Elisha Murcia 

In the desert region that stretched across the central portion of the Anatolian Peninsula, and along the rails laid to traverse that very desert, a massive troop transport vehicle sped onward. Inside the violently shaking vehicle, armed Paragon men and women sat facing each other.

“...”

As if maintaining the heavy, stifling atmosphere was their very purpose, all of the passengers wordlessly wore the same grim expression.

Some time after the train had started heading east, the sound of metal scraping tore through the air which had otherwise only been filled by the faint sound of breathing and the vibrating carriage. All eyes snapped toward the door leading to the connecting passageway. 

Before them was the captain of their battalion.

“We’ll be arriving at the relay station soon. Once we load up on additional supplies, all of you will officially be soldiers.”

“Yes, sir!”

“This battle is a holy war that will determine the fate of all Paragons—no, the very fate of the world! There is no ‘you’, only ‘us’. For ‘our’ sake, give it your all–”

“ELISHA MURCIAAAAAA~ ATTACK!!”

Suddenly, a voice loud enough to interrupt the battalion captain's words filled the entire room.

“Oh…? You’ve got some nerve to interrupt me!”

The captain headed towards the source of the voice, deliberately emphasizing the sound of his footsteps as he walked.

“Gatekeeper Elisha Murcia.”

He directed his attention to underneath a seat at the very back of the train car. There was a girl with light blue hair sleeping, drooling. Her expression conveyed her youth, and nothing about her suggested in the slightest that she was a soldier about to head into battle.

“Elisha Murcia!!!”

“...Nyyaaaaggh!!”

Receiving the full force of the captain's rage, she instinctively jumped so high that she nearly hit the ceiling. Executing a surprisingly skilled landing, Elisha quickly scanned her surroundings.

“What? What? What?! Was there an accident? A bombing? An air raid?”

“Feeling better now, Elisha Murcia?”

“Ah– Yes, sir! My body and mind are in tip-top shape!”

“Hm. Then how about we put them to the test?”

“Yes, sir! Captain, sir!”

“I’ll be giving you a special mission!”

“Yes, sir…! Huh?”

“You are to cross reference the supplies against the manifest before we reach the relay base. By yourself, of course.”

“Huh? Why do I have to do that…? There’s no way I can do all that by "myse–”

“Is that right?”

I gotta stop digging my own grave.

Instively sensing danger from the captain’s increasingly sharp gaze, Elisha jumped out of the vehicle in a panic.

“L-Leave it to meeeee!”

“Pain in the ass conscripts… Like some country bumpkin is gonna be of any use.”

The captain let out a heavy sigh and glanced back over his shoulder. The incident with Elisha entirely changed the mood, and the captain gave a deliberately loud, exaggerated cough before he proceeded to scold the soldiers stifling their laughter.

My hometown, Murcia, is in a rural area where nothing happens literally ever. Apparently in the past it once flourished as a city with roots in rebellion, but the past is the past. Who cares about that? My biggest concern is figuring out how to avoid how boring it is having to live here forever until I die.

Lying flat on my back in bed, I reached a hand toward the ceiling and imagined I was aimlessly piloting an airship.

“Haaa… Just the middle of nowhere where nothing ever happens. Not today, not tomorrow… How can everyone else be totally fine with that..?”

I wanted to go somewhere far away—to an unfamiliar city or an unknown land. Just thinking about it made my heart go crazy. I wanted it so bad… Everyone always said that the only condition of being a good citizen is to perform your daily duties, but is that really happiness?

If that was happiness, you could count me out!

“Something, anything please, I’m so bored.”

“――――”

“Huh…?”

What the– I thought I heard something outside. This place was usually so quiet, you could hear literally everything. If anything happened, it would be a whole event… Leaning out the wide open window, I listened closely in the direction of the sound. A shrill, repeating noise was carried to me by the wind. There was no way it was the sound of guards training or the cleaning crews at work.

I knew it! Yeah, this is–

“Smells like trouble!”

I ran towards the city as fast as I could.

――

――――

Guided by the sound, I made my way to the center of the city, only to find it overflowing with people. I couldn’t tell what was going on with all the people around, so I pushed my way through the crowd to get to the front. That’s when I saw the source of the noise.

