Editing HEAVY OBJECT:Volume12 Chapter 4 (section)

===Part 7===

Quenser used the pro-sports motorboat to practically skip along the canal’s water and out into the nearby ocean. He immediately noticed the change. The mystery Zombie Object and the Information Alliance’s Rush would never begin to race alongside each other like that. Something had clearly happened between the two Objects approaching him…no, approaching Second Venice behind him.

Whatever the case, they were approaching at 500 kph. He would only have one chance as they passed by. If he could not settle this then, he could never catch up. No matter how hard he worked the engine, a normal boat could not reach even half that speed.

Quenser himself did not have a clear answer.

“U-uoooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?”

They did not care about a tiny fly in their way and they would crush him if he was in their path. Sensing that arrogance, Quenser worked the helm to escape the Zombie Object and the Rush. That may have been his real reason for doing it.

Regardless, he drove into the gap between the two.

Both the Rush and the Zombie Object used air cushion engines. And they were constantly creating enough wind to keep their 200,000 ton bodies afloat. Quenser should have realized what passing between them would mean.

Gravity seemed to vanish.

The student pictured the ping pong ball floating above a toy pipe.

Yes. The powerful winds created by the two Objects collided between them and created an intense updraft in search of a way out.

The motorboat instantly flipped over and then flew straight up like a leaf. The idiot was no different.

As Quenser was instantly rocketed up the length of a 25 meter pool, his hips bent at an unfortunate angle and he happened to spot something.

A few secondary cannons had been torn from the Rush’s side and several pen-sized antennae were stabbed there. They had forcibly connected to the cannon control electrodes that were exposed by the damage, so an opening had been created for a cyber-attack by an extreme short-range wireless signal.

It all happened in an instant, which was not enough time to do much.

And the Objects were moving at 500 kph. Even if they were pen-sized, reaching out and trying to break them away would only tear his hand off.

So Quenser threw the entire camera bag at the Rush’s side without bothering to choose a specific variety of handmade explosive.

Time seemed to start moving again.

The various bottles broke in the bag, the chemicals mixed together, and a number of chemical reactions created a large explosion. By that time, Quenser had left the “valley” between Objects. Not because he was moving quickly but because the Objects were.

His handmade explosives could not destroy an Object’s armor, but the Rush’s problem was the pen-sized antennae. They were like tiny mites or lice in a dog’s fur. A normal bomb was more than enough for them.

And once the curse of the antennae was gone, life was breathed back into the Rush.

The Rush turned around at close range and aimed its main cannon at the Zombie Object that had approached so close. With a deafening explosion, the rapid-fire beam Gatling cannon blew everything away.

That threw Quenser through the air once more.

He had been flying in a parabolic arc, but without anything to support him, he made an unnatural midair hop. Needless to say, the Rush’s main cannon’s shockwave had hit him.

But Quenser did not have time to cry out from the pain in his back.

(Even that point-blank beam cannon blast – and a Gatling one at that – didn’t break through its armor!?)

Layer after layer peeled away, but the damage never got through. Meanwhile, the Zombie Object’s main cannon began to move. The large caliber, short barrel cannon had failed to finish off the Princess at ten kilometers, but it would be destructive enough at point-blank range. The Rush’s movements showed more panic than the Zombie Object’s.

(Oh, no! She’ll be destroyed!)

But just as he thought that, an orange beam of frightening destructive power passed right by the airborne student.

At first, he did not know what had happened.

It was only a long while later that he realized it was compressed metal cannon that compressed the shell down to a needle-like point.

At any rate, he made another unnatural bounce, was tossed around, and nearly passed out.

As if peeling away the upper surface of the Zombie Object’s spherical main body, a giant hole appeared by also taking out the armor around the single sharp point. A spine chilling sound like a can of food caught in a bear trap reached Quenser’s ears after a short delay.

The Zombie Object stopped moving.

It tilted. The air cushion engine must have been malfunctioning because it slowly sank into the sea.

Finally, Quenser was able to stop being a bird.

He was in a tailspin and unable to prepare as he was slammed into the ocean surface.

“Bfwah!?”

The impact felt like a slap to the entire face and it actually snapped his scattering mind into focus. As masochistic talent bloomed inside the idiot, he got his head above the water and searched for something like driftwood or a plastic tank to grab onto. He was far out enough for ships to sail, so there was no way his feet could reach the bottom and he could not swim back to shore under his own power.

Then something else was fired from the distance.

It was a giant antenna buoy that was likely meant for jamming. As he grabbed onto it, Quenser received a radio transmission.

“Legitimacy Kingdom, I quite enjoyed the show. Think of this as my thanks.”

“Cough, cough… What? The Old Fashion..?”

That Object was focused on the battlefield student rather than the Rush or the Zombie Object. Quenser could not figure out what he wanted.

Or perhaps that old warrior did not really want anything out of this.

“So you provide a helping hand even if it is your enemy’s leader in trouble? Not bad. So this is what you lot call ‘chivalry’. I felt just as excited when I first showed this Object off to my old friend. I will fall back as a sign of respect. Legitimacy Kingdom, how much longer will your food and water last?”

“…We won’t last beyond another four days.”

“Then I will ensure the Information Alliance falls back and opens the way before then. Did you hear that, Information Alliance? Prepare yourself.”

At this rate, the Old Fashion and Rush would clash on their own. If things went well, Oh Ho Ho would fall back, the blockade would be broken, and everyone would be freed from the hell in Second Venice.

Quenser thought about the benefits of that, but he could not hold his tongue.

“Old Fashion, wait!”

“What is it, MVP? Would you like me to fire a case of champagne out there for you?”

“Infection base. Investigate that term. If you still feel like helping us and you’re willing to help people who might be mankind’s enemies, then we’ll be waiting.”

“Hm. Understood.”

This time, the transmission ended.

As Quenser gasped for breath while clinging to the large antenna buoy, another transmission reached him. This one was from the Information Alliance’s Oh Ho Ho.

“How foolish are you? Oh ho ho. If you had kept silent, you could have played the victim and gotten their help, but you went out of your way to turn that ace against you.”

“…I know that.”

Quenser spat his words out toward the enemy leader and then made a declaration.

“But it was necessary.”

“Hmph. …You fool.”