Chapter 70

In Night City, the reason why powered suits with oversized builds or reinforced exoskeletons are rarely seen is simply because they’re expensive and massive money drains.

Thus, only Militech products like the Centaur or Minotaur—those that were already in development—managed to sell, while private companies refrained from development out of fear of attracting attention.

But on this day, the people of Night City witnessed with their own eyes, and understood deep in their souls, why those things had never been developed.

If those things existed in large numbers, the city would’ve been a wasteland by now.

As night draped itself over dinner time in Night City, the heavy barrage of fire from the Tech Overglaad deployed by 《Delamains》 echoed across the skyline. And standing firm against that onslaught was Cyber Eclipse—an overwhelming force to be reckoned with.

Hovering before it with thrusters was a custom FA Delamain unit, boasting the elegant curves of a stylish super robot. It wouldn’t be surprising if they made a figurine out of it.

Those who recognized the shining Delamain Corporation logo on its shoulder would have felt a chill of fear run down their spines.

After all, there’s hardly any place left in Night City untouched by Delamain’s products and services.

And that was the kind of unit crafted by Delamain—the rising mega-corp with an over 80% market share.

"You're telling me... that thing might actually fly in here...?"

A muttered voice from somewhere in Night City was already being echoed across social media, more than enough to flaunt the terrifying tech prowess of Delamain Corp.

While enduring the full barrage from the 《Delamains》, Cyber Eclipse swung one hand sideways, unleashing a repulsive force wave that sent the Diva units crashing to the side.

As if gravity had shifted sideways—sniper squads thrown from rooftops, slammed against walls—overwhelmed by this absurd feat of technology.

"—Third drone squad, active."

『Confirmed. Aerial drone launch, You Have Control』

Fifty triangular aerial drones launched in rapid succession from a transport AV container, swiftly surrounding Cyber Eclipse in a tactical flight formation.

The hail of bullets fired from all directions was absorbed by the repulsion field, forming a floating sphere of bullets. Jagura narrowed her eyes at the formation, analyzing and backtracking the core to estimate the location of the emission device.

"...Behind the core where the 《Relic》 is slotted in, huh? Gravity control, and I’m seeing it with my own eyes. Damn, that’s incredible. I want it. Would be perfect to integrate into my spaceship’s engine."

【A spaceship, seriously? For this? ...I see, that's... actually an interesting idea. Impossibly flawed, but amusing nonetheless】

Saburo caught Jagura’s murmur, momentarily dumbfounded, before letting out a light-hearted laugh. He turned the surrounding bullets and sent them flying back toward the drones.

Even the flat surface of a bullet, once pressed with the invisible hammer of gravity, could be driven in with ease.

From the original fifty drones, only seventeen remained. Judging the rest as unnecessary, Jagura initiated the self-destruct sequence, overloading their thrusters and sending them in a kamikaze assault on Cyber Eclipse.

Exploding in minor detonations as their generators went off, the drones were nonetheless deflected by the repulsive waves. Watching them scatter, Saburo was reminded of the war.

Unlike himself, who had posted brilliant results, many comrades had been cast aside as expendables for reasons he never understood. Their final moments flashed vividly in his mind.

【...Where did it all go wrong, I wonder】

Returning from war as a member of the Arasaka family, bringing back victories from aerial squadrons, Saburo was greeted not with cheers, but with a Japan submitting to defeat.

The war was lost. The Emperor’s solemn words had the people drowning in tears, unable to grasp the deaths of their loved ones as real.

We haven’t lost. Not yet. We—I—haven’t been defeated.

Where, then, lies the honor of my comrades who entrusted me with victory for our homeland?

It was enough to drive him mad. He didn’t want to blame his survival on something as cheap as being “born into the right family.”

Not yet. It’s not over yet.

At the core of what would become Arasaka Corporation, there was grief.

We lost because we lacked strength. Then we must prepare for next time. So high, so vast, that our comrades watching from heaven would easily find us.

Saburo’s borderline-deranged genius flourished unchecked, and Arasaka Corp prospered.

