Chapter 3—SS2
Present Time…
Anti World…
The low, crushing roar of Delta 0's V-22 Ospreys tore through the air.
Their matte-black fuselages surged forward, plunging straight into the eternal black smoke ahead—
as if willingly diving into the maw of a bottomless beast.
Below them, Alpha 0's specialized vehicles were in full retreat.
The ground continued to split apart, chunks of terrain ripping free and floating into the air,
while fragments of the false sky collapsed and fell like the remains of a dead world.
The Ospreys halted above a floating island—
nothing but bare rock and soil, desolate and lifeless,
yet perfectly suited to become a temporary defensive stronghold.
The rear hatches opened with a harsh metallic screech.
Members of Delta 0 – Team 11 dropped onto the surface in ash-gray tactical gear.
Some carried heavy wooden crates,
others clutched maps, binoculars, and handwritten field logs.
The moment boots touched the ground, the aircraft pivoted away,
disappearing back into the black smoke as though they had never existed.
The crates were forced open.
Inside each—
five AT4 launchers, their hardened green casings pristine,
optical sights pre-calibrated for combat.
Gloved black hands seized the weapons.
Rapid checks.
No wasted motion.
They scattered toward the rocky ridges ahead,
while another group deployed surveillance cameras and laser rangefinders,
securing elevated ground atop a low hill.
Maps were unfolded.
Notebooks opened.
As they gazed down at the fractured land below,
their eyes gleamed with something sharp and dangerous—
the look of soldiers convinced that
as long as no unforeseen variable appeared,
this battle was already decided.
Then—
The heavy tearing sound of air splitting echoed.
CH-47 Chinooks burst through the smoke,
their specially coated black hulls designed to disrupt visual tracking
and complicate target acquisition.
Laser designators adjusted instantly.
Another scout checked wind direction and velocity.
A steady, emotionless voice cut through the tension.
Scout
> All units, maintain focus.
Bearing 82 degrees. Distance exceeding 3,600 meters.
Do not fire…
but remain prepared in case engagement becomes mandatory.
The helicopters drew closer.
Now visible to the naked eye.
Binoculars rotated endlessly.
Laser indicators flashed on and off,
locking targets again and again.
The soldiers gripping the AT4s began to tremble—
not from fear,
but from pressure.
An AT4 offers only one shot.
No second chance.
No correction.
If they missed—
there was nothing more to say.
They would lose.
And the price would be their lives.
The scout's voice rang out again as final calculations completed.
Scout
> Bearing 77 degrees.
Distance 475 meters.
Target confirmed within engagement range.
Hold fire—await maximum safety assurance.
The CH-47s passed directly over the island.
With a single command—
thousands of Delta 0 operatives would unleash their fire,
crushing the entire helicopter formation
in a single decisive moment.
The black rotors continued spinning wildly.
Then—
A light appeared.
A thin beam,
sliding through the air like flowing water.
No one reacted in time.
No alarms.
No warnings.
In the very next instant—
A CHAIN OF EXPLOSIONS ERUPTED.
The explosives inside the AT4 launchers ignited from within,
as if pierced by invisible energy rounds.
An entire section of the floating island was obliterated.
Delta 0 operatives were hurled skyward,
their bodies scorched pitch-black,
flesh and blood erased—
leaving only warped carbonized remains
that plunged into the abyss below with shattered debris.
The shockwaves surged upward—
And yet—
The CH-47s passed through unscathed.
Not a single aircraft was downed.
Only superficial scorch marks and minor debris impacts—
far too insignificant to cause meaningful damage.
The engines roared on,
like dragons crossing the sky,
pressing forward
as if the ambush had never existed at all.
---
At the same time—
High above Anti World,
a C-17 Globemaster maintained steady flight.
Its interior resembled a massive strategic command chamber.
Dozens of soldiers operated aerial surveillance systems,
capturing terrain data below
and continuously adjusting tactical parameters.
At the central command table—
A single girl stood quietly.
