text
stringlengths 0
7.88k
|
|---|
"That's right. It's nothing special. You lowered your own barrier to push Alunaya away." |
That was the real reason as to why Alunaya had challenged Tayuma at such close range. If Alunaya made it inside the black hound's barrier, its first move would undoubtedly be to throw him outside of it. Even the black hound would take serious damage from a dragon's plasma breath at point-blank range. And in order to throw Alunaya out, part of the barrier needed to be lowered for a moment. This was all part of Kiriha's plan. |
And before the barrier could completely recover, Ohime would charge in through the gap. Koutarou was standing on the nose of Ohime, wielding his two swords to help chip away at the barrier and keep it open. If the barrier had been whole and at full power, the swords wouldn't have done much of anything. But thanks to Alunaya, the barriers had an opening—a weakness. In other words, this was a strategic victory for Kiriha. |
"So that's what you did! But don't get cocky! I haven't lost yet!" |
The black hound ordered the black orbs floating around him to attack. Ohime had slowed down as it pushed through the barrier. Hitting it now should be easy, and one good hit alone could destroy it. |
"The truest victory is not allowing your opponent to realize that they've lost until the bitter end." |
Little did Tayuma know he'd already fallen for Kiriha's trap. When the black orbs were sent towards Ohime, there was a dazzling flash that blinded the black hound. It was a flash that Harumi, still aboard Ohime, had created with magic. |
"Guaaah!" |
Since the black hound was guiding the black orbs himself, suddenly losing its sight was a serious challenge to hitting its target. The majority of orbs flew off in random directions, with only a few remaining on a collision course with Ohime. But those, Alunaya kindly cleaned up with his flames. |
"Theiamillis-san, the space distortion rate has dropped. Attacks should be able to hit now." |
"So it's finally time for the star's appearance." |
Theia had been waiting for this moment from the very start. While she had superior firepower, none of her attacks would work until the monster's jet black shield was broken. And right now, the black hound's impregnable defenses were on the verge of collapse. With a fearless smile, Theia gave an order to Ruth. |
"Ruth, we're using Blue Knight's anti-surface missiles." |
"What about the settings, Your Highness?" |
"Leave guidance to optics and gravity. The AI will be in charge of the detonation timing, and I'll leave the other parameters to you." |
"As you wish, my princess." |
Eight space-time holes appeared around Theia, and a missile swiftly flew out of each one. The missiles themselves were bigger than Theia. They were the kind ordinarily reserved for use against bases and large weapons. |
"Greater Enhance Weapon. Modifier: Multiple Targets." |
"Anti-Magic Shield! Modifier: Effective Area, Large!" |
Maki and Yurika cast spells on Theia's missiles. Maki used a spell to increase their attack power, and Yurika used one to protect them. With their magical boons, the already powerful missiles grew even stronger as they sailed right towards the black hound. |
"You might think..." Seeing the missiles off as their rockets ignited, Theia folded her arms. "...that we look dangerous, having powerful weapons or the ability to use magic." |
The orbs rushed towards the missiles to shoot them down, but they were relatively small targets compared to the orbs and were shielded by the power of Yurika's protective spell. As a result, only two of them were destroyed in the volley. The remaining six soared through the air and struck the black hound directly in the blink of an eye. |
"But in reality, the most dangerous one here is Kiriha. While she has almost no power of her own, she comes up with these extraordinary ideas, one after another." |
The black hound's barrier was weakened, but was still functioning to a degree. It successfully deflected two of the six missiles and sent them flying back at Theia and the others. |
"In fact, Kiriha might be able to beat all of us with just an army of a hundred men armed with sticks." |
However, the deflected missiles changed course once more on their own. Being guided weaponry, all they had to do was rely on their systems. The monster's jet black shield was close to invincible against beams, laser, and bullets, but missiles were a bit trickier. |
"I'm glad Kiriha-sama is on our side. I'm sure it would be a nightmare to go up against her..." |
After worming their way around the black shield, the missiles approached the black hound's second layer of defenses—the spiritual energy barrier made from black fog. Fortunately, however, spiritual energy barriers tended to be quite weak against physical attacks. Getting near it, the AI ordered the missiles to detonate before actually coming into contact with the barrier. |
