping through them was unnaturally bright, as if it were midday.

Flashes of red and yellow light spilling in dyed the room chaotically.

The control room’s interior was a pandemonium. Traces of bullet impacts, scattered fragments, and clear sword marks on the walls and monitors. Everywhere one looked, crimson bloodstains were visible. It was the horrific result of repeated intrusions by the Ariel Group, utterly steeped in violence.

“Ugh…”

“Snap out of it! Breathe deep! You can survive!”

Even the command and control room was no longer a safe zone. The groans of the wounded erupting from everywhere and the urgent shouts of the medical staff treating them pierced General Secretary Pagan’s ears. Pagan carefully caressed his left arm, tightly wrapped in bandages. It was a wound left by a terrorist who had just attacked this place.

‘I nearly died. No, it’s as good as dead already.’

Violet had persistently stormed into the control room like a wicked ghost. The board was nearly annihilated. Half of them were already gone from this world. Most of the board members present here had been brutally murdered in the relentless attacks. Key directors from the research department had fallen to bullets or were shredded in self-destructing explosions. Some met a gruesome end, their heads separated from their bodies. A grim premonition flashed through his mind that the situation for the directors outside was probably not much different. This was because news had been steadily coming in that contact with other directors, including the finance director, had already been lost or their bodies had been found moments ago.

Thus, only four directors remained.

[Enemy hacking tool, central archive terminal access. Uploading in progress-]

[Blocked failed. Large amount of data, transferring from archive server.]

Shattered and scorched screens here and there, the information barely transmitted through them signaled the complete downfall of the foundation. All signs indicated that the foundation was collapsing in real-time, in a precarious situation like taking step after step off a cliff.

The General Secretary suppressed a heavy bitterness and ordered Director 02.

“Director 02, the board will withdraw now. The deadlock corridor is about to open, so why are you dawdling? Move it.”

Director 02, who had been wiping blood from his head with the back of his hand, slowly turned his head.

“Not yet.”

The General Secretary, his face clearly exhausted, continued with difficulty.

“Can’t you see the situation, Director Kwabna? It’s over. We have to leave for the mainland. Even the artifact is out of our hands. We’ve lost.”

“Defeat isn’t what matters, General Secretary-nim. Hellman is still engaging them. And… what about the staff? There are other agents too! We can’t just leave them behind!”

“There’s no choice. They’ve occupied the deadlock corridor too. A moment ago, we received word that a path was barely secured. It’s our last chance.”

Director 02 barely supported his swaying body against a desk. His troubled gaze fell upon the remaining directors and the General Secretary, who were already prepared to leave. A deep rage flickered in his eyes.

“I will stay.”

“…Do as you wish.”

Director Kwabna, who had been blankly watching the backs of the board members as they left the control room, escorted by guards, finally felt the strength drain from his body. Other remaining staff members rushed to approach and support his limp body.

“…I’ll issue an evacuation order. After that, you all must leave quickly too.”

A staff member cautiously asked.

“Where to, sir?”

Director Kwabna opened his mouth with difficulty.

“…The lifeboats, and the remaining aircraft. Mobilize everything and get out as quickly as possible. That thing is buying us time.”

His eyes were fixed on the gigantic, monstrous object in the yellow-glowing sky, displayed on the control room monitor. This place, where the foundation’s core technology was concentrated, was ablaze from the fierce engagement between the artifact battleship and those terrorists. Soon, the archives would also fall into their hands. Everything the foundation had so desperately tried to protect was vanishing in an instant, like a mirage.

Nevertheless, people still remained.

“Tell everyone to cease all engagements and get out. And–”

“Director-nim? Hellman’s control…”

Director Kwabna’s gaze, as he gave instructions, fixed on one spot. Crumbling structures, falling containers. Amidst it all, Hellman was rescuing terrorists and staff members.

“…Could it be, his brainwashing broke?”

For a very brief, fleeting moment, an unspeakable complexity pierced deep into his heart. Even that monster is rescuing lives, what are we doing right now?

“…What, what a mess this is–”

Before his self-deprecating sigh could even finish, a tremendous explosion engulfed the entire control room.

**

The collective consciousness began its calculations to kill the colossal monster above the burning sea. It was a ship that had been repeatedly fragmented and shattered, but its power was truly terrifying. With every blow, Violet clones were swept away like autumn leaves.

「Aaaah! It’s going to explode!」

-Bang!

