Against Hordes (1)

The rescue team quickly brought every injured person toward the safety point, a shelter located underground beneath the stadium they were standing on before. Yinuo was also brought there, together with Melody, who wasn't really injured but needed to evacuate either way.

Yinuo was still worried about the unfinished side quest, but seeing as they were just staying in place in a "safe" location, she could at least lower her guard a little.

"Student Melody Gregory, are you here?!"

However, soon, the harbinger of doom came.

A soldier, wearing the same blue and white tones as the Doppel that saved Yinuo, came bursting into the shelter. Melody looked nervous but had an inkling about why someone was looking for her.

"Sir, right here, sir!"

Melody stood up straight, saluting the man who called for her. As soon as he saw Melody, the man returned her salute before continuing to relay orders that came from above.

"The Chairman has ordered for the College's Junior Defense Members to engage. Please go to the Third Stadium where your Doppel is through the underground connecting pathways!"

"Orders received, sir!" Melody slapped her shoes together while lowering her salute.

The man did the same and quickly ran out of the shelter. He was in a hurry as he needed to return to the frontlines, where the battle was getting more and more intense as time passed.

"Sorry, Quinlan, but I need to go. Stay here. You'll be safe in here."

Her eyes were saying that she was scared, but her sense of duty was pushing her toward the battlefield. Yinuo felt that she would still go no matter what she said, so instead, she made a different request.

"Take me with you!" Yinuo asked, her eyes showing how serious she was. "If the Doppel is as safe as you said before, then staying here and inside another doppel shouldn't be too different!"

"It's way different!" Melody cried back in anger. "I will be heading to the battlefield, where danger lurks at every corner! I can't risk taking you with me!"

"BUT I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU!"

"...!"

Yinuo's shout caused the entire venue to become silent. Melody, who was surprised, started to get embarrassed by what Yinuo said. "Y-you! Do you know what bullshit you're saying?!"

"I do. And I don't care if it's dangerous. As long as I'm together with you, I can and will protect you!"

*Whistle~!*

The audience couldn't help but applaud Yinuo's manly confession... Well, it's not what she wanted to convey, but that was how it sounded to the bystanders anyway. Furthermore, since the shelter was slightly dark, they didn't realize it was "Quinlan," whom Melody was talking to. After all, the manner of speech and even the emotions in his voice were different. In fact, even Melody was confused, unsure of what to say to "Quinlan" to make him back down.

Silence spread across the entire shelter as bated breaths echoed, waiting for how Melody would reply. Feeling the gazes coming from all directions, Melody got more and more confused and embarrassed, so she gave up.

"Fuck it! You can come with me, but I wouldn't care even if you died, alright?!"

"Of course."

Yinuo sighed in relief. Since Melody was heading to the frontlines, she was sure that the side quest was regarding that danger. 'If Melody heads out, her life would be forfeit. But I can't stop her, so all I can do is come with her and act as the situation requires!'

It would be a lot later when the rumor that an unknown guy bravely confessed and got accepted by Melody spread all over the entire school.

---

With Melody leading the way, the two of them reached the Third Stadium quickly. The one they came from, the First Stadium, was consequently the closest hangar to the frontlines, so most of the Doppels stored there were unable to sortie from various degrees of damage.

"Sylveria, open the hatch!"

As soon as they reached Melody's hangar, she shouted a few words out. Yinuo was clueless about why she did that, even though she had yet to pass beyond the closed shutters.

As the barrier opened, a pristine white and red machine, with some pink colors intertwined here and there, appeared before them. The Doppel was already kneeling down, with the hatch on top of its head open and ready to accept Melody inside.

"Hurry, inside!"

With nimble movements, Melody jumped on the thigh, the knee, the arms, and the shoulder before reaching the head. Yinuo did the same, copying her movements without any deviations and reaching the cockpit.

However, there was only one seat inside it, and Melody was already sitting down, connecting the sensors to her body while initiating the startup procedure.

"Ah! There's a passenger seat behind mine; let me bring it up." Melody belatedly muttered in realization.

After pressing a series of buttons, the wide floor behind her seat opened up, and another chair appeared. Yinuo didn't hesitate and sat down on it, copying what Melody did, and strapped on the seatbelts across her body.

"Are you ready? Then let's go! Student Melody, call name Sylveria, to Control Tower. Sylveria is heading out! Over!"

The view inside the dark cockpit suddenly changed. The entire semi-spherical cockpit's surface lit up, showing the view outside at high resolution.

"...!"

Yinuo felt a powerful force pushing her into the chair as Sylveria accelerated. The view outside the displays was blurring as they moved fast, soaring into the open skies.

'So this is a Doppel!' Yinuo mused, amazed by its speed. 'It's like I'm riding a flying sword!'

On the helmet that Melody wore, radio communications coming from the control tower echoed. It was low in volume, but not something that Yinuo's sharp ears would miss.

{Control Tower to Sylveria. The current battle situation will be displayed on your radar. Please head to point Beta ASAP. Over.}

"Sylveria to Control Tower. Copy that. Over."

Just as she finished replying, a minimap appeared in front of her, where about five or six blue dots, a dozen green dots, and hundreds of red dots appeared.

"...!"

Melody gasped, realizing how outnumbered they currently are. After searching for the designated Point Beta, she found it to be the location where only one Doppel remained defending it.