Who is the True Commander?
Clang—!
A sharp metallic screech tore through the battlefield.
"Hieeeek?!"
"W-We're gonna die!! Get out of the way!!"
The ECHO units of Ark 86, who had been fleeing, screamed at the unbelievable sight unfolding before their eyes.
The moment the massive steel leg of a Leviathan, carrying dozens of tons of weight, descended upon an ECHO as small as an ant, everyone squeezed their eyes shut, anticipating a gruesome result accompanied by a horrific crushing sound.
However….
"…It's a bit heavy."
Arva.
The leader of the Arclight squad and the one who held the Commander's greatest trust within Ark 69 crossed her daggers in an X shape and was blocking the devastating blow from the monster of steel and bloodlust.
Of course, she wasn't contesting the force head-on.
Just before the Leviathan's point of impact landed, she crossed Night's End—the Exclusive Weapon gifted to her by the Commander—to subtly twist the trajectory of the attack, letting the force slide away from her and land safely away from their forces.
Screeeech—!
The steel leg slid along Arva's daggers and sliced through the air.
That wasn't all.
Arva's wrists rotated like lightning.
The daggers scratched the Leviathan's leg armor several times, and the Leviathan, suddenly losing its balance, collapsed into an awkward posture.
The Weakness Exposure trait of Night's End had been applied.
The moment the massive mechanical monster's body wavered, Arva leaped back and shouted.
"Moi—!"
"Yes, Sister!!"
A perfect opening created by Arva.
Without missing that gap, Moi, who had been waiting for her moment, bravely soared into the air.
Due to her past experience just before Rai was offered as a sacrifice to the Astral, Moi harbored a stronger hostility toward the Astral than anyone else.
To her, the Leviathan before her was not an object of fear, but an enemy to be torn to shreds.
Moi—! Show them the power of Cash!!
I swallowed hard as I looked at the Surge Blade in her hand.
The victory or defeat of this battle depended on whether the firepower of my ECHOs—specifically those I had organized into an Anti-Astral Deck—would be effective against the Leviathan's armor.
What if even those wielding Exclusive Weapons couldn't wound the thing?
Then I'll have to run away without looking back.
In fact, I had already strictly instructed Podic, my final means of escape and the last bastion of defense, not to emerge from the TV medium.
It was to prevent any possibility of Podic being absorbed or captured by the Leviathan.
Isn't there always that cliché in comic books or anime where such a scene happens and complicates the whole situation?
I had no desire for a frustrating, cancer-inducing plot development.
Vroooooom—!
As Moi gripped the smooth, obsidian-colored handle of the dagger, the ultra-fine surge heat wires thinner than a strand of hair inside the blade activated, reacting to her Core Energy.
The temperature instantly reached 6000 degrees.
A high-heat plasma field, equivalent to the surface temperature of the sun, wrapped around the blade, flickering red.
"Die—!"
Moi rotated her body in mid-air, using centrifugal force to swing the Surge Blade toward the joint of the Leviathan's front leg.
Slish!!
There was no thunderous roar of metal clashing or any impact sound.
As if cutting through butter with a heated knife or slicing through tofu, the composite armor the Leviathan boasted—and the steel frame that withstood dozens of tons of weight—melted away and was severed the moment it touched the Surge Blade.
[Kieeeeeek—!!]
A horrific scream, incomparable to the one from before, erupted.
Thump!!
The Leviathan's massive leg, severed cleanly, fell and rolled across the ground.
Black oil sprayed like a fountain from the red-hot, melted cross-section, instantly vaporizing and emitting acrid smoke.
⚙ ANALYSIS LOG ⚙
Analysis: Re-confirming situation in Hongwei-7.
Error: Data mismatch. Enemy entity combat power upgraded to Very Dangerous level.
Warning! Warning! Warning!!!
Having lost two of its front legs, the Leviathan collapsed forward.
Feeling pain, humiliation, and a threat to its life, the monster began to rampage frantically.
[Kieeeek!!]
