Vol 7 Chapter 6 (1/2)
Chapter 6 - Walking Side by Side
”Mari! Is it this way?!”
Takeru asked Mari while running through the Grey City
Kanaria ran right beside him, and Mari was carried by Takeru in a princess carry
Since there was a possibility of being found out by the eneh the sky, reluctantly he held her in his arhed blissfully and didn't pay attention whether they're going left or right, she i to Takeru's chest
”Ehe, ehehe I expected to take a step ahead in the Magic Acadeet in the lead, but my share of an entire irl to think I would be able to feel so backk ehehehehehehe, this is happinesss”
Kanaria as running beside pinched Mari's nose with her fingers strongly
”Borbble! Bat 'ou doong!”
”Don't go deredere here Think of the circuuidance really okay?”
While asking Mari who pressed onto her nose with tears in her eyes, Kanaria asked the saaze Mari pouted and raised an objection
”Hht? It's this way, believe me, I know this place”
”Last tih”
As Takeru said so anxiously, Mari got easily dismayed
”I-it's allll rightt! Last tio straight here we'll see it sooonn”
Because of Mari's confidence which couldn't be trusted, he's gotten even more anxious
After hearing of the 35th platoon's current situation frorew impatient
If the enemy is Ootori's foe if possible I want to be beside her I said we'll walk together I can't let her fight alone
They spent a ether and the ice around her heart has finally melted He proside her
He has to be there when Ouka exacts her revenge
While Takeru got increasingly lance at him
”I don't really get it, but e do if we survive? Who e join?”
”Hey! It's not tiht?!”
”Didn't ask Mari!”
Kanaria retorted to Mari again
Takeru answered her question while looking ahead
”After picking up our comrades, ill rejoin Student Council President The dissidents seem to have a hideout, we'll head there”
”Those guys, how big are they?”
”I don't know too well but dissidents froather there From Fantasy CultValhalla, Ethics Committee, Inquisition We intend to decide on what do we do after we hear everything from President”
”So, no plan, is it well, as long as Kana gets to a, it's fine”
Facing sideways, Kanaria cast down her gaze because of the co she had He persuaded her that she should speak with Ikaruga, and took her together with therant her that wish no matter what
But before that, there was one thing he had to confirm first
”You two, there's so I want to tell you”
In response to his meek voice, the two stared at Takeru
”From noards, ill definitely be surrounded by enes we have to do And most of them are my problems”
” ”” ”
”In order to save Kiseki, I think that a battle with Inquisition's side will be inevitable In other words,”
Takeru stopped his legs and said
”——The entire world will turn into our enemies”
With a resolved expression Takeru continued
”I'h I believe in you, if there was a situation where we ive priority to yourself”
” ”” ”
”You have your own goals Don't die, fulfil them no matter what Whether you act cowardly or cruel, survive no matter what”
After saying that, he focused on running again
Kanaria and Mari stared at Takeru's face and spat out a sigh
”Kana didn't say she'll save you She has no such intention However, while I don't get it, there's one thing I want to say”
”I knohat you're trying to say For you Takeru, it's so from myself?”
While Takeru stared at the two puzzled, they spoke in unison
” ”Same to you” ”
Good grief, really
In front of the fifth laboratory's entrance, there was an open area For convenience, the buildings were levelled and anti-ic material was mined from it
Usagi left the cargo of the Jeep in an open area and listened to the report from her comrades
《”Alley in the south-southwest ene over”》
《”They're co from the old road in the southeast too five of them here They should be visible in a minute”》
”roger that”
Usagi calans ere scouting
She took down a large aazines into the gun Ikaruga has developed
Now that she took a look at the gun's surface, she saw the naraved on its surface
《”Usagi, I'll explain once again that gun of yours won't work properly without my support I'm still alive, but I don't knoill happen in a un, run away”》
Ikaruga advised Usagi through the gun
”Understood by the way, can it really fire both noric bullets?”
As Usagi asked, Ikaruga chuckled
《”It can No matter what material is it, Philosopher's StoneNanomachines can remake it into a different substance Whether its iron, lead or gold, it can be convert it into mithril or weiss crystal bullets”》
”It's so abrupt I can't believe it but if you say so, it must be true”
《”Since it's an artificial Magical Heritage it doesn't need gunpowder, if it runs out of ical power it can shoot bullets with it However, because of that the thero wild so be careful”》
An artificial Magical Heritage with Nano to that made her head hurt Were Inquisition to learn of it, they would be immediately sent to prison
Moreover there were those bullets shi+ning with rainbow and grey colours stored in a separate case
When Usagi heard their description, she was horrified
The rainbow bullet aside, she didn't want to use the grey bullet if possible The reason she arranged the two Spriggans on the roof was in case she has to use this bullet
《”They'll appear to you soon! Finish them while we restrain them!”》
As soon as she heard the report, tension ran through Usagi She took a small breath and it stopped
She expanded the bi-pod on the ground, aih the scope
In the ed, appeared eight Einherjar machines
《”Can you tell what's the enemy armour's material?”》
”It's made from adamantium”
《”Understood Material conversion, dalium”》
In response to Ikaruga's words of power, the gun vibrated faintly At this very moment, the normal ammunition probably has been ainst adamantium
It wasn't time to shoot yet She'll wait until they come to 300 metres distance and sink it all at once
Five seconds
Usagi started the countdown and waited for the enemy
Four, three, two, one————now!
