After giving Maya the order to eliminate the remaining enemies outside using the newly developed weapons, Kanda turned his attention back to the massive robots. He had only managed to bring one down—two still remained.
They moved again, their giant blades gleaming as they targeted the people behind him. Kanda gritted his teeth.
"Over my dead body," he muttered.
The sheer force of their combined strike forced him to his knees. He held his blades up in a cross, straining against the weight of the blow. He couldn't hold them back for long—so he shifted, letting the attack slide off and strike the building behind him instead, leaving another deep, jagged slash mark across the concrete.
Without hesitation, he burst forward—slipping between the legs of one of the machines. He jumped, scaling its bulky frame like a predator climbing a cliff, aiming straight for the back of its neck.
But just as he raised his blades to strike, the robot jerked down unexpectedly, bending its upper body like a beast reacting on instinct. Kanda's attack sliced nothing but air.
Still mid-air, Kanda twisted, redirecting his momentum. One blade flashed down, carving a vertical line from the top of the robot's head to the base of its back. Sparks flew. The machine staggered but didn't fall.
"Damn it…" Kanda whispered, landing behind it.
Then—he vanished in a blink and reappeared at the back of its neck. With a roar, both blades ignited in flame.
Slash.
The robot's head separated cleanly. A beat passed—then it exploded violently.
The shockwave flung Kanda back like a ragdoll.
He crashed hard into the ground, tumbling near his team. Smoke trailed from his body as he hit the floor. His transformation flickered and began to fade, the red flames dissolving as his body could no longer sustain the form.
"KANDA!!!" multiple voices shouted.
Through bleary eyes, he saw blurry figures running toward him. Reinforcements had arrived—Eris, Manami, Aoi… and others.
The three women knelt beside him, their faces etched with worry.
"Kanda, are you okay?" Eris asked quickly. "Do you need medical treatment?"
He coughed, then gave a tired chuckle. "Not exactly fine, Eris… but your concern is enough to keep me going."
He slowly pulled a small plastic container from his pocket. Inside were dozens of small spheres—half red, half blue.
Aoi blinked. "What… are those?"
"Emergency rations I developed," Kanda said. "Remember that cooking system I've got? I managed to unlock a recipe database—took a lot of trial and error, but I created two types of pills."
He held one red and one blue pill between his fingers.
Health Pills (60% Purity)
Heals light exterior injuries. Cannot treat deep wounds. Effectiveness depends on cooking skill.
Stamina Pills (60% Purity)
Gradually restores stamina. Purity influences recovery rate.
Kanda popped both into his mouth. Almost immediately, the cuts on his arms began to close, and his breathing steadied.
"I need ten minutes," he said to Eris, Manami, and Aoi. "Hold off that last one until I'm fully recovered."
"Got it," Manami nodded firmly. "Leave it to us."
The trio rushed off, rallying the others. Meanwhile, Kanda sat down, crossing his legs and closing his eyes. He focused inward, tuning his breathing and slowly recharging his strength. Around him, Raven, Hawk, and Swallow formed a protective perimeter—Raven having just returned from her mission.
== At Eris's Side ==
Eris, Manami, and Aoi led the charge, blades drawn, eyes locked on the towering machine that stood like a mechanical reaper among the rubble.
Gunfire had failed—its barrier shrugged off bullets like raindrops. Even Eris's anti-matter hammer, which could level armored vehicles, bounced harmlessly off the invisible shield.
"This thing is on another level," Eris muttered, tightening her grip.
The group quickly switched to the new prototype blades Claris had handed them. At last, the weapons left visible scratches on the robot's body—thin silver lines cut across its blackened armor. But that was all. Scratches. Surface wounds. It wasn't enough.
"Keep moving! Don't give it a chance to lock on!" Manami shouted as the robot swung its massive sword in a wide arc.
Wind howled through the chamber as the blade missed by inches. Chunks of debris flew, slicing into the walls and cracking the floor.
They scattered, regrouped, and struck again—this time aiming at its joints, its legs, its back. The robot staggered slightly from the coordinated attacks, but its shield still absorbed the brunt of the damage.
"Predictable movement pattern confirmed," Aoi said between breaths. "It's fast, but it still relies on programmed sequences."
"But even if we can read it," Eris said, her tone grim, "we're not doing real damage."
They dove aside again as the robot lunged forward. Its blade tore through a fallen pillar, sending fragments flying. One grazed Eris's arm—she gritted her teeth, ignoring the sting.
"Two more minutes," Manami muttered into the comms, glancing back toward Kanda's location.
Kanda sat silently in the center of the ruined building, cross-legged, his eyes closed, body flickering with fading heat. Around him, Raven, Hawk, and Swallow stood guard—motionless, weapons drawn, ready to die before letting harm come to him.
"He's still not moving," Aoi said, eyes wide.
"We don't have a choice," Eris said, raising her blade. "Buy him the time."
The robot's eye glowed crimson, and with a loud hiss, a second energy blade extended from its arm—longer, sharper, burning with a volatile hum.
Its movement shifted.
Faster.
Less predictable.
"Oh no…" Aoi breathed. "It's changing patterns."
"No time to hesitate!" Eris shouted. "Everyone, formation B! Do not let that thing reach Kanda!"
They launched into a full assault—but the robot's reaction time had doubled. It met Eris's blade mid-swing and shoved her back like a doll. Manami barely intercepted the counterattack with her own weapon, but the impact hurled her into the debris.
