“Then, let me explain the situation.”
They were in the operations room in the IS Academy underground special zone.
Normally, this was not a place any student would know of, but at this point, all the personal unit pilots in the Academy were gathered.
Houki, Cecilia, Rin, Charlotte, Laura, Kanzashi and Tatenashi were lined up, with Chifuyu and Yamada standing in front of them.
This operation room seemed to run on a completely independent power supply, and the display clearly showed all information. However, it was not a hologram, but an old-styled display.
“But to think that there’s such an area…”
“Yeah, it surprises me a little…”
Rin and Cecilia looked around the room and whispered amongst themselves, only to be warned by Chifuyu immediately.
“Be quiet, Huang, Alcott! We’re in the middle of a briefing!”
“Ye-yes!”
“So-sorry!”
After Chifuyu growled at them, Rin and Cecilia stopped their whispering.
Then, Maya enlarged the shown data and started to explain to all that were present.
“Right now, all the systems in IS Academy are shut down. This is an electronic attack from some unknown source…in other words, we can conclude that we’re attacked by a hacker.”
Maya’s voice sounded more rigid than usual. It seemed that it was a rather urgent situation to have students enter this special zone.
“There’s still no student hurt up till now, and there’s no endangering of lives even as the defensive walls are in the way. Not all of the defensive walls went down, so it seems only a portion of them were activated.”
So you can go to the toilet, you know? She said, but nobody laughed.
“Er-erm, do you have any questions about the current situation?”
“Yes.”
Laura raised her hand. Like usual, an active soldier would be very active when something came up.
“I heard that IS Academy runs on an independent system. Is it really possible to be hacked into under such situations?”
“A-about that…”
Maya seemed to be really troubled, and she turned aside. Chifuyu seemed to understand what she meant, and spoke up, saying,
“This isn’t the issue. The issue is who’s attacking us now.”
“And what’s the enemy’s objective?”
“There’s no need for so much work if we knew.”
That’s true. Laura said, and finished her question.
Nobody else raised their hands, and Maya turned to explain the content of the operation.
“Then, Shinonono-san, Alcott-san, Huang-san, Dunois-san, Bodewig-san, please head to the access room and carry out a computer dive through the IS core network. Sarashiki Kanzashi-san, please act as backup.”
Maya declared eloquently, but there was a silent response from the personal IS users.
“…”
“Eh? What is it, everyone?”
Besides Tatenashi, all of them looked confounded as they stood in front of Maya.
“““Computer dive!?”””
“Yes. You do know there’s such a possibility in theory, right? The IS pilots can dive into the computer world as a virtual visualization through the bypass protecting the neural system…this method however is not just theoretical. In fact, we’re restricted by the additional clauses of the Alaska treaty, but because we have fulfilled 4 case criteria for this situation, we’re allowed to use it.”
“Th-that isn’t what I’m trying to ask!”
Rin swung her fists as she flailed them around.
“Yes! As for computer dive, are we, well…”
Cecilia said in a troubled manner, and Charlotte continued off from her words,
“We’re going to use the IS coherence function and nanomachine signals to upload a personal consciousness and enter the computer world like this—”
“This itself doesn’t possess any risks, but there’s probably no benefit. No matter what kind of computer it is, recalibrating the software, hardware or both will be faster than diving into the IS computer world itself.”
After Laura’s explanation, Kanzashi adds on,
“And also…the pilot’s defenseless when diving into the computer world…it’ll be troubling if something happens…”
In the end, Houki expressed her view in place of everyone.
“Also, it’s still too dangerous to gather all the personal pilot users at the same place.”
Upon hearing all these suggestions, Chifuyu concluded decisively.
“No, this operation requires us to repel the hackers through a computer dive, and I won’t listen to any disagreements. If anyone’s not willing, they can back out.”
All of them were overwhelmed by her pressure.
“No, that’s not it. It’s not that I’m unwilling…”
“Just, a little surprised…”
“Ca-can you do it, Laura?”
“Ah, yes, that’s right.”
“I’ll try my best…”
“I-I’ll do it. Just let me succeed in this mission.”
Upon hearing all their agreement, Chifuyu clapped her hands.
“Right, then head to the access room to carry out the computer dive! Begin the operation!”
Houki and company accepted this command and left the operations room.
The ones left behind were Chifuyu, Maya and Tatenashi.
“We have another mission for you.”
“Please tell me.”
Tatenashi was showing no signs of her usual folly attitude as she silently nodded.
“I guess another force will attack the Academy while the system’s down.”
“An enemy—is it?”
There would certainly be another country using this chaos to invade, and Chifuyu had already seen through this.
“Right, they can’t battle now. Sorry for asking you again.”
“Leave it to me.”
“You’ll be in a tough defensive battle.”
“Don’t worry. Even if it’s like this, I’m still the student council president.”
She said and showed a fearless smile, but Chifuyu’s expression did not change at all.
“But your IS took quite some damage during that incident a few days ago. It’s probably not completely recovered yet.”
“Yes, but I’m Sarashiki Tatenashi. In this situation, I know how to fight.”
As the leader amongst the students, she would not take even a step back.
Chifuyu saw the strong determination deep inside her eyes, and sighed.
She then looked straight at Tatenashi and said,
“I’ll leave it to you then.”
Tatenashi bowed and excused herself as she walked out of the operations room.
Chifuyu and Maya witnessed her leave, and spoke with heavy hearts.
“What exactly are we doing…we’re making the students we’re supposed to protect fight…”
“Orimura-sensei…”
She did not say ‘it can’t be helped’. This was something she could not say.
No matter what reason it was, the act of making students…children stand on the battlefield was unforgivable.
Whether it was to Chifuyu or Maya, there were limits they could not back away from.
“Alright, now’s not the time to stand around foolishly. We still have our own jobs.”
“Yes!”
Chifuyu and Maya proceeded to prepare for something.
◇
“…”
With a click, the belts on the boots tightened.
Chifuyu was dressed in a black ninja-like body suit, and she lifted her head.
She was looking at the 6 blades called katanas, refined from the sharp physical sabers used by IS, and they were leaning on the wall in a sheathed state.
She inserted them into the holster on her thighs, and became an abnormally shaped samurai.
“It’s been a while since I tied my hair like this.”
She said as she bundled her hair tightly.
Chifuyu, with her hair tied into a ponytail, wielded an IS blade with two hands.
“—Let’s go.”
Click. The door opened.
Chifuyu walked into the darkness, and only the emergency lights under her feet showed her profile.
The reflected face of Chifuyu shown on the blade ostensibly showed a smile.
◇
“Alright, now then.”
Tatenashi pulled outside from the destroyed defense wall, and landed on the floor gently.
“The students have all evacuated. In that case, it’s fine, I guess.”
Pak. She opened the fan, and there were the words ‘welcome guests’ written on it.
She was not welcoming them with a smile, but with a metal fist.
“Intruder alert, intruder alert.”
Tatenashi’s cellphone started to beep loudly.
