Although he had just said something that sounded pretty cool, Charon suddenly realized a problem, from the moment he drove out of the city's borders, he was already exposed to danger.
Even though the main human forces were currently engaging the Raptures far away from here, that was only the main army. In reality, small scattered groups of Raptures were attacking the outskirts of human cities almost every day, yes, even this city, which was technically deep in the rear.
From the military's perspective, as long as Liliweiss was around, he, as a commander candidate, would be completely safe. But that only worked if she had already met up with him. And right now, who knew where she was? If he ran into Raptures now, he'd be dead for sure.
If he were just an ordinary person, the chances of that happening would actually be pretty high.
[About that, Commander, you don't need to worry too much.] Rose's voice came through the comms at just the right moment.
[Follow my directions and you won't encounter any Raptures. As for NIKKE Liliweiss, she has already departed and will meet you soon.]
"That sounded very official." Charon whistled lightly.
"Well then, I'll leave my life in your hands."
[Yes! Please leave it to me!]
To be fair, aside from hacking, Rose was also extremely competent as a liaison. The entire journey was completely smooth. Even though she made him take strange routes, like driving straight through abandoned farmland or forests instead of main roads, it allowed him to avoid any encounters with Raptures.
After nearly three hours of driving under her guidance, Charon suddenly stopped.
Because Rose told him to.
[Stop!]
There was a hint of tension in her voice.
[Commander, do not go any further. Turn around immediately.] There was a trace of frustration now.
[At your current speed, in about ten minutes you will encounter approximately twenty Raptures in the valley ahead. Most are Husk, but there are also Servant-class signatures.]
Rapture classification had long been standardized. "Husk" was the weakest level, and "Servant" was above it. Only such low-level units could slip past the front lines and cause trouble in the rear.
For the military, this group could be wiped out with a single volley. But for a normal human, it was certain death.
Rose's guidance had always been precise. If she was telling him to turn back, it meant those Raptures were blocking the only viable path.
[I suggest you turn off the engine and wait in the car. Commander, we should deal with them after Liliweiss arrives… Commander?]
Charon thought for a minute, then slammed the gas pedal and drove straight toward the Raptures.
This wasn't reckless. Just moments ago, his mini-map had briefly shown the direction of an extraction point.
That had never happened before.
When an extraction point appeared, it stayed. Why did it vanish this time?
[Commander?!] Rose's voice distorted instantly.
[W-wait! What are you doing? Stop immediately! There really are Raptures ahead!]
"Rose." Charon chuckled softly.
"Do I look like someone who wants to die?"
[N-no… but still—!]
"Relax. Take a deep breath. As a liaison, you have to stay calmer than the person on-site. If you panic more than I do, then your value drops below zero."
On the other end, Rose held her chest and took several deep breaths. She understood the logic, but she had never seen such a reckless commander. Anyone would lose composure in that situation.
More importantly… she treated Charon differently.
She hadn't realized it herself, but she cared about him more than she thought.
The man who had pulled both her and Liliweiss out of despair.
There was no way she could calmly watch him drive straight into danger.
And yet, strangely enough, his calm voice steadied her heart, even though she still had no idea what he was thinking.
"I just want to observe the Raptures from a closer distance." Charon parked near the cliff at the valley entrance.
He remembered clearly, the extraction point had appeared somewhere beyond this area, but it vanished too quickly to determine the exact distance.
From here, he could see the Raptures gathered in the valley. Some were running around aimlessly, some were firing into empty air, others seemed to be patrolling.
Overall, they looked like headless flies without command.
"Rose, I remember the main Rapture forces have already withdrawn from the front lines."
[Yes, currently only small Rapture units remain on the front.]
That was why humanity could hold the line instead of being pushed back further.
Compared to before, this was practically a rare period of peace.
Charon stared at the Raptures below.
"Tell me, the frequency of encounters on our way here. Was it normal?"
[Yes… it was normal… ah.]
She suddenly fell silent.
Under his guidance, she realized the problem.
"If the Raptures really pulled back, then the encounter rate here should have decreased as well. So why is it the same as before?"
"And Raptures only act under orders. Especially low-level ones this close to human cities. If they're suddenly without command, then there's only one explanation, their 'command tower' nearby has either withdrawn… or is occupied with something else."
"And based on earlier reasoning, it's unlikely to be the former. So it must be the latter."
"Raptures… are planning something big."
Almost the moment he finished speaking, the ground trembled.
[An earthquake? No… there's no seismic activity detected here.]
"That's because it's not an earthquake." A hint of excitement appeared in his eyes.
"Something is coming from underground."
[500 meters away–high-energy reaction approaching. Commander, please–]
Before she could finish, the communication was abruptly cut off.
The ground shook violently.
Then, in the center of the valley, something enormous burst out of the earth.
Charon had never seen such a massive mechanical construct before. Its body was like a small mountain, and its gaping maw took up nearly half of it.
Even he couldn't hide his shock.
He recognized it.
Tyrant-class Rapture – "Gluttony."
In military academy courses, it was one of the most prominent large-scale Raptures.
Its greatest feat: devouring a human ballistic missile and firing back energy of equal magnitude, destroying the missile base – the very reason humanity could no longer use long-range weapons against Raptures.
It was classified as "Tyrant" only because that was the highest rank humans had.
It had many other traits, but those weren't important right now.
Whoosh–
A figure shot past Charon at a speed the eye couldn't follow, kicking up a powerful gust of wind.
"Please forgive me. I'll deal with that thing first, then we can catch up."
A playful female voice echoed from afar.
In an instant, she appeared hundreds of meters away – standing atop the massive Gluttony.
The next second–
With a dull, heavy impact–
The enormous steel body split cleanly in half from top to bottom.
Like tofu.
The smaller Raptures were completely erased by the shockwave.