Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Item4 Chapter3 (section)

===Part 12===

Frenda Seivelun immediately hid behind a nearby tree trunk bigger around than she was.

Even that cover would be shredded if an attack helicopter took aim at it.

Along with Frenda hiding behind it.

(What do I do? Withdraw? Think. That would be the smart thing to do, but in the end, what happens to me if I leave without capturing Crossword!? If I keep doing the “smart” thing to avoid any risk, my chances will only continue to shrink!!)

Frenda was panicking, but then she noticed some motion in the distant rubble.

Through the cross-section of the half-destroyed mansion, she could see inside the second floor

A man was there.

He was still alive.

At this point, she didn’t care how injured he was.

(Uonaka Ichijo. If he’s alive, then I have to capture him!!)

On the professional battlefield, getting greedy was a good way to get yourself killed. That was an inviolable rule, but Frenda had somehow managed to avoid being killed instantly.

She heard another rotor.

The Mugino Family must have had their own secret attack helicopter. The aerial weapon must have been dismantled, the pieces packed into separate shipping containers, and then reassembled inside Japan.

(A large Russian helicopter?)

This changed the Two Wings’ priority.

From ground attack to air combat.

(Uh, oh. In the end, that thing can’t beat the Two Wings!!)

Frenda kept an eye on the sky as she ran toward the blasted rubble.

That was a global best seller in the category of attack helicopter, but it was still inferior to a cutting-edge Academy City model. Besides, the large Russian helicopter had cargo space for eight soldiers in addition to its direct weaponry. When compared to a helicopter designed ''only'' for direct combat, its belly had a van’s worth of extra volume.

The Two Wings moved faster, located enemies faster, and attacked faster. It didn’t leave any openings.

The monster even had a secondary jet engines. It could make sharp emergency slides to the side and even perform a flashy loop-the-loop despite being a helicopter. The basic specs of the two models of helicopter were just too different.

As Frenda watched, the air-to-air missile launched from the Mugino Family helicopter was easily evaded. More than just moving fast, it had to be emitting IR, EM, or something else invisible that disturbed the missile.

An explosive boom sounded.

A horizontal storm of fire sliced through the air in counterattack, tearing apart the large helicopter.

The five-piece main rotor spun fruitlessly as the burning hulk dropped. Like a meteor. And of all places, it was falling straight toward Frenda as she ran along the ground.

“Dammit!!”

Her heart froze. There was nothing she could do.

Then there was another explosion.

The Two Wings had fired its 120mm cannon to shred the falling helicopter. That was blatant overkill, but the program must have continued attacking because the metallic reading designated as its target was considered “still flying” as long as it continued gliding for a certain amount of time.

Just before small pieces of scorching metal poured down like rain, Frenda scrambled through the villa’s entrance and into its main hall.

Then again, that wasn’t much in the way of cover. The initial attack had only left the front wall intact and the blown-up rear led directly out into the grass.

Razor-sharp rain filled the space on the other side of the wall.

Climbing those crumbling stairs scared Frenda, but she couldn’t be picky right now.

Once on the second floor, she saw someone curled up in fear.

Was that him?

Mugino Family Sakuya Faction Negotiator, “Crossword” Uonaka Ichijo.

He was the foundation of the parent-killing plan.

The ceiling had collapsed, making the hallway something like a convertible and something was staring down at her from the wide-open sky. The Two Wings attack helicopter had locked onto its target again.

“!?”

(If I don’t capture him alive, I won’t be able to control Sakuya!!)

She had to make Sakuya reluctant to lose him. If the hostage died, the enemy boss wouldn’t hesitate.

She would give the go-ahead and a reckless slaughter would begin.

There was no time to complain.

Frenda just ran.

She rushed toward the man frozen in shock and then soared out through the building’s cross-section.

The 120mm cannon opened fire.

Explosive flames filled the second floor of the school-sized villa.

Frenda and the man just barely managed to fall down to the enormous dining room on the first floor, breaking the surviving long table on their way to the floor.

“Kh… Don’t die on me!!”

She grabbed his arm.

The wet sensation was of course blood.

Still, Frenda Seivelun had just barely secured the negotiator.

She dragged him over to the surviving wall and barely avoided the line of fire from a 20mm autocannon.

Staying here wouldn’t work.

She needed a sturdier shield. The bullets were bad enough, but an explosive blast could fill the space and circle around behind walls. Frenda turned her head to look at the mountain slope past the crumbling outer wall. This early in the morning, the orange sunrise was visible too.

“What? Why are you helping me? Are you giving me a chance to confess my sins?”

“Oh, shut up. If you don’t want to die, you need to get to the mountain tunnel!! In the end, we can escape the Two Wings’ bombing there!!”

With the large helicopter shot down, all of the soaring Two Wings could once more focus on the ground. Their top priority would be “Crossword” Uonaka Ichijo, but Frenda could easily get blown up right along with him since she was lending him her shoulder.

The man groaned and coughed up blood.

“Leave me here…”

“Enough complaining.”

“I’m going to die either way. Whatever you’re hoping to get from me, it won’t work. So leave me here.”

“I’m not doing this to save your villainous ass! Shut up and run!!”

He was clearly taller and heavier than Frenda and he was worn out and near death. Even running 20m lending him her shoulder would be risky.

Nevertheless, they managed to dive into the tunnel together.

A powerful explosion erupted nearby. Apparently the 120mm cannon had crashed into the thick mountain face.

Frenda’s hearing was drowned out by an intense ringing for a bit.

But that meant she was still alive.

She grimaced and placed her hand on the tunnel wall to stand back up. She grabbed a first-aid kit attached to the wall, opened it, and pulled out the disinfectant and bandages.

He pissed her off, but she couldn’t let Crossword die from his blood loss.

Maybe it was too little too late, but she had to do her best to stanch his bleeding. This was a struggle only available to her because she was still alive. Although she did make sure to apply the disinfectant and tie the bandages as painfully as she could manage.

“Ugh! B-be more gentle…”

“You think you’re in position to make demands? Think before you speak next time. In the end, I’m not your big sister!!”

But Frenda Seivelun could not reflect on the ordinary joy of survival.

She had a bad feeling.

“…”

An icy sensation crawled along her spine. Something in the air changed. Or so it seemed to her.

“What? Why are you-”

“Sh.”

She held out a hand to shush Uonaka Ichijo.

Quietly, Frenda poked her head out from the tunnel to take a look.

And she frantically pulled it back inside. With her breath caught in her throat.

That was not who she wanted to see.



Mugino Shizuri and Item.

Mugino Sakuya and the Mugino Family.



A cold sweat poured down Frenda’s brow.

They were both monsters. She had just risked her life to capture someone who might just be able to stop the killing of parents across the country. If she was caught up in another battle here, the negotiator – the key to it all – could be killed.

The bloody man leaned back against the wall and sat down on the ground before asking a question while breathing heavily.

He hadn’t wanted to sit. He just couldn’t stay upright any longer.

“Wh-what are you going to do?”

“We need to get deeper inside the tunnel. Listen. I need you to help stop the killing of the parents. Don’t you dare die before that’s done. In the end, I’ll resuscitate you and then kill you in a much more painful way myself!!”