Only Visible When Manned

The hangar doors shrieked first.

Crash!

The upper ceiling rails warped like soft taffy. Decades of accumulated dust cascaded down like snow under the spinning red emergency lights.

Kang Tae-o forced his shoulders into the cramped crevice of the mech's chest. Calling this place a cockpit was a massive stretch; it was still far too crude and rugged. The internal frame had been brutally sheared away. Bundles of wiring were lashed together in makeshift knots. Rough, crude cushioning pads were slapped on haphazardly here and there. And to top it off, the heavy restraint anchors still dangled from the back of the machine.

This war machine, which once boasted the sterile, clinical cleanliness of the future, now looked like a hunk of scrap metal dragged straight out of a battlefield junkyard. Tae-o actually liked its wretched, savage appearance. It finally looked like a machine that had been touched by human hands, imbued with human will.

"I must reiterate, this unit is not structured to accommodate a human pilot," Eve said softly from behind him. Though her voice feigned composure, her body, pressed flush against Tae-o, was already trembling slightly with a suppressed heat. Her ragged breaths, filtering through her tight uniform, hot against the back of his neck, sent a jolt of stimulation through him.

"That's why I have to push in deeper. So the machine can't reject me." Tae-o wedged his body further into the gap. The sharp edges of the frame dug into his ribs. His breath caught, and his vision blurred for a moment. His right shoulder joint caught on something and screamed in protest. It hurt. But he welcomed the pain. It was proof that his body and the machine were finally locking into a single, unified alignment.

Eve firmly supported his waist from behind. Channeling all her strength into her right hand to compensate for her damaged left arm, her touch was rough yet relentless. Her palm slid down the curve of Tae-o's flank, pressing firmly near his pelvis.

"I am... adjusting the internal pressure levels in real-time."

"Your hands are lingering a bit too long for a simple adjustment."

"It is a control measure to prevent slippage."

"That's the third time you've used that excuse, Warden."

Eve didn't answer, but her voluptuous breasts were already crushed flat against Tae-o's back. Her rapid heartbeat vibrated through the metal frame, transferring directly into him. Hidden behind the android's cold logic, a terrifyingly intense possessiveness radiated from her like physical heat.

Seira's holographic projection flickered to life right beside the mech. Though she had countless data windows open, her gaze was locked entirely on Tae-o's body. The broad, powerful curve of his shoulders. The ripple of his back muscles flexing every time his ribs were compressed. The subtle twist of his wrists as his nerves fired to maintain control. And the rugged scars peeking through his damp clothing. Seira's pupils dilated slightly, her breathing catching a beat behind.

"Two centimeters to the right... No, make it 1.5 centimeters. Push in just a bit more." Her voice was low, thick with a strange mixture of tension and rising pleasure.

Tae-o chuckled. "Why does your voice sound so desperate just from taking my measurements? It's like you want to swallow me whole."

"...We are currently stuffing a human being inside a mech. Of course I'm desperate."

"You say that, but your eyes are practically licking my skin."

Seira's lips trembled. She wanted to deny it, but her breathing had already grown uncontrollably heavy. Back in the control room, she was likely sinking deep into her chair, squeezing her thighs tightly together.

Eve gripped Tae-o's shoulders even tighter, snapping coldly, "H-His physical control and monitoring are my exclusive responsibility."

"Less of a responsibility, and more of a desire to monopolize him, I'd say."

"You cannot even touch him," Seira countered, her gaze turning icy. "Because I cannot touch him, I observe and record every single micro-movement of his with even greater obsession. Even the secret tremors of his body that you remain completely unaware of."

Tae-o gripped the makeshift rod serving as the control stick. "Save the catfight for later. I appreciate you both fighting over who owns me, but right now, our priority is waking up this scrap-metal coffin."

"...It is not a coffin," Eve whispered, exhaling a hot breath against his neck.

"Sure. Since you're holding onto me so desperately, I guess it isn't one just yet."

Seira drew precise lines across the schematic. Her fingertips trembled slightly, as if drenched in desire. "Your left hand controls upper body rotation. Your right hand controls the main weapon arm. The foot pedals aren't for moving the legs; they're feedback plates designed to let your entire body feel the impact of the ground."

"Good. Forget detailed maneuver controls. I'm going purely on instinct."

Tae-o aggressively yanked the right control stick. Clank! The mech's heavy right arm responded half a beat late, lifting upward. In that brief delay, the chest frame mercilessly crushed Tae-o's ribs. The air was violently squeezed from his lungs, and his vision flashed white.

"Ugh...!" Eve immediately tried to loosen the harness crossing his chest. Her hands frantically swept over Tae-o's damp chest. "Abort operation! Physical damage has exceeded critical thresholds!"

