The assault landing submarine Tuatha de Danaan, TDD-1, was now diving even deeper.
It would move closer to the coastline before finally surfacing to launch a surprise raid and rescue the hostages.
As for the plan, there were two versions.
The current plan on the surface had been drawn up by the executive officer on the assumption that Mr. Kain's strength could no longer be counted on.
After that last beam had completely destroyed a frigate, they had tried to contact him, but could not get through.
Moreover, one of the observation devices they had deployed on the sea surface had captured fire in the area where the beam had been fired, suggesting an explosion.
In other words, something had very likely happened to Mr. Kain.
"Sergeant Mao, Sergeant Weber, AS deployment complete!"
In the hangar, the two of them were already inside their Arm Slaves, beginning warm-up procedures.
"Begin installation of the folding flight wings."
To put it simply, this meant fitting the AS units with short-range flight equipment, since the submarine could not approach the coast too closely because of the heavy artillery positions of this new enemy.
"The Arbalest is ready as well!"
The Arbalest was Mithril's newly developed experimental unit, equipped with Lambda Driver technology.
It would be launched out by rocket, and then, under the cover of Sergeant Mao and Sergeant Weber, Sousuke would board it together with Captain Tessa and use it to escape.
Of course, there were precautions in case it fell into enemy hands, so self-destruct measures had also been prepared.
"Chief, just how much energy would it take to fire a shot powerful enough to blow a frigate apart like that, and all from something so small?"
Inside the cockpit of his M9 Arm Slave, Kurz replayed that death ray again and again.
If the energy consumed by that shot were converted into electrical output, he had no idea how many times it could fully charge an M9.
And that kind of power, according to the observed data, had come from a humanoid mechanical frame only about two and a half meters tall?
That thing had also shot down all the missiles. He could not imagine how absurdly powerful it really was.
"No idea."
"You think that thing has something to do with that brat?"
"No idea."
So Kurz stopped asking.
He knew that if he asked a third time, Chief would stop responding to him entirely.
In that case, he might as well close his eyes and rest a little.
After all, chances to storm a military base and exchange fire like this were rare.
Dangerous, yes, but thrilling too.
...
By now, everyone on the passenger plane knew what kind of situation they were facing.
They knew a special hijacking incident had occurred. They knew the plane was not heading for Okinawa at all, but for the northern peninsula.
Even though there were no terrorists left on board now and the cabin itself was safe, the plane still could not turn back.
There was not enough fuel. They could only land at the nearest airport, and that meant an old military base airfield.
Most of the passengers felt deeply uneasy about that country, since it had remained hostile to their own for so long.
"Hm?"
Tessa stared in surprise at the phone screen Kaname was showing her.
On it was the message Kaname had typed:
You're not really Interpol, are you? So who exactly are you people?
At the moment, Sousuke had already revealed his identity as an Interpol officer in order to calm people down.
He said that they had received intelligence about a terrorist attack from the start, which was why they had infiltrated Jindai High School under false identities.
As for why the two of them looked so young, the explanation was naturally that they simply looked younger than their actual age, and were in fact already in their twenties.
And to make the lie more convincing, they had even produced identification documents, fake ones, of course.
Naturally, they were not stupid enough to announce the whole Interpol story to everyone on the plane. That would have been asking to die.
That identity had only been disclosed to the captain and a few others, including Kaname, after which the captain informed the other passengers of part of the situation and tried to keep them calm.
As for the question itself, it was perfectly normal for Kaname to be suspicious.
Her experiences had not been the same as everyone else's.
Kaname had interacted with them far more than anyone else. She had taken the Earth Elixir and had even undergone an examination in that machine. None of that looked remotely like something Interpol officers would do.
Still, at the very least, she believed that they were on the side trying to save everyone.
"Hey."
Kaname muttered in a low voice as she nudged Tessa, about to answer.
Right now, she had an absurd idea weighing on her heart like a stone.
This hijacking incident might very well have started because of her.
Over the past few days, her mind had occasionally been filling with all sorts of bizarre formulas and diagrams, had it not?
She was not stupid. There was no way she believed this was just her own mind becoming disordered.
At first, she had thought that machine might be some kind of learning device, one that had stuffed knowledge directly into her brain.
But now she thought another possibility was far more likely.
It felt as though something that had been sleeping deep in her mind, some kind of innate body of knowledge, was being awakened.
Things she clearly did not know still felt strangely familiar, as if they had always belonged to her.
