NOVEL NEXT Chapter 110
Grrrr…
The sounds of destruction echo from afar.
Another building collapses.
“■■■■■!!!”
“■■■■■!!!”
Crimson soldiers and a Black Lion scream as they indiscriminately hunt for people among the debris, seeking to slaughter.
Yamashita’s thoughts of economic loss and recovery had long vanished. Some of them were already chasing him.
Thud
Thud
Thud
“■■■■■!!!”
The smoky air and the heat of flames tickle his cheeks as he bolts forward, legs flailing like a madman.
“Uuuaaaah!!!”
The weight of his police notebook, handcuffs, and gun feels like a ball and chain clinging to his ankle.
Thud
Thud
Thud
As his breath hitches, the distant screams refuse to fade away.
“Hah! Hah…!”
Under the crimson sky, everything seems ablaze, poised for an end. Yamashita runs through the residential area in a frenzy.
‘I’ve gone mad!!’
After resurrecting the fallen Magical Girls, the government agencies, though not showing it, had given a directive to treat [Start] Magical Girl as a godlike entity.
[Start] Magical Girl had implored Tokyo’s citizens to evacuate, laying everything on the line.
She had only recently managed to issue a evacuation order, mobilizing all of Elysion’s resources, to prepare for the doomsday she had predicted since early this year.
“Uuuaaaah! Save me!!”
“What is happening?!!”
“I don’t want to die!!”
Too many citizens ignored calls to head to the shelters and remained in the neighborhoods, while the Lions and soldiers attacked them.
Bang! Bang!
Citizens in peril.
Fear grenades fired unconsciously.
“You bastards!! Come here!!”
Yamashita was running while luring those attacking the civilians away.
Logically, he should have sent an emergency transmission to [Order] Magical Girl Tsugumi, focusing on rescue operations with the guard unit. Or he could have driven a guard bus to transport as many citizens as possible.
Why was he acting so foolishly?
‘Have I lost my mind after sleeping and eating with these Magical Girls?’
He’s just a powerless civilian.
What was coming under the crimson sky was beyond his control.
He should have quietly remained at the Metropolitan Police Department’s special operations unit.
As he ran, lost in thought, a wrecked house came into view.
Grrrrr…
A Black Lion, just having completed its destruction, nonchalantly stepped out of the ruins.
‘If they’ve accomplished their purpose, they won’t come back!’
Schwaaaak!!
Yamashita slid further than he’d ever managed in high school baseball and desperately crawled into the rubble.
“…….”
He covered his mouth and lay still, watching the outside warily.
Thud
Thud
Thud
The soldiers that had been chasing him glanced around, then vanished down the street in front of the neighborhood.
The chilling footfalls recede.
He’s alive.
“Haah…”
“Screeeaaaam!!!”
“…Wha?!”
“Save me!!”
“■■■■■!!!”
A woman’s scream,
The roar of a Black Lion.
Yamashita’s breath quickens, and his heart starts racing wildly.
He should send a transmission to Tsugumi right now.
But what good would it do?
It’s hopeless; rushing out would be a suicidal endeavor.
Thud—Thud—
What should he do in this situation?
Could he do anything at all?
Thud—Thud—
Time felt like it was stretching infinitely. Suddenly, Yamashita glanced at the watch on his wrist.
The watch given to him as a birthday gift by his college ex-girlfriend.
-Why does Tadayoshi-kun want to become a police officer?
Politician,
Lawyer,
Coming from the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Law, he could have chosen any path.
‘Why did I want to become a police officer?’
He had forgotten his ambitious dream of becoming the chief police officer.
That childish dream of someone who knew nothing of reality.
-Because among high-ranking officials, the one who strives the hardest to protect people is…
“Well… it’s the police.”
-I will become a high-ranking officer who protects people!
“The duty of a police officer…”
[Protecting citizens is the fundamental duty of a police officer!]
Yamashita dashed forward.
Dozens of Black Lions gathered at the intersection of the neighborhoods had surrounded the fleeing children and pregnant women, emitting eerie howls.
Not even one could be handled, but they amassed like cockroaches tangled on an abandoned warehouse wall.
“■■■■■!!!”
“■■■■■!!!”
Yamashita fired at them.
“Look over here!!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Tinkle
Bullets ricocheted with feeble sounds, but at the sudden assault, dozens of gazes snapped toward Yamashita in unison.
