(POV - 3RD)

The next morning within the city sector, the Gray Ravens and Kiryu departed once more on their patrol, straight after receiving a green light from Babylonia to investigate the odd behaviours of the Corrupted lingering around graffiti as Lee stated.

However, said Commandant was just a bit engaged in an argument across the comms.

"It 'slipped' your mind?" Kiryu repeated, his gaze scrutinizing Celica's fidgeting form.

"[H-heh, I guess yesterday's paperwork was a bit too much to handle so I... uh, forgot to send a request to Hassen so... sorry?]"

"We could have completed this mission earlier had you submitted the reports, you know?" Kiryu sighed before signalling a stop.

"What's wrong, Commandant?" Lucia asked as Kiryu surveyed the area silently.

"I'll talk to you on a later date." Was all he said as the Commandant shut off the comms with Celica's holographic form disappearing before she could say anything.

"Is there a problem?" Lee questioned.

"My helmet is detecting minor traces of paint but do any of you smell that?" Kiryu said as the squad also began looking around.

"...There aren't any signals though, but I do detect tiny particles of paint floating around." Liv reported as Kiryu nodded in affirmation.

"It smells recent, Lee's aforementioned culprit may be close." He added.

"Lucia, watch our backs, keep Liv between us and Lee, with me." Kiryu ordered as he deployed the Sparklence Blade and held out the GUTS HYPER.

"Roger." Lee affirmed along with Lucia as they moved to their designated roles.

"...But Commandant, I don't think you should be the one leading us into an unknown territory... you're still a human." Liv said, worried.

"I'll watch myself and besides, I got Lee right besides me and Lucia trusts me enough to leave me by myself for a while, right?" Kiryu lightly retorted.

"I'd agree with Liv but... you've proven yourself to be more than capable of defending against the Corrupted." Lucia replied, albeit still concerned as well.

With the squadron secured and prepared, the Gray Ravens continued their patrol forward into the deeper regions of the city, passing through and by several Corrupted and dispatching those that came too close or openly attacked.

It wasn't before long until they've reached the source of the paint and smell which only grew by intensity as they gotten closer and under a bridge where a group of Corrupted converged in front of a giant vibrant graffiti.

"These graffiti looks familiar to the ones I've saw yesterday." Lee remarked as Kiryu scanned it.

"Paint job's recent, the culprit could only be a Nozzle-type from the Golden Age... shame they went out of order." The Commandant said.

"A shame?" Liv asked, curious on why.

"Back at the academy, I did have a hobby of doodling every once in a while, sketch or paint." Kiryu said as he walked towards the graffiti.

"Commandant, there are still Corrupted around it!" Lucia called out at Kiryu's seemingly nonchalance at the obvious.

"Trust me." Was all he said as the squad prepared for a battle... but only to pause in surprise as the Corrupted did not even move forward.

"I see... so this graffiti art keeps these Corrupted in line... as long as I don't do anything to it." Kiryu observed as he touched the paint job before noting it's still sticky.

The Corrupted studying the graffiti simply let the Commandant be as they ignored the human and Constructs behind them, simply observing the graffiti while Kiryu returned to the bewildered Gray Ravens waiting for him.

"For now, they're quite docile." He said before noting his Constructs' gazes.

"What?" Kiryu asked, unperturbed.

"That... was dangerous." Lee stated quite bluntly.

"I had my weapons out and ready." Kiryu rebuked.

"The number of Corrupted could possibly overwhelm you if they take you by surprise." Lucia added, standing protectively in front of him.

"I had it under control though..." The Commandant retorted.

"Commandant... please don't do that ever again." Liv requested earnestly.

"...Alright, I won't." Kiryu replied back before his helmet let out a beep.

"Do you feel that?" He asked suddenly.

"The temperature dropping in this area?" Lee answered, surveying the graffiti and surroundings.

"Correct, looks like the Nozzle-type is also another target for termination, especially a Corrupted one." Kiryu said before pressing a button.

"Liv, can you please conduct a scan of the area as well?"