Long golden hair,
the crown of her head tinged with faint black.
Eyes glowing crimson, crystalline like blood.
Her voice was calm.
And dark.
Skin pale as snow.
Height barely 1.49 meters,
making her appear no older than fourteen or fifteen.
She wore a white researcher's coat,
a black shirt beneath,
neatly pressed trousers,
and polished leather boots.
Cute.
Composed.
No one unfamiliar with the truth
would realize that she was Sinner 20.
She flicked a pawn from the chessboard.
Then placed a new piece bearing Alpha 13's insignia in its place.
A simple motion—
with absolute meaning.
Delta 0 had lost this exchange.
Her voice flowed out,
soft, alluring—
and cold.
Lala
> Interesting…
An anomaly outside the projected parameters.
A Sinner being able to wield anomalous power
within Anti World…
that should be impossible.
Her gaze shifted to another piece—
shaped like an AH-64 attack helicopter.
She set it down at the same square,
with enough force to
knock the Alpha 13 piece flying from the board.
There would be no further probing moves.
No restraint.
This was no longer a tactical engagement—
It had become a confrontation of mutual annihilation.
The victor would live.
The defeated—
would die.
After the first wave…
Once again, beams of light descended.
They tore through the sky without warning,
crushing every V-22 belonging to Delta 0 that crossed their path.
One by one, the aircraft were split apart mid-flight,
their black silhouettes torn open like fragile shells.
The shrill mechanical cries of combat drones echoed endlessly
as they were deployed in rapid succession,
released to hunt down the unknown presence attacking the airspace.
But it was useless.
The once-perfect formation of Delta 0 collapsed instantly—
shattering like twisted shards from a broken mirror,
no longer resembling a disciplined military force,
but scattered debris drifting in panic and chaos.
---
Elsewhere—
Members of Alpha 13 descended onto another floating island.
Without hesitation, they pulled out AT4 launchers
and fired directly into the burning V-22s struggling in the distance.
It was a one-sided slaughter.
One aircraft after another fell,
plunging into the bottomless abyss below
like eagles with shattered wings,
vanishing without even the echo of impact.
Then—
A sound like an industrial sewing machine roaring at full power
ripped through the air.
Hundreds of rounds tore past Alpha 13's position.
The bullets cut through flesh and armor alike
as if slicing paper.
In seconds, the soldiers were reduced to nothing—
only misted blood and drifting ash remained on the ground.
Above them, AH-64 Apaches swept across the sky.
---
On the ground below,
Haruko watched the blazing chaos above in silence.
She appeared relaxed—
almost amused—
as she took a slow sip of bitter tea,
maintaining her usual cool, "unbothered" demeanor.
Then—
Her eyes narrowed.
That sound again.
She replayed it in her mind, over and over,
confirming what it was not.
Not rotors.
Not jet engines.
Something else entirely.
Her gaze shifted toward the Tomahawk missiles stationed nearby.
She regarded them with clear disdain.
Useless.
They were ground-attack missiles—
not anti-air.
Even if they wanted to assist Delta 0,
they simply couldn't.
Then—
A violent explosion shook the air.
Another purple beam of light appeared—
but this time, it split apart mid-descent,
fracturing into thousands of smaller rays.
They detonated across the sky,
blowing apart massive sections of the collapsing heavens.
Space itself trembled.
The cracks widened.
Faster.
More violently.
Haruko's expression finally changed.
This was wrong.
Extremely wrong.
According to every record and every classified archive she knew—
no one except Lux should have been capable
of exercising power within Anti World.
Yet this—
This defied all established parameters.
---
Meanwhile—
Inside the C-17,
the green indicators confirming "object integrity"
began flashing red one after another.
Loss reports flooded in.
Delta 0 was taking catastrophic casualties.
The usual arrogance vanished from Lala's face.
In its place—
raw irritation.
Barely restrained anger.
Her eyes narrowed sharply as she cursed under her breath.