She took the phone up, and looked at the screen. There was a camera independent of the school’s system…in other words, it was a shot of the enemy she took on her own.
These were 6 ‘hairy creatures’ with wilted leaves-like objects stuck onto them, and it was impossible to distinguish the gender.
On first glance, one might think they were forest camouflage clothing, but they were actually completely different.
“I remember that thing is the newest optical hologram that takes a snapshot of the surroundings and shows it to the surface.”
The things that looked like wilted leaves were actually unique moveable membranes; normally, they would take the appearance of leaves, but once the camouflage activates, they would cover the wearer piece by piece, and display the surrounding scenery on it, creating a camouflage effect.
(Speaking of which, we have special ops with such newest equipment enter the Academy soon after the system died, huh? It certainly feels weird.)
But they were probably a different group from the ones who deactivated the system. If they were, it would be most efficient for them to barge in right at the moment when the system went down.
(Well, this proves that we’re being watched all the time. How unappealing.)
This is IS Academy, an all-girls school with girls in bloom, and there’s a 24 hour surveillance on this place? The adults really lack the romantic mood—Tatenashi thought.
“Oh my?”
This was a long straight corridor, nothing could be seen, and there were no sounds of footsteps, but there was something.
“Well, I didn’t think I’ll reach it so soon. I guess I’m a woman who’s beloved by fate and causality.”
Pushhhh, pussshhh.
Unique metallic bullets flew at Tatenashi with a short burst of sounds.
But those bullets stopped right in front of her.
“!?”
“Fufu, just kidding. This is ‘Active Inertia Canceller’.”
In fact, she had already scattered the aqua nanomachines of her IS, the “Mysterious Lady” into the air. While IS shooting weapons were a different case, she could still easily block ordinary soldier shots.
She bared a smile at the faltering expressions of the enemies she could not see.
Also, the nanomachines were the ones who searched out these invisible enemies. Even if they had no voices or visible appearance, she could easily find them with the sensing particles as they were still touching the air. Also—
“Poof.”
Tatenashi clicked her thumb.
In an instant, a large explosion engulfed the corridor.
“This is one of the Mysterious Lady specialty, the “Clear Passion”. How does it feel?”
In any case, indoor battles were what the ”Mysterious Lady” was best at. In ordinary situations, she could control the nanomachines fluidly, whether it was the density, or the currents.”
Though the enemy was a special force with the latest equipment, they were ordinary people, and they were certainly no match for an IS that was not even completely activated.
“It feels like I’m bullying the weak here.”
Haa…Tatenashi let out a sigh…however,
“Ufufu, I really love doing such things.”
The demonic woman grinned away.
Normally, the side of justice would be on Tatenashi’s side, especially as the enemy invaded into a girls school with most of its students unarmed.
“Alright, it’s coming. Here’s my special move, Tatenashi Five!”
Once she said that, her silhouette split into 5.
There were 5 Sarashiki Tatenashis in uniform, wielding lances as they stood in a row.
“Well, this is the Mysterious Lady’s ability.”
In other words, some of the 5 were illusions created through nanomachine lens, while the rest were water figures created by the aqua nanomachines.
The problem would be to look for the real one.
And as for the water figures—
“BAM!”
They were physical bodies with explosive functions. Since they were created by water, bullets were ineffective against them.
“Le-leader! If this keeps up—”
“UWAAHHH!!!”
The trained soldiers, highly trained men, were beaten one after another.
The 6 people who showed up on the lens before this met up, but were still no threat to Tatenashi at all.
“Fa-fall back! FALL BACK—!"
She was merely 16 years old, and her machine and physical state were not good.
But she still created this devastation single-handedly.
It was a painful reminder of how the existence called IS destroyed all understanding.
“Ufufufu♪”
Tatenashi chuckled in the midst of the flames, showing the image of a complete villain.
◇
“…”
A woman heard the explosion that rang far above her, and moved forward in this pitch-black passage.
The one invading this IS Academy underground special zone was the leader of the American Special Ops unit, ‘Unnamed’. She was wearing the stealth energy test model of the IS ‘Fang Quake’.
There were slight variances in the details of the designs as compared to Iris’ high-speed assault spec combat unit.
First, there was a difference in the paint job. Unlike the very easy identifiable tiger stripes of Iris’ unit, it was completely painted in navy blue, used by the SEALS team; it had no decorations at all, and did not have any pictures or squad emblem.
This was to be expected. The ‘Unnamed’ squad comprised of members that had no nationality, race, religion or even name, truly ‘unnamed’. There were no records or files indicating they belonged to the American army. Such a squad couldn’t possibly have an emblem.
This woman too was also without name, and the squad simply called her ‘leader’ for convenience.
She once had a name, a name she long forgotten from the cruel training. At this point, she was nobody, just a nameless leader of a nameless squad. That was the woman’s entirety.
“…”
The leader proceeded on.
Her target was the unregistered core that was taken by IS Academy a few days ago.
If she could do that, anyone could simply add the number of IS.
—But completely unmanned units.
To America, that had a bigger bearing than the number of IS. Right, a certain plan could be completed if it was obtained.
(I heard that once the ‘plan’ is complete, the world’s map can be redrawn, but—)
She did not know the contents of the plan, and had no interest in it. As the leader, she was solely focused on the mission.
“…?”
She used the hovers of the Fang Quake to stop her advance. Her sensors clearly picked up a person’s presence in front of her, on this pitch black corridor.
“It’s coming.”
“—!?”
Suddenly, a gust blew by with this short line.
BAM! A spark came with a huge boom, and a shadow leapt behind the leader.
And the next moment, all the lights on the corridor were lit.
“World’s StrongestBrunhilde…”
The leader inadvertently muttered.
A woman stood on the lit corridor confidently .
It was Chifuyu, dressed completely in black, and there were 3 sheathed katanas on the side of her thighs…6 in total.
She was also wielding swords on both hands, and it seemed that those were the two swords that were swung at the Fang Quake armor.
(Is she serious…?)
This was the first thing the leader thought of.
She used the IS sensor to check many times, and found that Chifuyu was only equipped with a body suit. This body suit resembled a diving suit, and it covered her body; she was wearing sturdy boots that were enhanced, combat gloves on her hands, and only her face was exposed. But even so—
(She’s wearing a suit that’s suited for going against ordinary weapons…what does she exactly plan to do?)
Of course, there should be some bulletproof or bladeproof functions, but even so, she was no different from being stark naked in front of the IS’ overwhelming firepower.
“What is it?”
“…”
“Bring it on. You’re standing in front of the first generation Brunhilde, the first woman to attain the title of strongest, so just focus entirely on fighting me, ordinary soldier.”
Chiufyu showed a smirk, and her face showed the relaxed mood of an overwhelmingly powerful person.
◇
“This is…?”
Houki, Cecilia, Rin, Charlotte, Laura, Kanzashi followed the instructions, and finally arrived at the access room.
The room was completely white, and every corner was sparkling.
Inside the room were six bed chairs, 3 on the left, and 3 on the right, pure white like the room, and looked just like a salon.
