It's Okay, I Won't Hurt You

It's okay. I won't hurt you. …………… I climbed up the crater's slope. Reaching the edge, the landscape unfolded before me in a single glance.

Debris from buildings littered the area in every direction. Some structures had half-melted, stretching like taffy, while others had their upper floors neatly sliced off. Overturned vehicles, shattered streetlights, and cracked earth stretched endlessly along the roads.

Unbelievable. That monster the red-armored guy fought must have been truly terrifying, whatever it was. But luckily, it didn't seem to be here anymore. Did the red-armored guy chase it off? Whatever, that doesn't matter now. First things first: get the red-armored guy to a hospital.

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠started walking. Pat pat. With my small size, that onomatopoeia fits. ……If I were just a bit shorter, it might've been totter totter.

I wove through the building rubble, heading outward. The farther I got from the crater, the less intense the destruction became. Completely demolished buildings gave way to half-standing ones, and roads melted down to the asphalt shifted to merely cracked and broken pavement.

And this sensation――biological reactions. Quite a lot of them. Dozens, no, hundreds. Densely packed outside a one-kilometer radius centered on the crater. Heartbeats, body heat, faint electrical signals. All humans.

I lifted a single strand of hair high to scout the people. It's not like some silly antenna. I call it hair, but it's really a tentacle shaped like hair, and it can sprout nanometer-sized eyes, so this is totally doable.

Oh. Nice and clear view.

People in olive-drab Power Suits had set up positions behind building debris. The suits' surfaces were sleek, with blue-glowing power cores at the joints. Those guys look pretty cool?

Each group was roughly fifteen strong. A few knelt, aiming rifles toward the crater, while the rest seemed to be in a huddle, talking.

Ah, I get it. They must be soldiers dispatched because of that monster the red-armored guy fought earlier. How strong was that thing to warrant elite troops like this? The unit patch on their shoulders looks familiar from somewhere, but I can't recall right now.

Hmm, if I tell those soldiers to take the red-armored guy to the hospital, that should work. I decided to hurry a bit. But I had to be careful. Going supersonic might cause a sonic boom and burst their eardrums. Mach 0.95 should do it. See? I'm so considerate.

I approached at a walking pace. The scenery blurred for a split second, then sharpened again. Suddenly, I was right next to the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠soldier at the front.

This guy’s waist was at my eye level. He's really tall. Or am I just small? Maybe both. I waved my hand. Hello, the civilized world's sign language. Wave wave.

He turned his head toward me. I could see his eyes through the visor. His gaze pierced right through me toward the distant crater, then slowly dropped to my face and locked there.

In that instant, the soldier sprang up like a coiled spring.

Whoops, sorry. Must've startled him by appearing out of nowhere. But this guy wouldn't even give me a chance to apologize. The moment he registered me, he drew something from his waist. A dagger. It plunged straight toward the crown of my head.

……Huh?

Ah, it's an ultrasonic vibration dagger. The blade vibrates tens of thousands of times per second to maximize cutting power—probably slices through concrete walls like butter. But my head isn't concrete, so why'd he do that?

But then――unexpected development. Not just the blade, but the soldier's wrist gripping it sank right into the top of my head.

He was freaking out big time. Of course—his hand suddenly plunged into some random girl's head. I could feel him struggling to pull it out. Meanwhile, inside my head, tentacles were nom nom melting the blade. I wanted to say stop it, but that's tricky. It's like trying to stop white blood cells from attacking a virus with sheer willpower.

The soldier kicked off the ground with his legs, straining backward with all his might. The Power Suit's joints flashed blue intensely—probably max output. Hang on, soldier dude. I'll tell the tentacles to let go.

Oh no. The tentacles started melting the Power Suit too. And now they're dragging his arm deeper inside me. My head had swallowed past his wrist to his elbow now. Like a swamp pulling in a sacrifice.

Listen up, you tentacles. Don't you know not to mess with this uncle? I was about to give them a stern talking-to when things got noisy around me.

"Fire! Open fire! Get it off him!"

"No way! Lt. Park's stuck to it!"

"Cut off his arm instead!"

Suddenly, a soldier with a massive greatsword charged at me. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Whoa, that's one huge greatsword. As big as a suited-up soldier. The red-hot edge suggested it was a heat-ray weapon emitting intense thermal energy.

The heat-ray greatsword soldier swung it wide in full charge――Whoops, no!

Thud.

