Chapter 164: The End of The Hunt (1/2)

Akira was running through the mansion, going after Katsuya and Alna. He used the A2D and AAH assault rifles on both of his hands to repel any enemies he encountered. The reason why he swapped to those rifles was because Alpha told him to do so. Since he was using rifles with low firepower, he took more time to fight each and every enemy he encountered.

“Say Alpha, my augmented suit is already functioning, right? So why am I using these rifles?”

“If you use the other rifles, the firing sound would draw in more enemies. Not to mention, they think you’re a strong opponent. So there’s a good chance that they would give up on killing you, and instead, leaving the rest to that black powered suit. Although it is hard on you, it might be better to let them think that they would have their chance if they keep buying time.”

“But it’s slowing me down, you know? At this rate, they might get away from me, no?”

Alpha smiled just like usual and said.

“It’ll be fine. He has someone slowing him down. So they should not be able to move that fast and he can’t shoot us either. That’s why, I’m sure he’ll have no choice but to fight back rather hardly which would draw more people to him, and that will slow him down even more. We’ll catch up with him sooner or later.”

Akira did not stop shooting even while he was talking to Alpha, and after listening to her explanation, he understood why it would be fine to use assault rifles in that situation.

Alpha did not lie there, but she also did not tell Akira everything. Even with his assault rifle, he would have a good chance of killing Alna even if Katsuya tried to shield her. Akira did not even notice that fact.

—*—*—*—

Katsuya peeked out from one of the rooms inside the mansion and shot at an enemy just ahead of him who was carrying a powerful gun. He could hear screams coming from that direction mixed with the gunshots from his own rifle.

Katsuya was cornered. He had a stern look on his face, he kept mumbling curses and complaints. He still had Alna next to him, but since she was not using any augmented suit nor had she ever trained or experienced combat, she could not move as fast as him. Then to top it off, more and more enemies were swarming him due to Rogelt’s order. He had to protect Alna in that situation, even for him, he was having a hard time fighting the incoming enemies. Not only was he cornered, but he also had no way to escape. He already had his hands full protecting Alna after evacuating her into that room.

Alna looked in pain, seeing how Katsuya was having a hard time protecting her. The kind stranger that she clung to by pure chance back then, and right now, he was still desperately trying to protect her. That thought turned her feelings toward that stranger to love. And the fact that person was trying to protect her because of a mere promise without any benefit at all, only strengthened her feelings for him.

Then something clicked inside Alna.

“…Katsuya, it’s fine, it doesn’t matter now. Thank you.”

Katsuya looked at Alna in surprise.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m really happy that you came here for me. I think that you’ve already saved me enough. It’s fine now.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“Just leave me behind and get away from here. Without me slowing you down, you can at least escape from this place alone, right?”

Katsuya was dumbfounded while Alna smiled bitterly.

“Why would you even say that? It’s fine, don’t worry. If you keep saying something like that, I would get angry, you know?”

Katsuya lightly said so to Alna while trying not to worry her. But instead, the smile vanished from Alna’s face which only left her with a pained look. She then started crying and confessing to Katsuya.

“I’m sorry. I… I’ve been lying to you… I took it.”

“Eh?”

“I was the one lying. I stole Akira’s wallet. Then he noticed it and started chasing after me, that was when I bumped into you. I lied to you so that you would protect me… I-I’m really sorry.”

Seeing how shocked Katsuya was, Alna smiled bitterly at him.

Alna felt really guilty towards Katsuya who was trying to rescue her. But she always thought that if she told him the truth, he would abandon her to her fate. And with Akira ordering a search for her, she would lose her life if she didn’t have Katsuya’s protection. That was why she could not bring herself to tell him. Although she felt guilty about it, she could not deny that she was also happy that he came for her.

But now that she was in love with him, she prioritized his life more than her own. If Katsuya died because of her wrongdoing, she would not be able to forgive herself.

“I… I’m not worthy of your protection… That’s why… it’s fine.”

Alna tried her best to make Katsuya abandon her. She did not even care if that would make him hate her. After she confessed everything, she looked down. She had nothing left. She only smiled mockingly at herself, she was only getting what she had sown.

Katsuya, who saw her miserable state, made his resolve and clearly stated.

“That doesn’t change anything.”

“…Eh?”

“As I said, I’ve promised you, so I don’t need any other reason. I won’t take back my promise just because of something like that.”

Katsuya smiled, trying to cheer Alna up.

“Moreover, well, like, you know, trust is a crucial thing for a Hunter, and I’m aiming to be a great Hunter. That’s why, although it might sound weird, even if you lied to me, I’ll still keep my promise. That’s why I won’t let you die. Even if you don’t want it, I’ll still protect you.”

Alna shuddered, emotion flooded her heart.

“And also, well, it’s true that stealing is bad, but I don’t think that’s enough of a reason to kill you. I’ll try to talk it out with that guy. So don’t worry, it’ll be fine. You have my promise, so just believe me.”

Katsuya said so and smiled kindly. Alna nodded without saying anything, tears were still running down her cheeks as she tried her best to smile.

Right at the next moment, Katsuya felt something approaching, so he quickly jumped off.

The black powered suit readied its rifle and aimed it at Katsuya. Rogelt used the information sent by his men together with his own information terminal to lock down on Katsuya’s position. Although it was nothing but a crude approximation, with the firepower of his rifle, there was no need for him to snipe precisely.

“Damn brat!! Running your mouth like that!! Now die!!!”

Fuelled with anger, Rogelt operated his powered suit. A huge bang echoed, his rifle that rivalled the firepower of a tank shot released a warhead straight into the mansion. It easily broke through multiple walls and left one big continuous hole through the mansion.

