Free Web NovelThe first shot.
The moment Pavela pulled the trigger, the world seemed to freeze for an instant.
She saw it all too clearly.
That Victoriana mech.
That pitch-black knight currently hunting down the fleeing soldiers.
There was a crack at the seam of its chest armor.
Not a crack visible to the naked eye.
But a deeper, structural vulnerability.
Like a pane of glass covered in spiderweb cracks, it would shatter completely with just a light tap.
Her finger twitched slightly.
The shell tore through the wind and snow, precisely drilling into that crack.
BOOM—!!
The mech's chest cavity burst open from the inside, flames and debris spraying in every direction.
The cockpit was torn to shreds; the pilot inside didn't even have time to scream before he and his priceless mech were turned into parts flying through the sky.
Pavela laughed.
"Ha..."
It was a soft laugh, almost drowned out by the wind and snow.
Then she turned to the next target.
-- 【 WARNING! 】 --
-- 【 The Way Back ability overuse detected 】 --
-- 【 Mental corruption index: 91% 】 --
-- 【 main personality stability: 35%... 34%... 】 --
-- 【 Warning: erosion is accelerating 】 --
"Mmh~ I know~"
Pavela's voice sounded light and joyful, trailing off with a coquettish tone, like a child at play.
The second shot.
The head of another enemy mech exploded, like a walnut being cracked open.
"System~"
As she adjusted the cannon, she said in a coquettish tone.
"Look, I'm just protecting myself~"
The third shot.
An enemy mech in the middle of reloading was pierced from the side; its ammunition detonated, blooming into a huge ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) flower of flame amidst the wind and snow.
"They're trying to kill me~"
"If I don't kill them, they'll kill me~"
"This is self-defense, isn't it~?"
The fourth shot.
The fifth shot.
The sixth shot.
Three shells were fired in less than two seconds, precisely hitting three different targets.
One mech's knee joint was shattered, and it crashed to the ground after losing its balance.
One mech's reactor was pierced, and its entire body was torn in two amidst a steam explosion.
One mech's cockpit was pierced directly, blood gushing out from the gaps in the ruptured armor.
"Look~"
"I'm very accurate~"
"One shot, one kill~"
"Isn't that great~"
-- 【 WARNING!!! 】 --
-- 【 Mental corruption index: 93% 】 --
-- 【 main personality stability: 31% 】 --
-- 【 Warning: Continued use of The Way Back ability will cause irreversible deepening of erosion 】 --
-- 【 Warning: Low main personality stability will cause irreversible consequences 】 --
-- 【 Strongly advise immediate cessation— 】 --
"Hey, System~"
Pavela interrupted the string of warnings, her tone carrying a hint of grievance.
"Can't you praise me~?"
"I'm doing so well~"
"I'm getting one shot, one kill right now~"
"Can't you just say 'good job'~?"
Her lips pouted slightly, like a child who hadn't received praise.
"You're always warning, warning, warning~"
"So annoying~"
The seventh shot.
An enemy mech trying to flank her was hit in the power core, its entire body turning into a rolling fireball in the chain reaction.
"Look~"
"I'm so amazing~"
"Can't you be a little happy~?"
But just as this shot was fired, a shell hit the left shoulder of the thug-iv type from the side.
BOOM—!
The entire mech shook violently; Pavela's body was thrown to one side inside the cockpit, the seatbelt digging into her collarbone with a dull thud.
The entire left shoulder armor plate fell off, revealing the twisted metal skeleton and hissing, steam-spewing hydraulic lines beneath.
Pain.
A dull ache came from her left shoulder—not the mech's pain, but her own.
The spinal direct-link system faithfully fed the impact received by the mech into her nerves.
Pavela looked down.
The left shoulder of her clothes had been worn through by the metal buckle of the seatbelt, revealing a patch of skin beneath that was rapidly reddening.
"Oh my~"
She tilted her head, her tone devoid of any pain.
"I got hit~"
Then she laughed and turned toward the direction the shot came from.
The eighth shot.
The mech that had ambushed her was blown to pieces by a single shot.
"Sneak attacks are wrong~"
Pavela laughed happily as she fired.
That laughter echoed through the wind and snow.
Some Usar stragglers heard the laughter and froze in place, not knowing what had happened.
Some Victoriana knights heard the laughter and felt a chill down their spines, sensing a kind of primal fear.
