The match was progressing more evenly than expected. One could say it was a fierce battle with no teams eliminated until the mid-point, but…
The reality was a bizarre scene where teammates couldn’t sync up at all and were squabbling among themselves, all from the same academy.
Already experiencing their fourth fall, Sakurako couldn’t help but admire Makoto holding on tenaciously to the tow rope, her unwavering will was nothing short of indomitable.
Watching Makoto, Sakurako inadvertently reflected on her own lukewarm attitude up to that point. With someone else risking everything in the match, was it right for her to approach this so half-heartedly?
Perhaps her attitude toward the tournament thus far had been a disrespect to those she had defeated.
That thought struck like a bolt of lightning, starting to dominate Sakurako’s mind mercilessly.
‘…That’s right. Unknowingly, I’ve been carrying the sweat, resolve, and desire to win of everyone who has been eliminated so far on my back. This lukewarm attitude is nothing short of an insult to them.’
Finally, Sakura’s previously silent determination began to stretch itself.
At that same moment, as Tsurugi was picking up speed toward the final checkpoint, Ichika’s voice pierced through the sea breeze and gunfire.
“Tsurugi-senpai, from now on, we’re gonna run at full speed!”
“…Full speed?”
With a dazed expression, Tsurugi mumbled in thought as she stared ahead. A small smile crept onto her lips.
“…Kiheh.”
That small smile morphed into a wild, maniacal grin in an instant. The fierce expression, which could send anyone running in fear at night, spread through the commentary, further enhancing the infamous reputation of the Justice Realization Department’s leader. But that was a matter for later.
“Heheheheh—! Kyahhhhh——!!!”
In that moment, Tsurugi’s thoughts were repeating only two words.
Full speed. And gold medal.
As always, everything in between would be smashed to bits. That was Kenzaki Tsurugi’s way.
The moment Tsurugi’s boat roared ahead, other drivers began to pick up speed after her. However, there was only one among the remaining three who had the guts to match Tsurugi’s pace…
“Oooh~ What’s this? Is it a challenge to race at full speed? Right? Ha—Hahaha!”
Only Kasumi remained.
“Alright~! It looks like things are going smoothly over there. Now then, it’s time to take that gold medal! Come on, Iori-chan~ Hold on tight~~~!”
“Hey, you—! Ah!”
Iori, who was about to explode with anger at Kasumi’s sudden acceleration, accidentally bit her tongue instead. Grimacing, she quickly pulled the rope to dodge the bullets aimed at her back, suddenly feeling her patience wearing thin.
Why was it only her? Why was she the only one continuing this lonely fight?
Fuming, Iori aimed her barrel at the back of Kasumi’s head, taking a deep breath as she held onto the last strands of her remaining patience. Originally, teaming up with that damn terrorist had been solely to get Hina a medal, but there was no way she could just flip that now.
…But surely the target for her pent-up anger was far over there.
Taking a deep breath, Iori loaded as much Shinpi into her gun as she could. She was a proud member of the Gehenna Student Council…
‘In the current situation, what the hell does that matter?’
At the moment when Ichika was running at the front and Iori was maintaining a relaxed pace while taking shots from Sakurako, Makoto’s face overlayed with Kasumi’s in Iori’s vision, gaining her new resolve.
“…Underestimating the Student Council snipers ends here.”
Three shots loaded with Shinpi flew mercilessly toward the Trinity team players.
“Wah…?!”
It didn’t hit dead-on, but the splash from the bullets hitting right next to her threw Ichika off balance momentarily.
[Oh dear, Nakamasada Ichika-san. Are you really about to get eliminated here?]
Ichika, who was wobbling as if she would fall in, let go of her gun and grabbed the tow rope with both hands. Since it was connected to her tactical belt, she wouldn’t lose the gun, but with this, there would be no chance to retrieve it until the match ended.
‘…This works out. After all, enduring full speed with one hand is impossible for me. So if I just focus and cross the finish line first, that’s that, right?’
While Ichika regained her balance and felt relieved, the distance between the leading two teams and their following pair began to widen.
[Nakamasada Ichika’s team maintains the lead. However, it’s now essentially a toothless tiger. It seems she has chosen to give up on counterattacks and focus on solidifying her victory, but Shiroimi Iori isn’t out yet!]
[It’s not all favorable for Shiroimi Iori, either. The constrainment from Utazumi Sakurako, who has just fully joined the match, remains… Ah, well this complicates things a bit.]
