Chapter 131: 《S》

Between the ability-user and the mechanized soldiers, I could see a philosophy here: one that had thoroughly stripped out Tree Crystals.

They were useful. Why not use them?

With only simple instructions, they would go off and ‘live’ and ‘work’ on their own.

Watching the Monoz advance smoothly out of the corner of my eye, that was what I thought.

The separate detachment under Dog Unit had successfully linked up with Snake Unit and secured the kidnapped personnel. After that, under Dog Unit’s command, they split into three teams with Dog Unit, Snake Unit, and Sheep Unit as their respective leaders, and continued suppressing the facility.

Rabbit Unit pulling up the facility blueprints had been a major gain.

The thick flows of power became visible, and we identified the generator room, along with the other rooms that consumed large amounts of electricity. Dog Unit went toward the surface-level generator facility, Sheep Unit evacuated the hostages, and Snake Unit probed deeper into the base.

As for me, I headed for the deepest part of the lowest level.

The command room.

That was what it felt like.

If someone were going to hole up anywhere, it would be there.

That was my prediction.

But I could not rush him.

There was absolutely an escape route. And that would not be marked on the blueprint—at least, not on one version of it.

So I had Snake Unit search.

There could not be that many routes prepared. Which meant, in the end, it would connect to the evacuation routes of other key facilities.

So I had Snake Unit search, slip in, and block it before I attacked.

That was what hunting was.

Slowly, I pressed forward.

Rudo, who understood but did not seem entirely convinced, moved ahead of me.

Clearing.

His ears and nose seemed to see through the darkness with ease. Even now, he had stopped in front of the next room, looked back, and was wagging his tail modestly.

I gave him a wry smile.

But I did not change speed.

Fast enough that Bulging Eyes would not grow suspicious.

Slowly enough to buy Snake Unit the time it needed to complete its objective.

The enemy’s responses. His attacks. The occasional conversations with Bulging Eyes when he appeared on the monitor. I measured his impatience from all of it and adjusted my pace.

How much time had passed?

Being dull in that area, I did not much care.

Bulging Eyes was different.

He was probably smart. Probably the sort who hated wasted time. He was getting irritated, biting his nails. The eyes set in those deep, exhausted circles darted around more and more often, and I could see the delicate nerves being scraped raw by the stress I was giving him.

“…”

Ah.

This was bad.

That was what I thought.

Was it about time?

Should I say the line I had prepared and raise my pace?

A choice had been placed in front of me.

I wet my lips with my tongue. Drew a deep breath. Let it out slowly.

“Aaah…”

A low vibration rolled in my throat.

I had not spoken for a while, so this was my warm-up.

Just as I finished that much, my terminal gave a soft pulse.

A secure line, out of concern for eavesdropping. The terminal could not decrypt it, so Rat Unit converted the message from Rabbit Unit in Snake Unit’s team into a form I could read and sent it to me.

Report: Route confirmation complete. Defense mechanism, alive.

—There it was.

I worked the terminal.

From me to Rat Unit.

From Rat Unit to Dog Unit.

What I asked was whether the generator could be destroyed.

The answer: possible ten minutes after start.

Breakdown: two minutes to set the explosives, eight minutes to withdraw.

Sheep Unit?

It could escape in time.

…I see.

Then it was about time to make Bulging Eyes regret being alone.

I smashed the monitor and destroyed the cameras around me. Made sure no sound could be picked up.

I imagined how Bulging Eyes would respond to movement from me that he had not seen before.

First…

Yes.

He would come gather information.

A drone, a mechanized soldier, something along those lines.

There would be a little time before it arrived. I should finish the secret talk quickly.

“Rat Unit, send a message to each leader. Make it encrypted, but only just enough that they can crack it with a little effort.

“Dog Unit. Operation begins one minute after count zero. Cut the power for certain at the ten-minute mark.

“Snake Unit. Your team starts nine minutes after count zero. I’m giving you a one-minute overlap. Play with the defense mechanism a little. After that, secure the passage.

“Sheep Unit. Once the hostages are in the safe zone, leave a guard… right. Boar Unit is there, isn’t he? Leave it to him. Everyone else joins Snake Unit.

“Tiger Unit. Overrev unlocked. Sorry to keep you waiting. Let’s go all out.

“Rudo. Skirmish. You break mechanized soldiers better than anyone. I’m counting on you.

“Rat Unit. As usual, you have the hardest job. Serve as my spotter while keeping track of the whole picture.

“Everyone ready?

“Three, two, one, zero—situation start. Rock and roll. Let’s make it loud.”

***

We stormed up the path to the command room in one push.

Loudly.

If I made enough noise, there would be fewer 『eyes』 and 『hands』 left to send elsewhere.

That was my judgment.

There was too much rubble, and no way to take height. Prone firing was impossible. Kneeling did not suit this place either.

So standing fire.

Elbows tucked. Body locked. Still loose enough to move.

