ビルに入っていくアキラの様子に、カヒモは僅かな違和感を覚えた。それは今までとはどこか何か様子が違うという僅かなものだが、自分には見えない者がいると知った以上、自然に疑いも深くなる。
「ガキが動いたな。ハッヒャ。女の様子はどうだ? あそこに入るように案内していた様子とかあったか?」
「ああ。あのビルを指差していたし、ガキを先導して一緒に中に入った。遺物はあの中かもな。どうする? 俺達も行くか?」
「......いや、
「いいのか? ガキを見失うんじゃないか?」
「ガキの顔は割れてるんだ。ここで見失っても多分スラム街を探せば見付かるだろう。問題ない。それより安全に行こう。ガキが生きてビルから出てくれば、あのビルは安全ってことだ」
「おいおい、随分慎重だな」
ハッヒャはアルファが見えていることもあり状況を楽観視していた。そしてこのチャンスを逃したくない気持ちでカヒモを
「嫌ならお前一人で突っ込めよ。亡霊が見えてるのはお前なんだ。怪談通りなら、死ぬのもお前だ」
「そ、そう言うなよ。わ、分かったって」
い加減、俺達もあのビルを調べようぜ。もしガキが死んでたら、ここで幾ら待っても出てこねえよ。これ以上は時間の無駄じゃねえか?」
「......そうするか。あの辺のモンスターはもう結構危険なんだ。高値の遺物が手に入りそうだからって、浮かれて油断なんかするんじゃねえぞ」
「分かってるって」
カヒモが廃ビルの出入口で立ち止まる。
「ハッヒャ。俺はガキと入れ違いにならないようにここで見張る。お前は中を捜索しろ。ガキや女を見付けたり、モンスターと遭遇したり、それ以外でも何かあったら連絡しろ。状況にかかわらず、1時間
「分かった。ガキがいたらどうする? ここまで連れてきた方が良いか?」
「それが出来る状況ならな。敵対したら殺せ。不審なら殺せ。不気味なら殺せ。
その少々殺意の高い指示に、ハッヒャが意外そうな様子を見せる。
「殺せって、ガキからいろいろ聞き出さなくて良いのか?」
「聞き出せそうならな。だが最低でも腕か脚に1発撃ち込んでからにしろ。女に気を取られてガキに不意を
「誘う亡霊の話はしただろう。あのガキも怪談の内容通りに、あの女にここに誘われて殺された可能性だってあるんだ。お前の心配をしてるんだぞ? 別に強制はしねえよ。好きにしろ」
「ちょ、ちょっと待て、もしそうだとしたら、そんな場所に俺だけで行くのか?」
「あの女が見えるのはお前だけだ。お前じゃないと女を探せないだろうが。とっとと行け。危ないと思ったらすぐに戻ってこい。俺はここに残る。俺達もここに誘われた可能性もあるからな。出入口を確保しておかないと危険だ。分かったか?」
「わ、分かった」
ハッヒャは少し慌てながらビルの中に入っていく。カヒモがその様子を見ながら思う。
既にアルファから作戦の概要を教えられている。後は適宜指示通りに動けば良いと、それで勝てると、自信に満ちた笑顔で言われている。
アキラはそれを信じた。盲信ではない。過去にアルファの指示通りに動いて、拳銃だけでウェポンドッグを倒した事実を前提に、アルファを信じて信頼を積み重ねると、自身で口に出した言葉に従ったのだ。
『アキラ。彼らがビルに入ったわ。片方が出入口を確保して、もう片方がビル内を捜索するようね。アキラを痛め付けて遺物の在り
「カヒモ。今、あの女を見付けた」
「いや、女だけだ。通路の先にいた。今から追い掛ける」
「ガキが近くにいるかもしれない。注意しろ」
ハッヒャがアルファを追って進んでいく。だがアキラを警戒しながら慎重に進んでいる
くアルファに追い付いた。すると通路の脇で立ち止まっていたアルファに愛想良く笑いかけられる。その口元はハッヒャに話し掛けているように大きく動いていた。