"This is a battle for our very survival! Rise up, proud citizens of Murcia!" 

A soldier, seated in a sturdy looking vehicle, was shouting at the top of his lungs, repeating the same words over and over again. But what caught my attention even more was the large and imposing holographic projection standing beside the military officer. The white haired man it depicted almost seemed to be looking down on us.

“Who… is that..?”

He looked dignified, but for some reason, I felt a chill down my spine. I felt like I was on pins and needles…

“Gender is irrelevant! Class is irrelevant! Now is the time to stake our lives, my compatriots!”

“A holy war… So wait, that means… We can leave the city!?!?”

I had absolutely zero combat experiences, but I couldn’t let what might have been my only chance slip through my fingers–!

“Yeah! Yeah!! Me! Me, I volunteer!”

“Hgh!? Well, aren’t you a lively young lady? You part of the city guard?”

“No! I’m a civilian!”

At that moment, I heard laughter that seemed to mock me for shouting so loudly.

“Is that who I think it is? Well, if it isn’t the good-for-nothing Elisha.”

“Huh? I’m doing nothing on purpose.” 

The man who interfered was one of the city guards, and he was practically born to protect it. Towering two or three heads above me, the man made a show of hugging his arms around his shoulders.

“You wouldn’t even make a decent meat shield, would you? No way.”

“Yeah, tell her!”

“Calling her a shield is an insult to shields!”

The guards surrounding him laughed and egged him on.

“You big jerk! There’s plenty of stuff I can do!”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

“I can talk!”

The laughter suddenly stopped.

“A-And I’m really good at running away!”

“...A word of advice. A civilian like you would be better off staying here and offering prayers. It’s the act of a fool to throw away your life for no reason.”

“I’m… volunteering because I’m fed up spending every day doing nothing! If it means I’ll get out of here, then I’ll be your foolish shield!” I said it. Absolutely everything I was feeling.

If that didn’t work, then–

“I see. With a spirit like that, it would be a waste to leave you in the civilian class. Consider yourself enlisted.”

“Whoa whoa…”

“She’s a goner.”

“A-Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. Besides, we’re stronger in numbers, aren’t we?”

“Well, if the recruiting officer says it’s alright…”

“I get to leave! Thank you, Mr. Recruiter!”

“All of you will assemble as the Murcia platoon. You’ll be leading them as their captain.”

The recruiter patted the large man on the shoulder.

“I-I’m the captain!? I’m in charge of her?”

“Looking forward to working with you, captain!”

“It’s so over…”

“Ah, one last thing. I hereby bestow upon you all the name of Murcia. I expect you to conduct yourself in a manner that won’t disgrace this glorious city.”

“Thank you so much! I’ll do my very best!”

“Hey, Elisha.”

As I saluted enthusiastically, the captain slowly walked up to me and thrusted a large fist in front of my face. 

“Wh-What is it?”

“Take it.”

As he spoke, he dropped something into both of my hands. It was a small, square device.

“Uh…?”

“It’s a tracking device. With this, we’ll be able to save your ass if you get lost, right Wahahaha!”

“Wahahaha!”

“D-Don’t treat me like a child–!!”

And so, we—the people of Murcia—set off on a journey to a land far, far away in the east!

Upon our arrival at Olympias, the Murcia Platoon was assigned to undergo training at a military exercise base. Unlike everyone else, who started full fledged training, I had to start with the very basics as a beginner.

Learning hand signals to communicate with people at a distance—or when conversation wasn't possible. Handling a gun that fired beams of pure white light, and eating the bland, rationed field meals... it all felt incredibly novel. Every single thing seemed special. 

And then the day of our departure for the eastern front finally arrived. After joining up with other soldiers from other frontier cities, I was crammed into a large troop transport vehicle and we left the colony. 

――

――――

We were passing through the desert region of Antulya. I really wanted to see it for myself, but the captain would chew me out if I wandered around the vehicle without permission. I couldn’t let it go, but while I was thinking about how to pull it off, I fell asleep.

So… the captain really chewed me out.

But! But!! But!!! Thanks to that, I got to see the vast desert with my own eyes during my trek to the cargo vehicle. So yeah! It was actually super lucky!

