CLANG!!
The sharp sound of steel tore through the air as a massive blade traced a gleaming arc, cleaving the shining body of a mechanical creature in two.
The strike was so precise that the machine—mid-leap toward its target—had its systems shut down before it even touched the ground.
For a brief moment, sparks flickered from its damaged circuits, dancing in the air like metallic fireflies, before its heavy body exploded with a dull blast.
The impact kicked up a cloud of fine dust, mixing with the scent of burnt oil and iron.
The wielder of the sword was a woman with pale, yellowish-white hair that swayed in the wind like strands of silk illuminated by sunlight, while her eyes held an intense, icy blue hue.
She was extraordinarily beautiful—her beauty surpassing human limits, almost artificial in its perfection.
The outfit she wore could only be described as tattered. Technically, the only garment she had was a velvet-like cloth wrapped around her waist.
Large sections of her artificial skin were missing, revealing segments of black protective coating beneath. The removed layers were made of a rubber-like material and were most prominent on her arms and legs, though pieces were also missing from her torso and waist. The exposed areas resembled gloves, a sleeveless top, and shorts paired with thigh-high boots.
She moved cautiously, scanning her surroundings. Her eyes swept across everything, searching for any remaining movement from those mechanical creatures. Once she confirmed there were no more threats, she advanced toward a metallic object ahead.
At first glance, it looked like nothing more than an old vending machine. But the woman knew what it truly was.
With another sharp sound—CLANK!—she used her sword to force open the front panel.
Inside were various valuable materials and components.
According to data she had intercepted a few days earlier, those materials could be used to construct new YoRHa units.
They might not be compatible with older models like herself, but still… better to take them than leave them behind.
Within minutes, she gathered everything she could. When she finished, she secured the sword on her back and began to move away from the area.
She knew she didn't have much time. Destroying the device had likely triggered an alert, and YoRHa pursuit units wouldn't take long to arrive.
Despite her human appearance, she could not be called a woman.
She was an android—a prototype from the YoRHa line, created before the modern versions that now dominated the battlefield.
The combat data from her and her fallen companions had served as the foundation for the development of current units—more lethal, more obedient, and more disposable.
But there had been a time when she believed in them. In their command, their orders, their mission.
That time ended with the tragedy of the Pearl Harbor Descent.
On that day, twelve experimental YoRHa units were deployed on a suicide mission: to destroy an enemy server deep within Mount Ka'ala, on the island of Oahu.
From the very beginning, everything went wrong. Enemy anti-air defenses shot down nearly all aircraft during descent, and only four androids survived the crash.
Even so, the survivors joined forces with a small group of the local Resistance and, against all odds, chose to proceed with the mission.
The battle was brutal, and nearly all of her comrades died.
But at the climax of the operation, Unit Number 4—her last surviving companion at the time—overloaded her own fusion reactor and detonated the enemy server, accomplishing the objective at the cost of her life.
The mission was recorded as a tactical success.
But the true purpose of that operation had never been to defeat the enemy.
Their superiors merely wanted to observe, analyze, and record how the experimental models would react under extreme pressure, in order to use that data to create the next generations of YoRHa.
She survived.
But what remained of her was not just an android—it was a shadow filled with hatred and resentment.
She could never forgive them.
Her enemies were not only the machine lifeforms that had destroyed her sisters and this cursed world, but also YoRHa itself—the ones who had betrayed her and now hunted her like a criminal.
After escaping and reaching her refuge—an ancient forest surrounding the ruins of an old city—she allowed herself a brief rest.
She hid the salvaged materials in an improvised shelter and climbed a nearby tree.
There, she sat in silence, watching the horizon.
The ruins of human civilization stretched before her, covered in vegetation and mist. Collapsed towers, streets swallowed by time, and the distant echo of wind passing through the debris—as if the world itself mourned what it had lost.
It was at that moment that A2 noticed a strange disturbance in an open area nearby.
A sharp sound echoed through her auditory sensors.
A2 was not the type to ignore omens.
Without hesitation, she propelled herself forward, leaping between tree branches with superhuman agility.
Leaves and branches rustled around her as the dense greenery gradually gave way to a pale brightness.
When she finally reached the edge of the forest, A2 planted a foot against the trunk of a tall tree and leapt upward in a silent motion, positioning herself until half her body emerged above the canopy.
From there, she had a clear view of the ruined world before her.
In the middle of the devastated city, space itself seemed to twist into a strange spiral.
Invisible waves rippled through the air, bending light as though the fabric of reality were being torn apart.
"What is that…?" A2 muttered, frowning.
Then the sound intensified—a crack, like that of a colossal pane of glass shattering, echoed through the dead structures.
Fractures of energy spread through the air, flickering with white and golden light.
Then space collapsed in on itself… and a hole appeared, pulsing like an open wound in reality.
At that moment, something—or rather, someone—was expelled from it.
The body hit the concrete heavily, rolling until it stopped in the middle of a ruined avenue.
It was a humanoid figure. A2 narrowed her eyes: pale skin, blonde hair, crimson eyes—an unlikely combination.
No known android model possessed such characteristics.
The figure, disoriented, slowly raised its head and looked around.
Its expression was one of genuine confusion.
Before it could understand where it was, the air ignited with the glow of multiple energy spheres.
Mechanical lifeforms, hidden among the ruins, detected the intruder and fired without hesitation.
A2 watched the attack unfold—dozens of plasma projectiles converging toward the stranger.
But what happened next left her momentarily speechless.
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(End of Chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."