First Clash with Red Eye Tiny Bell

Was that how their first meeting went? She was thrilled to see a proxy, but on the other hand, comparing herself to him made her shoulders slump. 'Guess I'm just not cut out for the soldier life after all.' The proxy before her eyes was every bit as absurd as the education and management bureaus made them out to be in their propaganda.

His main weapon wasn't a gun—it was a sword. Samantha had witnessed that sword cleaving iron Dists in two with her own eyes.

"Thank you... so much for what you did back there."

Adolf, who had sliced through the Dist in the narrow corridor in an instant. His jet-black hair and uniform gave her the fleeting thought of a grim reaper.

"I'm just glad I could help."

Adolf smiled humbly. Samantha bowed her head briefly.

"Without you, Lieutenant, our squad would've been wiped out."

"Is that so? I was just following your lead, Samantha."

"Haha... You don't have to console me..."

Samantha spoke weakly, but in truth, her command had followed doctrine to the letter and was flawless in execution. She was just the type to blame herself amid excessive worry. Watching her like that only made Adolf feel more awkward.

Samantha was older than him, after all, and he was merely a combat-branch proxy—someone who fought on command and nothing more. A urge to comfort her welled up, but with no idea what to say, Adolf could only manage an embarrassed smile.

Honorary rank. Treatment on par with field officers, considering a proxy's power. The surrounding respect, the excessive expectations. It all still felt burdensome.

'At least I can do this much. Anyway, I don't remember a thing from before. I can't do anything else.'

Adolf stroked the hilt of his sword as if handling something precious.

His memories began with waking as a proxy—that was all he recalled. Had there been an accident? When he opened his eyes, he was in a lab. All they told him was that he was a proxy now, so do his best for the barriers. No faces of parents. No memories of the beauty beyond the walls. Nothing.

Just that it was a side effect of the Luminot serum. For him, without memories of the world outside, the duty of being a proxy was becoming the one piece holding his sense of self together.

And absurdly, it felt like an obsession. The compulsion that he had to act as a proxy was what always drove him.

Adolf rested his hand on his hip. The feel of the sword hilt seemed to support him alone. Whether that was pride or the lingering alienation of an outsider, even he couldn't be sure.

The epithet "Heavy Sword" attached to him felt overly grandiose. No flashy ability manifestations—just enhanced physicality from high compatibility and brain activation. Among combat proxies, he was utterly ordinary. No outstanding talents, no striking personality.

Adolf figured that's why he had a slight obsession with himself.

But being a proxy earned him admiration from some and saved lives for others. He knew that much. It was enough. It dissolved the odd sense of dissonance that crept into his mind now and then, perhaps because his entire memory had flown away.

While Adolf stood lost in thought, eyes downcast vacantly, Samantha busily sent out the rescue request behind him.

"Safe zone reached. Requesting rapid support."

Samantha calmly operated her command terminal a few times. Light spread from her wrist device, projecting a holographic map of the surrounding area into the air.

"Repair sector 22. Building three blocks behind. Hmm... hazard level..."

Now that it was linked to Aria, they could skip cumbersome procedures—small mercies, Samantha thought with relief.

She glanced over her squad, reorganizing inside the church. Even with a proxy clearing the path, she thought returning to the original rally point shouldn't be an issue. But after nearly getting swarmed just minutes ago from one wrong turn, she was in a cautious mood.

Samantha tapped the hologram to set the hazard level to medium-high. Moments later, Adolf checked the message on his own wrist terminal, reserved for field officers.

The small holographic window vanished quickly, but the words "additional proxy" stirred something in Adolf's mind.

Even with a proxy already on site, Valhalla Disk management had approved the support request—maybe something big had gone wrong? So they'd immediately assigned another proxy en route by helicopter from a nearby barrier.

Adolf felt inexplicably excited. Then, realizing it was overly so, he grew a bit sheepish. He'd never seen another proxy besides himself, he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reasoned—that's why he was so thrilled.

Drip. Drip.

The ash-gray sky finally unleashed its rain. The sound of droplets pattering through the broken ceiling. The church interior fell into a strange silence once more.

As darkness deepened, Samantha's face grew worried. Then, a noise came from the first-floor stairs.

The door slammed open. The clank of metal clashing.

Everyone swung their muzzles toward the darkness below the stairs in unison. Even breaths held still.

In the tension, something finally emerged from the shadows.

A startlingly small girl with white hair. The massive sniper rifle protruding from behind her proxy uniform stood out especially.

"A little girl...?"

