I Reincarnated as the Captain of a Battleship in a Robot Anime, but at This Rate, I’m Going to Be Assassinated – Chapter 67

Chapter 67: It’s Been a While, How Have You Been? Well Then, Allow Me to Repay You for Everything Up Until Now With a Gift
  The inside of Babel was surprisingly empty. There were no signs of people, nor were there any automatic interception devices. There were only surveillance cameras and a function to eject a sticky liquid to suppress damage to the outer walls. This liquid hardens by causing a chemical reaction and closes holes, but if the hole is too large, it will be thrown into space before it can be closed.
  Shougo and the others aimed their rifles and pistols as they headed for Babel’s superstructure, paying attention only to such liquids.
  If things went smoothly, it should lead to the control tower. Babel is a fortress too large, like a maze. Originally, it should have been a weapon that many people would have been in, but the lack of human presence up to this point is eerie and feels like a ruin.
  There is too little resistance. That in itself is limiting their movements.
  
  “There’s no way a laser that suddenly cuts off will attack us like a mesh, is there?”
  
  Shougo muttered without thinking.
  Mark, who seemed to have heard him, let out a small laugh.
  
  “Haha! If that happens, it’s all over.”
  “It’s not a laughing matter. He’s an old geezer who’s planning to wipe out humanity. He doesn’t care about human life. In fact, this Big Cannon could be loaded with a large number of nuclear warheads, and it’s possible that he’s going to drop them on Earth.”
  
  Their opponent is a man who is mercilessly sacrificing an entire planet and is now treating even his allies as pawns. They must always think of the worst.
  Furthermore, the opponent has even shut down Earth’s lifeline. It would be impossible to imagine the chaos that is unfolding in every minute and second.
  Humans can certainly live without machines. However, now that machine technology has developed, there is also the fact that we are being helped by it.
  If they are suddenly taken away from us, it is a disaster. Without the support of electronic devices, aircraft would lose their way, and if communication devices were unusable, emergency contact would be impossible.
  Information is cut off and food cannot be preserved. The lights of the night disappear, and if there is no function to withstand the cold or heat, those who need life support will equally die.
  This is too cruel to be called a punishment for those who have relied on machine civilization.
  It is an outrage that has gone beyond discussion.
  
  “In other words, that geezer wants to set civilization back. He’s planning to make humanity start over from the primitive age and rebuild. Oh, s*it, this isn’t some old sci-fi novel, is it?”
  “But then how do you explain this Big Cannon or Goetia?”
  
  Mark’s question was the most important, but Shougo had some speculation about that as well.
  
  “An observer. In that geezer’s mind, humanity has undergone a wrong evolution and growth. So he wants to start over with a clean slate and rebuild a new civilization. He wants a device to erase unnecessary things when he does that. And if he can create a technology that can even repel that……he wants to say ‘pass’.”
  “Isn’t that flawed?”
  
  The group continues their discussion as they walk down the hallway.
  Among them, Anish couldn’t help but voice her doubts.
  
  “Does Commander Fauden want to deny science? Or does he want to affirm it?”
  “I don’t know. Some kind of logic is working in his head, but we can’t understand it at all. To give you a mean answer, it’s probably both. He just doesn’t have any expectations for current technology or humans. He’s pinning his hopes on a new humanity in the future, one that may or may not be born. Until it’s born, he’ll use Goetia and this Big Cannon to endlessly destroy civilization. It’s a cycle.”
  
  To be honest, Shougo’s words are not because he’s dabbled in philosophy or anything, but rather because he’s just voicing the common thoughts of a transcendent villain often seen in anime and manga.
  But things are connected. Extreme ideologies easily cross the line between fiction and reality.
  In ancient times, when humans still believed in the existence of gods, a certain kind of view of life and death prevailed, and sacrifices and human sacrifices were encouraged.
  It is true that the powerful people of the time used it, but at the same time, it was because they believed in such a way of thinking that was rooted in their core that they acted accordingly.
  Fauden is probably the same. He has his own justice that he believes in.
  However, that justice is nothing but poison to others.
  
  “That geezer thinks that his actions are the rightful judgment against all humanity, and that it is right to accept this. He’s drunk on his own sense of justice. He truly believes that the world will not be at peace unless he does this. He’s lost his mind.”
  “Is it justice to kill people? To involve unrelated people?”
  “That’s why I’m telling you. In his mind, it is. Anish, I’ll tell you now, questioning that geezer about justice or whatever is meaningless. He won’t listen to anything you say. He’s already operating on something different from our common sense.”
  
  Those who pretend to be transcendent act with their own unique sense of justice.
  There is no way to deny it. It is pointless to do so.
  Even so, humans want to say it, but naturally, it doesn’t get through, so they get irritated. On the other hand, the opponent is probably unscathed. A completely different logic has been constructed, and within that person, the reasoning to deny it is also complete. It’s a perfect defense. That’s why it doesn’t get through. They can do it calmly. Some may not be completely dyed in that ideology, but Fauden is probably completely resolved.
  “Notify all personnel. If you find Commander Fauden……don’t kill him. Capture him.”
  
