Author:
It's March 11th, isn't it? I was born and raised in Miyagi Prefecture, and I was at Sendai Station when the earthquake occurred in the earthquake-stricken area.
The night in the city, which was plunged into darkness due to a power outage, was unusually dark. Amidst the continuing aftershocks and the absence of artificial light, I vividly remember the beautiful sight of stars twinkling in the night sky, perhaps more noticeable because of the profound darkness.
----
15:20.
Leaving the forward base and escaping to the surface was a relief. The crisis seemed to have temporarily receded.
However, there was no place to hide. This was not the surface of the earth as humanity knew it from long ago, and there was no place to completely conceal oneself.
The Eagles would have reported the situation to Anderson, but communication on the surface seemed to be disrupted. In the situation where their mobile devices and even radios were unusable due to the interference, there was no way to confirm.
And above all, this was Moore's personal concern.
"...Five more left."
The supply of mental stabilizers in the form of cigarettes was precarious.
"Touch it!"
"Yes! I can't hear anything!"
When leaving the command room, Moore wondered why he hadn't brought a new soft pack. It was too late to think about it now. The number of remaining cigarettes visible from the crushed soft pack was far from abundant.
"Touch it! Look!"
"Wait! Anis!"
"Yes!"
Moore sighed and, still holding a cigarette in his mouth, looked up. A flash resembling lightning occurred overhead, despite the annoyingly clear weather.
The radio tower with several antennas, including a parabolic antenna, was equipped. Climbing the ladder inside, Neon, who had been performing a check, was falling. Just before her body hit the floor inside the tower, a flash resembling lightning ran across the sky.
Without even raising his voice, she fell, and Anise, looking up, nodded with satisfaction.
"Yeah! It's working properly!"
"What's the matter with you, really!"
"Are you okay, Neon?"
While supporting Neon, who looked furious, Moore, exhaling a sigh of relief along with purple smoke, lightly patted her back with his left hand.
"Commander, I'll try the communication."
"I'm counting on you... We might be intercepted, but we have no choice."
Rapi nodded and headed to the communication room, the largest room in the tower equipped with communication equipment.
Watching her leave, he looked again at the others.
Everyone was armed as usual, but ammunition was scarce. Fortunately, they hadn't returned the remaining ammunition to the arsenal, but even counting the ammunition still in Moore's backpack, there were fewer than 100 rounds, with only 3 grenades left. They might have used too much during the escape from the forward base, but there was no help for it.
"Commander, are you okay?"
Anise, who had been teasing Neon rather aggressively, suddenly cast a concerned glance at Moore. Seeing the deep vertical furrows on his forehead, she seemed to think that he was experiencing worries and anxieties.
"...Is it because of me...?"
Marian murmured with slightly lowered eyes. It would be insincere not to affirm or deny that. But he couldn't bring himself to say it. Perhaps that's why he just nodded slightly and did not react further.
"...Because of me... everyone and the commander..."
"That's not true. It's not your fault. Don't make that mistake."
However, before he could say more, the muffled whisper, still with her face down, not only stopped his eyes but shook his eardrums. Moore moved to Marian, grabbed her slender shoulders with his left hand, gently shook her, and then, placing the fingertips of his left hand on her chin, raised her face. He directed her deep brown eyes.
"It's Marian's personality. I know you can't help but care about it. But that's----"
.
.
.
"---Booby trap!"
At the moment of Rapi's warning from behind, Moore instinctively stretched out his left hand, embraced Marian, and together they fell to the dirty corridor floor. Amidst the explosion and shockwaves reaching the atmosphere, he used himself as a shield to protect her.
"Commander!?"
While Nikké had protected the commander before, it was not acceptable the other way around. Even though Marian screamed due to the imprint of the explosion, he felt the echo of the explosion settles and raised his body, having protected her with his body.
"...Are you okay?"
"I-I'm fine. No, more importantly, what about the commander!?"
"I'm fine. No problem—Rapi!"
Moore, having lifted himself up, directed his gaze toward the room where the explosives had presumably detonated. It was likely the communication room where Rapi had gone. Amidst the swirling dust, resembling a smokescreen, she returned in an unusually flustered state and immediately addressed him.
"Commander! Are you all right!?"
"I'm fine. And what about you?"
"I managed to avoid the explosion just in time. I'm okay."
