CHASE 7: POTENTIAL (part 2)
“You bitch!”
Octova charged forward. It didn’t have any wheels for locomotion. After a few steps, blue sparks flew from its crotch. The red machine briefly lifted off the ground and began moving at high speed. It thrust both hands forward and charged.
Ronni closed her hatch. Octova grappled with Fatty around the waist. Fatty, with its yellow body and black stripes, was pushed back toward the prep room. It was closing toward my position. Three meters left. Fatty’s back thruster nozzles ignited. White flames. Still grappling with Octova at its waist, it began to ascend. Above the prep room, Fatty shifted its position, dominating Octova. Then it began to descend toward the ground.
Octova, using only the waist section protruding from the spherical cockpit, fired its thrusters downward. Flames shot out from the bowl-shaped nozzles. The thrust was mitigated, and the two A.T.s hovered in mid-air. Fatty’s elbow flashed. The forearm extended, using the armor plates on its sides as slide rails. It slammed its fist into Octova’s cockpit area. Like a string snapping, the two A.T.s tangled together and fell to the ground.
Fatty stood up, gripping Octova’s left arm. It placed its foot against Octova’s weakly attached torso and tore the arm off. The wires stretched and short-circuited.
Octova staggered to its feet. Then, Fatty’s lariat roared. Fatty’s left arm lunged toward its target, Octova’s body, like the Black A.T.’s iron claw. That’s when Octova leaped, soaring over Fatty’s arm. It landed, spun around, and stood up.
“That’s it!” The words burst from my lips. Something clicked in my mind. That was the way to fight the Black A.T.!
Octova circled behind Fatty and attacked.
“Ah! Kya! Yah!”
Ronni’s screams came in broken fragments. Each time Octova’s fist struck Fatty’s back, the spectators cheered wildly in a sound resembling a roar.
“Don’t get carried away!”
Fatty fired its thrusters and leaped into the air. But Octova clung tightly to its back, refusing to let go.
“What a nasty one!”
Ronni cut off Fatty’s thrusters. The only thrust came from Octova’s verniers. The balance shifted precariously forward. Fatty grabbed Octova over its shoulder, fired its thrusters downward, and slammed Octova into the ground. With a roar and a screech, Octova was embedded in the ground. The cockpit bounced violently.
— Game set! A siren blared through the arena. Overwhelming boos erupted, drowning it out. No one was happy about the Balarant A.T.’s victory. Fatty, still seething with murderous intent, approached Octova.
“Wh-what are you doing?” The pilot’s pained voice could be heard from Octova’s cockpit. Of course. To be defeated by a mere female pilot…from now on, he wouldn’t be treated as a full-fledged Votoms pilot anymore.
Fatty unleashed a barrage of arm punches without hesitation. Octova’s arms and legs were completely destroyed. The audience’s booing intensified the voltage. One of the customers leaped into the ring, shouting, “Damn it!”
“Hold on!” A commanding voice boomed from the arena’s speaker. A familiar voice. It was Military Police Officer Chakol’s voice. “Gentlemen, this situation won’t resolve itself. So, let’s add one more little entertainment.”
Suddenly, two people were thrown into the arena. A man and woman, bound hand and foot with ropes.
Chakol’s harsh voice barked at Ronni. “Both are criminals. One is a Balarant. Shoot them dead.”
The man appeared to be the medicine seller, Zelpap. The woman’s face was hidden by her long black hair.
“Why do I have to kill them?” Ronni shouted.
“If you refuse, the snipers positioned throughout the arena will shoot all three of you. Is that acceptable?”
“I can’t…kill them…” Ronni groaned.
A wave of laughter erupted from the audience. A contemptuous, nasty laugh.
Ronni gritted her teeth. “Damn you…”
Suddenly, Zelpap shouted and charged forward. “Stop it! Don’t laugh at the Balarant people!”
In that instant, his head vanished from view. His skull flew through the air, eyes popping out, brain matter splattering onto the ground.
Ronni let out a heart-wrenching scream. “Zelpap!!”
Fatty’s knees began to shake violently. I could clearly picture Ronni trembling uncontrollably in the cockpit. Then the shaking abruptly stopped.
“What have you done…”
With a creak, Fatty began walking toward Chakol, who stood at the edge of the spectator seats, mic in hand. Dust swirled at Fatty’s feet.
