287 協力者達
レイナ達は無事に都市の防衛隊と接触し、モンスターの群れの存在を伝えることが出来た。だがそこから先はレイナの期待通りにはならなかった。
「防衛隊は動かないって......、どういうこと?」
応対したグートルが情報端末の画面越しに険しい顔を見せる。
「都市に実害が出る、
いでもらえない? 私達はそのモンスターと戦ったの。あいつらの脅威は誤差ではないって説得するわ」
「......悪いが、それは無理だ。上は情報提供者がリオンズテイル社の者であることにも懸念を覚えている。今の俺には、君を上の者と話させる権限は無い」
都市は今回の騒ぎをリオンズテイル社の支店間の抗争と判断しており、その内紛に対して中立を保とうとしている。ヤナギサワの
しかし、有効な手段は浮かばなかった。
(しくじった......! 私達だけ避難する
(戻るなら、最低でも状況を改善させる戦力を連れてくるか用意しないと......)
本来ならば、それは都市の防衛隊のはずだった。しかしそれは失敗した。それならば別の何かを、と考えても有効な手段が思い浮かばず焦るレイナに、声を掛ける者が出る。
「久しぶりね。レイナ」
思わず声の方を見たレイナは
レイナが険しい表情でメイドに視線を向ける。すると、肯定される。
「事実です。我々は彼女の護衛もしております。支店間の抗争をこの場に持ち込むことは、本店への敵対を意味します。くれぐれも御注意下さい」
「し、失礼致しました」
相手の雰囲気から本当に本店所属の者だと察したレイナは頭を下げて謝罪した。そして内心で焦りを募らせる。
(まさか......、まさか......、三区支店だけじゃなく、本店までクロエの
せめてこのことをシオリ達に伝えなければならない。レイナがそう思ったところに、本店の人間からどこか冷淡な声で告げられる。
「レイナ・リラルト・ローレンス様。
そのクロエを見たレイナは逆上するのを歯を食い縛って耐えた。だが状況を改善する手段は全く思い浮かばなかった。
その時、状況の推移を黙って見ていたトガミが、非常に軽い口調で口を出す。
「何か、もう俺がレイナの護衛をする必要は無さそうだな。じゃあレイナ、俺、アキラにバイク返してくるから」
その余りの態度に、レイナは思わずトガミへ顔を向けた。するとトガミは軽薄そうに笑いながらも、一瞬だけ、目配せした。
それでレイナが我に返り、冷静さも取り戻す。そしてクロエ達をチラッと見た後で軽く答える。
「......そう。じゃあ、これも渡しておいて」
レイナはそう言って自分の銃や弾薬などをトガミに渡した。そして再びクロエ達の様子を見る。
本店の者達は全く反応を示さなかった。だがクロエは思わず笑みを消し、表情を僅かだが険しいものへ変えていた。
「トガミ。ありがとう。じゃあ、そっちは頼んだわ」
「ああ。行ってくる」
トガミは笑って返し、バイクを走らせて去っていった。
意気を取り戻したレイナが落ち着いて現状を把握しようとする。するとすぐに疑問が湧いた。
「クロエ。何でこんな場所にいるの?」
知らない、と解釈したレイナが頭を悩ませる。用事はアリスとの謁見だ。それは間違い無い。そして謁見場所がどこであれ、そこに自分達から出向くのが当然であると考える。
だがここではないはずだ。防壁内のどこか、企業の重要人物との会合などに適した場所のはずだ。レイナも、そしてクロエも、同じ疑問に顔を
「ねえエレナ......。アキラが戦ってるのって、リオンズテイル社のはずよね?」
「ええ。リオンズテイル社の部隊や、彼らに雇われた連中のはずよ」
「じゃあ、これ、何?」
エレナ達の前にはつい先程撃破した敵、奇怪なモンスターが転がっていた。形状としては多脚戦車に近いが、その多脚は生身であり、肥大した筋肉で全体を支えていた。砲は人型兵器の火器に見えるが、まるで強引に取り付けたように生やしていた。そして俊敏に動き、周囲を跳躍しながら砲撃してエレナ達を襲った。その強さはクガマヤマ都市周辺のモンスターの基準を明確に逸脱していた。
それでも今のエレナ達の敵ではない。エレナ達の装備は以前にヒカルがアキラと荒野で交渉しようとした際に、エレナ達を護衛として雇ったヒカルが、最悪の場合、アキラと戦闘になるかもしれない、という懸念に半ば
、強行突破も不可能ではない。だがアキラの正確な位置も敵の総量も不明な状態で弾薬に物を言わせて強引に突破すれば、アキラと合流した時に残弾が尽きている恐れもあった。イナベの支援を受けて弾薬費を負担してもらえることになっているが、現在のエレナ達の装備に適した追加の弾薬の調達まで頼めばすぐに可能な訳ではない。弾薬には、限りがあった。
エレナ達も急ごうとはしている。だが焦らず、慎重に進んでいく。自分達はアキラを助けに行こうとしているのだ。足手
「サラ。前方に反応。近付いてくるわ。気を付けて」
エレナ達が警戒しながら銃を構える。その先から現れたのは、大型の人型モンスターと戦うキャロルだった。
副業の客でもあった男、高ランクハンターのドーレスと戦ったキャロルは、激戦の末に勝利した。片腕を装備ごと失って地面に転がるドーレスに向けて銃を構える。
