I Became a Sub Heroine in a Cyberpunk Game

The arch-shaped structure clinging to the ceiling of the room emitted a sound and released a disturbingly ominous light, resembling a part of a slightly pointy chandelier mount.

Its overall appearance, along with its trembling form as it called out to the body upon waking, seemed almost spider-like.

And that spider hanging from the ceiling, regardless of how much one pleaded for it not to, was destined to fall to the ground.

Where to? Usually, right above its prey—Leonar.

“…This bastard…!!”

– Former researcher Gibson, authorization completed. …High-intensity modifications detected in an unidentified cyborg; you are currently trespassing on Exatech property and violating Level 1 confidentiality regulations. This can be grounds for immediate execution… –

Hoping that Electra had registered her mechanically modified self as an ally, disappointment washed over him.

It seemed she hadn’t considered the possibility of dying due to an unfortunate accident—Slasher showed no signs of stopping its movements.

Despite not knowing how it could be possible, he had urged his fellow hacker, so he couldn’t say anything. The situation, however, had become extremely dire.

ZZZ…!! Swish!

The absurdly powerful vibrating blade (Sonic Cutter) attached to Slasher’s leg showcased remarkable cutting capabilities as it sliced through the floor like tofu.

The monitor had been shattered, but the internal lens that provided his vision remained intact. He hurriedly turned his upper body to avoid it, but the coat tails caught on the blade, tearing without a sound, leaving behind a landscape that was not good for one’s mental health.

It was obvious that contact with such a weapon would have severe repercussions for one’s physical well-being.

“Why? With that pathetic body, you could withstand it, but you’re just backing away!?”

Ignoring Gibson’s taunts from the sidelines, Leonar focused on dodging the deadly strikes.

Comparing the wiry leg of that non-human Droid covered in blades and tracking devices to his luxurious cybernetic body, which was the culmination of cybernetics engineering, was frankly insulting.

However, if the expensive price wasn’t merely for its armor and defense, but instead attributed to the features that allowed him to live a life as human-like as possible despite being fully mechanical, things changed.

While instantaneous output might be superior, the scenario that would unfold if he thrust his limbs into that cutting blade would be similar for anyone.

No, if the brain pan at its center were to get damaged due to the combat’s aftermath, the difficulty in treatment would be exponentially higher, causing death to be even more preposterous.

“Steady yourself, retreat… It’s time!”

Clang!! Crack! Creak!

Everything in the once neat room was thrown into chaos as he rolled. He rolled blindly.

There was no time to stabilize himself or regain his balance; a blade that smoothly leveled everything it brushed against was busy carving up the ground right behind him.

True to the model name Slasher, the first jab came down like a welcoming gesture from the ceiling, and every subsequent attack continued the act of cutting with lines and planes.

As the knife swung wildly, slashing ingredients on the cutting board, the sheer number of strikes made it difficult to find an opportunity to adjust his stance.

“Ha ha ha!! If you value your life that much, you better lose one side completely! Don’t be greedy!”

“Agari, shut up…!”

Gibson, who had foolishly dashed through the facility’s corridor like a dog, had been teasingly wiggling his fingers while propped up against a capsule, a scene wiped from his mind.

Or perhaps he was reveling in the triumph of finally dragging Leonar down to a similar eye level instead of always hovering above others.

He had ample reason to remain relaxed.

His calculations suggested that even that esteemed fellow would eventually give up if things went wrong.

However, after confirming the presence of the capsule, it was impossible to leave it here, so it was presumed he would want to finish things up.

All the while, time continued to flow, constantly nearing the arrival of the extermination team.

With all these materials ready, if he couldn’t protect himself with them, he’d truly be a fool. And if luck were extremely, extremely on his side, perhaps Slasher could handle it all.

…Right now, just like this.

“Gah!?”

Crack!!

Forcibly pressing his back against the wall, Leonar let out a gasp.

Originally, he had planned to use the vertical surface as a lever to spring up, but upon seeing his target heading toward a dead end, Slasher’s movements were far faster than expected as it dashed, smashing through obstructing furniture with its extra legs.

In a situation where choices had evaporated, when the vibrating blade came down upon his chest, Leonar ultimately caught it with his bare hand, sending sparks flying as if a welding process was underway.

Yellow light reflected off the shattered monitor, and Gibson’s mouth gaped wide in shock.

That thing was going to die. Helplessly, like garbage. The situation had escalated to a razor-thin line between life and death, leaving him questioning if saving it would yield any benefit. No, why should he??

