Editing The Unexplored Summon Blood Sign:Volume3 Chapter4 (section)

===Part 2===

What had happened was simple.

Miyama Gouta had happened. He was the military officer from Government who was in charge of security at the Anthill Project using a portion of A Block’s international airport. He was also the man who had argued with Shiroyama Kyousuke during the planning stages of the evacuation operation and gotten his nose smashed against a door.

At first, he had been furious.

But not because a little boy had slighted him, not because a Freedom member knew about Government’s internal situation, and not because he had been shamed in front of Maria Heartocean.

He did not care about loyalty to the organization, the success of the mission, or fulfillment of his duty.

There was only one thing he wanted.

He only wanted ''a seat on Noah’s Ark'' along with the other Anthill VIPs.

“Goddammit!!”

Then someone had called his private cellphone.

Only his wife and son should have known that number, but the voice he heard belonged to a complete stranger.

“Nice to meet you. I am Biondetta Shiroyama, aka Freedom Award 920, Liar Cat. I have some very valuable information for you, my enemy. Could I have a moment of your time?”

“Wha-…!?”

His mind had gone blank.

But before he could say anything more, it was over.

Someone had grabbed his shoulders from behind. He was supposedly alone in his office, but he was turned around and his back was slammed against the top of a nearby table.

While he was lying on his back and unable to breath, a waitress demon shook her tail decoration and leaned her seductively lithe body over him as if to climb on top of him.

Hadn’t Shiroyama Kyousuke said that someone else could do this if he could? And that those who killed were better at it than those who defended?

Feeling like a frog being stared down by a snake, Miyama dropped his phone. He could not move a single finger and Biondetta’s voice seemed to sneak into his ear from close range.

“How about we discuss something that will benefit both of us?”

“What are you-…? I would never work with the likes of you!”

“Are you sure?” The demon smiled. “Let’s say the two of us go all out trying to kill each other. I might be killed by Government as a whole…but you will undoubtedly die along the way. No matter where you run or hide and even if you are moved to a moon base or nuclear shelter, I will make sure of it. I believe I have ''already proven my skill''.”

“…”

“So this is not about choosing whether you live or die. At this rate, you will cough up blood and die either way. It does not matter whether or not the operation succeeds. Unless, that is, you cheat and bend the rules.”

She placed her smooth fingertip on Miyama Gouta’s left hand.

Specifically, on the simple ring he wore on the ring finger.

“Returning to your normal home like normal and seeing the normal smiles on your family’s faces. Is there any greater happiness in the world?”

“What…are you…?” muttered the military officer in a scratchy voice.

He had not noticed the change to the scales in his mind. His survival here and the safety of his family were two different issues, but he began to conflate the two.

And that view reduced the guilt toward breaking his professional ethics.

A desire to board Noah’s Ark was the only thing on his mind.

“What do you want me to do…?”

“Prepare a body double.”

It was a simple suggestion.

“I will sink Government’s bodyguard team and you can use that time to escape with the Anthill’s classified information and VIPs. A good deal for both of us, don’t you think?”

“How does that benefit you as an assassin?”

“We only need to show some results. Cutting through Government’s defense system and humiliating the supposed world police is more than enough. All we want is something we can point to as a business card. Whether or not the VIP actually dies is not as important.”

“…”

“As I said, this isn’t about whether I do it or not.” The demon giggled. “No matter what you choose, that Stingray is going down. The only question is whether you are onboard it or not. You can refuse if you like. You can even follow protocol and report this. But don’t forget that doing so is the same thing as throwing out your ticket onto the ark☆”



The military officer knew that the conflict between Government, Illegal, and Freedom was not the three-way stalemate it appeared to be.

Even when it looked like a hopeless head-on clash, things would be arranged in secret and the results would be predetermined like a fixed game.

Sometimes it was for territory and sometimes it was for a summoner’s Awards.

He had heard of those things, so this just meant he had seen it for himself this time.

Or so he thought.

Or perhaps he just wanted to think that.

And yet…



“Ah…ah…”

Miyama Gouta paled and groaned aboard the combat bridge of the real Stingray.

The lights had already turned to the red warning color and the monitors showed yellow and red damage across the craft.

Powerful shocks shook the craft and the lights occasionally flickered disconcertingly despite how many ways the power system was supposed to be backed up.

Liar Cat.

Who could accept that just two people could cause this much damage?

“Ahh…ahhhh….”

