86 - Volume 10 - Chapter 4.2

2

“…That’s what Eijyu says. But what are you, really? A prophet or a plague-bringer?”

Shin had beaten the former vice captain down, despite him being both older and physically larger than him. No one could match him when it came to fighting the Legion. But on the other hand, he had a tendency to push his Juggernaut way over the limits of its performance. This meant he was also at the top of his squad when it came to exhausting and damaging his rig.

He’d break his Juggernaut in spectacular fashion on every single mission, and recently, the repairs hadn’t been able to keep with the rate he wrecked units. The only solution was to set aside a spare specifically for him and constantly alternate between it and his main unit.

And yet somehow, he was never majorly injured. Seiya stared into his pale face, wondering if there was even blood pumping through his veins, as Shin looked back at him. His crimson gaze was bereft of emotion in a way the eyes of a boy in his early teens shouldn’t be.

“I don’t know.”

“What did you just say?”

“Cassandra herself couldn’t tell, either. How am I supposed to know if what I see is an avoidable future or if I’m just imagining catastrophes and willing them into existence?”

Shin couldn’t tell if he was a god of pestilence, either.

“…You—” Seiya growled in an animalistic way, narrowing his faint-violet eyes.

“I just don’t want to die. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have told the captain or anyone else about this… It’s not that I like being called a haunted monster.”

“…”

Shin spoke with an unfeeling voice, without a hint of enthusiasm or hatred. Unsure of how to interpret Shin’s words, Seiya fell silent for a moment. Shin looked down at his Juggernaut, which had all its parts exchanged and had a new suspension system installed, and said:

“Can I make a request, Head Mechanic?”

Seiya cocked an eyebrow. He was both surprised and suspicious. Shin knew he hated him, and he never spoke to him about anything except things relating to his job. And now he was asking for something?

“Depends on what it is. Shoot.”

“Could you teach me how to lift a Juggernaut’s limiters? The engine, control system, maneuvering. Anything that has a limiter placed on it.”

“Who told you?” Seiya asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Second Lieutenant Karen. The mechanic in charge of my Juggernaut.”

“…I’ll kick that idiot’s ass tomorrow.”

Being a chatterbox was fine, but that particular member of the maintenance crew had a horrible tendency to blabber about things they shouldn’t. Seiya sighed and continued speaking with that displeased expression.

“You do know what those safety limiters are there for, right? This isn’t some comic or cartoon where the robot powers up when you lift its limiters. It’s not a nice, convenient little feature you have on your rig. The limiters are there because they’re necessary. Even with the current settings, piloting that thing places a heavy enough burden on a kid like you.”

The Juggernaut’s mobility was by no means high, but its buffering system was even worse. It was slower than the Löwe, the Grauwolf, and even the Dinosauria—the strongest but rarest of the Legion types—but its movements were unbelievably noisy…and the buffering system did little to absorb the shock, meaning each step jolted the pilot.

“I’m sure you’ve seen people get broken by piloting this thing in your time here. What, you think you’re special or something just because you almost survived for a year?”

“No.” Shin shook his head coolly.

If nothing else, his emotionless face didn’t seem to have any of the sense of invincibility that kids his age tended to have. He simply spoke on, unfaltering.

“But it’s necessary. Without faster reaction times and my unit being able to make more complicated jumps, using the high-frequency blade…using melee weapons is rough.”

“Then just don’t use melee weapons that give the maintenance team extra work.”

Seiya neglected to mention that these were weapons used exclusively by suicidal Processors. The high-frequency blade was powerful, for sure, but its range—or rather, its reach—was extremely short, making it a very risky weapon. But Shin used it knowingly, so it wasn’t Seiya’s place to tell him what to do.

And it did seem to give Shin an edge on the battlefield. He would cut into the Legion’s lines, disrupt the enemy’s coordination, and distract them. At times, he’d even defeat Löwe all on his own. And this did mean his squad mates were exposed to less danger…

If nothing else…it did seem like he really didn’t want to see his comrades die.

“Fine.”

Shin raised his head in surprise, but Seiya continued speaking without looking him in the eye. Like he said, boosting the Juggernaut’s mobility like that meant sacrificing the pilot’s safety. It put a great deal of strain on both the rider and the rig.

This wasn’t something to be thankful for.

“I’ll tell you how to do it after I kick Karen’s ass tomorrow. And I’ll teach you how to service this thing, too. We’ve got some units to break in, so join me for that. And also…about your Personal Mark.”

Shin blinked his bloodred eyes in surprise… That kind of expression was the only time he looked like a boy his age. Seiya sighed.

“It’s about time you decide on one. Eijyu told you, didn’t he? Think of something while you’re in this unit… Well—”

The Juggernaut’s coating was a light brown, like the color of dry bone. The Republic didn’t supply the Eighty-Six with anything else, but they could find paint in other colors from abandoned stockpiles in nearby ruins.

“—we’ll paint the coating in whatever color you want.”