I Reincarnated as the Captain of a Battleship in a Robot Anime, but at This Rate, I’m Going to Be Assassinated – Chapter 66

Chapter 66: Outta the Way, Outta the Way, Space Pirates Coming Through!
  There were no elaborate plans to be found there.
  However, sometimes the simpler things work out well.
  Since he was a man who led an organization and worked in the shadows, everyone thought that there must be a hidden motive behind his actions. But there was nothing like that. If there was a man who simply, stubbornly, and wholeheartedly worked towards a single goal, any deep analysis would just be a waste of time.
  
  “Everyone, gather around the Trismegistus immediately!”
  『Yuuki, what are you saying? If we leave him alone……!』
  
  Anish was deploying a beam barrier and providing support to the Trismegistus, but she was astonished by Yuuki’s unexpected words.
  
  『Are you sure it’s okay to leave this monster alone!? The Big Cannon will be destroyed by the collision with the fortress base anyway!』
  
  Mark was also unable to hide his surprise.
  That’s right, the plan was to destroy Babel by crashing the fortress base into it. Even if the beam was fired, the damage caused by the debris would be significant. The plan to use the fortress base as a mass bomb was devised with that in mind.
  
  “But the controlled fleet won’t be able to escape.”
  
  Anish and Mark were both struck by those words.
  The machines controlled by Goetia were in a terrible state. Warships were forced to make suicide attacks even if their turrets were destroyed, repeatedly exploding. Teurugias were used as shields against barrages and scattered meaninglessly.
  There were many on this battlefield who had been treated like that.
  
  “Even if these people are our enemies, they shouldn’t have to die in such a ridiculous battle. They were just caught up in it, just like us! That’s why we have to stop the source of it all! We have to seize control of the Big Cannon!”
  
  When Yuuki shouted, particles of light gathered around the Trismegistus.
  It was a sign of the large-scale warp that had occurred before.
  However, it was very conspicuous. There was no way Goetia would miss it.
  As expected, Goetia warped.
  
  “You’re so predictable!”
  
  Seeing that, Yuuki gave a cold look.
  The Trismegistus exposed its defenseless form, spread its arms, and broke its defensive posture.
  Immediately after, Goetia appeared before it and swung its staff.
  However……
  
  “That’s why…… I’m telling you to learn.”
  
  The swung staff pierced the Trismegistus’s right shoulder. However, it didn’t sever the torso, and while the staff pierced the right shoulder, it wasn’t easy to pull it out after it was deeply embedded.
  Without missing that opportunity, the Trismegistus grabbed Goetia’s neck with its remaining left arm.
  Goetia wouldn’t understand the Trismegistus’s actions. Fighting with the premise of taking damage is inefficient.
  
  “I don’t understand……!”
  “This is how humans fight!”
  
  Damage to the extent that the surface armor is scraped off should be treated as a necessary expense, something that will inevitably occur. However, even so, minimizing damage is an absolute requirement.
  Damage to the machine is something to be avoided.
  It was something that was done because of excessive rationality.
  That’s why it couldn’t possibly be understood.
  Cut the flesh to sever the bone. There’s no way that a similar being could accept such a way of fighting.
  “Even if we break, we can be fixed. That’s what robots are. We can do that. Perfect form, huh?”
  
  Without understanding the meaning of Thoth’s words, Goetia was enveloped in light.
  In an instant, all the machines that were there warped.
  The target was Babel.
  
✼✼✼
  
  Around the same time.
  The Mirandora was in the midst of a tremendous shaking, but the crew was in high spirits.
  Any attack was being absorbed by the disc that was currently attached to the Mirandora. If things got dangerous, they could just detach the anchor and say goodbye.
  Doing such a thing might be considered in bad taste, but since there was someone who had done something even more in bad taste, this was just what they deserved.
  
  『Stop it! Release me!』
  “That’s an unreasonable request. If you want to escape, you can. You have an escape pod, don’t you?”
  
  Shougo looked at Phoenix-hakase, who was clinging to his seat with a pale face on the other side of the main monitor, and replied that he no longer cared what happened to this old man.
  As far as Shougo was concerned, his revenge on this old man was over the moment he used him as a shield. He thought that the fear Phoenix-hakase was feeling now was probably greater than the fear Percy would have originally felt, but that was all.
  He even thought that he didn’t care if this old man escaped or did anything else once he had tasted that.
  
  “You don’t mean to say there are no escape pods, do you? If so, blame your own lack of preparation.”
  
  However, Shougo still didn’t intend to help this old man.
  If this battle ended and he was still alive, then he would think about something else at that time.
  Rather, Shougo’s attention was directed towards Babel more than Phoenix-hakase.
  
  “Captain, we’ve detected a warp-out reaction. It’s the Trismegistus’s wavelength.”
  “What?”
  
  The reaction appeared 20 kilometers ahead of the Mirandora.
  
  “Did he defeat Goetia?”
  
