5: Behemoth

27 June, 0236 Hours (Japan Standard Time)

Akami Pier, Koto Ward, Tokyo

Sousuke was sure it was an optical illusion. Though he was at a distance now, it still took him some time to process it as “humanoid.” It was so big, his mind just wouldn’t accept the idea.

But the truth remained, no matter how his instincts might protest: The seawater-soaked red armor, the broad upper arms and thighs... Its head couldn’t be seen from below; the protrusion of the chest blocked it from view. The four of them, Sousuke included, could only stare up at the huge arm slave and gape.

“What in the hell...” Kurz whispered.

Sousuke furrowed his brow, his expression intense. “It’s absurd...” he breathed. He’d seen the thing in the hold before, but from up close, he’d been unable to really grasp the shape of it. He’d simply parsed it as “some giant machine.” It was hard to fault him for doing so; who could imagine an arm slave that was five times the height of a normal one? Even as someone who knew ASes inside and out—rather, perhaps because he knew them so well—Sousuke had never even considered that one this size could exist.

There were reasons why most ASes were about eight meters and ten tons: Skeletal endurance; the EM muscle actuators’ optimal output; size of generators; covertness; ease of maintenance; efficiency of production; mission objectives; size needed for corresponding firearms; et cetera, et cetera... Careful calculations had been done taking all of these elements into account, and that was the size settled on as most effective.

The massive AS had a simple outward appearance, with none of the intricate armor plating of the M9. There was something ancient about its presence, like a mythical giant armored with piecemeal iron sheets. It felt less like a product of technology, and more like a clockwork figurine, given life by magic.

Gripping the M9 tightly below the waist, the giant AS began to squeeze. Its armor creaked, on the verge of splitting.

“I c-can’t move!” Mao screamed.

Tessa snapped out of her daze and shouted into the radio, “Melissa! Use your monomolecular cutter on the thumb!”

“Thumb? What thumb?!” Mao didn’t seem to realize she was in the grip of a colossal AS. She was too close to catch the scope of what she was dealing with, and her AI’s likely inability to identify the enemy must be adding to her panic.

“Right now, there’s an enormous—” Tessa’s attempt was interrupted by a new shriek from Mao. The giant’s other hand had grabbed the M9’s top half; it had turned her machine on its side and begun to twist.

Tessa gasped.

The giant yanked its hands apart, tearing the M9 in two.

Milky white liquid—the drive system’s shock absorbent—sprayed like blood from its severed torso, as its upper half jerked around in a series of eerie convulsions.

“Melissa!” Tessa screamed. Even Kurz went pale at the sight. Kaname averted her eyes and grabbed tight to Sousuke’s arm.

The giant AS—if you could even call it that—held the severed M9 halves up high, as though offering tribute to the Goddess of Night.

Hoh... A low, muffled sound echoed through the harbor. Hoh... hoh hoh hoh hoh...

It was a voice. It was coming from the giant. Woofers, installed somewhere on the machine’s body, were conveying the operator’s laughter to the outside world. It seemed to well up from the ground below; a foreboding sound that sent a chill up the spine despite the hot and humid summer night.

The giant tossed the M9’s remains aside; each half hit a separate part of the ocean, raising up a splash in turn.

“Mao...”

Sousuke was about to rush out, but Kurz held him back. “You’re gonna jump into the ocean with that thing right there? It’ll crush you like a bug!”

“But—”

“I’m worried about Big Sis, too, but we’ve got bigger things to worry about... Look.”

The giant had bent slightly at the waist to examine Sousuke and the others. The head, previously hidden behind the chest, could now be seen in the dim light. It looked like it was wearing a cylindrical helmet, but the place where its mouth should be was instead home to a line of four machine cannons.

“I think he likes us,” Kurz said.

The giant gazed at them with hollow eyes. It looked ready to attack at any time, but... instead it turned away, slowly rotating its upper half to face the arriving police and JSDF battalions.

The officers and soldiers, piling out of their patrol cars and transport trucks, stared up at the giant in disbelief. Three JSDF ASes (the Type-96, a 2nd generation machine) brought by trailer were already activated and on the ground—but they, like the people at their feet, simply looked blankly up at the giant.

“Sagara-san, do you have a satellite communicator?” Tessa asked.

“My radio can transmit,” Sousuke told her.

“Let me use it,” she demanded.

“Yes, ma’am. For now, we should get our distance... Head for the car.” Sousuke took off, running for the car they had taken to the pier. The other three followed after; gawking at the thing wouldn’t get them anywhere.

“What’s she going to do?!” Kaname asked.

“Call for reinforcements?” Sousuke guessed. “Or we may need a cruise missile...”

“Reinforcements? Where the heck would you get—”

Behind them, the police were standing their ground, issuing a warning through a megaphone. “D-Deactivate your machine and come down from there! If you don’t, we... we’ll open fire! Do you hear me?! Deactivate your machine and—” There was a dull splashing sound.

They looked up, and saw that the towering giant had set a foot onto the pier. It didn’t do more than crack the asphalt below. This in itself seemed impossible; the ground should have collapsed beneath its weight.

“F-Fire!!” Like a dam bursting, the guns roared out. Shots deluged the giant with a sound like a raging waterfall.

Unfortunately, not even the ASes’ 40mm rifles could pierce the giant’s armor, to say nothing of the infantry’s small arms; they just sparked trivially against the right side of its frame.

“They’re not going to beat it that way,” Sousuke whispered as he hurried toward the car.

To Takuma, the bullet swarm was like a mild drizzle. The pain in his wound was gone now; he felt elated. It was like he was flying. He could break a standard AS in half like a toy; the slightest flick of his hand could reduce a building to rubble. He was the giant—his consciousness filled it, head to toe.

The pathetic assault continued.

“Annoying flies...” Takuma whispered, regripping his master suit lever and pressing a round button with his thumb.

《Lambda driver function B, ready,》 the Behemoth’s AI informed him.

Let’s have a test, he decided.

One of the JSDF ASes had readied a large rocket launcher. It wasn’t the latest model, but it was powerful enough to punch a hole in a tank—mighty though it was, not even the Behemoth could endure a blow like that.

Takuma concentrated. His will, amplified—altered, some might say—through training and drugs, crafted an image. The image he was sculpting was something like “shield”—Not just the thickness, feel, and weight of a shield, but something much more specific.

He imagined every molecule falling into place. No, “molecule” wasn’t the right word either—what he wanted wasn’t comprised of physical matter, but of a power that existed beyond substance. A power that took reason to draw together and manipulate—that was the best way to express it. The proper words to describe it hadn’t been invented yet.

A JSDF machine unleashed a large rocket. It was heading right for Takuma’s—for the Behemoth’s—chest.

An image that no one had ever seen, had ever heard of; an image that no one could even conceive of—no one except for him—his mind could conjure in an instant.

The lambda driver gave that image form.

The rocket streaking toward the Behemoth exploded just before impact. Its scalding hot, highly pressurized metal jet burst emptily against an unseen wall. There was no damage done to the Behemoth’s armor. It was a gratifying feeling.

“That won’t work.” Takuma smiled cruelly, then pulled a trigger. All four of the Behemoth’s head-mounted 30mm machine cannons began to spit fire in a move the machine’s designer had dubbed “Dragon’s Breath.”

Destruction rained down on the enemy army. One after another, police cars and SPVs were shredded and exploded. Tires went bouncing to thirty meter heights; trails of burning gasoline spread; black smoke covered the pier. Men ran this way and that—crying, screaming, crawling.

Takuma laughed. And all I did was blow on them! He’d taken out nearly all of the police vehicles, but the JSDF ASes—the Type-96s—were still around. One was drawing back, panicking, reflecting the movements of the operator inside. The leading machine still seemed to want to fight, but the knees of the one to its right were knocking.

