Asura's Unyielding Fury
"No, even a beast wouldn't fight like that. If anything, it knows full well how precious its own life is."
Sonya corrected herself.
"You're less a beast and more like an asura. To think the one borrowing your name turned out to be this kind of monster."
Ignoring her words, I yanked the building pillar free from the severed right arm. Discarding the submachine gun in my right hand, I mounted it onto my right arm instead.
Hmm.
The Icarus-made FLUEGEL frame I used as my main was no heavy frame. Strictly speaking, it was a mass-produced standard frame developed close to heavy specs, slightly modified to secure more mounting weight. So while wrapping my whole body in heavy weapons was out of the question, handling a main gun was feasible... but.
OVERLOAD DETECTED
UNIDENTIFIED ARMAMENT
STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY COMPROMISED
I was suddenly facing a cockpit that was quickly turning red. All sorts of warning messages popped up on the monitor. Apparently, its weight matched or exceeded that of a proper heavy weapon, fitting its monstrous appearance. Makes sense—its attack style relied on that mass as a blunt instrument.
I could see thrust output dropping, but I didn't ditch the weapon.
Gunfire alone feels too damn stifling.
Without a big hit, it'd just drag into a predictable slog and end in the expected defeat. Treating it like a joker card, I turned toward the player.
"Impressive. Didn't think you'd actually commit to fighting. Though after that display earlier, maybe it's no surprise."
"...Rabe, what the hell are you doing? The frame can't handle it in this state. The enemy has a point."
Hermann's voice came heavy.
"Pull back and get maintenance first. You've neutralized one already, so we still have a shot even without you."
Hermann, ah, Hermann. Even knowing my answer full well, his voice dripped with that faint "just maybe" hope. Rationally, following him made sense. But of course, I wasn't going to.
Wasn't rushing Scarab precisely to duel this player? And Hermann himself just admitted we'd met the minimum contract goal.
Now I could go all-out against my opponent with a clear conscience.
Vroooom—
Ramping up the boosters, I rocketed toward the Nexus that had been spectating from afar.
"Don't you want to live?!"
Sonya called out amid the streaks of bullets and missiles filling the sky. As I opened fire on the player, I curled my lips into a smirk.
Don't you want to live? What a weird question.
The premise was backward. The whole setup was wrong. Why assume wanting to live was the default?
Rat-tat-tat!!!
Down one main gun, my damage output dropped sharply. The player didn't just blindly keep distance—instead, they maintained it precisely, dipping in and out repeatedly. Like we were forcing each other into our own deadly dance.
My head throbbed with flashing alerts. My body was soaked in sweat, but this moment felt incomparably thrilling. Every inch of me ached. Yet to me, it was profoundly meaningful.
People don't live because it's 'natural.'
Humans keep going out of sheer inertia—that was my conviction. No special reason, just tacking excuses onto the outcome, a fleeting illusion. Life was meaningless at its core. That's why living wasn't default; it was something you had to find a reason for.
"Rabe!! Frame durability critical!! It can't hold much longer!"
But assigning meaning to life itself, instead of living for meaning? That just transposed subject and object.
I ducked behind a structure on the rising sea city for a mind game. Circling the building, I flanked the player. Their scan pulse burst out, but at this knife-fight range, it was useless. I slammed into them and swung the right-arm pillar.
Whoosh!
But my swing was too wide—the player slipped out of range and unleashed another barrage.
Rat-tat-tat!!
Vertical crosses, horizontal, diagonal. Structures scarred under the hail of bullets and missiles; the decayed ones crumbled.
Nice moves.
It was like dancing. When I charged head-on, they softly redirected my momentum elsewhere. Hard to tell who held the initiative.
Thud!!
In our weaving, one of my pillar swings connected solidly. Their motion stuttered from the impact. I didn't miss—twice, three times more. Weaker than the first, but chaining quick hits. They recovered too fast for a fourth.
So I rammed straight in again. Durability shaved on both sides. Mine was under 15% now. Theirs around 40%. Desperate odds, but I didn't care.
