Inside the cockpit of the XG-70b Susanoo II, Yuuko Kouzuki's hand was clenched into a fist.
Her nails were not especially long, yet they had torn into the flesh of her palm by sheer force.
Right now, she had her eyes forced wide open, refusing to blink as she stared fixedly at one image—the glowing point in the atmosphere.
That was intelligence she had only just received. North America had suddenly dropped a G-bomb.
The official reason was to eliminate that special Tactical Surface Fighter-class BETA. But there was another part of the truth: they also wanted to wipe out the Tactical Surface Fighter squad on-site below.
From North America's perspective, now that the pilots of those machines had awakened, they must have gained something useful to some degree.
In that case, they would be eliminated along with it. North America absolutely would not allow any country's technology to pull ahead of the United States.
Yet at that moment, a new development appeared in the footage of the Tactical Surface Fighter-class BETA.
The image zoomed in. More accurately, the Tactical Surface Fighter serving as an on-site reporter was moving closer.
Was it going to launch an attack as well?
But something unexpected happened. The Tactical Surface Fighters at the scene did not attack the Unit-01 BETA. Instead, they gathered around it, pressing close to its side.
Right. One of them even moved over and dragged the remaining Soviet unit beneath it.
What were they doing?
The next second, the Unit-01 BETA opened its abdomen—what appeared to be a storage compartment—and pulled out something that looked folded up. As that object unfolded, Yuuko froze for a moment.
"Yuuko, th-that's that shield, right?" Marimo Jinguuji said, sounding somewhat excited.
It was the equipment carried by the mech Mr. Kain had piloted. Now that it had appeared out of nowhere, it was being moved overhead.
Clearly, it was meant to defend against the G-bomb.
And at that moment, they could basically confirm that the Tactical Surface Fighter-class BETA was being controlled by Mr. Kain .
The other Tactical Surface Fighters gathering around him obviously meant he was trying to protect those people.
If it were a BETA, it would never do such a thing.
"Yuuko, can we—"
"It's too late!"
Yuuko cut Marimo off directly, already knowing what she wanted to say. The G-bomb had already been launched. There was no way to stop it now.
Even so, her heart finally settled considerably, because that Tactical Surface Fighter-class BETA was under his control.
As for why the other Tactical Surface Fighters had obediently gone over without worrying about being attacked, the members of the Chinese technical unit had clearly met him and spoken with him inside the Hive.
That was why he had contacted them and told them to come over.
As for why they could not hear the conversation here, the livestream had been processed. That side was not providing audio.
As for the G-bomb, could he block it?
Perhaps he could. Since he had called them over and intended to protect them, there should be a chance.
In any case, Yuuko was not worried that he would die. From the look of things, he would not be controlled by the BETA. His consciousness remained his own.
If he truly could not withstand the G-bomb, he could simply leave this world.
The only thing Yuuko found frustrating was that Tactical Surface Fighter-class BETA. If they could bring it back, perhaps they could research a great deal from it.
As for telling the United States right now that the Tactical Surface Fighter-class BETA was on their side, that would not stop the G-bomb attack. Even if there were still a way to prevent the G-bomb from detonating, the United States would not stop.
In fact, even if they had told the United States before launching the G-bomb that the Tactical Surface Fighter-class BETA was an ally seized by humanity, the United States would still have dropped the G-bomb.
The reason was simple. They absolutely would not allow anything or any technology beyond the United States to fall into another country's hands.
Unless, of course, the United States fleet was right beside this Hive and their forces could rush over and seize it immediately.
Under the current circumstances, the United States believed it could at most get a share. But they did not want a share. They wanted exclusive possession—or for no one to get anything.
"Five seconds until G-bomb impact!"
Someone began counting down over the channel.
Five...
Four...
Three...
Two...
One!
"Impact!"
In an instant, the livestream cut off.
At the same time, another feed connected. It was an observation image from the nearby sea.
In the footage, in the direction of the Hive, a sphere so dark it was almost black swelled outward in one breath. That was the effect of the G-bomb—the Fifth-Dimensional Gravity Bomb—after detonation.
Its explosion did not produce a physical shockwave. Instead, everything inside the force field that opened after the detonation collapsed and decomposed under random-number gravity.
In other words, within a random-number gravity space at the atomic level, atoms would begin moving chaotically.
For example, say a person were made up of six atoms. In that chaotic gravitational space, the atom representing the right arm might be pulled to the right. The atom representing the left arm might be pulled to the left. The atom representing the head might be pulled upward. The atom representing the right leg might be pulled down and to the right. The atom representing the left leg might be pulled down and to the left. The atom representing the torso might be pulled backward.
That person would be instantly decomposed—decomposed down to the atomic level.
Of course, because it was random-number gravity, the atom representing the right arm would not necessarily be pulled to the right. It could be pulled in any direction.
Moreover, due to the irregular changes in random-number gravity, its movement could also shift toward other directions, sending it scattering everywhere.
In other words, all matter within its range would be broken down into atoms.
And that was only the atomic-level influence humanity could currently observe. In reality, its effect might go even deeper.
The reason they could not observe it was that effects on particles smaller than atoms would require observation from inside the explosion's inner space. But was that possible?
No device could survive inside it. They could only enter and observe afterward.
But after it ended, the magnetic field in the explosion space would also be permanently altered. Under the influence of that magnetic field, equipment could at most observe atomic-level phenomena.
In addition, while the G-bomb was detonating and before it vanished, it produced an almost black sphere of light. The outer layer of that sphere was a fifth-dimensional gravity isolation layer. It could be called an indestructible protective shell, one that seemed to form a dimensional barrier with real space and cut itself away from it.
The defensive barrier formed by the XG-70b's protective field could be described as a massively weakened version of that fifth-dimensional gravity isolation layer.
Yuuko's pupils shrank slightly. Satellite footage had come in, giving an even clearer view. It looked as if half of a lead ball had been embedded into the surface of the earth, with faint streams of light chaotically flowing across its surface.
As the dimly glowing sphere shrank, then vanished like a popping soap bubble, what remained on the peninsula was a bowl-shaped crater.
It was hard to see what was inside that crater. Even the ground was difficult to make out. The magnetic field inside had been distorted and altered, and even light shining into it was affected, so the captured footage was somewhat blurry.
To determine the conditions deeper inside, they would have to send Tactical Surface Fighters in to observe at close range.
Yuuko paid attention to the cross-world invitation display. The indicator showed that he was still in this world.
That meant he was still alive. He had not been eliminated by the G-bomb.
Hm?
He came online.
And he finally spoke.
At that point, Yuuko's suspended heart could more or less settle back into place.
She could hardly wait to see that man and find out what he had witnessed inside the BETA.
What exactly had happened to him?
(End of Chapter)
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