Story Reader / Floating Record / ER07 Soaring Beyond / Story
Natural light pours through the rectangular opening, carving a trapezoidal patch of soft brightness against the dim interior.
Hanying stands beneath the red emergency lights of the maintenance tunnel when a sudden comms request comes through.
Cervantes...
...Finally got through to you. I was worried you might have run into trouble too.
I'm almost there. How's the situation in Aerospace City?
There is a noticeable urgency in his voice through the intermittent electromagnetic interference. It is rare to hear the usually composed Cervantes speak at such a rapid pace.
The situation inside the Church may not look good as well.
The situation in Aerospace City is... rather concerning.
The comms blackout is likely due to Bifrost, the city's magnetic accelerator track, charging up. Its electromagnetic waves are interfering with my comms channel.
...Bifrost is charging?
The often calm Cervantes sounds a little surprised.
The electromagnetic interference is getting worse, so I'll be brief. Veronica has taken control of the entire city because of the death of the previous Hanged Man...
After hearing her brief explanation, Cervantes falls into deep thought.
Justice, Veronica, the Emperor...
I can't say for certain whether the Emperor had a hand in this or not.
It's quite possible, but if he really is behind this, his motives are bound to be more complicated than they appear.
Don't underestimate Veronica's strength. She's always been rather obsessive, so you must be careful if you end up in a direct confrontation with her.
I will.
Also, I've found some leads about Sage's "key."
Though caught in this conflict, Hanying never loses sight of her original purpose.
After extensive investigation, she finally finds a lead on those supplies. The key was transported along with her frame and, with no signals detected elsewhere in the city, it must have been moved to the city's warehouse.
...That's good to hear.
The electromagnetic interference intensifies, causing the comms signal to fluctuate again.
Stop Bifrost from... launching [bzzz]...
Be careful... with everything... [bzzz]
Understood.
The communication cuts off again.
Bifrost begins charging up again. Her time is running out.
Hanying strides forward with determination as a sea of dark green ripples through the soft white light behind her.
Her robe's trailing hem flows with ethereal grace, each ripple a testament to her nimble elegance.
Her silver hairpin serves as a seal, concealing her true feelings beneath a mask of graceful composure.
But when her hair comes undone and blade light dances, her resolve to break free from her bonds transforms into a lethal strike—
Piercing straight through the heart of the past.
Through the autonomous mechanoid control array, Aleksei executes the most brutal of commands.
Machines throughout Aerospace City begin hunting humans without mercy, turning the streets into rivers of blood.
Standing motionless behind the curtain wall, he feels an immense satisfaction even as his body—barely held together by machinery and prosthetics—teeters on the edge of complete breakdown.
Hah... Sage, oh great Sage... Did you really think... I would die so easily?
No... That won't happen, tsk... The things you won't do... I'll do them... for you.
He stares at the streets burning crimson with warfare obsessively.
Ugh... Dammit...
An excruciating pain spreads from deep within his consciousness.
Cough, cough... cough...
Aleksei collapses beside the control array console, desperately pressing his temples.
Though securely attached, his mechanical arm no longer responds to his neural signals. Like a broken remote-controlled toy, it twitches and jerks mechanically, repeating meaningless movements.
My head... It hurts... Wh-where am I?
He looks around, but his memory offers no clue as to how he got here.
The deeper he searches, the more frequently blank spaces intrude into his memories.
Right—Bifrost!
Supporting himself with his right arm, he peers out the window. At the edge of his vision, the massive accelerator track is enveloped in an almost divine corona of electrical arcs.
The gunfire and smoke below its towering base seem to belong to another world entirely—a realm of corruption.
Veronica, Ve... Cough, cough...
He can no longer form coherent words. The fluid he coughs up splatters across the smooth surface of the control panel's screen.
Undeterred by his condition, the governor steadies himself on both feet and advances step by step toward the corridor leading to Bifrost.
No sin is beyond redemption.
After all, he has unwittingly become the catalyst for everything—and her accomplice.
Perhaps the imprisoned captives are more fortunate than those still locked in this fierce battle.
The mechanoids, their sensors glowing blue, faithfully execute Veronica's containment orders, acting more like guards than prison wardens.
Small groups of resistance soldiers and captured civilians huddle in makeshift winter coverings, exchanging whispered words.
What's happening out there? Something doesn't feel right about this sniper mechanoid...
Keeping us under control is all Spikehead wants. Ha! Goes to show she still can't get by without our labor!
No point stooping to these toasters' level. Once this is over, we might even get to negotiate with Spikehead directly.
He yawns carelessly and rolls over on the makeshift camp bed.
No, what I mean is, it seems like...
A sinister red glow suddenly emits beneath the transparent arc of the guard mechanoid's sensors.
The veteran soldier, who has been lying relaxed, seems to sense something amiss and props himself up on his elbow to look around. Before the young soldier can even react, an eerie sound pierces the air.
