Volume 2 Chapter 7 (1/2)

That vast underground space naturally had no s Once inside, everything was ruled by a thick darkness in which we couldn't see our hands in front of our faces

I had considered buying a flashlight, but we didn't have time to visit a discount store Muraer for a sht And we entered the underground space We opened the kind of thick round door found in a bank vault and stepped inside

…Who would have thought this horrific dark side of Kukyou City would ever actually save our lives?

Maxwell had overwritten the thick door's lock, so the Bright Cross's key couldn't open it Even if they brute forced it open using their sieways spread out like a spider web and connected to the entire city We could escape to anywhere and not even the Bright Cross could hope to cover all of that

”W- What is this…place?”

In her black dress and feathered witch's hat, Itou Helen sounded half impressed and half worried as she looked around the tunnel with a hemispherical cross-section

I siht Cross underground facility

There was no need to explain what exactly had been done here

”Maxwell”

”Sure”

”Monitor Itou Helen's ho watched from outside by cameras, we should be able to slip inside from below the houses undetected And that includes the city's security caather what food, water, and other necessities we can from our houses It would be best to end this quickly, but we don't kno many days we'll be holed up for”

I wanted to laugh at the dark hu them with the system they had built I hoped I could repay them for the many Archenemies who had lost their lives here

…I honestly wanted to go hoo to sleep

But I couldn't have the Bright Cross directly attacking my house To prevent that, it would be safest to make sure not even my family knehere I was

The infor

Not knowing could sometimes be a weapon of its own

”And, Itou-san How much of the chemicals taken from the Colosseum do you have left?”

”Um, I have most of the full set left, but…hyah”

That was good

My underclassman had colorful test tubes hidden in the decorative sash of her hat, in her sleeves, and on her thighs, so I rubbed her head like I did with Ayumi

Even with Archeneht Cross who could send in enerally used to stop her opponent and lacked iuy Our only hopes were Maxwell's processing power and Itou Helen's potions

There were 3 things we had to do:

1 Secure our safety for the ti

2 Wait until Itou Helen could heal her injuries

3 Destroy the Bright Cross's simulator

The brown-skinned dark elf was apparently going to help us for now Her corpse had not been ”handed over” yet, so she had yet to be released If the Bright Cross recovered her, who could say what they would do with her

”But do you knohere they're hiding such a large co the Bright Cross”

”It would be, but I do know”

It had to be there

If they hadn't begun the 3rd round so suddenly, I ht have been able to deal with it then

”Public Kukyou 1st High School That's my school It has to be there”

I didn't knohy soht Cross would have a connection there

But it fit all the conditions

It used a lot of data and electricity even at night and circulating the pool water could be used for a cooling system

I wanted to run right in there and ruin it all I wanted to swing a giant hammer around and smash it all to bits

But

”…Senpai?”

Itou Helen looked up at ainst the wall of the helass wand in both hands

It helped a lot that we had visited each of our houses to gather blankets, freeze-dried food, and a siht would last longer than ht, we had warmth, and we could boil water

That irls seemed happy that they could soak a towel in hot water and wipe down their bodies

We focused on letting battered Itou Helen rest as much as possible to recover

”How are your injuries doing?”

”I'ht at any time…”

”Be honest Do you want ain?”

”Okyay!”

She rew a bit red and she curled up within her cape

”B-but the potion really is working In another day or two, I think my ribs will be fully healed”

This reminded me that Itou Helen, with her free control over those colorful potions, really was an Archene a way to fully heal broken ribs in a day or tould win her a nobel Prize and let her start a pharmaceutical company

”U-uo on ahead…”

”Maxwell is the only one who can freely open and close the doors when the Bright Cross gets in If we leave you here, you'll be trapped”

”But”

”It's true I want to make use of this once-in-a-lifetiescale supercomputer so easily”

The Bright Cross had pulled out of this underground space so cleanly that that was probably an option they were considering But the conditions needed for a supercomputer were co it while powered on would definitely be out of the question If it took a week or two to get it set up again at the next location, thesuicide I would just have to use Maxwell to his fullest to end this before they could switch the simulator back on