Aoi blinked sweat from her eyes. "We can't hold this pace much longer—!"
Another swing. A wall crumbled.
A high-pitched whine filled the air—the robot was charging something.
Aoi's eyes widened. "It's preparing a focused beam!"
Their time had run out.
They were outmatched.
And Kanda was still unmoving.
Too slow…
Then—
A flicker of flame.
A sharp pulse of heat spread through the ground.
From behind them, a quiet voice broke through the tension, calm and clear:
"Ten minutes. Right on time."
The ground trembled as Kanda slowly rose to his feet, eyes opening—his pupils gleamed with crimson fire, and the blades in his hands reignited with roaring flame.
The air shifted.
Even the robot paused.
The team stared, breath caught in their lungs.
"Now step back," Kanda said, his voice like a promise of death. "I'll handle the rest."
~10 minutes had passed.
Kanda slowly opened his eyes. A sharp glint flickered within them as he rose to his feet, the tension in the air shifting. He gave a small nod of gratitude to those who had stood guard while he meditated.
A crimson flame-like aura surged around him, and his blood-red military uniform materialized once more, as though summoned by sheer will.
Then, in a calm yet commanding voice, he spoke:
"Everyone, fall back. It's my turn now."
Without hesitation, his comrades began their retreat, putting their trust in him.
Kanda shot forward like a blazing comet, his feet striking the ground only briefly before launching himself high above the final robot's head. Mid-air, he slashed down in a cross pattern—his twin blades drawing a brilliant 'X' across the enemy's massive body.
The attack didn't just slice. It tore through.
The robot split into four clean sections, and a thunderous explosion erupted—far more violent than expected. The building trembled, its very frame crying out in protest.
As dust and heat radiated through the air, Kanda landed near his squad—just in time to hear a deep, ominous crack.
He turned sharply. A long fracture had snaked across the wall, widening at an alarming rate.
"We need to move—now!" he barked. "This building won't hold!"
Everyone sprinted toward the exit. The moment the last person stepped outside, the entire structure groaned…and then collapsed in a massive cloud of debris and steel.
They didn't even have time to catch their breath. Kanda began calling roll, ensuring every single soldier was accounted for. Once confirmed, he contacted their spacecraft for pickup.
~30 minutes later.
The ship landed at Antonia's estate. Waiting on the platform were Antonia, Melwin, Kuune, and Durel.
Antonia rushed forward and threw her arms around Kanda. He returned the embrace, gently stroking her back to calm her.
"Ichijou-niisan," she whispered, "are you okay?"
"I'll live," he replied with a tired smile. "But let's get the team checked for injuries."
He issued the order, and Durel stepped forward, volunteering to oversee the medical checks. Meanwhile, Kanda—urged by his concerned girlfriends—reluctantly agreed to get checked himself.
Later, inside the war room…
The room was filled with key personnel: Kanda, Antonia, Manami, Eris, Aoi, Kuune, and Melwin. Kuune began the debriefing.
"Did we recover any useful intel from the site?" she asked.
Kanda nodded and gestured to Raven, who stepped forward and inserted a flash drive into the projector. For the next hour, she broke down every bit of information they had uncovered.
When she finally concluded, the atmosphere had turned heavy.
"So… Madam J," Kuune said, frowning. "I've heard her name before. She's from the Dogisia Federation—a rogue faction long since blacklisted for illicit tech development. Catia assisted in their crackdown years ago. But this… this confirms she's behind everything, doesn't it?"
Kanda leaned forward, his expression unreadable. "That's what the data suggests. The question is: why reveal herself now? Why leave a trail?"
Kuune shook her head. "It doesn't make sense. She's too intelligent to slip up like this. Unless…"
"Unless she wants us to find her," Kanda finished grimly. "She might reach out to you. Or to me."
Antonia blinked in surprise. "You think she'll make contact?"
"She didn't bother erasing any signs of her involvement at the facility," Kanda replied. "That wasn't an oversight. It was a message."
Everyone in the room fell silent.
"What's our next step, then?" Kuune asked, finally breaking the tension.
Kanda stood up, the air around him heavy with tension and unsaid thoughts.
"We'll rest for now," he repeated, his voice steady. "Tomorrow, we prepare our next move."
He exited the war room, followed by Maya and Claris. The others remained seated, lost in contemplation—troubled by the woman behind it all.
The lights in the war room dimmed as the door closed behind him.
~In far away place.
In a dimly lit room filled with silent monitors and softly humming machines, a single figure sat in the shadows.
Dozens of surveillance feeds flickered across the screens. One of them showed Kanda exiting the war room, surrounded by his closest allies.
A soft chuckle echoed from the figure as she leaned forward, revealing the lower half of her face beneath a dark hood.
"Still alive… and sharper than before," she murmured. "You've grown, Ichijou Kanda."
She tapped her gloved fingers against her chin thoughtfully, her lips curling into a slow, amused smile.
"You saw what I left behind. You know it wasn't a mistake. But will you understand why?"
A new screen lit up behind her—data lines scrolling rapidly across it, tracking something… or someone.
She stood, turning toward the darkness behind her.
"It's almost time. Let's see how far you're willing to go… before I have to meet you face-to-face."
The screen dimmed.
And the shadows swallowed her whole.
END OF THE CHAPTER.