Chapter 220

*go-go-go* That sound that sounded like earth rumbling, and impact sound *DON-* that resounded until the bottom of stomach could be heard.

And then the one who screamed cutely「Hyaah」to that while hopping *pyon* was Emily who was chasing after Professor Down.

Vanessa who was running beside Emily wasn’t perturbed at all. Perhaps also because it was just the two of them right now, Vanessa was currently in the cool beauty Vanessa-san mode like when they met for the first time. Seeing Vanessa like that, Emily looked down feeling a little embarrassed.

「An expression of shyness――priceless.」

「Aa, yep. Even when you are in work mode, but the inside is still Danessa.」

While the sound of *gan-gan-* from the shoes hitting the metal floor was resounding, Emily made a dry smile at Vanessa who was saying that kind of thing with a crisp expression.

「At any rate, Kousuke-san is really going at it flashily.」

「You’re right. That must be just how absurd that berserker is.」

「A lump of meat――just what in the world, that……」

Emily spoke her deduction to Vanessa’s whisper. That was the same with the answer that Kousuke reached personally. It was a deduction that showed the depth of human’s sin.

The berserker chimera that possessed the ability of regeneration and propagation that human in general couldn’t possibly stand a chance against, when Vanessa heard the true identity of it, her expression moved slightly. That wasn’t because she was worried for Kousuke, but it was something that was directed to Emily who could talk about her deduction so calmly.

「I understand now that it has absurd abilities but……Doctor Grant, you don’t look like you are particularly worried.」

Emily felt the glance of Vanessa toward her, however, Emily replied without averting her gaze from straight ahead.

「I’m worried. No matter how strong Kousuke is, there are many ways things can possibly go wrong. He might get injured, and it was the first time I saw Kousuke that angry, so I’m also feeling uneasy that he might do something reckless.」

「Is, that so?」

Even so Emily looked relatively calm. Vanessa tilted her head at that. Seeing Vanessa like that, Emily smiled wryly while continuing to speak「But」.

「Even so, that person……is my hero after all.」

That was why, she believed. That no matter what kind of difficulty he encountered, no matter what kind of irrationality he was exposed to, no matter what kind of pinch he fell into, at the end he would surely overcome it all and fulfilled his promise. He would save the children, liberate that pitiful existence from the wedge of this world, sent flying that mercenary who was rotten to the core, and then rushed to her side. Yes, she believed.

「That’s why, I, I have to do what I ought to do. I have come here by acting selfishly. I cannot afford to be flustered or anything. Looking back will be an insult to Kousuke who believed in me and sent me ahead.」

「……」

Vanessa kept sending sidelong glances at Emily. And then, she nodded「yep yep」as though she understood something.

「Doctor Grant.」

「What?」

Emily stared straight ahead and advanced without hesitation. A smile emerged on Vanessa’s lips while she spoke.

「You are a good woman. Surely Kousuke-san too will accept you. Leave the hotel reservation to me.」

「Bufuh!? Wha, what are you meowtering out!? Really, what are you meowtering, Danessa!」

Emily slid down due to the flow of the talk that suddenly went toward a vulgar direction. She almost kissed the floor lightly. She stood up in a hurry and started running once more, then with a reddening face she glared piercingly at Danessa. She prepared the firing of her cat punch.

Although, the Vanessa in question was making a puzzled expression instead. That irritated Emily excessively.

「Doctor Grant. In movie or film, at the last scene the main character will kiss or bed the heroine. In the case this time too, it will be the best if it’s concluded with Kousuke-san and Doctor Grant acting a passionate bed scene. Leave about the scene recording to this me, Vanessa.」

「Be be be be be, bed scene!? Idiot-. Danessa you idiot-! There is no way we will do something like that! No, I’m not saying that we will never do it but……that, I only thought a little about it, like ‘I too someday will~’, but if I’m asked by Kousuke it’s not like I’ll refuse……wait that’s wro――ng-! That’s not it! Or rather, what’s with you! What do you mean recording huh! Just what kind of position!」

「Any kind of event need to have memento about it left behind. So please feel relieved. I’ll also participate at the middle. A sticky and wet, passionate threeso――」

「Don’t say anymore than that-!」

Emily howled. Her straight-man skill was already reached the maximum number. At the same time a cat punch was let flew. That punch which was unleashed under the straight-man skill splendidly bored on Danessa’s cheek.

