Volume 4 Chapter 4 (1/2)
It was all connected
It all began with ht Cross
As a zoin to rot without periodic preservation treatment That had been done by one of the ”relatively harht Cross
With nowhere else to turn, Ayumi had apparently relied on an American pharmaceutical company with the same tech - or rather, that had lent its internal tech to the Bright Cross And of course, she had kept this froo on her own, Erika had gone with her
But the scheduled day had passed and they had not returned to japan
”Fro for movie extras We needed a pretty major excuse for a japanese student like n trip”
The one piece of luck was that my sisters were unharmed They were locked in somewhere, but they could contactattention
I had ate the pharun their citywide rae like some kind of preemptive strike
The sun had coels which had learned how to increase their apparent volu area els used their skin rather than eyes to hunt It would be pointless if the acrylic panels themselves vibrated, but it would still be harder for them to find us with that barrier between us
”Why did you take so long to tellso important, Truth!?”
”Because I was pretty sure you would run headlong into danger if I did Iinto major corporations in the first place, so add a bizarre sense of righteousness on top of that and you'd start a full-throttle game of chicken”
”The term is hackers! Honestly” Anastasia pouted her lips in her red cah, were all silk ”So what's the villain's name? This could be any nuerous they are”
”What if I told you it was a pharas?”
”Oh, hell”
That had apparently been enough Anastasia placed a hand over her eyes and looked up into the sky
”Herbal Science, then They originally sold cigarettes, but the negative carew too powerful and they shi+fted into phararettes and the nicotine addiction drugs to make double the money”
That had led to further dark rus more serious than tobacco In other words, they were secretly distributing dried grass and rock candy so they could sell the anti-addiction drugs No matter which side of the equation sold more, Herbal Science still profited
”So is it them, Truth?”
”I couldn't turn up anything But if they were clean, they wouldn't have such strict defenses It's so suspicious itcorpse in their vault” I breathed out ”It isn't clear why they're interested in Archeneuess, can't we?”
The Bright Cross had been following a twisted philosophy that led the the Archenemies
But Herbal Science was different
This was driven by an al of anyone but themselves
”They infect humansand make money off of the cure? B-but wait There is no cure for vampires or zombies! They'd win several nobel Prizes if they had one!”
”That's right”
That hy
That hy this was such a big problem
”They're underesti my sisters”
”They think they've conquered all Archene more than some preservation treatments If they spread the infection, they won't be able to control it Herbal Science will be destroyed first and the rest of the world that will have to deal with their problem for them”
”H froel attack? Was that Herbal Science's doing too?”
”Of course it was! It wasthem down!”
”No” I rejected the idea ”Why would they go this far for a single japanese student? If this was Herbal Science's attack, they'll have made an enemy of the White House Besides, if they had an Archeneels, they wouldn't need Erika and Ayuels”
”Oh Yeah, you're probably right”
”The gels are weak to heat With a si theo with an uncontrollable vampire or zombie instead”
Of course, it was always possible they wanted several different Archenemies for more variety
”In that case, Satori-kun I feel bad saying it, but isn't this our chance?”
I brought a hand to my face when I heard the Class Rep's question
Yup
Herbal Science was located in Las Vegas despite being a pharmaceutical coinally sold the king of luxury goods: cigarettes Since shi+fting into phars that s and fatty liver drugs
While I thought about that, we arrived don But this was Las Vegas, so there were neon lights and bright screens everywhere Soh an aquarium
The s located between the casinos and theatres blended into the scenery, but that hy it felt so fiercelythe pawn shop or the consumer loan dispenser inconspicuously located next to a pachinko parlor or horse racing track Even if there was nothing intrinsically wrong with it, the co
”Hey, Truth,” said short Anastasia
I had wanted to find a way to protect our hands and feet, but this was a city of casinos and bars If we had run across awetsuitbut ht have co biological things, though
In that sense, a rescue tea would have beenthan soldiers or police ore short sleeves in the desert
”Would they really hold so as infectious as an Archenemy at their headquarters in the city? There's plenty of unpopulated desert just outside the city”
”Hey, Maiden, if they had really built the perfect prison, would my sisters be able to call me up for a video chat so often?”
”Ah”
”They're even stupider than you think What they believe to be perfect is actually full of holes And that's all the more reason we can't leave this in their hands”
Now, then
”What do you think, Maxwell?”
”Sure Anyone with norether soas”
”You mean they would try to kill Satori-kun?”
