Lena woke up to the signal of the received message on the communication terminal and stretched. On the holographic screen of the information terminal, which had been working all night, a frame from a combat video recorder froze, and the entire floor around it was littered with printed sheets of combat reports.

The window of the room faced east, and the sunlight filtered through the curtains. Lena threw a thin see-through robe over her naked body, which was lying on the bedspread, combed her hair with her fingers and got up from the bed.

The message was from Anette.

"Next month there will be a party to mark the anniversary of the revolution. Maybe we'll go for evening gowns next weekend?

Lena thought for a moment and sent a short reply:

"I'm sorry, I have a lot of work to do right now. Maybe sometime later?

The answer came instantly:

"You've been unsociable lately.

And then:

"No matter how hard you try for eighty-six, it's pointless, you know?"

Lena turned around for a moment.

Last night, before going to bed, she decided to stay up a little longer to analyze the Tip of the Spear fight tapes. Attached to the dashcam file was a well-written battle report, as if it had been written by an experienced person. There was still some nonsense written in the patrol reports, but all the other documents were a treasure trove in terms of useful information for confronting the Legion.

It wasn't pointless at all.

It could have helped save lives.

"I'm sorry.

†

"Wouldn't it have been better to agree and go?" Shin replied indifferently as he reassembled the assault rifle he always kept with him in the cockpit of the juggernaut. He took a break for talks and reports, even though reports said he was supposed to be on patrol by now.

It was early noon, and Shin was sitting in his room in the barracks. A kitten stubbornly scratched at the closed door, kicked out for playing with rifle parts.

"But if the Legion were to attack—"

Lena was clearly not pleased. Either out of his excessive seriousness, or out of stubbornness.

"We'll manage it somehow."

"And in general, to organize a party in the middle of a war...

"In one of the combat areas, a battle is going on right now. No matter what you do behind the wall, it won't affect the front in any way.

He removed the pin, took the bolt out of the frame, and laid it all out on a piece of cloth. The Assault Rifle won't help against the Legion, but it can be a last resort, so you can't take it lightly.

"That's why I think we could go. We're grateful for your analysis of the Legion's movements, but it's not an activity worth sacrificing your personal time for.

Lena was silent for a while.

— ... Maybe you don't really need it?..

"No, I don't. It helps us a lot.

Shin was telling the truth. He no longer had to pretend that he was working hard just to indulge the curator's ego.

"At the end of the day, we didn't see anything but the front. The analysis of an officer who has been educated and sees the whole picture is very useful.

— ... I'm glad.

"Still, there's no need to do it all the time.

Shin sensed that Lena wanted to say something, but she stopped. As he began to remove the extractor stud, he added indifferently:

"If you think too much about the war, you'll become like me.

Lena didn't know if Shin was joking or serious, and sighed softly. He clearly did not want to deviate from his opinion.

"Captain Nouzen likes to joke sometimes, doesn't he?.. I got it. I'm going to have fun to the fullest. A stupid party, high heels, a tight dress...

She also joked back, and Shin smiled slightly.

"It's the anniversary of the revolution, isn't it?" I remember something like that...

"And what?"

Shin thought for a moment.

— ... They seem to be setting off fireworks there. In a garden with fountains. In the one opposite the palace.

Lena raised her head in surprise.

"That's right. In the first district, opposite the palace, there is now the residence of President Rune... Did you live in the first district?

In the days of the Empire, the first district was inhabited by aristocrats, and now their descendants, the Selene, continued to live there, who were still in the majority. Colorata have always been very rare there, even 9 years ago.

It is quite possible that they have already seen each other somewhere on the street. For some reason, the thought of it hurt.

"Well, I don't remember much from that time. I was with my family... I remember my brother leading me by the hand.

Lena cringed. It's there again.

"I'm sorry.

— ... Why?

"It was tactless. I already knew that your brother... and family...

"Ahhh

Lena sat with her shoulders slumped sadly, but Shin remained deadly indifferent.

"It doesn't matter. I don't remember much anyway.

"Oh...

"Family." There are some fragments of memories, but I don't remember any faces or voices.

It didn't look like insensitivity.

Shin must have been very young when he was separated from his family. And then the days dragged on in constant mortal battles, and so on for 5 years.

