ch27

It might sound a bit out of the blue… but even though I’m the type to easily empathize with fictional stories, I really hated it when frustrating scenes came up in movies, animations, or game cutscenes.

Ah, it’s not like I was just getting annoyed for no reason…?

It was just that, when a character holding the key to reversing the situation or in a position to do so was just spacing out… or when it was obvious an enemy was about to commit some terrible act and no one stopped them… I would grumble about things like that.

But actually witnessing the battle of superhumans.

Directly seeing a battlefield swept by an overwhelming force that made it difficult to interfere rashly, I understood a little better.

Aside from what is right and reasonable, people have a hard time resisting the magic that paralyzes reason.

“Hmph! This much is not enough…!!”

Bang!!

With the giant’s blow, enemies who were pushing into the passage like scattered bowling pins were smashed to pieces and flew through the air.

…A wise David might be able to defeat Goliath. But in this future world, there were also strongmen who couldn’t be brought down by just throwing stones well, so it was safe to say the enemy’s reinforcements were finished.

“……Cough!!”

The acrid smell of gunpowder that rushed into my nose made me cough involuntarily.

I shifted my gaze back into the room. Whether it was originally the organization’s core manufacturing room or Dusk’s personal room, the scene was now a mess like a pigsty. …Of course, the pig couldn’t escape outside.

“Kill!! Kill him…! Damn it, why can’t you kill him?! Is it even possible for some drifters who lived in the sewers to be on par with security robots just because they got a mercenary badge?!”

• VIP, please evacuate outside quickly. –

The head of a security Droid, mangled and broken, was stuck in a corner, repeating only formal guidance phrases in a monotone voice before finally losing power.

……If that had been a Care Bot head part, some very bad memories would have been revived.

One of the Droids that was initially there had already paid dearly for its clumsy attack.

Dusk, flustered, added two more security robots hidden in the inner walls, so Horatio and Domino were now continuing the fight outnumbered three to two.

Of course… that was just the numbers; the situation didn’t seem unfavorable at all.

Bang!! Crack…!

Thud! Clang!!

Green sparks swirled around Daredevil’s hair and circuits, and he evaded a surprise attack from behind as if he had eyes in the back of his head. From recognition to reaction, the speed was comparable to Enama’s trackers, thanks to the dangerous surgery he had undergone on the area closest to his brain.

“Dusk, old man…!! If you have more toys, you should start taking them out!!”

He roared, jamming a forcibly pulled-out saw-blade mechanical arm into the Droid’s power source with a reverse grip.

He blocked what he could block, but quickly retreated if it was dangerous, and if he saw an opening, he bit and tore with his hands, legs, or whatever weapon he could grab. It was a beast-like fighting style that followed instinct.

On the other hand, Domino’s engagement was a coexistence of precision and elegance… reminiscent of a nocturne.

“…Could you worry a little about me having to cater to your whims every time?”

The bullet fired at the end of the Droid’s arm, at the end of the leg scraping the floor tiles, hit its mark. The encroaching trajectory of death was thrown off, and the spider legs designed to operate in any environment lost their footing.

His eyes, bloodshot from excessive drugs, trembled palely, but this gunslinger did not abandon his role.

Click…! Clang!!

As the empty pistol magazine was thrown at Dusk, who was hiding behind a tattered sofa, the security Droid blocked it according to protocol. In the meantime, the twin pistols, which had been reloaded by flipping up the magazine from his waist in a fluid motion, spat fire, striking the joints of the different robots.

Dangerous blades or firearms were blocked with bullets, and arms that were simply flailing were deflected using the gun body as a shield.

“Crazy…… Gun Kata…?”

I can guarantee… if that was possible in a game, the number of pistol users would have increased tenfold.

Crack…!!

Horatio, stepping on the two remaining spider legs with both feet, dismantled the last security Droid that had fallen. Eventually, the light disappeared from the machine, its chest and head completely destroyed.

Since the person to be protected was stupidly nearby, the built-in high-powered weapons were inevitably sealed. There was no final struggle to overload the power source and self-destruct.

“Ugh…! That was a pain. Asha, sis! Are you alright?”

“……Yeah.”

The lighting, the tiles, all sorts of experimental equipment. Everything was smashed, but the doorway where I was standing was intact.

As the suffocating heat subsided and the dizzying afterimages disappeared, I could finally see the wounds on everyone’s bodies.

Of course, their clothes were torn in places, revealing bright red lines of skin. The blood flowing down the blistered skin calmed my excited heart.

Even Omen was pressing his abdomen with one hand as he returned. I felt stupid for just vaguely thinking the situation was overwhelming.

“…I just ran out of nutrients along the way.”

Omen gently pushed me away as I approached to check his wound.

No, I feel so sorry that you got hurt more because of me, just let me see…!

“Uhaha! If guys like us want to live well, we have to keep the give and take, sis!”

“……I know that much!”

Horatio, who had forced a bright expression on his face that was beyond tired and dying, raised his voice.

