28 The Time of Choice 4

Activate the Gryphon.

The reactor's usual pleasant vibration resonates against the wound.

—If you don't want to be ejected outside, evacuate!

Shouting through the external speaker, Chi aims the large ether rifle toward the launch hatch.

He does not expect the hatch to open simply because the system initiates properly. There is no alternative but to breach it forcibly.

Confirming the technicians retreating in panic, he fires.

A second shot, a third—shattering the hatch completely.

—Just in case.

He regrets it for the technicians—but he hopes to reduce the number of pursuing units by one at least.

One after another, he fires into the aircraft lined up in the hangar.

Explosions, penetrating ether rounds—significant damage has been done.

Someone may have died.

He grows disgusted, realizing that no matter how his position shifts, the actions remain the same.

……Fine. It’s too late now to pretend to be virtuous.

Hindering the Laitera Project does not erase the sins committed thus far.

A few more crimes added now—what difference does it make?

He leaps from the hatch as air continues to vent.

Maintaining distance from the Longinus-class mobile battleship *Trishula*, he activates the dorsal wing thrusters.

If he continues this way, directly striking the Laitera core……

A single Lombardia-class battleship’s habitation sector is occupied. That much is certain.

But the problem remains: he does not know which vessel it is.

Even if he did, penetrating the capital ship’s anti-air defenses and entering its interior alone—impossible.

Jin might be able to do it.

Chi muttered, face pinched, as if about to raise a hand and say, quite clearly, that this was impossible.

Fixating on what cannot be done serves no purpose.

Jin must be informed of the details without delay—immediately, toward the Third Fleet.

He likely does not know, either—Mio's final decision.

Activate the overlight unit mounted on the griffin and begin preparations.

However—.

"Coordinate input, calculation initiated... twenty-five minutes? You're kidding, right!?"

In a sense, it was an inevitable outcome.

Overloading the capital ship's systems requires approximately fifteen minutes, even with full infusion of computational capacity and ether.

Chi had long believed that larger scale meant longer preparation time for Overlight activation—optimistic that an assault frame would be faster.

In reality, it is the opposite.

Assault Frames lack the computational capacity of capital ships and the reactor output of a starship.

Moreover, what we are about to undertake now is a long-range overlight.

Even with the full power of the Gryphon, that much time is required.

"……Bad situation."

Twenty-five minutes.

That duration is far too long.

With the entire surrounding area now hostile, maintaining that kind of delay—

"! They're coming!"

Assault Frame units are launching one after another from the other ships.

Raven infantry units, and the cyborg squadron of the Gryphon.

The former are manageable.

Even Chi, though degraded, is a cyborg. Falling behind regular infantry—well, occasionally there is an ace, but—rarely.

But the cyborg squadron, being peers, is different.

Not only in capability, but tactically, they are reading our movements precisely.

The same applies to us, yet the difference lies in numbers.

There is no way a single unit can hold an advantage… no, there are no factors favoring us at all.

If forced to specify, all of these are enemy. The other side is mostly ally—so much so that mutual fire is a concern.

Even so, such a disparity in numbers renders that issue negligible.

“Should we maintain distance…? No.”

Closing the gap would only invite fire from the battleship.

From this position, the battleship’s weapons will refrain from firing—afraid of friendly fire.

That leaves the only option.

“Survive against this many units for twenty-five minutes… is that what you’re asking?”

Four squadrons are currently on immediate response status. Forty-eight units in total.

Though the Trishula’s first hangar was cleared, nearly five hundred assault frame units still remain aboard this Third Fleet deployment vessel.

“Truly, one understands the abnormality of that man.”

Jin’s actions—charging into an even greater disparity of force, then launching a counterattack—elicit nothing but a dry laugh.

What is most laughable is that what he intends to do now is exactly that abnormality.

But twenty-five minutes is still impossible.

"...No."

Chi realized he did not need to travel that far.

A shorter distance—yet one they could not catch up to during normal navigation—would suffice.

He would wait there calmly for the next long-range overlight.

Cancel calculation.

Select a region one light-year nearby.

Calculation time drastically reduced.

Five minutes. This might just be manageable.

"Let's do it."

He licked his dry lips.

Then, quietly, the exchange of gunfire began.

No warnings. No surrender appeals.

Chi knew on his side there was no possibility of persuasion.

On their side—especially the cyborg squad—there was no way they would forgive Chi for betraying the Laitera Project.

There was no mercy for those who sought to crush the wishes of others.

Chi’s name had now been added to that list.

Chi’s griffin moved with slight hesitation.

A newly installed overlight unit. The computational space and ether used within it.

Increased weight and software load. Reduced ether usage ratio—this was the cause.

Yet even under these conditions, Chi performed with unexpected precision.

Avoiding fire with minimal motion.

"Surprisingly effective, isn’t it!"

If coordination could be read, then trajectories were easy to predict.

By countering the incoming guided shots, space for evasion emerged.

Twenty-seven seconds remaining.

Draw the ether dagger.

Chi had always preferred close combat over ranged combat.

Griffin versus Raven.

Which was easier to handle?—no need to ask. Raven, without question.

Diving into Raven’s squad in sync with the nth evasion.

A hawk-lion thrown into a flock of crows.

Raven draws the ether dagger to repel, but the pilot disparity renders the contest meaningless.

And this positioning.

The cyborg squad cannot fire.

Thanks to Chi’s quick thinking, the battlefield has already devolved into chaos—Griffin unit turned into dead soldiers.

Twenty-four seconds remaining.

Kicking Raven in the abdomen, forcing distance.

Ether spikes erupting from the sole—application of the ether dagger—pierce deep, crushing the ether reactor.

Seizing the moment of separation, the Griffin fires.

In the instant of dodging that shot, Chi is once again surrounded by two more units.

Releasing the rifle, gripping another dagger tightly.

Wingslaster twitching in rapid bursts, accelerating the rhythm of close combat with a flurry of strikes.

Overwhelming the pilot’s response capacity in an instant, slicing through one unit.

Two hundred ten seconds remaining.

Charging forward to dismantle another unit in the same manner.

A forceful, relentless rush.

Yet every move is deflected.

Yes— as if anticipating the motion in advance.

“—This one!”

Chi realizes: Ace.

Not the title of a top scorer, but a recipient of future information— able to see one second ahead.

Movement as if aware of the origin of Chi’s slashes.

Impossible to mistake.

Though Chi’s skill has not yet caught up, rendering him inconspicuous in ASID combat.

Still, more than enough to suppress Chi.

In personal combat, foreseeing the opponent’s actions is an unbalanced advantage.

Even a surprise kick is evaded.

Let alone counterattacking—she even tries to cut off my leg.

Chi distances himself—this one is dangerous.

The performance gap cannot be overcome. Only a Griffin with superior thrust could have escaped.

But Chi’s predicament does not end there.

Creating distance means the Griffin unit’s assault resumes.

And means the ace’s predicted shot, unknown in name, is already in flight.

A barrage engineered through perfect coordination, forcing movement.

Another shot, as if filling the gap left by the first.

Chi dodges both, barely, breathless.

Nano-skin armor is grazed by ether rounds. Repairing itself as it erodes.

Behind him, the breath of death echoes. The hand reaches, beckoning.

The closest he has come to death since becoming a pilot.

180 seconds remaining.

Within just two minutes of combat, beads of sweat had already gathered across Chi's forehead.