Chapter 318: Blazing Flames of the Battlefield[R-18] (36)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 318: Blazing Flames of the Battlefield[R-18] (36)
—BOOOOM!!!
A massive explosion erupted at the coordinates where Lisa's unit had been.
The trajectory traced by the black unit's blade.
In that instant, a flash of light engulfed the battlefield, accompanied by the sound of metal tearing and shattering.
Inside the cockpit.
The control stick in Oh-hyun's hands trembled violently. His forward view was filled with smoke.
He stared blankly at the HUD.
“……”
Once again, the death of someone close to him made his mind go blank. He couldn't breathe.
But then, something shot out from the smoke. Cutting through the residual heat, Lisa's unit swerved and quickly retreated.
[Damn it… Jean took the hit for me.]
Lisa's voice rang out, ragged with heavy breaths.
Oh-hyun's expression hardened, a sigh of relief catching in his throat. The pilot who had died in Lisa's place.
His name, ‘Jean.’
It was familiar.
He was the pilot who always silently covered Lisa's blind spots from the rear of the squadron.
[Enemies incoming!]
Mason's shout tore through the comms.
At that moment, Oh-hyun's frozen vision wavered. He flinched, sucking in a breath as he moved. Red lines flooded his HUD—the Earth Federation's units were all switching to an assault formation.
Just as a wave of gunfire was about to swallow the space before them, the black unit moved.
Without a hint of hesitation, it broke formation alone and dove into the heart of the allied forces.
Oh-hyun braced himself in the cockpit.
'This is my chance.'
The enemy's movements were too linear. An easy target. It almost felt like it was daring him, 'Go on, try and hit me.'
His hands rose to the cockpit's control panel again.
“This time…”
His gaze turned cold.
“…I'll hit it.”
The trigger was pulled.
—BOOOOM!!
The launcher roared for a second time. A compressed, super-heated red shell tore through the void.
Its trajectory was impossible to evade. The warhead raced toward its target. Time until intersection with the black unit's path—0.7 seconds.
Just before impact, the black unit twisted its body with a simple, clean motion. With that single movement, the super-heated shell sliced through empty space, missing its mark.
—KABOOOM!!!
A massive explosion erupted behind it, and Oh-hyun's vision flared white.
“…Ah…”
The moment the shot missed, he realized. The failure of his attack would lead directly to the death of an ally.
[Oh, no…!]
[Carlson!!]
[Damn it!]
[Get some distance, now!]
Chaotic comms chatter.
The black unit didn't stop. A mere 0.3 seconds after evading.
It had already drawn its sword and sliced an allied unit clean in two at the waist.
—CRACK!
An explosion.
Before the aftershock even faded, it cut down another unit right next to it with a single, fluid spin.
—BOOM!!
Two allies were taken down in just two slashes. The comms channel filled with screams at the silent massacre.
[Fall back! Don't engage it head-on!]
[Captain, enemy squadron!]
Inside the cockpit.
“I… I have to stop it.”
Oh-hyun poured all his strength into his grip on the control stick. As his knuckles turned white, he pressed a secondary armament panel.
—Screech.
The modular combat armor encasing the EXILE-00 began to break away, piece by piece, as if shattering.
The center of gravity was recalibrated as the external frame quietly detached, revealing the combat-specialized core frame beneath.
CRACK—!!
The dismantled armor from its shoulders, waist, and legs scattered into space.
In its place, the EXILE-00's true form was revealed. Stripped of its heavy armor, its shape was optimized for one purpose only: speed and slaughter.
Oh-hyun glared at the black unit.
“I'll never forgive you…”
At the same time, he stomped on the pedal.
—BOOM!!
The EXILE-00 vibrated and shot forward explosively. The unit carved a path straight toward the black mech.
[Oh-hyun! Calm down!!]
Lisa's sharp voice burst over the comms.
But he didn't hear it. His vision narrowed to a single target.
Only the black unit. Oh-hyun had no intention of standing by and watching to see who its blade would cut down next, what new death it would create.
