"Shit… Looks like we've got visitors," Kentaro muttered, eyes locked on the looming Cradle ships ahead. Their gun batteries bristled like a wall of teeth. Moving was pointless; without Serica back at full strength, they'd never dodge the incoming fire.

"What do we do, Ken?" Serica's voice was tight, her hand clutching his arm even tighter. She was scared. Not the panicked kind, the kind where you know there's nowhere left to go.

"I'm… Not sure. I'm hoping Tenka and the others have an idea. And that they're close." Kentaro replied, his eye scanning all of the ships in front of them.

Then, a voice, clear as a bell, in his ear.

"Kentaro! Kentaro!"

It was Tenka. The instant he heard her, the tension in his shoulders loosened just a fraction.

"Tenka, hey! What's the plan? We've got… Visitors." He tried to laugh, but it came out as a thin sound.

"I know. Just trust me. Once the bloom fully collapses, it's going to release either a smokescreen… Or an explosion." Her tone sharpened. "Judging by the reverse Serica manifested in there, I'd say explosion." She paused before her tone tightened. "Listen, look right."

Kentaro turned his head. Forty feet away, through drifting haze, stood a half-crumbled building. And in its frame, a door.

"Wait… No way. Door crossing is gonna work here?!"

"Oh, it's gonna work if it didn't, you'd be sitting like a duck without a plan of escape," Tenka smirked in his ear. "While you were inside, we connected all four nearest doors. This is the final run before you save Aria."

She paused. "Think you can make it without getting killed?" She said, her voice carried a hint of worry.

Kentaro grinned, eyes fixed on the door like it was the finish line of his life.

"Hell yeah. I've survived Serica's super sword. A couple of bullets won't kill me."

"Super sword…?" Tenka muttered under her breath before snapping back. "You'll have to tell me later."

"Yeah. I think we're one step closer to figuring out who, or what, is behind the Alberlines' power."

Tenka didn't answer. She just smiled.

But then, a voice roared over external speakers, deep and jagged with irritation.

"HEED MY WARNING, BOY! MY PATIENCE IS GONE. I WILL SPARE YOU - EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE WILL BE ERASED, BUT…"

Kentaro froze. He didn't need to know the face behind that voice; he'd just somehow known it was Akio, Cradle's supreme commander.

"TSCH, Kentaro, be careful, it's Akio, seems she's come here personally, how nice," Tenka cut in, low and urgent. "If we go in to help, we're dead. Stall."

"…Sure."

Akio's voice thundered again.

"…YOU WILL HAND OVER ICE-BREAKER. THAT IS ALL."

Serica glanced at him, a flicker of fear in her eyes. She didn't want to believe he'd give her up… But she was scared enough to imagine it.

"Never think like that again," Kentaro said without looking at her. He had a feeling of what she was thinking, smiling faintly.

Her eyes widened. He knew what she was thinking, and he'd crushed it instantly.

Then, with all his might, he yelled toward the ships:

"SUCK YOUR MUM!!!"

"...."

"...."

The silence afterwards was suffocating. Even Tenka broke it.

"…Are you serious, Ken?"

"Yeah!" Serica shouted, copying Kentaro like a child copying her father, and of course, not understanding the meaning behind it. "SUCK YOUR MUM!"

Akio's voice returned, slow, sharp and taken aback. "…Still a child. Then I guess… Force it is."

But before Kentaro could throw another insult, the bloom erupted. A shockwave rippled through the battlefield, smoke boiling outward like a living wall. The sheer force behind the sudden burst took Kentaro's breath away for a split second, causing his hair to flail wildly.

"NOW, KENTARO, RUN!" Tenka screamed.

Kentaro grabbed Serica's arm, the two sliding hard across shattered stone before finding their feet.

"Shit! MEN, FIRE!" Akio's command split the air.

Bullets rained down like a deadly storm, sparking and shattering on impact all around them. Kentaro positioned himself to Serica's left, bravely taking the more vulnerable side. Explosions from nearby artillery sent shockwaves through the ground, jarring their bodies with each thunderous blast. Kentaro could feel his weary legs screaming for a pause, but he refused to relent, he knew that stopping meant certain death. His breath came in desperate gasps, his eyes stung and blurred from the swirling dust kicked up by the chaos around them. Yet, amidst the turmoil, he sensed they were making ground. With Serica just behind him, her presence invigorated him, filling him with a fierce determination to ensure their perilous journey across this desolate no man's land would not be in vain.