If he were to return these corpses as evidence and file a report about Electra’s misconduct, then…!

“Kill it! Just kill it! That damn expensive body always makes us feel like we’re floating above water!? Let’s see if it can still do that while its brain is oozing out!!”

– Confirming the request to eliminate the intruder from former researcher Gibson; amplifying frequencies for rapid prohibition. –

“!!”

Wires snapped one after another, and internal circuit boards fell into disarray due to resonance.

Regardless of his will, his arms were growing weaker despite not having been fully severed, and he stopped tapping his nerve bundles to focus everything on the death approaching him, which did not easily slow down.

It was too late to reflect on being too hasty or regretting sending the remaining Droids to the surface after cornering him in a sealed room.

It seemed there was nothing left that could delay the futility of Sir Leonar’s demise.

But who would have thought that the inflated ego of Gibson would be the only exception?

“Oh, and! Former researcher, damn it… How long has it been since I got promoted! If everyone’s in, we should quickly prioritize software updates!! Anyway, those Droids that usually lie dormant have a defect in initiative…”

– ……. –

He muttered what was essentially a matter of redundant energy waste, but the beginning was undoubtedly command-like.

Moreover, the software update command was a directive deemed by Slasher’s AI as something it could execute concurrently with actions, given that the prey’s resistance had diminished.

Thus, while this bizarre spider robot supported its body on four legs, using the other four to sever Leonar’s limbs.

It could be said that this readiness to connect to the facility’s network as requested by the emergency command was quite loyal.

…Of course, right after completing the task, it swiftly switched its allegiance, but what does that matter?

As Gibson stated, this was merely a weapon equipped with deficient AI lacking active responsiveness.

< i>Scrape!!

Finally unable to hold out, an arm was severed, and red blood splattered.

How curious. Even if it was called synthetic blood, it wasn’t really a fluid electrolyte for transfusions, so it shouldn’t be this red.

< i>Scrape—!!

“…Huh?”

In that moment, even he had to raise a voice filled with confusion.

Why was his vision suddenly collapsing? As if a leg had been cut off.

Huh? Why had the sparks flying from earlier disappeared? Why was Slasher’s leg, which had been planted firmly on the ground, now retracting?

It hurts. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts…! Aaaah!!

“Aaaah!! F*ck, f*cking hell!!!”

– Eliminating the intruder, eliminating the intruder… intruder. Intru, der… Ah, ah. –

The same syllables were pronounced, but one side contained an agony so profound it was hard to find a point of comparison, while the other was breezy, as if conducting a microphone test.

In reality, he was indeed checking the quality of communications.

He was somewhat tired, but…

– Ah, ahem. Can you hear me? You said you’d clear the way and then just left me all alone. You said you were right behind, but you took so long that I was looking around—where have you been? …Ack!? No, Leonar! What the hell happened to you!? –

“…It’s a bit embarrassing to explain.”

Behind him, Gibson was foaming at the mouth and convulsing, lacking even an arm to push the incineration button or legs to rise to the occasion.

However, Anastasia, who had clearly designated him as an enemy, was far too busy inspecting the significantly worse-off Leonar, wrapped in concern of having intervened too late once again.

In contrast, seeing the spider that had just viciously attacked him now flailing helplessly sent Leonar into a quiet fit of laughter, thinking he’d chosen an astonishingly good ally.

How much time did she spend with her equipment? Two seconds? Three seconds? If she could accomplish this, Exatech would’ve gone bankrupt long ago, he thought, self-deprecatingly, as he managed to push himself up, leaning on Slasher’s back with his poorly functioning arm.

“Ugh, gah! Cough, cough! Haaah…! Leo, just a moment. Please, stop the bleeding, quickly patch me up! I beg you! You should also keep an Inside Man within the company, don’t you think!? Cough, huh?? If this keeps up, we’ll all be screwed…!!”

“Haah…”

– Ugh. –

With limbs reminiscent of a four-legged beast and a fish out of water, Gibson, having lost his leg yet still clinging to life due to the lack of bleeding, was pleading with Leonar, who was calmly detaching capsules.

In the part where he was strongly asserting that, “We’ll all be screwed,” it seemed he was even trying to appeal to the girl who could hear him beyond Slasher!

…The ones that had accidentally witnessed the self-destructive Electra snuff film, along with the human thrashing in a mutilated state, quickly diverted their gaze, horrified by the gore that exceeded daily limits.

