The Raven Takes Flight
The Raven Takes Flight
The Southern Cross's air defense network was considered the best in the world.
Among them, the air defense network of the capital, Nova Crux, was impregnable.
It was a city where the nation's noble knights and Saints gathered. As for its skies, the Southern Cross had never yielded a single inch to anyone.
The wide-area radar scanned everything up to an altitude of 100 kilometers, right before the Kármán line, without a single gap.
The orbit above that had long since become a graveyard of satellite debris created by humanity. The sky permitted to humanity ended there, and the Southern Cross watched over all of that permitted sky like the back of its hand.
On the ground, fixed Anti-Advent batteries were densely laid out to fill any gaps. No Advent could pierce this air defense network. At least, that had been the case until now.
{No response from Air Defense Sector 3. Please check the situation.}
{Sector 7 is down too. Nothing is showing up on the radar.}
{What? What does that mean—}
And at this very moment, the world's best air defense network was being torn apart like paper by just three Advents.
Three shadows marched, cutting through the clouds.
In the lead was Cheonrang.
Gray-white armor resembling a wolf. He was an Apostle piloting the Borame, the Kyungdanryeon's latest 6th-generation Covenant. The Borame he piloted had a structure modified to pour everything into high mobility; once it accelerated, it didn't even leave an afterimage.
On the right was Heukjo.
A modified Hayabusa covered in pitch-black stealth paint. Wherever the long-range jamming antenna sprouting from its back passed, the Southern Cross's radar was stained with false signals. The radar, unable to withstand the load, eventually broke down.
Even if they repaired it, it would be useless. There wouldn't be a controller in this world capable of picking out the real one amidst the illusions created by thousands, tens of thousands of false signals.
Cheonrang's intent spread across the Afterglow Field. Through this Afterglow Field, Apostles could exchange their intentions without misunderstanding, even without speaking or needing to connect via radio communication.
{Jeoga. Take care of the battery at 2 o'clock.}
{Leave it to me.}
As soon as Cheonrang's intent reached him, Jeoga dove.
A Hayabusa with sharp armor that lived up to the Apostle name 'Red Fang'. The machine dropped onto the ground battery. Before the gun barrels could even turn toward him, Jeoga had already landed on top of them. Without allowing a single shot to be fired, the giant crushed the batteries one by one, silencing them.
The defensive facilities on the road to the slums were being destroyed one by one.
{12 batteries silenced! Damn it, what kind of speed is this—}
If the Southern Cross had poured its entire life into defense, the Kyungdanryeon was a group that had poured everything into neutralizing that defense.
And the moment the air defense network died, conventional weapons lost all meaning before an Advent.
This was an Advent. Overwhelming violence where just three machines could toy with the capital of a nation in an instant.
{By the way, the enemy's Advents aren't even showing their noses.}
A hint of puzzlement was buried in Jeoga's intent.
{If the Southern Cross's escort Advents were to sortie, we'd have to retreat, too.}
At this, Cheonrang scoffed.
{I've already made arrangements with the Southern Cross leadership.}
The main goal of this raid wasn't something like the Southern Cross's military or economic hubs.
It was targeting only one person.
Earl Grey Twining.
Eliminate only her, a nuisance to the Southern Cross for stirring up the slums, and then wash their hands of it and retreat. That was the deal Cheonrang had proposed. And the Southern Cross's higher-ups had accepted that deal.
Since the all-out war between the Southern Cross and the Kyungdanryeon had already begun long ago, if they broke their promise and destroyed the capital's major facilities, the war situation would instantly turn in the Kyungdanryeon's favor, but Cheonrang had no intention of breaking his promise.
Because honor was important to a warrior who piloted an Advent. Unlike the people of the Kyungdanryeon who prioritized efficiency above all else, the concepts of pride and honor were more important than anything to them.
So, as promised, they didn't touch anything other than the slums and the defensive facilities located on the road to them. As bait to draw out one woman.
