Story Reader / Main Story / 20 Across the Ruined Sea / Story
As the night falls, the shallow sea engulfed in a thin mist begins to darken. The visibility is gradually diminishing, and an intangible fear begins to surge in every corner.
...
A Purifying Force soldier walks out of the fog. He slowly heads toward the water full of red and dark colors and cluelessly reaches out his hand, as if he is trying to touch the peaceful sea surface.
Crimson tentacles suddenly rise from the water, gradually surrounding him. Several bright red spots also float to the fog-covered sea surface, catching the Construct soldiers off guard.
The Punishing Virus density detectors on the soldiers let off a loud alert, indicating the extremely high Punishing Virus concentration within the creatures hidden under these red spots. They are entirely made of the Punishing Virus, after all.
...
The Purifying Force soldiers have not faltered at all. Instead, they take a step forward, holding up the flare sticks.
The bright light helps the Hetero-Creatures to easily locate their targets, but also exposes them to others that are still hiding in the fog.
Numerous bullets are coming from all directions. Some are fired from behind the rocks, some from the shoal... A bullet fired directly behind the Purifying Force soldier barely misses his ear to hit the nearest Hetero-Creature.
The Hetero-Creature tries to crawl up, but another lance suddenly comes out from the fog, piercing its "head"... Or the part that looks like a head.
After confirming the Hetero-Creature is completely silent, the lance is quickly drawn out and disappears in the fog again, awaiting its next victim. Efficient and fatal.
A gigantic Hetero-Creature slowly crawls out from the sea, making a low, terrifying sound. It seems to have absorbed an enormous amount of Red Tide to grow this big.
It swings its tide-like arm to crush all the Hetero-Creatures in its way, then raises the arm again to aim at the Purifying Force soldiers holding torches. Their weapons are unable to tackle an enemy of this size.
Understood!
In contrast to the Hetero-Creature's crimson color, an icy blue glow appears from the fog. The thrusters on Lucia: Plume's hands begin to run, creating a cyclone that sucks nearby fog in and converts it into a freezing chill.
Lucia nods and dashes to the large Hetero-Creature in no time, then leaps into the air using the thruster's power. She slams the thruster on the Hetero-Creature's leg, unleashing the extremely low temperature within.
This hit alone cannot eliminate the large Hetero-Creature, but with its legs frozen, it can no longer maintain the balance of its gigantic body and falls on the sand.
It struggles to get up, but more lances appear and impale it to the ground. The agony makes it let out a human-like scream.
Noisy bastard...
The Purifying Force soldier shoves a flare into the Hetero-Creature's throat. Its twisted face is lit up by the burning flames.
He stares at the Hetero-Creature for a few seconds as it gets burned in fire and healed by the Red Tide again. Curiosity appears on his poker face for the first time.
He is slightly shocked when his name is called, then pulls out the anti-Corrupted large caliber gun to shoot at the Corrupted's head, until its so-called "head" completely vanishes on the sand.
As the fog gradually dissipates, other Hetero-Creatures also fall back to the sea. When the sea surface is peaceful again, other Purifying Force soldiers also come out from their hiding places while vigilantly searching for any remaining enemies.
Thanks to their caution, not many Purifying Force members are infected or injured, but the relentless battles over many days have made everyone's nerves extremely tense. Nonetheless, they have survived another night of Hetero-Creature attack.
After the battle, Lucia summons her thrusters back from the frozen sea. She wants to talk to the Purifying Force members, but only ends up returning in silence.
Commandant, are you okay?
Great... I'm the only Gray Raven here with you. Lee knows a lot, Liv is a Support frame, but neither of them is here. If anything happens to you... I'll never forgive myself. Please tell me immediately if you aren't feeling well.
Cold...? Should I give my coat to you, Commandant?
Noticing the thrusters covered in ice, Lucia suddenly realizes the "cold" came from herself. You were just telling a joke to make her relax a little bit.
She finally smiles and nods, then puts on a serious face before replying.
