Volume 3 Chapter 5 (1/2)

”Mumble”

I got to see the cute look on the forehead glasses Class Rep's face as she woke up

”H-huh? Everything's all wet inside my skirt… Wait, what is this!? I'm soaked with blood, I reek of roses, and Satori-kun is carrying !?”

”Ha ha ha Are your memories still all mixed up, Class Rep? But not to worry The scary part is over”

”Y'know, Onii-chan, you should probably stop rubbing your cheek against her thigh with that refreshed smile and put her down The view up her skirt is kind of incredible froht ahead”

”Wait, you can see that, Ayumi-chan?”

”It's like a parabolic antenna”

”Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!?”

She really started to struggle now, so I decided it was time I obediently lowered her frouy to force people to do what they don't want Although I will secretly make a Class Rep swimsuit dance file set!

The cursed coffin had fully h with the end of several olf clubs It was the perfect Kagami Biraki for such a momentous occasion The Class Rep had turned into a va bitten, so she could return to nor the curse

…This was an extre but dumb luck that this was based on the Polish Vampire Princess If she had been bitten by the kind of nor around, there wouldn't have been any hope of returning her to normal

I got along with my vampire older sister and zo to offer up myself or people I cared for That wasn't my idea of ”coexistence”

With the cursed coffin destroyed and the Class Rep safely returned from Dhampir to human, we had no more business here There was no abnormality on the X-ray screen, but I didn't want to stick around in the radiology departht not be safe Who could say as leaking out of the rusted areas or cracked plastic

We all left the basement and ether, the late-night abandoned hospital no longer felt scary

Erika opened her e lobby on the first floor The lobby was probably used forprescriptions, so you would've had rooame if you removed all of the benches

”So, Satori-kun”

”Yeah?”

”…What are we going to do now?”

She was referring to the unseen person we guessed was still hiding in the Peace Committee Convalescent Hospital We didn't know if they were young or old, man or wohly hidden their presence while interfering with our actions, they seeerous I doubted it was just a brave boy on a test of courage who had happened across us and decided to help out Their actions were just too perfect and it felt like we couldn't even track down a slight trace of their presence

For example, if so to save a child trapped inside, they wouldn't think about covering their tracks by wearing gloves, wrapping a towel around theira mask to catch any saliva

And today had been nowhere near peaceful enough to unconditionally trust so their identity

Who had gone to the trouble of unlocking all the basement doors?

I was extremely curious about that, but…

”I don't want to have to redo all this because the Class Rep gets captured again Whoever it was probably saw that ent out of our way to return her to nor her hostage if they have business with us”

The abandoned hospital's Ghostthat, but this was probably a human or Archenemy They would probably easily coto deal with my vampire older sister or zombie little sister

”Hey, Onii-chan, about that…”

”Yes When the range of activity is set, like with the Polish Va Class Rep-chan back to her houarantee her safety, but wouldn't that be less if that isn't the case? I bet they would just break into her house and kidnap her there”

”Oh, honestly! Wasn't there so able to enter houses without permission!?”

”Well, yes,” admitted Erika ”But we don't knohat kind of Archene with here If they're a olf or skeleton, that does us no good”

”And we don't even know it's an Archeneht be a normal human who's a normal murderer”

Dammit, that means I can't relax yet! Whoever it was knee looked like and we didn't know the saet away here, they could attack us at any tiet caught up in this mess? Would my parents or sisters be safe when they went out? Would we have to worry about that forever and ever? Screw that!!

”Change of plans Let's settle all of this tonight Leaving anything undone will only lead to trouble”

But playing a gae Peace Com, they had no reason to stay in the abandoned hospital If they sensed danger, they would probably think of retreating I had Maxwell and Laplace, but our le hand I had even destroyed the controls for the hospital's deadly motocross bikes, so I couldn't use their ca the exits would be difficult and splitting up could easily lead to one of us being attacked That was a real concern for an intellectual type like ained humanity

If ere going to split up, ould have to place Erika and Ayumi on separate teams, place me on one team, and place the Class Rep on the other Any other ould leave us with a non-Archenemy human team and that would lead to either death or abduction

It was that or search as one big group One big group was safest, but ould naturally er And it could easily lead to the foolish situation where the target of our search fled through the back entrance while ere searching from the front

What would we do?