"Understood." The said Construct replied as a holographic map appeared in front of her.

However, despite her extensive search around the areas, Liv could not detect anything other than the Corrupted in front of her, as such, she did not manage to find the Nozzle-type that Kiryu and Lee had speculated to be behind the graffiti.

"Commandant, besides the Corrupted in front of us, there's nothing else here." Liv reported.

"I see... so that's how it is." Kiryu replied before suddenly shooting his handgun at a pillar looming ahead of them, surprising the team.

"Commandant?!" Lucia exclaimed at the sudden gunfire.

 Under the assault of a rapid hailstorm of bullets, a large mechanical figure stepped out from its cover, revealing itself to the whole of Gray Raven fireteam, only uttering garbled speeches.

"Human... human consciousness..? Absolutely... filthy..."

"That's our target!" Lee stated, readying his pistols.

"It's been near us the whole time? Why didn't Liv or any of us sense it?" Lucia questioned, brandishing Lotus Berserker.

"The graffiti not only lowers the surrounding temperature but is also composed in way to disrupt a Construct's system, it's targeted towards your sensors but not my helmet." Kiryu explained.

"I see..! I'll keep that in mind!" Liv interjected, her cannons floating readily.

"Our radar systems failed to catch its signal... because it's using the Construct parts and vital fluids to conceal itself." Lee concluded, making several internal scannings.

"World... without... humans... freedom... creation... yes... yes..." The Nozzle-type continued to ramble on with its garbled speech.

"Humans... shall... not... return... to... Earth!" The Corrupted screeched.

"Get ready!" Kiryu ordered.

"Begone, humans! BEGONE, YOU FILTHY HUMANS!" The Nozzle-type bellowed as it began rumbling before throwing something at Kiryu.

"Commandant, watch out!" Lee shouted as he shot the thrown object whose contents splattered onto the Construct.

"Ugh... wait, this is just... paint?" He then remarked, looking at the sticky liquid which vibrantly decorated Lee's jacket wetly.

"Humans... will never... understand... my art..! All of you... are stupid..." The Nozzle-type garbled out as it continued rumbling.

"You defective piece of-!" Lee growled out, attempting to chase after the Corrupted but only to stop as mist suddenly enshrouded everyone's visions.

"Commandant, the nearby Corrupted has become hostile!" Lucia exclaimed as the mist seemingly triggered the formerly docile robots.

"Ready yourselves!" Kiryu barked out, his helmet's visor also becoming red in response to the sudden threats presented to them.

Several Corrupted began trudging towards them as they brandished whatever weapons held in their hands or just waved around their arms before charging forward.

Kiryu scanned around, four Ground Monitors, two Pilgrims and Tamers, five Repairers and three Hydraulics, completely irritating with how much enemies there are but they can handle it.

Thankfully, with Kiryu's improvisation to upgrade the entire team until the maximum, they all had almost little to no trouble decimating the Corrupted that leapt at their ways.

Lucia's blade easily slashed through each of the Ground Monitors and Repairers as Lee gave support by firing his handguns continuously towards the Pilgrims in the distance. 

Kiryu focused on dodging the ramming Tamers before effortlessly slicing off its heads as he dodged several feet away from the leaping Hydraulics until Liv fired her cannons, easily tearing through the Corrupted.

It hasn't been five minutes before the skirmish is over.

"Sit-rep." Kiryu ordered as his Constructs answered in response.

"Cleared of Corrupted." 

"All clear of enemies and the mist."

"Everything cleared but the Nozzle-type had escaped while we fought."

"That's fine as long as we have the trail, that being the leaked paint all over the ground." Kiryu replied as he walked forward with the team following.

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

"I've never heard of a Corrupted doing pranks before... Liv, what were the Nozzle-type models used for back when it was in operations?" Lee asked.

"Nozzle-types back in the Golden Age were mostly used to paint large areas although some models were also used in performances, education and artistic creations." Liv replied.

"Artistic creations?" Lee repeated.

"Makes sense why it would be painting everywhere." Kiryu remarked.