The Bright Cross would have to be fearful of Maxwell's presence

We were targeting their simulator, but they would have to defeat us before they could safely transport the simulator

So I wasn't worried

Our odds of success increased significantly if aited for Itou Helen to regain her full strength to use her glass wand

She was an Archenemy, but unlike a vampire like Erika or a zombie like Ayumi, she could fully control the scope of her infection It didn't stand out asback It was like the difference between a nuclear bo at it that way, Itou Helen e

In fact

Despite how cornered ere, running crying to Erika or Ayumi still did not seem like a realistic option

I could do it

But if I did, I would be crossing the point of no return Or so it seemed to me

”This place really reht Cross is”

That comment was made by Muramatsu Yukie the Dark Elf

All of the doors were locked, but that girl in a sleeveless blouse and tight skirt spent all her spare tibow in hand

Incidentally, with all of the equipe and coed box There were no barriers for when Itou Helen or Muraed clothes But I did my best to keep my distance so ouldn't meet

Yes, I did my best

But for soeould loop back around on themselves and I would receive either a tearful slap or a ton of high-voltage arrows fro myself!

”User, I have a report”

Maxwell sent a e after I moved a bit away from Itou Helen

”It concerns the sniper shot that nearly hit Itou Helen at the end of the 3rd round”

”Oh…”

That did happen, didn't it?

On the pretext of confirasoline and burning it, they had induced an incomplete combustion and filled the space with carbon monoxide smoke to kill Itou Helen in what looked like an accident And the Bright Cross had even brought out a silent sniper rifle to try to shoot her in the head inside the bug cage

”Given the conditions at the time of the shot, that was not a normal rifle bullet It was most likely a 45 subsonic round, but then it would not break through the reinforced glass made to hold an Archenemy In that case, I can estisten, depleted uranium, or another metal with a heavier relative density than lead”

”Make it simpler”

”Sure That hly destructive, but it should also reduce the stability andsuch an idiosyncratic sniper unit would require special skills Sih to explain it”

For exa just because I had Maxwell's support I would also need a mind and body able to keep up with the displayed instructions

”…So was the Bright Cross just showing off their soldiers' specs? What does that matter?”

”User When Miss Erika the Vas in the siht Cross in this underground space?”

”Hm? What about it?”

”It was only within the siun - or rather, an odd sniper unit with full-auto functionality added on - that was equipped with 45 subsonic heavy metal rounds”

The suspect's face and name appeared on the screen

I norht Cross was an enemy, so my opinion of any particular one was irrelevant That should have been enough

But not in this case

I couldn't ignore this

I finally understood why Maxwell had waited to report this until I ay froe cape

The nao

”What…does this mean?”

”Sure He seems to be Itou Helen's blood-related older brother Unless there is an error in the siht Cross member He is also part of a field tea an extremely idiosyncratic sniper unit that uses45 subsonic heavy metal rounds”

No, not that

That wasn't what I was asking

”Then…Itou-san just about had her brains blown out by her own family member…?”

I couldn't believe it even as the words leftthat the town I lived in was used to dispose of Archenemies

As I watched, Itou Helen hesitantly raised both hands and stretched in her black dress and large cape Then she sloisted her hips around

She wason her ribs After a while, she breathed a sigh of relief

”It seems I'm fine I don't feel any pain…”

”Really? You aren't just saying that like before?”

”Hyes!”

”See? I just touched you a little and your shoulders jumped What about here? Are you fine here?”

”U-um, Senpai, uh, eek…”

I was only worried about her, but the dark elf snuck up behindand tearful underclass to and hid behind Muramatsu Yukie whose thin sleeveless blouse allowed her skin color to show through Well, as long as she's feeling better

”If you're done with your a to do now?”

”Gae contained such a ain…!!”