In the end, the cargo inspection wasn’t finished by the time we reached the base at the eastern edge of Antulya. To make things worse, I got stuck unloading and inspecting additional supplies because of the captain. It sucked.

“Hah… Can’t I get a little help…? Recon duty by the rocky cliffs? Come on, that big jerk!”

The area around the base, full of towering cliffs and rubble, had a different bleakness from Murcia.  I guess that was the difference between Murcia, where the restoration of the land had been completed, and places that were abandoned halfway through the process. We were told severely contaminated areas were strictly off limits.

“They defiled it however they wanted and dumped the responsibility on us… I feel like I understand why the humans that ruled the earth forever ago were considered evil.”

“Ahaha, so true! Even though they lived many lifetimes longer than us, they left us like, ‘YOLO!’ That’s their excuse, y’know. ‘Who cares about restoring the Earth anyways’♪”

“Huh!?”

I thought I had been all alone the whole time, but somehow, without me even noticing, a tall man with red hair and an eyepatch was standing right beside me. 

“Wh-When did you get here…?”

“Mmm, does it really matter? I’m just here on monitoring duty to keep an eye on you♪”

“What?”

That was the same thing as saying he’d been there the whole time!

“Please don’t interfere with my mission!”

“Ah-ha! Soooorry, sorry.”

Even while apologizing, the man with the eyepatch kept the facetious grin. It felt totally disconnected from his attitude, and I thought about voicing a complaint or two—but I ended up just looking away from him.

“What’s wroooong? Is there something on my face?”

“N-no! It’s nothing, sir!”

It’s not like I was scared of the red substance on his face or anything. It was his partially opened eye, I was afraid of what might be behind it.

“If you keep reacting like that, it’ll just make me more curious about you. Monitoring dutyyyy, continue!”

I kept twisting my neck to avoid making eye contact with him as he tried to look at my face, but then I moved a bit too quickly and heard a loud crack.

“Ow! Oooowowow!?”

“Ha, ah-hahahahaha!”

“T-this isn’t a laughing matter…!”

“Watching someone suffer is fun, isn’t it~♪”

“EEEEEK!”

His eye! He wasn’t smiling with his eye at all! This sucks! He was totally gonna kill me, wasn’t he? I was gonna be remembered as the girl who died in some random town in the middle of nowhere before even reaching the battlefield!

I could sense people nearby, probably drawn in by all the commotion, but no one tried to get close. If you’re watching, help meeeeee!!

“Hey…why don’t you come join my squad? I’m sure things would get more fun~ Isn’t that right?”

“Th-that’s…”

You’re having fun, not meeeee!

I choked down my complaint before it could escape my mouth, abandoned my work, and ran away as fast as I could.

――

――――

“...And that’s exactly what happened.”

When I told the rest of the Murica Platoon about the guy in the eyepatch, they all widened their eyes in shock.

“You dumbass…! I can’t believe you did that!”

“There’s no way that wasn’t Captain Lotto! You’re lucky to still be alive!”

They all praised me.

“Uh… Was he really that special?”

“Of course a civilian wouldn’t know. You know those ships in the dock with the red paint job?" 

“Yeah.”

“They belong to a special forces unit from Olympias. We’ve only heard rumors, but that red haired guy with the eyepatch is apparently their captain. He could have taken you out with just one finger if he felt like it.”

“He never laid a finger on me, and my body is still stiff…”

I had no idea he was so amazing. Just imagining what might have happened if I had handled the situation differently sends shivers down my spine. I’m definitely glad I turned down his invitation. He was definitely not the kind of guy someone like me should be getting involved with.

“Well, what’s done is done. We’re gonna get chewed out if we don’t get that cargo loaded up, so let's split up and get it finished.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Got it.”

“Sheesh, you know it would have been nice if you helped me from the start.”

When we returned to the spot where I’d run into that guy, the supplies that should have been there were... completely gone. 

“Huh… What the!?”

When I looked inside the room, I saw a single sheet of paper stabbed into the wall with a knife, with words written on it.

“I’ll take all this, and for what’s left, YOLO♪”

…Some “amazing guy” he is. That guy just brings plague everywhere he goes!

We were to be incorporated into a rear support unit that would support the troops deployed on the front lines. 