As his body enhancement was released, his mohawk drooped sadly, just like its owner. Moreover, Domino was busy wiping away the blood coming out of his eyes as if his capillaries had burst.

It’s cruel to resent it… but modern people also sell their time for money in the same way. Conversely, people with a lot of money buy other people’s time to use. However, that barter was presented so directly in the form of selling the present and future for Credits, and then buying tomorrow again with those Credits….

“Haaa….”

As expected, even if it was extreme because of the environment, their ideas are dangerous, perhaps because they are still young.

…After this is over, I must advise them to look into the cost of cell reconstruction surgery first.

“?! D-Don’t… don’t come any closer…!!”

“…Or what if I don’t?”

Dusk panicked when he saw me take out the memory card I had received from Paradise through the broker and approach the sofa.

His hand, trembling and groping the floor, grabbed a piece of glass.

Then, it was held out towards me… before quietly changing direction when he saw Domino’s gun pointed at him.

“If… if I die, all the mixing data and formulas in my head will disappear!! Is that okay?! Huh!!”

“!! You’re really going out in a pathetic way!”

“…Tsk.”

The naive kids might have been flustered, but I scoffed.

For the Implant or hardware inside the body to stop working and be initialized, the host must die, but stabbing with a piece of glass like that won’t kill a person instantly. With my hacking speed, I could have extracted it quickly even if he really did it.

Should I logically explain that fact and finish what I was assigned to do… but for some reason, I wanted to give this petty villain, who didn’t understand the sins he had committed and the cause and effect, a despair that suited him until the end.

“Stab.”

“…. What…?”

“Stab, you bastard.”

I looked down at Dusk, who was pressing a sharp shard against his sweat-soaked neck.

…Only Mary had been shorter than me so far, but this guy who had forgotten how to stand like a human was also…… no. That’s a very rude thought to Mary. …I’ll apologize next time she calls.

“But… remember this clearly before you die.”

“…?”

I met the eyes of the guy who was out of his mind.

“…As long as I’m here, you can never be saved, even if you die. I’m going to scrape up and sell everything you cherished so much: your drugs, your data, and even your life. So… either live and see that happen, or die quickly.”

“…….”

Clang! The glass that had slipped from his hand fell to the floor and shattered.

The drooping face, devoid of any meager courage or pretense, was truly unsightly for the head of a criminal organization that had dominated the Yellow Sector.

“…Daredevil, try to learn something from that….”

“Asha, sis!! You’re the best—!!”

“……Just pretend you didn’t hear that.”

…While someone was busy putting their hand on their greasy hair and cramming in data, the outfield was too noisy, so I glared at them to be quiet.

…It quickly became quiet.

• This is the recovery team hacker, we have secured the item and are returning. Dusk was… unfortunately killed while ‘violently resisting.’ –

• …It doesn’t matter as long as the data is safe. The suppression team should focus on eliminating the remaining forces and confiscating items, and prioritize assisting the recovery team when they meet. –

A satisfactory answer came back from Paradise. I could faintly hear other mercenaries grumbling… but what can you do? You have to do what they tell you.

“…I thought it was a revenge I had dreamed of for quite a long time, but now that I’ve achieved it, it feels empty.”

Unlike the two who changed their minds because they didn’t feel it was worth touching. Domino, whose addiction started with Dusk’s prototype, personally put an end to the cancer of the Yellow Sector after the extraction work was finished.

“Nightmares you have when you’re young are always remembered as scarier.”

“Cough…! Keueung.”

Omen, who still had a bullet in his stomach and insisted on being at the forefront, smiled and groaned.

I patted his leg… since he was too tall to pat his back, to show that I was asking if he was okay. …It doesn’t mean let’s go quickly! If you’re a patient, move slowly…!!

Avoiding the sounds of battle that occasionally echoed through the hallway, we retraced the path we had come.

We climbed the stairs and came out of the hatch. Now, all we had to do was hand over the memory card to the broker or person in charge who would be waiting for us near the control line.

I’m really glad things worked out better than I expected….

“…What, even the great Omen bleeds red?”

“……Hmph! It’s just a scratch. Get out of the way.”

“Huh…?”

The suppression team that had entered 7th Avenue was blocking the front of the basement stairs.

It wasn’t like they had deliberately come out to help, as the battle was still raging in the deeper underground, and above all… the atmosphere they were wrapped in and the large box at their feet were ominous.

……This isn’t good. It’s ominous.

Since it was an official request, Paradise wouldn’t be trying to silence us. This is probably…!

“It’s so fucking fortunate. I was most worried about you, you bastard.”

Bang—!!

“?!”

A gunshot that could be mistaken for a cannon echoed, and Omen, who had never backed down, staggered back… and knelt on the cold floor.

“Y-You crazy bastards…!!”

“…Blame Paradise for being too stingy with their spending.”

Horatio, who had rushed in like lightning, grabbed Omen’s clothes. The trigger of the drawn pistol was pulled.

But the shotgun, which was clearly prepared to target someone, was fired mercilessly once again….

Omen’s head snapped back.