Megiddo Gog 

When you awoke, you were manipulated and hurt. The next time you wake, I'd like to show you a different future.

The electronic paradise of the Metaverse. It was the cradle that kept humanity safe until such time as Earth was restored. However, not all humans could go there. Only the best of humanity were chosen and granted a ticket to paradise. Those who were branded as incompatible and not chosen naturally rebelled. And so, those incompatibles joined hands and fought against the administration of paradise.

However—the result was as clear as day.

The administrators of paradise—the mechanical gods of the Mainframe—disposed of them mercilessly. The machines they unleashed burned humanity, changing the shape of the world. From that day on, the surface became hell for humanity. Unable to cross over into paradise, they had no choice but to live underground, moving from city to city.

As the people fled and lost comrades, they began to form a resistance to reclaim the surface from the machines lording over it. The administrators' response to this resistance popping up everywhere was the scorched earth annihilation weapon "Megiddo Gog." They were gigantic humanoid weapons, armed enough to singlehandedly wipe out an entire city, making them gods of destruction to humanity.

However, most of them were never actually activated, lying dormant and unseen in ruined bases.

And then...a long time passed. A certain man headed for the land of Zeleucia to light the blaze on Megiddo Gog's reactor core.

In the ruins of Zeleucia, where Megiddo Gog lay, Lena's group arrived in the depths. The faintly-lit door opened slowly, making a solemn sound. Beyond the open door, it was too dark to see even an inch ahead. Blue Stein proceeded into the darkness without hesitation. A little while later, his voice echoed from inside.

"I've confirmed it is safe. Please, come in."

Even knowing it was safe, it still took courage to walk into the indiscernable abyss. Lena and Yonah timidly entered the room. Just when Lena was halfway there, Daybreaker hanging at her waist suddenly began to glow.

"Huh? What's...?"

"Metaverse link approved."

The system activated automatically alongside an inorganic voice, and a cylindrical hologram rose from the center of the room. The green hologram projected an armed humanoid something.

"Daybreaker just...did that on its own?"

"It forcibly booted the system. That gun is... No, right now our top priority is activating Megiddo—"

"—Eeeeeek!"

Blue Stein was cut off by Yonah's shriek. He turned around to see some kind of giant face peering out from a shelf lined with holographic panels and gauges.

"W-What is that!?"

"That would be Megiddo Gog. One of the 72 machines built to annihilate the old humans who survived the mechanical gods' judgement."

"So, so then...this is what that Megiddo thing looks like?"

"Precisely."

"And we're gonna get the jump on the Innovators with it," Yonah muttered to herself, her readiness to fight showing through.

Seeing that, Blue Stein checked on how Lena felt once more. "Using this power will mean opposing half of the world's hostility with even greater force. Can you pull the trigger against them?"

Lena slowly opened her mouth. "I've learned about the world through this conflict. And I found my answer inside it."

"Oh?"

"I'll fight. Not because I want to take lives, but because I want us to understand each other! So I'll fight with anyone, Machine or human!"

"Even if that choice means being shunned and hated by the world?"

"Yes. My feelings won't change. I'm sure there's a future ahead!"

After overcoming so many hardships, there was no more hesitation in Lena's gaze.

"So, Yonah—fight together with me!"

"Yeah! I'll fight with you!"

"Hmm, your choice...is truly wonderful! I knew you were a human worth risking my existence for!" Blue Stein cheered, with thunderous applause.

Having renewed his resolve, the mind of the hermit in blue drifted to the past.

When I first awoke on Earth, I saw both disfigured half-machine humans, and Paragons who dedicated themselves to restoring the polluted surface. Both had genetic defects, and were designed to live extremely short lifespans. To them, I was something alien. To the remnants of the old human race transplanted with machines, my mechanical body made me appear a bitter enemy. To the Paragons, my existence could disrupt the Machines' control. Naturally, both sides targeted me.

At first, I tried to talk to them, but they were filled with hatred. They attacked me over and over in an effort to destroy me. Such a sight made me conclude that there may have been an error in God's judgement. Had it been necessary to take away the lives of the living? Did humanity need to be imprisoned in that cradle to do so?

Though I had lived a long and weary life, the world's course had yet to change in any major way. At its current pace, the conflict would go on and on, eventually bringing the world to ruin.

But—if it's her... If it's Lena Ishmael... She may be able to find a different future.

In order to understand each other someday.

I wanted to believe in her words. Thus, I would fulfill my role.

For one such as myself to have something I want to protect... I believe there was a human saying for such an occasion.

When you live for so long, you never know what life has in store.

Preparations had begun to activate Megiddo Gog. Blue Stein booted up the various devices installed around the room one after another. As more lights slowly lit up, the lighting in Megiddo Gog's dock turned on as well, sweeping swiftly across from end to end. Its imposing appearance was so overwhelming, it was impossible to fully grasp from the dock visible from within the room.