Once they saw them bombing mainly the slums, the Southern Cross's Apostles and Saints wouldn't feel any reason to respond. Setting aside the secret agreement with the Southern Cross leadership.
Because they wouldn't feel any reason to risk their lives to repel them for the sake of the slum-dwellers who lived day-to-day, indulging in crime and decadent culture.
But Earl Grey was different. She was a Saint who didn't know how to spare herself when it came to helping others. If the slums burned, she would surely come running there.
{Masaki. I will have your revenge.}
Cheonrang murmured softly. There was only one reason they were targeting Earl Grey. A comrade who died in the Nova Crux attack a few days ago.
Apostle name Cheolgyeon. Real name Masaki.
It was their comrade who had fallen after his cockpit was pierced by the old-model Advent Logos carrying Earl Grey.
Cheonrang, Heukjo, Jeoga, Cheolgyeon.
Originally, the four of them had formed a single platoon.
So, this was revenge.
In the Kyungdanryeon, which worshipped efficiency as a god, revenge was the first inefficiency to be forbidden. In fact, they had ignored the Kyungdanryeon headquarters' orders and come here on their own.
Because the cause of avenging Cheolgyeon was worth that much.
Among the Apostles of the Kyungdanryeon, there was a bond that transcended practical interests. Those who had their sisters, raised as their partners since childhood, taken away by their own Advents. Thus, lives sharing the same sympathy, burying the same loss in their hearts. To them, the death of a comrade was not something to be converted into mere cold numbers.
{Where is that piece of junk Advent?}
Jeoga growled.
On the other hand, Cheonrang's intent was restrained. Though he couldn't hide the anger buried beneath it.
{Find it. The machine that killed Masaki. The Saint and Apostle riding in it, all of them.}
Rank 52, Cheonrang.
Rank 128, Jeoga.
Rank 247, Heukjo.
There were only 500 Advents in the world. The sight of three of them, who belonged to the elite, roaming the defenseless capital's skies was worthy of being called a disaster.
"...There's no response from the defense forces."
Earl Grey muttered, turning deathly pale.
A roar of explosions echoed from afar. Apart from the defensive facilities, the defense forces that had been stationed here until just a while ago had disappeared to another sector at some point.
Ever since Assam Twining left.
As if they had deliberately cleared the path.
"It's Mother."
Earl Grey's voice trembled.
"They are targeting me. But the fact that the defense forces have all pulled out right now..."
It meant to face three machines with one Logos. They had kindly even laid out the place for her to die. She had no intention of dying, though. Earl Grey trailed off and clung to my sleeve.
"Run away. How can you stop three Advents with one?"
It was a logical judgment. The opponents were elite, and it was hard to hope for luck. By the common sense of this world, running away was the right thing to do. But I laughed.
"I can win."
"...What?"
"Three machines? I can win."
Earl Grey's expression twisted. She seemed to think it was a joke or dismiss it as a lie to reassure her.
"What is... the basis for that?"
Her voice cracked.
"I, I don't want to lose anyone again. Someone who did things for me. Someone who looked at me for the first time—I don't want to let them die because of me."
So she was telling me to abandon her and run. To think I had become this precious to her... It wasn't a bad feeling. Though I hadn't intended to do that in this situation.
I smiled lightly to reassure her.
"It's a hunch."
"...?"
"The basis is just my hunch."
There was no time to explain everything, and even if I did, she wouldn't believe me.
Even if I told her I had ground up countless Apostles of this world from behind the screen, there was no way such words would get through. To someone who was scared, a clear word like 'hunch' was better than complicated explanations.
"Let's go."
I scooped her up, as she was struggling to walk, and ran.
"Where was the hangar where Logos sleeps?"
"Th-there!"
Into the hangar.
Into the Logos.
We entered.
The cockpit closed.
The Logos's voice leaked out.
[7th Saint Chief Earl Grey Twining confirmed.]
[Apostle Evan confirmed.]
Well, look at that. Is it reading even the name Earl Grey gave me through a brain scan?
And immediately after, an unfamiliar pain climbed up my spine.