“Everyone, sit on the chairs and relax…I’m going to that desk as backup.”
With Kanzashi prompting them, the rest laid down on the bench seats on both sides.
“B-but, what’s with this room? It’s no different from a movie world.”
“Yeah, this is the first time I’m seeing such facilities. What about you, Rin-san?”
“Hm—I suppose China doesn’t have facilities like this. Speaking of which, what’s with this underground special zone? It seems weird to me no matter how I think about it.”
“It certainly does feel a little abnormal. The operation room just now had a really durable structure.”
“Eh, what is it, Charlotte? You used the IS to scan?”
“Yes, just a little.”
Keep this a secret, please? Charlotte placed her index finger in front of her lips.
“Germany doesn’t have such facilities either. What exactly is this Academy? Is it really an ordinary High School?”
Upon hearing the words Laura said, everyone went silent.
That was the possibility they could vaguely realize.
“There are really too many secrets regarding IS Academy.”
Even if nobody said it clearly, that was certainly the thought of everyone present.
“Now, we have to work on rebooting the system…”
Kanzashi declared while pretending to be calm, and the rest nodded in agreement as they linked the IS with the port of the bed chair.
“Then, to connect all your IS with the core network…please switch to software priority mode…”
She immediately activated her IS, ‘Uchigane Nishiki’, called out her console, and placed the keyword in front of her in a fluid manner.
“Ah.”
Suddenly, Charlotte let out a call,
“I just thought of it. I read about a book about people diving into a game world[1]. Is it that kind of feeling?”
Upon seeing Charlotte being excited for no apparent reason, the other members were all stunned.
Kanzashi coughed dryly, and answered,
“There’ll be a virtual reality world formed inside…I’ll act as backup here from now on, so please get ready to reactivate the system core…navigate begin.”
“Understood.”
Rin answered energetically.
And then, all of them laid down on the bed chairs and gathered their consciousness.
“Launching…!”
Kanzashi connected system—and at that moment, the 5 girls’ consciousness were ostensibly absorbed by some mysterious falling suction feeling.
◇
“This is…”
Cecilia was the first one to speak up.
A grassland could be seen around them, and the early summer sunlight shone as a comfy cool breeze blew past.
Zaaa…in the midst of this scenery as the flowers and grass sang, Rin suddenly yelled,
“KYAH—! Wha-what is this!?”
She said as she grabbed at her own clothing.
It was a blue dress with a white apron, just like Alice’s dress-up in ‘Alice in Wonderland’.
The rest were shocked by Rin’s voice, and they looked at their own and each other’s clothing.
“Th-this is…”
“Everyone’s…”
“Dressed in the same way too…?”
Just as they were surprised, a window suddenly appeared in the sky.
“This is Kanzashi…how’s your situation…?”
“We-well…it feels like we entered some fairy tale world or so…”
Upon hearing Charlotte’s answer, Kanzashi pondered slightly for a while, and answered,
“This is…
They could hear the sound of the keyboard being tapped at.
“I understand. Right now, this computer world is being hacked…in this case, everyone…has to play…your given role.”
“Role!?”
Rin spoke up for the rest as she exclaimed loudly,
“Eh, what does that mean? Do we have to be Alice?”
“I don’t know…this space is too unstable…so.”
“Erm, speaking of Alice…”
Charlotte glanced aside at Laura.
“What is it?”
“No, I’m just thinking that you’re a bunny after all.”
“Humph. Don’t lump me together with a weak existence like bunny. I’m a proud black hare—”
“Ahh!”
Suddenly, Cecilia creaked.
“Seriously, let’s hurry.”
Tatetatetate…
A white rabbit dressed in a gentleman’s suit was looking at his watch as he walked straight at them with his legs straightened.
“I-it appeared!”
“Catch him!”
Upon hearing Kanzashi’s voice, all of them nodded in unison.
“Hold it—! …Ahh, seriously, this dress makes it troublesome to run around!”
“Rin, at such a moment, you must raise up both sides and run like this—”
“Hm, I’m going then.”
“Not good, he’s headed for the forest!”
Cecilia pointed, and that white bunny vanished into the forest without looking back.
The 5 of them entered the lush forest to pursue after him.
They passed through the path with leaves covering them from above, and the area in front of them suddenly brightened as they arrived at an open place where the sky could be seen.
“Eh, what is this?”
There were 5 doors in the forest.
“Are we to go in?”
“Maybe…”
Tatenashi nodded unconfidently. On a closer look, one would notice that there was some static noise on the window image.
“In front of us…I guess the signal will be cut…so you have to head to the system core on your own…”
“““Understood.”””
The 5 of them nodded at each other, and each of them opened a door and entered separately.
◇
“Nn…”
Rin confirmed that the sharp glaring light in front of her eyes had subsided, and opened them slowly.
She had a vague feeling after passing through the door, and was surrounded by the light just like that.
“What exactly, is this…”
She turned her head and looked around.
…Huh? Rin had a question mark floating over her head.
“This is, maybe…”
This was a place she saw before somewhere, and she had experienced the atmosphere here before.
That was the classroom she and Ichika were in during Middle School.
The orange light shone in through the window, and she could hear the sounds from the baseball club afar.
“Why, the Middle School…?”
She spaced out for a while, and then realized her clothes had changed.
“This is, the sailor uniform I wore in Middle School…”
That was a black-like deep blue sailor uniform. She felt that this uniform was too plain, and did not like it back when she was in school, but at this point, she felt nostalgic.
“…”
Anyway, she started to walk around the classroom.
Real.
It felt completely real.
The temperature, humidity, and even the subtle atmosphere was replicated flawlessly.
But it was not reality.
She tried summoning her IS, but she could not find her standby-mode bracelet for some reason.
“…I guess this is a trap.”
Having understood this, she had to leave immediately.
Rin walked towards the classroom door.
—KARAK
“Eh?”
Someone on the other side of the door opened it a second faster.
“Yo, Rin.”
“I-I-Ichika?”
Standing over there was Ichika, dressed in his uniform.
◇
“…”
GINK!
It was the umpteenth hit as Chifuyu landed another blade strike on the ‘Fang Quake’ armor.
But there was nary a scratch.
And there were 4 chipped blades.
“Hm…”
She threw the wrecked blades onto the floor, and drew new katanas again from her thigh sheaths.
A clear unsheathing sound could be heard on this battlefield filled with killing intent.
“…Please stop here.”
The ‘leader’ spoke up, probably feeling annoyed by this.
Her voice remained as calm as before, but there was a sense of impatience in her tone.
“Hm?”
What do you mean? Chifuyu showed this intent as she taunted,
“I say, you American Special Ops really have nothing to do than to come all the way to a school in this Far East Island country.”
“…”
“You want the unmanned unit’s wreckage—and not just that, I suppose? But unfortunately, the ‘Byakushiki’ was moved somewhere else.”
Chifuyu curled her lips and gave a smirk.
The ‘leader’ gritted her teeth slightly.
“Since you know that…why?”
