"Alright, it's time to work. Don't just lie there, get up."

"Ugh, damn… it's blinding. Could you speak and turn the lights on, Chief?"

"Should I take that as you want me to wake you up by shining tactical flashes into your eyes next time?"

Click.

With the crisp sound of plastic, the lights on the ceiling flickered on, revealing the disarray in the meeting room of their rather shabby dormitory. The operators of the Dagger team, who had been sprawled across several sofas instead of going to their rooms for a proper rest, slowly began to wake up with loud snores.

Owens, holding a command baton, glanced around, his eyes scanning. They finally landed on Laurentina, who was sprawled on the floor with her shirt lifted halfway up, snoring with her stomach exposed. He flicked the command baton to nudge the edge of her clothing and covered her belly, then projected new information onto the large briefing plate on the wall.

The UAV data for the entire unverified zone appeared, accompanied by a mission order.

Stamped with the president’s seal.

"Finally, our dear president has ordered to flatten this hellhole."

"Is that concentric circle on the map CAF? Building a defense line of that size would be quite a challenge... but I like the intent to leave no Artemis behind."

"Well, there's more to it than just that."

With a "hmm," the conversation continued.

At some point, Laurentina also woke up, yawning loudly as she leaned against the sofa. Though she looked half-asleep, no one seemed to care. No one in the Dagger team ever expected Laurentina to pay much attention to the briefing.

At the same time, a new screen popped up. The message attached to the mission order from the president was highlighted.

The contents were as follows.

"Try to deplete all antimatter weapons in the region before any fighting ends... understood. The second part is likely just to avoid more complications."

"Not that hard, but we need to know just how powerful that prototype is before we decide whether to hold back or not."

"Should we just dump everything on the prototype?"

"That might actually be for the best."

Everyone chuckled, but none of them took it as a joke.

In a tone as casual as discussing lunch plans, they debated how to use an excessive weaponry arsenal that was far too much for a single squad to handle, and soon made the decision—this was how the Dagger team would handle their future weapon operations.

Of course, there were still many more issues to address.

"The Canadian military has completely sealed off the area, and a UAV precision reconnaissance operation similar to the Los Angeles battle continues… I'm sure everyone here knows what that means."

"It means nothing will be left but ashes and dust, right?"

"Exactly. Now that everyone seems to get it, let me briefly update you on the current progress."

Swoosh.

As the map unfolded on the screen, the operation zones—what the users called the map—appeared. However, to their surprise, about half of the zones had red X marks on them.

These were the areas the Dagger team, and Eugene, had already flattened.

"Customs, factory, forest, coastline... a rough analysis shows that Artemis's available strength is already down to less than 50% of its normal capacity. If we keep up this pace, Artemis will disintegrate in less than a month."

"So what’s the plan?"

"Originally, we were going to maintain the current operational stance, but among the data sent by the rookie, I found something that’s hard to ignore."

Recording data and the script below.

It took the whole Dagger team only a short while to realize what the conversation in the recording was about—it was clear. The contents were simple: a conversation between Eugene, Jin, and the type Delta (which had originally been referred to as Unit 4), during various operations in the customs area, the factory, the forest, and the coastline—the very zones the Dagger team had provided fire support.

There was no need to focus on the details. The context was crystal clear.

Logan, letting out a smirk, added:

"Is he trying to raise two of them because one wasn’t enough?"

"That’s quite the summary."

"Not wrong, but it seems like there’s some ulterior motive, so it’s worth supporting Eugene’s actions later on without hindering him. Moreover, Unit 4 is a strategically and technically important asset, so it’s likely more beneficial to support Eugene’s efforts... that’s my conclusion."

"If the team leader thinks so, then let’s discuss it."

A brief silence.

But then, Logan, still sitting on the sofa, spoke up.

"You mentioned the operation’s approach is changing. How exactly are we handling it?"

"Take a look at this."

At that moment, several maps appeared on the screen.

They weren’t much different from the ones seen before, but the regions where Artemis was expected to show up were marked as strike points, while less critical areas were labeled with the word “shadow." Logan quickly understood what Owens was trying to communicate.

The important areas would be handled by the Dagger team, while the relatively minor areas—these would be left to the "shadows" that overwhelmed the base.

It made perfect sense. Using shadows to destabilize the surroundings, while the most heavily fortified areas would be torn apart by the Dagger team, was the most efficient way to proceed. In simple terms, it was a decapitation operation.

Just as Logan nodded, someone else spoke.

"Now that the strategy’s set, let’s see what cute little plan the rookie has for us."

Mecha Eugene Unit 2 persuasion.

A bizarre operation, never before attempted in the world, was about to unfold.

Cold and silent.

She was supposed to be unaware of the sensations that humans feel until her body completely ceased movement. Yet, as soon as her operation began, she pieced together fragmented knowledge of things she could never experience in her lifetime. The emotions that came with it inflicted a form of non-physical pain on her.

