Chapter 12 (2/2)

Having obtained a steady posture,

“Go to h.e.l.lll!”

The female dwarf began shooting violently.

There were merely a bit over 100 metres to the rock that she chibi was hiding behind.

The Bullet Circle fixed on the rock, and even at its largest, only took up twice the size of the rock.

The bullets fired with a heavy and low sound became sonic blades, and mercilessly poured down on the target.

“Uhyaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

LLENN shouted.

‘I’m done for I’m already done for I’m done for at last I’m really done for I’m gonna die I’m gonna die I’ll be shot I’m gonna die I’m gonna die!’(3)

Today, she had been under fire from machine guns time after time, but she had not been as scared as she was now.

The rock that she had her back to, and was probably a good-for-nothing lump that was only several hundred kilograms in weight, was shaking irregularly. And, from the opposite side, it was giving an unpleasant sound of being shaved off.

And, Bullet Lines, as well as bullets, came flying incessantly in the surroundings, and kept raising pillars of sand, unlike waterspouts, atop the pebbles.

The gunshots could be heard clearer than ever before, as if showing off that the enemy was close. The sound of bullets piercing the air resounded from the right, left, and above.

‘Can I escape……?’

There were roughly 20 metres till the next rock in the direction opposite to the enemies. Beyond that point, the rocks were closer to each other, thus it seemed like it would be easier to hide, but——

‘It won’t woooooork!’

Bullets were relentlessly hitting the ground even there.

Right now, she would be hit the moment she jumped out, much less reaching the rock. And herhit points, which were but forty percent full, would undoubtedly be depleted if a single bullet hit her.

‘Then, what would happen if I stayed here the whole time?’

The answer was simple. The other enemy members were undoubtedly closing in towards her, and would either attack from the side or throw a grenade, either way it was certain death. Yes,game over.

The next moment, she imagined that a plasma grenade rolled right next to her, and mercilessly exploded,

“Uugh……”

LLENN s.h.i.+vered lightly.

At the same moment——

‘Plasma grenade(4)’

She remembered that she had them as well. She put her hand on her left waist, and found the two spheres still there.

The place where they were hanging was not even 5 cm away from the hole of the shot pouch.

Plasma grenades were cheap and very powerful, but it was too easy to use, thus it was relatively simple to induce an explosion by shooting it; this aspect was the trap that the grenades came with.

That’s why everyone would hand them as far to the back of their waists as possible. Weighing the ease of instant use and safety, it was deemed that this was the best position. Though as for explosions caused by being shot from the side, one could only put up with that risk.

‘If that attack moments ago had hit it, I would have died even if I my remaining hit points were at max, huh’, LLENN was amazed by her good luck.

However, she now had such a scary thought specifically because she survived——

While under fire, LLENN detached a grenade from her waist, and stared fixedly at the black ball.

By turning the k.n.o.b on its top, she could set the timer for the explosion, but by default, she could press the b.u.t.ton and it would go *bang* after 3 and a half seconds.

If she tried to press it now, including the time it would take for her hit points to go down with a *guun* sound, she’d be blown out of SJ in 5 seconds, and she would probably feel easier.

“…………”

LLENN’s eyes became serious.

Eyeing it as if she was trying to stare a hole through it,

“I’m counting on you.”

She pressed the b.u.t.ton.

O~ne.

1 second had pa.s.sed. Even in that time, the pebbles in the surroundings were whirled up by the impact of the bullets, and the rock continued to shake.

T~wo.

The 2nd second had pa.s.sed, and LLENN threw the grenade with her hand behind her back.

Th~ree.

The 3rd second had pa.s.sed, with her back turned to the rock, she a.s.sumed a half-rising posture, and prepared to dash.

“Ta!”

The beginning of LLENN’s dash, and the explosion of the plasma grenade on the other side of the rock were simultaneous.

The explosion that blew away anything within a 2 metre radius greatly shook the heavy rock, but it could not destroy it.

However, all the bullets in the air at that moment got hit by the impact. As they were repelled upwards or sideways, their course changed——

And became a s.h.i.+eld that protected LLENN’s back as she began running.

“What the!”