「? Why, was I punched?」

「This person is hopeless already. I have to ask Kousuke, to turn you into a splendid villager.」

Surely Vanessa was gifted with the skill Serious Breaker. Emily who was feeling disheartened resolved herself to use the final option.

Like that they advanced forward, passed through several doors, and before long the two of them came out into a passage with a waterway in it. It seemed they had passed underground from the research facility and came out to the water purification facility.

They passed a place that had several things that seemed to be pipe and tank lined up, then the two of them put their hand on the door in front of them. Vanessa made Emily to back away while she entered inside the room.

That room seemed to be a room where under the floor was wholly dedicated to be a water tank. Half of the room was used to placed machineries, while at the other side of the fence became a watering place.

Perhaps this was a place to temporarily store the water that was flowing from the waterway. It seemed that it was being opened right now, so under the floor was fierce water current that was flowing toward somewhere.

It was a vertically long room, so they could see a stair that continued to upper floor, a passage, and then a door. The door of the second floor was located at the southern end of the room, and there was a bridge-style passage that connected both doors.

Emily and Vanessa sent their gaze toward the door of that second floor――

「Ah, teache――」

「Doctor Grant-」

There was a flapping lab coat. It was clear whose coat it was. Emily was trying to call out because Down’s figure had vanished to the other side of the door. However, Vanessa pulled Emily closer to her cautiously.

Right after that, *gan-* a loud voice entered their ears. Something fell behind Emily and Vanessa, in front of the door they had just gone through. When they looked back in surprise, there was a large rectangle case the size of a Boston bag there. It was the other thing that Down carried along with a leather bag when he escaped. It seemed that he threw it at the timing when Emily and Vanessa entered the room.

The sound *batan-* of the door at the second floor closing resounded.

At that moment,

「「「「「KIIIIIIIIIIIII-」」」」」

Such cries struck the two’s eardrums, at the same time, the case bloated up from inside and it was destroyed. It seemed that it wasn’t made from a material that was really tough in the first place, the cracks spread in the blink of eye and the clasp snapped.

Instantly, something leaped out and attacked Emily and Vanessa. Vanessa covered Emily behind her while she fired.

However, that creature’s speed wasn’t normal, also its movement was strangely irregular, and so the bullet Vanessa fired missed.

That creature kicked on the floor and leaped toward the face right away, however Vanessa only narrowed her eyes quietly without even any agitation. Her long leg kicked up vertically to deal with it.

*go-* The thing was kicked up together with the vivid sound of bone breaking, it then twirled midair while it then crashed on the floor some distance away.

「That is……a monkey.」

「Seems like it. It looks like an adult, but seeing that case’s size, it seems that before this it was an infant monkey.」

A bullet struck the infant monkey in a flash when it slowly stood up. The moment it raised its face, a splendid headshot finished the berserker animal――Berserker Monkey, and like that it crumbled down and white smoke rose from its corpse.

However, they couldn’t let their guard down. The reason was the existences that spread out to surround the two of them――the Berserker Monkeys still numbered four in total.

「Strange.」

「……Indeed. Doctor Grant. Please back down slowly until the wall. Toward that gap between the machine and the pillar.」

Vanessa guessed the meaning of Emily’s mutter and she increased her cautiousness to maximum while slowly backing away as though to make herself to be a shield.

Yes, they had the leeway to back away. The berserkers that should rush ahead following their instinct were taking a fixed distance from Vanessa and Emily, as though they were observing the situation, or they were being careful.

Actually these Berserker Monkeys had wariness toward danger instilled inside them using a method like the Pavlov dog experiment. It was an experiment to make berserkers that would only rush forward foolhardily would cope to a certain degree toward firearms. Seeing gun muzzle and hearing gunshot, those conditions along with the awareness that 'something painful would come flying” at the same time were planted into them.

