Editing Horizon:Volume 10B Chapter 33 (section)

==Chapter 33: Showoff on Holey Ground==
[[File:Horizon10B_p0309.jpg|thumb]]
''To jump far

''You need speed, timing

''And what else?

'''Point Allocation (Momentum)

●

“Advance! Advance on them! Now’s our chance!”

On the Musashi’s 3rd port ship, Kousaka led the front line in the corridor linking the port and starboard sides of the bow.

She didn’t like having to rely on defense barriers, but they had to with such a high enemy density. But a fault had appeared in the enemy’s coordination.

…''Thanks to Katou Kiyomasa!

Kiyomasa’s Ex. Caledfwlch attack had reached the Musashino bridge.

That “reaching” meant something for the Musashi and the Hashiba forces.

For the Musashi forces, it meant this battle would not end on the front line and it would reach their center.

For the Hashiba forces, it meant this battle was not just for show and they could accomplish something here.

Both sides understood

So the Musashi forces pulled their defenses a bit back toward the center while the Hashiba forces pushed in.

They had established a standard equilibrium between attack and defense before, but that changed.

Hashiba was attacking.

Musashi was defending.

But this was a good thing for Kousaka’s unit.

Hers was a special unit made up of nonhumans.

“Focusing on attack is our specialty!”

They pushed on.

“Go!”

Move in. Only defend your faces from the bullets as you go. If a few bullets to the body is enough to make you cry, you wouldn’t be on this unit to begin with. And…

“We took it easy letting our leader do the heavy lifting at Shizugatake!”

So they moved in. They raced down the corridor to close in on the enemy.

Bullets hit Kousaka’s defense barrier and the light shattered, but she raised her assault hammer in front of her face to guard and…

…''Made it!

She was in hammering range of the enemy defense barrier.

So she only had to swing it. With anti-ether excavation gear attached.

“Eat this!”

Just as she shouted that, an enormous attack flew in from the side.

“Nh….Goooooooolden Hammerrrrrrrrrr!!”

A large ether hammer accelerated in from the left.

…''Huh!?

Her thoughts didn’t make it past that before she took a direct hit.

●

Yagyuu Munenori realized he had made it in the nick of time.

…''I didn’t expect them to push this far in!

On Kanou’s orders, he had been in the middle of securing some danger zones and escape routes. This Oume bow corridor had been deemed especially dangerous and he had come to determine how best to defend it, but…

“Did the attack on the Musashino’s bridge give them momentum!?”

“And what if it did!?”

He turned toward the answering voice.

At the same time, he ducked low to dodge. A hammer swept through the space his head had occupied a moment before.

He looked to the windy sound and saw the person he had just struck. Kanou had told him not to go easy on someone just because they were a girl, so he had hit her with a solid blow. However…

“Nonhuman durability!?”

“It was a decent hit for a kid!”

''In that case,'' he decided, raising and operating his Golden Hammer. He rearranged the acceleration system and…

“Shifting thruster from blue to red!”

He gave it an uncontrollable speed-focused form and stepped forward.

Just then, he felt a burning scraping sensation on the back of his neck and turned around.

Everyone was behind him. They had formed a wall with their defense barriers. But he shouted to them.

“Fall back!!”

●

''This isn’t good,'' thought Munenori.

Everyone was hesitant to obey his shouted instruction.

Of course they were. This was an important defensive point, so they had to guard it with their lives. But from his perspective, he could tell something was off about the defensive wall made from three 12-person rows.

The number.

“Second row! Who’s the 13th person there!!”

Everyone exchanged a glance at his question.

A moment later, light scattered.

Everyone forming the defense wall had the spells and barriers guarding them sliced through and they were blown away.

It happened in an instant, but Munenori immediately calculated the number of collapsed figures.

…''36!

Since the second row had a 13th person, that was one short.

There was another row further back. But they all saw that figure.

He was there.

Munenori’s own ninja skills told him this man must have suddenly appeared there. He recognized the man who wore a Far Eastern uniform with cloth bags attached.

He had once boarded the Musashi at IZUMO. And Munenori’s job had given him a habit of remembering everyone who had been on the ship, even if only for a short time. This man was…

“Sanada Ten Braves…Anayama Kosuke!!”

●

Anayama was a little ashamed at having his name called.