As Yumi gazed intently at the screen, a realization struck her: the ships were utterly vulnerable from their current position. An ingenious idea blossomed in her mind, one that could not only enhance Kentaro's odds of survival but also provide an opportunity to cripple one of Cradle's vessels.

"Commander, let me take a shot!" Yumi barked as she shot up from her desk.

Tenka's lips curved not needing any more explaination. "Go for it. Hatch is open."

Yumi dropped into the side compartment, where one of the ship's snipers awaited her arrival. All she needed to do was line up the shot and ensure she didn't miss, steadying her massive sniper rifle. "Say hello to my little friend, bitch!" she shouted, a fierce determination burning in her eyes.

The blast was like thunder. One Cradle ship lurched sideways, its guns going quiet.

"Commander, ship two has been hit on the side, they've stopped firing to repair!" The cradle soldier shouted over the comms.

Akio's eyes narrowed. "Hiding and still firing… How dirty." She stood from her command chair, every movement sharp with intent. "Hand me the axe."

The same soldier snapped a sharp salute before charging to the forward hatch, his fingers flying over the heavy metal locks. With a loud clank, he unlatched them, unleashing a rush of icy air that howled in with the acrid scent of smoke and scorched metal from the chaos beyond. Above them, the pounding of boots reverberated as the crew cleared a path across the roof plating.

Akio didn't wait for a ladder; she sprang into action, gripping the welded rungs on the bulkhead and climbing with a fluid intensity born of rigorous training. The wind slapped against her face as she breached the top of the Cradle ship, and the sprawling battlefield unfolded beneath her, a chaotic tapestry of destruction and fury.

From the open hatch, three men strained to hoist an enormous axe skyward. Towering at twice her height, its blade pulsed with a barely contained energy, crackling like a tempest waiting to be unleashed. As they handed it over, she seized it effortlessly, mastering its weight as it spun elegantly in a wide arc before she grounded herself, boots firmly planted on the steel roof, ready to unleash chaos of her own.

"Very well," she said, voice cutting through the chaos. "Time to blow you bastards away."

She gripped the handle with both hands and swung. The air itself buckled, and a hurricane-force shockwave erupted from the axe's path, tearing across the field. Smoke ripped apart in swirling spirals, debris was flung from the ground, and even the massive Vaelion groaned under the push, sliding miles back in seconds.

The blast of compressed air slammed through the battlefield like a hurricane. Vaelion lurched violently, crew crashing into walls. Shogo went face-first into a console.

When the ship steadied, they were miles off position.

"…Damn. Sister's strong," Shogo muttered, rubbing his nose.

"Still… That's enough time for Ken," Haruka said, standing up after being flung upside down.

But Tenka's eyes were on the screen. The smoke was fading. No Kentaro.

Then, movement.

They burst from the last wall of smoke, running flat-out for the door.

Akio stood at the top of the ship and turned to see Kentaro and Serica making a run for it. She narrowed her eyes, determination setting in.

"FIRE!" Akio's voice pierced through the chaos.

Missiles streaked toward them, white trails twisting ominously in the air. The roar of engines reverberated through the ground, a harbinger of doom.

Kentaro's heart raced as adrenaline surged through his veins. The door was right there; he could see the handle glinting defiantly in the chaos. He pushed his legs to move faster, feeling every instinct scream at him to survive.

Each thundering heartbeat felt like an eternity, the world narrowing to the frantic thumping in his chest.

"Get in!" Tenka shouted, her voice cracking with urgency as she fought against the rising panic.

With a final, desperate lunge, Kentaro reached for the handle.

BOOM.

The explosion erupted behind him, a cataclysmic wall of flame and dust engulfing the building in an instant. The searing heat washed over him, pushing him forward.

Tenka's breath caught, her eyes wide with horror. "No… Ken…"

Akio stood frozen, an emotionless specter amidst the chaos. "Good. Still… shame about that kid; should've listened," she quipped, her voice devoid of warmth, cold as the metal of the ship.

She turned, glancing once more at the now non-existent building, the plume of smoke spiraling into the sky as if to mock their fate, before stepping back inside the ship.

The Cradle ships began turning away, their purpose fulfilled. The vibrant bloom of life had been extinguished, leaving only a wasteland of charred earth and despair.

"No way… but Ken…" Tenka whispered, the words barely escaping her lips, her eyes glistening with disbelief.

Suddenly, a sound echoed from behind them.

Click.

Every head turned, breath suspended in disbelief, caught in the web of uncertainty. A new threat loomed, the unknown creeping closer.

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