Infinite Stratos - Volume 2, page 15
The incident that happened last month--when the black machine attacked. Most of them felt that it was a terrorist plot. As attacking IS Academy was a serious problem, and since they found out that it was an unmanned suit, the situation got even more critical. Right now, many countries were all suspecting whether they should start to doubt each other.
"Though I haven't heard about the specifics, that's most likely the case. They chose to adopt a tag team system to let the students gain more battle experience."
"But the 1st years enrolled just 3 months ago, right? Besides, it's not that a war really happened. I guess there shouldn't be any need for mock battle trainings..."
Maya was correct, and Chifuyu knew that she would ask this question, which is why her expression didn't change.
"It's because of what happened last month. Now that we have many freshmen who have their own 3rd generation frames. When they're facing a mysterious enemy who suddenly appeared, what should they be worrying about?"
"--Ah! So you want them to defend themselves?"
"That's right. Forget about the pilots, we still need to protect the 3rd generation IS that were issued. However, we have a limited number of teachers, so the principle is to let them defend themselves, which is why there's a need for practical mock battles."
"Oh, I see!"
Maya's questions melted away like ice.
Basically, IS technology must be revealed, but if newly developed technology was revealed immediately, the other countries could easily use it, so this wouldn't be beneficial to them.
If the IS pilot is unable to familiarize herself with the important parts of the technology, the developing country would be lead to ruin.
And this is the aim of IS Academy.
Hidden amongst the mission of IS Academy when it was first developed was the element 'All the laws don't work here'. Of course, it wasn't that all laws were ineffective against IS Academy; the main point was the 'Prototype IS Technology'.
"This place allows new technology to be tested out, and they can decide on whether they want to reveal their data here. They have no need to reveal it."
In other words, IS Academy was the only place in the world where 'They don't have to declare the data of their mock battles'. That is why China, England, Germany and other countries were sending their 3rd generation IS here.
Also, their real aim was to get the [one-off ability] and fuse with it. As long as their IS could switch into second phase within 3 years to create a one and only unique ability, they would have no problems with revealing their technology. That was because a 'one and only unique ability' definitely couldn't be imitated.
Of course, the chances of success were astronomically small, but with 3 years of piloting experience, the data gained will become a huge experience.
It's because of this that the IS Academy students already got the latest models even though they were just representative candidates.
The ones chosen to pilot these frames are definitely elites, but there aren't just one. To put it radically, anyone who fulfills the criteria can do. Thus, at the candidate state, there wasn't really a large difference."
"But Shinonono-san was really trashed thoroughly."
"That's what happens when you don't have a personal machine, and in terms of character, Shinonono's at a disadvantage to Dunois."
It's like janken[2D 1]. Chifuyu added as she turns to look at the screen away.
On the screen, it showed Laura still fighting against her opponents despite this disadvantageous situation.
"Bodewig-san, she's strong."
"Humph..."
While Maya was really amazed, Chifuyu snorted, seemingly bored.
"Nothing changed. The potential and attack are the same, but even so--"
She still can't beat Ichika.
But she definitely can't say these words. If she says it, Maya may start to say something again.
WAAAHHH!!!
The atmosphere in the arena boils as the cheers enter the observation room.
"Ah! Orimura-kun took out the [Reiraku Byaku]! Does he intend to settle this in one attack?"
"Looking at this, things won't go as planned."
"Here we go again. Even if you act like you don't care, that attitude's--"
"Yamada-sensei, we haven't done any martial arts sparring for a long time. Now's a rare chance, so how about 10 rounds?"
"No, no thanks! I...ahem...have to watch the students' machines!"
Yamada frantically shakes her head and waves her hands, but Chifuyu uses a deep voice to declare,
"I hate people who come up with nonsense to make fun of me the most. Do you remember that incident?"
"Ye-Yes...I'm sorry..."
Maya, who was retreating and curling back, looked really pitiful, and because of that, Chifuyu patted her head gently.
