OTO Chapter 117

[Collapse of Distortion]

My head turn blank. My mind can’t catch up with the ongoing things, and I feel like my view is shaking.

What the hell is going on …?

“Kemuri, you bastard… the hell ‘re you doin’?”

Utsusemi break the neck of Kemuri-san’s clone, which he was holding down. Then, the clone scatters as white smoke and disappeared into the air.

The clone that was aiming for me steps back a few steps to keep a distance from Utsusemi-san.

“I have no obligation to answer, see,” Saying that, Kemuri-san pull out the knife that was stabbed into Face Punch-san’s neck. He collapses on the spot, dead.

Seeing the corpse with his eyes wide open, I almost turn my face to the side.

And the other Kemuri-san pulls out the knife from Tameiki-san and once again tries to stab the knife into her who is staggering.

“Guu…ha!”

*Whap* Tameiki-san barely dodge it, and she falls down to her knees at the place she retreats to.

Tameiki-san’s shirt is dyed red with blood; she is holding that part with her right hand and is breathing roughly.

“Tameiki-san…!” I rush to her and shout.

“Chiyaku-san! Please treat her!” I look back toward Chiyaku-san in a desperate manner, but she is just standing there with her usual calm expression.

A frown is naturally formed on my forehead.

“Chiyaku-san…?”

Without avoiding my gaze, she says with a wry smile, “Sorry for this, Shion-kun.”

A scalpel come down from the cuffs of her white robe, and she cut her wrist with the scalpel.

The blood flows down her hand in drips and form a shape just like that. And a blade of fresh blood is formed in her hand.

“You’re kidding me, right… Chiyaku-san…?” My breath is getting rougher and rougher.

I glance at Sen at the edge of my field of vision, and she is slowly stepping back with a frightened expression while staring at Chiyaku-san. From that expression, she is not an enemy…?

Tameiki-san’s rough breath is disturbing my thoughts.

It’s no good, think about it, think about it, think about it.

What should I do? What should I do?

“Shion…” Tameiki-san murmurs suddenly.

“Hah, hah. Kemuri’s, knife… must be, poisoned… I think I won’t… be able to make it…”

“……Please don’t say such stupid things.”

I slowly regain my composure, but her words make my head blank again.

“Hah… hah…” Just like Tameiki-san, my breathing just keeps getting rougher too.

The fact that her injury is fatal is obvious in a glance.

Even if Chiyaku-san and Kemuri-san are defeated, Tameiki-san’s treatment will not be in time.

In the first place, Chiyaku-san who can treat her is an enemy, so there is no help for her in any way. Sen also seems to lose her fighting spirit for some reason, she stops in place as if she is petrified.

What. What’s happening.

While checking Kemuri-san and Chiyaku-san, I retrace how we got to this point in my blank mind. But as a result, my thoughts return to a blank slate.

It’s useless. Tameiki-san will die here.

I thought desperately, but that is the conclusion I come to.

“Hey, Kemuri… why… tell me,” At that time, Tameiki-san look up at Kemuri-san with teary face. Tameiki-san’s blood is sticking to Kemuri-san’s knife.

Her wound must have hurt severely. Despite that, she raised her face and looked at Kemuri-san’s eyes.

This is the first time I ever see Tameiki-san being like this. Seeing the tears filling her eyes, I can’t help but feel like crying.

Tameiki-san has been devoting herself to the organization the whole time. It is her life.

There’s no way she will have such an end, right?

“Tameiki. I thought of you as my own little sister,” Kemuri-san says expressionlessly.

Tameiki-san narrows her eyes, looking as if she has realized something. Then she closes her eyes, takes off her gaze from Kemuri-san and looks down.

“…Why. What is your purpose, Kemuri-san, Chiyaku-san?” I ask.

After all both Kemuri-san and Chiyaku-san are among the members who have devoted themselves the most to the organization, aren’t they?

“I have no obligation to answer. However, this was decided from the beginning.”

I don’t understand what he’s saying. Even my head already become confused.

What’s going on?

Infinite Corridor. Shido-san is also an enemy…? The inside of the hideout is also dangerous. Where is the 2000-strong force of the Self-Defense Forces? Who is the enemy? Tameiki-san will die. I don’t like it.

…I will also, die…?

*zan* Chiyaku-san is stepping into the radius of 1 meter around me.

“Gggh…!”

