Rilorid (2)
The pure smile of the operator on the feed struck the users like a twist.
It wasn't the divine beauty everyone had imagined... but—
"Pretty."
She could smile just like them.
"Yeah. Pretty."
When Yahweh2 withdrew her arm, the operator who had staggered backward slowly lifted her head.
"I lost. And the Sun Battle... By the time resurrection comes, everything will probably be over..."
High Gear overloaded.
"Enjoy it to the end."
The engine exploded, her craft shredding into shrapnel and vanishing from sight.
"Waaaah!"
The Eastern users roared.
"Charge! Rush the Sun Palace!"
Because the system allowed resurrection, the final moments of a Sun Battle always ended in one side's annihilation.
As the balance of power collapsed, Western users fell by the hundreds.
The Eastern users surged like a great wave and completely seized the Sun Palace.
"Arrived! We're here!"
Though they were third-tier, Destroyer707 could enter because they belonged to the Golden Wheel.
"Come on, all of you—attack!"
They shouted bravely and scanned the interior; the Western rankers were already gone.
The lone survivor, a little witch, raised both hands in surrender as she stood surrounded.
"Surrender. I give up—don't kill me. The rankers will take a while to respawn anyway."
Deaths were common, but Uorin wanted to stay to the end to watch Shirone.
"Sorry."
Yolga's son lifted his gun.
"I can't leave any variables. Finishing the job properly is the Golden Wheel's motto."
As if waiting for a penetration check, he aimed at the little witch's forehead, and she muttered.
"...You bastard."
Fermi chuckled.
"Come find me again next time."
Fermi was far easier to deal with than Shirone or the operator—Uorin wasn't a loose cannon.
A single gunshot rang out and the little witch fell backward.
Finally, with all the Western rankers gone from the Sun Palace, only occupation remained.
Fermi, having seen Yahweh2 arriving on the feed, spoke to Destroyer707 and his party.
"Hey, you guys."
"Yes? Yes!"
When the guild leader called, those in the third tier ran over, tense.
"Wanna try?"
"Try what?"
Fermi pointed to the Low Gear on the Solar Path.
"Occupying it."
On the siege side, entering a user code into the Low Gear decides the Sun Battle. Conversely, the defenders win if they hold out twenty-four hours.
"Me, me?"
So when things weren't urgent, the ones who captured the Low Gear were usually rankers.
"Yeah. Since you're with the Golden Wheel, you can claim the primary defender guild qualification."
"But there are rankers too—"
"Haha! Don't worry. They're all my employees."
The Golden Wheel were professionals out to make money; the honor of the Sun Battle meant little to them.
"Besides..."
Fermi thought of Shirone.
'He'll like this.'
Customers complained even if something was ninety-nine percent perfect—the last percent mattered.
Desgongju said, "Let's do it. When will we get a chance like this? All the High Gear users will be watching us."
"Yeah?"
The feed was still running, so Destroyer707 straightened.
"Then I'll—"
Accompanied by Desgongju and the Supreme Codename at his sides, he headed for the Low Gear.
'Cold.'
Everything felt sharp and clear, yet he couldn't feel anything—what was that?
Representative of the East, Destroyer707.
'This is the weight of the crown.'
Realizing the emotion, he stopped and sneered.
"Heh."
The corner of his mouth trembled.
'Me... feeling fear?' Desgongju whispered.
"What? Everyone's watching. If you won't do it, shall I?"
"I—I'll do it."
Destroyer707 took a deep breath, opened the Low Gear's core, and reached out his hand.
When his palm touched it, the gauge for switching users climbed rapidly.
"Uoooooh!"
Mortified, Desgongju whispered, "You don't have to shout."
The Supreme Codename smiled as a message appeared on the Low Gear's display.
- User transfer complete. Codename Destroyer707. Transmitting Low Gear power to the East.
Every Eastern user who had wanted to hear that last line raised both hands.
"We won!"
Bullets tore the sky as Destroyer707's group hugged and jumped.
When Yolga's son looked back, Yahweh2 had already arrived and was smiling.
'Good.'
Fermi exhaled in relief when he saw Yahweh2's satisfied expression.
'Now help me out a little.'
- The Sun Battle has ended. By operator privilege, all users will be revived with full charge.
The world was bathed in light.
Eastern users gathered at the Sun Palace; Western users respawned on the plateau's outskirts.
- Sun Battle rankings are being tabulated.
Rankings from first to one hundred, based on cumulative damage, user destruction count, etc., were posted.
Yahweh2 was not on the list.
"What a shame. The star of this Sun Battle."
"It ended too early. If it had gone over twelve hours like before, you'd have easily ranked."
Shirone didn't care, and a moment later he received a call from the operator.
