Warfare Augmented Intelligent Frame Unit

Chapter 139 - Piggyback Highway

Chapter 139 - Piggyback Highway

As we witnessed the colossal war erupt between the WAIFUs and the relentless Cosmic Beasts, an uneasy knot twisted in my stomach. Despite their strength, I couldn't shake off the dread gnawing at me—would Michelle and the others really make it through this? Thousands of those monsters had already broken past the barrier. The odds felt overwhelming.

"Raaaah!" roared Cindy as she hurled her massive cybernetic boar body straight into a crumbling skyscraper, shattering concrete and steel like paper mache. 

The impact cleared a swath of destruction through the city. Cindy wasn't navigating, she was stampeding. A living bulldozer with tusks of steel and zero regard for city planning, smashing down anything that stood in her way.

Building after building crumbled beneath her rampage. It wasn't a shortcut she was making, it was a declaration: she goes where she pleases.

Our makeshift giant-boar taxi barreled across the debris-strewn highway, lurching over collapsed infrastructure and craters scorched into the ground. Every bump sent shudders through my spine. Above us, the sky was an unending ballet of chaos. The Vanguard clashed in orbit, their battle illuminating the heavens with streaks of lasers and trailing rocket fire.

Closer to the atmosphere, sleek Orbital Tech WAIFUs danced through aerial combat in the Xyraxis Airspace. Explosions flared like fireworks in a warzone, the hum of laser cannons and the roar of jet engines echoing like a deadly symphony in the distance.

"Getting worried?" Myrrh nudged me gently with her elbow, her voice light and teasing. I turned to face her, and despite the war unfolding all around us, she was smiling.

"Somehow... But I believe Michelle and the others will pull through," I said, my voice firm despite the wariness in my chest.

Myrrh let out a small, grumbling pout, her cheeks tinged with a faint blush. "You're really getting all chummy with that silver-haired bitch, huh..." she muttered, looking off to the side. "Sometimes, it feels like you forget I'm even here whenever she's around."

"Oh?" I leaned in with a teasing grin. "Are you really that jealous?"

"Of course not!" she snapped, spinning her head toward me before crossing her arms with dramatic flair. "What do you take me for? Someone who actually thinks about you?" she huffed, eyes darting away again. "Hmph."

I couldn't help but laugh—silent, breathless. Not because she wasn't cute; she absolutely was, but because I was simply too exhausted to push the banter any further. My body had burned through all its adrenaline during the earlier battle, and now, the crash was hitting me hard. Limbs heavy. Eyes sore. My muscles ached in places I didn't even know I had.

And yet, I could tell Myrrh was just as drained, if not more. That's probably why she was trying to keep the conversation going with such obvious, almost childish jabs. She wasn't trying to pick a fight. She just wanted to lighten the mood, to keep things normal. Familiar. Bearable.

I glanced toward Fei, sitting quietly beside us. Her body slowly relaxed against the worn leather seat, her chest rising and falling as she tried to catch her breath. A faint shimmer of sweat clung to her brow, and she clutched her chest lightly, recovering, but okay. When she noticed me watching, her golden eyes sparkled faintly, and she offered a small, endearing smile. It said everything without a word: I'm alright.

"Why don't you guys get some rest?" Remuel suggested from up front, his voice calm and steady. "Cindy and I will take care of the rest. We'll wake you three when we reach the capital."

"I would," I replied, stretching my neck with a yawn, "but this ride's bumpier than a spacequake." I flashed a smug grin. "Hey, Cindy! Can't you run in a smoother, more lady-like way?"