カツヤ派の残党がアキラを襲うのであればこのタイミングしかない。指揮官であるクロサワがそう判断したことで、シカラベ達は拠点の外に打って出ていた。襲撃者達に交じっているであろうカツヤ派を素早く探し、撃破し、そのままスラム街から離脱する。その予定だった。
しかしそのカツヤ派が見付からない。そして他の襲撃者達も、本来互いに戦う必要の無い相手であるシカラベ達を、見分けて無視してくれる訳ではない。その
「......拠点に撤退? どういうことだ?」
シカラベも撤退自体は疑問に思わない。カツヤ派はいなかったと見切りを付けたにしろ、ハンターオフィスを介した和平を
「嫌な予感がする」
クロサワは余りに安全を重視する
そして今回その懸念が、予感が正しいのであれば、クロサワが撤退先に拠点を選んでいる時点で、スラム街の外へ撤退するのは既に手遅れである恐れがあった。
「......分かった。拠点に撤退する」
自身も己の勘に命を預ける者として、そして自身の指揮を預けた者への信頼で、シカラベはクロサワのあやふやな根拠、予感、勘を基にする指示を、反論せずに受け入れた。
アキラがバイクで空中を駆けながら、同乗しているシオリとカナエに声を掛ける。
「なあ、よく分かんないけど、同じ会社のやつらなんだろ? どこまで被害が出たら撤退するとか、分からないか?」
「申し訳御座いません。見当も付きません」
「まあ、全滅させるつもりでやるしかないんじゃないっすかね?」
シオリは真面目に、カナエは軽く笑ってそう答えた。ある意味で予想通りだった返事と態度に、アキラは
アキラの内心を察してシオリとカナエも苦笑する。そして新手の人型兵器部隊の内、地上に展開した機体達を見る。
「アキラ様。私達は下の相手を致します。余力がありましたら、また援護を御願い致します」
「上はお願いするっすよー」
シオリ達は借りていた銃をアキラに返すと、そう言い残してバイクから飛び降りた。落下しながらシオリはアキラに軽く礼を、カナエは笑って手を振っていた。そして問題無く着地すると、
人型兵器の部隊が地上と空中からアキラへの銃撃を開始する。その攻撃を、バイクで宙を駆けるアキラは巧みな運転で高速で回避する。
『アルファ。あれには対滅弾頭は要らないよな?』
そうであって欲しいという願望を顔に出しているアキラに、アルファは楽しげな笑顔を向けた。
『不要かどうか、早速確かめましょうか』
「よし!」
安めの弾薬費で敵を撃破できたことにアキラは思わず声を上げると、そのまま意気も上げて戦闘を続行した。
地上に戻ったシオリ達が人型兵器を撃破していく。
投入された人型兵器はどれも微妙な性能だった。安物とは呼べないものの、荒野で500億オーラムの賞金首を狙ったハンター達が使用していた機体より劣る性能しかない。
その程度の性能でも部隊として一気に投入するのであればまだ分かるのだが、逐次投入されていた。それでも本隊を撤退させる
えず、倒せるだけ倒しておきましょう」
シオリ達は敵の意図の読めない行動に顔を険しくさせながらも、出来る限りのことを続けていた。
地上でシオリ達が顔を険しくしていた頃、既に多数の人型兵器を倒していたアキラもバイクで宙を駆けながら顔を険しくしていた。
『アルファ。これ、何かの
みとはいかず、真面目な顔を浮かべている。
『何らかの意図はあるのでしょうけれどね。取り
一理あるとは思いながらも完全には納得できず、アキラの顔は険しいままだった。
『アキラ。気を散らさずに、気を緩めずに戦う。今はそうするしかないわ』
『そうだな。分かった』
の濃さに懸念を覚え始める。その時、カナエが煙幕の向こうに敵の気配を察して警戒態勢を取った。シオリも僅かに遅れて構えを取る。
一瞬だけ見えたその二人の姿を認識した途端、シオリ達は非常に険しい表情ですぐさまその二人の後を追った。
その二人はパメラとラティスだった。釣られてしまっていると理解しながらも、パメラ達の向かう方向がレイナ達のいる拠点である以上、シオリ達に追わないという選択肢は無かった。
空中で戦い続けていたアキラの前で、敵の人型兵器達がまるで撃墜されたように急に動きを止めて落下していく。そして全ての機体がそのまま地面に激突した。
アキラは余りに予想外の事態に困惑していた。アルファも難しい表情を浮かべている。
状況は飲み込めないものの、敵はいなくなった。増援の気配も無い。だからこれは良いことだ。アキラは警戒を残しながらも、そう考えて気を切り替えようとした。
『アルファ。シオリ達の方はどうなってる? 分かるか?』
『大分粗い精度だけれど、交戦と考えられる大きな反応は無いから、地上の方もこちらと同じ状況かもしれないわね』
『それなら声を掛けて一度拠点に戻るか。弾薬も補充しておきたいし......』
そう答えながらアキラはバイクの進行方向を拠点の方へ変えた。その途端、アキラの表情が急に険しくなる。意識をそちらに向けたことで、索敵の優先度も無意識に同じ方向に偏らせた結果だった。
