Story Reader / Main Story / 14 Imprisoned Sight / Story
Their surroundings begin to disintegrate. The flickering lights and image of Vonnegut begin to drift in space.
My visual module is being hacked...!
Oh? Is that all?
Suddenly, numerous ear-piercing alarms begin to buzz in his ears.
"Memory deviation at 31.217%."... "Record erased."
Listen to the fear in your heart.
I used to respect that guy, but now he's just a useless tool.
...Establishing simulation link...
Memory deviation at 30.316%.
Place him on the front line! He can recall if he dies!
Record erased.
...Establishing simulation link...
By the look of it... The Chief is no longer Langston.
Record erased.
Establishing simulation link... Establishing simulation link... Establishing simulation link...
Chrome's field of vision gradually returns amid the frenzy of alarms. He suddenly finds himself before a red warning screen.
It is not so much fear as it is disgust engraved in his memories.
"Smith" had long been perfected. I brought you back as my son to make you a Smith and become the perfect "me."
No... It's not like that...
Langston, as my son, you know what to do. Don't you?
I've already broken free from my shackles.
You are a failure. Nothing you have ever done has surmounted to anything. It's always been like that.
No, I've already gotten what matters the most...
The agent will crush your teammates one by one... Those you respect will be framed and put to death... And you are powerless...
Ignoring the ear-piercing noise, Chrome quietly grabs his weapon.
You want to protect them? You want to protect those who are doomed to abandon you?
Constructs are only seen as a convenient tool. You saw for yourself...
The moment you became a Construct, you became a loser.
You'll never be the Chief. You'll never be a true commandant. Now, you are only... a tool.
Doubt, undeniable doubt. This doubt has persisted in his heart over countless missions and battles, like a cobweb forming in the corner of a wall. Now, this doubt has become amplified and restless by some unknown power.
A bolt of lightning carrying Chrome's conviction, shatters the darkness before him, silencing the cacophony. Slowly, his M.I.N.D. begins to stabilize—
—Only for warning alerts to immediately start buzzing again. Chrome's field of vision fills with contorted streaks of vibrant red.
A familiar pain bites at his nerves, rippling throughout his entire body.
WARNING! Memory overload. WARNING! Memory overload. WARNING! Memory overload. WARNING! Memory overload. WARNING! Memory overload.
You are worthless. You failed to live up to your father's expectations. How dare you even call him "Dad"?
Chrome waves his scythe at the shapeless onslaught of noise once more.
Firm denial, unbearable pain. Everything seems to be ridiculing his choices again and again.
The detestable but all too familiar memories stab at his fingertips. All of the nerve endings in his entire body begin to fire in rhythm. Each breath feels as if knives are carving out his bones.
There is nothing at the end of the road you have chosen.
—With an agonizing breath, another bolt of lightning shatters the darkness and steels his conviction.
...
The ground begins to rumble slightly as if someone is laughing nearby.
As long as I disable my visual and audio modules, there's no way for you to hack me.
Even though intuition is guiding his judgement, Chrome is resolute in his decision.
...
The ground begins to rumble again as if the person laughing had taken a few steps closer.
An invisible coercive force quickly approaches from the left. As for what the force is, it is the gust of wind from a blade.
—CLANG!
Chrome's scythe collides with metal. The violent impact sends vibrations through his palms, numbing his knuckles.
With his usual resilience, Chrome would typically be unfazed by the pain from such intense vibrations.
However, with his visual and audio modules disabled, there was only one method to maintain his agility in combat—
—Improve the sensitivity of all modules in his perception cluster, even if it will cause severe pain. No... Pain is necessary to maintain M.I.N.D. stability with his visual and audio modules disabled.
Gusts of frigid wind attack from the left and right. Chrome turns to dodge the attack from the left while using his scythe to block the blade approaching from the right.
...Got you!
Right as Chrome finds an opening, he charges his scythe with lightning and strikes in the direction of the wind.
Bullseye!
Even though he has clearly landed a blow, there is no sense of struggle or pain typical of being stabbed. Instead, the enemy remains motionless like a stalwart wall.
A wall? Is this... a defense barrier?!
...
Someone answers from the point of impact. Despite being unable to hear what is said, he can sense the subtle vibration from the sound.
He wants to retreat, but his weapon is held in place by a mysterious force. Suddenly, Chrome feels the crushing sensation of being choked.