  Shougo spoke, opening the communicator built into his spacesuit.
  
  “Good. This is a strict order. Don’t kill that man. If he attempts suicide, stop him. That geezer is operating on a thought process we can’t understand. If we were to kill him, he would die satisfied. I won’t allow him to get away with that. He should be judged by the culture of humanity that he denied. That’s what will truly lead to denial. It may be frustrating, but he’s not someone we should kill out of our own emotions. He’s someone that humanity should execute. Even if it’s cruel.”
  
  After saying that, Shougo and the others find an elevator.
  This would take them straight to the upper structure. There is a fear that this elevator is booby-trapped. However, they boarded. Of course, the troops are divided into multiple groups. Shougo, Mark, Anish, and Yuri, along with a few other crew members, board the elevator. The other ground troops aim for a different section. They are divided so that it doesn’t matter who is missing.
  Along the way, there were large tremors in Babel.
  
  “Yuuki……I wonder if he’s alright.”
  
  Anish’s worried voice leaked out.
  Yuuki and Franny, who had entered Babel with Goetia. They don’t know the location, but Trismegistus is probably still fighting Goetia somewhere.
  Even if they stopped Fauden, they would have to stop Goetia next. They had a mountain of things to do.
  
  “All we can do now is believe in him. He won’t lose. When a boy has a girlfriend, he wants to show off.”
  
  Shougo felt like he was looking at his own daughter when he saw Anish, who was unusually subdued. It was a strange feeling, even though he wasn’t married and didn’t have any children.
  
  “……Yes, you’re right.”
  
  Anish didn’t deny it either.
  If it had been her before, she would have denied her relationship with Yuuki, but that was no longer the case.
  
  “Looking at the Captain makes me think so. You two look good together.”
  
  She was even able to make jokes like this now.
  Yuri, who was being talked about, blushed behind her spacesuit, but Shougo returned a relaxed smile.
  
  “If I were to fall in love for real, I would be inspired too. I have to stop that geezer who’s trying to make it a world where this kind of love isn’t possible, even if I have to punch him. If the machine god glares at us, we won’t even be able to kiss.”
  
  Shougo said so and deliberately hugged Yuri. It was an action he couldn’t have imagined himself doing before, but he didn’t care anymore.
  
  “Jowain-sama, right now……”
  “That’s right, Captain. Save the cuddling for when we’re alive.”
  
  While being admonished by Yuri and Mark, Shougo nodded slightly and double-checked his pistol.
  Even though he had never touched a gun before, Jowain’s body remembered the procedure. He checked that the bullets were properly loaded, the safety was off, and everything else necessary, and Shougo held the gun without touching the trigger.
  
  “Well, we’ll be on the top floor soon.”
  
  Mark and the other combat troops take the lead. They hold up their protective shields and the elevator doors open. As expected, there was no interception. After slowly and carefully checking the safety of the passage, they jumped out and started running. The passage was a straight path. There were no crew cabins or workrooms for adjustments.
  A long, long straight path continues. At the very end, a door illuminated by emergency lights can be seen.
  
  “Is that probably the control room?”
  
  Shougo took a deep breath and then looked around at the others.
  That man should be there. He wouldn’t run away now.
  
  “Let’s go.”
  
  If there was no decent interception up to this point, Fauden might not intend to stop them.
  Shougo felt that his guess might be correct in a bad way.
  
  ‘As expected, that geezer is even considering his own death. He’s probably confident that his goal can be achieved even if he’s killed. Most of his goals may have been accomplished the moment Goetia and Trismegistus were completed. Even so, the miscalculation for him is……’
  
  They approach the door. As expected, there is no interception.
  And then……
  
  “Alright, there might be something rigged to the door. Blow it up with a grenade.”
  
  Mark also took precautions before taking such bold action. As he was told, one of the crew members stepped forward to throw a hand grenade.
  However, before they could do that, the door opened automatically.
  And what they saw there was a very strange sight.
  Franny, who shouldn’t have been there, was holding a gun and confronting her own father.
  Commander Fauden and Franny, and lying on the ground between them was Anferu’s dead body.
  
  “Franny Ojō-san!”
  
  The moment they saw her, they immediately ran.
  She’s in a place she shouldn’t be. It’s similar to the warp that Trismegistus did before. Maybe the same thing happened.
  It wasn’t just Franny who was holding a gun, but Fauden as well.
  
  “Everyone……?”
  
  For a moment, Franny seemed to have turned her attention to Shougo and the others who were coming from behind, and she turned around in surprise.
  At the same time.
  A gunshot rang out, and Franny’s body danced in zero gravity.
  
  “Farewell, my beloved daughter. Now, my atonement is over.”
  
  With the pistol he had fired in his hand, Fauden pressed the muzzle against the side of his own head.
  And then……