Chapter 105

At that very moment when Ciel and Miyu were fiercely battling the monster—

The three Special Squad combatants, who had encountered a new type of enemy just before the mission’s end point, were struggling to continue their fight.

“‘Damn it, there’s no end to this!’”

Just as Silence complained.

Androids of unknown origin surged forth like a tidal wave from beyond the dark, shadowy corridor.

Perhaps because they had originally been designed for security purposes, they were far sturdier than ordinary androids.

Even with the strength of Iri, who was among the stronger ones in physical power, and Silence, they could not shatter them in a single blow. Only by pouring their full might into their weapons could they barely smash them.

And breaking them did not mean it was over.

Even when their heads were crushed, they staggered about like headless ghosts, arms outstretched as they rampaged through the battlefield. Cut off their arms, and they kicked; destroy their legs, and they crawled close with their hands, clawing with their fingertips.

That was not all.

“‘L-Look at that!’”

“‘What in the world is that…’”

When one was thoroughly destroyed to the point of being unable to move, a writhing black tumor-like mass detached itself from the android’s back.

Then it gathered the remaining spare parts from other wrecked units and cobbled together a new machine.

Even though the parts were from incompatible models, it seemed not to matter so long as they could move.

That tumor adhered to them like an adhesive, forcing the mismatched arms and torsos together.

The resulting chimera-like android, with its clunky and creaking motions, launched another attack.

Though far weaker than intact units, its unpredictable strikes from unexpected angles posed a serious threat.

Endless waves of enemies wore down the three fighters.

Raina’s minigun, though she tried to conserve ammunition, inevitably turned into nothing more than a blunt weapon due to its nature.

Silence too had run out of pistol rounds and continued the battle only with his dagger. But its edge was wearing down, and so was he.

The one in the best condition among them was Iri.

Though she had exhausted all her shotgun shells, at least the shield she carried was not so fragile that it would break from a few swings.

“‘Haaaah!’”

She swung her shield with full force, smashing a robot before leaping high into the air to escape the encirclement.

“‘Module Online! Thousand Pound Weight!’”

She clung upside down to the ceiling, then stomped again, pushing the module’s output to its maximum.

“‘Uuugh!’”

Perhaps she had pushed herself too far.

Her body grew hot, as if her skin was being cooked from the inside, the overload rate rising sharply.

But she did not lower her output one bit.

‘Just… just a little more…!’

Countless rampaging androids approaching from below suddenly floated upward. The gravitational force generated by [Thousand Pound Weight] was pulling them toward the ceiling where Iri hung.

“‘Haaaahp!’”

Iri poured every ounce of her strength into compressing the androids together, then instantly redirected the force, hurling them violently away.

A massive ball of robots slammed into the factory wall, shattering into pieces. Many of them were damaged beyond repair.

“‘Nice!’”

“‘Woooo!’”

The other two cheered.

Canceling the gravitational force, Iri landed on the ground. Though she staggered slightly from exhaustion, she remained uninjured.

With many enemies still remaining, she raised her shield once more and asked,

“‘Raina, is the door open yet?’”

“‘Almost there!’”

That was why they had continued this dangerous fight in the same spot. As soon as the androids had appeared, for some reason, all the electronic doors they had passed through had sealed shut.

Raina had been forced to break through with her minigun, which had already become a blunt weapon after its ammo ran dry. Finally, signs of it opening appeared.

Just a little more.

“‘I think this’ll do! Let’s break it down together!’”

Checking the door’s condition, Iri changed the plan—they would smash it open together.

They intended to retreat back the way they had come before the androids regrouped and attacked again.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The three of them struck the door with all their might, until at last the tightly sealed door was torn off.

“‘Damn, finally!’”

“‘Let’s get out of he—wait!’”

Just as they were about to escape through the newly opened door, something strange stirred beyond it.

Iri’s reflexes caught it immediately, and she yanked Raina back behind her.

Kwaaaang!

A violent impact slammed into her shield.

“‘Kghhh…!’”

She clenched her teeth, forcing strength into her trembling arms to grip the shield tightly. Though she managed to deflect the blow, the recoil still sent her skidding back five meters.

Barely regaining balance, she lifted her head.

At that instant—

“‘Ah…’”

Seeing what approached from beyond, she couldn’t help but let out a groan. Trolls. A whole group of them. She was certain their rear had been cleared, and yet, there they were.

‘Wh-What the hell is going on…!’

That blow earlier must have been a troll’s fist.

She had been lucky to block it, but now they were completely surrounded. Their only escape route had been sealed.

‘What do I do? How are we supposed to…!’

The exit was blocked.

Communication with the rear support team was lost.

The enemies were tightening their encirclement.

And they were already exhausted.

A hopeless situation.

Iri felt her hands tremble. A crushing sense of helplessness weighed her down, her vision dimming.

Beeeeep!

A sharp ringing filled her ears.

She had experienced this once before. When she had been powerless, unable to decide what to do, forced to swallow bitter regret and accept defeat.

The image of a massive stone-carved hand loomed over her. But alongside it, she saw her seniors and classmates, turning back and shouting something to her.