でアキラへのサポートの精度を落としていたアルファも、そのアキラの気付きから索敵の優先度を変更して状況を理解した。パメラ達が自分達の警戒域を突破して既に拠点の方へ進んでおり、シオリ達がその後を追っていた。
『いつの間に......!?』
『アルファ! 行くぞ!』
アキラがすぐさまバイクを全速力で走らせる。空気より重い
『そうかもしれないけれど、それを考えるのは後にしましょう』
『だな。アルファ。狙えるか?』
『出来ればアキラが自力で狙って。通信障害が
『了解だ。回避の方は引き続き頼んだ』
『任せなさい』
アキラがバイクのTGPレーザー砲の照準をパメラ達に合わせる。撃ち手も標的も高速移動中での射撃だが、今のアキラの実力ならば何の問題も無かった。砲口から強力なエネルギーの奔流が撃ち出され、煙幕の影響で威力を落としながらもパメラ達へ正確に襲い掛かる。
だがパメラはその攻撃に気付いた上で笑っていた。ラティスの死体を元に造られた人型端末が軽く跳躍しながら空中で振り返り、両手をレーザー砲の射線上に構える。そして両手の
戻ってきたレーザーをアキラは慌てて回避した。レーザーはただでさえ煙幕の影響で有効射程と速度と威力が減衰している。往復で影響も2倍、加えてアルファのサポートのリソースも緊急回避の精度に回している。回避自体は問題無い。しかしアキラを慌てさせるのには十分だった。
『うおっ!? 危ねえ!』
『私のサポートを回避優先にしておいて正解だったわね?』
どこか得意げに笑うアルファに、アキラは苦笑を返した。
『そうか。なら、こっちならどうだ!』
アキラが両手とバイクの分を含めた計3
十分に納得できる理由ではあったのだが、対滅弾頭を使用できない理由の自分との差異に、アキラは僅かに顔を硬くした。
そして、それはそれとして顔を険しくする。自分の切り札である対滅弾頭を、パメラ達に封じられたことに違いは無いからだ。それはアキラにとって、パメラ達が人型兵器達を
『ああ。気を付ける』
アキラは宙を飛んでいるバイクの進行方向を下げた。バイクが濃い煙幕に包まれる中、アキラの視界からアルファの姿が消える。それでもそのまま煙幕の中を突き進み、シオリ達の姿を何とか見付けると、
『お願いします』
シオリ達を乗せたアキラは、すぐにバイクを再び上昇させた。そのまま比較的煙幕の薄い部分、立入禁止領域を示す赤い天井近くまで登ると、拠点へ向けて一気に加速する。地上付近は煙幕が濃い分だけ高速フィルター効果も大きく加速は難しい。しかしこの付近ならば十分に加速できる。
それでも高速フィルター効果は僅かだが存在する。その壁をバイクの出力で強引にぶち抜きながら、アキラ達は拠点の建物を目指した。
アキラ達によって倒された人型端末の残骸、パメラの顔をした遠隔操作端末達が緑色の血の池に浮かんでいる。一部は大型多脚戦車の主砲によって完全に吹き飛ばされたが、残りは
その見事な狙撃にトガミが舌を巻く。
そう自身に向けられた称賛の言葉を、レイナが苦笑気味に軽く笑って別の方向へ流す。
で敵の位置など分からない。しかしシロウが介入済みの総合支援システムと情報連携を済ませているお陰で、レイナ達の拡張視界には敵の位置がはっきりと映っていた。
「この状況で敵の位置をここまで正確に送ってくるなんて......、
レイナ達もシロウのことはキャロルが連れてきた協力者としか認識しておらず、顔も名前も知らない。だがその実力は十分に理解できた。
それでも狙撃は標的の位置さえ分かれば当たるものではない。加えて現在の状況では煙幕の影響で有効射程は縮まり弾道もぶれる。その環境下でしっかりと当てたのはレイナの実力だ。トガミはそのことを称賛したつもりだったのだが、僅かに苦笑して言葉を合わせた。
「......そうだな。世の中、
「まあ、私もいずれはそれぐらい自力で出来るようになってみせるわ。トガミは?」
どことなく挑発的なレイナの笑顔に、トガミも調子良く笑って返す。
「あらそう。じゃあ、競争ね」
反応の正体はパメラ達だった。レイナ達の前方の宙を飛ぶように駆けて、拠点の屋上に乗り込もうとしている。
トガミはすぐにパメラ達を銃撃した。だが
見上げた先には、僅かに遅れてその場にバイクで駆け付けたアキラ達がいた。更にシオリ達がレイナ達の下へ向かおうとバイクから飛び降り、宙を蹴って自由落下より速く駆け付けようとしていた。
だがパメラ達がその合流を邪魔する。向かう先をレイナ達ではなくシオリ達の方へ変えると、空中で激突するように一気に距離を詰めた。パメラとカナエが拳を、ラティスとシオリが刃を、宙で振るってぶつかり合う。
その光景を見たレイナは、自分が取るべき行動を即座に取った。屋上の端に向かって走り出し、そのままビルから飛び降りる。この状況で自分がシオリ達に出来る最大の援護は、シオリ達が自分を気にせずに戦えるように距離を取ることだと判断したのだ。