“...I came all the way out here just to get stuck with boring surveillance…”

“Logistical support is critical, especially in a battle where the front lines need to be maintained for a long time. One might even say you’re signing your own death warrant if you underestimate the importance of it.”

“Because we’d run out of weapons and rations, right?”

“Right. There are a lot of other important roles, but… For now, just remember that if the rear support is crushed, the front lines won’t hold.”

“I see, so even this boring stuff matters in war. I always kinda figured you could take out any enemy easily as long as you had a gun.”

“Oh, come ooon. Did you absorb anything from the classroom training?”

“Sorry! I was asleep for like half of it.”

“Thank god I don’t have to take you to the front lines.”

The mission for the day concluded successfully, and the scheduled report arrived from the front lines. It seemed the Machines were steadily retreating. Even if it was just a small battle, hearing that we won made me feel good.

“The Machines ruling over us are weaker than I thought.”

“Lord Ahav brought about a change in us. All the research we’ve done on them has led us to this moment!”

“Our evolution was beyond Machine comprehension. Doesn't that make us much greater than plain humans?”

“—Naturally! Paragons have transcended old humanity. It’s our destiny to easily surpass even Machines! Elisha Murcia.”

“Eek!”

That voice… it’s the battalion commander!?

“Wh-wh-wh-why are you here?”

“All of you to the garrison. Immediately.”

“Huh? You don’t mean we’re gonna start training right now?”

“Who gave you permission to speak? Don’t speak unless you’re spoken to! Now get moving!”

“Uuuee!”

I hurried to the garrison plaza, where numerous other squads had already gathered. At the center of the garrison, several heavily armed guards stood at the ready, seemingly escorting someone incredibly important. Then, as if waiting for the bustling plaza to fall silent, the figure standing behind the guards stepped up onto the stage platform. 

A guard below the platform started to shout, “Comrades, thank you all for gathering here! Before you is none other than our commander in chief and the supreme leader of the Olympias Colony—His Excellency Void!" 

“OUUUAAAHH!!!”

The mere appearance of the prime minister, the same from the holographic projection back in Murcia, sent a tremor through the earth that made the ground shake. He looked over the plaza with a smile on his face. 

In person, he gave off a totally different impression than the footage I’d seen before. The image in my head was much more imposing… but the prime minister in front of me left a deeply intellectual impression. He waited for the commotion to completely die down before speaking calmly and dispassionately. 

His words came slowly so they would permeate everyone, “Let me begin by saying that it is truly admirable you were able to push back the Machine’s defensive network in this battle. It’s thanks to your support that the soldiers on the front lines can achieve such spectacular results.”

For someone like me, who had spent the entire time carrying out nothing but patrol missions, those words didn't quite resonate. However, amidst the silence, the sound of someone sobbing was carried by the wind.

“Damn it… We’ve got to give it our all too…”

Whaaaaat? Captain…!? 

I silently handed him my handkerchief.

“That was thoughtful of you…” As soon as he said that, the captain began noisily blowing his nose.

…I guess I have to throw that away now.

“The Machines who seek to discard us—we who were born on this earth and truly contributed to its restoration, and the Returnees who shamelessly call themselves our successors. They have exposed their own incompetence in a battle that has lasted for over a decade. And what is the result?”

The prime minister swept his gaze over us, the rear support units, studying our faces intently before he continued weaving his words together.

“It’s you—all of you. It’s your anger and your hatred. It was their half-hearted decisions that created the situation we face today. It’s their twisted elitist ideology that threw the world’s gears into disarray and resulted in further contamination of the earth!”

As his words and passion intensified, the atmosphere started to change. It was as if the entire plaza was united by a single will... and the voice of the far away prime minister seemed to be speaking directly to me. 

“Our former leader, Ahav, and our mother Saint Bathsheba. More than a decade has passed since those great predecessors fought their battles. And now, the time has come for us, the successors of their will, to destroy the Machines and Returnees!”

The prime minister raised his fist into the air and shouted, “The fate of the earth is in our hands! We will destroy them and seize true victory!”

“OOOOUUUAAAGGGGGHH!!!”

A wave of thunderous roars violently shook the entire square. The prime minister's words had instantly united the hearts of the soldiers gathered there. Watching their excitement, the prime minister waved his hand in response to their cheers before boarding a combat ship and flying off.

