Vol 2 Chapter 6 (1/2)
Part 1
“What, didn’t you go with Miyabi and the rest?”
I asked the silver girl aiting for o on ahead
“It’s because I am Tooru’s <duo>>”
The bell rang like usual and Julie nodded
(Even though the <duo>> is not related in today’s <survive>>)
Although I thought that, there was no way I would not be happy if she told me that
“Thanks Let’s go then”
“Ja--- Okay let’s go Miyabi and the rest are waiting”
Maybe it was the thought of wanting to hurry up to side of Miyabi and the rest; Julie took my hands
(Uu…………this is so………)
Julie walked while tightly holding my hand with her small hands
After I took a s ather hands on her hips
Once we entered the building and imo of our hands
It seeot down 2 floors using the escalator, which had becoisa plaza
There was a path on the left side while there was an atriuht side; there was also a book store in front of us
From this place which was located at the very east end of the building, we headed to thepoint we promised with Tachibana and the rest located to the west-----
“Ah-re? it’s Kokonoe-kun and Julie-chan You two took your ti down here?”
In the shadows of the shelves in the bookstore which I thought were eirl-----Kibitsu showed her face
“Just a little strategicHow about you Kibitsu, why are you in a place like this?”
“Uun, I a to ambush her here Look, my <blaze>> is
“I-I see……………”
Just how could she say that with a confident smile on her face
“By the way Kibitsu I have been wondering this since a while back but, how do you manifest the arrow?”
<riflegun>> and
I tried asking since it y
(Is it the saun>>…………?)
“It seeth by having the <blaze>> be the medium The arrow is like the other self of the
“During the ine the actions It seems it is different for each individual, butout an arrow fro the pose if you are used to it”
“I see That was knowledgeable”
“You are welcoo back to my stand-by spot soon Kokonoe-kun, Julie-chan, I leave e to you two”
“I think there is so you assume you will already lose…………”
While ain hid herself behind the book shelf
“Well then, it seeo to everyone”
“Ja--- Let’s do that”
Inside the A La Mode building, which was filled with people e visited a few days ago
It was norapped in silence and it gave off the illusion as if we slipped into a ghost town
The different ath it was open er
“To-Tooru-kun, Julie-chan Over here, over here………!”
Fro small waves with her hands to us
(I don’t knohether she is appealing or not………)
Whilea wry smile, we met up with Tachibana and Miyabi
“Sorry For uys wait………”
“I-ya, I don’t mind More importantly, let’s confirm the plan once more before it starts First off, in the center plaza for ambush, at that standpoint in that location--------”
Being the group leader, Tachibana looked at the buildingabout the plan
Several situations were assumed but, the basic plan was to drive Lilith to a corner with our numbers
After the confir instead of the map
The northern part of the A La Mode which was the grounds for <survive>>-----
After going straight through the approximately 400 meter wide path which was stretched out froh
The naisa, the first eastern plaza right e got down fro west from there is Yukari then the Center finally Sora
However, the path was not a coht path and each of the Yukari and Center plazas had narrow paths to use forhas a 2 floor structure but, although this does not go for all the plazas, all of the paths connect froh an atrium
It was easy to move around on the 1st floor since it is wide, but since it is very disadvantageous if she attacks us froht on the 2nd floor
Around 1 ain, a building announcement that the <survive>> had started
“It’s ti on you all to follow the plan!”
[Aah!][ Ja---!][U-un……][Fuun, leave it to me]
Leaving approxi nod to Tachibana (Tatsu was silent), a light bell different fro, KaranKaran echoed
Immediately after that sound disappeared-----
A gunshot echoed from the east side
“It started huh………!”
Right ere stationing according to Tachibana’s words, I could hear several unshots
The sound was louder then first and, I found out that she was in battle at the second plaza------the Yukari plaza
Even if they were not defeated by Lilith, it would probably take some time for her to come here
And during the ti that
“Let’s go there, catch her-----!!”
When such a voice appeared, with a backward glance; the figure of the gold girl running here could be seen
(I thought she would defeat everyone that aiting for her before advancing but………!)