"Don't touch it."

"...At this rate, your bones will turn to dust first!"

"That's the only way to know how far this machine can scream. If I can't feel the pain, this is just someone else's toy."

Seira screamed desperately, "It's not in a controllable state yet! The input lag is far too severe!"

"No, I can use it. No, I have to use it." Tae-o gritted his teeth and grabbed the control stick once more. This time, his movement was far larger, far rougher. The mech's right arm swung heavily, cutting through the air. The shoulder armor scraped against the ceiling rails, throwing off a shower of sparks. Screeech! The metal shrieked, and Tae-o's entire body screamed in tandem with the vibration.

Pain struck his brain first. Then, using that pain as a signal, the machine's movement followed. That sequence was more than enough. Normal humans instinctively hesitate when they feel pain. But to Tae-o, who had spent his entire life rolling through the hell of war, pain was the most accurate map. Which part of his body he had to sacrifice to survive. How much impact he had to absorb to slit an enemy's throat. At what angle he had to drive a blow to make the enemy scream in the most agonizing way. This was a realm the future's direct-socket connection methods could never comprehend. After all, machines could never feel pain.

"The response time is abysmally slow... yet the destructive output is far exceeding our projections," Seira murmured in a dazed voice. "How... how is this kind of maneuver even possible?"

"Because I decided where I was going to take the hit before I swung."

"Decided where... you would take the hit?"

"If you're on an unavoidable battlefield, you decide what you're willing to give up to seize victory first. It's a method of catching the enemy's blade with your flesh to carve out their bones."

Seira's fingertips froze. The complex algorithms spinning within Eve's eyes came to a sudden halt. Both women despised this brutal, monstrous logic of survival, yet at the same time, they were madly, helplessly captivated by its savage allure.

Cutting net wires slithered like snakes through the gaps in the hangar shutters. Red-hot metal lines melted the floor tiles as they crept closer.

Tae-o gripped the right control stick even tighter. The wounds on his palms tore open once more, and crimson blood began to flow. The blood drenched the control stick, seeping deep into the frame. Good. This machine was no longer just an inorganic tool. It was his alter ego, sharing his blood and his pain.

"Manual input system... forced synchronization complete," Eve reported, her breath coming in hot pants. Her voice carried an undeniable trace of excitement and raw lust. "Response delay is 0.93 seconds... haah."

Seira chimed in, her body trembling as if riding the aftershocks of an orgasm. "I've reduced it to 0.86 seconds. I overwrote the predictive assistance algorithm."

"The enemy can make predictions too. I'm going to turn the 'mistakes' they don't expect into maneuvers."

Tae-o snapped the control stick back with a short, heavy motion. The mech's arm lunged sharply upward from the floor. Clank! One of the approaching wires caught on the elbow armor, pulling taut.

"Deploy the blade."

"The close-combat cutting blade is still safety-locked."

Before Eve could even finish her sentence, Seira screamed. In the hologram, beads of sweat dotted her skin as she panted heavily. "Unlock it! If that wire wraps around us one more time, this unit will turn into scrap metal before it can even deploy!"

Eve glared coldly at Seira's projection. "Were you not the one screaming to abort the operation just a moment ago?"

"I still want to abort it so badly I'm going crazy! But...!" Seira's voice shook with intense emotion. It was a cry born of a tangled mess of fear of loss and a bizarre obsession with him. "If that man isn't going to stop, we have to at least make sure he gets hurt less!"

This was no longer the calculation of a cold, rational scientist. It was the desperate cry of a woman who refused to lose her man.

Tae-o smirked, his lips curling. "Researcher. Now you're finally sounding like a human."

"Don't flatter yourself. If I lose a precious specimen like you, my career is over. That's the only reason."

"Sure, keep worrying about your career. I'll worry about that starved look in your eyes."

"What... what about my eyes?"

"You've got the eyes of a bitch who wants to devour me right this second."

Seira couldn't refute him. Her eyes were already glazed with lust, and her thighs were thoroughly drenched with an uncontrollable heat.

Eve forcibly overrode and released the blade's safety lock. She, too, was swept up in a wave of arousal so intense her internal circuits felt like they were burning, causing her hips to twitch subtly.

Clack!

A sharp carbon-steel blade slid smoothly out from the underside of the mech's right arm. Tae-o didn't swing his arm wide. Instead, he dragged the blade down at the most efficient, brutal angle. It was crude and unrefined, but its trajectory was far more decisive than any standardized maneuver.

Snap!