“So that’s… Lord Void…”

It certainly seeed like the kind of behavior that someone in a top position would display. Going around to each garrison to offer encouragement like that boosted morale. But there was one thing that bothered me. 

“Elisha, how are you not crying?”

“We’ve got to give it our all too!”

“We have to achieve greatness and become heroes!”

“W-well…”

Did they all forget one important detail? It’s us, the soldiers, who risk their lives on the battlefield…

A few days after the prime minister’s speech, seeing that the Machine’s defense network had been pushed back even further, the higher-ups decided to advance the front line all at once. The sight of the color coded territories blending into one on the map definitely felt good. Still, I really could have done without having to move from place to place across such treacherous terrain. Until it happened, I didn’t realize just how much of a toll walking through a battlefield in that state would take on my spirit…

“Huh? Advancing again? My body has had it…”

We had just started setting up a defensive position at our new location when orders came down to move closer to the main defensive line. No amount of complaining would change the order, so I gave up and took down the camp. What awaited me in the wasteland, still thick with smoke… was the gruesome aftermath of battle.

“Hgh… Ah…!”

The first thing I felt was a sharp, stinging pain. The smell of charred flesh and the sound of groaning. I instantly wanted to cover my eyes and block out the smell, but something inside of me wouldn’t allow it. I couldn’t look away. If I couldn’t do that, I had to think of something else—so I desperately tried to clear my head.

—Rations. That’s right, I hadn’t eaten yet today. I had to eat it right now, or I, I, I–”

“Dumbass! You think this is the time to be eating rations!?”

Sparks flew across my eyes. I thought the light from the cannon streaking across the sky had made impact with the ground somewhere, but my cheek felt hot. I’d been slapped.

“C-Captain…?”

“Look at it.”

“Huh?”

“Burn all of this into your eyes. If you turn tail instead of facing it, they’ll haunt you forever… Up until the day you become their “comrade”.

I turned my gaze in the direction the captain was pointing. I saw what remained of a Paragon, lying motionless on their back. It felt like they were smiling at me.

“Urgh! Ngh… Hgh…”

“What, gonna puke?”

“Ggh…. AaaAAAGH! I’m not gonna vomit!”

“Oh?”

Everyone dramatically clapped their hands to congratulate me. Holding my breath, I raised both arms and struck a triumphant pose in return. 

“Haaa… I don’t know how you guys can stomach this. You’ve got nerves of steel.”

“Ever since we took on our role as guards, we’ve had the history of battle drilled into us. No matter how many weapons you have, this is what determines your fate.”

The captain puffed out his chest and struck it with his fist. Their scarred bodies had been protecting Murcia all this time, and I had no idea. For the first time… I felt like I could truly rely on them.

“Therefore…”

The captain held out his large right hand towards me.

“What hand signal is that? Is it in the manual?”

“Gahaha, no, no! This is proof that I recognize you as a true comrade, Elisha. Go on, punch me with everything you’ve got.”

“Congrats, Elisha! Now you don’t have to worry about being a meat shield, right?”

“Ggh! CAPTAAAAAIN!!!”

Provoked into it, I threw a punch with all my might. The captain’s palm was as hard as iron.

“Huh, a full scale assault?”

The war, now in full swing, was escalating at a terrifying pace. On the battlefield where frontline troops fought against Machines, a massive weapon with a head like a skull had reportedly appeared and broken through the Machine’s defensive line.

“This is crazy…”

I mean, if there were weapons the Machines couldn’t defend against, why didn’t they just use it from the beginning? There shouldn’t have been a need for all the casualties. In the end, we were just convenient pawns for the people in charge. As that thought crossed my mind, my steps grew heavy.

“What are you doing, Elisha? Hurry up!”

“Y-yes sir…!”

I wasn’t dead yet, but I felt extremely aware of my own mortality. When the time finally came, I just hoped it would be instant.

――

――――

“What… the hell…?”

“Is… Is everyone dead?

Upon arriving at Perses, we found it piled high with corpses. But strangely, I didn't feel any fear. Not because I was used to it, but because the corpses still looked human.  

“Captain, what in the world…?”

“We’re not forensics. All I can say is that they all died the same way.”