The flames of war consumed even his most important memories, which could hardly be preserved.

For a moment, she thought she was talking to a small child who had lost his way on a battlefield among the ruins and was now trying to survive.

— ... He said he had to survive and come back. Over to you.

Lena tried to convey Ray's words as accurately as she could. As soon as she began to speak, his image flashed before her eyes.

Pararaid connected minds and allowed for the exchange of remarks aloud. He was also able to convey the emotions of the interlocutors, which created the feeling of a face-to-face conversation.

I wish he could pass on her memories as well. Shin had lost them, but she could get them back. Ray's image and words were still deep in her heart.

"He was bored, he said that his brother must have grown up by now. I saw how important family was to him. He really wanted to come back to you.

— ... It's good if that's the case," Shin replied after a long silence. His voice trembled slightly, as if he hoped it was true, but he knew more clearly than ever that it wasn't.

"Captain?..

Shin didn't answer, and Lena, realizing that it was better to leave him alone with his thoughts, fell silent as well. For a while, only a faint metallic clang could be heard through the pararaid.

At last she heard one distinctive sound—it was a little louder than the others—and she tilted her head slightly to one side.

"It's..."

"Captain." Are you accidentally disassembling a rifle now?

Shin hesitated for a moment.

— Yes...

"While they should be patrolling.

He said nothing.

Lena suddenly understood why the patrol reports were so poorly written and sighed.

At the same time, the "Tip of the Spear" acted surprisingly quickly. They'd been predicting the enemy's advance even before the Legion's radar had detected it—she hadn't asked how they did it, by the way.

"If you don't think it's necessary, then it probably is... And as for the rifle, too...

The Eighty-Six were forbidden to possess firearms.

"If you can't do without it, you can use it, I don't mind." Just take good care of it.

— ... Beg your pardon.

His voice sounded a little unusual, and Lena blinked.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"Oh, no... I just thought the Major would get angry.

He still spoke strangely, and Lena involuntarily looked away.

At the very beginning of her service, she grumbled about the indiscipline of her colleagues, who complained about the constant reporting.

"Actually... I'm not one to strictly adhere to any rules and prohibitions, especially if they don't make any sense. As I said before, if you think something is necessary or unnecessary, I will accept it. I respect your decisions.

"And I have no right to demand anything, because I'm not even at the front."

She shook her head at the sad thoughts and changed the subject.

"One way or another, in war, you can't neglect the care of weapons, even if they are spare weapons. I'm not a big fan of Republic assault rifles, though—they're heavy, and it's hard to train with them, or even just walk.

The rifles of the regular Republican army were of large caliber, and therefore were made of strong metal. They were designed for lightly armored opponents and weighed a lot.

"Heavy?" For real? Shin asked skeptically.

Lena was taken aback by the genuine surprise in his voice, and then understood.

Well, yes, it's natural. He's a boy.

The thought made her feel terribly uncomfortable.

If anything, she'd never talked so long alone with a young man about her age.

— ... Major?

Pararaid made it possible to read emotions to the same extent as in a face-to-face conversation. Shin must have sensed her blushing.

"W-It's all right. I...

Suddenly, she felt a tension rise in the air.

Shin silently stood up and stared into the distance.

It seemed to Lena that the usual low background noise of the pararaid had become a little louder.

— ... Captain Knowzen?

- Prepare for battle.

She looked at the dashboard, but there was nothing new. However, Shin said clearly.

"The Legion is coming.

Since Lena was in touch with the commander before the battle began, it was the first time she had a chance to attend a military meeting.

They knew everything about the enemy in great detail—the number, the location, the route—and a stunned Lena only managed to make a few tactical suggestions before the plan was finally adopted. It approved the choice and the meeting came to an end. It's time for a fight.

"It seems that the main force is represented by the Grey Wolves.

Lena could only make assumptions based on radar data and her combat experience: for some unclear reason, it was not possible to determine the type and construction of several vehicles. All processors have already hidden for ambush at the agreed points.

"Judging by the speed of reproduction and the effectiveness of the Legion's repair work, the Lions are not yet ready to fight. At the same time, I can hardly imagine a tactic in which the Bulls could be sent to the front line.