Takuma reached behind him and drew the “tachi” mounted on his back. This was a Japanese-style sword three times the length of a standard AS, made of layered ceramic and titanium alloy. Though a tachi was traditionally a cutting sword, this one seemed more like a bludgeon.

Holding the tachi aloft, the Behemoth charged at the three ASes. This required no particular effort on his part; he just had to walk and crush.

His first swing of the tachi smashed the leader machine to pieces. Another horizontal sweep, and the second was bisected. The final machine fell onto its backside, both hands raised. He just casually kicked it away, causing it to crumple like a soda can as it flew off.

Takuma laughed louder. What a marvelous feeling! No one can stop me. No one can escape me. I’m so glad I came here. I never should have hesitated. Now there’s no question that I’m the king of the world...

Beyond the mountain of containers, she could see an AS’s severed arm fly through the air; the giant must have already taken out the JSDF machines. Flames from explosions streaked the night sky, and shouts and screams echoed across the pier.

Ahh... why didn’t they just run away? Tessa wondered. She couldn’t help but feel responsible for the tragedy unfolding around her. If only she had killed Takuma in Sousuke’s apartment, or anywhere else along the way... If she had, this never would have happened. They might have lost Kalinin, but the enemy would have given up on activating the Behemoth, and... and...

Infinite choices. Infinite forks in the road.

Would that have been a reason to kill him, though? Could I really have made that decision?

“No, I couldn’t,” she told herself.

For the first time, I’ve been forced to face my imperfections: how I dealt with Sousuke, how I dealt with Kaname... I’ve been made acutely aware of my inconsistencies, my hypocrisies. To think that yesterday, I aspired to omnipotence... and now, how powerless I am!

Sousuke’s voice broke Tessa out of her anguished reverie. “Colonel. The reinforcements?”

“What?” she asked.

“We need to do something about that giant,” he insisted. “What are your instructions?”

Instructions? He’s still treating me as his commanding officer... Tessa realized.

“I... I’m sorry,” she told him. That’s right, she thought. I still have more to do. I can kick myself another day... Tessa turned the radio on and opened a satellite channel.

“Yes?” came the response.

“Testarossa here,” she said crisply. “Put me through to Commander Mardukas on the de Danaan. On the double, top priority.”

“Roger that. Give me five seconds.”

Exactly five seconds later, she was transferred over and her XO, Commander Mardukas, responded. “Captain. It’s good to hear you’re safe.”

“Mardukas-san,” Tessa said, “where are you right now?”

“120 kilometers south of the Kii Peninsula.”

Impossible, then. The submarine was over 500 kilometers from Tokyo; it would take two hours to bring new ASes via helicopter, and they were too far away to shoot them here with emergency deployment boosters. Even loading one into a modified ballistic missile, as they’d done during the Sunan Incident, would take at least one hour’s preparation. How much damage could that giant, the Behemoth, render in that time? Just the thought of it sent a chill up her spine.

There’s nothing we can do, Tessa realized. We’re helpless. I’m—

“Captain. Do you require the Arbalest?” Mardukas inquired, his monotone itself reminiscent of an AS’s AI.

“Yes,” she replied hesitantly.

“Immediately?”

“Yes.”

“We’ll send it, then.”

She was stunned. “What did you say?”

“You’ll forgive me for acting in absence of orders, but... we have everything in place to fire a ballistic missile containing the Arbalest in three minutes’ time,” Mardukas clarified. “It should reach you approximately six minutes after firing—In other words, nine minutes from now.”

The process of firing a ballistic missile required the de Danaan to surface briefly to open up the flight deck, leaving it temporarily defenseless. The world’s largest and greatest amphibious assault submarine, the Tuatha de Danaan, was an object of interest for navies around the world. It was a risky move that could lead to their capture.

“Mardukas-san...”

“Forgive me. I’m prepared to receive any punishment you deem appropriate.”

Tessa smiled as she pictured Commander Mardukas’s skinny, nervous face. That’s right. I’m surrounded by the best. To give up now would be disrespectful to them... “No, you did very well,” she told him. “Fire it at once.”

“Yes, Captain. And the drop point?”

“Let me see...” It couldn’t be here; the giant might attack it the moment it landed. They needed a place with more complex terrain, to buy the operator a minute or two to board after it dropped. Somewhere with limited sight lines, if possible. Not downtown, to avoid involving innocents. Somewhere dark. Somewhere restricted, preferably with lots of highs and lows... and...

The best location possible. A place where the Arbalest could use its abilities to the fullest. Where could that be? Tessa was navigating a complex labyrinth of thought, reviewing all possibilities in the blink of an eye. Every location she considered contained elements of uncertainty. Nothing stuck out as a singular “ideal.” But...

It’s not going to be perfect. I need to accept that, and deal with it.

“I’ve made up my mind,” Tessa whispered, then tapped Kaname on the shoulder. “What do you call that building?” she asked.

Towering in the distance, across the water, stood an illuminated building that resembled an inverted pyramid.

“Huh? That’s the International Exhibition Center... the Tokyo Big Sight, I think?”

Takuma activated the Behemoth’s sensors. The cameras and infrared detectors, mounted in a dozen locations, searched tirelessly for his targets. He was tens of meters tall; nothing could escape his sight.

He immediately caught the heat signatures of four people hiding behind a warehouse one block away. Running figures—two men, two women.

“There you are,” he whispered. Teletha Testarossa and her companions... I’m surprised to see Sagara Sousuke still alive, but I’ll kill him now. He pointed a gun at me and threatened to kill me. It scared me. That humiliation... I haven’t forgotten it.

Yes... It’ll feel even better when I step on him. And I’ll teach that impudent and vulgar female, Chidori Kaname, a lesson, too...

If Testarossa dies with them, Takuma told himself, it’s an acceptable loss. No, in fact, it’s better that way—She’s only ever looked down on me; she never noticed my affection. Better to destroy her, if I can’t have her.

“That’s right...” he muttered out loud.

Plain, unadorned legs, like those of a tin toy, pushed forward through thick black smoke. The Behemoth had begun its slow march through the flames.

Sousuke and Kurz had parked their truck behind a warehouse, a block from the giant’s stalking grounds. It was a secondhand kei truck, with “Takasawa Fish” written on the side of the bed.

“You sure this is our only option? It kinda reeks...” Kaname said, sniffing the air.

“Now’s not really the time to complain,” Sousuke observed.

“Hey, guys. I think Colosso’s on his way,” Kurz warned.

The giant’s footsteps had grown louder. The containers and streetlights around them shook each time it took a step. They couldn’t see it through the stacks of crates in their way, but they could tell it was coming closer. Did it know where they were?

“Perfect,” Tessa whispered, as if she had something in mind.

“Huh?” Kaname said. “What do you mean, perfe—”

“Get in! We need to go!” Sousuke shouted, leaping into the driver’s seat. Kaname scrambled into the passenger’s side, and Kurz and Tessa jumped into the bed.

The giant’s head appeared, peering over the mountain of containers; simple, bucket-like armor with two round eyes and a mouth. Its face, reminiscent of an old wind-up toy, slowly turned toward them, then tilted.

“Get going already!” Kaname screamed. Chilled by the giant’s gaze, she drummed her fists urgently on Sousuke’s shoulder.

“I know...” he said, and the second the engine turned over, the kei truck sped off. As it turned the corner of the warehouse, the weight of its four riders caused it to veer wide to the left.

“Listen, Sagara-san.” Tessa leaned forward from the truck bed to address Sousuke in the driver’s seat. “You need to keep that giant’s—the Behemoth’s—attention.”

Sousuke couldn’t believe his ears. She wanted him to lure the Behemoth? To where? And how? Wasn’t that suicide? “But Colonel—” he protested.

“Do it,” Tessa replied in the harsh, cool tone of command. “It’s what Mithril pays you for. You don’t have to make my safety a priority. I’ve decided to put my faith in your skill.”