「私の勝ち。良いわね?」
「ああ......、負けたよ」
キャロルが笑って銃を下ろす。ドーレスは
完全に負けたと、ドーレスが苦笑する。
「それだけ強ければハンター一本で食ってけるだろう。それでもまだ副業続ける気か?」
負けた感傷で、らしくないことを言っている。そしてこんなことを言っても軽くあしらわれるだけだろう。ドーレスはそう思っていたのだが、少し意外な返事が返ってくる。
キャロルはそう言って少し楽しげに笑った。
ドーレスはかなり意外そうな顔をした後、キャロルの返事の背景を何となく察して、それだけ答えた。
(......これ、もう、一度戻らないと駄目ね)
えず、拠点に戻って予備のナノマシンを十分に補給するまでは手持ちの分でごまかそう。キャロルがそう思って手持ちの分を取り出そうとした時、周辺に無数のモンスターが出現する。機械と肉塊を混ぜて手足を付け足したような異形達だ。
本来ならばキャロルの敵ではない。しかし出現したタイミングが最悪だった。もう少し前ならば、ドーレスと一時休戦して撃退できた。もう少し後ならば、そこそこ戦える程度には回復できていた。だが戦闘後の最も消耗した状態で、その回復前に襲われた。
キャロルがすぐに敵を銃撃する。負けはしたが戦闘不能ではないドーレスも予備の銃を抜いて攻撃する。しかしどちらも万全には程遠い。精彩を欠く動きしか出来ず、敵の群れに押され始める。
「ごめんなさい......」
「謝るなよ。ハンター稼業なんだ。こういうこともあるさ。それがまあ、気に入ってた女を逃がす
ドーレスは笑ってそれだけ言って、視線を敵に戻した。
キャロルが走り去っていく。そのキャロルを狙う異形達はドーレスに優先的に狙われて倒される。その分だけドーレスは死に近付いたが、生還を目的としない戦闘であればもう
き、軽く首を横に振る。
拠点に戻ってナノマシンを補充し万全の状態を取り戻したいが、ドーレスとの戦闘中に大分移動したこともあり距離がある。距離があるだけなら問題無いのだが、その間に先程のモンスターの群れがいる恐れを考えると、難しいと判断せざるを得なかった。
に包まれたスラム街の路地では、襲撃者達が激しい戦闘を繰り広げていた。ただしその相手はエリオ達やシカラベ達などではなくモンスターの群れだった。困惑混じりの悲鳴や怒声が、この状況が彼らにも予想外の事態だと示していた。
そしてキャロルはモンスターの内の一体、肉塊が重装強化服を内側から食い破ったような人型の個体を見て驚きを
ぎ払った。廃ビルが巨大な光刃に斬り裂かれたように切断面を溶解させ、そのまま自重で倒壊した。
その一撃から何とか逃れたキャロルが顔を険しくする。
無数の爆発が巻き起こる中、キャロルは逃げるしかなかった。
エレナ達はキャロルに気付くと、即座に照準をその背後にいる大型のモンスターに合わせる。撃ち出された強力な銃弾は、標的に大穴を開けるどころか原形の大部分を円形に削り取った。残りの部分は衝撃で吹き飛ばされ、周辺の建物の壁に散らばった。
キャロルが荒い息で礼を言う。
「あ、ありがとう。助かったわ」
「どう致しまして。一体何が......、サラ。次は上に反応よ」
「了解。忙しいわね。今度は何......、ん? あれ、アキラのバイクじゃ......」
エレナ達の視線の先には、アキラのバイクで宙を駆けるトガミの姿があった。しかも異形に取り付かれた
エレナ達がすぐに異形を撃ち落とす。そのお陰でバイクは体勢を立て直したものの、墜落しかけていた勢いを完全に殺すことは出来ず、エレナ達の近くに墜落まがいの派手な着地をすることになった。
自分を助けてくれた者達が知った顔だったことにトガミが僅かに戸惑う。アキラだと思って声を掛けたエレナも、相手がトガミだったことに軽く驚いていた。
エレナ、サラ、キャロル、トガミの4人は一通りの情報共有を済ませた。
拠点に急いで戻ろうとしたトガミはその
だがレイナと一緒にバイクの運転と敵の迎撃を分担していた時とは異なり、トガミ一人でその両方を十全に行うのは難しく、危うく墜落するところだったのだ。
再びアキラ達の下に向かおうとするトガミに、エレナとサラが同行を申し出る。
キャロルは悩んだが一緒に行かないことにした。今の自分では足手
「アキラのこと、お願いね」
エレナは安心させるように笑って答えると、バイクを勢い良く走らせた。それを見送ったキャロルはエレナ達がここまで切り開いた道を走ってスラム街の外を目指した。
『アルファ。何か見付かったか?』
の濃度が不自然に下がってきているわ』
『不自然って、どの辺が?』
アキラが荒野側に向けて目を凝らす。確かに僅かだが遠景が鮮明になったように感じられた。
『......追加の煙幕投入が無いのなら、向こうもこれ以上やる気は無いって思いたいところだけど......』
そう口にしながらも、アキラは自身の言葉に全く同意できなかった。
そこにトガミが戻ってくる。それに気付いたアキラは、自分のバイクに予想外の人物が一緒に乗っているのを見て驚きを
「トガミ。レイナはどうしたんだ? それにどうしてエレナさん達が一緒に......」