It’s true that froo with the opponents' plan
It see each one of us by order was mostly out of expectations
(She’s co………!!)
They chased Lilith to the place aiting for her
“Lilith!!”
Right when Lilith ran near me, I jumped out from the pillar’s shadow and stood in her way
I was probably supposed to perforinally but, my role was to stop her
And, what kind of method to use was up to my personal discretion
Even though Lilith was htly lowered her gun when she noticed I was the opponent
“Ohtime no see”
“…………That’s right I aain this fast”
I directed an ironic smile to Lilith
“That goes forfor you”
After swaying her hair with her hand, Lilith aiun>> at me
“First off, I will test your true abilities”
In a situation where everything would end if she pulled the trigger-----
However, in a different perspective, you could say this was a one-in a lifetime chance
This was the chance to practically use the plan to handle the <riflegun>> I thought of using at the real scene
Failure would mean instant retire-----
Although this had high risks, I had nothing else
(-----It’s co!!)
Lilith put in strength on the finger at the trigger and-----
Ginn!! Right after the gun fired, a metallic sound was produced
(Success!! I can do this at this distance!!)
“…………Not bad Or is it just a coincidence?”
After I blocked the bullet with the <shi+eld>>, Lilith stared at me
“If you think that was a coincidence then want to try it one more time?”
“…………I’ll give up on that I will accept you as the o for now”
Right when Lilith was showing her <riflegun>> rotating habit after firing, I raised the corners of my mouth
“………No, I won’t let you get away It is our turn now-----Tachibana!!”
“Leave it to me!!”
Placed between the atrium, Tachibana showed herself with her <chainiron chain=””>> at the front of the shop, and the gold girl reacted by un at her
At that moment, Tatsu jumped out from the shop to Lilith’s side this time
“----!!”
Once Tachibana diverted her conscious to her by showing herself, Tatsu would attack from a completely different direction
This was one of the many plans we had prepared
“It’s a siood method”
Lilith hts to Tatsu and said that as if to show her composure
Zan!! The <crescent blade=””>> that got swung down ed it with a back flip and landed on top of the glass fence like that
“Tatsu!! Swing to the side!!”
If he swung to the side then she e movement
At the sa behind the objects jumped out
If it was on top of the fence then, she had to dodge by ju away from Tatsu’s attack
Ton Just like predicted, Lilith kicked the glass fence and jumped to the sky
However, she was heading towards the atrium
“Wha…………!?”
The height was easily around 5 meters until the first floor
If by any chance she failed in her landing, sheherself but even so, she did not hesitate
“It’s not a bad attack but, I advise including the xceed>> physical ability in the calculations”
Everyone becaht shi+ning down on her frolass roof
The appearance of an angel descending doas shown to our eyes and Lilith descended to the ground
However, the group standing-by on the first floor did not end with being fascinated by her
That’s because the hunter came down in front of them ere the prey
Sword strikes, gunshot, shouts and the sound of battle echoed back
Even after I ran to the fence and looked doards in panic, the Yellow Topazblonde hair had already entered the blind spot of the building’s cover
(daet away!!)
I crossed the fence and jumped down to the first floor
After landing and spotting Lilith, there was a 5 meter distance between us
“Ah-ra, I won’t go easy on you if you chase me”
Lilith turned around and prepared her <riflegun>>
(Kuh, where is she ai……!?)
“Tooru!!”
Julie shouted and at the same time as the bullet hit the <shi+eld>>
The bullet course slightly diverted and scratched my cheek
“You have good luck Or is your luck included into your abilities too?”
“Tsk…………!!”
I decided that this distance was to e and jumped into the shadows but there was no pursuit attack
Instead, I could hear Lilith voice together with her footstep getting further away
“Well I don’t ht Kokonoe Tooru”
After I brought my face out from the shadows, I saw the back of the Yellow Topazblonde hair swaying around while leaving
(She got away……………but, there was some profit)
---This was the first contact with Lilith in this <survive>>
“Are you okay, Tooru”
“Aah, I' uys on the lower floor……………”
After I nodded to Julie who easily got down, I set uys collapsed in the front
Looks like there were 6 people but, they were all defeated in that short time
It just took 1 minute for Lilith to take on the selected 2nd year members who had 3 <level 3iii=””>> It couldn’t be helped for 6 <level 1i=””>> to be unable to do anything in direct combat
I then heard a gunshot from the direction Lilith ran to
“She is probably fighting with the group in the Sora plaza”
Tachibana with Miyabi behind jumped down from the 2nd floor path like us
“Hyawa!?”
