-1: 45
"Kuh. Fuck. That... fucker." Crow coughed as she performed a patchwork maintenance to fix her throat.
Jackal looked at her with worried eyes and said, "Are you alright, Leader?"
"Shut up. Let me think." Crow snapped at her and sat on an old cargo box.
They'd retreated back to the Outer Rim via a hidden escape tunnel.
But they had definitely gotten on Enikk's radar with that stunt.
'That Commander... isn't normal.'
Crow wasn't sure what it was. But she could sense it.
The way he looked at her. The immediate killing intent.
It was like he had read her mind in a single glance and knew without a doubt that she intended to destroy the Ark.
No hesitation. No words. Just pure killing intent- No, killing actions.
If she wasn't lucky... if Sixo hadn't intervened with that explosion and delayed Eternity...
Dead.
No ifs, ands, or buts about it.
And now that commander knew their faces.
Hers in particular.
Viper looked at Crow and said, "What do we do now?"
"...We lay low. For now."
Crow hated it. But that was all they could do.
Enikk knew they were hazards to the Ark. And that damned AI had definitely seen how they could fire on a human.
Best case scenario, they die.
Worst case scenario, they get wiped and reformatted by Syuen to obey like dogs.
"Commander Hoopa... a fucking stupid name. But that's on purpose isn't it, you fucker?"
Crow wasn't one to curse. She liked to be classier than that.
But considering what the FUCK had just happened...
A human preempting Nikkes from attacking him AND dodging their every attack because he read them like a book...
One who WOULD have killed them if he wasn't caught offguard by their hidden ally who nobody knew about...
"Dammit." Crow gnashed her teeth. "...We'll need to move that plan up."
Viper paused. "...You mean...?"
"Yeah." Crow spat on the ground, blood-colored coolant staining it. "Forget E.H. We're going through with cracking open the Ark."
Jackal bit her lip. "...Isn't that suicide? You SAW that guy. That was just by himself. If he has Nikke with him-"
"Then we just wait until he's away. Simple. You heard his speech, right?" Crow chuckled. "The bastard wants to be a hero. A knight fighting to reclaim the surface. So we'll let him. When he's out on a long campaign... when we're sure it's too late for him to come back in time to save everyone... we'll strike."
===
"You appear lost in thought, Commander Hoopa." Eternity's monotone voice echoed from beside me.
I blinked and glanced over. "A bit, yes."
"You may speak to me if you would like. Though I am not as efficient as Mother- As Lady Enikk, I should be able to aid in problem solving."
"Mm... Thanks. I'd like to think about it a bit more though."
"Understood." Eternity nodded, her white hair shifting as she stayed at my side.
Sirens blared in the distance as mass-produced Nikke descended on the scene to investigate.
I'd already been whisked away by Eternity, mostly to not draw attention to myself.
According to her, Enikk had ruled the incident as a terrorist attack by the Heavenly Ascension.
It wasn't completely accurate, but it likely wasn't INACCURATE either.
...This was definitely going to escalate tensions in the Ark.
Considering the speech I made earlier, and then the fact that I was attacked by Nikke...
Even if the attack on me wasn't publicized, the facts would clearly paint that some Nikke were rebelling against the status quo and intended to harm Humanity.
In short...
'This is a problem.'
Not for me, not necessarily.
After all, I was prioritizing reclamation of the Surface from the Raptures.
But considering how insular the Ark was...
'This could be civil war.'
Burningum was right, in a way. There was a VERY deeply entrenched fear of Nikke.
But he was wrong too, in a way. There was also a highly concentrated respect of the Goddesses of Victory. What Nikke embodied.
The problem wasn't that one or the other was higher in number.
The problem was that, in general, a majority of people simply wanted 'peace.'
But at this rate, that wouldn't be an option. And then the people in the middle who didn't have a strong opinion would be forced to pick a side.
And when that happened, people like me and that John Doe would become pillars that people swore allegiance to.
I'd seen this play out before.
After all, I was an American from the 2020s. Bipolarism... in every sense of the word. Though to be more accurate, 'extremism' was better.
An amplification of the people on either extreme side, not in number, but in conviction.
We hadn't reached that point yet in the Ark. But it might be soon at this rate.
'Ah. So that's why Burningum wants me to prove myself.'
In this stalemate, the only thing that could unite the Ark was proof that 'waiting' was no longer the status quo. That the world could change, giving humanity a lifeline once more instead of this insular refuge.
Hm.
'Come to think of it... I actually don't know much about the Rapture threat at all.'
I knew Raptures existed. I knew they were a mechanical threat. I knew they had some form of hierarchy.
But I didn't know how humanity lost. I didn't know what pushed humanity to this point. And I also didn't know what was so hard about taking back the surface.
'Either I'm missing critical intel... or the situation has drastically changed since I arrived here.'
Just from the way everyone talked about the Raptures, it gave off the impression that they were an inevitably. A gameover situation. That there was absolutely zero way for humanity to win, and that bringing the fight to THEM was impossible.
