“Special Ensign, the time is now 0900. You may commence the operation.”
“…Roger that.”
The flat, mechanical voice echoed inside the cockpit.
Whether it came off as lifeless or atmospheric probably depended on the person listening.
Me? I was in the “atmospheric” camp.
Rumor had it that in some divisions, you got your own personal navigator capable of reporting on the situation in real time. In our trial unit, however, nobody had anything like that.
Honestly, I’d never trained with a real-time operator feeding me orders or practiced coordinating with other units. Even if someone was assigned to me, something told me I wouldn’t be able to keep up. In any event, I preferred the cold precision of a machine’s voice over a human one, so I had no plans to get a personal navigator anytime soon.
Besides, I was still a barely trained student. Sudden chatter could throw off my concentration, which was why our comms were set up so I couldn’t even talk to other units.
The only exceptions were HQ and an engineer stationed in the hangar named Mogami, who monitored me and the mech. If anything went wrong, I would hear from one of them.
But right now, I had no messages from HQ. Nothing from Mogami, either.
In other words, the operation had officially begun.
“All right. Let’s do it.”
This was my second time in actual combat. No—actually, if last time was just considered a trial run, then this was my first real battle. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. But at the same time, I could feel a strange excitement bubbling up inside me.
It’s not like I enjoy risking my life in combat… But hey, if you end up getting reborn into a world with giant robots, you’d be a fool not to pilot one, right?
Craving peace but grinning on the battlefield… Yeah, I didn’t quite get myself, either. I’d have to leave the psychoanalysis for later, though.
Right now, I had a job to do.
“This is Special Ensign Kawakami of Task Unit 2099. Commencing operation on schedule.”
The monitor showed a stretch of beach. Normally quiet and peaceful, it was currently swarming with all kinds of monsters making landfall.
There were…well, a lot of them.
Even though we had our own forces deployed, if those things managed to organize themselves, we’d be in serious trouble. They’d probably even be able to wipe us all out despite our superior numbers.
That was how dangerous monsters were.
But this wasn’t some sports match. It was war—kill or be killed.
So there was no reason to wait around for the enemy to get ready.
“Target confirmed.”
There was no such thing as cowardice or dishonor here. Preemptive strikes were fair game. My sights were set on the big ones. They’d just swum across the Sea of Japan and were likely exhausted.
Sorry to spring this on you when you’re tired, but I’ve got a job to do!
“Moving to eliminate!”
I jumped into the air and fired a round straight at the biggest guy in front of me—a proper hello.
“Bweh!”
“…?!”
The huge beast exploded with a pitiful death cry. The others watched its remains collapse before finally realizing they were under attack, then all at once unleashed a barrage in the direction the shell had come from—my location just a moment ago.
The distance between us was about seven kilometers. My shells flew at roughly Mach 2, so they took about ten seconds to hit. The monsters’ return fire, however, came in at around Mach 1, so it would take close to twenty seconds for their attacks to reach their target.
Twice as long, sure, but it was still just twenty seconds. That was more than fast enough to kill not only Yoichi-type mechs but also Kusanagi-type ones.
“Which is why your tactics made sense. But that’s all about to change!”
A Yoichi-type mech, which focused on firepower, wouldn’t have been able to dodge the monsters’ return fire.
A Yatsufusa type, which prioritized mobility, might have dodged it, but it lacked the power to take down a large monster in a single shot.
A Kusanagi type, which had average firepower and mobility, would have been blown away without being able to either attack or evade.
If evasion wasn’t an option, then what about defense? Long story short, it was impossible.
Fending off an attack from a single monster might have been doable, but when you had volleys coming in from multiple monsters? There wasn’t a suit of armor or defensive system out there that could handle that.
So you couldn’t dodge, and you couldn’t defend against it. That left only one outcome: The brave sniper who had managed to take out one of the larger monsters—which were the backbone of the enemy forces—would end up vaporized by the counterattack.
Everyone knew that. That was the rule of engagement. Until now.
Today, that rule had been shattered by a certain lunatic who’d built a mech that combined Yatsufusa’s agility with Yoichi’s firepower, surpassing them both.
“Sorry, but I’m not over there anymore.”
Dodging wasn’t even necessary; I simply wasn’t where the monsters had targeted.
“Raaah!”
“Roooar!”
They were screaming and firing at empty air.
And they’d left themselves wide-open.
“Talk about spoiled for choice.”
“Brp!”
Second shot. Just as planned, I took out the second-largest one.
“That’s it for the thirty-meter class. Next up, the twenty-fives and twenties.”
Bigger meant stronger. So far, I’d been able to move and fire simultaneously, keeping my enemies from retaliating, but I couldn’t count on that lasting forever. They might adapt.
That was why I had prioritized eliminating the biggest potential threats, just in case.
Not that the twenty-five- or twenty-meter ones were pushovers. One hit from them would still kill me. I couldn’t afford to get complacent.
If I wanted to survive, I had to take them down while I still could.
“Don’t worry, I’ll make it quick!”
“Bwam!”
“Doo-doo-doo!”
“Wraaah!”
Maybe they hadn’t caught up with my movements yet; their return fire was still wildly off target. I just kept attacking.
“No way this latest model’s going to lose! Let’s gooooo!”
“Kadoom!”
“Come and get some!”
“Dwooh!”
Jump, shoot, strafe, get another round off mid-fall. Touch the ground for a split second, then jump again and shoot. Scatter my shots all around. And repeat.
Honestly, even I could tell I was getting a little manic. If I watched the footage or listened to my voice later, I’d probably roll around on my bed in pure embarrassment.
But I couldn’t stop moving. The moment I stopped, I’d be dead.
I used to be a normal student… How the hell did I end up like this…?
That day, that moment, that place—I’d chosen to join the military to survive. Had it been the right decision or a terrible mistake?
Well…I’m still alive, at least. So for now, I’ll call it the right one.
I stayed sharp, dodging the monsters’ increasingly accurate shots, and fired back.
“Your aim’s off!”
“Kabrah!”
Land. Jump again—no issues with the legs. No damage from the recoil. A bit of lag when reloading shells, but not enough to be a problem. Honestly, that’s on me. I need more practice. So basically…
“No issues overall.”
They say that when you start thinking about how you can keep going, you’re already in danger. But I’ll be fine. I’ve got backup.
I wasn’t trapped in an enclosed space, and I wasn’t fighting alone.
In fact, the allies around me weren’t rookie pilots. They were seasoned veterans with way more experience than me.
Right… I’ve only been at this for a few months.
Even as I dodged and weaved through the battlefield, my thoughts drifted back to that day not so long ago.
The day that had changed everything for me, Keita Kawakami.
The day my fate was sealed.