Hecatoncheir, indeed a fitting name. The hull of the ship, floating at low altitude, resembled a multi-headed monster covered in countless turrets and unidentified weapons. From the dangling armaments, all kinds of attacks poured out without cease. Beams that invariably caused explosions upon impact, gravity manipulation technology that suddenly crushed and squeezed the surrounding gravity. Even strange sonic waves. Each one was incredibly diverse.

「Ugh! It’s disgustingly strong!」

The foundation’s personnel had now lost their will to fight and were fleeing in all directions. It seemed the command center must have sent some sort of evacuation order.

-Crackle!

Just then, a red flash flew towards the building where the command and control room was located. The building, engulfed in flames, collapsed with a thunderous roar. I remember the foundation’s leaders were inside that.

「Tch! What a waste! We should have dealt with them ourselves!」

It’s a shame, but it was impossible to assimilate them into our Violet collective anyway, given that they had those troublesome anti-erosion measures applied. There’s also the saying, borrowing a knife to kill [a strategy of using an external force to achieve one’s goal], so I suppose we should be satisfied with this. Even while these random thoughts crossed my mind, we focused all our attacks on that damned ship. The reason was clear. If that thing completely smashed this place, there’d be nothing left for us to plunder.

「You cursed junk pile! Don’t touch our share!」

Still, it didn’t seem like we could sink it right away. Taking advantage of Enrica’s magic striking it once, some Violet clones, who had miraculously survived, finally broke through the hail of fire and leaped onto the ship. Fortunately, it was flying low, so clinging to its hull wasn’t difficult. As the ship struggled to shake us off, whipping its tentacles around, a trump card arrived.

「Command reports! One more shot coming!」

As soon as the order was given, we quickly ducked or hid behind nearby walls.

Immediately afterward, a small sun rose. In the blink of an eye, a small sphere of light appeared and then suddenly vanished. After the light came fire, and finally, a fierce storm.

-Boom!

A violent storm swept over the already chaotic center of the marine platform, engulfing everything. Blinding light and flashes. If there had been a Geiger counter, the radiation levels would have temporarily surged to lethal amounts. After the storm passed, a small mushroom cloud billowed upwards. As the smoke slowly cleared, the artifact ship, with some armor peeled off and scorched in places, revealed its hideous form.

Considering it had been hit by two consecutive bombardments, the ship’s exterior looked surprisingly intact.

“Violet! One more shot coming!”

Enrica’s shout echoed loudly from beyond the mouse-sized radio.

“Good! Hit it again!”

Outside the VTOL ramp, Enrica thrust her staff into the air, concentrating her magic once more. A blue orb flew once more towards the wobbling target. If we smash it like this, it’ll be over!

Once more, a sphere of destruction, brimming with ruin, shot forward like an arrow.

-Sizzle!

In that instant, a strange force field enveloped the ship. Enrica’s magic collided with the force field, then dissipated and scattered uselessly.

“Huh? What? My magic!”

She launched another magical orb, but the result was the same. The shield surrounding the artifact weakly repelled the attack. Our collective consciousness calculated the cause.

「What is that thing!」

Could it be, it adapted to the attacks?

「The magic that touched the force field scattered the moment it hit! It neutralized the attack in some way!」

Since it mostly ignored and withstood our magic and missiles, it must mean Enrica’s attacks were too difficult to bear. I don’t know the exact reason, but I can only guess that might be the case.

「The enemy is transforming!」

The ship, having adapted to the lethal attacks, slowly turned its body. Even as it puffed out smoke, a part of the ship’s hull opened, and eyes with glowing red pupils suddenly popped out. Its gaze fixed on the sky from where the attack had come. Its muzzles were also seen turning that way. If this continued, we’d certainly be shot down, but no chance.

-Flash!

Two gleaming black afterimages, reflecting the light, shot forward like lightning. The Scholarly Siblings, who had leaped into the air, gracefully cut through the barrage of lasers unleashed in the crisis. Following them, a girl wielding a spear dashed forward like an arrow. Surging golden magic enveloped the Violet Airborne Division and the two superhumans.

“Good! Let’s go!”

The two protagonists of this world, who would gladly cast themselves into the turmoil of an era, soared like black streaks of light. Deadly gunfire and all sorts of malice pouring down. Twisting space and currents of electric charge persistently obstructed their path. Each time, the two advanced mercilessly, leaping over, cutting down, and tearing through. At the end of their furious charge, their target was the enemy ship. The ship resisted by whipping cables attached to its hull and tentacles that had just burst from its body like whips, but it was already too late.

