Chapter 12: The Tongue-Tied Girl

"Weak."

"Dammit...!"

A massive shockwave from the battle slammed me into the dirt. A flurry of follow-up attacks left me buried in the mud.

"Haa... haa... I can... I can still go, Commander."

"Fall back, Scarlet! This one is mine!"

"Oh dear, it seems we’re divided. Shall we all go together, then?"

They were fighting with their lives on the line. And I was just standing there, watching.

"You still choose to stand? It seems no one taught you when to retreat. Even with everything you have, you cannot hope to defeat me. Surrender."

Clad in a black metal alloy, he swung a greatsword as tall as I was with a single hand. He was overwhelming—a literal demon king. Standing against this monster were three snipers. There was no hero here.

"Get... up!"

Stand up! Don't you dare give up! Give hope to the brave until the very end. To the girl who would give her life for the cause, I offer my salute!

"Blues, I’m betting everything on your shield! Hold through the next attack even if it kills you! Scarlet, share your processing with me—find the exact angle for the shield to maximize our survival rate. You can bridge the link through me! Yellow! I’m counting on your ability. Hit him with the most devastating strike you’ve got!"

"Commander?! But if you do that—!"

I knew. Sharing a consciousness with Scarlet, whose processing power was at the top even among Phantasm Girls, wouldn't leave me unscathed.

Even so!

"It’s better than dying! We can deal with the rest as long as we’re alive!"

I forced myself to defy the very spirit of military discipline. After a moment's hesitation, I jammed the expansion cord into the side of my neck. I felt the cold metal drain the warmth from my body. Suppressing my trembling throat, I declared war in a steady, defiant voice.

"You wouldn't dream of dodging, would you?"

"Foolish. But you have good eyes. Fine. I shall meet you with the full power of this chassis."

A high-density energy gathered along the blade of the black sword.

"Beginning calculations!"

"Ghhh... Aaaargh!"

A sharp headache stabbed through me, as if my brain were being scoured to the marrow. The pressure was suffocating.

"Hold... on!"

"Here it comes... Earth-Runner, Heaven-Sunder!"

"Repel! Parry Shroud!"

"Aaaagh!"

A torrent of land-rending power crashed against the wall of rejection, grinding away at the shroud. Scarlet pushed her processing to the limit to hold the line, while blood seeped from my capillaries as I endured the strain.

"I-I’ll help too—"

"No! Keep compressing your energy, even if we fall! Don't stop!"

"Fine! I get it!"

That was it. One last push.

"My, you’re doing something quite interesting. Care to let me join in?"

Suddenly, a youthful, slightly lisping voice drifted in from the side.

"There now. A human brain will burn out in an instant like that. Lend it to me."

The newcomer pulled the plug from my neck and jammed it into her own wrist, beginning the synchronization.

"Wait... what?"

Scarlet’s voice was full of confusion. At that exact moment...

"Haaaaah!"

The girl brushed aside the enemy's ultimate attack with effortless ease.

Who was this girl?

"An unexpected guest has arrived. Alter... the sharpest mind in Paradiso, possessing the processing power of thirty Phantasm Girls."

"Oh? So you know of me. It seems there really is a traitor within the Paradise. I’ll have to smoke them out soon enough."

"Alter...?"

Was she the one from the fairy tales? Alter, the God-Speaker?

"Why are you here?"

"Because I have questions for you. I want to hear about the Lica you encountered..."

"You have a lot of nerve, making small talk in front of me."

"I could say the same to you. You’re about to be hit by the maximum output of this squad, you know?"

A sound like a localized thunderstorm began to roar.

"An attack that might be called a 'God-Calling' strike, much like my own. It’s still unrefined, but it will surely lead to this team's growth."

Current surged through her entire body as she gathered energy to the point of distorting her very silhouette.

"Take this, you foolish doll. This is... the strike of the Thunder God!"

The sheer pressure forced the "Demon King" into a defensive stance.

"Roar! The soul that makes me human! Thunder God Iron Fragment: Told Spark!"

A desperate bullet was unleashed. It tore through the two arms raised in defense and slammed directly into the enemy's head.

"Not done yet!"

In that instant, a bolt of lightning that seemed like a declaration from the heavens descended upon everything within two meters of the target.

The roar was deafening. The sound that couldn't be fully processed vibrated through my brain as a sharp ringing in my ears.

"Just die... leave nothing... behind..."

"Yellow!"

Her small body collapsed, having reached its physical limit.

In that moment, she was the most human person on the battlefield.

"It's over."

Just as she said, nothing remained.

"I'll admit, that was a close one."

"Still alive?"

"Yeah. Though I'm barely holding this body together."

"Hmph. It should be enough to kill everyone here."

"I wouldn't be so sure. Alter, you've got your work cut out for you."

"I have the wisdom of my years. I won't be killed quite so easily."

Sparks flew between the two.

"Hey. Who's the idiot who left this scrap metal in my way?"

A second intruder appeared. The sheer pressure she radiated silenced the entire area.

"Chrono... White..."

"So that’s her..."

Everyone fell still, trying to gauge the newcomer's next move.

Except for one.

"Why...? Why are you here... Asuna?!"

Only Alter voiced a question.