NOVEL NEXT My experience in actual combat was pretty limited—mainly just scaring off a few reckless delinquents and participating in some trivial skirmishes against the executives of the Manma Battle. I probably had no idea how strong I was or how much stronger the top fighter of an academy could be…
Every time Hiyori’s sniping came, I realized I could manage it as long as it didn’t hit my head. Given that Hiyori couldn’t keep up with my movements, it was pretty rare for me to get hit by her shots anyway.
Atsuko’s shooting felt exaggeratedly like a massage gun. Naturally, if I kept getting hit, I would hit my limit quickly, but it was ridiculous to think I’d just stand there and take it without a fight.
Misaki seemed to just be observing the battle due to the situation. Once she figured out that Saori or Azusa could get caught in the crossfire and that our side was significantly sturdier, she probably understood she had little place in this fight.
Saori, whose fall didn’t cause much shock, quickly gripped her assault rifle with one hand and charged at me. With the other hand, she pulled out a handgun, clearly planning to suppress me in close combat like a soldier rather than a student.
If we went strictly by technique, Saori might be superior to me. Not to say that she definitely was but I could easily declare that she was. As I hadn’t trained systematically for combat, my honest fighting style was based purely on my physical abilities and instincts.
The issue was the vast difference in physical capabilities, rendering technical superiority invalid in this case. It’s like trying to take on a bear that doesn’t flinch even when shot by a special forces operator—no way I could compete in a one-on-one.
Using that moment when I was distracted by Hiyori’s sniping, Saori began firing her rifle while simultaneously, Atsuko was keeping me occupied with quick bursts. Luckily, while Saori bought time to recover, Azusa was reloading after emptying her magazine, so I didn’t suffer unnecessary damage.
I could somewhat dodge the bullets Atsuko was firing, but I had to take Saori’s shots directly as she pushed into close range. No matter how sturdy I was, tanking half a magazine wouldn’t leave me unscathed. So, I met Saori’s barrage with my own rapid fire instead of dot shooting like usual.
“…Ugh!!!”
As I braced myself and closed the distance while taking hits, Saori swung her pistol-laden hand with the intent to strike my head, but it was so obvious that I almost felt bad for her. With a quick jerk, I grabbed her wrist, applying a light force that made her drop the handgun and lose her arms one after another.
Bang— Bang— Bang—
“Ugh, this is becoming annoying.”
Despite needing to pull back because Azusa’s reloading was faster than I expected, had I been prepared to crush my opponent like Tsurugi, Saori would have been left half incapacitated. Saori had mistakenly thought getting subdued at the start was simply luck and left room for a slip-up that could have changed the fight.
Around that time, I realized that continuously playing with someone’s emotional state was a sure way for both sides to meet a bad end, but at the point of losing my biggest opportunity, I had simply added to my woes.
“Azusa, you absolutely mustn’t give ground!”
Saori quickly understood that she had to avoid close combat after making one mistake and started adjusting her tactics to create distance. Seeing Azusa seamlessly maintain that distance as soon as she heard my command made me realize she truly was a natural soldier.
As we put distance between each other, I felt like a predator poised to hunt its prey.
“You know, I really thought it was more fun when you charged at me earlier, Saori-chan☆!”
“Ugh…!”
The dynamics of the battle had turned 180 degrees compared to the beginning.
Hiyori’s sniping, using the playground’s terrain for cover, and all the booby traps set around felt like the struggling movements of prey trying to shake off a hunter.
It was quite tragic for the Arius Squad that it was only a struggle at that level.
What annoyed me the most wasn’t the squad’s shooting but the booby traps Azusa had set everywhere, which were all explosive devices.
In the dead of night, trying to discover all the traps during this chase was almost impossible, making me feel like it was my side being hunted instead.
But just because it was cumbersome, it didn’t mean it wasn’t threatening.
Teeeing—— Kuaaaang———!!
The moment I tripped over a wire, the explosion that followed was absurdly mild, leaving only the impact of someone colliding with a moderately fast-moving person. That’s why some people can get hit by a train and just pop back up, or be hit directly by anti-aircraft fire and just need a minute to recover.