Along with a mechanical scream, the missile ports on its back opened all at once.
"Oh, shit…?! Everyone, get away!!"
I shouted urgently, but the missiles were already soaring into the air, drawing crimson trajectories.
"Commander!!"
Boom! Boom-boom-kaboooooooooooom—!
With exploding roars erupting from all directions, my ears went numb, and the world turned upside down.
A missile struck directly above the building where I was, and the concrete ceiling began to collapse. It was a desperate moment when I almost got buried alive.
Flash—!
A curtain of holy light energy unfolded before my eyes.
It was none other than Noah, saving me from being crushed.
"Huff… huff…."
A moment later, Noah withdrew the barrier, breathing heavily.
Her shoulders were trembling slightly, likely because she had used a massive amount of Core Energy to block the falling debris.
"C-Commander. Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere…?"
"I'm fine. I survived thanks to you, Noah."
I gripped Noah's shoulder with trembling hands.
At the same time, cold sweat ran down my spine.
If it hadn't been for Noah, my isekai life would have ended right here.
I almost fucking died.
My eyes turned toward the Leviathan roaring grotesquely beyond the clouds of dust.
No matter how strong the ECHOs were, it was useless if I, the Commander, was taken out.
To survive in a world where such crazy monsters rampaged, I felt I needed to think about physical enhancement or modification methods as soon as possible.
I pushed myself up from the ruins and picked up the radio.
"Everyone, status report?!"
Urgent reports came through the crackling noise.
[This is Arva! Moi and I are fine. Currently engaging the Leviathan!]
[Report from Cerberus… No casualties! Able to continue combat.]
Reports from the ECHOs came in from here and there.
Fortunately, the main force was safe.
But not everyone was.
[…V-60 Squad reporting. Unit 4 was caught in a direct hit. Currently in a state of functional shutdown.]
My heart sank.
"Commander?"
"N-No, it's nothing. Continue reporting."
I tried to answer calmly, but my clenched fists were shaking uncontrollably.
Mass-Production Model V-60, Unit 4.
She was just an ordinary mass-produced ECHO whom I hadn't even given a name like Vivi or Sisi, and with whom I had barely shared a few proper conversations.
But she was my subordinate.
And for the first time since coming to this world, an ECHO under my command and belonging to our Ark had lost her life.
"Damn it."
"You don't have to blame yourself, Commander. V-60 is…."
"Huff. I know."
I took a short, deep breath at Noah's consolation.
If I got agitated or panicked here, Unit 4's sacrifice would be in vain, and other ECHOs would be put in danger.
A Commander had to be cold-headed. I scanned the battlefield with cold, sunken eyes.
"V-60 Squad."
[Yes, Commander.]
"Recover your comrade's Core or memory chip to the best of your abilities, only if you can, and retreat to the rear."
ECHOs are not human.
As long as the parts existed, as long as the memory was intact, they could be revived with some of their memories preserved.
"And…."
I shifted my gaze to the small Astral monsters crawling out from the severed leg of the Leviathan.
"Cordelia."
[Yes, Commander.]
"Lead the V-60 units and take care of the remnants emerging from the main body. Avenge Unit 4 for me."
[Roger! I'll grind them to dust.]
I would have been anxious if it were only the V-60 units taking the Leviathan on, but with Cordelia joining them, there shouldn't be any major issues.
"Arva, Moi. Do you hear me?"
[Yes, Commander.]
"Don't overdo it; work with Lapis to remove the Leviathan's legs first. No matter what happens, we catch that spider bastard here and grind the fucker to dust."
[Roger!!]
Did my cold fury reach them?
The ECHOs' responses rang out sharper than ever.
Bang! Bang-bang-bang!!
While the Original ECHOs fought the Leviathan, I also held the White Tiger and blew the heads off the small Astral monsters that kept popping out.
In the front, Arva, Moi, and Lapis fought a desperate struggle against the Leviathan.
Thump! Boom!
The earth shook every time the monster's massive legs swung.
