A Grave of Steel
[Kieeeeeek—!]
The battlefield shook with a mechanical scream that sounded as if the sky were being torn apart.
Having lost another leg to the fierce onslaught of Arva and Moi, the collapsed Leviathan was practically throwing a fit.
It slammed its remaining legs into the ground frantically, firing its back-mounted missile ports and the laser cutter in its mouth indiscriminately in all directions.
Kwa-ang! Kwang! Kwakwakwang!!
"Kyaaaaak!"
"Avoid the laser ports—! You'll melt if you get hit!!"
The V-60 squad desperately tried to establish a defensive line using their giant shields, but there was no way they could withstand the sheer mass of that colossal monster.
Moreover, their numbers were far too few to begin with.
Every time a shockwave erupted, the heavily armored V-60s were sent flying like autumn leaves.
The situation was even more dire for the ECHOs of Ark 86, whose equipment appeared to be rather poor.
"Nooo—!!"
"Second squad wiped out!!"
"We lack firepower—! The line is collapsing!!"
Compass and Sherpa were running here and there, covered in dust, but it was nowhere near enough.
Tu-tu-tu—!!
"Die! All of you, you piles of scrap!!"
The only reason the front line hadn't completely collapsed was thanks to Pomen, who was pouring out firepower from the rear with her exclusive weapon alongside the Cerberus squad.
Kwa-ang! Kwang!!
Despite this, the tide of battle was not in their favor.
Unfortunately, the ECHOs of Ark 86, who made up the majority of the front line, were not strictly well-armed.
Perhaps that was why?
Their rifle rounds could barely do any damage to the Leviathan's main body, and in return, two or three ECHOs would be reduced to scrap metal by a single incoming missile.
Damn it... the casualties are too high.
As the battle dragged on, cold sweat beaded on my forehead.
I had requested reinforcements from the Ark, but it would take more time for them to arrive.
Even if they did come, it was a problem.
Since the main ECHOs of our Ark were all here, I doubted how much help they could actually provide.
At this rate, it's likely to become a simple war of attrition.
And eventually, my ECHOs would surely be broken one by one.
I need a sturdy tanker who can reliably soak up that insane barrage and pin its movements.
But in this current battlefield, the only ones capable of that were Noah and Lapis Theron.
However, Lapis was covering the main dealers, Moi and Arva, and Noah was protecting me.
...Should I deploy Noah into the field?
I would be in more danger, but it might be the only way to turn the situation around.
It was then.
Kwa-ang—!!
One of the Leviathan's shells struck a troop carrier vehicle from Ark 86 standing a short distance from where I was.
Naturally, I expected it to be crushed and explode, but something surprising happened.
Kkigigigik—! Kwadangtang! Kwang—!
"......Eh?"
The armored vehicle was pushed back dozens of meters and rolled, its surface heavily dented. But surprisingly, it neither exploded nor was it pierced.
"That thing is ridiculously sturdy, isn't it? What is it?"
At my question, Noah spoke while analyzing the data.
"It is the ARX-12 Grendel. A troop carrier clad in heavy-tank-grade alloy, primarily used for base defense or VIP escort."
"No, wait. If they have things like that, why are the ECHOs fighting with their bare bodies?"
"Presumably because the permission of the human commander, who holds the boarding authority, has not been granted."
"...Wow."
My neck felt stiff, and my head began to throb.
I felt like I finally understood why hundreds of Arks had all gone to ruin in the game's setting.
It's because they had idiots like that as commanders.
They deserved to die, seriously.
"Compass!"
I immediately grabbed the radio and shouted.
"Compass! Do you hear me!!"
[Yes, Commander.]
"Stop throwing your bodies at it and use the troop carriers! Board the empty carriers scattered around, establish a position, and push those Astral bastards back!!"
[...What?]
"I said there are troop carriers! If you use that ridiculously thick armor to soak up their attacks, your casualties will be greatly reduced!!"
[Ah......]
Compass's voice trailed off.
It seemed she knew about them, but had been hesitating because no order had come from her commander.
I'll give them credit for their loyalty, but these girls were frustratingly passive.
"I'll take full responsibility! I'll take responsibility for everything even after the battle is over! So don't die for nothing, get in, now!"
[Yes, understood, Commander.]
Only after my command did the ECHOs of Ark 86 finally move.
ECHOs who knew how to drive boarded the empty carriers and started the engines. However, their number was less than half of the enemies pushing into our sector.
"What about the troop carriers just sitting there?"
At my question, Compass answered in a troubled voice.
[Those... the human commanders are inside.]
"...Ah. Right."
A hollow laugh escaped me.
So, the surviving human commander bastards were hiding inside, shivering in fear.
If they were going to be like that, they should have just run far away where they couldn't be seen.
No matter how much I had suppressed them with my momentum, it was too much to forcibly seize vehicles carrying commanders of another Ark and drive them into the battlefield.
"Useless pieces of trash. Leave them—! Only move the empty vehicles!"
Regardless, as the heavy troop carriers began to be deployed across the battlefield with roaring engines, a defensive line slowly began to form.
[Kieeeeeek—!!]
That ridiculously thick armor plating was able to withstand even the intense heat of the Leviathan's lasers.
Although the armor plates glowed red and began to melt, they weren't pierced in one go.
Kwa-ang! Kwang! Kuuuuung—!!
While the defensive line was being established, Arva and Moi were running wild atop the Leviathan's body.
The monster scattered assault-type Astrals as it struggled, but the moment they encountered Moi and Arva, they were sliced in half in the blink of an eye and plummeted below.
Ta-ang—! Tang!
Silva's sniping from the roof of a ruined building, as she steadied her breath and pulled the trigger, was also a huge help.
