This was totally unreasonable. No matter how many .45-caliber bullets Kaname fired, he couldn’t take on a tank.
The two demons had apparently cut across the bushes, because Kaname could hear them discussing the brightly painted vehicle and its psychedelic colors—not exactly jungle camouflage.
“What food is it this time?!” Tselika said. “Chinese? Slavic?”
“Oh, it’s with L.I.L.I.T.H. Security. A big shot succubus, isn’t that nice?”
Important public infrastructure always houses PMC bases!!
The tank’s top speed was somewhere in the region of seventy kilometers per hour. Kaname could easily outrun it on his racing bike…but that would actually be a bad move. At a distance, the tank could bring its powerful cannon into play, launching a shell over one thousand eight hundred meters at speeds over mach five.
The hunk of metal bore down on Kaname. Thirty to forty tons of pure death—three times the weight of an ordinary truck. It twisted its turret around with a horrifying scraping sound, aiming not at Kaname but at…
Midori!
“Not if I can help it!!”
Kaname slammed on the brakes, letting the tank catch up. Just as it came parallel, the boy leaped off his bike and onto the tank’s side. Luckily, just above the gnashing treads was a row of armor plating to shield against rocket attacks. The tank was also fitted with machine guns for firing at infantry soldiers who got a little too close. However, to use them, the gunner had to open the hatch and show their face.
As soon as they did, Kaname shot them with Short Spear and advanced to the hatch, pointing his weapon inside. But just then, a second hatch flew open and a little girl in a white military dress with short silver hair fell out, a magnum pistol in her hand.
That must be her Magistellus!!
Kaname spun around, gun in hand, just as the tank screeched to a halt. The sudden deceleration threw off Kaname’s aim, and his two silent bullets missed their mark, neither of them hitting the blond in the racing swimsuit. They merely grazed her temple, slicing her cloth headband.
Poltergeist rolled off the tank and spread her sock-covered legs, landing, of all places, on the very motorcycle Kaname had just discarded. She headed for the riverbank and hopped back up onto the raised promenade. Kaname, meanwhile, was without wheels, and his chat system was still open. If she wanted to, Poltergeist could spoof his identity and send Midori a false message.
“Dammit!”
Kaname snatched his smartphone out of his pocket and leaped off the tank.
Just as he did, a thought occurred to him.
Poltergeist had fled, and her Magistellus had been shot between the eyes and Downed… In that case, who had caused the tank to brake? Weren’t they still alive…?
Within seconds, the tank treads whirred back to life.
“Uh-oh…!!”
Kaname heard a muffled boom from far off, and a few moments later, an explosive rain fell from the orange sky. It was the mortar, #thunderbolt.err. It was common knowledge that a tank’s weakest area was its roof, and in a stroke of luck, the mortar shells hit the rear radiator as well. Black smoke rose off the tank as it ground to a halt, both its engine and battery destroyed.
Kaname fired a few .45-caliber pistol rounds into the machine gun on top, rendering it useless, then climbed out of the river and into the forest. Once there, he checked his phone screen.
Cindy: Wahoo! How’d you like my fire support? It was filled with my love.
Kaname: Perfect, Cindy!! I mean, leaving out the part where you blindly fired at where I was standing without telling me.
Cindy: Well then, guess I’ll get a good talking-to later. Tee-hee-hee! Something to look forward to
There were both pros and cons to having a dark elf who responded to praise and criticism with equal delight. Kaname was starting to seriously regret not asking Ayame how best to deal with her Magistellus when he’d had the chance.
Meanwhile, he dived behind a thick tree trunk and waited silently. A short while later, when he heard footsteps on the grass, he leaped out and fired off a barrage of .45-caliber bullets.
Kaname: Including the one I shot, there seem to be three short-haired Magistelli with the exact same face. It’s only supposed to be one Magistellus per Dealer. What’s going on?
Tselika: It depends. Trios of goddesses and monsters are quite popular, like the Norns of Norse Mythology, or the Greek Erinyes.
Kaname: Hmm. I don’t think what I’m seeing is a sewing machine. A loom? Probably European rather than Asian. Do any of them use weaving tools or scissors or anything like that?
Tselika: A western trio of weavers? Those would be the Fates, My Lord. Otherwise known as the Moirai. They are a trio of Greek goddesses named Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos.
Kaname: Goddesses? In Money (Game) Master?
Tselika: Have you not been paying attention, My Lord? I am certain we have seen the odd Valkyrie walking around. They are goddesses, too, after a fashion. The Moirai, by the way, are beings who sever the cord of fate. I am sure the virtuous gods and angels with big fancy books written about them would have something to say about sharing the title, however.
Beings who took souls and altered destiny. Perhaps the game considered them demons of a sort. Kaname didn’t know much about religion, but gods of death and destruction, while certainly called gods, were indeed difficult to class as good or evil.
Theology aside, Poltergeist’s Magistelli would be out of the picture for a while. Kaname wouldn’t have to worry about the tank again, since it could only be driven by a crew. From here on out, it would be bikes, cars, and trucks only.
I know these cars aren’t protected by a parking lot barrier, but she’s way too quick at getting the door open and starting the engine. It can’t be skill alone. Has Takamasa brought the Legacies into play already?
Kaname: Midori, where are you?
Kaname pointed his gun around cautiously as he sent a message on his phone. Here in Jungle Park, not all the animals were kept in cages. Now that the rivers had flooded, it wouldn’t be surprising to find a hippo or crocodile wandering around. They’d ignore the boardwalk, however, as it was still protected by repellent.
As he walked across the mud, Kaname suddenly frowned.
Kaname: Midori?
No reply.
“Dammit!!”
Kaname: Tselika, Cindy. We’ve got a problem. Maximum priority!!