Posted on January 12, 2026

CHASE 7: POTENTIAL (part 1)

The town of Bow was located at the end of a main road that stretched straight from the western entrance of Arg. We arrived there three hours after escaping Arg.

According to Ronni, this town was a satellite city that handled distribution for the industrial city of Arg. Therefore, anyone going to Arg inevitably stopped here. Also, because there was a small amount of greenery on the outskirts, many people settled there. Although its area was only half that of Arg, its population was about three times larger, with 500,000 people roaming the streets. Even on the outskirts, various Gilgameth inhabitants were wandering around.

In the shade of a tree in front of us, a woman sat alone. Her long hair was tied in several strands like ropes. She was sitting with her back against the tree trunk, folding the hem of her skirt, which probably reached her heels, up to her knees. Two or three gun grips were visible beneath it.

A man approached. He had shaved the hair from his temples to the back of his head, and gathered the remaining hair forward, making it protrude like a visor. He briefly flashed a wad of bills at her. She took a gun from beneath her skirt and exchanged it for the money. Arms dealers.

After they left, Ronni and I got out of the trailer. Finding a dilapidated water pipe sticking out among the sparsely planted bushes, Ronni ran toward it. She twisted the faucet handle with all her might, but it wouldn’t budge. She pulled out the small-caliber gun she had at her waist, aimed at the base of the water pipe, then fired. With a dry sound, the pipe broke. Water slowly seeped out. It was reddish-brown, stained with mud and oil.

“We can’t treat our wounds with this,” Ronni said with a sigh.

“We don’t need treatment,” I said calmly. “More importantly, we have to find Rokor quickly.”

“But it’s been three hours, and your bleeding still hasn’t stopped,” Ronni said, her eyes filled with worry.

“It’s just a scratch,” I said, trying to reassure her. But it was indeed unusual.

The wounds I sustained when leaving Arg, from the bullets fired by the Pot Belly, were four in total. Three were superficial cuts on my right wrist and both ankles, like a sharp blade had just grazed the skin, and one was a fragment embedded in my left wrist. Even the embedded fragment was only superficially lodged, nothing serious.

I removed the fragment and applied cigarette ash as a makeshift hemostatic. It’s heat-sterilized and nicotine-free, so it’s harmless and highly effective at stopping bleeding. But the bleeding wouldn’t stop. Even tying it tightly with a string didn’t help. The blood just kept flowing from my limbs. It wasn’t coagulating. I’d never experienced anything like this before. The only thing I could think of was the bullet fired by the Pot Belly.

“Kaine, let’s go see a doctor. That would be safer, and you’ll heal faster,” Ronni pleaded.

I put my hand to my chest, checking the weight of the money. “We only have the 1,000 gildans that Covarn threw into the trailer. Right now, food is more important.”

“But…” Ronni paused, then switched to a lecturing tone. “Why don’t you worry about your own body a little? You never listen to anything I say.”

“I don’t recall ever saying I trusted you,” I said coldly.

“That’s…still…”

“Where’s the arena in this city?”

“Huh?” Ronni looked bewildered.

“There are always crowds near the arena. There’ll probably be food stalls there too.”

“But, your injuries…”

“You can replenish the blood you lost by eating. You haven’t eaten anything since morning, have you?”

“I’m fine! Look!” Ronni lightly touched her stomach. Instantly, her face flushed red, and she turned away. Her stomach must have rumbled.

I started walking toward the center of the city. “Let’s go, show me the way.”

Right now, for me, finding the Grey Berserga and discovering a technique superior to the Black A.T.’s was more important than healing my minor injuries.

“Ugh!” Ronni followed, making a sulky sound.

We emerged from the forest and entered the city. People were bustling through the lively streets. We could hear the calls of merchants trying to attract customers. A man who looked like a merchant rushed out from beside a low tent. He pulled out a small bottle with an unreadable label.

“Hey, brother, don’t you need this medicine? It’s from Balarant and it works great! The Balarant soldiers use this stuff. That’s how they recover no matter how many times they get injured!”

