Chapter 2: The Name of the Strongest Champion in the World - Brunhilde
âThen, let me explain the situation.â
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.
âBut to think that thereâs such an areaâŠâ
âYeah, it surprises me a littleâŠâ
Rin and Cecilia looked around the room and whispered amongst themselves, only to be warned by Chifuyu immediately.
âBe quiet, Huang, Alcott! Weâre in the middle of a briefing!â
âYe-yes!â
âSo-sorry!â
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.
âRight now, all the systems in IS Academy are shut down. This is an electronic attack from some unknown sourceâŠin other words, we can conclude that weâre attacked by a hacker.â
Mayaâs voice sounded more rigid than usual. It seemed that it was a rather urgent situation to have students enter this special zone.
âThereâs still no student hurt up till now, and thereâs 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.â
So you can go to the toilet, you know? She said, but nobody laughed.
âEr-erm, do you have any questions about the current situation?â
âYes.â
Laura raised her hand. Like usual, an active soldier would be very active when something came up.
âI heard that IS Academy runs on an independent system. Is it really possible to be hacked into under such situations?â
âA-about thatâŠâ
Maya seemed to be really troubled, and she turned aside. Chifuyu seemed to understand what she meant, and spoke up, saying,
âThis isnât the issue. The issue is whoâs attacking us now.â
âAnd whatâs the enemyâs objective?â
âThereâs no need for so much work if we knew.â
Thatâs true. Laura said, and finished her question.
Nobody else raised their hands, and Maya turned to explain the content of the operation.
âThen, 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.â
Maya declared eloquently, but there was a silent response from the personal IS users.
ââŠâ
âEh? What is it, everyone?â
Besides Tatenashi, all of them looked confounded as they stood in front of Maya.
âââComputer dive!?âââ
âYes. You do know thereâs 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 systemâŠthis method however is not just theoretical. In fact, weâre restricted by the additional clauses of the Alaska treaty, but because we have fulfilled 4 case criteria for this situation, weâre allowed to use it.â
âTh-that isnât what Iâm trying to ask!â
Rin swung her fists as she flailed them around.
âYes! As for computer dive, are we, wellâŠâ
Cecilia said in a troubled manner, and Charlotte continued off from her words,
âWeâre going to use the IS coherence function and nanomachine signals to upload a personal consciousness and enter the computer world like thisââ
âThis itself doesnât possess any risks, but thereâs 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.â
After Lauraâs explanation, Kanzashi adds on,
âAnd alsoâŠthe pilotâs defenseless when diving into the computer worldâŠitâll be troubling if something happensâŠâ
In the end, Houki expressed her view in place of everyone.
âAlso, itâs still too dangerous to gather all the personal pilot users at the same place.â
Upon hearing all these suggestions, Chifuyu concluded decisively.
âNo, this operation requires us to repel the hackers through a computer dive, and I wonât listen to any disagreements. If anyoneâs not willing, they can back out.â
All of them were overwhelmed by her pressure.
âNo, thatâs not it. Itâs not that Iâm unwillingâŠâ
âJust, a little surprisedâŠâ
âCa-can you do it, Laura?â
âAh, yes, thatâs right.â
âIâll try my bestâŠâ
âI-Iâll do it. Just let me succeed in this mission.â
Upon hearing all their agreement, Chifuyu clapped her hands.
âRight, then head to the access room to carry out the computer dive! Begin the operation!â
Houki and company accepted this command and left the operations room.
The ones left behind were Chifuyu, Maya and Tatenashi.
âWe have another mission for you.â
âPlease tell me.â
Tatenashi was showing no signs of her usual folly attitude as she silently nodded.
âI guess another force will attack the Academy while the systemâs down.â
âAn enemyâis it?â
There would certainly be another country using this chaos to invade, and Chifuyu had already seen through this.
âRight, they canât battle now. Sorry for asking you again.â
âLeave it to me.â
âYouâll be in a tough defensive battle.â
âDonât worry. Even if itâs like this, Iâm still the student council president.â
She said and showed a fearless smile, but Chifuyuâs expression did not change at all.
âBut your IS took quite some damage during that incident a few days ago. Itâs probably not completely recovered yet.â
âYes, but Iâm Sarashiki Tatenashi. In this situation, I know how to fight.â
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,
âIâll leave it to you then.â
Tatenashi bowed and excused herself as she walked out of the operations room.