What was I supposed to choose?

”User”

But before I made up my mind, Maxwell interrupted with an SNS speech bubble

”I have detected so site I doubt it is unrelated to the current situation”

”A video sharing site…?”

The first possibility that caital video ca they were hu skill to the world so they would look like a threat? …That ht have stirred up the masses half a year before, but it wouldn't work now After all, it was just a few days ago that the Colosseum had turned Archenemy battles into a major show business and broadcast them nationally Some of it had even swept across the world via the internet It was true that Archenemy battles were impressive, but everyone was already accustoht Cross's collapse, the current trend was to see Archene a video et the poster attacked in the comments

I gathered hts and explained the one

”No That is not the intent here”

”What?”

I frowned What else was there? Could they be trying to make Maxwell into a threat? Whatever the case, I used my smartphone to check the video in question

There ht have been more videos than there were people on this planet, but Maxwell guidedpopularity

It was titled ”A Round of Applause is in Order”

We all gathered around and stared at the smartphone It did indeed show the Peace Corainy and blurry due to using night-vision, but as being said plainly reached our ears

However, the focus was not on my vampire older sister or my zombie little sister Nor was it the Dhampir-ized Class Rep or Maxwell the disaster environment simulator

”…Then I'll create one”

It was me

I didn't knoho, but someone was focused on me, a human, for some unknown reason

”I' with Erika and Ayu! The answer is right there next to ive it a name and a form!! It won't be a society where everyone fears the death penalty and it won't be a society where you think like you'reall your decisions but even the color of your underas decided for you! It will be so kinder, more just, and more noret along!!”

But why?

What value was there in this naïve-sounding exchange of words? Wouldn't it be far more hile to introduce the lifestyle or traits of Archenemies?

”Do it, Maxwell I regret destroying the Bright Cross without thinking it through, but I've still decided to keepaway that absolute guidance society! So do it!! Clean this planet of that antly down on everyone else!!”

I couldn't figure it out no matter how much I looked into the details

But the answer ca place In order to view every centimeter of the video with my eyes as wide as dinner plates, I had turned the comments off But once I replayed the video with them on, a flood of words rushed in

”Well said!!”

”I've been keeping a low profile and hiding that I'm a yeti this whole tie is one I can live in”

”That was a close one, nyah I was just about to give up on humans”

”I feel like we can trust this one, don't you?”

”I uy who tore down the Colosseum and rescued the trapped Archenemies the other day”

”Kyah! I want his babies!”

”He's gotta be a giant kraken or so”

”In all seriousness, I want hiet involved in all of our troubles with hu?”

”japanese highschools is crazy! All wizards and psychics! I very very love!!”

”If you can type in japanese, why can you only use such broken japanese?”

”That's obviously because she's actually a short, bob-cut kihtenment, Warrior of July”

”The best part is how he doesn't choose to support just humans or just Archenemies”

”For huood ones and punish the bad ones Honestly, why can't all the other supposedly s so simple?”

”I cried when the boy refused to give up on the half-Archene for the coffin! (sob)”

”Although he is so of a pervert”

”They do say great men enjoy sensual pleasures”

”That saying is the perfect example of how the winners justify their own actions”

”It'd be a little too heavy if he went the self-sacrifice route and asked to be bitten too, so this is about the perfect distance to keep”

”I want to call him colonel”

”But he doesn't have a beret, eyepatch, or cigar!”

”Colonel!”

”Colonel!!”

”Wait, it's already spreading!?”

”…What the hell is this?”