"Alright, continue to watch the match. It's worth seeing how they intend to beat their opponent."
"Ye-Yes!"
◇
"I'LL BEAT YOU WITH THIS!"
I activated [Reiraku Byakuya] and charged at Laura.
"I heard that all the shields will be drained once I touch it...but it's nothing if I don't get hit."
Laura's AIC binding attacks continued to assault me. My right hand, left hand, my vision, all these continued to be assaulted. I immediately stopped, turned and accelerated, barely dodging them all in the process.
"Running around like that, what an eyesore...!"
She then started to become more vicious in her attacks while striking at me with more cabled blades, but I wasn't fighting alone.
"Ichika! Break through the front at 2 o' clock!"
"Okay!"
Laura, who's attacking using her ranged weapons, wasn't relaxing against my guard. I began to feel that it was great to be on the same team as Charles. If she were an opponent, it'd be really weird to go up against her, somehow.
"Che...another of your petty tricks!"
After zipping through the cabled blades, Laura finally entered my range.
"It's useless, I can predict your attack."
"That normal slash's just a start, then--what about this!?"
I raise the tip of the sword that was below my foot to chest-level.
"!?"
If the slash can be predicted, then I'll just stab in. Though it's easy to predict as well, the trajectory of the hand should be difficult to grasp. It's way harder to predict that than a line.
"IT'S USELESS!"
*BZZT!* My body froze as the AIC net completely stops me.
"I have no need to focus on your hand. As long as I stop you before that--"
"...Ahh, what's wrong, have you forgotten? Don't you know? We're--a tag team!"
"!?"
Laura frantically moved her eyes, but it was too late. Closing in to zero distance, Charles quickly fired off 6 shotgun bullets, and at the next moment, Laura's large railgun exploded with a loud bang.
"Ku...!"
As what we predicted, Laura's AIC had a fatal flaw. The flaw was that 'If she didn't focus on the target she wanted to stop, she wouldn't be able to maintain the effect', so right now, I was freed.
"ICHIKA!"
"GOT IT!"
I again raised the [Yukihira Niigata] and got into position--she shouldn't be able to escape this time!
"...!"
This was the sure-kill hit that I so believed in, but unexpectedly--
*KUriiiii...*
"WHAT? HOW CAN THE ENERGY RUN OUT AT THIS TIME!"
It seemed like I took a lot of damage, as the energy blade of [Reiraku Byakuya] began to shrink with the sound of the voice before disappearing.
"What a pity."
Laura's voice was close. I turned around, and saw her leap into me and deploy her twin plasma blades.
"SINCE YOU'VE USED UP YOUR SHIELD ENERGY, YOU CAN'T FIGHT ANY LONGER! I'LL WIN WHEN I GIVE YOU ANOTHER HIT!"
Laura was right. My shield reserves would drop to 0 if I was attacked again, and it would be determined a loss for me. Either way, I continued to block the vicious blade attacks that were coming from both sides.
"I WON'T LET YOU!"
"YOU'RE ANNOYING!"
Laura didn't stop in her attacks on me as she continued to use the cabled blades to hold off Charles, who came in to support me. Her attacks on both sides were as fast and accurate as ever, and with this, we again found out how skilled our opponent was.
"WAH!!"
"CHARLES! KU--"
"THE NEXT ONE WILL BE YOU! FALL!"
Distracted that Charles got hit, I let my guard down, and Laura definitely didn't let this opportunity slip as her attack hit me cleanly.
"GUWAHH...!!"
This hot sensation is the numbing sense of an electrical flow surge through me. The feeling can't be described in words, but it indicated that I got damage.
The strength swept out of my body--and [Byakushiki], as I fell onto the floor.
"Ha...HAHAHA! IT'S MY WIN!"
A fast moving silhouette attacked Laura, who loudly proclaimed herself the winner. That's--
"IT'S NOT OVER YET!"
That was Charles, who immediately used [Ignition Boost] to the maximum speed.