Yet Leonar remembered that they were once friends. He knelt in front of Gibson for a moment, bringing his head close, reminding himself of the promise he had yet to keep.

The tragically wrecked monitor remained as it was.

His severed arm, much like external wiring, bent like it had given up its load. Why then did the shadow loom so chillingly? Was it because of the dangerously flowing blood?

“Surely, for me, it would be beneficial to keep you alive and continue this delicate relationship. If perfectly worded, I could shift all the responsibilities onto the dead and you might become the prime candidate for the next head of the research lab.”

“!! Then let’s patch you up; urgently, let’s cauterize it or something…!”

Just as Gibson’s tongue was about to wag at the somewhat positive response.

His jagged, wounded hand carefully wrapped around Leonar’s mouth, as if to silence him.

No more chatter; it was time to concede.

“But. Unlike me, you’ve seen her face, haven’t you?”

Pausing his words, Leonar leaned over slightly to sneak a glance at the struggling Slasher Droid that struggled to move the capsules and then whispered even softer.

“The reason you loathed my reasoning so much was that Anastasia was perhaps just a bit too competent. When factoring the future potential gains of keeping you alive, it pales in comparison to the tiniest shred of her goodwill. And for other reasons…”

“Guh!? Ugh!! Oof!”

“I’ve always despised how much you acted like a spoiled brat, Gibson, you pathetic piece of trash.”

Thud!! Bang, bang!!

He slammed his head against the ground—not once, but twice—ensuring to destroy its contents. He got back to his feet, publicly mourning that he couldn’t keep the promise of killing him painlessly, as promised.

On a one-dimensional level, it was revenge; in some way, this could signify a severance from the past. Wrapping things up with this ritual, it was time to move on.

If he could just conceal his whereabouts in time, the chaotic ruckus of this night would come to an end, ensuring the secure transport of the capsule away from the security team. As quickly and efficiently as possible.

– Well, if hiding is a problem, I have a magnificent solution. –

“Hmm? Is that so?”

Even with ambiguous answers or displaying lack of confidence, there had to be ways to solve all the demands and variables with ease. Wouldn’t that make whoever said that impossible to believe?

Boom…!

The ceiling shook, and thick clouds of dust descended under the force of gravity.

Following her gestures, they shifted their bodies and capsules back, and then the vibration struck once, followed by another quaking.

If many obstacles were anticipated along the way, it would be wise to take a longer route, which was only logical.

However, would this bold maneuver of cutting through shortcuts that hadn’t existed in the more than ten years of working there truly represent her free-spirited nature? Leonar had been contemplating all the valuable lessons but suddenly felt that no matter how much time passed, this would be difficult.

“…Take it slow as much as possible.”

“No, it’s just that… with no fingers… it’s hard to grip!”

Thunderous… Bang! Crash!!

In the accommodation floor, situated relatively close to the surface, the ceiling of the storage room designed to cover multiple entry routes was completely torn away.

Using the barrels and limbs attached to the Dreadnought, did she dig through the ground like a bulldozer, creating a straight path like lifting a lid?

The dimly shining outdoor lights somehow felt like a painfully solitary accent.

Part of this was surely due to the robot legion surrounding them, looking down from all sides.

Getting through this unscathed meant completely organizing the surface mechanism, so how exactly should they respond to the enlarged troop strength compared to when they initiated their operation?

… No, perhaps there was no need to worry about that.

“Really, you’ve worked hard.”

‘I’ll repay this debt until the day I die.’

“Phew… It’s a relief if it’s all resolved. Then do we just dash towards the market…?”

Brushing the tattered remnants of his clothing, Leonar bent down voluntarily to show himself.

However, the power had been mostly drained from Anastasia, who languidly sprawled across the wide driver’s seat of the transport wagon.

Yet, even amidst that, the mechanical arms were scurrying like ants to move the capsules, suggesting she was quite exhausted and her consciousness was fading.

While the atmosphere felt like all their forces would rush to the designated retreat, Leonar recognized an element he needed to clarify.

Come to think of it… from the very beginning, Anastasia had shown significant interest—greed—toward his personal story rather than the Credits. If she harbored false expectations, it would be best to correct that now.

“Just so you know, even with my maximum discretion, bringing the Dreadnought to the market is impossible right now. With the extermination team approaching, I suggest we prepare to leave most of it behind.”

“……………Is that really not possible?”

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