-Clang!

Sparks flew in all directions across the armor plating. The two literally kicked off the air, running over its hull and cables, smashing its armaments, and riddling the battleship with gunfire.

At that incredible sight, my face, along with Enrica’s and Irene’s, who had been trying to support the battle, wavered with shock and admiration.

“Wow, that’s truly amazing…”

“…I knew their skill was impressive, but to this extent… Are they really human?”

“Probably!”

Just two individuals were ravaging that colossal ship with terrifying momentum, a ship that, despite having lost some parts, still boasted overwhelming size. Meanwhile, an assault like white lightning joined in. It was Hellman.

「Huh? That guy! Is he trying to interfere?」

No, he had somehow joined in and was also smashing the battleship. I, who had been blankly watching the scene, quickly snapped back to attention.

「I can’t just watch!」

I once again maximized my processing power. My head was numb, so I couldn’t use acceleration abilities, but the speed of my thoughts became a bit faster than usual.

「Gather all available memory!」

Immediately, I sent a signal to the Scholarly Siblings. The two then leaped into the air and retreated. Instantly, the Violet unit rushed forward like arrows and unleashed a barrage of melting lasers at the armor. Wielding electrical whips, Violet clones that swarmed from above and all sides, or climbed up, latched on and began tearing off the armor.

「Cling on! Tear it off! Rip it!」

After a relentless assault, the armament of the spaceship, which had been precariously wobbling at low altitude, was disarmed. Something hidden beneath the armor was revealed. Beneath it was a brightly glowing, gigantic golden mechanical sphere, uniquely flowing with energy that felt similar to aether. The moment I was the first to reach it, I placed my hand on the sphere. Something, something was definitely felt. A feeling that was far from human, yet somehow human-like.

「This? Could it be a demonic beast?」

It wasn’t a demonic beast. But there was some entity beyond it that resonated with our magic. Even amidst its struggling, exploding, and surging, I stubbornly attempted to connect to it.

-Snap!

Connection. Something incomprehensible flickered beyond. An existence similar to an Apostle, yet different, utterly divorced from human understanding. The network bent and surged unstably.

「It’s resisting!」

Its shell was violently peeling off. Within the net of thought, the golden sphere beyond perception was finally captured by the network. My network seized it like binding chains, securely shackling it.

Outside, the battleship, as if in its final throes, furiously conjured storms and wildly painted the surroundings with colorful, deadly lasers. Dozens of other ‘me’s fell, helplessly cut down. Even so, I can do it, I definitely will!

「Where am I?」

A strange sensation, as if trapped in a bubble, enveloped us.

Reality was clearly outside. The Scholarly Siblings were shooting crossbows to destroy the last remaining turret, and our Violet Airborne Division continued to cling to the battleship, fighting desperately. Like ants swarming a piece of candy, we stabbed and gnawed, tenaciously maintaining the connection.

Then, suddenly, a girl popped into view before my eyes. She was a girl in pure white clothes that looked like both ceremonial robes and military uniforms. Her flowing blue hair reached long down to her waist.

“You! You! You devil! So it was you! You wicked alien!”

The girl, who had been screaming at the top of her lungs the moment she saw me, suddenly stiffened. She gasped in horror, looked down at her hands, fumbled with her arms and clothes, and then screamed again.

“W-what is this?! And what’s this strange voice?! My body! I hate it! Why is it like this?!”

Instead of responding to her screams, I simply charged forward.

The girl, who had been scrambling to escape, was quickly surrounded by Violet clones. The girl’s arms thrashed pitifully in the air, floundering in the swamp of humans.

“Ugh! Aaaargh! Let go of me!”

“I don’t know, just break down quickly, you junk pile!”

The entity, struggling in the Violet swamp, eventually collapsed limply. At the same time, I snapped back to reality. The ship’s lights were gradually dimming and fading. Turning my head to the side, I saw the Scholarly Sibling twisting a lance out of the armor plating.

“Violet, surely not…”

“Yep! I did it!”

After answering the Scholarly Sibling, we quickly leaped down. Soon, the gigantic artifact ship twitched and then stopped vibrating. Then, it slowly began to move again. Towards the ground where it had originally been. The ship was falling. Tilting diagonally, it crashed down onto the platform structure with a thud.