- It's me. I'm revived.
- Good.
- As promised, I'll help with what you're doing. But before that, there's something I have to announce. I'm deleting my codename.
Shirone couldn't reply.
- If you stay in reality even ten days, High Gear's content changes a lot. It's hard to keep your ranking. If I work with you in the real world, that's the right move.
Shirone, who had grown fond of High Gear, felt uneasy.
- Sorry, because of me.
- It's okay. Besides, my undefeated record's broken. When I come back, I want to start fresh too.
The call ended, and the operator announced it publicly with her administrator privileges.
"This is the operator."
At the sound echoing through the sky, all Eastern users at the Sun Palace came outside.
"There were many issues in this Sun Battle. Above all, my defeat will be the talk of the town."
Silence.
"Looking back, there were so many moments in High Gear. They're memories I wouldn't trade for anything."
With a tone of farewell, rankers recalled the time they'd spent with her.
"Now I want a new beginning. But before that, I have something to tell you."
The announcement paused.
Users could wait—this had to be a major decision for the operator.
"From this moment on, I will... at that moment—"
- An event will occur shortly.
A system message cut off her voice.
"What the—?"
As users murmured, the horizon began to warp horribly.
'It's tearing the code.'
- New episode: Dr. Martin's Counterattack. He will descend to steal the sun forever.
From the grotesque rip on the horizon, a massive pupil fixed its gaze on them.
"An eye?"
The next moment the eye tore through the scenery, revealing Dr. Martin's face, constructed from scrap metal.
"The time has finally come! You foolish blood-creatures! I will make you pay for betraying the gods!"
The sound alone made the ground tremble.
While users struggled to comprehend, the operators' meeting room erupted.
"Stop it! You didn't announce this! And what's Dr. Martin's counterattack?"
"This wasn't the event we planned. Someone who could pull this off is Number Seven."
"Whatever it is, shut it down!"
The Black Circle mark said, "Most operator privileges have been blocked. It's a program they put a lot of effort into. We can't break it right now."
"What—?"
The operators tried to access the code with their privileges, but only an unauthorized message appeared.
"This crazy—"
In a dark space filled with hundreds of screens, Number Seven stood alone.
Having checked everything in High Gear, he entered the final approval code.
"This ends the service."
Dr. Martin's craft—the one that had borrowed every design element from High Gear—burst into the world.
Number Seven bit his lip as he looked at the operator's face on screen.
"You're quitting?"
What were all the things we've done for?
"No. You will never be able to quit. Watch closely. The world of High Gear... the world you loved the most— I'll show you how I abandon you."
Dr. Martin, tearing through the scenery, slammed both fists into the ground; a roar followed.
"At last my grand ambition will be realized! I'll destroy the Low Gear! Immortality is over!"
His lower body was nowhere to be seen.
Only his upper torso, having breached the code, hung on the horizon like a rising sun.
"What is this new event? If the Low Gear is destroyed, how will power be generated?"
- Starting new episode.
Dr. Martin's face, grafted with metal structures, contorted.
"Die."
A beam from one eye scraped the earth as it surged forward, incinerating Western users.
"Casualties!"
Despite quick responses, forty-two people vanished, and soon after a call came through to the little witch.
After receiving the report, she told the operator, "Connection is impossible."
"What?"
"If you die, you're kicked out of High Gear. I don't know why, but it's impossible to log in."
Sensing the severity, the operator received a message from the administration.
Big trouble! Number Seven seems intent on shutting down High Gear. The operators' hands are tied too.
Before they could utter a word, Dr. Martin's second beam gouged the earth.
"Ugh!"
There were fewer deaths than before, but the Western front collapsed beyond control.
Yahweh2's voice came through.
"Operator!"
Shirone, who had arrived with Eastern users, slid to a halt.
"What's going on?"
"Emergency. One of the operators has turned traitor. At this rate High Gear's service will be terminated."
Everything they said was being broadcast to users across the continent via the bulletin.
Dr. Martin laughed.
"Kuhahaha! You can't even think of fighting back! Then I'll erase the Sun Palace right now!"
Users buzzed.
"Is there a law that allows this? I worked so hard collecting parts! We have to stop him!"
"How do you stop him? Can you see the level? Level three thousand three hundred? Is that even possible? And—"
Through augmented reality, they checked his durability and went pale.
- 72,000,000/72,000,000
"We can do it."
Shirone said.
"If Eastern and Western users unite, we can take him down. We can't let it end like this!"
"Right. We'll fight."
The operator turned and shouted.
"All units to combat readiness! We will defeat Dr. Martin and protect the Sun Palace! All users watching this feed, come to the Zeta Plateau!"
Clack! Clack!
East and West chambered their rounds at the same time.