With the Experimental Subject now our ally, we pushed further into the depths.
I didn't even know if she could move on her own yet, so I would have to verify that through some large-scale project later.
Hmm, I’d hate for some researcher to turn her into a toy.
I had a reputation for avoiding dishonorable, underhanded betrayals.
It was precisely because of that reputation that various factions were willing to negotiate with me.
There were benefits to being the kind of leader who didn't mind being underestimated as long as it kept the lines of communication open.
A scary man narrowed his own strategic options just by being intimidating.
Eventually, he became capable of nothing but threats.
Hmm... I had a bad feeling about this.
I felt as though someone might eventually appear who viewed Experimental Subject-chan as a mere slab of meat to be toyed with, rather than as my ally.
"Fairy, can you make it so Experimental Subject-chan can send out an alert?"
"Okaay."
That was a relief.
We arrived at the far end of the facility.
There was a gate.
Good grief, I really hated this.
I searched for a control panel along the walls, which were pulsating and wriggling with a life of their own.
Found it.
I pried it open with a screwdriver, connected the wiring, and...
"Fairy, hack it, please."
"Yes, yes."
I wasn't afraid of this type of system at all.
Now then, the gauge had reached fifty percent, so it should be any moment...
Ignoring the gauge, the door slid open.
"Ah, it looks like the person inside opened it for us," the Fairy noted.
The interior looked like a research laboratory.
I got the distinct impression that I had interrupted someone's work.
Since I was annoyed, I decided to intrude in a playful manner.
"Hello! Delivery from Mikawaya!"
Once I stepped inside, the laboratory-style room transformed into a chamber of ominous stone walls.
So that was it. They were just projecting an image.
"Foolish intruder... begone..."
It was a raspy man's voice.
No... it wasn't just raspy.
This was a Proone Vocalization.
Since they lacked vocal cords, they used other organs to produce sounds that mimicked speech.
The Proone could produce youthful voices as well, but this sounded far more artificial.
I’d better not expect a humanoid form.
A slithering, dragging sound echoed through the room.
"Intruder. Leave now, and I shall spare your life."
The moment it spoke, I felt a surge of murderous intent.
Tentacles lashed out toward me.
I wasn't sure if it was safe to grab them with my bare hands.
I dodged the strike.
While I was at it, I slashed at the tentacle with my sword.
"You liar."
As I spoke, something emerged from the darkness, dragging its heavy flesh with a slithering sound.
It was a giant face.
A creature with tentacles attached to a massive, bloated face.
The face looked like that of a human infant.
"Help me!"
A child's voice, distorted by noise, cried out.
The next moment, the monster spat something at me.
I nimbly sidestepped it.
Whoops, that was a Pollutant.
Ah, I see. That was its game.
It was a predator that mimicked human speech to create an opening and strike.
Unlike Experimental Subject-chan, this was the kind of thing you couldn't reason with.
"In the name of Leo Kamishiro Chronos, I command you! All units, full assault!"
I deliberately used my full name when I gave the order.
I knew some of the soldiers were likely hesitating.
Psychological traps like this were truly malicious.
In times like these, you had to explicitly say, "I'll take the responsibility."
It was effective.
The soldiers who had been wavering immediately began their attack.
However, the people of the Galactic Empire were often good-natured to a fault.
Their response was delayed for a split second, but they pulled themselves together at my command.
The truly ruthless ones were Melissa and Ren.
They had attacked even before I opened my mouth.
It was a display of martial intuition, reading the atmosphere and the enemy's bloodlust.
The one with the perfect timing was Lady Claire.
She had prepared to attack before the command was issued.
The instant she heard the order, she unleashed her assault.
It was the work of a complete professional.
It wasn't just the men who were soft-hearted, though.
Kevin was clearly shaken as well.
"Kevin! Attack with Self-destruct Drones!"
"Y-Yeah!"
I suppose it couldn't be helped.
Kevin was a doctor dedicated to saving lives.
He was bound to have some hesitation.
This was a known weakness of our unit.
I had seen this coming—the day an enemy would appear imitating the forms of children or women.
Our weaknesses were exactly where you'd expect them to be.
Even so, for a first encounter, we were doing well.
If I ever chose to wage war without any moral constraints—or rather, if I ever faced an enemy that forced me into a scenario where I couldn't afford to lose—there was one specific scenario I’d practiced in secret with the Fairy in the Commander Simulator.
The enemy in that simulation took the form of children.
They would cry for help in a child's voice, only to strike the moment you let your guard down.
In that scenario, if my comrades were on the front lines, Kevin, Eddy, Isono, and Nakajima would all be dead within minutes.
From there, everything would collapse.
Currently, I had no perfect solution for it.
But perhaps that fate could be changed.
This was good practice.
A tentacle flew toward me.
I stood my ground, bracing my Personal Shield without moving an inch.
"Your Majesty!"
Raven-kun sliced the tentacle out of the air.
I had seen him move just in time.
"I'm strictly commanding this time! Everyone, do your best!"
"You've got to be kidding me!" Melissa shouted as she hurled a Grenade.
"Is this the weakness the Commander was talking about before?!"
Oops. She hadn't believed me when I pointed it out in the past.
"No, what I envisioned was a 'Child-shaped Weapon' that would perform a self-destruct attack while screaming for help!"
"Commander! Your simulations are way too malicious!"
"I've seen hell in the simulator more times than I can count! Come on, Melissa, keep at it!"
"Dammit, oraah! Get your heads in the game! It's just mimicking a voice!"
Melissa and her Imperial Guard Knight Order pushed the attack.
Meanwhile, Eddy, who was participating despite his exposure to the pollutants, had already switched his mindset.
Suematsu-san loaded a Grenade Launcher and passed it to Eddy.
They attacked the monster using the Bucket Brigade Method.
...Suematsu-san was a terrifyingly talented man.
I really wanted someone like Suematsu-san in my own Knights.
Ren was also attacking with lightning speed.
She cornered the enemy in perfect coordination with the Beast Race.
Even so...
"Isn't it regenerating as fast as we attack it?"
I'd seen something like this before.
It was like the mass of flesh we fought in Melissa's hometown.
Kevin's Self-destruct Drone exploded.
The flesh let out a shriek in a child's voice.
But it didn't die. In fact, the flesh continued to multiply.
"Hey, Fairy. Can you talk to Experimental Subject-chan?"
"I already set up the device. Connecting you now."
"Hey, how do we defeat the thing in the back?"
"That... Locust. Burn it... away."
"If we do that, Experimental Subject-chan, you might get caught in the fire."
"Do not... care. Gave up on... seeing the sky."
My intuition screamed a warning.
That was absolutely out of the question.
Locust, locust, locust...
Ah. I had the Locust-B-Gone.
"Experimental Subject-chan, is the mold used for locusts okay for you?"
"I am... different from a locust... No problem."
"Alright! Kevin, it seems the enemy is a creature similar to a locust. Deploy the drones and spray the Locust-B-Gone!"
"Roger!"
Victory was finally in sight.