I felt like I was viewing the commotion from the outside Was it reallyburied in anonymous comments made me feel as distant as sorotesquely hard to accept as learning a Martian alking around in a disguise that uishable froone!?

”The video was meant to…raise Satori-kun up as a hero…?”

The Class Rep gave voice to her confusion

And surprisingly, it was Ayumi who provided further information

”No This ht be more than just the video The entire abandoned hospital incident was used to lionize Onii-chan”

”So it's ather all the world's Archeneht not be that simple If they increase his reputation and then reater the athered around hi all across the world at the same time”

Either way, this was bad

It was a mystery how the video's uploader wanted the world to view me, but it was only a matter of time before this information matured and settled into the public consciousness You had to strike while the iron was hot, but you had to let it cool once you were done Thatin the convalescent hospital had finished their job with this They had no more reason to stick around, so they would escape without leaving any hint behind

”Maxwell! Who uploaded the video? I'h several proxy servers like usual, but work your way to the source anyway Do you think you can get through it all?”

”Sure Do not underesti power of the system you yourself built”

Theoretically, no route was coet data from Point A to Point B When a drah foreign servers, that was not a technical li that several countries' judicial branches would be involved, and that was a pain to ith Not every country had signed international treaties ensuring cooperation on criot even harder when it involved politically untouchable routes such as ele country's police tried to trace the signal on their own, they would never find the answer

However

Those barrierswhen it came to Maxould not ask for permission in the first place

”…Fiber optic cable is used to travel around the planet a total of four ti five civilian zombie computers infected with a rein point I doubt there is anything further than this”

At times like this, Maxwell did a perfect job since she was not led astray by emotion

Meanwhile, I was driven to confusion by the result she gave me

”What is this, Maxwell? Are you sure this wasn't just a relay point?”

”Sure This is the origin point”

”You're…kidding”

No one moved

The divulged name was displayed at the center of my smartphone screen It came from the contract information for the smartphone used to post the video

Amatsu Yurina

My…stepe…?

At first, I had honestly not gotten along ith the stepht Erika and Ayu to think of as asister She was beautiful and kind, but that hat ot nervous around her and waited for her to speak to me first, so I had to have been a pain-in-the-ass kid for soh she always played withany displeasure with my behavior

And my trouble with her had probably been rooted in the fact that there was another woht to mind

My difficulties with her had vanished for an incredibly self-serving reason: parents day at school That beautiful and kind e and she could even pass for college-aged if she tried, so she became the talk of our class and, for so While the other class and criticized her use of perfu a pearl necklace, she had stood proudly tall and created a bright presence

I had been proud to call her my mom

A child's greed is a frightening thing indeed

…To be honest, it's the same with Erika and Ayumi, but when I look back, I feel like that could have ended very badly - perhaps even in an outright disaster - if that forehead glasses Class Rep hadn't been bya norlad I liked her, as e as that was to admit!!

”But ould my stepmom do that…?”

I didn't understand

So even though we had the answer, I began searching for a way to reject it

”O-oh, right Maxwell, this only ht? So maybe someone stole it They could have chosen it intentionally to confuse us…”

”No Miss A to enerally uses bioerprint, vein pattern, retina, earhole, etc… Each and every one of them is difficult to reproduce”

”There ht!? Maybe they can freely change their appearance!!”

They were all part of my family, but this felt different froainst e of an adult had been shaken That was a powerful shock for a kid During adolescence and during a rebellious phase, you et you, but actually seeing it for yourself was entirely different It was…yes, it was exactly the same as back then I had believedto worry about, but I had realized too late that things had cooled to the breaking point between my parents and it felt like all of those happyrejected

The creeping preh for , and an awfully cold sweat continually flowed from my forehead

I felt like this went far beyond a sibling quarrel The peace that supported ain? Would I lose it all again? I couldn't bear that! I didn't want to see ers over and over!!

