07 The Most Happy Nightmare 2
"What is that, anyway?"
Jin's voice did not tremble—nearly miraculous.
Two thousand kilometers in space was a negligible distance.
Yet the object ahead should have been difficult to sight with the naked eye.
And yet, the entity before them was impossibly large.
So close it could be said to be right before one's eyes.
Elongated, worm-like in appearance.
Its gray surface dullly glowed, suggesting metallic composition.
Otherwise, it was indistinguishable from the usual ones.
Size alone was overwhelming.
"Is that also an ASID?"
A type never seen before.
The unit's library displayed no matching data.
A new species. One of immense scale.
"Contact vessel will execute emergency override. This ship and escort force will conduct diversionary operations against the new enemy species."
The directive relayed from command.
Engaging an opponent of that scale with a single vessel is beyond reckless.
If engagement is necessary, it must be with the entire fleet.
This is an enemy worth risking annihilation to confront.
Thus, Overlight—retreat via spatial jump—is understandable.
Yet—
‘How exactly are we supposed to mount a diversion against something like that…?’
That sums it up.
Facing live, standard ASID units would be far more manageable in terms of scale.
‘Besides… we’re counting on them not noticing us.’
‘Yeah… that’d be ideal.’
No one could have heard that exchange, yet at that instant the enemy moved.
‘Massive-class entity, etheric resonance increasing! Attack incoming!’
Rain.
Jin thought that.
Countless droplets falling from the sky.
Avoiding every single one, even if it were light rain, is impractical.
Much less so when it becomes a downpour.
The moment Jin realized the colossal entity’s surface was glowing, an uncountable number of etheric lights flooded the interstellar void.
Avoidance was impossible.
Jin understood this as the dense barrage closed in.
"Front ether shield deployed! Advance! Position ahead of the liaison vessel! Launch aircraft, clear the flight path!"
The escort vessel accelerated, its aft thrusters flaring.
The ether membrane unfurled from the bow.
A shield designed to deflect enemy attacks.
It served as an umbrella here, as well.
Crouching beneath its cover, they endured the onslaught.
"Whoa, damn..."
"This is hard to dodge..."
The crew’s voices eased slightly after entering the safe zone, less strained than just moments before.
"The liaison vessel has already initiated emergency override. Three minutes remaining until spatial coordinates confirmed. We hold until then."
"……Commander"
Jin’s gaze shifts toward the liaison vessel.
Perhaps because the escort vessel has become a shield.
No damage so far.
But the liaison vessel’s defensive capacity assumes only the usual insectoid ASIDs.
It would not survive five seconds under such an attack.
Jin resolves anew to hold for five minutes, at all costs.
‘……Hey, isn’t this attack lasting too long?’
Someone murmurs.
Too long.
The downpour has already lasted nearly thirty seconds.
ASIDs, the mechs they ride, the battleship—
all draw their power from the Ether Reactor.
Offense, defense, maneuverability—everything is fueled by the ether supplied by the reactor.
Naturally, the more it is used, the faster it depletes.
Such a large-scale attack cannot last indefinitely. Not in theory.
‘……! No—ether field, reaching limit! Prepare for enemy assault!’
The endurance contest favored the super-heavy class.
The field generated by the escort vessel.
The defender's side reached its limit first.
The shield that had protected everyone until now vanishes.
‘They’re coming! Evade!’
Each beam already carries lethal potential for Jin’s unit.
A single hit might be survivable.
But if movement is halted by one strike, the next instant will be a sieve.
Jin desperately searches for an escape route.
Appearing uniform, but in reality, there is a time lag.
There must be gaps in the barrage somewhere.
No room to spare for scanning surroundings.
The future one second ahead.
Even if it is filled only with light, he maneuvers the unit with all urgency.
Darting in every direction.
A tightrope walk that feels like the brain is boiling.
She realized her mistake in the next instant.
(Avoidance space!)
Nothing.
There is no place to run, no refuge anywhere.
At least another 0.1 seconds. That much time would be enough to find a path.
"Oh!"
Swinging the ether dagger, extending from the left hand, toward the beam.
A moment of equilibrium.
A forced grasp in 0.1 seconds.
Jin survived at the cost of his left arm's damage.
