Gyrodyne

 

A group of quadrupedal beast-type Silhouettes flew through the skies above Unit 5.

The beasts resembled lions, but with massive wings that gave them a unique silhouette. Their tail had taken the form of a snake-like mechanical arm.

At the head of the pack soared a radiant golden lion.

「So Echidna’s main force is chimeras. That golden lion in front… It’s a Sphinx.」

「Looks strong.」

「No doubt they were born from the remains of Antique Silhouettes.」

Asia’s expression was grim. They were facing a serious threat.

Then, an unsettling swarm of insectoid Mythology Weapons appeared.

「What are those things…?」

「Artificial Teras created from Murders. They’re called Nymphs—likely modified versions of the Dragonfly-type Keres.」

「Yes, they are probably based on the Keres we fought back in Planet Asia—just adapted for aerial combat.」

「No doubt an unpleasant sight for you, Astraea-sama.」

Morgan offered a note of sympathy as Astraea’s face tightened in barely concealed frustration.

「Why is that, though?」

Kou tilted his head, confused.

「The term ‘dragonfly’ traces back to the Greek mythological odon, meaning tooth. In French and German, the word’s origin relates to Libra, inspired by the shape of the wings.」

「Libra, huh… yeah, I understand now, if I were Astraea, I would be frustrated too. And they might be mass-produced models, but they are still Teras. That’s trouble.」

Kou nodded, also feeling for Astraea.

「But we’ve got the Type-0s and the Kakodaimons on our side. Let’s trust in them and move forward.」

Kou’s words were resolute. The biplane-type Kakodaimons possessed greater combat potential than they appeared to, and would likely be evenly matched with the Teras based in the dragonfly-type Keres.

「Outis-sama. Shall we deploy that?」

「Go ahead. I’m interested in seeing how the units created by the collaboration of Marujin and Morgan fare in battle.」

Kou had heard of this new weapon and was expecting and entertaining performance.

「Is it a flying Panjandrum?」

「Astraea-sama, that’s just mean.」

Morgan offered a gentle protest to Astraea’s cutting remark.

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

Teras moved in tight aerial formations above.

There was no anti-air fire here. This land had long since been abandoned.

「Aural-sama… what should we do?」

A human nearby spoke in an anxious tone.

「We’ve only just established new fields and pastures here. We must protect them.」

Aural’s voice was bitter. He wanted to defend the newly cultivated land—but above all, human lives took priority.

「Everyone, follow the Kashas and evacuate to Realm. We will protect this place.」

「Leave it to me! I’ll defend the fields we all worked so hard to make!」

Aural contractor, Sarah, stepped forward. With her present, Aural could exert his full strength.

「Hehehe. We’ll help too.」

「Yeah, we’ll help too!」

Unfamiliar voices rang out from various directions.

「Who goes there?!」

「Nice to meet you, Aural! We’re the Fairy Puck—artificial Kryptos modeled after the merry fairies of Wales!」

「Nice to meet you, Aural! We’re the Fairy Leprechauns—artificial Kryptos inspired by Ireland’s whimsical fairies!」

Mythology Weapons with synthetic voices replied, proudly calling themselves Fairies.

「Fairies?! What a charming name!」

Sarah’s eyes sparkled. She pictured something beautiful.

「I have a very bad feeling about this, Outis… Are you sure this is going to be okay?」

Rather than reassured, Aural was filled with unease.

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

Suddenly, the chimera formation in the sky took direct hits.

Aircraft launching vertically from the forest shadows had shot them down. Caught from behind, the chimeras were pummeled by volleys of rocket fire and plummeted to the ground. Another aircraft pounced on a Nymph with a surprise assault.

From their silhouettes, the aircraft resembled heavily armed gunship helicopters. The ‘Puck’ units were similar to light and agile helicopters, while the ‘Leprechauns’ were more similar to large armored helicopters.

One Leprechaun opened fire with a plasma railgun on a downed Teras, obliterating it entirely.

「Wha…」

Sarah let out a disappointed gasp. It was her own fault for having weird expectations—but this wasn’t what she’d expected.

「So those are the new artificial Kryptos. They look like regular attack helicopters to me.」

Eri, who was on the bridge of the Hiyou, murmured her impression. Nearby, Kinukawa sighed and covered his face.

「Fairies, huh? They’re definitely Marujin’s kind of fairies…」

It was clear at a glance who had developed them—and equally clear that Kou had nothing to do with their design.

「What do you mean?」

「They’re not helicopters. Those are gyrodyne aircraft. Take a closer look.」

Eri narrowed her eyes at the so-called Fairies, trying to spot what was off.

「There’s fire coming from the rotor blades…?」

「Exactly. That’s called a tip-jet system. It lifts like a helicopter, but propulsion comes from the jet-powered rotor. You hardly see them anymore—it’s a rare hybrid gyrodyne.」

「Jet-driven rotor blades? Wait, you mean…」

「That’s right. The principle’s not far off from the propulsion used in Panjandrums, with rockets spinning the wheel.」

「So those are flying Panjandrum?!」

「Close enough, they aren’t exactly the same, but you could say they are from the same family. A gyrodyne aircraft doesn’t need a complicated rotor system. Doesn’t use a tail rotor either. Unlike the mainstream helicopters that use modern iterations of the original Russian coaxial rotors, it achieves flight with far simpler mechanics.」

「But if that system didn’t become standard, there must be downsides?」

「You’re sharp. Downsides include terrible fuel efficiency, deafening noise from the jets, and poor control when the tip-jets shut off. But—hydrogen-metal fuel, Whis, and the MCS likely solve all of that.」

「How something like that ended up becoming a Mythology Weapon…?」

「The Gyrodyne system was developed by a British company called Fairy Aviation. Back then, the UK was obsessed with VTOL aircraft. That project was canceled eventually, but they did achieve test flights for a large transport aircraft. It fits with fairy folklore, doesn’t it?」

Kinukawa continued observing the Fairy Puck and Fairy Leprechauns in action.

「Morgan just sent the specs. Armed gyrodyne aircraft. The Puck tops out at around 400 km/h—not fast, but it’s got impressive maneuverability.」

「Doesn’t sound like a bad unit at all.」

「The Puck uses tip-jet rotors. The Leprechaun uses the same, but with an augmenter attached. Probably a P-MAX derivative…」

An ‘augmenter’ was better known as an afterburner—a thrust enhancement module.

Kinukawa concluded that the Leprechaun’s afterburners had been designed for rapid acceleration.

「Here we go! Time to show ‘em what we can do!」

「Yeah! No way we’re losing to a bunch of dragonfly wannabes!」

The Fairies rallied together as they launched their attack on the enemy formation.

Sentient gyrodyne aircraft, created in the image of fairies—Kinukawa’s curiosity was piqued beyond containment. He began gathering data on their combat performance.

 

 

 

AN:

This time, Gyrodyne aircraft was introduced—a cross between helicopters and autogyros. Not the Vanguard Bay, but yes, Gyrodyne. There was a Tiger, remember?

Fairy Aviation first developed the Fairy Jet Gyrodyne. The Fairy Rotodyne was designed for mass production: a 50-seater capable of 340 km/h—an aircraft built for passenger use.

Tip-jets were also tested by the British Percival company, though theirs never made it off the ground.

Some French helicopters even tried afterburner-equipped tip-jets, but none made it to mass production.

Next time: Britain and Morgan—a match made in mythical heaven!