“Kyaaa!” Fatty halted at Ronni’s scream.
“Do you want me to stop, woman? If so, let your comrade fight.”
“My comrade?”
“Yes, the Blue Knight.” Chakol displayed a cloying, lecherous quality. His words carried the raw, fishy stench of a snake’s breath.
“The Blue Knight…” the audience murmured.
Ronni showed her resolve. “I can’t let him fight.”
“I see. Snipers, ready.” Chakol’s voice cut through the air, leaving no room for argument. “Fire!”
There was a thunderous roar, like hundreds of long guns firing simultaneously. Dust billowed from the ground at the feet of Fatty and the surviving woman. The thunder subsided. From within the cloud, they both rose. The woman’s black hair fluttered, revealing a familiar face.
Fil Com. The matchmaker who once ran bouts for Sha Bak and I in Coboto.
“What now? Gonna send the Blue Knight into the arena?” Chakol glared at Fatty. “Fire squad, ready!”
“Wait!” I dashed toward the arena.
Ronni opened her hatch. “Kaine, don’t come!”
I ran to Fatty, snatched Ronni’s helmet, and shouted. “We’ll fight. If you can guarantee that woman’s safety!”
“Kaine! What are you—”
“Shut up!” I yelled at Ronni to silence her.
Chakol’s voice echoed throughout the entire arena. “Very well. Come here at noon, three days from now.”
I rushed over to the woman standing there, stunned.
“Fil Com?”
“Kaine…?” Fil murmured my name from parched lips before passing out.
“Hmph, what the hell?” Ronni sulked in Fatty’s cockpit.
Had I been reckless? I regretted accepting the match. Now was the time to find Grey Berserga as quickly as possible. But there were things I needed to ask Fil Com. Half a year ago, when Sha Bak died, Fil cried on my back. But I had a question. At that time, Fil’s body temperature was abnormally low. Even the tears that fell on my hand weren’t at a normal temperature. Something flashed through my mind.
She’s hiding something.
There was something only Fil and Sha Bak knew. The Black A.T. had undoubtedly appeared before us to kill him, and Sha Bak had accepted death calmly. This woman knew the reason why. But before I could ask, she vanished from the battling arena where Sha Bak had died. This was the perfect opportunity to learn the secret of his death.
As I was transferring Berserga to the jeep beside the trailer, Ronni came out of the clinic.
“Kaine, I put that girl to bed.”
“How’s her condition?”
“Her clothes were in tatters, so I put one of my shirts on her,” Ronni said with a look like she was staring at something suspicious. “Plus, she’s covered in tiny cuts all over. She must have done something really bad.”
“When do you think she’ll wake up?” I asked while loading Berserga onto the jeep’s cargo bed and securing it with rope.
“No idea. But why did you save someone like that? She’s a criminal, right?”
I stayed silent, tying the end of the rope to a hook protruding from the side of the cargo bed.
Ronni clenched both fists and yelled. “What’s the big deal? You could have told me. You made me go through all this trouble. You could at least have told me who she is!”
I walked over to the jeep’s driver’s seat. “Her name is Fil. Take care of her.”
“You’re soooo kind. But you never do anything when I’m in trouble.”
“I didn’t want to make things worse in the arena,” I muttered.
“Why is that? Why do you always try to dodge like that? What I’m saying is—-” Ronni faltered for a moment, then continued. “I get it. You’re scared. Of exposing yourself.”
“I just can’t,” I stammered.
Ronni looked puzzled. “Even with me? You still don’t trust me?”
For a second, something warm flowed through me. I wanted to believe her. But…
“There are things you don’t need to know.” I tried to sound calm.
“But coming to my rescue even if it meant getting into an unnecessary fight…that’s reckless.”
I started the jeep’s engine.
“Could it be…” Ronni gasped. “She’s a woman from your past?”
“A friend of mine. I’m not the kind of guy who’d be so reckless as to save a woman I loved. I just needed to help.”
“Really…is that so?” Ronni leaned her arms on the edge of the truck bed as she asked.
“That’s right. I’ll leave the rest to you.”
After Ronni leaned away from the truck bed, I started the jeep moving.
“That’s good…” Ronni’s voice was almost drowned out by the engine noise.
