Story Reader / Main Story / 32 To the Galaxies / Story
My—supplies!!!
In the Church of Machina's hall, Zavier clutches his head in despair while Cervantes stands to the side, methodically counting their lost supplies.
...Fuel depleted... Engine propellant depleted...
Waaaaaah—!!!
Insulation materials depleted... Fiber structures depleted... Composite materials depleted...
Ugh—AHHHHH—!
My supplies! My materials! My resources!! My starship—
He clutches his head in agony.
Eek—what's going on here?
Nanami bounces down from upstairs and tilts her head at the chaotic scene in the hall.
I'll fight the Red Tide to the death—!!!
Charge!! Fight to the death—!!
The mutated Red Tide has devoured several nearby warehouses where supplies were stored...
Mmm-mph! Mmm! Mmph!
Having screwed his head back onto his neck, Zavier looks utterly defeated.
Calculation complete.
The warehouses corrupted by Red Tide contained mainly consumable supplies that Zavier had collected and stored for the starship.
A holographic inventory of lost supplies materializes in the center as Cervantes projects it.
If it's just fuel we need, maybe we could find it somewhere else?
It's not just the consumable supplies... Actually... actually, our biggest loss is... the reactor.
？
Why in the world would you hide the reactor in the outer ruins?
...I put it there because I was worried about accidents during the experiments! Who in their right mind would keep a reactor at home?!
How was I supposed to know that damned thing would burst in from exactly that way...
Hmm, the reactor situation sure is nerve-wracking. If my memory serves me correctly, Zavier and I salvaged that one from some abandoned research facility a long time ago...
How much do we have left?
Let's see...
He skims through the list Cervantes prepared.
Sigh... We don't even have enough fuel left to circle the Earth once.
It's clear that, with the amount of fuel left, there is no time the starship will ever make it into space.
Well...
Let's stick to the original plan and head to the Arctic Route Union first.
Aerospace City is located in the part of the Arctic Route Union that's close to Kowloong...
Oh, right! Aerospace City! That's where the magnetic acceleration track is!
Yes, Sage. Aerospace City has てぃs magnetic acceleration track called "The Bifrost" that's powered by a cold fusion reactor.
Furthermore, Aerospace City was responsible for launching the Dawn-III spacecraft. It was also where Eden I, the predecessor to Babylonia, was developed and technically validated.
We should be able to launch our starship if we go there.
Yulia currently rules the city. Hanying once helped her drive out Schulz, so I believe there should be room for cooperation between the Church of Machina and Aerospace City.
Oh! A cold fusion reactor! Now that's something!
Zavier becomes excited once again.
The idea of going to Aerospace City is unanimously approved.
With ongoing modifications hastily wrapped up, the starship embarks on its one-way journey.
With its engines roaring, the starship finally emerges from the cavern beneath the scorched earth and breaks through to daylight.
Optical camouflage system activated, structural force field engaged, engines running steady, cruise mode initialized...
The massive starship glides low over human ruins.
As the thermal shields lower one by one over the portholes, Nanami, now sitting by the window, peers through the gaps at the world outside.
The countdown ticks away beside her as she feels the pull of destiny.
She knows exactly what that future holds.
The mechanoids remaining on Earth bring an even greater catastrophe upon human civilization.
In that future, the soul-bearing mechanoid girl exiles herself to space, giving humanity its only chance of survival.
I think you need no reminder, Nanami, but...
I'm you from the future.
Giving up her freedom, she became a central AI that leads the spaceship and all the awakened machines on a permanent journey through the infinite universe.
...
Everything is moving toward the future that "fate" has predetermined.
The Gray Raven Commandant enters the Hetero Tower, never returns, and the Red Tide engulfs everything.
The only change is the mysterious girl who appears in the Red Tide, except Nanami had no luck trying to find out the Gray Raven Commandant's whereabouts from her.
An ever-winter will descend next—and if the mechanoids are left unchecked on Earth...
A torrent of steel from her memory once again submerges humanity's last stronghold.
