Thanks to Carol, Goutol’s squad got dispatched to the battlefield. The difficult fight against four giants had shifted, giving Akria the upper hand.
Goutol’s squad was posted on standby close to the wall. Their placement had taken Akira, a 50 billion Aurum bounty target, into account. With the risk of Akira being so close by, attacking the city, they were well equipped to handle him.
Therefore, their intense assault quickly reduced the giants to pieces. With the extra support from Akira and the others, they were able to overwhelm the enemies.
In other words, they were only able to get the upper hand because of the additional force. The moment the giants multiplied to eight, that was the end of it.
Akira inadvertently shouted.
“Stop multiplying already!”
Every time they destroyed one giant, two more came out to take its place. However, none could be left alive.
“Alpha! There’s no end to them!“
“Don’t worry. They will no longer regenerate once they run out of material, medicine or jamming smoke.”
“And when would be exactly?”
“No idea. But it’s not like we’re doing something pointless. That is one thing that I can say for certain.”
“…Well, it’s not like I have any other choice.”
Although the situation seemed to only get worse, they were undoubtedly inching closer to victory. Even when everyone was getting worn down, Akira still believed that they could win and desperately continued to fight back.
—*—*—*—
Far away from the battle, on top of a certain abandoned building, a group of people were observing the fight.
One of them was a girl clad in an old-world dress. She was called Haruka. Haruka smiled politely at the others present and asked.
“So, what do you think?”
However, the others reacted pretty duly to her question. Olivia was the first to convey her opinion with her business smile.
“Even if you ask. My deepest apologies, but please refrain from trying to make any unrelated offer to the company while I am in the middle of an escort mission.”
The next one was Tsubaki, who had left Kuzusuhara ruin to come there.
“I was the one who made the decision to come here. But from the contents proposed, all I can say is that it was a mistake to grant myself permission to move outside my managed region, even if this is just a spare body.”
Finally, Alicia, who was accompanied by her servants, who doubled as her escorts, smiled bitterly and spoke up.
“Well, I guess we will put this matter on hold then. Though, if you want me to judge you based on the outcome, I can only say that it would be unlikely for me to continue to support you.”
“I-I see.”
The harsh reaction from her supporter, and other potential supporters, made Haruka try her best to force her stiff smile into a more amicable one. However, her attempt only made her smile look more awkward. She then glanced at the guy next to her, Yatsubayashi. But Yatsubayashi then curtly asked.
“…What?”
“Uhh, don’t you have anything to say as its creator?”
“No, I don’t remember ever creating something like that nor ever publicly presenting the method to make such a thing. Hah… using someone else’s data without permission… how rude…”
Seeing Yatsubayashi mumbling curses, Haruka decided not to ask him to try and convince the others.
(Silavin: Just in case you don’t remember and was wondering:
Yatsubayashi – mad scientist, Tiol incident
Haruka – new character)
—*—*—*—
While back in Sheryl’s base, Shirou was watching Akira’s battle from afar. He was amazed at how they were managing themselves despite the huge difference in size compared to their enemies. However, his expression was grave.
[…Are they really winning?]
There was no doubt that they were performing really well. Even so, it did not seem like they were winning. The giants had already multiplied to twelve. From Shirou’s point of view, it seemed like the giants were mercilessly overwhelming Akira and the others.
He could even overhear their conversation from the intercepted communication line used by the city defence squad.
“Where are the reinforcements!?”
“We’ve already sent reinforcement requests numerous times!”
“Are those guys at the top seriously going to just ignore this situation!? You gotta be kidding me! I’ll freaking kill them once we get back!”
Even in this situation, City Management was still turning a blind eye. However, Shirou did not see that as something unexpected.
There was pressure from the Lion Steel company. On top of that, some within the inner wall believe that for the sake of guaranteeing safety, there was a need to regularly destroy the slums outside the inner wall.
Naturally, there were some who believed that there was still time even if they sent out the city defence squad only after Akira got killed. After all, City Management recognised Akira as a monster. There were also those who would benefit from Akira’s death, especially those who were in the faction opposing Inabe.
Shirou understood all of this and thought the situation was getting worse by the minute.
[This is bad… Is there anything we can do…?]
When one did not have enough information to find a good solution, what they needed was to gather more information.
