Chapter 80: Return of the Kingfisher

Long ago, the first Giant fell to the earth.

The rampaging grotesque Giant swung its arms through the capital of a then-advanced nation, scattering its breath, writhing in agony, and finally exploding in death. That was the spark. Giants fell one after another across the globe, bringing human civilization to a state of semi-destruction.

It is uncertain who was the very first. But since the present exists, it certainly happened.

Fusion between Giants and Humans. By fusing a Pilot into the Giant's heart, humans gained the Giant's power and body. Over two hundred years after the First Nephilim War—as the battle between human-piloted Giants and mad Giants is now called—human civilization came to incorporate Giants as a system.

The "Nephilim Company," touted as the closest entity to ruling this planet, views Giants as a resource and has constructed a corporate social system.

"The Celestial Faith," led by a Pope and defended by Holy Knights piloting Giants, worships the Giants and hunts heretics.

"Giant Killing," an organization dedicated to the extermination of Giants, installs self-destruct devices on all their own Giants and launches indiscriminate attacks on other factions.

Now, the world stands upon the equilibrium maintained by these three factions.

"Good morning, Rust-sama."

"...Nn."

At 5:00 AM, she returns a casual greeting to the mechanical voice and heads to the dock where her beloved machine is stored. Stepping onto the transfer device, she undergoes a momentary whiteout before arriving in the hangar. There, she looks up at the oddly shaped Giant standing silently, painted deep crimson with faintly flickering flame patterns.

Named "Crimson Twinewing," this Giant is the Nephilim that symbolizes her—the girl who holds the title of "Strongest" in this world, not as a self-proclaimed boast, but as a fact.

The base "Nephilim" is a medium-weight bipedal type. It is equipped with a laser gatling on the right shoulder, a missile pod on the left leg, and wields a combination of laser blades docked at the waist and physical blades—two pairs totaling four swords—for close-quarters combat.

Its greatest feature is not just the boosters on its back, but the additional boosters equipped on its left shoulder and right leg. These enable irregular and unpredictable maneuvering. The fact that she has mastered this perfectly is the reason she reigns as the strongest.

"Ah, good morning, Rust. You're early today too."

"...Mold. You're five minutes late."

A young man appears in the place where only she should be allowed. Although he has the sturdy build of a large man, his movements and gait give a soft, almost flimsy impression. This man, emitting a wimpiness that betrays his appearance, calls out to the girl with a voice several degrees younger than he looks.

"You could overlook about five minutes... Ah, yes, never mind."

"We're diving in, immediately."

"Yes, yes... Which rule set are we doing today?"

The man shrugs at the girl, who is called by the embarrassing nickname "Queen of the Early Dawn" because she invariably appears between 5:00 and 7:00 AM. He asks his partner about the details of the battle.

"Today feels like... a Duel."

"Don't you not need me for that? That's one-on-one, right?"

"Dealing with intruders and analyzing first-sight opponents... that is your role."

"As you wish... Wait a sec, I'm going to do maintenance on the Support Puppet now... Ouch! Ow, ow! Not the shins, stop kicking the shins!"

Upon hearing the fact that the maintenance on the Support Puppet—a small Nephilim-like device installed in the Nephilim to receive operator support—was not finished, the girl's low kick pierces the man's shin.

"That kind of maintenance is something you finish beforehand...!"

"C-Club activities ran late yesterday!"

"Muu..."

Reluctantly, the girl stops kicking. The man sighs with a wry smile and proceeds with the maintenance of the Support Puppet.

Visiting the Pilot Entrance of the "Nephilim Company," Rust and Mold notice the other Pilots and operators buzzing about something.

"Is something the matter?"

"Hm? Ooh! If it isn't the Phoenix! Perfect timing, look at that!"

Phoenix. That is her alias. When she, Rust, and the Crimson Twinewing defended the title of apex of all Nephilim five times, the CEO of the Nephilim Company awarded her a hefty prize and the right to use a unique paint job named after the mythical bird. However, that is not what has the crowd buzzing right now. Their gazes are fixed on the holographic monitor displaying a battle currently unfolding.

"That is..."

"...'King's Gambit'. The Nephilim of the Rank 3 player, 'Scrub Knight'."

Equipped with massive search radars and ultra-long-range weaponry, the build is designed to detect the enemy first, maintain distance with full power, and one-sidedly pound them with attacks from afar to finish them off. True to its name, it is a "King's Gambit" type machine that strikes only after securing the initiative and advantage.

In a one-on-one condition, it is a Nephilim with an incredibly nasty build. Naturally, the ability of the Rank 3 player isn't just that; he excels in hit-and-run tactics to maintain distance, and also knows how to deal with enemies that manage to close in. That is why he is Rank 3. He is a skilled player that even Rust, the Rank 1, cannot defeat easily.

And yet, the scene of that King's Gambit being overrun helplessly is being vividly projected on the holographic monitor.

"Hit again! Head sensor this time!"

"No way... They're both maneuvering at high speed, right? And sniping with a single-shot Sniper Railgun—that piece of junk? Is he a monster?"

"Look, King's Gambit's attacks can't catch up. Shaking off homing missiles... just what kind of speed is he putting out...?"