It could be seen whether the experiment failed or not from this. The four berserker monkeys were surrounding Vanessa and Emily, their wariness was plain to see, however they also didn’t retreat due to their instinctual belligerence or their desire to eat.

Vanessa made Emily to withdraw to the gap between a machine and a pillar before she pulled the trigger as though to say that she didn’t give a damn to that wariness.

However, the berserker monkeys who tried all they could to not stand in front of the gun muzzle were already out of the firing line by the time the trigger was pulled.

「So this mean that even without antidote, the progress of converting the drug into weapon is advancing steadily isn’t it.」

Even an expert marksman like Vanessa couldn’t hit the target easily in front of the berserker monkeys that were taking evasive action with all their strength by using their beastly agility.

*gachin-* Such sound rang out and the gun’s chamber was fixed in place still in a slid-out position. It ran out of bullet.

As though aiming for that moment, the berserker monkeys went out in attack simultaneously.

Vanessa was in danger――was how it seemed but,

「An agent of the security bureau isn’t so soft that they can be taken off guard by the likes of monkey.」

That muttered words were the truth. Vanessa’s hand thrust out smoothly toward one of the assaulting monkeys, and the moment that hand made contact, the monkey was blown away to another direction.

And then Vanessa stepped forward without pause and threw the empty gun magazine he had taken out. A berserker monkey rapidly approaching from the left was checked with that before Vanessa crouched down swiftly and launched a fierce upper roundhouse kick.

By crouching down, the berserker monkey that approached from the right lost sight of its target and it sailed over above Vanessa’s head, the monkey that leaped from the front received a fierce roundhouse kick that sprang from a blind spot and got blown away.

The left berserker monkey that got checked by the empty magazine came flying with time difference. Vanessa had recovered her posture by that time and she thrust out her arm once more.

The berserker monkey opened its mouth with a shriek *kiiii-*, however, at the next moment, the moment felt a faint touch on its arm but at the same time its field of vision reversed up-down and it fell into panic. When it noticed, it received a severe impact on its back and it was staring at the ceiling.

And then, a gun muzzle cut into its field of vision. The sense of danger instilled into it ordered to evaded but――too slow. *pan-* A light sound rang, and with it a wind hole opened in the berserker monkey’s forehead.

The berserker monkey that was the first to be blown away to another direction was going along the ceiling and assaulted from overhead.

But, as expected it couldn’t reach. A hand that thrust out with a flowing motion softly touched the berserker monkey’s head as though in a caress, and the next moment it was forced into a backflip with fierce momentum. Even the physical ability of monkey was in vain and the berserker monkey got crashed on the ground. It then met the same fate with the previous monkey.

Without even any time to wake up, a shot to the head splattered its brain.

The last monkey moved as though it crawled on the ground to bite at Vanessa’s leg. In a moment, a knee fell down. Perhaps because of its instinct, the berserker monkey leaped to the side right away but its wrist was grasped.

Its wrist was twisted and its joint was instantly locked. For a berserker that didn’t feel pain, it was possible for it to shake off the hold without balking at getting a broken bone, but even so for a few moments it couldn’t avoid to move following the limit of its body mobility. And then, the berserk monkey’s vector of inertia and center of gravity were directed at that instant and it quickly got pressed down with its face pressing on the floor.

A knee fell on its back to stop it from moving. Because the right point was pressed, it had no room to use its physical strength. And then, it wasn’t given the chance to even struggle. *gorit-* The gun muzzle pressed on the back of its head fired its bullet with no hesitation.

「With this it’s all of them.」

Vanessa’s sharp gaze ran through the surrounding.

What she used was technique of jujitsu and aikido. Vanessa’s body was that of a female. No matter how much she tried to deny, it was a fact that her pure physical strength was inferior to male. That was why she polished numerous techniques based on ‘soft and fair goes far’.

What about powerful offensive ability? A single bullet would serve for that purpose. No matter how muscular the opponent was, even if it was against a monster, she could knock them down unquestionably if only one of her hand could touch them, and then for the rest she just needed to pull the trigger.

This was the strength of Vanessa who was said to be at the top level in close-quarter combat among the agents that belonged under the security bureau. Even though recently she was called as Danessa a lot, but her strength was the real thing.

