Flowers on an Iron Grave Marker: Gerbera Knows No Tears - The unit swallowed by the earth, a desperate key

The earth was enraged. No — that wasn't it. This wasn't anger. It was something more primal, a physiological writhing like a starving beast masticating its prey. The ruins of old Zervia, the heart of the Bone-Shell City Nevalos. The inorganic remnants that had once been skyscrapers had now transformed into a cluster of organically pulsating grave markers, twisting their bodies languidly toward the gray sky. DOGOOOOSH! An ear-splitting explosion. The metallic scream of armor being torn apart. Flashes of light streaked repeatedly, and plumes of explosive smoke rose only to be scattered by the lukewarm wind. "Second Squad, flank from the right wing! Don't get distracted by the frontal tentacles!" In the cockpit of the jet-black mobile shell, the Schwarzfalke, Cain Rathford was shouting. On the tactical display captured by his deep green eyes, a hopeless battle situation was unfolding. The Schwarz Hunt elite MS squad under his command — six units in total. The identification signals of two of them were already flashing red. The machines were still moving. But the pilots' vital signs were showing abnormal readings. The ground split open. No, it didn't split. It opened its mouth. From beneath the cracked asphalt, countless reddish-black, fleshy tentacles erupted. Their surfaces were covered with what looked like innumerable human teeth, and every time they gnashed together, they scattered a sound — *gichi gichi* — that induced physiological revulsion. They coiled around the leg of the machine at the rear of the squad. "U-uaaaaaahhh!!" A scream tore through the comms. The leg armor of the powerfully built MS was crushed effortlessly, like aluminum foil. The tentacles crawled up toward the cockpit block, prying their teeth into the seams of the armor. "Damn it, get off him!!" Cain flipped his machine around and fired his assault rifle wildly. Ultra-high-velocity armor-piercing rounds pulverized the tentacles, but new buds immediately sprouted from the severed surfaces, multiplying further and binding the machine tighter and tighter. He couldn't save him. "C-Commander... hel—" The squad member's voice was swallowed by noise and cut off. The identification signal vanished. "...Tch." Cain clenched his teeth. The old scar on his left cheek twitched with hatred. A past nightmare flashed back through his mind. It had been the same back then. His subordinates' distress signals had cut off one after another, and in the end, he alone had been left behind. (*Again.*) (*I'm, yet again—*) "Commander Cain! Dead ahead, the ground is liquefying! At this rate we'll be wiped out — we need to withdraw—" "Not yet! Don't give up!" He repeated charges that could only be called reckless. He gunned his boosters at maximum output, weaving through the gaps in the pulsating earth's crust. But it was futile. His remaining subordinates, too, were swallowed one after another by the earth's digestive organs. One by one. The last machine, right before Cain's eyes, was dragged into a sea of mucus born from a massive fissure. The pilot's bare arm, torn from the machine, clawed at the air for just a moment before vanishing into the depths of the reddish-black torrent. "Ah... aaaah...!" A beast-like groan leaked from Cain's throat. It was over. Annihilated, again. Am I the only one who survives? But the earth's "meal" was not yet finished. Countless tentacles surrounded the last remaining prey — Cain's Schwarzfalke — from all directions. It was like the composure of a predator toying with its catch. DOON!! An unavoidable blow struck the machine's flank directly. The impact sent sparks flying from the cockpit console, and the main power died. Darkness. As the backup power switched on and red warning lights flashed, the machine, now uncontrollable, was slammed into the wreckage of a ruined building. *Crash!* The machine was wrecked. The cockpit's armor frame buckled, mercilessly biting into Cain's left arm and chest. "—Gahah...!" The air was forced from his lungs. The taste of iron spread through his mouth. Blood. The dull impact told him, before the pain even registered, that his left arm was broken and several ribs had gone too. His vision dyed red, his consciousness fading. Rubble rained down. Collapsing chunks of concrete buried his machine alive. So this is the end. (*...I'm sorry, Iris.*) In his fading consciousness, the last thing he thought of was not his mission, nor his country, but the profile of a lonely girl with platinum blonde hair. —DOOOOOOON!!! Crimson light tore through the darkness. In his sinking consciousness, Cain saw it. Rubble being pulverized. Countless tentacles being mowed down. And beyond the collapsing ceiling, descending against the gray sky — the crimson reaper, the figure of Gerbera Tetra. "—Cain!" Iris Cromwell's scream reached him beneath the rubble. --- The underground shelter in the ruins was quiet. As if the hell above ground were a lie, only cold, damp air and darkness lay here. It was the remains of a facility once used for top-secret research by the old Zervian military. Life support systems, barely alive, hummed lowly. "No... no, don't die...!" She knelt beside Cain, laid out on the floor, repeating those words in a trembling voice. His left arm was bent in a direction it shouldn't be. His chest, beneath his uniform, was caved in, and every breath produced a whistling sound. His face was drained of blood, turning sallow. His deep green eyes were closed, looking as if they might stop moving at any moment. (*This is my fault.*) Iris bit her lip. She tasted blood. If he hadn't come here. If he hadn't gotten involved with me. He wouldn't have lost his subordinates. He wouldn't have been branded a traitor by his superiors. He wouldn't be dying like this, crushed under rubble— *'Half-body of mine.'* It was then. A voice that seemed to resonate from beneath the ground flowed directly into Iris's consciousness. It wasn't language. Yet the meaning was unmistakably clear. The will of the earth — the voice of Glaozahm. *'Become one with me. If you do, I shall grant you the power to heal that man.'