With the jamming smoke thinning out, Shirou thought that he might be able to get his hands on some new information. Thus, as he closely scanned the slums, he found a particular signal.
[…Hm? This place… There’s something there. Did someone send them to gather information about this battle?]
However, Shirou was shocked when he found that signal came from the representative of the Lion Steel Company.
[Wait… Isn’t this the representative from Lion Steel?! And … The AI… It’s from Kuzusuhara ruin..!? Why are they in such a place…!? There are others too, but this dress, it is an old-world dress…]
Shirou tried to hack into one of their equipment. However, his location was suddenly traced back, and he quickly cut the connection by pure reflex.
[…Whoah! That was dangerous!]
His pale and anxious expression, and heavy breathing demonstrated just how abnormal this situation was.
—*—*—*—
Yatsubayashi, who still had a sour look on his face, tilted his head.
[…Oh? Someone tried to hack into my equipment. Not bad. Considering that no one would normally even be able to detect my position…]
Hearing that, Haruka pouted.
“Chief, what’s wrong?”
“Nope, nothing… Ah, also, don’t call me chief. If you want to keep calling me that, then give me back my authority.”
“Even if you say as much…”
Haruka seemed a bit troubled as Yatsubyashi just shot a displeased face at her.
—*—*—*—
Those on Akira’s side and the giants were still locked in a heated battle. Carol, who had returned back to join the fight, provided support from the camping vehicle. While driving around the battleground she would throw ammo at Akira from time to time. He would replenish his ammo by doing so multiple times. Thanks to that, he did not have to worry about running out and was able to continue fighting.
However, their fighting continued, and the giants multiplied to 16. Naturally, Akira had enough of it already.
“Alpha, they’re not slowing down at all! The situation doesn’t seem to be improving!
“That’s true. Though to be more precise, each giant is getting weaker and weaker.”
“So, quantity over quality, huh? Which means the first giant was the strongest one then. I guess it was a good thing that we took it down.”
Akira believed that the situation was not that dire, but his expression remained solemn.
His trump card, the annihilator warhead, was perfect for destroying a single powerful monster. However, it was not the right weapon to take down a swarm of moderately strong monsters. Furthermore, he did not have that many left.
As for the other weapons, they were not that effective on the giants. However, it might change once the giants weakened a bit more, which would mean more of them.
Akira preferred if the giants stayed powerful and did not multiply. For him, it was much easier to deal with a single strong one than a swarm of weak ones.
However, that was exactly why the giants multiplied and slowly formed a swarm every time one of them got killed.
The giants swung their blades and released laser beams. Akira slipped past through the openings and fought back. Every time he shot one of them down, the number of attacks kept increasing. Although the giants’ firepower was reduced, Akira still could not ignore them. With more of them on the battlefield, it was getting harder to keep evading them. Thus, he was slowly getting pushed back.
That was when Shirou’s telepathically reached him.
“Akira, are you still alive?”
“I’m busy right now, what is it?”
“I got a piece of information that may have something to do with those monsters you’re fighting. I can send it your way if you want.”
“Does it say anything about their weakness? Wait, what do you mean ‘may have’?”
“I can’t say for certain until I fully analyze the data. You might be able to find their weakness. However, that’s a big ‘might’. It might have nothing to do with those giants at all.”
“Then analyze it first before sending it to me! Seriously… do you really understand my current situation!? Or are you telling me to analyze it while I fight!?”
It was a natural response considering Akira’s current predicament. However, in response, Shirou also raised his voice.
“It’s not like I can analyze something like this with my current equipment. I could if I used one of Sakashita’s facilities, but they’ll find out where I am! So, you should do something about it yourself by using Tsukisada’s facilities!”
Shirou’s explanation highlighted his deep misunderstanding, which helped Akira calm down.
Both of them were old-world connectors. If it was to transfer data, they could do so without any issue. This was regardless of the data format. If Akira was really someone from Tsukisada Construction, then he should be able to connect to one of the Tsukisada facilities to analyze the data. Although it was a little late, Akira finally understood what Shirou wanted from him due to the latter’s misunderstanding.
However, Akira was not from Tsukisada Construction. Thus, it was not like he could do anything about this piece of data if analysis required a facility from one of five big companies. Meanwhile, if he was really from Tsukisada, he should really want this data. Thus, he was not sure how he should respond.
