Published at 17th of August 2019 8:54 am

Volume 15, Chapter 5: Secret Weapon

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Part 1

Saturday, July 3

A little bit before Maya appeared in front of Maki, Koutarou and the others had reached the loading dock of the factory.

They had to evade soldiers patrolling the area while making their way here, but fortunately, thanks to the powers of science, magic and spiritual energy, Koutarou and the others succeeded in making it past them.

While making their way here, Koutarou and the others had taken a look at the production line. As a result, they had gotten a grasp of what was being made in the factory. All that was left was finding out how they were being used, so they continued their investigation.

“...It looks like they're carrying them out on those trailers.”

Koutarou peeked out from a small crane in the corner of the loading dock. The loading dock was large with space for several trailers, and containers filled with the weapons being produced were being loaded in one after another. There were guns, bullets, small combat vehicles, large-scale ordnance and even mechanical soldiers. They were merciless weapons made only to kill people.

Looking at the containers filled with weapons, Koutarou instinctively grabbed a hold of Kiriha's hand.

Kiriha-san gave it her all to avoid this... this is completely different from Kiriha-san's invasion...

The invasion in front of him was violence itself. A nightmare that would spread death. It was the complete opposite of Kiriha's peaceful invasion. Compared to this, the path that Kiriha and the conservative faction had chosen was far more prideful. As far as Koutarou knew, Kiriha's weapons of invasion were brooms and garbage bags.

This invasion had to be stopped no matter what, and Kiriha's peaceful invasion had to be continued. It was those feelings that caused Koutarou to squeeze Kiriha's hand even harder.

“...Looks like it.”

Kiriha only responded to Koutarou's words. However, Koutarou's feelings had been conveyed to her as well. That's why Kiriha squeezed Koutarou's hand back just as hard. Their fingers intertwined and their hands were interlocked. However, their hearts were even more strongly interlinked.

“Then how about we destroy those trailers, Bertorion?”

Clan proposed an attack on the trailers. If they destroyed the trailers with a properly timed attack the weapons wouldn't be carried away. This might be a good chance at reduce the radical faction's combat power.

“No, it would be better to let it go. I want to find out where the weapons are being carried.”

Koutarou basically agreed with Clan's idea, but he believed it would be a better idea to leave it be so they could find the enemy's base.

“But Satomi-kun, are you okay with letting that many weapons fall into the hands of radical people?”

Harumi furrowed her brows and showed a concerned expression. The amount of weapons put into the containers was abnormal. If left be it was clear that the lives of many would be in danger. Wouldn't it be bad to leave it be. That was an obvious doubt.

Kiriha gave answer to Harumi's doubts.

“Harumi, sadly, considering the scale of this factory, that is just a fraction of the weapons. Even if we destroy all the weapons in the trailers it would hardly influence the situation. And if that is the case then it's better letting the trailers go and locating the enemy base. If we can prevent a battle from breaking out, it would have more of an effect then destroying the trailers. We want to bet on that.”

“I see...”

Kiriha explained what Koutarou was thinking even more accurately. As a result, Harumi understood the complicated circumstances. It was hard for Kiriha herself to allow for those weapons to be spread out, but if she didn't it would lead to an even bigger tragedy. It was for the best to endure it and find out where the trailers were headed.

“Clan, do you have a transmitter of some sort?”

“I do. Please wait a moment.”

Clan shoved her hand into her bag and rustled through its contents. Harumi smiled cheerfully upon seeing Clan's appearance.

“Fufufu, Clan-san, you have everything don't you?”

“When it comes to shady things, feel free to leave it to Clan.”

“You better remember that, Bertorion, once we get back you're going to get it... and, here it is.”

Clan pulled out a small capsule device from her bag and placed it on Koutarou's palm. It was the kind of transmitter the Schweiger family preferred using.

“Once you attach this to a surface it will automatically activate and transmit a signal.”

“But wouldn't it be noticed if it started transmitting a signal now?”

“There are no problems. It's possible to put it on a standby mode so it won't send out a signal for a set amount of time. It's also possible to set it to activate when it no longer detects a specific signal.”

Clan operated her bracelet and changed the settings of the transmitter.

The transmitter would be first be set on standby mode for an hour. And during that hour the unmanned scout in the sky would track the trailers with its camera. Once an hour passed or the unmanned scout could no longer track it, the transmitter would begin emitting a signal. Doing this should lower the risk of the enemy noticing.