At the saun bullets fros on both sides showered the Einherjars When the enei started shooting
She ai eneer
Instantly, a bullet has been fired with a roar akin to a thunder
The bullet flew in a straight line and hit the Einherjars right shoulder, piercing it
The gun's aii didn't care about that
《”Sorry, I still haven't finished the firing adjustment”》
”It's no problem”
Saying so shortly, Usagi started rapid fire towards the eight machines
Out of eight shots, four bullets hit She sank down five out of eight s of one more
Two millimetres below the centre
She adjusted the gun's reticle, read the wind speed and calculated the trajectory
——There it is
The eneun towards her
A ical bullet passed by her, hit and destroyed the wall The debris was bloay, and even as Usagi seemed like she'd be buried under it, she didn't close her eyes and continued to focus
And——
”——!!”
She held her breath and shot accurately All the bullets she fired directly hit the enemy's head
Usagi lowered her gaze and checked the gun She wasn't blown back, but the recoil was quite powerful, et blown off She was surprised that the recoil when firing with ical poas this small
There was nothing to criticize about its power This rifle was capable of destroying a Magical Dragoon with a single blow The capability allowing it to convert processed anti-ic bullets made it a supreme article for snipers
”While a bit stubborn, it's a good gun”
《”Of course it is, I made it for you”》
”But, it's regrettable that the gun's recoil is so strong, and the gunshot is loud”
Because of that, eneather around her As expected, from the roads on the both sides of ed immediately
《”When eneether, use the auroral bullets”》
As she was told, she loaded the bullets directly and aimed into the eneht and hit the enemy's chest”
The moment Einherjar was about to fall down on its back, aurora-coloured ic exploded from inside of its armour
The explosion hit the four other le blow has slain three Einherjars at once
”As expected of Nikaido's ic”
Auroral Bullet As the naic absorbent ic Acadea to develop a neeapon
The auroral bullet that was already powerful by itself had been further strengthened by being fired froood job, her first attack was able to hit the enemy directly
However,the ene the sounds of battle, athered
They cast protective ans The three i
《”Use the grenade launcher gadget”》
As told by Ikaruga, Usagi renade launcher below the barrel and loaded it
The grenade itself was a san to remake its structure
And when the enerenades at buildings on the both sides of them
Soon enough, a sparkling red-brown smoke diffused
Despite the s around them, the Einherjars continued to rush at her
Next, Usagi fired daliuh there should be a protective ic stretched in front of the Einherjars, her bullets hit the target The contents of the grenade were changed into high quality scarlet-coloured gold that had an anti- thedust
Usagi continued to successfully defend the laboratory's entrance
Great! At this rate——!
I'll soe to hold out until Ootori returns Just when she thought so
《”——It's a dragon!! Usagi-chan, run awayy!!”》
The Spriggan's yell roared through the interco he was on was crushed like a toy
Seeing her coi was at loss for words
What appeared fro was a three-headed huge Mechanical Dragon
Although it didn't have ical Hydra
It was no time to falter The Hydra craith its mechanical body in her direction
With a tre auroral bullets and fired all of them at it
It wasn't enough to take down the enorh bullets to defeat the Hydra
《”Use the anti-matter bullet!”》
”b-but I'll hit an ally!!”
There was one Spriggan still re nearby
If she used that bullet here, he would definitely disappear along with the neighbouring buildings
Deciding in her ht back with normal bullets, but suddenly an explosion has happened on the back of Hydra's head
The Hydra's attention was directed behind it
《”Usagi-chan shoot it”》
Behind the Hydra, there was a figure of a Spriggan who ca and throay the cylinder of a disposable rocket launcher
Continuing, he started to shoot at the Hydra with a arner its attention
《”Shoot! If we don't stop theht!”》
Usagi hesitated seeing the Spriggan run out of bullets and fight back with a handgun next
Not only the Hydra, but also newly arrived Einherjars have headed for the Spriggan
《”It's a request from a comrade!”》
Hearing those words, Usagi raised a face with a bitter expression on it
She quickly rerey from the backpack and loaded it
Put her finger on the trigger, and,
”nh, roger!”