“Humph, ‘flesh and blood can’t possibly be a match against an IS’, is it?”
Swoosh, swoosh, she swung the katanas on both sides and got into position.
“—That’s if I were an ordinary person.”
At that moment, Chifuyu leapt forward and quickly swung at the Fang Quake, but this time, the ‘leader’ finally caught Chifuyu’s blade with her right hand.
“It’s useless…!”
“I should be the one deciding if it’s useless or not.”
Chifuyu let go of her katanas, and wrapped her arms onto the enemy’s body like a snake.
Her movements were as fluid as flowing water, and she lifted the ‘leader’ up. She was holding a wire in her hand.
“Gak…!?”
The ‘leader’ could not help but squeal as she was choked by the neck.
“You relied too much on the Absolute Defense System, so your judgment’s dulled.”
The next moment, the wire was about to be burned through by the Absolute Defense’s energy shield, but Chifuyu had already positioned herself, and spun around to kick at the ‘leader’.
The heavy IS armor, together with the weight of a person, was flying to the wall, but Chifuyu’s face remained as calm as ever.
On the other hand, the ‘leader’ felt troubled.
(Such terrifying physical attributes, but…)
So what?
(Either way, this level of attack won’t cause any damage to the IS.)
It’s because she understood this that she felt inexplicable.
(What’s the meaning of these actions? This person—)
Chifuyu however did not give her the chance to think this, and her katanas came attacking.
“What is it? Show more of your abilities, American.”
“…You’re really annoying, Japanese.”
The sparks of battle scattered again.
◇
“Then, let’s collect the data from ‘Byakushiki’. Once you activate it, step on this scanner.”
“Right.”
I nodded my head, and followed Hikaruno-san’s instructions.
The light ring completely covers the IS from top to bottom, and collects all sorts of data from it.
“Show me the hardware too. Open cable gate number 4.”
“Ah, yes.”
After having gone through adjustments with Kanzashi and the rest, I did learn a little of such things.
I followed the instructions and opened the terminal.
“Okay, okay, let’s try it!”
Kachk, she inserted the cable.
BUZZ—!
“…!!”
“Hm, what is it?”
“No, it feels…like there was an electric surge flowing through me.”
“Hm—? That’s weird. Hold on and let me check for a while.”
Just when I was wondering what was going on, a voice suddenly rang in my mind.
“…Ichika…”
“Eh?”
“Hm?”
Hikaruno-san and I were startled.
“Erm, was the private channel open?”
“No, it’s not? The settings in limited mode.”
“That’s weird…”
It certainly feels like it was the private channel…I think.
“Let’s not talk about this. I’m going to adjust the output rate and increase the thrusters by 5%.”
“Right.”
Anyway, let’s focus on collecting the data.
I thought as I brought my consciousness back.
◇
“…!”
GAGINK! With a heavy sound, Chifuyu’s last katana broke.
“It’s over.”
The ‘leader’ was agile in her movements.
She swung a fast left punch into Chifuyu’s abdomen.
—At that moment, BAM! A breaking sound rang, and Chifuyu was sent flying.
“That was…”
The ‘leader’ had suspicions over this feedback, and looked at her left hand.
She could see the scar of a firearm burned through it.
(Not good—)
She finally realized.
She pulled her distance from Chifuyu; the enemy had avoided damage through her reactive armor, and she had blades around her.
And then, Chifuyu clearly declared.
“‘Shatter’.”
This verb triggered the metals, and at the next moment, all the blades let out huge explosions.
“!!!”
The walls, floor, ceiling were all engulfed by the explosions, a scene of thorough massacre.
Chifuyu ran on the corridor before the flames caught up to her.
“Don’t you run away…ah!”
The ‘leader’ was trying her best to remain calm, but she couldn’t help but show her anxious emotions for being unable to catch Chifuyu.
She lit her thrusters and immediately flew out.
She wanted to deliver a crushing blow to the escaping Chifuyu from behind—but the latter seemed to have eyes on her back as she easily did a somersault to dodge the fist.
“Humph.”
GAK. She kicked at the face of the ‘leader’, and used the recoil to turn on the corridor.
(According to the sonar sensors, that room is a dead end. I caught you!)
The ‘leader’ thought as she accelerated the boost to the maximum.
“Heh!”
She kicked down the door.
But the moment she entered, BAM! The lights were switched on.
“It’s your turn, Maya.”
“Understood!”
Chifuyu pulled the stealth mantle off, and appearing under it was the Rafale Revive equipped with 4 large Gatling guns.
(Ku, the ‘Quad Phalanx’!)
This ‘turret’ could not move at all due to its weight and recoil control needed, but had the most powerful attack as it stood there.
By the time she realized this bad situation, it was too late.
BARARARARARARARARARA!!
The rain of cannons poured down on her.
Glak glak glak, the bullets sounded like a slot wheel giving away money due to jackpot. Chifuyu merely glanced aside at this scene and drank the coffee on the table.
“…Yes, your coffee’s really the best here, Yamada-sensei.”
“Actually, that’s instant coffee.”
“…”
A minute later, the thoroughly battered ‘leader’ was suppressed by Maya and Chifuyu.
Chifuyu merely finished that coffee that had a slight bloody taste on it.
◇
“Right, that’s all then.”
Tatenashi tied up the men of the Special Ops team with the unique fiber rope, and heaved a sigh.
(They’re undoubtedly Americans, and I guess they came from the unmanned model number 371)
But inexplicably, the Academy’s system went down.
If this were to keep up for too long, she would have to shatter all the shutters of the classrooms to let the outside air flow in.
(Hm, having the student council president do this herself is a little too…)
But well, hesitation was not going to solve things.
“Let’s go.”
She reverted her IS back to standby mode so as to save energy.
She took a step forward.
And at that moment, a silencer bullet passed through her abdomen.
“Eh?”
Blood oozed out.
And just like that, Tatenashi tumbled forward without warning.
“I finally got the chance…”
(Shoot, I was too careless!)
The men who were tied up undid their binds.
Most likely, they cut off the binds with their hidden plasma cutters, and their limbs were free.
“How do we deal with her?”
“She’s a pilot registered as Russia’s representative. She’s a Japanese, and once she obtained her IS, used her gained autonomy to change nationalities. That’s very promiscuous.”
“Then…?”
“Stop the bleeding, carry out emergency measures, dull the pilot’s senses using morphine, and bring her back with the IS.”
“Understood.”
Upon hearing the leader’s instructions, the men quickly got into action.
They hurriedly stuffed something into her mouth to stop herself from committing suicide.
“Nn, ugh!”
“Don’t resist. You’ll bleed more.”
“…”
Her abdomen was hurting, and it felt as if her bones and flesh were being dug out.
Tatenashi’s neck was injected with morphine, and her consciousness gradually faded.
(Ichika…ku…n……)
She unconsciously called out this name.
And she lost consciousness immediately.
Jump up↑ I know I don’t do this in my proper projects, but allow me to snark here, Char. Please don’t tell me you’ve been reading SAO…
“Then, let me explain the situation.”