トガミもレイナの意図をすぐに察した。レイナの後に続いて屋上から飛び降りる。更にパメラ達が来た方向から人型端末が現れてレイナ達の後を追った。
一瞬で立て続けに変わった状況にアキラが対応を迷う。だがシオリに視線でレイナの援護を促されたことで、そのままバイクでレイナ達を追った。
そしてシオリ達とパメラ達が屋上に着地した。その顔に殺意を
「分かってるじゃない。前と同じ2対2よ? でも......、今度は......、私は足を引っ張らないわ」
前回は自身の失態でラティスを死なせてしまった。ここでその結果を覆す。その意志により、パメラの笑顔に狂気がより強く
「2対2? 2対1じゃないっすか?」
その途端、パメラの顔から笑みが消えた。
「......2対2よ」
パメラの表情が
しかしカナエは動じない。
「まあ、どうでも良いっす。そんなことより、私も前回はしくじったっすからねー。今度は、真面目にやるっす」
そしてカナエも笑顔を消した。その顔から相手との戦闘を楽しみ、相手の価値を認めるものが完全に失われ、代わりに対象に一切の価値を認めない
If they were going to attack Akira, this would be the perfect chance for them. That was why Shikarabe and the others were there. Kurosawa, the group's leader, had thought that the opposing faction would take this opportunity to act. They originally planned on slipping into the battle, quickly identifying those in the Katsuya's faction and eliminating them. Afterwards, quickly slip away from the battle.
However, they could not see anyone from the Katsuya's faction. Meanwhile, the attackers would not go out of their way to differentiate Shikarabe's squad and ignore them. Thanks to that, they were forced to fight against them.
"...Return to the base? What do you mean?"
Even though Shikarabe did question the order to withdraw back to Sheryl's base, he understood the intention behind the order. Regardless, they had concluded that the Katsuya's faction was not currently present. There was also a possibility that they had fought enough for the Hunter Office to recognize their effort to honour the peace treaty. Either way, Shikarabe also saw no worth in staying there any longer.
"I have a bad feeling."
For a Hunter, Kurosawa was someone who tended to go with the safer approach. Unfortunately, many Hunters thought of him as a coward because of that. However, thanks to his cautious nature, Kurosawa was often able to notice things that others would normally miss. Of course, many of his guesses ended up as mere speculation. But even so, he always trusted his guts when he led his team, and many Hunters were saved by that.