The soldiers lowered their guns, tension draining away. It registered as a proxy uniform, but she was too small.

"So you're here."

Her voice was clear-toned but weary, as if she'd lived a lifetime. Still, her appearance matched: blue eyes sparkling coolly against her silver hair.

What drew the eye most was the absurdly huge large-caliber sniper rifle compared to her tiny frame. Carrying what looked heavy as a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bag with effortless ease felt dissonant.

As the soldiers murmured softly, the girl walked slowly to the center of the nave.

She looked up at the black-haired boy standing at the front—Adolf. The height difference caught him off guard, unlike his imaginings. To him, Bell's first impression was like a small doll.

"Red Eye Captain Tiny Bell. Securing escape route."

Her brief self-introduction came in a mechanical tone, like reading a system message. Blue light shimmered through her long lashes.

Adolf felt puzzled hearing the epithet. For "Red Eye," she had pretty blue eyes.

But perhaps annoyed at his staring, Bell scowled.

"Why couldn't you handle it alone? Aren't you a combat proxy?"

The soldiers on site exchanged awkward glances at the two. Bell sighed and vented more dissatisfaction.

"Just Dists. You could've pushed straight to the evac point."

Adolf just smiled in response to her sharp tone. Samantha quickly intervened, not wanting a fine proxy blamed on her account.

"To minimize casualties, we avoided risky routes as much as possible..."

No sooner had Samantha finished than Bell whipped her head toward her, snapping in a low voice. Excuses from a non-party irked her.

"Did you step outside the barrier without that resolve?"

Samantha was a bit shocked. Bell looked unmistakably young, but her attitude was high-handed like a nasty superior. Samantha's shoulders visibly slumped.

She'd assumed proxies were all kindly. Now, before this new one, she realized how naive that was.

"I'm sorry."

As Samantha bowed deeply in apology, Bell's face soured further. She added curtly,

"Autonomous convoy trucks will arrive soon. Stand by here till then."

Bell gave Samantha one cold glance and turned away. Adolf glanced at the crestfallen lieutenant's face. A faint bitterness stirred in him.

The lieutenant had done her best. Just wanted to minimize losses. Simply scared a bit.

The squad appreciated Samantha calling for support boldly, heedless of her future rep. At least it wasn't reckless from their view.

So while pretending not to notice her getting chewed out, a few shot Bell displeased looks. In the awkward silence, only the clack of bolts echoed—then Adolf approached quietly behind Bell.

He bent down toward her, much shorter than him.

"Captain. Still, speaking like that to an adult is a bit rude, don't you think?"

Her shoulders twitched faintly at his whisper. Turning, her eyes held suppressed irritation.

"...What did you say?"

Adolf smiled lightly.

She'll end up totally isolated, he thought inexplicably.

"Ah, nice to meet you. I'm Lieutenant Mandel. Sorry for making you come all this way."

The proxy bowed and offered his hand. What? No sense of boundaries? Bell's brow furrowed again.

'What's with this guy? Why's he so casually close?'

She retorted to his rudeness comment.

"I'm your superior. A proxy. What's rude about it?"

Adolf tilted his head. Proxy ranks were honorary, ignoring military structure, and regular troops treated them as natural.

"I just think mutual respect, equal to what we receive, would be better."

He meant it sincerely. Meeting a fellow proxy around his age thrilled him. But he knew her earlier words had already turned some eyes against her.

Was picking a fight the way to go? Adolf's mindset was purely innocent.

Bell gaped at his idealistic spiel, then looked at him pitifully and turned away.

'Sigh—must be a flower garden in his head.'

His gaze was straight, unwavering. She pressed her lips tight.

Chatting more with him would just tangle her emotions. That way of thinking only led to wounds for her now.

"...Pointless emotional waste."

Beep—

A short alert chimed from the command wrist terminals of Adolf, Bell, and Samantha.

Friendly drone recon intel. Samantha's face tensed as she shouted briefly.

"All personnel, to alert positions!"

At her order, soldiers moved to cover the passages. Adolf leaped instantly to Samantha.

She nearly yelped in surprise but stayed composed, issuing commands.

"Descend rear window on vehicle arrival. You three provide cover."

Samantha swiftly finalized squad positions. Everyone moved fast.

Bell watched blankly, then glanced at Samantha with unexpected respect before looking away.

Whirr—

The sound of drones approaching from the air.

'Not barrier drones. Legacy tech, huh.'

Bell walked leisurely to her sniping spot without looking up. Adolf's trailing gaze irked her a bit.