A Paragon’s corpse, lying at the captain’s feet, was bleeding from their entire body.

“Did everyone who entered die?”

“Some of the ones in the rear survived, but… the ones closer to the city are all probably dead.”

“We… don’t even stand a chance…”

Just as unfamiliar dread and anxiety loomed over the squad, the captain’s terminal started to ring. A woman’s voice came through the device.

“This is Esther Yagrush from headquarters. What unit is this?”

“This is the Murcia Platoon. We’re currently confirming the presence of survivors in the outskirts of the Perses Colony.”

“I see. Once you’ve recovered as many as possible, withdraw from the colony.”

After a few more moments of the exchange, the status report ended. The captain tore his eyes from the silver city towering within the colony, turned to us, and then called for the entire unit.

“As soon as we recover the survivors, the Murcia Platoon will withdraw from Perses.”

“So we don’t die, right?”

“Cut the crap. It’s just a tactical retreat. We’ll return to the colony as soon as there’s a strategy.”

“R-right…”

I peek at the silver city hidden behind the captain. The cityscape, seemingly made with calculated perfection, was eerily quiet and filled with a coldness that seemed to reject our intrusion. 

“Elisha!”

“EEP!?”

“Don’t make those weird noises. We’re heading back.”

“Okay…”

We hurried toward the flagship, which was waiting far behind Perses. 

"Don't dawdle, or we'll leave you behind!" 

"W-wait for meeeee!" 

The ship we entered was like a fortress on massive wheels. We headed straight for the command room. With its narrow passageways and numerous doors, the ship's interior gave me the feeling of being lost in a maze. 

“It’s the exact opposite of Perses. It’s dim, and it’s so packed with pipes that it’s suffocating…”

I turned my gaze away from the ceiling.

…Everyone was gone.

“N-now I’ve done it…”

I pressed the button on my communicator, but there was no response. Unsure what else to do, I started to search rooms at random.

“With stuff like this, it’s usually best to just pick a direction and stick with it. Yeah, I’ll catch up in no time!”

I climbed the stairs and followed a hallway on the right. I went up another flight of stairs and turned right. Eventually, I found a room with a faint light spilling out of it. I could hear someone talking inside.

“Perfect! I can get some help from whoever’s inside!”

The moment I stepped into the room–

“Damn it! Why aren't you attacking!? Look at the power readings coming from inside the colony, that thing is obviously incapable of rapid fire! Hurry up and send in the troops!”

“Eep!”

I was assaulted by violent yelling and fell backwards onto the hard floor. Suuuper carefully, I peeked through the gap in the door to see what was happening. The person flying into a furious rage was none other than our supreme leader—Lord Void, the prime minister.

“What the… He’s like a totally different person from when he was giving that speech… This guy’s hysterical. This is who we have to–”

“—You bitch!”

“Eeep! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!!”

“...Huh!? Hold on a second. Who's there!?”

O-oops… So that wasn’t directed at me… I steeled myself and made sure to lead with an apology so he wouldn’t explode at me.

“I’m sorry for eavesdropping, sir.”

“What unit are you with, woman?”

“Ah, um… I’m Elisha Murcia of the Murcia Platoon, sir.”

“Your name is irrelevant. The Murcia area was under Rhea’s jurisdiction, wasn’t it? The reorganization of the assault unit is already underway. Go now.”

“Um… I-I actually got lost…”

“Huh? Good grief, what a complete waste of space,” saying that, Lord Void contacted someone with the terminal he’d just been yelling at and called for his guards.

“Get her out of here—and make it quick!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Listen, woman. If you waste my time like this again, I’ll have you executed!”

“...Understood.”

I left the ship escorted by a guard. And so, I found myself joining the assault unit gathering in front of the combat vehicles, which meant I would have to venture into that silver city again....

I managed to rendezvous with the rest of the Murcia Platoon during the unit reorganization. I got a huge lecture, but even that made me happy for some reason. I couldn't help but smile. Meanwhile, while everything was progressing smoothly… Someone approached the combat ship where we had lined up.

“...Is this the full headcount? Alright, everyone, I’m Nadine Nathanael, and I’ll be commanding this assault team. Feel free to just call me Nadine.”

