One-Sided Slaughter
NTL-001 ──BANG! A Locust's bullet slammed into the body with a deafening crack. But it couldn't halt Netoru's ferocious advance. Like a knight clad in heavy plate, he pressed forward relentlessly, swinging his blade. A chilling flash sliced through the air, and the armed Locust's body was cleaved in half, its flesh scattering into the sky amid a hail of gunfire. The surrounding Locusts fought bravely without retreat, but against that overwhelming defense, it meant nothing. If they'd felt fear and scattered in all directions, they might have been even harder to deal with. No matter how they encircled him, spraying fire from their muzzles, stopping Netoru was impossible. He didn't even need to use mana release for protection. The Locusts' feeble firepower could hardly dent Seres's Holy Knight.
Netoru trusted the Holy Knight's defenses completely as he began methodically clearing out the surrounding Locusts one by one. It was little more than a one-sided massacre. A dull, tensionless fight where suspense was nowhere to be found.
'Ugh...'
But even in this lopsided battle, Seres had to focus on processing his mana. Taming and controlling the violent mana he'd taken into her body was no easy task, nor was the stimulation in her lower abdomen that tugged at her every time he gripped the controls. Neither came easily.
"...Ngh!"
As Netoru yanked the controls and suddenly kicked off the ground, Seres let out a groan, her back arching. It was due to the intense stimulation surging deep into her lower abdomen. The lump of his mana inside her was clamoring to draw out the Holy Knight's power. Resisting that demand was impossible for Seres. To be honest, claiming this situation wasn't awkward would be a lie. Being unilaterally swung around without mutual cooperation chipped away at a female pilot's pride.
But pride wasn't the issue right now. Was it because their coupling wavelength didn't match? Every movement of the Holy Knight felt jerky, like something was catching.
'...Hng! This is... really...!'
When the coupling wavelength didn't align, it was this grueling. The mental and physical drain was immense. It was like forcing gears that didn't mesh together.
'This man... ngh... what the hell...!'
The fiercer he moved, the more vividly Seres felt Netoru's mana churning inside her. The relentless influx pounded at her mana nerve system in her uterus. Gritting her teeth, she accepted his mana into her body while inwardly harboring doubts.
A mismatched coupling wavelength didn't just burden the female pilot. The male pilot suffered backlash too. Coupling was a mutual contract from the start—no one side bore all the disadvantage. For male pilots especially, a mismatch drastically lowered the Holy Knight's sensitivity. It moved like its limbs had stiffened. In a battlefield where split-second reactions dodged bullets and shells, that was a massive flaw.
And then there was the mana combustion rate. No matter how much mana the male pilot poured in, if the female couldn't process it properly, it was meaningless. He might supply 10 units, but she might burn less than half. To compensate, he'd have to shove in even more, spiking his consumption rate. In the worst case, it led to mana exhaustion.
Netoru's mana wasn't even compatible with Seres's constitution to begin with. That's why she felt it as particularly violent—her body instinctively rejected it as a foreign substance.
Low sensitivity, low combustion rate. Factoring those in, it shouldn't be easy for Netoru either... So how could he move like this?
As that question kept surfacing endlessly, "...Hng!?"
The Holy Knight's output spiked again without warning. Unable to withstand the recoil, Seres threw her head back with a stifled groan, exhaling sharply. A blinding, dizzying whiteness threatened to sweep her consciousness away.
"Seres. Hang in there a bit longer. It'll be over soon."
Yet Netoru's voice remained utterly calm. Not a hint of strain. To Seres, he seemed like nothing less than a monster.
──SKREEE!
"Hnnng! Ngh...!"
The Locusts' death cries mingled repeatedly with Seres's groans. Every time Netoru cleaved a Locust, Seres in the cockpit jolted as if tormented herself.
"Hah... hah... ngh..."
Was it from overtaxing her mana nerve system to digest his mana? Her body temperature was scorching. Watching sweat droplets fall onto the cockpit from the unbearable heat, Seres could only let out a hollow chuckle. Netoru—this man grew more absurd the more she learned about him. He overcame the Holy Knight's low sensitivity with combat experience rich enough to predict enemy moves, and the partner's low combustion rate with his sheer overwhelming mana reserves. That's why he crammed so much into her body so forcefully. A knight order Holy Knight already had poor fuel efficiency. Add a low combustion rate on top, and he compensated by inserting far more mana than needed.
He probably didn't intend to torment his partner. It was surely just a bad habit born from dealing with low sync rates.