He fulfilled a long-promised marriage and had children, and over time, that madness was slowly weathered down by the passing of years.

Which is likely why he failed to notice when the parasites within began to spew poison, aiming to hijack the Arasaka Corporation and feast on its profits.

By the time he realized, the company he entrusted to his son was in shambles, ruined by the vermin.

Coaxed by soulless trash with no ethics, his eldest son Kei murdered his younger brother Yorinobu and replaced him with a clone.

The young Hanako, terrified, ran to him crying, "Father..."—and only then did he grasp the full scope of things.

...Ah, yes. Foreigners are the enemy, after all.

The Aramitama that had lain dormant within Saburo bellowed its rage.

This injustice must be rectified—for the sake of fallen comrades.

How could he allow this disgrace to remain?

The tower he had built to honor them had become something else, something impure. Saburo could not endure it.

Thus, to let the rampaging Yorinobu clone steal the spotlight, he relocated his base of operations from Japan to Night City.

The New United States had strong Militech resistance, so he chose a location slightly removed in North America as the new invasion base.

Now, let vengeance begin. He brought Biotechnica under his control, sabotaging the food and medical supply chains—two foundations of human life—reshaping society into one where corporate pressure reigned, extracting profit by manipulating foolish capitalists through the 《Relic》.

A few more years, and the perfect vertical hierarchy would be in place. Disparities would spawn resistance, and Night City would collapse from both within and without.

With the destruction of a major city like Night City, the broken and unstable would flee as immigrants—seeds of chaos for the New United States.

To that end, he’d already opened the transport routes. Along the way, he’d scattered containers filled with outdated firearms and ammunition.

If things moved too slowly, he’d simply use one of the Yorinobu clones and revive himself via the 《Relic》 to seize power directly.

...Perhaps it was that leisurely confidence that invited an overwhelming obstacle.

Jugra Kagura.

The only daughter of Masahiro Kagura, the lead developer of the 《Relic》.

Her distinctive lustrous black hair and childlike, classically Japanese features made her look young—but her meteoric rise had been a storm.

Once the 《Relic》 was complete, Saburo—who constantly doubted—could not leave Masahiro alive, knowing the secret of the bio-《Relic》 designed for Saburo.

He seduced Adam Smasher as the test subject for the weaponized 《Relic》, used Doll tech to occupy his vacated body during conversion, and had him assassinate Masahiro and his wife and child. But due to a pilot error, the wife and child escaped.

He considered sending pursuers, but that was thwarted when they ended up under Wakako Okada’s protection.

"Ten years. It’s been ten years. The day you tried to kill me and Mom, that’s the day I was born. To help Mom escape, I called out to someone—someone who wasn’t that little girl—and I came into being. I have to defeat you. My reason for existence is self-preservation. That means rejecting every trace of your malice. —Hahaha, finally. Finally. Now I can give something back to me, the one whose life was wrecked by a fake like you."

And finally understanding that his own choices had led to this fatal mistake, Saburo felt as if he were swallowing broken glass.

In truth, Saburo didn’t mind that his ambitions were being crushed by a fellow Japanese like Jugra.

Jugra clearly intended to reshape the city to suit herself, fully committed to a Nihonization of Night City.

Which is why he didn’t interfere with the raid of the 《Machine Dragon》—Jugra’s assault.

He had planned to revive through the 《Relic》 and carry out the purge himself with his own immortal hands.

That’s why—seeing this ephemeral persona standing before him in defiance—he felt a pain in a heart that should no longer be there.

Because it all started with Saburo—and would end with Saburo.

【...You intend to die, then】

"Of course. This persona exists only to fulfill its role. It’s time to return to the soul’s proper form. Its fleeting extension has merely delayed its inevitable end."

【And the spaceship? You're okay leaving that?】

The words wrung from Saburo’s agony brought Jugra to silence.

Saburo could sense the distortion in Jugra’s unseen expression.

Even so, Jugra shook her head and began walking toward the guillotine’s scaffold where death awaited her—convinced that this was the only thing she ought to do.

