Training Field Zeta was no longer a training ground. Three black-armored HSS units slowly encircled Kaito's Legno Mk-IV. The oppressive presence emanating from those 15-meter-long giants was something you never got used to, no matter how many hundred times you saw them in the simulator——but wait, this wasn't a simulator. This was real. The paired machine of their classmate that had vanished right before their eyes proved it. Inside the cockpit, Kaito gripped the control stick without moving. His hands were shaking. He knew they were shaking. But he couldn't let go. In the rear seat, Seira's fingers tapped across the terminal. Through the neural link, fragments of Seira's thoughts flowed in. Processing data. Enemy armor patterns, firing angles, joint structure——scared, but won't stop analyzing, scared, but now's the only chance—— "[serious]Amami. The enemy units have seams in their armor at the joints due to mass-production cost-cutting. Her voice was trembling. "Even with training beams, there... the possibility is 12%." The moment the number was spoken, Seira herself held her breath sharply. Too low, that thought transmitted directly to Kaito through the neural link. Inside the cockpit, Kaito felt the tension drain from his body. "[laughing]12%, huh. That's 2 points tougher than summer camp." He grinned. Dimples creased his cheeks. The freckles beside his left cheek twisted. On the other side of the neural link, Seira froze. And then——the memory of that summer came flooding in. The hangar at Caldera Base, standing before the second-year ace pair, Kaito's words: "17% win rate? That's plenty." He had exactly the same face. Exactly the same voice. "[crying]...That calculation hasn't changed, has it." She laughed back, holding back tears. The sync rate monitor jumped. 68——75. "[excited]Let's go!" He pushed the control stick——0.1 seconds before that, Seira input the thruster angle. They hadn't exchanged words. But they understood. Seira moved before Kaito pushed, and Kaito began evasion before Seira finished calculating. First unit. The moment the enemy machine oriented its firing line, the Legno slid sideways. The joint exposed for just an instant——Kaito drove a training beam straight into it. *Pachi!* Sparks scattered. The enemy machine lost balance and began drifting slowly through space. "[excited]One down!" "[serious]Second unit approaching from behind. Left turn in 0.8 seconds——" "Got it!" Words couldn't keep up. But their bodies moved. Seira's thoughts converted directly into Kaito's decisions through the neural link——this was it, he thought. This was what they'd glimpsed for an instant during that high-five last summer. The second unit was eliminated from the blind spot. For the third, Kaito trusted Seira's calculations completely and reversed without hesitation——0.3-second left turn, immediate reversal. A move not in any textbook. The machine groaned under the strain. But it didn't miss. *Dogoon!!* The third unit lost control explosively, spinning away into the distance. The sync rate monitor updated. 75——82. They'd broken through the ace-class baseline of 80 for the first time. "[excited]We did it!!" He raised his fist. The cockpit was cramped and his elbow bumped the wall, but that didn't matter at all. "[serious]Confirmed destroyed. All three units eliminated..." Her report was calm. But her cheeks were slightly flushed. Through the neural link, Kaito's excitement and joy were flowing into her——and Seira was receiving it without even realizing it. She was slightly confused in the rear seat, wondering why her own heart rate had spiked so much. Only the reader knew. Before that afterglow could fade—— In the distance of the training field, a shadow expanded. Massive. Far too massive. Not a standard unit. A black colossus three times the length of the Legno slowly deployed into Field Zeta. Its main cannon's muzzle began to glow with purple light. "[scared]...That's a mothership-class." *Zudooon——!!* The shockwave swept across the training field. Multiple training machines lost control simultaneously. Sensor buoys went silent one after another. One of them——contained a familiar machine number. A voice cut through the communications. "[scared]Kaito! Seira!!" It was Ryo. Light brown wolf-cut hair, those amber-colored droopy eyes——right now those eyes were definitely panicked. You could see his machine shaking on the other side of the comm screen. "[serious]Our machine's done for. We can activate the escape pod, but——you two get out of here! Leave this to us!!" His voice was cracking. He was trying to sound cool, but failing a little. Seira scanned Ryo's machine for damage. Cockpit intact. Escape pod functional. But——if they ejected within the mothership's firing range, the pod would risk direct impact. The silence lasted less than a second. "[angry]I'm not running. Ryo, I can't leave you behind." Instant answer. Seira said nothing. But the moment Kaito's emotion——"I won't abandon my comrade"——flowed through the neural link, something quietly settled inside Seira. It's the same, she thought. I would make the same choice. "[serious]Don't be a hero, you idiot!!" Ryo's shout through the comm was completely cracking now. He probably didn't even notice. Seira's fingers flew across the terminal. Structural analysis of the mothership-class machine ran. "[serious]Amami. The central power unit has an exposed cooling pipe section. If we target there, even training beams could deliver direct damage to the power core——" She paused for a moment. "[serious]However... the probability of being hit during the approach is 88%." Silence fell in the cockpit. 88%. In other words, an 8% survival rate. Kaito slowly opened his mouth. "[laughing]...So 12% survival rate." He laughed. The same way as before. Dimples creasing, freckles twisting, hazel-green eyes narrowing. "That's our lucky number." In the rear seat, Seira's lips trembled. Tears were forming. But——she was smiling. "[crying]...Yes, that's right." She consciously opened the neural link all the way. Like the night before dawn in Episode 5——but different this time. Back then, they'd barely torn down the wall in the midst of fear. This time, they were choosing to open it themselves, even while afraid. From Kaito to Seira. Scared——but going——because you're here I can go——emotions in their rawest form, before they took the shape of words, flowed through. From Seira to Kaito. I trust your instinct——just like that night——the memory of hands touching beneath the moonlight at Caldera Base, returning with its original warmth before language could shape it. The two emotions achieved perfect resonance. The sync rate monitor moved. 82——88——91. *Beep beep beep beep beep!!* Not a warning. A record-breaking signal. In the past 50 years, only three pairs had ever exceeded 90. Now, on Field Zeta, in a training machine, a pair of twelve-year-olds had just achieved it. On the damaged machine's monitor, Ryo saw the sync rate number. "[surprised]...91? What is this?" His voice was dumbfounded. He was double-taking the number. Kaito wasn't listening anymore. The hand gripping the control stick was different now. There was still trembling. But it had a core. Even with the training machine's 60% output limiter still engaged——sync rate 91 drew out the machine's auxiliary calculations, producing movements that matched a proper ace-class unit. The mothership-class machine's concentrated barrage swept across the training field. Light beams crisscrossed. By normal logic, there was no path through. The 88% hit probability proved that fact. But there were gaps. Kaito's instinct read those gaps. Seira's calculations controlled the thrusters in 0.1-second increments, sliding the machine through. Words weren't needed. Breathing wasn't needed. The moment Kaito sensed it, Seira moved. The moment Seira calculated it, Kaito brought the machine there. The Legno Mk-IV slipped through the barrage. Inside the cockpit, Seira's hand unconsciously gripped the console. Right beside Kaito's control stick. Kaito noticed it. Through the neural link, he willed it. ——Don't let go. Seira received that emotion. Her grip strengthened. The Legno Mk-IV accelerated toward the mothership, slipping through the barrage. A training machine becoming something more, and two people were there in that moment. The mothership's massive frame filled their entire vision. The exposed cooling pipe section——they saw it.