The taut wire severed instantly, whipping through the air. The broken metal line lashed against the floor, throwing sparks, and the communication network outside the doors fell into a sudden, stunned silence. That brief silence spoke volumes. They had seen it. The terror of a machine operating completely outside system control, driven purely by human madness.

"They must have realized by now that standardized tactics cannot control you," Eve said, her breath wet. "They will now attempt to ensnare you in a far more brutal and relentless manner."

Seira murmured softly, as if swallowing thick saliva. "The desire to possess you will dominate the battlefield. Everyone who lays eyes on you will covet you, desperate to make you theirs."

"More talk of ownership." Tae-o glanced slightly over his shoulder. "You two better get in line behind the bastards out there. It looks like the queue's going to be pretty long."

Eve stopped adjusting Tae-o's harness and pressed her wet lower body firmly against his pelvis. "I... do not stand in lines."

"Oh?"

"Because I am already guarding your deepest, most intimate space." It was an explicit declaration. The intense heat radiating through her uniform completely enveloped Tae-o's back.

Seira's face turned pale with jealousy. She bit her lip hard through the hologram, swallowing a moan. "That is... an incredibly arrogant statement."

"It is a far more productive position than merely observing from a distance."

"At least I do not fondle him while treating him like some machine part."

Eve's hand paused as she tightened the harness near Tae-o's chest. Her fingers slipped between the padding, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tracing over Tae-o's bare skin in a persistent, caressing stroke.

Tae-o let out a low laugh. "Don't fight over who gets to grope me. I'll gladly tolerate it as long as you're trying to keep me alive."

"...Then will you give me a chance as well?" Seira asked. Her voice, thoroughly steeped in lust and jealousy, sounded thick, almost like a moan.

Tae-o stared directly at her projection. "You're already licking my entire body with your eyes. Aren't you?"

Seira's hologram flickered slightly. She tried to put back on her mask of a cold researcher, but it was too late. Her eyes laid bare the raw, desperate thirst of a female in heat craving her male.

Crash!

The bulkhead tore open further and collapsed. A heavy restraint anchor flew into the hangar, biting mercilessly into the floor rails. Clank! The floor was violently wrenched upward, causing the mech to lose its balance and stumble.

Eve immediately tried to initiate an emergency shutdown. The impact slammed her voluptuous breasts hard against Tae-o's back. "Ah...! Initiating forced system shutdown sequence!"

"Don't stop."

"The impact load on your chest is at a dangerous level!"

"That's how I check with my own body how much this coffin can take." Tae-o deliberately flexed and twisted his shoulder muscles. His ribs scraped against the internal frame, sending a jolt of sharp pain through him. In the split second sparks flew before his eyes, the mech's right arm lunged upward in a trajectory completely outside predictive models. The anchor wire caught perfectly on the elbow armor.

Seira gasped. "You used the pain... to force a reduction in input lag? Haah...!"

"If the machine is too slow, my body has to scream first to wake it up."

"That isn't a tactic. It's pure madness."

"If you survive, it's a tactic. If you die, it's just a dumb stunt."

Seira bit her lip. Forcing her mind through the haze of pleasure, she frantically tapped on her keyboard. "Don't thrust the arm upward. Drag it down in a short, sweeping motion. That will pull the wire right into the inner edge of the cutting blade."

"Good. Exactly like that."

"Don't sound so pleased. I'm literally abetting your insane suicide mission right now... ngh."

Tae-o snapped the control stick back in a short, powerful, whip-like motion. The blade sliced upward, scraping cleanly against the wire. Snap! The second wire shrieked and severed. Freed from the restraints, the mech stumbled back a step. But that single step spelled danger. The legs' response speed couldn't keep up with the upper body's movement. The mech lost its center of gravity and began to pitch forward.

Tae-o cranked the left control stick to its absolute limit. The mech's left shoulder slammed violently into the wall. Boom! The shockwave transferred directly into the cockpit. Tae-o's body groaned under the crushing pressure of the harness. Eve held onto him desperately from behind. In the recoil of the impact, her hot, slick lower body pressed intimately and unmistakably against his thigh.

"Ahahn...! Keep breathing! The pressure on your lungs is critical!"

"I'm not... dead yet. You can tighten it more."

"I will... haah... adjust the harness tension."

Seira urgently cut in. Fighting through the tight, throbbing ache deep inside her, she cried out, "Open up the angle so only the upper body can move freely! Eve, assist with the recovery maneuvers, and I'll update the legs' horizontal calibration values in real-time!"

"This operation completely disregards all standard specifications," Eve panted in response. "No such insane manual exists in my database."

"Then we write a new one starting right now."