…''It’s shameful for a ninja to be known by name.

“Oh, dear.” He smiled with lowered eyebrows and held his palms out toward Munenori and the Musashi warriors behind him. “I’m really sorry about this. But, you know, given my position, it is about time I officially joined Hashiba.”

“So you boarded the Azuchi!?” asked Munenori.

Anayama nearly said something but smiled bitterly instead.

“I’d like to say I snuck aboard the Musashi, but I really shouldn’t lie. Ever since what Isa-kun and the others did, security on the Musashi has been a lot stricter about intruders. So you’re right: I came here via the Azuchi.”

He took a breath and shrugged.

“Don’t move. Please. I’m asking, okay? Can you do that? After all, Nezu-kun and Yuri-kun are targeting you. …So let’s negotiate some.”

“Do you think I have the authority to?”

“I didn’t just mean you. I meant that nonhuman unit lieutenant too.”

“Me?”

“Testament. So how about it?”

He gestured back toward the Musashi warriors collapsed behind him as they were hurriedly retrieved by others.

“Was that enough of a ‘hello’ as we join you?”

“I don’t like it.”

She didn’t even hesitate. “Oh?” said Anayama, but he more or less understood.

“Does the nonhuman unit not like being rescued?”

“Our own strength would’ve been enough.”

“Then I needn’t have helped.”

A beam shot in from the side.

●

Munenori told everyone to prioritize evacuating this area as he watched the beam fly in from the elevated area and the subsequent explosive blast.

The vassal who reports said was being pursued was now the one doing the pursuing. And…

“Oh, sorry! Sorry! Komaoumaru is my responsibility and here he is causing you trouble! I will try to deal with him this next turn, so please overlook this!”

The ground rumbled as the large mobile shell ran, the vassal pursued, and her team trailed after her.

“Heyyyy!! Don’t shoot beams willy-nilly!”

''Not often someone gets to yell a line like that at Kiso Yoshinaka,'' thought Munenori. And…

“…Oh.”

In front of him, the Sanada Ten Spears and nonhuman unit weren’t used to Musashi, so this turn of events had caught them by surprise and they just stared as the vassal’s group ran off. Munenori realized this was their chance.

“Everyone, ready your weapons!”

Their defenses would be worn down and their line would eventually be broken. So after reporting on the situation…

…''We switch to delaying tactics and lead them astray!

Munenori realized the flow of battle had changed, so he sent a message to Ookubo.

'''■––:''' “Milady! Oume’s surface will likely fall under enemy control!”

●

“I see.”

Ookubo thought to herself while seated on the aft stairs that acted as an entrance to Okutama’s bow deck.

…''I’ve managed to read their overall movements from the individual movements and actions.

“So the Sanada Ten Braves have boarded Oume.”

Munenori’s report made Sanada’s boarding sound like an unasked-for intrusion, but the enemy commander was Takenaka. Her high risk, high return would have an allowance for this.

And either way, the result was the same.

“Oume’s bow corridor will be breached given time.”

By detaching the rope passageways that doubled as towing belts, the enemy wouldn’t be able to reach the central ships. But losing those towing belts would subtly throw off the Musashi’s maneuvering and hinder firing Kanesada.

…''Hesitating to cut your losses because of ‘maybes’ is dangerous.

Part of her wanted to think it was “only Oume”, but that was what the enemy wanted her to think.

By telling herself they were still safe, she might suddenly find they were in a critical situation. She wanted to avoid that kind of foolish mistake.

'''Nagaya-Stable:''' “Vice President, do you have time to listen?”

'''Vice President:''' “Sure, all these insane sitreps have me losing my grip on reality. Are you safe?”

…''In what way!?

Ookubo couldn’t tell if the Vice President was concerned for her well being, or if she was concerned Ookubo might exacerbate the situation. After checking the situation report she had ready, Ookubo gave her own opinion.

'''Nagaya-Stable:''' “The 1st Special Duty Officer is hurrying back this way, right?”

'''Vice President:''' “Yes, his situation sounds rough.”

'''Nagaya-Stable:''' “Judge, contact any of our main people who are done fighting and send them here. That includes you.”

'''Vice President:''' “What, are you feeling lonely?”