That was when Alpha smiled and stated to him.
“Akira, I will do the analysis, so just get him to send it to you.”
Akira did think that this came out of the left field, but seeing Alpha’s confident smile, he gave a simple smile and nodded. He then reconnected to Shirou.
“Sorry, I’ll do it then. Just send the data to me.”
“Alright, I’m sending it now.”
A stream of data came from Shirou. Akira did not have the slightest clue what it contained. However, he did feel the sensation of receiving a stream of information.
Akira could actually read the content if he wished. However, that was different to understanding it. He would have to decode its encryption first. However, that was something only a specialist could do, something impossible for him.
However, it did not pose any challenge to Alpha. Not only did she decode the encrypted data, but she was also even able to fill in and fix the corrupted data, created when Yatsubayashi noticed Shirou trying to hack his equipment.
More importantly, the data contained information that would turn the table around. Thus, Alpha immediately made a smile of victory. Her confidence-filled smile was showcased to Akira, as if to let him know of her findings.
“Akira, we’ll do something reckless again, get ready.”
Strangely enough, her statement had completely calmed him down. Akira then confidently smiled back at her.
“Roger that! Let’s go!”
Akira’s bike suddenly accelerated right toward the giants. It was as if he was declaring that this next exchange would be the end of everything.
Even in the midst of the chaotic fight, Akira’s group and Goutol’s group were able to work together perfectly. They were spread around, surrounding the giants. Thus, when Akira broke through the encirclement and went alone toward the giants, they would naturally focus their attention on him.
The giants swung their blades and released their laser beams at him. Their high-speed blades created powerful gales, superheated by the lasers as the air particles moved. Akira barely avoided the scorching heat as he pushed forward.
Elena and the others were surprised by Akira’s sudden change in movement. They knew that he would not do something pointless when he was being this reckless. Thus, they knew that he must be doing something that might turn the tide of the battle and end it. They quickly followed suit and provided him support. Meanwhile, Goutol’s squad reacted, believing it to be some kind of strategy, they also went to help Akira.
Akira followed Alpha’s instructions and aimed both his RL2 multi-rifles. Although he had no idea why and what he was aiming at, he did not hesitate to pull down the trigger. A wall of charged bullets were released, which were accompanied by mini-missiles and a laser beam. However, instead of aimed at a giant, they were aimed at the sea of green liquid that all giants were in.
The moment the mini-missiles landed, they exploded and blew the sea of gore and metal in all directions. Flesh and mechanical parts were blown up into the air. It was quickly followed by a laser that swept and completely evaporated everything in its path.
However, from Akira’s point of view, there was no noticeable change. Even after that attack, it seemed to only create a wave in the sea of green liquid, which travelled to the edge. Eventually, it would return back to its original state as if nothing had happened.
In the first place, they’ve already shot numerous bullets and missiles into that green fleshy sea while the battle took place. It did not seem to slow down the giants. Thus, those there perceived it to be a meaningless attack.
Even so, Akira was certain that Alpha had some kind of objective. He slipped in between the giants and kept shooting at it.
“Alpha! I don’t think it’s working; just how much longer should I keep shooting?”
“Just keep on shooting for now. According to my calculation, it should be around here… Akira! Over there!”
Akira could see something forming under the green fleshy sea thanks to his enhanced vision, which enabled him to see under it. Although it was just a blurry contour, it was more than enough for him to fire at it. Up until now, he was shooting around haphazardly with his two RL2 multi-rifles. This time, he had a target and released a barrage at it.
The bullets had enough firepower to easily pierce through the flesh, metal and green liquid. They would even manage to hit the ground beneath. That was normally the case but for some reason, this time, the bullets could not even reach his target. The fleshy mixture around it quickly gathered up and released a forcefield armour, one strong enough to stop his bullets.
“It got blocked…!?”
While Akira had his eyes widened in disbelief, the target suddenly broke into smaller pieces and went in different directions.
“Alpha! Which one should I go for?!”
“Wait for a second… That one!!”