Ronni looked at the man with a nostalgic expression. “Are you from Balarant?”

“Shh!” The man covered her mouth. He then pulled us both behind the tent. “This is bad, you shouting like that.”

“But, you have a Balarant accent,” Ronni said, slightly raising her voice at the end of the sentence.

The man’s face lit up. “You too?”

“Yes. But, there’s no such medicine in Balarant.”

The man puffed out his chest proudly. “It sells better this way. Everyone wants to know the enemy’s secrets, after all.”

“But you should drop that accent. There are soldiers here who were in Balarant–” Ronni glanced at me and corrected herself. “There are people here who were in Balarant, you know. Besides, if you get caught, you’ll be beaten to death.”

“But with all the fakes out there now, the real thing sells better.”

“That’s true.”

I interrupted their conversation. “Speaking of which, do you know anything about a Grey Berserga? I heard it’s battling in this city…”

The man’s narrow, squinty eyes widened. “Huh, are you Votoms pilots? I heard that’s something tougher guys do.”

He continued, wiping his broad forehead with a blue towel. “I don’t watch the battles, so I don’t know about a Grey Berserga. But I’ll tell you one thing: in this city, you have to be careful not to get on the bad side of the military police. The battles here are done in conjunction with them…”

Suddenly, a man’s voice interrupted the conversation. “Zelpap! Doing business in this place again?”

In the direction of the voice, there was a military police officer in a blue uniform and white cap.

Zelpap bowed and rubbed his hands together. “Ah, it’s Mr. Chakol.”

“How are your earnings today?”

“Hey…” Zelpap handed Chakol some small change.

“I’m letting you do business even though I know who you are. Be grateful and work hard.” Chakol looked at me and Ronni. “Who are these two? Friends of yours?”

“No, they’re Votoms pilots, apparently…”

“New faces?” Chakol looked at me with a scrutinizing gaze.

“It seems so,” Zelpap chimed in, in a fawning manner.

“Hmm…” Chakol stroked his thin mustache. “Then I’ll take care of you. How many matches do you plan to have in this city?”

I grinned and said, “Just one.”

“One match? You’re a cocky bastard.” Chakol snorted. It was a nasty laugh.

He provoked me with a sarcastic voice. “A Votoms pilot with a woman in tow. Should I set you up against the weakest guy in this city? That seems about your level.”

Unable to bear it any longer, Ronni shouted, “This man is the Blue Knight! Don’t you dare insult him!”

“Ronni!” I tried to stop her, but it was too late.

Chakol smirked. “The Blue Knight, huh? That’s good. I’ll make a nice profit out of this.”

“Can you arrange a match with the Grey Berserga?” I asked him in a calm tone, testing him.

Chakol stammered. “Grey Berserga…?”

I quickly drew the Armor Magnum from my waist and pointed it at Chakol’s chest.

“Y-You…do you think you can get away with doing this to a military police officer?”

“Maybe I do.” I pressed the muzzle against him. “You know the Grey Berserga, don’t you? Can you arrange a match with him?”

“He’s not a man I can control,” Chakol said, trembling. “Besides, I don’t even know if he’s still in this town…”

“Then get lost. And if he’s still here, tell him I want a match with him.”

“You bastard!” Chakol growled.

I moved my finger from the safety catch of the Armor Magnum to the trigger. “Remember this!”

Chakol fled. He was fast on his feet. In an instant, he disappeared from sight.

“Are you sure about this?” Zelpapp asked, looking worried. “After what you just did…”

“My identity’s been revealed. If he makes a fuss and my name gets to Rokor, that’s fine.”

Ronni chimed in.”That’s right, Rokor was looking for the man who pilots the Berserga, wasn’t he?”

“Are there any shops in this city where Votoms pilots gather?” I asked Zelpapp.

“Are you going to look for that Grey Berserga?”

“Yes, I have to find it as soon as possible.” I said in a low, suppressed voice. “There’s Vick BE at the arena. I’ve heard rumors about him.”