Shedding tears, she aimed at the back of the Hydra that has turned blurry and squeezed the trigger
The bullet hit right before the dragon breath was unleashed
At the sai ed by light
It was a i was bloay by the impact immediately after that
It was theelf restoration experiment prevention when she fused with elven cells, 《AnnihilationCatastrophe》 Ikaruga saved so herself into one with Nanomachines, she created a tiny amount of antimatter and embedded it inside of the bullet in vacuum
Because of the ii was blown into a wall and almost lost consciousness
”ghnot yet I can't fall asleep!”
Mustering all her strength, Usagi stood up by using the gun like a cane
The buildings caught up in the explosion have turned into rubble The hit enea's 《Catastrophe》 could erase any armour or material
——However, the ene Tyvern-type Mechanical Dragons have surged frohts with their cold mechanical pupils
”I don't have any more auroral or antimatter bullets! Enemy's armour is made from orichalcum! Please convert the matter!”
《””》
”Suginami what happened?!”
《”Sorry, Usagi It seems like this is it for me”》
Hearing Ikaruga's tense voice, Usagi's heart started to beat rapidly
《”right now, the ene”》
Ikaruga was calm, she was aloof in any situation
Usagi was always bad at dealing with Ikaruga who gave off such a feeling
《”Make sure you survive At least until you can properly tell Kusanagi you love hi——”》
The voice was interrupted and the gun in Usagi's hands stopped vibrating
”Suginainami!”
Even as she called, there was no response All there as the cold gun
She was overwhelmed by the desperate situation
”nhh I won'tlose!”
However, Usagi loaded the un
She was entrusted with this by the two Spriggans, she couldn't afford to give up Ouka will definitely save Ikaruga before she's killed What she herself should do, was to defend the entrance
As long as there are bullets reun
As long as she's still alive——she will never abandon the will to fight She definitely won't die until Takeru comes back
”I will protect my comrades!”
Usagi clenched her teeth and resumed rapid fire
The processed on Usagi knew that already And yet, she couldn't on opened itsat Usagi from the sky, a breath shone in its mouth
And——
”Kusanagi Double-Edged style——Yamata no Orochi!”
——An azure-coloured shadow cut the Wyvern in half starting from its brain
”《Aurora Cannon》!”
——A bullet of rainbow-coloured light hit the side of the other Wyvern that was also about to unleash its breath Its body shook and it released the breath in a different direction
”Kusanagi Double-Edged style——Mantis Slope!”
Furthermore, a blue-haired shadow dropped fro the Wyvern's head
The Mechanical Dragon exploded, scattering Dragon property ons destroyed in an instant, Usagi was in daze
Was she drea?
In the flaure
”n-no way can't be?”
Usagi left the gun on the ground and started to obbly, scattering tears all around Her pace gradually increased and before long, she started running
”——nnyou're late! You are late!!”
Ahead, in the place she ran to, he was there The one they didn't knohether he's alive or not, they lost contact with and left to some distant place
Sheathing the azure-coloured sword, the boy proudly walked towards Usagi, and she——
”It seems like I made it in time Are you okay, Usa——woahh?!”
She jumped nearly five metres distance and threw her arms around his body
Takeru momentarily released Witch Hunt form and firmly held her
”Wa U-Usagi?”
He was puzzled as he pat Usagi's head that was buried in his chest
With a bright red face and tears in her eyes, Usagi pressed her cheeks against Takeru
”welcoiii”
She congratulated Takeru on his return with voice full of relief
Despite the confusion he si's head
”I'm back Sorry to make you wait”
Takeru too felt that tears were about to appear in his eyes, but desperately withstood it
When the two e a hat has coi did
”I'm back〜 Takeru〜”
Seeing Mari ith hiape
”eh”
”what?!”
”No, why are you”
”Ehh! This is where you pat ht?!”
Go on! Because Mari requested it, he patted her despite feeling doubtful She laughed contentedly, said ”well done!” and stretched her flat chest
Takeru made a 'what's with her' expression
Usagi separated fro tears off
”You as well Nikaido, it's great that you came back safely really”
After Takeru, Usagi hugged Mari next While Mari was slightly surprised, she returned the hug with a smile
”Yupp, I'i-chan I promised”
Usagi didn't reject Mari who started rubbing her cheeks on her and smiled at ease
While the three people happily reunited beside her, Kanaria stared at them intensely
”what's this, Takeru's harem?”
”D-don't say such things! It's just we're glad to reunite with our comrades!”
”I don't really care, but I think it's not time for that”
While Kanaria said so rudely while looking to the side, Usagi stared at her and tilted her head puzzled
”Umm this person is?”
