Kinoshita had been chasing Sousei. What would he do after seeing Sousei run directly at a train, making it stop?
…It’s a gamble.
Kinoshita was a member of NGS.
No Gravity System.
He could walk vertically up walls and run on them. And not just walls—he could even walk on ceilings.
Had Kinoshita really gone back the way he’d come?
Even when first responders were clearly on the way, Kinoshita had kept firing his gun regardless. The Japanese police force was by no means incompetent. Multiple units had responded already, bringing a large number of officers into the area, and likely more on the way.
If it were Sousei, he wouldn’t go back there.
The train had stopped on the bridge. Sousei had caused it to stop. It wouldn’t be able to resume right away. They’d have to perform a safety check first.
What would Kinoshita do?
Sousei inhaled quietly, then stopped, holding his breath.
It looked like something was hanging from the left girder, heading toward him.
It was still about sixty-five feet away. There weren’t any light fixtures on the railway bridge or around the abutment where Sousei was. There were clouds in the sky and no moon in sight. It was dark. Sousei couldn’t even make out the shape of whatever it was that was hanging; it was just clear that it wasn’t part of the bridge.
It seemed to be moving.
It was walking. Walking on the girder. No, not on it—under it.
Something like that was impossible.
Impossible, that is, unless they were NGS.
The train on the bridge still hadn’t moved yet.
It’s risky…
Sousei put his index finger on the trigger of his LC9.
This is a gamble, so there’s not much I can do about that.
The silhouette of whatever was walking on the girder came into view.
It was a human, without a doubt. They were walking.
Sousei aimed for the target’s chest and squeezed the trigger.
Even though his gun was equipped with a suppressor, it didn’t completely eliminate the sound of a gunshot. While it did reduce the sound considerably and muffle it somewhat, firing a suppressed gun still made a fairly loud noise, the kind of noise that wouldn’t be heard in everyday life.
Sousei let off three rounds in a row.
Got him.
That was the impression Sousei got. The target made a motion as if they were lurching backward. Sousei couldn’t hear it, but he had a feeling that they’d said something.
“What was that sound…?!” a man shouted from above—most likely the train driver.
The target was crouching on the main girder. Sure enough, it seemed Sousei had hit him.
Sousei’s heart rate—which had previously been going at about sixty beats per minute—quickly skyrocketed.
I can’t stay here.
Sousei put his pistol back in the holster and moved away from the abutment. His target didn’t move but stayed there, crouched on the girder.
Should he go up the embankment? He’d probably stand out if he did. Sousei went down to the riverbank instead. He looked back up at the railway bridge. The driver’s door opened and someone who appeared to be the driver leaned out. He was using a flashlight to illuminate the area. Sousei would probably be able to escape even if he was spotted, but it would be shameful if someone saw him.
Calling it shameful is putting it mildly…!
The riverbank was overgrown with weeds and shrubs, making it more of a thicket than grassland. Sousei hid in the underbrush. He couldn’t see the target on the girder at all from there.
He could hear the sirens of fire trucks and police cars. They were probably on the other side of the river. Or were they on this side?
His heart was pounding like crazy. It was raging so violently that it felt like it’d rip through his chest. Sousei was drenched in sweat. Even now, sweat was gushing out of his armpits. It was a cold, nervous sweat.
Before he knew it, Sousei found himself stooping so low that his hands were nearly touching the ground. Brushing aside the thicket, he moved steadily forward.
…In these kinds of situations, it’s best not to move carelessly.
That was right.
Sousei stopped recklessly pushing his way forward. The worst thing would be to panic and make even more mistakes.
Mistakes… Did I make any mistakes? I wonder. I’ve made so many mistakes that I don’t even know what they were. That’s how it came to this. My opponent subverts all common sense. Someone who treats corpses like that is really dangerous. Hired killers are more respectable than that. We wouldn’t go around shooting in a town unless something major came up, and because of all the shooting, I’ve died three times, haven’t I? …Three times. Three times! This is the worst…
That was when it happened.
From the center of Sousei’s body came that sound. It might not actually make a noise, but it felt like it did.
It was a peculiar…thump.
He died.
Sousei almost unintentionally burst out laughing. He quickly pressed his hand to his mouth to stifle his laugh.
I did it. I killed him. See? I was right, wasn’t I? I thought I’d hit him. Did I get him with all three shots, or maybe two out of the three? He’d felt it. He didn’t die straight away, though. Maybe it was his heart, or an aorta, or a pulmonary artery or something. I got him good. Serves him right. He killed me three times. Three! Three times. That’s minus two…
He lost all strength in his body.
Minus two, after all this trouble…
Maybe it was because his nerves had calmed, but Sousei’s chest ached horribly. Although he had the ballistic vest on, it’d still been a direct hit in the chest. It wouldn’t surprise him if he’d fractured a few ribs.
On top of that, his upper left arm also hurt, even though it hadn’t concerned him at all until right then. He felt it with his right hand and found that it was bleeding. Apparently, he’d been grazed by a bullet. That said, it wasn’t just a scratch, either. He’d probably need stitches.
I should just die…
Sousei shook his head weakly.
No. I’m at minus two. I can’t die just because of something like this. I’ll just put up with it…