Editing HEAVY OBJECT:Volume16 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 9===

(Oh, crap. I forget I was still Quensette.)

Quenser only realized that after he had uploaded the photo, but this was no time to worry over it like a social media mistake.

Definite killer intent turned his way from all across the battlefield. Those 5 billion dollar giants focused on the bug crawling around at their feet. And they took action to exterminate it.

“Did you really think you could change things?” The muscular bearded man scoffed from the passenger seat with his hands still tied behind his back. “There is no changing the outcome now. This is what happens when you try to create a world not bound by the four world powers! You squandered what little chance you had. How could someone like you stop so many rampaging Objects!?”

Quenser punched Grinov from the driver’s seat in the 40-degree air entering through the broken windows, but it did not silence the man.

“What did you see in the Hawaii District? What about in that Eastern European tourist region struggling for independence from the old system?”

“…”

“There is no such thing as pure evil. We simply wished to walk a different path from those corpulent monstrosities seated above us and devouring so much money. That was all! We couldn’t trust the laws or international treaties decided by those world powers, so we tried constructing a different set of rules. We tried clinging to the other side of the coin!! We have killed more criminals than all the police in the world. Were we good or evil? A ridiculous question. If you insist on categorizing everything that way as an excuse to take all the lives you want, then we were the ones standing on the side of justice!”

“So what? Did you think you could do anything just cause you were clever enough to break free of the yoke? How many people do you think died for your selfish ends!? We act like Hina’s case was resolved, but was it really? It’s not like she gets her parents back after they were fed to sharks in a cruel execution!!”

“Woodstock had its beginnings making guns from the wood of a bloodstained forest and selling them to spread chaos throughout the world.”

The man gave an odd smile.

It looked like an overinflated balloon that would pop as soon as someone touched it.

“It was a joint military exercise, so they claim no one knows which side shot that shell. More than 30,000 innocent people died, but no one was punished. So many were slaughtered and not a single person was arrested or thrown in prison. And everyone forgot all about it not two months later. By then the headlines were all about how cute some panda in the zoo is!!”

“You…”

“My dream was to discover the truth and reveal it to the world. I needed enough power to prevent the countries and their governments from suppressing it. But the more power I gained, the more they interfered and worked to hide the truth!! No matter how big the organization grew. What is your dream? Whatever it is, you will one day walk this same path whether you have power or not. Because that is how our world works!!”

They had seen something while pursuing the Ivory Garden poachers in Eastern Europe.

A black forest unnaturally burned to the ground.

“…”

The electric car played a simple “vroom” sound effect as it bounced over a bump in the ground.

“Who is it you resent?” asked Quenser. “Because you’re as much a killer as them now.”

“The same fate awaits you.”

They left the torn-up circular farms and reached the rolling sand dunes of the desert. That land of scorching sand contained mystery huts and unnatural swarms of flies that carried an atmosphere of death. The car used a program to drive, but it seemed to be sliding to the side more than before. Quenser’s stomach was squeezed by a unique fear different from slipping on ice.

What did Grinov himself think?

In his attempt to outdo everyone else and make a case for what was right, he had created tons of secrets he could not reveal even to his family and he had been forced to bury them all in the desert.

Was he plagued with nightmares, or did he not bat an eye at it anymore?

“Welcome to the beyond.”

It was like the words of death itself.

The muscular bearded man with distinctive tattoos all over his body spoke with an odd nervousness in his voice.

“These are the farthest reaches of the earth, outside the world powers. All is permissible here, no matter how unreasonable. A world where 1 plus 1 does not equal 2 is a very cruel thing. Now tremble as you see white become black before your eyes.”

Quenser considered using the stun gun again, but things changed before he could.

The earth rose up before them. The Dynamix EV Grade 500s flipped sideways like it was caught on the tea table as a giant overturned it.

“Gaaah!?”

With the windows already broken, the sand rushed in and his head was nearly taken off, but he did not have time to writhe around while upside down. An Object had targeted them. He grabbed Grinov’s shoulder, called out to Rosa in the back seat, and crawled out through what had once been the windshield.

The direct sunlight stabbed into him in that 40-degree hell. He would have to travel by foot in the scorching desert.

(5km to go. But I can’t reach the maintenance base zone!!)

A shadow enveloped them.

The first to arrive was…

“The Rush!!”

“Oh, dear? Oh ho ho. You have the makings of an excellent idol, but who are you? Are you the legendary maid the internet is making such a fuss about? …No, wait. This can’t be. This voiceprint belongs to…no, no. This must be an error.”

Not even an Object’s high-quality cameras had revealed Quensette’s identity. Quenser was a little impressed with himself for that, but for now he reached an arm around Grinov’s back to squeeze at his injured neck and stuck a pen-shaped electric fuse in the man’s nose.

“I hold Grinov Quarterdeck’s life in my hands! This fuse is enough to blow out the son of a bitch’s brains. An Object is powerful, but you can’t shoot just me like a police sniper, can you!?”

