While I was in the middle of falling, a beam of silver light, like a searchlight, just barely grazed past me. 

 

GYAAAA!

I heard a scream somewhere above my head. At the same time, the tentacle coiled around me grew weaker, separated from me, and fell off.

My body was pulled strongly to one direction.

 

Someone grabbed me and carried me under their arm. 

“How unfortunate that you were subject to such shamelessness…”

My sight was flooded with silver. Did Gray actually deal with the Deathworm? He’s supposed to be his ally, though?

Is it okay, doing that sort of thing?

 

I wanted to resist, but my body was gradually losing all strength, and my body became dead weight. 

“I can’t move… why…?”

“Deathworm’s poison has taken effect.”

 

Holding me in his arms, Gray flew over the lake. 

“Wait! Let go of Hiroto!”

“You are Nessie’s opponent now.”

Akkad earnestly ran after us, but he soon became a speck in the corner of my eye. I reflexively tried to reach out to him, but I barely managed a twitch. 

 

I watched to see where Nessie would fall, and as it writhed in agony from its two destroyed eyes, the tiny drone and Mark’s team launched attack after attack on it. It would take some time, but at this rate they should be able to take it down alone. 

 

Gray descended towards the center of the lake, and with a mechanical buzz, the surface of the water diverged, revealing the bedrock below. Even the water in the crater drew back⁠—

 

“A metal panel…?”

“The Lab’s outer wall.”

Gray dropped down onto the metal panel, and a section opened. Once Gray entered inside through the opening, it closed shut above us, and I could just barely make out the sound of water flowing over it.

 

Captured by Gray, I was the only person to be taken into the Lab. 

 

Gray walked inside, orange-tinted lights automatically turning on as he moved forward. 

 

An unbelievably wide cavern spread out before us. Fat white columns stood in rows, perhaps to support the ceiling and the bedrock above; rather than a Lab, it looked more like a temple.

 

“What are you going to do with me?” 

“I have saved you, so please do not worry. I believe that returning you to Doktor Satow’s side will allow you to safely give birth, so I have brought you here.”

“That can’t be it. After I give birth, what’s going to happen to me and the child?”

“Nothing at all. I will protect you both. Though the child is that irritating Akkad’s spawn, it is also your child.”

 

“… What are you thinking? Earlier you killed your ally and tossed him aside. Everything you’re doing makes no sense. Will the Doktor forgive this sort of behavior? Aren’t you just acting on your own judgment?”

“I don’t have permission, per se, but as long as I have captured you, he won’t have anything to complain about. We had long predicted that your lot would come to attack us; we had already set up countermeasures, and until about midway through, everything was proceeding nicely. But Deathworm lost control of himself because of you, so we had no choice but to change our plan.”

“Even if that were the case, there was no need to kill your comrade.”

“…You really are not familiar with us Kaijin.”

 

Gray looked down at me. His tone of voice seemed to be mournful… no, pitying? 

 

“Kaijin hold an extreme amount of hostility towards each other. Thus we cannot cooperate, and generally we are dispatched into battle one at a time. To us, the last person left standing is the winner, and for that purpose, we will use any means necessary to get ahead. That being as it may, there is an existence that we must obtain⁠—”

 

He opened his mouth, adopting an almost ceremonial manner.

“And so I….”

However, before he could speak⁠—

 

DOGAAAN!

“Give Hiroto back!” 

With a blinding flash of light, Akkad appeared. 

 

I heard the sound of rushing water flowing inside the facility. Numerous streaks of light stretched down into the cavern as if raining down, and within that light walked out a man. 

 

“Good grief. I thought you were more intelligent than that. If you are referring to setting Hiroto-san aside and escaping, I’m willing to overlook it if you leave here immediately.”

“You should give some thought to what you just said. If it were you who was told that, would you just leave, dejected? No, there’s no way in hell you’d leave behind your pregnant beloved.”

 

Gray stayed silent for a moment, before he softly sighed and nodded his head. 

“Very well. This place is a training field. I’ll help you understand who is in the right and who is in the wrong, and who is actually worthy of Hiroto-san.” 

 

Gray set me down beside a pillar. I could only clutch my gun to my chest with my weak arms. 

 

I had a horrible feeling about this. If Gray and Akkad fought to the last man, with Gray even stronger than he was before…

 

Akkad and Gray squared off, glaring at each other. 

 

Suddenly, Akkad drew his sword and tried to slice Gray into two. 

 

Akkad and Gray’s evenly matched fight began to unfold. 

In the time I’ve been holed up in the company, Akkad has become even stronger. His battle sense exceeded Gray’s, without a doubt. However, Gray had become the master of an even more unnatural ability. 

 

DON! DON! DON!

Akkad bombarded Gray with photospheres, but the light was bent and the direction was altered enough for the spheres to become lodged in the wall behind him. 