How long had they been doing this, exactly?
By the time the assault finally ceased, he was drenched in sweat.
The联络 ship is...
The first concern was Ryo's safety.
Looking closer, the escort vessel had positioned its hull as a shield.
Miraculously unharmed.
As compensation, the escort vessel is left in a shattered state.
Holes have formed in various places, scattering shipboard supplies across the surrounding area.
He deliberately avoided looking at the humanoid figures among them.
...Damn. Three down.
Jin hurriedly checked the radar at the captain's frustrated tone.
Twelve ships in the Jyekfleit squadron.
Now reduced to nine.
One misstep, and Jin might have been the fourth.
'Enemy, super-large variant, ether resonance increasing! Preparing to repeat the previous attack!'
'Remaining time?'
'Eighty seconds!'
Jin's eyes widened in surprise at the answer.
That time, which had felt eternal, had lasted only about forty seconds.
And simultaneously, he thought:
It will be fine.
The escort vessel had completed preparations to redeploy the ether field.
This time, the squadron could use the escort vessel's hull as a shield, just like the communications ship.
Same attack. Damage would occur. But not enough to sink.
Once the communications ship overlights, the escort vessel would follow immediately.
‘Ether reaction increasing! Coming! Bow ether field deploying!’
The captain’s voice rose in sync with the communications officer’s words.
‘All units! Enter the escort vessel’s shadow! Begin retraction from the aft hatch!’
The tip of the super-sized entity glowed.
Jin thought it was different from before—just as the moment arrived.
An immense beam of light pierced through the escort vessel.
“…Huh?”
A bewildered sound escaped Jin’s lips.
The ether field had deployed.
The enemy’s attack passed through it as easily as a damp tissue paper.
The ray, entering obliquely from below, produced inevitable devastation.
The ship, having lost over seventy percent of its hull, could not possibly remain afloat.
No explosion.
The escort vessel, carried forward by the impact, drifted toward the rear of the communications ship.
Jin watched its wreckage, disbelief frozen in his gaze.
“All units! Attach to the communications ship! If left behind, rescue won’t come first!”
Jin snapped back to clarity at the voice.
At the edge of his vision, a timer displayed the remaining time.
Twenty seconds.
If he didn’t board the communications ship’s overlight, the Siegfried squadron would be abandoned in this sector.
The wreckage of the escort vessel blocked his path.
He pressed forward through the gap, closing in on the communications ship.
The communications ship itself showed minor damage, scarred by debris.
The surrounding space shimmered—evidence of overlight instability.
“—!”
One piece of debris locked onto a direct collision course with the communications ship.
Impact would be catastrophic—could trigger overlight failure.
Decision in an instant.
A single, precise kick to sever it—done in an instant.
But in that instant, Jin’s unit lagged.
Within that moment—
A voice reached him.
“Jin!”
The transmission from earlier—used as a trigger.
The desperate tone of the order.
No room to reply with reassurance.
One second remaining.
Just barely enough time.
Zero seconds remaining.
Overlight initiates.
Jin’s unit slips into the area of effect.
No one warned.
No one had the capacity to look.
The tip of the super-sized entity flares again.
The ether surge pierces the联络 ship.
The shockwave melts Jin’s unit.
At that instant, the space surrounding the联络 ship is overwritten by another.
Quiet, Jin thinks.
Jin’s Raven, adrift in space, no longer retains its form.
Armor melts once, bubbles rise across the surface.
Limbs are gone. Combat is no longer possible.
"This is Jin, 3rd Squadron, East乡. Respond."
Blood drips from his mouth.
"Severe hull damage... requesting rescue"
He manages to direct his gaze toward his body. The flight suit and cockpit have fused together, melted into a thick, viscous mass.
What remains of his flesh beneath.
He does not wish to imagine.
But there is something he wishes even less to imagine now.
"Commander. Respond. Everyone... is there no one else?"
No reply.
He has confirmed the absence of any surrounding signals on radar.
He tells himself this must be due to the destruction of the frame.
He cannot lie to himself any longer about the scene he saw just before the overlight.
"Sir... are you alright?"
The communication link, just moments ago active.
Now, silence.
"Anyone... respond."