”Get to the point And quickly”

The dark elf drew the bowstring and aie, so I did everything I could to look the other way and put my hands up

Please don't shock me Unlike a punch or a kick, I'm not even sure how to brace for that!!

”I-if Itou-san is healed, then we don't have to wait around any longer, so I was thinking we could go destroy the Bright Cross's simulator…”

”I see” The tight skirt dark elf slowly lowered her bow and gave me a dubious look ”But in all seriousness, is that possible?”

”It won't be easy But there's no surviving this unless we overcoe”

We just had to think about it a bit I was unarroup with Maxwell-level support if I fled through Kukyou City?

…To be honest, I wasn't confident I could last even a day That was partially due to the simulator, but they could also just overwhelm me with pure numbers They could completely surround me and secure me with minimal time and effort If I couldn't avoid that chemical reaction, ere in trouble

So we traveled through the vast underground space to arrive directly below the school We could move safely, but we could not use the trains or buses I had left my collapsible bike at the stadiuh the dark with Itou Helen on the front and Muramatsu Yukie on the back would have been too difficult

I also wanted to avoid bringing up Itou Helen's brother if at all possible I worked at directing the conversation elsewhere

”By the way”

”There's been a witch and a mermaid, but why is a dark elf considered an Archene, but, y'know, I've never heard of you quickly growing in number like with a vampire or zombie”

”…You're bringing that up just because you're bored? That's kind of the most iirl sighed ”In my case, the infection level is low We only have one way of interacting with hu on society”

”H?”

I only really saw theine how they lived They see on the side of the road And this was a dark one

”Kh”

But Muramatsu Yukie's words seemed to catch in her throat as she blushed, pouted her lips, and muttered to herself

After a while, she gave in and answered with her long ears lying flat

”Y-you know There are half-elves, right? So when I marry a human man… D-don't make me say any more than that!!”

Oh, I see

That would indeed require a er invasion plan than er sister Of course, elves had long lives, so if they continued creating half-elves and quarter-elves, they e of the population eventually

…In fact, did that mean there were Archenemies that couldn't have kids with humans?

”I don't know Are you willing to test it out with the gargoyles that arestatues or the one-horned unicorns?”

Archeneory

”But that's just how it is,” readily said the longboielding dark elf ”You've drawn the line there, but other people draw the line sooner than that Soht away Everyone has 'that emotion' somewhere”

…Did that ht Cross that ran the Colosseuallery did not have defectivethat existed in my own heart?

I had trouble accepting that

And it must have shown on my face

Muraled and added more

”Although it seems you've drawn the line ay back So far back that it's hard tell where the line is”

”Right”

For solass wand in both hands It was a little hard to tell whether she was praisingme

Eventually, we arrived at our destination

We had sih the hemispherical tunnel, so there were no actual landmarks There were occasional alphanuht Cross could tell what those meant

It was Maxwell on my smartphone that told us

”You have arrived within Public Kukyou 1st High School's grounds The high school is directly overhead”

”So where do you think the giant supercorounds?”

”Sure I doubt it is aboveground I suspect there is a gym-sized space below the school

…Probably so

That was not going to make this easy Did we have to rise to the surface and then search for another secret entrance? And ere already underground now?

With that in mind, we climbed the stairs and I held my smartphone out to the thick round door Several metal rods unlocked and it slowly opened outwards

And just as that happened, I heard scraping e sparks

By the time I realized we had been fired on frorabbed ed me back

”Maxwell!”

”No I was unable to predict the possibility of an attack at this ti”

”I wasn't criticizing you Can you close the door!?”

”No The door can receive no further instructions until the entire opening process is complete”

Intere sparks entered the tunnel

We couldn't let the gap widen any further That would give theet us and it could easily allow them to enter the tunnel itself!!

”The gunshots are extreunfire These are most likely the 45 subsonic heavy metal rounds I mentioned”

I was thankful I had not set the phone to read Maxwell's es aloud

Itou Helen curled up inside her cape and treave me a puzzled look

I couldn't let her notice

”Maxwell, do you think we can break through this door?”