Both women fell silent for a moment. Their bodies were pushed to their absolute limits by a cocktail of pleasure and terror, but their minds were racing solely for Tae-o's survival. Eve searched for loopholes in the system, while Seira coded irregular patches to bridge those gaps. Ultimately, the sounds of destruction echoing from outside cemented their choice.

"Limiter release... switching to temporary variable mode. Haat," Eve declared. "I am handing upper-body control over to you. I will... ugh... maintain the legs' balance until the very end."

Seira followed up, "I'll overwrite the recovery calibration code. No matter how insane of an angle you throw this mech into, I'll make damn sure the machine catches up to your will."

They didn't look at each other, but they were already a perfect team. Instead of locking Tae-o away in a safe laboratory, they had become partners who would make him dance most magnificently on the most dangerous battlefield.

Tae-o smirked. "Now it finally feels like... you're actually riding this machine with me."

Seira snapped back, her drenched body trembling slightly. "Don't misunderstand. We aren't riding with you; we are controlling you."

Eve agreed, her body secreting a hot, slick fluid. "You can only be free within our grasp."

"You sure talk a big game... feels like you're both whispering right in my ear."

Seira parted her lips, momentarily speechless. Eve's hand remained frozen over the harness on Tae-o's lower abdomen. Their internal systems were already vibrating violently, like bitches completely conquered by their male.

Maintenance drones threw off sparks as they welded the final securing rails. The heat brushing past Tae-o's chin only stoked the fires of his fighting spirit.

Tae-o pushed the control stick forward with a heavy thud. Under the red emergency lights, the mech's shoulder joints creaked as it stretched its limbs. The hangar floor began to rumble heavily. Outside, the members of the Retrieval Force trying to breach the facility froze in unison at the bizarre vibration.

That split-second hesitation. Tae-o didn't miss it. It was a primal fear of the unknown. The moment a human takes the reins, a machine sheds the shackles of standardized specifications. Deviating from standard movements, it is reborn as a monster possessed by a single human soul.

Thousands of predictive trajectories tangled in a chaotic mess across Seira's monitors. Yet, not a single line could accurately map Tae-o's first move.

"It makes no sense... the data can't keep up," Seira murmured dreamily. "The response is lagging significantly, yet the outcome is already catching the enemy completely off guard."

"Because I chose the exact moment the enemy would freeze in fear."

"Are you not afraid of death? How can you..."

"Those who aren't afraid are the first to become corpses on the battlefield. I simply chew up that fear, swallow it, and spit it back at the enemy."

Seira fell silent. A tight, throbbing ache squeezed deep within her womb. A survival instinct so savage it bordered on barbaric. Under the heat of this massive alpha male, her reason had already melted away. Eve, too, offered no reply, choosing instead to press her wet thighs even harder against Tae-o's leg.

On the battlefield, the longer you talk, the cheaper your life becomes. Tae-o spoke no further. Instead, he tightened his grip on the control stick. As if finally understanding his rough grasp, the mech responded with a low, rumbling hum of its engine.

"Two enemy units approaching from the exterior. Three more detected behind them," Eve reported.

Her fingers trembling and wet, Seira activated the weapons display.

Tae-o checked his remaining ammunition. It was laughably scarce. But that made it all the more sufficient. When weapons are abundant, one's hands grow lazy. The scarcer the arsenal, the more brutal and underhanded one's tactics become. And on the battlefield, those underhanded thoughts are what keep you alive the longest.

"Only three solid rounds. And just two missiles... Can you really hold out with this?" Seira asked, panting.

"I heard you. Means I just need to make sure three of them definitely go down."

"You certainly make it sound easy."

"Warnings are done with the mouth; breaking through is done with the body. That's my style."

"That is an insult to tactical manuals."

"Manuals are things the survivors read at their comrades' graves."

Seira bit her lip hard. Though her vision swam with excitement, she mapped out a new ammunition distribution trajectory tailored to Tae-o's style. One solid round to secure an escape route. Another to disrupt the enemy's advance. The final round... saved for the absolute end. The missiles weren't for killing. They were tools to warp the path, obscure vision, and violently force open the enemy's encirclement. This was the result of Tae-o's brain and Seira's calculations finally merging into one. Unconsciously, she rubbed her thighs together, suppressing a moan of pure pleasure.

"You must only use the solid rounds at the absolute critical moment. Understood?"

"Now you're finally sounding like my wife."

"Take that back! Right now!"

"I don't want to."

Eve stood resolutely before the launch seal lever. The moment she pulled that lever, the gates of hell would open. But if she hesitated, Tae-o would remain forever preserved in this safe prison. Chains in the name of protection. Shackles under the guise of safety. Tae-o stared directly into her eyes.