With that one statement, Sousuke felt a strange change come over him. It was the unique confidence and daring of one who had been given another’s trust. “If you insist, I’ll make it happen”—was the feeling it inspired.

“Very well,” he replied. “Where do we go, then?”

“Keep straight for now,” Tessa instructed. “Turn right at the intersection, then head to the International Exhibition Center—that building, there. The monorail track will help to shield us on the way.”

Of course. An excellent escape plan, Sousuke decided.

“The Arbalest will drop on the Center’s western side,” she continued. “We’ll buy you time until you can board it.”

“You want me to pilot it?” Sousuke asked, with a glance back to Kurz.

“Yes,” she affirmed. “You’re the only operator whose settings it recognizes at the moment. In the incident two months ago—”

“It’s coming!” shouted Kaname, who was keeping watch behind them.

The giant was striding toward them, kicking over streetlamps and roadside trees. Though it wasn’t running, it was still moving fast enough that it could catch up at any minute. It was just so big; its stride was unreal. They could see the giant’s head turning to face them. Was it going to unleash its machine cannons?

“It’s about to fire. When I give the signal, turn!” Kurz screamed.

“Understood,” Sousuke replied tersely.

“Not yet, not yet, not yet... Turn!”

Sousuke jerked the wheel with all his might. In that same moment, the giant’s fire rained down. Dozens of 30mm machine cannon shells, each the size of a milk bottle, fell on them at the speed of sound. The force that hit the kei truck felt less like a strafing and more like an explosion.

Kaname screamed. Chunks of asphalt went flying, and the guardrail, just inches away, was cast into the air like an old rag.

The truck lurched. They were headed for a streetlamp. With technique that was nothing short of miraculous, Sousuke got their vehicle back on course. Tessa was nearly thrown from the truck bed, but Kurz grabbed her and reeled her back in.

“Too close...” Sousuke breathed. I won’t have time to lure this thing anywhere! The next time it fires, this lousy kei truck—

“Sousuke, drive straight!!” Kurz hollered.

“What’s the plan?”

“I’m gonna give him a sock in the mouth. Look, just keep straight no matter what. Keep your speed steady, too!”

“Roger.” Sousuke did as he was told, driving straight at a constant speed. Kurz knelt down in the truck bed and aimed his rifle at the still-pursuing giant.

“Wh-What are you doing?”

“Hush, Kaname-chan. You’ll see soon enough...” Kurz’s smile was bone-chilling. His eyes took on the focus of a bird of prey as he licked his upper lip and readied his rifle with a lover’s touch. The barrel swayed up and down from the vibration of the road, but it seemed he’d adjusted for that. The course of the wind. The movement of the light. Taking that and everything else into account...

“Now... aim right at me, you son of a bitch...” Kurz said softly.

The giant turned its head toward them, preparing to fire another machine cannon barrage. Sousuke felt the urge to yank the wheel again, but he put his trust in his friend and maintained course.

Here it comes, Kurz thought, and in that moment, he fired. It was a single shot; a rifle round that wouldn’t even dent an LAV.

Nevertheless, something strange happened to the giant’s head. There was a blast like a firework from one of the machine cannons, followed by a pop of metal shards. Then the right half of the head began to spew flame and black smoke—a minor explosion had occurred. The giant stumbled. It let out a low moan, and pressed a hand to its injured head.

“Bullseye.” Kurz’s shot had flown up the machine cannon’s barrel and ignited the powder inside. To hit an opening three centimeters wide, from two hundred meters away in a moving car...!

“Kurz-kun... you’re amazing!” Kaname said with admiration.

“Easy-peasy,” Kurz snorted triumphantly.

“This whole time, I just thought you were a loser with a big mouth!” she went on.

Kurz scowled.

“It’s not over yet,” Sousuke cautioned. Kurz had taken out half of the enemy’s machine cannons, but they couldn’t expect the same trick to work twice. In addition, the giant immediately recovered from its confusion, let out a roar and raced back into pursuit. It was running now, arms raised. The road buckled beneath its feet.

It was like a tsunami of iron heading right for them; Kaname’s jaw dropped. Its massive body seemed to block out the sky.

“Dammit,” Sousuke cursed, and slammed his foot on the gas.

27 June, 0241 Hours (Japan Standard Time)

Akami Pier, Koto Ward, Tokyo

Near the outskirts of the wharf, onto a ramp lapped by the waves of the harbor, Andrey Kalinin had been dragged ashore. He’d been shot from behind in the sinking ship, but the bullet had only grazed his shoulder. Still, the ocean water had robbed him of blood and body heat; he was so exhausted, it was difficult even to move. This time might really be...

He stopped himself. Who was it who had pulled him from the water, and swam him all the way to this ramp? He decided to sit up and see.

Seina was there, lying face-up on the slope. Her lower half was soaked with seawater, her pale face turned toward the sky.

She was the one who had saved him. That by itself didn’t surprise Kalinin that much; after all, if she’d wanted him dead, she could have hit a major organ. A shot to the head would have been easy at that distance.

“Do you think I’m a fool?” Seina asked him.

“No...” Kalinin responded, then he realized: her back was hemorrhaging blood. She had her back to the ground, so he couldn’t make out the extent of it... but its severity was easy to imagine. She was beyond treatment now.

“The Behemoth... activated?” she asked.

“Yes,” he told her succinctly. “You won.”

“Too bad... I don’t really care anymore...” the voice drifted from her lips, weakly and with great effort. “It was originally... planned... as an anti-AS gunboat... It was supposed to be loaded... with even more firepower... to hunt ASes...”

“But it was too slow,” Kalinin said.

“Hence... the lambda driver... and Takuma...” Seina trailed off. Not even a machine of that size could withstand a direct hit from a tank gun or a supersonic missile—In a competition between shield and spear, the spear typically had the advantage. They’d mounted it with that unstable system, the lambda driver, to compensate; and thus, the Behemoth was born. “It’s impossible... to destroy it,” she predicted. “Forty minutes... of fuel. Can’t be stopped until it runs out...”

“Depending on Takuma,” Kalinin observed.

“I don’t think... I’ve been very good to him,” she confessed. “His memory is so jumbled... At some point... he decided I was the sister he’d killed. And I... exploited that...”

Kalinin said nothing.

“I don’t have any... blood relatives,” Seina went on. “I’ve been alone... for so long.”

Silence. Explosions rang out in the distance, like thunder from a looming downpour.

“You’re not going to ask?” she finally said.

“Ask what?”

“Why I saved you...”

“I think I can guess,” Kalinin said mildly.

Perhaps she had seen the shadow of another in him. Perhaps she hadn’t been able to completely abandon her bonds with others. Perhaps she had wanted to leave behind someone who would remember her. Any reason he could think of was a sad one.

“Always acting... like you know everything... I hate it. Makes me want to vomit...”

“I’m sorry,” he said, and meant it. Seina smiled. It was that smile, the one he’d only seen from her once before.

“My most hated darling... would you tell me your name?”

“Andrey Sergeevich Kalinin,” he answered.

“A strange name...” Those were Seina’s last words.

Kalinin watched her in silence. Then, as anyone would, he closed her eyes for her. Her hollow death mask became a visage of sleep. No one would believe she had been a terrorist bent on destruction. A member of the clergy... perhaps you were right, he thought. I’ve guided so many through their final moments...

Just then, he heard a splashing sound; someone had swum up to the ramp. It was Melissa Mao, grunting and gasping her way through the water. She must have caught sight of Kalinin before, because she didn’t seem surprised to see him alive.

“Dammit. Thought I was a goner,” Mao groaned, then looked over at the corpse next to him. “Friend of yours?” she asked.

“Something like that,” he acknowledged.

