In the seventh carriage, Shu knelt on the ground, pointing at the virtual projection in front of him, explaining all the precautions to the group.
The three people and one AI formed a circle. Animals scurried around them but didn't disturb anyone.
Everyone was listening intently to Shu's explanation.
"The Herrscher's power comes from the thoughts in your minds. I know you will all imagine your teammates being defeated or your opponent being powerful. This is unavoidable, but I hope you will try not to think about it too much."
Two hamsters climbed onto Shu's shoulders, perching on either side.
They each held a nut, nibbling away with rustling sounds right next to his ear.
Seeing the way their cheeks were puffed out, it was clear these two hamsters were old hoarders.
"It's best to split up and act alone after entering the canopy. Do not expose yourselves to the sight of others unless absolutely necessary. The fewer people who form associations with you, the better."
Without a concentration of gazes, the Herrscher would have fewer "scripts" to work with. As long as the number of scripts decreased, the Herrscher's strength would drop accordingly.
Cocolia nodded. "We should probably assign our targets. Shu, can you provide the specific location of each person?"
"I can." Shu glanced at Cocolia, then reached out and tapped several points on the virtual sandbox, marking them.
"Cocolia, you're responsible for rescuing Bronya. Kai, Frélle is yours. As for Kiana... Noah, find Mei first, then be on alert for the Herrscher's movements, understand?"
Shu quickly assigned each person their responsibility.
Everyone nodded. After going over a few more details, Shu stood up and led them to the armory.
"I don't know what will happen inside. I can't lend you my power to take in with you. These are the best weapons I can provide for you."
Shu took out the weapons Otto had specially crafted. Cocolia could tell at a glance that they were specially modified.
She didn't refuse, quickly selecting the weapons that suited her and equipping herself.
A full half an hour after the rewind began, the team of three—Kai, Noah, and Cocolia—left the train and stood outside.
Shu looked at the three figures of vastly different sizes, took a deep breath, and suddenly relaxed his long-held tough tone.
"I'm counting on you..."
Cocolia was taken aback for a moment, then a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. She had finally found a moment when Shu wasn't so forceful.
But this smile didn't quite suit her.
"Honestly, that look doesn't suit you." She racked the slide of her gun, smiled at Shu, then turned and walked to Kai, who lifted her into the cockpit.
Kai closed the hatch. Then, the propulsion unit on her back began to operate, spewing flames that pushed the massive Titan mecha off the ground, up into the sky, and toward the surface of the Mediterranean Sea.
Shu watched the direction the three had gone, unable to snap back to reality for a long time.
"Boss Shu..." Ai-chan appeared at this moment. She had transferred her image to Shu's phone and was speaking from his pocket.
"Although I don't like that woman, I feel like what she said was quite right..."
"What?" Ai-chan's soft muttering prompted a somewhat dazed question from Shu.
The two hamsters were chasing each other on Shu's body, fighting over the last remaining nut.
"Boss Shu, you really don't suit that stern, fierce look~ You're like a human iceberg! Even Ai-chan feels like I'm about to hibernate just by getting close to Boss Shu!"
Ai-chan's voice trembled as if she were really in an extremely cold place.
Shu: "..."
He looked down at his hands, then raised one with some self-doubt to touch his own face.
The icy sensation sent a shiver through him. He quickly pulled his hand back and shoved it into his pocket, trying to warm it up.
It was only now that he realized his hands were frozen stiff... even though the temperature outside wasn't that cold. It was still in the single digits [Celsius].
"I don't see anything wrong with it," Shu replied to Ai-chan's question. "In an emergency, it's better to be firm. At least everyone will listen."
"Aigh~" Ai-chan let out a long sigh. Then Shu heard her devout, quiet prayer.
"Then I can only pray that such an emergency never happens again... This Boss Shu is so scary. Can you please give me back the Boss Shu from just before we left, the one who would joke around and play, and wouldn't get into fights~"
Shu's fist clenched, and he himself didn't know why.
---||---
Over the Mediterranean Sea, the wind from Kai's flight created a long wake on the water's surface.
Beside them were the remains of the great bridge. Cocolia looked at the billowing smoke rising from the sea and felt a chill in her heart.
The smoke wasn't visible from the city. Only here could she see a corner of the tragic scene.
"I see it!" Noah, who had curled himself into a ball to give Cocolia more space, suddenly called out a reminder.
Cocolia looked through the shared perspective from Kai. A giant sphere seemed to be floating on the sea surface. That was the island where the orphanage was located.
So this is the canopy?
"Noah, get ready," Cocolia quickly ordered. Noah promptly raised his hand and placed it on Cocolia's, beginning to release his power.
The power carefully seeped into Cocolia's body, settling in various parts and becoming her "ticket" for passage.
"Warning: Power shutdown imminent," Kai issued an alert. She had to shut down her power, becoming a completely "inanimate object" to better trick the canopy.
Noah nodded, placing his other hand on the cockpit's control panel. His power quickly covered Kai's body, a process much cruder and more direct than what he had done for Cocolia.
Before shutting down her power, Kai ascended to a higher altitude. The moment she was above the canopy, Kai decisively shut down her power and, along with her two passengers, began to free-fall toward the membrane.
The canopy reacted. Just as Shu had thought, the repulsive canopy did indeed have some minor shape-shifting ability. It accommodated the passage of its "master." After detecting no foreign objects, the canopy closed again.
BOOM— Kai crashed unceremoniously onto the edge of the island. Several seconds later, her power slowly began to start up.
"Everyone, let's begin the operation," Cocolia said, climbing out of the cockpit. She quickly composed herself and made the declaration.