That 276: Suitcase

"Um... Mr. Fake Nyankey?"

"Hm?"

"Sorry, but could you let us go?"

"Let go? You're the thieves, aren't you?"

"Huh?"

"Sorry, but that won't work. After all, catching thieves is my job, and I get to eat good meals because of it."

"Please, just find a way..."

"Hmm..."

"I'll pay you."

"Pay me?"

"Yes. I'll do anything."

The woman in the Nya-ki mask folded her arms, a faintly troubled expression on her face.

"Then, after I hand you over to Ryka, I'll take my time thinking things over—just how much of a reward a thief can possibly give."

"……Damn."

She couldn't back down now. Behind her stood Mizutani Rui, concealed from view.

Erasing fear with courage, Miharu gripped the battle mace tightly.

The thing, weighing two or three tons, seemed almost weightless in Miharu's hands.

——Do it. Smash it. Kill it!

And she swung the war hammer around as if a child were playing with a stick.

The roar of the air being split stirred the warehouse's atmosphere, and Nikki's tiger-striped cloak fluttered wildly.

"Aaah, come on, don't go wild like that. I'll get in trouble..."

"Shut up!"

Without hesitation, the girl slammed the war maul onto Nikki's head.

The room trembled with a thunderous roar.

The war maul shattered the warehouse floor, yet yielded no resistance.

Looking up, Nikki bounced twice like a bouncing ball, leaping effortlessly over ten meters in a single motion. Unbelievable agility—she was indeed a "player."

"If you apologize properly now, I'll forgive you—but what'll it be?"

It was out of the question.

Aizuki Miyoshi couldn't possibly let go of this weapon she'd just acquired. She'd rather die than lose it. That's how deeply she was committed to that resolve.

Curiously, the black-gold armor she wore seemed to be screaming at her to do exactly that.

"Come here."

As Miyoshi shouted, Nyakkī vanished without a trace.

"——?"

She glanced around, wondering if it was some kind of trick—perhaps Nyakkī had hidden behind the shelves.

The next instant, she felt a jolt from behind.

A blow that resonated even inside her, reaching all the way to Miharu.

"Uwaaahhh!"

The towering figure, three meters tall, stumbled violently. It crashed into a nearby shelf, scattering the neatly organized pile of "achievement reward items" across the floor.

At that moment, something within the items activated, and a blinding white smoke filled the air with a hiss.

Migaku instantly ducked into the smoke, muttering,

"This...!"

in a quiet, irritated tone.

Fortunately, the damage sustained wasn't severe. There was no pain at all.

Migaku quickly regained his composure and turned around. That damn Nya-kky, it seems he’s using some kind of teleportation technique. And to top it off, he’s got that ridiculous strength capable of blasting apart steel armor.

—If only I’d had a bit more training with “robots”…!

This was clearly a losing battle no matter how you looked at it. But victory was non-negotiable. There was no other choice.

Once again, Migaku tracked Nya-kky’s position, swinging the war mace with full force.

I delivered a powerful blow straight to the head.

No matter how many times I try, it's always the same!

Nyakkyi dodges the war hammer by pulling back half his body.

And, with the face of the armor as his target, he delivered a powerful punch.

Seeing the iron fist looming before him,

"Gah...!"

Dead!

And for just a moment, I let myself believe it.

However, the damaged part was the armor's face. The face of the pilot, Misato, was located just below that.

On the monitor directly in front of Meien, a simplified diagram displayed the damage to the back armor and head camera.

The helmet had been blown clean off in that one strike, impaled into the ceiling like a spear.

—If that had hit properly…!

A chill ran down Meien’s spine, and she dropped the battle mace to the floor, lunging forward to grab onto Nya-kkyu as it charged at her.

But she slipped past his arms like a ninja, leaping from shelf to shelf, putting distance between them.

Next—this was the last time she’d ever used that teleportation.

—Damn it. Damn it…!

She gritted her teeth.

She couldn’t be defeated here like this.

It would mean nothing.

This weapon… probably, was one of the few things a regular human could use to stand against “players” or “hostile lifeforms.”

“—Sister!”

That was the moment. Rui had tossed something down at her feet.

The suitcase she'd seen earlier slid across the floor like it was gliding.

Migaku's eyes widened.

"Idiot! Why aren't you running away!?"

She already had a blood-stained dress. She should have been able to escape alone... yet...

"There's no way I could just leave it behind!"

The leather suitcase trembled violently, as if something trapped inside was still thrashing about.

"Break the case open—destroy the lock!"

"What...?!"

"Just do it!"

There was no other option left—she had to act.

Migoto smashed the suitcase's lock with a right fist.

"Hey—what are you two doing...?!"

Nya'kyi, having noticed the anomaly, appeared nearby via teleportation.

And Migan witnessed it firsthand.

A single stream of crimson liquid spurting from her neck.

From inside the suitcase, a creature—a bird, no, more like an insect—flew out.

"What...!?"

Unsure of what had happened, Nyakkyi clutched at her wound.

Rui's scream echoed through the warehouse.

"I did it! You damn 'player'! Die!"