Vol 7 Chapter 3 (2/2)
”Indeed, Catastrophe is a powerfulofJust as we used mithril to resist Basilisk's attacks, the chances of the beah”
Iris went ”Oh I see” and put her hand down after listening to shi+nomiya-sensei's answer Iris evidently wanted to use her power to ease Mitsuki's burden
”Since ly siet while NIFL draws its attention using unmanned drones Mononobe Mitsuki will fire antimatter projectiles while I hope the rest of you will provide support”
shi+nomiya-sensei outlined the plan concisely Indeed, there was nothing simpler than this operation
”In more concrete terms, what does support mean we have to do?”
Ariella raised a question and shi+nomiya-sensei answered in a serious tone of voice:
”Do everything you can to adapt to the changing situation Your ainst attacks from the silver threads ravity is the only ainst antimatter attacks Iris Freyja's Catastrophe should be able to pin down the enemy even if it is blocked Ren Miyazawa'scapacity should help in breaking out of eencies”
shi+nomiya-sensei looked at each of our faces in sequence while directing the operation
”—Any other questions? If not, the operation will begin right away I hope the battle can be settled while the target is on the mountain”
I looked over the roup No one seemed to have any objections
—Was it okay to leave things to Mitsuki like this?
Although this sense of unease occupied rounds of e an alternative solution
”Then let the operation begin”
”—Yes ma'am!”
In any case, I'll protect Mitsuki fro that decision, I nodded in response to shi+nomiya-sensei's command
Part 5
Following the NIFL drones, we flew through the night sky
Lacking flying skills, Iris and I were carried by Ren and Ariella respectively As the key personnel in the operation, Mitsuki was flying alone
In order to be able to attack froles issued to us were equipped with telescope functions in addition to communications It was the sa the Basilisk battle in the past
Although the goggles also provided night vision, the NIFL drones would fire flares for illuan, so there was no need for us to use such functionality
”So dark, down there”
While transporting round
”It's all mountains nearby, so it's definitely suitable for a battlefield”
Since both sides were going to be firing antie to the environment would be unavoidable Hence, I could understand shi+nomiya-sensei's deteret reached urban areas
”—Although the drones definitely lowered their speed, keeping up with aircraft is actually pretty tough”
In theIris, Ariella co on her brow
The outlines of the three drones flying in front could not be seen due to the darkness of the sky, but ere able to use the red lights on the drones as beacons, h speed
”shi+noet's not very far, so we'll surely get there soon Hang in there, Ariella-chan!”
Iris encouraged the exhausted Ariella
At this moment, shi+nomiya-sensei happened to speak on the communicator
'You are about to arrive at the coainst NIFL's ground weapons Slon your flying and let the drones go first Once the flares are up and the target co antimatter'
”—Affirmative”
Just as we replied, a huge explosion happened ahead
The starry sky instantly turned white while we heard a heavy explosion
While we slowed down, the drones pulled ahead and fleards the explosion's location
Several seconds later, ht sources appeared in the sky, apparently flares, illu scenery
Perhaps the result of ground weaponry in combat, the land in the vicinity had turned barren with e patch of the ed out
And in the center, a sht from the flares
”That's—”
I operated e
The same silver cocoon as e had seen in the conference room monitor—Kraken Zwei, all covered by threads of mithril
The drones circled in the air above it and started attacking with uns, but of course, that level of firepoas all deflected by the mithril cocoon
Then just as the ap in the cocoon The sht sank into a drone, then i a flare's brightness It waswith antimatter
Caught in the annihilating explosion, a second drone exploded next, leaving only one
”—Co!”
Mitsuki shouted acutely then raised her fictional armament of a bow—Brionac Once all the drones were shot down, there would be no diversions left Mitsuki had no time to waste
Nocking an arrow of dark et
Although I could see nervousness and a stiff deht of fierce resolve in her eyes
”It is a dragon, an enemy that must be defeated”
Mitsuki persuaded herself while drawing the bow
The final re drone suddenly stopped unnaturally in the air Upon closer exa the fuselage
—Could the threads of mithril extend that far?
