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"...It really does feel like I'm out adventuring in an open world RPG, huh?" I rested my hand on my sword hilt and took a look around at the vast open fields.
The 5th Weapons Depot was quite a distance from the Outpost. On foot, it would take a week or so.
Ideally, we would use a vehicle... but considering we were headed through hostile territory... and said territory hadn't seen human activity for decades, if not more, we would have to clear the way.
Which was what Laplace was doing now.
"Hm, hm, hm~" Laplace used her blaster and carefully leveled the terrain as we advanced. It was slow, but steady. Accumulated ground.
As we moved, Drake looked around, confused. Then she glanced at me, "Commander. Are you really a Demon Lord or something? I don't feel any malice."
Shifty's voice echoed over the comms. "Confirmed! No Rapture readings... within a two kilometer radius? It's really weird! It's like they're actively avoiding you!"
"Huh." I rubbed my chin. "What, do I have passive Holy Protection or something? Or running a repel?"
I was expecting random encounters from Raptures left and right. But they were oddly staying distant. I could see them in the distance, but none of them were approaching me. Just... watching.
Husk-Class Raptures, Servant-Class Raptures... even a couple Master-Class Raptures.
Considering how much they outnumbered us in general, it wasn't a surprise to see them all in the distance. But it WAS a surprise to see them all KEEP that distance.
Rapi tilted her head, scanning the horizon. "...Strange. This isn't standard Rapture behavior."
Suri adjusted her visor and scanned the surroundings as well. "I have visual. Just like Shifty said, they're maintaining the two kilometer radius."
Marian hummed. "Maybe it's because our Commander is wearing equipment made out of Rapture components?"
A silence fell over the group.
Then, almost like they planned it, everyone glanced at me.
I blinked. "What? That CAN'T be it, right? I mean..." I glanced at my armor.
It was a matte gray color. Kind of similar to the Rapture plating hue. But it was also reprocessed and reforged. Then my weapons were all reforged plating too.
"...It SHOULD just be metal at this point."
Drake laughed. "How villainous! To wear the skin of your slain enemies... Just as expected of my Commander!"
Laplace's eyes lit up. "Ooh! So it's like crafting, right? You take monster drops and make better equipment!"
Rapi sighed. "You two are taking this way too lightly..."
Marian chuckled and said, "Live a little, Rapi. It's not like we're in danger, right?"
Rapi pursed her lips. "You say that, but this is incredibly strange. Never in all my deployments... and even Red Hood's deployments have Raptures acted this way. Not to mention the fact that they also weren't like this in our first few missions with the Commander too."
I hummed, rubbing my chin. "That's true. But..."
A thought came to mind.
I pulled out my phone and then texted Raptilion.
---
[Chat with Raptilion]
H: Hey, Friend. Would you happen to know why Raptures are avoiding me?
R: Friend! It's been some time!
R: Are you out exploring the Surface?
H: That's right. I'm with my Squad, and we're heading to reclaim an old arms depot. But the Raptures here are keeping their distance. Not that we mind, but it's strange.
R: Well... Wolfie and his friends have been spreading the word about you. Maybe they're thinking if you're worth following too?
---
I blinked, reading that last message. "What?"
Rapi glanced over. "Is something the matter, Commander?"
"No. Just... One second." I gave a half-hearted response and looked at the chat again.
---
[Chat with Raptilion]
H: How do you know that?
R: Well, they told me! Wolfie and his friends are a bit different now since we last met, you know? Your theory of convergent evolution seems to be correct!
H: What?
R: Here!
---
A series of pictures appeared in the chat box.
The first was Wolfie and the other wolf-like Raptures.
The second was them again, but a bit different. Sleeker, and glowing with a violet core instead of crimson.
And the last ones were... Well, they looked like Sentai Heroes or Kamen Riders. And they were all giving thumbs ups.
---
[Chat with Raptilion]
H: Raptilion, buddy, pal. What the heck am I looking at?