"Commandant, since you were the one who gave the order, please bear with this for a little longer." I bet Lee would be saying this.
Lucia looks at the night sky as she returns the katana to its sheath. Perhaps Babylonia is right there in space. Lee and Liv are waiting for them to return.
I knew it... This plan is quite risky and feels nothing like what Commandant would choose.
The reticent Purifying Force member almost died in the dark sea, but he does not seem to be impacted at all. He is just quietly organizing his gear.
Each night over the past few days, many Hetero-Creatures would infiltrate the shoreline along the shoal, entering the land.
The Purifying Force and us did our best to eliminate them... Still, a large number of Hetero-Creatures have broken through our defense and moved inland. If they ever find occupied shelters or conservation areas, many innocent people will die.
Instead of fighting "alongside" the Purifying Force, they had been fighting individually most of the time... Members of the Purifying Force are never good at coordinated operations, let alone a large-scale defense battle.
Babylonia has already agreed to deploy Omega Weapons to contain and eliminate the Red Tide at the entrance to the sea, but getting such a large quantity of Omega Weapons and troops together needs at least several more days.
My name is... Issarius. Tonight, I'll be the bait... You should also come and help.
A Purifying Force member came to Gray Raven's camp earlier this morning during his break. He left these words, then returned to his position without saying anything else.
It was quite rude by normal standards, but after spending a few days together, this could be considered his—or, the Purifying Force's—most genuine and sincere attempt of communication ever since Bianca left.
Issarius notices you are looking at him. He just nods in return.
It was the simplest bait strategy, but worked wonders. With the limited manpower available, this could arguably be the best plan to eliminate enemies in a large area... Except that nobody could ensure that he, as the bait, could survive.
You hardly agreed with such a dangerous plan, but could at least help with setting up the formation. With Lucia joining you, the chance of success was a lot higher.
Fortunately, you are able to hold the incoming Hetero-Creatures off the coastline as their numbers seem to be diminishing over time. Somehow, your instinct is warning you that a greater danger lies underneath.
Apart from Bianca... We don't really know the Purifying Force well.
Many Purifying Force soldiers vanished on this beach forever over the past few nights. You did not even know their names, but none of them showed any fear or hesitation.
—Perhaps they had already forgotten the feeling of fear during the countless purging missions.
You are about to inspect the battlefield with Lucia, but suddenly feel a gust from the sea that brings a putrid, rotten smell. Not far away, Issarius suddenly gets on his feet, gazing into the distance.
Over there...!
He calls out with a controlled voice as the ground begins to tremble. An enormous, pale figure rises from the center of the sea, sending crimson tides rushing toward the shore.
Sharp crystals formed by high-density Punishing Virus protrude from the water after the tides sweep past.
Lucia immediately rushes out after hearing the alert, activating Plume's quick frost power to freeze a large area of sea and buying time for the Purifying Force to fall back.
When everyone has moved to higher ground, you finally have the time to observe what exactly the giant shadow is.
Could it be a Hetero-Creature...? But this size is way too...
Issarius shakes his head and squints into the distance. Just like Lucia, he has never seen any monster like that before.
I've never seen anything like this... But it seems quite challenging to kill.
The detailed origin of this monster is still unknown, but it is definitely linked to the Red Tide entering the sea.
Humans learned a hard lesson in the past battles. All tactics and weapons were futile against the Red Tide—an amorphous monster that devours everything. But there is still one hope right now, which gives everyone a reason to keep fighting.
Roger that! On it now...
Lucia nods and attempts to use her terminal to connect to Babylonia. The process only takes a couple of seconds, but it feels like centuries.
Hello...?
This is Lucia from Gray Raven. As per the battle plan submitted to Lee earlier, Commandant, myself, as well as approximately 30 Purifying Force members are holding our position on the shore where Copperfield Aquarium was located.
Lucia looks back at the giant humanoid in the distance. It seems to be slowly approaching the coastline.