Moore, scanned Marian's entire body as she approached, and she, in turn, casting her crimson-eyed gaze over his body, breathed a sigh of relief upon confirming that everything was normal.
It seemed there was no time for leisurely smoking anymore. He extinguished the cigarette he had only smoked halfway and tossed it into a portable ashtray. There were only five left.
"A booby trap on the surface? What's going on!?"
"...Was it set up by someone a long time ago?"
"Well, that's not entirely impossible..."
Anis and Neon, who had been lying on the ground, also got up. After adjusting her hat, Anis stood up, followed by Marian, and all of them began to cast vigilant glances around.
"A booby trap against Rapture? And in such a confined space? Isn't that too suspicious?"
"...We can estimate the amount of explosives from the previous explosion, but that wouldn't be enough to finish off Rapture. At best, it might cause minor damage."
After all, the entire floor hadn't been blown away. That, above all, was the evidence. It would be a different story if he had planted 1.8kg of high-performance explosive C-5 like Moore.
"...The possibility of humans fighting each other...?"
"Well, it's possible... but the interior of the tower is clean, and there are no skeletal remains."
While shaking his head in response to Marian's speculation, he reached into his pocket with his left hand, and eventually, he stopped his hand about to retrieve a cigarette. There were only five left. They needed to be economical.
"For now, let's leave this place. We can't communicate because the communication hub was destroyed in the explosion, so we need to check elsewhere."
As Rapi urged the squad to move, Moore and the others caught sight of something like a black shadow in the corner of their vision.
.
.
.
.
Instinctively unlocking the safety of his assault rifle and pointing it, Moore said, "Is it just my imagination?"
"...Commander?"
Suddenly, Marian, with a questioning look, asked as he directed the gun toward the position of the staircase that led up. Without any particular reason, he nodded slightly in response, then lowered the gun and locked the safety again.
"Let's move. I'll lead."
While aiming for the staircase that led up, Rapi took the lead, and Moore followed suit. However—
"Rapi."
Suddenly, he called Rapi's name shortly. As if understanding, she nodded and stopped.
"What's wrong?"
"...It's a booby trap."
At Anis' sudden question from behind, Rapi gestured toward a small device, an infrared motion sensor, installed on the stairs. Using a laser pointer or some modification, a red beam was running across the ankle area, trying to catch someone in a position that would be difficult to detect. They, including Rapi, switched the function of their vision to capture it.
"It's the staircase we came up about 10 minutes ago."
They had used this staircase about ten minutes ago, and there was no such thing. It couldn't have sprouted up on its own.
In that case—unconsciously, he once again removed the safety of his assault rifle.
As Rapi bent down to carefully deactivate the motion sensor, Moore stood behind her as support.
While aiming the gun at the lower floor, he searched for any signs. There should be no one here other than them. At least, that was the premise, albeit with a cautious preamble.
"...That's a lot of trouble."
"...Commander?"
Moore casually took a smoke grenade from the pouch of his body armor. Holding the trigger, Marian, who saw his action, asked what he was going to do, but he pulled the pin and threw it downstairs.
With a clatter, the cylindrical object rolled down the steps, and soon, white smoke billowed up.
The corridor in the radio tower was narrow. The smoke quickly enveloped the area, making visibility unclear.
"I'll clear it and come back."
As succinct words were spoken, Moore jumped over Rapi, who was working on deactivating the trap, and descended the stairs. He plunged into the white smoke, but undeterred, he readied his assault rifle. His subordinates, who were behind him, shouted for them to retreat, but he paid no attention to their voices.
In case the enemy was human, he hesitated to let them handle it. One could say he hesitated or was apprehensive.
The smoke-filled passage made it impossible to see even a few meters ahead. As he advanced through it, ready to pull the trigger if he spotted anything with the barrel of his assault rifle, something happened just as he did.
"Raise your hands."
He felt a cold, hard sensation on the back of his head. The moment he sensed the gun muzzle against him, a voice as chilling as metal warned him.
Judging from the voice, it was a woman—probably Nikke.
This might have been a mistake.
"Come on, raise your hands quickly."
Moreover, a voice with a different tone could be heard continuously from directly behind. Apparently, there were two of them.
He sighed and, while aiming the assault rifle at the floor, raised both hands.
"Drop the gun."
"...Alright. I'll drop it now."