‘…Not yet.’

She would never repeat that experience. Her brother was dead.

Crying out that name in despair and collapsing helplessly—such an ending was not for her.

Ironically enough, the position of “leader,” which she had never wanted, breathed even the faintest vitality back into her body. She once again gripped her shield tightly.

‘Fight.’

She had to fight.

‘Fight…!’

She had to fight in order to survive.

How?

She had no idea.

There was no guarantee that fighting would let them win. She had no idea how they could even survive.

But so what.

Maybe it wasn’t much, but her desperate struggle in Fallen surely hadn’t been meaningless.

To give up on a life so stubbornly clung to—that would be too empty, too futile.

Therefore…

“‘We hold our ground here!’”

Aaron would come.

She knew well that they could not overcome this situation with their strength alone. The only hope lay in that man of overwhelming might coming to save them.

‘If you brought us here, then take responsibility!’

Though she grumbled inwardly, a smile nevertheless tugged at her lips.

Perhaps carried along by her confidence, Silence and Raina too summoned their last strength and readied themselves once more.

And then it happened.

As though answering the hope Iri had rekindled, someone quietly approached the three of them.

“‘At this point, I can hardly just stand by and watch, can I?’”

Dropping his optical camouflage and revealing himself—it was none other than the Security Chief of Colony V7, Joshua Patton.

Everyone stared at him in shock.

“‘M-Mister, how are you here…?’”

“‘Just happened to be passing by.’”

It was a flimsy excuse.

He had surely been following and monitoring them all along.

She wanted to question his motives, even snap at him for appearing so late, but regardless, it was certain he would be a great help.

“‘Mister, can you reach headquarters?’”

“‘No. My link’s cut too. But headquarters must have noticed something’s wrong. Support will come soon.’”

“‘Thank goodness…!’”

“‘And don’t call me Mister. Address me as Colonel.’”

With that, he activated his module.

“‘Module Online, [Fastest Gun]’”

Two revolvers instantly sprang from holsters at his hips.

He snatched them up with ease, adopting a gunslinger’s stance reminiscent of a cowboy from a Western. Dual-wielding—akimbo.

“‘Bang.’”

With a light word, both pistols roared.

At the same time—

Kwaaang!

The bullets tore massive holes into the trolls’ heads.

Even their thick hides and bones, which could withstand ordinary rifle rounds, were powerless before that attack.

Iri’s eyes gleamed.

‘Not an ordinary pistol!’

It must be an Arcane Module.

With their brains damaged, even trolls staggered and collapsed. Though they rose again soon after, as their brains hadn’t been completely destroyed, even that much was an enormous help.

“‘I’ll cover the rear—handle the robots!’”

“‘Got it!’”

Iri and Silence turned back to the androids, while Raina swung her minigun like a hammer, smashing the enemies apart.

How long did they fight?

Iri’s arm went numb from swinging her shield so much. Silence’s dagger finally snapped, and Raina’s minigun, swung too often, bent at the barrel.

Yet still they fought. Pushing back, smashing, shattering every foe that came their way.

Their lungs burned, their tied-up hair was undone into a wild mess, and sweat stung their eyes painfully.

But they fought.

They fought, and kept fighting.

Until reinforcements arrived.

How long must they wait?

Even the thought was a luxury.

The last scraps of energy in their minds were devoted not to thinking, but to moving.

Their sense of time blurred. They even began to forget what they had been doing—

“‘Ah…’”

In the end, unlike what they had hoped—

Reinforcements never came.

However—

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The robots that had moved endlessly, even when smashed, suddenly ceased.

The black tumors on their bodies hardened, turning gray like limestone, and the berserk androids powered down.

The trolls, too, sensing no chance left, began to flee. By mission standards they should have been pursued and eliminated, but no one had strength left to chase.

“‘W-We’re alive…!’”

Raina shouted, releasing the breath she had held for so long. The others too slumped to the ground like puppets with their strings cut.

“‘I-I really thought we were done for.’”

“‘Haa… haa…’”

“‘Looks like our leader’s too exhausted to even reply.’”

Relaxing at last, Silence chuckled, and Joshua Patton too laughed heartily.

“‘You are remarkable students. Now I see why Director Aaron Stingray chose you.’”

“‘We owe our lives to you, Colonel.’”

“‘No. I only added the finishing touch.’”

While they praised one another and celebrated survival, a shriek echoed from the corridor where the trolls had fled.

Skreeee! Skreeee!

The sounds of tearing flesh, followed by silence—

And then the sharp click of footsteps approaching.

It was Aaron Stingray.

Everyone exhaled in relief. His presence meant the incident was all but resolved.

As for the girl perched atop his head, they merely found it strange, but none pointed it out.

“‘Director Stingray!’”

“‘Why are you only arriving now…!’”

“‘You’re too late…!’”

Though he had come to rescue them, the students complained bitterly. It might have soured his mood, yet Aaron instead smiled.

And it was a smile brighter than any they had ever seen from him.

“‘Seems I was late… but you all fought well. Good work.’”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep