Vol 1 Chapter 4 (1/2)
Chapter 4 - About the Story of the Last Four Minutes
4---
With the map that Himi showed us called up into my mind, I run In order not to fall into any of the holes In order not to set off any of the traps
The diseased girl is running aic, which possesses an abnormal amount of destructive power, all over the place, endlessly Making the fall-through holes less Most of the trap-ridden areas of the floor have been destroyed, leaving gaping holes
A high ceiling With supporting pillars The width of the rerid-like floor is about two meters
The diseased girl is standing on that floor
With a crying, vacant face
Tears flowing
Yes
The girl has tears flowing
The color of her tears froht eye are red
Blue from her left eye
Both her left and right eyes are also blue and red respectively
Just like my little sister
It's the exact sa as Saki when she came doith the disease
Seeing that, I waver a little I remember Saki At that ti Even when she was consumed by the disease, she let me escape She called me Onii-chan
And it is our job to kill that diseased girl who is conscious of what is happening I narrow my eyes and murmur to myself
” a stranger”
I murmur softly
”She's a stranger A stranger a stranger a stranger a stranger”
I slid a step to the side to dodge the unleashed lightning Lettingfro my brain
【Sliced, shredded light ♪
Shredded, ripped-up light ♪
Abnorht ———】
”Demon Sword switch ---”
I take a knife out from my pocket From the center of the knife, a sith the color of darkness starts extending And I then activate the special power that lurks inside the sword
” assassination property”
A red target point appears before et point The weakness is the girl It is not the hand of the devil that is controlling the girl, but the entire body of the girl is the weakness
With half-opened eyes, I look hard at the fourteen-year old girl who has black hair and a demure face, Asahi Momoka
A girl as still attending school nor everyday in a tranquil, uneventful world made up of her parents, her friends, and a warm school life
If that girl's body is destroyed, the world will be saved
”Ha, haha as usual, what a disgusting sickness, hey”
As the sound of dry laughter escapes rip
3---
shi+ro runs Sundering the lightning with his giant knife Slicing it apart Slicing it apart As he is slicing at theround towards shi+ro's head
”Uwah, damn”
”Are you an idiot! Move aside!”
Gunjou kicks shi+ro from behind
”Guah”
While rolling on the ground, shi+ro dodges the lightning As his knife is disappearing, he starts preparing his next ic
Gunjou spreads both her hands
”--- Sea Moon Wheel switch!”
She summons multiple jellyfish
However, as they are appearing, this ti
Kiri stands before Gunjou And sunders the lightning into nothingness with her japanese sword
”I can perfectly defend you just eight more times so, use that opportunity to attack!”
”Naturally! And this tiain save the world with my power! Sea Moon Wheel switch!”
Seven circular discs of jellyfish attack the diseased girl
The diseased girl tilts her vacant face a little, and raises both her hands A curtain of lightning rises before the girl The jellyfish of Gunjou strike the curtain and disappear
”What! Didn't they say that she's weak against water!”
That kind of intel should have lost its credibility e found out that this labyrinth is not a school based on the reports fro corps
Lightning flies
Lightning flies
Kiri swings her japanese sword, defending Gunjou
”Hn, kuh Six more times!”
The diseased girl then smiles faintly
” six times? Then how's this?”
About twenty irl at the same time
” you're kidding you're kidding, sorry! I'ainst this Help ---”
At that moment, I step in front of Kiri
”shi+nnosuke-kun!”
”Acceleration switch!”
My body accelerates Accelerates Accelerates In a flash In an instant For just a second My speed is even faster than that of God
The girl unleashes her twenty lu
As if they were convulsing fro My eyes are capturing the weak points indicated by the red targets displayed before thehtning
Then, I cut those weaknesses with my sword of darkness Cut Cut Cut, cut, cut cut cut cut cut cut
”Uwaoooooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaah!”