That was not a laugh a normal person would make.
That was—
"The ninth, the tenth."
"Hahahahahaha!!!"
That was the laugh of a hunter chasing prey.
That was the laugh of a beast tearing into its prey.
That was the laugh of a madman destroying everything.
...
"Click."
The gunfire stopped.
Pavela paused, looking down at the dashboard.
Ammunition remaining: 0%.
"Eh~"
She blinked, a trace of confusion appearing on her face.
"The bullets are all gone~"
"That was fast~"
"There are still so many enemies left to kill~"
There was no panic in her tone, only a certain anticipation.
"Then..."
She pressed a button on the control stick, and a steam-powered battle axe popped out from the weapon rack on the mech's waist.
It was an old, rust-covered battle axe, with dried blood still remaining on the blade.
"Let's use this~"
Melee combat.
Pavela piloted the thug-iv type and charged fiercely at the nearest enemy.
It was a standard Victoriana knight mech, currently thrusting its steam-powered longsword toward her.
She saw the crack again.
At that mech's shoulder joint.
At the gap in the underarm armor exposed when it swung its sword.
At the center of gravity where it leaned slightly forward to maintain balance.
Time seemed to slow down.
She saw the trajectory of the lunging longsword.
Saw the arc the sword tip traced in the air.
Saw the power conduction path of the entire attack.
But she met it head-on.
The longsword pierced the right abdominal armor of the thug-iv type, penetrating two layers of armor plating; the tip was less than thirty centimeters from the cockpit.
Pavela felt a searing pain in her right abdomen.
Her body shuddered violently, and a trace of blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.
But her battle axe had already swung out.
The blade precisely cleaved into that crack—the structural weakness at the enemy mech's shoulder joint.
CRACK—!!
A crisp sound.
The mech's right arm, along with the longsword it held, was severed and tumbled into the snow amidst the wind and snow.
Then came the second axe blow.
Cleaving toward the exposed cockpit.
Blood splattered out.
A mangled corpse fell from the ruptured cockpit.
Pavela looked down at the broken sword stuck in her mech's abdomen.
"Haha~"
She laughed, reached out, pulled the broken sword from the armor, and tossed it casually onto the snow.
"One axe, one kill~"
-- 【 WARNING!!! 】 --
-- 【 Mech right abdominal armor integrity: 12% 】 --
-- 【 Cockpit protective layer damaged 】 --
-- 【 Abnormal pressure feedback detected in right rib area 】 --
-- 【 Suggest immediate withdrawal from combat— 】 --
"No!"
The second enemy was a heavy-duty knight mech, covered in thick armor plating like a moving fortress.
Its steam-powered warhammer smashed toward Pavela with enough force to crush a steam car.
Pavela didn't dodge.
She saw the crack.
Not on that mech.
But on the handle of the warhammer.
A subtle, almost invisible line of metal fatigue.
She raised her battle axe to meet the falling warhammer.
The two weapons collided in mid-air.
BOOM—!!
The shockwave kicked up a flurry of snow.
The warhammer's handle snapped at the crack, and the heavy hammer head flew to the side, slamming into the snow and kicking up a cloud of white dust.
And Pavela's battle axe...
Also broke.
The blade detached from the handle, tumbled a few times in the air, and disappeared into the wind and snow.
But the cost did not end there.
The impact of that collision traveled along the mech's arm to its entire body.
The hydraulic system of the thug-iv type's right arm was almost completely overloaded with a screeching metallic scream; three hydraulic lines burst simultaneously, hot hydraulic fluid gushing out and turning into a searing mist in the cold wind.
A violent tearing sensation came from Pavela's right arm.
Not a fracture.
It was the spinal direct-link system feeding the feedback of the mech's burst hydraulic lines directly into her nerves.
That feeling was like someone slowly dragging a red-hot iron wire along the inside of her arm, from her shoulder all the way to her fingertips.
Her right hand spasmed, her nails digging into her palm and leaving bloody scratch marks on the control stick.
"Oh my~"
Pavela looked at the half-handle remaining in her hand, her tone carrying a hint of regret.
"It broke~"
The heavy mech that had lost its weapon paused for an instant, then tried to retreat.
Too late.
Pavela tossed aside the axe handle and piloted the thug-iv type as she lunged forward.
No weapon.
Then use fists.
Her mech's iron fist smashed into the heavy mech's chest armor.