It was the same this time again. If his gut was right, that would mean Kurosawa felt that it was too late to try to break through the slums. Which meant, their only option was to hunker down in Sheryl's base.
"...I understand, we're returning right now."
As a fellow Hunter who risked his life trusting his gut, and also the man who requested Kurosawa to take the command, Shikarabe made the fastidious decision to abide by the order without uttering a single word of complaint.
As Akira drove his bike up into the sky, he threw a question to Kanae and Shiori.
"I don't know all the details, but aren't they supposed to be in the same company as the both of you? Do you know how much damage they will need to take until they kindly withdraw?"
"I'm really sorry, but I can't really tell."
"Well, I guess there's no other choice but to wipe them down to the last person, no?"
Shiori replied seriously, but in contrast to that, Kanae only replied jokingly with a smile. Akira heaved a sigh. The response was more or less what he had expected.
Shiori and Kanae understood Akira's feelings and also smiled bitterly. They then saw automata spreading out down below.
"Akira-sama, we will be taking those on the ground. Please provide us with support if you happen to have extra firepower to spare."
"I'm leaving the sky to you."
Shiori and Kanae returned his rifles, which they had borrowed. They quickly jumped off the bike. On their way down, Shiori lightly lowered her head to thank Akira. Meanwhile, Kanae was waving at him with her signature smile. After they safely landed, they quickly moved between the rubbles, using it as cover while slowly chipping away the enemy force.
The automata on the ground and in the sky started shooting at Akira. However, he was able to skilfully evade with high-speed dexterous driving.
"Alpha, we don't need to use annihilator bullets on them, right?"
Akira asked with the hope that the answer was 'yes'. However, Alpha simply gave a teasing smile before replying.
"Let's check if it's needed or not first."
"Alright!"
Akira inadvertently exclaimed in joy knowing that cheap bullets would do just fine. So, he quickly resumed the fight in a good mood.
Shiori and Kanae quickly continued to take down automata one by one after they landed. They blazed through the thick jamming smoke on the battlefield littered with wreckage and rubble, closed the distance to their target, and attacked. Their might managed to close the gap between mere humans and giant human-shaped automata.
All the newly dispatched automata were strangely weak. Although they were not that cheap, they were not something that one would use to hunt a 50 billion bounty target.
It was understandable if they sent every single automaton they got in one go but for some reason, they were sent in waves. They might have been sent to buy time while the controllers were withdrawing. However, there was no sign of the other groups leaving the battlefield.
"For now, let's take down as many of them as possible."
Shiori and Kanae continued fighting with solemn looks on their faces. They took down as many enemies as possible, still not knowing what the enemy was planning.
Right around that time, Akira, who had already destroyed many of the automata, was still riding on his bike in the sky, and had the same worried expression.
"Alpha, do you think this is a trap?"
Alpha also did not wear her usual smile. She replied with a severe expression.
"I'm sure it's some kind of scheme. Either way, they now know that you can't shoot annihilator warheads as you wish."
Although it made sense, Akira was not fully content with Alpha's conclusion and frowned.
"Akira, don't drop your guard down just yet. We have no other choice but to continue to fight right now."
"You're right. Let's do this."
Shiori and Kanae started to get worried about how thick the jamming smoke was. That was when Kanae suddenly noticed an enemy presence from beyond the jamming smoke. She quickly turned in that direction. Shiori also did the same albeit a little bit late.
The moment they recognized who it was, Shiori's and Kanae's eyes narrowed as they knitted their eyebrows. They immediately went after the new hostile force.
Their opponents were Pamela and Latis. Although Shiori and Kanae knew they were being lured, they could not afford to stand still while Pamela and Latis were there. Especially since the other two were heading straight to where Reina and the others were.
While in the midst of fighting, Akira's targets suddenly came to a sudden halt. They fell one by one, crashing straight to the hard ground.
Akira was dumbfounded and Alpha was visibly concerned.
Although they did know what just happened, one thing was certain. The number of enemies got reduced and there were no reinforcements. In the end, things ended well, Akira told himself as much and shook his worries away.
"Alpha, how are Shiori and Kanae doing? Can you tell from here?"