Run.

Stop.

Shoot.

The moment enemies appeared, Tiger Unit spun like a top and carved them apart in a gaudy blur. That alone could not last forever, so Rudo ran low enough to scrape the floor, bit, discharged, and silenced them.

I supported those movements.

Or finished what they started.

Make a firing line.

Take the angle.

Deliver the bullet.

One shot, one kill.

If one round could only break one machine, then I aimed for the keystone.

Rat Unit processed the footage Tiger Unit gathered from the front and sent it to my eyes.

See the battlefield.

See the tactics.

See ahead.

『—, —! —!!』

The facility speakers blared.

Probably Bulging Eyes shouting. It did not seem especially relevant, so I removed it from my awareness. I heard it, but I was not listening. I would only focus if he seemed to say something important. Until then, I repeated the work of my eyes and the motion of my arms.

Tiger Unit tore open a path.

I passed through it, ran toward the rubble, and slid.

My back hit the rubble as if I were shouldering it, and I looked at the rear view projected onto my headset.

Rudo had pushed too far ahead.

His discharge—no power.

He was out of charge.

Cover him.

I bought the time for Rudo to return with three bullets.

One drum tank was closing in.

Too close.

So I ignored it.

I aimed at a mechanized soldier farther away, just as it came through a door.

RPG.

A new weapon, of all things, this late in the game.

I thought they should have brought that out sooner. I also thought they should not use explosives inside an underground facility.

But if they had already brought it out, there was no helping that.

The future where the rocket left the tube and entered the air.

I placed a bullet there.

A loud explosion rang out, and fragments of metal struck my cheek.

Grenade—no.

That explosion could not have reached this far.

Tiger Unit had cut apart the drum tank that had been closing in right in front of me. Its body came apart, and a piece must have hit me. My cheek was cut.

“…”

At this point, perhaps I should put on the head armor Rat Unit had been dragging around for me.

That was what I thought when I saw the drum tank’s final shot—shotgun pellets—strike my abdomen. They did not penetrate, but the impact was there. Once I noticed it, it started to hurt.

“…No.”

It just hurt normally.

I should put the head armor on. If that hit bare flesh, I would die.

That would be inconvenient.

Long-distance communication seemed difficult. Rat Unit was busy with something, so I took the head armor from it myself and put it on. While doing that, I checked the map. The command room was quite close now.

The enemy had brought out explosives. Did that mean this section of the building was constructed differently?

“…”

I thought for two seconds.

Rather than count on the enemy being incompetent, I decided to expect competence.

I drew the crossbow from my back and loaded an explosive bolt.

“Tiger Unit. Reverse on count zero. Ready? Five, four, three—”

On 『one』, the finger hooked on the trigger drew it back.

The lingering biiiin—did I feel it in my ears, or in my finger?

Unfortunately, I could not tell.

For the moment, I confirmed what I saw.

The first explosion had stopped them and packed the battle line tight. My explosive bolt stabbed into that congestion and produced further tragedy.

Rat Unit’s scan showed zero moving reactions in our direction.

Given up, maybe?

Thinking that, I started walking.

Tiger Unit, who had come rolling back, approached me.

“Sorry, Tiger Unit. One more reversal.”

I rolled him back the other way with my palm and sent him ahead.

***

“Scatter.”

The moment we entered the command room, I gave the order. Rudo and Tiger Unit split left and right, spreading through the room.

I kept my eyes fixed straight ahead and raised my automatic pistol.

This was not Type Five distance.

In other words, it was close.

That was a little unexpected. I had assumed he would be hiding somewhere in the back, but for some reason, Bulging Eyes was there to greet me, grinning.

I did not let the surprise show on my face.

Naturally.

I was wearing head armor.

“Admit defeat. Set. Give up.”

So I made sure it did not enter my voice either.

I lifted the muzzle, kept my voice low and cold, flat as a machine.

“Fuhi. Fuhihihihi! No! I can’t do that, and I don’t need to, Toujiii!”

For an amateur, I thought that should have been enough. For some reason, it did not work on Bulging Eyes.

“…”

Something was off.

A wrongness.

It was in Bulging Eyes’s attitude.

What?

Why was he already certain he had won?

Disgusting.

That was what I thought.

My muzzle already had him. The hostages had been secured. Snake Unit had blocked his escape route. Dog Unit had destroyed the main power, and just maintaining the current state should have been the best he could manage.

Did he not understand the situation?

No, that could not be it.

…Could it?

I became a little worried.

“Do you understand the situation?”

So I asked.

“Wh-wh-wh-what do you think?”

He was so excited his tongue could barely keep up. His eyes were bloodshot.

“…”

But even so the smell of reason was still there.

Troublesome.

The word rolled across my tongue, but instead of becoming sound, it became the motion of scratching my head armor with the butt of my pistol.

“…You are checkmated. My gun has you. I have sealed your retreat. Your power source is gone. The hostages are secured. You have no bargaining chips, no escape route, and no path to victory.”