I drove the jeep down a quiet road toward the arena. I’d discovered a construction site right next to it, hidden from view. It was surrounded by high walls, one side forming the arena’s outer wall. What’s more, there was no sign of any work being done. I drove the jeep into the site. Several abandoned construction vehicles cast long shadows over patches of dug-up earth. Half of them were in the shadow of the wall.
I jumped into the cab at the front of the power shovel and fumbled under the console. I ripped out the exposed ignition wiring and connected it directly. The engine started with the high-pitched whine of the motor. Going by the gauge, there was still plenty of fuel.
I extended the large manipulator with its shovel, protruding from the top of the vehicle, straight forward. It leveled off at 2.5 meters above the ground. I rotated the manipulator horizontally. Above my head, it began cutting through the air overhead. As the engine’s RPM increased, so did the manipulator’s rotation speed. It was drawing power from the engine to drive itself. I slammed the accelerator pedal to the floor and weighted it down with rocks. Leaving the shovel arm spinning in midair, I stepped out of the driver’s seat and approached Berserga.
I opened the maintenance hatch located beside the generator on Berserga’s back. Inside, a single severed cord lay there, its tip wrapped tightly in vinyl tape. It was the cord connecting my senses to Berserga’s. My fingertips, reaching out to connect, stopped unconsciously.
Connecting this might unleash the destructive impulse that surged during the battle with that Black A.T. It would try to transform me into a perfect killer, fused with my machine. My body might even be taken over by Berserga. But I had to have skills surpassing the Black A.T. To do that, I needed to step onto the same playing field, relying on the feedback data from Berserga. Activating this system now was necessary. Even if using it meant I might forget the purpose of my revenge and never become human again.
— Even if it meant transforming me from a killing machine into a murderer who finds joy in destruction.
— Even if it meant becoming the freak Sha Bak spoke of, that monster whose machine and flesh achieve accelerated compatibility.
I pulled the cord out and connected it. From that instant, I resolved to transform into a berserker.
Closing the maintenance hatch, I leapt into the cockpit. I activated Berserga immediately. I felt something slip away from my limbs. No, flow out would be more accurate. It surged intermittently, in time with my heartbeat. Similar to the sensation when blood spurts out. Following that, a faint warmth spread. At first, it appeared as dots and gradually expanded throughout my entire body. Was it a sensation fed back from Berserga? It surged alternately with the feeling of outflow. Then, an unnatural heat ignited at the core of my body. There was a sensation of something climbing upward.
I could clearly feel my perception expanding. The sensation in my limbs changed to something dry and then solidified, as if I were clad in metal armor. My vision changed, too. The images reflected in my eyes weren’t like looking down from a height, as when viewing through a monitor. It was captured as raw footage seen by me, now four meters tall. In truth, the image on the monitor hadn’t changed, but it seemed unnecessary to correct my perspective relative to surrounding objects. My very nerves seemed densely embedded within this four-meter colossus.
Is this how Chris Kurtz fights too? And is this the sensation of being a superhuman?
I made Berserga walk. My feet should have been pressing the accelerator pedal. But to me, it only felt like Berserga had started walking. The sensation of my feet had been forgotten by my perception. My senses should have been completely assimilated. Yet, it felt like there was a wall of air there. Unlike perception, the movement felt slightly off. My limbs were not equal to Berserga’s limbs. What’s more, my left arm, which had begun to rot from the inside out, remained unchanged. It was the only thing floating in the nonexistent cockpit.
Can I fight in this state?
The urge to destroy still hadn’t welled up inside me. I directed Berserga toward the power shovel’s manipulator, still spinning. With a thunderous roar, the massive shovel sliced through the air, spinning before my eyes.
“Here we go.”
I made Berserga charge forward. To defeat the Black A.T., I had to use the same tactic Octova employed against Fatty: smoothly parry the enemy’s attack, dive into its inner guard, and strike. Concentrating all my strength into my legs, I forced the machine upward, leaping over the approaching manipulator.
In that instant, the base of the shovel slammed into Berserga’s abdomen. Knocked back, I tumbled and fell to the ground. The vibration slammed my shoulder against the cockpit’s inner wall.
“Guh!”
Its speed and power were impeccable. This was good material for increasing my connection with Berserga. I reversed the gliding wheel. While crouched, I maneuvered the machine out of the power shovel’s reach as it continued spinning, then stood up. This wasn’t training. It was a contest to dodge the manipulator’s attacks and slam the pile bunker into its cockpit. Yes, destroy it — I found myself saying unconsciously.
