The place where Makoto dragged Siwoo to was inside a derelict building on the outskirts of the Trinity district. No proper maintenance was done anymore, so no one visited, and the building was in a secluded location.
There was no place more suitable as a hideout. Although the building being shabby was a disadvantage, the advantage of being able to avoid Trinity's eyes outweighed the disadvantage. That's why the Gehenna group made this their hideout.
But an attack occurred as if to show off. How did they find us? There was no time to ponder such obvious worries. Look at the attacker's face. She had an expression as if it wouldn't be strange if someone died in this room right now. Hina gripped the strap connected to her gun with a tense face.
"Trinity's lackeys!"
Kikikikik!
Makoto laughed lightly and reached for the gun placed nearby. But Mika moved faster than that. A pink line was drawn, and in an instant, Mika reached Makoto's front. She immediately grabbed Makoto's arm.
"...."
"Let go!"
Makoto shouted, but Mika didn't respond. Instead, she tightened her grip on the arm she was holding. Then, with a cracking sound, Makoto's arm bent inward. The radius and ulna shook, and soon were crushed.
"Kuh, kyaaaah!"
"Shut up."
Mika covered Makoto's screaming mouth with her hand. In that state, she threw her towards the wall.
-Bam!
With a loud noise, Makoto's body slammed into the wall. The building shook greatly, and dust fell from the walls and ceiling. Mika brushed away the debris blocking her view with a hand gesture and walked towards Siwoo. Hina blocked her path.
She aimed a large machine gun at Mika and answered with a tense expression.
"...A Trinity student?"
"Can't you tell? Is it because you're from a cockroach habitat that you have no brain wrinkles? Ahaha, sorry☆ I stated the obvious. My apologies."
Mika smiled faintly and spewed venom. But there was no change in Hina's expression.
"...First, let me apologize. I'm sorry for intruding into the district without permission. I'll accept proper punishment, so for now, let us leaveㅡ"
"You seem to be misunderstanding something."
As she spat it out, Mika's cheerful face froze into something bitterly cold. She glared at Hina with a murderous gaze and crushed a stone rolling on the floor under her foot.
"You can't leave here today."
"....."
"You'll just die. That's why I didn't call the Justice Task Force. If those seniors were here, I couldn't kill you, right?"
"...We can resolve this as peacefully as possible, is there really a need to do that?"
"Why not?"
Mika twisted the corner of her mouth.
"You touched what's most precious to me."
Tap.
Mika kicked up a stone from the ground. She immediately punched towards that stone.
-Bang!
With a loud noise, the stone shot out like a cannonball. Hina barely dodged the attack and hooked her finger on the trigger. Just before pulling it, she remembered Siwoo behind her. He was someone who got hurt just from being grabbed; how could he be safe in a place where bullets would rain down?
The thought formed quickly. Hina clicked her tongue and threw the gun to the ground. In that state, she drew the dagger strapped to her thigh. Mika also, with her lips stretched wide, swung her fist as if to blow Hina's head off.
The air burst and tore simultaneously.
A phenomenon created merely by girls' fists and knife strikes. Siwoo let out a hollow laugh and stared at the spectacle. Then, the department head who had been still until now moved. She crawled on the floor and positioned herself behind Siwoo.
While Siwoo was confused by that action, she pressed the gun barrel against his temple. Siwoo flinched at the cold metal touch.
"D-don't move! Or I'll shooㅡ"
-Bang!
Before the department head could finish her words, a bullet embedded itself in her head. It was a bullet that flew from beyond the wall Mika destroyed. Siwoo's head naturally turned towards that direction. A drone came into his view.
A drone with Trinity's mark engraved, with a sniper rifle attached below. A familiar voice echoed from the device.
-Siwoo, are you okay?
"...Nagisa?"
-Yes, yes.... It's me. I'm glad... I'm really glad you're safe.
The drone flew towards Siwoo. -Bang! Flames spewed from the muzzle. The fired bullet struck the department head's body as she tried to get up. Her body fell face-down on the floor again.
"How did you know to come here?"
-Later, I'll explain later. Right now... there's something more important.
Nagisa spat that out and lowered the drone's body. Then, the sniper rifle's muzzle turned towards the department head's forehead. As the department head went 'uh-uh', bullets were sprayed. The semi-automatic rifle spewed flames like crazy.