He instinctively shields his head with both arms from the flash and deafening blast right by him, only to feel sticky, warm specks of mud splattering against the skin of his forearms.
No, this smell... It is not mud.
He opens his eyes to find two bloodied limbs remaining on the bed where the veteran was. His upper body that was propped up just now has vanished—replaced by remains of flesh and bone scattered across the floor.
...Ngaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
The young soldier lets out a blood-curdling scream and instinctively reaches for his holster, but there is nothing beneath the leather—the mechanoids have already confiscated all their weapons.
The soldiers erupt into chaos.
The seemingly docile mechanoids instantly revert to their savage nature, slaughtering anything their sensors detect as having a life signature.
Stay calm, prepare to counter—
The battle-hardened leader reacts swiftly, but not swiftly enough to match the mechanoids' speed. Another volley of gunfire tears through his broad frame, leaving a mist of blood in its wake.
People scatter in all directions, the imprisoned civilians descending into uncontrollable panic. The mechanical creations march forward under their new orders, driving the humans into a hopeless corner.
Amid the concerto of automatic weapons, flesh blooms into flowers of death.
Human remains, linen shreds, and metal fragments rain down like merciless hailstorms of the far north, pelting the chaos below.
Grab their weapons! Form a counterattack!
The stench of burning flesh nearly makes them dizzy, but the humans' sheer numbers remain their last advantage.
Driven by survival instinct, the soldiers swarm an isolated mechanoid, forcibly tearing the automatic weapon from its arm.
Yet lives vanish with each passing second in this desperate struggle.
Piercing screams of agony echo through every corner of the street.
Ugh...
The mechanoid tears apart his former comrade right before his eyes while he remains immobilized by bullet wounds in his legs.
Blood splatters across his body as he desperately crawls toward the street corner—the only thing he can do now.
A thunderous roar that can end all bloodshed echoes from afar, piercing through the heavens.
The fresh killing field falls into an instant silence as thick brown clouds of dust enshroud both humans and machines alike.
What is... that...
Could it be mechanoid reinforcements? He lies on the ground, teetering on the edge of despair.
A blinding light pierces through the battlefield's dust clouds. From the distant darkness comes a sound... different from anything before.
The sounds of gunfire and human calls fill the air. And then... a composed voice of command brings everything together.
Mechanoids neutralized at three o'clock—!
The girl in the wheelchair raises her xenon lamp high. Its luminance cuts through the gunsmoke, dispelling the gloom like a lighthouse in the mist and guiding all those who still draw breath.
Behind her stand the refugees, weathered and scarred by their ordeals. But their weathered faces show not a trace of fear.
Guided by the light, more armed figures emerge from behind the wall of smoke.
The lamp in her hand is lightning caught, and it unleashes a power that can cut through any darkness after this explosion.
It beckons to the lost warriors, showing them their path once more.
Yulia—a name that means eternal gentleness and perpetual grace.
Her father's tragic indecision in the face of conflict has turned the hopes behind her name into bitter irony. But in this moment, she finally reclaims the power to define her name.
To be gentle does not mean to run away.
I am Yulia. Everyone, please stand.
She states this self-evident fact with her characteristic tranquility, yet the rescued resistance soldiers remain frozen in place.
She repeats her invitation, maintaining her gentle tone.
Please stand up, and join us.
These people might seem like cowards to you for accepting the mechanoids' protection, but they understand what has kept them alive—if this city falls, all our stances become meaningless.
Now, the mechanoids have drawn first blood.
A few resistance soldiers slowly rise to their feet, their eyes fixed on Yulia. The harsh light reflects in their pupils.
Should we meekly lay down our arms and walk into the night, or blindly fight on, driven by hatred?
No, I don't think anyone would choose either of these options.
More soldiers rise to their feet.
We fight for our right to survive, and we fight to restore this city to what it once was.
Join us. Take up your weapons.
Her voice remains calm, yet each word carries an unwavering strength.
One by one, people begin dusting off their weapons, helping each other up. They gradually gather around Yulia, drawn together by a shared purpose.
The dying resistance leader reaches out to Yulia with his right hand.
She closes her eyes briefly, then leans forward to accept the olive branch extended by the dying militant in his last breaths.
In their blood-stained touch, she senses a final moment of repentance.
She is Yulia Tereshkova, daughter of Leonid Tereshkov, the research director of the Bifrost Starship Magnetic Accelerator Track Project at Tsiolkovsky Aerospace City.
Now, she must traverse this endless sea of blood to lead her people to salvation on the other shore.
The wheelchair's motor hums to life, its wheels sending subtle vibrations through its frame.
Red sensor lights begin to gleam once more through the smoke at the far end of the street.
A new army of mechanoids marches toward their position.
Yulia turns to the advancing soldiers around her and calls out the words everyone has been waiting to hear—
Citizens of Aerospace City! Take up arms and survive!