ハッヒャは話を聞き取ろうと耳を澄ました。しかし何も聞こえなかった。表情を僅かに
撃ったのはアキラだ。ハッヒャの背後、アルファに釣られて視線を移した先の、逆方向の通路の影からの銃撃だった。
ハッヒャは突然の事態に数秒放心していた。だが右耳の僅かな傷みから我に返ると、叫びながら反撃する。乱射の銃声が反響して響き続け、無数の銃弾が床、壁、天井に着弾する。しかしアキラはハッヒャが放心している間に離脱していた。その反撃は銃弾を無駄に消費しただけに終わった。
「ハッヒャ! 何があった!?」
ハッヒャが荒い呼吸をしながら怒鳴る。
「ガ、ガキだ! 今ガキに襲われた! クソが! 死ぬところだった!」
「女の尻を追っ掛けていたら殺されかけました、だと? 馬鹿が!」
「ふん、文字通り死ぬほど美人だって言いたいのか? 怪談になるわけだな」
ハッヒャの焦りながらの言い訳も、カヒモの機嫌を戻すには不十分だった。それでも下らない会話を続けて時間を無駄にしても仕方ないと考えて気を切り替える。
「それで、女はまだそこにいるのか?」
「ああ、普通に立ってる。あと、何か
「次だ。そいつに右手を挙げろと指示を出してみろ」
ハッヒャが言われた通りにアルファに指示を出す。するとアルファは口を動かすのを止めて右手を挙げた。
「おっ? 言われた通りに右手を挙げたぞ?」
「次だ。俺と俺の近くにいる子供を除いて、俺に一番近い人間を指差せ。そう指示しろ」
「良いからやれ!」
ハッヒャが再び同じように指示を出すと、アルファは今度は斜め下の床を指差した。
「ハッヒャ。どうなった? そいつは俺がいる方向を差したか?」
「ちょっと待ってくれ。......オートマップのお前の位置がここで、俺の位置がここだから......、おお! ちゃんと差してる!
いな!」
めやがって! ぶっ殺してやる!」
「その女、多分遺跡の案内係か何かだ。お前の指示も聞くってことは、多分誰の指示でも聞く。そいつにガキの居場所まで案内させてガキを殺せ。援護が必要か?」
「大丈夫だ! 奇襲さえ受けなければあんなガキぐらい俺だけでぶっ殺せる! 武器も拳銃ぐらいで腕も素人みたいだしな!」
な銃と腕を持っていたら、さっきの奇襲でお前は死んでたんだぞ?」
「分かってる。そっちはガキを逃がさないように、そのままそこを見張っていてくれ」
ハッヒャがアルファに叫ぶように指示を出す。
ハッヒャが再び歩き始めたアルファの後に付いていく。今度はその妖艶な後ろ姿を見ても、色気より怒りが先に来て、視線を奪われることはなかった。
次の指定場所に急ぐアキラにアルファの声が届く。
アルファの姿は見えないが、声だけはずっと聞こえていた。先ほどの奇襲の時も、通路から飛び出すタイミングを声でしっかりと指示された。
通路の死角に隠れる位置。奇襲のタイミング。銃撃の回数。照準の精度よりも素早い銃撃と即座の離脱を優先した行動。全てアルファの指示で、アキラは出来る限りその指示通りに動くように最善を尽くした。
それでも敵を倒せなかった。その現実にアキラが少し顔を険しくしながら残念そうな様子を見せる。
「......駄目だったか。もう少ししっかり狙えば良かったか?」
アキラもアルファの指示そのものは疑っていない。無防備な敵を背後から一方的に銃撃できたのだ。奇襲としては完璧だ。それでも仕損じた。その理由を考えるとしたら、自身の技量不足を挙げるしかない。もう少し自身の危険を許容してでも、もっとしっかりと狙っていれば。その考えから出た言葉だった。
まっていたら、反撃で殺される危険性が飛躍的に高まるわ。あれが限界よ』
