Boom!! Rat-a-tat!! A cocktail of rifle and handgun bullets flew across the room. Kaname and the girls quickly fled, via a different door, into the hallway. Midori was still staring down at her feet, dark flames of resentment lurking in her eyes.
“You’re trash. Come to think of it, when I was on your computer before, there were all sorts of dirty sites in the browser history. I wondered why people kept treating you like a weirdo…!”
Takamasa’s desperate shouts followed them from the shower room, almost as loud as the sounds of gunfire.
“You don’t understand, Midori! It’s not just me!! It’s nothing to be ashamed of! All humans harbor the same desires! Tell her, Kaname!”
That may have been true, but not five centimeters in front of Kaname were a middle school girl and a high school girl in an ill-fitting dress. And both of them were currently trying to determine just how depraved the two boys were.
In as nonchalant a voice as he could muster, Kaname gave the only permissible reply.
“What? I’m sorry, Takamasa, I’m afraid I haven’t the slightest clue what you’re talking about.”
“Kaname!!”
Kaname knew he had just committed the ultimate betrayal. Choking back bitter tears, he gestured for Midori and the others to leave, via a different hallway. The power was back on across the ship now, and the chaos appeared to be dying down a little as a result. Specifically, the PMCs were turning their guns on all the opportunistic Dealers.
“That’s twice now. Maybe ships just don’t agree with me…”
Pavilion muttered something or other under her breath. Even as her life flashed before her eyes, she still managed to stay focused on getting out in one piece. Such was the power of the Zodiac Child, the Maiden’s Survival.
After finally making their way to the main deck, the four of them headed for the large wing leading back to the coffee shop terrace of the neighboring building. All that was left was to cross it and make their way to Pavilion’s vehicle in the underground garage of a nearby hotel. Once she logged out from there, the girl would be safe.
However.
“Waah!!”
Pavilion screamed as, with a great rumble, the whole of Sky Impact listed to one side. The two-hundred-meter-long airship was suspended by tens of thousands of tiny wires that evenly distributed its weight. Some of them must have been cut, and probably by those snakes of Takamasa’s. Along with the hull, the giant wings also tilted, until the lower of the two smashed into the ground and broke in half, sending Kaname and the others plummeting to the road below.
“Ggh!!”
Kaname lay on his back, the wind thoroughly knocked out of him. Looking up at the slanted deck of the airship, he spotted a figure sliding down in his direction—Takamasa Hekireki. Kaname raised his gun but couldn’t get off a good shot from his position on the ground. It wouldn’t have mattered, however, because his bandanna-wearing friend swiftly ducked left and right, effortlessly dodging every last bullet Kaname fired his way.
“There’s still doubt in your heart,” said Takamasa, kicking Short Spear out of Kaname’s hand. “You’ll never hit me like that.” Then he grabbed Pavilion by the hair and pulled her up. Takamasa’s car must have been close by.
“My…Lady… Ugh! I implore you…forget about me…”
“…”
Pavilion’s Magistellus stood a short distance away. Even now, she did nothing. Her head tilted slightly, but her face remained expressionless as always. There was no doubt she understood the situation. It seemed Pavilion’s affections were simply that one-sided. It was cold enough to make Kaname shudder.
It didn’t look like he could rely on her to save the day. At this rate, Takamasa would escape with his prey to his secret lab, where he would combine the Maiden’s Survival with his Legacies, allowing him to easily bring down the entire game.
Perhaps his victory would secure humanity’s future. But it would be a future without Tselika.
“Takamasa!!”
Kaname roared after his friend, but there was no response. Takamasa silently rounded a corner…and disappeared.
Kaname didn’t have time to catch his breath. He crawled over to where Midori was lying.
“…Midori, call Meiki.”
“…”
“We need her to take your bike and go after Takamasa!! Hurry!!”
“He hurt me.”
Her eyes were distant, unfocused. When he put his hand on her shoulder, Kaname could feel her trembling.
“My brother…he was willing to let me get hurt…?”
From Takamasa’s point of view, snow was as ephemeral as the rest of this game. He was going to shut it all down eventually, so he saw nothing wrong with making his friends and family Fall and saddling them with debt.
But Midori didn’t see it that way. Aiming his gun at her, letting her get caught in the explosions—to Midori, that was no more excusable than if it had happened in real life.
Kaname clenched his teeth and shook his head, but he had no words to comfort her. Without saying anything, he took her phone from her pocket and looked up Meiki’s number.
“Meiki. Come to our GPS coordinates and pick up Midori, then follow after Takamasa. I’ll meet up with you later. Whatever you do, don’t let him out of your sight!!”
Kaname picked himself up and retrieved Short Spear before running off, stumbling over his own feet. He was headed for the parking garage where Meiki had been waiting. This would cost them even more time, but he needed to pick up the coupe before he could participate in any high-speed chases, and there was simply no way for Meiki to bring both vehicles at the same time. But how far could Takamasa advance his plans in that time? How long would it take to bring this game to its knees? Was it already too late?
“Dammit…”
After dragging himself through the streets, Kaname finally arrived at the underground parking garage. He unlocked the doors to his coupe remotely and hopped into the driver’s seat. Even the time spent engaging the clutch and starting up the engine felt interminable. He spun the tires before putting it into gear, speeding out of his parking space and breaking through the barrier at the entrance.
It was eerily silent in the car. No Tselika in the passenger seat, no hip-hop on the radio.
The map on the windshield showed Midori and Meiki’s position. Assuming they had managed to tail him, Takamasa’s car would be a little farther ahead. Kaname drove straight there as fast as he could, while typing up a message with his eyes.
Kaname: Meiki, Midori. Can you see the target?
Midori: It’s a black sports coupe, but it sounds different when it accelerates and decelerates, so I bet it’s a hybrid. My brother always did like to have all the fanciest features. I’ve sent a photo.
Kaname: Midori.
Midori: I don’t know whether we’re doing the right thing or not…but we have to stop him. We can’t let my brother go through with this.
Kaname had expected to meet Midori at the next intersection, but when he reached it, he realized he had misread the map. It was a crossover, and Kaname was on the upper path, with Midori and Takamasa traveling below.
No matter.
Kaname tugged on the hand brake and twisted the wheel. The two straight roads were more or less perpendicular, so he rode the curb, smashed through the handrail, and enjoyed a brief moment of flight.
Seconds later, the roof of Takamasa’s car was smashed in.
The mint-green coupe had landed directly on top of it.
“Gah!!”
Kaname’s car bounced a little before making contact once more with the road. The tires screeched as he turned sharply right at the next intersection, but Takamasa’s vehicle did not follow. With its roof caved in and suspension destroyed, it snaked left and right, tossing out sparks as the metal chafed against the asphalt. Yet it continued racing down the road.
How is that car still running…?
Kaname: Midori, stay on his tail. We’ll get him at the next intersection!!
Kaname released the hand brake and headed off down the side street, aiming to drive back around and reconvene at the next intersection. It was a slight detour, but Takamasa couldn’t take advantage of his lead in his current state.
At the next intersection, a second ramming attack from the side crushed the engine block of the black hybrid, setting off the horn. Kaname’s and Takamasa’s vehicles both went crashing into a small chapel by the side of the road.