Aurora Over a Dead World

Chapter 50: Expectations

"...Whoa, Commander Nadir, I see you’re still as handsome as ever." One of the Kairas assigned to this mission shows up, flashing me a huge grin as she compliments me.

"Hahaha, Alice Belloar, it’s been way too long. Looks like they sent someone good," I say, genuinely happy to see her. This woman is strong, and she’s perfect for this situation since the vector she controls affects her more than it does the things around her.

"I see you’re still tiny," I tell her, and she grins.

"Of course, you know me, right?" Alice is a short girl with short black hair. She has very dark blue eyes and a physique that’s lean overall — an appearance that seems almost too fragile, even though in reality she possesses monstrous strength. She has a pair of soft brown wings she can use to fly.

Though she barely ever uses her wings for flight because her power gets in the way a little.

’Her ability... Heavy Weight is going to help a lot...’

[Heavy Weight: Grants the user the ability to manipulate their own physical mass, from increasing their own mass and thus their weight, to forcibly expanding the size of their mass for abnormal body growth, as well as the capacity to partially manipulate the form of their flesh.]

I glance at Alice’s back and see her ridiculously huge sword. She’s someone who only fights using that sword, which is bigger than she is.

She only fights with swords thanks to her power, always carrying an enormous blade bigger than herself. The blade is two and a half meters long, almost looking like a large metal slab with sharpened edges.

"You’re going to be a huge help in this fight. So, who are the other two who came with you?" I ask, expecting more solid options.

"...I’m sorry to say, Commander Nadir, but no one else is coming..." Alice looks tense as she says this.

"...Why? I think I was pretty clear in my request for support."

"Yeah, I imagine you were, but Commander Nadir, there are three reasons why only I was sent... First, the practical reason: everyone’s really busy. You know how crazy the routine gets, right? There aren’t many who are free at the moment."

"The second is the technical reason. You needed something very specific — Kairas whose powers are more focused on their own bodies. And let’s be real, that’s kind of demanding. A lot of them have external powers, and the ones who have powers that work on their bodies tend to hold back so they don’t accidentally kill themselves."

"I’m the only one insane enough to use my power without restraint, even with the enormous risks. And third, there’s the internal politics reason... the higher-ups are keeping an eye on you."

"Commander Zenith was what the top brass calls a ’Necessary Evil.’ She was harsh, cruel, and a little mean to everyone. But the number of people she saved, her contributions to society, and her genuine effort to save as many people as possible in the most efficient way while minimizing deaths — that’s something valuable."

"But because of you, she was removed from her position. Naturally, the higher-ups expect you to fill both her role and your own. If Zenith were here..."

"Haaa..." I let out a sigh when she says that.

"If Zenith were here, they would’ve only requested a single Kaira for the mission," I say, rubbing my temples. They used that as a reason to send only Alice. That’s a real problem. Zenith isn’t here. It’s true that with her here and Alice, that would already be enough.

But that’s because Zenith can destroy space itself — an extremely powerful attack. Me, I don’t have anywhere near as many strong attacks as she does.

"Commander Nadir, you can’t back down now. The higher-ups are watching. Look, I really like you, and that’s why I’m warning you — there are A LOT of people watching you. Like, a lot."

’...Alice belongs to a family with solid political influence. If she’s saying that...’

"Thanks for the heads-up... Looks like it’s just the two of us, then. You still in? I’d understand if you backed out. Although if you quit and leave, I’d still have to go fight alone, because I already said I’d fight, and I can’t back out of that decision at this point."

"Hahaha, of course I’m going to fight, Commander Nadir. I didn’t bring my sword for nothing, right?"

"Perfect, then. It’s going to be a little tough, but everything we do is tough anyway, so there’s no reason for us to just stand around. Let’s start heading down. If anything happens, we can call in support from Cecília with the cannons."

"So... how are we going to get down there?" she asks, clearly eager to start.

"Obviously we’re going down in style. We’re taking the capsules."

"W-Wow, you’re insane. You’re going to shoot both of us down like cannonballs... perfect." She follows me as I start activating the capsules.

