Elegy from Another World

The Ringband's main cannon unleashed a scorching beam, slicing into R-Mutko's massive, writhing body with surgical precision. The area struck instantly vaporized, leaving a nascent, gaping wound with edges that constantly tried to close. Data fragments splattered like filthy blood, only to be quickly absorbed by the surrounding tissue.

"Now!" My voice rang out through the encrypted channel.

Noreljun's massive magical puppet, like a red comet, hurtled towards the wound. His secondary cannons on his shoulders fired in rapid succession, shattering the tentacle-like data streams trying to extend and close the opening, forcibly keeping the "window" open. Simultaneously, he wielded his massive energy blade, laughing maniacally as he sliced ​​the smaller R-Mutek aggregates surging towards him into pieces. "Hahaha! That's satisfying! Bring on the good stuff!"

"Mia, charge!" I commanded, rushing to the other side. The laser beam at the tip of the steel bar in my hand swept across, severing several centipede-like data worms that were trying to ambush Noriljo from the side. These small units were extremely aggressive but weakly defended, making them harassers on the battlefield.

"Roger!" Mia Reilly responded, tense but determined. She maneuvered eight small escape boats like a nimble hummingbird, dodging the splashing data streams and energy explosions, rapidly approaching the forcibly opened wound. Upon reaching the designated position, the jets on the belly of the escape boats opened, and highly concentrated, pearly-lustered white flower nectar from the storage tanks was precisely sprayed deep into the wound.

The effect was immediate upon contact with the nectar. The frantically writhing, repairing granulation tissue inside the wound, as if doused with a powerful neutralizer, quickly turned gray and sluggish, eventually solidifying into a harmless, inert structure resembling rock or coral. The purified area spread outward from the wound at a visible rate.

"Worked! Continue!" Edseys's voice came from the Drei, tinged with weariness but clear encouragement. At the same time, she remotely assisted Mia in evasion, a delicate sideslip that allowed an escape ship to narrowly avoid an energy lash suddenly fired from the R-Mute's main body.

The battle continued at an intense yet somewhat monotonous pace. As we had anticipated before the battle, R-Mutko lacked advanced intelligence; its behavior was more instinctive: endless expansion, devouring everything, and healing itself by drawing upon surrounding matter when injured. It was like a headless giant with terrifying regenerative abilities, immensely powerful but lacking in tactics. This also explained why M-Tini Guquera was able to seal it away for so long—with the right methods, it wasn't invincible, just extremely "troublesome."

We strictly adhered to the strategy of "divide and conquer, gradually disintegrate." M-Tini Guquera, piloting the Ringbelt, used her secondary guns and maneuverability to harass the enemy when the main guns were cooling down or when she needed to evade large-scale attacks. Once her energy level dropped below the 30% warning threshold, she did not hesitate to leave the battlefield, return to the Dreil for emergency recharging, and then return at full speed to continue the battle. Her piloting skills improved rapidly in this intense tug-of-war, and her plant-based body displayed astonishing resilience and focus.

Noreljun and I were constantly creating chaos and wounds on the front lines. Noreljun was completely immersed in the frenzy of battle. Once, in the heat of the moment, he chased a large group of scattered data insects deep into enemy territory and was almost surrounded and killed by the R-Mute main body that was quietly closing in from the rear.

"Noriljohn! Behind you!" I warned in time, and at the same time, I activated the water light around my body with all my might, forming a high-pressure water blade that cut a gap in the flesh wall behind him that was like a giant mouth closing.

Noreljon's magical doll whirled around, its crimson electronic eyes flashing as if it regretted its carelessness. It grunted and muttered in barely audible voice, "...Thanks." Then it immediately unleashed its fury on the enemy before it. This awkward gratitude, in this context, seemed strangely genuine.

Mia Reilly was under the most pressure. She not only had to precisely control eight small boats, but also complete difficult deployment operations amidst a hail of bullets. Despite Edseys's assistance, accidents still occurred. On the third day, one escape ship, unable to dodge in time, was struck by a massive data tentacle that suddenly emerged from a crack, instantly disintegrating into a burst of light. Mia Reilly let out a short scream over the comms, but immediately gritted her teeth and focused on controlling the remaining seven ships. On the fifth day, two more ships were affected by a large-scale energy burst of R-Mute, severely damaged and forced to evacuate. The losses from the battle continued to accumulate.