“Got it? All that's left is attaching them to the trailers.”

“Thank you Clan, you're a lifesaver.”

Koutarou grasped the transmitter with his right hand and tapped Clan's shoulder with his left hand two, three times. While it may have been a bit too violent of expression of gratitude towards a princess, everyone knew that a more violent expression of gratitude was closer to Koutarou's true self. That's why, while Clan was frowning she was secretly happy.

“Geez, you're so violent...”

“Well then, I'll be right back. Everyone wait here.”

“Satomi-kun, please wait. I'll cast a spell that will make it harder to see you.”

“Please do.”

Koutarou carefully approached the trailers to attach the transmitter after having Harumi cast the camouflage spell on him.

Part 2

The loading dock was large with lots of places to hide. On top of that, the soldiers were busy with work and therefore weren't paying much attention to their surroundings. Only the few soldiers patrolling the area was a problem, but with Koutarou's careful actions and Harumi's spell, he was able to make it past them. As a result, a few minutes after setting out, Koutarou had attached five transmitters.

“It seems he's attached the fifth one.”

Clan observed Koutarou through her binoculars. After attaching a transmitter underneath the fifth trailer, Koutarou signaled Clan with his hands. One could gather that he hadn't bumped into any problems attaching the transmitters from his appearance.

“Kurano-san, Satomi-kun is on his way back.”

“I see, thank you, Harumi.”

After Harumi reported Clan's words to Kiriha, Kiriha looked up from her hand and let out a sigh of relief. She had been looking down because she had been praying for Koutarou's safety. Harumi smiled and looked down at Kiriha's hands.

“You look at that card from time to time... is it something important?”

In Kiriha's hands was a silver card. On it was a hero based on a beetle, posing. It was a strange belonging for one of the more feminine of the girls of room 106. That's why Harumi figured that it might hold a special meaning to Kiriha.

“This is... something I was given by my first love. It was from ten years ago, no, it's already eleven years now.”

Kiriha showed a nostalgic smile and turned to look at Koutarou who was returning. In her eyes was a deep love, the same kind of look she had given her card. That's why Harumi understood the circumstances right away.

Satomi-kun said he had met with a young Kiriha-san on his way back from the past... so this is from that time... and Kiriha-san has always felt for Satomi-kun since then. She really loves him...

Harumi had first met Koutarou a year and a few months ago. Since Harumi had Alaia's memories it felt like two years however. That's why Harumi knew how Kiriha felt. The feeling of wanting to stay by Koutarou's side, the feeling of wanting to be needed by him were bursting out from her chest. They were fierce yet gentle feelings. The other girls of room 106 probably shared these feelings.

“Then it's a very important memory.”

“That's right. I've given my all with this as my support.”

“Bertorion is only ever kind to Kii. He'll take her out to play and give her presents. He only ever uses me as someone convenient.”

“..I do what?”

That was where Koutarou returned. Unaware of the topic the girls were talking about, he was confused as to why Harumi and Kiriha were smiling but Clan was sulking.

“It's nothing!”

“We were talking about how you were always relying on Clan-san.”

“Well, Clan is good at what I'm bad at. It's a big help.”

“Hmm.”

“But Clan is terrible at housework... speaking of which, I'll be coming to clean up your lab again soon. You've probably made a mess.”

“Cleaning... fufufu, why Clan-san, you are being treated kindly after all.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, actually―”

“N-No, no no!! Don't say anymore, Harumi!!”

Clan shook her head and interrupted Harumi. She then attempted to change the topic while she was at it.

“Bertorion, it's about time we move on!”

“Hm? Yeah, you're right, let's move on.”

While he was interested in what Harumi had to say, they weren't in a situation where they could casually chat. Koutarou obediently agreed with Clan.

“So, what do we do next?”

“Uhm, t-that's...”

Koutarou urged Clan ahead, but she was stumbling for words. Since she had only brought it up to change the topic, she hadn't put any thought into where to go. That was when Kiriha saved Clan from her situation.

“Koutarou, I think we should head towards this factory's control room.”

“Control room? Why?”

“If we examine the computers in the control room we can find out how many weapons have been made and where they've been sent. I want to see the whole image of the enemy.”

Kiriha hadn't spoken out just to help Clan. She had originally wanted to head to the control room. They had found out what kind of weapons had been produced from the production line, that was left was how many had been made and where they are.