Thanks to this, a situation where a flashbang trap becomes more threatening than an IED was established ironically.
Once incapacitated by a flashbang, Hiyori would definitely attempt to snipe my head with no hesitation, and Misaki was likely to break her silence and launch missiles. While I could withstand bombs and shoddy claymores, the ramifications from a flashbang were something I had to take seriously.
“Say, Azusa-chan, just out of curiosity, when did you set up these traps? No matter where I step, they go boom, and I can’t put my foot down at all. Seriously… don’t you think this is a bit much?”
“…Are you teasing me?”
“Aha, yes, that’s right☆ More than that, I think you’ve focused too much on quantity and let the quality drop a bit… um, a lot, actually! What do you think? Hmm?”
Oh, that expression! The trademark expression of Azusa, famous from the ‘Matak’ meme. I might not be particularly fond of memes, but that expression is undeniably cute. Although it’s lost some of its original charm due to reality patches, it still gives off a similar vibe.
“…Don’t indulge in wordplay, Azusa. Princess, retreat immediately and regroup with Hiyori. And Misaki.”
“Eh, you can’t be serious—”
“Launch it.”
“Wha— Oh.”
I think Saori, feeling anxious, opted for a choice that likely posed more risk for her side than for mine.
No, I didn’t mean that.
She must have realized that accepting the IEDs laid by Azusa was pointless. This wasn’t about her causing damage to me. There must have been a good reason for Atsuko being pushed back.
“Hey, Saori-chan, don’t you think you’re giving up too quickly…?”
Whoosh——
Missiles launched from the cathedral’s rooftop, igniting the murky sky. If my assumption was correct, that couldn’t be allowed to explode. It went perfectly against my goal of avoiding attention.
If Saori ordered Misaki to retreat or regroup, that must be a series of incendiary cluster munitions… in other words, Misaki’s in-game EX skill. The fire caused by incendiaries can’t be easily extinguished, so the current situation, where explosions had been triggered, would become impossible to cover up with any means.
But there was no feasible way to handle it. Trying to shoot it down with Shinpi would only further complicate matters.
…At this point, it seemed the initiative had shifted to the squad.
A series of explosions echoed, and beyond the flames, I could see Saori and Azusa retreating.
I hesitated, feeling uneasy about hitting those kids, and simply let things escalate. Resolving that when the next opportunity arose, I wouldn’t hesitate to take action, I leaped into the inferno.
*
“Honestly, that’s no ordinary monster. Staying here any longer is dangerous. I may not have good news for Madam, but returning is the only option.”
“Deciding to retreat quickly was a wise choice, Leader. Continuing the engagement would have only led to worse outcomes.”
“…Indeed, she’s strong. Even though we attacked in unison, victory seemed out of reach. It was the first time I felt the firepower of our traps was insufficient.”
(Fwiip, Fwirik, Fwiik.)
“Right, Princess… she surely knew about us. Coming close earlier while pretending not to recognize me was a strategy to induce complacency. However… the Arius Autonomous District has never been exposed to outsiders. I can’t explain the source of that information.”
“Puuuuing!!! W-What was she…? No matter how I aimed at her head, I couldn’t hit, and everywhere else didn’t affect her at all! I must be utterly useless… I’m no more significant than a stone lying on the roadside…”
“Hey, come on. Even so, Hiyori’s much better than just a stone. At least Hiyori is cute, right?”
“Is… is that so?! Oh, no. It’s clear you’re trying to flatter me just to let me down later. Hehehe… Life is always full of pain and hardships, so just like this time— Eek, w-who are you?!”
“Oh, did you think I’d gotten lost? Ahaha, no way! Thanks to you, my clothes are charred quite a lot, but that’s just a spare, so I won’t ask for a new pair!”
From the entrance to the catacombs leading from the interior of the cathedral, all the members of the Arius Squad exchanged glances with me.
(Fwiip, Fwirik, Fwiirik)
“…I understand, Princess.”
