_____[ POV: E-001 ]_____
Pearl Harbor – December 7, 1941
Two hours before the attack
The room was engulfed in that artificial white light that seemed to swallow everything. I stood at its center, eyes closed, breathing steadily, lost in thought. Three years since I awakened in this body, in this new world. It was still surreal to recall how quickly I had grown, how time seemed to fold around me.
At first, it was strange — discovering I was an experiment, a thing created by human hands. But it didn't take long for me to accept it. After all, the alternative was worse. In my previous life, I was nothing, someone treated like garbage, worthless. Now, at least, I had some value. It didn't matter if it was as a weapon; attention was still attention.
Even so, I knew I was just getting started. For now, following Kurogane's orders was enough. He was methodical, calculating, and... fanatical, in a way. But I had my own plans, growing quietly, waiting for the right moment.
My reverie was broken by the distinct sound of the ground trembling. Secret doors opened, and armed turrets emerged, their mechanisms buzzing metallically as they aligned toward me.
"This again?" I muttered, slowly opening my eyes.
The dry click of weapons echoed before the hail of bullets began. I sighed, activating the exoskeleton. The black carapace of the Diabolical Ironclad Beetle enveloped my body, covering every inch of skin. The bullets came fast and strong — piercing, high-caliber rounds. Impacts ricocheted or flattened against my armor, unable to cause any harm.
I stood motionless for a few seconds, watching the bullets fly, before deciding to end it. I focused on my legs, activating the genes of the Australian Tiger Beetle. I felt my muscles and tendons shift, energy surging. My eyes glowed as the vision of the Dragonfly Falcon kicked in, perceiving angles, the movement of the weapons, even the air's vibrations around me.
With a single movement, I advanced, vanishing into a sonic blur. Debris flew as I destroyed the turrets, each strike meticulously precise. It was almost effortless. Within seconds, it was over. When I stopped, the explosions finally erupted behind me, like delayed echoes of the destruction I had caused.
The fire suppression system activated, artificial rain soaking the chaos of debris scattered across the room. I looked at the floor — my footprints had punctured the metal plating, cracking it as if it were paper.
"I overdid it again," I thought, without any real emotion.
The alarm blared, interrupting my thoughts. A metallic voice echoed through the sound system:
[Test completed. Total time: 0.327 seconds. All turrets neutralized. Data saved for analysis.]
I let out a faint sigh, deactivating the therianthropy. The black carapace retracted, disappearing under my skin as if it had never been there. I walked toward the door, which opened with a soft hiss, revealing the cleaning crew rushing in.
As I passed them, I noticed the usual furtive glances: curiosity, reverence, and a slight tinge of fear. They were right to be afraid.
The corridor felt longer than usual, though it was the same length as always. My footsteps echoed softly, and the monotonous whiteness around me only made everything feel more mechanical. It didn't bother me. It was the kind of thing I had learned to ignore.
I reached my room. The door slid open with a low sound, revealing a simple, functional space. I quickly changed clothes, hanging up the training uniform and opting for the outfit they had prepared: a cream jacket, fitted black pants, and black sneakers with white stripes. The fabric was comfortable, the cuts precise.
I walked to the mirror that occupied the side wall, adjusting the jacket's collar. I stood there for a few seconds, observing my reflection.
"Kind of stylish," I thought, raising an eyebrow. It was funny. Something so small, so insignificant like clothes, seemed to matter a bit now. Before, I barely had anything decent to wear, and when I wanted something, people around me would say it didn't suit me. Now, every piece was chosen deliberately, and even if it was for a war operation, there was a sense of purpose in every detail.
I lightly touched the fabric of the jacket, as if feeling the symbolic weight it carried. That thought was soon interrupted by the sound of the door opening.
"Come in," I said without turning around.
It was one of Kurogane's assistants, a nervous young man who didn't seem to know where to put his hands.
"E-001-san, Kurogane-sama requests that you be ready in twenty minutes. He'll be in the hangar for the final review of Operation Z."
I nodded, dismissing him with a gesture. The young man hesitated for a moment before leaving, almost tripping over his own feet.
"Kurogane..." He was always involved in everything, monitoring every detail, adjusting every variable. He didn't trust luck or chance. To him, the world was a system that could be refined to perfection.
And I was living proof of that belief.
I picked up a small notebook I kept in a compartment beside the bed. A relic of mine, where I used to jot down thoughts I never shared in my past life. It was almost an automatic habit now, something I did without much thought.
I opened a blank page and wrote:
"Perfection is often just an illusion people use to mask their own fears."
I closed the notebook and put it away again.
"But for him, maybe it isn't. For Kurogane, perfection is a real, tangible goal. And I'm probably the one who can achieve it."
I stood up, adjusted the jacket one last time, and left the room. My path was clear now: the hangar and, after that, the battlefield.
"Let's see how far this road will take us."
_____[ POV: Third Person ]_____
Pearl Harbor – 10:52 AM, December 7, 1941
Current Time
E-001 cut through the air like thunder, the speed of his flight generating sonic waves that shook the sea below. Upon reaching the USS Lexington, the impact was devastating.
