Gray Raven : The Graffiti Arc [Main Story]
Chapter 14 : Reunion
Corrupted : "—ugh"
Lucia : "Commandant, this way..."
Lucia steadily paves a path, coldly surveying for ambushes and cutting apart any approaching Corrupted.
Lucia : "Commandant? Please follow tight."
Commandant : "Lucia, there are no more Corrupted around."
Lucia : "Sorry, Commandant. I must look... uncanny right now..."
"The symptoms of M.I.N.D. deviation are... showing..."
"Commandant..."
"I've heard that... maintaining close contact with your commandant can help stabilize M.I.N.D. integrity."
"But... with my condition now..."
Commandant : "Don't strain yourself, leave the navigation to me!"
Lucia : "Then... I just follow you like this, Commandant... Is it alright...?"
After a short rest, you and Lucia reach your destination-a small area hidden by the ruins.
Beneath the shadows stand a discontented-looking teenager, and...
A somewhat reluctant and petite girl.
Liv : "You're badly hurt, Lucia... Commandant, you too..."
Lucia : "I'm fine. I disabled my pain receptors. I can continue with the mission."
Liv : "You shouldn't be so reckless..."
Lee : "Well, it was a reckless plan."
Lucia : "At least we succeeded."
Lee : "Yes, but you were seriously injured. Most importantly, we almost lost the commandant. Now Liv can't even fight."
Lucia : "Liv , too...?"
Liv : "Sorry, the overload attack just now caused the Levi-Gun's core to have a meltdown.."
"But I can at least provide the team with computational and data support!"
Lee : "Sigh ."
Lucia: "Lee, your hands..."
Lee : "I just burned it while connecting the Levi-Gun core to the city's power grid. It's just a flesh wound. Don't worry about it."
Liv : " Lee... "
Lee : "Oh, Commandant—"
"I grabbed some more serum for you. I figured you needed it."
"I'm sure you can guess where I got it."
"Anyway, let's not get ambushed by Corrupted. Continue with the next phase of our plan, Lucia."
Lucia : "Alright. Just to recap, our mission is to participate in the recovery of City 015."
"Once we finish clearing out the Corrupted in this area, the Engineering Force will arrive and begin setting up City 015 as a new base on humanity's front Earth-side."
"But our situation is looking grim. We need to first rendezvous with the nearby supply team, so we can stock up on supplies..."
"After updating the map, I found a shortcut to the nearest rendezvous point through the nearby church-let's go that way."
...
—in the Church—
Lucia : "Ah- !"
"The church..."
Lee : "What's wrong with the church?"
Lucia : "Nothing. Just deja vu is all..."
"It just... happens sometimes..."
Lee : "Your M.I.N.D. is a complete simulation of basic human cognition, after all. It's not that uncommon."
"Or maybe you've just been to too many places. You're no stranger to battle..."
Commandant : "You've all had your fair share of battle."
Lee : "You seem to be forgetting about yourself, Commandant."
"There's nothing out of the ordinary on your resume... Except..."
...
"Forget it... Who doesn't have skeletons best left in the closet?"
Lucia : "Lee... "
"Anyways, I'm fine. Let's resume."
...
Under the blinding sunlight from the church entrance, a mysterious female figure with an ashen head of hair steps forth.
Liv : "It's a... Construct-an ally?"
...
In an instant, electricity-of a ghostly red-arced around her.
Liv : "No... This is... high-density Punishing Virus reactions! She's a Corrupted!"
Unknown Construct a : "... "
Lucia : "Commandant, I feel... weird..."
Commandant : "Lucia, calm down!"
Lucia : ".... can't discern her appearance... My visual receptors seem to be malfunctioning... And my thoughts are a little... muddled..."
Liv : "I can see just fine over here...."
Lee : "Looks like it's only you, Lucia."
Liv : "Wait... Lucia's M.I.N.D. is destabilizing! But it's not because of the Punishing Virus. What's going on?!"
Unknown Construct a: "Lucia..."
"Mistakes must end here.."
The Construct slowly walks toward Lucia and pulls out a crimson sword.
Lucia : "dammit!"
—Sparks fly as the two blades clash...—
But this time, Lucia's blade becomes redirected and whirls into the air...
Liv : "Lucia!"
The enemy easily catches Lucia's blade in the air....
Then nails Lucia onto the wall, restraining her movements.
Lucia : "ugh—"
—Lucia tries to break free...—
But the more she struggles, the more Construct vital fluids seep out from her pinned arm.
Unknown Construct a : "Your pain receptions are cut off...? How pitiable..."
"But your sorrow will end here... Lucia."
—She slowly lifts her blade...—
And then—Commandant loads his Gun and Fired at the Unknown construct.
Unknown construct a : "—!"
She casually parries the bullet and deflects it deep into the ruins. It stirs up a cloud of dust.
....
Unknown construct a : "Humans... Always like this."
—Up until now, she only had eyes for Lucia, but now her gaze slowly travels toward you.—
Lucia : "Commandant... Be careful..."
Unknown construct a : "Commandant"... You're still a part of this farce...."
" Well then... "Commandant"...
"Are you prepared to die for her?"
—Commandant takes out his combat knife—
Lee : "Commandant! What are you—Tsk."
—Lee's suppressive fire does nothing to slow the enemy.—
In just a flash, she is already standing right before your eyes.
Commandant attempts to Attack her from Behind
But the enemy's blade easily pierces through his arm, in the same position as Lucia's wound.
Unknown Construct a : "So, "Commandant", do you really think you can stand in her shoes and understand her?"
Commandant : "Of course!"
Unknown construct a : " —!"
—Lucia finally Realized why her Visual receptors are malfunctioning—
Lucia : "...Because our minds are linked!"
Unknown construct a : "..."
—The enemy steps back.—
Unknown construct a : "i... See..."
Lucia : "I... don't know what sort of answer you're looking for..."
"But I'll always entrust Commandant with my life."
Unknown Construct a : "Is that so... I see."
"That only means... the tragedy will go on."
"... look forward to your choice after learning about the truth..."
Lucia: "The truth..."
Unknown Construct a: "...Well then, open your eyes and see the humans for who they really are through your precious "Commandant"."
Lucia : "..."
Having said that, the mysterious enemy sheaths her weapon as if losing all interest...
Then turns and walks back into the blinding sunlight.
She gazes at you meaningfully before completing vanishing into the light.
—to be continued—