「あーその辺は二人に聞いてくれ俺はシオリさん達にレイナのことで大事な話があるからシオリさんレイナのことでちょっと大事な話が......」
バイクから降りたトガミは早口でそう言うと、レイナのことを口実にどことなくそそくさとアキラから離れていった。
「エレナさん。どうしてここに?」
予想外のことを笑顔で言われたアキラが面食らっていると、サラからも同じように笑って言われる。
「えぇっ!?」
「アキラが私達より強くなったのは認めるけど、助けを頼む価値も無いってぐらい軽く見られるのは、私達も腹が立つの」
「だから、呼ばれてないけど勝手に助けに来たわ。悪いわね」
こちらの都合、意地やら何やらで助けに来たのだ。だから大人しく助けられろ。そうエレナ達は少し
「ねえアキラ。キャロルには助けを頼んで私達には頼まないって、その辺、どうなの? いつの間にそこまで仲良くなったの?」
「えっ? まあ、その、いろいろありまして......」
「いや、それはその、いえ、違いますよ? 俺もサラさん達とはとても仲が良いと思ってますし、別にキャロルと何か区別を付けてる訳では......」
サラの追求を、アキラは自分でもよく分からない理由でごまかしていた。そこにエレナが苦笑しながら口を挟む。
「アキラ。それなら私達にもちゃんと助けられなさい。良いわね?」
「それじゃあアキラ。早速で何だけど、状況を教えてちょうだい」
アルファに険しい表情で口を挟まれたアキラはすぐに視線を荒野に向けた。エレナ達に続いて、少し離れていたシオリ達もアキラ達の
で輪郭ぐらいしか見えないが、膝の時点で足下の廃ビルより高い巨大な人型の何かがそこにいた。
「何だ......? あれ」
いた時、巨人の口が光った。エレナ、サラ、シオリ、カナエの四人が即座に自分達の前に
力場障壁
しかし煙幕の影響でぼんやりとしか見えない距離にいる敵の攻撃がここまで届いた驚きは、アキラ達の顔を非常に険しくさせていた。
アキラにも巨人の正体は分からない。だがアキラの頭にはパメラの
Ch 287
Reina and Togami were able to safely make contact with the city defence squad. They were able to inform them of the monster attack. However, things did not go as they had expected.
"What do you mean the defence squad will not send anyone?"
She was talking with Goutol through a display. It was clear that he was frowning.
"We can only wait until it causes direct damage to the city. Or at least we believe it will cause damage to the city. This is something that those at the top have decided upon. As long as they don't approach us or attack us, we cannot do anything about it."
"In that case, can you connect me to your boss? We fought against those monsters, so we will try to convince them that it's a real threat."
"...I'm sorry, but I can't do that. They won't easily accept a call if the source is someone from the Lion Steel Company. In the first place, I don't have the authority to do that."
The battle near the city was recognized as a conflict between branches of Lion Steel. There was a struggle for influence between the city officers, Yanagisawa, and the third and fourth ward branches of Lion Steel. However, externally, City Management wanted to present themselves as a neutral third party, maintaining their position as observer, to not be involved in the battle.