Chifuyu and Maya witnessed her leave, and spoke with heavy hearts.
âWhat exactly are we doingâŠweâre making the students weâre supposed to protect fightâŠâ
âOrimura-senseiâŠâ
She did not say âit canât be helpedâ. This was something she could not say.
No matter what reason it was, the act of making studentsâŠchildren stand on the battlefield was unforgivable.
Whether it was to Chifuyu or Maya, there were limits they could not back away from.
âAlright, nowâs not the time to stand around foolishly. We still have our own jobs.â
âYes!â
Chifuyu and Maya proceeded to prepare for something.
â
ââŠâ
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.
âItâs been a while since I tied my hair like this.â
She said as she bundled her hair tightly.
Chifuyu, with her hair tied into a ponytail, wielded an IS blade with two hands.
ââLetâs go.â
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.
â
âAlright, now then.â
Tatenashi pulled outside from the destroyed defense wall, and landed on the floor gently.
âThe students have all evacuated. In that case, itâs fine, I guess.â
Pak. She opened the fan, and there were the words âwelcome guestsâ written on it.
She was not welcoming them with a smile, but with a metal fist.
âIntruder alert, intruder alert.â
Tatenashiâs cellphone started to beep loudly.
She took the phone up, and looked at the screen. There was a camera independent of the schoolâs systemâŠin other words, it was a shot of the enemy she took on her own.
These were 6 âhairy creaturesâ 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.
âI remember that thing is the newest optical hologram that takes a snapshot of the surroundings and shows it to the surface.â
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 weâre being watched all the time. How unappealing.)
This is IS Academy, an all-girls school with girls in bloom, and thereâs a 24 hour surveillance on this place? The adults really lack the romantic moodâTatenashi thought.
âOh my?â
This was a long straight corridor, nothing could be seen, and there were no sounds of footsteps, but there was something.
âWell, I didnât think Iâll reach it so soon. I guess Iâm a woman whoâs beloved by fate and causality.â
Pushhhh, pussshhh.
Unique metallic bullets flew at Tatenashi with a short burst of sounds.
But those bullets stopped right in front of her.
â!?â
âFufu, just kidding. This is âActive Inertia Cancellerâ.â
In fact, she had already scattered the aqua nanomachines of her IS, the âMysterious Ladyâ 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. Alsoâ
âPoof.â
Tatenashi clicked her thumb.
In an instant, a large explosion engulfed the corridor.
âThis is one of the Mysterious Lady specialty, the âClear Passionâ. How does it feel?â
In any case, indoor battles were what the âMysterious Ladyâ was best at. In ordinary situations, she could control the nanomachines fluidly, whether it was the density, or the currents.â
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.
âIt feels like Iâm bullying the weak here.â
HaaâŠTatenashi let out a sighâŠhowever,
âUfufu, I really love doing such things.â
The demonic woman grinned away.
Normally, the side of justice would be on Tatenashiâs side, especially as the enemy invaded into a girls school with most of its students unarmed.
âAlright, itâs coming. Hereâs my special move, Tatenashi Five!â
Once she said that, her silhouette split into 5.
There were 5 Sarashiki Tatenashis in uniform, wielding lances as they stood in a row.
âWell, this is the Mysterious Ladyâs ability.â
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 figuresâ
âBAM!â
They were physical bodies with explosive functions. Since they were created by water, bullets were ineffective against them.
âLe-leader! If this keeps upââ
âUWAAHHH!!!â
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.
âFa-fall back! FALL BACKâ!"
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.
âUfufufuâȘâ
Tatenashi chuckled in the midst of the flames, showing the image of a complete villain.
â
ââŠâ
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, âUnnamedâ. She was wearing the stealth energy test model of the IS âFang Quakeâ.
There were slight variances in the details of the designs as compared to Irisâ high-speed assault spec combat unit.
First, there was a difference in the paint job. Unlike the very easy identifiable tiger stripes of Irisâ 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 âUnnamedâ squad comprised of members that had no nationality, race, religion or even name, truly âunnamedâ. There were no records or files indicating they belonged to the American army. Such a squad couldnât possibly have an emblem.
