(POV - 3RD)

"Kamui..!"

The said Construct of Strike Hawk squad blearily heard his name spoke out from all the cacophonies of noises that assaulted his head while his vision remained dark from pain.

"Kamui!"

The voice only got louder along with the incessant rumbling of what appears to be debris falling and crashing onto the ground which prompted the said Construct to groan out in fatigue as his vision brightened up just as he opened up his eyes.

"Kamui, wake up! This place is about to collapse!!" Lucia shouted as Kiryu blasted away any nearby concrete that may fall onto them with his suit's Repulsors.

As if straight out of a sci-fi movie, the Tiga Suit effortlessly blasted away the debris with a singular projected beam of blue-white light, erasing the hazards and buying them more time to wake Kamui up to prepare for an escape out of the crumbling estate.

"Lucia..? Wait! Roland! Where is he?! Did he-?!" Kamui questioned, abruptly pushing himself up shakily as he looked around.

"No time to think! Just run before we get crushed!" Lee shouted as he and Kiryu grabbed the Strike Hawk and then hauling him out of the place.

"By the time we reached you, Roland had already vanished... and we've also detected a high level of Punishing Virus activity, what did he do to you?" Lucia asked as they ran.

"Dunno... I faded out back then but... I don't feel anything weird though." Kamui replied as they burst out through a doorway.

Kiryu immediately went to work as he placed down several C4s around the entrance of the hallway just as a swarm of Corrupted burst into the crumbling room they were just in.

"Are you sure? Corruption is not a joke." The Commandant said, detonating the bombs which caused the doorway to collapse, blocking off any entries or exits.

"If your corruption threshold goes over then Liv can detect before you can tell it yourself." Lee stated as the group proceeded forward.

"Everyone, the last withdrawal route is also blocked by the Corrupted." Liv reported as they stood behind the pillars, surveying the area.

"While Kiryu's strategy in blocking their path towards us was a commendable move, this also means the Corrupted will increase in density within areas unaffected by the collapse." Lee said.

"If that's the case then we make a path ourselves, easy as that!" Kamui declared, hefting his greatsword as he readied himself.

"Even so, if we do manage to break through, we still won't know where exactly to secure a landing zone to return to Babylonia." Lucia interjected.

"Hm... Kamui, you said Strike Hawk is a scouting squad, correct?" Kiryu asked suddenly as the said Construct responded.

"Yep, our kinds weren't made for prolonged battles but instead basic to complex reconnaissance of our assigned areas, either on our own or as a team."

"Then you should have something to help you scout out areas that coincide with your missions, if I'm not correct?" The Commandant questioned.

"Heh, you betcha! We're professional scouts so to help us gather further intel, we always plant monitoring devices on our pathways."

"As you know it, these devices collect high-precision geo-data of the surroundings, if they're still intact while we did the mission, then the mapping should be done by now." Kamui affirmed.

"Calculating a route from high precision geo-data mapping... Liv, is that doable?" Lee inquired as the said Support-Type Construct answered.

"Yes, as long as the given data is precise enough then my computing capacity should be also enough to make it doable."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go get those devices!" Kamui announced, almost rushing off before Kiryu pulled him back.

"You just barely recovered from the fight with the Ascendant, you shouldn't exert yourself." The Commandant stated firmly.

"It's fine! It's fine, man! Just a scratch that caught me off-guard!" Kamui replied cheerfully with a grin that somewhat eased Kiryu's worries.

"Are you sure you'll be okay for the remainder of this operation though?" Lucia inquired.

"C'mon! I said I'll be fine! It's so unlike you though, Lucia, for you to be this caring about others! Honestly, it's like a breath of fresh air!" The Strike Hawk added with a laugh.

"I... didn't care about others before..?" Lucia repeated Kamui's words with confusion as her visage marred into a frown at the thought.

While the rest of the group began their side-mission, Kiryu on the other hand only lightly frowned at Kamui's words and Lucia's own, it didn't sound like the latter had forgotten about her past but at the same time, she makes it sound like...

...her memories were altered.

The Commandant quickly shook off that thought, he was probably thinking too deeply about this and exaggerating himself which won't do him any good in this situation but for now, they need to retrieve the devices set up by the Strike Hawk.