After a moment, Zelpapp spoke. “There seems to be an information broker too.”

“Sorry…” Saying that, I started walking toward the arena. Ronni followed.

“Wait,” he called after us, “Is that woman a Votoms pilot too? She’s wearing a pressure suit.”

Ronni turned around and answered. “That’s right. I pilot a Frogger.”

Zelpap’s eyes lit up with a nostalgic expression. “A Frogger, huh? I’d like to see it. If you ever do any battling in this city, let me know. I’m always around here.”

“Okay!” Ronni answered brightly and trotted to catch up with me.

Along the street toward the arena, Ronni walked beside me. “Kaine…you’ve never said thank you before when you asked someone something, have you?”

“That’s just a formality.” The words unconsciously slipped out of my mouth.

“Really?” Ronni briefly moved in front of me and peered into my face.

“Don’t look at me.” I said, feigning calmness.

“KYAA!” Suddenly, Ronni let out a short scream. She had collided with something from behind. She fell into my chest. I grabbed her shoulders to steady her.

“Sorry,” Ronni said in an innocent tone.

“A woman—-”

Two men turned around in front of us, speaking in big, hoarse voices. They were huge men, probably two and a half meters tall. Both had their hair shaved in straight lines from their foreheads to the top of their heads. Their faces were red and inflamed, as if they had suffered burns.

“A couple, huh?”

The man on the right grabbed Ronni’s shoulder with his massive, tree-trunk-like arm and lifted her high into the air.

“Gwahahaha…!” He let out a hearty laugh.

“You bastard! What are you doing?!” Ronni hurled insults, but they didn’t seem to register. The giant men looked down at me casually. The man who had lifted Ronni grinned.

“You’re a Votoms pilot, aren’t you? If you’re thinking of battling in this city, it’s in your best interest not to cross us. Right, Bogle?”

“That’s right, Ganial. More importantly, this woman is Arg’s ‘Funny Devil’!”

“Oh, the woman who never fell for any guy, no matter how persistent they were? But meeting us in this city is the end of her luck.”

Ganial shifted Ronni onto his shoulder. “I’ll take this woman.”

“That’s inconvenient right now. Leave her here.” I said calmly, as if it were none of my business.

“Kaine, aren’t you gonna help me?” Ronni cried out, her voice almost joyful.

“If you disappear now, I’ll keep looking for Rokor.”

“Hmph,” Ronni sulked, turning her head away. “Fine, I’ll escape by myself then.”

Ganial tightened his grip on Ronni. “Stop muttering nonsense above my head!” She tilted slightly, and the bones in her spine began to creak.

“D…damn it!”

Ronni pulled out a gun from her waist and aimed it at Ganial’s head. At that moment, Bogle’s massive body moved quickly and he knocked it away. Next, she pulled a sharp needle from the cuff of her pressure suit. Ganial’s thick fingers grabbed Ronni’s slender wrist, squeezing it with just his fingertips.

“You…you monster!”

The needle slipped from Ronni’s grip. It fell in front of me, glittering as it descended. I picked it up and tossed it.

“Ugh!” Ganial groaned. The needle had stuck just above his right eye. His muscles twitched, and his eye snapped open.

“You idiot!” As she shouted, Ronni nimbly twisted her body, using the momentum to slam her knee into Ganial’s jaw.

“Guooooh!” Ganial roared. His grip loosened. Ronni quickly broke free. He grabbed the support pillar of a nearby shop and pulled. The H-beam support, bent into a V-shape, easily came loose. The shop’s roof tilted precariously and collapsed. A cloud of dust rose like a smoke screen.

“Run, Kaine!” Ronni shouted. From within the dust cloud, Ganial raised the iron pillar high above his head. “Kyaaa!”

Sensing something, Ronni turned around. The iron pole was swinging down at her. With a dash, I ducked under it and leapt into Ganial’s embrace. I stopped the left arm, which was gripping the iron pillar, with the back of my right hand. The pole stopped two centimeters from Ronni. She slumped to the ground.