"By the way, Alice, don’t expect me to strengthen you. As you know, I can only use one of the three [Marks] and I can’t use others simultaneously. I can’t strengthen you while I’m left without as many attack options," I say, and she shrugs.

"It’s fine, I get it. Your power to strengthen others is more useful when you’re leading a really large team, where whether you fight or not compared to strengthening everyone else changes the outcome. In this case, since it’s just the two of us, you strengthening me isn’t worth it when it takes away your margin to become stronger yourself." She steps into one of the open capsules.

"Glad you understand." I activate both of them and get into mine. The elevator starts moving them — one of the fastest means of transport, though also one of the least safe.

They’re reinforced capsules that are fired like a giant shot from a gun. On impact, the safety system activates, ensuring whoever’s inside doesn’t take any damage.

"..." I hear the sound of positioning as both aim in the direction where the monster is still trying to destroy the drones. Soon I hear a roar like an explosion as I feel the G-force pushing me back.

With a loud crack, the capsule slams into something and a whole load of foam is released inside here, protecting me from the impact. I quickly kick the capsule door open and jump out.

Alice does the same, and we see that one of us hit the monster, which was violently thrown against a wall.

"Is it this ugly thing, Commander Nadir?"

"Yeah, and it’s all yours." When I say that, Alice grins and uses her powers. Her weight becomes so heavy that the ground beneath her feet cracks. Her muscles also become more prominent, veins bulging grotesquely. It’s not exactly the prettiest power to watch.

But Alice never cared about judgments. Looks don’t matter much if they help you survive and fight. She makes an extremely high jump and crashes down on the monster, landing a sword strike. The monster, still dazed, barely manages to dodge as the sword generates a blast, exploding the ground around it on impact.

’I think I’ll use Moon and Sun...’ I can’t use both simultaneously, but since Moon state is a reinforcement for my body and Sun state is for attack, I can keep deactivating Moon state when I’m at a distance to attack with Sun state, then go back to Moon state after the Sun state attack.

’Although this will weaken the use of Sun state, since I won’t be able to keep any mark permanently.’

Sun allows extreme heat release, along with increasing the weight of everything marked with the [Mark of the Sun]. In Moon state, it increases all physical attributes in exchange for making resistance extremely low, but all attributes not linked to defense lose any limitation that gravity imposes, becoming free from any form of planetary pressure.

’It’s worth it. I don’t think increasing this monster’s weight would change much.’ I start joining the fight. While Alice strikes and the monster leaps to dodge, I aim at it and release a heat wave.

The monster lets out a grotesque shriek of pain as its flesh literally boils, and with that, I know we can hurt it with this.

"Toss it to me," I tell Alice as I get ready. Understanding, Alice jumps from the ground and strikes the monster with the flat of her blade. The monster, in midair, can’t dodge and gets hurled toward me.

I use Moon state and jump up, delivering a double kick that violently sends the monster flying back at Alice. Alice tries to strike, but the monster, recovering, uses its many hands to grab the blade, twist its body, and punch Alice downward.

I rush in fast, using the complete lack of weight to float in the air, and before the monster can track me, I kick down on top of it, slamming it into the ground. I draw the submachine gun and fire downward.

The monster tries to run, dodging some shots and getting hit by others. It starts bleeding a strange black goo, shrieking with every shot. I holster the weapon back onto my back.

"Alice, its defense is weak on the outer part, but it seems really tough the deeper you go inside it."

"Hahaha, that’s good. A punching bag that doesn’t break in one hit — I just need to hit it with violent impacts to break it from the inside." Alice tosses her sword upward and lifts a massive boulder. She throws it in my direction, and I touch it, spinning and using it as fast transport.

’Considering my Moon state, the impact of the rock hitting the ground is barely going to affect me... Alice, strategic as always.’

The rock crashes toward the monster, which dodges by leaping, but I grab one of its hands and hurl it toward Alice, who gets ready to strike. The monster twists, planning something, as I run toward the two of them after recovering from the rock’s impact.

’This feels too easy... something’s wrong...’