27 June, 0241 Hours (Japan Standard Time)

Ariake, Koto Ward, Tokyo

Kaname couldn’t believe how calm she’d managed to remain. She’d been so scared before. It seemed like just moments ago that she’d felt her temples pounding, and heard the sound of blood pulsing through her veins. Now, those sounds were gone.

Ah, is this it? Kaname thought, with a strange sense of understanding. Is this where Sousuke lives all the time? Now that she thought about it, it wasn’t her first time reaching this state.

Anyone could end up the same way, even in their daily lives—you met an “enemy,” and you felt afraid, but you decided to face it nevertheless. Because you knew that if you spent all your time cowering in fear, you couldn’t do what needed to be done. The human mind is really something, isn’t it? she mused.

There was an explosion, and a crunch, and a lump of concrete came loose above them. The giant’s machine cannons had destroyed the track for monorail—technically not a monorail, as its cars ran on rubber tires—running over their heads.

They were on a collision course. They couldn’t dodge it. They’d hit it. No—

As they braced for impact, the kei truck skated under the tons of falling concrete by a hair’s breadth. The remains that broke up after hitting the road below were kicked away trivially by the pursuing Behemoth. It was like having an angry tornado on their tail, spreading destruction as it pursued.

“Gun it! Gun it!” Kurz cackled, high on adrenaline.

From the driver’s seat, Sousuke scolded him, “Stop laughing and shoot out the other one!”

“Yeah, fat chance. Just keep dodging like you’ve been doing!”

Kurz’s shot had taken out half of the enemy’s machine cannons, and the remaining two must have lost much of their accuracy; time and again, its shots grazed the kei truck, but no more. Still, the damage around them was considerable: the occasional passing taxi or passenger car was hit by an explosion or a stray shot and skidded and flipped, or crashed into the guard rail; street lights and roadside trees were toppled like bowling pins; asphalt was plowed up; and glass was shattered in buildings along the way.

Their vehicle, too, was far from pristine; there was a strange rattling in the suspension, and from time to time, the engine let out a high-pitched whine. The outer frame was in tatters, and the windows had been completely blown out.

The International Exhibition Center was in sight. But just as Kaname was wondering why they’d come here...

“Is that it?” Sousuke whispered.

She turned her eyes forward, following his gaze. Just ahead of them and slightly to the right—what he might call 2 o’clock—a cylindrical capsule hung in the air, dangling from three parachutes. It was descending from the sky, heading for the cluster of giant silver buildings that made up the Exhibition Center.

“I’ve seen that before...” Kaname remembered it from North Korea. The capsule was designed to burst in midair and release the AS inside.

“Not good,” Sousuke muttered. “It’s completely exposed.”

Hoh... hoh hoh hoh... The Behemoth had seen the capsule, too. Letting out its muffled laughter, it changed the aim of its machine cannons. White streaks tore through the air...

A direct hit. The parachutes were shredded, and the wires holding it were cut. The capsule, now riddled with holes, crashed into the Center with a shower of metal fragments. There had been no explosion, but...

“They got it!” Kaname cried out.

“No, not yet,” Tessa said, her tone confident. “It would take more than that to destroy that machine. Sagara-san?”

“Roger,” he replied. “Chidori, I need a favor.”

“Huh?” Kaname asked, startled by the request. “What favor?”

“Drive.” Sousuke released the wheel and opened the driver’s side door.

“What?! I’m just in high school! I don’t know how to drive!” Kaname argued, grabbing the abandoned wheel in panic. They were nearing an overpass that would temporarily hide the truck from view. “Can’t you have Kurz-kun do it?!”

“There’s no time. It’s up to you,” he said, then jumped out of the truck. He threw himself clear and rolled along the ground, getting further away as Kaname watched. The Behemoth, not noticing Sousuke’s move, simply vaulted the overpass in pursuit of the truck.

“What the hell is he doing?!” Kaname shrieked.

“Turn, Kaname!” Kurz called.

Kaname, now in the driver’s seat, instinctively yanked the wheel to the right. The truck plowed into the intersection in front of the Center and veered, tires squealing, despite the red light. Fortunately, it was late enough at night that there was nobody there to hit them.

But I can’t drive a car! Kaname thought. She was just about to slam the brakes when Tessa shouted at her from behind, “Keep driving! If we stop, we’re dead!”

Kaname groaned. Tessa was right, of course—That impossibly huge, reckless AS was still after them. If they stopped, they’d be crushed underfoot, and it would all be over. This is too crazy, she thought. Should I jump out and run? No, I can’t do that now. Besides—

“Whatever! Just don’t blame me later!” Kaname slammed her foot on the gas.

What a complicated building, Sousuke thought. The International Exhibition Center was made up of several layers of intricately laid out floors, which opened out onto vast interior spaces. He ended up having to take bizarre detours just to get from one floor to another, and many of the routes ended up in shuttered dead ends. In the end he decided to shoot his way through glass, grenade his way through shutters, and all-in-all force his way to the capsule’s landing site. He passed in front of a “West Hall” sign, and at the bottom of a frozen escalator, he found the capsule he was after.

There it is! he thought. The hall was enormous, large enough to fit an entire other building inside. The capsule lay on its side at the center, riddled with smoking holes. It was about the size of a fuel truck’s tank and surrounded by fragments of metal framework and glass—a result of its breaking through the roof on its way down. Sousuke took the escalator three steps at a time and ran to the capsule. The AS should be inside it. White smoke wafted from the bullet holes.

The lever to trigger its explosive bolts should be here somewhere... he thought frantically. But it wasn’t. Sousuke spent ten seconds circling the capsule, desperately searching, but he couldn’t find the panel for the manual release.

Is it... underneath? The capsule might have fallen with the release panel down. That meant there was no way to break it open—Which meant the AS was locked inside!

Even after taking a flurry of 30-millimeter shots, the capsule remained tightly shut. There was no way he’d be able to pry it open himself. His gun wouldn’t do him any good; he had no explosives and only one grenade.

Could he use the grenade to turn the capsule over? There was no way to be sure, but Sousuke couldn’t afford to hesitate. Every moment he wasted here was a moment the giant would spend chasing Kaname and the others. It could tear them apart any second.

I’ll just have to try it. Sousuke made up his mind, took the pin out of the grenade, and shoved it between the capsule and the floor. He released the lever and ran away. A few seconds later, it exploded.

The large capsule rocked. Sousuke held his breath. The metal tube tilted just a bit... then returned to its original position.

Just pretend you’re in a go-kart, Kaname told herself. You can handle some silly car. Though it’s a good thing kei trucks are automatics...

“Yeah... that’s right...” she realized. The path ahead was a straightaway with good visibility. If she kept driving that way, that thing would hit them with its machine gun barrage. She had to get them somewhere with more cover!

“Turning now!” Kaname yelled to her passengers. She jerked the wheel as hard as she could. There was a sturdy gate blocking the entrance to the Center’s parking lot, to keep cars from coming in overnight. She couldn’t afford to hit it. She turned the wheel again; the truck plowed through the roadside bushes and smashed through the fence.

It was a miracle that they didn’t end up tumbling. The car rocked up and down and back and forth, and the wheel jerked back at her in protest. Kaname felt a dull pain in her right hand; the rebellious wheel had jammed her thumb.

She swallowed the pain; she didn’t have time to think about it now. Breaking through all those obstacles had slowed the truck down, and the Behemoth’s feet were coming closer and closer. It blacked out the sky—

“Go faster!” Kurz urged her.

“I’m trying!” Kaname screamed back. The tip of the giant’s toe grazed the back of the truck, shaving off the license plate. The kei truck wheezed in protest, but valiantly picked up speed. The wall of the Center, like a warehouse scaled up a few dozen times, grew larger in her vision. She just managed to avoid a collision with the outer wall. The truck’s left side scraped it, but Kaname managed to regain control, continuing to rocket around the building’s lengthy perimeter. “If we stay here... it’ll shoot us!” she insisted.