Unfortunately, she could not come up with any good ideas.
[Not good...! We didn't come here to evacuate...!]
[If we're going to return, we should at least bring something to help them. Otherwise, it would be meaningless to return back...]
Originally, she planned on getting an extra hand from the city defence squad. However, that plan did not go well. Thus, she had to find aid from another source. Reina started to get impatient, trying to think of who and how to convince them to help her. That was when someone suddenly called out to her.
"Oh, Reina, long time no see."
Reina inadvertently turned toward the source of that voice and was taken aback. It was Chloe and she was smiling triumphantly at her.
Reina frowned and glanced at the maid. The maid then confirmed what Chloe said.
"It is the truth. We are here to protect Chloe-sama. So please be careful. Trying to pick a fight here means picking a fight against the main branch as well."
"M-my apologies."
Judging from the maid's reaction, Reina understood that they were indeed highly likely to be from the main branch. She flusteredly bowed and apologized as she started panicking inside.
[...No way... That can't be... So, not only the third ward branch, but the main branch is also taking Chloe's side...!? This is bad... really bad...]
As Reina turned around and thought that she should at least let Shiori and Kanae know about this, someone from the main branch suddenly coldly spoke to her.
"Reina Rilard Lorentz. The representative is calling for you. Please come with us. Since the jamming smoke is preventing communication, we understand that you could not reply to the message from the main branch. Nonetheless, do be careful of what you choose your next action to be."
Reina of course noticed Chloe's chuckle. However, she could not do anything. She gritted her teeth and held herself back from saying anything. Worse, she still could not find a way to better her situation.
Right at that time, Togami, who had been silently walking behind Reina, suddenly casually asked.
"Anyway, it seems like Reina doesn't need a bodyguard anymore, right? In that case, Reina, I will go return Akira's bike."