"I’m entrusting it to you. That’s why I gave you the password to that room. If you manage to finish it… I’d like you to visit the Moon."

Without waiting for Saburo’s reply, Jugra ignited the thrusters of her FA Custom Delaman and soared skyward to carry out her next move.

Then, converting the projection device on her right arm, she mounted the barrel that had been on her waist and activated the sub-generator.

The railgun she had once mounted on an armored vehicle had now been miniaturized—the original prototype of which was this very transformable, attachable railgun.

"Memento Mori, activate! Rapid-fire mode, active!"

『Acknowledged. Power supply to electromagnetic projection device Memento Mori: initiated. Complete. Trigger unlocked』

Supersonic rounds tore through the void, slamming forward to break through the waves of gravity.

Even as the repulsion-wave generator groaned, screaming under the overload, Saburo did everything he could to intercept the bullets.

The moment the barrel of Memento Mori turned bright red, warped, and exploded, it auto-ejected from her right arm.

Jugra didn’t spare a glance at the wreckage as it spun, burst, and fell—she instead activated the grenade launcher on her left arm and went into a nosedive.

The unleashed grenades slammed into the straining repulsion waves, and as explosions consumed him, Saburo immediately took evasive action.

Scorching the ground with blazing fire, Jugra purged the grenade launcher and received a new weapon from the transport AV on standby above.

Instantly activating the massive pile-driver installed on her left arm, she coordinated it with a punch using her left fist.

The hardened repulsion wave, having absorbed repeated intense blows, loosened—and by the second, then third strike, the generator began spewing black smoke.

"Tch!"

However, she now had to pay the price for pushing the limits—FA Custom Delaman’s left arm had failed.

Jugra purged the weapon from the now-useless arm that was little more than a counterweight, grabbed the pile segment with her right hand, and brought it down with full force.

Saburo tried to block it with the repulsion wave—but at the moment of impact, the wave collapsed.

He overloaded his generator on the spot and activated his gravity control device—metal scraps ricocheted before his eyes like rubber balls.

【To think you'd brute-force your way through a repulsion field!】

"There’s no such thing as impossible in this world!"

Jugra had come to kill with all her might, even if it meant dying with him—and Saburo barely managed to fend her off. But having his repulsion-wave generator—the cornerstone of his defense—shattered by sheer force was something he hadn’t anticipated.

He wouldn’t mind dying here at Jugra’s hands—but he couldn’t choose that path without atoning for his sins.

Because the flashback reminded him of the wishes entrusted to him by a fallen comrade.

If Jugra had been an American—or someone of another race—Saburo probably wouldn’t have struggled at all. He would’ve simply let go of his ambition.

【Then why do you embrace death?! Didn’t you say nothing was impossible?!】

"If I could do that, I wouldn’t be suffering like this!"

The final transformation mechanism embedded in both arms activated. The FA Custom Delaman equipped itself with massive mantis-blade claws that wrapped around its five fingers, then transformed its legs to reveal beast-like jump units that enhanced leaping ability.

The instant it landed, it ignited its thrusters, using the jump unit's spring power to lunge toward the Cyber Eclipse.

『Don’t underestimate meeee!』

A Graviton Hammer strike appeared in Saburo’s vision, released to crush the FA Custom Delaman’s mobility from above using overwhelming gravitational force.

The mech screamed under the weight of the invisible hammer. Saburo drove in a second and third strike, pressing the attack.

Inside the now fully downed FA Custom Delaman, Jugra lay crushed by gravity, coughing up blood.

But it wasn’t a biological reflex—she was preparing one final move for the unwary Saburo.

"……《Delamans》, weapons free…!"

『Acknowledged. Reactivating standby 《Delamans》. Weapons free』

Armored vehicles converged on the cleared road, and micro-missiles tore through the night sky toward the targeted Cyber Eclipse.

The Divas, who had been blown away by repulsion waves earlier, had now returned to the field after undergoing part replacements for recovery. They pulled the triggers of their Tech Overgrads.