――That was exactly the reason, he created this moment because he didn’t underestimate the people of the security bureau by any means. The moment when Vanessa was away from the protection target.

「Agent, protect her if you can.」

「-, Doctor Grant!」

Unnoticed, Down’s face peeked out from the door at the second floor with a gun muzzle aiming. ――Toward none other than Emily.

Vanessa leaped in front of Emily as though she was flying. It was at the same time when Down fired.

A dry bursting sound rang consecutively. Vanessa’s body jerked. Fresh blood scattered in a splat and dirtied Emily’s cheek.

「Kahah, gaa, a」

「Vanessa-」

Vanessa crashed on the ground and rolled several times. She then tried to stand up right away, yet the impact clogging her lungs made her unable to breath well, and she could only crouch from the intense pain cruising through her whole body where she was unable to move.

Emily whose facial expression changed rushed to her. She made Vanessa to face up and embraced her inside her arms. Blood could be seen flowing from her shoulder, arm, and thigh, but Emily couldn’t see any blood from the torso that got shot the first. Even while panicking, Emily took off the suit’s jacket and took a look. There she saw four bullets squashed inside a bulletproof vest that blocked those bullets.

It seemed that the bulletproof jacket barely saved her life. Although, putting aside the gunshot wound in her arm and shoulder, the bleeding at her thigh was at the level that couldn’t be left alone. Most likely an important artery was grazed there.

「As I thought, I’m no good in something like this. Just what do I need to do to get a headshot I wonder?」

Footsteps rang while Down advanced on the upper passage of the second floor. He stopped at the middle and aimed his gun while staring at the defeated berserker monkeys. There wasn’t any particular strong feeling that could be felt from his words and voice, whether from shooting a person or aiming a gun at Emily. Emily bit her lip strongly from that.

But, right now wasn’t the time to complain. Emily took out a container that looked like an experiment vial from her breast pocket. She opened the lid and made Vanessa drank half while she poured the remaining bit by bit at the wounds.

Immediately the blood that was flowing out like river was clearly lessening. Vanessa’s pained breathing was also recovering its regularity slightly.

「……My god. Emily. Emily, by any chance, you have improved Berserk in this short time? Or else, is that a product of an idea that you don’t tell to anyone even to me? As expected, you are really outrageous.」

Down’s eyes were shining ominously at the unknown medicine that was displaying recovery ability that was impossible for the existing medicine.

Although, his deduction was completely off the mark.

What Emily used was a healing medicine of another world that Kousuke handed to her in preparation of the worst case. As expected, its effect couldn’t give a complete recovery until the bullets remaining inside the body were taken out, but it was able to at least stop the bleeding completely, softened the pain, and healed to a certain degree.

Vanessa didn’t look like she could move properly, even so she conveyed that she was okay with her gaze. Emily sighed in relieve.

And then, her gaze struck at Down who was looking down at them from the second floor. It was a calm gaze, however a rage that couldn’t be hidden was dwelling there.

「Teacher. You shot at me there. Without any hesitation.」

「……That’s right. However, I want you to not misunderstand. I wasn’t trying to kill you there. For a researcher like me to stop that security bureau’s agent, I have no other what than that.」

Down who thought that he wouldn’t be able to shake off the pursuit from the beginning implemented a strategy that used berserker monkeys to separate Emily from the troublesome bodyguard, and then he shot at Emily so Vanessa would cover her without any leeway to dodge or counterattack.

In other words, because he had no confidence that he would be able to snipe Vanessa, he did it in a way so Vanessa herself would be the one that entered his line of fire.

Although, that didn’t change that Emily was in his line of fire. If Vanessa didn’t make it in time then there was no proof that Emily would be safe.

「But, it’s fine in its own wy even if I got shot. Isn’t that right?」

「……I didn’t want you to die is a fact.」

It seemed that it would be fine if she was just alive. But even that was suspicious if it was true or not in this situation.