As he said this, the dark skinned man who introduced himself as Nadine wore a cheerful smile. He seemed gentle—the exact opposite of the hysterical man from earlier. After checking our equipment and sharing the mission details, it was finally time for our second infiltration of Perses. It had been hectic, but it hadn’t been that long since the initial breach. Our mission was to infiltrate the city's core and confirm if the commander who’d gone missing was dead or alive.

Even though we were told a follow up attack was unlikely, there was no telling when the weapon that had wiped out the initial assault team might fire again. The air as we walked through the silver city was so heavy with death that I barely felt alive.

I wonder how far we’d come?

We made our way deeper into the city, occasionally passing by mechanical soldiers that mimicked human form. Along the way, Captain Nadine noticed one of them behaving strangely and paused in thought. 

“Captain Nadine, please come over here.” 

“What’s wrong?”

It seemed like one of his subordinates had found something, so Captain Nadine made his way over. After finishing his conversation, he waved us over. I had a really bad feeling about this…

"I'm going to have you infiltrate the interior from here." 

“Whaa–!? Are you insane? You’re sending us in alone!?”

“Is there a problem? Another squad, then…”

“P-please hold on just a moment, Captain Nadine!”

“Gah!!”

The platoon leader shoved me aside.

“We’ll proceed with the mission!”

“A-ah, is that so? Then I’ll leave it to you.”

“Yes, sir! Leave it to us!”

The conversation was over before I could even object. Captain Nadine and the others quickly continued deeper into the city and left us behind.

“...Are you sure about this? If there’s a bunch of enemies underground, we’re totally done for!”

“This is our chance, Elisha.”

“Our chance? Are you for real?”

“Yeah. So far, we haven’t achieved anything worthwhile. But if we could seize control of the central district with our own hands... You get it, don’t you?”

“Captain… What’s more important? Our lives, or achievements!?”

The answer was so obvious, I didn’t even need to ask.

――

――――

We cautiously made our way down the path leading underground. A dimly lit corridor stretched on endlessly, but we hadn't encountered a single enemy. Just as the thought of being able to seize control of the core without incident began to cross my mind, I noticed that the corner ahead was illuminated by a faint light. Right as we approached what I thought was the finish line, I heard a loud bang, like something had exploded. 

A gunshot. By the time we realized what it was, everyone in the platoon had already had their weapons drawn and were peering around the corner. Nervously, I confirmed the situation from behind. Further ahead was an open area where a lone combat ship was resting. Beyond that was another passageway, where a group of Paragons were engaged in a firefight with mechanical soldiers across a barricade.

“You think that’s the missing captain?”

“Might be. Move in and cover ‘em!”

“Roger!”

We stormed the room and split up to approach the ship from both sides to provide cover. We destroyed the attacking mechanical soldiers one by one and rescued the Paragons that had been pinned down behind the barricade. 

“Alright, let’s take off while we still have the chance!”

Then, without saying a word, they quickly headed towards the ship. 

“Wait! What unit are you with?”

The captain stopped firing at the mechanical soldiers and threateningly pointed his gun at one of the Paragons—a black-haired man. Almost instantly, the captain’s glare changed to an expression of shock.

“Wh… Lord Cainan? You’re safe?”

“Yeah, I was enough to escape the Machine’s attack. Now, I have business to attend to. I'll leave the remaining mechanical soldiers to you..." 

“Just a moment, isn’t that a Machine behind you? Where in the world are you trying to take it?”

The captain’s comment must have struck a nerve with the black-haired man. The air suddenly grew tense, but it was shattered by–

—Bang.

A single gunshot rang out, and the bullet the man fired pierced the captain’s shoulder.

“C-Captain! You’re…!!”

Another squad member tried to retaliate, but the ship's hatch slammed shut before he could. At that rate, the man who shot the captain was going to get away!

“WAAAAAAH!!”

I frantically shot at the ship. Over and over again. But it was useless. I ran out of bullets almost instantly. The ship was starting to move.

“WAAAAAIT!!”

I had to do something! Anything! I threw everything in my pockets at the ship, but there was no way an attack so childish would work… and the ship flew away.

“Elisha… You’re safe…”

“Captain! I-I’ll stop the bleeding!”

I pressed my handkerchief firmly against the gaping hole in the captain’s shoulder. Blood gushed out of it, and the handkerchief was quickly soaked red.