Katsuya was able to barely avoid the warhead. Although he was shocked by the destruction left behind, he immediately went back to secure Alna.

“Alna, are you alright?!”

Although Alna was lying down on the ground, she was unhurt. She was so horrified that she was not able to immediately reply to Katsuya. But she was at least able to nod to let him know that she was fine.

Katsuya’s expression relaxed slightly. He was relieved to know that Alna was fine, but what happened next left him aghast. Akira suddenly jumped into the room through the hole left by that warhead. That sudden change of event caused Katsuya to freeze, and that was enough to dictate the end result.

Akira kept Katsuya suppressed with the rifle on his left hand without even looking at him. While Akira’s gaze, as well as the rifle on his right hand, were fixed on Alna. Inside that compressed time perception world where everything was running in slow motion, Akira and Alna locked gazes at each other. Akira pulled down the trigger, showered Alna with bullets and Katsuya had no means to stop him.

Akira kept on shooting at Katsuya to keep him suppressed and escaped from the mansion through the hole left by Rogelt. Katsuya was only able to see Akira run off without doing anything.

The one that pulled Katsuya back to reality was Alna’s weak voice. The moment he heard it, Katsuya immediately ran toward Alna and confirmed that she had been wounded. Although she was fatally wounded, she was not dead yet. Judging from the locations where she was shot, it seemed that Akira intentionally did that. Katsuya did not notice that far, but judging from the blood on the ground, he knew that Alna did not have much time left.

“…M-medicine!!”

Katsuya pulled out medicine from his pocket. But he immediately detected enemies coming from the direction of the hole and started shooting at them. He then shouted at those people who were taking cover behind the wall around the hole.

“Don’t get in my way!!”

He could not treat Alna in this situation. Katsuya understood that and picked her up with his arm and slowly dragged himself away from that place while keeping those men in check. He thought that no enemies would come from the direction where Akira just left, so he tried to retreat there while protecting Alna.

Alna coughed out blood and her body gradually turned cold. She would die soon. There was no chance to save her now. Although she understood that, she did not feel fear at all. The happiness of being held by someone she loved and the fact that she would no longer slow him down was stronger. As her vision slowly turned dark, she could see Katsuya still desperately trying to protect her. It made her fall in love deeper with him and regret the fact that Katsuya had a pained look on his face.

She felt cold. She wanted to feel warmth during her final moments at least. Alna squeezed the last bit of power that she had to raise up her hand that was already soaked with her own blood. Katsuya who noticed that tried to call her name. Unfortunately, she could no longer hear anything, but even so, she could still feel the warmth on her palm and smiled happily.

Alna’s arm gracefully fell. Her life ended there, in the arms of her loved one.

Katsuya realized that Alna was gone. He understood that trying to treat her wounds while shooting at the guys attacking them would not help at all. He was extremely frustrated as he softly placed Alna’s body down.

Katsuya’s scream echoed through the mansion. Once it died down, he was filled with rage and disappointment for not being able to save her. And in order to remove the main source of the reason why he could not save Alna, he pushed his rare talent to full bloom.

Rogelt’s men, who had gathered in that place due to an order from Rogelt, were thunderstruck at how Katsuya suddenly turned so strong as if he was completely a different person. Although they had the upper hand, it did not take long for that to be overturned. The mansion was filled with flying bullets and it was only a matter of time before it stopped.

—*—*—*—

Akira went through the hole that Rogelt opened and escaped the mansion. He then used the full power of his augmented suit to propel himself up to the rooftop of the mansion, then ran toward the opposite side and jumped down onto the courtyard. He then kept on running towards the entrance.

Sheryl was saved and Alna was dead. He no longer had any reason to stay there. The only thing left was to get out from that place alive. Of course, picking a fight against the Ezont family would entail a lot of problems later, but he shelved that for another time. He could take his time thinking about it once he was out of there, Akira kept on running as he thought so.

“Alpha, I just want to confirm something though, that girl is dead, right? There’s no way she might be saved, right?”

Akira had shot Alna following Alpha’s instruction. He thought that it should be enough to kill her. But he also knew that there was a treatment that could save someone even after that person lost half of his body, or expensive medicines that could save someone from certain death, or many other ways to survive that level of injury. That was why he was not so sure.

Alpha smiled and replied.

“You’re such a worrywart. Don’t worry, it’s true she might be able to survive using expensive medicine and proper treatment. But I’m sure he wouldn’t have the leeway to do it in that situation.”

“But like, is there any reason why I can’t kill her right away there? A shot on her head would guarantee her death, you know…”

“If you blow her head or kill her with any means that make it obvious that she’s dead, I’m sure that boy will immediately leave Alna behind and chase after you, to kill you. That’s why we did that. If we let her alive although only for a few seconds, it’s obvious which one that boy would prioritize.”

“If that’s the problem, isn’t it easier to just kill that boy or at least wound him too? In that situation back there, although I might not have been able to kill him, I should have been able to at least injure him, right?”

“If we did that, the rest of Ezont family’s soldiers would focus on hunting you down. In the worst-case scenario, you would have to fight the whole gang on top of that black powered suit all by yourself.”

“Now that you mention it, that does make sense.”

Akira agreed with that argument too, so his displeasure and doubt were gone.

“Even if that boy tries to chase after you once the girl is dead, he would have to face Ezont family’s men first. So let’s get him to buy some time for us while we escape from this place.”

Akira was still running as he glanced back. Inside that mansion, Katsuya should be fighting the Ezont family’s men as well as that black powered suit. As he imagined that scene, he thought that it must be a huge pain in the neck as if it was none of his business.

“…Well, even if some of them might still come at me, at least that powered suit won’t be coming for me. Although I do feel bad about it, let’s have him buy us some ti-“