The Fallen Observation Tower
On the way to the observation tower, rusted railroad tracks appeared here and there. But with no human footsteps treading them anymore, weeds had overgrown wildly, lending the scene a desolate air.
That was how Netoru reached the far edge of the observation zone under the 393rd Unit's watch in the 39th Sector.
"This the place."
If this were Korea, there'd probably be a mountain peak somewhere nearby, but here, no matter how he looked, all he saw were hills large and small amid vast fields. Rail lines stretched through the landscape like threads piercing it, reaching toward the horizon. These tracks, which hadn't seen a train in years, stood faithfully in place all alone.
Luckily, the rails around here were mostly intact. In a sector turned entire battlefield, it wouldn't be odd if some were wrecked by stray bug shells. Right now, the open fields bore clear scars from artillery blasts.
Moving while memorizing the terrain—just in case fighting broke out here later—Netoru soon spotted his target: the observation tower.
"...What the hell?"
Netoru's eyes narrowed at the sight. For some reason, the tower had toppled to the ground.
The other squad members, checking the tower's state late, voiced their confusion from all around. Netoru furrowed his brow briefly at the noise from these unhelpful chatterboxes but let it slide—he was used to it by now.
"Why's it fallen? Any idea?"
"Nah, no clue."
Netoru shook his head at Karen's question and knelt the Holy Knight's legs to the ground. He stood from the cockpit and popped the canopy.
"...What're you doing?"
"Gonna check it myself. You wait here."
As the canopy opened, harsh sunlight hit him first. Hot air swept across his face, making him suddenly reluctant to step out, but a mission was a mission—he had to inspect properly. He couldn't do that from inside the Holy Knight, so boots on the ground it was.
Without hesitation, Netoru dropped from the Holy Knight to the earth. Channeling mana, he landed lightly and cautiously approached the fallen tower.
The observation tower was simple in design: a massive black crystal carved into a long rod shape. Up close, intricate magic circles etched its surface.
Its functions boiled down to two: a barrier detecting Bugs intrusions—the backbone of the observation zone—and amplification of the commander's magic. That let Rien precisely track Bugs entering the zone from dozens of kilometers away via data link.
A tower or two broken wouldn't cause immediate catastrophe, but it punched a hole in the commander's observation net.
"Surface looks fine, at least."
Running his hand over it, Netoru tilted his head. From experience, tower issues usually meant Bugs. They had perception-lowering magic to avoid attacks, but bad luck happened sometimes. He'd figured this was one of those cases at first.
But no signs of external impact anywhere. Definitely not Bug damage.
So why was it down? Scanning meticulously, Netoru soon noticed something suspicious.
"...Earthquake or something?"
The ground around the tower was off. It looked deliberately smashed and churned, like an earthquake had hit. That could explain the tower toppling if the earth shook its base loose, uprooting it like a tree. Rare natural disasters like typhoons could damage towers too, so quake was plausible.
But if a real quake hit... why was the surrounding landscape untouched? Even nearby rails sat perfectly straight. A tremor strong enough for the tower should've wrecked them.
Kyoko's Holy Knight—blue-hued, Pera's partner—thudded over heavily as Netoru stared grimly at the ground. Several tons of mech made the earth tremble noticeably.
Spotting the shadow overhead, Netoru looked up. Kyoko's Holy Knight crouched, peering at the tower. Not just her—the whole squad had gathered in a circle around it, bored of watching from afar.
...'
They sure could yap. Kids and their endless curiosity.
"...Yeah. Like the kids said—too pristine."
Karen's voice now. She'd dismounted her Holy Knight at some point, hands on knees as she crouched to inspect it.
"Karen. Why'd you get down?"
"'Cause you went radio silent forever. Figured something out? You looked serious."
"Nah, nothing."
"Okay. Wanna snap some pics then."
Guess she didn't come empty-handed. Karen pulled out a Polaroid she'd brought just in case and started photographing the tower. Circling it, she checked the shots and nodded satisfied.
"Good. Pics are set. Netoru, let's head back. We ain't figuring shit out just standing here, right?"
The churned earth still bugged him, but she had a point. Better to bring experts later—like maintenance chief Asuna. She was a mage; might deduce the cause on-site.
...Head back for now.
They'd done their due diligence—no guilty conscience. Return to base, wash up, rest. The intense sun had him sweating already; sticky back was gross. At least the humidity wasn't Korea-level insane...
He was musing lazily when—
"...?"
Mana light flowed from the emblem at his pilot suit's nape, carrying Rien's voice—urgent, ominous. Netoru snapped back to alertness.
Something felt off. What the—?
"Commander. What's up?"
"...Five minutes?"
Netoru's brows knit, face hardening. No wonder. Five minutes to contact meant...
Right on their doorstep. Well inside Spider range. Shells could rain any second.
"No. It's fine. I get it."
Normally he'd gripe about late detection, but at the zone's edge with a downed tower, a detection gap made sense. Plus, who expected Bugs twice a day? Even he'd relaxed.
Tch.
Annoying. No picnic—this mission just got real.
Netoru clicked his tongue.
"Get outta here fast—you lot move first. I'll catch up."
Grasping the gravity, the squad's Holy Knights strode off briskly. Fifth Platoon alone against Bugs? Annihilation.
"Karen. You hear that?"
"...Yeah."
Karen, who'd overheard, hustled to her Holy Knight for quick coupling. Every second counted.
Netoru turned to follow—
"...?"
His step halted abruptly. Had to be seeing things. Cracks spiderwebbed the ground around dashing Karen. Earth split at her feet, grass-tufted soil sinking fast.
What the—?
Before he could process—
"Fuck."
Netoru surged his mana nerve system, kicked off the ground, and yanked Karen's arm.
And then—
Kuoooong—!
The ground collapsed with a roar, world going black. Feeling heavy earth batter his back, Netoru clutched Karen tight to his chest and plummeted underground.