「Teacher, please tell me your motive. I came here in order to listen to that. Surely, it will be meaningless, and nothing that I have lost will come back, but……even so, I want to listen to your true feeling. Teacher-, this five years that you spend with me, with all of us, is there any meaning in it? Do we mean anything to you? The thing that you want to obtain even by betraying all of us, just what in the world is it?」

That question was said calmly, but it sounded as though she was going to vomit blood.

Weren’t they a family? Wasn’t he saved her when she was cornered? Didn’t he love her? The five years they had spent together since that day, when she was welcomed as family, were all that a lie? Was it something so light, that he could easily betray and abandon them?

Down looked down. Her gaze toward Emily was calm, but there was darkness somewhere in it. He kept aiming his gun without letting his guard down. And then, he answered.

「What I want to obtain, is it? Indeed, it’s a meaningless question. But, if you want to know that then I’ll tell you. You see, Emily, I merely want to leave behind my name in history.」

「Leave behind name, in history?」

「That’s right. Some people has their name entered into the textbook to be read by the future generation, I want to become that kind of human. I want to stay behind in the memory of the people forevermore as a historically great character. Do you understand?」

「For, for something like that……」

「As I thought, you don’t understand.」

Perhaps, there was some kind of reason that left him with no choice but to do something like that. Perhaps there was no other way for him to abandon them for the sake of something important that he couldn’t let go no matter what. Those kinds of fleeting thought were now splattered with mud and thrown away by Emily.

Emily trembled, perhaps from anger, or perhaps from frustration. Down made a troubled smile.

「Surely you don’t understand. The fear of being a human that doesn’t matter whether they exist or not, or the emptiness of being forgotten, or the hopelessness to vanish without leaving behind any proof of leaving.」

「Such thing-, that kind of thing-. There is no way that teacher is, a person who doesn’t matter whether you exist or not! Just who in the world can forget you!? Me!? My seniors!? Lizzi-nee!? Everyone of Down classroom, they are going to forget you!? There is no way such thing will happen! Aren’t we who have received your teaching-, the proof of your life!?」

A scream that sounded like a pleading reverberated. But, even those words only made Down gave a troubled smile, he then shook his head slowly.

「It’s not something like that Emily. It’s not that kind of a small story. I said it right? I want to leave my name in history. It’s no good with only the personal memory of you all. Something like that, cannot erase this terror, this despair, this emptiness inside me.」

「You are……」

Her words, her feeling, they didn’t go through. Emily understood that from seeing Down’s eyes.

Just what in the world was driving him until like this? Emily couldn’t understand that.

The person called Reginald Down was born in an average family, he graduated the university with excellent result, he entered the path of researcher, encountered his wife, became a lecturer, his wife died from a sickness, he welcomed distressed students, and sent out a lot of excellent disciples to the outside world. Emily heard such story from Down.

Was there any factor somewhere in that life that drove him to madness?

「You cannot understand? I guess that’s how it is for you. Even if other people can understand, but Emily, you surely cannot understand it.」

「Why, do you say that?」

「Because, you are a genius.」

「Eh?」

Emily Grant was a genius. That was why it was impossible for her to understand Reginald Down for eternity.

Emily was dumbfounded hearing that statement of Down. She felt as though her whole self was denied. Emily who was lonely because she was a genius, the one who taught her that such thing was irrelevant was none other than Down. But now he discarded Emily because she was a genius.

「You won’t understand the feeling of a mediocre person who saw off the back of a genius. That what someone can achieve, it’s decided by the ability that person is provided with from the start.」

「But, but teacher, you are an excellent educator even throughout the university, even the other professors respected teacher――」

「That’s because I’m a mediocre person. Because I’m mediocre, I understand just what it is that someone doesn’t understand. I understand what need to be done so they can understand. I have been kept searching, that’s why I understand what other people search. I understand what makes anyone happy, and what I need to do to push the back of other. That’s because all of those were also paths that I myself had gone through. That’s all.」

Down sighed deeply and he looked at somewhere far away with empty eyes while continuing his words that sounded like he was talking to himself.

「No matter how many efforts I piled up, the geniuses are clearing over all those efforts easily. When I thought of one idea, they will already create a hundred ideas and produced result. Just how much emptiness I felt each time that happened, is surely something that they don’t understand.」

Surely what was reflected inside his eyes, were the figure of his students who were already graduated and got recognized in society.

