Editing City Series:Volume8b Chapter13 (section)

===Aoe’s Continued Sight Mode: In DT Castle===

'''<Aoe’s Over Reload>

Aoe’s vision joined with his mind.

He saw the walls around him moving downwards.

Excel stood on the lift ahead of him and snapped the fingers of his raised right hand.

'''<Movement Device: Accelerate>

Aoe’s entire body felt downwards momentum.

At the same time, wind filled the 20yd lift. It began rapidly ascending.

The lift roared as it pushed up the air. From basement floor 3 to the roof. The wind roiled within the pit leading down into the castle, buffeting Aoe.

He realized he had lost his sense of hearing. He immediately pinched his nose and breathed, popping his ears.

“Are you taking me to the roof!?”

'''<Aoe’s Over Zoom>

He looked around to see his surroundings ruled by wind and speed.

The lift’s motors roared along with the wind.

A square of sky was approaching overhead. The lift was already halfway to the roof.

It was moving fast. It was approaching the speed of an artillery shell launched skywards.

Aoe was nearly toppled to the floor by inertia, but he kept his footing.

Excel smiled a bit and spread his arms.

A red lotus emblem blossomed from his palms.

'''“Now, let us see

'''“If you are worthy of passing this point.”

'''<Pseudo Grandload: Running Pseudo Load Emblem: Lotus: Preparing for Use>

A window opened and text strings raced from the emblems on his palms to his back.

●Type-XX016 – Imperial-class – Lotus●

The lotus flowers on the emblems shined red and a triangle of diskette programs appeared behind him.

He raised his right hand.

The diagram behind him moved. The triangle rotated left as if loading a bullet.

All the wind racing through the sky was dyed by bluish-white light.

The wind swirling around him lost its pressure and a scattershot of 1inch projectiles appeared in front of him.

The wind shotgun drew a rightward curve toward Aoe.



'''<Aoe’s Over Zoom>

The wind rushed in as a solid object.

As soon as Aoe felt the weight of the wind vanish, he moved right.

He kicked off the floor with his left foot. The scattershot hit there.

It was fast.

He attempted to dodge, but a few shots followed his leap.

The disturbance of the air from his leg movement drew the wind shots in.

“…!”

A finger-thick piece was gouged from his left shin.

The remaining shots crashed into the floor. 1-inch holes were torn into the steel floor.

Even with the attack to his left leg, Aoe landed on his right toes. He twisted around to face forward. He was about 5 yards from Excel.

Excel held out his right hand and the emblem behind him made a destructive sound and rotated.

The wind around him was converted into a straight-line blast like an optical weapon would produce.

The wind roared.

The line of wind pierced the surrounding air and left a trail of white as it flew.

It targeted Aoe’s solar plexus.

It was too close and too accurately aimed to dodge.

Especially when Aoe was still on one leg after landing.

Blood trickled from the wound on his left shin.

But he ignored that.

He pushed his left leg out and kicked it up as if to fling off the blood.

He sent it rapidly overhead.

'''<Aoe’s Over Zoom>

His kinetic vision tracked the wind and his body moved accordingly.

“…!”

Just as he kicked up his left leg, he leaped up with his right leg.

His left toes and his right calf muscles broke free of the ascending lift’s inertial force.

He let his rising left knee strike him in the chest and flipped backwards.

He performed a flipping roundhouse kick.

It of course found only empty air.

But the wind produced by his toes caught the incoming line of wind.

That high-speed wind attack pursued the wind produced by his rotating toes and diverted off course.

Aoe completed his flip, making it more compact than usual to account for the lift’s inertial force.

He landed with his hands on the floor and his legs back – a crouch start.

He heard the wind passing him by. He heard it crash against the wall behind him.

He gathered strength in his legs and gave a shout as he launched his body forward.

He took his first step.

The inertia of the lift’s ascent filled his head, shoulders, back, arms, and legs.

But he broke through that inertial weight on the second step.

'''“Ohhhh!”

The shout of his will helped free his body’s strength. He used that to sprint forward.

To run from a crouch, he pumped his arms and kicked off the floor to propel himself alternately left and right.

It was more like a series of rapid jumps than running and it moved him outside his opponent’s field of vision.

“Sh!”

He pushed a breath from his lips and kept moving. He moved to Excel’s right side, circled wide in toward the left, and then moved further left. He moved so fast, the pounding of his feet on the metal only caught up a moment later.

Excel fell back in response. So he could target Aoe after his sideways leap.

“Kh.”

Too slow.

Aoe instantly closed in, moving to Excel’s left.

Excel did not turn toward him.

Aoe readied his fist. His left fist with emblem fully active.

He swung his right leg in front of Excel. As soon as his toes stepped on the metal floor, he twisted his right heel inwards.

He was crouched and kind of sliding in, starting with his toes, and he placed his full weight behind his left fist.

He threw that fist forward from his hip, aiming for Excel’s flank.

Excel finally looked his way.

The blow landed at the same time.

Rather than the sound of struck flesh or breaking bone, it sounded like a simple impact.

The side of the butler’s vest dented in and his tall, skinny body rose from the floor.

But even as Excel shook from the blow, his mouth opened in a curve.

“Hah. Much too slow!”

His eyes opened wide and sweat instantly appeared on his brow.

“It is no longer possible to grant my wish!” he shouted, raising his arms.

'''“Fly so high no one can hear you scream.”

His hands moved as if grabbing the red lotus emblem and the triangular formation behind him rotated to the right.

While subject to the lift’s inertia, Aoe saw bluish-white light soar around Excel.

The light expanded in an instant, forming a grid across the lift and in the sky above.

As soon as the lift reached the top, Excel landed on trembling legs and shouted again.

“Gravity!”

As soon as the midair grid vanished, Aoe felt the extra weight leave him.

The lift had reached the top.

'''<Aoe’s Sight Mode has updated>