Since he couldn't see who was behind him, he didn't know what kind of opponent he was facing. Moore nodded, then used his right hand to remove the sling belt that ran through his neck and right side, hanging the assault rifle silently on the floor. Just as he raised both hands—
"..."
While keeping his hands raised, he rotated his body, knocking away the gun muzzle—probably a pistol—with his elbow. Stepping in and seizing the opponent's right elbow joint with his left hand, he pushed the chest with his right hand and swept the legs with his right leg.
What he saw up close was the face of a young woman wearing a hood. He captured her surprised crimson eyes.
It seemed to be Nikke after all. While Moore was defeating one of the attackers on the floor and putting pressure on the elbow joint of her right arm with his left hand, a dull sound echoed as the frame came off with a click.
Nikke had an extraordinary physical ability compared to an average person, but since she was a complete imitation of the human body, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the weaknesses were almost identical.
Trying to pull out a pistol from the leg holster with her right hand, the Nikke sensed that she was being aimed at. Quickly realizing this, she distanced herself from Moore, who had a hood on.
"Hmm...? You move well. Are you really human?"
"...Miss, isn't that a bit rude for a first meeting? By the way... is that gun your hobby?"
Wielding a gun that resembled a personal defense weapon (PDW) more than a submachine gun, a black-haired woman covering the upper half, with the lower half occupied by a white-haired woman, Nikke, showed a smile, revealing sharp incisors.
The gun was indeed distinctive. Moore was curious as to whether the attacker had modified it according to personal preferences. There were quite a few protrusions attached to the knuckle guard.
"Oh well. Do you have a problem with it?"
"...Well, I won't comment on personal preferences, but... at least it's not my taste. Personally, I prefer this."
He pointed to the two knives sheathed in the belt that the attacker was hanging. They were probably daggers.
"Oh? Don't we have similar tastes? I like it too."
"...I see. That's good. I also like this."
Moore drew the fighting knife attached to his body armor and, as the thickening white smoke enveloped them, presented the black blade to the attacker. In response, she lowered her distinctive gun and returned her weapon to her back.
Then, pulling out both knives hanging on her belt, she demonstrated them and gripped them in a reverse grip.
"...The real purpose is different, but... it seems more enjoyable to fight you."
"I'm not having fun."
"Hey hey~. You invited me to dance, didn't you~?"
It was too late to let an eccentricity go unpunished. While shrugging his shoulders, he faced the opposing woman who started a step-in and backstep as if in boxing.
Acknowledging it, he aimed the tip of the fighting knife he held in his dominant hand toward the opponent and slowly closed the distance.
—It seems she is willing to fight.
Facing the attacker, K, who was attacking him head-on, Moore, feeling a surge of excitement, leaped into action with the knives he held upside down in both hands.
In a battle fought head-on, it had been a long time since he faced an attacker, and it seemed K was willing to fight him—a formidable opponent.
As they fought, the attacker K—enthused by the glint of the two knives she held—leaped toward Moore, who was holding the fighting knife with both hands in a reverse grip.
When gripping it in a reverse grip, the aim was the opponent's carotid artery. Especially for humans, it was possible to finish them with one stab.
In a way, it was a textbook-like flash.
K was prepared for the thrust, firmly gripping the handle of the knife, but Moore, shifting his body to the side, switched the fighting knife, which he held with his dominant hand, from a forehand grip to a reverse grip while avoiding her attack.
K probably thought it happened in a mere instant.
—With a click, her right hand, holding the knife, fell to the floor from her wrist before anything else.
"—!?"
Her wrist fell to the floor, followed by the sensation of loss conveyed by the pain receptors, but the functions quickly shut down, ignoring the pain.
The intense brown eyes remained sharp, and at an unimaginable speed, he repeatedly thrust the fighting knife, held in a reverse grip in his left hand, into K's neck. With each withdrawal of the black blade, red catalysts sprayed out, staining Moore's face like returning blood.
"K!"
With her joint removed and her right arm swaying loosely, Nikke—D, who wore a hood, interrupted into the whirlwind of an unilaterally attacked colleague.
Holding a hand axe tomahawk in her left hand, it swung in a straight line.
Recognizing this in the corner of his vision, Moore pushed the swaying K, who seemed unable to move due to the pain, aside. Then—an axe swing.
"─Gah...!?"
"─Ugh!!"
