The next day, Shin's squadron was ordered to continue advancing into Legion territory. After being deployed in their Reginleifs and taking out the laggard Legion that wandered into their path, the 86 soon stood before a small, abandoned town with Legion skittering around like ants in a colony.

"What's the optimal angle of approach, Captain?" inquired Shin through the communication device on his ear that the 86 still referred to as a Para-RAID.

"You're not charging headlong into the town, Undertaker?" asked Raiden.

"No."

With a huff of approval, Raiden remarked, "We're counting on you coming back alive. Right?"

Receiving a "yeah" of support from Theo, Anju, Kurena, and Lena, Shin replied, "I plan on making it out alive."

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"

"Then we're forming a pincer attack," Lena informed the 86. "There are more enemies up front than behind. Wehrwolf, Undertaker, take the east flank. Snow Witch, Laughing Fox, take the west flank. Gunslinger, gain a ground advantage and prepare to aim for the Legion in the front."

A mutual "roger" rang through the ears of the 86 and their Handler, and with that, Shin and his squadron began their advance. Traversing the forest along the east side of the town, Shin was followed closely behind by Raiden.

"Hey, Shin," Raiden called out, "It's just me. So, you found something worth living for again?"

Shin switched the mode on his Para-RAID to have a one-on-one conversation with Raiden. "Yeah," he responded while leaping over a fallen tree in his Reginleif.

"Good. I could tell your reason was fading before." With a reverberating clunk, Raiden cleared the fallen tree as well. "It's not gonna prevent you from having more suicidal thoughts or ideations, but it's a reason to resist and fight."

"I—"

"Don't act like you've never had those thoughts." Interpolating Shin's words, Raiden trampled over the snapped branches in his path. "We all heard you when you thought we'd all left you behind. Don't use the bullshit of 'I don't want to die anymore.' Even if it's true, it won't stop your mind from going to that dark place, and it won't stop you from getting urges to do it. As the Captain says, 'it's okay if you're not okay.' But if you want to live and be okay, start working on talking about the difficult things. We're not professionals, but you're only killing yourself slowly by not saying a word about your problems. We want to hear them. Theo can attest to that."

"I'm jealous. You let her see you cry. Why not us?"

"...so I'm honored that you chose to open up to me. Thank you, Shin…"

Ardent, undulating heat throbbed through Shin's chest. "Thanks, Raiden. Let's reconnect with the rest and see where they are." The plains beyond the forest drew near as the flames of the scarlet dawn were fanned by time.

I don't want to weigh down the people close to me, Shin cerebrated while connecting to the other members of his squad via Para-RAID. But if it also weighs them down when I try not to burden them, where do I go from there?

"Captain," Shin said as the swishing moans of the Legion pulsed through his skull, "are we aligned for the attack?"

"Yes," Lena affirmed. "Once you four enter the town, Gunslinger, have your eyes on the Legion that could attack from above. For now, be on the lookout for the scouters on the outskirts of town. There are a lot of Legion in this town, so please watch your backs."

Another simultaneous "roger" flooded through the Para-RAIDS as the pincer members began to charge towards the village on the forested plains.

The intensity of the voices mincing Shin's mind was augmented the nearer Shin drew to the Legion-infested town. Mere minutes away from engaging in battle, he unconsciously began to steady his breaths and mentally prime himself for the attack.

Take down the enemy and fight until the end, Shin told himself as he exited the forest and broke through to the sea of grass blades beneath the red horizon. For everyone, and to find my purpose, live. I hear more Legion than this town would indicate.

"It's all your fault!"

"You!"

"Kill me!"

"SHIN!"

But would I really regret dying today? Shin watched as the Grauwolf scampering towards him grew closer without registering that fact. It'd erase all my confusion and problems. Today's a good day to die. I wouldn't complain.

"Shin!" cried Kurena as an explosion shook the ground nearby.

"Hey, Shin!" snapped Raiden, who was weaving around two of the six Legion surrounding both him and Shin.

"Shin, in front of you!" exclaimed Lena.

Reeled from the tar-like depths of his mind, Shin could hear a familiar cacophony of voices seeping through to his eardrums. His liquefied senses suddenly snapped, and they continued to crack, perforating his body with newfound energy. With empty thoughts he could not recall tumbling over the surface of his brain, Shin located the hunk of metal with crab legs that was lunging towards him. He turned on a dime, pivoting away from his assailant and retaliating with a pair of missiles that sliced through the smoke from his Reginleif's cannons.

With a hefty boom that jumbled Shin's guts, the machinery that dashed past him had been reduced to charred scraps of metal strewn over the red-tipped plains. Two more Legion encircled him, but without hesitation, Shin took the offensive and hacked off the front legs of the metal beast staring him down with the large, wide blade of his Reginleif. Leaping onto his debilitated opponent, Shin heard the charcoal-filled cry of the metal beast behind him coming undone with the nearby explosion he could only feel, hear, and see the intense flash of light of.

"I'll kill you!"

Although faint, through the clunks and scrapes of metal on metal and metal transfixing metal, Shin could make out Kurena's voice as she asseverated, "Skorpion behind you is down, Undertaker!"

That's right… Shin found himself thinking while tearing off the head of his prey that wailed in the screech of nails on chalkboard. People care about me. People don't want me to die. Why? I know why, but I can't accept it. Once the head he'd severed from its main body tumbled to the grass, he whirled around to see Raiden finishing off the machine in front of him. Or maybe I just don't want to accept it. Because… No. That's not true.

"Undertaker, Wehrwolf, more are heading your way!" Lena's voice struck something deep, sensitive, and fragile within Shin.

"We'll be fine over here," Raiden assured the Handler of the 86 in a growl. "Hey, Shin, whatever's eating at your mind… Don't let it be what gets us killed too!"

"Focus on what's in front of you, and we'll be there to help settle whatever you're thinking about," Anju chimed in. "Take a deep breath and think about what your objective is in this moment."

I know that… Shin thought as he began to mindlessly rip apart the walking lumps of metal that surrounded him. I'll fight with my best. Something inside him shivered, and each vibration was a frigid punch to the stomach. But if my best isn't enough, no one would leave me behind, and I'd die on a good day. It's not that I want to die. I just don't want to live. Missiles, smoke clouds, brambles of fire, and scrap metal continued to dye the town and the plains in war. No. Raiden and Frederica were right…

"Reloading!" Kurena called out.

"These things are just endless," groaned Theo. "Huh? Thanks, Snow Witch."

"No problem," Anju sighed. "But they're not going to let up any time soon. And this…is just from the flanks. The ones at the front are the defensive lines."

"Looks like we're working overtime and have cleanup duty," Raiden uttered while taking out the Grauwolf beneath him.

"I don't want to die…"

Narrowly evading a scattershot of metal projectiles from the Phönix dashing for him, Shin blasted off its limbs and leapt to the side, crushing a Mine that followed behind the Phönix. Focus, he commanded himself as something red caught his eye, but the trembling vein that had his mind in a chokehold began to tear. They're counting on me. Think about a time later. I—

Then, before Shin could blink, his world bled into a puddle of black.