Reina did not expect Togami to suggest that. She turned around to see Togami lightly smile at her, with a wink.
Thanks to his support, Reina managed to regain her calm. She then glanced in Chloe's direction and lightly stated.
"...You're right. Please give him this too."
Reina then handed over her ammunition and rifle to Togami. She then took a glance in Chloe's direction again.
The person from the main branch did not express any reaction at all. However, Chloe's smile immediately vanished as her expression turned stern.
"Thanks, Togami. I'll leave it to you."
"Sure. I'll get going now."
Togami smiled back at her, turned on the bike, and went off.
As Reina had calmed down, she once again tried to analyze the current situation. She immediately noticed something strange.
"Chloe, by the way, why are you here?"
Reina frowned and tilted her head. She interpreted her answer as Chloe not knowing why she was here. One thing that she knew for certain, was that Chloe was trying to meet Alice. If it was a meeting with Alice, it was only a given for them to go to where Alice was. It was impossible for it to be the other way around.
However, it should not be here. It should be somewhere inside the inner wall. Otherwise, it would be at a place suitable to host a meeting with a higher-up from a large company like Lion Steel. At the very least, both Reina and Chloe agreed that it was strange and had doubtful looks on their faces.
"Say, Elena... Akira is fighting against the Lion Steel company, right?"
"Yeah. He should be fighting against Lion Steel and those that they've hired."
"So then, just what is this thing?"
The enemy that Elena and Sara had just shot down was a strange-looking monster. Its outer appearance was akin to that of a multi-legged monster. However, its legs were made of thick flesh, which supported its large body. Its cannon looked like it came from a powered suit, which was growing out from its body, it was as if it was forcefully installed there. For some reason, even with its size, it was still able to nimbly move and jump around. Its quick movements also did not hinder its aim by that much, evident when it fired shots at Elena and Sara. It was clearly not the type of monster they would normally find around Kugamayama city.
Naturally, it still did not pose much of a threat to Elena and Sara with their new equipment. Their equipment was an upfront payment from Hikaru, for escorting her to meet Akira in the wasteland. At that time, Hikaru had considered the risk of fighting against Akira. Thus, in fear, she got extremely powerful equipment for Elena and Sara to use. It was powerful to the point no monsters around Kugamayama city could stand up against it.
Naturally, Sara and Elena could not just charge through the swarm. They did not know the exact location of all the enemies. Furthermore, they would have to use their ammo to cut a path through the swarm. They feared they would run out of ammo the moment they found Akira. Though Inabe was paying for their ammo expense, they still had a limited supply. However, that was mainly due to Elena and Sara rushing out, not spending any time on getting extra ammo as they immediately headed out to the slums.
Although they were in a rush, Elena and Sara were still moving carefully. To remain calm, they kept reminding themselves, [We are going there to help him. it would be meaningless if we only serve to cause him more trouble.]
"Sara, more signals ahead. It's coming this way. Be careful."
Elena and Sara aimed their rifles forward. A moment later, they saw a huge humanoid monster, which was in the middle of fighting against Carol.
The high-ranking Hunter who fought against Carol had known her through her side job. His name was Dores and he got defeated after that intense bout. Dores found himself lying face up, on the ground with his whole arm blown to pieces. In front of him was the muzzle of a rifle.
"This would be my victory, right?"
"Yeah... It's my loss."
Carol smiled and lowered her rifles. Dores sighed and pushed his body up.
Dores, who got completely defeated, smiled bitterly and questioned.
"If you're that strong, there's no need for you to take on that other job of yours anymore, right? Or are you still planning to continue?"
Dores knew that his question was not something someone who just got defeated would normally ask. Thus, he expected Carol to randomly answer. However, Carol replied with something that he did not expect.
Carol only answered as much and smiled in an amused fashion.
Dores raised his eyebrows. He couldn't guess what had happened to Carol such that she would respond with such an answer. Thus, Doros simply accepted it and pursued that subject no further.