The pole fell from Ganial’s hand. He spread his arms wide and roared toward the sky. He brought his arms together and swung them down toward me. I twisted my body and moved outside the arc his arms were making. I kicked my toes into his jaw, which was thrust out in front of me.

CRUNCH!

Along with the sensation of something breaking, an eerie sound vibrated up from my toes. Ganial collapsed to the ground.

“You bastard!” Bogle attacked with an arm that looked like a thick mass of muscle.

“Ugh—ah—” A repulsive sound came from Ganial’s mouth. Bogle stopped moving abruptly. Ganial was shouting something.

“Kaine!” Ronni grabbed my hand and ran. After running for about a kilometer, and confirming that they weren’t following us, we turned down a deserted side street.

“Why did you run away? We might have been able to get information about the Grey Berserga from them.”

“Idiot, look at your hand!”

I looked at the back of my right hand, which had taken the blow from Ganial’s arm. It was swollen bright blue, and the flesh had burst in several places, with blood flowing out.

“You don’t want another wound that won’t stop bleeding. Let’s go see a doctor.”

No sooner had Ronni said that than she grabbed my arm again and ran off. She seemed to have spotted a Red Cross sign in the distance. She didn’t give me a chance to say anything.

When we reached the prefab clinic with the sign hanging outside, she opened a wooden door with a glass panel and pushed me inside.

“What is it…?” A hoarse voice came from the back of the room. A man appeared with thinning hair, wearing a white coat. Presumably the owner of the voice.

“Are you a doctor?” Ronni asked, still breathing heavily.

“If I weren’t, I wouldn’t be dressed like this.” The voice was surprisingly sarcastic, given his benevolent appearance.

“Excuse me, I need you to examine this man.”

“Very well, come in,” the doctor said, narrowing his eyes behind his thin-rimmed glasses.

We entered the examination room. There was little equipment; only a chair and a few handheld medical instruments.

“So, what’s his condition?”

“The bleeding won’t stop.” Ronni answered for me, as I remained silent.

“Blood—!?” The doctor furrowed his brow. “Take off your pressure suit and lie down there.”

I did as I was told, lying down on a low table covered with a vinyl sheet. The doctor applied a medical instrument with a wide light-emitting surface, like a hand-held light. A red light illuminated my body. He placed a small amount of blood from the wound on my right arm onto a slide and inserted it into a device above what looked like a TV monitor.

As text appeared on the display, the doctor said, “First, regarding your left arm, the core is starting to rot. It needs treatment. And as for the blood, it’s something like hemophilia. Stopping the bleeding is almost impossible. Normally, this would be inherited from your parents, but I can’t find any such genes. Instead, there are some unknown chemicals mixed in your blood. That seems to be the cause.”

Chemicals. I had a hunch. That’s right, it was in Kevec’s data, the thing called a hemophilia bullet. The Pot Belly used a hemophilia bullet. It’s a useless weapon for war, but it’s powerful enough for a lynching. The Black A.T. wanted to make me experience the full terror of death before killing me.

“Isn’t there a cure?” Ronni asked.

The doctor spoke calmly. “There is a way. However, part of the bone marrow function has stopped. Blood production is impossible. Even if I treat that simultaneously, there may not be enough blood for recovery…”

Ronni turned pale. “Won’t a blood transfusion work?”

“It’s useless,” the doctor answered reassuringly. “The blood will just flow out anyway. It’s better to treat it quickly.”

“Okay…then do that.” Ronni said, seemingly convinced.

“But it will cost money. For now, the consultation fee for today is 1,000 gildans. It will probably cost another 5,000 gildans for a full recovery.”

“That much!” Ronni was astonished. Her eyes widened in disbelief.

The doctor scratched his round, thick nose. “It’s expensive, you see. I need to buy the medicine, too. Prices are high in this town.”

I sat up on the seat. “How are you going to cure it? Let me hear the method.” I asked suspiciously.

“It’s not something I can explain simply,” he answered calmly, “and you wouldn’t understand even if I told you.”

