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While Rapi and Neon were sorting out the situation in the Outer Rim, Marian, Suri, and Eternity were dealing with their own problems.
Suri ducked behind a dumpster before pulling out her assault rifle. "What the heck is a Tyrant-Class Rapture doing down here?!"
Marian clicked her tongue as strands of her silver hair smacked her in the face. She quickly tied it into a bun, pinning it in place with a few skewers from the snacks they had earlier. Then she pulled out her submachine gun and pointed it at the Rapture. "A better question is how that Rapture is still alive. We killed it."
An eerie laughter echoed from the hulking humanoid Rapture. "Yes. I died. It was quite painful, Human Imposter." Chatterbox grinned and rolled his neck. "You and Commander Hoopa were very thorough."
"Tch." Marian quickly swept her violet eyes across the surroundings.
They had been intercepted halfway across the city on the way back to the elevator, almost as if the Rapture was waiting for them.
Not only that, but there were a lot of bystanders around since it was the middle of the day.
Eternity was preoccupied with getting the bystanders to safety, so Marian and Suri had to buy time until she was back.
But there was a problem.
Chatterbox wasn't alone.
Standing at the Raptures side was a woman with tan skin, glowing blue hair, and gold metallic armor covering her body, a long tail extending from her back with a sharp blade.
Indivilia tapped her fingers against her metal plating and said, "So this is the one who was supposed to become Modernia." She stared at Marian and said, "Interesting. She's different from the other Human Imposters."
Suri, still hidden in cover, looked over at Marian. "...Got any idea what they're talking about, Mari?"
Marian paused. "...No."
It wasn't a lie.
Marian didn't know what they were talking about.
...But she had already been feeling strange.
It didn't make sense.
Marian KNEW that she was from the Silver Gun Squad. Her clothes and equipment also all had Elysion branding.
...But she didn't remember ever being in Elysion. Or how she got on the air transport ship at the beginning with Commander Hoopa. Not only that...
She hadn't worn it for a while.
But her tie had '01' on it.
Like 'Product 01,' the same naming scheme that Missilis used.
Then there was the fact that Commander Hoopa had been able to overwrite her corruption just by talking to her... and how she hadn't felt anything like the corruption since then...
Indivilia's tail swayed behind her and she said, "Well, I suppose later is better than never." She let out a wicked smile and said, "Would you like to come freely? Or do we have to-"
A burst of assault rifle fire.
Suri deliberately attacked while Indivilia was talking, firing right at her eyes.
"Useless."
Indivilia laughed as her tail moved faster than the eye could see, deflecting the bullets.
But-
"Commander's right." Suri laughed. "Raptures really can't think like humans, huh?"
Indivilia narrowed her eyes. "You Human Imposter dare-"
Marian immediately attacked with her SMG, spraying bullets at Indivilia.
Like with Suri, they were all deflected.
Indivilia looked confused and said, "Is this a last stand? A token resistance-"
"Now, Mari!" Suri's assault rifle glowed a golden light and then shot a single bullet towards the base of Indivilia's tail. Shining Sun, the special ability of her assault rifle.
At the same time, Marian fired the last bullet in her magazine at Indivilia's collarbone, triggering her weapon's own special ability, Affection, amplifying its velocity and penetration power.
The attacks seemed random. And while they might have been devastating to a normal Nikke or Rapture, to a Heretic like Indivilia, it was just token resistance.
So the Heretic didn't bother evading or deflecting. Instead, she just stood there and laughed. "Pathetic. Your little toys won't- GRK!?"
A sound like crumpling steel- No. It WAS crumpling steel.
Due to the weight distribution from Indivilia's armor, the way she was standing, her tensed muscles...
Suri and Marian took advantage of all of it, taking a page from their Commander's playbook and forced a mechanical failure inside Indivilia's body.
Suri reloaded and glanced at Marian. "Raptures really don't know biology or basic physics around structural integrity, do they?"
Marian reloaded as well, keeping her eyes on Chatterbox, who hadn't moved at all. "No. They don't."
===
"You...!" Indivilia crumpled to one knee. "What trickery is this?!"
She was a Heretic-Class Rapture. One with a ridiculous regeneration factor. Normal wounds should heal in seconds... WOULD heal in seconds.
But Indivilia could feel it.
Her internal systems had imploded. Her bones were fractured and shredded a thousand different ways. Her tail's fluid ligaments were interlocked and jammed. Not only that, but her flesh was trying to heal it, but failing. Instead of fixing it, all it did was compress it and make the situation worse.
Chatterbox laughed and said, "You underestimated them. I warned you. The Human Imposters under the Real Human Commander Hoopa were different."