The bulls were neither maneuverable nor thickly armored - they were self-propelled artillery units that were intended purely for ambushes. Using them like regular tanks, just because they look alike, is a mistake that people have experienced since the days of the first tracked tanks.

"If we discard the Lions, who are resistant to high-explosive shells, juggernauts, and assume that in the battle formation there are only Grey Wolves with relatively light armor, then the Scorpions and their firepower also become not so terrible. I suppose it will be quite easy to remove them, if we manage to deal with the Ants first.

"Werewolf to all squadron members. I see the enemy. The Major's assumptions hit the bull's-eye," Raiden reported with a note of surprise in his voice. He was far ahead, in reconnaissance.

"And yet... Your "speed of reproduction", "efficiency of repair work"... Do you even go to sleep?

"Major." Maybe turn off the pararaid this time? Shin said suddenly.

"Huh?"

"Given that the Legion's forces are made up entirely of Grey Wolves, and we'll be fighting in the city, it's about to get into a lot of confusion. A huge number of enemies will be in our immediate vicinity, and... In such circumstances, it is not safe to keep in touch with us.

Shin spoke impeccable Republic language, but Lena couldn't make sense of what he was saying. She arched an eyebrow. What did he just say?

Will there be a lot of black sheep?

"I'll explain it later, if you like." Please turn off the pararaid.

Lena understood that the fight had to begin at any moment, and therefore it was impossible to waste precious time arguing, and yet she was hurt by the fact that she was asked to leave without explanation.

"But you're going to keep the para-raid between you. Radio communication isn't as effective—it can be jammed by Mayflies, or I might just be unlucky enough not to be able to connect. No, I won't be disabling the pararaid.

Rejection out of a simple sense of resentment. Shin was about to say something, but the Legion was very close.

— ... I warned you," he said indifferently in an unbearable noise, and advanced to the attack.

As Shin had predicted, the fight was a complete mess, and Lena kept a close eye on the flashing dots on the radar with both hands over her ears. What is this? The background noise was deafening. The sounds weren't coming from her room, it was something from Shin's direction. What is it, after all?

The enemy's red dot was approaching the ally's blue dot. Gravedigger. It was his juggernaut. When the distance between them was sufficient for close combat, the two points merged into one, right between the Grey Wolves, who were marching at perfect intervals.

Suddenly, a voice was heard.

"Mom."

The voice seemed hollow, as if it belonged to a dying person who was already unaware of what was happening and was trying to utter his last words.

A second of chilling silence, and it sounded again. There was nothing behind him, no memories, no feelings, as if it had all suddenly vanished in the face of deadly nothingness. Only a ghostly voice and endlessly repetitive words.

— Мама. Мама. МамаМамаМамаМамаМамаМамаМамаМамаМамаМамаМамаМамаМамаМамаМамаМамаМамаМамаМамаМамаМама…

— !?

Her hair stood on end.

She clutched her ears with both hands, but that couldn't save her from the sounds coming through the pararaid. There was an explosion. The dying voice calling for his mother flew into the air, but the empty words, which had become a collection of sounds, continued to repeat like a jammed record. The roar of the gunshot echoed inside, but even that couldn't stop the endless call.

—Save SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave...

"Hot,hot,

— Нет… Нет… НетНетНетНетНетНетНетНетНетНетНетНетНетНет…

— Mom, Mama, Mama, Mom, MomMomMama Mama MamaMaMaMAMMAmama...

"I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die...

"No, I don't. Nooo

Thoughts and minds melted in roaring agony, followed by Shin's voice.

— Major ! Выключите парарейд! Major Mirize!

He screamed with uncharacteristic irritation, but Lena, stunned with terror, heard nothing. Cowering and holding her hands tightly to her ears, she screamed in pain, praying that it would all stop, but the chorus of dying voices did not stop and destroyed the remnants of her psyche...

Shin clicked his tongue impatiently and turned off the pararaid. The voices immediately fell silent.

— ... Brother...

Lena slowly raised her head and cautiously withdrew her hands from her ears. Silence. There is not a single processor left in the connection.

She sat on the floor, though she couldn't remember how she got there, breathing convulsively, staring at one point. Her pupils dilated from the horror she had just endured. It was gloomy in the control room.

... What was that?

