Vol 1 Chapter 1 (2/2)

(I guess a quieter and calmer romance movie really does suit me better…)

Then Mikoto’s expression turned to a slightly puzzled one.

“Wait, are that waterway and that part of the ocean really deep enough for a s.h.i.+p to float in? I’m pretty sure people were swimming there just a bit a go.”

“Before the event, they have all the guests leave the water and then activate a device that can bring the bottom of the ocean either up or down. This place was originally just a spot in the middle of the ocean 50 kilometers from California, after all. We’re on a manmade island built on top of a rocky area, but normally no one would be able to touch the bottom.”

“I see,” Mikoto responded offhand.

After a bit, the pirate s.h.i.+p battle seemed to end. The people on the s.h.i.+ps dove off and the s.h.i.+ps themselves sank. It wasn’t clear if the s.h.i.+ps could dive, if they were on rails leading them down, or if it was some kind of trick. The normal guests didn’t seem to particularly care. They merely applauded.

And then another great noise began.

A high-pitched engine noise a.s.saulted Mikoto’s ears.

It was not coming from a car.

The noise came from black supersonic stealth fighters flying through the sky from the land out to sea.

Saten excitedly pointed toward a unit made up of five of them.

“Gwahh! That’s the Laveze squadron from Alien Wars!! America is so awesome!! The country of Hollywood sure does love their guns and weapons!!”

“I really prefer the style that delicately deals with people’s emotions…”

Mikoto continued to mutter, but no one responded to her.

“Wah!” Uiharu said half in admiration and half in surprise as she looked up in the air.

“In the movie, they were supposed to be F-22’s modified to fight UFO’s, but they really did do it, s.h.i.+rai-san. I heard each one cost over 15 billion yen.”

“I’m sure they’re just decorated to look like the movie specifications. Isn’t that just an acrobatic model made from an F-35 with all the weaponry removed?”

Even so, they had purchased multiple modern fighters, modified them for filming, and were actually sending them into the sky. That was a scale that the idea would never even be brought up in a meeting in j.a.pan.

“Ohh! They’re fighting something over there!!” Saten yelled as she pointed toward the horizon.

It must have been a type of show that used explosives because multiple fighters were flying in sharp arcs through the air. The smaller curving contrails must have been created by fake missiles. Flashes of light as if from machine guns could also be seen. Instead of multiple repeated sounds a single continuous noise could be heard even there on the sh.o.r.e. It was very loud for blanks. It was quite an extravagant performance.

And the Laveze squadron was battling against…

“? …What is that?” asked Saten looking puzzled despite being the most well-informed of the group.

The object was on the water’s surface. It was an elliptical craft about 5 meters long. While it was elliptical, it was not shaped like a rugby ball. It had very acute angles like a canoe that had another canoe placed on top of it upside down. It also had a large and a small wing on the front of either side making it look a bit like a flying fish. No, since only the tips of the downwards pointing wings were touching the water’s surface and it seemed to kick the water as it advanced, it may have been more like a water bug. Whatever it looked like, the odd craft pushed itself along the sea at tremendous speed as if it were being repelled by the water. It was moving so fast, that a large amount of seawater shot into the air trailing after the flying fish.

The flying fish avoided the machine gun fire from the sky by moving in a slightly jagged path and fired missile-like objects in return. What looked like white contrails cut through the air.

“I’ve never seen that thing before. Uiharu, do you know what movie that’s from?”

“N-no.”

“The theme park has the support of the film company, so maybe this is a promo for some new movie. But the show is happening too far away. …Ah!? Don’t tell me this is some cheap attempt to get us to pay to rent binoculars!” Saten said and started looking around.

(…?)

Meanwhile, Mikoto frowned. Looking over at s.h.i.+rai, she could tell the other girl was also a bit suspicious.

At first glance, it looked like nothing more than an attraction with the fighters in the sky and the flying fish on the sea, but there was something odd if you thought about it.

(How is that flying fish moving so fast?)

Mikoto had never heard of a s.h.i.+p capable of matching the speed of a fighter. Even if you included hovercrafts, the world’s fastest s.h.i.+ps could only reach about 90 kph. Mach 1—that is, over 1200 kph—was completely unheard of.