"So that's why it's been insisting its 'creations' is 'art'..."

"But can mechs as old as the Nozzle-type really undertake artistic endeavours on its own will?" Liv questioned the thought.

"Mechs which specialises in art are all under strict supervision and guidance of humans so... I'm not certain." Lee answered.

"You'll only get these indecipherable drawings if you leave them alone."

"Commandant, can you understand these drawings?" Liv asked.

"Not really, they do not hold much symbolism or meaning other than being a cluster of shapes and colours, though some artworks do feature a more... refined style." Kiryu answered.

"Thankfully, it means you're at least still normal..." Lee stated as a matter of fact.

"Hey, I took art lessons in my spare time." Kiryu deadpanned.

"Nevertheless, whether this paint bucket's been making art out of its own will or not, it doesn't change the fact it destroyed many Constructs in its way, meaning it's our enemy." Lee said.

"Isn't that enough to prove that they have a will to create art on their own? If not then machines like those would simply power themselves off until they are needed again, no?" Kiryu asked.

"A plausible reasoning but we're dealing with a machine from the Golden Age, not to mention infected with heavy levels of the Punishing Virus so its systems would be highly different than the mechs back on Babylonia." Lee responded.

"Whether it originally had a free will or not is up to us to find out." He added.

"Over here, there's a consistent trails of paint leading across this street." Lucia pointed out, seeing several puddles of paint in the distance.

With Lucia showing them a possible clue, the Gray Ravens set out once more across the road while neutralising several Corrupted that took offense to their presences before they finally ended up in another ruined street with buildings by the sides.

Just as they annihilated another group of Corrupted, Kiryu's comms buzzed as a familiar figure appeared in front of them once more.

"[Gray Ravens? This is Babylonia. Do you copy? Over.]" Celica called out to them.

"Miss Celica? What's the situation in Babylonia?" Lucia asked.

"[...Babylonia's slipped past a Corrupted space station, we've just finished with the engagement but the satellite connection should be restored now, but there might still be interferences from the Corrupted space station.]"

"[We received your data and battle logs uploaded to us and the situation is certainly... perplexing especially with this sentient Corrupted painting everywhere.]"

"We were just tracking the Nozzle-type Corrupted and require additional and locational help from Babylonia, I'm uploading the target right now." Kiryu stated, pressing several buttons.

"[Okay... and, found it. I've marked its coordinates and all possible routes on your maps, you need to pass through an arcade where there's also a line of Corrupted defending the area, it might be dangerous... but not to you.]" Celica stated.

"Roger. Thank you for the intel." Lucia said before Lee spoke up.

"We're all in fully working conditions and have a backup plan in case something goes awry."

"[Then this call can end here. Good luck, and I wish your mission a success. Return to Babylonia safely, Celica out.]" Replied the woman before the comms went quiet.

"You know the drill, ready yourselves for battle and-" Kiryu began before the comms suddenly flared up again.

"[Also! Next time, don't hang up like that, especially to a woman!]" Celica scolded, staring daggers at Kiryu.

"...No." Was all Kiryu said, raising his finger.

"[What?! Hey-!]" Celica's voice cut out as the Commandant once again, hung up on the said woman, doing what he was demanded not to.

"Anyway, where was I? Right, ready yourselves for battle and be prepared to intercept enemy formations." Kiryu continued, ignoring his Constructs' bewildered looks.

"Same things goes, Liv will be our support at the back, Lucia will be the main DPS and Lee will be flanking the targets with me... everyone got it? If there's any complaints speak up." Kiryu said.

"None." Lee replied.

"I have no problem with this setup..." Liv answered.

"..." Lucia simply remained quiet, causing Kiryu to turn.

"Lucia?" Kiryu called out the said Construct.

"Hm? S-sorry, I must have blanked out. I have no complaints with the formation as well." Lucia quickly replied, hiding a fluster on her face.

"..." Lee and Kiryu simply raised a brow at the usually quiet Construct's sudden mood change until Liv spoke up.

"Lucia, is something bothering you?" She asked, concerned.