"I can't really say with utmost certainty. However, I don't detect any incoming signals that suggest they are still in battle. I believe they are in the same situation as we are."
"In that case, I guess I'll go visit them after returning back to the base for now. I want to replenish my ammo..."
Akira said so and turned his bike toward Sheryl's base. However, suddenly, he frowned. The moment he directed his focus towards the direction of the base, he unconsciously used his information-gathering device in the same direction. The result was extremely worrying.
Alpha was not able to provide Akira full support due to the thick jamming smoke. Nonetheless, the moment he realized the position of the enemies, she quickly shifted her focus to searching for them as well. She immediately understood what was going on. Pamela and the others had broken through the defences of the base and were heading there. Meanwhile, Shiori and Kanae were pursuing them.
"...What? Since when?"
"Alpha! We're going!!"
Akira quickly accelerated his bike. The thick jamming smoke was much denser on the surface than in the air. It caused the slums to be separated into two areas, the upper and the lower regions. Akira accelerated his bike and rode above the border. The condensed jamming smoke made it seem as if he was driving on top of clouds. Due to the speed filter effect of the jamming smoke, the bike's forcefield armour was enhanced. It managed to create a path under the tires from frozen and hardened jamming smoke. The tires spun intensely on top of those platforms, pushing the bike forward even faster, managing to leave a large trail of smoke behind it.
"That might have been the case. But let's focus first and save that for later."
"You're right. Alpha, can you help with the aiming?"
"If it's possible, you should rely on your own skills. The jamming smoke effect is getting stronger. If I divide up my resources to assist your aiming, my ability to evade attacks would be greatly reduced."
"Alright then, I'll leave the evading to you."
"Yep, you can leave that part to me."
Akira aimed his TGP laser cannon carefully at Pamela and the others. Although he was sniping on top of an extremely fast-moving bike, it should not be a problem for him. The cannon muzzle released a powerful stream of energy. The jamming smoke did reduce its firepower, but it still travelled straight towards its target. Drilling its way toward Pamela and the others.
Pamela noticed that laser shot but she simply laughed it off. The automaton created off Latis' corpse made a 180-degree turn and lightly jumped, putting both of his arms in the way of the laser beam. He created a forcefield board of equivalent power. It managed to deflect the laser, bouncing it back towards Akira.
Akira flusteredly swerved to get out of the way. The laser had already lost most of its firepower and got further halved as it returned back to him. Moreover, Alpha had placed all her resources into evading, thus, he had no reason to be worried at all. However, that incoming laser still caught him off guard.
"Whoah! That was dangerous!"
"Well, aren't you glad that you chose to assign my resources to evading?"
Alpha was smiling confidently while Akira chuckled bitterly.
"I see, I see! Then how about this!?"
Akira directed all three of his RL2 multi-rifles, two on his hands and one on his bike, at Pamela. Countless C-bullets and mini-missiles cut through jamming smoke toward their targets.
Although Akira agreed with her hypothesis, he was a bit taken aback that Alpha had a completely different reason. A reason completely different from his own.
Either way, it did not change the fact that they could not use that warhead this time. Now, Akira understood why Pamela used those weak automata as a diversion.
"Yeah. I'll be careful."
Akira accelerated the bike and headed down. As Akira plunged into the thick smoke, Alpha suddenly vanished from his view. Even so, he still went deeper into the dense jamming smoke. The moment he saw Shiori and Kanae, he quickly turned the bike in their direction.
"Thank you very much!"
Right after Shiori and Kanae got on the bike, Akira quickly pulled up, flying up once again. He only stopped when he was on the border of entering the red area, which he was barred from entering. Once at the highest point, he turned the bike and drove straight towards Sheryl's base. His terminal velocity was greatly limited when he was close to the surface, but now he was far above, the effect of the speed filter was greatly weakened, allowing him to move much faster.
Even so, the speed filter effect was not completely gone. Akira still had to push his bike, to force his way against the speed filter effect.
The remote automata with Pamela's face as well as the weak automata that Akira and the others had destroyed were all in large pools of green blood. Some of them got evaporated by the laser cannon from the multi-legged tank. Those that still had any remains, were all gory pieces scattered around.
Togami could not help but be amazed by Reina's sniping.
