The sky was torn apart by dozens of missiles launched in rapid succession, one after another, like a rain of blazing comets slicing through the air at high speed.
The incandescent tails of the projectiles streaked across the horizon in fiery trails, each one illuminating the heavens as if the very stars themselves were being hurled at the enemy.
Moments later, the deep thunder of the warships' main cannons filled the air. A chorus of metallic booms answered in unison as columns of smoke rose, briefly shrouding the sea beneath a thick, ashen veil.
The guns spat out massive shells that carved through the sky, leaving behind glowing paths of orange and amber. Each blast painted the night with light and devastation— the opening movement of a true symphony of war.
On the aircraft carrier deck, the flight units began taking off in formation, one after another, the sharp wail of their thrusters cutting through the wind.
Inside the main hangar, Arthur watched the organized chaos through the reinforced glass window. A faint smile tugged at his lips.
"How about we get this party started?" he said, stepping out of the office and adjusting his collar with an almost provocative calm.
He had changed clothes— the outfit he'd been wearing when he arrived in this world was, in the best possible description, ruined.
Now he wore something entirely different.
His attire was a long black leather coat, rigid and perfectly tailored to his body, adorned with golden details running along the edges and seams. The high, upturned collar lent him an authoritative, almost military presence, while the three buckles across his chest gave the outfit a structured look, as though each piece had been designed for a meticulous warrior.
The inside of the coat revealed a deep red lining, visible only when he moved.
A diagonal belt held small pouches and a dangling metal accessory. The ensemble continued with equally black pants, marked by strategically placed golden zippers, and robust boots wrapped around the calves with straps and buckles— reinforcing the image of someone eternally prepared for battle.
It was an outfit designed to impress…
and to intimidate.
If not for the lack of the traditional blindfold, anyone would swear he was just another elite android.
[Image]
The answer came immediately.
"I'd love to~," A2 replied, her voice dripping with irony and excitement, while 2B— immaculate in her posture— simply nodded.
The three walked side by side down the metallic corridor, red warning lights blinking along the walls as the engines' constant hum echoed in the background. Tension hung heavy in the air, but so did something electrifying— the anticipation of those about to dive into a war in the sky.
Without further delay, they entered their flight units.
Within seconds, the thrusters ignited like miniature suns, launching the machines upward.
The wind battered them as they ascended in formation, and soon the battlefield sprawled before them: a vast wall of smoke, lights, and destruction. On the radar, a dense web of red dots approached rapidly— enemies, missiles, and flying machine lifeforms. A swarm. A metallic storm ready to crash into them.
You're probably wondering why the hell he doesn't just fly on his own instead of bothering with one of those entirely unnecessary flight units.
The answer, believe it or not, is absurdly simple:
he does it because he wants to.
Yes. That straightforward.
No technical limitation.
No restriction.
No physical or tactical impediment.
He simply decided— out of pure whim, or perhaps a very specific type of stubbornness— that today was not a day to fly by himself.
But of course, that wasn't the only reason.
White and 2B contributed massively to this decision… and "contributed" is putting it lightly.
They practically cornered him— each presenting arguments with the precision of a guided missile and the persistence of someone who refuses to accept "no," even if the universe collapses.
White launched into a lecture worthy of a thousand-page technical manual, explaining how this would make everything "statistically safer," while 2B merely crossed her arms and offered one silent, devastating look of agreement.
And in the end… even someone as proud as him knows when he's outnumbered.
So here we are: him piloting a flight unit he doesn't need… simply because today it was easier to deal with loud turbines than with White's endless sermon and 2B's silent, soul-piercing judgment.
The truth is, sometimes it's not even about necessity.
It's just a dangerous mixture of stubbornness, external pressure, and that strange form of peace that comes when a person accepts that resisting will take more effort than giving in.
And let's be honest… even heroes have days when avoiding unnecessary headaches is the best option.
---xXx---
Energy beams and gunfire began streaking through the air toward them.
The response came in the form of precise evasive maneuvers.
In mere seconds, the sky became a hellscape— a chaotic dance of explosions, debris, and incandescent sparks.
In the blink of an eye, a chain of explosions lit up the heavens.
Columns of fire and smoke rose, turning night into day.
[Flight Units 4, 7, and 11 have been shot down. Remaining units, regroup according to Plan C.]
The feminine voice echoed across the communicators— 6O, 2B's operator.
Plan C was simple but effective: the surviving fighters were to form a 360-degree defensive formation, fighting back-to-back to cover every angle of attack and prevent the enemy from exploiting blind spots. It was a survival tactic specifically designed for swarm battles— and right now, that's exactly what they were facing.
Among all the androids deployed for the mission, only 2B and A2 remained at Arthur's side.
The others had been reassigned by his direct order to different priority tasks.
White, his commanding officer, had insisted on sending additional YoRHa reinforcements to ensure the safety of the "human element" on the team.
But Arthur refused without hesitation.
"Don't waste units on me."
Those had been his words.
2B, who had already witnessed Arthur's power in battle, knew that her concern was unnecessary. The man was, quite literally, an army contained within a single body.
If anyone needed protection there, it was them.
The statistics spoke for themselves: the number of enemies Arthur had eliminated already exceeded the thousands.
The way he moved through the air— precise, instinctive, predatory— made it obvious that he was a force of nature.