I activated the gliding wheel. The dry sound of the accelerator pedal hitting the floor echoed. Berserga began its glide. Roaring, the manipulator closed in. As if to clamp down on my head.
“Go!”
Jumping over that manipulator by the skin of my teeth is the only way. Show any opening, and the Black A.T. will strike again instantly.
I activated the jet roller dash. Flames roared from my legs. Simultaneously, I bent both knees, sinking the machine low.
Jump!
A jet sprayed from the nozzle beside my left arm. I stayed in control. The power shovel passed underneath, grazing Berserga’s belly. I planted my right elbow on the ground, spun diagonally forward once, and crouched into a ready stance. Again, the power shovel closed in from behind.
The muscle cylinders in my lowered legs explosively released energy. The machine danced gracefully into the air. Blood spatter from the back of my right hand splashed onto my cheek. Ignoring it, I flashed my eyes wide open. The power shovel’s cockpit entered my field of vision.
And I let out a roar like a wild beast.
“Still nothing today.”
Three days had passed since reaching Bow City. Yet the Grey Berserga I sought remained nowhere to be found. Even after threatening Votoms pilots and scattering my last pennies to bribe A.T. mechanics, its whereabouts remained as elusive as mist beyond the horizon.
That evening, after giving up on inquiries and returning to the clinic, I asked Ronni, “Does a Grey Berserga even exist?”
I had come to believe Covarn had fabricated the excuse to get me out of town.
“Nope, I’ve seen it. Grey Berserga does exist. Not sure if it’s in this town, though.”
Ronni said this while changing the bandages on my limbs. The wounds had become swollen, the skin stretched taut, and they were starting to rot. On the back of my right hand, blood flowed steadily from an open wound over a vein.
I let out a deep sigh. “Hmph…”
“I’ll make some coffee.” Ronni lit the old stove in the corner of the room.
“Hey, Kaine. Do you believe in ghosts?” Ronni asked, trying to sound cheerful.
“It’s just a word. Once humans die, that’s the end of it.”
“But they say they appear in this town,” Ronni answered, sounding creeped out.
“And where exactly?”
I played along with Ronni’s story to take my mind off things. Lately, I’d noticed my own emotions softening slightly when talking with her.
“Here’s your coffee.” Ronni placed a copper-colored mug on the table. “So, I overheard something. There’s a construction site near the arena. Apparently, it used to be a military weapons depot. Lately, every night, they hear the sound of A.T.s moving around in that old warehouse.“ She shrugged and sipped her coffee.
”Oh,“ I said casually. I picked up the cup and brought it to my lips. The rising steam dampened my hair. The coffee was bitter as I sipped it.
”Is it good?” Ronni asked.
A clatter came from the next room. I rushed to the door. But before my hand could touch the doorknob, the door creaked open with a dry squeak.
“Fil!” Ronni threw down the cup she was holding and rushed to Fil, who was leaning against the door. “You shouldn’t be moving yet.”
Ignoring Ronni’s words, Fil fixed her jet-black eyes on me. “Kaine…”
Driven only by a firm resolve to unravel the mystery, I said, “If you’re awake, that’s perfect. There’s something I need to ask you.”
“Kaine, no!” Ronni snapped. “She’s been in a coma for two days.”
“Let her sit down.”
“But Kaine—”
“It’s fine. I don’t mind,” Fil said in a faint, raspy voice.
“All right…” Ronni supported Fil’s shoulder and helped her into a chair.
“Is this person your manager? Or your matchmaker?” Fil asked, pointing at Ronni.
“No, she’s not.”
Ronni pouted. “You don’t have to be so direct about it.”
“Right now, I think you should keep quiet,” Fil said to her soothingly.
“What’s with that tone, like you know everything about Kaine?”
“Shut up.” I added a touch of menace to my voice.
“All right.” Ronni fell silent and slumped down. She curled up and hugged her knees with both hands.
“So, what do you want to know?” Fil pressed her temples as she asked. Her long, thin eyebrows twitched slightly.
“Everything you know.”
“What I know?” Fil tilted her long face, her expression stiffening.
“After the Sha Bak match, you vanished, leaving only the money behind. Why?”