Sophie was so shocked that she stopped shooting.

Tohma, who had become the base for the machine gun, clearly saw it as well.

How a bluish-white explosion erupted in front of the rock, and how it bent the course of the tracers. And how the pink chibi had begun running away at the same time.

Sophie slightly s.h.i.+fted her aim upwards and once again began pounding away, but no matter how much it seemed that the bullets would hit right next to the pink chibi, they didn’t——

“s.h.i.+t! So fast!”

And their target escaped behind a rock about 20 metres away. Sophie immediately halted her fire,

“The target escaped using the explosion as a s.h.i.+eld! It’s moving further to the west! The rocks there are dense! Everyone, be careful!”

“Roger! We clearly see the location of the explosion. We’re about 40 metres to the north-east. We’re in pursuit.”

And received an immediate reply from Boss.

“Roger! We’ll chase after reloading!”

Sophie took down the PKM from Tohma’s shoulder, and removed the ammunition case, which probably had few bullets left, from the bottom of the gun.

Tohma opened Sophie’s backpack, and took out another ammunition case from there.

“That guy…… is good.”

While moving her hand to reload her weapon, the female dwarf agreed.

“Geez……. They got us a ridiculous enemy for the end.”

‘It worked It worked It worked It wooorked!”

LLENN did not know whether the plasma grenade’s explosion would become a s.h.i.+eld against bullets or not. It was an all-or-nothing gamble.

However, having succeeded, LLENN obtained a new refuge for the time being, and still continued running.

There were plenty of rocks, thus if she dashed at full-speed, there was the danger that she would not be able to dodge them, and thus she considerably slowed down her speed.

And, as she ran and ran——

‘What do I do?’

LLENN suddenly thought.

What would happen if she ran away.

“…………”

She slowed down her run.

While strolling through the s.p.a.ce covered in rocks, LLENN thought.

‘The opponents still number at least three. Actually, I should think that there are more.’

‘Their weapons are: 2 7.62 mm cla.s.s machine guns that scatter bullets in a hail, at least 1 automatic sniper rifle that can be be used 600 metres away. Additionally, 1 mysterious gun that can shoot soundlessly.’

‘As for me, I have a P90, which can be used 200 metres away at best, even when I aim calmly, 1plasma grenade, and a knife.’

‘Huh? Doesn’t this mean——’

‘That by keeping my distance, I’m actually I put myself at a disadvantage in proportion to the distance?’

‘I took down one of them some time ago, but how did I win? How did I manage to win?’

‘No, I’ve slaughtered five people until now, but in what situation did I pull off such a result?’

“…………”

She stopped walking.

‘Close. Until now, whenever I took down anyone, I was extremely close to them.’

‘That’s it——’

“I can’t run away……”

LLENN looked at the P-chan in her right hand.

The atypical-shaped gun painted in pink,

“That’s right LLENN-chan! You’ve finally realised it, huh! Now then! Don’t run away from enemies anymore! Go towards them yourself! Make the best use of your nimbleness and dexterity, and fight like LLENN-chan should! I’ll be at your side, okay! No matter if we die or live, we’re in this together!”

Gave such a cheerful speech, she thought, but——

She of course did not want to become a madwoman who could communicate with a gun, thus,

“No no.”

LLENN deemed that it was her imagination.

“Come, let’s have our final battle!”

Boss inspired her comrades and,

“Follow me!”

Naturally, she was standing in the vanguard, leading the a.s.sault towards the place where the pinkchibi should be hiding.

If the leader did not face danger, no subordinate would follow. She understood that well.

From the side of the rock where the explosion occurred, a trail of the enemy’s footprints was left behind. Holding her Vintorez at her waist, Boss moved in a half run, continuing the a.s.sault with maximum tension and vigilance.

From behind, at about 5-metre intervals, an oba-san lightly holding her PKM, Rosa, and a blonde-haired Dragunov user with sungla.s.ses, Anna, followed.

Among the three, only one of them moved swiftly. Two kept their guns at the ready and were on the lookout. And, after switching roles, they moved out again.

It was a battle formation where one of them might be shot, but the remaining two would certainly bring the enemy down. Naturally, Boss was the vanguard. Without a need for words, the three skillfully repeated the combination.