They were in the operations room in the IS Academy underground special zone.
Normally, this was not a place any student would know of, but at this point, all the personal unit pilots in the Academy were gathered.
Houki, Cecilia, Rin, Charlotte, Laura, Kanzashi and Tatenashi were lined up, with Chifuyu and Yamada standing in front of them.
This operation room seemed to run on a completely independent power supply, and the display clearly showed all information. However, it was not a hologram, but an old-styled display.
“But to think that there’s such an area…”
“Yeah, it surprises me a little…”
Rin and Cecilia looked around the room and whispered amongst themselves, only to be warned by Chifuyu immediately.
“Be quiet, Huang, Alcott! We’re in the middle of a briefing!”
“Ye-yes!”
“So-sorry!”
After Chifuyu growled at them, Rin and Cecilia stopped their whispering.
Then, Maya enlarged the shown data and started to explain to all that were present.
“Right now, all the systems in IS Academy are shut down. This is an electronic attack from some unknown source…in other words, we can conclude that we’re attacked by a hacker.”
Maya’s voice sounded more rigid than usual. It seemed that it was a rather urgent situation to have students enter this special zone.
“There’s still no student hurt up till now, and there’s no endangering of lives even as the defensive walls are in the way. Not all of the defensive walls went down, so it seems only a portion of them were activated.”
So you can go to the toilet, you know? She said, but nobody laughed.
“Er-erm, do you have any questions about the current situation?”
“Yes.”
Laura raised her hand. Like usual, an active soldier would be very active when something came up.
“I heard that IS Academy runs on an independent system. Is it really possible to be hacked into under such situations?”
“A-about that…”
Maya seemed to be really troubled, and she turned aside. Chifuyu seemed to understand what she meant, and spoke up, saying,
“This isn’t the issue. The issue is who’s attacking us now.”
“And what’s the enemy’s objective?”
“There’s no need for so much work if we knew.”
That’s true. Laura said, and finished her question.
Nobody else raised their hands, and Maya turned to explain the content of the operation.
“Then, Shinonono-san, Alcott-san, Huang-san, Dunois-san, Bodewig-san, please head to the access room and carry out a computer dive through the IS core network. Sarashiki Kanzashi-san, please act as backup.”
Maya declared eloquently, but there was a silent response from the personal IS users.
“…”
“Eh? What is it, everyone?”
Besides Tatenashi, all of them looked confounded as they stood in front of Maya.
“““Computer dive!?”””
“Yes. You do know there’s such a possibility in theory, right? The IS pilots can dive into the computer world as a virtual visualization through the bypass protecting the neural system…this method however is not just theoretical. In fact, we’re restricted by the additional clauses of the Alaska treaty, but because we have fulfilled 4 case criteria for this situation, we’re allowed to use it.”
“Th-that isn’t what I’m trying to ask!”
Rin swung her fists as she flailed them around.
“Yes! As for computer dive, are we, well…”
Cecilia said in a troubled manner, and Charlotte continued off from her words,
“We’re going to use the IS coherence function and nanomachine signals to upload a personal consciousness and enter the computer world like this—”
“This itself doesn’t possess any risks, but there’s probably no benefit. No matter what kind of computer it is, recalibrating the software, hardware or both will be faster than diving into the IS computer world itself.”
After Laura’s explanation, Kanzashi adds on,
“And also…the pilot’s defenseless when diving into the computer world…it’ll be troubling if something happens…”
In the end, Houki expressed her view in place of everyone.
“Also, it’s still too dangerous to gather all the personal pilot users at the same place.”
Upon hearing all these suggestions, Chifuyu concluded decisively.
“No, this operation requires us to repel the hackers through a computer dive, and I won’t listen to any disagreements. If anyone’s not willing, they can back out.”
All of them were overwhelmed by her pressure.
“No, that’s not it. It’s not that I’m unwilling…”
“Just, a little surprised…”
“Ca-can you do it, Laura?”
“Ah, yes, that’s right.”
“I’ll try my best…”
“I-I’ll do it. Just let me succeed in this mission.”
Upon hearing all their agreement, Chifuyu clapped her hands.
“Right, then head to the access room to carry out the computer dive! Begin the operation!”
Houki and company accepted this command and left the operations room.
The ones left behind were Chifuyu, Maya and Tatenashi.
“We have another mission for you.”
“Please tell me.”
Tatenashi was showing no signs of her usual folly attitude as she silently nodded.
“I guess another force will attack the Academy while the system’s down.”
“An enemy—is it?”
There would certainly be another country using this chaos to invade, and Chifuyu had already seen through this.
“Right, they can’t battle now. Sorry for asking you again.”
“Leave it to me.”
“You’ll be in a tough defensive battle.”
“Don’t worry. Even if it’s like this, I’m still the student council president.”
She said and showed a fearless smile, but Chifuyu’s expression did not change at all.
“But your IS took quite some damage during that incident a few days ago. It’s probably not completely recovered yet.”
“Yes, but I’m Sarashiki Tatenashi. In this situation, I know how to fight.”
As the leader amongst the students, she would not take even a step back.
Chifuyu saw the strong determination deep inside her eyes, and sighed.
She then looked straight at Tatenashi and said,
“I’ll leave it to you then.”
Tatenashi bowed and excused herself as she walked out of the operations room.
Chifuyu and Maya witnessed her leave, and spoke with heavy hearts.
“What exactly are we doing…we’re making the students we’re supposed to protect fight…”
“Orimura-sensei…”
She did not say ‘it can’t be helped’. This was something she could not say.
No matter what reason it was, the act of making students…children stand on the battlefield was unforgivable.
Whether it was to Chifuyu or Maya, there were limits they could not back away from.
“Alright, now’s not the time to stand around foolishly. We still have our own jobs.”
“Yes!”
Chifuyu and Maya proceeded to prepare for something.
◇
“…”
With a click, the belts on the boots tightened.
Chifuyu was dressed in a black ninja-like body suit, and she lifted her head.
She was looking at the 6 blades called katanas, refined from the sharp physical sabers used by IS, and they were leaning on the wall in a sheathed state.
She inserted them into the holster on her thighs, and became an abnormally shaped samurai.
“It’s been a while since I tied my hair like this.”
She said as she bundled her hair tightly.
Chifuyu, with her hair tied into a ponytail, wielded an IS blade with two hands.
“—Let’s go.”
Click. The door opened.
Chifuyu walked into the darkness, and only the emergency lights under her feet showed her profile.
The reflected face of Chifuyu shown on the blade ostensibly showed a smile.
◇
“Alright, now then.”
Tatenashi pulled outside from the destroyed defense wall, and landed on the floor gently.
“The students have all evacuated. In that case, it’s fine, I guess.”
Pak. She opened the fan, and there were the words ‘welcome guests’ written on it.
She was not welcoming them with a smile, but with a metal fist.
“Intruder alert, intruder alert.”
Tatenashi’s cellphone started to beep loudly.