In spite of co and landed on her butt
Thanks to that her skirt got flipped up, but it stopped at a dangerous spot luckily
“Ouch…… ………………---------!!”
Although she frowned her face in pain at first, she i and quickly fixed the hem of her skirt
“Miyabi are you okay?”
“U-un I am okay but………errr……di-did you see………?”
I extended my hand to her as she asked a question with a soft voice
“I did not see so relax”
After I replied back whilea wry s up
Behind us, Tachibana ainst the wall to let them sleep
“Because we did not stop her, this turned into an inexcusable result to them…………”
“We can’t help it She was one layer better”
“Fuun More important than that, shouldn’t we decide on the next objective for now on?”
Tora ca that
“Without Tatsu?”
“That guy is not suited for brain work It’s probably best just to let him be on the look out up there”
“I-I see…………then let’s go with the objectives first…………Tachibana”
I asked the decision from Tachibana as our leader
“………Her victory condition is to elio with the first plan and wait here without ------”
“Oi, Kokonoe!! Don’t let her get away so easily!!”
An angry shout mixed into our conversation from the 2nd floor
When I looked up, Kiga at the Yukari plaza were there
“That goes for you too”
There were no ah like us, I got irritated because there was no reason to be scolded at
“The hell you say!?”
Kigaot bad-----
At that moment, Tachibana and Izumi came in front of us respectively to calm us down
“Sorry, Kigami It is my responsibility as the teay then I will apologize to you properly later But for now, isn’t it decided that we repair the broken formation first?”
Kigahtly lowered her head
In replacement, Izumi was the one who opened his mouth
“We don’t need an apology since we got broken through that easily More i to chase her now like this so, if it is okay with you all, do you want to join in?”
“Izumi!!”
Kigary at his partner’s plan
“Maa a is okay if we go with this for the last”
He probably purposely did it to allow everyone to hear
But, it ht be because his natural virtue ht feeling with him
And since I dare not say that comment, Tachibana questioned hih
“What do you mean that we are low on numbers?”
“Just like what you can see, 5 people were taken dohen she broke through the Yukari plaza Thanks to that, most of the methods we prepared cannot be used anymore”
Now that he mentioned it, most of the people that I sahen I crossed by the Yukari plaza at the beginning had been eliminated
“What are you going to do? If it is okay, then it would be a lifesaver if you corner her from down there”
Izue of the 2nd floor which had the lowest possibility of getting shrewdly attacked from above
Tachibana ht wry smile and nodded
“I understand We will be in charge of the first floor”
Alliance established
“Don’t pull , Kokonoe!!”
“Fuun What a noisy guy……!”
Tora said that as if he was spitting and glared at Kigami
“……………Weren’t we supposed to aain here?”
I held back his voice just in case to avoid letting it reach Kagami and the rest
“I felt that the atet even worse if I refused”
“…………Sorry for being bad at being considerate”
“Fufu, I don’t mind More importantly, let’s move too, we need to tell Tatsu about the situation as well”
“Aah, let’s do that”
Everyone was gathered once Tatsu came down and just ere about to move, I recalled back the time when I confronted Lilith just now
“………………That’s it Everyone, listen It see to be tough if it is more than 5 meters”
“Fuun Then the thing you have to do, is to enter a distance where the plan ork no matter what”
“That’s true; it is probably li in the distance between her next time”
Tachibana nodded at Tora’s response
“Well, it is a big gain just by knowing that the plan is effective Next would be-----”
“Kokonoe!! Let’s go already!! I told you not to pull !!”