“I was trying to find a man better than Sha Bak. Though that might be a lie. I wandered through many different cities. More than ten, I’d say. But I didn’t find any Votoms pilots as good as him or you. Then, in Bakara City, I heard Berserga was in this town. It clicked. If anyone was piloting Berserga on Melkia, it had to be you. That’s why I came here.”
After saying all that in one breath, she sighed. “I’m glad I found you…”
Fil shrugged her narrow shoulders. She was taller than Ronni, but even Ronni’s clothes hung loosely on her. The white coverall jacket was crumpled around her shoulders.
“I see,” I answered. “But that can’t be all.”
For some reason, Fil nodded lightly. “Yeah. I do know a little. But if you want to hear it, you’ll have to do as I say.”
Fil swept her long hair up, letting it fall from her left shoulder toward her chest.
“What was that?” I closed in on Fil. But she continued calmly.
“I want us to team up again. Traveling around made me realize something. Other than you, there’s no one else I can rely on in battle.”
Ronni stood up. “Hold on a second. What’s so great about this guy? He’s insensitive, hot-headed, reckless…and he doesn’t give a damn about women!”
“Well, yes…” Fil looked at me with a sharp gaze, like a well-made instrument analyzing data. “But that’s not all. Kaine is–”
Ronni clenched both fists and yelled. “Stop talking like you know everything! I’ve worked hard with Kaine too, dammit!”
“You seem to be quite the cheerleader,” Fil said, as if to restrain Ronni. “I can’t let someone like you be a matchmaker. Kaine, what do you say? Want to team up with me?”
“Well, if you really know something…” I slipped my thumb under my bandana, wiped away sweat, and waited for her next words.
Fil flashed an unclear smile and gave a sarcastic laugh. “I’ll tell you one thing. Sha Bak was meant to be killed.”
“What the hell—-” I lunged for her thin, white collar. “Tell me why. There’s no reason he should have been killed!”
“If you want to know everything, protect me. I’m being targeted.”
I tightened my grip. “And if you’re willing to tell me, then…”
Ronni grabbed my arm. “Stop it, Kaine. You don’t have to go that far.”
“But…” I loosened my grip, left the clinic, and jumped into the jeep.
Sha Bak was meant to be killed…
That can’t be. But considering how Berserga’s system and the Black A.T.’s system match up, questions kept bubbling up one after another. That’s what was stirring the destructive impulse that was reviving within me.
As soon as I reached the construction site beside the arena, I jumped into Berserga. I fired an arm punch at the arena wall. I kept firing arm punches to shake off all the doubts. The vibrations transmitted to the cockpit felt good, soothing my mood. A cloud of dust rose as the wall collapsed.
Suddenly, a woman’s voice called out. “Kaine-—”
Her figure was silhouetted against a streetlight behind me. It was Ronni. I dismounted Berserga. She approached slowly, as if approaching something frightening.
“So you were here after all? You disappear every night, your wounds keep getting worse, and you bleed a lot too. I was worried. But I never imagined the ghost of the Hundred Years’ War appearing here would be you. Do you even understand what riding an A.T. can do to you now?“
I didn’t answer. I knew the consequences better than anyone.
Ronni stood before me and said, ”Fil said I couldn’t stay with you, but I’m watching you, you know.”
“Right now, I need to become one with Berserga. You stay quiet.”
“But then you’ll go crazy like you did with the Black A.T.,” Ronni said with a confused look. “I heard about that mecha from Covarn, too.”
“No, it’s all right. The power I seek lies beyond that.” I said it with the force of convincing myself. “But the destructive impulse driving me still isn’t enough. To defeat the Black A.T., I need to perfect this.”
I gripped Berserga’s hatch. Hard.
“Then why not use weapons? There seem to be plenty left here.”
“No, I don’t need any more weapons.”
Ronni was about to leave. My next words slipped out, stopping her abruptly.
“Temporarily gaining the powers of a superhuman, and Berserga…are just ways to pull Chris Kurtz out of his A.T. I’ll defeat him with these hands. Defeat him and return to being human.”
Saying that, I grimaced. With Ronni, I always ended up saying things I shouldn’t.
“Right.” Ronni moved closer. “Fine then. But rest tonight. Losing tomorrow’s match would defeat the whole purpose.”
“Yeah…you’re right.”
That’s right, a mystery is a mystery. There’s no point in worrying about it. I put Berserga back in my jeep.