But I'd won.
Not the war, but certainly some battles. And not only that, but I'd also slowly started clearing out areas around the Outpost.
Raptures now actively feared approaching us. Only the extraordinarily reckless and mindless Husk-class Raptures drew near. But any that were higher class than that stayed clear.
Almost as if they could sense I was their demise.
Which, again, was strange.
It didn't line up with the intel I'd gotten from others about how Raptures were mindless killing machines.
I mean, I'd already proven otherwise with Raptilion and recruiting my small pack of Beast Decepticons- I mean, lupine Raptures.
But it WAS weird.
Then there was Chatterbox too...
"Hm... Hey, Eternity?"
"Yes, Commander Hoopa?" Eternity nodded her head slightly. "What would you like to discuss?"
"Just what exactly is stopping the Ark from rallying forces and reclaiming territory on the Surface?"
To me, it didn't seem like there were any issues. But if there weren't, people would have done it already.
Eternity tilted her head, as if processing the situation. Then she said, "Three main factors. First, the quantity of enemy Raptures is excessive. The ratio is at least a million to one."
Mm... that made sense. But judging from how the Raptures were reacting to my recent actions, it wasn't a dealbreaker. It seemed like the Raptures had hit a critical threshold of evolution where it was starting to break into factions due to developing sentience and sapience.
In short...
'I can pull a Three Kingdoms tactic.'
Recruiting from the enemy to rout those who we both were against...
The demo proved successful. Wolfie and the other wolf Raptures showed that.
"Second," Eternity said. "Corruption. Commander Hoopa is an exception upon exceptions. Most humans cannot face Nikke. Should any be corrupted, it would be a massacre."
Ah. Right.
I'd forgotten about that, but it was true. Corruption WAS a dead end in most people's eyes. If a Commander led a Nikke squad and then those Nikke were corrupted, everyone was dead.
"Third, and finally..." Eternity looked at me. "The Queen."
I paused. "...Queen? Wait. You're saying there's ACTUALLY a leader of the Raptures? Like, leader of the forces of darkness Demon Lord type of deal?"
...How much lore did I miss by skipping the story?!
Eternity blinked, tilting her head as if listening to a voice. Then she said, "...Mother says that you are currently not authorized to receive details. It would be troublesome for everyone if you knew. But she allowed me to confirm that there is a Queen."
I rubbed my chin as we kept walking. "A Queen..."
I'd been joking about being a Yuusha, and I was amused at people calling me 'the Valiant...'
But if there really was a Queen leading the Raptures...
"...No wonder. I guess I really do have to be the hero's party then."
Nikke... the game, that is. It was definitely a post-apocalypse gacha game with a grim-dark lore and a helpless commander who had to rely on his subordinates.
But that wasn't me.
In my eyes...
I chuckled. "Well. Guess this is the open world part of the game." I cracked my neck. "Time to be Cloud in Disc 2, I guess. We're leaving Midgar and exploring the world to hunt down Jenova."
Eternity tilted her head. "Cloud? Midgar? Jenova?"
"Ah, don't worry about it." I chuckled. "Just some inside jokes."
...Though considering a 'Queen' existed, the fact that humanity retreated underground... And just the general vibes of me being a 'Yuusha...'
'Is she in space or something? Or maybe a floating continent?'
That was usually how things went, right? In most gacha games too, I think.
Hm...
'Might need to ACTUALLY look into planet-cracking weaponry.'
The problem was that if the Raptures got ahold if that tech, we were screwed.
Maybe I should quietly research 'that' on the side. The trump card I had devised a long time ago for in the case I got isekai'd into another world and got the ability to control energy with willpower alone.
Note: Once again, look into what 'Alva Particles' actually are.
Eternity gave me a strange look. But she eventually nodded and said, "Understood."
We were getting close to the elevator now.
Was it because of the incident? The mass-produced Nikkes weren't guarding the elevator, leaving it empty.
Before we reached it though, Eternity spoke up. "Commander Hoopa. A query."
"Sure. Ask away, Eternity."
Eternity came to a stop and stared at me. Then she said, "...Would you consider me 'human' as well?"
"Huh?" I blinked. "Of course I would. You're here, right? Talking with me, asking questions... You clearly have your own will."
"Even though I am simply an autonomous vessel?"
"Aren't humans also autonomous vessels?"
Eternity tilted her head, as if mulling over my words. Then she nodded, a faint smile on her face. "I see. Thank you, Commander Hoopa."
"You're welcome. Now, I have to get going. Don't be a stranger. You should be able to get my phone number, right? Text me any time. You're Endless's sister, so we're family."
"Family..." Eternity slowly nodded. "Understood. I will... contact you."
I waved and walked into the elevator.
Now, to sort out what the heck we were doing next...
"Hello, Master."
"Huh?" I glanced over to see Neon standing on the other side of the elevator. "Neon?"