The blade of the hand axe was thrust deep into K's torso, and she felt the frame of her ribcage creaking, unable to endure the strain, ultimately breaking.
At the moment it turned into a friendly-fire situation, D, who was supposed to be composed and calm, widened her eyes in astonishment. A brief moment of surprise, which for Moore meant the perfect opportunity to strike.
He attacked from the side of her right arm, which was swaying awkwardly, repeatedly thrusting the blade of the fighting knife into D's neck. He must have been stabbing three times per second.
Parts equivalent to vocal cords and trachea were damaged, making speech difficult. However, she didn't falter.
After pulling out the hand axe deeply embedded in K, just as he was about to deliver a blow to him—
"─Ugh!?"
A dull sound and impact struck her. She realized it resonated from her neck, damaged more severely than she thought. Power drained out below the damaged cervical vertebrae. Rolling to the floor, she became unable to move even a single finger.
"─Ha... Ha...!"
In the corner of her field of vision, Moore, crouching beside her, appeared. Looking up with crimson eyes, she captured his emotionless, glass-like deep brown eyes.
"...Which unit are you from?"
Under the gaze of those emotionless, glassy eyes, she closed her lips tightly, trying not to let out a groan. Expressing her silent will, he let out a small sigh.
"─Cough... You... damn...! Who... the hell... are you...!?"
"─Can you still move?"
Leaking red catalysts from her neck and spitting them out from her mouth, K, crawling on the floor while crouched, raised her upper body, shouting in a grating manner. Whether it was because the noise of her shouting was annoying, he casually thrust the knife he held into her like a throwing knife.
The pointed end of the knife, flying straight, stabbed into her chest. Another impact ran through her, and lying on her back, K's mouth spewed out catalysts resembling blood with great force.
Picking up the hand axe that had rolled on the floor, he observed it lightly. It was rare to have a close combat weapon in this day and age, but it wasn't a bad item. Above all, its primitive structure appealed to him.
"─I'll ask again. Which unit are you from?"
Despite asking the question again, D, whose lower body wouldn't move, kept her lips tightly sealed without answering. Sensing that this was her response, Moore let out a deep sigh and swung the hand axe he held in his dominant hand.
"─Goodnight."
"─Commander!!"
A voice similar to a scream was shouted. About to swing down the raised hand axe, he abruptly stopped his movement, directing his dark brown eyes toward the end of the passage.
Marian, running towards them from behind the fading smoke screen, was there.
Even though she ran to Moore, breathing heavily, she grabbed his right hand holding the hand axe.
"Don't do any more...!"
"...They're enemies."
Even if it was Nikke, he implied, but with her crimson eyes closed, she shook her head multiple times, showing pleading gestures to stop.
"Commander!!"
"Instructor!!"
"Commander—Siegeperilous."
When they ran up from beyond the fading smoke screen, the two revealed the true identity of the two Nikke rolling on the floor to Rapi.
"...Quite a grand name."
Sniffing once, Moore tried to shake off Marian, who clung to his arm trying to prevent him, but whether she wanted to convey that she wouldn't let go, she didn't allow him to move his arm even slightly.
Though he tried to order her to let go, Marian, shaking her body slightly, projected Moore's figure into her tear-filled crimson eyes without moving her gaze.
"─Please... Commander..."
"──"
He wasn't moved by her plea. He simply lost interest.
The strength drained from Moore's right hand, and the hand axe he held fell to the floor with a dry sound.
"Commander, let's hurry."
"...Understood."
Rapi offered him the assault rifle he had discarded on the floor. Taking it, Moore slung the strap over his shoulder, heading for the corridor. However—
"─I'll take that back."
"─Gah...!"
Approaching K, who was still lying on her back, Moore stepped on her abdomen with his boot and pulled out the fighting knife that had pierced her chest. Instantly, she coughed, and her mouth was stained with red catalysts.
Wiping the knife blade, gleaming with wet catalysts like fresh blood, on the fabric of her combat pants and sheathing it, Moore ran again.
The two, who were gradually losing consciousness, could only watch the figures of the two women as they continued on.
----
Author's notes:
"I can't shake the feeling that the two from Siege Perilous are having a tough time compared to the main game.