"WHAT...! THAT'S [IGNITION BOOST]!"
For the first time, Laura showed a dumbstruck look. Maybe it was because the data never specified that Charles could use [Ignition Boost], and I was shocked as well--because even I didn't know of that.
"Well...this is the first time I'm using it!"
"Wh, WHAT...? DON'T TELL ME YOU LEARNT IT DURING THIS BATTLE!?"
It seems now that Charles' flexibility isn't just a unique attribute, but a skill altogether. Maybe one can even call it a 'one and only unique ability'.
"Humph...BUT IT'S NO USE AGAINST MY STOPPING BARRIER!"
Laura said as she switched into the AIC activation mode, however, the one who stopped was--Laura herself.
*BOOM!*
"!?"
Being attacked somewhere that's unexpected, Laura looks around before seeing me, who's right below her. I'm holding the loaded sub machine gun that Charles threw just now.
That's right, that's the gun that I was allowed to use in the training. At this point, Laura finally realized that the throwing of the loaded gun just now was Charles and my double-set plan.
Now, I could only believe, in myself, and in Charles.
--But though I said that, it had a lot to do with luck. It was [Byakushiki] who managed to hang on against Laura's attacks, and for this time, I really can't show my face to this partner called [Byakushiki].
"NOW YOU CAN'T USE AIC!"
"DAMN IT...YOU HALF-DEAD ZOMBIE!"
Laura shouted, but she still didn't lose her cool. She probably would ignore my inaccurate shooting and focus on Charles. She again aimed the AIC in front.
"But I got a window to attack now."
"SO WHAT! WITH A 2ND-GENERATION'S ATTACK POWER, TRYING TO TAKE DOWN THIS [SCHWARZER REGEN] IS--"
At this moment, Laura suddenly stopped.
That's right. She discovered the strongest weapon amongst the 2nd generation in terms of offensive power,
And Charles always had this weapon hidden in her shield.
"I WON'T MISS AT THIS RANGE!"
Charles' shield armor opens, revealing the wheel and pilebunker that was fused together. It's the .69 caliber battering ram [Gray Scale], also known as--
"[SHIELD PIERCE]!?"
For the first time, Laura revealed a panicked expression that showed that she didn't expect to make it.
""OOOOHHHH!!""
Both voices overlapped. Charles clenched her left hand to charge forward, and it was a simple forward thrust like what I had just done.
However, what's different is that she even used [Ignition Boost] to close in, so it was too late to even activate AIC on her. If Laura couldn't stop the battering ram between these few millimeters, she would be hit directly.
"!!!"
Laura focused on that target--but missed.
In a moment, just for a short moment, Charles showed an angelic smile that looks like a declaration of death, a dazzling yet guilt-ridden smile.
*BAM!!!*
"KUuu...!"
The battering ram hit Laura's abdomen. If she concentrated all her shield reserves and activated [Absolute Defense], she could block this hit, but as her reserves were almost drained, she couldn't block the impact, and it slammed hard through her body. Laura's face twisted with anguish.
However, the attack was not over. As the [Gray Scale] had a roller function, it could be quickly filled with explosives--in other words, there were multiple shots.
*BAM!!!* *BAM!!!* *BAM!!!*
Three consecutive hits. Laura's body trembled terribly. Purple electricity jumped up her frame, forming a forced ejection sign.
--But in the next moment, another change occurred.
◇
(To think that I...would actually lose here, me...!)
It's true that I underestimated that opponent's power, and that was a mistake on my part. But even so--
(I CAN'T LOSE! HOW CAN I LOSE...!)
Laura Bodewig. This is my name. A code to identify myself.
My earliest codename was Gene Perfection Experiment C—0037.
I was created through artificial human means, born out of a metal womb.
--It was dark. I was in darkness.
I was created, born, bred and trained to fight. That's my only objective.
I only know how to attack humans. I only understand tactics on how to defeat the enemy. I learnt to fight, use guns and remember how to use weapons.