Even when Akkad sliced into him with his red-hot high-energy sword, the damaged area on Gray’s body would shine with silver light and the wounds would disappear without a trace. 

In comparison, Akkad didn’t have any sort of repair functions. At this rate, his body will become exhausted, and the situation will take a turn for the worse. Even though I wanted to call for reinforcements, I still couldn’t move my body freely, and if I messed up the timing it’s fairly likely that I would just trip up Akkad. 

 

Akkad leaped backwards, and once there was enough space between them, he summoned an immense number of photospheres. 

“Go!” 

The photospheres rained down on Gray like falling stars. On top of that, he poured as much energy as he could within his sword. The glow of the sword swelled, like flames erupting out of a furnace. 

 

“Amazing…”

 

The accumulation of energy was huge, to the point of growing into a giant fireball. Akkad brandished his sword, and aiming at Gray, swung at him. 

 

“OOOOOHH!”

Gray had been unable to avoid all of the previous photospheres, and a non-insignificant number were direct hits to his body. However, when he saw the fireball, he spread out his arms as if to catch it. 

I saw the open space between those two hands distort. The pliant air was coiled into a whirlpool, as though folded over and over; the giant fireball crashed into the center. 

 

“What!?”

 

GOOOOOO….

 

The fireball, which held an unbelievably vast amount of energy, was pulled into the whirlpool and eaten up. 

 

In a handful of seconds, Gray dropped his arms, as the giant fireball had been completely extinguished. 

 

“Blackhole…”

 

I trembled in fear. 

I couldn’t believe what I just saw was reality. However, as improbable as it may be, I couldn’t help but recall a phenomenon very similar to what just occurred.

A phenomenon which, due to extremely strong gravity, not even light could run away from it. 

 

This time, Gray raised his right hand towards Akkad. Beams of silver light fired one after another, rushing towards Akkad. 

 

DON DON DON

“Guh.”

The beams pinged off his blade almost simultaneously, but Akkad was blown back when he ate one shot to the front. He crashed into a pillar, limply slipped down the surface and fell to the ground. 

However, Akkad immediately stood back up. Again, he readied his sword and slashed at Gray countless times. 

 

“You should have already realized that you are no match for me. Be a good boy and give up.”

“I don’t know about that. Your regeneration time has gradually been getting slower. Did you even notice? The moment you can no longer restore yourself will be my victory.”

 

One after the other after the other after the other came punches, kicks, dodges, and crossed blades.

 

“You’re quite… persistent… you know.”

The two were fighting at speeds difficult to follow with the naked eye, but suddenly one of Gray’s beams of light pierce through Akkad’s right shoulder. 

 

“Gugh”

Because of the pain and the change in his shoulder mobility, Akkad’s movements veered off, and Gray managed to drive a fist into Akkad’s stomach. Gray continued to rain down finishing blows onto Akkad, who had collapsed onto the ground.

 

DONG, KAPOW!

Each time Gray swung his fist downward, blood splatter flew through the air. 

 

When Akkad could no longer move, Gray stood up with a loose sway. 

Akkad’s flesh had largely become a color close to gray, like Gray’s own.

 

He breathed in a deep breath, and looking down at Akkad as if lording over him, he raised his hands. Those hands slowly gathered silver light between them. 

 

“This is the end. Farewell, Akkad.”

 

“STOP!!”

 

I spurred my paralyzed body, and moved my leg forward. There’s no way I’m going to let the person I love die. 

 

“Please stop, I’m begging you. Just stop it already. Please don’t kill Akkad.” 

I cried messily, unsteadily approaching Gray.

 

“Stop… Hiroto.”

“Hiroto-san.”

 

I touched Gray’s arm, and brought his hands to my chest. Gray, flustered, extinguished the light between his hands. 

 

Doctor Cho said it best. Among all androids, only Kaijin and I have the ability to reproduce. We are the only ones that can experience love. 

If this Kaijin were to be in love, there’s only one person who he could like. 

 

“Gray, I’ll, I’ll do anything… I’ll do anything so please…. let Akkad go…”

I clung to his gray-colored chest, and slowly reached my left hand up to pull the man’s head down. 

 

“Ah, Hiroto-san… finally, you are mine…”

 

I took my time, and the moment our lips brushed, I pushed my beam gun into his chest.

 

BYUUUN!!

 

I had injected all of the gun’s remaining energy into a single shot, and fired it into Gray. 

 

“Hiroto-san…!”

Gray stumbled, taking a few steps away from me. 

 

At the same time, Akkad jumped to his feet and ran over. The glowing red edge of his blade cut through Gray from shoulder to chest, like the strap of a kasaya, releasing the last of his power. 

 

“AAAAAHH!!”

As he exploded, the glow around Gray’s body disappeared.

 

“Hiro…to…san…”

 

…That’s too bad. Didn’t you know my specialty was the honeytrap?

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