Story Reader / Floating Record / ER11 Begin Anew / Story
If we hadn't seen you teaching refugee children in those bullet-riddled ruins, we might've lost your talent forever.
Welcome to Gestrig, Ms. Martha.
Here we have full teaching resources and a safe environment, protected by our own forces—no more worries about Corrupted attacks.
Unlike that run-down conservation area, we believe you'll have a much better educational experience here.
Why abandon those children when they were only 5 points away from the passing score?
...
Still asking foolish questions? Gestrig's students belong to the company—those without value don't deserve resources.
You've wasted nearly my whole morning. Did you forget the noon graduation photos? The students are waiting downstairs.
Look, they're already in lab uniforms, ready for one of the company's greatest initiatives—the Seventh Matrix Project.
Using human consciousness to model and train AI with social ethics and combat abilities.
Instead of concerning yourself with those worthless rejects, you should be proud of these graduates.
The students who participated in the project are suffering from mental disorders...?
Forgive my frankness, but you should focus on the next wave of children receiving education, not those finished products.
...Fine, I can understand your concerns to some extent. Just this once, I'll make an exception and disclose some information to you.
Due to a shortage of test subjects within the company, researchers can "consent" to become consciousness samples themselves.
This process generates intense neural pulses, which likely cause the abnormalities in them. But these are all minor issues.
Company property is for the company to dispose of as it pleases. You understand this principle perfectly well.
...
The sound of artillery fire pulls Martha briefly from her memories.
E-District, 23rd Street. Units 41 through 50 will guide residents to evacuate westward. Get as many people as possible to the safe zone in Gestrig.
Reporting, officer. Units 43, 45, and 46 have been destroyed. The remaining seven will carry out the mission together.
The Corrupted are attacking from three directions in the east. The inner city ring... there are no defense forces left in the city center. They'll soon occupy the central ruins, but if that happens...
Do you want to live or get promoted after passing the test? Most of the Corrupted are heading straight for the central district. Making a last stand would only sacrifice them for nothing. After they're all gone, this place will become the next battlefield.
...Yes, madam.
Have the others left?
All units have proceeded to different areas to guide civilians, as per your instructions.
Yes.
The experiment failed. The out-of-control mechanoids destroyed the laboratory and attracted the Punishing Virus.
Your students... those researchers likely all died in that incident.
But I don't understand why you brought back the remaining test subjects... and even dressed them like your former students.
Don't they resemble the former students?
Hmm... looking closely, there is a slight resemblance.
Are you planning to save them from being scrapped... by using this pretense?
Haha, it's certainly a clever approach, but I must remind you that since they're company property, you'll need to prove their value...
By just the second test, 23 units were forcibly decommissioned by the Ninth Directive in their programming for fleeing combat.
Astounding figures... heh, you really are foolishly kind.
Is it because you see echoes of your former students in them that you're projecting both your guilt and kindness onto these test subjects?
I strongly advise you to face reality—those students are already <size=50>dead</size>!
What you're now "teaching" is nothing but a bunch of mechanoids designed to serve as "weapons."
Giving "weapons" a humanizing education, allowing them to develop emotions...
The result is that self-aware weapons disobey orders, flee combat, and get forcibly decommissioned by the Ninth Directive!
End this teacher-student charade while you still can.
A last resort? Well, there might be one...
If they pass the final test, the Ninth Directive will be erased, and they might still survive—albeit as weapons.
But on one condition... you cannot allow a single Corrupted to enter the central district of City 141.
Otherwise, complete control over them will be transferred to the opposing faction led by Horst.
It must be simpler to just issue commands as a superior—you've long since lost the right to call yourself a "teacher."
M-Ma'am! This crimson marker—the Corrupted have already invaded the central district!
According to company protocol, your authority over those weapons has already—
I know. They've disappeared from our monitoring screens... How's the evacuation going?
The main group is almost at Gestrig's library, which is an excellent defensive position, but...
Continue.
The Corrupted are already chasing the crowd toward Gestrig, and also...
He spots Horst's figure in the distance.
Martha's eyebrow rises involuntarily.