One punch.
The armor dented.
Two punches.
The armor cracked.
Three punches.
The armor shattered, revealing the mechanical structure and lines inside.
Four punches.
Piercing directly through the cockpit.
Blood flowed down her mech's arm, rapidly freezing into dark red icicles in the cold wind.
"Hahahaha—"
Pavela laughed even louder.
"Fun!"
"So fun!!"
-- 【 WARNING!!! 】 --
-- 【 Mental corruption index: 96% 】 --
-- 【 main personality Stability: 24% 】 --
-- 【 Warning: Approaching critical threshold 】 --
-- 【 Warning: Cease all combat actions immediately 】 -- fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
-- 【 Warning: If this continues— 】 --
"Shut up!!"
Pavela's tone suddenly became extremely impatient.
"I said!"
"I am protecting myself!"
"Why can't you just understand!!?"
She turned to the next enemy.
Another Victoriana mech.
She saw a crack.
The knee joint.
One punch.
That mech collapsed onto the snow.
The head armor seam.
One punch. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
The head exploded, fragments scattering everywhere.
"You know, System."
Pavela said as she charged toward the next target.
"When I first came here."
One punch.
Another mech's chest armor caved in.
"I was so scared."
Two punches.
The armor shattered.
"So scared, so scared."
Three punches.
Blood splattered.
"I thought I was going to die again."
She turned, meeting another enemy lunging at her.
Sidestep.
Saw a crack.
One punch hit the opponent's reactor.
Explosion.
Flames engulfed that mech.
"Back then I didn't know anything."
"Didn't know how to pilot a mech."
"Didn't know how to fight."
"I was just an ordinary person."
Another enemy.
Crack.
Shoulder joint.
One punch tore off the opponent's arm.
Used that arm as a weapon, smashing it into the opponent's head.
The sound of metal striking metal echoed in the wind and snow.
"I should have been at home playing games."
"I should have been sleeping in on the weekend."
"I should have been—"
Her voice grew higher and faster.
Another enemy charged.
She didn't see what model it was.
Only saw the crack.
Countless cracks.
One punch. Two punches. Three punches. Four punches. Five punches. Six punches.
Until that mech turned into a pile of twisted scrap metal.
"I shouldn't be here—!!"
The battle turned into a massacre.
The rhythm grew faster and faster.
One enemy. Crack. One punch. Next.
Two enemies lunged simultaneously. Two cracks. Sidestep. Left punch, right punch. Two wrecks.
Three. Four. Five.
Crack, crack, crack.
Punch, punch, punch.
Her mech's outer armor was riddled with holes, the hydraulic system let out a roar on the verge of collapse, and alarms blared everywhere in the cockpit.
But she didn't care.
She was just killing.
Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill.
"I still remember—"
She roared as she killed.
"When I first killed someone—"
An enemy's head was sent flying by her punch.
"I threw up—"
Another enemy's cockpit was punched through by her.
"I threw up until I was dizzy—"
Another. Another. Another.
"But no one cared—"
"No one asked if I was okay—"
"They just told me—"
"Keep fighting—"
"Keep killing—"
"Kill or be killed—"
Her fists were already deformed from the fighting.
The hands of the thug-iv type were long since ruined, fingers twisted, joints damaged, and the metal skeleton exposed from under the cracked armor.
But she was still hitting.
"How many people have I killed—?"
One punch.
"I don't even remember—"
One punch.
"Dozens—?"
One punch.
"Hundreds—?"
One punch.
"I don't know—"
One punch.
"I only know—"
One punch.
"If I don't kill them—"
One punch.
"They will kill me—"
One punch.
"So I must kill—"
One punch.
"Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill—"
The last enemy.
A Victoriana mech that had already been beaten to the point of teetering; the pilot seemed to have lost the will to fight and was trying to turn and run.
Pavela chased after it.
Her broken mech lunged at the fleeing enemy like a crazed beast.
The two broken mechs tangled together, rolling in the snow.
Pavela was on top of it.
One punch.
The cockpit caved in.
One punch.
The armor cracked.
One punch.
One punch.
One punch.
One punch, one punch, one punch, one punch, one punch, one punch—
Until that mech turned into an unrecognizable pile of scrap.
Until the pilot inside turned into an unrecognizable puddle of flesh and blood.
Until her mech's arms were completely ruined and could no longer swing.
Then.
It was quiet.