"It's... nothing... really. It's just that... this is my first time inside a shop..." Lucia admitted embarrassedly as she looked away.

"Ah..! In that case, let's look around, Lucia!" Liv declared, smiling.

"Um..? C-Commandant? Kiryu?" Lucia looked at the said individual, blushing as she silently asked for his permission.

"...Goodness gracious, my legs are hurting me... looks like I need to sit down for a while..." Kiryu posed dramatically as he sagged onto the ground in a very unconvincing manner.

"...Dude..." Was all Lee said, deadpanning.

However, that was enough for Liv to chuckle lightly as she took Lucia's hand and began walking through the store and its shelves where its products sat covered in thick dust and tears and holes as time eroded it along with the everchanging environments.

"Ever since humans abandoned this place, everything sat here unattended and untouched..." Liv commented, walking through another aisle.

"What do you think, Lucia?" She then asked before turning around as she heard no reply again.

"Lucia?" Liv repeated as she saw the said Construct crouching down and picking up a doll of a frog with a skirt and lipstick on it.

Seeing that, Liv also crouched down and picked up a sheep plushie before smiling.

"I'm guessing you want that one, Lucia?" Liv said, looking at the frog doll in her hands.

"...Thank you..." Lucia replied, gazing at the plushie unmoving which Liv noted.

"Lucia, you've really taken a liking to this plushie, haven't you?" She asked.

"Perhaps... it's just that looking at it... fills me with a strange feeling." Lucia answered honestly as she surveyed the condition of the doll.

One side of it has been severely ripped open, exposing its cotton inside which spilled out as the green fabric tried to hold onto itself.

"It's ripped." Kiryu suddenly said from the side, startling the two girls as they looked up to see him standing near them.

"Commandant?" Lucia called out as she watched Kiryu take something out of his coat.

"Liv, prepare for an operation, we got an injured patient." Kiryu stated, spurring the said Construct to look around for said patient.

"Who..? I don't see anyone though, Commandant." Liv questioned, confused before Kiryu crouched down and placed lone rock.

"We have a patient in Lucia's hands as we speak, we must hurry." Kiryu said, tone serious as Lucia blinked in surprise as the frog plushie was placed on the stone slab.

Both Liv and Lucia then received a suture scissor and a roll of bandage respectively as Kiryu's tightened his gloves as if preparing for a surgery.

"C-Commandant?" Liv called out, completely bewildered by his acts.

"Shh! Patient is in critical conditions! We must stabilise her!" Kiryu ordered in a hilariously serious voice, looping a string through the needle.

"Liv, when call for it, give me the scissors! Lucia, you too! The bandage!" He stated.

"Ah..! G-got it!" Both girls responded before Kiryu started knitting.

Strangely, despite the entire silly idea of performing a surgery on a plushie of all things, Lucia found herself uncharacteristically nervous as she watched Kiryu carefully push the cotton back in and sow the tear shut as Liv watched with a profession of a medic, having been one before.

"...Why are we playing surgery in the middle of a mission..?" Lee whispered to no one as he watched Kiryu knit the frog plushie back together with Liv and Lucia watching hard.

"Scissors." Kiryu stated as Liv passed him the miniature tool before he snipped off the remaining strings from the knots.

"Bandage dressing." The Commandant said as Lucia passed him the said items.

Concentrating hard, Kiryu carefully wrapped the bandage around the frog's shoulder before the doll now sat repaired and patched up albeit a bit dirty.

"Surgery's a success! Patient will live!" Kiryu announced, raising his arms in the air with the two Constructs following suit as they cheered.

"...Am I the only one sane here?" Lee muttered, looking at this silly exchange as Kiryu moved on to the tiny rip on the sheep plushie.

"I never knew you had a side like this, Commandant..." Liv then giggled as she received her now repaired sheep doll with a tiny bandage on its arm.

"Are you done here? Felt like I was watching a kid's show." Lee called from outside.

"We're done, don't fret." Kiryu replied as he then made a miniature harness on the dolls, allowing them to be tied around Lucia and Liv's waists.

