Everyone climbed into the vehicles, eyes welling with tears.\n\nThe speed of that Officer Academy bunch was impressive; they were clearly used to crises.\n\n"Ren, Melissa, go!" I shouted.\n\nObeying, Ren and Melissa headed for the warehouse where the Humanoid Fighters were stored. I intended to stay behind and "play" with Sariel.\n\nIn comparison, Thomas's army, the new recruits, and the Personal Guard Knight Orders of the various lords—ours included—were sluggish. They only started moving once the Crabs had actually landed on the surface.\n\nBy that time, Piggett and the rest of us were already out there. Piggett helped Wifey escape and then stood by near the ship. Because Piggett was watching our backs, we could afford to be reckless.\n\n"Leo-kun, let's play," a voice—presumably Sariel's—echoed.\n\nMy immediate target was Sariel. I fired the new grenade launcher. Why was the damn thing's main body made of resin? Well, whatever. The bigger problem was that I was still on foot, even though everyone else was already powering up their Humanoid Fighters. I was currently relying entirely on a grenade launcher.\n\nThe grenade landed right in front of the amorphous mass I assumed was Sariel. A sharp crackling followed. I had a bad feeling about this.\n\nWith a heavy hum, the launched cartridge emitted a deafening roar. The amorphous squishy was sucked toward the cartridge. Simultaneously, for some reason, the capillaries on my skin began to surface.\n\nSnap, snap, snap.\n\nBlood began to seep out. "What the hell is this?!"\n\nWith a high-pitched whirr, the amorphous squishy stuck to the cartridge, unable to pull away.\n\nWas this... magnets? It was an unexpectedly primitive method. Ah, that explained it! They were using magnetic force to catch it.\n\nDid that mean my own nanomachines were being yanked around too? Had the warning about "might die" meant the magnetic force would clump the nanomachines together and clog my blood vessels? It was true that many middle-aged men had circulatory systems on the brink; a heart attack or a ruptured brain vessel would be an immediate game over.\n\n"You see, the reason this type of cyborg doesn't exist anymore is because they were incredibly vulnerable to magnetic force," the Fairy explained.\n\n"Couldn't they have used aluminum or copper? They wouldn't stick to magnets then."\n\n"There were models like that, too. But either way, their electronic circuits were exposed, making them weak to EMPs."\n\nA pop rang out.\n\n"It fires an EMP after drawing the target in."\n\nSariel stopped moving. I let out a breath.\n\n"That's why modern Humanoid Fighters—which have shielded circuits and a pilot—are overall superior. In the worst case, they can even be operated manually."\n\nWh-What? I... I'm not scared of someone like you!\n\n"However, she should have overcome that weakness by now. For example, by using a human body..."\n\nStop it. Don't drop death flags like that. That's the kind of thing that makes enemies resurrect later.\n\nBut before I could worry about that, I had to deal with the Crabs. I managed to scramble into my cockpit. Despite being the last to board, I finished the startup sequence and deployed faster than Thomas or his men.\n\nMy weapon of choice was a sword. I cut down a Crab that had neared the warehouse entrance with a single strike. I wanted to say I was turning them into imitation crab meat, but the flesh of these things was toxic.\n\nThe Crabs came swarming in.\n\n"I'll slaughter you all!"\n\nWithout stopping, I switched to my gun and opened fire with the Assault Rifle. Lately, I felt like I was applying competitive shooter tactics to the real world—specifically the part about never standing still. I wove through the gaps in the swarm, keeping on the move while firing.\n\nI spotted Eddie's machine. "Eddie! You alive?!"\n\n"I'm dying here, you moron!" Eddie shouted back. He kicked a Crab away and opened fire. Realizing he was out of ammo, he switched to his sword. I followed suit. As I sliced a Crab in half, Eddie cut down one that had been closing in on my back.\n\n"Dealing with that annoying freak and an outbreak of Crabs?! Die!" Eddie cursed as he hacked through the enemies.\n\n"I know, right! This difficulty level is way too high!" I kicked a Crab over and impaled it with my sword. Then I pivoted into a spinning back kick to knock another away. I was busy!\n\nIt was then that an amorphous squishy clung to Eddie's left arm.\n\n"What the hell is this?! I've lost control of the arm!"\n\n"Hey! What happened?!"\n\nEddie's squishy-covered left hand reached out to grab me. Whether Eddie was resisting or the machine was malfunctioning, the arm was convulsing.\n\n"Leo! Cut it off!"\n\n"Hah!"\n\nI sliced through the Humanoid Fighter's left arm. The amorphous squishy began crawling out from the severed stump.\n\n"Grenade!"\n\nFollowing Eddie's lead, I threw a grenade. We turned and ran. A Crab charged us, so I used an Aikido-style redirection to toss it straight onto the grenade.\n\nA boom resounded.\n\n"Did we get it?"\n\n"I doubt it!"\n\nAh, I realized then that this was the kind of enemy that parasitized machines, turning them into mechanical zombies. The compatibility was atrocious.\n\n"Leo-kun! I made grenades for Humanoid Fighters too! They're in that cottage over there!"\n\n"Production isn't keeping up! We're gonna die! Seriously!"\n\n"It's only been forty-eight hours since we encountered it! It can't be helped!"\n\n"I guess so! I love you, Fairy-san!"\n\nI was at my limit. If only I were "full of boobs" instead of "full of stress"... I'm unprepared for breasts! Seppuku! (I was losing my mind).\n\n"Leo! That cottage, right?!"\n\n"Yeah!"\n\nWe sprinted at full speed. I kicked the entrance to the cottage, half-wrecking the small building, and snatched the grenades.\n\n"Whoa! Die, you moron!" I threw a grenade at the spot where Sariel's fragment had been.\n\n"Leo! Sorry, but I'll have to provide cover with my gun!"\n\nRight. Your machine is missing a hand, Eddie. Malice—absolute malice. They had actually planned out a strategy to crush us.\n\n"Lord Groom!"\n\nWhile I was wondering what to do next, Ren arrived, blasting away with her shotgun. Crabs fell one after another.\n\n"Lord Groom! Are you safe?!"\n\n"I'm fine! Take Eddie to safety!"\n\n"U-Understood! Eddie, let's go!"\n\nRen agreed and began escorting Eddie to the rear.\n\n"Claire! Back up the Lord Groom!"\n\nApparently, Melissa was already fighting on the front lines elsewhere. I saw Claire's machine approaching, but Sariel's mass was slithering toward her from a blind spot.\n\n"Watch out!"\n\nI shoved Claire's machine out of the way and detonated a grenade. Because I was so close, my own machine was caught in the pull.\n\nGuts!\n\nI crawled away as fast as I could, but the EMP triggered. My machine was caught in the blast, and the OS initiated a reboot after detecting the anomaly.\n\nDammit! It was only manageable because I had EMP Resistance and the OS Protection Function.\n\n"Leo! Reboot! I'll cover you!"\n\nWhile Claire defended me, I desperately worked through the reboot process.\n\nGoddammit! I never imagined the combination of Sariel and the Crabs would be this much of a nightmare.