Now, the flying fish was not a pure s.h.i.+p because it was floating off the ocean’s surface, but that brought issues of its own. The ocean had waves causing its surface to not be level. The mere fact that it was maintaining perfect att.i.tude control at that speed was surprising.

“The scale of things sure is different in America. In j.a.pan, they wouldn’t let you blow things up like that even over the ocean.”

It seemed Saten Ruiko thought it was just a show that used explosives.

The other tourists in the area were responding similarly. They were cheering and laughing and some were even yelling that the battle didn’t have enough of a presence and they needed to make it flas.h.i.+er.

However, Mikoto alone held some questions in her chest.

She thought for a bit as she stared at the battle unfolding on the distant horizon.

(It couldn’t be…?)

The sound of the explosions continued.

A missile had hit the side of the flying fish-like craft on the side and detonated.

The flying fish lost its balance and forcefully struck the ocean water.

“You’re kidding…!?”

Mikoto’s body stiffened.

The out-of-control flying fish ran up onto the beach and slammed into the sand.

The Liberal Arts City Air Defense Force, aka the five fighters of the Laveze squadron, flew around making sharp curves again and again at around 200 meters above the ocean surface.

The name of the enemy was Mixcoatl.

The term meant Serpent of the Sea of Clouds in some language and it referred to the four winged enemies that were almost gliding at high speed across the water avoiding the aim of the cutting edge fighters.

There were only two of them and yet the Laveze squadron made up of five fighters had yet to even scratch the enemy crafts. The waves were fairly high, but the Mixcoatls’ four wings moved skillfully to keep them gliding quickly along the ocean without moving up and down in the slightest.

And the most surprising thing was that the Mixcoatls did not use steel plating like a normal military vessel. The acute main body was made of wood like a barrel and it looked like two canoes placed one on top of the other. The rest of it was made of cloth and obsidian. There was not a single bit of metal on it.

Those ma.s.ses of wood and cloth that overturned the standard knowledge of modern weaponry were managing to prevent the cutting edge fighters from getting a lock by making slight movements back and forth that made their trajectory look jagged.

The pilot gripping the stick clicked his tongue.

“It won’t stay still!!”

As he aimed for the Mixcoatl that was fleeing across the sea, he fired with the machine gun. A line of bullet marks flew across like a sewing machine had been activated, but it was only across the ocean. The bullets did not manage to approach the Mixcoatl.

However, the Mixcoatl was forced to flee to the right in order to avoid the line of bullets. It was a predictable movement. The fighter managed to get a missile lock. The mark on the HUD indicated the lock was complete.

He immediately fired.

The missile that was released from the aircraft shot toward the ocean at tremendous speed. The explosive flew in a sharp arc and exploded in range of the Mixcoatl. A large amount of sea water was blown into the air making a white curtain.

“Dammit! Did I get him!?”

The pilot tried to peer through the great amount of white spray, but the fighter’s speed took him past the point in no time at all.

And then…

“You dumba.s.s! Above you!!”

The pilot’s expression turned to shock upon hearing that transmission from a fellow pilot.

By the time he noticed the shadow above him, the Mixcoatl was already heading for him with its four wings spread out. A hole in the double canoe-like body aimed directly for the pilot’s body like the hole was a gun barrel.

(Did he jump up to avoid it in that instant!?)

“d.a.m.n you!!”

A normal aircraft would not have been able to do anything and would simply have had the c.o.c.kpit blown away, but the pilot immediately increased the strength of his grip on the stick.

The fighter rotated.

It was a special maneuver meant to bring up the nose of the craft like it was doing a wheelie.

Knowing that air resistance would slow him down considerably, he forcibly pointed the nose toward the Mixcoatl above him. Doing so forcibly aimed his machine gun and missiles at the other craft.

The two had their weapons aimed at each other.

That standoff did not last even a second.

“Gwooooooohhhhhhhhhhh!!”

As the pilot yelled, he pulled the trigger for the machine gun that was on the stick. With a roar, splinters and orange sparks flew from the front of the Mixcoatl, but no serious damage was done. The Mixcoatl fired something like a missile from the small hole opened on its main body.

The pilot thought he heard a slight sound as it was fired.

In an instant, something like an arrowhead that left behind a contrail was fired in the direction of the fighter. It stabbed into the fighter’s left horizontal stabilizer and mercilessly broke the wing off sending it flying off into the sky.

The pilot heard a fellow pilot telling him over the radio to use his parachute, but he did not do so.

The Mixcoatl seemed to be giving a sidelong glance to the damaged fighter as it finally started fall back toward the ocean having lost the lift from its great jump.

The fighter started to spin like a leaf now that it had lost that wing.

But that was not because the pilot had lost control because of the destroyed tail.

The pilot was using his skills to get the falling Mixcoatl in his sights.

“You motherf.u.c.ker…”

Unlike when flying in a large circle in a loop-the-loop, the fighter was spinning around like its center had been skewered. The pilot fixed the craft pointing down toward the falling Mixcoatl as if the fighter were standing on end and he focused his last bit of strength into the stick.

“Did you think I was just gonna let you damage me and that’s that!?”

As he yelled, he fired an air-to-air missile at the Mixcoatl.

The flying fish headed her way at tremendous speed.

By the time Mikoto’s body stiffened, the flying fish had already run up onto the beach. A large amount of sand was knocked up into the air and the flying fish continued further on. As it sc.r.a.ped along the asphalt pathway, sparks flew and it finally struck the private showers for swimmers.

A portion of the smashed wall flew spinning through the air. The giant piece of rubble was over 3 meters long and it pa.s.sed by over the sightseers heads.

“!!”

Immediately afterwards, light sparked from Mikoto’s bangs.

The white sand at her feet swelled up. No, technically it was the iron sand mixed in with the white sand. That iron sand formed a black sword which shot a few dozen meters into the air with snake-like movements where it mercilessly blew away the falling piece of rubble.

At first, the tourists merely stood there with blank expression, but a few moments later, multiple shouts pounded at Mikoto’s eardrums.

But…

“Wow!! Things really are different at Liberal Arts City!!”

“What was that? What was that advertising? When’s that coming out!?”

“Oh, so they started the show so far out to build up to this thrill.”

“So there was a performer mixed in here. You just can’t let your guard down at a movie city.”

“Who’s that girl? Asian performers are pretty rare. Was this a promotion for a new actress?”

“Oh, G.o.d. I’ve got sand in my mouth.”

The shouts were actually cheers being made in English.

Mikoto felt a chill run down her back.

(What are they saying…?)

Of course, Mikoto was not a performer for a show. That would seriously have been a major disaster if she had not interfered. However, they did not realize that fact. In the special area known as a movie city, no matter how crazy or strange things got, people treated it all like they were in an extended haunted house.

Mikoto had an unpleasant vision.

If she had not defended against that rubble, how would they have processed the disaster before their eyes? If there was someone collapsed on the ground covered in blood next to them would they think the person was a performer and the blood was fake?

Of course, there would be people who would know the victim. They would be saying that it was not an act and that the person was truly suffering, but would anyone believe them?

If the other people a.s.sumed the person crying was another actor, then it would truly seem like nothing real had happened. And if the crying people were made into the “performers” for the next attraction, all the uproar would be gone.

An attraction.

It was a situation brought about by being too used to peace.

It was a world where no one would believe something like that was happening even if it happened before their very eyes.

Was Liberal Arts City hiding something incredibly dangerous?

“…”

Suddenly, a terrible noise pounded at Mikoto’s ear drums. She looked over and saw the flying fish backing away from the private showers with squirming movements.

With that, it was made clear once more that it was an odd craft. It used no metal, its body was made of wood like a barrel, and its four wings were made of cloth and obsidian. Mikoto could not even take a guess at how it managed that amazing mobility when it was made of materials like that.

But that was not the time to be arguing over technology.

The problem was that the flying fish had started to move again while in the middle of the tourists.

(This is bad…)

The tourists around it felt no danger. Some of them even drew in closer to snap photos with their cell phones.

