It didn't take long for Arthur, A2, and 2B to land atop the massive metallic body of Engels.
The trio wasted no time, immediately sprinting across the colossal arm of the mechanical lifeform. The wind howled fiercely, carrying with it the acrid scent of burnt oil and the constant hum of the creature's internal machinery.
The smaller machine lifeforms reacted instantly, emerging from the colossus's joints like swarms of metallic insects. A2 leapt first, swinging her blade in a wide arc that cut down three enemies at once, while 2B followed closely at her side.
Arthur, however, moved with an almost unsettling naturalness, cutting down anything that entered his path.
The trio continued forward, fighting like a perfectly synchronized mechanism. Where A2 advanced with raw brutality, 2B compensated with precision. Arthur, positioned between them, was the invisible thread binding the rhythm of battle together.
However, in the middle of their ascent, a lateral explosion separated them.
2B and A2 were thrown in different directions, each forced to face new groups of machines.
Seeing that both were fine, Arthur continued forward alone.
As he climbed higher, the machines became more numerous—but also more desperate. They leapt, crawled, and self-destructed, and Arthur responded to each attack with precise counters.
At last, he reached the upper section of Engels's body, where its massive metallic head loomed.
"Heh… Sorry, great-grandfather. It probably won't be as refined as yours, but it should get the job done."
Arthur lowered his stance, drawing his body into a poised, unsheathing posture as the distance between him and Engels's head rapidly closed.
"Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki."
The strike was so fast that the air itself tore apart, and the vacuum created triggered a sudden burst of pressure, multiplying the force of the slash.
In the next instant, Engels's head slid smoothly to the side and fell, separated from its body by an absolutely clean cut.
At the same time, Arthur landed on the opposite side of the metallic colossus.
Moments later, the giant's body began to tremble violently. Its internal systems collapsed, triggering a chain reaction. Red lights flickered across its frame, and a metallic groan echoed like the dying scream of a machine.
Realizing it was about to explode, Arthur stopped holding back and immediately took flight. Shortly after, he spotted A2 and 2B still fighting the last remaining enemies.
He reached them instantly, grabbing both as he flew away.
In the next moment, Engels exploded.
The sound of the blast reverberated for miles, marking the end of Engels.
---xXx---
"I don't know who built that robot, but they must've been one hell of a bastard." Arthur muttered as he set A2 and 2B down.
Fragments of incandescent metal rained from the sky, and the air was thick with the smell of burnt oil and ozone.
Arthur let out a sigh.
"Are you two alright?" he asked.
"Yes…" A2 replied, her voice steady, though her expression remained wary.
2B, on the other hand, stayed silent, her gaze fixed on Arthur.
"Why is a human like you on Earth?" she finally asked. "Shouldn't you be on the Moon?"
Arthur raised an eyebrow, confused.
"On the Moon?" he repeated, blinking as if he had just heard something absurd.
"And why, exactly, should I be on the Moon?" he shot back.
The silence that followed was nearly uncomfortable. Before anyone could respond, a soft yet authoritative voice echoed from the pod floating beside 2B.
{"Who are you?"} asked the mature female voice, tinged with both curiosity and caution.
Arthur let out a quiet scoff.
"Usually, one introduces themselves before demanding a name, don't you think?" he replied with refined sarcasm.
The woman on the other end sighed softly.
"You're right. My apologies. Please wait about ten minutes. I will be there shortly." The transmission ended.
---xXx---
It wasn't long before a new sound cut through the sky—the sharp, rising whine of a flight unit approaching.
The horizon lit up as the aircraft broke through the clouds, descending slowly amid a gust of wind and dust. Its design was identical to 2B's unit—silver-white, with a silhouette resembling a spear piercing the air.
When the turbines shut down, the hatch opened with a soft hydraulic hiss.
Then a figure stepped out.
Long golden hair flowed like strands of light beneath the sun; the wind made it dance with ethereal elegance.
Arthur smiled, his tone carefree in a way only he could maintain even in the face of the inexplicable.
"You're five minutes late."
The woman touched down, adjusting her posture before smiling back.
"Sorry for the delay. Getting here took longer than I expected."
"Don't worry about it," Arthur replied with a shrug.
The woman in front of him seemed overwhelmed by an emotion she was trying to hide. The slight tremor in her lips, the wavering light in her eyes… it was the emotion of someone who had found something—or someone—long lost.
"Excuse me," she began hesitantly, her tone completely at odds with her authoritative presence. "Could you… grant me a request?"
Arthur tilted his head, intrigued.
"That depends on the request."
"May I hug you?" she asked.
Arthur blinked, stunned. Of all the things he expected to hear at that moment, that was certainly not one of them.
But before he could even respond, a sudden movement caught his attention.
Bang!
A2's fist struck the woman's face with brutal force, sending her flying backward. She rolled across the ground, leaving a trail of dust.
"2B, stand down!" the woman's voice rang out again before 2B could attack.
2B hesitated for a moment, her blade suspended midair.
A2, however, wasted no time. She stepped forward, grabbed the woman by the collar, and lifted her effortlessly, studying her with a cold, calculating gaze.
"I wouldn't recommend accepting any request she makes," A2 warned, not taking her eyes off White. "That body could be a ticking time bomb. Even without weapons, she can still detonate her own core. And if that happens…" —she shot a brief glance at Arthur— "…the explosion won't leave anything but ashes."
White let out a faint, bitter laugh.
She knew why A2 hated her.
The massacre of her former unit had been caused by orders she herself had given.
The commander's ironic smile only made A2 angrier.
She clenched her fist, ready to crush the woman without hesitation.
But then, Arthur caught her wrist.
"Before any hugs—or anything else… I want you to explain exactly what's going on in this world."
White lifted her gaze to meet his.
"I want to know what YoRHa is, what these robots are. And most importantly… where the humans are."
The silence that followed was so deep that even the sound of the wind seemed to vanish.
White's expression hardened.
Revealing that truth would mean collapsing the entire structure of YoRHa.
"I see…" she murmured, lowering her gaze. "There's no point in hiding it anymore."
She took a deep breath.
"The YoRHa unit is…"
And then, she began to tell the whole truth.
Each word that left the commander's mouth fell like a weight upon everyone present.
A2 kept her fists clenched; 2B stood frozen, absorbing every syllable as if the ground beneath her feet was disappearing.
Off to the side, watching in silence, 9S recorded everything in secret. His pod transmitted the data in real time to a small server he himself had installed in a remote location on Earth, far from Command's eyes.
He knew the risk. He knew that if the Bunker discovered the leak, they might launch an orbital strike to eliminate any witnesses.
But nothing could prepare him for what he heard next.
When White revealed the true origin of the black boxes—the cores that powered YoRHa androids—a chill ran down everyone's spine.
They were made from the cores of machine lifeforms.
The silence that followed was almost tangible.
2B trembled slightly, for the first time showing genuine emotion—shock, disgust, and confusion.
They had fought and died for centuries in the name of humanity, and in the end, they might have been far more similar to the enemies they exterminated than they had ever imagined.
---
(End of Chapter)