”No Given the frequency and precision of the gunfire, you would be fatally shot while passing through the door”

”Then there's no point in staying here Maxwell, open all the doors within a 300m radius of the school!!”

”Warning: that increases the risk of allowing the Bright Cross in the tunnels, so it will eliround space”

”We're ending this tonight either way If we can't destroy their siet worse Just do it, Maxwell There's only the 1 sniper If we open 10 or even 100 exits, they won't be able to cover all of them!”

”Sure”

Deep round space

We turned our back on the dangerous exit that allowed bullets in, took a detour through the spider web of tunnels, and made our way to another opened exit

Once outside, I found ere on the edge of the schoolyard The trash area and fire hydrant were located there, so I hadn't really checked on it before, but the exits near round It round

We were surrounded by silent darkness

There were no lights on at the school The nocturnal group which included my older sister must not have arrived yet I had lost track of ti's wall said it was just before 8 PM

…In that case, I wanted to finish this within an hour, before my older sister and the others arrived

Where was he?

I didn't want to think his name If I accidentally spoke it aloud, it could easily cause Itou Helen to panic as she held onto my shi+rt

He was her family

Her big brother

How had he ended up with the Bright Cross and why had he aiine it I certainly couldn't do that No matter the situation, I could never aim a deadly weapon at Erika or Ayumi in real life

I could not understand him

I knew this was no ti in the towel No other opponent could have beenhere I couldn't predict what he would do next Especially when he had the full support of a simulator more powerful than Maxwell

Without an assurance of safety, the dark schoolyard was like a jungle minefield I didn't know if the nu on just one would mean death Could I really take the first step under those conditions? The dark shadows seeround

”Maxwell, do you knohere the sniper is?”

I quietly called to hiht did not activate and the screen was dead

”Maxwell”

I spoke more loudly, but still no response My hair stood on end as I feared the device had malfunctioned at the worst possible time, but…

”It would be better not to activate the backlight in this darkness,” said the dark elf ”He's saving your life here”

That made sense

But wait The sniper couldn't produce any light either Then hoas he receiving support from their simulator?

”Itou-san”

”It can be ive yourself an anias? Mura to use as a smokescreen”

”What are you…going to do?”

”A sniper can't do their job if they can't see where we are And yet this one can fire just fine even in the dark night or a set's location with a simulator”

”Then there's nothing we can do”

”But how is he getting that data? He can't read it if he's in an environment that doesn't allow hiht In that case, sound is the ht have an earpiece that provides support with a synthetic voice”

Muramatsu Yukie's second had seemed focused on an earpiece he wasn't used to

”First, Muramatsu-san and I will set up a smokescreen That will force him to focus on the sias to surround him…no, the entire school with explosive noise Once he can't hear the voice froh the sives us a chance to turn this around”

We got to work

Living things could createpotatoes There was also the fermentation of anaerobic bacteria and the synthesis of formic acid

Formic acid was the toxin and source of pain found in a wasp's stinger or an ant's fangs And with all her colorful potions, Itou Helen could easily use the structure of a venohtly differently would allow her to create a gas bomb

A deafening explosive blast shook all the glass in the school

”Now!”

Muraer's electrode and a s stuffed in a burnable trash bag started an incomplete combustion

We threw a few fireball trash bags into the schoolyard and let the wind spread out the black smokescreen while the dark elf and I ran We ran separately Without the simulator's support and with the double punch of the darkness and set us properly But a randoh the dark smoke would still be fatal if it hit us We couldn't co Itou Helen, all 3 of us approached the reinforced concrete school building froles before he could recover from his confusion

”Maxwell!”

”Sure Move 15h the 1st-floor classroom ”

It didn't work out as cool as in a movie It probably looked like I was completely sprawled out as I dove into the

I heard a high-pitched shattering sound

And ht on thefraetting caught in several desks and chairs

Itou Helen and Muramatsu Yukie arrived safely inside a step behind me

This wasn't the ti n of the security syste despite the broken

”Was that you, Maxwell?”

