A Useless Truth
"Silva and I have already... received that, uh, kindness from the Commander... But Luna still hasn't..."
As Helena's voice trailed off, her expression clearly betrayed her worry for her comrade.
It was a face so serious it was hard to believe she had been intoxicated by pleasure just a moment ago.
"I was wondering if it's because Luna is a beast-type ECHO... or maybe because she's a supporter, so she's not the Commander's type. Luna isn't showing it, but I think she's actually quite envious..."
"...Ah."
Hearing Helena's words, several thoughts flashed through my mind at once.
To be honest, there were only a handful of characters among the ECHOs of this world that I didn't like.
I've never had particularly high standards to begin with.
Even with a mass-produced ECHO like Alpha, if she looked attractive, I could get a hard-on instantly.
Even for a beast-type ECHO, it's not like their faces are that of actual animals; they are ECHOs that were closer to human than animal. They just had your usual cat ears and a tail.
In the first place, animal ears and tails were added to Echoes of Humanity — ECHO without any proper lore, just to satisfy that specific demand of the niche circle of audience in the gaming community...
They hear well.
Their senses are keen.
The tail is a weak point.
It was just a trick by the game company to pull in your average fantasy nerds with those tastes by inserting common beast-kin tropes.
Regardless, someone like Luna was more than a passing grade in my book.
For starters, her default outfit is a school uniform.
There was even a gap moe in her character—despite her cute appearance, she walked around with her shirt unbuttoned like a delinquent.
Surprisingly, her default setting is a black lace bra.
And was that all?
Her breasts also had a considerable presence.
So, I shook my head and spoke resolutely to get rid of her misunderstanding.
"No, no. It's nothing like that."
"...Then?"
Helena asked cautiously.
"I just haven't had the chance to interact with her yet."
It was the truth.
I'd managed to find opportunities to fuck Helena and Silva, but strangely, it hadn't happened with Luna.
For one, she's a very shy ECHO, so the timing never felt right.
She's the type to tremble in fear, her tail quivering alongside her, and run away the moment I show any sign of approaching, so it felt awkward to force my hand.
"Ah! I-I see."
Helena's expression brightened considerably at my answer.
"Phew... that's a relief. Luna really likes you a lot, Commander."
"For someone who likes me, doesn't it seem like she's avoiding me a bit?"
"It's because she's shy. Beast-type ECHOs, especially the feline ones, can be like that, right?"
Surprisingly, this was news to me.
"Because she's a cat?"
"Yes. On the surface, they smile and joke around, but they tend to run away even more when they're in front of someone they actually like. Aren't most cat-type ECHOs like that?"
I've never had a pet, so I wouldn't know.
The only cat I've experienced was a housecat that my friend had. She was more like a dog than anything else, really.
That one would dash over the moment I held out my hand.
Anyway, cat-type ECHOs...
Who else was there besides Luna?
I remember seeing a few while playing the game, but I couldn't recall them properly now.
Regardless, Helena's thoughtfulness toward her comrade was admirable.
A reliable warrior in battle, a slutty bitch in bed, and a warm older sister who worries about her friends behind the scenes.
It was no wonder she was the leader of a squad, just like Arva.
Well, she was actually very popular too.
Helena was a core member of the shotgun deck, an ECHO that most users owned at least one unit of in their playthrough.
And Silva, who was rated as Tier 2, was also a mandatory character for certain compositions.
Furthermore, in the main story, the Cerberus squad left a strong impression on users due to their tragic end—sacrificing themselves heroically to save the protagonist's main squad, Dawn Frame.
That battle... was the battle against the Crawler Queen.
According to the game's history, that tragedy wouldn't happen for another thirty years.
But in this world where I reside, it was something that would never happen—or more accurately, something I would make sure never happened.
Just as I was making that vow in my heart and thinking about how I needed to grow Ark 69 quickly...
"And Luna... she prefers to be handled strongly and roughly."
"...Huh?"
As I stared at her with a blank face, Helena lowered her gaze and continued her explanation.
