39 – Rebels (9)
Abarusa tapped my shoulder.
“This bastard! Why are you here?! Did you get caught?! hehehehe! Now you finally realize my gratitude, huh?”
“I came to rescue you too.”
“Ah, you jerk. Fine, I got it. Since I’m merciful, I’ll pretend not to know… What’s this?”
Avakusa, who checked beyond the door, asked with a trembling voice.
“Gobein? Why is this guy dead?”
Blanca flinched. He seemed like he wanted to explain but answered instead.
“Blanca killed him.”
“Why?”
“He was a traitor.”
“Oh?”
Avakusa stared sharply at Blanca. He chuckled when he saw the blood smeared on his left arm.
“You’re worth your weight in gold, you bastard.”
“What did you say? You f*cking bastard.”
Blanca turned his head swiftly. He growled towards me.
“T-This isn’t a debt! I could have explained anyway!”
“You probably could have. The problem is it would’ve taken time. Avakusa, do you have any spare weapons?”
“I don’t! hahahahaha! I left everything behind to bring these bullet belts!”
“Platoon Leader.”
“I’m in the same boat. Be content with your current armament. Drakan.”
The stairs above rumbled. Avakusa held up his machine gun.
I unholstered the gun on my shoulder and handed it to Blanca.
“Take it.”
“W-What, what is it?”
“If you don’t want to die, at least hold a gun.”
I glanced quickly at Avakusa. He was taken aback.
“What’s wrong, bastard? Even if I look, I won’t give it! This machine gun is mine!”
“Forget about the gun then. Hand over the grenades on your waist.”
“You’re quick-witted, you bastard.”
Sulking, Avakusa rummaged through his waist.
Two grenades.
“Well, I suppose this is enough.”
“Is this the enemy’s stronghold?”
“Yes.”
“I see. Throw a grenade. Drakan, rush in all at once when the defense crumbles.”
It’s the right choice.
If both sides have guns, the one attacking is overwhelmingly disadvantaged. One must examine all sorts of tactical methods to achieve victory without losing many people.
One of them is using grenades. Throw the bomb, and rush in during the gap.
But not at the moment.
“Sergeant.”
“What is it, Drakan?”
“May I take care of it?”
“What?”
“I’ll subdue all of them.”
I pulled out the safety pin.
I made a promise with the girl, but at the same time, I believed in myself. If I could induce a melee just once by taking a chance…
I could destroy them all without shedding any blood.
“Just wait for a moment.”
Let’s try it.
Drakan.
…
The rebel, Luton Miller, stared at the stairs leading underground.
The angle was folded, so he couldn’t see the inside. But sudden blasts and tremors were definite signs of something unusual.
Judging by the sound of conversations…
Intruders must have arrived.
Damn it.
Luton Miller held back a groan. Why now of all times?
Did they take advantage of a gap when reinforcements were coming?
But there shouldn’t be an entrance…?
There were only doubts floating
There were twelve individuals here, all in a state of confusion. Except for himself, they were nothing more than new recruits responsible for tidying up.
Judging from their lack of awareness, it seemed they weren’t making proper judgments either. Luton Miller fidgeted with his weapon.
He didn’t carry any bombs separately. All he had was a single rifle.
In contrast, it was clear that the enemy possessed bombs. Powerful items capable of blowing holes in the underground.
Should he escape now? Should he overpower the troops and take whatever belongings he could gather and flee?
Or should he launch a surprise attack on the enemies below…
Suddenly,
As his thoughts continued, something crawled up from below.
A round object. Luton Miller shouted!
“Get down! It’s a grenade!”
*Kwaaah!*
Smoke surged. The incoming smoke ripped through nearby papers, causing them to fly away in shreds.
Luton Miller coughed. It was a rather confined space. When a grenade exploded, naturally, the visibility would be obstructed.
What was fortunate, at least, was that it was thrown relatively closer to the entrance, meaning no casualties. If only the smoke could dissipate, the damage would be minimal…
But it was close… too close…?
“Grrr?!”
Luton Miller heard an odd groan. He immediately pointed his rifle in the opposite direction while taking cover.
“I-I surrender! Senior!”
The owner of the suspicious noise turned out to be a new recruit. However, behind him, another strange sound emerged.
“Urgh?!”
Bang!
The sound of something breaking.
“Get down!”
“Yes, yes?!”
“I said get down!”
He pushed away the recruit. Immediately, he fired bullets beyond the unseen smoke.
Resounding gunshots. In an instant, light burst forth from the muzzle.
A hole was pierced in the wall. Furniture hit directly exploded. Shredded papers flew in all directions.
Through that gap, Luton Miller saw.
There was something in the smoke.
Something… strange…?
“Ah, a user of armor!”
“Screaaam!!!”
“He, help… screaaam!!!”
Screams burst one after another. A sound of something rolling between the furniture was heard.
Reflexively, Luton Miller bowed his head again.
From Noble mtl dot com
Kwaaang!!!!
The second.
The second grenade.
This time, clearly intending it, one piece of furniture shot up. It shattered and scattered around.