=============================

Despite being hard-pressed by the current situation as well as Kamui's state, the Gray Ravens and Commandant plus Strike Hawk found no problems in cutting down any stray Corrupted roaming the area near the devices they're after.

"Aaaand that should be enough data for us to use!" Kamui exclaimed, taking out the chip from within the devices before passing it to Liv.

"Take it away, Liv!" He said, prompting a bemused look from Lee.

"That's... the end of your plan?" He questioned as Kamui looked somewhat embarrassed.

"Uhm..? Oh, then what else..?" The Strike Hawk stuttered before Lucia interrupted him.

"We will need to create a stable environment for Liv to carry out the calculations, at least somewhere with fewer or no enemies at all."

"Oh, that makes sense!" Kamui agreed as the marksman Construct next to him sighed.

"Then we'll have to protect Liv together, then we will retreat through the other side of the hallway." Kiryu ordered.

Of course, he could just punch his way out of this building with his strength but earlier analysis of the still collapsing structure had given him a rather dangerously high percentage of a faster cave in if he unknowingly smashed apart an important support of the estate.

Although he had no doubts in the skills of his Constructs, Kamui was still possibly injured so he'd rather not risk it until all symptoms have been confirmed or erased from Construct.

"...Unknown tremors, the structure's fragile even more here, beware of enemies from the cracks." Lee stated as they trekked across the ruined halls.

"Weird, why didn't these traps pop for that bastard Ascendant and Corrupted?" Kamui questioned, frowning as he avoided another misstep.

"Just more work for us to do." He whined.

"Irrelevant, they won't be a major issue. Liv, take your time, we will cover you as long as it is needed." Lucia bluntly stated.

"Thank you!" The said Construct responded before she quickly went to work, analysing the given data through her frame.

"Lucia, you take the role of offense and Lee will cover you with his shots, I'll replace Liv since she's occupied with her task." Kiryu commanded.

"Understood." Lucia stated.

"No problem." Lee followed suit.

"Liv, how is it looking right now?" Kamui asked, hefting his greatsword as the said Construct continued operating the holographic terminal.

"Just... a bit more... and done!" She announced.

"Damn, that's quick!" Kamui praised as Liv's calculation system revealed its results.

"{Building foundation analysis complete: commencing real-time calculations.}"

"{Real-time calculations synced, time overlapped: 2 seconds.}"

"{Determining the ideal route...}"

"What's the result?" Lucia asked as Liv took a look at the said results only to slightly frown.

"The result is... there are no routes..." The Support-Type said.

"Lower the safety limit, keep the member count as it is." Kiryu requested as Liv nodded before typing in the new instructions.

"{Calculations complete. Plausible routes: 0.}"

"Still no good?" Kamui remarked with a glower.

"At the moment... yes." Liv answered, thinking of any other possible factors to change.

"Dammit..! I'm not accepting any plans that someone behind!" The Strike Hawk stated heatedly.

"Calm down, no one will or is getting left behind, especially under my command." Kiryu interrupted firmly as Kamui calmed down.

"Right... right... understood."

"If that's the case, we need more information other than the surrounding topography... is there any other way..." Liv trailed off.

"Do you have any other equipment that might help the situation?" Lee inquired as Kamui began fishing around his clothing.

"Ehh... just a couple of EMP grenades..." He said, holding out the said items.

"Commandant, I think it's also time for us to expand our tool repertoire for future missions." Lucia murmured, leaning near Kiryu.

"Agreed..." He affirmed, pressing several keys on his helmet which released a chip with a size of a matchbook from the back of his helmet.

"What is that?" Lucia asked curiously.

"A chip containing all the data and intelligence that I've gathered over the course of months I've been at F.O.S Academy and with you." Kiryu answered.

"Even now, I managed to get a scan of this estate and the Corrupted here so other than the data from Kamui's devices, try and also use mine." He added, holding it out to Liv.

"Are... are you sure, what if there's confidential information in there?" The Construct stuttered which the Commandant only shrugged.

"Then I trust you to not look at them... not that I mind, there isn't really that much important information inside anyway." Kiryu assured.

"A-alright... I'll retry the calculations again this time..." Liv stammered whilst internally surprised at the sheer amount of data held within the given chip.

"Just out of curiosity, how big is that chip?" Kamui inquired.

