Boom!
As the building collapsed, a dense cloud of dust surged upward, instantly obscuring the vision of most of the Endlaves in the area.
"Target lost!"
"Same here!"
"Damn it! This smoke!"
Even with thermal imaging, there was no sign of the enemy—only the silhouettes of allied mechs. It was as if the opponent had vanished into thin air.
"What about the infantry casualties?"
The Endlave squad leader quickly switched to the infantry channel and asked.
Bzz—
The only response was harsh static. Needless to say, they had already been wiped out.
"What the hell was that... that purple light?!"
Faced with that mysterious violet lightning and at a complete disadvantage in information, they could only take hits passively, utterly unable to fight back.
And now their vision was blocked. This was beyond terrible!
Hum~
A streak of violet light brushed past the Endlave he was piloting like a thread. One moment there was no sensation—only that faint glimmer—but the next, an excruciating pain exploded through his entire body!
"Aaaagh!!!"
Slash!
After his scream, the mech was cut clean in half at the waist!
"What happened?!"
"Endlave Unit 1, respond!"
Bzz—
Only cold static answered.
"Damn it! Everyone, watch your surroundings—"
Hum!
"Aaaagh!!"
Before he could finish, another scream burst through the headset.
Boom!!
A nearby mech exploded from within!
"What the hell is going on?!"
Hum!
Another streak of violet light flashed. This time, it moved like a thunder dragon, weaving through the dust at a speed impossible to track. All that followed each pass were the screams of comrades and the sound of mechs shattering apart!
In just a few seconds, after a series of heavy crashes and explosions, everything fell silent. No other channels responded through the headset either.
Which meant... at this moment, he was the only one left.
"Aah—! Wai—"
Slash!
Before he could finish speaking, the lightning shot upward from between the mech's legs!
Boom!!
The Endlave was split vertically in two, collapsing like a blooming flower, its "life" extinguished.
Whoosh!
With a casual flick of the blade, the surrounding dust was blown away, revealing the true form of the violet-haired woman.
Her cold gaze swept across the field of steel wreckage before she turned and pursued in the direction the two had fled.
...
On the other side—
Hare, pushing the stretcher alongside Yahiro, was already drenched in sweat. Setting aside the weight of the stretcher, the situation alone was enough to make her heart pound uncontrollably.
She was also worried about whether the Shogun would be in danger alone. No matter what, they had to move Jun to a safe location first. There were still fifteen minutes until Funeral Parlor's extraction arrived—they had to hold on until then.
"Brother... ugh!!"
Lying on the stretcher, Jun regained a sliver of consciousness. His clouded eyes opened as he called out weakly to his brother, his expression full of pain. The crystallization on his body continued to spread.
"Jun, I'm here. Hold on—we'll be safe soon."
Yahiro didn't pick him up immediately and instead continued pushing the stretcher with Hare. The situation was already too urgent.
"Ugh! Aaaagh!!! Stay away... from me... brother..."
The boy grew increasingly distressed, raising his intact left arm to clutch his chest. His face twisted in agony as his body writhed and arched upward.
"Jun!"
Seeing this, Hare's expression turned pale.
Thud!
Perhaps from struggling too violently, the boy fell straight off the stretcher.
"Jun!"
Yahiro immediately let go of the stretcher and lifted the boy from the ground, who was still writhing uncontrollably.
Thud! ×N
At that moment, both of them heard rumbling footsteps ahead, like an earthquake. Looking up, they saw an Endlave—it seemed it had been waiting here for a while.
"Finally caught up! You little rats!!"
The one who arrived was Daryl Yan, who had rushed over from the docks earlier. Seeing the three tiny figures like ants, he revealed a delighted and arrogant grin.
"I haven't settled the score with you yet! Where's that damn woman?!"
Thud!
He stomped down, nearly crushing Hare. The girl staggered back a few steps, lips pressed tight as she glared at him despite her fear.
"Aaaagh!!!"
Meanwhile, in Yahiro's arms, Jun's entire body began to emit a glow resembling the Apocalypse Virus. Crystallization had already spread across three-quarters of his body.
"Jun!"
Yahiro shouted his brother's name, his eyes turning red.
"Hm—? Hahaha! Isn't this that patient? Just a cockroach making noise! Die already!"
Click!
Daryl raised his cannon, preparing to deliver a fatal blow to the three of them.
However—
"Aaaah!!!"
Jun's body began to mutate...
The crystals spread outward like a living organism, as if choosing between Yahiro and Hare. In the end, it selected the one with the purest soul—Hare.
"—!"
Seeing this, Hare instinctively raised her arms to shield herself. But in the next moment, violet lightning flared beside her. The Shogun pulled her into her arms and leapt away from the virus' reach!