'''Nagaya-Stable:''' “Don’t be stupid. The situation has changed. I’ll explain later. …Even if they can’t make it to Okutama’s bridge, at least send them to the central ships. I’ll arrange for mainly the personnel on the port ships to do so. The automata will remain at their posts, but this should make their defense easier. …Got that?”

There was a lengthy pause before any kind of response.

But she thought nothing of it before the response did arrive.

'''Vice President:''' “Judge, I guess I’ll head your way then. It’s the least I can do if you’re that lonely.”

''Damn her!'' thought Ookubo, but then she realized.

…''Oh, because Sanada’s onboard!

●

Ookubo remembered how the Sanada Ten Braves had nearly assassinated them when they snuck on board during the Musashi’s remodeling at the Ariake.

That had been trouble.

Their movements had been monitored, but that was exactly what meant they could be used as bait. This meant the Vice President remembered all that and was wary of it happening again.

She hadn’t mentioned where Ookubo was during that divine transmission. She had kept it vague, only saying “your way”.

She understood the situation. And she had Kanou as a bodyguard, so she would be fine. In that case…

“Oops.”

Ookubo felt she had been careless. If she was being watched, the enemy would have that information.

…''I can only hope they decided I wasn’t important enough to watch and I haven’t done anything to stand out.

It annoyed her to have to wish for the opposite of what she usually did.

But her sign frame showed people heading toward Okutama’s bow before she could even instruct them. And the most prominent among them were the two she had been worried about earlier.

“The English Princess and the 1st Special Duty Officer.”

●

As 1st Special Duty Officer, Tenzou hurried to Okutama.

He was out of breath and Mary noticed something from his arms.

“Master Tenzou, you’re bleeding!”

The cut to his left ankle was dripping blood onto the deck, effectively leaving footprints behind. The way the tracks skipped a step each time made it look like he was moving really fast, but…

“I am fine. I have already stopped the bleeding with a spell. It was a Shinto spell, so the wound was disinfected and such at the same time. …Oh, but I would appreciate some healing from you as well.”

Mary responded by leaning her cheek toward him.

She removed his scarf and kissed him on the lips.

…''Ohhhhhh!?

He wondered if raising his blood pressure like this would only make his bleeding worse, but it had the opposite effect. He felt all the weariness leave him, lightening his body.

“I do have some exhaustion reduction spells, but this is more fast acting.”

''I’m all for fast acting,'' he thought while bowing down in his mind. But then he realized…

“Sorry for concerning you.”

“Hee hee. You really know how to smooth things over.”

Her slight smile got a passing grade from him. She must have calmed down a lot compared to before. And while he felt flustered, this had also helped him organize his feelings. But…

“This is a mistake, Master Tenzou.” said Mary suddenly, dropping her gaze to the deck. “…A mistake.”

It wasn’t clear if she was referring to Kiyomasa or themselves, but he trusted she meant the former. Not to dodge the issue or because he thought too highly of himself. He simply trusted his view of Mary. So he nodded and…

“I want to correct it.”

“Judge.”

Mary nodded and hugged Ex. Collbrande’s hilt to herself. The hilt lost its bond and it split into two.

“Ah.”

Mary lowered her head toward the weapon that had lost its shape as a large sword.

If this too was a mistake, would Mary be able to put a stop to her regrets? But this was their problem and, if she was moved to emotion, he was willing to see it through with her.

“Master Tenzou.”

“Yes?”

“What should I say to my sister?”

Now there was a terrifying thought.

…''All she’ll want is to execute me!

He was fairly serious about that, but he knew better than to say it out loud in the current situation.

But as he hurried along at a run, they arrived at the rope passageway between ships. He knew battles were being fought all over the place, but…

“Master Tenzou, why are we going to join Master Wet Man?”

“Judge. I thought it would be best for us to gather if anything happens.”

“You mean…?”

“Judge,” he nodded. Their battle was over. Ex. Collbrande had been destroyed and they had a jumble of thoughts to work through. Also, light was scattering in the sky. Ether light continued to leak from the Musashino bridge support after the attack.

“The flow of battle has changed.”

It felt like the stagnant parts had suddenly begun to move.

“What is happening with the others, I wonder.”

●

A great many attacks raced out.

Kiyomasa and Uni were exchanging attacks at high speed.

