If what the being who called himself God told her was true, then Meitzer—who was still captive—held the key to everything.
“Rescue General Douglas, return Lud to normal, prevent the launch of Verne 1, and defeat Toolman’s unit...”
“When you put it like that, we face a lot of difficult tasks.”
“Yeah...”
Sophia and Sven sighed in unison. Doing even one of these would be a huge job, but there were four.
“We have to do it!”
“Uh-huh!”
They both knew that it was too late to pull back now.
“Before that, I would like you to return my clothes.”
“Aren’t they unwearable?” Suzuka sounded surprised at Sven’s request.
Sven’s waitress uniform had already been through a lot and the fight today had nearly destroyed it. But even without the tears, the frilly outfit was not an advantage in battle.
“I need it,” Sven insisted.
Her waitress uniform, which she had created to live her life at Lud Langart’s side, was much more than just an outfit. In line with his wishes, she would not turn this fight into a war. As a soldier and as a military weapon, she did not want to fight. She wanted to remain Tockerbrot’s popular waitress to the very end.
“All right. I’ll have it dried right away.”
As if she sensed Sven’s determination, Suzuka reassured her with a grin. Just then...
“But first, may I?” Blitzdonner had been listening in silence, but now he raised his hand to speak. “There’s something I want you to do to improve our chance of success, if only a little.”
Sven and her group set about launching their counterattack. However, they were few in number. They were only four: Sven, Blitzdonner, Sophia and Suzuka.
“Couldn’t you come up with a few more people?”
“This was the limit if we didn’t want them to notice us.”
There was no way they could reveal the soldiers from Yamato. They were only operating the submarine. Nonetheless, they were performing a crucial function in securing the escape route, so their involvement had to remain a secret.
“Well, there aren’t many of them either, so it’ll work out somehow.” Suzuka was laughing, which made Sven all the more uneasy.
If you didn’t include the technicians necessary for the launch of Verne 1, the number of Security Department soldiers in the test site was about fifty. The number of soldiers Toolman led to suppress them was a little over ten. He must have decided that number would be enough against the untrained Security Department soldiers.
“However, they’re all pretty tough.”
They were all followers of the Saint and would happily lose their lives for her. They were possibly even more dangerous than the special operations soldiers known as Werewolves who served with Lud under Genitz’s command.
“Now that I think about it, that man may have anticipated events and started putting together a unit sure to serve as his pawns.” Blitzdonner spoke quietly.
There was no way to know now.
“What I’m saying is...” Sven had come into direct conflict with them, so she was trying to convey the danger she suspected. She thought Suzuka’s easygoing manner communicated an unwariness because she didn’t understand.
“I said it’ll be all right, Missy. You guys should go on ahead.”
Suzuka was easygoing precisely because she understood. She frowned angrily as she told them to get going. They were dividing their already small numbers in two for this counterattack.
“Meet that old guy Meitzer quickly and help out Little Lud.” Cackling, Suzuka put on a show of what might be called innocence and left for the control room.
“Leave it to me. I’m not without a plan.” Sophia followed her.
“We have no choice but to trust her.” Despite her misgivings, Sven also left with Blitzdonner.
The Saint was on standby in an office inside the castle. The owner of the room was already dead. She was killing time until the launch preparations were complete.
“Saint...” Toolman appeared.
“Ah, you came sooner than I expected.”
The Saint understood before she heard what happened. She looked down on human beings but she did not take them lightly. Some insects are poisonous and some use mimicry. Therefore, she remained wary.
“Was it Elvin? He appears to be a superb commanding officer. As for you, Toolman, weren’t you paying attention?”
It was very rare to encounter someone capable of acting based on impossible odds, but such people did exist. One existed before. There was a man from the Greyten Empire so heroic that a statue of him was erected, and Elvin was perhaps like him.
“How many? There can’t be that many of them, are there?”
The number of soldiers they could mobilize behind her back couldn’t amount to much. Ten people? Twelve at most?
“There are two.”
“Hm?” When informed of the number, the Saint was surprised.
Inside the castle, Sophia and Suzuka were battling the special combat unit.
“Oh dear. Whatever is the matter?” In the center of a large hall, Suzuka stood grinning.
A few soldiers had already fallen around her with their limbs bent in impossible positions.
