29 Companions of the Path 10

The Leopard's sensors register the reactor reaction escalating.

He knows it—yet there is nothing he can do for Haruto right now.

The Harold Fleet's battleships and the ASID swarm still block the path toward the Lombardia-class target.

The surrounding debris suggests a significant number have been shot down, but not enough to allow a forced breakthrough.

"This might be bad."

May murmurs lowly.

Just moments ago, a glimpse of what appeared to be a penetration into the Lombardia-class was barely confirmed at maximum magnification.

Whether it was truly a penetration remains uncertain. With the situation now entering countdown phase, whether they can still make it in time is unclear.

"Damn it—there's no time to break through here... the route the brothers used is impossible for me..."

Even if there were a shortcut, Haruto lacks the necessary experience.

Approaching through the debris field is too heavy a burden.

Thus, the only action possible now is to assist in breaking through here—move forward as quickly as possible.

But the ASID evolved specifically for anti-assault frame combat is formidable.

An appearance designed to kill first-timers—so specialized it would have felled an inexperienced pilot repeatedly.

Even the defensive forces hesitate to advance, easily caught off guard if they let their guard down.

The strategy adopted is to lure the enemy in, then destroy each unit one by one.

It will not be enough.

The outcome will be decided before he can do anything.

Realizing this, Jin bites down so hard his lips bleed.

"Why am I... like this..."

Weak.

Inexperienced.

Too young.

He could invent any number of excuses—none of them would be wrong.

But Jin wants something now.

The strength to reach Mio.

◆ ◆ ◆

A wall was breached with a single strike.

To achieve this breach, Jin had once again destroyed a Reactor.

Its resilience exceeded expectations—costing Jin and his team two precious minutes.

A new wall appeared shortly after.

"Damn it, no end to this..."

The Reactor signal sensed from within surpassed five thousand Lamiy—over fifty times the threshold.

Time remaining: perhaps half a minute.

Accessing Lombardia-class data.

Searching for the route with the fewest walls and shortest distance.

The result came immediately.

"This way. Circumvent!"

Better to go around than rush.

Even if it added distance, bypassing walls now resulted in less time lost.

『This area, no wall here』

『Huh? Just the shortest route was cleared?』

Proceeding forward despite hesitation, something in Jin tugged at him.

Yes, he had heard of such a strategy before.

Deliberately leaving the castle gate open to lure the enemy in, then closing it to split them apart—

"Trap!"

The warning came too late.

The collapsing barrier severed the unit.

Further pressure.

From the side of the corridor, a griffin emerged.

Attacking the divided unit.

"Damn... still had reserves."

Not the same force he had just annihilated.

Likely no more than a small detachment.

In the vast vacuum of space, this would not matter. But in this narrow passage, Jin could not fully utilize his abilities.

With numbers nearly equal, it was even worse.

Standing still meant defeat. Scatter and counterattack.

One of the Terminus warriors, wielding his weapon—a spear—impaled a griffin.

The dying griffin, clinging to the spear that had pierced it, refused to let go.

Was it the memory of the suicide blast Jin had endured earlier?

The Terminus warrior instantly released the spear and leapt backward.

As if anticipating that, the bulkhead sealed shut—another unit severed.

This was deep within the enemy’s core.

The walls could open or close at will.

The bulkhead sealed precisely when pursued and forced into an attack position.

Even with caution, complete defense was impossible.

Moreover, the interior bulkheads seemed altered—slightly rearranged after modifications.

Thus, Jin was finally alone.

Yet the approach was certain.

And now that he had reached this point, no matter how many bulkheads remained, he would force his way through them all.

Reactor reloads remaining: four. Even after excluding the twenty rami of reactor capacity held by the main griffin, that remains.

If expended completely, eight minutes of unrestricted reactor use could be achieved.

That would be sufficient to force through all bulkheads and destroy theライトera afterward.

The issue lies in whether that much time remains.

‘That’s enough. Shōgo Jin.’

The voice was unfamiliar.