Of course, that didn't stop her from insisting he use the flight unit.
Within moments, a massive gap opened in the enemy's aerial defenses. Machine lifeforms began falling in droves, swallowed by their own explosions. The breach in the enemy lines was colossal— and intentional.
From the radio, a mechanical voice announced solemnly:
[Fireworks Operation has begun. All flight units must provide escort and keep a safe distance to avoid damage from the destruction.]
A fierce smile spread across Arthur's face. His eyes gleamed with the thrill of seeing his strategy unfold perfectly.
He took a deep breath and muttered through his teeth:
"What I'm about to do… I'm going to enjoy it. I'm going to enjoy it a lot."
"9S, is the cannon ready?" Arthur asked through the communicator, cutting through the constant roar of the turbines and the distant crashing of waves.
[Yes, it can be fired at any moment,] 9S replied— his voice brimming with confidence and excitement.
"Good. Wait for my signal."
Arthur fixed his gaze on the vast ocean ahead.
[Okay!] the young android answered cheerfully.
Arthur's smile grew— light, almost predatory. "Alright, girls… time to play with our prey."
"By prey, you mean…" 2B began, her voice calm, but her hand already tightening around the hilt of her sword.
"Grün," Arthur replied without hesitation. "A colossal machine lifeform designed solely to annihilate androids. It's hiding beneath those waters, but… not for long."
As soon as he finished speaking, the sea before them began to churn violently.
A deep, metallic rumble echoed from the depths, followed by a vast shadow rising from the waves.
The entire ocean seemed to recoil from the creature.
The surface swelled like a liquid wall as Grün ascended. Its towering silhouette resembled the fusion of a prehistoric crustacean and a mechanical leviathan.
Its massive red eyes glowed like industrial furnaces. Along its sides, dozens of mechanical tentacles rose— thick, segmented limbs that moved with inhuman precision. A single strike from one of those arms could crush destroyers like paper.
The armored plates covering its body were held together by rivets and energy conduits pulsing with a yellowish glow— as if an atomic heart still beat within that colossal carcass.
Atop its body rose structures like industrial smokestacks, belching black smoke. It looked like a living fortress, a walking relic.
"Let's begin. Get back," Arthur said, floating out of the flight unit with an almost supernatural calm. The strong winds whipped at his black leather coat as he hovered before the emerging monster.
"Understood," A2 replied, already moving away.
"Be careful," 2B said softly, but firmly.
Arthur lifted the communicator. "9S, prep the antimatter cannon."
You're probably wondering where in all seven hells this antimatter cannon came from. After all, this world certainly shouldn't have anything remotely close to such a weapon, right?
And indeed, you'd be absolutely correct.
There is— or rather, there should be— no device on this planet capable of manipulating antimatter.
So how the hell did this weapon get here?
Well… the answer, as always, was right there, rubbing itself in everyone's face with almost offensive convenience:
that technological sphere.
Inside it— compressed in layers of quantum information, shielded by encryption that would make supercomputers weep— was the complete blueprint for the weapon. Not just generic schematics, but full instructions: diagrams, formulas, energy parameters, substitute materials to compensate for the lack of nanotechnology, and even safety protocols that read more like threats than warnings.
And even stranger: the file wasn't merely an assembly manual.
It contained historical records, firing simulations, notes, and even test logs.
[It will take a few seconds for it to be ready to fire,] 9S reported, his fingers dancing across the control panel in a calculated frenzy.
"That's more than enough," Arthur murmured, a calm smile spreading across his face.
He raised his arms, and behind him, hundreds of golden portals began to manifest.
From each portal, a magic wand emerged.
"Time for annihilation," Arthur said— and then everything erupted in light.
The wands fired in unison, unleashing beams of energy and magical explosions that tore through the sky. The storm of power rained down upon Grün and the countless flying machine lifeforms accompanying it.
Each impact ripped armor plates from the colossus, scattering glowing debris across the waves. Grün's roar reverberated through the clouds, and each attempt it made to retaliate was crushed by another barrage, keeping it trapped in a vortex of destruction.
[The antimatter cannon is ready to fire!] 9S announced, his voice trembling with excitement at the scale of the power he was about to unleash.
"Very well," Arthur replied, watching as the golden portals behind him slowly closed. "I'm finished here as well."
By now, the ocean was boiling under the heat of the explosions. All the smaller enemy units had been utterly obliterated. Only the primary target remained— the monstrous machine lifeform known as Grün.
Arthur quickly moved away, floating to a safe distance. "9S, fire."
[Firing in 3… 2… 1…]
BOOOOOOOOMMMMM!
The sound was deafening.
A colossal beam of red energy tore across the sky.
The impact struck Grün dead-center, and for a moment, everything vanished into a white flash that swallowed the horizon.
The blast sent a shockwave surging across the sea, raising walls of water and warping the air. As the smoke finally began to fade, only the distant echo of unleashed power remained.
The colossus' body lay still. At least seventy percent of its structure had been disintegrated— reduced to incandescent scrap floating on the raging waters. Its once-glowing lights dimmed, one by one, until only silence remained.
Grün's functions were completely terminated.
Arthur watched the scene for a moment, then with a faint smile, murmured:
"Operation complete."
(End of chapter)