“#lockpick.err…”
The bespectacled dark elf dropped down to the slushy ground and examined the simplified shotgun, turning it over in her hands.
“This is indeed a part of Takamasa’s collection. It was designed for breach-and-clear warfare, and can destroy any locking mechanism just by pointing it and pulling the trigger. I remember seeing him use it one time when Ayame locked herself out of a room with an automatic lock. She had tears in her eyes.”
To Kaname and his friends, collecting the Legacies was supposed to be more important than anything else. But for now, Tselika gestured for Cindy to stop speaking.
Midori was crying. Not because of the hostage situation, but because she had been unable to protect her Magistellus partner. Once again, Kaname had been too slow to stop it. Once again, he had let the young girl cry.
Was he going to force this little girl with the tearstained face to come with him and settle things with Takamasa? Was he going to let her witness the moment he shot her brother between the eyes? No matter how strong she was, she was only human. She wasn’t an experienced Dealer like Kaname and his ilk.
Kaname didn’t want her to turn out like him. It had to stop here. Midori could not be made to suffer any further.
“…”
Her bike’s taillight had been punched out in the collision, but the vehicle still seemed usable, and it was the quickest and closest thing Kaname had access to.
Poltergeist couldn’t be the only Dealer prowling the jungle, and Kaname needed to get back on the move before any more came out of the woodwork along with an infinite supply of invincible PMCs.
“Tselika.”
“What is it, My Lord? Figured out some way to tow my temple out of the mud? There’s plenty of cranes and trucks around for moving the cages back into the barn.”
“…Take care of Midori. Use the Legacies if you have to.”
“Wait,” came a voice. It was difficult to make out through her tears, but it was there. “I’m coming with you.”
“Midori.”
“My brother did this…”
She pointed at Meiki’s static body. The magnum bullets had torn into her, making her look like a ruined statue.
“He knew what he was doing bringing that woman into this. He knew this would happen. This is what he’s trying to do, not just to me but to everyone. That’s what he said, isn’t it?! He’s going to destroy the game and take everyone’s Magistellus away from them! As his little sister, I need to stop him!!”
Kaname didn’t want to hear those words. The reason he’d reached out to Midori in the first place was because Takamasa’s Fall had torn their family apart and saddled her and her parents with debt. Takamasa had saved Kaname’s family, and Kaname hated to see Takamasa’s family suffer as a result. That was why he was still looking for a way to repair the damage.
He wanted Midori to ask him to save Takamasa, no matter how difficult or reckless it might be.
And yet.
“Kaname…”
“No, it’s fine.”
The dark elf started to say something, but Kaname cut her off. Perhaps his wishes really were illogical. He wanted to protect Takamasa’s family, but to do that, he was willing to turn his gun on the man himself, repaying a favor with death. How much more treacherous could you get?
However, there was no way Kaname could follow his friend’s path. He could never accept saving humanity at the expense of Magistelli like Tselika.
He wanted to have his cake and eat it, too. Perhaps his fate would be the same as that awaiting all greedy Dealers who bit off more than they could chew.
“Let’s go,” said Midori. She’d wiped the tears from her eyes, and her voice was now clear. “We have to stop an evil Dealer called Criminal AO. Just like you have to fight the Takamasa only you know, I’ve gotta fight the brother only I know. We’re the only ones in the whole world who can do it.”
“…You’re right,” answered Kaname through gritted teeth.
Kaname tended to fight using only Short Spear, but from here on out, he would need the strength of the Legacies to face the countless powerful Dealers and PMCs standing between him and the tower. By now, he had quite a selection to choose from. Kaname picked out #tempest.err and #lockpick.err and handed them to Midori.
Cindy cocked her head and asked, “Isn’t it a little redundant to take two shotguns?”
“It’s fine,” Kaname replied. “Our main priority is to keep moving. That makes these our best options.”
He straddled the bright-red motorcycle and waited for Midori to get on behind him.
“Tselika, Cindy. Take Meiki and the other Legacies and get out of here. You might be fine in the semipublic parkland, but once we’re in the tower on private property you won’t fare as well. It doesn’t matter how you get a car, but your best bet is probably to look for one Poltergeist left stashed around somewhere. Judging by the explosions we’ve seen so far, I don’t think there will be any traps inside, just the fuel in the tank.”
“Hmph. I’m afraid I am not like you, My Lord, content to seat his bottom in whichever car he pleases. I’d rather go back and haul away my temple, no matter what the cost…!!”
Kaname figured she would say something like that, and he flung her a key he’d swiped from a tow truck earlier.
With their next moves decided, Kaname twisted the throttle of Midori’s motorcycle and took off across the muddy ground. The bike was a racing vehicle and not intended for off-road use, plus it had Midori’s added weight on the back, but Kaname drove steadily on, regardless.
Before long, they heard the roar of an engine as a specialized military jeep hit one of the twisting tree roots and launched into the air, landing alongside Kaname. The convertible roof was down, despite the heavy rain, presumably to allow the mounted machine gun a clear shot.
Kaname immediately took up Short Spear, but the jeep’s gunner only scoffed.
“Kha-kha-kha!! This machine gun’s got a protective shield! Your cheap .45-caliber bullets ain’t even gonna scratch the paint…!”
Kaname ignored the man’s taunts and fired two shots above the gunner’s head, cracking a tree bough that arched over the vehicle and dropping something large into the jeep.
It was a leopard that had been hiding in the branches, probably trying to escape the muddy earth.
“Argh! Ghah! Wh-what the blazes?!”
After tearing out the gunner’s throat, the wild beast made its way into the jeep. Kaname kept his distance, moving farther into the jungle so as not to be taken out by the military vehicle as it swerved back and forth.