All the smaller, split-up signals in Akira’s enhanced vision vanished except for one. He quickly accelerated his bike to chase after it. As the bike ran on top of the uneven fleshy greenish sea, in a straight line toward his target, he kept shooting at it. It was an attempt to try and thin out the thick fleshy wall around it, while also trying to hit the target. The barrage struck the forcefield created by the fleshy wall, which was absorbed and transformed into energy. It converted whatever Akira threw at it into flashes of light that enveloped the area.
Akira was completely consumed by that blinding light. Even so, he did not stop shooting until his extended magazines ran out. In exchange for all that he had released, Akira was able to see some form of a reaction from his target. Once he stopped shooting, the blinding light died down. It allowed him to see his target, which was visibly exposed, protruding out of the fleshy sea. Unfortunately, it still seemed to be completely healthy.
“That didn’t work as well! Whoah!?”
A couple of giant blades smashed toward him. Some were even thrown by the giants that were far away from him. Even if the large metal blades did not hit him, they crashed into the ground, creating shockwaves that were strong enough to throw him off course. Even the grotesque sea was not spared as the metal blades pierced through and hit the ground beneath.
Thanks to Alpha’s assistance, Akira was able to nimbly avoid a direct hit. The blades sliced through the sky at a high speed, even when he compressed his time perception. He could see beads of water falling in slow motion, while those blades zoomed past him. He managed to avoid them with the slightest of margins, squeezing past where the blades travelled. He could not help but frown at how the enemy suddenly attacked him so aggressively.
“Alpha! What’s going on!?”
“All the giants are prioritizing on attacking you right now! I will do my best to avoid them so hold on tight. Make sure you don’t get thrown off the bike!”
“So basically, they don’t want us to attack that thing no matter what, huh! Alright! I’ll leave that part to you!”
The giants had focused their attacks on him. The ones nearby swung their blades while those that were far from him threw their blades. Without a weapon in hand, they started to run towards him, releasing lasers from their japing jaws while they were at it.
Elena and the others were trying their best to stop the giants. Seeing how frenzied the giants were acting, they knew whatever Akira was trying to do was critical. Therefore, they quickly prioritized helping him.
Elena’s group focused all their firepower on the giants that still held onto their blades, targeting their arms to disable them.
Some powered suits flew and stood on top of the giants’ shoulders but were completely ignored. This allowed the powered suits to be able to release a point-blank barrage, which threw off the giant’s aim.
With all the assistance he was receiving, the attacks on Akira abated.
Even so, it did not change how dire the situation was. Due to the overwhelming difference in the numbers, Akira still had to charge through the attacks as if he was planning to sacrifice himself to end the fight.
As blades collided with each other, sparks of fire were scattered into the air. Countless arms tried to grab onto him. Another giant from a different direction charged in between the rest of the giants, straight toward Akira. Even when the other giants got sliced by a frenzied giant flailing its blade, they were still trying to reach Akira with their arms.
Even in that situation, Akira was still fixed on his target. The bike was moving nimbly at a high speed thanks to Alpha’s control, but he still fired. Akira once again emptied his rifles at his target. However, the target was still vigorously moving around.
“…Alpha!! Don’t you think it might be better if we call a temporary retreat?!”
“No! It’s still too soon! Just keep shooting!”
“How about we retreat and snipe it with an annihilator warhead?!”
“We can’t do that yet! Save the bullet for now!”
“…Alright alright!!”
Akira got a little bit frustrated but kept on shooting. The faster he shot, the faster he emptied his magazines. At this rate, he would run out of ammo in no time. That anxiety caused him to frown.
That was when something changed. The grotesque sea suddenly gathered around his target. At the same time, the giants in the area suddenly threw themselves at him. When he looked up, it was full of darkness. The sky got completely blocked off by the giants.
As expected, Akira thought that this was his end. But a sudden sharp pain snapped him back to reality. The bike suddenly accelerated away at full speed, completely ignoring the burden it placed on its rider and its generator.
Due to his compressed time perception, the giants’ fall was exceptionally slow. If they were just the size of normal rubble or debris, Akira would have been able to easily avoid them with his bike. However, any one of them was large enough to completely block out the sky. Thus, even if his bike would break down, he had to push through to escape.
“Alpha! Are we going to make it!?”
“Just hold tight!!
The ceiling above eventually crashed down. The shockwave created a miniature earthquake, which released a cloud of dust high into the sky. A moment later, Akira jumped out of the dust storm. He got out on time, but not his bike.