Atsuko was signing something to Saori, but I had no way of knowing what she was saying.
“Hey, everyone. Can’t we just take it easy? I mean, technically I’m on your side, right? Saori-chan has already let me go there and back twice.”
Attempting to solve things peacefully through conversation—take two.
What returned were one handgun, two assault rifles, one submachine gun, and a trembling Hiyori.
“Honestly, to just keep repeating that everything is futile and unproductive, each of you has such a stubborn attitude. But I somewhat like it.”
I lifted my own gun as well. From now on, if I caught anyone, I wouldn’t hold back. I’d still control my strength, but they should prepare for some serious pain.
“Spread out!”
Seeing the squad members scatter instantly invoked a slightly wicked thought in me. If I could capture just Atsuko and add a bit of threat, I wouldn’t have to go through all this hassle… a selfish idea. Capturing relatively weaker Atsuko shouldn’t be too difficult.
Had my goal been simply to suppress or eliminate the squad members without calculating the fallout, it might have been fine. But since that wasn’t the case, I could never afford to plunge the negative perception the squad had of me right to the core.
I had no idea. From this point onward, I wouldn’t have to worry about Azusa’s booby traps. I would fight properly while making use of Shinpi. If I could kneel Saori before me, the squad might lose their fighting spirit aside from Azusa.
“Hmm, I think I should start with the cute Hiyori-chan☆!”
“Hiiiii?!”
With the gun case on my back, I felt I could catch her with a simple jump, but since I had already wasted some time, I decided to speed things up.
Stars began to bloom from my fingertips. Three stars, neither one nor two, started spinning around.
It would shape into something like a bola if I tied the strings, but that wasn’t necessary. I just wanted to confuse them about who I was targeting.
But the answer was everyone, except the swift Azusa.
Although they weren’t being accelerated by centrifugal force, it looked like they were flying like shooting stars toward the three moving away from me. Using this chance, I would seize Hiyori.
“Ugh, Misaki!!!”
I quickly calculated how many rounds were left in my magazine and concluded that exactly three remained. Still, this should be sufficient to catch Hiyori, right?
Hiyori, let’s see what it feels like to get hit. It might sting a bit, but hang in there!
Bang!
“Puuuuing!!”
I shot Hiyori in the back of her left knee, snapping her mobility for a moment. I raised my fist, planning to follow through and retire her in one blow, watching in sympathy as Hiyori trembled in fear.
“Hehe… I see… this is where it ends for me. While I knew that someday this painful life would come to an end, I didn’t expect it to be so sudden… It’s painful and hard, but that’s life, and I just wanted to endure and keep living… everything is just so hopeless…”
“Whoa— oh.”
Honestly, I didn’t want to be so frustratingly indecisive. I really couldn’t bring myself to hit her.
Memories of Azusa getting scolded by the Arius instructors came to mind. I could picture these kids suffering in grueling training, causing a reflexive reluctance to rise up within me.
Eventually, I just struck the ground in frustration. Seeing Hiyori’s shaking figure only softened my heart. Why was I going through this trouble? By now, it was just madness.
“Hiiih…!”
“…Just sleep for a bit. I’ll catch the others.”
I aimed my gun at Hiyori’s forehead. Two shots should suffice.
Tap!
As I made her fall into a rough slumber, I switched magazines. I think I heard Saori calling for Misaki when I had just sent out some projectiles to the squad. If they could both retire at once, that would be perfect, but if not, that was fine too.
After all, work had already exploded up top, and time was on my side since I had already entered the catacombs.
“Next, I should go for our princess.”
Atsuko was someone to be absolutely protected for both them and Beatrice, so she mustn’t be put to the back.
Tap tap tap——
“Aha, resisting isn’t a wise choice, is it? Atsuko-chan.”
While fleeing with all my strength would complicate things further, if they insisted on resisting, I wouldn’t complain. I initiated the siege by dodging bullets and keeping a rough count of the remaining rounds in Atsuko’s magazine before charging straight at her.