I stood up. “Is that so?”

“What are you doing, Kaine?” Ronni grabbed my arm and held me back.

“I’m leaving. I can’t rely on this doctor.”

“But…” Ronni didn’t loosen her grip. Rather, she tightened it painfully.

“What you do is none of my business,” the doctor muttered.

“Please cure him.” Ronni said it clearly. “Kaine, I can get about 5,000 if I do some battling. You wait here. I’ll go and arrange a match.”

Ronni, having somehow acquired my bundle of 1,000 gildans, thrust it into the doctor’s hand. “Please,” she said.

“The money…how did you get it?” I asked, bewildered.

“We bumped into each other earlier, remember?” Ronni said without a trace of guilt, and smiled brightly. “I thought I’d get you to see a doctor then.”

“Well then, I’ll give you a painkiller injection.” The doctor took a stick-shaped syringe from his trunk.

“Stop, I’m not in pain.”

“Kaine, you have to do as I say!” Ronni grabbed my shoulders tightly from behind.

“Stop it. This guy can’t be trusted.” I twisted my body, trying to escape the syringe. I didn’t know what was in it. But there was nothing I could do about my left arm.

— At a time like this —

The doctor held down my injured left arm and plunged the tip of the syringe into it.

“It’s all right now.” The doctor said to Ronni, feigning relief.

“Okay, thank you.” Ronni gave a slight bow and left the clinic.

“She’s a good girl,” the doctor said, then tucked the bundle of money into his chest pocket. He quickly packed the medical equipment into a trunk.

“You…just as I suspected!”

I tried to stand up. But my limbs were numb and wouldn’t move. No matter how much I tried to tell Ronni, she wouldn’t understand, but this man was a con artist after all.

“No, that’s not it. With your symptoms, you’ve got at most a month left. I have no confidence I can cure you in that time, nor any means to counter that incomprehensible chemical. Anyway, I’ll put this money to good use.”

I gritted my teeth.

“Don’t worry. The numbness will wear off in about an hour. I’ll leave some wound medicine for you.”

He placed a small bottle on the table, then peeked outside the door to confirm Ronni was gone, and left the clinic.

Anger surged through my body. Ronni’s actions had made me feel a sense of genuine humanity for the first time in a long while, and I was happy about that. But I was furious at the man who had so easily betrayed her.

And more than anything, I felt frustrated by my left arm, which was usually useless, but now, in this situation, was showing signs of still being alive. I tried to move my arm in a fit of anger, but it wouldn’t budge. Even though I knew it was useless, I repeated the attempt again and again.

About an hour later, Ronni came back.

“Kaine…huh? Where’s the doctor?” Ronni asked in a light tone. She’d completely trusted the guy.

“He ran away.”

“What?!” She rushed over and helped me sit up.

“If was in normal condition, I could have chased him. But it seems something was mixed into the medicine he gave me.”

Ronni, who had been listening silently, raised her eyebrows. Her small shoulders began to tremble. Trying to hide it, she tightly gripped her knees with her fingertips.

“Ugh…damn it!” She began to throw a tantrum, pounding the floor repeatedly.

“Ronni, this is the medicine worth 1,000 gildans.”

I took the small bottle the doctor had left on the table and opened the lid. A pungent, foul odor filled the air. Tiny winged insects swarmed toward the bottle from who knows where, clinging to it in a dense mass.

“What?! What is this?!” Ronni was astonished. I slammed the bottle onto the floor.

“Try putting this on a wound. The germs carried by these insects would be fatal.”

“Damn it—!” Ronni moved toward the door.

“Wait, he’s not around here anymore.”

“But… but, I…”

“He escaped around the same time you left. He won’t be anywhere nearby.”

Words escaped from Ronni’s tightly pursed lips. “I’m sorry, Kaine…no matter what I do, I always end up being a burden to you…” Her voice was weak and almost inaudible.

I changed the subject. “Why did you say you were going to earn money through battling?”

“Because you’re injured.” Ronni answered, still looking down.

