Chapter 39

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Translator: Silver Dragon

Chapter: 39

Chapter Title: Ekalsa Battle (4)

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"Proto-Unit 27, report the situation."

The interface screen soon changed.

A spider-like mechanical robot's face appeared on the screen.

XQ-27 hunted its enemies using a peculiar method called "Time Ambush."

Time Ambush entailed first creating a future event unfavorable to the enemy.

Then forcibly linking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the present to that future event.

XQ-27 detached the present to form a small spacetime bubble.

Immediately after, it generated a virtual world that would become the future of that bubble.

Let's call the former the ST1 bubble and the latter the ST2 bubble.

ST1 was the main timeline—a variable that continued to shift.

But the ST2 bubble existed independently of the main timeline, holding fixed constant values.

XQ-27 forcibly connected these two independent spacetimes.

Originally, the special forces being wiped out by XQ-27 had been nothing more than an artificially crafted possibility, utterly unrelated to the main timeline.

But by warping the time axis and forcibly linking the two events, the situation changed.

Team 3 had discovered Team 1's leader's corpse.

This created the possibility of ST1 connecting to ST2.

The connection was still incomplete, highly likely to shatter.

But if the observers in ST1 kept uncovering futures tied to ST2,

the bond between the two spacetimes would grow ever stronger.

If the process continued, the future would inevitably converge on ST2's constant value.

That was when XQ-27 made its move.

XQ-27 entered the time bubble and attacked the enemies.

No matter how fiercely the victims fought, they could never defeat XQ-27.

Their futures were already fixed on one where XQ-27 emerged victorious.

XQ-27 entering the bubble to slaughter them was little more than a ritual to seal the time loop.

They were as good as dead long ago.

Of course, this demanded an enormous amount of energy.

The Prime Unit had to devote 20% of the simulation's supplied energy and computational power just to operate XQ-27.

"Excellent. Proceed."

In lieu of a verbal reply, XQ-27 flashed its red eyes.

The command units watching the scene began to whisper among themselves.

"Proto-Unit 27 looks way too creepy."

"Agreed. Its combat method is freakishly bizarre too."

"Proto-Unit 27's stability hasn't been verified yet. Deploying the Prime Unit's prototype weapon in real combat is disappointing."

"The Prime Unit's current state is concerning."

At that moment, the massive eye behind them swiveled around.

"Negative! We were engaged in healthy discussion!"

"Command Unit 3 agrees with every decision of the Prime Unit!"

"Command Unit 11 concurs as well!"

The command units jolted in panic.

The second corpse had been found.

This one belonged to Team 2.

The deceased was Tanairoki, a member of Team 2.

He lay on the cold floor, bearing wounds eerily similar to the previous body.

"Team 2, check if you have any missing personnel or injured."

"This is Team 2 Leader. No injured or missing. May I ask why, sir?"

"No reason. Just verifying the situation. Keep moving as best you can."

"Understood."

It was much like the situation moments before.

No missing or dead among them yet.

But the corpses we were seeing were undeniable reality.

"This doesn't seem like our gear being jammed. It feels like there's a problem with the spacetime we're in."

"Agreed. The paths that lead nowhere no matter how far we go... and these bodies look long dead."

"I'm worried we're witnessing future events because the time axis is all tangled up."

The other squad members were starting to catch on.

The enemy wasn't messing with cognition or equipment.

It was twisting spacetime itself for sport.

"Hey, deputy."

I called out to Rakshyatoom.

"How do you fight an enemy that toys with spacetime?"

Rakshytoom's response was somewhat disappointing.

"I have no idea. I've never encountered this type of foe, nor even imagined one."

Rakshytoom offered no clever solution either.

Then again, it made perfect sense.

Weapons that bit into spacetime?

Who could have dreamed such a thing existed?

The dilemmas only mounted, with no answers in sight.

'No gallery access means I can't ask the gallers. And there's no way out of the simulation anyway.'

If only I could pull up the gallery right now.

At least I'd get some help from the gallers.

Regret gnawing at me, I pressed on.

'Wait... the gallery?'

Right then, I recalled something I'd forgotten.

