It had been two hours since I parted ways with the Squad. Unsurprisingly, there’s no signal inside the Catacombs. With no way to understand the situation outside, I could only walk while hoping Seiya was handling things well.
“Hey.”
“Yup…!”
“Are you sure you’re finding the right path? I feel like I’ve seen that cross about twenty minutes ago.”
“I swear to the primal divine that I’m not lying! If we just turn this corner…”
As promised by Arius Mob, we finally turned the corner, and lo and behold, an exit leading out of this wretched Catacomb appeared. Beyond that lay the Arius Autonomous District.
“Aha! You’re right! Thanks for the kind guidance☆”
“Then…”
“As a reward, I’ll make you feel twice the pain you inflicted on Azusa-chan. That’s quite generous, right?”
“…Eek?!”
Of course, it was a lie. Who would want to spare someone like her?
In the first place, where could I even hit that tiny Azusa? I had been happily kicking around, which reminded me of the scene where Azusa got beaten up by the Arius instructors, infuriating me even more.
“Wait! I don’t want to die yet… Aaaaaah!”
What is she doing on her own? I hadn’t even hit her yet. And what do you mean ‘die’? Obviously, I was just planning to control my strength and hit her.
“Huh…? Cough!”
Still, seeing her pull off a decent gag eased the tension, so this time I hit her a bit softer than intended. No matter how angry I was, I couldn’t break the taboo of smashing a Halo during a serious fit of anger.
Leaving behind the crumpled Arius Mob, I continued on. Finally, I thought, I’m free from the Catacombs, but as I stepped outside, I stopped momentarily at the sight of the Arius students sprawled all around.
“…Unknown intruder detected! Report to the Madam!”
“Wait, that phrase… Trinity? It’s Trinity!”
“What…? How did that Trinity girl get here…? No, first, subdue her! The Madam will take care of the rest!”
No matter how I looked at it, they seemed like failed attempts to capture the Squad, but I had no clue why they were still dawdling here. They should have known that both I and Beatrice were not supposed to be here. Thanks to that, I was the only one caught right off the bat.
…Well, it probably doesn’t matter. I came here determined to break through alone anyway.
Looking around casually, I could roughly guess why Beatrice’s methods had worked so well on the Arius students. The atmosphere was entirely bleak and dreary, and it was evident that they were all struggling.
Growing up in such a place, even I would want to blame and hate someone, and Beatrice had skillfully poked at that part. They could channel their mutual hatred into Trinity and Gehenna, which they had long directed at one another.
Clank!
They started closing in on me, pointing guns everywhere. If they were coming closer like this, I appreciated it.
If I beat them all to a pulp and drained their poison, their resistance would be a lot lower when it came time to incorporate them into Trinity. Since these folks knew what kind of place this was, they couldn’t help but feel the difference in living standards.
Throwing in that Trinity had wanted to apologize to them all along but Beatrice had refused to convey all those proposals for her own selfish reasons would be the cherry on top.
“Hey, is there anyone who can tell me which way the Arius Basilica is? I won’t touch that person specially.”
I was in a bit of a rush today, so I wasn’t going to waste time on clichés where someone spills the directions only to be roasted afterward. So I was hoping some clueless fool would speak up…
“Hah, what are you saying?! Drop your weapons and kneel where you stand!”
…Isn’t it a cliché for at least one person to spill the directions in these scenarios only to receive endless curses? No one is stepping up.
“Aha, sorry, but I’m a bit too busy to get captured by you. So, if anyone wants to tell me where to go, be sure to raise your hands, okay?”
The jaw of an Arius student who had been bravely marching toward me turned sideways, and at the same time, the Halo flickered out.
“…What? Is he, d-dead?”
“Is that even important right now?! Shoot already!”
“Come on, that Halo on your head didn’t look pretty just for show—there’s no way he’s dead! I came here to see just how hard I had to hit to knock someone out, so don’t freak out☆”
One-hit kill. The gun just had to be collected.
Watching the Arius mob fall like autumn leaves, I couldn’t help but think: Call me the pink flash of Trinity…
In the end, an overwhelmed Arius student finally pointed me in the right direction. It all happened after the Halos of every student nearby lost their light.
“Emergency situation! Trinity is invading! Immediate support needed toward sector C! The enemy’s scale is one person… What? No joke, get over here and stop her! We’re about to be completely wiped out!!!”
Well… It’s a little regrettable, but if you can’t even handle one person properly and you’re requesting reinforcements, anyone would think you’re joking, right?
*
After entering the Arius Autonomous District, about… 30 minutes? An hour? I couldn’t check exactly how much time had passed, but it felt like around that much.
