Chapter 291: Blazing Flames of the Battlefield[R-18] (9)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 291: Blazing Flames of the Battlefield[R-18] (9)
[Emergency! Emergency! Enemy infiltration confirmed inside the base! Third Supply Zone, C Line has collapsed! Deploy all combat personnel immediately!]
A siren blared, its sound vibrating through the air with the warning chimes. Red emergency lights bathed the hangar.
“……What?”
Mason snapped his head up. His resolute expression wavered.
Lina was already running. Her face was cold and hard, her voice sharp.
“Situation report!”
She yelled, grabbing a comms officer who had just run into the hangar.
“It’s the Federation Army! We believe an infiltration unit entered through the sewer lines, without mobile weapons!”
“Hah…”
Lina let out a breath, gritting her teeth.
“So they found this place too…”
In that instant, a single name flashed through Oh-hyun’s mind like lightning.
“My brother?!”
Lina turned her head and answered quickly.
“He’s in the safe zone! But—”
He didn’t hear the rest. Oh-hyun was already running.
“Hey! You can’t go there now—!”
Neither Lina’s shout nor Mason’s command reached him.
Oh-hyun sprinted through the collapsing corridor. He saw the body of a blood-soaked soldier slumped against a wall.
The Federation Army had already penetrated deep inside.
-Tat-tat-tat-tat-tak!
As he raced down the underground passage, Oh-hyun screamed inwardly.
Please, please be safe, Oh-hoon…
Just then, a steel door at the end of the hall burst open with a bang.
“Enemy spotted!”
Black uniforms. Dark goggles. Two Federation infiltrators had found Oh-hyun.
—Bang! Bang-bang!!
Bullets ricocheted off the ground and slammed into the wall. But Oh-hyun had already rolled to the side, kicked off the wall, and launched himself into the air.
He grabbed a small pistol from the floor and spun in mid-air.
The first bullet pierced right through the center of one soldier’s goggles.
“Kugh…!”
The second soldier, stunned, raised his gun, but Oh-hyun was already charging.
His hand caught the enemy’s wrist and twisted it, while he reflexively struck the man’s abdomen.
—Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!!
The soldier gasped for breath and collapsed to the floor.
“Hah… hah…”
Oh-hyun moved past the blood-stained corridor. And then, from beyond a collapsed steel shutter, he heard a familiar voice.
“Brother…!”
Oh-hoon called out, his eyes welling with tears as he huddled behind a steel crate.
“Oh-hoon!”
Oh-hyun pulled him into a tight embrace. His whole body was trembling, his throat tight, but he couldn’t afford to be weak now.
“Brother… everyone… they’re dead. The people who were with me…”
“It’s okay. It’s okay now. I’ll protect you.”
He lifted his brother into his arms. Oh-hoon was as light as a feather. But before he could even take a step—
—KRAAAANG!!
A deafening roar, like a thunderclap, echoed through the passage. The ceiling cracked. Debris rained down like hail, swallowing his vision.
“Watch out!”
Oh-hyun instinctively twisted his body to shield Oh-hoon. A chunk of concrete slammed into his shoulder, sending a dull ache through him.
“Brother…!”
Oh-hoon let out a small scream. But a far more terrifying sound came from beyond the shattered wall a moment later.
—Crumble…
A black silhouette appeared through the demolished concrete wall.
“This is Eagle. Entry complete. Visual on the interior.”
“Passage secured. Rebels confirmed. Engaging.”
—Zhiiing…!
The electronic sight of an assault rifle targeted Oh-hyun’s forehead.
Damn it…!
There wasn’t even time to breathe. No room to draw his gun, no space to dodge.
His movements were too heavy, holding his brother’s body.
Just then.
—KWAKWAKWANG!!!
With a sound like cannon fire, something flew over the enemy soldiers’ heads.
The next moment—
—KRAAANG!!
The ceiling cracked open once more. And through the gap, a massive silhouette leaped down.
Mason.
Clad in full tactical gear, his boots slammed down between the Federation soldiers like steel pillars.
“Die!”
—Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunshots rang out. Before they could even react, the Federation soldiers collapsed to the floor.
“Ma… Mason…?!”
Oh-hyun stared up at him, his face filled with disbelief.
“Get the kid to the hangar!”
Without a moment’s hesitation at Mason’s shout, Oh-hyun nodded.
“Yes…!”
Clutching his brother tighter, he immediately turned and sprinted down the corridor.
—Tat-tat-tat-tat-tak!!
He ran like a madman through the corridor flickering with red lights, weaving between collapsed walls and protruding steel frames.
“Brother… are you okay?”
“Just… just a little further.”
Oh-hoon’s breathing was ragged. He had already reached the limits of a child’s stamina. But Oh-hyun couldn’t stop. If he slowed down for even a second, he knew death would catch up to them.
—Kwang! Kwakwang!
The sound of gunfire echoed from beyond the underground walls. Mason was fighting in their place.
And ahead, the entrance to a massive hangar appeared, its red emergency lights flashing.
Oh-hyun, still carrying his brother, plunged inside, his lungs burning.
Inside were Lina and a group of armed soldiers. She was already halfway into a cockpit, exchanging final communications with the maintenance crew.
Just then, Lina turned her head. Her eyes widened when she saw Oh-hyun.
“Get to the escape pods, now! We’ll hold them off here!”
She pointed toward the escape pod bay on the side of the hangar. A few survivors and wounded were being hurriedly moved there.
“Got i—”
But in that instant.
—BOOM… BOOM… KRAAAAAANG!!
An ear-splitting explosion.