According to shi+noe was dozens of meters but from what I could see, it looked like almost a hundred meters
Perhaps deciding defense was no longer essential after restraining the drone, the cocoon swiftly unraveled
Purple light could be seen froaps
I had seen reference photographs of the Kraken during lectures at Midgard A iant purple eyeball and countless tentacles—That hat the Kraken looked like
Hence, I always thought the ”inside” protected by the silver cocoon would be so similar
However—
”Eh?”
Mitsuki exclaimed in surprise
Iris, the others and I all gasped in surprise
Eirl The exceptionally long silver hair writhed as though it had a will of its own Only then did I realize that the silver threads constituting the cocoon was actually her hair
Although naked, she had part of her hair wrapped around her body Younger than Tia in appearance Her left eye was covered her long bangs
The exposed right eye was glowing purple The instant that light intensified, a beah the sky, afteries were left on the retinas of observers
Then with aprojectile, the drone was devoured by the light of annihilation
Then the girl looked in our direction with her eye that had released light of destruction
”We're discovered!?”
The instant our gazesravity bullets any time
”Mitsuki! We'll get taken out unless you attack soon!”
Ariella called out anxiously
However, Mitsuki did not move, frozen in her pose with the fictional ar us in return without attacking immediately
But time was probably in short supply for hesitation
”Wrong”
Mitsukivoice
”Mitsuki-chan—The Kraken is looking at us!”
Iris alerted of danger in an urgent voice, but Mitsuki kept shaking her head while tre
”Wrong It is wrong”
”What is 'wrong'—”
”That is not the Kraken!”
Mitsuki interrupted Iris and yelled
”H to say, but if you don't make a move—”
Ariella hurried Mitsuki in a stiff tone of voice
”I know! But But no matter how I look”
Acco in the corners of her eyes, Mitsuki's voice trembled
”That is She is—Miyako's child!!”
Mitsuki cried out hoarsely
In the forirl, Kraken Zwei had an extreot was very similar to shi+nomiya-sensei's
But what Mitsuki saw in the girl's face was probably the ie of her best friend in the past, shi+nomiya Miyako
”Mitsuki, let's withdraw for now”
Making the judgested a retreat
”Withdraw?”
Mitsuki was taken aback for a moment Then relief appeared on her face
However, she immediately came to a sudden realization, bit her lip hard and shook her head
”No Even so, I have no choice but to do it I a her”
Despite looking like she was about to cry, Mitsuki refused to back down
”Mitsuki-chan?”
Iris watched her in worry
”Sorry, everyone, I have put on an e display However I am fine now”
Despite the blow to her psyche, Mitsuki still barely ation as the captain of the Dragon Subjugation Squad
”Even if it is not a dragon, by my own hand, I must Just like that time with Miyako—”
With treet
However—Mitsuki suddenly lost balance and dropped in altitude
”Huh?”
Mitsuki was shocked The fictional armament in her hand turned into black bubbles and started to disappear
”Why—”
Dark matter was controlled by the mind A so-called fictional armament was the mind's combat state
—Sure enough, Mitsuki could not do it
Because nothe idea of vanquishi+ng Kraken Zwei
”Ren, fly over to near Mitsuki!”
I called out to Ren as holding my left hand to support me in the air
Mitsuki could not sustain her flying due to her fictional ar to collapse
”Mm!”
Ren instantly realized in alarm and nodded to me in response, then approached Mitsuki
”Mitsuki, grab onto Ren!”
I shouted to Mitsuki as about to fall to the ground
”—!”
Mitsuki clung to Ren's neck and , but even without physical injuries, her
”Sorry Sorry”
Mitsuki pressed her face against the front of Ren's chest and kept apologizing
Was she sorry for failing to fulfill her duties? Or was she feeling remorse for shi+nomiya Miyako? I could not tell
”—It's okay, Mitsuki-chan”
The one who spoke to Mitsuki was Iris, hovering in the air through Ariella's assistance
”I will fight in your stead, Mitsuki-chan”
Iris raised her free hand, which started glowing red It was the light of Catastrophe, capable of weathering all substances within its range of influence
”Caduceus Catastrophe!”