The sensation of neural terminals digging into my spine. This was how the Logos held onto its Apostle. I was briefly breathless. I bit the inside of my mouth to swallow the groan that threatened to leak out.
I glanced at my feet. Earl Grey was looking up at me with an anxious face. ...I mustn't let her find out.
If this woman saw me in pain, she would think it was her fault. It would become another reason for her to eat herself up inside. So, I'll pretend not to be in pain, pretend to be fine.
I wiped my expression clean.
"Well, shall we go?"
I took a beat to ensure my voice wouldn't tremble before speaking. Just then, a communication came in from the hangar's control room.
{Unidentified machine detected! Underground Hangar 8— Isn't that the 4th-generation machine?}
{Apostle identification impossible, no code! State your Apostle name!}
{Who is the pilot of the Advent that just activated?}
"Raven."
I said that into the comms.
{What?}
{What kind of code is that! That's not a registered Apostle name! State your Apostle name correctly—}
I told you, it's Raven. Of course, I didn't expect them to understand. It wasn't a name used in this world. Still, I had nothing else to give.
{Unauthorized sortie is impossible.}
{Immediately from the hangar—}
My head hurts. And there's no time.
"Can't you see on the control room monitors that three Advents are destroying this slum up there?"
{That is...}
"Is there anyone else who can stop those guys besides me? The defensive facilities are all smashed, the defense forces have pulled out. I'm the only one left, right? If you don't open the passage, everyone in this slum hangar is going to die together."
The other side of the comms went quiet.
"If you want to live, open it."
After a moment of silence.
{Passage to the surface, opening.}
Good.
{Preparing to release machine locking arms. ...Complete.}
{Catapult connection complete.}
{Launch rail voltage rising.}
{70— 80— 90— 100. All clear.}
{Line open.}
{Path clear.}
{Underground sector primary launch preparation complete.}
Beneath my feet, a massive vibration began to rise.
Advents don't immediately reach top speed when launching. If you launch at supersonic speeds inside the facility, the shockwave alone would blow the entire hangar away. It was structured to accelerate to Mach 1 in the underground acceleration zone, then shoot out to the surface and accelerate further from there.
The launch sequence I had only ever watched as an intro was now unfolding before my eyes.
{Initiating launch.}
{Until launch— 3.}
Earl Grey at my feet gripped my sleeve tightly.
{2.}
"W-wait a minute. Is this really okay—"
{1.}
"Hold on tight."
{Launch!}
The world flew backward.
In that brief moment of exiting the underground acceleration zone, it felt like my internal organs were sticking to my back. Earl Grey swallowed a scream.
The speed exceeded Mach 1. But it was only the primary acceleration. The surface exit looked like a point of light. And that point grew in an instant.
{Underground acceleration zone clear.}
{Surface radius check complete.}
{Entering secondary rapid acceleration sequence.}
{Rail booster ignition preparation.}
Light swallowed my entire field of vision.
{Launch.}
Kwoooooooong!!!
Lightning burned inside the linear, and the rail booster fired.
The numbers on the dashboard exceeded Mach 5 and kept rising.
The Logos, accelerating like a railgun projectile, pierced the ground and soared into the sky. A shockwave spread in a circle centered on the launch point, and the buildings that had already collapsed slumped once more. We were faster than their collapse. Even sound couldn't keep up with us.
"Kyaaaaaa!"
Earl Grey screamed. It was natural. Someone who had never ridden an Advent in her life was being carried inside one, flying through the sky at supersonic speeds.
"It's okay."
While maintaining the maneuver, I said as gently as possible.
"You won't fall. I'm holding you. Just breathe, just breathe."
"Ugh, ugh..."
"You're doing great. You'll get used to it soon."
Of course, it was too early to get used to it. But that was the right thing to say to someone who was scared.
Meanwhile, enemy machine information popped up on one side of my vision.
[3 Hostile Advents detected]
[Apostle: Rank 50s Cheonrang]
[Rank 100s Jeoga]
[Rank 200s Heukjo]
"Each one is an elite..."