-Crash!

A colossal impact shook the surroundings for a moment. That was the end of it.

Immediately after, welcome news came flooding in from afar.

「Reporting to command! Connection terminated!」

「Central archive data secured and neutralized!」

The successful completion of the noisy diversion operation was reported. At the victory reports from the other ‘me’s, I finally felt the tension release. Until a harsh, sharp noise came from within the wreckage.

-Crunch!

The wreckage of the structure and ship was violently lifted, and someone abruptly appeared.

“Violet. That one’s not dead yet.”

At Irene’s warning, we all aimed our weapons. It was Hellman, the swordsman. His armor was shattered and broken in many places, and with the wounds I had inflicted earlier and numerous minor injuries of unknown origin, he was utterly ravaged. Nevertheless, his momentum was still fearsome.

Even though he was surrounded by thousands of weapons, his aura remained unyielding, stiff and unbroken.

「Tch! He’s utterly grotesque.」

「Why on earth won’t that thing die?」

But now, we can definitely finish him off. There was no support left to help him, and we had strong allies. The ‘me’s in the network began an intense debate on how to deal with and kill him. There were more than enough means at our immediate disposal.

「Let’s corrode him! If there’s some kind of security on him, his head will explode, and if not, it doesn’t matter!」

「No! That guy doesn’t deserve the blessing of our network! Immediate execution!」

Before the discussion could even finish, he abruptly spoke to us.

“…Who are you?”

**

His earliest ingrained memory was of war.

Screams erupting from all directions, chaotic pandemonium, incessant explosions. He was clearly fighting monsters on the front lines. Fragments of memory shifted constantly and unpredictably. From trenches, deserts, cities, jungles, to snowfields, the scenes transitioned without pause.

Like a person who had just woken from a deep sleep, Hellman’s mind was filled with utter confusion.

Then, suddenly, the scene before him changed again. Things that looked like a black mass of humans. Judging by the aura emanating from them, it was doubtful if they were even truly human.

Now, a memory resurfaced. A memory of a clash once in an indoor space as complex as a cave. Clearly, they resembled those terrifyingly arrogant demons from another dimension. The peculiar magic still creeping from their bodies, that ominous aura, was proof of it.

“…Are you really human?”

At his question, two unusually tall individuals, a man and a woman, moved to step forward from among the smaller soldiers. Their murderous intent bristled like a taut bowstring, as if they would charge at any moment. In that fleeting moment, just before the clash, a small soldier whispered something into the ears of the two. Soon after, one of the small soldiers, who all looked identical like clones, stepped forward and replied.

“We are human!”

“How can beings with such formidable power be human? That’s the kind of power those demons from another dimension would use.”

Violet retorted boldly.

“I don’t know either. In fact, I’m not sure if I’m even human. Anyway, I’ll just consider myself human.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the girl soldier shot back, questioning him again.

“Then who are you? Are you… human?”

“…”

At that question, Hellman remained silent. Another fragment of memory had flashed through his mind like lightning. The sharp, frost-like coldness of blades tearing through his body.

A cold chamber, somewhere unknown, filled with white tiled walls. Cold drugs mercilessly penetrating his arm, the chilling light that shone down from above the operating table. And fragments of unfamiliar information, eras, history, a deluge of hypnotic suggestions.

Due to the extreme pain and injuries, the brainwashing that had bound him was slowly unraveling.

The formidable intellect and mental fortitude of the Great War hero vividly, agonizingly, awoke him to the conclusion of his current reality, like a cruel prophecy.

Who ‘he’ was, and where ‘here’ was.

It was clear now.

“…Perhaps that’s true.”

That might be true. He might no longer be human. He should have fallen on the battlefield and long since returned to the earth. He should have turned to ash and dust, leaving no trace behind. A stranger existing in this place, having leaped far beyond his era. A lost child of time. How could he, such a being, be considered the same kind of existence as the people of this era?

As his thoughts reached that point, Hellman of Laflaxia flinched as an unspeakable wave of sorrow washed over his mind. Although he firmly believed himself to be ‘him,’ his reason harshly screamed that he was not real, merely a fabricated fake. Just a puppet, thrown into the distant future for an unknown reason. Self-loathing and a sense of dissociation slowly, like a swamp, began to engulf his soul.

