'W-Why is my body over there......?'
Flustered, I instinctively pulled myself backward.
Flinch—.
I could see my fallen body react to my movement too.
A sudden sense of déjà vu hit me.
'This feels kind of......'
Like a game.
And not one played with a mouse and keyboard, but a virtual reality game.
If that's the case.
'This might actually be doable.'
The thing I was best at.
Not game information, knowledge, or dirty tricks.
'Control.'
For the first time in a while, my heart started pounding.
Not from tension or fear.
From excitement.
The fact that there were still things in this game I didn't know started to thrill me.
'If I can do this......'
If I could manipulate myself in detail like a game character.
Perfect control might be possible.
'Move!'
I thought about raising my left arm.
Flinch—.
My body responded immediately.
I could see it.
I could feel it.
'It works!'
Just then, time began moving again.
The blade flashed without hesitation.
But this time, the situation was different.
Because I could control myself like I was playing a game.
Tap—.
I lightly pushed its knee away with my hand.
WHOOSH—!
The blade skimmed past my cheek.
But I didn't feel any pain at all.
Just like I wouldn't feel pain because a game character got hurt.
[User damage detected.]
'It worked!'
My movements were faster and more precise than when controlling a character with a keyboard.
Trusting my control, I kicked off the ground and lunged forward.
WHOOSH—!
It swung its bladed leg.
That meant its reach was longer than mine.
But its center of gravity was far more unstable.
It had no arms.
A blade was buried deep in its stomach.
And it was missing one eye.
The stage had already been set for me.
Now it was time to perform.
WHOOSH—! WHOOOSH—!
It swung its legs quickly and violently, as though refusing to let me get close.
There was no dodging blind attacks like those.
If I couldn't dodge them, the answer was simple.
I'd take the hits.
THUD—!
Getting hit by the thigh, the part that hadn't transformed into a blade, wouldn't kill me.
And since I couldn't feel pain, I could focus entirely on movement.
THUD—! THUUD—!
Its steel legs battered me without pause.
I'd closed the distance so recklessly that this was the only way.
Still.
'This is the eye of the storm.'
A place its swinging legs couldn't reach properly.
I got as close to it as possible.
GRIP—!
I tightly grabbed the severed left arm embedded in its abdomen.
Before I knew it, my perspective had returned from third person to first person.
"Time to go."
I grabbed the left arm buried deep in its abdomen and lifted it diagonally upward with all my strength.
CRRUNCH—!
Steel scraped against steel, and dazzlingly beautiful sparks burst in every direction.
[Target system shutdown confirmed.]
[Special Ability 'Separation' ended.]
[Rebound generated from use of 'Separation.']
[Nanomachine System scheduled to shut down in 10 minutes.]
[System will normalize after 12 hours.]
Only then did the Android, D-Pal, collapse limply to the floor.
It wasn't murder, but a strangely stale taste lingered in my mouth.
"Ugh—!"
The moment the fight ended, the tension drained from my body and the adrenaline started fading.
All the pain from the beating hit me at once.
The cut on my cheek stung.
My entire body ached as though I'd been beaten from head to toe.
Throb—.
And maybe because I'd used the special ability Separation, a horrible headache crashed over me too.
"Are you all right?!"
The old man hurried over and caught me as I started to collapse.
"I don't think...... I'm all right......."
Press—.
"Urgh!"
I pressed on the injured areas.
Since I didn't pass out, my bones probably weren't broken.
A small mercy in all this misfortune.
Maybe because I was used to pain.
At least I managed not to collapse completely.
"Why did you......"
The old man started to say something.
RUMBLE—.
Suddenly, the entire subway station began to shake.
I knew this vibration well.
"Do not tell me it is Pentatech!"
"It's not them, so calm down and get to the platform!"
"A-All right!"
The old man hurried away.
I endured the pounding headache and grabbed the Android's open chest.
"Hup!"
It was already smashed apart, so it opened easily with only a little force.
[D++-Grade Android Core.]
[Manufacturer : Pentatech.]
[Material : Unable to identify.]
[Energy Output : 8.6 TWh.]
[Damage Rate : 23%]
A flood of translucent information windows appeared.
'What the hell is D++ supposed to be?'