She took the phone up, and looked at the screen. There was a camera independent of the school’s system…in other words, it was a shot of the enemy she took on her own.
These were 6 ‘hairy creatures’ with wilted leaves-like objects stuck onto them, and it was impossible to distinguish the gender.
On first glance, one might think they were forest camouflage clothing, but they were actually completely different.
“I remember that thing is the newest optical hologram that takes a snapshot of the surroundings and shows it to the surface.”
The things that looked like wilted leaves were actually unique moveable membranes; normally, they would take the appearance of leaves, but once the camouflage activates, they would cover the wearer piece by piece, and display the surrounding scenery on it, creating a camouflage effect.
(Speaking of which, we have special ops with such newest equipment enter the Academy soon after the system died, huh? It certainly feels weird.)
But they were probably a different group from the ones who deactivated the system. If they were, it would be most efficient for them to barge in right at the moment when the system went down.
(Well, this proves that we’re being watched all the time. How unappealing.)
This is IS Academy, an all-girls school with girls in bloom, and there’s a 24 hour surveillance on this place? The adults really lack the romantic mood—Tatenashi thought.
“Oh my?”
This was a long straight corridor, nothing could be seen, and there were no sounds of footsteps, but there was something.
“Well, I didn’t think I’ll reach it so soon. I guess I’m a woman who’s beloved by fate and causality.”
Pushhhh, pussshhh.
Unique metallic bullets flew at Tatenashi with a short burst of sounds.
But those bullets stopped right in front of her.
“!?”
“Fufu, just kidding. This is ‘Active Inertia Canceller’.”
In fact, she had already scattered the aqua nanomachines of her IS, the “Mysterious Lady” into the air. While IS shooting weapons were a different case, she could still easily block ordinary soldier shots.
She bared a smile at the faltering expressions of the enemies she could not see.
Also, the nanomachines were the ones who searched out these invisible enemies. Even if they had no voices or visible appearance, she could easily find them with the sensing particles as they were still touching the air. Also—
“Poof.”
Tatenashi clicked her thumb.
In an instant, a large explosion engulfed the corridor.
“This is one of the Mysterious Lady specialty, the “Clear Passion”. How does it feel?”
In any case, indoor battles were what the ”Mysterious Lady” was best at. In ordinary situations, she could control the nanomachines fluidly, whether it was the density, or the currents.”
Though the enemy was a special force with the latest equipment, they were ordinary people, and they were certainly no match for an IS that was not even completely activated.
“It feels like I’m bullying the weak here.”
Haa…Tatenashi let out a sigh…however,
“Ufufu, I really love doing such things.”
The demonic woman grinned away.
Normally, the side of justice would be on Tatenashi’s side, especially as the enemy invaded into a girls school with most of its students unarmed.
“Alright, it’s coming. Here’s my special move, Tatenashi Five!”
Once she said that, her silhouette split into 5.
There were 5 Sarashiki Tatenashis in uniform, wielding lances as they stood in a row.
“Well, this is the Mysterious Lady’s ability.”
In other words, some of the 5 were illusions created through nanomachine lens, while the rest were water figures created by the aqua nanomachines.
The problem would be to look for the real one.
And as for the water figures—
“BAM!”
They were physical bodies with explosive functions. Since they were created by water, bullets were ineffective against them.
“Le-leader! If this keeps up—”
“UWAAHHH!!!”
The trained soldiers, highly trained men, were beaten one after another.
The 6 people who showed up on the lens before this met up, but were still no threat to Tatenashi at all.
“Fa-fall back! FALL BACK—!"
She was merely 16 years old, and her machine and physical state were not good.
But she still created this devastation single-handedly.
It was a painful reminder of how the existence called IS destroyed all understanding.
“Ufufufu♪”
Tatenashi chuckled in the midst of the flames, showing the image of a complete villain.
◇
“…”
A woman heard the explosion that rang far above her, and moved forward in this pitch-black passage.
The one invading this IS Academy underground special zone was the leader of the American Special Ops unit, ‘Unnamed’. She was wearing the stealth energy test model of the IS ‘Fang Quake’.
There were slight variances in the details of the designs as compared to Iris’ high-speed assault spec combat unit.
First, there was a difference in the paint job. Unlike the very easy identifiable tiger stripes of Iris’ unit, it was completely painted in navy blue, used by the SEALS team; it had no decorations at all, and did not have any pictures or squad emblem.
This was to be expected. The ‘Unnamed’ squad comprised of members that had no nationality, race, religion or even name, truly ‘unnamed’. There were no records or files indicating they belonged to the American army. Such a squad couldn’t possibly have an emblem.
This woman too was also without name, and the squad simply called her ‘leader’ for convenience.
She once had a name, a name she long forgotten from the cruel training. At this point, she was nobody, just a nameless leader of a nameless squad. That was the woman’s entirety.
“…”
The leader proceeded on.
Her target was the unregistered core that was taken by IS Academy a few days ago.
If she could do that, anyone could simply add the number of IS.
—But completely unmanned units.
To America, that had a bigger bearing than the number of IS. Right, a certain plan could be completed if it was obtained.
(I heard that once the ‘plan’ is complete, the world’s map can be redrawn, but—)
She did not know the contents of the plan, and had no interest in it. As the leader, she was solely focused on the mission.
“…?”
She used the hovers of the Fang Quake to stop her advance. Her sensors clearly picked up a person’s presence in front of her, on this pitch black corridor.
“It’s coming.”
“—!?”
Suddenly, a gust blew by with this short line.
BAM! A spark came with a huge boom, and a shadow leapt behind the leader.
And the next moment, all the lights on the corridor were lit.
“World’s StrongestBrunhilde…”
The leader inadvertently muttered.
A woman stood on the lit corridor confidently .
It was Chifuyu, dressed completely in black, and there were 3 sheathed katanas on the side of her thighs…6 in total.
She was also wielding swords on both hands, and it seemed that those were the two swords that were swung at the Fang Quake armor.
(Is she serious…?)
This was the first thing the leader thought of.
She used the IS sensor to check many times, and found that Chifuyu was only equipped with a body suit. This body suit resembled a diving suit, and it covered her body; she was wearing sturdy boots that were enhanced, combat gloves on her hands, and only her face was exposed. But even so—
(She’s wearing a suit that’s suited for going against ordinary weapons…what does she exactly plan to do?)
Of course, there should be some bulletproof or bladeproof functions, but even so, she was no different from being stark naked in front of the IS’ overwhelming firepower.
“What is it?”
“…”
“Bring it on. You’re standing in front of the first generation Brunhilde, the first woman to attain the title of strongest, so just focus entirely on fighting me, ordinary soldier.”
Chiufyu showed a smirk, and her face showed the relaxed mood of an overwhelmingly powerful person.
◇
“This is…?”
Houki, Cecilia, Rin, Charlotte, Laura, Kanzashi followed the instructions, and finally arrived at the access room.
The room was completely white, and every corner was sparkling.
Inside the room were six bed chairs, 3 on the left, and 3 on the right, pure white like the room, and looked just like a salon.