None of the processors on the line had anything to do with it – there were too many votes, far more than the fighters fighting at the time. And they sounded unfamiliar.

Suddenly, she remembered a voice, barely audible in the roar. It's...

«... I don't want to die."

— ... Sakura... Kaye?..

Shin cut off communication with Lena after he wedged himself into the Black Sheep formation. A deafening storm of dying screams made him wince. He should have shut down the pararaid sooner, but he was too busy cutting his way through the Grey Wolves, which were the most numerous, the high-frequency blades passing through them like a knife through butter.

Countless screams, screams, wheezes, and groans overlapped each other, but Shin was very close, so he could distinguish the roaring and agonizing voices that constricted his insides and blocked his ears. Pararaid relayed what the commander had heard to the other processors, and Seo, recognizing one of the voices, shouted.

"you.. It was Kaye..

The processors held their breath for a second, and then the whole network began to burst with exclamations:

"Kaye?!.. They brought her?!..

"Damn it.. Anjou burned it..

Pulling himself away from the grief-stricken consciousness of his comrades, he searched for "Kaye" by the voice. For anyone else who treated pararaid as something foreign, this would have been impossible, but not for Shin.

Soon he was able to determine the distance and direction without straining his ears. It was like finding a needle in a haystack, and the precision with which he did it was truly uncanny.

The closest thing to it is... Roll?

 

"Gunslinger." Course 050, distance 800. At the head of a formation of 5 vehicles, the third is the Gray Wolf on the right.

 

— ... Y-That's right.

A shot, and Kaye's voice, which did not want to die, abruptly stopped. An army of ghostly voices. They have remained here even after death, and cannot return until they are destroyed.

Everything was filled with insane anger and crying. Shin sighed quietly, even comfortingly.

"A battle for vengeance...

An army of ghosts who can't return until they're destroyed.

It's as if they're hoping that they'll finally get to where we'll all end up sooner or later.

Shin suddenly thought that the female curator would probably not get in touch again, and for some reason, the thought made him sad. He frowned.

†

She decided to turn the pararaid back on only when it began to get dark.

In the process of connecting, she almost vomited with terror, so she managed to get in touch only closer to night, shortly before the power went out.

It was too late to talk, and Lena raised her head at the sudden thought of it, but she did not succumb to the feeling of fear that came over her again.

If she decides to postpone everything until tomorrow now, she will never get in touch, and she will continue to come up with excuses for ages.

Lena took a deep breath to even out her rapid breathing and turned on the pararaid. Luckily, there was still some sleep on the other side, and someone quickly responded to the call.

She had only one interlocutor.

He was the one who told her to turn off the pararaid. He also said that one should not keep in touch with them. If anyone could answer her questions, it was him.

— ... Captain Knowzen?

She felt Shin's eyes open wide.

"It's Mirize. Can you speak now?

There was an awkward pause.

The sound of water came from somewhere, as if it were raining.

— ... I'm in the shower right now...

" Hey! "

She didn't know that her voice could sound so carefree.

Blushing from ear to ear, Lena tried to find some words, but thoughts raced in her head, and she couldn't pull herself together. This panic was different from the one she had experienced during the day, and in the end she managed to squeeze out:

"Y-I'm sorry. That's right, it's too late... In general, I'm disconnecting.

"Nothing.

Shin was obscenely calm.

"It doesn't bother me. Besides, I'll go to bed as soon as I'm done, so if you want to ask anything, I'll listen, Major.

"How's that?" Well then...

Lena kept up the conversation, but at heart she was still the same inexperienced girl who had lost her father at an early age and had never had any brothers or a lover. In such a situation, she felt extremely uncomfortable, but at the same time she understood that she had no choice. Her cheeks were still burning as she continued:

"Uh... So how did today's battle go? Maybe there are wounded or dead?

"It's all right... Did you contact us for that?

"But...

No matter how elite they were, no one could guarantee that everyone would survive another encounter with the Legion, especially one like today, with those terrifying screams. Lena was very afraid that someone could lose contact with the others and die.

"Captain... Those voices I heard today during the battle...

As soon as she said that, everything inside her went cold again.

Familiar background noise reminiscent of digital bass. Like the rustle of leaves in the thicket of the forest. Or the distant hum of a crowd.

