Alyssa fired a Flare.
We fled for our lives from those Zork Mother-class unreasonable attacks. And I wasn't the only one. To be perfectly blunt, even Edge was running away right alongside us.
"Edge! Stop your wife!" I shouted.
"If I could've stopped her, I would've done it a long time ago!"
"Why did it even come to this!?"
"She’s been agonizing over it for ages! Thinking she was useless!"
"That’s ridiculous! She was doing a great job as first squad support!"
And it was the truth. Alyssa was an all-rounder type. She had been operating perfectly well as a pair with Edge, who was an ESP Specialization Type.
I mean, it was the military; that’s just how things worked! Sure, people like me or Tatiana stood out, but that was only because we were being worked to the bone! As a trade-off, Tatiana was currently stuck with One-oh-one and Shiyun, enduring Political Science and the Galactic Empire's Royal Education. The result? Shiyun had successfully executed a political maneuver that was currently hounding the life out of me.
Fwahaha!
As for Edge and the others, I was having them undergo Lordship Education. Even that was a career leap so massive it would be etched into history! Her standards for worrying were just way too high!
"But lately, her simulator scores have been stagnating... and then she failed that Sniper Exam."
"And she snapped over that!? I mean, it’s lucky this wasn't a real battle, at least!"
Seriously, that Sniper Exam was absurdly difficult. It was one of the most grueling tests in the military, just a hair below the Special Forces qualification. The only reason it seemed doable was because Ren was a freak who passed it while she was still a student.
Even to a Qualification Maniac like me, Ren’s specs were terrifyingly high. She even held the Manager level for the Court Lady Qualification, which had a measly 0.5% pass rate. She was at a level where she had no practical reason to stay in the military at all; she only joined because her soldier’s salary provided the capital to collect more qualifications.
Please, don't go birthing a Raid Boss just because you're comparing yourself to someone like Ren!
"Waaah!"
A Flare went boom!
Those of us in the vanguard were running with everything we had.
"Edge! Stop her!"
"Alyssa! Come back to your sen—"
Edge, who was gasping for breath—likely from pushing his ESP too far—tried to close in. This was it! This had to be the classic event where the power of love snaps someone back to reality!
"Edge, you're in the way!"
Boom!
Edge’s machine was swallowed by a Flare.
"Edge has been shot down!"
Of course he was! The way the original work's protagonist gets treated is just too cruel!
"Leo... let’s settle this."
"Uh, look, I’ll admit defeat, so could you find it in your heart to forgive me?"
"No."
Eeeeeeeeeeeek!
Flames swirled around Alyssa's machine. What was I supposed to do here? First, I tried a potshot. It was instantly snuffed out by the Flare. Was her output really that much higher than mine? Wait...
Higher output?
She didn't have an amplification device like the one on Tatiana’s exclusive machine. Tatiana had even reduced her number of Floating Batteries to participate. Edge was already gasping for air even without an amplification device.
"W-Wait! Doctor Stop! Wifey! Stop!"
"Wh-What is it!? What’s happened!?"
"She’s at her limit! She’s hit a Limit Break! Alyssa’s going to break herself apart!"
"Shut up!"
A Flare came rushing at me with a roar. Oh, for heaven’s sake! If a friend is in danger, I have to step up! Time to get serious. I dodged the Flare and lunged toward Alyssa.
"Got you!"
I wove through the flares coming from every direction, dodging and weaving until I slipped behind her and locked her in a full nelson.
"Wh-Wh-What!?"
"Ren, do it!"
"As you wish, My Lord!"
Bam! Alyssa's machine took a hit, but the attack was blocked.
"Melissa, Claire, Eddy—finish her off!"
Claire and Eddy unleashed a barrage of fire... and I wasn't about to let her defend against it. Channeling my inner Yankee underling, I flew toward Melissa while keeping Alyssa pinned as a shield.
"Here, Melissa!"
"On it!"
I hurled Alyssa toward her. Melissa slashed while I stabbed from behind.
Finishing move! Pincer Small-fry Attack!