“Everyone, sit on the chairs and relax…I’m going to that desk as backup.”
With Kanzashi prompting them, the rest laid down on the bench seats on both sides.
“B-but, what’s with this room? It’s no different from a movie world.”
“Yeah, this is the first time I’m seeing such facilities. What about you, Rin-san?”
“Hm—I suppose China doesn’t have facilities like this. Speaking of which, what’s with this underground special zone? It seems weird to me no matter how I think about it.”
“It certainly does feel a little abnormal. The operation room just now had a really durable structure.”
“Eh, what is it, Charlotte? You used the IS to scan?”
“Yes, just a little.”
Keep this a secret, please? Charlotte placed her index finger in front of her lips.
“Germany doesn’t have such facilities either. What exactly is this Academy? Is it really an ordinary High School?”
Upon hearing the words Laura said, everyone went silent.
That was the possibility they could vaguely realize.
“There are really too many secrets regarding IS Academy.”
Even if nobody said it clearly, that was certainly the thought of everyone present.
“Now, we have to work on rebooting the system…”
Kanzashi declared while pretending to be calm, and the rest nodded in agreement as they linked the IS with the port of the bed chair.
“Then, to connect all your IS with the core network…please switch to software priority mode…”
She immediately activated her IS, ‘Uchigane Nishiki’, called out her console, and placed the keyword in front of her in a fluid manner.
“Ah.”
Suddenly, Charlotte let out a call,
“I just thought of it. I read about a book about people diving into a game world[1]. Is it that kind of feeling?”
Upon seeing Charlotte being excited for no apparent reason, the other members were all stunned.
Kanzashi coughed dryly, and answered,
“There’ll be a virtual reality world formed inside…I’ll act as backup here from now on, so please get ready to reactivate the system core…navigate begin.”
“Understood.”
Rin answered energetically.
And then, all of them laid down on the bed chairs and gathered their consciousness.
“Launching…!”
Kanzashi connected system—and at that moment, the 5 girls’ consciousness were ostensibly absorbed by some mysterious falling suction feeling.
◇
“This is…”
Cecilia was the first one to speak up.
A grassland could be seen around them, and the early summer sunlight shone as a comfy cool breeze blew past.
Zaaa…in the midst of this scenery as the flowers and grass sang, Rin suddenly yelled,
“KYAH—! Wha-what is this!?”
She said as she grabbed at her own clothing.
It was a blue dress with a white apron, just like Alice’s dress-up in ‘Alice in Wonderland’.
The rest were shocked by Rin’s voice, and they looked at their own and each other’s clothing.
“Th-this is…”
“Everyone’s…”
“Dressed in the same way too…?”
Just as they were surprised, a window suddenly appeared in the sky.
“This is Kanzashi…how’s your situation…?”
“We-well…it feels like we entered some fairy tale world or so…”
Upon hearing Charlotte’s answer, Kanzashi pondered slightly for a while, and answered,
“This is…
They could hear the sound of the keyboard being tapped at.
“I understand. Right now, this computer world is being hacked…in this case, everyone…has to play…your given role.”
“Role!?”
Rin spoke up for the rest as she exclaimed loudly,
“Eh, what does that mean? Do we have to be Alice?”
“I don’t know…this space is too unstable…so.”
“Erm, speaking of Alice…”
Charlotte glanced aside at Laura.
“What is it?”
“No, I’m just thinking that you’re a bunny after all.”
“Humph. Don’t lump me together with a weak existence like bunny. I’m a proud black hare—”
“Ahh!”
Suddenly, Cecilia creaked.
“Seriously, let’s hurry.”
Tatetatetate…
A white rabbit dressed in a gentleman’s suit was looking at his watch as he walked straight at them with his legs straightened.
“I-it appeared!”
“Catch him!”
Upon hearing Kanzashi’s voice, all of them nodded in unison.
“Hold it—! …Ahh, seriously, this dress makes it troublesome to run around!”
“Rin, at such a moment, you must raise up both sides and run like this—”
“Hm, I’m going then.”
“Not good, he’s headed for the forest!”
Cecilia pointed, and that white bunny vanished into the forest without looking back.
The 5 of them entered the lush forest to pursue after him.
They passed through the path with leaves covering them from above, and the area in front of them suddenly brightened as they arrived at an open place where the sky could be seen.
“Eh, what is this?”
There were 5 doors in the forest.
“Are we to go in?”
“Maybe…”
Tatenashi nodded unconfidently. On a closer look, one would notice that there was some static noise on the window image.
“In front of us…I guess the signal will be cut…so you have to head to the system core on your own…”
“““Understood.”””
The 5 of them nodded at each other, and each of them opened a door and entered separately.
◇
“Nn…”
Rin confirmed that the sharp glaring light in front of her eyes had subsided, and opened them slowly.
She had a vague feeling after passing through the door, and was surrounded by the light just like that.
“What exactly, is this…”
She turned her head and looked around.
…Huh? Rin had a question mark floating over her head.
“This is, maybe…”
This was a place she saw before somewhere, and she had experienced the atmosphere here before.
That was the classroom she and Ichika were in during Middle School.
The orange light shone in through the window, and she could hear the sounds from the baseball club afar.
“Why, the Middle School…?”
She spaced out for a while, and then realized her clothes had changed.
“This is, the sailor uniform I wore in Middle School…”
That was a black-like deep blue sailor uniform. She felt that this uniform was too plain, and did not like it back when she was in school, but at this point, she felt nostalgic.
“…”
Anyway, she started to walk around the classroom.
Real.
It felt completely real.
The temperature, humidity, and even the subtle atmosphere was replicated flawlessly.
But it was not reality.
She tried summoning her IS, but she could not find her standby-mode bracelet for some reason.
“…I guess this is a trap.”
Having understood this, she had to leave immediately.
Rin walked towards the classroom door.
—KARAK
“Eh?”
Someone on the other side of the door opened it a second faster.
“Yo, Rin.”
“I-I-Ichika?”
Standing over there was Ichika, dressed in his uniform.
◇
“…”
GINK!
It was the umpteenth hit as Chifuyu landed another blade strike on the ‘Fang Quake’ armor.
But there was nary a scratch.
And there were 4 chipped blades.
“Hm…”
She threw the wrecked blades onto the floor, and drew new katanas again from her thigh sheaths.
A clear unsheathing sound could be heard on this battlefield filled with killing intent.
“…Please stop here.”
The ‘leader’ spoke up, probably feeling annoyed by this.
Her voice remained as calm as before, but there was a sense of impatience in her tone.
“Hm?”
What do you mean? Chifuyu showed this intent as she taunted,
“I say, you American Special Ops really have nothing to do than to come all the way to a school in this Far East Island country.”
“…”
“You want the unmanned unit’s wreckage—and not just that, I suppose? But unfortunately, the ‘Byakushiki’ was moved somewhere else.”
Chifuyu curled her lips and gave a smirk.
The ‘leader’ gritted her teeth slightly.
“Since you know that…why?”