Uni produced more. Kiyomasa accepted that fact up front. Uni had eight cowling spears. Kiyomasa only had six means of attack counting an Ex. Caledfwlch half in each hand and the left, right, front, and back of her autonomous shoulder armor. And those shield attacks had no speed behind them, so she was lagging far behind when it came to the number of attacks.

She could only manage to advance on and make close-range attacks because of that autonomous armor. Instead of taking attacks head on, she diverted them outwards to deflect Uni’s attacks. And…

“There!”

She stepped in through an opening to approach.

But Uni was nimble. She almost seemed to float in the air as she maneuvered herself between the eight spears and launched the optimal spear or spears toward Kiyomasa.

The way she could move behind the spears was especially troublesome because they acted like eight shields. They also weren’t initially out in the open and they could be ejected out of thin air at any moment.

Kiyomasa realized she had given the reason they were “especially” troublesome and then added another reason immediately afterwards, but she chose not to worry about it.

She couldn’t afford to be nitpicky with someone at Uni’s level.

…''I can see why Kasuya rated her so highly.

So Kiyomasa kept up the attack. She was in trouble if she let Uni set the pace. But…

“Autonomous armor!”

She opened all four pieces, used them to deflect Sasamura spears, stared straight at Uni who was hiding behind them, and jabbed Ex. Caledfwlch out.

“Kh!”

A cowling spear launched straight down from above deflected her attack.

With a loud clang, an impact ran up her arm and her mobile shell’s shock absorber audibly activated. The auto-operation functioned properly since it was based on her own actions, but…

…''I can’t seem to reach her!

●

Uni was a little shocked.

In none of her past battles had she been this aware of the space right in front of her.

Previous opponents had rushed in toward her of course, but none of them had actively chosen to fight from so close.

That was because her eight Sasamura spears could be freely ejected within a certain radius of her position. If an opponent rushed straight toward her to get in close, she only had to eject Sasamura like a head-on artillery blast.

But Kiyomasa was different.

She employed an offensive defense.

Instead of defending to protect herself, she defended to create a path for attack.

Ordinarily, humans could only defend twice even if they dedicated both hands to it. Uni, meanwhile, could send out eight spears, so she could attack faster than they could defend, allowing her to push them back.

But Kiyomasa was different.

She moved in front of Uni’s attacks, deflected them, and created an opening to rush in.

The Reine des Garous had been similar, but she had been more like a “wall” fully deflecting every Sasamura spear.

…''Kasuya-senpai also only let me attack while falling back!

The walls of immense pressure, the big boobs, and the wolves were a vivid memory of the time before summer break. ''I don’t remember the rest very well, but the fish in Kantou was really good!

But Kiyomasa’s defense was different.

Her mobile shell’s shoulder armor could open in four places: the left, right, front, and back. She would jab with Ex. Caledfwlch on the left and right and, in some cases, open up her hip armor too, while…

…''Using her footwork!

Without losing her fighting stance, her feet took her along a straight path powered by the mobile shell’s power assistance.

And that wasn’t all.

She could evade.

Even with all that defense at her disposal, she knew her defense range well enough to dodge or shift her position when necessary.

And she moved in.

Uni could understand it if it were only defense. That would just be a trait influenced by the nature of Kiyomasa’s equipment.

But how could she also evade and continue forward?

Uni could only think of one answer.

…''Training!?

●

Yes, training.

She didn’t just learn to use her equipment or improve on her weaknesses.

…''She gave herself a trait she wouldn’t otherwise have!

Training had to be the only way to do that. In Kiyomasa’s case, it wasn’t a momentary insight, it was something she had really and truly made her own.

She had spent a long time somewhere learning how to approach an enemy without relying only on defense.

Where had she done that?

Uni could tell it must have been with someone who used a spear or something similar. In that case…

“It was Fukushima-senpai, wasn’t it!?” asked Uni as Kiyomasa leaped toward her. “You learned that evasive defense with Fukushima-senpai, didn’t you!?”

She saw Kiyomasa accept that line head on and…

“––––”

Kiyomasa blushed.

●

It was true Kiyomasa reacted to Kani’s sudden observation with a mental “eh?”

She had never thought of it like that before.