─Note─
Just between us... I imagine that Lieutenant Moore and the Niké who would get along the best are probably someone like Delta, as already introduced. (whispering)"
Author:
It's March 11th, isn't it? I was born and raised in Miyagi Prefecture, and I was at Sendai Station when the earthquake occurred in the earthquake-stricken area.
The night in the city, which was plunged into darkness due to a power outage, was unusually dark. Amidst the continuing aftershocks and the absence of artificial light, I vividly remember the beautiful sight of stars twinkling in the night sky, perhaps more noticeable because of the profound darkness.
----
15:20.
Leaving the forward base and escaping to the surface was a relief. The crisis seemed to have temporarily receded.
However, there was no place to hide. This was not the surface of the earth as humanity knew it from long ago, and there was no place to completely conceal oneself.
The Eagles would have reported the situation to Anderson, but communication on the surface seemed to be disrupted. In the situation where their mobile devices and even radios were unusable due to the interference, there was no way to confirm.
And above all, this was Moore's personal concern.
"...Five more left."
The supply of mental stabilizers in the form of cigarettes was precarious.
"Touch it!"
"Yes! I can't hear anything!"
When leaving the command room, Moore wondered why he hadn't brought a new soft pack. It was too late to think about it now. The number of remaining cigarettes visible from the crushed soft pack was far from abundant.
"Touch it! Look!"
"Wait! Anis!"
"Yes!"
Moore sighed and, still holding a cigarette in his mouth, looked up. A flash resembling lightning occurred overhead, despite the annoyingly clear weather.
The radio tower with several antennas, including a parabolic antenna, was equipped. Climbing the ladder inside, Neon, who had been performing a check, was falling. Just before her body hit the floor inside the tower, a flash resembling lightning ran across the sky.
Without even raising his voice, she fell, and Anise, looking up, nodded with satisfaction.
"Yeah! It's working properly!"
"What's the matter with you, really!"
"Are you okay, Neon?"
While supporting Neon, who looked furious, Moore, exhaling a sigh of relief along with purple smoke, lightly patted her back with his left hand.
"Commander, I'll try the communication."
"I'm counting on you... We might be intercepted, but we have no choice."
Rapi nodded and headed to the communication room, the largest room in the tower equipped with communication equipment.
Watching her leave, he looked again at the others.
Everyone was armed as usual, but ammunition was scarce. Fortunately, they hadn't returned the remaining ammunition to the arsenal, but even counting the ammunition still in Moore's backpack, there were fewer than 100 rounds, with only 3 grenades left. They might have used too much during the escape from the forward base, but there was no help for it.
"Commander, are you okay?"
Anise, who had been teasing Neon rather aggressively, suddenly cast a concerned glance at Moore. Seeing the deep vertical furrows on his forehead, she seemed to think that he was experiencing worries and anxieties.
"...Is it because of me...?"
Marian murmured with slightly lowered eyes. It would be insincere not to affirm or deny that. But he couldn't bring himself to say it. Perhaps that's why he just nodded slightly and did not react further.
"...Because of me... everyone and the commander..."
"That's not true. It's not your fault. Don't make that mistake."
However, before he could say more, the muffled whisper, still with her face down, not only stopped his eyes but shook his eardrums. Moore moved to Marian, grabbed her slender shoulders with his left hand, gently shook her, and then, placing the fingertips of his left hand on her chin, raised her face. He directed her deep brown eyes.
"It's Marian's personality. I know you can't help but care about it. But that's----"
.
.
.
"---Booby trap!"
At the moment of Rapi's warning from behind, Moore instinctively stretched out his left hand, embraced Marian, and together they fell to the dirty corridor floor. Amidst the explosion and shockwaves reaching the atmosphere, he used himself as a shield to protect her.
"Commander!?"
While Nikké had protected the commander before, it was not acceptable the other way around. Even though Marian screamed due to the imprint of the explosion, he felt the echo of the explosion settles and raised his body, having protected her with his body.
"...Are you okay?"
"I-I'm fine. No, more importantly, what about the commander!?"
"I'm fine. No problem—Rapi!"
Moore, having lifted himself up, directed his gaze toward the room where the explosives had presumably detonated. It was likely the communication room where Rapi had gone. Amidst the swirling dust, resembling a smokescreen, she returned in an unusually flustered state and immediately addressed him.
"Commander! Are you all right!?"
"I'm fine. And what about you?"
"I managed to avoid the explosion just in time. I'm okay."