The巨大 gunshot shook Siwoo's brain. As the tinnitus gradually strengthened, Siwoo's body jumped into the air. Someone lifted him up. It wasn't Mika. She was currently exchanging blows with Hina. Makoto was unconscious, and the department head was groaning while enduring the pain.
Siwoo endured the pain rising from his ankle and looked back at whoever lifted him. This time too, it was a familiar face. Fox ears standing upright. But Seia, with an extremely expressionless face, came into Siwoo's view.
"Seia."
"I'm glad you're safe. More importantly, we should get out of here. I also want to kill those bugs, but I have no strength. I have no choice but to leave it to those two."
"No, kill them?"
"They kidnapped you, so of course they should. Moreover... they even injured you."
Seia frowned. Siwoo's left ankle. She had seen it in photos, but seeing it directly made her anger surge even more. Perhaps they knew they were wrong since they put a splint on it, but that doesn't erase their crime. While wrapping Siwoo up, she muttered towards the drone Nagisa was controlling.
"Make sure to deal with them properly."
-I was going to do that anyway.
Nagisa answered.
How dare.
How dare they touch Siwoo. Whether they beg on their knees, squirm, or struggle, the result is the same anyway. She would never be able to leave Trinity in one piece. They had to break one of her limbs, or make her live disabled forever.
Thinking that, Nagisa firmly pressed the drone's firing device. In that gap, Seia and Siwoo escaped.
Seia's body is inherently weak. Therefore, her physical abilities were inevitably lacking. Despite being a student with a halo, she panted as if struggling and moved her steps as quickly as possible. Towards her, Siwoo spat out.
"How did you know to come here?"
"I received a photo."
"...A photo?"
"A photo of you and a Gehenna student together."
Ah.
Siwoo let out a short exclamation and burst into a hollow laugh. When they suddenly said they were taking photos, I wondered what nonsense it was, but did they spread it to the kids? I could immediately understand why Mika and Nagisa were so angry. If the situation were reversed, I would have gone similarly crazy.
"But still... I received an apology."
"It's futile."
Seia was firm. She met Siwoo's pupils with a sidelong glance and continued.
"Students from another academy sneaked into the Trinity district, kidnapped a resident, and even injured him. We can't just let it slide with mere words of apology."
"Even if I accepted the apology?"
"...Even if they apologized to you, they didn't to us. Moreover, we almost lost a precious person, so our anger is justified. If possible, I'd like to go up right now and kill them all."
"...."
It was radical speech, but it wasn't incomprehensible. Because if someone kidnapped and injured Seia, Siwoo also wouldn't be able to stay calm. He probably would have raged until either the kidnapper was dead or he himself died in the process.
But still.
But still, this is a matter I'm involved in, isn't it? So, I could think of the situation not objectively but as I wished. Siwoo sincerely hoped that Mika, Hina, and Nagisa wouldn't get hurt.
The other two didn't matter much.
*
Eight years ago from now. Although it's a childhood she can't properly remember anymore, Mika vividly remembers one event from that young age. The thick scent of blood she experienced for the first time in her life. The red blood covering her hands and face.
Siwoo's collapsing body.
Me, who couldn't do anything while watching that. A witch who almost killed Siwoo, without even the right to do something.
In Kivotos, death is both close and far. There are more deaths from illness than one might think, but deaths from trauma are few enough to count on one hand. Originally, Mika at that time didn't even properly understand the concept of death.
But that didn't serve as absolution. Ignorance was a sin, and the action stemming from that ignorance created the worst outcome. If the bullet had been larger, if the bullet had pierced Siwoo's spine, if he had bled more. He would have died on the spot. There's no room for argument or rebuttal.
Death.
That day, Mika came to understand death better than anyone. She keenly felt how fragile Siwoo's body was, and how he could die by absurd means. That's why she strived to protect him. To wash away her mistake, she vowed to protect him from any danger, at least when he was in front of her eyes.
But.
Even though she vowed to protect him unconditionally.
"You, you all ruined it."
Mika swung her fist greatly. Kwaaang! The fist that flew through the air, bursting it, slammed into the wall. Hina's hair fluttered greatly, and she thrust her dagger into the gap. Mika dodged the dagger by turning her head. The noise of the air tearing assaulted her ears. That was all there was.
A meaningless exchange. But neither Mika nor Hina backed down. Mika was to kill Hina, and Hina was to subdue her and escape from here.