The body that looked like two canoes one on top of the other moved. A gun barrel-like hole on the body aimed toward the tourists trying to take pictures.

Something like a missile had been fired from there during the “show”.

“That…b.a.s.t.a.r.d!!”

“O-onee-sama!?”

Ignoring s.h.i.+rai’s attempt to stop her, Mikoto started running along the sand toward the flying fish. Sparks flew from her bangs. A one billion volt lightning spear headed in a straight line and struck the side of the flying fish.

With a tremendous noise, the shock sent the flying fish’s body sliding to the side and the side that was struck remained slightly burnt.

But it did not stop.

The flying fish changed its aim from the sightseers to Mikoto. She heard an odd sound from the hole in the body.

“Dammit! So it really is using live ammo!?”

Mikoto’s body stiffened in shock.

It seemed to be a missile fired at high speed wrapped in a band of steam. Mikoto immediately shot the attack down with a lightning spear.

(I’m not quite sure on the specifics, but it might be a hydrogen propellant.)

She quickly moved her feet as she further approached the flying fish.

(Compressed hydrogen mixes with the oxygen in the air which ignites. I’m guessing it was wrapped in that band of steam because the hydrogen and oxygen bind together and form water after the explosion!!)

The flying fish must have decided to avoid any unnecessary risks because it used its four wings like feet to move back and away from Mikoto. It broke the palm trees growing on the side of the road as it moved from the beach to the more inland area. Its speed was not too great, but its insect-like movements were rather creepy.

The flying fish then slipped into the gap between two buildings.

“Ahh, dammit! Why can’t it just come back to the ocean!?”

Mikoto ran along and reached for the heel of her sandal. She forcefully pulled on something that was held on by a strap. What she pulled out like a special forces knife was plastic, 10 cm long, and looked like a handgun magazine. However, it held arcade coins rather than bullets. It was a type of coin holder.

(What is that thing anyway!? Is there someone inside? Or is it moving based on a program like a robot!?)

The flying fish must not have been made to move on land because it was not moving anywhere near as quickly as it had on the water. With its wings made of wood, cloth, and obsidian carefully crushed beneath it, the double canoe-like main body sc.r.a.ped along the ground as it moved.

Mikoto turned her focus toward the coin holder in her hand.

(I can use my Railgun…!!)

She could use electromagnetism to fire an arcade coin at three times the speed of sound. Using that to stop the flying fish as soon as possible would be the best method of preventing any more damage, but…

“!?”

Mikoto tried to use her thumb to bring an arcade coin from the coin holder, but it didn’t work. Having it held in her sandal must have been a mistake because sand was packed in the coin holder’s spring preventing the coin from coming out.

(Dammit. Why now of all times…!?)

On top of the artificially spread out white sand, innumerable tents were set up creating a type of shopping district. They were all souvenir shops for the tourists. Families wearing swimsuits were watching Mikoto and the flying fish while cheering. They clearly did not understand what was going on.

Mikoto made a bitter expression and the flying fish made another move.

The double canoe-like main body suddenly spun around 180 degrees and the longer two wings were used to lift it up. The shorter two wings were used like a carnivorous beast’s front arms and the entire craft covered up Mikoto as if to crush her.

Like the wings were a bear trap, they snapped shut with the speed of a hunting praying mantis.

“Oh, c.r.a.p…!?”

Mikoto frantically tried to jump to the side, but she ended up directly below the flying fish. She was knocked to her back and the two wings held her arms in place.

The heat of the hot sand seemed to stab into her back, but that was the least of her worries.

She could see the bottom of the double canoe-like main body. The sharply angled body looked like a suspended ceiling above her. A rectangular portion of the bottom of the canoe was missing.

(What is that? …The c.o.c.kpit!?)

That shocked Mikoto, but something else was more important.

That rectangular hole was most likely something like an emergency escape hatch. She now knew no one was inside. The pilot had fled while keeping the thing in an autopilot-like mode.

(Dammit!! When did that happen!?)

