Chapter 15: Let Him Be Free

The entire space was silent—as if even breathing had to be done carefully.
“Are you sure? This is a path with no return,” Claude asked—his tone calm but deeply serious.
They stood at the crossroads of fate.
“I’m sure. What about you, Major General Claude Sean?”

Many years later—when Levi would recall that moment, biting a toothpick—he would smile and describe it as a silence so deep it felt like a vacuum. He couldn’t imagine how Claude had made such an unwavering decision, so calm and unshaken.
“Pristine Lady engine system, start.” Claude looked directly into Levi’s eyes as he spoke—his voice echoing through the space. Suddenly, all the lights and holographic systems in the hangar powered on—thrusting them into a world of systems and numbers.
“Oxygen filling. Life support system check,” Claude continued—giving commands with unbroken composure.
The hatch of the ‘Pristine Lady’ opened—a deadly invitation.
Levi strode forward quickly, jumped in, and closed the hatch—severing any trace of hesitation. Inside the cockpit, everything felt familiar to him. Without a hint of uncertainty—he followed the flight initiation procedures, activating all systems.
Claude’s voice echoed through the cockpit, creating an illusion. It felt like the space wasn’t filled with oxygen, but with Claude’s voice.
“This feels strange,” Levi chuckled.
“What’s strange?” Claude’s fingers flew across the control room’s keyboard, and the tunnel above the ‘Pristine Lady’ slowly opened.
“It’s like the world is just you and me.”
“It’s too late to sweet-talk me now,” Claude smiled faintly—but his gaze lingered for a moment. “Just make sure you come back, Lieutenant. Don’t make me regret this decision.”
“Morris said you would always look up to me. Is that true?” After a loud rumble, the ‘Pristine Lady’ floated in midair—the air in the entire hangar swirling rapidly, and alarms blared.
“Yes, that has nothing to do with the feelings I have for you.” Claude closed his eyes and touched the identification device as—if making a decisive resolution.
In an instant—the ‘Pristine Lady rushed into the corridor, and the next second, it shot through the night sky like a comet, tearing through the darkness.
The rushing air suddenly halted, and Claude took a deep breath—shielding his eyes with his palm.
“What am I doing…?”
“What have you done, Claude?!” Miller shouted from the doorway—staring at the empty hangar in disbelief.
“Let him be free.”
“Free? What freedom? You activated the ‘Pristine Lady’ without informing any of the researchers! How will you take responsibility for the consequences?” Miller grabbed Claude by the collar—unable to believe what was happening.
“I thought this was the dream of the entire Z—Zone—the deployment of the ‘Pristine Lady’.” Claude remained calm—prying Miller’s hands off his wrist. “Shouldn’t you be working now, Major Miller? It’s time to gather and analyze real combat data.”

Awakened by this realization—Miller released Claude and walked to the seat opposite him, his face pale but quickly shifting into work mode.
“If anything happens to Levi—I won’t let you off the hook.”
“I won’t let myself off the hook either.”
Levi spun in a wide arc, and suddenly, three alien aircraft exploded in the sky. The central control room played it back in slow motion—revealing the details of his shots.
“Oh—”
“So beautiful! Is that the ‘Pristine Lady’?”
“Our fighters have never been this fast!”
General Montel leaned on his cane—gazing at the shimmering silhouette in the sky, murmuring, “I thought I would never get to see this moment…”
The excitement was indescribable—for the first time, K11 had seized the upper hand against alien invaders.
The sky instantly became the playground of the ‘Pristine Lady’, and the K11 Air Force—which had originally been engaging in freefire, gained precious time to form a formation and begin a more strategic assault with the ‘Pristine Lady’s’ involvement.
Levi flew in sync with the aircraft transporting X-II—not having attacked the enemy yet, but he had narrowly avoided several high-frequency laser missiles.
“Hey, brother, what’s your name?” Levi made contact with the other frequency.
“Leslie Ruchlisse.” As soon as he answered—Leslie tilted his wing, leaving the enemy to Levi.
“Good kid—” Levi swayed as two missiles flew past—taking down one of the aircraft. Another aircraft came around from the side, and Leslie performed a spiral maneuver that drew several of them away.
Levi laughed heartily, “We’re in sync!”
With that, two laser missiles took out six aircraft in a single shot—never before had he felt such exhilaration. Leslie, however—pulled off a stylish turn just before landing, causing those aircraft to plummet from the sky.
Levi, as if responding to Leslie—flew alongside Leslie’s aircraft. At the right moment, he fired a missile that struck the enemy’s launch point sparking a shower of sparks.
“Focus now, it’s not time for you to play the acrobat,” Leslie’s tone was icy.
“Ah-ha, brother, you’ve probably run out of missiles. Despite your escort being completely wiped out, you still managed to reach the K11 base. I admire you.”
“Many people admire me—I don’t need your admiration.”
“Alright, let’s team up and deal with those alien bastards.” Levi suggested, suddenly feeling that joining forces with Leslie would be quite interesting.
“Received.” The response was curt and unexpected, and the aircraft accelerated swiftly toward the horizon.
He became a moving target—continuously luring the enemies to chase after him, and his superb piloting skills pulled those aircraft into Levi’s favorite trajectory.
The ‘Pristine Lady’ became the only free-firing aircraft in the entire sky, and wherever it went—enemies were shot down.
The night sky resembled a fireworks display.
In front of the base’s screen—everyone was captivated, knowing they had won this time without a hint of uncertainty.
Morris slowly walked into the Z-Zone, where many researchers were already in a tense working state.
The ‘Pristine Lady’ had only been in battle for ten minutes, and all personnel in Z-Zone were already in position.
“He’s having a great time,” Morris said, standing behind Claude, who seemed so focused that he had not heard anything.
Two minutes later—the nearly annihilated invaders ceased their resistance and retreated at full speed.
While the theory of “don’t pursue a cornered enemy” was from the Air Force Academy—Levi adhered to it quite strictly.
He flew up beside Leslie, trying to make conversation. “Hey, you’re so skilled. Why hasn’t Claude discovered you?”
Leslie didn’t answer.
“How long have you been flying? Has your aircraft overheated? Do you feel like throwing up right now?” Levi kept talking.
Leslie attempted to shake him off with a side maneuver—but the ‘Pristine Lady’ was too capable, shadowing him closely.
“Shut up.” That was the only thing Leslie said after being relentlessly pestered by Levi.
“How boring, brother. I’m just concerned about you.”
All aircraft were returning, and Leslie also received instructions to enter the base through Channel 22.
Levi watched Leslie fly into the base—wandering around helplessly for a moment before returning to his designated channel.