In particular, Silva understood her Artifact, the Exclusive Weapon, better than anyone.
Whenever she instantly destroyed small Astrals with headshots and entered a state of stillness, Silva searched for and sniped the Leviathan's exposed joint areas.
Furthermore, the steel behemoth was even judged to be in an immobile state after its legs were broken.
Tu-hwak—!
Thanks to that, every time a precise shot struck, the Leviathan's armor seams were ripped away, revealing fragile hydraulic systems.
Kwa-ang! Kwang—!
"Hold on just a bit longer!!"
"2nd Squad, retreat—! Merge with the 6th Squad!"
"4th Squad here! Ammo! We need ammo support—!"
The battle continued without pause.
The opponent was a colossus of steel and a living mobile fortress. It wasn't a fight that would end just by cutting off its legs.
Engaging in a nerve-wracking tug-of-war, we ran, shot, and dodged frantically. Even after reinforcements and ammo supplies arrived from the Ark, there was no time to rest.
Click!
"Damn, the magazine..."
"We've run out of spares, Commander. That is the last ammo box."
"......We're screwed."
And it was around the time all the ammunition stored in Hongwei-7 had run dry, and the movements of the ECHOs became noticeably sluggish.
[Arva—! Clear a path!!]
Moi's shout echoed through the radio.
Moi, with more than half of her combat suit melted away, was flying toward the Leviathan's nape. Then, the Surge Blade erupted toward the most vulnerable spot: the Core room.
Schlunk—!
"......"
A silence fell as if the world had stopped.
And then, a chilling sound of severing followed.
The ultra-high temperature plasma field melted through the thick neck armor like tofu and sliced the blue power source pulsing inside exactly in half.
[Ke......]
Unable to even let out a final scream, the Leviathan's massive body collapsed with a thunderous roar.
Kuuuung—!
With a vibration that shook the earth, the disaster that had engulfed Hongwei-7 finally fell.
Simultaneously, the small Astral bastards that had been pressing us across all of Hongwei-7 stopped moving all at once, like marionettes with their strings cut, and collapsed with a loud clatter.
"......"
It was our glorious victory.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Huff... huff..."
Exhaling the heat that filled my lungs, I slumped to the ground.
Now that the battle was over, my legs were shaking so much I couldn't stand.
It was close. Truly, a victory gained by a hair's breadth.
If we hadn't used the troop carriers as shields.
If the ECHOs of Ark 86 hadn't been persuaded by Compass to help us.
If Moi's final blow had missed.
By now, the one rolling around as piles of scrap and scattered meatlumps wouldn't have been the Leviathan, but us.
"We... we did it—!!"
"We won!!"
As the thick dust settled, ECHOs began to crawl out one by one from between the dented and scorched troop carriers.
Nameless mass-produced units.
Though they belonged to another Ark, today they were the protagonists of victory and the primary contributors to bringing down the Leviathan.
Then, the ECHOs of our Ark began to line up before me one by one.
"Anti-Astral Dedicated Squad—Codenamed Arva, Moi, Lapis, and Luna. We have returned, Commander."
"Cerberus Squad has also all returned, Commander."
"Cordelia and two V-60 units. Reporting to duty."
Along with them were Madeline and Alpha, who had rushed from the Ark to support us, and the new V-60 units who had been manufactured less than half a day ago.
None of them were unscathed.
Their combat suits were torn and scorched, revealing pale-white skin, and some were sparking in various joints of their bodies.
The V-60 girls who had been in charge of defense on the front line were in a wretched state, with one or two body parts missing.
"...Lena."
"Yes, Commander."
I steadied my trembling voice and commanded.
"Load the V-60s separately and send them back to the Ark first. Tell Karen to prioritize their repairs. Don't spare any parts."
"Yes, understood."
"And..."
Then, my gaze turned toward the wreckage of the completely destroyed V-60 Unit 4.
"Bring this girl back to life as well. Since the Core and memory were recovered, it should be possible."
"There is a high possibility that memory data will be lost or initialized, Commander."
"I know. Still... she’s family."
"Understood, Commander."
Lena nodded at my words.
Even if it was just a fragment of data, I couldn't just abandon someone who had given their life for me. Just as I was organizing the battlefield and tending to the wounded.
Screeeech—! Kwang!
With a loud noise that broke the silence, the hatch of the command troop carrier parked in the corner opened violently.
"Uhahaha! I did it! I won! I caught that monster—!!"
And from within, a man in a pristine dress uniform, without a single speck of dust on him, leaped out.
As if the corpses of the ECHOs scattered around meant nothing to him, he was bursting into manic laughter while looking only at the fallen Leviathan.
...Who is this crazy bastard?
Frowning, I stared at the man who was running wild, intoxicated by a victory he didn't earn.
There's a limit to brazenness; it was disgusting to see him try to take the credit for a meal I had prepared.
But as I scrutinized his face, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
Where have I seen him?
He looked familiar. It was definitely a face I knew.
But he was decisively different from the image I remembered.
I'm sure I saw him in the game...
I quickly recalled my memories of Echoes of Humanity — ECHO.
This was 30 years before the main story's timeline, so he should be much younger than the character I remembered.
Erasing the deep wrinkles from the old man's face in my memory, changing the grayish-white hair to black.
Replacing the cunning and sinister gaze with the current look full of arrogance and impulsiveness...
"Ah..."
As the puzzle pieces fit together, a sigh escaped me involuntarily.
"Lin Ao."
The legendary incompetent human trash who, in the distant future, would drive the Pathfinder squad into a death trap for his own safety, eventually culminating in the total ruin of Ark 14.
That cancer-inducing character from the game was breathing and living right before my eyes.