Mikoto gritted her teeth, but she noticed something blinking within the rectangular escape hatch. There were some hieroglyphs that Mikoto did not recognize even with her extensive knowledge and there were four numbers listed below them. She had no chance of understanding the hieroglyphs, but she could tell that the numbers were counting down.

Mikoto had a bad feeling about what that meant.

(Don’t tell me it has a self-destruct device!!)

She recalled the missile she had shot down that used a hydrogen explosive. If all of the missiles remaining in the craft detonated there, it would create quite a bit of damage and if the thing was loaded with liquid hydrogen specifically for the self-destruct…

“Dammit! This is no joke!!”

Mikoto tried to move her arms with such force that her face turned red, but they were being held too tightly. Also, the coin holder she needed for her Railgun had been knocked a bit away from her when she had been knocked down.

Still being held down by the giant flying fish, Mikoto moved her head. The tourists used to peace were showing no sign of fleeing.

“Wow! It looks so real!”

She looked over and saw a girl of about 10 approaching as if she were going to touch the craft out of interest.

If the countdown inside the escape hatch really was for a self-destruct device, then it would all disappear before long. The families that had come to create some enjoyable memories, the small children begging for ice cream, and the busy workers at the souvenir shops would all sink down into a sea of blood.

Mikoto heard a splitting sound.

It took her a few seconds to realize it was the sound of her own teeth biting into her lip.

“Perfect…”

She could not move her arms because they were being held down. The coin holder she needed for her Railgun was lying a bit away. It seemed like Mikoto could do nothing about the self-destruct device about to detonate, but that did not enter into her own thoughts. One should not underestimate the Ace of Tokiwadai Middle School, a prestigious school in Academy City. She was not the type to be defeated just because one or two of her trump cards were sealed off.

A great noise burst out.

It was the sound of a large amount of iron sand moving up from the white beach around her.

The ma.s.s of black powder spread out around the flying fish with a radius of 5 meters. It was both a barricade to keep the tourists from getting close and her final key to turning the situation around. According to Mikoto’s will, the great amount of iron sand attacked the flying fish from all sides and coated it 360 degrees around without leaving a single gap.

(If I don’t have a coin for my Railgun…)

Mikoto smiled.

Bluish-white sparks flew from her bangs indicating the presence of a high voltage electrical current.

(…then I’ll use you as my ammunition!!)

A tremendous roar rang out.

The giant flying fish that had been covering Mikoto was fired up into the sky.

The flying fish and the iron sand coating it was blown away. Of course, it was not a coin, so it did not reach three times the speed of sound, but that did not particularly matter. The giant flying fish flew away diagonally and was caught by gravity at an alt.i.tude of about 200 meters. It arced like a long throw in baseball, pa.s.sed beyond the tourist area, and disappeared beyond the horizon.

And then a giant explosion occurred that drowned out all other noise.

Despite its great distance away, a few of the souvenir tents collapsed down onto the beach. At first the swimsuit-wearing tourists were surprised, but then they started pointing and laughing at the workers struggling to get out from under the collapsed tents. No matter what happened, it was all nothing more than a stimulating but safe show.

(Dammit! Where did the guy piloting that flying fish go!?)

Mikoto got up off the burning sand and brushed off the white sand stuck to her back and b.u.t.t. Her eyes suddenly met with a small girl’s. The small girl stuck her little thumb up and spoke in English.

“Good job, miss.”

“…Thanks.”

Beverly Seethrough removed the binoculars from her eyes.

She had come to Liberal Arts City as a guest, so she did not know the attraction schedule well enough to know whether the Laveze squadron or those strange flying fish-like s.h.i.+ps were on it or not.

But there was something she did know despite being left out like that.

That girl in the racing swimsuit was not part of the American staff.

She did not know the details of what had happened, but she a.s.sumed the girl had ended up joining in the show at the last second for some reason.

Beverly gave a dry laugh.

Sweat was moistening her hands holding the binoculars.

“That’s an Academy City esper for you. CG or VFX just can’t match that.”

A burning curiosity resided in her eyes.

Beverly swallowed and then licked her lips with her small tongue.

“…I suppose I can at least be satisfied that I met some interesting people.”