This woman too was also without name, and the squad simply called her âleaderâ 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 womanâs entirety.
ââŠâ
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.
âBut 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 âplanâ is complete, the worldâs map can be redrawn, butâ)
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.
ââŠ?â
She used the hovers of the Fang Quake to stop her advance. Her sensors clearly picked up a personâs presence in front of her, on this pitch black corridor.
âItâs coming.â
ââ!?â
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.
âWorldâs StrongestBrunhildeâŠâ
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 thighsâŠ6 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 soâ
(Sheâs wearing a suit thatâs suited for going against ordinary weaponsâŠwhat 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 ISâ overwhelming firepower.
âWhat is it?â
ââŠâ
âBring it on. Youâre 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.â
Chiufyu showed a smirk, and her face showed the relaxed mood of an overwhelmingly powerful person.
â
âThis isâŠ?â
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.
âEveryone, sit on the chairs and relaxâŠIâm going to that desk as backup.â
With Kanzashi prompting them, the rest laid down on the bench seats on both sides.
âB-but, whatâs with this room? Itâs no different from a movie world.â
âYeah, this is the first time Iâm seeing such facilities. What about you, Rin-san?â
âHmâI suppose China doesnât have facilities like this. Speaking of which, whatâs with this underground special zone? It seems weird to me no matter how I think about it.â
âIt certainly does feel a little abnormal. The operation room just now had a really durable structure.â
âEh, what is it, Charlotte? You used the IS to scan?â
âYes, just a little.â
Keep this a secret, please? Charlotte placed her index finger in front of her lips.
âGermany doesnât have such facilities either. What exactly is this Academy? Is it really an ordinary High School?â
Upon hearing the words Laura said, everyone went silent.
That was the possibility they could vaguely realize.
âThere are really too many secrets regarding IS Academy.â
Even if nobody said it clearly, that was certainly the thought of everyone present.
âNow, we have to work on rebooting the systemâŠâ
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.
âThen, to connect all your IS with the core networkâŠplease switch to software priority modeâŠâ
She immediately activated her IS, âUchigane Nishikiâ, called out her console, and placed the keyword in front of her in a fluid manner.
âAh.â
Suddenly, Charlotte let out a call,
âI just thought of it. I read about a book about people diving into a game world[1]. Is it that kind of feeling?â
Upon seeing Charlotte being excited for no apparent reason, the other members were all stunned.
Kanzashi coughed dryly, and answered,
âThereâll be a virtual reality world formed insideâŠIâll act as backup here from now on, so please get ready to reactivate the system coreâŠnavigate begin.â
âUnderstood.â
Rin answered energetically.
And then, all of them laid down on the bed chairs and gathered their consciousness.
âLaunchingâŠ!â
Kanzashi connected systemâand at that moment, the 5 girlsâ consciousness were ostensibly absorbed by some mysterious falling suction feeling.
â
âThis isâŠâ
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.
ZaaaâŠin the midst of this scenery as the flowers and grass sang, Rin suddenly yelled,
âKYAHâ! Wha-what is this!?â
She said as she grabbed at her own clothing.
It was a blue dress with a white apron, just like Aliceâs dress-up in âAlice in Wonderlandâ.
The rest were shocked by Rinâs voice, and they looked at their own and each otherâs clothing.
âTh-this isâŠâ
âEveryoneâsâŠâ
âDressed in the same way tooâŠ?â
Just as they were surprised, a window suddenly appeared in the sky.
âThis is KanzashiâŠhowâs your situationâŠ?â
âWe-wellâŠit feels like we entered some fairy tale world or soâŠâ
Upon hearing Charlotteâs answer, Kanzashi pondered slightly for a while, and answered,
âThis isâŠ
They could hear the sound of the keyboard being tapped at.
âI understand. Right now, this computer world is being hackedâŠin this case, everyoneâŠhas to playâŠyour given role.â
âRole!?â
Rin spoke up for the rest as she exclaimed loudly,
âEh, what does that mean? Do we have to be Alice?â
âI donât knowâŠthis space is too unstableâŠso.â
âErm, speaking of AliceâŠâ
Charlotte glanced aside at Laura.