“Got it. So Clan, where is that control room?”

“If it's been placed logically, then it should be placed where it can easily access all of the production line. In that case, it should be in the center of the factory.”

At this time, Clan had regained her usual composure. While speaking, Clan pointed towards the center of the factory. While they were hugging a wall and couldn't see it, Clan's intuition told her that the control room was in that direction.

Part 3

Like Clan had suspected, the control room was at the center of the factory. As a result, they reached the control room without ever really getting lost on the way.

“It was just like you said, Clan. Well done.”

“Clan-san is amazing.”

“You won't get anything from praising me.”

Clan slightly blushed from Koutarou and Harumi praising her. However, Kiriha alone had a serious expression, and noticing that, Koutarou asked Kiriha about it.

“What's wrong, Kiriha-san. You've got a stern face.”

“It's... I felt like something was strange.”

“Strange? What is?”

“The design of the factory is very logical. As a result we were able to come here without ever getting lost. However, it's too logical. Not even their factory's underground are this logical.”

Kiriha was bothered by the fact that this factory had an awfully different atmosphere to it when compared to the factories underground.

While the People of the Earth had more advanced technology than the people on the surface, they didn't need to mass produce a lot due to their low population. That's why when it came to productive techniques, they fell behind the surface dwellers. The narrow underground world was an environment where it was difficult to obtain the knowhow to make an effective factory.

Yet, this factory had been made incredibly logically. Upon seeing this factory, Kiriha felt like she was watching at a design on a completely different league.

“The magicians are working with the radical faction, maybe they brought with them people that are skilled in production.”

Clan simply thought that someone well versed in production on the surface had been brought in to help. With the evil magicians on their side, it wasn't something that hard.

“I hope that's all...”

However, Kiriha's line of thinking didn't match up with Clan's. It was hard for her to imagine that those that sought to make the People of the Earth the supreme race would use surface dwellers, even though it was needed. It was a completely different situation from accepting the magicians who came from a different world. That said, the weapons the enemy soldiers were using was another cause for worry, poking at Kiriha.

“Kiriha-san, nothing will come from worrying about that here. Let's investigate the control room to find out the reason.”

“...You're right. Let's try entering.”

Temporarily shelving their doubts, Koutarou and the others decided to enter the control room. However, the door to the control room had an electronic lock on it. It was Clan's turn once more.

“Please wait a moment.”

Clan opened up the cover to the electronic lock and connected it to her bracelet with a cable. Once she did, she ran a program to analyze the lock. The code needed to open the lock was 16 characters long and the bracelet revealed the characters one after another.

“...Alright, I'm done.”

With the code needed to undo the electronic lock revealed, Clan entered it on the panel. As she did, the door slid open sideways with almost no sound, showing how precise even this door had been made.

“Sakuraba-senpai.”

“Yes!”

Once the door opened, Koutarou and Harumi charged into the control room. If there were enemies inside the control room, they needed to be incapacitated right away. In that case, it was Harumi's time to shine as she could use magic. And it was Koutarou's duty to protect her.

“Huh?”

“There's... no one here.”

However, going against their expectations, the control room was unmanned. All that was there were large monitors displaying the factory and various computers. There was noone around operating them.

“That's strange. It's hard to believe that they'd send the people in here to deal with the diversion as well.”

Next, Kiriha entered, but stopped and tilted her head in confusion. She had a bad feeling she couldn't shake.

“Regardless of the reason, we'll still need to investigate this room.”

Clan pushed Kiriha forward along with her into the control room. Kiriha didn't resist and was pushed to the very center of the room. While she thought it was strange, she still had to investigate.

“Clan, you may take care of that administrator's computer over there. I will examine the main computer right here.”

“I got it, Kii. Let's finish this quickly.”

The two skilled with computers, Kiriha and Clan, immediately began collecting information. While copying the data they took a look for any noticeable data. In this situation, Koutarou and Harumi who were bad at technology were simple observers.

“...Satomi-kun, it's a good thing it wasn't just the two of us that came here.”

“Who knows what would have happened if Kiriha-san and Clan weren't here..”

While Koutarou and Harumi were unable to do anything, Kiriha's and Clan's investigation was progressing smoothly. A while after their investigation began, both of them had found data that stood out.

“Koutarou, this is bad!”

The first one to speak was Kiriha who was investigating the main computer.

“What is it?!”