The wind and snow were still howling.
But there were no living enemies left on the battlefield.
Pavela knelt on that pile of scrap, gasping for breath.
Alarms were everywhere in the cockpit, red warning lights flashing frantically.
She was as battered and bruised as her mech.
Her right arm was bleeding from shoulder to elbow, the entire arm completely numb; a wound on her left cheek extended from her cheekbone to her jaw, blood and tears mixed together, indistinguishable from one another; her legs were scalded by steam, large patches of skin red and blistered, with tissue fluid starting to seep out in some places.
The metal probes in her spine were still inserted, each one like a red-hot knife slowly rotating in her nerves.
But she was alive.
Although like a wrung-out rag, a crumpled ball of paper, a pile of chewed-up dregs.
But she was alive.
She just tilted her head back, looking at the leaden-gray sky.
Looking at the snowflakes dancing across the sky.
"Ha..."
A soft laugh spilled from her mouth.
"Haha..."
The laughter grew louder.
"Hahahaha—"
She began to laugh.
Laughing crazily, wantonly, without reservation.
The laughter echoed in the wind and snow, like some twisted declaration of victory.
"I won—"
She shouted, laughing.
"I survived—"
"You are all dead—"
"And I survived—!!"
"Hahahahahaha—"
The laughter grew louder, more frantic.
But gradually.
The laughter began to change pitch.
"Haha... haha... ha..."
Becoming intermittent.
Becoming shaky.
Becoming...
"...Sob..."
A small whimper squeezed out from the laughter.
"Sob... sob..."
The laughter stopped.
Replacing it was—
"Sobbing, sobbing, sobbing—"
Crying.
A broken, desperate, heart-wrenching cry.
Pavela was trembling violently all over.
Tears gushed from her scarlet eyes, streaming down her cheeks and dripping onto the cold metal surface.
"I didn't want to..."
She choked out.
"I didn't want to come here..."
The intense pain from her spine continued. Those metal probes were still inserted in her spinal cord, every breath bringing tearing pain.
"I didn't want to fight a war..."
She curled up her body, like a wounded little animal.
"I didn't want to kill anyone..."
Tears blurred her vision, but those images still appeared clearly in her mind.
The people she killed.
The mechs she smashed.
The blood gushing from the cockpits.
The corpses that turned into pulp under her fists.
"I just want to go home..."
Her voice grew smaller and more broken.
"I just want to go back to my world..."
"I want to sleep in my bed..."
"I want to eat the food my mom makes..."
"I want to play games with my friends..."
"I want to live a normal life..."
"I don't want to..."
"I don't want to go through this..."
"I don't want to struggle in this hell..."
"I don't want to hover on the edge of death every day..."
"I don't want to..."
"I don't want to..."
"I don't want to, ahhh—!!"
Her crying grew louder and more shrill.
On this battlefield covered in wind and snow.
In this hell littered with corpses.
A soul from another world finally released her long-suppressed despair.
All the strength.
All the calmness.
All the "this is survival".
All the "I must do this".
At this moment, it all collapsed.
Only the body of a sixteen-year-old girl remained, curled up in the cockpit of a broken mech, crying desperately in the wind and snow.
She didn't want to be some "Insidious Pavel".
She didn't want to be some "ghost of caldberg".
She didn't want to be some "Destroyer of the Path of the Tower".
She just wanted to...
Just wanted to...
"I just want to go home..."
Her voice was as faint as a mosquito, almost drowned out by the wind and snow.
"Please..."
"Let me go home..."
"Please..."
But no one answered her.
Only wind and snow.
Only cold.
Only this endless, white, cold hell.
...
-- 【... 】 --
-- 【 Detecting intense emotional fluctuation in host 】 --
-- 【 Mental Contamination Index: 94%... 92%... 89%... 】 --
-- 【 main personality Stability: 24%... 27%... 30%... 】 --
-- 【 host's emotions are stabilizing 】 --
-- 【... 】 --
-- 【...I'm sorry. 】 --
Pavela did not respond.
She just curled up on the seat, crying silently.
When the tears ran dry, she just trembled.
When the trembling stopped, she just fell silent.
Silent, curled up, in this world that didn't belong to her, in this body that didn't belong to her, enduring a fate that didn't belong to her.
The wind and snow were still howling.
And the pitch-black tower in the distance still stood between heaven and earth, overlooking it all.