A staff of red light manifested in Iris' hand
Pointing the staff's tip at Kraken Zwei, Iris recited so like an incantation:
”Coments of time”
Seeing the red staff glow progressively brighter, I asked Iris:
”Iris, you can bring yourself to do it?”
”Yes, because even though it looks like a girl That's the dragon targeting Kili-chan, the enemy that must be defeated Also—”
Iris paused, looked at Mitsuki and smiled
”—I want to protect Mitsuki-chan This is for her sake and yours”
I could feel from Iris' tone of voice that she truly wished for Mitsuki and my happiness Just like her joy when nored her own pain
With eyes burning with the light of fierce resolve, Iris turned her gaze back to Kraken Zwei
The dazzling red light at the staff's tip expanded, but at this moment, I saw several black spheres appear around Kraken Zwei
—Don't tell me that's dark matter!?
”Catastrophe, actualize!!”
While I was holding ht
However, just as that brightness dazzled e in shape,a silver shi+eld in front of Kraken Zwei—
Unerringly, the red light of Iris' Catastrophe devoured the spot where the girl was standing
Unprecedented in scale A gigantic bea that of Basilisk's
”Aether with the mithril defenses”
Ariella exclaimed, impressed
Mithril was the ainst Catastrophe Be that as itcaused by time
The surrounding rocks, soil and collapsed trees were turned into fine sand The location exposed to the red light was gradually turned into a desert Changes that originally required thousands, tens of thousands of years were completed in an instant
Nevertheless, a silver object rushed out froht that stole time persistently
It was Kraken Zwei, the girl whose body was completely wrapped in hair of mithril
”No! She's still alive!”
I raised Siegfried, un-shaped fictional armament, and yelled
She had most likely used transmutation to create a mithril shi+eld to buy a bit of time in order to retreat from Catastrophe's line of fire
”!”
Iris hastily tried to correct her aiirl's hair
”Antigravity!”
In that instant, I used all the darkit as a bullet
The bullet of dark ravitationala repulsive field nearby Ireatly, disappearing into the distant night sky
But at the same time, the repulsive field also distorted Catastrophe's trajectory, so Iris stopped firing the beairl's fore hole in its center
”Someone hurry and deploy a sround for now!”
”Mm!”
Ren immediately answered my call
Acco,” s inside the sround
We landed in the forest, escaped froh the forest was totally dark at night and the hu to our skin, it was inco sniped by antimatter projectiles
”Mononobe What do we do next?”
Iris checked on Mitsuki while askingonto Ren, Mitsuki did not look up
”Most likely, she—can also control dark matter If she uses transmutation to replenish mithril, then even Iris' Catastrophe won't be able to breach her defenses”
”In that case, we have no choice but to retreat”
Ariellato me
”Wait! If we run away like this without achieving anything, NIFL ether with her will be in danger We must pin down Kraken Zwei here at least!”
Iris interrupted Ariella in a strong tone of voice and raised her red staff Precisely because she had experienced being a target in the past, she poignantly understood the urgency of the current crisis
”Pin her down Hoe do that?”
After hearing Ariella's question, someone spoke next to me
”Onii-chan, I have an idea”
”Ren?”
I saw Ren looking up at me with a serious expression
”If the ground that's turned to sand is weathered further, a hole should appear We can drop a large amount of mithril over the hole Bury her alive”
”Even if you suggest burying her alive But with antimatter shots—”
”She probably won't use it because she'll get caught in the explosions when firing antimatter while buried”
After listening to Ren's answer, I kneas the best method
”Right, if we use mithril as a lid, even mithril strands won't be able to cut it open easily Escaping will be a challenge If it works out, let alone pinning her doe ht even be able to seal her away completely”
We looked at one another, nodding in agreement
”After Iris opens up a hole in the ground, I'll borrow dark e amount of mithril Mitsuki should wait here”
After saying that, Ariella took Iris and flew up into the air again
Just as I was about to return to the sky with Ren, Mitsuki looked up in her depression
”Nii-san—”
Mitsuki called out hoarsely, extending her hand helplessly
”Don't worry, Mitsuki We'll find a way to handle the rest”
”Yes”
Mitsuki bit her lip in chagrin, lowered her head then nodded slightly
”Let's go, everyone”
Leaving her behind, the rest of us carried out the plan devised by Ren
—Siegfried
I constructed ainst enemy attacks
The instant we increased in altitude, purple light flew at us
It was Kraken Zwei's antimatter shot
—It's co!
