“It’s only for fifteen minutes, so let’s take it easy. The sensors are faster for early warnings anyway. If we don’t rest now, we’ll have a rough time of it later.” “Roger that. May I replenish my water and nutrients?” Kikyou asked for confirmation. It was a perfectly reasonable request. “Of course. My gut tells me we won’t be able to eat for a while.” “So we’re finally entering combat, huh?” Saika had said they were entering combat, but they were already in the middle of it. Apparently, to Saika, this was just a minor skirmish. “Saika, we’ve already entered combat. We’re in the midst of a large-scale attack; that’s what we should be calling it.” Before I could correct her, Suzuran quickly jumped in. “Ah, I see. So that’s what we should be calling it. Sorry about that. I don’t have much of an education. Thanks for clearing that up for me.” Saika thanked Suzuran sincerely. In any other squad, it would have been unthinkable for a private to talk back to a corporal, but my squad was closer to a family than an army unit. It felt like a younger sister scolding her older one. I was convinced that this was one of the things that made my squad so strong, and I raised my subordinates with that in mind. In fact, ever since Suzuran had joined the squad, they’d never suffered any casualties, even though they’d earned the nickname Mad Dog Platoon. I didn’t intend to scold anyone, but I wanted to make sure they understood. “Everyone, only ever talk like that with your squad mates. Don’t use that kind of tone over the platoon radio. You’ll get in trouble if you do. Got it?” “““Roger.””” Their replies came in perfect harmony, without a moment’s hesitation. After that, they continued on in silence, and the fifteen-minute break came to an uneventful end. Platoon 111 continued quietly into the depths of the cave. We've probably gone down about two floors since the break, but still hadn’t encountered any enemies. The cave was unnaturally quiet. Me and the other members of Squad 1111 all had an uneasy feeling that clung to the back of our minds, making conversation impossible. It was almost as if our sense of caution had coalesced into a solid mass. However, the other squads didn’t seem to feel the same sense of danger, and a lax atmosphere began to spread through the platoon. Trivial chatter began to flow over the platoon radio. I understood that it was better to be able to banter than to be so tense that you couldn’t think straight, but to me, it just felt like recklessness. But I didn’t have any grounds for warning them of danger. Everyone knew that the operation was going wrong, but there was nothing unusual on any of their sensors or the battle zone map. There was no new information from command, and the battle forecast hadn’t been updated, either. The only thing I had to go on was my intuition. If the Lunarians had developed a strategy, it would be dangerous. Humanity was weak when it let its guard down, and the Lunarians could take advantage of that. If they charged into the middle of a squad, friendly fire would become a concern, and everyone wouldn’t be able to use their guns, which would limit them to hand-to-hand combat. No matter how good Company 11 was at close-quarters combat, it was still close-quarters combat. It was a completely different thing from hand-to-hand. If it came to a hand-to-hand battle, the squad would fall apart in no time. Unconsciously, Saika would occasionally touch the bayonet on her hip. Kikyou and Saika had removed the machine-gun parts from their assault rifles so they could use them as handguns. In that state, they would be able to shoot even if the Lunarians got close enough to touch them. My three subordinates were fully prepared for a hand-to-hand battle. I felt their readiness as I prayed that the two squads in the vanguard would spot the Lunarians in time. The 1113 Platoon to the right of the 1111 Platoon, as well as the captain’s platoon in the rearguard, didn’t seem to have noticed what was going on. ― If I was the captain, I would have warned them about the possibility of a hand-to-hand battle. Dammit. Damn, I should have gotten promoted instead of staying as a lieutenant. At this rate, my subordinates might suffer casualties. ― For the first time in his life, I regretted something I’d done. The higher your rank, the more work and responsibility and the less freedom you had. In order to avoid that, I’d left a record of bad behavior behind so I wouldn’t get promoted, but it had backfired on me. In terms of accomplishments, I should have been a captain by now, just like Kagayama. If he had been, I would have participated in this operation as a platoon leader. Perhaps I underestimated the Lunarians’ strength—or rather, their evolution. If I survived this operation, I would aim for a promotion, for the sake of my beloved subordinates. No matter what, I had to survive and keep them all alive. But it was too late for my resolve. Suddenly, a deafening roar and a massive cloud of dust filled the cavern. The dust blocked our vision like a smoke screen, completely obscuring the 1112 and 1114 squads at the front, but over the squad line, I could hear a cacophony of screams. “What happened?”