“Get us inside! Break through a shutter!” Kurz shouted, pounding on the partition between the bed and the cabin.

The Behemoth fired. The shots pulverized the wall next to them; razor-sharp shards embedded themselves in the passenger seat—uninhabited now, but the place Kaname had been sitting just minutes ago. Rather than chilling, she found it funny.

A hesitant laughter leaked from her throat. Her awareness expanded. She felt alive. The flying shards of glass and asphalt seemed to slow, and even though Kurz and Tessa were behind her, she felt like she could see them.

The pain in Kaname’s thumb was gone now. She skillfully turned the wheel, yanked the parking brake for an instant, and forced the car into a sideways slide. It felt like the most natural thing in the world.

Gas again. Keep moving. Giant coming. Still okay. The kei truck sped toward the Center’s shutters. I can do it. I can do it. I know I can do it.

The shutters came closer, closer—Impact. Her vision went black. The shutter had proven tougher than expected. She hadn’t had time to buckle her seatbelt before, so her head had slammed into the steering wheel with enough force to cause a depressed fracture.

And yet... the truck had broken through and come clear into the Center. The muffler must have fallen out, causing the space around them to echo with the rumble of the exhaust.

Despite her hazy consciousness, Kaname kept her foot on the gas, but the kei truck’s endurance seemed to have hit its limit. The gears must have gotten fouled up, and she couldn’t pick up any speed.

The hall itself was large enough to hold a cargo ship. She couldn’t see any exhibits, just darkness—a vast, open ocean of nothing. Inertia carried them some way through the dark, and then at last, the car stopped.

“Tessa? Hey, Tessa?!” Kurz cried out.

Tessa was lying limp in the truck bed. Kaname couldn’t tell if she was unconscious or dead, but there was blood trickling down her forehead.

Kaname’s own head was feeling fuzzy. She felt like the world around her was pulling away. What... is this? I’ve felt this way before...

“Ah...” She heard a creaking from the wall and the ceiling behind her. Steel was ripped, concrete was broken, and moonlight came pouring in.

A bucket-shaped head and two hollow eyes—through a newly-made fissure in the outer wall, the Behemoth looked down at them, head tilted. All done now? it seemed to say.

“No more games...” Takuma whispered after a small, trembling breath. Inside the cockpit, his lower half was soaked with blood—blood from his wound. His eyes wouldn’t quite focus; the letters on the screen were blurry.

You’ve certainly prolonged the inevitable, he thought. But now, it’s over. I’m going to crush you, and the time I wasted will all be worth it. My wound will heal then, too; I’m sure of it.

The AI offered a warning. 《Lambda driver Function A decreasing. Interference occurring in skeletal structure.》 The machine was beginning to make sounds of protest, groaning and trembling.

Not good. Need to focus. Takuma shook his head a little and redirected his consciousness back into his body, filling every inch of it. The machine couldn’t work without that.

《Function A restored.》

Good. He worked his machine arms and legs to pry away more of the Center’s outer wall. Then he took a step inside.

The kei truck containing Testarossa and the others showed no sign of taking off again; it seemed to have broken down entirely. She herself was lying in the bed of the truck, apparently unconscious, in the arms of another man, a Caucasian. It was the man who had defied him with the rifle before—He would have to die, as well.

The driver’s side door opened and Chidori Kaname got out. With one hand pressed to her head, she staggered, and grabbed the truck bed for support.

Injured, is she? Serves her right, Takuma thought. Then he realized something: Sagara Sousuke wasn’t there.

Where is he? He should have been in the driver’s seat... He has to be there! If I can’t squash him, what’s the point?!

“Where is Sagara Sousuke?” he boomed through the Behemoth’s speakers.

Chidori Kaname didn’t answer.

But I know she can hear me! Takuma thought furiously. “Speak!” he demanded. “Where has Sagara Sousuke gone?”

The ant-sized Chidori Kaname took a shaky step forward and looked up at Takuma. She was trying to say something. He turned his machine’s high-sensitivity directional microphone toward her.

“—hell should I know, idiot? Why don’t you ask your big sister?”

Takuma’s complexion purpled. Fine, then. You can die. I was a fool to even ask!

He turned his head-mounted machine cannons toward her and the others. They tensed up, as if resigned to their fate. Perhaps it’s for the best that Testarossa is unconscious... I’ll tear them to shreds and then step on them... Yes, there won’t be a single glob of flesh remaining...

“Die,” Takuma said simply, and squeezed the trigger. He felt a powerful impact. His head snapped hard to the right. It wasn’t recoil from the cannons; something else had—

Takuma was baffled. His head had taken fire from the side. And it wasn’t simply machine gun fire; it was bigger. Yes, like an AS—

“You called?” said a voice.

Takuma turned his head.

On the roof of the Exhibition Center’s north side, kneeling in the moonlight was a lone AS. It held a short-barreled shotcannon in one hand, which it had pointed at the Behemoth.

What? he wondered.

Its body was pure white, its silhouette powerful yet elegant. It looked less like a weapon and more like an object of worship. Where its mouth would be was a large hardpoint for holding a weapon, bringing to mind a ninja with a scroll in its mouth.

“Licking your chops in front of your prey... It’s a third-rate move,” came a voice from its external speakers—the voice of Sagara Sousuke.

“What did you say?” Takuma demanded.

“I’ll take you on. Come on and try me.” The white AS, its shotcannon still pointed, beckoned him with just the index finger of its other hand. Like it was mocking him...

Who does he think he is? He thinks he can beat me with that minuscule machine?! A dark fire began to burn in Takuma’s chest. “Very well, then,” he said coldly. The Behemoth turned and charged the white AS.

He’d just made it in time. Safe inside the cockpit of the ARX-7 Arbalest, Sousuke breathed a sigh of relief.

The grenade had failed to move the capsule containing the machine, but it must have nudged the explosive bolts just past the threshold; just as Sousuke was ready to sink into despair, they had activated, and the capsule’s outer plates had gone flying. He had been dumbstruck, naturally.

Inside, the Arbalest was safe and sound. It had taken hits in places, but nothing was compromised, thanks to its cutting-edge armor. The drive system had a few complaints about the damage from the fall, but that was it.

The enormous AS, the Behemoth, tore through the Center on its way toward him. It was surprisingly nimble for its size.

《Proximity alert!》 shouted Al, the Arbalest’s AI.

I know, Sousuke thought. The approaching enemy machine, rushing toward him with arms outstretched like a hostile tsunami, was taking up the entirety of his screen.

Silently, Sousuke braced the shotcannon with both of his machine’s arms to reduce recoil, and pulled the trigger. The Arbalest’s palms transmitted a high-voltage percussion signal to the shotcannon, causing it to fire on full automatic. The rat-at-at-at-at-at echoed through the air until he’d emptied its entire stock.

Any one of the depleted uranium APFSDSes could destroy an armored truck with one shot, and he’d fired six in all... but it was naïve of him to think that that would be enough.

The air in front of the Behemoth warped. An invisible wall repelled all of his shells, causing each of the six shots to burst into futile sparks. Sousuke was stunned.

A giant arm was swinging down. The Arbalest just managed to dodge it with a leap to the side. The hit tore through a part of the roof, sending more fragments and dust showering down.

Is this...?! Sousuke recognized it. Two months ago, he’d been in combat with an AS that had possessed the same powers; its so-called “lambda driver” let it create strange force fields just like that. He didn’t know how it worked, exactly, but it was apparently capable of repelling any and all physical attacks.

Rolling down the roof of the Center, the Arbalest pulled from its underarm equipment rack an anti-tank dagger—a powerful throwing knife that came packed with a shaped charge. He threw it with a whip-like underhand, aiming right at the Behemoth’s neck.