After all, the way she weaved together defense and evasion as she advanced was something she used regularly, so she didn’t consider it strange. The swordplay her mother had taught her hadn’t included much evasive action and the only defense had been to deflect with her blade, which was why she had chosen a defense-focused mobile shell, but her mother was at the foundation of it all. But…

…''Oh?

Now that Kani mentioned it, when and where had she learned to evade?

It didn’t take her long to arrive at the answer. Because…

…''A-all my training before coming here was with Fukushima-sama!

As soon as she made this shocking realization, a Sasamura attack flew straight in toward her face.

●

Uni saw Sasamura score a direct hit as a clang rang out.

But the object that flew through the air was not Kiyomasa’s head.

…''That’s only her helm!

Kiyomasa herself had ducked low and slid back in something like a back step.

The force of the step left her doubled over, her long blonde hair blowing in the wind. And…

“Ah!”

Uni saw it. Yes, she recognized this. A great quantity of ether light flowers spilled from Kiyomasa’s hair while Ex. Caledfwlch emitted light.

“That’s it!”

She shouted just before Ex. Caledfwlch’s light attack shot straight out.

●

'''Okutama:''' “Defend to port! And what was that, Oume!? Over.”

'''Oume:''' “As unlucky as I have been tonight, that one was outside my jurisdiction! Over.”

'''Asakusa:''' “But why is she attacking again? That’s the third time. Over.”

'''Almost Everyone:''' “She’s overexcited? Over.”

●

''Wow!'' thought Uni.

Such overwhelming power. She had chosen to dodge in a split-second decision, but her body had actually started moving before her mind reached a decision. And despite the swift action, some hair trailing behind her was sent scattering in the wind.

The light sword passed by about two centimeters from her cheek, so she would have died if she had bigger boobs.

…''Good thing I’m still growing!

But that had taken out two Sasamura spears.

They hadn’t just been sliced in two. The thick blade had more crushed them to dust than cut them.

The sword pressure approached like a wall of light.

“––––!”

Just as it burst and became a refreshing cloud of ether light dust, something else arrived.

Kiyomasa charged in toward Uni right as she completed her evasive action.

●

…''What was with that third one!?

Adele pursued fleeing Komaoumaru as she watched what seemed to be an Excalibur attack burst out ahead of them. Its rising diagonal path pierced shallowly into the edge of Oume’s starboard side.

The frame at the upper surface of the edge had a multi-layer structure. It probably wouldn’t break unless the Musashi attempted any crazy maneuvers and it could probably manage even that for a short time. She knew that off the top of her head thanks to the basic knowledge she had studied as a vassal.

But there was another problem.

“Don’t go that way!”

Komaoumaru.

Whether he was smart or the opposite, he had been chasing after her until all of a sudden he had passed her and ran off.

Part of her wondered if he had just ignored her diversion to get back to whatever his original job was, but that was a problem vis-a-vis her own job.

…''W-wait!? Since when is dealing with Komaoumaru-san my job!?

Well, she had bragged about how she would deal with him before she came here. That had of course been a tall order for her, but she was thankful the starboard side had at least been secured.

…''But how did we end up chasing after each other like this!?

What were the Hashiba forces thinking?

●

'''The Boy:''' “Takenaka-senpai. It looks like Komaoumaru-san isn’t doing his job.”

'''Kuro-Take:''' “Huh? That’s weird… That’s not what he’s supposed to be doing.”

'''Tsurugi:''' “Their vassal is with him… Yes, that must be the Adele-san my mother told me about. What was it? Something about her enduring daily troubles and discovering a god’s divine protection was the only way for her chest to grow? But did my mother say she actually got that protection, or…? Anyway, um, what is she doing there?”

'''The Boy:''' “If you’re going to get sidetracked, could at least resolve your anecdote before getting back on topic!?”

●

Adele decided to stop Komaoumaru.

Because if he kept going that way, he would barge right into the middle of that bright and flashing battle.

He had already intruded on it and made a big nuisance of himself, but now he was going to actually barge in there and then be a nuisance to the group battling over the aft corridor too.

So as Komaoumaru ran out ahead of her…

“Get back herrrrre!”

She dashed forward and threw her assault spear.

She took one, two, three long strides and planted her feet hard enough for the armor at the bottom of her shin guards to creak. She used the reaction and a physical buffing spell to throw the spear.

It flew.

She kept her momentum going, making a savate-style spin in midair before landing and continuing her dash.