'Ngh... this habit... I have to fix it somehow...'
Seres's thoughts didn't last long. Her mana path had widened again, and another surge of Netoru's mana flooded in. Without control over the mana path, blocking his insertion was impossible. Right now, she was little more than a living power source to move the Holy Knight.
She hated it. She despised this sensation. It felt like she'd become a tool for one man. Being unilaterally dominated was never pleasant.
Yet Seres complied with his desires. She accepted his mana willingly into her body and worked to convert it into the Holy Knight's power with minimal loss. Even if she didn't want to, she had to get used to these battles now...
...Because this man is my coupling partner from here on.
She'd resolved herself to this last night, after all. Better to adapt quickly than uselessly resist—it would make future battles easier. Stepping beyond personal feelings, Seres rationally understood Netoru's judgment. He was purely drawing the Locusts' attention to protect the other squad members. Was it because he knew Commander Rien wanted no more losses? Or was it just his nature? Hard to say. But one thing was clear: only Seres's Holy Knight could shrug off a frontal barrage like this without issue. The other squad's Holy Knights had flimsy defenses—a Locust's light machine gun volley could be fatal. Comparing "Institute"-made defenses to knight order ones was foolish to begin with.
In a way, this was the proper way to use a woman called Seres. Netoru's decision was utterly rational.
With him pulling aggro, the rest of the squad's fights went smoothly.
It seemed all observed bugs had been annihilated. Though the enemy numbers were few, Seres—dragged along breathlessly under Netoru's lead without a moment to survey the field—finally caught her breath.
"Haa... haa... ngh..."
As the Holy Knight halted, Seres slumped against the cockpit, regulating her ragged breathing. Her lungs demanded oxygen endlessly, her chest heaving in agony. Then she furrowed her brow slightly. She felt Netoru behind her fiddling slyly with her hair.
...He did this yesterday too, and now again today.
'...Do men just like this sort of thing?'
It wasn't like she'd grown her hair out to please some guy... Glaring at him through narrowed eyes, Seres decided to let Netoru play with her hair. Exhausted, she sprawled limply over the cockpit. Everything felt annoyingly tedious right now—including Netoru toying with her locks.
Staring blankly at him, she thought,
'...At least today was a bit better.'
This much was mercifully less taxing than yesterday. The sustained peak output was lower than before, and they hadn't used mana release at all. Netoru must have held back appropriately. The bugs weren't that numerous, after all.
That was certainly appreciated, but... the real issue was the coupling wavelength.
Coupling Rate ─ 29.5407%
A rock-bottom figure compared to other pilots. Normally, it should exceed 70%. With such a mismatch, strain on their bodies was inevitable—like forcing creaky parts together; they wouldn't last.
Future battles worried her.
'...If this is him going easy...'
What if he fought in earnest? The thought sapped her will to face Netoru. And it stirred guilt. If Karen had kept partnering with a guy like this, she really would have broken. No matter how she looked at it, Netoru was far too dangerous for an Institute pilot like Karen. Their sync rate was even lower than hers, from what she knew.
So...
She absolutely couldn't grant Karen's request. Glancing at Netoru, Seres reaffirmed her resolve inwardly before cautiously speaking to him.
"...Netoru. Can I ask one favor?"
"What?"
"If Karen demands a swap in the unit, please... absolutely refuse."
"..."
It wasn't a tough ask, yet Netoru's expression turned subtly odd. Seeing it made Seres feel inexplicably urgent.
"...Be honest, you can grant this much. I'm your coupling partner now, after all."
But Netoru still didn't reply. His face had grown serious at some point. Staring at him, Seres chewed her lip.
Was this worth agonizing over so gravely? Still, she had to convince him somehow. As that thought crossed her mind—
"Hng!?"
With a cry, Seres twisted. Netoru's mana had suddenly pierced through her body. Unable to endure the stimulation, she trembled pathetically in the cockpit. Was he punishing her impertinent request? If so, it was unjust. She'd done everything he wanted today. As a partner, this much should be...
Tears welling from the sudden grievance, she gripped the cockpit handles tightly, grinding her teeth. Then Netoru spoke in a low, subdued voice.
"...Seres."
"...What."
"Sorry about this, but don't misunderstand. The battle isn't over yet."
"...?"
What was this man saying? Was he seriously using that as an excuse? Naturally, Seres couldn't comprehend. But belatedly, Rien's warning came over the audio channel.
"Everyone, please evacuate from there immediately!"
And with that, the ground began to rumble.