NOVEL NEXT Chapter 339
Beneath the cold fluorescent lights, the shape of the knight gradually took form. The sound of electric tools whirring and the various mechanical noises were punctuated by the distinct clanking of connections.
Every procedure unfolded with calmness and composure, as if it were the script of a meticulously crafted play. The protocol for donning the field armor had long been ingrained in the network after countless repetitions.
First, the internal skeleton connected to the arms and legs, followed by the intricate artificial muscles and motors that filled the spaces where joints, muscles, and ligaments would be.
“Binding complete!”
Assembly was simply a reverse of disassembly. The Restraid model armor was surprisingly simple in structure, allowing for instant assembly even in the field.
As the embedded bones and motors locked together precisely, sturdy armor plates were layered over them.
“Connection confirmed!”
Simultaneously, two Violets lifted the gauntlets of their armor. When a Violet extended her hand, the actuators gently wrapped around her palm, vibrating slightly in response.
The manipulators fit onto each finger like rings. Watching the gauntlet’s fingers move naturally as if they were her own, the Violet admired them while fidgeting with her hand.
“Gauntlet interface complete!”
Next, the armor pieces clicked into place one after another—legs, arms, chest plates, and shoulder guards. Finally, the helmet enveloped her head.
In an instant, the Violet found herself standing in pitch-black darkness.
A suffocating sense of confinement descended upon her, as though trapped in a coffin.
“It’s dark!”
Inside the sealed powered armor, not a breath of air could seep through. Though the armor seized from a band of robbers in a dungeon was quite roomy, right now, it felt stifling.
Despite its bulk, the armor had been tailored to fit her body during the modification process, making it feel as if she were stuck in a metal coffin.
Fortunately, even with the power not yet activated, the pressure from the weight was not overwhelming. The armor’s structure distributed the weight effectively.
The Violet recalled her duel with Sebastian.
The image of the Restraid Steel Guard clashing against the Apostle in the Erosion Zone also flashed through her mind. Even though the armor was too cramped, her back itched, leaving her unable to scratch it.
Just how was one supposed to fight in this?
As these thoughts flickered through her mind, the last piece—the powered backpack with its conduits—clicked onto her back.
When the light-blocking eyes opened with a clunk, various symbols and numbers cascaded onto her display like a waterfall.
“Mobility…complete!”
A surge of power flowed through her body via the armor.
With every movement, the strength that provided feedback increased, while the flow of magical energy intensified, engulfing her like a storm.
Though her total magical capacity remained unchanged, the energy cycling through and being released felt like a typhoon. The Violet intuited the overwhelming power coursing through her.
She took a step forward. At first cautiously, then quickly launched herself forward.
—Boom!
She launched her body outside the building. The steel knight faced the enemy confidently just after landing.
A fleeting silence accompanied her landing. As the protocol alerted of impending danger, agents unloaded a barrage of lethal attacks.
In an instant, the Violet concentrated her magical power and sent it coursing through her body’s circuits. A low vibrating sound echoed as the ether-responsive circuits etched inside the armor and various defensive spells activated in unison.
—Kaaang!
Electromagnetic bolts, imbued with magical power, rained down like a torrential downpour. The sharp sounds of impacts echoed as the bolts struck the armor’s surface like hail.
The carbonite armor held resolutely against the relentless barrage. The sound of heavy footsteps reverberated through the broken streets.
As if sensing the imminent threat, a cyborg turned its head.
The activated Stregonics charged at her like a beast.
The force field wrapped around its steel fists crackled as it collided with the air, and the display screeched in warning. A fragile human would be reduced to mere chunks of meat in an instant.
“Not now!”
The knight decisively drew her weapon to meet the charge. The brain spear gripped firmly in her thick metal hand. Boosting her magical power and output to the max, she thrust her right arm with all her might.
Her aim was for the central vital spot, where the brain and nerves lay behind the force field and the armor.
