Experimental Nexus Test - Week 2
[Adam...? Hard to find solid info on this old pilot from the past. Collecting combat data on him will be tough.] Rinne said that, then added,
An old-gen hero, something like that position. I slowed my approach slightly, keeping a sharp eye on Adam's descending machine.
A Nexus, huh.
A heavyweight frame. Chunky Nexus drawing a straight line down in what looked like an up-and-down curve. I remembered that distinctive silhouette.
Latelano's GUARDIAN frame, right?
I recalled it being described in-game as pretty outdated. That alone made his veteran status obvious.
Zzzzt!
But the moment I spotted a flash of blue lightning-like current at its tip, I reflexively pulled back. That glow felt oddly like cutting-edge tech. The complete opposite of my first impression.
Zzzzt-crackle!
Right after dodging, a blue current orb shot between me and Gabriel.
What the...?
What kind of weapon was that? I'd never seen it in the game. To begin with, the Metal Frame series hardly featured ethereal weapons like lasers or plasma.
Could it be...?
For a second, I thought of over-tech like the Fallen Angel or Watchdogs.
Nah...
But up close, it didn't seem like it. There was definitely something at the center of that blue current orb. It looked like the orb itself wasn't the projectile—the device in the middle was firing it.
> Looks like a current field projector AAE was developing experimentally. Different nature from standard armaments.
The orb didn't vanish even after time passed. Gabriel and I kept each other in our sights beyond it, locked in a standoff.
Thud!
I fired my bazooka first from my side.
Zzzt—
But the armor-piercing round slowed noticeably upon hitting the current orb, then...
Thump...
By the time it emerged on the other side, it had lost all its momentum. The warhead, left with only its mass, wobbled feebly to the ground.
So it's more for shielding than killing.
The regular icosahedron device at the orb's center spewed flames in bursts all around, finely adjusting its position in the air.
To continue the fight with Gabriel, I circled around the orb. But midway, its energy ran out—it flickered like it was about to die, then...
Oh.
Plop. It winked out midair and dropped. Couldn't maintain it for long, apparently. Too long for a weapon, too short for a shield. Definitely experimental gear.
Gabriel's voice carried a hysteria I'd never heard before. Extreme rage made Adam hesitate for a moment.
Zzzt, zzzt!Thoom, thoom!!
Adam's machine still hadn't decided who to fight. It loitered at a distance, firing field projectors indiscriminately between us. Every ten seconds or so, blue current orbs bubbled up and popped.
Gabriel ground out through ragged breaths,
-[......]
Adam's movements changed. He shifted to Gabriel's side as if joining him, turning his guns on me.
Now it was two against one. Unexpected? I hadn't seen this coming. But it wasn't as bad as I thought. If anything, a relief.
Adam muttered in a resigned, flat tone.
Thoom!
Finally, Adam committed to combat. The two machines, clustered to show they were teammates, swiftly encircled me. A crossfire formed in an instant.
Zzzt!
This does chip away at you. Not zero damage.
Like DoT damage. Adam's electric orbs leaned toward shielding, but they dealt steady damage inside.
Deployed like a field...
I squinted and burst out of the orb fast. Luckily, the Fallen Angel's mobility let me escape with one burst.
Still annoying.
Who to take out first?
Tatang!! Thoom!!
Flames bloomed in the silent snowfield. In a flash, I fired at Gabriel, then switched to Adam before I could even blink. Targets flipped madly. My head felt like it had ADHD, data bouncing wild.
Damn, no time to think who first.
It turned into blind dancing. Gabriel and Adam traced tight curves around each other, like figure-eights. In contrast, the Fallen Angel's overwhelming mobility...
Vroooom—
...drew massive arcs that swallowed their little loops. Steel clashed with steel, sparks flew in chaos.
"Of course I'm human."
Was he about to curse me out? But didn't that contradict his earlier words? Adam kept going, unchanged.
Gabriel snapped like he was spouting nonsense. But Adam pressed on.
"Pay?"
Suddenly?
"Yeah."
"Me? I..."
Well.
I almost answered without thinking, but—
"......"
Adam added to my silence,
As if he'd predicted my original answer.
In the fierce melee, our machines brushed in a perfect triangle for a split second.
Vroooom—
-[......!]
Booster flames grazed. Air shimmered. Time stretched.
The moment our trajectories aligned perfectly. The bazooka muzzle aimed dead at...
Gabriel's cockpit. Point-blank range. Skimming his armor.
Gabriel's frantic curse nearly burst through the channel, but—
Thud!
Noise swallowed it. The point-blank armor-piercer punched through plating and crushed the cockpit.
Thoom, thud!!
Flames erupted in a blink. The Nexus, screaming skyward at speed, became scrap and slid far on inertia before crashing. White snow piled around the blaze in the dusk.
Adam murmured. No intense emotion in his tone.
"Sounds like defeatist talk."
Just Adam left now. His durability at 50. Midweight frame, not great at dodging heavy weapons. One-on-one, my mobility turned it into toying with him.
Thud, thud!!
Even outnumbered before, his armor held—no penetration. Strain built up, then at the flashing redline...
Adam charged, yelling. I aimed the muzzle ahead of him.
Click—
Trigger pulled.
BOOM!!
Adam's machine spewed flames like Gabriel's, plummeting far across the snowfield.
Nexus STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN, Adam—defeated. Battle over.
Hearing Rinne's voice, I turned the Fallen Angel back toward Eden.