But the dagger, again, detonated without contact. Another deflection. I’ll need more, he thought.

“Hoh hoh...”

The Behemoth laughed as it fired its head-mounted machine cannons. 30-millimeter shells rained down from the sky. The Arbalest weaved through the barrage—if the kei truck could do it, this machine certainly could—then stuck another clip into its spent shotcannon.

Projectiles won’t work on it, Sousuke realized. Just how am I supposed to beat it, then?

It’s back, Kaname thought. This sensation—this dark, heavy, strange feeling of floating. How many times has it been, now? She’d found herself here several times in these last two months. Sometimes it was just before she woke up in the morning, sometimes during class... while she was resting, in the bath, and a few other times.

She hadn’t told anyone: not Kyoko, not Sousuke. If someone pointed it out, she’d just waved it off with, “I’m not feeling well.” But that wasn’t the real reason.

It’s here. Is it because I decided he needed it? When did I think that?

It’s back... baback, it’s baback... Backackack... Somewhere inside of her, something was pushing its way to the fore; something with the power of words. If she let it run rampant, it would completely take her over... a whispering voice. Cacalling callingling call Callingling youcalled?

It sounds just like my voice, Kaname thought. And then, a voice just like mine, mine, mimimine, as her thoughts and the voice blended together.

Shut up, she thought frantically.

Shushut upup. Gegege tout, get out. Die. Hey, die, the voice went on.

Shut up, she thought at it again.

Shutshutup, shut up really? Eally really? Need me memeneed, didn’t you? the voice responded.

Yes. I need you, Kaname admitted. You taught me that, didn’t you?

Sosososuke Sousuke will die unless you dododo something he’ll diedie didie. Poor baby!

Why can’t you just talk normally? Kaname demanded.

Let me tatalk talk then. Open upupup. Surrender. Go on and die, the voice coaxed. Little, justa lilittle.

Kaname clutched at her head, clamped a hand to her mouth, tore at her shirt.

Don’t get smart... just tell me, Kaname thought back. What is it about that giant? What kills him? What should he do?

Don’t you fefeel sick? the voice replied.

Yeah... I feel awful. Now answer me. I won’t lose. Wowon’t lose. Ah... Kaname winced.

Can’t cacan’t do it. Kaname, you cacan’t do it, dummy, the voice told her.

That’s enough! Summoning an animalistic rage, Kaname bore her fangs to the presence.

It retreated, cowed, and sulked to her, N-No need... to gegeget so mad. No neneneed, no need. I won’t do anything. I’m not bad...

Strange, she thought. Is it scared? She was about to scream like a wild beast, to hurt it more, when—

Stop it, Kaname-san! This, too, was a voice just like hers. But it was different; it was someone else’s. Whose?

Ah... yes. That bibitch is here. Come to interrinterrupt... the first voice sulked.

Try to tempt her again, and I won’t show you any mercy, warned the second.

Pfft. I’m here. I’m still hehehere. Hererere, the first voice said.

We won’t need you, the second voice told the first one, because I’m here.

Nonowrong. That’s wrong. You’re wrong.

Go away, the second voice commanded.

It went away—the first voice, at least. The second one, the newer one, proceeded to speak to her. Kaname-san... Kaname-san?

What is it? Kaname demanded suspiciously. Who are you?

Never mind who I am, the voice told her. I have a favor to ask of you.

A favor?

Tell him something.

Tell who? Kaname asked. And what?

Use the lambda driver to aim at the giant’s back... at one of the cooling devices... the voice advised.

Huh? She was confused.

One of... the enemy’s lambda driver cooling... the voice trailed off.

A fragmented image appeared in her mind, and then vanished. Kaname just sat there in silence.

Then, all of a sudden, the world seemed to snap back into place: Streams of light in the dark; the caved in roof of the Center; the kei truck, whose engine had breathed its last. She could hear gunfire coming from somewhere; Sousuke was fighting, off in the distance.

Kurz Weber had seized her by the shoulders, his expression serious. He didn’t have his usual playboy air. His eyes were so blue that they made even Kaname’s heart skip a beat.

“Wh... What is it?” she stammered.

“Uh?” Kurz said, blinking. He was back to his usual idiocy immediately. His grip on her relaxed and he let out a sigh of relief. “You’re back...”

“What is it? Did I... do it again?”

“Yeah. No matter what I did, you wouldn’t respond,” Kurz admitted. “You kept muttering... then out of nowhere, you shouted, ‘Stop it, Kaname-san!’ Scared the hell out of me...”

She wondered what he meant by “no matter what I did,” but she forced herself not to think about it. It was likely the reason her cheeks stung, though.

Tessa was lying in the bed of the kei truck. She seemed to be alive. Kaname remembered what she’d seen—rather, what she’d heard. Had that been Tessa’s voice, or something else?

She told Kurz what she’d learned. They had to use the lambda driver... somehow... against a cooling device on the giant’s back. Its lambda... something. She didn’t know what it meant. All she knew was that it was important—very important.

The giant’s back. Maybe once she saw it, it would make more sense.

Hey... what the heck am I thinking? Kaname wondered. This was all way too dangerous. If that giant saw her, it would stomp on her like a bug. Plus they didn’t have a car, so if it came after them now, there’d be no way to escape it. Did she want to get squashed underfoot? She could get hit by stray fire, too. And what if the building collapsed on her? She’d die. She’d be seriously dead.

This has nothing to do with me. Why should I put myself in danger? I’ve already been through so much. I’ve done enough, haven’t I? What I should be doing is hiding. That’s right. Just call it off... she told herself frantically. Even though she already had her conclusion.

Her conclusion...

I mean, he’s in danger. And he needs me. Then there’s how I feel... It’s not like his relationship with her changes that. I really don’t want him to die. I don’t. I really, really don’t. Which means I’d better go and do it.

“Ugh, I hate this. Darn it!” she moaned. Fear was a nasty thing. The minute you let your guard down, it reared its head again. She cleared away the cobwebs, then turned to Kurz and held out her right hand. She repeated the line she’d said once before: “Kurz-kun, give me your transmitter!”

The Behemoth drew the huge tachi from its back and swung it sideways at the Arbalest. The bludgeon, which was as long as a transmission tower, tore through the air.

Sousuke braced himself, then jumped. The sword swept past, just beneath his machine’s toes.

He turned the Arbalest over in midair, popping a shotcannon blast at the enemy’s head in the process; its movement and fire control systems made such acrobatic shots possible. But once again, the shell bounced off.

It’s like there’s nothing I can do! he fumed to himself. The barrier came from the lambda driver. Did it have any limits? Was there any way to nullify it? The tachi came streaking down from the sky. Sousuke dodged it, and called to his AI, “Al!”

《Yes, Sergeant?》

“We’ve got a lambda driver, too, right?!”

《Affirmative.》

Yes, his Arbalest was mounted with a similar device. Sousuke was vague on how it worked or what it could do, and he had never gotten a proper explanation on what it was, but... “Assuming the enemy has a lambda driver too,” he asked, “is there some way we could fight it?”

There was a brief silence. 《Unknown.》

Not again. Some stupid classification settings were blocking the explanation.

“I’m requesting the information as an NCO in the field!” Sousuke yelled.

《Request noted. But answer unknown.》

It must really not know. Even the AI, Al, knew nothing about the Lambda Driver.

Try to remember what happened before, Sousuke told himself. Your fight against Gauron’s AS two months ago, when we were escaping enemy territory... He’d followed Kaname’s advice and imagined “pouring his will into the shot” as he fired the shotcannon. The lambda driver must have activated in that instant and canceled out the enemy’s force field.

It’s worth a try... he thought. He let out a long breath. He stood his machine stock still on the roof, aimed his gun, and concentrated. Stay calm. Don’t tell yourself it’s stupid. Tell yourself that this shot will break through his shield. Believe it... Yes, just like the last time...

