Getting ejected from the mech suddenly, I barely have enough reaction time to activate my propellers, which thrust me back and accelerate me into the air, right before landing on the ground which is now full of metallic drone scrap, as well as rock fragments and dust.
- At least tell me if we are going to do something crazy.
- Time is gold, Yuusha. You should have known that long ago, and it is not like you would die anyway.
Mirai has gotten ready with the signature, massive Railgun that by now, she is the only one with enough strength to even raise that gun and wield it effortlessly like a knife, so my job is to clear the path for her to reach the boss's core chip and destroy it. I prepare the photon shotgun and reload it with a cartridge of slug shots.
- You can just stop your imagination. There is no way that you can touch my armour. - The boss still tries to bluff.
- Let's see who is imagining. We have done it once, and we will do it again. - Mirai intentionally tries to make the boss lose its temper, but it is weakened, so there is likely no death flag.
Even after breaking the limit and overloading the core chip, maybe just temporarily, and I can see the smoke from its head, a boss is still a boss, and it attempts to prevent us from getting close. Numerous rock arms emerge from all corners, as well as energy spheres flying chaotically in the air.
- Yuusha, you know what to do.
- Yes, Mirai.
I increase the power of my propeller and charge forward. I plunge at the rock arms which are trying to seize me within their palms, change to material slug mode and shoot. The metal pellets, concentrated with heat and kinetic energy, literally disintegrate the arms back into dull rock. Right before other arms grab me from the other direction, I spin myself backwards and shatter them with another few shots of the material slug.
Mirai stands behind me, as she raises her left hand. As if she remembers vividly the correct position of every item in the archive, in a blink, an EMP grenade appears on her left hand. She throws the grenade at the energy spheres, which then detonates and disrupts their energy distribution. They vanish into thin air.
I leap at the flying blocks, one after another, using them as the ground for me to continue leaping. That is all to the predictable attack pattern of the seeming powerful sixty-five rating technician.
And not to mention, the frequency of attacks is forgone by the power of each attack, as the core chip is at its weakest level. I quickly manage to land myself on the boss's head, where there is still the sign of my greatsword, although it looks like the area has been reinforced again. The boss cannot risk damaging its own head when somebody stands on it.
I switch to my greatsword and replace the battery inside with a higher power one. Then, I turn on maximum power. A red laser ray is emitted, which looks blazing with thermal energy.
- Get out of me, bastard. - The boss tries to shake me off its armour by swinging its body.
- Thanks for that impulse supply. - I look at it with a mischievous smile.
I leap into a higher altitude, then reduce my propeller power and let the gravity do the rest as I free fall and charge towards the core chip. It tries to stop me with whatever skills it has left, with all kinds of rock boulders of every shape. However, I just swing my greatsword in the air like a spinning blade, easily cutting them down with the overflowing strength of the sword. Gathering sufficient energy from the fall, I raise my sword, breaking through the power limit and slamming downwards, pinning the sword at its head. The heat melts layers after layers of hardened armour, slowly but steadily. Then, the core chip and its connections finally appear.
I leap away from the armour, leaving the exposed, unprotected core chip locked into Mirai's range of sight.
- Let's end this with a spectacular and extravagant performance. - Mirai confidently declares, as her barrel is directed into the correct trajectory of the bullet. - Now, goodbye.
Her coldblooded press onto the trigger releases a strong energy blast that pushes both her and the heavy railgun, currently levitating in the air, backwards. A powerful bullet emerges from the barrel, flying past the thin air, breaking every single target in its path, regardless of rocks or energy spheres. With flawless accuracy, it flies the open "wound", directly hitting the core chip, completely roasting and destroying it.
Then, there is a loud explosion, sending tremors across the room. The six-metre figure breaks down, and its remnants collapse into the ground, making another shockwave and shooting dust everywhere.
- We did it... - I gasp.
- Yes, Yuusha. Congratulations on defeating your first high yellow level facility. However, the damage we receive is a bit high... - Mirai pats my back.
There is only one last job. It is to pick up the drones that had fallen due to the electromagnetic pulse and fix them. The numbers are a bit overwhelming, plus the mech, it will take a long time. I can only make a laugh at our post-battle prospects, which are as good as the nothingness and my savings deficit.
- Hey, Mirai. By the way, if we break the core chip, how are we supposed to retrieve and analyse it? Telekinesis technology is definitely a big, big advantage to us.
- Who says we totally destroy it? - Mirai looks at me and laughs, probably at my ignorance.
- What? What do you mean? -
- The drones flying around the boss to annoy him before, some of the have high-resolution camera footage and X-ray vision. After that long, it is most likely that we can construct a virtual version of the core chip.
Nothing less of a futuristic and reliable scientist from the future.
- Come on, let's get out of this place. I need to recharge my battery soon.
The door to the boss room automatically opens as the core chip is destroyed, and we casually walk back to the outside, towards the dorm, climb up to the factory floor and get out of it.
- What do we do with this factory? - I ask.
- I have disabled any suspicious equipment that may resemble any kind of communication device. Otherwise, this factory will significantly boost the metal output of the mine, so I would just leave it here.
After exiting the factory, I can feel the uncomfortable atmosphere that reeks of toxic gas and heat again. The cart has been destroyed, so we call another train carriage from the sightseeing train station, and go back to the ground level.
- And now...
- What are you trying to...
Mirai presses the red button on a remote control that magically materialises out of thin air, right on her hand. Although nothing looks changed, I feel a shockwave.
- What do you detonate this time? - I interrogate.
- Just the dorm. That place will forever be buried with the flow of time. None will ever know of its existence ever again.
We reach the ground and get out of the building, very timely before Mirai's battery runs out. We sit at a corner, back to back, just doing nothing (since Mirai needs to be recharged to a safe energy level. She has been depleting the battery below the safe level for a few days thanks to this expedition.
- So, any thoughts about this trip? - Mirai asks me.
- Well, we shut down a large proportion of their source of metal for production. This is truly revolutionary, which may make our timeline deviates from the original one to a large, large extent.
- Of course. Even I would never think that we actually achieve a lot in just one per cent of our 50-year journey.
I fall silent for a few seconds, appreciating that I have made it so far.
- OK, let's go back. And let's head to a park somewhere and chill. We have two days left, and our job is cleared for today. - I suggested after Mirai has recharged sufficiently.
- Can. Most of the shops are likely closed already.
We check out from the mine before it is closed to visitors, and walk around. This whole area we are staying in is a full-fledged industrial area, not a metropolitan city, so no tubes are installed for pedestrians, but just large roads for vehicles that transport goods.
Fortunately, in the residential area nearby, there are still recreational spaces. There is a small, but tranquil park located near the centre of the residential area, so we head there, find a bench, and sit down.
- You know what, these six months working with you, I feel that us working together is just smooth, as if there is no friction at all. - Mirai talks first, breaking the silence.
- Isn't it that we quarrel every day over the smallest stuff such as basic hygiene?
- That is just our lifestyle, and I really do not blame you for living like that for twenty-three years. Habits take time to be reformed.
- Are you trying to pick a fight?
- Hey, let's appreciate that we all have our flaws and that we accept each other.
I calm myself down. It feels like my behaviour pattern has slowly been manifested by her.
- Anyway, I believe that I may have to part ways with you sometime in the future, either voluntarily or forcefully being torn apart, which is just inevitable, so let's share with each other about our life before we met.
The conversation suddenly takes a darker turn, as Mirai tells me the story of her childhood.