Does it really have to end like this?
A tiny voice keeps echoing in her heart.
Does she really have no other choice but to push that button that leads to fate and submit to an inevitable end?
Does she really have no choice but to abandon Earth, forsake everything about humanity, and lead the mechanoids into exile among the stars?
But what can she, in her current state... what can she possibly leave behind for this scarred planet?
Nanami stares blankly at her own shadow, lost in thought.
...Sage?
Woah! Haicma! I swear you never make a noise when you walk!
You were just too focused, Sage.
I was just going through stuff in my head!
Mechanoids and humans can definitely get along well! Arcana is wrong...
Nanami pouts, her enthusiasm visibly deflated.
Did you have another argument with Arcana?
I know she's just looking out for the mechanoids, but I still don't like the way she puts things.
Always going on about how humans are the mechanoids' greatest enemies, and how humans will definitely start attacking mechanoids and stuff... ugh... I don't want to hear any of that!
...I'm here to bring you up to speed about the Red Tide.
Haicma considers for a moment before steering the conversation in a different direction.
As the starship continues northward, we've found that most of the conservation areas we've encountered... have been consumed by the mutated Red Tide.
Have you come across any humans along the way...?
We've encountered several groups of migrating humans along the way, all heading toward the Arctic Joint Route.
Star managed to get some information out of them without revealing ourselves.
Babylonia has joined forces with the Forsaken and Akdilek's human forces and is continuing full-scale rescue operations for survivors on the ground.
The Punishing Virus in the mutated Red Tide keeps rising. The humans seem unable to enter the areas corrupted by the Red Tide, which are their former conservation areas.
...
To obtain samples for analysis, Spooner and I attempted to venture deep into the ruins the Red Tide had breached...
Haicma gently lowers her voice and leans close to Nanami's ear.
We rescued a group of semi-awakened mechanoids, and... humans trapped in the ruins.
Humans?! From ruins... surrounded by the Red Tide?
Yes, quite unbelievable, isn't it?
They dug downward to create a temporary safe zone. They were barely surviving with just a small filter unit and some serum.
When we arrived, some were already severely infected, but they were still alive and in surprisingly good spirits.
...Spooner and I kept this from Arcana. We're keeping them for the time being in the lowest level of the starship.
These humans showed no signs of aggression—
Bam!
A tremendous crash echoes from the bottom of the starship, followed by the sound of chaotic footsteps.
！！！
The Corrupted, their eyes burning red, slowly creep toward the corner.
W-why are these things here?! That's where the mechanoids keep their supplies, no?!
Oh no, Star—
Aya!
Uuuurgh— !!
The tiny robot desperately cranks its speaker to maximum volume, trying to draw the Corrupted's attention.
No, Aya, there are humans over there. Sage said to never do them any harm...
She wipes away her tears and turns to run toward the nearby mezzanine.
Hey! That way's a dead end—
—Dammit!
What are you doing?!
—The mechanoids took us in! We can't just turn our backs on them now!
A mechanoid is as good as dead if they get infected by the Punishing Virus! I still have one serum, I can—
Let me go. I can—
Before she can finish her sentence, Berna rushes out.
Watch out!
Without hesitation, she opens fire at the Corrupted.
Bam!
The outdated weapon proves ineffective against the Corrupted.
Enraged, it whirls around and charges at the humans—
Whoa! Why are these things here?!
Nanami's longsword precedes her voice.
Nanami's shield guards the girl next to her precisely as her nimble swordplay forces the Corrupted back step by step.
You bad boy... now fall!
The starship's floor panel opens, sending the Corrupted plummeting into the void below.
Phew, that was way too close. Thank goodness Nanami got here in time.
...
The young girl collapses to the ground, completely drained.
Thank you so much for earlier! Star would've gotten infected if it weren't for you!
Ohh, don't mention it...
That mechanoid suddenly burst out from over there... We didn't even have time to react...
Over there...
Trailblazer collected these supplies.
