Breaking through the crisis! - 27

"Thank you for your hard work-!"

Haa... It's finally over... It's been a really crazy day.

I thought as I left the shop after finishing my shift.

The streetlights were the only things illuminating the already darkened streets.

I grumbled as I walked along the street.

Everyone came crowding in... so noisy.

Coming to my workplace, laughing and chattering, Sensei this, Sensei that.

It's a nuisance.

What the heck was that all about?

Nito was quiet though...

That damn Hoshino-senpai!

She must have brought Sensei on purpose because of what I did yesterday!

...Don't make me laugh.

You think I'll just go along with that?

The street seems even more deserted today than usual.

The dim streetlights reveal not even a cat's shadow in the darkness.

Hmm...

Come to think of it, this neighborhood has become a lot less populated.

It feels like the security has gotten worse too.

No, we have to try harder... We have to work hard to rebuild the school.

Once I get my paycheck, I'll use it to pay off the loan interest...

I was thinking about my future plans when,

Tap- tap-

?!

"What, you guys."

"Kuromi Serika... is that you?"

"...Katakata Helmet Gang? You guys are still roaming around this street as you please?"

The Helmet Gang appeared.

"Good timing. I was in a bad mood anyway, I'll make sure you can never set foot in this street again...!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Kuh, Guh?!"

Behind me too?!

...These guys, they're after me...

"Get her."

Along with those words, I heard a sound from afar.

Fwoooosh-

Kaboooom-!

"Cough, cough..."

Anti-aircraft fire...?

No... This explosion is a modified Flak 41...?

Fire support...?

Where's the position... Ah, no.

This is... No way.

There's no way the Helmet Gang could have easily gotten their hands on such equipment out of nowhere.

They're not backing down easily, unlike usual.

Th-these guys, they're serious... It's dangerous...

My consciousness...

Thud-

And when I opened my eyes, I saw,

"Agh... Where am I... Nito?!"

"Ugh..."

The interior of an unfamiliar building and Nito.

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

Ah.

A mistake.

I didn't expect it to turn out like this.

The story of how I ended up tied up with Serika like this goes back a bit in time.

On my way home, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

Wait...

The next thing that happened in the main story was...

The Serika kidnapping incident.

As soon as that thought came to mind, I immediately called Shiroko.

"So... Please lend me some grenades. As many as possible..."

There was no way they would believe me if I suddenly said Serika was going to be kidnapped without any evidence, so I got some grenades just in case and went outside.

Since it was impossible to fight and win or run away with my strength, I planned to hide nearby and take pictures.

That way, I could go and rescue her as quickly as possible.

But... I overlooked one thing.

That is... I forgot that those crazy guys shot anti-aircraft guns at the city.

I was caught in the explosion of the anti-aircraft fire and lost consciousness, and a Helmet Gang member who found me tied me up and brought me along.

Because these guys moved even faster than the original, when I woke up, we had already arrived in an empty wasteland.

"Haa... This is really bad..."

Things got messed up because I acted without thinking.

Why did I have to rush to solve things quickly when I could have just stayed still, and ended up creating this situation?

"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have interfered..."

"Huh?! No, no! Nito doesn't need to apologize..."

Serika said it was okay to my apology, but I'm not okay.

I thought I shouldn't cause trouble for anyone other than Sensei...

As I was about to slump to the floor with a heavy heart,

Slide-

?

"Nito! The rope...!"

The rope slipped off.

How did the Helmet Gang tie the rope for the knot to loosen just by moving a little?

...Is it because my body is small?

Anyway, this is an opportunity.

I moved my body around and escaped from the loosened rope.

"Serika! Come here!"

"Okay!"

I untied Serika's rope as well.

"Everyone must be worried. Let's get out of here quickly."

"Yeah..."

Fortunately, we found our guns nearby.

The grenades were also placed neatly beside them.

"Let's go!"

"Yeah!"

We need to get out of this building first.

As soon as we started moving with that thought, we were discovered by the Helmet Gang.

"What are those guys! Get them!"

"How did they escape?!"

"Ugh... Nito, let's run quickly!"

"Yeah."

Bang! Bang!

We tried to run away, but there were too many of them.

We were blocked in every direction the guys came from, so we couldn't run properly, and those guys seemed familiar with this building, chasing us without hesitation.

At this rate, we'll be caught.

Serika must have sensed that too, because her expression wasn't good.

"Ugh... Nito, just keep running."

Hey, that's a death flag for you.

"What about Serika...?"

I knew, but I asked.

I had to.

"I'll hold them off. Nito will run and tell everyone our location."

There it is.

That line.

Now that the 'I'll hold them off' flag has been raised, there's no turning back.

"Then take this at least."

I gave all but one of the grenades I had to Serika.

"This is... Shiroko-senpai's... Thank you. I'll use it well."

"Then I'll go."

"Okay."

Saying 'be sure to come back alive' is no different from saying 'I hope you die', so I didn't say it.

Although it feels like it's already too late.

I ran as fast as I could without looking back.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Ting-

Boom-!

"Huff... Huff..."

I was out of breath from running for so long.

But I managed to run out of the building.

No, I was about to get out.

Thump- Thump- Thump-

What, what's that sound?

I hid and watched, and what came out was... a Goliath.

Whoa, that wasn't here originally!

No way... If we reached this building, and reinforcements are in range...

Is this how it ends?

But I couldn't just sit here and despair, I had too much on my shoulders.

At the very least, even if I get caught again and end up in a place where no one can find me,

I want to at least try to fight this time.

One of Shiroko's grenades.

One pistol.

I'll somehow break through with these two.

It would be great if I could get past without using them, but that's probably impossible.

This is a wasteland, and there's no proper cover to hide behind.

So here, it's a surprise attack.

I took out a grenade.

Right now, this has the highest destructive power.

So I pulled the pin and threw it.

The grenade flew through the air.

Ting-

The Goliath sensed something was wrong and turned around, but it was too late.

Boom-!

Yes!

I hit it!

It must have taken some damage since it was hit directly by the grenade.

Especially since it was an unexpected situation.

I ran like crazy to escape while I had the chance.

Woong-

Before the Goliath could get up, that is.

Whoosh-

Bang-!

"Gahk!"

How often do you get hit by a missile in your life?

I was knocked unconscious by the shockwave from the anti-aircraft explosion earlier, but this time I was directly caught in the missile's explosion.

"Keuhk! Cough!"

I was almost incapacitated, but the Goliath, being a machine, didn't let its guard down.

Now... What should I do?

All I have is a pistol.

Can I really take down something that withstood a grenade with just this...?

Woong-

"Hiiik!"

I don't want to die like this.

I have to do something, anything.

If I stay like this, I'll really die...

With trembling hands, I aimed the pistol.

As if mocking my last-ditch effort, the Goliath walked towards me defenselessly.

I have to hit it this time.

Come to think of it, I've never hit a target properly before.

I even lost to Arona.

But, if... Just if... If I'm really a proper student of Kivotos...

Thump- thump-

If I can use my mystic...

Thump- thump-

This time... I'll really focus...

Thump- thump-

I'll definitely hit it!!

Kabooom-!!!!

Bang-!!!

"Cough..."

My vision is strange.

Why is it... so blurry...

In my fading vision, I saw the Goliath breaking apart.

Haha... I... won...