Wrapped in the black, impenetrable exoskeleton of the diabolical ironclad beetle, he pierced through the deck like a living bullet. The metal structure of the aircraft carrier immediately buckled under the impact, cracking and exploding with steel fragments. The kinetic force of E-001 tore through the ship's hull as if it were paper, emerging from the other side amidst a shower of debris and smoke.
Inside the USS Lexington
Chaos took over the interior of the ship. Sailors and officers, who had been focused on the aerial battle, were thrown to the ground by the force of the initial impact. Alarms blared throughout the vessel as it trembled as though struck by a torpedo.
"Report! What happened? Did we get hit by a torpedo!?" shouted Lieutenant Commander Henderson, holding onto a table to keep from falling.
"Something... something pierced the ship, sir! But it wasn't a torpedo…"
Before the words could be processed, the ship trembled again. This time, it was E-001 returning inside, moving at high speed. He repeatedly pierced the hull in a specific pattern, as if dissecting the ship from the inside out. Each calculated strike resulted in explosions of critical equipment and hull ruptures.
One particular strike hit the main artillery ammunition depot. The ensuing explosion was colossal, splitting the USS Lexington in half in a spectacle of fire and smoke. Ship fragments were hurled into the sky, while the waters below boiled from the impact of the debris.
In the sky
The Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters were dominating the aerial battle, skillfully and precisely repelling Japanese attacks. Captain James "Jimmy" was one of the best American pilots and led his squadron against the Japanese forces.
"Good formation, squadron! Keep the pressure on them!"
But then, the impossible happened.
"My God! What is that?" shouted one of the pilots over the radio as a blur passed him so fast the air around it seemed to vibrate.
Before Jimmy could respond, the scream of another pilot cut through the radio. "I'm going down! Something hit me! I didn't even see what it was!"
Jimmy looked to the left and saw the impossible: three Hellcats destroyed in seconds. Then he saw it.
"Jesus Christ… Is that a person?"
E-001 streaked through the sky like a living bullet. He dove, climbed, and turned at impossible angles, destroying every American plane that entered his line of sight. Another Hellcat tried to turn to face him, but E-001's movement was so fast and precise it seemed to defy the laws of physics. He made a 90-degree turn in the air, like a miniature dragonfly, but at human scale. He attacked with surgical precision, ripping off wings and cutting fuselages.
The radios were filled with panicked voices:
"He's coming from behind!" "I can't see him!" "How is he making those turns?!"
Within seconds, the squadron was in pieces, debris falling like rain.
Jimmy managed to escape the initial attack and was now trying to return to the USS Enterprise. Breathless, he spoke into the radio:
"Command, this is James Jimmy. We need immediate reinforcements. It's not a plane. I repeat. It's not a plane-"
The communication was cut off as a black shadow appeared next to his cockpit. Jimmy looked at the winged figure and saw those amber eyes shining for a moment before his vision was filled with fire and debris.
Aboard the USS Saratoga
Captain Edward Reeves watched the chaos on the horizon with a grim expression. He knew something was wrong. The reports coming in were disjointed, but all pointed to a terrifying fact: a single enemy was causing the devastation.
"What do we know about this attacker?" asked Reeves, looking at his intelligence officer.
"Sir, it's not a plane. According to one of the observers, it's... a man. Or something like that. He's already destroyed the Lexington and wiped out nearly all of our air force."
Reeves slammed his hand on the table. "This is impossible. What are we talking about? Some new Japanese weapon?"
"We don't know, sir. But he's probably coming here."
Before Reeves could respond, the radar operator shouted, "Object approaching at high speed! Speed… My God, it's over a thousand kilometers per hour!"
Reeves rushed to the radar. The reading showed an object moving at an absurd speed, directly toward the Saratoga.
"Prepare all anti-air batteries! Alert—"
Before the sentence could be completed, E-001 struck the Saratoga like a meteor, tearing the ship's fuselage in half. The initial impact threw crew members across the deck, explosions echoed as the Saratoga's internal systems failed. Crew members were thrown into the sea, shouting for help as the aircraft carrier, once the pride of the fleet, slowly disappeared into the depths.
On the USS Enterprise
On the USS Enterprise, the crew was in shock. The destruction of two aircraft carriers within minutes was unimaginable. The USS Enterprise, now the only operational aircraft carrier, was a beacon of hope for Pearl Harbor. But on the command bridge, Captain George D. Murray felt the weight of responsibility.
"Report on the Saratoga," he ordered.
"Sir, it was destroyed just like the USS Lexington… we have no confirmation on what's attacking. It's... it's something we don't know," replied an officer with a trembling voice.
Murray clenched his fists, his face hardening. He knew the battle was becoming impossible to win after the loss of two aircraft carriers.
"Launch all remaining forces. If this is the end, I want us to fight to the last man."
The crew of the Enterprise responded with determination. Gunners adjusted their batteries, pilots climbed into their cockpits, and the ship began to move into a more defensive position.
But Murray knew something was wrong. He looked up at the sky, where explosions from American planes were still dissipating, and murmured to himself:
"There's a demon in the sky..."
