CRACK.
The sharp sound of something being crushed echoed through the air as Arthur crushed the communicator.
His instincts told him that someone was watching him once again.
"What am I, some kind of zoo animal now?" he mocked.
However, he didn't turn his head immediately. He kept his gaze fixed forward and his body relaxed, as if he hadn't heard anything. Turning around at that moment would be the same as holding up a sign saying "I know you're there."
And he wasn't stupid enough to expose himself so easily.
Then, a few moments later, the sound of intense combat erupted just a hundred meters away.
Arthur turned just in time to see several figures emerging from the forest, running toward him with the urgency of those fleeing death.
Instinctively, he leaped to the side—his body reacting before his mind could even process the danger.
An orange plasma sphere struck the spot where he had been standing just seconds earlier.
BOOM!
The impact created a small crater, kicking up dust.
"What the hell was that?" he cursed in surprise.
His attacker, now visible, was a flying machine resembling a drone, its propellers buzzing like a swarm of bees.
The people running toward him consisted of four women and one man, and they looked just as desperate.
Is this one of those worlds where some random AI took over everything? Arthur thought to himself, carefully observing the group ahead.
Then, a louder explosion echoed from the other side, followed by a silhouette being launched through the air.
The figure spun gracefully before landing firmly just a few meters away from Arthur.
She had long pale blonde hair, blue eyes, and delicate features.
Arthur recognized her immediately.
She's the one I was tracking… he thought.
The reason she had approached was obvious—she was also being attacked by the machines.
But something felt off. Arthur noticed that she kept her eyes fixed on the other group, her posture tense and hostile.
"Huh? Aren't you an android? Aren't you from the YoRHa unit?"
The boy in the group—the youngest and seemingly the least prepared for combat—asked in astonishment.
The statement caught Arthur off guard, leaving him intrigued as well.
She's an android…? YoRHa unit? he wondered, confused.
Before he could think further, a metallic voice came from one of the small pods accompanying the group:
[Suggestion: Destroy unit A2 immediately.]
The boy frowned in confusion.
"Huh? Destroy unit A2? What does that mean, Miss 2B?"
Arthur shifted his gaze to the short-haired woman beside him.
So… her name is 2B? he thought.
But the battlefield offered no respite. The machines continued advancing, firing energy blasts in all directions.
Without thinking much, Arthur raised his hand—and a golden ripple appeared beside him.
From within it, a sword shot out like an arrow, piercing one of the machines and reducing it to scrap in half a second.
"How about we leave the conversation for later? We have more important things to deal with." he said.
The boy, identified as 9S, stared wide-eyed at the golden ripple that had just spat out a sword.
"What was that?"
But what truly left him speechless came next.
Dozens of golden ripples appeared around Arthur as he charged toward the machines. The weapons fired from them destroyed the mechanical lifeforms with absurd ease, as if the machines' metal were butter melting under a blade.
"Let's fight too!" 2B said as she immediately rushed toward the mechanical lifeforms.
Right after that, 9S, A2, and the other androids joined the battle.
As Arthur advanced, dozens of golden portals opened behind him.
Swords, spears, and blades of all shapes were launched toward the machines.
CHAK!
His blade sliced through the air, destroying all the energy spheres heading toward him.
Arthur vanished in the blink of an eye using Shunpū, the instantaneous step movement of the Hiten Mitsurugi style.
He reappeared in the middle of the machines.
"Ryūtsuisen!"
The plunging strike fell like thunder. His sword crashed into a heavy-bodied machine, smashing it into the ground with enough force to create another crater.
He landed, spun his blade, and deflected another machine's attack before it could even complete its swing.
The sound of tearing metal echoed as sparks mixed with the particles of destroyed machines.
Two of them attempted to flank him, but dozens of golden portals opened behind Arthur in a fan-like formation.
A rain of blades fell.
The androids watched from a distance, astonished. Even with their combat experience, they had never seen movements so precise.
Arthur rotated his wrist and executed a horizontal strike.
The blade cut through the air with such force that the displacement created an arc of wind, slicing two machines in half.
A drone attempted to attack from above, launching a plasma missile. Arthur didn't even move.
He simply extended his hand—and a spear emerged from a portal. With a fluid motion, he hurled it at the drone, which exploded instantly upon impact.
"He's… using portals? Is that YoRHa technology?" 9S asked, confused.
Arthur moved once more into the midst of the machines, a playful smile on his face as he cut down everything in his path.
One of the machines tried to strike him from behind, but Arthur twisted his wrist and whispered:
"Doryūkaiten."
The blade spun at incredible speed, forming a vortex. The centrifugal force shredded the machine entirely within the whirlwind.
As the dust settled, Arthur stood at the center of the battlefield, surrounded by smoking wreckage.
He cleaned the blade with a subtle motion and sheathed it.
The weapons around him began to disappear, one by one, returning to the portals from which they came.
---
(End of Chapter)