"You could say that again. Iiled put the phone down, left the room, and boarded an elevator. The buttons on the inside panel ran only as far as the fortieth floor, and Boiled took out a card from his pocket and slotted it into the space below the panel. |
The display light for the sixty-sixth floor appeared automatically, and the elevator ascended. |
When he stepped out of the elevator, Boiled was confronted with a scene far removed from the previous one. |
The corridors were wide, decorated in shades of blue. The carpet was plush and soft, dampening any footfall to near silence. |
The crystal chandeliers twinkled, giving off a fine light that seemed to blend seamlessly into the clean air. |
The walls were dotted with paintings—valuable enough that there would have been plenty of people glad even for just their frames. |
Boiled stood in front of the door he'd come for. He knocked using the brass knocker—antique, analog, no cheap digital electronic intercom here—and the door opened immediately to reveal Shell in a smart suit. |
"Come in, Boiled!" He smiled sharply and beckoned for Boiled to enter. |
A pleasant voice bubbled forth from the adjoining room. |
"Over here! Come and have a look at this!" |
They entered the bedroom, where a girl was bouncing up and down on a double bed, giggling. She looked to be about twenty. Her blonde hair had probably been arranged neatly at some point in the evening, but now it was straggled across her face. |
The woman saw the two entering and stopped laughing. Standing on top of the bed, she cried out— Ah! —in a loud voice, as if to tell them something. Watching this, Shell burst into a low chuckle himself. |
"A proper airhead," he said, and sat down on the sofa. "Let me introduce you. This is Ms. Octavia, aka Ms. Eyes Wide Shut—the hidden shame of a famous family. She's the daughter of one of OctoberCorp's directors, but she's not quite up to the task... In other words, she's defective goods and won't ever find a buyer. Her existence was supposed to have been top secret, but I discovered her and let the cat out of the bag, and now I get to keep her." |
The girl shouted something through her laughter. It could have been the name of a TV show, or some snacks that she wanted, or even a person's name—neither Shell nor Boiled had any idea what she had just said or what she wanted. |
"She's the physical embodiment of my business plan. I borrowed her for about half an hour so that you could see her face. My glorious wife!" |
"When's the ceremony?" asked Boiled. |
"We sign contracts at the end of the month. It would have been earlier too, if it hadn't been for that pesky trial." |
Then Shell's tone of voice changed, just as when a comedian suddenly turned to a serious part of his set. "By the way, Boiled—on another matter, I seem to remember I'd asked you to take care of a little business for me." |
Eyes still fixed on the girl, Boiled answered softly. "There was more to it than I imagined." |
"More than you imagined? How?" asked Shell. |
"They're using every trick up their sleeve to obstruct us. They've fortified their client; she's battle-ready. We should now think of her as another member of the opposition, not just as a civilian." |
"What does all that mean?" |
"She's now a competent adversary," said Boiled. |
"You make it sound like you've been in a war!" |
"Not that far off, actually." |
Boiled turned from the girl to Shell. Shell's expression had changed completely. |
"Well, then, let's have some battlefield reports from the mighty Mr. Boiled!" Shell's eyes were tinged with a harsh light. |
"I wounded an opposition PI. I know where he's being treated. I'll be heading there shortly." |
"Marvelous. You'll be the nuclear warhead that blasts them to pieces. And you'll also tidy up the mushroom cloud and the black rain that falls afterwards, right?" |
"Except there's one thing that's somewhat unusual." |
" Unusual? Give it a break," Shell waved his hand dismissively, but behind his angry face there was a glimpse of a different emotion peeking through. "Everything's unusual these days. The girl that should have died in my dreams is alive, accusing me of crimes that I can't even remember committing. I'm in the middle of a huge deal and I'm being held back. And? Has the girl decided to leave me alone in order to run for office, because she needs to focus on her campaign for president of the Commonwealth or something?" |
"There was an unusual petition filed at the Broilerhouse." |
"Ach, there's always something unusual down there in the amazing world of the Broilerhouse. Unusual petitions are probably more common than usual ones down there." |
"Blank sheets of paper have been submitted as the indictment sheets for the next trial," said Boiled. |
"Their usual trick of not publishing the charges until the last minute in order to throw us off, right?" asked Shell. |
