ALL NOVEL In the High Cathedral, aside from the unexpected tournament of champions, operations in each Autonomous District were proceeding as planned.
“Kishishit! Be awed! This is truly the real power of great Gehenna!”
“Hey, senpai. We just boarded the Toramaru normally, right?”
“Yes! Exactly that, Iroha! Or do you mean to say that the invincible armored Toramaru is somehow lacking to represent Gehenna?!”
“…No, that’s not what I meant.”
“Go, Toramaru…!”
Every time the main cannon of the Toramaru fired, automata produced by Hesed were swept away like autumn leaves. Following them, while the Manma Battle was underway, tanks that didn’t have nicknames like ‘Invincible Armored’ also wreaked havoc on the battlefield.
“Ah, aaah! What the heck is going on?!”
“I’m providing support.”
“Aaang?! Don’t joke around, you jerk! No, just get lost! We don’t need you!”
“There can be no compromise for those walking the path of rescue. Please accept the aid gracefully.”
Being one to fight without reservation, Neru, who had sustained various injuries while buying time for reinforcements, gasped and pulled back. The angel approaching her introduced herself as Mira, the leader of the Rescue Knights, but to Neru, there were many issues with that.
It wasn’t that she thought the other party would harm her. It was just that she felt she shouldn’t readily submit herself to Mira’s aid for some inexplicable reason.
Kwa-kwang! Whrrrr!
In one corner of the battlefield, a bonfire suitable for camping, which was trending among the Students of Millennium, flared up.
As automata caught in the flames collapsed like honeycombs, Misaki, the one who started the fire, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
In her line of sight was Serina, diligently treating a dark-complexioned one from C&C.
For some reason, she felt uncomfortable. It was an odd feeling as if Serina had been taken by that dark-complexioned one, Kakudate Karin…
‘I must be losing it.’
Shaking her head, Misaki raised her rocket launcher again. After all, others were tending to the injured, so she was prepared to contribute her not-so-extraordinary strength to the battle.
“…I wonder if everyone is doing well.”
Unintentionally, Misaki uttered those words, recalling her comrades who felt like sisters. Although they had distanced themselves physically as they found their places, their hearts would remain connected forever.
Misaki wished for their safety.
In the darkness where not even a step could be seen, they were the precious family who held her hand until the end.
*
Highlander Railroad Academy.
Wherever there are railroads, that place is our Autonomous District.
…It may seem like a foolish assertion for an academy, but the reality is a bit different. The railroads they manage were granted management rights through strict contracts, and the trains operated separately were clearly the property of Highlander.
So, strictly speaking, the train is their Autonomous District, and the railroad is more like a subcontracting job for the side that owns the railroad.
Then what about the cross-desert railroad of Abydos?
Originally, this railroad project was being carried out through a collaboration between Abydos and Saint Nephthys, but it was completely halted following the fall of both Abydos and Nephthys Corporation.
However, after the fall of Kaiser Corporation and with Nephthys Corporation swallowing the pie they occupied, they stepped back into the railroad business and completed the railroad.
Here’s one thing. For various reasons, the railroad effectively belonged to Saint Nephthys Corporation. This could change in the future, but for now, that was the case.
Even if someday the ownership of the railroad were to be transferred to Abydos, one unchanging fact remained.
In the end, whether early or late, the management of the railroad would ultimately be entrusted to the Highlander Railroad Academy.
Accordingly, Nephthys transferred the management rights of the railroad to Highlander for a fair price.
The committee that started the reconstruction project of Abydos in collaboration with Nephthys was also aware of this, and unless Highlander recklessly expanded the railroad or caused an incident in the Abydos Autonomous District, they were expected to have no contact for a while.
The unexpected event of the invasion of colors, if it hadn’t been for a special event, that would have been the case.
In the desert, where an abnormal storm raged, an armored train charged through the tracks at its center.
“Puh, puh! Uuuh, there’s sand in my mouth!!!”
“Ugh—.”
And at the front of the train was ridiculously a heavy anti-air turret manned by a pair of twins in uniform.