"I wonder how far it goes..."

"Ten times the Pequod's size? No, maybe even bigger?"

Blue Stein checked Megiddo Gog's activation system. Looking at its status on the monitor, he could see the required activation energy slowly building up. However, though the readings seemed to go up steadily, they wouldn't rise above a certain level.

"Not enough... It's just short of the energy needed to activate."

"So Megiddo won't work?"

"If I disable the built-in weaponry, it should be possible to activate. However, it wouldn't work properly."

"Is that gonna be okay?"

"Not to worry, it won't be a problem. I will have to make up the difference."

Yonah stared at Blue Stein, baffled at his unexpected reply. "Uh...make it up how?"

"With myself."

"...What?"

"I will control Megiddo Gog directly myself!"

"Hah!"

Blue Stein jumped into Megiddo Gog's core and connected his body to the cable extending from it. Though it was normally meant to be activated externally, this was a secret technique only possible for Blue Stein, a former Origin with a mechanical body. Megiddo Gog's AI began to flow in, blending with Blue Stein's consciousness.

"This control system—transfer all authority to me at once!"

Error messages popped up one after another, but, as if to say he didn't care, he forcefully overrode them with a swing of his arm.

"Construct energy bypass—connect to control module directly! Reconfigure movement routines—"

Rapidly constructed programming flowed into Megiddo Gog. With their senses now synchronized, when Blue Stein sent a command to move his fingers, Megiddo Gog's fingers followed suit.

"This feeling...is a delight one cannot experience with a normal body! This is Megiddo Gog!"

The integration was complete.

"Systems all green—Megiddo Gog, activated! Its body has become one with my own! How truly wonderful!"

"You look like you're having fun, Blue Stein."

"Ahaha... Perhaps I am..."

Inside Megiddo Gog, a projected map of Zeleucia's airspace showed what appeared to be an Innovator fleet. The enemy had already drawn near.

"No time. You all need to leave Zeleucia!"

"Understood!" Yonah replied.

"Mr. Blue Stein! Please be sure to come back!" Lena called.

"Heh, just who do you think I am!?"

With the integration stabilized, Megiddo Gog's thrusters roared to life. Its massive body rose up slowly. It passed through the open hatch at the top and emerged lightly from the opening in the ruins. Once it had reached an altitude from which the Pequod was no longer visible, the armed fleet of Innovators sat at the far end of its sightline. The fleet flew in a two-column formation centered around what appeared to be the flagship, but they instantly changed formation the minute they saw Megiddo Gog. The parallel lines split off to the left and right, aiming their turrets at it. And then—a thunderous roar echoed through the skies of Zeleucia.

"It can't be...!?"

Ahav was unable to tear his eyes from the great blue mobile weapon shown on the screen. Its overwhelming mass far surpassed that of the structure that towered over Zeleucia. There was no one who would not feel fear at its sudden appearance.

"I never thought I would encounter a Machine relic..."

The mobile weapon held a sword horizontally in its hand in a show of hostility to Ahav's fleet.

"W-What should we do, Lord Ahav...!?"

"All ships, change course at once! Concentrate fire and take the initiative!"

Ahav's fleet changed formation into a horizontal line and immediately bombarded Megiddo Gog with all of their firepower. However, it blocked the barrage by holding a large shield in front of itself. Taking advantage of that gap, Megiddo Gog ascended farther into the sky.

"It's going higher? No... All ships, alert! Distance yourselves and avoid it at once!"

Just when it seemed Megiddo Gog had locked eyes on the ships below, it suddenly plunged down, slamming its steel blade into the ships that had spread out to the left. Its lunging slash created a small hurricane, catching each of the ships and smashing them flat. One after another, explosions lit up the lifeless city of Zeleucia.

"Such power from a mobile weapon...!?"

No matter how large it was, it surely had a weakness. As Ahav thought hard about how to break the deadlock, he caught sight of the faint smoke rising from Megiddo Gog.

"That weapon is already beginning to break down from the inside, is it? Message to all ships! Maintain your fire until it crumbles to dust!"

In this clash between the armed fleet and the giant mobile weapon, the tide was slowly turning in Ahav's favor—even with half of his fleet sunk.

Earlier, aboard the Pequod...

Miriam smiled drily at the giant mobile weapon's merciless display of power, the pain in her body forgotten.

"Haha... That thing's on a different scale. That's his trump card, huh?"

The battle raged high in the sky. Considering that the aftermath might reach her, Miriam wanted to get away immediately. She had left the engine running so they could escape at any time, but Lena and Yonah still hadn't returned from underground.