I calmly reached toward the Core.
Its blue light stabbed at my eyes.
CLICK—.
I placed the Core into the storage case I'd brought in my pocket, then reached for the Android's half-destroyed head.
Ignoring the warmth I could still feel, I felt around the back of its head until my fingers touched something.
'Found it.'
A memory chip.
If I wanted to prove what had happened during the mission, I absolutely needed it.
Of course, if I submitted it as-is, it'd be no different from turning myself in as the one who destroyed the Android.
'Hack.'
['Pentatech Memory Chip' hacking complete.]
[Information editing available.]
Grin—.
I smiled and began editing the memories.
'But first, let's check them.'
There were three things about this request that hadn't made sense.
First.
Why had they sent such a weak D-Grade unit here?
That question was answered quickly.
"Ha, these bastards."
Earlier, I'd only mentioned a coup to get under its skin.
But it really had been camouflage for something like that.
If a high-Grade Android suddenly deployed to an abandoned subway that had already been searched hundreds of times.
People would've noticed.
But if it was only a D-Grade unit?
No one would say much.
Even though this one had been strengthened to the limit and could hardly be called D-Grade anymore.
'At least C-Grade.'
A true C-Grade unit was stronger than ten D-Grade Androids.
But as a veteran who'd fought every kind of Android, I didn't think this one fell short of C-Grade.
The second question was why it had come here.
The answer to that was in the memory too.
[After eliminating request companions, board train, gather information, and secure weapons.]
So it really had intended to eliminate us.
Then I read the next entry.
'Pentatech, you fucking bastards.'
Anger started boiling up inside me.
The contents were.
[After reaching target location, make contact with the Pilgrim contacted in advance.]
[Provide current Paradise government classified information and vulnerabilities.]
They intended to use a Pilgrim roaming the surface to swallow Paradise whole.
The memory didn't say exactly which Pilgrim it was, but several possibilities came to mind.
'Trash bastards.'
Then came the last question.
Why were they trying to stage a coup?
The answer wasn't there.
But I felt like I could vaguely guess.
Possessiveness.
Lust for power.
Lust for domination.
Because that was human nature.
[Nanomachine System shutting down.]
[Time remaining until normalization : 11:59:50]
RUMBLE—.
After finishing my work and pocketing the chip, I felt the vibrations gradually subside.
I hurried to the platform where the old man was.
"C-Can you see that?"
The old man, standing there blankly, noticed me and pointed somewhere.
'Wow.'
A gigantic steel train stood there.
Its sharp nose and wheels were brutally smeared with blood and mangled monster corpses.
"In all my life, I have never even heard of such a thing, let alone seen one."
Stare—.
I snapped out of my daze after staring blankly at the majestic train.
"When did the train arrive?"
"About three minutes ago."
"We should get inside quickly."
I hurried my steps and gestured to the old man.
"We are...... going in there?"
"Yes."
Scanning the train with my eyes, I spotted an open entrance.
"Are you certain we should go inside?"
"It should be safe."
TAP—.
I quickly ran inside the train.
'This is insane.'
All kinds of weapons were hanging inside.
'Jackpot!'
Out of all the countless train cars.
We'd gotten a weapons car.
"Jackpot" didn't even begin to describe it.
Normally, even if you got insanely lucky and the train arrived, you were screwed if a useless car opened.
Sometimes, if you were unlucky, monsters came out.
And if you were really unlucky, the security system activated.
That said it all.
"The doors will close soon, so let's hurry."
I'd spent too much time hacking and taking the Core.
There was no way we could grab every weapon.
"One minute should be enough, right?"
"Plenty."
If we stayed aboard when the train departed, we'd be dropped somewhere unfamiliar.
So we hurriedly inspected the weapons.
'......A Railgun?!'
There were even weapons that were difficult to obtain in Paradise.
A Railgun was a broken weapon capable of penetrating over 90% of a monster's outer hide.
It was huge, heavy, and cumbersome, but with one of those, you'd never need another ranged weapon.
Unfortunately, taking it back to Paradise was impossible.
'Nothing else really stands out.'
I looked over the other weapons but didn't find much that interested me.
So I turned to the old man.
"What did you take?"
"For now, this."
The old man was holding a small cube-shaped object.