Koutarou hurriedly rushed over to Kiriha upon hearing her panicked voice and seeing her anxious and tense expression.

“Take a look at this! It appears to be the blueprint for a large-scale weapon!”

“What the heck is this?!”

On the screen of the computer that Kiriha was investigating was a huge structure reaching over ten meters. It seemed to be a weapon like she had said, but it was just so big it looked like a building.

“I can't tell you any details until I look into it more, but it appears that this is a weapon that can cause a massive earthquake over a large area!”

“You're saying that they're planning on using this to randomly attack the surface?!”

As it was a massive weapon, its blueprint took up a large amount of data. Having noticed it, Kiriha casually opened it up, but its contents came as a huge surprise.

This weapon would stimulate the spiritual energy running through the planet, known as ley lines, at a certain point and disrupt the flow of energy. That disruption would spread through the earth's crust and cause a massive earthquake. If left alone, Japan would be struck by a natural disaster with an unprecedented scale. The cities would cease to function and the coastline region would be swept away by tsunamis.

“Kiriha-san, if they use this something unimaginable will happen to the surface!”

“It won't just be the surface! An earthquake of this scale wouldn't leave my hometown unscathed either! No, maybe that's their goal?!”

Living underground, the People of the Earth were easily affected by earthquakes. As they were producing an earthquake inducing weapon, the radical faction must have noticed these risks.

The radical faction's goals were options. There were mainly two of them.

First they would attack using a method that the people of the surface wouldn't realize was an attack. The surface dwellers don't know that earthquakes can be caused artificially. They would simply assume it was a natural disaster. After destroying the surface they would march forward with their army and occupy the city. Since this would happen after a massive earthquake and tsunami, there was no way to prevent this invasion.

Their other goal was to destroy the hometown of the People of the Earth. By robbing them of their homes, they would force them into a situation where they had to rise to the surface. If the surface dwellers found out that the People of the Earth had caused the earthquake they wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the conservative and the radical faction and would attempt to annihilate the entirety of their race. That's why by threatening to disclose information would force the conservatives that had lost their homes to cooperate with the radical faction.

“How can the radical faction do something like this?! They would attack even the home they grew up in?!”

Harumi who had heard the conversation let out a scream-like voice. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. It was the same as she destroying the city she grew up in. She couldn't believe this was something a sane person would do.

“While the underground is the home to us in the conservative faction, the radical faction only thinks of it as a humiliating prison! They wouldn't hesitate to destroy their prison to reclaim their true home!”

The conservative faction had accepted the underground as their home. Having lived there for so long they thought of it as their own country filled with memories and history. But since their decline could no longer be avoided, they had steeled themselves to abandon their home.

However, the radical faction didn't feel that way. They didn't think of the underground as their home. They felt like they had been robbed of their true home and forced underground. Unable to forget that unfortunate history they spent their days teeming with hatred. That's why they probably wouldn't hesitate to destroy the underground. To them, it was a false history, something that should never have happened.

“But that's too much!!”

“Calm down, Sakuraba-senpai! We only have to prevent that from ever happening!”

“Y-Yes.”

Harumi had fallen into confusion for a moment, but Koutarou's powerful words snapped her out of it.

Satomi-kun really is strong, regardless of how many years pass... He'll protect everyone just like he did in the past... I should stop crying and think about something I can do...

Harumi wiped away the tears forming in her eyes and changed gears. She began thinking of something that she could do.

“Kiriha-san, is that weapon here?!”

Koutarou's idea was clear. If there was something that dangerous, it should be destroyed, and as quickly as possible. If it was in this place, it should be destroyed right now.

“It seems like they only made the core of this weapon here. It seems like the weapon itself is being made somewhere else.”

“They're not making all of it here?! Then where?!”

“There's a record on this computer here!”

As for where the earthquake weapon in question was, Clan had found a record on the computer she was investigating. Since she was investigating the administrator's computer, she had information of how much of what was being made and where it was being taken.

“Since it's a secret, it seems like the accurate location and name of the place are being kept hidden, but it seems to be on one of the islands off the coast of Kitsushouharukaze city. The word island is being used frequently.”

“So that's why they only made their core here!”

“What do you mean, Kiriha-san?”

“If they're using an earthquake inducing weapon then it would be more efficient to place it near the borders of a plate rather than inland. If they want to avoid being seen by the public, an uninhabited island off the coast would be the best choice. But the problem with an uninhabited island is securing water. Large quantities of water is usually required when manufacturing advanced products. When it comes to an uninhabited island, you'd either need to use seawater and thoroughly filter out the saline and impurities or dig for water underground. Since both would take a lot of time, the core itself was made in this factory.”