A decisive blow that could turn the tide in an instant. The heavy spear tore through the force field like paper. A small explosion erupted with a flash.
—Kboom!
The magically enhanced spearhead pierced through the armor, exploding on impact.
The third strike buried deep into the canister where the brain would be, as the brainless machine staggered and crashed to the ground.
“I got it!”
At last, the tedious close-quarters battle had concluded.
“Advance! Advance!”
Now all that was left was the charge.
**
The clattering din of metal clashing rang through the streets. Led by the armored knight, the Violet Squad surged forward while the elite of the blockade enforcers spread out in groups to stall.
The operational officer wove together the torrent of incoming information, calculating to find the optimal response.
[Suppression protocol initiated. Prioritize halting the powered armor in front!]
A short and powerful barrel mounted on the Stregonics aimed at the enemy. A dazzling laser beam erupted.
In that instant, the armored knight raised her large shield to meet it.
The torrent of heat surged. The shield turned red-hot, almost white, as the surrounding air twisted violently. The heat within the armor rose to unbearable levels, even the cooling systems couldn’t mitigate it.
“The armored knight won’t fall!”
The carbonite armor endured without a hitch. But what the Violet boasted was far more than just that.
“Assault team, advance! Fire team, move to the sides!”
Outside, they wouldn’t need to worry so much about collateral damage.
The Violet decided to do what she did best.
“Position heavy weaponry! All squad members other than the assault team, equip large-caliber weapons before attacking!”
It was a display of firepower, a forte of the Ariel Group.
With the knight drawing all eyes, the Violets wielding combat rifles elegantly spread out to the sides behind the shield barrier.
Using the obstacles in the distance and the large suppression shields as cover, the Violets established a network of fire with rifle-formed machine guns and electromagnetic rifles.
Like a single organism, the violet squad unleashed precision fire from angles calculated by collective intelligence. The optimal strategy drawn from the entangled minds of a thousand brains dominated the battlefield.
—Thum thum thump!
Each time she pulled the trigger, her shoulders throbbed, and her hands tingled. The sturdy heavy metal rounds clashed with the accelerated subatomic bolts in midair.
At that moment, the technical precision and biological instinct meshed seamlessly, delivering a ruthless verdict.
[RF-A-06, unconscious! RF-B-10, instant death! Casualty count increasing!]
Operational officer L3-OPS-3 desperately struggled against the flood of death notices. Why? He and they saw it—the direction aimed by the barrels of those tiny enemy soldiers with each shot.
The enemy’s gaze moved rhythmically like a metronome, constantly focused on attacking then retreating.
—Tat tat!
“Concentrated fire!”
The network’s collective intelligence expanded its zone like a skilled painter adding brush strokes to canvas.
The experience and tactical doctrines built over long years, spread throughout the network and intertwined with Violet’s experience to elevate a LumiNexa-style precise strike tactic to a higher level.
—Clank!
421, bearing large ammo cases, pulled out a rattling belt and combined it with a machine gun. Pulling back the charging handle and triggering the gun, a torrent of light erupted behind the monumental noise.
The suppressive fire from the machine gunners swept through the advancing proxy forces.
—Thump!
One agent, using a meat shield, fell once again in reverse. The space was battered by a hail of heavy metal rounds and armor-piercing explosives.
The sight of the combat rifle aimed for any exploitable gap, while a crossbow bolt flared brightly as it pierced through defenses. The agents were certain—the enemy fought with tactics similar to their own.
[Final report reviewed. Have they imitated the knowledge of the interrogator?]
[Yes? No. Similar but different. More precise—]
With a demeanor that reminded one of the Foundation, they struggled to escape the net.
[80% of proxies lost! All Mech Hounds destroyed. Remaining Stregonics count—]
—Kwang!
The knight toppled the second Stregonics with another charge. The agents desperately mobilized all means at their disposal.
