Editing City Series:Volume8b Chapter18 (section)

===Aoe’s Continued Sight Mode: In the White Castle===

'''<Aoe’s Over Reload>

Aoe was inside the tunnel below the white castle. He was surrounded by darkness. The light of the exit shined about 80 yards ahead.

Four internal barriers were descending in between.

He also noted the number of transparent red arrows that appeared in the darkness around him.

<That’s a lot!>

“We need to break through!”

He was 70 yards from the exit.

He kicked at the air to continue forward. He parted the wind, increased his speed, and passed below the first of the internal barriers.

…''Will the third one catch me?

He made that estimate while some kind of projectile flew through the darkness.

Yuo worriedly kept close to his back.

“Don’t worry! They only seem to be aiming at me!” he concluded by viewing the incoming bullets.

A white bullet flew straight toward his face as if to prove him right.

He straightened up and tilted to the right.

The air pressure took his floating body along a gentle curve, removing him from the line of fire in a surfing pose.

He dodged the attack.

As soon as he landed, he crouched low. The bullets coming from behind whizzed over Yuo’s head as she floated by his back.

He noticed several scream windows appear over her head.

He ignored that. He kept low and leaped forward.

The line of fire pursued his leap. He heard the floor being destroyed behind him. He no longer heard the music coming from Babel. Instead, he heard gunfire echoing down the tunnel.

The deep, low sounds were a lot like a jackhammer as they approached from behind.

Yuo quickly threw a window to him.

<Senpai! Faster! Faster!>

<Sounds like what you were saying in bed.>

She answered that with a fist to his back. He smiled bitterly at the protest.

She had very little experience with this sort of thing, so she seemed to think the gunfire was aimed at her.

But every one of the bullets was definitely aimed at him.

They blatantly stopped firing whenever she got in the line of fire.

They didn’t want to harm her.

<But it would feel wrong to use her as a shield.>

He had 50 yards to go.

The barriers had lowered to a yard overhead.

Thanks to his speed, he still felt the need to duck below the next one and kept on.

That was when the knights on either side caught up.

The surrounding gunfire stopped and the horseback knights appeared from either side.

He accelerated. Once the knights caught up from the rear of his vision, he twisted to the left.

He moved in front of the knight to his left. The knight raised his rifle toward Aoe.

But Aoe was faster.

He reached back his left hand and grabbed the muzzle of the rising rifle.

“!?”

He ignored the surprise coming through the metal he held.

Just once, he kicked hard off the floor. He kept the muzzle in his hand as he jumped over and behind the knight. He looked to Yuo, who was following his high speed movements thanks to her coordinate setting, and performed a flip without curling up.

The knight’s finger inside the trigger guard bent at an odd angle.

The sound of the breaking bone and the groan of agony were drowned out by the wind.

As soon as Aoe landed behind the knight, he ran toward the rear of the racing horse.

And he yanked yard on the gun he held.

The knight could not keep his grip with his finger broken.

The gun was now Aoe’s.

“Okay.”

He spoke for the first time and threw the gun forward.

He placed his fingers on the muzzle and pushed down on it to perform a snap draw.

At the same time, he moved toward the now-gunless left knight. The knight tried to turn around and draw his sword, but Aoe ran in from behind, kicked off the floor, and leaped.

The knight responded with a horizontal slash of his sword despite his broken finger.

Aoe jumped, lifted his legs, and placed his feet on the back of the swung sword.

He used the sword as footing while swinging his left foot’s toes up into the knight’s jaw.

“Sh!”

He felt and heard his toes hit flesh.

After the kick, he twisted backwards and performed a flip.

When he landed, he ran forward, the knight’s airborne body passing by overhead.

With its rider gone, the white horse staggered and veered to the left.

40 yards left

“Now the knight on the right!”

Aoe could see the right knight was already aiming his gun.

But it was too late.

Aoe reached his right hand ahead of him as he ran.

His hand stretched into the dark emptiness and something fell right into his grasp.

It was the rifle Aoe had thrown into the air earlier. The one he had stolen from the left knight.

Its grip fell into Aoe’s hand.

He had a solid grasp on it.