“Damn it! The enemy numbers are increasing!”

“I can’t die here… We’ll fight back!”

“You’re really planning on fighting with that shoulder, Captain!?”

“Damn right I am! It’s the captain’s job to bring their subordinates home alive!”

With those words, the captain wrapped the wound tight and immediately opened fire on the mechanical soldiers. 

“Listen to me! We’re going to survive, and we’re going to be heroes!”

“Yeah!”

“You guys… Captain…”

That's right, this was no time to be moping around. We were going to survive—no matter what!

We fought desperately against a swarm of mechanical soldiers and managed to make it back alive. I have absolutely no memory of how I survived or why I was currently locked in a room aboard Lord Void’s ship. The rest of the platoon had all been separated and isolated, and I had no idea what was happening to them.

My metal shackles clinked together.

“What’s gonna happen to me now…? I just wanna go back to Murcia…”

Lord Void said before he’d have a waste of space like me executed… I was totally gonna be held responsible for letting that Cainan guy get away.  I’d be torn limb from limb.

“Haa…”

As I let out my billionth heavy sigh, a rhythmic sound echoed from the other side of the closed door. Before I could respond, the door opened, and guards with rifles on their backs stepped into the room.

“Eek! U-um, am I really gonna be executed!?”

“What are you talking about? We’re not here to kill you. Elisha Murcia, you’re coming with us.”

Without waiting for my reply, the guards led me out of the room and instructed me to stand in front of a room that looked familiar. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! This is… Don’t tell me…”

I was right.

“We’ve brought the witness!”

“Send her in.”

“Yes, sir!”

There was nowhere left to run. I prepared myself and rushed into Lord Void's room. 

“E-excuse me…”

“Welcome, Elisha Murcia.”

“Uuee…”

Prime Minister Void was behind the desk directly in front of the door. He was glaring at me with a furrowed brow and a terrifying expression. He wasn't the only one in the room, either. Captain Nadine, Saint Rhea, a muscular red-haired man covered in bandages… and a bunch of others. Everyone was in a totally different league than me—and they were all staring at me at once.

"Now, tell us what you saw at the colony." 

“T-to be honest… I can’t really remember all that well–”

“How useless. I said speak!”

“EEEEK!!”

“Void, please don’t be so discouraging. My apologies, Elisha Murcia. Take your time, all right? Just close your eyes and try to remember the moment of infiltration, one step at a time.”

Lady Rhea spoke to me in a gentle voice, and I managed to stay sane thanks to her.

“I-I understand. I’ll try…”

I almost fainted after repeatedly getting yelled at by Lord Void for saying foolish things, but I desperately tried to piece together my fuzzy memories. 

――

――――

“Aaaah… The air outside feels so good.”

Freed from my interrogation, I was able to go outside. I could finally return home. I had to hurry to where everyone else was being held! But just as I thought that…

“Executive Officer Elisha Murcia.”

Huh? Did someone just call me? Something didn’t sound right about it… Nervous, I looked behind me. For some reason, there were a bunch of people lined up—saluting me so quickly I could almost hear the air crack.

“U-um… I think there’s been some kind of mistake…?”

"There’s no mistake", the person at the front replied. Then, he took out a device from his pocket and showed it to me.

It looked like an official order. My name was written in huge letters at the top, and a bunch of other names were listed underneath it. A whole lot of them.

Oh. This is bad.

“Ah, ahaha… No way, th-this is…”

"We received a notice from headquarters, and we are now officially assigned to the 'Elisha Platoon'!" 

H…Huuuuuh… Elisha Platoon…!?

“Um, I don’t think I get it. I-I’m a member of the Murcia Platoon!”

"As of today, you have been given a special position and appointed as the commander of an independent unit." 

“It’s an honor to serve under you!”

“It’s a pleasure, Captain Elisha!”

I didn’t do anything. I literally didn’t do anything!?

The people claiming subordinates had their passionate gazes fixed on me.

“Ah… Hahaaa… I wanna go hooooome… To Murciaaaaaaa…”

I guess I wouldn’t be going back just yet.

Elisha calls Lotto “疫病神” which can translate to “god of pestilence”, “jinx”, “plague”, “angel of death”, and more.