アルファはアキラにハッヒャを奇襲させるに当たって、両者の装備や技量、行動パターンなど様々なものを考慮して計画を練っていた。その上で、アキラに自身の判断で自分の指示以外の行動を取らせると、奇襲の成功確率が下がると判断して、加えて今後のことも考えて少し強めに
最善を尽くしても駄目だった。その現実を改めて突き付けられて、アキラは少し気落ちした。するとアルファの優しくも力強い声が届く。
『誰でも初めから強い訳ではないわ。アキラは現時点の実力で最善の行動をした。それでいいのよ。明確な格上相手に奇襲を仕掛けて、生き残っているのだから上出来よ。現在の実力不足は今後の訓練で好きなだけ補えば良いわ。嫌と言うほどたっぷりと鍛えてあげるから、そこは私に任せておきなさい』
当たり前のように今後の予定を話すアルファに、生還を当然のものと認識しているその態度に、アキラは落ちかけていた意気を取り戻した。そして意気を更に上げる
「分かった。大丈夫だ。覚悟は済ませた」
次も最善を尽くせば良い。その決意を顔に出しながらアキラは先を急いだ。
発砲音が通路を反響してビル内に響き渡る。高速で撃ち出された大量の銃弾が通路の床、壁、天井に着弾し、無数の跳弾が通路を縦横無尽に駆け巡り、空間から死角を消し去った。
ハッヒャが撃ち尽くして空になった弾倉を交換しようとする。ちょうどその時、アルファが通路の先を指差すのを
「よし。死んだか」
安心したハッヒャは弾倉交換の手を止めて通路に出ると、アキラの死体を確認しようとした。だがそこには銃撃で傷付いた通路の光景があるだけだった。勝利を確信して緩んでいた顔が途端に険しくなる。
「おい、ガキがここにいたんじゃないのか!?」
「ガキだ! あのガキを指差せ!」
アルファがハッヒャの背後を指差す。ハッヒャが思わず振り返る。だがそこには誰もいなかった。
銃声が響く。ハッヒャが胴体の痛みで被弾を知る。
ハッヒャが激痛で床に横たわりながら、混乱した意識で状況を把握しようとする。
(......撃たれた!? どこからだ!? 敵なんかどこにもいなかった! いるのは女だけ......、女が撃った!? 馬鹿な! あれは映像だけのはずだ! 撃てるわけが......)
アキラがハッヒャに近付いて銃を構える。両手でしっかりと握り、照準をハッヒャの額に狂いなく合わせる。
ハッヒャは被弾の激痛に耐えながら、先に銃をアキラに向けて引き金を引いた。だが弾丸は出ない。弾倉が既に空だからだ。
死を眼前にして、普段大して使われていない脳が生き残りを賭けて全力で稼動する。死の直前の、見るもの全てがゆっくりと動く世界の中で、ハッヒャは気付いた。
「......誘う......亡霊」
その直後、ハッヒャはアキラが撃った銃弾を額に受けて絶命した。最後に見たのは、アキラに寄り添うように立ちながら冷酷に
ハッヒャの通信機からカヒモの声がする。
「ハッヒャ。何があった? ガキは始末できたのか?」
『返事をしては駄目よ。相手にいろいろ気付かれるわ』
アキラはうっかり声を出さないように注意しながら
『早速彼の装備を剥がしましょう。これで武器が増えるわ』
ハッヒャの装備を剥がして取得する。これでアキラの装備は不格好ながらも、拳銃だけという貧弱な状態から大分向上した。
『次は、向こうの窓から彼を投げ捨てて』
アキラが意外な指示に少し驚く。アルファは変わらずに笑っていた。
カヒモは廃ビルの1階で険しい表情を浮かべて状況を推察していた。
(銃声から交戦は確実。その後、返事は無し。最低でも口もきけない状態。死んだ、か? また馬鹿をやって奇襲を受けたのか? いや、あの銃声の量から考えて、相打ちぐらいにはなったか?)