Inside the clinic, I sensed an unnatural presence and reached for the gun at my waist.
“What’s wrong, Kaine?” Ronni asked as she turned off the jeep’s engine.
“Something…is here. The Black A.T.’s men might have noticed this place.”
I leaped out of the jeep, kicked the door open, and burst into the clinic.
“You’re back?” Fil, leaning against the table in the center of the room, turned around. She was holding a piece of paper.
Then she looked up. That’s when it happened. A gunshot echoed through the room. Blood spurted from her left chest. Metal fragments scattered.
“Kyaaah!”
Ronni screamed as Fil collapsed onto the floor with a thud. I fired my Armor Magnum toward the direction of the shot, into the ceiling. It tore open a hole, a meter in diameter.
A sniper’s voice rang out. “The Blue Knight!”
Then more gunfire! I spun reflexively and fired toward the shots. But Ronni was still clinging to my back. A bullet grazed my left thigh.
“Kaine!” Ronni yelled.
A dark red human body and several pieces of metal fell from the ceiling with a thud.
“Go check on Fil!”
Ronni frowned worriedly. “But what about you?”
“He’ll be fine.” The moment Ronni heard that voice, she rushed over to Fil.
I dropped onto my left knee. It was only a graze, but a strong one. It was numb.
“Kaine, Fil’s still breathing.”
I dragged my left leg as I approached Fil.
“Who was that sniper just now?” I asked Fil, who was breathing heavily in Ronni’s arms.
“Don’t ask now!” Ronni protested.
Fil coughed up a clot of blood. “It’s okay, Ronni. I need to tell Kaine now. Could I get some water?”
Ronni slowly lowered Fil’s head to the floor. “Wait here.” She dashed to the far end of the room.
“Kaine…” Fil said, “it was the Last Battalion.”
“The Last Battalion?”
“Yes…comrades of Shadow Flare.” Fil arched her back, twitching, as she continued speaking. “Humans who implanted machines into their bodies. Fusion Machines. And I, too…”
Fil rolled up her sleeve. A wound stretched from the back of her hand to the inside of her wrist. She thrust her fingertip into the wound. No blood flowed. Exposing the red muscle beneath, she pulled a wire cord from the wound.
“This cord connects a human body to a machine. And…further inside, there’s more machinery.”
“I see…so you’re one of them, too.” Hatred surged through my body. I reached my right hand toward Fil’s neck.
“Wait, let me explain.”
Fil began to speak.
The origin of these people traced back over 3,000 years to the planet Quent. They were born from among superhumans. Their ancestors’ ability to interface with machinery had weakened. They compensated for this flaw by embedding mechanisms into their own bodies. They came to be called Mechanicians.
Pure superhumans did not acknowledge their existence. They began to eliminate them as heretics, despite knowing that this was the only way to survive, as they were approaching the limits of their species. Then, a handful of the Mechanicians escaped Quent. But even after that, they remained subjugated by the superhumans.
Indeed, the superhumans perished 3,000 years ago. Yet they transferred their memories into a colossal plasma storage device. Calling themselves Wiseman, they continued to rule the Astragius Galaxy.
Wiseman used an unknown communication system to directly interfere with and manipulate computers. It manipulated armies and wars using similar means. The Mechanicians only had limited living space aboard their spaceships for 3,000 years. Fil underwent fusion a year and a half before the ceasefire. She was 24 at the time.
By their standards, it was late. Normally, embedding a Fusion Machine into the body occured simultaneously with the start of puberty. However, Fil’s generation matured late, perhaps due to abnormalities arising from their prolonged shipboard existence.
They called fusion with mechanisms a “ritual,” but it was fundamentally a surgical procedure. To speak of it that way was too horrifying. Under blinding lights, their entire bodies were sliced open. Unnecessary organs were discarded and replaced with artificial ones.
Furthermore, sensory nerves were fused directly to the machinery. The back of the skull was cut away to expose the brainstem, and the spinal nerves were connected to all the mechanisms implanted within the body. This procedure was said to be performed with the utmost precision. The work was done in a state where they felt no pain, only sensation.
For the next six months, Fil remained inside a cylindrical glass case, connecting wires extending from her entire body to its inner walls, synchronizing with the mechanisms. It was a strange sensation, she said. Like becoming a computer terminal. Everything happening inside and outside the ship flowed in continuously, processed as data. During that time, Fil was implanted with an abnormal hatred toward Wiseman.