Five days and five nights of relentless, high-intensity combat. For beings like Noriljohn and me who don't need sleep, the mental fatigue was bearable, mainly due to the continuous energy expenditure. But for Mia Reilly, M-Tini Guquera, and Edessis, who was remotely exhausting herself with precise calculations and assistance, this was almost the limit.

At dusk on the fifth day, the Ringbelt's main guns fired a final salvo. The target area was the last remaining active and offensive core area of ​​the R-Mutko.

boom--!

With a deafening explosion, the writhing darkness finally calmed down completely, covered by the sprayed nectar, and solidified into a huge, inert structure like a white coral reef.

On the battlefield, the once boundless and suffocating ocean of data worms has now been divided and purified into more than 20,000 gray-white, motionless "wreckage" pieces of varying sizes, floating in the void. The continuous buzzing and roaring have disappeared, leaving only the faint crackling sound of energy dissipating.

ended.

The Ringbelt hovered to one side, its hull covered in scratches and burns, with an overall damage level approaching thirty percent. M-Tini Guquela released the control stick, his entire body almost limp in the cockpit, the Venus flytrap leaves on his belly closing limply, and the sand grains that had been floating and swirling lost their vitality, falling rustling onto the cockpit floor.

Mia Reilly was too exhausted to even fly. She crawled out of the last surviving lifeboat and lay down on the deck of the Ringbelt. Her small wings drooped, and her large blue-green eyes lost focus, showing only endless exhaustion.

Almost simultaneously, they both asked in weak, uncertain voices:

"Have we... won?"

"Is it... over?"

I looked at the "tamed" data graveyard before me and nodded, my voice hoarse from continuous combat: "That should be it. All the R-Mutko remnants are now inactive and stable." But I added cautiously, "However, it's uncertain whether this inertia is permanent or whether it will revive in the future due to some kind of stimulus."

Just then, Xiaobei's communication came through. Its voice remained calm, but seemed to carry a hint of relief: "Your Majesty, observation confirms that R-Mute's main consciousness has dissipated, and the wreckage is in a stable, inert state. Further processing is recommended. I have a plan: use the Ring to transport this wreckage to the four damaged, currently unrepairable escape ships on the Dreil—I'll collectively call them 'Broken Ships.' Then, launch the Broken Ships, laden with wreckage, into the uninhabited deep space of the cyber world. This way, the frames of the Broken Ships can restrain the wreckage, preventing it from drifting away. And if R-Mute were to unexpectedly revive in the future, it would only devour those already useless hulls, without endangering other worlds."

I've thought about this plan carefully, and it's indeed very thorough. "Okay, let's do it this way! It'll solve this problem once and for all."

However, when I looked at the almost exhausted Mia Reilly and M-Tini Guquela, I knew that this finishing touches could not be done for the time being.

"Lady Liscia...we...need to rest..." Mia Leili's voice was barely audible.

M-Tini Guquela also reluctantly raised a Venus flytrap leaf in agreement.

Xiao Bei added: "After confirming the battle was over, Ms. Edseys relaxed and fell into a deep sleep in her room."

I looked at Norrell, who was still standing ramrod straight despite being exhausted, and then at myself. We both definitely still had energy to spare.

"Alright," I said to them, "you all rest now and recover your strength. Noreljohn and I will watch over the wreckage for now. Once you've recovered, we'll proceed with Xiaobei's plan."

Mia Leili and M-Tini Guquela were too exhausted to even reply. They merely shifted slightly to indicate that they had heard before falling into a deep sleep or hibernation.

Noreljun and I exchanged a glance. His scarlet electronic eyes flickered, as if he was somewhat dissatisfied with the boring task of "standing guard," but he didn't say anything. He simply manipulated the magical puppet to walk to an observation window on the Ringbelt and quietly watched the desolate white ocean of wreckage outside.

I walked to the edge of the deck, surveying the fruits of five days of fierce battle. The Data Abyss had returned to an eerie tranquility, with only the distant, star-like data nodes still twinkling. A long and arduous battle had finally come to an end. Now, all that remained was for my comrades to awaken, complete the final cleanup, and then… perhaps I could relax a little and await news from the other team.