”Antigravity!”
The expected attack was deflected to a different direction by my bullet of repulsion Then Iris fired Catastrophe immediately
”Catastrophe, actualize!”
Simultaneously, Kraken Zwei created a mithril shi+eld while the red beam was shot
But that was fine, because Iris' target was the surrounding ground
Already turned to sand, the land turned into tiny particles and dissipated
Land erosion—The land, literally worn away by weather, was gradually gouged away Then with a deep and heavy sound, the ground rumbled
Next ca
Perhaps the weathering had reached deep underground The ground collapsed over a wide area
Together with her shi+eld, Kraken Zallowed into the collapsing ground
”Now is the time!”
”I know, Mononobe-kun!”
Withoutthis opportunity, Ariella used dark matter borrowed from Ren to create a vast amount of mithril
The silver rocks covered up the created hole while the deep ru reached the heavens A cloud of dust shrouded the area
”Anyway Plan succeeded?”
Ariella breathed a sigh of relief and asked
Even after waiting for a while, we did not see any changes in the blocks ofantimatter to escape would be very difficult
”Yeah, although we didn't e to defeat her, if the outcome is like this—”
Iris dispelled the red staff in her hand and wiped sweat from her brow
”—shi+nomiya-sensei, what do we do?”
Through the communicator, I called to our commander, shi+nomiya-sensei
'Everyone back to base Leave the situation for NIFL's unmanned military hardware to survey and analyze'
shi+nomiya-sensei issued orders to us
”—Affirmative!”
”Mm”
Ariella and Ren immediately responded and started to descend to where Mitsuki aiting
Enveloped in Ren's wind, I stared at the silver rocks that were sealing Kraken Zay
If possible, I hoped she would stay there quietly underground and not come out
Whether Mitsuki Or Iris, as long as the situation permitted, I did not want them to dirty their hands
That dragon looked far too human
One knew just from appearance that she was half-human—in other words, a D
I could not help but hope in ht be possible to communicate with her
But now that she had targeted Kili, we could only be enemies
Because fro mates were natural predators that must be defeated
Part 6
”—I am terribly sorry”
Back to the NIFL base, Mitsuki bowed her head deeply and apologized to shi+nomiya-sensei
The air was tense inside the dark operations room whose only illumination came from the monitors
”No, you are not at fault I didn't expect Kraken Zwei to resemble a human to such an unbelievable extent and for her face to be so similar to Miyako's It is only natural you were unable to fire”
shi+no at Kraken Zwei's appearance on the monitor
Possessing hair of mithril she could control at will, she was the hybrid child between the Kraken and a D Despite having the appearance of a young girl, she was a dragon that could even control dark matter as well
Whether Mitsuki, as shi+nomiya Miyako's best friend, or shi+nomiya-sensei, her elder sister, neither of them could sever their ties so easily
”But if only I had fired antimatter at the time Kraken Zould have been taken out effortlessly—”
Her body shaking, Mitsuki bit her lip hard
”Don't be so hard on yourself We have already succeeded in sealing herto the results of NIFL'sno movements at the bottom of the hole Even if she must be defeated sooner or later, we have aize”
”That's right! Mitsuki-chan, you don't need to force yourself anymore!”
