Clockwork Planet - Volume 03

by Kamiya Yuu

  Vermouth was on the shoulder of the enemy soldier–and it landed about 8m higher, scaling another enemy unit. Such mobility was inferior to a military cyborg, but it far surpassed the capabilities of a human.

  Due to the chaotic battlefield, and having lost its enemy, the ‘Metal Demon’ Vermouth was on was looking around, acting wary.

  –However, it could not find anyone.

  Vermouth knew very well that as long as he remained hidden in this position, he would not be discovered by the 8 cameras on this ‘Metal Demon’.

  And he continued to cling onto the extendable arms of the ‘Metal Demon’, opened the hatch that was basically at the back of a human’s neck, and turned the emergency lever to the right.

  The ‘Metal Demon’ then stopped. The reverberating sounds of the gears and the cylinders rang, and the pilot hatch suddenly opened like a backpack.

  Seated inside was a young man who appeared to have just graduated from officer school.

  “…Huh?”

  The soldier stared at at Vermouth blankly, and the latter pointed his gun at the soldier’s nose, saying,

  “Yo kid, nice driving.Speaking of which, I’m kinda shocked that this is a single-pilot, ya’ know?”

  Vermouth steadied his gun with one hand, and stuffed the cigarette in his other hand at the pilot’s mouth.

  And then, he grabbed the startled soldier by the head, forcing him to nod.

  “I’m exchanging this cigarette for this baby here. Aren’t we friends? Tell me how does it feel to fly in the air later.”

  Vermouth prattled on as he pulled the pilot’s lever.

  And then–with an explosion, the pilot seat was fired off, and the pilot screamed as he flew into the sky.

  “Thank you.”

  Vermouth gave a sexy kiss to the pilot, and dug into the pilot seat.

  “Now then~–let’s show everyone that I’m a scumbag worthy of that little slut (Naoto)’s expectations.”

  Part of the functions was lost because the pilot seat was gone. However, the cockpit was not gone, unlike a fighter jet.

  Vermmouth grabbed the severed cables and joystick–that alone allowed him to manipulate the ‘Metal Demon’ system.

  If she actually saw his true capabilities–what kind of face would Marie show?

  Vermouth pondered as he prepared himself for the next ‘strategy’.

  At the same time, he saw the flustered armored units and quadra pedal tanks, sneering,

  (Ha–we got some rookies who aren’t any different from amateurs here. They don’t know how to identify any enemy units?)

  Despite the armored unit ‘Metal Demon’ being stolen, the enemy did not fight back.

  None of them could determine the stolen ‘Metal Demon’ as an enemy and use their weapons, to prevent friendly fire.

  Also, the ‘Black Tortoise’ and other automata could not determine enemies on their own.

  The only condition when this would change–would be when they were attacked twice.

  To put it another way, nobody could shoot at the ‘Metal Demon’ commandeered by Vermouth, except for the foot soldiers’ rifles, until Vermouth shot twice.

  In that case, what should he do?

  –First, he had to destroy the quadra pedal ‘Komainu’.

  Given the armor of the ‘Black Demon’, and in such a state–it would be over if he was targeted.

  In that case–

  If he could not destroy the ‘Komainu’ in one hit, the Gatling cannons of the ‘Black Tortoise’ would puncture the ‘Black Demon’ the moment he fired a second time. But even so, if he was to take down the ‘Black Tortoise’ in the first hit, if the ‘Komainu’ pilot was to change the enemy detection settings and return to the battlefield–it would really be checkmate.

  Then first, he would shoot the ‘Komainu’ down to immobilize it, and then seal the ‘Black Tortoise’.

  After that, he would have to finish off the two ‘Black Demon’s before the inevitable concentrated fire.

  All that–without killing anyone.

  Talk is easy–but it was the toughest mission he had till this point.

  However, Vermouth completed his strategy in less than a second, and showed a sneer unbefitting a playdoll automata, thinking,

  –This is really, really interesting.