Earl Grey was astonished.
If they were in the 50s ranking, by this world's standards, one person was a monster who could overturn an entire front line. There were two more Advents led by that guy.
Normally, running away was the right answer.
Yes.
Normally.
[4km altitude. Engagement intent confirmed in enemy patterns.]
They were above us.
Good. I've grasped their position.
And they had found my position too.
{Found it. That's the one, the piece of junk that killed Masaki.}
{The Saint and the Apostle, both are inside. Let's finish it at once.}
Their intent flowed into me completely.
...Now that the distance is close, I can hear it.
The enemy's exchange of intent was heard as clearly as if they were in the same room. It was all thanks to the Afterglow Field. The Afterglow Field, which connects communication between Advents, occurs regardless of friend or foe.
Of course, if a Saint is competent, it's possible to block one's own intent from being transmitted to the opponent, but from the moment a Saint's brain is embedded into an Advent, the Kyungdanryeon's Saints are incapable of normal cognitive function. Therefore, such high-level work was impossible for them.
Conversely, seeing as they aren't showing any reaction to our intent yet, my intent must be—Earl Grey must be blocking it. Even while trembling behind my back, she is protecting me.
I smiled at that fact. I pulled the Logos's control stick straight up.
[Altitude rising]
I ascended vertically toward them, faster than before.
{...What is that.}
{It's coming toward us!}
The three machines opened fire simultaneously. Firepower was concentrated on me, and beams and live ammunition poured down like rain.
I silently pressed the accelerator. An ascending target, due to gravity. The acceleration keeps changing irregularly. While their auto-lock-on chases my coordinates, I'm already at different coordinates.
With minimal maneuvering, without killing my ascent speed, I twisted, picking only the gaps in the barrage. I didn't move much. Just enough to dodge, without losing speed.
"Y-you're getting hit! You're getting hit!"
Earl Grey screamed. In her eyes, it must have looked like I was charging into the middle of the barrage.
"I'm not getting hit."
I answered calmly.
Just as I said, not a single shot hit.
And—in the midst of soaring.
[Afterglow Dash.]
I accelerated upward once more.
Re-acceleration while ascending.
{What?!}
Cheonrang's intent wavered. The target had accelerated again and again while already accelerating.
Maintaining the advantage in relative speed, I instantly widened the distance from Cheonrang.
{Lost it! Where did it go?!}
Jeoga scanned all around in panic.
{Clouds... It went above the clouds!}
And I heard all those sounds. Where they were looking, what they missed, where they would move next. Since they were saying it themselves, it was like a gambling table where I could see the opponent's hand.
I had already disappeared above their heads, beyond the clouds. They couldn't see me.
Above the clouds, I turned off the thrusters.
If you turn off the engine, the heat source disappears.
It won't be caught on infrared or general sensors.
All that remained was inertia.
Using the speed I had gained from the acceleration until just now,
I slid silently over their heads.
Almost got them.
I overlapped the crosshairs on Jeoga's cockpit. I continued gliding and slowly aligned the sights of the rifle held in my hand.
Then.
Flash.
A thunderstorm struck the Logos.
...Right.
It was natural since we were in the clouds.
A platinum light flared, and the Sanctuary Field deflected the lightning.
There was no damage.
That wasn't the problem.
{...There.}
Heukjo's intent cut in.
{Above the clouds. If it's a platinum Sanctuary Field, then... the Southern Cross's color?! There it is!!!}
Damn it. The moment the lightning illuminated the Sanctuary Field, the Southern Cross's unique platinum barrier flashed above the clouds.
That had given away my position. The three machines' gun barrels all turned upward simultaneously.
{Is it there!}
It was a high-output weapon. It would be blocked by the Sanctuary Field, but if hit directly, damage would accumulate on the Sanctuary Field. Now that I had Earl Grey in the cockpit, I had no intention of taking it head-on.
So.
[Propellant tank separation]
I separated the auxiliary propellant tank.