In the rising smoke, Luton Miller coughed abnormally. For a moment, a creepy sound was heard from behind.
“Stop it.”
A gasping sound. Turning back, the right arm of the recruit he was just talking to had grotesquely snapped.
The dilated pupils belatedly screamed.
“Screaaam!!!!”
Monster.
There’s a monster in the smoke. This monster is playing with us.
“Ughhhhh
Ah…
“Gh…mon…ster…”
Luton Miller saw the feverish sight in his vision.
Over ten insurgents.
All of them groaning, lying on the ground.
Alone… without using a weapon…
Subdued them…?
“Crazy… bas…tard…”
. . .
I clenched my fist. Good. Somehow, I made it through.
I forcibly suppressed the strange emotion boiling inside me. Perhaps it was because of the fervor for battle.
I’ve felt this before. The feeling of subduing insurgents on the ground.
Something kept squirming inside me. As if there wasn’t much time left now.
“Phew…”
The smoke gradually cleared. I kicked the door to quickly dissipate the remaining smoke.
My eyes caught sight of it. The injured rebels scattered on the ground.
Blanca, who had come up, wore an exasperated expression.
“…Damn it… you really subdued them without killing anyone? What kind of monstrous bastard is this?”
“I can do it too!”
“For real?”
“Well, at least mimic it somewhat…”
Tetis Libra let out a sigh.
“You were reckless, Drakan.”
“I am aware.”
“Why did you do it?”
“I have a promise to keep.”
Her gaze was ambiguous. However, she didn’t force the question.
Instead of asking, she stomped on the back of a rebel’s hand lying on the floor.
“Kyyyyyaaah!!!”
“Tell us the location of the Titan blueprint.”
“Mo, I don’t know…”
“The head office is not as merciful as that guy.”
The military boot stomped hard on the broken arm.
“If you can’t hear it from me, then just listen to that guy next to you.”
A clear warning of murder. The trembling rebel pointed his finger.
“I, I might be inside… probably…”
“Are you sure?”
“D-Don’t touch… I told you not to… um… probably…”
Abakusa kicked the door and entered.
“Captain, there’s a lot inside!”
“Search it.”
“How am I supposed to know what it looks like…”
I recalled the girl’s words.
“Look for a briefcase.”
“A briefcase?”
Abakusa, who was rummaging, came back holding something.
“If it’s something similar, there’s only this… Is it right?”
A brown square leather bag. Tetis Libra confirmed its contents.
“…It’s correct.”
The resistance proof stuck to the documents. After checking everything inside, Tetis Libra locked the briefcase again.
“Mission accomplished.”
“Then let’s get out of here. Looks like we’ve been robbing an empty house.”
“That’s a good idea. And what about the remaining guys…”
The rebel soldiers on the ground flinched. I lowered my head.
“We don’t have time.”
“…You’re not wrong with that statement.”
We immediately slammed the door shut. To avoid being joined by the enemy headquarters, we ran as far away as possible.
Blanca followed, sobbing. Abakusa leaned on her shoulder.
“H-Hey, I can do it alone!”
“Don’t say that, it’s damn heavy! You pig!”
“What?! This bastard…! I’ll kill you…!”
“Stop struggling!”
Now, if we brought this with us and went back to the surface, it would be our victory. We could gain a much greater advantage than other squads.
As I sprinted alongside Tethys Libra, keeping pace with her, I stared into the darkness. Endless sewer tunnels.
A wide path suddenly appeared. A ladder leading up was visible not far away.
“It’s an escape route.”
Tethys Libra took a step forward.
And in that moment, I felt a sense of unease.
A chilling sensation running through my senses. It felt as if the hairs on my body were standing on end.
“Squad leader!”
I immediately grabbed Tethys Libra by the collar.
Thump!
Something grazed right past us.
The opposite wall exploded.
The rushing water in the sewer surged out in all directions with such force that it pushed everything aside. It was no ordinary bullet.
It was a grenade.
If a person were hit, they wouldn’t even leave behind fragments.
“…Huh?”
Tethys Libra let out a belated sound. She trembled at the realization that death had narrowly passed her.
“T-Thank…”
“You’re welcome.”
Footsteps.
The sound of splashing water beneath our feet.
Something was being dragged toward us. A suit of armor with one missing arm. Avakusa swallowed hard at the familiar sight.
“That… That Elliot…”
Thud.
The armless armored user fell to the floor, partially submerged in water, gasping.
In faint lighting.
A man wearing a coat revealed himself. Red eyes. Black hair.
Eerie Cat Soul.
“… There are so many vultures here.”
The black blade, shaped like a saw, etched its mark on the ground. The sound of concrete splitting sent chills down to the core, truly unsettling.
This was no ordinary soldier. The fact that he carried a close-quarter weapon…
Signified his confidence.
And there it was. A glimpse of red shield visible above his coat.
It wasn’t just ordinary clothing. That was armor in the form of clothing.
The rebel armor user spoke up.
“I’ll kill them all.”
The saw-toothed sword moved.