Her thrown spear rotated as it flew on over Komaoumaru’s head.

…''Yes!

When he noticed the attack from behind, he was sure to turn back. She was unarmed now, but the rest of her team was following behind her. She knew they could deal with this.

The spear stabbed into the deck in front of Komaoumaru.

“–––––”

He snatched it up as he ran, turned around toward her, and charged.

“Wahhhh! Wait! Not like that! You were only supposed to notice it!”

Was this like when you threw a frisbee to a dog and it caught it and ran back to you?

But he had locked onto her again, so did this count as a success? If so…

“Fight back!”

They could make a counterattack now. If the others behind her fired while she got down, they could strike Komaoumaru.

…''Now!

She turned around. And saw the others facing the other way and fleeing as fast as their legs would carry them.

Which was pretty fast it turned out. But now wasn’t the time to be impressed by that.

“Heyyyy! That counts as desertion!!”

She dashed after them, but did that count as desertion too?

●

…''I can’t believe this!

Adele concluded falling back toward the bow would be dangerous given the situation.

…''The people at the bow corridor are delaying the enemy from attacking or withdrawing!

Apparently that enemy included the Sanada Ten Braves.

She recalled them doing serious damage before. As a vassal, she honestly had trouble dealing with ninjas who dealt in disturbance and covert tactics. It would be nice if the 1st Special Duty Officer could make himself halfway noticeable here, but there was no sign of the ninja.

A surprise attack by the Sanada Ten Braves would be dangerous.

So what could she do?

“Komaoumaru-san!”

She wondered if she should really be giving him the “-san” honorific, but it just felt right. She had heard he was a ghost, but he was still a big deal. She currently stuck her fingers in her mouth and whistled at him.

“Over here!”

She ran. She lured him over. Toward…

…''A defense barrier!

At the center of Oume, defense barriers covered the large holes left by a purged sections, creating something like a go board.

They were meant to stop artillery fire, but they looked like the floor to her.

So she ran and leaped atop one of the defense barriers.

“––––!”

She whistled again and looked back to see…

…''He’s coming!

Komaoumaru had changed course with her spear in hand. He was chasing her.

The enormous mobile shell raced out atop the defense barrier.

●

''Should you really be running there?'' wondered Suzu as she followed the different battles from the Musashino bridge.

…''That’s dangerous.

She knew what Adele was trying to do. She wanted to clear the defense barrier they were using for footing and then drop Komaoumaru below.

The space directly below the defense barriers was generally sealed off. Currently, they continued further on down to eject anyone inside from the ejection ports on the bottom of the ship.

Whenever the enemy traveled across a defense barrier, they would all be dropped down and then dumped from the ship.

Adele was attempting to do the same to Komaoumaru. But…

“That isn’t…going to be easy.”

Suzu checked Oume’s status with the model. “Musashino” turned her way.

“I have determined this looks simple but will be highly difficult. Over.”

“Because of the…mouth beam?”

“No, Komaoumaru-sama’s mouth beam can be stopped by placing defense barriers in the internal corridors once he has fallen below. His beam is as powerful as a small anti-ship cannon, so by reusing the barriers open on the surface and stacking them, they should be sufficient. So that is not the problem,” said “Musashino”. “If he is not sent down a corridor that leads straight down and he lands in an intermediary corridor, I expect this to be trouble. Also, removing the defense barrier to drop him takes more than a moment of our processing. Timing is crucial and there is a chance we will catch Adele-sama too. Over.”

So in other words…

“If you tell Adele a good place…it’s up to her?”

●

'''Bell:''' “It’s up to you, Adele…so good luck!”

…''Suzu-san can sometimes be extremely blunt!

While Adele ran, a sign frame appeared. It was direct from the Musashino bridge and, by looking through it, it highlighted the defense barrier she needed.

It was two ahead and one to the right.

Each defense barrier was 36 meters wide and across. She would cross her objective without even running 100 meters, but there was a problem.

Komaoumaru was faster than her.

That came from his greater reach and strength. Needing an Unturning Centipede to deal with him wasn’t far off the mark. She really would need a tall mobile shell to match his reach.

She did have Raging Beast, but that was currently being repaired and on its way to Sanuki. So…

“It’s all up to me then!”

