04 The One That Emerged from the Nightmare 1

That day should have been unremarkable for Jin.

Two of his students had passed their commissioning, one becoming his successor as Instructor, and from there Jin entered a life dedicated to maintaining his skills.

The work of the Instructional Unit suited him reasonably well.

Rather than adapting to the opponent’s level, he broke them down to raise their level to his.

In fact, he found greater fulfillment in training raw recruits than in dealing with those barely competent.

At the same time, he was mildly surprised to learn that some regular soldiers were no better than the trio of troublemakers.

Regardless, things were progressing smoothly.

Jin repeated high-level training and simulated combat, striving not merely to preserve his abilities—no, to surpass his current level.

That was what he had wanted. There was nothing to complain about.

Yet the directive content demanded by higher command—overwhelmingly focused on humanoid ASID—was beginning to grow tiresome.

In the base’s lounge, Jin complained to a fellow officer, coffee in one hand.

“Eight years since our last encounter… Do they think we’re hundreds of light-years from the engagement zone?”

“Distance may not matter as much, though. The humanoid overlight technology seems to outpace ours.”

Shirley, who had transferred over as a maintenance officer for the instruction team, glanced at the data readout of Jin’s Raven and replied.

“Still, humanoids suffered the greatest damage historically. So preparing for them… I can’t argue with that logic.”

“Still, that doesn’t make it feel right. I’m just rationalizing it—this thing here…”

“More like training approaching close-quarters combat.”

That was Jin’s reluctance.

Humanoids are unpredictable in their actions.

The enemy's strength remains unknown. That is precisely why every possible scenario is permitted.

"That previous simulation was a large-scale battle between Ravens. Such a scenario is impossible unless engaging other defense fleets."

"Other fleets are conducting similar drills under the same justification. It's unclear where it began."

Exactly which fleet first discovered this loophole and initiated it remains unknown.

One certainty, however, is that nearly all fleets began similar drills around the same time.

"There is another rumor circulating. Have you heard it?"

"...The original Queen story?"

"Yes. It's only a rumor—though—"

Yet the substance of it is nearly factual.

Destroying the Queen causes all ASIDs in its lineage to cease functioning.

Nine Queens, the progenitors of all ASIDs.

A plan to locate and eliminate them is already in motion.

"Is it happening? The operation?"

"I don't know. Wouldn't it be Jin who'd receive such information?"

"Captain-level intel is limited. More importantly, Sharon. Has your brother been up to anything again lately?"

"Harold's been locked inside the Second Fleet for the past few years. I don't know what he's doing now."

For these eight years.

The Second Fleet's suspicious activities have ceased entirely. At least, according to what Jin and his team have observed.

"Information that supports those rumors is the real issue."

"Rumors backed by evidence? What evidence?"

Jin showed no interest, merely letting the words pass. But Sharon had clearly been investigating.

"You should pay more attention to what's around you, Jin. Here—this is the recent trend in each fleet's combat strength."

"...Wait a minute. Isn't everyone's strength going up?"

The Third Fleet suffered severe damage during the humanoid assault eight years ago.

For this reason, its combat strength has increased sharply compared to the previous year in an effort to recover.

Behind this, other fleets that had no need to expand their strength also increased theirs.

Now that the Third Fleet has completed replenishment, there is no sign it intends to halt its expansion.

An unbounded arms race.

"Given this, we must be preparing to face an exceptionally dangerous opponent."

"Or perhaps we simply wish to believe that."

Most of the Defense Force joined voluntarily to protect people from ASID.

Beyond that, other motives include revenge against ASID—yet still, the primary motivation remains the external threat posed by ASID.

Perhaps that is why they cannot accept the current situation.

It feels almost as if they are plotting war between migrant fleets themselves.

Regardless of what the upper echelons may think, Jin, as a soldier, has no choice but to obey.

But what if that order demands he fire upon his own kin?

How would one proceed?

"Maybe I'm overthinking it. Perhaps both sides are just preparing to destroy the Original Queen, as the rumors suggest."

"...Yeah."

Both men allow a faint smile to form at the corners of their mouths.

Pessimism serves no purpose.

"Still, if we're talking about destroying the Original Queen, we should get moving sooner rather than later. If they say we've got another ten years, I'll probably be retired by then."

"No. I think Jin's still in active service... I mean, I think he'll still be active even past fifty."

"Haha. Really now."

Jin laughs, but Sharon does not.

After all, this man maintains top-tier skill well into his late thirties.

No, in terms of experience, the years he's accumulated are a direct multiplier.

Courage remains unchanged. A seasoned cunning now blends in—so much so that one might suspect he’s grown stronger than before.

Yet from Jin’s own perspective, the matter was different.

“High-G maneuvers are getting harder each year… and mornings are unbearable.”

“Ah. Mio said something like that. ‘Dad hasn’t gotten up at all lately!’”

“You’re not even mimicking right.”

“Annoying. Parental bias.”

Physically, he was clearly past his prime—descending the slope of peak performance.

Yet Jin knew he was doing everything possible to delay that decline.

The reason he clung so desperately to active duty.

It was already known. Already clear.

To move forward.

He absolutely needed this final stage.

“Still, if we don’t know our current position—”

Sharon began, when the entire base erupted in alarm.

Placing coffee on the table, the two burst out of the rest area.

“…What do you make of this?”

“First-class alert status. The last time that was issued was during a humanoid assault.”

“So a threat of equal magnitude is approaching.”

Confirming their shared understanding, they each sprinted in opposite directions.

Jin to the squad’s briefing room.

Sharon to the hangar.

“Status?”

“Yes, Captain. We detected spatial distortions at a point one thousand kilometers from the fleet. A massive structure, estimated at three hundred kilometers in length, is overlighting. It is currently approaching the Third Fleet.”

The number the副官 reported triggered a memory.

“Wait—could it be—”

“Visual feed incoming.”

The image presented—undeniable in form.

Ah. Yes. Jin nodded.

The form he had longed for, dreamt of, with desperate yearning.

A body surface with a dull, gray luster.

An elongated, worm-like appearance.

Still, unmistakably characteristic of a segmented worm—unremarkable in form, yet—its size alone was overwhelming.

A monster that defied accurate measurement without a reference point, distorting depth perception.

"Defense Command has designated this super-sized ASID as 'Stalt.' They are currently in discussion."

"Speed?"

"Approximately 2 km/s relative to the convoy. At this rate, contact will occur in about ninety minutes."

"…No. Regardless of how slow it moves, it will enter attack range within roughly an hour."

"Captain?"

"Nothing."

Jin muttered it, reflexively recalling bitter memories from ten years prior.

To an unaware subordinate, the statement was meaningless—without foundation.

Yet it was the same entity that had sunk the cruiser Jin had been aboard that day.

The vessel Lieutenant Ren was aboard had been sunk by a super-long-range artillery strike spanning two thousand kilometers.

Even accounting for firing intervals, if that could not be avoided, the Third Fleet would be fully submerged within five minutes at worst.

Jin thought they should retreat.

Fighting around the fleet would never result in victory.

No matter how perfectly the engagement was executed, it would end in mutual destruction.

This was no longer a threat comparable to humanoid units.

That had not yet even become a battle.

But this super-sized specimen—designated Stalt—was different.

To challenge this entity, the battlefield must be one that maximized advantage for their side, or the confrontation would not even qualify as a battle.

Thus, this was not a battle.

"Full fleet deployment order. Scramble request for our unit as well, Captain."

It was nothing but suicide.