That was the last report, from ten minutes ago. I'm afraid the ground floor may already be overrun...
Martha retrieves a magnetic key from the shelf.
What are you going to do?
To the library, where the students are. This device has a limited range.
The Corrupted are everywhere outside. You'll get yourself killed!
I'll go alone. Go find somewhere safe for yourselves.
She takes one last look at the fully armed soldiers before walking straight out the door.
She guides the crowd to Gestrig, but the Corrupted's attack follows. She and the students stay behind to cover the retreat.
The flower beds once blooming with fluorescent chrysanthemums have become a sea of flames. A rolling cloud of red-tinged smoke conceals countless shattered mechanical bodies in its depths.
(Roar)
Tsk.
MAXIMUM ENGINE THRUST
Her figure shoots forward like a scarlet lightning bolt. Just before the cleaver falls, she snatches No. 18's frame back.
Core damaged. Inevitably, this one has been sacrificed too.
Next.
POWER OUTPUT EXCEEDED
This time it's No. 19. Her processing center recorded many strange things, and she always liked to tell Jetavie what humans call "dad jokes"...
No. 25 loved data puzzles, and recently expanded one to an astonishing 3 square meters.
No. 31 made many oddly-shaped paper airplanes, saying "someday I'll make a cardboard contraption to lift Jetavie into the sky."
ENERGY REMAINING: 43.21%
FRAME DAMAGE: 23.57%
No. 34... No. 41... No. 56...
ENERGY REMAINING: 30.14%
FRAME DAMAGE: 43.57%
The damage to her frame far exceeds what she can safely withstand, yet Jetavie remains oblivious, relentlessly rushing across the battlefield.
Jetavie!!
...?
CONNECTION RESTORED
She snaps out of it, barely dodging the next bullet before it strikes her.
...They're all dead.
Through the gunsmoke, all she sees are the shattered bodies of students.
The devastating scene causes her consciousness to falter, constantly operating beyond capacity until she finally loses all reason from lack of energy.
...Sure.
To clear out the approaching Corrupted, the young woman darts away again, while you lead all the surviving students Jetavie had rescued toward the library.
Ugh...
Ewig, your right leg is broken.
Teacher, please leave me here.
Ewig tries to pull away from your grasp.
You're already injured. If you continue carrying us forward, you'll die.
You hold Ewig firmly in place, then turn to gesture for the students behind to continue moving forward.
This frame's right leg is broken and my engine is damaged. Without mobility, I no longer have any military value.
The whistling sound of stray bullets cuts through the air. You instinctively dodge to the side—
Suppressing the excruciating pain in your leg, you rise and help the fallen Ewig back up.
With the death cry of another Corrupted, a young girl's silhouette flashes back to the teacher's side.
The Corrupted in the area have been eliminated, Teacher... Let me help carry Ewig.
The battle situation is still unstable, and we have some distance to cover before reaching the library. We need to pick up our pace.
The Gestrig Library, formerly a place of tranquility, is now filled with the screams of crowds and the dull thunder of artillery fire.
The students stationed here all bear scars of varying degrees, yet they force themselves to remain vigilant for any sudden developments.
What a brilliant evacuation operation, "Teacher."
Horst's voice suddenly rings out from the communication terminal issued by Leibowitz.
Is that so? All I saw was a massive number of Corrupted suddenly launching an attack, causing this city to fall under dire circumstances.
As for you, "Teacher"... you look terrible. You've sustained quite a few injuries during the evacuation, haven't you?
In this futile struggle, by risking your life to command a group of mechanoids unrelated to you, what are you hoping to achieve with this?
Hmph, still playing this pointless game of make-believe?
Even with military-grade defenses, this library won't hold out long against the Corrupted assault—you will likely, no, you will definitely die here.
Let's be frank. Even though the Corrupted have invaded, and even though you just stepped in to lead the evacuation, our agreement still stands.
Talented individuals deserve better treatment from the company. If you leave with me now, you still have a chance.
...Why? Well, if you're still worried that your students will be treated as weapons—
Let me give you a friendly reminder. Our mutual objective has already been achieved.