I threw it right above the clouds, where their line of fire was aimed—
and slipped to the side.
Their high-output beam hit the tank directly.
_Kwoooooooong!!!___
A massive explosion tore through the clouds.
Platinum Afterglow particles scattered in all directions.
It must have looked like one Advent had been shot down entirely.
{...Did we hit it?}
{It's a shootdown! The Afterglow particles have scattered!}
{Ha, it was nothing. Once the position is exposed, it's over—}
Complacency. That intent was clearly heard in my ears. That one moment was enough. Hiding my body behind the flash of the explosion,
I bypassed widely to the side. Behind the backs of those cheering guys. In that blind spot, completely behind them, Jeoga was the closest.
"I choose you."
I accelerated the Logos.
Faster than sound.
Toward Jeoga's cockpit—
I kicked out, just like that.
Bang!!!
The supersonic kick struck Jeoga's cockpit squarely.
The armor caved in. The impact shook his entire cockpit interior. Jeoga's giant frame was sent flying—piercing through the clouds, falling diagonally toward the ground.
Kwadudududuk Kwoong!
Jeoga, who had crashed into the ground, couldn't get up for a long time.
{Ugh... Ugh...}
Inside the cockpit, Jeoga was vomiting repeatedly. He had taken a direct hit from an impact exceeding the speed of sound. His sense of balance would be shattered, his vision spinning, and his mind half-gone.
I couldn't destroy the Advent, but the human inside was incapacitated for a while. What remained in the sky were Cheonrang and Heukjo.
{...Jeoga has been taken out.}
Cheonrang muttered, looking down at his fallen comrade. A look of tension was evident.
Breaking the lock-on with re-acceleration during ascent. Catching the blind spot with unpowered gliding with thrusters off. Drawing attention with a decoy. Neutralizing Jeoga in one blow with a supersonic kick.
Not a single one of these could be explained by luck.
And above all, the guy was chillingly quiet. Cheonrang's spine turned cold.
{...Heukjo. Check one thing.}
{What is it.}
{Can you catch the other side's intent?}
A moment of silence.
Heukjo groped the Afterglow Field. He pricked up his antenna to catch even a single piece of intent leaking out, prying into the enemy's resonance band.
And.
{...I can't catch it.}
Heukjo muttered gloomily.
{Not a single word is leaking out. It's completely blocked.}
Cheonrang realized the meaning of those words belatedly.
The Afterglow Field doesn't distinguish between friend and foe. If our intent leaks to them, their intent should leak to us. That was the natural order.
Especially an electronic warfare machine like Heukjo was excellent at interfering with the Afterglow Field, so it could easily pierce through the intent-blocking of an average Saint.
But that black Advent side wasn't leaking a single piece of thought. If so, it meant someone was blocking it. Suppressing the intent from leaking out of the Advent, blocking the enemy's eavesdropping—there must be a Saint, a very competent Saint, doing those delicate tasks in real-time.
{...A truly competent Saint.}
From Cheonrang's mouth flowed words that could be recognition or fear. And that recognition led straight to despair.
That Apostle is a monster. And the Saint riding there is also a monster. I have to face such skilled guys while only my side's intent is being leaked out.
How on earth can I win such a fight? Cheonrang opened communication to the Kyungdanryeon headquarters. He had to inform headquarters of the danger of that existence in advance. He knew he would be interrogated, but there was no other way.
{...Headquarters. This is Cheonrang. I have encountered a 4th-generation Advent.}
The headquarters' response was immediate.
{Setting aside the fact that you ran off on your own, a 4th-generation machine? Cheonrang, is that dangerous even for you?}
Cheonrang looked at the spot where the guy had been. But it had already hidden itself. Without a sound, without a trace. Only a tense silence flowed, where one couldn't know where the next blow would come from.
{...Yes. It's a dangerous one.}
He spoke that sentence.
{It is estimated to be at least within the top 50 rank.}
Cheonrang did not yet know that even that was a far-too-insufficient assessment.