"It's the instinct of beast-type ECHOs. Being subdued by a strong person, feeling a sense of security while being pinned down... that's their thing."
"So..."
"Rather than stroking her gently, even if she struggles in surprise, don't let go. Squeeze her breasts hard or give her firm commands in a low voice. Then she'll succumb to your strength and follow you immediately."
"Won't she hate that instead?"
At my words, Helena shook her head and spoke with conviction.
"No. But if you're worried, just look at Luna's tail."
"Look at her tail...?"
"Yes. If the fur on her tail puffs up and it sways from side to side, it means she's actually enjoying the situation, contrary to her actions."
"Uh..."
So even ECHOs had a thing for bad boys, huh?
While I found it utterly absurd, my dirty mind was already imagining using my authority as Commander to fuck Luna.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The sky outside the Ark was gray, as always.
Cutting through the yellow sandstorm, four silhouettes draped in gray coats moved silently, keeping a wary eye on their surroundings.
"Just a little further and we'll be at Hongwei-7."
The ECHO leading the way checked her wrist terminal and muttered briefly.
It was Compass, the leader of Pathfinder, the elite reconnaissance squad of Ark 86.
"...I feel like I've heard those words ten times since this morning."
"That's the leader for you. I bet she'd say just a little further for anything within 100km."
"100km? She'd probably say it for 500km, wouldn't she?"
Zero and Sherpa grumbled, shrugging their shoulders.
But as Compass scanned the surrounding terrain instead of replying, Bait also looked around once before speaking.
"By the way, this Hachishakusama thing. Does it actually exist? Is it not just a lie told by those scummy Wanderers?"
"Why do you think that?"
At Compass's dry question, Bait snorted.
"I mean, they said the Astrals are after that Named Anomaly for its essence, right? If such a big shot was just sitting around here, shouldn't the Harvester's minions be swarming the place by now?"
However, as they drew closer to their destination, they didn’t hear any noise or movements of the Astrals.
"I-I agree with Bait. Honestly, since we've come this far... shouldn't we have encountered at least a common Specter or a Knight-class machine by now?"
Following Bait's lead, Sherpa, who served as the supporter and pack mule, timidly raised her hand.
But all Pathfinder had encountered so far were stray zombies, which wandered the surface as commonly as stray cats, rather than Astrals.
"I feel the same. That Named Grade Anomaly... maybe the Harvester found it first, and it's already been taken by the Astrals? It's been almost fifteen days since the Black Crow told us about it."
"Hmm..."
Compass remained silent for a moment at her teammates' opinions, then checked the safety on her assault rifle and spoke.
"We can't rule out that possibility. But our mission is clear—to confirm the existence of the Hachishakusama. If it was captured by the Astrals, we record everything, including the traces, and report it back to the Ark."
"And after that?"
"What happens after that... is the Fleet Commander's call. It's not any of our concern."
At Compass's firm words, Zero, Sherpa, and even Bait—who didn't particularly like humans or fleet commander—nodded silently.
"Then let's move."
Pathfinder advanced slowly toward the distant city of Hongwei, muffling their footsteps.
Once they closed the distance, they began to seep into the city, hiding among piles of broken debris from the outskirts.
"...Compass."
When Alpha called out softly, Compass followed her gaze and replied briefly.
"I see it."
The deeper they entered the city, the more artificial traces—different from simple collapse—became apparent.
They were traces of battle.
Bait frowned, kicking a piece of metal lying at her feet.
"This... is a Knight-class unit’s fragment? What the hell did this to it?"
The surfaces of the Astral fragments scattered here and there showed clear signs of having been melted by high heat and then solidified.
"It looks like there was a battle recently."
"Did it fight an Anomaly? But there are so many Astrals... this thing must be incredibly strong, right?"
"It's Named Grade after all."
Compass drew a clear line as she spoke.
"If we encounter the Anomaly, we must avoid engagement. Our goal is to confirm its existence, not to fight it."
"...What if it catches us and won't let go?"
"Then we run. We are the Pathfinder squad, after all."
Compass's answer sounded like a short joke, but no one laughed.