“Oh ho ho. What a filthy mouth you have, Miss Legendary Maid. But you must not underestimate Objects. I would hate to eliminate such a promising future idol, but if you do not watch your mouth, social media will not be so kind to you.”

He glimpsed some Information Alliance uniforms from beyond the dunes. They were coming his way. If those more precise soldiers surrounded him during his standoff with the Rush, it was checkmate. It was idealistic, but Quenser was convinced he had a way out.

Why had the Dynamix EV Grade 500s driven along the ridge of those dunes as if avoiding something?

“Call your soldiers off.”

“Oh ho ho. Why should I?”

“They’ll have nightmares if you don’t.”

There was a short shriek.

The secretly buried landmines would not be recorded on the GPS system’s map, so if something had caught those soldiers, it had to be a natural trap. For example, some quicksand that acted like a bottomless bog.

He had thought it was suspicious due to the flies swarming around.

The Information Alliance soldiers might be all about rationalism, but he doubted they could just laugh and accept the company of some dismembered and rotting corpses.

“Rosa.”

The dog dragged the winch wire out from the overturned four-wheel-drive car and threw it to the Information Alliance soldiers seeking help. But Quenser could do nothing more for them since his life was at risk here.

“Looks like you can’t rely on those soldiers. If you think you can save Grinov with those giant cannons, then try it.”

“Ho, oh ho ho.”

“Operation Southern Cross Grim Reaper? All deals require Grinov’s approval, so any business with Woodstock goes out the window if you turn him to ashes. And a single shot from your main cannon is like several attaché cases. How much have you spent already? Do you want to live a life of never-ending debt, idol of newspaper clothing!?”

“Tch!!”

He heard a clear tongue click over the radio.

The Rush turned 180 degrees around and spoke to the Faith Organization Second Generation that soon showed up.

“Oh ho ho. The Information Alliance will settle this! The rest of you slowpokes can stand back!!”

“It is up to the lord to decide what happens, not us lowly humans. Now, let us pray to god! Succeed or fail, it is all part of his plan!!”

“You damn endorphin junky!!”

The aircushions gave a roar as the two Objects began a meaningless clash.

Quenser gulped.

The center of the conflict had shifted from the Gangster to him. The Objects were fighting over him now. It was like he had uttered some magic words to change the flow of battle and bring death to different people. The maid student slowly walked backwards while using Grinov as a shield.

He was 5km away.

If he crossed the desert, he would find the Legitimacy Kingdom maintenance base zone waiting for him. If he brought Grinov there, the others would no longer be manipulated by the possible business deal. Whether it came down to a plea bargain or hellish torture, they could get the man to “officially” annul the Gangster’s verbal promise.

“Princess, the overall formation has changed. Find a gap in the chaos and escape! I’ll take care of myself, so you don’t need to force yourself to support me!!”

“Quenser, where are you? If I don’t have a clear signal, I might hit you with a stray shot!!”

“…It is no use,” said the bearded man.

“Shut up, Grinov. You aren’t some revolutionary commander or strategist. You’re nothing more than a stamp of approval for us!”

“Do you think you will keep your life if you always make the reasonable, safe, and secure option? This is the beyond, where 1 plus 1 does not equal 2. The more you outdo the others and break free of the rules, the clearer the outlines of the grim reaper grow.”

“If you don’t want one of these fuses up your ass, then shut your trap!!”

Quenser did not so much hear the deep rumbling as he felt it shaking the entire desert below his feet.

This was coming from much further away than the nearby battle between the Information Alliance and Faith Organization.

Woodstock had lost its original form as the truth it wished to reveal was suppressed. They had eventually built the Second Generation Gangster.

It was supposedly a close-range Object.

Remote targeting drones flew around it like flies, perhaps to cover its blind spots. The arms dealer Object was reminiscent of the stench of death despite being a machine. Its main cannon was a double shotgun made from the coilgun and rapid-fire beam cannon on the right side. It was designed so it could not aim very precisely.

But the next thing Quenser knew, muscular bearded Grinov was moving his mouth while bound and used as a shield. He was not actually producing any sound, but he could still communicate with someone who could read his lips via a long-range camera.

“What did you tell them?” Quenser roared into the man’s ear while shoving the pen-shaped electric fuse hard enough to give him a nosebleed. “What did you tell that monster, Grinov!?”

“A 20-digit random alphanumeric string. A temporary emergency authorization code in case I cannot use biometric identification.”

“It can’t be.”

“Woodstock is a criminal organization supported by its charismatic leader, Grinov Quarterdeck.”

His entire body had gone limp.

After giving up on everything, he may have been enveloped in a sort of ecstasy.

Yes.

Hadn’t he immediately tried to slit his own throat when Quenser initially knocked him out with the stun gun!?

“I told them not to leave any trace of my body. As long as no definite proof remains, people can claim I am still alive.”

He said nothing more.

Quenser shoved muscular Grinov away and got down on the desert sand such that he lay protectively on top of Rosa.

And a moment later, it all swept toward him like electron beams reflecting through a storm of heavy metal.

There was no attempt at all to rescue the hostage.