[...I need to at least resupply before I head out again.]
For now, she was trying her best to keep up her appearance with her remaining nanomachines. She was planning to return back to base to refill her nanomachines. She took out her nanomachine reserve when suddenly, a swarm of monsters appeared. They were strange looking, a mesh of flesh and metal, seemingly machines with fleshy legs and arms growing out of their distorted bodies.
Normally, they would not pose any threat to her. However, their appearance at this very moment was horrendous. If they had appeared a bit sooner, she would have temporarily stopped fighting with Dores and dealt with them first. If they had appeared a bit later, she would have had the chance to refill the nanomachines in her body and regain some of her fighting capabilities. However, she got ambushed right as she had depleted her nanomachines, without an opportunity to refill yet.
Even so, Carol still immediately reacted and started firing. Dores saw the swarm and quickly reached for his extra rifle and started shooting as well. Although he lost the fight, he still had enough strength to hold and fire a gun. Unfortunately, both were exhausted and were unable to make any difficult moves. Thus, the swarm was slowly pushing them back.
"I am sorry..."
"Don't be. This is normal for Hunters like us. If it's for the sake of sparing the life of a girl I fancy, this is actually not that bad."
Dores smiled before returning his gaze back to the enemies.
Carol immediately left the area. Some monsters tried to attack her, but Dores prioritized shooting them down first. That meant he allowed other monsters to get close to him. However, that did not matter. He was not planning to survive after this. He managed to continue for some time as his impending death approached. He did not hold back and used everything that he had to hold them off.
Carol inadvertently mumbled, to then quickly shake her head.
She wanted to return back to Sheryl's base and fully refill her nanomachine reserve. However, fighting against Dores forced her to move around a lot. Thus, the base was quite far for her right now. Although the distance itself was not much of an issue, it was highly likely that she would have to fight monsters on her way back.
Outside the building, there were battles scattered all around, especially in the alleys. The whole place was veiled in thick jamming smoke, but Carol could still tell none of the battles involved those on her side or those that were neutral. Erio and the others from the gang nor Shikarabe and his team were involved. Her enemies were the ones facing the monster swarm. Screams of terror and confusion echoed through the area, which indicated that even her enemies did not expect the monster swarm.
Carol was taken aback when she sighted one particular strange-looking monster. It was enveloped in a heavy augmented suit, as if a bundle of flesh in a distorted humanoid form had been stuffed into an augmented suit. However, its figure was not the thing that caught her eye. It was the familiar laser cannon that the monster carried.
Carol leapt aside by pure reflex. A moment later, the laser cannon swept sideways in an arc. Buildings in its way were sliced open as if sliced by a huge blade. They crumble on their own weight and collapse.
Carol, who was able to get out of its way just in time, frowned and thought.
Under relentless countless explosions, Carol was only able to keep running away.
That was when Elena and Sara saw her. They quickly aimed their rifles at the huge monster behind Carol. Their powerful bullets drilled holes into the monster and blew up. It was blown to pieces, obliterated so that no semblance of it was left behind. The small pieces were scattered all over the buildings around the area by the shockwave.
Carol thanked them, while still heavily panting.
"T-thanks, you really saved me there."
"You're welcome, but what exactly is- Sara, up!"
"Alright. They just won't give us a break. Now wha-... Hm? Isn't that Akira's bike...?"
The rest immediately looked up and saw Akira's flying bike. Though it was ridden by Togami at the moment. However, some strange monsters were latching on to it as the bike was slowly descending.
Elena and Sara immediately shot down the monsters. Once the monsters were taken out, the bike was able to regain its balance. Unfortunately, it was not able to brake on time and crashed rather spectacularly not too far away from Elena and Sara.
Togami was surprised since he was a little familiar with the two who just saved him. Meanwhile Elena was taken aback to see that it was actually Togami and not Akira.
Afterwards, Elena, Sara, Togami, and Carol quickly exchanged what they knew.