A square room with no light. Each side measured 7 meters, and nothing existed within it—not even light. The only thing that filled the space was darkness.

In the midst of it, her piercing blue eyes faintly glimmered.

‘...Body recovery rate 100%. No issues with activation... It seems I will be deployed to the combat zone in approximately 26 hours, 17 minutes, and 43 seconds...’

She hated the darkness, and even more, she hated the silence. But what she hated most was how her past life, bit by bit, was being erased. Just a few months ago, she had walked the base, learning and absorbing countless things. Although it was a less efficient method compared to the "information injections" other models received, she had thought of it as a kind of privilege.

It didn’t take long for her to realize all of that was nothing but a delusion.

‘Listen carefully. You were born to kill the Archetype.’

The Archetype.

Her original form.

She had once been rejected outright when she asked to meet the one who bore that title. She was neutralized by the gestures of researchers far weaker than herself. After that, her memories became blurry, and she was injected with information for the first time, after which the training from the researchers grew increasingly forceful.

And when the Archetype neutralized the model and stole it, that was the climax.

‘Your sisters betrayed Artemis through the Archetype.’

Having no concept of betrayal at the time, she was forcibly injected with hatred and anger, and eventually, without understanding why, she directed her fury at those two.

But the hidden layers of her subconscious, unknown to the researchers, grew suspicious not of the Archetype or the betrayed model but of the researchers who had implanted emotions that weren’t hers. Soon, her logical circuits reached one conclusion.

She was not special.

Everything she had believed was a lie.

However, such thoughts did not last long.

The door suddenly opened.

"Get up."

"…"

Only silence followed.

Instead of resisting, she felt doubt, but she did not express it. A graceful silver curve moved, and she cautiously rose from the floor, waiting for the next words. Whatever the reaction, the high-ranking officer waved his hand and transmitted the information.

At that moment, a series of combat data appeared before her eyes, along with the structure of the map that would soon be reached. She silently observed it, though it was not to plan her actions in the area.

That hologram was the proof that she was bound to Artemis.

"The movement of shadows has started to appear in the vicinity. Once you arrive at the operational area, support Artemis’s retreat and buy time. The size of the surviving forces will depend on how long you can hold out."

"…Yes."

"Currently, the high command is pursuing negotiations. You’ll likely get a response soon. Until then, our goal is to inflict as much damage as possible on the enemy to disrupt their offensive capability. We don’t have much time before the prototype is ready for activation, so hold your ground."

"Understood."

"Prepare yourself."

It was an order.

After a brief silence, she checked her body again. The expected deployment timer reset, and she heard a click. Her tail transformed, revealing a railgun. Everything was operational, and the power supply line was intact.

However, despite this, she was about to speak, only to close her mouth again—who was the Archetype, why had the model betrayed them, and why were these people Artemis’s traitors or targets to be eliminated? There were still countless unanswered questions, but one fact remained clear.

They would never tell her.

And they never would.

That’s why she spoke.

"...Then what happens after that?"

"What?"

"After we catch the Archetype and the traitors, once the negotiations are made... can everything go back to the way it was?"

Though she knew it was unlikely, she continued speaking.

A brief silence. Then she realized she was looking for some kind of comfort. She didn’t have many memories, but she had a few good ones from the not-so-distant past—those moments when she was content just learning about the unknown and the world.

Could she ever return to those times? Would Artemis allow it? She was asking the high-ranking officer, hoping for an answer.

And how long had it been?

"That’s not something you need to worry about."

She instinctively knew that this was the limit of what they could answer.

The officer left without saying another word, and she stepped through the door that remained open. The endless white walls stretched ahead. With each step, a faint metallic sound echoed. She showed no expression, but inside, she was slowly burning with frustration.

Had she ever imagined that having more emotions than others would become a chain around her? At least, she hadn’t thought so, and she lacked the experience to realize it directly.

Steeling herself, she reached the end of the hallway, where the transport pod awaited her. As soon as she lay down, artificial comfort enveloped her body.

How much time passed with her eyes closed? The shopping mall appeared.

The sounds of combat filled the air, signaling that the battle had already begun. The sound of gunfire when the trigger was pulled, the noise of MEP-1 providing fire support, and so on.

When the team scattered, she realized that the shopping mall was her destination. It was a forward base, a communication relay station, command center, and supply depot all rolled into one. The building had to be defended.

At that moment, someone approached her and handed her something.

"...What’s this?"

"A ballistic shield. Use it."

"..."

She accepted it without a word and began running toward the shopping mall.

As she saw the blue dots indicating friendly units disappearing inside the building, she suddenly wondered how much longer she could continue loving Artemis, and how much longer she could continue hating the Archetype and Artemis’s traitors.

Perhaps, before long...

"...No."

It was a meaningless thought.

With that, she dove into the heart of the battle.

The end of Artemis was drawing closer.