Editing HEAVY OBJECT:Volume18 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 15===

Clattering sounds echoed through the space station. With the World’s End destroyed, Quenser’s group had returned to the station.

This was his second time to leave the vacuum of space and enter the artificial air, but Quenser did not feel dizzy this time. It scared him that he was getting used to it.

He saw a short-sleeved gym shirt, red sports bloomers, black kneesocks, and sneakers.

Plus a lab coat over it all.

The central figure of the Capitalist Corporations’ Federation of Elevator Industries wore an outfit that seemed wholly unsuited for outer space. As before, Louisiana Honeysuckle was floating in the enormous central area. For some reason, the bored-looking 17-year-old girl was twisting her body. She seemed more interested in whether her underwear was sticking out from the leg of her red sports bloomers than in the fate of the world.

When she noticed them, she began to speak without untwisting herself.

“I see you have chosen to help destroy humanity. I assumed it would be the Faith Organization that thoughtlessly caused this sort of calamity, but it seems the true ruinbringers were the Legitimacy Kingdom. At any rate, humanity’s last hope has just been extinguished. Even I failed to predict this one.”

“Shut up.” Heivia made sure to keep his assault rifle aimed at her. “You couldn’t calculate this out with that clever brain of yours? I don’t give a crap about your grand Re Terra project about unifying the environment or whatever the hell. This elevator is no more than a weapon of mass destruction. You don’t get to claim ignorance about how many people would die if that thing was used against flesh-and-blood soldiers. Or about what any survivors would want to do to you afterwards!!”

[[Image:HO_v18_BW7.jpg|thumb]]

“But I notice you haven’t shot me yet.”

Louisiana was isolated and alone with a few dozen guns aimed her way, yet she still smiled.

Those few dozen were all that remained.

Quenser did not even want to think about how many others had been with them when they first launched into space.

“This space elevator is the world’s tallest structure with a full length of 100 thousand kilometers. You might not like it, but you can’t just rig it with explosives and blow it up like with an ordinary building. You need accurate plans and a user’s manual even if you only want to get rid of it, don’t you? You cannot kill me until you have that.”

“You seem awfully sure of yourself, but did you really think we would stick to only the strictly legal methods of getting that information out of you? We have plenty of reasons to hold a grudge.”

“Oh, and one other thing.”

She ignored Heivia.

She was not bluffing. This confidence appeared to be real.

But why?

“You seem to think you have destroyed the Elinabell with that clever method.”

“…”

“Relax, boy.” She laughed when Quenser’s shoulders jumped. “You have indeed defeated the Elinabell. She remains mostly intact, but she can no longer function and I doubt the Pilot Elite had time to eject. …But it took you an awfully long time to defeat her. During the explosion, she sprayed her oxygen and gas in a certain direction.”

“Wait…wait a second.”

“Was that not enough of a hint? Then how about another one? Where on the earth were you planning to drop her?”

Quenser did not even have it in him to shout “wait”.

Genius Girl Louisiana Honeysuckle placed her index finger on her slender chin and revealed the quiz’s horrific answer.

“You’re dropping a 200 thousand ton weight, so no matter where it ends up hitting, I’m pretty sure it will affect the entire planet.”