Drawing its left saber blade, the EXILE-00 charged the black unit. The two mechs clashed head-on.
The two swords collided violently, and the sharp scream of grinding metal tore through the vacuum of space.
Sparks flew from the point of impact as a flash of light and a shockwave erupted between the two units.
The EXILE-00 pushed forward.
The vibrations from the control stick traveled up Oh-hyun's arms like mad.
The force pushing back from the enemy was beyond imagination.
The black unit didn't budge an inch, meeting Oh-hyun's gaze directly as it pressed its blade down.
BANG—!!
The first rebound after the collision. The units recoiled from each other, creating a short distance between them. Then, both mechs simultaneously corrected their posture and charged again.
This time, the black unit raised its sword first.
“……!”
Oh-hyun immediately drew his right blade, taking a counter-stance with dual swords.
Spinning through the air, their blades clashed once more.
—BOOOOM!!
Sparks flew as plasma and high-heat vibrations collided.
The EXILE-00 and the black unit exchanged blows like a tempest, each trying to slash through the other's core.
Clash.
Evade.
Slash.
Graze.
Block.
Spin.
Dozens of blade exchanges in a matter of seconds.
Each time the units collided, a flash of light erupted in the void.
Oh-hyun's gaze sharpened. He waited for the perfect moment.
‘……Now!’
He immediately raised his right blade. A diagonal slash, twisting the unit's trajectory from the waist to aim for the neck from the side.
The timing and angle were perfect. He was certain it couldn't be dodged.
‘……What?’
Just before the attack landed, a sense of unease formed in Oh-hyun's mind.
The black unit, which he thought wouldn't be able to react, turned its head as if in slow motion, and it felt like their eyes met. And he felt as if it was mocking him.
“……!”
As the blade dug into the black unit's side, it simply reached out with its left hand and snatched the EXILE-00's arm.
—CLANK.
The timing was perfect, its trajectory read completely. Then, a swinging fist struck the front of Oh-hyun's unit dead-on.
—BAM!!
The EXILE-00's head snapped to the side.
The cockpit shook violently, and red warning lights flashed across his swaying vision. As the next attack came, Oh-hyun gritted his teeth and tried to counter.
He swung his blade, even putting a spin into a strike by bending his unit's knee, but every attack missed. And only then did Oh-hyun realize.
He realized the pilot of that unit had been toying with him the entire time.
He attacked again in frustration, but the enemy dodged lightly, as if reading his every move. And then came the counterattack.
—CRASH!!
The EXILE-00's chest was struck dead-center.
The unit was sent flying, spinning once, twice in the air.
Oh-hyun's hand on the control stick shook helplessly. Beyond the cockpit, the black unit seemed impossibly large.
In that time, the black unit drew a medium-sized, high-speed launcher from its back. Its targets were the comrades flying in from behind to help him.
“Ah, no…… Don't!!”
—BOOOOM!!
A high-heat blast erupted. An allied unit was torn apart, destroyed from the waist up.
[NO SIGNAL A-17: Brad]
[A-17 Comms Lost]
“Uwaaaaaaah!!!!”
He stomped on the pedal.
The EXILE-00 charged again, leaving an afterimage. But this time, the black unit didn't react at all.
As if mocking him, it rested one leg diagonally on its heel and simply waited for the EXILE-00's charge. Then, spinning sideways, the black unit moved before the EXILE-00 could even swing its blade.
Its left shoulder slammed into Oh-hyun's unit first, and a leg, catching up with the rotational force, kicked out the EXILE-00's knee.
The unit collapsed to one side. The control system went haywire, and his vision tilted.
Inside the cockpit, Oh-hyun gasped for breath. He felt as if his blood was boiling deep in his chest. His heart pounded like crazy, and his consciousness was slowly fading.
[Oh-hyun! Are you okay?! Respond!]
[Damn it… What the hell is that thing!!]
Lisa and Mason.
Their voices came through the comms, but they sounded distant.