“…”
Thinking about the rate of fire from her submachine gun, this was indeed the right call. If I rushed straight in, I’d have to tank an entire magazine, but by stalling for a moment, I could cut the number of shots I needed to endure in half, or even to a third.
Tap tap tap——
I endured around eight shots, fewer than expected, before Atsuko stopped firing. Perhaps Saori taught her well, as she immediately dove to replace her magazine. However, as mentioned, she shouldn’t have opted for resistance in the first place.
“Princess!!!”
Saori’s fire sought to obstruct my path, but I endured that too.
If I had increased the risks of becoming like the adults who abused these kids… If I could reduce that potential tragedy by inflicting a bit more pain on myself, it was right that I should choose the more painful path. I must do whatever it takes to avoid the tragedies that might arise from my foolish choices.
The muzzle flared. Although Atsuko’s gas mask minimized meaningful damage, it was sufficient to distract Saori.
Closing the distance, I grabbed Atsuko’s arm and drew her close, dropping my gun for a moment. Then, I ripped off her gas mask, throwing it carelessly to the floor.
“Ah, no!!!”
It turned out I had used Atsuko as a shield, paralyzing the stunned Saori, while Azusa circled around behind me. Misaki appeared to be on the brink of retiring.
“It’s going to hurt a little. Sorry, Atsuko-chan. But as a substitute, although it’s a bit dubious, I’ll ensure that someday you can speak freely… and that you won’t have to hide your pretty face behind this ugly gas mask.”
I raised my gun to shoot her temple. This insane method of a girl aiming a gun at an unprotected high school girl while refusing to hit was something else entirely.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Princess!!!!”
Saori screamed. I could feel her seething with hatred, her eyes now burning with rage. I noticed her mask might have fallen off in the chaos of dodging my abilities, as blood flowed from her raw, chewed-up lips.
Just then, Azusa started firing behind me, allowing me to physically pull Atsuko along and retreat to where Hiyori lay. With just a little more cover, I would be victorious just by waiting.
Assuming Misaki remained conscious, the three couldn’t call for reinforcements. If even one of them slipped away, the slender chance of stopping me would vanish altogether.
If Atsuko’s safety transferred over to Trinity, it would become clear that Arius’ forces wouldn’t be able to reclaim her without surpassing both me and Trinity. Consequently, from that moment, both Azusa and Saori recognized this place as an inescapable battlefield.
“You… Misono Mika. How dare you lay a hand on Atsuko!!!”
“Calm down, Leader. This isn’t the time to lose your temper. We need to rescue Atsuko and Hiyori.”
“…Ah, I see.”
Before I could even suggest surrender, they began to chase me down. Saori, who had momentarily lost her composure, regained it thanks to Azusa’s single sentence. Such a remarkably strong mental capacity; I couldn’t even compare to them. Psychologically, they must be far stronger than I am.
Barely taking cover behind a pillar shaped like a stone pillar, I set down Atsuko and hurled myself back into what would likely be our last clash.
“Yeah, if you don’t take me down here, we won’t even get the chance to have a conversation. Come at me. And just so you know, I’m not planning to lose for your sake.”
“Why do you keep speaking in riddles?”
“…I’m going to win for sure, Leader.”
“Right. Let’s go, Azusa.”
The determination of those two was indeed dazzling. Azusa, with an appearance that made her look like a lovely angel, and Saori, with blood dripping from her lips, were both too magnificent to weigh against each other. Their halos seemed to shine brighter than usual, which might not just be my imagination.
In this situation, it was clear that the true protagonists were those two while I appeared as a terrible villain. Yet, reality doesn’t bend so easily, and villains defeating protagonists is a recurrent narrative.
Thus, this is merely a trivial tale about an unfairly strong villain declaring game over to the protagonists.
Having propped all four members of the squad against the pillars in the catacombs, I bound them with the rope I found among Azusa’s belongings, then gently rubbed my eyelids with a sigh.
“…”
So, why is she just staring at me silently, other than showing no resistance, when she was the first to regain her senses?