âWhat is it?â
âNo, Iâm just thinking that youâre a bunny after all.â
âHumph. Donât lump me together with a weak existence like bunny. Iâm a proud black hareââ
âAhh!â
Suddenly, Cecilia creaked.
âSeriously, letâs hurry.â
TatetatetateâŠ
A white rabbit dressed in a gentlemanâs suit was looking at his watch as he walked straight at them with his legs straightened.
âI-it appeared!â
âCatch him!â
Upon hearing Kanzashiâs voice, all of them nodded in unison.
âHold itâ! âŠAhh, seriously, this dress makes it troublesome to run around!â
âRin, at such a moment, you must raise up both sides and run like thisââ
âHm, Iâm going then.â
âNot good, heâs headed for the forest!â
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.
âEh, what is this?â
There were 5 doors in the forest.
âAre we to go in?â
âMaybeâŠâ
Tatenashi nodded unconfidently. On a closer look, one would notice that there was some static noise on the window image.
âIn front of usâŠI guess the signal will be cutâŠso you have to head to the system core on your ownâŠâ
âââUnderstood.âââ
The 5 of them nodded at each other, and each of them opened a door and entered separately.
â
âNnâŠâ
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.
âWhat exactly, is thisâŠâ
She turned her head and looked around.
âŠHuh? Rin had a question mark floating over her head.
âThis is, maybeâŠâ
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.
âWhy, the Middle SchoolâŠ?â
She spaced out for a while, and then realized her clothes had changed.
âThis is, the sailor uniform I wore in Middle SchoolâŠâ
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.
ââŠâ
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.
ââŠI guess this is a trap.â
Having understood this, she had to leave immediately.
Rin walked towards the classroom door.
âKARAK
âEh?â
Someone on the other side of the door opened it a second faster.
âYo, Rin.â
âI-I-Ichika?â
Standing over there was Ichika, dressed in his uniform.
â
ââŠâ
GINK!
It was the umpteenth hit as Chifuyu landed another blade strike on the âFang Quakeâ armor.
But there was nary a scratch.
And there were 4 chipped blades.
âHmâŠâ
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.
ââŠPlease stop here.â
The âleaderâ spoke up, probably feeling annoyed by this.
Her voice remained as calm as before, but there was a sense of impatience in her tone.
âHm?â
What do you mean? Chifuyu showed this intent as she taunted,
âI 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.â
ââŠâ
âYou want the unmanned unitâs wreckageâand not just that, I suppose? But unfortunately, the âByakushikiâ was moved somewhere else.â
Chifuyu curled her lips and gave a smirk.
The âleaderâ gritted her teeth slightly.
âSince you know thatâŠwhy?â
âHumph, âflesh and blood canât possibly be a match against an ISâ, is it?â
Swoosh, swoosh, she swung the katanas on both sides and got into position.
ââThatâs if I were an ordinary person.â
At that moment, Chifuyu leapt forward and quickly swung at the Fang Quake, but this time, the âleaderâ finally caught Chifuyuâs blade with her right hand.
âItâs uselessâŠ!â
âI should be the one deciding if itâs useless or not.â
Chifuyu let go of her katanas, and wrapped her arms onto the enemyâs body like a snake.
Her movements were as fluid as flowing water, and she lifted the âleaderâ up. She was holding a wire in her hand.
âGakâŠ!?â
The âleaderâ could not help but squeal as she was choked by the neck.
âYou relied too much on the Absolute Defense System, so your judgmentâs dulled.â
The next moment, the wire was about to be burned through by the Absolute Defenseâs energy shield, but Chifuyu had already positioned herself, and spun around to kick at the âleaderâ.
The heavy IS armor, together with the weight of a person, was flying to the wall, but Chifuyuâs face remained as calm as ever.
On the other hand, the âleaderâ felt troubled.
(Such terrifying physical attributes, butâŠ)
So what?
(Either way, this level of attack wonât cause any damage to the IS.)
Itâs because she understood this that she felt inexplicable.
(Whatâs the meaning of these actions? This personâ)
Chifuyu however did not give her the chance to think this, and her katanas came attacking.
âWhat is it? Show more of your abilities, American.â
ââŠYouâre really annoying, Japanese.â
The sparks of battle scattered again.
â
âThen, letâs collect the data from âByakushikiâ. Once you activate it, step on this scanner.â
âRight.â
I nodded my head, and followed Hikaruno-sanâs instructions.