I understood why the Squad was so battered before escaping into the Catacombs. There were fewer troops blocking my way than I had anticipated. It seemed Azusa had worked hard to reduce their numbers for me. Still, they’d recover quickly, so I couldn’t stretch this out too long.
So, as I was steadily headed towards the Arius Basilica…
[You must be that audacious young lady Saori mentioned. Indeed, from start to finish, the reports were riddled with lies. The Squad should never have been able to subdue you. At this level, you must be a holder of Shinpi, capable of piquing even the interest of that person… Heh, amusing.]
“…”
Beatrice had contacted me through communication.
[Hmm… I had thought you were rather chatty, but you’ve suddenly gone quiet. A grown-up expects responses when they ask questions.]
“Hey, did you know you’re quite a handful? You, claiming to be an adult while acting like the Student Council President. I really don’t want to waste my time talking to someone so pitiful.”
[…If you were from Arius, it would have been enjoyable to train you to be obedient. Such a shame.]
“Huh? No, that’s not the case, Madam. It’s fortunate for you that I’m not from here; otherwise, I would have ripped you apart by now.”
Troops were still pouring in, but their numbers had significantly dwindled. I was starting to have enough time to gather some 9mm rounds from the fallen Arius students.
As I reloaded my gun with fresh ammunition, I figured I might as well listen to Beatrice’s chatter while taking a brief break before facing the next wave.
The reason I wasn’t bringing up anything important was that I wanted to pick at her and gather whatever information I could at the same time. I know the enemy, but the enemy doesn’t know me. Giving up that advantage would be foolish.
[How audacious… Hah, this is why students who haven’t received proper education are troublesome. They don’t know how to respect their elders. It seems like you won’t be able to communicate with one of those.]
“Aha, what’s that! Was that meant to be a joke? I hope it was a joke. It should be, because it’s really amusing for someone undeserving to beg for respect. Don’t you think that’s ridiculous? Also, I have no interest in breaking the ice with a girl like you.”
[Respectable? Children should respect their elders; that’s the obvious order of things. You, a mere child, are in no position to question an adult like me.]
“What do you even know? Real adults deserving of respect know their place. You probably wouldn’t understand even if you saw one. Just so you know, we call that inferiority complex?”
[…]
For a while, Beatrice kept silent. I thought I heard something cracking, like a fan or something, so I guess I must have hit a nerve seeing how boiling mad she was.
After turning another squad into so much scrap metal, I was about to keep moving forward when Beatrice resumed communication.
[…It seems you’ve come all the way here to rescue Saori, but why go so far for a girl you’ve only met once? Considering she made me betray her, she must be a rather dark soul under that innocent facade, yet your actions are completely opposite, making it perplexing. I can’t fathom your intentions.]
“Aha, you really know how to talk, don’t you? If I were Nagisa-chan, I would stuff that mouth with a roll cake☆ Just keep that annoying voice quiet.”
[Roll cake…? Tch, enough. You clearly don’t intend to engage in any serious conversation…]
I suddenly felt like it was pointless to listen further, especially since I sensed I might end up in territory that wouldn’t benefit me. So, I aimed my gun at the noisy communicator and Beatrice beat me to it.
[Royal Blood… Hikari Atsuko. That girl was supposed to be used as a sacrifice for my noble transformation. That was the original plan. But thanks to you, it fell apart.]
…Ah, damn it. I should have shot immediately. Now I had to listen to her rant.
[Well, I don’t know if a mere student like you can grasp any part of my story, but the fact that the original plan fell through means there’s an alternative, right?]
Wait a minute. This isn’t what I think it is, is it? She’s not planning to use Saori as a sacrifice instead of Atsuko, is she? If she dare say anything like that, she’d be dead for real.
[Unfortunately, a sacrificial vessel comparable to Royal Blood has walked right in on its own, so I’m likely to get a satisfactory outcome from the alternative. Hee hee… Saori is——]
“…Hey.”
[…What did you just call me in such a rude manner——]
“Stop saying Saori’s name with that filthy mouth of yours! She’s not someone you can just mess with like you think you can. So, start thinking about running instead of trying to escape. Got it?”
[How audacious——]
Bang! Crack!
I left behind the dead communicator and started charging towards the now-visible Arius Basilica.
Beatrice, you must think you’re the protagonist of this world, don’t you? But you’re wrong.
You have always been a mere MacGuffin.
And today, you are about to plummet from your lofty status as a MacGuffin, even failing to catch the teacher’s interest with your outdated backstory.
