Its fearsome roar became a wailing screech. Its wings, splayed wide in a terrifying display of might, fell limp and lifeless. The sparks vanished, and the great beast fell sideways, crushing pots and pans beneath its bulk. Then, as though unable to maintain its alien form any longer, it vanished into the floor and walls once more.
“Takamasa.”
Kaname Suou didn’t so much as bat an eye. No matter how impossible the creature was, so long as it had eyes and a throat, it had weak points. Even the demonic Magistelli could be killed, after a fashion. Kaname was driven by a desire to protect Tselika, and that was precisely why he knew how fragile even an unholy life could be.
“Face me seriously.”
“…Fine. If hell is what you want.”
Grinning, Takamasa removed the bandanna from around his head and refastened it on his upper arm, using his free hand and his teeth. This was a sign he meant business. It also meant the dragon had been only a game.
They couldn’t stay here any longer.
“Eek?!”
Kaname fired a bullet near Midori’s feet, causing her to flee the kitchen via a nearby door. Then he trained his gun back on Takamasa.
The click of his weapon’s metal parts was the only sound. Kaname’s .45-caliber bullets had easily slain even the otherworldly dragon. But Takamasa swung his battle rifle like a baton, knocking all three bullets out of the air with its bulky stock. His maneuver was so effortless, it was difficult to process how impossible it was—a feat no human could ever hope to match.
“Even now you refuse to aim at my heart,” said Takamasa. “You’re the one not taking this battle seriously, Kaname. If you can’t shoot with conviction, you’re going to die.”
“Tch.”
There’s one thing that can save me…but I can’t. He’ll see it coming if I try it now!!
Kaname fired off a few more shots as he retreated, ducking behind a dishwasher and a food wagon for cover along the way. He was aiming not at Takamasa but at the barrel and moving parts of his battle rifle. The first and second bullets hit the weapon’s bulky stock, but with the third, it vanished.
Not the bullet.
The mass making up Takamasa had suddenly disappeared from Kaname’s view. If it weren’t for the Lion’s Nose, the battle would have ended right there.
“He’s above me!!”
Kaname took evasive maneuvers immediately, diving and rolling across the ground.
The ceiling must have been three meters up, and yet Takamasa had leaped the whole height without even a running start, flipping upside-down and landing there, before pointing his gun at Kaname and firing. The loud crack of the rifle was followed by a spray of nine-millimeter bullets aimed in the direction Kaname was headed.
Just diving wouldn’t be enough to dodge this volley. Kaname pulled out a stainless steel drawer near where he had landed and used it as a shield. Fortunately, the handgun bullets weren’t strong enough to penetrate the pots and pans within.
…If Takamasa’s able to defy the laws of conventional physics…
“Is that a Legacy?!”
“Magic, Kaname. Although it’s not this battle rifle, if that’s what you were thinking.”
Takamasa landed on the countertop, twirling atop it with arms outstretched. As the hem of his shirt fluttered, Kaname saw something beneath it. Something alive. Many somethings, squirming like centipedes…no, like countless snakes.
“It’s called #vipersnest.err. Think of it as a sort of assistive exosuit with a mind of its own.”
“…”
“But you know well, Kaname, that my Magic is capable of so much more.”
All at once, a bunch of gray, nearly black masses, each about a meter in length, spewed out from Takamasa’s sleeves and collar. They crawled along the floor, up the walls, and onto the ceiling. Kaname had heard of robots modeled after snakes that were used to search for survivors after a quake. Their long, thin shape allowed them to slip through cracks in the rubble and traverse ruined buildings via ruptured gas pipes. However, these snakes were a little different—they had gun barrels for heads.
These lifeless machines didn’t need to fear bullets. They would follow their master’s orders to the bitter end.
This doesn’t look good…!
Now Kaname was surrounded on all sides. No combination of diving and shielding could protect him. He fired his gun at the ceiling, knocking down several of the robotic snakes, before yanking open a nearby door and retreating into the hallway, just as the entire kitchen was filled with lead.
This was on a whole other level. Worn by a human, the Legacy could boost its user’s physical abilities to the point where they could deflect a burst of gunfire with a single knife. Acting autonomously, it was an array of guns capable of hunting down prey by sneaking through the tiniest window crack or up through a building’s drainage pipes. Takamasa could have easily overpowered the airship’s security force.
The brutality of an animal paired with the ingenuity of a human. Takamasa was the greatest friend Kaname could ask for but also his most powerful enemy.
Running down the straight hallway was like begging to be killed, so Kaname threw open another door and fled inside. It was an employee shower room. He heard his friend’s voice trailing softly behind him.
“What’s wrong, Kaname? You didn’t come here to play hide-and-seek, did you?”
“…For someone who hates AI so much, you sure don’t seem to mind relying on them once they’re under your control. Don’t you think that’s a bit hypocritical, Takamasa?”
“I don’t mind the ones I can control. It’s just the Magistelli I can’t abide. Even the PMCs are at the whim of my smartphone here. I could command them to torture you to death if you’d like.”
“I didn’t think you were actually freaky enough to wear a bunch of snakes or tentacles or whatever underneath your clothes.”
“Ah-ha-ha. Don’t let this shock you, Kaname. There’s nothing strange about using every means at my disposal, no matter how wriggly it gets.”
“…”
“Besides, tentacles are pretty vanilla nowadays. There’s no parental controls on Money (Game) Master, after all. I could even whip up a little hypnosis or a nice aphrodisiac if I felt like it…”
“I’m honestly really sorry, Takamasa, but you shouldn’t have said that.”
“Hmm?”
Takamasa had not yet stepped into the room, so there was no way he could have known. Even Kaname hadn’t expected this when he’d picked one of the many doors to make his escape through.
By pure coincidence…
“M-Midori’s in here with me. She, um, heard everything you just said.”
“……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………”
There was no response.
For the first time, Kaname felt genuinely bad about putting one over on his old friend. This had the potential to seriously injure their relationship.
Pavilion and the Lamia were here, too. Presumably, they had all gotten lost on the way out and ended up in a side room. Midori stared at the boys with utter disdain in her eyes.
Then, in a low voice, she said:
✦ ✦ ✦
“…You disgust me.”