R: Surprising, isn't it? Although Wolfie and the others can't quite talk fluently yet, they can talk a bit! They said that they adapated into a form to better serve their King.
H: King? Who's that?
R: Why you of course, Friend!
---
I came to a complete stop, staring at the pictures. Then I stared at Raptilion's last message.
Rapi noticed and walked over. "...Commander?" She leaned over and peered at my phone. "What's the... Hm?"
Marian walked over too. "What's the matter, Commander? Why are you and Rapi... Huh? Are those... Raptures?"
I quickly closed my messages and said, "My life just got a lot more complicated, it seems. We'll talk more later when we have a secure location. Shifty, you might want to NOT be on the line when we have said talk."
Shifty's voice crackled over the comms. "Oh no. Is this one of those 'if I know I might get killed and turned into a Nikke' kind of talks again...?"
"Yes."
"...L-L-Let me know when you plan to have that talk..."
"Will do. But for now..." I looked up at the Raptures in the horizon again. "Hm... I was planning to use a virus, but it seems like I might not need to after all."
I had just gone with the flow in recruiting Wolfie and the others by treating them like dogs. But it seemed like that had a ripple effect on the Raptures.
My phone buzzed again. Probably Raptilion. But I decided not to look at it for now.
Shifty was here, and while I had triple-checked to make sure the line I gave Raptilion was secure, it was possible that there might be some means of wire-tapping my phone from her side.
Not Shifty, of course. She was definitely in the same boat as us at this rate.
But I still wasn't quite sure of the capabilities of the Central Government.
Before, I was a bit more carefree about it. But considering recent events... and the fact that there were definitely at least one other party on the boardgame of political intrigue I was stuck in, I decided to be cautious.
Now-
'Hm?'
A gaze from far above.
I quickly looked up. And for a split second, I thought I saw something lilac in the clear blue sky. A flash of light purple.
But it was gone before I could process it.
...Was I seeing things?
No. 'Something' had been looking at me. At us. But it didn't seem to be hostile at least.
"Commander, Commander!" Laplace waved at me and said, "Can we build a house here? Like a base? A true hero deserves a proper resting area, right?"
Drake laughed. "Yes! A fortress of doom! It would be ideal for such a villainous party!"
"We're heroes, Drake!"
"Heroes can be villains too!"
"No they- I mean, 'technically...' Ugh! Just help me cut down some trees or something!" Laplace huffed and then jogged off to a nearby forest.
Drake followed after her, cackling all the way.
Rapi watched them and looked at me. "Should we just... let them do that, Commander?"
"Let them have their fun. We do need to set up outposts anyway."
Rapi glanced at Drake and Laplace.
Both of them looked to be in a competition on who could cut down the most trees first.
"...Well." Rapi chuckled. "...I guess deforestation is a very human activity..."
I waved my hand and said, "Don't worry about it. Humans have been shoved underground for almost a century now. Deforestation is the least of the planet's concern."
The priority of the planet's concern would probably be the hypothetical Jenova-esque Rapture Queen hidden somewhere in this world or in the skies...
Still needed to confirm a few theories before proceeding with anti-planetary weaponry...
But in any case...
I took a look up and said, "It's getting dark soon anyway. Shall we set up camp while those two grab us lumber?"
Suri spoke up and said, "I'll set up the perimeter and decoys."
I paused. "Decoys?"
Suri paused too. "...Yes. Decoys. Commander... do you not know about those?"
I blinked. "Why would we need decoys? We want Raptures to attack us. That gives us more spare parts to work with."
"..." Suri was quiet. Then she glanced at Rapi and said, "Is... the commander always like this?"
Rapi sighed. "...Our Commander is fond of crafting and utilizing every resource at hand."
Marian nodded. "I can attest to that! Like how he made coilguns and a makeshift drone for recapturing the power plant!"
"...What?"