I’m attacked in the momentary gap. I won’t be able to deploy the Silent World in time. It is also difficult to activate it at this timing. Crap, my judgment is too late.

The blade of fresh blood is approaching before me.

I’m dead.

When I think so, *gakin* I hear the sound of metal and metal colliding with each other.

I open my eyes.

It is Utsusemi who is standing in front of me and stop Chiyaku’s blood blade with his sword.

His haori that is wet with blood is flapping in my view.

He gazes back at me from the space between his bamboo hat and his shoulder, and says, “Fight, Shion.”

A switch in my brain is flipped up with a *click* with that word.

It feels as if a pure white paper is permeated by blank ink.

That’s right. Fight.

What I need to do in this situation is very simple. Kill or be killed.

There is no doubt that these guys are trying to kill me. Then you guys, die.

As I breathe slowly, the ‘uncomfortable feeling’ that I felt until just now converge in me, as if dot after dot is connecting, as if entwined strings are unraveled.

The mysterious placement of members on our second line of defense. On the contrary, it was a deliberate act to make us like trapped rats.

There are many other orders of Kemuri-san that were incomprehensible too.

The motive does not matter. What is Kemuri-san trying to do now?

I collect my thoughts in a second.

“Sen, can you move?” I open my mouth slightly behind Utsusemi-san.

The sound reaches only Sen and Utsusemi-san.

“Get back to the base and tell Byakurei-san about what happened here. That person is an ally.”

Otherwise, Kemuri-san would not make Byakurei-san to be exhausted by the constant deployment of his ability.

Sen is opening and closing his mouth for a while, but eventually she nods silently and tries to leave.

However, Chiyaku-san, who is standing in front of Utsusemi, gives off a killing intent.

“Sen, stay still. You’re mine, aren’t you…?”

Sen’s movement stops and she is in petrified state again.

Dammit, what a useless person.

“Haha. I wanna say the same to you, Chiyaku. I’ll be taking your head from now on, so you better stay still.”

“You sure have a big mouth.”

With a *bashin* Utsusemi-san and Chiyaku-san start to move.

The two move their battle spot in an instant, running to the depths of the woods.

I say to Sen,

“Now! Go!”

“No… it’s no good … her blood is flowing in my body, and if I disobey her order… I’ll be killed.”

“What are you saying, you are immortal!”

“It’s impossible, impossible…”

Sen trembles and whines like that.

Not good. This person… is really useless.

I give up on Sen and turn my eyes to Kemuri-san that remains.

Probably, the one that created the clone who stabbed Tameiki-san is the real one. And there is also the clone that stabbed Face Punch-san and the clone that tried to stab me.

A total of three bodies.

This situation. Inevitably, I will have to fight Kemuri-san.

“Come on… let’s do this, Kemuri-san.”

It was probably a big miscalculation in his part that he couldn’t kill me in the surprise attack at the beginning.

I was saved by Utsusemi-san.

I was confused because of the surprise attack, but when I calm down, I see that this is not that desperate of a situation.

“Don’t be cheeky, newcomer,” I focus my gaze on them. Each of them is ready for battle, but Kemuri-san, who has lost the decisive blow, has not taken a stance.

Their attack method is only physical attack. At this distance, Sound-Shot is faster. But a simple Sound-Shot is no good. Kemuri-san should be wary of it.

It is a good idea to hit his body with a Heartbeat-Shot, but honestly… I’m not sure if it’s his real body. I just think so because it is the closest one to his first position.

He might have changed place when I was about to be stabbed. In worst case, his main is not among the three.

No… I want to believe that it’s not the case. His main should want to check the situation here.

Then, one of these three is the main body.

In other words, there is a 1/3 chance. If I miss, I will be attacked in that gap and die.

And there is another concern.

There is a possibility that he can catch up with the lag of activation of the Silent World.

If I activate the Silent World, he will definitely launch an attack right away.

This is because Kemuri-san have seen the Heartbeat-Shot in the battle in the underground parking lot earlier.

He’s not Kemuri-san if he can’t see through what kind of technique it is.

At this distance, there is a possibility that it will be a one-on-one close quarter combat even if I use ‘that’. If that happens, I’m at a disadvantage.

In terms of ability, Kemuri-san, whose skill level of physical skills directly leads to improvement of combat power, has no equal in a battle without ability. With a knife, he could kill me in an instant.