"Don't panic. Just keep it steady like this, and you'll win."
Sonya's voice encouraged the player. Mine got Hermann pleading.
"Rabe, withdraw now! That's not advice—it's an order!! Do you want to die that badly?!"
We cranked boosters toward each other. Past the sunset horizon, a blinding flare flashed behind the player from my camera. No room for other sensors at this range. Instinct locked onto visuals.
But sight didn't matter. Blind in the white glare, I swung the pillar anyway.
Clang—
Something caught at the tip. Didn't feel like a clean hit.
BOOM!!
Next instant, twin explosions rocked my rear. Player had flanked and fired a grenade launcher. Frame durability: 2%.
"Rabe...!!"
I whipped around, infrared picking up their position. Manual override—rail cannon away.
BANG!!
Rail cannon fired as rifle rounds shredded my tattered frame. Muzzle flares dotted my vision like stars. Armor was gone.
Ah.
The limit. I knew it. My mind popped like fireworks.
* * *
Clang—
The player—Anon—barely evaded the rail cannon's final impact. A perfect gut punch to the end.
"Enemy frame destroyed..."
Normally, Sonya would've said good work, but shock silenced her awhile. The enemy's durability fully depleted, only auto-booster keeping it afloat on the waves.
"No sane pilot fights till zero durability unless forced. That thing's not right in the head."
Beast? No, by Sonya's term, an asura. Born for battle, burning everything till the last. I'd guessed stealing the downed Nexus meant crazy, but not this level. Even they hadn't imagined the name-thief was such a freak.
"That one's been off the rails from the start. At first I thought your side brainwashed her or something."
Sonya said to Hermann, who might still be listening.
"Something's missing in her. She seemed attached—don't take it too hard. Not your fault."
"Rabe... yeah, something was missing. But as an outsider, my words mean nothing. What should I have... done..."
Hermann muttered, voice cracking. Then—
Suddenly, a signal strengthened from Rabe's frame.
"What...?!"
"Huh?!"
Durability still zero. But the dead-silent frame started moving again. Impossible.
"Restart?!"
Actuators grinding, barely functional. Armor shredded—every hit went straight to the frame. Zero durability meant overload had ravaged the pilot's nerves. Should be fried dead.
Vroooom—
But Rabe's NOUGHT—bare frame and all—climbed altitude.
"What insane...!"
"......"
Hermann speechless in shock. Anon hastily checked his own frame: 25% left post-battle. How do you fight a zero-durability scrap heap? Like killing a corpse twice.
As panic set in, Sonya spoke.
"Restarted somehow, but pilot's not normal. No armor means hits transfer direct to pilot. Keep dealing damage like before. Don't panic!!"
But Rabe moved first.
BOOM!!
She charged at prior berserk speed, kicking Anon's frame. Same reckless abandon as on Scarab. No... even more savage. Main booster flames roared fiercer.
"Controls busted— no output limit! Boosters melting!! Generator'll fuse soon!!"
Thud, thud!!
Wait for self-destruct? But Anon couldn't escape. Bullets, missiles, ECM—nothing slowed her. Hits on frame should've crippled the pilot. Was that even true? Why was it still moving? What happens at negative damage? Could you "destroy" a negative frame?
Couldn't imagine the cockpit's horror. Didn't want to.
9%. 7%.
"Rabe... no, Anon! Break off!! Damn it, this bullshit...!"
Anon gripped the stick tight. Eject pod time. No one prepped for this madness. Escaping might be the trap—they were blocking it full-force. So to buy a gap...
Maybe play along awhile.
Anon charged Rabe. Their aerial dance tangled.
"You... what are you doing?!"
5%. 2%.
Scorching steel whirled, explosions chaotic. Flashes like festival fireworks.
"What the hell are you doing!!"
Brain burning. Sonya's yells mixed in noise...
And the final moment. Enemy motion faltered.
1%.
Anon yanked the eject lever without hesitation.
Whoosh!!
He lacked her conviction to die. Too many regrets left in this world.
Vroooom—
In his receding view, the powerless frames slowly descended from the sky.