Rat-tat-tat!

Enemy drone fire shattered the stained glass, shards raining down. Covering fire started immediately.

Rat-tat-tat!!

Window frames crumbled, rain pouring into the nave. Amid shell casings pinging off the floor, Bell rolled to dodge debris.

She avoided glass but felt something missing at her fingertips. Then realized—her magazine was gone.

"Ah, damn distraction... so annoying..."

Of all things. Irritated pointlessly, Bell glared at Adolf dodging drone bullets nimbly.

As she turned to retrieve the mag, crouching—

A massive whoosh cut the air, something plummeting from above.

Thud!!!!

The impact nearly lifted Bell off her feet.

Fitball. RC Company's 3-meter iron bipedal weapon supplied to the military. Twin barrels on its arms, glowing red eyes—its menace shook the entire nave.

Bell slotted the mag home, grateful the church hadn't collapsed.

"It's a Fitball!"

Soldiers screamed. Adolf instinctively yanked two back from the moving arm cannons.

"Get down!!"

Red scan swept the area, cannons blazing—and he drew his sword. No, the instant it cleared sheath, he slashed.

Shing!

The sharp strike arced through air, blade tracing the shell's curve precisely.

Sizzle—!

The shell split mid-flight. Time slowed.

Shrapnel sprayed wide, grazing Adolf's uniform hem.

Kaboom!!

The nave wall crumbled late from the blast. No one below his blade tip was hurt.

"...Fitballs are tough, huh... fascinating..."

Just voicing pure wonder at the new sight, Adolf spun his sword once.

The two soldiers stared dazedly, murmuring.

"D-Did he just... split that shell in half...?"

Adolf sheathed sheepishly, calm as if no big deal.

"Glad you're safe."

He quickly stored the blade, smiled gently, took their hands, and helped them up. The regulars thanked him lightly and moved fast.

Soldiers reformed lines and dispersed. The Fitball was slow, but each shot rivaled a tank. Clustering was suicide.

Samantha felt stymied. Rifles couldn't pierce its armor. Retreat blocked.

As she pondered orders, Bell raised her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sniper rifle. Her blue eyes slowly reddened.

Heat detection. X-ray. Time dilation. The world slowed, senses sharpened.

She inhaled, squeezed the trigger.

Click!

-Boom!!!!

First shot. The Fitball's shoulder joint exploded in shards.

Blast shrapnel skimmed over soldiers.

-Boom! Boom!

Volley. Airborne drones burst spectacularly, crashing. Dists beyond walls pierced, slammed into them, vanishing in flames.

Instant. Samantha felt dazed with each thunderous roar, chest clearing.

But more Dists climbed the stairs.

"Supply-model bipeds incoming!"

Military supply bipeds—police support Dists—locked on Bell and raised guns.

-Rat-tat-tat

Bullets thudded into pillars, casings raining. Samantha gaped as Bell backflipped lightly past impacts.

Expression unchanged, she swiftly repositioned, scoped in.

-Boom!

Dists erupted spectacularly.

"What the..."

Some soldiers blanked out briefly.

The Fitball's eyes flickered, tracking the two proxies darting at its flanks. Then it decided, swinging cannons.

-Creak

Red targeting beam hit Bell's chest—Adolf pivoted and leaped.

Bell shrugged it off, but suddenly her waist yanked, body whipping aside.

"Ngh!"

She grunted short.

-Kaboom!

The follow-up shell obliterated her spot. Floor erupted with tiles and glass.

Bell coughed, hacking, then shoved the startled rising Adolf.

"What're you doing! Don't interfere!"

"Glad you're unhurt."

His relieved grin exasperated her. Do I look that sloppy? Bell seethed.

His face evoked her own early proxy days' duty and pride. It made him seem pathetic now.

"Don't do useless crap."

She bolted to reposition.

The Fitball raised its head again. Bell, in place, knelt and fired.

-Splatter!!

Direct hit. Head burst, reactions lagging slightly.

Seizing it, Adolf kicked off, closing distance in a blink. Sword plunged into reactor, twisted.

Krunch!

Steel tore; Fitball sparked, toppled off-balance.

Neutralized in seconds—impressive, but Samantha grimaced at the red eyes ascending the stairs.

Bell got the alert, slid before the retreating squad, and fired.

-Boom!!!

Krunch!!!

Three ascending Dists shattered sparking. Samantha smiled hollowly watching Bell casually dodge incoming shards.

Is she even human?

That instant, bright vehicle lights pierced the windows beyond.