And then, for a full year, she had to endure being connected to the mechanisms once a day. The purpose was to erase the virus-like data sent by Wiseman and to normalize the programs that kept her internal machinery functioning. The individual was most susceptible to Wiseman’s influence during this period, and the process continued until the individual’s mind stabilized with the implanted devices.
This was the only way to escape the ghosts of the superhumans who had intervened through the computers. Even as the Mechanicians themselves became terminals of the computer, they operated by their own will. The Fusion Machines used this method to prevent them from becoming Wiseman’s minions.
Then, 3,000 years after the extinction of the superhumans, the appearance of Chris Kurtz changed everything.
After losing their mothership in a surprise attack by Gilgameth forces manipulated by Wiseman, the Mechanician clan was drifting through space in an escape ship. A large Gilgameth-type battleship appeared, claiming to be an ally. The spaceship was piloted by Chris Kurtz.
Those who knew Chris Kurtz was one of their own, undergoing basic training as a soldier to defeat Wiseman, rejoiced and joined forces with him. At that moment, a mole appeared in the center of his forehead where it shouldn’t have been.
Demonstrating godlike command, Chris Kurtz transferred all the Mechanicians’ equipment to his battleship and then underwent modification himself. This was one year before Fil underwent her own modification. After he fell asleep, the battleship headed toward Melkia, seemingly without anyone operating it.
Chris Kurtz awoke again one year after Fil’s awakening. For two years, He had been adapting to Fusion Mechines inside a cylindrical glass case. It seems that during that time he’d linked up with all of the computers on the battleship and brought them under his control. Upon awakening, he immediately subjugated Eliel Zem, leader of the Mechanicians, to bolster his forces.
Wiseman worked for domination of the Astragius Galaxy. And after three millennia, a warning about the limits of the species once again swept across the galaxy. To counter it, Wiseman decided to seize Melkia’s military power.
Chris Kurtz himself declared the war he was about to wage was a righteous battle to save the people after three thousand years. He declared that the technology possessed by the Mechanicians was the only means of transcending the limits of the species. To that end, a paranormal organization was formed, a combat unit known as the Last Battalion.
As soon as the Hundred Year War ceased hostilities, Fil was summoned by Chris Kurtz to a conference room in the ship’s command center. As many Mechanician leaders looked on, Chris Kurtz said just one thing:
“Descend to Melkia.”
It was a heavy, dignified voice. One possessing the power to command anyone.
For Fil, it was the first time she had heard Chris Kurtz’s voice. Until then, she had only heard his words as data when connected to the computer. Even that alone was a voice that inspired awe in everyone. Fil couldn’t respond.
She was informed of her mission on Melkia by the executives of the organization. It was to recover fusion technology stolen by Sha Bak, or to eliminate Sha Bak himself. To them, Sha Bak was a criminal. After his death, Fil hadn’t returned to the organization. She was now a target for their snipers.
“Why?! How could Sha Bak steal your technology?”
The system equipped on Berserga was undoubtedly the same as theirs. But there was no way to contact them while they were drifting in space.
Somewhere deep inside me, something kept screaming, wanting to believe in Sha Bak.
“I don’t know. But he definitely had it.” Fil continued speaking, thick blood smeared from the corner of her mouth to her jaw. “He used it to hone himself as a superhuman. He was almost fully developed as one. Just like us, he modified his body.”
All strength drained from me. I could only cling to a sliver of hope. “His body…”
“Shadow Flare shattered it. To prevent information from leaking out.”
As soon as she said that, Fil faltered. My mind was starting to spin too. I couldn’t form a single word anymore. Silence fell.
“Kaine…” Ronni stood frozen, holding the glass of water. “W-water. I brought some.”
“Th-thank you.” Fil, supported by Ronni’s arm around her shoulder, moistened her parched throat. She continued in a calmer voice. “Did you know? Sha Bak was trying to make contact with Wiseman?”
“Was he gathering allies?”
“No. Wiseman ruled the Astragius Galaxy. Being accepted by Him would mean ruling this galaxy. But naturally, Sha Bak wasn’t accepted by Wiseman, since he was just like us. So he tried to pass it on to you.”
“Why would he do such a thing?” I asked, stunned.