Meanwhile

Maxwellelse She selected a familiar number from my smartphone's address book and made a call

Yes

I'll say that again: a call

The htly I could barely hear it

It seemed to seep out of the darkness and froh to feel like the word ”ho apart via Gestaltzerfall It hit me directly in the heart instead of the center of my head My chest ached like I had stepped out the front door and i me from head-on

She was there

In the darkness

”Yurina…-san…?”

I wasn't sure what to call her and I oddly reverted to the e My mind continued to reject it, but my heart had already accepted this fear And e my distance from her

I could have sworn I heard laughter frohly viscous darkness

She was a little taller than the average woman Her white body had an even , fluffy red hair was tied back with a hair tie She wore a blouse so thin her black bra showed through and jeans so tight the shape of her butt showed through That alone gave her a casual look and anyone would have believed it if they were told she was a college girl, but wearing an apron on top of that really e person

But

That ordinary appearance hat made her feel so out of place in somewhere as out of the ordinary as the Peace Committee Convalescent Hospital Her presence felt even creepier than taking a group photo and finding there were too s in the picture

Just like back then, the look on her face was soft but somewhat troubled and very, very kind

And she spoke with a co voice

”Oh? You can show your affection by calling me 'mom' if you want”

This was no ti a for? What was that video for? Hoas she involved in the relationshi+p between humans and Archeneet ue to move

My vision seemed to waver and then I noisily collapsed to the floor To the others, it would have looked like a guy collapsing fro steps for atching It had to have looked comically pathetic If our classave me some cruel nickname

But that was my limit

The core of my heart really had been torn apart

And because they too were family, Erika and Ayumi understood my pain and exploded before I could

”What the hell are you doing, you old haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag!!!???”

”What the hell are you doing, you old haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag!!!???”

With explosive sounds on the left and right, all the benches left in the lobby were bloay A zombie and vampire were representative Archenemies which could threaten a city, country, or even continent depending on how they used their powers And now they had given into their anger and were charging forward

But

And yet…!?

”Oh, dear”

Her voice was as gentle as so for the local super it had started to rain a little

That was all

”Wha-…!?”

Erika's body spun vertically through the air Her gothic lolita dress and gorgeous blonde ringlet curls danced in a circle after a moment's delay And my redheaded stephter fall She instead grabbed a surprised Ayuirl tried to slip in from below

”Uuh!!”

She then forcefully spun herself around on her support leg and threw Ayumi's small body into the air behind her like part of the hammer throw

The two sisters collided in midair and collapsed to the dirty floor without any real preparation for the impact A horrifically loud noise burst out Aain as they struggled to get back up, but she intentionally wasted that opportunity As if to say she could supply a finishi+ng blow at any time

And the action she took instead was simple

She turned around

That h and jeans so tight the shape of her butt showed through faced me where I still lay pathetically collapsed on the floor

”…Who the hell are you…!?”

”I am Amatsu Taizou's wife and Amatsu Satori's mother I am the homemaker orks part time as a cashi+er and whose name is known at the afternoon mama's club And that name is…Amatsu Yurina! Tah dah!!”

Yeah, right

There was no way she could be summed up like that!

Even if a zombie and vampire were most powerful when it came to infectiousness, they each had ten or twenty tith of a human They clearly weren't an opponent a normal human could take on barehanded!!

I would have found itto hear this was a Little Grey frouise identical to my stepmom!!

No

Wait

She looked oddly young to call th to defeat a zombie and vampire at the sa with two Archenehters”

It couldn't be

You're kidding, right? It just can't be!

”You…”

”Heh heh Are you trying to talk back to your h a rebellious phase, Satori? If so, I welco middle school, so I was honestly worried Now, let's communicate to our heart's content via punches and kicks Can you draw out yourvoice?”

”You were an Archenemy!? Mom!?”

”Archenehly infectious undead, but did you know it originally referred to deeneral?”