Since this was the core of a weapon capable of inducing earthquakes, it required an extremely accurate and advanced processing technology. One thing that was common in the production of precise electronic equipment was contamination on the particle scale. Particle scale contamination primarily came from air or water. That's why factories producing precise electronics gathered around cities near rivers with clean air.

“Clan, can you tell what island it is?”

“I've only given it a rough look, but it seems that it's being completely covered up...”

“Then I guess we have to check everything. Clan, pick up all the islands offshore.”

Off the shore of Kitsushouharukaze city were several islands and Koutarou believed that they would have to check all of them. In that case, they would be better off going now as there was no guarantee that they would find the earthquake weapon right away.

“Wait, Satomi-kun!”

Koutarou was about to head off to investigate the islands, but that was when Harumi stopped him.

“What's the matter, Sakuraba-senpai?”

“Won't one of those trailers from before head to the island?”

“Ah...”

There was a good chance that one of the five trailers that had gotten transmitters attached to them would head towards the island in question. The radical faction would have to protect the weapon after all.

“Great idea, Sakuraba-senpai! Clan!”

“There's a record on the computer! One of the trailers will be heading to the island in question!”

“Don't lose sight of that one! If you do, you'll be punished!”

“What a stupid request! Just who do you think I am?!”

“I'm counting on you, princess. Our future is depending on you.”

“Please, Clan-oneechan.”

“...Leave it to me. If Bertorion is going to call me princess and you are calling me oneechan, then I shall let you win!”

Clan's eyes behind her glasses shone as she nodded and began busily operating her bracelet, sending orders to the Cradle that's on standby in the sky. The People of the Earth's and Koutarou and the others' fate rested on the unmanned scouts that would track the trailers.

Part 4

After finishing their information gathering, Koutarou and the others headed towards the exit of the control room. Using their obtained information as their basis, there was a ton of things that needed to be done.

“Kii, I've sent Theiamillis-san and the others the sign to withdraw through the Cradle.”

“Thank you. After grouping up with Theia-dono and the rest we should head straight towards the island. There's no time to lose.”

“Sakuraba-senpai, how's your body holding up?”

“I'm feeling just fine.”

“I see... then let's go.”

Waiting for the four to gather by the door, Koutarou opened the door. Just like when they had entered, the door slid to the side to open. However, the scenery on the other side was different from when they had entered.

Past the door was a large passage, over ten meters wide. It was a passage that looked like it could house several lanes of traffic. And in the passage was a man that Koutarou and Kiriha had seen before.

“It's been a while, Kurano's daughter, and the brat.”

“Tayuma! As expected, you were here!”

Kiriha glared at the man, Shijima Tayuma. However, Tayuma had a grin and look that was looking down on her.

“As expected is my line. As expected, you fell into my trap, Kurano's daughter.”

“What?!”

Upon hearing the word trap, Koutarou's expression changed, and Tayuma showed Koutarou a condescending smile.

“You're slow as always, brat. You think we'd leave the control room unmanned for no reason?”

“...You used it as a trap.”

Koutarou began understanding the situation. The moment the diversion team appeared, Tayuma and the other expected that there would be another team that would infiltrate. And if a second team existed they would without fail head towards the control room filled with secrets. There, they would all be all swept up. The control room had only one entrance. Once they had been lured in their path of retreat would be cut off and they would be trapped.

“Then the factory's security on the inside was lax for the same reason?”

“Fufun, at least Kurano's daughter is quick on the draw. That's correct. Why would we waste soldiers if we didn't know where you'd enter. All we had to do was place our soldiers in an ambush around the area you were guaranteed to go to, the control room, just like this.”

Radical faction soldiers appeared from the darkness of the passage. There were twelve of the robots that had appeared during the daytime. On the opposite side of them were four large machines guns, moved by wheels that would automatically track their targets. Both were weapons that had been produced in this factory.

“So your target was Kiriha-san from the very beginning.”

“That's right. If we stimulate her sense for danger, Kurano's daughter would have no choice but to appear in hopes to find information. Just like Maguz-sama planned.”

“Maguz...? I see, so he's the mastermind...”