However, the ‘real’ emotion that sustained him, what little remained. If he hadn’t even had that, he might have long since given up on life. Something that made him ‘him,’ something that compelled him to fight against the undeniably harsh reality.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“…?”

Hellman realized. The enemy before him was clearly a captivating and formidable foe, one he had encountered for the first time in a century. A terrifying adaptability that allowed them to adjust to combat in real-time. A nearly insane, reckless demeanor, as if they felt no pain or fear. And even a bizarre power, strikingly similar to an Apostle’s ability.

His heart pounded fiercely.

An opponent worth fighting, one that stimulated his desire for a challenge.

Human or not? In this unfamiliar world where comrades, colleagues, and family had all vanished, such things no longer mattered. Before he was a human, he was a soldier, a warrior.

His boiling fighting instincts melted away all his anguish like a crucible.

He took off his dented and scratched helmet and flung it far away. Within the flickering flames around him, the face that had been veiled until now slowly revealed itself. It was the face of a middle-aged man with an impressive mustache, truly reminiscent of a classical sculpture.

“What is it?” Violet tilted her head. Because it was a face that felt subtly familiar. Then, seeing the reactions of her friends next to her, she was startled.

Irene’s and the Scholarly Siblings’ eyes gradually shifted from confusion to a great tremor, as if they had seen something familiar, then in mere seconds were engulfed in shock and turmoil.

“Scholarly Sibling. Is that, by any chance, the face from textbooks or statues?”

“Irene, what you just said… it’s probably correct.”

Violet asked with a puzzled expression.

“So, who is that person?”

The answer, unexpectedly, came from the opponent himself. Hellman slowly approached, then removed his gauntlets and tossed them at Violet’s feet. It was a clear declaration of a duel.

“Child wielding power from another dimension, who I am doesn’t matter. After all, this body is but a phantom that shouldn’t exist in this world.”

“What did you say?”

Hellman calmly admitted. Since the enemies had flawlessly surrounded him, there was no escape route. His body, covered in wounds everywhere, was also in terrible condition. This place was truly a death trap.

However, breaking through precisely such a death trap was his specialty and talent, wasn’t it?

The surge of countless monsters’ sharp claws and teeth, the bizarre phenomena of erosion zones and dungeons, the malicious schemes of Eidos that twisted space and time – he always broke through, cut down, and ultimately survived.

Until he gave up, no one could kill him.

“Nevertheless, if you truly wish to know, I shall answer.”

In truth, no more petty reasons were needed. The being before him was the only one worth pursuing truth for, the only target for his first and last chance as this fake, a puppet, who had regained life.

Hellman drew the spare sword from his back and pointed its sharp edge fiercely at the enemies. Catching the blazing flames, the cutlass glinted red and yellow.

The general took a deep breath.

“…My name is Emmanuel Raix.”

He knew. He was not the real ‘him’. He knew it all too well. Even if he were the real ‘him,’ he was merely an illusion forged from malice, a puppet that couldn’t possibly exist in this era.

Nevertheless, the superhuman declared proudly.

“…This body is a soldier who has sworn allegiance to the Parmia Imperial Federation Royal Family and its people. I am the commander leading the International Alliance’s 3rd Superhuman Division, and the foremost hunter among those who have sworn to fight for humanity! What are you, standing before me, wielding power from another dimension? Reveal your identity!”

There was no more hesitation. He had already burned his entire life for the world. He had run ceaselessly until he collapsed from exhaustion. This present moment, this fleeting opportunity, having newly opened his eyes. Let me dance freely, for the first and last time, according to my own will.

Perhaps enchanted by the strange fervor, Violet, without anyone having a chance to stop her, swiftly drew her Zweihänder and bellowed loudly.

“I am Violet!”

The Scholarly Siblings, who had been about to intervene, sensed an unusual fervor emanating from Violet and subtly retreated. Irene also followed Violet’s lead and moved back a considerable distance. Above the burning and severely damaged structures, a circular arena, surrounded by people, unfurled.

A taut tension, like a rope, stretched between the two individuals. Piercing the silence, the signal for the start was fired.

-Thud!

Two black and white figures shot forward like racehorses, kicking off the ground in a furious charge. Immediately after, countless sword strikes traced dazzling arcs in the air, glittering radiantly like planetary rings.

-Clang!

Past and present collided with all their might.

The strongest martial artist of the modern era clashed with humanity’s young Apostle.