"Oh, did you forget about that robot AI girlfriend sister android thing that saved you? I told you earlier, didn't I? You'll be hunting down mutants—either killing them or bringing them back alive. Simple, right?~☆" I stared into their blood-red eyes, feeling a little apprehensive as I asked, "Do you... perhaps know which type of mission I'm being assigned to?"
At my question, they pondered for a brief moment before answering in a serious tone, "I have absolutely no idea☆." Feeling the urge to commit genocide on their entire bloodline, I asked, "If that's the case, could you at least tell me which one I have the highest rate of dying from?" The feminine red-haired man considered, weighing the pros and cons of each option before answering.
"Bringing a mutant back alive is definitely the hardest. After all, even though we have become more efficient in that aspect, the night of salt and sweet flame from when we got Jibrīl really showed that killing them might result in something worse~☆." I couldn't help but frown and ask, "What happened?" They tilted their head slightly, deep in thought, before answering.
"You don't need to know about that. I'm sure you'll find out if you come back alive~☆." All I could do was sigh and accept what they said as I started eating the not-so-bad food I had received.
"Damn, this thing is so tight. Are you sure I have to wear this? I feel exposed..." The sunny redhead just laughed it off, saying, "No need to worry about that; you'll get used to it." With a slight twitch of my brow, I thought, Says the one in garments similar to kimonos. They even have their shoulders and back exposed to not get too hot in that flashy red getup, I suppose.
After complaining in my head about how unfair everything felt, a sudden warm sensation flowed throughout my whole body. "Ah—" I nearly moaned in pleasure, but I swiftly shut my mouth. Why the hell do I feel as if a warm, fresh-out-of-the-dryer blanket is covering my entire being? As if predicting what I was thinking, Gwenddydd's voice came out of my suit.
"No need to be startled. The reason you're feeling these sensations is because of me. When I was being dismantled, they attempted to replicate me, but it failed. Instead, they just installed my parts in your suit, mixing them with some of theirs, to see how everything functions with me awake and running on my sub-processors."
I couldn't help but frown and ask, "Isn't that just dumb? Why would they need to do that?" The redhead beside me let out a slight scoff before replying, "It's orders from the district head. Us mortals can't possibly comprehend what such a great mind thinks☆."
Oh... it seems like someone is hated, I thought. Based on this overly sunny guy's demeanor and the fact that he dared to say such things out loud, there must be a lot of disdain for whoever is in charge.
"Nathaniel, prepare for the adrenaline and dopamine ejection in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1."
"Wait, what—ugh!" Not even having time to process anything, I passed out from the excess dopamine.
"Hmm, it seems adjustments need to be made in the dopamine dose. It looks like the adrenaline is making his heart beat to the point of nearly bursting as well... I have a lot of work ahead of me." Gwenddydd let out a brief sigh after saying this, and I could sense her urgency in finding a dose amount that wouldn't cause me to pass out.
~~~
"Ugh... mmmh... uh, where am I?" I slowly got up from the ground, clutching my chest where my heart would be as I looked around, only to frown and mutter, "Pink? This place is sickeningly pink... ugh... wait, where did the pink go?"
~~~
With a giant gasp, I woke up, confusingly looking around, wondering what was going on. Then, as if something clicked in my head, I nearly shouted, "Damn it, Gwenddydd, what was that for?" Gwenddydd merely let out a *tsk before muttering, "I thought you'd be out longer." She then answered my question, "I was testing a few doses of dopamine and adrenaline injections to make it so you don't notice the strain on your body."
"Strain? Wait, why would there be a strain on my body to the point you need to do that?" Gwenddydd, in an uncaring tone, responded, "Because the combat suit you're in takes off all self-imposed limiters on the brain and body and a bunch of other stuff that I don't feel like explaining. In short, that thing you are wearing lets you use 100% of your body and mind. The mind part just keeps your brain in a state of constant 'I'm about to die if I don't do this' mode."
"Wait, wouldn't my bones break just by moving my body then?" After I asked, Gwenddydd scoffed at me before answering, "It's a combat suit made with my sub-processors. I'm making sure you're not breaking anything. You can thank me later as we have arrived."
Before I could ask where we were, the redhead ordered, "Listen up! We are in District 3, where all the lower upper class live. Do not speak whatsoever. To them, we are nothing but cleaners—in other words, dogs of District 1 who hail from the slums. So please don't talk, and take these masks. They hate the contaminated air we breathe out; it makes everything filthier in their eyes~☆."
I could only sigh and do as he said as I grabbed a mask and followed him. I hope I survive this mission.
