Memory
Memory
28 hours had passed since the operation began.
Daniel Steiner's brigade, which had advanced along roads and plains beside the railway, moved swiftly into the city.
As they entered the city, a small-scale defense force attempted resistance, but it posed no significant problem.
The moment the defense forces concealed themselves in the city's buildings and attacked, they became targets for the tanks.
Kwaang─!
A high-temperature shell fired from the cannon blew away the entire building.
No sooner had the debris from the exploded building struck the ground than the screams of Allied soldiers followed.
There were soldiers who had survived the bombardment by luck, but they could not feel relieved.
The brigade's troops were swarming in like bees behind the lead tanks.
The only things the defense forces could do were either fight and die gruesomely, or display a white flag and signal surrender.
The few tanks remaining in the city's defense attempted to respond against Daniel's brigade, but they were outmatched.
The Allied tanks could not easily penetrate the Imperial tanks, but the Imperial tanks made the Allied tanks explode outright.
The gap in firepower was truly overwhelming.
— Confirmed annihilation of enemy tank unit! Friendly tank unit's advance route secured!
— We will continue moving to the next objective!
Daniel, who had been monitoring the brigade's progress from inside his armored vehicle, pressed the transmit button on the radio.
"Armored unit, rapidly secure the city center in coordination with infantry support. Thereafter, secure key strongpoints and transportation routes."
A response acknowledging the order came from the other side.
Amid the sounds of artillery fire, the city occupation was proceeding smoothly, and Daniel's thoughts turned, inevitably, to the research facility.
The ominous machinery installed there flickered in his mind.
'If Lucy's headaches in Penbark were related to that device....'
Count Kaledra might try to use that device on Lucy again.
Deciding that any unsettling elements had to be eliminated, Daniel picked up the radio and pressed the transmit button.
"The scout company will now follow me and move to the city's outskirts."
*
Light flooded the usually dark research facility.
This was because a massive amount of power had been supplied to the facility thanks to Count Kaledra's orders.
Most of the power was concentrated in a vertically structured chamber installed in the center of the research facility.
Inside the chamber, Lucy, who had lost consciousness, could be seen floating as if in zero gravity.
The platoon leader, who had been quietly watching the scene, turned to the researchers.
"Hey. How much longer do we have to wait?"
Having heard the news that Daniel Steiner's brigade had entered the city, he needed to get out of this place as quickly as possible.
However, the doctor leading the researchers only had a troubled expression.
"The electromagnetic field generator is most definitely operating normally. Therefore, by generating an electromagnetic resonance field, stimulating the hippocampal region of the brain, and blocking the signal transmission of neural synapses...."
"What are you talking about? Say it in a way I can understand."
"To put it simply, memory erasure is not occurring. It seems the test subject is resisting, but this error is a first for us."
As the doctor looked at the control panel without hiding his bewilderment, the platoon leader frowned.
"Fuck! So can you do it or not?"
"As I just explained, it's an error we've never seen before. There is one method that could solve the problem, but it's too dangerous. I think it's best we give up for now...."
Before the doctor could finish speaking, screams were heard from above.
The soldiers and the platoon leader, upon hearing that, immediately drew their weapons.
While everyone was gauging the situation, the sound of numerous troops rushing could be heard from the corridor.
At the platoon leader's gesture, one soldier, though hesitant, threw himself into the corridor.
Taaang!
At the same moment, the soldier's head burst apart.
While the horrified researchers ducked behind the control panel, the platoon leader gritted his teeth.
"That fucking...!"
As he aimed his pistol at the corridor, the Imperial Army's scouts swarmed in moments later.
As the soldiers began pulling their triggers convulsively, gunfire filled the interior of the research facility.
But the louder the gunfire rang, the more it was the Allied soldiers who fell.
The scouts who continued to pour in through the corridor advanced, picking off the Allied soldiers one by one.
The platoon leader, who had been returning fire with his pistol, also collapsed to the floor with a bullet lodged in his shoulder.
As he lay there gasping for breath, having dropped his pistol, an officer wearing a military uniform strode out from the corridor.
The officer, who wore various medals on his uniform, was a figure the platoon leader knew all too well.
"Daniel... Steiner...."
Hearing the mutter, Daniel turned his head.
The platoon leader doggedly moved his hand, trying to find the pistol he had dropped on the floor.
But Daniel drew his revolver faster.
Bang!
The platoon leader, a bullet buried in his forehead, bowed his head and embraced death.
Having confirmed that the research facility was secured, Daniel stepped over the blood of the Allied soldiers and advanced forward.
Daniel's footsteps slowly came to a halt in front of the chamber where Lucy was held.
"......."