In one second, I sundered seventeenand my acceleration comes to an end
”damn”
”Duck shi+nnosuke!”
shi+ro shouts from behind I roll my body to the front shi+ro says from behind
”--- Thousand Deities Flash Of Light switch”
It was the ave birth to the spear that has a drill-like tip froles up with the three lightning irl --- I thought, but before the spear, the girl is no where to be seen
The girl is right beside h her body She is so fast that I could not see her ht arer Tosses over shi+ro's body And it flies to the ceiling and crashes into it
”Gahah”
He falls doith half of his body falling through one of the trap holes He clings to the floor with one hand, but after receiving so e, he cannot pull himself up
”Guh uuh”
1---
No good
It's over
It's not just a matter of insufficient time The opponent is someone we should not have trifled with
”Everyone, Escape!”
I holler
From behind me, shi+ro activates his 《Headphone Fuzz》
I can also see Kiri and Gunjou behind her activating their 《Headphone Fuzz》 Everyone understood from those movements just now It's impossible to clear this It's a hopeless situation
I start preparing my Escape as well
1---
The girl looks at Kiri who is facing her
”Ah-haa, I won't let you escape”
She unleashes her lightning Unleashes Unleashes
”damn”
Kiri receives them with her japanese sword Receives Receives She can only receive two more attacks
Taking action, I swing irl As if she had eyes behind her, the girl dodges it easily The girl then turns around
”shi+nnosuke-kun!”
Kiri cries out in alarm, and as she is about to come help me, I yell out
”Don't come Kiri! Stand back!”
The girl's lightning-coated fist approaches ht just die However, it does not hit me
”--- Acceleration switch!”
I kick the chest of the girl and accelerate backwards, retreating
A little faster than the girl, I put some distance away from her
Kiri looks at me and makes a surprised face
”What, don't tell ic!?”
Of course I was going to use it However, in case of e to the Acceleration switch, then start listening to the cursed song of Escape switch Therefore, I will be leaving this area slightly later than the rest, I suppose
But it's not a proble --- I will h time for me to escape
The cursed song fills upaway The curse for the purpose of escaping
Ifat this rate, the other three should have completed theirs by now
”I'll be done in a moment! Let's leave this place!”
I yell
shi+ro then says in a pained voice
” Escape switch”
Kiri looks at me worriedly and says
”It's a promise shi+nnosuke-kun! You must escape no matter what! Escape switch”
42 seconds re ---
Gunjou shouts
”Escape ---”
But her words stopped there The girl has fired a bolt of lightning This bolt of lightning strikes Gunjou's 《Headphone Fuzz》 Her headphone breaks
”Ah”
Was what Gunjou could only utter
Since without a 《Headphone Fuzz》, she will not be able to escape from this labyrinth
Of course, anyone else who uses the 《Headphone Fuzz》 can bring another person out together at the sa another person out, one has to restart the cursed song And in our current situation, there is no time for that To top that, Gunjou and my relative positions are in the worst possible places
With the diseased girl in between us, we are directly opposite of each other
And in the ic has also been completed
33 seconds re ---
”This must be a joke”
Said Gunjou with a dazed look With a jerk, her knees give way and she falls to the ground Her face contorts with fear and tears fill her eyes
”N-No way I I”
I look hard at Gunjou with half-opened eyes The usually arrogant, high-and- Gunjou has a face filled with fear
The diseased girl closes in on Gunjou Slowly, slowly, as if cornering an injured, immobilized prey, she closes in
I have no obligation to save her Nor is it my duty to do so More like, in this situation, the choice of helping her does not exist In a place like this, anyone who talks about helping a girl or saving the world is just a fool A hypocrite A fake Mother Theresa A piece of trash that has no purpose, no reason to live, and one who does not think about the future
Thus, the only choice is to Escape
I activate ic
Gunjou notices me
She noticesface
With her contorted face, Gunjou says
” da about!”
With her face contorted in chagrin, Gunjou says
”You're pissing rin of yourseveryone!”