確認に行くべきか、このまま撤退するべきか、カヒモは迷っていた。
遺跡の怪談。仲間の死。それらがカヒモの警戒と疑念を深めさせ、意識を撤退に誘導していく。そしてその視線を無意識に出入口へ、ビルの外へ向けさせた。
その視線の先に、突如ハッヒャの死体が落ちてきた。身
相手は子供、という油断や慢心がカヒモから完全に消え去った。意識を切り替えてアキラを殺しに動く。情報端末を取り出して操作すると、ハッヒャの情報端末の位置が表示された。その反応は移動しており、アキラがハッヒャの情報端末を持っていることを示していた。
(やっぱり上にいたか。相手の居場所を把握しているのは自分だけ。そう勘違いしているのなら好都合だ。裏をかいてやる)
アキラが次の奇襲場所でアルファから指示を受けている。
取り出したナイフは、以前クズスハラ街遺跡で取得した旧世界製のものだ。刃が丸められており、切れ味など無いに等しいように見える。
『それよ。その柄の下の方に少し出っ張っている部分があるでしょう? そこを拳銃で撃って』
アキラはナイフを床に置いて銃を構えると、銃口をその柄に近付けた。
「......一応聞くけど、撃ったら壊れるよな?」
『そうよ。壊すの』
無い気がする。これも旧世界の遺物だろう? 売ったら結構な金になるんじゃ......」
『必要経費だと思って割り切りなさい。代わりにアキラが3回ほど命懸けで危ない橋を渡る方法もあるけれど、そっちにする?』
を済ませただけのような軽いものだ。それを含めて、アキラは状況に理解と意識が追い付かずに戸惑っていた。そしてこの状況を作り上げた物を、柄だけになったナイフを改めて見る。
「アルファ。このナイフって、何なんだ?」
『何なんだ、と言われてもね。旧世界製のナイフよ。一般人向けに製造、販売されていた品ね』
「旧世界では、一般人向けのナイフに壁を両断できる機能が必要なのか?」
『別に壁の両断が主目的ではないわ。切れ味とか、その性能の維持とか、そちらの向上を目指したら、結果的に壁も両断できるようになっただけよ。安全装置を破壊しないとあんな
『さて、私のサポートには満足してもらえたかしら。遺物を一つ駄目にしたとはいえ、アキラがあんなに無理だと言っていたハンター2人を倒したのだから、たっぷり感謝してくれてもいいのよ?』
軽い冗談のような態度を取っていたアルファに対して、アキラが真面目な顔で頭を下げる。
「ああ。おかげで死なずに済んだ。ありがとう。俺は多分、さっきまでアルファのことを信じ切れていない部分があったと思う。ごめん」
しいわ。それで、これからどうする? 当初の予定通り遺跡探索に戻る? それとも今日は帰る? アキラも疲れたでしょう。疲労を押して続けても非効率だからね。無理をする必要は無いわ』
「......本音を言えば、疲れたから帰りたい。でもまだ何も収穫が無いんだよな。買取所で前回の分の金を払ってもらう
『それならここの探索だけでもしましょうか。私も一緒に探せば、普通のハンターなら見落とす遺物も見付けやすくなるわ』
アキラはアルファの提案通り、このビルの探索だけして帰ることにした。探索の収穫はハンカチが数枚。
Kahimo felt strange when he saw Akira walking into a building. It was a feeling that he got when he knew something fishy was going on. And since he knew that someone invisible to his eyes was accompanying Akira, it only made him more cautious.
"The boy started moving again. Hayya, how about the girl? Does it look like she's guiding him there?"