* It was an unbearably sweet temptation. The organic black scar running from Iris's neck to her collarbone grew faintly warm, as if in response. (*If I become... one.*) If I do, Cain will be saved. My reason for being a weapon, my loneliness — everything will melt into the earth and disappear. How easy that would be. Iris's slender fingers touched Cain's now-cold cheek. This warmth — I had never known it before. That a human hand could be this warm. "...No." She forced the words out. "I... won't become you. I am human." She spoke Cain's words as her own. It was a prayer for herself, the first she had found in eighteen years. *GRAAA...!* Rejected, the earth shook the entire shelter in rage. Chunks of concrete fell from the ceiling, and the lights flickered. With trembling hands, Iris took out the emergency kit. She had no knowledge of first aid — she only knew how to kill people on the battlefield. Even so, she applied a tourniquet and splinted the broken bone. Her hands were shaking far more violently than they ever did in combat. "...Iris." A hoarse voice called her name. "Cain! Don't talk, stay still—" As she started to speak, Cain's right hand grasped hers with surprising strength. Even crushed by rubble, his grip strength as a pilot still refused to let her go. "Don't go... Iris." His deep green eyes opened slightly, desperately trying to focus. It was no longer the commanding tone of a soldier. It wasn't duty or calculation. It was raw emotion — simply not wanting the one woman before him to die. "Don't... let yourself die. That's what... I thought. I... want to talk with you more. About the future." His words were fragmented, and bloody bubbles spilled from the corner of his lips. From Iris's purplish-gray eyes, tears overflowed as if a dam had broken. "...Why." It was a question unnecessary for a weapon. But she couldn't help but ask. "Why... for someone like me... to this extent." "It's simple. I've fallen for you, haven't I." Enduring the pain, Cain smiled just a little. It was a strained smile, but his face was strangely gentle. Something burst wide open deep in Iris's chest. (*This man, just now, what did he—*) "...Nn, ah... aah...!" She sobbed as if broken. For the first time, she grasped another's hand back by her own will. A large hand, cold and wet with blood. This hand alone, the only one in the world, had called her "human." She thought she never wanted to lose that warmth again. I want to protect him. I want to protect this person. In that instant, a conviction shot through her like lightning. (*—The Key of the Earth.*) The reason Glaozahm calls me its "half-body" isn't because the earth awakens due to my presence. It's because I am the sole authentication key for controlling this forbidden zone — this biological system. The living key created by Project Titan to stop the heart of the earth. If I reach the deepest core and shut myself down — this curse will end. He will be saved. "...Thank you, Cain." Wiping away her tears, Iris spoke in a trembling voice. "I have to go. To protect you." "Wh-what are... stop, Iris!" Cain's voice trembled with fear for the first time. He had realized it too. What she was about to do. At that moment, the deep bass sound of boosters echoed from outside the shelter. The vibrations traveling through the ceiling announced that a large force was closing in right on top of them. *'—This is Leon Weinberg, Director of Strategic Intelligence, Valtren Federation Unified Command. To all forces in the forbidden zone.'* A cold, steel-like voice streamed from Cain's communicator inside the shelter. *'Apprehend and eliminate the traitor Cain Rathford and the biological weapon ZVN-07-IRIS immediately. If they resist, no mercy.'* Leon had personally led the pursuit force and pushed this far in. *'Can you hear me, Rathford.'* The tone of the voice shifted slightly. It was a voice of warped affection, tinged with faint pleasure within its icy stillness. "You betrayed me. Just like eighteen years ago. Once again, I am losing something precious because of the Battlefield Lifeform Project. I won't forgive this. If you protect that woman, I'll burn you to ashes along with her." "...Leon... Director." Cain's face twisted with pain and anger. Iris stood up. There was no hesitation anymore. "Leon Weinberg. I am your enemy. Don't drag Cain into this any longer." She spoke into the communicator, quietly, but with a will of steel. It was her first declaration — not as a weapon, but as a single human being. "I will end this land's curse and your hatred — all of it. Come. I'll settle this in the deepest part." She cut the comms. Outside, the pouring searchlights of the pursuing force made it as bright as day. "Don't go, Iris...! I'm going too...!" Cain tried to force his broken body up. But his body could no longer move even a twitch. He could only lie prostrate on the floor, screaming her name. Iris knelt beside him and gently pressed her lips to his forehead. She tasted blood, gunpowder smoke, and cold sweat. "Goodbye, Cain. The person who gave me a reason to live." Leaving those words behind, Iris stood. There were no more tears. She leaped into Gerbera Tetra's cockpit and gripped the control stick with blood-soaked hands. The machine roared, and the countless organic patterns carved into its crimson armor surface began to glow as if ablaze. "Let's go, Gerbera. This is my final battle." A roar. Gerbera Tetra shattered the ceiling of the underground shelter and leaped out onto the battlefield. Amidst the thick clouds of rubble and dust, the crimson machine didn't even glance at Leon's encircling forces deployed before it. It simply aimed for one point — the deepest, darkest place in the earth, the "Womb of Titan" — and ig

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Episode 5

Name: Flowers on an Iron Grave Marker: Gerbera Knows No Tears
Author: Novelia

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