With her face on the verge of tears, Gunjou says
”Don't screith , 'this is all you've got after always acting like you're better than everyone else!?' Youat the prospect of one less rival, piece of trash of a guy!”
And finally, with a quavering voice, a voice that see is over for her, Gunjou says,
” hurry up and disappear from here! It's all over for me, so! So, at the very least I'll bear the rest of it here, so, hurry up and escap”
But, I interrupt her and say
”Shut up, voirl”
And I sain
S
S atvexed with myself,
”--- Holy Sword switch”
I ic A silver sword appears in ht As if it were soht, a sword of hypocrisy
” what”
Gunjou's words stop As if she has just seen so unbelievable, her eyes widen
”Y-You idiot! What're you doing!? What about your Escape!?”
I have already dispelled er escape In order to escape now, I have to save Gunjou, and kill the diseased girl
Perhaps, as a result of co on, Gunjou looks at me with a red face
”I-Idiot! Du this!? Y-You ---”
The tears of fear and despair that have been accue eyes --- now overflow froirl,
” Y-you're such a big idiot, aren't you!?”
While getting berated by her, I smirk
”Yeah, you're right I won't deny it This is the lowest and worst form of hypocrisy I'm well aware of that”
I raise irl like a fool
8 seconds re ---
The diseased girl turns towardssprings out I dodge the first one Soe the second one as well, with razed
A silver sword appears in ht
”Guh-ah”
I can tell that a gash has been made in my flesh
And that I will not be able to deal with the next attack Besides, there is no tiic, and also in the first place,Holy Sword switch consumes too much resources froic at the saic In the first place, I will not be able to hit the opponent with such a sluggish sword and to top that, this ic is incomplete
But, for irl, this is my only option
Thus, I swing irl who has rid, I swingsword at her
However, obviously, the diseased girl's irl aim for my heart
”shi+-shi+nnosuke!?”
Gunjou clings to the girl froirl's movement slon a little No, her aiing into e I have taken from that
Gunjou looks at me,
”Nnnoooooooooooooooooooooo!”
She shrieks, but unconcerned, I ignore her, and unleash ht
”Sun-ddeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrr!”
The sword touches the back of the neck of the girl It stops right there It did not cut through her skin With her other hand, the girl has stopped the sword
The girl laughs
”Haha, it's over for you ---”
3 seconds re ---
But, I too laugh
”No, it's over for YOU Since what you stopped was just my hypocrisy”
The blade of the Holy Sword that the girl has blocked with her hand shi+nes with an excessive brilliance and disappears The blade, which is a fake portion of the sword that holds no power at all vanished
What remains is the real form of the sword
So shorter than the blade of a knife, the part that reseirl
”Huh”
The girl says, but it is already too late
After that, irl The power of the Holy Sword switch is to show an illusion to the opponent who is stabbed by it, and perfor on the opponent
It is a irls, developed for the sake of saving my little sister, Saki
It is a irl To cut her heart away froirl as a result
” ah”
I forcibly enter with my consciousness
” ah, ah”
Forcibly, forcibly, entering the girl
” ah, ah, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh”
With the power of the Holy Sword, the power of hypocrisy, the power of deceit, in order to forcibly violate the heart of the girl, I force irl
””
What's inside is darkness
It is darkness
In the corner of the darkness, a girl sits by herself Hugging her knees to herself, a fourteen year old girl sits alone
I call out to her
” are you, Asahi Momoka?”
””
The girl looks up at , she looks like a gentle kid
”Who are you, Onii-chan?”
”I'm just a passerby, a hypocrite”
”Hmmmh So, why're you here?”
” to kill you”
On hearing that, the girl smiles
”Aah, I see It's because I came doith the disease”
”That's right”
”Thank goodness It was really painful I was suddenly hijacked by soer control myself”
”Yeah”
”My family was also sed by the labyrinth so I've been waiting for someone to come save me I really don't want to kill everyone”
”I understand”
”I really love Papa, Mama, and my little sister Sakura”
”Yeah”
”So, I really don't want to kill everyone”
”Yeah”
”So please kill me, Onii-chan There's no more time”
Asahi Mo her, I raise my hand Inthe girl
She smiles and says
”Hey Onii-chan It's really great that I get to meet a kind person like you at the end, Onii-chan”
I smile
”Hah, what's with that? How am I a kind person?”