Judgment!
Alyssa's machine finally ground to a halt. Victory.
Phew. My focus was starting to slip. I was exhausted. I looked up toward Charlotte in the stands.
"Hey, people of Rosaria. I’m beat. Can I go home? I really want to sleep."
"Of course you can't, you moron!"
"I figured as much!"
Haaaaaaaaaa. This was legitimately painful. It was then that a new voice crackled over the comms.
"This is Rosaria! We’re under attack! What the hell is that machine!?"
Ah, right. I figured he’d show up sooner or later. There was no way that old man could sit back and watch from the sidelines forever.
"Gwahahaha! Leo! Let's settle this once and for all!"
A dual-wielding machine came screaming into the fray.
"I refuse!"
Katori-sensei was already tearing through the Rosaria forces. I worried if he was even going to be okay in a standard machine.
"Wh-What on earth is that!?" Charlotte screamed from the VIP seats.
"My master," I replied.
"Is he a Jester?"
"No, it's worse. He's just a normal monster."
"Gwahahahahaha! Weak! You’re all far too weak!"
Crack.
A sickening sound of metal tearing apart echoed through the area. Yep, he did it. The right arm of Katori-sensei’s machine was completely mangled.
"Huh?"
The idiot. His lack of experience with standard machines finally caught up to him. He’d tried to make a standard machine move like an exclusive machine and caused it to self-destruct.
"He made the same mistake as Rikochi!"
"Guh! Is this thing really this flimsy!?"
"It’s not flimsy, Master! It’s just that the way we move is abnormal!"
"Dammit! I don’t need an arm like this anyway!"
With a brutal twist, Katori-sensei tore the arm right off his own machine.
"Uh, Master?"
"What is it, punk!?"
"Standard machines actually have a self-detachment function for ejections and emergencies."
The old man clearly didn't know. To be fair, even most pilots didn't know much about that specific feature.
"Tell me that sooner, you brat!"
"It was in the manual!"
"G-Gununununu! Fine! After I’m done with Rosaria, you’re next!"
He fought like a man possessed, but his machine was falling apart by the second.
"Yeah, yeah."
I couldn't stand just watching. I jumped in to help, even though our own machines were in tatters. First, Melissa hit her limit.
"My katana snapped! I’m out!"
A close-quarters specialist really couldn't sustain a fight in a standard machine. My own armor was peeling off in sheets. You couldn't even read the advertisements on my hull anymore.
Next was Eddy.
"Dammit! Out of ammo! I’m charging!"
He traded a few blows with the Rosaria forces, but his sword broke almost immediately, and he was forced to retire. That was par for the course.
Once Ren ran out of sniper rifle ammunition, she simply said, "I surrender," and bowed out. Sensible as always.
As for me...
"Hey, Leo... your machine’s head is hanging by a wire."
"Shut it, old man! Half of your machine's face is missing!"
We had technically triumphed over the Rosaria forces, but it was a miracle we were still functional.
"They're fools... even from my perspective as a Jester, these two are absolute fools..."
"Ah, yes... it seems my Lord Groom has forgotten that surrendering is an option."
Katori-sensei’s swords had long since broken and been tossed aside. I had lost a sword and an arm myself, leaving me in a Brawling Spec.
"Come here, you foolish disciple!"
"Uwaaaaaaaa! Die, Master!"
We started throwing haymakers at each other. We must have traded about ten blows. By the time our fists and machines were completely buckled and mangled...
Error occurred. System down.
"Ukiieeeeeeeee! System down!"
"Mine’s down too! Get out here, Leo! Let's go!"
We were about to carry the fight into the vacuum of space when a voice boomed over the speakers.
"You absolute idiots! The match is over!"
Wifey declared the end of the game, and we were forcibly pulled apart.
"Uki! Ukikiki!"
"Gau! Gauuuuuuuuu!"
"Administer the sedatives!"
"Uki... ukyu."
"Gau... kyoon."
And that was the day the theory emerged that the King of Chronos would never stop fighting until he was dead.
It’s really not true, though.