Moore, scanned Marian's entire body as she approached, and she, in turn, casting her crimson-eyed gaze over his body, breathed a sigh of relief upon confirming that everything was normal.
It seemed there was no time for leisurely smoking anymore. He extinguished the cigarette he had only smoked halfway and tossed it into a portable ashtray. There were only five left.
"A booby trap on the surface? What's going on!?"
"...Was it set up by someone a long time ago?"
"Well, that's not entirely impossible..."
Anis and Neon, who had been lying on the ground, also got up. After adjusting her hat, Anis stood up, followed by Marian, and all of them began to cast vigilant glances around.
"A booby trap against Rapture? And in such a confined space? Isn't that too suspicious?"
"...We can estimate the amount of explosives from the previous explosion, but that wouldn't be enough to finish off Rapture. At best, it might cause minor damage."
After all, the entire floor hadn't been blown away. That, above all, was the evidence. It would be a different story if he had planted 1.8kg of high-performance explosive C-5 like Moore.
"...The possibility of humans fighting each other...?"
"Well, it's possible... but the interior of the tower is clean, and there are no skeletal remains."
While shaking his head in response to Marian's speculation, he reached into his pocket with his left hand, and eventually, he stopped his hand about to retrieve a cigarette. There were only five left. They needed to be economical.
"For now, let's leave this place. We can't communicate because the communication hub was destroyed in the explosion, so we need to check elsewhere."
As Rapi urged the squad to move, Moore and the others caught sight of something like a black shadow in the corner of their vision.
.
.
.
.
Instinctively unlocking the safety of his assault rifle and pointing it, Moore said, "Is it just my imagination?"
"...Commander?"
Suddenly, Marian, with a questioning look, asked as he directed the gun toward the position of the staircase that led up. Without any particular reason, he nodded slightly in response, then lowered the gun and locked the safety again.
"Let's move. I'll lead."
While aiming for the staircase that led up, Rapi took the lead, and Moore followed suit. However—
"Rapi."
Suddenly, he called Rapi's name shortly. As if understanding, she nodded and stopped.
"What's wrong?"
"...It's a booby trap."
At Anis' sudden question from behind, Rapi gestured toward a small device, an infrared motion sensor, installed on the stairs. Using a laser pointer or some modification, a red beam was running across the ankle area, trying to catch someone in a position that would be difficult to detect. They, including Rapi, switched the function of their vision to capture it.
"It's the staircase we came up about 10 minutes ago."
They had used this staircase about ten minutes ago, and there was no such thing. It couldn't have sprouted up on its own.
In that case—unconsciously, he once again removed the safety of his assault rifle.
As Rapi bent down to carefully deactivate the motion sensor, Moore stood behind her as support.
While aiming the gun at the lower floor, he searched for any signs. There should be no one here other than them. At least, that was the premise, albeit with a cautious preamble.
"...That's a lot of trouble."
"...Commander?"
Moore casually took a smoke grenade from the pouch of his body armor. Holding the trigger, Marian, who saw his action, asked what he was going to do, but he pulled the pin and threw it downstairs.
With a clatter, the cylindrical object rolled down the steps, and soon, white smoke billowed up.
The corridor in the radio tower was narrow. The smoke quickly enveloped the area, making visibility unclear.
"I'll clear it and come back."
As succinct words were spoken, Moore jumped over Rapi, who was working on deactivating the trap, and descended the stairs. He plunged into the white smoke, but undeterred, he readied his assault rifle. His subordinates, who were behind him, shouted for them to retreat, but he paid no attention to their voices.
In case the enemy was human, he hesitated to let them handle it. One could say he hesitated or was apprehensive.
The smoke-filled passage made it impossible to see even a few meters ahead. As he advanced through it, ready to pull the trigger if he spotted anything with the barrel of his assault rifle, something happened just as he did.
"Raise your hands."
He felt a cold, hard sensation on the back of his head. The moment he sensed the gun muzzle against him, a voice as chilling as metal warned him.
Judging from the voice, it was a woman—probably Nikke.
This might have been a mistake.
"Come on, raise your hands quickly."
Moreover, a voice with a different tone could be heard continuously from directly behind. Apparently, there were two of them.
He sighed and, while aiming the assault rifle at the floor, raised both hands.
"Drop the gun."
"...Alright. I'll drop it now."