Emily didn’t understand. Every time teacher saw the seniors that came out in television or magazine, he would make a proud expression. He would be happy as though it was about himself. Were all of those just acting?

Was he actually boiling with emotion of hatred and jealousy, that he should be the one that got praised, that he should be the one that was granted with glory?

「Even so, they would speak that I am their teacher, and that somehow consoled my heart. Having all of them, including you Emily and everyone in Down classroom, adoring me as “the educator Reginald Down”, it supported me. It gave me acceptance and a small satisfaction, that it’s enough with this.」

His affection was the real thing. His feeling of wanting to become other’s strength was true. Even if he couldn’t stand at the front stage, but Down was able to maintain his self by doing that. The trust and gratitude of his students somehow diverted Down from his dirty vanity that should be called as a deep-rooted delusion.

「Then, why?」

「Isn’t that obvious? That was because Berserk was created.」

A hitch leaked out from Emily’s mouth.

「Berserk, was?」

「Yes, Berserk. Emily, you are without a doubt a genius. That is a miraculous drug. It change human, into something that is not human, aa, that’s right. It’s a miracle! Just how much application can be found from it if it’s continued to be researched! The result is clear! It will be a revolution of the world!」

「Te, teacher……」

Down put one hand on his temple in excitement and laughed loudly. That figure was truly abnormal. The figure of the kind and gentle Down inside Emily’s memory was vanishing.

「There is no doubt! This is a great exploit that will leave the name in history! All those results left behind by all my students until now are just like trash in front of Berserk! You will become a historical character! And I am the father of that! I will leave my name as the father of revolution! Do you understand!? ――No, surely you don’t understand. That’s why, in front of this miracle you were able to say a bullshit like『This is dangerous so let’s destroy it』-」

「-」

*pan-* With a dry sound, the floor nearby Emily burst open. The excited Down unconsciously shot. Down went ‘hah’ at the bursting sound he made and he readjusted his breathing and then he made a gentle smile with a disgusting easiness.

「I got flustered at that time. No matter how much I explained to you about the “possibility” of Berserk, you won’t change your decision to destroy it. If I tried too hard at persuading you, I’ll lose your trust and my standing as “father”. There also wasn’t any leeway timewise. After all I didn’t know when you will erase the data.」

「That was why, you took it out?」

「That’s right. There is my disciple at the leadership of Gamma Pharmaceutical, and I relied on him. But never in my wildest dream I thought that it would be an underworld organization that has this kind of facility though. I thought it was the will of heaven. Finally, the time to be rewarded has come even to this me who continued to only perform service for other people.」

But, it couldn’t go that easily. No matter how much he researched the stolen data and drug, he was unable to create the antidote. The research about Berserk’s use as weapon was producing data and application method to some degree, but the plan of Kaysis and others to scatter Berserk themselves before selling the antidote was quickly coming to an impasse.

They also could only do extremely simple thing with the application too, he was unable at all to create something that would shake the world as a “miraculous drug”.

No matter what he was lacking the decisive something to create those.

Yes, he lacked the existence of Emily Grant who was the creator.

「The first incident, those police officers, and then agent Warren too, they were all people under Kaysis. Isn’t that right? Everything was all to corner me and direct me so I could only rely on teacher. In order to make me research and develop Berserk by my own will.」

「Exactly. It was going well until the middle but……. Really, they were all doing needless things. Whether it’s the security bureau, and also Rod and Dennis too.」

*pakit-* There was the sound of something snapped. It came from inside Emily’s chest. It was the sound of something important, something really important snapping and then broke.

Scenes were resurrected in her mind. The nightmare that she absolutely couldn’t forget.

――Milo-oniichan died. He was ran over by a berserker, as though he got hit by a truck.

――Sam-oniichan died. He was reduced into a berserker in the end.

――Jessica-oneechan died. Her neck was snapped by the gentle Sam-oniichan.

――Dennis-oniichan died. In order to avoid getting transformed into berserker, he shot his own head.

――Rod-oniichan died. While he was apologizing ‘sorry”.