The hangar ceiling ruptured, and with a flash of light, a shell fell straight through.
“Oh, Oh-hoon!!”
The moment he curled his body around his brother.
—BOOM!!
His vision went white. His ears went numb, and the force of the blast threw his body into the air.
Then everything went dark.
………
“…Hhuk… hah, hah…!”
When Oh-hyun opened his eyes in the thick dust, he realized his ears were still ringing.
His entire body ached, and dried blood was caked on his face.
He instinctively looked around.
“……Oh-hoon?”
“……Oh-hoon…!”
Amidst the wreckage. A small body, lying face down, blood pouring from its hand.
“……Ah… Ah, no.”
With trembling hands, Oh-hyun turned his brother over.
“…Brother…”
A faint voice.
Those were the last words Oh-hyun would ever hear from Oh-hoon.
The light faded from his eyes.
“……”
Oh-hyun stared into the empty air, his mouth agape. The ruined hangar. A tangle of machinery and blood-soaked corpses.
“……”
As if time itself had stopped, Oh-hyun gazed down at his brother’s body.
And then—
Snap.
He heard something quietly break somewhere deep inside him. His hair fell into disarray, and the light vanished from his eyes.
The last thread of his sanity crumbled.
“…I’ll kill you.”
A low, chilling monologue escaped his lips.
Oh-hyun slowly pushed himself up, dragging his blood-covered knees.
One of his arms wouldn’t move properly. But he didn’t care.
Consciousness, pain—none of it mattered anymore.
His gaze was fixed on the open cockpit of the EXILE-00.
It was calling to him.
Without a word, he shoved aside Lina’s bloodied, unconscious body in the cockpit.
The moment he did, the internal panels lit up with red lights, and a heavy warning tone sounded as text appeared.
[EXILE-00: Tactical OS Booting]
▶ Unit Identification Number: EXILE-00
▶ Pilot Biometric Authentication: None
▶ Control Interface: Switching to Manual Mode…
▶ Emergency Startup Protocol Activated (CIV_CLASS_OVERRIDE)
▶ Unit Status: Incomplete Operation / Multiple High-Risk Sections Detected
Oh-hyun sank deep into the pilot’s seat and stared intently at the main panel before him.
Slowly, a view began to form.
On the left, the unit’s silhouette and the status of its main joint modules.
On the right, a faint external sensor display.
In the center, a translucent screen faintly glowed with a projection of the forward view.
[Acquiring Forward Tactical View…]
[Radar Sensitivity 47% / Lag Detected]
[Verifying Armament System]
Saber Blade ×2
[Main Joint Module Response Rate: 61%]
[Left Leg Servo: Rotation Lag / Joint Torque Unstable]
[Central OS System Boot Rate: 74% … 76% … Error]
“…It’s broken in more than a few places.”
Oh-hyun gripped the vibrating control stick tightly. The faint tremors under his palm felt like the machine was having a seizure.
The pedals responded intermittently, and the saber blade’s activation trigger was a beat slow.
Nothing was in normal condition.
The OS response is a mess, and the hardware… is garbage.
He narrowed his eyes.
For the first time since sitting in the cockpit, he emotionlessly scanned the tactical data flickering on the forward display.
[Position Lock Complete Unidentified Unit Detected]
[Combat Mode: Entering Manual Maneuver Mode]
▶ Auto-Aim Function: Deactivated
▶ Auto-Evasion Function: Deactivated
▶ Forward Operating Range: 78 Degrees
▶ External Communications: Blocked
There wasn’t the slightest tremor in his eyes. He immediately opened the manual OS access panel at the bottom of the console and began modifying the boot script himself.
Commands typed out at lightning speed.
The unit’s control processor stuttered and creaked once, then slowly began to recover its smooth movements.
[Manual Tactical Interface Recalibration in Progress…]
[Joint Response Rate Correction: Right +7.2%, Left +9.6%]
[Auxiliary Processing Core Forced Distribution Mode Activated]
[Warning: This action may cause physical damage to the unit]
He ignored the OS warning message and manually aligned the HUD in his field of view.
The unit’s forward camera aligned, and the faulty sensors began to respond one by one.
[Central View Angle Expanded: 78° → 103°]
[Auxiliary Radar Manual Calibration… Sensitivity 48% Acquired]
[3 External Units Approaching Distance: 127m, 140m, 155m]
Just then, a tremor was detected outside the unit.
—Drrrrr… Kuuung…!
The hangar passage vibrated violently. A blast shock bomb planted by the Federation soldiers blew off the hangar door’s locking mechanism.
The door lurched half-open, and red light flooded in.
Through the gap, dozens of goggled soldiers swarmed in, carrying submachine guns.
“Take that side down, fast!”
At the commander’s shout, the soldiers took up positions to the left and right.
Inside the cockpit.
Oh-hyun silently placed his feet on the pedals. He pressed the blade trigger.
—Shwing…!
An energy blade shot out from the left arm, awakening with a red glow.
With a heavy metallic groan, the entire unit slowly began to rise.
[EXILE-00 – Tactical Manual Mode Stabilization Complete]
The last lock on the hangar door burst.
And beyond it, a massive machine slowly raised its head.
EXILE-00.
Its red twin-eye sensors slowly lit up. Inside the cockpit, the same light glinted in Oh-hyun’s eyes.
His heart wasn’t beating.
He had forgotten to breathe.
Only one emotion burned within him like an undying ember.
Killing intent.
“……All of you.”
His hands clenched the levers.
“I’ll kill you.”
—THUD!!
The EXILE-00’s feet kicked off the ground, and it rose, its movements echoing through the hangar.