It may seem so from afar, but in fact they are the sounds of that orchestra of dying voices.

She finally understood. I understood why Shin got the nickname "God of Death". And why all the curators were so afraid of him.

It's all because of the votes.

"What is it all about?...

The sound of falling droplets.

"I was once on the brink of death...

A dull pain suddenly gripped Lena's neck. Heavy and oppressive. Suffocating.

But it wasn't her pain, it was transmitted through the pararaid. That's what Shin felt.

"Though it's more accurate to say I'm dead." I'm just like them, so I can hear... the voices of ghosts that remained chained to the ground.

— ... Ghosts?

Lena suddenly remembered the accident with Annette's father.

He set the raid device to the maximum allowable level of nervous activity, reached the depths of human consciousness, and was unable to return.

And if we assume that all people who have ever lived on earth return to these farthest depths of consciousness after death...

What if those who nearly perished and touched these depths could use them to communicate, similar to how everyone uses pararaiding? Then they would be able to hear those who died and are now there, as well as those who are prevented from returning by their abandoned bodies... Ghosts.

But they weren't ghosts.

"It was the Legion, wasn't it?"

Voices were heard as they approached the Grey Wolves. Shin also talked about it before the fight.

"The Legion are ghosts, too. They were the weapons of the empire, and with its disappearance they lost their raison d'être. They no longer have commanders, no purpose, and all they have to do is wander and follow the precepts of their past masters... It is the ghost of the army of a lost country.

— ... This is how you can predict the Legion's advance...

"Yes. 'Cause I can hear voices. As soon as they get closer, I know about it, even in my dreams.

"Wait a minute! Lena said casually. The matter was clearly more serious than it seemed.

"As soon as they get closer, I'll know about it"? Does he know how far away even the most advanced units usually dig in, and how many Legion vehicles can take cover at that distance?

The voices of ghosts, like the rustling of leaves or the distant hum of a crowd.

Pararaid is set to the lowest level of synchronization, which allows you to hear only the speaker's voice, as well as sounds that are in close proximity, or very loud sounds that make the whole body shudder.

To Lena, these voices seemed barely audible... But how did Shin hear them all this time? This hum accompanied their every conversation.

"Captain, how well can you hear them right now?" At what distance and how...

"I can't say the exact distance. I'm aware of all the Legion vehicles that are within the former borders of the Republic... But if they are abroad, or moving in groups, I can only perceive them as a whole, not separately.

It was hard to imagine.

He could hear everything, every Legion vehicle on every front, even if the sound was no louder than a whisper.

And so it goes on all the time. Even while sleeping.

"Is it... Isn't it hard?

"I'm used to it. I had a lot of time.

"How long has it been?..

Shin didn't answer, and Lena asked another question.

"Second Lieutenant Kaye Tania's voice was there too... Because she's become a ghost?

Useless common sense still prevented her from saying it out loud.

A short pause. There was no more water to be heard, and Shin combed his wet hair.

"The Republican government thinks this war will end in two years, doesn't it?"

"Yes... How did you know? Lena agreed, surprised by the sudden change of subject. The processors were not informed about this so as not to arouse unnecessary hopes.

"Seo learned from his commander, and I learned from Seo... Legion CPUs have a limited lifespan and have about two years left, right?

— ... Yes.

The central processing unit consisted of liquid micromachines that mimicked the structure of the mammalian nervous system. In terms of computing power, it was not inferior to the brains of the largest representatives of this class of animals, but it needed constant updating of its components. When the time limit stipulated in the plan was reached, the destruction program was launched.

"When I heard about it from Seo, I was completely convinced. I had heard the voices of the Legion before, but I couldn't make them out. And for a while, human voices began to mix with them, and I understood what they did, but I couldn't understand why.

Lena heard Shin wipe his hair with a towel and rustle his clothes with a carelessness unimaginable for any girl. A single sound was enough to realize how poor and stiff the fabric was.

"If you can't maintain the structure that was originally laid, it's better to switch to another one... Especially if the resources for it are lying right under your feet.

— ... Is it...

"Yes. The nervous system developed in mammals. The human brain.

The sight that appeared in her mind's eye was nauseating. It was not just a grotesque nightmare, but an act that completely destroyed human dignity. Either way, Shin remained completely calm.