Once the activation of the city dimensional space concluded, they could use the portal again. Whether to retreat or call for reinforcement, they had to buy time by any means necessary.
As the drone on her back levitated to gather more data, several agents retrieved cylindrical canisters from their belts and pressed the buttons. The target was the knight.
“Stop the armor!”
—Pang!
In an instant, the armored knight swayed before slowing down. The collective intelligence recognized that the sticky substance adhering to the joints and floor was a nano-adhesive.
Shooting like the sun, the agents unleashed rounds until the plasma guns melted. The last remaining Stregonics deployed a square pod on its shoulder.
Behind the Violets, gazes focused.
[Target locked, scanning. Identification, guidance!]
“Watch out! Micro-missiles!”
The tiny missiles propelled by magical tracking launched in bursts. The machine gunners immediately turned their barrels.
As missiles struck and exploded, the agents sought to exploit the gaps in the barrage for counterattacks.
—Pow!
Everyone had a plan—until a shotgun blast shattered their heads.
“Alright, Kalia, move in.”
Amidst the intricate symphony of dueling, oppressive heavy metal interjected.
“All fire teams, switch to close-range weapons and move in. Cover your friends up close!”
—Kwah! Crash!
Kalia descended from the wall, brushing past the targets of incoming fire.
She pulled the trigger, swinging her sword based on intuition. Dodging between agents, she unleashed passion-filled rounds.
Calculations and analyses were unnecessary. With superhuman reflexes and innate talent, she evaded the enemy’s gunfires.
“Reload!”
She tossed her guns into the air, and Cocoa quickly accepted and reloaded them.
A duo of Magnum revolvers and a shotgun tore apart the enemies in succession. Above flew the sword strikes. As two agents’ swords passed overhead, she abandoned her guns.
The agent calmly pressing down lifted a fist. The trench knife, imbued with magical energy, surged from her left hand, igniting the brass knuckles.
—Kwah!
The helmet and jaw burst apart. A vicious jab struck the neck while the curved blade pierced the heart and withdrew.
After eliminating two agents in quick succession, Kalia stepped back. Behind her, Cocoa gripped a grenade launcher.
“Uki!”
A flashbang exploded. In that moment, the monkey swiftly darted off Kalia’s back, retreating.
Immediately, Violets wielding shotguns and maces rushed in. As if pouring salt into the wounds, the Violets slaughtered the retreating agents.
“Widen out! Tear them apart!”
One squad disintegrated.
While the Violets pressurized the enemy with clandestine tactics, Kalia created chaos with unpredictable ferocity. The agents of the Foundation were thrown into confusion between these two opposing threats.
The enemy’s movements overwhelmed the calculations and informational support of the Nimosis terminal, and the movements of the Awakened Ones pressed through the gaps, tearing wounds deeper.
‘Has there ever been a time when the Nimosis protocol was this helpless?’
[Most of the operational power lost. All auxiliary battalions lost. Only one activated Stregonics left…]
The information hanging in the air was cold.
Abruptly, the operational officer grasped a more chilling truth. The protocol that could peer through walls and read particle flows—why was it…
‘…not able to see that face?’
The operational officer could not understand the distorted visage of the enemy soldier pixelated in the mosaics.
**
Colonel Viral ground his teeth as he checked the device’s signal.
The tactical display flashed consecutively, alerting him to the nearby presence of senators, but with the building shaking from explosions, all escape routes had long been blocked.
“Report! Where are the others?!”
“Route 6 has been cut off! The enemy has seized all paths!”
D Team’s report felt ominous. While the senator wasn’t visible, the unidentified mercenaries had slaughtered all allied forces that ventured in.
Heavy weapon strongholds were positioned throughout the area, but continuous sounds from large-caliber machine guns pierced through walls, with mortars raining overhead if anyone hesitated even slightly.
“Let’s wrap this up quickly!”
