えず装備の状態を整え始めた。小型のリュックサックから弾薬やエネルギーパックを取り出して、銃、強化服、防護コートに装填し直していく。
続けて弾倉の装填を始めると、ザルモの機体を至近距離で銃撃するのに使ったSSB複合銃は銃撃時の負荷で駄目になっていた。壊れた銃身を見ながら思わず
「いよいよ追い詰められてきたな。どうするか......」
視線をビルの外に向け、先ほどまで戦っていたザルモの様子を推察する。
(......砲撃音はしない。大きな振動もない。取り
の浅い眠りだと言い聞かせて、回復薬の量を調整した上で意識を緩めていく。脳も体も酷使し過ぎた。少しでも寝て休まなければもう持たない。気絶ではそのまま目覚めない。目覚めを意識して眠りに就かなければならない。
(スラム街の路地裏での睡眠はいつも命賭けだった。でも死ななかった。運だけじゃない。何かあれば目を覚ましていたからだ。だから生き残った。あの頃を思い出せ......。俺なら......出来る......)
ちゃんと目が覚めますように、とは祈らずに、アキラは自身の過去に賭けて眠りに就いた。
真っ白な世界でアルファが顔を
「低いわ。該当区域の情報を大して得られないから精度の荒い推測でしかないけれど、私のサポート無しで生還する確率は、現実的な数値ではないわ。そっちは?」
「こちらは部隊として行動している。即時に撤退を選択し、撤退戦で下位要素の消耗を惜しまなければ、十分な確率が見込める。しかし戦力の大幅な低下は避けられない。この後に司令室に向かわせるのは無理だ。個体自体の損傷具合も考慮すると計画を大幅に見直す必要が出る」
別のアルファが少し意外そうな顔を浮かべる。
「あの程度の区画の管理人格が、規約の隙間を
「......そうね。今は、別ルートでの通信回復手段の模索を続けましょうか」
アルファ達は試行と個体への扱いの微妙な差異を見せながら、その後もそれぞれの個体への通信回復を試みていた。
アキラは飛び起きるように目を覚ますと、反射的に周囲に銃を向けた。そして敵影が無いことに
に二度寝する度胸はない。加えて目覚めた理由があるはずだとも考える。感度を最大まで上げた情報収集機器の反応を、強化服を介して全身で感じて意識を集中する。そしてその膨大なノイズのような感覚から何らかの気配を捉えると、険しい表情で視線を下に向けた。
「戦ってる? 結構多いな。別のハンター達もここに逃げ込んできて、中にいたモンスターと戦ってるのか?」
「こっちに来てる! クソッ!」
敵ではないのかもしれない。だが味方とは思えない。アキラは迷わずそう判断すると、警戒を高めて反応と距離を取ろうと、出来るだけ逃げやすく戦いやすい場所を探しながら移動し続ける。だがその間もアキラの顔はますます険しくなっていく。
(偶然じゃない! 間違いなく俺を目指してる!)
このまま逃げ続けても上階に追い詰められるだけ。屋上に出たとしてもザルモに襲われるかもしれない。それならばと、アキラは足を止めて迎撃の態勢を取った。
近くの部屋の出入口付近に陣取り、通路の奥に銃を向け、そのまま一番近い反応の接近に備える。一応相手が敵ではなく、多数のモンスターから逃げてきたハンターが仲間を求めている可能性を考慮して、射程に入った瞬間に弾幕をぶつけるのは止めておく。その分だけ慎重に、反射的に回避行動を取れる体勢を維持する。
ある意味でいつも通り、敵ではないのかもしれないというアキラの期待は裏切られ、その備えが役立った。敵の攻撃の気配を察したアキラが反射的に部屋内に飛び込む。一瞬遅れて通路の奥から砲弾が撃ち出され、着弾と同時に室内など全く考慮に入れない爆発を起こした。周囲の壁が派手に吹き飛ばされ、爆風が通路を駆け巡る。
「だろうな!」
しながら、壁を破壊されて大幅に拡張された出入口に向けて銃を構えた。
爆煙が漂う通路からティオルが飛び出てくる。そして片腕でユミナを
推測を進める前に、疑問の答えが現れる。ティオルを追ってきたカツヤの仲間達だ。
分隊として動いていた少女達は機敏な動きで部屋の前に来ると、大穴の開いた壁の向こうから室内に向けて銃を構え、即座に発砲する。アキラも反射的にSSB複合銃を相手に向けて応戦する。
見事な連携を見せた少女達。超人的な反応を見せたアキラ。銃弾飛び交う一瞬の攻防。その動きまではほぼ互角だ。だが両者が受けた被害は著しく偏った。
その勝敗を決定付けた一番の理由は装備だ。カツヤの部隊は装備の資金調達面でもアキラを大幅に超えている。だがそれでも部隊の人数で割れば1人当たりの予算は大幅に低下する。大量調達による値引きを考慮しても、装備の性能には限界が出る。
カツヤは部隊長として、ユミナとアイリは副隊長として、それぞれ立場や戦闘時の役割に応じた高性能な装備を支給されているので、個人でも相応に戦える。だが他の部隊員は部隊運用を前提とした平均的な装備だ。10億オーラムを超える資金を自分の
(殺してしまったら、あいつらが追ってこないかもしれないからか! 徹底してるな!)