In order to avoid giving Sakurako any angles for shooting, Kasumi’s decision to stick close to Tsurugi’s boat paid off. While Iori widened her eyes at this first instance of helpful judgment, another grenade was delivered right in front of her.
[That grenade missed this time too. As the boat speeds up, it seems increasingly impossible to knock out an opponent with accuracy. And Hanuma Makoto is now lying flat on the water, being dragged behind… Oh?]
Bang!
Makoto, lowered to the surface while holding onto the tow rope with one hand, hit Ichika squarely in the back of the head with her shot.
Bang!!
But that wasn’t the end of it; Iori’s shots followed, hitting Ichika in the side.
[Oh no, a major upset is underway? Hanuma Makoto’s shot followed by Shiroimi Iori’s hit! But Nakamasada Ichika, despite suffering consecutive hits, hasn’t let go of the rope?!]
“Hey, you student council member! You sure are full of distractions! I only just— phew!”
As Ichika’s posture faltered, she was yanked backward by the boat’s speed. Meanwhile, Sakurako’s shots almost managed to take out Makoto, who was floating on the Trinity side.
‘…Ah.’
Having been in similar situations in practice, Ichika managed to adjust her posture more easily than expected. Glancing with an annoyed expression at Iori, who had significantly shortened the distance, she gripped the tow handle tighter.
In fact, the continuous hits had actually helped Ichika maintain her grip on the rope. When the bullet from Makoto hit her in the back of the head, her vision went dark momentarily, nearly losing consciousness. But thanks to Iori’s shot, she managed to cling onto the rope somehow.
But that was that, and this was this.
Even if Iori’s follow-up shot had kept her from getting eliminated, the pain hadn’t vanished. With her shooting option sealed, Ichika had no way to attack Makoto behind her, but…
‘…Shouldn’t I just tackle her? As long as I don’t touch the rope…’
There was definitely someone nearby to vent her frustrations on.
Leaning her body while pulling the rope, Ichika sped through the water toward Iori. Iori, seeing this, hurried to shoot, but Ichika naturally pivoted, countering Iori’s aim with evasive maneuvers.
As Ichika approached, her ski blade splashed water directly onto Iori. Caught off guard by the water obscuring her vision while also getting hit, Iori was bewildered, and Ichika’s weapon swung around due to inertia…
Swoosh!!!
“…”
It was unfortunate for Iori that it struck her in the back of her knees perfectly.
[…Shiroimi Iori has let go of the rope!]
“Oh dear, Iori-chan? Didn’t I tell you to hold on tight? Hmm…”
Kasumi, spotting Iori falling while she let go of the tow rope, fell into contemplation. Should she ram her boat into Tsurugi’s and mess things up, or should she pull it out according to the rules?
While she was pondering, Kasumi caught a glimpse of Tsurugi’s expression and freaked out, discarding the former option from her mind. That was clearly a person not to mess with—like Hina, someone to be avoided.
[Right before the last corner, Shiroimi Iori finds herself facing elimination. Now it’s a straight line to the finish! It appears that Nakamasada Ichika’s boat is hard to catch, while the speed of the two boats chasing from behind is neck and neck!]
Seeing Makoto submerged alongside the boat throughout the match, Sakurako wore a helpless smile. At this rate, eliminating an opponent with her shots would prove difficult.
Turning her eyes forward, Sakurako found herself witnessing a strange sight.
“Hey, Mr. Pigeon!”
“…What?!”
“Do you know what this is, Mr. Pigeon?!”
“A coin, isn’t it?!”
“Hehe, look a little closer.”
It was a bizarre sight of Satsuki showing a coin hanging from a thread toward Mine.
As Mine frowned upon seeing this, Satsuki suddenly cranked up her speed to the max. Surely Makoto would follow her lead underwater. With thoughts of solidifying her silver medal in mind, she raced fiercely ahead.
Realizing she had been tricked, Mine hurried to accelerate, but she could never catch up to Satsuki, who had started first.
[Team Trinity 1 crosses the finish line first, securing the gold medal. Following right after are Team Gehenna 1 and Team Trinity 2! And so, the match concludes.]
[Haah… This really tarnishes the public image of the Manma Battle…]
Makoto, who had managed to keep submerged, proved that staying underwater could indeed be a strategy. Subsequently, she achieved the remarkable feat of ensuring regulations were put in place to eliminate participants automatically after spending a third of the match in the water, proudly wearing her silver medal.
“…Mika-senpai, didn’t you say you’d put the gold medal directly around my neck?”
And in Ichika’s heart, who had given her all for a single goal, someone had just served her a dose of betrayal.