Right before the giants landed, Akira and Alpha knew that they would not make it. They immediately chose to forgo the bike. Akira stepped on top of the handle. Using the full power of his augmented suit, he leapt off the bike. A moment later, an explosion occurred behind him. That combination of both forces propelled him forward, barely getting him out of the falling ceiling.
Akira eventually slowed down and landed on top of a nearby abandoned building.
“W-whoah…! That was close! Alpha! Did it go well?”
“Yup, take a look!”
Alpha smiled and pointed at the giants lying below. Akira, believing that he finally won, also looked down. However, he was surprised by the spectacle.
The giants piled on top of each other were melting, slowly becoming one with the rest of the grotesque fleshy sea. They then gathered and formed into a single giant.
“Alpha… I thought you said it went well?”
“Quality over quantity this time, so it prioritizes power now.”
Alpha explained nonchalantly. She then proceeded to tell Akira the rest of her plan.
After Alpha analyzed the information from Shirou, she quickly concluded that the whole fleshy sea was some kind of monster. It was neither a swarm nor an individual. Rather, it was made of two monsters. These two monsters were the cores that controlled the rest of the giants. The one Akira chased after was one of these two cores.
The first one got killed by Akira’s annihilator warhead. Thus, the second one decided to opt for more giants instead of better giants. After all, it was too costly to keep producing giants that required a huge amount of materials and medicines, which would just get shot down with a single annihilator warhead. Thus, it decided to produce many weaker giants as it stayed hidden under the fleshy sea.
However, Alpha was able to detect and ascertain its position. After it received a direct hit, it decided that numbers would not be able to protect it. Thus, it decided to form a better, more powerful body. However, creating the same giant as the last one would only get shot down the same way. Thus, it improved the quality of its body to its very limit.
After hearing Alpha’s explanation, Akira looked at the new giant and exclaimed.
“So… That is the strongest body that it can create, huh…”
The current giant was smaller, as if it was the child version of the other giants. However, there was no longer a fleshy sea under it. It had used all its materials to create this body.
“Alpha… Shouldn’t we target the core, use an annihilator warhead before it completes its body?”
“Before its body is fully formed, I am not able to confirm if the signal is real or just a decoy. Moreover, we do not know for sure how tough the new body is, so we shouldn’t spend annihilator warheads when we might actually not need to. Now that its body has fully formed, we know for certain that the core is really there. Since it has hardened its body, that should prevent the core from moving around.”
Although its body was tough, Akira could obliterate it with an annihilator warhead. It was an easier opponent when compared to fighting a swarm of giants. That was why Alpha made it return to prioritizing quality over quantity. This was the worst choice the monster could make, even so, it could not fight against its settings, instinct, and programming. Alpha knew that the monster would try to protect its core even if it meant it had to sacrifice all the other bodies.
Akira thought that did make sense.
“I see. By the way, Alpha, I feel like I’ve seen that thing before somewhere…”
“Now that it prioritized on quality, I bet its outer appearance now reflects its core better than before.”
“I see… Then, as I thought, that must be Latis, huh?”
This special giant’s appearance was no longer distorted. It had completely reconstructed Latis’ face, and it even had Latis’ hair as well. Its body, which was an amalgamation of flesh and metal, now seems like an augmented suit. It no longer had the twisted gory outlook the other giants had.
Akira then remembered Pamela’s last words.
“So, this is what she meant…”
Although they were horribly reconstructed, all the giants that they fought against up until now had the same reference point. Akira finally understood that they were all supposed to look like Latis.
The new giant Latis grew a blade out of its palm. The blade was basically a lump of metal forged into a blade, with enhanced sharpness using forcefield armour. It faintly glowed when energy flowed into it and was long enough to slice apart a tall building. Latis then took a stance with that blade and released a slash.
Its first target was Goutol’s squad. They temporarily stopped when the new giant was forming. However, once it started moving, they immediately reacted. They threw everything that they had at the new giant. Since they attacked it first, it prioritized its attack on them. Although Goutol’s squad tried their best to get away from its attack, some still got caught.
That single slash sliced the slums apart. It even reached Kugamayama city’s inner walls. This was accomplished by a single powerful energy wave that the slash released.
