Chapter 407: Two Intruders
Enemy attack—
Wood chips and concrete fragments swirl through the warehouse, and I reflexively look upward.
No good.
If this continues, impurities will enter the "Soul Restoration Machine."
Despite blending in with the dust, the intruder stands out unmistakably—...even after comparing it with every piece of knowledge I possess, I cannot fathom its true identity.
If I must describe it in one word— it’s a robot. Made of black iron.
For a brief moment, I thought of the silver armor worn by that young man who called himself Dog Bite.
But this one is about twice the size of what he had equipped, roughly three meters long, perhaps.
A deep blue cloak, thickly stitched, draped over its back, and in its hands, a massive war mace.
"What... is this?"
A second later, the answer came from Reika's lips.
"‘Warrior's Armor’!? E-eh, what? Why!?"
—“Warrior's… Armor”?
There was no time to hear the details. Even I, despite my usual composure, couldn't believe the thing before me had come to negotiate.
"…Damn it. It hit me straight in the chest!"
At that moment, I instinctively unleashed my newly learned technique—The Sound Impact Fist.
The invisible fist strikes the intruder's body without mercy—
『――ッ！』
Without the slightest hesitation, the enemy charges straight toward the "Soul Restoration Machine," completely ignoring me.
"……What?!"
I flinch in surprise, slipping in during the moment,
"——Behind the knee! Stop your legs!"
Once more, the Sound Impact Fist. The intruder, struck at the joint, briefly freezes in a stiff "knee buckling" stance, staggering helplessly.
At that moment, a terrible foreboding flashed through my mind.
—You know, if you keep going like this, the only outcome awaiting you is a tragic end.
—A tragic end.
The enemy's goal wasn't seizing the "Soul Restoration Machine." Was it not destruction instead?
But why?
Which faction's assassin would do something like this?
To the best of my knowledge, I can't think of anyone who'd benefit from such an act.
...No.
Maybe it's not even about benefits or drawbacks.
If the one I'm facing right now is simply a being whose purpose is to bring misery to others...
I clench my lips tightly,
"——Kill him!"
In an instant, I draw the sword tied to my wrist, activating one of the harshest, most merciless of known lethal techniques—
"——Blade of a Hundred Shatters!"
I activate the ultimate technique, "Fatal Sword III."
Instantly, the ancestral sword inherited from my grandfather split apart, vibrating intensely.
I bring down this blade—whose effect is identical to a hundred strikes as its name suggests—onto the black iron armor.
『——ッ』
The enemy seems determined to block it head-on, aligning their war hammer with the sword.
At the precise moment the two weapons crossed—
ギギギギギギギギギギギギギギギギギギギギギギギギギギギギギギ！！
鼓膜を破らんばかりの爆音があかあかと輝き、室内を明るく照らします。
――この敵、……強い。堅い。
率直に私、そう思いました。
しかしやはり、単純な戦闘力そのものは私に分があるようで。
The war hammer's handle was gradually carved away, as if by precision machining... until finally, it was severed completely at the base.
Without hesitation, I slashed upward with all my might, cleaving through the upper part of the "Warrior's Armor" from the neck.
"——?"
A momentary sense of wrongness.
It felt strangely unresponsive, almost as if something was off.
Looking up, I saw that the inside was hollow.
Apparently, the pilot's true body was located in the torso.
"Shi—!?"
"Yaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
A voice—familiar, yet distant.
Before I could even begin to identify it, a powerful impact struck me in the right chest.
Though my attack was nothing more than a simple straight punch, it was enough to nearly expel all the air from my lungs.
I was sent flying six meters back, rolling and tumbling until I came to a stop near the "Soul Restoration Machine."
My back slammed hard against the bottom of the pot, causing it to wobble dangerously.
No good!
Shivering with dread, I hastily righted it.
"Hey, wait a sec, Tanma! C-can't we at least... change the location!?"
Even to myself, that was an utterly ridiculous suggestion.
If everyone in the world were rational, nobody would suffer in the first place.
"Too bad, big sis. A truly strong person wouldn't say something like that."
A voice, seemingly belonging to the person controlling the armor.
A child.
"I will go with someone truly strong...!"
At that moment, I suddenly realized the warehouse door had been left wide open.
— Two intruders.
As I registered that fact, I could hardly believe my eyes.
"K-...khhhh...?"
Suzukawa Reika was pierced through the back and side.
The girl holding the knife—her name was.
"What... what are you... doing there... what are you...?"
Aizuki Migan-chan.
For a brief moment, she looked genuinely awkward, her gaze darting away, then muttered,
"Sorry,"
scratching her cheek slightly with her free hand.