Kousuke and co dashed through the dim corridor that was only illuminated by emergency lamps.
They couldn't see the figure of Weiss and the man in lab coat they were pursuing, but there was no hesitation in the steps of Kousuke who was in the lead. He was advancing while his gaze was focusing to the ground of this plicated passage that seemed like an underground labyrinth. There wasn't any map for this place even in Kaysis's data.
Kousuke was following the trail and presence of the escaping Weiss using the skill of "assassin" vocation, [ Tracking]. He didn't miss even the faint trace that was even vaguer than mist which a normal person wouldn't be able to perceive. Putting aside Vanessa who was ecstatic, even Allen's face was twitching for who knew how many times already from seeing that figure chasing after the prey accurately.
「「oOOOOOOO-」」
「Don't mind them. Run!」
Berserkers appeared from the corner of the passage. The two berserkers were charging at them right from the front, causing the ground to vibrate. Allen and Vanessa spontaneously began to stop their feet to intercept, but Kousuke accelerated faster instead and raised his voice. The two of them reflexively obeyed him.
Kousuke tensed his legs and put strength into them. He soundlessly accelerated and approached the wall. Emily and others followed behind thinking that he was going to pass through from the side, but they soon knew that wasn't his intention.
Kousuke put his foot on the wall and ran on its surface while his body was turning sideways. When he climbed until the ceiling where his body became upside down, he kept running on the ceiling without pause. ――Skill "Shadow Dance". It was Kousuke's favorite skill.
「Hah」
Kousuke sprinted on the ceiling. The movement of the two berserkers who was about to tackle halted for a moment seeing the impossible position of their target. Kousuke rushed into between the two.
Still being upside down, a short sword flashed in a rotation like a whirling wind. A beam of light the color of blue sky gently caressed the necks of the berserkers, melting and cutting without reservation. Shockwave flew from the fingerless glove too as though it was only done as an extra, blowing away the berserkers to the wall.
Kousuke landed lightly and then he resumed running in the lead as though nothing happened.
The body of the berserkers convulsed in vain on the wall, without any splash or without being any obstacle at all.
Even before reaching this far, there were berserkers and berserk beasts attacking them incessantly. Most likely they were prepared by Weiss to hinder them, but they only came sporadically and couldn't hope to stop Kousuke on his track.
Before long Kousuke and others ran into a steel door at the end of the passage. The width of the passage was quite wide, but there were large boxes and machine parts cluttering the floor that if multiple people wanted to pass through they would need to line up in a single line.
「Vanessa-」
「Roger.」
When Kousuke called, Vanessa moved instantly in understanding. She hugged Emily who was at her side and hid behind a large machine part. Allen also took cover smoothly after her.
A beat.
*DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA-* Thunderous roar echoed. A machine gun in full auto spouted fire and a great number of bullets scattered the packages filling the corridor. Kousuke smoothly evaded the flying bullets and threw a kunai.
「Kousuke-san. Your Vanessa is desiring to see the scene of cutting bullets with katana.」
Vanessa-san who was loyal to her own desire even while getting exposed to gunshot. Emily who was being embraced inside Vanessa's embrace was dealing the slaps of straight man repeatedly *pechi pechi* even while turning small.
「No, putting aside getting out from line of fire, but a stunt like cutting apart bullets from full-auto shooting with unparalleled accuracy is beyond me okay?」
Vanessa's eyes turned round while she went「Ee……」hearing what Kousuke said. It seemed that the Kousuke inside Vanessa had been turned into someone who could do anything.
Vanessa turned a gaze that seemed to want to say「You're kidding, you say that, but the truth is?」. Kousuke smiled wryly to that.
「Something like cutting all bullets fired in full-auto without even missing one, that kind of stunt is only possible for the demon king or the demon king’s wife the swordswoman-sama. As for me, I'm going with petty surprise attack just fine.」
Kousuke shrugged his shoulders, and then at the next moment, his figure vanished. In exchange, there was a kunai at the spot where Kousuke had been at until now. That was the kunai that Kousuke threw just before.
Naturall, for the kunai to be there meant,
「Guah!?」
「Shit-. Since whe――」
「Gafuh!?」
Kousuke was in the middle of the enemies.
It was one of the abilities possessed by the kunai. Space substitution. The subordinates of Weiss were panicked at the sudden appearance of Kousuke at the wall where the kunai had stabbed. They aimed their gun muzzle without delay, but at that time they could do nothing but having a tearful separation, between their head and body.
A single attack of heat and slash given them an unreal death. Their torso and head rolled like broken toy without even any time to transform into berserker and they departed for their journey to the other world.
Even so, different from a berserker's last moment who would have their body dried up pletely and broke down to a degree they couldn't keep their original shape, now the space was filled with human corpses rolling around everywhere. That factor was enough for Emily who wasn't used to death to turn pale and bile to rise up in her throat.
「Emily, right now think only about forward――」
「I, I'm fine, Kousuke. Let's go!」
Her smiling face was twitching and pale, but Emily stopped Kousuke's words with a strong voice. And then, she stared at the solid-looking steel door in front of her eyes, as though she understood something.
「Kousuke. Ahead of this is……」
「So you realize. Yeah, that's right. They are at the other side of this door. It looks like they are flustered, but they still aren't escaping. Looks like we made it in time.」
「I see……」
Emily took a deep, deep deep breath. And then, she closed her eyes just a little. By doing that, spectacles revolved behind her eyelids like a revolving lantern. The days she spent at Down classroom. The smile of Hendricks and Lizzie who looked after her, the quarrel between Rod and Dennis in place of greeting, Jessica's mischievous smile, the joyful and fun joke exchange between Sam and Milo.
They were Emily's beloved big brothers and sisters. They weren't here anymore. She could never meet them again, her precious family.
Emily opened her eyes quietly.
「Kousuke, please.」
「Ou」
Her words were few, but the respond she got was strong. Kousuke's short sword left azure trail behind and pierced the steel door. It was as though a knife stabbing through butter, the short sword smoothly pierced without meeting resistance. The place pierced by that super-high temperature had the surrounding area melting in the blink of eye.
*plop, plop* The steel door was turned red hot and melted down. The sight behind the door was starting to turn visible bit by bit from there.
It seemed that it was an underground parking lot at the other side of the steel door. There were several passenger cars and freight cars, there were also particular vehicles like forklift and so on.
Beside one of those cars, at the side of a medium-size pick-up truck, there was the figure of two people. They were at the side of the truck load that seemed to be filled with luggage, but it appeared they were astonished with the steel door melting. They were standing still without a twitch.
*plop, plop* The door was vanishing, The door separating Emily and the man was vanishing.
Their knees were starting to be visible. One set was Weiss that they saw before this, while the slack of the other man was something really familiar for Emily. That slacks was dark brown and Jessica and Lizzie always said that it was too plain. Surely if the slack was seen from nearby, there would be a small fray that could be found around the right knee.
The belt was starting to get visible. That belt was slightly thinning recently and the holes were shifted. Everyone was worried if the wearer of that belt was eating properly because he often went on a trip.
The necktie was visible. It was a bright navy blue necktie with sharp stripes on it. To tell the truth, it was a present from Emily to him for his birthday. The expense choked out her pocket money while she chose the necktie with the help of Lizzie and Jessica.
「Aa……」
Emily unconsciously leaked out her voice. That voice came from her fleeting hope――that "It could be a mistake by some chance
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