Koutarou lightly grinded his teeth. Koutarou knew that Tayuma wasn't all there was to the radical faction, so he wasn't all that surprised. However, he didn't think it would be easy to defeat someone that had planned this far ahead. He couldn't help but imagine how severe the future battle would be.

“Mastermind? Not at all. Maguz-sama is our supreme leader that will bring us People of the Earth a great future.”

Tayuma smiled proudly. He was fiercely loyal to Maguz.

“Despite that, you failed last year.”

“The outcome of that didn't matter. In truth. All the attention was gathered on me, allowing us to prepare for the war.”

Maguz had been pulling the strings behind Tayuma's attack last year.

Tayuma's goal back then was to have Kiriha or Tayuma himself killed by surface dwellers, which would draw the public opinion of the People of the Earth towards war. But having that fail gave the radical faction a reason to stay low.

In the foreground they were staying low, but in the background they were preparing for a large-scale war. If the radical faction became more inactive for no reason, there would be some that would question it. But with Tayuma defeated, there was no one that questioned their inactivity. They were able to earn several valuable months.

If Tayuma had succeeded the public opinion would sway. If he failed he would buy time for the radical faction to prepare for war. It was because he understood that, that Maguz listened to Tayuma's selfish demands and sent him to the surface.

“Maguz-sama is a great, broad minded person who even takes what someone as insignificant as me says into consideration. He is not someone the likes of you could ever defeat!”

Tayuma had a wide smile. Koutarou and the others were already in the middle of his trap. It was a smile of conviction.

“I won't let things go as you plan, Tayuma! I will capture you here, and Maguz right after!”

Kiriha sent a sharp glance and words at Tayuma.

I don't like that face... then!

Koutarou preferred Kiriha's normally gentle expression. Just like how he didn't want Yurika to be a magical girl, he didn't want Kiriha to be a commander in a battle. He wanted her to be her normal kind self and he wanted Kii to be her innocent self.

If Kiriha would have this expression as long as she had enemies, then those enemies needed to be defeated as swiftly as possible. Koutarou once more made up his mind and clenched his fist.

“Fuahaha. Sadly I can't agree to your demands. I will take my leave for today.”

“Tayuma?!”

However, Tayuma turned his back to Koutarou and the others. He had no intentions of fighting himself. The crowd of weapons moved and protected his back.

“Wait, Tayuma!”

“Kurano's daughter, if you wish to fight against me you'll first needed to defeat these. Well, neither Maguz-sama nor I care if you die or survive this.”

Tayuma didn't listen to Kiriha and calmly left the passage. Koutarou and the others wanted to rush up and catch him, but the 16 weapons stood in their way. They couldn't do anything else until they destroyed these.

“...I'm sorry, Koutarou. And to you too, Clan, Harumi. The enemy is more troublesome than I thought.”

Tayuma calmly walked down the passage and disappeared behind a corner. After seeing that, Kiriha grinded her teeth in frustration. She realized how naive she had been.

“Don't sweat it.”

Koutarou smiled at Kiriha. When she looked into his eyes she noticed that they were different from normal. They held a strong determination in them.

“Once this is all over, I'll be satisfied as long as you give me a kiss with a smile.”

“...Koutarou...”

Those words alone caused Kiriha's strength to leave her shoulders.

That's right... this is the kind of person Onii-chan has always been...

Some of the anxiety she felt from her blunders was replaced with courage. Kiriha placed her hand above the card inside her clothes and smiled as she thought of feelings placed in it.

“Fufu... now you've said it. Then let's hurry up and end this so I can rain kisses down upon you.”

“I'll look forward to it... Blue Knight, give me my sword.”

“As you wish, my lord.”

Kiriha felt that no matter how strong he was, holding a weapon just didn't suit Koutarou. And for that reason as well, she wanted to reach a conclusion as quickly as possible.

Part 5

The enemies attacked at the same time that Koutarou readied Signaltin. Because of that, the enemies attacks were slightly faster.

Immediately the shrill sound of motors, the four machine guns opened fire at the same time. They each had their own target and a rain of bullets rained down upon all of the members of the infiltration team.

“Deploy the distortion field over a wider area!”

“Karama, Korama, Spiritual Energy Field to maximum output!”

However, before the bullets could hit two barriers stood in their way. It was Clan's personal barrier and the spiritual energy barrier created by the two haniwas. But these two sturdy barriers were spread over a wide area, and only managed to slow the bullets.