Even in this hellscape, there can still be glimmer of light, a shine of hope as they made their way out of the doorway and back into the battlefield.

"S-sorry about that, Lee, I don't know what came over me when I saw the dolls." Lucia said, blushing as Lee simply dismissed it.

"It's fine, we all have things we hold dear, it's the very reason why we're here after all." He replied, completely unfazed.

"Things we hold dear..." Lucia repeated.

"If you're lost, then simply walk forward." Lee added.

"Even if you don't know where you're going, the least you could is to walk forward." Kiryu interjected from the side.

"Indeed, walking forward itself can be meaningful enough."

"Commandant... Lee... thank you." Responded Lucia as the said individuals simply nodded.

"Don't mention it."

The Gray Ravens then set off in their patrol once more, following the trail sent by Celica that will lead them to the Nozzle model.

"Commandant, why do you have a suturing scissors and string?" Lucia asked curiously.

"Well, in case my body gets sliced open and I need to seal it back together, this will come in handy even if it's a painful procedure." Kiryu answered.

"Commandant... if that happens then we shouldn't allow you to go back on the battlefield again." Lee stated logically.

"You could die if we're all busy fighting, we won't have the opportunity to save you or take you away from the battlefield." Lucia added.

"Commandant..." Liv began, her tone clearly voicing out her disapproval.

"As I said, I'll be fine, I promise... as best as I could." Kiryu responded.

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

"Commandant, you mentioned you painted and drew back at the academy?" Liv asked curiously as they walked through the streets.

"I did spend some of my time practicing, sending images of my artworks to Ayla whenever I could so I can get a feedback."

"Ayla? MISS AYLA? The famous artist whose work spans all across Babylonia, the same one!?" Liv asked with increasingly excitement.

"Yes? She's my pen pal." Kiryu replied, taking out a letter from his coat where Liv saw the famous marking stamped by and only by Ayla.

"PEN PAL?!" Liv practically shouted with joy, stars seemingly shining in her eyes.

"...Cute." Was the simultaneous thoughts of the Gray Ravens as Lucia smiled lightly along with Lee at this wholesome exchange.

However, all good thing comes to an end as Kiryu's helmet beeped again.

"We've reached an area with high levels of paint particles, the same one expelled specifically from the Nozzle-type." Kiryu stated, his lax attitude immediately disappearing.

"There's more Corrupted up front! Three Tamers, two Aerial Monitors and four Gardeners!" Lucia reported as she unsheathed Lotus Berserker.

"The mist in this area is less dense than earlier, I can sense the Nozzle model at the back!" Lee reported as his dual guns stand by ready.

"Its coordinates shows that it's been here for some time now... is it painting again?" Liv questioned as she gazed at the holographic screen.

"The Corrupted doesn't seem to intend on letting us pass, they're probably its followers so be ready to brace for combat." Kiryu ordered.

"Even though these graffiti somehow captivated these Corrupted, doesn't change the fact it looks like absolute garbage." Lee remarked.

"...Still bitter about your jacket?" Kiryu asked, remembering how he and Lee tried to clean the sticky liquid off while Lucia and Liv browsed the store.

"Lee certainly holds grudges in strange places..." Was Liv could think of.

"Be ready, nothing left but a full frontal assault now." Lucia commanded as Kiryu nodded.

"Close formation, be prepared and stay out of danger each and every one of you." He stated, earning a look from all of his Constructs.

"What?" Kiryu asked.

"And?" Liv said from the side, smiling.

That smile scared him.

"...As well as me." Kiryu added, remembering their discomfort with him close to danger.

"They're coming!" Lee barked out, shooting the charging Tamers as Lucia dashed forward, intercepting one of them as Kiryu shot another one alongside Liv.

Lucia tore through her target with ease before moving forward to avoiding an Aerial Monitor zooming past her head as she then made her way to the Gardeners while Lee leapt to the side, avoiding the Tamer as Kiryu slashed it apart.

