Warfare Augmented Intelligent Frame Unit

Chapter 148 - SHOTA

Chapter 148 - SHOTA

"Fei, come in. Fei, do you copy?" 

I shouted again and again into the comms, my voice straining with desperation as if sheer willpower could summon a response, or perhaps a miracle.

Fei's Frame Unit lay in ruins, its once-mighty form now nothing more than shattered armor and sparking wires. The machine twitched occasionally, spitting bursts of electricity into the air, but there was no sign of movement from within.

"Fei! Fei!" Myrrh's synthetic voice called out, echoing my panic. Yet the silence that followed was heavier than any battlefield noise.

Then the ground quaked. From the massive crater she had clawed open, the giant mannequin woman: the Cosmic Goddess rose in full. Her towering body loomed at least a kilometer high, a figure so immense that even the smallest gesture threatened to unmake the world around us. With every shift of her weight, the alien soil trembled as though the planet itself feared her.

Her colossal left arm lifted, fingers spreading wide, and then descended in a sweeping strike toward Myrrh in her cybernetic phoenix form. Myrrh twisted into a barrel roll, wings cutting a brilliant arc through the sky. The attack missed, but the force of the passing wind slammed against us like a tidal wave, rattling our balance and nearly flinging me into the abyss below.

"Hold on!" Myrrh cried, her voice edged with urgency.

"I know!" I shouted back, clinging desperately to the cold steel of her armor. My hands dug into the grooves of her metal plates until my knuckles ached. If I lost my grip, gravity would claim me instantly.

Suddenly, the battlefield lit up with flashes of emerald light. Beam rifles discharged from afar, streaking green lasers across the sky and striking the Cosmic Goddess square in the face. But the spectacle brought no relief. The blasts scattered like sparks against her porcelain skin, leaving not a single mark.

When I traced the origin of the emerald beams, my eyes caught sight of an aircraft cutting through the clouds. Its frame resembled a B-2 bomber, but scaled down to the size of a family car. Despite its smaller form, it carried the same sleek menace, its wings sharp and predatory as it unleashed volley after volley of concentrated light. The barrage continued until the craft closed the distance and hovered near our position.

"A reinforcement?" I murmured, half in disbelief.

A flicker of static lit up before me, and then a holographic face projected into the air. The unmistakable features of Agent Steve filled the shimmering image.

"I have dispatched this Supersonic High-Output Tactical Aircraft for your use, Zaft Callahan!" Steve announced proudly, his voice ringing with confidence. "Climb aboard, so Miss Alicent can fight without restraint!"

His words struck deeper than I wanted to admit. Both Myrrh and I were painfully aware that her combat potential was severely hampered by my presence on her back. No one dared to say it aloud, but the truth was undeniable. I felt the sting of guilt coil in my chest, yet at the same time I knew separation meant certain death.

Even so, hesitation had no place here. Without a second thought, I leapt onto the aerial drone, perching atop it like some reckless rider out of a comic book. The wind tore at my face as the machine steadied beneath me. For a fleeting moment, I imagined myself soaring like the Green Goblin, minus the maniacal laughter.

"Thank you, Agent Steve! Much appreciated! You just removed a dead weight on my back!" Myrrh's voice cut through the comms, sharp and teasing.

Before I could retort, her engines roared, and she streaked forward with renewed vigor, hurling herself back into the chaos of the battlefield.