Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Reunion in the Heat of Battle
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The aliens' overt wariness clearly indicated the presence of a controlling entity nearby.
Following her training, Roze scanned for it, turning her head this way and that before giving up.
'If I methodically take out the ones in front of me, it'll show up eventually.'
Wandering around searching for it would just give her a headache and waste time.
After a brief rest to max out her core's oxygen reserves, Roze clenched her fist again.
But then, an urgent message reached her.
-Unknown disturbance inside Yuta City. Return immediately!
"......Ugh."
Roze was still just a provisional superhuman.
Her tactical judgment was rated low, so she'd been trained never to disobey orders from command.
Well, that wasn't always followed to the letter.
In any case, she'd been resting right when the message came, so she couldn't just ignore it now that she'd registered it clearly.
"I'll finish these off first."
Roze's eyes flashed.
The moment her stepping foot hit the ground, her form split into three afterimages, piercing straight through the clustered aliens ahead.
Over a hundred aliens burst into bloody chunks, scattering everywhere in an instant.
"Hoo... One!"
Without pause, Roze spun in the opposite direction, launching herself like a cannonball straight into the lead mammoth's head.
The mammoth, far larger than an elephant, crumpled like a sponge from that single blow and flew backward.
Dozens of aliens were crushed flat beneath it.
"Two!"
Roze's form never stayed in one place.
Each time her foot touched the ground, she vanished and reappeared like teleportation.
The aliens floundered in confusion, unable to focus their attacks.
Some even ended up striking their own kind while lunging at Roze's sudden appearances.
"Three... Huh, all done?"
Roze surveyed the now-cleared area and reined in her lingering disappointment.
The results from just three moves weren't bad.
She'd pulled off consecutive maneuvers normally only possible in breath-hold mode, thanks to the core's oxygen supply system.
Mastering the distinction and control had been tricky at first, but frequent battles lately had already honed her skills.
-Roze, superhuman!
"...Ah, heading back now."
-Main passage is yours. Situation's worse than expected, so we'll head inside.
"Uh, so I have to hold this spot alone?"
-We'll leave 1,000 combat machines. They're set for auto-defense against deep intrusions, so ignore the small fry.
The line went dead after dumping that on her.
"...Tch."
Was the situation really that dire?
Roze pouted, glancing around.
Aliens had already reinforced the positions she'd just cleared.
No longer just small fry, either.
The phase must've shifted; high-grade aliens were starting to emerge from the rift alongside the main force.
"Ah, no time to slack...!"
Roze charged.
She still had a long fight ahead.
*
We'd arrived at Clotho Planet.
The drive in to out took barely over three hours.
It was close, and the distance was constant, so we'd calculated ahead and crossed at max speed.
The drive-out point was nearly spot-on with the target coordinates.
Just thirty minutes to Clotho from here.
The high-speed ship carrying reinforcements barreled toward the battlefield without pause, updating with the latest intel en route.
'...Yuta City?'
My drop zone.
I skimmed the key info Sia relayed in summary.
Yuta City was the closest and most dangerous spot in this assault.
Initial reports said it could hold without casualties for up to eight hours.
But the latest updates had flipped everything.
"Not a civilian riot, surely...?"
No sane civilians would start a death-wish uprising in a crisis like this.
I briefly considered the Elohim Church, then dismissed it.
They'd been wiped out so thoroughly after the last incident that no traces remained.
"Here's a somewhat decent report."
Sia pulled up a hologram.
She'd dug through unconsolidated field reports one by one.
The holo showed footage from a soldier's cam.
Monstrous creatures with veins bulging externally.
Grotesque, half-finished-looking lifeforms attacking civilians.
Some couldn't even move properly.
But others shrugged off soldier fire like it was nothing.
"...Aliens?"
"No reaction from contamination sensors."
"So, not aliens, then."
Definitely different.
"How many bio labs in Yuta City?"
"...Zero. Not just bio labs—nothing like advanced facilities of that sort."
"Someone's tucked away a secret lab in this underground mining city, perfect for hiding."
"Where?"
"No clue. But they must've broken every ethics rule to pull this off. Getting caught would be a nightmare."
"They'd do anything to cover it up."
"...High possibility."
Tougher mission than expected.
Problems seemed more likely from this angle than aliens.
'Ah, one of those incidents from the Triple Link area?'
One of countless 'events' in the original story.
I'd glossed over it as ancient history back then, but facing it now, even this was no joke.
As the high-speed ship neared the target, support troops began deploying one by one.
But ground aliens didn't take kindly to it, firing back.
Cloudy weather tanked their accuracy, thankfully, but no room for complacency.
"Landing further's too risky. I'll drop here. Sia, link up with the defense fleet for support."
"...Yes. Be careful."
I jumped from the high-speed ship.