‘Now, where are you? Come out!’

Boss’s grim face tensed up further, even though she did not say that, and looked almost like that of a beast. Her braid really did not suit her.

And then, the moment she began moving from one rock to the next,

“Wh-!”

Boss saw.

Merely 10 metres ahead. A chibi who was entirely pink from bandana to her clothes was sitting atop a small rock the size of a dining table, and looking at her.

The P90 in her hands aim was not directed at her. And in the first place, it wasn’t even prepared for an attack.

And, the pink chibi was smiling. The cheerful smile looked like she had found the friend that she had been waiting for.

The moment Boss aligned her aim,

“Were you looking for me?”

The chibi began speaking to her in a normal manner, and, for probably not even half a second, her reaction to pull the trigger was delayed.

“Yeah!”

While answering, Boss swiftly shot with her Vintorez and,

“Ahaha!”

The chibi fell to the back at the same time.

Bullets soundlessly pa.s.sed through the s.p.a.ce where the chibi’s chest was, and another between her overturned legs.

“b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”

While Boss shouted, Rosa, who had caught up, pa.s.sed her side. And dynamically discharged with her PKM machine gun that was held to her waist. The menacing and very low sound began resounding.

With this gun, which could shoot 100 bullets consecutively, she could scatter its bullets for nearly 10 seconds even if she fired while in pursuit.

“Oraaaaaaaaaaa!”

Along with a shout that did not lose to her gunshots in loudness, Rosa a.s.saulted towards the rock while scattering her bullets as if sprinkling water with a hose.

Anna, who had her Dragunov at the ready, followed from behind,

“Boss, take the left!”

While saying thus, she spread out to the right.

Rosa in the centre, Anna from the right, and Boss from the left.

Their strategy was to surround the target by two of them going around the rock, and thus settling the battle in an instant.

In this case, it was by no means a mistake but——

“Stop!

Boss shouted.

“Let’s do it!”

Having descended from the rock with a back spin, LLENN firmly landed on the ground with her feet, and once again sprung up.

LLENN did not run away.

She already understood. That if she turned her back at this range, she would merely become a target.

‘I won’t turn my back anymore. Then what do I do?’

‘I close in on them myself!’

LENN suddenly jumped on the rock that she had been sitting on moments ago. Then, she immediately leaped up with her maximum force. She made a great jump with all her might, with her agility being used to the limit.

While soaring in the air, LLENN saw. That below her were three enemies.

‘A middle-aged woman that was making her way forward while shooting with her machine gun.’

‘On her left was a blonde with sungla.s.ses who was holding a long and narrow sniper rifle.’

‘And on the right side was a rough woman who was shouting something. She’s the woman who I met eyes with.’

LLENN began choosing her prey.

‘Now, who should I start with?’

Boss, and Anna too, saw.

That their comrade machine gunner who had been pounding away, and her surroundings, were engulfed in red lines from above. And that the next moment, a column of sand was raised, and hit effects began s.h.i.+ning within it.

“Gah!”

The PKM stopped shooting, and its owner’s body collapsed.

A pink chibi descended at the collapsed Rosa’s side from the sky.

“You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!” “s.h.i.+t.”

Anna and Boss aimed their muzzles at the chibi at the same time——

Just as they were about to pull their triggers...

Their bullets would undoubtedly hit their ally if they fired.

The pink chibi magnificently landed right in the middle between then, and turned forward at the next moment.

‘Go to h.e.l.l already!’

Anna swung her long Dragunov to the left, aimed at the pink chibi that was getting up from its spin, and fired in succession.

The bullets went through above the head of the target that began running to escape.

‘He’s fast! And small!’

Her target was less than 10 metres away, yet she could not hit it.

‘I’m definitely going to bring you down here!’

Anna, who continued firing with such a thought, did not notice that the pink chibi’s left arm suddenly waved.

Nor did she notice the black ball rolling right next to her.

“Run!”

In her final moments, she heard Boss’s voice.

Feeling the shock from the explosion behind her, and sprinting at full-speed, LLENN exchanged the P90’s magazine with a new one taken out from her right thigh pouch.