So why are you so calm?

That was the question.

And the moment I asked it, I regretted it.

This was bad.

This was not my distance.

I was fighting the wrong way. Because his use of force had been so poor, I had unconsciously started looking down on him. This was not a good flow.

End it quickly.

There was no need to kill him, not with this difference in ability.

I would shoot him in the leg and tie him up.

Thinking that, I lowered the muzzle a little, and an answer to my question came back.

“Uhi. Hihihi! Is it strange, Toujiii? Is my confidence that strange to you, Toujiii?”

“…”

I considered ignoring it, but I had been the one to ask. Nothing for it. I would listen.

I moved the muzzle slightly, prompting him to continue.

“I-I-I told you, didn’t I, Toujiii! This is fate! You were born to be owned by me—by us!”

“…”

Ugh.

Should I just shoot him because he was disgusting?

My mood changed.

But his next words stopped me.

“Don’t you want your memories back, Toujiii?”

His tone placed me beneath him. His grinning face did not even try to hide the fact that he was mocking me.

Ah.

I understood a little of where his confidence came from.

I had been unconsciously looking down on him.

But from the very beginning, he had been certain I was beneath him. He had already decided there was nothing I could do.

“I-I-I’ll tell you something good! You think you’ve been asleep in cold sleep since five hundred years ago, don’t you? But that’s wrong! Certainly, certainly, cold sleep technology existed from that era onward. But it was immature, hopelessly immature! It was not the sort of thing that could possibly last five hundred years.”

“…I see. Then what era am I from?”

“Hihihihi. One hundred years ago! We were researching weapons that didn’t rely on Tree Crystals! One of those plans was to create the ultimate soldier—the α・BET Series! A being who had everything bet on them from birth, from alpha onward! That is you!”

“…Like Xena.”

The same as her, then.

That thing whose name had gone so far around the bend it became lame again.

“Exactly! Y-y-y-yes, exactly! Among your acquaintances, 《E》 and 《X》 are that! And you are 《S》! Super! Sniper! The supreme specimen! The greatest masterpiece we ever created is you!”

“…Then why did the machine’s records say five hundred years ago?”

“Hii! That was the tragedy! A desperate measure to keep the military leadership of the time from using you! And as proof, you don’t have even a fragment of a memory from five hundred years ago, do you? You! I made you! You! Belong to me! You pointed a g-g-g-gun at me? Blocked my escape route? Destroyed the power? Freed the hostages? Wh-wh-wh-wh-what does any of that matter?! One word from me, and everything turns over! Now, release your compressed memories! ‘Hello, World. The world is waiting for you!’”

Bulging Eyes screamed.

I listened to it—

“…Thank you, world.”

Nothing happened, so I shot through his leg.

“Rudo, Tiger Unit. Clearing is done, right? Then secure him. Rat Unit, contact Ox Unit and Sheep Unit. Tell them to prepare vehicles for the children and the idiot.”

I checked the map and confirmed that Dog Unit’s group was moving to link up with Sheep Unit. Snake Unit’s group for now, I ordered them to regroup with us.

I felt like I had wasted time for no reason.

I should not have listened.

“Wh-why? Why?”

Bulging Eyes let out a little cry. He probably had not registered the pain in his leg. He tried to stand and press toward me, but his leg would not take his weight, and he folded at the knees, collapsing onto the floor.

“If you move too much, you’ll bleed out.”

I did not particularly care if he died. I had aimed carelessly enough that I did not avoid the major blood vessels.

“A-answer me! Answer meee! 《S》!”

“No, it’s very simple. You’ve got the wrong person.”

Some of my memories had come back.

I had been alive five hundred years ago. I did not remember my parents’ faces or names, but I had recovered some memories, and I remembered why I had entered cold sleep.

In other words, I was not Mr. 《S》.

I explained that to him.

“Th-then! Wh-wh-wh-what about your sniping ability?! How do you explain that power?!”

“There must have been a model for creating Mr. 《S》, right? I am probably something similar to that model.”

In other words, all-natural.

“…No…”

The strength went out of Bulging Eyes with a jolt.

This time, he did not seem numb to the pain from rage like before, but from an emotion pointing in a different direction. The flow of blood did not care about any of that. Rat Unit, unable to watch any longer, stopped the bleeding with construction material.

Now then.

Before we carried him out, I needed to confirm how many people he had kidnapped and check whether that matched the hostages we had secured. In this state of despair, he might not answer if I asked the usual way, but Snake Unit should have been able to make a truth serum in the chemistry lab.

I did not care if it turned him into a vegetable. We would pump him full of it and ask.

As I was thinking that, Rat Unit came over, apparently finished with one thing or another.

Its eye blinked.

Question: Then why was Friend asleep?

“Clinical trial gig.”

Yes—

“…I wanted to feel the winds of Elsewhere.”

In other words, I wanted to spend money.