There was a good distance between them, so he couldn’t catch up right away. So…

“…!”

She leaned further forward and ran with all her might.

●

''Wow, look at her go,'' thought Hirano.

Her mother had been right. Musashi’s fastest two were the ninja named Tenzou, who was Kiyomasa’s father, and the vassal named Adele.

Both the people given as an answer to her question so long ago were on the battlefield below her. She felt spoiled. Because she never would have had the chance to see this where she had lived before. But…

“Watch out.”

Maybe this counted as worrying for the enemy, but Komaoumaru was faster as he pursued the vassal from behind. Furthermore…

…''That spear!

Komaoumaru threw the vassal’s spear as if returning it to its owner.

●

Adele heard the familiar sound of something soaring through the air.

A spear. Komaoumaru had thrown her assault spear as he approached from behind.

The sound of its flight dropped toward her from overhead.

She heard the quiet sound of it slicing the air.

She usually heard that when the spear was flying from her to her opponent, but now she knew how it sounded the other way around. And it had clearly flown farther than when she through it.

…''Did he conclude that would use less power than his beam!?

She had arrived at the target defense barrier. Viewing it as a floor, it created a large square space. Her running trajectory took her diagonally from the aft starboard side to the fore port side with the momentum of her run.

But she wasn’t actually running the diagonal line. Her shallower angle took her closer to the aft port corner.

That shortened the traversal distance a bit too much, so she wanted to deepen her entrance angle to the right some. Just as she thought that, the spear stabbed in ahead and to her right.

“Watch out!?”

She grabbed the spear with her right arm in something of a lariat. She had too little money to afford losing a weapon, but grabbing the spear had adjusted her course.

…''Now I can’t make a large course correction to the right!

Turning right would let her run longer across the defense barrier.

A longer run would give her more time to drop Komaoumaru below. She knew he was faster than her, but the longer time between entering and leaving the defense barrier would give her more time and more control.

But turning to the left made it tough. She had already been on a line that would take her diagonally across the defense barrier, so shortening the traversal length any more and Komaoumaru might make it to the other side during the time lag needed to drop him. And…

'''Suzu:''' “Adele! He’s…on it!”

He was here.

She had hurry to the other side.

That was about 15 more steps, but…

…''Huh?

Something seemed off.

Something didn’t feel right about this race between her and Komaoumaru and the course limitation placed on her.

As she wondered what it was and gripped her assault spear tighter, it hit her.

…''Komaoumaru-san shouldn’t know about the defense barrier pitfalls!

●

“Adele-sama is in trouble! Over!”

Hearing “Musashino,”, Suzu thought, ''When isn’t she?'' But “Musashino” must have realized that herself and quickly clarified.

“Komaoumaru-sama’s spear did indeed limit the paths available to Adele-sama. The timing of the spear attack to her right prevented her from taking a longer path across the defense barrier pitfall. This makes the timing for her leaving the barrier much more strict.”

But…

“Komaoumaru-sama does not know the defense barrier will vanish below him, yet he still limited her paths. Over.”

Suzu knew what “Musashino” was trying to say. Simply put, Adele was in trouble. Because…

“Komaoumaru-san…is guiding Adele?”

Just then, her senses detected Komaoumaru shouting.

But in his case, his roar also fired something.

“A beam!”

A light vanished on the model Oume.

A defense barrier.

One of the floors placed over the gaps where the base hull pieces were removed had been shattered.

But the specific one destroyed was critical.

“Adele!”

That was the floor she was fleeing toward after crossing the pitfall one.

The 36m platform shattered and vanished out ahead of Adele.

And just as Suzu confirmed that fact, she raised her voice.

“Adele! Jump!”

●

Adele didn’t hesitate.

She ran. As if she were going to run straight off the edge of the defense barrier she was using as a platform.

“Suzu-san!”

She didn’t know what Suzu meant by “jump”. She was using a spell to boost her physical strength, but she doubted that was enough to clear a 36 meter hole.

But Suzu had told her to jump. So…

…''Full power to my physical buffing spell!

This would increase her exhaustion rate, but she didn’t care. It placed an instantaneous burden on her body, but that was what gave her strength. It only had to last a moment and the spell responded.

“Here goes!”

Just as she made the jump from the last foothold, it happened.

Everything shook.

The Musashi as a whole rocked hard enough to throw her from her foothold.