"Yeah. The girl is pointing at the building and leading the boy into it, she entered the building together with the boy. The relics might be inside that building, so what to do now? Should we go in too?"
"...No, let's wait outside for a while."
"Are you sure? We might lose sight of the boy, you know?"
"We know that boy's face. Even if we lose him now, we still can find him if we look in the slum. So, there's no problem. That aside, we have to move carefully so that we are not spotted by them. And, if that boy comes out from the building just fine, then that means that the building is safe."
"Oi oi, you're really being too careful, you know."
Since only Hayya could see Alpha, he was observing them closely. He really did not want to miss this chance, so he was urging Kahimo to follow them. But as Kahimo replied back with an unmotivated answer, he started showing his dissatisfaction.
"If you don't want to wait, fine, just go ahead by yourself. After all, you're the only one who can see the ghost, and if the ghost story is true, then you can go ahead and die too."
"D-don't say that. A-alright, I understand that I was being too hasty."
"Say, Kahimo. Let's just stop laying low and search inside the building. If the boy is dead, then there's no meaning waiting for him here. We'll only be wasting our time, you know?"
"...You're right. But there are dangerous monsters around this area, so just because we might find expensive relics, we should not lower our guard, okay?"
"I know, I know."
Kahimo stopped in front of the entrance of the abandoned building.
"Hayya, I'll be staying here so you won't mistake me for the boy. You go ahead and search the building. If you find the boy or the girl, or if anything happens, contact me immediately. Also, come back here after 1 hour, no matter what, okay?"
"Okay. What should I do if I find the boy? Should I just drag him here?"
"You can do that if the situation allows it. If he fights back or if you are suspicious of him, then just kill him. If you find something wrong with him then just kill him. Don't let him fool you and take advantage from it, kill him when you have the chance."
Hayya looked surprised at all the "kill him" orders from Kahimo.
"Kill him, you say? You sure we don't need to interrogate him?"
"We can't be sure whether he would give in without a fight. So we can interrogate him only after shooting his leg or arm at least. And be careful not to get lured by the girl, they might have prepared a surprise attack for you."
"We talked about the beguiling ghost just a moment ago, right? There's a chance that the boy is being tricked and lured here just to get killed by that girl just like in that ghost story. I'm being careful because I'm worried about you, you know? But it's not like I'm going to force you, so you can do as you like."
"W-wait for a second, if that's true, then are you really going to let me go in alone?"
"You're the only one who can see the girl. So no one but you can do this. Go now. If you think you're in danger, then get back here as soon as possible. I'll wait for you here. She might actually have lured us here, so I have to secure the entrance or it will be bad, you understand now?"
"Y-yeah, I understand."
Hayya nervously went into the building. Kahimo looked at him and thought.
Alpha had already told him the plan. She assured him with a confident smile that he only needed to follow her plan to be able to win.
Akira believed that too and it was not just a blind faith. After all, in the past, there was a time when he was able to defeat weapon dogs with just his handgun by following Alpha's instruction. Now he was trying to follow his own words about believing in Alpha and building trust between them.
"Akira. They've entered the building. One of them is on stand-by near the entrance and the other one is searching the building. They don't seem like they're planning to interrogate you for the relics' place, they're planning to kill you. That's why we're also not going to hold ourselves back."
"Kahimo, I saw that girl just now."
"No, she is alone. She was deep in the hallway, I'm going to pursue her."
"The boy might be around, be careful."
Hayya started pursuing Alpha, but because he was moving slowly while being careful of Akira, he could not catch up with her. But at least, he didn't leave Alpha out of his sight.
After following her for sometime, Hayya was finally able to catch up with Alpha. He grinned at Alpha who was just standing at the end of the hallway. He saw Alpha opening her mouth as if she was saying something to him.
Hayya tried to listen to what Alpha was saying, but he could not hear anything. He was a bit puzzled by that, but Alpha just kept moving her lips while smiling.