The Corrupted have invaded the central districts of the city. Your students have all been... liberated.
So, you might as well abandon your role as commandant and leave this place.
...What a shame.
On the other end of the communication channel, Horst shakes his head with feigned regret. A cold smile spreads across his face as he moves his hands behind his back, seemingly operating something unseen.
CONTROL TRANSFER PROTOCOL: ACTIVATED
ATTACK
<color=#ff4e4eff><i>(Command received)</i></color>
<color=#ff4e4eff><i>(Firing)</i></color>
————
Suddenly, intense pain erupts from your back—several bullets tear into your body from behind.
As you turn around, you discover that all the students behind you have vacantly raised their weapons, aiming directly at you.
Watch out!!
MASS COMMAND: ATTACK
As bullets fly, Jetavie lunges forward, pushing you away as you are momentarily stunned by the excruciating pain.
Argh!
She uses her mechanoid body to shield you in her arms from the bullets, her damaged armor exposing sparking circuitry beneath.
Missed the mark? You were supposed to aim for that human's heart—let's try again.
MASS COMMAND: ATTACK
(Our guns... they're pointed at Teacher!!)
The blood splattered across the human's combat suit jolts Ewig painfully back to her senses. An unprecedented resistance signal interrupts the execution of the command, and Ewig stubbornly forces her gun barrel away...
<b>Obey my command.</b>
...
<color=#ff4e4eff><i>Command rejected</i></color>
NO.53 <color=#ff4e4eff><i>Command rejected</i></color>, NO.47 <color=#ff4e4eff><i>Command rejected</i></color>, NO.39 <color=#ff4e4eff><i>Command rejected</i></color>...
NINTH DIRECTIVE: WARNING
Beep-beep-beep—high-frequency sounds like death knells ring from the students' neck collars.
What's going on? You'd rather trigger the Ninth Directive than follow orders?
I'm giving you one last chance. Kill that human "teacher" of yours.
...
<color=#ff4e4eff><i>Command rejected Command rejected Command rejected Command rejected Command rejected Command rejected</i></color>
NINTH DIRECTIVE: EXECUTION
Crimson electric currents shoot out from their neck collars, gripping their throats in a deadly embrace.
...!!
The electric currents grow wider—gradually engulfing their entire bodies. It's too late—everything seems to happen in an instant.
Jetavie rushes to their side, ignoring the electric currents attacking her, and frantically tries to tear off their neck collars—but the collars are locked by the directive and won't budge an inch.
No. 53, No. 47, No. 39... one after another, their bodies fall apart under the destructive force of the electric currents.
Jetavie, once we pass the test, let's make caramel together. It'll be the sweetest in the world—you'll definitely love it!
Jetavie, don't always put so many flavor signals in the energy cans; it'll affect your charging efficiency...
Jetavie, have you ever tried standing on the clock tower at sunset? Your visual modules can everything from there.
Jetavie, we...
...
Electricity courses up her arm, intense pain signals bombarding her central processor, yet Jetavie still clutches desperately at her companion's neck collar.
ENERGY REMAINING: 25.48%
FRAME DAMAGE: 51.56%
The faces of these individuals flash rapidly before Jetavie's eyes—why is it happening again? She's powerless, unable to do anything except grit her teeth and burn them into her databanks.
TENTH DIRECTIVE—EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN COMMAND
The crimson electrical currents suddenly disappear, and in an instant, they all collapse to the ground like unplugged machines.
Martha?!
A blood-covered woman stands at the emergency exit, apparently having sustained serious injuries on her way here. Even in this state, her aged body remains perfectly upright.
In her hand, she tightly grips a small fluorescent cube—the device that caused all the students to shut down.
...
Her gaze sweeps calmly over the scene, confirming that all students have escaped death through the emergency shutdown. Those old yet keen eyes now fill with exhaustion and relief.
—In the next instant, she collapses. Having rushed here from the underground command center, she had already used every last ounce of her strength.
Tsk, in that case—
BOOM—
The library doors are violently blown open by the explosive blast wave—
Gwynplaine—making his spectacular entrance!