“Why you...!”
The hardened soldiers of the special combat unit were unable to take action. They weren’t only fighting Suzuka.
“Urgh!”
“Stop! Don’t shoot!”
A single soldier stepped from behind, raising a gun. A bullet faster than sound pierced his hand before he could pull the trigger.
“Don’t move! Stay back!”
Under orders from Toolman, the deputy captain ground his teeth in frustration.
Argh... We’re trapped!
The strategy that Suzuka and Sophia had adopted was uncomplicated. Suzuka would close in alone and unarmed. When the soldiers responded, Sophia would pick them off from her hiding place. It was uncomplicated—extremely simple, in fact. However, pulling this off would require a sniper with extraordinary skill.
This is the Black Spear? I had no idea she was this good!
Sophia was highly gifted as a commanding officer, and she was an expert in military martial arts. That wasn’t her true forte, however. Her skill in marksmanship was more remarkable.
“What’s wrong? You wanna play hide-and-seek?” Grinning, Suzuka taunted them. Her expression communicated absolute certainty that she would not be shot.
Sophia was also known as the Black Spear. She was given that nickname after her astounding results as the first Hunter Unit sniper in military history to use a super long-range cannon originally intended as an anti-aircraft gun.
In a Hunter Unit, that woman could go one hundred hits for one hundred shots. In the flesh, she actually might be able to shoot through the eye of a needle.
Observing her skill, the deputy captain broke out in a cold sweat. As a devotee of the Saint, he was a soldier who welcomed death at her command. But, an outstanding soldier himself, he hesitated when faced with being shot like a dog in a certain and pointless death.
In that case...
The deputy captain steeled his nerves, cast aside his rifle, and launched himself at Suzuka. If he tried to shoot, Sophia would certainly shoot him. His only choice was to suppress Suzuka before he was shot.
I just need to grab her! I’m definitely stronger!!
Suzuka appeared as fragile as a young noblewoman. A professional military man could surely immobilize her.
“That’s what you’re thinking, isn’t it?” Suzuka’s eyes narrowed like one who had recognized her opponent’s intent and would trample it.
A moment later, the deputy captain could no longer obey the laws of gravity. His body was flying a shocking distance from the ground. Before he could ask why, the hands of an unseen force seized him and slammed him to the floor.
“This is called budo. My country developed it over one thousand years ago to extinguish that strength you’re so proud of!”
The principle was simple: return your opponent’s force and add your own. That was all. However, it required an intense process of trial and error, as well as study of the human body and the principles of dynamics, resulting in a godly art.
“Why you...” Unable to defend himself, he hit the ground with a barrage of blows to his body that prevented the deputy captain from getting up.
The special combat unit was completely trapped. If they didn’t get past Suzuka, they couldn’t defeat Sophia. If they tried to shoot Suzuka, Sophia would pick them off. If they tried to defeat Suzuka in hand-to-hand combat, she would take them out the moment they touched her.
“Our only option was to fire all at once with the expectation of getting shot, but we lost too many men at the start.”
Suzuka had already finished off half the soldiers in the special combat unit. Any further deaths would hinder any future plan.
“Yeah, so let me handle this!”
Another soldier joined them. The man was Toolman the Bulletproof Baron, the man leading the special combat unit.
“Oh my... How brave and manly of you!” Suzuka laughed—ha ha ha!—without tension, but her stance left no opening.
She was an expert practitioner of budo, so she could tell how skilled her opponent was from the way he moved.
Well, well... He’s quite a monster!
She determined immediately that she shouldn’t let down her guard against this opponent.
“I will not hold back.” Toolman smoothly drew the katana at his side.
“That weapon is from my country. It brings back memories of home.”
“Is that so? Then taste it to the fullest!”
The two appeared to be engaging in a lively conversation instead of entering into combat. However, the distance between them was narrowing.
All I can do is watch this...
Sophia was looking for a chance to shoot from her hiding place, but Toolman wasn’t giving her a shot. At this distance, she might hit Suzuka.
“Come on...”
Suzuka could instantly defeat anyone who touched her, and Toolman could lop off the arm of a humanoid Hunter Unit. They were closing in on each other.
“—!!”
Wordlessly, the two clashed.