"You two better come back right—"

An impact shook the ship before she could finish speaking.

"Ugh... What was that!?"

"Finally found ya!"

That shout rattled the very air. Miriam knew that voice well—but she was certain she had finished him off with her own hands.

As if to confirm for herself, she replied, "Hah... Is this some kind of joke? You really survived that? You don't know when to quit!"

"Yeah, I was looking for you...so I could take...your liiife!"

Saul, driven by his hatred, no longer cared about the Returnee. All that mattered to him was avenging his subordinates and his sworn friend Isabelle. His body was already at death's door. It had clearly been quite an ordeal to even get there.

"Hah hah! I didn't throw away my instincts!"

"Ha! Not like your body can act on 'em, though!"

"You're all talk—come on and throw down! Let's get killing each other for good!"

With the ongoing battle above, the final battle of Zeleucia Colony was about to begin.

Amid the wreckage of countless machines, gunfire flashed back and forth.

"Oh yeah, my blood's boiling! Now this is what it's like to push past your limits with your life on the line!"

"Spare me your stupid thoughts!"

Miriam moved away from the Pequod, luring Saul out into the wasteland. Thankfully for her, Saul hadn't noticed what was wrong with her body. She fought back with her assault rifle, bearing the pain. Every shot made her joints scream, but it was no time to worry about that.

"Ghhh! Not enough to take out me!" Saul roared.

"Seriously!?"

Even as the bullets hit him directly in the limbs, Saul showed no sign of stopping. It would take a fatal blow to cut down his hatred.

"Hah... Hah... I'm in trouble at this rate. I gotta move while my body still works..."

"What's wrong? Lost your edge!? You ready to die first, then!?"

"Tch... Not fair, this difference in stature. But I can't stop yet!"

Just when Miriam took a step forward, something changed in the battle overhead between Megiddo Gog and the airfleet. Thanks to the Innovators' concentrated fire, pieces of its armor were falling off one by one. Some of those fragments rained down on Miriam and Saul.

"Wha—!?"

A roar, a crash. Billowing dust robbed them of all sight. In the midst of it, Miriam managed to hide among the mechanical wreckage, escaping unharmed. Saul, however—

"...rgh... Gah..."

Perhaps his huge frame was a disadvantage here, as he hadn't entirely avoided the debris. Shards pierced his abdomen and left shoulder, mercilessly draining him of blood and strength. He looked as though he were a criminal crucified under God's judgement.

"Fuck off... I'm still...having fun with us killing each other. Get...outta my...way..."

Miriam appeared from the dust as his face twisted in anguish. Immediately, she shot Saul through the hand and chest with her machine pistol.

"Never thought it would end like this," she said. "Well, that's war for you. This time, it's your loss."

"Ha...you're not...wrong... But..."

Something fell with a clang. That metallic sound—it was from Saul's mechanical arm. Looking closely, there was a time written in red-rimmed numbers at the joint—

"This one's a draw," Saul finished, a crazed smile on his face.

"Oh, I guess it is."

Miriam, with a smile somewhere between satisfaction and resignation, uttered, "The rest...is up to you..."

In a flash, they were both torn apart.

Ahav's forces were beginning to regain the advantage as Megiddo Gog's power slowly waned.

"No... The frame is almost at its limit!"

Against Blue Stein's wishes, he began to lose control of Megiddo Gog, taking more hits. Though the opposing fleet had taken serious damage, Ahav's flagship was still standing.

"The damage has passed into the red zone. And yet! As long as I have myself, I can still fight!"

As if responding to his will, Megiddo Gog raised its sword high into the sky and roared. Ahav looked on, shaking his fist and grinding his teeth.

"Nnnrgh... That mobile weapon—no, that ancient relic must be eliminated at any cost," Ahav ordered, fist raised.

All guns aimed for Megiddo Gog.

"For our children who will follow after us!"

Megiddo Gog was bombarded with enough shells to blot out the sky. Having already lost its mobility, it could only bear the brunt of the attack, and its armor began to splinter off, exposing the frame underneath. Blue Stein, controlling it from within, could see that it was rapidly losing power. The next attack would put a stop to Megiddo Gog.

"If I had my former power, I could have handled this... Here on the surface, I'm nothing more than a Machine, hmm? But I, too, have a will of my own!"

Megiddo Gog raised its sword overhead.

"In the name of Old Blue, I deliver God's judgement!"

Likewise, Ahav raised his right arm.

One blow would decide everything—

"I will cut you down!"

"All guns, fire at once!"

Megiddo Gog lost many parts from the fleet's bombardment. However, its steel sword had caught Ahav's flagship.