Liv's cannon then blasted through the last Tamer before she focused on the approaching Aerial Monitors that Lucia had left for them to handle, a pink streak of energy sailed past their heads as the Corrupted were effortlessly torn apart by Liv's attack.

Lee then aimed his dual pistols at a Gardener that Lucia had neglected to watch out for, shooting a bullet straight into the Corrupted head as it fell down. The latter quickly shouted a thanks to the gunner before blocking against a giant buzzsaw, generating sparks as Lucia held off another Gardener until she kicked it back and slicing it apart.

Just as she turned around, Kiryu kneeled another Gardener right in its head before slashing down with his Sparklence sword. The Commandant then grabbed the hole made by his blade before tearing the metallic frame apart with ease, something Lucia noted to ask if Kiryu has no problem with it in the future.

The last Gardener was easily handled by Lee who simply riddled the Corrupted with bullets before Liv finished the skirmish with a hail of laser beams onto the robot.

Thanks to their superior equipment and arsenals, the enemies were quickly cleared out, leaving only the Nozzle-type alone at the end of the line, still spray-painting all around it.

As Gray Ravens approached the Corrupted, it simply glanced at them before resuming painting, completely uncaring for its impending fate.

"Surrender, you have nowhere else to run." Lee stated.

"Run..? Run? Hehe... I never needed to run... all I ever needed was to spread my art for the Sage... Ascendants and humans like you will never understand my work..!"

"Everyone! The Punishing Virus level in the Nozzle-type is rising rapidly!" Liv reported as the entire stepped back from the now berserk Corrupted.

"Humans... cannot understand my work... nor can the Ascendants..! YOU... WILL STOP ME FROM COMPLETING MY MISSION!" The Nozzle-type screeched as its eyes shone brightly.

"Prepare for battle!" Kiryu ordered as he and the Constructs braced themselves.

The Nozzle leapt several feet into the air, surprising the team for its speed from its unlikely size and mass as well as spindly legs, but they were not deterred as Gray Ravens leapt back as the Corrupted slammed into the ground, bringing up dust and dirt.

"If you intend to stop me... then you can be my next materials!" The Corrupted garbled out as the team engaged in combat.

"No thanks." Lee retorted as he fired off his pistols.

The blue bullets made contact with the metallic frame of the Corrupted, bursting out into small bouts of blue flames as Lucia and Kiryu closed in the distance, both slashing directly at its legs in hopes to topple it and destabilise its balance.

However, the Nozzle's legs were more durable than its looks as both human and Construct's blades simply sparked off it, prompting the Corrupted to swing down at them both before several rounds of pink laser hailed on its side, causing it screech in pain.

Liv continued her onslaught while providing support in the form of relieving Kiryu and Lucia's fatigue from the fight, Lee repeatedly fired off his guns, forcing the Nozzle to back away from the growing blue flames that was unknowingly its weakness.

"Lucia, keep your flames going!" Kiryu commanded, noticing how the Corrupted shy away from the fire as if afraid, the temperature also rapidly rose as the mist disappeared.

"Got it!" The said Construct affirmed the order as she quickly sliced apart several canisters thrown at her, immediately dodging the fluids spilling outside.

Kiryu reloaded his GUTS HYPER again before avoiding another aerial slam from the Nozzle just as Lee and Liv unleashed another barrage of projectiles onto the Corrupted, tearing its frame apart as the wirings and gears inside were exposed.

"My art..! No..! NO..! NO!"

The Nozzle, now spluttering with incoherent words and sentences began shaking as its movement became more erratic and violent, throwing canisters of now poisonous paints as well as spraying out several layers of deadly mist.

"It's going berserk! Everyone, be careful!" Liv shouted as the team backed away.

"Then it means it's getting desperate, no doubt several more hits will destroy its frame." Lee remarked as he shot another canister down.

"We should end its misery then." Kiryu stated as Lucia agreed silently.

With no more words needed to be said, the Gray Ravens rushed forward flanking the Nozzle by its sides as Lee shot his bullets with Liv following closely, shooting her cannons. Lucia and Kiryu once more engaged the Corrupted, slashing apart its servos and joints, breaking it down bits by bits until the Nozzle noticeably began slowing down.

