Fiona's scream echoed through the Grow Savior's cockpit. W1 must've cracked the Excellence Team's comm frequency and patched it through.
"Fiona-san!?" Mizuho cried.
"Damn it!" Raul growled.
Hearing Mizuho's panic, Raul's unit moved to Fiona's side.
"What… why…?" Mizuho's trembling voice came through, her confusion palpable.
Amid the chaos, Raji stayed calm, analyzing the situation—typical of the Excellence Team's brain.
"Vital signs detected. She's unconscious?" Raji said.
My shot had worked—Fiona was out, exactly as planned.
"Who's there!? Where'd that attack come from!?" Raul shouted, scanning the area with his Excellence.
Time for my entrance. The farce begins. Duminas, take the bait.
I remembered Chronos' Time Flow Engine and shut it down. Energy supply might be tight, but this shouldn't take long. With the four mass-produced Ashsaviors, I advanced to a position visible to the Excellence.
"What are those!?" Raul exclaimed.
"I recognize the four as mass-produced Ashsaviors," Raji said coolly. "But that command unit—it's heavily customized. Likely based on an Ashsavior, but it's barely recognizable."
Raul's panic contrasted with Raji's calm observation. I couldn't help but smirk.
"No… that can't be…" Mizuho's voice shook. As a key developer of the Excellence, she must've recognized the Grow Savior and Chronos—and who piloted them.
"Alright, let's get started," I said. "All units, hold position."
"Understood," the Ws replied.
I left the comms open deliberately.
"Wait, that voice…" Raul stammered.
"No way…" Raji muttered.
They'd figured me out.
"Raul, can you hear me?" I called.
"!?"
"Hand over your unit. The Ladybird's other frames too."
"A-Axel-san!?" Raul gasped.
"That's right. Mizuho caught on quicker, though."
I switched the comms to include video.
"Been a while. Since our last call, right?"
"Why… why are you working with DC remnants!?" Raul demanded.
"DC remnants?"
Right, in the original, they initially mistook me for a DC holdout.
"Call it what you want. Doesn't change what you need to do."
"Why, Axel-san!? Fiona—my sister—was in that unit! Why'd you shoot her!?"
Raul's anguished cry stung, but I pushed the pain aside. No time for guilt.
"You've got two choices: surrender the Excellence or fight me. Either way, the outcome's the same. Choose. If you comply, I guarantee your safety. Resist, and the next shot hits the cockpit."
"Damn it…" Raul growled.
"That's enough, Raul," Raji interjected. "We have to accept his terms."
"Raji!?"
Raul's disbelief was palpable.
"Calm down. They've got four mass-produced Ashsaviors and Axel's custom unit. We're hopelessly outmatched."
"But he shot Fiona!"
"She's unconscious, not dead. We need to focus on surviving. As long as we're alive and the units are intact, we can continue our research, even if it means starting over."
"!?"
"I'll talk to him," Raji said. "Axel-san, you meant it about guaranteeing our safety, right?"
"Yeah. I don't want to hurt people I've got history with."
"Then—"
Before Raji could finish, a blip appeared on my radar.
Here it comes!
"Ugh!" Raul yelped.
A shockwave erupted from the east, kicking up a dust cloud.
"What the hell is that!?" Raul shouted, checking his monitor.
There it was—Duminas, its crab-spider form unmistakable.
"…Three detected… one unusable… two usable…"
Its voice somehow reached us, despite no open channel. The "three" likely referred to the Time Flow Engines in Chronos and the two Excellences. The "unusable" one was mine, shut down.
As if on cue, the Excellences' Time Flow Engines began resonating.
"What's happening?" Raul asked.
"The Time Turbine—it's spiking on its own!?" Fiona's voice—awake now.
"Raji-san, this reaction…" Mizuho said.
"Time particles leaking? No, could that thing be causing it!?" Raji realized Duminas was behind it.
I held my breath, watching. Transfer to the other world, now!
But then, my monitor showed something unbelievable.
"No way… a Federation unit here!?"
A single mass-produced Gespenst Mk-II stood, aiming its Mega Beam Rifle at Raul and Fiona. Part of a Tesla Labs recapture force? It must've pegged the Excellences' resonating engines as the cause and planned to stop them by force.
"Tch! Accelerate—move!"
I activated the Accelerate Spirit Command, darting between Raul and Fiona's units.