And then,

――Hendricks-oniichan died. In order to protect Emily and everyone else.

She thought of him as her real older brother. He was slow in some area, but he was sincere, and gentle, a person that was like a pleasant breeze. There wasn’t anyone that could ease the heart by being at their side like him.

――Lizzie-nee died. In order to hide Emily. She made herself as a bait.

She was someone Emily idolized. Sometimes she wasn’t honest, but there wasn’t any other woman that was gentle and lovely like her. She saw a dream. The scene of Hendricks and Lizzie who she liked very much getting wedded with each other, smiling with happiness.

She believed.

That everyone in Down classroom would someday be able to witness such lovely sight.

All of those――

「So it was I, that pulled the trigger.」

「Hm?」

Emily averted her gaze from Down who tilted his head and she slowly stood up. Vanessa called at Emily with a small voice that was still pained, but Emily only smiled fleetingly and averted her eyes from her.

「Do, Doctor, Grant-. You, cannot. That’s-」

「I’m sorry, Vanessa.」

Vanessa couldn’t hope for a complete recovery with bullets still remaining inside her body. Her internal organs that received four shots, although the bleeding could be stopped, but her broken bones still weren’t healed. Therefore, it was the best she could do to reach out her hand that was trembling from enduring the intense pain. Yet she failed to grasp, at Emily’s hand.

「Can you not move, Emily?」

Down aimed the gun muzzle at the standing up Emily once more.

「If possible, I don’t want to kill you. Even what happened at Hendricks and others was just an unfortunate accident, it wasn’t something that I wished for. That’s why, you obediently――」

「I, pulled your trigger.」

Emily mutters cut off Down’s words. Her figure with her head hanging down looked really sorrowful. Her worn-out lab coat seemed to be the representation of her heart.

Down seemed like he didn’t understand the meaning of Emily’s words and he tilted his head once more. Emily continued her heavy and dark words toward him.

「You, weren’t simply a virtuous person. Inside your heart, there was madness nesting there all this time. A conceit that is far, far stronger than other people, a heart that is wishing for praise, were gnawing inside you.」

「……」

「Everyone suppressed those down. The many seniors, everyone of Down classroom, your family. Despite so, I broke that. The trigger that you wanted to pull but you managed to hold back from, I pulled it――I awakened, the erserk that was inside you right from the beginning.」

「So, there was Berserk in me right from the start. Now you really said it, Emily.」

It was unclear, just how the expression of Emily who raised her face slowly should be described as. She looked troubled, she looked as though she would cry anytime now, or she looked like she was resolved of something――it was a strangely transparent expression.

「I was the one that pulled the trigger that awakened the monster, that’s why――that’s why, I will be the one that pull the trigger too for ending it.」

「……You will, shoot me?」

There was a small handgun in the hand that Emily lifted. It was Vanessa’s spare gun. It seemed that Emily pulled it out when she was standing up. From behind her, Vanessa yelled「You must not, Doctor Grant!」with a hoarse voice.

「Emily. You will shoot, me who you saw as father? This me who rescued you?」

「Yes. I’ll shoot. I, will end you.」

「For revenge?」

「No. It’s for your own sake. And then, for my sake. Surely.」

「……I see.」

The two who once called each other as father and daughter, were now aiming gun at each other.

There wasn’t any undulation of great emotion that could be seen from their crossing gazes. But, surely they were holding emotions that couldn’t be expressed with words like an explosive that was in the verge of exploding. Perhaps it wasn’t just Emily who was like that, but Down too.

「Then it can’t be helped. Sayonara, Emily.」

「Yes, sayonara. Teacher.」

The triggers, were pulled. Dry bursting sound thundered.

At the same time, a shadow sprang out to the air. *kin-* A metallic sound resounded.

The bullet was bisected into two. The split up bullet greatly diverted from the target and pierced the wall behind.

「Ko, Kousuke?」

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A shadow landed down lightly. That was without a doubt, the catching up Kousuke.

AN: Thank you very much for reading this every time.

Thank you very much too for the thoughts, opinions, and reports about misspelling and omitted words.

It will finish with just about two more chapters.

It will make me happy if you readers can enjoy it until the end.