"If it's just a bluff then all's well and good. But there's a possibility that they're in the middle of a new investigation now, even as we speak." |
Shell stopped in his tracks, and his expression was wiped off his face. |
"I don't know how they're managing it exactly, but it's not impossible that the opposition is looking for the key to your impending big deal," Boiled informed him in a whisper. |
Shell's eyes started shining even more fiercely. |
"So, Mr. Shell, where exactly is the key?" asked Boiled. |
"You don't need to know that." Shell's expression was grim, but there was a wobble in his voice. |
Their conversation was interrupted by a shrill shriek of pleasure. The girl seemed to be delighted by Shell's fear. |
"Shut up!" Shell cried. But the girl wouldn't stop laughing. |
"I...I can turn into a new person whenever I want. That's my big deal. My past is just..." Shell glared at the woman on the bed, suppressing his own agitation. "I've already forgotten what the girl's face looked like even." |
Slowly, he turned around to look at Boiled. His eyes were bloodshot and shone abnormally bright. |
"Such a little girl—why can't you just wring her neck, then snap it off for me in the bargain? Haven't I given you enough money? Are you trying to muscle in on my deal that I have lined up? Is that it?" |
"You're talking nonsense, Mr. Shell. Try and calm down." |
"Kill her!" Shell was screaming now, just as shrill as the girl on the bed. "Kill that bitch who dares to try and pursue me!" |
His words tailed off into a shriek, and he collapsed onto a sofa, shaking his head and trying to calm himself down. |
"You know what you need to do, right? It's simple enough. Right? You need to take that gun in your pocket and pump its contents right into the girl." |
Boiled nodded, silent. |
"Why should I have to...that girl...always... Why...why am scared? What am I scared of? What is there about that girl that should frighten me so?" Shell was mumbling to himself now, half delirious. |
Boiled didn't know either. The memories that held the answer to these questions had been sucked cleanly out of Shell's mind and hidden in a secret location. |
Boiled looked at the woman on the bed again. There's something I want to show you, he had said. In other words, Shell was frightened. Frightened of nothing more than a woman. |
"A woman, again..." Boiled murmured in a voice too quiet for Shell to hear. There was always a woman involved behind the scenes of all Shell's transactions. And now, this woman that was right in front of their eyes seemed to know what Shell was running from and how far he was likely to fall as a result. |
The woman continued to laugh. She was enjoying herself. |
�� |
Boiled left Shell's room and headed straight for the parking lot in the hotel basement. |
He headed for a blue gasoline-fueled car. The windows were tinted, stopping outsiders from seeing in. He opened the door to the driver's seat and heard a click. The trigger of a gun being pulled back. But it was more of a courtesy action than anything else. |
Not even bothering to look at the passenger seat, Boiled sat down in the driver's seat and closed the door behind him. |
"How's it going, boss?" Medium asked in a hoarse voice as he returned the firing hammer back into place. |
"Fine." Boiled stuck his keys in the ignition as he answered. Medium's face was covered in creases. |
"How's your condition?" |
"Fine and dandy, thanks for asking, boss." |
Two red lights flickered in Medium's eyes, visible behind his sunglasses. |
His face was covered in patches of slightly different colors. His hair was neatly shaved, and his shining head also revealed the odd patch of unusual coloring. One side of his head still had stitches in and was covered with layer upon layer of translucent antibacterial tape. |
"What happened to your injured fingers?" |
"Here." Medium lifted his left hand, now covered in a black glove. He balled you hadn't been there with me, I would've suffocated! I'll be borrowing your knowledge, too. I'm paying you three hundred silver pieces, after all!" |
Lawrence got the feeling that Le Roi was reminding him he had been paid a sum just to make an introduction, but Lawrence naturally did not find this cause for anger. It was the sort of thing any merchant could expect to do, after all. |
"Now then, let's go somewhere to celebrate! My throat is dry from nerves." |
It was an attractive proposition, but Lawrence was thinking about Holo and the others. "I'm sorry, but...," he began. |
But this was Le Roi, he of easy charm and affability. The man soon understood and pulled back. "Ah, of course. Well, it's not like we won't be sleeping and eating together quite a lot soon enough. Perhaps we'll avoid quarreling if we don't see each other's face too much until then," he said with a guffaw. |