アキラの推測は正しかった。加えてティオルはアキラの位置をかなり正確に
を乱射する。室内で使用するものではないが、ティオルの砲撃による周囲の被害から考えて、多少乱射しても周囲を崩壊させて自分も巻き添えになることはないだろうと判断し、敵の足止めも兼ねて多少多めに撃ち出した。
速度を犠牲にして誘導性を可能な限り高めた誘導徹甲
推測の続きを少女達からの銃撃で中断させられる。アキラが疑問を棚上げして応戦する。
(今は考えるだけ無駄か! クソッ! あいつらもしつこい! 仲間が生きている以上、救出を諦めないってことか! 随分と仲間思いなやつらだな!)
加えてエリオ達との模擬戦が予測精度の向上に役立っていた。模擬戦でのエリオ達を指揮していた総合支援システムは、カツヤ達の行動記録を基に学習を進めていた。その結果、エリオ達の動きはカツヤ達の模倣となっていた。
アキラはそれらを基に少女達の高度な連携から相手の意図を逆算することで、敵の行動を無意識に推測していた。自身でも根拠や過程を説明できない自覚も出来ない予想は、嫌な予感としてアキラの意識に現れていた。
その後もアキラはカツヤ達と小競り合いを繰り返す。本来なら絶望的な戦力差だ。だが外とは異なりビル内は1対少数を作りやすい地形に恵まれている。加えてエリオ達との模擬戦は、カツヤの部隊の撃退に特化した訓練に近いものであり、ある意味でアキラはカツヤの部隊との交戦に手慣れていた。それらの要素が戦力差を縮め、戦況をアキラ側に傾けていた。
少女達が戦闘の負傷で倒れ、少しずつ数を減らしていく。前方で指揮を執るカツヤを援護するのも難しくなり、アキラを部隊として追うのも困難になっていく。アキラは敵の圧力が弱まったのを感じ取ると、
After Akira ran inside the building, he started first by checking all his equipment. He pulled out energy packs and ammos from inside a small-sized rucksack and replenished his rifles, augmented suit, and defensive coat.
As he was about to put a new magazine into his rifle, he noticed that the SSB rifle he used to release a point-blank barrage at Zalmo was no longer usable. He stared at it and sighed. He thought of discarding it but chose to keep it since carrying it around still provided some level of intimidation.
"I guess the end is close, huh.... What should I do..."
Akira glanced outside the building, staring at the traces of his earlier exchange with Zalmo.
[...There are no shots being fired and the place isn't shaking. It seems that for now, he has no wish to destroy the whole building. Did he withdraw? Although I was not able to destroy him, that should at least deal significant damage to his suit. It wouldn't be strange if he had decided to withdraw for now. Or is it that he's waiting to ambush me the moment I exit this building? I no longer have my APC nor my bike, I can only walk now. He just needs to find me and shoot me from afar to kill me. Is he searching for me by scanning the building from the outside?]
Both his brain and body were severely exhausted. He would not be able to keep going on unless he took a nap even if it was only for a bit. If he lost his consciousness there, he was confident that he would not be able to wake up.
[Back then in alleys of the slums, I might get killed every time I went to sleep. But I am still alive even now. It's not simply because of luck. It's because I always wake up whenever something happens. That's why I've survived. I need to remember the me from back then... I know... I can do it...]
Akira did not even bother praying that he would wake up. Rather than rely on luck, he dug through his past and placed his bet on still being able to emulate his past self as he let himself drift off to sleep.
Inside a pure white room, Alpha frowned and said.
"Pretty low. Although, to be honest, since I can't get any information regarding the corresponding region, it's nothing more than my guess. But without my support, the possibility of survival is unrealistically minuscule, how about yours?"
"Mine is working in a team. As long as they decide to quickly withdraw and not to conserve their resources, there's a good chance that he would return back alive. But of course, the damage to the whole team's fighting power will be pretty severe. It would be impossible to bring him to the commander's room after this mess. Considering the damage in the unit, there will be a need to significantly readjust the plan."
The other Alpha raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"I didn't expect a mere AI manager like her to have the flexibility to use a hole in the regulations like that. It was a mistake looking down on her, believing that she would be satisfied by looking after only that uninhabited city. I should keep this in mind for my next trial."
"...That's a good point. For now, let's keep looking for a way to get past the jamming."
Both Alphas showed just how different they handled their respective subjects as they started to try to contact their subjects again.
When Akira woke up, he immediately scanned his surroundings using the muzzle of his rifle by pure reflex. After checking that there were no hostile forces nearby, he finally sighed in relief.
But as expected, Akira did not have the courage to take another nap. Moreover, he was certain that there was a reason as to why he woke up. He woke up his whole body, which was connected to his augmented suit and gathered his focus toward reading from his sensitivity maxed information gathering device. As soon as he did that, he could see something behind the noise in the signals and looked down with a grim face.
"They're fighting? That's quite a lot of them. Did another Hunter run to this building? Is he fighting against the monsters inside right now?"