Lala
> Fuck…
What the hell is going on…
According to the plan, Alpha 13 was supposed to fall into the trap…
---
Back on the battlefield—
The sharp metallic sound of reloading echoed.
Shion chambered a round into her K98K,
a rifle stripped of its outer casing.
Its exposed interior looked wrong—
not mechanical,
but organic.
Bone.
Flesh.
She reached calmly into her pocket
and pulled out a syringe labeled CC-995.
At first glance, it resembled adrenaline—
except the casing was matte black instead of white,
the orange accents replaced with deep blue.
The liquid inside was thick, viscous—
almost like liquefied spinal marrow.
She injected it straight into her thigh.
A burst of compressed CO₂ forced the substance into her body.
Her eyes flared.
The cross-shaped light ignited within her pupils once more.
CC — Counter-Control.
A perfected secret technology of Alpha 13,
designed specifically to negate environments
that suppress anomalous power—
such as Anti World.
Along the body of the K98K,
white-painted wooden segments began to reappear,
reforming as the weapon repaired itself.
As long as Shion's power remained active,
the rifle could continue to exist
as a physical object.
Then—
From her back,
a pair of wings unfolded.
Thin.
Light.
Almost angelic.
She dropped straight down—
At the same moment,
a massive fragment of fractured sky crashed into the island she had stood on moments before,
shattering it into hundreds of pieces.
Shion landed effortlessly
right in front of an Alpha 0 supply convoy.
The soldiers inside froze.
They recognized her immediately.
She tilted her head slightly
and spoke to the driver in a gentle, sugar-sweet voice—
so innocent it was impossible to associate it
with the one who had just annihilated dozens of V-22s.
Shion
> Hey… um…
Which truck is Sora in?
No one noticed her fingers subtly clench.
The driver's eyes slowly lost focus.
A strange, suffocating calm washed over his face.
He raised his hand and pointed toward the fifth vehicle in the convoy.
Then—
His body stiffened.
He convulsed once,
clutched his chest,
and collapsed—
his heart giving out without a sound.
Shion nodded lightly.
She turned and began walking toward the fifth truck,
a faint smile forming on her lips.
Suddenly—
A gunshot rang out.
Shion staggered.
She clutched her chest in visible pain.
A hole had been torn straight through her heart.
But before she could even fall—
The wound closed.
Bone and flesh knitted together at a speed visible to the naked eye,
as if invisible threads were sewing her body shut.
She slowly turned around.
Standing there was a girl.
Hoshino.
Her sharp eyes calmly reloaded her M82—
a completely ordinary sniper rifle.
Not anomalous.
Not special.
Shion smiled softly
and spoke again, her voice warm and coaxing,
activating her mind-control ability once more.
Shion
> Hey… sweetheart…
Why don't you try turning the barrel around?
Nothing changed.
Hoshino's expression remained flat.
Empty.
Shion's power didn't work.
It only functioned on those who truly felt emotion—
not on someone hollow, numb, and detached
like Hoshino.
Shion narrowed her eyes, genuinely surprised.
Then—
A flash of white.
A high-penetration round tore through the air.
In the instant before impact,
Shion closed her eyes.
She listened.
In a fraction of a second—
The bullet was severed mid-flight
by thousands of invisible blades.
Far in the distance,
the sniper who fired it was crushed—
his entire body compressed into a dense sphere
before exploding like an overinflated balloon.
Shion responded casually, almost teasingly,
as she reached out and gently patted Hoshino's head.
Shion
> Hey, kid…
Nice choice of ammo.
Sniper rounds are faster and more accurate
than armor-piercing shells.
Next time, remember—
12.7 mm is better than 25 mm, okay?
She turned away,
walking toward the armored vehicle
without laying another finger on the girl.
Hoshino remained silent,
staring at Shion
as if she were something not of this world.
Shion tugged the long sleeve of her oversized shirt
and lightly knocked on the vehicle door.
---
[To be continued]
Author's joke: Shion is the character whose name I confuse with Sora the most because I love both of them I I I I I I