"One petabyte." The Commandant answered as the Constructs gawked at him wordlessly.

"...That's about a quadrillion bytes inside that single tiny chip." Lee remarked, astounded.

"Uhh... how much is that again?" Kamui asked, blinking with a daze.

"About 1,000 terabytes." Kiryu answered as the Tank-Type mouthed an "oh" out.

"It's done!" Liv announced as the group turned to see the Construct looking at the results.

"{Calculations complete. Plausible routes: 4.}"

"Four results! Now that's something I can get behind with!" Kamui exclaimed gleefully at the newfound success.

"Great! Now out of the four routes presented, I only see one that is the most ideal path to avoid unnecessary combat which requires us to head to this estate's roof." Liv stated.

"So what exactly is our next move?" Lee asked, gazing at the data.

"Simple, we move up towards the roof and then we improvise from then on." Kiryu answered, taking back the data chip.

"Will we be able to secure a landing zone up there?" Kamui questioned.

"Unlikely, the noise of the aircraft could attract the Corrupted and the estate itself is already collapsing on one end, landing on the roof may hasten it." Lucia responded.

"For now, we should head up then we can make our next move." The Commandant stated.

"Understood!" The Constructs all affirmed before they moved out.

=============================

Arriving on the roof of the estate wasn't too difficult unless they account for the fact that they had to minimise contacts with the Corrupted, a large-scaled skirmish would only attract more towards them and leave their positions in jeopardy.

Thankfully, the Constructs all managed to deploy their EM-Camo and this time, without attacking any of the Corrupted which would have alerted them of their presences.

"Alright, we're here... so what's next?" Kamui asked, looking around for anything that can help them escape the area.

"Next is... grappling out of here?" Liv answered only to trail off as she read the rest of the given result, perplexed especially when none of them have a grappling hook.

"None of us have anything remotely similar to a grappling tool so why did the data give us this solution?" Lee questioned, frowning slightly.

"Well, I have one, a gun variation at least." Kiryu said as if it was the most natural thing in the world as the group then processed that.

"...Excuse me?" Lee questioned again, blinking at the Commandant who took out a firearm barrel with a grappling hook attached at the end.

"Since the data I gave Liv was also accounting for whatever I got stored, grappling our way out of here is our safest solution." Kiryu replied, attaching the hook to the GUTS Hyper.

"But if that's the case, where would we be firing the hook to?" Lucia inquired, scanning the terrain for any viable leverages.

"If we were to account for the height of this estate and the trajectory of the angle that I theoretically would be shooting at..." The Commandant started, walking around.

"As long as the wind speed remains below the optimal level, that pylon over there would be a suitable tether and if that's the case then Lee, can you shoot it?" He asked.

"Although the distance is more than what I've usually shoot my targets at... I should be able to make the shot." Lee said, taking the GUTS Hyper.

"Keyword; should." Kamui whispered to Lucia and Liv.

"Shut up." Lee bluntly refuted before taking aim, his eyes focusing hard as he aimed for the lower beams of the pylon.

*SHWIP!*

A single pull of his finger and Lee shot the thick cable across the air which zoomed towards its target before the hook effectively wrapped itself around the metal beam of the pylon, securing the tether which allowed Kiryu to then switch out for a handle.

Unfortunately, there was only one.

Fortunately... Constructs were not as heavy as they were perceived as with their metal frames and all those machinery hidden within them, at the average, they weight like normal people.

"So... how do we slide down from here?" Kamui asked again, looking at the one handle.

"Maybe... Commandant goes first and then we'll climb our way down?" Liv interjected.

"The time it would take for us to get down on the ground would take too long and time is something we should not waste." Lee refuted.

"Especially when that Ascendant did something to you." He added, looking at the Strike Hawk who raised his hands up in return.

"Hey, I don't feel nothing! I feel normal!" He exclaimed.

"Exactly why it's worrying me." Lee retorted.

"Don't worry, both of Kamui's Inver-Device and M.I.N.D remains unchanged as of now but I agree with Lee, it's better if we return to Babylonia to get him checked up." Liv said.

"Which brings us back to the question on hand, how do we get down together?" Lucia questioned before light shone by their side again.

"Well, you could all hold onto me." Kiryu suggested, now donning the Tiga Suit.