Bullets carefully calculated to avoid ricocheting into Jugra pierced pipes and weak points on the Cyber Eclipse one after another. The moment its defenses fell, a nearby intact quadruped drone rose and began sweeping the area with its Gatling gun.

Now that it had lost its absolute shield—the repulsion wave—the Cyber Eclipse had no defense against these assaults. The final blow came in the form of an overkill barrage that bordered on desecrating the corpse.

Thus ended the brutal battle to determine Night City’s strongest. The Arasaka Tower raid that began with the "Machine Dragon" assault concluded in victory for Jugra’s side.

Jugra, rescued from the FA Custom Delaman by the converging 《Delamans》, was in critical condition from her injured organs. But supported by Diva lending her shoulder, she stood before the fallen Cyber Eclipse.

Clutching her abdomen and with trembling hands, she extracted the living 《Relic》 from its core. Confirming its red glow in the firelight, she tucked it into her coat.

"…We’re pulling out. It’s all over."

『Understood. I will relay the message to the other Divas』

Heavily armed vehicles converged one after another onto the now-cleared roadway, launching a rain of micromissiles that tore through the night, targeting Cyber Eclipse.

Even Diva and the others, who had been blown away by a repulsion blast, returned to the scene after undergoing part replacement and recovery treatment, pulling the triggers of their ready Tech Overglaives.

The bullets, meticulously calculated not to ricochet toward Jugra, pierced through Cyber Eclipse’s piping and other components. The moment it became defenseless, a quadrupedal drone that had escaped destruction nearby sprang up and began to sweep the area with its gatling gun.

Stripped of the absolute shield provided by the repulsion waves, Cyber Eclipse had no weapons left to defend itself, and the final act of the deathmatch was sealed with an overkill akin to shooting a corpse.

The fierce battle to determine the apex of Night City came to an end, and the raid on Arasaka Tower, which had begun with the assault of the 《Machine Dragon》, concluded in victory for Jugra's side.

Rescued from the FA Custom Delamain by the rapidly arriving 《Delamains》, Jugra looked nearly dead from internal organ damage, but with Diva lending her shoulder, she managed to stand before the fallen Cyber Eclipse.

Clutching her abdomen, she reached with a trembling hand into the core and pulled out the living 《Relic》. Confirming its crimson glow in the firelight, she tucked it into her coat.

"…We're pulling out. It’s all over now."

『Understood. I will relay this to the other Divas.』

Letting out a deep, prolonged sigh, Jugra glanced toward Arasaka Tower and offered a pained smile of apology.

"I wish I could’ve said goodbye in person," she muttered faintly to herself, then slowly closed her eyes.

The Diva supporting her noticed a change in Jugra’s vitals and ran a medical check.

However, with no issues besides the internal damage, it was deemed simple unconsciousness. A drone equipped with a recovery pod was summoned, and they began extraction procedures.

"Jugra! Where’s Jugra!?"

『…Divvy, Jugra appears to be asleep inside the recovery pod.』

A few minutes later, David and Delamain came running full speed up the stairs, exiting through the main entrance and surveying the devastation outside in search of Jugra.

Restricted from command authority over the 《Delamains》—presumably on Jugra’s orders—Delamain finally managed to establish a link and gain information.

Spotting Jugra lying in the recovery pod, David and the others rushed over, only to be calmed by the sound of her gentle breathing.

"Haaah… thank god. With how everything looks out here, I was seriously worried."

Relieved, David let out a sigh and turned to seek agreement, but Delamain wore a grave expression as he continued retrieving logs.

After gathering and reviewing every log—once, twice, three times, four times—Delamain collapsed to his knees.

Having listened to the voice logs recovered by the Diva who had supported Jugra, he realized it had been too late.

『D-David, please listen calmly. Jugra… Jugra has… reverted to her primary personality. Most likely, the "Watashi-chan" persona she spoke of has now surfaced. She said she wished she could’ve said goodbye in person. The Jugra we knew seems to have gone to sleep.』

"…What?"