We suspect an unknown mutation has occurred as the Red Tide gathers... A possible new Hetero-Creature of extremely large size has emerged. The potential damage could be devastating if it ever gets on the land.
Hah, what if I say no...?
The voice suddenly rings a bell. It's the red-haired captain of Cerberus.
Right, this is Vera of Cerberus. You still remember my voice after so long... Ouch!
The communication is interrupted abruptly. You worry that they could be attacked by the enemy.
The next moment, you hear Vera's furious shout from the terminal.
Noctis...! Can't you even drive a boat now?!
What?! Blame the creepy waves, not me!
If Noctis can't do it, I will.
Hah, I would rather just jump off the boat. I am more likely to survive that way.
Is that so? I see.
The muffled roar of Noctis soon comes from the other side, sounding as if his head is being squeezed.
Oi!! Take your stupid robot off my face! I can't see anything!
But aren't you going to jump off the boat? Buddy may want to help you...
It's called sarcasm, don't you understand...?! Captain, get No. 21 off me!
It's your job to take care of her, not mine. Figure it out yourself.
It isn't my ******* job either!
Well, it is starting now. Captain's order.
The other side of the terminal has turned into chaos, but Vera does not seem to care. She just casually tidies her hair and talks again as if nothing happened.
Ahem... This is Vera, captain of Cerberus. We have been requested by the HQ to assist Gray Raven in the siege of Copperfield Aquarium.
How are the Omega Weapons, Vera?
They are sort of ready, but according to Asimov's estimate, for the Omega Weapons to contain and eliminate a Red Tide of this scale, they must be spread out and deployed in appropriate locations.
Thanks to Karenina and the Engineering Force's effort, Omega Weapons have entered mass production in the lunar base. But now that the lunar base is severely damaged, we must put them to the best use.
The Engineering Force worked overnight to install auto-drifting engines on some Omega Weapons. Once we put them in the sea, they will automatically head to the right position and activate. Unfortunately, we can't do so on the coastline and need to manually deploy them.
At least we'll be there when we finish setting up the Omega Weapons in the sea... That's all. Bye.
Although the Purifying Force has not suffered a great loss, most of the members have been wounded over the past few days of fighting. As not many Support Constructs are assigned to the Purifying Force, some members are unable to function due to lack of repair.
Oh, Commandant seems in trouble. Time for our grand entrance. Yo!
A tall figure is rapidly sliding down the sand dune not far away. Under his feet is a greatsword that is almost as long as a person, which he is using as a sandboard.
No one else could have done this in Babylonia.
Despite his awesome stance, Kamui does not seem to know how to brake well. After spinning a few rounds on the sand, he finally comes to a halt by driving the greatsword into the sand.
Kamui's here too... Now we have one more to help us, Commandant!
Actually, I'm not the only one. Captain and others are also here. But I was the first to arrive!
Kamui sounds easy, but the battle marks on his body indicate that Strike Hawk was also engaged in a long fight with the Hetero-Creatures that broke through the defense.
Kamui just wipes his nose, smiles and nods. He then jumps up, waving at the dune.
Captain! We're here!
Kamui... I did ask you to go to Gray Raven first, but you shouldn't have ignored the terminal.
Chrome sighs as he walks down the dune. He pats on Kamui's shoulder, then salutes to you.
Commandant, four members of Strike Hawk have arrived. You can give us any task.
Correct. He's heading toward the outer defense point.
Over there.
You find another figure on the dune. He just yawns and waves at you.
I'm not going down. This is a good sniping spot... I'll cover you from here.
Don't worry. He's most awake at this time of the night.
You then hear the last member of Strike Hawk from Chrome's terminal.
I have arrived at the defense point on the outer coastline.
Understood. Please protect the deployed Omega Weapons from the enemy attack.
Alright, I'll just kill everything coming this way. An easy task isn't too bad sometimes... I'll leave the rest to you.
A Babylonian light vessel is rapidly approaching the shore. It must be Vera and Cerberus.
