Rilorid (3)
"Attack!"
Nearly four thousand users gathered on the Zeta Plateau opened fire at once.
The combined firepower was far greater than that of the first clash of the Solar Battle.
"Damn it."
Even so, compared to a durability of 72,000,000 it was nothing more than a scratch.
"Gaaaah!" Dr. Martin howled, and a powerful sonic wave slammed into the users' machines.
Like a blast of wind, resistance pushed back, and the rankers surged forward.
"Move! Move! Finish it!"
As the users closed in, Dr. Martin raised both fists and slammed the ground hard.
Noise mixed into the roar, as if the sound had exceeded what the systems could capture.
'Strong.'
Even a ranker in heavy armor would have been killed outright by that single blow.
'But the pattern is simple.'
Aegis broadcast over the general channel.
- Based on current analysis, Dr. Martin's patterns are three in total: physical attacks, beam attacks, and sonic attacks.
They'd be dangerous to low-level users, but rankers could evade them.
The problem was durability.
"Unbelievable."
- Durability: 71,138,473 / 72,000,000
Even at full charge—the segment with the highest firepower—Dr. Martin didn't even catch fire.
"Everyone, fall back!"
At Yahweh2's command, the rankers who'd been checking the satellite turned in surprise.
The sphere of light they saw with their own eyes vibrated far more violently than any video feed.
'He's concentrating photons. About a minute?'
Yahweh2 cut through the rankers and fired the Mikellan Gun at Dr. Martin.
Kwaaaang!
The doctor's face, which hadn't even flinched at the grenade barrage, snapped sideways as if it would break.
"What the—"
The rankers could hardly believe their eyes.
- Durability: 70,605,985 / 72,000,000
Aegis reported to Yolga's son.
- Impact: 532,488. Unbelievable figures. 133 hits remain until complete destruction.
- It's on the level of duels between users.
Fermi clicked her tongue.
'Resonance amplitude ties into the system's limits. To exceed this power, cohesion time would have to increase exponentially. So one shot per minute.'
As Shirone fell back, the Operator moved in.
'Collapse.'
When the black blade struck the ground, a dark magnetic field swelled like an explosion and pulled at Dr. Martin.
"Pathetic creatures!"
Dr. Martin slammed the ground with both hands to brace himself, then his upper body collapsed forward.
"Gaaaaah! Gaaaaah!" Hearing the screams tainted with noise, the users opened fire again in unison.
"Surprisingly doable?"
Durability dropped faster than expected, and Yahweh2's Mikellan Gun, firing every minute, accelerated the damage.
"We're winning! We can do it!"
When durability finally fell below 36,000,000, a weak point on Dr. Martin ignited.
At that moment, users who'd been near the Zeta Plateau began arriving one by one.
"Yahoo! Finally our world!"
Their target wasn't Dr. Martin, but the rankers fighting fiercely.
Aegis transmitted.
- They're anarchists. Low-level, but they'll interfere in close combat.
"Do we need to put it grandly? They're just looters. Drive them off. They can't reconnect anyway."
Fermi grabbed one looter by the head and shoved an electric shock into it.
"Uaaah!"
The struggling machine exploded; Yolga's son wiped his hands and split the smoke.
The little witch approached.
"Working hard, are you?"
"After-hours work. What's up? You aren't holding something grudgingly in there, are you?"
She put a hole in the head of the little witch who'd raised a white flag.
"Of course I'm holding something. Whether I use it is my decision. So what's your plan?"
"We should at least defend it, right? I think of it as playing hero to save the world."
The little witch looked to the Operator.
"She's useful to Yahweh2. She could write a program to mine Apocalypse."
Which made her an obstacle.
'Kill her?'
If the Operator were killed, Shirone would inevitably be drawn to Kashan.
Murderous intent radiated from Yolga's son.
"If—"
Wuolin cut him off.
"I know. Foolish thought. Maybe this is the point where we can uncover the world's secrets."
By High Gear standards, the world of reality could be called the outside world.
Fermi agreed.
"If you leave reality for the outside, Argones triggers. We confirmed that in Apocalypse. But here, and with Yahweh2, we might be able to obtain information. Assuming we can reach Ultima, of course."
"Will Nane come back?"
"The reason Argones didn't trigger is probably because Nane had administrator privileges. Flip that and it means the outside world didn't recognize Nane as an enemy. If Nane ever returns to our world, everything might end."
"We have to look inside."
What Buddha knows, Yahweh must also know.
"Yahweh2's stupid moves help to some extent, but humanity reaching Ultima is impossible anyway."
"Humans inherently dislike others. When the majority says they're right, a rebellious minority will always arise."
Her hatch opened and eight guided missiles trailed behind her as they fired.
Nearby looters were vaporized.
"I wish these idiots were this easy in reality, too..."
"I have a plan. Yahweh2 may not understand it, but I won't allow total annihilation."
"Yolga—"
Fermi interrupted this time.
"No. It's business. Who would we make money from if everyone died?"
Watching Fermi smile, it somehow made her easier to read than when she had no expression.
"I'll help."
The little witch raised a finger.