The light ring completely covers the IS from top to bottom, and collects all sorts of data from it.
âShow me the hardware too. Open cable gate number 4.â
âAh, yes.â
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.
âOkay, okay, letâs try it!â
Kachk, she inserted the cable.
BUZZâ!
ââŠ!!â
âHm, what is it?â
âNo, it feelsâŠlike there was an electric surge flowing through me.â
âHmâ? Thatâs weird. Hold on and let me check for a while.â
Just when I was wondering what was going on, a voice suddenly rang in my mind.
ââŠIchikaâŠâ
âEh?â
âHm?â
Hikaruno-san and I were startled.
âErm, was the private channel open?â
âNo, itâs not? The settings in limited mode.â
âThatâs weirdâŠâ
It certainly feels like it was the private channelâŠI think.
âLetâs not talk about this. Iâm going to adjust the output rate and increase the thrusters by 5%.â
âRight.â
Anyway, letâs focus on collecting the data.
I thought as I brought my consciousness back.
â
ââŠ!â
GAGINK! With a heavy sound, Chifuyuâs last katana broke.
âItâs over.â
The âleaderâ was agile in her movements.
She swung a fast left punch into Chifuyuâs abdomen.
âAt that moment, BAM! A breaking sound rang, and Chifuyu was sent flying.
âThat wasâŠâ
The âleaderâ had suspicions over this feedback, and looked at her left hand.
She could see the scar of a firearm burned through it.
(Not goodâ)
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.
ââShatterâ.â
This verb triggered the metals, and at the next moment, all the blades let out huge explosions.
â!!!â
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.
âDonât you run awayâŠah!â
The âleaderâ was trying her best to remain calm, but she couldnât 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 behindâbut the latter seemed to have eyes on her back as she easily did a somersault to dodge the fist.
âHumph.â
GAK. She kicked at the face of the âleaderâ, and used the recoil to turn on the corridor.
(According to the sonar sensors, that room is a dead end. I caught you!)
The âleaderâ thought as she accelerated the boost to the maximum.
âHeh!â
She kicked down the door.
But the moment she entered, BAM! The lights were switched on.
âItâs your turn, Maya.â
âUnderstood!â
Chifuyu pulled the stealth mantle off, and appearing under it was the Rafale Revive equipped with 4 large Gatling guns.
(Ku, the âQuad Phalanxâ!)
This âturretâ 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.
ââŠYes, your coffeeâs really the best here, Yamada-sensei.â
âActually, thatâs instant coffee.â
ââŠâ
A minute later, the thoroughly battered âleaderâ was suppressed by Maya and Chifuyu.
Chifuyu merely finished that coffee that had a slight bloody taste on it.
â
âRight, thatâs all then.â
Tatenashi tied up the men of the Special Ops team with the unique fiber rope, and heaved a sigh.
(Theyâre undoubtedly Americans, and I guess they came from the unmanned model number 371)
But inexplicably, the Academyâs 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 tooâŠ)
But well, hesitation was not going to solve things.
âLetâs go.â
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.
âEh?â
Blood oozed out.
And just like that, Tatenashi tumbled forward without warning.
âI finally got the chanceâŠâ
(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.
âHow do we deal with her?â
âSheâs a pilot registered as Russiaâs representative. Sheâs a Japanese, and once she obtained her IS, used her gained autonomy to change nationalities. Thatâs very promiscuous.â
âThenâŠ?â
âStop the bleeding, carry out emergency measures, dull the pilotâs senses using morphine, and bring her back with the IS.â
âUnderstood.â
Upon hearing the leaderâs instructions, the men quickly got into action.
They hurriedly stuffed something into her mouth to stop herself from committing suicide.
âNn, ugh!â
âDonât resist. Youâll bleed more.â
ââŠâ
Her abdomen was hurting, and it felt as if her bones and flesh were being dug out.
Tatenashiâs neck was injected with morphine, and her consciousness gradually faded.
(IchikaâŠkuâŠnâŠâŠ)
She unconsciously called out this name.
And she lost consciousness immediately.
Jump upâ I know I donât do this in my proper projects, but allow me to snark here, Char. Please donât tell me youâve been reading SAOâŠ