The one who shot him was Akira. Akira shot him from the hallway at the opposite direction of where he was facing after he was baited by Alpha.
Hayya was stunned for a few seconds after what just happened. But then regained his focus because of the pain coming from his ear and started shooting back. The sound of gunshot continued to echo as he kept shooting. Countless bullets landed on the floor, ceiling and wall. But Akira had hidden himself from him when he was stunned. So his counter attack was just him wasting his bullets.
"Hayya!! What happened?!!"
Hayya was breathing hard as he shouted.
"I-It's that boy!! That boy just shot at me!! That damn boy!! He almost got me!!"
"Are you saying that you almost got killed because you were chasing that girl? Are you stupid or something? Didn't I repeatedly remind you to be wary of her?"
"Hmm, so you're saying that she's so beautiful that it's worth dying for, huh? No wonder why it turned into a ghost story."
Hayya's excuse that was made in a hurry was not enough to bring Kahimo's mood back. Kahimo also knew well that it was not the right time to start talking about insignificant stuff like that, so he just cut it short and changed the subject.
"So, is that girl still there now?"
"Yeah, she's just standing here. She seems to be saying something but I can't hear her."
"Next, try telling her to raise her right hand."
Hayya told Alpha to raise her hand, Alpha stopped moving her mouth and raised her right hand.
"Oooh? She just raised her right hand like I told her to."
"Alright then. Tell her to point at the direction of people other than you. And next the direction of that boy near you."
"Just do it!"
Hayya did as he was told, to which, Alpha pointed to the floor,
"Hayya, how was it? Did the girl point at me?"
"Wait for a sec... According to my AutoMap, I'm here and you're there, so... Oooh!! She's really pointing at you!! This girl is really something!!"
"Dammit!!"
"Th-that boy!!! How dare he look down on me!! I'll f*cking kill him!!"
"That girl might be a guide or something from the ruin. Since it obeyed your order, so I'm sure it obeys just anyone's order. Ask that girl to guide you to where the boy is and kill him, do you need my help too?"
"It's okay! As long as he doesn't catch me off guard, I can finish a little boy like him all by myself! After all, it seems that he's just an amateur and he only has a hand gun with him!"
"Just be careful! If he was an expert, you would have gotten yourself killed in that surprise attack just now, you know?"
"I know. You just look out for that boy and make sure that he doesn't run away."
Hayya then shouted at Alpha.
Hayya once again walked behind Alpha. But this time, rather than feeling infatuated by that beautiful figure, he was filled with so much anger that her seductive figure did not divert his attention at all.
Akira, who was running hurriedly to the next planned location, was able to hear Alpha's voice.
He could not see Alpha, but he could hear her voice. It was the same when he launched that surprise attack on Hayya. He listened closely for Alpha's signal for him to jump into the hallway and took shot at Hayya.
The dead corner where he hid himself, the timing for his surprise attack, the number of shots he took before withdrawing just as fast as he shot, all of these were done as instructed by Alpha. Akira tried his best to follow Alpha's every order as accurate as possible.
But even so, he could not defeat the enemy. Akira's expression turned grim as he showed a bit of regret.
"...That didn't work, huh. Maybe I should've taken a better aim."
He muttered those words as he could not help but think that if only he took more risk and took a better aim, then his enemy would be dead. Akira did not doubt Alpha's instructions at all. After all, the fact is that he was able to take the shot from behind enemy's defenceless back. In short, it was a perfect surprise attack. But even so, it could not finish the job. If he thought about the reason for that, there would be none except for his bad aim.
"No, you should not. If you had taken more time and stopped even for a moment in order to take a better aim, the chance for you to be killed from the counter attack would've soared up. What you did was already the best course of action."
For preparing Akira's surprise attack on Hayya, Alpha considered their respective equipment, skill and their habits. As such, if Akira took an action outside of what he was instructed, then the chance for success of his surprise attack would plummet. And so she gave a strong warning to Akira.