"To be more precise, they are more likely to copy the structure of the brain. After all, it's a perishable product, and not every battle leaves bodies, and it's a great deal of luck to find a usable, intact brain. In practice, it is not uncommon to encounter multiple Legion vehicles with the same voice. Kaye must still be somewhere else, too.

A mechanical ghost that plays the scream of a dead girl like a melody in a music box.

"In principle, I think they can be called ghosts, but they have nothing to do with what we call the soul. Rather, they are imprints of personalities. They contain the consciousness of dead people, but it is impossible to make contact with them. The Legion simply takes pictures of the structure of the brain at the time of death, and thus inhabits ghosts within itself that can do nothing but repeat their dying thoughts.

— ... Black sheep...

"Yes. They are haunted machines, outcasts who mix with the regular white sheep of the Legion. But now these outcasts have become the majority.

The human brain was clearly superior to the Legion's CPUs, even though it began to deteriorate immediately after death. The black sheep, these outcasts, populated themselves with dying voices in order to continue functioning, and there were more and more of them.

Although Shin had talked about them having no souls, he clearly sympathized with them. These mechanical phantoms had lost their homeland, their raison d'être and the waging of war, but they clung so tenaciously to life that they had gone so far as to use organic flesh.

— ... I even understand a little bit why they keep attacking the Republic.

"Huh?"

"They're ghosts. They were supposed to disappear, but they remained, and now they can't come back until they're destroyed. I think they're fighting because they want the ghosts around them to come back with them.

"Ghosts?..

Whose?

Those who live but are not considered human? "Eighty-six" who are dead to everyone?

"She's dead, Republic. 9 years ago... Is there still the spirit of the five-color flag that was supposed to be the basis of national policy?

Shin spoke quietly, but his words were cut like a knife because the answer to the question he asked was a simple "no."

Freedom and equality. Humanity, justice and honor. In this country, there is unjustifiable discrimination, and millions of people are sent to their deaths, seeing nothing shameful in it... None of the proclaimed principles is any longer relevant.

The Republic is dead. She was killed by our own hands 9 years ago, at a time when some citizens began to persecute others.

Who knows, maybe Shin can hear her voice as well. The voice of the great ghost of the Republic, which perished a long time ago, but continues to exist before anyone notices.

Lena didn't know what to say, and Shin paused and continued. His voice was still calm. He spoke as if he knew the truth:

"Major." You will lose this war.

Not "we", but "you".

— ... That is?

"As I've said before, you can't expect the Legion's CPUs to fail. The number of cars I feel is not decreasing, but increasing... And "eighty-six"? How many are left?

Lena couldn't answer. She just didn't know. In the Republic, they were not counted.

"Only those who are two or three years younger than us remained, no one else. After being herded into concentration camps, the number of "eighty-six" only decreases. Many of those who were infants at the time of the resettlement simply perished.

Most of the adults were killed within two years of the start of the war. Almost no one managed to return from the front, and even those who were sent to build the Grand Mur gradually died from inhuman working conditions. In the end, only the useless old and sick survived, many of whom died of natural causes in 9 years.

— ... But why babies?..

— What will be the infant mortality rate in the absence of normal medicine?.. In my camp, most of the babies didn't survive the first winter. And this is not only related to medicine. More than half of the surviving children were sold...

"Sold?"

"Yes. This is a kind of earnings for some military men and "eighty-six". I don't know if they sold it in whole or in parts.

Lena turned pale when she finally understood the meaning of what he had said.

It turned out that the Republic despised the "eighty-six", considered them pigs, but toyed with their children and used babies for organ transplants.

Only the older children remained. But that's only until it's their turn to go to the front.

"The Legion is not diminishing, but the Eighty-Six are dying out. What are you going to do when we don't go to war? You don't know how to fight, you don't know the battlefield, you're used to shifting military duties and responsibility for war onto our shoulders. Will you be able to continue fighting?

She felt Shin smirk skeptically.

It wasn't like a vengeful smile at the sight of his enemy's torment. Rather, it was a mockery of the maladequacy of people who pursued only short-term gains and preferred to hide from reality in inaction. They couldn't even defend themselves.