Since Togami was in a hurry to return to Sheryl's base, he ignored the monsters and flew a bit too close to the ground. Although these monsters could not fly, they could still jump. Some managed to latch onto the bike. When that happened, Togami managed to keep moving while he fought against those on the bike.
But unlike when he was together with Reina, it was difficult for him to simultaneously drive while he fought. Thus, he was about to get thrown off the bike.
Since Togami was also headed to where Akira was, he asked Elena and the others if they could move together.
Carol pondered it over for a bit and eventually decided not to join. She believed that she was more likely to be a dead weight. Or at the very least, she would not be able to give any meaningful support until she could return back to the base. There was also no guarantee that they would be able to reach Sheryl's base.
"I'll leave Akira to you."
Elena smiled reassuringly at Carol before accelerating the bike. After seeing Elena off, Carol then headed out of the slums. She moved through the path Elena and Sara had made.
"Alpha, did you find anything?"
"Even if we were to consider the fact that we're out in the wasteland, the rate of dispersion is abnormally higher than the natural rate of dispersion."
"Faster than it should? What part of it is not normal?"
Akira gazed out into the wasteland and squinted. He could see further, although only slightly.
"...It would be great if it's because they no longer wish to continue and stop pumping out jamming smoke but..."
Akira said his wish, though he knew it was unlikely to come true.
That was when Togami finally entered his sight. Akira, who saw Togami, was surprised to see some others on his bike. Two individuals he would never have expected to come.
"Togami. Where is Reina? And also, why are you with Elena-san and Sara-san...?"
"Ahhh, about that... you should ask them yourselves. As for Reina, there's something important I need to tell Shiori-san, so..."
Togami spoke, rather flusteredly. He had also used Reina as an excuse to get away from Akira.
"Elena-san, why are you here?"
Akira was flabbergasted after hearing what Elena said with a wide smile on her face. The situation did not stop there as Sara also spoke up with a smile.
"Haaah!?"
"I admit that you've become even stronger than us. Still, I don't like how you don't even see us as people who can help."
"That's why we came here to help. Though you didn't ask for it. Well, sorry about that."
Each word they said gradually cornered him. Elena and Sara were basically stating that they were here to help him due to their own volition and pride.
"Akira, you asked for Carol's help, but you didn't ask for our help. Why? Since when did you get this close to Carol?"
"Eh? Well, a lot of things happened, you see..."
"Well, uhh, actually, it's not what you think. I do think both Elena-san and Sara-san as friends. Also, it's not like I'm treating Carol differently, you see..."
Akira was not sure why he was making excuses to answer Sara's question. That was when Elena intervened as she wryly smiled and stated.
"Akira, in that case, you should just accept our help, alright?"
"So then, Akira. Can you tell me what's the situation right now?"
Alpha suddenly interjected and warned with a grave expression. Akira noticed and quickly turned toward where Alpha was pointing. Elena and Sara followed suit, and a moment later, Kanae, Shiori, and Togami gazed toward the wasteland as well.
They could see something gigantic and humanoid coming in their direction. Due to the jamming smoke, they were only able to see the blurry contour of the giant, but it was enough for them to confirm that its knee was even higher than most of the buildings in the slums.
"Just what is that thing!?"
The moment Akira mumbled; the giant's mouth suddenly flared. Elena, Sara, Shiori and Kanae quickly stepped forward and deployed their forcefield shield. A moment later, the light ray released by the giant reached Akira and the others, devouring them. It even took in the whole base.
Once the light died down. Akira and the others were fine. Mostly thanks to the powerful forcefield shield and the jamming smoke that weakened the attack. The base also survived due to its forcefield armour along its outer walls. However, the other buildings in the area got completely obliterated.
Akira and the others could not help but frown. [To think its attack could reach us even from that distance!]
Akira also did not know what or who exactly was that giant. However, Pamela's last words somehow suddenly came to mind.
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/
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