Story Reader / Main Story / 21 Spiral of Chronos / Story
Two hours have passed since the Hetero Tower emitted the unknown electromagnetic radiation, and hoards of Hetero-Creatures still surround the puny army of humanity.
What is worse is that in the past, one had trustworthy teammates watching each other's backs in battle, but now, due to that eerie red glow, no one can be trusted.
—Not even oneself.
Their vitals are stable... but they're still not conscious.
Of course, but Commandant, you... Commandant!
Liv cries out all of a sudden and rushes over with a medical kit.
You unconsciously wipe a spot of wetness near your mouth, thinking that it is rain... but it turns out to be fresh blood flowing out of your nose.
You thought the internal bleeding had already stopped but it is starting again. Is it because of the forced connection with too many Constructs...?
Have you exceeded the M.I.N.D. Connection limit...?! Commandant! Hang in there!
Liv takes out an emergency hemostatic agent and prepares for injection, but a hand tightly strangles her neck.
Even though a human's strength cannot do harm to Constructs, it still hurts Liv, but she does not dodge or resist, freely letting herself be strangled.
Don't worry... Commandant... It's all right...
Liv gently finishes the injection through the pain, but the Mind Beacon corruption brings even worse side effects—your other hand starts reaching for the holster.
Although you are able to stop your arm's movement by exerting your last ounce of control, it is clear that this body is slowly slipping away from your command.
Commandant, I'm here!
But then... Commandant, you'll be...
Abandoning all your weapons while being surrounded by enemies is no different than committing suicide... The only difference is that you probably could not even commit suicide if you wanted to right now.
I understand... We'll keep this area safe no matter what.
Liv finally carries out your commands after some persuasion. It is too dangerous to have weapons on you when there is a chance that you will lose control again.
—At that moment, good news arrives.
Commandant! I've found the Mountain Owl Commandant... It seems that he's still conscious.
Even though they're Constructs wrongly led here by Commandant Harley Jo, as long as we explain the situation to them, we should be able to get their trust and support.
If we can break through the weaker areas of their siege and take back our base near the Hetero Tower, then we'll have the advantage of being on home turf.
A-at least that's what the textbook says...
At the same time, this will ensure that Lee will have a way to retreat—Lee may have been injured during the mission, so you cannot let him be surrounded by even more enemies.
All right, I'll guide them over right now.
Of course... Hello, Mountain Owl Commandant, our commandant...
Just as Lucia is preparing to connect through to the Mountain Owl Commandant, you see him through the terminal's screen.
At that moment, that commandant fires a shot from his gun at the unsuspecting Lucia.
!!?
Although it was a normal gun the human fired, it was still enough to hurt Lucia.
Foolish Ascendant! You fell for it, hahaha! Destroy her, Mountain Owls!
This is not the Mountain Owl Commandant, but another commandant with a corrupted Mind Beacon. He has forcefully connected his Mind Beacon to the members of Mountain Owl.
Ugh... Mountain Owls! This is Gray Raven... Please snap out of it!
More bullets and weapons attack Lucia, but Lucia can only guard and retreat due to her compassionate nature.
Suddenly, all attacks cease—Icy frost slowly invades the joints of the Mountain Owls' frames, greatly lowering their mobility.
Chrome!
The Construct who accurately released the frost is none other than Strike Hawk Captain, Chrome.
Lucia, sorry that we're late!
Tsk! This should not happen... Why is there support for Ascendants?! But... I'm going to at least take you down!
The commandant grabs one of his Constructs' guns and blindly fires at Lucia. The huge recoil from a Construct's weapon causes him to fall after one shot.
But the bullet is blocked by the huge dark shield of a sword, causing no damage to Lucia at all.
Lucia! Can you stand?
Yes, thank you, Kamui.
Dammit!
Just as the Mountain Owl Commandant (?) tries to get up and continue shooting, a tranquilizing dart used by sniper rifles silently pierces the skin of his nape.
Agh... Ugh...
This is sometimes necessary for patients who don't cooperate.
From afar, Wanshi waves with a sniper rifle in hand.
Wanshi... Good job.
Gray Raven Commandant, except for Camu who's on a mission elsewhere... all three of us from Strike Hawk are here.
On it!
You wait until the comms is cut off before coughing out the blood that has been gathering around your throat.
Commandant?! How do you feel?!
That... that won't happen!
Your consciousness starts to blur. Only the Mind Beacon signal connected to Lee is still glowing, though faintly.
If Lee is still fighting, then you cannot lose to that light no matter what... let alone your weak self.
Looking up at the tower, the top seems like a perfect spot for a god to dwell and look down on the puny humans fighting for their lives.
But right now, someone is still climbing those stairs, trying to knock on the god's door.