"Psychokinesis Field, full power!"
Pouring my Level 10 Psychokinesis into the T-LINK System, I deployed the thickest field possible. A jarring impact shook the Grow Savior as the beam hit.
"I made it," I breathed.
The field had blocked the Mega Beam Rifle. The attacking Gespenst was already blown apart by a Gun Rapier from one of my Ashsaviors.
"Axel… san?" Fiona's voice came through, groggy from waking.
"Why!?" Raul stammered, confused by my betrayal and sudden protection.
A white light burst from Fiona's unit.
The transfer!
I pulled back quickly.
"R-Raji-san, Unit 1's output!" Mizuho cried.
"120… 160… 180… breaking 200 and still climbing!?" Raji reported.
"It's going critical!?" Mizuho gasped.
"Fiona's unit is damaged—it can't handle that output!" Raji warned.
"Fionaaaaa!" Raul screamed.
His Excellence began glowing white too.
"What!? My unit's output is spiking too!?" Raul said.
"Raul, stop the Time Turbine!" Raji ordered.
"Can't! The turbine and unit are unresponsive!"
"What!?"
"Raul, Fiona, eject!" Raji urged.
"No good. It's completely out of control," Fiona said weakly.
"Emergency overrides aren't working either," Raul added.
"Then I'll use the E-Limit to shut down ET-OS!" Mizuho tried.
"I already tried—it's totally unresponsive!" Raji replied.
Fiona's voice cut through their panic.
"M-Mizuho… take care of Raul. He's… kinda hopeless sometimes…"
"Fiona-san, what are you saying!?" Mizuho cried.
"Raji… our research… you have to…" Fiona trailed off.
"I won't let you finish that sentence! We'll recover you!" Raji shouted.
The Ladybird moved to retrieve Raul and Fiona's units.
"Axel-san… I don't know why you're here… but thank you for saving us. That's why I—"
Before Fiona could finish, the white light from the Excellences surged, engulfing everything in a blinding flash.
"…They're gone," I said.
When the light faded, the Excellences, Ladybird, and Duminas had vanished.
At least I'd nailed the original story's flow. We'd meet again in that other world.
"All units, mission failed. Return to Tesla Labs."
Chapter 67.5: The Last Stand
"Captain Barison, radar contact. Five units," a mass-produced W reported.
Barison, patrolling Tesla Labs' perimeter, frowned.
"A recapture force already? The Federation's moving fast. All units, prepare for combat. Rykeios' transfer prep is underway at Tesla Labs—we can't let them through."
"Understood," the Ws replied.
"Losing those mass-produced Ashsaviors to Axel's team hurts," Barison muttered.
As an Ashsavior pilot himself, he knew their superiority over the newer El Eins in nearly every metric. He'd always been curious about the Sword Breaker Axel once used, though.
"Captain, Gespenst Mk-III detected. It's the Beowulfs," a W reported.
A chill ran down Barison's spine, like ice down his back.
"The Beowulfs?"
Their indiscriminate destruction was infamous across Shadow Mirror.
"…So this is it. I wanted to see that other world," Barison said.
Saying it aloud forced him to face his end. He'd joined the military to survive, linked up with DC remnants, and followed a friend from the academy into Shadow Mirror. When they rebelled against the Federation, he'd stayed, partly because his family died due to corrupt politicians' shoddy construction projects.
"Beowulf… no, Kyosuke-senpai. You're not getting through," Barison said, aiming his Halberd Launcher at the Gespenst Mk-III on his monitor.
"All units, engage! Don't let them reach Tesla Labs!"
Character Stats: Axel Almer
Level: 24
PP: 60
Melee: 202
Ranged: 220
Skill: 212
Defense: 209
Evasion: 237
Accuracy: 259
SP: 334
Ace Bonus: SP Boost (Consumes SP to enhance Slime performance)
Growth Type: All-Rounder/Special
Terrain Adaptability:
Air: S
Land: S
Sea: B
Space: A
Spirit Commands:
Accelerate (SP 4)
Effort (SP 8)
Focus (SP 16)
Direct Hit (SP 20)
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Skills:
EXP Up
SP Boost (SP Up Lv.9 & SP Recovery & Focus)
Psychokinesis Lv.10
Attacker
Gunfight Lv.9
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Kill Count: 87