He feels as if his body is being corrupted by the Punishing Virus, which intensifies the magnitude of pain as if he is being skinned alive.
Still, Chrome continues to struggle alone in the darkness.
...I can't...
He grips his weapon tightly. Even though he feels the searing pain of his broken knuckles, he has lost all perception of his hands.
Regaining control of his weapon, Chrome unleashes an all-out attack at the enemy choking him!
Right as the blade connects with the enemy, the figure releases Chrome and takes several steps back.
Although he escapes the enemy's vice grip, Chrome is temporarily stunlocked due to the agonizing pain and corruption.
Just before he senses the subtle vibration of the opponent's footsteps approaching again, someone with high Punishing corruption quickly ambushes the enemy from behind.
Giving himself no time to catch his breath, Chrome uses this opportunity to turn and search for his teammates.
Kamui... Wanshi...
He still remembers their general position before blacking out. After fumbling along his memory for a few steps, a quivering breath brushes against his broken fingertips on the left.
...
Who's there...? Wanshi...?
Feeling his face, Chrome is vaguely able to recognize the contour of Wanshi's face.
Chrome grabs his shoulders and senses Wanshi trying to open the buttoned-up pocket of his tactical bag.
...What is Wanshi seeing?
Drowning in the hallucination, Chrome no longer is able to exert control over his body. Still, he struggles to take out the contents of his carrying bag. Perhaps, it will be of some use to Wanshi.
Chrome fumbles to help him open the intricate series of buttons on his carrying bag.
...If they get out of here alive, Chrome is going to request an easier bag to open for Wanshi first thing.
Just as this trivial thought comes to mind, the vibrations from the two people fighting gradually disappear. Instead, they are replaced by an earthquake-like rumble from underneath the lift.
The individual who had ambushed the enemy from behind approaches him, then stops nearby.
...Camu?
...
The rumbling from below grows in intensity. Even if there is still risk of being hacked, Chrome does not hesitate to activate the previously disabled modules.
With vision and hearing gradually restored, Chrome looks around to see Kamui, who normally has a sunny disposition, wearing a look of agonizing pain.
Koya... Koya!!
Kamui, you damn troglodyte! Wake the hell up!
Seeing that Kamui is still unconscious, Camu slams his fists on his chest. Still not fully awake, Camu gives him a swift kick in the pants.
Just now waking up, Wanshi sits up feebly and looks at Kamui anxiously. He is still grasping an empty syringe with trembling hands, which he had just taken out of the open carrying bag.
...Does he have any painful memories?
Wake up, damn it!
Kamui is shaken awake by Camu. He rubs his dizzy eyes, leaving traces of pain on his face.
...Koya...
Seeing the dark waterway in front of him, Kamui realizes that he was hallucinating just now. He stands up and gives a cheery, untimely smile to Camu, who returns the look with a grimace.
When did you get here?
Just now. You and Wanshi were lying on the ground.
Oh... I don't know why, but I found myself trapped playing a level I was stuck on for a month.
...
Is that what happened to you guys, too?
The agent hacked our audio and visual modules.
Phew... At least that wasn't real!
...
But after reflecting on his hallucination, his smile quickly fades.
No... It was...
Seeing Kamui wake up, Chrome breathes a heavy sigh of relief, then adjusts the sensitivity of his perception module back to normal. Even still, the trauma and pain he experienced in the dark had far exceeded the limit of what most people could endure.
...Wait, where is that guy?
They look around to see no sign of Vonnegut. Beneath the floor, the sound of rumbling is like a countdown to impending death.
Suddenly, immense pressure causes a crack to form in the floor as the Red Tide spews out from within!
...Looks like that wasn't the last of the Red Tide!
It's more diluted than before, but there's still a ton of it!
We need to get out of here!
The four of them quickly run to the exit, but at this speed, sooner or later, they will be surrounded by the Red Tide and the Hetero-Creatures occupying the waterway.
Camu, get Wanshi and Kamui out of here!
What's the big idea?
I'll try and hold off the Red Tide to buy you all some time!
...Let me help you. Not like the Red Tide will do anything to me.
On the way here, I found some switches that opened up some secret passages. It'll be easier if I just show you.
Captain!
Forget it. You won't listen anyway. Wanshi! Let's go clear the way.
...Alright. But don't wait up for us.
Relax! Wanshi, let's go!
...Alright. Be sure to come back in one piece.