”Explanations later For now, I'm ally That's all you need to know Takeru, we need to hurry”
Takeru nodded at Kanaria's rei's shoulder
”I've heard what's the situation froinami and Ootori?”
”Suginami was captured by the eneenerator, she's inside of the laboratory”
Takeru narrowed his eyes for just a i's explanation
”Lapis”
When he called the naht beside him
”I want you to find Ootori's and Suginami's position”
”I have already found it Sugina with many other prisoners is in the basement of fifth laboratory's central tower Ootori-saround”
”As expected of you It's a great help”
”Onefroht the surprise attack of Inquisition's reet seeed to us Enemy seems to have learned our objective Majority of theane Hayato-sama, but quite a few still remain”
Hearing Lapis' report, Usagi hung her head down
Surely, enei was al crushed by anxiety, Takeru placed a hand on her head
”It's all right I'll definitely save her”
”Kusanagi”
”Don't worry Mari, Kanaria, sorry but”
When Takeru called them, the tere already turned around
”I know I know We're to stall theo, then come back with those two”
”Nn We're defending here right? Mari, don't hold me back”
”I don't want to be told that by useless elf”
”U-useless?! Did you say useless?! Why useless?!”
While quarrelling, Mari expanded ical circles and Kanaria unsheathed Lævateinn
After confirain
”Usagi, assist those two I leave this place to you”
A little bit reluctant, she lightly bit her lower lips and nodded strongly in response to Takeru's request
”I leave those two to you”
”Yeah Leave it to me”
Takeru said so and directed his body towards the fifth laboratory He raised his arm in front of him and closed his eyes
”Let's conquer Lapis”
”Yes, Host”
Slowly exhaling, Takeru spun words of power
Desiring with supreme ardor——”Summis desiderantes affectibus——”
Raising a signal for the battle to start
——The Hammer of Witches”——Malleus Maleficarum!”
Seeing the back clad in azure-coloured arain returned to her own battle
Fifth Laboratory's underground facility was soanisms
It looked like an arena and scratches as well as blood could be seen on the walls
In the centre of the site was placed a giant crystal Since black like ink characters flowed on its surface, it could be recognized as a product of lance
”〜♪”
Beside the crystal that let out a heavy bass sound was a wos like a child She sat on a chair and with a book opened on top of her knees she read it happily The book's title was 『Canary's house』
”a wonderful story This Kanaria bird went to heaven happy, right?”
The woman closed the book and stroked it with affection
”I love happy endings people do need to die while laughing after all You guys think so too, right?”
With a sh Maker looked around
On the ground around her, there was a lot of blood and entrails Remnants of humans lied there as if messily preyed on by an animal Without doubt, those humans have killed and eaten each other
Not only Inquisitors, but alsothem
Most of theh Maker's, Mimulus Wallenstein's subordinates
Everyone died with a big, uniform, distorted smile
”Dying while laughing is happiness right?”
Even as she spoke to them benevolently, the dead didn't open their mouths
——The bizarre ood intentions After her body and e』, she was ile lesson
『”No h Otherwise you won't go to heaven”』
The trainers gently reminded her as a child, then beat her up
『”Nopeople will be praised by God Dying while laughing is the greatest happiness for humans”』
While saying so, the trainer taught her the ways to kill people
The Insect Cage's teachers understood herof a child
『Radiance』 property was good at reinforce people directly
However, if reinforceic went to the extreme, it could kill people But when she displayed so, they nurtured her to beco people is soative, they planted a positive ih', and trained her while giving her a perception that she isn't doing anything bad
What resulted froe knehat to do with
Although she has been told not to kill people unless requested, after Insect Cage disappeared and no longer controlled her, there was no one to stop her charity work That's why Valhalla sealed her e of her unique abilities and brought her up once again a the Pureblood Party
The reason Eliza dropped her on the battlefield, was to get rid of her
Laugh Maker was a weapon even West Side couldn't control
She wanted people to die while laughing She wanted to give the suffering a death while laughing, she wanted to give it to everyone Because she acted on such pure desire and killed anyone she could, for Valhalla she was an even more troublesome existence than Haunted
”When this fight is over, I think of going over there like you all If I laugh while tasting the despair I'o to a place where there's nothing painful, right?”
When she realized she had tears in one of her eyes, Laugh Maker did her best to laugh
”Crying is no good I finally found the existence that will grant o to heaven”
With hope her eyes regained shi+ne Tears vanished and a glitter dwelled inside
”a little irl will do it”
Spreading both of her hands, she looked towards the ceiling to welcome her hope
A the dead bodies and sea of blood, immediately after she reached out towards her salvation
——The girl she has been longing for has come
Ouka entered the base there was a cavity below her feet she pulverized the floor with a fang
She juh she was guessing as there this many corpses in this place, Ouka raised her face and captured her eneht