Editing Apocalypse Witch:Volume5 Chapter3 (section)

===Part 3===

A deep rumbling shook the entire space station.

They were 36 thousand kilometers from the surface, but it didn’t matter. How quickly was that vibration moving up the wire?

It had begun.

That was simple enough to say, but what was actually happening down on Earth?

“Leave those trivialities to me. Now, tell me. What kind of life would you like next?”

Transline smiled.

There was no sign of malice there. She seemed to think she was doing them a favor by taking revenge on humanity for tormenting the four of them for so long.

But had anyone asked her to do that?

“Dammit!! Aine!!”

“What shall I do?”

Karuta called her on reflex, but then he froze.

Right.

5.5 billion people were being slaughtered for no real reason, but what exactly could they do about it? The Four Living Gods already knew they could not defeat the 300 million Threats. If they descended to Earth now, they would only find an uncontrollable hell. They couldn’t protect anyone by returning there and fighting to the death.

Aine tilted her head, awaiting his orders.

The four of them could not survive whether they remained on Earth or were launched into space.

That choice had been heartbreaking, but even that was falling apart. Meanwhile, Transline looked as happy as someone about to open a present wrapped with a ribbon. Her joy was genuine, but she did not look at them like she accepted them as her equals. The idea of going with her scared Karuta. But they could survive a while longer if they obeyed her for now. Unfortunately, that miraculous opportunity meant nothing if they slapped her hand away and refused.

Transline probably would do it.

This was not an agreement between equals for her. The Threat was granting lesser beings mercy. So as soon as she knew she could not have them like she wanted, she would lose interest and kill them. Then she would stick her hand back into human society and make a mess of things in order to search out a strongest she preferred. And if at any time during the process, she lost interest, she would kill every last human, and ride whatever “loop” the Threat followed to reach another planet.

“Karuta.”

The next thing he knew, Marika had a different color scattered across her summer uniform. She had already activated her crystal armor and pulled her rapier Device from thin air.

“I’ll let you choose. What do we do now? I didn’t really follow what she was talking about, but if this Transline is something like their core, we have an extremely rare opportunity while this close to her. Whether we choose to shake her hand or give her one hell of a punch, this is probably our last chance.”

“Since she contacted us directly, she must have taken the possibility of a surprise attack into consideration,” said Omotesandou Kyouka, brushing her black hair off her shoulder. “This Transline is a special Threat unit. We have zero information on her. Don’t forget the lesson we learned all too well when dealing with the Problem Solvers. We know nothing about her power and have nothing prepared. What chance do we actually have of winning if we attack her head on now?”

Aine continued to tilt her head with sword in hand.

She didn’t need to say out loud that she would support whatever decision Karuta made.

The boy focused on the modified military flashlight at his hip. Would he wield it as a weapon, or would he throw it out into the zero-g space? That would make his choice clear to everyone watching.

What would he do?

If they stayed here, they might just barely cling to life. But if they thoughtlessly refused Transline, even that small chance was gone.

Utagai Karuta asked himself the crucial question.

What would they do now!?