In a desperate move, the Nozzle then leapt into the air again before attempting to smash both Lucia and Kiryu flat but the two instantly moved out of the way from the impact which the Corrupted then crash-landed, its legs giving away from the constant slashes.

Lee shot out another canister from the Nozzle's claw as Liv managed to hit another one of its joints, severing its other arm's usage before Lucia sliced the remaining arm off and for Kiryu to finish the fight by stabbing his sword straight into the chest of the Corrupted.

"Target terminated." Lucia stated, sheathing her blade as Lee and Liv walked towards the Nozzle whose lights were flickering.

"I... failed..." Was all it garbled out.

"..." With nothing more to say, the Gray Ravens could only stay quiet as the machine took its last sparks, uttering out seemingly nonsensical questions.

"Tell... me... can my art... ever be... appreciated..? Loved..? Admired..?"

"..."

"My art... is it worth nothing... in this world..?"

"Art... is a subjective concept." Kiryu suddenly spoke out, prompting the team to look at him as he continued speaking to the machine.

"S-subjective..?"

"The very idea of art comes from expressing one's inner creativity and fantasy alike, painting... sculpturing... sketching... they're all defined as 'art' and therefore, it's a wide concept."

"..."

"Humans once argued what is art and what is not art... but they all agreed that art is very wide form of creativity inspired by our imaginations... our deepest fantasies and wonders."

"Who's to say your 'art' isn't art?" Kiryu continued as Lee quietly looked away.

"W-why... tell... me now..?" The Nozzle stuttered out as sparks flew quicker, its life slowly dimming as it replied.

"I'm an artist as well... if I can say my 'art' is art, why can't you?" The Commandant spoke, memories flashing past as he took up sketching a few months ago.

Other than studying, building and inventing, drawing was another thing that kept Kiryu's mind off the many people within the academy who never saw fit to befriend him.

In a sense, he can relate to this Corrupted whose 'art' wasn't deemed art by many, just like when he drew his first artwork and letting Ayla review just to get a brutal criticism back.

"You... an a-artist... too..?"

"Yeah... well, it hardly matters since you're dying as we speak but die with the knowledge that your art is indeed, still a form of art, no matter how it appears."

"...O-only... you... a-accepted my... art... when the o-others... the Ascendants did... not..." The Nozzle garbled out, as if... delighted.

"You talked about something called the 'Ascendants' earlier as well. What are they?" Lee questioned but to their surprise, he received answers instead of insults.

"Upper... e-echelon of those... a-afflicted by t-the virus..." The Nozzle stuttered out.

"What do you mean?" Lucia asked, a foreboding sense of dread unknowingly growing within her though she did not voice it.

"They w-who... are selected... a-and c-chosen to be... the agents of the v-virus... are those who will a-ascend... through the network... t-through its w-will..."

"Like you?" Liv said, earning a heavy stuttering but depreciating laughter.

"Only the s-strongest... has the p-privilege to w-wield the power of the Punishing Virus..."

"Stronger than you?" Lee questioned again.

"...I a-am just... a d-drop of blood... in the c-crimson ocean... slumbering ever a-alone... I am nothing... compared to THEM."

"Who's 'them'? What 'crimson ocean'? What are you talking about?" Kiryu questioned.

"B-beware... of the iron m-maiden... whose tears s-shackled her... to the very coffin she... stalks with... in this w-world..."

"Watch... for the s-smiling jester... whose grin r-remain unmoving... whose loyalty lies... with his shadowed q-queen..."

"C-caution against... the lone w-warrior who... s-seeks to gain... power not of the virus... whose a-allegiance l-lies not... with t-the network... nor h-humanity..."

"...I see." Was all Kiryu said as the lights in the Nozzle's eyes darkened and no more was uttered from the machine as it took its last breath.

"...Commandant..." Liv began.

