Story Reader / Floating Record / ER07 Soaring Beyond / Story
A thin silhouette stands behind the curtain wall, the thick bulletproof panels shielding him from the deafening gunfire outside.
Hundreds of meters below him, rows of mechanoid guards are escorting captured resistance soldiers through the streets.
Gunfire continues to echo through the nearby districts.
Before him is the mechanoid control array entrusted by Veronica.
"Suppress the resistance" is such a vague order... Without a doubt, it gives him far too much room for interpretation.
I am... Death.
I am... your conqueror.
Veni, vidi, vici...
Humanity will perish in this war.
His empire will rise from a world-staining crimson.
With Gray Raven's assistance, the refugees have found temporary shelter in another vacant docking bay.
They're doing okay. They still trust Dimitri. Although they were angry when they were handed over, they weren't actually harmed, so...
After being reassured by both you and Liv that this is all part of a plan, the refugees harbor no real hostility toward Yulia.
Yulia understands that this is meant to protect her, so she has not voiced any objections.
Just as the crowd settles down and a headcount begins, a sudden commotion erupts among the refugees.
Looking across the hangar, you find all eyes focused on the girl in a wheelchair.
Yulia clutches a perforated note tightly in her hands, her expression eerily calm amid the surrounding chaos.
Wh-what? Dimitri... Where did he go?
I think Yulia mentioned that he went to... Bifrost?
If Spikehead catches him, he'll die!
I know he's in charge of maintaining the energy systems and knows his way around the reactor...
But those mechanoids controlled by Spikehead... they won't care if he's one of their own when they strike...
The old man's words fall like salt upon snow, dissolving what little optimism they have managed to build.
Yulia finally notices the new presence and turns her gaze toward Liv.
...Dimitri slipped away during the chaos, leaving only this note behind.
With feigned composure, she hands the note to Liv.
The text is formed by densely arranged tiny holes—a communication method unique to mechanoids.
Miss Yula,
39 is an aerospace systems engineer, and my original designated mission since my creation has been to maintain Bifrost's power systems.
I'm familiar with the reactor's structure and can withstand the radiation levels from the control core. Our only chance to stop the launch is for me to shut it down.
I'm truly sorry for acting on my own without consulting you.
My memories can always be backed up. I believe Sage's revelation will awaken me again one day.
When that time comes, I'll surely recognize Miss Yula's kindness once again.
And I'll return to your side as your companion once more.
For this city to survive until that day, please allow me this one selfish act.
Hanying and the guests from Babylonia will ensure your safety.
The brief note brings a heavy silence to the empty hangar.
Every street in the city has become a war zone. To approach Bifrost's foundation—the most heavily guarded mechanoid stronghold—and infiltrate the reactor's control core for manual shutdown...
It's nothing short of a fool's errand.
But Hanying has already headed to Bifrost's main control room.
It's not that Dima doesn't trust Hanying. It's just... he can never bring himself to stand by and watch.
Liv bites her lip—it's a feeling she understands all too well.
Regardless, I can't let him march to his death.
The girl maintains a composed expression, making it impossible to guess what kind of resolve is brewing within her.
She tucks the note into her jacket pocket, tenderly, as if handling an irreplaceable treasure.
Gripping the wheelchair's handrims firmly, she wheels herself into the clamoring crowd of refugees.
Everyone, please... hear me out.
Despite her quiet voice, the refugees fall silent the moment Yulia speaks as they are accustomed to.
You can all see the situation we're in now.
I'm sorry. It was my fault that we were captured by the mechanoids before.
She bows her head deeply from her wheelchair to the refugees.
Hey, we all know it was part of the plan. Sure, we had it rough for a bit, but everyone made it back safe and sound, didn't we?
That's right. If it weren't for Dimitri, who knows how many of us would be standing here? We couldn't just watch while Spikehead wiped his memories and turned him into a vegetable. We can't live with that.
...Thank you all.
Yulia exhales softly and expresses her gratitude to the refugees once again.
You've all heard how Hanying explained the situation outside.
Ever since the resistance attacked Aleksei, Veronica has begun rounding up humans throughout the city... It's not just us—they've taken every human in the city.
The mechanoids... They're done maintaining even a pretense of peace with humans.
But... this is our city. The place we've called home all this time.
The Punishing Virus glows red everywhere outside the city. If we leave here, where else can we possibly go?
Murmurs of unrest ripple through the crowd of refugees.
I won't deny it—I want to help Dima in a different way.
But isn't helping Dima also helping ourselves?
If we keep living like this, there are only two possible outcomes.
Either the mechanoids, who have already destroyed this peaceful facade, drag us to their gallows, or we'll wait for Veronica to activate Bifrost and get blown to bits by Babylonia's orbital cannons.
Are you all... just going to resign yourselves to death?
A distinct click of a weapon being loaded breaks the silence, followed by a second, a third, a fourth...
The sound of rounds being chambered pierces through the deathly silence.
The refugees have somehow managed to reclaim their confiscated weapons from the defeated mechanoid guards and are now rearming themselves.
Their movements may lack the uniformity of the resistance, but their vigor surpasses that of the soldiers, now reduced to murderous machines fueled by hatred and iron law.
Hah, dying like that would be pathetic. Even if we can't fight our way to the reactor, we can still give those crazed metal bastards a run for their money.
If Spikehead gets her way, we're as good as dead.
Hiding in our little corner of the dumping ground... Sometimes it feels like we're nothing but parasites.
We've done our share of dirty deeds... Every time we'd tell ourselves it was for survival.
But if we keep being cowards at a time like this... I swear I'd crawl out of hell and travel to the past just to slap some sense into myself now.
As the refugees prepare their equipment, Liv stands nearby, pressing her lips together.
Yeah...
Even as a bystander, you can feel their determination burning bright.
Humans may be flawed and deceitful at times, but when faced with a common enemy, they can still come together and work as one.
Alright then... let's go.
Everyone completes their preparations, and Yulia is now armed with a handgun.
She also cradles a bulky xenon lamp in her arms, likely equipment acquired from one of the refugees.
Maybe when all this is over, we can truly... start living again.
She puts special emphasis on those last words.
Above the discarded steel frames in the dumping ground, the snow-covered buildings during the day and the automatic floodlights during the night are nowhere to be seen.
Streams of bullets and energy beams cut through the smoke-stained sky while explosions of varying sizes bloom like raindrops hitting a pond. Waves of muffled, destructive thunder roll in from the distant horizon.
The small unit remains unaware that the mechanoids guarding the resistance have completely gone haywire.
They have turned their weapons against the humans, inflicting devastating casualties on the prisoners of war who can barely mount a defense.
Like a relentless mixer of blood and fire, the battlefield continues to pour its toll into the furnace of futile slaughter.
In this endless darkness, no light pierces through.
And so the light-bearing maiden begins her own crusade, all for the sake of her companion, who has ventured alone into danger.