“Come, spirits of wind! Dance around and become a whirl, show your great powers capable of traversing the world! Blow it all away! Shielding Wind!”

However, the slightly delayed third barrier completely stopped the slowed bullets. The third barrier was a spell created by Harumi using ancient magic.

“Everyone, focus on the machine guns first! We can't have them moving around freely!”

Koutarou gave orders behind the three and swung his sword at the mechanical soldiers. It was his job to slow down as many of the mechanical soldiers as possible.

I won't lose to these one on one, but...

But going up against twelve was troublesome. These had been made by the same technology as Maya's body, and while they couldn't move as fast as her, they were still quick. On top of that, they cooperated well during their attacks. While their cooperation wasn't as good as the Motor Knights that Elexis had used, combined with their speed it was a handful. And most of all there were a lot of them. While Koutarou could read their movements as they were powered by spiritual energy, it was difficult dealing with twelve of them at once. As a result, four of them slipped past Koutarou and attacked the girls behind him.

“Kii, use this!”

“Thanks!”

The ones to deal with the oncoming four machines were Clan and Kiriha. The two were using weapons that Clan had summoned and squared down with the four mechanical soldiers.

“Haa!”

Kiriha was using a naginata with a blade generating an intense heat. Well versed in military arts, Kiriha dexterously swung the naginata around and blocked the mechanical soldiers large claws.

“Keep it up, Kii!!”

Clan held a beam cannon in both hands and repeatedly shot at the mechanical soldier that had made contact with Kiriha. Since Clan was bad at melee combat, Kiriha naturally had to defend with the naginata while Clan use her beam cannon to attack.

While the Clan and Kiriha formed the second line of defense, Harumi aimed for the machine guns with her spell. While the barrier might block the machine guns' fire it didn't block the mechanical soldiers that had come up close. The machine guns needed to be destroyed as quickly as possible so the barriers could be redistributed.

“Gather, spirits of water! Dance, spirits of wind! Combine these two powers and appear, spirits of lightning! Oh dragon-like dark cloud, open your jaws and destroy!”

Harumi's hair shone with silver and chanted a spell as if it was a song. As her incantation continued a powerful electric charge gathered around her and shone as dazzlingly as lightning.

“Roar of Thunder!”

Upon finishing her incantation, Harumi opened her closed eyes and stared at the machine guns in front of her. As she did, the electric charge that had floated around her split into four and assaulted the machine guns.

With a loud roar, the lightning struck so close, it was like a massive hammer had slammed down on something. The roar echoed repeatedly off the walls of the passage. Since attack spells required the use of multiple elements at the same time, they were considered top level spells. Their effect were tremendous and a direct hit wouldn't leave one unscathed.

“It didn't work?! Why?!”

However, the machine guns were still functional. While they weren't completely unharmed they were still firing. Since she had attacked Elexis' Motor Knights with this same spell, Harumi had no idea why it hadn't worked.

“Harumi-chan, it's barriers Ho!”

“They have Spiritual Energy Fields as well Ho! Elemental based attacks won't work Ho!”

Karama and Korama who also functioned on spiritual energy understood what had happened. The moment before the electricity had hit, the machine guns had activated their barriers and protected themselves. They made up for their slower moments with a sturdier barrier.

“What should I do, Karama-chan, Korama-chan?!”

“Earth, water, fire, wind and the higher-ranking spirits won't work Ho! It's what Spiritual Energy Fields specialize in Ho!”

“You can't convert the spirits' power Ho! You need to attack with pure power or magical power itself Ho!”

“Thank you, I'll give it a try!”

The spirits that the ancient magic of Forthorthe used where spirits that naturally resided in the world. That's why converting magical power into the spirits' power made it easier for the spiritual energy barriers to block. The compatibility between the two were the worst.

“To think they could withstand Sakuraba-senpai's magic.”

Koutarou was panicking a little from the unexpected development. Koutarou knew very well how powerful her spells were. While their barriers might specialize in guarding against it, they had enough power to endure the attack. They were dangerous opponents that shouldn't be taken lightly.

“Nothing will come from complaining! Harumi will surely pull it off!”

“You're right. Let's believe in Sakuraba-senpai!”

Koutarou pushed aside his surprise after listening to Kiriha and focused on his own battle. While he had done some damage to them, the eight mechanical soldiers in front of him were still all present. If he lost his focus when dealing with these swift soldiers, he'd pay for it.