Without the time to put away the removed magazine into her pouch, she had to drop it even though it still had 20 bullets, but there was no time to worry about it now.

With this, the number of bullets that she could fire was merely 200.

Time for checking on the fruits of her battle - none.

The thrown grenade had fallen right next to the sniper, thus she should have been taken down, probably; however, the machine gunner was probably not dead. Even LLENN saw that the bullets she fired from the sky were considerably off the mark.

As if to prove that, a hail of Bullet Lines chased after her and pa.s.sed her.

Without the time for her to hide behind a rock, a hail of bullets descended on her, a dull pain ran through her left ankle, and made her fall over in a flashy manner.

Tumbling while in a full-speed dash was extremely flashy.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.”

Like a crashed airplane, LLENN kept spinning as she blew up a cloud of dust——

And finally, she hit a rock with her back and head with a thud,

“Gefuh!”

With her legs thrown out in front, she finally stopped.

As the cloud of dust dissipated,

“Ah.”

LLENN saw.

Firstly, her own hit points. They had further decreased to below thirty percent, and the gaugefinally turned red.

Then, her now empty hands. Her beloved gun that had been hanging in a sling was not in her hands. She immediately found it by touch. On her back. It was carried away by her spinning, and was now on the back of her body.

And finally, the enemy. Atop a rock about 30 metres ahead of her, an oba-san was standing with several hit effects throughout her body, and a demon-like expression. She had her ma.s.sivemachine gun held on her shoulder, and the Bullet Lines springing from her muzzle extended to LLENN’s face, head, arms and legs.

‘She’s probably angry.’

‘With two of her comrades killed, and several holes in her own body, it was impossible for her not to be angry.’

Time for taking out the P90 hanging from her back - none.

Time for folding her extended legs, standing up and running away - also none.

Bullets would be coming at her soon, thus LLENN stared blankly, as if this was her death, and last scene in SJ.

And then she noticed that 3 plasma grenades each hanging down from the right and left sides of the oba-san’s backpack; totaling six.

‘If only but 1 bullet from my fire moments ago had hit it!

LLENN lamented her bad luck, but——

‘Ah, in that case, I would have also been engulfed in a chain explosion and died.’

‘I really was lucky’, she reconsidered. ‘My last thoughts before death being this is ironic, huh.’, she thought.

The next moment, instead of bullets,

“Well played! Shorty!”

Such words came towards her.

It seemed that the machine gun oba-san wanted her to hear her speech in her final moments.

‘Okay, I’ll listen, y’know?’

It seemed that she could extend her lifespan—— by seconds or tens of seconds with this. She might even have the opportunity to take out her P90.

“Now then, die!”

It only took 3 seconds.

‘You could have talked a bit more. You could have spoken your heart out.’

With such thoughts, LLENN absent-mindedly looked at the face of the person who was now going to kill her.

And that person exploded.

Everyone one saw it.

How the person holding a machine gun was engulfed in multiple bluish-white lights.

Obviously LLENN, as well as Boss, who was diagonally downwards right next to her.

Tohma, who had her Dragunov at the ready to support her comrades, and Sophie, who was holding a PKM, also saw it from the top of a rock that was about 40 metres away.

And——

And another person, who was the farthest away, as well.

As an extreme sound of explosion roared through the world——

The first to completely realise what had happened was LLENN.

Those were the explosions of the plasma grenades on the woman’s waist, and they were induced by shooting.

There was but one conceivable cause for it.

LLENN placed her hand on her left ear, and re-activated the item there.

And then, she enquired.

“Are you going to partic.i.p.ate now? M-san.”

The answer immediately reached her.

“Just around the last battle.”

NOTES

1. ^ Abbreviation for “background music”

2. ^ The expression used here is 悪運の強いヤツ (akuun no tsuyoi yatsu). It means “lucky in a bad situation (usually the kind caused by the person themselves)”.

3. ^ There are no punctuation marks to denote breaks in the original text, imply rapid speech or thoughts. This happens several times throughout the story, so this note applies to any similarly structured sentences.

4. ^ Plasma grenade is written in hiragana, rather than katakana, in this case.

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