Thus, the Pathfinder squad pushed deeper into the city, reminding themselves of their mission once more.
Soon, in Hongwei-7—which they had known only as an abandoned ruin—they discovered barricades intentionally constructed using collapsed buildings.
"...Wait."
Compass raised her hand to stop the group.
At the leader's signal, all members of Pathfinder lowered their stances and held their breath.
"Multiple heat signatures detected. The pattern... It's not zombies."
"A-Astrals...?"
Zero, holding her sniper rifle, blinked and scanned the area.
Compass looked more closely at her wrist terminal, analyzing the distribution of heat sources. Her eyes instantly narrowed.
"Not Astrals. If it were them, the heat signatures would be much larger than ours. Rather..."
She checked the figures once more and spoke quietly.
"They're ECHOs. Like us..."
"W-What? Wasn't this city completely abandoned?"
Sherpa asked back with an expression of disbelief.
"That's just what those info-broker bastards rambled about. As expected, those lying bats can't be trusted."
"Quiet for now. Let's move our position."
At Compass's command, Pathfinder stealthily hid in the shade of a broken bridge.
Lying flat and keeping their gaze low, their view of the city center opened up as they peered further ahead.
"......"
The first thing that caught their eye was a Troller-class Mobile Aircraft Carrier that looked half-dismantled.
The massive ship had crashed, crushing several buildings beneath it. Its overwhelming size alone was chilling, but the sight around it was even more surprising.
Mass-produced ECHOs were moving busily, dismantling the Troller-class Mobile Aircraft Carrier.
"They're C-008s."
Sherpa whispered the classification code cautiously.
"Construction ECHOs? For now... I think I see about three of them."
"There's one that looks like an original too."
Zero added, scanning further through her scope.
That wasn't all.
Even a Bastion, a fixed defensive platform, was planted firmly at a strategic point on the city's outskirts.
Seeing the turret moving, it was clear it wasn't just abandoned equipment, but gear that was actually operational.
"What the hell are those?"
Bait muttered, holding her breath.
"Is there another Ark in this area that we don't know about?"
"There was nothing in the records. Ark 69 is the closest, but it fell to the Crawler Queen. For now, who those guys belong to is a secondary issue. More importantly..."
Just as Compass was responding to Bait...
[Poooo...]
From inside the distant Bastion, a massive silhouette slithered out.
The form of a woman wearing a white funeral robe.
It moved slowly, circling the Bastion as if performing a patrol.
"Is... is everyone seeing this?"
Sherpa said, her voice trembling.
Compass quietly entered the record into her terminal.
"Height, pattern, and other characteristics match the report. Named-grade Hachishakusama, existence confirmed."
After a brief silence, Compass continued.
"And it has already fought once against the Astrals that brought the Troller-class Mobile Aircraft Carrier."
At her addition, the group looked once more at the crashed carrier and the Astral fragments strewn about.
However, their eyes began to shake violently at the next scene.
"......Uh."
"What? My eyes aren't playing tricks on me, right?"
It wasn't just Compass.
Zero, Sherpa, and Bait—all of them had question marks floating over their heads.
The Hachishakusama slowly looked down at a mass-produced ECHO standing a short distance away and reached out its arm.
The ECHO, who appeared to be a C-008, looked surprised for a moment, but then took something out of its chest area and held it out.
It was a Concentrated Nutrient.
[Po—!]
Surprisingly, the Hachishakusama took it, sniffed it once, and then began to chew and swallow the Concentrated Nutrient in one bite.
At that sight, Bait spoke in a voice mixed with confusion and horror.
"D-Did... did an ECHO just give food to an Anomaly?"
According to their common sense, Anomalies were the enemies of humanity and, by extension, the ECHOs.
They were disasters themselves—indiscriminately attacking humans, sucking their essence, and eroding the world.
But the scene unfolding before their eyes was something they had never seen in their lives.
Compass scratched her head and spoke.
"Can I... just report this as it is?"
She felt she'd be lucky if she didn't get slapped for filing a false report.