Yes, Jin realized, he had never actually heard this opponent’s voice, despite knowing their name and recognizing them as an enemy.

‘You’re Harold Byron, aren’t you?’

‘Pleased to meet you. My sister’s always been grateful for your care.’

The tone was utterly ordinary. To utter such words in this context felt unnatural.

It did not convey any awareness of the situation.

No—perhaps, Jin thought, to Harold, this situation was no longer a crisis, nor anything of consequence at all.

If the situation had reached the point where Litela’s preparations were complete and only information remained to be sent, then this composure was understandable.

Perhaps the outcome had already been decided.

Jin’s resignation did not improve with such thoughts, yet he paused.

‘Honestly, I’m surprised. I didn’t expect you to go this far.’

‘That was… an underestimate.’

He hesitated slightly, then spoke with deliberate provocation.

If this was the result of being dismissed, he would have liked to berate the opponent thoroughly—but he restrained himself for now.

Before the newly emerged barrier, he disengaged the limiter.

Using the ether dagger, he carved a hole just wide enough for one unit to pass.

‘It’s not about your skill. If you’d become an enemy, I’d have expected something like this. I’d prepared for it in various ways… yet you’ve surpassed even that.’

‘Then what do you intend to do?’

There was no need to respond to conversation at all.

It didn’t matter if ignored. At first, she considered the possibility of a surprise attack—yet no such intent surfaced.

Just. Something like that.

She wondered what kind of man would chase a reckless dream, one that sought to manipulate Mio and rewrite the past.

‘That you intend to destroy the Laitera Project itself. That, to me, is more unexpected than anything.’

‘Did you really think I’d stand by and do nothing after you kidnapped a girl?’

‘Ah. I did. She’s not even a blood relative. And above all, not human. But setting aside those trivialities, I assumed you’d remain silent about our actions.’

Jin flinched slightly at Harold’s casual dismissal of Mio’s origins.

Perhaps indifference toward others was all that was meant—but equally, it suggested that if the core essence remained unchanged, then all associated profiles, no matter how detailed, were irrelevant.

Even in this situation, he felt a slight inclination toward her.

“Rather, I’d like to know why you’d allow something so clearly understood.”

Reclaim Mio. If she was already certain that origins and birth meant nothing, then such a conclusion made even less sense.

‘It’s simple. Just remain passive, and you’ll regain the Kusunoki Rei. You’ll reclaim the future you lost with her. You won’t be able to claim ignorance.’

It was an ambush.

Not what Jin had expected, but undeniably a verbal ambush.

He was surprised the other knew so much about his profile—but that was all.

“Unfortunately… my daughter matters more right now.”

‘How unfortunate… she must be quite unsettled.’

A sudden unease arose.

As if those words had come not from Harold, but as if Rei were already a familiar to him.

Suppressing the rising dread, he shouted.

“What purpose do you think you’re serving with this talk, I don’t know—but it’s over. Harold Byron. I’ll be with you soon.”

‘You really can’t be serious. She betrayed the Laitera Project for you…’

Understanding those words. Jin’s mind rejected them for a single instant.

His thoughts stalled.

What did that thing just say?

‘Ah. And you asked what I was trying to do? Pointless chatter. Buying time. Did you notice? Talking lowered your operational efficiency by just three percent. That small margin was all I needed.’

Breaking through the partition.

Another one—this one the largest yet—blocks the way.

The reactor reaction observed from beyond it has already exceeded eight thousand lammy.

‘That’s right. One more thing. Ether output has actually reached specification. All that remains—’

‘Ah.’

Mio’s voice, caught off guard.

'I am changing the past.'

At the same moment.

Jin's vision distorts.

'This is...'

He recognizes this sensation.

The feeling of seeing the future on the battlefield. The familiar world, focused one second ahead.

That world blurs.

The scene before his eyes fractures.

A completely different world now fills Jin's sight.

'Here, Litela has been realized. Then, a good future, Shōgō Jin.'

With those words, Jin's vision is completely erased, painted white.