Since he couldn't see who was behind him, he didn't know what kind of opponent he was facing. Moore nodded, then used his right hand to remove the sling belt that ran through his neck and right side, hanging the assault rifle silently on the floor. Just as he raised both hands—
"..."
While keeping his hands raised, he rotated his body, knocking away the gun muzzle—probably a pistol—with his elbow. Stepping in and seizing the opponent's right elbow joint with his left hand, he pushed the chest with his right hand and swept the legs with his right leg.
What he saw up close was the face of a young woman wearing a hood. He captured her surprised crimson eyes.
It seemed to be Nikke after all. While Moore was defeating one of the attackers on the floor and putting pressure on the elbow joint of her right arm with his left hand, a dull sound echoed as the frame came off with a click.
Nikke had an extraordinary physical ability compared to an average person, but since she was a complete imitation of the human body, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the weaknesses were almost identical.
Trying to pull out a pistol from the leg holster with her right hand, the Nikke sensed that she was being aimed at. Quickly realizing this, she distanced herself from Moore, who had a hood on.
"Hmm...? You move well. Are you really human?"
"...Miss, isn't that a bit rude for a first meeting? By the way... is that gun your hobby?"
Wielding a gun that resembled a personal defense weapon (PDW) more than a submachine gun, a black-haired woman covering the upper half, with the lower half occupied by a white-haired woman, Nikke, showed a smile, revealing sharp incisors.
The gun was indeed distinctive. Moore was curious as to whether the attacker had modified it according to personal preferences. There were quite a few protrusions attached to the knuckle guard.
"Oh well. Do you have a problem with it?"
"...Well, I won't comment on personal preferences, but... at least it's not my taste. Personally, I prefer this."
He pointed to the two knives sheathed in the belt that the attacker was hanging. They were probably daggers.
"Oh? Don't we have similar tastes? I like it too."
"...I see. That's good. I also like this."
Moore drew the fighting knife attached to his body armor and, as the thickening white smoke enveloped them, presented the black blade to the attacker. In response, she lowered her distinctive gun and returned her weapon to her back.
Then, pulling out both knives hanging on her belt, she demonstrated them and gripped them in a reverse grip.
"...The real purpose is different, but... it seems more enjoyable to fight you."
"I'm not having fun."
"Hey hey~. You invited me to dance, didn't you~?"
It was too late to let an eccentricity go unpunished. While shrugging his shoulders, he faced the opposing woman who started a step-in and backstep as if in boxing.
Acknowledging it, he aimed the tip of the fighting knife he held in his dominant hand toward the opponent and slowly closed the distance.
—It seems she is willing to fight.
Facing the attacker, K, who was attacking him head-on, Moore, feeling a surge of excitement, leaped into action with the knives he held upside down in both hands.
In a battle fought head-on, it had been a long time since he faced an attacker, and it seemed K was willing to fight him—a formidable opponent.
As they fought, the attacker K—enthused by the glint of the two knives she held—leaped toward Moore, who was holding the fighting knife with both hands in a reverse grip.
When gripping it in a reverse grip, the aim was the opponent's carotid artery. Especially for humans, it was possible to finish them with one stab.
In a way, it was a textbook-like flash.
K was prepared for the thrust, firmly gripping the handle of the knife, but Moore, shifting his body to the side, switched the fighting knife, which he held with his dominant hand, from a forehand grip to a reverse grip while avoiding her attack.
K probably thought it happened in a mere instant.
—With a click, her right hand, holding the knife, fell to the floor from her wrist before anything else.
"—!?"
Her wrist fell to the floor, followed by the sensation of loss conveyed by the pain receptors, but the functions quickly shut down, ignoring the pain.
The intense brown eyes remained sharp, and at an unimaginable speed, he repeatedly thrust the fighting knife, held in a reverse grip in his left hand, into K's neck. With each withdrawal of the black blade, red catalysts sprayed out, staining Moore's face like returning blood.
"K!"
With her joint removed and her right arm swaying loosely, Nikke—D, who wore a hood, interrupted into the whirlwind of an unilaterally attacked colleague.
Holding a hand axe tomahawk in her left hand, it swung in a straight line.
Recognizing this in the corner of his vision, Moore pushed the swaying K, who seemed unable to move due to the pain, aside. Then—an axe swing.
"─Gah...!?"
"─Ugh!!"
