In the moment of the explosion, she’d either ripped off her shackles or obliterated them with the Royal Beam.
And...
That single moment had seen the Nanbu home turned into a scene of utter pandemonium as the Bergmann royals used beams and all sorts of powers.
“Royal Beam!”
“Royal Barrier!”
“Royal Tornado Arrow!”
“Royal Straight Flush!”
And so on.
The soldiers returned fire sporadically, but it was chaotic, so they couldn’t really hit the family. Actually, the family only had to see their target to fire off a beam, whereas the soldiers had to recognize a target, aim, and then pull the trigger, so there was a distinct difference in response speed between the two groups.
“S-Stop it!” Walser screamed over the gunfire and explosions. “Stop it, we’re in the middle of a crime!”
The uproar would be sure to draw the officials’ attention. As if to underscore his sense of fear, a warbling siren, familiar to any Japanese resident, became audible.
“Impossible! It’s far too soon!” the colonel exclaimed.
It was indeed. An explosion or the like would certainly be reported to the nearest police station, but a car coming around in less than a minute was unthinkable—even Kyouhei was dubious.
“Yo, Kyouhei!” another person cheered, prancing through the explosions and bullets.
“Mizuhito?!”
“How dare you start climbing the stairs of adulthood before your best friend?!”
“The hell are you on?! And what the hell’s going on?!”
“Going on?” asked Mizuhito.
Behind him was a battered up Mercedes with screams of “You little shit!” issuing forth from it and a police car on its tail.
“Ah!” he nodded with a bright smile. “We kinda made a mess for that gangster car on the way. He got angry and chased us, then the police car joined in. Maaan, this is the best☆”
“Do you wanna die?!”
Mizuhito broke out into a full belly laugh.
He should have been shaking in fear, but then again, he was the idiot rumored to be willing to sell his heart to stand out.
That being said, it was actually rather convenient for them. The colonel and his men were in the midst of an illegal operation, and so they would loathe the attention—particularly being arrested by the country’s officials. Therefore, if the police car arrived, they’d have to retre—
“Dammit...!” the colonel yelled as he ran outside. “Just kill all the witnesses!”
“Wai—” Kyouhei began in shock.
He hadn’t thought Walser would go that far. One or two people going missing was one thing, but every witness would include those police officers, and that wasn’t something that could be easily glossed over. How much value did he place on the Legacy then?
“...Wait,” Kyouhei murmured, looking around. “Even if he gives the order...”
Already ten or so of the soldiers were out of the fight due to the Royal Beams and other attacks. The beams didn’t actually kill, but each of them had taken an explosion at point-blank range, so their limbs were at odd angles as they writhed on the floor. They couldn’t even move, let alone fight.
In that case...
“How then?” Kyouhei asked himself.
There probably weren’t even ten soldiers left standing. Even they were being overcome by the absurd powers of the royal family, more of them falling with every passing moment. Maybe he had a reserve force somewhere...
Walser had rushed into the truck in the warehouse. Perhaps there was some weapon there that he could use to annihilate them.
“Crap!” Kyouhei cursed.
Whatever the case, the colonel clearly had more than the 20 fully-armed soldiers.
Kyouhei rushed after him, and before his eyes...
Boom!
The cargo area of the truck exploded.
“A self-destruct?!” Kyouhei said instinctively.
But, no. The panels around the cargo bay had fallen away as the explosive bolts detonated. The metal plates fell to the floor with loud clangs as white smoke billowed around the vehicle.
And then...
A metallic clicking and whirring started up within the smoke, sounding like the whine of an electric motor.
“No way!” Kyouhei breathed as it appeared.
A steel pillar burst through the smoke. It had a black tip, coated in some kind of black rubber as it took a step, thudding into the ground.
That’s right, a step.
“For real?!” Kyouhei yelled. Mizuhito was next to him making happy noises and cries, but forget about that.
The metal body appeared from the smoke. It was supported by three pairs of enormous legs, each of which was about an armful wide. In other words, it was a...
“A robot...?” Kyouhei muttered instinctively, but it was more of a walking armored combat vehicle, or perhaps a multiped tank would be a better name.
Those three pairs of legs supported a flat body, almost like an arrowhead. It was as if someone had just attached legs to a stealth bomber—a bizarre mix of insect and aircraft. It was probably flat to lower the area to shoot at directly from the front. There were holes here and there along its body—probably missile tubes, gun ports, and the like. It was indeed completely bizarre, but there was no doubt it was a military weapon.
There were sectors where the Bergmann Kingdom was even more advanced than America or Japan. Kyouhei had heard that, so it wasn’t much of a surprise that the Manninger Commonwealth had inherited those strengths as well. This would be the product of that technology then. It was certainly more realistic than androids.
“That bastard...!” Kyouhei cursed.
He must have brought that along just in case the guns had not been enough. In other words, they were just that wary of Pamil’s strength.
“Ohh... that must be the Valkyrie, the walking combat vehicle that the military was developing,” Dolph explained in wonder from Kyouhei’s side. “I’d heard it was still in testing, but...”