Hm?
Tessa typed a reply, but what she wrote made Kaname brace herself.
[Then I'll tell you.]
[The real target of this terrorist attack was you, Kaname Chidori.]
The moment she read that, Kaname's expression froze.
It really was the possibility she had least wanted to face.
[Why?]
She typed back with trembling hands.
[Because you are a Whispered.]
A Whispered?
What was that?
Only after Tessa explained what a Whispered was did Kaname finally begin to understand this kind of special person.
It sounded so absurd that she did not want to believe it.
But given everything that was happening right now, if she really was a Whispered, then it all made sense.
Especially—
[That flying sci-fi robot from before... that was Kain, wasn't it? He isn't actually a robot, is he?]
[No. He's not a robot. He's wearing transformable powered armor.]
Hearing that he was not a robot made Kaname feel a strange sense of relief.
And yet the way this girl named Kaname reacted was exactly like someone feeling relieved after confirming that the person she cared about was a normal human being.
She herself had not even realized that yet.
After all, she had never fallen in love before. She had no way of understanding what kind of feelings she had been developing toward that person over these past few days.
[T-then he's really okay, right?]
Kaname typed the question again in a rush, the heart that had just eased a little now tightening once more.
He had been shot down, and flesh and blood could never compare to a body of steel.
[He's fine.]
Fine?
That was a lie.
Kaname noticed something off in Tessa's reaction. There had been hesitation in the way she typed those two words, and she had pressed the keys a little too hard, like she herself was worried.
[Kaname Chidori, next, if you...]
Tessa guessed that after the plane landed, Mithril's rescue might not arrive in time.
Mr. Kain might not make it in time either.
If that happened, Kaname would almost certainly be taken away and tested to determine whether she was a Whispered.
If Kaname could deceive them and make them conclude she was not a Whispered, then there was still a good chance she could return to a normal life afterward.
Because Tessa had already guided her in advance and started awakening her Whispered abilities, the enemy's devices would probably have much less effect on her.
As long as Kaname could endure it, act like an ordinary person who was not a Whispered, and look completely baffled, she might still get through this.
[...Remember this. If they show you any special formulas or diagrams, absolutely do not stare at them too carefully. That could trigger your Whispered abilities and make you answer instinctively. When that happens, force your mind to think about something else.]
Tessa added that final warning.
[Understood. Thank you.]
That was where the conversation ended.
Because the plane had already begun its descent.
Through the windows, they could see the landscape outside. It was a foreign land.
And not only that, it was a military base. Weapons of war were visible everywhere.
Tanks. Aircraft. And giant machines called AS units, Arm Slaves.
...
On a stretch of coastline, a figure emerged from the sea.
The equipment on his body was no longer the gear from A2's side.
There had been a second suit over there. Correction: counting the one on Saeko's side, there were three in total.
The third one, however, was not yet fully completed.
So he had changed into the Mark X powered armor and crossed the sea in that.
It had to be said, that shot really had been frighteningly precise.
If his bodily reaction had been even one-tenth of a millisecond slower, half his body would probably have been blown away.
That referred to the reaction of his limbs, of course. His nerves had registered the danger far earlier.
If he were not in a hurry to get here, he would have gone to search the enemy waters first.
That guy was probably fine too.
After all, right before the frigate was destroyed, the enemy machine had already detached and fallen into the sea.
A silver Arm Slave, huh?
Could the one who sniped him have been Gauron?
If so, then the other man would definitely show up at this base too.
He would return that shot properly.
This would also be a good chance to confirm how much of the Mark X powered armor's performance could still be brought out here.
After all, some of its technologies were related to psychic power and had an almost mystical quality to them rather than being purely scientific. In this world, that meant some functions might be ineffective, or greatly weakened.
Hm?
This ability still worked.
Optical camouflage.
Though to a great sage like him, it felt rather underwhelming.
It worked well enough against ordinary people, but experienced mercenaries could still detect it.
The only reason he had insisted on including this function at all was because he had requested that if they ever made him suitable powered armor, it should have this feature.
After all, digging up STCs was not the kind of thing that would usually attract regular soldiers. What it attracted instead was random nuisances and low-level pests, and this was enough to deal with that sort of interference.
Of course, there were more advanced stealth technologies, but those could not be applied while keeping the powered armor this lightweight.
In that case, it was time to begin the assault on the military base where the plane was landing.
(End of Chapter)
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