  Vermouth kicked the cockpit floor, saying,

  “Hey useless scrap–do you know code D3?”

  Of course, there was no response.

  Now that the pilot seat was fired, the system determined that the unit was ‘unmanned’.

  But assuming that there was even a reaction, the system would answer ‘negative’. Besides, that was the command code Vermouth named himself.

  “You don’t know? Well, I guess. How about this trick that ghost Princess taught me?”

  Having said that, Vermouth started playing with the cables he held with both hands.

  The other hands were attached to cylinders that were controlling the ‘Metal Demon’s power output.

  Before the operation began, the instruction Marie gave was–

  “All limiter out–thrust yourself for my sake, you hear me, you virgin?”

  And seemingly in response, the lights of the remaining display glowed.

  Shown right in front was a countdown indicating the remaining power output, ‘162 seconds’.

  “Ha–only 2 and a half minutes for your first time? Don’t be shy, you quick shooter–I’ll show of some technique that’ll make all Missies cum in 2 minutes–!”

  The throbbing machine caused Vermouth to yell agitatedly.

  And coming from the resonance communicator was Marie’s disdainful voice,

  “…Are you sick with some dirty jokes syndrome or something?”

  “Huh? Well, you heard me, Bitch Princess–isn’t that hardboiled?”

  “…You serious? If you are, I’m butting in–“

  “Hahaha! You’re the one who’s going to get butted in, you kno1!?”

  With a callous remark, Vermouth tugged at the wires.

  At that moment–the machine heated up in an instant, and the ‘Metal Demon’ began running.

  The right arm of the machine grabbed a hyper-frequency blade, charging towards the planned target–the quadra pedal ‘Komainu’–

  While it continued to charge at the enemy with maximum speed–Vermouth showed a wry smile.

  Both AnchoR and RyuZU–those abnormal automata could easily handle these weapons, a quadra pedal tank was a ‘monster on the battlefield’, even if it was outdated.

  It was suicidal to do a frontal assault with merely an armored unit.

  But despite not being familiar with the design blueprint like Marie–Vermouth, a veteran on the battlefield, was familiar with the flaws of a multi-legged pedal unit.

  There were 3 weaknesses to them.

  The assisting AI, the activation springs, and–the cockpit with light armor at the abdomen.

  The former two were protected with sturdy armor without exceptions, and with the firepower of the ‘Metal Demon’, it would be insufficient to shoot through.

  Thus, the best method would be to–duck below the enemy and kill the pilot.

  However–Naoto’s request was ‘not to kill anyone’

  And thus, Vermouth chose the ‘4th option’ to eliminate it.

  It was a weakness any multi-legged tank—no, any manned unit would have–if they were controlled by people, there would be a controlling bypass to be severed.

  Though not as firmly armored as the former two, this part was still protected by sturdy armor.

  The only thinner part was–the back waist of the machine.

  Right above the pilot seat.

  –He was to stab through the armor and destroy the target, and at the same time, not damage the cockpit below.

  It was a laughably difficult task–

  “–You’re the only one able to do this.”

  Vermouth recalled the face the boy showed as he said this, and gave a wry smi
le.

  He pulled the cable, and pushed the joystick down.

  Vermouth exerted the thrusters to full power, and at the same time, leaped high into the air.

  An activation far beyond the output limit alone caused all parts of the machine to give a malfunctioning warning.

  But it did not matter.

  The ‘Metal Demon’ adjusted its position in the air, and aimed at the target.

  When coupled with the 14.2 ton mass of the machine, he was like a stapler.

  He stabbed the blade tip of the high frequency knife into the back of the ‘Komainu’ waist–

  “Shiiiiitttt–!!”

  The feeling–the machine’s recoil and impact caused Vermouth to swear out loud.

  “So haaarrdd you trying to fight against my cock, you shitty dog–?”

  The blade was gradually contorted, but Vermouth continued to exert strength without much concern.

  And again, Marie’s voice rang from the communicator.

