The Laughing Calamity

 

Alexandros III directed the operation from within Achilles’s MCS.1

「Emergency! An anomalous phenomenon has occurred!」

A Hemitheos rushed his report to Alexandros III, clearly flustered.

「So they’ve made their move?」

「An enemy fleet is approaching, but it has no physical substance. There’s no radar return.」

「What does that mean?」

「Please see for yourself.」

The transmitted footage showed several airborne vessels.

And yet there was no metallic response whatsoever. Radar and other sensors couldn’t detect them, either.

「They’re a phantom fortress floating on the sea!」

「No metal response, indeed. Search Earth’s history for similar cases.」

「…We found one! On Earth, a phenomenon called a superior mirage used to occur in Antarctica and the Arctic!」

「Superior mirage… a refraction phenomenon caused by temperature gradients.」

Inside the MCS, Alexandros III reviewed the data.

「The mirage ships are firing large missiles!」

「This is bad. Take interception posture!」

The warning came too late. The missiles that detonated in midair became large self-forging warheads.

A troublesome mass weapon—one that neither plasma barriers