“It hurts, it hurts.” "Gah, gah, gah..." "Uh, uh." “Someone, someone.” “What? What?” “My legs!” “I’m gonna die!” The two squads that had been enveloped by the dust didn’t seem to understand what had happened. From outside the dust cloud, me and the others had no way of knowing what was going on inside. A warning popped up on my monitor. Without even looking up, I shifted my position. The next moment, a longsword jabbed into the spot where I had just been standing. The rabbit woman had leaped down from the ceiling. I had avoided the surprise attack thanks to my instincts, but it seemed that not everyone had been so lucky. The platoon radio was now filled with moans and screams. The rabbit woman had pulled its sword out of the ground and was closing in on me. It seemed I had been forced into a one-on-one brawl. I glanced at the squad monitor. All three of my subordinates’ biosigns were green. At least they’d avoided the surprise attack. I lowered the volume on the squad line, which was full of screams and moans, and focused on the rabbit in front of me. The first thing I had to do was protect myself. The rabbit women crouched low and lunged at my heart with its longsword. I took half a step forward with my right foot and swiped the sword’s side away with my right palm. As soon as the rabbit’s body was exposed, I hit it square in the throat with a left jab, where she was protected by her fur the least. I could feel the soft cartilage of the larynx crumple under my fist and the windpipe break farther back. It wouldn’t be a fatal blow, though. The rabbit women would be able to attack for as long as she could still breathe. I immediately pulled my left hand back, and with the momentum of a pendulum swing, I unleashed a right punch with all my weight behind it. I aimed for the same place. The punch went straight through the rabbits throat crushed its cervical vertebrae, twisting the arm at the shoulder joint and snapping her neck. The Harpyon, which had been standing on its own moments ago, pressed down on my hand with its weight, and I casually tossed it to the ground. — One down.― The rear-alert blared in my helmet. Without thinking, my body moved on its own. I dropped into a crouch in the blink of an eye, and the wolfman’s sharp claws swished through the empty air above my head. I slithered along the ground, using my hands as a pivot point, and unleashed a back kick. I struck the wolfman’s Achilles’ tendon, sending it tumbling backward. In the corner of my eye, I could see the rabbit women’s longsword. The movements were smooth, leaving no room for thought. As if predetermined, the longsword found its way into my hands, and I plunged it into the open mouth of the downed wolfman. When the sword hit the skull, I twisted it, stirring up the brain matter. — Two down. — Another wolfman approached, trying to bite off my right arm, which was still holding the sword outstretched. I quickly pulled the sword back, but the wolfman bite down on it. A high-pitched sound rang in my ears as the sword collided with something hard. The moment I heard the sound, my left knee unconsciously kicked up into the wolfman’s chin. The wolfman, still biting the sword, had the blade firmly wedged between his upper and lower jaws. Its eyes widened in pain, and he probably wanted to scream, but with the blade embedded in his jaw, it couldn’t open its mouth to do so. I drew the bayonet from my hip and quickly jabbed it under the wolfman’s jaw. I felt the same sensation one would feel when stabbing a human, and the bayonet went all the way through with no resistance. I once again stirred up the creature’s brain, then swiftly pulled out the bayonet before it broke under the weight of the corpse, reading it for the next enemy. — Three down. — I could feel how multiple enemies started to focus me. In the short time since this battle had begun, I had already killed three of the Lunarians, and it seemed to have made me the target of their collective wrath. — Well, that’s all right. If they’re all focused on me, Kikyou and the others will have an easier time of it. — Even with the Composite Armor, I was only just on equal footing with the Lunarians, and now I was surrounded by several of them at once. The benefits of the Composite Armor were not going to help me in this situation. I’d have to rely on my own strength. A brief respite. The Lunarians were slowly closing in on me. There were three of them. One in front of me and one diagonally behind. Under normal circumstances, any natural-born human would have been panicking by now. However, I lowered my bayonet, relaxed my body, and remained calm and composed. My heartbeat sensor showed a normal reading. There was no change from before the battle. My heart was as tempered as steel. I might have had trouble deciding what to do in battle, but I would never let my emotions get the better of me. The wolfman in front of me moved. It swung its arm wide, trying to tear into me with its claws. I shifted my body just enough to avoid the arm’s trajectory and dodge the attack. I wanted to counterattack, but the rabbitwoman to his right was swinging her longsword down at me. I blocked it with my bayonet, causing the blade to slide off and head toward the wolfman behind me in an attempt to get them to fight each other. The wolfman behind me was surprised to see a blade flying toward him and stopped attacking to block it with his claws. The wolfman in front of me had already recovered and launched another attack. There was no time for me to counterattack. Two more Lunarians joined the fray, and I had to dodge attacks from the five of them. Shifting my body to avoid being hit directly, I read the flow of the attacks and stayed on the defensive. There was no opening for me to go on the offensive. However, I wasn’t panicking. I was certain that the situation was about to change.