  “…I’ll tell you this. Your dirty words–make you completely opposite of being hardboiled.”

  “–!?”

  That line caused Vermouth gasp in shock, and he swung the hand down before jumping back.

  At the same time, he felt the sensation of the blade barely stabbed inside.

  And as proof, the ‘Komainu’ legs buckled immediately.

  With that, it would not be able to move for a few hours, until its repair.

  …But more importantly.

  “Hey, wait! It’s a gentleman’s etiquette to flexibly use the words ‘Fuck, Shit, Damn, Bitch’!?”

  The right arm that was swung down, exploded as a result, and the landing impact caused the feet to be abnormally affected.

  And because of this sequence, all the automata determined Vermouth to be ‘someone to be reidentified as a potential enemy’–and they were staring at him.”

  At his feet were the pellet toy gun-like bullets fired from the rifle–which he ignored.

  “…Are you born in America? No, even those delinquent films in this era have more elegant lines than you, you know?”

  Vermouth seemed to sense the realism in Marie’s disdainful voice.

  “–You serious!? That bastard tricked me!? I’m gonna kill that guy if I meet him in the other word.”

  He lashed out at his dead ally Amaretto–and was staring at the ‘Black Tortoise’ in front of him.

  And then he thought, ‘one more hit’–

  If he fired another hit, he would be perforated by the cannons.

  And thus, as according to plan, the second target would obviously be–the heavyarms automata ‘Black Tortoise’.

  Vermouth grabbed the other blade with his left hand, and accelerated immediately.

  He closed in on the ‘Black Tortoise’, ignoring the annoying error alerts–

  (–Got you–)

  Suddenly, his machine shook violent.

  The remaining ‘Black Demon’ unit tackled him, without using any weapons.

  Despite not removing the enemy identifier–it could at least tackle with its body.

  “This shitty thing–looks like there’s another virgin that knows how to use his brain a little, hey!”

  Vermouth gritted his teeth.

  Despite both being ‘Metal Demons’, there was no way the enemy could match him in strength when he had the power output removed.

  And thus, he could attack the ‘Black Tortoise’ directly while ignoring this enemy, but–

  It was impossible for him to ‘simply’ stab through the AI accurately while he was grabbed by this ‘Metal Demon’–so he would have to rid himself of this enemy first.

  Vermouth struggled mentally–but for a moment.

  “Seriously, is that true? I’m a Napoletana through and through…right! Nationality wise–no I don’t have any nationality nor memories, but that has to be the case!”

  “Anyway, you’re just a hoodlum born out of garbage.”

  Vermouth braced himself for the second hit if the situation permitted–the final hit on the ‘Metal Demon’.

  “Hey bitch! Apologize to all the Italians! You know, Italians are those kind of people–best in the world at racing and playing balls! Of course, that ball play includes the sport on the bed–!”

  “Just go and die.”

  The activation spring was wrecked, and the ‘Metal Demon’ tumbled to its knees.

  But at that moment, Vermouth felt some inorganic killing intent coming in from all directions.

  Of course–that included the baby in front of him.

  “–Ahh, looks like it’s going as you wish.”

  The ‘Black Tortoise’ in front of him pointed the Thermobaric Buster cannons at him.

  Just a little graze would have assured his doomsday, let alone a direct his.

  “–Vermouth!”

  Upon hearing Marie’s voice, Vermouth shuddered.

  “Hey bitch! I guess I’m Italian alright! That’s what my soul tells me!”

  –Shit! Vermouth hissed as he bared his fangs. He still had a chance.

  He pulled at the cables, and let the machine step to the left.

  At the next moment, the Thermobaric Buster Cannons of the ‘Black Tortoise’ punctured through the position Vermouth was at–

  …I just need to get away from this guy’s firing range!

  If it was the cannon of a lightly-armored automata, he could hang on for a little while.

  However…

  “–Even in this situation, my soul calls me for to act cool in front of a woman!”

  Vermouth yelled, and instinctively took a further step left.