The collective intelligence of the Violets issued a rapid clearance order. Unbeknownst to her, the thousands of brains analyzed and reconstructed the tactics from the Foundation’s interrogator’s memories, causing the Violets to act like a LumiNexa. Each individual moved as one organic entity, striking at the enemy’s weaknesses, blocking escape routes, and applying pressure with precision fire.
Borrowing from the hunter’s memories, anyone could become a hunter.
—Tat tat tat!
The heavy metal projectiles of the electromagnetic rifles pierced through walls. The C Team, hastily assembled for support, fired back fiercely, but the enemy’s firepower was far too meticulous. Sophisticated shots picked out weaknesses.
“Damn it, how are they so—!”
Another agent cried out as they fell. The C Team crumbled one by one under the seemingly omnipresent fire. With the last vestige of the C team watching a mortar obliterate their final member, the Colonel pulled his last grenade.
—Kboom!
With an explosion, the upper floor collapsed. Meanwhile, air force Mechs bombarded the area from all directions.
“River 1! River 2! What are you doing?!”
[We’re finished anyway! It’s your fault! Useless scum! Go to hell together!]
The war machines flailed wildly, but in that moment, Violet issued commands across the network.
“Target weaknesses!”
A surge of calculations flowed through like an electric current.
The girls raised their guns in unison. Hundreds of brains calculated trajectories as they pierced the air.
The mech, powered up with jet engines, maneuvered with astonishing agility to evade the onslaught, but precision strikes targeted the machine’s weaknesses. External observation cameras shattered, and the jetpack exploded.
“River 1, going down…!”
The heavy lump of metal slammed into the ground. Just as the mech struggled to rise, anti-tank missiles and rockets rained down, ripping through it.
—Kwang!
The second battle suit fell helplessly under the concentrated fire. It struggled to survive amidst the smoke.
“Here it is!”
“Aaargh!”
A Violet darted past, tossing a bundle of explosives. Silence resumed.
The Colonel gritted his teeth as he watched the collapse of his main force. If they died like this, where could they go?
In front of him, the LumiNexa’s Stregonics were firing lasers, while the unidentified mercenaries secured the retreat.
“B Team! C Team! Fall back while providing cover! To the underground parking lot…!”
His command was swallowed by an explosion. Mortar shells blasted the stairs, and a series of explosions collapsed the walls. The falling debris and concrete buried the Colonel’s body.
“Graaah!”
One leg was crushed in agony. As his consciousness faded, the last thing he saw was soldiers clad in black combat uniforms closing in through the rising smoke.
‘What the hell are they…?’
His consciousness slowly submerged into darkness.
“Cleared this sector! Joining the main force!”
As the Violet squad regrouped, not far away, the sound of an explosion pierced the air, mingled with the last gasps of the LumiNexa blockade enforcement.
**
L3-OPS-3 examined the information appearing in his view. Three minutes. Time remaining until the city dimensional space activated.
[Activating one Stregonics…]
—Kwah!
The damaged Stregonics swayed in resistance before tipping, ensnared by Kalia’s chain. The unstable machine crumpled beneath the knight’s sword.
“What do we do…?”
All tactical screens flashed red. As the encirclement tightened, the operational officer prepared to play his last card.
[Protocol, maximum output.]
Without hesitation, L3-OPS-3 lifted the restrictions on the device.
“Ugh! What’s happening?”
“Ugh…!”
The Violets’ movements faltered. It felt as though they were trudging through fog, their operations becoming sluggish. Others responded more instinctively. Kalia swayed, grabbing her head.
The collective intelligence descended into chaos. A sudden pressure felt as though something was pushing down on them.
The operational officer and survivors rushed forward, their movements swift. The manipulators that had been folded away on the officer’s back expanded. Weapons adorned on each arm blasted out rays and streams of fire.
[Alert to all survivors! Portal opening time is near! Resist as much as possible—]
The Violets that had been sluggish fell under the onslaught.
“Not easy!”
