Fated to Die to the Player, I'll Live Freely with My SSS-Class Ship!

Chapter 32: Desperate Measures

After taking out our primary thruster, the battleship dived into hyperspace, disappearing from view. It all happened so quickly that I wasn’t sure if the other ships in its group had seen the stunt it pulled.

’Hopefully, they did, or I swear on my two lives that I’ll pull the hairs out from their heads, one at a time, till they’re clean bald!’

"A-Arthur...!" Eva’s terrified voice shook me back into reality, focusing my attention again on the desperate predicament before us.

Right, there was no time to fume over betrayal. We needed a plan to survive—now!

Without the main thruster, our speed had plummeted. We’d lost at least 50% of our propulsion, and to make matters worse, the main thruster was critical for initiating a space jump. No main thruster, no jump. No jump, no escape!

’Our location’s still too far from the exit point. We’ll never reach it in time without the main thruster!’

Yes, in theory, we could have repaired it ourselves, but stopping for repair was impossible with the massive Detonid gaining on us.

’Are we even going to survive this with our speed going slower by the second…?’

I clenched my teeth, holding the controls tightly as I piloted the ship along the course plotted on the VBA Module. The Range Falcon slowed down considerably without the main thruster, making us vulnerable and well within the Detonid’s attack range once more.

If I attempted to draw too many hard turns to evade, we’d lose whatever speed we had remaining. But if I didn’t, we were sitting ducks.

"Hey! Why aren’t you saying anything?! Show some reaction at least, you bastard!" Eva snapped, her voice trembling with frustration.

"…Reaction?" I repeated absentmindedly, her words sparking a sudden idea. "Right! Action and reaction!"

After gaining an idea, without delay, I accessed the ship’s system diagnostics, calling up a full list of the Range Falcon’s equipment. Engines, sensors, auxiliary systems—I worked my way through them all,

It wasn’t untouched by the explosion, but it hadn’t been destroyed either. Its gigantic size had saved it from the blast more than the sail did.

But I wasn’t going to let this chance go without a fight.

’We must end it here!’

It would ultimately regain its strength and find us again. There was no other viable option but to strike while it was weak.

As the sail still pulled us forward at an unimaginable speed, I set the Brionac’s trajectory one final time.

"BRIONAC! SHOW US YOUR GRIT!"

Before the Detonid could disappear from view, I charged the Brionac to maximum power, aiming it straight at the behemoth.

"DIE!!!"

I pulled the trigger, unleashing the full fury of the weapon. A final, blindingly bright explosion lit up the void—a prismatic flower blooming in the darkness. And then... silence.