"Or rather, what is that fly-by slash? Transforming while maintaining supersonic flight, cutting King's Gambit in passing, then transforming again to escape... Normally your equilibrium would be scrambled."

"Isn't that the meme build that was popular for a while? That's insane..."

Unless you look closely, it looks like King's Gambit is spontaneously disintegrating in mid-air. But if you observe carefully, you can see something jade-colored flying at ultra-high speeds—too fast for the camera to track—slashing and shooting King's Gambit to pieces unilaterally.

"......!"

"Whoa."

It takes a few seconds to realize the flash of jade on the screen is the color of the machine destroying King's Gambit. And another few seconds to realize it isn't paint, but the machine's name is derived from the fact that the default color combination of the equipped Parts happened to resemble a Kingfisher (Jade). The moment he realizes this, Mold involuntarily takes a step back from the pressure emanating from right beside him.

In this world, everything is just data, systems, and virtual images. Yet, Mold definitely felt a pressure as if flames had erupted right next to him.

"He's back? The 'Kingfisher'...!"

"Kingfisher?"

"Ah, the newbies don't know him, huh? If I recall, it was during the Phoenix's second title defense. That's when he suddenly appeared. A monster who started from the bottom rank with that exact equipment, won every single match, and fought the Phoenix to a draw... He stopped logging in abruptly after that, so we thought he retired..."

Ignoring the veteran Pilot explaining to the few newcomers, Mold is dragged by Rust toward the matching room.

"Mold. Send a letter of challenge to Kingfisher, now...!"

"O-Okay, I got it, stop pulling my clothes!"

As the operator, Mold sends a challenge to "Kingfisher." A short while later, presumably after the match ended with King's Gambit's defeat, a message arrives from Kingfisher accepting the challenge.

"He accepted! It's on, Rust!"

"Mold. I'm going all out."

"Roger!"

Kingfisher. A transforming Nephilim with a build so peaked towards high-risk, high-return that its recipe remains legendary, despite its activity period lasting only about two days.

What makes it noteworthy is its monstrous mobility, prioritized at the sacrifice of almost all weaponry and armor. Its only weapons are the "Overheat Rod"—a heat conversion blade on its right arm—and a single-shot Sniper Railgun on its left. Its armor is incredibly fragile, kept to the bare minimum required to withstand ultra-high-speed maneuvering. It is a peaky build on a level where the AI worries about the lack of weapons and armor.

As for the legs, it uses a special type called "Jet Legs," which integrate boosters directly and abandon walking entirely. Combined with the wing-like boosters on the torso reminiscent of a bird, researchers say its speed in flight mode theoretically clocks the highest of any Nephilim.

Sacrificing almost everything else—even standing on the ground—for the sake of "Speed." This so-called "Jade Build" was evaluated as a joke build: "It doesn't matter if you don't get hit, but you're too fast to hit anything either, and the fuel efficiency is so bad you'll stall and get shot down. A one-trick pony."

...But that only applies to anyone other than "Kingfisher."

<<Rear left... no, top right!? Ah, he fired! Dead ahead!!>>

"Gu..."

Rust, fused with the Crimson Twinewing, dodges the electromagnetically accelerated bullet fired via deflection shooting from the ultra-high-speed Kingfisher, aimed with near-zero error at her shoulder joint.

<<Dive! The Overheat Rod is coming!>>

"I predicted that...!"

The Crimson Twinewing unleashes its gatling and missiles, putting up an anti-air defense. However, Kingfisher slips through the rain of attacks fired from below with acrobatic maneuvering and transforms into humanoid form.

In its right hand is a glowing white blade. Due to the nature of converting accumulated machine heat into weaponry, it requires a charge time to vent heat before use, but if it hits, it can deal massive damage in a single blow. The Overheat Rod is swung in a passing strike, but Rust barely manages to evade it using irregular maneuvers with the boosters on her left shoulder and right leg.

"Mold! Where is Kingfisher!?"

<<No way...!? He turned around just like that!>>

Just before touching down—crashing—Kingfisher transforms at the very last moment just above the ground, executes a somersault using continuous bursts from the Jet Legs, transforms back into flight mode, and flies up the exact path he fell. Performing a maneuver that would completely scramble one's equilibrium if done in a human body, Kingfisher closes in on the unstable Crimson Twinewing.

<<Rust!>>

"Don't... underestimate me!"

Using the momentum of overheating her left shoulder booster, she forcibly rotates her machine. With that momentum, she intercepts Kingfisher's surprise attack from below with her laser blade. One is blown back unable to kill the momentum of the ultra-high-speed charge; the other is blown back by the recoil of the impact due to flimsy, lightweight armor.

<<Left shoulder booster overheated! Three minutes until cooldown!>>

"Where is he!"

<<He's regaining his posture!>>

"If we're going to attack, it has to be now...!"

The crimson Phoenix flies with full power to close the distance. The Jade Kingfisher rights itself and readies its railgun. The two birds clash...!

Author's Afterword

It's okay, this work is indeed "Shangri-La Frontier: Trash Game Hunter Challenges God Game."

For those who know, you know without me saying it, but the source material is that game about the joy of fighting forever. (Armored Core)