“Kii, we'll need to hold down the fort!”

“No problems. As long as it's just blocking, I should be able to do something!”

Clan and Kiriha were holding back the enemy as well. Their primary focus was keeping the enemy away from Harumi who would be in charge of the counteroffensive.

“This time... it will work...”

Harumi clasped her hands in front of her chest. Her friends were still fighting hard, and her judgment and actions would sway this battle. Harumi was nervous.

I can't attack using the spirits' powers... in that case!

Harumi mustered up her courage and began incanting once more.

“Oh great power that guards all, oh light of hope that shone in the beginning! Gather in front of me and become a sword to cut my enemies!”

Harumi's hair turned completely silver and her entire body was wrapped in a white light. Before long that light began gathering in her extended right hand. The gathered light grew brighter, and began extending forward from her hand. The extended light grew longer, thicker and brighter. It was a large sword of light born from Harumi's magical power.

“Cut them down! Royal Silver Sword!”

Finishing her incantation, Harumi swung her right hand. The light that had gathered in her hand followed her movement and swung with her. As the tip of the sword had pierced through the ceiling, it cut through the ceiling as the sword was brought down.

“What?!”

Koutarou was captivated by the pure-white light that passed by his side. It was such a shocking light that Koutarou forgot about his battle for an instant.

Without sound, the sword cut the machine gun on the right in half. Harumi then lightly flicked her wrist to the side and the sword of light cut down the other three as well. The light began disappearing there, but it also cut down two of the mechanical soldiers before completely vanishing.

“...Phew... it worked...”

After the light had disappeared Harumi looked down at her right hand and let out a small sigh. She didn't have any real confidence that this attack would work.

The spell Harumi had used gathered Signaltin's powers and discharged it directly. Since it was a rough move that only discharged pure magical power, Harumi didn't know if she could properly control it or not.

But fortunately it all worked out well. Since it was Signaltin's magical power, using it as a sword suited it well, and Alaia's feelings surely helped as well. That was what Harumi felt as she felt a huge relief.

“...Sakuraba-senpai is starting to look more and more like empress Alaia...”

Koutarou couldn't hide his surprise. Harumi had been playing Alaia's role on the scene, but lately she hadn't just been taking on the role of Alaia on stage, but also in real life. Alaia's memories, her beautiful silver hair, her control of Signaltin and its excess magical power through the use of ancient magic. The Silver Princess, Alaia, was in the process of reviving in the modern age using the normal girl Harumi, as her base.

No, this might her majesty Alaia's wish itself...

There, Koutarou realized that Harumi was Alaia's ideal itself.

Alaia had spent her life as a royalty of Forthorthe until her very last moment. But she had to throw away her own freedom and happiness for it. In contrast, Harumi was a normal girl who had inherited Alaia's appearance, powers and memories. In other words, the current Harumi should be incredibly close to what Alaia had been if she had been born as a normal girl. Koutarou also believed that Harumi's personality hadn't changed for the same reason.

Her majesty wouldn't take over someone else's life. Especially if that someone is her ideal itself...

As Koutarou was distracted by Harumi for an instant, the mechanical soldiers attacked. They were trying to tear him apart with their large claws.

“Oh crap?!”

Having been distracted, Koutarou's reaction was a little bit delayed. As a result, he exposed an opening for the soldiers to exploit.

“Look out!!”

However, the mechanical soldiers' claws were stopped by Kiriha's naginata the moment before they hit.

“This battle isn't over yet, don't let your guard down, Koutarou!”

From there, Kiriha used the naginata's blade and handle to unleash a flurry of attacks.

“Sorry. You saved me, Kiriha-san!”

Koutarou readied his sword again and attacked a nearby soldiers. With the machine guns destroyed, the battle had begun progressing in Koutarou's and the others' favor. With the barriers that had been used to block the machine guns freed up, they could make more bold attacks and the mechanical soldiers that outnumbered them began being pushed back.

“At this rate, I won't have any time to shine.”

“That's not true. It's because of Clan-san that we are here.”

“...You're good at flattering others, Harumi.”

“Flattering... but it's the truth.”

Next, Clan and Harumi began supporting, disrupting the mechanical soldiers cooperation, allowing for Koutarou and Kiriha to defeat the soldiers one after another. It didn't take many minutes for all of the mechanical soldiers to be destroyed. Looking at the result, the moment Harumi destroyed the four machine guns, their victory was assured.

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