Reality felt intangible, the boundaries blurring. Still, he forced his mouth open.
“……Both of you… don't come.”
There was no time to stop them.
Outside the cockpit, through his blurry vision, two units charged toward the black mech.
Plasma split the air, and beams flew, creating ripples in the surrounding space.
The black unit turned its head. Its gaze fell upon Lisa and Mason.
‘Ah……’
Oh-hyun's heart sank.
‘No. Please, please stop…’
But there was nothing he could do now.
He could only watch through his failing vision as the two units trying to protect him charged toward the colossal darkness.
*
“Hmm… Oh-hyun's skills are worse than I thought.”
Inside the cockpit, I leisurely watched the red unit. The guy who'd been charging at me with such fury just moments ago was now completely still.
“Lack of experience? Or just swayed by emotion?”
Or maybe both.
It felt like he was just barely holding on by relying on his unit's performance. His skills were far worse than I'd expected.
My interest… faded.
“Still, I had some expectations since he's the protagonist. A bit disappointing.”
It was then.
[Two enemy units approaching at high speed, 40 degrees to the rear left.]
The sensor chimed quietly.
Two units were rapidly approaching, attacking with long-range fire.
“I wonder which of the two is Oh-hyun's heroine… or maybe neither of them is.”
The quiet monologue slipped out inside the cockpit.
“Since I don't know who the heroine is… I can't bring myself to kill them.”
Hoisting the Requiem's anti-ship sword over my shoulder, I watched the trajectory of the two units as they entered my field of view.
“Alright. Let's check them out one by one.”
Just as I raised my sword and was about to lower my stance, a comms channel opened.
[This is Captain Lionel Vasquez. All remaining enemies, excluding the gray and navy units, have been annihilated on our end. Lieutenant, how can we assist?]
From his relaxed tone, it seemed the battle elsewhere had already concluded.
I answered briefly.
“No, it's fine. I'll handle this myself.”
[Hmm, if you say so. We'll proceed with our mission as planned.]
“Yes.”
After the short reply, the communication cut off.
Silence fell in the cockpit once more. The two units before me were still charging straight at me.
“Well… no more interruptions, then.”
I leaned slightly in the pilot's seat and lowered the Requiem's anti-ship sword horizontally.
A vibration ran through the tip of the blade. The entire unit held its breath, settling into a combat stance.
Just then, the two units split off to the left and right.
To the left, a navy-blue, medium-class unit.
Short, powerful movements, a heavy silhouette focused on breaking through. It had an auxiliary shield on its shoulder and a medium-sized beam launcher on its back.
To the right, a unit mixed with dark gray and white came into view. Its center of gravity was low, and its axis rotated smoothly. It was already laying down precise suppressive fire with a beam rifle.
“Who should I unwrap first?”
On the radar, their trajectories began to overlap. One had heavy, stable movements, while the other turned sharply and elegantly, changing angles.
In my mind, their movements were automatically categorized.
“……Alright. Let's check out the annoying gray one first.”
Booster output, maximum. The Requiem shot off its trajectory as if launched, and I charged straight for the gray unit.
But—
“It dodged?”
A faster reaction than I expected. A moment ago, it couldn't even respond properly, but this time it definitely turned to create distance.
“Are we playing tag?”
But it wasn't just blindly running away. It fired short beam bursts to cover its evasion. At the same time, the navy unit was providing support from the side.
Better-coordinated movements than I thought.
For a moment, the corner of my mouth lifted.
‘Much better than Oh-hyun.’
I immediately drew my beam rifle and fired back, matching the navy unit's attack trajectory.
This sortie was focused on close-combat armaments. This rifle was the only long-range weapon I had. But as if they knew that, they immediately turned and widened the distance.
"Their teamwork is impeccable.“
Precise suppressive fire, natural coordination, and a solid response.
It's starting to feel like a real fight.
I settled deeper into the Requiem's cockpit.
“Now this is getting interesting.”
My mind was already racing, thinking of how I would play with my new toys.