"They're heading this way! Dammit!"
They might not be hostile. But Akira did not think they were friendly either. It only took a split second for Akira to make his decision as he put up his guard and moved away from that signal. However, he was not just simply running away, he was looking for an advantageous position if he needed to cross bullets with them.
[It's not just a coincidence!! They're actually chasing after me!]
If he kept running, it was only a matter of time before he reached the top floor and had nowhere else to run. Naturally, he still had the choice of leaving the building or going up to the roof, but that was not a good idea considering Zalmo might attack him. This meant that he only had one option left, Akira stopped running and immediately readied himself to encounter the enemies.
He took his position near a door as he aimed his rifle deep into the hallway, waiting for the first signal to show itself. Considering that those signals might not be hostile and they might be Hunters who were running away from monsters, looking for help, Akira told himself not to start shooting the moment he saw something. However, that would mean that it might slow down his reaction. Thus, he prepared his stance to take evasive maneuvers in case it was necessary.
What came next was not surprising to Akira at all. He was fully expecting that his hope would be betrayed; for the signal to be hostile instead of friendly. This allowed him to jump into the room next to him the moment he saw that they were indeed hostile. A moment later, a hail of bullets passed through where Akira was just a moment ago from deep inside the hallway. The moment those bullets hit something, they immediately exploded into fiery balls that were way too powerful to be used in an enclosed space. The shock wave caused total chaos in the area as a powerful gust of wind blew through the hallways.
"Knew it!"
Akira inadvertently shouted as he aimed his rifle toward the door that was significantly widened from the explosion.
Through the smoke, Tiol suddenly jumped out with Yumina in his hand while going straight to another door into the room.
Before he could make any guesses, the answer showed itself. It was Katsuya and his team, who were chasing after Tiol.
The girls who just arrived there immediately stood on the other side of the holes-riddled wall and started shooting. Akira reacted by quickly using his SSB rifle to shoot back at them.
The girls with the impeccable teamwork against Akira with his super-human strength. The exchange happened only for a few seconds. Although both of them did the same thing, the damages on both sides were completely different.
The main factor which decided the victor was their equipment. The total cost of both sides' equipment was equal, but unlike Akira who was alone, the same amount of funds was distributed between so many people. This meant that each girl only had a limited amount of resources for their equipment. Even with the bulk discount included, the difference in quality of their equipment was obvious.
Katsuya as the team leader, Airi and Yumina as the second-in-command. All of them had better equipment due to their position and experience in battle. The three of them were pretty strong in battle as well. But the rest of the team only received standard equipment. As expected, compared to Akira who splurged 1 billion Aurum for his equipment, the difference in their performance and quality was not small.
[So basically, these guys might stop chasing him if that Hunter gets killed, right!? That's so diligent of him!]
Akira's guess was correct. Moreover, despite knowing Akira's exact location, Tiol was running around instead of going straight at him. He was keeping a distance from Katsuya's team while trying to bait Katsuya's team into surrounding Akira.
After he escaped the room, Akira kept on running while shooting homing grenades behind him. Although those grenades were not to be used in a closed space, judging from the damage caused by Tiol's cannons, the building should be able to withstand the explosions. So, it should work to temporarily stop the opponents from chasing after him as well.
The homing grenades sacrificed speed for its homing capability. It changed course on turns before randomly spreading around. Of course, the girls tried to shoot those down, but some of the grenades survived and exploded. The explosions then triggered the other grenades to explode as well, thus swallowing the girls inside the hellscape of fire and blood.
Akira's line of thinking was cut short by a barrage of bullets from Katsuya's team, so he immediately shelved that question and started shooting back.
[I guess it's meaningless to think about that for now, huh!? Dammit! These guys just won't leave me alone! They won't give up as long as their friend is still alive, huh?! Goddammit! These guys are too damn loyal!]
Moreover, his ability to sense danger was also maintained by mock battles that he had with Erio and the other children. The coordination support system that they used during their mock battles were based on the data from Katsuya's team. Because of that, their movement was similar to Katsuya's team.
By observing the opponent's movements and teamwork, Akira was able to predict their line of thought and maneuvers. This unexplainable feeling that he had as if he knew what was going on was registered in Akira's mind as intuition.
Even after that, Akira and Katsuya's team had small clashes. Normally, the difference in their fighting strength was so big that it would have been hopeless. However, inside a building like the one they were in, it was easy to break the group into smaller ones, allowing Akira to deal with them one by one. Furthermore, the mock battles that Akira had were similar to training, especially against Katsuya's team. It could be said that Akira was fully used to fighting against Katsuya's team. Those facts closed the gap between them and slightly tilted the battle in Akira's favour.
The girls fell one by one, their number was slowly but surely reduced. Eventually, it had become difficult for the team to protect the leader, Katsuya, and it had become difficult to keep on chasing Akira. Akira also noticed that the pressure from the other side was getting weaker, so he quickly spread homing grenades to stop Katsuya's team on their tracks before quickly breaking through the encirclement. Although he could hear echoes of Katsuya's scream from behind, it did not bother Akira at all.
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