R3D3, suit-formed and clinging tight, smoothly activated flight mode.
Gliding through the dim skies, I pinpointed the central passage.
'...Huh?'
A familiar silhouette.
I wasn't sure at first, but it sharpened as I closed in.
I quickly checked the roster for Yuta City's dispatched superhumans.
Roze's name was there, as expected.
"Meeting like this?"
I hovered to watch her fight.
Roze's combat prowess had skyrocketed with the core weapon.
Far more aggressive, far more destructive than before.
Less worry about defense let her fight proactively.
It evoked the aura of a martial artist who'd mastered lion's focus.
'She's grown again already.'
Real combat differed from training.
Roze's growth was blooming anew on this stage where she could unleash freely.
But she looked worn.
No helpers in sight around her.
No telling how long she'd held this massive main passage solo.
Those stamina-conserving moves were her tell for when things got dire.
"Time to lend a hand."
I extended my left arm.
Barrage mode: wide-area scatter shot for maximum devastation.
Lower power, but most efficient against max grade-4 threats here.
"Firing."
-Beep! Commencing fire support.
Just before launch, Roze's gaze flicked my way.
But the barrage flash blinded everything.
KABOOM!!
The ground quaked.
Not just the central passage—aliens at other passages got swept up too.
Dust settled fast under the pounding rain.
R3D3 scanned the revealed ground and reported.
-Commencing battle results analysis. Approximately 72,000 alien entities killed or incapacitated.
"No need for that."
-Quantifying Master's output is essential for optimal future support.
"...Fine, just don't announce it around others."
-Beep! Beep!
Rain hit my glowing-hot arm, hissing into steam.
I extended my hand calmly, cooling it.
Once settled, I dropped vertically toward the main passage.
Roze, gaping at the outside with blinking eyes, spotted me.
She froze wordless till I waved, snapping her to.
"...Lemon?"
"Good to see you?"
"You're really Lemon?"
"Yeah."
"You...!"
Hands on hips, face hardened.
She was pissed.
"Haha..."
Memories of my screw-up silenced me.
Too busy, forgot to even message.
She probably had no idea I was in the area.
"You ignored my messages too."
"...Sorry. Slipped my mind amid the chaos."
"Hmph."
Roze whipped her head away.
I'd thought one apology would do it, but nope.
I pondered, then pulled out the snacks I'd packed.
"Want some?"
"No. What do you take me for?"
Glare of displeasure.
But no quitting now.
"They're good, though."
"I said no!"
"For real. Made by the head chef who feeds the Central Superhuman Unit. Sweet and crispy nutrition bars."
"...Head chef?"
"Yeah."
"S-Still no."
Eyes darting.
Head still turned, but pupils scanned my hand.
Seconds later, her throat bobbed.
Yet Roze, more resolute than ever, bit her lip hard and looked away, vowing not to cave to food.
Too late.
I advanced slowly, snack hand extended.
"H-Hey, stay back! Still mad!"
"You sure you don't want any?"
I clocked her anger deflating.
If truly furious, she wouldn't face me like this.
Nosing the biscuit to her, she squeezed her eyes shut.
Moments later.
Roze crammed her mouth full and protested.
"Thith ith tho thupid! Tho thorry! Why now!"
"Got it, have more. Hold the perimeter a bit."
-Understood, Master. Beep!
Once started, she kept going.
I gave her all my biscuits.
Water too, so she wouldn't thirst.
No fresh supply, so I used stored healing fluid.
Not water, but tops for stamina recovery—better even.
"Ahh, that hit the spot."
"No more?"
Nothing left anyway, but politeness.
"Too full mid-mission, and my stomach rebels..."
"Don't you just inject nutrient IVs?"
Standard for crunch time: skip meals.
Can't skip combat fuel, so light IV nutrients or gel packs.
I'd done it plenty.
"I don't feel fed without chewing... Hehe."
"Ah, yeah, get it."
"But how'd you end up here?"
"Joined the Central Superhuman Unit."
"Whoa, same posting as me? They're here now."
"Uh, well..."
"And you still didn't message?"
Darmosa was here, but most unit elsewhere—not the point now, so I zipped it.
"Haha, will from now on. Forgive me this once?"
"...Fine. This time. But shape up after?"
"Of course."
"Gonna head inside?"
Roze eyed me anxiously.
Didn't want me to go.
"Already delayed plenty. Gotta sort the disturbance quick."
"Yeah..."
"I'll wrap fast and back you up."
"...Okay."
Roze waved me off reluctantly.
I left her behind, dashing into the passage with R3D3.
'Where to...?'
Underground Yuta City split into six zones.
From top: two residential, admin, commercial, industrial, and geothermal power plant at bottom.
Disturbance hit Zone 1 Residential.
Home mostly to day laborers and manual workers.
Hence, security lighter than Zone 2, fewer guards.