30 The Time of Selection 6

Size-wise, several times that of an assault frame.

Too small for a capital vessel.

Yet its output—nearly 2000 lammy.

Unusually high for its size.

Such a reactor, humanity has yet to produce. Yet one existed in Chi’s memory.

“Mersequeen’s reactor!”

The largest queen, excluding the recent super-sized model ‘Stalt’ defeated by the cyborg squad and Shōgō Jin.

That reactor was recovered by the Third Fleet—heard it was seized during their驻留.

Never imagined it would be used for this.

Likely no single human could produce such output.

Perhaps multiple others. Or possibly multiple simulated processors, taken from captured units.

Shape-wise, closest to a scorpion.

Two melee arms, equipped with flexible joint sections at the rear, and a large Ether Cannon mounted in the rear.

Other close-range anti-air weapons, and—

the racks for the small units that Chi had seen earlier, scattered about.

In front of his eyes, dozens more were suddenly deployed.

All of them moved at sharp angles, closing in on Chi once again.

“Damn!”

How much evasion is possible with half-mobility?

He barely avoided direct hits to the overlight unit and cockpit—yet only twenty seconds remain. Not sure he can endure.

‘Kusunoki Chi. Surrender.’

‘Harold Byron!?’

The surrender ultimatum came from the mobile weapon.

Chi was startled by the voice’s source.

The leader of the Laitera Project. Chi had forgotten, having only ever seen him as a researcher—yet he had another profile.

That he was once an ace of the former Defense Force.

Though long removed from frontline duty, he would likely fall short of his peak—yet still a first-rate pilot.

The recommendation continues with attacks.

Indeed, with no alternative choice available, for Chi this is nothing more than noise in assessing the battlefield.

The other side knows this—perhaps that is precisely why they are calling out.

"Can't do it like this...!"

Harold is a genuine ace.

A man who sees the future a second ahead and acts to overturn it.

Not a provisional prediction based on knowing the opponent, as with Chi.

The unit's movements differ from just moments ago.

Having moved to a position where Harold's machine is directly visible, precision control has become possible.

Chi makes this calculation and shudders.

If so, Harold must be controlling this countless number of units.

You can't escape from my Antares lance.

He knew the name of the new model, but it served no purpose now.

To dwell on its origins would mean immediate destruction.

Yet in the end, it might come to the same thing.

The remaining leg section was destroyed.

Losing all four limbs.

"Gh—!"

A near-miss strike to the cockpit. Shrapnel tore into his body.

A sensation of crushing pressure, as part of his form collapsed.

Still, with the last functioning thrusters, he barely evaded—until finally caught.

Multiple beams of light aimed at piercing the cockpit.

(Can't avoid it!)

Time remaining... ten seconds.

Not enough.

Slow, agonizingly slow, the seconds stretched out in his mind as Chi stared at the thing that would end him.

Something unseen again canceled the light—only the result was visible.

"...huh?"

As if summoned without warning. It appeared there—impossible to explain otherwise.

A figure of pure white—its feminine form unmistakable.

"Mio-chan...?"

Antares does not flinch at the intrusion. The next attack proceeds without pause.

Small units—those Harold called lances—are severed in an instant.

The thin wire extending from Mio's occiput is the culprit.

'What are you thinking, Higashi Mio?'

'She doesn't need to die.'

'She plotted against the project. A reckoning is necessary. Besides, once Laitera activates, it will all be undone anyway.'

It seems Mio opposes killing Chi.

As Harold said, if Mio's ideals had been realized, this battle would never have occurred.

Harold's argument holds more weight: eliminating her here would remove an obstacle to the Laitera Project.

Yet Mio shows no intention of yielding.

A moment of locked gaze.

That rigidity—gave Chi exactly the ten seconds he wanted most.

Execution complete indicator.

Without hesitation, Chi executes the command.

"Override executed!"

Chi's griffon begins to fade.

Harold seemed to move to pursue, but Mio intercepts.

And then—Chi's griffon vanishes from the operational zone.

With the enemy gone, the assault frame squad should have returned to the vessel.

But the presence of the two locked in confrontation delayed that.

Harold was the first to release his tension.

"Ah well. As you wished, I'll let Kusano Chi live. Though I won't be responsible if she dies after leaving this place."

"That’s acceptable."

Harold lets out a small laugh at Mio’s terse reply.

Likely, the fact that Overlight was possible after this much time suggests the target was within close proximity.

The damaged unit's ability to perform a second Overlight was questionable—more so, the fact that it had not already been detected.

‘But I’m surprised by you. There was an Overlight Jammer deployed in this sector, yet you appeared here without hesitation.’

An Overlight Jammer disrupts the destination of Overlight transitions.

There would be no reason not to deploy one.

The calculation required for Overlight takes time because the jump point must be precisely determined, to avoid losing one’s position.

With complete randomness, no calculation would be necessary. In such a case, the destination would be unknown—whether within the galaxy, or even within normal space.

An Overlight Jammer creates that state.

Mio had arrived within such a state.

The humanoid ASID's Overlight technology still surpasses humanity—more accurately, humanity's imitation of it remains insufficient.

Yet Chi's Griffin's Overlight is of human origin.

Thus, it is heavily affected by the Overlight Jammer's influence.

Harold had no need to shoot it down. It would have been equally acceptable either way.

As long as it remained outside the effect's range.

Chi's first priority should have been to distance herself from this fleet at all costs. Even if exposed to battleship fire.

At this moment, Harold imagined her somewhere beyond the galaxy’s edge—though not necessarily that far, perhaps merely in some unknown region of space.

He had already mentally dismissed Chi as a resolved matter.

‘Just to confirm—our cooperation remains ongoing, correct?’

‘Fine.’

As long as each party holds what the other seeks, they can only continue shaking hands despite minor disagreements in policy.

‘Well then, let us proceed. Our destination is near.’

◆ ◆ ◆

The Overlight’s anomaly was immediately apparent to Chi.

The reason followed in tandem.

‘Damn it… Overlight Jammer… this is it!’

Though only heard of in rumor, its effect was undeniable upon sight.

Loss of current position.

A situation to be avoided above all else when traversing space.

‘I never thought there’d be no warning at all…’

He had heard such phenomena existed, but expected some sign.

To remain unaware until actual movement began felt like a cruel design.

Chi conveniently forgot that he had used such a cruel design to scatter the Third Fleet’s formation.

Escape was successful—but this means nothing.

Only a future adrift among cosmic debris remains.

Attempting to reach the fleet via Overlight is impossible without knowing their current position.

"Star chart…?"

Perhaps this region has been surveyed.

The arrangement of distant stars might allow for positional determination.

The odds are low—but there is no choice but to gamble on it.

Yet Chi’s consciousness begins to fade.

Physical depletion from blood loss. Fatigue from combat.

All accumulated, reaching their limit.

The griffin, limbless, drifts slowly.

As Chi imagined, it seemed destined to join the debris—but…

Heaven did not abandon her.

Or perhaps the planet itself has become a distortion in spacetime.

The probability meant to balance out during a completely random Overlight.

A slight increase in probability within this local space.

Due to this causality, Chi arrived—so too did the 'Gay Bolck'.

'…………?'

A fingertip prods Chi's griffin.

No response.

Something similar to themselves, yet different.

Perhaps a companion of the friend arriving now. It is seized and returned to the iron tree extending from the nearby planet.

The name humanity assigned to this grasped entity was 'Tiki'.