  Just a moment later, the Gatling cannons fired at where he was.

  –That was from the last ‘Metal Demon’ left behind.

  “So you finally know how to identify now? But–I’m grateful here, you know?”

  –He really was grateful.

  Vermouth cackled as he continued to escape left along with the machine.

  The enemy Gatling cannons continued to howl, and the continuous cannons pursued the ‘Metal Demon’ Vermouth was piloting.

  –But Vermouth quickly got to the side of the ‘Black Tortoise’.

  He took up position, hiding himself from the cannons.

  The sweeping cannon hits took down the armor of the ‘Black Tortoise’, creating sparks.

  And then–

  “–If you want to take down something, just take down one. Did you just spend your time in lectures and no actual practice?”

  The other ‘Metal Demon’ was deemed to be an enemy by the automata.

  –At this point, there were ‘two’ enemies in all.

  The ‘Black Tortoise’ AI immediately hesitated for a moment. There were two enemies, so which should it priortize?

  A moment of stillness. The time used to simulate.

  However–Vermouth curled his lips.

  He let the unit duck into the gap, got up the back of the enemy armor from the side, and stabbed his blade hard into the AI installation.

  Sparks flew, and the tip sank deep into the armor.

  “A fraction of a second’s worth of delay on the battlefield will determine life and death. Have you learned something good, virgin?”

  –Certainly, it seemed to have gotten it.

  This was the reason why it was said this was a job only Vermouth could do.

  Theoretically, Marie too knew.

  Where the AI command part was at; the precise positions of the thought system, the control system, the depth, the thinnest part of the armor, the minimum theoretical value required to destroy units.

  However, Marie could not execute such theories on the battlefield.

  –How much of destruction was the ‘bare minimum’, and how much destruction was ‘overkill’.

  Even if the correct values could be calculated, it could not be fulfilled through ‘destruction’ alone.

  Besides, it entailed controlling a massive object with a blade 2.5m long, completely differing
from compartualized units.

  If he was to accidentally destroy the AI along with the machine’s circuits, he would have to repair the parts.

  And thus–Vermouth got conceited.

  As the little slut Naoto said, I’m the only one able to do this.

  For a 'certain reason', Vermouth did destroy hundreds of machines with similar conceptual designs as the 'Black Tortoise'.

  However, the 'Black Tortoise' appeared to have stopped moving, and it caused him firm belief.

  --That the request was fulfilled, that he just needed to 'destroy the AI'.

  All that remained were the 'Metal Demon' who was similarly identified as an enemy, and other small fries.

  This light armored automata alone would have a tough time dealing with the 'Metal Demon'.

  And in the worst case scenario, the enemy could prioritize taking down Vermouth before slowly recalibrating their enemy identification.

  In contrast, because of that hit, his own unit's left arm was somewhat wrecked due to being at its limit. His blade was gone.

  Even if he was to escape from the 'Metal Demon', this body had insufficient capabilities to escape the remaining soldiers.

  In that case--

  "There's still one more until the request is done…hey, scrap metal, remember code D3?"

  He stared at the display, and there was still 60 seconds left. With that much time…it probably was enough for him.

  Vermouth pulled a cable, pressed down the level below his feet, and hissed,

  "''Die for me'--now then, this machine's in rather good condition, but my code is to make it disposable, scrap it after I use it."

  "You're terrible."

  Vermouth chuckled at this response, and hopped out of the cockpit.

  And then, the 'Metal Demon' Vermouth was on charged at an abnormally high speed, clamping onto the other 'Metal Demon' that was attacked by automata, restraining its actions.

  On the other hand, Vermouth too was being shot at by the cyborg foot soldiers and the automata fire.

  If he was hit once, this body that was for civilian use would be reduced to scrap metal.

  However, Vermouth somersaulted around to dodge the enemy bullets, charging towards the destination.

  And at the same time--

  "--Welcome back, kid. 'As I just said', mind telling me how it feels to be in the air?"