The military official cursed his own actions.

Why had he believed this was a secret deal between Government and Freedom?

Why had he conveniently accepted that an oral promise with no records would be upheld?

The enemy only did what benefited her.

No matter how nice the suggestion sounded, there had to be some advantage for the enemy hidden there.

“Ahh, ahh.”

He heard a voice that sounded far too calm for the hopeless situation.

It was Maria Heartocean, the researcher for the Anthill Project. The body of her Repliglass Water Bear split apart and she removed the head like it was a costume.

“What are we going to do about this? It’s a complete mess. Is this the end of the road for me?”

“…”

He seriously considered giving up on everything, firing a single bullet, and stealing the Water Bear to ensure his own safety.

But he stopped himself.

That would only be destroying himself. There was a more effective way of boarding Noah’s Ark.

“Miss Heartocean.”

“Yes?”

“This way! Hurry! Escaping the Stingray is the only way to protect you!!”

He grabbed the Water Bear’s hand and Maria sighed while covering herself with the Repliglass again.

They left the central combat bridge, ran down the hall, and heard gunfire and several footsteps.

A horribly heavy tremor and several screams and shouts followed.

“What are we going to do?”

“Kh… The Stingray is equipped with a small Repliglass VTOL craft. If we can board that…”

A dull sound shot past a corridor corner and slammed into the wall.

It was a badly destroyed combat Repliglass soldier.

And then the waitress demon poked her head out from around the corner. She may have been injured when boarding the Stingray because she had blood all over her. A fierce smile appeared on her lips.

“Found you☆”

An Artificial Sacred Ground was in effect.

It was in the ninety second Chain state. If they were caught in that, they would die. Miyama Gouta knew that even though he generally did not directly fight with the Summoning Ceremony.

He turned 180 degrees and ran down the hallway on the pretext of protecting Maria.

“Sound Range: High. Cost: 1. The Original Yellow (s). Why do you think I’ve continued using the weakest Original series when I could build it up further?” Biondetta’s singsong voice loudly reached him from behind. “Be – cause! We couldn’t savor the taste of revenge if it ended too quickly. It would be boring to end it instantly with a bullet to the head or with a Divine- or Unexplored-class attack to the Stingray. I’m keeping our destructive power down at the perfect level to thoroughly enjoy this☆”

Weakest or not, a Material was a Material.

It was a monster from another world. Not even a squadron of tanks or fighters could damage it.

Several combat Repliglass soldiers ran past Miyama and Maria to face the monster.

“We’ll buy you some time!!”

“Hurry up and get Miss Heartocean to safet-…”

A great noise cut them off.

“Hee hee.”

The series of destructive noise just about drove all sense of reality from Miyama’s mind. He could not bring himself to look back. He could only imagine a giant mouth was approaching while chewing through everything in its path.

“What happened to those summoners we’ve been wasting so much money on!?”

“You mean the 700 level ones? They’ve already taken their money and jumped into the sea!! We have to do this ourselves!”

“Seriously? Goddammit! Are you serious!? …Gabgh!?”

“Hee hee hee hee hee hee.”

He desperately continued running with sweat covering his face.

He was willing to sacrifice his men, deceive his allies, and use his superiors as a shield as long as it meant his survival.

That was the only thing on his mind.

“!!”

He finally reached the cargo space.

The large space contained an avian Repliglass craft that reached fifteen meters across when its folded wings were spread out. The aerial Repliglass craft was known as a Seagull and it was meant for naval combat. He practically snapped at the men who approached from a different exit.

“Do you have the server!?”

“Right here!”

“Get it loaded on! Hurry up and load it!!”

After barking his order, Miyama Gouta operated the control panel next to him. The ceiling opened with a low rumble. At the same time, the entire floor slowly rose like a theatre contraption. The entire storage space was raised to the deck so the Seagull could be launched.

But their opponent did not wait for that to finish.

With a loud crash, one of the doors was broken through and a thoroughly destroyed Repliglass soldier rolled out. As the rising floor began to cover up the doorway, the summoner and her Material calmly stepped in through the closing gap.

The Chain state had ended.

But a new Artificial Sacred Ground enveloped everything.

Despair threatened to crush Miyama Gouta’s mind.

“Now.”

The vengeful demon named Biondetta smiled with her Blood-Sign resting on her shoulder.

“My client has been waiting on an empty stomach, so please let her enjoy the flavor of this perfectly aged meat.”