As the ‘Pristine Lady’ came to a halt and the hatch opened—Levi heard a wave of applause surging like a tide. The lights were a bit blinding, so he shielded his eyes with the back of his hand.
Everyone stood in the hangar, with Levi at the center. Never in his life had he felt so appreciated—the suffocating sensation made him feel as if he would be drowned in the gazes of others.
“You were amazing, Levi—”
“The ‘Pristine Lady’ is just our dream—you made that dream take flight—”
These researchers, once fervent, were overwhelming.
At that moment—even General Montel arrived.
Levi felt neither joy nor pride. He raised his hand to signal for everyone to quiet down and then spoke clearly, “I am not your dream—I am not anyone’s dream. Dreams are just dreams—you all made them a reality. So don’t project anything onto me—if your dreams shatter, I won’t be responsible.”
For a moment, it became terrifyingly quiet. Everyone stared at him in shock—seemingly not expecting him to say such words.
“Well said.” General Montel clapped his hands. “Everyone must take responsibility for their dreams, don’t rely on others. The reason the ‘Pristine Lady’ was able to strike today is not just because Levi is excellent, but because you all created the ‘Pristine Lady’!”
Levi scratched his head. “Yeah, I don’t understand why you aren’t applauding for yourselves.”
Glancing sideways, through the glass window of the control room, Claude still sat quietly at the computer—studying and analyzing.
Suddenly, Levi realized that the man was solemn, sanctified and untouchable—even his ridiculous love was too.
Morris came in carrying two boxes of beer. “Hey, folks—today we’re going to celebrate! Toss those damned research papers aside; it’s time to enjoy the victory!”
General Montel walked over, took a can of beer, and gulped down a big mouthful. “You all deserve to enjoy!”
Instantly, the entire research room was filled with the aroma of beer.
Levi also grabbed a can and walked into the control room.
Claude was so focused he seemed to have vanished from this world until Levi pressed the beer against his face.
“I didn’t expect you to still be looking at my… data until the battle ended.”
“You didn’t fire a single arc missile during this battle—was it due to a lack of confidence?” Claude massaged his eyes but continued to look at the data.
“Yes, I’ll practice more in that regard.” Levi answered honestly. “Thank you for the beer.” Claude finally showed a hint of a smile.
Just as Levi was about to turn to leave—the sound of a can opening rang out behind him. Curiously wondering what it would be like to see the composed Claude drink a commoner’s beer, Levi turned back around.
There was a relaxed demeanor about Claude—as if wrapped in military garb representing prohibition and rules, he appeared carefree enough to vanish with the next gust of wind.
Levi found himself unable to look away.
“In that brief minute, you made three mistakes.” Claude set down the beer—his fingers deftly inputting code, and the computer displayed the data aggregation.
“What three mistakes?” Levi crossed his arms and smirked, as if ready to hear a cold joke.
“First—if you don’t love me, you shouldn’t come in here and share your success with me.” Claude rose and walked toward Levi.
“Second—if you don’t love me, you shouldn’t look back.” Claude stood in front of Levi, time deepening in his gaze.
“Third—if you don’t love me, you shouldn’t look at me.” Claude leaned forward, still elegant, his profile leaning toward Levi.

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