Story Reader / Floating Record / ER07 Soaring Beyond / Story
Argh—
A red gleam races toward him in his field of vision. The soldier feels his body violently thrown backward before it hits the wall with a thud and helplessly slides down to the ground.
He strains to make out his attacker's identity through the thick gun smoke.
Hah. Futile resistance.
That mask... ****! So it's you, Spikehead!
She remains quiet, slowly raising her spear and pointing it at the soldier's head. He immediately falls silent.
You're like locusts during harvest, swarming and buzzing with your insufferable noise.
Unless I destroy your hope at its very source, you'll keep pushing my limits, time and time again.
Veronica...
Speak.
The imprisoned humans have escaped, including the commandant from Babylonia and Dimitri.
...
The female mechanoid does not answer immediately, instead raising her eyes to survey her surroundings.
The once-standing buildings have all crumbled to ruins in the riot, while her rage continues to intensify.
Did they escape, or did you let them go?
They were being held in the spacecraft docking area. Even with some combat capability, that Construct wouldn't be able to breach the gates there.
Not to mention that the Administrative Hall's security codes are nearly impossible to crack... You're telling me that they escaped just like that?
Cough. Please don't be angry, Veronica.
On the other end of the line, Aleksei speaks with an unfamiliar emotion that Veronica doesn't recognize, his tone completely indifferent.
You have one minute to explain yourself.
Sigh. I didn't want this either, but your associate—Hanying—rescued them. The autonomous mechanoids and I tried our best to stop her.
But... Hanying is completely devoted to the humans. She single-handedly took down both me and the autonomous mechanoids.
A mechanoid of such power... I'm no match for her.
He shakes his head with an exaggerated display of sorrow.
Hanying...
...Hah, how absurd. So she's made a deal with that commandant and sided with the humans now?
She sneers.
Veronica, I'm different from her... You know I'm on your side.
That's why I must warn you, Veronica, as your loyal friend.
Bifrost is entering its final charging phase. We can't afford any mistakes now.
He turns to show the screen behind him through the comms feed. The lengthy loading process is nearly complete.
I don't need you to remind me of that.
To build our new world, we must eliminate any possibility of human interference.
You know how humans are—always selfish, always arrogant, forever dreaming of eradicating those different from them and ruling this world.
He waves his arms about in an exaggerated, theatrical manner.
Once Babylonia discovers this place, they'll fire up their orbital cannons, their Longinus Arsenal, and then—BOOM!
That day will never come.
A piercing gleam flashes in the red mechanoid's eyes, growing colder by the second.
Babylonia is humanity's last hope, just as you said, and now it's finally time to snuff it out completely.
Alright... I've made it to the control room, Veronica.
It's time to begin the final phase.
Cough... You should get here soon. We don't have much time—that human commandant and Hanying are our biggest wild cards.
...Aleksei, you've been acting strange lately.
Ah... Must be your imagination?
Veronica ends the call without a word. The whooshing sound of rushing wind in the final moments tells Aleksei that she is already on the move.
The final charging phase... is about to begin.
...
Babylonia...
Lowering his gaze, he figures this somewhat serviceable vessel might last a few days longer than the previous one.
Once Bifrost is activated, will Babylonia still be able to turn a blind eye to all of this?
Two of our kin... Ha, no, three of them lost. Can the Church of Machina really keep ignoring this?
Ah... This is perfect.
That future... The one we should have realized, the world we mechanoids should have built...
If you're not willing to do it... then I'll forge that future myself.
Upon hearing about the recent communication with Babylonia from you, Hanying furrows her brows.
Hmm... So they've activated Bifrost. But still, we must stop Veronica.
According to the resistance, if we can't cut off the reactor's power supply... it'll be nearly impossible to stop Bifrost.
What do you mean, Commandant?
In other words, there's likely a mechanism that can directly shut down Bifrost.
There might be a trap ahead. You should not put all your eggs in one basket.
Let me go. If I encounter Veronica, I might stand a chance against her.
After strategizing with you briefly, Hanying volunteers to stop Veronica while you and Liv take another route to find Bifrost's potential control room to halt its activation directly.
Well then, let's go.
I will.
Take care of yourselves too. When this is all over, let's meet at the top of Bifrost.
After bidding farewell to you and Liv, Hanying sets out alone on her journey.
Bifrost is just up ahead. That guard who was impersonating Lee ran off in this direction too.
Autonomous mechanoid guards patrol the entrance, keeping a vigilant watch on their surroundings.
...An express elevator straight to Bifrost? No wonder there are so many mechanoids guarding it. They must consider this place crucial.
These autonomous mechanoids are following Veronica's orders. Looks like a fight is inevitable.