I was outstanding, and in terms of capabilities, I always had the best records.
But at that time, as the strongest weapon, the IS appeared, and my world suddenly changed.
The operation to implant the [Odin's Eye] into me in order caused a drastic change.
The actual term of [Odin's Eye] should be a hyper-sensor package, and what it does is that it can heighten nerve processing to the brain at an explosive speed. The aim is to react quickly in a hi-speed combat. The operation was supposed to transplant the nanomachines into my eyes, and those eyes that went through this operation are called the 'Eyes that Surpasses the World'.
There were no risks with the operation, and logically, there wouldn't be a rejection—logically.
However, this operation caused my left eye to turn gold, and I couldn't control it. It couldn't shut down on its own, it was always activated.
This 'Accident' caused me to deteriorate amongst my peers in IS training.
I don't know when I fell from the top position. What awaited me were the mockeries and humiliations of my peers, and the mark of 'Trash'.
My world changed—I went from infinite darkness to even more darkness.
And the first time I met the light, it was when I met the instructor—Orimura Chifuyu.
"Though you look like your grades are bad, there's nothing much to worry. In a month from now, you should be able to get back to being the strongest in your squad. You're going to be trained by me after all."
Those words weren't a lie. Though I just obeyed that person's training honestly, I managed to get back to the top after I started learning IS.
However, I couldn't stay in the same situation. I didn't care about my peers who drifted away from me.
I continued to admire that person greatly.
Strong, courageous, indomitable. Seeing her like that made me anxious.
--Ah, I really want to be like this, I really want to be like her.
With these emotions, I would talk to her when I had the time before she went back to her own country half a year ago.
No, it's alright even if we don't say anything. As long as I could stay with her and stare at her figure, I can feel strength coming out from within.
It's somewhat a feeling of 'Courage'.
Maybe that's because she had such power.
One day, I tried to ask,
"How did you become this strong? What must I do to become this strong?"
At that time—ah, it's at that time...that person, that instructor who was as strict as the devil showed a gentle smile.
For some reason, it felt like my heart got punctured through by a needle.
"I have a little brother."
"A little brother...?"
"Once you see him, you'll understand, what's strength, and what's more than strength."
"...I don't understand."
"It's good that you remain like that. Ah, if you have a chance to come to Japan one day, maybe you can meet him...but let me give you a warning. That person—"
A gentle smile, a fearful expression. That's—
(That's not right. That wasn't what I envisioned you—Strong, courageous, indomitable, that's you.)
So—I won't forgive the person who made instructor show this expression.
I can't agree with the existence of this little brother who made instructor like this.
So—
(I MUST DEFEAT HIM! USE MY OWN POWER TO BEAT THAT GUY, THAT BASTARD...INTO DUST!)
That's why, I can't lose here! That guy, that bastard's...still moving. I must thoroughly break him until he can't move! That's right! So—
(I WANT POWER!)
Ku...someone rumbled deep inside me.
Then, it spoke.
"—Do you wish for it...? Do you, wish for a change within yourself...? Do you want a stronger power...?"
Of course. If I have power, if I can get it—I'll even pay for it with this hollow existence!
So give it to me...give me the invincible, strongest, absolute power!
Damage Level...D
Mind Condition...Uplift
Certification...Clear
[Valkyrie Trace System]...boot.
◇
"AAAHHHHHHH!!!"
It seemed that Laura just got ripped by something as she let out a scream. At the same time, [Schwarzer Regen] let out a strong electrical jolt and knocked Charles off.
"Ugh! What's going on...--!!!"
"WHAT'S THAT!?"
Charles and I couldn't believe our eyes. In front of us, Laura...her IS was changing!
No, it wasn't that simple to say that it was changing. The lines that formed the armor were melting softly into something soft and sticky, engulfing Laura's body in it.
The pitch black corroded darkness swallowed Laura in whole.
"What is that thing..."