"Isn't that too heavy for you? We aren't made out of sticks that's for sure..." Kamui said, doubtful at the durability of the harness.

"Unless you want to use your weapon as a makeshift handle and slide down then be my guest so the faster we get this done, the sooner we can get you treated." 

"Alright, if you say so..." Kamui responded at Kiryu's answer before the group cautiously gripped onto the Commandant.

"Commandant, are you sure you can hold us all up?" Liv asked, concerned as the group now looked like a convoluted pile of arms and legs.

"Liv, that door which I forced open earlier felt heavier than all of you combined, don't worry." Kiryu replied back smoothly.

"Even so, please don't push yourself." Lucia interjected worriedly.

"I know, now get ready." Kiryu stated, his feet firmly on the edge of the building before he pushed themselves off.

Surprisingly, their plan worked and the cable shockingly held onto their combined masses which caused them all to quickly slide down through the air before the solid ground came back in contact with their boots.

"Well..! That wasn't too bad!" Kamui exclaimed, letting go of Kiryu with the others following suit before they glanced around their surroundings.

"Let's not dawdle, if I'm correct, our aircraft should be stationed a few blocks off that way." Lee said, gesturing at the shown direction.

"Agreed, the more time we waste, the more chances the Corrupted comes and we lose traces of the Ascendant." Lucia affirmed as the group continued to move onwards.

=============================

However, their luck would soon run dry as the Gray Ravens and the Commandant along with the lone Strike Hawk arrived at their site of return to Babylonia, only to be greeted by the sight of their transport aircraft completely wrecked beyond repair.

"...We were too late." Kiryu noted with a frown, having transformed back out from the suit.

"Must had been Roland's doing, looks like he's fully intending on grounding us here." Lee remarked with a scowl.

"Dammit!" Kamui cursed, scowling as well.

"Then we'll need to report back to Babylonia as soon as possible before Kamui's infection goes over its threshold." Liv stated.

"Lucia, go get the pilot's dog tag, I'll try and establish a connection and in the meantime, all of you-" Kiryu began only to cut himself off as he suddenly stared at the desert.

"Commandant..? Did you detect something?" Lucia inquired apprehensively as Lotus Berserker was unsheathed and ready.

"Brace for trouble in five seconds..!" Kiryu ordered, Tiga Suit materialising instantly as the ground began to shake.

"Oh, what is it now?!" Kamui shouted, hefting his greatsword up.

Just as the Construct let out his complaint, the sands and earth gave way to reveal a gigantic monstrous white bionic worm-like machine, laced with multiple red eyes that bored into their bodies, its hundred legs squirmed in anticipation for the incoming fight.

"It's a Vassago! Spread out!" The Commandant ordered again as they split up, forcing the Corrupted worm to choose one target only.

It went for the weakest member of the entire group; that being Kiryu which unfortunately made him the prime target for the fight but fortunately, the Vassago did not account for the Tiga Suit donned around his entire body.

The Vassago let out a mechanical roar before it began twitching and shaking its frame to which Kiryu realised it was about to do something to attack him and his intuition proved right as the giant bionic worm hurled a boulder straight at him from its own mouth.

Kiryu swung his Sparklence Blade, cleaving the rock harmlessly in half before rushing forward with Lucia and Kamui following closely at the sides, both Lee and Liv provided support from the back which distracted the Vassago enough for the trio to land some blows onto its shell.

Screeching in pain and annoyance, the Vassago then leaned its whole exposed body back before smashing its underside and hundred legs right back down at where the human and Constructs stood which forced them to quickly back away lest they get flattened.

The giant worm would prove to be tenacious as it attempted to smash the trio several more times, repeatedly slamming its whole frame into the earth which was nowhere close to them and allowed Lee and Liv to hail countless shots into its exposed back.

Soon enough, the Vassago tired itself out which caused it to drop to the sands unmoving and Kiryu quickly shot towards the twitching machine before impaling his Sparklence Blade right into one of its red optics.

His attack bore fruitful as the giant Corrupted screeched in more pain just as Lucia sliced open one of its metallic carapace, exposing its innards to her which she started slashing apart again and again as Kamui followed suit, slamming his greatsword onto the head with Kiryu.