”No They could easily abduct hiun and he would be much more valuable taken alive and used as a collar to restrain Miss Erika and Miss Ayumi Since they have not done so, they must be very confident in their own techniques”
They were nothing but idiots
I could already predict what had happened at Herbal Science without ate
Who had released the gels and ere different matters entirely
”Yeah, I had a feeling this is e'd find”
I had considered faking a part-ti shelter in the building, but that proved unnecessary
There was no one at the front gate
There was no one at the reception counter either
I stepped through the entrance gate and looked around, but I couldn't spot a single person
I only saw so on the floor, presuuards
”The gels!? Dammit!!”
There would be no point in faking an ID and pretending to be a part-time janitor
Theyof our li because red ht the ate was useless at this point, but a loud buzzer began to blare e ran through it The gels only reacted to movements of the air, so sound itself would not estured the Class Rep and Anastasia further in We were headed for the eency stairs to the side of the elevator hall
I noticed these gels weren't puffing themselves up
Anastasia had theorized they had learned how to use their bodies, so it e Or had they begun to learn that taking in air and increasing their apparent volume like flower petals or a petticoat slowed them down?
”S-Satori-kun Should we really just go in without permission like this!?”
”It's an e for help!”
It was Herbal Science that could not have anyone taking a close look at things It would actually help us if they got the justice system involved
We could not take our ti any wind as we moved As we ran across the floor,machine area
My eyes met with someone else's
When I saw the glistening black metal in their hand, I did not hold back
”Maxwell, detonate their cellphone's battery!!”
With a loud bursting sound, themachine area instead I could see the Herbal Science worker dragging one leg while desperately trying to get away
There were dangers around every corner Both human and Archenemy
”Pant, pant! Truth, this building is like a maze We need to watch out for blind spots!”
We finally arrived at the ean Not all of the gels had gone to the vendingin wait up ahead We were in a cramped area with lots of blind spots and little room for evasion We had to be even more careful now
But Herbal Science had probably collapsed as an organization They had failed to stop the gels There were security can of ar in to stop us Everyone oals doard to ensure their own personal survival
”(Truth, there's a gel on the next landing)”
No h with brute force With its living prey, it was erous than concentrated sulfuric acid If it touched us, ould be devoured Our only choice was to open a nearby door and enter that midway floor
Thisdepartment because the office of normal desks and chairs seemed out of place for a pharmaceutical company Or maybe this was the proper look for a company headquarters in a major city
At any rate, a ga with limited routes was not the best plan The three of us squeezed underneath a randoave Maxwell some instructions
”Take control of a computer located away from us and the exit and then run the fans Find one that's on a table and move so with haical matter, we can use protein and carbs as bait”
”Sure”
”For example, thatwhat, what is that? Why is that popcorn blue???”
”Obviously because it's Blue Hawaii flavor, Truth”
And what kind of flavor is that? How can you As that look so toxic?
”Ahem Maxwell, check the sprinklers too Activate theht, they sense thein it If we knock the dust out of the air ater, won't their accuracy drop?”
”Geh You're going to dump water on our heads!?”
Even after all this calculation, it could end up being useless My predictions could be entirely wrong and ould just get eaten My heart was pounding in my ears The Class Rep's warht have been overwhelmed and only able to scream
”C-c'ainst me like that Well, if you insist”
”Tch”
”I'ue click, Truth”
A da sound cut off our whispers I fully focused on my ears
Was the gel approaching or leaving? We were hiding to protect ourselves, but that kept us fro on It was like some kind of paradox
That hen a great downpour began du rain on us
”Eency! Please run!!”
I didn't knoas going on, but we had to do what Maxwell said I stood up on the floor, which was slippery froly nearby The bait hadn't worked!? My throat went dry, but there was no point in screaht barrier We ran toward the exit while it hesitated
”You cannot trust the previous eency stairs Please head toward the other stairway on the opposite side of the floor”
The Class Rep had started back the e had corabbed her arm and we cut across the wet floor
Anastasia grabbed a pu the way
”What's that for? Are you going to throw it to distract the thing with the vibration?”
”It's a tacky lighter The gels are weak to fire, right?”
We would lose everything if we set fire to the building before rescuing Erika and Ayuhter, the flaer After lighting a fingertip-sized flame froency staircase door whilesure the fire would not spread Then we left the floor
They could slip through the gaps in a normal door
And yet there was no pursuit as we ran up the stairs Even if it was just a lighter, a fire seemed to help a lot
”damn, we really should have made a torch e had the chance”
”The gels aren't our only eneun finds us, they'll turn us to Swiss cheese”
The Class Rep was right
At any rate, a silent world spread out around us We could not relax because we could be attacked at any ency stairs were not the place to find anything useful in a fight My only option was to grab the fire extinguisher on the landing
”Truth, what about an axe instead? There has to be one for breaking down doors somewhere”