In the sky
E-001 hovered in the sky above the battlefield, his predatory gaze scanning the horizon. The thick smoke from the wreckage of the USS Saratoga still rose slowly as he shifted his attention to the next target: the USS Enterprise, the final crown jewel of the Pacific Fleet.
His enhanced senses picked up a squadron of Wildcats and Douglas SBD Dauntless bombers in formation, heading his way. E-001 calculated their positions, speeds, and potential attack angles in fractions of a second. The squadron seemed determined, but he knew this was nothing more than a sacrificial ritual.
Leading the Suicide Squad
Captain William Halsey, a veteran of numerous aerial battles, adjusted his radio as he watched the dark figure in the sky ahead. He knew that creature was not human.
"All pilots, listen up! This is not a standard attack. We are decoys. We need to lure it to the marked coordinates. Remember, our sacrifices will give us a chance at victory. Do not hesitate!"
Replies came through, each one laden with determination and resignation:
"Understood, sir!"
"Ready to do my duty."
"See you on the other side, Captain."
Halsey took a deep breath and adjusted his course. "Let's give the monster what it wants."
In the Sky
E-001 surged toward the squadron at supersonic speed. He tore through two Wildcats as if they were made of paper, their flaming debris falling into the ocean below.
"Scatter!" Halsey shouted over the radio.
The planes split in different directions, trying to divide the enemy's focus. But E-001 was faster and deadlier. He tracked each target, moving at impossible angles, dismantling the aircraft like a predator toying with prey.
"Wolf-3, to the right! Damn it! Wolf-4, cover the flank!" Halsey barked as he struggled to maintain control of the situation.
In a group of three, the pilots executed evasive maneuvers while firing their machine guns at him. The bullets ricocheted off his exoskeleton, utterly ineffective. E-001 abruptly changed direction, taking down one plane before spinning mid-air to obliterate the other two in one fluid, almost elegant, motion.
Halsey watched in horror as his men were systematically eliminated. He knew their only hope was to stick to the plan.
"All remaining Wildcats, dive into the clouds! Use the cover to blind him!"
Two Dauntless bombers followed suit, diving in formation into the thick cloud layer. Intrigued, E-001 followed them, piercing through the white vapor curtain. He quickly caught up to one of the planes, ripping it in half, but when he emerged from the clouds, he found himself directly in the crosshairs of the USS Enterprise.
"Well, that's new," E-001 murmured, a rare flicker of surprise crossing his mind.
Aboard the USS Enterprise
"Target in sight, sir!"
"Fire everything!" Captain George D. Murray roared, his voice cutting through the chaos.
The Phalanx CIWS anti-aircraft batteries opened fire, their cannons unleashing a hail of bullets at E-001. Though the projectiles caused no significant damage, they managed to slow him down in mid-air.
"Prepare the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missiles!"
The launchers began firing a series of guided missiles. The first struck E-001, detonating against him and throwing him sideways. He fell into a brief freefall before stabilizing himself.
"Interesting," E-001 muttered to himself, admiring the ingenuity of the suicidal tactic. "They really think this will work."
More missiles came, accelerating at Mach 2. He evaded several, moving with dragonfly-like agility. Resuming his trajectory, he accelerated toward the aircraft carrier.
E-001 descended like a meteor, every maneuver defying the laws of physics. As he neared the Enterprise's deck, he activated his hybrid genes. His right arm began to glow intensely as the therianthropic transformation initiated, fusing the power of the Mantis Shrimp genes with the titanic strength of the Dung Beetle.
In a calculated move, E-001 unleashed a devastating punch at over 1,960 km/h.
The impact generated a force equivalent to 11 billion joules, comparable to the energy of an average meteorite striking Earth. The aircraft carrier was obliterated instantly. The shockwave rocked nearby ships, and a column of water rose skyward, shrouding the battlefield in vapor and debris.
The sound of the impact was deafening, reverberating all the way to the shores of Oahu, where American soldiers and civilians watched in horror.
On the Japanese ships, sailors observed in stunned silence, their eyes wide with the enormity of what they had just witnessed.
"My God…" a young officer on the Tachikawa Ki-54, the carrier from which E-001 had launched, whispered.
Admiral Nagumo, initially proud of the victory, felt a chill run down his spine.
"This is power beyond human comprehension that Japan has achieved," he murmured before turning to his crew. "Prepare to seize Pearl Harbor. The Americans have lost their last strength. Victory is assured."
But aboard the Tachikawa Ki-54, where Jean Kurogane monitored E-001's mission, the atmosphere was different. She smiled faintly, witnessing the absolute potential of her creation.
"He's not just a weapon," she murmured to herself. "He is the future… a monstrous future."
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, the Japanese began celebrating the destruction of the last American aircraft carrier, but fear lingered in their eyes. Such a display of power could not be ignored. E-001 was not just a weapon—he was a reminder that the true terror did not come from traditional war machines but from that which surpassed the limits of humanity.
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(A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It was a bit difficult for me to write, as there were so many details to cover, but I managed to pull through. The MC's military arc is just 2 chapters away from ending. After that, he will be introduced into the canon. I know it feels like a long way off, but I don't want to leave the MC underdeveloped, bland, or without purpose. So, I ask for your patience with me.)