It was not enough despite the fact that he had done all he could. He was again reminded of how weak he really was, he was downtrodden. Knowing that, Alpha said to Akira with a strong but gentle voice.
"Everyone starts as a weak person. Akira, you've done all you could and that's all that matters. Since you just launched a surprise attack on someone far stronger than you and were able to retreat safely, I think that alone was pretty amazing. As for your current lack of skill, later you can train as hard as you can to improve. I'll keep training you even if you say that you already had enough of it, so there's no need to worry about that."
Hearing Alpha saying something that was so obvious to him and how she behaved as if surviving this encounter was a certainty, Akira was able to pick himself up and let out a forced smile.
"I understand, don't worry, I'm ready for it."
He knew well that all he should do was to give his best for the next move too. He blazed towards his next position. His resolve could be seen on his face.
The sound of the gunshots echoed through the hallway. Most of the high speed bullets landed on the floor, wall and ceiling. Countless shrapnel ricocheted through the hallway and hit all the blind side of the hallway.
When Hayya was about to change the cartridge of the gun which was now empty, Alpha lowered her hand. Hayya noticed that and interpreted it as a sign that his target has been eliminated.
"Alright, he's dead, huh!?"
Thinking that he had won, Hayya felt relieved and he stepped into the hallway without changing his gun's cartridge and tried to confirm that he had killed Akira. But he could only see a hallway that was destroyed by the flying bullets. His relieved expression suddenly turned grim.
"Oii, the boy isn't here, you know?!!"
"The boy!! Show me the damn boy!!"
Again Alpha pointed to the direction behind Hayya and he looked back without thinking twice, but no one was there.
Suddenly, another gunshot echoed. Hayya knew that he was hit from the pain coming from his abdomen. He was stunned from the shock, this gave an opening to the assailant, who then fired multiple bullets at him. Although he was wearing only a cheap armor, it was enough to prevent him from getting any fatal wounds as the bullets could not pierce through it. But it was enough to take him down. He fell down on the ground while screaming angrily.
Hayya tried to make sense of what had happened just now as he was lying down on the ground writhing in pain.
[...I got shot?! From where? I didn't see anyone though!! There is only that girl... Wait, that girl shot me!? Impossible!! She is just an image!! There's no way she was able to shoot me...]
Akira came closer to Hayya with both his hands gripping on his gun. He lifted his gun and aimed for Hayya's head.
Hayya gritted his teeth to withstand the incoming pain as he pointed his gun at Akira and pulled the trigger. But nothing happened, he then remembered that the cartridge in his gun was empty.
In front of his imminent death, Hayya racked all his brainpower, that he normally did not use, in order to survive. Then, right before his death, when everything was moving slowly he realized something.
"... The beguiling... Ghost..."
After that, Akira's bullet pierced through his head and ended his life. The last thing that he saw was Alpha's ruthless smile as she approached and hugged Akira.
Kahimo's voice burst out from Hayya's communication device.
"Hayya, what happened? Did you finish that boy?"
"You shouldn't answer that. He would notice the situation if you do."
Akira quickly stopped himself from making any sound and nodded.
"Let's quickly take off his equipment. With this, we'll have more weapons."
Akira took Hayya's equipment. Although it did not really fit him, at least he had better equipment now compared to before when he had his gun only.
"Then for the next step, throw his corpse out through that window."
Akira was rather surprised to that unexpected order. But Alpha just smiled at him like usual.
Kahimo, who was on the first floor of the abandoned building, more or less understood what was going on and his face turned grim.
[There's no mistaking it, I heard gunshots. After that, he stopped responding. It means that he's at least in a condition where he can't answer me or he might even be dead already. Did he do something stupid and was caught off guard again? No, judging from the sound, it was at least a shoot out between them, huh?]