“Humph, ‘flesh and blood can’t possibly be a match against an IS’, is it?”
Swoosh, swoosh, she swung the katanas on both sides and got into position.
“—That’s if I were an ordinary person.”
At that moment, Chifuyu leapt forward and quickly swung at the Fang Quake, but this time, the ‘leader’ finally caught Chifuyu’s blade with her right hand.
“It’s useless…!”
“I should be the one deciding if it’s useless or not.”
Chifuyu let go of her katanas, and wrapped her arms onto the enemy’s body like a snake.
Her movements were as fluid as flowing water, and she lifted the ‘leader’ up. She was holding a wire in her hand.
“Gak…!?”
The ‘leader’ could not help but squeal as she was choked by the neck.
“You relied too much on the Absolute Defense System, so your judgment’s dulled.”
The next moment, the wire was about to be burned through by the Absolute Defense’s energy shield, but Chifuyu had already positioned herself, and spun around to kick at the ‘leader’.
The heavy IS armor, together with the weight of a person, was flying to the wall, but Chifuyu’s face remained as calm as ever.
On the other hand, the ‘leader’ felt troubled.
(Such terrifying physical attributes, but…)
So what?
(Either way, this level of attack won’t cause any damage to the IS.)
It’s because she understood this that she felt inexplicable.
(What’s the meaning of these actions? This person—)
Chifuyu however did not give her the chance to think this, and her katanas came attacking.
“What is it? Show more of your abilities, American.”
“…You’re really annoying, Japanese.”
The sparks of battle scattered again.
◇
“Then, let’s collect the data from ‘Byakushiki’. Once you activate it, step on this scanner.”
“Right.”
I nodded my head, and followed Hikaruno-san’s instructions.
The light ring completely covers the IS from top to bottom, and collects all sorts of data from it.
“Show me the hardware too. Open cable gate number 4.”
“Ah, yes.”
After having gone through adjustments with Kanzashi and the rest, I did learn a little of such things.
I followed the instructions and opened the terminal.
“Okay, okay, let’s try it!”
Kachk, she inserted the cable.
BUZZ—!
“…!!”
“Hm, what is it?”
“No, it feels…like there was an electric surge flowing through me.”
“Hm—? That’s weird. Hold on and let me check for a while.”
Just when I was wondering what was going on, a voice suddenly rang in my mind.
“…Ichika…”
“Eh?”
“Hm?”
Hikaruno-san and I were startled.
“Erm, was the private channel open?”
“No, it’s not? The settings in limited mode.”
“That’s weird…”
It certainly feels like it was the private channel…I think.
“Let’s not talk about this. I’m going to adjust the output rate and increase the thrusters by 5%.”
“Right.”
Anyway, let’s focus on collecting the data.
I thought as I brought my consciousness back.
◇
“…!”
GAGINK! With a heavy sound, Chifuyu’s last katana broke.
“It’s over.”
The ‘leader’ was agile in her movements.
She swung a fast left punch into Chifuyu’s abdomen.
—At that moment, BAM! A breaking sound rang, and Chifuyu was sent flying.
“That was…”
The ‘leader’ had suspicions over this feedback, and looked at her left hand.
She could see the scar of a firearm burned through it.
(Not good—)
She finally realized.
She pulled her distance from Chifuyu; the enemy had avoided damage through her reactive armor, and she had blades around her.
And then, Chifuyu clearly declared.
“‘Shatter’.”
This verb triggered the metals, and at the next moment, all the blades let out huge explosions.
“!!!”
The walls, floor, ceiling were all engulfed by the explosions, a scene of thorough massacre.
Chifuyu ran on the corridor before the flames caught up to her.
“Don’t you run away…ah!”
The ‘leader’ was trying her best to remain calm, but she couldn’t help but show her anxious emotions for being unable to catch Chifuyu.
She lit her thrusters and immediately flew out.
She wanted to deliver a crushing blow to the escaping Chifuyu from behind—but the latter seemed to have eyes on her back as she easily did a somersault to dodge the fist.
“Humph.”
GAK. She kicked at the face of the ‘leader’, and used the recoil to turn on the corridor.
(According to the sonar sensors, that room is a dead end. I caught you!)
The ‘leader’ thought as she accelerated the boost to the maximum.
“Heh!”
She kicked down the door.
But the moment she entered, BAM! The lights were switched on.
“It’s your turn, Maya.”
“Understood!”
Chifuyu pulled the stealth mantle off, and appearing under it was the Rafale Revive equipped with 4 large Gatling guns.
(Ku, the ‘Quad Phalanx’!)
This ‘turret’ could not move at all due to its weight and recoil control needed, but had the most powerful attack as it stood there.
By the time she realized this bad situation, it was too late.
BARARARARARARARARARA!!
The rain of cannons poured down on her.
Glak glak glak, the bullets sounded like a slot wheel giving away money due to jackpot. Chifuyu merely glanced aside at this scene and drank the coffee on the table.
“…Yes, your coffee’s really the best here, Yamada-sensei.”
“Actually, that’s instant coffee.”
“…”
A minute later, the thoroughly battered ‘leader’ was suppressed by Maya and Chifuyu.
Chifuyu merely finished that coffee that had a slight bloody taste on it.
◇
“Right, that’s all then.”
Tatenashi tied up the men of the Special Ops team with the unique fiber rope, and heaved a sigh.
(They’re undoubtedly Americans, and I guess they came from the unmanned model number 371)
But inexplicably, the Academy’s system went down.
If this were to keep up for too long, she would have to shatter all the shutters of the classrooms to let the outside air flow in.
(Hm, having the student council president do this herself is a little too…)
But well, hesitation was not going to solve things.
“Let’s go.”
She reverted her IS back to standby mode so as to save energy.
She took a step forward.
And at that moment, a silencer bullet passed through her abdomen.
“Eh?”
Blood oozed out.
And just like that, Tatenashi tumbled forward without warning.
“I finally got the chance…”
(Shoot, I was too careless!)
The men who were tied up undid their binds.
Most likely, they cut off the binds with their hidden plasma cutters, and their limbs were free.
“How do we deal with her?”
“She’s a pilot registered as Russia’s representative. She’s a Japanese, and once she obtained her IS, used her gained autonomy to change nationalities. That’s very promiscuous.”
“Then…?”
“Stop the bleeding, carry out emergency measures, dull the pilot’s senses using morphine, and bring her back with the IS.”
“Understood.”
Upon hearing the leader’s instructions, the men quickly got into action.
They hurriedly stuffed something into her mouth to stop herself from committing suicide.
“Nn, ugh!”
“Don’t resist. You’ll bleed more.”
“…”
Her abdomen was hurting, and it felt as if her bones and flesh were being dug out.
Tatenashi’s neck was injected with morphine, and her consciousness gradually faded.
(Ichika…ku…n……)
She unconsciously called out this name.
And she lost consciousness immediately.
Jump up↑ I know I don’t do this in my proper projects, but allow me to snark here, Char. Please don’t tell me you’ve been reading SAO…