The girl sently, she looks up at me,
”How, you say Onii-chan, since just now, haven't you been crying for my sake?”
””
With tears flowing, I look down at the girl I look down at the girl who has not done anything wrong, but, was just unlucky enough to contract the sickness Just like irl who, up until yesterday, has been sently
” sorry”
In a quavering voice, I said
” ic is still incomplete it's because I'm useless it's because I'm powerless I'm still yet unable to save you”
In a hoarse voice, I said
The girl says
”Onii-chan, it's not your fault”
” sorry”
”But Onii-chan, you're saving me from this pain”
” sorry”
”Onii-chan, you're saving my family”
” sorry”
”Onii-chan, the time's already”
At thatmy knife
And with that, it was over
Everything was over
The girl said in the end
”Thank you, Onii-chan”
She had a smile on her face
But she had disappeared
Her life had disappeared
'Thank you' my ass In the end, I am just a piece of trash who cannot save anyone A piece of trash Just someone who is powerless, useless,
” and a hypocrite, am I not?”
The darkness disappears
The darkness of the girl disappears
The labyrinth that has extended froirl as its center, speedily turns back to the real world
”Ugh”
Driven out of the darkness inside the girl, I return to reality With tears flowing, my eyes widen
The bright light dazzle my eyes for an instant
The smell of reality
The feeling of being alive
””
This is no longer the labyrinth
I can see the blue sky
The hustle and bustle of the street
The sounds of zoo cars
The voices of people
The girl died, the labyrinth disappeared, and tiht now in the center of some scramble intersection Maybe it is because ofhorns to blare
So to my chest
”shi+nnosuke! shi+nnosuke!”
It's Gunjou
The girl who usually has a strong-willed look is clinging on to
”S-Someone! Someone quickly call the ambulance! Please! All of you! All of you have your lives saved by this guy!!”
With tears in her eyes, she screams desperately
She is really noisy My stoed I ht just die
” haha I, can't laugh, at Yousuke”
”shi+nnosuke!?”
Gunjou looks at -willed eyes, and fair skin, have turned red
”Are you, awake!? shi+nnosuke!”
””
”We did it! We no, you saved the 3 awa”
Interrupting her, I say
”I'm not interested I killed a person”
”Eh”
”And I' a break from school today”
”Huuh? Hey, you”
Ignoring her, I look up at the sky
I look up at the sky over Gunjou's disheveled blond hair
Even though the girl is dead, as I look up at the cally endless
I gaze at the boisterous street, busying itself as if nothing had happened, unbothered by the death of the girl
Then, I say
” hey Gunjou I have a request to make of you is that okay?”
” hat?”
She looks at me with a nervous face
S, I open my mouth
””
Ier have any energy to explain them to her
This is my limit
I lost too much blood
I look down athole there
” aah, damn I'm a fool”
Mur that, I lost consciousness
♦
♦
♦
I killed the girl
But the world has not changed
I killed the girl
But the world has not changed
I killed the girl
That is why the world has not changed
We kill girls day after day, just to create such an unchanging world
And then ---
♦
♦
♦
Before I knew it, summer has ended
””
Half a month has passed since then, I think
I have been passinghospital ward
It is a private ward
It is a high-class ward specially prepared by 《Metropolitan Kichijouji High》 It seems like shi+ro, Kiri, Gunjou, Hiirl till the very end and soed to deal with her, were awarded a special bonus and special privileges We are somewhat treated like heroes
The corporations that are based in Kanagawa Prefecture and Yokohao intoschool
””
The door to the ward swings open
”Yoh, shi+nnosuke I'm here”
It is shi+ro Hiht behind him
I scowl and say
”I didn't call for you though”
”I thought that the hospital food probably sucks, so I bought soers”
”I never asked for that”
”Then, you don't need any?”
shi+ro is holding two fast-food bags The ss to that of potatoes that have been instantly cooked, are cheap and bad for the body, and soht to a hospital
I reply
” I could use some”
”Haha Make sure you eat theet ot yelled at earlier”
Yes
That four-eyes who slipped past death, is still alive On top of that, his wounds appeared to be less serious than ed That four-eyes is a tough one
I look at shi+ro with half-opened eyes
”How did you sle them in with this smell?”
