The reason for this change was unclear, but it was another reassurance for Koutarou.
“Things are going to get a little busy, Yurika,” he said.
He was worried about Yurika and looked over at her as he spoke.
“Yes, I’ll do what I can,” she answered.
“That’s the spirit. I’m counting on you.”
Fortunately, her expression was bright and willful. She was squeezing together every bit of courage to protect lives. While Koutarou was grateful for that, he did feel like he’d have to follow up on it later.
“You be careful too, Nana-san,” he continued.
“Oh, you’re worrying about me today?” Nana answered playfully. He normally never worried about her, so it was unusual for him to call out to her at times like these. While that was a sign of trust, it was disappointing, so she was happy to hear that he was worried about her now.
“If the Gray Knight shows up, you’re the first one he’ll go after,” Koutarou explained. He really was worried about Nana. Taking out the infantry protecting tanks and humanoid weapons was a basic tactic. Moreover, the Gray Knight’s powers exceeded human knowledge. Even Nana might lose her life if she was hit by the power of chaos.
Hearing the concern in his voice, Nana switched to a direct channel. “Don’t worry. Your angel will always protect you,” she whispered. She then changed back to the wireless channel and continued speaking. “If he shows up, I’ll send him packing. I’m not called a genius for nothing, you know.”
“I’m counting on you,” Koutarou answered.
“Yeah!” After that energetic answer, Nana cut the call.
Koutarou heard someone laugh.
“Hehe.”
It had come from Yurika. Since she was in War Emperor, she had heard what Nana had told Koutarou.
“What?” he asked.
“I was thinking that Nana-san has changed. She almost never shows others her defenseless side like that.”
That was a truth that only she knew. Nana had had a tough life since childhood. She had grown up without learning how to interact with people close to her. Yet she was very honest while interacting with Koutarou. She spoke her true feelings and acted selfishly. She didn’t hide her desires. Yurika thought it was wonderful that Nana was now able to do that.
“Then we’ll have to win this,” Koutarou stated.
“Yes!” Yurika answered energetically.
Protecting love and courage, and the dreams and hopes of children, was a magical girl’s job. Since her teacher had finally learned to act like a child sometimes, Yurika had to win no matter what.
There was a reason the fortress that the Imperial Army was holding had been breached: The enemy had used the trump card that they had been holding in reserve.
“Captain, what is that? It looks like people...” a soldier said.
“They’re moving through a series of transformations,” the captain answered. “Those aren’t people. They must be some kind of biological weapon.”
New enemies had appeared in front of the soldiers protecting the fortress. They were gray, undefined monsters. They appeared humanoid, but their movements were anything but human. Their limbs transformed as they walked, making them look simply uncanny.
“Captain, it’s no use! The lasers aren’t working!” the soldier reported.
“Bullets have mass, and that seems to work to some degree! Keep firing!” the captain ordered.
A large number of the gray monsters had appeared, and they advanced like they were shields for the Liberation Army, which was tailing close behind them. Not knowing how to handle them right away allowed the Imperial Army to be quickly pushed back. That then allowed the enemy to breach the gate, though the Imperial Army was managing to fight back somewhat. Lasers and beams, which the Imperial Army preferred, did little damage, but physical and close combat weapons were effective. Such attacks allowed them to push the enemy back. Explosives had an effect as well. Thanks to that, the Imperial Army still held the courtyard, but things were looking bad.
“Are they immortal?” a soldier asked.
“We can stop them but not take them out. At this rate...” the captain muttered.
No matter how many bullets the gray monsters were hit by, they just stood back up again. Explosives could blow their bodies to pieces, but those pieces just came back and stuck together like clay. In fact, it wasn’t even clear if the monsters next to one another were individuals, as sometimes two would merge into one or one would split into two. Fighting them felt completely pointless, as their numbers remained the same no matter what the Imperial Army did. Considering they were only slowly being pushed back, they were fighting well.
“Keep it together! Raise your heads! His Excellency the Blue Knight is on his way! Just hang on until then!” the captain said, encouraging his subordinates.
Knowing that reinforcements were en route was the only thing helping the soldiers maintain their morale. The fact that it was the Blue Knight, who had defeated Vandarion, helped even more. Even though Vandarion had surpassed human understanding, the Blue Knight had cut him down. And the soldiers believed that he could surely do the same this time.
However...His Excellency might not make it in time... the captain thought.
While the soldiers looked up to him, the captain feared the opposite would happen. Descending from orbit to the front line would lead to massive casualties. The Blue Knight would also have to fight those gray monsters at the same time, so it seemed unlikely that he could win. In other words, the captain feared that they would die here.
“I wouldn’t be so sure.”
An unfamiliar voice suddenly rang out. The captain looked over in the direction it came from and spotted a young girl looking up at him.
“A child?! How did you get in here?!”
The girl looked like she was still in her early teens, maybe even younger than a high schooler. It certainly wasn’t someone who should be on the battlefield.
“From above,” the girl answered.
“From above?! It’s dangerous here! You have to—”
“This is more important. Can you tell everyone to get down?” she interrupted. Her unusually calm behavior caught the captain’s attention, so he decided to ask more.
“What do you mean?”
“Um...in five seconds, Theia is going to open fire, so you should get down if you don’t want to die,” she answered, glancing at her watch as calmly as before.
But the captain couldn’t stay so calm. “Theia... Oh! You mean Her Highness?! Everyone, get down! Her Highness’s supporting fire is coming!” the captain shouted.
“A bombardment?! What kind of idiot would do that now of all times?!”