'An EMP Bomb?'
"......You do know what that is, right?"
"Is that not an EMP?"
"Then why are you taking it......?"
An EMP was the number-one prohibited item for entry into Paradise.
It was something that could turn every electronic device into a useless hunk of metal.
And he wanted to use that in Paradise, which was packed with electronics?
He'd be turned into beehive pizza on the spot.
"I imagine there will be some use for it."
"You did...... think this through before taking it, right?"
"I will be careful not to let it harm people."
His expression was fairly serious.
He really intended to take it.
"......Just be careful."
"That aside, what about you?"
Jolt—.
At the old man's question, the train shook briefly.
It looked like it was about to depart.
"This is all I need."
Grin—.
I smiled and lifted the weapon beside me.
"That? You?"
The old man looked briefly startled before quickly returning to normal.
RUMBLE—!
The train shook as though urging us to get out.
"Let's go!"
We hurried out of the subway train.
[Train departing.]
[Doors closing.]
[Tracks and passage opening.]
A high-pitched female mechanical voice rang out as the train doors closed.
"Phew...... that was close."
The doors shut the instant we leaped out.
The old man stared at them while breathing heavily.
We'd gone deeper inside than expected, so getting back out had taken more time than we'd planned.
'Still, this alone is enough.'
I fiddled with the weapon I'd brought out.
'I can't believe I got this here.'
I strapped the sword to my waist and suppressed a smile.
For the early game, it was a ridiculously overpowered melee weapon.
'Black Lotus.'
'Not bad.'
I'd secured the Core and obtained a weapon.
On top of that, by destroying the Android, I'd gained the old man's trust and uncovered Pentatech's intentions.
Whether they were truly planning a coup still needed further investigation.
'That's a good haul.'
"Let's head back."
"Agreed."
The old man and I left the subway with light steps.
***
BLAZE—.
By the time we emerged from the subway and the entrance to Paradise came faintly into view.
The sun had already passed its zenith.
"What time is it?"
"6:55."
'So it took us more than an hour and a half.'
I gripped the sword hilt hanging at my waist.
"Do you know how to use a sword? Against monsters and people, wouldn't a gun be better?"
The old man asked with a curious expression.
"Usually, yeah."
Against humans, one bullet to the head was usually enough.
But there was a reason the surface had fallen.
Firearms weren't one hundred percent effective against monsters.
They had evolved that way.
Their unique durability gave them strong resistance against firearms.
But the story changed with cold weapons.
Monsters hadn't fought against cold weapons in the war against humanity.
So they hadn't evolved to deal with them.
"A normal sword does not seem like it would work against them."
"This one isn't normal."
Out of all those weapons, this was the sword I'd chosen.
Me, a veteran who'd used every item at least once.
Its name was Black Magnolia, Black Lotus (Black Lotus).
'Good early-game equipment.'
Under this game's unusual system, Black Lotus counted as roughly Level 25 equipment.
Relics like the Nanomachine, or equipment made from Lost Technology, were at least Level 50.
Ordinary firearms were Level 10 at best.
You might wonder what equipment level even mattered.
Human A had received Compression from various monsters and had +100 stats.
Human B had none of that and only +10 stats.
If the two fought, what would happen?
'The one with better gear would win.'
Stats were your own specifications.
Equipment multiplied those specifications several times over.
A human with only ten points of strength could become infinitely stronger.
And stats belonged to monsters by right.
They weren't something granted to humans.
The only thing humans were allowed was equipment.
If they wanted more than that, they'd be choosing to turn themselves into monsters.
'They really made this game complicated.'
That's why I could never quit it.
"We're here."
The old man's words cleared away my stray thoughts.
Paradise's entrance.
The gigantic iron doors were wide open.
If you timed your return right around the normal end of the workday, you could enter through the open doors like this.
Step......
We silently walked down the long corridor leading into Paradise.
"Sir, what about that thing?"
"You mean what I picked up earlier?"
"Yes."
There were plenty of other people around, so I asked carefully.
"I hid it well enough."
'He probably tucked it into the storage compartment in his mechanical arm.'
I nodded to show I understood.
I didn't know how long we'd been walking through the long corridor.
Slowly, bright light began drawing closer.