Thankfully, the city’s inner walls were unharmed due to its powerful forcefield armour. Unfortunately, that was not the case for the tall buildings in the lower district, which were taller than the city wall.
Akira was flabbergasted.
“What insane power and range…”
But in contrast to his reaction, Alpha was smiling as per usual.
“Well, that is indeed powerful. However, it will run out of energy in no time if it keeps that up. After that, only death awaits.”
“At the very least, it should have enough energy to completely destroy everything around here though.”
“That’s true. So, let’s take it down before it destroys everything. Judging from the attack just now, it seems like it doesn’t know our location. So, you can calmly take your time to aim.”
At that very instant, Akira was able to receive Alpha’s full support. Thus, his augmented suit’s camouflaging capability was fully maximized. As long as he did not make any mistakes, he would stay hidden. Even though the possibility of getting detected was not zero, it was enough to assure him that Latis would not aim for him. If he got discovered, Latis would definitely prioritize eliminating him first.
Akira finally understood why Alpha waited until Latis made the first move. At the same time, used Goutol’s men as distractions.
“I bet you will get discovered after you use the annihilator warhead, so let’s end this with one shot.”
“…Yeah, I know.”
Akira felt bad about using Goutol’s men. However, he knew that he did not have the leeway to be complacent and suppressed those feelings. He swapped the ammunition in his RL2 multi-rifles and loaded it with the annihilator warheads. He took aim and mumbled his honest thoughts which suddenly popped up.
“It’s pretty amazing for you to work this hard even after death, but let’s end this. I’ll use the rest of my ammo in exchange.”
With that opening, Akira pulled the trigger.
“…Farewell.”
Akira shot out four annihilator warheads. They split the air and flew straight. They landed on points which would maximize their combined firepower according to Alpha’s calculation.
The fireball created by all four devoured the giant. However, it was still alive. Due to its size, everything under its knee remained intact. Everything inside the fiery sphere got annihilated, with nothing left behind. Meanwhile, everything around it was blown away by the shockwave.
Akira lowered his rifle while still standing on top of the abandoned building. The shockwave even managed to reach him before eventually dying down. Finally, the view of the slums from where he stood returned. It was back to how it looked. Seeing such a scene, Akira heaved a sigh.
“And that was 400 million Aurum… Well, I guess that’s cheap considering that it allowed me to destroy that thing.”
That was Akira’s honest feelings.
“Alpha, just to make sure, it’s dead, right?”
“Yep, you defeated it. Though, there are pieces of it scattered around. Its core has fully stopped functioning so it should be alright.”
“Alright then, that’s it I guess… Though, it’s not the end of everything.”
This battle had come to an end. However, his real goal had not progressed at all. His relationship with Lion Steel was still hostile and Chloe was still alive. Akira knew that it was too soon to state this to be the end.
Even so, he expected nothing would happen for the rest of the day. Thus, he heaved a sigh filled with fatigue.
“Well, I guess we are back to waiting for my new equipment from Sakashita then. But if this will happen as long as I stay in the slums, it might be better for me to hide in the wasteland while I wait for my new equipment.”
“You’re right. Let’s think about that while you take a break… Hold on, Akira! Keep your guard up!!”
Alpha, who was smiling a moment ago, suddenly turned solemn as she warned Akira to put his guard up. Akira immediately got into a fight-or-flight state.
Akira’s information-gathering device detected multiple signals around him. All of them were obviously approaching him and they eventually formed an encirclement around him.
All of them were wearing maid and butler uniforms. It was obvious that they were from the Lion Steel Company. Akira scowled, but the main reason for that was not because of their attire.
After all the fighting that he had to go through, he was able to make a good estimate of how strong someone was. Although his judgment was polished in an unconventional manner, according to it, he knew that those surrounding him were at least as strong or maybe even stronger than Hammerz.
This current situation was far more dire than when he was surrounded by giants. Then one of the maids stepped up and smiled politely at him.
“Please don’t worry, we are not here to fight you.”
“…And you are?”
“I am the representative from Lion Steel company eastern district main branch, Alice. Pleased to meet you.”
“Eastern district… Main branch…?”
“Yes, I am here as the head of the Lion Steel company. I’ve come to negotiate with you.”
Alice smiled politely at him, who was obviously troubled by her while also being extra cautious of her.