Lee sprinted around the side before shooting all the vital areas of the Vassago, that being the parts which the trio had sliced open earlier and are now completely vulnerable to outside attacks, Liv wasn't idle as she quickly raised her arm and prompting Lucia to back away.

In an instant, a torrent of luminescent pink lasers descended upon the shattered back of the Vassago, frying its wirings and burning through the shell quickly and causing enough pain for the Corrupted to roar in pain and raising its head up high.

However, Kiryu's timing wasn't fortunate enough as he found himself getting dragged into the air though he wasn't technically at all in danger thanks to the Tiga Suit protecting him.

"Commandant!" Lucia exclaimed first but Kiryu only remained latched onto the Vassago.

"I'm fine! Keep on attacking!" He ordered but just as he was about to continue, his comms suddenly buzzed with signals coming in.

"[Initiating communication-]"

While the Commandant held onto the now flailing Vassago that was attempting to dislodge him from its eyes, Celica's holographic form came into the former's sights.

"[Kiryu, Gray Ravens and Kamui, good to see you all still alive.]"

"Celica? Now's not a good time!" Kiryu responded, trying to hold onto the flailing Vassago.

"[So I see which is why I'll make this short, there's another aircraft coming to pick you all up.]" Celica said.

"Leave the comms to Lucia, I am trying to put this damn thing down!" The Commandant stated, switching users to the said Construct who retreated temporarily to speak.

"We were attacked by this Corrupted, designation as Vassago but we can also assume the desert here will also be full of Corrupted, LZ will have to avoid any chances of attacks." Lucia said.

"[If that's the case then good luck, I'll keep updating the pilots of your current location.]" Celica answered back which Lucia voiced her gratitude.

"Hey, Commandant! How long are you gonna stay up there?!" Kamui shouted, cleaving off a few of the Vassago's many legs.

"As long as I get my C4s out then we can go!" Kiryu replied back heatedly before holding the giant maw open and dropping a small pack into it.

Slashing the giant worm's functioning eyes one last time, the Commandant immediately leapt off the Vassago just as he saw Lee unleash a hail of flaming bullets onto the head, Liv matched his speed as she quickly fired all the lasers she could right into the Corrupted.

As Kiryu landed onto the sands, Kamui raised his greatsword again before ripping open the underside of the Vassago, tearing out more legs and some of its innards which caused the Corrupted to screech in pain and then dive beneath the sands to escape.

Wasting no time, Kiryu quickly took out a small detonator before pressing it down.

The Gray Ravens and Strike Hawk waited for a minute which felt like an hour, they felt a distant tremor in the ground vibrating against their boots before silence returned to the desert.

"Did... did we get it?" Kamui questioned.

"We can't be certain since it retreated below the desert... but I'm sure it won't be coming back anytime soon." Lee stated.

"That was close... this is the first time I've seen a Corrupted like that." Liv remarked.

"Liv, can you search up any information on the Vassago? While we managed to push it back, we'll need effective strategies to neutralise it." Lucia requested.

"Of course... Vassago is a bionic mechanoid that was the result of a high-level experimental project that went awry with the Punishing Virus, it's violent in nature and..." Liv said, frowning.

"Sensors are installed all over its body thus it's highly sensitive to movement, heat, smell and shortwave communication signals." She continued.

"The only noteworthy flaw it possesses are its average visual sensors so if you want to avoid the Vassago, it's recommended to set up a lure to draw it away."

"There's nothing we can use as a bait right now, unless..." Lee said, eyes narrowing at Kamui who blinked at him dumbly.

"Lee, no." Kiryu deadpanned, having transformed out of the Tiga Suit once more.

"Lee..." Lucia seconded, staring at the said Construct.

"I was just joking." Lee retorted with a seemingly regretful sigh.

"Uh... what was the joke?" Kamui asked curiously who Kiryu then patted on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, you're better off ignoring it." He stated before his helmet notified him with a beep which got the attention of others.

"Is it another attack, Commandant?" Lucia questioned, preparing her sword.

"No, just... a change in wind velocity and a warning of an incoming sandstorm, we should move to a safer spot." Kiryu answered.

"I briefly checked on the area here, there's an old military base around 10km from here and a foreign organisation named the 'Forsaken' are currently holding camp there." Liv reported.

"Forsaken... think I've heard about them when I was still in Kurono." Lee interjected.

"Care to share with us?" The Commandant asked.