Tachibana Hikaru with long wave-like green hair operated the turret, while her twin, Tachibana Nozomi, with her hair in twin-tails, drove the train—a perfect combination.
The reason these twins were racing the train was none other than the newly emerged ‘Vina’ in the Abydos desert.
Since Highlander officially managed the railroad, Vina, threatening the railroad, had to be thoroughly excluded.
Thus, this twin pair appeared on the battlefield even before the Abydos committee and the supporting SRT.
Vina burst out from the desert sands, keeping pace with the train without being greatly outpaced. It was possible only because the train was adjusting its speed, but still, Vina was fast enough to keep up.
“Yaaah—.”
Seeing Vina rise from the ground, Hikaru began to operate the turret in earnest. The turret’s armament, a quad-mounted machine gun, unleashed a merciless barrage of bullets.
“Pahyaah! Here, eat this too!”
Vina shuddered, overwhelmed by countless bullets. Observing this, Nozomi half-raised herself from her seat. With her upper body leaning down, she pressed a button, and the turret’s other armament, a nine-tube missile launcher, howled in unison.
Kwaaaang!! Kwa-kwang!
The explosions caused by the missiles that struck Vina simultaneously engulfed it. Even if one or two missiles missed, with a whopping eight hitting directly…
“Well, this is a complete victory!”
“Clear—.”
The twins, having stood up, immediately started a dance with no audience. It was a truly precarious dance performed atop a moving train. However, it didn’t last long.
“Waaaah?!”
“A disaster just as expected~.”
Vina suddenly crashed into the train.
But perhaps due to the considerable weight class of the heavy armored train, the train did not topple over. It momentarily teetered and created a precarious situation, yet it remained upright.
The twins who had been playing while standing returned to their respective positions. Since they were provoked into a fight, it was only natural to respond…
“Eh?”
“From one big crisis to another~. Nozomi, brakes—.”
“Got it!”
Seeing energy gathering in Vina’s mouth, Hikaru urgently began to stop the train. The superheated beam aimed directly at the front of the train, but since the train hadn’t been moving particularly fast, it stopped abruptly.
Nozomi wiped the sweat from her brow as the beam narrowly missed the front of the train, and without hesitation, she resumed driving. For a train, stopping is a death sentence.
The train quickly regained speed and glided along the tracks once more.
Ku-gu-gu-gu—
Determined to accept the challenge this time, Nozomi completed her resolve. For a moment, the train flew into the air at her fingertips.
Of course, it was only the frontmost vehicle.
That flying train settled diagonally on the adjacent track, initiating a double-track drift.
As the turret of the train, now in a slightly more advantageous position to target Vina’s presumably weaker front, began firing wildly again, Vina appeared to helplessly succumb.
Meanwhile, those watching this chain of events from a distance shook their heads.
“Isn’t that clearly self-sabotage?”
“It certainly seems like it.”
“Yeah, this is a mess.”
While traveling across the desert in vehicles and watching the clash between Highlander and Vina through drones, committee members shook their heads. The RABBIT Squad of SRT, traveling in different vehicles, shared a similar reaction.
Having experienced battles with Vina multiple times, they knew her very well.
“Well, to someone who doesn’t know, they might think that’s some kind of ultimate technique or a powerful attack that can’t be used frequently or takes some time to use again~.”
[Unfortunately, that’s not the case…]
The Highlander twins were happily showering bullets and missiles onto Vina. What awaited them was——
[Ah, it’s here again.]
Once more, superheated energy began to gather in Vina’s maw.
It was the herald of annihilation, signaling the twins’ defeat.
“Heh… I guess I have no choice but to help.”
“Hmm. Still, I think they’ve managed to accumulate quite a bit of damage! I consider that worth thanking!”
“If they hadn’t done something so foolish, they could’ve lasted longer. What is that anyway? Double-track drift? I don’t get the point!”
As the train engulfed in Vina’s beam exploded, soaring into the air, Shiroko increased the vehicle’s speed further.
They were children whose identities were unknown, but if the enemy’s enemy is an ally, isn’t it common sense to save your allies?
Thus began the unexpected relationship between Abydos and Highlander. Where it would lead, indeed, would be a tale for another distant day.