“He knew my true identity from the beginning. And yet he loved me. Perhaps it was out of pity between two people who shared the same kind of body. We never had any physical contact. Then, before the battle with Shadow Flare, Sha Bak said to me, ‘Watch over Kaine.’ He saw in you the qualities of a superhuman. If we could modify you, we could create the strongest soldier. So he asked me to make you a soldier in the Last Battalion.”
”You bastards…”
Fil gazed into the distance, as if reminiscing about the past. “At that time, he was fixated on his hatred for Wiseman.”
I rose from my crouched position. “Then it’s too bad Sha Bak didn’t become your ally. But it’s not my problem.”
“Sha Bak’s body was dying. Incompatibility with the mechanisms inside him…and rejection. So, I told him that the real you…the you back then…would definitely pilot the Berserga for revenge. Because I was the one who made it happen. And I’d try to push you toward becoming a superhuman. That’s why I contacted the Shadow Flare. It understood and didn’t kill you. Then, when there were no signs of you changing, it tried to. You were starting to get in the way.”
My fists trembled violently. The blood drained from my entire body.
”Don’t mess with me!!” I shouted with a face twisted in fury. It was a heavy, suffocating rage with nowhere to go. Words escaped my mouth, bordering on a scream. “Was I being manipulated by him from the start? Was my revenge orchestrated?”
“I guess that’s how it is.”
There was nothing left inside me anymore. Even the rage, the grudge that had driven the Black A.T. to chase me, had vanished. My shoulders slumped.
“Kaine…” Fil, now barely clinging to life, spoke again. “Kill me with the pile bunker. Dying from a bullet like this…wouldn’t be proper.”
I drew the Armor Magnum from my waist and threw it to her. “Use this. It’s Sha Bak’s keepsake.” Then I headed straight for the door.
“Where are you going, Kaine?” Ronni asked.
“I don’t want to see her filthy blood.”
I left the clinic. I walked over to the jeep and looked up at Berserga. No matter how long I stared, Berserga was a machine. It wouldn’t answer me. There was nothing I could do. Chaotic rage, impossible to expel, swirled inside me. Rage at Sha Bak, at Fil, at the Black A.T. — and at myself. Had I just been seduced by Sha Bak, who approached me only to use me?
What had I wounded my body this badly for, suffered such deadly injuries?
Why did I try to grasp that destructive impulse?
A crushing loneliness tightened around my entire body, my heart aching as if it were being stabbed. I clenched my fists. The wounds tore open, sharp pain shooting through me. I collapsed, dropping to my knees.
“Kaine…” Ronni’s voice came from behind me. She held out the Armor Magnum. “This is useless. You’re really gonna need that pile bunker.”
I didn’t even try to take it.
“You don’t need this gun anymore? Or Berserga?” Ronni threw the gun aside and clung to my back. “Kaine, aren’t you chasing the Black A.T. anymore? What was that about at the warehouse ruins? Beat the Black A.T. and become human again…”
She began to sob. Hot tears ran down her pressure suit and fell onto the back of my hand. In that moment, I forgot the pain of my wounds and the chaotic rage. I felt like I’d found something. That Ronni might be the one to turn me back into a human.
“Kaine…fight him…” Ronni said, almost like a prayer. “If you can fight again, then…you can hold me!”
Her slender fingers clenched my pressure suit.
“Win. Please. I want you to be able to smile again. I want you to be able to trust people again. No…I want to make that happen for you.”
Ronni’s fingertips slid down with a soft sound.
“So…” Ronni wrapped her arms around me. Warmth pressed against my back. “So…Kaine.” Her forehead rested against mine.
I stood up and holstered the Armor Magnum at my waist. “I gotta keep this with me. In case I’m targeted when I’m not in the A.T.”
“Kaine…” Ronni’s voice was hoarse.
“I’m marked by them. Even if I stop chasing him now, they won’t let me off. There’s no turning back.” I said it as if trying to convince myself.
Ronni choked back a sob. “Kaine!”
“It’s okay. I won’t hesitate. I’ll take him down. And I’ll survive!”
A greedy, almost obsessive desire to return to humanity made me say it. But the passion for destruction that had been stirring within me wasn’t yet complete.
Ronni spoke, her eyes red and puffy. “Well, I’ll tell you something then. Fil was looking at tomorrow’s bracket…and Grey Berserga’s name is on it.”
I grinned.
To be continued