”Haha”
shi+ro puts down the fast-food at the side of my bed
Himi asks worriedly
”How are your wounds?”
I answer in exasparation
”You asked that yesterday Do I look like someone who can instantly heal up like an amoeba?”
”Ah, ermmh, I don't mean that”
”Then, don't ask that anymore”
”S-Sorry”
”And also, don't come here anymore”
”Erain tomorrow”
Himi appears to be fearful, but it seems like she is someone ill not listen to what is told to her In the first place, there should have been a sign hanging outside that says 'No Visitors' I made a request for that, and besides, it has only been three days since I coained consciousness But yet, what is up with these visits that see, I wonder
Himi smiles
shi+ro also smiles
”I can't smile at all”
My face contorts, but paying no heed to that, shi+ro says
”I heard froed?”
”Don't ask such things without my permission”
”Let's work together again when you return”
”No thanks If you want me to join you ---”
”I have to pay you? You are a piece of trash as always”
shi+ro smiles For some reason, he has a somewhat sad look on his face
Then, he looks down at me,
” I'll coain tomorrow”
”Like I said, I never asked you to come”
”See you tomorrow”
”Shut up”
Together with Himi, shi+ro leaves the ward The door closes
With half-opened eyes, I continue looking in the direction they left
””
Froht have heard the condition of ainst the law to leak out a patient's condition to outsiders? If I sue hiet some money off him
Now that shi+ro and Hiers alone in the room
The sound of boredom and peace
The sound of idleness and quiet
””
After soain
When I turnsoloomy day
I look at Kiri and say
”I have no business with big breasts”
Kiri grins and says
”I heard you've awakened Shall I peel an apple for you?”
”What's attached to your chest are h”
”Fufuh, can you keep quiet already ~?”
S, Kiri enters And sits in the chair beside ement
”Yah, are you feeling okay?”
”Of course I was so energetic that I ended up in the hospital because of that”
”Ah-haha If you're that well, then you should be fine By the hat's this smell?”
Kiri says as she looks around the ward
I reply
”Potatoes”
”Whoeh?”
”shi+ro brought them”
”Ah ~, shi+nnosuke-kun, do you prefer those to fruits?”
”Not really”
”Then”
Said Kiri And she gazes at htly teary With a face that seems a little feverish but yet filled with sadness and pity, she gazes at me,
” then, what kind of thing will make you happy, shi+nnosuke-kun?”
Kiri says to me Then, she extends a hand in my direction
I grab that hand of hers strongly
” ah”
Glaring at her with half-opened eyes, I then say
” like I said the other time, what's with you?”
Kiri's face is close She is so close that I can feel her breath on me She is so beautiful that it seems like she can steal one's eyes away, and her breasts are annoyingly huge
Kiri receives my stare and says
” there was a circular at school today”
”What is it about?”
” that shi+nnosuke-kun that you can no longer fight because of your injuries and will thus be dropping out of school”
I narrow my eyes and say
” aah, I see That explains shi+ro's reaction”
”Hey shi+nnosuke-kun What in the world happened after that? After I got out --- how did you ---”
Dohn, I grab the shoulders of Kiri
”Don't get so close to me”
”Ah”
She azes at me with a look of surprise, thereafter, she lowers her voice to a whisper and says
” at school, Mizuiro Gunjou-san has becoirl They said that you were attacked by the diseased girl and failed to escape --- and then, Gunjou-san saved you”