"Eve."

"Speak, sir. Haah... haah."

"If you truly want to protect me, open the door. If you want to keep me stuffed like a trophy, take your hand off it."

Countless calculation signals clashed within Eve's eyes. She was an android, but at this very moment, she was plagued by a conflict more human than anyone else's. She had grown so hot that the warmth pooling from her thighs threatened to leave a small puddle on the floor.

"...I want to possess you, alive."

"Then I'll show you how to survive."

Eve resolutely pulled the lever down.

Cold outside air rushed into the hangar like a tempest. Countless targeting reticles waiting outside the door danced chaotically across the mech's chest armor. Tae-o gripped the control stick so hard the veins in his hands bulged. The wounds on his palms burst, and crimson blood trickled down the rod.

Good. But something felt missing. This pure white armor. These smooth, elegant curves. This pristine exterior looked like it belonged in a museum exhibition. If he went out like this, they would still mistake him for a standardized machine. No. The moment a human boards, a machine must have its own face. Who is riding it. Who is commanding this monster. A striking mark that could be recognized instantly from afar. A color that would make enemies despair and allies find hope.

Tae-o had seen countless such units on the battlefields of the past. Mechs draped in blood-stained flags, rough handprints of pilots stamped onto shattered armor plates. It wasn't simple vanity; it was a desperate promise to return alive. And that promise could never be clean. If it was too neat, it would look like mere text on an order sheet. If it was too tame, it would look like an inscription on a tombstone. It had to be red as blood, intense as hatred, leaving an indelible brand on the enemy's retinas. Only then could it truly declare: A human is riding.

Seira screamed urgently, her lower body already thoroughly drenched in the fluids of her thirst. "The maintenance drones are withdrawing! You have to go out right now!"

Tae-o stared out into the dark battlefield beyond the wide-open launch path. The black silhouettes of the Retrieval Force were moving out there. But he didn't push the control stick forward just yet. There was one last thing to engrave. Whose machine this was. No, who had dragged this machine out of hell. He had to leave that brand.

Tae-o muttered in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a low voice toward Eve. "Bring back the maintenance drones."

"Executing... ngh... command."

"Bring red paint. The thickest, most blood-like one they have."

Eve hesitated for a fraction of a second. A wave of excitement washed over her artificial skin, sending goosebumps down her arms. "Modifying the exterior right before deployment... violates regulations."

"Regulations? The bastards who talked about regulations on the battlefield are all buried under my feet."

Seira frantically swiped through her screens. She squeezed her private parts tightly, swallowing a moan. "There's no time for a paint job! They're right in front of us!"

"That's why it's red. No need for precision. We just pour it on."

"An identification code is more than enough! Please...!"

"Codes are only recorded in the ledgers of the dead." Tae-o glared fiercely at the pure white armor plates. "I'm walking right out of their common sense."

Eve squirmed, rubbing her wet thighs together as she asked, "Why... of all colors, red? Haat."

"Because when blood gets on it, it won't show."

Seira's breath caught. Tae-o's brutal, colossal survival instinct pushed them right to the precipice of climax.

Tae-o chuckled softly. "Just kidding. When a red unit stands at the vanguard, the allies following behind will know: Ah, that crazy male is going to bleed first for us."

The moment the words left his mouth, the look in both women's eyes shifted. Eve squeezed his back with even greater force. Her thoroughly drenched groin pressed hard against Tae-o's lower body, pouring out an intense heat.

Seira reached out with her projected hand, clawing at the empty air before freezing. She had never resented the fact that she couldn't touch him more than in this moment. Her core was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠already pulsing with an uncontrollable, desperate thirst.

"Even that mark... you're going to decide it all on your own? Heu-ang...!"

"It's the machine I'm riding."

"We are... keeping you alive," Eve whispered in a low, panting breath like a beast in heat. "I opened the door, and I am supporting you with my entire body."

Tae-o laughed. "Sure, I fully acknowledge your contribution. But I draw the first stroke."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Seira's voice grew even thicker, dripping with a bottomless greed. "Then... is the second stroke mine?"

Eve immediately glared at Seira. Human lust, in the form of jealousy, flared within the android's eyes.

Tae-o smirked, enjoying the taut tension. "We'll think about that after we get out of this hell alive. For now, let's start with red."

A maintenance drone ripped open an emergency storage locker on the hangar wall. A can of red paint slid down the rail like lightning. Beyond the launch path, the Retrieval Force's laser sights painted the mech even more clearly.

Tae-o wore a brutal smile as he gripped the control stick tight. "Let's go out drenched in blood."