Kahimo was at a loss as to whether he should go and check the situation or just keep standing there.
The fabled relics and his dead companion. Both of these factors made Kahimo more suspicious. His mind was telling him to run away, he involuntarily shifted his gaze towards the exit of the building.
But right at that moment, he saw Hayya's body falling down. Hayya's corpse was stripped off its equipment. It made a huge sound as it landed on the ground. Kahimo was surprised and approached Hayya's corpse. But he stopped right before he stepped outside the building.
His opponent was just a small kid, the word patience and vigilance had gone from Kahimo's head. He changed his mind and started moving in order to kill Akira. When he pulled out the information terminal and checked for Hayya's location, he could see Hayya's indicator was moving. It showed that Akira had Hayya's information terminal.
[I knew it, he's upstairs. It would be great if he misunderstands that he is the only one who knows others position. I can still outsmart him then.]
Akira received another instruction from Alpha for the next place for the surprise attack.
The knife that he took out was a relic of the old world that he found during his first time in Kuzusuhara City ruin. Its blade looked dull and it looked as if it would not be able to cut anything.
"Yes, that one. There's something prodding out on the bottom of that knife, right? Take your gun and shoot right through it."
Akira stuck the knife on the ground and got his gun ready. As he was getting his gun closer to the knife, he asked Alpha.
"...Excuse me for asking this, it will break if I shoot it, right?"
"Yes, it will break."
"It feels like it's such a waste. This is also a relic of the old world, right? I should be able to get quite a lot of money from selling this..."
"Think of it as a necessary expense and get over it. Or instead, I have another way to get over this situation which is 3 times more dangerous, so which one you would choose?"
Alpha was behaving as if they just accomplished something small and minor. Akira's mind could not catch up with what was going as he was standing there perplexed. And then he looked back to the knife which caused that situation, only its handle was left.
"Alpha, what exactly is this knife?"
"Well, even if you ask me, all I know is that it's just a knife of the old world. It was meant to be used by common people and was sold freely."
"Did the commoners of the old world need a knife that could even cut open walls?"
"It's not like its main use is to cut walls, you know. It's just that because they kept aiming for a better sharpness and durability, they somehow ended up with something that could even cut the wall. If you had not destroyed the safety device, you wouldn't be able to do such a thing. You did destroy its main body, remember? With that, it could muster the maximum cutting power just this once. By doing so, it would be able to ignore its limit and use the maximum stored power, that should normally be used for maintaining its durability, to increase its cutting ability. If we had not done that, then it wouldn't be able to cut open the wall together with the person behind it."
"So now, are you satisfied with my support? Although we had to destroy a relic from the old world, we were able to defeat 2 hunters who were way out of your league. You may be feeling really thankful for having me, right?"
In contrast to Alpha who said that as if she was joking, Akira nodded with a serious face.
"Yeah, it's thanks to you that I was able to survive this situation. Thank you. I'm sorry that I did not fully trust you up until now."
"There's no need to worry about that. I'm happy that it was enough to make you trust me. So then, what do you want to do now? Should we return to look for relics like we originally planned? Or instead, should we just go back home?...Akira, you're tired, right? It's not efficient to keep pushing forward when you're tired. There's no need to push yourself too hard."
"...If I am to be honest. I'm really tired right now so I want to go back home. But we still haven't gotten anything yet. If I want to get the rest of the money from the Exchange Center, I should bring something home..."
"In that case, how about we only search around this place. If I help you, we should at least be able to find some relics that other Hunters have missed."
Akira then decided to follow Alpha's suggestion to look only around that place before going home. He was only able to find some handkerchiefs. But these handkerchiefs were in such a bad condition that normal Hunters would have ignored them. Even for Akira, if it was not because Alpha told him that they were relics of the old world, he would have ignored them too. But even so, he decided to take them and concluded the search. And then he took as much stuff as he could from Kahimo and Hayya's corpses before returning back to the city.
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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