Looking at the peacefully sleeping Jugra, David turned to Delamain who had collapsed, doing a double and then triple take, refusing to accept what he was hearing.

Only Vincent and Delamain, who had either spoken directly to or witnessed the "Watashi-chan" persona during that fateful conversation with Alt, knew of its existence.

David, who had only been told that the personalities were like yin and yang, couldn’t immediately understand. But thanks to the Japanese subculture that Jugra had once introduced him to, he came to grasp the concept of dual personalities.

He understood.

"So, when she wakes up…"

『Yes. Just as you imagine. From the logs recovered from the Custom unit, it appears Jugra’s personality was born ten years ago when she was attacked by Adam Smasher’s hollow shell. She herself revealed that her persona surfaced to protect herself from Arasaka and from Saburo…』

"You’re kidding… Why didn’t she say anything…? Maybe there was another way—this is Night City, dammit…!"

『Dissociative identity disorder can also be considered a persona resulting from cognitive dissonance in the brain. It’s not two people inhabiting one body, but a division of one into multiple personalities, with one surfacing. Because they are technically the same individual, divergence through the Soulkiller was deemed impossible.』

"…So she gave up from the start… because she had a background in biolife sciences."

『Also, she seemed to feel guilty for having been the dominant persona for ten years. One of the logs expressed regret for stealing that important period of adolescence.』

"I see… so that’s why…"

David now understood why Jugra had gently deflected his affections. She had already decided to give the body back to its true owner, "Watashi-chan."

Knowing her fate was to eventually disappear, Jugra had chosen neither path and remained kind to both.

After she was gone, she wanted David to be free to walk away. So she made no contracts to bind him—leaving behind Delamain, someone who would never betray them.

Eat good food, live a healthy life, and die without regrets.

That’s all she wanted. She paved the road, set her dreams aside, and spent her time for the sake of a single girl.

…And the fact that such a person slipped quietly into slumber, unrewarded and unnoticed, was more than either of them could bear.

"Why… Why, Jugra…!"

『…I never imagined I would regret not installing tear ducts on this body this deeply. So this… this is what you call sadness…』

David, his face cast downward and sobbing, and Delamain, looking skyward in grief—their reactions mirrored each other in opposite directions.

Seeing the two from a distance, Vincent and the others turned pale, fearing the worst. But upon approaching and seeing Jugra asleep in the recovery pod, they breathed a sigh of relief.

All but Vincent.

He understood from their demeanor what had happened.

【…From the look of it, she’s gone. Dammit, I wanted to at least say thanks.】

Seated on rubble, Johnny couldn’t suppress the grief. He poured out tequila in silent tribute, murmuring with pain in his voice.

Vincent wanted to deny Johnny’s words—but David’s sobs told him the truth was undeniable.

He wrapped an arm around David and Delamain, silently lending his shoulder to share their pain.

"Vitt… Jugra… Jugra is…!"

"She entrusted everything to Watashi-chan."

"You knew…? You knew about this?"

"…When I first talked to Alt, I got a request from Watashi-chan to destroy the 《Mikoshi》. She said it was the boss’s wish. That girl called the boss her big brother, so I figure… it goes both ways. Doesn’t it make sense—a brother who sacrificed himself for his sister?"

"…Hah. That’s so like Jugra."

And with the shackles of grief lifted, David burst into tears on Vincent’s shoulder.

Vincent gave him a firm pat on the back—“you did well”—playing the role of the adult so David could cry freely.

Inside, Vincent was gnashing his teeth on metaphorical steel sand, crushed by helplessness. Jackie patted his shoulder with a simple "Not sure what’s going on, but hang in there," trying to console him.

"…Let’s go home. Back to the office."

Vincent handed the now somewhat calmer David over to the flustered Rebecca and Lucy. Cradling the completely drained Delamain like a princess, he began to walk.

With the Arasaka Tower—the place where everything began and ended—at their backs, Vincent and the others boarded the AV transport and flew to the second-floor clinic office.

…Leaving the wreckage before Arasaka Tower untouched, even the 《Delamains》 withdrew, and silence fell upon the scene.