---
We stood in front of a tall skyscraper-like building that looked way more advanced than I had ever seen. The redhead took out a card and "What!?" we completely changed locations to the point that I wondered if we were in another dimension altogether. At my reaction, the redhead smirked before saying,
"Cool, right? Many people don't know this, but the planet actually has many pocket universes in it, completely independent from one another. Some are even so huge we label them as alternate possibilities. This one isn't; don't worry, as those things like our universe have infinite timelines, so if we went into them, we wouldn't even understand anything. We'd be observing the past, present, and future of an infinite amount of outcomes.
"But as you can plainly see, we are in a castle. Nothing too fancy, though it is the size of a galaxy by our estimates~☆." After he finished speaking, his face paled as he checked his right arm again and again. "There is no way it became a mutant possibility☆." At that new term, I grimaced and asked,
"Could you tell me exactly what that means, sir?" The redhead, not looking anywhere other than his wrist, answered, "It means we have to eliminate the target no matter what☆."
''What—''
*Bang! I was suddenly hit with the force of a point-blank TNT explosion, sent flying. Gwenddydd, still in the vehicle we arrived in, started dosing me before I could process any pain.
"Sl-intern, damn it! I thought we would have more time☆." After saying that, the redhead took out a katana from nowhere and slashed down in front of him, causing a shattering sound as a huge black figure was sent hurtling back. Barely getting up, I coughed up some blood before looking in the direction where the figure had been sent flying, only to curse and raise my arms.
Boom! With nearly a hundred times the previous force, the figure in all black sent me flying once more. This time, I was able to react in time and land as softly as possible, spitting out part of my lung. "Is that all you got, tin man?" I said, glaring at the emerging black figure covered in armor from head to toe, with a flowing red cape behind him and a crown embedded with jewels.
Why isn't he attacking? I wondered as a certain redhead appeared behind me and said, "They are readjusting. If you are wondering why they stopped, they are currently going from having the power of one galaxy to, from the impact I felt, a few dozen☆." My eyes widened as I asked, "How am I still alive?"
"Oh, now that's an easy answer. Your combat suit has a personal reality covering it and your entire body, making it so you have at least some fighting chance~☆." After answering me, the redhead quickly put his thumb on the back of my neck as he said, "All limiters have been detached from your combat suit. Oh, and stop fighting after 15 minutes; your suit is still a prototype☆."
After I nodded, the redhead dashed straight towards the "Tin Man"—or rather, the "Tin King"—breathing in, ready to try to beat him. I stopped before asking, "Will my moves get auto-corrected so I don't embarrass myself?"
"Yes." After getting the affirmative, I rushed out to the Tin King, landing a solid right hook straight to its face, causing it to fly back. After I did so, the redhead appeared behind the Tin King and slashed down so hard that it split the castle in two, along with the "planet" it was on.
As the Tin King flew into the air, I kicked off the ground as hard as I could, kicking it right on its head straight down to Earth, cratering the rest of the castle. "Shit!" was all I could say as my leg twisted behind my back as I fell down to Earth. Crash.
I slowly got up while nearly coughing my lungs out as my suit forcibly realigned my broken arm and legs back together. "Thank god I can barely feel anything going on with my body, or I might just have died from shock." After saying that and rubbing my eyes, I clenched my fists again, preparing to get back into the fight, but—
Bzzip— "Don't move your body too much, or you'll die." Hearing Gwenddydd's command, I panicked a little and asked, "G-Gwenddydd, what do you mean by die?" Gwenddydd, as if just noticing the fact that I couldn't feel any pain in my body, answered,
"Your internal organs are about to rupture. I need to get into your body as I hold everything in place." I frowned for a moment before asking, "Gwenddydd, answer me seriously: am I fighting someone?" To that, she answered immediately, "No, you're currently being crushed by a strange force that seems to increase the more you move."
Hearing that, I asked, "Is the redhead being crushed as well?"
"Yes, but they seem to have realized what is going on. They are currently ordering a type 4 neutralizer to be sent in to kill everything in the general vicinity." Panicking, I ordered, "Move my body to where the target is to kill the mutant now!" Gwenddydd asked, "Are you sure if you—"
"Yes! I'd rather die of collapsed internal organs than get type 4 neutralized, whatever that means!"
"As you wish. Blame yourself later." After Gwenddydd said that, she took control of my battle suit and shot straight to where the mutant was lying, plunging my hand straight through its heart.
After a few moments, I looked around before asking, "Did we win?" Gwenddydd's flat tone answered my question, "Yes, all you need to do is look down." Not expecting her to answer my question—since I was just muttering to myself—I did as she said and looked down, only for my eyes to widen, wanting to puke I asked. "I—is that m-my arm inside that baby?"
"Indeed it is."