Editing HEAVY OBJECT:Volume20 Chapter 6 (section)

===Part 9===

Quenser clung to the air cushion landing craft in the intense storm.

Blinding lights, deafening booms, and powerful shockwaves surrounded him.

He had to cling to the landing craft to avoid being thrown out while it bounced between the waves.

Myonri was pale and fighting her own panic nearby.

“Eek, eeeek!!”

Did calculating firing range even matter with that thing’s electromagnetically-launched reactor cannon? Quenser started having ridiculous fantasies about the reactors being launched into orbit where they circled the earth before falling back down on their target.

Was that sinking metal over there the remnants of a warship? Or of an Object?

But the ordinary fear didn’t reach Quenser’s mind.

He was too preoccupied by great confusion.

“What…is happening? Who was that that just got destroyed!? There’s too much going on to keep track!!”

“Dammit, we’ve got no Objects and no commander. So who’s even in control of this battle!?”

Their air cushion landing craft was still in one piece, but that could change at any moment.

When someone’s life was spared, it meant someone else’s life was being targeted. The instant the Manhattan 000’s attention turned to them, their fate was sealed.

“I think the time has come to reveal my hidden feelings for you, brother.”

“No! Don’t you doom us with that bullshit!! The little sister doesn’t get to give up before her brother does!”

The time finally came.

A transmission arrived at their radios. This told them all too well that she was focused on them.

“Quenser.”

“…Melly.”

“I’m not asking for a ceasefire. 152. I already gave you a chance and you refused.”

“If we don’t do anything, you’re the next rulers of the world. Then you can rewrite morality and the history books to say whatever it is you want. If we did surrender, we’d just be shot at some phony court martial. We only have two options here: die now or die later. Isn’t that right?”

“Did you forget already? 101. You’ll never die in the aquarium’s gelatin pool.”

“That’s a fate worse than death.”

Was this Melly speaking?

Was she only conveying the AI network’s thoughts?

Or had neither one chosen this and it was only the result of pitting their opinions against each other?

“Quenser, do you really think you arrived at the Island Nation all on your own? Even if the world war had created a lot of confusion and done severe damage to the satellites and communication networks – 435 – do you really think a group of 2000 deserters could make it all the way from Europe to the far end of Asia without being detected by any of the world powers’ ground radar bases or early warning radar aircraft?”

“…”

“You had a lot of silent cooperators who couldn’t actually join you but still questioned the world war enough to not pass the reports on to their superiors. They were in all four world powers and even in the blank zones. 301. Those hidden traitors are a lot harder to root out and a lot more dangerous than an open resistance force.”

“So we made the perfect bait to track them down?”

“We didn’t want to have to deal with counterattacks from all four world powers, so we gathered up all the heroes to kill them in one fell swoop. That way anyone who might think of joining you can’t. There will still be people out there with complaints, but they’re stuck now. 800. It’s perfect because we control even morality now. This will show everyone what happens if they try to assist some pipe dream of a resistance. You will lay the foundation for a new order. A new order ruled by the Information Alliance.”

“Melly…”

“Azumaya has been eliminated from the Island Nation, but secret gatherings of agents from the four world powers can be held anywhere. Where will it be next? The Northern Restricted Zone? The Greater Canyon? 930. Anywhere that a historical taboo makes people excessively cautious can be remade into the magician’s table.”

“I don’t care what the Information Alliance wants. I want to know why you’re using the Manhattan this way.”

“Did you think I had gone berserk or something? I was born and raised to wage war like this. 850. Even my optimized mind has a part that hates war. I don’t have much of a response for you if you claim that’s just an error in the Martini Series, though.”

She made it sound so casual.

Was that how it felt once you had reached that level?

“There isn’t really anything we want to do after we end the world war and reign supreme. It’s just that we don’t see anyone else out there powerful enough to do this. 793. So we’re going to try and awkwardly balance the world on the one table leg left. As long as we can pull that off, what does it matter who’s in charge? So that doesn’t have to be a world power or even a human mind, does it?”

The world war would not end on its own.

No appeal to normalcy or ordinary values could defeat such a powerful enemy.

The only way to avoid tragedy would be to rely on the victor.

Morality wouldn’t even enter the picture. People wanted peace, no matter who they were ruled by. They would have no choice but to rely on the Manhattan 000 if they wanted to extinguish the flames of war burning across the globe.

This would make the perfect demonstration of that. Especially because she had shown up just in time to suppress Together By Chance’s mysterious attack on the Island Nation. She had increased the value of her target and now she was reaping the benefits.

“So, Quenser, if you don’t like the aquarium plan, don’t bother begging for your life. 759. The most I’ll listen to are some final words. What epitaph would you like for your tombstone?”

“Bend yourself into a pretzel and count the wrinkles of your asshole, you piece of shit.”

A mass of air pushed up from below as the Manhattan rushed in.

The air cushion landing craft took flight and was torn to pieces by the impact.