Trailblazer's scanning equipment hasn't been updated, which is why it wasn't able to detect mechanoids with low infection levels.
The Corrupted managed to sneak in during that time. They didn't cause too much damage, though, fortunately.
Gee, Lazer, that's super careless of you! We all would have been in serious trouble had the Punishing Virus made it into the Gray Tower...
After connecting the frame to the Gray Tower and thoroughly checking its interior systems, Nanami breathes a sigh of relief when nothing appears amiss.
Looks like we'll need more—and bigger—weapons on the starship...
Humm... Are you okay?
Star, who showed no signs of fear drawing the Corrupted away just now, comes running back while whimpering. She looks at Berna, who is still sitting where she fell.
...It's fine. We're just doing what we should.
We'll lose our temporary home ourselves if this starship ever gets destroyed...
The massive starship glides low over the city that humans once called home.
At some point, the mechanoids seem to have become less hostile toward the humans.
Having gotten a piece of mind from Nanami, all of the mechanoids—even Trailblazer, who was big on getting the humans out of the starship—softened their stance.
Aya's such a dummy! Star wins this round!
Uuurrrgghh—!
It's not because of the humans! Star is just that awesome!
Not all humans are bad...
Uuuurrrrggghhh—!
Okay, okay. I know, I know. I'm not saying all humans are good, either. I know what you're getting at here...
It's just... humans don't seem all that bad after all...
She steals a glance at Berna, who sits nearby, focused on her work.
Ahem... hey, human!
How did you modify that weapon last time?
Just made some minor adjustments, and my compatibility rating increased by 4.29%...
Ah, haha, I just noticed you seemed more comfortable with your left... mechanical arm? So I adjusted the grip angle slightly...
Comfortable...? What does "comfortable" mean?
Um, it's like... which mechanical arm do you use more often, the left one or the right one? Hmm...
Anyway... thanks.
Is this what you wanted to see, Sage?
Yes indeed! Just as Nanami said, humans and mechanoids can always get along well.
There weren't any humans on the starship I "saw" before. Gotta note down this difference...
Nanami hunches over her terminal to make a note...
A little effort every day goes a long way! I'm sure I'm going to change the world!
Sage... why are you so fixated on "change"?
Sagemachina will return to the Church, guiding us away from this broken earth to the end of stars.
For mechanoids, wouldn't this be a more fitting end?
But no one can deny that mechanical civilization arose from human civilization, Arcana.
Nanami looks up, her youthful face looking unexpectedly calm.
...
The fact that the Punishing Virus can infect mechanoids proves everything.
We can run all we want, but that's not going to stop the Punishing from showing up around us again, right?
I have seen it all, Arcana.
I can't tell you more, but... that's not the destination we're meant to reach.
Then why do you place all your hope in the Gray Raven Commandant?
Though I'm aware of Commandant's exceptional qualities, but—Commandant's still just an ordinary human.
Commandant is different, Arcana.
Commandant is bound by countless bonds and connects space-time and the universe itself, like an anchor point, or... perhaps a beacon?
We're now looking at another "possibility" precisely because Commandant exists...
Plus...
She turns her head, a mysterious smile playing on her lips.
You're the most special human ever, Commandant! Nanami likes you!
Struck by a pleasant thought, Nanami hums a tune as she skips merrily back to her cabin.
Abandoned by Earth, the girl sits quietly by the window as she speaks, occasionally stealing glances at the blue planet billions of light-years away.
But you still have a choice, Nanami... You can choose to not become me.
Hehe, Commandant!
I figured out a way to send video messages to your voicemail!
I don't really have anything special to say, just...
What are you up to right now, <phonetic=Nanami>Commandant</phonetic>?
Nanami did a special fortune-telling today, and it says you will definitely see this message!
Oh oh, looks like time's almost up! Let me say one last thing!
<phonetic=Nanami>Commandant</phonetic>, wait for <phonetic=me>Nanami</phonetic>!
I know things are not exactly looking hopeful, but I'll try my best to save humanity however I can—
Nanami...