"Although the information was vague, it gave us enough intel to watch out certain individuals afflicted with the virus; the iron maiden, the jester and the warrior..." Kiryu stated.

"Should we request for a lift back to Babylonia and report our findings?" Lee asked.

"Certainly, I'll be contacting Celica for now." Replied the Commandant.

However, in response to him turning on the comms, the Gray Ravens only received static and white noises instead of connecting through to the woman.

"...Nothing." Lucia said as Lee checked his frequency.

"I believe the fault lies in the remaining mist and Punishing Virus left in this area, we should relocate to another location for a better connection." He suggested.

"Speaking of which, Commandant, your serum." Liv interjected, passing Kiryu a vial of golden liquid which the latter then injected.

"Thank you, as for the relocation, we do you suggest?" Kiryu asked as Lee silently contemplated for a few seconds before answering.

"On the way here, I saw an abandoned church with an empty sector on the other side, we can establish another signal there and away from here."

"As for this place, the Engineering Force will rebuild this place to become a frontier for humanity on Earth, the numbers of Corrupted have considerably lowered ever since we came." Liv added.

"If that's the case then we'll go via the closest route there." Lucia said as the squad nod their heads in agreement before setting off.

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

After close to over half an hour, the Gray Ravens soon entered the church with caution as they traversed through the dust-ridden, torn and narrow hallway with the lights from outside shining in on the path they took.

"Church..." Lucia suddenly muttered.

"What's wrong with this church?" Lee questioned.

"Nothing, just struck... by a sense of deja vu..." Replied Lucia as Kiryu glanced back at her.

"The Sea of Consciousness is complete simulation modelled after the human consciousness itself so it's not an unusual occurrence for a Construct to suddenly reminiscence about one of the places you've perhaps been to." Lee explained further.

"Perhaps it's a remnant of a memory from when you were deployed here a long time ago?" Liv suggested from the front.

"Maybe... but I'm fine now, let's continue." Lucia said as Kiryu opened the doors to the main hall of the church which the four entered.

"We have contact with unknown individual." Kiryu stated, alerted as he stared at the lone figure standing in the middle of the room, as if waiting for them.

"...The viral levels are off the charts..." The Commandant calmly observed as he readied his weapons which the Constructs behind him followed suit.

Kiryu then noted the individual's appearance; donned in a crimson jacket with a dark undervest with pale white hair that cascaded down to her waist, mismatched eyes- one red and one grey, he also noticed the dog tags worn around the figure's neck that covered her cleavage.

"Lucia..." Stepping forward, the ashen figure only uttered out one name of the Gray Ravens, her gaze fixating on the said Construct.

"It's a... Construct? An ally..?" Liv said uncertainly.

"No, she's a Corrupted, there's a high level of the Punishing Virus surrounding her, contact is hostile, proceed with caution!" Kiryu ordered.

"Why is she here? In this place of all?" Lee questioned, pistols readying.

"What... why do I... feel strange..." Lucia suddenly said, shaking her head.

"Lucia?" Kiryu looked back.

"I can't discern her appearance..! There are errors in my visual signals... and my thoughts... are all muddled..." Lucia continued.

"What..? But I see her normally- wait! Lucia's Sea of Consciousness is dropping rapidly! There's no reaction coming from the Punishing Virus! What's going on?!" Liv reported frantically.

"Lucia..." Kiryu turned as the unknown Construct said her name again.

"She's particularly fixated on Lucia... why?" The Commandant thought before glancing at Lee, the male Construct making eye contact with him and understanding what must be done.

"The error, the fault... must end here." The Corrupted figure then began stepping towards the squad, unsheathing a crimson blade from her waist.

"Ready yourselves!" Was all Kiryu ordered as Lee readied his guns with Liv standing behind them to check on Lucia's condition.

They don't know what to expect next, but they sure know that this is a fight that they cannot afford to lose or die to, especially with this mysterious Construct.

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Here's a cliffhanger for all of you to enjoy! Hopefully you've enjoyed this chapter, and if some of you are waiting for the Ultraman element to come in, it's in the next chapter.