●

“So the Musashi is here! And the Azuchi too!”

Tomoe Gozen looked to the southern sky and stood up, the corners of her lips curling upwards.

The sky was rotating there.

The far distant sky leading to Osaka Bay was being affected by two atmosphere-distorting objects.

The overwhelming waves traveling westward and the ever-changing layers of side effects flowing south told her what course the giant ships were taking below.

“They’re turning north from Osaka Bay. Are they headed here!?”

The forceful course change may have been meant to shake the Azuchi.

“A sudden turn to the right like that will shake everything aboard to the left!”

●

When the rolling swing to port hit, Adele converted it into her own momentum.

The defense barrier below her feet was pushing her. She rode that force…

“…!”

And jumped.

●

“Oh, wow,” was Adele’s reaction.

She hadn’t given much thought to what would happen next, but with a gentle midair roll, she managed something resembling a long leap.

If she kept on like this, she would likely reach the other side.

…''Is ''this'' what it’s always like for the 1st Special Duty Officer and the Vice Chancellor!?

''This is crazy,'' she thought. ''I couldn’t possibly fight while doing this.'' But…

“…!”

It was Komaoumaru. He was pursuing her and preparing to jump.

That seemed reckless, but he had his great strength and he could apply the ship’s momentum to himself as well.

Just as she realized he might just manage it, she gave a shout in midair.

“Firrrrre!!”

Far past him, she could see the rest of her team on the deck behind him.

A total of eighteen had their rifles at the ready. They had all been trained to fire on an opponent running in a straight line.

They fired. Not just one shot, but several. The ether light scattering from the guns informed her of the number of shots before the sound could reach her. And the volley of supersonic bullets rattled Komaoumaru.

Right as he stepped forward and prepared to jump, he lost his balance and the sound of the gunshots reached Adele.

There were too many sharp reports for her to count. Like applause, she couldn’t isolate individual ones.

A moment later, the defense barrier vanished from below Komaoumaru’s feet.

He fell.

But his manager wasn’t stupid. He had been dropped onto the Musashi from above, so…

“He’ll use a descent spell when leaving the ship too, won’t he?”

Several spell sign frames appeared around him. The descent spells supported his weight and slowed his falling speed. They were likely the same type Adele used.

And, shrugging off the bullets and controlling his fall, Komaoumaru looked to her.

The mobile shell opened his mouth toward her as she approached the other side of the hole. He must have known she had no means of resisting while in midair because light gathered in the opened skull’s throat.

“Too bad!”

A power erupted out just as she planted her hand on the defense barrier at the other side.

A high-speed slash dropped straight down toward Komaoumaru as he tried to launch his beam.

With a metallic crash, the giant mobile shell was launched straight down.

“Didn’t I tell you you needed an Unmoving Centipede for this?”

It was Narumi.

Unturning Centipede stood in midair with its back wings spread and stored its mandible swords in the empty air. At the same time, Adele used a snap of the hand on the other side to make a cartwheeling landing.

And she stood up.

●

Adele saw a new defense barrier appear down by her feet.

As if replacing the lid, the space into which Komaoumaru had fallen was covered up and Unturning Centipede stood atop it.

Narumi held out a hand to Adele, prompting her.

…''Oh.

Adele knew what she was supposed to do. But…

“Wow.”

She had run too much today. She hadn’t had much of a break the whole time, so the sweat poured now that she came to a stop. The exhaustion also seemed to be melting her body, so she nearly fell to her knees.

But it had worked out. And she had the spear to prop her up like a cane. So…

“Huff.”

She breathed in and raised her voice.

“The enemy commander Komaoumaru…has been defeated!”

She thought “has been repelled” would be more accurate, but she just wanted a nice long sit right now. Unturning Centipede took a light hop to arrive in front of her, presumably to pick her up.

At any rate, she had fulfilled her role. ''It was an ordeal though,'' she thought as she looked up into the sky, where the exchange of artillery fire and defense barriers continued. There she saw four lights flying every which way as they fought.

The 3rd and 4th Special Duty Officers were battling the Azuchi’s Technohexen.

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    | [[Horizon:Volume 10B Chapter 32|Chapter 32]]
    | [[Horizon:Volume 10B Chapter 34|Chapter 34]]
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