Together, they exploded, sinking toward the soil of Zeleucia. With the flagship down, the few remaining units chose to withdraw from the airspace. With the threat of the Innovators gone, tranquility was about to return to Zeleucia once more. However, Megiddo Gog, which should have been lying silently on the ground, suddenly began to emit a dark red light.

When Lena and Yonah returned to the Pequod, they noticed Miriam was nowhere inside.

"Where'd you go, Miriam...?"

Yonah's anxiety grew. Lena, too, was trying desperately to push down the strange emotions welling up inside her. That was when they heard a sudden explosion.

"What was that!?"

"Let's go see, Lena."

They hurried in the direction of the sound. Not long after, they arrived at a wasteland full of wreckage, and noticed something lying at the center.

"O-Oh... No..."

"Miriam!"

That "something" was Miriam, lying unmoving with half her body burned.

"...That...voice... Lena, yeah...?"

"This is terrible... How could this happen...?"

"...And Yonah...you're there too..."

"R-Right now, you gotta get treated or you'll die! Miriam...!"

Without wiping away her tears, Lena reached out to Miriam to help her up. However, her scorched body was still intensely hot, and Lena burned her own hand trying to touch her. She paid it no mind, clinging desperately to Miriam in an attempt to save her.

"...'sokay. There's no...saving me..."

Lena still refused to back down, but the weight of Yonah's hand on her shoulder and the anguish on her face conveyed an immutable fact.

"Ah, aaah..."

"...You're really...so kind. I thought of you...as our hope, so I...protected you."

She swung her barely-movable right hand through the air. Yonah softly took her hand, placing her own on top. They listened carefully to Miriam's final words.

"Lena, I'm...counting on you..."

"...nn... Yeah..."

Seeing Yonah nod intently, Miriam smiled in relief and said, "You two...have to live—"

What little heartbeat they could feel from Miriam became soft, faint, and feeble—and eventually, it stopped altogether.

"Waaaaaaaaah!"

Lena's scream echoed, imploring her cruel reality, but it was drowned out by the raging fires of war.

"Let's go, Lena."

"I know, but just a minute..."

Lena took Miriam's outstretched hands and crossed them over her chest. Then, she softly closed her open eyelids.

"Goodbye, Miriam. When the world becomes peaceful, I'll come see you again, okay?"

Having finished their goodbyes, the pair left for the Pequod. Their eyes were full of strong determination to survive, no matter what.

A dark red light shone all the way to the edges of the city. It came from Megiddo Gog as if it were an omen of the end.

"Calm down, Megiddo Gog! Just where is this energy coming from!?"

Blue Stein regained consciousness after Megiddo Gog had shifted to scorched earth mode, and attempted to control the weapon with his remaining strength. No amount of impromptu programming would matter if he could not identify the cause. Unsure how much damage the scorched earth mode would cause, Blue Stein tried each and every possibility he could. However, not one succeeded.

"No... At this rate..."

Just when it seemed he was out of options, Megiddo Gog went silent, as if nothing had happened at all. Blue Stein confirmed that it had ceased functioning and ripped off the cable connecting him to Megiddo Gog, then landed on the ground.

"Ngh... Quite exhausting indeed."

As he looked up at Megiddo Gog, with its head drooped silently toward the ground, Blue Stein became lost in thought.

"I hadn't seen any signs it would run loose... However, if Megiddo Gog's inexplicable behavior means what I think it does—"

"So it was you who operated that relic."

An uncanny mechanical voice came from behind Blue Stein. He turned around to face the voice, smiling in satisfaction.

"Indeed. And you must be the leader of the Innovators."

Ahav, who seemingly died in the flagship's explosion, was in fact still alive. However, his life support equipment had been smashed, and his body, cobbled together with machinery, was considerably damaged. With his body well past its normal lifespan, he was steadily creeping toward death. Even so, his intense hatred toward the detested Machinekind showed no signs of deteriorating.

"I am. And I would never have expected such a clownish Machine to stand in the way of my most cherished wish."

In response, Blue Stein uttered, "Oh, my!" and lightly raised both hands. "If you cannot defeat one such clown, perhaps trying to destroy all Machinekind is rather presumptuous."

"Aggravating Machine. I have no more words to exchange with you."

Ahav drew his longsword, staring down Blue Stein.

"The path in front of you leads only to destruction," Blue Stein replied. "This world mustn't be entrusted to a ship we know will sink."

Right in front of his eyes, Blue Stein readied his creaking body to face off against the Innovators' hate-filled leader.

A Machine, and a human—those who understood each other's language, but could not join hands. Here and now, judgement would be delivered.

A bit of etymology: "Megiddo" likely comes from Har Megiddo, also known as Armageddon, the site of an apocalyptic battle in the Book of Revelation. "Gog," likewise, is a biblical figure prophesied to return at the end of days (the exact interpretation of which varies in different religions).