The blade of the hand axe was thrust deep into K's torso, and she felt the frame of her ribcage creaking, unable to endure the strain, ultimately breaking.
At the moment it turned into a friendly-fire situation, D, who was supposed to be composed and calm, widened her eyes in astonishment. A brief moment of surprise, which for Moore meant the perfect opportunity to strike.
He attacked from the side of her right arm, which was swaying awkwardly, repeatedly thrusting the blade of the fighting knife into D's neck. He must have been stabbing three times per second.
Parts equivalent to vocal cords and trachea were damaged, making speech difficult. However, she didn't falter.
After pulling out the hand axe deeply embedded in K, just as he was about to deliver a blow to him—
"─Ugh!?"
A dull sound and impact struck her. She realized it resonated from her neck, damaged more severely than she thought. Power drained out below the damaged cervical vertebrae. Rolling to the floor, she became unable to move even a single finger.
"─Ha... Ha...!"
In the corner of her field of vision, Moore, crouching beside her, appeared. Looking up with crimson eyes, she captured his emotionless, glass-like deep brown eyes.
"...Which unit are you from?"
Under the gaze of those emotionless, glassy eyes, she closed her lips tightly, trying not to let out a groan. Expressing her silent will, he let out a small sigh.
"─Cough... You... damn...! Who... the hell... are you...!?"
"─Can you still move?"
Leaking red catalysts from her neck and spitting them out from her mouth, K, crawling on the floor while crouched, raised her upper body, shouting in a grating manner. Whether it was because the noise of her shouting was annoying, he casually thrust the knife he held into her like a throwing knife.
The pointed end of the knife, flying straight, stabbed into her chest. Another impact ran through her, and lying on her back, K's mouth spewed out catalysts resembling blood with great force.
Picking up the hand axe that had rolled on the floor, he observed it lightly. It was rare to have a close combat weapon in this day and age, but it wasn't a bad item. Above all, its primitive structure appealed to him.
"─I'll ask again. Which unit are you from?"
Despite asking the question again, D, whose lower body wouldn't move, kept her lips tightly sealed without answering. Sensing that this was her response, Moore let out a deep sigh and swung the hand axe he held in his dominant hand.
"─Goodnight."
"─Commander!!"
A voice similar to a scream was shouted. About to swing down the raised hand axe, he abruptly stopped his movement, directing his dark brown eyes toward the end of the passage.
Marian, running towards them from behind the fading smoke screen, was there.
Even though she ran to Moore, breathing heavily, she grabbed his right hand holding the hand axe.
"Don't do any more...!"
"...They're enemies."
Even if it was Nikke, he implied, but with her crimson eyes closed, she shook her head multiple times, showing pleading gestures to stop.
"Commander!!"
"Instructor!!"
"Commander—Siegeperilous."
When they ran up from beyond the fading smoke screen, the two revealed the true identity of the two Nikke rolling on the floor to Rapi.
"...Quite a grand name."
Sniffing once, Moore tried to shake off Marian, who clung to his arm trying to prevent him, but whether she wanted to convey that she wouldn't let go, she didn't allow him to move his arm even slightly.
Though he tried to order her to let go, Marian, shaking her body slightly, projected Moore's figure into her tear-filled crimson eyes without moving her gaze.
"─Please... Commander..."
"──"
He wasn't moved by her plea. He simply lost interest.
The strength drained from Moore's right hand, and the hand axe he held fell to the floor with a dry sound.
"Commander, let's hurry."
"...Understood."
Rapi offered him the assault rifle he had discarded on the floor. Taking it, Moore slung the strap over his shoulder, heading for the corridor. However—
"─I'll take that back."
"─Gah...!"
Approaching K, who was still lying on her back, Moore stepped on her abdomen with his boot and pulled out the fighting knife that had pierced her chest. Instantly, she coughed, and her mouth was stained with red catalysts.
Wiping the knife blade, gleaming with wet catalysts like fresh blood, on the fabric of her combat pants and sheathing it, Moore ran again.
The two, who were gradually losing consciousness, could only watch the figures of the two women as they continued on.
----
Author's notes:
"I can't shake the feeling that the two from Siege Perilous are having a tough time compared to the main game.
─Note─
Just between us... I imagine that Lieutenant Moore and the Niké who would get along the best are probably someone like Delta, as already introduced. (whispering)"