Because Hare had been standing between Daryl and Jun, inertia caused the virus to crash directly into Daryl's Endlave. Upon contact, the crystals began frantically absorbing the mech's energy, rapidly merging with and decomposing it.
"What?! What is this disgusting thing?! Damn it! Aaaagh! It hurts!"
In the end, the crystals fused into the mech's interior and even invaded the cockpit, forcibly pushing out Daryl's consciousness. The mech became like an empty shell, yet under the virus' influence, it transformed into a corrupted monster.
"W-What's happening?! Jun!"
Yahiro stood frozen in place.
Thud!
The Shogun released Hare and moved behind him, grabbing his collar with one hand and yanking him backward—just in time to avoid the virus spreading from Jun's body.
"Roar!!!"
The transformed mech let out a monstrous howl at her. Despite being a machine, it now had a mouth, teeth—even drool!
The sight filled her with disgust.
"Mio!"
"I'm fine. Stay back and hide."
She glanced back to instruct Hare, then turned her gaze to the monster. Tightening her grip on Musou Isshin, violet lightning flared around her as she flashed aside, dodging the incoming crystal attack.
Crack! ×N
Crystals burst from the ground like spikes.
So this is the so-called Apocalypse Virus?
Not only that—every step the creature took caused crystals to sprout from the ground. It would be more accurate to say its entire body was a manifestation of the virus.
In that case, the boy named Jun was already...
Dodging another ranged attack, she closed the distance in an instant. With a single slash, she severed the creature's arm. Then, as a puppet in the form of her Shadow manifestation, an arm extended from the Eye of Baal, pinning the monster firmly against the wall. Leaping into the air, she drove Musou Isshin down in a precise thrust, piercing the creature's heart.
"Roar—!!!"
This time, the monster's howl carried a trace of anguish.
Crackle!
"—!"
At that moment, she noticed that the crystallized virus on its body was being absorbed by Musou Isshin. Like iron drawn to a magnet, it hovered around the blade before gradually dissipating.
This is—!
Slash!
Snapping back to her senses, her gaze turned cold as she poured more power into the blade. Starlike light spread across the monster's entire body, eroding it completely without leaving a trace.
Just now... Musou Isshin was purifying it?
She looked at the sword in her hand, deep in thought. That power had clearly been extracting the virus and purifying it entirely—only, she had interrupted the process midway by killing the host outright.
In that case...
Her eyes shifted to Jun, whose body was now almost entirely crystallized. A flicker crossed her gaze as she quickly knelt beside him and drove Musou Isshin point-first into his chest.
"Hey—!! What are you doing?!"
Yahiro rushed forward to stop her, but Hare quickly held him back.
"Wait! Yahiro, Mio wouldn't do that. Calm down."
"But she's—huh?"
What he saw made his pupils contract.
Though the blade pierced Jun's chest, in the next instant it spread through his entire body like flowing water. Then, the crystals covering the boy began to recede, as if purified by a faint violet energy. Fragments floated into the air, gradually shrinking before vanishing completely.
After several minutes, Jun—once ravaged beyond recognition by the virus—had returned to normal. Intact skin, whole limbs... and breath.
"Jun! How is this possible? You... how...?!"
Looking at his restored brother, Yahiro's gaze toward her finally changed. Shock filled his eyes, along with a deepening sense of awe. Before him, the woman had saved his most important family member like a god.
GHQ had never done such a thing before. Something that should have been utterly impossible had been accomplished effortlessly by her. That was an undeniable fact. Words failed him—he could only feel gratitude in his heart.
Soon after, Funeral Parlor's extraction team arrived...
She glanced at them briefly.
"I'll explain later... take him and go first."
"...Thank you!"
Yahiro obediently lifted his brother and ran toward Funeral Parlor's direction. Seeing life return to his loved one, tears gradually welled up in his eyes.
"Mio..."
Hare looked at her with a complicated expression.
"Do you remember the lucky item you looked up earlier on the terminal?"
The Shogun asked after a moment of thought.
"Lucky item?... the tiger-striped thermos?"
"Yes... you did 'find' it today, didn't you?"
"Yeah... I guess you could say that...?"
Even if it was passive!
Hare silently complained to herself.
"And after finding a lucky item, what happens?"
"Um—apparently, good luck follows. Good things happen."
"I see. In that case... today, I'll grant you a 'good thing,' shall I?"
She smiled faintly. With that, she stood and walked toward Yahiro.
"...Huh? Mio?"
Hare blinked in confusion. A good thing? What did she mean? Thinking this, she quickly stood and followed.
"Do you remember your wish earlier? The wish for the two brothers to be safe."
The Shogun tilted her head slightly, giving her a knowing look.
"...///!"
Hare immediately understood, her face flushing red as she smiled shyly, warmth filling her heart as she followed after.
Though it seemed... they wouldn't be buying groceries today after all.