A angry shout cut into our conversation again
“Sorry We were confir on how to corner her”
“………Keh”
After Tachibana replied that while lowering her head, I saw Kigaround
It was quite irritating but, as long as Tachibana put a follow in, there was no way I could tarnish that
“……………Everyone, let’s go”
I held it in and pretended to be cal
“To-Tooru-kun, can I have a moment……?”
Right ere running passed the Center plaza, Miyabi called out in a soft voice
“Ah……it was scary right Sorry”
“U-un…………”
Miyabi was scared of Kigae we had just now
After I apologized for that, Miyabi swung her head
“Th-that one is okay…………but that wasn’t what I wanted to talk about……… …………… e-err, its about before ……………yo-you really did not see right?”
It seemed she was still worried about the time when she fell down
“If I saw then I would not be able to talk to Miyabi while re calm”
“Ah………I see………that’s good Fufu………”
I relaxed a little because of the conversation that felt i in the middle of a practice match-----
The quarrel with Kigaht irritation in
“…………Thanks, Miyabi”
“Eh………? Ab-about what…?”
“I just thought it’s great that Miyabi is here”
“Eh………!? Gre-great………hat do you mean by that……?”
I only laughed back at Miyabi as troubled
We were at the big path connecting the Center plaza and Sora plaza There was about a distance of 70 meters in between
While hiding our body behind the stores located in between, we headed towards the 4th plaza----the Sora plaza
“Alright, Me, Julie and Tatsu will head to the right side Tachibana and the rest head to the left side while paying attention Tora, you are the rear guard so be careful of your back”
Other than a big path that ere going to go through after this in the Center plaza and Sora plaza, there were small paths connected to it too
If Lilith went through there then, there would be a chance ould get attacked froht at the back of the line was very important
Tentatively, the sroup on the look out but even so, I couldn’t say it was safe for certain
“Fuun You too, be careful not to get ahead of yourself and get shot straight on”
“None of your business”
“That goes for you too”
Gon we buht path
Both groups on the 1st and 2nd floor moved
“It's quiet, Tooru”
The sound of battle had already stopped echoing and the building rapped in silence
“Aah Let’s go while cautiously”
If Lilith was defeated then, someone would probably shout in victory but, that was impossible
If that was the case then, the chances of Lilith being on overwatch [2F 1] further up was very high; h I did not want it to
I lowereddown
There was no gunshot
I confir but, there were no particular problems
After Iit was safe, Julie ran here first and then Tatsu next
Tachibana was ahead on the opposite side of the path with Miyabi following her back
Even though we crossed half the distance of the path, we could hear no gunshots
(It’s about ti to snipe…………)
We needed to be cautious of the stairs connected towards the roof at the Sora plaza, Tachibana said this
But, thinking about the charge immediately at the start, we couldn’t throay the possibility of a charge attack
Inside the oppressive feeling created by the nervousness, we slowly got closer to the Sora plaza
“Tooru Look at that”
Further up Julie’s finger------there were 3 guys collapsed frontwards at the plaza
On half of the stairs heading towards the roof, there were girls collapsed there
Whileonwards with our cautiousness increased, we kept a look out at the shops while hiding our bodies-----
I got shocked when I saw a female Kouryou uniform
But, the hair was black and was strea down to the chest
Near the girl with black hair, I saw one ainst the wall
Both of theot found by Lilith
It seenal to Julie behind ht to advance
“Tooru I feel soe”
“Aah, I think so too If there is no movement until now………”
She was ain
That thought passed my mind and hesitation was born
Hesitation corrupts the concentration ability and a chance would be born-----
That instant was targeted
A sudden attack came
“That is no good, Kokonoe Tooru”
That sudden call out came from a direction I would never expect
“-----Wha!!”
When I looked behind, the black haired girl was preparing her <riflegun>>
“Hesitation in a battle which has already begun is forbidden you know It would only make a fatal chance Like this”
She threay the black hich was hiding her Yellow Topazblonde hair and Lilith made a wry smile
“I thought this was cliché but, it unexpectedly works”
The gun was clearly pointed at Julie
“Julie!!”
The gunshot broke the silence and----
The silver girl dodged the bullet just right