After gazing at Lucy floating inside the chamber for a while, Daniel looked to the side.
Intimidated as his eyes met Daniel's, the doctor slowly rose from his spot.
It seemed as if Daniel was waiting for that.
"Explain."
A flat, toneless voice echoed quietly through the research facility.
"Why my adjutant is inside this thing."
Terrified, the doctor bowed his head.
"Please forgive me. I was merely following the orders of Count Kaledra. I wanted to refuse, but he held my family hostage, so I had no choice."
"What orders were those."
"It was an order to erase Lady Emilia's memories. As commanded, I...."
The doctor stopped mid-sentence and shut his mouth.
Because Daniel's gaze had descended upon him with crushing intensity.
"Were my adjutant's memories erased."
A low, rumbling voice carried palpable killing intent.
Like a herbivore hearing a predator's growl, the doctor hurriedly opened his mouth.
"That is not the case. The moment I touched the specific code to proceed with the memory erasure, Lady Emilia's consciousness fiercely resisted it. That caused a critical error, which in turn raised the output of the magnetic field ring inside the chamber...."
The doctor raised a trembling hand to adjust his glasses.
"As you can see, Lady Emilia is currently in a coma."
Upon hearing the word coma, Daniel ground his teeth hard.
He suppressed his emotions as best he could, closing his eyes and then opening them, and walked toward the control panel.
After passing by the doctor, he looked at the screen of the control panel, which was filled with red pop-up windows reading 'ERROR.'
After examining the screen for a moment, Daniel opened his mouth.
"This specific code that appears on the control panel. What does it mean."
The doctor hesitated for a moment before answering.
"To put it simply, it refers to memories regarding Brigadier General Daniel Steiner."
Hearing the doctor's words, Daniel let out a low sigh.
He was dumbfounded.
To push herself into a coma because she didn't want to lose her memories....
After being silent for a while, Daniel spoke.
"I will tell you what your futures will be from now on."
Daniel turned to look at the researchers, including the doctor, who were all frozen in fear.
"Tell me a way to bring my adjutant out of her coma. If no one here knows a method, you will all die in this place."
No sooner had Daniel finished speaking than the scouts raised their rifles and aimed them at the researchers.
Among the panicked researchers, the doctor hurriedly spoke up.
"There is one! There isn't no method at all!"
Daniel glared at the doctor.
The doctor, drenched in cold sweat, continued desperately.
"Lady Emilia is currently in a state akin to a conscious escape to avoid external interference. To explain it simply, you can think of it as her having placed all her important memories into a 'locked state,' making them unknown even to herself, and then moving her consciousness to the past."
The doctor pointed at the control panel.
"Thus, Lady Emilia is currently caught up in the memories of her childhood. Theoretically, if we can make contact with this consciousness of Lady Emilia and prompt her to recall the memories that have been placed in a locked state, we can bring her out of the coma. The problem is...."
Carefully raising his head, the doctor looked at Daniel.
"The person most suitable for that role is Brigadier General Daniel Steiner."
It was only natural.
Because the memories Lucy wanted to protect were those concerning Daniel Steiner.
Therefore, the fastest way was for the person in question to make contact with her consciousness.
Having understood the doctor's words, Daniel asked a question.
"How long will it take?"
"Huh? Ah. I don't know how much time will pass inside, but only a few minutes will elapse in reality. However, since this is not a verified matter, there will be some degree of danger involved."
"Good. Then prepare for it right now."
Clearly not expecting him to agree so readily, the doctor stared dumbfounded.
"......Brigade Commander?"
The company commander, who had been listening to the conversation from the side, also cut in with a flustered look.
"This is far too dangerous. Is it worth it?"
"It is."
It was an immediate answer.
Daniel's gaze fell upon Lucy, who was inside the chamber.
"This woman risked her life to save me."
A self-deprecating smile touched his lips.
"So if I run away because I value my own life more, what does that make me?"
Seeing this side of Daniel, the company commander bowed his head in acknowledgment.
The doctor, also seeming to think he had found a way to survive, began preparing to prove that his words were not lies.
"A simple chamber for conscious contact is needed. Please help me move it...."
After confirming that a few soldiers followed the doctor, Daniel walked closer to the central chamber.
Halting at close range, Daniel looked at Lucy floating inside the chamber.
She still wore the amber stone necklace around her neck.
"......You are a truly hopeless adjutant. To put your superior through so much trouble."
Letting out a low chuckle, Daniel raised his hand.
"Lucy. It will be difficult, but endure just a little longer."
His hand, which had risen slowly as if caught in a net, touched the glass wall imprisoning Lucy.
"Just as you saved me...."
Daniel moved his lips, imbuing his words with sincerity.
"I, too, shall save you."