Having gaps in all my techniques, if my blow is avoided, it will directly lead to my death.

I don’t have the initiative in this battle.

Then there is no choice but to keep a distance.

If I do so, I can finish him with ‘that’.

I turn my eyes to Tameiki-san with a glance. I can barely hear her heartbeat and breathing.

She’s not dead yet. However, she won’t make it.

“Tameiki-san. Are you still conscious?”

“……Ahh,” A voice that sounds about to vanish replies.

In the meantime, the three Kemuri-sans step back a little.

“This time I will be the one to protect you, just for a while.

However, I don’t think I can save your life. I’m sorry,” I say plainly, keeping a clear mind.

Right now, I just calmly look at the enemy before me. With dry eyes.

“I… with the last of my power… I’ll let you escape… Hah, hah. Come here… Shion.”

The voice she squeezed out is painful just to hear.

She is trying to help even at her last moment, huh. I wish she also think about herself for a bit.

“Please listen.

…I’m sure I wouldn’t be this strong without Tameiki-san…

Will you please see it if possible? My growth”

“…hah, hah… don’t. Kemuri… is not as weak as you think,” Tameiki-san speaks while vomiting blood.

At the same time, Kemuri-san starts to move. I have no choice but to ignore Tameiki-san.

The three Kemuri-sans slowly move away from me and take tens of steps away.

And he gains the advantage of siege by enclosing me in a triangle.

Seeing me laughed grinningly, Kemuri-san also curls up his mouth.

“That is the face of someone who give up the advantage of distance.”

That’s right.

The moment I muttered so in my heart, white smoke rises from the three Kemuri-sans. If this is the case, I can’t determine which one is the main body. Camouflage, huh.

The white smoke quickly surrounds me, and eventually part after part of it forms a shape.

Eventually, a total of more than 100 Kemuri-sans surround us.

“…”

As expected, I’m also overwhelmed by their numbers.

“You are really… serious, aren’t you?” I mutter.

“Because you can’t be underestimated. My image of you is a brute who does anything to live.”

Get yourself a mirror. You’re the crazy guy who put us in this situation.

“My clones are over 100. You know that each has the same mass, the same properties, and the same equipment, right?”

Naturally. I answer with silence.

I’m not overawed by Kemuri-san’s words.

“At this distance, I can deal with Sound-Shot with walls of flesh. Even if it is not Sound-Shot, the number of times you can use that single bombing is three more times even if you risk your life, isn’t it?”

Single bombing – he must be talking about Hearbeat-Shot.

“I can’t even use it three times you know.”

“That so. That means I’m going to fight you with at least a winning percentage of 98% or more,” Kemuri-san who grins and make a wry face.

I’m the one who want to laugh.

“That’s not the case, Kemuri-san.”

I spread out my both hands.

The reason he didn’t immediately attack me is probably because he sees my leisurely attitude. He should have come at me earlier.

“What……?”

“You know what the T wave is, right?”

“Are you talking about the Torque wave?”

That’s it. Torque wave… Commonly known as T wave, it is a brain wave emitted by nerve cells in the brain that control one’s ability.

It is said that this is giving paranormal changes to all kinds of events.

The wavelength varies from person to person.

TAD – which I was once tasked to sell together with Hakunetsu-san and Kuroinu-san – is also an item to detect ability user using the Torque waves.

“What’s wrong with that?”

I will let you find the answer to that question with your own body.

——Silent World.

At the moment when all sounds disappeared, the more than 100 Kemuri-san’s troops run toward me all at once.

However, I’m not scared.

This technique requires considerable concentration, but consumes almost no stamina compared to Heartbeat-Shot.

Because it only partially emits a small, small audible sound.

Even if the T wave is offset, its effect does not disappear for some reason.

However, if you add a sound wave of a different wavelength to the generated part and disturb it, you can prevent the activation of the ability only during that time.

Eat this.

Distortion Sound (Distortion).

At that moment, with the activation of the ‘Distortion Sound’, all of Kemuri-san’s clones disappear.

Among the Kemuri-sans that disappeared without raising white smoke, there was only one Kemuri-san that did not disappear.

It’s the main body.

I concentrate and grasp his heartbeat.

He opens his eyes wide, looking astonished, but he immediately makes the best decision and run straight to me.

“Uooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

“Dieeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!”

――Heartbeat-Shot.

His body explodes into pieces of fleshes and blood.

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