"We can't rely on volunteers, so we can only send them to the front by force. In a democracy, this is only possible when the threat is very close and people are terrified. Be that as it may, you won't have time... This is a shortcoming of modern democracy – decisions are made only when the situation has already become critical.

Realizing the magnitude of the disaster described by Shin, Lena quickly shook her head, not because she had reason not to believe it, but because she simply couldn't accept the idea of universal destruction just a few years later. She had never thought about it before.

"N-But the number of observed Legion vehicles is decreasing!" Compared to a few years ago, about half of them...

"Observed machines, that's right. The mayflies block attempts to find out how many more units are hiding in Legion-controlled territory... There are indeed fewer of them at the front, but this is only because they do not appear unnecessarily. The Legion continues to attack to mop up our ranks, but its main forces are hidden in the rear and are only growing.

This can only mean one thing.

Accumulation of forces and increase of military power. Soon, they will cease their exhausting attacks and attempt to break through the Republic's defensive line in one throw.

"But to make such a strategic decision, you need mental skills...

— ... that the Legion shouldn't have. This is another reason for your defeat.

Lena was on the verge of panic, but Shin continued just as dryly.

"An intact head is rare, but there are millions of bodies lying around the battlefield, and the Legion often picks them up before they begin to decompose... It's not that difficult for a person to gather all his strength and make the decision to rush into battle in the face of an indestructible enemy, right? And supposing that some of the Legion's machines could think like a human?

— !!!

Black sheep. A legion that has taken over the structure of the human brain. Machines that have improved the processing power of their processors.

And what if they got a completely fresh brain of a person who had just died?...

"We call them shepherds. They command all the other ghosts, who, like soldiers, can only follow orders. We've had to deal with them before, so I can say that in terms of combat skills, the units under the direct control of the shepherds are as different from all the others as heaven and earth.

"Wait, isn't that a guess?" Do they really exist? Them, too, you...

"I can tell the shepherds from the rest. Their voices are particularly distinct, so I can hear them even if they are moving around in a group. There can be up to several dozen of them on each front, and on our first one too... There is one.

Shin's face suddenly darkened. Lena felt familiar. In a voice as cold and sharp as naked steel, he spoke of looking for his brother. She sensed a touch of dangerous madness in him.

Fear gripped her.

The Republic will fall. And all because of their own inaction and uselessness. They will be trapped by the ghosts of the "eighty-six" – those whom they themselves sent to this war by the millions, used and did not even bother to bury them.

— ... N-but...

Lena suddenly had another idea.

"That's all... Assumptions — in the event that in a few years you are all destroyed.

Shin blinked in surprise.

"Yes, that's right.

"Then, if you manage to take down the Legion first, nothing like that will happen. You... you're the "Tip of the Spear", you can predict the attacks and location of enemies – don't you think you can win?

Is it so impossible for elite fighters who have managed to avoid attacks in the most dangerous part of the front and almost always do without casualties?

"If we have enough men, supplies, and time, it's likely. I think this is true for any war.

"If that's the case, let's win." Me too...

She was going to say "I'm going to fight with you," but she thought that would sound too proud.

— ... I'll do my best. I will analyze the enemy's movements, suggest strategies - in general, everything that depends on me... I will set an example for the rest of the fronts, and someday they will work the same way.

If she manages to understand the Legion's movements, she will be able to come up with an effective strategy to deal with them, and this will be in the national interest. It shouldn't be so difficult to pass on the information she finds to other fronts.

"You're finishing your service this year, aren't you, Captain Nouzen?" So let's win by now... and we will survive. Together.

Shin smiled softly and sadly.

— ... As you say.

When Shin shut down the pararaid, there was no electricity. He went to his room through the sleeping barracks.

As he entered the dark room, he saw his reflection in the window pane, on which the blue light of the full moon fell. Shin did not part with the blue scarf even during battles, but he still took it off before going to bed. He was about to go to bed right after the shower, so he casually threw a military jacket right over his T-shirt, leaving his neck exposed.

Years of hard fighting have made Shin's body as supple and slender as a leopard's. The base of the neck was encircled by a red mark.

It was not a straight line, but a kind of zigzag of red stagnant spots. It resembled a stitch with which the severed head was forcibly sewn to the body.

Shin suddenly stretched out his hand and touched the neck of his reflection.