So he extended his arm, extended his wrist, held it out in a straight line, and squeezed the trigger.

A single gunshot rang out and the bullet struck the stomach of the knight’s armor.

The knight doubled over and rose into the air. The white attacker struck the horse’s head as he was launched forward.

The knight and the horse crashed into the barrier up ahead.

That loud impact was followed by the gunshot reverberating off the barrier.

The barrier shook and Aoe arrived within 3 yards of the exit.

The shaking stopped the barrier’s descent just long enough for Aoe to slide beneath. The gap was only 1.5 yards tall, but he kicked off the air and ducked even lower.

“Get down!”

He looked and found Yuo was on her back like her chair had toppled over.

<Yikes!>

The window conveying her shout hit the barrier and shattered.

That made a sound, but that was it. The two of them slipped below the barrier.

That was when Yuo opened a window.

<Senpai!>

His reflexes kicked in.

He saw Mekton right next to him.



'''<Aoe’s Over Zoom>

An enormous body in a black combat outfit was 5 yards to Aoe’s right.

That was Mekton.

Once Aoe realized Mekton had been running alongside him, using the knight as cover, he kicked hard off the air.

He leaped.

But Mekton stuck with him.

Footsteps rang loud as the two of them ran side by side with Yuo positioned behind Aoe. Aoe knew this opponent’s strength from the last time they fought. His attacks came heavy and fast.

Aoe swung down his right fist in a hook stance.

At 5 yards apart, his fist couldn’t reach, but the powerful punch soared out regardless.

A shockwave roared out from it.

Mekton reacted just as quickly. He raised his thick left arm as if swinging up the elbow. He rotated it upwards with so much force you would think he hadn’t given it any thought.

His left hand tore through the air, creating a shockwave.

The air blades collided between the two of them. The clash sounded like tearing paper.

White steam exploded out.

Sensing an oddity in the sound, Aoe leaped forward. He groaned when he saw a shockwave flying his way from the white smoke.

Mekton’s strength had overpowered his own.

“Uh, oh!” he shouted, moving forward.

He was less than 20 yards from the exit now.

Up ahead, he saw the final barrier closing.

The outside light brightened by the narrow gap between floor and barrier.

'''<Aoe’s Over Zoom>

The gap below the barrier was less than a yard, so Aoe ran.

<Senpai!>

He knew why Yuo was shouting. He needed to hurry.

He sensed a large presence alongside him. He didn’t even need to check. He knew Mekton was there.

The two men charged toward the barrier’s gap at the full speed of their x7 boosted movement. Mekton arrived first.

He slid through feet first. It looked like the barrier would catch his thick upper body.

“Kh,” he groaned, grabbing the bottom of the barrier in both hands. Then he pushed himself through.

Next, Aoe glided through the air in a sliding pose. Yuo followed after him.

He passed through in an instant.

After emerging into the scarlet outdoor lights, he checked on Yuo behind him.

Her coordinate control had her floating a foot off the ground as she stretched toward him below the barrier.

She wasn’t going to make it.

Aoe realized the barrier had fallen too far.

Even if he grabbed her hand, the barrier would catch her on the shoulder.

Hitting the barrier at this speed would mean more than a simple injury.

Their 140mph momentum didn’t allow for hesitation. Aoe made up his mind while sliding.

“Yuo! Cancel your coordinate setting!” he shouted, grabbing Yuo’s hand below the barrier.

He tugged with all his might. That action as all Yuo needed to understand, so she held his hand back.

<Okay!>

She canceled the coordinate setting fixing her to a position relative to him.

That caused gravity to pull her down. The barrier was above her and the ground below.

Hitting the barrier would mean a terrible collision, but falling would mean scraping along the ground.

However, Aoe pulled her toward him while he slid through the air. And he swung her to the side like a baseball bat.

'''“Gah!”

With a loud shout, the emblem on his arm shined and he pulled out to safety.

She swung sideways, skimming just off the ground, and emerged from below the barrier.

Aoe stood up while taking her hand and turning around. Mekton had gotten to his feet nearby and was looking to them in surprise.

Aoe kicked off the ground again, not letting his momentum slow.

'''<Aoe’s Sight Mode has updated>