“You don’t need to do that. This is my problem.” I shook my hand, which was bruised and bleeding. The blood splattered as it flew through the air.

Ronni looked up at my face. “Thank you, Kaine. You’re trying to comfort me, aren’t you?”

“That wasn’t my intention.”

“It’s okay, even so…” Ronni stood up, opened the cupboards, and began searching for something.

“I’ll earn some money with battling bets. There’s a match tomorrow. I asked at the office, but they don’t know anything about the Grey Berserga.”

Ronni took out a 20-centimeter cube-shaped box from the cupboard. “Kaine, give me your hand. I found some bandages.”

She stretched out a white bandage in her palm. She carefully applied it to the back of my outstretched hand, wrapping it around and around. She continued wrapping it, albeit clumsily, up to the wound on my wrist.

“Hey Kaine, let’s think of it as buying a hideout for 1,000 gildans…okay? It seems like there’s enough food here for a few days.”

Ronni said this without stopping her hand movements. Through the white bandage, blood slowly seeped from around my wrist. Because it wasn’t coagulating, it didn’t turn reddish-brown, but remained a vivid red.

After wrapping the bandage, Ronni stood up. “Kaine, wait here. I’ll bring the trailer.”

Her usual cheerful innocence was gone. Ronni left the clinic, slightly downcast.

The next morning, I woke up feeling something heavy on my chest. I was in the trailer, lying next to Berserga. I put my hand to my chest. There was the soft, silky feel of hair. Ronni’s hair.

I had left her to rest at the clinic last night. But here she was, sleeping peacefully on my chest, breathing softly. She had an innocent sleeping face. Thinking that I hadn’t spoken to her since then, I called out.

“Ronni, wake up.”

“Huh…?” Ronni blinked and lifted her head. “Sorry, did I fall asleep here…?”

She sat up. The light streaming in from the open doorway made the ends of her disheveled blonde hair gleam white, making them stand out. The hem of her oversized running shirt was stretched out. The light illuminated Ronni’s silhouette. She was thin.

With a big yawn, she smoothed her hair. “It’s okay to do this sometimes, right?” She looked at me over her shoulder with mature eyes.

I was confused. “What do you mean?”

Ronni tilted her head and chuckled. “You’ve never had a young girl sleep next to you before, have you? Hardly ever.”

“You’re just heavy.”

“Oh, you’re so clueless, Kaine. Are your wounds okay? I came to check on you last night because I was worried…and then I guess I just fell asleep.”

Had I not sensed her presence even when she came close? I wondered if my senses were starting to fail me. Ronni took my hand and removed the bandage, which was heavily stained with blood. There was no feeling of adhesion.

“The bleeding still hasn’t stopped,” she muttered gloomily. Then she switched to a forced, cheerful tone. “Let’s have breakfast first! Then we’ll think about the wounds, okay?”

She ran out of the trailer. I stood up. I felt a slight dizziness. Like my brain was detaching from my head. I pressed my fingers to my temples, forcing the feeling away, then I entered the clinic.

“Oh, Kaine, I found something good,” said Ronni, clearing off a dirty table. She held out a small bottle. “Wash your hand with this. Then I’ll put some disinfectant on you.”

Ronni took the lid off the small bottle and tilted it. A clear liquid gushed onto the floor. I plunged my hand into the stream, washing the back of my hand and wrist. White foam oozed from the wound. A tingling pain shot through my right hand.

After finishing the washing, Ronni placed an opened can of food on the table. “Let’s eat. We have to replenish your blood. It’ll be all right.”

Amazed by Ronni’s bustling, wifely demeanor, I started eating without saying anything. It was synthetic food, like solid fuel. It had virtually no taste or smell. A drop of blood dripped from the back of my right hand as I picked it up.

“It’s not getting any better. You can’t fight like this.” Ronni muttered.

“Are you telling me to stop battling again?”

“No.” Ronni shook her head. Her unkempt hair swayed. She spoke casually. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t fight the Shadow Flare. But I’ll fight the Grey Berserga.”