”No So route…”

The Bright Cross, huh?

Since they had gone out of their way to eliminate the ”power of numbers” provided by the adults, they must have really wanted to finish us off with the sniper rifle And the Bright Cross both despised and feared Archene, but a witch like Itou Helen couldher potions on hu with quantity over quality would only give the Archenemies more power to ith?

I glanced down at my smartphone as I spoke

”He's more skilled than us There's a stairway on either end of the building, so let's surround him I doubt he can use his sniper rifle properly indoors, but make sure he never has a direct shot at you, Muramatsu-san You use electricity, so if you find a way to bend the current's path in a right angle or crank-shape, you should be able to unilaterally attack hih the air other than your bow Itou-san…oh, I know You use a turtle shell or soe shi+eld as you advance”

After giving theirls head for the different staircases

”No I have not provided that support information”

”That's fine”

How could I show them this?

I grabbed a nearby chair and threw it toward the teacher's desk

With a loud collision, a large object rolled out from the back

That was likely Itou Tao

He had probably noticed us entering the roo for us to leave

Even if it was full-auto, a sniper rifle was a poor choice for a close-range battle against a group

Or had he not wanted his little sister to see his face?

The ht combat outfit immediately raised a thick firearun

But I gave a shout before he could pull the trigger

”Maxweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell!!”

I grabbed another chair and chucked it forward underhand

Several holes opened in the plywood as he fired those bullets that had a long name like subsonic heavy metal round Normally, they should have hitme instantly But that wasn't what happened Due to the board between us, the course of the bullets was ever-so-slightly diverted

Even so, I felt as if soht shoulder

I had not entirely avoided therazed my shoulder

Before the pain and fear could catch up, I moved forward I didn't have time to clench s and pitched forhile only running 4 or 5 ht ahead

Instead of my shoulder, it was the top of ut

I heard the low, disconcerting sound of the air erupting fros

The two of us rolled along the classroom floor

Even after being tackled to the floor, Itou Tarip on the sniper rifle, but it see to aim properly I moved my head aside to avoid the ht in front of the sniper's nose

The flash activated

”Ghhh!?”

With a lightning-like flash, Itou Tarabbed the sniper rifle's long barrel and pushed it to the side like a lever to switch train tracks

And his index finger was still inside the loop of the trigger guard

His wrist was made into the axis of rotation which could not have been pleasant This tirip

I had stolen the gun, but I wasn't about to mimic him and try to use it myself Even with Maxwell's support, I'd probably just shoot rabbed the opposite end of the weapon and swung it down like a club With the force of driving a hoe into the dirt, I slao's face again and again

I glared down at the uard his face with his hands

My throat shook with a cold voice that frightened even me

”…Why?”

With the weapon raised, I felt the weight of the sniper rifle in my wrists

”Why did you force this onto Itou Helen!? Is the Bright Cross that i brother!?”

I just couldn't understand it

If Ayuht Cross, if she was shoved in front of the TV cameras, and if everyone in the world jeered and booed at her, Iup forwith the Bright Cross That line of thinking simply made no sense whatsoever

”…I didn't know”

I heard a scratchy voice

”The stage was full of s Laplace's instructions So…”

Once I realized how pathetic an excuse he was , all hesitation vanished from my mind

I seriously swung down the upside-down sniper rifle like I was trying to sant nose

I heard a soft sound and felt a raw sensation in my wrists

”Everyone knew the 3rd round was between Itou Helen and Muramatsu Yukie!! The announcements, the electronic screens, the odds tables, and the banners and fans e, so-called fans! You expect ht!!”

”Ah…gah…”

”And what about this time? Who were you told to wait for as you hid in this school at night? Did Itou Helen's name really never come up? If not…why did you decide she was an ene up!? She's a 1st year here, so it would be perfectly norot at school!!”

If he wasn't proud of his actions, why did he obey his instructions? Had he really sold his faood excuse for? Did he have any idea what he eighing on the scales!?

”…Shut…up!!”

”Kh”