Chapter 76

Extra Case File 76 A Question with No Choices

Darkness is burning.

In the darkness, a flickering moon as ethereal as a mirage—and enormous shadows—were flowing.

The shadow in the dark grew stronger and more solid until it became a tangible entity.

Bypassing those who were frozen in time, unknowing and oblivious.

On the burning ground, breaking through the mist of darkness, crushing the grotesque front of him into powder, his massive form was overwhelming in its dignity.

Dressed in vestments of destruction and reborn from fire, a steel giant descended onto the world.

The flames of battle still burned.

As if commanded by a self-propelled artillery battery, every cannon on his body opened fire from the flames, intense pressure changes condensing into fierce winds, mixed with thunderous roars overhead, sweeping up the enormous dark abominations in front of him.

Skyscrapers crumbled into rubble, and the wreckage of vehicles exploded during the battle was lifted by the wind, scattering like leaves.

With each step, the giant robot advanced closer to the towering darkness reaching towards the sky and closer to Naoko’s true form.

The earth quaked, the wind howled, and Ash was surrounded by deafening explosions.

Ai’s unwavering resolve for tomorrow protected his will, and the violence of energy transformed into echoes of darkness, keeping his flesh resilient.

Unbeknownst to himself at this moment, a cycle began looping through his body.

At the same time, Ash standing atop this colossal mechanical god seemed to hear a sound that resonated deeply within his soul.

It was a wailing voice that sounded as mournful as the wind… was it crying? Is that you, Wild Flower?

“Don’t cry too early, Flower.”

As he drew nearer, the attacks intensified. Fewer ordinary Final Monsters that were only a few stories high, and more Fierce Final Monsters that were comparable to his size appeared. The V-Tyranobot wasn’t an invincible fortress; it had to move faster under pressure.

“Flower, these darknesses are not your friends—they truly shouldn’t exist in this world.”

Several hit Final Monsters were punted aside, rolling out of control, even knocking over several buildings around them, continuing to roll amidst their wounds.

Boosters ignited both at his feet and back, allowing him to leap over a fallen building. Increasing numbers of the monstrosities watched as the humanoid steel figure approached, the twin beams of his eyes emitting a determined light, focusing on every non-human creature before them.

This brightness could make someone think that the gigantic beast possessed its own will. Was it an illusion?

“Don’t worry about a thing, Flower.” Pressing the rightmost button, the double scanners under Ash’s visor rapidly locked onto all targets. “I’ll take down the specters that terrify you!”

“RevolverMissile!”

The rotary launcher on his right arm rose, emitting deafening explosions, while six barrels fired flames, destroying the heart of the monster tide and clearing a path forward!

The flash from the blast dispelled the darkness, illuminating the entire street as if it were noon.

Before being swallowed entirely by the storm of enraged explosions and flashes, V-Tyranobot swiftly moved past the obstruction ahead.

“Whizzing…” Ash sensed something, seeing the growing tower shooting various-sized mechanical tentacles at him—the extensions from “Flower,” obstructing and attempting to throw him away.

“Watch closely Flower!”

Performing the same action as the robot below, the Steel God and the soul within it roared together.

“I’ll prove to you right now that this monstrosity is completely unrelated to you!”

With his immense left fist raised, he looked down at all the obstructions before him.

“RexPunch!”

With flames of extinction burning, and divine rage lighting up the sky, as if slicing through a butter jar with a hot knife, behind him the punch propelled by flames tore apart tentacles and turned them into twisted, dark remnants. Ash’s gaze was fixed on “Naoko”’s trail through the chaos.

“Bee-beep-beep…”

While Ash maneuvered his machine to dodge attacks, a disturbance led him to notice incoming communications to his helmet.

Putting aside how this era connected to future communications, currently, who could be contacting him at such a critical time?

After a moment’s thought, looking at the diminishing flames, Ash finally answered the call.

“Hello, anyone there—Ah, good that you got through.”

“Who are you?” Ash frowned deeply at the man resembling a circus performer on the other end, with polite demeanor. “I don’t recall knowing you.”

“We’re meeting for the first time—allow me to introduce myself. I’m Dr. Traum.” There was no protestation against Ash’s rudeness from the figure opposite. “I’m the teacher of the man whom you struck. My original intention was to bring him back, but now, I have to carry him out.”

“Uh-huh, so you sent the old one after the young one? Alright, come if you plan to cause trouble. I can handle another opponent.”

“No…” The doctor removed his hat, placing it on the bandaged man lying on the ground. “If violence could teach him a lesson, perhaps that would work. But what I want to know is, when the world is almost at its end, do you really intend to save it?”

“Diverse and parallel universes are vast, but there is only one world for Flower.” Silence lingered, then Ash spoke. “And I’ve only known one Flower.”

“So listen closely. There is indeed a way to save the world.”

Traum composed himself, addressing Ash with serious resolve.

“Cure Yell has gathered worldwide volatile energy. In other words, she embodies that volatile energy like the vessel of a divine being. Essentially, it means that volatile energy which was scattered is now concentrated in one woman’s body.”

“But this is also a rare opportunity—if we manage to defeat the embodiment of that volatile energy, we can save the world!”

“In that case, I’ll sacrifice the whole world just to save this Flower.” Ash raised his eyebrows, making his choice unhesitatingly. After all, he knew Flower better than he knew the world.

“This isn’t a dating sim where you have to choose between love and the world!” With intense tone, Traum gazed at the gaze from beyond the burning visor of Ash. “Heavy choices weigh on you in this worst-case scenario.”

“You can only watch her fixate on the destruction of this world.”

“Or you could save the world she cared for—by—”

“Killing her.”

”