“You can’t do it,” I said, trying to be reassuring. “I have to win against him no matter what.”

“Then watch today’s match,” Ronni retorted defiantly. “Judge for yourself whether I can fight or not. I’ll challenge the Grey Berserga in the arena. Kaine, you just need to show up. Come and watch the match.”

It’s true that I had never seen Ronni fight in a Fatty before. Therefore, it was understandable that she was eager to show me her abilities.

“All right.”

Ronni smiled. But to summon the Grey Berserga, declaring myself in the arena would be more effective. That’s what I thought…

After finishing our late breakfast, we transported Ronni’s Fatty to the arena in a jeep and entered the prep room. It had no wall enclosing the front, offering a direct view of the entire arena. The moment Ronni entered the prep room, curious eyes immediately focused on her. The pilot was a woman, and she had a Balarant A.T.

A Votoms pilot wearing goggles approached Ronni, speaking in an falsely sweet voice. “Do you know what kind of opponent you’re up against today?”

I watched silently from beside the jeep as Ronni replied in a slightly menacing tone. “Well, why don’t you tell me?”

The man glanced at me, then began to speak. “He’s piloting a CATM-08, an Octova.”

Upon hearing this, Ronni looked at me.

“I’ve never heard of it,” I replied casually.

“Of course not!” The man exclaimed. “It’s an A.T. from the planet Croa, which was destroyed during the Hundred Years’ War. There are very few of them, so you probably haven’t seen one. But he’s a skilled A.T. pilot. If things get dicey, I’ll jump in and help you.”

“That’s…nice.” Ronni replied in a flat tone.

The man saw Ronni’s expression and changed the subject. “But why would someone like you be involved in battling…?”

Without much emotion, Ronni retorted, “That’s none of your business.”

The man’s hand touched Ronni’s hair. “No, that’s a waste.”

“Damn it, don’t touch me so casually!” Ronni slapped the man’s hand away and took off her goggles. Beneath them were young, round eyes, a stark contrast to her otherwise fierce expression.

Ronni smacked the man’s cheek. “You scum! Don’t mess with me! I’m not here to play around!”

“I won’t give up…I won’t give up!” The man said this, holding his cheek with both hands, and ran out of the prep room.

Ronni turned around and grumbled. “Hmph, why are there so many Votoms pilots like that? But you know, now I can’t be the kind of woman I really am. I’m playing the villain in Gilgameth, so I have to act like that, Kaine…”

Cutting through Ronni’s sweet words, the siren announcing the fighters’ entrance blared.

“I’m going.” Ronni jumped into her Fatty. Leaving the hatch open, she walked into the ring, about twenty meters in radius, and stopped in the center.

From the other side, the Octova entered. Its spherical body had disproportionately large limbs extending from it. And it had no head. It stopped in the center of the ring. It waved its hand in response to cheers from the audience.

“Don’t mess with me!” Ronni’s voice was heard through the arena’s loudspeakers, connected to her A.T.’s communication system. Standing tall in the cockpit, she pointed directly at the Octova. “What are you doing here? Answer me. You’re not here to pander to the audience, are you?”

There was no response from the Octova’s pilot.

“Can’t answer? Then I’ll tell you. You’re here to be killed by me!” Ronni said this dramatically, with exaggerated gestures. But the audience didn’t seem to think so. Rather, it would only intensify the hatred toward Balarant.

“What are you spouting, you Balarant scum?” As the Octova pilot shouted, the audience began to boo. The spectators waved their arms and shouted.

“You! Do you know where you are?!”

“Kill all those Balarant bastards!”

“Stop making so much noise, you rats!” Ronni shouted. At the same time, she threw a disc she was holding. It struck the fence in front of the audience seats and emitted a light.

The arena fell silent as if a spell had been cast. “Now I’m down on my luck, doing these battles and all, but during the war, this machine drank the blood of thousands of Gilgameth people!”

Ronni’s voice, echoing through the arena, grew more and more excited. She was almost completely serious. “If you want to die, come at me!”

To be continued

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