Editing Apocalypse Witch:Volume1 Chapter2 (section)

===Part 10===

“I think you screwed this one up,” said another one of the Problem Solvers over the phone.

Yukino Arakawa calmly responded from atop the building rooftop.

“What makes you think that?”

“You had to destroy London? Sure, these things happen. But there’s a G21 summit being held here and some of the people in attendance will know about the God-Worshipping Magic we use. They’ll know who did this and you won’t be able to pass this off as the work of the Threat.”

“Hee hee. Don’t you worry.” She laughed and tapped the bottom of her staff against the rooftop below her feet. “Once I am done, I will raze this building as well. I just have to eradicate anyone who knows the truth of the Threat and the Problem Solvers, right?”

“We’re talking about multiple heads of state here.”

“Why would that matter? More importantly, have you managed to contact Anastasia? I cannot blame this all on the Threat without her approval.”

“Well, I’m willing to bet she’ll go along with this. She wouldn’t want the framework of the Problem Solvers to fall apart over something this stupid.”

“Is that so? In that case…”

“But.”

“?”

“It looks like you were a little too slow.”

The voice speaking over her phone sounded disappointed.

Yukino felt a chill down her spine and attempted to analyze why that was, but it was too late.

She turned around to find a boy in a supposedly eradicated purple blazer standing on the same roof as her.

“…”

He said nothing.

His shoulders rose and fell as he caught his breath, he held a military flashlight that looked plenty heavy to use as a blunt weapon, and he slowly – very slowly – walked toward her.

Yukino Arakawa’s cheeks tensed somewhat.

Once he was this close, she could no longer use her light spears. They were so powerful she would destroy herself in the blast too.

This was checkmate.

Even if she did not like the result, the time for games had ended.

So with staff in hand, she spread her hands toward the approaching boy. Almost like she wanted to say they should abandon their plans for a picnic and head home early since it was raining.

She made a suggestion with a truly reluctant smile.

“Okay, I surrender. You win.”

She sounded like someone throwing their cards on the table because they ended up one card short of a winning hand.

She sounded like she was only going to lose a few stacks of chips.

“Let’s end this here. This is a fairly good deal for you too. I am one of the Problem Solvers, so I have a lot of pull with the world’s governments and I can get all of your past crimes wiped from the record. You’ll be pardoned! Yes, pardoned for everything! You can return to ordinary society without worrying about a thing! Wow, isn’t that incredible!? You can get off scot free, you lucky devil☆”

“…”

The boy did not respond.

He had not spoken a single word since arriving.

“And as a special bonus, we will stop pursuing you. I promise and swear it. I mean, you were looking for a way out after starting this and getting in way over your head, weren’t you? You were stuck on the path you had set for yourself. I mean, how long were you going to keep doing this revenge stuff? Did you really think you could keep getting away with it? It’s important to know when to quit while you’re ahead and the last train is about to leave as far as that is concerned. I have your ticket right here. I’m compromising quite a bit here, so you should really be thank-<span style="font-size:200%">'''blwehhh'''</span>!?”

Something exploded in her nose.

By the time she realized he had smashed the soft cartilage with a full swing of the military flashlight, she was already rolling along the rooftop.

The fiery pain caused her to let go of the staff and hold her face with both hands. She felt something sticky and a warm liquid dripped from between her fingers. An iron flavor spread through her mouth.

Her eyes opened as wide as they would go and she crawled on all fours while trying to figure out what was happening while her mind went blank with confusion.

Then scorching rage exploded in her mind.

“Y-y-you!? You hit a woman in the fa-<span style="font-size:200%">'''gwelgh'''</span>!!!!!!”

He did not speak a word.

Not a single one.

Instead, he swung down a second blow. This time to her jaw. Or was it her cheek? All she knew was that she felt a bone in her face breaking, her teeth no longer fit together right in her mouth, and her face’s skin felt unnaturally stretched. Now she really sensed danger. She knew she was in trouble. This boy had shut down all attempt at communication. He was not treating her like a fellow human being. He looked down on her with cold eyes like she was no more than an insect as he determined where to hit her next and then mercilessly swung down that heavy flashlight.