Indivilia gnashed her teeth. "Silence! Are you going to just do as your name suggests, or are you going to fight?! The Queen wants that one!" She glared at Marian.
Chatterbox laughed again and said, "I'm a simple Tyrant-Class Rapture, oh Great Heretic. If they can send you to your knees, then the moment I move, I fall as well."
Indivilia could tell.
That Chatterbox was making fun of her. Laughing and mocking her with impunity.
Even though he had helped supply the Nikkes to restore her body after breaking free from that human facility, the entire time, Chatterbox had been speaking with a glib tongue.
And now, when she was down, instead of attacking or even causing mayhem to defeat the other humans, that Chatterbox was just standing there?!
"You...!" Indivilia gnashed her teeth harder, feeling her molars crack.
This was the Ark.
This was the heart of Mother's enemy. The homebase.
The mission was originally to retreat, but since she felt a strange resonance, Indivilia had rerouted along with Chatterbox to determine the source.
And that was when they found the two Human Imposters, and the one who was supposed to become Modernia.
Multiple objectives could be fulfilled here and now.
Indivilia didn't know how they had disabled her, but it was temporary. Her body was already starting to repair itself.
Even so, Chatterbox was more than enough to deal with those two Human Imposters. And if not, to cause mayhem since so many humans were around, staring in panic.
...That white-haired Nikke who had flown off might be a concern, but there was plenty of time until that one returned.
So...
A faint chill ran down Indivilia's spine.
A sudden understanding.
...It had been easy. Too easy.
Although Chatterbox had supplied Indivilia with Nikke bodies to recover, there hadn't been any cores.
And Chatterbox had been the one who led the way, saying that he was familiar with the human's pathways.
And now... while she was crippled and injured, he was just standing there smiling. Not attacking, not moving. Just watching-
No.
Waiting.
Indivilia felt a strange emotion. Something she hadn't felt even when facing those powerful Nikkes who had destroyed her body in the past.
A feeling like something cold, gripping her core.
"Y-You... Chatterbox! Fight them! While I recover!"
A last test. A command to see if he would listen.
But...
"Mm. So this is all the current Queen is capable of. In that case." Chatterbox laughed, his grin widening. "I quit."
After that, he lunged at Indivilia.
Indivilia screamed and tried to move, but before she could, Chatterbox tore into her.
The last thing she experienced was Chatterbox's eyes flashing an ominous violet hue before everything turned black.
===
Marian watched as Chatterbox consumed the unknown Heretic.
Suri looked panicked and said, "Shouldn't we be doing something about this, Mari?!"
"It's fine." Marian smiled. "You'll see."
A faint intution. And the same reason why she hadn't fired on Chatterbox when he reappeared.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'LL SEE?! What is this, Dragon Ball Z?!" Suri ripped her visor off and stared at Marian with frantic eyes. "Are you going to let that Tyrant-Class Rapture power up just for a better fight?! Are you crazy?!"
Marian laughed and said, "No. Not that. Just watch. Really."
It was a gory scene. Chatterbox tore into Indivilia's body, ripping it to shreds and devouring it. But as he did, the bloody crimson light across his body slowly shifted into a dark violet hue. At the same time, his hulking humanoid body slowly compressed, shifting from 'humanoid' to just 'human.'
And by the time Chatterbox crushed Indivilia's skull and devoured her core, he looked completely human. A handsome face that looked vaguely like Hoopa's, flowing black hair... The only signs that he wasn't an ordinary human were his ashy gray skin and pointed teeth, along with his glowing violet eyes.
"Ah. Aaah. Ah. Hm..." A smooth and suave voice, completely different from the grating one he had early echoed. "So this is how it feels to be 'human.'" Chatterbox chuckled and then swept his hand out, causing his flesh to ripple before covering himself with black armor.
Suri immediately scrambled back and raised her assault rifle. "HOW ABOUT NOW!? DO WE FIRE NOW?!"
Marian shook her head. Instead, she walked forward and tilted her head, looking at Chatterbox. Then she said, "...Back then. When Commander killed you." She giggled. "He corrupted you too, didn't he?"
Chatterbox grinned and ran a hand through his black hair. "Corrupted? No. More like... inspired." He laughed and said, "Rather than a Queen who could have conquered this world decades ago but refrained... I think a human who welcomes even Raptures under the umbrella of humanity is more fun, isn't it?"
Marian giggled.
The nearby Ark citizens who were brave enough to stay and watch the entire scene froze.
But then cheers erupted from them.
"As expected of The Valiant!"
"His prowess is so great even Raptures turned coat!"
"Take that, you metal monsters!"
Suri slowly blinked, turning to look at the reactions of the Ark citizens. Then she murmured, "What kind of fucking propaganda machine does the Central Government have?"