However, the Violets read the pressure path inflicted upon them. The quaking network found the answer.
“There!”
The collective intelligence sparked. It was as if it were meant to happen.
The network recognized the presence of the protocol.
—Kwah!
Suddenly, a brilliant light flared in the air. Above, a meticulously crafted array of rotating rings made of pristine metal revealed itself.
“7200! Is that it?”
“Yeah! That’s it! The Nimosis protocol!”
The device floated in midair, spinning fiercely. The rotating rings emitted energy at a frenzied rate.
A metallic pillar floated between the three rotating rings enveloping each other. A blue energy pulsed.
The cutting-edge war machine, the pride of the Foundation, moved constantly like a living organism while pouring forth a torrent of information.
“Can we do that too?”
So they did.
Waves of information clashed, and data surged.
“That’s not…just a simple machine.”
“Are you saying it resembles a relic? Regardless, let’s take it down!”
The Violets unleashed a barrage of fire, yet the device remained shrouded in a sturdy shield.
However, as the sudden influx of data overloaded the processing unit, it began to suffer from system overload.
Tiny cracks appeared between the spinning rings.
The calculations reached their limits. Overwhelmed by the simultaneous influx of numerous data and threats, space of vulnerability emerged.
In that moment, the Violet glimpsed something. Ordinary dust or airflow managed to pass through the shield. Flapping scraps of paper and debris floated relatively through the shield. Why?
“Normally, a force field blocks everything…”
“That’s because it’s an object interfering with the data!”
The Violet realized the protocol had excluded ‘non-threatening’ entities from its calculations.
This epiphany was not limited to just one Violet.
Thus, an unexpected strike flew through the gaps and cracks.
The most trivial and harmless attack.
“Here it comes!”
“I’ll help you, boss!”
A crow soaring with a sewer rat landed, fluttering to take action. An agent hastily raised his hand, but it was too late.
“Wha? Lemon!”
“Boss! I’ll make you win!”
The inconspicuous creature passed through the shield. The little rat vanished as it slipped into the tiny gap in the machine.
Filled with courage, the small heart made its decision. The rat, having infiltrated the device, gnashed its tiny teeth against the wires and bundles of circuits in front of it.
Silence.
“Gaaah!”
It was merely a minuscule scratch; just a wire or two were severed, and one circuit broke down. But the device, overloaded and taxed, couldn’t bear that scratch.
The rotating rings shattered. The blue energy dissipated into the air. The shield broke apart.
The protocol’s restrictions were lifted.
Thousands of minds shouted in unison.
“Restrictions lifted! Charge! Charge!”
The last sight flashed before the surviving Foundation agents was an endless number of soldiers clad in black combat uniforms.
The operational officer despaired. The final tactical data on that abomination would now remain in darkness forever.
[Mission failure. All survivors are…]
Smoke billowed over the road.
**
As the smoke cleared and the battlefield fell silent, the Violet walked over the debris and fragments that blanketed the walls and streets.
Was it all over? Everything happened so fast. She glanced around.
“Yay! We did it!”
“The barrier is down!”
Celebrations were short-lived as the familiar sound of footsteps drew near. The rats had cautiously approached something in the debris. The Violet froze.
“…Lemon!”
The small body lay there, singed and limp. It was miraculous that it survived the device’s explosion intact.
The Violet knelt slowly. Her cold metal glove wrapped around the little life.
“You fool! Why did you rush in?!”
You silly mouse! I never thought you’d leap into action as soon as you read my thoughts.
Hot tears welled in the Violet’s eyes.
But before she could fully feel her heartbreak, the little body began to glow gently and then scattered like shining grains.
Like small stars disappearing into the sky.
Kalia, who had been watching, stared wide-eyed.
“Violet, this can’t be…”
The remaining rats swirled around her feet. Violet looked up at the sky.
As the barrier lifted and the blockade released, shining particles disappeared beyond the azure sky.
“Lemon is…”