Tearing through the Exhibition Center’s roof, the Behemoth approached.

Aim right at its head. Imagine it...

“Let’s go...” Sousuke whispered. He pulled the trigger. The muzzle spat flame. The shot fired. The air around the Arbalest rippled for a second. Some kind of alarm went off in the cockpit, and a small triangle symbol flashed in a corner of the screen.

Did I do it? he wondered. The shell he had fired stopped in front of the Behemoth. But it didn’t break apart like before; it held its shape.

It was a strange sight—the arrow-like AP round slowly but surely forcing its way forward, while a low, eerie throbbing rang out. It was like a pair of invisible hands had grabbed the shell, and the two were now battling it out.

But soon enough... There was a pop, and the shell seemed to break through. It flew smack into the Behemoth’s neck.

“Did I make it?” Sousuke wondered. Moving his machine back quickly, he surveyed the result of the exchange: smoke was rising from the giant’s neck, but there was no change beyond that.

“Nothing?!” Sousuke asked in despair. The hit had landed, but the damage done was minor. The enemy was too big. It was like expecting to sink a battleship with a single shell.

The Behemoth reeled for just a moment, then immediately turned back to the Arbalest.

Just as they made it to the east end of the Center, a two-meter-long piece of metal frame flew at them. It grazed Kaname’s nose and impaled itself in the ground, causing her to cry out in panic.

They were close to the parking lot side, where the Behemoth and Sousuke’s machine were fighting beneath the night sky. Actually, to call it a fight wouldn’t be quite accurate—Sousuke’s machine seemed to be limited to running around, dodging the giant’s attacks. He was weak; pitifully weak.

No, she decided a moment later, the problem was the enemy’s size. For something so big to move that fast... It just wasn’t fair. In fact, Sousuke must be pretty incredible to be able to dodge those attacks...

“Ahh...” She was terrifyingly close to the battle. Every movement of the machine generated a gust of wind that rustled her hair. The towering thing’s every gesture sent rubble flying, storms raging, and earth shaking. Its every step kicked up a cloud of dust and dirt, obscuring her view of its back.

“I think we should go! It’s too dangerous!” shouted Kurz, who had come with her.

“No! I need to get closer!” Kaname insisted, though what she really wanted to do was turn around and run.

“But—”

“You don’t need to come with me!” she shouted. “Run, if you want!”

“You think I’d ever do something that lame?!” Kurz said, looking like he wanted to cry.

“Then do what you want! Either way, I’m going!”

“Oh, come on!”

Choking on smoke, the two of them ran along the Center’s outer wall. The area around the staff entrance—where they’d been standing just a few seconds ago—was hit by a falling lump of concrete and smashed to smithereens.

The tachi roared through the air at the Arbalest. The Arbalest dodged, but it was pursued moments later by a sweep of machine gun fire.

Sousuke winced as his machine took shots in the leg and the chest. They were all at weak angles, and they didn’t penetrate far, but they knocked the Arbalest off balance.

Taking advantage of the moment, the Behemoth reached out with its free hand. I can’t escape... Sousuke thought, and it was in that very moment that his machine’s left arm was grabbed tight. Its armor began to creak and pop from the pressure. It’s so powerful...

“Hoh... hohhhh...”

the Behemoth laughed as it raised the Arbalest up over its head. The G-forces were dizzying.

Was it going to slam him against the ground? Not even this machine could withstand an impact like that—it would fly to pieces at the joints!

Sousuke pointed his shotcannon at the giant’s thumb and fired. Despite his proximity, that barrier manifested yet again, deflecting the shot. It was no use.

In that case...! Out of better options, Sousuke turned the shotcannon toward the Arbalest’s own upper arm and pulled the trigger. He felt a jolt of impact as the rest of the machine tore away from the captive limb; having earned its freedom by force, the Arbalest crashed into the Behemoth’s shoulder before plummeting toward the ground below.

Desperately working the movement control system, Sousuke managed to right his machine and land it feet-first. Evaporated shock absorbent jetted like steam from the joints of its lower half. His AI rattled off a succession of damage warnings.

From behind an orange trash can, Kaname desperately tried to get a glimpse of the giant’s back. Look out! she wanted to shout, but it’s not as if that would help him. Worrying and panicking could wait until she found something he could use.

Where is it... where? The giant’s back was high above, and shards of metal were raining down. It was hard for her to keep her eyes open.

The slanted armor on the Behemoth’s back was made of a series of blocks. Where was the cooling device? Cooling device... there’s probably a hole or something for it, she thought.

“Kurz-kun, do you see a cooling device?!” she yelled.

“There’s a bunch of ’em!” he said. “Those long things... and the round ones!”

A bunch of them... that did seem to be the case. There were countless small holes in the giant’s back: two rows of them on either side of its spine; two long slits and four round holes.

Which one... which one is it? she wondered. The cooling device for the lambda driver... What did that mean? If the lambda driver needed cooling... and there was a hole for that... was that its weak point? Was he supposed to attack it?

But which hole was it?!

There’s no way to beat it, Sousuke realized. No blind spots. There’s nothing I can do to make my shots effective. My drive system is severely damaged. I’m reaching my limit. I’m going to die here. Just as Sousuke thought that—

“Sousuke, can you hear me?!” came a short-range communication.

While keeping his attention focused on dodging, he said, “Chidori?”

“Okay, listen up! I don’t totally understand it, but there should be a cooling device for that lambda driver thing in its back!”

A cooling device—of course, any machine would have one. “And?!” he asked.

“And... I think you should attack it!” she told him.

“You think?!”

“That’s all I know! Also, it can’t be a normal attack! You need to use the lambda driver! You have one, right?”

“Did the colonel say that?” Sousuke asked suspiciously.

“What, Tessa? I don’t know, but... ah, I think so!” Kaname said. “Let’s say that’s what happened!”

“Do you really expect me to—”

Just then, Sousuke realized it. Kaname and Kurz were within arm’s reach of him, squatting in front of the wall of the Center. What were they doing in such a dangerous place?!

That moment’s distraction was his undoing. The giant’s kick came from the left side. The approaching leg consumed his vision. He couldn’t dodge. It hit him. The Arbalest traced a low arc in the direction of Kaname and Kurz, and he hit the wall back first.

He heard a scream; it had come from Kaname. Good, he thought. I didn’t crush her.

Sousuke’s body was starting to go numb. His head was swimming; alarms were ringing in the cockpit. In a corner of his vision, he could see Kurz on the ground, shielding Kaname with his body.

“Hoh... hoh hoh...”

The Behemoth was looking down at him. It had seen Kaname and Kurz, too. He had no other choice, now. If he withdrew, that monster would step on them. He’d just have to finish it.

“Chidori... which hole?” he asked.

“Huh?”

“The cooling device,” he tried again. “Which hole is it?”

“Ah... it’s...” He could hear her gulp on the other side of the radio. “The narrow slits. The right one or the left one... either one will do. Just remember to attack using the lambda driver.” This time, her voice was confident.

The narrow slits. He remembered them. They were on the lower half of the back, close to the hips. They were downward-facing, so it would be easy to take aim. The only question was whether he could invoke the lambda driver’s power on command.

“All right.” Sousuke picked his machine up and took a deep breath.

“Hoh... give up...”

the Behemoth—no, Takuma—said. There was something exhausted in the tone of his voice. Was he... getting weaker? Time to die... The towering giant readied its tachi in both hands and swung it down at him with all its might.

Sousuke dashed his machine forward, just barely dodging. A piece of his shoulder armor went flying; the Behemoth’s tachi hit the ground and snapped in half.