Dozens of eyes, filled with malice and hostility, fixated on him.
He would die now.
Yamashita accepted the fact and shouted aloud.
“Citizens!! The police have arrived!! Please evacuate with peace of mind!!”
“Eek!!”
A woman, covered in tears and snot, hurriedly grabbed the hands of her children and fled.
“■■■■■!!!”
As the Black Lions turned their attention back, responding to the screams, Yamashita fired again. But every bullet merely bounced back with a hollow sound.
Bang! Bang! Tink!
The sound of the slide moving,
The gun ran out of bullets.
‘Ah…’
Rather, there was no fear.
Yamashita slowly relaxed his shooting stance and faced the approaching Lions.
Amid the frantic communication from the radio, Tsugumi’s voice started to come through.
[Yamashita! What are you doing!!]
“…….”
[Yamashita?!]
Even now, Tsugumi was surely saving countless people as a Magical Girl.
It wasn’t a task for an adult to interrupt the work of this simple yet righteous girl.
“I… am… fine. Ishikawa.”
[Yamashita! While on duty, call me team leader!]
“I hope you continue to live justly, Ishikawa. It has been an honor to work with you.”
[W-What’s that? It sounds like a will…!]
“I’m certain you will be a wonderful police officer…”
Boom—!!
From afar, the sounds of two Magical Girls with transcendent powers battling could be heard.
Yamashita looked on, praying with a serene mind.
May the [Start] Magical Girl win.
May the world of humans not end today.
Perhaps from the moment he faced her at the Odaiba Broadcasting Station, Yamashita truly began to live as a police officer.
[Ugh! I couldn’t hear well because of the noise around! Yamashita! I’ll come to you…!]
Yamashita put the radio down with a sense of futility.
“■■■!!!”
“Haha.”
If only he knew this would happen, he wouldn’t have said let’s break up, but instead proposed.
Yamashita closed his eyes.
The rushing Lions,
The approaching footsteps,
The voice of a girl rang out.
“Yamashita!!”
“Ishikawa?”
Schwaaaak!!
A deep blue police line emerged, driving the Lions away, as a girl with a serious expression descended from the sky. The black Lions faltered and retreated from the starlight contained in her deep blue bullets.
Taang! Taang!
“■■■!!!!”
Boom—
Tsugumi landed beside Yamashita, dust flying around.
Her strong, shining eyes beneath thick brows glistened with a hint of tears.
“Don’t say such things, even as a joke!! Please evacuate from here!!”
“…Hahaha.”
“Observation station!! We have one civilian isolated here!!”
“I’m not a civilian.”
“Eh?”
“…I’m a police officer, just like you.”
Yamashita stated it boldly but with a bit of embarrassment.
“Team Leader. Let’s save some people together.”
Tsugumi beamed brightly at his words, feeling both glad and reassured.
“Yes!! Yamashita is a police officer!! My proud subordinate!!”
＊
In the evacuation center in the open space of Elysion, hundreds of thousands of people held their breath, watching the battle of the Magical Girls as they were transmitted into the sky.
“Oh, God…”
“Please…!”
The prophecy uttered by [Start] Magical Girl had come true.
“Oh, Goddess!! Please!!”
“Saint of salvation!! Please save us!!”
Now people prayed that the girl who rose to save them would win the fight.
Under the crimson sky, monsters rained down like rain.
Gods mocked human fate.
Unreasonable enemies against whom all human technology was ineffectual.
They heard that even the army and police were helplessly being overrun.
“Uuugh… it’s over.”
“Are we all going to die like this?”
“Why is this happening?”
Despairing people.
Among those who hung their heads, an old man stepped forward.
“Don’t say such negative things. Here, have some of this.”
“What… what is it?!”
The fragrant smell
Corn soup
“When a person has negative thoughts, they ought to drink something warm.”
“…Thank you.”
Slurp
The warm, soft taste of soup going down his throat eased the anxious heart, growing a desire to live.
The Master looked up to the sky while serving corn soup to numerous people.
“…….”
On the screen floating overhead like a kaleidoscope in Elysion.
The girl who started all of this was desperately swinging her fists in battle.
“Please… come back victorious.”
Hikari
Kyoko
My beloved daughters.
The Master felt that the lights in the screen were entangled and appearing increasingly white.