“...W-What just...”
Maki endured the pain and tried to get up, but the shockwave dulled her body and she was unable to move as she pleased. The only thing she could move was her head. She turned her head around and looked in the direction of the enemy behind her.
There she saw several robots; they had ignored the poison and acid clouds and the fire wall, and forcibly chased after them.
I see... They were all disposable... We were too naïve...
If their opponents had been human, Maki and the others probably could have escaped using that method, since pushing through poison and fire was nothing short of suicidal.
However, their opponents this time had robots as well. Robots didn't hesitate to put themselves at harm’s risk. And the commander didn't care for losing some robots. The only thing they were thinking about was eliminating Maki and the others. The robots ignored everything and pushed forward. Maki and the others hadn't predicted this strategy that humans could never pull off.
Will we die here...?
Maki couldn't move any more. As she realized her death was imminent, strength left her body. Despite being face to face with death, Maki didn't feel any fear. She knew what was scary wasn't death, but solitude. Since she was with her friends, she wasn't scared.
Satomi-kun... I'm sorry...
Her only regret was Koutarou. She felt deep regret about leaving Koutarou alone. But there was nothing she could do with her body unable to move.
I wanted to see you, one more time, before I died...
With that thought as her last, Maki's consciousness began drifting away. Her built up tension was all released and she was overcome with a large amount of mental fatigue. And because of the pain, she was unable to stay conscious.
A blue, light... Is that... Satomi-kun...?
Just as she was about to lose consciousness, Maki spotted a blue light. And in the center of that blue light was a boy wearing a blue armor. Seeing that, Maki felt content and lost consciousness. It didn't matter to her whether it was an illusion or the real deal.