Even with his compliment, Reina just smiled bitterly. She lightly changed the subject.
If she was all on her own, Reina would not be able to ascertain the enemy's position. However, by connecting to the coordination support system that Shirou had assimilated with, Reina could see the enemy's exact location through her enhanced vision.
"To think that there's someone who can get such accurate information in this situation..."
Reina and the others knew nothing about Shirou. They only knew him as someone brought in by Carol, to help in the fight. Even so, they still recognized Shirou to be an extremely skilled person.
However, knowing the enemies' position did not mean that it was easy to hit them. Furthermore, with the speed filter, the trajectory of a speeding bullet would often meander slightly away from the straight line of fire. It was thanks to Reina's skill that she was able to hit her targets. Togami was praising Reina for that feat. Nonetheless, after hearing her response, he simply smiled wryly and tried to match the conversation.
"...Ahh, you're right. This world is filled with so many amazing people."
"Well, I'm planning to join their ranks sometime in the future though. How about you, Togami?"
Seeing Reina's smile of challenge, Togami chuckled.
"Oh? Is that so? Well, it's a race then."
The source of it was Pamela and the others. They were running toward Reina, trying to get onto the base's rooftop.
Togami opened fire at once. However, Pamela immediately deployed her forcefield shield, which easily blocked the bullets. Without any time to bark out orders, Togami simply pointed at the rooftop's door. It was an indication to Reina, immediately retreat.
Akira and the others were coming. They were all on Akira's bike, heading in her direction. Shiori and Kanae quickly jumped off the bike and created a forcefield platform, accelerating themselves faster toward where Reina was.
Naturally, Pamela intercepted their attempts to group up. Pamela's group suddenly changed where they were headed. Now, they moved to intercept Shiori and Kanae. Pamela and Kanae made contact with their fists while Latis and Shiori made contact with their swords.
When Reina saw this, she immediately knew what she had to do. She quickly ran toward the end of the rooftop and jumped off. The best thing she could do to help Kanae and Shiori, was to get away from this place. To ensure that she was safe so that they could fully focus on the fight. To create an environment, they did not have to worry about her.
Togami immediately understood what Reina was planning and followed after her. He also jumped off the rooftop. Meanwhile, the automata that were behind Pamela's group, went to chase after them.
Akira was not sure where to go as the situation had quickly changed right in front of his eyes. That was when Shiori sent a glance, to signal him to go to Reina. Thus, Akira made the decision and drove in Reina's direction.
Shiori and Kanae as well as Pamela's group touched the rooftop. Unlike Pamela, who was smiling like a maniac filled with killing intent, Shiori was solemn. This was despite the fact they managed to protect Reina from Pamela.
"Oh? So, you do understand, huh? It's two on two, just like last time. But this time, I won't be pulling Latis down."
Due to her failure last time, Latis got killed. Which had led to this situation. Pamela's smile was filled with the insanity deep inside her.
"Two on two? It's one on two, no?"
Pamela's smile immediately vanished.
"...It is two on two."
As she glared at Kanae, Pamela's expression started to get dyed with hatred.
However, that did not affect Kanae at all.
"Well, it doesn't matter. It was all because of my mistake last time that you managed to get away. So, this time, I'll get serious."
Kanae's smile vanished. Her glowing eyes of excitement whenever she looked forward to an upcoming fight disappeared. Her expression turned cold. There was no semblance of respect for her opponent. She looked at Pamela with a freezing cold glare, as if she was looking at a mere obstacle to her job.
Rebuild World (WN)
リビルドワールド
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/rebuild-world/
Action Adventure Drama Harem Mecha Mystery Sci-fi Seinen
Abandoned Children Adapted to Manga Adventurers Alternate World Anti-social Protagonist Apocalypse Artificial Intelligence Beautiful Female Lead Cautious Protagonist Child Protagonist Dense Protagonist Determined Protagonist Distrustful Protagonist Futuristic Setting Gangs Gunfighters Harsh Training Lack of Common Sense Male Protagonist Manipulative Characters Monsters Near-Death Experience Older Love Interests Poor Protagonist Poor to Rich Ruthless Protagonist Shota Sudden Strength Gain Survival Twisted Personality Unlucky Protagonist Weak to Strong
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n9736dt/
非公開