"If I help, setting the stage will be much easier. In return, you share any information we get here."
'Of course she'd say that.'
Like candy laced with poison, but Wuolin's system comprehension was peerless.
"I'll propose something too. Yahweh2 is a puppet; the one who moves is me."
If Wuolin handed Shirone's key to someone who wanted to possess Shirone, there was a high chance it would rampage.
"Fine. You take this."
When they reached a conclusion, Fermi asked,
"So? It seems Number Seven led them. What if we use him to set things up?"
"Knowing his location won't help. Even if you kill him, the creatures won't vanish. You'll only earn Yahweh2's hatred for nothing."
'So we have to resolve this here, then?'
Aegis transmitted.
- The number of anarchists is increasing. About one thousand, it seems.
A considerable number, but given where they were, it made sense.
"Unleash the hounds."
The golden wheel moved, and Wuolin's subordinates began hunting the looters.
Meanwhile, forces from the Solar Battle relentlessly pressed Dr. Martin.
'Durability 790,000! It's almost over!'
Although they'd lost eighty users, they'd fought admirably against the strongest machine ever seen.
At the center of that fight was Shirone.
"One last shot!"
Seeing the durability dropping in real time, Shirone fired the Mikellan Gun.
"Gaaaaah!"
Flames engulfed Dr. Martin's massive body as it began to topple forward.
"Aaah! Damage!"
The immense mass slammed into the ground with a force that triggered an earthquake...
For a moment, there was silence.
"We did it. We actually did it."
They had depleted the full 72,000,000 durability.
"We won—!"
At that moment, Dr. Martin's head popped and exploded, producing new casualties.
"What? A final pattern?"
How foolish that thought had been became clear the next instant.
- Dr. Martin's counterattack. He has revealed his true form. The AI, consumed by madness, will eliminate users.
From the spot where the head exploded, a machine that looked like a crab with fourteen legs stepped out.
Information flashed in augmented reality.
- Dr. Martin (Core).
Users confirmed it was level 4,500 and stared at the durability in shock.
- Durability:
750,000,000 / 750,000,000
"Seven hundred and fifty million..."
A hollow mechanical voice drifted low from the colossal frame.
"Ex. Term. I. Na. Te. Hu. Man. I. Ty."
Sirens blared and a black curtain unfolded behind the core like a net.
They were all grenades, and they began to fly toward users at terrifying speed.
Puf-puf-puf—boom! Mushroom clouds raced across the vast ground as if the sky itself were raining explosions.
Half the users who'd joined the Solar Battle died, and comms flooded.
- Reform the lines! Fight again!
When the smoke cleared, the sky was choked with countless mechanical creatures.
The sheer number was enough to crush morale; users were stunned.
"It's over."
When everyone thought that, a user charged straight at the core.
"Operator!"
She sprinted at supersonic speed, drawing the black blade horizontally and gritting her teeth.
"Number Seven—"
Seeing 750 million durability, she knew this wasn't mere rampage.
"You're going to destroy my world?"
If she had to die, so be it—but she wouldn't watch it happen. This time she was serious.
"You bastard!"
Dodging barrages, she reached the core and boosted her High Gear output, swinging the blade.
"Think I'll let someone like you take it?"
She swung the black blade countless times, but the core ignored her and scraped a beam across the ground.
Through the satellite feed, users being torn apart by creatures were visible. Even the rankers were helpless.
"Die! Die!"
As she slashed in fury, a shadow fell above her.
One of the core's legs targeted her and then began a violent downward drop.
The Operator thrust the black blade forward.
"Yaaah!"
The instant steel met steel, the crushing mass sent her mind reeling.
The blade shattered like glass.
'So frustrating.'
Just as the gigantic leg pressed down to crush her—
The leg halted dead in its tracks. The Operator could hardly believe her eyes.
"H—how—?"
Yahweh2 had arrived beside her and was holding the core's weight with its bare body.
"The system is broken."
Dr. Martin's core had fully bled into this world, and the system had been damaged.
That caused a rupture.
"If that's the case—"
Shirone could now reach the unique signal that marked this world's terminus.
'Mutai.'
Yahweh2 opened its eyes wide; the core emitted a piercing tone and slowly lifted its legs.
"Get out, now!"
The Operator, regaining composure, flung herself away while Shirone pushed off the ground and cleared the radius.
With a thud that shook the earth, Shirone shot high into the sky.
'No fixed form.'
The light sphere coalescing in the Mikellan Gun grew exponentially, and two suns appeared in the sky.
As the Operator looked up, Shirone drove a vertical flash downward.
"Kiaaaaaaang!"
The signal tone generated by the core's system sounded like a machine screaming.
- Durability:
660,989,764 / 750,000,000
'Damage: 89 million?'
All fourteen legs bent, and the body was slammed into the ground.
- Durability:
420,818,812 / 750,000,000
'Additional damage. Crushed down with force.'
As the roar subsided, Fermi, still composed, looked over the core.
"Mutai, huh."
It was undeniable this was something possible in reality.
"Well then—"
Across every High Gear city, countless creatures were ravaging users.
"From here on out, it's the unknown."
Ultima System.