"Not much but it's a group of soldiers that defected from Babylonia when they were left to die on Earth, they rebranded themselves as 'Forsaken' because of it." Lee answered.

"...I see..." Kiryu said albeit slightly more quietly.

"Commandant?" Lucia called out, sensing his tone.

"Nothing, we should move quickly before the sandstorm hits." He responded as the group then moved off to the nearest shelter for now.

=============================

Their progress through the desert was tedious and slow due to the growing winds and sands showering down on the Gray Ravens and Strike Hawk endlessly, biting and wearing down the fabric of their clothes and the Constructs' soft synth-skin.

However, they soon arrived at one of their intended destination, that being an old facility building which provided some shelter from the sandstorm even if it's by little.

"Let's wait here until the storm ends." Lee suggested with the others agreeing with no hesitation since walking further could risk enemy attacks and getting overwhelmed.

"Liv, are you alright? You don't look too well..." Kiryu asked, concerned at the said Construct slightly coughing through the dusty winds.

"Commandant, our bodies can filter out sand grains so... don't... worry..." She coughed again.

"Don't push yourself, Liv... at least we have steel plates beneath our feet instead of sand..." Lee interjected before brushing his jacket.

"Tch, damn sand... it's coarse and rough and irritating and my jacket's ruined." He added as Kamui snickered besides him.

"Haha, you seem quite shocked! Is that your mortal weakness? Your jacket?" He asked.

"I suggest you run some soma-cleaning scan on your brain." Lee rebuked bluntly.

"Hey, of course I did, soma-cleaning scans do the entire body and not just the brain!" Kamui exclaimed which Lee scoffed.

"Regrettable, then it's not the sand but a natural issue." He said.

"Both of you..." Kiryu began but Liv interrupted him as Lucia suddenly perked up.

"Wait, everyone! An unknown signal suddenly appeared!" 

"It takes some finesse but... this is your final destination, tools of Babylonia..." An unknown voice suddenly spoke out through the gales.

"Who even speaks like that..?" The Commandant thought to himself before they saw a figure emerging from the sandstorm.

"Not a Corrupted?" Lucia observed, sensing no Punishing Virus but nonetheless still wary.

"The sandstorm is disrupting our visual signals, I suggest switching to thermographic sensors for now until it subsides." Liv stated.

"Such advanced Constructs, yet a little wind and sand still affects you? How laughable." The voice continued before fading out.

"The signal ahead has disappeared!" Lucia warned.

"I cannot detect it as well... this method feels strangely familiar..." Liv commented, scanning continuously for the signal.

"Commandant, unless your helmet has some technology to see through this storm, I recommend you stay with Liv and Kamui, Lucia and I will scout ahead." Lee said.

"...While it's not completely accurate, I can filter out the sandstorm and amplify the voice or whichever direction it left for." Kiryu replied, pressing another button.

"Damn, I gotta say your helmet is really handy!" Kamui complimented.

"Thanks but for starters, the voice left in roughly that direction... and is still..." The Commandant observed before trailing off.

"Still..?" Lee inquired along with the rest.

"Above us!" Kiryu exclaimed, suddenly whipping out his GUTS Hyper and firing several bullets at the top of a building to which a shadow descended, avoiding the bullets.

The figure then landed right in front of them, this time it made no move to leave them as it simply approached them, the sand and wind soon unable to hide the figure's appearance.

Tall and with broad shoulders donned in an ashen uniform and with equally long grey-hair along with a pair of heterochromia eyes of orange and dull brown, his face was scarred at one side and there is a barcode strangely marked in the middle of his forehead.

The figure's outfit alone spelt out soldier as there was a pair of daggers bound behind his jacket, sheathed but still seconds away from being unsheathed as the newcomer's gaze tore into them.

"Identifying target code... BP0-29, status... deserter?" Liv reported as everyone readied their weapons as the unknown Construct glanced at each of them.

His gaze noticeably lingered just a fraction of a second longer on Kamui and Lucia.

"Lucia..? So it's you... hmph, looks like you aren't with the cleaners." He remarked coldly.

=============================

The delay was really long because I had quite a few headaches from university classes, mostly ones that involved science itself but nevertheless, hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm still improvising on how to make the MC use the Tiga Suit more so bear with me.