Arinned

And this was a fierce, seductive, coquettish, and dangerous smile I had never seen from her before

”If Lilith, the mother of all succubi, meets your definition, then I would have to answer yes to that question”

What-

…memories are break-

My mind…can't keep-

”Khah!?”

”Agh!!”

I didn't kno many times it was now, but my mind refocused on reality when I heard Erika and Ayumi's cries of pain What had happened since then? Either my memories were too mixed up or they had taken tooout no matter how much I went back over the information in my head

Whatever the case, ere no match for her

Erika and Ayu to attack Amatsu Yurina, but each ti candy froless cry as I charged toward her Even now,fluffy red hair tied back with a hair tie did not hit ently strokedto happen and I found ht in a tornado Then I fell ontothe breath out of me

Lilith

That was Adam's first wife and the demon lord of infanticide and sex She was a top ranker who had given birth to a great ht chaos to the world Not only was she strong on her own, but she had filled the world with demons on the level of Azazel And in Azazel's case, the entire world had ultie That was the extent to which Lilith could contaminate the earth

Of course

I didn't want to believe anything as ridiculous as aon this tiny island nation!

The Class Rep hout Maybe even more so than my stepmom Because she was not part of the family…no, because she had seen the chaos of the divorce fro the blood rush to her head

”Ma'am? Does that …?”

”Oh, c'h it theinnocence, deht after that But I met a wonderful man thanks to it That dreamer seriously hoped for the coexistence of huht Cross researcher That noble soul was just about crushed between his personal feelings and the organization's demands!! Ohh, how could I not find hi I knew, I couldn't keep away fro so worked up You don't want to hear me talk about my husband, do you? Oh ho ho ho ho”

She laughed casually, but I dug ernails into the dirty floor

It had happened again She had just revealed a hidden side to another ht Cross? He was on the side that had made Erika and Ayumi suffer? I'd never heard a word about that!!

When I turned towardon a chain, they refused to look me in the eye

They had known Even if just in part

They had suspected their mom was some kind of Archenemy and that my dad visited that research facility

I was the only one

Dammit! I was the only one in the dark!!

”Don't give me that look, Satori While that rad school, he was ensnared by a dangerous and exploitative corporation before he realized as happening Even inside the Bright Cross, he was part of thethey ih it hed at him …And he did receive his punishht, it created a devastating fissure between hi his own actions had torn his happy family apart was so very, very painful for him”

What was this?

I had no colad Erika and Ayumi were a part of my family I really was

But on that day when er loved me and only saw me as a nuisance when she turned her back onapart had all been…had all been…!!

”How much…how much do the two of you need to screith my liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiife!?”

I had given up onsound ca on ed to stand up

Meanwhile, the deh and jeans so tight the shape of her butt showed through lightly waved her index finger

”No, Satori You are the hero of forgiveness You're the hope of all Archeneet angry and clench that fist you barely kno to use Not only will you ruin what I set up for you, but you'll hurt your hand When a beginner pushes theers”

”Shut…up”

”Satori, if you want to challenge youra weapon Look, copy my hand here Just hold it out like this and focus on shi+fting the strength fros to your hips”

”Shut uuuuup!! What is with all this!? What are you trying to get us to do!?”

”You have to ask?” Archenemy Lilith actually looked a little taken aback ”The world is going to end soon, so I thought it would be nice to make so a giant ark before the flood”

What?

What, hat?

What did she just say…!?

”Huh? You ns And, Satori, you were so delighted when you built that big disaster environment si as obvious as this Calamity?”

With her tone, sheme why I didn't do my summer homework sooner

But wait

Wait just a second!!

”What are you trying to start here!?”

”Like I was saying, we're si the Absolute Noah in preparation for the upco to do with the Calato do with your father, since he's a former researcher for the huht Cross, he's been pretending to go to work and heading to the e kind enough to not complain Oh, but don't directly thank him It would hurt his pride as an adult”