I scolded the tentacles, shoving the soldier's hand out. His arm popped free from my head just as he tumbled backward. The other soldier's heat-ray greatsword sliced empty air instead of his arm.

Phew, that was close. Almost chopped off soldier dude's arm there. Why'd he try to cut his buddy's arm off? Just a little more patience and it would've been fine. Oh well, no one got hurt. Sorry about melting the Power Suit and dagger, but his hand's intact, right?

I pat pat approached the fallen soldier to help him up――

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

…………Huh? Something was poking my torso. Oh, bullets. Those soldiers were shooting at me.

Like tossing pebbles into tar, my body squelch squelch split open and absorbed the rounds. The impact sites puckered up like taffy, then sealed without a trace. Probably the same with those missile warheads earlier.

Those soldiers were using Railgun Rifles. Electromagnetic accelerators firing rounds at Mach 6 or higher—the pinnacle of firepower for non-Awakener infantry. Info I picked up from somewhere in the red-armored guy's memories.

But why shoot me? I unwittingly tilted my head.

More rounds kept coming from the front. Poke poke poke, poke poke poke. Even more soldiers assumed firing stances. Each flash from the railgun muzzles sent hypersonic slugs burrowing into me everywhere. Tastes like iron. No anemia worries here.

Hmm――wait a sec. Now I get it. Why they were attacking me.

I hadn't properly talked to these soldiers. Those idiot parts of me rubbed off, making me act like my mom.

Quiet. I don't accept complaints. Let's talk it out first.

I spread both arms wide. Unarmed gesture. Like the "hello" earlier—universal lingo.

One step. Two steps. But the soldiers backpedaled at the same pace. Muzzles still trained on me. One step forward, one back. Two forward, two back.

Oh no. Like wild animals fleeing. Come to think of it, there's that classic line from videos. What people always say when approaching a scared animal.

Ahem, clearing my throat. I decided to put a little power into my voice. Loud enough for everyone in the back to hear.

Perfect cute girl's voice, super pleasant to hear. But――something extra layered on after.

A metallic scrape like nails on glass. Multi-layered reverb, as if thousands spoke at once. It piled atop the girl's tone in heavy stacks.

Along the sound waves' path, remaining glass in the debris shattered with a crash. The nearest soldier's visor cracked like a spiderweb.

And――the soldiers froze.

See, idiots? One word paid off a thousand debts. Impressive. The power of words is truly great. Communication's the first step in human relations, right?

I was puffing up with pride when suddenly, one frontline soldier dropped his rifle. He knelt, slamming his head into the ground. His helmet thudded dully against the asphalt. Thunk, thunk, thunk. Nonstop.

The guy next to him was weird in another way. Something streamed from inside his visor――ah, tears. Missing his mom or something?

"Ahaha, ahahahahaha――!!"

But he wouldn't stop laughing. Coughing up bloody phlegm midway—probably tore his vocal cords from over-laughing. Oh dear, his eyes are totally gone.

In the back, another frothed at the mouth and collapsed. His Power Suit's core still glowed, but the man inside dangled limp like a doll.

And one at the very back. He alone stood firm. Rifle trained on me, trembling faintly but holding. I could see red text flashing on his helmet display.

Endless warnings popping up, but he stood there, trembling slightly yet resolute. Hmm, weird. Can't be because of me. Ah, I get it. These soldiers might've taken combat enhancers. From the red-armored guy's memories, I recall special forces dosing up pre-battle. Side effects like hallucinations or seizures.

Gotcha. Drug side effects triggered seizures. Poor guys. Elites like these cost billions each to train. Should treasure them. Tossing them into ops without managing side effects? Higher-ups suck.

The head-slammer worried me most. Helmet should protect him, right? Hope so.

…………

Anyway, that lone standing soldier. Buddies foaming or bashing heads, yet he's fine. Strong-willed guy. Or maybe a hardcore addict tolerant to side effects.

I need to handle the red-armored guy inside me, so I'll leave these downed soldiers to him. Pat pat pat. I approached and grabbed his arm.

He flinched. The Power Suit vibrated wildly. His eyes squeezed shut behind the visor—super startled.

Hm? He's steeling himself for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠something. Fear and resolve twisting into one massive decision.

Beeeep――

His Power Suit's visor glowed red. Wooong, wooong, wooong. Red warning lights flashed madly, red light bleeding across the entire surface. Even the joint's blue core turned blood-red.

Text appeared on the visor.

Oh crap, self-destruct? Machine malfunction, huh.

Hmm, what now?