“Wait, no-”

A storm of blows awaited her. She did not even have time to think about standing up. She curled up, protected her head with her hands, and simply endured it the best she could. Her anger at this unreasonable situation was ultimately overwritten by the fear of having her understanding of the world no longer apply. Her body was enveloped by a feeling closer to heat than pain as she incessantly repeated the same word in her heart.

''Why?

''Why, why, why?

''It’s wrong to hit a woman in the face. And it’s definitely wrong to use a blunt weapon to do it.

Yes.

''All I did was unilaterally attack a useless school, slaughter all the teachers and students, and use my power as one of the Problem Solvers without bothering to listen to any of their screams or cries for mercy. That was a mere 700 people. Not that I actually counted. The escort ships? What, they count too??? Then that’s even more reason I can’t be blamed for missing one. Why does this have to happen to me just becomes one of them survived!?

“Ah, ahhhh, ahhhhhhhhhh.”

There was one thing here Yukino Arakawa did not realize.

And since she had never once lost – at least to another human being – that was hardly surprising.

The Problem Solvers always won crushing victories in any conflicts between humans. Her opponents had always grown utterly fed up with war, so when she brought up the possibility of a ceasefire or making peace, they would jump at the chance and accept even the worst terms. Yukino saw war as something she could switch off as easily as a lightbulb. She was always the one that decided when it ended.

But not this time.

This was entirely different.

This was a quagmire of a battle that would never end once it had begun. It would continue until one side or the other was dead and there was no room for compromise or negotiation.

She had never experienced this since victory was always assured for her.

And that had led her to push the snowball down the hill without realizing what it would mean.

So…

“…”

Every last part of her mind was trapped in a vortex of pain she had never before experienced and in the fear that she might lose.

She was fundamentally different from this boy whose loss was all but guaranteed but would try to tear out his enemy’s windpipe with his teeth even if his arms and legs had all shattered.

''She could keep moving, yet she stopped.

While battered, bruised, and curled up in the fetal position, all she did was tremble. The purple blazer boy grabbed her black hair and mercilessly yanked her head up. He looked her in the eye and crouched down to speak.

“Work with me. Tell me everything you know about the Problem Solvers, about why you attacked our school, and about the Threat!! I have no reason not to kill you, so if you don’t want to die, you’ll have to give me a reason yourself! Got that!?”

It was like a switch had been thrown.

Suddenly – truly suddenly – a lightbulb went off in Yukino Arakawa’s head.

This boy did not want to kill her. He was inspiring so much fear and dispensing so much violence and he had driven her a step away from death, yet he was acting like he had done nothing wrong. She could tell from the look in his eyes that he did not actually want to do this. He did not want to take revenge. He was using the Problem Solvers’ actions as an excuse to fight and playing the victim to take the next step guilt free.

Was she going to lose to this?

Was she going to let him use her to have his happily ever after?

Before she had even taking this fight seriously?

When she still had not just her teeth but her arms and legs too???

Something ignited deep in her gut.

“!!”

She reached out a battered hand and grabbed her giant staff that was lying nearby. The blazer boy immediately tried to grab her wrist, but it was too late. And this was not a tool used to hit people.

“To hell with that. To hell with all of that, you garbage heap!!  Don’t act so smug just because you briefly delayed getting fried! If you want to be blasted that badly, then today’s your lucky dayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!”

“Wait, you idiot! You’ll hit yourself too!”

“I don’t give a crap! Blowing myself up with my own attack is a hundred times better than losing to some asshole acting like he’s some blameless victim!!!!!!”

He tried to steal away the staff but gave up on that and collapsed away from her instead.

“I beseech thee, Lugh, Celtic God of Light!!”

While sprawled out on the rooftop, Yukino Arakawa saw a point of glittering light in the night sky.

And a moment later, a light spear capable of slicing through an escort ship vaporized its own wielder.