  Just as he muttered that, what warped out was the Trismegistus and Goetia grappling with each other, and the two machines headed straight for Babel as soon as they warped out.
  The remaining Anish’s machine and the fighter squadron were stunned and just drifted in place.
  
  “Trismegistus. Can you hear me? What are you trying to do?”
  
  Shougo felt that the situation wasn’t bad, even as he watched it.
  The boy named Yuuki was trying to do something. He needed to ascertain what it was.
  
  『Captain! The Trismegistus will take control of this Big Cannon!』
  “What?”
  『You’ve noticed it too, haven’t you, Captain? This Big Cannon is controlling this battlefield right now!』
  
  That was true.
  Shougo and Yuuki had arrived at almost the same conclusion, regardless of the process.
  That’s why both of them recognized that Babel should be destroyed.
  
  『But there’s no need to involve the other controlled fleets! There’s no need to go along with the crazy old man’s selfish whims! That’s why!』
  
  The Trismegistus and Goetia could be seen breaking through Babel’s outer wall and entering its interior.
  
  “Support the Trismegistus! Recover Anish’s machine and Mark’s squad quickly! All hands, prepare for ground combat!”
  
  Shougo’s decision was also swift.
  Shougo was surprised at his own words.
  
  ‘Ground combat? I said that on impulse, but can I even use a gun?’
  
  He had no choice but to rely on Jowain’s knowledge.
  However, at Shougo’s command, the Mirandora’s crew began preparing for ground combat.
  
  “Captain, your spacesuit.”
  
  The spacesuit that Clart-shou’i brought was treated with some bulletproofing.
  While putting his arms through it, Shougo was also handed a rifle.
  Inside the Mirandora, even the non-combatants were putting on spacesuits and beginning to evacuate to the central area, while the combatants were armed with rifles.
  
  “Jowain-sama……”
  
  In the midst of all this, only Yuri-chan didn’t go to the central area but came up to the bridge and stood right next to Shougo.
  
  “Yuri-chan? Sorry, it’s going to get a little noisy.”
  
  He couldn’t ask her why she wasn’t in the central area.
  Because Yuri-chan’s hands were trembling.
  
  “It’s already noisy. And I’m very scared…… but if you’re by my side, I can endure it.”
  
  Saying that, Yuri-chan snuggled up to Shougo as if to hug his arm.
  Seeing that, none of the crew members teased them anymore. They already understood what they had to do, and that all they had to do was accomplish it.
  To end this absurd battle.
  They knew that it was up to them to do it.
  
  “I have to go in now. I have to go say hello to my former boss.”
  “I’ll go with you. I have a lot to say to Danna-sama too.”
  “……Okay. Don’t leave my side.”
  “Yes, I’ll never leave you again.”
  
  Shougo didn’t question the meaning of those words.
  
  “Okay. Kes, I’m leaving you in command of the Mirandora after we enter. Alright?”
  “Understood, Captain. Please be careful.”
  
  Kes said that and saluted.
  Shougo returned the salute.
  And after receiving a report from the operators that Anish and the others had been recovered, Shougo nodded and shouted again.
  
  “Charge!”
  
  The Mirandora ignited its main boosters as if to expend all its remaining power. It launched a charge towards Babel, along with Phoenix-hakase’s disc. They were going to open a breach by firing all their main guns, missiles, and every weapon they had.
  Due to its massive size, Babel was structured to accommodate five battleship-class ships inside. However, since it was unclear where the entrance was, the Mirandora crew, not wanting to waste time with such a thing, decided to forcibly create an entrance.
  A large explosion occurred in a section of Babel that had been subjected to such concentrated fire, and a small cavity appeared.
  
  “Let’s land!”
  
  To put it simply, it was like skiing.
  The Mirandora began to decelerate and made contact with Babel. However, the disc was still attached to the rear of the Mirandora. The Mirandora ended up crash-landing, but since the disc acted as a sled, there wasn’t much damage.
  The Mirandora succeeded in landing while sliding down Babel’s surface, gouging out the surrounding armor.
  However, even though the disc acted as a shield, the impact and damage the Mirandora sustained were not insignificant.
  There was a temporary power outage indicating a malfunction, and dim emergency lighting came on.
  
  “The maintenance crew, adjust the Mirandora, and the combat personnel, enter the Big Cannon! Operators, we will defend the Mirandora. Got it?”
  
  Command was transferred to Kes, and she immediately issued instructions.
  Meanwhile, Shougo hurried to the hangar with Yuri-chan. There, Mark and the others, who seemed to have grasped the situation, were dressed in ground combat gear.
  
  “Mark, I’m counting on you for the ground combat too!”
  “Aye aye, from mobile weapons to fighter jets, and now I’m playing infantry. I get to experience all sorts of battles when I’m with you.”
  “Just protect us. And we’re going to pick up Yuuki and the others.”
  “Aye aye, sir. Boarding with a ship and then charging in as foot soldiers. This really is like medieval pirates.”
  “Of course it is. Have you forgotten? We called ourselves the Space Pirates Hermes, didn’t we?”