It was then.
"……Who the hell are those guys?"
My gaze, which had been focused on the battle, locked onto a group loitering in a corner of the battlefield.
Near a collapsed wall, a series of troops who had emerged from a half-destroyed armored vehicle stood there, not knowing what to do.
No, what the hell are they doing right now?
They were the intruders who had not only brought that fucking monster but had also smashed the walls of someone else's home.
Yet, they were just blankly watching our Ark's ECHOs risk their lives as if it were someone else's business.
Even the hatch of the armored vehicle, which appeared to be the command vehicle, was tightly closed.
Naturally, there was no sign of the human presumed to be the Commander of the troops.
Seeing that, the string of reason in my head snapped.
"You fucking pieces of shit—! What are you doing?! Why aren't you shooting—?!"
At my thunderous shout, the ECHOs, who appeared to belong to another Ark, looked at me in shock.
"Uh, uh-huh?!"
"What are you doing!! Shoot if you want to live—! You useless idiots!! This is the shit YOU brought to our backyard!!"
Bang! Bang-bang!
Unable to contain my boiling rage, I fired the White Tiger toward the command vehicle.
With a heavy gunshot, sparks flew from the armored vehicle's armor plating.
"Are you fucking enjoying the fucking show?! Is that IT?!! If you're just going to stand there, then get the fuck out of my base!!"
At my warning shot, the ECHOs turned pale and stepped back.
They showed signs of trying to take action by raising their weapons, but they couldn't pull the triggers, likely because there were no orders from the Commander hiding inside the armored vehicle.
This is frustrating as hell, seriously.
I didn't know who the Commander of those idiots was, but I wanted to see their face just once.
There's a limit to how much you can troll; I planned to punch them in the face if I met them.
It was then.
"Everyone, get a grip!"
Someone approached through the confused ECHOs.
It was Compass, the leader of the Pathfinder squad, and Sherpa.
Their entire bodies were covered in dust and the smell of gunpowder, as if they had been fighting the Astral.
"Uh… Compass?"
Seeing a few of the idling ECHOs acknowledge her, I grit my teeth.
What? They were the main force of Ark 86 all along?
They called themselves reinforcements, but far from being helpful, they were just baggage.
Without hesitation, Compass grabbed the collar of the ECHO who seemed to be the squad leader and shook them.
"Open your eyes—! Do you think there's anywhere to run right now?! Are you just going to stand there and die?!"
"B-But the Commander…."
"So? Are you just going to stand there and get crushed to death by that monster?!"
At Compass's roar, the ECHOs became as silent as stones.
The images of the mass-produced girls abandoned during the retreat and the final moments of the Original Squad Lotus flashed through their minds.
"Look at that person!"
Compass pointed toward me, fighting the Astral.
"Look at the Commander here! That person has nothing to do with us, yet they are on the front lines with a gun to protect you. And you…! Aren't you ashamed?! You're the ones who brought that monster here!!"
At those words, the eyes of the Ark 86 ECHOs wavered, then turned determined.
One by one, their Cores came to a verdict.
Rather than dying a dog's death while fleeing, they would die honorably fighting here.
No, they would give their lives to protect the human before them.
That was the duty and the reason for an ECHO's existence.
Click! Clack.
The sound of safety catches being released began to be heard from all over.
"All units, to combat positions. Handle the small Astrals and intercept the spider."
"Avenging our comrades."
"Let's go comfort the Lotus girls."
The ECHOs readjusted their weapons in unison and turned around.
[Uh, uh-huh?! Hey, you crazy tin cans! What are you doing?! You should be protecting me first!!]
Only then did someone inside the armored vehicle realize the situation was turning strange and begin to scream.
[How dare you ignore my orders?! Do you all want to become scrap metal?!]
But the mass-produced ECHOs, glancing at me, ignored the voice of the man who seemed to be the Commander.
"Open fire!!"
"Blow it away—!"
"Squad 22, to the right—!"
They began to pour fire upon the Leviathan in unison.