The joints on Melissa’s machine were intact.
I had to hand it to Kyoko-chan—she was the pride of the Ohno family’s mad scientists, and her custom rig was top-tier. It hadn't buckled even under the strain of wall-running. The Maintenance Mode sensors were all green. This thing was truly impressive.
Once everything was confirmed, we set out.
"I’ll deploy another drone, just in case," Claire said.
She sent out a wheeled drone. Since we were inside, there was less risk of a collision with this model. The aerial ones had a nasty habit of crashing whenever we tried to use them in cramped quarters.
I had her sync the video feed to my monitor as well.
"The bulkhead is down. I’ll transmit the release signal using the Imperial Army Standard Method."
This was standard protocol when waiting for reinforcements. You used a shared cipher so that friendly forces could link up and identify each other. Of course, you didn't learn those kinds of niche regulations unless you were enrolled in the Academy Regular Course!
The heavy door slid open, revealing a Humanoid Fighter collapsed on the ground. Claire used the drone to verify the ID.
"A Viscount Tachibana Army Machine. The pilot is identified as Zanma Murasame."
"Zanma?!" Melissa gasped.
"You know him?" I asked.
"He’s my friend’s big brother."
Melissa didn't wait. She spurred her machine forward, and I followed close behind. We entered the chamber behind the bulkhead, a room that had been shredded by sword slashes.
"No enemy heat signatures!"
The moment Claire spoke, Melissa leapt out of her fighter.
"Zanma! Are you alive?!"
After clearing the Imperial Army biometric authentication, she yanked the emergency cock to force the cockpit open.
"Hey, Zanma! Wake up!"
I jumped down as well, reaching the machine just as she pulled him out. The man inside was covered in blood. He looked to be in his early twenties, with short hair and a deep tan. Together, we hauled him away from the cockpit.
Claire rushed over, medical kit in hand. "He’s unconscious. I’m starting the emergency treatment."
She slapped the medical kit onto him and began the nanomachine injections. Since he was unresponsive, we had to rely on the external monitor. Peeking over Claire's shoulder, I saw the display flickering with red text. His oxygen levels, heart rate, and several vital organs were all flagged as critical.
Suddenly, the kit began to blare a shrill alarm.
"He’s in cardiac arrest! Switching to Electric Shock Mode!"
Zanma’s body jolted with a heavy thud as the shock hit him.
"H-Hey! No way... Zanma! Open your eyes! Wake up!" Melissa screamed.
But Zanma didn't move. His heart had stopped, and it wasn't starting again.
"Genetic and brain information backup complete," Claire said, her voice eerily calm. "Clone Treatment is an option."
Melissa let out a stifled, wordless cry. "You idiot! Don't you dare do this! Why are you dead?!"
She shook him, but the strength had already left his body. Major Piggett caught up to us then, stepping in to pull Melissa back. Melissa’s breathing was ragged, but she managed to force herself to swallow her grief through sheer willpower.
"Captain... let’s move," she said.
"Major Piggett," I whispered, "is she going to be okay?"
"Ideally, I should order her to stand down... but this involves her family. Let’s keep an eye on her for now."
"Got it. Melissa, don't overdo it."
"I know."
"Everyone, help me," Claire interrupted. "We need to secure Mr. Zanma to the drone."
"Lady Claire... my apologies," Piggett said. Even the usually composed Major seemed shaken by the loss.
We wrapped Zanma in an insulated aluminum sheet—the kind used for camping—and belted him onto a land-combat drone. I opened a channel to my wife.
"We found the body of a pilot from the Viscount Territory. Sending him back via drone. Please recover him."
"Understood," Veronica replied. "How is Melissa?"
"It hit her hard. They were close."
"I see. She is the Lord Groom's mistress, after all. Make sure you support her properly!"
As we were finishing up, we finally rendezvoused with the Idiot Boys. We assigned one of them to escort the drone back to the surface.
With the group back together, we headed deeper into the facility. As we walked, Melissa—perhaps trying to distract herself from the shock—started talking about Zanma.
"When I was a kid, my childhood friend Eri and I used to follow Big Brother Zanma everywhere. There weren't many kids in our territory, and most parents were busy working. My own brothers were already adults by the time I was born, so Zanma was like the big brother for everyone."
"I see," I replied.
"When we heard he got engaged to Big Sister Matsu, every girl in the village wailed for days."
"And you?"
"I never thought I’d have a chance at something like that... but still, it was fun watching my friends look so radiant. Even if it was a tragic love, I always admired that look. I longed to have a cute expression like that one day."
"Melissa," I said, "you have the cutest face in the world right now."
"Shut up, idiot."
A small smile finally touched her lips.
"Captain... were you actually popular back in the day?"
"No... not even a little."
I wondered why. I wasn't particularly aggressive—well, okay, my mouth was aggressive. I was more like a sarcastic loner. I’d mostly tried to avoid people altogether. And if you don't engage with people, you're obviously not going to be popular.
"Ahaha! That's so like you, Captain."
She seemed to have recovered some of her spirit.
We continued our trek through the fortress, checking our surroundings via drone.
"There are battle scars all over the place," I noted.
"It looks like they switched to ballistic weaponry around the area where we found Zanma’s machine," Claire added. "Look at those bullet holes."
"But the bulkheads were sealed," I said, a thought occurring to me. "Where did the enemies go?"
Major Piggett looked at me, his gaze intense. "What is it?"
"...That’s it."
Hearing Piggett’s murmur, it finally clicked for me.
"The ventilation ducts!"
"Deploying a drone!" Claire shouted.
She sent out an even smaller model. It scurried into a vent, its continuous tracks allowing it to navigate the vertical shafts.
"Confirmed organic fragments believed to be enemy cells!" Claire reported. "The enemies have already vacated the area!"
"They're moving through the ventilation system?!" I exclaimed.
"It means the Zorks are evolving to kill humans more efficiently..." Claire whispered.
She was right. Ever since Kevin’s Humanoid Zork, their tactics had become increasingly vicious. In the game, the Zorks were supposed to be nothing but muscle-brained monsters.
...Wait. In every scenario where the Zorks should have won, I had intervened and caused them to lose. Could they be conducting a strategic review? Have they analyzed human behavior and adopted new methods to kill us more effectively?
"Wife! We’ve got a New Model Zork on our hands!" I reported to Veronica.
"Yes, I saw the drone feed! Stay sharp!"
I focused, sharpening my senses to the limit. I didn't feel them close by yet, but the tension was rising.
"Seal the bulkheads!" Piggett barked.
We couldn't risk being ambushed from behind. Claire immediately locked every door in our wake.
"There's nothing for it," Melissa muttered. "We have to keep moving."