Iris clenched her fist tightly before her chest, speaking to Mitsuki in a strong tone of voice
”Iris-san”
”Mitsuki-chan, you should have a good rest first Your face really looks unwell”
Just as Iris pointed out, Mitsuki's face was pallid and she looked like she was going to collapse anyat Mitsuki's face
”She's right Go rest There is a nap room opposite from this room”
”But regarding our next ation Squad, I must—”
”Mononobe Mitsuki, this is an order”
Mitsuki tried to argue but shi+no tone of voice
”Yes ma'am”
Reluctantly, Mitsuki could only nod affirmatively With unsteady footsteps, she exited the operations room
”shi+nomiya-sensei”
Unable to leave Mitsuki alone the way she was right now, I spoke up Immediately, shi+nomiya-sensei's expression showed comprehension of what I wanted to say She nodded and motioned to the operations room's door with her eyes
”Mononobe Yuu, you will stay at your sister's side for now”
”Thank you Understood”
I followed her orders, only to see Ariella and the rest of the girls staring at me seriously
”I've never seen Mitsuki like this She ain if she isn't consoled properly at this time Mononobe-kun, you must help her well”
”Onii-chan Mitsuki is in your hands”
I nodded silently in response to Ariella and Ren
”Mitsuki-chan definitely needs you Mononobe, so you have to support her properly”
With slight sadness in her save my back a push
—Iris
She probably had on that had kept a human appearance, but even so, she still prioritized Mitsuki and me
”Yeah Don't overdo things yourself either, Iris”
After some hesitation, all I could say were such ordinary words of encouragement
”Very well!”
Even so, Iris still s a sharp pain in my heart, I walked out of the operations room
I did not see Mitsuki in the corridor She had probably entered the nap room
Thinking that to myself, I opened the door to the room opposite the operations room but it was totally dark inside
”Mitsuki?”
”—Nii-san?”
I felt relieved to hear her answer Switching on the light, I walked over to the direction of her voice Inside an area isolated behind curtains, I found Mitsuki sitting on the bed
”Are you about to sleep? If that's the case, I'll switch off the light—”
I asked but MItsuki slowly shook her head
”No I cannot sleep right now, so there is no need to switch off the light Nii-san Did you come over because you are worried about me?”
Mitsuki smiled wryly and asked me with self-deprecation in her tone
”Yeah”
”I a you trouble, Nii-san I must not act like this Clearly I resolved myself already”
Mitsuki gripped the sheets on the rin
”Hesitating in that kind of situation is only natural when you're huon, you don't have to change your mind into a monster too”
”But”
”So-called resolve basicallywith that and it's essential sos that must not be cast away”
I spoke quietly while placing my hand on Mitsuki's head
”I am currently thankful—Mitsuki, that you did not shoot earlier”
”Eh?”
Mitsuki stared at me, dumbfounded
”Had you shot antimatter at the time, Mitsuki You'd probably be in a nervous breakdown right now, and definitely broken to an irreparable degree”
To confirently caressed her head
”Mitsuki, you don't need to fight Kraken Zwei anyht”
”Nii-san But—”
”No 'buts' so quit co This is what I've decided as your brother”
I ruffled Mitsuki's hair brusquely and took my hand off her head
”Do not suddenly go abusing a brother's authority just because your htly”
Mitsuki fixed her tousled hair while pouting unhappily
”Say no ain, Iris, the rest of the class and I will find a way”
Mitsuki's shoulders shook when I mentioned Iris' name
”I see hardshi+p on Iris-san all the time”
”It's not like that Iris is taking on the task on her oill”
I corrected Mitsuki and she immediately made a wry smile
”Indeed The same applies to the s on her own, trying to yield Nii-san to reatly”
Mitsuki sighed deeply and stared at me with serious eyes
”Please worry more about Iris-san than me, Nii-san Because Iris-san is the one you love, Nii-san”
”Mitsuki, you're the one who's deciding s on your own”
Despite feeling aware of the wavering in the depths of ainst Mitsuki
”Looks like, Nii-san, you do not understand your own feelings That way, you will not be able to protect Iris-san, you know?”
After saying that, Mitsuki stood up froe of the bed
”Mitsuki?”
She was glaring atme feel troubled
”Nii-san Please kiss me”
”Huh?”
I was frozen in surprise Before my eyes, Mitsuki closed her eyes and tilted her face upwards slightly
”Nii-san, you will understand if you do it Because right now, you already knohat it feels like to kiss the one you love”
Mitsuki had witnessthis now
”No way, asking —”
”Please do not escape! I beg you, Nii-san&qu