The Arbalest’s charge continued; it scrambled low between the enemy’s legs. It then threw itself down, face up, and slid along the ground on momentum alone. Sousuke turned the shotcannon upward and saw the monster’s back beyond the barrel. The long slits—there they were. He aimed for the right-side one, which was at an easier angle for him.

Focus—that part was easy. Imagine pouring his will into the shot—that part was hard. Believing the shot would land—he’d just have to. Die! That wish was the most important thing.

He fired. Just like the last time, the air around the Arbalest warped. The shot went flying. As before, the Behemoth’s invisible wall activated, stopping it halfway. But the shell continued to struggle, inching forward... Then, as if flicked by a rubber band, it smacked the Behemoth straight in the back. Shards of metal went flying.

His shot had hit the slit dead center, making it through. It had gone in.

Sousuke could hear something break down in the giant’s body, but the damage looked minor from outside. It was hard to believe something so small could really harm the massive brute...

Sousuke remained silent. For a few seconds, nothing happened. The Arbalest and the Behemoth both remained exactly where they were. And then...

The asphalt beneath the Behemoth’s feet cracked, and the giant began to sink. It was as if gravity had finally caught up with it. Its right knee bent; its ankles began to tremble, creak, and break. The arms it had moved so freely before suddenly dropped, as if yanked to the ground with chains. The skeleton and drive system screeched, and oil leaked from its joints. Armor plates began to break off here and there, dropping to the ground. The Behemoth was beginning to crumble.

It was the breaking of the hip joint that brought the house of cards tumbling; it crashed into the ground, blasting to pieces from the force. There was no explosion, but parts of the torso were on fire. Dust, flames, and thick black smoke billowed everywhere, while smaller parts continued to clatter to the ground.

That was that. An anticlimactic end.

“I can’t believe it...” Kaname’s voice came through in a whisper.

Sousuke said nothing, but glanced at the radio questioningly.

“I said ‘the long slit’... but I was totally guessing. I can’t believe it worked.”

That was the last straw. Sousuke dropped his shotcannon in exhaustion.

Rubbing her aching head, Teletha Testarossa left the Exhibition Center to find the Behemoth already in pieces. She sighed in relief; she definitely hadn’t counted on passing out there, but it looked as if Sousuke had made it through—thanks to Chidori Kaname, her fellow Whispered. She didn’t like to admit it, but that girl was really something.

The reason the Behemoth had collapsed was quite simple: The lambda driver’s pseudostring repulsor fields were all that was keeping it stable; without that device in place, it would break down under its own weight. It was the same logic that caused whales to die immediately when they came up on land.

Using the lambda driver to reduce a thing’s weight... she’d known such applications were possible, but Mithril lacked the exact knowhow to make it happen. But to have a lambda driver, which fed off of its operator’s mental strength, operating continuously like that—it would truly require a special pilot. A dedicated pilot, with a mind strengthened through training and drugs... that was Takuma.

But to use the system to support the machine’s weight, while also activating that barrier to keep enemy projectiles out... whatever entity had created the Behemoth must have access to black technology on a level far beyond Mithril’s.

The Arbalest was kneeling down before the giant’s still-flaming wreckage. A round capsule about the size of a kei car—the Behemoth’s cockpit shell—was lying in front of it. Sousuke must have pulled it from the remains.

Kaname and the others were nearby, as well.

“Tessa,” said Kurz, the first one to notice her. “You sure you should be out here? After what you went through—”

“Positive. I’m just fine.” Tessa waved a hand and walked up to the cockpit shell. “Can you open it?”

“Sure. Just stand back.” Kurz pulled the gun off his belt and activated the shell’s manual release lever. There was a popping sound a few seconds later, as the shell burst open. Takuma was inside. He was lying right-side down, dressed in the spacesuit-like master suit that helped convey an operator’s movements.

“He’s still alive. What do we do?” Kurz had a gun pointed at him, but Tessa, beside him, slowly pushed it down.

She came close to the cockpit and crouched down. “Takuma-san,” Tessa said quietly, and Takuma’s head moved a little.

“I lost. Big Sister... Why?” His voice seemed to be fading away.

“I told you,” Sousuke began. “Licking your chops in front of your prey is—”

“You shut up!” Kaname barked, interrupting his attempted lecture through the Arbalest’s external speakers. The white machine’s shoulders slumped, and it fell silent.

Tessa responded as if she hadn’t heard any of it. “You haven’t lost. Sometimes these things happen.”

“It’s... too awful...” the boy moaned.

“Yes, it is,” she agreed. “It’s quite terrible...”

“I don’t have anything. I don’t have anything now...”

Tessa knelt down and touched Takuma’s sweat-stained cheek. Then she looked down, and whispered into his ear. “It’s all right, Takuma. I’m here with you.”

“Big Sister...”

“I will always be with you.”

“You... mean it?” he choked out.

“Yes. Now calm down, and go to sleep.”

“Okay... I’m... sorry.” Takuma closed his eyes. He never moved again.

Tessa didn’t cry. She knew that she wasn’t a kind enough person for that. It had been an empty performance, meant purely to satisfy herself. And yet, she told herself, this was for the best.

“Let’s see...” She stood up, stretched, and looked all around. “Well done, Weber-san. Your aim is as true as ever.”

“Heh, no prob.” Kurz held up a hand.

Then Tessa looked up at the Arbalest. I’ve really made a lot of trouble for him tonight, she thought... but it was partly his own fault, for bringing out her softer side. “Well done, Sagara-san.”

“Not at all, Colonel,” Sousuke returned.

“That machine is yours now,” she told him. “Take care of it, would you?”

“Yes, ma’am... Er?” The white AS saluted at first, then looked confused.

Tessa offered no further explanation, but turned to face Kaname. “And... Kaname-san. I need to offer you special thanks.”

Kaname folded her arms and snorted. “If you wanna thank me, I could use some explanations. I’ve got tons of questions, okay?”

“I’m sure you do. I’ll attempt to explain as best I can... another day.”

“Huh?”

“Well, I’m tired, too...” Tessa spread her arms in another big stretch. “But... there is one thing I want to tell you.”

“Tell me?” While Kaname tilted her head, Tessa cast a glance at the Arbalest.

“Sergeant Sagara, please shut off your audio sensors. That’s an order.”

Sousuke stammered in confusion. “Yes, ma’am...” but he quickly did as he was told, and shut the machine’s sensors off.

Now that he couldn’t hear them, Tessa walked up to Kaname, and whispered... “It appears I’ve fallen in love with him.”

“Huh?”

“I wanted to tell you... ‘let’s both do our best,’ Kaname-san,” Tessa said, then smiled in amusement. It was a smile appropriate to a girl her age, lacking any trace of ill will.

“Ah... huh? Um, I...”

While Kaname stood there, flabbergasted, Tessa turned away and just started walking. “Now, let us withdraw. I’ve heard that Kalinin-san and the others are all right.”

◆

On the roof of a building a kilometer from the decimated International Exhibition Center stood two men, watching through binoculars.

“I feel a chill,” one of the men whispered, though it was an early summer night.

“I really thought he’d get a bit further,” the other man said. He had round glasses that sat snugly on his round nose.

“Well, we’d basically given a toy to a boy scout. We never should have gotten our hopes up.”

“Still, it’s such a waste. Two cruisers’ worth of budget down the drain in fifteen minutes... It’s absurd. What were the higher-ups thinking?”

“Don’t be so down. We got the data, as well as video. And it’s drastically increased public anxiety.”

“We also got to see all its drawbacks. Amalgam doesn’t need that machine.”

“True.” The man chuckled. “And there were other unexpected benefits...”

The man with the round glasses furrowed his brow. “Benefits?”

“Yes.” Another laugh. “I got to see my beloved darling and his girlfriend again.”

The other man was silent.

“I’ll have to say hello to them soon. Yes... I’ll give them quite the greeting.” With a bright smile, the man left the roof, trailing his artificial leg behind.