I immediately rummaged through my gear.

'Found it.'

The Sage's Eye.

The item the armband had given as a reward before.

'It said it was a one-time-use answer key, right?'

I remembered the armband's words.

The Sage's Eye would reveal one piece of information I absolutely needed to know right now.

Information was exactly what I needed most at this moment.

I'd planned to save it for later.

But the situation demanded I use it now.

– Whoosh!

The activation method matched the gallery crystal's.

Using the Sage's Eye brought up a screen.

I tilted my head at the sight.

'I'm not the one in a hurry?'

Stay calm and wait, make the opponent anxious?

What on earth did that mean?

'No way...'

A possibility dawned on me.

I immediately activated the comms device.

"All units, listen up. Cease all movement immediately ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and hold position."

"“Huh?”"

"Don't move. Just stay right where you are. Understood?"

The squad members showed bewilderment at the absurd order.

But they obeyed regardless.

We began passing the time frozen in place.

"Proto-Unit 27, confirm when the hunt will conclude."

By all rights, the hunt should have ended ages ago.

But now, their plan was veering off course bit by bit.

Unable to contain its frustration, the Prime Unit began berating XQ-27.

XQ-27 was well aware of that fact.

But even XQ-27 had no alternative.

For the time bubble to form, events had to unfold.

Yet now, the enemies weren't budging, as if they'd sniffed out the trick.

It had no choice but to feel flustered.

Ahoratoom Adventure was designed so events progressed with the player's movement.

Thus, by the simulator's principles, the player had to keep moving for its traps to trigger.

'Have they figured it out?'

But if they just sat there killing time like this,

XQ-27's spacetime distortion field would become nothing but a resource-draining tumor.

In that case, the ones growing desperate would be them.

The Prime Unit couldn't hide its desperation.

Somehow, the enemies—no, the player—had found a countermeasure.

If this dragged on, the simulator might overload and break down.

Escape or no, it would all be over.

The Prime Unit's red eye flashed.

Her threat was no bluff.

In the end, XQ-27 entered the time bubble.

I had no idea how long we'd been here.

Standing still blurred the very concept of time.

It felt as if the world itself had frozen.

Incredible as it seemed, despite the endless wait,

I felt no hunger or drowsiness.

Probably because this world was inside a simulation.

Then Rakshyatoom spoke up.

"By the way, something's off about this place."

"In what way?"

"We've been here forever, but I'm not hungry or sleepy. My mind feels numb too."

He turned to look at me as he said it.

"It's like being an NPC in a game, you know? Thoughts fading, my sense of self blurring. Like I'm losing my ego."

He'd been repeating the exact same lines like a broken record.

I'd lost count, but it had to be over a hundred times already.

"Ignore it and keep waiting. I'll let you know when the time comes."

"Understood. Un-der-stood. Un-der-stood. Un-der-stood. Un-der-stood. Un-der-stood."

The anomalies were finally kicking in.

He trailed off like a glitched NPC in a game.

Soon his form began to flicker and break apart.

The simulation was overloading—no doubt about it.

I grabbed my gun and stood.

"Is it finally over?"

Right then.

– Boom!

A massive explosion rocked the air, a blinding flash erupting.

Immediately after, the surrounding space transformed completely.

The darkness vanished, replaced by a stark white void like blank paper.

My comrades beside me were all gone.

At the center of the newly unfolded white expanse,

light coalesced, shaping a form.

And soon, the completed figure revealed itself.

Four mechanical legs.

A glowing red central eye.

It was a spider-shaped robot.

I answered not with words, but a smile.

Shouldering my gun, I said,

"Welcome to the hell you chose."

Immediately, it began charging its extermination beam.

I hurled myself aside, abandoning my position.

– Kaboom!

A fierce blast erupted where I'd stood.

Its gaze locked onto me.

It gathered energy once more.

This time, rather than evade, I chose to meet it head-on.

I took dead aim at its eye.

We had just two possibilities left.

Either I blew its head clean off first,

or it incinerated me.

Like gunslingers in a Western, we stared each other down.

– Boom!

– Bang!

We pulled our triggers almost simultaneously.