She knew that Siwoo had escaped from here. She knew but didn't stop it. Because from his perspective, escaping was better than being here. Although the department head got injured in the process, she didn't mind. Because in Hina's opinion, she needed to be taught a big lesson.
Moreover, being hit by bullets from a drone wouldn't cripple her somewhere.
Above all, there was no leisure to worry about her. Hina let out a long breath and gripped the dagger in reverse grip. Mika brushed off the dust on her hands and looked back at her. That gaze. It's the eyes of a madwoman.
She had to admit it. She is strong. To the extent that if they fought to kill each other, it might be an even match. Hina narrowed her eyes and added strength to the hand gripping the dagger. A glint appeared in her purple pupils.
'I can't win by holding back.'
Subdue and escape? It was an impossible plan from the start. If she doesn't show her true intent, she'll ultimately lose. Normally, she would admit her mistake and humbly accept defeat, but not now. The moment she loses here, she feels like she'll never be able to return to Gehenna.
"What are you thinking so hard about?"
Mika asked. Hina didn't bother to answer and leaned her foot forward. Bang! Her body shot forward in an instant. The target was the flank. Hina slid across the floor and swung her dagger.
Tap.
Mika firmly grabbed Hina's wrist. Hina's body stopped, but she used the inertia from moving forward to wrap around Mika's arm with her whole body. She slammed her body to the floor. Kwang! Dust rose thickly.
But Hina's wrist was still caught. Moreover, the grip strength was gradually increasing. If left as is, it was clear that her wrist would be crushed entirely. Accelerated thought made a judgment. Hina threw the dagger in her right hand into the air and caught it with her left hand. Then, she struck down towards Mika's模糊 form. Just before it hit, Mika threw Hina's body sideways.
-Kwachik!
With a huge impact, the wall collapsed as it was. But like Mika, Hina was also fine. She was covered in dust all over, but that was all. She spat out the stone fragment that entered her mouth onto the floor and regained her stance. Mika also got up from her spot.
Then, Makoto, who had been unconscious until now, woke up. She coughed, exhaled, then upon确认 Mika, her face distorted violently.
"You bitch! How dare you attack this Makoto-sama and think you'll be fineㅡ"
"Will you shut up?"
-Thud! The stone Mika threw hit Makoto's face directly. Her body flopped face-down on the floor. Hina saw that and let out a deep sigh. Really, no help until the end. She didn't expect anything from the start.
She caught her breath briefly and spat towards Mika.
"...How about we talk for a moment."
"Talk? Why should I?"
"Since fighting will just lead to a stalemate anyway. We have nothing to gain from fighting each other."
"That's your thought, isn't it? And, for a maggot, why are you so arrogant? You should be begging on your knees, and even that wouldn't be enough."
"...If I beg, will you turn a blind eye?"
"Who knows. I'll leave it to your judgment☆"
Meaning she's ignoring it. Hina clicked her tongue and tied back her loosened hair.
Actually, her anger was justified. It was natural since they intruded into the Trinity district without permission, kidnapped someone, and even harmed him. Moreover, that man was one of the precious people to her. Not getting angry would be stranger.
So, it was understandable. But that's the thought as 'Hina'. As a Gehenna student, she had to escape from here immediately. Thinking that, Hina firmly gripped her dagger. Mika also clenched her fist as if to crush it.
Just as the battle was about to start again.
-Bang!
With a loud sound, the room door burst open. Mika, Hina, and Nagisa's gazes naturally turned. Seia, wrapping Siwoo, was standing there panting. Siwoo had a distorted face as if in pain.
"Seia-chan...? Why did you come back? Why is Siwooㅡ"
"Outside."
Seia opened her mouth. She stared at Mika with a furrowed face and continued.
"There are strange things outside."
The moment Mika asked back. The building interior shook greatly. Everyone's bodies swayed together. Only Nagisa, controlling the drone, was fine.
She operated the drone to check where the impact started.
And she saw it.
A black rabbit doll as if dipped in ink, alive and moving. Upon确认, its gaze turned towards the drone. Ziiing. As the doll raised its arm, the gun muzzle attached to its finger could be seen.
-What is that....
Simultaneously with Nagisa's mutter, flames spewed from its muzzle. -Tatadatadang! The instantly sprayed bullets shot down the drone.
Zizizik.
The drone's screen turned off.
===========================
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